A/N: YO! What up turtle fans!

Yes, it's been a while, but I've been a little sidetracked. To all you guys, BIG HUGS AND THANK YOU for reading and rating! You guys are the best!

Also, I do realize that there is a serious lack of Tiger Claw and cub interaction, and I will fix that in due time I promise! However, for now, you'll have to put up with me!

I OWN NOTHING!

Enjoy!

Chapter 22

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."

― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Boscombe Valley Mystery

Three days.

It had been three whole days since Michelangelo had snuck out of the lair to meet up with Leonardo, and despite how crushed and heartbroken he felt on the inside, the younger turtle appeared as bright and as jubilant as he'd ever been.

On the first day during training the morning after the event, he'd sprung into the dojo and greeted his brothers with the usual teasing and playful banter as they sparred together, almost as if the evening prior hadn't even happened in the first place, which had surprised his older brothers and even his master. His rather odd eating habits and obsession with pizza hadn't been affected in the slightest either, nor had the equally odd (and rather disturbing) concoctions that he decided to serve them during meals, which Splinter tactfully attempted to avoid with as much grace as the ninja master could muster. And even when April had come over for a visit, he'd simply watched her with that same childlike curiosity as she worked on her class project (which had something to do with spit as far as Mikey was concerned.)

However, as the day carried on, it had slowly become obvious to Raph and Donnie, especially Splinter, that there had been a change in their younger brother. That spark of hope, laughter, love and care behind his eyes, whilst it was still there of course, was dimmer than before. And though they knew that it had been the right thing to do, that stopping Mikey from seeing their distant brother was something they'd had to do, they couldn't help but feel as though that the dwindling spark was their fault.

Before April had left, Donnie had taken her aside into his lab and asked if she'd noticed anything different about Mikey during her stay. When she'd replied that she hadn't, the purple clad leader retold the events of the previous night from start to finish. To say that April was shocked would be an understatement; if it hadn't been for Donnie's restraint, she would have marched right out of the lab and hit Mikey upside the head with a rolled up magazine for acting so recklessly. But after calming down a little, April began to reconsider. She of course understood Mikey's desperation to see Leonardo; that night when she'd seen him with the bear after meeting him for the first time in years had told her that much. But even though April had yet to actually meet Leonardo herself, she could gather from what Donnie told her – and from the mark his sword had left behind on Raphael's shoulder – that he was just too dangerous right now, whether or not they tried to talk to him…which up until Raph and Donnie had appeared, was exactly what Mikey was trying to do.

And it was then that April realized. Mikey really had been acting strange. The cheerfulness that he'd been displaying all day wasn't the natural Mikey she had come to love. Mikey had forced himself to act as such for their sakes…because he didn't want them to worry about him or pity him.

April felt her heart throb for the youngest turtle. She could never understand what it felt like to long for a sibling you love that would not – could not – return that love. But she could understand what it felt like to miss a family member. So it was after Donnie allowed her to leave the lab (after making sure she was unarmed), that April had walked straight up to where Mikey sat watching the T.V and simply stood there as she waited for him to acknowledge her presence. When he'd finally looked up at her, he smiled at her as he stood up, about to ask her what was up before she cut him off by wrapping her arms around his neck, holding him as close to her heart as humanly possible. He remained frozen for a moment, seemingly confused, before April whispered in his ear.

"I know, Mikey," she soothed. "I know."

Mikey said nothing in response, but his muscular arms came around her thin frame as he returned her embrace, burying his face against her chest.

Watching April as she hugged their youngest brother, Raphael joined Donatello as he emerged from the dojo and stood by his taller brothers' side, and two older turtles exchanged a glance. Both of them were unsure of what to say or think.

The brothers wished that things could be different, that they would be able to either find a way to bring their brother back, or simply accept that he wouldn't come back and move on with their lives…but they knew that neither was possible, no matter how hard they wished.

It was Mikey's turn to make lunch again that afternoon the following day, and he'd happily bounced into the kitchen rambling on and on about what he should make next. Donatello and Raphael trailed behind him, not as eager to try out his next 'invention' as they entered the kitchen.

"Okay guys, what do you want?" Mikey called from where his head was stuck inside the fridge. "Omelet Pizza, or Pizza Omelet?" he asked as he turned a flashed a freckled smile at them.

Sitting at the table beside Donnie, Raph raised a brow. "What's the difference?" he asked flatly. And weren't eggs supposed to be mainly breakfast food?

Taking out a wooden bowl filled with eggs from the fridge, Mikey snickered as he rolled his eyes. "Okay, you caught my bluff," he joked with a shrug, closing the fridge and setting the eggs on the counter-top. As he bent down to open the drawer and fish for the frying pan, his jubilant smile disappeared, replaced with a rather gloomy smile now that his back was turned. Despite Master Splinter telling him that he'd done everything he could have done, Mikey simply couldn't bring himself to believe it. If Splinter claimed that he truly hadn't failed, then why was Leo not here with them now? Why was Mikey stuck at square one again? Why was he forced to continue to wear the same stupid smile in order to hide what he truly felt? He didn't want anyone to worry about him of course, but it was nonetheless frustrating…and sad.

