Next chapter! read on!

Alex:About time! what have you been doing all day?

me:Just let them read!

Charis:But you left us with that crazy hunter!

me:Sorry! i had an arranged date with a math book...

Alex:That's no excuse! i love math!

Me:I DON'T!!!

Tana:Read on!

Chapter 9

Thwarted

Alex grumbled as she yelled," YOU CAN'T SING!!!!"

The Hunter chuckled, pausing in his song as he sneered," Well, now, I think that's a matter of opinion, young lady!"

Alex snarled," Yeah, well then your opinion sucks!!!"

The human dramatically clutched at his chest and gasped," You wound me, m'dear!"

He turned to his rifle, which he was in the midst of polishing," You hear that, Roxanne? This here fox thinks I can't sing!"

Charis was getting over her timidity of this hunter and snarled," I can sing better then you, so please shut up!"

"Oh you can, now, can you? Well, I may raise the price on you for that alone!" he chuckled.

Chloe argued," For the LAST TIME, you can't sell us like we're animals! We're mutants, alright?! Our transformations were NOT our fault!!!"

"And I'm the mayor of Bloom County." He said dryly as he finished polishing his gun

Charis asked softly," Who ARE you? I mean, no one's ever been able to get the drop on us, who are you that you were able to do it? Should we know you?"

Chloe grinned softly, but she kept her thoughts to herself as the Hunter swept off his hat," The name's Bonesteel, m'dear, Jonathon Bonesteel. I'm a poacher, by all accounts. That's how I make my fortune!"

Chloe rolled her eyes and said," You know, it's sadistic creeps like you that give the profession of hunting a bad name!"

"What would you know about it?" sneered Bonesteel.

"For one thing, one of my best friends was a hunter. Her name is Catherine, and she always shared the meat she and her husband got when they hunted. She and her husband didn't kill for money. They bought their deer and ate the meat. And they shared what they had with a lot of people who didn't have much food. But your kind, sir, you kill for pleasure, for greed, and for ill-gotten gains! You're a disgrace to the profession!" Chloe drew breath.

Jonathon, unimpressed, asked," you done with yer sermon yet?"

Chloe rolled her eyes," Heart of stone…"

Alex watched as the hunter left the room and whispered fiercely," How do we get out of here?"

Chloe was looking around, racking her brains for ideas.

"Um…let's see…Oh snap, ALEX!!!" Chloe hissed.

"What?"

"Your claws! Use your claws to pick the lock!"

Alex smiled tightly," Yeah…if I knew HOW to pick a lock!"

Charis giggled.

They both look at her.

She shrugged," Sorry, but that was funny! We're like, the three stooges!"

Chloe took a deep breath.

"Okay, Alex, just do what I tell you, okay? We'll have to work together."

"That, and we'll have to borrow a crazy amount of luck…" Alex mumbled as she began to try to follow Chloe's directions.

***

Donatello winced as he looked down on the tracking device," Oh SHELL!!!"

"What?" Leo asked.

"The signal just disappeared!"

Leonardo went stone cold," WHAT?!"

"How the SHELL did that happen, Donnie?!" Raphael hissed.

Donatello shook his head," it's possible that the device got fried…which means Chloe got electrocuted… Luckily, I was able to trace the signal, the only problem would be that we'll just know her last location…meaning we need to move fast!"

They raced harder, moving over the rooftops, determined to save their sister and her friends.

***

The videotaping replayed over and over again.

Sandra stared in wide-eyed shock. As an agent to this sect of the government, she thought she had seen it all…apparently not.

First aliens, now werewolves? And wereturtles?! And badly dressed ninjas? She sighed as she rubbed her temples.

"Are you bored, Ms. McGuire?"

"No! No, sir, I'm not bored!" She snapped to attention immediately, shivering with fear as the dark sunglasses gleamed at her.

"Good. We'll need an extra patrol, to pick up on any more sightings…especially on the wolf-hybrid. He could prove quite useful…"

***

"NO! My OTHER left!" Chloe snapped, getting a little fed up with Alex's blunders.

"Well, excuse me! I'm new to lock-picking!" Alex snapped.

Charis looked around, her grey eyes glimmering with electricity as she tried to think of another way…

Alex snarled in frustration," Chloe, damn it, I-" she paused as she looked at her long claws. She gritted her teeth, gripped her claw-

-And hissed, biting her tongue as she broke off her nail. She growled, tears spilling down her cheeks as her nail began to bleed.

Chloe's eyes widened as Alex tossed her the broken nail, hissing," Use that and get us out of here!"

Chloe's eyes flashed as she took the long nail and picked the lock again. She stepped out cautiously and then opened the other two cages. She quickly snatched up a broom, and said," Let's head out…but stay behind me, understand?"

"Gotcha covered, coach!" Charis smiled softly as she and Alex hovered behind their friend.

Alex tried to stop her finger from bleeding, and Chloe tore off a piece of her skirt and wrapped it around the wounded digit," Alex, you're the most stubborn, bull-headed person I know…what would we do without you?"

"I dunno, get mutated?" Alex grinned wryly.

Chloe swatted her arm playfully before turning back to the serious business at hand…getting out of this place alive.

***

Leonardo and Donatello both studied the building before Raphael burst out, "What are we waitin' for?!"

Leonardo turned around sternly, "The most unwise thing we can do right now is rush into the situation with no idea of what we're up against!"

Donatello muttered," Isn't that what we always do?"

Leo sighed," Look, we're no good to them if we get caught or killed ourselves! Now, Don, can you tell about the security?"

Donatello replied," It doesn't look very well secured, and not even guarded!"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a gunshot… and a very loud scream hit their ears.

Raphael was already gone, as the other three raced after him.

***

Charis screamed as they were fired at.

Bonesteel was cursing inwardly. They had removed the shock-devices he had placed on them, so the only way to catch them was to shot tranquilizers into them. But they weren't making it easy.

Chloe ground her teeth and whispered," Alex, I'm going to try to take him down. Wish me luck!"

She jumped from the hiding, her feet hit the ground as she jumped, performing a whacky handspring as she drew close enough to disarm him completely and sweep his feet out from under him. She snarled, "Are these tranquilizers or bullets?!"

He glared," You'll never know will you?!"

She smirked," I'm about to find out!"

She fired into his arm.

The dart struck him and he yelped in pain, before the sedative took effect.

Alex emerged," That was awesome, Chloe!!!"

Chloe saw some rope and chains and locks hanging up on the walls and said," Let's get this dude tied up!"

"After that, let's call the police, to take him away!" Charis added with a grin.

Chloe chuckled," Now yer talkin!"

At this moment, Leo, Raph and Don crashed into the room.

The three guys stared in shock at the hunter and Donatello groaned, "Not HIM again!!!"

Chloe rolled her eyes," So he was telling the truth?"

Leo sighed," How in the world did he survive?!"

Raphael smirked, "Whatever happened, you three did a good job of taking care of him! I couldn't have done better myself!"

Chloe giggled," Thanks, Raph!"

Donatello noticed Alex's finger and asked, "Are you okay? What happened?"

Alex hid her hand," It's nothing. Get that cretin chained up. Let's call the police and blow this joint. I'm starving!"

At this moment, there was a loud click and the room shut down. Huge, fortified doors slid down, locking them in, as the windows were likewise locked down, and the walls.

A gas hissed into the room, and all seven mutants dropped to their knees, coughing and sinking into unconsciousness.

OH NO! REVIEW, if you want to find out what happens next!!!