Annalise fiddles with her t-phone, reading through some messages from Melanie. She wants to have a video call before they meet in person, so they're trying to figure out something that will work for both of them. Annalise is already juggling school, a part-time job, a social life, and therapy, so trying to squeeze in a video call feels next to impossible. Oh, and it's almost the end of the school year too. When did life get so full?

"So, you excited?" Michelangelo asks.

She looks up at him and he's gazing at her expectantly, sucking down his glass of lemonade. She can't shake how strange it feels to be sitting on a patio, at a café, with her disguised mutant boyfriend. She keeps expecting a cute freckled turtle when she looks at him, not a cute freckled teenage boy with blonde curls.

"This is so good," he says, gazing at his drink with stars in his eyes. He licks his lips. "Awesome!"

"Glad you like it," she says with a tiny smile.

"Mm!" He nods, then his smile falls. "Oh, wait, you didn't answer me."

She purses her lips. "I mean, Melanie seems nice, and if Diaval and Destiny say she's good, then I trust them. I just...don't know if she can help me."

"Why not? She helped Des. She knows about mutants so you don't have to hide stuff."

"I think I'm just nervous."

"That's totally okay, dudette. New things are scary."

"But the therapy thing isn't new. I've got a therapist. I know all the ins and outs but..." She hunches, propping her head on her hand as she turns her phone off and lays it on its face on the table. "Going to a new therapist because I shot a mutant fly? It feels silly."

"It can't hurt to talk to someone. It'll help you with the guilt."

"Yeah, sure, I just..." She fidgets with her fingertips. "What if...it's more complicated than that?" Michelangelo cocks his head like a confused puppy and she sighs. "Like, I hate that it happened. I...I didn't mean to kill him but..."

It feels awful in her mind and even worse in her mouth. She's pretty sure she knows what she feels—she's spent enough time thinking about it when she should have been sleeping—but it doesn't make it any easier to come to grips with.

When she thinks about what brought her to pick up that gun and shoot Stockman, it all boils down to protecting Michelangelo. When she tries to picture a different ending, like if she had the chance to change the past, the only thing she changes is where she aims. Maybe she hits Stockman's arm instead. Maybe his shoulder. Somewhere less vital than what she actually struck.

But she'd still shoot him. She'd shoot him if it meant Michelangelo stayed alive.

That's just...not the most fun thing to grapple with.

"I should just give it a chance," she says with a small sigh. "Sorry for being so weird, Mikey."

"I like your weird. Nothing to be sorry for."

She flushes a little, tucking some loose hair behind her ear. She hears Michelangelo slurping more lemonade, humming to himself happily as he does so, and she props her head on her hand as she glances out at the street.

Then, she frowns.

Near the café is an alleyway, but parked in that alleyway is a white van. At a glance, she doesn't think much of it, but the longer she looks at it, the more her curiosity grows. The license plates are...wrong, almost fake-looking in their randomness, and she can't imagine someone getting vanity plates for a vehicle like that. What's more, there's some kind of logo on the back that she can't read from this distance, but isn't familiar the way logos should be.

Maybe she's just searching for a distraction, but she's learned to never doubt things that seem weird. She never expects anything good from random white vans.

"Mikey," she whispers. He looks up from his drink, eyebrows lifting. "Look."

She points as discreetly as possible and his gaze follows. His eyes widen and he sets his glass down, getting to his feet.

"Let's check it out."

"Now?"

He nods. "I think I know that van."

He hurries across the street towards the alley and Annalise hurries to dig her wallet out as she stands up. She throws the money for their drinks and pastries down before following her boyfriend, hoping the waiter won't be too upset at them disappearing.

Michelangelo's already in the alley, hunched behind a dumpster as he squints at the van. Annalise sneaks up behind him, taking the spot at his side as they both watch.

"I knew it," he whispers when she reaches him. He meets her eyes. "That's Bebop and Rocksteady's van."

"Who?" she asks.

"Villains," he says. "Some of Shredder's mutant henchmen." His attention returns to the van and he frowns again. "What are they doing here?"

He starts to move and she grasps his shoulder, shaking her head. "You're in no condition to fight. We...we should just go. Tell the others."

