-11-

Last Mission

Bebop hit the release button and popped open the drill module door, revealing the dark empty alleyway beyond. "Well, here we are. Time ta get ta woik." Bebop said as he stepped out onto the pavement. Rocksteady nodded resolutely as he strapped his hand blaster onto his belt and followed his companion out the door.

The two mutants crept as quietly as possible down the narrow alley, towards a large loading dock door on the back wall of the building, with a smaller human sized door set into the wall beside it. They had just reached the small flight of stairs leading up to the door when Rocksteady froze, his ears perking up vertically, like a dog's. "What's dat sound?" he whispered quietly. Bebop turned and opened his mouth to respond, but then paused as he picked up on the sound too. It was a low deep vibration, and it seemed to be getting closer. The mutants froze, listening intently. Ten seconds later, a second drill module burst out of the ground and came to rest a few feet back from theirs. The mutants looked at each other with confusion and approached the module wearily. The door slid open and a squadron of foot soldiers poured out the door and stood before them.

Bebop frowned at the new arrivals and crossed his arms in annoyance. "What are you bucket heads doin here?" he asked.

The lead foot soldier looked in the mutant's direction, its featureless purple mask and yellow eyes displaying no human response at all. "The master sent us." It spoke in a creepy electronic monotone. "We have been ordered to assist you." It explained.

Bebop grimaced in annoyance and spit to the side. "Don't da boss have any fait in us. We don't need no help." He stated grumpily.

Rocksteady understood how Bebop felt; he didn't really like the creepy foot ninja robots much either, especially since that time they got super smart and tried to revolt. But in this case he was actually relieved to have them along; it could only increase their chances of success. He smiled and turned to his friend. "Don't sweat it Bebop. Da important ting is just completing da mission witout messin up. Especially dis time."

Bebop looked at his friend and then nodded, his irritation melting away. "Yeah, yoir right. It's our last mission, so let's just get it done and overwit and move on." He turned and began to walk towards the door, but then stopped and turned around to glare at the foot robots again. "But you guys stay back and don't get in da way unless we need ya."

"Yes." The robot replied in the same creepy monotone.

Rocksteady turned to follow Bebop and the two climbed the short flight of stairs to the back door into the building. It took only a few seconds for Bebop to smash the lock and open the door. They didn't hear any alarms go off, so they quickly headed into the dark room beyond the doorway, followed by the foot ninja. They found themselves in a large storeroom, full of boxes and scatterings of junk and machinery. Bebop pulled his purple comm. device out of his pocket and turned it on, bringing up the blueprints of the building that Krang transmitted to their devices, along with a tracking program. "Accordin to Krang, dat computer ting should be in a safe somewhere on da second floor." Bebop whispered, pointing to the blinking dot on the screen. "We just gotta follow dis and we'll find it." He explained and Rocksteady nodded in agreement. The two mutants snuck across the dark room as quietly as possible and entered the door on the other side, leading into a long hallway with many doors spaced along the walls on either side. The mutants slunk down the hall, peeking through the windows at each door, watching for signs of security guards. The foot soldiers crept silently down the hall several feet behind them. Finally the group reached the door at the end of the hallway and exited out into the lobby of the building.

Bebop suddenly put his arm up in front of Rocksteady's chest and pushed him back into the hallway, just as a white cone of light passed across the floor in front of them. A lone security guard walked by the door, slowly patrolling around the wide lobby, heading towards the far side of the room beyond the reception desk. Rocksteady breathed a sigh of relief and looked at his friend gratefully. As soon as the guard turned his back to the door, the mutant Rhino crept out of the shadows as slowly and quietly as possible. As he closed in on the security guard Rocksteady balled his hand up into a fist and got ready. Just as he reached the guard his boots squeaked against the linoleum and the guard jumped and began to turn around. His heart skipping a beat, Rocksteady quickly swung his fist down and hit the guard on the back of the head. The man immediately crumpled to the floor in an unconscious heap.

Bebop jogged up behind Rocksteady looking worried. "Dat was close." He whispered.

