Chapter 15: Taken

The cold streets were deserted that night, which was unusual for a sleepless city such as New York. Not even the sounds of moving cars or traffic were heard in the uneasy stillness. However, all was not as it seemed as thundering footsteps echoed throughout the streets, shattering the silence completely. Anyone foolish enough to venture outside to investigate would only find themselves terror stricken as a pair of bloodthirsty, reddened eyes peered around the corner of a building, scanning the area for any passers-by, sniffing the air as he did so. Nothing stirred. With a nod to himself, he turned his oversized head to glance at his companion standing impatiently behind him. "All clear," he announced in a hushed tone.

With that signal, Xever, (or recently re-named by Michelangelo as 'Fishface') nodded once to his larger canine cohort. As the two of them crept out of the alleyway and into the empty streets, Fishface decided to break the tension and start a conversation, though it came out as more of a complaint if anything. "So, what exactly are what are we meant to be doing here, anyway? Shredder was not exactly clear on that part," he muttered.

Bradford, (or 'Dogpound' as referred to now by the turtles), growled testily, not exactly in the mood for the fish's whining. "Master Shredder wants us to decimate the area, wreak havoc, show those blasted turtles that we are as much a threat to the entire city as we are to them," he clarified.

At that, Fishface scoffed and folded his arms over his chest, inwardly glad that he was still able to do that as a mutant Fish. Well, the fact that he was even standing, or breathing above water (though only by means of a water apparatus attached to his gills) was a miracle in itself. "Well, fair enough," he huffed with an absent wave of a webbed hand, "but why not just go back to their hideout and kill them all there? We know where they live, so wouldn't that be easier?"

"The Foot Bots scouted their underground lair earlier, but found no trace of them whatsoever," Dogpound snarled. "It looks like they all abandoned that place before we had the chance to hunt them down again. So instead, we take out our frustration out on something else…" A savage grin spread across his muzzle as he chuckled.

Fishface grinned evilly. "I like that idea. I needed the stress relief…"

With that, they moved into the streets, Dogpound cracking his knuckles and chortling wickedly. This was indeed going to be fun.

Leonardo awoke to the sound of rapid banging on the doors of hid subway car. His mind was still pretty hazy, so when he saw that there was a touch of sunlight gleaming through the doors, he was confused. Why would there be sunlight down in the sewers?

Oh wait, they weren't in the other lair anymore. Right.

Blinking rapidly to rid himself of the drowsiness, he looked down at where Raphael had been last night, only to find the spot next to him was empty. It seemed he had already woken up and left. The fact that he hadn't woken Leo up beforehand suggested that he'd been kind enough to let his older brother rest some more; last night had been pretty rough. Leo smiled at the thought with a chuckle. "...how considerate of him," he joked as he yawned loudly, and groggily rolled off the blankets as he stood up, cracking his back and rolling his shoulders as he walked over to the doors, noticing that they were still knocking. "Hold on," he called tiredly, "I'm coming…"

He supposed that it was Mikey being a pest about him waking up late again. But when he finally opened the doors to reveal a slightly stricken Casey, he raised a confused brow. "Casey, what is it?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

Casey wasted no more time as he grabbed Leo's arm. "Come on, look at the news!" he babbled as he pulled Leo along to where the temporary T.V room was. The rest of his family including Dr. Falco and Splinter, were already there, watching the screen with immense concern.

Once Casey had finally released him (and that kid had a strong grip), Leonardo moved to sit next to Donatello, and once he saw what had riled them up so much, his eyes shot open once they set upon the screen. "What…what the heck?" he breathed.

The camera showed what appeared to be the mass destruction of a street nearby April's apartment. Cars were turned over and even bitten into, lampposts were torn down and ripped apart, and claw marks engraved the walls and doors of houses and apartment buildings.

Jaws dropped to the floor. "Dudes, who the heck did this?" Michelangelo gasped.

Beside his father, Raphael narrowed his green eyes in anger. "I think I have a good idea on who did, Mikey," he growled.

