Chapter 10:

The turtles were careful as they pulled back a secret panel on the wall behind the thrown to find a dark, narrow passage behind, which they were not too comfortable taking, but did so anyway.

"Ya sure about that thing Donnie?" Raph asked as his brother studied the little gadget Stockman had left them.

"Looks safe to me," Don answered, before going quite a moment as he noticed something about the device.

"What is it?" Leo demanded, but Donnie only put the thing in his pocket.

"Just a safety measure," He answered truthfully, which satisfied his brothers as they made their way through the darkness until rounding a corner to find an elevator. However, before they could embark the thing Donnie's cell shell decided to pick that time to ring, causing them all to jump.

"Donnie, we made it back," Zira's voice informed them from the phone.

"Good timing," Donnie stated, as the phone was handed off to someone else.

"My sons, are you alright?" Splinter asked then.

"We're almost to Shredder," Leo told him, which left them in a short silence as their father absorbed that.

"Do not fear," He finally answered, "Make no mistake – you are ready for this,"

These words alone seemed to finally squash the last bits of nervousness and doubt that had been pledged them for so long, leaving the turtles calm and collected as their leader answered.

"We will make you proud," Leo stated seriously.

"You already have my sons, every day," Splinter countered truthfully, "As long as you fight as one – nothing can hold you down. Go – create your future," He added, before the call was ended and they were returned to reality as they looked back at the elevator before them.

"He's gonna be waitin' for us," Raph growled knowingly.

"Then let's give him something to remember," Leo mentioned, causing his brothers to look at him and they all quietly shared a smile in response.

…

"At the ready," One of the elite stated as the elevator neared the top of the building and the four of them promptly held their weapons steady in preparation of the turtles. However, when the doors finally opened and they rushed forward to meet their enemies, it was only to find the elevator empty.

"What?" Shredder demanded from the other side of the roof, just before one of his men took notice of something on the ground and called for a retreat, but it was too late. The bomb detonated before they could get out of the way, sending the elite guard flying into walls around the area, which left just enough room for the turtles to finally make their entrance through the new hole in the floor and attack.

"Your army can't save you now, Shredder," Leo threatened as he led the charge, jumping at the heavily armored man to bring his sword down toward his face. However, despite the man's heavy dependence on his ninja, he was still a master fighter himself and caught the sword inches from hitting him.

"You think you can take me?" Shredder demanded as he grabbed the turtle by the throat with his other hand, "You have no idea what –" He started only to be interrupted by Raph as he used the blind spot his brother had provided to run right up into the man's face and leveled a sucker punch straight to his jaw, forcing him to release Leo as he was throw backwards.

"Ya always did talk ta much," The red-clad turtle proclaimed as he brought his sai into his hands again, while Leo got back to his feet next to him.

"You will pay for that," Shredder threatened as he got up as well, clearly having been spared any damage thanks to the high-tech suit he was sporting. However, a moment later it didn't mater, as Donnie and Mikey appeared on either side of them to throw their grappling hooks at his face.

And as expected the man caught the attack once again. But, just as before, they were ready as the two quickly released the extra length of wire, before hitting a button on the device at the end, causing the two lines to immediately electrify their target.

Unfortunately, the tiny power cells couldn't handle prolonged use and quickly died out again, but they had done their jobs, allowing the turtles to get back into the fight in an attempt to break through the armor that was keeping them for seriously hurting their enemy.

In the end, only Raph managed to make a dent before the man threw them off again, which was quickly followed by a barrage of blades throw from his gantlets to fly through the air in droves as the turtles ducked and weaved their way around the roof in an attempt to avoid being hit.

When he was finally out of ammunition, they quickly converged on him again, only to find the damn things returning.

"Look out," Leo called, and they all ducked to avoid the magnetized knives cutting through the air like deadly mini jets as they reconnected with their master's suit; ready for another round.

"Chicken shit," Raph growled, before he was forced to dive out of the way again as Shredder turned to him with glare, held his hand out and called forth a massive electrical surge that split the very air as it pelted the ground where the turtle had just been standing.

"I rest my case," Raph added with a scoff, as he ducked down behind a wall with Mikey.

"We can't keep this up forever; we need to get through that armor," Leo spoke up after he and Donnie dove behind a pillar a few feet away to escape more of the lighting.

"I hate ta admit it, but it sounds ta me like Stockman had the right idea," Raph put in which made Leo growl under his breath. He really didn't want to resort to something they had no knowledge of; for all they knew that little thing could be a trap.

But, unfortunately, their hands were forced a moment later when Shredder suddenly landed with a crash about two feet away, as the servos of his suit whirled manically in response to the jump.

"Damnit," Raph swore, before they all bolted in opposite directions to escape more flying blades; however, movement out of the corner of his eye had the turtle quickly realizing that by running out into the open the man now had a clear shoot.

