Notice: This is where the actual plot picks up. While it greatly resembles the 2012 plot line, there are story arcs and plot points from the 2003 turtles, and a few references to the 2018 RISE series, as well as certain deviations not seen in any of them. Without further ado, let the plot BEGIN!

Leonardo's POV

It was their fifteenth mutation day when Splinter finally decided the brothers could go to the surface alone.

In fact, he practically pushed them out of the lair after their celebrations had finished and things started to wind down, leaning heavily on his cane as he often did. He barely even gave Raphael a chance to say goodbye to his Spike before shoving them toward the nearest tunnel.

"Have fun," Splinter told them, "but stay in the shadows, and be back before sunrise."

"Hai, Sensei!" The brothers echoed in turn.

"And stay together, I can't have you getting separated."

"Hai Sensei!"

Splinter nodded his reptilian head and shifted his weight. Leo arid has grown used to the older turtle constantly favoring his right leg, but the sight was no less saddening. "Be safe my sons."

That was their cue to leave.

Leonardo took the lead, and behind him was Donatello. Behind Donatello was Raphael , and behind Raphael, Michelangelo. All geared up and ready, their weapons freshly cleaned and, in Leonardo's case, sharpened. Donatello had polished his titanium-enforced staff for the occasion and had made sure to back his armored shellback to the brim with water, snacks, and anything else they might need. Michelangelo's nunchaku And Shell we're lined with a fresh coat of orange and yellow paint, and Raphael's sai were as shiny as the day he got them. All four finally had an excuse to wear their knee and shoulder pads, customized by each brother to fit their tastes and, of course, match their chosen colors.

They took the long way around to avoid a group of homeless that had recently taken up refuge just beyond the storm drain. Leonardo knew these tunnels like the front of his shell, with or without light. The faintest sliver of moonlight was more than enough to light their path.

They had learned everything they needed to know to navigate the maze; which tunnels lead up, and which ones lead down. Which ones were dry and which ones were overflowing with graywater. Most important, they knew which tunnels lead home. They needed no map, no directions, no light, even if Donatello had brought his Shellback armor just in case.

"So... what are we gonna do first?" Michelangelo asked from the rear.

"Mikey..."

"We could go to a skate park!" The younger turtle interrupted, "or beat up some bad guys, or..."

"We're not doing any of that." Leonardo said, "You heard what Splinter said: stay in the shadows."

"Yeah, we got it the first hundred times, Leo." Raphael jutted in from the middle.

There was an awkward silence.

"Splinter sure was in a rush to get rid of us, huh?" Michelangelo added.

"No wonder! He's probably hoping your annoying shell never comes back!" Raphael answered, just as brash as before.

"Excuse me! I happen to think I'm quite lovable!"

"And that's why you're the dumb one!"

"Come on guys, cut it out." Came Donatello's gentle voice, unwilling to take sides or upset either of the two.

"Donnie's right, guys." Leonardo said, "Stop messing around."

Michelangelo pouted, and his frown was known even in the darkness. "What? He started it!"

"And I'm gonna finish it too!" Raphael shot back with a feral hiss.

It wasn't long before they reached their manhole. They had passed many on the way, but this was their end goal. The safest place to surface without being spotted, according to Donatello. When has he ever been wrong?

One by one, they all piled onto the ladder and began their ascent toward the surface. Leonardo reached to try and push up the metal seal.

"What's the hold up?" Raphael growled from below.

"Yeah!" Michelangelo followed up, "I don't want to spend any longer looking at Raph's butt than I have to!"

A loud thud, followed by Michelangelo's scream told Leonardo that Raphael had kicked the other turtle.

"Is something wrong, Leo?" Donatello prompted softly.

"No!" Leonardo said quickly, "I mean... yes. I... I can't reach the manhole."

There was silence. And then there was laughter, uncontrollable and loud and mocking; even Donatello joined in.

"Aww, is little Leon too small to reach the manhole cover?" Michelangelo teased. "Does little Leon need a diaper chaaange?"

