Hold on to your hats...

They parked a block away.

He didn't need to utter a word to get his team moving, and he stood vigilantly in the doorway as Mikey and April skipped past him. But before Karai could take a step out of the subway car, he shot an arm out to block her exit.

"You stay here."

She blinked at him. A sweep of shock and something reminiscent of betrayal crossed her eyes. "What?"

He hopped out onto the curb and signaled for April and Mikey to wait for him. "Stay here. If we really need you, I'll let you know. Right now you're just a liability."

"A what?"

He sighed through his nose. There was no time for this.

He stepped forward and leaned a palm against the Shellraiser. "If Shredder's using Donnie to make the retro-mutagen, that means he thinks you're still a mutant. It really wouldn't give us the best advantage if he found out you've already been changed back. And it'd only make it that much worse if he knew you were with us. So just stay low and out of sight for now."

Her nose wrinkled, and she crossed her arms. "No. Absolutely not."

He raised a warning brow and began walking away. "I wasn't asking. Stay put. That's an order."

Though he didn't look back at her, he could feel the bubbling mix of anger and disbelief seeping from her scowl. But he heard the Shellraiser door close and allowed himself to breathe the tension out of his stomach.

"Come on," he said to April and Mikey.

They followed his lead up a fire escape and the three of them sprinted across darkened rooftops until they came upon two shadows hovering over the ledge of the warehouse. Leo signaled for April and his brother to hold themselves at bay as he crept forward to get a closer peek.

The shadows soon became silhouettes and the silhouettes quickly morphed into Raph and Casey, both of whom were leaning back with their arms crossed.

Leo exhaled at the sight of them and motioned for April and Mikey to come out of hiding. They jumped down onto the rooftop and the three of them joined the other two.

"Have they moved?" Leo asked, walking over to the end of the rooftop where Raph came out of his lean.

Leo peeked over the edge. Two Footbots stood guard at the entrance below.

"No. Where's your girlfriend?" Raph said.

Leo ignored him. He directed his voice to Casey when he spoke. "Was it just the two that you followed?"

"Yeah," Casey said. "I mean, we thought it was weird, but they haven't gone anywhere. So we haven't had a chance to look inside. Didn't want to risk it."

Leo nodded. "Okay. We need to get a look through one of the windows." He pulled a rope over his head and motioned his youngest brother closer. "Mikey, we're gonna lower you down to get a peek, but make sure not to make yourself obvious alright?"

Mikey saluted him and raised his arms to have the rope tied around his waist.

"And what about those guys?"

Leo jumped and whipped around to glare at Karai who was pointing down toward the two Footbots. Leo wrinkled his nose.

"I told you to stay in the Shellraiser."

She scoffed and crossed her arms. "I don't take orders, Leo, especially not from you."

A heat quickly brewed up beneath the turtle's plastron. "And what happens when Shredder finds out you're human?" he said. "What happens when he realizes he doesn't actually need the retro-mutagen? What happens to my brother, Karai?"

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, but didn't respond.

"The only reason Donnie's still alive is because Shredder thinks he needs him. And that's assuming they haven't already killed him."

Mikey gave a tiny moan that Leo ignored.

"Is that really the only reason you don't want me up here?" Karai said. She cocked her head to the side.

Leo clenched his teeth and curled his fist, but as for words, he couldn't find them.

"Hey," Raph said, stepping up with a glare. "Just in case you weren't aware, we've got a life at stake here. I may not expect you to care about that, but he's my brother and I'm not gonna let you stand here and gamble his safety like that."

Karai rolled her eyes to herself before turning them on Raph. "Get off my back about this not-caring shit, Raphael. I want the Shredder to go down just as much as you do. That's why I'm here."

"And what about Donnie?"

"Donatello will be fine, and I think we're past the point of his safety being compromised, which means it makes no sense for me not to be here rescuing him with you."

