Leo's life had been gotten really complicated lately. Ever since their 15th mutation day, he and his brothers had been thrown into a world where they were no longer the weirdest things they know, a whole new view with new feelings to boot. The idea of being with someone romantically never came to mind until Donnie had his love-at-first-sight moment with April, then when he had his own when he rescued Hikari. Now he had two girls on his mind and he wasn't sure his heart knew what to do anymore.
Even now in the middle of a battle with the Kraang, Leo's focus was shifted when he noticed a presence above them and saw Karai watching them from the top of the building. He smirked at that, it was thrilling to know he had her full attention and he wanted to show her what he could do. He immediately sprinted to the closest Kraangdroid, landing a jump-kick on its chest and slicing the blaster in its hands in half. Leo then got in between Raph and the Kraangdroid he was fighting. "I'll save you, Raph." Leo said confidently as he slashed the robot's torso in half.
"You don't save-" Raph sputtered out before noticing how flashy Leo's fighting was, doing flips and jumping off walls when he really didn't need to. After kicking another Kraang bot down, he jumped onto the shoulders of the Kraang Mikey was fighting.
"Relax, Mikey. You're safe now." He said as he did a quick backflip and sent his katanas down onto the shoulders of the robot, splitting the arms from its torso as it dropped down lifelessly.
"Thanks!" Mikey said before realizing, "Wait, I was fine…"
Raph was unimpressed but he couldn't figure out why Leo was suddenly acting like this. Meanwhile, Leo snuck a glance over and felt a rush of adrenaline when he saw her eyes on him. He made it over to Donnie, who was busy taking care of two Kraangdroids at once, and shouted, "Donnie, behind you!"
While Donnie turned to look at the wall behind him, Leo thought it was a great time to show off his speed as he swung his katana into the heads of both Kraangdroids before Donnie turned back. Before Donnie could say a word, Leo leaped away and used a few extra backflips to Hikari's fight.
She was using her shield to block the gunfire as she spun around with her whip in hand, sending the whip through the arms or blasters. She had her foot back and her arm behind her, ready to send the whip flying again, when she saw two katana blades bursting through the chests of the two Kraang shooting at her.
"Don't be scared. I'm here." Leo said with his plastron puffed outwards. Hikari recognized that tone, it was the same one he used whenever he was mimicking Captain Ryan. She was confused with Leo's sudden personality change, he stopped doing the hero voice a while back after all, until she looked upwards and noticed Karai in the shadows watching them. It all made sense to her then.
Leo was about to take out a Kraangdroid that was charging at Hikari from the side when the Kraangdroid stopped and spazzed before dropping down by her feet. The android body collapsed to reveal Hikari had already taken care of it by stabbing the Kraang brain and pulling it out of the suit with her energy blade.
"I got it, Leo." She kept her face neutral as she deactivated her blade, the dead brain landing on the ground with a wet squish.
That didn't stop Leo's showboating as he jumped back into a cartwheel before sheathing his katanas and striking a pose, but not before getting another peek at Karai. Raph noticed Leo's glances and followed it to see Karai just as she was leaving. Now that he knew, to say he was annoyed by Leo's posturing was a damn understatement.
"Uhh… What the heck was that?" Donnie was as confused as Raph first was when Leo jumped in to 'save him'
Mikey, on the other hand, was thoroughly impressed by Leo's moves, "Yeah, were you trying to impress us? Because it totally worked!"
Donnie was perplexed when he didn't hear Raph say anything and only had a pensive look on his face, "What is it, Raph?"
"I thought I saw something." Raph noticed Hikari averting her eyes, then stepped towards Leo, "What about you, Leo? Did you see something?"
"No." Leo answered defensively.
Raph wasn't satisfied with that answer, "Turtles first, right?"
"Turtles first." Leo answered cryptically.
Mikey was getting uncomfortable between his big brothers, it reminded him of the tension they had even Leo first made Raph leader. He made his way back to Hikari and Donnie, Hikari looked like she was hiding something again while Donnie who was just as clueless and uncomfortable as he was.
"Do you feel like we're missing something?" Donnie asked.
"All the time." Mikey answered.
Hikari had enough. The last place she wanted them all to talk about this was out in the open after encountering some of their biggest enemies. "Break it up, you two. Let's head back. I don't like standing out here longer than I have to."
The fight last night didn't really help them understand what the Kraang were doing there. But one could only hope that tonight's patrol would give them more answers.
After their morning practice, Hikari was in her room looking through the shelf of learning material Donnie had given her. Today was her lesson on Earth culture so she was going to pick out a tape to watch. She made her choice and walked out of her room to see April doing her homework but Donnie with his hand over Mikey's mouth. She was confused, but this wasn't something new, "What are you doing?"
Mikey pulled his beak away from Donnie and explained, "April's putting her spit into a tube for school. It's so cool."
Hikari responded halfheartedly, "Mikey, we're learning ninjutsu from one of the greatest masters ever and fighting evil alien brains. I think our lives beat spit in a tube for coolness."