"Tell me 'bout it." Rocksteady replied, letting out a sigh. He quickly bent down and grabbed the guard under the armpits, casting his eyes around the room for a possible hiding place. He quickly spotted a door marked "supplies" on the far wall. "Over dere." He said, motioning to the door with his head.

Bebop nodded and crossed the room quickly, opening the supply closet door as Rocksteady dragged the unconscious guard over. It was a bit of a tight squeeze but Rocksteady managed to drag the guard fully into the closest and lay him down on the ground. Both mutants pulled out coils of rope that they had attached to their belts and began tying the guard up. Rocksteady pulled the guard into a sitting position and tied his wrists and forearms behind his back, while Bebop tied his legs at the ankles and just above the knees. Finally, Bebop pulled a large bandana out of his back pocket and tied it over the guard's mouth, gagging him. Rocksteady gently laid the guard down on his side, and the two mutants exited the closet, closing the door behind them and locking it with one of the keys from the guard's key ring. "Dere…" Bebop said, rubbing his hands together in acknowledgment of a job well done. "Dat takes care of him. And dat Patrick joik tinks we hurt people." He continued, pleased with himself.

"Yeah…" Rocksteady replied, but he couldn't help feeling uncomfortable with what they'd just done. Sure, the guy would be alright in the end, someone would eventually come along to let him out, hopefully after the two of them were long gone. But had they really not hurt him? How much damage might that little "tap" Rocksteady gave him have done? What if he'd accidently given the poor guy a concussion or something? Rocksteady was suddenly painfully aware of just how hollow their defense of "not hurting anyone" really way. This was just all wrong!

Rocksteady shook his head and slapped his cheeks with his hands, trying to clear his thoughts. Bebop looked at his friend with sudden concern. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked softly, putting a hand on Rocksteady's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just hurry dis up and get out of here. The sooner we're finally done wit all dis, da bettah." Rocksteady said. He nodded his head and gathered his determination. He just had to push on. Once this final mission was over, they'd finally be done with this life for good. He'd just have to endure a few more unpleasant necessities and then it would finally be finished.

It took about five minutes but the mutants finally found the stairs leading up to the floors above. Keeping as quit as possible, Rocksteady and Bebop made their way slowly up the darkened steps towards the 2nd story, keeping an ear out for any sounds that would indicate more security guards. The foot ninja, of course, made no sound at all as they followed dutifully behind the two mutants. They reached the 2nd floor landing and paused to catch their breath a little as Bebop glanced at the tracker device again. After a moment, Bebop approached the landing door and slowly opened it, sticking his head through and peaking left and right to make sure the coast was clear. Convinced they were alone; Bebop opened the door fully and motioned for Rocksteady to follow him.

The two mutants stepped out into a short hallway with drab gray and white colored walls. To their left the hall opened up into a wider space with a network of cubicles set up in the middle, and several office doors on the wall beyond that. To the right the corridor ended in a single office door and then took a sharp left turn, continuing off beyond their sight. Rocksteady looked at Bebop with confusion. "So which way now?" he whispered.

Bebop glanced at the tracker again. "I tink dis way." He said, pointing to his left.

The mutants walked together into the open area and then immediately headed down a corridor to their right, leading into a narrow twisty passage lined with office doors on each side. Bebop now kept his attention on the screen of the tracker, following their progress as they continued towards their target, while Rocksteady followed behind, keeping alert for any out of place sounds or sights. After a few minutes they reached a large corner office with bigger fancier windows; the inside looked significantly swankier than any of the offices they had passed before. The plate on the front of it read "president" and then some guy's name underneath. "Looks like it's in dere." Bebop said, stopping in front of the large door.

Rocksteady studied the room through the window. "Yeah, guess dis must be da big wig's office."