"Shut up!" Leonardo snapped.

"Yeah, cut the guy a break." Said Raphael, but then he quickly added, "You might make the baby cry!"

Leonardo could feel his face flush red, and was glad there was no light to bear witness. "Just go back down!"

The four brothers backtracked down the ladder and, after a small debate, changed up their order. Donatello went first this time, followed by Leonardo, then Raphael, and lastly Michelangelo. Donatello reached the manhole with ease, lifting it with little difficulty, and then all four brothers climbed out into the night.

It was just as Leonardo remembered it: bright, full of life and colors, and sirens and machines. People walking, too caught up on their own lives to even think about looking down a trash-strewn alley. Too busy to even consider what they might find if they just looked or listened. Leonardo was glad.

Like shadows, the brothers glided up the fire escape, to the roof. Humans were always looking everywhere: down at their phones, forward at the crosswalk, backward when someone called their name. They hardly ever looked up, unless something was on a Jumbotron, and there was no Jumbotron in sight.

Donatello was the first to speak. "It's beautiful up here..."

Michelangelo look a deep, exaggerated inhale and waved his hands, as if that could bring more of the delicious air to him. "I love that New York City air! Just stay downwind, Raphie boy, we wouldn't want your stench to ruin the moment!"

Michelangelo yelped in pain as Raphael delivered a hard smack to the back of his head.

"I've seen better." Raphael said, and he crossed his arms.

"Doubtful." Said Donatello, "you can barely see anything down in the sewer. Up here, it's so... bright. And the air's so clean!"

Donatello wasn't wrong. Starlight was a lot different than the occasional storm drain caught under the light of a full moon. The faintest lights of the lanterns that lined the lair, for emergency use only, for they couldn't afford to draw attention to themselves. It felt good to stretch his muscles in a place other than that musty, cramped sewer.

"So, what do you guys wanna do first?" Michelangelo prompted, beginning to dance around his brothers.

"Didn't you ask that same question down in the sewer?" Donatello pointed out.

Michelangelo ignored him. "I say we race! Last one to that water tower hatched from a rotten egg!"

"Mikey, wait!"

The orange-masked teen was already gone, leaping flawlessly from one building to the next until he was little more than a silhouette against the night sky. The three remaining brothers looked at each other and knew they had no choice but to follow.

Once Leonardo was on the move, it felt like nothing could stop him. Midair, soaring to the next building, made him feel as if he were flying, and when his feet touched down on the next roof over and he hit the ground running, it was like he was free. Normal. With the colors rushing past him in a blur, and every other sound being overpowered by the pounding of his own heartbeat. He lost sight of his brothers as they sought after their own victory. Soon, he was alone with nothing but his own racing heart.

The water tower came into sight, and Leonardo recognized it only from the stories Splinter told them, and from the movies he had watched over and over once Donatello got the TV working. There was no one else there.

He soon reached the tower, and he grinned as the euphoria faded back into the oblivion from whence it came. He was the first one there, not that he was surprised. Even with Michelangelo's head start, Donatello's quick thinking, and Raphael's perseverance, they were nothing compared to the leader in blue.

Something hard struck Leonardo's head and brought him away from his trance. He turned around and withdrew his katanas in a single, swift motion, falling into a fighting stance, only to be met with a smug-looking Raphael.

"Too slow, blue boy!"

Leonardo growled his frustration as he sheathed his swords back where they belonged. Moments later, Michelangelo landed beside him, panting and out of breath, but just as annoying as ever.

"Did I win? Did I win?" Michelangelo asked through his breaths.

"Not by a long shot!" Came Raphael's response; he hadn't moved from his hiding spot.

"You did beat Donnie, though." Leonardo said.

Michelangelo seemed content with that.

So they waited. Seconds turned into minutes, and impatience turned into worry. Donatello still wasn't back yet. Something was wrong.

"We have to go find Donnie." Leonardo decided, "He should have been back by now."

