My name is Leonardo.
Ever heard the phrase, 'anything that seems too good to be true usually is'? Well I'm living proof of that saying right now. I thought I had found an ally, another human that could be trusted with the secret of my family's existence.
But, as Master Splinter always says, not everything is as it seems. Raph warned me something like this might happen, and he's sure not gonna let me live it down anytime soon. That is, if I live through this at all.
...
In the Foot's sky rise headquarters, Shredder sat in his throne looking over Nakumo and Hun kneeling before him. In his hand was a surveillance picture of the turtles he was determined to destroy.
"There must be a fascinating story on how my old friend not only survived our last encounter, but also came to teach Ninjutsu to four mutant turtles." Shredder mused. "What is only more fascinating is how these creatures managed to elude you!"
"They got a lucky shot last time, that's all." Hun defended.
"Give us another chance Master." Nakumo requested. "Next time there will be no-"
"Silence!" Shredder cut off. "You had your chance to dispose of the turtles, and you failed miserably. I am putting this operation into more capable hands."
"Who?" Nakumo asked.
"Who do you think?" A young woman's voice snapped.
Nakumo and Hun turned to see a young woman, no doubt a teenager, wearing similar armor to the shredder, except without the sharp parts. She had short black hair, save for two long sections on either side of her face. She wore red eyeliner, and stood with an air of confidence that only a spunky teenager could have.
"Karai." Hun grumbled.
"Hun." Karai replied. "What happened to you? Did you lose a fight with a brick wall again?"
"Why you little-!"
"Hun!" Shredder yelled, silencing him again. "You and Nakumo will treat Karai with the utmost respect. She will be charged with bringing me the turtles."
"And I can already guarantee I'll do a better job than you have." Karai quipped.
"And why is that?" Nakumo asked.
"Simple." Karai replied. "They may be turtles, but their also teenage boys."
...
On the rooftops of the city, the turtles were racing across the rooftops.
"Wahoo!" Mikey yelled as they finished leaping to one rooftop. "We rock! Goodnight New York!"
After Mikey finished, several apartment windows lit up and called out that 'whoever is making all that racket should quiet down'.
"Man, do we rock or what?" Mikey asked.
"Yeah you just rocked half of New York out of bed." Raph retorted.
"Fun fact Mikey, when ninjas are out on patrol, they are supposed to be 'silent'." Leo informed.
"Sorry Leo." Mikey apologized. "Next time I'll celebrate quieter."
"Sounds good." Leo said. "Come on guys let's head back."
Before they could get far they heard what sounded like a scream coming from an alley. The followed it and saw a young woman being accosted by three rather large purple dragons.
"Three on one," Mikey observed. "That hardly seems fair."
"Yeah," Raph concurred. "What do you say we even the odds a bit?"
"I agree." Leo replied.
With that, the four turtles made their way down to the alley.
Down below, the woman kept backing away as the purple dragons came in closer.
"It's simple girl," one purple dragon told her. "Hand over the purse, and no pain will come to you."
"Come and get it you Neanderthal!" The girl snapped
This angered the Purple Dragons. They would have made a move were they not interrupted.
"Hey boys!" a voice called out. "I don't think your parents would be very happy about you hitting girls?"
The Purple Dragons turned to see the turtles on a fire-escape above them, seemingly ready to strike.
"Though I bet they never said anything about turtles." Mikey joked.
"It's the freaks!" one purple dragon shouted.
"Get em!" another one ordered.
The turtles then leapt down to the ground and engaged the Purple Dragons. Donnie kneed one dragon in the stomach as he ran up, and then kicked him in the head, causing him to fall in the trash.
Raph blocked one dragon's punch and delivered one of his own. Once the Purple Dragon regained his composure, he charged at Raph again. Just then Mikey landed in front of Raph and smacked the purple dragon with his nunchaku, causing the Purple Dragon to spin around and fall to the ground.
"Could've taken him." Raph griped.
"Yeesh, that's the thanks I get for saving your shell?" Mikey asked.
Leo meanwhile was just backing away from each strike the Purple Dragon dealt him. Finally, Leo threw a punch in the purple dragons face knocking him out.
