Hey guys!
This is the second chapter for Safe From the Kraang. It's a little longer than the first chapter and I'm hoping I can keep the rest of the chapters at a similar length. I had it generally mapped out in my head, but I rewrote it like, 80 times and this is the best version I came up with, so hopefully, you enjoy it!
We get to meet some new people this time :)

Thank you for reading and again, reviews are always appreciated!

DISCLAIMER: I, unfortunately, still do not own TMNT

Leo couldn't help but think that Jack Kurtzman was hiding something. The suspicion started as a small voice in the back of his head and it grew louder when Mikey tripped over that hatch. But when April mentioned that she had a suspicion as well it was all he could think about. The man clearly knew how to hide. He'd been hiding from them for a long time. A little too long for Leo's liking. So whose to say he didn't know how to hide someone or something else as well?

As the five raced along the rooftops near silently, questions raced through his head. What is the old man hiding? Why is he hiding it - especially from the turtles? Why and how did he have a hatch in his apartment? Those aren't exactly common in New York City from what Leo knew. It was too suspicious for him not to question. It was like with each time his foot came down on the concrete, a new doubt, concern or query introduced itself in his mind.

Crash!

A window broke in an alleyway a couple of buildings ahead.

Everyone stopped running. His concerns would have to wait.

"What was that?" The question came from Donatello who was perched carefully atop a rooftop exit.

Another crash, this one quieter.

"Purple Dragons?" April asked. Possibly. The Dragons were known for breaking and entering, robbery, theft, and ambushing people in alleyways, among other things. He wouldn't be surprised if they decided to do some late night shopping before clocking out for the night.

Raph shook his head, "No, it's not them." Leo believed him. His hotheaded brother had a sixth sense for sniffing those thugs out. If he was so sure it wasn't them, then chances were it wasn't them. But who could it be then? he asked himself. The Foot? No, they wouldn't have made so much noise. Maybe some small-time thugs? Again, possible but unlikely. All those guys are either in jail or recruited into the Purple Dragons. The Kraang are another possibility but what would they be doing over here? This is where the restaurants and grocery stores are. That doesn't make much sense-

There was a short bout of laser fire, cutting off his train of thought.

"Kraang," they all hissed simultaneously. So he was wrong, it was the Kraang. The running resumed, faster this time, more alarmed, and they stopped, overlooking the alleyway they heard the crashes in.

"Don't attack yet, let's see what they're up to," the blue-clad leader ordered.

"Don't attack?!" Raphael sneered. "They're Kraang, Leo! We need to stop whatever they're doing before they can have the chance to get away with it!"

"They may have crucial information for a bigger plot. Just listen for a second and then we can bash some bots."

"Wake me when we get to the bashing part."

Leo sighed. He loved his brother but sometimes the hothead was so impatient it was hard to stand. Regardless, he ignored the sarcastic comment and leaned over the edge a little further. The alleyway looked empty with the exception of a few pigeons and a broken window.

And it remained empty... for a total of ten seconds.

Almost right after Leo peeked over the edge, a door next to the broken window swung open with a loud bang. Five Kraang bots filtered through the doorway and stopped in the middle of the alley. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Raphael and Michelangelo start for their weapons. He reached out an arm to signal his warm banded brothers to stop.

"Wait." Leo wanted to know what they were doing here before taking any rash actions. Attacking now meant completely destroying any chance of learning inside information that might be extremely useful later on. He couldn't allow that.

Down below, the five bots started beeping. "The ones who escaped from Kraang are not in the building which is known as Senor Hueso's Pizzeria, Kraang," one of them said. He could feel his genius brother cringe next to him. The aliens' speech patterns were annoying but to someone who valued accuracy and knowledge as much as Donnie, Leo guessed that it could physically hurt to listen to them sometimes.

"Affirmative, Kraang. The ones who have escaped from Kraang shall be recaptured by Kraang and brought to Kraang for Kraang as soon as possible."

"I think I lost brain cells listening to that," Raph muttered.

"How Kraang? Kraang is lacking in that which is known as an idea as to where the ones who have escaped from Kraang have escaped to."

"Kraang must find the one known as Kurtzman."

"Of course, Kraang, that is what is known as obvious. Kraang wonders how Kraang did not think of this sooner."

"The three mutants that belong to Kraang shall be returned to Kraang by Kraang by the time that is called midnight or face Kraang Subprime's punishment."