April appeared on the screen moments later, her microphone in hand and a grave expression written on her young, freckled features as she spoke to the viewers. "As you can see here, the entire area has been nearly devastated, with cars overturned and some even bitten into, walls smashed and clawed at, and many other damages done, but strangely enough, it's only been done on this street alone. There are currently no reports of eyewitnesses, deaths or injuries as of yet, and no one knows who or what could have possibly caused this amount of damage. But they did leave a disturbing message engraved on the ground…"

She gave a knowing look at the screen, a look only the turtles would understand as the camera lowered down to the ground to reveal a written message engraved onto the sidewalk.

"WE ARE COMING FOR YOU FREAKS".

Leo growled as they glared at the message. "Dogpound and Fishface…" Leo snarled.

Splinter stroked his beard, his brows knitting together as he glowered at the screen. "It appears that our new problem has gotten dangerously out of hand…" he said lowly. "This is no ordinary threat, nor is it a simple warning. This is a declaration. They are wreaking havoc on the city in order to lure us out of hiding, to challenge us…and I fear that we have no choice but to accept this challenge."

Casey and Raph shared a shocked glance. Mikey gulped nervously, latching onto Raph's arm, and was glad when Raph didn't pull away. Donnie scowled, his eyes glued to the screen at the destruction done by the pair of vicious mutants. Dr. Falco observed alongside the purple clad turtle with a horrified expression. Leo looked up at his Sensei, his expression firm, but his eyes were anxious. "Sensei…" he began, "does this mean…?"

Placing a hand on his eldest sons' shoulder, Splinter nodded. "You must prepare yourselves, my sons," he declared. "Because as of this moment...

"...We are at War."

After the report had ended and the Channel Six News crew began to pack up their equipment, April gazed at the crime scene around her in desolation, ignoring the policemen and paparazzi scurrying around her as she frowned. She knew exactly who was responsible for this. And she also knew that if something wasn't done to stop this, more places would be decimated. And eventually, there would be innocent people involved.

But why would Shredder allow his two mutant henchmen to roam free and create havoc upon a small street just to send a message? Obviously, there was something much bigger at work here.

April squared her shoulders as she glared at the ground, her fists clenching at her sides. Shredder was insane – he was going to end up hurting millions of people, and she knew he wouldn't care; as long as the turtles and Splinter were destroyed, nothing else mattered to him. He had to be stopped, or people would get hurt…

A hand suddenly came to rest on her right shoulder. She jumped slightly in surprise, having not noticed a presence behind her, before she turned around and relaxed as she looked up at the familiar face of her father. Kirby smiled down at his daughter, patting her shoulder once. "April, it's time we went back," he said warmly, knowing how tired his little girl must be.

April nodded, sighing heavily. "Yeah, I guess; my jobs' pretty much done here anyways. I wonder how we're gonna fix all of this mess. I know for a fact that that 'Chief' Sterns guy isn't gonna do anything to help out. And from what he told me earlier when I'd tried to ask him a few questions about the crime, he seems pretty proud of himself…" she growled.

Kirby sighed and shook his head. Policemen these days; some did their job, whilst others simply stood by and watched everything play out until it was pay day. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Kirby drew April close. "Don't worry April. If anyone can fix this, you and your brothers certainly can," he reassured.

At that, April smiled up at him, her blue eyes now rekindled with hope. "Yeah," she nodded, "Of course they can." Though they were barely able to hold out for very long against the giant mutants, the turtles would be able to figure out a way to put a stop to whatever Shredder and those goons had planned for the city.

They had done it before and they could do it again.

Her father patted her shoulder one last time and kissed her on the forehead. "That's my girl," he chuckled, ruffling his daughters' hair affectionately as he released her, and turned to walk back the way he came. "I'll go bring the car over, and then we can get out of here and get breakfast," he smiled, as he turned around the corner of the building at the end of the lane, disappearing from the crime scene.

As April watched him turn the corner, she couldn't help but feel a slight chill suddenly run down her spine. She brought a hand to her temples, massaging them as a dull ache began to build, her brain throbbing.

"Why do I get the feeling that something's gonna happen…?" she thought once the ache subsided, and she turned back to where her father had vanished around the bend. "It must be one of those weird 'feelings' I get about things. It's probably nothing..."

