Chapter Seventeen- New Leader, New Mission

Kuro pushed one final pin into her hair, keeping it rolled flat on her head. She tied her green mask over her eyes and pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head. She turned to the Turtles as they approached her, weapons in hand and ready to follow her on patrol. April returned home soon after the battle. Kuro strapped her gauntlets to her wrists and nodded in satisfaction. She looked over the terrapins standing before her, noting their expressions. Raph: usual frown. Mikey: excited. Donnie: albeit worried. Leo: nothing if not shameful. He clearly hated himself for losing the match and his role as leader, but kept his mouth shut and his eyes down.

"All right, guys." Kuro sighed. "Let's move. We'll discuss our plan when we get topside." She turned and sprinted off, leading the boys through the sewers, up a manhole, up a fire escape, and stopping at the top of an apartment. The entire journey remained quiet. "Now, I propose we split up and each take about half of the normal route. Keep in touch with the T-phones and we'll circle back to this spot. If you see anything out of the ordinary, use your best judgment. If it's a small scuffle with some muggers, take care of it. Anything bigger than that, i.e. Dogpound, Foot Ninja, Purple Dragons, Kraang, etc., you are to call the rest of us so we may assist you. Track the enemy but do not confront until we're all together. Understood?"

The boys nodded with a "Yes, Kuro."

"Good." Kuro smiled. "Now, I want Donnie, Leo, and Raph to take the south side. Mikey, you and I will take the north."

"You actually want me around?" Mikey asked excitedly.

"Yeah, sure." Kuro shrugged.

"Sweet!" Mikey punched the air. He followed Kuro as they took off across the rooftops.

Donnie turned to Leo. "You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Leo assured. "Come on." They turned and ran in the opposite direction, keeping their eyes peeled for any danger.

Mikey smiled broadly as he ran alongside Kuro. "Thanks for letting me tag along!"

"Why wouldn't I let you?" Kuro asked.

"The guys don't respect me." Mikey shrugged.

"Oh, I see." Kuro nodded. "Shame on them." But good for me. Another weak spot to hit. She glanced at Mikey, who kept smiling broadly at her. Then again, this one's pretty cute.

Kuro looked up and suddenly stopped at the edge of a building. Mikey paused beside her. They gazed down at the street. "What's up?" Mikey asked.

"Look." Kuro pointed down at an old apartment building. A man walked down the street, looked around, and walked through the front door.

"So?" Mikey asked. "That building's been abandoned for years."

"Exactly." Kuro said. "Why would someone go in there if it's abandoned?"

Mikey stared at the building. "Should we call the guys?"

"Let's check it out first." Kuro suggested. "Who knows? That could've just been a homeless guy or something."

Leo knelt on the edge of the building, scanning the streets down below. Donnie and Raph stood on either side of him, also looking around. The air was tense and silent, as though they were waiting for something to happen.

"So, what's the plan, Leo?" Raph asked.

"I'm not the leader anymore." Leo shrugged bitterly. "Why ask me?"

"We're just asking for your input." Donnie said nervously.

Leo sighed. "Guys, just...don't ask me for advice or anything like that. I lost the title and role of leader. Whatever advice I give is worthless."

Donnie stared at his brother sadly. "Let's just keep going." The three bothers continued their rounds, staying silent and alert. It was clear by Leo's expression that he didn't want to talk about his loss. He glared at nothing, angry at himself, Kuro, the situation, even Splinter, though he had no reason. He hated everything. He made a fool of himself; disgraced himself; dishonored himself. He didn't deserve to be a ninja. Leo felt like running and running until he left everything behind: the city, his brothers, the lair, April, Kuro...

But it wouldn't work. Leo realized. Because I can't leave Splinter. It was truly the one thing that kept him there; the devotion to his father prevented him from leaving everything behind. He loved his brothers; April was one of his best friends; the lair was his home.

"Leo!"

Leo blinked and suddenly skidded to a halt. Raph and Donnie grabbed his arms and steadied him before he could fall off the roof.

"You okay?" Donnie asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." Leo nodded. "Just...lost in my thoughts." He looked down and his eyes narrowed. Raph and Donnie followed his gaze and saw the Purple Dragons in the alley below, ganging up on some teenage girls. The men were laughing and sneering, shoving the girls around and threatening them.

"Shall we bust some heads?" Raph offered, drawing his sais.

"We shall." Leo nodded. They leaped down, landing softly in the ground behind the Purple Dragons. Before they could react, the Turtles attacked. Raph slammed his sais on one guy's head and threw him into a wall. Donnie whacked another with his bō and kicked him into a dumpster. Leo landed a few good punches to Fong's chest and stomach before planting a roundhouse kick to his face.