Bebop reached out and jiggled the handle. It was locked. He grinned to himself and wrapped both hands around the handle. A moderate amount of enhanced mutant strength was all that was needed to snap the lock and open the door. Bebop held up the tracker and began moving it slowly around the room, trying to pinpoint exactly where the signal was coming from. The device began beeping louder and faster as it got closer to the large fancy desk on the far side of the room. Bebop grinned wider. "It's somewhere by da desk" he told Rocksteady.

Rocksteady tromped around behind the desk, shoving the large rolling chair out of his way, and knelt down to peer into the alcove underneath. "Bingo!" he suddenly shouted, raising his head as a big grin spread across his face. "Dere's a safe under here!"

"What kind?" Bebop asked as he headed around the corner of the desk to join the other mutant. "Combination or electric?"

"Um…" Rocksteady ducked down again, cramming his large bulk further underneath the desk as he tried to get a better look at the safe door in the darkness. "It's electronic. Got a big keypad and everting, right on da front." He reported back.

"Great! Dat makes it easier." Bebop replied. He dropped to his knees next to Rocksteady and pulled a long wire out of the back of his communicator. "Move over lunk-head, let me get in dere." He said.

Rocksteady pulled himself out of the desk alcove with some effort and move aside. "What do you mean easier?" he asked as Bebop moved past him into the alcove with the safe.

Bebop looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Don't you remember? Krang put a code crackin program in our communicators a while back, when we did dat bank job." He turned his attention back to the safe, attaching the wire to the side of the electronic lock as he spoke. "Dis will break da safe wide open in no time."

"Oh yeah…I forgot about dat." Rocksteady replied glumly, his brow furrowing with the sharp pain of regret accompanying the reminder of that particular incident.

Bebop punched a few buttons on the device and soon a cascade of scrolling numbers filled the screen, as the program began to hack into the safe's electronic systems. It only took about ten seconds before the scrolling numbers petered off and a glowing five digit code was all that remained on the screen. Bebop punched the code into the keypad on the safe and gave a whoop of victory as the machine beeped and the lock disengaged with a click. "Woiks everytime!" Bebop stated cheerfully as he pulled open the safe door and reached in. Seconds later he brought their prize out into the light; a small green computer board, no thinner than a piece of cardboard. Various patterns and lines were etched across the green plastic and the surface was studded with several black square computer chips and various odd protrusions. Overall it looked like a completely ordinary computer component. Bebop studied the board intently, turning it over in his hands. "Can't believe dis dinky ting is strong enough to help da Technodrome." He said.

Rocksteady growled impatiently. "Who cares if it can or not? Let's just get it back ta da boss!" he replied.

"Ok ok, just keep yoir voice down." Bebop replied, looking around nervously. "Dere could still be guards around we haven't seen yet."

"Sorry…" Rocksteady replied, though his anxious posture and expression didn't change at all.

Bebop smiled reassuringly and put his hand on Rocksteady's arm. "Chill dude, we got dis in da bag." He said, tucking the computer board into the belt-chain around his waist.

"I'll chill when we're out of here and back in da module." Rocksteady replied as he stood up, feeling his heart start to race in his chest. Sure, the hardest part was over, they had the computer board in their possession, but they still had to get out of here and back to the alley behind the building. Who knew what could still happen? Rocksteady took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "Almost done…" he thought to himself.

The mutants exited the office and began retracing their path back down the twisting hallway, still being careful to keep as quite as possible. As they continued on, Rocksteady caught himself nervously peering through every window they passed by, searching the dark rooms for signs of movement. Every tiny sound he heard caused him to jump slightly, and his heart was still pounding hard against his ribs. Everything had gone smoothly so far, but it was just at times like these when everything could suddenly go bad in an instant. Rocksteady tried to fight the acute sense of paranoia that was creeping over him, but it only grew stronger. This had been too easy. Something was going to happen, he was sure of it. As they walked, Rocksteady slowly reached down and pulled his laser blaster out of its holster, readying his trigger finger. He squeezed the grip of the gun, the weight of the weapon and the feel of the cold metal against his hand strangely comforting. He would be ready if things went bad. No matter what, this time they could not fail their mission!

