Along Came Some Turtles

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

Post Spectacular Spider Man season 2. Peter's life is more or less falling apart at the seems, but meeting some new friends, who just so happen to be mutant turtles armed with ninja weapons, might just be what he needs to turn things around. And a good thing too, given the new threats that are lurking in the shadows. Crossover/ continuation of Spectacular Spider man with TMNT 2012.

9. Panic in the Sewers

(Panic in the Sewers)

Superjoeyf721: Just wait, you'll see for yourself in this chapter.

Guest: That is an interesting idea, but keep in mind that in a previous episode, Splinter gave the lesson that while ninjas are masters of adaptation, technology is only a means and not an end so the Turtles themselves have to prevail in battle. And I'm sure that Tony Stark would agree that if you're nothing without the weapons, then you shouldn't have them. Though I do have a few ideas for giving our heroes some upgrades. As for what those ideas are, you'll just have to wait and see.

Martyrex: I'm actually going to be addressing that in this chapter, so you're just gonna have to read to find out.

Spectacular Webhead 11: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Yeah, the Kraang having their hands on the Symbiote could cause some problems. Spider-Man going back to school is actually something I plan to address in this chapter. To be fair, Mikey thought that Peter had been killed by the Shredder. Yeah, Daredevil is making his first appearance in this story.

Smallvillelover: I did.

Guest: Yep, the battle against the Shredder and the Foot Clan has officially turned into an all out war, and Spider-Man had to suffer what was probably his first big loss in a straight up fight with one of his enemies. But at the same time, it also showed us the first glance of Daredevil in this story, something I noticed a lot of people were excited for. Also Peter doing his own version of the Risky Business dance scene was something I was hoping to do for awhile, and MJ catching him in the act and recording the whole thing was just icing on the cake.

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The sun was setting over the skies above New York.

'Somehow it feels like all of my problems have just melted away…' Peter gave a smile as he made his way down the street, a certain beautiful blonde with her arm around his, and a few others, mainly a redhead and a brunette, walking by their side 'I don't really know how I got to this point, but it feels amazing, like a weight's been lifted from my shoulders. I finally got to be with Gwen, and now Harry and I are back on good terms, plus he and Liz are apparently going out now.'

"Something on your mind?" Gwen glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow "You seem so tense today."

"Yeah I… I guess you could say that." Peter let out a sigh as he stopped, causing the others to stop as well "It's just that so much has happened lately… The fact that all of it worked out like this… it's so hard to wrap my head around. Just yesterday I wasn't even talking to any of you, and now it's like…"

"Like everything is the way it's supposed to be?" Gwen gripped his hand reassuringly as he gave a bright smile "Well yeah, sometimes life just works out the way it's supposed to. I mean we're all friends again, we all know you're Spider-Man and even Jameson stopped slandering you in the papers. Maybe you need to stop worrying for a little bit and just concentrate on what's right in front of you." she promptly wrapped her arms around his neck "Like me for instance."

"Huh. You know I never really thought of it that way, but maybe you're right." Peter wrapped his arms around Gwen's waist and moved in for a kiss, until…"

"You should concentrate on what lies in front of you." a familiar booming voice rang out, which stopped Peter in his tracks "Such as a pathetic child attempting to play the hero, only to make everyone he loves suffers simply with his presence alone. And now yourself and them all have mere seconds to live. Destiny has chosen your path… Spider-Man."

"What?" Peter looked down and suddenly found himself in his Spider-Man suit, though he was quick to brace himself as he pulled down his mask and turned to the others "All of you get behind me and don't move."

"Petey what is it, what's going on?" Liz took a few cautious steps back as an ominous cloud of mist started hanging over the area, only to feel to hands grip her by the shoulders, which were revealed to belong to the Shredder, and then yank her back into the darkness, supposedly never to be seen again.

"Liz!" Peter was left to look on in horror at the sight of Shredder dragging her away, to the point where he was barely able to react before what happened next.

"You're gonna pay for that you son of a bitch!" Harry suddenly pulled a pumpkin bomb out of his pocket and threw it at the Shredder in a fit of rage.

"Pathetic." Shredder sliced through the pumpkin bomb with one of his blades, then bltized behind Harry and dealt him a solid kick to the spine that sent him hurtling into the mist in the same way that Liz had.

"That's it, I'm not gonna let you hurt anyone else!" Peter motioned for Gwen to get behind him as he charged forward and webbed a nearby manhole cover, which he promptly tried to use to smack Shredder across the face.

Shredder grabbed onto the webs and used them to pull Spider-Man towards him, then went on to stab him square in the chest with both blades from one of his gauntlets and bash the manhole cover against his head, leaving him to crash to the ground in a heap of pain "All of your efforts are nothing but a waste. There is no place you can run, there is no place you can hide, where I will not be able to find you. Do you truly believe yourself able to face me? To face any of your enemies?" he drove his blades down into Spider-Man's back, causing him to scream in pain, and then he went over to Gwen and promptly grabbed her by the throat and dragged her over to him so he could hold her in front of his eyes "You truly are pitiful, even now you prove yourself to be little more than a novice, an amateur. You find yourself surrounded by a group of warriors who have experienced more training and discipline in a single week than you've demonstrated in the entirety of your life. All of the strength, speed and agility in the world will mean nothing unless you know how to use it, and you clearly do not. You were foolish and arrogant to try and play the hero without any proper training, any genuine discipline. And for that foolhardy arrogance, the people you wished to protect will pay the price." he held Gwen out in front of him as he bared a single blade on his gauntlet, and then he thrusted it forward, leaving Peter to watch in horror as he carried out the deed.

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And now back to reality…

"GWEN NO!" Peter suddenly bolted upright, large beads of sweat dripping down his face, and he frantically looked around at his surroundings 'It was… just a dream. It felt so real… Like I was actually there, Harry and Liz got dragged off into darkness, Shredder had Gwen in his grip and then… No come on Pete, I can't think about that right now. What happened? The last thing I remember, we were fighting Shredder on the roof of the Wolf Hotel… I gave the guys a smoke bomb so they could get away, and then I fought Shredder… he had me in a chokehold and then he moved to skewer me… then what happened?' he looked down and realized he was sprawled out on a couch with a blanket covering him, which he promptly removed to reveal the bandages covering his abdomen, as well as the stitches in numerous places along its torso 'How in the hell did… Did someone save me, fix my wounds?'

"Yeah word to the wise kid, you don't wanna touch those things or move around too much just yet."

Peter glanced over to see Foggy wandering around the kitchen area with a beer in hand "Where am I? What is this place?"

"You're in my buddy's apartment in Hell's Kitchen, and before you ask, no I'm not the one that saved you from that dude with all the blades, whatever the hell his deal was."

"His deal was… well it's pretty complicated. Speaking of which, were you the one that stitched up my wounds?"

"Nope, you got my buddy Matt to thank for that, he brought you here and had me get a hold of his nurse friend so she could patch you up. She's hot by the way." Foggy let out a chuckle "I gotta admit though, I never thought I'd get to meet you like this."

"You know who I am?"

"I'm pretty sure everyone knows who Spider-Man is."

"...What?" Peter just glanced over at Foggy, but then a horrifying realization dawned on him as he placed a hand on his face 'I don't have my mask… Oh god, please let this be another bad dream or something."

"Take it easy kid, I'm not a snitch. I won't tell anyone. It wouldn't be the first time I kept secret the identity of some costumed vigilante running around New York at night." he made his way over to the couch and held out a hand "Foggy Nelson, of Nelson, Murdock and Page."

"...Oh the hell with it. Peter Parker" Peter let out a sigh as he shook the hand, only to be handed a business card "Your card?"

"We're running our own law firm, yeah we put helping people and doing the right thing over profit, but to be fair a dude still has to pay rent."

"Huh. I'll remember that if I can ever get to the point where I can afford a lawyer. So if it wasn't you who saved me last night, then who was it?"

"For the record, that was actually two nights ago."

"What?! I've been out for two days?!"

"Day and a half really, but I try not to be a smartass about that stuff. Anyway the main man himself oughta be out any second now."

"Who?"

"I believe he's talking about me." that was when Matt himself made his way out into the living room, complete with the suit, sunglasses and cane "Good to see you're awake."

"Yeah… I feel like I got turned into a human pin cushion though."

"I understand that feeling better than you think." he held out his hand "Matt Murdock."

"Peter Parker." Peter shook the hand, then slowly pulled himself to his feet, gritting his teeth from the pain as he did so "Yeah, I'm gonna be feeling that one for awhile."

"I can imagine so, I've suffered my fair share of serious injuries myself. I have to admit that I am rather surprised though, to see you fighting against the Kraang."

"You know about the Kraang?"

"They played a very large part in making me into who I am today." Matt breathed a sigh as he sat down on the couch "In case you were wondering, I wasn't always blind. There was an accident when I was a kid. I saved an old man from being hit by a truck, but there was an accident. The truck contained what everyone had thought to be hazardous chemicals… they splashed onto my face, they came into contact with my eyes, and I lost my ability to see. The last thing I saw was my father trying to comfort me."

"I… I'm sorry." Peter's face fell, but then something else occurred to him "Wait, you said that everyone thought it was hazardous chemicals?"

"That's what it's known to be to the public at large… but I learned differently about three years ago. When I learned about them."

"...You mean the Kraang don't you?"

"Yes. Yes I do. After learning that they were responsible I did some more investigating, I learned who they were and what they were doing here on Earth, and I swore that I wouldn't let it happen to anyone else. Lucky for me, I had someone who could help me with that."

"You mean…"

"Yes, the one that saved you from your enemy last night. The Devil of Hell's Kitchen. He calls himself the Daredevil. He and I met some time ago under… complex circumstances, and we both decided to work together to protect this city and its people from the forces that would harm the innoncent for the sake of their own ambitions. With this resolve, as well as the backing of some good people that we can trust, we were able to put a certain crime lord away, and now he'll be spending the rest of his life behind bars."

"You're gonna have to be more specific."

"Right. I'm referring to the struggle to bring down one of the most notorious and ruthless crime lords in the history of this city: Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin."

"Oh yeah, that big bald guy that looked about as buff as the Hulk."

"You see? I told you he looked like a big white version of the Hulk." Foggy caught Peter in a quick fist bump "Kid knows what he's talking about."

"Yeah, but wasn't that like 7 years ago? And didn't he get out of jail once?"

"It's a bit complicated, but essentially yes." Matt let out a sigh "But to make a long story short, after a bloody and brutal fight at the Presidential Hotel, along with other factors, we made sure that he'll be spending the rest of his life in prison."

"Uh huh. Well then answer me this, where was this Daredevil guy when the Big Man was ruling over the city?"

"He was with me, out of the city itself. We discovered the existence and actions of the Kraang about a year after putting away Fisk and working to dismantle his empire, and put most of our efforts into stopping them, preventing anyone else from suffering becuase of them. To that end, we discovered their actions in other areas, so we departed from the city and worked to dismantle their operations in other locations, which we've managed to accomplish in every state along the East Coast over the past few years, as well as taking the chance to practice law in a few other states and use that to help people whereve I was needed."

