A/N: Guess what, readers/reviewers? This story has officially gotten more reviews than anything I've ever written! So, thanks for that! Go ahead… give yourself a pat on the back!

Scribe of Turesa: ^_^ Thanks! Glad you think so… Leo certainly did!

Sara: Heh, I can't feel sorry for Bishop cause he messed with my beloved Donny! But he sure is getting abused, lol. Donny really did have fun. LOTS of fun. And they're not finished yet, heeheehee…

Pig: LOL, everyone seems to agree that Donny probably enjoyed that whole scene. My response? Oh heck YES he did! HAHAHA!

WebMistressGina: Thank you, thank you… Leo is really a deviously minded turtle, when he sets his mind to it. He can come up with a doozy of a plan!

Mew Sakura: =D You weren't the only one. I think Don and Leo were snickering at Bishop the whole time (very discreetly of course, haha).

Thanks, of course, to the wonderful Mikell, and all that she had to put up with. Like me leaving her with a cliffhanger like THIS until I could figure out a suitable solution. Heh heh heh…

Oh boy, hold on tight. The next few chapters are gonna get epic. =D

All through the Foot Tower, the ninja were on red alert, Class One, top priority, all-out Turtle Watch. Those Foot soldiers who were relatively new to the clan found themselves scurrying all over the place, trying to figure out what the big deal was, while older members geared themselves up for a full-scale war.

The more experienced fighters could feel the shift of balance in the air. They had fought the turtles in the past, and always lost. Even when they won, they had never killed a turtle before (though not from lack of trying; they simply had never managed…). They had never taken the fight so far beyond the thin line drawn by the terrapins. They had never been truly afraid that they were about to die, that they might not survive the coming fury.

Their ninja turtle enemies had strict codes of honor. All the Foot knew this, especially ones who had fought with them before. The turtles never killed. Sure, they'd knock the crap out of a ninja; even make it to where he might never fight again. Still, no Foot ninja had ever been slain by a turtle's hand, as of yet.

From the looks they had seen on the three remaining turtles' faces, this was about to change.

As ninja, trained under the harsh Master Shredder himself, there were very few things in the world that would scare – truly terrify – a Foot soldier.

As it turned out, a furious turtle, hell-bent on revenge, was one of them. And there would be three there soon.

No one doubted that the turtles would show up. Their leader had sworn vengeance, and it had looked like the one in red was already out of his mind with rage. No one wanted to be in his way, when he showed up.

So, the Tower that night was filled with paranoid ninja, roaming the halls, constantly looking over their shoulders, jumping at small noises, and swinging at anyone who accidentally came up behind them.

Even still, they managed to miss the helmeted turtle sneaking in until he was in the middle of the great room where Shredder was gearing up for battle.

oOo oOo oOo

Shredder had been expecting an attack to come, of course. It was a matter of honor, for the turtles; they would have to avenge their brother. That was just fine with Shredder. Let them come; he was prepared for them. He had his main office covered, in case they tried to sneak in. He had the front doors guarded, in case they abandoned all sense of secrecy in their emotional state. He was ready for almost anything.

What he wasn't prepared for was to see the turtle he had already killed standing in his hall with Bishop's helmet on his head.

Sparing the government agent had been a mistake; this much was plain. However he had managed to bring the turtle back to life was unimportant; all that mattered was fixing the situation.

The turtle had his traditional wooden bo strapped to his back and a duffel bag across his shoulders. He had walked right into the room, a little stiffly, before the Foot ninja had sent up the alarm.

Shredder had recovered from the shock as quickly and gracefully as possible, preferring to let the mysteries remain mysteries in exchange for a quick kill. Bishop would expect him to ask questions; he planned only on getting rid of this upstart.

"Don't be a fool, Bishop," Shredder snorted, before Bishop had time to make the turtle speak for him. He stepped forward, the light glistening off the spiked gauntlet that he wore. He smiled in anticipation, though it was lost behind his helmet.

"You couldn't even fight my ninja without knocking yourself out with your own weapons. You think that giving Donatello his usual weapon will do you any good? You are no match for me."

Still, the turtle didn't draw his weapon, but stood in the middle of the room, as though awaiting directions. Finally, he spoke, sounding as confident and arrogant as ever.

"I don't need a weapon at all. Let ninja play with their swords and sticks. We do things differently in the government."

Mechanically, the turtle opened the bag that sat across his shoulders. The surrounding Foot ninja watched cautiously, ready to swarm in at the merest glance from their master. However, they were quickly dissuaded from moving at all by the tiny device that the turtle brought forth.

They couldn't quite see what it was, but it was small, round, and ticking, leaving little doubt as to its overall purpose.

"Everyone stay right where you are," the turtle said, cold as a New York snowfall. "There's enough explosive power in here to blow the entire Tower and half the street around it." His helmeted face swiveled to take in the crowd of ninja before turning to point directly at Shredder.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance," he intoned, holding the detonator out threateningly.