"It's not about spit. It's about the DNA." April said.
Mikey looked lost so Donnie did his best to explain, "DNA. Genetic code. You know? The Building blocks of life? Ok, DNA is a microscopic blueprint that tells everything living thing what to grow into and- Why am I still talking to you?"
Mikey playfully shrugged, "I don't know. You think you'd have learned by now."
April ignored the two and continued explaining the assignment, "Everyone in our class is sending a DNA sample to this research group, The Worldwide Genome Project. Then, they'll send back a report that tells us all about our ancestors. Neat, huh?"
Mikey nodded along like he cared about this project April was talking about. But then he was still interested in the idea. "Man, I wish I could go to school." He said wistfully.
"If normal Earth schools are anything like the movies, I wouldn't wish for it." She sat down on the couch with her legs crossed, "They don't even have training courses what I had for classes."
"It's not fun. I'd train with Splinter for six hours a day if it meant I didn't have to sit through pre-cal." April grumbled as she turned her eyes back to her laptop.
"Ok, let's not get too crazy here." Hikari laughed before waving the VHS tape at Donnie, "I picked our lesson today, Donnie."
Mikey saw the tape in her hands and immediately started whining, "Aww man, is Donnie making you watch those boring tapes again?"
"Nature and travel documentaries are a great way to learn about Earth." She said as she jumped off the couch and popped the tape into the VHS machine, "You could watch one of them with me."
"No thanks, I still see them in my nightmares."
"Is this how he's teaching you?" April asked.
"Donnie thought it'd be better if I choose where I want to learn about." Hikari sat back down on the couch and Donnie joined her with his laptop, "We're still making our way through North America."
Hikari watched as a nature documentary about the volcanoes around Hawaii started playing. Donnie would stop and fill in extra details or give more in-depth explanations about the documentary. She was well informed about the subject once the video was over, but she was far more interested every time the camera would do a wide shot of the islands themselves.
She already knew what she wanted Donnie to teach her about next.
Leo was getting tired of waiting. After his conversation with Raph, he could understand where Raph was coming from, but he knew that there was good in Karai. She could be good if she got the help she needed and Leo was going to be the one to do it.
Sure enough, he heard a noise behind him. He pulled out his katanas, but he couldn't even act surprised when he saw her crouching, "How'd I know you'd show up?"
"Like you're not good at hiding from me?" She replied.
"Like last night."
"Oh, were you there? I didn't notice." She said coyly, "I did see a bunch of robots though, what's their deal?"
"Their deal is that they're incredibly dangerous." Leo warned her with a katana pointed at her direction, "Stay away from them."
"I like them already." Her voice changed from amused to serious, "Something else is going on, what is it?"
"I'm not sure I should tell you anymore. Raphael says I can't trust you." He said with apprehension.
"He makes a good point." She dropped down from the water tank she was on, "Eventually I am going to destroy you."
She pulled her tanto out and started fighting with Leo once more. They were moving much faster now that they had experience fighting each other.
"I don't think you are." He said, his blade stopping hers as it slid off the edge.
"Really? And what do you think this is?" She asked as she twirled the sword in her hand. She swung her blade at him as they both maneuvered along the ledge of the building. Though it didn't stop her from using jumps and kicks to try and knock him down.
"I think it's a cry for help." He answered, "I think you're looking for a way out of the Foot clan, and I can help you."
Karai laughed at his naivety, "You're adorable. Stupid, but adorable."
That caught Leo off guard as his heart started beating a little faster, "R-Really? Y-You think I'm ador-" The moment was shattered when Karai's blade started charging at him with her blade near his face, "Ah!"
Karai took the opportunity to jump away, putting distance between herself and Leo. But Leo wasn't finished talking yet. He chased her down and stood with his katana out, "You wanna play games? I can handle it. But I need your word that you will not attack my team."
"You know I can't do that." She rushed at him once more and their blades clashed.
But this time, Leo wasn't playing around. He looked Karai in the eye and said, "Then, understand this. If you come after them, I'll come after you. Hear me?"
Karai had heard enough. She let the two blades slide off each other as she cartwheeled away to the edge of the building. She removed her mask and gave him a flirtatious smile, "Loud and clear."
Watching Karai leave like that was giving him a lot of mixed messages, but he at least got his message through. He looked at the time on his T-Phone and decided to go back before the others found out he was gone.
Hikari was sitting in the kitchen after morning practice for her daily lesson. Thanks to the documentary they watched yesterday, she already decided she wanted to learn more about Hawaii and the beautiful beaches she saw.
"Alright, that concludes today's lesson on geography." Donnie closed the Atlas they were using. He did notice how much she was paying attention to him during their lesson. As curious as she was about the Earth, there were only a handful of things that got her as excited as she was now.
She opened the Atlas back to a page with a large photo of a beach, "I think this is my favorite. It's a shame we can't actually go."
