Irruption

Present

Leonardo tried to ignore the little voice inside his head, the one telling him that what he was doing was a really, really bad idea.

It was becoming harder and harder as he followed Karai on the rooftops, then through a chimney and inside a tall building, and finally at the entrance of a wide room full of red lights blinking threateningly.

Inside the room, an ancient-looking helmet lay on a cushion under bulletproof glass.

What had he gotten himself into?

"Karai, are you sure you know what you're doing?" he whispered.

Karai gave him a mocking smile, which wasn't exactly reassuring.

"Don't tell me that a few alarms scare you. You're a ninja, right? But if you don't believe you can avoid them, stay right where you are."

She tilted her head, waiting for Leo's reaction.

The turtle watched the cameras and the probable motion sensors, trying to determine whether or not there was a safe access to the display case.

Karai didn't let him finish his examination and jumped inside the room. Leo admired her agility and grace. Taking his decision, he hurried after her.

In spite of his worries, they both reached the bulletproof glass without problem.

"Watch and learn," Karai whispered, taking a knife from one of her pockets. She began cutting through the glass with it.

"Not bad," Leo admitted. "Where did you find it?"

"It's Kraang technology."

"Are we talking about the Kraang who are trying to invade Earth?"

"Who were trying, you mean," Karai answered, focused on her task.

Leo did as if he was conversing for form. "They don't anymore?"

Karai shrugged. "No, not anymore."

"Do you mean that we won?" Leo smiled from ear to ear.

"If Raphael is asking, I didn't tell you anything." Karai achieved her task and put a small disk of glass on the ground. She put her arm inside the aperture she had just made and opened the display case.

"Here we go!" she exclaimed, reaching for the helmet.

Leo was way less enthusiastic. He was going to reply when a premonition pushed him to unsheathe his weapons.

They weren't alone.

"Look who's there," an unknown voice exclaimed.

In the red lighting, he discerned a shadow looking vaguely like a tiger - a mutant tiger. The tiger was pointing a gun at them, leaving no doubt about his intentions.

"Who's that?" he whispered to Karai.

The kunoichi grimaced. "Leo, meet Tiger Claw."

"He's a tiger."

"Yes, I know. It's in his name."

"He has a gun."

"I can see that."

"Not that I want to repeat myself, but are you sure that you know what you're doing?"

"Of course I do."

It didn't sound very convincing.

"Karai," Tiger Claw said. "I'm not surprised to see you there. Now if you could give me that helmet…"

"He's mine by right," Karai protested.

"The Foot clan deserves better than a child like you." Tiger Claw waved his gun. "And his Japanese branch is paying me very handsomely for this artefact. They would have preferred Shredder's helmet, of course, but as it has become impossible…"

Leo frowned. He didn't understand why this Tiger Claw was talking about the Foot as if they were at war within themselves. Shredder ruled over his troops with an iron hand.

The tiger tilted his head Leo's way, his eyes never leaving Karai. Still, Leo noticed that Tiger Claw's gun seemed to point at him rather than at Karai. Was he supposed to know the mutant?

"I'm more surprised that he agreed to go with you. Is the Hamato clan once more interested by dominance over the Foot clan?"

Leo frowned.

"My father doesn't care about that sort of power," he protested.

He felt Karai tense at her side. Meanwhile, the tiger threw his head backwards, obviously surprised.

"Why are you mentioning the rat? It's not like he could…"

Leo never knew what the end of the sentence was, because Karai moved forwards and Tiger Claw fired.

Leo had never seen such shots. It was like the gun was loaded with ice and could freeze everything it touched. He did his best to avoid being hit; it would have been difficult in the shadows that surrounded them just a moment before, but Tiger Claw had triggered the alarms, and they were granted flashes of bright light every second or so.

The shrill sirens in his ears were clearly less practical.

Leo waved at Karai to indicate that he was going to distract the tiger so she could leave the room with the helmet. If they were lucky, Tiger Claw would follow her and he, Leo, could then leave the room too. He had thrown shuriken on the cameras, but he didn't want to stay there more than what was strictly necessary. Security services were bound to arrive soon.

Karai nodded discreetly and Leo carried out his plan.

"Tiger Claw! How have you been since last time?"

He was bluffing, of course. He had no memory of the tiger. However, his intuition told him that his future self had been at odds with him.

For a brief second, Leo was happy to be right. His happiness faded when he had to redouble his efforts in order to avoid the tiger's gun. From the corner of his eye, he saw Karai semi-circling around Tiger Claw to leave the room.

"You're different. Your voice…"

Leo wasn't pleased with the tiger's suspicious tone. He was missing key information to understand what was wrong with his voice, or to what extend he and Tiger Claw were on bad terms.

Tiger Claw had come close enough from him to see him clearly, and Leo glimpsed a flash of understanding in his eyes.

"It can't be," the tiger whispered. "You look so much younger. What happened?"

"It's a long story," Leo said.

In a lightning-fast move, the tiger sheathed his gun to take a long sword. Leo gritted his teeth, focusing on the close combat that would follow…

Half a second later, he was pinned to the display case by a furry paw, the tip of a sword tickling his throat and his katana meters away from him.

The tiger gave him an evil smile. "It's a shame you didn't keep your reflexes, isn't it? You know, I've been wondering what I would do if you were at my mercy…"

"I'm sure we can talk this out," Leo answered, feeling around in his back in the hope of finding something useful.

