Chapter 8: Their First Mission.

'Huh? How'd I get here? Where am I?'

Venus starred at the burning building behind her. She was no longer the little cub that she used to be. She had become a mutant cheetah. The mutation seemed to have the same affects on her as the boys. Venus's learning speed was increased greatly, her dew claw had turned into an opposable digit and her other toes had grown longer. Surprisingly, she could also walk and speak in English, though she had forgotten how she had learned. The one big difference though, was her human like voluptuous bust, over which she wore a pale green tank top to cover. Venus reached into the pocket of her baggy pants and pulled out a packet of matches. She looked at the matches with confusion before throwing them aside into the nearby bushes. She picked up her bag that she had packed prior, though no longer remembered when, and ran off into the mountains of Lesotho.

*****

"…Anyway, this new book that I've been reading says that it is possible to gain special powers by accessing one of the thirteen different dimensions linked directly to Earth! Isn't that cool?" Donatello blabbed on to his tuned out brothers.

"Uh-huh", they all answered in unison, their minds elsewhere. Ever since Donatello started helping Saringai with the mobile phones, Donatello has gone electronic mad. He started reading books about technology, physics and sometimes even chemistry. Donatello was usually up till all hours of the night (mainly because he couldn't sleep with Michelangelo's strange nocturnal eating habits) experimenting with all the microchips, wires and batteries that Saringai supplied him with; none of his inventions worked. Donatello's new goal was to build his own laptop computer, once he's got all the parts. But till then, Donatello was content just reading about the new theories of time travel and other mind-bending topics.

"… And this dimension, right, is oval shaped, so there are weaker points than others…"

"Uh-huh", they all answered in unison, still walking to their destination.

"… So this scientist thinks that if you time it correctly, then data can cross into other dimensions through these weaker points…"

"Uh-huh", they all answered in unison.

"Hey Don?" Raphael suddenly said. "What's the name of that book you're talking about?"

"Oh… um… Thirteen Dimensions", Donatello answered, surprised that Raphael of all people was taking an interest.

"Ok, when we get back home, I'm gonna find that book and tear it to shreds", Raphael threatened. Leonardo and Michelangelo smiled in agreement. Donatello shut up and the boys walked in silence for a few minutes, thinking about what they were about to attempt; their first mission. 'Get in, grab the Book of Mutants, then get the hell out of there' were Saringai's instructions. Their master had lead them as far as Ikhaya Labantu before saying that they were on their own, because he would be too slow to get past Shere Khan's patrols. Speed was the one thing that was on the cheetah's side. Before they separated, Saringai made them all wear full body length, hooded black coats. He had told them that it would help camouflage them better in the shadows of night.

Michelangelo looked through the darkness, trying to read the map Zareb had drawn for them. According to Zareb's memory, the book was located on the second floor in the room next door to Shere Khan's bedroom. 'No easy task', he thought. Michelangelo was especially nervous about tonight as this was the first time he could fully use his leadership status. His heart was pumping a mile a minute, but tried his best not to show his fear on the outside.

The group stopped walking when they had reached the outside fence of Shere Khan's mansion. They silently boosted each other over the sandstone wall. Once over, they ducked down to hide in the shrubbery, preparing to cross the large yard. "Remember what Saringai has taught us…" Leonardo whispered. "… We must move in shadow. We're one with the night. Total stealth, total silence. We're ninja, we must…"

"Leo… we're just going to bolt across the lawn", Michelangelo interrupted.

"… Oh…"

Altogether, the cubs ran across the lawn at top speed. It wasn't as far as they had expected, and arrived next to the rocky walls of the compound in no time. The cubs looked nervously around. They knew that Shere Khan kept tamed hyenas, but luckily nothing came. One by one they started to climb up the vines which had grown up along the wall.

Climbing was one of those weird talents that no one could explain. Cheetahs usually could climb trees (after experiencing some difficulty), but the way the cubs climbed was similar to that of a leopard. They were excellent. Donatello thought that the talent might of come from seeing Saringai climb up trees all the time, but the others thought it was unlikely. Another weird yet useful attribute that they had, was their amazing night vision. The cubs could see at night almost perfectly, similar to Saringai, while a normal cheetah would find it hard. This quality was definitely going to come in handy tonight. By far, the cub's most unusual ability was the ability to roar. This was the trait which had the cubs stumped the most. Cheetahs simply don't have the correct shaped voice box to be able to roar. So how come the cubs can?

Using the vines, they each swung over to one of the many second-storey balconies. Zareb had told them that the room that this particular balcony belonged to was vacant. Fortunately, he was right. The cubs clambered inside the pitch-black room, catching their breath. All of a sudden, the boys heard a low growl.

"What was that?" Raphael whispered, listening hard to the deafening silence that followed.

"I think that was my stomach", Michelangelo whispered sheepishly back.

"… You sure?"

"Yeah… I'm hungry". Michelangelo could almost hear his brothers roll their eyes.

