NOTE: Some elements in this chapter come from my earlier fic 'A Dangerous Captive' if you haven't read it, do so or you may not understand some parts in this chapter.

Chapter Eight

Big Trouble

Back in Chicago, Mona stood facing the thugs holding up her fans, she saw their weapons gleaming in the lights and she could see how sharp their knives were and her heart beat hard in panic, there were over fifteen of them and only one of her.

"Fuck…" she thought "Why did I choose to go out? Why did I get into a fight with Tyroth and Sephie and get myself into this mess?"

As she watched the thugs get closer, they all stared her up and down.

"You're in deep shit bitch!" the thugs jeered "We're gonna cut you up nice and good!"

Mona was terrified, she kept her eyes on the thugs and kept turning around to look at all angles, still keeping her weapons up, and her ears open for any slight movement.

She had taken down hordes of gangsters and Foot Ninja, but she always had back up, this time it was just her alone.

"Shit…" she thought "Come on Mona….focus….you can do it…" she glared and looked around trying to figure out her options, of course the thugs outnumbered her with their weapons, but they didn't have her kung fu and ninja training.

"Okay then…" she thought taking a few breathes "God be with me…"

She gritted her teeth and watched as the gang stopped for a second then someone shouted "Tear the bitch apart!"

On that order the gang went for the Lizard Lady and Mona stood her ground, yet she waited for the right moment and as a small group came towards her, she leapt into the air and landed on one thug's head sending him flying into his comrade.

Mona then did a somersault and landed before a couple of thugs who pulled out a couple of knives, but she leaned back on her tail and kicked her legs upwards disarming them and making the thugs cry out in shock.

Mona then did another flip then launched herself at the thugs making them fall backwards and they knocked over several of their friends like dominos.

"Yes..." she thought triumphantly then turned to the other gangsters who all looked worried yet held up their weapons to fight the lizard lady.

In Mutopia, Tyroth and Sephie made it back to the party and saw the turtles who were standing in a corner laughing and joking

"Oh man…" Sephie said in a worried voice "What will the others say?"

"Don't panic Sephie." Said Amber "They'll help! If their sister's upset they'll do all they can to help her!"

The turtles meanwhile had been completely oblivious to everything that had happened and were laughing and joking.

"It has to be said guys!" said Michelangelo as he glugged some punch "Mutopia do the best Christmas Parties!"

"You said it Mikey!" said Donatello "Certainly beats ours!"

"Just wait till they do New Year!" said Sharky as he walked over to join them "Then we'll show you a real party!"

"Awesome!" said Michelangelo "Can't wait!"

"It's a shame April and Casey had to miss this." Leonardo said.

"Yeah, shame." Raphael agreed "but there's always next year!"

The others agreed then they looked over to Tyroth who walked over to them looking flustered.

"Hey Big T!" said Michelangelo "What's up?"

"You guys seen Mona anywhere?" asked Tyroth.

The turtles looked confused.

"No…" said Donatello.

Raphael's eyes widened and he looked around expecting Mona to be around somewhere but he soon saw Tyroth was right, Mona was nowhere to be seen.

"Looks like you can't keep track of your mate Raph!" said Jack in a jokey way to which Raphael glared at him.

"Is something wrong?" asked Leonardo suspiciously.

Tyroth bit his lip.

"Can we talk?" he asked gesturing to the door.

The turtles followed the dragon to the door and they stood in the hallway.

"What's going on T?" asked Donatello.

"What's happened to Mona?" asked Raphael, his voice was a slight snarl.

Tyroth looked nervous, but he swallowed his nerves and told the turtles everything in one long breath.

"She what!?" cried Leonardo.

"Oh no…" said Donatello.

Michelangelo and Raphael just stared at each other in shock.

"Damn!" cried Leonardo "Why didn't I see anything wrong?"

"She was good at hiding her feelings." Said Donatello "Very much like you Leo!"

"Well what are we waiting for!?" said Raphael "Let's go and find her!"

"We've already searched Mutopia!" said Amber "We checked her room, the dojo even the toilets; we don't know where she went!"

"There's someone else who will know!" said Tyroth "Hacker! He can check the cameras to see where she went!"

"Well come on then!" said Leonardo, he then turned to Donatello "Go and get Master Splinter!"

"On it Leo!" said Donatello as he went to look for Splinter.

