Song: Walk Away - Black Veil Brides

Apparently, Christmas break is the best time to study for anatomy. As New Years creeps around the corner, I catch up with all the work I missed. By some miracle, Evelyn is able to help me understand the basics, though I still struggle with most of it. Oh well; a little knowledge is better than none. I just need to pass. I'm not looking for an A+ by any means.

   The limited daylight hours are spent with Evelyn. She drills me until the sun sets. Then we goof off until I have to head back home, which is pretty late into the night. It's silly, but I desire to spend every minute I have with her. Even if it involves stupid anatomy, I still want to be around her.

   My nights are used to patrol the docks. I bring some snacks, hunker down in a hiding spot, and wait to see if Tiger Claw shows up. Most of the time, I barely even notice the cold because I am too focused on scoping out my enemies. I just want to put an end to their plot so we can fix the zombants and everything can go back to normal.

   I know that they aren't going to be back at the docks until New Year's Eve, but I'm too stubborn to accept that. Tiger Claw is so sly that I won't put it passed him to pick up his shipment early. So, hanging out around the pier on late nights is the perfect plan. Well, almost perfect, if I didn't run a risk of getting frostbite. In addition, nights are long and boring. And cold. Very, very cold.

   Unfortunately, the mutants never show themselves. They just stay in their hideout like a bunch of cowards. While they're locked away, I bet the skin off my back that they are concocting an even more devious plan than just explosives. I don't even have to guess what their motive is for all their madness. Once a criminal, always a criminal.

   Occasionally, my patrols lead me right to the turtles. Sometimes, Lucy will be skirting along with them. She can't help with the skillful part of their missions, but she quiet enough to tag along without getting them caught. Though even if she stomped louder than an elephant, Raphael's demeanor proves that he would still find a way to get her to tag along.

   The jealous feelings I got when I saw Raphael and Lucy together before have faded away like dew in the afternoon sun. In fact, I feel warm around them. They bring back fond memories of snowflakes and hot chocolate, Evelyn's tiny smile and the twinkle in her eyes. My heart smacks into my chest and snaps me out of my thoughts.

   On New Year's Eve, I meet up with the turtles again. As a team, we head for the docks, the chilly air swirling around us. My skin has hardened against the winter atmosphere, however, and I press on without a problem. The snow offers no surprises for me.

   "No, Brock used an Onix in the fourth episode!" I argue, flashing my eyes at Michelangelo and daring him to fight back.

   "Who cares?" Raphael growls as his gaze passes protectively over Lucy, who is walking silently at his side.

   "Brock wasn't even in the fourth episode, dude. He wasn't on the show yet," Michelangelo protests and shakes his head. "Don't you know this stuff?"

   "Yes, he was!" I insist. I kick an icy pebble and watch it slide down the sidewalk.

   "This is about Indigo League, right?" Donatello asks quizzically as his russet eyes glow through the darkness. It's the first time I've seen him out of the laboratory since Christmas, and he seems excited at the prospect of his freedom. He had finally come up with a concoction that might cure the zombants.

   "Yeah," I say, annoyed with Michelangelo's disagreements. Why can't he just admit I'm right?

   "I'm pretty sure that Brock didn't make his debut until episode six," Donatello observes as he taps his chin.

   Karai, who is slithering beside us, closes her eyes for a moment in annoyance. She dramatically flicks her tail and pushes her way through to Leonardo's side muttering, "Idiotsss..."

   "He was in ep four!" I shoot back at Donatello impatiently. Searching for someone to back me up, I turn to Leonardo. "Wasn't Brock in episode four of Indigo League, Leo?"

   Leonardo, who has been lost in thought, glances at me. "Huh?" His face is shadowed with confusion.

   "Indigo League!" I repeat, then I translate further. "Pokémon."

   Leonardo blinks, then he looks straight ahead again. "I don't know," he shrugs. "I'm kind of busy right now," he reminds me, but I ignore his subtle hint.

   "Do you know anyone from Pokémon?" I ask, exasperated. He's supposed to be a geek.

   "I know Ash and Pikachu," Leonardo answers without even sparing me another glance.

   I let out a frustrated groan. "You disappoint me." As I slow down to walk beside Michelangelo, I return to our earlier debate. "Anyway, Brock was in episode four, and he used an Onix to battle Pikachu."

   "No, he wasn't! Dude, you got all your facts wrong," Michelangelo scolds with a shake of his head.

   "My facts are just fi-"

   I start to argue, but Leonardo shushes us. "Guys, there's someone down at the docks!" the blue-clad turtle gasps.

   As if on cue, all seven of us dive behind a huge stack of crates. We peek out one by one, until we all look like frogs behind a log. We watch Tiger Claw, Fishface, and Rahzar digging around some boxes, their hideous faces making me itch with rage. I want nothing more than to beat them to pulps.

   "They're collecting the nuclear explosives," Donatello whispers. "We can't let them find the last shipment. If we do, we're done for."

