Booyakasha, boo…ya…kasha…booyakasha, yeah, boy…

Mikey clung to the walls and dodged and rolled. He and Raph hadn't been seen by any of those squishy brain blobs.

Like a bawss. Like an absolute, hardcore, ninja bawss.

For some reason, though, Raph seemed really on edge. Like, more than usual. He wasn't just broody, he was like, actually concerned or something.

"Relax, bro," Mikey said. "Maybe all the Kraang are on lunch."

Whoa. What would that even look like? What the heck did the Kraang eat, anyway? I bet it's super disgusting, whatever it is…

He imagined a bunch of Kraang gathered around a formal dining room table, sipping from cups filled with mutagen and eating forkfuls of the most deadly substance in the universe…anti-pizza. Anti-pizza. If it ever came into contact with real pizza, the resulting explosion would destroy all pizza kind, leaving the world in pizza-less darkness.

"Leo thinks this is a trap of some kind, Mikey. Didn't you hear him?"

"Yeah, but that's Leo. He always thinks it's a trap. Like that one admiral dude guy from Star Wars."

Oh man. Star Wars was the best. Why on earth Leo thought that Space Heroes was better was a mystery. Yeah, they both had spaceships, but Star Wars had spaceships and that force thing that was all powerful and forceful…what was that called, again? The Power?

Still, Super Robo Mecha Force Five was pretty bangin' too…

"Mikey, listen." Raph opened the door to a staircase and they started moving down the stairs all stealth-like, like bawsses. "This isn't a joke. I've got a really bad feeling too. Why haven't we seen any Kraang at all?

"Umm…'cause we're that good? Oh! The Force, duh."

Raph deadpanned. "The Force is why we haven't seen the Kraang?"

"No, I was just tryin' to remember what that thing from Star Wars was called, an' I did."

Raph blinked a few times. "Let's just hurry, okay?"

"Fo sho, bro!"

"And pipe down, will you?"

"Whatever, Leo."

Raph smacked Mikey on the head, a little harder than usual.

"Okay, geez." Mikey rubbed his head.

They'd made it down about five floors – only three to go – when alarms started flashing and going off throughout the building.

"Now I know that wasn't my fault," Mikey said.

"Leo," Raph muttered, looking back up the stairs. "He's up there alone with Karai. If she set this trap…then he could be in serious trouble."

"Dude, Karai is on our side."

"Is she, Mikey? Are you willing to bet Leo's life on that?"

For a moment, Mikey hesitated. He wanted so badly to believe that Karai was their friend. She was their family, after all, and without trusting family, what was the point? But a tiny part of him flinched as he remembered lying on the floor, tied up, while Ronin dragged the point of a sword across his face. Even though Karai had been on their side, they'd still had to fight their way outta there.

Would Karai have gotten in Ronin's way if that had gotten messed up?

Are you willing to be Leo's life on that?

No gamble was worth losing another brother. Not even gambling on Karai's friendship. He'd known Leo, for like, ever, but he'd only known Karai for a couple years.

Totally not worth it.

He hated to admit it – and Karai was totally on their side – but she might have set a trap that could hurt them anyway, even if she'd done it for a good reason.

"You better go help them, bro," Mikey said. "I'll go get Aunt Mei and Master Splinter."

Raph nodded. "Watch your back." He offered Mikey a quick fist pump, then launched himself back up the stairs.

This wasn't just serious anymore. It had gone from serious to super serial. Mikey slipped into full ninja mode. So ninja that he didn't even have time to think about how bawss he was. He practically flew down the stairs. Hugging the wall, he flung the door open and slowly peered around the corner.

Everything looked clear enough, but his ninja senses were screaming at him. No…it wasn't clear. There was the faint whirring sound of a bunch of Kraang droids marching around. He just couldn't see them.

Still, he had to get to that delivery room. The floor map that he'd been struggling to remember popped into his head, crystal clear. He knew exactly where he needed to go.

And it was totally straight through that mass of droids.

He replaced a moment of fear with a thought of sheer awesome: This is gonna be EPIC.

He rolled into the room and pulled out his nunchuks. "Booyakasha!"

Laser fire immediately flew in his direction. He rolled to the floor and dodged behind a support pillar. Then he ran out, nunchuks whirling, and took out one of the Kraang droids. He flipped to dodge lasers and flung his kasurigama chain, wrapping it around three droids at once and knocking them to the floor. As he yanked back on the chain, the scythe ripped through the metal and dismembered the droids' legs.

Almost to the door.

He took out another droid, then yanked his head inside his shell to avoid another laser blast. He popped his head out and opened the door in one fluid motion and burst into the delivery bay.

A hundred Kraang droids where in there. At least. A hundred flippin' Kraang droids. And Mikey's entrance had been anything but graceful.

No problem. He and the guys had taken out this many before.

He…and…the guys…

He was all alone.

He froze for a moment. It wasn't until a wall of laser fire was flying straight toward him that he flipped out of the way and hid behind some of the massive delivery crates. His heart raced. Oh, man. Oh, man, oh man oh man…

Were Raph, Leo, and Karai in this much trouble? Should he call in April and Casey? Of course, they'd have to come in through the back door…

That was when he remembered that Splinter and Aunt Mei were on the other side of the delivery door. If he could get to them, he'd be saved. Splinter could take out all these jokers by himself, and he was just waiting out there, doing nothing, ready to fight.

Mikey peered around the crates, then jerked back his head as a volley of lasers flew through the air. He looked up. There were some rafters. If he could get up there, he'd have a leg up on the Kraang. Heh. He'd have everything up on the Kraang, not just one leg. He popped out his convertible kasurigama and flung the chain up to the rafters, then climbed it and swung the rest of the way up. The back of his shell felt hot and a dull pain registered.

