(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:
I stood on the roof, looking out into the city. It was just as lively as a night in New York could be. Cars zooming by and honking at other drivers, everyone constantly running towards their destination- this was good. The people would be distracted. I impatiently chewed on my piece of gum, grinding my teeth in the process as I look at my now painted nails.

I've been up here for only 10 minutes, but it feels like much more than that. Hopefully it wouldn't be any longer, I was starting to feel a bit impatient. I blew a large bubble as I quickly pulled out my T-Phone and saw that the time read 8:09. 

"She's late," I thought as I put my phone back into my pocket. "She told me to be here at 8." I huffed as I shook my head. "I swear, if she's not here in 2 minutes, I'm leaving." But, as soon as this thought crossed my mind, I heard a noise from behind me. It was soft and subtle, like someone or something was trying to be quiet on purpose. Taking a deep breath, I turned around. Karai was standing just a few feet from me, a smirk on her face. "I see you got my message," she said. "Funny. I almost expected you not to show up." "After the stunt you pulled with April, would you have blamed me?" I asked. "No, but we're not here about that, are we?" I shook my head. "What have you got?"

"First, you tell me what happened the other day," Karai said firmly. "I was surprised that you came to save O'Neil alone. I expected the turtles to be with you, they just love saving her." My eyes narrowed. I had a feeling something like this would happen. I told myself that if Karai ever questioned me like this, that I would be careful of what I said, and made sure that what I did say was only relevant in our deal. "It was the Kraang," I said. "We found out that they were trying to turn our water supply into the water that's on their home planet." 

Karai raised an eyebrow. "And that's bad because..." "Their water's practically acid. It destroys anything it touches, including people. The guys found the facility that was converting the water, and they went after it and destroyed it." "Converting the water, huh?" Karai muttered to herself. "That makes sense then..." "How does it make sense?" I asked. Karai looked at me for a moment before telling me, "I snuck off the other night to go see if I could find any Kraang stuff going on. I found a few of those droids at a boathouse near the docks of the East River. If what you told me is true, then they're probably still messing around with the water, too." 

"You sure?" Karai smirked at me again. "Why don't we both go check it out and see what their up to?" I eyed her suspiciously. "How do I know this isn't a trap?" "Can't you tell that I'm not lying?" "Yes, but I could also just be going crazy," I eyed her a little more, then sighed. "Alright, let's go." Karai nodded. She then stepped aside and gestured for me to walk ahead. I folded my arms and shook my head. "I'm not stupid enough to turn my back on you." 

"Aw, I'm hurt," she said in mock surprised before walking forward, and I quickly followed her. "You still think I'm trying to trap you?" "Just because I made a deal with you, doesn't mean I trust you with my life," I said seriously. We stopped at the edge of the roof. I turned my head to look up at Karai and saw that she was looking at me with an unreadable expression on her face. "Funny," she said. "I was thinking the same thing." With that, she turned and leapt off the edge of the roof. I spit my gum out before following after her.

(-)

I kept my back against the wooden crate as slowly leaned my head over and peeked around the corner. From this angle I could see the end of the docks. There were several Kraang droids there; some appeared to be messing with some kind of tank, and the others looked to be guarding. "What can you see?" Karai whispered. "Droids," I whispered back. "About 8, I think, but there could be more around. There's one at the end of the docks messing with a weird machine. I think it might be used to convert the water." "Even if it isn't, it's gotta be dangerous," I could almost feel Karai smirking at me. "Think you can handle that, warrior princess?" I rolled my eyes. Now wasn't the time to get annoyed, I had to focus. 

I leaned my head back and turned back to look at Karai. "Here's the plan; I'll go out there and cause a distraction. When they leave, you go get the tank and destroy it." Karai nodded. "Okay, here I go." I quickly jumped up and climbed up to the top of the box. I jumped off and landed on the next crate over and started running. I put my fingers to my lips and whistled. "Hey, Kraang doofs!" I shouted. "I'm over here! Come and get me!" The whole group turned at the sound of my voice and instantly started making their way towards me. It looked as though one of them had stayed behind with the tank, but that was alright. Karai could handle that one.

I allowed the droids to chase me for a few moments before stopping and pulling out throwing stars from my back pockets. I threw them and they hit 2 droids, the other 5 kept running. I glared at them before pulling out my kamas. The droids stopped just a few feet away from me and pulled out their blasters. They fired at me, and I ran forward, dodging the lasers. I ran up to one and kicked his gun out of his hand. I kicked my foot out and knocked him aside, causing him to knock another droid down. I turned around and ran forward, swinging at the next droid and slicing his arms off. I kneed him in the chest and knocked him down. I turned my head to one side and saw a droid coming at me, and I turned my head to the other side the see a droid coming at me from there as well. I waited for a few more moments before I swung my kamas up, slicing the droid's heads clean in half. The droids dropped their weapons, and their robotic bodies fell to the ground.

I looked at everything for a moment before putting my kamas back into my belt and running back towards the docks. I ran around several crates until I saw the docks. I saw the mangled remains of the droid who had stayed behind, and I saw Karai by the little tank, slicing and stabbing it. Sparks and bits of metal flew out everywhere. A few seconds went by and finally Karai decided that the tank had had enough and stood up, putting her tanto back into her sheath. She turned her head towards me just as I ran towards her. "Aw, you killed them all?" she said, glaring at me. "That's not fair." "I'll be sure to save you some next time," I said. "Let's get out of here." I glanced behind her and gasped. There was a larger group of droids coming our way, their guns pointed at us. "Stop!" one shouted. "You are intruding in a place that you should not be intruding." "Looks like you got what you wanted," I said as I took out my kamas.

Karai grinned as she took her tanto back out again. The droids started firing at us, and me and Karai leapt away. I leapt up and charged down at one droid, knocking it down. I sliced its head in half before kicking my foot out and knocking a nearby Kraang droid down. I jumped back to my feet and threw my kama out, and it hit a droid in its head, and it dropped its weapon before falling to the ground. "I can see why you fight these guys," Karai called out, and I turned my head in time to see her slice one droid in half down the middle. "It's almost as fun as fighting you." "You and I have very different definitions of 'fun'." I ran forward and grabbed my kama out of the droid's head. I heard a gun powering up behind me and turned around. I was staring down the barrel of a laser before I jumped up into the air, then quickly threw both of my kamas down at the droid. Both hit it in the chest, and he fell down. I landed on top of him and grabbed the kamas.

I turned around to see Karai kick a droid down on the ground before driving her tanto into its chest. Then, from behind her, I saw a droid who was missing its legs sit up and point a laser at her. I quickly tossed my kama out and it hit the droid's arms, causing it to drop its gun. It looked up at me just as I ran to it and snatched my kama back before swinging my blade up and slicing its face. It sparked and spluttered for a moment before falling back down. I put my kamas back into my belt as I turned around. Karai was staring at me, looking surprised. "Let's beat it before any more shows up," I said. Karai nodded. Without another word we both turned and started running out of the docks. It took us nearly 20 minutes before we reached the city again. We ran into the nearest alley way before we finally stopped to catch our breath. I hunched over, hands on my knees, taking deep breaths. I looked up to see Karai leaning against the wall, breathing heavily as well.

