Fading sunlight filtered in through the vent down to the lair. Nobody spoke, save for the grunts of effort from the five young ninjas who were each trying to hold their concentration and not fall.

Splinter slowly walked into the dojo, surveying his children. The Hashi was a punishment, sure, but it was also designed as a training opportunity. A unique form of balance that highlighted and helped strengthen each of their weaknesses.

For Leonardo, a leader who wanted perfection so much that he sometimes lacked flexibility in his rigid schedules for himself, two stacks of cinder blocks so far apart he was forced to do the splits, along with holding a delicate egg on a pair of chopsticks with each hand and balancing an egg on his head.

For Raphael, whose strength and power were hardly hindered by his anger and impatience, a tricycle small enough that he could only fit one foot on it, and with knitting needles and yarn, forced to do a small and intricate task that required his patience to hold fast.

For Donatello, a brilliant young mind, smartest of his brothers, but the lack of ability to concentrate on one task before his mind flowed quickly and effortlessly to the next, a spinning balance board, a ping pong ball, and two ping pong paddles, tasked with focusing in order to keep the ball from falling or rolling away.

For Michelangelo, a free spirit with so much potential, possibly even more than his brothers, but the inability to sit still for more than a few seconds, a small and creaky old office chair that would tilt or lean if he shifted his weight too much, slowly spinning as he did a hand-stand.

And lastly for Ming, who would run herself ragged just to be able to master a move just as good as, if not better, than her brothers, who, despite all her own successes, always strived for more, always pushing to prove herself capable of keeping up with her older brothers, whose pride in herself could be as fragile as the eggshells she forced herself to walk upon, a tall and thin bamboo stick that, once she was atop it, had her looking down upon all her brothers, forcing her to remain still and poised as to not fall over, for only a little wobble would knock her down.

"11 hours in the Hashi." Splinter announced, walking slowly towards the table in the centre of the room. "Are you sure none of you want to tell me where you were last night?"

"How you holding up, fellas?" Leonardo grunted out.

Splinter lashed his tail at the front tire of Raphael's tricycle, causing him to wobble, but he quickly recovered. "I ain't breakin' if Donnie ain't breakin'." He grunted.

Splinter walked towards Donatello, who swallowed. "Experiencing intense nausea but not breaking."

Splinter grabbed the balance board with his tail and spun it faster. Donnie groaned weakly, keeping the ping pong ball from falling or getting away.

Ming whimpered, almost wobbling but keeping herself together. "I'm good if Mikey's good."

"Guys, I'm in the zone! There's literally nothing that could break me right now!" Michelangelo replied, a grin on his face. Splinter had one more trick up his sleeve, and tossed it onto the table.

A fresh, hot, delicious-smelling pizza from Pizza Hut.

"Starting to break."

"Of course, you've all tasted the five cheese pizza. But this..." Splinter smiled a little as he lightly taunted his students, knowing from the look on Michelangelo's face that this would break him for sure. "Cheese mongers have speculated of its existence for centuries. Da Vinci's original masterpiece. I submit to you..." He flipped the lid of the pizza box to reveal the cheesy bait. "Novantanove formaggio! The ninety-nine cheese pizza."

"Woahhhhh..." Mikey gasped. "It's not possible..."

"Mikey! It's a trap! A pizza with that variety of cheese is a culinary impossibility!" Donnie warned.

"Come on, Sensei, that's just playing dirty!" Ming protested.

Splinter ignored them, picking up a particularly large and cheesy slice. "Shall I list the ingredients?" He asked Mikey.

"No..." Mikey whimpered, but Splinter continued anyway, slowly stepping towards Mikey.

"Cheddar... Provolone..."

"Mikey, don't you do it!" Leo warned.

"Asiago..."

"Keep it together!" Donnie begged.

"Telaggio..."

"I don't even know what that is..." Mikey gasped, staring transfixed at the pizza.

"We're dead." Ming groaned.

"Mozzarella, of course..."