But then again, she'd had that same weird 'feeling' when she had first seen that Kraang droid in disguise back at TCRI. She'd ignored it, but then he was revealed to be an alien from another dimension…one of how many hundreds that had already invaded the entire city so far. Frowning to herself, she moved to stand next to the news van, waiting for her father to arrive.

She should probably keep this strange sense of hers in mind. Or maybe she should ask Splinter about it, see what he thought; it could come in handy, like a 'Spider Sense' or something. She chuckled to herself at the thought, but then she remembered…

In the comics that she and Irma used to read together, the so-called 'Spider Sense' only tingled when there was danger. Perhaps that was what her brain was trying to tell her…

Rubbing his cold hands together to keep them warm, Kirby walked at a steady pace down the street, letting out a tired sigh. So much had happened within the space of a few months; first the Silent Crime Wave, the army of ninjas, a family of mutants, and now an army of aliens from other dimensions? Well, the family of mutants had been a benefit for both himself and his daughter, in fact they were the reason they were still here. But these aliens, and these other mutants rampaging…

What on earth was this city coming to?

Well, at least the turtles would be able to put a stop to them, right? And they would make sure that his daughter, whom he knew would do everything in her power to make sure that she would stay and fight by their side, would come back to him alive and safe…or at least he hoped. He trusted the turtles, even though they were a year younger than her. They wouldn't let anything happen to her…

Shaking his head to rid himself of these thoughts for now, he looked up from the ground and spotted where he had parked their car on the kerb. He was about to cross the road when a large white van suddenly screeched to a halt in front of him, blocking his path. He froze in place, confused and unnerved as three, stone faced men were discharged from the door at the rear, and upon spotting him, they all loomed towards him. Kirby took a cautious step back. "W-What? What is this?" he exclaimed, "What do you want?"

The men said nothing.

And then Kirby realized with a sharp gasp. These men weren't men at all. These were the Kraang aliens…and they were here for him.

Kirby was ready to run and shout for the police, but before he could even move an inch from, one of the droids whipped out a long, metallic stick from his suit. He aimed it at Kirby and pressed a button which sent a current of electricity suddenly pulsing through Kirby's body, painfully paralyzing his limbs as he let out a cry and fell limp to the floor with a grunt.

His last thoughts as the men gathered around his prone form before he was dragged into darkness was a simple name, one that meant so much to him…

"…April…"

April waited next to the news van for her father, watching idly as policemen and other reporters busied themselves with the crime scene. She looked at the time on her phone and sighed. "What's taking him?" she mumbled to herself as she put her phone back into her pocket and folded her arms over her chest. It had been about fifteen minutes since he'd left to get the car, and she hadn't seen or heard from him since. Maybe the police weren't letting him through?

A cold shiver ran down her spine again as another thought hit her. What if something had happened to him on the way to the car? What if he was hurt…?

She quickly shook her head, banishing the thoughts. No, her father was fine; she was just getting paranoid. All this talk of mutants, ninjas and aliens were getting to her.

She heard soft movement behind the van, drawing her out of her thoughts.

Her brow furrowed as she turned around, walking around the van as her hand moved towards her fan in her pocket out of instinct. "Who's there?" she called. "Freddy? Louis? Guys, this isn't funny –"

Before she could react, a hand slapped over her mouth from behind, the other dragging her away from the van and into an alleyway. She struggled fiercely in her captors grip, striking her fists and foot out in an attempt to kick them away, but to no avail as her arms were pinned behind her by another pair of strong hands. She couldn't turn around to see their faces, but she didn't have to. She knew by the cold, metallic hands restraining her that she'd been caught by the Foot Bots.

What a great start to her morning. Could things get any worse -?

"Hello, April."

And it just did.

She looked up to see Freddy standing before her, his arms crossed over his chest and his mouth shaped into a very smug grin. Her eyes widened as she noticed that he was wearing the Foot Clan uniform.

Freddy, her friend from the News Channel, was a Foot Soldier? But how? All the other guys were replaced with robots now. Unless he was really an android like the Kraang? She really hoped not, but with her luck so far, it was a possibility.

