(The Kraang Conspiracy)

Gamelover41592: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. I figured the ending was going to catch a fair number of people off guard.

Jebest4781: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it.

Spectacular Webhead 11: Don't worry, I wasn't referring to you. Venom is definitely coming into his own as at least an anti-hero in this one. "Joining" is the operative phrase here, so take that with a grain of salt for now. I haven't seen the Punisher series, but I have seen his role in the Daredevil series, and he's awesome. I actually did have him make an appearance at least once in this story, but I wouldn't be against having him return. Peter will come back in time, but him being absent has led to a big character arc for Mikey. I have plans for Raph later on, which you'll see come into fruition fairly soon actually.

C.S. Allen: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. This chapter gave me the chance to dive into a few other characters like Venom and introducing his dynamic with the Turtles, and showing what the other Dr Connors has been up to since the Mutagen incident. I have a few ideas to introduce FEAST and their founder, but we'll see them in due time. In addition, this includes an example of Gwen bonding with one of the Turtles, Raph in this case. But on a less jovial note, it also introduces the new villainous faction: the Goblin Nation, the commanders of whom will be revealed in time, but it should go without saying that Jackal is pretty high on the list. That being said, I will keep the Silvermane concept in mind. Also thanks for the apology regarding the spam reviews, I get you guys are enthusiastic, but it is fairly overwhelming, so all of you please try to keep it in check going forward.

Frosty Wolf: That's actually a fairly valid point about Slash and his arc. We'll see if I try and make improvements to it. In the meantime, expect a lot from the Goblin Nation, and it will NOT be gentle. In the meantime, Eddie has his arc this season too, in and out of costume.

TheIrishman1999: Thanks for the input, I'll keep those ideas in mind.

Spartan of Chaos: Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Scarlet Spider holding Spike hostage at one point, so you'll see that eventually. In the meantime, we see more of Venom and his story arc this season.

XaralandoWyattWyatt: Given the Kraang's reputation, I doubt many people are going to shed tears over them, if any. They've even earned the hatred of Venom and caused Peter pain as well, for reasons I'll be going into later on. Admittedly I don't know a lot about the Goblin Nation in the comics, since the only version I've seen is from the 2017 cartoon, so my take on it will be mostly original, if not entirely. I don't really have a lot of thoughts regarding April's clones, but I will be going down the clone path at some point, don't worry.

Guest: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Don't worry, Peter will come back soon enough, trust me.

Pikachu345: I try to keep things from being predictable, while still adhering to a formula to keep the story from getting out of my control. Though considering the end of the last chapter, you should take Slash joining the Goblin Nation with a grain of salt. I'll be showing Man-Spider again in due time, don't worry. But trust me, chaos is being unleashed upon the city in every way imaginable, and the real carnage (pun intended) is only just getting started.

Shakespeare RZA: You raise an interesting point about the Shredder. In his own twisted way, he is still human and his love for Karai is genuine, as was his love for Tang Shen, but he's far too lost in his own hatred to come back, to the point where his desire for vengeance really is the only thing that's keeping him going now. Honestly I haven't seen a lot of takes on Shredder talking about why he's the way he is, other than just being petty or entitled, but you have a really good grasp of him in that regard.

Colacheunion: Raph and Wolverine is a pairing I've put a fair bit of thought into myself, and I do plan to give them some time, don't worry. Also Raph having his own identity, you'll see soon enough. I don't really have much to say in regards to the April clones, mostly because of what I DO have planned for clone stuff.

MercWithaMouth1: Yeah see the thing about that, is that it's an excellent and hilarious idea that I wish I had thought of at the time.

Guest: Yeah, Spike did seem to have a certain fondness for Gwen prior to his mutation, so that might make for an interesting dynamic in the future. And just to be clear, it was shown in a previous chapter that Gwen's spider sense doesn't work with Venom, just like Peter's. And thanks for the scenario regarding The Look. Let me know if you have any other ideas.

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The sun was setting, and another school day had come to an end at Midtown High.

'I can't believe I'm one of those people now.' April rolled her eyes as she made her way out of the building with her backpack slung over her shoulder 'Never thought I'd be one of those people that actually WANT to stay after school. I guess some things are bound to change."

"True, but at the same time, some things can't afford to change."

April glanced up at the sound of the new voice and looked up to see a figure clad in a red and black suit crouched on a rooftop above her "If you're going to try and talk me into not being mad at the Turtles you can save your breath, it's not going to work."

"I expected as much." Daredevil promptly dropped to the ground in front of April and motioned for her to follow him into a nearby alley "It's good to see you again Miss O'Neil, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

"I think we both know you're not here for small talk, so what's up?"

"First I heard about your father disappearing on what's now being referred to as Mutation Day. I wanted to start by offering my condolences."

"Thanks for that." April's gaze softened, but only slightly "But like I said, we both know that's not the only reason you're here."

"Yes. I have kept in touch with the Turtles following the event in question, to try and keep tabs on the situation in the city as a whole, and specifically in Hell's Kitchen in my case. And they told me about how you cut ties with them following the accident with your father. And I know the negative effects that it's been causing."

"I was right, that is what this is about." April crossed her arms and scowled "Look I get it, the guys didn't turn my dad into a mutant bat for fun, it was an accident. I should be shoving any bad feelings about it deep down so I can focus on the task at hand, but I can't because I'm still so angry at them. I can't think about them right now without being angry at them over it. What am I supposed to do, just forgive and forget and act like it never happened?"

"No. You're supposed to be realistic." Daredevil crossed his arms and looked at April as his gaze hardened "I'm not saying you don't have the right to be angry, because you do. But you need to look at the facts. Severing your ties with the Turtles isn't going to stop the Kraang from hunting you, it won't stop the Foot from hunting you, and it's not going to turn your father back into a human. You know I'm right." he was met with silence, and so was about to say something else, only to pause and his gaze to snap upwards 'This sensation… We're not alone.'

"Look I get what you're saying but-" April cut herself short and clutched her head as she began groaning in agony "My head… Okay don't freak out when I say this, but-"

"But we're being watched as we speak, I noticed." Daredevil followed April's gaze to where the shadow of a figure could be seen lurking on a rooftop above them, only for the figure to take off running, prompting Daredevil to summon the grapple of his Devil's Horn and pull himself back up onto the rooftop.

"Oh he is so not getting away!" April was quick to climb up the nearby fire escape until she reached the rooftop and chased after Daredevil, leaping over the alley to the next rooftop, only to just miss the ledge, but a hand caught her and pulled her back up before she could fall.

"I wouldn't recommend doing that sort of thing without substantial training, something you've yet to get back to in your time away from your sensei." Daredevil pulled April onto his back, and the two of them continued chasing after the mysterious figure, eventually coming to a stop when they saw him climb down a fire escape and through a window into an apartment building.

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Night had once again fallen over New York City, but it was far from calm.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Turtle Titan let out a series of whoops as he leapt from one rooftop to the next "You into this or what?"

"Or what." Raph was looking considerably nonplussed as he followed after Turtle Titan, barely even breaking a sweat as he did so "Remind me again why you wanted me to come with you on one of these superhero patrols?"

"First off, Gwen is stuck prepping for midterms. Second, Splinter wanted us to get some night training in, figured might as well get a warm up in and eat two pizzas in one go."

"You mean kill two birds with one stone?"

"Not with me." TT gave a grin, but it fell away when he saw Raph's sullen expression "That and I kinda thought you'd wanna get out of the Lair. You've been balled up in your room for a couple days aside from training, since… you know."

"What, you mean my pet turtle and the only one that doesn't piss me off on a regular basis got mutated and tried to kill me and my brothers? Yeah, not exaclty the kind of thing that makes a turtle want to break out in a huge shit-eating grin." Raph rolled his eyes, but then his expression became solemn as he glanced out at the city "I know Gwen said that I gotta focus on the people I have with me in the here and now, but that's a lot easier said than done. I know Slash is out there still, and I gotta wonder… where is he? And maybe… maybe it's my fault. I'm the one who brought that canister into my room and Spike got into it. If it wasn't for that… maybe that whole thing wouldn't have happened."

"...I get what you mean bro." Turtle Titan pulled back his cowl to reveal the face of Mikey, and he put an arm around Raph's shoulder, only for it to be brushed off "I still keep wondering if there was a way I could've helped Pete too. I know there isn't anything I can do to help him right now, and truth be told that kinda drives me nuts when I gotta think about it. I just try to distract myself from it in some way. Two ways really. One of them is looking after Gwen and May like I promised him I would." it was then that the sound of glass shattering drew their attention, and he looked down to see a group of thugs busting through a locked door and window "And there's the other one." so he pulled his Turtle Titan cowl back down, readied his kusarigama and leapt down into the fray.

"I don't know about stopping crime, but frankly beating the crap out of thugs and creeps that sure as hell deserve it sounds good too." Raph gave a smirk as he brandished his sais and moved to join the fray… only to be stopped by another loud crashing coming from another direction, and he looked over to see the source.

"Get real old man, even you ain't dumb enough to try that!" as it turns out, the source was a group of thugs armed with knives and/or guns that were circling around an old man with a cane in an alley, knocking him to the ground with ease "Just fork over whatever cash you've got on you and we ain't gonna hurt you. Not too much anyway."

"And while you're at it, hand over that nice watch of yours too." one of the punks kicked the old man in the ribcage and moved to grab his watch… only to be stopped by a rock being thrown at his head, sending him crashing to the ground "What the-"

"Sup?" as it turns out, Raphael had dropped down into the alley in front of the group, keeping himself hidden in the shadows at the same time "You assholes picked the wrong night to mug the old guy."

"What up with the Batman get up? Who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"I'm the last face you're gonna see before you wake up face down in a ditch."

"Big talk smartass, let's see if you can back it up!" the leader of the group wasted no time as he charged at Raph with his knife drawn.

"Works for me." Raph grabbed the thug's wrist and slammed his knee into his gut, then landed an uppercut to the jaw that knocked him to the ground.

"You got a lot of nerve freak!" the second wasted no time in charging at Raph, only to be easily flipped and thrown into a nearby garbage can, which he then lobbed at the last one, sending him crashing to the ground and knocking him out cold, along with the others "Go ahead and choke on that one." with the fight (if you could call it that) over, he made his way over to check on the old man "You doing alright Gramps?"

