From what we knew, from the surveillance cameras, from (several days longer than expected) of scoping the property, and from our own experience, the Foot were many. There were well over a couple hundred members of the clan. Some were stationed at other estates that belonged to Shredder but most were working within this secret TGRI compound. This was great and all but for the most part, we didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into. We had no knowledge of this building even though it was near the heart of Manhattan. We didn't have the advantage we had before, when April had worked in the building of our enemy. We were still going in dark.

But we knew if we could take out a good bunch of Foot soldiers, our chances of succeeding would be higher. This is where our dear Battleshell came in handy. I wasn't a part of this step in the plan but from what I knew, there were sensors within the ventilation system of the building but couldn't be completely disabled. Donatello and April were confident they could debilitate them for about two minutes but there was still a chance of being caught by the Foot security system. So, using the Battleshell as an explosive decoy in their main lobby, we could take out the majority of the Foot that would be in our way while also getting inside the building with little resistance. Two birds with one stone.

It worked perfectly.

As my brothers, Splinter, Spider-man,and myself piled out of the air duct and into some kind of ventilation control room, I watched as Donnie hugged the remote of the Battleshell close to his chest. My poor, poor brother. He built that oversized Hot Wheels truck from scratch.

Raph looked over his shoulder, "Nice remote control work there, slick."

Mikey laughed, "Ya! And they say hours and hours of video games are bad for ya."

"Who says that?" Spider-Man asked, but not as a question. He must like video games as much as my brother.

"Nobody should, that's for sure," Mikey and Spider-Man bumped fists.

"Poor Battleshell. I really loved that gas guzzler," Donnie frowned like he'd just lost a pet.

Leo patted Donnie's shoulder reassuringly, "And I'm sure you'll love the next one even more, but right now, let's stick to the plan."

Donnie sighed one last time before tapping a button on his headset, "April. Stage one complete."

In our quiet proximity, I could hear her voice through the headset, "Roger that Don. Uploading worm program… Now."

"What is April doing exactly?" Mikey asked, tilting his head like he was a confused puppy.

"Doing something that's gonna clog up this place's communication," I replied, only half understanding my explanation. I was kind of sure I knew what April was doing.

Mikey slid his hand over the back of his head, still confused, "But why is it called a worm program? Shouldn't it be called a… plunger program?"

Now it was my turn to be confused, "Plunger program?"

"Ya. You said April was going to clog up the communication. Like a toilet plunger? Get it?"

Spider-Man snorted, stifling back laughter. Raph rolled his eyes.

I made a face, "That's bad, even for you."

"Well, it makes more sense than a worm program," Mikey shrugged.

"A worm program is a type of software that infects other computers while remaining active on infected systems," Spider-Man explained effortlessly. He couldn't seem to help himself," The 'worm' self-replicating malware that duplicates itself to spread to uninfected computers."

Mikey had a very blank stare. He didn't catch a single word of that, "So… why is it called a worm?"

How did you dummy down a complicated software virus to an individual with no knowledge of such topics? Well, you don't. Raph saved Spider-Man the energy, patting him on the shoulder, "Don't bother. The only people who're familiar with that language are Don, April, and maybe Jade."

"Hardly," I added.

With the building schematics she had been able to dig up, April directed us to the security room. We hit another bump in the plan as we arrived though. The security room was a double door with a keypad and fingerprint scanning system. My lockpicking tools weren't going to be very useful today.

Don tried to pry the panel from the wall but that did no good. "April, I'm having trouble getting in. Can you dig up an access code?"

"Yes, but it's going to be tricky. They change the codes hourly."

"And possibly a way to bypass the fingerprint scanning."

"They don't make it easy, do they?"

Raph cracked his knuckles, "Ya know what? Don't bother April. Allow me."

He backed up a few steps and executed a very powerful Tobi-geri. The door flew off its hinges so easily that I almost wanted to doubt how strong this place really was. If my brother could jump-kick a door right down, how bad could the rest of the security in this place be?

Mikey shrugged, "Noisy-"

"But effective," Spider-Man said. The two of them shared an amused look.

The room on the other side was a lot bigger than I expected. There were dozens of Foot ninja's already unsheathing their weapons at the sight of us.

Beside me, my orange-banded brother grinned excitedly. We were about to get some action, "So are we gonna do this with banter or without?"

The Foot ninja wasted no words and charged. Leo smirked, "Sorry little brother. Looks like it's going to be without."

"Why apologize for that?" Mikey laughed.

