Cleo's POV:
"Let's go, Leo! I'm starving!" Mikey whined. I rolled my eyes. Leo then came over with two bowls in his hands and gave them both to me and Mikey. I licked my lips as Mikey cheered. "Yeah, boy! Ramen!" I grinned down at my bowl as I picked up my chopsticks and started eating. For a moment there was nothing but the slurping of noodles. Then, as I continued to eat, I caught some movement out the corner of my eye. One noodle still hanging out of my mouth, I turned my head to look at the end of the table. 

There on the surface was a cockroach. Now, I never had a problem with bugs, but I didn't like having any at the table. But what was different about this bug was that it appeared to be wearing some kind of equipment on its head. It crawled over closer to me and looked up at me. I stared back as I slowly sucked in the noodle that had been hanging out of my mouth. "I question nothing anymore," I said simply as I pulled my bowl back out of the roach's reach.

The bug looked away from me as I crawled forward towards Leo. Leo noticed the bug and stared at it. The roach crawled over to Mikey, who had noodles spilling from his mouth as he stared at the thing. Then, the roach started heading straight for Raph. "Uh-oh..." I thought. "Raph hates roaches!" The bug crawled up the bowl and onto the end of Raph's chopsticks just as Raph lifted them up to his mouth. He stopped when he saw the roach on his chopstick. For a moment, there was silence. Suddenly, Raph screamed bloody murder as he threw his chopsticks back and shoved the bowl off the table. "ROACH! ROACH!" 

We all stared at Raph, who stared down at the bug as he reached behind him, obviously reaching for his sai. A second later he pulled it out and yelling as he started stabbing at the roach, who just jumped back out of the way. I grabbed my bowl and picked it up as Raph started crawling over the table trying to stab the bug. He fell over the edge and got back up to his feet, running after the roach. Suddenly, the curtains to the kitchen opened, and Donnie came running, holding his laptop.

"Stop, stop! You'll smash him!" he yelled. "That's the idea!" Raph snapped. The roach ran away from Raph and instantly headed straight towards Donnie. Donnie placed the laptop on the table and quickly kneeled over so that the bug could crawl onto his hand. Raph came running at him, sai raised, but Donnie covered the roach and blocked Raph's path. "You can't smash this roach, okay?" he snapped. 

Raph lowered his sai and Donnie peered inside his closed palms. He smiled as he opened them to reveal the roach, fully intact and squeaking loudly. "He's special," Donnie said as he lifted the roach to his face, and the bug nuzzled against him. Donnie looked over at us, then lifted his hand so the roach was in full view. "Really special..."

Leo sighed. "Okay, I'm gonna regret this, but... Why is he special, Donnie?" Donnie smiled. "Because I outfitted him with a remote-controlled camera helmet!" "Well, that explains why you're special," said Leo, smirking. I rolled my eyes as I set my bowl down. "Why did you put that helmet on him, Donnie?" "So, we can send him into TCRI to spy on the Kraang!" Donnie said as he walked over to his laptop. "The camera allows us to see whatever the cockroach sees!" We all walked over to stand behind Donnie as he pressed a button on the keyboard. At once, the video of Raph screaming in terror popped up, and I couldn't help but snort a little. Mikey, however, burst into laughter.

"That is awesome! Big, tough Raph is scared of cockroaches!" "I am not!" Raph snapped. "Oh, really? Let's go to the video!" Mikey said, as he pressed rewind, then play. "This is my favorite part right here!" Raph screaming came up again, and Mikey paused it. He laughed at the sight of it.  "Donnie, can I get this on a T-shirt?" "You wanna see my favorite part?" Raph growled.

He snatched his brother by his shoulders and turned him around. Donnie had just enough time to move his laptop out of the way before Raph threw Mikey over the table, and the younger turtle fell to the ground and slammed against the wall. Mikey groaned, his eyes spinning in his head. "We're gonna spy on the Kraang, with a cockroach!" Donnie said proudly, raising the roach into the air. I smiled. "It's amazing what you can come up with these days, Donnie." "This should be interesting."

(-)

(Theme song)

♫ Teenage Mutant Ninja Team ♫
♫ Teenage Mutant Ninja Team ♫
♫ Teenage Mutant Ninja Team ​​​​​​♫
♫ Heroes in the shadows ♫
♫ Ninja power! ♫

♫ Here we go! It's the lean, skilled, ninja team ♫
♫ On the scene, cool teens doing ninja things ♫
♫ So extreme, out the sewers like laser beams ♫
♫ Get rocked with the pizza kings and queen ♫
♫ Can't stop these dudes and dudette ♫
♫ The secret of the ooze made the chosen few ♫
♫ Emerge from the shadows to make their move ♫
♫ The good guys win, and the bad guys lose ♫

♫ Leonardo's the leader in blue, ♫
♫ Does anything it takes to get his ninjas through ♫
♫ Donatello is a fellow, has a way with machines ♫
♫ Raphael has the most attitude on the team ♫
♫ Cleopatra, she's a special girl, ♫
♫ Does anything to protect everyone she loves ♫
♫ Michelangelo, he's one of a kind, ♫
♫ And you know just where to find him when it's party time ♫
♫ Master Splinter taught them every single skill they need ♫
♫ To be one lean, mean, skilled incredible team ♫

