Song: Shut Up! - Simple Plan

Ignoring the searing pain leaking out from my wounds, I dart over to the cage that contains Multeye. The spider skitters to the far corner as I try to tug to door open. The bars won't budge.

"I can't get it open!" I call to the others in a panic.

Michelangelo and Elizabetta appear at my side to offer me assistant, but the bars are too tough even for that. They seem to have melted together from the heat of the room. No amount of pulling is going to get them open.

"We have three seconds, you guys!" Donatello announces. He and Raphael race over to force us away from the cage.

"But my mom will die if we leave her here!" Elizabetta protests as she struggles against Raphael's grip. "I can't lose her again!"

My heart breaks to watch her struggle so much. She shouldn't have to lose her family to all this madness. It isn't fair.

Through Elizabetta's thrashing, it's impossible to get out of the building in time. The timer on the screen flips to one much too quickly, and then to zero.

"Get down!" I shout. Instinctively, I dive onto my brothers and Elizabetta to shield them from the blast. I cover my head and wait for death to consume us all.

But it never comes. Instead, a weird laugh fills the room instead. I cautiously lift my head to see a man in a lab coat had materialized and stopped the bomb. But it isn't Stockman. The man is tall, but not very muscular. He has light brunette hair and striking green eyes that remind me of-

"Lizzy!" I breathe as we all climb back onto our feet.

Just as I predicted, Elizabetta is staring with wide eyes at the man. Her face sparkles with horror and fear. She keeps a hand on her sheathe just in case she needs to draw her dagger.

"It's... It's you!" she gasps in horror.

"What?" Donatello looks confused. "How do you know this man, Lizzy?" he questions in puzzlement.

"He was there when I got injected with that serum!" she exclaims. "He works for Baxter Stockman!" I can practically see her heart beating out of her chest. She tries to take a step away from him and she smacks right into Raphael's chest.

The man seems a bit offended at what Elizabetta stated. "I don't work for Baxter. I am his boss," he corrects, before taking back on his wicked grin. "I run this whole operation. I even created that useless spider mutant," he adds as he gestures to the caged creature. "Marvelous, isn't it?"

I grit my teeth. Elizabetta's feelings are hurt enough without his blunt, cruel words. It takes everything in me not to launch at him.

"It's nice to see that you've finally made some friends," the man continues, his gaze observant. "When you mother kicked me out, you were too shy to even look your peers in the eyes."

Elizabetta's eyebrows raised. "What are you talking about?" Her voice shakes. "I don't even know you!"

"You really don't know who I am?" The man shakes his head. "I expected more from you, Liz. Your mother always claimed that you inherited my wits."

My stomach clenched. I was right; he is related to her. The hair and skin tones. Their painfully identical eye colors. The way they hold themselves. There's no hiding the connection.

Dad?" Elizabetta barely says in more than a whisper. She takes another step back and Raphael has to hook his hands around her arms to stop her from running into him again.

"That's right," the man smirks evilly. "But there is no more time for introductions. I have some business to take care of with your mother here."

As he walks over to the cage, he slips a remote out of his pocket. We all stare in pure shock as he climbs onto the top of the cage and presses a command on the handheld device. The cage slowly begins to ascend to the roof, his laughter echoing back down to us, and the spider looking down at us with a sad look in her many eyes.

"No!" Elizabetta screams and breaks free from Raphael's grip. She stands just below the cage, staring up at it with rage in her gaze. "Give my mother back!"

The response that comes is not audible. Instead, it's physical. A small, sharp object comes soaring down. None of us have time to react before the dangerous item lands straight into Elizabetta's arm.

"Ow!" she yelps and falls back onto her rump.

"Lizzy!" I gasp and race to her side. Half of the needle is buried in her skin, and the other part juts out. I carefully remove the pin, and Elizabetta lets out a sigh of relief when it's out.

"Thanks," she murmurs as I help her to her feet.

I give her a small smile and open my mouth to reply, but I don't get a chance to. Donatello's shout interrupts me.

"He's getting away!" the purple-clad turtle yells as he points after Elizabetta's dad. "He's almost escaped to the roof!"

"I've got this," Raphael replies. He shoves the rest of us towards the door and forces us out into the hallway.

"Raph, what-" I try to quiz him.

"Just go!" he snaps. Just as we escape the grasp of the room, he spins around and tosses a sai at the computer. It must trigger the bomb, because the room bursts into flames.

All of us wild in panic, we bolt for the exit. Around us, the building explodes at an ear-piercing rate. The stinging of my wounds slows me down, but I use that as an excuse to take up my team's slack. I'm not going to save myself until I know that they're out of trouble.

I feel heat on my back as I run out of TCRI. Just as a loud boom sounds behind me, I dive and roll out of harm's way. I crash right into my team, who are already huddled outside in the shadows.

As I recover from the life-saving sprint, I sit up and look at my battered companions. They bear the wounds of war and despair. The truth discovered today is a burden to us all.

Looking up, I see that blowing up the building wasn't enough. A helicopter floats into the sky with Elizabetta's dad waving gallantly to us from it. Momentarily, I catch a glimpse of Multeye locked in a cage in the back. Then the hovercraft fades into the night sky.

I glance at Elizabetta, my heart wrenching once more. Her face is buried into her hands to hide her tears. Michelangelo sits beside her and rubs her back gently. Donatello and Raphael sit with their heads bowed in reverence.

My vision becomes glassy and I turn my head away from them. My gaze lifts upwards to take in the stars. From the beginning, I told Michelangelo that Elizabetta was his responsibility. Yet somehow, she became mine as well.

But I failed her.