I don't own TMNT or UY.

I want to thank the people running FF for granting my request for a 'Usagi' character subcategory :) Thanks guys!

Xxxxx

Finding out Jotaro was still alive was exactly the motivation we needed. Even though we haven't necessarily really achieved anything as of yet, I felt as if most of our fears and worries had been lifted in just finding out the boy was ok. I was so relieved I almost forgot that this is where the real work started. However, one look at Usagi's face was all the reminder I needed. I know that in his dimension it was probably gonna be at least another 200 years before the first camera is invented. Seeing his son's face but being nowhere near him must be tearing him up inside.

I immediately started forming my plans, putting a hand to my chin as I quickly sorted out all this new information in my head as well as everything we know so far. The number one fact was this; we've been dawdling too long. True there had been no other way but now we have our info and we know everything we're going to at this moment. There was no point in sitting around anymore. I wanted us to make our move. Tonight.

I turned to Don once I'd thought all this through. I was aware Raph and Mikey were both staring at me, waiting for my orders. I didn't mind the pressure, it only made me more anxious to get going.

"What kind of set-up are we looking at Don? Would it be hard to get inside?" I asked him.

"I went over the files on the building's security system while waiting for you guys to get back." He said. "It doesn't seem too heavy duty on the outside but once you get inside I've found data on security cams, sensor alarms and laser grids."

"And that means what?" Usagi asked. He didn't sound impatient, just eager to follow the conversation and not get lost with the technological terms he didn't understand.

"It means Bishop's got eyes and ears all over the joint." Raph said.

"Not to mention men." Donny added. "There seems to be quite a few people in his employment who either have a military background or who've worked for various other government agencies including the FBI."

"So there are guards." Usagi said.

I nodded. "Guards with guns." I turned to look at him. "Guns that don't need reloading time."

Usagi pulled a face and nodded in understanding. Secretly I was rather pleased to see his disgust at the mention of the weapon. I don't hide the fact that I hate guns, on some level it felt kinda good to see Usagi shared my sentiment.

"Right." Donny said. "But as I said security's not that rough on the outside. Probably so the building can remain as inconspicuous as possible."

"So how do we get in?" Raph asked.

""Well, it's trying to mask itself as an ordinary building, so there's an air-duct on the roof that we should be able to get into. My guess is Bishop's probably got the more high-tech equipment of his base under-ground where it can't be seen."

"In that case we work our way down and try to get as far as possible without raising the alarm." I said.

"There is five of us." Usagi spoke up. "If we are to remain undetected perhaps it would be better to form two different parties?" He turned to look at me. "Would you agree?"

I nodded, trying to suppress a smile. Usagi was back-seat leading and he knew it. I didn't mind though. "Yeah. We'll enter the building as one group but once we get inside we'll split up. Don, if we find you a computer in there do you think you could zero in on Jotaro's location?"

Donny nodded. "I'd be a pretty poor hacker if I couldn't."

"Good. Usagi and I will get you somewhere you can do your thing. After that we'll make our way to the lower levels. Raph and Mikey, you two start looking as soon as you get inside. Remember we don't wanna be seen so no getting into fights unless you have to."

"Aw you're no fun." Raph grinned at me.

I gave him a stern look. "I mean it Raph. No berserker behaviour you got it?"

Raph rolled his eyes. "I got it already! Sheesh! Ya act like I got no control whatsoever."

"Good. Now as I was saying, you and Mikey make your way down and try to find where Bishop would keep his prisoners. Every-one keep in constant Shell-cell contact with each other. If you find anything, anything at all let the rest of us know immediately. If any one of us finds Jotaro, get him out of the base. Don't wait for the rest of us, just let us know you got him and then get him out of there and back here to the Lair. Once he's out, those of us who're left in the building will have to get out and make our way home as well. If any one besides the person trying to get Jotaro home sees they're being tailed by Bishop's men, try and shake them, even if it means not coming home right away. Remember, this is not about us. This is about getting that boy as far away from that place as we possibly can. Every-one got it?"

They all nodded.

"Alright. Then get ready and get the Battle Shell warmed up." I turned, heading to Master Splinter's room to let him know what's going on.

----

It was warm again tonight and the humidity hit me like a wet towel when I stepped out of the Battle Shell. The sky was clear overhead but in the distance I could see angry clouds making their way towards us. I don't consider myself overly superstitious, but somehow it made me feel uneasy. I looked around the alley we'd backed into, making sure no-one was around before turning and signalling to the others that coast was clear.

They got out the van and made their way up the closest fire-escape to the roofs. I stayed back, keeping a look out before joining them.

We gathered ourselves on the edge of the roof, staring at the ominous shape of Bishop's base in front of us. I looked the building over, taking note of which windows were lit and what kind of people were moving around inside. It all looked so deceivingly normal. Then again that was typically Bishop. The Shredder never hid the power he had behind him, but Bishop was the product of secrecy and deception. It made him all the more dangerous because we never knew exactly what we were in store for when we dealt with him.