He jumped across to the nearest building, and the other two ninjas followed without question. They had backtracked a few buildings down without any luck before they heard the sound of fighting in the alley below. Leonardo's previous exhilaration grew sour in his mouth.

"Great!" Raphael Said, far too loud, "While we were wasting time waiting, Donatello was having all the fun!"

"Yeah, we need to get down there and kick some serious shell!"

"Fine by me."

Leonardo shushed his brothers, and stopped Raphael before the smaller turtle could take a leap of faith into the unknown. They were being too loud; shadows were silent. Shadows didn't talk.

Leonardo peered over the edge to get a better view of the battle below.

Raphael had been right; it was Donatello, with his shellback activated in defense mode, holding his own against four other men, and perhaps a fifth in the nearby van. It was hard to tell, but from up here, they all looked near-identical. All dressed in suits with similar weapons and matching skin. Donatello swung his bō staff against one of the men, and the weapon hit its mark with a hard THWACK, sending the man on the receiving end stumbling backward. Another man replaced the first, and Donatello rolled expertly to the side, catching himself on the metal arms of his shell armor and flipping himself right side up with just enough time to catch two of the men off guard and sweep them off their feet in a single blow.

"He's doing well for himself." Raphael commented, "Who'da thunk it? I gotta get me one of those things!"

"Cowabunga..." The word was more of a reflex than anything else at that point.

Leonardo was almost hesitant to help. Donatello was doing so well, and the extra training couldn't hurt... but if he started to get overwhelmed, then they could swoop in and save the day. Be his eyes in the sky, so to speak.

Michelangelo gasped suddenly. "Robo-suits!"

Leonardo and Raphael shared their confusion.

"What?" Leonardo said, the only thing he could think of.

"Remember that game we used to play?" Michelangelo asked, looking up to his older brother, "they look exactly how I imagined the Robo-suits to look!"

Raphael drew forth his sai and gave them an experimental twirl. "Well this ain't no game, Mikey. And they're messing with my brother!"

Before Leonardo could raise an arm to stop him, Raphael jumped to his brothers aid. Michelangelo didn't wait for the cue either, leaving Leonardo stranded alone. He had no choice now.

The sudden appearance seemed to catch the men off balance. They were identical, almost creepily so, and even in the black of night Leonardo could see the dead look in their eye. They barely reacted beyond stumbling back a few steps to reassess the situation.

"Now, lets see how tough you are in a fair fight.." Leonardo unsheathed his katanas. "Ninjas: attack!"

Raphael was at the head of the charge. He raised his sai just quick enough to block an upcoming attack from the one he had singled out. Michelangelo's nunchucks were swinging like mad, wild and unpredictable, yet somehow Michelangelo remained in constant control. Donatello delivered a kick to the one closest to him, and then blocked with his bō staff when the man attempted to charge once more. Leonardo faced off with the final one.

He swung at the man with a deliberate, swift motion, a motion that should have done some serious damage. But it didn't. The hard blow simply bounced off his enemies shoulder with a shuttering metallic clang that send a pain reverb through Leonardo's whole body, while the man on the receiving end barely flinched. He took a step forward and raised a fist, bringing it down hard; Leonardo barely had time to raise his katanas in defense, and when the blow was delivered, it was with enough force to nearly pull Leonardo's arm out of their sockets, and knocked him flat on his shell.

Leonardo felt himself lose grip of his precious weapons. He tried to crawl away, grasping in the dark for either one of his lost blades. The man towered over him, expressionless, almost robotic, and raised his fists for another deliberate blow. Leonardo was prepared to duck into his shell to avoid the assault, but then the man was struck by Michelangelo's bamboo nunchucks with enough force to knock a normal man unconscious, but this man only stumbled slightly, then was back in a fighting position.

"This guys hit hard." Leonardo called to his brothers, struggling to his feet as he finally recovered his weapons.

"You're telling me!" Came Raphael's shout, somewhere behind him. There was another loud crash, but no thud to follow. "These guys are harder than Mikey's skull!"