"I'm sure April and her friends could take you to a beach and-"
She cut him off with a fond smile, "Donnie, it's not gonna be the same if I went along with April and some random group of humans. It's nice to dream though."
"Yeah…" Donnie sighed wistfully, "Actually, I could use your help with something."
She perked up, "Sure, you need help with the cannon again?"
"Not that, it's about April."
"Oh." She deflated and gave him a self-deprecating look, "Donnie, I'm sure you've noticed but I'm not the best person to come to about relationships."
"But you are really close with April. I have to know, do you think I have a shot?"
"It's funny, I asked the same thing before I confessed to Leo. All I can tell you is that you'll never know until you tell her. I do think April has a soft spot for you and maybe you could talk to her about it after everything with the Kraang and her dad calms down."
Donnie dropped his head onto the counter dejected, "You're probably right. Thanks for being honest with me."
"Gotta start somewhere." She looked down at her lap.
"How are things going with Leo?"
"I haven't really talked to him. I feel like I have a lot to make up for. But I do hope we could be as close as we used to be, even if we never became anything more."
"Do… you ever regret telling him?" Donnie asked hesitantly.
She paused to think for a moment, "In a way, yes. I only wished we were in a better place when I confessed. Knowing what I know, I understand why you don't want to tell April. But sitting here right now, I can't say I regret telling him at all. I don't know if I'll ever stop caring for him the way I do, and I owed it to myself to give it a chance. Whatever happens, I know I'll always be by his side."
"What if he finds someone else?"
"Donnie, as much as you want to, you can't plan for her choice. Maybe she will find some human who she'd be with. But nothing between you two will change if April never knows, you just need to figure out if you're OK with that." She stood up from her seat just as they heard Mikey approaching the kitchen, "Mikey asked me to help with lunch, so just a heads up."
Donnie and Hikari both dropped the relationship gossip as the three brothers entered the kitchen. Hikari stood by the others as Mikey went through the fridge, "Alright, what do you guys want? Omelet pizza or pizza omelet?"
"What's the difference?" Raph asked skeptically.
"Ok, you caught my bluff." Mikey said as he pulled a bowl of eggs out of the fridge.
Leo turned to Hikari, "Can you get better at cooking faster?"
"Last I check, there's a reason you're banned from the kitchen." She shot back just as she heard her T-Phone ringing.
Donnie pulled his T-Phone out too and didn't know what to make of what he read, "Hey, did you all just get a mass text for April."
"Yeah."
"Yup."
"Mhmm"
"Well does yours also say she's being attacked by an old lady?" He continued to question.
"Yup."
"Sure does."
"Apparently."
"Is that considered an emergency?"
"I guess." Leo said, the realization sunk in and they immediately jumped into action, "Let's go!"
They had to be extra careful since they were going upside during the day. They sent Hikari up first to as lookout. She did a quick scan around the front of the school, the roads and the near-empty parking lot before heading back to the alley they were hiding in. "Coast is clear, guys. Kids are gone." She reported.
With that, they all entered the school through the front door since any threat would be coming from there. They were on the lookout for this old lady who was attacking April while Mikey was too busy awing over the building itself, "Sweet, so this is what school is like…"
They walked into the main hall when they triggered something to make a loud warning beeping alarm. Raph stabbed the machines making the noise, causing it to turn off. However, they heard footsteps coming their way and acted accordingly. "Quick, hide!" Leo whispered as they all hid away from the incomer's line of sight.
The footsteps were coming from an older looking lady, but she looked proper and formal. Hikari had to guess she was one of the teachers working here. They called each other on the T-Phones to continue communicating.
"I don't see any threat, old lady or not." Hikari said.
Raph, who was hanging off a sculptor on the ceiling, looked around and didn't see anything either, "Ok, I feel stupid."
Leo wasn't happy to hear that they put themselves at risk like that for nothing, "April's gotta learn that calling our T-Phones like that is for emergencies only."
The teacher must've heard them because she spun her head around unnaturally as her eyes turned red. She started twitching sporadically and stammering, "A-Ap-April O'Neil."
"Aww sewer bunnies." Raph muttered as he dropped down and stood with the others.
. Her arms folded back from her elbows, revealing them as cannons as she shot missiles out towards them. They immediately ducked and jumped out of the way, but the blast was enough to knock them off their feet. They all fell onto the steps as Mikey turned to Leo, "Leo, I think this counts as-"
"An emergency! I know!" Leo groaned.
They heard a loud screech as she leaped into the air and came falling down at Mikey and Leo at full force. They moved out of the way as she crushed the handrail and the section of the stairs the two were on. Raph went straight at her with his sai, but she put her hand up and let the sai stab right through her palm. She spun her wrist around, and Raph along with it before tossing him onto the trophy case. Raph managed to maneuver in the air so he landed on top of the case instead, but she then started throwing metal sheets at him. Hikari moved in by using her whip to restrain her arm. The robot turned her sights at Hikari as she shot a missile at her, forcing Hikari to deactivate her whip and dodge the shot.
