"Whoa," the ninjas breathed in unison. They just stood there, staring in silence at the canister. None of them could really speak at first. All they could do was stare at the glowing canister as Donnie slowly picked it up.
Pepper recovered first, giving herself a brisk shake. "So...is that...?"
"Mutagen that turned us all into what we are now!" Donnie finished.
"Let's drink some!" Mikey said.
Donnie stared. "What?!"
"Mikey, are you crazy?!" Pepper demanded.
"Why would you do that?" Raph asked.
Mikey grinned. "'Cause if you mutate a mutant, you get a super mutant!"
"Or a pile of goo on the sidewalk," Pepper said.
"Either way, it's an improvement," Raph stated.
"Guys, this is huge!" Leo piped up. "Whoever kidnapped those people is somehow connected to what happened to us 15 years ago."
Pepper's ears tilted back as she realized something. "Which means they're connected to my parents. I was born like this. My parents must have been mutants-at least one of them-and passed it on to me. Maybe whoever this mutagen belongs to could help me figure out what happened to my parents!"
"How is that possible?" Donnie asked.
"With alien robots, anything is possible," Mikey said.
Pepper sighed. "Oh, boy..."
"Stop that!" Donnie snapped. "There are no such things as alien robots!"
Pepper's ears pricked at a small groan and she turned to see the driver crawling out of a van.
Mikey saw him too and turned to look at the guy. "Oh, yeah?" Looking surprisingly confident, he walked over to the driver and stood by him. "Well, if there's no such thing as alien robots," he grabbed the guy's head, "how do you explain this?" He grabbed the guy's jaw and started to pull. Cracking and popping noises sounded as the guy yelled. "Ugh! Man, this mask is glued on tight!" Mikey grunted.
"Mikey, stop!" Leo ordered quickly. "It's not a mask!"
Mikey paused and looked at the guy's face for a moment. Then he tossed him aside. "Okay. He's in the clear. But those other guys were totally alien robots!"
"Enough!" Raph snatched the canister from Donnie's grasp, then stomped over to the man and grabbed him by his shirt. "Time to get some answers! Who are you, and what's goin' on?"
The man glared up at Raph. "Name's Snake. And I got nothin' ta say ta you hideous freaks."
"Well, that's 'cause yah don't know us yet," Raph said.
"We can be very persuasive," Pepper said slyly. "But I can't promise that my little bro here can be too nice about it."
Raph gave her a sly smirk. "You know me real well, Pepper." He tossed Snake toward Donnie and Mikey. They caught him by his arms, keeping him down. Raph and Pepper strode over to him as Raph started to twist the top off the canister. "See, we were just regular guys." He took the cap off. "Until we got hit with a little'a this."
"Wh-What're yah doin'?" Snake stammered.
"Playing a little game I like to call, 'Mutation Roulette'. Now, you could turn out handsome, like me. Or, you might end up disgusting and deformed! Like Mikey, here."
"Hey!" Mikey protested. Pepper smacked Raph lightly with her tail.
He grinned evilly. "So...yah feel lucky?"
He raised the canister over Snake and started to tip it over. The green ooze slowly started to seep out, getting closer and closer to Snake's face. When the goo was only an inch away, he cried out, "Okay, okay!" Raph leveled the canister. "They call themselves the Kraang! They've been grabbin' scientists from all over the city!"
Pepper crossed her arms. Well, at least we got him talking.
"Well, that worked pretty good," Leo said.
"Of course it did," Raph agreed. "Would you wanna look like Mikey?"
"I'm right here..." Mikey mumbled.
Pepper rolled her eyes, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You're adorable, Mikey. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." He grinned up at her.
"What do they want with scientists?" Leo asked Snake.
"I don't know." Clearly, that wasn't the answer they wanted. Raph lifted the canister, shaking it threateningly. "All I know is they're takin' them out of the city tonight!" Snake said quickly. "But I don't know where!"
Pepper folded her arms, staring at Snake. See, she had this thing were she could look somebody in the eye and know whether or not they were lying to her. Sensei called it another gift of her kunoichi training, she called it an awesome six-sense generated by her cat senses. Either way, it'd had been super helpful. And as long as she'd had this gift, she'd never been wrong. Snake stared back at her questioning, but he didn't say anything.
Her tail swished. "...He's telling the truth."
