Chapter 16: The Plan

His blue mask tails whipping behind him as he ran, Leonardo leapt silently across the darkened rooftops in the cold night. Snow clouds threatened to burst overhead as he made his way hastily back to the hideout. He held a plastic bag full of supplies in a tight grip in his left hand, and was careful not to let it rip or slip as he made haste. "This stuff had better work," he mumbled to himself.

After Raphael had dropped by Keno's place earlier that night, they had explained the entire situation to him, and it was only after he declared that he was sure that he wanted to help them that they gave him the list of things that Dr. Falco needed, and they headed off to the market nearest to his home. Despite being good friends with the shop owner, the human boy had gone through quite a bit of trouble to get into the store and buy the items on the list without looking suspicious; the only way he could get past security guards was to lie them, telling them he was doing a science project based on reversing the effects of mutant properties, which of course they didn't understand, but it sounded smart enough for them to let him through.

Once that mission had been accomplished, Leo suggested that he, Raphael and Keno each take a bag and go separate ways to return to the hideout. If a Foot Bot or someone else they didn't know about were to be spying on them from afar and decided to follow, they would have a better chance of misleading them if they took different routes.

Eyes narrowed and senses on high alert, Leo looked over to his side, not breaking his stride as he discreetly skimmed the area in search for his younger brother or Keno. He saw a flash of red father off, and he allowed himself a breath of relief. Raph seemed fine, and from the looks of it, so was Keno; he'd let Raph shadow over him in case he was jumped by a Foot Bot in an alleyway. The Foot knew his face, so he too would become a target if he wasn't careful, and the last thing they wanted was to lose another comrade.

Turning back to his current path as he bounced off a water tower, Leo spared a quick glance down at the bag in his hand. If Dr. Falco could help them deal with Dogpound and Fishface, then all that he and his brothers would have to do was to get past the Foot Bots and the Kraang, find and rescue April's dad, and then get out of there together in one piece.

Sounded easy enough, right?

But there was still one vital problem; something that even now Leo knew they wouldn't be able to get around without the plan failing completely. How were they going to bypass the Kraang if they didn't bring April with them? After all, it was the only way that they could guarantee that her father would not be harmed in any way, or get mutated into some hideous creature. But if they did hand her over, who knew what they would do with her? And worse, Kirby would have lost his beloved daughter. None of them could live with that on their shoulders.

April was closer than a sister to all of them; none of them could deny that. How could they simply give her up after everything they had been through together? It would be worse than stabbing her in the back.

But then what about her father…?

Leo released a tired sigh. He was at a total loss now. Was there any way that they could win this time, or had Shredder finally gained the upper hand?

Something clanged loudly against a trashcan in one of the alleyways below, interrupting the blue clad turtle's thoughts. Leo skidded to a halt at the edge of the rooftop, lowering himself into a crouch as he listened closely.

He heard it again, louder this time. Leonardo narrowed his eyes. Was it a Foot Bot? A Purple Dragon? Or was it Dogpound or Fishface luring him into an ambush?

No matter who it was, if it was a potential threat, he couldn't take any chances and ignore it.

Setting his bag safely on the roof, the blue clad turtle leapt down into the dark alleyway and drew out his katanas as soon as his feet touched the ground. "Alright, whoever or whatever you are, come out and show yourselves, or I'll come after you!" he demanded. He received no answer, but he remained on his guard. His dark blue eyes scanned the darkness, looking for something, anything, that seemed out of place…

He heard the sliding of metal against a sheath.

Instantly, he spun around as his swords collided with another shorter sword belonging to a black masked figure. Leo grunted with effort as the figure attempted to push him back against the wall of the alley, but he stood his ground. He noticed immediately that his opponent was in fact a human instead of a robot, but they had no mark of the Foot or the Purple Dragons on their uniform. Perhaps he was some kind of Ashigaru Sha? Well, no matter; he was a threat, and he would be dealt with all the same.

The two engaged in a short but lethal battle as they swiped and slashed at each other, neither of them hitting their marks. Leo found himself surprised. This was no Ashigaru Sha; he was far too good to be labeled as simple cannon fodder.

Just who was this ninja?