"No!" He called and ran to intercept Shredder as he bored down on Mikey with all the strength of his mechanical muscles, which was too much for his brother's body to handle.

In a matter of seconds, they heard the bones in Mike's legs snap as Shredder drove him to the ground, causing him to scream in pain, giving the man time to prepare the blades of his gantlet again and moved to gut him. But, thankfully, he wasn't fast enough to avoid Raph as he jumped onto his back and used his sai to stab into the joints of the armor, where the strengthened metal of his weapon could penetrate.

Within two or three repeated stabs he knew he had made contact, for Shredder suddenly admitted a pained response of his own as he tried to force the turtle off. But Raph just continued his assault, trying to buy his brothers more time.

After nearly a minute of this his sai finally found good purchase in the steal, allowing him to pry the armor open like a can, however before he could get at the mortal body underneath Shredder used his distracted state to strike, catching Raph across the face with his blades and finally throwing him off.

Clutching at the wound, Raph could feel blood pooling in his hand as he moved to get back on his feet, but he was too late to react as Shredder bored down on him again in a fit of rage.

"Get away from my brother!" Leo yelled as he appeared on the scene to jump on his back and plunge his sword straight through the hole Raph had managed to create and into the man's left shoulder.

Shredder screamed again as he retaliated, actually using his fist to pound the sword back through the wound from the front, like a hammer would a nail, which caused the handle to hit Leo's shoulder and force him back just far enough that Shredder could reach him.

"Leo," Raph called out in shock as the specialized blades of Shredder's gantlet pierced his brother's chest, likely missing his heart by inches, causing Leo to fall to the ground, where Shredder raised his fist to finish the deed.

However, that was when Donnie materialized in front of him, managing to land a few good hits before Shredder caught his arm and twisted it 'til it snapped. But before the man could continue with the assault; the small bomb Donnie had placed on his chest plate during his attack detonated, sending Shredder flying back with such force that he went right through a wall, where he was momentarily buried in the derby.

Finally gaining a slight upper hand, the turtles immediately used it to collect the fallen and retreat to the other side of the roof in an attempt to treat the more serious injuries.

"Leo, stop it, don't move," The doctor ordered; as his brother attempted to get back on his feet, even though the wound to his chest was bleeding profusely, causing his breathing to come out in painful, gasping breaths.

"I'm fine," He tried to insist, even though he was very aware that the only reason he wasn't in any pain was because his adrenaline level was so high.

"You're not fine," Donnie countered before they all looked up again as the wall where their enemy was buried exploded outward; allowing the man to get back to his feet as though nothing had happened.

"You gotta be kidding me," Mikey complained tiredly as he realized they were running out of options, "What does it take to hurt this guy?"

"Donnie?" Leo ordered quickly as he finally got to his feet again and his brother turned to look at him, "Is it ready?" He asked suddenly, causing them all to go quite as they realized what he was talking about.

"Yes," Donnie answered after a moment and Leo nodded before moving to stand between his family and their enemy, which was all the cue Don needed to reach into his bag for the device that Stockman had left to them and handed it to Mikey.

"Get ready," Leo said quietly and they all nodded before, Donnie and Raph got up as well and moved to block their little brother so, he could work without being seen.

"You will not defeat me," Shredder called as he continued to walk toward them across the roof, "You are weak, just like your father," He added causing them all to tense, but they still waited another minute until the man had finally reached the spot where they needed him.

Taking his chance, Mikey quickly activated the device in his hand and threw it across the ground with just enough force that it stopped right underneath Shredder's feet, where it then proceeded to unleash a massive energy pulse, causing his armor to quite suddenly loose all of its power.

"Now!" Leo ordered, when he realized the device had indeed worked as promised and Donnie quickly lifted his arm to press a button on his gantlet which immediately caused the building to shake underneath them as explosives in specific places started going off in just the right order needed to topple the structure.

"What have you done?" Shredder demanded distractedly; which the turtles used to their advantage; each pulling out of a grappling hook as they moved to circle their enemy and let the ropes fly, effectively trapping him in a four pronged web as the whoosh of the fire continued to build up just below Shredder's feet.

"You may have created us," Leo answered as the building rocked from another explosion, causing Shredder to look at him in fury as he attempted again to break free, but they all quickly put their foot down on the ropes and pulled it taut.

"You may have controlled us," He added as they prepared for the explosion they could hear bearing up from the earth like a fight train, "But we will not live in fear," Leo finally responded as the roof started dissolving around them.

But they were ready to take this to the end and showed no fear as Shredder screamed at them in anger only to be drowned out by one last explosion that returned him to the darkness from which he had come. Yet, even this could do nothing to hold back the turtle's final words.

"WE ARE FREE!"