Chapter 14: The Gauntlet
Hey everyone I'm back with a new chapter. I'm thrilled how all of you reacted to my last chapter and let me tell you those surprises will resurface later in the story. Also I'm thrilled to say it has been over 3 years since I posted this story and I gotta say I'm thrilled with how far it's come. Thanks for all the support! I hope you like what I have planned. Please Review and Enjoy.
We find ourselves on the streets of New York City, as April was leaving her aunt's place when she heard a whooshing noise.
"Hmm?" Looking around April slowly made her way down the alley next to the apartment.
Suddenly she heard the noise again startling her.
Turning her attention to the roofs she saw a large mutant pigeon man thing looking right at her.
Panicking she ran through the alley and down the street trying to outrun the thing.
Taking a sharp turn, she ran into a bank and closed the door hoping to lose it.
As she caught her breath, she slowly felt relieved thinking she lost it until the pigeon man smashed face-first against the glass startling her.
Slowly peeking out, she saw the giant pigeon shake it off and fly away much to her confusion.
"My life has gotten really weird," April said unsure what to make of this.
Down in the sewer, we see Raph and Leo training when Donnie walks in.
"Check it out, guys. We are about to take our ninjutsu to a whole new level." Donnie said excitedly.
"Cool," Leo said delivering a kick and knocking Raph back.
Turning their attention to him, he revealed a set of eggs.
"Last night I figured out how to make Ninja smoke bombs!" Throwing one down Donnie disappeared in a puff of smoke and reappeared across from them.
"Whoa." Both said in awe.
"Yeah Robin sent me some notes but I added my own touch. Now, to make 'em, I carefully drill two holes in an eggshell without cracking it, slowly blow out the contents, wait for the inside to dry, then pour in flash powder and seal both holes with wax." Donnie explains.
"Blah, blah, blah science. Do it again." Raph orders not caring how they were made.
"What I'm trying to tell you guys is, they take a long time to make, so use them sparingly," Donnie warns.
"Hey guys! Mikey and I are making omelets for breakfast! Who wants one?!" Gio calls out from another room.
"Omelets? No don't!" Donnie yelled but it was too late in a puff of smoke Mikey appeared in front of them with a soot on his face and a bowl of smoke bombs he thought were eggs.
"Ugh I think that was a rotten egg." Mikey groans as Raph and Leo snicker.
"Mikey where did you—" Running in Gio saw the situation and paused. "Uh does someone want to fill me in on why breakfast exploded in Mikey's face?"
"They're not eggs, they're ninja smoke bombs," Donnie explains making Mikey's eyes widen.
"Shut up." Grabbing an egg Mikey threw it down and disappeared and reappeared all over the room. "This is the best day of my life!"
"Mikey no!" Donnie yells while Gio chuckles.
"Not bad Donnie. Do you have more?" Gio asks.
"Yeah and Mikey's breaking them all," Donnie said as Mikey appeared behind him.
"I love you, man," Mikey said hugging Donnie but he was too angry to care.
"Well guess I better figure out what else we can eat for breakfast," Gio said walking out.
Once he was gone Mikey looked to the others. "Perfect he's gone. Guys, I need your opinion on something important."
"Important?" Leo raised an eyebrow as Mikey took out a piece of paper.
"What is that?" Raph asks.
"I've been trying to come up with a new name for Gio," Mikey said as the other 3 paused.
"Why would he need a new name?" Donnie asks.
"Well Giovanni was the name Master Splinter gave him but his parents named him Sasuke, so I thought this could be the chance to make a cool new name. Here's what I got: Sasuvanni, Giosuke, ooh or Saio."
"How about none of the above," Donnie said.
"What? But why?" Mikey asks.
"Mikey, he just found out a few days ago give the guy a break," Leo said.
"Yeah, Gio's family situation is for him to sort out. We don't need to constantly remind him of it." Raph said.
"So we're just supposed to forget about Auntie and Uncle?" Mikey asks.
"We don't even know them." Raph snaps.
"Do Gio a favor and not try and bring it up," Donnie suggests.
"Oh fine," Mikey said before looking at Raph and Leo. "But just for the record which name did you guys like better?" Mikey asks.
Before any of them could answer April ran into the lair.
"Guys! Guys, you'll never believe what happened to me!" April panics.
"Whoa, April calm down," Gio said sitting her down as his brothers joined him.