"Man... that went well," I panted as I straightened up. "Better than I thought... Phew!" "Yeah," Karai breathed. "Not bad for our first run, huh?" I shook my head and brushed my bangs from my eyes. "Hey," said Karai, and I turned around to face her. "Look... thanks for getting the one that was behind me. I didn't see it, so... yeah." I blinked as I stared at her. Did Karai just compliment me? She seemed to have realized this too, because she looked slightly sheepish for a moment before becoming stern again. "Don't let it get to your head," she said. "Especially not next time." "Wouldn't dream of it," I took out my phone to see what the time was. "I better go. I told the guys that I was only going out for solo training tonight, they might wonder where I am." "I have to go, too," said Karai. I looked up at her. "If you find anything else..." "I'll send you a message." I nodded. She looked at me for a moment before jumping up onto the fire escape and climbing up. I watched as she climbed all the way up, climbed onto the roof, and out of sight. I turned around and walked towards the manhole cover at the end of the alley. I picked up the cover and moved it to the side. I slipped down the ladder and brought the cover back over the manhole.

(-)

"Shame you missed out on patrol last night, Cleo," said Raph. "We really kicked those Foot soldier's butts!" "Trust me, Raph," I said. "I was able to use plenty of my energy during my exercise." It was the night after my little 'mission'- for lack of a better word- with Karai. Though I arrived a little later than planned, the guys weren't suspicious of anything. They themselves had their hands full during their patrol. They had run into the Foot and had to fight them off. From what they said, the soldiers they fought were pretty simple to deal with. That wasn't hard for me to believe. Even I've noticed that the Foot Clan's current recruits had seemed to be lacking in abilities lately. 

"It was good of you to go on a training exercise, Cleo," said Leo, who was observing the TCRI building with Donnie. "Sometimes it's good to work by yourself." I glanced down. "You have no idea." I heard Raph groan irritably and turned to see him glaring up at Mikey, who was sitting up on the upper level of a small water tower, bouncing a little ball that he had found. He had been bouncing the thing for the past 30 minutes, and while the noise was pretty annoying, it was better than sitting in silence.

"Alright guys, lets pack it in," Leo said, sounding rather bored. "Nothing's happening." "I was afraid this day would come," Raph said as he straightened up. "We've run out of butts to kick." Mikey gave the little ball another annoying bounce, and Raph leapt up and kicked it out so that it soared over the edge of the building and out of sight. "Hey!" Mikey yelled. "C'mon, Raph," I said as I walked over and leaned my arm on his shoulder. "The Kraang haven't left yet. I'm sure we'll have plenty of robot-cans to kick soon." "Not soon enough," he grumbled, sounding like a disappointed toddler. 

I rolled my eyes as I lowered my arm and turned to look over at Leo, who had remained quiet through the whole conversation. I saw that he was staring curiously down below the building. "I don't think we've run out of butts to kick yet," he said. At this, me, Raph and Mikey joined the other two at the edge of the roof. I looked down into the alley that Leo was looking at and saw a small, dark figure walking up against the wall. "Foot Clan!" Mikey whispered. "I don't get it," said Raph. "Just one guy?" "Maybe he's a scout?" I said, shrugging. "Or maybe, they only need one guy!" Mikey said dramatically. "Maybe this guy is the meanest, baddest, most deadly ninja we've ever seen!"

With this new thought in mind, I quickly turned back to look down at the possibly deadly ninja. A second later my suspicions proved faulty as I saw the soldier feebly try to leap up and climb through the window above him. He managed to grab the hinges on the third try, but quickly fell to the ground on his back. "Or not," said Donnie simply. The Foot soldier leapt up again, grabbing onto the window ledge. He managed to pull himself up and squeeze his torso through but got stuck and started wiggling his legs around. 

It was pretty comical, and I couldn't help but smile a little. "Anybody else find this dude kind of adorable?" Mikey asked. I raised my hand slightly. "Me." "Well, he's not much," Leo said matter-of-factly. "But he's all we got. Let's go." At the same time, we all stood up and leapt off the edge of the building. We landed in the alley and made a run towards the still stuck soldier. But just then, a group of many Foot soldiers landed all around us. "Ambush!" Leo yelled. "Alright!" Raph shouted happily.

We drew out our weapons and set the fight in motion. I whipped out my tessen and charged at the soldiers closer to me. They ran at me, and I leapt up and spun around, kicking both of my legs out. My feet landed again, and I saw both soldiers on the ground. Another one started running at me, swinging his sword at me. I ducked my head to avoid he sword and then punched him in his jaw. He stumbled back and I kneed him in the stomach, causing him to fall back down. I glanced around and saw that the rest of the soldiers were on the ground as well. A second later they all started to sit up, and me and the others prepared to continue the fight. One of the soldiers gave a small hand gesture, and then they all suddenly ran off. All that was left was that one, little soldier that was still stuck in the window. "And then there was one," I said. The last soldier finally dropped out of the window and landed on the ground. He turned and started walking off.

"Everything okay? I heard-" He was cut off as Donnie stuck his staff out in front of the soldier's feet, causing him to trip. He fell face down into the concrete as we surrounded him. He quickly turned on his side to face us and Donnie held his staff out, holding the soldier in place. "Wait, Donnie! It's me!" Donnie blinked. "What?" That's exactly what I was thinking. How did this guy know Donnie? The turtle then reached over, grabbed the soldier's mask, and lifted it off of his head. My jaw dropped. "The Pulverizer?!" Donnie exclaimed. It was, indeed, the Pulverizer. 

There was no mistaking that goofy face or that ridiculous little red mask that he was wearing. "Hey guys!" he said as he sprang to his feet. "How awesome is this? Betcha guys were wonderin' when you'd see me again." "No," Raph said plainly as he folded his arms. "Ah, Raphael," Pulverizer walked up to Raph and put an arm around his shoulder. "Still the jokester, I see. Oh, good one!" Pulverizer raised his fist in an attempt to give Raph a fist bump, but Raph instead grabbed his fist and twisted it. "Ow!" he yelled, backing away as he held his fist gingerly.

"You were asking for it, dude," I said as I put my tessen back in its holster. "Also, Mikey is way more of a jokester than Raph." Pulverizer turned his head towards me, his goofy smile got 10 times wider, and I realized too late that it was a mistake to make my presence obvious. "Cleo!" Pulverizer got back to his feet and was in front of me in less than a second. "My blonde-haired beauty! It's been too long! You're looking beautiful as always!" I froze. "Oh geez..." "I thought about you the most," he continued, speaking in an airy, light voice. "It was hard, but I made it through. And I know that your current relationship makes it hard for us to be together, but..." "Hold up, wait." I cut him off. "What relationship?" "Oh, back when I first met you guys, I kinda asked Donnie about you, and when I asked if you were single, he said you were seeing someone."

I raised my eyebrow. Donnie did what now? Not taking my eyes off the Pulverizer, I slowly leaned back towards my purple banded brother. "Donnie," I muttered. "Explanation?" Donnie groaned. "He kept asking about you and wondered if you were single or not," he whispered. "I thought he would back off if he thought you were taken, so I told him you had a boyfriend." I looked away from him to glance at the Pulverizer, who saw me looking and then started flexing his nonexistent muscles and wiggling his eyebrows at me. "A fat load of good that did, didn't it?" I said bitterly. "I have returned with the intension of winning you over," said Pulverizer, sounding as though he were declaring his loyalty to the U.S. military. 

"And I will do so as soon as I meet my rival. So, where is this 'Angus' I've heard so much of?" "What?!" I shrieked, whipping around to face Donnie. "Out of all the names in the world Donnie, you went for that?!" "It was the first name I could think of!" Donnie said desperately. "I had to say something!" "Dude, there's over a billion male names in the world and all you had to do was pick one!" I stressed, holding a single finger in the air. "Besides, couldn't you have just told him that I wasn't interested?" "And tell him that you're single? As if!" he snapped, then adopted a mock happy voice as he said, "Oh yes, Pulverizer! My sister is totally available! I'd simply love it if you two got together! I was doing you a favor, Cleo!" 