Three mutants escaped the Kraang? Leo wondered. No wonder they're out searching.

April tapped him on the shoulder. "Attack?"

He had a feeling they weren't going to get any more useful information from the five bots tonight. He nodded. "Attack."

Swiftly and silently, they lept off of the roof and landed on, around and behind the Kraang bots, slicing, stabbing or beating them to pieces. His two youngest brothers grabbed the pink blobs before they could scurry away, and shoved them in a nearby dumpster.

"That should take care of that," Raph said, pulling a skewered Kraang droid head off one of his sais. "If I hear the word 'Kraang' one more time tonight, I'm going to punch a wall."

"What were they talking about?" Mikey asked. "They said something about mutants."

"And Kurtzman," Donnie added.

Leo saw April nod her head in thought. "They said they were looking for three runaway mutants and were headed over to Kurtzman's place." She looked up at Leo. "You think that's what he was hiding? Three runaway mutants?"

The thought sent shivers up his spine. The danger of hiding mutants was nothing to scoff at, especially in such a small apartment. He just hoped that if this was true, the three mutants weren't freshly mutated. He had witnessed first-hand the lingering effects of the trauma of mutation. They were violent and confused and they hurt. He swore that he could still feel some of the bruises from their fight with Spider Bytez.

"It's possible. But we better check before jumping to conclusions," he replied firmly. "Let's hurry to Kurtzman's and try to catch him before he goes to sleep."

He heard Raphael crack his knuckles.

"No fighting. Just questioning."

This earned him some disapproving grumbles from the red-clad turtle, but there was no time for arguing. If there was even the slightest chance of three dangerous mutants hiding in that small apartment, they needed to hurry.

"Leo, wait," he heard April whisper. "What's the plan for when we get there?"

"Easy. You question Kurtzman while we search his apartment. We'll fight and capture any hostile mutants we find," he answered. Wasn't this obvious?

April raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "And if you don't find any hostile mutants?"

Her response had Leo confused. "Um... We'll leave and continue our search elsewhere?" Her unimpressed stare didn't waver. What else were they supposed to do? They were searching for hostile - oh. Oh, that's what she meant. Realization swept over him. "If we find any peaceful mutants then we'll, uh... talk to them and let Donnie look them over for injuries. Then we'll decide to either leave them with Kurtzman or take them back to the lair." There. That plan seemed simple enough.

April nodded, turning away from him.

The eldest turtles looked at his four companions and motioned for them to start running again. They quickly scaled the fire escape and made it back onto the roofs in no time, taking not even a second before starting the sprint towards the journalist's residence.

The apartment was closer than Leo remembered. Looking around, he also realized TCRI was closer than he remembered. That was slightly unsettling... He shook the feeling off and turned towards Raphael, who was squatting down on Kurtzman's fire escape. His brother was not happy with all the fight delays that night, and this one was no exception. The scowl on his face reminded Leo of the way Donnie's face looked when they would lock the lab and force him into bed. He chuckled quietly at that comparison.

"Bro," Mikey whispered from behind Leo. "Why are we waiting? I'm boooored!"

Leo answered without turning around. "Listen closely, Mikey. Kurtzman's talking."

His youngest brother leaned closer towards the window and after a few seconds, his eyes widened slightly. "Oh, dang. Didn't he say he lives alone?"

"Yes, yes he did. Which is exactly why Raph is listening to their conversation right now."

"Which would be easier without you two chatting it up right behind me!" their hotheaded brother hissed, shutting them both up. Everyone waited in silence for a few minutes, with the exception of the whispers from the apartment. Leo could feel Mikey bouncing behind him, evidently bored and ready to leap into the apartment at any time.

Which would probably be soon, gathering upon the fact that the whispers crescendoed to angry shouts within five seconds. He could make out two voices, Kurtzman and a teenage girl, along with some words and phrases.

"No way! We're not-"

"-alm down!"

"You're kidding!"

"Woah, dude, should we do something?" Mikey asked. "Sounds like it's getting pretty rough in there."

Raphael answered before Leo could, "No, no wait. This one's new." Leo raised an eyebrow ridge. What one's new? he wondered.

"What do you mean 'this one's new?'" Donatello asked.

"I mean the person shouting, they weren't the ones talking with Kurtzman before, now shut up! I'm trying to listen!"

