Chapter 8! So, now that we have Donnie in here, let's bring the others in. If you see anything wrong with characterization, please tell me in reviews. Just, again, no flames please. So, let's see what's going on.

Just don't sue me. You don't wanna know what'll happen.


I sit in my bedroom, back in normal clothes, contemplating what just happened only about 15 minutes prior. I'm staring at my phone; Donnie said he'd contact me soon.

What in the world have I done? Even just talking to Donnie could get me marked as traitor; the fact that I've agreed to help him and his brothers has pretty much solidified that. If Master Shredder finds out, he'll make sure I'm dead.

But, at the same time, there is almost a…liberation to this. I'm starting to see just how corrupt Master Shredder's presence has made us. But, if he was really in charge this whole time, have we always been corrupt?

My phone goes off, an unregistered number popping on the screen. I pick it up. "Hello?"

"Cody?" Donnie's voice answers.

"Yep, it's me."

"Is he alone? Make sure he's alone," A different voice asks in the background. This one has a carrying quality that seems to naturally cry "leader".

"Yes, I'm alone," I respond back, and I hear the voice on the other end of the line say something, but I don't catch it.

"Hold on, I'm putting you on speaker," Donnie says, then there's a quiet beep. "You good?"

"Yep, I can hear ya loud and clear."

"Good, so listen to this," A new voice comes on, and I can hear the phone roughly changing hands and a slight cry of protest in the background from Donnie. "If you do anything that proves that we shouldn't trust you, I'm gonna get angry. And you won't like me when I'm angry."

"But, Raph," A bubbly voice says. I think this one's Michelangelo. "You're always angry!"

"I AM NOT ANGRY!" Raph yells back, and I suppress a chuckle as the phone on the other side again changes hands.

"So, you're this Cody person," The leader's voice is back.

"Yep, Cody Watts."

"Leonardo, or Leo for short," He says. "The angry one is Raphael, or Raph, and the uhh... loud is Michelangelo, or Mikey."

"Hey!" Mickey protests from the background. "So, you don't like Dogpound, right?"

I pause, wondering who he's talking about. "Dogpound is Chris Bradford," Donnie supplies.

"Uh, well, we're not exactly on good terms right now."

"I knew it! We're gonna be best friends!" Mikey shouts through the phone, almost to the point where I'm afraid the neighbors will hear.

"Okay, Mikey, let's not scare him off," Leo says, and I can hear him take the phone back. "So, as I was about to say, and don't take offence to this, but I'm not 100% sure about this."

"None taken."

"But, I do think we could help each other out. From what Donnie's told us, it sounds like the Foot Clan wasn't nearly as evil until the Shredder came."

"Yeah, but even I'm not sure. I mean, he's technically always been in charge of the entire Foot Clan. Chris just used to run the daily operations of the New York branch until Ma-the Shredder relocated here. And, ever since then and Chris' mutation, he's been less and less like his old self."

There's a pause on the line. "Are you sure about this?" Leo asks. "About helping us?"

"Yeah, you told me you've been with the Foot for a while," Donnie adds.

I think for a bit. Am I really sure about helping the turtles out?

Yes. I think about what Shredder put me through. I think about what he's done to the turtles. They're not the crazy killers; he is. He needs to be stopped.

"Yes, I am," I say, and I'm almost surprised by the amount of confidence in my voice. I can tell the turtles are too because it takes them a bit to respond.

"Okay then. You'll give us info on Foot Clan activities, be an intel source. We'll do some more of the heavy lifting," Leo says.

"Yes! That's my favorite part!" I hear Raph yell in the background.

"We can work to bring the Shredder down from the inside," Leo finishes.

"Sounds good," I say, then pause. "Why are Splinter and the Shredder enemies? I feel like my version of things may no longer be accurate."

There's a pause. "Master Splinter and Shredder used to be friends. But, Shredder grew jealous when Splinter married a girl named Tang Shen. There was a large fight and…Shredder killed his family," Leo says.

"Family?"

"They had a daughter," Leo says. There's a long pause, then the phone shuffles again.

