Hey there. Donatello here. And as of today, our lives have gone to shell. It started out pretty good with the four of us still celebrating the defeat of the Kraang and Shredder, much to Master Splinter's disappointment. However, just as he predicted, that peace didn't last. The Kraang were soon back and working with mutagen again. We tried to stop them, but we accidentally let loose dozens of canisters of mutagen across the city. One of these canisters hit Kirby O'Neil, turning him into a mutant bat. Needless to say, April hates our guts, but that wasn't even the worst part of the evening. When we got back home, we found out that the Foot had made a surprise visit, and Splinter was nowhere to be found.

Suffice to say, today has not been a good day.

...

The turtles were distraught and shaken by the state of their situation. Their lair had been invaded and there was no sign of their master. They all dispersed throughout the lair in an attempt to find him. Donnie went towards his lab, absolutely horrified by the sheer amount of damage that had been caused. Unfortunately, that was all he'd found.

"Nothing in the lab." Donnie reported.

Leo had taken the dojo, having to watch his step to avoid the splintering dividers and torn apart mats that littered the ground.

"Nothing in the dojo." Leo stated.

Mikey went towards Master Splinter's bedroom, having to pry the doors open with just about all his strength. That room had probably received the most amount of damage out of all the rooms. Sword marks had destroyed just about every wall, every piece of furniture, and had left almost nothing untouched. Mikey reached down, sifting through some of the debris to find a broken picture frame containing the only picture Splinter had left of Master Yoshi and his family.

"No luck with his room either." Mikey shared.

The turtles all regrouped, Mikey clutching that picture so tightly that his knuckles were white. Raph was also holding something, much to everyone's shock.

"I found something," Raph announced, though his voice was thick with rage and disgust. "But it ain't good."

Raph then held up a broken Mouser, much to the turtles despair.

"Is that a…" Mikey started to ask.

"Mouser." Raph completed tossing the thing on the ground. "Must have been how they found this place."

"Oh man." Mikey let out. "This is bad. What if they-?"

"Let's not jump to any conclusions yet." Leo stepped in. "Right now, and until we can prove otherwise, he's alive and awaiting rescue."

"Then let's stop standing around like a bunch of sissies and go find him!" Raph exclaimed.

Mikey then gulped, his eyes locked on the front door.

"Umm, that's all well and good Raph, but who's gonna rescue us?!"

The other turtles turned to see hordes of Foot Ninja standing at the entrance.

"Bad timing scum." Raph told them drawing his sai. "Real bad."

With that, he charged towards the enemy ninjas. The other turtles drew their weapons and followed suit.

As one ninja tried bringing his sword down on Raph, Raph blocked it with his sai and gave him a kick to the chest. He then struck another ninja in the head with the blunt end of one sai, and kicked another ninja in the chest. As that ninja hunched over, Raph brought both his sai up and brought them down on his head.

Leo kept on the defensive a bit as one ninja kept swinging his swords at him. Leo however, just kept blocking the strikes with his own swords. Finally, Leo gave a swift kick to the ninja's chest, sending him flying across the room.

"Guys!" Leo called out. "One of these guys must know where they're holding Splinter! So don't knock them all out!"

Mikey just kept ducking and dodging one ninja's attacks while listening to his brothers instructions.

"I doubt that'll be a problem Leo!" Mikey called back punching the ninja in the face.

Mikey then spun his nunchucks a bit before charging at several ninja's and smacking them away one after another. Off to the side, one ninja swung a kusarigama chain overhead and threw it at Mikey, wrapping around his arm. The ninja pulled on the chain, causing Mikey to fall to the ground. As Mikey regained his sense, three other ninjas stood over him, swords at the ready. Thinking fast, Mikey got to his feet, still crouched down, and pulled on the chain, pulling the ninja over to him and taking out two of the three ninjas. Mikey then quickly sprang up, upper cutting the ninja in the jaw and taking him out.

...

Donnie meanwhile had just taken out one ninja with his staff when another one began throwing several shuriken at him. Donnie held up his staff to deflect them all before leaping over to him swing his staff as he did so. As Donnie landed on the ground, another ninja came up and kicked him into his lab. As Donnie landed on the ground, he quickly rolled onto his shell and onto his feet as more ninja's entered.

