A/N: - Here you have it! My next chapter – and I'm still appealing for the Shredder Strikes Back (1 2) and Tales of Leo scripts if anyone knows where I can find them!

Casey strolled down the dusty lanes towards where the turtles and Splinter were staying. He looked round, taking in the neglected buildings and the occasional dead animal or pile of sewage which had been carelessly left on the road. This was just outside of New York, a place that time had forgotten as it rapidly moved onwards.

  "Guys! Guys? Open up! It's me, Casey. Me and April have found somewhere to stay! Come on, I know you're in there!"

"Hang on, Casey," Leo's voice rang out loud and clear. Casey heard several bolts being unbolted on the other side of the door and it opened seconds later with a creak and Leonardo's face peered warily out. Relief passed across his reptilian features when he saw it really was Casey; you could never be sure. He let Casey in and shut the door behind him.

"Yo, Case, how ya doin'?"

"Fine thanks, bonehead," Casey replied shortly to Raphael, who was behind Leo.

"That's good to hear,"

"Why?" Casey asked suspiciously.

"'Cause that means I'm the one that gets to pummel you and make ya not okay!" he tackled his friend to the ground. Seeing Leo roll his eyes, he grabbed his older brother round the knees and pulled him down as well. Leo freed himself from the wrestling match as soon as he was able to break free from Raph's iron grip but it was not before Splinter had walked into the hallway.

"Leonardo, Raphael, get up immediately. You should be upstairs helping your brothers. I will deal with Mr. Jones here."

"Yes, Sensei," Leo bowed quickly and hurried up the narrow flight of stairs to help Donnie and Mikey tidy up the house. Raph, however, remained downstairs with his arms folded to wait for Casey.

"Sensei, no offence, but why can't I stay down here and listen to what you've got to say to Casey?"

"Because, Raphael, I have ordered you to join your brothers upstairs and a good Ninjitsu master always honours his Master's wishes." Splinter looked sternly at Raph, who stomped up the stairs muttering to himself in frustration.

"Now, Mr. Jones, please follow me." Splinter led the way into a medium sized living area.

"How many rooms are there in this place?"

"Three and the hallway. There is this room, one large room upstairs, which is to be the bedroom and training area of my sons, and one smaller room which acts as a basement. That room I shall take for myself. Now, where is the house in which you and Miss O'Neill will be staying?"

"It's about a five minute walk from here. We're staying with a woman named Marcie and her five kids."

"That is good news. Have you seen much of this area in your search?"

"Only what's between here and Marcie's house. We started at the houses nearest to here and slowly moved away until we found someone who would take us."

"And this Marcie, what is she like? Does she look like the sort of woman who would be shocked by the rather striking appearances of me and my sons?"

"No, she's a tough cookie – she was aiming a shot-gun at me when she first came to the door!" Casey gave a short, bark-like laugh and ran a hand through his dark hair, which hang limply on his shoulders and framed his strong-jawed face.

"Then we shall meet Marcie and her family," Splinter nodded.

"And I kinda promised them that we'd all help do up their house and make it more bearable for them to live in; it's disgusting, Splinter,"

"We will aid them in payment for letting you and Miss O'Neill stay there," Splinter agreed, laying a hand on Casey's shoulder.

"Thanks, you won't regret it!"

"I know – something tells me that this Marcie holds a greater connection to the evil going on in this place than she is willing to admit," Splinter scratched his chin thoughtfully and Casey tried to figure out what Splinter meant.

"HEY, BOZO – YOU GONNA HELP US OR WHAT?!" Raph's gruff voice yelled down the stairs.

"I'm coming, Raph," Casey whispered and the sprinted off and up the stairs to pin his friend down from behind.

"What was that for?"

"A good ninja should always be on his guard, Raphael," Mikey imitated Splinter and narrowly avoided getting his head pummelled in by Raph.

"I'm gonna let that one go, Mikey, 'cause it's more fun to beat the crap outta Casey!" Raph growled at his younger brother, who had dived behind Leo thinking Raph was going to try and kill him for making an insult.

"Guys, I'm not here to beat up Raph – I'm here to tell you that we're gonna go and help improve the living conditions in the house that me and April are staying in." Casey stood and brushed himself off, refusing to fight Raph.

"What? Have you spoken to Master Splinter about this?" Leo asked, face etched with lines of concern.

"Yeah, and he said it would be fine – he also said something about Marcie, that's the lady we're staying with, knowing more about the evil stuff happening than she's gonna admit!"

"I'm not sure, guys. What if she reacts badly to us?" Leo said as the others began to walk out of the door and down the narrow staircase.

"She won't – she might aim a shotgun at your head but it's nothing to worry about." Casey dismissed Leo's concern with a wave of his hand, and left the house, Mikey and Raph close behind him. Donnie was a little more hesitant and waited by the door for his older brother.

"Donatello, Leonardo," Splinter stopped them as they were about to leave, "do not let your brothers or Mr. Jones tell this Marcie anything about our past and where we came from – and most of all don't tell her where we're staying."

"Yes, Sensei," Donnie answered and opened the door, followed by a subdued Leonardo – clearly still not happy that they were even going to reveal themselves to this Marcie woman.

   "Hey, Marcie, it's me – Casey," Casey called through the door, "I've brought my friends with me – you know, the ones I told you about?"

