Casey grumbles to himself as he skates along a rooftop, absolutely fuming. It's like you can see the steam shooting from his ears. "Those jerks. Whatever, I can do this myself," he mumbles.

"Talking to yourself? Is that a vigilante thing?"

The teen spins around, skidding to a stop as Destiny wanders towards him, her wild eyes glinting with amusement. Casey scoffs and turns away, crossing his arms.

"Go home, Des. I don't need anyone else laughing at me," he snaps.

She stops at his side, trying to study his emotions through his eyes, the only things she can see through his mask. "What was the kicker that stopped you from beating the Dragons?" she asks.

He doesn't answer for a moment. With a sigh, he lifts his mask. "They've got a new leader who doesn't exactly suck," he explains. "Stupid Hun..."

Her tail flicks. "Okay, that's a valid reason."

"Tell that to the guys."

"Maybe I will. That doesn't change the fact that you're obviously upset."

He leers closer to her and tries to look intimidating, finding it sort of difficult since the two teens are nearly the same height and despite her being shorter than him, she has a way of sizing up to people.

"Why don't you just go home? I'm fine," he says.

"I'm returning the favour. You followed me after I was angry, now I do the same for you," she responds curtly. He huffs a little, to which she nudges his arm. "Come on, Case. What are friends for?"

He sighs heavily and moves to the edge of a building. "First up, I'm going to track down the stupid Dragons and pound their new leader in his lame head."

"Is that the best—"

She's cut off by the sound of a heavy body hitting gravel. Both turn to find Diaval getting to his feet, brushing dust from his cloak, elbows, and knees. He shakes his head in order to get his hair from his eyes.

"Di? You followed us?" Destiny asks.

"Didn't want to be alone with turtles," Diaval replies. He shuffles over to them and gives Casey a long look. "Don't feel bad. People lose fights. It happens."

Casey blinks a few times. "When did you start saying helpful stuff like that?"

"Uh, dunno," he replies with a shrug. "Just say what's...helpful."

The sound of engines roaring ceases any further conversation. Destiny scurries to Casey's side as the boy looks towards the ground far below them, where a band of motorcycles can be seen moving down the street. The drivers, however, are what makes the two teenagers' eyes widen. Shredder, Fishface, Tiger Claw, and Emery zoom down the asphalt, eyes focused ahead, and Diaval makes a low choking noise as he inhales far too quickly.

"The Foot?" Casey whispers.

"And Shredder..." Destiny seconds, pointing to the bike at the head of the group.

"Guess the Dragons will have to wait," Casey mutters.

He goes to hop off the ledge, but she grabs his arm and stops him. "Hold on," she warns. "I think this is one of those times where we need to think up a quick plan."

He shakes his head. "I could find out some good stuff, wolfie. You two can help or stay back."

"What?" Diaval's eyebrows lift and he steps back, his hand reaching out to hover near Destiny's back. "C-Can't. Bad idea. Don't."

Destiny purses her lips. "Diaval's right. Shredder will recognize the two of us. They all will."

"Okay, then get back home and do whatever you want."

"Casey..."

"Wolfie..." he imitates.

She frowns, staring at one another, and she sighs heavily. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?" she asks.

He smiles and ruffles her hair. "Sure thing, buddy."

She smacks his hands away and rolls her eyes. He smirks again.

----------

Raphael chucks the last bag of Kraang parts into their designated pile as he groans. Diaval tugs and shoves dented parts of pipes on the roof back into place, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Oh man. Need a break," Raphael says as he slumps into his chair.

"No doubt. Cleaning up is way harder than training," Leonardo agrees as he flops down on the living room pit floor, stopping his painstaking floor scrubbing.

Destiny shrugs as she keeps sweeping, humming under her breath and moving to the unheard music playing in her head. "At least we're almost done," she says, poking Leonardo's shell with her broom handle as she passes him. He smacks it away, a teasing glint his eye as he watches after her.

