Ugh I'm so sorry guys, I've been as busy as fudge. Will update more often now though. I hurried to write and update this chapter, so it's not edited, sorry.

Author Note: I do not own TMNT.

Leo, for his part, wasn't about to sit around and wait for the Shredder to arrive on their doorstep. No one felt like sleeping despite Splinter's orders – Mikey was used to running on little to no sleep and Donnie was an insomniac – so instead, Splinter decided to wear them out.

Donnie became Splinter's newest ninjutsu student, but Leo couldn't see any future in it for the scientist. He was too timid and too much of a pacifist, but Splinter insisted on teaching him so he could defend himself. Leo was set against Mikey, in order to find out exactly how much training the blond had received.

And so Leo was introduced to Michelangelo's nonconventional ninja tactics, which included but were not limited to water balloons, backflips, and (to Leo's horror) licking. When it came to being a normal ninja, Leo was better, but the second he caught Mikey in a headlock, the blond proceeded to lick Leo's hand. Needless to say, Mikey won that match.

When Leo complained to his teacher, Splinter merely shook his head and smiled.

Fed up, Leo turned pleading eyes towards his sensei. "I've trained enough. Let me go do a quick patrol around the sewers. If Raph does bring Shredder here, I can spot him before he arrives. We'll have time to escape."

Splinter considered it for a long moment before nodding once. "Yes… Yes, you may go. Take Michelangelo with you. I do not have the energy to deal with him this late."

Leo nodded anxiously. "Come on, Mikey."

"Cowabunga!" Mikey cheered, spinning his nunchaku before sliding them into his belt.

What Leo imagined was a leisurely patrol through the sewers, possibly teaching Mikey all of the twists and turns and shortcuts. What he actually got was chasing his younger brother through the tunnels as the blond shouted.

"Do you think the Shredder would come down this way? Oh, what about this? Or this way? Hey, Leo! There's a rat! Can we keep it as a pet?"

"You don't get out much, do you?" Leo grumbled, trying to keep up. "This is New York City. If you want a pet sewer rat, get it on your own time."

"Fine, fine…" Mikey looked down for a second before he perked up again. "Hey… What's that noise?"

"What noise?" Leo listened hard.

"It sounds like an echo of footsteps, coming from down that tunnel." Mikey pointed, and Leo heard it.

Footsteps, accompanied with the heavy clanking of armor. There were two pairs of softer footsteps with it, and Leo didn't wait around to see who it might be.

By the time the Shredder, Karai, and Raphael stepped into the main subway tunnel, Leo and Mikey had vanished.

"I could have sworn I heard voices…" Karai muttered.

Raphael shrugged. "Maybe you did. They might be expecting us. Let's go, the lair's right down this tunnel."

Leo and Mikey burst into the lair and rudely interrupted Splinter, who was teaching Donnie the ways of meditation.

"I was right. They're coming, Sensei!" Leo babbled. "The Shredder and two others. We have to go."

"Are you sure, Leonardo?" Splinter pressed. "It could have been a construction worker."

"Wearing full armor?" Mikey butted in, taking Leo's side. "I heard it too!"

Splinter stood up. "In that case, it will be safer if we leave now. Leonardo, take your brothers topside to the old theme park."

"And what will you do, Sensei?" Donnie asked, pale-faced.

"I will distract them and take a different route. Hide in the theme park until I come for you."

Leo wasted no time in protesting. "But you're injured!"

"And a master ninja," Splinter chuckled, unconcerned. "I will be fine. Leonardo, Michelangelo, your first priority is to take care of Donatello. He cannot defend himself."

"And a ninja must always defend those who cannot defend themselves," Leo finished hurriedly. "I know, I know. Let's go!"

Mikey and Donnie filed out, but Leo paused before joining them. He glanced over at his teacher. "Please stay safe, Sensei."

"I promise, my son. Now go." Splinter watched the three of them go impassively before sitting down cross-legged on the floor. I will meditate to overcome my injury, and then I shall face the Shredder. He is going to hurt my sons, and I must not allow that to happen.

Leo made his brothers stay completely silent as they ran down the abandoned subway tunnel in the opposite direction the Shredder was coming. He didn't let them talk until they finally reached a ladder and climbed up to the surface.

"So where are we going exactly?" Mikey asked, taking in a huge breath of fresh air. "I spent most of my life locked up like Rapunzel, I don't know much about the lay of the land. …Hey, if I grew out my hair, I could totally-"

"The only abandoned theme park near here is the Coney Island theme park," Donatello interrupted before Mikey could continue. "If we hurry, we should be there by morning."

"A theme park?" Mikey's blue eyes grew huge. "Oh man! I can't wait!"

"Will you both shut up?" Leo hissed angrily. "Be completely silent and follow me."

Taken aback, they obeyed, creeping through the shadows of the empty streets.

Leo didn't let them speak even when they reached the theme park, just as dawn broke. Red morning light shone through the rickety wooden roller coaster, casting strange, dim shadows.

"There's nobody here, Leo," Donnie didn't bother to whisper as he pointed out the obvious. "Are we allowed to speak yet?"

Leo shot him a miffed look. "Fine. Now we wait for Master Splinter."

"What if he doesn't show?" Donnie asked innocently. Mikey looked horrified.

"Donnie! Of course he'll show! He's a master ninja!"

"So is Shredder," he pointed out.

Leo folded his arms across his chest, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Donnie, as much as I appreciate your optimism, Sensei will come. He always comes."

Not willing to carry on the argument, Donnie shrugged. "Whatever you say, Leo."

Mikey climbed onto a nearby carousal and plopped down on the nearest horse. "So, guys, who do you think the other people in the tunnel were?"

"One of them has to be Raph," Leo reasoned. "He's the only one who would know where the lair is. The other would probably be Karai or another one of Shredder's high-ranking minions."

"Then are you sure he'll be fine?" Donnie pressed. "If I heard correctly, Raph whipped your butt, and then add Shredder and some other competent ninja? Sure sounds like Master Splinter doesn't have a chance."

"Hey!" Leo snapped. "You don't know anything about Sensei! You've never seen him fight. How would you know?"

Donnie held his hands up in surrender. "I don't. I'm just saying he's outnumbered."

"Well, it sure doesn't sound like it," Leo grumbled.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice sounded directly next to Mikey. "I hate to interrupt the brotherly bonding time, but I believe you have something we want."

Mikey yelped and fell off his horse. He crawled towards his brothers on all fours as they stared at where the voice came from. There was no one there.

"Oops! I'm over here," it called again, and Leo whirled around as someone tapped him on the shoulder. Still they saw nothing.

"Invisibility tech?" Donnie looked impressed. "Fascinating…"

"Isn't it?" the voice chuckled. "Now, give us what we want."

"Who are we? How many invisible dudes are there?" Mikey asked, looking around in panic.

"Idiot, looking for them isn't going to help!" Donnie snapped at him.

Leo ignored both of them. "What do you want?"

"Right, that…" the voice hummed. "What did we want again, Mr. Steranko?"

The three boys' attention turned to a dart-throwing booth, where a large, hulking figure crouched in the shadows. The figure laughed in a deep, accented voice.

"We want freaks' lives!"