"Hang on," the sound of a chain being slid across the door and then a creak as it opened a fraction. Marcie was stood there, shotgun at the ready.

"Is that really necessary, feisty dudette?" Mike asked, using a green hand to direct the barrel away from his face.

"Sorry, but you're appearance…it startled me and you can never be too careful in this neighbourhood!" Marcie invited them in with a hand gesture and she closed the door behind them, bolting it firmly shut and sliding the chain across.

"Don't worry about it, lady, we're here to help you fix this place up," Raph said as he closely inspected the paint which was peeling from the ceiling and the walls. Mikey, meanwhile, was examining the floor and checking for woodworm. Donnie and Leo remained by the door and looked slightly uneasy about the whole situation. Neither turtle trusted Marcie. Nor did they truly believe her predicament was as serious as she made it out to be.

"I don't think she's really as poor as she says she is," Donnie whispered to his brother in blue, "do you think she could be working for Shredder?"

"Maybe, but not through her own choice – that much I'm certain of. If she is working for him then she will be getting paid or given the chance for a new lease of life. That's why she doesn't seem too unhappy here and isn't jumping at the chance to have her home completely renovated. To be honest, I don't think she really lives here."

"Are you dudes coming or what?" Mikey called from the living area.

"Yeah, sure, Mikey," Donnie called back before turning back to his brother, "what do we do?"

"We don't do anything that could make her realise we're suspicious of her. We just act like the others, all eager to offer our services. But keep an eye out for anything that might help to give us a lead instead of us pursuing something that may not be true. We can't completely rule out the possibility that she really is a struggling mother with a poor family and a shabby house." Leo answered his brother in a whisper and then led the way into the living area, where their brothers were seated on the floor with Casey, April and Marcie's kids. Marcie herself was stood up in a corner of the room, her eyes darting about nervously. The eyes, Leo thought, they give you away, Marcie...

   "Pass me the paint, Leo," Mikey said from the top of a small stepladder. It had been a week since they had first met Marcie and they had finally managed to get hold of some apple green paint and some mops and dusters. Marcie had found some old brushes in a dustbin truck that drove through every morning. She had got Kirsty to jump on the back of it, as it was only moving at about two miles an hour maximum, and search swiftly through the litter from the richer part of town. The girl had found a bag labeled with the name of a D.I.Y company and had dug through it to find a roller, palette and three reasonably good brushes as well as two that were good enough to sell for money. That's where she was at the moment; out selling the brushes and a waterproof coat she had found in the dustbin truck.

"MUM! MUM!" her voice echoed through the house, "MUM! I got five dollars! And that was just for the brushes!"

"That's wonderful! What about the coat?"

"I got seven dollars for it – plus a bag of boiled sweets! The old lady I went to was really nice – she bought the lot! We can eat tonight, Mama,"

"That's brilliant Kirsty – I'm so proud of you; we all are," Marcie picked up her daughter and twirled her round. Leo began to doubt his and Donnie's secret accusations; maybe this was all genuine after all. Maybe Marcie really was a struggling mother who just had to make do with what she could get in the world. Who knew? But he shot a guilty look at Don, who shot it straight back. The least they could do was work slightly harder for her and drop a few of the walls they had built up round themselves. They could at least make a little more conversation with her and act a bit more enthusiastic – although it probably wasn't a good idea to go to Mikey's level of enthusiasm – that would just creep everyone out!

"Yeah, well done, Kirsty," Donnie congratulated the girl.

"Thanks," Kirsty replied, slightly surprised that Donatello was talking to her and actually congratulating her for something; usually he and Leo just tried to talk to her and her family as little as possible.

"No problem – listen, we're going on a patrol round the area tonight and I was wondering if you could tell me where the most brawls would be found."

"The west area…about a mile from here, close to the centre – yes, the west of the centre."

"Thanks," Leo entered into the conversation, "Come on Donnie, Mikey, Raph – we should be going," he walked out, waving goodbye before being followed quickly by his brothers.

  "Anything?" Raph called over to Leo.

"Nothing," came the reply.

"Bugger."

"What?!" Leo called back to him.

"I said bugger – I want to kick some foot ninja butt!"

"Raph, we can't just attack them if there's a chance we can get away before they attack us. Otherwise, they might have the Elite with them and, if they do, then we'll get our shells completely crushed into a fine powder!" Leo grinned solemnly at his brother.

"Yeah, and then the Foot will enjoy a nice meal of turtle soup!" Mikey added, grimacing and sticking his tongue out, "the most nourishing meal you'll ever have – gives you special ninja powers!"

"Very funny, Mike," Leo sighed, "but this is serious."

"It's always serious with you, Leo!"

"Shut up, Mike,"

"That's not very nice," Mikey mock scolded his brother.

"I mean it; I heard something…we are being watched…"

"Invisible ninjas…" Raph hissed venomously.

"We'll need to make them visible or we don't stand a chance." Donnie said voice desperate.

"Got any spray paint?" Mikey joked, but there was fear in his voice also.

"We need to hit them like we did last time,"

"We have to try and get away," Leo glanced round, looking for a path they could escape through.

"It's no use, Leo – we have to fight this time."
"You're right, Raph. This is it, boys. If we lose this – we'll be in a worse position than before,"

"Yeah," Raph growled, "we'll be dead!"