AN: Well, it had to happen sooner or later, but what's a heroes' tale without some bad guys? Now we get to peek over the fence at what the other side is up to. Trust me, this is going to be a wild ride- and things will get hairy in a hurry!

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Chapter 6: The Best-Laid Plans

Next day-

David Xanatos studied the latest news report, listening as the reporter- a stunning red-head by the name of April O'Neil- talked about New York City's new secret anti-crime task force, which had been responsible for a series of major gang busts over the past two months. He'd seen her reports before, had even been interviewed by the woman once. He smiled to himself, knowing just by looking at the scene of the latest take-down that it wasn't police who had done all of this. A foiled kidnapping- which had left one of the would-be kidnappers dead from a severe neck-wound- also bore the stamp of outside forces.

"So, Goliath, when did you start using weapons, I wonder? Or is this the work of that other group of vigilantes I've been hearing about?" He mused aloud, rubbing absently at his beard. There had been whispers for years of a small band of crime-fighting individuals who seemed to be, of all things, ninjas. Personally, he would hardly be surprised to find ninjas in New York; after all, the Yakuza had been a presence in the city for years, and he had certainly seen stranger things. Perhaps it was time to bring these "shadows" to light.

He pushed a button on the office phone on his desk. "Owen, get me Jackal and Hyena on line one," he said, speaking into the intercom.

"May I inquire as to the purpose of this call, sir?" Came a calm, steady voice in reply.

"Tell them I have a job for the Pack," Xanatos answered. "I want them on the first flight back to New York."

"Understood, Mr. Xanatos," said the voice of his assistant. Xanatos leaned back in his chair, hands steepled as he gazed at the television on the wall, smiling as a plan began to form.

Three days later-

Oruku Saki opened the hatch of the transport module, and surveyed the abandoned building they had surfaced behind. It had once been an opulent hotel, but it had long ago fallen into disrepair, and now stood empty and filthy. The vehicle was poking out of a gaping hole in a stinking, roach-infested alley, strewn with trash from an overflowing bin. The stench of stale urine and feces from vagrants and stray animals made him want to gag. He decided that once he had taken over the city, his first act would be to execute every homeless bum, mangy dog, and flea-ridden alley-cat in the city. Once again, Bebop had managed to surface in the most disgusting place possible. Sometimes, he wondered why he allowed the pair to live. "Bebop, you cretin- how many times have I told you to bring us up INSIDE the building!" He snapped, turning to glare at his subordinate darkly.

"Uh, sorry, Boss! 'Dis ting's hard to steer!" The half-warthog mutant groveled.

"Why do I keep you incompetent oafs around?" Saki muttered to himself in disgust, carefully stepping over a putrid-smelling brown puddle that was likely vomit. He approached a locked door at the back of the building, and broke the lock with one swipe of his gauntlet blades. He passed through a hallway with moldy wallpaper, stained carpeting, and used syringes and other garbage strewn everywhere. He stalked along the corridor like a hungry tiger, scaring a skinny rat in his path. It scurried off, and he absently chunked a shuriken at it. The rat squealed as it was easily dispatched, impaled to the floor.

"Filthy rodent- I HATE rats…." He snarled, retrieving the bloody star as he passed. As they reached the main foyer, he scowled at the torn carpet, the peeling paint on the walls, and the sitting area furnishings with their ripped padding. Hun had chosen a truly dismal place to meet. But that was to be expected when dealing with such loathsome, uncultured scum as Hun's street trash. The man himself was little better, though perhaps more intelligent than most. His main usefulness was in keeping the Dragons under control, and in dealing with the usual petty criminals of the city.

A stairway leading up to the floors above was guarded by two well-muscled thugs of indeterminate age, each sporting a tattoo depicting a variation of the gang's symbol on their left bicep. They moved from his path silently as he approached, eying both Saki and his two hulking mutants with trepidation. He barely glanced at the two guards as he passed, but the pair behind him growled at them menacingly, snorting in amusement as the humans backed away from them.

