Our story starts deep within the sewers where six giant turtles stood facing off against each other, all with weapons and different colored masks covering their faces.
The red and purple masks stood against each other, the yellow and the pink one were in front of each other, and the blue and the orange one were opponents.
The one wearing the orange mask was named Michelangelo, but his family called him Mikey. With determined eyes, he pulled out his weapons - nunchucks. The turtle in the blue mask was known as Leo to his family, which is short for Leonardo. He pulled one of his swords that was strapped to his shell - he has two.
With a battle cry, Leo put his sword above his head with both of his hands, and charged his younger brother.
"Oh, yeah!" Mikey said, also running forward, swinging his nunchucks. "Michelangelo is on the move."
Leo swung his sword with a "Heeyah!" but Mikey jumped to the side, his nunchucks still swinging. He wore a smirk on his face as Leo gritted his teeth in frustration.
"You don't know what to do," Mikey teased his older brother, his nunchucks coming to a halt in front of him. Leo charged him again, but Mikey dodged. "I'm there," Mikey said, doing a front flip. "I could be anywhere." He ducked from Leo's sword. "How do you stop what you can't even see?"
Mikey ran forward, and Leo him him with the butt of his sword, causing him to roll forward and groan in pain.
"Like that?" Leo questioned.
"Good one, Leo," Mikey groaned from the ground, before getting up and going to the sidelines.
In another fight, were two female turtles. The one wearing a yellow mask is named Marietta, but everyone calls her Mari. And the turtle wearing the pink mask is known as Cat, which is short for Caterina. Mari smirked, putting her tanto in front of her, while Cat did the same with her Tessen.
"Good luck," Cat told Mari good naturally.
"As if I need it, little sister," Mari said, twirling her tanto, and bringing it back to the center. "You, on the other hand, well, you'll need all the luck you can get."
"That's not nice, Mari!" Cat pouted.
"I'm not a nice turtle, Cat," Mari said, rolling her eyes. "We've been over this a billion times. Now, prepare yourself."
"Okay!" Cat chirped, going into a defensive stance, as Mari charged her with a even louder battle cry than the one Leo gave out.
As Mari ran closer to her younger sister, Cat became very nervous. With a gulp, she ducked from Mari's swinging tanto in the nick of time, much to the young turtle's relief.
"That was a close one," Cat said with a relieved giggle. She turned around to see Mari charging her once again. Cat brought her Tessen up in front of her, blocking Mari's strike. "I'm getting good at this," Cat said, proud of herself.
"But not good enough," Mari said, kicking Cat's shell, sending her to the floor with a thud. Before Cat could get up, Mari pointed her tanto at her younger sister's face. "I guess I win. Better luck next time," she said patronizing.
"One day I'll beat you!" Cat claimed, standing up.
"I'll like to see you try," Mari said lazily, swinging her tanto around.
Cat huffed, joining Mikey on the sidelines. Mikey stuck his tongue at her, and Cat rolled her eyes.
In the third fight, were the two other male turtles. The one in the red mask was named Raphael, but everyone calls him Raph. The other turtle wore a purple mask. His name is Donatello, but everyone calls him Donnie. Donnie twirled his wooden staff around and pointed it at his brother. Raph remained unimpressed and cracked his neck before he said anything.
"All right,Donnie," Raph started. "Put down the staff and no one gets hurt."
"Uh, you said that last time, Raph," Donnie said blankly, "and then you hurt me."
"Yeah, but less than I would have," Raph said with a light nonchalant shrug.
"Yeah, right," Donnie said. He charged his older, yet shorter, brother, whirling his staff around, but Raph managed to stay untouched, just like his twin sai were - he has yet to pull them out.
"Wah! Ah! Yah." Donnie swung his staff down, but then realized his staff were no longer in his grasp, but in Raph's, who broke it into two. "Should've dropped the staff?" Donnie asked.
"Should've dropped the staff," Raph confirmed. He ran forward and started hitting his younger brother with his own broken staff.
"Okay, okay," Donnie protested. "Ow! I'm down!"
Leo stepped forward, while Donnie walked shamefully to the sidelines, sitting next to Cat. Following Mikey's example, she stuck her tongue out at him and he glared at her, but she was already looking back at the fight that was about to take place. Mari would take on the winner. She waited a bit impatiently on the other side of the dojo.