"What's going on?" Donnie asks.
"I am being hunted…by a giant pigeon." April declares and instantly Raph bursts into laughter.
Narrowing their eyes, everyone else glared at him.
"I can't be the only one who finds that funny," Raph said.
"It's trying to hurt April. It doesn't matter if it's funny or not. She needs our help." Gio said making her smile at his support.
"This is serious. I'd better get Splinter." Mikey said grabbing a smoke bomb.
"We don't really need—" Before Leo could finish Mikey threw it down and in a puff of smoke Splinter appeared.
"Michelangelo said you wanted to see me?" Splinter asks as they gather around April so she can explain things.
"His talons were razor sharp. He would have torn me to pieces if he hadn't slammed into the glass." April said as Raph laughed again getting glares.
"Really? Just me?" Raph asks before Splinter hits him in the back of the head with his staff.
"Raphael! Clearly, April is upset." Splinter scolds.
"Yeah, dude that's so insensitive. Do you need a tissue?" Mikey offers.
"I think I'm okay," April assures.
"I'll get you one," Mikey said throwing a smoke bomb down startling her.
"What the?" April said before Mikey reappeared nearby.
"We're out of tissues. Can I make you some soup?" Mikey offers taking another one out.
"Stop it!" Donnie said taking the smoke bomb from his hand.
"Don't worry April. We won't let anything happen to you." Gio assures.
"Gio's right. We're gonna set a trap for this pigeon-man and make sure he never bothers you again." Leo agrees.
"And fortunately we have the perfect bait," Gio said.
"Bread crumbs!" Mikey said immediately. "What? Pigeons like breadcrumbs."
"I meant April." Gio corrects.
"You're gonna let him eat April? I thought you liked her!" Mikey said defensively.
"He does?" April pauses not knowing that part.
"Of course, I'm not gonna let it eat her. We're only using April to draw it out. The second it shows its face. We take it out before it even gets close to her." Gio explains.
"Great. I don't suppose we'll have any backup for this?" April asks hopeful for some extra protection.
"Sorry April, but Aqualad said the team was away. They're dealing with some personal stuff." Leo said.
"And what him?" April asks.
"He's helping Red Arrow with something big going on." Gio shrugs unsure what he meant.
"All right, Mighty Mutants, let's do this." Leo declares trying to give them a team name.
"Mighty mutants? What, Dancing Dorks was already taken?" Raph mocks.
"And fyi, I'm not a mutant." Gio reminds. "Come up with something better."
Groaning Leo would deal with that later.
As they ran to the exit Splinter called out to them. "Wait!" Splinter said as they all briefly stopped. "We do not yet know what you are facing and we do not have our usual backup. Perhaps you should study your enemy before confronting him."
"With all due respect, sensei, it's a pigeon," Leo said.
"I think we can handle this one." Gio agrees.
"What you know is dangerous to your enemy. What you think you know is dangerous to you. I fear you are all becoming overconfident." Splinter warns.
"Sensei, in the past few months, we've taken down giant spiders, plant creatures, alien robots, supervillains, and an army of ninjas," Leo said as the other brothers fist-bumped and high-fived each other. "Maybe we're not overconfident. Maybe we're just that good."
"Give us some credit Master. We've learned a lot." Gio said putting on his mask and they ran out but Splinter wasn't entirely convinced.
Meanwhile, at Shredder's hideout, we see Chris Bradford approaching Shredder's Akita dog.
"It's okay, Hachiko, I'm not gonna hurt you," Bradford said about to pet it but the dog bit him making him cringe in pain.
"He is not pleased with you. Nor am I. I entrusted you both with the task of destroying Splinter and his loathsome turtles. I spent years molding you in my image, teaching you my darkest secrets, and you shame me with your incompetence." Splinter said making Bradford hang his head in shame while Xever chuckled.
Narrowing his eyes, Shredder set his sights on him next. "And you! I should have left you to rot in that prison where I found you."
"The turtles and their allies have been lucky so far, but it won't last forever," Bradford said as Shredder sat in his chair.
"The next time we meet I promise you—" Xever starts.
"Enough!" Shredder said tired of their excuses. "I am weary of your excuses. I will now destroy the turtles myself. And should any outsiders get between us they will suffer as well."
That night, we see April weirdly walking through an alley making strange body movements.
