AN: To the Guest: Thanks a lot for reviewing! You're right, Mikey hasn't really forgotten. :D

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Appointments

Leonardo landed on his feet in a last graceful arc and sheathed his katana, giving the signal for the end of the training session.

"It's time, guys."

Michelangelo threw up his arms and tossed his nunchucks before collapsing on his shell, arms and legs stretched out. He caught his weapons between his toes before they could fall on the floor.

"Finally! I thought this would never end."

For his brothers, the acting was obvious. He had enjoyed sparring with them as much as they had.

Donatello stretched his arms.

"I must say it went better than I thought."

Raphael grinned. "Once a ninja, always a ninja."

Michelangelo pointed an accusative finger at Raphael.

"You went easy on him," he complained.

If possible, Raphael's grin grew even wider.

"On you too, you know."

Michelangelo sighed like the drama turtle he had decided to be, and Leonardo smiled. For all the bittersweet memories that their old dojo brought back to him, it felt great to train with his brothers again. To his relief, their teamwork wasn't as rusty as it could have been - it was almost as if no time had passed at all, and they could still guess each other's moves in a heartbeat.

Of course, he would still take all the necessary precautions in the mission to come.

"Remember, we don't engage the enemy before we've had a chance to assess the situation."

"Unless we don't have a choice," Raphael inserted, a little too gleefully for Leo's taste.

"Unless I told you so," he corrected, looking his brother in the eye. "No rash decision tonight."

"What are you worried about?" Raphael swirled his sai. "I never make rash decisions."

On the ground, Michelangelo lifted a finger.

"Ha! And I don't like pizza."

Next to him, Donatello put his bō staff on his back. Its familiar weight made him smile. He might not have his usual equipment with him, but the old weapon had never let him down.

"I'm curious to see if I'm right," he said. "There is a one per cent chance that Slash won't be at the location I pointed."

"So ninety-nine per cent chances he will. That's more than good enough for me, Don." Leonardo had gambled their lives on much lower chances more than once. He turned to Michelangelo. "Whenever you're ready, Mike."

Michelangelo jumped on his feet and grinned.

"Let's do this."

%%%%%

Mondo looked down at Slash. The giant turtle was a slow climber. He resisted the urge to tease him - not everybody could be a nimble gecko able to use his hands to stick at the walls and windows.

Neither the smashing wind nor the cold of the night could bring his spirits down. Freedom! He could move up and down, left and right, without hitting the wall of a prison cell. He could fill his lungs with fresh air, air that he hadn't already breathed for hours.

He could stick out his tongue all he wanted, capture flies and savor them. Aaah, the taste of a fly! Only glow-worms could surpass it.

Mondo wasn't exactly sure what had happened - one moment he was talking to Michelangelo, his idol, and the next he was waking up next to Slash. His head hurt when he tried to remember.

Michelangelo must have brought him good luck. Mondo remembered that the turtle had promised him he would help him get out of his prison. Maybe he had been the one calling Slash?

It wasn't an entirely satisfying explanation - after all, Slash had almost killed him - but Mondo was convinced that his partner hadn't intended it. The policemen were wrong. Slash couldn't be the monster they had described - not when he had rescued him from prison again.

Raphael was another story. The gecko didn't know how to feel about him. Granted, he was a cop, but he also was Michelangelo's brother. Mondo knew Slash hated him - either because he had chosen the wrong side or because he kept getting in his way. He wondered if he could convince Slash to leave him in peace.

"We're almost there," Slash panted.

So far, the giant turtle had been rather silent. He had told Mondo that he had come back for him, and left it at that. Mondo hadn't pushed him. He would have time to ask him later - for now, he focused on the sheer pleasure of physical exercise.

Besides, he was going to meet the chief of their group - a mutant Slash hadn't said a lot about, except that he was not to be underestimated. Maybe Mondo would finally learn exactly what the mysterious activities of his partner were. He had only come with him once, the night he had met Michelangelo and the girl.