"Let's get out of here!" Fong shouted, running off. His comrades were close behind, running as far away as they could get.

"Well, that was a nice warm-up." Raph smirked.

"I feel so much better." Leo sighed.

"Uh, guys?" Donnie pointed to the three girls behind them, staring at the turtles in shock.

Leo smiled kindly. "You guys be careful, okay?" The girls nodded, still staring. The boys started scaling the fire escape.

"Wait!" One of the girls called. She jogged up to Donnie and handed him a paper bag. "It's vegetable chow mein and some rice. They're only leftovers, but..." She pushed the bag into Donnie's arms. "Thanks for saving us."

"Yeah, thanks." Her friend nodded as she came.

"And we won't tell anyone." The third girl promised.

"Thanks." Donnie smiled, climbing after his brothers. The three of them ran off and stopped a couple buildings down to eat.

"I guess Kuro and Mikey missed out." Raph laughed, swallowing a mouthful of rice. "We got free food and the chance to beat down the Purple Dragons!"

"Wonder what they're doing now." Leo chewed slowly, looking solemn.

Donnie smiled comfortingly. "Hey, don't worry about it. You win some, you lose some. Kuro was just the better fighter."

"What about those claws?" Raph protested. "Where did she get them?"

"She made them." Donnie explained. "She saw someone fighting with weapons like those and crafted her own set."

"She saw the Shredder?" Leo asked.

"You know anyone else that uses those weapons?" Raph scoffed.

"If that's true, do you think she's seen us before?" Donnie asked. "As far as I know, Shredder only ever fought with us."

"Maybe we could ask." Leo suggested.

"There is a good side to her weapons." Raph noted. "Now we can fight fire with fire."

Leo shrugged. "I guess."

"Would you quit worrying about it?" Raph gave his brother a playful shove. "Mikey's with Kuro. I bet you any minute now they're gonna call us for help."

Right on cue, Donnie's T-phone rang. He picked it up and put it on speaker phone. "Hey Kuro. You're on speaker."

"Hey guys." Kuro's voice whispered. "Mikey and I found some Kraang in an abandoned apartment."

"And now you need our help?" Raph interrupted smugly.

"My orders were clear." Kuro corrected. "If we run into people like the Kraang, we rendezvous before confronting. The apartment's on Houston, about three blocks down from a Chinese restaurant."

"We'll be there soon." Leo said.

"Please hurry guys." Kuro urged.

"What's wrong?" Donnie asked.

"April's dad is here."

Leo slipped through the window first. Donnie and Raph followed close behind. Sure enough, the entire apartment was crawling with Kraang. Some humans were with them, each one guarded by about three Kraang droids and forced to do research and experiments on mutagen. The turtle trio zipped through shadows, looking all around for their smallest brother and konoichi leader. But neither could be seen. Soon, the guys reached a safe, secluded room and Donnie dialed Kuro's number.

"Where are you guys?" Kuro demanded.

"Us?" Donnie scoffed. "We've been looking for you guys for the past ten minutes."

"Did it ever occur to you that you could've called us when you got here?" Kuro pointed out.

There was a pause before Leo snatched the phone away, frustrated. "Just tell us where you are."

"I'm on the ninth floor." Kuro replied. "Mikey's on the roof, looking for the circuit breaker. We're gonna blow the power and I'm going to run in and grab April's dad. Then we'll do some sabotaging and—" There was a grunt of pain and a loud THUD. "Hey! What are you doing you—" More thuds and grunts. "Let go of me you little—" The line went dead.

"Kuro?" Leo asked a little worried. "Kuro!"

"What's wrong?" Donnie asked as he took his phone back.

"Kuro's been attacked." Leo reported. "She's on the ninth floor. Let's go!" The three of them ran off, staying to the shadows as much as possible. They slipped out to the fire escape and got to the roof in seconds. Mikey ran up to them.

"Where's Kuro?" Mikey asked.

"She's been attacked." Leo reported. "Where's Dr. O'Neil?"

Mikey led his brothers to the skylight and pointed down. When the others looked, they saw April's dad, surrounded by Kraang with their guns aimed for him. He held a tired glare as he slaved away at a strange machine. His clothes hung a little loose, indicating he hadn't been fed well in a few weeks.

"Let's get him." Donnie urged, drawing his bō from its sheath.

"Wait, what about Kuro?" Mikey asked worriedly.

"The mission is to rescue April's dad and do some sabotaging." Raph shrugged. "We can worry about Kuro later."

"But she's been attacked!" Mikey protested. "She may need our help!"

"Her orders were to blow out the power, save April's dad and those other scientists, and then do some wrecking." Raph waved off his little brother. "She's our leader; we have to follow her orders."

