Amy's POV
We walk across on the rope to a giant office-like building. The roar of the crowds. The smell of the greasepaint. The death-defying thrill of the high wire. Not exactly how I would spend tonight. But trust me, this is no circus. And if you think it's tough for me to walk a tightrope, try four mutant turtles. Cars honk as they drive on the road below us. If we fall, we're pavement paint!
But, if we make it, we just may finally find our missing Master Splinter. We also might learn the answer to a secret that's plagued my friends their entire lives: how and why they became teenage mutant ninja turtles.
No one's POV
Everyone looks at a map. They were going over where they had searched for the past few weeks. "Okay, we've searched Shredder's building and every other place the Foot have encountered. We've scoured every sewer tunnel, back street, dark alley in the city, with only one area left."
"The worst part is, we don't know if Master Splinter is still…" Donnie starts, but trails off, not wanting to say the worst case scenario.
"I-I don't even want to think about that," Mikey says as he twirls his nunchucks around. He accidentally smacks Amy on the head. "OW!" she exclaims and hard smacks are heard as Leo comes in.
"Ow! Amy, stop hitting me!" Mikey cries in pain.
"Until we learn otherwise, he's alive and awaiting our rescue," Leo says as he puts his swords in his sheaths.
Raph is at the punching bag, pummeling it. He takes his sai and slices the bag open.
"I'm done coming home empty handed!" Raph growls in frustration. "We find Splinter, tonight!"
The turtles, Amy, and April split up to look again. Mikey is searching the sewers, Raph is recklessly driving around the streets, Donnie is searching in the sky, April is in the Battle Shell, Amy is searching underwater with a diving suit and mask on, and Leo is on foot.
Leo's Shell Cell rings and he picks it up. "Please tell me someone found something?"
"Nada from the sewers," Mikey informs.
"Nothing on the roofs, either," Donnie says.
Amy surfaces and takes a deep breath. She looks to the bridge. "Zip in the East River."
"Or the junk yard," April replies, "Lots of rats, but none of them ours."
"Man, where is he?" Raph asks angrily.
"Keep it cool, Raph," Leo advises. "We'll find him."
Raph stops for a second and spots a Purple Dragon taking a man out of his car. "Hey! That's my car!" The Purple Dragon drives off. "Buddy, have you picked the wrong night!"
Raph races after him, which is a little difficult when the Purple Dragon keeps causing hazards to lose Raph, especially causing a fire at a gas station. Raph growls and manages to get out of the fire. Leo, seeing the chase, jumps down to the streets. "Oh great."
Raph evades trash that was hit by the Purple Dragon. "That would have to be garbage day." Raph drives up the stairs in a building so he could catch up with him. The Purple Dragon chuckles when he doesn't see Raph. The turtle suddenly crashes out a boarded window and skids on top of the car. Raph jumps on top of the car and stabs the battery, making the car stop. Then Raph drags the Purple Dragon out.
"You feel like taking what don't belong ta ya, punk? Huh?" Raph asks and is about to punch him, but his brothers and Amy show up.
"Let him go, Raph," Leo calls out.
Raph lets the Dragon go. "Beat it," the Purple Dragon runs off, scared.
"Raphael, this doesn't help anything," Leo says.
"Helps more than you think!" Raph shouts, throwing down the helmet on the ground hard.
"Gotta admit, the dude knows how to blow off steam," Mikey points out.
"Raph…I know you wanna find Sensei, but this isn't the way to do it," Amy tells Raph, picking up his helmet, which is now cracked. Raph sighs at her. "I know."
"Maybe, but if we're gonna find Master Splinter, we have to keep a lid on it," Leo tells him.
"Well prowling around ain't cutting it anymore, Leo. We need something to go on," Raph says.
"What about the Guardians?"
They turn to Donnie. "If you think about it, right after Splinter disappeared, they disappeared."
"Yeah, hey, they could've taken him easy," Mikey answers.
"Well, there's nothing else that proofs that something else happened," Amy murmurs, tinkering with Raph's helmet.
"Somehow, we need to hook up with one of those guys," Raph says.
"Raph, looks like we might have something to go on," Leo replies and they stare at Amy.