"Whoa." the girl let out.
Leo turned to see her standing there awestruck by what transpired.
"That was amazing." She said. "Thank you so much!"
"Uh…" Leo tried to respond. "No problem."
"I think it best we vamoose." Donnie suggested.
"Agreed." Raph concurred.
Donnie, Mikey, and Raph made their way to the fire-escape and climbed up to the roof. Leo was just about to join them when the girl stopped him.
"Wait." She insisted. "You're just gonna leave?"
"Well...yeah," Leo answered nervously. "I mean jobs done. You're safe, their down, we fade into the night. It's kinda our thing."
"Can I at least get your name?" She asked.
"Uh...Leo." he answered. "Leonardo."
"Nice to meet you Leonardo. I'm Karai."
Leo was certainly shocked by this, but decided to make the best of it.
"Nice to meet you Karai." Leo replied.
With that he leapt onto the fire-escape and proceeded to join his brothers. Karai just stood there with a grin on her face.
...
Back at the lair, Leo was sitting in front of the TV watching another episode of Space-Heroes. In this episode, Captain Ryan was kissing some blue woman named Celestial.
"We shouldn't be doing this Ryan." Celestial objected pulling away. "It's against fleet protocol."
"Well Celestial, you don't get to be captain of the Dauntless without breaking a few rules." Ryan responded smugly.
"Perfect." Celestial voiced before pulling out a blaster. "Then you won't mind giving me the control codes."
"Celestial you're breaking my heart." Ryan admitted.
He then pulled out his own blaster and shot at her, disintegrating her and leaving nothing but the boots she was wearing.
"But my disintegrator works just fine." He chimed before looking at the boots and feeling melancholy. "Oh Celestial…"
"Boy, relationships are complicated." Leo commented.
"Girl trouble my son?" Splinter asked entering the room.
Leo went wide eyed and stood up in surprise.
"What?" Leo asked nervously turning around. "No of course not Sensei. What would make you think-"
"Raphael told me about the girl that you saved, and how grateful she was for your assistance."
Leo just stood there awestruck.
"Yeah… that."
"While I applaud your work out there today," He told him. "I advise you to be more cautious when dealing with this sort of thing."
"Hai Sensei." Leo responded.
Leo stood quiet for a moment. Splinter stroked his goatee in response.
"You were not thinking of seeing this girl again were you?" Splinter asked.
"Well…" Leo responded hesitantly. "There was just… something about her. Something different."
"Leonardo, I have warned you about humans before." Splinter reminded.
"I know," Leo acknowledged. "But we've been pretty lucky so far with April and Angel."
"And that is all it has been." Splinter challenged. "Besides, you have been wrong about others intentions."
"That was different." Leo defended. "I was angry then."
Splinter pondered this for a moment.
"I am not saying do not pursue this." Splinter told him, causing him to look surprised. "I am only saying be smart about it. You must use your instincts, but be careful you do not fall into the trap of believing something is true simply because you wish it to be so."
"So what are you saying?" Leo asked as Splinter left the room. "That I should trust my instincts, unless my instincts are wrong?"
"Precisely." Splinter confirmed.
Leo was just left alone with Splinter's words not sure what to think of it all.
...
Leo raced across the rooftops, the memory of the girl and Splinter's words racing through his mind.
"What am I gonna do?" Leo asked himself. "Should I see this girl again or just let this go? I mean, what are the chances of me running into her again?"
As Leo jumped onto another rooftop, he saw the last thing he expected to see walking the streets, Karai.
"Are you kidding me?" Leo asked out loud. "What are the odds?"
Leo paused for a moment as Karai continued walking.
"So you found her, now what?" He asked himself. "Should I just go over and talk to her? Master Splinter said to be smart about this."
Leo looked back up at Karai as she rounded a corner.
"Well," Leo finally decided. "No guts, no glory."
...
Karai continued walking down the street as Leo landed on a fire-escape in an alley not far from her. He finally mustered up the courage to speak to her.
"Uh… hey." he spoke up.