"This is awesome!" Donnie exclaimed, and Pepper lifted her head to look at him. "That's girl's dad is a scientist! I'm a scientist! Oh, she is so gonna like me!"
"I don't think you're her type," Snake said bluntly.
Pepper made an irritated noise in the back of her throat and bared her fangs threateningly. That's it. I officially hate this guy! They crowded around Snake, staring down at him.
"Where are they now?" Leo demanded.
It didn't take long to find the facility Snake told them about. They stood on the roof of a building opposite where the Kraang were located. While they were there, Mikey was given the job of guarding Snake. He took the role just a little too seriously. Every time Snake even flinched, Mikey would draw his nun-chucks and bust out some moves, trying to seem threatening. Though, to Pepper, he looked like he was just being silly.
She stood on the ledge beside Leo, looking down at the facility with a telescope.
"Is it bad?" Leo asked.
Pepper scoffed and handed him the telescope. "See for yourself." The place was crawling with Kraang. "There's gotta be like...20 of 'em down there."
"Yeah," Donnie agreed. "And that's just the ones we can see."
"He's right," Leo agreed, handing the telescope back to Pepper. "There's bound to be way more inside, and who knows how many."
"Alright!" Raph drew his sais, twirling them in his hands. "An all you can beat buffet!"
"We can't just rush in there!" Pepper argued. "We need a plan."
"Why?"
"Think, you shell-brain!" Donnie snapped. "There are innocent lives at stake! If we screw this up, they're all goners!"
"Then we won't screw it up," Raph said simply.
"That's not the point, Raph," Pepper growled. "We need to make sure there's a way for us and the family to all get out of there. Alive!"
"Boy, I sure could go for some of that pizza right now, huh?" Pepper blinked, and they all turned to stare at Mikey. He stared back, looking confused. "What? I can't be the only one who's hungry."
"Now's not the time to be thinking about your stomach, Mikey," Pepper said firmly.
"Wait...Where's Snake?" Leo asked slowly.
Mikey gasped. They all turned to look at where Snake had been. Sadly, that person was now taking off across the roof.
"Oh, geez."
"Get him!" Pepper ordered.
They took off, heading down the fire escape. Snake was already gone by the time Pepper landed on the ground, and the boys had split up. Making a split-second choice, Pepper followed Raph and Leo one way while Mikey and Donnie went the other way.
She managed to catch them easily and led them away. They passed an alleyway, and Pepper's ears pricked upon hearing movement. She inhaled sharply and halted, holding out her arms. "Wait!" she hissed. The boys stopped, not moving an inch past her.
"What is it?" Raph whispered.
"Shh..." Pepper jerked her head to the dark alley where the noise had come from. Raph glanced at the alley, then looked back at Pepper and nodded. Leo gave Pepper a look saying 'what now?' She grinned. "Follow my lead." She raised her voice. "Oh, great! We let him get away!"
"Whoa, whoa, you're the leader!" Raph said, grinning, matching her volume. "That means, you let him get away!"
"You're not helping!" Pepper growled.
"I'm not trying to help," he hissed back.
"Now, now!" Leo said loudly, putting a hand on their shoulders. "There's no point in fighting over this like children! We have to come up with a plan! Pepper?"
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. You want me to lead? Fine!" She raised her voice again. "We go back to the lair, gear up, and at midnight, we drive Snake's van right up to the gate! They'll think we're him, and we'll cruise right in!"
"And then we bust some heads?" Raph asked hopefully.
"And then we bust some heads," Pepper agreed.
He grinned. "I love a happy ending!"
"So do I, Raph!" Leo agreed. Keeping his hands on their shoulders, they turned and started to walk away. "You think he bought it?" Leo whispered.
"Definitely," Pepper said.
"Don't worry, Leo," Raph said. "We got this sucker right where we want him."
The only part of Pepper's 'plan' that was true was that they did go back to the lair. Once they, they all kind of went their separate ways. Donnie went to his lab to work on something that was, as he told his siblings, "important if their mission was to succeed." Leo went off to the dojo for who-knows-what. Mikey was...well, Pepper didn't know where he was or what he was doing. He could've been taking a nap for all she knew, and he probably was. Raph went into the kitchen without really saying a word. Pepper followed.