"Okay, geez."

There was a pause in the shouting. They all tensed, waiting for something to happen. A few seconds went by and nothing changed. Still, they waited. The air around them grew still as if it were waiting just like them.

After a while, he heard Mikey whisper, "Dudes, what do- Raph!"

The apartment window flew open and a figure launched out of it, tackling Raph. Don, Mikey, Leo, and April swung into action.

"Get off of him!" April shouted, helping Raph shove the mysterious figure off. They were huge; about as tall as Donnie and obviously muscular, even under the thick layers of clothing they were wearing. No one could see their face, the hood and bandana made sure of that. They even had gloves and long socks on. Not a single inch of them was visible.

"Kurtzman!" Donnie shouted, hopping into the apartment, followed by Leo and Mikey. "Where are you?"

Leo scanned the room, looking over every corner and crevice, before landing his eyes on a closed closet door. He unsheathed his katana and pointed to it. The three silently stalked towards the door, weapons drawn. Before they even opened the door, they could tell there were people hiding inside of it. He almost scoffed at their poor attempt at hiding themselves.

"Gotcha!" the youngest shouted as he flung the door open. "Put your hands where I can see 'em!"

The three in the closet did just that. Leo realized that, other than Kurtzman, the people in the closet were completely covered and hidden, just like the one who wrestled Raph down was.

Raph, he remembered, turning towards the window. His brother and April were still wrestling that maniac outside. "Raph!" he called this time.

He was answered with a cocky laugh. "You thought you could get the drop on me, huh? Wrong." Yup. Raph was perfectly fine. April threw the now-chained figure through the window and hopped inside. "Who are these clowns?" the hothead asked, motioning to the three hooded and masked figures.

"No idea," April answered. "The Kraang's escapees, maybe?"

"Wait, please, gentlemen - and lady," Kurtzman said. He took a very slow and cautious step out of the closet, not taking his eyes off the bo staff and *kusarigama blade that was held mere inches from his face. "Let me explain."
(*The kusarigama blade is the slightly curved blade that we see in Mikey's Nunchaku, it is also part of the weapon the Kusarigama which Shinigami wields)

"As long as your three new friends here don't attack us any further," Leo growled. The journalist quickly nodded. Weapons were lowered, but not sheathed, and seats were taken by the nine occupants. Donnie, Leo, Raph, and April took the couch, with Mikey sitting on the ground right in front of Leo's feet. Two of the three hidden figures sat on stools, the third Leo recognized as the one who attacked Raph. That one remained standing. Kurtzman stood in the middle of the room so everyone could see him. And so he can see everyone, Leo thought. Smart.

"I imagine you have questions," he started. Basically every head in the room nodded. "We'll answer as many as we can."

"What are your names?" Leo asked.

One of the two figures sitting raised their hand. They were about the same height as Leo, probably around 5'8", and very skinny. He immediately wondered if that was true or if the figure just looked like a stick when compared to their tall, muscular friend. "My name is Ethan Butler. I'm 16 and a half and grew up right here, in New York City," the figure, Ethan explained. He motioned over to the small figure on the stool next to him. This one looked to be the same height as Raph, about 5'2". "This is Lilith, or Lily, Collins. She's also 16 and a half and grew up with me here in New York City. She may be a little quiet, but don't let that disturb you. She's very kind." He jabbed his thumb at the other girl who remained standing at an intimidating 6'2". Her hidden features were facing the direction of the turtles and April, unmoving. "And this is Jade Olsen. 16 years old as of last Wednesday, and was born uptown. She was moved down here when she was 3 and grew up with Lily and me." The girl, Jade, just nodded a confirmation. "And her bite is worse than her bark. So be careful about that." Leo couldn't see her face but he knew she was smirking under the bandana. He made a mental note to keep an eye on her.

"16?" April asked. "What would the Kraang want with three 16-year-olds?"

"A strike team," Ethan answered. "A strike team of four that's specifically... trained," he hesitated with the word. "to take down any threats to the Kraang's plans."

"And who would that be exactly?" Raph wondered aloud.

"You four, your Sensei, April O'Neil, Casey Jones, the Mutanimals, government officials, Kurtzman-"

"That's enough," Jade cut him off. "They get the gist."