Michelangelo's arm, while healing quickly thanks to regular treatments from Splinter's mantras, is still in a cast. The whole reason they went out today was to get him some time outside the lair and to stretch his legs while taking it easy.

"We'll just look," he promises. "If they're there, they won't even recognize me."

He winks at her and, before she can protest, he's up and sneaking towards the van. After a brief moment of hesitation, she gives in and follows him, praying that the van is abandoned.

Closer to the van, Annalise realizes that the logo she couldn't read earlier is of some hip hop guys and a music staff, declaring "Bebop Records: Rocksteady Rascals."

"Their names are really Bebop and Rocksteady?" she whispers.

"Nah, I named 'em that. You gotta have a mutant name. Wanna guess where I got the idea?"

She smiles a little. "I think I know."

Michelangelo grins back at her and sneaks along the side of the van, reaching the driver's side window. He slowly lifts himself up, peering inside, and his shoulders relax as he looks back at her.

"They're not here," he says.

She comes closer, less worried about sneaking, and peeks in too. There's not much to be said about the inside of the van—fuzzy blue dice hang on the windshield and a mixtape sits on the dash but otherwise, there's nothing of value, nothing of notice.

She wanders around to the front of the van, looking it over again with a furrowed brow. "So...you said these guys ditched town when Shredder died, right? Why would they be back now?"

"Karai told Leo that she'd seen Tiger Claw around," Michelangelo says. "Don't know why though. I—"

"Hey, you!"

Annalise squeaks and immediately ducks, hiding against the front grill. She can just see Michelangelo still standing by the driver's side door, already raising his hands in surrender as he smiles at the newcomer. Annalise lowers herself to her knees and looks underneath the car, just able to see a pair of striped feet (paws?) next to a pair of grey hoof-like feet and purple techno-boots.

"Uh...hi," Michelangelo says.

A low growl, and an equally growling voice says, "You have no business here."

"Aw snap, TC, a human? What do we do with him?" a second voice asks. It's more high-pitched and rhythmic in its tone.

"I can do the squishies. Am very good at the squishies," the third voice says, heavily accented with Russian.

"Squishies?" Michelangelo repeats. "Uh, you don't have to do that, dudes. I'm just a totally normal human and I've never seen you before."

"Scram," the growling voice comes again, "or I'll make you regret it."

"Um, totally, dudes. Just...you're parked illegally! I wouldn't want you to get in trouble!"

Michelangelo backs up and Annalise sits up, pressing her hands to her mouth. The footsteps get closer, the ground shaking a bit, and Annalise doesn't want to imagine the mutants on the other side of the van.

"Uh-uh. No way, son. I always park well. Parking tickets are way too expensive, yo!" the squealing voice says.

"He is lying," the growling man says. Annalise slides her mini backpack off her shoulders, unzipping it as slowly and quietly as she can. "Who are you? What is your purpose here?"

A hand grabs the back of Annalise's shirt and she lets out a scream as she's yanked to her feet. Her backpack drops to the pavement, open but out of reach, and she can just see the handle of her onō sticking out. Michelangelo's head whips to her and his face goes white.

"No! Let her go!" he snaps.

Annalise looks at her captor just as a low, purring laugh comes from them. The female mutant holding her by the shirt is a leopard, slender yet muscular, and she has a bit of caramel-coloured hair on the top of her head. Her tail lashes as her glowing golden eyes fix on Annalise, and Annalise feels like nothing more than prey—pathetic, weak prey.

"Now, what are you up to? Who sent you?" she demands, her lip curling and revealing a sharp set of teeth.

"U-Uh...uh..." Annalise stammers.

"Just let her go," Michelangelo says, hands still up. His baby blues dart between the leopard woman and the other three (Annalise can now see that it's a mutant tiger, a warthog man, and a rhino man). "We'll leave. We were just looking around. We...uh...we like hip hop and the van looked cool."

"Still lying," the tiger says, coming closer again. His nostrils flare and his one golden eye seems to glow with malice. "You smell familiar, boy..."

"Most teenagers smell like me," Michelangelo says, a wobbly smile on his face. He takes another step backwards. "It's probably my deodorant! Why are you smelling me, dude?"