"Huh. Now I'm getting kind of a sense of deja vu." Peter laid back and let out a groan "Me and the guys have won every battle we've fought so far, and yet we haven't come anywhere near close to winning the overall war. But at least now I know that there is a war to fight against the Kraang. And against the Shredder too."

"Yes, the leader of the Foot Clan, I've heard of him as well. His appearance was… unexpected to say the least. He's not like any of the others."

"No freaking kidding in that regard. Seriously, he's unlike anything I've ever fought before, I mean even compared to Venom or Tombstone, hell even the Green Goblin. He was so strong and so fast, like he was everywhere at once and hit like a freaking rhino. And I'd know, I've fought a guy like that before. Several of them actually."

"There are numerous reasons for that." Matt turned to face Peter "The Shredder is known to be the leader of the Foot Clan, though very few actually know what it really is and what he uses it to do."

"Yeah, and it's is turning out to be some kind of giant criminal organization. Like New York really needs another one of those."

"A point I will not object to, but since there is no legitimate evidence of his activities, it's for the best if we don't let on about that to just anyone."

"Fine, but that doesn't mean much if I can't beat him."

"I can't speak much myself about emerging victorious in combat against a master of the ninja arts like him, but I do recall Daredevil telling me about his own training in martial arts, and how there are a multitude of factors to consider. As Spider-Man, you have superior strength, speed and agility yes, but you've had these abilities for how long?"

"A little bit over a year."

"Whereas someone like the Shredder would have decades of training and experience over you, as well as a desire to kill."

"Yeah I kind of figured that part out when he tried to skewer me."

"There are also other factors that have to be considered. Who taught you to fight?"

"I'm mostly self taught, the most actual fighting I've seen is in Dragon Ball or in the Rocky movies."

"I see. Then there's one other prominent factor to consider. The Shredder is a ruthless and cold-blooded assassin by nature, but he's also a martial artist, and he understands one of its most important core principles: A continuous drive to improve."

"What do you mean?"

"You focus on the moment, you only concentrate on what's in front of you in the present, and you don't seek to improve your own skills, to learn how to use the abilities you have at your disposal. If you wish to defeat someone like the Shredder, then you need to develop the drive to push yourself towards something even greater, as well as the courage needed to push yourself forward. One of those you already have in spades, I've seen it for myself. Now what you need is to want to improve yourself, to want to better. If you do that, then you can accomplish many great things."

"So in other words, I have to get better." Peter frowned as he looked down at his hands "Having the skills aren't enough. I have to learn how to use them."

"Exactly." Matt pulled himself to his feet "Well I'm sure that you'd like to clean yourself up a bit after the other night, feel free to use my bathroom to take a shower and the like. Your suit was too damaged to be used without some repairs, I would've done them myself but I never actually learned how to sew, so I laid out some clothes of mine that you can borrow. Then Foggy can call an Uber for you to take you home."

"That… That would be nice actually, thank you. For all of this."

"And just know this Mr Parker, Spider-Man. Whether you're in the mask or not, you'll always have a friend in myself and those of Nelson, Murdock and Page, as well as a partner in the dark of night on the battlefield, in the Daredevil." he handed him a card "That's how you can get ahold of me if you ever need me."

"I'll be sure to remember that." Peter gave a small smile as he pulled himself to his feet and made his way to the bathroom, staring down at the card in his hand 'This would be a lot more helpful if I thought I could actually afford a lawyer, or if I knew anyone that actually needed a lawyer. Seriously, most of the guys I know that actually got into trouble with the law are the ones that tried to kill me, and they all hate me with a burning passion or just got hired to rip me a new one. The only ones I can think of that are actual exceptions are Hydro-Man and… Molten Man, aka my ex-girlfriend's older brother. You know now that I think about it, there are one or two guys that could probably use your help."

"Can this one pay us?" was Foggy's first question, earning a look from Matt "What? Hey I'm all for putting helping people over cash, but a guy has to pay rent in this city somehow."

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A few hours later, at the Parker household…

"Tiger seriously, you'd better pick the hell up." MJ paced around the living room of the Parker household, typing frantically into her cell phone "If you don't pick up I swear I'm gonna take this boot and shove it so far up your-"

"Whatever happens, please don't finish that sentence in front of anyone."

MJ whipped around and found Peter making his way through the door, clad in a white collared shirt and a pair of grey slacks, sporting a black eye and a series of bandages visible across his upper body, to which she promptly pulled him into a swift and tight hug, earning a yelp of pain in the process "Sorry. But seriously, what in the name of hell happened? Last I heard you were gonna go out and track down the Sandman, and then the next thing I know you up and vanish for two freaking days."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get you all worked up."

"I don't get worked up easily either, it's when people pull disappearing acts on me without any sort of explanation that I get worked the hell up. Seriously, you're lucky our aunts were out of town all weekend or else May would probably be having another heart attack. She's been calling almost once every hour too, eventually I ran out of excuses and just said screw it."

"You told her I'm Spider-Man?!"

"No, I told her you dropped the phone in the toilet."

"...That might be worse."

"Well it was the best I could think of on the spot. So yeah, going back to the big question, what in the hell happened?"

"The short version, a lot. But thanks for covering for me MJ, really." Peter let out a sigh "It's a pretty long story too."

"Take it from the top then."

"First off, any chance that May still has food left in the fridge? I'm starving."

"It's May, what do you think?"

"Fair enough."

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Two hours of food and explanation later…

"Well damn." MJ was left considerable taken aback at what she was hearing "So to make a long story short, it started out as you hunting down the Sandman, then devolved into you disarming a giant alien bomb to save the city, and then it ended with you getting your web hole handed to you by some kind of evil ninja master?"

"That would be about the sum of it." Peter let out a sigh "Even Venom and the Green Goblin had never been able to rip into me so bad, and that's saying something."

"No kidding, you look like you came out of a freaking war zone."

"I might as well have, and what makes it worse…" Peter flinched at the memories "I was pretty much powerless, I wouldn't do anything to stop him. He was so strong, so fast, it's like nothing I've ever seen before. And then come the nightmares."

"How bad are we talking?"

"The kind where he swooped out from within this dark fog and snatched away Harry and Liz like the Slenderman, he beats me down in a puddle of my own blood, then grabs Gwen by the throat and runs her through right in front of me, all while mocking me for being too weak to protect any of them."

"...Wow. So was I in the dream?" MJ was met with a dull look from Peter "Hey cut me some slack Tiger, a girl likes to feel wanted."

"Take it from a voice of experience, being wanted isn't always a good thing. Not when it comes to guys like the Kraang… or the Shredder." Peter flinched again at the mention of Shredder "But at the same time, maybe I'm supposed to learn something from this whole nightmare."

"And what would that be?"

"You remember what my Uncle Ben said?"

"Bascially that with great power comes great responsibility."

"I have the power, and I've been trying my best to live up to the responsibility of using those powers for the right reasons. But what if that's not enough? Maybe living up to the whole thing about great responsibility means that I have to learn how to use the great power properly."

"Interesting point. So what exactly are you getting at?"

"To put it in simple terms, this: MJ, you once told me awhile ago that I had to decide what I want and then focus on getting it done."

"I said that to get you to wise up and grow a pair, so you could tell Gwen how you really flet about her. Instead you turned around and ended up with Liz."

"I never made that choice, to be brutally honest she's just the one that got to me first. Anyway the same principle applies, and now I know what I have to do. I'm going to start training with Splinter and the Turtles. I'm gonna learn how to fight like a ninja. It's the only chance I really have to stand against someone like the Shredder."

"Huh. Spider-Ninja. You know that kind of has a weird ring to it."

"I personally think it's awesome, but apparently taste is like humor. It's subjective depending on the person." Peter gave a shrug, then let out a sigh "Besides, fighting off the Shredder screwed with me in another way too."

"Which is?"

"He had me by the throat and he was about to drive one of his blades through it. Did you ever hear about how your whole life flashes before your eyes when you almost die?"

"I never really believed that personally."

"Yeah well, I didn't really see that much of it. I just saw the thins that I really care about… the people that I love the most."

"...This isn't gonna some kind of heartfelt confession of love for me is it?"

"God no, nothing like that. I kept seeing a lot of the people I care about, like you and my Aunt May and now the Turtles… but I kept seeing Gwen more than anyone else. Even after everything that's happened, she's still the most important person in my life…"

"And you yourself have said that even while you're getting beaten within an inch of your life by freaks in costumes with nothing better to do with their lives, you haven't been able to stop thinking about her. The way I see it, that means you really do love her."

"...Yeah. Yeah I think I do. I love Gwen. Which makes the current situation all the more painful as a result."

"You still want to be with her don't you?"

"Of course I do, I mean I did just say that I love her… but I don't really see much hope in that happening now."

"Well all I can tell you to that is never say never Tiger, especially in your life."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for listening MJ."

"Anytime. So you're really gonna start training with the Turtles?"

"I'm gonna go talk to them tonight and see what they think. You might have to cover for me with Aunt May even more from here on out."

"That's no problem."

"Great. And there's one more thing I gotta ask: Have you ever learned how to sew? My costume got messed up pretty bad the other night."

"Oh yeah sure, it's just one of those life skills you figure it's better to have and not need than need and not have."

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Nightfall came, and things were about to get tense.

"Alright guys, let's go." Leo and the rest of the Turtles picked up their weapons and gear as they prepared to make their way out of the Lair "Okay, so I'm thinking that first we oughta stop by that one place the Kraang were trying to rob and-"

"Where are you going?"

Leo and the others glanced back to see Splinter approaching them "Oh, we're just getting ready to head out for our evening patrol."

"There will be no patrol."

"What do you mean sensei?"

"I mean that the last time you fought the Shredder, the four of you were barely able to escape with your lives, and even then because our mask companion was willing to sacrifice his own life to allow you do to so."

"Believe me sensei, I know." Leo looked away and noticed Mikey bowing his head in evident sadness "None of us have forgotten about what Spider-Man did for us."

"I should hope not."

"But nothing like that is gonna happen again sensei, because the next time we fight the Shredder we're gonna be ready." Raph gave him a smirk, only to almost immediately end up in a tight arm lock.

"That I will agree with, because you will stay down here until you are ready. There will be no patrol, there will be no games, and there will be no rest. There is only training, and that will start now."

"I take it this is a bad time then?"

Splinter and the others looked up to see a certain figure crawling along the ceiling "I take it that you heard what I was saying to my sons?"

"Hey watch it rat man, I asked you first." Spidey gave a grin from underneath his mask as he dropped to the ground "Good to see you guys again after-"

"Dude!" Mikey was the first of the Turtles to react to his presence as he pulled Spider-Man into a tight hug "I thought that Shredder might have…"

"Yeah, sorry I gave you guys such a big scare, you especially buddy. But you don't have to worry about me, I'm okay."

"I believe all of us are pleased to hear that." Splinter addressed him "However, my sons will not be joining you on your patrols for the time being. As I'm sure you're aware, the last time all of you fought the Shredder, my sons were barely able to escape with their lives, and even then it was mainly because of your help, something that I am truly grateful for. However, such actions will more than likely be insufficient next time, and so I will not be allowing them to return to the surface until I feel they are ready."

