We ran across rooftops. I was following my nose and it led us to Bebop and Rocksteady. Speaking of which, I could hear him coming to the window. "Oh, is only garbage man-" I did a 360 and kicked him in the horn. "What the what? How'd you find us?" Bebop asked, shocked.

"By staking out Shredder's lair for fifteen hours straight without so much as a bathroom break!" Donatello shouted. "That, and you're driving a van with a Bebop and Rocksteady sign on it." Michelangelo said. "Third, I can smell you from a mile away." I added, pressure pointing Rocksteady. "Ouch! That hurt!"

"So does my back, but I don't whine about it!" I retorted, tripping Rocksteady. "Eat mutagen, pussycat!" Bebop exclaimed. I was trying to catch it with my mouth. By the time it hit me, it shattered in my mouth, most of the mutagen falling out the window. I spat out the shards of glass without cutting myself, but now I gotta wash the taste of mutagen out my mouth. Why did I do that...

SO here I am, standing with my mouth open in disgust. "I ate it, alright!" I said, my sentence not very fluent because my mouth was hanging open. I didn't dare close it."You, okay, Marcus?" Leonardo asked. I gave him a thumbs up. After Bradford and I mutated a second time, I can't be mutated again.

"We're getting our shells waxed." Donatello said wearily after Michelangelo was thrown to him. I gathered my willpower to spit the mutagen out. The taste is still in my mouth, I tried wiping it off with my paw. It did nothing. I need mouthwash when we get back. "Run. We cannot return to Shredder with the empty hand." Rocksteady told Bebop. "That's my cue to bounce." Bebop said, grabbing something then turning invisible.

"Why did I do that?" I asked myself, my mouth still open. I want to throw up SO FRIGGING BAD! "Let's see if this fixes your mouth, pussycat." Bebop punched me in the mouth, then forced my mouth closed with a punch under my chin, causing me to bite my tongue, causing me to recoil in pain.

"I'm outtie 5000. See you later, pussycat." Bebop said, jumping out the window. Then I saw Rocksteady ramming towards us. Not on my watch. I stopped him by grabbing his horn and pushing him down into the floor, then he crashed and rolled out the window. You're probably wondering, why do I always aim for his horn? For me, it's his weak spot.

"Can we go back now? I need mouthwash badly."

While we're sitting in Donatello's lab, I've been rinsing my mouth with alcohol-free mouthwash for the past five minutes. It has to be alcohol-free, because last time I used mouthwash with alcohol in it, I burped, causing an intense flame to burst from my mouth. It smelled like alcohol, mint, and gasoline. Weird.

"Mutagen tasted that bad?" Nyata asked. "Yeah, if you think mutagen tastes bad, my blood tastes worse." I said, rinsing my mouth again. "Your blood?" I spat the mouthwash out for the seventh time in a row. "It looks like mercury, but it tastes like mutagen mixed with iron filings and soy sauce."

"Blech." Nyata gagged. "Exactly."

"I have a breath mint if you're getting sick of mouthwash." Donatello offered. "You probably mean you're getting sick of me using it, but either way, toss it." I almost didn't catch it. Yes, it's a friggin' Life Saver! I put the breath mint in my mouth. "That's better." I said.

"Okay, according to the lab's records, two things are missing; mutagen, which ended up in poor Marcus's mouth, and Reagent X, an ingredient needed to make the mind control serum." Donatello said. "So what's the game plan?" Raphael asked. "Reagent X still needs an additional chemical solvent in order to work." Donatello answered.

"Let's just hope Bebop and Rocksteady haven't found all the components yet." Leonardo told us. By now, I'm almost done with my Life Saver. "Are you gonna be okay?" Leonardo asked me. "I will be now. I just hope I don't get another foul-tasting something in my mouth tonight."

"I agree. It's worse than your fish breath." Raphael commented. "Bruh, nothing is worse than my fish breath."

"I know."