"Then, Master Splinter came to New York and bought us at a pet shop, then he met some Kraang droids and we all got drenched in mutagen and he decided to raise us in the sewers!" Mikey says, and I can tell by the tone of his voice that he's trying to cheer everyone up.

"Wait, Kraang droids?" What are they talking about?

"The Kraang are aliens from another dimension. They're the ones who brought the mutagen to Earth that mutated us, Dogpound, and Xever," Donnie explains.

"What have I gotten myself into?" I ask aloud, and the guys laugh.

"Don't worry about the Kraang, unless Master Shredder finds out," Leo says.

"It might not be too long. He's curious as to how Chris and Xever were mutated."

"Well, just keep us updated," Leo says. "Now to tell Master Splinter about you…"

"Wait, you haven't done that yet?"

"Uh… no," Leo admits.

"Well, if he needs convincing, call me."

"Will do," Leo says. "Good bye," He says, and the others echo back.

"Bye," I respond, then hang up. Then it just hits me that I just had a phone conversation with my former enemies, who are also teenage mutant ninja turtles. "Today has been a strange one," I mutter as I save Donnie's number into my phone.


I slowly walk into the Foot Clan headquarters. It's been a week since I've been here, and I don't particularly want to relive what happened last time. I also know that I'm walking in here a traitor, but a part of me doesn't care.

As I change into my Foot Clan gear, I check my phone. Donnie had texted me yesterday that they had fought the Foot and won, so I was prepared for a more tense atmosphere.

As I walk to a training room, I notice someone new in a workroom. I backtrack and peer in. There's a young, African American man with a mild afro and a pink sweater hunched over a worktable. I walk in and see a metal robot with large, sharp jaws and two small legs. It almost looks like a mouse.

The man senses my presence because he jumps and looks at me in shock. "Woah! You startled me there! I'm still getting used to being around ninjas…"

I pull off my hood and introduce myself, and the man shakes my hand.

"Baxter Stockman, inventor extraordinaire!" He says, raising his arms wide.

"What's that?" I ask, indicating to the metal creature on the table.

"Oh, this is one of my Mobile Offensive Underground Search Excavation and Retrieval Sentries. Or M.O.U.S.E.R.S for short!" He says, a look of pride on his face. Something about the name seems familiar. His face falls slightly. "This is one of the few that survived the attack by those wretched turtles! But, I can rebuild them… Anyway, nice meeting you, but I have to get back to work."

"No problem… Baxter Stockman, right?" He nods in confirmation. "Good luck."

As I leave I hear him mutter "Finally! Someone got my name right!"

I duck into an empty hallway and pull out my phone and look up Donnie's text. Sure enough, it mentions something about the M.O.U.S.E.R.S. I pull up a text message and write back.

Baxter Stockman, guy who invented robots you fought last night, now working for Foot. Don't text until later tonight, at Foot HQ.

I send the message and head to training. I can tell by the stares I receive that everyone knows the circumstances of my absences. I don't see Dogpound, I mean, Chris or the Shredder during training, or at any point during the day.

It occurs to me then that I've started dropping the "Master" from the Shredder's name. I've gotta be careful not to vocalize that, as it might give me away.

Once I home, I check through my phone. There's a missed call from my doctor confirming when I get the stitches out, and a text from Donnie asking me to call him when I can.

"You're very own double agent speaking," I say when Donnie picks up the line, and he chuckles slightly.

"So, is the thing about Baxter Stockman true?" He asks.

"Yep, met the man and his M.O.U.S.E.R.S today."

"He's not giving up on those things? Leo and Raph aren't going to be happy about that…" He trails off, chuckling slightly.

"So, why did I need to call you?" I ask.

"Oh, yeah! We told Master Splinter about you and…He wants to meet you."

"He does? When?"

"Could tonight work?"

"Yeah, I'm open, but why?"

"He wants to meet you face-to-face. Apparently, that's the only way he'll trust you."

"Well, I don't exactly know how to get to your place…"

"Don't worry; we'll take care of it. Just meet us on your roof at one in the morning."