"Alright, alright alright!" Mikey gasped, cracking under the pressure. "We left the lair because Ming did and she got caught by the Foot who were taking hostages and we kicked some serious butt and there was this girl named April O'Neil who took our picture!" He gasped out, and took in another breath. "But we took care of it."

"Idiot..." Raphael groaned, as Ming shot Mikey a glare.

"Thanks a lot." She hissed, expecting Splinter to immediately get angry at her for leaving the lair first and getting her brothers in trouble, but instead he sighed.

"Oh no, my worst fear has been realized."

"Don't worry about it. Donnie erased the picture, we're not in danger." Leo spoke up.

Splinter turned to glare at him. "No, it's April O'Neil who is in danger." He growled, as though Leo should have known that. Mikey snagged the pizza slice from Splinter's hand while he was distracted. "Find the girl! Bring her here!"

Donnie then piped up, like the student who reminds teachers about homework. "But, Sensei, you said to not go above-"

"Find the girl!"

The moment they were given permission to leave the Hashi, they bolted. Ming had to jump and land a flip in order to get down from her bamboo stick without falling, and Donnie needed Raph to hold the board from spinning so he could get down.

As soon as he was down, Donnie put a hand over his mouth and grabbed his stomach, bolting for the bathroom. Raph grabbed his board for him and Ming grabbed the ping-pong ball and rackets.

Raph shouldered Ming.

"Hey!" She growled, pushing him back. He didn't budge.

"Thanks a lot, Ming." He growled.

"For what? What did I do?!" She demanded.

"What did you do?! You snuck out of the lair by yourself and got all of us in trouble!" Leo snapped.

"I never asked for your help!"

"You would've been killed if it weren't for us!" Raph replied, smacking her shoulder with the back of his hand.

"I had the situation under control." Ming snorted.

"Not really." Mikey piped up, earning a glare from Ming.

"A gun to your head is under control? Hate to see what you needing our help looks like, then." Raph set Donnie's balance board up in the corner that the Hashi balance equipment was kept.

Ming threw the ping pong paddles to the floor. "I'll need your help when I'm dead!" She snapped.

"Keep acting like a brat and that'll happen sooner than you think, Pipsqueak!"

"Call me that one more time and see what happens!" Ming snarled.

"What are you gonna do? Run off on your own again and make us clean up your mess AND take the fall for it?" Raph challenged. "Pipsqueak."

"Jerk!" Ming kicked his shin.

"Ow! You little brat!" Raph grabbed her wrist and squeezed.

"Let go of me, you big dope!"

"Maybe when you ask instead of whining like a little baby!" Raph held her up in the air by her wrist.

"I am not a baby! Put me down!" Ming kicked and caught Raph square in the chest, which did succeed in causing him to drop her.

"You whiny little brat!" Raph shoved her. "You always mess up! You always get us in trouble for your bullshit!" He scoffed. "No wonder your parents abandoned you."

Donnie was back from the bathroom now. He, Mikey and Leo all sucked in a breath when Raph said that.

Ming's fists clenched, and she couldn't stop the angry tears that formed in her eyes.

"Take that back." She demanded, unable to keep her voice steady. "Take it back! RIGHT NOW!"

Something happened then. Something neither she nor her brothers could explain.

Raphael gasped, laying on his shell a few feet across the room. Everything on the wall he had just been thrown against had fallen around him, his own sai just inches from stabbing him in the head.

Ming was still shaking from her anger, frozen and unable to move. Unable to comprehend what she had just done. Wait... had she done that? How?!

Leo, Donnie and Mikey looked from where Raph was picking himself up off the ground back to Ming. Donnie curiously lowered his tech goggles over his eyes, but any analysis they ran revealed nothing unusual about Ming, no indication that she had just thrown Raphael halfway across the lair with what seemed to be her mind, or even that she could do such a thing.

Nobody spoke or moved for a few minutes. Nobody knew what to do. Or say.

Finally unable to stand the silence or the staring any longer, Ming stammered out an excuse about being tired, and turned to walk towards her room. Her steps got faster and faster as the realization of what had just happened sank in, and eventually she bolted into her room and slammed the door behind her, breaking down in overwhelmed sobs of anger and fear.