I yawned as the name 'Muckman' appeared on the TV screen. "Boring." Nyata moaned out. Gabby and Apollo nodded in agreement. "I take it Michelangelo could come up with a better name. Right?" Apollo asked. "You bet. I would've gone with the Noxious Avenger." Michelangelo answered.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." I said. "Muckman isn't that bad, though." Gabby said. "Yeah, I gotta agree with that." I muttered. "I bet it's one of Stockman-Fly's experiments gone wrong." Gabby said. "Do you think he was mutated when that mutagen canister exploded in my face?" I asked.

"I say we find this guy, and, assuming we can tell his butt from his face, kick it." Raphael suggested. "So you wanna beat someone up before you even know him? That doesn't sound very right. Didn't do that to me when we met-"

Apollo covered my mouth. I know not everything is about me, but beating someone up before getting to know him isn't a very good idea. "He said he stopped a mugging." Leonardo said. "What if Shredder wants the Reagent X to control Muckman?" Donatello suggested. "Like I said; find butt, then kick it."

I stood behind Raphael and shoved my foot on his back, causing him to stumble forwards. "Happy?" I spat.

We looked down from a rooftop as he ran from a crowd. "You see that? Only a guilty man runs." Raphael said. I kicked him in the side of his head with my back foot. "Ow!" He shouted. "Stop hitting me!"

"You know how Michelangelo feels yet?" I asked him, sticking my chin out and putting a fake grin on. He growled at me. "Thought so."

"Marcus is right, though. He may wanna stay out of sight, just like you." April pointed out. I wanted to say something SO BAD, but knowing that'll just waste time, I didn't. We followed Muckman into an alley and saw him talking to… a Trubbish? "They don't care about me. I'm just a joke, a sideshow they can point and laugh at." Muckman told his eye.

This guy is weirder than ME.

"Dude, are you talking to your eyeball?" Michelangelo asked, just about as confused as I was. "Turtle men? G-Giant cat?" Muckman asked. He knows us. Can this night get any weirder? "Well, technically, we're turtle teens and a Caspian Tiger with fire powers." Donatello answered.

Then, out of the blue, trash began to fly and surround us, like we were in the midst of a trash tornado. Trash-nado. "It was you! You did this to me! You made me into a freak!" He shouted angrily before hitting us with garbage. I used Protect, but I was flown back against the wall still.

"I can assure you, sir, we did not. And even if we did, we didn't mean to." I said in a half British accent. And then we got hit with toxic puke. I used Protect, and the puke nearly seeped through it. Luckily, it didn't, and I was unharmed, but sadly I can't say the same for the boys.

April stood in front of us, pulling out her tessen. "Don't hurt them. I'm warning you." She told him. Muckman backed away. "I don't want to hurt you, little girl." Muckman said. "No, but you try to poison the last Caspian Tiger on Earth!" I spat. Muckman looked shocked for a second, then he left, and we saw shadows. Oh crud…

"Get up! They're gonna see you." April said. "Oh no they're not." Michelangelo said before throwing a smoke bomb. Little did I know, two seconds too late.

Man, I feel like garbage, pun intended. We got back to the lair after we got in a spat with Muckman. I think that toxic puke was the worst part of it. I wasn't badly affected. I still can't believe he thinks we mutated him on purpose. Though the Kraang mutated me, Gabby and Apollo on purpose. At least the Kraang are gone for good. And since that whole ordeal, I have a damn good excuse to get some rest. I'm feeling better just talking about it, actually.

"They saw something, but they didn't know what," I replied tauntingly. They were watching TV, Splinter behind them. The turtles had towels on and they all had red eyes from the toxic puke. "And that something seemed to be four human-sized mutant turtles," Joan Grody said. Aw crap. Splinter growls. "At least she doesn't know they're ninjas," April answers. "And they appeared to be carrying ninja weapons," Joan replies, as if on cue. Damn... It...

"Or that they're named after artists?" April asks sheepishly. "Furthermore, they may also be-" April shuts the TV off in anger. What the fresh hell? How does she..? "Oh, doesn't she ever shut up?" she asks. Splinter turns to his sons in anger. "How could you all be so careless?" he asks. I shrink myself down so my head is in between my front paws, and I'm looking up with the sad, soulful puppy dog eyes.