   "Right, team," Leonardo murmurs. "We gotta get this cure to Elizabetta and the others, but we cannot leave without stopping Tiger Claw and his henchmen. You know what to do."

   "Let's go destroy some scumbags!" I roar.

   My team and I leap out from behind the crates. We advance towards Tiger Claw, Rahzar, and Fishface with smirks, our weapons at the ready. With the creepy shadows growing behind us, I like to think that we look pretty rad.

   "Give it up, Tiger Fluff," I shout mockingly as I twirl my hockey stick through my fingers. "You ain't stealing anything tonight."

   Tiger Claw turned his piercing yellow gaze on me. Instead of appearing threatened, he looks pleasantly surprised to see us. A cold stone instantly drops into my stomach as I realize we walked into a trap.

   "Good to see you fools again," Tiger Claw purrs slyly as he pauses in front of us. His gaze trails over Karai. "It is especially good to see you. We have got a special gift for you, traitor. But I am afraid none of you will be walking out of here alive."

   "You won't be walking at all!" I spit as I rear my weapon back. I leap into the air and yell, "GOONGALA!"

   My weapon connects with the tiger mutant's head and he stumbles sideways. I seize the opportunity to nail him in the abdomen and remove a stink bomb. I prepare myself to throw it into his mouth, but I am hindered as a hand grabs my wrist. It's Donatello.

   "You can't use that here!" he exclaims, his eyes alit with horror. "It could activate the nuclear chemical in such a close range!"

   Just then, I feel something hard blindside me. I roll across the ground like a barrel, unable to stop myself. "Whooooooa!" I drag my scream out until I crash into a wall of crates. To add to the humility of the situation, the whole stack comes tumbling down on me.

   "Ahh!" I curl up into a ball, expecting to be crushed to death. But when the rumbling stops, I open my eyes to see that I survived. I'm just being cocooned in by several crates.

    I try to shift them around, but they are too heavy. I grunt with the effort, and I give up when I realize I'm getting nowhere. I'm going to be trapped under these crates forever.

   Sounds of battle leak into my confided space. I hear Michelangelo squeaking in pain and Leonardo shouting for Donatello's help. Raphael seems to be telling someone to hide, and I assume he's speaking to Lucy. Karai's battle-hiss soars close by. The thought of losing them motivates me to move the boxes again. I place my hands on the crate above me and push up with all of my might.

   Nothing happens.

   Frustrated, I shove my weight upward once more. I groan as I continue to fight against the obstacle, determined to go help my friends. Finally, the crate loses its balance and rolls off, leaving me a way to get out.

   Ecstatic with my victory, I sit up and let out an exclamation of joy. Unfortunately, my celebration is cut short when I realize it isn't myself who moved the crate. It is Tiger Claw, and he now has a gun pointed to my head.

   "Nice try, hockey boy," Tiger Claw sneers, his lips drawn back into a hiss. His black stripes furrow against his eyelids, making him look angry. His lean muscles show from underneath his pelt, revealing the edge that he had developed since the last time I had seen him. Behind him, the tough figures of Rahzar and Fishface are fighting behind him. It's like they've grown two sizes in the past few months. How are they so strong all of a sudden?

   Quick as a whip, I leap into the air and skate around Tiger Claw. I dodge three shots from the gun as I remove hockey pucks from my pocket. I smile a bit when I remember Evelyn had given them to me. Then I shake my head; it isn't the time to think about her.

   "Taste puck, feline!" I roar as I launch eight of them at Tiger Claw.

   The mutant manages to avoid six of them, but the seventh smacks him right on the nose. It makes his eyes water from pain, giving the eighth one the perfect opportunity to hit him in the chest. He trips over a crate and falls backwards.

   However, just as Tiger Claw starts to collapse, his gun fires again. I try to roll out of the way, but I'm not fast enough. As the shot gets close to me, it morphs into a fishing net and engulfs me. I fall to the ground, thrashing around as I attempt to break free. It doesn't work, though; the material is unnaturally strong.

   "Guys, help!" I call out. But as I look around, I notice my teammates are in the same condition that I am, each of them trying to find their own escapes as well.

   I look up as Tiger Claw approaches me, his teeth twinkling from his smirk. I expect him to kill me, but he seems to have other plans in mind. He scoops me up and tosses me over his shoulder.

   I spit out the net as it gets hooked around my mouth. "Hey, put me down!" I demand loudly as I beat on his back. "Let me go, freak!"

   "Casey, shh!" Leonardo orders. He and Karai are being carried by Rahzar a few feet away. "It's New Year's Eve. The city is crawling with more people than normal! We can't draw their attention to us!"

   "Oh, don't you worry about that," Fishface said with a wickedly cruel grin. "They'll know about us all soon enough."

~*~*~*~

   "Watch it!" I snap as I'm thrown down onto the cold floor.