Leo noticed that his challenger seemed to dance around him with an energy that actually reminded him of his youngest brother, Michelangelo. He looked as if he was enjoying every moment of this fight, but was also trying to deliberately aim for Leo's sword whenever they clashed. It was like he was just sparring with him.

Leo felt his left eye twitch in irritation. Was this guy toying with him? Well, this little grasshopper would soon regret ever underestimating him.

With a growl, Leo managed to flip over his opponent just as he tried to slash his shoulder, and landed soundly behind him in a low crouch. Caught off guard, the dark figure spun around, but was too late to block as Leo leapt up from his crouch and shoved him against the wall with an arm across his chest, and he held his katana to his neck to prevent him from moving anywhere else. The figure stilled tensely as the edge of the blade came too close for comfort, and he held up his hands in surrender.

Leo huffed. He was giving up already? How pathetic. "Alight, start talking, pal!" he snarled as he threateningly pressed his sword closer to their neck. "I've had enough games for one night. Who are you, and who do you work for?"

To the turtles' surprise, the masked figure only chuckled in response to Leo's threat. Leo raised a brow, his earlier irritation now replaced with confusion as he relaxed his hold ever so slightly.

That chuckle sounded very feminine. And very familiar.

Reaching up to grab the figures' head, he quickly pulled off the mask, revealing the identity of his attacker. His eyes flew wide open and his mouth hung agape as he stared blankly at the mystery ninja...

"Karai?!" he cried.

Clearly enjoying this, the young kunoichi in question smirked at the expression on the younger turtles' face. "In person," Karai said, sheathing her short sword as Leo finally released her from the wall, practically jumping away from her as he sheathed his katanas.

"W-wh-what're you doing back in New York? I-I thought you were still in Japan for at least another week!" he exclaimed, still unable to fully grasp what was going on. In fact, he'd only just called her yesterday to tell her what had happened to Raph. How had she gotten here so quickly?!

Karai planted a hand on her hip, as she regarded him nonchalantly. "I got a call from a certain turtle telling me my ex-father was still in New York and had kidnapped his younger brother," she elaborated. "So of course as soon as I hung up, I booked the earliest and fastest flight back to America, first class. And don't worry about Danny; I dropped him off at his parent's house a few hours ago before I came out looking for you."

She then took a step forwards, leaning closer to the flabbergasted turtle with a glint in her eye that Leo both loved and hated all at once. "Don't tell me you forgot about me, or are you not happy to see your Koibito?" she teased.

Leo blushed furiously at the term they always used in private. "N-n-no, no, never! I just d-didn't expect you back so quickly, I…" Leo sighed in defeat. He hated it when she messed with him. "You could have at least told me it was you before I put my sword at your throat. You know I could've killed you, right?"

Stepping away from him, Karai only laughed. "You're adorable. Stupid, but adorable. You should've known it was me by my fighting style. You know how we fight before our dates, don't you?"

Still blushing, Leo couldn't help but laugh a little, "Yeah, you're right about that," he said as he rubbed his right arm absently. It was only a simple action, but as soon as he felt the large, dark scar that travelled down his arm, he realized too late that he'd made a mistake. His eyes darted back to Karai, who had already noticed the faint scars that covered his scaly arm, and her eyes winded a fraction. Then her shock turned into a frown as she stepped forwards again, taking hold of his arm and glaring at the scar as if it were an parasite that needed dispatching quickly.

"What happened?" she probed darkly, not taking her golden eyed gaze off his arm.

Knowing that he wasn't getting out of her grip anytime soon, Leo let out another heavy sigh. He'd wanted to direct her attention to anywhere but his scar, but combined with the fact that he'd goofed up, and that she was as observant as a snake, it couldn't be helped. "I told you about Dogpound, Fishface, the Foot Bots and the Kraang already, right?" he said, and then used his free arm to gesture the scar.

Karai nodded once, finally looking back to the turtle as she released his arm. "You told me about them, but you didn't tell me anything about getting hurt like this. You idiot, you need to be more careful," she growled as she folded her arms over her chest.

Despite the look he was getting from the young woman that told him he was in trouble, Leo smirked and mimicked her as he folded his arms as well. "What, are you worried about me now?" he said with a snarky grin.

Karai made a face. "I'm not worried about you. I'm only worried that you'll get so worried about worrying me that you'll worry everyone else into worrying about you worrying about me getting worried." she replied flatly, not once pausing to take a breath.

