Note: Set in season 4, after good genes. no Ninja Tribunal.

Chapter One

It was swimming through the shadows. For it was the shadows. It melted in, blending perfectly. No one could see it, no one could feel it. But it could feel them. It could feel their body heat, their minds, their souls. And it searched. It searched carefully, trying to find the perfect victim. The perfect source of beautiful light. It wasn't in a hurry. It knew once he found that light, that innocence, it would never escape. It would be able to consume it slowly, savoring it. Savoring the light that it brought into the empty shadows of its existence before it was digested, assimilated, into its blackness and it would be forced to search again for a new source of light.

It wasn't much of an existence. But it was its existence.

When Leonardo woke up that morning he knew that today was going to be dreary. He didn't need windows to know that a blanket of clouds had completely covered the polluted skies of New York. He could feel it in his bones. He knew his siblings would be anxious, restless, ready to run abound the upper layer despite his concerns. He glared at the ceiling, as if his gaze would burn through the sheets and sheets of concrete to the sky and send away the ones that were going to make his job as leader harder.

Yawning slightly, the mutated turtle heaved himself out of his comfy bed and deftly snagged his blue mask from his bedside table, tying it securely around his head. Glancing quickly at a nearby clock, he smiled when he realized he once again awoke right at five in the morning, as he had been doing the past seventeen years of his life.

After tying his belt around his waist and his sheaths across his back (that contained his Katana of course), he quietly exited his room and began to make his rounds. He went to Raphael's room first, his second command's loud snoring assuring the blue masked turtle that he was still quite asleep, and only a full on assault from the Foot was going to awaken him.

Next he went to Donatello's room, and felt a burst of panic when he saw his purple masked brother was not in his bed. But a glance to the right showed him hunched over his desk, fast asleep.

Rolling his eyes fondly, Leonardo stealthy maneuvered through the room and gently picked up his younger brother. Stepping over the equipment that littered the floor, he tenderly depositing him into his bed and covered him with a light purple blanket. Donnie didn't even twitch.

Finally he stopped by Michelangelo's room. A small smile stretched across his face as he saw his brother sleeping peacefully (Well, as "peaceful" as the orange masked turtle could be), curled around many pillows and his blanket halfway on the floor. He would stay still for a few seconds, before quickly re-arranging himself. This pattern would surely continue until he woke up. Shaking his head, Leonardo used all his ninja training to avoid tripping over the various items that covered the floor of his youngest's room as he made his way over to the bed. Leonardo picked up the blanket and draped it over the orange masked turtle, re-arranged some of the pillows so it sat more comfortably around his head, and carefully placed a cool hand on Michelangelo's forehead.

"Be at peace, Mikey." Leonardo murmured. Almost instantly the constant tossing and turning halted and his little brother almost nuzzled at the hand before finally staying in one place. Smiling (a somewhat relieved smile that Mikey didn't wake up to hear that sappy line), Leo turned and left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

He then made his way to the dojo where he was greeted by his father. Leonardo bowed respectfully and told his Master good morning, which was contentedly returned. They entered the room together and prepared for a peaceful meditation between father and son.

"I'm hungry." Was the first, ever so eloquent thought that entered Michelangelo's head when he woke up. Groaning slightly he rolled out of bed and onto the floor, yipping when he landed right on one of his action figures.

"Now my chest hurts." Was the next of his extremely intelligent narrative. However the slight pain managed to wake him up some. Sluggishly he got to his feet and smacked his dry tongue to the roof of his mouth a few times.

"Now I'm thirsty." He was just on a roll that morning.

Clumsily reaching for his mask, he sloppily pulled it around his head and looked at the clock.

"It's only eight thirty?" Michelangelo blanched. "Man…meh, oh well. At least now I can make breakfast for everyone." He knew his eldest brother and father would still be training together at this time and it gave him a good window to make some food for them.

"Lesse…eggs? Hmm…omelets. Yes..." Michelangelo muttered to himself as he grabbed his leather belt from the floor.