"No, it's not that."

Annalise grits her teeth, sucks in a sharp breath, and tosses caution to the wind. She throws her elbow back into the leopard's gut and she grunts, but her grip loosens for a second. Annalise rips away from her and lunges for her backpack, feeling her shirt collar tear as she goes. She grabs the onō handle, whipping around and swinging it just as the leopard tries to grab her again. The mutant yowls as the blade slices across her paw pad.

"Run!" Annalise shouts.

Michelangelo grabs her hand and, in a flash, they've hopped onto the hood and then the roof of the van. They sprint like their lives depend on it even as the mutants roar behind them, disappearing around the corner and racing down the sidewalk.

"Holy chalupa, that was awesome!" he says as they run.

Annalise nods, digging through her backpack again and handing him his grappling hook. "Next time, let's ignore the van and the evil mutants!"

He takes the hook, stopping for just long enough to wrap his casted arm around her middle and for her to hug his neck, and he deploys it. With a gut-lurching tug, they fly up into the air and land on the roof high above the street, running again.

"Are they still following?" Annalise asks.

Michelangelo looks back. "Oh, yeah. Definitely. Tiger Claw at two o'clock!"

She wishes she hadn't asked. The tiger man, Tiger Claw, is flying, a gun in each hand, and he roars as he fires at them again and again. One of the guns chars anything it hits, leaving scorched black marks, and the other leaves ice crystals behind. Annalise and Michelangelo do their best to avoid them.

"Oh geez oh geez oh geez—" Annalise huffs, her lungs already starting to burn.

Michelangelo pulls out his t-phone, texting frantically as he runs. "Dudes...running...from...TC. Need...backup...n—AH!"

A glob of purple glue latches around Michelangelo's ankle, dropping him onto his face, and Annalise stops on a dime. She kneels next to him, trying to cut through the goo with her onō, but she doesn't get far. There's a disembodied laugh, a short "hee-hee" and then something blasts the onō from her hand. She yelps, gripping her wrist, and she hits the roof as another wad of goo wraps around her.

The warthog man shimmers into existence, dancing from foot to foot. "Uh! Yeah! I gotcha, son. Daughter? Whatever," he says.

The rooftop shakes as the rhino man appears, carrying a giant golden hammer and sickle. "Da! You cannot runs from the Bebop and Rocksteady!"

"Quiet, you two," Tiger Claw snarls. Behind the rhino, the leopard woman arrives, and Tiger Claw turns to her. "Emery, are you alright?"

"Oh, I will be," she says, stalking toward the teens. One paw is still dripping blood. She kneels next to Annalise, claws unleashed as she hovers them near Annalise's eye. "Just as soon as I take her eye—"

"P-Please! Don't!" Annalise begs. "We were just scared! I'm sorry! Don't eat us!"

"Ugh, nasty," Bebop says, snorting a few times as he sticks his tongue out. "We aren't about that life, yo!"

"I could be," Tiger Claw says, kneeling next to them again. His eye flickers to Michelangelo's t-phone, widening. "What's this?"

"Nothing?" Michelangelo suggests weakly.

Tiger Claw scoops up the phone, eyeing the text message Michelangelo just managed to send before getting knocked down. "I knew it. You're friends with the turtles!"

"Turtles? What turtles?" Michelangelo asks.

"Do not take me for a fool!" Tiger Claw roars. Annalise flinches and Emery flashes her teeth in a malicious grin. "You may be of use to us yet."

Emery stands up, eyes narrowing. "What are you thinking, brother? We have bigger things at hand than bothering with two useless humans."

"It cannot hurt to have bait. The turtles may have information about Stockman."

Annalise's blood runs cold and she immediately looks at Michelangelo as realization dawns in his eyes.

Emery's tail lashes as she turns again to the humans. "Fine. As you wish."

She swings her foot and Annalise feels only a sharp, brief pain before she blacks out.

----------

"That should be the last of them. Thanks again for helping."

"Of course, no problem at all."

Leonardo sets the cardboard moving box down, dusting off his hands before he rests them on his hips. Nearby, Shinigami has already started opening boxes, cooing over the things inside. Shiro has curled up in a lone corner for a nap.

