"Trust me, after all I've been through, I'm a loose cannon."
Cat's tone was dark, but only her brothers could hear that it was forced, mostly fake.
She never had the heart to intentionally kill anyone…
Raph joined her.
"Do…Do as they say…" The Prime Leader forced out, metal at his throat.
The nearest guards dropped their blasters, which Leo, Don, and Mikey picked up.
Cat winced slightly as the announcers voices got louder.
"So what do we do now, Fearless Leader?" Raph asked as he was handed a blaster.
"I don't know. I can't think with all that racket they're making!"
They turned to the strange glass screens hanging in the air.
With a blast, Raph made it blow, and turned to his blue-banded brother with a smirk.
"Does that help?"
"Actually, yes."
Leo turned serious.
"Okay, this is what we'll do."
Cat smiled mischievously.
"We go to Honeycutt's lab and take dino-boy here with us."
"…You're good…"
"It's the gift of being a sister, I suppose."
Cat's blades pointed at the guards.
"Move a muscle, and you'll wish I couldn't break every bone in your body…"
Moving down the hallways slowly, Cat growled as the guards followed them.
"Let me hit them, Leo…They won't get up again…"
"Be patient."
'I am…They're just wearing it thin…'
Once they'd turned the corner, lasers hit the walls.
Raph glared at the Prime Leader.
"Tell them to stop shootin'! Now!"
Shoving him around the corner, the Prime Leader looked slightly panicked.
"Hold your fire! And pull back!"
Raph pulled him back around the corner as the laserfire stopped.
"Which way do we go now?" Leo questioned Honeycutt.
"This place is like a maze, really. There's so many roots…"
Raph turned to the Triceraton.
"Show us the fastest way, Spike. Or else."
The blaster showed what the 'or else' meant.
"As you wish."
Cat REALLY didn't trust that tone, and glared.
Opening a hole in the wall, they were sucked in and slid down to the lab, landing in a pile.
"…I'm SO gonna kill him!! Where is he!?"
Leo held her back as the others stood up.
"Cat, calm down."
She took a few deep breathes.
"I'm good. I'm okay. I won't kill anyone. Turtle's Honor."
Leo released her, and she stood up calmly.
"…Never said I wouldn't maim anyone…"
"CAT!"
"I'm kidding! Jeez, loosen up!"
She put her hands up in a defensive manner, a sheepish smile on her face.
Leo sighed, turning to Mikey and Don.
"Mikey, you help me weld the exits shut. Don, you get whatever you and the Professor will need to build the Teleportal."
He turned to Raph and Cat.
"You two are on guard duty."
"Wasn't I already?" Cat asked playfully, drumming on the handles of her blades.
As everyone else ran around, Honeycutt moved over to Leo.
"Excuse me, Leonardo. You don't intend for me to build the Teleportal, do you?"
"It may be the only way to solve the problem."
"But if I'm captured, the knowledge will surely fall into the wrong hands!"
"You can use it to transport yourself and the device somewhere that the Federation and Triceraton's can't follow." Cat answered.
"Like…Earth…"
"If you don't build the Teleportal, we'll never get home and save Master Splinter." Don added.
"Yes, by all means. Help your friends. Build the Teleportal."
Cat growled at the Prime Leader.
"Don't even start!"
"The danger will always exist, whether or not you build the Teleportal." Leo continued, welding busily.
"What's to stop them from ripping apart your robot body and downloading it from your brain?" Don asked.
The Prime Leader smacked his forehead.
"Why didn't I think of that?"
"…'CAUSE…You're stupid…" Cat retorted.
"Good one, Don!" Mikey stated.
"Sorry…"
"I see…So it seems the only way…"
Honeycutt took Raph's blaster.
"Is to turn me into scrap metal right now."
As he aimed it at his head, the turtles panicked.
Leo moved forward.
"Please. You're our only hope."
After a moment, Honeycutt sighed.
"Alright…"
He handed the blaster to Cat.
"But you must promise me one thing…If something goes wrong, when it looks like we're going to be captured, you must destroy me so that my knowledge will never be used for evil and destruction."
"It won't come to that." Cat replied stubbornly.
"If it DOES come to that, do you swear on your honor to destroy me?"
The turtle's shared a glance, Cat breaking it early to warily watch the Prime Leader move.
"…We swear." They replied in unison.
Cat turned to the Triceraton.
"We need a fast ship, and now. I bet you know one."
"Now let me think…"
Cat thought she heard a 'click', but jotted it down as paranoia.
"You five turtles and Professor Honeycutt will have to make your escape in my personal cruiser, it's in my private space dock hanger."
The tone he used was confusing, and Cat felt warily suspicious.
They found a floating platform, and got on, three turtles on the defense, blasters at the ready.
"My cruiser is in the next bay."
Cat looked around, tensing.
'Life forces…'
"It's a trap!"
Her and Leo jumped down, blocking the laser blasts, and attacking the Triceratons up close.
Mikey and Don blasted the ceiling, making some of it crumble on the guards.
The platform was ready to go into the cruiser, and Cat nodded to Leo, running down the small walkway.
"Tell 'em ta stand down! Now!" Raph ordered.
"Stand down! I order you to-!"
The Prime Leader was cut off when a blast hit the side of the platform and he fell off.
Cat jumped up quickly, and a stray shot grazed her arm.
Hissing in pain, the platform went down into the cruiser.