"Wait, no," Michelangelo whimpers, searching behind various items desperately. "No, no. No, no, no, no!" he screams.

Donatello smacks his brother with the broom he's holding, shutting him up. With an air of annoyance in his tone, he asks, "What are you looking for, Mikey?"

"The TV remote, duh!" Michelangelo retorts. He crawls around, a sob lifting his voice. "Where are you?" He lets out a pained whimper.

Raphael's t-phone beeps and he glances at the screen. "Got a text from Casey," he reports. His eyes narrow. "Oh no, he's on some kind of crazy mission. I've got to go handle this," he says as he pushes himself up.

"Want some help?" Leonardo offers.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," the first calls as he leaves the lair.

"No. It's gone forever," Michelangelo mourns. "Farewell, sweet TV-controlling device. You made our lives so much better. You were a true friend in times of—" He stops as he notices the item in question right in front of him. "Wait, here it is."

He laughs and switches the TV on. Crognard is already playing, the muscled hero standing before a large army of roaring creatures. The teens turn their attention to the screen.

"That's it, Gorrick army," Crognard exclaims. "You are angering Crognard's enormous pecs!" He rips his shirt off as his pectorals flex and bounce.

"Um, Crognard, the Gorricks outnumber us one thousand to one," Enchantress points out. "You realize we're doomed, right?"

"Never tell Crognard the odds!"

The Barbarian roars and goes leaping into the battle.

"Ooo..." the turtles groan.

"Oh snap," Michelangelo winces.

"I resonate deeply with Enchantress," Destiny admits with a shrug.

"She's m'favourite," Diaval mumbles as he shoves a dangling pipe back into place and twists the metal support underneath it.

-----------

When Raphael returns with nothing but an incredibly heavy briefcase with chemicals inside, let's just say that Leonardo is less than pleased. His brother's explanation that Casey outright refused to come back doesn't satiate him whatsoever.

"Are you crazy? You just let Casey go off on his own?" Leonardo demands.

"Let him? What was I supposed to do, chain him to a wall?" Raphael snaps back. "Get Destiny to come out and drag him away by his hood like a flailing puppy?"

"What?" Destiny arches an eyebrow.

Raphael looks to her for a moment, but quickly diverges back to Leonardo. "Point is, I told him not to go!"

He slams his fist on the lab table, making Donatello yelp and grab the canister of chemicals as it wobbles. He exhales when it doesn't spill or break, but the relief disappears as he glares at his brothers.

"For real?" he asks, lip curled with annoyance.

"My bad," Raphael apologizes, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry Donnie," Leonardo mumbles.

The purple-masked turtle turns and lifts the chemical to the light. The open briefcase sits open next to him, the indent of the canister the only sign that it was ever there. "Well, I'm stumped," he admits. "I have no idea what this chemical is. It's not mutagen-based. Maybe it is an explosive." He slides over to his microscope and spins a knob or two, peeking in at the sample on the slide. "The thing is, we've seen Stockman's lab, and he doesn't have the equipment to synthesize these chemicals. Only mutagen."

"So it's not for Shredder?" Destiny asks. Her eyebrows lift, a faint sense of hope sparking in her eyes.

"I wouldn't say that. Raph said Rahzar and Fishface were collecting it, after all."

Michelangelo shoves past Leonardo, Raphael, and Destiny, his mouth stuffed with cheesy-balls. "Mm, what kind of place would have equipment that could do the thing?" he asks, muffled by the food in his mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Leonardo scolds. He eyes the snack and grimaces. "And eating cheesy balls? Do you even know what's in that?"

"It's all-natural, brah," Michelangelo insists, reading off the ingredient list. "De-enriched corn husks, hydrogenated styrodextrin, red dye 42, mmm! Tri-nucleonized...what?"

Donnie snatches the can reads the list, letting out a small gasp. "It's not all-natural, Mikey. In fact, it's probably slightly radioactive."