"Yeah I kind of heard the tail end of your angry rant earlier, but this isn't about patrolling or anything like that. I'm actually here because I have something I wanted to ask you." his overall demeanor turned rather sheepish "It's kind of hard to explain. Actually no it really isn't, the thing is that…"

"If you have something you wish to say, then simply say it."

"...Yeah, that's probably the best way to go about this." Spider-Man let out a sigh as he took a few steps forward and bowed his head "I… I would be honored if you would train me, teach me to fight like the Turtles do, real ninja style and all."

"Hmm… and what inspired this turn of events?"

"You pretty much said it yourself, the five of us fought Shredder with everything we had and we barely got out alive, me only because our new ally against the Kraang swooped in there and pulled my webhole out of the fire. I think it's pretty clear that as I am right now, I don't stand a chance in hell of beating him. The only man I could ever call my father taught me that with great power comes great responsibility, but now I think that maybe a part of that is learning how to use the power properly. I know that ninjas have that whole "silent assassin" motif going for them and killing isn't my thing, but if I can just learn how to fight like you guys, then maybe I'll be able to stand a chance against the Shredder, or anyone else like him that shows up in New York at some point in the future."

"Hm. I see." Splinter studied Spider-Man's form intently for a moment, then after a prolonged silence, he gave a simple nod "I have observed you for some time Spider-Man, and I know that you have a brilliant mind and sharp intellect, as well as a strong will to complement it. Very well, I will train you as I do my sons."

"Really?" Spider-Man's face lit up behind his mask as he bolted to his feet "I swear I won't let you down."

"I believe you. But be warned, I do not intend to go easy on you."

"I wouldn't be here if I thought you would."

"Excellent. Now then, let us get started."

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Weeks passed, and training continued to intensify.

"Oh god… I can feel my lungs trying to kill me…" Mikey and the rest of the Turtles were left panting heavily and struggling to stay on their feet "Really sensei, you want more?"

"Yes, much more." Splinter's tone and gaze were hard and firm "Now you and your brothers will be sparring, the four of you against our masked companion here." he gestured to Spider-Man.

"...Oh. Huh."

"I say we get this underway already." Raph gave a smirk as he brandished his sais "I'm totally up for smacking around some idiot dressed like a bug."

"Technically spiders aren't bugs, they're actually a form of arachnid." Donnie pointed out, which earned him a low growl from Raphael "Well it's true, you'd be surprised how many people get that wrong."

"I swear I'm gonna smack you out of your shell one of these days."

"Alright take it easy guys, we have to focus on this." Leo quickly got the attention of the others, his voice low "Keep in mind that this is Spider-Man we're talking about, so we can't be rash about our approach here. Just wait for me to give the signal to-"

"Like shell that's gonna happen, I've got this." Raph barred his sais and promptly charged towards Spider-Man at full speed.

"Oh yeah, you've got this just like you've got that wonderful personality going for you most of the time." Spider-Man gave a smirk from underneath his mask as he started dodging, blocking and weaving around most of Raphael's attacks, which came to an end when he swept Raph's legs out from under him with a single kick, and then another kick sent him hurtling across the dojo and crashing into Mikey 'Rat Master lesson number one, when you're in a fight you keep your eyes on your opponent, not on yourself or your weapons, you have to maintain focus on your goal at all times. I guess it's like Uncle Ben said, there's nothing like a good teacher to make a person that much stronger.'

"That doesn't surprise me." Leo glanced over at Raph's downed form sprawled out on the ground, and he and Donnie were quick to brace themselves "Alright Donnie be careful, the two of us are gonna take him down."

"Go ahead and try it fellow Space Heroes fanatic, show me what you've got."

"Just remember that you asked for it!" Leo and Donnie brandished their katanas and bo staff respectively as they charged forward.

"Nope, nope and nope." Spider-Man weaved his way around the series of attacks from both of them, which gave him the opportunity to elbow Donnie in the jaw and deal him a roundhouse kick to the chest that sent him hurtling into the wall behind him "That's three."

"You're forgetting about yours truly!" Leo charged at Spider-Man and started slashing at him with both of his katanas.

"How could I forget about the dude that keeps trying to make us out to be some kind of ripoff of Power Rangers?" Spider-Man dodged and blocked each slash of Leo's swords "Seriously, there are plenty of those as it is, the worst of which would have to be Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters from Beverly Hills." he leapt over a series of slashes and used the chance to hit Leo square in the back of the shell using a shot of his Impact Webs, sending him crashing into Donnie and leaving both of them sprawled out on the ground "And that is a real show for the record, I couldn't make that up if I wanted to, and yes it's as horrible as it sounds. Alright, who wants next?"

"Nunchuck to the face, I said to the face!" Mikey charged at Spider-Man at full speed and started swinging his nunchucks in his typical wild fashion "I said to the face!"

"How about down here instead." Spider-Man slammed an elbow down onto Mikey's foot, then grabbed him by the arm and flung him into the tree in the center of the dojo "And that's how we follow the Way of the Spider. And the crazy part is that all of that was without me using the Web Shooters, I guess that means all of the training is paying off. The only question is, will it be enough for me to take on the Shredder?'

"Booyakasha!" Mikey tried to pounce at Spider-Man from behind, only to be met with a solid roundhouse kick to the face that sent him crashing into Donnie "Ow…"

"Yep." Spider-Man then went on to avoid a series of slashes from Leo's sword and dealt him a sharp kick to the chest that knocked him to the ground

"You know that's just rude man, at least I don't interrupt Raph's brooding moments. Stuff like this all about common decency."

"I'm just about done with you being a snarky jackass!" Raph bolted to his feet, his eyes blazing with rage, and started throwing a volley of shuriken forward.

Spider-Man leapt over the volley of shuriken, then started fending off a furious series of attacks from Raphael and his sais, which came to an end when he knocked both sais out of his hands and dealt him a swift fist to the chest that sent him skidding backwards "You had enough dude?"

"Not a chance in hell, it's gonna take a lot more than some loudmouth dipstick in a Halloween costume to shock me to my shell."

"Okay, so how about this one" Spider-Man fired a single shot of webs at Raph, hitting him square in the chest.

"That's it? Dude that's just sad."

"Wait for it."

"Wait for what-" and then Raph started getting shocked by a sudden surge of electricity, causing him to scream in pain, and then hit the ground with a loud thud.

"I'd like to take the chance to point out that that was the only time I've used my webs in this little sparring match, and even then it was just to test out the newest batch of my electrib webbing, and all in all I'd say it was a success."

"Think fast!" Mikey suddenly leapt off a wall and tried to blindside Spider-Man, only to be grabbed by the arm and thrown to the ground "He thought too fast…"

"Yeah and just throwing this out there, sneak attacks aren't gonna work on a guy if you scream about them at the top of your lungs." Spider-Man gave a wry grin from underneath his mask, but then his Spider-Sense started blaring as he looked back to see Donnie coming at him from behind with his bo staff, which he promptly caught with one hand and snapped in half with his enhanced strength, then backhanded Donnie away into the same pile as Raph and Mikey, all of them laying sprawled out on the ground "And then there was one."

"I think you'll find that I'm not gonna go down as easily." Leo tightened the hold he had on his katanas as he charged forward and moved in to attack.

"Yeah well, here's the funny thing about that." Spider-Man backed away a few feet as he reached into the belt he wore underneath his suit and pulled out a small object "A wise man once said, and by that I mean I read this quote when I found it on the internet awhile back, that there's one overwhelming force that almost always triumphs over raw power and skill."

"And what would that be."

"A little bit of good old fashioned creativity." Spider-Man blocked Leo's sword with one hand, then used his remaining free hand to throw the object in question, a single ninja smokebomb, directly into Leo's face, blinding him long enough for Spidey to grab him by the arm and throw him into the same pile as the other Turtles "And that's how we follow the Way of the Spider, the demonstration provided by yours truly."

"I still do not approve of the name, but well done regardless." Splinter gave a nod of approval, but then he turned his firm gaze onto the Turtles "The four of you demonstrated no intention in your strikes, you should not have allowed yourselves to be defeated that easily. You will spar with him again, and we will practice all night if we have to."

"We have been practicing all night…" Leo let out a breath of exhaustion as he pulled himself to his feet, with the others "Sensei, do you mind if we rest for a moment?"

"Rest? The Shredder will not rest, until all of you are lying dead at his feet!"

"Look with all due respect sensei, you've been training the five of us non stop for the past month with barely any sleep. The rest of them need a break."

"And what, you're saying you don't?" Raph shot a dirty look in Leo's direction.

"That's right Raph, unlike you I don't."

"So what, you think you're so much better than the rest of us?"

"Yeah this is about as fun as watching paint dry." Spider-Man's expression visibly dulled as he shared a look with Splinter "Put away the cane, I'll take this one."

"Then how about I give you a break you son of a-" Raph didn't get to follow through on this before Spider-Man knocked him and Leo to the ground with a single blow.

"Yeah word to the wise guys, arguing and making wisecracks in the middle of a fight isn't gonna do a thing to stop your enemies from trying to skewer you like a shish kebob. If anything, from my experience it just makes them want to do it even more." Spider-Man was met with the sound of snoring, courtesy of Mikey "And I think that's the point where we oughta call it. Please say yes, I wanna get back home before Aunt May wakes up.'

"Hmm… Perhaps a brief rest is in order. So be it then, we will continue this training later." and so Splinter promptly walked off to his room, leaving the Turtles to all fall back to the ground, which was followed by the sound of snoring.

"Good enough for me, I'll see you guys later." Spider-Man on the other hand promptly took off out of the dojo, then out of the Lair entirely as he started web-slinging down the subway tunnels, his mind racing 'To think it's already been about a month since I started training with the guys under the tutelage of Splinter, and honestly it feels pretty good actually. I already feel more calm and focused than I did before, and my hand to hand combat skills are way better than they were before. Plus the talk about meditation and stuff makes me feel more at peace. Doesn't mean I'm not busy as all hell though, between training with these guys and keeping up with taking pictures for the Bugle, especially since apparently the ever personable Mr Jameson wants more and more pictures of Sandman instead of Spider-Man, which confounds me to no end. I never get how that guy works. Anyway I can't waste time brooding to myself, it's already past 5 am and I have to get home before Aunt May wakes up and sees I'm gone. She doesn't even know I'm sneaking out at night to meet up with the guys for training or just working on my gear. Sandman has actually been handling most of the crime in the city, and lucky for me getting pictures of him actually has been pretty easy. This Daredevil guy has been at it too, and he's been taking down one Kraang hideout after another. How the shell did things in my life get so complicated? Oh right, when I got bitten by that freaking spider.'

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Another day came.

Donnie was working on a certain project in his lab when he saw Spider-Man make his way in, in the process of gulping down the contents of a large cup "Stopped off for coffee on the way?"

"Given all the stuff I've had to go through lately, I gotta down some rocket fuel or I'm gonna pass out harder than Mikey did earlier." Spider-Man let out a sigh as he threw the cup away in a nearby trash can.

"Not getting much sleep yourself?"

"What are you kidding, I haven't had a decent night's sleep in about a month, and even then it's usually screwed up by nightmares about the Shredder."