"What do you mean?" the Pulverizer said confusedly. "Wait... Is she not seeing any-" "She's not available," Raph said angrily as he marched up and grabbed Pulverizer and lifted him up by his collar. "The sooner you get that through your thick head, the better. So, do us all a favor, and drop it!" And with that, he dropped the Pulverizer, who fell back down on his knees. Raph glared as he folded his arms, and I couldn't help but move a little closer towards him. It was times like this that I was glad that Raph was a hothead. His reaction might have been a little more forceful than what I would've liked, but it seemed to have gotten the point crossed. The Pulverizer rubbed his neck slightly as he looked up at us and cleared his throat. 

"Um, anyways..." he mumbled, then he quickly brightened up. "Hey, what do you guys think of my new threads?" he asked, showing off his Foot Clan uniform. "I'm a ninja now!" "How in... What are you doing with the Foot?" Donnie asked, looking dumbstruck with this fact. "Well, last time, you told me I needed to practice," said Pulverizer. "So, I joined a Bradford dojo to hold my craft. I wowed them with my smooth moves, and boom! They liked me so much; they asked me if I wanted to join the Foot Clan!" "Wow. They must be really hurtin' for dudes," Mikey muttered.

"What could they possibly use you for?" I asked without thinking. "Oh, that's the best part, darling," he said, winking at me. "I've only been with them a few days, and I've already made the rank of Ashigaru-sha! Ha!" I felt my jaw drop. This guy was talking about Ashigaru-sha like it was a good thing! What was his deal? Donnie was clearly thinking the same thing, because he then face palmed himself. "Do you know what Ashigaru-sha means?" he asked. "No." "It means 'cannon fodder'." "Ohh-ho, wow!" "Do you know what that means?" Pulverizer paused. "... No." "Do you know anything about your rank?" I asked. "I know that it's super awesome!" Pulverizer said enthusiastically. "'Cause I got super awesome ninja skills!" 

I sighed as I folded my arms. "Donnie, explain." Donnie walked towards Pulverizer before saying in an intelligent and dignified voice, "In traditional Japanese warfare, the Ashigaru-sha were the expendable soldiers who were sent first to waste the enemy's ammunition and set off traps before the real soldiers arrived." "Not so awesome now, is it?" I asked. But Pulverizer shook his head. "Nah. Nah, the Foot Clan wouldn't do that. We're the good guys!" "Why would you think that?" Donnie asked. "We're out there fighting the Kraang, just like you!" Pulverizer said, then his face fell. "I mean, I-I do check for traps, and I do get shot at a lot, and... now that you mention it, they-they do keep calling me expendable." 

"Told you," I said. "Why are the Foot fighting the Kraang?" Leo asked aloud. I flexed my hands as I gulped. I didn't know if the whole Foot Clan was against the Kraang, I only knew that Karai was. But she always said that Shredder wanted nothing to do with the Kraang, so why would the Foot be fighting them? "I could totally find that out for you!" Pulverizer piped up. "I could be a spy!" Donnie shook his head. "Pulverizer, do yourself a favor, and quit the Foot." Donnie tossed Pulverizer's Foot mask off to the side and it landed on the ground. Pulverizer gasped in horror, and he crawled over and picked it back up. Then he lifted his head and turned to face us, a small smile on his face. "Ohh, sure! I'll quit the Foot!" he said loudly, winking at us. 

"No, I'm serious," said Donnie. "Of course, you're serious," Pulverizer said, continuously winking several times. "I am!" Donnie snapped. "Stop winking!" Pulverizer stood back and gave a thumbs up. "Right! I'll recon intel and uh... send you a text!" he looked over at me and smirked. "Mind if I get your digits, malady?" "Pulverizer, you have Donnie's number," I said plainly. "So, use it." "Sure thing!" he said. "Gotta go! I'm in ninja stealth mode..." Waving his hands in front of his face, Pulverizer slowly scooted away out of the alley. There was the sound of a car honking, and the screeching of wheels. "Sorry!" we heard Pulverizer say loudly. "That boy doesn't know what he's in for," I muttered. "I just hope he quits while he's still got the chance," said Donnie.

(-)

Between my first meeting with Karai and the not-so-challenging Foot, I was happy to be training today. Father had called us in, saying that we were having an important session today, one that would help us in our battles on the surface. We all stood lined up in the dojo. I stood between Leo and Raph as we waited to be told what to do. Father stood before us, arms folded, looking down at all of us. For some reason his expression showed that he was less than happy, and I couldn't figure out why. "You five have defeated much of the Foot Clan with ease," Father said lowly. "Why does he make that sound like a bad thing?" Raph whispered to me. "Because you have grown complacent!" Father snapped, making both me and Raph jump. "Each of you has become dependent on your own weapon. But there are times where you may not be able to fight with what you know, and when that happens, you must adapt to your environment."

"Oh yeah?" Mikey piped up, then suddenly pulled a comic book out of nowhere. "What if there's only, say... a comic book?" Father then raised his hand and smacked the comic book back, causing it to hit Mikey in the face, which, in turn, caused him to fall back onto his shell. "Anything can be a weapon." "Sensei," said Raph. "You can't seriously send us out there armed with nothing but a comic book!" "For a ninja, anything can be a weapon," Father said firmly. "So, what do you want us to do?" asked Leo. 

"I want you to embrace the unfamiliar," said father before he declared, "Switch weapons!" The boys and I stared up at him. Switch our weapons? He's never had us do this before. We all looked at each other for a moment before finally moving. The boys started to take their weapons out and just as I grabbed my kamas, father put a hand on my shoulder. "Cleopatra, I would like for you to sit this one out, for now." "But how come-" but as father gave me a stern, but knowing look, I slowly nodded in understanding. "Oh... Sure, father."

I released my kamas and walked over to stand beside him. As I turned back around, I saw that the guys had already switched up; Leo had Donnie's staff, Donnie had Raph's sais, Raph had Mikey's chucks, and Mikey had Leo's katanas. "Hey look, I'm Leo!" Mikey cheered, then said in a less than accurate depiction of Leo, "Guys! Shh! We have to be quiet! Ninjas are quiet! Quiet down!" At this, me, Donnie and Raph all started laughing. Leo was less than amused. "I sound nothing like that!" he snapped. "Yes, that's why we're laughing," Raph said, smirking. "Because you sound nothing like that." 

"I think it was pretty accurate," I said, and the other three all laughed as Leo glared at me. "Face each other," Father ordered. And just like that the moment was gone. The boy's smiles faded, and they instantly took stances and faced each other, Leo facing Raph and Donnie facing Mikey. "Hold on," said Leo. "How come Cleo doesn't have to switch with one of us?" "As you very well know, my sons, Cleopatra has a natural talent for adaptation," Father explained. "It is for this reason that she has two sets of weapons at her immediate disposal. Being able to adapt to her surroundings is a given for her."

I grinned as I gave the boys a tiny shrug. I couldn't help if I was naturally adaptive, and the boys couldn't help that they weren't. They just had to learn a little harder than I did. The boys all looked at me before turning back to face each other. There were a few moments pause in which the boys took a second to figure out how to stand with their new weapons. Their reactions were pretty much the same; confused, frustrated, and a little bit silly. "This isn't gonna end well, is it?" "Hajime!" What happened next was all but what I had expected. 

Raph made to swing at Leo with the chucks but had hit his head instead and went down. Leo had made like he was going to charge at Raph but had tripped on the staff and had fallen as well. Mikey attempted to somehow spin the katanas in his hands, both of which ended up flying in the air and landed just in front of him, causing him to stumble back and fall. The only one left standing was Donnie, who still appeared to be figuring out how to hold the sais. He was practically waving them around his face carelessly, wasn't paying attention, and then suddenly poked the bottom of his chin with the blade. "Ow!" he cried, dropping both of the sais. 