He looks up at his little brother, who's happily munching on two more cans of said snack food. Leonardo snatches one, annoyed, and looks at the ingredient list again.

"Manufactured by Auman Chemicals, New York," he reads. "Wait a sec, that place is in Chinatown, right?"

Donatello sits down and types something into his computer swiftly. "It is," he confirms. "It's the biggest chemical manufacturing plant in the city."

"And if it's in Chinatown, that means it's controlled by the Purple Dragons, right?" Raphael asks.

"Cheesy balls for the win!" Michelangelo laughs, thrusting the snacks in the air.

Destiny frowns a little. "And that plant would have the stuff to synthesize the chemicals, Donnie?"

Donatello nods. "I'd bet my shell that Shredder is going to try and work a deal with the Dragons and use that plant."

They remain silent for a moment. Destiny's eyes widen and she covers her mouth with her hand, a sharp inhale of breath lifting her chest.

"What is it?" Leonardo asks.

She slowly lowers her hand from her mouth, but it hovers near her collarbone. "Raph said that Casey was going after Shredder, right?"

"Yeah?" Raphael arches an eye-ridge.

"So if Shredder is going to be at that plant..." she continues.

Another second passes before they all realize what she means.

"Casey, you idiot," Raphael mutters.

----------

The turtles and Destiny stand outside Auman Chemicals. The turtles stand steak got up with their arms firmly planted at their sides while Destiny's arms are crossed tightly over her chest to act as a minimal shield against the whipping winds.

"Go in, get Casey out, possibly foil Shredder's plan in the meantime. Got it?" Leonardo reiterates.

"Got it," the other four answer.

Three of the turtles bound off towards the factory and Leonardo almost follows before he hears a beeping ringtone. He turns as Destiny snatches her t-phone and presses it to her ear, her back to him.

"Diaval? I'm okay, you're okay," she murmurs. "A mission came up. You need to rest." There's a pause. "I mean it. Your ribs are still healing and you're exhausted. I'll be okay." Another pause. Her lips twitch into a smile. "Alright, I'll be home soon. I love you."

She stiffens up. Her tail and wolf ears go still as she slowly clicks her finger on the end call button, leaving a dial tone beeping in the night that suddenly feels far too quiet. Leonardo arches an eye-ridge as she pivots back to him, her eyes wide and aimed to the ground.

"I...didn't mean to say that," she murmurs. It's so soft that Leonardo has to strain to hear it, leading him to believe that she isn't talking to him. "It just...slipped out. Why..."

"Because you love him," Leonardo answers. Her head snaps up as the turtle dons a weak smile. "Don't feel bad for saying it, Des. You can't help who you love."

She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out save for the squeaked whispers of the starts of words. Leonardo inhales, his shoulders lifting, and he starts off towards the factory.

"Leo—" Destiny starts, but he's already gone.

Her head droops, her fingers tightening around her t-phone as she grits her teeth. No matter what she does, she can never seem to stop hurting him. Her gaze flickers to the moon before she drags herself after them.

----------

The first thing that the turtles see when they get inside the factory is Shredder, and he's about to slice Casey into ribbons with Tiger Claw, Rahzar, Fishface, and Emery watching with a sick amount of joy. Leonardo and Raphael lunge together, landing solid kicks to Shredder's chest before he can do anything.

"What?!" he exclaims as the two brothers land on the railing in front of him.

"Aw yeah!" Michelangelo whoops as him and Donatello drop down behind their enemy.

"Destroy them!" Shredder bellows. "Do not let them near that vat!"

"I don't need you guys. I had this," Casey shouts as the turtles move to flank him on all sides.

"Yeah, you totally didn't like you were about to become Casey-sticks," Raphael says, shooting him a quick look over his shoulder.

The turtles launch into action, each taking on a different Foot Clan member: Donatello with Fishface, Raphael with Tiger Claw, Michelangelo with Rahzar. Destiny appears in an above window as the carnage thickens, her ears swivelling and her nostrils flaring slightly as she surveys the scene.