"Right, sorry. Moving on... because of this, they kidnapped us and experimented with us. They conditioned us to be weapons and eventually mutated us. They were planning on planting some kind of modified mind control devices as well, but we escaped before then."

Donnie's interest was piqued. "Modified mind control devices?"

"Yes. They weren't supposed to control our actions, like the original mind-control devices. That would hinder our fighting capabilities. Instead, it controlled our goals and thought processes. I think even our memories? The main thing they wanted to achieve with it was to keep us aware and alert but make it so we aligned ourselves with them. Fight for them without being tortured into submission and still be able to technically 'think for ourselves.'" He wrote air quotes with his fingers.

"I didn't even know that was possible!"

"They are aliens from another dimension. I believe almost anything is possible at this point."

"CAN WE SEE UNDER YOUR MASKS?" A loud, impatient turtle blurted. It was clear Mikey had been holding that question in until it was appropriate, but, like usual, his patience ran thin. "Sorry, I'm just really curious."

The teenage boy laughed softly. It was a strange sound, light-hearted, yet heavy. Leo couldn't quite describe it except for the fact that it was worn like the boy hadn't laughed in a while. "That's a good starting question. I almost forgot we were still covered up!" Leo had forgotten as well. The fact that they were mutants was mentioned multiple times, but he didn't consider the fact that there were faces - people - under those layers and layers of clothing. He couldn't blame Mikey for being curious. Now that he was thinking about it, he was dying to peek under their hoods as well.

Ethan, Lily, and Jade pulled their hoods and bandanas down, albeit hesitantly and with caution. As the five looked at the three, Leo noticed each one of them seemed human in every aspect except for what they were made of.

Ethan, for example, had a square jaw and ear-length hair, with a rigid nose that had clearly been broken a few too many times. But his skin, eyes, teeth, even his hair, everything was gold. Pure, solid, gold. He glanced at Lily, who was quite beautiful. Her cheekbones were defined and her eyelashes were naturally long and curved. Her wavy, shoulder-length hair shaped her face perfectly. Why, if she wasn't solid bronze, Leo would've thought she was a model of some kind. He turned to examine Jade's appearance and noticed that while the other two had a few scars on their faces, Jade's face and neck seemed to be almost covered in them. Most were small, but some were larger. There was one that ran across her cheek, almost touching her left ear and coming up the side of her nose a little. It was deep, received in battle, Leo could tell. Her hair was medium length, flowing down her shoulders and stopping just above her breast. At first glance, he thought she was steel or silver, but looking closer, he noticed it had a purple-turquoise hue to it. It reminded him of the Kraang's color scheme in Dimension X, only less vibrant and colder; dead.

"Bronze, steel, and..." Donnie said. "I don't recognize that metal."

"It's a Kraang alloy," she answered gruffly. When she noticed Leo staring at her scars, she pulled her bandana back up over the bridge of her nose, covering most of them. "It's about as strong as steel." The sentence was directed at Donnie but the glare was entirely meant for Leo. Okay, no staring, he thought, looking down at his toes. She doesn't like that. He felt a small blush rise to his face from embarrassment.

"Ah, okay." The response was calm, but Leo saw the unmistakable spark of curiosity in his brother's eyes. If they ever did come to the Lair, Jade would have barely five minutes before Don started running tests, asking questions, and going all science-y on her.

"Woah," Mikey breathed. "You guys look so cool!" He flashed his famous smile, stretching from ear to ear, full of sincerity and excitement. Leo couldn't help but smile as well. That was the thing about the orange-clad turtle: his smiles were highly contagious.

Even Raphael was impressed. No words left his mouth as it hung open in utter shock. His eyes were planted on Jade, who seemed uncomfortable under the stare but didn't protest. Leo felt a little irritated at this. Why was Raph allowed to stare and Leo wasn't? She could probably tell you were trying to read her, he reasoned. Raph's just amazed at their appearance, she probably understands that. You were assessing her, that's different. Calm down. Instead, he wondered what kinds of thoughts were racing through his brothers' heads. He imagined Raph's were related to challenging Jade to an arm wrestle later and chuckled. That would be something he could watch. Donnie's were most likely swimming with questions, ideas, curiosities, and theories. Mikey was probably relating this to some comic book or TV show he watched once, internally gawking at how awesome this was.

"Close your mouth before you catch flies," April told Raphael. She was trying hard not to stare, but it was obvious just how amazed she was. "How did you guys run into each other?"