♫ Teenage Mutant Ninja Team ♫
♫ Teenage Mutant Ninja Team​​​​​​​ ♫
♫ Teenage Mutant Ninja Team ♫
♫ Heroes in the shadows ♫
♫ Ninja power! ♫

(-)

Cleo's POV:
"Come on, Roach Number 1, make papa proud..." We were all now inside the Shellraiser, currently sitting near TCRI. We were all huddled around Donnie's seat, looking at the screen in front of him. By now, his spy-roach had already infiltrated the building using the little saw it had attached to him and was now scurrying around, being lead and moved by the remote-control Donnie had in his hand. The roach walked around a corner, and suddenly two Kraang-droids appeared, both of whom appeared to be standing in front of a large tanker of mutagen. 

"Kraang has been on the diet known as 'glutton free'. Kraang has already lost 13 Kraang units of weight." I snorted. "Sounds like a bunch of girls." Raph chuckled. Donnie moved the joystick of the controller, and the roach moved away from the two droids. I watched as the little guy crawled up what appeared to be a support beam and then the image leveled out. The roach walked along the beam, and then two other droids appeared towards the bottom right corner of the screen.

"Wait, what're those guys talking about?" said Leo. "Can you get closer?" Donnie turned the joystick a bit and the image of the robots got larger, and their voices got louder. "That which is known as the next phase of the Kraang invasion to the planet known as 'earth' will soon begin." "Next phase...?" Leo said. "That doesn't sound good."

I looked closely at the screen and saw the two droids standing in front of a large, holographic image that looked like the earth and all its different layers that lead to its core. "That which is the laser drill will drill a hole in the planet known as 'earth'. That is a hole that is thirty miles deep in the earth." 

Donnie quickly plugged his T-Phone into the computer and downloaded the picture of the laser drill. "Whoa," Donnie said, surprised. "They're gonna bore a hole into earth?" "I'm guessing that's bad," said Leo. "Ah, unless you think the city needs a giant lava fountain," Donnie said timidly. "Yep. That's bad." "Goodbye harsh winters," Raph said gruffly. I nodded. "Yeah, so much for building a snowman." "Lava surfing rules!" "It definitely doesn't, Mikey," Leo said firmly. "We have to stop this!"

"Shh-shh!" Donnie hissed. "To execute the plan, Kraang needs to be possessing that which is known as the 'diamond lens' to make work the drilling of the laser drill." "What does that mean?" Raph asked. "They need a diamond lens to make their laser drill work," Donnie informed him. "Now, shh!" "Kraang is already on the way to that which is called the laboratory that is having the lens that is needed by Kraang." Raph, still clueless, stared. "What?" Donnie sighed irritably. "One of them is going to a lab to get it." "Which lab?" "Maybe if we listen, they'll tell us!" Donnie snapped as he threw his arms out in anger. 

This cause him to knock his controller against the side of the car, and the joystick shifted. I looked up at the screen in time to see something green and glowing before it went to static. "Oh, thanks a lot, Raph!" Donnie snapped. "We lost the signal!" "Me?! What the heck did I do?!" I instantly ran forward and put myself between Raph and Donnie, putting both hands-on Raph's plastron. "Whoa, boy, take it easy," I said quickly. I managed to push him back far enough so that Donnie was no longer in harm's way. Raph glared at our brother for another second before groaning and turning away.

"Donnie, is there any way for you to find out where that lab is?" Leo asked. "I believe so," said Donnie. "Just give me a minute and I'll find it." I sighed as I turned away from Raph and went over to my station in the back, sitting down in my seat. It was probably only a few minutes after he started looking that Donnie finally spoke up. "Ah-ha! I think I found the diamond map!" he said proudly. "Now, it's a bit blurry, but maybe we could follow it to the laboratory."

"We don't have much time 'til the Kraang drill fires!" said Leo. "Let's go!" At once, the others all went to their stations. Leo buckled his seatbelt before instantly pressing on the gas. Not even five seconds later, there came a loud ka-thump! as we ran over what felt like a huge speed bump. My butt left my seat for a second and I yelped as I grabbed the edges of my chair. Leo instantly slammed his foot on the breaks, and we skidded to a halt.

"Ka-thump?" Donnie asked. "That's a really bad sound." "It sounded more like a ba-dump," said Mikey. "I heard a flap," said Raph. "Flap?" the two asked in unison. Raph nodded. Then, with a loud flap!, Raph slapped them across the face. They glared up at him as they rubbed their cheeks. "Flap," Raph said finally. I rolled my eyes as I got out of my seat and followed the boys out of the Shellraiser. I went around the corner to look at what we hit, and I gasped.

There, now several feet away from the van, was what looked like a giant bug. Except, it was nothing like any bug I had ever seen. It was massive and appeared to have some kind of metal equipment attached into its very body. Cautiously, we all walked up to the huge thing. Donnie kneeled beside it while Leo, Mikey and I stood over him. Raph stood far behind us, looking terrified.

