NOTE: You will notice that the Turtles start off with red bandanas/masks. This is an homage to the classic comic book and will change as time goes on.

Chapter One

The cold rain came down in torrents and the enemy was closing in, but the four brothers stood strong atop the antique store, back to back, shell to shell. They were bruised and bloodied, and though cornered, they weren't defeated just yet.

Leonardo was the eldest of the four, his mind clear and his katanas drawn. He wore a crimson bandana, like his brothers, to symbolize their affiliation to the cause of vengeance. His eyes peered through slits in the bandana at a group of Foot Soldiers headed his way. As they came within striking distance, the words of his Master Splinter echoed in his thoughts, "Show mercy to the enemy, but never to the point of defeat."

His brother, Raphael stood next to him, twirling a sai in each hand, ready for the battle. The taste of his own blood reminded him of his love for fighting, but it did more to enrage him, knowing he was not winning that fight. He had scars across his scaly skin and deep cuts marred his shell. The grimace on his face could just as easily have been mistaken for a smile, especially once the Foot Soldiers came close. Somewhere in the frenzy that was his rage, he heard Leonardo preparing them for the battle, telling them to remain steady. Raphael inched a foot forward. Leo always likes to wait. This is why Splinter is being held captive. If he's dead, I'll…

Donatello stood opposite Raphael, to Leonardo's right. He held his bo-staff firmly with both hands, contemplating the risk and playing out the entire battle in his head. He accounted for every variable, calculated every aspect of the battle right down to controlling his breathing, but he knew it was most likely pointless. Their enemy was not human this time around. The Foot Clan were usually the regular run-of-the-mill ninja trained by Oroku Saki, better known as the Shredder. Saki must have been expanding his clan because the group of ninjas they fought this time were robots. Donatello couldn't help but admire the tech used to create such a machine, especially the effort that went into the A.I. Maybe I can take one back and examine it, he thought. If we make it back, that is.

Hopping around happily behind Leonardo and spinning his nunchaku was Michelangelo. "Guys, looks like it's turtle soup for us," he joked. "We are goin' to that big pond in the sky! I just hope there is plenty of pepperoni and pineapple pizza there!"

A glowing shuriken flew by Leonardo's head and struck a stone wall nearby. Seconds later, it exploded, destroying the wall.

"NOW!" Leonardo yelled, and Raphael was the first to attack, slamming his sai into the head of two Foot Soldiers, stopping them in their tracks and ripping their heads off. They continued to move around and Leonardo sliced them in-two at the waist.

Leonardo leaped in the air with his katanas gleaming in the lightning. "Taste cold steel!" he yelled as his katanas found their mark and several Foot Soldiers were shredded.

"Let's do this!" Michelangelo said as he jumped into battle and bashed several Foot Ninja across the metal skull, disabling their ability to navigate. He spun one of them around and sent him into a group of other Foot Ninja, and the blind one began to fight them, actually taking of the them out. "Dumb, dumb, dumb!"

"Hey, Mikey," Raphael yelled from the clutches of several Foot Soldiers. "A little help over here would be nice."

"Sure thing, Raph!" he said, and took out two of the enemies by tackling them. "Totally awesome!"

"Stop with the games, Mikey!" Leonardo shouted just as he sliced through two of the robots. He continued through a third one and did a flip, coming down with both katana, slicing two of the Foot Ninja in half.

"Their chest!" Donatello yelled while holding his bo-staff through the chest of one of the enemy robots. "Their power source is in the chest." He pulled out the staff and examined the lifeless body as it rested against him. "That is remarkable! Choosing the largest portion of the body for the power. This must mean the designer is focusing on efficiency rather than combat. That would be smart if we were not dealing ninjas." He heard a beeping sound and stopped. "Oh no." He checked the robot and followed a cord that ran from the power source to the stomach where he found a timer counting down.

09:57… 09:56… 09:55…

Donatello checked another robot lying around.