"Come on guys, haven't you wrecked the place enough already?" Donnie asked.

...

With Leo, the fight spilled into the dojo. The already shredded mats and the splinters everywhere made the battle more treacherous than it already was. One ninja tried striking him with a staff, but Leo just ducked under every blow before slicing it in half and punching him in the face. Thinking fast, Leo brought his swords up blocking a sword strike behind him. Leo groaned under the strain the ninja was putting on him. He then pulled the swords out of the way and leaned back, causing the ninja to flip over onto the ground. Leo then delivered a quick kick to the head taking him out.

...

Raph meanwhile was holding nothing back on the Foot. He threw one ninja into a wall, bashed two ninja's heads together, and head butted another without missing a beat. He then grabbed one ninja's arm and flipped him onto the ground before kicking him in the stomach.

"Who else wants some?" Raph asked through his teeth.

...

Mikey's fight carried him into the kitchen. His back was against the fridge as one ninja came up to him and thrusted his sword forward. Mikey quickly ducked out of the way as the sword impaled the fridge door. Mikey quickly opened the fridge disarming the ninja before striking him with his nunchaku. As Mikey got up, he glanced inside the fridge and saw some leftover pizza. He quickly grabbed it and started eating it as more ninja tried attacking him. Mikey then leapt up onto the counter and started throwing pots and pans at the oncoming Foot ninja with the slice of pizza still in his mouth. One ninja leapt onto the counter with Mikey and tried slicing him with his sword. Mikey just barely avoided the swipe, but it cut off the slice of pizza, making it fall to the ground. Mikey looked down at the fallen pizza before turning back to the ninja.

"Not cool bro." Mikey told him before tackling him to the ground.

...

Leo was tackled out of the dojo by several Foot ninja. He tried pulling himself free from the ninjas grasp, but to very little avail.

"Guys, there's too many of them!" Leo called out. "We need to get out of here!"

Leo finally pulled a fist free and punched out each of ninja pinning him down.

"Are you out of your shell?" Raph asked punching out another ninja. "We don't run from a fight! Especially when it's in our own home!"

"We don't have a choice!" Leo exclaimed. "Get moving!"

Reluctantly, Raph made his way for the exit. Leo and Mikey followed suit. Donnie bolted out of the lab and joined up with his brothers.

...

April's van sped down the nearly deserted streets. She was barely paying attention to the road, her eyes fixated on the skies, searching for even a trace of her mutated dad. So far, she hadn't found anything, and it was beginning to worry her.

"Come on Dad..." she muttered, "Where are you?"

...

Back in the sewers, the turtles were running for their lives to try and escape the pursuing Foot Ninjas.

"So now we're running." Raph spoke up. "Anyone have a plan beyond that?"

"I'll let you know when I've got one." Leo told him.

"Uh guys," Mikey said. "We've got company!"

The turtles looked behind them to see the Foot Ninja still on their collective tails.

"Can't we just smoke bomb away?" Raph asked.

"I didn't bring any." Mikey admitted.

"Alright plan B." Leo told them. "Raph and I will hold off the Foot. Donnie and Mikey, head topside and get the Battle Shell."

"Stand and fight?" Raph questioned as he stopped to draw his sai again. "Now you're talking."

Leo stopped alongside him pulling out a sword as Donnie and Mikey continued running. Raph wasted no time tackling several Foot Ninja as Leo deflected one sword strike after another.

...

Mikey slowly lifted the manhole cover enough for his eyes to peer out. He looked around to see any sign of the Foot, but there was none to be found.

"Alright, the coast is clear." he reported.

Mikey then climbed up to the surface with Donnie following close behind. They came up to the edge of an alley and could see the warehouse from across the street.

"Looks safe." Mikey commented.

"True, though appearances can be deceiving." Donnie cautioned.

The two turtles inched their way along the wall, sticking to the shadows as they did so. They then sprinted across the street and came alongside the warehouse. Donnie

peered inside to see half a dozen Foot Ninja guarding the inside.