"What is that?" Leo said, disgusted. I cringed. "Dude, that is straight up nasty." "Ugh, smells like a butt sandwich," Mikey groaned. From behind me I heard Raph make a loud grunt, as though he were about to be sick. Donnie leaned in closer, examining the mess before him. "Oh... Oh, dear..." Donnie reached into his belt, pulled out a pencil and began prodding the bug with the end of it. He gasped. "Would you look at that? Hideous and beautiful..." I raised my eyebrow at him. How could anything similar to this thing be called beautiful? 

Donnie touched the same end of the pencil to his chin that he used to touch the roach, and yelped when he realized there was slim on it. "So, what is it, Donnie?" Leo asked. Donnie gasped as he rubbed the slim off his face. "Gah... It's my Spy-Roach." "You're what?" Raph snapped. "You're what?!" "Dude, what the heck happened to him?" I said, horrified. "It must've been exposed to some mutagen," Donnie said, and he picked up one of the bug's antennas. "Yah see how the nav-helmet merged with its exoskeleton? We have never seen organic and inorganic matter fuse i-i-in just an amazi-"

"That's great, Donnie," Raph said quickly, and we all turned to look at him. "We can discuss this some more when we're driving away at a thousand miles an hour!" "Come on, you big baby!" Mikey jeered as he, Leo and I walked over towards Raph. "What're you worried about? We creamed it with a van! It's not like it's gonna get up and come after us." "Uh, guys...?" We turned around, and I gasped. The spy-roach was now up on its feet, and he was holding Donnie down by his neck. He then lifted the turtle into the air, and then later screamed. "Or maybe it would," Mikey said lowly. 

Raph screamed in terror at the sight of the bug. Spy-Roach tossed Donnie to the side, and then started to march towards us. Raph yelped before hopping into the Shellraiser, and the roach continued forward. The others and I pulled out our weapon before running forward, jumping into the air, and diving towards the bug. I raised my kamas and brought them down. But when I opened my eyes, I saw that I hadn't even pierced anything, and the blades were simply hooked into the crook of one of his arms. The roach started moving again, and we all tried to keep it back.

"This thing's tough!" Leo grunted. "No kidding!" I growled, trying to pull the roach back. "I can't put a dent in this thing!" "Naturally!" Donnie said roughly. "Cockroaches are among the most resilient life forms on the planet!" "And the grossest!" Mikey groaned. The roach lifted his leg and swung it back, kicking Mikey off of him. Mikey flew into the air, hit the wall, and then fell head-first into a trashcan. "Sensitive roach!" he yelled. "Where's Raph?" said Leo.

Suddenly, there was a shout. "Eat hot manhole cover!" I had just enough time to leap way from the roach before Raph started firing covers from the Shellraiser. Cover after cover started hitting the roach head on, hitting him in the chest and his arms. Then, one cover smashed into his head, and he slowly fell back onto his back. Raph, who had been closing his eyes when he first that last one, opened them to stare at the fallen roach. Suddenly, an antenna twitched, and Raph lost it. "Oh no!"

He started screaming as he started firing cover after cover at the roach, accomplishing nothing but hitting the brick wall. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Leo yelled as he grabbed his brother's arm. "Ease up, Raph! I think you got him!" Raph nodded slowly. "Okay, okay..." But he suddenly fired one last cover that hit the roach right between his legs. I rolled my eyes. "You just had to get that last one in there, huh?" I said as I made my way to the car door. "What do we do with it-" "Forget the roach!" Leo snapped at Raph. "We gotta stop the Kraang before they destroy the earth." 

As Leo entered the car, I turned to see Raph standing at the end of the vehicle, staring back at the roach. "Leo's right," he said quickly. "We gotta go!" "You just wanna get away from that thing!" Mikey said accusingly, as he pointed a finger at his brother's face. Raph glared daggers at his brother. "Is that so wrong?" he snapped, gesturing behind him, only to reveal that the roach was no longer there. "Oh no, it's gone!" "Where'd it go?" I spoke. Suddenly, Raph grabbed my wrist and dragged me through the car door as he pushed the other two through it. "Come on guys, we gotta move!" As soon as we were inside Leo pushed on the gas, and we were off.

(-)

We drove for what felt like a few minutes before caught up with the Kraang at the laboratory. "There's the van!" Donnie cried. I leaned over to look at one of the screens and saw a white van, its back doors opened, and two Kraang-droids carrying a large box that must have been holding the diamond lens. "They must've picked up the lens," said Donnie. "Ram that sucker!" Raph barked. Leo slammed his foot on the gas petal, and the Shellraiser speed up to an enormous amount. I managed to grab the sides of my seat before we slammed head-on into the side of the white van. 

The smaller vehicle when tumbling in circles, the back doors flying opened and the box containing the lens fell out. The van slid down the road a bit before coming to a halt. Leo stopped the car immediately, and we all quickly jumped out of our seats and ran out of the Shellraiser. Drawing our weapons out, we ran forward towards the van as several Kraang-droids, some disguised as humans, others in just their silver and blue robotic skeletons.

"Halt, Kraang!" Leo shouted. "The halting of Kraang is not a thing that the ones who are 'turtles and the girl' will be doing to Kraang!" a disguised Kraang said defiantly. "Wrong!" said Leo. "The halting of Kraang is exactly the thing that the ones who are-Ugh, just halt!" "Which should we save first?" Donnie asked irritably. "The world or the English language?" "I got the lens!" Raph shouted. I turned my head to see Raph dragging the box by the edge towards us. 