It was going to be awesome.

%%%%%

Bishop strode into Stockman's control room, eager to hear the news his scientist had hinted about in his call, a few minutes ago.

"Did you find them?"

Stockman slid, allowing him to better watch the screen.

"They've just left their lair."

"Where are they going?"

Stockman mimicked a shrug.

"I don't know. I can't spy them inside the lair, not without Donatello's knowledge."

"I don't pay you to tell me you can't spy." Stockman's tone was ice-cold.

"Considering that you've decided to deduce the price of your submarine from my salary, we can fairly say that I'm not paid anymore," Stockman retorted, more than a little salty. It wasn't the first time they had this conversation. "And you're still demanding the utmost secrecy, which means that my genius can't be acknowledged by the world."

"It will be one day," Bishop retorted dryly. "If you manage to give me these supersoldiers I've been asking for, instead of failing every time."

Stockman shook the tentacles of his robotic body to express his displeasure.

"I warned you about the risks," he accused. "You're the one who decided to keep going. If I was at liberty to take these decisions…"

"Which you're not." Bishop ignored Stockman's offended expression. "Can you tell me where they will exit the sewers?"

"Yes. I have sensors in the sewers for this exact purpose. Nothing too close from the lair, because…"

"Then we'll follow them," Stockman cut him off.

"We?" Stockman choked.

"This time, you're coming with me. I don't want you to miss all the fun." Bishop crossed his fingers under his chin. "I have a feeling we will find Slash tonight. Then we'll be able to resume our experiments on him."

"Do you ever learn?" Stockman muttered, more to himself than to Bishop. "No, of course not. It would be too good to be true."

%%%%%

Mondo looked up. Their boss, the chief of the Humans Are Too Entitled group, was nothing like he had expected. He wondered briefly if it was some sort of joke, but Slash was bowing to him with the greatest respect, and besides, his sense of humor had never been developed enough for pranks.

Mondo did his best to imitate his partner.

"So you're Mondo?"

"Yes, uh… Sir. It's an honor to meet you, Sir."

The mutant flew closer to take a better look at him. Mondo shivered. Now that he could see the details of his mutation, he wasn't tempted to laugh at him anymore. The bat wing, the horns at improbable places…

The mutant clapped his beak.

"I have kept an eye on you for some time now," he said, not unkind. "This tongue of yours… it's prodigious."

Mondo smiled, feeling more at ease. So this was someone that didn't consider his tongue a danger, but a prodigious appendix? He decided that he liked him.

"I have a special tongue, myself," the boss went on. Opening his beak, he stick it out. It was divided in several parts, each of them being like a tongue in itself, and was at least twenty times his size long. It looked a little like a flower, and the saliva on it was fuming.

Mondo's eyes widened. At his side, Slash took a few steps back.

"This is so cool!" The gecko smiled wildly. "You're one of a kind, dude, uh, Boss… or Sir?"

Slash inhaled sharply, but the mutant in front of him merely swallowed his tongue again, apparently pleased by his reaction.

"You may call me Pete," he offered. "I'm glad Slash was able to free you, boy." He gave what could only be interpreted as a threatening glance to the giant turtle.

"Yes, Boss," Slash answered. "But…" He hesitated. "I had to leave the turtles behind."

Mondo tilted his head. The turtles? What about them?

Their boss - Pete - flew away again, perching on a beam of the roof.

"I don't know where they are." Frustration was obvious in his tone. "They must be hiding in the sewers, like they used to. It's not a place I fit in."

Mondo nodded gravely. He could see why.

"What about the next part of our plan?" Slash asked. "Won't they try to interfere?"

The boss smoothed his feathers. "It's a certainty. They feel the need to protect humans, for a reason I can't quite grasp."

Mondo suddenly felt uneasy. What was that plan they were talking about?

