Sirani, Artemisia and Paolo ran back to the base without encountering any trouble, to their surprise. Meanwhile, Michelangelo made it to April and Casey's apartment without running into any Foot ninjas. He climbed back through the window, and looked around for April or Casey.
April was washing dishes when she heard the turtle come through the window. She came to him and said, "Hey. Casey and I weren't sure when you'd be back, so we ate dinner already. There are leftovers if you want some... Wait, where are the others? Did something happen?"
"We found where the Foot Clan are storing the mutants, but then we were led into an ambush. We fought against Karai," Mikey revealed.
"And what happened after that?" April asked, concerned.
"She got away. And..." Mikey reached for his belt and took out his broken nunchuck.
"Well, that sucks, but maybe Casey could fix it."
"Yeah," Mikey sighed, "I guess he could."
As April tried to think of something else to say to the turtle besides "goodbye," she noticed something. "Hey...you have something on your shell."
Mikey turned to try and get a better look at it, but failed no matter which way he went.
"Hold still. I'll get it." April looked at his shell and pulled off the object. The little round object looked mostly metallic, but there was something red in the center. As soon as she realized what it was, she tried to crush it. "Mikey, I think someone's spying on us."
Suddenly, a shadow darts past the doorway and into the kitchen. Mikey's eyes widened and he took out his single nunchuck. "April, call the police..."
April nodded and pulled out her phone, calling the police. She went to get Casey from the living room and tell him they were in trouble.
Luckily, Casey came to find April once Mikey passed him by. "April, what's going on?"
"The Foot Clan tracked Mikey to the apartment," April explained. "We're all in danger."
"No!" Mikey exclaimed from the baby's room.
April rushed in and as soon as she saw the empty crib, she screamed, "CODY!"
Mikey stood by the open window. The wooden frame was chipped in different areas as if something with sharp metal quills had forced its way out through it. Mikey's three-fingered hand clenched into a fist. "Karai..." he muttered through bared teeth.
Frowning, Casey put both hands on the crib's frame and gripped it tightly due to the rage he was feeling. "I'm going to kill her..." he stated. "I swear to God, she's going to die tonight."
April didn't argue against them killing Karai; she started sobbing. Eventually, she nuzzled her head in Casey's chest as she cried.
"I have to get back to the base. April, do you still have that tracker?" Mikey asked.
"Well..." she sniffed, showing the turtle the tracker hidden in her hand. "I-I tried to crush it, but..."
Mikey looked it over, finding that it was crushed but still salvageable. "This could be used to track down Karai."
April gave the tracker to him so he could find Karai and hopefully, save her son.
"I'm going too. Just let me grab my gear." Casey headed back to his bedroom and left April and Mikey alone.
The turtle asked, "Are you coming, April?"
April shook her head; she looked too heartbroken about her missing child to be helpful.
Mikey gave her a comforting hug. "I promise you we'll bring him back."
"Wait." April pulled out her phone as she hugged Mikey back. "When you find where Karai's hiding out, give me the address. Maybe I can call the police to back you up."
Mikey nodded. "Will do. Just hang tight until we find them, April."
Then, Casey returned, dressed in his body armor and trademark hockey mask. Casey and Michelangelo headed off to search for Karai, while April waited by her phone for any calls from them. Mikey and Casey returned to the sewer lair, finding Paolo, Artemisia, and Sirani waiting for them.
Sirani asked, "How did it go? Where's April?"
Artemisia asked second, "What's wrong?"
"Karai put a tracker on me," Mikey revealed. "She followed me back to their place and… she took Cody."
"What?! Where?!" Paolo exclaimed.
"That's what I'm going to find out." Mikey held up the broken tracker.
Artemisia looked it over. "Anything we can do to help?"
"We need to get this device back up and running again. If we can do that, we reverse the signal to find where Karai was tracking me from."
"How are we gonna get it working again?" Sirani asked, already turning the computer on.
"A few things I learned from watching Donnie over the years," Mikey replied.
It took a few minutes of tinkering with the wiring, but the tracker eventually flickered to life.