"But she said—"

"Come on!" Raph snapped. "Even I'm willing to admit Leo's a better leader than her!"

Mikey glared. "Kuro said we stick together when we go into battle. I'm going to find her." He took off without another word. He slipped back into the building, looking all around for his friend. He looked in every room on the top floor until he reached one final apartment room. He carefully stepped forward, looking all around the area. The blue paint on the walls had faded from age and all of the furniture was covered in sheets, which were covered in a layer of dust. The tile floors and marble in the kitchen was cracked. Even a couple windows were broken. Mikey narrowed his eyes, for some reason drawn further into the room. He turned when a shadow darted across the hall behind him. He jumped when the door slammed shut. He drew his nunchakus and stood ready to fight whoever dared to try and attack him.

"Show yourself!" Mikey shouted, trying to sound menacing and brave.

A low, evil chuckle sounded from behind him. He spun around to see a familiar konoichi standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "I must admit, you're braver than you let on."

Mikey stood ready, swinging his nunchakus. "What did you do with Kuro?"

"Your pathetic konoichi with the ridiculous green mask?" Moon Shadow laughed. "Don't worry. I took care of her."

Mikey glared and lunged, swinging his nunchakus towards Moon Shadow's head. She quickly drew her black blade and blocked the attack, kicking Mikey back to his previous spot.

"If you did anything to her, I'll toss you out a window!" Mikey threatened.

"Why do you care?" Moon Shadow sassed.

"Because nobody messes with my family." Mikey growled. "And Kuro is family."

He lunged again, swinging his kusarigama blade. Moon Shadow held up her katana and yanked on the chain, pulling Mikey closer to her. He used the momentum to launch himself forward and tackle Moon Shadow into the kitchen. Moon Shadow kicked the turtle off her and slashed her sword. Mikey blocked with his nunchakus and planted the heel of his palm into the girl's face. Moon Shadow stumbled back. She glared at Mikey and lunged, punching and kicking and blocking. Mikey countered and blocked her attacks. She kicked, he blocked; he punched, she ducked; their weapons clashed again and again. Moon Shadow swung her sword, but this time Mikey managed to kick the blade from her hand. They watched as it stabbed into a wall and stuck there. Mikey punched, but Moon Shadow grabbed his wrist and flipped him over onto the table, smashing it with his body. Mikey laid there, stunned, and allowed Moon Shadow to grab one of his nunchakus and press it to his throat. Mikey pushed back with all his strength, gritting his teeth from the effort to keep her from choking him.

"Just one question before I kill you." Moon Shadow requested. "What's that Kuro girl to you?"

Mikey smirked. "My sister." He shoved his knee into Moon Shadow's stomach, causing her to double over and giving him the opportunity to flip over and pin her to the ground. "Here's my question: why do you want to kill us so badly?"

"Because my father wants you dead." Moon Shadow shrugged. "And who am I to deny him the satisfaction of having your shell for a trophy?"

Moon Shadow kicked Mikey off her, jumping to her feet and adopting a strong horse stance, one hand out and palm facing Mikey with her free hand at her chest. Mikey mirror her stance, his usually happy periwinkle eyes now holding a glare.

They lunged for each other once more.

Leo kept his eyes on Dr. O'Neil as he slipped through the shadows, his brothers close behind. They each took their positions, surrounding the Kraang droids. Leo made a few motions with his hand, and the three of them drew their weapons. Donnie took out some shuriken and flung them towards the droids. The metal stars pierced the heads of three droids, causing them to power down and slump to the floor. When the rest of the Kraang turned, they were swiftly taken down by the terrapin trio. Dr. O'Neil jumped and covered his head, waiting for the onslaught to stop before lifting his eyes.

"You're the same Turtles that rescued my daughter, right?" He asked nervously.

"Yep." Leo nodded, helping the man to his feet. "Are you okay?"

"Is April here?" Dr. O'Neil asked.

"No." Donnie, Leo, and Raph said.

"Then I'm fine." Dr. O'Neil assured.

Donnie smirked. "Come on. We better find Kuro and Mikey."

"Yeah, and brag about how great our plan worked." Raph added, smirking triumphantly.

"Go no further!"

The four of them spun around as a legless Kraang droid suddenly grabbed the machine Dr. O'Neil had been working on and aimed it for them.

Dr. O'Neil shouted, "Watch out!" and they dove aside as a fireball blasted from the gun, crashing through a wall and nearly hitting Moon Shadow and Mikey as they fought. They jumped back as the kitchen suddenly became engulfed in flames. Moon Shadow and Mikey shared a look before darting off in different directions. Moon Shadow hurried off to a nearby supply closet and yanked open the door. She grabbed her things from inside and hurried out as the fire crept closer.