Blinking once, Leo stared at her blankly, trying to process what she had said, but it only blew over him. He then shook his head. "Well, whatever," he grumbled as he got back on track, avoiding the mind game she was trying to play. "Me getting hurt isn't important right now, Karai. The Foot have April's dad, and they want April in exchange for him. We don't know why the Kraang want April, but they've made it clear that if we don't meet them at the construction site in the next three hours, Shredder will set both Fishface and Dogpound on Central Park…"

Karai's eyes widened again, her irritation with the turtle washing away. Over the past month, she and the red haired kunoichi in training had formed a strong friendship, despite everything she had done to them before she had seen the error of her actions and left The Foot Clan. Hearing about the abduction of her father was shocking to say the least, but not something that Karai found surprising; it was Shredder after all. Only he would stoop to levels such as these. The young woman's brows furrowed together in anger. "I see. But what happens if you don't bring April?"

Letting his arms fall to his side, Leo exhaled again. "If we don't bring them April…Shredder said they'll mutate her father."

Despite herself, Karai couldn't restrain the gasp that escaped her lips. No…they wouldn't dare do that, not to Kirby. She bit back another snarl. "It seems as though Shredder's vendetta really has turned him insane…" she growled lowly.

"You've got that right," Leo nodded, casting his gaze to the wall, unable to face Karai. "We have someone who can help us with our mutant problem, but if we don't have April, then it's all over anyways…" he looked down to the floor in desolation. "Karai, for the first time in a while…I have no idea what to do or how to fix this…some leader I turned out to be, huh?"

Watching Leo practically deflate before her, Karai scowled. No, he was not doing this, not now. His team needed him, and so did April. Karai let the turtle boy get away with a lot of things, just as he did for her. But if there was one thing that she refused to tolerate, it was letting him continue to think that he was no good. In her eyes, and in the eyes of the family and friends that loved him, he was more than fit to be their leader. Shaking her head as she let out a soft breath, she reached out and laid a gentle hand on his face. He nearly flinched at the action, but he didn't move as she raised his chin to meet her eyes, full of understanding and firm resolve. "Don't worry, Leonardo," she declared, laying her other hand on his shoulder as she squeezed it once. "I'll personally make sure no one touches April or her father. You can count on that…"

Leo remained silent for a moment, simply staring up at her and blinking once in surprise. Karai was never really one to express herself through words most of the time; she was like Raph, in that they were both very physical when it came to conveying their true feelings. But Leo, being Leo, could read through their actions like a book.

The hand on his shoulder…it meant that she would stand by him and fight. And the hand on his face…it meant that she would stay by his side, no matter what the cost.

The young leader smiled softly as he placed his lager hand over hers, squeezing it lightly. "Thank you, Karai…" he said quietly.

Upon finding that her little plan had worked, Karai suddenly smiled mischievously. "What? Is that all I get for flying all the way from Japan to help your sorry shells? I could have just stayed and let you crash and burn without me," she teased again.

Rolling his eyes and unable to prevent a little grin from spreading, Leo chuckled. "Very funny. C'mere, you!" he snickered as he suddenly snaked his free arm around her waist, taking the young woman by surprised pulled Karai closer. Leo's lips found Karai's a second later, and after the surprise had worn off, Karai allowed herself to relax into it. One hand slid down to her waist, and the other gently cradled the back of her head. Her arms wrapped around his neck as he deepened the kiss.

If there was anything Leo had missed more between the two of them, it was moments like this. Moments like this that made everything, the burdens he felt, the stress that sometimes mounted on him, suddenly disappear…

"Woo-hoo! I see London, I see France, and I see Leo kissing his GIRLFRIEND!"

Eyes flying wide open, they abruptly parted as their gazes snapped upwards. They saw Raphael smirking down at them from the rooftop above, staring down at the pair with a grin wide enough to spilt his face in two.

Leo's face was a portrait of humiliation as he gaped up at him, struggling to form words for several seconds due to his outrage. How long had he been watching them?! Better yet, why hadn't Leo sensed him there?! "R-RAPH!" he squawked, wincing inwardly at the pathetic stutter. "What're you -?"