"Onegai shimasu," Leo said respectfully, bending down.
Raph rolled his eyes, also bending down. "Whatever you say."
Leo stood up, swinging his sword in front of him, pointing it at Raph. Raph finally drew his weapons - twin sai - and pointed them at Leo. They both tried to shove their weapons at their opponent's weapons, but they were evenly matched.
Raph let go, so Leo swung his sword at his head, but he ducked. Raph swung his sai and charged his older brother. He knocked Leo down, but then Leo managed to knock Raph down.
Leo readied his sword again and Raph leaped back up. Leo jumped up and brought his sword down, knocking one of the sai out of Raph's hand. The sai went where their siblings were - in between Mikey and Donnie. Cat quickly ducked in her shell and the sai hit the floor with a thud, just behind her.
Cat's head popped back up. "Watch it! You almost killed me!" she shouted.
Leo and Raph didn't seem to care very much.
Raph held his remaining sai in front of him. Leo did the same with his sword. They both charged each other with battle cries. Raph managed to knock Leo's weapon out of his hand and onto the ground. With the help of his sai, Raph threw Leo to the ground, causing him to groan.
"Nice try," Raph said, standing over Leo.
"My turn," Mari said, stepping forward. "Move out of the way, Leo."
Leo stood up, clutching his shoulder and went to sit next to Donnie.
"Hey, Cat, throw me my sai!" Raph demanded.
"Why? So you can manage to kill me this time!" Cat huffed, but nevertheless threw Raph's sai at him.
Raph grinned, twirling both of his sai in the air and then pointing it in front of him. Mari sighed, her tanto placed securely in front of her.
"Don't think I'm going easy on you, Mari," Raph said.
"If you did, I'd kick your pathetic ass even more than I would have done anyways," Mari said, causing Mikey and Cat to gasp dramatically from the sidelines and scream, "LANGUAGE!"
"Yeah, right," Raph scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Now that's enough talking."
"My exact thoughts," Mari said, running forward with her tanto.
Raph ducked, and then swung his sai at his sister. Mari evaded his attack by knocking one of his sai at of his hands with her tanto, and it once more nearly decapitated Cat, if not for her hiding in her shell.
"I knew you would try to kill me again!" Cat popped back out. "Literally every single time you do that!"
"Wish I succeeded if it would shut you up," Raph muttered, still holding onto one of his sai.
Cat looked absolutely offended.
"You and me both, Raph," Mari agreed.
Cat looked even more offended, and Mikey snickered at her.
Raph charged Mari with his remaining sai and Mari jumped over Raph, kicking his shell in the process. With a front flip, Mari gracefully fell back onto the floor and put one foot on Raph's shell.
"Oh, isn't that a shame," Mari said patronizingly. "Big strong Raphie boy lost."
Raph gritted his teeth, rolling from under her feet and stood back up, glaring at his sister, who merely smirked at him in return. Even though he had already lost, he was preparing to attack her, but before he could, a rat man entered the dojo and yelled, "Ya me!"
The rat was none other than their Sansei named Splinter. He is also their father. The six turtles quickly sat in a straight line as Splinter stood in front of his children.
Splinter was walking with a staff. "You all did very well," he told them calmly.
"But I did better," Raph said, ignoring the glares he received from both Leo and Mari.
"This is about self-improvement, Raphael," Splinter said, now walking behind the turtles. "It is not about winning and losing."
"I know, sensei. But I won and they lost," Raph said confidently.
"You little lying son of a-" Mari stopped short when she realized that their sensei was right behind Raph, and she was sitting next to him.
Splinter jabbed his sharp finger into Raph's neck, causing a satisfied smirk to appear on Mari's face.
"Ah, ah, ah!" Raph yelled. "But what's really important is that we all did our best. Good job, everyone!" But when Splinter didn't let go, Raph continued, "and it was Mari that won, not me! Owwww!"
"That's more like it." Mari nodded her head.
Finally, Splinter let go of Raph's neck but hit Mari's head with his staff, causing her to scream, "UM, OUCH?"