She stood outside the curtains that covered the kitchen when she heard his voice. She didn't know what he was saying at first, his voice was too quiet. She took a few steps forward and peeked through the curtains. Raph was leaning against the counter by the stove. In front of him was his pet turtle, Spike.
"I know you're a little worried about me. Look, I'm not gonna lie to you. We've never gone into a fight like and...I don't know what's gonna happen." He straightened. "But you don't have to worry. I will make it back...I love you, man..."
Spike took a bite out of his leaf, munching on it as he stared up at Raph.
Pepper chuckled as she stepped out from behind the curtains. "Aw, ain't that sweet?" Raph gasped and whipped his head around. Upon seeing it was her, he settled down and frowned at her.
"Not cool, Pepper."
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said sarcastically as she walked over to him. "You want me to leave so you two love birds can keep building your nest in peace?"
Raph folded his arms, mumbling irritably. Pepper laughed as she placed her elbow on the counter, leaning her head in her hand.
"You're not funny," he complained.
"Oh, quit being a baby! There's nothing wrong with talking to your pet turtle." She pet Spike's head gently. "Ain't that right, Spike?" He looked up at her as she continued petting him, appearing to be smiling.
"Aww..." Raph and Pepper both turned to see Mikey sitting at the table, a sly grin on his face. "Are you and Pepper talking to your pet turtle?" he asked Raph.
Raph glared. "No...Shut up!"
Mikey grinned wider. "That's adorable!"
"Oh, I'm gonna crush you!" Mikey wasted no time in jumping out of his seat and sprinting away. Raph grabbed a wooden spoon, jumped over the table, and charged after his brother. "I'm gonna slap you!"
"Ahh!"
Pepper sighed and looked down at Spike. "What am I gonna do with those two?" Again, the only response was Spike taking another bite out of leaf. She shrugged and picked up the turtle, letting him curl up in her arms. Unlike with the others, Raph trusted Pepper and allowed her to hold his pet. She was the one to give Spike to him in the first place, after all. And a few years after Spike had joined their strange little family, Pepper had helped Raph nurse him back to health when he'd gotten sick.
Still holding and petting Spike, Pepper headed to the dojo. Leo was kneeling in the middle of the floor, and looked up as she came in. "What's up?"
She shrugged, kneeling down across from him. "Trying to think of a good plan."
"Thought of any?"
"I think so..." She hesitated a moment, a plan slowly falling into place in her mind. "Yeah, I think this is gonna work."
"No plan ever survives contact with the enemy," Sensei warned as he walked up. "It's how you react to the unexpected that will determine if you and your siblings succeed."
Pepper stood, tail twitching nervously. "Sensei, do you think I'm ready for this?"
Sensei put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Pepper, I made you leader for a reason."
"Which would be? I didn't even volunteer. I just told you what I thought a good leader should be like, and you decided to make me leader. I don't understand why."
"That is for you to discover on your own."
"There's so much riding on this...What if something goes wrong?"
"Failure is a possibility that every leader much face, Pepper." Sensei paused. "It is something I had to face in Japan, during my final battle with my enemy, the Shredder." Pepper's ears pricked, and she heard Leo catch his breath behind her. "Years ago, Oroku Saki, as Shredder was called them, had been my friend. But the love of a woman came between us. He could not accept it, and his jealousy turned outward in a vengeful attack. And while he could not defeat me that day, my world fell and crumbled around me...as the battle took the life of my beloved Tang Shen...And I lost my baby daughter, Miwa..." Sensei leaned against the bookshelf that held the photo of his family, his eyes closed.
"But that's my point, Sensei," Pepper said, worry coloring her tone. "You lost everything..."
"I lost many things. My family, my home...my name..." Pepper turned her head away, not very assured. "But I gained many things as well, like your brothers." He smiled. "And a year later, I also gained you, and I could not ask for better children."
Feeling more comforted by his words, Pepper smiled up at Sensei. She turned to Leo, who had a confident grin on his face. "Don't worry," he said. "We can handle this."
At that moment, they all heard Mikey yelling. Pepper turned in time to see him running past, a pot on his head. Raph followed close behind, still waving the wooden spoon. "Get back here!" he yelled.
Leo groaned slightly, and Sensei shook his head.
"Hang on," Pepper sighed. "I got this." She handed Spike to Leo. "Don't let Raph see you holding him," she warned. Before he could reply, she ran off. "C'mon, Raph! Give Mikey a break!"