That bought Raph enough time to jump onto the structure he was on earlier and cut the rope holding it. The heavy sculpture fell straight at the robot but she quickly leaped away, getting down on all fours before standing up to face the team again as they all regrouped.
"Alright guys, let's put old Mother Hubbert back in her cupboard." Leo said with pride that shouldn't exist with a phrase like that. Mikey did a facepalm and groaned while Donnie dropped his head in shame for his brother.
Raph just shook his head and said, "Dude, it literally hurts to listen to you sometimes."
"I miss this." Hikari was giggling at it all as her whip transformed into another shield.
The robot launched another set of missiles at them, but they were ready this time. Raph threw some shurikens at them and detonated them before they got close to the team. Hikari moved forward to shield them from the shockwave as Donnie and Leo moved from the side and jumped at the robot with blades out, cleaving her missile arms off her shoulders and detaching the metal mask acting as her face.
She started spazzing with her circuits exposed. Leo saw this and called out, "Mikey! The water fountain!"
"I know, this school has everything." Mikey said as he marveled at it.
"No! I mean spray her with it!"
"Oh yeah." Mikey blinked before doing as Leo said. The water hit the circuits on the robot's face, causing it to short out and collapse onto the ground like a dead weight.
Now that the battle was over, Donnie started searching for the reason they came here for, "April? Where are you?"
Hearing Donnie calling out for her, April came out of the janitor closet she was hiding in. She walked over to the dead robot and gave it a swift kick in the head, "And stay down!" She shouted as if that was the finishing blow. She then turned to the team with gratitude, "Thank you, guys."
Donnie opened his arms up for a hug, but when April didn't move in, Donnie awkwardly raised his hand up and rubbed her head like a bad imitation of what Hikari did with Mikey. "You are so welcome." Donnie said nervously before holding himself together with a forced smile.
Hikari sighed at Donnie's awful attempts on April. She could tell he was sincere, but he was really trying too hard for his own good. April moved to get a closer look at the woman who attacked her, "So, what the heck is that thing?"
"It's Kraang technology for sure." Hikari said, "But I don't think there's nothing inside controlling her."
"She said she was from the World Genome Project." April informed.
"Woah, how did the Kraang know that you sent your DNA spit to the Worldwide thingamajig Project?" Mikey asked with a slightly muffled voice. Hikari was perplexed to hear his voice like that until she saw that Mikey gave that metal mask a try on himself. Raph definitely wasn't happy when he turned around and let out a cry after seeing the robot's face. Hikari chuckled as the two started fighting, but she turned her attention back to the conversation at hand.
"The Kraang must've hacked into their system." Donnie deduced, "Who knows what kind of info they could be stealing?"
"April, you better head to the lair where it's safe." Leo instructed her, "We'll go check out the Worldwide Genome Project."
"But first, we gotta take down the Eastside Panthers!" Everyone looked over at Mikey in confusion. He pointed to the poster and explained, "At least, that's what this poster says."
"I'll take April to the lair in case any Kraang show up, you guys head over and I'll meet you there." Hikari stepped forward.
Leo nodded, "Keep your T-Phone on. Let us know if any of them are coming after you."
She smiled as she and April headed over to the nearest manhole cover and dropped into the sewers. April saw the two interacting and was curious about what happened, "So, you and Leo were getting along better. You two talk it out?"
"Not yet, things were a little crazy that night."
April bit her lip, unsure at first if she should tell Hikari about that night but deciding to do so for Hikari's sake, "Leo came to talk to me after you left."
"I know, did he tell you about the girl he met?"
"He mentioned her but not by name."
"Her name is Karai, I fought her on the Byerly when I thought she had him pinned down. Turns out they were closer than we thought."
"What are you going to do?"
Hikari stopped right outside of the lair as she turned to face April, "What do you mean?"
"You and Leo, you've been dancing around this relationship since you two saw each other. Are you really going to let some Foot clan girl seduce him?"
"This isn't about what I want. Living with the guys teaches you a lot about them, they had a pretty unfair life and it hasn't been easy for them. They are content with their lives, but they never really had a choice in any of this. The least they deserve, especially Leo, was to choose whoever they want to be with. If he chooses her, then I'll do my best to protect him as his teammate and his friend." Hikari ended the topic there, "Go inside and let Splinter know. We'll be back soon."
Hikari headed for the location they sent her, dropping in as they stood around waiting for her. Raph couldn't help but remark, "Finally, we were wondering how long your girl talks usually take."
"Not as long as your showers." She shot back and turned to the others, "So, how are we breaking in?"
"Leave it to me, I have an app for that." Donnie stepped forward with his phone out. He could hear his team groaning behind him, but he was ready to prove that technology was a far better method than brute force. He plugged his T-Phone into the panel and started hacking into it.
But before he could get any good leeway into it, Hikari was next to his and pulled the wire connecting his phone to the door. "Let me try." She said as she put her hand into the panel, an aura of white light appeared around her hand as the panel started sizzling and smoking like the robot earlier. She relaxed and the light around her hand disappeared, she opened the door with flair and a proud smile on her face.