"What are you doing with my helmet?" Raph asks curiously and Amy throws it to him in response. His helmet is now fixed and it shines.
"How did ya…?" Amy holds up her satchel with a smile. "I came prepared."
"Is that bag magic or something? You have everything in that thing," Mikey says. They hear a weird noise and look back to see the Battle Shell coming their way. April opens the door.
"Sorry, after your patch job on this rig, even my grandma's tractor handles better," April says and then a police siren is sounding near. "Come on, guys, cops are combing the neighborhood."
"Maybe I should drive," Donnie suggests.
"That would be of best interest," Amy mutters.
"Nah, I think I'm getting the hang of it," April assures. When they drive off, Donnie's face is smashed against the window.
Later, a Guardian is looking around the city. He stops when he sees the Foot symbol on Shredder's skyscraper blinking. He turns on his watch to alert the Council.
"Guardian, what is so urgent?"
"The symbol upon the Shredder's building has been reactivated."
"Yet you have reported the Shredder destroyed."
"He has deceived us before," the Guardian points out.
"Investigate."
The Guardian sneaks into Shredder's building and sees Shredder in his destroyed room! He gasps in shock. "The Shredder…alive!"
"He's alive!" the Guardian says as they stare at each other. Shredder is mysteriously silent, however. He pulls out his sword and attacks him, only to find that 'Shredder' is actually a dummy with a sign filled with sand that says 'Kick me.'
"What?" he asks in disbelief. He hears snickering and he turns to attack the stranger. It was Mikey.
"Whoa, wait, wait, wait!" he protests and the others jump down to him.
"Easy, we're not here to fight," Leo assures to get the Guardian to stand down.
"If you lay a trap for me, then be prepared to fight," he growls.
"Our bad. Now, um, you suppose you can, maybe…?" Mikey apologizes, pointing to the sword at his neck.
"We're looking for answers, that's all," Donnie explains.
"Look elsewhere," he tells them.
"Cool, elsewhere it is. Now how's about putting that sword elsewhere?" Mikey replies, placing a small tracker on the sword.
"Our master's missing. We intend to find him," Raph explains, putting his sai away. The Guardian puts the sword in his coat and starts to walk away.
"I cannot help you."
"When you met Leo and I, you called yourself our ally. Allies are supposed to help. Can you at least tell us if he's okay?" Amy calls out.
"I…cannot say," he then uses a smoke bomb to disappear.
"Mikey?" Leo asks, turning to the youngest turtle.
"One turtle tracker duly planted," he confirms with a click of his teeth and a wink.
The turtles and Amy begin to chase after the Guardian, who is running at an alarming rate. "He's still on foot, passing for North and D." The Guardian jumps over rooftops, landing on a fire escape and then the road. The five follow from the rooftops and look to see him turning a corner. "Come on!"
They jump down and pant. "Man, this guy's fast. He's already made it to 12th!"
"Geez, with a few color changes, he could pass for the Flash!" Amy exclaims.
They look at an alleyway. "This way!"
The Guardian hides behind an alley and looks behind him. He felt as if he was being followed…he runs off and the five follow him to another alleyway. When Leo looks over, it's empty.
"He's not here," Leo says.
"It appears his signal disappeared right across the street," Donnie informs.
When they make it down the alleyway, they see a building of where the signal disappeared.
"It's just an office building," Leo says.
"Looks can be deceiving, guys," Amy points out.
"The brunette's got a point. Shredder's was an office building, and that place nearly took us out," Raph replies.
"But why would he go in there?" Donnie questions.
"To have his taxes done?" Mikey jokes and Amy facepalms.
Donnie sets his bag down and takes out a small shell device. "Let's find out for sure."
In the building, the receptionist is looking over the security cameras when he hears a small knock. He opens the door to find no one. A small turtle-like machine sneaks in through the door while the receptionist is distracted. He closes the door and goes back to his seat, unfazed by the whole scene.
The turtle-like machine reveals itself to be a four-legged camera, controlled by Donnie. "Now, let's see what's behind door number one," Donnie says as he moves the turtle cam towards one of the doors.