It's weird being inside Bradford's old dojo without being on some top secret mission, and yet here they are. The place is dusty from abandonment, all the fixtures left behind covered in their new fuzzy coat of grey paint. The air is musty, untouched from the years.

The turtles were surprised when Karai initially told them of her new endeavour. This Bradford dojo had been left unattended and, after her brief revenge mission, Karai saw fit to take it under her jurisdiction. She and Shinigami can reopen it, offer ninjutsu lessons, and start earning an honest living.

She just needed some help getting all moved in.

Leonardo is just glad to see his big sister finding a new purpose. He was worried, for a while, that she would let the Shredder's memory hang over her, but she's chosen to move on. Even now, she stands in this dusty old dojo with a sense of pride in her every movement, right down to the smile on her face. Even with her new lease on life, the slyness in her smile never goes away. She stares at the dojo like it's a blank canvas.

"This is a new start, Shini," she says.

"I cannot wait!" Shinigami squeals. She looks around and her nose wrinkles a bit. "Definitely going to need some TLC, though."

"Can we open a window in here? My sinuses are killing me," Raphael says as he re-enters, followed closely by Donatello, Destiny, and Sarina, all of them carrying cleaning supplies. As if on cue, he sneezes, and Sarina blesses him.

"I've got it," Destiny says, hurrying to the nearest window.

She gets the latch off and, after a bit of wiggling, it pops open, letting in some much-needed early evening light. Dust motes dance through the rays and she turns around, her tail wagging a bit.

"So, should we start cleaning?" she asks.

"The sooner the better," Karai says. "We'll break for pizza in a bit. On me."

"Shredder's paying for the pizza?" Raphael asks. "Looks like he's finally doing something good."

Karai smirks. "Oh, he's paying for this reno too. Don't you worry, Raphael."

"Let's go, ninjas. The faster we clean, the faster we get food," Leonardo says.

"Choose your weapons wisely, my friends," Sarina says lightly, gesturing to the pile of dusters, rags, mops, and brooms they brought in with them.

Everyone surges forward to grab their choice of cleaning utensil and spreads out, getting to work.

They don't get very far in when a faint buzzing sounds from multiple belts and pockets. The three turtles pull their phones out, Destiny and Sarina close behind, to see a half-written message from Michelangelo on their screens.

"Chased by TC?" Leonardo repeats. He frowns a little, looking up at his family, and Karai frowns at the name. "Weren't he and Annalise on a dinner date?"

"Yup."

"Uh-huh."

"Indeed, they were."

"He was wearing a patch, right?" Leonardo asks.

"Put one on before he left," Donatello says.

"Shell," Leonardo mutters. "Donnie, track him. We've gotta go."

"Is Mikey in trouble?" Karai asks, eyes narrowing.

"Yeah. Guys?"

"I've got the signal," Donatello reports. "Sarina?"

"Loading it," she says. "I'll send it ahead to the ShellRaiser."

"Karai, I'm sorry—" Leonardo starts.

She shakes her head, raising her hand. "Go help him. Call me if you need backup," she says.

He smiles. "Thanks, sis."

He races from the dojo, his brothers, Destiny, and Sarina close on his heels as they head for the ShellRaiser. Leonardo hopes and prays that, whatever is happening, they'll be okay until they get there.

----------

Annalise is getting real tired of getting knocked out only to wake up in a strange place. If she had a nickel for every time she woke up in an abandoned warehouse stuck to some kind of goo with giant mutants watching over her, she'd have two nickels.

Which, to quote Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, right?

She's still in the warthog guy, Bebop's, goo, but now she's been tied to Michelangelo's back. She can feel him breathing, low and steady, and it encourages her to steady herself.

"You good, Lisey?" he murmurs.

"Yeah," she whispers back. She wiggles her hand and feels the brush of five slender fingers. "Patch is still going strong?"

"No sign of turning back yet," he replies. "I should have a few hours left."

Annalise looks around. The warehouse is small and crowded with boxes. From the looks of it, nothing important, and to be totally honest, she doesn't care. What she does care about is that these mutants are looking for Stockman and she knows exactly what happened to him.