"Are you sure Karai can't see us right now?" Artemisia looked doubtful.
"I know what I'm doing," Mikey answered. "I think."
He hooked the tracker up to the computer and brought up a digital map of New York. The Zootants watched anxiously as a reticle zipped around the map, trying to find a marked location. Finally, the reticle went static over the Shellhammer Chemicals building.
"There," Mikey stated.
"Why would Karai take Cody there?" Sirani asked. "What if it's a trap?"
Artemisia argued, "We don't have much of a choice at this point."
"I'll call April on the way," Casey said.
Mikey announced, "To the van!"
The Zootants quickly piled into the Turtle Van and they went to Shellhammer Chemicals. They stopped at the front entrance where a security guard has to do a double-take when looking up at them.
Mikey said, "Hey. We have an appointment."
"I can see that." The guard gave him a nod. Yet, he didn't take his eyes off them as he reached for the button and activated the security barrier. The barrier lifted to let the van pass through.
"Thanks, pal," Mikey said before driving the van into the parking lot.
There were only a few cars left in the parking lot, since most employees had already left. As Michelangelo pulled into a parking space, Artemisia worked at a laptop, looking up information about Shellhammer Chemicals. Once the Turtle Van is parked, she said, "I've found something interesting: Shellhammer is working with T.C.R.I. to create an anti-mutagen cure."
Sirani asked, "How does that help us?"
The fox explained, "Creating a cure would require having mutagen on hand to test. I assume T.C.R.I. gave all the mutagen to Shellhammer to distance themselves from the bombing last year. Karai might've heard about it from T.C.R.I., or one of her spies. I don't want to say this, but..." She took a deep breath. "I think Karai is going to mutate Cody if we don't stop her."
Frowning, Casey brandished his hockey stick. "We're going in there NOW."
Artemisia put the laptop away and pulled out her Sais. The mutants and Casey headed out of the Turtle Van and towards the main Shellhammer building. They approached the front entrance and Mikey kicked open the double doors.
"Okay. We need to split up to cover more ground," he said as he took out some turtle-phones for each Zootant. The phones were one of Donnie's greatest inventions prior to his untimely demise. "If any of you find Shredder, call in and tell us where to go."
The others nodded before heading in different directions. All the mutants went in different directions, but Casey and Mikey stuck together, as did Paolo, Artemisia, and Sirani.
Eventually, the trio of animals found a door that led outside the main building. Curious, Sirani opened it, and the group found an outdoor lot on the other side. The lot was littered with metal boxes, some bigger than Paolo, and in the center was a crane with a magnet attached to it.
Sirani asked the others, "Is that a giant magnet?"
Artemisia nodded. "Looks like it." Then, she contacted Michelangelo through the turtle-phone. "Mikey, we found something that might be useful. How do you think Karai will handle against a giant magnet?"
Mikey stopped walking as he thinks about it. "Hmm...well, depending on whether or not her quills are magnetic, we might be able to use that."
"One of us needs to find Karai first," Artemisia pointed out. "I hope you can find her. I don't think we should split up anymore than we already have - we're more likely to get lost, you know?"
"Which end of the facility is the magnet?" Mikey asked.
"Uh...the end we didn't come in from?" Artemisia thought of a better way to phrase that. "I think the parking lot was on the west end of the building, so we're at the east end, outside. Where do you think Karai is?"
Mikey and Casey entered a large area of the building and found large vats of the mutagen with walkways above them. They also heard skittering noises echoing off of the walls.
"I think we may have found her," Mikey looked at the door sign and commented, "Ground floor. Biohazard storage."
"We'll meet you there," Artemisia said before running off.
"Wait!" Sirani chimed in. "I think… I'll stay back here, just to make sure nothing happens to the crane. Plus, one of us needs to figure out the controls."
Paolo said, "Okay. We'll call in when we're on the way."
The red panda waved goodbye to her companions before she climbed into the magnet crane. The gorilla and fox headed back into the building, and using the maps around the place, they found the biohazard storage room Michelangelo mentioned. They found Mikey and Casey on the catwalk… and Karai standing opposite them with Cody in her arms.
