The turtles arrived at TCRI about two hours before the Kraang planned to start capturing humans. They hid the Shellraiser in an alleyway and climbed onto a nearby roof to observe the building.

Leonardo looked through his spyglass into the first story, which even after the Kraang rebuilt it, was still composed mostly of windows.

"It's exactly the same," Donatello said. "Like it was never damaged at all."

Leo pulled his spyglass away from his face. "Not exactly. They must have learned the elevator is our fastest way up. There's a second wall around the elevator, and it looks like it's locked." He collapsed the spyglass and returned it to his belt. "Even if we get past it, there might be more precautions inside that we can't see. We'll have to find another way in."

"We could get in through the middle-floor window," Donnie suggested, pointing to the glass that striped the middle stories of the building.

Leonardo looked at where he was pointing. "Even if we climbed onto the nearest rooftop, it's too far to get there by grappling hook. Unless you all brought your gliders."

Michelangelo tapped his index fingertips together.

"Well, it's not our fault you rushed us out of the lair!" Raphael said.

Leo glared at him. "It's a ninja's job to always be prepared."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Right, 'cause I'm gonna lug a heavy piece of equipment around with me everywhere, just in case this is the one time I'll need it."

Leo gritted his teeth and did his best to ignore his brother. "Looks like we'll have to climb it," he said. "Each of the ledges are close enough together for us to get to the window if we started at the bottom of the building."

"TCRI is such a big place, it has its own little lawn. It's open, and we'll have to cross it. We run the risk of being spotted if we go from the front. The left side is close to another building," Donnie offered. "It will hide us from humans until we're too high up for them to notice."

Leo gave him a nod of thanks. "Then that's where we'll start. Come on."

The turtles leapt from roof to roof until they were on the left side of the building. They then climbed down and dashed to the side, where they launched their grappling hooks for the lowest ledge, and used them to help lift them up as they climbed up the building's side. Then they repeated for two more ledges, until they were at the window.

Only their heels fit on the narrow concrete strip, and Leonardo leaned his back to the wall as he examined the corner they had to round in order to get to their entry. The ledge grew steadily narrower as it neared the corner.

A mechanical whirring caught his attention, and he saw a camera perched on the wall swivel. A pink, kaleidoscope-like lens slowly turned.

Leo's hand flew for a shuriken, and he disabled the security device with one quick throw. He only hoped the camera hadn't spotted them; it was impossible to tell exactly where the frame was on that confusing of a lens.

With the camera disabled, he drew his attention to rounding the corner. He switched to his toes and inched to the side, using his hands behind him as balance on the cool concrete. The wall was nice to have for the sake of security, but it wouldn't do anything if he slipped.

Leonardo glanced down to check if there was anything on the wall below him he could grab if he fell. Bad idea.

The people below were the size of mice. The ground seemed so far, yet so… permanent. There was nothing to stop him falling.

He hurriedly redirected his gaze to the corner, and inched sideways a little more. The ledge was the size of a cable now.

The turtles had crossed cables with no problem, even run across them, as they had done during Leo's training exercise in Chinatown. But then, they'd had the advantage of being able to balance on both sides, as opposed to being blocked on one.

Not to mention they hadn't been eighty feet in the air.

Leonardo edged closer, closer, closer. Almost to the corner now. He regarded his next step on the ledge with a frown. It didn't look like quite enough space to stand.

As he would discover when he slipped, that was because it wasn't.

He fought to keep his other foot on the ledge, but it was no use. He lost his footing and fell. Air whooshed past him. He felt like screaming, but air rushed into his open mouth, preventing him from making any noise.

Then pain jolted his wrist. He winced at the sudden stop, and looked up.

Raphael leaned over the ledge, holding Leo's wrist, arms spread wide to hold both his brother and the handle of the sai he'd speared through the camera for balance. He tugged at Leo's arm, but in such an awkward position, he didn't have enough leverage to pull his brother to safety.

Donnie produced his bo staff and tried to hold it out for Leo to grab, but couldn't get close enough, and stopped trying after almost slipping himself.

Michelangelo saw what Donnie was trying to do and swung his kusarigama around the opposite corner, tied the unused end around his own wrist, and wrapped an arm around Donnie's chest.

With the added support, Donatello was able to offer Leo the end of his bo.

Leo took it with a relieved smile.

Raph looked at Donnie and indicated the building's corner with a tilt of his head.

Donatello hummed his understanding.

Raphael mouthed a countdown from three, and upon reaching one, they both swung Leonardo around the side of the building.

Leo found his footing on the other side and let go of Raph's hand. He kept the bo staff.