"Hee hee hee," Splinter said.
After training, the six turtles and their father sat, eating a meal together, consisting of algae and worms. Leo, Raph, Cat and Splinter ate with no complaints, but Mari and Donnie kept picking at their food, disgusted. Mikey, their chef, was at the pot, stirring up the rest of its contents.
"There's a little more algae and worms left if anyone wants it," Mikey said, still stirring. He held up the pot in front of his siblings and sensei. "Anybody? Anybody?" he questioned eagerly.
"No thanks," Leo said hurriedly.
"I'm good," Raph claimed.
"Ew, gross," was all Mari said.
"All yours." That was Donnie.
"I'll pass," says Cat
"Well, I guess no one left room for," Mikey paused for dramatic effect, wearing a wide grin on his face. "...cake!" he exclaimed, holding up the cake that was previously behind his hands and placed it in front of his siblings, who wore astounding expressions plastered to their faces.
"Whoa!" the other five - Leo, Raph, Mari, Donnie and Cat - said.
"It is a cake!" Donnie gasped.
"Made of...algae," Raph pointed out.
"And worms," Mari added blankly.
"Ooh! Ohh!" Cat raised her hand excitedly, wearing a happy grin. "What's the frosting made out of?"
"You don't wanna know," Mikey said, pulling the cake back slightly. Then he brightened up. "Happy Mutation Day!"
"Happy Mutation Day!" Leo, Raph, Mari, Donnie and Cat yelled back happily.
"Ah, yes," Splinter finally spoke up. "Fifteen years ago today, our lives changed forever and we became the unlikeliest of families."
"Tell us the story, Master Splinter," Mikey said with a soft smile.
"Oh, yes, please!" Cat squealed. "It's my favorite story ever!"
"Michelangelo, Caterina," Splinter looked at them, "I have already told it many times."
"Please! Pleeeease!" Mikey and Cat begged in unison, clasping their hands together pleadingly. Cat even gave him the adorable little eyes, that only sometimes work. She wasn't sure how she couldn't get away with more things. Her siblings and father must be cute blind, as opposed to color blind.
With each hand, Raph covered his younger siblings mouths, stopping their pleading. "Please," Raph said, exasperated. "It's the only way to shut Mikey and Cat up."
Cat licked Raph's hand and, being disgusted, he whacked her head.
Splinter pretended not to notice. "Ah, very well," he gave in. "Many years ago, when I was still human, I was leaving the pet store with six baby turtles."
"That was us?" Mikey questioned.
"Yes. Don't interrupt!" Splinter said. "I passed a strange man on the street. Something felt off about him. I decided to follow." He told the rest of the story, everyone listening transfixed. "That was the beginning of our life together. It was the mysterious substance in this canister that, in a way, gave birth to us all." He held up the very canister that he was talking about.
"Mom," Mikey said, hugging the canister. Everyone looked at him weirdly, except for Cat, who nodded eagerly.
"So sensei, now that we're fifteen," Leo started. "I think we're finally ready to go up to the surface, don't you?
"Yes," Splinter said, much to everyone's delight. They began celebrating, but their hopes were dashed when he said, "and no."
"Oh, man, come on," Mikey says.
"Lame," Leo muttered.
"Way to get our hopes up." Mari scoffed.
"I hate when he does that," Raph said.
Donnie and Cat merely groaned.
"You have grown powerful, but you are still young," Splinter continued. "You lack the maturity to use your skills wisely."
"So, sensei, isn't that just no?" Donnie asked.
"Yes..." Splinter paused, "and no. Wisdom comes from experience and experience comes from making mistakes."
"Aha!" Donnie exclaimed. "So in order for us to gain the wisdom, we have to make the mistakes. So we can go."
"No," Splinter said.
"And yes?" Mari asked hopefully.
"No!" Splinter yelled.
"Oh..." Donnie and Mari both muttered.
"Sensei," Leo said, "we know you're trying to protect us, but we can't spend our whole lives hiding down here."
"For once, Leo is right," Mari said, causing Leo to glare at her for only a second.
Splinter sighed and looked down, only to see all six of his children out of their seats and onto their knees, giving him the pleading eyes "Mm," Splinter stroked his beard. "You may go tonight," he finally decided.
