Chapter 3

Darkness Begins

"And that's enough from you." said Tyroth as he tossed a Purple Dragon member into an open dumpster. "That was all of them."

"They hardly stood a chance." said Leonardo, placing his swords back in the scabbards. "As soon as they saw you, they were practically running in fear."

"That makes, what, three bunches tonight."

"It does. I wonder how the others are doing."

Leonardo took his shell-cell and called Raphael and Donatello.

"Yes?" Donatello answered.

"What's up, fearless?" said Raphael.

"Just checking how you're doing. We just took down our third group of Purple Dragons."

"Me and Mikey have only taken down one group. We must have gotten the calmer area tonight." said Donatello.

"We're up to two so far. The girls really made short work of these bozos."

"And no one's injured?" Leonardo asked.

"No."

"Not a scratch."

"Good. Finish up your areas and we'll meet up back where came up."

Returning to the rooftops, Leonardo and Tyroth were about to take off when Tyroth stopped and looked at something in the distance. Curious, Leonardo walked over to his friend and saw what Tyroth was looking at.

The Foot Headquarters.

Tyroth glared at the building with anger in his eyes, he clearly remembered how he was tortured by Arden, how he and Arashi taunted him, and how his rage took over when he heard that they would torture Sephie in front of his eyes and when they nearly lost Monalisa.

"Are you okay?" Leonardo asked, placing a hand on Tyroth's shoulder.

"The bastards are still alive, aren't they?"

"Arashi and Arden? Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Will we ever b rid of such monsters?"

"Honestly? I don't know. We thought that we were rid of the Shredder, but he survived and returned, more than once. Now that he's been banished to a frozen asteroid, Arashi takes over. It seems like there's always someone to take the place."

"Figures. I'm very tempted to tear that place apart, burn it to the ground and rip those bastards to pieces! But I'm no fool, an attack like that would be suicide, even for me."

"I can't even imagine what you went through, the kind of horrors you had to endure."

"I still have nightmares from time to time, but they're not so bad as they were, thanks to Splinter."

"Still, no one should have to experience something like that. The fact that you didn't break shows just how strong you are."

"They came closer than I'd like to admit, to tell you the truth. The only reason that I managed to hang on, was what could happen to you guys, to those in Mutopia, and because I knew that you would rescue me."

"We owe you that for all the times you've put yourself in harms way to protect us. And we'd never leave a friend behind. Now, let's get moving. We still have some ground to cover."

"One thing, Leonardo. If and when you guys decide to take out the Foot, let me know, 'cause I want to help you."

"Are you sure about that? It wouldn't be a small thing, attacking their headquarters."

"They are a threat that needs to be dealt with, and you'll need all the help you can get. So if you promise that you'll tell me, I promise that I'll help you."

"Then you have my word, Tyroth. It would be an honour to have you at our side. Together, we can take on anything the Foot throws at us."

But, unknown to the mutants, the Foot already had a plan in action.

Earlier that evening, in Chicago.

"You'll have to excuse the mess, I wasn't prepared for visitors." said a woman in her early twenties. She had dark-brown eyes and shoulder-long blonde hair and wore a blue T-shirt and black sweatpants. She tried to clean up a bit in the living-room, clearing the table by the couch from magazines and DVDs.

"Jennifer, dear, there's no need to apologize. If anything, your father and I should be apologizing for dropping by unannounced." said a woman in her late thirties with hazelnut eyes and long wavy blonde hair, wearing jeans and a light-blue blouse with a dark-blue vest.

"It's no problem, Mom, I promise." said Jennifer.

"I told you she wouldn't mind, Erica." said a man in his early forties. He had short dark-brown hair with a few stains of grey in it, stubble and dark-brown eyes. He was dressed in a dark-green shirt and a pair of jeans.

"True, but it would still have been better if we could have given her some warning. You ain't very fond of uninvited guests yourself, Richard."

"So, what brings you here?" asked Jennifer.

"We've been on a roadtrip for a few days now, and since we were passing by, we thought that we should stop by for a visit." said Richard.

"And we worry about you. I can't say that I feel comfortable with you moving here, not after what happened to your brother."

"I understand, Mom. But living in fear isn't an option for me, and the crime-rate has dropped quite a lot. Plus, I'm sure that Raymond is watching over me, and you too, as often as he can."

"He would have been so proud of you, becoming so strong and independent." said Erica.

Jennifer felt a knot of discomfort form in her stomach, she could easily tell that her parents still missed Raymond greatly and hadn't fully recovered yet. But what was really bothering her, was that she knew that her brother was alive and well, but can't tell anyone.