"Secrecy is the most important rule of the ninja, and you have broken it. You four are forbidden from leaving the lair!" Splinter tells them. "What? You can't hold that sloppy escape against us. We got slimed with toxic puke!" Raphael retorts. "Silence!" Splinter shouts. I growl, enraged, standing up. Splinter looked at me. I lowered my posture, but held the death glare written on my face. "But Sensei, if that pile of muck took us down, you know he's dangerous," Donatello explains. "Which means we need to be out there looking for him," Leonardo finishes.

"No. Until I decide I can trust you to watch yourselves, you will remain here. Grounded!" Splinter answers, walking away. The boys groan. But before anything else could happen, Ozzy opens his mouth.

"Do you have any idea how long that could take?" Ozzy asked Splinter. He turns to Ozzy with the same look he had on before. "They might as well stay down here for the rest of their lives if you're gonna punish them like that. I never punished my son that harshly, so I think you should-"

Splinter gets in Ozzy's face, stroking his beard. "I should?" He asks, calmer than he looked. Ozzy glares at him. "You should actually think about your punishments."

"Um, Splinter." Splinter turns to Apollo. "With all due respect, he's kinda right. I mean, they could be stuck down here for a really long time if they're punished like that. Not saying you're a bad parent-"

"Maybe you would like to join my sons in their punishment?" Splinter asks Apollo in anger. Ozzy swats Splinter's nose, pissed off. "If you EVER talk to my son like that again, I'll—!"

Apollo grabs Ozzy's shoulders and pulls him back. "Dad!" Ozzy looks at his son. "Please…" Nothing more needed to be said. With a sigh, Ozzy sat down like a dog. "Marcel and Kingsley, I would like to speak with you, now!"

I shrink a bit. I look at Kingsley. "It's okay. I'll be there with you." He said. I'm not sure why I'm in trouble, but I'm nervous already. I kinda shouldn't be, though. I mean, I'm a tiger, Splinter's a rat. I could eat him if I wanted to. Obviously, I won't. Unless he gives me a reason to. And telling from his rant a few seconds ago, he probably will.

Kingsley and I are standing in a row in front of Splinter. "Look, Splinter, it's not entirely their fault." I said with flattened ears. Splinter stands there, thinking about something. "You are right, Marcel." He said. Why am I getting a bad feeling about this? "My sons are not the ones to blame."

Kingsley and I share an uneasy glance. "It is your fault." That's why. "Wh-? MY fault?"

"You of all people should have kept an eye out of anybody watching you. But you didn't, did you?" He asks me, angry again. I grow angry, too. "You can't expect me to do everything."

"Answer my question!"

"No! I was too focused on making sure everyone made it home alive! Isn't that what matters? Everyone comes home in one piece?"

"Marcel is right, Splinter." Kingsley said. But Splinter doesn't seem to want to listen. He looks me dead in the eye. "If you care more about their lives than their secret, then perhaps you would like to join my sons in being grounded." My brain flickered on and off in both anger and confusion. What?! Is he serious?!

"I will not allow it! He's done nothing wrong!" Kingsley defends. "And for the record, if you want to keep their secret safe, then unground them and let them fix the problem!" I know better than to yell at him, but he's being as ridiculous as Ozzy, and that's no understatement.

"No! Kingsley, if your son can't keep himself under control, then he will be grounded as well." Splinter said, glaring at Kingsley. "You don't make that decision! I do! You're not his father! I am!"

"Silence!" Splinter shouts, louder than last time. "Marcel, you know better than to talk back to me! You are the one who is in the wrong!"

"Alright, that's it!" I stand up on two legs, fuming. "I've always believed in 'respect your elders,' but you're crossing the line right now. It's not the boys' fault! End of discussion!"

"If it is not their fault, then it's yours!"