"Dang, you're getting good at this." Mikey awed.
"Thanks." Hikari petted his head appreciatively.
Leo was impressed by how far her control has come, but they still had a mission to do. "Let's go." He said as they all snuck into the building.
What they all missed was Karai watching from the moment the turtles showed up. After witnessing the girl's hand glow, Karai knew she had to learn more about these aliens and this girl.
The team was moving down the dark corridor with a sense of unease. It felt too familiar and Mikey was the one to point it out, "You know for a human lab, this place is awfully Kraang-y."
"Tell me about it, I'm getting the same feeling I do from one of their bigger bases." Hikari said.
After hearing that, Leo figured it out, "Guys, I think the Kraang are the Worldwide Genome Project."
Now that they had an idea of what they were getting themselves into, the team snuck into the central room where two Kraangdroids were standing guard. They got into position as Mikey crept right behind them as they turned around, "Booyakasha…"
As the Kraang pointed their blasters at Mikey, Donnie jumped up behind them and smashed the metal heads with his staff. They threw them behind a glass pane just because the Kraang brains eject from their suits and sticking themselves onto the glass.
"Now you two play nice in there." Raph remarked while the others looked around the room.
"What are those?" Leo asked about the many chambers built into the wall with mysteriously color-coded liquids inside them. Each of them had a picture of an animal with information written on every label.
"Well it looks like they're collecting DNA from every plant and animal species on Earth." Donnie stated.
"What?" Leo asked in confusion.
"Building blocks, dude." Mikey scoffed with a cocky smile, "I'll drop the science on you later."
"I'm surprised you listened to Donnie at all earlier." Hikari said.
"I wonder what they're doing with all this DNA." Donnie pondered as he scanned the room.
"Whatever it is, it can't be good." Leo declared, "Let's shut this place down."
Just as they were about to do so, Donnie noticed that one of them was missing, "Hey, where's Raph?"
"Got ya!" They heard Raph's voice from above. They all looked up to see him holding down Karai
"Karai?" Leo sputtered in disbelief.
"Ka-who?" Donnie questioned, completely clueless about this girl both Leo and Raph seemed to know.
Raph kept his focus on Karai as he pushed her down, "Bet you're pretty slick."
Karai was one step ahead once again as she twisted his arm and flipped herself on top, her foot pinning Raph down instead, "I have my moments."
Raph was furious, spin-kicking before charging at her with his sais. The two of them started fighting and chasing each other around the mutagen container. Leo, on the other hand, was trying to control the situation, "Raph, Karai, stop it!"
Donnie had enough of not knowing and blew up, "Ok, what the heck is going on here? How do they know her?"
"Yeah, and how do we know her?" Mikey glanced at Donnie, "Wait, do we know her?"
"Ask Leo about it later." She answered absently, keeping a close eye on Raph as the two fought.
Karai noticed the glass chamber and the mutagen inside. Curious, she started asking questions again, "So, this is the stuff that turns people into monsters, huh? How does it work?"
"Why don't you lean in a little closer and I'll show ya?" Raph taunted as he had her arms pushed up against his sais. She ducked and kicked one of his knees, making Raph's leg go slack with pain as he kneeled down. Karai was about to run her knife into Raph's head but her arm was halted by a glowing whip wrapped around her wrist.
"Watch it." Hikari said as she glared at Karai. She pulled her whip towards her, forcing Karai away from Raph. Karai moved along with the whip but her graceful movements and the backflip made it clear that it wasn't by force.
"Nice trick." Karai smirked and sent a high kick to the arm holding the whip. Hikari moved away as the whip dissipated. Karai stared down her opponent as Hikari turned her uni-weapon into a bo staff.
Raph tried to step in but Hikari stopped him, "Leave it, she's mine."
With the close distance, Hikari tried to jab her staff into her chest to knock her over. But Karai countered by using her tanto to push the staff downwards and pin it under her foot. Hikari snarled as she then deactivated her staff and delivering a kick at Karai's head. The disappearing staff was enough to catch her off guard and Karai barely managed to block the incoming kick.
Hikari used her right arm to pin Karai to the glass behind her and had her energy blade pointed at her face, "First Xever and Bradford, and now you. Can't any of you see the bigger picture here?"
"Nope. But I'll let you enlighten me after I cut your head off." Karai headbutted her before sweeping her legs, causing her to fall off the platform. Hikari landed on the ground with a sore back but she didn't have time to blink before rolling over to avoid the blade coming down at her. The tanto let out a loud clang as it hit the concrete. The two girls shot death glares at each other as they charged at each other with their weapons.
Leo quickly intervened by standing between the two with his katana stopping their weapons. "Enough! You're gonna set off-" He stumbled backward as he pushed the two away, his hand accidentally hitting an alarm on the panel behind him. He just sighed in defeat, "-one of those."
"Nice going, Leo. You're protecting her?" Raph confronted him.
