A little under 6 weeks ago...

"I still say we should just throw it in the river..."

"Yeah, Raph. Great. Then you can deal with all the giant mutant fish, OK...?"

Irritated, Raphael replied "I was talking metaphorically". The other Turtles all turned to look at him slowly.

"Why, Raph, I had no idea you spoke metaphorical," said Leonardo, awe-struck.

"I meant, like 'ya didn't know already, why don't we just get Professor Perry to get rid of it."

"We took a vote. This is how it is, OK?" Leonardo leaned over to touch the sheet covering the large object in front of them. Donatello blocked his hand and steered it away.

"Leo! Have a sense of occasion!" I've been working on this for days...!"

Michelangelo swiped away the sheet, casually and with no sense of occasion at all. To reveal a large black box with a heavy door, a metal handle and a lock with numerous keys set on a board below with a range of letters and numbers arrayed on it.

"Congratulations, Donny. You've invented... the safe" said Raphael. "Oh wait- Gee – You know, I think somebody already patented that one..."

Donatello chuckled. "Think again, my friend..."

Hi, guys!" April climbed down the last few rungs of the ladder into the Turtles' home, and came over to join them. "What's all this?"

"Hi, April. Just in time..." Donatello continued. "Yeah, OK, Raph, it's a safe. Well spotted. But look at the lock. Is it a common, everyday sort of lock? I'm glad you asked. No, it isn't... The main surface is covered with a layer of molecularly bonded polymers – Thanks to Professor Perry for pulling some strings and supplying us with that – with cavities that lock together so that they can't be separated by anything but one exact set of electronic signals transmitted from the lock once we key in the release code..."

"Well, that I could've guessed," said April. The others grinned, but Donatello was still caught up with his demonstration.

"Input the wrong code, and the polymers bond together permanently. You'd need, maybe, a concentrated nuclear explosion to break in."

"That's some serious security, yeah..." said April. "What's so valuable that- Oh. Yeah..." She nodded her understanding as Leonardo brought forward the object destined to go into the safe, and gently placed it inside. Donatello shut the door with the same reverence.

"It can never be allowed to fall into the wrong hands..." said Leo quietly. "We thought about destroying it, but we just can't. It's... important. Maybe one day, we might need it..."

Donatello passed round small sheets of paper on which he had written short sequences of numbers and letters. A different one for each of the Turtles. Raphael looked askance at his. Michelangelo turned his over to see if anything was written on the other side.

"Donny... Wha'?"

"I want you all to memorize that. Then get rid of the paper – destroy it."

"What is it?" Raphael demanded.

"It's red, Raph. It's the color of your bandana expressed as hexadecimal code. If we ever want to get into that safe, we all type in our part of the code. You go first." Donatello shrugged, turning to Leonardo. "I figured, anybody would assume you'd go first, Leo, being the leader. But you're second. Then Mikey. Then me. Nobody knows anyone else's part. Even I don't know them all off the top of my head. Then there's a final release code. A short sequence of characters, at least four, less than ten. None of us will know that part." He turned to April.

"Yeah..." Leonardo took up the explanation. "We thought you might want to come up with that, April. We want you to be part of this. And, you know, it's an extra layer of security." While he was talking, Raphael laboriously typed in his code. Leo went next. Then the others.

"Guys... I, uh, don't know... Of course, yeah." She stepped forward, and Donatello set the keypad up. "I just... type it in here, huh...?" She thought for a moment, then typed in a short sequence, covering the keypad with her other hand and glancing over at them with a faint smile. "There'ya go."

"Don't tell us what it is..." urged Donatello.

"Oh, I promise."

Michelangelo whispered something to Donatello and he nodded. "Yeah, probably..."

"What?" demanded April.

"Nothing."

"Well, I think it's safe to say that safe is... uh, safe," remarked Leonardo.

"Yeah," agreed Donatello. "It needs all of us to agree to open it, and all of us to be present. No way is any bad guy going to be able to get into that..." He paused. "Heh... Unless he can somehow read our minds..."