Foot ninja were not known for their skill, but their numbers. We knew this, thus the first step in our plan. I just wanted to know how they recruited so many. I didn't understand. And what were their training like? It was like these guys graduated from karate school a few belts too early.

However, the last time we had a run in with this many, we were unprepared and disoriented. This time, we were a team and even though we'd brought this battle on our enemies home turf, we didn't seem so out of place.

Donnie was up by the massive wall of computers. He sat on a chair at one of the desks, "April! I'm hooking up. Prepare to download remote access codes!" He pulled out a hard drive from his duffel bags and stuck it into the computer.

I heard Mikey taunting several Foot ninja's from across the room, Raph was using a wheeled chair as a bulldozer of sorts, and Leo was using fighting techniques that were a bit more artsy than usual. Spider-Man was webbing up Foot Soldiers to the ceiling. Even Splinter seemed to be enjoying himself a little, maybe because he didn't go out much. I had to say, even I was enjoying this. The Foot clan had done us so dirty in the past, it felt really good to get some payback.

Within minutes, the battle was over. It was a good warmup.

Raph slid his sais back into his belt with a satisfied exhale, "That was refreshin'."

"No doubt more will be on the way," Master Splinter gave back. Raph didn't look very worried about that.

Donnie stood from the computer's, "Alright. Glad that worked. Can you find us a way out that doesn't include going back into the main hallway or stairwells?"

"That doesn't leave many options."

Donnie nodded, agreeing, "We really don't get a whole of options to start with."

"There's a main ventilation shaft. Duct is located in the northwest corner of the room. Go up one floor and there's an elevator you can use."

Donnie led us in the general direction of the vent. I had step over multiple Foot ninja's on the ground, some completely unconscious and some wriggling in pain. Raph kicked one moaning Foot soldier in the face, snickering.

The short trip of the ventilation shaft led us to a warehouse-like room. Maybe a big garage. There were huge, hyped-up vehicles of all sorts and crates upon crates of weapons and gear. It was an incredible sight, really, even if it was a bit unsettling knowing that the Foot clan had all this. How did they get away with hiding all this? How did they get away getting any of this into the building at all? Ninety-nine percent of this stuff, if not all of it, was completely illegal.

Donnie however, whistled admiringly, particularly to a hovercraft-like vehicle, "It's like I died and went to techno geek heaven."

Raph walked over to a tank on the far end of the room, "Woah. A turtle could kick some serious shell with this stuff."

Mikey pulled a large assault rifle out of a crate. It was silver and blue, decked out with plenty of attachments. It was actually a beauty but not when it was in Mikey's hands.

"What do you think this one does?" He asked, pointing the nozzle toward his face.

I took a step toward him, feeling my heart take a swan-dive, "Mikey wait, don't pull the trigger!"

Mikey did exactly that and shot himself with a black cloud of smoke and dust. Odd. Probably from being out of commission for long? I mean, whatever the case, I was just glad they're weren't any bullets in it.

Idiot. I breathed in relief.

Leo pulled Mikey by the shell. The gun fell to the floor, "That answer your question? Lame brain?"

Mikey couldn't answer between his heavy fit of coughs.

Ahead, Master Splinter kept an even stride for the doors on the far side of the room, "Come, we must keep on the move."

We followed obediently. The size of the room felt larger as we walked. It obviously looked huge to our eyes but the distance from one side of the room to the other made the sheer mass of space seem even bigger. Reaching the double doors after what felt like three years or so, Donnie immediately tapped the code box beside them.

I suddenly felt… I wasn't sure what the feeling was. Irregular maybe. Something wasn't right. I turned behind me but saw nothing out of the ordinary. It almost felt like someone was watching us and their presence was out in the open, right over my shoulder.

Splinter came up beside me, catching my wandering eyes, "You two sense it as well?"

My brows knitted. Behind me, Spider-Man was looking up to the rafters above, then back to Sensei, nodding.

I turned to Sensei, "I think so."

"We are being watched," He said under his breath.

"I would fully agree with you but I'm not sure how. If you get what I'm saying," I said, not really thinking about my words. I was focused on figuring out the weird feeling taking over my senses.

"Yes. I understand," Sensei said.

"There's more than one. I can tell that much. I just… don't know where," Spider-Man had started to wander away from us, turning in circles almost, trying to eye every corner of this place. When he had told me about his "enhanced sense," this must have been what he was talking about.

"What are you guys talking about?" Raph asked.

"We sense a presence," Splinter was more tense by the second, eyes flashing all around.