"So how have you not passed out from exhaustion by this point?"

"The short version, a crap ton of iced coffee. I find that it's easier to gulp down than the regular stuff and it doesn't burn my throat. I learned that lesson the hard way."

"Yeah I remember that, you sounded like… well Shredder. We even thought that was just you doing an impression of him."

"No I can't get my voice that deep, or do high notes for that matter. Seriously, when I do that it sounds like I'm gargling toenails. Anyway, I'm guessing the warden, AKA sensei rat hasn't called you all back in for training yet?"

"Nope not yet, he's in the dojo meditating right now, Raph is beating up Mikey again and Leo is in the middle of watching another episode of Space Heroes."

"Yeah I noticed, it's the one where Captain Ryan is hit with the anxiety ray and ends up slapping himself back to his senses. And Mikey has a supply of water balloons hidden god only knows where. What about you, working on the go karts?"

"Okay we've gone over this, and frankly I don't wanna have to explain this again because I've already gotten enough crap over it from the others. This isn't a go kart, it's all-terrain patrol buggies that include detachable side cars."

"I know what it is, you and I came up with the design together, I'm just saying what the thing looks like. Anyway you do you, I'm gonna see if I can work on another web gadget I came up with yesterday."

"This one about the Spider Drone?"

"I was actually thinking about working on a new Web Shooter model, see if I can condense them and improve the storage capacity."

"Works for me, I'll be working on these for awhile so go ahead and feel free to work at my desk if you want."

"Works for me, thanks." so Spider-Man sat down at the desk as he pulled one of his web shooters off his wrist, then pulled out a smaller red and black-colored device, though as he did he took a quick glance up at Donnie "You mind turning away while I'm doing this? It's nothing personal, it's just…" he gestured to the mask he was wearing.

"Oh. That. Well you don't have to worry about me, I'm busy enough working on the patrol buggies as it is."

"Huh. Cool."

"And besides, there's one other thing I never mentioned to you. You know how I used some reverse engineered Kraang tech to build Metalhead?"

"Yeah?"

"Well after the whole fiasco at that Kraang hideout, I also made it so that everything Metalhead sees is recorded, you know for security purposes. I have it on at all times."

"...Oh. So you mean-"

"Uh huh."

"Everything in the lab-"

"Uh huh."

"Does that mean-"

"Yep, I've seen it. You without your mask on I mean."

"...Oh the hell with it." Spider-Man breathed a sigh as he webbed a line with his remaining web shooter, using it to pull the lab door closed, then took another breath as he slowly pulled his mask off of his face "Fine here's the deal, my name is Peter Parker. If you've already seen my face then you might as well know my name. Please for the love of god, don't say anything to the others."

"Hey it's fine, I get it. Remember that Splinter keeps hammering home to us that the biggest and most important rule of the ninja is secrecy, and it's not like you haven't made it clear that you wear the mask for a reason. Besides, other little hints and cues here and there also pointed out something rather interesting to me. I'm not the first one to know who you are am I?"

"No… Mikey actually figured it out a few weeks ago, back during the whole thing with Kraven at the lab at ESU, while you guys were off dealing with the psychic monkey."

"Ah. I had a feeling Mikey knew something we didn't, though given who we're talking about I had just assumed that he was planning to launch some overly elaborate prank on us."

"Don't rule that out just yet, I can tell you for a fact that he has god only knows how many water balloons stowed away somewhere in his shell to use on the rest of you."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyway you don't have to worry about me saying anything, us geniuses should know how to stick together, right Pete?"

"...You got it Don." Peter gave a grin as he caught Donnie in a quick fist bump, then quickly put his mask back on "And I think you have the right idea, us geniuses really oughta know how to stick together."

"Agreed. Now in the meantime, does that offer still stand for me to analyze a sample of the fluid you use for your webs?"

"Sure, as long as you help me with this new model of web shooters I'm working on."

"Deal."

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Meanwhile, with two tenacious redheads…

"Oh yeah, like this doesn't scream "I wanna get mugged and strung up by the ankles" at the top of its metaphorical lungs." MJ rolled her eyes as she looked around at her surroundings, then shot a glance over at the redhead walking next to her "So remind me again why we're posing as pizza delivery chicks and going to some shady-looking dojo in the heart of Chinatown."

"Come on MJ, it's not that big of a deal." April gave a shrug "I'm just out here doing a little bit of information gathering to try and help out a few friends with something."

"Right, these friends of yours that you refuse to let me meet."

"Well it's not like I've ever met any of your friends from your new school, or this guy that you're so invested in, even though you've got a literal pet name for him."

"You mean Pete? Okay we've gone over this at least three times. I'm not gonna pretend that the idea of me and him being a thing hasn't crossed my mind, because it has a few times, but the more I did think about it, the more it didn't make a lot of sense. Me and Tiger are better off as friends than anything else, so as far as I'm concerned, he's up for grabs. Well not really, I know for a fact that he's got his eyes on someone else."

"Yeah this other girl you mentioned, the blonde that actually has a brain."

"And subsequently gives a giant middle finger to that stereotype, yeah. I'm still pulling for the two of them anyway. And for the record I'm not stopping you from meeting Peter, if you wanna meet him I'll introduce you. How about this weekend?"

"Fine, it's a date then."

"Yeah word to the wise, don't call it an actual date or he's gonna get all worked up. He's kind of a hot mess when it comes to the dating game."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anyway we're here, this is the place."

"I got this." MJ took the pizza box in hand and promptly knocked on the door "And for the record though, what exactly are the odds that some guy is gonna be stupid enough to just believe that we're giving out free pizza for no good reason?"

"You'd be surprised, from what I've seen the guys that work for them aren't that bright."

"I'm not surprised by that."

"Coming." the door opened and revealed a familiar face in the form of a young man with dark skin and black hair in the cornrow style, and he blinked when he saw who it was "Oh hey, what's up Watson."

"Hobie? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, I never pictured you the type for delivering pizzas."

"I'm just doing this to help out my cousin with this little pet project she's had going on over the Summer. And for the record, I asked you first."

"Fair enough. To make a long story short, I've done a little bit of work for Chris Bradford over the past few weeks, and now that he's out of town I'm just looking after the dojo for him for the time being."

"Uh huh. Okay then. So you ordered the pizza?"

"A guy has to eat, so what do I owe you for it?"

"Already paid for on the phone."

"Fair enough, in that case…" he took a few bills out and handed them to MJ, then put on a certain purple mask "Alright Watson, see you around." and so he promptly closed the door.

"Huh. Not gonna lie, did not see that coming."

"You know that guy?" April shot him a raised eyebrow as the two of them started walking back up the street.

"Yeah that's Hobie Brown, he goes to my new school in Midtown, I actually know him mainly through the drama club. He's the dude that keeps getting interrupted every time he wants to say something."

"Oh, you mean that guy. So what's he doing at a Bradford dojo?"

"The hell if I know. You put the device on the box?"

"Yep, now let's see if it's working." and so April pulled out her phone and pressed the button to activate the device in question.

"Alright good news, I got your pizza, green peppers and anchovies. Am I the only one who thinks that having anchovies are kind of offensive now?"

"Why the hell would you think that?"

"Well aside from the fact that you're a lopsided dog man now, Xever is a fish, and anchovies are fish so…"

"Who cares if he finds it offensive, I like anchovies and green peppers. Frankly the only thing that I do care about is that now I can eat him if he pisses me off too much."

"You do realize that at one point, that could've been considered cannibalism."

"And you realize that I don't care, because in case you haven't noticed, I'm not even human anymore. Now give me the freaking pizza, we still have to go over today's agenda before the big meeting tonight with Master Shredder."

"Okay, that's… definitely not good." April shared a quick glance with MJ "Listen I… have to go and talk to the guys,

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Meanwhile, in the dojo…

"Okay, so we're doing Hoko no Kamae." Spider-Man paused and glanced over at the others "So remind me again which one that is."

"The one that looks like you're making yourself bigger." Mikey told him "Like the thing you gotta do with really big animals."

"Got it." so Spider-Man got into the stance alongside three of the other Turtles, only to look over and notice Raph not doing it "And you're not doing it because?"

"Simple, because I don't freaking wanna do it." Raph told him dyrly "It's bad enough Splinter has been driving us into the ground for a month straight, and then seargent killjoy over there, aka my brother, is trying to do it too. How do you expect me to react?"

"By pulling your head out of your shell and thinking for once?"

"If he didn't say it, one of us probably would've." Leo noted dryly "Look Raph, I know that we've been going hard at it lately, but we have to keep training because right now, even with the five of us fighting together, we don't stand a chance against the Shredder."

"And you know he's just gonna pop up somewhere like the Grim Reaper so he can stick a blade through our throats." Spider-Man cringed slightly at the memory "That's exactly what would've happened to me if Daredevil hadn't shown up when he did."

"Which reminds me, are we going to meet him at some point?"

"I'm guessing it's gonna be around the time that we go back up there, which brings me to another point I'm trying to make. As much as I hate to say it, the fact that all of us are laying low might be the only reason he hasn't gotten to us yet."

"That's exactly the point I'm trying to make, so we have to keep a low profile until all of us are ready."

"I hate to break it to you guys, but we don't have that option." this was when April made herself known to the group, phone in hand "Me and my cousin were doing a little bit of recon, and word of warning, you're probably not gonne like what we found out."

"How bad should we expect this to be?" Spider-Man shot her a raised eyebrow from under his mask as he shot a single stream of webs to pop the balloon Mikey was holding "Dude I saw you nail Raph and Donnie, the difference with them being that yours truly has the Spider Sense going for me."

"To answer your question, it's bad enough that we'd better get Splinter over here."

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10 minutes later…

"Alright, here it is." once the group had been gathered, April pulled out her phone and started playing what was being recorded.

"The meeting with Master Shredder is going to be held tonight in his throne room, it starts at 8 pm sharp. He claims to have a plan to finish off the Turtles. He was able to get the Purple Dragons out of jail the other day, so that means you probably won't be playing as big of a part in this one."

"How's he going to do this? I thought he didn't even know where they are."

"He says that they're in the sewers somewhere, and knowing what Master Shredder is like, that's the only piece of information he needs to know to wipe them out."

"Sounds ominous, and incredibly reckless. Sounds about right for Shredder."

"Just don't say that to his face unless you have a death wish."

"This is most disconcerting." Splinter's tone was grim "Our home is no longer safe. Whatever happens, the Shredder must be stopped."

"Yeah but that raises a problem, how are we supposed to stop a plan when we don't even know what it is." Leo glanced up at Splinter with a raised non-existent eyebrow, though as he did he threw a single shuriken back to pop the water balloon Mikey was holding "Time and a place for that stuff Mikey, and this isn't it."

"Who cares about him, we've got other things to deal with." Raph bolted to his feet "We have to go topside and figure out what the Foot are planning to do."

"Raph is right for once, there's no other way."

"...What the shell do you mean for once?"