"Here I am, walking around in the big city. All alone! Oh, I sure hope no crazy pigeon-man sneaks up on me. That would be the last thing I'd want." April said as Gio popped out from behind a dumpster.
"What the heck are you doing? You sound like one of Leo's old Space Odyssey dramas." Gio said.
"You asked me to be bait. I'm being bait." April said.
"You are not acting like bait." Gio shook his head.
"How would you know how bait acts?" April asks.
"For one thing bait doesn't talk back." Gio counters.
"Ooh!" All 4 turtles said from their hiding spots.
"Oh no you didn't," Mikey said as April crossed her arms.
"Just be yourself. Act natural. And stop monologuing." Gio said going back into hiding.
Rolling her eyes, April casually walked through the alley when she heard a familiar cawing.
Turning around April saw the pigeon man swoop in at her with talons gleaming.
Screaming in fear, April braced herself when suddenly the mutant was electrocuted.
"Now!" Running out of hiding, Leo, Raph, and Mikey tackled him to the ground while Gio and Donnie stood next to April with Donnie holding a homemade stun gun.
"And you said I wasn't good bait," April smirks as Gio rolls his eyes.
"Okay. Okay. Uncle." The pigeon man said.
"Okay, start talking, pigeon-man." Leo orders.
"I have a name." He said.
"Yeah, we just don't care what it is." Raph smirks.
"It's Pete." Pigeon Pete said.
"Why were you trying to hurt April, Pete?" Gio asks.
"I didn't wanna hurt her. I was just bringing her a message. From her father." Pigeon Pete said making April gasps.
"Let him up." April orders as the turtles get off him.
"We were both guests of the Kraang. They poured some ooze on me and turned me into this." Pigeon Pete said.
"Oh, that must have been horrible. Being turned into a pigeon." April said.
"Actually, I started as a pigeon." Pigeon Pete informs.
"Told you the bread crumbs would have worked," Mikey said and Pete immediately grabbed him.
"Ooh! You got bread crumbs?!" He asks lifting Mikey to see if there were any.
"Um, my father." April reminds snapping him out of it.
"Oh right." Letting go of Mikey, Pigeon Pete hands April a phone that has a recording of her father.
"Something terrible is about to happen. And I don't know what, but it's extremely important that you get out of this city as soon as you can. Save yourself. Remember, I love you." Kirby said.
"I love you too, daddy." April sniffles hugging the phone close as if it was him.
"Do you have any idea what he's talking about?" Gio asks.
"I'm just a messenger." Pigeon Pete said.
"We have got to get you out of the city," Donnie said.
"I'm not going anywhere without my dad." April refuses.
"But you heard him, something terrible is gonna happen." Donnie points out.
"Then we'd better hurry." April counters.
Gio was about to object when he remembered how much he begged his parents and that he wouldn't leave without them either.
"Fine, but you have to do exactly what we say," Gio said and April nodded in understanding.
"Can you tell us where the Kraang are holding him?" Leo asks.
"I can, but it's gonna cost you a lot of bread." Pigeon Pete said.
"You mean actual bread, right?" Gio asks.
"Yep. Sourdough." Pete nods.
"Done." Leo and Gio nod sealing the deal.
"Let's roll," Mikey said throwing a smoke bomb down allowing them to disappear.
Little did they know several Foot Clan ninjas saw this and moved out.
In another part of town, Xever and Bradford are in front of a fish booth as Xever pulls out a snakehead fish from its tank.
"That's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Present company excluded." Bradford mocks as Xever tosses the fish to the vendor for him to kill and cut up. "So, we have a problem."
"No, you have a problem." Xever points.
"We've both failed Master Shredder. Can you live with that shame?" Chris asks.
Growling, Xever looks away. "If I had the opportunity, I would crush those turtles and their little friends like bugs." Xever said when Bradford's phone rang and when he answered it, he grinned. "What is that?"
"Opportunity." Bradford declares.
Atop a building, we see Mikey and Donnie open a fan off the roof revealing a small hole for them to climb down.
"Piece of cake." Donnie grins.
"Let's do this," April said ready to save her dad.
"We need you to wait here, April," Leo said much to her disappointment.
"What? But my dad's in there." April said.
"Along with who knows how many Kraang. This requires stealth and mobility. Leave it to the pros." Leo said.
"I can't just do nothing," April said.
"You won't be doing nothing. We need you to lower this rope when we give you the signal." Leo said handing her a rope.
