The days bled into weeks at the Hamato children searched high and low for their missing father. They all spread out across the city, each of them covering a different piece. Walking along the busy streets, Miwa had her hood up, hands in her pockets as her eyes scanned every shadow. The sun was rapidly beginning to rise, bringing an end to yet another night of fruitless searching as Miwa attempted to stifle a yawn. She placed her fingers against her ear where a small earpiece resided, speaking quietly into it.
"I'm sorry guys, but I'm still not seeing hide nor tail of dad." she muttered. "Any luck on your end Donny?"
Donny had taken to the rooftops, sending out a homemade drone he'd cobbled together to find Splinter. Unfortunately even with every different type of scope and camera he could think of, it still wasn't enough to locate anything.
"No luck on my end." Donny replied solemnly. "Mikey, see anything at the dump?"
Mikey leaned against a pile of garbage, a frustrated frown on the usually chipper turtle's face.
"I've seen a bunch of rats, but none of them are ours." he said, kicking a can in anger. "What about you Leo?"
Leo had scoured just about every sewer tunnel within a 10 mile radius of the remains of the Wolf Hotel, or what remained of it. He'd even brought Leatherhead along to see if his tracking skills could come in handy. Unfortunately, neither of them had found anything.
"The tunnels are devoid of any signs of Splinter." Leatherhead lamented.
"What about you Raph?" Leo asked. "Any luck getting the Purple Dragons to talk?"
Raph's fist connected with an unlucky Dragon's face, his nose breaking with an audible crunch. Another Dragon fell victim to a baseball bat wielded by Casey. The two hotheads had gone to town on the first batch of Purple Dragons they'd come across, venting weeks of frustration and fury upon them. Though they held back just enough to get a few choice questions in between punches, they'd come up empty.
"None that are still conscious." Raph spat, kicking the Dragon whose nose he'd broken.
"If someone's snagged Splinter, the Dragons are clueless." Casey noted, sliding his mask up to catch his breath. "This is the fifth group we've interrogated and so far nothing."
"Hey Hisako, you've been quiet." Miwa realized. "You doing alright?"
Hisako laid on a rooftop dominated by a satellite array, leaning against the supports as she held a tissue against her nose. All around her were similar bloody tissues, a result of her overusing her power to the point that she was more than a bit dizzy and disoriented.
"Just…. Need to rest." She assured them.
"Hisako, how many nosebleeds have you had?" Leo asked a bit worried.
"I'm fine Leo." she insisted, doing her best to sound stronger than she was. "Though Donny's idea to use the satellite array as a makeshift Cerebro is a failure."
"It was worth a shot." Donny told her.
Casey let out a yawn as he and Raph cleared out the last of the Purple Dragons.
"Guys, it's almost dawn. We all should probably head in soon."
"Agreed." Miwa interjected. "Hisako, need one of us to come get you?"
"Nah, I'm good." Hisako assured her. "I'll meet you guys in the lair."
"See ya!" Mikey called.
With that, all of them hung up, returning for home. Hisako, however, remained on the roof, looking at her hand. She was shaking bad, and was starting to regret not asking for help. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late now, so she slowly attempted to get to her feet. The second she did, the entire world began to spin. She stumbled a bit, unaware of how close she was to the edge until she connected with it. Her already horrible balance collapsed altogether as she began to fall over the edge. However, before she could even fully fall off the roof, a gloved hand came from seemingly out of nowhere, grabbing her by her arm and pulling her back onto the roof. She ended up colliding with a large man in a long coat and dark glasses as he slowly ushered her away from the edge. Once there was no more danger of falling, the man gently lowered her to the ground, eying her with a note of concern.
"Are you alright?" He questioned.
Hisako blinked, trying to figure out exactly how her rescuer had just materialized out of nowhere. She finally just gave a single nod, taking a deep breath in order to calm herself. The man fished into a pocket of his coat, pulling out a chocolate bar. He held it out to her.
"Here." he offered. "I don't know if it will help, but it might."
Hisako shook her head.
"Sorry, but my dad told me not to take candy from strangers."
The man chuckled, then slid the bar back into his coat.
"He sounds like a wise man." he said.