At least April understood that. And he was glad that she hadn't decided to tell anyone else about it.

Before he could find the frying pan, a collective buzz of their T-Phones caught them all off guard, and the turtles all reached into their belts to take out their phones as they glanced down at the screens. It was a text message from April. Donnie's brow rose as he read the message. "…hey, did you guys just get a mass text from April?" he asked.

Without looking up from the screens, the other two nodded. "Yep," they said collectively.

"Well, does yours also say that she's being attacked by an old lady?"

"Mm-hm," Mikey nodded.

"Yep," Raph said.

Donnie looked up from the screen and at his brothers. "Is that considered an emergency?"

Raph looked up at Donnie. "I guess," he shrugged.

There was a brief moment of silence, where none of the turtles said a word as they regarded each other nonchalantly.

"LET'S GO!" Donnie suddenly bellowed, and the three brothers were out of the lair in record time as they headed towards the school, not caring if it was still daylight on the surface. Their friend was in danger, and no matter how dangerous or ridiculous it seemed, she was counting on them to be there for her when she needed them the most. And no matter what, they would keep to their word, for her.

But even so, in the back of Raph's mind as they powered through the sewer tunnels, he couldn't help but pull a face. Being attacked by an old lady did sound like something Mikey would make up…

"…Leo? Leo, wake up!"

Moaning slightly, Leonardo nuzzled himself further into the depths of his blanket sanctuary, squeezing his eyes shut as he fought to block out the pestering voice. He'd been up nearly until dawn the night before with Karai, searching for any sign of the other turtles or even a clue as to where another Kraang base was located within the city. But after hours with no luck whatsoever, they were forced to call it a night before Tiger Claw decided to come looking for them. So it was after another long day of one-on-one training with the tiger mutant and having to listen to Bradford drone on and on about deals with different Purple Dragon syndicates dotted around the city that Leo practically dropped down onto his futon, asleep and lightly snoring within seconds. Though he swore he heard Tiger Claw smirk down at him before he too retired to bed. He'd have to get him for that later.

"Leave me alone…" Leo mumbled tiredly into his pillow, though the sentence came out as something along the lines of "Leeme'lone…" instead.

All he wanted to do was sleep. That wasn't asking so much, was it?

Rolling her eyes and fighting the urge to sigh lest she wake up the sleeping tiger next to him, Karai glared down at the bundled terrapin. It was still in the early hours of the evening when Karai had come looking for him. The two of them had agreed to leave the Shredder's lair again in search for the Kraang as soon as they were able to in order to cover enough ground before midnight. They were to tell no one of their plan; not even Shredder or Tiger Claw were to know of what they were up to. However, if that plan was going to succeed at all, they would have to leave immediately. Meaning Leonardo, whether he liked it or not, had to get his shell out of that bed right now. Chewing on her lip to restrain the growl, she reached out and shook him hard. "Come on, Leonardo," she hissed as loud as she dared. "We've gotta go, now. Get up!"

"Juss shutup," Leo murmured, unaware that his attacker was, in fact, Karai. "Wanna sleep."

Karai was quickly losing her patience. They were running out of time, and she was running out of options. Leo had always been difficult to wake up when he was tired, and in all fairness the guy had a long day…but as cruel as it seemed, that didn't sway Karai in the least. This was far more important than sleep, and he was supposed to be a ninja; they worked during the night for crying out loud! Pouting sourly, Karai pouted as she wracked her brain for a way to get this turtle out of bed. How did Tiger Claw get him up during times like this –?

Oh. She remembered how.

Fighting the urge to laugh at the thought of what she was about to do next, Karai smirked devilishly as she bent her head down lower, slowly lifting a part of the blanket he'd wrapped himself in like a turtle burrito to expose his head.

And without warning, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, she bit him.

Leo's eyes popped wide open when he felt someone's teeth clamp on the side of his head, and he turned with his mouth agape when he found that it was Karai. Karai was biting him?! Shooting up into a sitting position on his bed, still wrapped in the tangle of blankets, Leo glared hotly at the smirking kunoichi as she backed off from him. He was not amused in the slightest. "Did you seriously just bite me on the head?!" he hissed as quietly as he could manage.

Karai just shrugged at him. "I had to get you up," she replied. "We have to leave now if we're gonna cover any ground by midnight, remember."

Leo lost his glare, and instead he blinked once in recognition. "…oh. Right. Sorry, Karai," he whispered as he quickly but carefully untangled himself from his blanket bonds and stood up. He had forgotten to take off his gear and his scarf before going to bed (which made him feel very stiff, but he brushed that aside) so all he needed to do was to grab his Katanas that were propped on the side of the room and they were free to go...well, apart from the fact that his Katanas were on Tiger Claw's side of the room.