"Just like that night on the Byerly." Hikari shook her head in disappointment, "Please tell me you didn't know she was here tonight."
"What? No!" He insisted.
Raph continued to tear into him, "What is wrong with you? Can't you see she's bad news?"
"No, she's not!" Leo came to Karai's defense.
"Yes, I am." She responded honestly.
Before they could continue, the Kraang showed up armed and in numbers. The team froze as the room filled with Kraangdroids around and above them. "The ones who are not authorized by the authority of Kraang to exist in this place will now be destroyed by Kraang." One of the Kraangdroid said.
"This day just keeps getting better." Karai mused.
"Great…" Hikari muttered as her whip appeared in her hand.
As the Kraang started fighting at them, the team along with Karai moved and took as many down as they could. Seeing Hikari fighting with them, Leo couldn't help but point it out, "See? She's on our side."
Raph punched a Kraangdroid before asking him in disbelief, "Are you even listening to yourself?"
"I like your brother and partner, Leo." Karai remarked as she sliced through three Kraangdroids, "They're almost as entertaining as you."
"Oh, when this is over, I'll show you how entertaining I can be." Raph sneered with a robot hand still impaled on one of his sais.
"Make that for two." Hikari quipped as her whip tore through another robot.
Just when it felt like they were making progress, more Kraang started marching into the room with a giant laser cannon, "Kraang is now arriving to provide the help that has been requested by Kraang, Kraang has also come to capture the Lightfury that is with the ones known as the turtles." Hikari shuddered internally as she recognized the guns they were carrying.
"We're trapped!" Leo exclaimed.
"No, you're trapped." Karai pointed out, leaning casually over the panel with her finger hovering over a button, "What happens if I do this?"
"No!" Raph shouted.
"Don't do that!" Leo cried out.
"Highly undesirable outcome." A Kraangdroid chimed in.
"Well, now I gotta." She pushed the button and watched it all unfold. The team stared in horror as the colored fluid from each chamber was being up a tube and all meeting in the center. Every DNA sample the Kraang had in the room was being dumped into the giant vat of mutagen and the reaction was instantaneous. There was an eerily glow as green smoke started spilling into the room. Some of the Kraang near them disappeared beneath the green fog and everyone was on edge. Neither of them knew what to expect coming out of that green ooze, but a giant octopus creature with big eyes and cat vocals were not what they had in mind.
"Aww, it's so cute." Mikey cooed and Hikari couldn't help but agree.
"Huh, I was honestly expecting-" The creature then started to roar at them and swing its tentacle around, making Hikari immediately retract her statement, "Never mind."
"Woah, that is wicked." Karai commented.
"How the heck am I going to name this?" Mikey gestured to the giant creature attacking the Kraang.
"Good question." Karai said as she noticed a gun on the ground she hadn't seen before. It was different from the ones the Kraang were using earlier.
She picked it up and Hikari immediately stopped her, "Don't you dare!"
Karai reacted and pulled the trigger at her. To Karai's surprise, a beam came out of the gun and hit Hikari in the chest. The beam was then pulling some white energy from her chest and into the gun. "Ahhhh!" Hikari cried out in pain as she collapsed to her knees and huddled herself into a ball.
"Hikari!" Leo pushed the gun away, making Karai let go of the trigger and knocking it onto the ground. Hikari didn't move at all, she was still shaking and breathing erratically. Leo saw this and called out to his brothers, "Guys!"
"What's she doing?" Raph asked but not really approaching her. He never saw Hikari break down like this before.
"I think she's re-experiencing the attack on her ship." Donnie suggested, trying to get closer to her but he was forced back with the fight still going.
"Looks like she needs your help." Karai supplied as she picked up the gun Leo knocked out of her hands, "Well, see ya."
Before they could stop her, she jumped up onto the platform above and opened the door. Leo yelled out to her, "Wait, you're not gonna help us? This is all your fault!"
"I'll let the heroes handle it." She shrugged and put the gun over her shoulder.
"I-I trusted you!" He cried out.
"I know! That's messed up, right?" With that, she left the building. Leo was still shocked by Karai's actions while his brothers were completely unimpressed by it all.
"So guys, we all fans of Karai yet?" Raph asked.
"I don't know who she is, but I know I hate her!" Donnie yelled angrily.
Between the creature and the Kraang, neither turtle could stay in place for too long. But that also meant that Hikari was in big danger if they couldn't snap her out of it. "Keep the Kraang away from us, I'll see if I can get through to her." Leo commanded as they all acted in unison.
As the Kraang started turning their artillery towards the creature, Raph couldn't help himself, "Hey, look Leo. The Kraang are on our side now."
"Save it." Leo gritted his teeth as he made his way to her. She was still trying to fold into herself, her normally focused silver eyes were now dilated and distant. Leo wasn't sure if he should touch her so he did his best to calm his voice and reached out to her, "Hikari, you need to come back."