Karai stopped, seeming to hear this, and turned around to see Leo standing there.
"It's you!" she nearly shouted back.
Leo put his hands up in protest, as if he was trying to quiet her down. Karai finally realized what he meant.
"Sorry." she said in a lowered voice.
"It's cool." Leo replied. "I guess you're not use to meeting guys who spend their lives hiding in secret."
Karai chuckles at his remark.
"That's for sure." She answered. "So what brings you by?"
"Well I was hopping around town when I ran into you." He told her leaping down from the fire-escape. "And I thought I'd… well, come down and…. Honestly I didn't know what I was gonna do."
"Well I'm glad you decided to come down anyway." Karai admitted. "I wasn't sure I'd see you again after last night."
"Nice to feel wanted." Leo joked.
They both chuckled at that before the scene fell silent.
"Uh… think we can continue this conversation somewhere else?" Karai asked. "No offense but you're giving off a kinda creepy vibe just standing in the alley."
"Well it's kinda hard for me to walk down the street." Leo replied. Before an idea popped into his mind. "But I might have an alternative."
...
Within a few minutes, Leo made his way to the roof with Karai not far behind. Once Karai was close enough, Leo held out his hand for Karai to take hold of. He then pulled her up onto the roof.
"Well here we are." Leo announced gesturing to the city skyline.
Karai was awestruck by the beauty that stood before her.
"Amazing." she marveled.
"Yeah." Leo agreed. "I've been out here dozens of times, but it still blows me away."
"So… last night was something you deal with on a regular basis?" Karai asked.
"Pretty much." Leo answered. "Though we've only been on the surface for a month or two."
"Surface?" Karai questioned. "What you guys live in a sewer or something?"
Leo was caught off guard by how accurate her guess.
"I… uh…" Leo stuttered.
"Oh…" Karai realized. "I guess that was supposed to be a secret."
"Yeah…" Leo let out.
"Sorry."
"... It's ok. You didn't know."
"So…" Karai spoke trying to break the tension. "How about those other turtles you were with?"
"My brothers."
"Brothers?" Karai repeated. "That must be nice."
"It can be," Leo replied. "Though at other times it can also drive me nuts."
Karai chuckled.
"I sense some crazy stories." she remarked. "Spill."
"Well," Leo began. "First there's Donnie. He's brilliant, but he has a need to over explain even the smallest of things. Then there's Mikey. Great guy, but a major goofball. Sometimes I wonder if he's 'right in the head' if you know what I mean."
Karai laughed at this remark.
"What about the other guy?" Karai asked.
"Raph?" Leo clarified. "How would I describe him? Hot head. Maniac. Loose cannon. That's just to name a few."
"Real piece of work, isn't he?" Karai surmised.
"You have no idea." Leo replied. "How about you? Any siblings that drive you up the walls?"
"Nah. it's just me and my dad." Karai told him.
"Your dad? What's he like?" Leo asked.
"Kinda strict." Karai told him. "But he means well. Though I'll admit our sudden coming to New York was a bit much."
"Where are you from originally?"
"Tokyo." Karai answered. "Lived there most of my life, even though I was born here in New York."
"Really?" Leo said amazed. "Well, why are you back in town now?"
"Business, mainly." Karai replied. "My dad's the head of this big company, and a rival company is attempting to move in. So far, his subordinates have been unable to handle it, so he came to see to it himself. I'm kinda just along for the ride."
"Whoa. Must be pretty important." Leo guessed.
"Oh he is." Karai chuckled. "I have to make an appointment just to say hi to him on most days. He's so caught up in his work, I sometimes wonder if he has a life outside of his job."
"I'm sure he wants to spend time with you." Leo told her. "Some dads just get caught up in work."
Karai sighed.
"I know..." she admitted, "I'm sure yours probably does the same."
"Eh…. kinda." Leo answered. "His work kinda involves us. He's a… martial arts teacher."
Karai's eyes lit up.
"Really?" she asked. "So he taught you how to do all those ninja moves?"
"Yeah." he admitted. "Without him, we'd never survive out here."
Karai smiled.
