AN: The game is on. Who's going to win?

Nutella Swirl: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. :D Poor Raph. Everyone keeps telling him that he's pretty, but for some reason it doesn't make him happy.

Hawkfeather: Thank you so much! Yes, I liked the idea of Mikey using glitter glue on his crutches. But then, if that turtle had glitter glue, there was no way he would put it only on his crutches… How are they going to get out of this one? That's a good question. Leo is wondering the same right now. :D

Playing With Fire

Leonardo watched the collector in his hot-air balloon, the unconscious bodies of the disguised guests scattered everywhere in the inside garden, the circle of guards pointing weapons at him and his two brothers. The scene was surrealistic.

How are we going to get out of this one? He thought.

You won't. You can't. You're useless, a mean voice answered inside his head. Lame-O-Nardo.

This time, Leonardo felt angrier than saddened at the thought. His attention was required elsewhere right now. He had no time for introspection. Couldn't he get a break while he was busy confronting a dangerous enemy? His brothers' lives were at stake!

Shut up. I'm not giving up. This isn't worse than a sinking alien spaceship. Shut up!

Oddly enough, it worked. Although Leonardo knew that it was only temporary, he felt relieved. He refocused on the collector, who was speaking again.

"I don't mind the rat's absence," the collector went on. "I'll deal with him later. But I had really hoped that the fourth turtle would be there. How am I going to choose between the four of you now?"

Choose? What does he mean?

This couldn't be good. Leonardo felt Donatello and Raphael tense at his side. His eyes searched the crowd for any possible weaknesses.

"I guess I'll have to settle for one of you," Sir Hubert sighed. "Would you mind taking off your costumes, so I could take a closer look at you?"

"We're not merchandise!" Raphael choked. "Come here and fight me if you dare!"

The collector lowered his rifle and used a hand to hide his mouth while laughing. Or more accurately, braying.

"Miss Fairy, I'm a gentleman. I don't fight ladies."

Leonardo rolled his eyes. The man had just ordered to shoot darts at his guests. It hadn't bothered him that there were women amongst the targets, then.

But the leader wasn't going to complain. It was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

"Raph, take down his weapon," he whispered to his fuming brother. "Donnie, you and I shield Raph. Then we're escaping through the ceiling. On my count…three…two…one…Now!"

Another bray drowned out this last word, but Raphael and Donatello knew what to do.

Donatello and Leonardo's costumes were shielding their arms, legs and heads more effectively than Raphael's, which relied more on make-up. Leonardo began sending his ladybug's spots in wide circles to knock out as many guards as possible, while Donatello detached his hooves and sent them around them. The hooves exploded in clouds of smoke, efficiently masking the three turtles. Then Leonardo took off his wings and used them as a tent to shield them from the shower of darts coming their way.

At the same time, Raphael used his scarf to grab the collector's rifle and pulled it. The human realized too late what was happening. He let go of his weapon to avoid being pulled out of the basket and ran away.

"Ha!" Raphael shouted as the rifle clattered on the floor. "Much better!"

The usually red-clad turtle happily kissed the piece of cloth in his hands.

"I love this scarf!" He exclaimed.

"I'm going to repeat that to Mikey!" Donatello replied.

"Donnie, leave the rest of your costume here," Leonardo ordered, ignoring his brothers' antics. "Raph, take off your veils. You'll need complete freedom of movement to avoid the upper levels traps."

"Too bad," Donatello sighed while complying. "It was a cool costume."

A few seconds later, a purple-clad turtle with a horn in his belt and a red-clad one still grasping the rainbow-colored scarf were standing next to the once-again blue-clad Leonardo.

"I'm feeling like a turtle again," Raphael stated with great satisfaction, throwing at the same time the rifle still attached to the scarf over the hot-air balloon's basket. However, the rifle wasn't caught and fell again on the floor.

"Try again," Donatello advised.

"Thanks, genius," Raphael grunted.

His second try was a fail, and Raphael shook his head.

"How come Mikey always succeeds on his first try?"

"He has more training than you," Leonardo answered. "Plus he's a natural at clinging to things. Or people. Don't give up, we need to climb up that basket. And hold your breath."

His brothers looked at him with surprise, but quickly complied when they saw he was about to break the last remnants of his ladybug's disguise: the antennae.

As soon as Leonardo had done it, a foul smell spread, and the turtles heard cries of disgust.

It was high time, Leonardo thought. The guards had recovered from their earlier surprise and had been almost on them. Now they were choking on the floor. It seems that Donnie was right and this perfume is unbearable.

Luckily, Raphael's third try succeeded, and the three turtles used the scarf as a rope. They climbed up the basket and used a walkway to reach the upper level.

"That's how Sir Hubert escaped," Donatello pointed out.

Raphael coiled his improvised rope.

"Let's go after him."

"We don't know where he went," Leonardo objected. "And we need weapons. This guy is a collector, he's bound to have weapons somewhere. Donnie, can you detect any traps?"

Donatello took his unicorn horn and began tapping the wall with it. Suddenly, he turned it round and sank its sharp end into a wooden panel. They heard a click and a guillotine's blade went down a few feet from them.

"Yes," Donatello answered casually to his admiring brothers.

"That guy is mad," Raphael whispered. "How does he manage to avoid its own traps?"