Tying his belt around his waist and placing his Nunchakus securely in them he made his way down to the kitchen. As he passed Raphael's room however, he slowed before a mischievous grin stretched across his face. Getting ready to bolt, he suddenly slammed both fists against the door of his older brother's room. He waited for the hitch in the snoring rhythm, the thump as he was startled out of his hammock, and the curse that followed after.

Barely holding in his giggles, he ran the rest of the way to the kitchen and pulled out a skillet, hoping to look innocent for when Raphael came down.

He was grabbing another smaller skillet and was putting it down when a sleepy (but angry) looking red masked turtle entered the kitchen.

"Mikey…" He hissed warningly, glaring at his youngest brother menacingly.

"Raph!" The orange turtle responded, a happy, open mouth smile appearing on his face.

"Don' play innocent wit' me, I know 't was you!" Raph snarled stepping closer.

Mikey stared at him for a second, before slowly lifting the skillet so it covered half his face. "I have a pan and I'm not afraid to use it!"

Raph began to stomp closer, now intent on giving his little brother a nice "good morning" beating.

"Wait wait wait!" Mikey cried, waving his arm and skillet in front of him. "I'm making omelets!"

Raph immediately paused. "…Carry on…fer now." Feeling less angry now, he even made an "I'm watching you" hand motion, two fingers (well, the only fingers they had) pointing first towards his own eyes, then pointed them right to Mikey's eyes. Grinning at the gesture, he mischievously returned it and placed the pan on another burner, turned it on, and grabbed a bowl.

Humming obnoxiously to himself, he grabbed an egg carton from the refrigerator and set it down. Suddenly he heard a loud thump that startled both him and Raph, who bolted upright from attempting to catch a bit more shut-eye. The next thing they heard was a door opening and Mikey grinned knowingly before gliding over to the coffee machine. Pouring in a special mix of coffee beans that he had gotten Donatello, he turned it on and watched as a zombie walked into the kitchen.

Donnie was almost sleep walking, Raph and Mikey could tell instantly and it caused them to snicker loudly.

Mike walked over to his purple masked brother and led him over to the table. "Easy there bro, your liquid life is being made now."

Donatello gurgled in response, plopping down into a chair and falling face first onto the surface. Snickering, Mikey went over to the now finished coffee and poured it in a cup. Knowing that his brother didn't like his coffee with anything early in the morning, he simply put it on the table in front of Donnie's face and watched as his head immediately jolted up and he grabbed the mug like it was the most beautiful thing in existence.

"Get me some too Mike." Raph grunted, "Ya know 'ow I like 't."

Mikey rolled his eyes. "Yes Master."

Raph hissed warningly.

After getting his hothead some coffee, Mike turned back to his omelets and began cracking eggs.

"Mm…whatcha making Mike?" Donatello asked, beginning to wake up.

"Good morning to ya too bro." Mikey grinned. "Omelets."

"Mm. I want cheese, onions, mushrooms and ham in mine." The purple masked brother told him.

"Onions, cheese, bell peppers and bacon in mine Mike." Raph said, flipping through a paper from a few days ago.

"Oh, now I hafta make bacon?" Mike laughed.

"If ya know what's good fer ya." Raphael responded, snapping the newspaper threateningly.

"Rude!" The younger brother admonished, but obligingly grabbed the bacon and ham from the fridge.

About twenty minutes later, Mikey's omelets were a piece of art and he was proud to place them in front of his brothers.

"Mm, these look exquisite Mikey, thanks!" A fully awake Donatello told him. Mikey beamed at the praise before turning to Raph expectantly.

Rolling his eyes at the look, the dark green turtle grunted out a thanks through mouthfuls of food. Laughing, Mikey took it and went to go see if his father and eldest brother were ready for some breakfast.

Entering the dojo, he was greeted with the fascinating sight of Leonardo and Master Splinter sparring. Leaning against the wall, he watched for a bit as they expertly danced around each other, weaponless, showing extreme ability in acrobatics and offense.

Finally they ceased, their arms each blocking a strike from the other. They stepped back from a wordless cue and bowed to each other, and thereby ended the early morning training.