Hisako gave a nod, looking up at the man. For some reason, something about him seemed familiar to her. It may have just been her current state, but she just couldn't shake the feeling.
"Umm, this may sound a bit strange..." she began, "but do I know you?"
The man gave a small, sad chuckle as he sat down beside her.
"Perhaps you once did." he told her. "But I doubt you remember me now, Hisako."
Hisako cocked her head in confusion, then she slowly inched herself away from the man.
"How do you know my name?" she asked
The man paused for a bit, then brought his face to his palm. The action got Hisako even more on edge as she fumbled for her shell cell. Unfortunately, her hands were still shaking badly and it just tumbled from her fingers.
"Who are you?" She demanded. "And how do you know my name?"
The man held his hands up in a passive manner.
"My name is Samson." he explained. "And I am a guardian."
Hisako's eyes narrowed. If she had the strength, she would have tried to read his mind. Unfortunately, she was sure if she tried, she'd die instantly of blood loss.
"Okay, that answers one question, but not the other." she told him. "How do you know my name?"
"I know more than just your name." Samson told her. "I know about your family as well. Your brothers, the crocodile called Leatherhead, and the rat who used to be a man."
Hisako's fists clenched as she struggled to her feet. She stumbled again, but this time caught herself on the satellite. Samson watched her, but stayed where he was, making sure to keep his hands on plain sight.
"How do you know this…?" Hisako demanded.
"I know this because the ones that I work for have been trying to find you for the past 14 years." He told her. "I also know that you have been searching for your father for some time now."
"How..." Hisako's words began to slur and she could feel the world beginning to go black. "How could you..."
Samson took a cautious step forward, eying her carefully.
"I know where he is." He told her. "And if you will allow me, I will take you to him."
Hisako went to say something, but that's when the last of her strength left her. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she fell forward unconscious. Samson moved quickly, catching her before she hit the ground. He gathered her in his arms, checking her for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. He activated his wrist communicator, speaking into it quickly.
"This is Samson. I need a pick up at my location ASAP."
Adjusting her more comfortably, Samson walked off, jumping down to ground level, leaving Hisako's shell cell amidst the bloody tissues.
…..
Leo paced around the lair, his shell cell to his ear, attempting to call Hisako for the third time that morning. It had been about an hour since they'd all gotten back, and she was still missing.
"Hello, you've reached my voicemail. Considering only 9 people have this number, if you don't recognize my voice, than there is a very good reason why I didn't answer. If you are one of those 9 people, leave me a message."
The phone beeped and Leo let out a sigh.
"Hey Hisako, its Leo… again." he said, running his fingers through his hair. "We're getting a bit worried. Call me."
He hung up as he looked back at the others. Despite them all being exhausted, none of them were asleep. Not even Miwa.
"Didn't answer again?" Donny asked.
"Nope." Leo replied, sliding his shell cell into his pocket. "I'm starting to get worried."
Donny stood up, getting his shell cell out and activating the tracking feature on it. Glancing at the map that came up, his eyebrows furrowed as he realized where the signal was coming from.
"That's odd." he announced. "According to the tracker in her shell cell, she's still on that rooftop."
"Why's she still there?" Mikey asked. "I mean, the roof isn't the most comfortable place to take a nap."
Raph whacked Mikey upside the head, glaring at the orange turtle.
"She probably overexerted herself and passed out again, shell for brains." Raph snapped.
"If that's the case, then we better go and get her before some well-meaning bystander finds her." Donny suggested. "Or worse."
"Agreed." Leo said with a nod. "Miwa, mind staying behind in case Hisako comes back?"
"Not a problem." Miwa said with a yawn.
"Leatherhead, you coming?" Raph asked.
Mikey just shook his head as the large crocodile rose from where he was sitting.
"Dude, I can't believe you actually asked that." He said, slapping Raph on the shell. "Hisako plus unresponsiveness plus possible danger equals Leatherhead coming along."
Raph growled at Mikey, then they all made their way to the Shellraiser to go pick Hisako up.
…..
"According to the tracker, she still hasn't moved from the rooftop." Donny said as the Shellraiser pulled into an alley near Hisako's location. "Guess Raph's theory was right."