The receptionist suddenly stands up, moving his chair and the turtle cam spin out of control. Donnie tries to regain control.
"Whoa, I'm getting carsick," Mikey says.
"Not in this car, you're not," Amy tells him.
The turtle cam finally stops and the camera points up to the logo.
"Uh, guys, here's a new wrinkle," Donnie says.
"I don't get it," Raph replies in confusion.
"Techno Cosmic Research Institute?" Donnie asks.
"So?" Leo questions.
"Yeah," Raph murmurs.
"Huh?" Mikey asks.
"Donnie, what are you talking about?" Amy replies, placing a hand on her hip.
"Say the first letter in each word," Donnie informs.
"What? TCRI. Sorry, it's not ringing any…" Mikey stops in mid-sentence when he finally figures it out. "Bells."
"TCRI," Raph says. "That's the-the…"
"The-the," Mikey stammers next.
"Oh my Gosh…I never thought those initials would be so important until now." Amy murmurs in disbelief.
"The what?" April asks in frustration. "Tell me."
"TCRI was printed on the canister of ooze that mutated us into what we are," Leo explains.
"The secret to our origin could very well lie within the walls of that building," Donnie says.
"But this doesn't make sense, how would that building have the ooze that mutated you?" Amy asks in confusion.
"We'll just have to find out, won't we?" Donnie replies and starts to move the turtle cam. "Okay, let's snoop around."
As he is trying to move the turtle cam, he looks over to see everyone crowding him. "Uh, you guys are sucking the oxygen right out of my personal space here," he informs.
"Sorry," everyone says, backing up, but then they crowd again once Donnie starts to move the turtle cam around until he finds the security room.
"Jackpot. The security control room. Their brains to their security system."
"Can you look under that door to see what we're up against?" Leo asks.
"I think so."
When Donnie moves the camera under the door, the first thing he sees is some feet heading its way. "Uh-oh." The door swings open and the turtle cam is out of control until it stops, only to be crushed by a moving cart full of canisters.
"Well now what?" April asks.
"Master Splinter might be in there. Answers we've been looking for our whole lives might be in there. So that means, we're going in there," Leo says.
Everyone had soon headed back to the lair to try and concoct a plan to infiltrate the TCRI building.
"Now, what exactly have we found out TCRI?" Leo questions as he looks at the TV screens. "April?"
"Okay," April replies as she looks at TCRI on the internet. "TCRI is a highly successful new technology company that's been around for the past 25 years, and whose head corporate liaison is a…Mr. Mortu."
"These are the blueprints submitted to the city planner's office when the building was constructed," Leo says as some blueprints pop up.
"Looks as boring on the inside as it does on the out," Mikey comments as he hands upside down on some rope between Donnie and Raph who are packing for the mission.
"Here's what some our cam shell recorded before it became roadkill," April explains and pulls up the cameras that are on the front desk. "Surveillance cameras cover the perimeter and the roof, all laced with alarm sensors."
"So, what we need is someone smart, capable, and techno savvy enough to get in, find the alarm cut off and…cut it off," Leo says.
"Me!" Mikey exclaims as he hangs upside down besides Leo.
"No. April," Leo answers, pointing to the woman.
"Me?!" April exclaims.
"Hey, that was a compliment," Amy tells her.
"You'll sneak in past the guard, enter the security control room, and deactivate the cameras and alarms."
"O…k," April answers slowly.
"Here's a schematic of some basic security systems you're likely to find inside," Donnie says as he hands April a device.
"Once the alarms are off, you'll contact us on the Shell Cell and we'll gain access through the roof ventilation system," Leo informs.
"Makes total sense," April replies, unsure.
"After we're in, you'll reset the alarm and surveillance cameras, then sneak back outside unnoticed," Donnie finishes.
"It all rests on your shoulders girl," Mikey comments as he hands upside down besides April. "No pressure."
"Not helping," Amy tells him, arms crossed.
"Uh-huh, that's all good. There's just a teeny tiny detail of that plan missing," April explains. "There's a guard sitting right there!"
"We'll be employing an old ninja trick, the art of distraction," Leo answers.