Green eyes glinting with mischief, Raph then laughed out loud, dangling Leo's bag with the tip of his Sai in a taunting gesture. "I was wondering where you were, because you left your freaking bag of 'shopping' on the roof! You're supposed to be helping us out here, but hey, it's good to see that you're having fun, fearless leader!" he mocked.

Leo clenched his fists and ground his teeth together. "I'm so gonna kill you!" he cursed, his cheeks flaming red.

"Well, you gotta come up here and catch me first, Love-o-nardo!" Raph called down mockingly. "Oh, by the way, good to see you again, sweetheart!" he saluted to Karai, who waved back with a smirk of her own, seeming completely unfazed by Raph's taunting.

He then stood up, shouldering both his bags and Leo's. "Come on, Leo, Keno's not even a ninja and he's already half way there! Bring your girlfriend along if you have to!" he called as he disappeared from the rooftop.

Letting his head dropped, Leo sighed in agitation. "Its times like these that I really wish I'd let Dogpound eat him!" he muttered crossly as he folded his arms and pouted slightly, a mad blush coating his cheeks. Stupid little brothers ruining moments between him and Karai…

By his side, the kunoichi only snickered. She saw why Raph loved to rile his older brother up; to see Leo all flustered like this was actually pretty amusing. It was one of the many things that made their relationship so fun. Rolling her eyes, she leaned in and planted a final kiss on his cheek, jolting him out of his tantrum as she grabbed a bag from behind one of the dumpsters and leapt up to the fire escape on the side of the building. "Come on, Casanova," she called. "I think I have an idea on how to help April."

Letting go of his embarrassment for now as he nodded firmly, Leonardo followed her lead as he bounded up the fire escape and climbed to the rooftop, trying to hide the mad blush across his face as the two ninjas disappeared into the night.

Below the surface, the hideout was buzzing with activity as the Hamato family and the scientist set to work. Donatello worked diligently by Dr. Falco's side with the mixture of various chemicals that he needed to create whatever he had in store to stop Dogpound and Fishface, though they were still a few ingredients short. All they required were the chemicals that Leonardo, Raphael and Keno had set out to retrieve.

Michelangelo had wanted to help too, practically begging his older brother to have him do something useful. So Donatello put him to sit and watch the thermometer that they had set within one of the test tubes that monitored the heat of a precious liquid that was essential to the potion, instructing Mikey to watch 'the long red thing' in case it got too low, or too high. Mikey promised Donatello that he could do it, but the tech guru didn't get his hopes up.

So far however, Mikey remained seated on a bench as still as a rock, staring at the thermometer with intense concentration, and Donnie found himself surprised. Mikey was taking this situation far more seriously than Donnie had ever thought the giddy, younger turtle would have.

Whilst they were at work, April and Master Splinter assisted them in moving and removing various spare parts or discarded chemicals that the scientists no longer needed or had already used, safely depositing them in a safe place in case they were needed again for later. As for Casey Jones, he had gone off to prepare himself for the approaching battle that they were all pretty sure could not be avoided. April had advised against it strongly, but he simply replied by waving her off and saying, "Are you kidding me? Do you know what this is, Red? This is Casey Jones versus Mutants, Aliens and evil Robo-Ninjas! Coolest freaking thing in the universe!" and then left her, pumping his fist in the air with undisguised glee.

April had rolled her eyes as she watched him leave. Casey Jones truly was a crazy idiot.

It was during all this activity that Leo, Raph, Keno and one other visitor carrying a backpack entered into the hideout. "We're back with the stuff you asked for, Dr. Falco!" Leo called as they made their way down the steps of the hideout, holding out the bags for Falco to see.

Trusting Donatello to continue the experiments without error, Falco turned from their work with a smile and took the bags from them, quickly peering inside to make sure they had acquired everything. He then nodded once and looked back up at the two mutants and the boy. "Thank you, boys. You have all done an excellent job," he praised, setting the bags carefully down onto the floor next to Donnie's workspace. "These ingredients will surely help us with the…"

He stopped mid-sentence as he caught sight of another person standing behind Leo, looking around the hideout and nodding her head in silent approval. He also couldn't help but notice how her armor looked very similar to that of a Foot Soldiers'.

He swallowed thickly. "…um, w-who is this?" he stuttered hesitantly, gesturing Karai.