"Nobody asked for your help," Raph grumbled the same moment that Leo said, "That's not the point, Karai! The moment Shredder finds out you're here, he's pulling the trigger."

"Shredder's got a gun?" Mikey squealed.

April patted his shoulder. "It's just a figure of speech, Mikey."

"Not that it makes him any less creepy," Casey said.

"You forget there are three other mutants there who don't exactly like being freaks, Leo," Karai argued.

"And you think they'd stop that monster from doing Donnie in?"

"I think you need to calm down."

"Calm down?" Leo shouted. "What about this situation gives me any reason to be calm?"

"Leo, you're trying to go up against the Shredder here. You need me."

"No actually, I don't need you! I've gone up against the entire Foot clan plenty of times without your help, and I'm going to do it again. I don't need anyone here who's going to treat a threat against my brother's life as an invitation to exact some kind of personal revenge on her deranged, kidnapper of a father and put the rest of my team in danger. So go back to the Shellraiser where I told you to stay, and get out of the way!"

A flicker of rage swallowed Karai's eyes as they narrowed. She snatched out a shuriken and flung it in Leo's direction.

His heart froze in his throat and he ducked, for a second completely appalled until the shuriken imbedded itself in the forehead of a Footbot that had been standing just a foot or so behind him with a ninjaken raised above its head.

Leo jumped out of the way as it fell forward. He dropped the rope and swiped both katana out of their sheaths then backed toward the ledge with the rest of his team who had all drawn their weapons as well and now stood at the ready facing a black mass of robots.

Karai crouched low on Leo's left. "Still think you don't need me?"

"I don't want to hear it," he said through his teeth.

Without another moment's hesitation, he shot forward and met the Foot army head-on. His teammates followed.

His blades sliced through two bots at a time, sending decapitated heads rolling in every direction. But the Footbots were nothing.

He bared his teeth when Tigerclaw glided regally out of the shadows and dropped on the rooftop with a rumbling growl. Both Rahzar and Fishface hopped over the ledge after him.

Fishface grinned and dove directly for Raph.

April was the first to charge for Rahzar, a vicious gleam in her eyes.

Leo headed straight for Tigerclaw, blades skimming the rooftop as he sprinted.

For a weightless second, all he heard was his angry heartbeat, and he forgot about everything else—Karai, Raph, Shredder, even Donnie. The last time he and Tigerclaw had met face to face, the brutish cat had dared to take a swipe at him and leave a permanent mark, and the katana-wielding turtle was not about to let that fly.

He sprung up with a flip, avoiding the shot of Tigerclaw's laser gun, and planted his heel against the tiger's chest, sending him stumbling backward. Leo didn't give him a moment to recover. He swiped out with his katana and sliced a few inches off of the cat's whiskers when Tigerclaw leaned out of the way.

Leo collected his stance and narrowed his eyes. "Where's my brother?"

Tigerclaw cracked a grin and started to circle. Leo mirrored his movements, keeping his swords raised.

"In a place you will not find him," Tigerclaw said. "Writhing like a worm under a microscope."

Leo growled and began to leap forward when a smoke bomb hurled itself at Tigerclaw's face and erupted in white powder. The cat roared, and Karai hopped up and spun a kick that knocked his gun from his hand, then stomped on his foot and punched him in the throat before flipping away and landing next to Leo's side.

Tigerclaw blinked dazedly as he doubled over, and Leo had to admit it was satisfying to see him so stunned.

But he recovered quickly and flashed his carnivorous teeth as he snarled and whisked the remaining smoke away with a giant paw.

"Karai!"

He darted toward her.

Leo stabbed his sword into the face of a Footbot, yanked it up by its head and swung it at the stampeding tiger. It smacked him across the face, and as he stumbled to the side, Leo dove forward and drove his sword through Tigerclaw's shoulder.

His roar shook the entire rooftop and his fist whipped around and blew through Leo's plastron, snatching his breath away and sending him clean across the roof where he collided with Casey and landed back on his shell.

He couldn't move.