Pepper's genius plan was to rig Snake's van so it would drive up to the building by itself. It would crash into it, and when the Kraang were distracted, the ninja would climb up the wall of the building using the project Donnie had been working on. Turns out, it was a bunch of Shoku. Otherwise known as ninja climbing claws.
They all waited in the shadows for the van to show up. It did, and as planned, it crashed into the building. The Kraang outside scattered. While they were distracted, the ninjas approached the wall and started to climb.
"Donnie, these things are awesome!" Pepper said.
"Thanks!"
"Wow, lucky that van showed up to distract them," Mikey commented.
Donnie's face fell as he groaned, and face-palmed. Only, he was still wearing the climbing claws. "Ow!"
"That was the plan, Mikey!" Pepper told him. "We knew Snake was hiding in the alley, so Raph, Leo, and I made him think we would be in the van."
He still looked confused. "But, we weren't in the van..."
Leo rolled his eyes. "Just keep climbing!"
"Can do!"
They made it up to the roof without issue. Once there, they pried off the cover of a ventilation shaft, which led right inside the building. There were a pair of Kraang dudes right underneath, so Leo and Raph both jumped down and pounded the guys into the ground. After they were knocked out, Pepper, Mikey, and Donnie jumped down after them. One look around the made made Pepper feel like she was inside a Sci-Fi movie or something. The walls were made of silver metal, and there were glowing pink energy lines and lights everywhere.
"Wow," Donnie breathed. "I've never seen anything like this! They're using a metal alloy that...I don't even recognize!"
"Gosh! A metal alloy that even you don't know about!" Raph said sarcastically. "It boggles the mind!"
Donnie glared at him. "Dude, you wanna talk metallurgy with me? Bring it."
"I don't. And-"
"You're really gonna have this argument right now?" Leo demanded.
"Guys!" Pepper snapped. "What part of 'being in an enemy lair' do you not understand?"
She turned and headed down the hall, brothers following behind without complaints. As they approached the corner, they stayed pressed against the wall. Pepper pricked her ears to hear around the corner and peeked around the edge. Her eyes widened at the sight. There were no humans standing there, but several silver and several blue robots.
"No. Way..." she breathed.
"Whoa, alien robots!" Donnie whispered, peeking around with her.
"Alien robots, huh?" Mikey muttered, clearly irritated. "Hm...Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah! I've been saying it! FOR HOURS!"
Pepper winced at the volume, and the sound of gunfire made her stiffen. They scattered, trying not to get hit. Pepper drew one sword as Raph landed next to her. "Hey, Raph! You know what this means?"
"What?"
She grinned. "Since they're robots, you can stab them all you want."
He blinked, then grinned. "Heck, yeah!"
Pepper darted for the nearest robot and brought down her sword on its gun arm. She kicked it in the chest, sending it flying backward. Two more blue robots began shooting at her and she turned, eyes narrowing. Lifting her right arm, she snapped open the forearm crossbow there and pulled the trigger. A quarrel quickly embedded itself in the head of one of the robots. Sparks flew as it thudded to the floor. Pepper leapt forward, kicking the robot in the face. She pinned it to the ground and sliced through its face.
She turned. Her bros had taken care of the other robots. Leo had just sliced the last one with his katana. They all slowly surrounded the downed robot. The pink, brain-looking thing in the center of the robot's chest shifted. Then a pair of yellow eyes opened. Several long tentacles shot up and started wiggling in the air. The ninjas all screamed as the brain pulled itself out of the robot body, screeching at them.
"What the heck is that?!" Leo demanded.
Mikey came up, lifted his nun-chuck, and smashed it against the little brain's head. The thing slumped over and closed its eyes. It was knocked out. Mikey grabbed it by the tentacles, lifting it in the air. "See? See? It's a brain thing! I told you! I told you! But did any of you believe me? No! Cause you all think I'm just some kind of bonehead!"
The brain thing reopened its eyes and squealed loudly, then reached up and sank sharp teeth into Mikey's arm. "Ow!" The creature gnawed on its arm as he shook it viciously, desperate for the creature to come off. He thrashed his arm for a few seconds before the alien thing flew off and smashed against the wall. Unfortunately, it also hit a large button, causing an alarm to go off.
