Liz stared at the bottle once again. It was empty of course but the pain she felt seemed to still linger. She could remember the exhaustion and the dizziness as she collapsed onto the floor in the middle of the note she was leaving behind for her family. Ready to just accept the fate she had prepared for herself. Cries emitting from her sore throat and drool and snot dripping into the rug.

Shaking her head she snatched it from its spot on her drafting table. Turning it over in her hands she read the warning label on it for the millionth time.

'No more than 8 per day.'

She had consumed the last thirty from their supplies, hopefully enough to be a quick and painless death. But she was still afraid. Afraid of death and the unknown. If Leo hadn't come in when he had, she doubted she would have even gone through with it.

She shook her head.

It was stupid to even try. And through her stupidity, Leo had caught her in the act. That was the worst part. Not that she would have chickened out but that Leo of all her brothers knew what she had done. He had promised not to tell anyone, she had made him swear on his life before she passed out, but what kind of standing did that have now? He had that over her. If Splinter or anyone else knew…she didn't know what it would do to them. Leo had managed it the best he could but she saw the toll it took on him.

Leaning back in her chair she put it back onto the table and rubbed her eye. Outside she could hear her brothers laughing and calling to one another. In one smooth motion she went from her drafting table to her door. Cracking it open she peeked out into nothing but darkness.

"Nice wiring job, Don!" Mikey called.

"I guarantee it's not my wiring! Maybe it's a blackout."

"Maybe, now do you wanna get your foot off my shell?"

The sound of a match striking was accompanied by a soft light coming from the entertainment center. Liz carefully walked out towards Master Splinter who was now holding a lit candle.

"Ugh, keep that flame away from Mikey. He scarfed down a whole chili pizza for dinner," Leo stated as the four of them began to brush themselves off from their huddle on the ground.

"Clearly there is a power failure. I suggest you investigate and see if it can be fixed," Splinter said when they were all gathered.

"We're all over it!" Mikey replied excitedly as he kicked his skateboard into his hands and dashed off. Raph, Leo and Donnie quickly followed suit, Raph with his rollerblades, Leo with his scooter and Donnie with his bike.

"And hurry up! I do not wish to miss my favorite program."

"You've been cooped up in your room all day," Donnie whispered to his sister after they reached the surface, "Something on your mind?"

"You already know what it is," she muttered.

"Liz, you can't let it get to you. Everyone makes mistakes."

"Most don't cost people their families," she snapped.

"I think you're not giving us enough credit. It'll take more than just some test results to break our bond. I mean do you still even want to go through with it?"

"I-," she paused, "I don't even know anymore." Donnie didn't push the topic anymore for the moment as they scaled the side of a building. Once on the roof the five of them climbed onto the water tower and looked over the blackened city.

"Ya know," Leo began, "I don't think Splinter meant for us to investigate this far."

"You can never be too thorough," Raph replied matter-of-factly, "Especially when it comes to topside time."

"This whole side of town is dark. A substation must have gone out," Donnie exclaimed.

"Shouldn't there be some sort of emergency lights on somewhere?" Liz asked.

"Yeah, it's totally dark down there," Raph agreed.

"Which means there's only one thing for us to do!" Mikey grinned as he dropped from the tower with skateboard in hand. It was obvious what he was implying and soon enough they found a nice area in front of the museum to ride.

"Guys? You really think you should be doing this?" Liz asked as they climbed to the top of the stairs and began to ride down the railings, "What if someone sees you?" Donnie took a quick glance around suddenly feeling uneasy. His eyes caught a flash of movement on the wall of the museum.

"That's the beauty of it, sis! Nobody can see us! It's pitch black."

"Yeah, get with the program sis. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to session some surface terrain!" Mikey snickered. Donnie rode up to them quickly on his bike.

"Hey check this out!" he whispered as he threw a thumb over his shoulder. There were two dark figures scaling the wall to the room all dressed in black. They moved gracefully from the rope to the roof and disappeared from sight.

"Didn't we fight these clowns before?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah, and we nearly got waxed," Donnie replied.

"Who's up for some payback?" Raph unsheathed his said and spun them in his hands.

