By the time Tracey and Leo got to the safehouse Tracey's stomach was a roiling mess of nerves. She and Leo were entering through a basement sewer access. It took them about twenty minutes to make their way through the safe house only to discover that it had been abandoned. Artemis and Raph came to a similar conclusion in their safehouse and Artemis texted Tracey after the 15 minute mark. "Empty safehouse. You?"
Tracey looked around and made sure they were well hidden in the safe house before she pulled out her phone and high-lighted Artemis's name and clicked. "Empty here too, we should head over to Donnie and Mikey's location and see if they need help. Text me the address."
The address popped up on her screen a minute later. "Don't go in til we get there." The next text message read.
When she and Leo got to the safehouse Artemis was arguing in a low voice with Raph who looked like he was about ready to just walk past her into the safehouse. Tracey giggled softly and shook her head at their argument before crouching low and tapping Raph on the shoulder, making him jump a little. "You really should wait for us Raph, the more people watching your tight little ass the better." She laughed with another shake of her head. "Are you ready to go in? How far in did Donnie and Mikey get?"
"We don't know. They haven't responded to the texts and we've been here for about five minutes and they've probably been in there for about twenty-five so I'm getting worried." Artemis replied looking a little worried. "We can get in through a basement window Raph broke when we got here."
Tracey's facial features turned to concern and she checked her phone and found that she didn't have any messages from Donnie either. She knew they could handle themselves, but she was still starting to get worried. The last time they were paired off, Raph and Mikey got caught by the police and Casey and April got arrested after they escaped. Now it could be a little different, but she'd feel better if they found Donnie and Mikey alright.
"Alright, let's go then." Tracey said, making sure the coast was clear and slipping quietly through the window. "Leo if you'd be so kind as to lead the way. Artemis and I will cover our 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock and Raph can cover our 6... or Artemis's 6." She smirked a little at the last part as Leo led them through the halls.
"Of all the times to have a digital watch." Artemis quipped as she checked around a corner.
Once they left the basement the halls were crawling with foot clan soldiers. It took every scrap of training Leo and Raph had to take them down one at a time without alerting the rest of the safehouse. They eventually made their way to the central room and Artemis peered around the corner. "Donnie and Mikey are across the room against the wall… Mikey's not moving and Donnie looks hurt too. There are probably twenty foot clan soldiers...oh shit and Kurai…"
"Mikey? They hurt Mikey and Donnie?" Tracey's asked quietly before looking passed Artemis's shoulder and seeing that both brothers leaning against the wall and were bruised. Slowly her rage started to grow and her fists clenched until her knuckles were white. She couldn't overreact now and blown their cover by reacting irrationally. Taking a deep breath, Tracey let it out slowly and looked over to Leo and Raph before suggesting an idea to them.
"That bitch will pay... perhaps a distraction is in order? I'll set off an alarm somewhere else and while I draw away some the of the Foot Clan perhaps that will leave you only a few to stay behind for you guys to take care of."
Artemis thought for a moment. "The breaker is in the basement, Tracey, go flip all the switches to off. Raph I need you to string up one of those big nets across the doorframe. Leo be ready to knock the hell out of anyone in the net."
Tracey nodded, but before she crouched low to stick to the shadows and make her way to the basement, she looked at each of them briefly and smiled. "Be careful guys."
With that said, she moved off quietly and didn't meet any resistance. This made her smile a little and hoped that her cohorts were having as much luck as she was, no one said this was going to be easy. Following some power cables to the breaker box, Tracey peeked around the corner and sighed happily that no one was there.
Apparently the Foot Clan didn't think it was important to keep guard over the source of their power here and that would be their downfall. Slashing the lock on the breaker box with her Boken sword, Tracey grabbed the master switch and forced the power to shut off and then jabbed the sword in the box to keep the Foot Clan from restarting the power again. Upon the power going out, red lights suddenly started to flash and the emergency lights turned on, but the power was out. "And that's my cue to hit the ventilation shafts and get back to the others." Tracey said softly and jumped up to the nearest vent, popping open the grate and then replacing it before anyone could see where she had vanished to. 'I hope the others are okay.'