The two young ninjas shared a disconcerted glance. Leo gulped nervously as he looked back at the tiger. Tiger Claw could sometimes be a very heavy sleeper, especially after a rather exhausting mission. However, he'd been in the lair all day training with Leonardo, and though he was not exactly tired, he would have to wake up again soon in order to oversee Baxter Stockman's work on Xever's new legs. The fact is, he'd simply decided to take what Leo often referred to as a 'Cat Nap'. Waking him up from a nap was rather easy – too easy – and the teens wanted nothing more but to avoid that at all costs. So far, they'd been lucky. Without averting her gaze from the larger mutant, Karai nudged Leo with her shoulder against his. "Your swords. Go get them," she whispered.

Leo nudged her back. "You're lighter on your feet. You go get them," he whispered back.

"He won't get hissy if he sees you. You go get them."

"You're wearing black. You'll blend right in. You go get them."

"He'll eat me if he sees me stealing your swords. You go get them."

"…I hate you."

"I hate you too. Now get your freaking swords."

It was a rather tedious and nerve-wracking process (and Leo had only come close to waking him up twice), but by utilizing all their skills as high ranking ninjas, the unlikely pair managed to sneak out of the lair and venture out into the city without alerting Tiger Claw or Shredder of their disappearance. The little melee had taken too long to resolve however, and as a result the two of them had less time until midnight; they had to work fast if they were ever going to find anything that could convince Shredder that these aliens were a real threat. With their keen eyes scanning the rooftops and the seemingly empty streets below, Leonardo and Karai leapt from building to building with the grace and silence of that of phantoms, running ceaselessly in search for any sign of robots, aliens, or even the turtles; wherever the Kraang were, they both knew that the turtles wouldn't be far behind to foil whatever plot they were attempting to pull off next. So far, neither Karai nor Leo were having any luck…

…until a flash of red caught Leo's eye.

Eyes widening, Leo skidded to a halt and silently signaled for Karai with a raised hand, and she came to stand by his side just as three green figures moved swiftly across the buildings not far from where they stood. Raphael and Michelangelo, led by Donatello at the front of the pack, seemed completely unaware of the fact that they were being watched as they headed for a domed shaped building, one that Leo had never seen before. Leo turned to Karai with a question in his eyes, but she shrugged in response; she hadn't been out into the city as often as Leo had been, so how was she supposed to know what that building was?

Turning back to the strange new building ahead, Leo's eyes narrowed. "Something's obviously not right here," he said, lifting up his scarf to cover his mouth. "I'll bet it has something to do with the Kraang. Stay low, and stick to the plan." Karai nodded once in response, fastening the black mask onto her face as she and the blue clad turtle pursued the three ninja turtles as they neared the building.

Once they landed on the roof, Raph, Donnie and Mikey approached a lone door with a strange silver device with a set of numbers attached to it; obviously they were supposed to enter in a code to get inside. Frowning, Raph turned to his leader. "So how do we get in?" he asked, readying his Sais in preparation to break the door down if need be.

"Leave it to me," Donnie declared, taking out and holding up his T-Phone from his belt pocket. "I've got an app for that."

Raph sighed loudly and rolled his eyes. Mikey shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh brother," Mikey sighed. Ignoring his brothers protests, Donnie hooked up his T-Phone to the silver device using a black USB cord he had also taken with him (one must come prepared for anything after all) and began to enter a series of codes into the phone, his brows creased in concentration.

Behind him, Raph's fists clenched. At this rate, they would be standing here all night. This World Wide Genome Project or whatever it was called had almost put their human friend in serious danger, whether the Kraang had hacked into them or not; they needed to be stopped now. With an impatient grunt, Raph stepped forwards. "I've got an app for that, too!" he said, and with an almighty kick, he sent the door flying open with ease. Grinning smugly in satisfaction, Raph strolled on inside. He'd always preferred the old fashioned way anyways. As Mikey grinned next to Donnie and followed on after Raph, Donnie's mouth formed a thin line of irritation, and then he followed on after his brothers as he closed the door behind him. Sometimes he wondered exactly why he'd asked to be the leader in the first place.

As they disappeared into the building, Leonardo and Karai landed on the rooftop. Without a word, Karai cocked her head towards the door, motioning for Leo to go in first. Nodding once, he unsheathed one katana from the scabbard on his back and slowly opened the door, peering inside in case of a disturbance or an unseen trap. When he was sure the coast was clear, he turned back to Karai and signaled her forwards. He moved aside to let her pass first before he followed after, shutting the door behind him. Once inside the building, the two of them crept silently through the darkly lit hallways of the complex, where they noticed the repeated logo WWG written in big letters along the walls. What on earth did that even stand for anyways?

Raising a brow, Karai turned to Leo as they moved onwards at a steady pace with their heads low. "Leo, are you sure this is a Kraang base?" she whispered.