A few minutes later Rocksteady caught sight of the corridor's end, leading back into the open cubicle area, and began to breathe a little easier. The two mutants picked up their pace and headed towards the door leading back to the stairwell. As they began to cross the open cubicle area, Rocksteady thought he heard something. "What's dat?" he asked. Bebop stopped and looked back at him with curiosity. Rocksteady ignored his friend's look at turned to his right, gazing across the room at the set of large windows that looked out onto the front of the building. Cupping his right hand against his ear, Rocksteady strained to identify the odd sound. It seemed to be coming closer.

Suddenly faint red and blue flashing lights began to reflect in the glass across the room, and the volume of the mysterious sound rose. Rocksteady's eyes widened in fear, and he turned to Bebop, feeling panicked. There was no mistaking what the sound was now. "Da cops are here!" Rocksteady exclaimed in horror. "What are we gonna do Bebop!?" he asked fearfully, hopping from one foot to the other.

A trickle of sweat ran down Bebop's face as he heard the police cars screeching to a stop in the parking lot outside. He used all his will power to keep as calm and collected as possible, for Rocksteady's sake. "Calm down pal, alls we gots ta do is get downstairs and out the back door before the police break in." Bebop explained with his best "I'm cool" voice. The mutant turned back towards the stairwell door and motioned for his companion. "Come on, let's make tracks."

Rocksteady nodded and followed Bebop, both of them running for the stairs now. But just as they were reaching the start of the corridor for the elevators and stairs, something flew out of the darkness straight at them. Bebop yelped in surprise, jumping back as the projectile embedded itself in the ground where his feet had been a moment before. At the same time, the room was suddenly illuminated bright as day as all the overhead lights on the floor went on at once. Rocksteady shielded his eyes from the sudden glare, and then felt his breath catch in his throat as his gaze fell on the object that had shot out of the dark at them. It was a three pronged sai.

"Going somewhere boys?" asked a sarcastic voice.

The mutants watched wide eyed as the four Ninja Turtles emerged from their hiding spots around the room; Raphael dropped from a half open ceiling panel a few feet in front of them, Michelangelo leapt over a cubicle wall to their right, and Donatello and Leonardo emerged from the small kitchen area behind them. In a matter of seconds the turtles had Shredder's mutants surrounded.

"Toitles!?" Bebop exclaimed with a snort. "What are yous guys doin here?"

Michelangelo smiled. "Just so happens that we got ourselves a juicy tip about this little heist you're pulling, amigos." He explained jovially.

"Guess I can't make fun of that silly hotline you set up anymore, Donatello." Raphael said, nodding towards the other turtle.

Donatello nodded. "I told you guys we'd get some legitimate information out of it someday."

Raphael rolled his eyes as he bent down to pull his sai out of the ground. "Yeah, it only took six months and one hundred crank calls though."

Bebop gritted his teeth and clenched his right fist in anger. "Dat Patrick joik really did call dem." He muttered angrily under his breath.

"Well, this time I'm glad we decided to follow up." Leonardo said, turning his stern gaze towards the Mutants. "If you two know what's good for you, you'll turn over what you stole and surrender peacefully." He declared heroically, pointing his drawn swords towards his enemy. "The police will have this whole building surrounded soon. Even if you could make it past us, you still can't escape."

Donatello nodded, raising his Bo staff into a defensive posture. "Yeah, we're bringing you goons to justice tonight, once and for all. You won't be escaping back to Shredder this time."

Rocksteady stared back and forth at the turtles surrounding them on both sides, feeling the blood in his veins start to boil. They were almost out! Just a few more minutes and they'd have been back in the drill module, returning to the Technodrome with their last mission completed successfully. And now this! Rocksteady felt all his hopes for the future crumbling into dust in an instant. And he'd actually thought these guys might help them? "You stinkin turtles…" the Rhino growled menacingly. The tone of his voice was enough to catch Leonardo and Michelangelo's notice and both felt a twinge of worry hit them as they glanced up at each other. Rocksteady took a step towards his enemies, ignoring their drawn weapons and battle stances. "You dweebs are ALWAYS gettin in our way! Why can't you just leave us alone for once!?" he shouted angrily. Bebop turned and looked at his friend, shocked by his sudden outburst.