Upon noticing Falco's apprehension, Leo quickly reassured him. "Oh, don't worry, Dr. Falco. She's no enemy. In fact, she's a pretty close friend of ours…she's…" the blue clad turtle then looked down bashfully, a new blush starting to form across his face. "Um, well, s-she's –"

Raph cut him off with an arm around his shoulders and a hand over his mouth. "It's his girlfriend!" he teased, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. All movement came to a stop as all heads snapped in their direction, including Michelangelo's despite his rapt attention on the thermometer.

Leo slapped Raph's hand away from his mouth and face palmed. "I hate you, Raph…" he mumbled miserably, blushing once again as he heard the fond chuckles of his father and Dr. Falco. "I hate you so much…"

Raph only folded his arms and smirked. "Happy to help."

"Karai!" Mikey cried excitedly as he shot up from where he sat monitoring the thermometer, and in seconds he was across the room and hugging Karai tightly, nearly lifting her off the floor with his strength. "We missed you, dudette!"

Despite feeling as if she had just been hit full force by a train, Karai chuckled down at the younger turtle. "I missed you guys too, Mikey," she said as she patted his shell, though it was difficult to do so with her arms pinned to her side. Truth be told, before she had met the turtles, physical affection was something that Karai struggled with, due to her distant relationship with her father, the Shredder. Now, however, the family of mutants had managed to wriggle the affection out of her, especially after she and Leo had started dating. She was still trying to get used to the whole hugging thing, but the others alleged that she was doing pretty well.

"Hey, Karai! Welcome back!" Donnie waved from the other side of the room, though his eyes remained focused on the solution of chemicals before him; he didn't want to make a mistake and have the whole thing blow up in his face…again.

After carefully setting down a box of used test tubes on the floor, April hurried eagerly over to the black haired kunoichi, who was still trapped in Mikey's arms. "Hey Karai! Long time no see! What're you doing back here so early?" April asked with her first real smile that night.

Karai patted Mikey on the shell again as he finally released her, stepping to the side next to Leo and still giddy with joy. After offering Mikey one last smile, Karai turned her serious expression to her red-haired friend. "I'm here to help you, April," she said firmly. "Shredder has taken his stupid vendetta too far…and I meant it when I said I was going to take him down. We'll stop him and these 'Kraang' aliens, and then we'll get your father back. No matter what it takes."

Karai then reached out and rested a firm hand on the other girls' shoulder, squeezing it lightly as she offered April a reassuring smile. "You can count on that, April."

Blinking away the shock and the tears that threatened to spill over once again, April smiled back at her with immense gratitude, and leaned forward to hug her friend tightly. "…thank you, Karai," she whispered against her shoulder.

Chuckling, Karai hugged her back with all the comfort she could possibly give. The others in the room smiled as they watched the exchange. They knew how close the two kunoichi's had gotten over the past few months; they were as close as sisters now, and rightly so. And they knew for sure that the ex-Foot Clan ninja would keep her word, no matter what. After all, if she could fight by their side before, she could do it again.

As the two drew away, with April wiping a finger under her eye to clear whatever tears had managed to escape, Leo stepped forwards and placed a large green hand on Karai's shoulder. "I think Karai also said she has a plan regarding how we can get your father back, April," he said, sharing a smile with her.

April snapped her hope filled gaze to the black haired kunoichi, "You do?! What is it?!" she probed eagerly. Just about any plan they could conceive to get passed the Kraang and Shredder would be good enough for her right about now.

At April's outburst, Karai smiled ominously as she bent down and picked up the black bag she had brought with her. It was the oldest trick in the book, but if they played their card correctly, Karai was sure that no one would ever notice the difference. "If you will please follow me, Miss O'Neil," she answered nonchalantly, wrapping an arm around April's shoulders as they both walked away from the group and stepped into another subway car with her bag in hand, firmly shutting the door behind her.

The turtles stared after them, blinking in confusion. "I will never understand women," Raph said.

"Agreed," the others in the room replied in unison as they set back to work.

With his brows furrowed together in concentration, Falco worked as fast as he was able, but made sure that the chemicals in hand were handled with the utmost care. Every drop of the ingredients Leo, Raph and Keno had brought was essential to perfecting the solution. Turning to Donatello, Falco quickly asked, "Donatello, what is the temperature?"