She hears a door creak open and the ground shakes with heavy footsteps. Michelangelo nudges her once and then she feels his hand go limp. Immediately, she droops her head, closes her eyes, and pretends to be unconscious.

"Yo, TC, we should call the turtles, let 'em know we've got their friends," Bebop is saying. He lets out a squealing laugh. "I've been practicing my ransom voice. Wanna hear?"

He clears his throat, then lets out a strangled squeal as Tiger Claw growls. "Shut up, you fool. We have to be smart with this."

"Stockman's communications went dark a week ago," Emery's smooth, yet still growly, voice comes next. Annalise's skin crawls at her words. "The turtles could have found him. We may need to bargain for his release if that's the case."

"I highly doubt that," Tiger Claw retorts.

Emery lets out a hiss. "We need him. If we don't—"

"If the fool has gotten himself in trouble, we will make do," Tiger Claw snaps back. "You two, have Bradford and Xever had any luck on their end?"

"Naw, dog," Bebop says. "Said the trail's cold as vanilla ice."

"Da," Rocksteady's deep Russian voice adds. "No dices."

More mutants? Annalise wonders what kind of creatures they are, and if they're half as scary as the big cats here. Another low growl, then further footsteps, and she derails her train of thought in an instant. She tries to relax and breathe slowly, like she isn't anxiously eavesdropping on their every word. Michelangelo is still and calm at her back.

"Let's see."

Tiger Claw's voice is close, too close, and Annalise tries not to tense up. Then, she feels the barrel of a gun nudge her shoulder, her jaw.

"Wake up, humans," Tiger Claw says. She feels him jostling Michelangelo. "We have some questions for you."

Annalise slowly raises her head, blinking a few times and trying to look disoriented. It helps if she focuses on the headache still poking the side of her brain. She hears Michelangelo groan softly.

"Dude, what was in that lemonade?" he drones. Then, a second later, "Oh, right. Mutant dudes."

She's honestly impressed by his acting skills. Just another reason to admire him, she guesses. Annalise looks up at the tiger, plus the leopard, rhino, and warthog lingering behind him.

"Tell us your names, now," Tiger Claw demands. Behind him, Emery raises her un-bandaged paw and flashes a sharp grin.

"I dunno, tiger dude. My mom said I shouldn't talk to strangers," Michelangelo says.

Tiger Claw snarls and puts his paw around Annalise's throat. She squeaks, eyes wide, and Michelangelo tenses.

"Do not be smart with me, boy," Tiger Claw growls. "I have ways of making you disappear if you won't cooperate."

"U-Uh...okay," Michelangelo says. "I'm Vernon. She's Irma. We're seventeen. She's allergic to shellfish. I like jazz music. We like to skateboard and—"

"Bah," Tiger Claw spits, shoving Annalise back to the floor. She gasps a little when his crushing paw leaves her windpipe. "I did not ask for your life story!"

"I panicked, dude. I don't wanna disappear and I don't want you to hurt my friend!"

"I think he's an idiot," Emery snarls.

"Hey, lady, that's hurtful," Michelangelo pouts. "How would you like it if I called you names, huh?"

She snarls again and Michelangelo lets out a very convincing squeak of terror as he shrinks against Annalise's back.

"Tell us," Tiger Claw says, lowering himself into a squatting position. "We're looking for an acquaintance of ours, and we know you know the turtles. Do you know if they've had any contact with a mutant fly?"

"Not that I know of," Michelangelo says.

Annalise's mouth is far too dry and when Tiger Claw's one yellow eye switches to her, all she can do is shake her head. He leans closer, eye narrowing.

"Your heart beats fast in your chest, young one," he says. "What have you seen?"

Again, she shakes her head. She doesn't trust her acting skills right now, not when she's thinking of the weight of the gun, the feeling of the trigger, seeing Stockman's body plummeting towards the earth.

"Tongue-tied, huh?"

He reaches out and she braces herself, but she feels the goop holding her against Michelangelo separate. It takes a second and then, just as she relaxes, Tiger Claw has her around the throat again, hoisting her into the air. She chokes a little, gripping his forearm and straining with all her might to hold herself up.