"Stop fooling around, you two. We have important business to attend to." His sharp command cut their intimidation attempt short; both grumbled their compliance, and followed him up the stairs. They marched up five flights of stairs to another long hallway; a door at the opposite end stood guarded by two more Purple Dragons- a young black man with an afro and a black leather vest over an old wife-beater tee, and a tall, skinny man sporting a similar vest over a bare chest, a goatee with sideburns, and the gang's dragon symbol tattooed on his left arm.

Saki was vaguely aware of their names, as they were among Hun's most trusted lieutenants in the gang. Xever and Fong, he seemed to recall. Both were decent fighters, and more intelligent than the average street thug. He occasionally wished he had been a little more discriminating when he had sought volunteers for the mutation experiments that had led to Rocksteady and Bebop's current state. Still, at least they were loyal, and were useful for their brute strength, if little else.

He spared the two only a glance, as he strode purposefully up to the door. Fortunately, they were familiar enough with their leader's shady associate to step well out of his way, Xever even reaching over to open the door for him. As it should be, Shredder thought with satisfaction. Perhaps he SHOULD consider enhancing one of them into a more intimidating and useful form. Hun, of course, was far too valuable as he already was to ever be turned. He had already begun to contemplate replacing his inept and clumsy henchmen with someone more competent. Yet it was their very stupidity which made them so blindly loyal. He entered the room without breaking stride, and saw Hun standing behind a large desk, looking out a grimy window. Hun turned at the sound of the door, and scowled as he saw his "boss" approaching. Rocksteady and Bebop followed Shredder inside, the rhino's beady eyes glittering with sadistic glee as he noticed several thugs edging away as they entered.

Shredder strode right up to the gang leader's desk without waiting to be invited in, and slammed both hands down on the dark wood. "I know how busy you must be, Hun, so I'll get right to the point. You and your Purple Dragons continue to fail me miserably. Give me ONE good reason not to gut you where you stand. I give you simple orders- WHY are you unable to carry them out?!" Saki snarled angrily.

Hun grimaced from behind his desk. "I'll give you FOUR very good reasons. Those freaks have opposed my efforts at every turn. My boys can't even shake down a shop owner anymore without them showing up. I've got more boys in jail than I do on the street!"

Shredder bristled at the news. "Then I suggest you rectify that at ONCE! Those shell-backs have been a thorn in our sides for FAR too long. You have eyes and ears on the streets- surely ONE of your informants must know how to find them! Don't give me any more excuses, Hun- just get RID of them!"

The blonde behemoth sent him a glare that made his feelings regarding the situation very clear. "As you wish, MASTER." He made the word seem almost like an insult.

Shredder stood and gazed coldly at the gang leader for a long moment, before he snapped his fingers and the mutant pair behind him stepped forward. "Bebop, Rocksteady- you will work with Hun to root out those accursed reptiles. Do NOT return to me until they have been destroyed. I want their shells as trophies!"

The mutant thugs snapped to attention, giving Hun their most intimidating stares. "Sure thing, Boss!" They said, almost in unison. Hun grimaced again, unimpressed. Saki turned to leave, having concluded his business- or so he thought.

"One more thing," Hun added, stopping the ninja leader in his tracks. "Lately some of my men have started babbling about some kind of flying monsters attacking them. I know those damned turtles can't fly; there may be some new mutants loose. You know anything about it?" He folded his arms and gave his "boss" a searching look.

"Are you certain?" Shredder asked as he spun back to face him again, suddenly interested. "They're none of MY doing. The last batch of mutants I created were failures, and have all been disposed of. Perhaps these are someone else's work, like that annoying lizard-girl or that fish-man who are friends with the Turtles. I'm not the ONLY one interested in human-animal hybrid mutations, you know."