The five of them quickly moved in the shadows along the walls of the museum. An alarm was beginning to blare inside but with the power out all across the town, there would be no assistance from the police until it was too late. Scaling the building with ease the siblings descended into the hole the ninjas had made. Donnie could feel his heard pounding with exhilaration as they walked into the open room. Leo made the first move stopping the first ninja from taking something from a glass case with a shuriken.

"Gift shop is on the first floor boys, but they don't take kindly to shoplifters. And neither do we," he said as the second masked man drew his katana. The first lunged for the case again only to be stopped by a shuriken thrown by Raphael.

"Now, before you try to make off with the goods, you might want to consider a few things. One, you're outnumbered, two, don't let the pretty faces fool you. We're tougher than we look." At that very moment a group of five ninja leaped in from an open window, falling silently to the right.

"And three, we're about to get our butts seriously hammered!" Mikey exclaimed as the room continued to fill with intruders. They quickly boxed the five of them in, pushing inwards before attacking.

Leo quickly dispatched of his after slicing their weapon in two and throwing them into an ally. Raph rolled towards a group of three and dodged at the last moment, making his enemy slice through an old vase sending it crashing to the floor.

"You break it, pal, you bought it!" Raph snickered.

"Not the pieces!" Liz called out as she blocked a blow from her opponent, "Save the artifacts!"

"Do our best sis! Can't say much for these blockheads," Raph began skating past, "Speaking of buying…" He braced for impact and spun to land his skate onto the face of her opponent. He went flying into a gong nearby.

Donnie covered his ears as the ringing sent waves of pain through his head. He managed to regain his composure after pulling his bike off of his shell and quickly setting it up. Jumping onto it he wheeled away from the ninja behind him before turning quickly and running them over. Then in one swift action he drew his staff and mounted it under his arm.

"Charge!" he shouted as he began pedaling towards an oncoming opponent, catching him square in the chest. He went flying into a stack of crates nearby and a sound of cracking porcelain echoed through the room.

"That was Ming Dynasty!" Liz screamed, "Donatello! How could you!"

"Bowling for ninja's!" Mikey called as he wheeled by, knocking down three in one swoop like dominos, "Cheer up Liz! It's not like they were worth much!" A chain wrapped around his wrist pulling him towards an armed opponent. He timed the distance and lifted his skateboard to hit the man in the chest knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the floor.

"Way to pick up that spare," he grinned before reaching down and ripping the emblem off the chest of his unconscious foe, "And a trophy to boot!"

"A little help here!" Leo shouted as he blocked oncoming attacks from three sword wielding ninja's.

"We're on it!" the three brothers shouted as they rushed over on their wheeled vehicles. With exceptional timing the ninjas leaped out of the way and sent the five of them crashing into each other.

"I sense a teamwork training session in our future," Mikey said shakily. Donnie watched from the floor as two ninja's rushed by them with Liz hot on their heels.

"On your feet!" she shouted, "They're getting away!" Donnie leaped to his feet but it was too late, within seconds the remaining ninjas were on the roof cutting the rope Liz was trying to climb. She let out a cry as she fell and hit the floor with a loud thud. Leo moved quickly to her side to be sure she was okay while the remaining three turtles cornered the last ninja that had rushed back to the glass display and had the ancient sword in hand.

"Just put the sword back, sparky, and we'll call it a draw," Raph stated as they circled the individual. He then raised the sword as it emitted a soft blue color.

"Look out!" Leo yelled as the sword swung downwards throwing them all into a heap on the other side of the room.

"How about best two out of three," Mikey muttered as he rubbed his head. The sound of police sirens could be heard out on the street.

"What was that sword?" Donnie asked.

"Hold that thought, we gotta book," Leo replied before pulling his sister's arm over his shoulders and following his brothers out of the museum.

Back in the lair the five turtles huddled around their master. In his large paws he held the ripped piece of clothing and stared intently at the emblem.

"What does it mean, master Splinter?" Leo asked.

"Trouble," Splinter replied simply.

"You mean you know something about these ninjas? Where do they come from? Who do they work for?" Raphael inquired.