"What's up D?" Mikey asked.

"Foot goons inside." Donnie reported. "And I don't think we can fight them all."

"Now what?" Mikey asked.

"Let's rendezvous with the others." Donnie told him. "Hopefully they're having better luck."

...

Back down below, Leo and Raph were shell to shell, surrounded on all sides by the Foot.

"Yeesh." Raph let out. "How many Foot goons did Shredder have working for him?"

"More than you can count Raph." Leo replied blocking another sword strike.

Raph and Leo continued deflecting attacks and returning with one punch and kick after another, but it didn't seem to put a dent in the number of Foot forces surrounding them. The endless combat was starting to get them.

"You… doing alright?" Leo asked panting.

"Fine…" Raph replied starting to feel winded. "I… just need to… catch my breath."

At that moment, Donnie and Mikey ran towards them, spinning their respective weapons and taking out several Foot Ninja before circling up with their brothers.

"What's the story upstairs?" Leo asked.

"The warehouse is over run with Foot." Donnie reported. "Battle Shell is a no go."

"Great, now what?!" Raph shouted.

"We're too cramped down here." Leo rationalized. "We need more room to fight, and more room to escape."

"Like where?" Mikey asked. "Wanna rent out a boxing ring or something?"

"He means topside, shell-for-brains!" Raph snapped.

"We need to ditch the Foot for a while though." Leo told them.

Just then, he glanced over to a drainage junction nearby. He smiled at the prospect.

"Guys!" Leo called out. "Follow me!"

He turned and dived into the swirling water, his brothers right behind him. One foot went to pursue them, but was held back by the others. A single shake of the head was all that was needed to dissuade the Foot Ninja.

...

At another part of the sewers, the turtles resurfaced and immediately started looking for Foot. So far, there didn't seem to be any obvious signs that they'd been pursued.

"Whew." Mikey let out. "Glad that's over with."

"For now." Leo cautioned. "Stay cautious."

"Ok so now what fearless leader?" Raph asked.

"Let's get topside so we can plan our next move." Leo told them.

The turtles swam towards shore and made their way up a nearby ladder leading topside.

...

April's van stopped at a stop light, resting her head against the wheel. Tears of frustration were beginning to well up in her eyes as she fought back the urge to cry.

"Get a grip April." She chastised herself. "You won't do your dad any good as a sobbing wreck."

She then turned into a nearby alley and stopped. She stepped outside to try and regain her composure. Just as she finally calmed down, she heard something coming from below her. She turned to see a manhole cover being removed and the turtles coming up. She stepped back as they all came out, wiping her eyes and crossing her arms.

"April." Donnie greeted shocked. "Funny the two of us running into each other in this exact alley."

"What are you doing here?" she demanded. "I thought I told you that I never wanted to see you again!"

"Well we weren't exactly looking for you." Raph responded.

"Then get lost! I'm not gonna let you drag me into whatever trouble you guys are in." she snapped. "I'm done with mutant turtles, alien blobs, and…. Foot Ninja?"

The turtles raised an eyebrow at how she phrased that last one. Then they looked up to see several Foot Ninja on the rooftops.

"Oh come on!" Mikey cried as the Foot jumped down.

"April get out of here!" Leo yelled.

"No argument there."

April turned and got into her van, wasting no time gunning the engine and flooring the gas, leaving the turtles to fend off the evil ninjas alone.

"You know, I miss the days where'd she say 'Hell no' and fight with us." Mikey commented, twirling his chucks.

"Yeah, well get used to it Mikey." Raph said snapping a sword with his sai and kicking the ninja away.

The turtles continued fending off the hordes of ninja, but it was beginning to get overwhelming. Mikey was so focused on taking out one ninja, he didn't notice another come up from behind him and kick him from behind, knocking him to the ground. Donnie glanced at this, giving one ninja an opening to kick him in the head. Leo just kept blocking attacks with his sword, but was kicked in the back of the leg, causing him to bend over and allowing another ninja to strike him in the head. Only Raph was left standing, and he wasn't willing to go down easy. He just kept swing his sai around, taking out any Foot Ninja that came close. All the Foot Ninja then rushed him and overpowered him as they threw him to the ground and kept kicking him.