Annoyed, this was not how April hoped she would save her dad but took the rope knowing she didn't have enough training to join them.
As Donnie, Leo, and Gio dropped in first they quickly rolled out of the way to avoid being spotted by a Kraang, but when Mikey dropped in the droid noticed him.
Gulping Mikey was about to get blasted when Raph dropped in on top of the droid and took it out.
Making their way through the base, the 5 Turtle brothers silently moved through the halls when they noticed two Kraang droids approaching a heavily fortified room.
Waiting for them to open the door to show one more Kraang Droid working on what appeared to be a blue console, Raph grabbed the droids and smashed their heads together while Gio threw a shuriken hitting the other one in the head causing them to collapse.
As the Kraang inside the droid screeched trying to fight back Leo punched it hard in the face knocking it out cold.
"Donnie, hack into the system and see if you can find out about the Kraangs' plot. Raph, Gio, you're with me. Mikey, stay with Donnie." Leo instructs.
"Why do I always get stuck with Mikey?" Donnie whines.
"Hey," Mikey said offended by that.
"I don't want him and I'm in charge," Leo said.
"Hey!" Mikey repeated.
"Then make Gio take him," Donnie said.
"I'm stuck with him all the time at home," Gio said.
"That hurt Giosuke," Mikey said trying one of his new names out.
"Huh?" Gio said before shaking his head. "Never mind. Raph, you take him."
"Over my dead body." Raph refuses.
"You know, I'm starting to think nobody wants to be with me. Fine, I'll just go off on my own." Mikey threw a smoke bomb down but seconds later he opened a small hatch in the connecting room. "That's a closet."
"Alright, Mikey cannot be on his own. Luckily there's an easy way to settle this…not it!" Gio said putting a finger to his nose.
"Not it!" Raph and Leo said copying him.
"Not ah dang it!" Donnie curses being the last one.
"Have fun you two," Raph said as the three of them walked out.
Making the best of this situation, Mikey looked around the room in awe.
"Whoa. What does this button do?" Mikey asks about to touch something but Donnie grabs his hand.
"Don't. Touch. Anything." Donnie insists.
Making their way to the holding cells, they found the one with Kirby inside it.
"Mr. O'Neil. Are you okay?" Gio called out as Leo worked the lock and Raph watched their backs.
"You're the Turtles who saved my daughter," Kirby recalls. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine. She's right outside." Raph assures.
"You mean she's still in the city? That girl is stubborn." Kirby said.
"Yeah, we noticed," Leo said.
"We tried to make her leave but she wouldn't without you. Honestly, I get it." Gio said.
In the console room, Donnie was trying to figure out how to hack the console but Mikey was making it difficult.
"What's that one do?" Mikey asks touching a button.
"I don't know," Donnie growls trying to stop him.
"What's that one do?" Mikey asks pushing another one.
"I don't know. Ugh if M'Gann was here she could have helped me figure out this alien tech." Donnie said trying to swat him away when Mikey came up behind him and touched another one.
"What's that one do?" Mikey asks.
"I don't know!" Donnie said slamming his hands down on the console causing it to open. "Hey, I'm in." Donnie smiles.
"You're welcome," Mikey said as Donnie pushed him off.
Looking at the plans, Donnie's eyes widen in horror. "Oh no."
Back with the others, Leo was still struggling with the lock.
"Ugh, we've been relying too much on Robin for this stuff. If he was here we'd have that door open by now." Gio said pinching his nose.
"Yeah or Superboy would rip that door open. Since it's taking Leo forever to pick that lock." Raph starts glaring at him.
"I'm working on it." Leo defends.
"Maybe you can tell us what the heck's the deal with the Kraang," Raph suggests.
"They're aliens from another dimension. When they came here they brought the mutagen with them." Kirby explains.
"But why would they want something that turns people into mutants?" Gio asks.
"The mutagen doesn't work the way they thought it would. Apparently, the physical laws of their universe are different from ours." Kirby corrects.
"So they're grabbing scientists to help them modify the ooze." Leo realized.
"Wow, you figured it out. How's that lock coming?' Raph mocks.
"So if they need you to fix it, what do they want to use the ooze for?" Gio asks.
"I wish I knew," Kirby said when Donnie and Mikey ran in.