At her reaction, Freddy scoffed. "Surprised?" he mocked as he stepped toward her. "Our master has a message for your little turtle freaks." Still struggling against the hold of the Foot Bot restraining her, she he glared daggers at him as he held out his hand with a wallet in his palm. "And I have a message for you…"

He flipped the wallet open to reveal the picture of its owner. April's struggling ceased entirely as she stared at the picture, her blue eyes going wide. Her skin turned pale as the colour drained from her face.

Freddy smirked coldly.

"B-B-B-BOOYAKASHAA!"

Michelangelo whooped out jubilantly as he whizzed through the sewer tunnels on his skateboard at high speeds. He whooshed over several deep puddles as he grinded across the thick pipes that lined the damp walls, sending red sparks flying. "Wooohooo!" he cheered, his laughter echoing off the hollow walls. After all the tension that had built up in the hideout, the youngest turtle decided that he needed to get away from it all, if only for a little bit. Perhaps he could stop off at Irma's place for a little while to see how she was doing. He hadn't seen her in a while.

Maybe Irma had an idea on how to help him and his brothers stop all of this, too. She was a pretty smart girl…and she was a pretty girl, too.

As he finally skidded to a stop, not wanting to wander too far away from the hideout, he pumped his fists in the air and bowed dramatically to the non-existent crowd. "Thank you ladies and gentlemen…especially the ladies!" he laughed. "The Great Michelangelo is here for any and all Entertainment and Crime Fighting needs!"

His celebratory dance was pulled to a halt as he heard something resonating from deeper within the sewer tunnels. Freezing where he stood, he made no sound as he listened closely. It sounded as if someone was crying. A little girl, perhaps? But what would a little girl be doing in the sewers on her own?

Confused and curious, but remaining wary all the same in case it was some kind of trap, his head turned from left to right in search for any sign of the owner of those sobs. "Hello?" he called out. "Someone there? Are you okay?"

The soft cries suddenly stopped. "…Mikey?" came a weak reply.

His eyes widened as he let out a gasp. Mikey knew exactly who that voice belonged to.

Wasting no more time, the orange clad turtle quickly swept up his skateboard and ran further into the tunnels, his heart beating fast in panic. Moments later, he found April walking in the sewer puddles hugging herself, her hair and clothes drenched from the sewage water and her cheeks red and stained with tears.

"April?! Are you okay?!" Mikey exclaimed as he rushed to her side and placed both hands on her shoulders, quickly scanning her up and down to look for any injuries, but was surprised when he found nothing.

April O'Neil was a pretty strong girl; she was outgoing, confident, and never took no for an answer. She hardly let anything get to her, but sometimes her temper rivalled that of Raphael's, and she hardly ever cried, unless they were watching one of those sappy love stories.

To see her crying now, however, and wandering alone and cold in the sewers, scared Mikey very, very much.

April sniffed and wiped her face with the back of her hand. "M-Mikey…they…h-he…" she tried, but the words wouldn't come. She cursed herself for crying, but she couldn't hold back the silent tears this time, no matter how hard she tried.

Distressed but determined to ease her hurt, Mikey responded by hugging her close to him, lifting a large green hand to gently stroke her damp head. "Don't worry, Mikey's here now. It'll be okay," he soothed, not a trace of his usual joker tone in his voice. April hugged him back with equal force, burying her head into his shoulder, and he tightened his hold as her shoulders shook with effort to keep the worst of her tears at bay.

"Come on, tell me what happened," he coaxed as he gently pulled away to wipe away her tears with his thumb.

April sniffed again, her voice finally found as she spoke. "I-It's The Foot Clan and the Kraang –" She stopped as she looked past Mikey and then behind her, suddenly very wary. She looked back to Mikey, shaking her head as she lowered her voice and said, "We can't stay here, or they might find the hideout…I-I don't know if they followed me…"

Mikey nodded once, his face uncharacteristically serious. "If they did, then they'll regret it, sister," he said, and in one swift movement, he put his skateboard in the belt on the back of his shell and picked up April bridal style in his arms as he sped off back the way he came, heading back to the hideout. The girl in his arms wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder once again.

Mikey looked down at her and frowned. He'd never seen April this upset before, not even after her aunts' first shop had been burned to the ground. It hit her hard of course, to watch as all of those memories of her childhood were burned away, but whoever or whatever had done this to her, had hit her harder than before.