"I wouldn't call a distraction old, but let's roll with it," Amy murmurs, shrugging.
The elevator doors open up and Casey walks in. "Somebody call for a distraction?" he calls out as he pats his baseball bat against his hand.
April sighs, putting her hands on her face. "My life is in the hands of a lunatic." Amy pats her shoulder.
Mikey suddenly spins out of control on the ropes and gets tangled up. "Someone wanna help me out here?"
Amy sighs and pulls out a giant pair of scissors from her satchel. She raises them to the ropes and cuts Mikey out. He screams and falls to the floor. "Thanks."
"Be careful with those, Ames," Leo warns her.
"Oh don't worry, they're plastic," Amy assures him and he gives her a look. "What?"
"Ames, you stay here."
"What? Why can't I come with you guys?"
"It's too dangerous," Leo answers sternly.
"Exactly how many dangerous missions have I been on with you guys?" she asks, crossing her arms with a glare.
"But this is our mission, where we'll find answers to our past and Master Splinter," Donnie informs.
"Well guess what I've been training under Master Splinter too if you haven't forgotten. I care about him as much as you guys do. I may not be a ninja yet, but I wanna come on this mission for Master Splinter and if I have to argue about this with you guys, then I will!" Amy argues with a pout.
Leo stares at her as she stands her ground and sighs. He secretly admired her stubbornness, even if it came back to bite her in the end.
They park the Battle Shell and go to the roofs while April makes her way to the desk in a suit. "You can definitely do it, April!" Donnie assures her from her headset.
"May I help you?" the receptionist asks.
"Yes, I'm Dr. Vander pepper of TMNT University. I'm here to see Mr. Mortu," April says.
"Uh, Mr. Mortu doesn't take appointments."
"Listen, I've come a long way for this meeting, at his request! So either get him on the phone or I'm gone!" April argues, crossing her arms. He gives her a look and picks up the phone.
"Dr. Vander pepper?" Mikey asks in disbelief and Amy shushes him.
Casey walks in, a toaster in his hand. "I want to see the boss man right now!"
April looks back at him while the receptionist puts down the phone. "Remember, Casey, just distract him long enough for April to slip in and slip out," Leo informs him on his own headset.
"Yeah, don't screw this up, bonehead," Raph tells him.
"Hey, if anyone's gonna screw this up, it'll be you, freak face!" Casey shouts loudly and cringes when he notices that the two heard him.
Amy slaps her forehead. "Really Casey? REALLY?"
"Yes?" the man asks.
"I gotta complain about one of your products," Casey says, slamming the toaster on the desk.
"TCRI doesn't manufacture toasters, sir," the man explains as April backs away subtlety.
"Oh yeah? Says it right here," Casey challenges, pointing to the bottom of the toaster…where RITC is written. In crayon.
"That says RITC. In crayon, sir," the man points out.
"Now I wanna see the head geek or I'm gonna tear this place apart!" Casey takes out his bat and starts destroying the toaster. The man presses a button and a guard runs out. "Gimme a toaster or give me death!" Casey declares and tackles the two. He gives April a wink and she realizes that it was time. She runs inside and finds the security room.
She looks around in awe. "Whoa…" The room looked very futuristic. "Impressive…Okay, I'm looking for the splitter from the main junction box which should look like…absolutely nothing here."
Meanwhile, the turtles and Amy walk across on a tightrope. Amy looks down nervously as she walks behind Leo. "What's wrong, never walked on rope?" Raph asks sarcastically.
"Gee, that's reassuring considering we're over the road!" Amy hisses and they manage to make it across. Amy sighs in relief as she presses her back to the wall.
"Guys, this isn't going to work," April says over the headset.
"What's the problem, April?" Donnie asks.
"I don't recognize the technology! Nothing makes sense in here. I can't turn off the roof alarm or the cameras," she explains.
"Uh, anybody got a plan B?" Mikey questions.
"April, we'll handle the camera, just get the alarm turned off any way you can," Donnie explains.
"Whatever, don't come whining to me if we all get captured and tortured and…stuff." Amy chuckles from the headset and she glances around. She looks at a panel in a canister. "The floor plan would be nice," she suggests sarcastically. Suddenly, writing appears on the panel and it turns on. A hologram of the whole building appears behind her.