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and I looked up towards the van to see something huge standing on top of it. It was the Spy-Roach. Raph yelped, dropping the box and jumping back several feet. Spy-Roach lifted a large object he had in his hands, which was revealed to be a Kraang laser gun, and started firing at us. The Kraang turned their guns on the roach and started firing at him. Somehow, he was a better shot than them, because within seconds the Kraang droids were all down. Spy-Roach jumped down from the top of the van and looked directly at us.

"Mikey, Donnie, you take the roach," said Leo. "Cleo, you go with them. Raph, you're coming with me." At once, Mikey, Donnie and I ran forward towards the roach, weapons raised. "All right, roachy," said Mikey. "Time to meet your maker!" "Wait, isn't that me?" asked Donnie. Mikey nodded. "Exactly. Go get 'em, tiger." "Hey!" Mikey grabbed Donnie by his belt strap and threw him forward towards the roach. Donnie had enough time to glare back at his little brother before he was grabbed by the face and thrown off to the side. 

I glared at the bug before rearing my hand back and throwing my tessen at him. It hit him in his head and bounced back toward me. I reached up and grabbed it as the roach started marching towards us. "Oh, great," I groaned. I looked over at Mikey to see him looking up at the sky. I looked up too, and immediately leapt to the side as a group of flying Kraang-droids started heading right at us, shooting their lasers. I leapt to my feet and turned around and saw Leo dragging the box that contained the diamond lens; he was all by himself. Where was Raph? He was supposed to be helping Leo.

The droids shot nonstop at Leo until he finally trips, falling back and dropping the box. He was forced to run back to avoid getting shot. One Kraang-droid landed on the ground and opened the box, reaching inside to grab a small, clear object that must be the lens. Before I could do anything, the droid launched itself into the air, following the others.

"Oh no, the Kraang has the lens again!" said Mikey. The roach shoved him out of the way as he made his way over to the van. I quickly got up and ran over to him. He had been thrown into a trashcan that was now tipped over. "Mikey," I said as I pulled him out by his legs. "Are you alright?" 

Mikey shook his head as he sat up. He looked down beside him and picked something up. It was a can of what looked like bug spray. "Sweet!" said Mikey. From behind me I heard a loud yelp. I turned to see the roach standing at the end of the Shellraiser, and he appeared to be standing over Raph. "C'mon!" I said, and we both sprinted towards the Shellraiser. Suddenly, Donnie came out of nowhere and leapt up, rearing his staff back and slamming it against the roach. The roach turned and advanced on Donnie instead. But the turtle ducked as his younger brother leapt over him, brandishing the can of bug spray.

"We're not done with you yet, Spy-Roach!" he said. He pressed the button, and a large amount of green spray issued out. The roach squealed and cringed as he was hit with spray. I took the opportunity to run out beside him and aimed a powerful kick to his side. Donnie smacked his bo staff against his back, and Mikey punched him in the front. For once, the bug finally seemed to be going down. Mikey sprayed the can again, and this time the roach fell onto the ground, screeching and writhing in the middle of the road.

"Yes! Nail him, Mikey!" Donnie yelled. Mikey shook the can before aiming it and pressed the button again. But this time, nothing came out; the can was empty. "Uh-oh..." said Mikey. Spy-Roach then stood up and aimed his Kraang gun at us, ready to shoot. But before he could fire a large truck suddenly came zooming past, hitting the roach and taking him with it. There was a second where we all just stared.

"How's that grill taste, bug?" Mikey shouted after the truck. Donnie threw his hands into the air and cheered. I grinned as I placed my tessen back into its holster. I glanced behind me and saw Raph slowly walking up to us. "There you are," I said. "Where's the diamond?" asked Donnie. Raph glanced at the ground. "Uh..." "Raph lost it," we all turned to see Leo marching up to us, a Kraang-droids severed head skewered onto his katana. "Raph, where were you?" "I was busy!" "Busy cowering in terror!" Raph glared at his brother before looking away.

For once, he had no comeback to throw at his older brother. Generally speaking, that was a bad sign. "We gotta find the drill before the Kraang cracks open Manhattan like an egg!" said Leo. At once, he, Mike and Donnie ran for the Shellraiser. I was about to follow when I noticed that Raph didn't move. "Raph, come on," I said. My voice was serious, but it was still gentle. "We gotta move." Raph sighed. "Yeah, I know."

(-)

Things were pretty quiet once we got back in the Shellraiser, and awkward, too. For some reason, all I could do was look at Raph and see how angry and ashamed he looked. "You blew it, Raph," Leo said sternly from the front. "You gotta get your head together." "I know," he said lowly. "This stupid phobia's gonna get the whole team killed. Listen, I'm... I'm sorry, Leo." Leo glanced back at our brother; his eyes had softened. "Guys," said Donnie, and several screens pulled up the image of a map of Manhattan. "Okay, here's a map of known Kraang facilities, and here's a map of the fault lines in New York City. Now, if the Kraang are gonna drill into the earth's crust, then this is where they'd do it." 