There was a loud shout, and then Raphael flew past, almost into the view of the streetlights, before Donatello caught him by the forearm and pulled him back into the shadows.

"Thanks bro." Said Raphael.

A crowd was starting to gather, and in the distance there was the cry of a police siren. No one was recording; at least, not yet. Soon those watching would come to their senses, and whip out their phones to make a fortune off the street fight. Rumors were one thing, but video proof was another. They had to leave.

"Ninjas, disappear!"

And then he was up the fire escape, silent as night, with his brothers hot on his tail. The suited men below gave up their attack instantly and piled into the van. They were off down the road in seconds, nearly colliding with several bystanders in their haste to flee the scene.

Leonardo's brothers were just as defeated as he was. Beaten and battered and confused, but alive. Donatello seemed more concerned than usual, and when his exhaustion finally allowed it, he said, "We have to follow that truck!"

"Why?" Raphael asked, finding his voice as well, "We already kicked those dude's butts!"

"Actually, I think they kicked ours." Said Michelangelo.

"Shut up, Mikey!" Raphael snarled.

"The girl!" Donatello said suddenly, and his eyes betrayed his worry.

"What girl?"

"A girl..." Donatello repeated, them swallowed before saying, "they took a girl; in their van."

The brothers exchanged looks.

"That's all the convincing I need." Leonardo decided with a shrug, "We have to follow that truck."

Then they were off again, flying across the rooftops in quick, balanced motions, finally putting their ninja training to good use. If Donatello was right (and he often was), and those men took a girl, Leonardo was going to get her back. He thanked the spirits for downtown traffic, crowded day-in and day-out, so the truck couldn't continue its speedy escape.

"We'll wait until we can get them alone," Leonardo told his team, "We can't risk exposing ourselves more than we already have."

"You think those humans saw us fighting the Robo-suits?" Michelangelo asked.

"Would you stop it with the Robo-suit?" Raph groaned. "We ain't kids no more."

"I'm telling you, it's them!" Michelangelo insisted, "they're real! Real as you and me! You'll see!"

"It was just a game, Mikey..." Donatello said softly, laying a gentle hand on Michelangelo's shoulder.

"Then how come they look exactly how I remember?" The orange ninja demanded.

"Because you're an idiot, that's why!" Came Raphael's response.

"Would you two quiet down? People can hear you all the way in Jersey!"

Both fell silent, but neither were happy about it. They tracked the van for what felt like miles, to the point where they were running out of buildings to jump to, before the truck finally veered away from heavy traffic and toward a large skyscraper. Now was as good a time as any. Leonardo went to leap to the next building, only to be met with Donatello's arm stopping him.

"Donnie?" Leonardo said, "what's wrong?"

"We can't go in there!" Donatello insisted.

"And why not?" Asked Raphael.

"That's TCRI!"

Silence.

"Are... we meant to know what that is?" Raphael questioned.

"It's obviously the super-secret Robo-suit hideout! Hiding in plain sight: the oldest trick in the book..." Michelangelo's words were ignored.

"It's a high-tech, high security science building!" Donatello explained, "Only the best of the best get to work there! The smartest scientists from all around the world!"

"Yeah." Raphael Said slowly, "but they stole a girl."

"Donatello's right." Leonardo said, "a place like that's gonna hard to infiltrate without being spotted."

"We could handle it!" Raphael Said with a dismissive shake of his hand.

"I said difficult, not impossible."

"Nothing's impossible when you're a ninja!" Michelangelo raised his hand for a high-three, but his brothers only stared with narrowed eyes until he put his hand back down.

"We should tell Splinter?" Donatello offered meekly, "he'll want to know. Or we can just call the cops?"

Leonardo looked to the starlit sky. "There's no time. It'll be light soon, and we can't be caught in broad daylight. We either do it now, or never. The cops would never believe us."

Raphael gave a slow nod. "Then what's the plan, Oh Wise leader?"

It had already started to take form in Leonardo's mind. They had the gear, they had the skills. They could pull this off...

Their first mission was about to begin.