Everyone cheered.
"High three!" Mikey yelled out, and everyone, except for Mari who rudely declined, obliged.
That night, Leo was watching television.
"Gentleman, I have a bold and daring plan. There's no time for hesitation. My orders must be carried out without question!" Leo said, speaking at the same time as Captain Ryan from his favorite TV show. He even had the same pose.
"Aye, sir!"
"You know this show is stupid, right?" Raph asked from behind his comic.
Mari, who sat next to him, with a book, set it down and said, "Now that's factual."
"Space Heroes is a great show and Captain Ryan is a great hero," Leo told his younger siblings. "Someday, I am gonna be just like him."
"Well, you do like to hear yourself talk, so you're on your way," Cat teases with a light giggle. She stood on all fours, her sister, Mari, and her brother, Raph, using her as a place to rest their feet. They said that she would be a good sister if she allowed them to do so. But she was really starting to regret doing so. At least she'll have sister of the year award, right?
"It's go time!" Mikey said, as he and Donnie came out.
They all made sure they had their weapons, and stood in front of Master Splinter.
"You are going up to a strange and hostile world. You must maintain awareness at all times," Splinter said, walking back and forth in front of his sons and daughters.
"Aye, sensei!" the six said, preparing to leave.
"Stay in the shadows," Splinter said, stopping in one place.
"Aye, sensei!" they said, ready to leave again.
"Don't talk to strangers," Splinter stopped them again.
"Aye, sensei!" the turtles said blankly, about to leave.
"Everyone is a stranger," Splinter quickly added.
"Aye, sensei!" The turtles, even Cat, was starting to get annoyed now.
"Make sure you go before you leave," Splinter said. "The restrooms up there are filthy."
"Sensei!" they protested.
"Are we able to leave now?" Mari said with an agitated groan.
"Yes." Splinter nodded. "Good luck, my children."
"I am so pumped!" "Surface time!" "This is awesome" Oh, this is gonna be epic!" "Finally!" they all said respectfully at the same time, running off, not even staying to hear the last things their sensei yelled out at them.
"Look both ways before crossing the street!"
As we up up into the streets of New York, everything was peaceful and quiet up there. A hand opened a manhole cover and the six turtles came stared at the unfamiliar setting with awe. For the moment, only bugs and trash could be seen. And a sleeping homeless man that was using a newspaper for a blanket. Police sirens blared in the distance.
"It's so beautiful," Mikey said.
"Where's all the shiny objects?" Cat pouted, only to receive a combo strike to the head from Raph and Mari at the same time. She clutched her throbbing head, and followed her siblings, who began walking.
"The city is just full of possibility," Leo said, leading his siblings. "There could be an adventure around this corner...or...or this one...or this one!" Leo claimed, pointing at different corners and streets.
"There's not." Mari sighed.
"But there could be!" Leo argued back.
Donnie gasped, pressing his face against the glass of an electronic store. "Look at all the computers!" Donnie said. "Is that the next generation cadmium processor with quantum encryption?"
"I don't know, Donatello. Is it?" Raph asked sarcastically.
"It is!" Donnie exclaimed excitedly.
"Guys, guys! Check this out," Mikey said. He and Cat stared transfixed at a glass case that had a symbol that lit up and then off. "A hand made out of light!"
"Now it's an eye made out of light," Cat jumped up excitedly.
"And the hand again!"
"Now the eye's back!"
"Now the hand!"
"Come on, losers," Mari said, grabbing both of them by the scuffs of the necks and pulling them away to join the others.
"The eye!" Cat yelled one last time.
"So where to next?" Donnie asked, just as they see light and a loud motor.
A human kid stops and stares at the six turtles. The turtles stared back. Raph made a move that the kid took as scary and quickly drove off, causing Raph and Mari to laugh, and for Cat to frown. She wasn't that scary, was she? Raph, yes. Mari, possibly. But Cat? No way.
"That was kinda fun," Raph said, his hands on his hips.
"I call dibs on the next person," Mari said.
"We're too exposed out here," Leo said. He glanced up at a rooftop. "Come on!" He began running, everyone except one following him
Mikey noticed a box and took it with him, mainly out of curiosity.