"Alright then, guys," said Leo. "We got a little more time before the Kraang start drilling." "We better get there fast then," I said. Leo nodded and he pressed on the gas a little more. For a few moments all was quiet. Then, there was a loud bump followed by what sounded like a running chainsaw. "What's that sound?" said Raph. "I don't see anything outside," said Donnie as he looked at the screen. Then his eyes widened. "Uh-oh..." "What is it?" I asked. "It's the roach. He's back!" "What?!" Raph leapt out of his seat. "Where?! Where the heck is he?!"

I stood up from my seat, and I could feel something vibrating underneath my feet that wasn't the van. I kneeled down and pressed my hand to the floor. "Oh, no..." "He's underneath the van!" Raph screamed, grabbing onto Donnie. "He's underneath the van!" Suddenly, the van swerved hard to the right as we came to a sudden, jerky stop. "He cut the drive shaft?!" Raph yelled before Donnie finally pushed him off.

"How does he keep finding us?" Leo asked exasperatedly. "Hm... Well, he could be using the homing signal I set up so Spy-Roach could find its way back to the van," said Donnie. "What?!" I gasped. "There's a homing signal?!" Leo snapped. "Dude, even I would've turned that off," said Mikey. Donnie glared. "Excuse me, Mikey, I've been a little distracted," he turned away from us and started typing away at his computer. "Maybe I can use the signal to tap into is camera to see what he's seeing."

"None of this makes any sense," said Raph. "Why is he so mad at us?" "And... got it," said Donnie as he pressed enter. Then, on every screen in the van, the short video of Raph trying to smash the roach earlier played over and over, his scream echoing like a broken record. "Oh, crud..." Raph said lowly. "I don't think he's mad at us," Donnie looked at his hotheaded brother. "I think he's mad at you." "Wow," said Mikey. "That stinks for someone who's afraid of roaches." Raph glared at him. "Irony. Got it, thanks. So, are there any more surprises?" 

As soon as he spoke, something suddenly burst through the floor of van, causing me to jump back and Raph to fall back onto his shell. "He has a saw?!" Raph screamed as he leapt out of the way of the roach's saw. "The cockroach has a saw!" Leo pushed Raph behind him and withdrew his katana, slicing the saw off of its cord.

It slowly powered down as black goo squirted out from it. "Not anymore!" said Leo. "Donnie, the rest of us will keep the roach busy-" "We will?" Raph asked fearfully. Leo grabbed him by his plastron and yanked him up. "Yes!" he said firmly, and he looked back at Donnie. "You gotta fix the Shellraiser fast. Like, yesterday fast!"

Leo dragged Raph outside by his plastron as me and Mikey followed him. Leo brought Raph out to the front and let him go, but Raph tripped and fell to the ground. He reached up and grabbed Leo's hand, and surprisingly grabbed mine with his other. Ignoring how tight his grip was, I kneeled beside him in an attempt to comfort him. "Hey, Spy-Roach!" Leo yelled. "Raph's out here! Come and get him!" "Really?!" Raph snapped. "You're using me as bait?" "Yep." 

Before I could say anything, Spy-Roach suddenly crawled out from underneath the van and stood up. Leo and Mikey both grabbed Raph under his arms and started running, me following right behind them. I reached into my pocket and threw a few stars, but they simply bounced off of him. We ran into the next alley over and before the other two dropped Raph in the middle of it. Me and the other two ran to the side next to a few trashcans.

"Hold," Leo said. Spy-Roach appeared around the corner, and Raph screamed as the bug approached him. "Now!" The boys leapt up, Leo holding the trash can and Mikey holding the lid. They both managed to trap the roach into the can, and I leapt up and landed on top of it. Barley a second later, we were all knocked off and thrown back out of the alley. I pushed myself up and looked up to see the roach turning away from us and walking towards Raph. 

"Raph, run!" I shouted. Raph didn't need to be told twice. He screamed as he sprang to his feet and started running from the roach, who continued to follow him until both were out of sight. I stood up on my feet, rubbing my arm, which had started to feel sore. I walked over to the other two as they got to their feet. "What now, Leo?" I asked. "C'mon," he said. "We gotta follow them." We all turned, and Mikey and I followed Leo through the alley.

(-)

"Do you think he knows?" I asked. "If he did, he wouldn't be hiding in there, would he?" said Leo. We were all currently looking around the corner into a dark alley. Raph was there, staring at the wall in front of him. It was obvious that he felt that he was in a dead end. Not wanting to scare him, we all slowly starting to walk towards him. I looked over at Mikey, and I saw a wicked grin on his face. He suddenly reared his foot back and kicked the dumpster next to him.

Raph, scared out of his mind, fell to the ground and put his arms around his head, his shell still to us. "I'm sorry I tried to smash you, okay?" he said, and I was shocked to hear him whimpering. "I'm sorry! I learned a very important lesson. I'll never be cruel again, just leave me alone!" Beaming, Mikey cupped his hands around his mouth and adopted a deep, creepy voice. "On one condition..." "Ahh! Anything!" Raph yelled. "Mikey, don't!" I hissed angrily. Mikey smirked at me before continuing, "Be good to Michelangelo!"