"Yame!" The boys all froze in the positions that they fell in, looking stunned and embarrassed. "That was messed up," Mikey muttered as he slowly got to his feet. "You will continue to fight this way," Father told them seriously. "It will teach you resourcefulness and versatility." The others didn't look too happy about this new arrangement. Raph was grumbling irritably as he roughly yanked himself out of the nunchuck chains. "Not so easy, is it?" Mikey said, smirking at his older brother. "Hey, I'm getting the hang of it-!" But Raph cut himself off as he accidentally swung the chuck up and hit his head again. Mikey laughed as he walked away, and Raph growled at him. "Don't worry guys, you'll get it," I said encouragingly. "Easy for you to say," Raph said. "You're a natural with anything you touch." I shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm not perfect."

(-)

The boys have had their new weapons for only a day, and they weren't any better now than they were when they got them. They all seemed too worried that they were going to hurt themselves before they hurt anyone else, and I couldn't blame them for thinking so. They weren't even sure what to do with their new weapons sometimes. Today, as I walk into the living room, I saw them all examining and using their weapons as though they were new, but delicate toys that they had gotten for Christmas. Mikey was happily using the katanas to slice up some pizza, Leo was swinging the staff like a baseball bat, Raph was practicing with his chucks while attempting to not hit his face, and Donnie simply sat there, staring at the pair of sais in his hands.

I walked over towards the pit and plopped down right next to Donnie. "Hey Donnie," I said. "Hey," he said, glancing at me before looking back at the sai. I grinned as I raised an eyebrow. "You know it's not gonna do anything unless you use it, right?" "I'm trying to figure out how to use it." Donnie said. "How does Raph even use these things? They're impossible!" "No, not impossible," I said. "But they can be challenging, and Raph likes a challenge." "Yeah, no kidding." I let out a small laugh. There was a small pause, and Donnie continued to examine the sai as I glanced down at my shoes, fiddling with my hands, and I bit my bottom lip nervously. There was something I had been wanting to talk to Donnie about since we came home after running into the Pulverizer. "Hey, Don?" I spoke up. "I, uh... I'm sorry I got mad the other night." Donnie finally pulled his eyes away from the sai completely as he turned his head to look at me.

"What do you-Oh," Donnie looked sheepish. "You mean about me saying you were dating 'Angus', the name I just made up." "Yeah, that," I said. "Look... I know why you said it and you had to say something fast, so... I'm sorry, and thanks." Donnie grinned, shaking his head. "Don't thank me. He's still head-over-heels for you." "Yeah," I said, rolling my eyes. "No idea why though. I'm not that stunning to look at." Donnie raised an eyebrow. "Have you looked in a mirror? Cleo, you're gorgeous. Honest! I don't think the Pulverizer is the ideal guy for you, but I can see why he likes you. You're a nice and amazing girl Cleo, and the fact that you're so pretty is just icing on the cake." I could feel my ears start to feel hot as I smiled at Donnie, who was smiling back at me. A second later I raised my fist and playfully punched his shoulder. "See?" I said, frustrated and a little flustered. "Now, why can't you say stuff like that to April? If you told her that, she'd be putty in your hands by now!" Donnie spluttered as his face suddenly started to go red, and I chuckled at his dorkiness. 

Then, his T-Phone buzzed and went off. Donnie picked it up and looked down at it. "Uh oh," he said. "Text message from You-Know-Who." "Voldemort?" I asked curiously. "Why would he be texting us?" Donnie turned and stared at me as though I had just grown an extra head. "It was a joke!" I said quickly, raising my hands in surrender. "I was joking!" Donnie rolled his eyes. "No, it's not Voldemort." "Then who is it?" Mikey asked. Donnie's face fell as he stared at Mikey. "Okay, rephrase; Text message from Everybody-But-Mikey-Knows-Who." 

Mikey grinned and gave him the thumbs up. Donnie and I stood up and walked towards the others as Donnie read the message under his breath. "The Pulverizer is telling us where the Foot are gonna strike next," he said. "What do you know?" said Raph. "He's actually useful." "Yeah, but he can't stay in the Foot," Donnie said seriously. "They'll toast 'im!" "Inside information, Donnie? It's worth the risk!" "But we're not the ones taking the risk, the Pulverizer is!" "I know," Raph smirked. "It's the perfect plan." 

"It's anything but perfect," I said. "Raph, Pulverizer is in danger as long as he stays in the Foot, and you know it." "Why does it matter as long as we're not in danger?" I frowned. "So, you're completely okay with someone who can't defend themselves the way we can doing something like this?" I turned around to look at Leo. "Leo, we have to help the Pulverizer," I told him. "He can't stay in the Foot forever, he won't survive." "I know," he said seriously, then sighed. "Alright, we'll follow up on his lead and then bust the poor guy out of the Foot. "Excuse me!" Mikey piped up. "I'm the sword guy! I make the decisions here!" We all stared at him. Mikey put his hands on his hips and glanced around. "Uh... what Leo said," he said finally. I snorted. "Way to lead, bro."

(-)

Later that night, the guys and I went back to the same alleyway where we had run into the Pulverizer. We were hiding behind a large dumpster, waiting for him to arrive, and we were there for probably about 10 minutes before there was any movement. Then, from the end of the alley, scooting in our direction against the wall, was the Pulverizer. "Alright, lookin' for traps, lookin' for traps..." he muttered lowly. Donnie decided to take charge and reached out and grabbed Pulverizer, dragging him down behind the dumpster with us. "Wow!" he yelped as he fell, then when he saw us, he smiled. "Oh, hey! Great, you got my message. I have some information for you!" 

"Great, great," Donnie said quickly. "But we're getting you outta here first." Donnie grabbed Pulverizer by the back of his shirt and pulled him up as he stood up. Then he glanced over at the other end of the alley and gasped. I turned and saw that both Fishface and Dogpound, along with a few Foot Clan members, were standing there, glaring at us. "As soon as we get ourselves outta here," said Raph. "Just stay behind us, and-" Donnie began, but Pulverizer cut him off. "Help! It's the turtles, they've got me! Help!" he screamed. "What?" said Leo, stunned. "Dude, what the heck?" I snapped at him. "Sorry guys!" Pulverizer hissed. "Can't blow my cover!" "Not cool, bro," Mikey said angrily.

Dogpound and Fishface all started to advance on us, not saying a word. "Spread out," Leo ordered. Me and the others all stood up and walked into the open, withdrawing our weapons. I looked over at the others nervously, watching them hold their new weapons. Using them in the dojo was one thing, but using them in a fight against our enemies? Would they be able to do that? "As the one with the swords, I say retreat!" Mikey said fearfully. "Having the swords doesn't make you leader," Leo told him seriously. He suddenly ran forward, swinging the Bo staff as he charged Dogpound. The mutant simply grabbed the staff and lifted Leo into the air before throwing him back. Leo slammed against the alley wall and fell to the ground. 

"Not that it's a bad idea. Retreat!" Leo and Raph both leapt out of the way just as Dogpound made to crush them with his extremely large fist. They tried to climb up the fire escape, but Dogpound knocked them down. Suddenly, I felt something pull at my feet and fell forward. I landed on my hands pushed myself up and swung my leg out, kicking the Foot soldier in the face and knocking him down. I opened my tessen up and swung my arm as I threw it. It hit two soldiers in the heads, making them stumble, and it knocked another one off of his feet as it came back. I caught it in the air and opened it again as I turned.