"Damn little punks, if only I was a bit younger…" the old man gave a scowl as Raph helped him onto his feet, but then paused once he managed to get a good look at him "So what the hell are you then, a martian? Or are you one of those mutants the politicians keep raving about?"

"Not the same thing old man, but if you gotta see me as something just go with a turtle."

"Not like any turtle I've ever seen before, and those things you got there are a pair of sais ain't they boy?"

"I already like you better than the last old guy I ran into."

"Taking that as a yes. So what, you supposed to be some kind of hero?"

"You ain't gonna see me running around in spandex or stuff like that."

"Not the question, but if the tone is anything to go by I'm gonna take it as a yes. Piece of advice kid, work on the timing." the old man patted Raph on the shoulder, then grabbed his cane and made his way down the street, scowling as he took a look around at the streets and the people that covered it "Damn punks. The whole damn neighborhood has gone to hell, if only I were a young man then I would've cleaned this place up in no time flat." and once he reached his home he slammed the door shut behind him.

'Neighborhood gone to hell huh?' Raph leapt back up onto the rooftops and looked around at the streets below 'Homeless guys, teenage drinking and smoking and the like, plus guys like those thugs that went after the old man… He's not wrong, this place does look like it's pretty much going to hell.'

"Hey bro, you missed the fight."

"What?" Raph glanced back to see Turtle Titan join him on the rooftop behind him "Oh right, you went off beating the crap out of a bunch of idiots. How'd it go?"

"Eh, you probably wouldn't have been happy with the fight they put up. Speaking of which, where did you go? I thought you were gonna come down and join me."

"I found a bunch of other guys beating up on this old guy, so I went down there and beat the crap out of them. They sucked." Raph paused and glanced down to see a police car arrive on the scene below them "Yeah just throwing this out there, don't tell Splinter about that. I know how he gets when we get involved with people."

"Hey trust me I get it, he wasn't super thrilled when I started the whole Turtle Titan thing. But just think about it like Black Panther said in his autobiography, we can't let our fear of people discovering us stop us from doing what we gotta do. Anyway we'd better get moving, I wanted to check in on May around the time she got home from work. Plus we gotta get some gas for the Stealth Bike. Speaking of which…

"If you say you got Donnie to add a freaking side car onto MY Stealth Bike, I'm pushing you off this roof."

"...Okay, one of us can ride on the shell then."

"Good, let me know how it feels riding up there." and so Raph made his way across the rooftops, with Turtle Titan trailing close behind him, though he kept glancing down at the streets below as he did so 'Maybe the old man can't do anything to make this place get its crap together, but that doesn't mean I can't… Plus it'd keep me busy for awhile, and then I won't have to think about… other stuff.'

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Meanwhile, with the A plot…

"This is the place, no mistaing that." Daredevil let April off of his back as the two of them peered through the window "It's quiet, even to my senses. Remember to stay on your guard, we have no idea what to expect."

"Part of me is guessing at some kind of creepy stalker shrine." April pulled out a knife and used it to gimmy open the locked window, and then the two of them made their way inside… only to stop at what they saw, in the form of an unconventional picture gallery "Okay, so apparently I was half right."

"More than just half from what I can gather." Daredevil felt around for the pictures himself "It has… both of us."

"And the Turtles. Not to mention pictures of mutants and Kraang, lots of Kraang, and a bunch of supervillains. So then who's this guy, some kind of informant for them? That's one explanation for all the creep-tastic pictures."

"Possibly. Be on your guard, there's no telling what else we'll be finding in here." it was then that another sound drew their attention, in the form of water running "Or whom."

"Hey Kurtzman, remind me where they keep the water heater because-" it was at that moment that none other than Eddie Brock emerged from the apartment bathroom in nothing but a black towel around his waist… only to stop in his tracks when he saw Daredevil and April standing in the living room staring at him "Oh. Well this is awkward."

"That's one way to describe this Mr Brock. Though I believe you prefer to go by Venom these days." Daredevil motioned for April to get behind him as he instinctively reached for his Devil's Horn "It's been some time. Since the Technodrome as I recall, which actually raises a number of questions. The first of which being, what are you doing here?"

"Take it easy Devilman, we're not your enemy. Not right now at least. Bottom line, you work against the Kraang and we're on your side, at least for the time being." Eddie allowed the black towel to envelop his entire body and take on the form of a black t-shirt and jeans, then cast a quick glance around the corner "Take it easy Kurtzman, they're friends of mine." he paused and looked at them "Okay they like beating on the Kraang about as much as everyone else."

"Is that so?" there was a pause, and then a middle-aged man in a suit and a hat slowly made his way into the room, hands in the air "No need to worry, I'm a friend."

"Stalker is more like it if you ask me." April jerked a thumb at the wall of pictures.

"To think that after all these months, I've finally managed to come face to face with the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, not to mention April O'Neil herself."

"So you know of us. That answers one question, but raises several others." Daredevil took his hand away from Devil's Horn but kept himself readied "For starters, who are you and what are you doing with all of these pictures?"

"Right, I suppose some explanation is in order. My name is Jack Kurtzman, I was a journalist that was working on the case of the missing scientists for the past several months, and that led me to discover something much bigger. The Kraang." he pulled a notebook out of his jacket and opened it on the desk for the others to see "The alien infiltration is long-lived, beyond that in fact to the point where it's ancient."

"An ancient evil organization ingratiating itself into manking far beyond recorded history and is still relevant in the modern day." Daredevil paused and glanced out at the city "It wouldn't be the first time for me."

"You're talking about the Hand aren't you? I did manage to dig up some info on that, but that's a story for another time. Anyway, the Kraang have been trying to use their Mutagen to terraform the Earth for thousands of years, but they were never able to use the Mutagen in our universe if they didn't have a specific chain of human DNA. they spent milnia capturing people, shaping the genetic code of humankind, until finally… their efforts led to that chain of DNA." he pulled out a certain something and held it up to them… a picture of a certain infact.

"Wait a second…" April studied the picture intently for a moment "Is that… me?"

"It is. Your mother was taken by the Kraang before you were born, and she was… experimented on by them. The effects of those experiments were engraved into her DNA sequence, and soon passed down to you."

"My mom… she was one of their test subjects?"

"In a word, yes. That's why you're so special April, your DNA is the key needed to perfect the Mutagen in this dimension. It's why the Kraang have been after you all this time."

"Okay, wow… I need to sit down after all of that." April wasted no time in sitting herself down on the couch.

"That's… a lot of information to take in, to say the least." Daredevil ran a hand over the journal, but then his gaze fell over towards Eddie "But that still doesn't explain your current association with Mr Kurtzman."

"Honestly it started out as chance, but we made the most of it." Eddie gave a shrug "After the whole thing with the Technodrome we started laying low so we… I could get some time alone and think about… well a lot of stuff. A few weeks later we learned that the Kraang were on the move again. We managed to stumble onto one of their hideouts and found Kurtzman being held at gunpoint by a few of them, so we devoured them and helped him out of there. After that we got to talking, he shared with us what he new and we chose to offer our services, an equivalent exchange of sorts. Kurtzman acquired the information about the Kraang's activities, we swooped in on their hideouts and ripped them to shreds. And got a few snacks out of it. Also we might have needed a place to crash since we couldn't go back to Ravencroft for… reasons that were fairly obvious, and Kurtzman agreed so long as I offer my services. And do maintenance stuff for him here and there, since the land lord kind of hates him."

"I… see." Daredevil shared a look with April, but then paused as another familiar sensation began to wash over him "I think answering any more questions will have to wait, we have some incoming."

"Wait, what?" Kurtzman recoiled at the sound of footsteps and guns being locked coming from outside the door "They found me, I don't know how but they found me."

"The Kraang always seem to find a way."

Sure enough, the door to the apartment burst open to reveal a group of Kraangdroids armed with blasters "Kraang, the human known as Kurtzman has allied himself with the one that is known as Daredevil and the one known as Venom. Observe Kraang, disintegrate first and capture for interrogation later." and so they started blasting at the group.

"Get down!" Daredevil shoved Kurtzman and April behind the couch and quickly caught one of the Kraangdroids in a grapple struggle, eventually kicking one of its legs out and using this as a chance to repeatedly bash it against a wall.

"We will NEVER miss an opportunity to annihilate a group of these abominations for their transgressions." the form of Eddie Brock was quickly absorbed into the hulking mass that was Venom, who pounced towards the Kraangdroid blasting at him and ran one of his claws directly through its torso, causing the Kraangdroid to fall to pieces.

'Right, blaster fire, something I definitely didn't miss.' April slowly crawled her way through the ongoing chaos… only to find herself face to face with a Kraangdroid with its blasted pointed at her face 'Nor did I miss this.'

"Get away from her!" a quick smack of the Devil's Horn ripped the Kraangdroid's head off, courtesy of Daredevil "Don't worry, I can protect you."

"I can protect myself!" April leapt to her feet and pulled out her tessen as the chaos of the fight dragged on, using it to shield herself from a round of blaster fire, not that it did much good, and the Kraangdroid closed in on her, until…

"Get down!" a quick sweep of black claws ripped through the Kraangdroid, causing it to fall to pieces, courtesy of Venom "Doing that takes practice."

"So I've been told. Great, with or without the guys here I'm useless.' April gave a scowl at the thought of having to be saved again, only for it to fade when she saw more Kraangdroids arrive on the scene, and then she saw Kurtzman trying to inch his way towards the desk amidst the ongoing battle "What are you doing? We gotta get out of here!"

"I can't leave without my notebook!" Kurtzman managed to grab hold of his notebook, only to end up attracting the attention of a few Kraangdroids that began blasting at him, forcing him back until he fell out the window, screaming in terror all the while, until…

"We've got you!" a series of black weblines latched onto Kurtzman and managed to gently lower him to the ground, courtesy of Venom, before he pounced back into the apartment to take care of the remaining Kraangdroids.

"That was way too close for my liking." Kurtzman let out a sigh as he pulled himself to his feet just as Daredevil leapt down to join him, with April climbing down the fire escape around the same time "I've been keeping tabs on the talking ninja turtles and Spider-Man for months on account of their exploits, but even without them it's comforting to know that there are other noble warriors like him to keep fighting the good fight against the Kraang."