"I think it pretty much speaks for itself." Spider-Man noted dryly, earning a low growling noise from Raph as a result "I rest my case. Anyway just give me a minute to grab my web shooters and fill them up, then I'll-" he cut himself short when he noticed Splinter placing a hand on his shoulder "Uh… this isn't going to end with you hitting a pressure point and leaving me in a drooling heap on the ground is it?"

"Nothing of the sort." Splinter's expression softened slightly "My sons will be able to handle this mission themselves. In the meantime, there actually is something that I would to discuss with you while I have the opportunity."

"Uh… okay. You guys gonna be alright?"

"Yeah no sweat, we got this dude." Mikey gave him a grin as he and the other Turtles went to grab their gear, though as he did he leaned towards Donnie, his voice low "Okay asking you as the party dude, what are the odds that he's gonna hit some pressure point in the heart and then dump the body in the waterway?"

"Mikey there are many things inaccurate about what you just said." Donnie took a quick glance back at where Spider-Man was following Splinter "But given Splinter's current attitude, I would calculate that having a 43.29% chance of happening." then he lowered his voice so that only the two of them would be able to hear "Besides, worse comes to worse I think Peter is going to be fine."

"Yeah I guess but- Wait, you know?!"

"Yep, we established it a few hours ago."

"So… you gonna tell the others?"

"No I already promised I wouldn't, and besides I wouldn't want to risk getting rid of the only other person we know that understands science to the same extent I do. Do you have any idea how long I've waited to be with someone who listens and understands my passion, and even more importantly actually cares? Because I definitely don't get any of that when it comes to you or the others."

"Focus you two, we have a mission to complete." Leo drew their attention as he and the others finished gathering their weapons, and then they promptly took off out of the Lair "Let's just hope that we don't run into any problems."

"Oh yeah bro, way to jinx us before we even get there." Mikey noted dryly "Seriously, you never say stuff like that, it's like saying nothing can go wrong."

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And now to prove Mikey's point…

Despite the tension and anxiety hanging over them, the Turtles managed to follow the Purple Dragons to the Shredder's hideout, only to quickly run into a large problem, which came in the form of Bradford, having mutated into a large dog man (courtesy of the battle that took place atop the Wolf Hotel), and they ended up having to fight him, but he proved himself to be far too strong for them, forcing them to escape using a smokebomb, while subsequently leaving them further demoralized as a result.

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Meanwhile, in the Lair…

"Okay, this isn't creepy at all…" Spider-Man followed Splinter into the dojo as he looked around rather tentatively "So… you said that you wanted to talk about something?"

"That I did." Splinter knelt down in front of the big tree in the middle of the dojo, and then he motioned for Spider-Man to do the same "I have been observing you for some time, even before you started training with myself and my sons. You've offered them some of your own wisdom, and they in turn have helped you to grow as well."

"It's… been a rough few months for me, mostly personal stuff, and I guess meeting you guys helped me to get through it, so… thanks for that. Really."

"I have much to thank you for as well. In many ways, my sons are very similar to you."

"Teenagers that get way too overconfident in themselves and have no idea when they need to shut up?"

"That, and they are, as they say, at a crossroads. I believe they could and truly do benefit from one such as yourself, who has spent a fair amount of time on this path of life. I truly do see the utmost potential in all of you to be something great, to become true heroes."

"Yeah, like the five of us are gonna turn out to be the next version of the Avengers." Spidey let out a chuckle "Just imagine Raph turning green, another shade of green anyway, turning huge as he starts screaming "Raph smash!" at the top of his lungs. Actually now that I think about it, he does that anyway."

"Yes yes, very funny. The point I wish to make is that my sons have the years of training to become masters in the art of ninjutsu, whereas you have the experience in the real world that they need to acquire."

"So in other words, you want me to look after them? I already have been, I mean we already had that talk where we established that they really are my friends."

"And you intend to continue doing so?"

"Honestly… yeah, I do."

"I see." Splinter gave a small smile as he handed Spider-Man a cup of tea "In that case, there is something that I wish to share with you. Something that you may find very interesting."

"And what's that?"

"When we first met, I told you of the story of how myself and my sons came to be together in the forms that you've see, but I had not told you everything. After finding four baby turtles in a pet store one afternoon, I bumped into a mysterious stranger and decided to follow him, only to have my curiosity undermined. In the struggle that followed, we all ended up being exposed to a strange substance, which ended up changing us forever, turning us into the forms that you have become familiar with."

"In other words, you had a run in with the Kraang and got exposed to their Mutagen, and it had turned you into what you are now."

"Details we have only learned of recently. The journey we have shared together has not been an easy one, but I truly believe that it could not have happened without the hands of fate, courage, and a great purpose. The world that we live in is a dangerous one, we have many enemies in the city above."

"You're not the only one, I can't remember the last time I went a week without feeling my bones crack in multiple parts of my body, whether it be from training with you and the guys or one of my many supervillain enemies trying to kill me."

"I can imagine. The duty I hold as a sensei and as a father, is to teach all that I know to my sons and my disciples, for the day will come when you will need to choose your own destinies. As for now however, there is a part of the story of our origin that I neglected to tell you. Things were very different in that time. I held many different responsibilities back then, finding food and staying in the shadows, and especially hiding from those who would not understand who and what we are. However, there were a select few that did not judge, did not question, and did not hesitate to show kindness to us. I remember two in particular, a middle-aged couple with a young one of their own to look after, they discovered me searching for food once near their home."

"They actually found you?"

"I was deprived of sleep and I allowed myself to get careless and slapdash. In any case, they did not hesitate in offering myself and the Turtles food and shelter, and they allowed us to stay with them for a time."

"Huh. Sounds like some good people."

"Indeed they were. We had to leave shortly after, but I never forgot them."

"So what did happen?"

"We stayed with them for a few weeks, but then I encountered the strangers that were responsible for our fateful transformation. I did not know what they were at the time, but I was certain that they were not human. These new enemies had resources and technology that I had never seen before. I was able to fend them off, but I quickly came to realize that if they discovered where my sons and I were residing, then those around me would be in constant danger. So I made the choice to part ways with those people. I gave them my gratitude once more, said my goodbyes and departed. That was the last time I saw them, and that was 15 years ago. But even in all of the time that has passed, I have never forgotten the strength of spirit, the compassion, the generosity and the kindness shown to myself and my family… by Benjamin and May Parker."

That was enough to make Spider-Man recoil and fall flat on his back from shock 'You've gotta be kidding me… He knew Uncle Ben and Aunt May?! Aunt May knows about him? Does that mean she knows about the Turtles too?! Okay he's officially throwing a lot at me!'

"I still remember that young one as well… His name was Peter if I'm not mistaken. They did say he would grow up to become something truly great." Splinter looked down at Spider-Man, and his smile widened further "I can see for myself that they certainly spoke the truth. You've grown up well over the years."

"...Oh the hell with it." Spider-Man let out a groan as he sat up and pulled of his mask to reveal the face of Peter Parker "As entertaining as the exposition was, did you just use all of that as a really long-winded way of saying that you knew who I was?"

"I suppose it could be inferred as that." Splinter let out a chuckle, but then his expression turned solemn "I must ask though, about Ben…"

"Yeah. Uncle Ben is gone."

"I see. I suppose this should not come as a surprise. I had a vision a year ago during meditation, that told me of his death."

"What makes it worse… it was my fault." Peter looked away as he tried to fight back a few tears at the memory, only to be met with a comforting hand on his shoulder that directed his attention back to Splinter "Go ahead and say it."

"All I will say, all that I need to say, is that he would be proud to see what you've become. I can confirm this for a fact."

"I'd like to think so. Doesn't make it hurt any less though, especially given the monumental amount of times I've screwed up since the first time that I put on this mask."

"Remember this Peter, something I've told my sons before that rings true with the greatest facts of life. Gaining wisdom comes from gaining experience, and gaining experience comes from making mistakes. Each one helps you to become better, both as a hero and a person."

"Yeah well, it seems like instead each one is just blowing up in my face."

"Give it time. Learning these lessons a gradual process that cannot and should not be rushed."

"If you say so. Speaking of which, please don't tell the others about who I am… I'm not ready for that. Not yet at least."

"I will respect your wishes. I must ask though, have any of my sons already been made aware of your true identity?"

"Mikey found out a few weeks ago, and I just found out that Donnie knows earlier today. Add you to the mix and that makes three."

"I see."

"Hey guys?" this was when April suddenly poked her head into the dojo, prompting Peter to take behind Splinter as he slipped his mask back on.

"Yes April, is there something I can do for you?"

"I just wanted to let you know that the guys are back, and they're looking pretty down."

"I see. We will be out in a moment." Splinter glanced over to see Spider-Man finish slipping his mask back on "I believe that the others require our attention at the moment."

"And I'm half expecting Mikey to try and pelt me with a water balloon." Spider-Man gave a shrug as the two of them made their way out of the dojo and found the Turtles sitting around and looking incredibly downcast "I'm gonna go out on a whim and say it didn't go well?"

"To put it in simple terms, no it did not." Leo let out a sigh "We followed the Purple Dragons and found out where Shredder's hideout is, it's this old church building in the heart of the Financial District."

"But?"

"But Bradford found us hiding in an alley, we tried to fight back but… even with the four of us together, we couldn't take him."

"That bad huh?"

"No kidding dude." Mikey let out a sigh "Dogpound was just too powerful."

"Seriously, you're calling him Dogpound?"

"What, because he turned into a giant dog and he pounded us into the-"

"Yeah I got it, and for the record, a joke or comeback or clever nickname are never funny if you have to explain it to someone. It just doesn't work."

"Neither does us having any chance of getting close to that meeting now." Donnie let out a sigh as he pulled out his laptop "Maybe we just need to find a new place to hide. I heard that the sewers in Florida are pretty nice this time of year."

"Forget it, there isn't a chance in hell I'm gonna let you guys give up now, not with something like this." Spider-Man turned to face the Turtles "I'll do it. I'm going to spy on that meeting myself."

"Wait what? Dude are you sure about this?"

"Great power and great responsibility remember, I gave you that whole speech. Plus it's not like we have many other options. Besides, I don't know if I really mentioned it, but meeting you guys was what got me through a pretty hard time in my life. I think it's about time for me to return the favor."

"...Uh huh. Well if you're really sure…" Leo shared a look with the Turtles, then looked back over at Spider-Man "Then let's do it."

"Good." Spider-Man then pulled out his Spider Cell "In the meantime, I'm gonna see if we can call in some backup."

"What kind of backup?"

"From a dude dressed up like a devil."

"...What?"

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Nightfall came, and the time of the meeting was closing in.

'Alright, looks like it's go time.' Spider-Man breathed a sigh as he stood atop a rooftop in front of the church building in question and pulled out his Spider Cell "You guys said this was the place right, old church building in the heart of the Financial District?"

"This is the place we followed the Purple Dragons to, and it's where we almost got beaten into the ground by Dogpound. You sure you still want to do this?"

"Never any doubt about it, now hang back and let me do this." so he took a breath, then leapt forward across the alley in front of them and landed on the edge of the church building, to which he maneuvered around until he saw Shredder's throne room 'Yep, there's the big blade man himself, and honestly looking at him still makes my skin crawl. And makes me think that the dude seriously needs to get some sun, it can't be healthy for a person to be that pale.' then he looked over and saw a certain fish creature swimming in the waters underneath the glass 'Huh, a pet in a glorified aquarium belonging to a madman. Looks to me like Xever came up in the world. Okay enough with the mental snark, Spider Sense is going off.'