On any other day, she'd be racing into that battle without a second thought, uchigatana slicing through the air like fan blades on the highest setting, but not tonight. Tonight, she's off her game. All she can think about is that she told Diaval, of all people, that she loves him. She didn't think she'd tell him like that, in such a random way, so...out of the blue.

Destiny's pupils dilate as she snaps back to the present just in time for a dagger to lodge itself in the wall next to her head. The ringing vibrations of the metal infiltrate her ears as she readies her sword, fierce gaze latching on the leopard below her. Destiny smirks just the tiniest bit as the leopard's snarl deepens. Just leave it to Emery to ignite the fighting fire in Destiny's soul.

As Destiny engages her recurring foe, she notices just a few things that have changed about Emery since the last time they saw one another, things that are all the more glaringly obvious thanks to the fact that they're no longer in a dark dungeon; her weapons stash has a new pistol and a machete, plus there's an arching bite mark on her shoulder.

Emery's tail flicks as she notices where the wolf's eyes have travelled to. "You like my new marking? You bite hard."

Destiny has a brief flashback memory of her wolf jaws clamping on Emery's shoulder during the invasion of New York, and she grins. "It suits you."

Emery snarls and whips out her daggers, spinning them as she lunges, and Destiny blocks hastily and adjusts her footing before parrying the attack.

"How's Diaval? I do hope he wasn't too harmed," she purrs.

"He's doing just fine, no thanks to you," Destiny hisses.

They reengage without another word. Meanwhile, Rahzar starts up the conveyor belts all around the factory while Michelangelo is still on them, forcing the teen to run and dodge the various sharp objects that come flying at him.

"Yes, run, you little fool," Rahzar rasps, tapping his claws against the control panel for the belts with every word. "Run!"

"Who's running, Rahzar?" Michelangelo shouts, leaping up the walls and launching himself at his enemy. "Booyakasha!"

He kicks the dog in the face. He lands, launching off the control panel and repeating the action three or four more times. The evasive turtle laughs and leaps away with Rahzar in hot pursuit.

Leonardo and Shredder keep fighting, grunting and swinging their blades at each other with malice in every swipe. Shredder catches Leonardo's katanas with his gloved hands and shoves them away before grabbing the turtle's face and ramming him into the railing. The momentum sends the two of them tumbling off, Leonardo letting out a scream.

Shredder grabs onto a ledge as he falls, stopping his descent, while Leonardo lands hard on a lower level right near the glowing mixing vat bubbling with a suspicious orange liquid. He groans and gets up, turning to face Shredder as he lands in front of him.

"This is it, Shredder. You're not gonna walk away from this," Leonardo utters.

"I have no time for idle threats, turtle," Shredder growls. They lunge and clash together again.

Casey stands in the middle of everything, watching with wide eyes as the fray surrounds him in a flurry of shouts and metallic clanging.

"Hockey boy," an accented voice says from behind him.

He spins around to see an overly-tattooed, muscled Asian man in sunglasses: Hun, the new leader of the Purple Dragons and the man behind Casey's earlier humiliation. The teen rolls his eyes.

"I will end you," Hun snarls.

Casey readies his hockey stick. "Let's go."

He races forward and aims his stick, but Hun's leg snaps out and knocks him back. He grunts in pain, but tries again. He's kicked back again. Unwilling to give up, Casey retaliates and manages to ram his foot into Hun's gut. Hun, although surprised, hides the shock and straightens up, removing his sunglasses and cracking his knuckles as he bares his teeth as he advances.

"My opportunity to impress Shredder, to carve a position for myself, and you ruined it!" he yells, kicking and throwing punches at Casey.

"I'm crying on the inside for you," Casey retorts.

He throws down hockey pucks and starts shooting them at Hun, the Purple Dragon dodging every single one. When the last puck is shot, Hun catches it and holds it up for a second. He lifts it to his lips, drags his tongue across the rubber surface, then shouts and kicks Casey in the jaw as hard as he can.

