[b]IC: Leonardo[/b]

The sound of metal sheeting and being crushed echoed through Leonardo's head as he and his family tore into the mousers left guarding the Stock Tech facility. The turtles, their father, and their human friends were obviously out numbered, but they had the advantage of team work. Leo was proud of his brothers as they each slid into the perfect positions at the perfect time. The chase earlier had slowed them down, but once again they were working like a well-oiled machine. With the addition of Splinter, they could hold their foes off.

Unfortunately, they needed to do more than stand their ground. Mousers seemed to be pouring into the room like an unstopable flood, and they would finish tearing the city apart if nothing was done to shut them down. Leo needed to get April to the control room before that happened. He shouted to the girl as he skewered a mouser through its mouth, "April! Which way?"

"Straight down that hallway!" she yelled back, hiding behind Casey's wild swings of the bat. "I'll need a few minutes to shut them down!"

The leader of the ninjas nodded, "Raph, Mikey, Donnie, Sensei! You hold as many as you can here! Casey, April! Follow me! We're shutting these assholes down for good!"

Casey didn't miss a beat. He slammed the robots standing in front of him before coming to Leo's side. Like characters in an old adventure movie chopping through jungle vegetation, the two began cutting a path towards the control room. Once there, they baracaded the door, hoping it would give them a moment's rest. Turning to April, Leo sighed, "Get to it, April. We'll give you the time you need."

She got to work, while Casey stood next to Leo at the door, "We're getting better as a team."

"Casey," Leo shook his head, "I know you can handle yourself, dude. And I know you wanna help all the time. But the Foot aren't a bunch of robots. They're killers. Possibly the best the world has ever seen. I'm not letting you fight them with us."

The door they were guarding began to rattle and splinter as the mousers began breaking through. Casey chuckled at Leo's refusal, "Well then, I guess I need to get my fill today."

[center]**********[/center]

The pain began to subside as Baxter Stockamn's faculties returned to him. The blinding, seering heat of his body's DNA being rearranged forcefully was unlike anything he could have imagined. Did all the mutants feel the same pain? Or only him since he was born of sentience. It mattered not, though. He opened his eyes, and as he did the flash of color and light sent him hopping back, and a flutter of noise drew his attention to the wings that were now sprouting from his back. His hands were now claws covered in crustly black leather and hair. All four of them. 

"What havvvvvve you done to meee?" he said in a buzzing, alien voice to the alley cat known as Old Hob.

Hob wore a big, fanged grin on his face as he looked at Stockman with the eye not covered by a patch, "I helped ya evolve, Doc. Showed ya what it was like to be more than human. Showed ya the future. Ya might not be as handsom as I am...but now your're stronger. Faster. More deadly. You're what ya always wanted, Doc. You're strong. And together...we can change everything."

[center]**********[/center]

Leo and Casey danced around the control room destroying mousers as April typed frantically at their main server in an attempt to shut them down. One robot lunged through the air at her, almost as if it sensed its coming doom, only to be struck by a fire extinguisher Leo had kicked expertly at it. Once of the machines managed to clamp down on his forearm before being struck by a hockey puck fired by Casey. The metal teeth dug deep into his flesh, and the pain was severe. Leo knew he couldn't stop though. There was too much at stake.

The numbers game was beginning to catch up to them, however. Leo and Casey were being backed in towards April, losing ground inch by inch. Leo yelled over his shoulder, "How much longer, April?"

"Just give me a few more seconds!" she said, wiping the sweat from her brow.

But time seemed to be up. The robots swelled like a great wave ready to swallow the heroes. The mousers reared up, leapt like a pack of ravenous dogs, and fell harmlessly to the ground. 

Leo turned to April, who collapsed to the ground, "Told ya I just needed a few more seconds."