"So you've come." Shredder looked ahead to see Dogpound making his way into the throne room, with the Purple Dragons and a group of Foot ninja following right behind him "Listen carefully, because I only intend to tell you this once. Five of you will be tasked with hijacking a tanker truck on Houston in approximately 15 minutes."

'Sounds like something worth listening to.' Spider-Man promptly pulled out his Spider Cell and hit the speaker button.

"The chemical contained in that truck is extremely rare, so you will not have another chance to do this."

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Meanwhile, with the Turtles…

"Listen carefully, because I only intend to tell you this once. Five of you will be tasked with hijacking a tanker truck on Houston in approximately 15 minutes. The chemical contained in that truck is extremely rare, so you will not have another chance to do this."

"Wait, he's using chemicals?" Raph glanced over at the others "What the shell is he talking about with chemicals?"

"How about you shut up so we can listen and find out." Donnie told him dryly, only to be met with a dirty look from Raph.

"How about I break your shell on my knee."

"How about you both try and shut up for a minute while we try and hear the evil plan Shredder is going on about." Leo shut them up "Now I think I can hear it, about time too."

"And that will be enough to destroy the Turtles and Splinter once and for all, now go."

"Dammit we missed it, nice going guys." Leo let out a sigh as he took his T-phone off speaker and held it up to his ear "Spidey you there?"

"Yeah I'm here. Asking a potentially stupid question here, but is there any chance the four of you actually heard any of what he said?"

"Unfortunately no, I couldn't hear anything with the others arguing so loud."

"Not like that's too big of a surprise, I could barely hear it myself over the sound of the four of you squawking like a pack of angry roosters."

"You can blame Raph and Donnie for that one, they had to start arguing right now."

"Yeah well give me a few minutes, I'm gonna follow the giant dog and- Hold on a second, my Spider Sense is going off. Oh son of a-" and cue a thud, followed by a loud crash.

"Spider-Man? Spidey are you still there?"

"Yeah I'm here, and I'm, thanks for asking, just my jaw throbbing a little bit. Anyway it looks like I'm gonna be preoccupied for a little while, I'll call you back when I'm done." and then he hung up on the spot.

"Wait what? Spider-Man! Spidey!" Leo shared a look with the others, then glanced down to where a series of vans carrying Dogpound, the Purple Dragons and the Foot were heading down the Financial District "Crap!"

"Okay Leo, so what do we do now?" asked Donnie.

"We have to stop them from getting that tanker truck but- but Dogpound is in there and we're not ready to go up against him. Dammit Splinter was right, we shouldn't have come back up to the surface in the first place!"

"I understand that feeling all too well."

Leo and the others immediately snapped to attention when they saw another figure appear on the scene a few feet away, clad in a dark red-colored suit, complete with horns on the helmet "Who are you?"

"You don't need to be afraid, I'm not your enemy. You can call me the Daredevil." now that got their attention.

"You mean the one that…"

"That would be me. I heard about what was happening and came to offer my aid, but now I find the scene before me. The fear in your eyes clouding your mind, all four of you I understand it very well."

"You do?"

"I do. But at the same time, I remember the one who helped me to overcome it." Daredevil let out a sigh as he gazed out into the night sky "It was a time to honor a good man that gave his life to save others, a man with warmth and wisdom in his heart who welcomed everyone, regardless of whether or not they shared his beliefs. He expected that those of us who did share his beliefs would do what we could in service of others, in our community. Not even the kids were able to get out of that requirement. I remember how insistent he was that we give some of our own money to help others who needed it more. That was simply part of his way, to think about the community and the individuals that would reside in it. To think in terms of what we would be able to give. He had given his life in order to save others, standing by his beliefs to the very end, and standing up to a man who used fear as a tool to set neighbors against one another. If there was one enemy that man had, it would have to be fear. Speaking personally as a man, he spent many years trying to get me to face my own fears, to understand how they had enslaved me, how they divided me from the people that I love the most. He counciled me on how to transcend my own fears, to be brave and courageous enough to forgive, and see the possibilities of being a man without fear. It was his legacy, and now I feel it's up to everyone he taught, myself included, to live up to it. I choose to do that with every action I take. Will you do the same?" he was met with the Turtles staring at him with wide eyes "I take it that's a yes?"

"...Yeah sure, call it a yes." Leo was quick to shake it off.

"Good."

"Nice speech." Raph muttered "I would've gone with quoting Space Heroes personally. I mean granted I would've hated myself for doing it, but still."

"Good choice, I actually know a good friend from work who thinks highly of that show. But we have other things to focus on right now."

"That we do." Leo gave a smirk full of confidence "Now let's go stop the Foot Clan and save our home."

"Glad to see you're ready then. Now we lost some time and they're travelling by van, so it's going to be a bit difficult to catch them on foot, but I know a shortcut where-"

"Actually you might want to hold that thought, because we won't be going on foot. I think I have an idea."

"...I'm listening."

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Meanwhile, with the Turtles…

"Oh yeah, now this is what I'm talking about!" it didn't take long for Leo and the rest of the Turtles to make their way back out onto the streets, only this time they were behind the wheel of the patrol buggy "This feels amazing."

"But I told you at least half a dozen times that it's not ready." Donnie pointed out dryly.

"This thing is totally awesome, hey does it have a radio?" asked Mikey.

"No it doesn't have a radio, I keep telling you guys that it's not ready!"

"Yeah well, it seems ready enough to me." Leo gave a grin accelerated the Patrol Buggy, only for the steering wheel to suddenly snap off, though he quickly reattached it "Well for the most part that is."

"What the shell have I been saying?!"

"Well I think that as long as we keep that on, we oughta be fine."

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Meanwhile, with the giant dog man…

"There's the tanker, catch it now!" Dogpound gave the order that prompted the Foot ninja to use their van to cut off the tanker and stop it in its tracks, to which Dogpound himself then ripped the door off its hinges "Get out now if you value your life." and that was enough to make the driver of the tanker take off running, while another Foot ninja took up the driver's seat, which allowed them to carry on their way "Now place the call to Master Shredder, tell him that we've acquired the tanker and we're on our way, and we haven't encountered any problems." but then he looked ahead and saw the Turtles approaching them in the Patrol Buggy, as well as a certain red-clad figure running across the rooftops "Hold that call, run the Turtles down and get a squad of ninjas on the rooftop over there. I don't know who that is, but if he's allied with the Turtles then I want him dead, and I can tell you that Master Shredder will say the same."

"Looks like a certain bad dog has some serious road rage." Leo gave a smirk as he glanced over at the others "Alright Raph, you'd better get ready."

"Get ready for what?" Raph received his answer in the form of Leo pulling a lever, causing the Patrol Buggy to detach into two different vehicles, a steering wheel popping up on Raph's side in the process, allowing them to evade just before they hit the tanker "Hey what the shell dude, you know you could've been a little bit more specific about that!"

"Hey where's the fun in that? Now get ready." the four of them maneuvered back around as they caught up with the tanker "A little bit closer…"

"Wait a second…" Donnie glanced back at the label on the back of the truck "This tanker is full of chlorosulfonic acid? Oh man, hey Leo I think I figured out what Shredder is planning!"

"Wait what?"

"That acid is known for having a violent reaction when it's exposed to water."

"So that means that if he dumps it into the sewer…"

"Then it's all gonna be incinerated in a matter of seconds, and that includes the Lair!"

"The same with Master Splinter. We have to stop that tanker whatever it takes." and so they sped up and began to close in on the tanker.

'Great, so now the Turtles figured it out, and they've got some unexpected help, and if there's any chance that the Prowler should fail in stopping Spider-Man… We'd better try to divide and conquer tactic.' he glanced over at where Fong was behind the wheel of the van and gave him a simple nod, which prompted him to break off in another direction while the tanker continued on its way.

"Looks like they're trying to break us up. Not like we're letting any of them get away this time around. Donnie and Raph, you guys stick with the van and take down the Purple Dragons, then leave them for the police."

"Hey dude, I'm kind of stuck with Raph in case you didn't notice." Mikey told him dryly.

"Raph go ahead and check out that lever on your left, I think you're gonna enjoy this."

"Way ahead of you." Raph pulled a lever to his left, causing his and Mikey's sections of the Patrol Buggy to detach and leave them in separate side cars, with Leo doing the same with himself and Donnie "Okay you were right, that was kind of fun."

"I told you so." and so the group split up, Leo and Mikey keeping up in the chase for the tanker while Raph and Donnie broke off to hunt down the Purple Dragons "Alright Mikey, I think we need to slow this thing down! Let's fire our grappling hooks!"

"I'm on it bro!" Mikey fired the grappling hook from his buggy, with Leo doing the same with his, both of them latching onto the back of the tanker, only for them to break off after only a few seconds "Uh… you know Donnie did say they weren't ready right?"

"Yeah I got it, it's not like we had any other options!"

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Meanwhile, with another masked vigilante…

"Okay, ow…" Spider-Man let out a pained groan as he picked himself up out of the group of trash cans and subsequently rubbed his bruised jaw "Okay seriously, sneak attacking a guy like that is just rude."

"You realize how hypocritical that sounds coming from the guy who regularly sneak attacks goons with his webs." the Prowler noted dryly as he dropped to the ground in front of him and studied Spider-Man intently for a moment "You seem different compared to how you were the last time we met."

"Yeah well, I guess I hit puberty."

"Funny. You've been training haven't you?"

"What gave that away?"

"A few things really, mainly the fact that I told you the last time we met that the level you were at wouldn't be enough to give you a ghost of a chance against Shredder, then he beats you within an inch of your life and then you more or less drop off the face of the Earth for the better part of a month, and now here you are. Let me guess, you sought out a teacher to help you hone these skills and powers you have to the highest degree you could given the time span?"

"That's… a pretty convoluted way of saying all of that, but yeah pretty much. Anyway I don't have time for a rematch, I've got stuff to do involving the giant Furry over there and his army of thugs with way too many tattoos for their own good."

"Do you even know what a Furry is?"

"No but I'm fairly certain I'm using it in the right context."

"Uh huh. Well in any case, Bradford and his lackeys are carrying out Shredder's orders, so now I think it's time for me to get on with my own goal. I wanna see what you can do now that you've been given proper training, see what you can really do."

"So to dumb it down a few notches, you wanna fight."

"Essentially yeah. You fight me and win, I'll back off from this and let you get on with doing what you have to do. If you lose, then that proves that you still have a long way to go, because if you can't beat me…"

"I won't stand a chance against the Shredder. I know."

"So how about it then, you ready to back up the talk that makes most of your enemies want to kill you even more?"

"I say we get to it already."

"Good enough for me." the Prowler suddenly faded from view.