Leatherhead opened the back door of the vehicle, scaling the rooftop with ease. The turtles followed closely behind, opting to take the fire escape. Once they made it to the top, two things caught their attention. First, the sheer number of bloody tissues scattered about the roof. Second, there was a distinct lack of their sister anywhere.
"Okay… that is a lot of tissues." Leo noted.
"I don't get it." Donny said, rubbing his head. "The tracker says she should be here."
Raph poked at some of the tissues, knocking them off of Hisako's shell cell. He picked it up, gripping it tight enough that his knuckles turned a paler shade of green.
"Here's why." he called, tossing the phone to Donny. "Her cells here, but she's not."
"Okay, that's it!" Mikey suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone turned to him as the orange turtle began pacing around like crazy.
"We need to enact the buddy system!" he insisted. "Every time one of us goes off on their own, something bad happens! First Hisako gets kidnapped, then Leo gets hoodwinked, then he gets beaten up and thrown through a window, and now Hisako's missing again and we don't even know if she's okay!"
There was a second of silence before Raph spoke up again.
"You done?" he asked.
Mikey thought for a minute, then nodded.
"Yeah, I'm done."
Donny looked at the tissues, doing some calculations in his head.
"From the amount of tissues, and the approximate amount of blood on each, I can safely say that Hisako is not in any danger of dying of blood loss anytime soon."
"Why am I sensing a but?" Raph asked.
"But… she did lose enough that she'd be disoriented, off kilter..."
"Unable to defend herself." Leatherhead concluded, his fists clenching.
"That would explain the lack of signs of a struggle." Leo noted. "She was an easy target."
Leatherhead sniffed around, trying to find anything that could help. It was then that he caught an unfamiliar scent.
"There was someone here..." he declared, taking a deep whiff. "His scent is fresh, and is mixed with Oracles..."
Everyone gathered around the large croc.
"Anyone you recognize?" Donny questioned.
Leatherhead shook his head.
"No… They do not smell of the helmet men, nor of antiseptics."
"How about any heavy cologne?" Leo suggested. "It may have been Purple Dragons."
"No… I am sorry..."
"Can you follow the scent?" Leo asked.
Leatherhead gave a nod, then began following his nose, which took him back down to street level. Staying in an alleyway and out of sight of the rising sun, the trail ended where the alley met the road.
"It ends here..." Leatherhead lamented.
"Then whomever took Hisako most likely had a car on standby." Leo surmised.
"Then how are we supposed to find her?" Mikey questioned.
Donny pointed up at a nearby street lamp, where a camera hung monitoring the streets.
"That's how."
…..
Samson stood in the doorway of the infirmary wing of Galactic Enterprises, watching as a pair of doctors examined an unconscious Hisako. One of the pair walked over to Samson, causing the guardian to look up.
"How is she?" he asked.
"It's a good thing you brought her when you did." The doctor replied. "The medicine is working, and with any luck, she'll awaken soon, and in perfect health."
Samson let out a sigh of relief, then watched as the doctors left the room. As they did, the man with light purple hair came up beside him.
"Samson." he called.
Samson didn't even turn to acknowledge the man.
"The Council is furious right now." The man told him. "It was bad enough bringing the first one here, now you bring her?"
"I didn't have any choice, Mortu." Samson insisted. "If I had left either of them be, they'd both have perished."
Mortu let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Still, your actions have made a delicate situation ever more volatile." Mortu chastised. "What are you going to do when she wakes up?"
"As I said before, whatever the outcome of my actions, I will accept them."
"And what about the turtles?" Mortu added. "They will be looking for her."
Samson nodded.
"I will explain everything to them." He assured Mortu. "They have a right to the truth. The entire truth."
Mortu looked at Samson, then sighed again, but this time with a smile on his face.
"You always were the most benevolent of the Guardians."
Samson looked over at Hisako, a sad smile on his face.
"Not always."
…..
Donny sat in front of the computer in his lab, his brothers, Leatherhead, and Miwa all gathered around him.
"So you're saying that Hisako got kidnapped again?" Miwa asked. "You guys really need to have a buddy system or something."