"Forgive me, Master, but I had to ask. I was worried that one of your experiments had gotten loose," Hun replied apologetically. "It's bad enough those turtles pop up every time I turn around, but we don't need MORE stinkin' mutants running around the city." He eyed the mutant pair before him with a sneer, his distain for them and all their kind clearly evident.

Shredder nodded his agreement, his eyes hard as stone. "Keep me informed, Hun. If it happens again, I want to know immediately. I will put a stop to it ONE way or another." With that, he turned and walked out of the room, his dark purple cape fluttering behind him like an ominous flag.

Hun let out a soft growl of anger and frustration, turning his gaze to glare darkly at the two mutant thugs he'd been saddled with. Just like that, he'd been turned into a glorified babysitter for a couple of stinking, filthy idiots. He turned back to the window, idly wondering if there was some way for them to be conveniently killed while under his command….

Later that evening-

A dark shadow fell over the spires of St. Patrick's Cathedral, under the fading light of sunset. She had awoken only ten minutes earlier, but already she was on the prowl, restless with the seemingly unquenchable rage and hate that burned in her heart. Though her body had changed from stone to flesh with the setting of the sun, her heart never truly softened, not since that night over a thousand years before, when all that she had held dear had been smashed- literally- into oblivion. Her clan, her rookery brothers and sisters, all gone. Only the feeble remnants who had been placed under the Magus' spell had survived. And her daughter, she amended absently, remembering the newest addition to Goliath's small family with bittersweet sentiment that was almost regret. If Goliath was to be believed, the eggs had been saved, raised by the same ungrateful humans whom she and her kind had defended until they were betrayed. Yet here she was, cast out. Alone. Clanless. And it was the humans' fault. They had betrayed her, time and again. They had to pay. Even her second clan had all been destroyed by the Hunter, until at last she had been forced to ally with a filthy human.

MacBeth. Even the thought of the man made her blood boil. A low growl escaped her lips, her eyes glowing red with fury. She had made a pact with him, to give him her aid against his enemies in return for renewed youth and strength to help defeat her own. Yet the magical spell woven by the Weird Sisters had bound them together for eternity, and only death at one another's hand could break it. There were times when she wished she COULD simply let him kill her, because she was just so tired. Tired of the long miserable, lonely existence of centuries spent seeking vengence against the humans. And now Goliath- her once-love, her MATE!- had found happiness and companionship with that pathetic human female. It was an abomination. Even HE had betrayed her. Had their vows meant nothing to him? Had he so fallen to the wiles and ways of humans that he had forgotten the TRUE ways of their kind? She growled again, the sound growing until it erupted into a full-throated howl.

Tonight she was on the hunt. An ancient artifact was on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Sword of Nowhere, a weapon said to hold mystical powers. On the surface, it appeared to be a simple katana, though made of an unknown metal. Where it had come from, and who had forged it- even the name of the weapon's original owner- were lost to time. Only the tales whispering of its power to make its owner appear and disappear at will remained. Together with the spell she had torn from the Grimoram Arcanoram, and a gem known as the Dragon's Eye, she intended to use the sword to finally pay back the humans who had overrun the world and taken away everything she held dear.

The sword had been lost for centuries, until two years ago, when it had suddenly turned up, only to be lost again. Rumors had it that it was of some alien origin, and had been taken back to the stars by a ship from another world. Yet it had somehow reappeared, and now it was encased in glass- its potential wasted- like a useless trophy or souvenir. And tonight, she meant to steal it.

She took off into the night sky, gliding above the city like a silent, deadly shadow. She soared over Central Park, heading north, avoiding the region most often frequented by her former mate and his clan. She needed no interference from them. They had caused her far too much grief already. The memory of how she had turned nearly the entire city to stone, only to be undone by Goliath's clan and that traitor Xanatos still rankled. And she had been so close to destroying that human bitch Detective Maza! But with the sword and the Dragon's Eye, she would finally have her revenge on all those who had caused her so much pain. Especially Goliath and that human female he had grown so fond of- they would be among the first to die….