Leonardo regained his composure and glared back at Rocksteady. "Of course we have to stop you. That's our job!" he shouted back, keeping his weapons trained

Raphael laughed. "Hey, you never know. We might leave you alone, if you ask us REAL nice." He quipped sarcastically.

Rocksteady clenched his fists and ground his teeth, feeling the emotions building inside him, to the bursting point. "We're so close…so close." He muttered softly, his whole body shaking slightly as tears began to well up in the corners of his eyes.

"Um…guys." Michelangelo piped in, sounding worried. "I think maybe there's something wrong with Rocksteady…"

Donatello and Leonardo watched Rocksteady closely, feeling a new sense of dread begin to creep over them. The mutant was definitely acting different. His whole body was trembling with emotion, and the expression on his face was more than just simple anger. They had never seen either of Shredder's goons this upset before. "Rocksteady, are you…crying?" Donatello asked in surprise, shocked that the words were even leaving his mouth.

Bebop put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Dude, yoir losin it." He said softly, trying to sooth Rocksteady's emotions. The Rhino jerked his shoulder away from Bebop and shot him a furious stare, before fixing his eyes back at the turtles.

Raphael smiled sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "Is the wittle baby rhino-man mad at us for ruining his fun?" the turtle asked, letting out another laugh.

Michelangelo glared sideways at his companion. "Raphael, shut up!" he hissed, his usual good humor completely gone. This situation was not going as planned.

Raphael rolled his eyes again and glanced sideways. "You want me to be nicer...to THEM? Give me a break, Michelangelo."

"I think you should listen, Raphael" Leonardo stated nervously.

"Not you too, fearless leader." Raphael replied in annoyance, before glaring back at Rocksteady. "Horn head just needs a little butt kicking, like always."

Rocksteady turned in the red Turtles' direction, clenching his hands into fists. "I am sick and tired of you green freaks!" he growled with fury, staring right into Raphael's eyes. The turtle opened his mouth, ready with another witty retort, and then the comeback died on his lips as he finally saw and comprehended the rage in Rocksteady's eyes. Rocksteady glared at his adversary with a stare hot enough to melt solid metal. "Dis was our last mission, and den we would be trough wit all dis!" he growled. Tears ran from the corners of his eyes down the side of his face and snout. "We were so close and then yous had to ruin EVERYTING!"

The four Turtles exchanged a worried look between them. "Last mission? What are you talking about?" Raphael asked, his sarcastic attitude completely gone. He took an involuntary step back, raising his hands defensively. "Hey, Rocksteady, buddy. It's all good, we…we can talk this over can't we? No need to go postal." He stuttered weakly, trying to smile.

Rocksteady felt his emotions snap like a twig. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" he bellowed with blind rage; letting out a guttural animal growl as he charged towards Raphael, laser pistol blasting. With ninja quick reflexes Raphael dodged two beams aimed at his head and brought his Sais up in front of him, deflecting two more blasts of light with the metal of his weapons. He flexed the muscles in his legs, preparing to leap over his attacker, but it was too late. Rocksteady cleared the space between them with shocking speed and lowered his head like a charging Rhino in the wild. Before Raphael could move, Rocksteady caught him square in the chest with the top of his skull. The turtle felt all the air in his lungs explode out in one painful woosh, and then Rocksteady swung his head up and to the right and Raphael went flying to the side, straight into Michelangelo. The two turtles hurtled through the air and smashed into the nearest cubicle, knocking the whole row of flimsy walls down like dominoes as they bounced up and landed several feet away, across the room near the windows. Rocksteady growled and turned to charge after them.

Leonardo and Donatello stood frozen, shocked expressions plastered on their faces. They could barely comprehend what they had just seen. "Did…that just really happen…?" Donatello stuttered. His normally sharp mind just couldn't seem to click. What was going on here?