Pete must have noticed it, because he turned his tiny head to him. "Humans don't care about us mutants," he whispered. "I was double-mutated. The first time gave me this tongue, and the second time its poison, along with my intelligence. In exchange for constant pain." His eyes became glassy. "As I've learned later, in both cases, one man was to blame for it."

"Bishop." Slash's whisper was full of hatred. "Mutants are but a means to an end for him."

"He's not the only one to think that way." Pete's tone was full of mourning. "I've watched them for years. They attack and kill each other, and not for food. They mistreat themselves. And mutants mean even less to them. We need to put an end to their supremacy… by killing them if necessary."

"Kill them?" Mondo took a step back. "Even those who… who did nothing to us?"

"Collateral damage, as they would put it themselves," Pete spat. "It won't keep me awake at night."

"But…but…" Mondo sputtered.

"Didn't they hurt you?" Pete cooed. "Didn't they imprison you, only because you were a mutant and away from your home? A home you were expelled from." He turned his voice to a mere whisper. "And the mutants helping them aren't any better. Didn't they imprison you, again, although you had just saved their lives? Didn't they muzzle you, even when they called you their friend?"

"No… I…" Mondo hung his head.

"You deserve better, boy. Way better."

%%%%%

"How much further?" Michelangelo complained. "We've been climbing for hours!"

"We've been climbing for twenty-two minutes. And according to my calculations, we still have at least ten minutes to go before reaching the end." Donatello looked down. "They chose a pretty high building."

The four turtles were holding onto bumps and lumps of the outside walls to make their way to the top, avoiding the glass areas and their lack of grips. Leonardo led the way, keeping an eye both on the upper part of the building to detect any potential threat and on his brothers. He was confident that the wind covered their voices, and thus let them talk.

"Does this mean we'll have to listen to Mike complaining for another ten minutes?" Raphael inquired. "If so, I might as well take action now."

"Where is your compassion, Raphie? I'm carrying a heavy weight. I'm tired."

Raphael stopped climbing for a second to raise an eye ridge at his brother.

"What are you carrying? Your nunchucks? I'm pretty sure Don's bō staff is heavier than them, and you don't hear him complaining."

"My shell, bro. I'm carrying my shell. It's weighing tons."

Donatello chuckled, and Raphael shook his head.

"I knew I should have kept quiet," he muttered.

"Hush!" Leonardo narrowed his eyes. They weren't quite at the top, but his senses were tingling, warning him that real danger began now.

"We should have taken the stairs. Or better, the elevator." Michelangelo whispered, too low for the others to hear.

Or so he thought. When Leonardo turned to glare at him, he offered him a sheepish smile. He could almost hear his brother explain again that there were humans in the building, and they didn't want to attract attention.

I do, he brooded over. Most of the time. But granted, maybe not tonight.

When they finally arrived at the top, Leonardo signaled them to stop. If they focused, they could almost hear the sounds of a conversation inside the highest level of the building - windows must be open. The building was shaped like an inverted V, and the top room was smaller than Michelangelo's flat.

Raphael immediately recognized Slash's voice and tried to restrain himself from jumping inside to pin his nemesis to the ground. Tonight was the night. He wouldn't let him threaten his city anymore. Why didn't Leonardo give them the signal to attack?

Donatello moved closer to Leonardo to look inside the room. There was no light, but the moon was almost full and he could discern two shapes discussing inside. One was a giant turtle and the other a slender form. Slash and Mondo?

Michelangelo tensed. He had recognized Mondo's voice. The gecko seemed upset, but it didn't sound like he was in immediate danger - more like he didn't approve of what he was hearing. What had his new friend gotten himself into?

Leonardo was listening intently. From his place, he could see Slash and Mondo discussing, apparently between themselves - but he had a feeling somebody was hidden in the shadows.

There was a rustling of feathers.

"Get them!" a voice shouted, coming from above.

"Inside!" Leonardo ordered, jumping through an opened window. He had unsheathed his katana before his feet touched the floor.