For a moment, he just lay there trying to breathe but really only choking without pulling in any air. He blinked rapidly and the sky swirled around in dizzying circles.

"L-Leo," Casey coughed. "Leo, you're crushing me, man."

He felt Casey's hands struggling to shove him off, his legs kicking against his calves. Leo grimaced and forced himself to roll over. Casey gasped with relief, and they spent another ten seconds panting before Casey pushed himself to his feet and yanked on Leo's arm.

"Fight's not over yet, dude. We gotta get back in there."

Leo swayed a little when he was back on his feet but shook the dizziness away. Casey took off, shouting his signature "Goongala!" along the way, and Leo staggered forward in his wake.

A sharp punch shot out from nowhere and connected hard with his jaw, and though he stumbled, it felt more like a rousing slap in the face. His system kick-started with a rush of adrenaline and he barreled back and punted the Footbot clean off the roof.

He turned, eyes skimming the scene until they landed on one of his katana lying in wait on the rooftop. He ran for it, swiped it up and immediately shoved it through the chest of one Footbot, sliced off the arm of another, and chucked it at the back of Fishface's head before he could take a stab at Raph who was busy swatting away a clump of Footbots that had gathered around him.

Fishface whipped around with a hiss and took a swipe at Leo who ducked and gave him a clean skim across the tail with the tip of his blade. The fish shouted out a curse in Spanish as a trickle of blood and scales spotted the pavement. He raised an arm to backhand Leo in the face, but a chain shot out and wrapped itself around his elbow.

His body lurched to the side, and Mikey threw all of his weight into a spin that dragged Fishface across the cement and whipped him against the ledge.

"Booyakasha!"

No sooner had the victorious shout left his smiling lips then another Footbot zipped forward and punted him in the plastron with both feet. He flew across the roof and Leo lunged for the chain of his kusarigama as it unraveled from Fishface's arm. He caught the end of it just as Mikey toppled over the ledge with a scream. The force yanked Leo forward and he planted his heel on the ledge and jerked his brother's momentum to a halt.

"Dude," Mikey said, a waver of panic echoing in his voice. "Pull me up! Pull me up!"

Leo's arm shook. He bared his teeth and he pulled.

A familiar yipping sounded behind his back and he ducked out of the way. A mace just barely skimmed by his arm and smashed into the ledge, breaking off chunks of cement. Leo used his leg to sweep the Footbot's feet out from under it then stomped on its face.

"Leo!"

"I'm a little busy, Mikey!" he shouted, releasing the chain with one hand to turn around and stab a shuriken into another bot's temple.

He stumbled back against the ledge again as Mikey's weight pulled him down. "Stop moving!"

He grabbed the front of another bot's uniform when it charged for him and launched it backward over his head. Mikey squealed and the chain swung as he avoided its fall.

Leo's shoulder groaned, threatening to pull his arm from its socket. He gritted his teeth and turned back around to grab the chain with both hands again and pull. "What have you been eating, Mikey?"

"I'm a stress eater okay!" Mikey's voice shouted back. "We don't need to talk about it!"

Leo ignored the comment and dug his heels in, slowly working his way backward. His arms quivered, but he had a good grip on the chain now. He already had Mikey halfway up, when he glanced to his right at the sound of a grunt from Karai.

Her back hit the cement, snatching a breath from her chest, and she didn't move. Tigerclaw's eyes glittered as he advanced on her.

Leo's heart skipped a beat. He glanced between the chain and Tigerclaw, unconsciously measuring the distance. He pursed his lips then let out the sickle blade on Mikey's nunchuck and let his brother's weight pull him forward. He heard Mikey shriek, but couldn't be bothered with letting him down easy. He ran up to the ledge, stabbed the blade into the cement, took half a second to make sure it was sturdy then took off across the roof, shouting over his shoulder for Mikey to climb.

"Leo!"

He ignored the call and promised himself he'd go back if Mikey couldn't make it up on his own.