Keeping his eyes focused ahead, Leo nodded. "Pretty sure," he whispered back through the folds of his scarf. "They're using the same kind of colours and patterns in the lab I came across that other time. I don't recognize the type metal they're using, so that must mean it's not man-made; these aliens made this metal themselves. It has to be a Kraang base."

Along the hallway, they stopped as they noticed an open door on their right hand side. Slowing their pace, they peered around the edge of the doorway to find a large room that the turtles had already infiltrated. Along the wall of the round room was a large, unrecognizable container filled to the brim with a strange, glowing green ooze. Along the walls, there were rows upon rows of sealed off containers with pictures of different species of animals and plants…and the duo realized with a raised brow that they could see almost every type of animal and plant species in this one room alone.

Wide-eyed, Karai turned to Leo once again. "Are the Kraang gathering DNA samples or something?" she whispered.

"Looks like it," Leo shrugged back, unsure of what to really think. They were aliens; their purposes for collecting DNA could only lead to something along the lines of eventual world domination.

He looked down to the bottom floor to see his brothers gathering together, talking about something that Leo didn't care to listen to as he looked back up to the giant ooze container. Sliding a glance at Karai, he silently motioned his head towards it. Karai nodded back, and after gathering some power into their legs, the two of them leapt over to it with ease, landing on top of it without making a sound. The other turtles hadn't seemed to have noticed their arrival. "Okay, remember the plan," Leo said quietly. "Look for anything we can bring back with us to Shredder, and no matter what, do not engage the Kraang."

Karai nodded once. "Got it," she affirmed.

Narrowing his eyes, Leo then gave the older girl a knowing look, one that meant he really wasn't kidding. "I mean it, Karai. At least try to stay out of trouble this time. Got it?"

Karai rolled her eyes but nodded again anyways. "Sure thing, mother," she jested.

Shaking his head, Leo turned and leapt up to the second floor of the room, his blue eyes scanning the area for anything they could possibly take back to prove to Shredder that the Kraang existed. It had to be something big enough to actually mean something, but also light enough so that they could easily carry it should they need to make a quick getaway. But what if whatever they decided to take back was fragile? What if it could explode once they brought it back? What if it had some kind of tracker –?

Leo snapped himself out of it with a shake of his head. For goodness sake, he was just getting paranoid again, just like Karai had constantly warned him about. He just had to keep telling himself that they would be fine. Nothing bad was going to happen.

"Gotcha!"

Leo's eyes widened, and he spun around to find that Raphael had caught Karai, pinning one of her arms behind her back as the two of them fell to the lower platform. The shock quickly faded however as he let out a groan of irritation and slapped a hand over his eyes, shaking his head. Seriously, couldn't she last five seconds without getting herself into trouble?! Tiger Claw had been right about her; trouble really did stick to her like glue.

Below them, Donnie and Mikey's heads snapped up, and they gawked up comically at Raphael's new catch as she struggled underneath him. "Who the heck is she?!" Donnie cried. How long had she been there for? Better yet, how long had she been following them without any of them noticing she was there? Some ninjas they were…

Keeping a firm hold on the black clad girl, Raph grinned down at her conceitedly. From looks of it, she was a Foot Soldier of some kind. Looks like Shredder hadn't trained his so-called 'army' as well as he'd thought if a kunoichi couldn't even manage to stay hidden from them, and they were supposed to be the best at stealth. "Bet you think you're pretty slick?" he mocked.

Narrowing her golden eyes up at the red turtle, Karai twisted the oversized green hand that held her own with a sickening crack, making Raphael let out a yelp of pain. Karai took that moment of distraction to slide herself from underneath him, flip him off her back and then stomp on his chest, pinning him to the ground as she regarded him coldly. "I have my moments," she jeered, taking pure delight in how his green eyes narrowed and lit up with anger as he growled up at her ferociously. In the next instant, Raph had flipped himself back onto his feet, making Karai leap backwards as he came at her with his Sais bared and poised to strike. Metal sang in the air as they collided, both fighters equally matched as they sent spinning kicks and punches at each other, though it appeared that Karai was the only one who could actually land a hit on the turtle.

From the platform above, Leo let out another growl as he removed his scarf from his mouth. "Karai, that's enough! Stop it!" he shouted, before leaping down to the ground floor to put an end to this nonsense himself –

"Leo?!"

He paused in his stride, snapping his head to the side to come face to face with both Donatello and Michelangelo, standing only a few feet away from where he crouched, ready to get between Raph and Karai. Donnie regarded Leo with caution, his hand already slowly reaching up for his Bo staff. Mikey on the other hand, was staring at Leo with wide baby blue eyes filled with confusion and…was there remorse there?

He quickly brushed it aside, narrowing his eyes at the younger pair once in warning, before looking back up at the confrontation above. And if he noticed in the corner of his eye how Mikey seemed to visibly wilt, he didn't show it.

"So this is the stuff that turns people into monsters, huh?" Karai asked the raging red turtle casually, using her gauntlets to block his Sais before they could impale her chest. She raised a curious brow at him, which seemed to only make him madder. "How's it work?"