"Why am I getting blamed for something I've been doing for the past sixteen years?! You're the one who gave them the responsibility of going up there! You're their Sensei and father! If it's anyone's fault, it's yours!"

Splinter's had it with my ranting and raving. He hits me just above the eye with his cane, strikes me twice, and spin kicks me to the other side of the room. He struck me pretty damn hard. "You will not speak to me like that again! Understood?"

I staggered as I tried to stand back up. "Understood?" He asks louder. I uncovered my eye to see that it was bleeding. Right where my scar was. I guess he hit me hard enough. So now I'm injured, AND I feel useless. Can this night get any worse?

I look over to Splinter and Kingsley. They both have shocked looks on their faces. Splinter takes a few steps forward. "Marcel, I—"

I hiss at him like a feral cat, showing him all of my sharp teeth. He backs away. Kingsley stands in front of me. "Stay away from my son." He growls, helping me up. "Marcel, I am so sorry. I should not have let my temper get the best of me. Please, forgive me."

"So much for 'like a river over stone,' huh?" Was the last thing I said to him before leaving the dojo with a furious Kingsley. I know he's not mad at me. He's mad at Splinter. And he has every right to be.

April was the first one to notice my condition. "Oh my gosh, Marcel, are you okay?" I don't answer her. Gabby covers her mouth, Apollo, Ozzy, and the boys look at me shocked "I knew something happened. I heard the sound of something hitting metal." Apollo said, putting his arm around my shoulders. I do vice versa to him. I think he's crying a little. I can see his damp eyes.

"I can't believe he actually hit you." Gabby said. I didn't even notice the rat mutant in question standing there behind me. "Marcel—" Apollo swats Splinter's outstretched hand, almost scratching him, all the while hissing. "Don't you ever come near my brother again."

"I know I'm the second in command, but that doesn't mean everything's my fault. If I knew this would happen, I wouldn't have accepted the role."

"I am sorry you feel that way, but that is just part of the responsibility." Splinter said. I growl. "Then I don't want to be on the team anymore."

"You cannot make that decision-"

"I just did." I cut him off with my harsh retort. "I never had an actual role in this team, anyway. I'm just an add-on. A fifth wheel. Always have been, always will be. And if that doesn't change, then I can't stay here anymore. Simple as that." I can't even bring myself to look him in the eyes, I'm so pissed off.

"I'll get that fixed up for you." Donatello said. "Thank you."

We're all sitting in Michelangelo's room. I'm wearing an eyepatch over my left eye. "So... What do we do now?" Apollo asks us. "Wish I knew." Leonardo said. "How's his eye?" Gabby asks Donatello. "He got hit hard. He'd have to wear that eyepatch for about a week, but since he heals faster than normal tigers, you should wear it for the rest of the night." Donatello summarizes. "The longest you'll have to wait is at least two days."

"I appreciate it, Donatello. Thank you." I said to him, as calm as I could, but my anger is still present in my tone. "Marcel, Splinter didn't hurt you on purpose." Leonardo assures me. "It sure felt like he did." I growl. "I tried to talk some sense into him. I was trying to tell him what I thought. If he wants to keep the secret, then he needs to unground you guys and fix the problem."

"We're glad you tried to stand up for us, but this isn't your fault. We're the ones who messed up, we're the ones who need to fix it." Raphael said. I don't take very kindly to this. "And what am I supposed to do? Sit around here and do nothing?" I spat. "You're hurt, Marcel. You need to rest that eye." Leonardo orders. "I find that hypocritical. Cause I didn't hear you say that when Zeke gave me my scars. And said it yourself when the Kraang first tried to invade; if I can beat the cat from hell himself, I could help you win against the Kraang."

"This time is different, though. Your eye was bleeding. That eye needs to rest. I guess you can say it's doctors orders." Donatello said with a light shrug. "I don't care. I'm not gonna sit here and let you guys stay cooped up down here. I'm going to fix this myself, if it kills me!"