"Spider-Man has a… complicated history with Venom to say the least, but always wanted to hold out hope that he would do the right thing when it counted. Based on this and the last time I met him, it seems he was right." Daredevil glanced over at Kurtzman "But I think it's safe to say that we have bigger things to worry about at the moment."

"Agreed. For starters-" Kurtzman was cut short by a van pulling up at the end of the alleyway, the back opening up to reveal a Kraang piloting a spider-esque walker with a machine gun, which it then began shooting at the group with, forcing them to take cover, until…

"Big mistake choosing that one to come out to play in!" Venom dropped to the ground from above and landed on top of the Kraang walker, crushing it on impact, picking up the Kraang in the cockpit and devouring it in a single gulp "We hate your kind and we hate the Spider. All you did was combine them, which makes this MUCH more satisfying." with that done, the mask of Venom faded to reveal the form of Eddie Brock, who motioned for the others to emerge from behind the dumpster they were using to shield themselves, and the first thing he did was hand a certain journal to Kurtzman "We managed snag this during our little late night snacking session up there. So what's the plan from here?"

"Evidently this shows that the Kraang are on the move, so we need to act fast." Kurtzman shared a look with Eddie, along with Daredevil and April "That means that someone will have to break into TCRI, find the based of their genetic experiments and wipe out all of the data the Kraang have collected on April's DNA."

"Wait, infiltrate TCRI, as in the main building?" April gave a raised eyebrow "But I thought the Turtles and Spider-Man blew that place up during the whole Technodrome crisis."

"They did, but ever since the Mutagen canisters were spread out across the city, they've put most of their efforts into rebuilding their base of operations. The repairs were completed only a few days ago, but they've already begun making up for lost time. On top of that, they've increased their security, with greater manpower, heavier weaponry and more extensive firepower than ever before."

"If that's case, then Venom and I on our own probably won't be enough." Daredevil cast a look at the others "I think it's time for me to call in the backup."

"Meaning what exactly?" April shot him a raised eyebrow.

"As Mr Kurtzman already said, the Turtles and Spider-Man aren't the only ones in this city that are willing to fight the good fight, be it against the Kraang or otherwise. I've actually meant to give their contact information to you and the others for some time now." he pulled a card out of his suit and handed it to her "Even if you're not yet willing to reconcile with the Turtles, you can count on them to aid you in fighting the good fight."

"Other heroes huh?" April glanced down at the card "Heroes for Hire, call the Defenders? Why does that name sound familiar- Oh. Ooooh."

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Meanwhile, with the B plot…

"Seriously, I'm supposed to believe this is all you've got?" at the same time, Raph and Mikey had returned to the Lair and were engaged in a heated sparring session, though the former was quickly pushing the latter back with a display of ferocity "You're the big bad superhero and this is all you've got going for you? What happened to the big bad Turtle Titan that's been taking out supervillains left and right?"

"Give… Give me a minute." Mikey dealt Raph a roundhouse kick to the head that sent him staggering back as he fell to one knee to catch his breath "Need to… catch my breath for just a second."

"Guys like Shredder or Slash ain't gonna let you catch your breath, and they ain't gonna buy any excuses. Now get up."

"Alright alright, I got it." Mikey brandishd his nunchucks and kusairgama chain, and braced himself as Raph came charging at him again.

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Meanwhile, with the other half of the quartet…

"Great, sounds like Raph is at it again." Leo poked his head out of the lab doors, then turned to where Donnie was working away at his computer "I just hope that figuring out a retro-mutagen is going better than getting him to calm the shell down."

"I'm working as fast as I can without creating another monster." Donnie told him dryly without looking up his computer "If we can have another incident without something like that then I'd be willing to count it as a win. But with that being said, I do have one idea I've been toying with for a while."

"Which is?"

"You remember how Wolverine mentioned he had a healing factor that let him recover from just about any injury and even certain diseases or infections?"

"And supposedly even the curse of something called a Wendigo, whatever that is."

"Yeah, but I wonder… what if that was the case? What if exposing Wolverine to mutagen would be able to create antibodies by using his healing factor to counter it?"

"You think that would work?"

"Possibly, and if it does, it could be the key to a retro-mutagen. So then-" Donnie was cut short by the sound of a loud bang.

"Looks like training is done."

"Not good enough, you're still freaking slacking!" Raph gave a scowl as he stormed his way out of the dojo, finding Leo and Donnie staring at him "What?"

"So… how did training go?"

"Fine until Mikey decided to be a freaking quitter."

"Or maybe he just wanted to take a break, you have been at it for an hour and a half without stopping."

"A break? You think the Foot or the Kraang are gonna give him a break in the middle of a goddamn fire fight?"

"I think that if you push someone in training too far and too fast all you do is run them down and get a lot of resentment for it. Remember when Splinter was like that with us after the first time we fought Shredder?"

"...Fine, go ahead and be freaking cowards. Apparently I'm the only one that cares about being ready when the time comes!" so he shoved his way past them and stormed across the Lair to let loose some rage on the Shredder punching bag, until…

"Hey."

"Son of a-" Raph whipped around and found himself face to face with Logan, standing before him with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow "Oh yeah, Splinter's mutant friend with claws and stuff. What is it, Badger or something?"

"Wolverine, but just call me Logan when I'm out of the suit."

"Right. So what are you doing here?"

"Came to meet up with Yoshi, talk and get a few drinks. Tea ain't really what I had in mind, but he's Japanese so I should've seen that coming." Logan held up his cup of tea, then set it down and sat down next to Raph "You guys have skills for your age, you could probably stand to teach a thing or two to the kids I teach at the institute."

"Pass. I'm not the teacher type."

"Good call, most of them are freaking animals. And that's got nothing to do with all of them being mutants either. But one thing I have learned is that they gotta progress at their own pace, you can't just bark orders at them and expect them to get it every time like you've got this huge adamantium pole stuck in your ass. And I'd know, that's my favorite way to do it."

"Good to know. Look no offense man, but when I'm beating up on the Shredder lookalike here it usually means I wanna be left the hell alone."

"I get that, but it's stuff like that making me hate having a conscience, cause it makes me wanna get a few points in. I heard about your pet mutating and going on a rampage." that was enough to make Raph stiffen, to which Logan's gaze softened slightly "Trust me, I've gone through that sort of shit plenty of times before. It's rough and sometimes it never stops hurting, but closing yourself off from feeling anything ain't gonna do anyone any good."

"Then you'd know what I'm talking about and why I wanna be left the shell alone."

"Yeah, I do. And it's why I've learned better than that. I've been in those shoes kid, and to put it bluntly, it sucks."

"You think it sucks? What the shell was your first clue." Raph finally rounded on Logan with a few small tears brimming in his eyes "Here's the facts old man, I made one stupid mistake and the only turtle here that doesn't piss me off all the time turned into a hulking monster that tried to kill me and my brothers."

"And that pisses you off?"

"Of course it does! If it wasn't for that freaking mutagen, I'd still have my best friend!"

"I get it kid, trust me. But tell me this: You think throwing yourself into training is gonna fix all of that?"

"No, but at least then I don't have to think about it." Raph paused for a moment, then let out a long sigh "Look I'm not in the mood to get therapy or anything right now, okay? I'm gonna go and get some air." and so he turned on his heel, grabbed his sais and made his way out of the Lair without another word.

'Oh yeah, that kid's got some hardcore issues.' Logan paused as he watched Raph leave, then let out a small chuckle 'Not like I got room to talk.'

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Meanwhile, with the A plot…

"Oh man, you weren't kidding…" April was left in a mix of awe and horror as she and the others looked at where the restored TCRI building sat in the distance "I can't believe they managed to rebuild TCRI already."

"I have to give them credit for one thing, they have good work ethic." Daredevil glanced over at the others "The plan is simple. We break into the facility, find where Miss O'Neil's DNA codes are stored, erase them and get out."

"And if we get to thrash some Kraang along the way, all the better." Eddie gave a smirk, but then his gaze turned serious "As for wiping the codes, you can leave that part to me. We might be an unstoppable force together, but our other didn't give us a solid intellect. That one came all from yours truly."

"Fair enough. I'll leave that to your capabilities, but remember that the primary objective of this mission is infiltration."

"Works for me, now let's do this." April pulled out her tessen and prepared to storm her way to the building… only to be pulled back by Daredevil "Hey!"

"Venom and I will be going in, you're staying outside on lookout with Mr Kurtzman."

"Stay outside on lookout, are you kidding me? I can't just sit around and do nothing, and the two of you can't just barge in there alone."

"We won't be. Our backup should be arriving any minute now." Daredevil paused for a moment, followed by a set of bright lights flashing in front of them "And there they are now. All of you, allow me to introduce to you this city's other team of defenders… in the form of the Defenders, consisting of myself, along with Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. There's also Black Cat, but she's out on patrol right now."

"You had to go with the gaudy intro didn't you?." the lights subsided to reveal Jessica Jones as she made her way towards the group, with Luke Cage and Iron Fist right behind her "Also as far as that goes, 7/10, and that's me being generous for the sake of the newbies." she cast a glance over at April and the others "Hey, how's it going?"

"Hi… Wait a minute, I know you guys." April directed her attention towards Luke Cage and Iron Fist specifically "You guys came after Peter Parker."

"All we did was ask him a few questions to try and get some info for a client." Iron Fist pointed out "We never laid a hand on the kid, and we never would. We're trying to help people, not beat the crap out of them."

"Though that one is a pretty decent part of the job." Luke Cage gave a shrug.

"Which some people have a little bit too much fun with."

"Alright enough with the small talk, we don't have time to lose." Daredevil got the attention of the others "To give you the short version, this is about infiltration, and for those of you that are bound to ask, we'll worry about payment later. One of us should stay out here with Miss O'Neil and Mr Kurtzman on lookout, while the rest of us go with Venom here to find a certain set of DNA codes, erase them and get out. I'll be going in since I have more experience in dealing with the Kraang than the rest of you."

"I'm cool with staying out here I guess. Someone's gotta make sure the people out here can deal with geting shot at." Luke Cage jerked a thumb at April and Kurtzman.

"That settles it then. Venom, Jessica, Iron Fist, let's go. The rest of you keep some distance from the building just to be safe."