Placing a hand over the burn, she stood up and followed her brothers into the main room.
Honeycutt sat in a chair, hacking in.
"Is it fortuitous that my robot body comes equipped with a piloting program?"
"Yeah, that's just great…Just drive!!"
As they flew out of the hanger, three Triceratons followed them, and Cat grabbed onto Raph to steady herself.
Some fancy flying got rid of them, and Cat smiled.
"Great…Can we go home now? I think I'm gonna hurl…"
Everything seemed fine…
Until they saw the entire Triceraton army…
"…Aw shell…"
They got a warning from 'General Mozar', but Leo didn't like their choices.
Using the throttle, he made them speed towards the whole army.
"LEO!! ARE YOU CRAZY!?"
They got blasted at, and Raph and Mikey went to use the guns.
"Awww…I wanted to shoot them!"
Trying to loose the Triceraton's in an asteroid field, Cat looked out the glass, eyes narrowed.
'Something's gonna happen…'
They were soon out of the asteroid field, and Cat relaxed.
"Well, it seems the difficult part is over." Honeycutt stated.
A rift seemed to open before them, letting in Federation ships.
"…And the serious butt-whooping is about to begin…" Cat stated, cracking her knuckles.
As they flew around, dodging lasers, Cat nearly fell over.
"We need seatbelts in this thing! Don't Triceratons know about safety?"
With some expert maneuvering, they made the Federation and Triceraton fleets meet halfway.
"We can't avoid them forever!" Don stated.
"We don't need forever. Just long enough so that you and Professor Honeycutt can build that Teleportal."
"That planetoid should make an ideal spot to construct the Teleportal device." Honeycutt stated, pointing it out.
After landing safely, they put on atmosphere suits so they could work outside the ship.
The suits were baggy, with long tails, but the press of a button made them snug and comfortable.
"Unfortunately, there's only three."
Cat giggled at Mikey's baggy suit, patting his helmet.
"It's okay. You'll just trip a lot."
"Hardy-Har-Har. I almost forgot to laugh…"
As Raph, Don, and Honeycutt worked outside, Mikey got some massive energy signatures on the scanners in the cruiser with Leo and Cat.
"Great…Everyone wants a piece of us…" Cat muttered.
"We need more time. Stall them." Don stated over the connection.
Leo sat in the large chair, Cat sitting on the steps, as a call was made to the leader of the Federation and the Triceraton general.
"I am Leonardo of the planet Earth, and I demand an immediate cease-fire."
"I second that order." Cat piped in.
"And why should we agree to your demand, earthling?" The Triceraton questioned.
"Because, if you blow us up, you'll blow up Professor Honeycutt with us, and nobody gets the Teleportal. However, we'll give up the Fugitoid. For a price."
Cat smiled slyly.
'Well, isn't Leo the little trickster?'
Mikey turned them.
"We will?"
Cat shushed him.
"But first, we'll need to make a truce between the Federation and the Triceratons. We want assurances that neither side will use the Teleportal device for destructive purposes."
"Agreed." The two said in unison.
Surprise crossed their faces.
"Wait, don't you guys want to argue about it some more?" Mikey asked, slightly panicked.
"The Triceraton Republic is eager to resolve this matter peacefully."
"The Federation is equally eager to stop unnecessary conflict."
Cat saw the sly dishonesty in their eyes, and her eyes narrowed.
'Liars. Both of them.'
"Now bring us the Fugitoid." The two said in unison again.
"…Okay, but first…We'll need to finalize our agreement…In writing, of course. That is, once we find a neutral meeting place mutually acceptable to both sides."
"Naturally, the Federation will need assurances of non-aggression from the Triceratons."
"We Triceratons have always honored our treaties. It is the Federation that needs to make assurances of non-aggression."
"Are you accusing us of treachery, lizard?"
"You Federation slime didn't force 150 planets under your rule by acting HONORABLY."
"Well, maybe if you Triceraton buffoons hadn't managed to blow up your own homeworld, you wouldn't be living on a bunch of floating rock fragments!"
As they fought, Cat sat back to enjoy it.
"This is better than Jerry Springer…"
Some ships came, blasting at the others outside, and Cat felt panic make her heart flutter like a caged bird.
'RAPHIE!!'
As Leo and Mikey blasted at the ships, Cat stood up, unsure of what to do.
'What would Master Splinter say?'
But they were running outside, suits ready and blasters in hand, to see if the Teleportal was ready.
Don said it was, and Cat smiled.
"Let's go!"
"But it hasn't been tested yet!" Honeycutt objected.
Lasers threatened to hit them.
"No time like the present!" Raph remarked, and Cat threw him her blaster.
As everyone went inside, he blasted at the enemies that came close, as did Mikey.
"Pull your shells in here!" Cat ordered, grabbing both brothers and pulling them in as the door shut.
The machine started up, but it seemed to sputter, as if losing energy.
Coming out, they blasted.
"Get to the ship!" Leo ordered.
Unfortunately, the Triceratons BLEW UP their ship…
"…Oh, great! Just great!" Cat whined as they ran inside.
"What now?!" She asked, in near panic.
The glass shattered from the lasers, and they ducked.
Honeycutt wanted them to wipe his memory, handing a strange device to Leo, but he couldn't.
Before Leo could press the button, a strange beam of blue light hit them, blinding them…
As she felt herself being taken apart, a single thought raced through her head…
'Where are we going now?'