April and Casey found the Turtle's lair empty, aside from Master Splinter. The old rat ninja master was holding a broom that looked like it had seen far better days. Both humans knew better than to point out the futility of trying to clean the lair up; not only was the place in the middle of a sewer, but the turtles had spent years and years making the place into a garbage dump with their interests.

It was kind of an oxymoron to see a rat, of all things, sweeping, but April had concluded even rats had their standards.

"Hello, Master Splinter," April greeted him politely.

Splinter lifted his head. It was strange to see a rat smile, but Splinter managed it. "Hello, April my dear, and Casey," he said. "How are you?"

"We're both fine," Casey grinned looked around the lair briefly and said pointedly, "I take it they're out?"

The lair was impossible to clean while the turtles were out.

"We came to visit all of you," April added in case the old rat master believed they had only come to see his adoptive sons. "We brought dinner," she held up the boxes of pizzas and a bag that Splinter's keen senses instantly told him the meal was more in line with his tastes. He had never liked pizza.

"That's very thoughtful, thank you," Splinter smiled and he led them to the dining area. The table was a rubbish tip itself, and April groaned under her breath. Splinter heard her and rolled his eyes in agreement, making both humans snort under their breaths.

"I have no idea where my sons are right now; they're busy investigating the break-ins at the TCRI facilities throughout the city," Splinter said as he sat down. He didn't bother eating his own meal, he could wait for a while.

April and Casey glanced at each other. "Break-ins? What break-ins?" Casey asked.

"We haven't heard anything," April said.

The turtles and April and Casey kept a pointed watch on TCRI. They knew the science and technology research business was in league with Shredder and the Foot Clan, and they also had many ties with the Purple Dragons. To hear there had been a series of break-ins was worrying, but they could see that the turtles likely had ways of hearing things they couldn't.

Splinter nodded, not seeming bothered by the news they hadn't heard anything. "TCRI have been keeping things quiet. Donatello keeps a close watch, hacking," he said the word as if he was trying to pronounce it better, "into TCRI's security. And even without that, Leonardo has made it a policy to watch them and to break into themselves to find out if they're up to something. Ever since our last lair was destroyed by those robots and we discovered they came from TCRI, Leonardo doesn't want something similar to happen again."

That was an understatement. Both April and Casey had seen firsthand the damage caused by the so-called 'mousers,' small robots that acted like a plague of dog-sized locusts, chewing up metal and concrete. Batches of them had been released into the city, and for reasons the turtles had never discovered they had been sent into the deeper areas of the sewers and caused a lot of damage. They had attacked and demolished the turtle's original home, so it made sense they didn't want a repeat.

But April O'Neil hadn't become a reporter by being blind. She was a clever cookie, and she was good at reading the signs. She could see, judging from the way Splinter was fidgeting, that the old ninja master was worried. She felt her heart go to him. She knew how much he loved the turtles, and since there was someone else out there…

"Master Splinter, have the turtles found out anything about the deaths of the Purple Dragons and the Foot Clan?" April asked carefully.

For the last fortnight, bodies belonging to the Foot Clan and the Purple Dragons had been found.

The NYPD had always struggled with the Dragons because they were always elusive; as a cop himself, Casey had a strong grudge towards the gang, and he'd joined the NYPD to deal with them in the first place, but they were a kind of visible urban legend, almost. But it wasn't until he'd taken the law into his own hands when the police's methods proved disappointing that he learnt some of the city's officials were protecting them and using their contacts to warn the Purple Dragons of impending arrests, and getting arrested members off on technicalities, regardless of their crimes unless they were severe.

On top of that, the more extreme members of the gang who weren't freed found themselves dead in prison, poisoned. Casey, frustrated with roadblock after roadblock, became a vigilante. And then he discovered the Purple Dragons were a front for the Shredder's organisation. They were just pawns, involved in this and that.

While Casey had no love towards the Dragons, even he was stunned by how many of them were dying. What made things more curious was how some of the Foot Clan had been found dead, in public places. April and Casey were both aware the turtles always needed to take the law into their own hands, believing the ends justified the means; the Foot Clan was not a pleasant organisation and they would never hesitate to kill, and they were fanatical towards the Shredder.

And yet someone, somehow, was killing them and dropping their corpses off in public places; that alone was scary, since as ninjas, the Foot always cleaned up after themselves. The fact someone was able to circumvent that was scary.

But what was worse was the Foot Clan ninjas who'd been found out on the street had died as if their extensive skills weren't even there, and they couldn't even fight back.

April and Casey both knew Shredder well enough to know the ninja master was always skirting between the lines of megalomania and insanity. God only knew what he was doing right now.

Splinter took an uneasy breath, and both humans realised why he was worried. "No, they haven't." April thought that would be the end of the matter, but now Splinter had replied honestly, it was as though the floodgates opened. "And that worries me. I don't care about the Purple Dragons, they're just a bunch of youths who've been twisted by lies and power. But the Foot Clan…they're a different story. They are fanatics, twisted and warped, yes, but they're highly skilled and trained ninjas. The Foot Clan follows a long and ancient tradition that Shredder has likely spat on. Modern historians record that the ninja died out gradually over the centuries, but do you really imagine any self-respecting ninja would just throw aside their training?"

April and Casey didn't know what to say.

Splinter wasn't finished. "I began my own ninja training by reading books, and I found a number of them, and I also spied on martial arts classes, I copied them and I taught them to the turtles."

"You did a good job," April told him, hoping to reassure him.

"Yes, but was it enough?" Splinter's counterargument made April sigh inwardly. "Yes, the turtles are strong. All of them have strengths and weaknesses; Leonardo is a gifted leader and a good strategist, but he sometimes lacks self-confidence; Donatello's a gifted fighter and a resourceful hand-to-hand combatant, but he is sometimes too rigid in his thinking; Raphael is focused and strong, but he is also rash, impulsive, and I fear one day he might do something he will regret; Michaelangelo is perhaps the most gifted fighter, but he lacks focus, and his head is usually in the clouds. I have done my best to teach all of them how to be fighters, to protect themselves against the cruelties of the world. Together, they make a great team, but I fear their bickering could get them killed."

The old rat looked down at his paws, clenching them tightly as he shook with his nerves while the two humans looked on worriedly.