Raph rounded the corner a few seconds later on climbing claws, and stopped closer to the corner than Leo, before removing his left claws and pocketing them.

Raphael extended his un-clawed hand around the corner, and with a death grip on Raph's hand, Donnie tiptoed around it. When Donnie was too far for Raph to reach, Leo guarded Donatello's open side with the bo staff until the genius turtle was on a safe amount of ledge, at which point Donnie took his weapon and covered Mikey once Raphael had helped him across.

They crept to the window.

Leonardo drew his swords and made sure his team was ready. He flipped his sword so its blade extended past the heel of his palm, drew his arm across his chest, and smashed the window with a swing.

Cracks spiderwebbed over the glass, but it didn't break.

Leonardo fidgeted his sword until it came loose, and swung it again.

The window cracked further, but held.

He freed the sword, and launched it at the window once more.

The glass shattered and sprayed over the floor.

Leonardo motioned his brothers to be careful, and ducked into TCRI.

He weaved through the shards on the floor, and came to rest at the room's door. The team was close behind.

Habitually, Leo checked to make sure none of them were hurt. Of course, none of them were, they hadn't gotten the chance yet, but he noticed Mikey was visibly distressed. Although he was the only one to show it, he most likely wasn't the only one who felt it. He was just the most expressive.

Leonardo allowed them a minute to relax and prepare, to settle their nerves. Who knew when they might get the chance again?

When he judged they were ready to continue, he drew his sword and grabbed the doorknob. His brothers fell into place beside and behind him.

He pulled the door open.

There, waiting for them, were hundreds of Kraangdroids, eyes and guns already pointed to the door.

The turtles had only a second to prepare, most of which was taken by their surprised hesitation. They rushed out into the crowd as fire opened.

"They knew we were coming!" Donnie yelled, deflecting lasers with a twirl of his staff.

Leo internally cursed. The camera.

The four tried to push the Kraang back, to give themselves more space. The Kraang pushed back, swallowing their way back to the door in the process.

Raph fought by Leonardo's right side, Donnie by his left, and Mikey to his back.

When he registered this, his first thought was he hoped Mikey had learned not to leave his back unguarded.

His second thought came to argue the first. If Michelangelo couldn't take all the Kraang he was fighting, Leonardo would much rather take the shot for him. Same for any of his brothers.

That was what he most despised about leading. About fighting. No matter how hard he might try, if someone were to get hurt, he could never be sure it wasn't his family.

Looking at the number of Kraang around them, the possibility of someone getting hurt was growing likelier and likelier.

The Kraang were expecting them this time, and weren't underestimating them. Unlike any of their other missions, they didn't have the element of surprise. There were more enemies now than there were then, as well.

No matter how many robots they eliminated, there was always one to step in its place, one to close the circle around them, one to draw the ring confining them even tighter, more suffocating.

Amidst all the chaos, Leonardo noticed Raph's patterned way of wiping the Kraang out. It was mechanical. Predictable.

The Kraang had begun to predict it, too. They closed in even tighter around him than around anyone else.

One robot had grasped his pattern, and out of Raphael's field of view, raised his blaster to strike.

"Raph!"

Leonardo dropped his sword and shoved Raph aside.

Pain shocked his shoulder, and the force knocked him to the ground. He was relieved, though. He'd saved Raph from the blow.

Or so he thought, until he saw Raphael grimacing on the ground next to him, blood oozing from his head.

The Kraang closed in, on top of them now. They pointed their lasers down at the oldest two turtles, and at the unprotected backs of their younger brothers.

"Surrender, turtles. You are that which is known as defeated."

No, they would mutate the humans! They would control time! They would become an unstoppable force! The turtles would never be able to stop them! They wouldn't stand a chance!

But what chance would they stand if the Kraang killed them here and now?

Leonardo's heart dropped. He hesitated, let go his other sword, and held his hands up.

Robot hands jerked him to stand. Mechanical hands pushed his hands together behind him and shoved them into pinching alien handcuffs.

They pulled Raphael to his feet beside him.

Leonardo saw Raph's chin droop to his chest, and he prayed his brother was only tired.

Donatello let out a whimper, making Leo's heart break in two.

And although Michelangelo's face, again being the most expressive, mirrored his own feelings, Leo's broken heart shattered at the sight of it.

As the Kraang pushed them down the corridor, Leo fought to keep himself collected. Losing it would only further upset his brothers.

Michelangelo asked what Leo had to keep himself from saying.

"What now?"

Next chapter on Sunday! Have a great day, y'all!