"No problem, and take this with you too." Kurtzman pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to Daredevil "I managed to swipe it from one of their vans, it'll get you into TCRI. Best of luck to all of you."

"Thanks for the input Mr Kurtzman, now let's do this." Eddie faded into the form of Venom, and then he webbed a line that he, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist, used to climb their way in the direction of the TCRI building… with a certain redhead following after them.

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Meanwhile, with the B plot…

"No get away, stay back you creeps!" on the streets, a rather scantily clad woman found herself being backed into the corner of an alley by a few thugs "I told you punks to stay the hell away from me!"

"Oh we will, once you hand that little bad boy over!" one of the thugs snatched the woman's purse away from her and started digging through it, a disgusting smirk spreading across his hideous face "Well what do you know, looks like someone is loaded. That's gonna make this all the more fun." and then they started advancing towards her with knives and/or guns drawn as they did so.

"No, just… just take my money and go! Please!" the woman could only recoil at the sight of the thugs advancing on her, and eventually she shut her eyes in anticipation of the inevitable… but it never came, instead being met with the sound of gunshots, punching and cries of pain. She soon opened her eyes and found the thugs all sprawled out unconscious on the ground, covered in cuts and bruises all over, with her purse lying on the ground in between them "Um… hello? Is there anyone there?"

"That thing is yours right?" a disembodied voice echoed throughout the alley.

"Y-Yeah."

"Then you'd better take it and get out of here before they wake up."

"R-Right. And whoever you are… thank you." the woman picked up her purse and took another look around, then quickly took her leave of the scene.

All the while, Raph watched the scene from his place perched on a nearby rooftop, a satisfied smirk spreading across his face "Helping people is good and all, but something about beating the ever loving crap out of thugs who deserve it just makes it so much more satisfying."

"Tell me about it. Gotta admit son, you've got a few pretty fancy moves there."

Raph whipped around at the sound of the new voice and reached for his sais on instinct, only to relax slightly when he saw a familiar old man standing before him "You again?"

"Yep, me again." the old man let out a chuckle "Instead of all that, how about you just go with calling me David Merryweather. Nice to meet you."

"...The name is Raphael. How did you sneak up on me like that?"

"Call it an old trick of the trade."

"What the shell does that mean?"

"Well if you'd be willing to come with me, I'd be happy to show you." so the old man started his way inside and down the stairs, with Raphael meeting him on the lower level "Trust me, this is going to be very interesting for you."

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Meanwhile, with the A plot…

"There it is." Venom launched a webline over towards the TCRI building, latching onto the side of it, and then turned to the rest of the Defenders "If you want to get into the building without being noticed, feel free to use this."

"Appreciate the offer but it's going to have to wait, we have incoming." Daredevil directed the attention to where April was climbing up onto the rooftop behind them "I see you haven't lost your sense of determination. Good, now stay here and maintain radio communication."

"I'm not… not just sitting around doing nothing." April took a moment to catch her breath and regained that fiery look in her eyes "They have my DNA too, I should be a part of this."

"Not going to happen, it's too dangerous. Plus someone has to make sure that Luke doesn't go picking a fight in the alley." Iron Fist leapt onto Venom's black webline and began running his way across to the TCRI building, with Daredevil following not long after.

"Seriously?"

"If it's any consolation, I'm glad there's another girl in this city who's up for kicking some ass without wearing spandex." Jessica Jones patted April on the shoulder, then leapt onto Venom's back as he swung his way towards the TCRI building.

'They seriously expect me to wait outside on my hands like some stupid sidekick? Yeah, like that's going to happen.' April wasted no time in grabbing onto Venom's webline and climbing her way across it.

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Now, inside the building…

"Here we are." Daredevil dropped down into the building first, with Venom, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist following close behind him "Remember to stay on your guard, the Kraang number in the hundreds, possibly thousands in this building alone. For all we know, they might even know we're here already."

"Copy that, now let's get moving." Iron Fist was the first one to round a corner, only to recoil at the sight of a Kraangdroid's human disguise sitting directly in front of him, prompting him to coat his fist in crimson chi on instinct, but relaxed slightly when nothing happened, and then he looked around to see numerous Kraangdroids sitting in cubicles "Well you were right about the numbers part. The noticing we're here part, not so much."

"They're the android bodies the Kraang use for translation and combat, but right now I think they're just… charging." Daredevil gestured to the cord plugged into the backs of the necks of each android.

"Interesting. You think there might be Kraang inside of them?"

"Let's find out." Jessica brushed away the arms of the android and noticed a Kraang sleeping in the droid body "Okay, I definitely didn't need to see this."

"Trust us, that's the least disturbing thing they're capable of." the mask of Venom faded away to reveal the form of Eddie Brock, his gaze turning serious "Enough screwing around, let's get to the lab and find the DNA codes before these freaks wake up."

"Agreed." Daredevil was about to advance, only to stop in his tracks and let out a sigh "I feel like I shouldn't be surprised."

"About what?" Jessica received her answer in the form of a red-headed figure dropping down in front of them.

"About that. April, we told you to stay outside on lookout."

"Your first mistake was thinking that was gonna happen." April told him dryly "I might want a normal life, but I'm not gonna sit around on the sidelines while the Kraang are trying to get their hands on my DNA. You're not going to talk me out of this."

"...No, I suppose I won't. Fine, but you follow my rules. You keep quiet and stay close, and nobody touches anything or-" Daredevil was cut short by the sound of beeping and one of the android bodies rising.

"Or else that might happen I'm guessing." Iron Fist noted dryly.

"It means they're done charging and they're ready to pick a fight, so let's get out of here before they do that." so the five of them took off running down the halls as various Kraangdroids stood at attention, only to stop at a corner where they saw several more Kraangdroids rising.

"Kraang, does this human suit make Kraang look fat?"

"Come on, this way." Eddie led the rest of the group towards the elevator, opened it and ushered everyone inside, then swiped the stolen key card.

"The floor known as Level 40 has been accessed to Kraang." and cue the typical boring elevator music.

"At least now we know where to go."

"It would be better if we didn't have to deal with the typical bad waiting music." Iron Fist cast a glance over to where Daredevil was fidgeting visibly "And those with heightened senses tend to suffer even worst because of it."

"Frankly I don't blame them, even by those standards this music sucks. Add that to the long list of reasons why we want the Kraang to suffer."

"You have other reasons I'm guessing?" April shot Eddie a raised eyebrow.

"A lot of them, but that's gonna have to wait until later. Right now all you need to know is that we hate the Kraang more than anyone else."

"Anyone? Does that include Peter? Or Spider-Man?" that question was enough to make a painful silence fill the elevator.

"...Yep, I definitely should've seen that coming." Eddie's gaze hardened as he turned around to look April in the eye "Let me guess, you're a friend of his?"

"Yeah. I'm guessing you know about me? From somewhere other than this whole DNA situation I mean."

"Sort of. The Symbiote gives me certain flashes of what it noticed when it was being held by the Kraang, so they get transferred to me. Plus Gwen talked about you a little bit whenever she came to visit me in Ravencroft. Since you're a friend of his, not to mention those Turtle guys, you've probably heard a fair bit about me too."

"From a couple of sources. Peter told me a fair bit about you… and I heard some from my cousin about the time you went on a date with her."

"Cousin?"

"Mary Jane."

"...Aw crapbaskets, that figures."

"Yep, she's not shy about the fact that she's not fond of you. Peter and Gwen talked a fair bit about you though. Mostly what you were like before… you know." she gestured to the black t-shirt covering his chest.

"Of course they did." Eddie looked away, his tone filled with a certain degree of bitterness "Let me guess, they told you that once we became Venom they didn't even know who I was anymore, like I'm just another supervillain or something. That I'm a monster for all the things we've done, that we enjoyed it."

"If you really think that's what they believe, then you don't know them at all." that was enough to make Eddie's gaze snap back towards April "Peter and Gwen were both hurt by the things that you've done, no getting around that, and Peter was angry with you for it. But I could sense it, that neither of them ever hated you. I think they were more… sad, that you lost your way. But at the same time, I think this means you're starting to find it again. I think once Peter gets turned back and figures it out, he'll be happy to hear about it."

"...Don't assume that means we're gonna be all buddy buddy again." Eddie gave a small scowl as he looked away again "The bad blood between me and Pete isn't over and done with, not by a long shot. Once the Kraang are dealt with, we're gonna be picking up where we left off."

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Meanwhile, with the B plot…

"Seriously?" by this point, Raph had followed David for a fair distance until they came across a certain area… in the form of a dead end alley "You made me follow you at a normal turtle's pace for like five blocks to show me… a wall."

"Looks can be deceiving my boy. Take a look and see for yourself." David took a step forward and pressed against a specific brick on the wall… causing it to open up and reveal a secret path hidden behind it "This right here is what I wanted to show you. The entrance to my own Baxter Building, my Fortress of Solitude, my Batcave. To give you the short version, my own personal secret lair." he opened the door all the way and led Raph inside, revealing a large room with old fashioned furniture and the walls lined with bookshelves, and he motioned for Raph to take a seat in a chair while he sat in the one opposite of him "Let me guess, a young one like you finds this to be pretty old school, don't you?"

"And I'm guessing that with all the books and stuff, an old guy like you doesn't get out too much these days."

"Trust me, I did plenty of that back in the day. But right now I wanna hear more about the turtle warrior running around my city." David studied Raphael intently for a moment "Here you are, a man-sized turtle running around the city fighting crime. I'd say you're one of those mutants that the politicians keep raving about, but something in my gut tells me that you're not like the rest of them."

"And you're not running around screaming at the top of your lungs about me being a turtle, so you're already less annoying than most of the humans I come across."

"Great minds think alike, I suppose." David let out a chuckle "I'm serious though, you're quite the anomaly. You're not a human or one of those kinds of mutants, yet you run around in secret fighting crime, not to mention that you live in New York but use Japanese weapons and fighting techniques. I had heard that the world had become larger and stranger since I hung up my own weapons, but this is bordering on insanity. So tell me about yourself, Raphael was it? Would I be right to assume that you're connected to that Turtle Titan I've been hearing so much about?"