"Why don't you lean in a little closer and I'll show ya?" he barked back.

She smirked beneath her mask, before she tugged Raph's Sais down and butted her head hard against his, sending him sprawling back down to the bottom floor in front of Leo, who had to jump out of the way to avoid being squashed. Flicking her short blade in one hand, she dived down after Raphael, who quickly recovered from his fall as he readied his Sais to meet her head on once more.

"ENOUGH!" Leonardo bellowed as he quickly slid in-between them with his Katanas, blocking their weapons and pressing against them, his arms trembling with the effort even as they fought to press harder. "You're gonna set off –" The two of them finally backed away unexpectedly, causing Leo to stumble backwards onto the control panel. His hand came to rest upon a button that sent alarms blaring loudly within the entire complex with a series of 'woops'. Leo's eyes calmly closed, and he drew in a single breath. "…one of those," he finished with a sigh. Well, this plan had officially failed miserably.

"Nice going, Leonardo!" Raph snarled, pointing his Sai at him instead. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?! The Kraang have nothing to do with you or the Foot!" he yelled, taking a threatening step towards his older brother despite Mikey's unsuccessful efforts to hold him back as he shrugged his hands off his shoulders with a rough jerk. "And now thanks to you and your girlfriend here, they're probably gonna –"

Leo's frustration was at boiling point now as he shoved both Raph and Mikey backwards. "Back off, Raphael!" he hissed, standing firmly between the other three turtles and Karai as he tightened his hold on his Katanas. "Believe it or not, we're not here for you this time. And – wait, did you just call her my girlfriend?" he snapped in disbelief. Behind him, Karai snickered, and it was out of rapidly building irritation with the whole world in general that he turned his head and glared at her hotly, shutting her up completely as she turned her head the other way, whistling tunelessly. Oh, he was so going to have words with her later.

Before any further arguments could arise between the five of them, the metal doors suddenly swished open to reveal dozens upon dozens of Kraang robots marching out one by one, all of them carrying guns or weapons of some description as they surrounded the intruders. "The ones who are not authorized by the authority of Kraang to exist in this place will now be destroyed by Kraang in this place," one announced in that familiar robotic monotone that sent an unpleasant shiver running down Leonardo's spine. Swallowing thickly, he fought back the urge to take a step back. Damn it all; no matter how hard he convinced himself that these things could be easily dealt with, he still found himself afraid. The memory and fear from long ago wouldn't fade…

He felt Karai move to stand by his side, her shoulder brushing against his as she glared at the creatures and took out her short sword. "I've got your back, Leo," she said, low enough so that the others posted around them couldn't hear her. He'd been right when he told her that these creatures were quite intimidating up close, but Karai refused to let that deter her. Alien robots or not, they were going down. They would get the evidence they needed to give to Shredder and get out of here in one piece.

And she swore that she wouldn't let them lay a finger on her brother again.

Confident that his sister would stay true to her word, Leo nodded back as he assumed a fighting stance, his brothers around him doing the same as they prepared to face off the Kraang. "Well, this day just keeps getting better, doesn't it?" he mused aloud, his voice radiating with sarcasm.

Karai chuckled. "I totally agree."

With that, the Kraang opened fire, and the turtles and the kunoichi charged head on into battle. Leonardo and Karai fought side by side, dodging laser fire and slicing their way through the robots (and the aliens themselves) with graceful ease, despite the internal tension Leo felt. He had to force it back, focus on making sure Karai was safe…focus on making sure they made it out of here alive, together, with or without any evidence.

His nunchaku spinning wildly in his hands as he knocked droids out of his path like bowling pins, Mikey grinned as he watched his oldest brother fight so fearlessly against the Kraang, wiping them out as if they were nothing but flies alongside the strange girl, Karai, if Mikey remembered her name correctly. He had no idea who she was, but if Leo knew her, then that must mean was good too! Leo wouldn't ally himself with someone from the Foot Clan if he hated them so much, right? "Look guys, see?! He's on our side!" he called out, swiftly dodging the chainsaw gun of an oncoming Kraang droid before he sliced it in two using his kusarigama blade. "And his girlfriend is too, see?! They're totally cool with us!"

Savagely impaling a Kraang droid's head with the tip of his Sai, Raph sent Mikey a flat look. "Are you even listening to yourself, Mikey?" he droned, and was barely able to move out of the way in time before Leo and the kunoichi dashed past him.

"I like your brother, Leo!" Karai said as the two of them neatly sliced three oncoming droids in half, ignoring the screaming blobs as they crawled away from the battle grounds. "He's almost as entertaining as you."