Leonardo got himself under control first. "Snap out of it Donatello!" he yelled to his companion, before turning his attention to the other turtles. "Hang on, Raphael, Michelangelo! We're coming." He shouted, drawing his weapons.

Bebop stood frozen with just as much shock as the rest of the group. The rage he had just seen in Rocksteady scared him more than anything else he'd witnessed in a long while. He had to stop him before he did something REALLY bad, if it wasn't already too late. Bebop saw the blue and purple turtles begin to move in the corner of his eyes and his attention snapped back into focus. Things were finally getting dangerous and of course those useless foot robots had disappeared. He raised his hands to the sides of his mouth, like a makeshift bullhorn. "Hey, bucket heads. Now might be a good time ta help out!" he called, before taking off after Rocksteady. He had to get to his friend before the turtles could, or they might hurt him bad this time.

Seconds after the call, a swarm of purple clad foot ninja leapt out of the shadowy corridor the mutants had travelled down earlier, and more poured out of the nearby darkened offices, all drawing various weapons and blasters. The ninjas were on top of Leonardo and Donatello before they could even blink, slashing and punching and firing their guns. "NO! We don't have time for cannon fodder!" Leonardo yelled in frustration, as four foot bots jumped in to bare his way.

"Get out of my way!" shouted Donatello, smashing the head of one robot with the end of his Bo. He glared angrily across the room at Bebop's retreating back. "If you two hurt our friends, you're going to be sorry, Bebop!" he called out angrily.

"You and me both."Bebop muttered to himself as he rushed across the room.

Michelangelo and Raphael lay in a tangled heap underneath the large front windows of the room. They were bruised and dazed but surprisingly unhurt beyond that. Rocksteady approached the turtles slowly, feeling rage and frustration rolling inside him. Here now were two of the enemies that had caused him and Bebop so much grief and so many set-backs over the years. Yeah, they were bad guys, and incompetent, but if it weren't for the turtles…Rocksteady bared his teeth and thumbed the power setting on his blaster all the way up to maximum. After so many years he finally had two of them right where he wanted. He lowered the gun and took aim.

Michelangelo opened his eyes slowly and groaned; his head was pounding like a jack hammer and his whole body hurt. He pulled himself out from under Raphael and then spotted Rocksteady standing a few feet away. His eyes widened in fear and he shook his companion lightly. "Raphael, wake up."

Raphael groaned and opened his eyes. "Did you get the number on the truck that hit us?" he asked weakly.

"Dude, I think that truck is about to turn us into turtle soup." Michelangelo replied, motioning towards Rocksteady.

Raphael turned his head to look, his eyes widening as he saw the mutant and the laser blaster pointed right at them. "Hey, I always knew my mouth would be the end of me someday." He joked weakly.

Michelangelo put his arm protectively around the other turtle and looked about for something to throw or protect themselves with. Unfortunately there was nothing nearby, and Rocksteady was too far for his nunchuks to reach. Even if he threw them, the mutant could still shoot first. And he could see the other two turtles completely overwhelmed by attacking foot soldiers. They were on their own. Michelangelo swallowed hard as he realized, this might really be the end.

Rocksteady stared down at the terrified turtles and let his anger towards them burn. He began to tighten his finger on the trigger of the blaster.

Bebop pulled to a stop right behind the other mutant and surveyed the situation. He noticed the power setting on Rocksteady's blaster and a stab of panic went off inside him. The turtles would be vaporized if they were shot with that much power output. "Rocksteady, stop!" Bebop yelled. He began to reach out to grab his friend's arm, but then hesitated, afraid that his touch might cause Rocksteady to pull the trigger. "Don't do it…it aint woith it." He continued, trying to sound calm and soothing. Rocksteady continued to hold the gun on the turtles and did not reply. Raphael and Michelangelo looked back and forth between the two mutants, confused and scared. "Don't do it buddy, please." Bebop pleaded. "If you do dis, you'll just be provin dat Patrick geek right. Dis isn't us. It nevah has been." He chanced reaching out and putting one hand gently on Rocksteady's shoulder. The skin was damp with sweat, and he could feel his friend's heavy respiration, shaking his whole body. "Just lower da gun and let's blow dis place, alright pal?" he asked, smiling.