"He must carry something that disables them," Donatello mused. "And the traps are probably connected to a control panel somewhere."

"Let's find it, then," Leonardo decided. "We still have to find and destroy every information Sir Hubert has about us. It looks like a good place to start. Now be quiet."

The three turtles began their progression, Donatello disabling the traps and Leonardo and Raphael checking the rooms.

"Paintings… Paintings… Sculptures… More paintings…" Raphael mumbled. "No weapons. Except if we knock that madman out with a piece of his art."

"These paintings are worth a fortune," Donatello answered, frowning. "They've been created by the greatest artists in this world. There is no way I'll let you destroy one of them."

Raphael rolled his eyes.

"Not even this one?" He said, pointing at a tableau. "See, the notice says it's for Raphael."

Donatello checked it, an eye bridge raised.

"It means it has been painted by Raphael, you moron. Your namesake. Unlike you, an amazing artist…"

"I'm an amazing martial artist. Do you want me to show you, Donnie?"

"Guys, focus," Leonardo interrupted his brothers before the situation could degenerate. "Donnie, traps. Raph, weapons, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Raphael muttered. "No need to push it, O Fearless Leader."

Leonardo almost started at the unexpected use of this surname.

Not now, Raph, he thought. Not again.

%%%%%

Finding the control room was taking more time than Donatello would have liked. Until then, his cleverly designed horn had allowed him to disable every trap, but there was no telling how long it would last. Hidden inside the sharp horn was a tiny chip working as a mini computer. The chip also sent waves which were amplified by the pointed design of the horn and disrupted electromagnetic signals. Considering he had had less than a day to design this little marvel, Donatello was extremely proud of himself. However, he knew that you couldn't always rely on technology. Besides, the guards would soon recover and come after them.

Next to him, Raphael was sulking. He could appreciate art too, what was Donnie implying? Of course, he would have preferred to beat Sir Hubert to a pulp, but the madman was nowhere in sight. How he would enjoy getting back at the man who had hurt his father and one of his brothers, and dared to threaten them! The collector was going to learn that you didn't mess with Raphael's family without the direst consequences.

Lost in his thoughts, Raphael didn't immediately realize that his brothers had stopped dead in their tracks. He raised his head and saw that Sir Hubert was grinning at them from the other end of the hallway.

"Still there, turtles? I must say I'm impressed. Not everyone can avoid my traps. And you're not even injured, unlike that filthy rat of yours!"

Raphael saw red and clenched his fists. Leonardo noticed it and quickly put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Wait, Raph! It's a trap, obviously!"

But Raphael would have none of it. He dismissed his brother's hand and ran at the collector, whose grin grew larger.

"You worry too much, Leo," Raphael retorted. "He's alone, and he's mine!"

"I've already disabled the traps in this section," Donatello whispered quickly. "At least I think so."

Leonardo nodded and ran after his brother. It was still a trap, the blue-clad leader was certain of it.

Raph, why do you never listen to me?

Raphael threw himself at the collector, and his triumphant expression became a bemused one when he went right through the human. He would have fallen in the deep hole full of pikes right behind if Leonardo hadn't caught hold of him.

"Uh," Raphael expressed.

"I told you it was a trap!" Leonardo exclaimed.

Raphael shrugged him off with a guilty expression.

"And now a well? With pikes? What is this place, a New York house or an Egyptian pyramid?" He grumbled to hide his embarrassment.

"It wasn't the true Sir Hubert, only his hologram!" Donatello exclaimed. "And a very convincing one. Guys, I think we're getting closer."

The purple-clad turtle hurried to the place where the hologram had stood, searching the walls.

"Yes! Now wait…"

Donatello tinkered with his horn for a few seconds.

"Almost… Almost… Argh, no!"

"Donnie, what's the matter?" Leonardo asked through gritted teeth.

He was trying hard to mask his disappointment. Once again, he had failed to inspire enough respect to be listened to in his brother, and once again it had almost ended up in disaster.

What a leader.

Donatello turned to his blue-clad brother.

"The hologram was mimicking Sir Hubert's moves. It was linked to the main system, and I almost managed to hack it!"

%%%%%

Comfortably seated in his study, the fat collector wiped the sweat from his wide forehead. It had been a close one. The purple one had almost managed to break through his defenses.

Sir Hubert had been watching the turtles' progression with interest, and from afar. Of course, he regretted that his cameras stopped working when the turtles came close to them, but he had still gathered enough information. Now they were getting too close to his den. It was time to make his choice.

The red turtle was powerfully built, but too easily manipulated. It wouldn't be fun in the long run.

On the contrary, the purple one seemed to be a genius of some sort. He was too dangerous to be kept alive. Not to mention that he was a little too skinny for the collector's taste.

It left the blue one. He acted like a leader of some sort. Playing with him would certainly be fun. Granted, Sir Hubert had always hated authority, no matter which form it took - except when he personified it, of course – but he doubted that the turtle would remain authoritarian when he would be the last one of his kind.

Yes, he would keep this one as a pet.

He hoped he wouldn't lose him like he had lost his first pet turtle, though. The poor thing. How had it happened, already? Ah yes. He had played too hard with it.

Grinning, the collector called his second-in-command.

"I've made my choice," he said happily. "Spare the blue one. Kill the others."