"Mikey!" the boys snapped.
He turned to look at the four of them, to see his older brothers glaring at him. "Okay! But I was still right about the brain thing!" he said defensively. "You gotta give me that!"
Leo turned to Pepper. "Any ideas, chief?"
"Let's move!" she said.
"Move where?" asked Raph.
Donnie was looking up at the ceiling. "I think those are power conduits," he said curiously.
"Oh! That's really interesting!" Raph snapped. "Thanks for sharing, Donnie!"
Pepper rolled her eyes, seeing where her brother was going with this. "Meathead, the conduits are all converging that way..." she pointed down the hall, "which means that whatever is happening in that direction is important! Nice find, Donnie."
Donnie at her heels, she headed down the hall, gesturing with her sword that the others were to follow.
"You got spanked," Mikey teased Raph. Raph glared at him before grabbing the finger pointed at his face in a death grip. "Ow! Ow! Mercy!" Mikey cried. Raph released him, still looking irritated, and walked off as Mikey sucked on his finger. "Not cool!"
They quickened their paces. Pepper wasn't sure what they were headed for, but she was prepared for whatever they'd run into. She outpaced Donnie easily, ears pricked alertly, then doubled back as she found what they were looking for.
"Found 'em!" she called to her brothers.
Several of the robots appeared and started shooting at them.
"You pick the lock! We'll hold them off!" Leo said.
Donnie kneeled next to the security lock as Pepper stepped up to the door. She looked through the tiny window to see the redheaded family inside.
"Don't worry," Pepper told them. "My bros and I are gonna get you both out of here. Are either of you hurt?"
"No, we're fine," the man said. "A little shaken, but fine."
"Good." Pepper grinned, fangs showing. "I'm Pepper, by the way. Nice to meet you."
"Don't worry!" Donnie said. "We'll have you out of there in a second!"
"Okay...giant, lizard thing..." the girl said slowly.
Pepper's whiskers twitched. "Really, dude?"
"Turtle, actually. I'm Donatello," Donnie corrected.
"April," the girl said.
Donnie grinned. "Wow, that's a pretty-"
Leo was thrown back against Donnie, sending his face smashing against the cell window. "The lock, Donnie!" Leo snapped.
"Oh, yeah! Right, sorry!"
He knelt back down, removed the cover of the lock system, and started messing with the wires. Pepper turned as a couple of Kraang started to come up. They started firing and she charged them. She swung her blade, slicing some of the wiring in the neck section of one. Sparks flew as she swung around and kick the robot in the head, sending it flying back. Another robot came up and grabbed Pepper's wrist. She brought her elbow down on the crook of the robotic arm, elbowed its face, and kneed it in the chest. As it stumbled back, she ran up and swung her blade upward, slicing through the robot's face.
"Not to rush you, but...hurry up!" April said.
"Hey! You think it's easy trying to pick a lock with these hands?" Donnie said, waving his hands.
"Sorry," she said sheepishly.
Pepper rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of..." She shoved Donnie out of the way. "Move over!" She quickly started fidgeting with the wires, picking the lock easily and opening the cell door. Unfortunately, a door on the other end of the cell had opened, and the family was dragged off once again. "Are you kidding me?"
The ninjas took off through the cell and turned the corner, following the robots as they took the family to an exit. They burst through the double doors.
"Door!" Pepper ordered Raph, who slammed the door shut as a robot came up and tried to shove its way through. It reached for Raph, who backed up, then growled, grabbed the robotic arm, and brought his elbow down on it, hard. He kicked the robot back inside, breaking off its arm in the process. Raph slammed the door shut and shoved the severed arm through the handles, locking them in place.
"That'll hold them!" He turned to the others, who were all staring with eyebrows raised. He shrugged. "What?"
"You," Leo stated, "are seriously twisted."
"Thanks."
"I don't think that was a compliment, dude," Mikey interjected.
"No! Let me go!"
Pepper's ears pricked at April's screams as they brought the ninjas back to their senses. They turned and looked up at the roof in time to see April and her father being led into a helicopter.
"Hurry! Let's get 'em!" Pepper ordered.
But they'd barely gone a few feet before a huge vine-looking thing with thorns dropped in front of them. As they rose in the air, Pepper's gaze fell on the creature before them. It was huge! It had a body like a tree trunk, green and molded weirdly. It's arms were two thorny vines, jaws made of leaves at the ends. The face resembled a praying mantis, but way uglier. It was a very large, clearly pissed mutant weed.