"Leo, Raph, Gio they've planted a mutagen bomb downtown. They're gonna use it to disperse ooze over half the city!" Donnie said making them panic when he noticed Kirby. "Oh hey, Mr. O'Neil."
"They're gonna what?!" Gio panics.
"Okay, we have to disarm that bomb. If I could just get this stupid door open." Leo said fiddling with the lock.
"Have you tried this?" Mikey asks gesturing to a button next to the cell.
"NO!" All 4 of his brothers yell but Mikey pushes it setting off an alarm.
"And that's why no one wants to be with you!" Raph glares.
"Leo hurry!" Gio said as Leo got the door open.
"I got it! Let's go!" Leo said grabbing Kirby and sprinting back to their meeting spot.
Jumping behind crates for cover, Leo looked up and made a cooing sound to try and get April's attention.
"What are you doing? April, throw the rope!" Raph calls out making her gasp.
"Dad!" Grabbing the rope, she throws it down for them to climb up but the surrounding Kraang shooting at them was not making it easy.
"Raph! We need an opening!" Gio orders.
"On it!" Kicking a crate it smashes into a droid knocking its gun near Kirby.
"I really wish we had more backup. Artemis, KF, or Aqualad would really be useful right now." Mikey said.
"But they're not," Donnie said.
Seeing that they needed a distraction to escape, Kirby grabbed the gun.
"Mr. O'Neil, what are you doing?" Leo asks as he starts firing at the Kraang Droids making them fall back.
"Save my daughter! Save the city!" Kirby orders.
"Daddy no!" April screams.
Charing forward, Kirby opened fire on the Kraang taking their attention completely off the turtles.
"Go, go!" Leo said as they ran to the rope.
"We can't leave him here," Donnie said.
"We don't have a choice," Leo said.
As they climbed up the rope, April saw the Kraang surround her dad and recapture him.
"No!" April screams as her dad is taken away again.
Covering her mouth, April struggled to hold back her tears.
"I'm sorry April." Gio apologizes as April hugs him. "We'll get him back someday. I promise."
"We gotta go," Donnie said reminding them of the Kraang's plot.
Atop a building called the WOLF HOTEL spelled in big letters we see a large container of ooze that was guarded by several Kraang Droids.
"Kraang, in how many time units known as minutes will the device containing the mutagen that will be spread over the place known as New York, be detonated?" One Kraang asks.
"Five." The other Kraang answered when suddenly an arrow was shot through its head causing the droid to explode.
As the other droids tried to counter more arrows with explosives strapped to them flew in and upon contact exploded.
One Kraang tried to counter when a sword slashed its head open causing the Kraang to run.
Landing on the roof the 5 Turtles watched the little squid brain escape but didn't care they had bigger problems.
"Okay Donnie, you're up," Leo said.
Opening the hatch, Donnie pauses. "Uh oh."
"Uh oh? Donnie, you said you knew how to do this."
"I didn't count on a design this complex, Leo," Donnie said.
"They're aliens from another dimension. What did you expect?" Gio asks.
"Boy, I sure hope this argument goes on for another 4 minutes and 15 seconds," Raph said reminding Donnie to get to work.
Looking at the system, Donnie was sweating bullets trying to figure out which wire to cut.
"Careful." Gio gulps but Donnie just glares.
"Watch out for those wires," Leo said.
"Ooh what if you pressed this button?" Mikey points but Raph grabs his arm.
"Haven't you pushed enough buttons today?" Raph glares.
"Donnie, you're gonna have to speed this up," Leo said.
"I can't work with all this pressure!" Donnie snaps when Gio hears a noise.
Looking up, his eyes widen. "Uh, that might be a problem."
Above them, they saw Bradford and Xever looking down at them.
"Donnie keep working on that! We'll hold them off!" Gio said as the others drew their weapons.
Swinging his nunchaku, Mikey throws at them at Xever who dodges the attack and kicks him aside before attacking Leo.
"You guys picked a really bad time for this," Leo said blocking Xever's attacks and knocking him back.
"Oh, sorry for the inconvenience. When would you prefer to breathe your last breath?" Xever mocks doing a jump kick forcing Leo back.
"If that thing goes off, it'll wipe us all out," Leo warns but neither of them seems to care.
"I'd rather perish with honor than live in shame," Bradford said raising his sword and bringing it down forcing Raph and Gio to dodge.