'He's gone… Some kind of cloking tech maybe? No calm down Spidey, don't let him blindside you again. Focus on your surroundings, follow your Spider Sense to where it directs you… Right behind me!' he whipped around just in time to avoid an attack from behind the Prowler and dealt him a sharp knee to the jaw, followed by a roundhouse that sent him hurtling backwards into the wall behind him "And that's how we follow the Way of the Spider, I'd like to see Jackie Chan go ahead and try that one. Or Bruce Lee. Or that one guy on the bus from YouTube."

"You mean that dude from San Francisco?"

"The one from the bus yeah."

"Well let's see how you do when I get serious." and so the Prowler suddenly leapt forward at a greater level of speed, blitzing around the alleyway.

'So he's getting serious, then I guess that means I am too.' Spider-Man wasted no time in using his Spider Sense to dodge and block most of the Prowler's attacks from numerous angles, though this quickly came to a head when Spider-Man buried his fist in the Prowler's gut at the same time he received a knee to the jaw, sending both of them hurtling backwards "Okay, so clearly not kidding about the whole "getting serious" thing."

"I'm a lot of things but I'm not a liar, at least not to anyone with a conscience. Plus I'm a 9th degree blackbelt."

"Really? Cool."

"Yeah. I can tell you took your training seriously over the past month. I'm impressed. But with that being said, you're not the only one who's been busy over the past month. I've developed a few new tricks of my own."

"You mean like that cloaking field you used to blindside me earlier?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that, but yeah basically. And these?"

"What do you-" Spider-Man didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before his Spider Sense started blaring, and then a certain purple-clad figure kicked him in the spine and knocked him to the ground, followed by several more purple figures popping up and slashing at him from different angles with their claws barred, as well as a few small energy bursts.

"To answer the question you didn't get to finish, that's what I mean." the Prowler, along with the other versions of him, aimed to fire a series of four simultaneous energy blasts "Like I said, you aren't the only one that's been busy." and then they fired.

"Crap!" Spider-Man was left to go on the evasive and retreat to a nearby rooftop, his mind racing as he tried to gain some distance 'This doesn't make sense, they can't all be real!' he felt his Spider Sense going off and moved to attack one of the copies, only to end up phasing through it and hitting the ground with a loud thud, though as he did he launched a single shot of electric webs, causing the copy to evaporate, only for two more to appear in its place "What the hell are these things, some kind of solid holograms?"

"I'm going with solograms as a working title, a form of decoy tech." the real Prowler appeared on the roof in front of Spider-Man as the solograms disappeared "I actually got the idea based on some things I heard about a few members of Iron Man's rogue gallery, and so I decided to see if I could make it work."

"Yeah, I kind of noticed that… Though they hit like a freaking truck." Spider-Man let out a groan of pain as he pulled himself back to his feet 'If Splinter was here then he'd probably chew me out for forgetting the basics, but it's not like he's here to coach me through it. Maybe I oughta go through it step by step, starting with his first lesson on my Spider Sense. Rely on all of my senses, not just my eyes, and focus on my surroundings on all sides.' so he took a breath, gripped his mask and promptly pulled it around, blinding himself in the process 'Spider Sense you better not let me down now. Show me what you've got you Power Ranger wannabe."

"And just like that you're asking for me to smack you into the ground with those things, anyone with any sense of taste would know for a fact that the Power Rangers franchise stopped being good years ago." the Prowler then unleashed a series of solograms that he sent charging forward towards Spider-Man, readying a series of energy blasts in the process.

'Keep your cool, let your Spider Sense guide you, and… the rear!' he leapt into the air to avoid an energy blast from behind 'To the right!' he ducked to avoid an energy blast coming from the copy on the right and subsequently landed a solid kick to its chest 'Above!' he ducked again to avoid a blast from the copy above him and landed a solid elbow to its face, causing it to disperse into nothing 'To the left!' he rounded on the one to his left before it could fire and dealt it a crushing elbow to the skull 'I think that's all of them, now I just have to keep my cool and use my Spider Sense to locate the danger posed by the real one. It's tingling like crazy in every direction, but which direction is the strongest? I can feel it… right there!' he spun around in time to catch the Prowler and land a roundhouse kick to the chest, followed by a few quick shots of electric webs that were able to disable the remaining solograms, and then he took the chance to land a solid uppercut to the Prowler's jaw, resulting in a sickening crack as he was sent hurtling back down into the alley below, followed by a loud crash as Spider-Man leapt off the rooftop and down into the alley "You had enough yet- Woah."

"Okay, ow…" the Prowler let out a groan as he picked himself up, revealing his mask having been broken and displaying his true face… that of Hobie Brown "Yep, I think that's enough of that." he was met with only a silent wide-eyed stare from Spider-Man "My mask broke from the fall didn't it?"

"Uh… yeah. You've gotta be kidding me… Hobie Brown? That guy from school that never gets to talk without being interrupted? He's the Prowler? He works for the Shredder? What in the everlasting fu-' Spider-Man didn't get to finish that sentence before he looked around and saw a group of Foot Ninja appear in the entryway of the alley 'Crap, so much for getting out of here to help the guys.'

"Well I think that's enough of that." Hobie breathed a sigh as he pressed a button on his wrist, causing his mask to re-materialize, then suddenly whipped around and fired a few small energy bursts at the Foot ninja, leaving them all to be electrocuted and then fall to the ground in a series of unconscious heaps "That's better, and if any of you are still conscious, tell Shredder that's my form of resignation."

"...What the hell was that?"

"Like I said, my resignation. I only started working with the Foot to clear up a debt, but now I've had more than enough of these lunatics to last a lifetime. I've got more important things to worry about, and frankly so do you right now, like helping the Turtles stop Bradford before he causes a catastrophe. But before that happens, let me offer you one more piece of advice."

"Which is?"

"Even if you do feel more confident in yourself and have these new skills, keep in mind that you have to make time for training, because a true warrior, or a hero, has to always be at their peak physical condition. I know it's hard, but it's worth it, and frankly it's still a lot better than the alternative."

"Which in your case would be getting ripped apart by Shredder. Again."

"Exactly. I know of a lot of guys that think training you did until you're good enough at what you do, but it's something you have to keep doing, to keep pushing yourself to new and greater heights, if not for yourself, then to protect the people you care about most. Call that something to take on board, especially if you're gonna keep up the training. Until next time Spider-Man, I know we're gonna meet up again pretty soon." and with that, the Prowler suddenly disappeared from view.

'...Okay, so that's kind of a mind blower.' Spider-Man was quick to shake that off as he leapt back up to the rooftop and started webslinging away, his mind racing 'So Hobie Brown is the Prowler… and that means the Prowler goes to my high school… Gonna have to look into that later. I don't have time to focus on that now though, right now I have to focus on helping the guys stop the ninjas and the giant dog man. I wonder how they're doing with that.'

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Meanwhile, with one group of Turtles…

"Alright, just a little further!" Donnie and Raph wasted no time in catching up to the van carrying the Purple Dragons, and the former promptly threw a smokebomb into the van, which blinded Fong and allowed them to pull ahead, only to notice that a group of Foot ninja were approaching on motorcycles "Raph we've got more company!"

"Tone it down a few notches, I've got these idiots." so Raph promptly pulled forward and released a series of Makibishi spikes down onto the road, bringing the van to a screeching halt, as well as the numerous Foot ninja "Done."

"Good, now we just have to take out these guys the old fashioned way."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Raph gave a smirk as he and Donnie dismounted their side cars and brandished their weapon "Now let's go and beat down some Feet."

"Actually I think the proper term is Foots."

"And I think I don't give a damn, let's just go and punch them!" and so they got to work doing just that, beating each Foot ninja down in just a few hits "And then there was one."

"You freaks are gonna pay for making a fool out of me!" Fong took the chance to try and charge them with a knife in hand, only to find himself webbed to the side of his van "Oh come, again with this crap?!"

"Oh great, that means he's back."

"Hey come on dude, we both know you missed me." this was when Spider-Man swung his way down onto the scene.

"Yeah well, it sure as hell took you long enough to get back."

"Well excuse me, it's not like I had to deal with getting blindsided by a mercenary for hire in high-tech armor."

"Did you at least take the Prowler down?" asked Donnie.

"Well I managed to beat him in a straight up fight, put the last month of training to good use, but unfortunately he got away. Again. That cloaking stuff can be a real pain."

"Maybe, but don't pretend it doesn't peak your curiosity."

"I never said it didn't, because it's pretty much one of my scientific wet dreams. Anyway enough about that, we'd better hurry and meet up with the others."

"No kidding. Leo and Mikey are facing Dogpound on their own, even if they have that other guy with them."

"Masked guy? You mean Daredevil."

"Yeah, he's the dude with the horns." Raph told him "Sure he talks pretty enough, gives a decent speech, but how tough is this guy?"

"Well he did save me from Shredder single handedly, and as far as I know he's good enough to take out the Kraang's operations in every state along the East Coast."

"...Well damn."

"Yeah I know right? Anyway let's move."

"Right." so the two Turtles leapt back into their side cars, with Spider-Man latching onto the back of Raph's as they took off down the street.

"So how good of a speech was it exactly?"

"Honestly? The sort of thing you'd probably hear from Captian America."

"That good?"

"I call it like I heard it."

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Meanwhile, with the rest of the group…

"Alright, I've had just about enough of these wretches!" Dogpound leapt off the side of the tanker truck and landed in front of where the Turtles were charging towards him, then grabbed the cover of a nearby manhole and threw it at Leo's side car.

"Nope!" Leo leapt out of the car and drew his katanas as he landed on the ground "Is that all you've got going for you Dogpound?"

"Does this answer your question?" Dogpound raised his giant arm, which summoned a large group of Foot ninja to his side "Rip them out of their shells."

"...Yep, I had to ask didn't I?" Leo shared a glance with Mikey, and the two of them barred their katanas and nunchucks respectively as they charged into the fray and began clashing with the numerous Foot ninjas.

All the while, Dogpound let out a chuckle as he made his way over towards the tanker "Now that those fools are out of the picture, time to get started."

"I think you're forgetting about one thing."

Dogpound whipped around at the sound of a new voice, just in time for a certain figure in red and black to deal him a roundhouse kick to the face, followed by an uppercut to the jaw that sent him crashing to the ground, but he rebounded in time to stop the follow up attack by grabbing the figure by the arm "And who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"Someone who's sworn to protect the innocent from people like you. As for I am, you can call me the Daredevil." on that note, Daredevil dealt Dogpound a solid knee to the jaw that let him break free of the grip, and then he went on to tackle Dogpound to the ground and deal him a few blows to the face and chest "I know who you are and I know who you work for, and yet I still can't help but have some sympathy for you. What the Kraang did to you… it's something that no person should have to go through."

"The Kraang? What are you talking about?"

"It was their technology and experiments that created the ooze that turned you into what you are now. You don't have to be like this forever though. If you'll give me a chance, then I believe that I can help you."

"...Help me with what?" Dogpound gave a feral smiark as he charged forward and attempted to rip through Daredevil using his claws, only for each strike to miss "The strength and power that this form gives me is beyond anything I had ever dreamt to be possible, and I know exactly how I want to use it: to serve Master Shredder and stand by his side. And if that sounds insane to someone like you, let me end it by pointing out that I swore an oath of loyalty to Shredder and the Foot."