"Oh, mierda," Pepper cursed in Spanish. (Oh, crap.)
The mutant reared its large, ugly head back, letting out a loud shriek. "You did this to me!" it snarled. "Now, you're going to pay!"
"It's Snake!" Leo exclaimed. "He mutated into a...giant weed!"
Snake squalled, clapping his leafy hands like Venus Flytraps.
"That's weird," said Mikey. "You'd think he'd get mutated into a snake."
"Yeah, you would. If you were an idiot!" Raph snapped at his little brother.
"But his name is Snake," Mikey said, as though explaining something serious.
Raph raised his brows. "So?"
"You don't understand science."
Pepper rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to comment when a loud crackling erupted. The lower half of Snake's trunk-like body split in two and broke free of the ground. Pepper gasped, taking a few steps back.
"I'll crush you turtles!" he shrieked, then glanced at Pepper. "I'll crush all of you!"
Pepper's tail twitched. "Huh...Guess that includes me too, huh?"
Donnie cleared his throat. "Uh...would it help if we say it was an accident?" Snake pulled his other foot from the ground and leaned forward. "So!" Donnie gripped his Bo staff. "I'll put you down for a 'no'?"
Snake let out a hoarse yell and swung his vine toward them. Pepper leapt out of the way, but Raph and Mikey were knocked down.
"Definite 'no'!" Pepper shouted.
Leo leapt forward, raising his katana, and sliced off the vine. Snake squalled painfully, flapping his arm around as what looked like purple blood because spraying and spurting everywhere.
Mikey yelped, pushing himself back, desperate not to let the gunk get on him. "Ew! Eww! Don't let it touch me! Don't let it touch me!" He screamed as a tiny dollop of blood fell on his leg. "Ahh! It touched me!"
The vine Leo cut started straining outward. It was growing back! Snake grinned, clapping his leafy hand again.
"It grew back?!" Pepper demanded, tail fluffing out. "No fair!"
The whirl of a helicopter reached their ears. They looked up to see the helicopter the family was forced into was starting to rise into the air.
"Donnie! Go!" Pepper shouted.
Donnie's eyes narrowed as he sheathed his staff. He ran toward Pepper, who crouched down slightly. Donnie jumped, and Pepper used her hands, cupped like a step, to help launch him into the air. Donnie flipped up and landed by the chopper pad.
"I hope you have a plan, Pepper!" Raph yelled.
"Working on it!" she snapped.
Snake swung his vines at them, and they scattered. Looking frantic, Mikey took the blade of his kusarigama and started slicing the oncoming vines. But he got knocked aside moments later. Leo stepped up and started slicing through everything coming near him. But, like Mikey, he was pushed aside, too. Pepper charged forward, dodging left and right to avoid the dangerous vines. She jumped up and flung her sword forward, aiming for Snake's face. He lifted a vine to block it, but the blade sliced through with ease. Snake squealed again. Pepper drew her second sword, unable to get her other back at the moment.
"Pepper, watch out!" Mikey yelled.
Pepper looked up to see one of Snake's vines creeping up on her. He tripped her and pushed her back several feet. She landed in a shoulder roll, coming up on one knee. Snake grabbed Raph and threw him at them, but Leo and Mikey caught him. Pepper got to her feet as they all stared at Snake.
"Snakeweed is really powerful!" Mikey shouted.
"Snakeweed?" Pepper and Raph said in unison.
"Yeah! His name was Snake, and now he's a weed, so..."
"We get it!" Raph snapped.
"We just have to hold it off until Donnie gets back!" Pepper said. A loud bang! came from behind them. They turned to see the Kraang had busted the door open, and several robots spilled out. "While not getting shot by alien robots," Pepper finished.
"With brains!" Mikey added.
"Hombre," Pepper said, whiskers twitching irately. (Man.) "Let. It. Go." Snakeweed squealed again, and the Kraang whirred their guns. Pepper raised her sword defensively. "Raph, you're with me to handle Snakeweed! Leo and Mikey, you're on robot duty!" She turned to face Snakeweed.