They all smiled at that.

***

Now...

The Foot had prepared themselves for a full assault by the army of rats. They pulled back to the center of the yard, some of them forming a circle round April, and watched in horrified fascination as the rats swarmed over the fence and gate as if they weren't even there.

Then, a little anticlimactically, the rats stopped. The Foot ninja stayed where they were for quite a while, braced for the inevitable attack. Which never seemed to come.

Eventually, Freddy let them move around a bit, insisting they none of them go too far. April wandered over as close as she dared to the front ranks of the rat army. "What are you waiting for?" she asked uneasily. They all faced forward. Eyes bright and alert. Noses twitched occasionally. Otherwise, they showed no signs of activity.

She flinched as someone appeared at her shoulder and held out a cup of water - but took the cup all the same. "Hey! Don't do that!"

"I thought you'd be thirsty," said Jake.

"What's your name?" April asked between sips, and he thought for a long moment. "You don't know?" she demanded.

He gave a brief flicker of a smile. "Of course I know. I'm Jake."

Finishing the water, April gave him back the cup, looking at him steadily, increasingly becoming aware she was making him uneasy. Jake almost gave ground as she moved closer, close enough for him to detect a fresh citrus-fruit scent mingled with leather, and the squeaky creaking sound of her jacket as she folded her arms.

"Hi, Jake," she said at last. "Sorry I didn't introduce myself before, but then that was kinda difficult, on account of my mouth being duck-taped and all. You understand."

"Uh..."

"I'm April, but then, you know that, right...? Unless maybe you kidnapped me totally at random, and by a lucky coincidence I turn out to be the Turtles' plucky and resourceful friend... No, I didn't think so." He was uneasy, she realised. Why was he uneasy...? She was the one being held-

Oh... Right. She got it. As if she didn't have enough to contend with.

There was some more creaking of leather as April shifted a little, considering what - if anything - she should do with this realization... Could it be useful to her? She was about to say something - what, she had no idea - when Jake spoke up instead, frowning.

"You're... really friends with those things?"

"Yeah..." April said instantly, surprised by the question. She didn't get to clarify the matter, however, as Matt came over and beckoned Jake back to the main group. She and Matt shared a brief look of mutual assessment.

"Freddy's watching you..." he warned Jake as they walked away. "So...?" came the reply.

April sighed wearily, just wanting to get out of here. Away from the rats. Away from the Foot ninja with a crush, because Yeah, sweet and all, but she didn't really know how to deal with that right now. Away from Freddy especially, before he got bored with whatever trick he was playing and had her tied up again. Or his little rebellion against Tatsu failed and he had her tied up again.

She just really, really, wanted to get out of here.

Just then, some kind of instinct kicked in, and somehow April knew that the situation was about to change - Something was definitely about to happen... She glanced at Freddy, and he was looking back at her. He knew it too.

She darted back to the protective ring of Foot ninja and they all faced the ranks of rats, weapons held in readiness. Ready for battle... Then came the sudden noise as a large heavy object flew through the air and landed. Behind them.

They all turned.

A manhole cover had been sent flying and a figure had emerged from the tunnel below. A man swathed in rags and bandages stood before them. "Now, that," mused April, with just a little trepidation, "I did not expect."

***

"Chief Sterns...!" Sterns, climbing out of his car, looked over at the overweight man waddling toward him across the sidewalk, microphone in hand and camera crew chasing behind him. He walked, a little quicker than was his habit, up the steps of the Manhattan Municipal Building. "Chief Sterns!" came the insistent voice again as Jim McNaughton reached him.

Channel 3? Then where's...?

"I got no comment to make. Whatever it is, I got no comment. That is all. Thank you for coming."

"Chief Sterns, we're live. On air right now. I'm sure the viewers would like to know what you're doing currently about the rat invasion."

"The rat...? The rat what?"