Once the lights went out everything happened fast. Leo had strung up the net and pulled it taut as soon as the lights went out. He and Raph had their hands full holding it for a few minutes as several foot clan soldiers ran into it but after Arteis used a brick to hit each soldier in the temple knocking them out they rolled them up still wrapped in the net and pushed them into a side room. They were able to take out the foot clan soldiers that remained as they came out to investigate and that only left Kurai who was circling warily around Donnie and Mikey. Artemis motioned for Raph and Leo to wait while she stood up and walked into the room hands at her side. Kurai stopped and stared at her before laughing. "You think you can stop this? Stop the Foot Clan?"
Artemis smirked and shrugged. "I think the Foot Clan is a bunch of over confident assholes in black footie pyjamas." She paced to the side and Kurai turned to follow her.
"I mean really? You run around in the shadows making mutagens and doing what? I mean really, what was Shredders endgame huh? What, he thought he could rule New York City? Did he think the federal government was just gonna stand by and let him rule a whole city with the population of some smaller European Countries? I mean really…" She kept pacing around Kurai drawing the womans attention while she talked.
From the ventilation grate above Kurai Tracey watched her manipulating the ninja and saw Leo and Raph slinking through the shadows to get in a better position. Artemis kept talking. "Besides, Shredder isn't here. I mean I could tell you where he is but really what would be the point?"
"Where is he?!" Kurai demanded taking an angry step forward.
Artemis smirked and stepped back but Kurai kept advancing. "Why the hell would I tell you that?"
"Tell me or I will make you suffer." Kurai snarled.
"That should have been 'Tell me AND I will make you suffer. Lying is wrong." Artemis teased.
Kurai snarled wordlessly and lunged for her only to be met by the twin ninja skills of Raphael and Leonardo who beat her back while Artemis darted around them and started lifting Donnie up rousing him. Busting through the grate that kept her above the battle, Tracey stashed her sword in her sash before jumping down beside
Artemis and tended to Mikey, giving him a gentle shake and patting his cheek. "Mikey! Mikey! Please wake up!" She cried, eyes slightly watering when he didn't respond.
Tracey looked down at his bruises, bleeding lip and shallow cut above his gentle human features and rage consumed her. Knuckles cracking as she gripped the hilt of her Boken sword and slowly stood up, Tracey turned slightly to look over her shoulder at Kurai and gritted her teeth. "The bitch will die!" Tracey growled loudly, moving to attack Kurai with deadly speed.
"Tracey no!" Artemis yelled but it was too late by far.
She tried unsuccessfully to rouse Mikey and Donnie then settled for dragging Mikey, the more injured of them out into the hall so he wouldn't get hurt worse. She went back in for Donnie and tried to dodge the fighting. Kurai was a truly brilliant ninja and even against three opponents she held her own. Leo and Raph were flagging and for Tracey it was all she could do to keep up. Artemis didn't see the Foot Clan soldier until it was too late, he dragged Mikey back into the room a kunai at his throat. Leo and Raph sprang back away from Kurai dragging Tracey with them and Kurai laughed. "Family always makes you weak." She crowed.
"That's where you're wrong Kurai!" Tracey growled, struggling a little against Leo's and Raph's hold on her arms. "When you have something to fight for, like family, you are more powerful than you and any of the Foot Clan could ever know!"
She laughed again, a half mad sound and snapped her fingers. The Foot Clan soldier holding Mikey pulled him further into the room and Kurai took the kunai and pressed it under Mikey's chin. "This one was so adorable, he tried so hard to keep me busy while his brother tried to crack our computer system and yet they both failed." She pressed the tip of the knife harder into Mikey's skin and blood beaded on the blade.
Tracey heard Raph growl but he stayed where he was holding Tracey firmly while Artemis moved up and turned her back to Kurai, she began speaking softly to Leo, so low only he could hear her. She was speaking urgently and Tracey could see the intensity in her face. Kurai kept talking over Artemis mocking them all. "You're just like us now, human and vulnerable. Oh if Splinter could see how far you've fallen, you're pathetic!"
Artemis had her hand on Leo's shoulder pressing him back looking up into his face while she whispered urgently and Tracey could see that Raph was straining to hear now too. Kurai was tired of being ignored because she started to press the blade into Mikey's skin harder and a runnel of blood began to drip down the black and off the hilt onto the floor. "Now watch him die." Kurai spat and Tracey felt goosebumps break out over her skin as she heard Leo scream.
She looked over at him and watched his skin ripple turning green as he collapsed on the floor his back bowing up and up the shirt splitting and revealing his shell as pale skin ripped and fell away. She heard Raph screaming too and he dropped too as he started transforming too. Kurai stared stunned as the boys stood up in their turtle forms and charged her. "No! She screamed and tried to finish the thrust that would kill Mikey only to find herself being thrown into a wall while Raph tried to pound her head into putty.