She really wanted to tell them, but after hearing about the kind of enemies her brother had made, it was best that they didn't know. For everyone's sake.

"Do you want some coffee?" she asked in an attempt to switch the subject.

"Yes please, thank you."

A few minutes later, Jennifer returned from the kitchen with three cups of coffee, a small jug of milk and some sugar on a tray.

"So, how are you doing? Everything's alright I hope." said Richard.

"No complaints from me. My job at the grocery store pays well enough and this apartment ain't that expensive. I've even made several friends over the year, though to be honest, I wouldn't invite them home, at least not all of them."

"They aren't some kind of ruffians, are they?" Erica asked her daughter concerned.

"No, they're not. They can be trusted, Mom, they're just… special."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Didn't you say that you weren't expecting guests?" asked Richard.

"It must be old miss Carter, she lives in the next flat over and often asks if she can borrow something, like sugar, cream or even a pair of scissors. She's such a sweet old lady, she helped me quite a lot when I first moved here. Just give me a moment."

Walking over to the door, Jennifer wished that she had one of those more secure doors that they were scheduled to get later that month. They at least had those peepholes and the security chains were a lot better, the ones on these old doors could practically be unlocked from the outside. That was also one of the reasons that the rent was as low as it was. It was also well known that people living in this neighbourhood were of the poorer sort, so security against burglars wasn't that high, but it was improving.

Opening the door slightly, Jennifer saw a tall man with short brown hair in a coat with a logo of some sort on the left side. He was holding a clipboard and pen in one hand and a package large enough to contain a football in the other.

"Yes?"

"Excuse me for bothering you this late in the evening, miss." said the man. "But are you..." he looked at the paper on the clipboard, searching for something.

"Are you Jennifer Ottosen?" he asked after a short while. "I have an express package addressed for you. If you would just sign at the dotted line at the bottom, please."

Jennifer wasn't sure why she would get a package, nor from whom, but she couldn't well refuse. Scanning the surroundings, she found no one else outside. Still cautious, she unlocked the chain and opened the door. Having taken courses in self-defence since she moved to Chicago, she was fairly confident that she could deal with the man in case he tried to pull anything.

Taking the clipboard, she had just finished writing her name, when she felt a sting in her stomach. Immediately, she felt very sleepy, and looking down to see what had stung her, she saw a dart of some kind.

As the tiredness took over, Jennifer couldn't stand up as she wobbled and collapsed. Before loosing consciousness, she managed to see some form of contraption on the man's left hand, previously obscured by the package. Another thing that she saw, was an evil smirk.

"Nighty-night." the man said, walking into the apartment and locking the door behind him.

"Jennifer? What was that sound?" her mother asked as she rounded the corner. She was terrified when she saw her daughter laying on the floor with a stranger standing over her.

"Jennifer!"

Erica's scream caused her husband to rush to her aid, and like her, he too was terrified by the sight he saw.

"What happened?! What have you done to our daughter?!" Richard demanded.

The man didn't say anything, instead he pointed his left hand at the couple and shot them with a pair of darts from his contraption. It didn't take long before Richard and Erica had passed out and lay on the floor by their daughter's side.

'I didn't expect the parents to be here as well, that caught me off guard. But I believe this will work in our favour.' he thought. 'Either way, we have to hurry, the noise might have alerted the neighbours.'

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a cellphone and pressed a speed-dial number.

"It's Arden." he said once they answered on the other end. "The package is ready to be secured, but we may be short on time. Also, there are two additional packages that require the same attention."

"Hai, sir. We will be there soon."

After hanging up, Arden walked into the bedroom and opened the window, it faced an alley, so they would be concealed when they left. He then spent a few minutes collecting the family's phones. Once he was done, he walked back to his victims. Kneeling by Jennifer, he stroked her cheek with his right hand.

"Such a pretty face, it would be a shame if something were to happen to it." he said with an evil grin that caused his prosthetic to wrinkle in a grotesque way.

Tyroth still haven't forgotten what the Foot did to him, and who would have? They were very cruel to him from the start, and it only got worse.

But Jennifer and her parents have been captured by Arden! That's is a clear example of not good! What will the scarred doctor do to them? Read on to find out.

Also, before I go, to all of you that read my stories. Thank you for your support, it means a lot to me. :) May I also suggest that those of you that don't have accounts here on Fanfiction, take the time to get one. It doesn't take very long at all, just a few minutes, and it gives so much without demanding anything. You would be able to get alerts to your mail when an author or story you follow updates, and if you have ideas that you leave in the reviews, having an account allow us writers to get in touch with you to discuss such things.

I won't rant on about this any more, it was just something I wanted to put out there. See you next time. :)