"That's what I said!" Mikey exclaimed.
"Will you both be quiet?" Donny asked. "I'm trying to concentrate here."
"Sorry." Both Miwa and Mikey said in unison.
Donny got back to work, accessing City Hall, more specifically, the network of traffic cameras across the city.
"Alright, now I just need to pinpoint the exact location of the building, and rewind the footage by about an hour."
He brought up a specific camera feed, showing the alleyway they had just been in. As Donny rewound the footage, he saw a large van come up beside the alley, though the windows were tinted to hide the driver. Eventually, he rewound it enough to where he could see what was going on. From the shadows, a figure emerged, carrying an unconscious Hisako in his arms. Just before the van came and blocked the shot, Donny paused the footage.
"That's our guy." he declared.
Both Leo and Miwa squinted at the screen, recognizing the man.
"Hey Leo, isn't that the-"
"I think it is." Leo interrupted.
"Umm, care to fill us in?" Raph questioned.
"Before I led the Foot into your old lair, this guy claiming to be some sort of guardian confronted me." Miwa explained. "He knew about my connection to Shredder, and about my plans for Leo. To be honest, I thought he was one of your allies until Leo came and fought him off."
"Trust me, he's no ally." Leo assured her. "Especially now that he's taken our sister. Don, think you can find out where that van went?"
"Can Mikey scarf down a whole pizza in one setting?" Donny asked in return.
"What does that have to do with-" Mikey began
Raph slapped him, silencing him as Donny began following the van through the city.
"Alright, the van follows Main Street..." Donny narrated. "Goes west on Arlington… makes a right on Winchester… Looks like it's headed for the business district."
"We need more than that, Don." Leo reminded him.
"I know." Donny replied, continuing his search. "It seems like they're going down Biggs Avenue, and… they've stopped."
"Stopped where?" Raph asked.
Donny brought up a map of the city, triangulating the position of the building with known businesses in the area. After a moment, he found what he was looking for.
"Galactic Enterprises." Donny read.
"Galactic Enterprises?!" Mikey exclaimed in horror before getting a bored expression. "Never heard of it."
Donny brought up a google search, looking for Galactic Enterprises. He found the business' web site, scrolling through it.
"It seems that it's some sort of deep space company, responsible for the latest in interstellar monitoring and communication."
"Anything else you can find?" Leo asked.
Donny continued searching, then shook his head.
"No, nothing else I'm afraid."
"This place is practically screaming 'I'm a front, come check me out'!" Raph remarked.
"Well that's exactly what we're gonna do." Leo decided.
"Hold on guys." Donny interrupted, "I don't think it's gonna be that easy. I mean, remember what happened when we busted into that place?"
"I try to forget." Leo replied.
"That place?" Miwa questioned.
"A set of four letters we don't say around Hisako or Leatherhead." Mikey explained, pointing at the croc. "Unless you want your brain torn apart or your face ripped off."
Miwa shivered a bit at the thought.
"Donatello is right." Leatherhead interjected. "We must be careful about how we approach this."
"I'm afraid that leaves you out, big guy." Raph explained. "You and stealth don't exactly go hand in hand."
"Same to you Miwa." Leo added. "That guardian will no doubt recognize your face, and the last thing we need is another sister in trouble."
"Yeah, we already have to deal with that on a bi-weekly basis." Mikey interjected.
"Mikey, I swear if you don't stop-" Raph threatened.
"Give it a rest Raph." Leo told him.
Miwa plopped down on the ground, leaning against a column.
"Well, we're gonna need a way to breach the building's security, and unless you guys are friends with a rocket scientist, I don't see that happening anytime soon." Miwa commented.
The turtles the all looked at each other with growing smiles.
"No, but we do have the next best thing." Donny told her.
…..
Hisako slowly came to, sitting up and rubbing her head. As she came to her senses, she came to the terrifying realization that she was in some sort of hospital. Suddenly wide awake, Hisako fought down the urge to scream and curl into a ball, forcing herself to examine her surroundings to figure out what was going on.
Okay, analyze the situation. Hisako told herself, her hands searching her body for wires or sensors. Nothing… Okay, that's one good sign.