"Sounds like he cares about you a lot. What about your mom? What's she like?"
"I don't have one."
Karai paused, her face falling a bit.
"I'm sorry." she told him. "I didn't know..."
"It's cool." he reassured. "Really."
"I don't have a mom either…. She was killed when I was a baby."
This caught Leo off guard.
"I… I'm sorry."
"My dad said an old friend of his betrayed him… A man he had considered his brother turned on him, killing my mom and nearly killing me. My dad managed to stop him for good, but…."
She seemed to fall deeper and deeper into a seed of hatred that had no doubt been growing for a very long time.
"I'm… sorry about that." Leo tried to comfort. "Do you want to talk about something else?"
Karai gave a small nod, taking a deep breath to calm herself.
"Well… I did kinda want to ask you something."
"Yeah? What?"
Karai blushed slightly.
"Can you… show me a few moves?"
"Uh… Yeah sure."
After a while Leo demonstrated a few moves he knew to Karai. After a while, he even tried to teach her a move or two. Unfortunately, an attempt at a simple kick nearly sent her off the roof. He was able to grab her just in time, but he accidentally pulled her a bit too close to his chest. The two just stood there for a minute before Karai pulled away and the two stood there silent for a few minutes.
"Uh…" Leo spoke up. "So… would you like to hang out with me again some time?"
Karai smiled, though her face was about as red as Raph's mask.
"I'd like that… I'd like that a lot."
"Great. Do you know where Mr. Murakami's is?"
Karai looked confused.
"Murakami?" she repeated.
"It's this Japanese noodle shop downtown." Leo told him. "Think you can find it?"
Karai gave a nod.
"I'm sure I can." she assured him. "When do you want to meet up?"
"Say… 8:00 tomorrow night?" Leo suggested.
Karai grinned.
"I'll be there."
"Great. See ya then."
Leo then ran towards the edge of the roof and leapt towards the next one, and kept running until he was out of Karai's view. Once that happened, Karai pulled out her phone, hitting the speed dial for her father.
"Karai." Shredder answered. "What have you to report?"
"Ready your sword. I'm about to go on my first date. Tomorrow night, Murakami's shop."
"I instructed you to track down Chung Li and the turtles." Shredder chastised. "Not fraternize with the enemy!"
"Oh relax." She told him. "Look at it this way. This date will be the perfect time to gain their trust. Once that happens, they'll lead me straight to their hideout, and to Chung Li. Besides, if all else fails, we can just grab Leonardo and make him tell us everything he knows before he becomes turtle soup."
Shredder paused for a second.
"Very well." Shredder relented. "This may prove beneficial to us after all. But I expect results."
"Come on, Dad." Karai countered. "Unlike a certain yes-man, a pompous brainiac, and a Hulk movie reject, I've never failed you."
...
Back at the lair, Leo and Raph were sparring with each other.
"So where were you earlier?" Raph asked.
"Just out." Leo answered swinging his sword at Raph.
"By yourself," Raph began to ask blocking the sword with his sai. "Or with that girl?"
"So what if I was?" Leo asked back.
"Don't you think it's a little funny that she seemed totally unphased by giant, mutant, ninja weapon wielding turtles?" Raph challenged shoving the sword away and delivering several sai strikes.
"We've encountered people cool with us before Raph." Leo countered blocking the sai strikes.
"Yeah, but April passed out the first time she met us." Raph replied. "Her dad didn't have time to react since we were saving his life, and Angel was a Purple Dragon."
Leo then moved in and shoved Raph into a wall.
"What?" he asked. "You think Karai is a Purple Dragon or something?"
"Maybe." Raph answered. "My point is, I don't think talking with this girl is a good idea."
"I haven't told her everything about us Raph," Leo told him. "I'm not a complete idiot."
Raph then shoved Leo off and shoved him against the wall this time.
"Then what happens when you let one of our secrets slip." Raph suggested.
"Look I got this under control." Leo told him before striking him getting him off. "Master Splinter said to be smart about this and that's what I'm gonna do."
"Personally I think the smart thing to do is to leave this alone." Raph challenged.