"Cool!" She walks up to it. "Now, how do I turn off the roof sensors?"
The roof suddenly turns off on the hologram. "Roof sensors off."
"Guys, you're good to go," April reports.
With Casey, he swings his bat around and breaks a chair when it's thrown at him. The receptionist tries to snatch the bat away while the guard looks at the security system. "What?"
A pigeon is flying in front of one of the cameras. Donnie crouches in front of the security camera and the pigeon is actually a puppet. "Hurry with that picture."
Leo takes a photo of the roof. "Got it." He places the picture in front of the camera and Donnie moves the pigeon, making the footage look exactly like outside. They make their way to the ventilation.
"I don't know what bothers me more, that thing actually works, or that Don carries around a pigeon puppet," Mikey says.
"Oh, but Amy worked so hard on it," Donnie comments and Amy bows when the others turn to her. "Amy's Puppet Business, where we make any animal look real," she jokes, winking.
Casey fights with the receptionist and breaks a statue.
Raph pries open the ventilation but when he looks down, it's not a ventilation.
"Hey, it's a fake. It doesn't go nowhere," he murmurs. "What kind of people would put a fake vent on the roof?"
"The kind that want this place to look normal," Donnie confirms.
"Which gives another reason to hide anyone here, let alone Master Splinter," Amy suggests.
"So now what?" Mikey asks.
"We cut through a window," Leo says.
They climb down to one of the windows, suction cups on their hands and knees. Amy jumps down on a rope, using her climbing gear. Donnie uses a cutter, but it doesn't go through. It didn't make a single scratch.
"Diamond edge blades," Donnie replies and removes the device. "And they're not even scratching the surface. This is no ordinary glass."
"Let me try something," Amy calls out from behind Raph and Leo. She touches her crystal, which glows and a piece of large rock rises from the ground. She slams into the window, not even leaving a dent.
"Man, this must be really expensive glass if it's this durable," she mutters as she drops the rock.
"We better think of something, cause who knows how long that bat happy idiot in the lobby can keep it up," Raph says as they all begin to scale the window.
"Casey? They'd need a SWAT team to get rid of him," Amy retorts.
Casey smacks the damaged security system. "What kind of customer service is this?" He hits the security system again while swinging around his bat.
"I simply refuse to be treated this way! Attica! Attica!"
The guard turns to the receptionist and both of their eyes glow green mysteriously. One of them presses a button on some sort of device, barring the doors closed. Casey looks in surprise and the guard takes his bat, kicking the system away. Casey falls to the ground. He looks up to see the guard breaking his bat in half.
"Uh, fellas, I got a news flash for ya. Things are not what they seem in here."
"Just keep them busy Casey, how tough can a couple of guards be?" Raph says. Both of them bring out sticks that give off electricity.
"I think I'm about to find out."
April walks around the hologram. "April, the roof and windows are a no go."
"You want another way in? No problem. This thing's a piece of cake," April answers, rubbing her hands. "Okay, find me an entrance point," she orders.
She hears a beep and one of the windows glow. "Exhaust cover currently active."
"Here we go. There's some kind of exhaust opening on the west side, ninth floor," April explains.
"We'll check it out, thanks," Leo answers.
They soon crawl to the window and surround it.
"There's nothing here," Raph says.
"Hold on, you hear that?" Leo questions and holds his hand out in front of the window. "Air's coming out. You can feel it, too."
"Amazing. Maybe it's some kind of hologram," Donnie replies, touching the window.
"It wouldn't surprise me," Amy comments.
"Yeah, finally, a way in!" Mikey exclaims, moving his hand towards the window.
"Mikey, wait!" Leo calls out.
Mikey is halfway in the hologram window and inside the building. A giant blue fireball suddenly emerges and he screams. He pulls out, wobbling. The blue fireball flies out of the window. "What the shell?" Amy asks in shock.
Mikey falls out the window, crashing into Donnie and causing him to fall as well. Both of them fall towards the streets!
"Mikey! Donnie!" Amy calls out.