Her hands went up to her head, continuing her search for sensors. Thankfully, she once again came up empty, her fingers only entangling in her long hair.
Okay, that's another good sign. She thought.
As she felt her head, she caught sight of the IV in her arm, leading to a bag full of a strange, blue-green substance. Unsure of what it was, or what it was doing to her, Hisako wasted no time yanking it out of her arm.
I seriously hope that wasn't some dangerously unstable chemical.
Sliding out of the bed, Hisako was surprised to see she was still in her clothes, though her belt had been removed. It was laying on a small table next to the bed, along with her tessen. This confused Hisako a bit.
They left me my weapons, and they didn't tie me down… Something's definitely going on here.
Gripping her tessen tightly, Hisako tiptoed to the door of the hospital room. As she got close, it automatically slid upward, revealing a long, dark pink hallway. Hisako raised an eyebrow in confusion as she slipped out of the room.
This is definitely not your typical hospital.
Rounding a corner, Hisako ran headlong into a tall man with light purple hair. They both stumbled back, staring at each other in surprise.
"Oh, you're awake." The man declared. "Samson will-"
Hisako acted on instinct, grabbing the man by his suit and throwing him against the wall. The man grunted in surprise, but didn't do anything to further antagonize her.
"Alright, who are you?" Hisako demanded.
"My name is Mortu." He explained. "And I am not your enemy."
Hisako's eyes narrowed a bit as her eyes began to glow bright green.
"Why don't I believe you?" she snarled.
"I understand your skepticism," Mortu assured her. "In all honesty, I thought it was a bad idea to bring you here, but Samson was very insistent."
"And why, pray tell, did you think it was a bad idea?"
"Well, considering the last hospital you were in crumbled to the ground, bringing you to our medical wing was not one of the best decisions."
Hisako was getting more and more suspicious with every moment that passed. Keeping Mortu pinned to the wall with one arm, she brought up her free hand to delve into his mind. However, instead of being able to read his thoughts, she got nothing. The glow in her eyes faded in shock.
"What the shell?" she muttered.
"If you're looking for my brain," Mortu interjected, gently taking hold of Hisako's free hand. "I'm afraid you're looking in the wrong place."
He brought her hand down to his stomach, and Hisako's mind was suddenly assaulted with thoughts in a language she couldn't even begin to understand. In shock, she released Mortu, stumbling back.
"What are you?" She demanded, fumbling for her tessen.
Mortu unbuttoned the bottom buttons of his shirt, slowly pulling it open. The tessen fell from Hisako's hands as she let out a bloodcurdling scream.
…..
Casey stumbled into his apartment, dropping his bag of equipment by the door and sliding his mask off his face. He shuffled towards the couch, flopping onto it out of sheer exhaustion. No sooner had he closed his eyes, the lights were turned on by his mom as she came walking into the living room.
"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in." She declared. "Out all night again?"
Casey groaned, rolling over on the couch and throwing a pillow over his head. April entered the room, looking at the exhausted Casey.
"Any luck?" she asked.
Casey let out another groan, shaking his head in his pillow. April sighed, then Casey's mom looked at the two of them.
"You still trying to help those friends of your find their dad?" She wondered.
"Looks like it." April replied, "And it seems we're still not having any luck."
"Don't let it get to you, Arnold." His mom told him, grabbing a blanket and pulling it over her son. "I'm sure you and your friends will find something."
Casey's mom turned her back to the window above the couch just as the turtles landed outside. April caught sight of them and her eyes wide. She made desperate get-out-of-sight motions, quickly stopping when Casey's mom looked over.
"There a mosquito in here or something?" She asked. "You're waving your arms around like a crazy person, dear."
"Umm… Yeah, I think I saw one..."
Casey's mom just shook her head.
"Or you saw those turtle friends you two talk about when you think I'm not listening."
April let out a gulp as Casey's mom approached the window. By now, the turtles had scattered, leaving just an empty fire escape as she opened the window.
"Come inside." she called out. "And make sure you close the window behind you."
She pulled back into the apartment, leaving the four hidden turtles more confused than ever. Seeing that there was no more need to hide, they all entered into the apartment.
"How could she know?" Mikey asked closing the window.