His eyes narrowed, and he bit back a growl. When he found out who had hurt his sister, he was personally going to make them hurt just as much.

As soon as Mikey entered the hideout with a teary-eyed April in his arms, everyone in the room ceased what they were doing and stood up, especially Donnie and Casey from where they were gathered in the main area. Mikey carefully stepped down the stairs and set April on her feet, though he held onto her hand as he led her towards the rest of his family.

Leaping over the top of the couch, Casey hurried over to the red-head. "April! What happened? Are you okay?" he probed worriedly as he quickly ran to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he led her to a chair. The others gathered around in concern, but at Splinters' look, they all kept their respectable distance.

Splinter moved aside to allow April to sit down next to him, and she looked up at the others gathered around her as she fought for control on her tears again. A large hand came over to rest on both her hands, and she looked up to find Leonardo looking at her, his face as calm as ever. "April, tell us what happened," he said gently. "You're safe here, remember?"

The girl nodded, drawing in a shaking breath before she spoke. "It…it was the Foot and the Kraang…they took him…they took my father…"

The others gasped sharply, their eyes going wide. "Oh no…" Donnie breathed. First they had threatened the city, and now they had taken April's dad? This was a nightmare…it couldn't be true…

April couldn't hold it back any longer. She lurched forwards and covered her mouth with her hands as she began to sob. Casey immediately gathered her in his arms and held her tightly, letting her cry against his chest as he stroked the back of her head. "It's okay April. It'll be okay…" he whispered to her. On her other side, Splinter could only lay a hand on her shoulder, his eyes closed and his head lowered.

Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey shared an angry glance. Shredder had taken their sister's father. He had once again managed to hurt their family.

Minutes passed, and as they let April calm down enough, she was eventually able to tell them what had happened earlier that morning. Casey sat next to her on the couch as he covered her with a blanket, his arm still wrapped around her shoulders as he held her close. And for once, neither he nor Donnie cared about anything other than making sure that she was going to be alright. Mikey sat on her right, holding her small, delicate hands in his own as he gazed at her, his expression not unlike that of a kicked puppy as he, his older brothers and their father listened closely to what she had to say.

She told them how her dad had only gone to find their car, but hadn't shown up again for a while. How the Foot had ambushed her and how her so-called 'friend', Freddy, had turned out to be one of them this whole time. And then Shredder's message for them…

"…and he says if you don't meet them at the construction site tonight," she continued shakily, her hand tightening around Mikey's, "…he'd send Dogpound and Fishface out again…this time into Central Park."

The others gasped in alarm. "Central Park?" Donnie repeated breathlessly, shaking his head disbelievingly.

Leo's shoulders slumped as he bit back a snarl, folding his arms over his chest as he looked over to his sensei, who stood by the subway car as he listened to April's tale. "You were right, Sensei. Shredder has lost his honor…and his mind," he scowled.

"But that doesn't make any sense," Mikey argued, not letting go of April's hand. "If they go into Central Park, then how're they gonna avoid all those…people…" Mikey trailed off as he stared down at his lap, his eyes widened in realization as his heart sank in his chest.

Releasing a long sigh, Raph patted his younger brothers' shoulder. "Yeah, Mikey. That's the point. They won't avoid those people."

Mikey bit down on his lip. This was really bad; two enraged mutants plundering into a place that was filled with humans, especially at this time of year…it would be a massacre. "But…but what about April's dad?" he asked, turning to April with wide eyes full of fear. "What're they gonna do to him?"

April swallowed thickly. "I don't know why, but…he also said…that the Kraang want me. He didn't tell me what they wanted with me, but…they want you to hand me over in exchange for my dad. And if you don't…he said that Shredder would…" Her voice hitched, and she squeezed her eyes shut as more tears threatened to fall. "…he'd use the mutagen they have left to mutate my father."

The others all gasped in horror. "B-but he can't do that!" Donnie fumed, balling his fists in anger. "That's insane! We have no idea what that mutagen could do to him! Mutations are unpredictable…heck, it could kill him for –"

Raph grasped Donnie's shoulder, and when the tallest turtle turned to face him, he shook his head with a grave expression, motioning April who had gone deathly still, her eyes wide and her face going very pale. Donnie clamped his mouth shut. "…sorry," he murmured.