Kurtzman nodded in thought. "Shortly before I ran into you five, I was investigating a break-in that happened at TCRI. It was in one of their underground floors, where they kept prisoners and lab rats. After about a week I learned that it was not, in fact, a break-in at all."

April whispered, "The three mutants that escaped." So these were the famous Kraang escapees they'd heard so much about.

"Yes. As soon as I found this out, I decided to follow a patrol of Kraang that was a little closer to my apartment than usual. I was just hoping to find out some information, but I ended up getting a little more than that." He motioned at the three figures. "These three were hiding in an alleyway the Kraang patrol was about to turn into. As soon as I saw them, I knew I had to hide them. So, I told them to get in a dumpster and stay quiet while I took care of the patrol."

"'Took care of the patrol?'" Leo asked. "How exactly do you 'take care of' a Kraang patrol unarmed and untrained?"

Kurtzman seemed amused at this. "With journalism."

"He questioned them until they walked away," Ethan joked.

"Yes, that's one way to put it. Anyway, after that, I brought them to my apartment and got them situated with baths, new clothing, and food. Unfortunately, the Kraang got suspicious after a while and suspected that I was harboring them."

Donatello spoke up, "Yeah, the group we saw were talking about you."

"That's the exact reason I took another possibility into consideration. I was hoping that you four turtles could take care of my friends here and protect them from the Kraang."

Leo was speechless. He was kidding, right?

He expected bloodthirsty mutants, Kraang bursting out the door the second they arrived, maybe even some bad injuries, but this? This was... It was surprising, insane, and very very unexpected. The fact that the three were mutants and teenagers, just like them, he could handle. But now they wanted to move in with them? Right after meeting them? That's crazy.

"You can't expect us to take in three strangers!" Raph argued. "Especially after one of them attacked me!"

"Yes, that was not planned," Ethan said. He turned his head around to face Jade. Leo couldn't see his face for a second but he was confident Ethan was glaring. "And it will not happen again." The boy was definitely glaring. He could almost hear the glare. "We understand if this is too much for you, but you must know that we are in a dire situation and are desperate for protection and help. The Kraang have had us trapped in their lab for a year, um, I think, maybe longer than that, as prisoners. We were tortured, experimented on, and mutated. We do not want to go back."

"We will not go back," Jade stated. He heard a growl in her voice that could rival even Raphael's. "Under any circumstances, we are never going back to TCRI."

"We understand," Leo said, still a little surprised. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kurtzman smile happily and sneak out the door to wait in the hallway. He was no longer needed. "We will consider assisting you, but..." he paused, hesitant. "But we will make no promises. You are still strangers, even if we know your names and struggles. We must keep on our guard. Plus, our home is small and crowded as is, and adding more people to the mix could be dangerous. Not to mention we live right by a sewer. It's not all too pleasant."

The three seemed unphased by this discovery. "A sewer, huh?" Ethan asked. "That's okay. And yes, we didn't expect you to decide on the spot. But, may I request that one of us goes with you five back to your home tonight? Maybe that would help you with making your decision."

Yes, that would help. And Master Splinter would be able to better judge the situation as well, if he has met one of them, Leo thought. They would be able to tell better what all three of them are comfortable with and we'll get to know their situation a little more.

"Sounds fair," he announced. There was no backlash or arguments from his companions, which surprised him considering how quiet they had all been, so he continued. "Which one of you will accompany us and stay the night?"

"Me," a very quiet voice squeaked. Then again, a little louder. "Me." The squeak belonged to Lily, the small, short one that seemed to want to sink into the shadows and disappear. They were the first words she had spoken that night.

"Yes, that's a wonderful idea. You're much better than us at these kinds of things," the boy complimented, patting the girl's shoulder.

She nodded contently. "Thank you."

"Guys, it's almost sun up," April pointed out.

"Well, we better head off," Leo said. Lily stood and pulled her bandana and hood up, signaling she was ready to go. "Follow us and you shouldn't get lost. If you get tired or can't make any jumps then let us know and one of us can carry you." The short girl nodded.

Raphael opened the window, allowing everyone to jump outside before leaving himself. The glass portal closed with a soft thud and with that, the six were off, sprinting across the rooftops.

Leo had only one thought in his mind now: What's Master Splinter going to say about all of this?