For now, he charged forward and threw his shoulder into Tigerclaw's side, ramming him off balance.

Tigerclaw swiped at him with the turtle's own bloodstained sword. Leo threw himself backward to avoid the blade and kicked his foot up between the tiger's legs.

A high-pitched meow escaped through the cat's teeth, and the sword clattered to the cement as he doubled over with his hands between his legs.

"Kono yarou!" Tigerclaw hissed as Leo swiped up his katana.

He stuck the sword in its sheath and trotted back to Karai who was sitting up and blinking rapidly.

He grabbed her arms from behind and hauled her to her feet.

"I don't wanna say I told you so," he grunted.

"Good," she said, shaking her head with her palm pressed against her temple. She'd composed herself within the next second and crouched down at the ready with her fists raised. "Cuz you'd be wrong."

He held his breath against a retort as Tigerclaw straightened up and barreled toward them.

They sprang forward simultaneously.

Leo jumped ahead, leaned over, and Karai hopped up on his shell, spun on the ball of her foot, and sent a roundhouse kick straight at Tigerclaw's face. His head snapped around with a growl.

Karai leapt down and kicked out his knee, and Leo followed by kneeing Tigerclaw in the chin. The cat reeled back and flopped down on the rooftop, giving the ground a quake.

Leo and Karai hovered over him with matching scowls, standing side by side waiting for him to move.

There was a pause, but he eventually rolled over and rubbed his jaw. "Very good, cubs," he said spitting to the side. "That almost hurt."

Karai lunged forward. Tigerclaw's massive foot shot out and punted her in the gut. Leo jumped behind her, arms open. She hit his plastron hard and they both tripped backward and landed on their butts.

When Tigerclaw stood, he towered over them, but his glinting eyes glanced off to the side.

Leo followed his gaze and saw a swarm of Footbots leaping away over the edge of the building. Fishface followed behind them. Rahzar was already gone.

"No!" Karai said, jumping out of Leo's arms. "Get back here, you gutless puss!"

Leo looked back around as Karai ran up to the ledge and shook her fist after Tigerclaw who glided away into the shadows and never looked back.

He furrowed his brow and shot a glance across the roof where Casey was helping April to her feet. They both grimaced, spotted with bruises and lacerations, but otherwise appeared to be in one piece.

Leo glanced back at Karai who bent her knees as though to spring off of the ledge.

"Karai!"

She froze and whipped a glare at him.

"Don't," he said, pushing himself to his feet.

"But they're getting away!"

He didn't respond. He looked out where Tigerclaw had disappeared and an unsettling twist squirmed in his stomach.

Why would they just leave?

He didn't get the chance to repeat the question out loud. A fist he knew all too well lashed out from the side and clocked him in the cheek. Stars popped across his vision.

"What the hell was that?" Raph screamed.

Leo rubbed his cheek, bristled, and turned a scowl on his brother. "What are you punching me for?" he shouted back.

"Why would you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You left Mikey hanging off the side of the building, Leo!"

Leo blinked and looked over where he'd left the kusarigama embedded in the ledge. It wasn't there.

His stomach dropped and he ran forward, nearly pitching himself over the ledge when he threw his weight against it. His wide eyes stared down but saw nothing except vacant sidewalk.

"Mikey?" His voice echoed across the block but came back to him empty.

His pulse jumped to his ears. He ran along the edge of the building, eyes searching for a strip of orange, a flash of green, anything. He rounded the building twice, but his little brother never showed.

His lungs began to panic.

"N-No. No," he said, closing his hands around his head. The ground tilted.

"… the most irresponsible, self-absorbed leader that ever walked the face of this planet!" Raph was screaming.

"Why didn't you grab him?" Leo roared, rounding on the only brother he had left.

"Why did you leave him there?"

"Tigerclaw was going after Karai!"

"Who the fuck cares?" Raph said. "Who else do we have to give up on her account, Leo, huh? Am I next? Is it gonna be Master Splinter? April? Casey? I hope to God it's you, you fucking asshole!"

