Across the city lay a tall, and imposing skyscraper with the logo of TCRI - Techno Cosmic Research Institute on the side. Gleaming with glass and steel, the building was not too dissimilar from other buildings in Manhattan. TCRI was a scientific institute, dedicated to understanding the mysteries of science, at least on the face of it. In truth, the organisation was prepared to use Machiavellian methods to achieve its ends.
It was not unusual for the scientists to be used as cogs in a machine, without the other truly knowing and understanding what the others were doing. TCRI's main headquarters was in the middle of the city, but in truth they had laboratories and research posts in other parts of the New York state, to keep their more secretive pursuits hidden from view.
The building was a labyrinth of corridors, rooms, suites, and offices.
In one of the suites, which had been decorated in a rich, Japanese style, was the man who had backed the organisation up for some time. A man who was terrifying and possessed immense power, in his mind. The Shredder found the suite configured for his use at TCRI to be adequate as a base of operations, however since he regularly changed his base of operations to suit his objectives, he was used to anything, and his long life had made him hyper-aware of the impracticalities of extravagant quarters.
TCRI was the most modern base he had ever had, and after he had entered the alliance with Baxter Stockman, which was simplicity in itself, as the American scientist, while brilliant, was ambitious and lacked morals and willingly followed the Shredder's orders and directives in exchange for scraps of knowledge.
The Shredder had been deep within his meditation when the alarm went off. As the ninja master breathed in slowly and exhaled slowly, he then rose and walked over to the glass orb that was tucked away in his rooms to prevent anyone from taking much interest in it. The orb was now a dark purple.
Reaching into his sleeve, the Shredder flicked a stick - his wand - at the orb, and he chanted in ancient Japanese. The orb began to glow and the Shredder leaned back and watched the results.
The Shredder was a wizard, a very old one. Gifted with potions, runes, transfiguration and charms, he had been seen as a wizard of great potential.
But he had always been dark.
Seeing his family as banal, and pointless, the Shredder had grown arrogant and sure of himself as the years had passed, conducting many rituals and experiments, of increasingly dangerous designs. Eventually, he had gone too far. He had been banished from Magical Japan long ago, for breaking the Japanese wizard's code, and he had been disgraced as a result. For the Shredder, the spectre of the disgrace meant nothing. The only thing that mattered to him was power. He had disappeared, and he had gone travelling before he eventually met the Foot Clan.
Once he had thrived in the training, the Shredder had used his powers to kill the leaders and trainers, and he had begun slowly twisting and manipulating the survivors, introducing children orphaned who'd been missed by the Japanese magical world. Once he had them in his custody, the Shredder had dosed them up on potions, to revere and to follow him while enhancing their strength, speed and reflexes.
Due to his magical heritage, the Shredder always kept an eye on the presence of magic in a country, and as he studied the orb he wondered if a powerful magical child had been born; the Shredder was well aware of the MACUSA's policy of keeping away from the muggles, and they always kept watch on the whole country to see if there were any children; adults, while radiating a powerful magical signature, didn't just appear like this.
If so, then he could do nothing about it, not without attracting attention, and he was still reeling from his last encounter with the turtles to commit such an act.
But as he continued studying the orb in front of him, the Shredder became puzzled, for this was no magical child that had been born. The signature was too powerful; a wizard or a witch's powerful grew as they aged, and this signature was that of a magically powerful young person, a teenager, perhaps just below the age of 20.
And they had just appeared.
The Shredder was instantly intrigued by this; he doubted this was someone from the MACUSA, but he would still check his contacts to make sure no teenager was missing.
In the meantime, the Shredder would search the city for this strange wizard, and if he found an opportunity to make use of him in his plans, then he would.