"I told you we might not have a choice." Raphael's eyes were gleaming.

"You!" Slash shouted. "This is too good to be true."

Raphael grabbed his sai, his teasing mood forgotten.

"It's payback time, Slash," he spat.

%%%%%

"Should we interfere?" Stockman asked. His drone was filming the scene at the top of the building in infrared light. They couldn't see the weapons, only the bodies; but from everyone's moves, it was clear that the fight was fierce.

Bishop crossed his hands under his chin. "No. We wait until the turtles deliver Slash to us, or they kill each other."

Stockman shrugged.

"As you wish. It's not as if I had nothing better to do with my time."

Bishop purposefully ignored him.

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"Don, Mikey!" Leonardo circled around Slash so the mutant was sandwiched between him and Raphael. "Cover us!" He dodged Slash's fist, taking notice of the hole it left in the wall. Better not to lower his guard.

Raphael launched an attack, only for Slash to roar and run at him. He jumped above him and grabbed a beam, balancing his legs to choose an appropriate landing point: Slash's shell. From there, he could easily attack Slash's head. Slash, however, decided to roll on the floor, and Raphael had to jump out of the way before he got crushed. Leonardo grabbed him by the arm to help him keep his balance, and Raphael used the momentum to swirl around his brother and kick Slash's shoulder. The mutant roared.

"See, Leo?" Raphael avoided Slash's fist and spun around to kick him in the leg, adrenaline rushing in his veins. "You can find nice fights here too!"

Leonardo didn't answer, focusing on their enemy.

Behind them, Michelangelo looked around. He could only see Mondo, watching the display with his mouth wide open and apparently not willing to fanboy for once. "Who are we looking for?"

"Whoever gave the alert," Donatello answered. His bō staff at the ready, he circled around the room to keep track of the windows. They were too many to his taste, and all open.

Michelangelo shrugged and imitated him. He chose a window and gave a it fast glance before moving to the next one. A low hiss was his only cue that something was coming through the previous window, and he jumped just in time out of the way of a… a…

"A tongue? That's disgusting!" Michelangelo shouted. It was covered with saliva, which fumed as it hit the floor and left tiny holes. The owner of said tongue remained safely outside, out of sight.

"It's acid-like!" Donatello ran to his brother's side and pinned the tongue to the ground. "Probably poisonous, too. Be careful!"

"No need to tell me twice, bro!"

"Behind you!" Leonardo shouted as he ran across the room to slice a second tongue in half, before going back where he had come from.

The tongue hissed and fumed before growing back. Leonardo swore.

"What's this thing?" Michelangelo decided that he was allowed to freak out a little. "Seriously, what's this thing?"

"His name is Pete," Mondo mumbled, obviously under shock.

"Pete? You're on first name terms with a bunch of tongues?" Michelangelo shook his head. "Dude, I'm not judging, but you have the weirdest company."

Donatello released the first tongue to hit the second, hard. It retreated while a pained cry was heard outside. But not for long.

"There is a third tongue!" Michelangelo shouted.

"And a fourth!" Donatello added.

Leonardo quickly assessed the situation. His brothers needed help.

"Raph."

Raphael ground his teeth. "Give me one more minute. I can finish him on my own."

Slash kicked him in the plastron, sending him against a table. Leonardo distracted his attention before he could seriously hurt him.

"Ew, ew, ew," Michelangelo spat as nunchucks and bō staff together hit the four tongues. So far, they had managed to avoid the saliva - but Leonardo knew it was only a matter of time.

The leader narrowed his eyes as a plan took shape in his mind. If they could kill two birds with one stone…

"Raph!" he shouted, pointing at Slash, then at the tongues, with his katana.

Raphael nodded and stood up, attacking Slash from the side. The giant turtle was mad enough not to pay attention to his surroundings apart from Raphael and Leonardo's presence, and he ran to him at high speed.

"Don, Mike!" Leonardo shouted. "Out of the way!"