Donnie looked over to Mikey, who had now retaken his seat in front of the thermometer, and he nodded. Mikey nodded back, glad to be of use at last, and he peered closely at where the red line had stopped, narrowing his eyes. "…uuhh…it says three thirty-eight!" he piped up.

Smiling, Donnie turned back to Falco. "It's three thirty-eight kelvin, Dr. Falco," he repeated, patting Mikey proudly on the shoulder. Mikey beamed up at him. Finally, something he had done right for a change.

"Michelangelo, pass me the dimethyl chloride, please," asked Falco, holding his hand out expectantly as he kept his focus on the solution in front of him.

Blinking once, Mikey only stared at him blankly. "Who with the what now?" he barked, raising a confused brow at the human scientist.

Donnie rolled his eyes and slapped his forehead. "That thing!" he pointed an aggravated green finger to the pink tinted test tube on the desk beside Mikey, which happened to be right next to the chemical with the thermometer inside.

"Oh, right!" Mikey carefully picked up the selected test tube and handed it over to Falco. "Y'know, not to criticize science or anything, but wouldn't it be easier just to say 'the pink one'?" Mikey deadpanned. Falco shook his head with a chuckle. Donnie slapped his forehead gain in agitation.

Handling the dimethyl chloride with care as he poured it into a larger test tube, Falco turned his attention back to the purple clad turtle, who was now slapping Mikey's hand away from an overflowing tube. "Donatello, continue aeration," he instructed.

Making sure Mikey was safely away from the experiment, Donnie nodded once as he moved over to where Falco had stood earlier, and using a wooden spoon, he stirred the solution carefully. "Continuing aeration" Donnie replied.

After helping Splinter move away the last of the boxes, Raph stepped over to the desk and took a whiff of the substance they were creating. He made a disgusted face as his nose wrinkled. "Ugh! Man, this stuff is rank!" he coughed, pinching his nose in repulsion. "Are you guys sure this stuff is actually gonna work?"

Falco nodded to Raphael's query as he closely examined the substance, whilst shifting something inside his lab coat with his free hand, making sure the others were oblivious to the action. "Yes, Raphael, I believe it will," he said. "Whilst I was held hostage by Shredder and the Kraang, I was ordered to modify the mutagen to make Bradford and Xever –"

"Dogpound and Fishface, you mean!"

"…yes, Michelangelo. I was ordered to make Dogpound and Fishface much stronger than their current state by modifying the mutagen sample I was given. In arrears to the circumstance, I had no knowledge really on how the mutagen actually functioned, and so I kept failing after several tries due to contaminations out of my control. But I had no idea that, in reality I was actually trying to create a retro-mutagen based on that contamination."

Lifting his head up from the substance he was stirring, Donnie gasped, his eyes widening in realization. "Of course!" he cried, dropping the wooden spoon completely, unaware that it was melting as he became excited. "A retro-mutagen that would act as a catalytic agent to either repel or even subjugate the mutagen contemporaneous within their DNA -"

"Resulting in both Bradford and Xever degenerating back to their original states of being," Falco continued with a smile.

Donnie grinned back. "Which we can then use to feasibly eradicate the contemporary quantity of mutagen that the Kraang already hold –"

And in perfect unison, they chorused, "And then saving the city from any supplementary threats of genetic alterations!" The two scientists then laughed as they shared a high five before hugging each other. "Finally, somebody else who speaks English!" Donnie joked as he released Falco, and patted his shoulder with a goofy gapped toothed grin.

As the scene played out, the others in the room now joined by Casey (who had just entered the room after gathering his hockey sticks) stared at the two scientists in bewilderment. Raising a confused brow, Mikey looked over to Raph. "Is that what just happened?" he asked.

Raph only shrugged nonchalantly at his little brother. "I guess that's Geek Speak for, 'yeah, it will work,'" he deadpanned, earning chuckle from Leo next to him. Donnie only folded his arms and scowled at his brothers.

"Gentlemen, may I have your attention," Falco announced, interrupting the conversation before it could break out into a brawl as the turtles, Splinter, Keno and Casey gathered around him. "Leonardo, could you hand me that glass beside Michelangelo on the desk, please?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah sure," Leo said as he moved around Mikey to hand him the glass cup. Falco took the glass and carefully poured the bright green ooze into it, his eyes narrowed in concentration.