"I told you that bitch was going to die." Tracey said through gritted teeth as she lunged at the nearest Foot Clan soldier and took him down. "And this is how you roll." Leaping forward, Tracey moved from one Foot Clan soldier to another, using all the skills she had learned from Leo to dispatch her enemies to the point they were unconscious and wouldn't bother them again. As soon as they were safe, she rushed to Mikey's side, her knees squeaking softly on the polished floor until she came to a halt beside him.
"Mikey, Mikey..." She said softly, patting his cheek again before ripping her shirt to press against his throat. "Mikey can you hear me?"
He groaned softly but beyond that he didn't stir. Leo and Raph were fighting Kurai who had managed to get away from Raph. Artemis had Donnie awake and at the computers while she spoke urgently into his ear. He was typing as fast as he could and suddenly alarms started going off. Artemis ran over to Tracey. "Get Mikey and Donnie out of here, we have 3 minutes before this place is a fiery ball of doom."
"Will do." Tracey agreed, draping Mikey's arm over her shoulders so she could heave him up and start dragging him toward the nearest exit. "Donnie I could use your help here, forget about the computers! I might be able to destroy them with a virus, but I need your help now!"
She shifted Mikey's weight across her shoulders and then looked back at Artemis. "What are you going to do?! You need to get out of here too!"
"Grabbing them." Artemis yelled pointing at Raph and Leo. "Get those two out, the computers are gonna be toast when this whole place goes up." She shoved Donnie at
Tracey then headed towards Raph and Leo.
Donnie helped Tracey get Mikey up between them and they ran for the door. Tracey noticed that Donnies skin had a definite green hue and Mike was starting to take on a green cast as well. Tracey was nearly out of breath as she and Donnie finally busted through the main door to the safe house and headed for the nearest man hole cover. She tended to Mikey as Donnie pulled the cover off and dropped down into the sewers first, allowing Tracey to gently lower Mikey in behind him before standing up to see where Artemis and the boys were. "Come on guys! Thirty seconds and this place gets lit up like a Christmas tree!" She hollered, crouching down into the sewers when she saw them coming through the entrance of the alley. "Let's get moving Donnie, Artemis, Leo and Raph are right behind us!"
Pushing him deeper into the sewer tunnel, she threw Mikey's arm over her shoulder again and moved just in time for the others to drop down into the tunnel beside them. She and Donnie fell to their knees as an explosion rocked the ground and car alarms started going off all along the street. Tracey could hear bricks hitting the pavement overhead while She and Donnie tried to get Mikey back up. They'd made it to an intersection in the sewer when Artemis, Raph and Leo staggered out coughing. "Thank the Gods you're alright." Tracey coughed, uncovering Mikey with her body, which she had used to shield him from falling rocks and dusted her clothes and hair free of dust and bits of debris. "Let's go home and tend to Mikey and you too Donnie... Master Splinter will be so relieved that we're all coming back and is worried sick every minute that we're not home." With a final cough, Tracey looked to the ceiling of the sewer tunnel and then picked up Mikey again. Donnie helped her and she looked to find everyone completely changed back to their turtle forms. Everything was as it should be... for the most part.
When they got back to the Lair Artemis had them lay Mikey down so she could examine him, Splinter stood by looking anxious and concerned while she examined him, Leo, Raph and Donnie all collapsed exhausted to various seats the strain of the transformation taking its toll. Artemis sat back on the floor and sighed in relief. "He'll be fine, the strain of changing form is all that's keeping him out. He'll be up again after some sleep." Her voice was rough from smoke.
Tracey sighed warily and smile, grateful that it was all over and everything was back to normal. She patted Leo, Raph, and Donnie on the arms while she passed them and headed for the kitchen. Grabbing a rag and a damp cloth, Tracey came back and cleaned up Mikey's face and then nodded at her work. "Showers and sleep for everyone is an order." She said softly as she laid a gentle hand on Master Splinter's shoulder. "It's over now.
By the time everyone else was showered Mikey had started to come around, Artemis gave him one last once over and then told him to go back to sleep. She got a shower for herself and started to head to Leo's room to crawl in with Tracey when Raph dragged her to his bed. She was exhausted and didn't argue. Master Splinter was the last to go to bed and it was with a prayer in his heart that his sons never be in such danger again.