"And what do they want with a magic sword?" Mikey added.

"Nope not magic. Probably more like a self perpetuating oscillation frequency generator." Donnie replied.

"Uh in English Einstein?"

"It packs a shockwave that will knock you flat on your shell."

"Someone who wants that much power can't be up to anything good," Liz stated as she reached up to her naginata and gripped it, "We've gotta go after them."

"No," Spinter snapped, "A wise ninja does not seek out an enemy he does not fully understand."

"But sensei bushido demands that we fight for honor and justice and-"

"Bushido also demands that you honor your master's wishes," Splinter snapped, "I will meditate on this matter further. Good night." He turned quickly with the material in hand and disappeared into his room.

"Undergrounded again," Mikey groaned.

Liz rubbed her shoulder as she watched her brothers begin to disperse. The fall she took had begun the development of a deep bruise; she could feel it beginning to throb. She followed Donatello over to his desk and stood behind him as he started up his computer system.

"Think you're going to find anything?"

"There is hope."

"That sword was at least 11th century Japanese design. Maybe we can find out more about it through the museum's database." Donnie nodded and once the screen came to life he quickly pulled up the list and with a little searching the image showed up.

" 'The Sword of Tengu, also known as the Goblin Blade, was used by the Tokugawa Clan's elders to conquer Japan. It was said to lay villages to waste, bring castles to the ground and vanquish armies with just one stroke.' "

"I believe it," Liz whispered, "Historians must have had no idea what it is really capable of."

"I don't think we know either," Don replied as he rubbed his face with his hands. He leaned back in the chair continuing to stare at the picture. Liz looked over at her other brothers who had taken up various activities. Leo began meditating while Raph and Mikey were fighting over the remote. Her gaze came back to Donatello, their last encounter still fresh in her mind.

"Don?" she muttered.

"Hmm?"

"Nevermind." Her heart sank as he looked up at her.

"What's on your mind sis?"

She didn't answer.

"Is this about the test?"

Again she didn't reply.

"Here's how I see things," he began as he turned to her, "You're my only sister, nothing is going to change that but you ran the tests for a reason. You may regret it now and you're scared, I know, but you shouldn't waste the knowledge you have. I say give it a shot, you never know what could happen."

"I hurt one of them and the family falls apart."

"Stop it," Donnie's voice was stern, "Just stop it, Liz. It will be okay, I promise you." Liz looked down at the ground.

"Okay," she raised her head again and offered him her most sincere smile. His words seemed to help a bit but it would be a long while before she was ready.

"Go relax for a while; we aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

Mikey reached into his bag of potato chips and chomped down on the salty treat. His sister sat beside him with a weird far off look on her face that kinda gave him the willies. The quiet of the room, besides Leo's occasional grunt and Raph's growling, put him on edge.

"What's up with the big cheese, he's been zoning in there all day," he said trying to break the silence.

"It's that ninja symbol, it's got sensei all weirded out," Leo replied.

"Enough of this waiting around! I say we head topside, kick ninja butt, take ninja names and find out the whole ninja story ourselves!" Raph exclaimed as he kicked the head of their practice dummy. The fabric tore completely off and flew across the room into Mikey's bag of chips.

"Whoa, remind me never to get on your bad side," Mikey called.

"Too late," Raph reminded him as he began to stalk off towards the door.

"Raph," Liz rose from her spot on the sofa, "Give it some more time."

"Guys!" Donatello shouted from his computer, "Check this out!" Mikey got up from the sofa and moved to Donnie's side along with the rest of his siblings. "I hacked into the power company's computer system; it looks like there's another blackout out by the south street seaport."

"I smell a rat," Raph stated, "And I don't mean Splinter." Without another thought four of the five siblings began heading for the door.

"Hang on guys," Leo stood his ground, "Splinter told us-"

"Not to go after the ninjas. He didn't say anything about not investigating power failures," Raph sneered as he pulled out a sai and twirled it in his hand.

"Excellent, I have a few new surveillance toys I want to test," Donnie stated as he grabbed a duffel bag from beside his desk and threw it over his shoulder.