"Oh please Bradford you have no honor." Swinging his tonfas upward Gio knocks Bradford's sword arm to the side before nailing him in the gut with his other one.
Still dazed, Bradford was wide open to a powerful strike courtesy of Raph.
"Will you hurry up and defuse the bomb? We're dealing with a couple of nutjobs here." Raph calls out looking at Donnie.
"Be quiet!" Donnie said infuriated.
Charging in, Bradford rams into Gio knocking him back while Xever does a double handstand kick knocking Leo and Mikey away.
Turning around, Xever sets his sights on Raph.
Doing a series of flips and kicks, Raph blocked them but Xever was relentless.
Slowly getting up, Gio sees the situation Raph is in.
Shaking it off, Gio links his tonfas together creating a metal staff.
Stabbing it into the ground he pole vaults over Xever slams one end of his staff down on Xever's hand making him scream in pain allowing Raph to punch him in the stomach.
Infuriated, Xever chases after them as the two brothers leap onto the container of ooze.
Below them, Bradford was about to join when Mikey's nunchaku narrowly missed him. Turning his sights on him, Bradford attacked his former fake friend.
Swinging his sword, Mikey blocks it with his chain but leaves himself open for a tackle knocking the wind out of him.
Charging in, Leo and Bradford lock blades allowing Mikey to breathe.
"Down to two wires. Which do I cut? Black or green?" Donnie asks.
"Go for the Green!" Mikey calls out before he is punched by Bradford.
Looking at the wires, Donnie was about to cut the black as it came down to the final seconds when he paused. "Eh, why not?" Changing to the green wire Donnie clips it and to his surprise, the bomb is defused. "Guys, guys, Mikey was right about something!"
Now that he no longer had the bomb to worry about Donnie grabbed his staff and joined the fight.
With the 5 Brothers together, they trapped Xever and Bradford on a platform next to the ooze surrounded on both sides.
"You are worthy adversaries, but the fight is ours. Lay down your weapons." Leo orders.
"Never!" Xever hisses.
"You don't have a choice. We won." Gio said.
"If I'm going down…" Looking at the mutagen, Bradford grins. "I'm taking you with me."
Raising his sword, he stabs the mutagen container.
"No!" Donnie yells as it explodes and mutagen spills out.
Acting quickly, Raph and Donnie pulled Gio back so he wouldn't get any on him but Xever and Bradford weren't so lucky and took the full container of Mutagen themselves knocking them down to the lower level.
Shutting down the device, the 5 Turtle brothers gathered.
"So to sum up, we kicked the butts of the Kraang and Shredder's top henchmen while defusing a bomb and saving the city. All without any backup from our friends." Leo lists.
"I'll admit we had some bumps but we handled it." Gio smiles.
"Yeah we're not overconfident." Raph smiles.
"We're just that good." Leo finishes.
Cheering all 5 of them high five.
"Your skills are impressive." A dark voice said bringing this celebration immediately to an end.
Turning around they saw the Shredder looking down at them from atop the mutagen container before leaping down so he was across from them.
"But they will not save you." Shredder finishes.
"Is that who I think it is?" Gio gulps.
"That depends do you think it's the Shredder?" Donnie asks.
"Well, it's definitely a Shredder," Raph said
"There is undoubtedly a fascinating story in how my old nemesis came to teach ninjutsu to four mutant turtles and one human boy. Perhaps I will let one of you live long enough to tell it." Shredder said.
"You're gonna have to catch us first. Mikey!" Leo orders.
"So long sucka!" Taking out a smoke bomb, Mikey threw it to the ground but it splattered revealing it was just a normal egg.
"We're out of smoke bombs, aren't we?" Gio asks everyone glared at Mikey.
"Okay, that one's on me," Mikey said rubbing the back of his head.
"Mikey we get out of this I'm going to punch you." Gio glares.
"Get in line." Raph growls.
Extending his blades, Shredder went on the attack. Drawing his sai, Raph raced out to counter him.
As the two clashed, Raph tried to overpower him, but Shredder blocked and dodged all his strikes.
Raph thrusts his sai forward but using his blades, Shredder traps Raph's weapon in his grip allowing him to deliver a fierce kick sending Raph flying into part of the sign electrocuting him.
"Raph!" Leo gasped as he fell to the ground in pain.
Changing targets, Shredder attacked Leo who tried to dodge but Shredder nailed him in the gut making him skid back.