With the exception of Donnie who was still beside the door in his own little nerd hacking world, all turtles took a look round.

"No one here but us," Mikey stated absentmindedly.

Behind us, the huge metal doors slid open. Donnie looked back at us triumphantly, "Got it you guys!"

I was about to feel relieved, hoping that weird sensation would go away but beyond the doors was just another room that looked nearly the same as the one we were currently standing in, the only difference were the large weaponry items. More dangerous junk.

Raph glared at the new room, "Where the hell are we going anyway?"

"Would you chillax bro?" Mikey wiped the red banded turtle's shoulders with a teasing grin, "We're taking the scenic route."

"This is the scenic route?" Leo asked, not entirely comfortable with the advanced weaponry our enemy had on hand.

Raph swiped Mikey's hand away, "Ain't we supposed to be going up? We're not gettin' any closer to Shredder than we were ten minut-"

It was like an invisible force swung Raph backwards to the floor. He skidded on his shell while another unforeseen power knocked Mikey to the ground.

I was next. The hit was like a kick straight to the chest and completely took me off my feet. My breath was knocked from my lungs and I wasn't sure if it was being hit or if it was partly because of the surprise. Soon, we were all experiencing a fight with opponents we couldn't see. It was frustrating considering sight was one of a ninja's greatest allies in battle. Even Spider-Man, who could sense a hit before it came, seemed to be struggling.

I was pushed back a ways, no longer in the middle of my family but a few yards back. One invisible enemy was trying to seclude me.

Maybe if I just concentrated…

I took a punch to the shoulder.

Then another.

Okay. Solely concentrating wasn't working. I needed to try something else.

This time, I waited for the invisible force to actually hit me.

The next hit came to my stomach. I tried not to think about the bruise I would be getting as I reacted, taking a hold of what felt like a wrist. Using momentum on my own, I was able to throw the weight over my shoulder into the armored truck behind me. Like a static television screen, the figure slouched on the floor flickered. A man, who expectedly bore a Foot symbol on his suit, began panicking as his form was revealed. He quickly began tapping the symbol. It must have been the source of his cloaking.

I pulled a shuriken from my belt and threw it not only into the button but right through the invisible Foot soldier's hand as well. He screamed at the pain. The invisibility portion of his suit completely faded and he was a whole to the eye. I took a step forward and pulled my knife from his hand, allowing him to yell again just as he had when the blade first pierced his skin.

To finish the job, I swung a fist at his skull and knocked him out cold.

Satisfied, I turned and headed back to where my brothers, Splinter, and Spider-Man were still fighting, struggling to beat the rest of the invisible ninjas. Before I jumped in, I took a spare moment to observe. Donnie, Leo and Mikey were more to my left, each taking a hit in a consecutive order. There were long pauses between each blow. The same went with Raph and Splinter. Spider-Man was fighting one… maybe two. He seemed to be catching on well. I watched as he kneed what looked like open air.

So there were three or four left. Now it was just a matter of taking them down.

Before I could join, Raph seemed to decide that he'd had enough. He ran back towards a hovercraft like vehicle with two long metal poles in front. They didn't have barrels so they weren't guns… What was their purpose?

In seconds, Raph had the machinery up and running. The only thing he really did was spin it in a circle and shoot. The metal poles connected to one another with a steady stream of purple electricity. The energy was a beam, like a large laser.

"Watch it!" I ducked.

This wasn't doing any good. My brother was completely destroying the place. If I could duck and cover from the lasers, so could the invisible Foot soldiers.

"Could you point that thing somewhere useful?!" Mikey shrieked, hitting the floor with his hands shielding his head. Leo and Splinter ducked behind a metal pillar. Donnie dove behind a crate of weaponry and Spider-Man had webbed himself to safety on the ceiling.

It was almost like Raph had lost control. The machine began spinning rather quickly and at the last second, Raph abandoned it before it crashed into now closed doorway that Donnie had just opened up earlier.

"What was the point of all that?!" Mikey yelled.

Raph held a fist up, "I was tryna' save your shell diphead!"

"More like trying to take off my shell! You're a lousy driver!"

"A little help you two!" Leo yelled, interrupting the petty argument. The invisible Foot ninjas were up and fighting, knocking us around like toys.

This was getting ridiculous. Now I couldn't really sense the ninjas were. My game was thrown off. I knew they were somewhere in front of me but I couldn't pinpoint an exact location. It was hopeless to keep standing around and let them keep taking hits. I looked back to where Mikey had been earlier when we'd first entered the warehouse. Maybe that crate filled with dumpy guns were so old that they all had a little dust and grime growing inside.