On the rooftop, the six turtles stared at the box that Mikey brought with them.
"Pizz...a," Mikey read the box.
"Should we open it?" Donnie asked.
"I vote yes!" Cat grinned like a little kid on Christmas.
"Careful! It could be dangerous," Leo warned.
Mari sighed, opening the box, the delicious smell of the pizza entering their nostrils.
"I think it's food," Donnie said.
"It's not like any food I ever saw," Raph pointed out.
"I vote that Mikey tries it to see if it's dangerous," Mari said.
Mikey didn't object. He carefully took a slice of pizza and took one nip. His brain explodes. In no time at all, he scarfed it all up, licked his lips and then burped. His siblings stared at him. Mikey seemed okay. "Uh, yuck," Mikey so clearly lied. "You guys won't like it. I'll take the rest-"
"No way!" Nuh-uh!" "Liar" "It's mine!" "Back off!"
"I never thought I'd taste anything better than worms and algae, but this is amazing! Right?" Raph said, finishing off his slice of pizza.
"You said it, bro!" Mari said, her mouth filled with pizza goodness.
"It's incredible!" Cat said.
"I love it up here!" Mikey yelled.
The turtles jumped from rooftop to rooftop, loving their new sense of freedom. They came to a stop at the edge of one of the rooftops of a tall building.
"All right, guys, it's getting late," Leo said, overlooking the city. "We should probably head back home."
"Who died and elected you the boss of us?" Mari questioned.
"I'm the oldest," Leo said as if that explained everything.
With grumbling breaths, five of the six turtles turned to go back to their home in the sewers Donnie gasped, causing the others to look at him. "Guys! Look at that!" Donnie pointed.
The bottom of the city revealed two people walking the streets. A middle aged man and a teenage girl that must've been his daughter. Donnie was staring at the girl, his heart beating faster the longer he looked at her.
"She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Donnie said.
Mari and Cat glared at him.
"...Isn't she the only girl you've ever seen?" Raph questioned.
"My point still stands," Donnie insisted stubbornly.
"Hey!" Cat protested.
"You little fucking bitch!" Mari snarled at Raph.
"Yeah... you fucking bitch..." Cat nodded in agreement.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to repeat anything Mari says?" Leo sighed, annoyed.
A van quickly pulled up in front of the two humans. Someone got of the driver's seat, and four identical men that looked different than the driver got out from the back.
"What?" the man said in fear. "What is this?" His daughter shivered in fear as the men got closer to them.
"We gotta save 'em!" Donnie said, suddenly filled with determination.
"Splinter's instructions were very clear," Leo said, putting a hand on Donnie's shoulder. "We're supposed to stay away from people. And bathrooms," he added more fearfully.
"I thought you wanted to be a hero," Raph said."Since when do heroes ask for permission?"
"They don't. But ..." Leo paused.
"Well, I'm going!" Donnie claimed.
"It sounds like fun!" Cat said.
"What's the point of training to be ninjas if we can't use our skills to help?" Mari pointed out.
Donnie leaped off of the building, followed by Raph, Mari, Mikey and Cat. Leo made a sound that was between a sigh and a groan, and then leaped off of the building, following his siblings.
The man was knocked unconscious as the girl cried out, "Help! Help!" One of the kidnappers threw the man into the van.
"Hey!" Mari yelled, kicking the man in the stomach, as the rest fought. The man fell to the ground, but then rose back up, making a strange warbling echoing sound. "Still standing?" She smirked. "Not for long."
Raph bumped into her.
"Watch it!" Raph demanded.
"You bumped into me!" Mari yelled back.
Raph was engaging in a fight of his own. With his twin sai, he charged the man, but Leo fell on his. They exchanged insults, and Leo took off. But then he bumped into Cat.
"Watch it, Cat!" Leo said.
"You do the same," Cat said, charging one of the man with her Tessen. But then she was hit in the head with Donnie's staff. "Ouch! Donnie!" Cat whined.
"Watch where you're going!" Donnie yelled, twirling his staff and charging the man that he's fighting.
"Hey, cut it out! Stop! Ow! Let go of me!" the girl yelled, catching the attention of Donnie. He looked in that direction to see the girl being held by one of the kidnappers and walking off. Donnie hurled his bo staff at him, causing the man to drop the girl. Donnie quickly ran over and caught her.