"Are you saying you are unaware of the crisis, Chief?"

"What? Of course not! The situation is in hand. The rat overpopulation problem is being looked at right now, and possible solutions being investigated by the right people. If the area you live in is affected by the problem, please stay indoors in the short term and await assistance."

"And can I ask the Chief what he is doing at the Manhattan Municipal building at the height of this particular crisis...?"

Sterns gave Jim a withering look. "I got a broken faucet needs fixing." He passed through the main doors. Jim turned to the camera and opened his mouth to address the viewers. Then he ended up just shrugging.

***

The Rat King looked at Freddy for quite a few seconds, and the Foot's acting commander dropped his gaze and looked at the ground. Then he advanced toward April, and nearby Foot ninja backed away and gave them space.

"What...? Oh, thanks, guys! You'd make great bodyguards...!" Despite her alarm April only backed off a few paces before standing her ground, not really knowing why. It just seemed like the better option. It didn't really seem to make sense to her that this guy might mean her harm.

He faced her for a long moment and she met his eye, more curious than afraid. She didn't know this man, never met him, but still... There was something strangely familiar about him... "The safe," said the Rat King gruffly, with no preamble. "What is the last release code?" April's mouth opened and closed without any words emerging, so astonished was she by the question. Without apparently waiting for any reply, he stepped away. "Thank you."

"...Huh...?" She was having a real problem making sense of this.

"I said thank you. You initiated our mental link some hours ago. It allowed me to take the release code from the surface of your mind with no difficulty."

April automatically stepped back, away from him, as if extra distance would help. "What...? You mean...?" He turned away and took a step toward Freddy, but she moved round to stand in front of him again, insistent. "The rat...? That was... you?" She was incredulous. "No way...!"

"Way..." he said gently. "I mean, yes, it was."

"I called it Whiskers..."

"I know. I found that amusing."

"Well, hey..." April said with a nervous laugh, "I'm here all week." Her face took on an appalled look as she realized what she had said. "Oh God, I really hope that's not true."

"Excuse me," he said, and stepped round her, advancing toward Freddy. who backed away but soon found nowhere to retreat to. The Rat King seized him by the throat and lifted him off the ground. His face reddened and started darkening even further as consciousness started to slip away.

"You were planning to betray me... No, don't insult me by attempting to deny it. Just know this - I will be watching. I will not kill you, for one reason only. You may still be useful. Do not attempt to deceive me again. If I require any further service from you, you will be told. Otherwise, stay out of my way."

Letting Freddy drop to the ground, unconscious, the Rat King turned to the others and let his gaze pass over them indifferently. He strode over to the blasted open manhole and jumped in, disappearing from sight.

April rushed forward, stopping as one of the masked ninja stepped forward to intercept. Yeah, like I was really going to jump in after him... Actually, she had seriously considered it. She turned back to see Matt casually checking Freddy for signs of life, and Jake moved over to her with a concerned look on his face. Despite everything, she found herself smiling and patting his arm reassuringly.

Ruefully hoping she wasn't succumbing to Stockholm syndrome, April watched as the tide of rats retreated from the gate.

***

"Listen, Jack, I'm kind of busy today, I've got quite a lot going on... So, unless this is real important..." Bryan Bryant stopped as he entered his supervisor's office and looked blankly at the man sitting at the desk. It wasn't Jack.

Chief Sterns got up and came over to join Bryan near the door. "Mister Bryant? I'm glad you could come. I need to have a word with you."

"Um, yeah, of course Chief. What's this about?"

"Down at the station, Bryan."

"As I say, Chief, I've got a lot going on. I'm real busy. Can this wait?"

"Yeah, I've been hearing how busy you've been. Bryan, you're aware, I take it, that a lot of funds have been disappearing from your department? And a few others."

"Uh... Yeah..." Bryan just stared at him. What was going on?

"I'll cut to the chase. We know it's you." Bryan looked behind him as two uniformed cops entered the office. It was a few seconds before he could really take this in.