Mikey appeared to be stuck in a corner with two Foot soldiers closing in. He looked lost as to what to do with the katanas in his hands. Suddenly, Raph, who was attempting to fight Fishface, stepped back as he was swinging the chucks, and accidentally hit Mikey in his head. "Hey! Watch where you swing that thing!" he yelled. "You should talk!" Leo yelled. Mikey turned his head to look at his eldest brother and saw that he was pointing one of the katana directly at Leo's chest. "Sorry," Mikey said sheepishly, lowering the katanas. "My bad." From above, Donnie fell from the fire escape and landed in front of us. 

"Oh, this won't work," he said, glaring down at the sais in his hands. We all looked up and saw that Dogpound and Fishface were advancing on us, hatred in their eyes. The fact that they still hadn't said anything was even more unnerving. I glanced over at Leo, and I could tell what he was thinking. "Switch weapons!" he shouted. At once, they guys all tossed their weapons into the air. As they came down, each was met with their original owner. Donnie grabbed his staff, Mikey gripped his nunchucks, Leo caught his katanas, and Raph snatched his sais. The boys all paused for a moment to get ahold of their weapons before advancing back into the fight.

Now that they had their own weapons back, the boys' performance had increased and intensified by a lot. Leo and Donnie instantly went for Dogpound, smacking him and knocking him back. Raph swung his sais at Fishface before kicking him and knocking him down. "This is more like it!" Mikey shouted. "Oh yeah," Raph cheered. "There's something really satisfying about not losing." "You know that this decision is gonna come back to bite you in the shell, right?" I called over to him. 

Raph snorted. "It isn't now, so why worry?" I rolled my eyes. I knew that the guys would probably regret their decision later, but now wasn't the time to worry about that. I ran at a Foot soldier and ducked as he swung a sword at me. I snapped my foot up and kicked him right between his legs, making him keel over. I raised my fist and punched him in the face, sending him back. Then, as I glanced outside the alley across the street, I saw two Foot soldiers come out of a building, and they were each holding a silver and glass canister full of glowing green ooze. "What?" I gasped.

Suddenly, Fishface, Dogpound and the remaining soldiers ran out of the alley. We ran after them, but there was the sound of wheels squealing and as we ran into the street, we saw them peel away in a large van. "Guys, mutagen!" Donnie said urgently. "The Foot are stealing mutagen!" "Shredder with mutagen," said Raph. "Well, that can't be good." "In what world could that possibly be good?" I asked. "Psst!" We all turned to look back down the alley. From behind the dumpster, we were hiding by before, we saw a large hand poke out and wave at us. "Over here!" the Pulverizer hissed. We all ran back down the alley and stopped at the dumpster. Pulverizer smiled and waved at us. 

I frowned at him as I put my hands on my hips. "You gonna hide there all night?" I asked him. "Shh! Don't blow my cover!" he whispered. "You don't have to hide, Pulverizer," said Mikey. "The Foot are gone." Pulverizer cleared his throat, and started talking in a deeper, throaty voice. "You shouldn't use my real name," he said lowly. Mikey raised an eyebrow. "Your real name is 'Pulverizer?'" Pulverizer glanced down. "No... it's Timothy." I felt my brows unfurrow a little. That was a nice name for a guy like him. Donnie grabbed Timothy by his collar and hoisted him up to his feet. "Stop talking like that, Tim," he said in a frustrated voice. 

"Guys!" Timothy said suddenly. "You'll never guess what Shredder's gonna do with the mutagen!" "He's gonna create a mutant army to destroy us?" Donnie said blatantly. Timothy's face faltered. "Yeah, but... There's a lot more to it than that." "Really...?" Donnie said as though he seriously doubted it. "No... you guessed," Timothy said glumly, rubbing the back of his head. "Pulverizer, you're in over your head," Donnie told him. "Go home!" "Wait," said Leo. "Not until he finds out more about Shredder's mutation plan." "What?" I asked. "Oh yeah, baby!" Timothy cheered, raising his fists. "The Pulverizer stays in the game! Up high!" 

We all stood still, frowning at him. His smile slowly fell as he lowered his hand. "Okay then... I'm off!" he said as he ran out of the alley. "I'm practically invisible!" A second later there was the sound of a car horn and a loud crash. I could hear Timothy yell. "I'm okay!" he said. "I'm sorry, again... I'm gonna go spy now!" "Oh boy," I groaned, shaking my head. "So, what if Shredder's building an army of mutant?" Raph jeered, punching his fist into his hand. "They're still no match for my sais! High-three!" As Raph doesn't normally call a high-three, I raised my hand with Leo and Mikey and gave Raph a high-three. But even as I laughed a little, I could help but notice the look of worry on Donnie's face.

(-)

The boys were 10 times more cheerful when we got home than when we had left earlier that night. As we leapt over the turnstiles, we were all cheering and laughing, and the guys were relishing the moment with their respective weapons. "And I was like, makin' the bucks with my ol' nunchucks!" Mikey sang, spinning his chucks around. "I was droppin' the Foot like flies with my sais!" Raph said smoothly, spinning his sais as he leapt off the turnstile and landed next to Mikey. "Yeah, Raph!" he cheered. "Leo?" "I had my Kursawa swingin' and zingin'!" he said, dancing his arms around a bit. I held my stomach as I laughed at him. 

"Good one, bro," I said. "Cleo, you next!" said Raph. "Okay!" I whipped out my tessen and did a front flip off the turnstile. "When those Foot came in, I was cleaning their mess with my good ol' tess!" Leo laughed as Raph and Mikey cheered. I laughed some more as I put my tessen back into its holster. "This is fun!" I spoke. "C'mon Donnie, you do one!" I looked over at Donnie and my smile fell. He still had that same worried look on his face that he had when we sent Pulverizer back into the Foot.

"Guys," he said. "Maybe it's not such a good idea sending the Pulverizer into harm's way." "You worry too much, Donnie," said Raph coolly, spinning one of his sais in his hands. I heard the sound of footsteps and looked up to see father approaching us. Before I even had time to feel worried, he suddenly snatched Raph's sai from him. "So," he said. "You decided not to follow my lesson." Though his voice was calm, I could still hear the frustration behind it, and it made me even more nervous. 

"Sensei, we don't get it," Raph said irritably. "How does switching weapons help us in a fight? We were doing fine on our own." "Then you still do not understand the point of the lesson," Father said, and now he sounded angry. "So, you will learn how to adapt... by having no weapons." The boys and I all gasped. No weapons?! "Hand over your weapons," Father demanded. "Now!" The guys all stared up at him for a moment, before slowly taking their weapons and handing them over to father, who took them.

He then turned and walked towards me. "You too, Cleopatra." "What?" I gasped. "But father-" "I was hoping you would help your brothers follow their lesson," he said sternly. "But you allowed them to ignore it. So, you will join in their lesson and learn to adapt without weapons." "But-" "Hand over your weapons, Cleopatra." "Father, I-" "Now!" I flinched. Father was staring down at me, his free handheld out. I gulped the large lump in my throat as I slowly pulled out my kamas and placed them in his hand. "The other one, as well," he said firmly. I stared up at him for a moment, then slowly removed my tessen from the holster. I looked down at my tessen, then sighed as I placed it in his hand. Father then turned and walked off with all of our weapons in his hands.

(-)

"C'mon, Cleo, it's not that big of a deal." It was late at night, and none of us have left the lair since we arrived. As soon as father had left with our weapons, I had immediately run into my room and hadn't come out since. I know it's a typical teenager move, but I wasn't trying to pout or pitch a fit. I was just really upset, not with father, but with myself. I've never made father this mad, or even unhappy, and I didn't like the feeling that it left me with. It felt like a bed of rocks was resting in my stomach. 