Mikey let go of April's hand now in fear that he would crush it, and after patting her on the shoulder once more, he moved to stand next to his brothers. "What're we gonna do now?" he quivered anxiously. At a loss, the boys all turned to Master Splinter. Surely he knew how to fix all of this…

Splinter stroked his beard, his eyes closed as he hummed in thought. "This is very grave news," he said lowly, his voice grim as he looked up and regarded the young ones all staring at him. "Very grave indeed. However, it seems that there is no other choice…but to meet as the Shredder demands."

April let out a soft gasp, sharing a stunned look with Casey before they both turned to the turtles. To their shock, the four turtles said nothing in response to their masters' declaration, but their expressions became unusually firm as they nodded and bowed in unison.

April was on her feet in an instant, the blanket falling from her shoulders, forgotten, in a heap at her feet. "No! Don't do it, guys!" she protested, "He just wants you to fight against Dogpound and Fishface again, and you know he won't let my father go even if you win! They'll kill you all!"

Raph stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder. "We know. But we have to," he said, though his face was firm, his voice was soft. "It's the only way to save your dad. We're doing this for you just as much as for the people Shredder will hurt if we don't...sorry, Ape."

Tears threatened to spill again as she looked at them all one by one. Their faces lacked any falsifying emotion, but she knew that inside they were scared – scared to fail her, scared to fail her father and the city…scared to die…

April shook her head as she suddenly flung herself forward and wrapped her arms around Raph's neck. "No, please, there has to be another way!" she cried, her voice muffled as she buried her face into Raph's shoulder. "I-I know you guys have beaten him before, but now he has the Foot Bots, and his mutant goons…I love you guys so much…I can't lose you, too…"

Raph had stiffened when April had hugged him, since it was quite rare for him to hug anyone. But his strong arms went around her waist all the same, letting her have her moment. And in brutal honesty, Raph needed it more than he could ever admit.

"And besides, you can't give them April!" Casey urged, standing up as well now as he clenched his fists. "And if you don't have her with you, then it's all over anyway…"

The room became silent now as heads lowered and hope faded as Raph released April. Casey was right. No matter what they did that night, in the bitter end, someone was going to die, be it April's father – the only parent she had left in her life – or the billions of innocent humans that remained unaware of their oncoming doom. The situation seemed truly hopeless...

"Wait just a moment!" All heads looked up in surprise, and turned to see Dr. Falco stood just outside Donnie and Mikey's train car with his hands folded behind his back and a confident smile on his face. "There just might be a way to solve our problem," he professed.

The mutants shared a glance. "Really? How?" Donnie asked the scientist.

Falco stepped forwards, a piece of paper with a list written on it in his hand as he held it out for them all to see. "I just might be able to help you with your mutant dog and fish problem, but I will need supplies and any scientific equipment you have for this experiment to work," he said as he handed the list to Leo.

Taking the piece of paper from Falco, Leo quickly skimmed through the list, and he blinked once in surprise. There wasn't much, but he knew that it could be expensive…and there was no way they could possibly be able to get this stuff. Not without a little help, that is…

With a nod, he turned to Raph. "Raph, you and I will go out and get whatever Falco needs. We'll grab Keno on the way for help, since we obviously can't go into the shop ourselves. You know the way to his house, right?"

Raph nodded once, a knowing smile forming on his face. It seemed that at long last, his fearless leader had a plan. "Yeah, it's not far from April's place," he answered.

Leo smiled back at him, going into full-blown 'leader mode' as he then turned to the others. "Don and Mikey, you guys set up whatever equipment Donnie has for Dr. Falco. Casey and April, you two help him out anyway you guys can until we get back."

They all nodded firmly, resolve replacing their earlier despair as now, with the help of Dr. Falco, they had finally found a chance – though it could be slim – to save April's father as well as the other millions of people in Central Park.

With a proud smile at his team, Leo nodded. "Let's move!"

A/N: Things are heating up everyone. What does Dr. Falco have in mind I wonder?