"No you're not! Look, I know you're a little upset—" I cut Leonardo off. "A little?! Do you wanna know how upset I am?" I get up in Leonardo's face. "I'll tell you how upset I am. Let's leave it like this; I am this close," My thumb and index finger are barely touching. "To barging into the dojo and eating Splinter alive. That's how upset I am. And you arguing with me isn't helping. I'm going to fix this, the hell with my eye, end of discussion."

"You are going to stay here and rest that eye!"

I roar out, furious. Everyone except Leonardo jumps and winces. I grunt in Leonardo's face. He just gives me the same glare I'm giving him. Now that's what I cal Fearless; not flinching when a tiger roars in your face. I exhale deeply, calming myself down. "I can take him in my current condition. My eye is hurt, not my leg, or my arm, or what have you. I was temporarily blind in one eye when I had a bad encounter with a Mozambique Spitting Cobra. I can fight with one eye."

"I know you're not making this up, but we can't chance it. If you go up there, your eye could get worse. Just stay down here with us for tonight, and we'll figure out what to do tomorrow. Okay?"

I'm not in the mood for arguing anymore. I sigh, defeated, "Alright."

You guys know that spiral thing hanging above the pit? That's where I'm sleeping. At least, they think I'm sleeping. I know, I know, I should be staying down here so my eye can heal, but I'm not gonna let this problem get worse by lying here.

I jump down silently. "What are you doing? You're supposed to be resting." I jumped when I heard that voice. Nyata. I growl, turning around. "What are you doing?" I asked her. "What are you doing? You can't just go up there. You're injured."

"So what? 'm the reason everyone down here is miserable. I'm a mutant worth hating. I'm not falling for your reassuring words this time."

With footsteps as quiet as a mouse, I snuck out of the lair and up to the surface without another word.

I run across the rooftops. Oh wait, how am I even going to find them? No trace of footprints, but I still have my nose. Let's see… I smell a dumpster, that unique warthog smell… found them.

A short whistling sound, followed by a familiar voice, causes me to freeze in place. "Marcel, we told you to stay in the lair!" Crap. I turn to see the boys catching up to me. "Okay, three things. One, I'm not sure how you guys snuck out, but you shouldn't have. Two, I said I'd take care of this. Three, I specifically told you I wasn't gonna sit around and do nothing."

"So you sneak out when we tell you not to?" Raphael asks me. "Like you guys are ones to talk. You four are grounded. Splinter can't ground me. Only Kingsley has that right."

Leonardo groans, "We'll talk more when we get back." he said. "Good choice."

"Busting into Kraang labs? Not very heroic," I said and we jumped down. Muckman slowly walks up to me. "I'm not some dumb kid who don't know good from bad. I know who turned me into a monster. You!" he answers, firing some puke at me. I dodge the puke. Why does he think we mutated him? We would never do that!

"You get the chemical. We'll handle them," Bebop said to Muckman. "What're you doing, Muck Dude? You're supposed to be a hero!" Michelangelo told him. "No. You made me a monster. Now you're gonna see what a monster can do," Muckman answers, making trash surround us. "I don't know what those two morons told you, but believe me, we did not do this to you!" I exclaim, covering my eyes. "Look, we're taking it easy on you. This is a big misunderstanding. I don't-I don't wanna have to-"

Leonardo gets hit by a trash bag, crashing into Bebop and Rocksteady's van. "Hurt you," I finished. "Muckman, listen to me. These turtles are like brothers to me. We didn't mutate anyone, and we never would. They're just using you, don't you see that?" I explain.

"At least I'll be human. People won't call me a freak," Muckman said. "Just look at us," I explain. Muckman's eyes sparkle. "Watchin' you get all sappy makes me want to spew toxic puke," Bebop comments before throwing down a smoke bomb. But it wasn't a smoke bomb, since it gave off a high pitched noise. I scream and cover my ears.