After sitting in my room for about an hour, Raph finally decided to come in. I allowed him in, but I didn't want to leave. I remained laying in my bed, laying on my stomach, arms folded, and chin buried in my pillow. Though Raph wasn't normally the one to care about how upset people were, he often made an exception for me. But even though he continued to talk with me and even though his words comforted me a little bit, I still didn't want to leave my room.

"It kinda is, Raph," I said, not looking at him, still staring into my pillow. "Cleo, Splinter's just a little pissed at us, that's all," Raph said reasonably. "Hey, Mikey and I are always getting on his nerves. Well... Mikey does more stupid stuff than I do, but still." "Raph," I said. "I've never let father down in my life. And he sounded so... disappointed in me..." I groaned as I lowered my head and buried my face into my pillow. 

The rocks in my stomach seemed to grow even heavier. I heard Raph sigh, and the weight of the bed shifted as he moved closer to me. Then, I felt him put a hand on my back. "He could never be disappointed in you. You're his little girl, remember?" I lifted my head and slowly turned to look at Raph. He had his usual firm expression, but his vivid green eyes were softer than usual. He gave me a small grin, and I smiled at him. I slowly pushed myself up as I sat up on my legs.

"You think so?" "Trust me, Cleo," said Raph. "The day you let Sensei down like that is the day we work for the Shredder, and that'll never happen." I snorted. Raph patted my back a bit as he lowered his hand, and I smiled more at him. "Thanks Raph." "No prob," he said, then he raised his hand and ruffled my hair. "Stop bein' so moppy, yah big baby." "Hey!" I laughed, swatting his hand away and brushing my hair back. Raph rolled his eyes and stood up, walking away and opening the door. I stood up and followed him out the door and down the hallway. As we entered the living room, I saw that the others were still doing their own thing. Leo was watching 'Space Heroes', Mikey was laying upside down on the couch while playing on his phone, and Donnie was pacing back and forth, looking nervous. 

Before I could ask what was wrong his phone went off. Donnie stopped pacing and pulled his phone out. "Oh, it's our spy," he said dully. "Alright, let's hear it," Raph said as he ran over to him. We all crowded around Donnie as he pressed the answer button and put the phone on speaker. "We're here," he said. "This is special agent Delta Niner calling from behind enemy lines," Pulverizer's voice aired lowly from the other line. "Spit it out, Timothy," Donnie said tiredly. "Okay, the mutation experiment is going down on Broomstreet in the Bowery," Timothy said quickly. "They're on their way there now. And that's not all. You ready for this? Are you ready...?" "Yes," we all groaned. "Shredder's gonna mutate just one Foot soldier as a test, and guess what? I volunteered!" "What?!" Donnie and I gasped.

"I know! Isn't that cool?" "No!" Donnie shouted into the phone. "Why would you think that's cool?!" "This is my chance to be like you guys!" Pulverizer said happily. "Throw some mutagen on me, and BOOM! I'm a superhero! I'm takin' Shredder down!" I slapped myself in the forehead. "He's lost it. He's completely lost it!" "The mutagen is dangerous!" Donnie stressed. "You have no idea what it could do to you!" "Once I mutate, I'll unleash my might mutant powers on Shredder! I'll be all Wataaa! Sheeka! Haha! Yeah, take that, pointy man!" 

Then, in the background, I could hear the sound of what the rumbling of a motorcycle was. Pulverizer's voice lowered. "Oh, gotta go! Signing off!" "Tim, wait!" I said, but he already hung up. "I knew we should've gotten that guy out when we had the chance," Donnie said furiously. "Well, we're gonna get him out now," said Leo. "Let's go." Without another word we all ran straight for the exit, leaping over the turnstiles. We all piled into the Shellraiser, immediately going to our designated areas. Leo leapt into the driver's seat, buckled up, and instantly started the van up.

(-)

We had only been driving for about a minute and Leo was driving at top speed. We made a few turns and passed about a block before we saw a large group of motorcycles driving by. "The Foot!" Raph shouted. Leo sped out of the alley right into the group of cycles, causing two of them to get knocked off course. Leo sped up and caught up with the rest of the group, which was attempting to speed away. I looked up at one of the screens and saw one of the cycles falling behind on purpose. I looked closer and saw that it was Fishface. He suddenly skidded his bike to a halt, whipped it around, and started speeding towards us. "Guys, Fish Sticks is coming at us," I warned. "Eat hot trash, fish boy!" I heard Raph shout. 

He pressed the trigger and fired several garbage balls from the canon. Fishface swerved and dodged almost all of them, but the last one slammed right into his bike, causing him to fly off. This proved to be bad as a second later he landed on top of the Shellraiser. "Uh oh," Raph muttered. "He's on the roof!" Donnie shouted. "I got this!" Raph leapt from his seat and climbed up to the hatch on the roof. He opened it, poked his head out, and a second later he yelled and then fell back down. I stared at him, gasped. For a moment it looked as though Raph had been decapitated, and Mikey screamed. Then, a second later, Raph's head reemerged out of his shell with a loud pop.

"Alright, plan B." Raph jumped into his seat and spun the large handles that controlled the cannon. I looked up at the screen and saw that the cannon had slammed into Fishface and brought out so that he was hanging over the street. "Whatcha gonna do now?" Raph jeered. I looked at Raph for a moment before looking back at the screen. Fishface was holding onto the gun of the cannon to keep from falling into the street. Then, suddenly, he kicked one of his robotic legs out and hit the tire, tearing it to shreds. The van gave a sudden lurch, and I yelped as I toppled out of my own seat and onto the floor. "Why do I ask these questions? Why?!" Raph asked miserably. 

The Shrellraiser skidding for a few seconds before it tipped and suddenly landed on its side. I slammed into the wall of the van and hit my head hard, and I saw stars for a moment. I groaned as I sat up and looked around. The others were all over the place, but they looked unharmed. I looked around and my eyes landed on a screen, and I saw Fishface pick up a nearby motorcycle. "I'll deal with you soon enough, freaks!" he shouted before hopping onto his bike and speeding off. We all quickly got out of the van as quickly as we could. We all stood there, wondering what to do now. "Splinter once told me the Pulverizer is my responsibility," said Donnie. "I gotta stop him!" Donnie ran over to the bottom of the Shellraiser, which was laying upright, and he pulled a lever. A second later the Stealth Cycle was deployed. Donnie snatched a helmet and put it on his head, hopped into the cycle, started it up and before we could even blink, he sped off. "Ugh, c'mon," Leo ordered. "We'll go on foot."

(-)

Donnie's POV:
There was a loud crash as the cycle smashed through the glass. I leapt out from my seat, summersaulting in the air as I came down and landed right where Timothy was. I grabbed him and instantly shoved him several feet back, staying beside him. I straightened up and looked forward. I saw Dogpound and several Foot soldiers had surrounded me. "Get them!" shouted Dogpound. I reached behind me to grab my staff but froze when I felt nothing but air. I had forgotten that I had no weapon. "Huh-? Oh, sewer apples!" "I forgot!" 

I quickly glanced around, trying to find something that I could use as a weapon, and my eyes landed on a nearby broom leaning against a crate. I ran forward, kicking into the air, then leapt up as I grabbed it. I turned and smashed the end of the broom on a soldier's head, and he fell to the ground. I spun the broom above my head as two more Foot soldiers came at me. I raised the boom and blocked both of their attacks, then shoved one end into a soldier and knocked him back. I then swung the boom at the other and smacked him off of his feet.