"Gotcha!" Donnie said.
The girl looked up at the turtle who smiled at her. Without any warning, April screamed. causing Donnie to scream, also dropping her.
"AAGHH!" Donnie screamed, the girl backing away. "No, no, no. No. Don't worry. We're the good guys." The girl screams again. "It's okay."
The girl turn to see that the men are coming closer and she looked back at Donnie. He let out a hand to help her up. However, his younger brother accidentally hit him with his nunchucks, causing Donnie to turn his attention on him angrily.
"Whoops! Sorry," Mikey said, but then panicked and pointed behind Donnie. "Watch out!"
The man kicked them, sending Donnie and Mikey into the garbage.
They captured the girl and the van drove off
"Huh? They're getting away! They got the girl!" Donnie yelled, running off.
"You just jabbed me with your sword," Raph told Leo as they and Mari followed after Donnie.
"Well, I didn't know you were gonna land where I was stabbing," Leo yelled back.
"Will both of you shut the hell up?" Mari demanded.
The four of them chased after the van.
Cat was about to follow them, but she noticed that Mikey was still on the ground. She skipped over to him happily and kicked him. Mikey let out a groan and got to his feet.
"What was that for, Cat?" Mikey complained, rubbing the part of his shell that his little sister kicked.
"No reason," Cat said, her eyes suddenly widening. "Um, behind you!"
Mikey turned to see one man remaining, his face void of emotion. The two turtles stared at him.
"I got this-" Cat started, pulling out her Tessen.
"No, I do," Mikey interrupted, making a bunch of unthreatening moves with his nunchucks. "You think you're tough, huh? You think you're tough enough to stand up to my hot nunchuck fury?"
"Mikey, what are you doing?" Cat asked.
Mikey slashed his nunchucks around, and the the man effortlessly grabbed one of the nunchucks.
"My turn," Cat said.
"Huh? I see. Well, then... Aah!" Mikey took off running.
"What? Mikey!" Cat chased after him.
The man started running after the youngest of the turtles. They somehow gets cornered in an alley as the man walk toward them.
Cat stepped in front of Mikey. "Stay away from us!" she demanded, her legs shaking with fear as she pointlessly waved her black Tessen around. The man collapsed.
"Good job, sis!" Mikey cheered.
"Um, no problem?" Cat said, confused.
"What the..?" Mikey muttered, turning the man over slowly, to see half of the man's face was metal. " That is all kinds of wrong."
"You said it, bro," Cat said in agreement, staring at the brain thing that was in the man's chest.
All of a sudden, the pinkish brain creature screeches. Mikey screamed as it grabbed onto his face. Cat slapped it off, knocking Mikey to the ground in the process. The creature slammed right on the wall and scurried away. Panting for breath, Mikey, and screaming bloody murder, Cat, ran off to find the others.
"Why are you screaming?" Mari asked Cat.
Cat bit her tongue, not even realizing that she was screaming before her older sister pointed it out.
"Guys! Guys! You're never gonna believe this!" Mikey hurriedly said, still freaked out. "That dude, he.. he.. Had a brain!"
"We all have brains, Mikey," Leo said dully.
"Not all of us," Donnie said, referring to Mikey.
"In our chests?" Cat demanded.
"Oh, great, your imagination has gotten away from you, too," Mari muttered.
"No, Cat," Leo answered, once again, dull. "Not in our chests."
"You're not listening to us! We both saw it!" Mikey yelled panicking, while Cat let out another loud scream. This time, out of frustration. Leo slaps the both of them. "Did you just slap me?" Mikey asked, going into defensive mode.
"Us," Cat corrected, narrowing her eyes at Leo.
"I was calming you guys down," Leo claimed.
"Why would that calm us down?" Mikey demanded.
"Bro, this man really did have a brain in his chest," Cat whined. "You gotta believe us."
"I think they're delusional," Donnie said.
"Think? Well, I know that they're delusional," Mari scoffed.
"Just-just come here," Mikey said. He and Cat walks off to show their brothers and sister where they had last seen it. "We're telling you. The big guy was a robot and he had a freaky-weird alien brain thing in his chest."
