It was like looking at the world from between the bars of a tiny prison. Leatherhead could see his feet moving through the flotsam and jetsam of the sewers. He could hear the footfalls of the kraang droids behind him and Tiger Claw beside him. Unfortunately, he had memorized the way to the turtle's lair from just about anywhere in the city. It was taking them a while to make it through the twists and turns of the tunnels, but they would be there before long.
Leatherhead was hollow inside. Every moment he was caught in the prison of his own mind was pure hell. He fought against this, but to no avail. Whatever they had forced inside of him was too powerful to overcome. As he walked underneath the streets he could still see the light of the moon. That small part of him dared to hope the turtles were not home. He knew they patrolled the streets at night. Maybe they wouldn't be there so he wouldn't have to hurt them, and they wouldn't have to witness what he was being forced to do. Maybe the lair would be empty tonight.
Leatherhead would find that he was only partially correct. The turtles were gone, but Asha, April, Max, and Splinter were there. April decided with Karai, that it would be better to be in the lair 24/7 before they had to fight again. Asha and Max were there just to be near the gang, and for Asha to be aware of what the group's plans were. Max was hanging around trying to get to know Raphael, and succeeding a little. He started teaching her how to play the drums on the set he had hidden in his room. It was a perfect way for them to be close.
Asha had gone into Donnie's lab. He asked her to keep more vigilant eyes on the tunnels around the lair. He wanted to be sure of their continued safety there. When she first looked at the monitors she saw Leatherhead. That was strange because everyone had agreed that it would be too dangerous for him to visit the lair, in case he were ever followed. What she saw raised her hackles tremendously, as he had not so much been followed as he was being accompanied by Tiger Claw of all mutants, and a very large squad of translucent kraang droids. The turtles were gone and would be until close to dawn, not to mention they were on split patrols now so they could be anywhere in the city.
Asha immediately sent out a mass alert to them on the t-phones.
Lair under attack. Kraang, Leatherhead, Tiger Claw!
Asha rushed out of the lab to warn the others.
"Alright, I don't need you all to panic, but we're about to be under attack in less than five minutes," she said, trying to remain calm while she went to get Splinter. April and Maxine both looked at each other with shocked expressions. They got up from their seats, ready to defend the lair but not knowing what to do. Asha came back with Splinter who immediately retrieved his weapon and Asha's staff.
"April, both you and Maxine need to get out of here. Asha and I will deal with this intrusion," Splinter directed. Turning to Asha he spoke again.
"Have you warned my sons?" He asked. Asha nodded in the affirmative. Splinter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Normally he would have wanted them to stay out of harm's way, but from Asha's description he understood that just the couple of them could not ward off this attack.
Asha shifted and readied her weapon. She took a look at her t-phone GPS and saw that all the brothers were too far away to come in a hurry. She had an idea.
"Splinter, I'm sorry but I think we need a change of plans," she said almost apologetically for going against his orders. He listened attentively, open to any suggestions she may have.
"April, you need to take the Shell Raiser and pick them up. They're too scattered and far away to make it here. Let them know you're coming," she said. Without a word April made her way to the garage, and a few seconds later Asha could hear the engine come to life and the tires screech.
"Maxine, I'm sorry to have to ask this of you, but I need the wolf," she said looking at Maxine who promptly stripped her clothing and shifted. She could not speak while she was a werewolf, but Asha could see that Maxine had her back no matter what.
Donnie was with Raphael and Casey. All night they had tracked a small group of kraang droids back to Saki Tower. Donnie scolded himself for not putting that together sooner. Of course it would be Saki Tower. After blowing up the Brooklyn facility, it only made sense to move everything there. Without any available rooftops to hide on, he and Raph were relegated to the shadows of the gangways and any alleys they ran into. It really put their stealth skills to the test.
They were creeping closer to the skyscraper, across the street from it in fact, when their phones went off. Donnie read the message:
Lair under attack. Kraang, Leatherhead, Tiger Claw!
Donnie's eyes grew behind his glasses. Looking over at Raph he could see his brother having a similar reaction.
"Why would Leatherhead be attacking the lair, along with the kraang and Tiger Claw no less?" Donnie asked more to himself than his brother. Raph shrugged and grunted angrily. Suddenly they heard Casey's footsteps as he ran back to them after reading the message on his own phone.
"What're we gonna do?!" He asked, panting a little and waiting on what the turtles would say.
"There's only one thing we can do. We gotta go back," Raph said, as they all found the nearest manhole and descended into the sewers.
Leo, Mikey, and Karai were already below ground beating it back to the lair. It would be a long haul as they were almost halfway across the city, but they had no choice. Mikey was carrying Karai bridal style as he rode his skateboard. She didn't have the stamina to run at nearly a full sprint that whole distance.