I looked behind me to see if Timothy was alright and saw to my surprise that he was gone. I quickly looked around and saw that he was running right for the large mutagen dispenser. "Now's my chance!" he shouted. Before I could do anything, I was shoved forward, and I landed on my plastron. I turned my head and kicked my foot back, kicking the soldier in the crotch before picking the broom back up and knocking him back. I turned and started running forward, trying to catch up to Timothy. 

He had just reached up and started pulling on the large lever when I caught up to him. "Timothy, no!" I shouted, grabbing his shoulders and yanking him back. "What're yah doing?!" "I'm gonna be a mutant, like you!" he said gleefully. "Um, doing the mutation thing is notoriously unpredictable," I explained, then shouted in his face. "AND REALLY STUPID!" Suddenly, something grabbed me by my shell and threw me back. It was Dogpound. I quickly got back on my feet and leapt out of the way as he made to smash me with his large fist. "I'll save you, Donatello!" "Wait!" I yelled. "Didn't you hear what I-No!"

Dogpound made to come at me again, and I smacked his face with the end of the broom. I quickly summersaulted under him as I kicked my foot up and kicked him in the face. I straightened up, leapt up, and landed right on his giant head before leaping off and running towards Pulverizer. "I'm-saving-you!" On the last word and jumped forward and pushed Timothy out from underneath the dispenser again. 

But even as I pushed him out of the way I caught a glimpse of Fishface before I was suddenly kicked extremely hard by one of his powerful, robotic legs. The blow sent me flying back into the air, and as I put my arms out my hand came into contact with the end of a chain and I grabbed it on instinct. I swung up high by the roof before swinging down back towards Fishface, letting out a loud "Woohohooo!" I reached Fishface and kicked him once, twice, three times in the head before he went down.

I released the chain and ran back over to Timothy, who remained crouched on the ground. "Okay, now we're getting out of here," I said. But even as I said this, I saw that the remaining Foot soldiers had gotten back up and were started to surround both of us. "Hopefully..." Crash! I snapped my head up and saw four familiar figures falling from the skylight: three with shells and one with a black and white clothing. They all landed in front of me and Pulvierizer, and I saw that it was my brothers and sister. They had finally come. 

They all straightened up, ready for a fight, and reached by their belts for their weapons, but came up with nothing. "Oh yeah, no weapons. Ugh... Spread out, guys," Leo ordered. "Remember, anything can be a weapon." Instantly, they all spread out, and they all found something just as quickly as I had. Raph tore a piece of 2x4 off of a crate, Mikey found a long chain, Leo picked up a metal bar, and Cleo grabbed a monkey wrench. I spun my broom above my head as I ran forward, swinging it into the nearby Foot soldiers. "My mutation!"

I froze and turned around. Pulverizer was back underneath the dispenser again, and this time I was too late to stop him. He had already pulled on the lever by the time I looked at him. The bottom of the dispenser opened, and a large slab of mutagen fell down and landed right on his head. A second later, Pulverizer started to scream. "Oh, it burns!" he cried. "I didn't think it would burn so bad! Ahh! It really burns!" "Oh my gosh!" Cleo yelped. "What happened?" Raph demanded. "Pulverizer got his wish," I said fearfully. "And we got a problem," said Leo. "That dude's straight nasty!" Mikey yelled. Pulverizer looked demented, screaming in pain as he flailed his arms around, stumbling as he walked towards us. 

"Holy mackerel!" I cried. Me and the others all backed away and quickly limbed the pile of stacked crates to avoid getting touched. "Timothy is jacked up!" said Mikey. Pulverizer stumbled around, and the remaining Foot soldiers scattered to avoid him. The mutagen on his head appeared to be melting off of him. Pulverizer stumbled and then fell into a larger puddle of mutagen. There was a sizzling sound and steam erupted, and suddenly, Timothy wasn't just covered in ooze, it was melting into him. In a split second, the mutagen had molded with him, and something nasty and horrible shot up as the steam evaporated. I couldn't explain in great detail what I saw. The closest description I could come up with was that it looked like a giant, blob of acid green jelly with organs floating inside it, along with two eyeballs and a pair of lips.

Timothy let out a loud screech as he flailed what looked like jelly tentacles instead of arms, and then started sliding after the Foot soldiers, who all ran away. "Umm, anyone else hear beeping?" Cleo asked. I looked over at her and then suddenly, I could hear a soft beeping too, and it was coming from right under me. I kneeled down and leaned over the edge of the crate. I saw that there was a small bomb attached to the crate. "Uh oh," I said. "The entire warehouse is rigged with plastic explosives!" I looked up in time to see two Foot soldiers running up to us. I raised my broom to block, but one of them sliced it in half with a katana. 

I quickly used both pieces to knock both soldiers off the pile of crates. I heard the louds creaking of a door, and looked up to see Dogpound by the door, several soldiers running out. "Let's go!" Dogpound shouted. "Lock 'em in!" I looked down to see Timothy had started advancing on us now. He screamed and then, his tentacle extended out to us and we had to leapt off of the crates, because a second later he smashed them with his tentacles. As soon as we landed, we all made a run for the door. But just as we reached it Dogpound slammed it shut. Leo grabbed the handle and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Not cool, man!" Cleo shouted. "Not cool!" "We're trapped!" said Leo, then he turned on me. "We need to get out, now!" "But, what about him?" I asked, gesturing at Timothy. Timothy turned and then started to advance on us again. At this moment, it seemed we all decided to throw caution to the winds, because we all suddenly threw all of our weapons at Pulverizer. They all stabbed through him like we were stabbing through gelatin. A few seconds later there was a loud sizzling sound, and the remaining pieces of our weapons fell to the floor. "He just ate our weapons!" Mikey shouted. 

"And it looks like we're next," I said fearfully. Pulverizer screeched and then started charging at us, flailing his arms in an attempt to snatch us. We all started leaping back to avoid getting touched and burned. "Pulverizer, it's us!" I shouted. "The turtles!" At once, the others started screaming as well. "Pulverizer!" "Pulverizer, it's us!" "Hey, Pulverizer!" "Pulverizer, please!" But no matter how loudly or clearly, we yelled, nothing seemed to get through to him. Timothy had us cornered now and was coming closer. Wait a minute... "Timothy!" I screamed. "Timothy!"

Finally, Timothy stopped. He lowered his tentacles and stopped screaming, and finally calmed down. "That's right, Timothy," I said calmly. "It's us, the turtles." "It's alright, Timothy," I heard Cleo say. "No one wants to hurt you." Timothy looked at us for a moment before slowly turning to the side. He let out a strangled cry and touched his face with his tentacles. I knew that he must have looked at the windows and seen his reflection. Suddenly, he whipped back around and screamed again, charging right at us. We all jumped and leapt out of the way and landed behind him. "We still gotta get outta here," said Leo. 

"Let's go!" "Not without- Timothy," I said firmly. "And how do you suppose we get that blob outta here?" Mikey asked. "I got an idea," I said. "Raph, get the Stealth Cycle. Mikey, Cleo, get Timothy's attention." "It better take less than 10 seconds," Leo warned. "Leo, c'mon," I told him. "I need you to jump up there and wait for me to tell you when to jump, and when I say so, jump onto the tank." Leo nodded. I ran over to the tank and stopped underneath, holding my hands out. Leo ran forward and leapt up, his foot landing in my hands and he bounced up, landing on top of the machine.