"You gotta believe us," Cat added in not so helpfully.
"I'm not sure we do," Raph said, as they all followed their younger brother and sister.
"Oh, yeah?" Mikey questioned, turning the corner. "Well, you'll change your tune when you see that he's-"
"Gone?!" Cat gasped. They didn't even see the body.
"What?!" Mikey yelled.
Their older brothers and sister glared at them, before walking away. Mikey and Cat exchanged looks of equal confusion and then stared back at the spot where the robot body and the brain had once been, before following after their siblings.
"And so your inability to work together allowed them all to get away," Splinter said angrily, his six children sitting in front of him with lowered heads. Mari wasn't sure why they decided to tell Splinter about the mistakes that were made that night.
"It's not my fault!" Mari said, glaring at Raph. "He's the one that bumped into me."
"Well, maybe if I didn't have to waste time arguing with hero boy, I could've saved them," Raph said, referring to Leo.
"Well, if Cat hasn't gotten in my way, I could've done it," Leo said.
Cat pouted. "Well, maybe if Donnie watched where he was pointing that thing!" she said, pointing at her brother's staff. "Oh, and going off by yourself wasn't such a smart idea!" She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Well, it would've worked out great if somebody hadn't hit me in the head with their nunchucks!" Donnie glared at Mikey.
"Well, none of this would've happened if..." Mikey looked to his right, only to realize that there was no one else to blame, "somebody hadn't trusted us to go up there in the first place!" Everyone gasped at what Mikey was implying and Mikey was instantly filled with regret and dread. "Oh, geez. Sensei, I didn't mean to-"
"No, Michelangelo. You are right," Splinter interrupted.
"I am?" Mikey asked.
"He is?" Leo, Raph, Mari and Donnie questioned in disbelief, while Cat only voiced the same question in confusion.
"You were not fully prepared for what was up there," Splinter told them. "I trained you to fight as individuals, not as a team. And as your teacher, your father, the responsibility for that is mine. Perhaps in another year we can try again."
"Another year? Ha!" Donnie said in disbelief. "Has everybody forgotten that people were kidnapped? They don't have a year! sensei, we have to do something now! You weren't there, sensei. You didn't see the way that girl looked into my eyes. She was scared. And she was counting on me-" His siblings glared at him, "-us to save her!"
Splinter thought about what Donnie said. He turned around and gazed in the picture frame of the family he once had, remembering the tragedy that had befallen him all those years ago. "Yes, you must save her," he finally decided.
"I agree, sensei," Leo said. "But in that fight, we weren't exactly a well-oiled machine."
"Like that robot-" Mikey started.
"-with the brain thingy," Cat finished.
"Give it a rest!" Raph snapped.
"And never finish each other sentences ever again," Mari shuddered.
"Hmm," Splinter wondered, stroking his beard. "If you are to fight more effectively as a unit, you are going to need a leader."
"Can I be the leader?" Leo asked.
"Why should you be the leader?" Raph questioned. "I kicked your butt. I should be the leader."
"And I kicked your butt, so I should be leader!" Mari said.
"Hey, I'm smarter than all you guys put together. It should be me," Donnie said.
"No way!" Mikey protested. "It should be me!" Everyone looked at him strangely and so he said, "I don't really have a reason. I just think it would be neat."
"Ooh, I wanna be leader!" Cat said. Once again, everyone looked at another of their siblings strangely. "Unlike Mikey, I have a reason! Cuz I'm super adorable." She let out a giggle in the end.
"God, help us if she's leader," Raph muttered.
"This is a difficult decision," Splinter said, going over to his room. "I will meditate on it." He closed the door, but then opened it a second later. "It's Leonardo."
"No hard feelings, Raph?" Leo asked.
"Stick it in your shell." Raph walked away angrily.
"For the record, I am also pis-" Mari glanced at Mikey and Cat and decided that she didn't want another scolding from Leo and Donnie... for the hundredth time. "I am most displeased with this." Then she, too, got up and left.
Up on the rooftops, our six favorite ninja turtles either sat or stood in silence. "Explain to me one more time what we're doing here," Mikey whispered over in Leo's direction.