Raph raised his head a little, not looking at us. "What...?" "Let him read your comics once in a while!" Raph whipped around, eyes wide with both fear and confusion. They both suddenly melted into anger and frustration as Raph leapt to his feet and ran at his brother. "MIKEY!" Even as Mikey turned to run, Raph reared his foot back and kicked Mikey right underneath his shell. "Ow!" Mikey whined as he hid behind Leo, who kept the raging Raph away. "So much for learning your lesson." "No offense Mikey, but you kinda deserved that one," I said as I folded my arms. 

"Nice job, Raph," Leo said, grinning. "What're you talking about?" Raph snapped. "Where's the bug?" "You didn't see it?" I asked. "Didn't see what?" I giggled as I grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the alley. When we were out, I released him as I pointed forward. Spy-Roach had fallen into a section of wet cement, which had immediately dried and hardened. Now it stood, still as a statue. Raph stared up at the thing, then he grinned.

"Ahh... stuck, huh?" Raph said slyly, tapping the bug's head with his sai. "Not so tough now, are yah, roachy? You're just a..." suddenly, the cement cover head fell off and hit the ground. "Hollow shell..." Bit by bit, the roach's empty skin suddenly fell into a dusty heap on the ground. Raph stepped back as he stared, eyes wide. "What the-?" "What happened?" I spoke. "He must've molted," said Leo. "They molt?" Raph asked. Leo nodded. "Yeah, roaches shed their skin when... they get... bigger..." 

"Dude, you're not kidding," said Mikey. Me and Raph both turned, and gasped. What stood before us looked nothing like a cockroach. Covered with slim and with huge black eyes, it kind of looked like a giant, blueish larva with legs and arms. I gulped as I looked over at Raph. This thing might not look like a cockroach, but that didn't stop it from being one in Raph's eyes. "Cockroach," he said lowly. "Why did it have to be a cockroach?"

Suddenly, what looked like large robotic wings emerged from its back, and the bug screeched at us as it floated into the air. "You've gotta kidding me..." I whimpered. "And it flies!" said Raph. "Run!" yelled Leo. I spun on my heel and ran as fast as I could away from the deformed bug. We ran for probably only a few seconds before I heard a grunt behind me. I turned to see that Raph had fallen. I ran back to help him, but the roach creature had already swooped down and picked him up. "Raph!" I yelled. "He's heading back towards the Shellraiser," said Leo. "C'mon!" We followed the roach as best as we could while heading back to the Shellraiser. 

I kept my eyes up in the sky as the bug flew across the sky with Raph in his arms. Then, at one point I saw them struggling, and suddenly Raph fell. I gasped in horror. But the loud crash from nearby told me that he had fallen into a dumpster, so he must've been alright. We rounded the corner to where the Shellraiser was. Me and the others got into the van, but I stopped by the doorway and looked out. Down the alley, hoping out of the dumpster, was Raph. Behind him was the bug. Raph screamed as he sprinted to us. "Start the engine! Start the engine!" I grabbed Raph and helped him into the van as Mikey quickly shut the door.

"Donnie, did you get this thing working?" Leo shouted. "We've got bigger problems!" he said. "We gotta stop that drill!" Raph and I both sat down at our station. The screen came on, and the roach appeared. Raph cringed and growled at the sight of the thing. "Hold on, Raph!" I reached down in front of me and took hold of the handles to the canon.

I pulled the trigger, and balls of compressed trash shot out and hit the bug. But they just bounced off his chest. "Huh?!" "What the-?" Raph was cut off as the van doors suddenly snapped open, and the roach shoved his head in, screeching. Mikey grabbed the edge of the doorway and kicked the bug out. "Ha! Take that!" 

Suddenly, I could hear the sound of the tires spinning on the road, and we were off, racing down the street, leaving the bug behind. As we drove, I heard Raph groan beside me. "Raph, are you alright?" I asked. "No, I'm not," he said gruffly. "I had my chance, and I couldn't face him. "I just... couldn't do it!" Raph stood up from his station and walked off, sitting in a chair near the front. I leaned over as I watched him sadly. "Look on the bright side," said Mikey. "In fifteen minutes, we could all melt in a fountain of lava." I raised my eyebrows. "Really?" Mikey frowned. "Okay, that sounded a lot brighter in my head..."

"The laser drill is just past the front gate," said Donnie as he looked at a blueprint on his computer screen. "Kraang droids everywhere. Hope you have a good plan." "I'm gonna ram through the gate and we'll go from there," said Leo. "Works for me." Leo turned his head to look back at Raph, a very stern look on his face. Raph looked at him for a moment before hiding his face in his arms. I sighed before getting up and slowly walking over to him. "Raph...?" Raph didn't look at me, he didn't even move. "Raph," I said. "Come on, buddy, look at me."

There was slight pause before Raph finally lifted his head and looked up at me. I took the opportunity to sit on the surface of the table he sat by. I crossed my leg and sighed. "Fear is a natural response," I started lowly. "And something that's natural isn't something to be ashamed of. Everyone in the world has something they're afraid of," I hesitated. "Even I'm afraid." "What're you afraid of?" Raph asked.

I looked at him for a long moment. Then, I reached up and shifting the right side of my shirt off my shoulder. I then pulled the strap of my tanktop away to reveal the small, pale scar on my right shoulder-the scar that I had gained from our fight with Shredder, I found out about it after we fought him. Raph's eyes widened. I knew he doesn't know about my scar and how I got; they all didn't know. From the corner of my eye I could see Donnie and Mikey staring at me, but I kept my eyes on the red-banded turtle in front of me. 