"You were the one who led us straight into an ambush!"

"How was I supposed to know?"

"You didn't even check the building!"

"You told us not to move!"

Leo threw his sword down. "Fuck you, Raph! Just fuck you! You're supposed to have my back. I can't save everybody by myself. If you knew Mikey was there, you should have grabbed him!"

"I always have your back. It's you who keeps ditching us for your stupid girlfriend. They should have taken her, but instead you just handed Mikey right to them—"

"I did not!"

"—so you could pay to keep her ass for one more night!"

Leo sprang forward. He threw his weight into his brother's plastron and tackled him to the ground, then ruthlessly began showering punches down at his face.

"Stop! Stop it!"

Raph bucked Leo off of him and kicked him in the plastron before jumping up to his feet. They met each other like colliding freight trains and began striking at one another as though they had entered a boss fight against their greatest enemy.

"Leo. Raph … This isn't going to help anything!"

April started toward them, but Karai planted a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. "Just … let them." She sighed, her eyes following them across the roof.

April grimaced but stepped back when she turned her gaze back on the brawling turtles. Casey stood next to them and crossed his arms.

The three of them watched in silence as the two brothers tore at each other. They tumbled and flipped across the entirety of the rooftop, determined to draw blood, break bones, or in some way or other shut up the turtle opposite them.

For a while, Leo appeared to have the upper-hand. Compared to Raph, his fury was seamless and sharpened his skills to a point that actually had Raph spitting blood out of his mouth. But Raph was more resilient, and he hit harder. Leo was graceful enough to miss most of the blows, but as soon as Raph found his opening and got in a hit, Leo began to falter.

It was sad really, and Karai couldn't say she'd ever used that word to express her own feelings before.

Maybe she just felt bad. Leo really shouldn't have helped her. As much as it made her spine tighten to say so, she agreed with Raph. It should have been her not Mikey. But then again, they'd never really been after her to begin with, and that just made the feeling worse. Because now Raph and Leo were in an all-out war, and neither of them seemed to realize that Mikey had been doomed to be snatched away the moment they'd left the lair. But she let them fight because she'd been tired of waiting for it to happen.

They stalked around each other every day, tense and burning on the inside, shooting glowers at one another but never striking. It didn't make sense to her, especially not from Raph. Their relationship in general made no sense. She didn't understand why Leo wouldn't just admit it to himself already. She didn't understand why he continued to deny it. All it was doing was making him angry—at his brother and at her. And it wasn't like he was hiding it very well, which was another thing she didn't understand. Everyone knew what was going on between Leo and Raph, but no one wanted to bring it out into the open, and no wonder Raph was so frustrated. The only person Leo was hiding his feelings from was himself.

"This is so messed up," Casey said, shaking his head. "The Foot's getting away with Mikey, and what are these two doing?"

"Acting like animals," April said.

Karai shuddered. April was right, but it was a disgusting comment to make. It was a good thing the turtles in question were too preoccupied to catch it.

"We're not going to get anywhere with them pretending nothing's wrong," Karai said. "They need to get it out of their system. The sooner that happens, the sooner we can actually make some kind of progress."

April tensed, but her eyes eventually fell to the ground. Casey's gaze tightened. Neither of them commented.

Karai turned her attention back to the boys.

It seemed the battle with the Foot had taken a toll on them, because they were slowing down. Leo threw a punch that Raph ducked sloppily. And the blue-banded turtle hardly put any effort into getting out of the way before his brother pinned him to the ground. Leo heaved his weight over. They rolled around for a minute, fighting to be the one on top, throwing years of ninjutsu training out of the window to revert to basic wrestling.

Eventually, Raph managed to throw Leo down and get his arms stuck in a hold. Leo gritted his teeth and kneed his brother between the legs. Raph's initial grunt turned into a groan, and he lowered his head but stayed where he was.