Shredder laughed, but didn't move. He wasn't buying it… Bishop was surely bluffing. The government agent wasn't suicidal, after all. On the other hand… Shredder frowned. Blowing them all up wouldn't hurt Bishop at all, would it? Only the turtle would be killed. Still, it was surely a bluff.

"You would throw away all your plans just to kill me?" he pointed out skeptically. "That helmet only works on one turtle… if you blow him up with me and my ninja, it will all have been for nothing. I don't believe you'll actually do it."

"A good point, except for that this was the plan all along, Saki…" the turtle said, a grotesque grin forced onto his face. "Destroying you."

Shredder's eyes narrowed. Before he could think of a good reply, his attention was swiftly attracted to the commotion coming from outside the room.

"Saki!"

Shredder and all the ninja spun as the doors were slammed against the wall with great force and Agent Bishop came stomping in, looking furious.

"Saki!" Bishop thundered again. "You've gone too far! I will NOT let you get away with this! I was a fool to buy your lies, but believe me when I say, I won't be making that mistake again!"

Shredder crossed his arms over his chest. Unbelievable. The nerve of this pesky agent. To arrogantly walk right into the Tower that he had threatened to blow up? With the turtle right there? Oh, this was rich. Shredder would bet anything that next Bishop would try denying any involvement with this.

"And exactly what lies are you not going to believe?" he sneered. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you where you stand for your treachery?"

"My treachery?" Bishop laughed. "You've already tried to kill me, but it didn't work, remember? And you know exactly what lies I mean… you… you… alien!"

In spite of himself, Shredder was lost for words. There was no bluff on the agent's face… somehow; he had actually figured it out. Unbelievable. How had he managed that?! Shredder had taken every precaution! Nobody knew his secret, other than those loyal to him. And, of course, the turtles… but they couldn't prove it. Even if they had told Bishop, the agent would have no reason to believe them.

No point in denying it, though… Bishop knew already. Better to find out where the leak in information had come from.

"How did you find out?"

"What do you mean, how did I find out?" Bishop exploded. Shredder hadn't expected it to be such a difficult question, but now it seemed as though Bishop was the one with nothing to say. "What… how the hell do you think I found out?"

"If I knew," Shredder said coolly, "I can assure you, I would not waste my time asking. Who told you?"

"YOU did!"

"I told you?" Shredder asked in disbelief. What exactly did this government lackey think he was going to accomplish with this absurdity?

"Yes! Remember? When you sent the turtle to kill me? Or has all of this somehow slipped from your disgusting, alien mind?"

Shredder still couldn't figure out what plan might be in Bishop's head to bring about this ridiculous line of conversation. He didn't like being toyed with. Shredder shook his metal head. The audacity of this man was truly astounding.

"The turtle?" he repeated waspishly. Stepping to the side, Shredder gestured at the turtle behind him, standing stock still in the middle of the room, since he was obviously not being given orders at the moment. "You mean, this turtle?"

"Yes, that's the-"

"The one you sent here to kill me?"

"What? You're the one who told me he was dead! How could I have possibly…" Bishop suddenly trailed off, finally getting a look at the turtle behind Shredder. "Wait just a minute…"

Bishop squinted at the unmoving turtle. Something was fishy, here. Something about the scene just wasn't quite right. Donatello shouldn't have been able to get there ahead of him. Someone was playing him for a fool, but by now he wasn't sure who exactly it was.

"Donatello was dead!" Shredder argued, pressing on with his attempt to figure out what was happening. "I saw him. How could you have saved him? And how did you get to him, when you were nowhere near the fight? Did the turtles take him to you? Did they try to make a deal?"

The more Shredder thought about it, the more sense it made to him. "They did, didn't they? They agreed to help you bring me down if you could revive their brother! Do they know that you've forced him in here with a bomb, or have you double-crossed them, too? Yes, of course you would."

Bishop was no longer listening. He had been studying the turtle closely… for the most part it hadn't moved a bit, but in the middle of Saki's tirade, he could see the smallest of twitches in the corner of its mouth, as though it was trying not to smile. And perhaps it was the bad lighting, but was his skin suddenly a different shade of green? Several pieces of the puzzle clicked together simultaneously.

"Saki, you fool! You've been tricked! Are you blind?" Bishop strode forward and grabbed the turtle by the arm. He plucked the ticking device out of his hand, then yanked him forward so that he stumbled and fell down to his knees.

"What is the meaning of this?" Shredder demanded. "You send Donatello in here under your control, with the intent to blow up my Tower, and dare to call me a fool? "

It took all of Bishop's iron self-control not to stomp the ground furiously. "This isn't Donatello, Saki! How can you not see that? And I told you, the helmet only works on him, so he is obviously not under my control! This is not Donatello!"

He ripped the device off of the turtle's head violently. Two orange bandana tails fluttered down from where they had been tucked up into the helmet.

"Heh heh… hey, dudes!" From his spot on the floor in the middle of the Foot Tower, grinning absurdly up at the two most dangerous men in New York City, was Michelangelo.

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