"Hi guys!" Mikey finally said, making himself known.

"My son." The large rat greeted with a tilt of his head.

"Hey Mike. Sleep well?" Leonardo asked, picking up his katana from where he had placed them.

"Yup! You guy's hungry? I'm makin' omelets!" Mikey chirped.

Master Splinter chuckled. "Thank you my son, but I believe I will just have some tea for now."

Understanding that Master Splinter didn't like to eat sometimes after training Michelangelo didn't take it personally but instead turned to Leonardo excitedly.

His eldest brother grinned. "Omelets? Of course, thanks Mikey."

Mikey led the way back to the kitchen where his other two brothers were happily chomping away at their egg breakfast.

Immediately Master Splinter went to the stove and patiently waited for Mikey to remove one of the skillets from the surface so he could place his teapot down.

"Whatchu want on your omelet Fearless Leader?" Mikey chirped, grabbing some more eggs.

"Mm, just some mushrooms, cheese, and onions." Leonardo smiled.

Mikey beamed happily and got to work.

"Give up you two; it's obvious that the BATTLE NEXUS CHAMPION will be VICTORIOUS today!" Mikey crowed as he continued to get into some strong combos in "Super Smash Brother's Melee".

There was a groan and a growl from either side of the orange turtle. He was starting to regret sitting in the middle, it could end up dangerous for him after his crushing triumph.

"Okay, next time me and Raph are gonna be on a team." Donatello groused as he watched his character, Kirby, fly off screen and die for the final time. The dramatic "Player Three: Defeated" only solidifying the fact.

The screen zoomed in on the last two fighting. Raph was playing as Captain Falcon, and Mikey was playing as Samus. Raph only had one life left and Mikey had two.

"Gonnaa wwiiinnn!" Mikey repeated, mostly just to tick Raph off.

With a vicious growl, Raph suddenly managed to pull off a Falcon Punch, which unexpectedly sent Samus flying off the stage and killed immediately.

"Whaaaat! Bullshit." Mikey whined, jumping back into the fight as soon as he was respawned.

"Yeah! Go Raph! Kick his butt!" Donnie cheered, causing Raph to smirk slightly.

"Pff, no amount of cheering will save him!" Mikey yelled dramatically.

…And it didn't, as they all watched, some in disappointment, some in childish excitement, as a lucky hit sent poor Captain Falcon flying off into the sunset…only to wack into the screen before it was announced that player one was defeated and the ending screen showed Samus posing victoriously while Captain Falcon and Kirby clapped with congratulation in the backround.

There was silence for a bit as they waited for it.

"…IIIIII wwwwiiiinnnnnn!" Mikey cheered, jumping up on the couch. "ONCE AGAIN THE BATTLE NEXUS CHAMPION IS VI-!" Mikey let out a yelp as he was rudely interrupted and was sent toppling over the back of the couch and onto his head. He groaned slightly before sitting up. "Don't be a sore loser Raph!" Mike laughed.

"Actually, that was me." Donnie smirked, peering over the side of the couch while Raph let out a short bark of laughter.

"…Don't be such a sore loser Don!" Mike repeated, grinning winningly up at his older brother.

"I might not be able to beat you at video games Mike…but I CAN IN REAL LIFE!" Raph suddenly yelled, his patience finally snapping.

Squealing in fear, Mikey only had time to scramble up and start running before Raph was on him. Donnie watched silently as his little brother continued to scream like a girl as a menacing looking Raphael chased him around the room. Shrugging slightly, he prepared himself for when Mikey ran past the couch before jumping suddenly in front of the youngest. Mikey yelped in surprise and slide to a stop, allowing Raph to tackle him, the momentum sending both of them into Donnie, who cried out in surprise.

That's what Leonardo walked in on but five minutes later. He had come to collect them for patrol, but it looked like he was going to have to collect Mikey off the floor instead.

He chuckled slightly as he watched his two younger brothers gang up on the youngest. After getting an earful of Mikey's pathetic squawking, he coughed loudly.