As it stands we knew more about the Shredder than we did about Bishop. Perhaps that's why he seemed so menacing to me. I had no idea who he was really. I didn't know what motivated him internally or what on earth could've warped his mind into what it is. It's not that Bishop's insane. Far from it. He's well in his right mind and perfectly capable of being logical and always acted within his own idea of reason. And yet he saw no value in life. Not in our lives or even the lives of his fellow humans. I didn't understand it. I couldn't even begin to try and think that way. Life was precious regardless of whose it was. I believed this with all my heart. As a warrior, inevitably there were times you had to kill to stay alive, but I'd always only made my blows fatal as a last resort. Even then, I always made sure I was aware of what I was destroying, and made sure that I really had no other choice before I did so.

I took a small breath. "Alright, there's our entrance. Remember the plan and keep in contact."

"You got it." I heard Raph say behind me.

I gave a nod, tensed, and jumped the distance, landing on Bishop's roof.

I stood up and looked around but there were no alarms or sirens triggered by my touching the building. I held my breath for a few minutes, listening, but there didn't seem to be any change in the area. I breathed out.

I turned, signalling to the others and they followed. It didn't take us long to find the air-duct and Don opened it up quickly. I could feel the air coming up from the dark blackness inside. I gripped the sides of the hole and made my way down it, the others following close behind.

The tunnel levelled out eventually, and after a short trip it split into 3 different directions.

"Raph and Mike. Take the left. We'll take the furthest right." I whispered.

They nodded. "Good luck bro." Raph said as he tuned and started to make his way down the opposite shaft.

Mikey turned and gave me a shaky smile but said nothing, following after our hot-headed brother.

'Be safe.' I silently thought, turning and going the other way, Don and Usagi hot on my heels.

Every time the darkness was broken by a grate I felt my breath speed up slightly. The risk of being seen was small as long as we kept silent and didn't speak, but getting caught was not the reason behind my anxiety. Every time I could see the floor below us I took in every tiny detail I could; How the people looked, what kind of room it was, what kind of technology I could make out and most importantly, if I could see either Bishop or this guy in the blue-suit. So far we'd found nothing either useful or dangerous. I almost felt like I was being silly, as if we'd broken into a perfectly normal office building. I kept reminding myself that this disguise was exactly what Bishop wanted people to think, and I refused to buy into it.

Besides there were tiny, barely noticeable signs that there was more to this place below the surface, no pun intended. The further we made our way downwards, the tighter security seemed to get. Rooms started showing locks on the outside requiring numerical codes, then key-cards and after that I started spotting palm-recognition panels against the walls. The people moving around the halls and rooms became less at ease and more serious and focused. After a couple of floors we spotted our first armed guard enter into a hallway, march his way right below us and turn a corner, disappearing from sight.

The rooms we passed started out as normal looking offices or meeting rooms, but started becoming more laden with technology. First normal looking computers, then more complicated screens and input panels that looked a lot more expensive. Every time we found ourselves above one of these I turned to Donny, but so far he'd shaken his head every time, letting me know he wanted to get deeper before he took over a computer. I didn't understand his reasoning or how he was judging the hardware we were passing but I knew better than to question his knowledge. If Don said this isn't what he needed I merely believed him and pressed on.

Usagi stayed close to me. He was well aware that despite his skill in battle he knew little of how men from our dimension fought or what kind of weapons they used. He was making sure to stick close so he could follow my lead if we get spotted and need to fight. Also, the knowledge that guns were involved made him extra cautious. I was glad. It was refreshing to have comrades with me who knew how to keep a cool head.

Not that I'd ever speak ill of Raph. He's perfectly capable of handling himself and I knew that his top priority is, and always will be, looking out for whoever was with him, which is why I teamed him with Mikey. Mike was still not really a 100% yet and I knew Raph was aware of this. Putting them together both ensured Mike's protection as well as increased Raph's caution. Seemed to be working so far too. There'd been no sound of an alarm being raised or of any-one being aware of our presence.

We kept going, keeping silent and alert. Eventually the duct stopped in a dead-end, a grate being our only way out.

"Ok, this is it." I whispered. "Stay close guys."

We opened the grate and I peeked out my head, looking to see where we were heading.

The opening led to a hallway with several doors leading from it. At the one end of it was an elevator. It was quiet and deserted for the moment. I dropped down silently.

Donny and Usagi followed.

I nodded towards the elevator. "Looks like that's our way down."

Don nodded, Usagi merely took my word for it.

We moved towards it hurriedly. Donny was checking every door we passed with that analytical expression on his face.

"Matte." Usagi hissed suddenly, stopping in his tracks as he urged us to do the same.

I stopped and turned to him. He was standing in place silently, a frown on his face as he stared unseeingly at the floor, holding out a hand for us to wait.

"What's wrong?" I whispered.