He'd been hit.

But it was just his shell, he'd had way worse than that.

Once up in the rafters, he launched a few throwing stars down at his attackers. They collapsed to the floor.

Yeah, boy. Nobody was as good at throwin' shuriken as him.

Well, actually…Donnie was better. Or he used to be.

Mikey shook the thought from his head and danced his way through the rafters. Once he saw the control of the door, he threw another shuriken that landed right in the controls. It shorted out and the door started rolling upwards.

Wait a second…was that the sound of a fight out there?

He dropped from the rafters and looked out into the darkness. There were a bunch of Foot-dudes out there, and Master Splinter was holding them off.

The Foot? Oh, man, oh man, it was a trap…geez why does Leo always hafta be right?

And Mikey had just thrown a hundred or so Kraang droids into the mix for Splinter and Aunt Mei.

Perfect. Just flippin' perfect. Not even the tiniest bit bawss.

Splinter turned around in alarm. "Michelangelo! Get down!"

"Huh?"

Splinter knocked Mikey to the ground and collapsed next to him. A volley of laser fire soared over their heads, taking out the one ninja who wasn't quick enough to dodge the blast.

"Kraang," said one of the droids. "Cease firing that which is known as 'friendly fire' on those which are known as allies of Kraang."

Mikey sighed in relief for a moment, until the Kraang fired up the chainsaw-like things…there was a name for those sharp things on guns…he should have known what it was…

Focus, dude.

A scream sounded from outside.

"Mei!" Splinter flipped up from the floor and ran back outside, leaving Mikey alone to face the Kraang.

Well, at least he had a better chance of fighting them now that they weren't shooting everywhere.

He launched himself right into the middle of them, nunchuks whirling. He knocked several of them down, then looped a bunch more in his chain and pulled them to the floor.

"Michelangelo! Come!"

Mikey turned around. Splinter had Aunt Mei draped over his shoulder and was running for the door that led to the other room Mikey had come through. He cartwheeled and flipped his way through the wall of Kraang – a sharp pain registered somewhere in the back of his mind – and ran ahead of them to open the door and clear any Kraang inside.

Fortunately, most of them had gone to join the fray in the delivery bay. The two jokers who had stayed behind when down beneath the super-awesome fury of his 'chuks in a few seconds.

Splinter followed him in, still carrying Aunt Mei. "Block the door."

Mikey looked at the door for a second, wondering how he could lock it without some kinda secret password, but then he realized he could bar it with one of the broken droids' legs.

Raph would be totally proud of him.

"C'mon, Sensei, up the stairs!" Mikey pointed at the door that led to the stairwell.

Splinter didn't hesitate. He ran through the door, and Mikey followed him.

He almost tossed his cookies when he saw what was inside.

Foot-dudes. And lots of them. Some of 'em looked like they were real people, but others were definitely robots, with all their weird extra arms.

Not cool.

Splinter set Aunt Mei down. "Michelangelo. Guard her."

Mikey ran to stand in a defensive position in front of her.

She groaned when she leaned against the wall, and Mikey saw that the fabric of one of her sleeves was cut open. She was bleeding. Mikey felt himself getting hot, like he always did when he got mad.

Those jerks HURT MY AUNT!

Splinter – the bawssest of the bawss – ran up the stairs into the mass of ninjas. Robotic parts when flying and dudes screamed. Splinter K.O.'d most of the dudes and absolutely slaughtered all the 'bots. But another wave advanced down the stairs – all 'bots this time – and got the drop on him. A bunch of 'em made it down to the foot of the stairs.

Dang. Mikey had forgotten just how good the robots were. He whirled his 'chuks and flung his chain and did everything he could. With each blow, he thought this is for my aunt. He was down to two Footbots when one of them was seconds away from stabbing him…

A sai landed in the robot's head, and it collapsed to the floor.

"Be a dear and pick that up for me, will you?" Aunt Mei said, holding her other sai at the ready.

Mikey managed to smash the 'bot who was attacking him, wrenched the sai out of the other 'bot and handed it back to her. He looked up the stairs. Splinter had made it out of his tight spot and had made considerable headway up the stairs, and had smashed a bunch more Footbots.

"We should follow him," Aunt Mei said. "Help me up."

"You sure?" Mikey asked. "You're hurt, and you don't have your crutches."

"Do it. Now."

Mikey pulled Aunt Mei off the floor and put her arm over his shoulder and neck. "Easy does it, Auntie M."

Splinter had absolutely pwned the last Footbot in the stairwell when he looked down. "Hurry. We do not know when another wave will come."

"Guess you better ride piggy-back, Aunt Mei," Mikey said, pulling both her arms around his neck. He hooked his arms around her legs, and one she was in place, he started running up the stairs, honestly relieved that Splinter was leading the way, not him.

How did the Foot even know that they were here?

Mikey felt like he was gonna do the Technicolor yawn when he realized the most likely answer.

Karai.

No. No, no, nooooo. Not Karai. She was on their side, and she hadn't told the Kraang to start the project. She couldn't possibly do this. She was ready to diss the Foot and diss the Ronin and smash the project to tiny little pieces.

"Aunt Mei," Mikey said, still feeling like he was gonna hurl, "how do think the Foot knew we'd be here?"

"It does not matter at this point," Aunt Mei said. "We have to complete this mission."

She was right.

Besides, Karai wouldn't do this to them. She was their friend.

But a tiny part of him was still relieved that Raph had gone back to help Leo.

Just in case.