"I've been afraid of Shredder ever since we fought him," I answered. "Even after we survived, I was afraid that I would see him again." Raph closed his mouth and gulped. Not taking my eyes off of him, I slowly let go of the strap and put my shirt back. "But, even if I'm still afraid, I don't let that fear take over me. If I do, it'll have power over me and everything I do. It would end up controlling me and my life," I leaned in slightly. "You can't let your fear take you like this, Raph. You letting the fear make you its prey, but don't."

Raph stared up at me for a few seconds, apparently speechless. Then he sighed and nodded. "I know, Cleo..." I reached up and patted his shoulder. He lifted his hand and gripped my wrist gently, obviously finding comfort. I grinned slightly. Suddenly, the alarm in the van went off, buzzing off and on. "Uh-oh..." said Donnie. "We've got company... again!" Me and Raph both sprang to our feet as a loud banging came from above us from the roof.

"What was that?" he said. "Where is it?" Suddenly, the latch to the top opened and a long, pale arm shot through and grabbed Mikey. The turtle screamed as he was suddenly pulled up and out of the van. "It's got Mikey!" Donnie cried. "We've gotta do something!" said Leo. I stared at one of the screens. I could see the bug tangling Mikey by his arm really high in the air. If he falls... 

The thought made me shiver. "I'll stop him." I whipped around to stare at Raph. "You don't have to do this just to prove you're not afraid," said Leo. "I am afraid... and that's why I have to do this," Raph marched over to the latch on the floor that led to the Stealth-Cycle. "I'm coming, Mikey. No 6-foot-tall cockroach is gonna eat my brother!" And with that, he leapt down beneath the van, closing the latch behind him.

Leo did a super sharp turn so that he was facing the roach. He yanked on a lever, and the Stealth-Cycle expelled out into the street, Raph driving it. Once the roach saw Raph he tossed Mikey, who landed on the roof of the van. "Mikey, get in!" I shouted. Mikey leapt through the hatch on the roof and shut it before Leo pressed on the gas, and we headed for the Kraang's laser drill.

(-)

It took us only a few minutes to get to the facility with Leo speeding the way he was. But even as we got closer and closer to the building, I could see the doors starting to shut and many Kraang-droids coming out, all armed. "Alright guys, get ready," said Leo. "We're going in!" Leo pressed on the gas even more and we sped up. Even as the Kraang started shooting at us we simply just ran over them. I looked up at one of the screens and saw that the space between the doors was beginning to shorten.

"Leo..." I said warningly. But before I could say more, we rammed into the doors, which closed in on us. The jolt sent me and Mikey fling forward and landing on the ground. I groaned in pain as I sat up. "Are we in...?" Mikey groaned. "Nope..." I muttered. "Not even close." Leo pressed on the gas as hard as he could, but the van wouldn't move. He groaned as he pulled out his T-Phone. "Raph, we're stuck!" he said. "It's up to you! Get the drill!"

(-)

Raph's POV:
"I'm on it!" I sped up, approaching the facility as fast as my bike could take me. Suddenly, giant, stupid roach seemed to fall from the freaking sky and landed right in front of the stuck Shellraiser. It saw me coming near him and screeched. "Aw, geez..." "This is either gonna be really cool, or really painful." I press a button on one of the handlebars, and the bike instantly sped up. The deformed roach stood his ground, screeching as it reached out. The next thing I knew I had run up over the roach and was now shooting over the wall of the facility. I yelled as I soon came crashing down, knocking over several Kraang-droids in the process. 

The bike skidded on its side for a moment before stopping. I groaned in pain as I awkwardly pushed myself out of the bike seat. "Well, that sparks..." "Okay," I grunted. "It was both..." I looked up as I got up to my feet. I could see the drill from here. It looked like a giant ball with legs. I ran up to a droid that was standing next to a chart, and I punched him, knocking him down. I looked at the chart that showed how close the drill was getting through the earth's crust.

"That laser drill is at 400 meters from the earth core," said one of the droids. "Not for long!" Without hesitating I sprinted over to the laser drill, leaping over any obstacles in my way. Once I was there, I looked around to see if any Kraang were around before leaping up and climbing up the giant metal ball.

I pushed myself up to my feet as I reached the top. But before I could do anything there was a loud bang from behind me and the ball shook slightly. I whipped around. It was the roach. "Oh, come on!" "Ugh! You gotta be kidding me!" I yelled, throwing my arms down. I turned back to glare at the bug. 

"Alright, insect! You think I'm scared of you? I kicked your butt twice already, you wanna go for number 3, huh? Do yah? Come and get me!" I snatched off my football helmet and threw it at the roach, only for it to bounce off his head and shoot up into the sky. He screeched at me before I leapt up and landed on his head. He screeched as we went up into the sky. I leaned back and started punching him in the face as hard as I could. The bug hissed before we landed back on the ball, and I jumped off of him. At the same time, the legs on the ball seemed to be moving, and so was the ball itself.