"Eh, wait up!" Leo exclaimed as he moved quickly to catch up, "It's tough being a leader."

The breeze was strong on top of the Brooklyn Bridge. Raph had to brace himself for every motion of air for fear he would fall into the river below. He was sure to stand close to Liz who seemed to have a more difficult time staying upright.

"Total blackout, just like last night," he muttered as his eyes moved to the city around them.

"You can actually see some stars," Liz replied, "You really can't get a view like this in the city."

"At least I came prepared this time," Donnie pulled out a pair of goggles from his bag. Mikey quickly snatched them from his hand and put them on.

"Awesome! Total turtle vision!"

"Night vision, actually," Donnie replied as he slipped them back off Mikey's head.

"How do we survey such a large area?" Leo asked.

"I came prepared for that too!" Donnie exclaimed as he pulled a chord from his shell. Like a pair of wings extending, a large canvas extended with a metal frame around him, "I've been dying to try this puppy!"

"You mean you haven't tested it yet?" Leo panicked.

"Dude, how are you supposed to test a flying machine in the sewers?"

"Gliding actually," Liz corrected as Donnie began taking a few steps back.

"We'll stay in touch via shell-cell. I've worked out all the theoretical dynamics," he launched and began to sprint towards the edge, "It's practically foolproof!" Raph and his siblings rushed to the edge as Donnie disappeared into the darkness.

"But is it Don proof?"

"Don?" Leo said into the shell-cell, "Don!"

"I'm okay, no problem. Uh-oh," Don replied through the phone, "Just forgot to compensate for the wind drag on my bo staff." Raph shook his head with a small smirk.

"Guys," the phone crackled, "I'm picking up something strange down on the river."

"What is it?" Leo asked.

"It looks like they're searching for something under the water."

"Who's searching?

"It's our ninja buddies again and they have the sword rigged up to some vibrational cannon," it cut out for a moment, "I'm over pier 16. I'm going in for a closer look."

"On our way," Leo replied as he moved to the chords holding the bridge up and began to run across them. Raph stayed behind his sister as they descended down. They heard Donnie cry out on the phone and stopped.

"Don? Don? What is it?"

"Mayday! Mayday! I'm going down!"

"Double time," Leo ordered. They all moved as fast as they dared and eventually made it back to solid ground.

"Don? Can you hear me? Say something bud!"

"Man!" the phone crackled, "That water stinks! And that's from a turtle that lives in the sewers." The four of them sighed with relief as they continued to run to his location. A loud splashing was the first sign that they were getting close.

"I've got a visual on the cannon," Leo stated, "I can only see two of them. But that just means the others are hiding." Raph could see the cannon too. It was larger than two school buses and bright blue lighting was coming out of the center. He could only guess that was where the sword was. His ears caught the soft pitter patter of feet and skillfully he dodged an attack from a man dressed in the ninja uniform.

"I hate it when he's right!" Mikey snapped as they found themselves quickly surrounded.

"Let's turtleize them!" the four of them shouted as they drew their weapons. It was like an arcade game; the more you pushed forward the more enemies you ran into. They just kept coming out of nowhere and soon the fight was taken onto an old wooden fishing boat. Leo moved quickly, dispatching two with a split kick and throwing one off the side. Donnie leaped onto the deck, his bo staff twirling overhead taking out three with one hit. Liz ran towards a rope hanging from the sails and launched herself over the side knocking two of the ninjas into the water with a hard kick. Raph quickly began climbing the ropes trying to gain a better hand when he spotted two ninja's high in the crow's nest. He saw their blade swing down and sever his ladder. Gravity took over as he began to fall. Flinging his sai out he managed to snag onto the mast and catch himself before he landed on the deck. A soft pop emitted from his shoulder and pain shot into his joint.

"Great," he muttered as he carefully dropped down after pulling his weapon out. His adversaries were there waiting for him with long chains and small scythes. They threw the chains and they flew towards him catching his wrist and legs. His balance suddenly disappeared and he fell over the railing, the chains digging into his skin.

"Don't ever say I don't cut you a break," Leo called as he swung down on a rope hitting the chains so they released, letting him fall to the floor below.