"I'm not him, I'm just gonna get that out there now. You're not gonna see me running around in spandex or anything like that." Raph paused for a moment, then looked away "That's my little brother, trying to get into the whole superhero game."

"Fair enough. So what about you then, what's your story?"

"I ain't gonna tell you everything, one of the biggest rules I gotta follow is secrecy. Which I more or less crapped on when you saw me, so fine." Raph let out a sigh "Yeah the Turtle Titan is my brother, I got three of them and my father. He taught me what I know, but I like punching stuff and I'm damn good at it, and that all came from me."

"So he approves of you fighting crime up here?"

"Not really. He wants to protect us, I get that, but like I said, secrecy and all that."

"And yet you and at least one of your brothers have too strong of wills to adhere to that rule. I can respect that. See a bit of myself in that too." David gave a small smirk "I actually used to work in secret to keep the neighborhood safe for the decent folks."

"Say what now?"

"You heard me. I was good at it too, damn good. They even gave me the title of Nightwatcher. A bit gaudy if you asked me, but I chose to hone it."

"You're screwing with me right?" Raph received his answer in the form of a knife being thrown at him, forcing him to use a book as a shield "Hey!"

"Don't see a normal man doing that now do you? I got older and slower as the years went on, but I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve and know how to take folks by surprise. But eventually my body just couldn't keep up with it anymore, and I had to give it up, especially when I had a family and decided to settle down. Lucky for the city folks like the Devil of Hell's Kitchen or those Heroes for Hire, even the likes of that Spider-Man were around to protect the people and keep fighting the good fight. The downside is, they can't be everywhere, especially with all of those superpowered lunatics running around and causing havoc. That's part of why it's good to see young ones like you out there willing to fight the good fight. Kind of reminds me of that one apprentice I took awhile back."

"Apprentice?"

"Yep. A good kid, he was a fast learner, but he said he had other responsibilities more important to him. To each their own I suppose. You might actually know him, his name is-" David was cut short by the sound of a phone ringing "That yours or mine."

"Mine, my brothers need me back home." Raph paused and lookd up at David "So yeah, this has been… interesting, that's probably the only good thing to call this."

"That's fair. Anyway go ahead and do what you have to do." David pushed a button on the wall, causing another door to open up "But between you and me, I wouldn't say no to a little bit more company, say tomorrow night maybe?"

"...I'll think about it." Raph gave a simple two finger salute (or on finger in his case) and made his way out the new door, into an alley and climbed his way up to the rooftop sitting in front of a familiar looking house 'Okay, so weird old guy with his own makeshift Batcave connected to his basement. Cool. I wonder if he's actually telling the truth.' it was then that his gaze fell onto a single thug making hi way down the street 'Plus some no name punk that looks around the same level as the Purple Dragons. Annoying and pathetic in a fight, but still enough to give decent people a hard time. And I'll give it to Mikey, his whole superhero thing means that he doesn't have to worry about people seeing him when he goes out there.' he was about to jump down and charge at the thugs… only to be stopped when he heard the sound of his cell phone ringing "What do you want Mikey? Yeah I got your text, another canister. Alright I get it, I'll head back now. No I'm not doing anything, I wanted to get some air, that a crime?" he was about to depart… only to stop in his tracks at the sound of a gunshot ringing in his metaphorical ears "Oh that is so not good. Later Leo." he hung up without another word and leapt into the alley below, only to see the same thug running out of a certain building 'That's the old man's house, don't tell me…' with those suspicions creeping into his shell, he took off running without missing a beat.

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Meanwhile, with the A plot…

"This is it." Eddie was the first one to exit the elevator once it reached level 40, and April and the Defenders followed him out, but they all quickly came to a stop when they saw dozens of Kraang in flyers gathered in front of them, unleashing a low humming simultaneously that caused him to recoil visibly and take a few steps back "Right, the sound-based stuff. I forgot how much they did stuff like that."

"What do you mean, what are they doing?" asked April.

"Part of me wants to guess that it's their equivalent of a bar mitzvah, mostly because I don't have a clue what the hell it is, but I do know it's got something to do with that." Iron Fist directed the group's attention to the massive holographic form materializing above them "I don't need to be the same level of genius as Tony Stark to know that giant holographic figures that the followers of an ancient organization rever is usually the ringleader."

"I recognize him… it's Kraang Prime, and he's their leader." April placed two hands on the sides of her head and took a few steps towards the gathering of Kraang "It's like they're meditating, some form of communicating. Whatever it is, I can hear their thoughts."

"So you've got a telepathic link with the alien brains in robot bodies." Jessica shared a glance with the others "Not gonna lie, this is weird even for us."

"Hold on, I'm gonna try and hear what they're saying." April took another step closer, to listen to what Kraang Prime was saying.

"At long last, our latest experiment is nearly complete. We've had to suffer numerous setbacks thanks to the irritating interference of the likes of Spider-Man and those Turtles, but thanks to the efforts of our newfound… business associates… the Mutagen will be ready as planned."

"They're talking about plans for another invasion of Earth."

"It is only a matter of time before we transform this world and all of its hideous people, and take it as our new home." this caused April to let out a horrified gasp… which alerted Kraang Prime to her presence "What?! Intruders?! Ensure that they don't leave this place alive!" then the hologram disappeared as all of the Kraang present began screeching wildly, and the alarm began to sound throughout the room.

"Okay new plan, we run like hell!" Daredevil started batting away the oncoming Kraang flyers with his Devil's Horn, with the others doing the same as he pushed the button on the elevator, during which he cast a glance at the others "I'd say I'm surprised by how this went, but I've been doing this long enough that nothing really surprises me anymore. Also that we've got a few even bigger problems."

"Like what?" Jessica received her answer in the form of a large hulking metallic figure with two heads dropping down onto the scene in front of them "Oh. That. Quick question. Is that supposed to be a freaking dragon with two heads?"

"I believe the proper term is dracodroid, and this isn't the first time I've fought one of those myself." Daredevil braced himself as the dracodroid let out a roar, with two Kraang flyers attaching themselves to the top and taking control, before he and the others were forced to go on the evasive to avoid a series of lasers being blasted at them.

"Get down!" Jessica was quick to act when she saw a laser blast hurtling towards April, taking the chance to tackle her to the ground before it could hit her "You good kid?"

"Yeah, I think- Look out!" April tackled Jessica to the ground in return as a series of laser fire came at them, courtesy of a few Kraangdroids "Are you okay?"

"I would be either way, pretty sure I could take a freaking truck to the face and not be too worse for wear. Points for the intent though."

"That's actually fairly gracious for you, now keep the girl's head down while I take care of this group." Iron Fist blitzed across the room and leapt towards the Kraangdroids, using a series of rapid punches and kicks, along with a few flips, to rip through them with ease, and then letting a fist coated in crimson chi fly at the dracodroid, sending it hurtling across the room and taking one of its heads off in the process "I'm all for fighting as much as the next guy, usually unless the next guy is Luke or Jessica, but I wouldn't object to someone dealing with all of the flying ones right now, since I'm a little bit busy!"

"If you want someone to thrash the Kraang… We're more than happy to oblige." with a smirk full of malice, the form of Eddie Brock faded into the hulking mass of Venom, who then shot a barrage of black balls of webbing, blowing holes through every Kraang flyer in their paths and sending them crashing into other Kraang flyers, and then he switched to using lines of his black webbing to latch onto other Kraang flyers and hurl them into each other "Something about letting out our unending rage on these creatures makes it so much more satisfying. This is going to be fun."

"We can worry about that later, we have to get to the door." Daredevil finished beating down another Kraangdroid and tried to lead the others to make a break for it, only to find several more Kraangdroids and the dracodroid blocking their way "As soon as we deal with this."

"Then allow us to clear a path for you!" Venom let out a primal roar as he launched himself at the Dracodroid, with the others moving to take on the remaining Kraangdroids, until…

"It is the human known as April O'Neil." one of the Kraangdroids managed to get behind the group, grab April by the wrist and start dragging her away "The human known as April O'Neil must be captured for Kraang."

"Like hell that's gonna happen, and no way am I asking for help!" April wasted no time as she pulled out her tessen and started using it to smack at the Kraangdroid… only for that to not do any good and lead to her getting dragged away "Okay new plan, help! HELP!"

"April!" Daredevil ripped through the Kraangdroid firing at him and tried to chase after her, only to be forced to evade an oncoming laser coming from the dracodroid "We don't have any more time to waste, Venom hurry and take down the dracodroid already!"

"As if you had to ask." Venom launched himself into the air and launched a series of his own web cannonballs (basically his version of the impact webs) at the dracodroid, leaving a series of gaping holes in its body, before latching onto it it with a webline, swinging it around and sending it crashing into the ground, resulting in an explosion that engulfed the remaining Kraang "Is that enough for you?"

"It will be enough when we get April away from them!" Daredevil wasted no time in running out of the room and out into the rounded halls of the building, with the other Defenders and Venom (receeding back into Eddie Brock) following close behind him… only to screech to a halt when he saw April running in the opposite direction "April-"

"RUN!" April bolted past them, followed by several Kraangdroids emerging and blasting at the group.

"Considering it's either that or get shot, I think the choice is obvious!" Iron Fist was the first of the group to follow April's lead, with the others following immediately after.

"In here, hurry!" April ushered everyone into a specific room and went in after them, shutting the door behind her and allowing the Kraangdroid.

"You know, part of me wants to think that we're safe in here." Iron Fist paused and took a look at their surroundings "The other part of me, all of me actually, wants to know why we're taking refuge in a dead end."

"Because it's that or get shot in the face, now give me a second." Jessica made her way over to the door and tried to pry it open… for several minutes, but nothing happened "Well that didn't work, time for plan B." she punched at the glass, leaving only a crack in the window "Okay, so apparently they proofed it for super strength." it was then that the vents of the room began to spray a thick cloud of gas, and all the while April was laughing maniacally with a deranged look in her eyes "And now that's happening. Shit. Alright come on, let's bust out of here."

"You're wasting your time." April's maniacal grin only grew wider "There is no escape. All of you will merely be the first to die, and once the remaining opposition falls, this world will belong to the Kraang."

"Dammit red, what the hell is wrong with you? Some kind of mind control?" Eddie reached out a hand towards April, only to be smacked across the face.