"Guys, don't move!" Mikey called out to them.
"Hush now," Karai ordered. "The baby's sleeping."
Artemisia and Paolo followed Michelangelo's orders and didn't move, fearing for their own safety and Cody's.
"Why are you doing this, Karai?" Mikey asked.
"Well, my original intention was to track you down and then kill you," Karai answered. "But when I saw this little baby, this sweet little bundle of joy I assume your human allies brought into the world...I figured I could do worse to him. All it takes is for me to drop him into that ooze, and his life will be ruined. Just like you ruined mine."
"But who made those bombs? You ruined your own life, Karai," Artemisia argued. "You just can't accept it."
"No. I had my mission: to kill the last remaining ninja turtle. If you had simply allowed me that honor, things would not have turned out this way. You took something precious from me, turtle. And now I'm going to take something precious from you."
Artemisia suddenly noticed that Paolo had vanished from her side. The fox looked surprised that Karai didn't notice a huge gorilla disappearing, but she had to keep Karai distracted so the big guy could pull off whatever he was planning. Artemisia continued, "Look, this fight was started by your father, right? I know this is really stupid for me to bring up now, but is there any way I can convince you that this isn't your fight, and it should've ended a long time ago?"
"It was not HIS fight. It was OUR fight," Karai stated. "Even when I was a child, he told me of how we would conquer the world with the might of the Foot Clan. But the Turtles ALWAYS stood in our way. My father may never get to see the world we planned, but I can make sure that this child doesn't either." She lifted Cody over the edge of the railing.
"NO! Don't you dare!" Casey ran down the catwalk towards Karai. However, he was not quick enough to stop the mutant porcupine from dropping his son towards the glowing vat of ooze. "CODY!" Casey cried as he watched his son fall.
But as his cry echoed around the storage chamber, the roar of a gorilla drowns them out. Paolo swung down from a chain and grabbed Cody just seconds before he was exposed to the ooze.
"WHAT?!" Karai exclaimed.
Paolo swung up to the catwalk and landed, letting Cody cuddle into his chest.
"I've ALWAYS wanted to do that~" the gorilla stated with a wide grin.
In relief, Casey also smiled and let out a long sigh at the sight of his safe son.
Artemisia smirked back. "I'm surprised a chain like that can hold you, Paolo, but at the same time, I'm really thankful~"
"You won't be for long." Karai's blade-like nails grew out before she charged Casey.
The latter pulled down his hockey mask before he raised his hockey stick to defend himself. He managed to dodge a few of Karai's attacks. Then he smacked her across the face with his stick. Artemisia jumped up to the catwalk and landed behind Karai.
Now Karai was cornered - she could only fight back or jump down. However, Karai smirked. She raised her claws and slashed deep into the metal of the catwalk, slicing through it and splitting it, making it creak. Then she charged at Mikey, Casey, and Paolo.
"Hey!" Artemisia yelled as one of her Sai bonked Karai in the head. The fox managed to jump onto the other side of the catwalk, and didn't leave much room for her. "Did you think you'd get rid of me that easily?"
"UGH! You are not my concern!" Karai kept charging at Mikey, Casey, and Paolo.
"Casey, take Cody and run," Mikey ordered.
Casey took his son from Paolo's arms, took one last look at Karai, and then took off into a sprint.
Mikey and Paolo dueled the porcupine mutant, backing up as their battle forced them back further and further down the catwalk.
Artemisia trod towards Karai's back, picking up the Sai she threw. She realized that due to Karai slashing the catwalk in two, both sides were shaky. The fox held onto the railing and started jumping on the catwalk, trying to destroy it enough that Karai would fall. Karai got briefly distracted by Artemisia's pouncing, but kept her guard up as Mikey and Paolo fought her. Determined to get Karai to lower ground, Artemisia started shaking the catwalk by the railing as she jumped to make it more unstable.
Then, with a loud creak, the catwalk bent downwards, suspending Artemisia, Karai, Paolo, and Mikey over the vat of chemicals. Artemisia noticed the chain Paolo used to swing over the chemicals and jumped to it. She managed to get a grip on the chain with her claws. After gaining enough momentum by swinging back and forth on the chain, Artemisia jumped to the floor and did a three-point landing.