Beside her as he dodged a series of laser beams headed his way, Leo raised a brow at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

With a dispatched hand of a Kraang twitching at the end of his Sai, Raph whirled on the girl with a deep scowl. "Oh, when this is over I'll show you how entertaining I can be!" he spat back sarcastically. The look he received from Leonardo once he demolished what was left of a very unlucky Kraang was near murderous, and Raph would have found it hilarious under different circumstances. But the fact that his Katanas were half covered in alien blood told Raph that perhaps he should avoid taunting the older turtle unless he too wanted to lose his head. However, it still unsettled Raph that Leonardo was actually killing most of the aliens. It shouldn't have surprised him, since he had been raised by the Foot Clan; they were led by a bloodthirsty murder to begin with. But it was because he was killing them and the other girl wasn't that Raph found himself shaken. Perhaps this battle, for Leonardo that is, was far more personal in a way? But what had the Kraang ever done to Leo before today…?

Any more thoughts or banter were cut off when more Kraang came running into the room, and with them they rolled in a large energy canon, aiming it at the three turtles. Green eyes narrowing, Raph positioned himself protectively in front of his younger brothers as they found themselves cornered by several more heavily armed Kraang droids. "Kraang is now arriving to provide the help that has been requested by Kraang," one announced from on top of the machine as it began to whine to life.

Donnie gulped nervously. "Great! We're trapped!" he cried.

"No," came a calm and collected voice from the other side of the room. "You're trapped." All heads turned to find that Leo and Karai, having managed to escape being surrounded by the droids, were leaning against the control panel that Leo had accidentally triggered earlier, eying the other turtles and the Kraang with smug mischief. Karai raised one hand, hovering her index finger over a large, interesting looking button. "What happens if I do this?" Karai probed, her tone suggesting that she knew fully well that the outcome was not going to be good in the slightest, and yet took joy out of it.

Nonplussed, Leonardo stared at Karai, and then looked down at her finger frozen tauntingly over the Kraang control panel. She wasn't being serious, was she? She couldn't be serious, not about something like this. They had no idea what these Kraang devices were capable of doing; it could very well set the whole place to blow before they could make it out in time. "Uh, Karai, are you sure that's a smart thing to do?" he warned, hoping beyond hope that she was only joking.

In response, the girl only turned to him and wriggled her brows up and down. "Nope. But that's what makes it fun," she said.

Leo felt his heart plummet into the pit of his stomach. She really was serious.

Predictably, the other turtles became just as panicked as their older brother. "NO!" Raph shouted.

"Don't do that!" Donnie cried out.

"Karai, think about this!" Leo warned again.

"Highly undesirable outcome," one Kraang stated.

To all of their horror, Karai merely shrugged. And though they couldn't see behind her black mask, a deadly grin was spreading across her features. "Well now I gotta," she chimed. And without further warning, she pressed the button.

Sighing heavily, Leo slapped a hand over his eyes in despair. "…I really hate you," he groaned.

Around them, they all watched with varying degrees of wonder and trepidation as the giant containers filled with the numerous DNA samples began to drain out one by one, from beetles, to octopi, to snakes…and then to cats, which oddly enough made Mikey emit a high pitched scream of terror. Once all of the samples had been drained, the rainbow colored fluid entered the tank of ooze in the center of the room, glowing brightly and emanating mass quantities of thick smoke that filled the large space as the machine whirred, working to combine the DNA with the ooze. Out of old protective instinct, Leo drew closer to Karai with one hand edgily bracing her shoulder. Whether she acknowledged it or not, it didn't matter.

Below, all eyes widened as a long, slimy tentacle-like appendage suddenly burst out from underneath the pool of mutagen, lashing out and making a grab for anything within range, namely any unfortunate Kraang droids. A tentacle waved just above Karai and Leo's heads, and they only had seconds to flip out of the way before they too were caught. "Yikes!" Leo yelped as he landed in front of his gawking brothers behind him, one hand held out in front of Karai as they watched the new born creature slowly emerge from the pool and plop limply onto the floor. The smoke finally cleared, and the creature's form came into view to reveal…

…what on earth?

The mutant had the body of a giant octopus, the domed head of what looked like a beetle bug, the floppy ears of a cat, and a pair of large eyeballs in the shapes of jellyfish. It stared at the baffled mutant turtles and human kunoichi as it mewed softly. "Aww! He's so cute!" Mikey cooed. Bemused, Leo and Karai shared a look. Unable to say anything contrary to Mikey's statement, they could only shrug.

But the younger turtle was quickly proven wrong when the creature suddenly grew, stretching to twice its size as it opened its mouth and roared loudly at them all, it's long fanged tongue and tentacles waving about wildly. Their eyes widened in terror at the creature raving before them, and Leo turned to glare at Karai. In return, Karai could only lift up her hands in mock surrender, before one on the tentacles came down upon the group of ninjas. With combined yelps of surprise, the group darted out of the way in time to avoid being crushed beneath its slimy appendage, just as the Kraang began to open fire on the new mutant. This only angered it further as it turned on the Kraang, thrashing about in a frenzy and sending droids flying one by one.