"You four may be ninjas, but Arnold and April here need to learn to whisper when they talk about their psychic friend and her mutant family."
Raph snorted, looking down at Casey, who was desperately trying to sink deeper into the couch.
"Arnold?" Raph asked. "Oh I am so gonna get a lot of mileage out of that."
"Mrs. Jones-" Leo began.
"Ya need to talk to my son and to April alone no doubt." She interrupted. "I get it. I was gonna make breakfast anyway. You four hungry?"
"Starved." Mikey replied, earning an elbow from Raph.
"We're good, but thanks." Leo told her.
She walked away, leaving the turtles alone with their friends. April watched her go, then looked at the turtles.
"Guys, what are you doing here?" she asked. "Did you find Splinter?"
"No." Donny replied. "Hisako's gone missing again."
"Again?" April asked. "You guys really need-"
"A buddy system, we know!" Raph exclaimed.
"Hey if I'm not the only one saying this you know we need it." Mikey insisted.
Casey rolled over, glaring at all of them.
"Enough with the shouting, please?!" he snarled.
"Sorry Casey." April assured him. "Guys, why don't we go talk on the roof."
They all agreed, making their way onto the fire escape and onto the roof.
"Hisako's been taken again, and we know where she's being held." Leo explained. "And we need your help to get to her."
"And Casey?" She asked.
"Let him rest." Donny replied. "We just need you."
April gave a nod, then paused halfway through. A sinking feeling entered her stomach as she turned to the guys.
"You need me to be an inside man again."
"Yes and no." Donny explained, fishing into his coat to pull out a small little turtle shell. "We just need you to get inside and release this into their security room. Then we just need you to keep whomever is in charge of that place distracted."
"May I ask how?"
Donny gave a smirk.
"How up to date is your resume?"
…..
April approached the doors of Galactic Enterprises, adjusting the tie of the suit she'd put on.
"I can't believe I'm actually doing this." she muttered. "I'm no longer interested in science guys. I changed my major to Journalism."
Through an earpiece in her ear, the turtles spoke to her.
"Yeah, we know that." Donny told her, "but they don't."
"Besides, this job search is just our way to get inside." Leo reminded her. "It's not like you actually need to get a job there."
April sighed, then approached the main door, searching for a handle. Strangely enough, there didn't seem to be one.
"Okay, that's odd." she noted. "There's no door handle."
"Check for a doorbell!" Mikey suggested.
April let out a groan.
"Mikey, this is an office building, not some apartment complex. There's not going to be a-"
She cut off as she caught sight of a speaker and a button beside the door. She could practically hear Mikey smirking.
"There's a doorbell, isn't there?" He asked smugly.
"Raph, please?" April asked.
The sound of Raph's hand meeting Mikey's head echoed through the earpiece, eliciting a smirk from April as she hit the button.
…..
Several doctors were cleaning up scattered equipment from around the infirmary while another looked at Mortu.
"She didn't do any damage to you, thank the stars, but your suit got torn in a few places."
"Just patch it up for now." Mortu insisted. "Where is she?"
"I took her to one of the private rooms." Samson explained as he walked in. "I deeply apologize for this."
"We were prepared for an adverse reaction from her, but thankfully she didn't bring the entire building down on top of us."
The doctor left them as Mortu stood, adjusting his tie. He then noticed an alert on a watch around his wrist. Tapping it, security footage from outside the building's front door began to play. Mortu's eyebrows raised in surprise.
"It would seem we have a guest." He noted.
"The turtles?" Samson questioned.
"No, Miss O'Neil, one of their allies."
"The former intern for that maniac?" Samson said, unable to keep the anger from his voice.
"Calm yourself, Samson." Mortu told him. "We've already done a complete check on her. She no longer wants anything to do with the scientific field, much less Baxter Stockman."
"Then why is she here?" Samson wondered.
"No doubt she's been sent by the turtles to learn more about our facility."
"Shall I send her away?"
Mortu tapped his watch again, deactivating the footage.
"No need." Mortu assured him. "Though I suggest you put the entire facility on high alert, but have all weapons set for stun."
Samson gave a bow as Mortu went to greet his guest.