"Guys," Mikey said. "I don't think we're gonna win this one."

While the Foot Ninja continued to wail on the helpless turtles, a pair of headlights came screaming up the street. The Foot Ninja turned just in time to see April's van smash into them. She completely ran over the ninjas, then backed over them again for good measure. The turtles slowly got up as April threw open the back doors of the van.

"Get in."

Wasting no words, the turtles piled into the back of the van and closed the doors as April floored it, leaving the Foot Ninja in the dust.

"Thanks April." Donnie replied.

"Don't thank me." she said in a deadpan voice. "I'm just taking you to the next manhole cover so you guys can get home."

The turtles just looked down in sorrow upon hearing those words.

"Yeah well that might be a little tricky." Raph remarked.

April paused for a minute, hearing the sadness in his voice. Her own tone softened a bit, but maintained the deadpan sound.

"How so?"

"The Foot found our lair and trashed it." Leo told her. "Master Splinter is… well we don't know where he is."

April stopped the van, unable to remain completely deadpan anymore. Despite all of the anger she had, she could tell the turtles were hurting just as much.

"Guess I can't just dump you at the nearest manhole cover."

"You don't have to do anything." Donnie told her. "We've meddled with your life enough."

April sighed and started moving again.

"That may be true, but if I just let you run off, who knows how much trouble you'll cause. You need a place to lay low."

"What did you have in mind?" Mikey asked.

April's face hardened again.

...

April's van pulled up to the Second Time Around, sliding into the alley next to it.

"My dad won't be using this place while he's a mutant bat." April told them, her voice hard once again. "Just don't touch anything in the antique shop and don't trash the apartment any more than you have to."

"Sounds fair." Leo agreed.

"And April, I promise I'll if it's the last thing I do, I will find a cure for your dad." Donnie tried to reassure.

April didn't even respond. Instead, she just drove off once the turtles were all out of the van.

"Well this has been a terrific day." Raph commented.

"At least we have a roof over our heads now." Mikey said. "That's a plus."

"We have bigger problems to worry about." Leo told them. "We have dozens of mutagen canisters loose all over the city. We have to find them before they fall into the wrong

hands, or worse, they turn some other innocent bystander into a horrific monster."

"Uh Earth to Leo." Raph called out. "In case you forgot, Splinter's out there somewhere! We gotta find him!"

"We will." Leo reassured. "But this mutagen crisis takes precedence."

"Precedence over finding our father?!" Raph yelled.

"Wherever he is, Sensei's a ninja master." Mikey chimed in. "He's gonna be fine."

"Right," Leo agreed. "And even he would agree that gathering the mutagen is a bigger priority. The risk is just too great."

Raph grumbled at this, but he knew his brother was right.

"Fine." Raph relented. "Let's get to work."

...

Earlier that day

Splinter sat in the dojo, looking over the picture of his Master Yoshi and his family.

"I love my sons," Splinter said to seemingly no one. "But at times it can be hard to get through to them. Donatello thinks too much, Raphael barely thinks things through at all, Michelangelo is undisciplined, and while Leonardo is a more than capable leader, at times he lacks self-confidence."

He continued looking at the picture.

"If only you were here. Many times i have longed for your guidance."

Just then, some kind of cracking sound came from outside. Splinter stood up and ran out of the dojo to see several Mousers chewing through the walls to the lair.

"What's this?" he asked.

The Mousers just roared as they charged at him. Splinter back flipped back into the dojo and grabbed his walking stick. One Mouser leapt at him and he smacked it into a wall with his stick destroying it. He then proceeded to stab a second one in the mouth taking that one out as well. One Mouser leapt on top of him and forced him to the ground. It tried taking a bite at his head, but Splinter kept moving it, causing the Mouser to bite at the mats. Finally, Splinter threw the mouser off and picked up a kunai before throwing it at the Mousers eye effectively destroying it.

Splinter then got to his feet and placed his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

Before long however, the entrance was broken open. Splinter came back out to see several Foot Ninja piling into the lair. Splinter readied himself in a fighting stance, ready for the fight that laid before him.