"Just let me handle this ok." Leo practically begged.
"...Fine." Raph finally relented. "But when this goes south, and it will, don't say I didn't warn ya."
With that, Raph left the dojo leaving Leo alone. He decided to dismiss Raph's objections. It was just one date. What's the worst that could happen?
...
The next night, Karai stood outside the noodle shop waiting for Leo to arrive. As she looked down at her watch, Leo landed right behind her.
"Hi." he greeted, causing Karai to jump in surprise.
"Don't scare me like that!" She gasped, punching the turtle on the arm. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry." he apologized. "Shall we?
Karai gave a nod, and then walked over to some kind of weird vending machine next to the shop. Leo raised an eyebrow at this.
"Don't remember that being there." Leo admitted.
"They have these back in Tokyo." Karai explained taking out a quarter. "You use these to order."
Karai then placed the quarter in the machine and pressed a button. A wooden token then came out the slot and Karai picked it up. Leo smiled at this and walked over to the machine, only to realize he lacked change.
"Oooooh." Leo let out.
"Everything ok?" Karai asked.
"I… don't really have change." Leo admitted.
Karai just rolled her eyes and handed Leo another quarter. He took it and placed it into the machine. He pressed the button he wanted and took the token as it came out. Then they walked into the shop. The smell made Karai's mouth water.
"Did I just walk through a portal back to Tokyo?"
"This place is pretty cool." Leo admitted.
"Leonardo?" Murakami asked. "Is that you?"
"It's me Mr. Murakami." Leo answered. "And I brought a friend."
"Really?" he asked.
"Yep." Karai answered. "My name's Karai."
"Nice to meet you." Murakami greeted.
Karai slid the wooden coin along the counter towards Mr. Murakami.
"I'm curious about your teriyaki chicken." she told him. "And from the heavenly smell, I'm sure it'll be good."
Murakami rubbed the token with his hand and smiled at this, nodding in response. Leo then slid his token forward. Murakami took it and rubbed it.
"Ah Pizza Gyoza." Murakami declared.
"Pizza Gyoza?" Karai asked. "Don't think I've never heard of that before."
"That's because Mr. Murakami invented it." Leo explained.
Karai raised an eyebrow.
"Well, maybe I'll need to steal a bite." she decided.
"You're welcome to try." He challenged.
"Ah, young love." Murakami mused.
Leo and Karai just rolled their eyes at this remark as they waited for their meals to be completed.
"So it seems the noodle guy knows you." Karai observed. "Anyone else in on this little secret? Or am I the only human in your little group?"
"There are probably one or two more."
"So where do I get my membership to the TMNT knowledge club?"
"Well it sort of happened by accident." Leo explained. "One of them we actually saved from an army of killer robots."
"Killer robots." Karai repeated. "Do you live in a cartoon or something?"
"It sure seems that way sometimes." Leo admitted.
"And what about the other? What'd you save them from? Godzilla?"
"No, that one… Well she just shared our views on gang activity in this city." Leo told her, thinking it wise not to give away all their secrets at once.
"She?" Karai asked. "So I have some competition."
"Nothing you have to worry about." Leo replied with a wink.
Finally Murakami came up with the food. Karai took a deep breath and grinned.
"Oh man, that smells great Murakami-san."
"Many thanks." Murakami replied. "I hope you enjoy it."
Karai dug into her chicken reveling in the taste. Then, she looked over at Leo, eying his Gyoza.
"So that's Pizza Gyoza."
"That it is." Leo answered.
Karai playfully snapped her chopsticks towards one of the pieces, and then snagged it, taking a bite. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh man… this is good!"
She finished off the piece of Gyoza, then she attempted to steal another piece, but Leo blocked her chopsticks with his own.
"Nice try." Leo taunted.
Karai smirked, and then attempted to slip around him. He was quick to block her again.
"You don't give up do you?" he asked.
"Never."
Her hand swiped around, grabbing a second one while Leo was preoccupied with her chopsticks.
"Besides, one thing I've learned is to keep your enemy so distracted that he doesn't see what's going on right under his nose."