"I see. Then there isn't anything else to say." Daredevil dodged a series of strikes by Dogpound's claws, only to be met with a swift headbutt that led to him being thrown to the ground, though he did manage to grab Dogpound's claws before he could land a follow up attack "Then I guess the only thing left to you is fight you as a fellow warrior, human or not, but remember that he who lives without honor will die without honor." so he gripped Dogpound by the arm and hurled him forward, sending him hurtling backwards, only for him to stop when he crashed into the side of the truck, puncturing the tanker and causing the acid to spill out, to which Daredevil backed off and retreated a short distance away "This is bad."

"No kidding." this was when Leo and Mikey joined them "You know my brother Donnie did say something about this stuff, that it explodes when it's exposed to…"

"Exposed to water." Daredevil frowned slightly, then his gaze snapped towards Mikey "We don't have time, give me the water balloon."

"Uh…" Mikey looked away nervously "What are you talking about, what water balloon?"

"The one that you're holding behind your back."

"...Well damn dude, you got some skills."

"I had an effective teacher, now hand it over and stand back." Daredevil held out his hand and was promptly given the water balloon as the two Turtles leapt back, to which he threw the water balloon at the tanker, resulting in a powerful explosion that obliterated the truck in a matter of seconds and sent Dogpound and any remaining Foot ninja flying as a result. Once the blast itself subsided, Daredevil emerged from his hiding place and looked over at the Turtles "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I think we're good." Leo shook off the disorientation and pulled himself and Mikey to their feet "That was… surprisingly hectic, but still that was an amazing shot-" he didn't get to finish before he got hit in the face by a water balloon "What the-"

"Oh yeah, that's Dr Prankenstein for the win!" Mikey pumped a fist in triumph, surprisingly earning him a fist bump from Daredevil "Yeah you know what I do dude!"

"You had two of them? Okay seriously, where are you keeping them?"

"A master in the art of pranks never reveals his secrets."

"...I don't wanna know do I?"

"I can tell you a fact that you don't." Daredevil told him flatly.

"I'll take your word for it."

"You really should, because I've seen where he keeps those things." this was when Spider-Man swung his way onto the scene, with Donnie and Raph following close behind him "Looks like we got here too late to enjoy the fireworks. Oh well, what are you gonna do?"

"Just enjoy the victory while we've got it. I've gotta give it to you Donnie, the go karts totally worked out great. Nice work."

"Thanks Leo, but it's a Patrol Buggy." Donnie told him, earning a few groans "What? I find it's important to be accurate."

"Doesn't make it any less of a pain in the shell."

"But he is right though." was Daredevil's input.

"Still though, thanks a lot for all of the help tonight. I honestly don't know if we would've been able to do this without you." Leo held out a hand to Daredevil, which prompted him to shake it without hesitation.

"The best way to thank me is to keep doing your best to protect this city, and to keep fighting off the efforts of the Kraang. Now then, I think we should go before the police arrive."

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Meanwhile, on a certain rooftop…

'Well now, this just got interesting…' a certain figure in a cowboy hat watched the scene unfold from his place on a nearby rooftop, and then he promptly pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number "Get me the chief."

"...Yes Montana?"

"We might have a problem. That trucker you had header for your facility on the Upper West Side tonight, it got hijacked by those people in the masks, and no I don't mean the Bug this time around."

"You mean the Foot."

"Yeah, they were dumping it into the sewer, but they got stopped by the Bug, along with a few others that you might wanna take a look at."

"This is… most disconcerting. I fear that the Foot Clan is moving in on my territory faster than I had anticipated."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Stay on stand by for the time being."

"You don't want me to try and make a move against the Bug?"

"I believe our shared history with Spider-Man speaks for itself on the matter of trying to squash him, but he's not the main concern at the moment. Monitor the movements of the Foot as closely as you're able to, and be careful not to let yourself be noticed."

"And what about you?"

"I believe I should have a word with our heroic friend down there about the true nature of the threat that he's trying to bring down."

"You sure about that one? You know he's the one that-"

"Yes yes I believe we're both aware, but as a wise man once said, sometimes you have to keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

"If you say so."

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Meanwhile, with the big bad…

"Am I supposed to be taken for a fool?" Shredder levelled his rage-filled glare on Dogpound in regards to the story he was hearing "Am I supposed to believe that the Turtles defeated you using go karts and a water balloon?"

"I know how absurd it sounds but-" Dogpound cut himself short when he noticed the Shredder's claws aimed at his face "But there's more to it than that master, they had help! Another one of those vigilantes aided them, he called himself Daredevil."

"...I see." the Shredder retracted his claws and glanced out the window at the night sky "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen himself, the man responsible for defeating my predecessors in this city's underworld."

"You mean L Thompson Lincoln the Big Man?"

"That was the doing of the masked annoyance that is Spider-Man. I was referring to Wilson Fisk, the so-called Kingpin."

"So what do you want me to do?"

"The same protocol as with Spider-Man, if he interferes then don't show him any mercy. With that being said however, he is not the only complication to arise tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"It would seem that the Prowler has betrayed us. One of our ninjas claims that he had personally thwarted an assault on Spider-Man." Shredder turned back to Dogpound as his cold gaze grew hard "You know the protocol for how the Foot deals with traitors.

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Meanwhile, at the Lair…

"Oh shell to the yeah, there isn't anything that says victory like the sweet and amazing taste that is pizza!" Mikey wasted no time in shoving a whole pizza into his mouth without hesitation.

"And nothing is less appetizing than watching you stuff your face." Spider-Man cringed as he lifted up his mask and subsequently downed a slize of his own "Doesn't mean it isn't extremely relatable though, and it's still not a dealbreaker."

"Hey come on dude, I'm not that bad."

"Yes you are." was the simultaneous input from Leo, Donnie and Raph.

"Hey we live in a sewer, how the shell is that what grosses you guys out?"

"He's got you there you know." was Spider-Man's input, earning a series of pissed off looks from the other Turtles "Well it's true."

"My sons, and my pupil." this was when Splinter made his way into the room, his expression rather solemn "I believe I owe you my gratitude, as well as an apology."

"An apology for what?"

"Throughout the course of this mission, your minds were being clouded by doubt and fear of the possibility of failure. However, it was not the Shredder who fueled that fear, but me. You were able to overcome that fear, and as such you displayed an admirable performance."

"Well…" Leo shared a look with the others "You were just trying to protect us Sensei, of course we know that. Besides, we had a lot of help from Spider-Man, and from Daredevil too for that matter."

"Regardless, you have earned yourselves a rest. There will be no training today."

"Yes!" and so the Turtles started celebrating, three out of four of them at least.

"Unless Michelangelo throws that balloon."

"Wait what?"

"Uh…" as it turns out, Mikey had a water balloon ready to fire, and he gave a nervous grin, only to find himself being tackled by the other Turtles.

"Yes, I believe that you have earned this rest my sons." and so Splinter made his way back into the dojo and prepared to meditate, only to stop when he looked up and saw Spider-Man standing before him "I believe the rest would apply to all of you, given that you have been pushing yourself even harder than I had been pushing my sons."

"Yeah I know, it's just that…" Spider-Man let out a sigh as he pulled off his mask, revealing the face of Peter Parker "Okay it might not be the best move to take advice from your enemies, but the Prowler told me that a warrior has to keep pushing themselves so they don't get complacent or anything like that. You know, the kind of stuff you'd hear in Dragon Ball."

"It is not wrong to learn a lesson from your enemies if they make a valid point, because what the Prowler told you is true."

"Well that's a relief, and it's actually not the first time something one of my enemies said taught me an important lesson. The first time I fought the Shocker, he told me that if a man is a man, then he has to honor his responsibilities."

"That is also true. However, what the Prowler neglected to tell you is that the most important part of training and improving one's abilities is that you must do so in moderation. You need to make time for rest and other activities to relieve stress, or else you will become overtired. That is a mistake I made with my sons over the past month."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that all of the intense training for such long periods of time with little to no rest, it can wear a person out both physically and mentally."

"Yeah I know, it's just… It's so important to make sure that I can guarantee that the people I care about stay safe, I don't think I can afford to just screw around."

"I understand that. However, you will not be able to protect anyone if you end up burning yourself out in the process."

"I guess…"

"As I said, there will not be any training today. You should take this time to relieve your stress in your own way, whether it be working on new equipment or simply taking the chance to spend it with the people you love the most. I can imagine May would be happy to have you home early for a change."

"...How did you know that the Aunt May card always works on me?"

"Because it always worked on Benjamin." the two of them shared a laugh.

"Yeah okay, I guess that works." Peter quickly pulled his mask back on and started heading out of the dojo "But I'll see you tomorrow for training. Assuming I don't get dragged into work for something."

"Of course. And Peter? I'm certain that Ben would be proud to see the young man you've turned into."

"...I like to think so. I really do." Spider-Man gave a small smile as he made his way out of the dojo, and then out of the Lair entirely 'Okay, so hell of a day this turned out to be. Now in addition to Mikey, both Donnie and Splinter know my identity, and Splinter apparently knew my Uncle Ben and Aunt May, which is A LOT to take in. Either way maybe he's right, I mean when was the last time I went a day without burning the candle at both ends? Then again, when was the last time I could afford to go a day? In any case he's got a point, I can't rely on MJ for this all the time. I should take some time to be with Aunt May myself when I can. Balancing family, work, being a superhero, and now training under a ninja master rat alongside four mutant turtles. Yep, it's just another day in the life of your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.'

A/N:

This chapter had a lot of stuff going on, and that's not even including the stuff about the Shredder trying to wipe out the Turtles' Lair. Probably the most significant thing about this is the introduction of the first other Marvel hero in this story: None other than another crime fighting protector of New York, Daredevil, aka Matt Murdock the blind lawyer. The inspiration for this one came from his cameo appearance in Spider-Man No Way Home, as obvious as that probably is, but also from the fact that I recently started watching the Daredevil series. As far as that being canon to this series is concerned however, it is. For the most part at least. That is to say, this is the only Netflix MCU series that will be referenced in this series, and even then it's more of an AU to that series, so that means nothing involving the Defenders happend in this fic. That means nothing from Jessica Jones, Luke Cage or Iron Fist, I just want to get that out in the open now.

What's more, two more people from the Turtle team (still working on the name) learns about Spider-Man's secret identity: one of them is Donatello, and the other one is Master Splinter himself. And what's more, not only does Splinter know who he is, he knows Aunt May and Uncle Ben, a point that's going to be brought up again later on. As for Donnie, I actually hadn't given much thought to when I was going to have him find out, but given that he is actually one of my favorite Turtles, I figured it was only right that I have him be in on it sooner rather than later.

One last point I think is worth mentioning, now the true identity of the Prowler has been revealed: Hobie Brown, one of Peter's fellow students from Midtown High. I'm sure that there were plenty of you expecting this to be the Aaron Davis incarnation of the Prowler, at least one person even mentioned this in a review, but long time fans of Spider-Man will know that Hobie Brown was the original identity of the Prowler, way before Aaron Davis came into the picture. As for Davis himself, I may or may not include his version of the Prowler at one point in the future of this story, I haven't really decided yet to be honest.