Leo dropped his head back against the pavement and took a minute to gather his last bit of strength to lazily push his brother off of him. Raph rolled over on his shell and closed his eyes.

Then they both just lay there panting, sweating, and bruised.

It was a long time before anything happened, and when it did, Leo was the first to open his mouth.

"I'm sorry," he said, shaking his head and staring up at the sky. "Alright? You were right. I've been a terrible leader, and an even worse brother. I've been so caught up in what I wanted … I forgot to look out for Donnie. I'd tried to push aside the way you felt. And I didn't even think about Mikey. I'm just …" His voice trailed away with a grimace. He closed his eyes and Karai watched what looked suspiciously like a tear seep into his mask.

He pulled in a breath. "I know you hate me right now. I'm not exactly fond of you either, but we're the only ones left, Raph."

He turned his face toward his brother. Raph cracked open his eyes and looked back at him.

"They need us," Leo said, staring at his brother with woeful blue eyes. "They're expecting us to come and get them. We're their big brothers. We can't let them down. So … can you work with me for now, and just put everything else to the side?"

Raph was silent. He gazed back at Leo with a layer of doubt swimming in his eyes.

"I promise I'll do the same," Leo said. "And I promise you won't be next."

Raph's lips twitched as though he wanted to say something. But he didn't. Instead, he just nodded. Leo sighed and nodded back. Then with a wave of effort, they rolled away from each other and pushed themselves to their feet.

Raph cracked his neck. Leo stretched his arm out across his plastron.

"You guys done?" Casey said, raising an eyebrow at them.

Leo gave him half a glance. "Yes. We need to get back to the lair, regroup … and tell Splinter," he added under his breath. He shook his head to himself then pointed to the body of a Footbot lying on the ground. "Grab that, we're taking it with us."

"Why?" Casey asked, though he bent over to heave the robot onto his back.

"Maybe there's a way to find out where it's been."

"Yeah, except, Fearless, the smart member of the team is kinda MIA at the moment," Raph said, keeping his eyes on the robot.

"We'll just have to put our heads together," Leo said. "If Donnie could figure it out by himself, then the five of us should be able to do it working together. We don't exactly have much of a choice. Unless any of you has a different idea you want to share?"

He looked around, but none of them answered.

"Okay. Then let's go."

He turned to lead the way off of the roof. Karai had the distinct feeling he might have run, but there was a limp to his stride, and she was sure he knew he wasn't the only one walking away a little battered. They all moved rather slowly.

"Damn fish scratched my arm," Raph grumbled to no one in particular, pressing his thumb against his bicep where a gash was dripping blood down to his elbow.

"I don't get it," Casey said, adjusting the Footbot on his back.

"What?" April mumbled.

"What was the point of that? I mean, they set us up for an ambush but don't finish off the job?"

"They only needed one of us," Leo said, his voice dark and directed at the ground. "Donnie's refusing to do what Shredder wants him to. He needs an incentive."

April exhaled and shivered. She rubbed her arms. "At least we know they're keeping him alive."

"Yeah, but for how long though?" Raph said, a new note of anger bubbling up in his tone as he glanced in Karai's direction. She didn't look back at him. "And why Mikey? Couldn't they have just kept April? I mean, they had her already. No offense," he added to April who shook her head. "But why would they give her back if they needed someone else to make Donnie work?"

"They wanted to send a message," Leo said. "That's why they left his mask. They wanted us to know that they took him and weren't going to make finding him easy."

"That's sick," Casey said.

April shrugged. "That's Shredder."

"But it still doesn't make sense," Raph said, his fists clenching. "They could've chosen any of us. Why not you? Why not Casey? Why not me?"

"Because Mikey will scream."

Everyone stopped. They all turned their eyes back on Karai.

She glanced between them before looking up at Leo whose expression twisted into a grimace. For the first time since she'd met him, his blue eyes glistened with fear, and she was a witness to it.

He looked away and started walking again. "Hurry up."