She took a bite of the piece of Gyoza triumphantly. Leo just shook his head smiling.
"So, tell me more about your family. You never really went into detail about your dad."
"He's a really stand up guy." Leo told her. "Honorable, wise, and so kind. Though he did advise us to lead a… sheltered life to say the least. He only did it to protect us."
"I guess with the enemies Chung Li has made, it stands to reason that he'd keep his family hidden."
Leo just nodded as she spoke, until he suddenly realized something she said. Something she knew, something she couldn't have known.
"Yeah…" he replied coyly, "Funny, I don't remember ever telling you his name."
Karai froze for a moment, internally cursing herself. She attempted to recover.
"Yeah you did…. The other night…. Remember?"
"Did I?" Leo asked. "I'm pretty sure I would've remembered."
"I'm pretty sure you did." Karai attempted. "I mean, how else would I know that name?"
"I've been wondering that myself." Leo told her. "Most people believe that man is dead… though there is one who may have discovered his existence."
Karai sighed.
"Well, there goes plan A."
She jumped out of her seat, grabbing a dagger from her boot. She tried swinging it at him, but he was quick to dodge every swipe dealt to him until he backed into a wall. Karai drew back her dagger ready to stab. Just then, the bowl of teriyaki chicken was thrown in her face. Leo used this distraction to make a break for the door. However, as he tried to open it, he found it had been locked, no doubt by Karai for this exact reason.
"Shell." he cursed.
He then turned around to see Karai standing in front of him.
"So what happens now?" Leo asked.
"This." Karai answered.
She then took out a hand full of powder from her pocket, tossing it in the turtle's face. The blue turtle coughed and choked on it, falling to his knees.
"Nighty night." Karai taunted, giving him a small wave.
He barely managed to glare at her before finally passing out.
...
Back at the lair, Mikey was reading a comic book while Raph was wailing on a punching bag.
"Hey Raph, do you know where Leo is?" Mikey asked.
"Out on a date with that girl we rescued a few nights ago." Raph answered.
"Really?" Mikey asked. "Moving kinda fast don't ya think? I mean we only just met her."
"Yeah, 'that's' the issue with this." Raph replied sarcastically.
"What else would it be?" Mikey asked again.
"That she could be a spy or something." Raph responded.
"Oooooh." Mikey let out. "Want to spy on their date?"
Raph stopped punching for a minute to consider Mikey's idea.
"Eh ,why not?" Raph answered.
...
Up in the garage, Donnie was tinkering with the armored van they stole from the Kraang a while back. Suddenly, he was pulled out from under it by Raph and Mikey, much to his surprise.
"Hey Donnie." Mikey greeted.
"What do you two want?" Donnie asked. "Can't you see I'm working here?"
"We're gonna spy on Leo's date." Raph informed. "Wanna come?"
"Wait," Donnie spoke up. "Leo has a date?"
"Yup." Mikey confirmed.
"...I'm in."
...
Slowly, Leo regained consciousness. There a few things Leo took note of when he came to. One, he was in some kind of warehouse. Two, he was tied to a chair. How original. Three, Karai was nowhere to be seen.
"Karai!" Leo called out. "Show yourself!"
From the shadows, Karai emerged. However, she wasn't wearing the clothes she had during their date. Instead, she seemed to be wearing some sort of armor. It was similar to a samurai's armor on top of a kunoichi's robe. She even had a mask over her face and a sword on her belt.
"Look who's finally awake."
"Nice outfit." Leo commented.
"Thank you." she told him. "My dad had it made for me. Suits me, don't you think?"
"Oh yeah." Leo said. "You fit right in with the rest of the Foot."
Karai laughed.
"Fit right in? Oh Leo, you have no idea what you're dealing with."
"I think I have a pretty good idea." Leo answered back. "You work for the Foot. You were trying to get intel on me for the Shredder."
"Okay, you've got some idea." Karai admitted. "However, I'm not done extracting the information I need from you. In fact, I've only just begun."
"I'm not telling you anything!" Leo declared.
Karai chuckled.
"You will." she told him, drawing that same dagger from before. "You will."