Raph jumped up and punched Snakeweed in the face a few times. Snakeweed shot his vines at him, but Raph sliced through them with his sai. Pepper ran up to one of his tree-trunk legs and ran up it. She jumped up, aiming her sword at Snakeweed's face. There was a slash as the sword came into contact with the weed's face. He squealed in pain, and Pepper landed on her feet easily. She looked up to see a long gash between his eyes.
"Nice one, Pepper!" Raph shouted.
The Kraang came up and started firing at them. They jumped out of the way, leaving Snakeweed in the line of fire. He was shot several times and squalled. He used one long vine to knock the Kraang down, then knocked the ninjas over as well.
"What's the plan again, Chief?" Raph asked Pepper sarcastically.
"I'm working on it!" One of Snakeweed's vines came down and grabbed Leo, hanging him in the air by his ankle and thrashing him around a bit. Pepper's wide green eyes settled on some nearby nearby cables. "The power conduits!"
"Are we really gonna start talking about that again?!" Raph demanded.
Pepper grinned, meeting Leo's eyes. You thinking what I'm thinking? Her oldest brother nodded and placed the end of one of his katanas in his mouth. He used his free hand to make several hand gestures. The same gestures Pepper had used earlier. Pepper exchanged looks with Raph and Mikey, making sure they understood. The three of them charged Snakeweed, looping behind him as Leo sliced off the vine holding him. Snakeweed turned to face Pepper, Raph, and Mikey. He waved and snapped his vines at them, trying to grab them. But they simply flipped out of the way. One vine tried to grab Pepper's leg, but she snap-kicked it and back-flipped to keep her distance. Mikey and Raph flipped around to land beside her. The three turned to see the Kraang behind them, guns aimed at them. The boys made some funny faces and noises, taunting them. Pepper smirked as she blew a raspberry, waving her hands in the air.
The robots began firing, and Pepper and the boys scattered. Pepper performed a few more back-flips to make sure she had some distance.
"Pepper!"
She turned to see Donnie behind her, April alongside him.
"Oh, gracias a Dios," Pepper sighed in relief. (Oh, thank goodness.) "Are you alright?"
"We're okay," Donnie assured her.
Pepper's gaze shifted to April, and the red-head nodded. "Yeah, I think so."
Pepper nodded and turned back around to check on her brothers. They were occupying Snakeweed. Pepper's gaze flashed toward the power conduit, and she smirked. Time for that plan. She ran across to jump atop the conduit, turning to face Snakeweed. She lifted her forearm crossbow, another quarrel already knocked, and pulled the trigger. The quarrel hit Snakeweed in the back. He snarled and turned to face her.
She grinned, fangs flashing. "Hey, come and get me, Stink-weed!" she jeered, sticking out her tongue at the mutant. Snakeweed squealed and lunged at her. She simply jumped up and landed on his back. She laughed tauntingly at the Kraang, waving at them with her tail. They fired at her with their guns. Pepper back-flipped off Snakeweed and dodged out of the way. The Kraang continued to fire repeatedly at Snakeweed, but hit the power conduits instead. A few seconds later, Snakeweed, who was still touching the conduit, reared back his head and screeched in pain as he was electrocuted with pink electricity. After a few seconds, the thing exploded in a mash of pink fire and smoke. Pepper glanced up as tiny bits and pieces of Snakeweed's body started falling around them, including more weird purple blood.
"Well," she said. "Not what I intended exactly, and it's disgusting, but it worked." She turned to face her brothers. "C'mon. We gotta go."
Her brothers nodded agreement. After making sure her brothers and April were alright, Pepper turned and ran for the exit.
The first thing they did was take April to her aunt's apartment. She was grateful to them, but still upset. Donnie had managed to save her without problem, but there was nothing he could do to save her father. The guys all stood on the fire escape, Pepper sitting on the railing and April on the window ledge.
"Are you gonna be alright?" Donnie asked her.
April shrugged. "I guess. My aunt says I can stay here as long as I want." She hugged her knees tightly. "But I'll be a lot better when I track down the creeps that took my dad."
"Won't the police help?" Leo asked.
"Funny thing." April chuckled dryly. "When you tell them your dad was kidnapped by alien brains in robot bodies, they don't take you all that seriously."
Mikey nodded. "I hear that."
"April," Pepper piped up. "I promise you, we will not rest until we find him."
Raph blinked. "We won't?"
