As the Party Wagon pulls to a stop inside the abandoned subway tunnels, Leonardo pushes open the hatch in the roof and scans the surroundings, his eyes white. He opens it the rest of the way, leaping out and landing on the tracks in front of the van.
The other three turtles follow, front-flipping and landing in formation around their leader. Destiny and Diaval slide open the side door and climb out, already readying their weapons.
"You think we'll be safe down here, dudes?" Michelangelo asks.
"Shh!" Raphael and Donatello scold, fingers to their lips.
"Full ninja mode," Leonardo orders.
April and Casey leave the van and with that, the team sets out. They steal through the silent tunnels, moving along ledges and rails with relative ease. They duck behind the pillars of an old subway station, watching for patrolling enemies before moving across the platform and coming to a stop at the edge of the nearest wall.
"Shh. You hear that?" Raphael asks softly.
The familiar robotic noise of Kraang droids breaks the silent, followed by the familiar screech of Baxter Stockman's mousers. The droids push past the turnstiles with a loud creaking noise, heading up the stairs above the teenagers' hiding spot.
Casey reaches up to pull out a hockey stick, but Raphael stops him by shoving an arm against his chest. One Kraang notices the noise, looking around.
It emerges next to their spot but finds no trace of the mutants and humans. It beeps and moves forwards, scanning the area but finding no one. Up on a few pieces of piping and maintenance platforms far above, the group breathes a sigh of relief.
"Phew, that was close," Leonardo whispers.
"Too close," Destiny agrees.
"April, you think you can use your powers to track Splinter?" Donatello asks. "You did it before."
"I can try, but you said his mind is no longer one with his body, right?" April inquires. "Which means he could be crazy or unconscious, or...or who knows what?"
"We still need to find him," he retorts, unable to hide the waver in his tone.
There's a moment of brief silence where everyone thinks over their options and possibilities for where their Sensei could be.
"Ooh, what about the lair?" Michelangelo asks.
----------
The lair is what would best be described as dismal. Empty Kraang bodies litter the floor, pinball machines are tipped over, and burn marks scorch the ground in various places.
Leonardo's white eyes appear above a stone ledge leading into his home. Two more pairs appear as Raphael and Donatello pop up beside him, followed by glowing green, pale reddened pink, and baby blue.
"Alright. Mikey, Diaval, you stay here," Leonardo orders.
Michelangelo pops up next to his brothers. "But I want to—" he starts.
He's pulled down by April, his shouts muffled. Diaval slowly sinks back into hiding when he feels Casey poke his shoulder and gesture for him to back off. Before the three turtles can hop over the turnstiles and go in, Destiny places a hand on Leonardo's shoulder.
YOU ARE READING
Forest Mutation (Book Two)
Fanfic"In Saskatchewan, when I couldn't fall asleep, I'd watch the moon and think about how across the country and over the border, you were probably out on a rooftop beneath the same moon. You were the first person I enjoyed the moon with. Every other ti...
