Chapter 21: Lone Turtle

A/N: So here's the next chapter in this tale. I'm just so happy to be getting this out and making progress on this story. Thanks to all of those who have read and reviewed thus far. Your kind words mean the world to me and are the fuel that keeps me going. With your help, you motivate me to continue this story to the end, and I can never thank you enough for it. I hope you enjoy this chapter, too.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot and nothing more.

Leonardo sat in his room, brooding about what they'd heard. Kirby had been injured in the explosion and was in critical condition. Don had managed to hack into the hospital's computers and found the file for Kirby. This alarmed the Turtles greatly, but there was nothing they could do for April's father right now. They had to wait to see if he'd pull through. But despite this, Leo was angry. This had gone on far enough. Robyn needed to be stopped, and he was going to be the one to finish her off. He knew he was taking a huge risk in not involving his brothers (not to mention invoking their wrath at being excluded), but this was the only way to end this.

The blue-clad Turtle waited until everyone had fallen asleep and snuck out of the Lair. He made his way to the surface without incident, and that relieved him. Once he was on one of the rooftops, he pondered what to do. He didn't know where Robyn was or what she had planned, but he figured that maybe just combing the city would give him something. He knew Robyn couldn't hide forever, and he was determined to find her and bring her to justice one way or another.

He started leaping across rooftops and scanning the streets, but there was no sign of Robyn or her accomplice. He was about to contemplate his next move when he was interrupted.

"Having fun on your little stroll, Leo?" a familiar voice asked.

Leo whirled around and was shocked to see his brothers standing behind him. How could he not have sensed them there?

"How did you know where I was?" he demanded.

"I installed a tracker in your shell," Don answered. "When it went off, I knew you were on the move, so I woke up the others and we tracked you here."

Leo was annoyed at Don's audacity. "Why did you put a tracker on me?" he asked.

"To make sure you didn't do anything stupid," Don replied.

Mikey laughed. "Leave it to Donnie to be one step ahead of you, bro."

Leo glared at them. "That's not the point," he said. "It was wrong of you to do that without me knowing, Donnie. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Yes, I should be, but I'm not," said the purple-clad Turtle.

"You should be ashamed for doing this alone, Leo," Raph added. "Why didn't you tell us you were going to find her?"

"Because I didn't want you involved," replied Leo. "This is something I have to do myself."

"Dude, what part of No Turtle Left Behind don't you understand?" Mikey asked him. "We're all in this together, bro."

"Don't quote some dumb Disney movie to me, Mikey," Leo said. "This is something I have to do on my own."

"No, you don't, Leo," Donnie reprimanded him. "We're brothers and we're a team. We always do things together no matter what the risks are. You don't have to do this alone."

"But I don't want you to get hurt," Leo insisted.

"And what will happen if you get killed, Leo?" Raph demanded. "Do you think Splinter will be happy knowing that his Golden Boy is gone for good? Do you think Miwa will be happy knowing that you risked your life and got yourself killed because you were too noble to ask for our help? I'm so sick of you tryin' to play the hero, Leo. You're not Captain Ryan, bro. And what if you didn't achieve your goal and got killed? Would it be worth it? Stop being selfish, Leo. Think about us for a change."

"I AM thinking about you!" Leo yelled. "I'm tired of Robyn taking over our lives! She needs to be stopped, Raph, and I'm going to do this on my own without your help! Now, go back to the Lair this instant!"

Raph crossed his arms over his plastron. "We're not goin' anywhere without you, bro," he said. Mikey and Donnie nodded.

"As your leader, I command you to go back to the Lair," Leo said.

"No," Raph said, giving his brother a stubborn glare.

"Either you leave or I'll make you leave," Leo threatened.

"Is that a challenge?" Raph taunted.

"Raph, don't make me fight you," begged Leo. "Just go, okay?"

"I'm not goin' anywhere," stated Raph.

"Then you leave me no choice," said Leo and drew out his swords. Raph drew out his sais, ready to fight his brother one on one while Don and Mikey looked on helplessly.

"Guys, don't do this," begged Donnie. "Surely we can work this out some other way."

"Yeah, like rock paper, scissors or something," Mikey added.

"There is no other way," declared Leo. "If Raph won't listen to my orders, then we need to fight. If I win, all of you have to leave with no arguments. If Raph wins, then I'll abandon the mission."

But before ether of them cold engage in battle, Mikey cried, "Guys, look over there!"

The other Turtles turned to where Mikey was pointing and spotted a figure dressed in black leaping across the rooftops.

"Is it a member of the Foot?" Raph asked.

"It doesn't look like one of them," Leo answered.

"Should we follow them?" Don asked.

"I think we should see where this person goes," Leo replied.

With no more arguments, the Turtles leapt after the figure, making sure to stay several paces behind the figure so that they wouldn't see the mutants coming. The figure never sensed them or cared about anyone following them as it continued on its journey across the rooftops. The Turtles were intrigued by this figure and wondered what it was doing in the city. The figure continued on its course until it neared a group of warehouses. The figure leaped down and disappeared around the corner of one of the warehouses.

"What do you think, Fearless?" Raph asked.

"We better check it out," Leo answered. He leaped down, and his brothers followed him to the entrance.

A/N: Yeah, this is a bit short, but it's the best I could do. So what's going to happen next, and who was that mysterious figure? You'll have to read on to find out. Feel free to leave a review and hae a shelltastic day.