"Dude, seriously, I think you've got a man-handling problem!" Michelangelo shouts, still very much tied.

"I'll break this one. Something tells me she knows—"

There's a loud bang and light floods in just as five shapes enter. Annalise sags a little with relief, exhaling, as the turtles, Destiny, and Sarina appear.

"Let her go, Tiger Claw!" Leonardo commands, katana raised.

"Woah, is that the turtles?!" Michelangelo asks. "Hey! HEY! Turtles, it's me! Your old pal Vernon!"

"Would someone shut him up?" Tiger Claw growls.

"Vernon?" Donatello repeats.

His eyes travel to Annalise and she gives him the best "shut up and roll with it" look she can with just her eyes widening. Her arms are starting to burn with the effort of stopping her from choking.

"Oh, yeah," Donatello says. He spins his bō staff. "That Vernon."

"Put her down," Leonardo repeats, firmer, deftly ignoring the Vernon thing and moving on to more pressing matters. "We'll handle this like men."

Tiger Claw chuckles. "You've gotten bold," he says, "but you are still just a child."

Annalise sucks in a deep breath, still straining. Can she even talk with his paw around her? She just wants to go home.

"They're looking f-for Stockman!" she cries. Her grip slips and she winces as her weight falls against the tiger's arm.

The turtles' faces fall with slight shock and Tiger Claw shoots a look at the girl. Then, he releases her, dropping her to the floor in a heap as she starts to cough. Emery stalks closer, keeping a close eye as Tiger Claw focuses on his enemies.

"Stockman's dead. Your mission is pointless," Leonardo says.

"Liar!" Emery hisses.

"No, it's the truth," Destiny insists, claws out and every muscle tensed for battle. "Check his old laboratory. We brought his body there. Unless something found him, he should still be there."

"What?" Bebop asks, more in disbelief than anything. "How in the heck is he dead?"

Tiger Claw stares at all of them, jaw clenched, then he turns. "Steranko, contact Xever and Bradford. Tell them to check his old lab."

Rocksteady nods and pulls out a phone, but after a second of staring at it and his giant grey sausage fingers, he hands it to Bebop to do the typing. Bebop takes it without a word.

"I'm sorry," Leonardo says. "It was an accident. We didn't mean for it to happen."

"It was you?" Tiger Claw asks, his voice quieter but no less deadly. "I should return the favour."

"It was an accident," Leonardo repeats. He exhales as he straightens, lowering his katana slightly as his gaze darts to Emery, then again to Tiger Claw. "I don't want to hurt you. Leave the city and never return, or next time we won't be so merciful."

"What? Leo, we can't just—" Raphael starts.

"Quiet," Leonardo orders, and Raphael shuts his mouth, eyes wide. Leonardo's face is dead serious.

The former Foot clan looks at each other, at the turtles, at the two blonde humans still tied up behind them. The air is thick with tension. Annalise isn't sure whether it's that or her choking experience that leaves her feeling breathless.

Rocksteady's phone buzzes.

"Bradford got the scent," Bebop reports when he reads the screen. "They found him."

"And?"

Bebop's piggy snout flares and he bows his head. Again, Tiger Claw's expression is tense, but betrays little.

"This is our city," Leonardo says. "If you insist on staying, we'll chase you out again. We've done it before."

"Brother—" Emery starts.

Tiger Claw raises a hand to her, eye fixed on Leonardo. "Very well, turtle. We will go."

Emery lets out an indignant sputtering noise. Bebop snorts in surprise and Rocksteady makes a noise like a horse flapping its lips, his ears flicking.

"Are you serious right now?!" Bebop asks.

"But the—" Rocksteady starts.

"It does not matter," Tiger Claw snaps. He shoots another venomous glare at the teenage mutants. "Do not think this means peace."

"I wouldn't be foolish enough to believe that," Leonardo retorts.

"Free them," Tiger Claw says, jerking his thumb at Michelangelo and Annalise. "We have to regroup."

Emery glares at her brother but, after a second, turns and slices through the ropes keeping Michelangelo and Annalise tied. They leave quickly after that, disappearing out the doors on the other side of the warehouse, and the teens immediately rush to them.