04:33… 04:32… 04:31…

"That can't be good." He turned to survey the area. The bodies were beginning to pile up on top of the building. "Uhm, guys. We really need to rethink our strategy."

"You got a crush on these things, Donnie?" Raphael asked. "These aren't your toys. These are killing machines! The time for talk is over!" He tore through one of the robot's chest and was now wearing some of the purple cloth and metal fragments. Sparks shot up next to his face from one of the mechanisms. Raphael pulled the parts off of him and threw them to the ground.

"You don't understand!" Donatello shouted back. "This isn't what it looks like. Stop killing them!"

"Killing them?" Raphael asked as he cut through another one. "Sorry, Donnie, but they ain't exactly alive."

"Leo!" Donatello yelled, and Leonardo turned. "It's a trap, Leo! We have to retreat!"

"What?" Leonardo asked, taking a step back from one of the enemies.

"We got this, Donnie!" Michelangelo yelled as he swung his nunchaku through the head of one of the ninja robots. "See, they're dumb!"

Donatello shook his head. "Killing them, um, destroying them is what they want! This is a trap, guys!"

"Regroup!" Leonardo yelled, and the four of them jumped into formation as before, back to back, shell to shell.

"There's a timer," Donatello said. "Every time their power source is extinguished, it starts up a timer."

"What are you on about, Donnie?" Michelangelo asked.

"These things are walking time bombs, Mikey!"

"How much time we got?" Leonardo asked.

Donatello began calculating in his head. "Almost three minutes. Possibly less. The timer appears to start at ten minutes once they-"

At that time, one of the first fallen Foot Ninjas exploded and part of the building crumbled.

"Retreat!" Leonardo yelled. "To the sewers!"

As the brothers made their way towards the edge of the building, another Foot Soldier exploded nearby, sending them backwards. Three more robots exploded before the brothers were able to gather their footing, and the building began to fall apart.

"There!" Leonardo pointed. "An opening. We can make it if we-"

At that moment several Foot Soldiers exploded, sending the building crashing down and the brothers with it. Some of the Foot Soldiers who were not crushed began to move about in the rubble and made a swift getaway, as if their programming recognized their mission was completed. Not long after a green arm appeared, pushing away some chalky stones. Then there was some coughing and groaning and Michelangelo stood up.

"Whoa" he said. "That was a close one, dudes." Looking around he realized he was the only one standing. "Dudes?"

"Over here," a muffled voice said. "Mikey!"

Michelangelo ran towards the voice and removed the debris. Donatello's green nose appeared first, covered in dust. "Thanks, Mikey." He coughed and tried raising up.

"Dude, you're like, alive."

To Michelangelo's right, Raphael burst out of the rubble and stood up. He looked in the direction of Donatello and said, "Nice call, Donny. A little late, but you were right. So where's Leo?"

"Over here," Leonardo said and stepped out behind a large brick wall. His face was bloody and his arm was limp. "We should get back to the lair before we are seen."

"My sai," Raphael said. "I lost a sai?"

"It's just a sai, Raph" Leonardo said. "I lost both of my katana. We have more at the lair. We have to go now!"

"I can't just leave it. Master Splinter would-" He dropped his head and looked at the remaining sai. No one spoke for a moment. Emergency sirens in the distance brought Raphael and his brothers out of the trance and within seconds they were out of the ruins and into the shadows.

"This is April O'Neal with Channel 6 news reporting live from Parker's Antiques where witnesses are claiming to have seen four strange figures that looked like… turtles?" The red-headed woman began flipping through the cards. "Is this for real, Vernon? Turtles? I thought this tied into our Ninja Foot Clan story?"

The camera jerked and was placed down on a nearby barrel. A lanky guy with a large nose stepped in the shot. "Yes, April," he said in a nasally voice. "Here, see? It's a few cards down. Keep reading. Okay?"

"Sure," April said. "But what is the story with these turtles?"

"April, just follow the cue cards like I told ya, okay?"

"Sure thing," she replied. "Let's start again."