Rocksteady glanced over his shoulder at the calm expression of his friend's face and then back at the turtles. His sworn enemies. The ones that had ruined so many of their missions. Now lying helpless and scared right in front of him. Could he really do this? Rocksteady thought of the encounter in the park earlier that night. He thought of Tyler and Angie. Rocksteady shut his eyes hard, gritting his teeth as his whole body shook. "UUUGRWAAAAAH!" he shouted indistinctly in frustration as he suddenly raised his gun arm straight up and fired his laser into the ceiling three times. The two turtles stared at him with complete confusion on their faces. Rocksteady lowered the gun, thumbing the power level back down to stun as it went and opened his eyes, looking at the turtles. "I…can't do it after all." He said quietly, his body slumping as all the rage and tension drained out of him.

Bebop let out a huge sigh of relief and clapped Rocksteady on the shoulder. "Whew, don't scare me like dat pal. I almost had a heart attack dere." He said.

"Let's just get da heck outta here. Den we'll finally be done for good." Rocksteady responded. Bebop nodded and turned to go. Rocksteady began to turn as well and then he stopped, fixing his gaze on the turtles. They both gasped at what they saw in his eyes. Pain, hurt, and…regret? "…Sorry." he said, holding eye contact for a few seconds more, before turning to run after his companion.

Raphael turned and stared at Michelangelo. "Um…did we step into a mirror universe this morning or what?" he asked.

Michelangelo watched the two mutants with a serious look on his face. He'd always been the most empathetic and sensitive member of the group, and now his alarm bells were going off big time. "Raphael, we need to tell Leonardo and Donatello about this now. I get the feeling those two are in big trouble somehow, and I think I want to help."

Raphael nodded seriously. "You know, I think maybe your right this time." He replied as the two turtles climbed to their feet and ran to rejoin their companions.

Rocksteady and Bebop charged across the room towards the elevator corridor and the door to the stairs. To the left, Leonardo sliced another foot soldier in two and spotted the retreating mutants. "Oh no you don't! You're not getting away this time!" he shouted, flinging one of his katanas at them like a spear.

The two mutants reached the door to the stairs; Bebop's hand was on the handle, poised to turn it and open the path to their escape, when Rocksteady suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder of his vest. "Watch out!" he shouted as he pulled Bebop back and Leonardo's sword flew past him with a whoosh of air and embedded itself in the door next to the handle, slicing through the wood and the frame at just the perfect angle to stick it shut.

Bebop stared at the sword, still quivering from the impact, and let out a nervous sigh. "Dat was close! Tanks pal." He said.

"Don't mention it." Rocksteady replied, letting go of Bebop's vest and patting him on the shoulder.

"I said "YOU'R NOT GETTING AWAY!" shouted Leonardo again. Before the two mutants could do anything to react, the turtle charged and leapt over their heads, slashing downward at them with his remaining katana. The duo stumbled back from the attack and Leonardo landed in front of them; pulling his other katana out of the door with one swift backhand motion, the turtle let out a starling battle cry and leapt towards the two, slashing his blades. Rocksteady and Bebop retreated across the room, firing their lasers, which the turtle deftly deflected with his swords as he kept charging. Suddenly, to everyone's shock, Raphael and Michelangelo leapt in-between the mutant duo and Leonardo, causing the charging turtle to pull up. "What are you two doing!?"Asked Leonardo with confusion.

"We have to stop this fight, Leonardo." Michelangelo began, pleading with his eyes. "Can't you tell that something is up with those two? Have you ever seen either of them that upset before? I think we need to find out what's happening."

"I think Michelangelo's right, fearless leader. You didn't see what we just saw." Added Raphael.