The first gun I grabbed was a little bigger than the one Mikey had grabbed and definitely heavier than I expected it was going to be. I somehow managed to get it into my arm and gave it a quick look over. There was no mag and as far as I could tell, nothing in the chamber. This was still a risk but I hauled it back to the fight anyway.

"Look out!" I yelled, pulling the trigger, fumes spewed. There was more crap inside the gun than I thought there'd be. The exhaust was a dense cloud that surrounded everyone.

"What the hell, Jade?" Raph coughed.

The outline of the invisible ninja's became apparent through the dirty haze. I dropped the gun and quickly pulled two shurikens from my belt. In a half second, both blades were impaled in the Foot ninja's gear. The cloaking buttons sparked and they both fell to the ground, knocked out from a sharp electrocution. That hadn't happened with the Foot soldier I had taken out but I wasn't going to complain.

"Quick thinking there, Jay." Leo patted me on the back, still choking on dust.

I shrugged as if it was no big deal, "Had to give you guys a hand somehow."

"That's some incredible tech they have," Donnie kneeled down to the ninja's on the floor with an observant eye, "Some kind of exoskeleton suit… With optical camouflage built within the material."

"You should make us some," Mikey said, "We could go full out Batman in those."

Donnie looked over his shoulder. There was a mischievous smirk pulling on his lips, "That would be pretty cool."

Spider-Man kneeled and ripped a piece of the material off one of the soldiers, "I can certainly try and find out how they do it. A fun little project."

"Little?" I asked. Donnie sparked inspiration at the idea and followed Spider-Man's lead, ripping the material and stuffing it in his duffel bag.

"Well, the doors are busted up." Leo stood a ways off, staring off where out original exit had been.

"Thanks Raph," Mikey crossed his arms and tried to give the red-banded turtle a stern glare but that just resulted in a smack to the head.

"So where to now?" I asked.

My brother pointed to the hole in the ceiling, "Up."

"And how are we gonna get up there?" Raph asked, "I don't think we can jump."

"I can help with that actually," Spider-Man flicked his wrist and webbed himself to the opening. He paused, looking around but seemed to stiffen. I could tell I wasn't the only one who noticed. Leo shifted, looking like he was about to ask what was up there but Spider-Man turned around, "You guys are definitely going to want to see what's up here."

"We gotta get up there first," Raph yelled back, irritation setting in easily like it usually did.

"Grab a buddy," Spider-Man called. I was closest to Mikey, who put an arm over my shoulders.

Spider-Man flicked his wrist again, hitting a slab of webbing onto the backside of Mickey's shell. My brother frowned immediately, opening his mouth to yell some sort of confused insult but Spider-Man had already flicked his wrist up to the ceiling of the room he was in. The result was a bit like a bungee rope, though Mikey and I were completely unprepared for it. My brother screamed, losing the grip around my shoulders. Through a quick reaction, I still managed to grab his wrist before we were flung up into the air. I had a serious deathgrip, watching the ground and the horrified expressions of my remaining family members, get smaller.

However, the landing was smooth. Mikey easily found his footing on the upper level, "Okay, that was sweet. Can we do it again?"

"No," I let go of my brother's wrist, stumbling, "I feel nauseous."

"Don't be so dramatic," Mikey patted the top of my head, which didn't help.

Spider-Man did the same with Leo hanging onto Sensei, and Raph and Donnie hugging each other.

"Does this stuff come off?" Raph asked, poking at the webbing on the back of Donnie's shell. Leo had to cut off what he could but trying to rip it off was difficult, considering how sticky it was.

"It'll dissolve in a couple hours. No worries," Spider-Man said casually.

I nearly blocked out the conversation. The room we were standing in was dark, except for the flamboyant neon green. Three large containers were filled with some kind of algae-like substance. Not like the ooze that the Kraang had. This was like water illuminated with lights underneath the containers. And within the liquid… Were people.

"What is this place?" Mikey asked quietly.

Donnie spoke into his headset, "April. Check the building schematics, see if you can tell us where we are."

There was a short pause, "Well, based on my screen, you're on the 33rd floor."

"When did we get to the 33rd floor?" Spider-Man asked.

"I was thinking the same thing," Leo murmured.

"I… I'm sorry. It won't display any other information."

"She doesn't need to," I said, feeling a sickly lump in the back of my throat, "It's a genetics lab."