In Chicago, Mona clashed her fans against the weapons of several thugs, even though she had knocked down a few, they were still strong in numbers against her and she knew she would soon tire out.

She didn't like the idea of running, but in this situation, she had to get out of the fight and flee.

"A warrior never runs!" she thought as she slashed her weapons at the thugs, "But what choice do I have? There's loads of them and one of me..."

She slashed her fan at one thug catching his wrist and making him drop his weapon, then she kicked another backwards.

As she did she tried to find a clear opening so she could run and the thugs couldn't follow her, she punched another thug in the face then saw an alleyway leading further into the city and into the darkness.

She slashed her weapon at other thug, but as she turned she suddenly felt a hand grab her hair and she was pulled back, then she felt a large hand punch her in the lower side followed by a sharp pain.

"Gotcha slut!" shouted a voice in her ear, then he pressed against her side further making the pain worse.

Mona cried out in pain, yet she moved quickly by elbowing him in the stomach then punching him in the face making him let go of her hair.

Then seeing her chance, she raced for the alleyway.

"Get her!" shouted the thug who got punched to which two thugs standing nearby went to chase Mona.

Yet Mona ran as fast as she could into the alleyway and vanished into the darkness.

"You let her go!" shouted the punched thug.

The thugs who attempted to chase Mona cursed until they suddenly saw a bright red trail of blood on the ground and one of them smirked.

"Hmmm, I think we won't have to worry..." said one of them "The bitch has left a trail!"

The thug looked at the trail and then at his hand and saw it too was soaked in blood.

"Very good..." he said in a dangerous tone and looking into the dark alleyway "Let's go...she can run...but she can't hide..."

Back in Mutopia, Hacker the Mutant Spider sat in his computer room checking through the CCTV images around Mutopia whilst the turtles, Sephie, Splinter, Tyroth and Amber watched worried.

Splinter was disappointed Mona had snapped at Tyroth and Amber, yet he did understand where she was coming from, he knew his adopted daughter's past and he guessed seeing Tyroth and Amber with her family sprouted some jealousy and longing for the same luck.

"I shall be having a few words with Monalisa." He said.

"You're not mad at her are you?" asked Sephie.

"No my child." Said Splinter "But I will be asking her a few questions about her behaviour."

"With these babies I installed!" he said proudly "We'll be able to see where anyone is! Well…almost!"

"Hope you don't use these to spy on people?" asked Amber in a firm voice.

"As if I would!" said Hacker "No way! I always respect privacy!" he turned to one TV screen and he soon saw a figure in black walking to the entrance.

"Hey wait a minute!" he said "Whose that?"

The turtles looked closer at the screen as Hacker played the image again.

"That's Mona!" Raphael cried out "That's what she wears in extremely cold weather or when we're infiltrating gangster nests in disguise!"

"And also the hair's a huge giveaway!" said Michelangelo "Only Mona has that mess of dark brown waves!"

"She's left Mutopia!" cried Tyroth, going pale as he saw where Mona went "Oh no! and in her state…she might be vulnerable!"

"Talk about calling the kettle!" said Sephie as she remembered when Tyroth had been captured by Dr Arden and she had tried to save him herself yet Mona had tried to stop her with the same preaching.

"Then we better go get her!" said Raphael "Before she hurts herself!" he turned to run but Leonardo stopped him.

"Wait Raph!" he said "We got to make a plan to find her and bring her back, Chicago's a huge city!"

"Not as huge as New York though!" said Donatello as he pulled out his shell-cell.

"What are you doing Don?" asked Tyroth.

"Seeing if I can see Mona's signal!" said Donatello "That is if she took her Shell-Cell with her."

"Good thinking Donnie!" said Leonardo.

Donatello pressed the tracking button on his shell cell and he soon saw a red flash on his phone.

"Got her!" he said "She's in Chicago!"

"Knew it!" said Tyroth "Come on! We better get her back! It's freezing cold out there! So if the thugs don't get her, the cold will!"

"Mona's a strong girl." Said Leonardo "She can take care of herself, but in extreme weather, she could be vulnerable!"

"Then let's go!" said Raphael "Hurry!" he then lead the way out of the room, the others running behind him.

Oh no! Mona did manage to get out of the fight...but...she's injured, yet how badly?

It seems the others have realized she's missing, but will they find her?