"C'mon Timothy, over here!" "Here, Timothy!" "Guys, lead him over here," I said. "Leo, get ready to jump." Both Mikey and Cleo continued the draw Timothy closer and closer underneath the dispenser. Then, as Mikey walked backwards, he tripped and fell underneath the tank. Timothy continued forward, but Cleo lunged forward and shoved Mikey out of the way. "Now!" I shouted. Leo leapt off of the machine and landed on the tank, causing it to come down and fall on top of Timothy. He went straight through and filled the tank completely, bits of slime flying everywhere. "Raph!" The cycle shot forward and rammed into the tank, making it shoot up. 

I snatched up a trash lid and jumped up, grabbing onto the tank and putting the lid over it. We landed onto the closed-up cycle and the others jumped on before Raph started it up and started racing towards a window. BOOM! There was a loud bang and a sudden rush of air, and we went flying, cycle and all. We soared out into the open before landing in the street, tumbling and rolling before coming to a halt. There was a loud clang, and I looked up to see the tank that we had put Timothy in right in front of me, slowly rolling back until it came to a stop just a foot away from me.

(-)

Cleo's POV:
"Do you think Timothy is happy with his new state of being?" Father asked as he observed Timothy in the tank. "Seems that way," said Leo. "He wanted to be a mutant, and he got his wish." Mikey raised his hand and started tapping on the glass of the tank. Donnie frowned down at his little brother and pulled his hand away. "Donnie, we're letting you keep him," said Raph. "But you gotta stash him in your lab so I don't have to look at him." I rolled my eyes. Donnie turned away from his brother and reached up and pressed a hand to the glass. "I promise, Timothy," he said. "One day I'll turn yah back." Timothy stared at us. He hadn't made any sort of noise since being put inside the tank. I don't think he could even talk anymore, despite having a mouth. I took a step forward and pressed a hand on the tank. "Don't worry, Tim," I said. "You'll be back to normal soon." Timothy turned his eyes towards me, then he let out a whining sound as he smiled at me.

"At least he still recognizes us," said Donnie. "Alright, let's get him into the lab." Donnie walked forward and stood on one side and Raph stood on the other side. They both grabbed onto the tank and then lifted it up before slowly starting to move him towards Donnie's lab. Leo walked beside them, and Mikey leapt into the pit and grabbed one of the game controllers. "Mario Cart, I missed you!" I giggled. It was really late now, and I was starting to get tired, and now all I could think about was getting into bed and listening to my T-Pod. "I think I'm gonna go to bed," I said. "Night, father." "Goodnight, Cleopatra." Father and I bowed to each other before he left for the dojo, and I went towards the bedrooms. 

But just as I reached the hall, I felt my phone buzzing. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked down at it. The caller ID read unknown. I stared down at phone. Thinking it was someone who dialed the wrong number, I clicked the answer button and put the phone to my ear. "Hello?" "It's me." I gasped. It was Karai. I quickly looked around to see if any of the others were nearby. Father had already gone into the dojo, Mikey was playing Mario Cart, and the others were all in Donnie's lab. Making sure not to make any noise, I slowly stepped back and climbed over the turnstiles. I walked down the path until I was hidden behind the wall before I put the phone back up to my ear. "What is it?" I whispered. "We got a problem" she said. "And it's bad. But I can't explain here, it's too risky." I thought for a moment. "Do you know where Java Café is?" "Yes. I'll be there in 10 minutes. Meet me on the roof, and don't be late." And with that, Karai hung up.

(-)

It's a good thing I know a shortcut to Java Café, because otherwise I probably would've been late. I looked across the street at the bright café. It was completely dark inside and there was a sign hanging on the door that read "closed." But this didn't matter. I didn't need to go inside. I quickly crossed the street and ran towards the building. I found a set of what looked like thick pipes that probably lead to the building's plumbing. I grabbed onto the pipes and started to climb them up the building. I went as high as the pipes could go, and then pushed myself up. I grabbed onto the edge of the roof and then pulled myself up, swinging my leg over the edge and stepping onto the roof. 

I stepped away from the ledge. I wonder what Karai was talking about. "Good, you're here." I turned and saw Karai sitting on top of an air conditioning box. She had one leg propped up and her arms folded. "A ninja's never late," I said. "Especially if that ninja is a kunoichi." "No kidding." "So, what's the emergency?" Karai didn't answer immediately. She hesitated and appeared to consider her words before speaking. "Remember how your brothers destroyed that Kraang ship?" she asked, and I nodded. "Well, not all of the piolets in that ship perished in the river. One of them got out, and Shredder has it."

"You have a Kraang droid?" I asked her. "Just the alien," said Karai. "Shredder's been holding it captive for the past few weeks. He's mostly been interrogating it, trying to find out why the Kraang were hunting you and your brothers." "I don't suppose you found out why, huh?" Karai raised her eyebrow as she looked at me. She held her gaze for a moment before answering. "Remember last week when I said O'Neil was the center of an alien conspiracy? Well, that's how I found out." "Figures," I said. "How come she's the center of their plan?" Karai shrugged. "Don't know. All I know is that she's the center of whatever they're planning." I folded my arms. "What's this Kraang captive got to do with what you have to tell me?" Karai's eyes narrowed. "Shredder's been spending a lot of time around that thing," she said. "Too much time. He's realized that he and those aliens have something in common." "What's that?" "A common enemy."

I felt my eyes widen as my jaw fell open. Is she serious? "Shredder's working with the Kraang?" I asked in an unbelievable voice. "He's already talked to me and his other henchmen about it," she said. "And they're onboard. As long as it means you and your brothers are gone, they don't care who they work with." I shook my head. "I don't get it. Why would Shredder decide to work with the Kraang now? You said he wanted nothing to do with them." "I know!" Karai suddenly snapped. 

"That jerk can't make up his mind. His head is all set around his stupid vendetta, and he doesn't care what he has to do! These things want to take over our planet and he doesn't care, as long as he gets his revenge. It's so stupid!" Karai let out an angry noise as she folded her arms and turned her back to me. I stared at her as she had her little fit. This was odd. She had to be one of Shredder's head employee's at least, if not then she was definitely of higher rank. And yet, here she was, complaining about him, again.

"Let me ask you something, Karai," I said. "Why do you stick with the Shredder?" Karai turned to look at me, arms still folded, but now her face showed nothing but confusion. "What?" she asked. "Why do you work for him? You've said it yourself, he drives you crazy, and it's obvious you don't agree with his decision to work with the Kraang, even if you both are our enemies. So why do you bother with him? If you disagree with him so much, why don't you just... yah know, leave?" Karai's face fell and she stared at me. She looked as though she had just been asked a severely complicated math problem. 

But I wanted and answer, and I waited patiently for her to respond. "It's... not that simple," she said, her folded arms tightening up as she glanced away from me. "I don't exactly have a choice." I stared at her. Then, I felt my feet move forward as I stopped a foot away from her. Surprisingly, I felt my arm move and I saw my hand reach out. Before I could even think about what I was doing, I put my hand on her shoulder. Karai's head quickly turned, and her gaze fell on my hand. A second later she looked up at me, eyebrows slightly raised.

"We all have a choice," I told her seriously, and I lowered my hand back to my side. "And right now, you're choosing to stay with Shredder, even though he drives you insane. Why?" Karai eyed me curiously. "Leo hasn't told you, has he?" "Hasn't told me what?" Karai sighed and turned her head away from me again. "I stick with the Shredder for the same reason that you stick with your master," she said quietly. I raised an eyebrow as I asked, "What do you mean?" There was a long pause, and Karai didn't look at me. I was starting to feel a bit annoyed. What is going on? What is she talking about? Finally, after a while, Karai finally turned her head to look at me and said something that made my blood ran cold. "Cleo... Shredder isn't just my master... he's my father."