...
Back at Murakami's, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey arrived at the shop to see Murakami lying on the floor. Mikey was the first to rush inside.
"Mr. Murakami!" Mikey yelled helping him up.
"What happened here?" Donnie asked.
"The girl Leonardo was with." Murakami answered. "She attacked him. I tried to stop her but…"
"It's ok Mr. Murakami." Mikey reassured. "You did the best you could."
"I knew that girl was trouble." Raph declared. "And now Leo's missing."
"Don't worry Raph. We'll find him." Donnie told him.
"How?" Mikey asked. "They're long gone."
"Well, after what happened with Raph and the Foot-Tech Ninjas, I installed microscopic tracking chips into all our shell cells." Donnie explained pulling out his shell cell. "For just such an occasion."
Donnie pushed a few buttons and a blip appeared on the screen.
"Looks like he's not too far." Donnie observed.
"Let's move." Raph told them.
...
"Let's try this one more time." Karai told Leo, leaning over him with her dagger. "Where is Chung Li?"
"... I'll never tell." he declared.
Karai just chuckled at his response.
"You are getting on my nerves." She told him. "If you give what I want, maybe I'll spare your siblings. They'll be prisoners at first, but maybe they can become soldiers after they prove their loyalty."
"Lady," a voice declared. "The only way we'd ever consider joining you if there was a lifetime supply of pizza involved."
Karai and Leo turned to see the other turtles standing in a broken window.
"And even then we'd have to think about it." Mikey finished.
"So Leo, how's the date going?" Raph asked.
"Raph," Leo began. "It's possible, I'm not saying it's true, but it's possible, I might owe you an apology."
Raph just chuckled as the others leapt down and drew their weapons. Mikey activated his Kusarigama setting and propelled the chain at a bookcase behind Karai.
"Nice aim." Karai noted sarcastically.
"Thanks." Mikey replied pulling on the chain.
Karai looked behind her to see the bookcase fall on top of her. Raph then ran towards Leo and cut him free.
"Come on guys, let's bail." Leo declared.
With that, the turtles made a beeline for the window they entered from and left. Karai pushed the bookcase off of her and got to her feet. Instead of being angry however, she just smiled as she pulled out a special device from her belt.
...
As the turtles ran through the sewers, a thought came to Leo's mind.
"Hold it guys!" Leo called out, causing the others to stop. "Something feels off about this."
"How?" Mikey asked.
"Doesn't it seem a little easy for us to get away from Karai?" Leo asked turning back to the tunnel.
Donnie noticed something on Leo's shell that he knew spelled trouble.
"And I think I know why." Donnie informed them.
He then took a small metal disk off of Leo's shell, twisting it in his fingers.
"Looks like a tracking device." Donnie observed as Leo turned around.
"She was gonna follow us to the lair." Raph surmised.
"We should destroy it." Donnie suggested.
"Wait." Leo spoke up. "I have another idea."
...
"The tracker's leading this way." Karai announced, leading her platoon of foot soldiers through the sewers.
They continued moving through the tunnels at great speed. While they were moving, something came up behind the back two and bashed their heads together knocking them out. Another was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled into a dark tunnel. A chain wrapped around another two and pulled them into the tunnel
Karai then came to a halt as the tracking signal stopped in front of some drainage junction.
"The tracker stops here." she informed her soldiers.
To her surprise, there was no reply to her declaration. She turned around, only to see the forces she came down with were nowhere to be found.
"Lose something?" a voice asked.
Karai turned around again to see the four turtles standing in front of her.
"This must be awkward for you." Leo joked.
"Not really." she told him, drawing her sword. "This time, there aren't any book cases you can drop on me."
"Then we'll do this the old fashioned way." Leo declared as the turtles drew their weapons.
"Booyakasha!" Mikey yelled as they charged toward her.
Karai blocked Leo's sword, then kicked Donnie in the face. As he lowered himself a bit, she shoved Leo away and jumped onto Donnie's back leaping over them and landing on the other side of them.
"Booyakasha?" Karai asked. "What does that even mean?"