"Leo!" Donnie gasps before turning to Shredder.
Swinging his staff at him, Shredder dodges all of Donnie's strikes before grabbing part of the staff hitting Donnie with his own staff and knocking him away.
Growling Gio charges in and slams his tonfas down forcing Shredder to block.
Pushing back, Shredder knocks one of Gio's Tonfa's out of his hands before delivering a fierce punch to the face.
He was about to attack again when Mikey threw his kusarigama wrapping around Shredder's arm.
As Mikey pulls Shredder yanks him him and delivers a fierce kick knocking Mikey towards the edge.
Throwing several shurikens, Shredder blocked them with ease just as Mikey fell off the roof.
Walking over to check if he fell Leo used this chance to race in and deliver a slash.
Before Shredder could react Donnie leaps and whacks him with his staff.
Recovering Shredder swings his arm but Gio raises his arm revealing his strapped shield to it allowing him to block it.
Glaring daggers at him, Gio jumps and does a spin kick hitting Shredder in the face.
While the three of them kept him busy, Mikey went to Raph's aid.
Helping him up, Raph smiled meaning he still had some fight in him.
Down below, Shredder clashed with Gio and Leo as Leo swung his swords and Gio deflected the attacks with his tonfa and shield.
Coming up behind Shredder, Donnie swings his staff at him but a piece of it breaks upon contact.
Gulping Donnie sees Shredder turn to him. Seconds later, Donnie was thrown into his brothers sending the three of them tumbling back.
Groaning the three of them looked up to see Shredder's blades extend as he was about to finish them off. Suddenly leaping in from above Raph crashes down on Shredder delivering a series of punches before Shredder throws him off.
Pulling his arm back about to counter, Mikey's chain wrapped around his arm. Leaping off the sign, Shredder was pulled up by his arm before Mikey hooked the other end to a lower part causing Shredder's arm to make a cracking noise.
Cringing in pain, Shredder used his other arm to cut the bottom part of the sign which came down right on top of Mikey.
While his brothers ran to free him from the debris, Shredder cut himself out of his trap.
As Mikey stood up, the 5 Turtle Brothers saw Shredder glaring down at them. Bending down Gio picked up his second tonfa allowing them to glare back with weapons ready.
Charging in the two parties met in the middle and Shredder crushed every single one of them.
Delivering a fierce slash he knocked Gio to the ground first followed by devastating blows to Raph, Donnie, and Mikey.
Swinging his blades, Shredder slashed Leo making him drop his swords in pain.
Before he could react, Shredder grabbed him and slammed him against the wall.
"Tell me where Splinter is and your demise will be swift." Shredder threatened as a third blade came out of his weapon and was inches from Leo's face.
Groaning in pain, Gio spits out a little blood struggling to get back on his feet. Seeing his brothers nearby groaning in pain with scuffs and bruises all over them and Leo about to be stabbed he had to act now.
'Come on. Come on. I gotta do something…he's going to kill them. My family…I CAN'T LOSE ANOTHER ONE!' Gio screams internally and something inside him reacts to his emotions.
Just as Splinter was about to attack something struck him in the sides forcing him to let go of Leo.
Turning around, he saw Gio glaring him down with glowing green eyes, magic circles wrapped around his wrists as he held his tonfa in his right hand and his shield strapped to his left arm.
"What is this?" Shredder asks intrigued.
"Leave my family alone!" Gio roars throwing his tonfa at Shredder he dodges it with ease but to his surprise Gio is gone.
In a flash of green, Gio grabbed his tonfa and was now behind Shredder surprising him and his brothers.
Swinging his tonfa, he nails Shredder in the face making him fall back.
Using it again, Gio throws his shield at Shredder and a flash of green appears above him. Grabbing the shield by the rim, Gio slams it down on Shredder who raises his arms to block it but the resulting force sends him skidding back.
As he recovers Gio slams his hands together to make a hand sign before taking a deep breath. When he released it, a fireball shot out at Shredder forcing him to dodge.
Lunging forward Shredder impales Gio through the chest much to everyone's horror but suddenly in a puff of smoke, we see Gio was replaced by a wooden log.
"A substitution?" Shredder gasps when a familiar shield hits him in the chest making him skid back.
Leaping in Gio swings his tonfas forcing Shredder to block it.
Growling in anger, Gio pushed back against Shredder but Shredder wouldn't budge easily forcing them into a lock.