I fight Bebop and Rocksteady. "Mm. Back for more, fuzzyface?" Bebop replies. I growl. "I will scorch you into bacon," I hiss. I lick my chops to intimidate him, "Mmm. Hickory smoked." Bebop and Rocksteady push me back. "This one's on me," I hear from Muckman. The two run outside, but I throw a stone at Bebop. I grab hold of Muckman, who readies his slime. "Slime him!" I order and Muckman fires his puke at the two.

"Aw, weak, son! Wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-wiggity-wack!" Bebop exclaims. I roll my eyes. The jar Rocksteady was holding starts to glow. "Nyet, the chemical!" he exclaims and the chemical explodes in their faces. I cross my arms, laughing heartlessly. "You have keys for van, da?" Rocksteady asks. "It's time we put the pedal to the medal. Run!" Bebop answers and the two drive off.

"What are we waiting for? Let's finish 'em off!" Muckman said. His eyeball pops out. "That problem's done with, pal. If you really want to finish this, you know what to do," he tells Muckman.

Muckman turns to me. "Look, uh, tiger, I know you were only trying to, uh-" I smile, knowing what he was gonna say. "Muck, it's okay. Just know that we wouldn't mutate someone on purpose," I answer.

I see shadows approaching. "Okay, look, just throwing this out, I've been the city's hero for years. They'll believe me straight away. So how about we do this together?"

"Okay." Muckman said, and the boys go to hide. I crack my knuckles. Here goes nothing.

Back at the lair at last. And my eye is left unscathed. But, unfortunately, we didn't come back unseen. Only a little nervous, I was sitting in the dojo with the boys, Splinter, Ozzy and Kingsley. "So, you disobeyed me, and the doctor's orders, and leaved the lair." He said. "No one saw us, Sensei. We swear." Michelangelo said.

"I was only trying to help. Speaking of which, we fixed everything." I took Leonardo's T-Phone and hand it to Splinter.

"Turtle mutants? Seriously? You're probably thinkin' of those kids who dress up in costumes, like the Pulverizer," Muckman answered. "Wait, am I on TV? Can I say hi to the people?" I asked. The cameraman pointed his camera at me, slightly trembling. "Hi, people." I said, waving. "And there you have it, folks, straight from Muckman himself. The turtle mutants do not exist." Grody said. Gotta say, that was easy.

"See, sensei. We're all cool," Raphael said. "Everything's back to normal."

"Nothing to worry about," Donatello replies. "Yep, all good," I answered. "So that means we can watch Crognard again, right?" Michelangelo asks. Splinter throws a kunai at the T-Phone he was holding, "No. You are still grounded."

Splinter knocks them all out with one hit. I sit there, furious and flabbergasted at the same time. "What? Are you kidding me?! After all that?!" I shout. "You may have kept the identity safe, but you still disobeyed me." Splinter said simply. "Well, if you care more about the damn secret than their lives, then what's the point of them going up there at all?!"

I storm out of the dojo, slamming the door. Not gonna lie, I'm a lot angrier than I was last time. After everything we did… We went through hell and back trying to fix the problem, and he's still having them grounded?! How unfair is that?

I'm sitting at the toll gates, grasping my head with my paws, eyes shut. "I hate this. I fucking hate this. I hate this so much." I muttered to myself. I heard a loud, deep, bass voice coming from the dojo, but I couldn't make out if it was Kingsley or Splinter. And at this point I'm too pissed off to ask. The last thing I heard was something slamming the floor and a low, earthshaking roar. No doubt that was Kingsley.

I could hear footsteps. It wasn't Splinter, because I don't hear him coming half the time, this coming from someone with an above average sense of hearing. After a few seconds, I saw that the silent footsteps belonged to Nyata. "Look, I know you're upset, and I don't blame you one bit." She told me. "And your point is?"

"My point is, you shouldn't get yourself worked up over this." She said. "And, might I ask, why not?" I asked her. "Well... I know you've been living with them for most of your life... but it's not entirely your business." She said nervously. "But that's the point. I'm also the one who helped raise them. So in this case, their business is my business."

"You make a good point yet, but I still think you should calm yourself down."

"Yeah, that I agree with."