Leonardo looked at his friends like they were crazy. "We can't compromise the mission for this, guys. Our #1 priority is to stop their crime and get back what they stole." He explained.

"I know, but…" Michelangelo began, looking distressed. Before he could continue his thought, more foot soldiers came pouring out of the office next door and set upon the four ninjas. There seemed to be no end to these things tonight.

Ignoring the argument between the turtles, simply glad for the brief distraction Raphael and Michelangelo provided, Rocksteady and Bebop dove behind an over-turned desk by the windows and paused to catch their breath. After a moment Rocksteady peered out around the edge of the desk and observed the ongoing battle. "Oh man, now how're we gonna get outta here." He exclaimed glumly.

Bebop positioned himself behind the desk and peaked over the top, blaster raised in preparation to fend off any attacks. "I don't know, just give me a minute ta tink." He replied as he watched the fight wearily. He glanced over his shoulder briefly, eyeing the large window behind them. "Hey, see how far it is ta da ground. Maybe we could jump from here." He said.

Rocksteady turned and looked out the window, down onto the front parking lot of the building. It really wasn't that far up after all, and there was even a line of large bushes lining the sidewalk right under the window, perfect for cushioning their fall. But the parking lot was bathed in the flashing red and blue lights of five police cars pulled into a loose semi-circle across the wide lot, and it looked like there were at least two dozen officers down there waiting for them. "Um…I don't tink goin out da window is an option." Rocksteady reported. As if to confirm this observation one jumpy looking officer looked up, and spotting the two mutants in the 2nd floor window, fired his gun. Rocksteady ducked as three bullets punched through the glass about three feet above his head. "Yeah, definitely not an option." Rocksteady repeated. He scanned the edges of the parking lot, assessing the level of danger outside. He noticed that there were crowds of civilians gathered around the wooden police sawhorses set up around the parameter of the parking lot. He shook his head briefly in disgust at the kind of people who would come to gawk at a crime scene like that. And then…

Rocksteady stood up so quickly that he nearly knocked Bebop over with his arm. "Hey, what's da big idea?" Bebop exclaimed, glancing between the turtles battling on the other side of the room and his friend. "Get back behind covah!" he demanded. Then he caught the look in Rocksteady's eyes and another knife of panic hit him. "Oh no, what now?" he asked himself silently.

Rocksteady stumbled back from the window, feeling numb all over. All thoughts of his surroundings and situation vanished from his mind; the sounds of the turtles fighting behind him, the sirens outside, everything became suddenly muted and unimportant. Rocksteady felt like his heart was about to explode. After everything that had happened that night, why did things have to keep getting worse!? What he just saw…what he saw… Rocksteady started breathing hard, nearly hyper-ventilating, and a cold sweat broke out on his body. Looking down on the crowds of on-lookers gathered outside, Rocksteady had just spotted Angie, Tara, and Patrick! The three humans were standing at the edge of the parking lot shoved in with the rest of the civilians, looking on intently. Rocksteady shook his head, trying to erase the image, trying to tell himself he was just seeing things, but it didn't work. He glanced out the window again and they were still there plain as day. He could barely believe it. Angie was here!? Why!?

Leonardo saw Rocksteady stand up abruptly and stumble out of cover, and at that moment decided it was time to attack. Slicing through the foot soldier in his way, Leonardo leapt over the smashed cubicle walls lying on the floor and ran towards the mutant.

Rocksteady felt his legs go to jelly and he nearly lost his footing. At that moment everything fell completely apart. Angie was HERE! She was going to see them! Everything Patrick had told her about them would be laid bare right before her eyes. She would see the -real- him; the thief, the villain, and then everything would truly be over. That couldn't happen, it just couldn't!

Leonardo approached the two mutants and leapt into the air, raising his swords as he prepared to bring them down on Rocksteady's head.

In that moment Rocksteady finally made a decision. Enough was enough! He turned towards the turtles and the foot soldiers, catching a glimpse of Leonardo as he did, and held his arms up in front of his chest, dropping his laser pistol to the ground. "STOP! I SURRENDER!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.