He wished he had a camera as the three turtles immediately halted and looked up at him with wide eyes. Raph had Michelangelo in a vicious headlock, while Don was pinning both of Mikey's arms tightly to the ground. Mike was chewing at Raph's arm and had been in the process of trying to kick Donnie (it amazed Leo sometimes just how flexible Michelangelo was), a leg frozen in mid air.

"…Time for patrol guys, c'mon." Leo said with a small grin.

Raph groaned. "C'mon, I'm not done dealing out the punishment yet!" The red masked turtle complaining about going topside? That's a first.

"You can finish after, I promise." The katana wielder laughed at the betrayed look the orange ninja sent him.

Donatello let out a long drawn out sigh. "Party pooper." He teased, walking over to pick up his bo staff from beside the couch.

"Lemme gooooooo!" Mikey whined, clawing his now freed hands at Raph's unrelenting arms.

Raph stood up first, before letting go of his brother and shoving him back down to the ground. "There. Now get up and get your chucks."

Mikey pouted. "Meanie head."

Raph stared at him. "Meanie head? What are you, two?"

"…If I said yes…" Raph held up a hand.

"No. Just. Let's go before I do something I regret." The red masked turtle sighed, twirling a sai before sticking it in his belt.

Mikey laughed and let Leonardo help him up. "Whatever you say Raph."

"Man, it's going to rain any second, I know it!" Mikey complained as they ran across the dark rooftops.

"You've said that like, ten times now Mikey, we GET IT." Donatello told him with an irritated look.

Mikey tilted his head. "It couldn't have been that much!"

"Nope, I was keeping track."

"Why would you keep track of that?"

"Why not?"

"…Touche."

"Guys, shush." Leonardo suddenly stopped and held up a hand, signaling for quiet. Confused but obedient, they all stopped and kept silent, even Raph.

"Do you feel that?" The leader asked suddenly, looking at all directions.

"Feel what Leo?" Raph growled, on edge.

"Something…something very strange. I'm not sure how to explain it."

It could sense it. Sense something. Something delicious. It swam closer, the shadows keeping it hidden, always keeping it hidden. Four beings stood. It examined them, carefully. Only one smelled worthy enough. Only one smelled worthy enough to be its light. It crept closer.

"You're paranoid Leo, let's just keep going." Donatello reasoned, knowing that since Karai attacked their old lair his older brother had been especially cautious.

"Yeah! Sooner we keep going the sooner I can get back to important things, like comic books!" Mikey grinned, before flinching back. "Ow!" Raph rolled his eyes and brought his hand back to his side. He was so used to slapping Mikey by now his arm knew when to do it before it registered in his mind. Mikey gripped his head with a pout.

"Hm. Maybe. But yes, let's keep going." Leonardo put his hand down and ran forward, his brothers following after quickly.

It was running. It was running from him. Surging forward, he snagged the shadow of his prey, and slowly crawled up, sliding up a leg, up a strangehardback and finally, into the back of the neck.

Mikey suddenly stopped, shuddering, his breath hitching loudly. Leonardo immediately stopped and looked back. "Mikey? Mike what's wrong?" He questioned, concerned his feeling had been right.

"N-Nothing." Michelangelo said after a pause. "I just got real cold for a second." He laughed. "It's gone now."

"Well we are cold blooded, and it's getting cold." Donatello said matter-a-factly. "Let's get back to the lair before it starts to rain."

Leo eyed Mikey for a second before nodding. "Alright."

Raph took this moment to fall into step beside Mikey as they ran. "Is widdle Mikey cold? Does 'e want 'is blankie?"

Mikey scowled at Raph and suddenly shot a foot out, tripping Raph quite thoroughly and sending him face first into the roof of a building. Laughing obnoxiously, he took off past Don and Leo, an angrily screaming Raphael following behind him. Leo and Don looked at each other and rolled their eyes, affectionately of course, and continued on.

"GET BACK 'ERE MIKEY SO I CAN KILL YOU!" Raph roared, slowly ganging up on his little brother.

"Oh yes, we are the best ninjas." Donatello said sarcastically. Leonardo just laughed.