After rushing to help Karai to her feet after she'd landed awkwardly during their plight, she gawked up at the enraged squid creature. "Whoa. That is wicked!" she exclaimed.

Leo stared at her. "Wicked? Are you crazy?!" he barked.

Beside them, Mikey stumbled back to his feet as he gazed up at the strange abomination. "How the heck am I gonna name this?!" he cried.

Rolling his eyes and fighting the urge to sigh, Leo pinched the space between his brows and shook his head. 'Why me?' he thought miserably to himself. 'Why am I related to these people?'

Her eyes roaming down to the floor, Karai moved to pick up what remained of half a Kraang droid's body and hoisted it onto her back. "Good question," she said to Michelangelo, before she turned her back on him. "Leo, I've got what we came for. We're outta here!" she called as she leapt back onto the top level of the building, carrying the Kraang body with her. Nodding his head once, Leo sheathed his swords and leapt up after her, weaving his way through the mass of Kraang bodies and laser fire as he joined her on the top level. Once he was at her side, she freed one hand to press the control panel, opening the door that would lead the way out of the building.

Eyes wide, Mikey stared up at the two of them as they prepared to make their escape. "Wait! You can't just leave! I thought you were on our side!" he called up, yelping and ducking his head down as purple streaks of light whizzed over his head.

Leo turned to look down upon his youngest brother, lifting his scarf over the bridge of his nose once again as he narrowed his eyes indifferently. "We never said anything of the sort, Michelangelo," he stated coldly.

Mikey seemed to flinch at his words, almost as if he'd been struck in the heart.

"You're kidding, right?! This thing is your fault in the first place!" Raph shouted angrily as he came to stand alongside Mikey.

Karai smirked beneath her mask as she hoisted the Kraang body properly onto her back. That thing was heavier than it looked. "We'll let the 'heroes' handle it!" she mocked with a nonchalant shrug, watching the red clad turtle bristle with fury before she turned her attention back to Leo. "We need to move, now," she said, and quickly hurried back through the hallways. Before Leo could follow, Mikey's voice once again managed to stop him in his tracks.

"Leo! You can't leave! I…I trusted you!"

'So did I' Leo wanted to say. But instead, something dark and unforgiving came over him as he spun on his heel and sent a glare down at the orange clad turtle that was as cold as ice. "I know," he called back down. And then there was a sadistic glint in his eye as he smirked behind his scarf. "That's messed up, right?"

Mikey gasped faintly, and Leo could see that there was hurt in his blue eyed gaze. Real hurt, he realized. But again, he brushed it off. He'd had about enough of Mikey's games. Mikey had broken his trust once already…so now it was his turn to feel the burn of betrayal. Without a second glance, Leonardo disappeared through the door and followed after Karai.

As Mikey stared hopelessly after Leo's retreating form, Raph felt his temper boil. He knew it. He'd always known that Leo couldn't be trusted, but Mikey never listened. And now here they were, forced to fend off both a Kraang army and a raging squid monster because of him and his new girlfriend. With a scowl as he spun his Sais, preparing to dive back into battle, Raph turned to his leader. "So, are we all fans of Leo and his lady friend?" he probed casually.

His Bo staff in hand and his teeth ground together in building frustration, Donnie scoffed. "Well, I don't know who she is, but I know right now I hate them both!" he yelled, and with that, the remaining three turtles set their minds back on figuring out how on earth they were going to get out of this mess.

However for Michelangelo, despite his mind being focused on the fight to survive against…Justin, he decided to go with for the sake of it, his heart was elsewhere…and he swore he could feel it breaking…

Standing at the side of the fumbling scientist as he desperately attempted to switch off the controller he held in his hands, the mutant tiger couldn't help but shake his head and let out a sigh through his nose as he folded his striped arms over his chest. He watched with immense disinterest as Xever, the mutant fish out of water, flailed about helplessly as his robotic legs moved out of control, his body leaning backwards and his head bouncing off the heels of the feet as they walked this way and that. This had been Baxter Stockman's fourth attempt to amend his errors within the last two hours, and yet despite his efforts (which Tiger Claw couldn't help but commend him for somewhat) the results remained the same; the efforts went to waste, Xever continued to look ridiculous, and from where he sat upon his throne, Shredder was quickly losing his patience.

And effectively, so was Tiger Claw.

He'd been stood here for a while now, and whilst the chaos was erupting around him, his mind was elsewhere. When he awoke earlier that evening to find that Leonardo was gone along with his weapons, he'd been confused and somewhat troubled. He'd assumed that the cub would have wanted to sleep throughout the rest of the night due to his drowsiness, and yet he was now nowhere to be found. On top of that, the fact that Tiger Claw had not even heard him leave was rather disconcerting in itself. Perhaps something – or someone – had woken him up. And he had a pretty good idea upon who that someone was.

Just what was his boy up to this time?

"Ohohoho, t-this is too good! I could watch this forever!" cackled Bradford as he watched Xever prance about the ground. Tiger Claw rolled his eyes skyward. This was another thing that he was quickly growing tired of; the constant banter between the fish and the dog.