"Easier said than do- oh, okay," Michelangelo answered.

Donatello used his bō staff as a support to jump above Slash, reaching for Raphael's hand to take him out of the way while Michelangelo plunged to the side. Slash collapsed with the tongues and crashed through the window with a harrowing cry.

"Slash!" Mondo shouted, hurrying after him.

The four turtles ran to the window.

Under the moon, Slash was falling with the four tongues and their owner, a small bird.

A pigeon, to be precise.

"A pigeon? That thing was a pigeon?" Michelangelo's voice was incredulous. "Leo! A pigeon tried to kill me!"

"No," Mondo whispered, already climbing down the building at high speed.

"We'll never catch him," Donatello stated. "His fingers are like suckers."

Below, the pigeon - Pete - disentangled his tongues from Slash's shell and swallowed them, an almost normal bird once again. He flew away, watching the scene at a safe distance.

Leonardo sheathed his weapons, pondering his choices. With all the noise and damage they had done, the humans below had probably taken cover in their offices.

"Unless we take the stairs. Let's go!"

Michelangelo put his nunchucks back in his belt. "Finally. I love this plan!"

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On street level, Bishop and Stockman watched in disbelief as Slash crashed a few meters from their vehicle.

"Does it count as turning in?" Stockman wondered.

Bishop was already standing up and running outside. Slash was unconscious but still breathing - good. He wanted him alive.

"Don't touch him!" a small voice shouted, trembling a little, and Bishop looked at the teenage gecko who had just tumbled down the building.

A few seconds later, the four turtles came out of the same building.

"I believe he's mine," Bishop said, raising an eyebrow at Leonardo. "We had an agreement."

Feeling disgusted, the leader nodded.

Mondo's eyes widened.

"You what?"

He turned to Michelangelo, who took a deep breath.

"Mondo…"

"No, you… you what?"

Slash stirred and opened an eye. Seeing Bishop, he tried to stand up, but he was too weak.

"I told you they couldn't be trusted," he whispered to Mondo.

"Secure him," Bishop ordered to Stockman, and soon enough a plier came out of the vehicle to grab Slash's shell.

"You can't!" Mondo was desperate. Why would the turtles - why would Michelangelo - hand Slash over to a man who clearly wasn't from the police?

Suddenly, four tongues attacked the plier and the vehicle, while a shower of poisonous saliva sprayed Bishop. The man watched his clothes begin to burn with an eyebrow raised. Then the tongues grabbed Slash's shell delicately and flew away with him a few feet before depositing him on the floor. Mondo hurried to his side.

"I think he's out of saliva," Donatello whispered. "Fascinating."

Bishop's vehicle landed in front of the turtles, preventing them from following.

Bishop, now reduced to his own robotic body - at least most of it - turned to them.

"It seems like you'll have to capture him again," he said with great dignity for someone looking as battered as he did.

"We kept our word," Leonardo replied calmly. "You're the one who lost him. When we find him again, we'll hand him over to the police."

Stockman chose that moment to get out of his vehicle.

"I knew I should have stayed in my lab," he complained. Then he looked at Bishop and put two robotic tentacles on his hips. "I don't have that many new bodies for you, you know," he stated.

Bishop glared at him before looking back at the turtles, only to observe that they had disappeared. He clenched what was left of his fists before relaxing.

"Maybe it's for the best," he whispered.

"Excuse me, what?" Stockman had already been in the process of repairing their car, but he stopped to look at his employer.

"There is a mutant I didn't know about in this city, and he looks very interesting indeed," Bishop stated.

He looked Stockman in the eye.

"I want the bird."

Stockman sighed.

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Author's Note: *hand on heart* Your Honor, that mutant exists in the 2003 cartoon! He has maybe fifteen seconds of screen time at the end of the Outbreak episode (season 4, episode 17). The name is 2012 cartoon inspired, though. *throws arms up* How could I have resisted?