They ever so slowly opened the double doors that, according to the map, should lead to a corridor. The cubs wouldn't be surprised if a lion was up and about. Zareb had warned them that there could be at least one guard. They looked down the corridor that was well lit with the gas lamps hanging from the ceiling. Nothing. Normally they would be happy, but something was really suspicious about this. It didn't take them long to figure out what happened to the guard.

The cubs had stepped out of the dark room and into the corridor, where they followed it to the end where it abruptly made a right turn into the next conjoining hallway. Michelangelo sneaked his head around the corner only to find a lion lying on the floor. At first he thought the guard was asleep, but at closer inspection, he found that the lion had been knocked unconscious.

'We're not alone'.

*****

Venus furiously skimmed through the 'Book of Mutants' hoping to find some answers. She couldn't remember her past, and the little bits she did where unclear and short. Her last clear memory was of this morning, when she had been standing outside the burning building. She couldn't really remember anything before that. She only just remembered her name, but she only found that out because it was written on the bag she had been carrying.

After a couple of hours traveling, Venus had unexpectedly found Ikhaya Labantu, where she sneaked around, trying to find some answers. It was then that she came across this hut, strangely familiar to her. She had listened in on the conversation inside which mainly revolved around something called the 'Book of Mutants'. What ever it was, it seemed very important. With nothing much to lose, Venus decided to look for the book, hoping that it will hold some answer to her past, or at least what she is.

It was a quite a chilly night that night; so she pulled out the full length hooded coat from her bag and put it on. Following the instructions that she had over heard, she crept into the mansion, trying to find the book. It was then she spotted a lion, which she instinctively knocked out with a move she didn't even remember learning. Now, still standing in the room where she had found it, Venus anxiously searched for answers… if there were any.

There was a noise. Venus swiveled around to face four cloaked figures. She held the book defensively.

*****

The boys had slowly crept into the room where the book should be. They were surprised to see a fully cloaked figure searching through the artifact. The stranger seemed to sense them and turned about face, holding the object that they desired.

"What do you want?" The stranger asked all at once. The boys where shocked when they heard a feminine voice. The boys didn't know that the figure was a female cheetah, and the same vice-versa, because the coats they were wearing covered most of their body.

"We've come for the book", Leonardo said. The figure slowly stared at the thing in her hands, thinking.

"I'm sorry. I must have this".

"Listen girly. We don't have all day. That book was stolen from my master three years ago, so it's rightfully ours. Now hand it over", Raphael hissed, knowing full well that Shere Khan was sleeping in the next room.

The stranger seemed to take offense to that, as she quickly did a low sweep causing Raphael to fall over. The others quickly drew their weapons, although they felt uncomfortable fighting against a female. Leonardo swiftly kicked the book out of the figure's hands. Michelangelo quickly grabbed it while Leonardo kept the stranger's attention with a series of sword movements.

It was about this time when Shere Khan's son, Sebastian, noticed the unconscious guard… and the mysterious cloaked figures fighting in the room up ahead. "SHERE KHAN!"

It was time to leave. With the book safely in Michelangelo's hands, it was definitely time to go. The boys began to run up the corridor, towards Sebastian.

"SHERE KH-!"

The boys literally ran over Sebastian and around the corner into the next hallway. The stranger still stood in the room, unsure of what to do next. The mutant lions and tigers were waking up in their rooms, some looking into the corridor only to see four black blurbs whiz by. By the time the cloaked figure had come to her senses, it was already too late. She was surrounded.

The cubs ran into the room, through which they came, and slammed the double doors behind them.

"RAPH! Quickly! Shove your forky thingies into the door handles so they can't get in!" Michelangelo hurriedly ordered.

"No way dude! … I'll lose a sai…"

This was no time to be petty. Donatello shoved Raphael away and slid his bo across the handles, acting like a bar if the enemy tried to get in. It would buy them some time. The cheetahs rushed over to the balcony, Michelangelo looking like he was ready to jump. Raphael held him down.

"What are you thinking? Don't tell me you were about to jump off a second-storey balcony!" Raphael protested.

"Cats always land on their feet!" Michelangelo argued. Raphael thought about this.

"… Does that apply to cheetahs?" Raphael asked to no one in particular. The bo across the door wasn't going to hold much longer. Michelangelo shrugged.

"Guess we'll find out!" With that, Michelangelo jumped off, book in hand. His younger brothers looked over the balcony.

"Ok, it's official. Our leader is a nutcase", Raphael announced. The door to the room burst open, snapping Donatello's bo in half. They took a deep breath before jumping off the balcony. Michelangelo was right; cats do land on their feet.

"HURRY!" Michelangelo managed to yell. The hyenas that weren't there before were definitely there now. The cubs sprinted over the yard, hyenas chasing. It was hard for Michelangelo to keep up, as he had to run on two legs because he was holding the book. When they reached the wall, Raphael scrambled up to the top and helped by pulling his brothers over. Michelangelo only made it within seconds before he would have been hyena chow. Exhaustedly, they drop down on the other side of the perimeter wall, panting heavily.

"YOU… AND YOUR … BLOODY… SAIS!" Donatello yelled in between breaths.

"What?" Raphael said smugly. "…I like my sais". The cubs groaned as they started to head for home, prize in hand. Mission accomplished… just.