Guess the Turtles will have to wait. Moon Shadow thought as she ran.

Mikey leaped over the flames and nearly slammed into his brothers as he did. "You guys all right?"

"We're fine, but we have to get out of here." Leo urged. "Where's Kuro?"

"I can't find her!" Mikey cried desperately. They jumped when another blast sailed over their heads.

"Less talking, more running!" Raph urged. "Somebody call Kuro and tell her to meet us outside!" They skidded to a halt when a section of burning wall collapsed in their path.

"Now what?" Donnie coughed.

Something clicked in Mikey's head. "Come on! There's a fire escape in here!" He led his brothers and Dr. O'Neil back into the burning apartment and to the window. But the window had been bolted shut, forcing Raph to grab a chair and smash it open. Coughing and wheezing a little from the smoke, the four turtles and human climbed out to the fire escape and hurried up to the roof, hoping they would be able to jump to safety. But they only got one level below the top before the fire escape started creaking, and the metal started breaking away from the building. They clung to the metal as it stopped abruptly, with about half of the structure leaning away from the burning building.

"Now what do we do?" Dr. O'Neil asked, his grip on the metal so tight his knuckles turned white.

"Leo?" Donnie asked.

"I'm thinking!" Leo snapped.

"Guys!"

The Turtles and Dr. O'Neil looked over and saw Kuro standing on the burning building, a grappling hook tied to a rope draped over her shoulder. She stepped back and ran forward, leaping across the gap and landing on the safe building across the alley. She swung her grappling hook around threw it, the hook catching the fire escape. Kuro tied off the other end to a vent.

"Climb across!" Kuro ordered.

"Are you nuts?" Raph snapped. The metal groaned and creaked, urging the turtles into action. Mikey grabbed the rope first, swinging across it to the building with Raph and Donnie close behind. Kuro pulled them onto solid ground and turned to see Leo and Dr. O'Neil on the way.

"Hurry up!" Mikey called.

"We're going as fast as we can!" Leo snapped. He almost lost his grip when the fire escape jerked a little. He hurried to the edge and Raph pulled him up. But Dr. O'Neil was only halfway across, and the fire escape suddenly broke loose from the building. Kuro, thinking quickly, sliced through the rope and swung on it, grabbing Dr. O'Neil's arm and swinging them both through a window into the building. The Turtles watched anxiously, hardly breathing as they waited. Suddenly, Kuro burst through the window again, Dr. O'Neil draped over her back. She grabbed the fire escape as it fell, pushed off it into the next building, and dug her gauntlet claws into the wall to slow heir descent. She jumped ten feet from the bottom and landed a little hard on the ground, crouching down in a strong horse stance.

The boys stared, amazed by such a feat. "Whoa, she's awesome!" Mikey sighed. Raph was too shocked to whack him on the head.

"You all right?" Kuro asked as she helped Dr. O'Neil slide off her back.

"I'm fine." Dr. O'Neil grimaced a little. "Just a sprained ankle."

"That doesn't constitute 'fine', but okay." Kuro sighed. "Let's get you out of here."

"Stop!"

Kuro and Dr. O'Neil looked up to see their path blocked by Kraang droids, all of them aiming their guns for them. "Give us the scientist who works for Kraang that Kraang demands you give to Kraang!" One droid ordered.

"You guys really gotta stop talking like that." Kuro droned, unsheathing her claws. She pushed Dr. O'Neil back and lunged for the nearest Kraang, shoving her claws into the robot's head. She jumped up to avoid their blasts, kicking and punching all the while. She paused briefly to look up at the still-stunned guys. "A little help would be appreciated!" She yelped when a blast nearly hit her head. She lunged again, this time the Turtles jumping down to help.

Donnie smacked a droid aside and he noticed two Kraang dragging away an unconscious Dr. O'Neil. "They've got April's dad!"

"I will get him!" Kuro called, jumping over a Kraang droid.

"No, I'll get him!" Leo snapped, running towards the van the droids loaded into.

"Leo!" Kuro yelped, still in the air from her jump. But when Leo turned, Kuro landed on top of him. They rolled and tumbled to the ground, right behind the van. The white vehicle suddenly sped away, leaving the two ninjas in the dust. Kuro shoved Leo off her and they ran to join the others in finishing the Kraang. Within minutes, the alley became littered with robot parts.

"Ah, nothing like beating up some Kraang, eh guys?" Raph laughed.

"All of you, back to the lair." Kuro ordered harshly. "Now."

The boys stared for a moment, but Kuro already darted across the street to the nearest fire escape. They followed her, across the rooftops home a little worried about what was to come.

A/N: (sigh) boys, huh? Can't live with 'em, can't trust 'em to follow orders. No offense to the males on this site.