Peeking over Raph's shoulder, Casey made a face. The substance that he poured into the glass was orange in color, and smelled as if it had just come out of the sewers itself. "You sure this stuff's gonna do the trick?" Casey asked, eyeing the glowing glass skeptically.

"Well, we won't know exactly until we spray those guys with it, Casey," Leo said. "And once their turned back, we shouldn't have too much of a problem taking them out and then saving April's dad, right Donnie?" He turned to his taller younger brother expectantly.

Eyes widening, Donnie looked down and apprehensively played with the wrappings on his hand. "Well, actually…" he began nervously.

"'Well actually' what?" Raph barked, not liking the tone that Donnie had used. And he certainly didn't like where this conversation was eventually heading. Why was there always a catch to everything that Donnie made, whether it was a phone or a bomb?

"W-well," Donnie laughed timidly, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck. "Falco told me that with all the ingredients we situated inside the chemical, it would appear that ingestion is the only potential development we ought to proceed," he explained.

The rest stared blankly at him, but Leo was the first to recover as his mouth fell open and his eyes widened. "Wait…you mean they have to eat it?!" he exclaimed.

Donnie nodded sadly. "Affirmative."

The turtles groaned collectively, slapping their foreheads in despair. "Great. That should be easy," Casey muttered under his breath, folding his arms crossly over his chest.

"How are we gonna talk a giant mutant dog and fish into eating this?!" Raph cried angrily, "Better yet, how are we even gonna keep this thing from spilling all over the place if we have to fight these guys?"

It was then that Keno had a terrible thought as he gazed at the mutant turtles one by one. "Um…Donnie, quick question," he piped up. "If that stuff could turn Fishface and Dogpound back into humans, then what would happen if that stuff did spill and got all over one of you?"

The mutants all fell silent, casting a wary glance at the glass cup filled with the retro-mutagen in Falco's hands. They all took a big, cautious step backwards. Keno was right; if even a drop of that retro-mutagen was to make contact with their skin, it would turn them back into ordinary turtles. And if Shredder were to find out about it and manage to steal it from them…

Leo swallowed thickly. "O-okay," he began, snapping the others out of their thoughts as they turned to their blue clad leader, "We need to think of a way to contain the retro-mutagen – safely – and think of a way to get Dogpound and Fishface to eat it."

Raph folded his arms, giving his older brother a look. "Oh, sure, because I think they'll totally be down to having that stuff handed to them on a silver platter," he deadpanned, "I reckon we should use Donnie as bait and shove it down their throats –"

"Hey! Why am I the bait?"

"I second that! Let's bait Donnie!"

"Casey, you're not helping!"

"I'm not tryin' to help."

As the others began arguing on what to do, with Donnie sending Casey a death glare, Mikey turned his back on them and hummed in thought for a moment, blocking out the sounds of arguing around him as he wracked his brain for an idea. What could be safe enough to carry a chemical that could pretty much send him and his brothers into the nearest restaurant? A plastic bottle? Another canister? Or maybe –

Suddenly, it hit him, and he grinned widely as he turned back to his quarreling family. "Well, I've got an idea guys!" he announced, raising his hand in the air eagerly.

The others ceased their arguing at the younger turtles' announcement, and leaned in close. Well, apart from Raphael that is, who turned to Leo with a cautious expression. "Why do I feel slightly nauseated?" he grumbled. Leo nudged him with his elbow, but he inwardly couldn't help but agree.

Standing up straight, Mikey cleared his throat dramatically. "We could, like, solidify the retro-mutagen sample into ice cube trays, and if we get close enough, just shove it down their throats at the right time," he declared confidently, folding his hands behind his back and grinning.

The room suddenly became deathly silent.

Mikey turned to find everyone in the room staring at him. "What?" he asked. "Was it something I said?"

Raph turned to Leo with wide eyes. "Mikey had a good idea?"

Leo looked over to Donnie. "Mikey had a good idea?"

Donnie nodded slowly, never taking his eyes away from their baby brother. "Mikey had a good idea."

A/N: I hoped you all liked this one! I dropped a 2K3 moment in there at the end, and also, I've never written a kiss scene before. Don't judge! See you next chapter!