As the chain swung back, Paolo leapt out and grabbed a hold of it. "Mikey!" he called out as he reached a decent momentum. Then he swung back and tried to grab a hold of Mikey's hand. However, Karai jumped from her position and clung to Paolo's leg, causing them to swing back and forth haphazardly.
"If I am to die here, then you shall die with me!" Karai dug her claws into the gorilla's leg.
Paolo cried out, but he kept a tight grip on the chain. The gorilla swung his leg angrily, since Karai's claws were still digging in. Putting all of his strength into throwing her off, he kicked her into the ooze below. Then, after swinging on the chain more, he jumped to the floor, but he barely landed safely due to the gash in his leg.
Artemisia came over to him and helped him stand. "Are you okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah..." Then, he looked to the vat, frowning. "When Shredder gets out of there, we run. Because whatever comes out of that vat is gonna be ten times worse than Shredder's normal mutant form."
"Now, now. Let's not be too hasty," Mikey said. "Maybe she...drowned?"
Just then, a loud gurgling came from the vat of ooze. The noise grew louder and louder before a giant claw reached out and grabbed hold of the side of the vat.
"Man, we REALLY can't catch a break," Mikey sighed, backing up with Artie and Paolo as the now towering figure climbed out of the vat, ooze dripping from their body as they breathed heavily.
Karai had been mutated to the nth degree. Her body was now more than twice as large as her original form. The remaining shreds of her former armor were now destroyed, revealing darkened, leathery skin with metals shard poking out beneath it. Her face had fully mutated into a horrific visage of a porcupine's snout, with sharp teeth sticking out over her bottom lip, and her eyes had turned pure black. Her back now had many more metal spikes sticking out of it. The claws on her hands and feet were now longer and noticeably metallic. She reared her head back and let out a long and pained roar.
"MOVE!" Mikey insisted before he and his friends ran back the way they had come from.
Paolo fell behind, due to his stubby legs and his injured one, but through sheer adrenaline and fear of getting caught, he kept running. Artie fell behind for only a moment, but Karai swiped at her tail, scratching it slightly. All three of them managed to get to the outside area with the magnet before Karai could catch up to them.
"Sirani! NOW!" Mikey called out.
Sirani nearly freaked out at the sight of Super Karai, but she quickly maneuvered the magnet above the super-mutant. When Karai was in place, the red panda turned the magnet on. Despite the changes to Karai's body, her back was still magnetic; some of the swords on her back shattered when they hit the magnet, others bend slightly, but many of them stuck straight onto the magnet, holding the mutant firmly to it.
Despite being stuck to the magnet, Karai's feet barely scraped the ground. She roared and tried to lash out at the mutants. The magnet creaked as she attempted to escape, but she was unable to do so.
Sirani managed to lift Karai away from the mutants by pulling up the magnet. Then, the mutants heard sirens in the distance, growing closer as they came to Shellhammer; April must have made good on her promise to call the police. Karai roared as she was lifted off of the ground, and by the time the police arrived, she panted heavily.
A few officers exited their cars and stared at the trapped mutant in awe. Standing alongside the officers, Casey cradled his child and looked at the Zootants with a smirk. The Zootants smirked back at Casey, and then the police told the mutants they could take it from here. Once the Zootants and Casey had left, the police helped T.C.R.I. bring Super Karai down from the magnet. She was taken back to T.C.R.I., where the scientists locked her up with extra security measures. T.C.R.I. also started screening new employees' backgrounds, to help keep another member of the Foot from getting into the research facility.
Even in her new, feral mind, Super Karai felt how unfair that everything she had worked for was gone, again. A few Foot Clan members were arrested also, like Ben Morris, but some had managed to find safe places to hide. Once the police had stopped searching, the remaining Foot members regrouped, determined to bring Karai back to a stable, human form. The Foot not only wanted to save their leader, but also their families, as she had promised.
As tonight proved, not even the families of those who stood in the Foot's way would be safe.