Xever growled testily. "Go – Chase – The – Mailman!" he shouted as he continued to bounce off his own two feet whilst Bradford began to laugh uncontrollably, practically howling in amusement.

Before Tiger Claw could intervene once again, a metallic clank silenced them all as Karai made her appearance before them all, followed by an out of breath Leonardo as he slammed the metal body of a Kraang droid onto Baxter's tool box with a huff of exhaustion. Tiger Claw stared at the two in puzzlement, and then his amber eyes roamed down to the Kraang body they had brought with them in shock. What? Where on earth did they manage to get that?

Was that what they had been doing all this time? Had they been hunting after the Kraang? By themselves?!

"The robots," Karai said as she folded her arms, watching as Baxter came to inspect it with immense interest. "We've seen them up close."

Leo came to stand next to her with a tired frown. "They call themselves the Kraang," he affirmed, blatantly avoiding eye contact with his father as he glowered down at the motionless body before them. He could feel his disapproving eyes on him, and he knew exactly what Tiger Claw was thinking. When he was finally forced to spill the truth behind their motives, Leo was sure he was going to end up with a few nasty teeth marks in the side of his head later on. Well, it was better than what Karai would get if Shredder still refused to believe them.

"I told you I am not interested in this robot fiction!" growled Shredder as he stood up from his throne and stalked up to the two young ninjas. "I will hear no more of this!"

Rolling her eyes wearily at her father, Karai held up a small metal device that she had managed to pry off of the Kraang body (which was why after a little argument, Leo was the one carrying the body instead of her) and held it up so that Shredder could see it clearly. "I think this is how they control their robot bodies. I dunno, maybe you could use it?" she said as she tossed the device over to Baxter, who caught it with only a little bit of fumbling as he peered down it, turning it over in his hands before he pressed one button on its surface.

In response, the head suddenly lifted upwards. Both Baxter and Leo reared back in surprise with Leo's hand instinctively reaching up for his katana. Karai placed a hand on his shoulder to appease him, but kept her eyes on the robot as Baxter pressed another button. This time the left arm moved, and the scientist let out a gasp of delight. "This is exactly the sort of neural transmitter interface I've been trying to develop!" he exclaimed.

Discreetly, Leo and Karai slid their gazes back up to Shredder, hoping that this little demonstration had finally gotten through to him. From where he stood not far off, Tiger Claw cast a glance at the ninja master as well. But he was less than eager to hear what he had to say…

Staring down at the body before him, Shredder's eyes narrowed as he hummed in thought. This technology was clearly very advanced, far more advanced than any tech he had come across in his time; not even Baxter Stockman had been able to create what he saw before him now. He knew not how Leonardo or his daughter had managed to come across such machinery, only that they had some link to the other turtles…perhaps this could come to benefit him in some way. They could get a hold of some of this alien technology and use it for their own purposes that would give them the upper hand against their enemies. And in turn, if he played his cards correctly, it could bring Leonardo ever closer to his brothers…surely he would run to their aid should they ever be faced with death by their hands in the future…

"…Very well," he relented as he moved to stand behind Leo and Karai as they watched the twitching robotic hand.

As one of Shredder's hands came to rest on Karai's left shoulder, he put his other hand on Leo's right shoulder, and the turtle visibly tensed underneath his palm. His eyes widened slightly as he stared at the leather clad hand on his shoulder, waiting for pain of any sort. But to his surprise, nothing came. What was Shredder doing? He never touched Leo in such a manner; a slap in the face or a blow to the head was normal, but…this? What was he trying to do? Despite his confusion, Leo said nothing and remained still as he lowered his head slightly, keeping his glaring eyes trained on the robot.

Even Tiger Claw found himself baffled at what he was witnessing as he raised a confused brow. Why was Shredder approaching Leonardo in this way? The two of them hated each other with a burning passion, but Shredder tolerated Leo due to his usefulness in the higher ranks his army, and the fact that he was Tiger Claw's son. Leonardo only tolerated Shredder due to the fact that he would kill him, and that he was Karai's only living parent.

His amber eyes narrowed sceptically. Shredder was up to something, and it involved his cub in one way or another.

But what was it?

"I want the two of you to find out all you can about this…Kraang," Shredder instructed. "Their technology may prove useful in our war against the turtles." He then looked down at the two of them. "…Well done."

Despite his bafflement, and despite her swell of pride at her father's words, Leo and Karai slid a glance at each other. And then they shared a grimly satisfied grin.

Mission Accomplished.

A/N: ...You guys don't understand how HARD it was to write this chapter. I had to rewrite SO MANY parts because I wondered if it would be OOC for some of the characters to do what I planned. But either way, things are taking a different turn nonetheless dear readers!

I wonder what the other turtles are going to think of Leo now?

Better yet, I wonder what Tiger Claw is gonna do to Leo? *shudders*

See you next chapter!