I ran up to the bug and grabbed him, attempting to punch him again. But he head-butted me and knocked me down. He kicked me while I was down, but I grabbed his leg and bit down on it hard. He squealed as I reached up and punched him in his face, knocking him back. I stood up, shaking my head and spitting slim out of my mouth. What I assumed was his fist came up and hit me in my face. I punched him in the face again, and when he went to punch me, I blocked it. The bug screeched in my face, spit flying everywhere as it glared at me with empty black eyes. I snapped. Yelling with furry, I shoved my fist into his gut, making him keel over in pain. 

Growling, I reared my other hand back and threw it forward in a punch that sent him flying off the drill, crashing into the concrete. Not wasting any time, I withdrew my sais as I ran back across the ball. I leapt up and spun in midair, ramming my sais into the ball and causing it to spin. I yanked out my sais and ran with the ball until the part with the actual laser came up. I stopped the ball and ran up to the laser, shoved my sais into each side, and yanked it out, its cord still leading into the ball. I turned around and looked down at the ground, right at the stupid bug. "Drill this!" I yelled.

I aimed the laser right at the bug, and a few seconds later it exploded in a mass of light and slim. I grunted as I lifted the laser higher and aimed it down at the ball's legs. I sliced off one of the legs and the thing came crashing down. The laser started to power down and I yanked my sais out. I looked up at the sky, and I saw my helmet shooting right back towards me. I jumped up into the air and caught it as it came to me. I shoved the helmet back on my head as I landed on the ground next to my bike. 

I flipped it back onto its wheels before jumping it and quickly starting up, racing away from the drill. As I neared the gate, I saw that the Shellraiser was still stuck, and the Kraang were firing at it. I turned the throttle and sped up, running over all the droids nearest the van. The doors slid open, and the van quickly started to back up. I drove out and sped back underneath the Shellraiser until the bike was back inside. I lowered my hands and sighed as I leaned my head back. "Finally got that stupid bug."

(-)

Cleo's POV:
Needless to say, Raph was somewhat of a hero that night. After explaining all that had happened, we discovered that not only did he destroy the drill singlehandedly, but he also faced his fear and destroyed the bug all on his own. "Well, Raph," said Leo, as said turtle punched at the dummy as we all sat inside the pit. "You faced your fear and saved the city. Not bad for a Wednesday." I lifted my head up. "Oh yeah... I forgot it was Hump Day." "Faced my fear?" said Raph. "I concurred my fear!" I turned around to look at him. 

Raph suddenly put a headlock on Mikey, who had been at the pinball machine, and dragging him over. "I looked my fear in the eye, and I zapped it into oblivion!" Raph thrilled, taking out his sai and pretending to shoot something. Mikey said, "Wow," before Raph dropped him, smirking as he put his sai back in his belt. Mikey got up and threw an arm around Raph's shoulders. "So, you're not afraid of cockroaches anymore, huh?" Still smirking, Raph shook his head. "Nope." This time, Mikey smirked. "Good, good...Then, you won't mind the one I just slipped into your shell?"

Raph's smirk fell and he stiffened, his eyes wide and twitching. Then he screamed as he leapt up and started running around the living room, his hands flying behind his back, obviously searching for the roach. All three of his brothers started to laugh, I just giggled and rolled my eyes. "Raph, it's okay!" I yelled. "There's no roach! Mikey tricked you!" Raph skidded to a halt and spun around, his mouth hanging open. Mikey fell down on his shell, gripping his sides as he laughed his head off. Raph growled before making a run at his brother. I sprang to my feet and stood between them; hands held out. 

"Dude," I said calmly. "Just let it be, just this once. Please?" Raph threw his head back and let out a groan of frustration as he turned away. I grinned as I placed my hands on my hips and turned around. "Mikey, that wasn't very nice." "So?" Mikey said as he sat up, whipping a tear from his eye. "So, you might wanna play nice," I kneeled down beside him. "Because the next time you do that, I might not be here to save you."

Mikey's eyes widened as his face fell. I smirked slightly before standing up and heading towards my room. "Hey, Cleo." I turned around to see Raph stepping out of the pit and walking towards me. I grinned as I waited for him, arms folded. "Sup?" "Hey, listen," Raph rubbed the back of his neck. "About what you said in the van before... well, thanks. I, ah... I kinda needed it." I smiled at him. "C'mon, Raph. You know you don't have to thank me for that." Raph shrugged. "Yeah, I know. But, yah didn't have to, yah know..." Raph gave a stiff nod to my right shoulder before glancing around. I lifted my hand and touched my shoulder. I knew what he was getting at. "I had to do that so I could make you see."

Raph looked at me. "And... you're really still afraid... of him?" "... Not as much, but, yeah," I said after a moment. I grinned. "Besides, I've got you guys. What's there to worry about?" Raph looked at me for a few moments, then he grinned as he let out a short laugh. "Yeah... you're right." I smiled at him. Then, I glanced around me before leaning in and gesturing for him to come closer.

Raph frowned slightly before taking a step closer to me and leaning in. "What?" "Don't you have a certain little brother to get back at?" I whispered. Raph's eyes widened as he stared at me. A second later his lips curled into that devilish grinned I knew so well. "You're awesome, Cleo." And without another word he turned around and ran back into the living room with the others. I rolled my eyes as I turned and headed for my room.