"I have no idea, but it's fun to yell!" Mikey admitted as he extended his chain.
This time, Karai caught the chain, wrapped it around her leg and brought it down. This pulled Mikey towards him sending him to the ground. Raph then came at her delivering several sai strikes in her direction. She used her sword to block every one of them. She saw Donnie coming up from behind her out of the corner of her eye, and quickly ducked so his staff would hit Raph instead.
"Sorry." Donnie apologized as Raph hit the ground.
Karai then swept Donnie's feet knocking him over. As she got up, Leo came at her and the two locked blades. The two exchanged blow for blow, not letting the other gain any advantage.
"You're good." Leo admitted. "If Shredder sent you first, maybe he'd actually have us by now."
"I know." Karai agreed. "Sometime my dad can be one stubborn guy."
"Wait, Shredder is seriously your father?" Leo asked blocking another sword strike.
"Of course he is." She told him. "I can't believe you didn't catch that. Leader of a big company. Rival company hitting on their turf. Seriously, you think you'd have learned by now."
"I've learned a lot of things tonight." Leo admitted. "I've also learned to keep my enemy so distracted that they can't see what's going on right in front of them."
Karai became confused, wondering what he meant before realizing there was no sign of the turtles in the tunnel.
"Guys now!" Leo called out.
Donnie nodded and turned a valve. Suddenly, the sound of rushing water filled the tunnels. Leo took this as the cue to run. Karai then looked behind her to see a huge wave of water coming right at her.
"Oh cr-"
Before she could finish, the water swept her away. Leo dove out of the way and joined his brothers as the water gushed down the drain pipe, carrying Karai with it.
"So I guess there won't be a second date." Raph joked.
"Guess not." Leo replied, tossing the tracking device into the water.
...
Back at the lair, Leo was telling everyone what happened.
"I don't know what I was thinking." Leo told them. "I guess I liked the idea of meeting a human who genuinely accepted us and wasn't just roped into our little adventures. Plus I kinda… liked her."
Splinter stroked his chin upon hearing this.
"Leonardo I did warn you that this would not be so straightforward." Splinter told him. "And this Karai seems to be trained as a deadly kunoichi. And the kunoichi's greatest weapon is deception."
"Yeah, found that out the hard way." Leo lamented. "You were right Sensei. I was just believing what I wanted to."
"I would like to point out I knew something was off from the start." Raph voiced. "Just saying."
"Raphael!" Splinter called out before turning back to Leo. "Let us just take heart that you were able to discover the truth before it was too late."
"Yeah." Leo agreed. "Though next time we meet her, I am gonna have a few choice words."
"I'm afraid next time won't be for some time." Splinter told him in an all too serious voice.
This caught the attention of all four turtles.
"What do you mean, Sensei?" Donnie asked.
"Twice already you have encountered the Shredder's forces." Splinter answered. "And twice, one of you has been captured in attempt to get to me."
"Yeah but Sensei, next time we'll be ready." Raph told him.
"Indeed, for you will stay down here until you are!" Splinter practically yelled. "From now on, no patrol, no games, no rest! There is only training!"
None of the turtles were happy about this new development, but they wouldn't dare challenge Splinter on it.
"Starting now!"
...
Across town at the Shredder's sky rise headquarters, another Master was displeased about his student's performance.
"How great a challenge can these turtles pose that my own daughter can't even defeat them?!" Shredder chastised.
"Father, forgive me." Karai pleaded. "I… I fear I underestimated them."
"So much for doing a better job." Hun joked as he and Nakumo stood off to the side.
Karai just glared at him.
"I do not tolerate excuses!" Shredder yelled, regaining Karai's attention.
"Just give me another crack at them." She requested. "I promise I won't fail you again."
Shredder paused for a while, creating tension for everyone in the room.
"No you won't" he finally answered.
"Father?" she asked confused.
"Time after time I have sent my subordinates to finish my ancient enemy. And time after time they fail me."
"But-" she tried to speak.
"No!" he interrupted rising from his throne. "I will not send you out again only for you to return with excuses. It is time I handle these turtles myself."