On Donatello's end, it isn't all that much better. He lets out a groan as he's knocked into a storage room by Fishface, sending dust bunnies flying for new hiding spots. As the dust settles, Donatello takes notice of the orange containers lining the shelves all around him.

"Wait, chemicals? This must be where they keep all the additives for Mikey's cheesy snacks," he says, standing up and moving to the jars. He snatches one and reads the label, lifting a hand to his eyes as if adjusting invisible glasses. "If I can contaminate Shredder's chemicals..." He laughs darkly and rubs his hands together. "Oh, Donatello, I love your mind."

"What are you doing, turtle? Talking to yourself like a weirdo?" Fishface inquires, letting out a chuckle as he peers into the room.

Donatello clutches the container close to his plastron and deploys a smoke bomb, blinding Fishface and allowing him to dash away. The turtle sprints onto one of the many pathways dangling over the bubbling orange vat on the factory floor and lifts the container over the drop, fingers loosening. Fishface kicks it from his hand right before he can throw it in.

"No!" Donatello squeaks as the jar goes flying.

Both he and Fishface give chase after it. It rolls past Raphael as Tiger Claw pounds him into the ground. The red-masked turtle can hardly mutter out a question as to what it is before he's yanked back into the heat of battle by his current opponent.

Donatello leaps onto one of many conveyor belts and chases after the coveted chemical, but Fishface appears from a different direction and grabs it first. He cackles and lifts it up as if showing off a trophy, but a swinging machinery tool behind him knocks it from his hand.

"No!" Donatello shrieks. The container spirals downwards, falling...falling...

It lands in Michelangelo's hand; thankfully, the one not holding nunchucks, and the orange-masked turtle looks at it in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Phew," Donatello breathes. Michelangelo turns and throws the container at Rahzar, making the skeletal dog shriek and whimper in pain. "No!" Donatello cries.

The container ricochets off a wall and smacks into the back of Emery's head, making her yowl. Destiny laughs at her enemy's surprise, then notices the container as it bumps against her ankle. Destiny picks it up, turning it over and frowning at what the big idea behind it is, when Emery rushes at her. Her dagger cuts across the wolf-girl's arm, making her shout and drop it as her hand flies to the wound.

The container finally comes to a stop behind Hun on the platform that he and Casey are duelling on. Casey notices it for a brief second before Donatello's voice reaches him.

"Casey, get that container into the mixing vat!"

Casey looks to his friend, then at the container. He adjusts his grip on his hockey stick and changes his footing. "Goongala!" he hollers, ramming an unsuspecting Hun right in the gut. The gang member smacks into a wall and Casey grabs his collar before sending him flying into a nearby vat. "Later, scum! I mean, Hun!"

The teen laughs almost maniacally as he picks up the container.

"Stop him!" Shredder commands.

Tiger Claw lands behind Casey, grabbing his neck with one meaty paw. He sets off his jet pack and goes sailing into the air with Casey in tow. The hockey player grunts and swings a well-aimed kick to the tiger's crotch, making him yowl in pain and drop his passenger. Casey touches down and takes off along the conveyor belt, using the container as a makeshift hockey puck. Fishface lands in front of him, a wide grin stretching his fishy lips.

"Where do you think you're going?" he cackles.

Casey shoots the chemical between the fish's legs. When his assailant is distracted, Casey skates by and smacks Fishface into a wall, reclaiming the important item.

"Later, Fishface!"

Rahzar snarls as he too attempts to stop Casey, but the teen dives under the dog's claws and sends the container sailing away. As it goes flying, Tiger Claw, Rahzar, and Fishface all dive for it. Before either of them can reach, Casey appears and smacks it downwards with the practiced sweep of a slap shot.

"He shoots." The container sails into the vat with a splash. "He scores!"

"No! You fools!" Shredder shrieks. He's abandoned his duel with Leonardo, the blue-masked turtle also distracted by the sudden change of events.