"It wasn't pretty but I'll take it," Raph replied.

"Avast ye scurvy sea dogs! Shiver me timbers! Blow me down!" Mikey laughed as the three ninjas in front of him backed him into a wall, "Okay about that blow me down part." He put his hands up as a white sail suddenly fell to the ground atop of them. Raph looked up to see his sister standing on a long pole with a large grin on her face.

"Thanks sis!"

"I got ya, matey!" she called down as she grabbed a rope and swung down. Raph watched her grace and elegance as she landed with precision and moved to where they had begun to gather.

"I think this teamwork effort gets a most improved," Leo smiled as he patted his sister's shoulder.

"School's not out yet," Donnie stated as he pointed back over to the cannon where a chopper flew close by, "That's one cool as shell chopper." The five of them watched as a large cable lowered to the middle of where the cannon was pointed and saw a seaweed and muddy object being hoisted up into it.

"What's up with barnacle Bill?" Mikey asked.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Liz replied as the chopper began to fly away, "Let's move!" They lurched forward and leaped back onto the docks headed straight for the cannon. There was a loud grinding sound and the splashing water got quieter before disappearing completely. The five of them split up and surrounded the platform that the cannon was on.

"Now boys," Leo stated as they arrived, "There's a small matter of some stolen property that we need to discuss." Raph moved to a side and watched the men back away from Leo and towards Donatello.

"Dudes," he said, "You really shouldn't be playing with dangerous toys." The men changed direction and headed towards him. He jumped up scaring them into another direction. Liz jumped up and they then ran into Mikey who simply growled. One of the men pulled out a small handheld weapon and began firing a laser at Mikey who ducked to avoid getting burned. Leo leaped from his side and knocked the man down. The laser didn't turn off and cut through the main controls on the cannon. The platform gave a hard lurch and Raph clung to the side with all he had. A loud alarm went off and the men began screaming.

"It's overloading! I can't control it!"

"Who cares? We're leaving!" Another chopper could be heard flying towards them. Raph leaped up onto the platform and when the chopper was close enough he leaped onto one of the railings along with the two men.

"Raph!" Liz screamed as the chopper began to fly away. Raph's fingers began to slip and he instantly regretted his actions. One of the two men across from him swung up and kicked his shell. His grip disappeared and he found himself freefalling towards the water. He landed with a hard splash that stung his arms and legs. He struggled to swim back to the surface and soon burst through the surface. When he looked back at the cannon it was now facing towards the city. He began to swim like mad towards the platform there was a sudden flash and the cannon began to spin in a complete circle. As it came around towards him the water around him splashed violently. There was another flash and the cannon was now permanently pointed right at him. The water suddenly pulled him under before he could get a breath. His vision darkened as he tried to fight his way back to the surface but he felt himself continuing to be dragged down.

Then as soon as it began the water's motion stopped and he was left in dark. He felt a hand under his arm and gasped for air when he broke the surface.

"I've got you," he heard as he took deep breaths to get himself right again.

"Liz?"

"It's alright Raph," she replied, "I've got you." Dragging him along in the water was obviously difficult for her as he was the heaviest of the five of them but with both their efforts they managed to make it back to the docks in one piece.

"Over here!" she called to the darkness. Soon the other three were pulling them to solid ground. Raph could see the sword in Donnie's hand as he coughed up what water he could from his lungs.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," Raph replied.

"Idiot," Liz muttered as she let out a hard cough, "That was stupid, you know!" Raph looked down unsure of what to say as Don helped him to his feet.

"Jumpin' in after me was stupid too."

"Someone had to make sure you didn't end up in Davy Jone's locker!"

"Uh, guys we'd better get going," Mikey said warily as a large bright spotlight appeared down an alleyway.

"Are you okay to walk?" Leo asked them.

"Yeah, let's get outta here."

It's crazy how long writing these takes. How many times you watch the episode over and over and over and over and over and over again. Your brain just fries! But anyways here's the next chapter I hope you enjoy and leave me some reviews, please. I'm trying to improve my writing so some tips would help a bunch!