"There is some-one coming." He said urgently, turning towards the elevator. "I can hear a machine approaching."

I couldn't hear anything but I nodded, knowing that like Master Splinter, Usagi's ears were a hundred times more sensitive than mine.

"Quick!"

I went over to the door closest to us and pinned myself to it for a few seconds, trying to hear if any-one was inside.

"It is empty." Usagi informed me as he did the same.

I gripped the handle and we slipped inside, closing the door behind us. I could hear the ping of the elevator as it signalled it had passed the floor below us.

Inside, the room was low-lit apart from the cold blaring light of a series of projected screens against one of the walls. I could just barely make out the hum of machinery filling the room. Large black chairs were positioned in front of the desk-top that ran the length of the wall on which a strange, unfamiliar control system had been set up. Ordinary objects like pens, post-it notes and various other basic office supplies lay scattered around the work-stations. There was a large set of doors against the other wall which I guessed led to a closet of some kind.

Donny took a breath. "Talk about good luck!" He whispered to me with a smile.

I turned to look at him. "This what you've been looking for?"

He nodded. "This is more than just high-tech. Bishop's got a habit of reverse-engineering alien technology and implementing it into his own computer systems. Needless to say I'll be able to do a lot more damage with these than I would the stuff upstairs!"

"Hush my friends!" Usagi interrupted, still standing by the door.

I snapped my attention to him quickly. "What is it?"

He frowned, listening. He then straightened quickly, his hand going to the hilt of his wakizashi.

"Some-one approaches."

"Quick! Vanish!" I hissed.

Donny slipped out of sight under the desk. I threw open the closet and was relieved to find the left side had room enough to hide in. Usagi glared at the door before following and hiding himself beside me. I held my breath.

The door opened and in walked a man wearing a black and blue uniform, reading a display on a palm-top as he closed the door behind him. He walked over to one the black office chairs and sat down, putting away his mini-computer and making himself comfortable. I swore silently.

He inputted a code into the control panel, unlocking the system and granting himself access to the computer. He then started typing.

My gaze flitted to the closed door. There was no way we could get out of the room without being spotted, but there was no knowing how long this guy was going to sit there and work. On top of this Usagi and me's hiding spot was claustrophobic and uncomfortable. I turned my gaze cautiously to where I knew Donny had hidden himself. I couldn't see him which was a good sign, but I knew he was there.

I could feel Usagi's heart against my arm, pumping fast and hard.

The man suddenly got up and I tensed, hoping he was turning to leave. To my horror he started walking towards the other end of the room, right to where Donny was hiding. My breath became shallow as I felt panic rise up in me. Stay still Donny! Whatever you do don't move!

The man stopped right in front of where my little brother was, looking over the top of the long desk. He moved aside some items that had been placed there as he looked for something. I saw him pick up a small, black object, probably a flash drive, before he turned to head back to his work station.

He turned it over in his hand and tugged one end to open it. There was a click and the cap of the thing came off rather faster than he expected, falling from the man's hand and hitting the floor.

The man grumbled to himself, bent down to pick it up, and froze.

I felt a static charge run through me as I watched, my tongue catching in my throat.

I saw the man's shoulders raise as he inhaled as if it was happening in bullet-time. I saw his arms tense, his fingers curl into fists and his legs stiffen as he prepared to jump to his feet.

There was a flash, the sound of steel slicing through the air and then a cut-off guttural noise.

Usagi remained motionless for a few seconds before he got to his feet again. He flicked the blood from his short-sword before replacing it in its sheath, the now motionless man lying in front of him in a steadily growing dark pool.

My lungs burned and I realised I'd been holding my breath. I gave my head a slight shake, trying to get blood flowing into it again as I stepped out of the now open closet.

"Usagi." I breathed in disbelief.

From under the desk Donny cautiously crawled back into sight, his eyes wide and his face pale.

Usagi turned to look at me, his expression serious but not cold. "He would have raised the alarm."

I swallowed dryly, turning to look at the man. "Yeah but..."

Usagi shook his head at me. "Leonardo... He would have raised the alarm."

I stood silent for a moment before I sighed, sinking slightly.

He gave me a sympathetic nod before turning to Donny. "Are you alright Donatello-san?"

Donny nodded but he looked badly shaken.

"Don." I pulled my attentions away from the unpleasant event that had just taken place. "We need to find where Bishop keeps his specimens."

Donny turned to look at me, blinking rapidly. He nodded again. "Oh..y.. yeah right. Right."

He turned and hurried to the now empty chair, sitting down to face the screen. He cracked his knuckles before he started navigating through the info in front of him, trying to get his bearings with how it was set up no doubt.

I watched him quietly, Usagi coming to stand by my side.

"...Do you think me wicked?" My friend asked evenly.

I shook my head. "No."

He said nothing in response.

We went silent, Donny's fast fingers hitting the controls and the low hum of machines the only sound filling the room.

Xxxxx

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