Running over to help his brothers, Leo helped them up, and needless to say they were amazed by this.
"What's going on?" Raph groans.
"Is that really Gio?" Donnie asks.
"How is he even doing all that?" Mikey asks.
"I don't know, and I don't even think he knows," Leo said looking at the seething green eyes.
Overpowering him, Shredder delivers a fierce kick knocking Gio against the brick wall and dropping to his knees.
"You are a worthy adversary; you have earned this death," Shredder said.
"No. I won't die like this." Raising his left hand, the magic bindings glowed bright before Gio making lightning crackle from his hand.
Slamming it down the roof began to shake violently as lighting shot across the ground and electrocuted Shredder making him scream in agony.
Raising his other arm, Gio made one more hand sign and the brick wall behind him started to shake before all the bricks shot out like bullets hitting Shredder multiple times and forcing him back towards the edge with the mutagen tank.
"He's gonna knock him off the roof." Raph grins.
"Yes! Come on bro!" Leo cheers.
"Just a little more!" Donnie said.
"Send this Shredder packing!" Mikey yells.
As Gio tried to continue his assault he suddenly felt weak and tired from using all those powerful attacks.
With the glow in his eyes fading, Gio groaned in pain as he was forced to end his attack just as Shredder was inches from falling.
Panting heavily Gio could barely stand up straight as he began to wobble.
Running over Raph grabbed him just before he fell.
"Are you okay man?" Raph asks.
"I feel so tired." Gio groans.
"And I don't blame you. Come on let's get out of here." Raph said supporting him on his shoulder.
"You won't escape me. None of you will." Shredder said approaching them.
Cringing the 5 of them didn't know what else to do, but just as Shredder was about to attack, they heard a deep ragged breathing.
Looking to a pile of mutagen they saw Xever had transformed into a large crimson red carp-like mutant. "Help me," Xever begs confusing Shredder.
"What is this?" Shredder asks as Bradford emerges having transformed into an orange Akita mutant.
Seeing this was their best chance, the turtles made their escape while Shredder was distracted.
"Xever? Bradford?" Turning around Shredder saw that his enemies had escaped causing him to roar in anger and frustration.
At the Turtle's base, we see the 5 Turtle brothers were lamenting miserable and sad about their loss.
Growling Raph punches the arcade game in frustration while Gio is looking at his hands.
'What was that? It was like the Ninjutsu but magical.' Gio thought before rubbing his neck. 'And why do I feel so drained?'
"You are all very lucky," Splinter said walking in.
"Well, I think we define that word differently, sensei," Raph said.
"Few have ever faced the Shredder and survived." Splinter points out.
"He was just so fast and strong," Gio said.
"It was like he was everywhere at once," Donnie said.
"If Gio hadn't done whatever he did, we might not have escaped," Mikey said.
"You were right about us being overconfident, sensei. And worse, we didn't realize just how much we've come to rely on our friend's help." Leo frowns.
"There are some things we're just not ready for. Perhaps. But that no longer matters. It is clear now that the Shredder is a problem that will not go away. So prepare yourselves, my sons. Because as of this moment, we are at war." Splinter declares.
Hearing this, Gio knew what he had to do next.
At Mount Justice, Aqualad had just come back from helping Red Arrow on his mission when the teleporter activated.
"Recognized Carapace T-1." Looking over Aqualad gasped to see his friend limping over with bruises all over his body.
"Gio!" Running over he helped him up.
"Ugh Aqualad." Gio groans.
"What happened to you?" Aqualad asks.
"My brothers and I got our butts kicked. We barely escaped. Alert the Team, the League, and anyone we might call an ally. We've got a new enemy and he wants us all dead." Gio declares horrifying Aqualad.
"What?" Aqualad said in disbelief.
Taking a big gulp, Gio knew this next request would not be an easy one for him to admit. Since he always relied on Master Splinter for everything. But sadly this was something that he didn't know if his Master could handle.
"And…I need help. I have powers but I have no idea how to use them by my own will. Do you know anyone who might be able to help me?" Gio requests.
"I'll talk to Batman immediately about all this, but for right now go home and rest. I'll tell everyone what happened. As for your powers, we'll see if we can find something." Aqualad said.
Nodding in understanding, Gio knew there was nothing much he could do right now.
They escaped Shredder but this was by far their last encounter.