"Try again slave of a Klyntar."

"That's where you're wrong. We are not slaves to anyone… Especially not you!" Eddie let out a snarl as a series of black tendrils emerged from his arm, grabbing April by the neck and keeping her in a chokehold, before slamming her into the console for the door, electrocuting her and causing her to scream in pain… before she suddenly exploded into a puddle of black goo, and the door opened, allowing the group to exit the room as the gas dissipated "Okay, so that happened I guess."

"At least we can breath again." Daredevil glanced down at the puddle of black goo that used to be what looked like April "But what was that? It looked like April and it felt so real, it was even able to bypass my heightened senses…"

"I think we might have found the motherload on what else the Kraang are doing with the girl's DNA. Come on, let's go track down the real one before this turns into some kind of batshit crazy Doomsday situation." Eddie was the first to take off running down the hall, with the Defenders all following behind him 'It looked and felt so real, what we felt in our tendrils was definitely flesh, so it wasn't an android. It was some kind of… genetic clone. I didn't think the Kraang were smart enough to figure out cloning so fast."

"They are not. For all of their evil and technological prowess, they have… shortcomings in some areas. More than likely, they are receiving help from inhabitants of this world. Some that are already aligned with them."

"You're talking about the Jackal aren't you? Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me."

"Nor us, but this holds the sensation of… Something more. Perhaps someone more."

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Meanwhile, with the B plot…

"David? DAVID!" Raph burst into the room at full speed, nearly ripping the door off its hinges as he rushed in… and was horrified by what he saw 'Oh god…'

"You're getting… better with your timing boy…" as it turns out, David was lying sprawled out on the ground with a gunshot wound in his chest, blood pouring out of it and leaving a puddle on the floor "But listen to me… that punk… he doesn't care who gets hurt… He needs to get put behind bars… Promise me you'll make sure of that…"

"Yeah, I… I promise… But first I'm calling an ambulance, we're getting you to a hospital. Just hang in there, you're gonna be-"

"No!" David grabbed Raph by the arm to stop him from reaching for his T-phone "No medics, no police… A ninja has to know about secrecy right? Besides, I know when I'm beat… this here wound is a lethal one…"

"But-"

"But nothing… Just listen to me boy…" David reached up and gripped Raphael by both of his shoulders "That bookcase at the back wall… Go over to it, pull on the big red book at the back of the second shelf."

"What do you-"

"No time for questions, just do what I tell you dammit!"

"Alright, alright." so Raph did as instructed, pulling on the specific book on that shelf… which caused a door behind the bookcase to open, revealing a room hidden behind the bookcase, the walls lined with various types of weapons, a suit of armor and a motorcycle, with Raph being left in awe at the sight "Holy shell… You really were serious. His own motorcycle, a suit of armor and a crap ton of weapons. This guy is the real deal.' he was about to reach for the suit of armor, but was snapped back to reality by the sound of labored coughing, which led him to run back over to David's side "Dammit, I… I should've been here or done something, but now instead you're… I'm sorry…"

"Don't be boy… it's not your fault…" David let out another cough as he looked up at Raph, the life slowly fading from his eyes "But listen… I need you to do something for me…"

"What is it?"

"The suit… my gear… my family doesn't know… and I don't want them to know… I don't want anyone to know… So please, take them away from here… and do good with them…" David let out one more cough, and then the life faded from his eyes entirely as he fell still.

"...That's two promises old timer." Raph clenched his teeth and wiped a few tears from his eyes, then closed David's eyes as he sat him down on the ground away from the pool of blood, before making his way back to the hidden room, his gaze fixed on the Nightwatcher suit 'But I'll keep both of them, count on it.'

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Meanwhile, with the A plot…

"Well you know what they say guys, if it's hidden behind a heavy big-ass door and guarded by a laser cannon, it's usually pretty important." Jessica brushed the broken bits of metal off her arms and used the key card to open the door in question, allowing the group to make their way into the next room… where they stopped in their tracks at the sight "And more than likely the sort of thing you'd see in a freaking horror movie."

"That's one way too describe it." Iron Fist cast a look around at the various statis tubes that lined the walls of the laboratory, with exact copies of April floating inside them "I think we just found what the DNA lab is for. They're trying to make clones of her."

"Not just trying either, these are perfect genetic duplicates." Daredevil made his way over to one of the stasis tubes, only to falter when he saw the clone's eyes open slightly "So the Kraang have been experimenting with genetic cloning… I have to wonder if they aren't just limited to doing so with April."

"What do you mean?"

"I mentioned it to you before right, how Leonardo and I encountered the Scarlet Spider hunting down the Mutagen canisters? Call it a hunch, but I think there's more connection between him and Spider-Man than I thought."

"...I'm sorry, what now?" Eddie's gaze snapped over towards Daredevil, the black mass on his chest pulsating "You said the Spider who now?"

"I'll explain that to you later, but right now we have work to do. For starters, we need to figure out where the real April is. And wiping the computers clean of April's DNA codes."

"...Yeah, alright. That's a fair point." Eddie paused to try and collect himself, then as the pulsing subsided he made his way over to the console, but stopped when he noticed something "Okay, I wasn't expecting to see that."

"What is it?" asked Iron Fist.

"Apparently this ridiculously big file they call Project Arachnid. Give me a second, I'm gonna see if I can download it." Eddie continued working on the console, only to falter at the sound of screaming in the distance 'Right, we hate sound like that… But that means… We know where they took her.'

"You'd better get ready, we've got company."

Sure enough, it was at this moment that a door opened, and several Kraangdroids stormed out into the lab armed with blasters "That which is known as the intruders survived. The time has come to open the bin that is known as the Reject Bin."

"What the hell does that mean?" Jessica Jones received her answer in the form of a panel opening up in the floor in front of the group, and from it emerged the face of April… which just so happened to be attached to the body of a grotesque clone of April "Yep it's official, this is one of the grossest things I've ever had to deal with, and that says a lot."

"Derp!" the deformed clone of April crawled its way out of the pit and towered over the rest of the group, charigng at them and ripping through everything in its path "Derp derp derp!"

"But seriously, anyone know what the hell we're looking at right now?"

"I think it's some kind of reject clone, a failed attempt at replication." Daredevil drew his Devil's Horn to block one of the clone's attacks "An April Derp if you will."

"...April Derp? Seriously?"

"All I can say is that being around the Turtles and Spider-Man has had an effect one me in one way or another." Daredevil leapt onto the top of the Mutagen tank to draw April Derp's attention, allowing Jessica to kick her legs out from under hear and smash her face into the ground "And they also taught me a few things, like working as part of a team. Admittedly I could use a bit more of that."

"We've noticed. In that case I'll leave the clone to you and wiping the computers to Venom, and I'll rescue April from the Kraang." on that note, Iron Fist broke off from the group, leapt up to the platform above them and took off for the source of the terrified screaming.

"At least that's covered." Daredevil leapt back to avoid another attack from April Derp, then cast a glance over at Eddie "How are things on your end?"

"Still working on it, but I'm up for trying to multitask." Eddie cranked his neck back in the direction of April Derp and summoned a few tendrils from his chest… or tried to, before the sensation of vibrations and loud ringing disrupted him, causing him to fall to the ground and scream in pain 'What the hell… What is this…?'

"These sensations… they are unpleasant, but familiar… the Kraang are allied with one who has used these on us before…"

"You mean the Jackal, so this is his handiwork. Figures." Eddie scowled as he retracted the tendrils back into his t-shirt and went back to working on the console 'In that case all we can do is finish this fast, find the source and rip it apart.'

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Meanwhile, with the real one…

"Let me go!" as it turns out, April had been strapped down to a high tech operating table, with a comically large needle being hoisted above her "I said let me go!"

"Be honest with me Miss O'Neil, when has shouting that ever worked?" another door to the room opened, and out stepped none other than Miles Warren, in his usual human form, which caused April to freeze on the spot "And I can imagine that's not the first time you've used that tactic either."

"You… You're the Jackal…"

"At this point it depends on the day, and the time of day. But right now I have some business to attend to that you'll be helping me with. And just for some extra precaution…" Warren pushed a button on a wall panel, causing several Kraangdroids to enter the room with blasters in hand and surround her "I'm sure you've discovered the cloning experiments I've been helping the Kraang conduct in these labs for some time. The only problem is that whatever traces of your DNA in the clones have proven to be lacking. As such, the Kraang and I have concluded that in order to rectify this little problem, we'll need to acquire more DNA from the primary source. In this case, that refers to you, hence the need for this." he gestured to the needle hanging above her.

"Um, how about I just give you some hair or something? That has DNA."

"This is true. On the other hand, while the Kraang are an incredible asset to my research, I find that they don't have much in the way of personality or potential for conversation, so I have to take entertainment where I can find it. Now then, time to get to work…" Warren's smirk grew wider as he watched the needle descend towards April's face… only to scowl when he saw it come to a stop "Okay, what now?"

"Sorry doc, but I'm afraid your experiment has been cut short."

April glanced above her to see Iron Fist hanging on top of the machinery, to which she let out a sigh of relief "Well I'm all for not getting a needle to the face… but why do I feel like I'm never going to live this down?"

"With my group, that more or less depends on the person. You're more likely to get that from the likes of Luke or Jessica than me. Now if you'll excuse me…" Iron Fist leapt onto the ground and got to work attacking the Kraangdroids, ripping through them with ease using a series of punches and kicks, and when a group of them tried to grab him from behind, he simply summoned his crimson chi into his fist and ripped them all to shreds with a single move… but the instant he did this, he was hit in the side by a surge of electricity, sending him tumbling across the lab.

"Now now, I think we've had enough bravado for one day." Warren held up one of his electric gauntlets as he transformed into his Jackal form "Honestly, if I wanted to deal with a savage hell bent on fighting then I'd just go after Venom again."

"I think you'll find that I'm not some mindless savage. I've lived my entire life by principles and possibilities that go far beyond what you call science." Iron Fist coated both fists in crimson chi and launched himself at Jackal, dealing him a vicious two-fisted blow to the chest that sent him crashing into the wall behind him, but when he went to follow up he was grabbed by the leg by the Jackal and thrown back to the ground.