Pepper swatted him with her tail. "No, we won't. We'll do everything we can to bring him back to you."
"Thank you," April said gratefully. "But it's not your fight." She looked down at her feet, a serious expression on her face.
Then Donnie reached over and placed his hand over her own. "Yes, it is," he stated.
April blinked, startled by the intimate gesture. But then she looked up at him and smiled. Donnie pulled his hand back, his green cheeks looking rather pink. He grinned sheepishly and backed away. The boys started to climb up to the rooftop. Donnie arrived last, turning to look back at April and ginning as he waved at her. April waved back, and Donnie grinned wider.
"C'mon, Pepper," he said as he turned.
"Comin'!" She turned to April. "So I assume we'll be seeing you again?"
April nodded. "Definitely."
"Awesome! Just...pre-warning, my bros can be pretty...funny sometimes. But you'll love them once you get to know them."
She chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."
Pepper stood up on the railing and smiled. Waving slightly, she followed her brothers to the rooftops.
As soon as they got home, the boys went off to watch TV, and Pepper headed to the dojo to see Sensei and have a little talk with him.
"I am impressed, Pepper. You proved to be an effective leader under the most difficult of circumstances," Sensei said.
"Thank you, Sensei," Pepper said. "And I think I figured out why you made me leader."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"When you asked me what I thought a good leader should be like, I described someone that none of my brothers alone were. Raph is hot-headed with a quick temper. It's hard for him to keep his cool in stressful situations. Donnie's smart and quick-minded, but a little too logical. Most times, that wouldn't be a bad thing, but there are things you can't solve with logic. Mikey is playful and optimistic, but he's easily distracted, and struggles to focus his mind. Leo would be the best choice, but he lacks maturity in certain situations, and at times, his temper can be almost as bad as Raph's. I can control my temper, come up with strategic plans, focus where need-be, and look at the big picture of things. You chose me because you thought I was the best choice."
Splinter looked impressed. "You are right, Pepper. Your brothers alone would struggle to be the leader needed. Together, they would succeed, but a leader needs to be able to work independently if need-be. You possess the needed skills a leader should have. And judging by today, I can tell I made the right choice." Pepper grinned. "As a leader, though, you will learn that there is no right and wrong. Only choices."
"So, you could've chosen any of us?"
"Yes."
"Even Mikey?"
"No!" Sensei laughed. "That would have wrong."
Pepper grinned, whiskers twitching in amusement. "No offense, Sensei, but your advice can be a little confusing sometimes."
"But that is why I tell you those things now, Pepper. I tell you all that you must know now so that when you are older, you will have gained the knowledge to understand what I have taught you."
"Okay... That I understood."
He chuckled.
"Everybody!" Mikey yelled. "Come here! We made the news!"
"What?!" Pepper exclaimed. She jumped to her feet and rushed into the living room, standing behind the couch and staring at the TV.
"A report of-get this-ninjas in New York! Don't believe me? After residents reported a disturbance, the police recovered this." An image of one of Pepper's crossbow arrows with their Clan insignia appeared on the screen.
"Oh, boy..." Pepper mumbled.
"For Channel 6 News, this is Carlos Chiang O'Brien Gambe saying, "Hai-ya!""
"This is awesome!" Mikey said happily. "We're gonna be famous!"
"I'm pretty sure that's bad, Mikey," Pepper informed him.
"Pepper is right," Sensei said firmly. "You must be more careful. A ninja's most powerful weapon is the shadows. Being brought out into the light is a dangerous thing."
"Relax, Sensei," Raph said. "It's just one little news story. What's the worst that could happen?"
Sensei shook his head. Pepper sighed. Maybe Raph's right. I mean, it's just one little arrow. No one can make anything out that, right? "Well, I don't know about you guys," Pepper said, "but it's late, and I'm hungry."
"So am I!" Mikey agreed. "I've had some serious munchies all night!" He did a backflip and landed in front of Pepper. She laughed before turning around and letting him jump onto her back, wrapping his arms around her neck as she grabbed his legs. "To the kitchen, Pepper!" he jeered. "There are snacks to be had!"
"Oh, yeah!" Pepper laughed as she charged, giving Mikey a piggyback to the kitchen like when they were little. She heard the boys laugh behind her, and could've sworn she heard Sensei mutter something that sounded like 'teenagers'.