"…Leo?" Hikari answered in a small shaky voice. Her eyes were still unfocused, but he managed to get through to her.
"Whatever you're seeing on your ship isn't real. You're on Earth now, remember? You're with us."
Her figure stopped shaking as much as she unfolded herself into a kneeling position. She looked up at Leo with the same eyes she had when he first found her. "Leo, I…" Hikari started before they saw Mikey smacked into the glass behind him after dubbing the creature Justin.
They watched in horror as Raph got slammed onto the ground by Justin and Donnie was electrocuted by his electric eyes. Leo was paralyzed as he saw his brothers fall one by one and Hikari shrinking back into her panicked state, all because he chose Karai over them.
"Raph is right, this is my fault" Leo turned to Hikari, "Stay here."
"Ok…" Hikari listened, still trying to work her way through her panic.
With his team down, Leo faced Justin head-on. The creature roared at him and he matched his shout in anger. Leo ran at him, dodging his electric laser eyes while trying to cut him down. Leo tried striking in different areas and knocked him around, but nothing did any real damage. Leo spotted the control panel and got an idea.
"Hey, Justin!" He called out with his katana pointing at Justin's face, "This ends now!"
Justin took the bait and shot a blast of electricity at him. Leo caught the blast with his katana and joined his other by the hilt. With a loud yell, he stabbed the joint katanas into the console, sending Justin's energy into the panel and overloading it. The console exploded, burning Justin with a green flame as he cried out in pain and smashed his way out of the room.
"Take that, Justin!" Mikey shouted. The victory was shortlived as the building crumbled around them.
"Come on, let's get outta here!" Leo helped Hikari to her feet and they all made it out of the building.
They didn't stop moving until they were about two blocks away from the burning building. After getting far enough away from the crime scene, they stopped to catch their breaths. Donnie had a few questions but the biggest one was about the gun, "That beam, was it-"
"Yeah…" Hikari nodded numbly, "It was only a matter of time they'd start carrying them around."
Donnie then turned his attention to his two older brothers, "So… Does anyone else have something they wanna say?"
Raph shot a look at Leo and Leo slumped down in defeat, "Let's go home, I'll tell you everything."
Karai ran back with the gun straight to Shredder's lair. She learned far more than she thought she would, plus she had something worthwhile to show Shredder after he ignored her claims about the Kraang.
The moment she entered the throne room, she walked down and placed the gun onto the ground as she kneeled on one knee in front of Shredder's throne, "The robots, I've seen them up close. They call themselves the Kraang."
Shredder stopped listening the moment Karai mentioned robots, "I told you I am not interested in this robot fiction. I will hear no more of this."
"There is more, and it's about the turtles." He became far more intrigued when she said that, "More specifically, about the girl they have with them. I heard the Kraang called her a Lightfury, I don't think she isn't human either. But they did have this. I shot it her with it and it managed to hurt her." Karai ended her report by showing the gun she picked up.
Shredder got off his throne and looked down at the gun analytically. He certainly took notice of the odd girl that was foolish enough to try and attack him that night atop the Wolf Hotel, especially since she pushed him away with some unknown force. He clearly underestimated how desperate Yoshi was for pupils, but nothing could stop him from getting his revenge.
"Very well. We will see what this can teach us about our enemies. As for you, I want you to find out all you can about this 'Kraang'. Their technology may prove useful in our war against Yoshi and his disciples." He placed his hands onto her shoulders, "Well done, Karai."
Karai smiled, feeling vindicated for her persistence and basking in the admiration of her father. She knew that she would make her family proud by punishing the one who took her mother away.
After they all made it back to the lair, Leo asked Splinter and April to be there so he could just tell them all at once. He didn't want to tell this twice and he already felt guilty enough. "I know I should've told you about Karai sooner, but I really thought there was a chance she would be good. And I guess, I sorta… liked her. Go ahead, laugh." Leo hung his head in shame after recounting everything that happened since the night he met Karai.
But none of them were laughing. Even if she had a good idea about Leo's feelings for Karai, hearing Leo say it out loud made Hikari's heart ache. Mikey and Donnie were far more surprised, but not for the reasons Leo thought.
"Dude, I can't believe you trusted her." Mikey pointed out.
Donnie then said in disappointment, "I can't believe you didn't trust us enough to tell us."
His little brothers' calm dejected responses burned him more than anger would have done, "I was wrong. I'm really sorry."
"I tried to warn him." April sighed.
"You too, huh?" Raph followed suit.
Splinter approached his son with understanding, "Leonardo, you are not the first young man or turtle to have made a fool of yourself over a girl."
"What about Donnie?" Mikey asked, earning a punch on the shoulder from Donnie.
Splinter ignored the two and continued sternly, "However when that girl is a kunoichi in the employ of your enemy, that is an error you cannot afford. Ninjas like Karai are masters of cunningness and deceptions. I fear you are looking for something that is not there."
"I know, we can't trust her. I see that now."
Splinter put his hand on Leo's shoulder, "Good, you must learn from your mistake."