   "Stay here," Tiger Claw growls. "Not that you have much choice," he adds with a slight purr as he walks away. Rahzar and Fishface snicker as they follow their leader to the other side of the room.

   I grit my teeth and let my gaze wander the room. We are definitely in the Shredder's lair, but it isn't elegant and tall as it once was. Instead, the roof has caved in and the walls are starting to crumble. The only light that bleeds in is from the full moon, which still isn't bright enough to reveal the whole room.

   However, I know enough about the Shredder's place to recognize it as his throne room. The glass that cover the watery floor has been repaired. I swallow a lump in my throat as I remembered Charlotte cracking the glass to save us. Her idea was brilliant, which made the pain of losing her all the more real.

   I shake my head. I can't get lost in grief. Not now.

   Narrowing my eyes, I survey the rest of the room. I recognize a disgusting fly mutant buzzing around a desk of chemicals. Three small crates are beside him, indicating our plans of stopping them from getting nuclear chemicals had failed. Nearby the table are Bebop and Rocksteady. They are eagerly talking nonsense, while Rahzar and Fishface judge them.

   "I hope Lucy had the sense to go back to her house," Raphael mumbles. There's no denying the worry in his green eyes as he fidgets with the net wrapped around his body. "She hid really well, but she might be paralyzed from fear right now."

   "I can't find the zombant serum," Donatello whispers frantically. "I don't know if I dropped it or if it's tangled in the net where I can't see it."

   "Dudes," Michelangelo whimpers. "I gotta use the bathroom."

   "Shh," Leonardo hushes the group.

   Tiger Claw appears holding a needle in his paw with a hungry gaze passing over Karai. "Now, for your gift," he snarls almost pleasantly as he reaches for the serpent mutant.

   "Back off!" Leonardo snaps as he advances towards Karai to pull her back. In an instant, Rahzar is pulling him away from the serpent mutant and pinning him down.

   "Leave her alone!" I butt in, but I suffer the same fate as Leonardo as Rocksteady slams his foot down onto my back just enough to hold me in place. Helplessly, I witness Bebop and Fishface grab onto my other pals as they cry out for Karai.

   Tiger Claw grabs a hissing and snarling Karai and throws her into the center of the room. At the press of a button, straps lift out of the paneled floor and collapse around her. She seems unaware of this feature as she tries to thrash her way out of the net holding her captive.

   "You betrayed Master Shredder," Tiger Claw growls just loud enough for me to hear. "You are just a cub, yet you abandoned the ones who raised you. You teamed up with our enemies, and now it is time for you to return to where you belong- whether you come willingly or not."

   "NO!" All five of us scream in unison as the mutant tiger pounces. We watch in horror as the needle sinks into Karai's neck, and she starts hissing in agony. Her movements become more and more desperate, until unconsciousness takes over from the pain. She goes limp, and Tiger Claw rises again.

   "What did you do to her?!" Leonardo shouts angrily as his ocean-blue eyes flash with rage. All the love and time he had spent on Karai begins to show through as he watches his sister slowly fall apart. Everything he had done to bring her back to humanity was wasted.

   "I have returned her to her rightful owners," Tiger Claw responds with darkness lacing his tone. He retracts the straps holding Karai down and slices her free from the net.

   Karai awakens. Her jade green eyes and snake-like tongue send chills up my spine. All sanity has faded from her facial features as she slowly sits up. Her movements are stiff and precise, almost as if they are programmed. Her expression promises death as she makes direct eye contact with me.

   A movement from Donatello pulls my attention away from her. He has his T-Phone and he seems to be dialing a number. I shift around impatiently as I wait for him to make a call. My hope returns when I figure out who he is talking to, however.

   "April!" Donatello violently whispers into the receiver. "You've got to come help us. We're at the Shredder's lair and-"

   "What's this?" Tiger Claw's hiss interrupts the rescue call. "Trying to escape, are you? But the fun is only just beginning." He snatches the phone from between the net and crushes it in his fist.

   "No!" Donatello yells in horror, fighting against the rope material.

   "Hand over the rest of your phones," Tiger Claw orders. "Now!"

   Reluctantly, the rest of us comply. Tiger Claw steals our only way to survive and stows them away into a desk. He then snaps his fingers and Karai steps forward, a devious look in her eyes. Bile rises in my throat as I realize what is about to happen.

   "Karai," Leonardo breathes in horror.

   "Is she not exquisite?" Tiger Claw rumbles with a smirk. "Stockman perfected the mind control serum, so she is completely under my command. She will do anything that I say. It only seems fair that I would put her into practice on you turtles."

   He snaps his fingers again, and Karai leaps forward in an inhuman way. Her tongue slithers out of the side of her mouth in a hungry way. Clearly, she is not in her right mind at all. She isn't Karai anymore; she's just a robot.

   Beside me, I feel Leonardo tense up. I have a bad feeling that he isn't going to defend himself if it comes down to it- or when it comes down to it.

   As Karai creeps closer, Tiger Claw lets out a single command:

   "Kill."