"I also forgot!" Cat yelled out.
Leo winced. "Cat, don't talk so loud. And guys, we've been over this," Leo said, as the other three groaned in annoyance. "That building has the same logo as the van that was used to kidnap the family. So if we wait here long enough, one of the kidnappers will eventually show his face. And when he does, we'll make him tell us where they took them."
"And then we got ourselves a van!" Mikey said.
"I'm so ready." Cat grinned.
Leo facepalmed. "Just hit the guy I tell you to."
"And while you're at him, try not to be so dumb, Kay?" Mari asked rhetorically.
"I'll try!" Cat chirped.
"Will do!" Mikey gave them a thumbs up.
"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Raph asked.
"Trust me," Leo said with a smile, staring at the building. "They'll be here any second."
But two hours later, the turtles were still waiting.
"Okay," Mikey said, leaning up against Cat. "I'm thinking of something green. Ga-reen. Ga-reen."
"Hmm," Cat put a thoughtful expression on her face, a finger on her chin. "I wonder..."
"Is it Raphael again?" Donnie asked dully.
"Man, you're good at this!" Mikey said.
"I would have never guess that!" Cat said completely serious.
"Give it up already," Raph told their leader, finally snapping. "The guy's not gonna show."
"For real, we've wasted so much time," Mari said, crossing her arms.
"We have to be patient," Leo insisted.
"No, you have to come up with a better plan," Raph said, "cause the six of us standing here with our thumbs up our noses-"
"I don't think they'd fit," Mikey said, looking at his thumbs.
Cat poked her thumb up against her nose. "They definitely don't," she agreed.
Raph stared at them blankly before looking at Leo again. "-Is pointless," he finished.
"I could've told you that," Mari said. "Seriously, this is such a colossal waste of time and energy."
"You sure about that, Raph, Mari?" Leo asked with a smile.
"He just showed up, didn't he?" Mari sighed.
"We should've complained two hours ago," Raph told his sister, and she nodded in agreement.
They were now all staring at the van that had just arrived.
"Gentlemen and ladies," Leo said, making his voice sound 'heroic.' "I have a bold and daring plan. There's no time for hesitation. My orders must be carried out without question."
"Leo, they're gone," Cat said.
Leo looked around and only saw Cat still standing next to him. Cat quickly jumped off of the building, and so Leo followed her.
The six turtles are zeroed onto the man as he walked away from where he parked the van.
"All right, buddy," Raph said. "We can do this the easy way, or my vote the hard way." He pulled out his weapons, as his siblings did the same.
"Make that two votes," Mari said, twirling her tanto around.
"For the record, I would prefer a more peaceful approach," Cat said, her Tessen still folded, but held out in front of her.
"Yeah, look at it logically," Donnie said. "There are six of us and one of you. What are you gonna do?"
The man pulled out a laser gun and began shooting at them, as the turtles jumped and dodged the shots, landing on a fire escape.
"You had to ask!" Raph yelled angrily, glaring at Donnie.
The man got back into the van and drove off. The turtles all jumped back to the ground.
"He's getting away again!" Donnie said worriedly.
"No, he's not," Leo said, and they all began jumping on rooftops.
When he caught up, Raph managed to jump onto the van, but when the man turned a corner, Raph fell off and slammed into the wall of a building.
The other turtles were still jumping rooftops, the van never leaving their sight. The man grabbed the laser gun from the passenger's seat and began shooting at them again, without stopping the van.
Leo twirled in the air, throwing a shuriken at the van as he did so, causing the man to lose control, roll over and crash into a pole, with a loud alarm, that quickly stopped.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Leo said.
They were all back on the ground. They were hiding behind a small brick staircase outside. Leo began giving hand signals, not looking at his siblings confused expressions.
"I don't know what that means," Raph said, also doing hand signals to mock his older brother.
"Go around back," Leo whispered.
"Why didn't he just say so?" Mikey asked Cat.
"And they call us idiots," Cat giggled.
"Just come on!" Leo demanded.
They they crept to the bottom of the van, holding out their weapons in case of any more surprises. Mari opened the back of the van causing a single canister to slip out and roll to the ground to Mikey's feet
"Mom?" Mikey gasped.