Destiny lands a hard kick to Emery's jaw and sends the leopard over the edge of the nearest railing. The wolf girl's eyes turn to the vat, as do everyone else's.

"What is that gunk, Donnie?" Raphael asks, racing to his brother's side.

"It's the secret ingredient in Mikey's cheesy balls," Donatello responds.

"Yeah!" Michelangelo celebrates. "Wait, what?"

Donatello's pupils dilate and he backs away from the railing. The vat is bubbling even worse now, sending globs of gunk everywhere. "Let's get out of here!"

The six teenagers leave the factory in a hurry as the vat explodes, bathing the entire place in glowing orange goop.

----------

"I've gotta hand it to you, Casey," Raphael comments as him, Casey, and Leonardo relax on the couch inside the lair. "You kind of saved the day."

"Not to mention you took on Shredder, and you're still in one piece," Leonardo points out.

"Aw yeah, Casey! High three!" Michelangelo whoops as he smacks his friend's hand, hopping over the couch and settling down next to Raphael.

"Yeah, you're in one piece, but still bruised," Destiny comments as she checks Casey's stomach and arms for anything really bad. "How're the bruised ribs feeling?"

Casey shrugs. "Ah, I'm fine. Can't even feel them."

Diaval glances up from his tractor magazine. "Mhm...sounds nice," he grumbles.

Destiny smiles lightly, her eyes flickering to the faint scratches on Casey's torso, and her ears flatten against her head as she stands up. "Diaval," she says, turning to her friend. "I'm going to make some tea for Sensei. Do you want some?"

Diaval's face brightens just slightly. "Mhm." He nods a few times.

"Earl grey with chilli flakes?" she clarifies. When he nods again, she bows her head. "Sounds good. I'll be back."

She heads off to the kitchen, tail swinging as she hums something under her breath. Her hand travels to the bandage around her arm, her nails scratching at it absentmindedly.

"You guys are the best," Casey says, flashing smiles to the males in the room. "I couldn't have done it without you, but don't think I'm one hundred percent a team player, 'cause Casey Jones is still a solo vigilante of the night, a mysterious lone hero in a world of evil."

He smiles nonchalantly and settles back into his seat. Raphael and Leonardo glance at one another, eye-ridges lifted, and Raphael exhales through his nose.

"Whatever," he mumbles.

Michelangelo flops onto the floor in front of the TV, starting to channel surf. Diaval flips a page in his magazine and his lips part in awe at the shiny tractor he sees. Leonardo hooks his hands behind his head. Raphael yawns.

Donatello emerges from his lab with wide eyes and a fearful pallor as Destiny comes in from the kitchen with a mug of fresh tea in each hand. Donatello clutches a small test tube in his own hands, the slight tremble of them more noticeable thanks to the liquid inside the tube, and every set of eyes falls on him. Destiny hands Diaval his tea, but lingers to hear what Donatello has to say.

"Guys, this is even worse than I thought," he says, his pupils darting to the tube. "Shredder's mixture...it's not an explosive."

"So what is it?" Raphael asks.

"I think he's upgrading the formula he used on Diaval and Destiny," Donatello continues, biting his lip as he runs a hand over his head. "He's changing it into a full out mind control serum, something he could use on Karai...or us...or every single person in New York City."

There's audible gasps from everyone in the room. Destiny goes completely still, her heart rate picking up substantially as memories come rushing back to her, drowning her in a flood of fear and panic. Why can't she breathe? Why is this room suddenly too small? She can taste the blood, hear the sobs and the screams, cold, pain, darkness, closing in—

Her breathing becomes sporadic as she stumbles backwards, her head starting to pound and make her vision blur. Her mouth is moving and she's mumbling something but she can't even hear herself. The mug in her hand smashes to the floor and she's mildly aware of Diaval standing up and Leonardo saying her name.

"No...no..."

"Des?"

"Destiny!"

Without another word, she faints, hitting the floor as her world spirals into blackness.