"Thank you for understanding." He smiled with relief, "I'm glad you're not mad."
"Who says I am not mad?" Splinter turned back and jabbed the end on his cane onto Leo's foot. Leo yelped in pain before hopping around and falling to the ground.
Although coming to terms with everything and confessing to his family about Karai wasn't easy, Leo was just happy no one was hurt because of his faith in Karai. Although he did still believe there was good in her, he now knew better than to put his team and his family at risk for his own beliefs.
Later that night, Leo made up his mind and left his room with a mission. Raph noticed him on his way to his own room and stopped him, "Hey bro, I'm glad you came to your senses."
"You were right, I don't know what I was thinking."
"I can see how you think she's hot, in an evil kinda way." Raph said jokingly.
"Don't worry, I am so over her now." Leo laughed before his voice shifted to something softer and sincere, "If anything, Karai helped me open my eyes."
Raph quickly figured out what he meant and gave Leo a supportive punch to the shoulder, "About time. Please don't let me know when you two are done."
Leo rolled his eyes as Raph went back into his room. Leo took a deep breath to build a little more courage before knocking on her door.
"Come in" Leo heard Hikari shout through the door. Leo did as she said and opened the door.
Hikari was lying down with Donnie's laptop on her bed, having asked to borrow it earlier to watch her favorite movie, Your Name. She needed something to cry and lift her spirits up after the day she just had. She was wearing her comfy PJs and cocooned snugly in her blanket when she heard the door knocking. When Leo came in, she sat up and let the blanket fall down her back and pool around her lap.
"Leo? What's up?" She asked.
"I wanted to talk… about us." Leo answered in a honest and serious tone.
"Oh. Ok." She closed the laptop and pushed the blanket aside, she turned all her attention to him.
"I know we've been saying it a lot to each other but I'm so sorry." Leo started, "You were ready to move on and I was still stuck in the moment. I just wanted to stay mad, at you then at myself. You were so perfect, and I wanted to be perfect for you, but then when I found out about what you did to the Kraang, it destroyed the perfect image I had of you. I hurt you and I thought letting you go was the best thing I could've done, but I was just selfish. I was too busy clinging to one side of you that I didn't let myself know you for who you really are."
Hikari was stunned to hear that. Listening to Leo bare his heart out made it easier for her to do the same, "I'm sorry too, I kept trying to ignore how it made you felt. My hands aren't clean, and that's the path I've chosen. When you guys found out, I didn't want to own up to it. I just wanted all this pain to be over and I wanted you to ignore it too. I cared so much what you thought of me that I forgot to care about how you were feeling. You didn't deserve that."
Leo could've laughed at how ridiculous they both had been acting, "Sensei was right. I was only looking for what I wanted to see and now I feel I missed so much."
Hikari pulled her legs to her chest, "So, what do you want to do now?"
"I want to make this right." He said with an earnest look, "I want to get to know all of you this time."
"What about Karai? I thought you liked her."
"I did… Karai was like a crazy dream, but I know what I feel for you is real. Your drive, your curiosity, and your joy, all that time we spent together, that was you. I just needed to see that."
Hikari had a soft smile on her face after hearing that, "I think I'm ready to let you see me too. I want to tell you everything someday, I'm sick of running all the time."
"It doesn't have to be tonight." Leo gave her an out. He made the mistake of blaming her for not sharing her traumas with him. He wasn't going to force her to tell him more than she wanted to.
Hikari was grateful for his patience. She probably could tell him tonight, but she already felt so vulnerable and emotionally raw after what happened at the Worldwide Genome Center and after the talk they just had. Instead, she scooted over a little and opened the laptop again, "Do you want to watch the movie with me? I don't think I'm gonna sleep tonight after…"
"Sure." Leo nodded but froze when he actually realized what he just agreed to. He shifted awkwardly, "How do you want to-"
Hikari rolled her eyes with a fond smile, there was the dork she had fallen for.
"Come on." She patted on the empty spot on the bed. Leo sat down stiffly, trying to calm his nerves. She looked over at him with concern, checking to see if he was really OK with it or if he was just indulging her.
Leo saw this and loosened up a little. She was looking out for him and she seemed like she was ready to do anything to make him more comfortable. Hikari simpered and draped the neglected blanket over the two of them, wrapping them close together as the warmth seeped through their skins.
Neither of them said a word for the rest of the night. The two too busy enjoying both the movie and each other's company. They didn't even notice when they fell asleep to the song at the credits of the movie.
A/N: Finally, the couple has talked things out. You can't believe how happy I am with this chapter. :)
There is a reason I gave Raph's fight with Karai to Hikari but I won't reveal it now for spoiler's sake. But Karai will still be a major character in this. Now that Shredder knows that Hikari isn't human and that they have something to use against her, the team has way more to worry about than they even know.
Stegz, my friend. I hope you enjoy it because this is something we both have been waiting for XD
Please feel free to leave some comments to share some love. Feedback and reviews give me life and motivation.