Wait a minute. Was he being arrested?

"Sorry, Chief. This is all a horrible misunderstanding. I think you'll find if you check that this is a mistake. And, you know what, while you do that, I'll just get back to work. But if you want me to come with you, you'll just have to arrest me."

"You're under arrest."

***

Bryan was dazed as he had his rights explained to him. Dazed as he was escorted down in the elevator. Dazed as he was led out into the car. Dazed as he was driven away.

Dazed as the other car slammed the one he was in off the road. Dazed as he was grabbed out of the back and bundled into the other car by men in some kind of military gear, but without insignia of any kind.

Mercenaries? What the-?

"Here we are. As agreed. Everything is going to plan." One of his kidnappers said that to him as though it was supposed to make some kind of sense. Bryan looked him in the eye for the first time.

"What is this? Who are you?"

The man grinned, and looked at Bryan questioningly. "Uh... You OK?"

"Who do you work for?" Bryan demanded.

The man grinned again. "Right now? I work for you!"

***

"Be careful," Donatello urged Irma as they made their way along the sewer tunnel.

Wearing the look of disgust that had been pretty much permanently etched on her face since they had come down here, Irma replied "Yeah, I don't think I've ever been so motivated to be careful..." She was choosing her footing very carefully, not sure whether she really wished she could see better down here or not. Sometimes ignorance was bliss.

"Did we really have to come this way?" she asked gloomily.

"You know what, believe it or not, I sometimes attract attention on the surface."

"Yeah, I suppose..."

"Though, thinking about it, you could have just met me there..."

"Now you think of that." Irma was watching her feet carefully as they turned a corner, and was startled as a shadow fell over her. She looked up.

The face that was staring back at her appeared to be Donatello's. That was impossible, he was standing right next to her. Unless... Yeah, there was three of them, and where Donatello's bandana was a light shade of purple there's were blue, red and... paler red...? No, orange!

"Donny!" Three Turtles all shouted at once, excitedly. The four Turtles, reunited, all made to hug each other, but ended up feeling awkward and exchanging handshakes instead.

Remembering his manners, Donatello indicated his companion. "Guys, this is Irma."

"Hey," said Raphael, "Donny's got himself a sidekick."

"Hi, Turtles..." Irma replied. "But for the record, I'm no one's sidekick. I think you'll find no one will ever define me as anyone else's sidekick."

"Join the club," Raph continued. "Looks like more people know about us up there now than the ones who don't..." His demeanor lightened. "Hey, no offense, I'm not getting' at'ya. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi, Irma," said Michelangelo. "I don't suppose you know where we can get some pizza in a hurry, no questions asked?"

"You're Michelangelo, aren't you?" asked Irma.

"Guys," said Donatello, stepping forward. "What's been going on? Have you heard anything about April or Master Splinter...?" The others exchanged glances, not sure how to break it to him.

Irma walked away a few paces, giving them some space. And yelped as a strong black-clad arm suddenly looped around her and held her tightly. Another hand clamped over her mouth and she was pulled into the darkness.

"At last!" The Turtles turned at the sound of the voice and found themselves face to face with Tatsu. The imposing Foot master was accompanied by several armed Foot ninja.

"Turtles..." he hissed. "Finally, you face me."

"Yeah." Leonardo was allowed through the others to stand facing Tatsu. Hands on his swords, ready for action. "How did you know I was just itching for a fight? Well, before we go for this, I got one question. What have you done with April? Where is she?"

Tatsu smiled grimly as one of his ninja stepped forward with Irma held firmly ahead of him. She looked sheepishly at the Turtles. "Sorry, guys..."

Leonardo led the way toward them, but stopped abruptly as a ninja threatened Irma with his sword. Tatsu started to back away slowly. "You will come to us. At junkyard. Two hours from now. Or this one, and reporter... will die."

The Turtles had no choice but to let their enemies, and their new friend, vanish into the darkness.