"Interesting abilities. I'll have to conduct a proper analysis on it… once I've reduced you to a mere corpse that is." Jackal wiped some blood from his lip and glanced over at the next group of Kraangdroids entering the room "Extract the girl's DNA and finish her off, I'll be dealing with this intruder myself."

"Nothing I haven't heard before. Let's see if you manage to do any better." Iron Fist quickly picked himself up and met the Jackal's charge, dodging a few blasts of electricity from Jackal's gauntlets but being met with a fist to the face that sent him crashing to the ground.

"Come on now, don't tell me that's all you've got. I will admit that I do get a certain thrill from being able to take on challenges with my own hands like this."

"That's the problem. The thrill is always followed by the downside. In this case, it's me beating you into the ground." Iron Fist summoned his trademark chi fists and pounced at the Jackal, dealing him a swift series of punches across the face and torso, before landing an uppercut to the jaw, sending him crashing to the ground in a heap 'Here's hoping that'll keep him down, now I just need to-'

"Do not struggle." as it turns ouit, the Kraangdroids were still standing by the machine and lowering the needle towards April's face "That which is known as resistance is futile. The one who is called April O'Neil will soon expire."

"NO!" Iron Fist bolted towards April at full speed, slamming his fist through the Kraangdroids in his way but still being too far to reach her in time, until…

"No! Get away! NOOOO!" in her anguish and fear, April unleashed a burst of energy that was able to send every Kraangdroid crashing to the ground.

It was only once the wave subsided that Iron Fist pulled himself back to his feet and ripped April out of her restraints just seconds before the needle came all the way down, and began carrying her out of the room "This is probably a stupid question, but are you alright?"

"Brain is on fire… ready to pop… But other than that… meh…"

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Meanwhile, with the main team…

"Seriously, anyone else super freaked out by this?" Jessica leapt back to avoid a series of fists being launched at her by April Derp, and then she cast a look above them "Now!"

"Right!" from his place on the upper platform, Daredevil used the grapple of his Devil's Horn to latch onto April Derp from behind, only to be yanked to the ground and wind up hanging off her back… by a mouth that had emerged in the middle of her spine, with a tongue licking him across the face "You know, you might hav been right about this. It doesn't help that I'm not at my best right now, the frequencies they're using to disable the Symbiote are effecting me too. It's times like this super hearing is more of a curse than a blessing.'

"Okay, so that didn't work. You're the expert tactitina, what the hell do we do here?"

"Right now the best I have is try and call Luke for backup… but they're probably jamming the signals in here. They've done that plenty of times before."

"So what, we keep getting our asses handed to us until Iron Fist gets back? How about the hacker over there, he oughta get off his ass and do something!"

"Who else is gonna wipe the computers clean? Kinda busy if you hadn't noticed!" Eddie told her dryly as he continued working at the console.

"Well get done with being busy, I'm being used like a freaking rag doll here!"

"Derp derp derp! April give hugs!" April Derp tossed Jessica into the air and caught her in a bone-crushing hug, only to be punched in the face hard enough to be forced to let her go, but it didn't do much to stop her from kicking Daredevil in the face in the middle of an attack.

"Okay I did it, the computers are wiped clean and I've got this drive full of- Crap." Eddie was forced to cut himself short was Daredevil was flung into him, sending both of them crashing to the ground "Ow."

"Sorry." Daredevil picked himself up and helped Eddie back to his feet "I'm guessing that your tenant is still incapacitated?"

"You've got the Jackal's tricks to thank for that, and from what I've seen I'm guessing you're not doing so hot with it either."

"That's one way to put it."

"Figures. Alright come on, let's go see what we can do with it."

"Forget it, if the Symbiote can't fight then you're vulnerable."

"About as much as you are, and I'm not sitting on my ass doing nothing." Eddie grabbed hold of the dismembered arm of a nearby Kraangdroid and charged at April Derp… only to be grabbed by the leg by her tongue and slammed against different walls over and over again, before being flung back into Daredevil "I imagined this going differently."

"Tell me about it, I'm still a goddamn teddy bear!" Jessica broke free of April Derp's grip again, or was about to at least, before the wave of mental energy washed over them, causing April Derp to explode into a puddle of black slime… that subsequently left Jessica covered in the stuff "And now this is a thing, okay."

"Trust me, it wasn't pretty on my end either." it was at this moment that Iron Fist made his way out of the other room, with April being carried on his back… just as the alarm began to sound through the lab "And that's not making it any more fun."

"And I think it's about to get worse." Eddie gestured to where the stasis tubes were opening up, releasing dozens of exact copies of April "I'm thinking that's the point where we gotta get the hell out of here."

"Where are you going guys? Trying to ditch me?" and then the numerous clones of April began trying to close in on the group, surrounding them from just about every side "Let's get out of here! We've gotta hurry!"

"Don't listen to them guys, I'm the real one, you know that!" April tried to push her way through the crowd of clones, only to end up getting pulled in and lost in it.

"Well that didn't work." Jessica cast a look at the crowd of Aprils "So how the hell do we guess which one is the real one? Any superhearing or kung fu magic tricks?"

"Actually I might, if I can concentrate on her chi for a second then-" Iron Fist was promptly cut short by April (the real one) pulling out her tessen and using it to decapitate one of her clones, and then severla more "Or we can just wait for the real one to do that. Should we help her?"

"Let me do that. Lucky for me the frequency screwups the Jackal was using stopped after… well I don't know what she did, but it worked like a charm. Now then… Allow us to make up for our lack of contribution." the face of Eddie Brock faded into the form of Venom as he let loose a series of black tendrils that pierced through every April clone in a matter of moments "There we go, we're officially back. Now let's go!" he used his mighty claws to rip a hole in the wall, then unleashed a black webline that he and the rest used to swing down to the streets… only to find a large group of Kraangdroids waiting for them "Of course they're waiting for us, they're like freaking cockroaches."

"So we fight then? Works for me." Jessica cracked her knuckles and was about to advance on the Kraangdroids, with Venom and the others preparing to do the same… only to be stopped by the sight of a van screeching onto the scene "Okay I'm pretty sure the whole Za Warudo thing is only supposed to summon a steamroller."

"If I steamroll the Stormtrooper rejects out there, does that count?" the back door to the van swung open to reveal Luke Cage and Kurtzman inside the van "Anyway save that for later, let's just get the hell out of here already. With the night we've had, I need a freaking drink."

"We? We did all the fighting!" the mask of Venom retracted into the form of Eddie Brock as he and the others leapt into the van, which took off down the street at full speed… though not without Eddie shooting a set of tendrils at the Kraangdroids shooting at them "Not that I'm going to complain, that feels a lot better than it probably should."

"I know what you mean, but escaping from them in their own van is fun too." Kurtzman let out a chuckle.

"Can't argue with that. Thanks for the save by the way."

"Hey you and I have this partnership going, right? Besides, I owed you and your friends for the way you all saved me before. Speaking of which, did you wipe out the Kraang computers?"

"Yep, and I picked up something up in their computers too." Eddie held up a flash drive, then cast a glance over at Daredevil "If what you were talking about earlier is anything to go by, it's probably full of important stuff."

"Do you know what it is?" asked Daredevil.

"No idea, it's got a ton of encryption. It'll take awhile to decode it entirely. I'll be bringing this up with Gw-Ghost Spider the next time I see her."

"In any case, we should be glad we got the job done and got out of there alive, but I think Miss O'Neil played a big part in the latter." Iron Fist cast a glance over at April "Whatever it was you did back there, I'm pretty sure it saved all of us."

"To be honest, I don't really know what I did." April muttered "I was just freaking out and then zap, the Kraang and the Jackal were toast."

"Well like I said, we should be grateful for it."

"I have to agree on that. Unfortunately I also have to make you guys walk from here, just to be safe" Kurtzman came to a stop in an alley and let the others out, then glanced over at them "I'll be off myself now."

"Where do you go from here?" asked April.

"Someone has to keep an eye on the Kraang, they're all over the place. But if you ever need to call on my expertise, you know where to find me. And see if you can put in a good word for me with the talking ninja turtles." Kurtzman handed April a card, and then he drove off into the night without another word.

"Okay, so… tonight happened."

"Yep. And I realize this might not be the best time, but this night may prove the point that I was trying to make to you before about-" Daredevil cut himself short as a certain sensation went off in his ears "Hold on."

"What's going on?" asked Luke Cage.

"I'm not sure. I hear something coming from down the block. Hold on, I'm gonna go check this out. I'll meet up with you guys later." so Daredevil latched onto the nearby rooftop with the grapple of his Devil's Horn and disappeared into the night.

"Right, so… that's a thing."

"And so is this. I'm gonna meet up with someone to go over some of the data that I got from the lab." Eddie glanced over at April as he pulled out his cell phone "If you wanna get some answers then you can come, but I ain't gonna force you." and so he walked off, with April following after him after a moment.

"You know, for someone who isn't trying to get into the whole hero thing, Venom isn't too bad at it." Iron Fist glanced over at Jessica Jones and Luke Cage "We already brought in Daredevil and Black Cat. Any of you guys up for a new recruit?"

"I've got a better question." Jessica Jones shot them a look of her own "We got hired for this stuff didn't we? Where do we send the bill?"

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Meanwhile, with the resolution to the B plot…

"Yeah that's right, put them up and keep them up, you got that?! And don't let me catch you trying to call the cops!" the nameless thug made his way out of a certain store, keeping his gun pointed at the clerks as he stuffed cash into his bag with his other hand… only to be forced to stop by a chain wrapping around the hand with the gun, yanking him up onto the rooftop and slamming him against the wall "Oh come on, Spider-Man again?!"

"Don't count on it asshat, he's a jokester." a figure fully clad in silver armor leapt out from the shadows, slowly making his way towards the thug "You ain't gonna be able to joke around by the time I'm done with you."

"What? Oh great, now it's gonna be some Daredevil reject-" the thug was cut off by the figure grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the wall, repeatedly punching him across the face.

"First off, the name is Nightwatcher." he dealt him another punch to the face "Second, I'm not gonna be as gentle with you as he'd be. Not after what you did." another punch "You took the life of an old man!" punch "A man with a life and a family, and for what?!" punch "Just to get your grubby hands on a few lousy bucks?!" he grabbed the other fist and crushed it in his hand, then reached for one of his sais and prepared to thrust it forward, until…

"Ahem." another voice drew their attention, revealing none other than Daredevil leaping onto the scene, Devil's Horn in hand "Call this hypocritical if you like, but I usually don't approve of most vigilante activity, at least not in my part of the city Mr…?"