Leonardo kept thinking of master Splinter. He thought about how his sensei had been suffering over the last six months or so with worsening arthritis. He was getting on in age, slower, not as agile, not as strong. Leo had seen the destructive force of Leatherhead, had witnessed himself the cunning killer instinct of Tiger Claw, and even though the droids were easily defeated they could be a force in large number. He felt his phone vibrate again and slowed down to read what it said:
It's April. Picking you up in the Shell Raiser, stay put!
How could he stay put? He had to keep moving but then getting a lift would be faster and he would make it there with strength to fight. He jogged to a stop.
"Mikey did you see the message?" Leo asked. Mikey shook his head.
"Couldn't get to my phone bro," he said, putting Karai down the moment he came to a stop.
"April says she's on her way to pick us up, and that we should stay put," Leo said, pacing back and forth with his hands on his hips. Karai reached out to touch his arm.
"Leo, we will make it there in time to help your family. I promise we will," she said trying to comfort him any way she could. He grasped her hand and held it firmly.
"I know you mean well, but you can't promise that Karai. We'll just have to have patience.
April zoomed through the streets. She was still picking up the signal and decided to get Leo and his group which were further away, and then swing back around to get Donnie and the rest of them. She didn't notice the gathering group of footbots following silently along the rooftops, running just as fast as she was driving. If she wasn't so shaken up, she maybe would have noticed some odd movement from her side mirrors, but she was upset. She had to get the guys and get back, quick, fast, and in a hurry. She made a reckless turn as cars honked furiously at her. She thanked the stars above there were no police around to pull her over.
Leatherhead came barreling through the entrance doing his famous rolling technique. Asha and Splinter deftly moved out of its vicious path, landing on either side of him. His large head swung from one side to another as if trying to decide who to rip apart first.
"Leatherhead, what's going on? Why're you doing this?!" Asha screamed. Leatherhead turned towards her, but did not seem to register what she said.
"It's no use lion, he's under the control of the kraang," Tiger Claw almost purred. Asha's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Leo spared your life due to his merciful nature. I have no such nature. You will die here tonight tiger," Asha growled. She was about to attack when simultaneously Leatherhead whipped his tail knocking her back, and Max jumped Tiger Claw biting and clawing frantically at him.
Splinter jumped onto the alligator's back hitting at the back of his head with the pommel of the sword. It was obvious that Splinter heard what Tiger Claw said and wished not to fatally wound the mutant, but although Asha also did not want to kill Leatherhead she feared it might not be avoidable. She certainly wasn't going to let him do the killing.
Asha jumped to Splinter's aid knowing that as great a fighter as the old rat was, he was no match for the strength of this mutant. Meanwhile Tiger Claw for all his fighting techniques was having a difficult time with Max. Her claws were as sharp and durable as his machete, and even though he was cutting her, her rapid healing made the injuries virtually of non-effect. Like Hollywood werewolf lore, Max only had a weakness for pure silver. Only a beheading could kill her in absence of it. It took every bit of strength he possessed not to be brought to his knees every time he blocked one of her blows. It was only due to kraang droid interference that Tiger Claw received any respite.
The droids began to shoot their laser guns. Maxine turned her attention towards them, relieved to see they were not flesh and blood, and feeling better about laying into them with all her might and ferocity. She had put down at least ten on her own before Tiger Claw attacked her from behind. Asha saw this, but couldn't do anything about it. She and Splinter were busy with Leatherhead, and not making any progress. They were only dodging and trying not to be mauled to death or ripped apart by either teeth or claw. Getting out of the way of that mouth was the biggest concern, but that didn't mean his other attacks could go unchecked. His tail was the second biggest issue, as he used it with expertise and great timing.
Splinter abandoned the non-lethal tactic quickly, and began to strike Leatherhead in earnest, but it made no difference. The sharp sword cut him, but not deeply enough to truly hurt him. It seemed only to make him angrier. Leatherhead ran backwards towards a wall in order to crush Splinter. Splinter jumped off of his back in time to avoid the wall, but Leatherhead whipped his tail and caught Splinter midair, sending him crashing to a far wall. Asha stared in horror, as Splinter did not move. She wasn't even sure he could withstand such a blow. Her horror intensified when she saw the mutant go towards Splinter, perhaps to make sure he was dead.
"LEATHERHEAD!" She screamed to him. That got his attention as he turned menacingly in her direction.
"I know you're not in control, but you leave me NO CHOICE!" Asha yelled with tears running down her furry face. Splinter couldn't be dead. He couldn't be.
"I'll kill you if I have to!" With that she ran to attack, her staff a spinning blur.
Please kill me, he thought to himself. He had no more control, and what's worse he feared he may have killed one of the few beings to ever show him kindness and mercy. Leatherhead didn't want to live with himself anymore. He hoped Asha would put him out of his misery.