"What the shell was that, Vernon?" Raphael demands.

Michelangelo giggles, flashing a grin. "They didn't recognize me, bro. Didn't want to let the cat out of the bag, you know?"

"Are you alright?" Sarina asks, helping Annalise to her feet.

"Oh, yeah, totally," Annalise says, still a little hoarse. She glances at the door. "You've fought those guys before, huh?"

"Old enemies," Donatello confirms.

"Leo, I can't believe they listened to you," Destiny says. "Well, I mean, I can. I was about ready to leave the city too, with the way you were talking—"

Leonardo flushes a bit. "Des, come on..." he says.

"No, I'm serious!" Her expression falls, eyes narrowing. "Do...do you think we can trust them?"

He purses his lips. "We'll do extra patrols. Let Karai and Shinigami know. If they come back, then..."

"Then we'll deal with it," Donatello says.

Michelangelo steps to Annalise's side, intertwining their fingers together. She steps into him, huddling against his side.

"Can we go home?" she asks. "I need a serious break from—" She almost says "mutants" before realizing the company she's in, and changes it to, "—people."

"Am I people?" Michelangelo asks.

"Not in the slightest."

"ShellRaiser's parked and waiting," Raphael says, putting his sai away as he heads back to the door. "We'll drop you two off at Lise's place."

"Thanks, bro," Michelangelo says with a grin.

----------

Emery flinches as Tiger Claw roars, sending another helpless dresser splintering against the wall. The room is in shambles, victims of Tiger Claw's brief fit of rage, and Emery just stands and watches it all. Outside, cold night air blows through the pine trees.

"This will not do," Tiger Claw says, his shoulders heaving. "It will not do."

Emery's tail lashes. "We will find another scientist."

"What other scientist will be as adept with mutagen as Stockman was?" Tiger Claw demands. "This will set us back!"

"The world is a big place," Emery says. It takes everything she has to keep her voice calm because, truthfully, she's just as angry as him. "New York cannot be the only place the Kraang have set foot in. We know that better than anyone."

Tiger Claw keeps his back to her, his paws forming fists over and over again. "It will set us back," he repeats.

Emery eyes the doorway at her back. It's cracked open, just a smidge, but it's enough that she can see the glow of blue light coming from within.

"The Coffin is still doing its job. Stockman made sure it could withstand anything short of a nuclear apocalypse," she says. "The master can wait. He will not know any better."

Still, her brother heaves. She narrows her eyes at his back and checks her claws. The bandage around her palm sends a hot spike of anger through her. That girl, Irma...she will pay. Just like Destiny. Just like all of them.

She exhales. "I am going to find Alopex."

That catches his attention. He whips around, his single eye wide. "No!"

"She has her connections and I wish to find her. Maybe she will know of other scientists, other experts."

"You would dare seek her out after what she did to me? To us?"

She steals a glance at her brother's waist. She does not need to see it to picture the stump where his tail once was. She has only heard stories and only from her brother's point of view. She was so young when it happened that she has no memories of it.

Her brother lied to her for many years. She needs to know the truth that he won't tell her.

"Time away will do us good," she says. "I will take Steranko and Zeck with me. You can have Bradford and Xever. I suggest you search for alternatives just as I will."

"Someone will need to guard the master."

"Then you do it."

His lip curls. "I do not like this. Alopex is unpredictable, and the turtles—"

"I am her beloved baby sister. She will not hurt me."

She wants to believe that it's true. If it isn't, she will rid the world of Alopex herself, and lift the weight from her brother's shoulders, even if it means taking it upon herself.

"As for the turtles, they will still be there when we're ready for them," she continues. She turns away from him and moves to the door. "I will leave soon. Don't worry, I'll keep in contact when I can."

"Emiko."

She freezes. She hasn't gone by that name since she was very small. Takeshi gave her a new name, a name that would keep her safe, he said. It feels wrong to hear it now.

"Remember who I have raised you to be," he says. "Be smart."

"Of course, Takeshi," she says, and her voice sounds far away to her as she pushes the door open. The night air is cool against her fur. "I am no fool."