'Crap, wasn't expecting to run into Daredevil. Yeah well, I was chasing this creep and this was where he had to end up, so call it coincidence or whatever."

"Be that as it may, the people of Hell's Kitchen are under my protection, which means I can't let you freely do what you were planning just now." Daredevil's voice softened so that the only one that could hear was Nightwatcher "Especially not if it means letting you cross the point of no return Raphael."

"...God dammit, is this what the Spider felt like when this happened to him?" Nightwatcher gave one final punch to the thug, knocking him out cold, and then he took off his mask, revealing the face of Raphael underneath "How did you know it was me?"

"You mean aside from the fact that you look like a giant metal turtle? My heightened senses let me have a certain… perspective on things. It's also how I found you here to begin with, as the Nightwatcher no less. Based on what you said and what you're wearing…" Daredevil paused, and his expression became solemn "The old man, David… He's gone, isn't he?"

"Yeah… and that creep did it." he pointed at the unconscious thug "So you knew the old guy didn't you?"

"He'd been my neighbor since I was a kid. He sort of acted as a safe haven for me when all the pressure of life got to be too much for me. David was one of those few people I could really confide in, in a neighborhood and city filled with bad people who got off on doing bad things. I don't know if he saw something in me or it was just pity, but he decided at one point to each me what he knew. I had a few different teachers, like the people at a certain church and orphanage, and an old blind man fighting some ancient war, and David. Eventually he showed me his secret cave, made the offer to succeed him, look out for the decent people and take up the mantle of Nightwatcher. But I didn't. I couldn't. Not that way. I wanted to do right by the people of this city, but in my own way. I could tell he was disappointed, but he never held it against me. Not as far as I could tell anyway. Still though, part of me did feel bad for not taking him up on that offer of his. At least now I know his legacy is living on, one way or another. And I know you'll do right by it."

"Yeah… I'll do it. It'll keep me busy too, that way I don't have to think about stuff I don't wanna think about." Raph looked away, glancing up at the night sky, only looking away from that when he felt Daredevil's hand touch his shoulder.

"I know a lot has happened since the last time we saw each other. Would you may want to grab some pizza and catch up?"

"...Yeah sure, that doesn't sound too bad right now. But first, let's call the cops in on that creep over there."

"Agreed. Once that's done, you can tell me how you plan to be the Turtle Titan's sidekick when he finds out about this."

"Please, if anyone's gonna be the sidekick it's him."

"He has seniority."

"I started training first, I'm older than him, I'm the senior!"

"Not in being a superhero, he's been at that for weeks longer than you."

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One call to the cops and pizza pickup later…

"I see…" Daredevil finished his slice of pizza and glanced over at Raph as the two of them sat on a rooftop overlooking Hell's Kitchen "I did hear some commotion the other night in the direction of ESU… I'm sorry about Spike, truly I am."

"Thanks, but it doesn't make it any easier…" Raph's face fell further as he glanced up at the moon shining above them "He was my best friend, and now cause of one stupid mistake that I made… He's something totally different. At this point I don't know if I'm scared of Spike, or for him. Or both. Probably both. And for all I know, it might be the last time I see him… Assuming I never do again…"

"Yeah… I know that feeling pretty well." Daredevil breathed a sigh as he glanced up at the skies above "I still remember what happened the last time I spoke to the man who raised me after I lost all of my other family… He had kept a big secret from me, all my life… It felt like he pretty much turned my whole world inside out, upside down… I was angry at him for it. I'd change that if I could. But a wise woman pointed to me that if God allowed that then there could be no future for us, just people rewriting the past over and over. He was trying to tell me that for a long time, but I was too stubborn and bullheaded to realize that. His dying words were to forgive him."

"Did you?"

"It took me some time, along with a lot of soul searching and going through an existential crisis while being a fugitive, but yes. I also remember him telling me something years ago… when I had been effected by one of the Kraang's experiments. Something that I never forgot. I was angry at God, bitter towards him and his world. I wondered how a loving God could put me through what I had to endure. But he told me that the plan of God is akin to a beautiful tapestry of sorts, and the tragedy of being human is that we only get to see it from the back, with all of the ragged threads and the muddy colors. We were only allowed to get a hint at the true beauty that would be revealed if we were to get to see the whole pattern on the other side, as God gets to see as he pleases. This was around the time I had my final confrontation with Wilson Fisk, a man you might have heard of as the Kingpin."

"Wasn't that whole thing a few years ago?"

"Before I discovered the activities of the Kraang, yes. I had been thinking about it a lot around that time, because I had made bad choices and hurt the people I love without actually intending to."

"Like me turning my pet turtle into a monster."

"But you don't always know when you start down a false path. I didn't, you didn't, and I don't think Spike does either."

"He goes by Slash now."

"Right. But that's my point. I realize that if my life had turned out any differently, then I would never have become Daredevil. And though people have died on my watch, people that shouldn't have, there are countless others that have lived. So maybe it's all part of God's plan. Maybe my life has been exactly as it had to be."

"Uh huh… Why are you telling me this?"

"Honestly, because I think it applies here. I think if your life had turned out differently, then you might not have become the Nightwatcher tonight. And yes people have died on the watch of you and the Turtles, people that shouldn't have like David, and you've lost friends like Spike that you shouldn't have, there are countless others that you and the others have saved, and will save in the future. Maybe that's part of God's plan. Maybe your life is going the way that it needs to be, in order to help you become the person that you need to be."

"...Didn't expect us to get into religion and all that." Raph pulled himself to his feet as he felt a vibration coming from his armor "And my phone's going off again. On my shell, which is in the armor. Didn't think that part through."

"Yeah a quick tip, always put it somewhere you can get to easily. Though given that it's more than likely Splinter or your brothers, you may want to answer it."

"Probably. I'd better get back anyway, they're gonna flip if I don't bring dinner home. If any of them ask, the pizza had three slices missing when I got it." Raph grabbed the box in question, then paused and looked back at Daredevil "But listen man… You think we can just meet up and talk every now and then? Just you and me I mean."

"Anytime."

"Cool, thanks." Raph gave a small smile as he and Daredevil exchanged a fist bump, and then he leapt off and made his way across the city rooftops, pulling out his T-phone as he did so "Take it easy Mikey, I'm on my way back. No they don't put peanut butter fudge on pizza, nobody would want that! Yeah yeah, I'll be there in a few. Also, about the Stealth Bike… go ahead and keep using it. Let's just say I got my hands on my own ride to use for awhile. I'll give you the details later."

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Meanwhile, with the final resolution to the A plot…

"Sounds like you guys definitely went through a lot." Gwen looked over at Eddie as she set up a microscope in her bedroom, with Eddie, April and Logan waiting off to the side "Not that I'm going to be that girl right now, but why didn't you call me or anything? I could've been there to help."

"Your devil buddy beat me to the punch, called his guys first." Eddie gave a shrug, then let out a chuckle "Plus he said you had midterms coming up and I'm not gonna risk getting the Look for making you get a B instead of an A."

"Just remember that when finals start or you'll be getting my REAL Look." Gwen gave a playful smile, but then her demeanor turned serious as she examined a dish under the microscope, and her eyes went wide at what she saw "Woah… Okay, this doesn't seem right… Eddie can I see those notes of yours again?" she was handed a notepad and flipped through it, then went back to the microscope "Wow… I didn't think this was possible…"

"What is it? What's the matter?" asked April.

"Based on this sample and the notes Eddie gave me, according to the info from the clone lab you guys went to… I think your cellular makeup is actually a morphogenesic blend of human DNA and Kraang DNA."

"...Wait, what?"

"Also I can't be certain of this, but I think you might have an X-gene."

"What?!"

"Again, I can't be sure."

"Give me a second to check it out kid." Logan made his way over to the microscope and cast a look into it, then turned back to the others "Yep, I might not be a Stark or Richards, but I know an X Gene when I see one."

"That's what I thought…" Gwen took a breath as she looked at all the others "April, the truth is that you're… not entirely human. That's why you have psychic powers. The truth is that you're a half-human, half-alien… mutant. And a genetic mutant."

"I… I'm a mutant…?" April was left completely stunned by this revelation, slumping down onto Gwen's bed without another word.

"Not just one of either kind. It's a combination of the Kraang's altered DNA you inherited from your mom, and the X-Gene that lies in your body. Combine both of them into one source, that being you, and it created… a hybrid of sorts."

"I … I gotta go." after a few moments, April leapt to her feet and promptly rushed right out of the Stacy household without another word, the door slamming shut behind her.

"...Given all of this, I can't exactly say I blame her." Gwen let out a sigh as she looked out the window and watched April run down the street, then glanced over at Eddie "In the meantime, you said that you wanted talk to me about something else?"

"Yeah, something fairly big." Eddie's gaze hardened as he held up a flash drive "Something that I found in the Kraang's computers called Project Arachnid."

"Project Arachnid? Do we know what that is?"

"Nope, it's ridiculously encrypted, but I wanna know what's on it… and what the whole deal is with this Scarlet Spider, and any connection he's got to Pete."

A/N:

The Spiders and the Turtles are the most prominent heroes of New York in this fic without a doubt, but they aren't the only ones, as April has discovered first hand with her introduction (or reintroduction) to a few masked faces. Since I'd already established the lineup for the Defenders in this fic (Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and now Black Cat), I figured it was only fair to give them a chance to show their stuff in one form or another, complete with another Venom appearance, because why not?

On another note, the B plot. I think it should go without saying that in a world full of superheroes and vigilantes, more than one Turtle would be willing to take up the mantle of one, aside from just Mikey being Turtle Titan. Yep, if you noticed the last easter egg I dropped a few chapters back, Raph has met David Merryweather and subsequently avenged him, earning him the mantle of the new Nightwatcher, so that means Raph is into the vigilante game too. I have thought about doing something like that for Leo and Donnie… though the main reason I hesitate is because I don't know if either of them have had any superhero/vigilante personas in previous TMNT media. If I'm wrong, give me the source and I'll track it down and find a way to make it work.