"Alas, I'm not in the mood for discussion." The tiger sighed ostensibly. "I don't want Karai to escape with my prize. I'm sure you'll understand."

Karai was standing at the door, having apparently realized that Leo needed help. Tiger Claw sheathed his sword and took his gun, firing multiple times to dissuade her from interfering. He began pressing against Leo's throat with his other arm.

Leo tried to break the tiger's hold, but Tiger Claw was stronger than him. The turtle gasped for air.

His vision was getting blurred, but he nonetheless recognized the green and red shape that jumped down Tiger Claw's throat with his sai out.

"LET HIM GO!"

Raphael had just had the fright of his life.

Or at the very least, one of the frights of his life.

He had gone to Slash, his former pet turtle that he used to feed on salad and who was now twice his size and four times his weight, to know whether he had any idea of what Karai was up to. Slash had told him about the rumors he had heard - that Tiger Claw was back in town - and had guided him to the last place the tiger had been seen. Slash's team, comprised of the telepath genius Doctor Rockwell, the powerful Leatherhead and the fanciful Mondo Gecko, had come with them.

They were close by when they heard the sirens, and Raph had immediately known that Leo was in trouble.

Raphael's four allies had stayed behind to slow down the guards while he stormed on the floors. He had arrived just in time to see Tiger Claw try to strangle his brother.

His beloved stupid brother. Nobody lay hands on his family without suffering the consequences. Nobody.

Especially not since Splinter…

Raphael blocked that thought and glanced at Leo to make sure his brother was alright - Leo was coughing and stroking his throat but he didn't seem injured - before focusing again on his current goal: to turn the tiger to dust.

Said tiger wasn't exactly cooperative, but Raphael couldn't have cared less. He was mad with rage and relief, which made him especially dangerous.

"Raphael, that's enough," said a voice.

Raphael recognized Karai. She had managed to take Tiger Claw's gun and was pointing it at his opponent.

However, he wasn't going to comply. He was on the verge of tearing off Tiger Claw's tail stump. Besides, he was holding Karai responsible for that near-disastrous situation, and he didn't feel like talking to her.

"Raph," another, hoarser, voice said.

Raphael was willing to answer that voice.

"I'm busy, Leo," he groaned.

"Raph, we really have to go. The alarms…"

"Don't worry about it. We've friends taking care of the guards."

"Raph!" Leo insisted.

While they were talking, Tiger Claw made an attempt at a particularly vicious attack and almost managed to get hold of Leo. Raphael decided that it was time to let Karai's gun do its job and threw himself backwards - with regret.

Karai used the gun to imprison Tiger Claw in a prison of ice. Raphael had no doubt that Tiger Claw would free himself, but not before they had all left the place.

"Thanks for your help," she told him.

Raphael ignored her the same way he ignored her goodbye to Leo and her threats to Tiger Claw - a confusing story involving a helmet - and followed Leo out of the room. He restrained himself from shouting at his brother when he realized how frequently Leo was glancing backwards.

In the lobby, an epic scene was waiting for him. Slash and his team had made a pile with the unconscious bodies of the guards, and Mondo Gecko was trying to use it as a launching ramp for his skateboard tricks.

Leo gaped.

"Leo, meet Spi… Slash and Mondo Gecko. You already know Leatherhead and Rockwell," Raphael mumbled.

"I… Hello," Leo managed to say.

"Greetings, Leonardo." Slash bowed his head and didn't say more. Raphael had told him about the circumstances.

Leo couldn't tear his eyes away from the giant turtle and his mace. He looked stunned.

"Then Mikey was right," he whispered.

"Happens from time to time." Raphael hoped that his grumpy tone conveyed the full extent of his foul mood.

Slash raised his eyebrows. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh, it couldn't be better," Raphael retorted, crossing his arms. "Leo almost got killed, as usual."

Slash coughed. "Well, we're going to leave you. Raphael, it has been a pleasure to help you."

"Thanks," Raphael whispered.

The way home was silent. Leo seemed deep into his thoughts and Raphael had no intent to begin conversation.

I knew she meant trouble, he raged per se. I knew it. But does anybody listen to me? Of course not! It's too much to ask for!

Leo's voice interrupted his silent diatribe.

"Raph, why do I have the feeling that Karai and this… Tiger Claw… are fighting to take control of the Foot?" he asked softly.

Raphael bit his lip, his anger vanishing. What had his brother heard? What had he deduced? Leo was a born strategist, he was bound to develop theories.

"You're getting the wrong idea, Leo. Karai and Tiger Claw have always hated each other. I guess she just wanted to throw a wrench in his gears."

"He seemed to hate me more than her," Leo mused.

"Yes, well, he might hate you a little too. Nothing personal," Raphael answered awkwardly.

He hoped that Leo wasn't going to try and learn more about that matter, and did his best to hold his brother's piercing gaze.

Leo felt frustrated. He didn't know much about this future. He recognized neither his enemies nor his allies, and he was obviously not skilled enough to fight someone like Tiger Claw, even though the other Leo must have been able to do it.

Besides, he didn't understand the situation. Why did Karai and Tiger Claw fight for this helmet? And Tiger Claw had talked about the Foot clan, but never mentioned Shredder ruling it. He had implied that Karai wanted to take control of the Foot… Had she lost her mind?

There was only one thing Leo was absolutely certain of: Raphael was hiding something from him, something essential.

And Leo was going to find out what it was.