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The truck continued to barrel along towards the where ever the Hand had decided to set up shop in New York. Leonardo gritted his teeth silently and held on with all his strength, determined to make it there in one piece. He was worried about his brothers, of course, but deep down he knew they'd be able to take care of themselves. They were ninja, and they were together. They were always stronger together.

That's why he was worried about himself. Going into enemy territory by himself was just asking for trouble, but this was the only way they were gonna find out where the Hand were. Knowing where your enemy laid their head was an important advantage to have, and why the Turtles had done everything they could to protect the location of the lair.

Tires screeching filled his ears as the truck skidded around a corner. The Dragons were no longer pursuing the truck, so there was no reason to continue driving like this. But Leonardo knew more than most that fear had a powerful affect when it took hold. He wasn't sure if the person driving the truck was scared of the Dragons' attack or what waited for them when they told their superiors that one of the trucks had been lost. Leo was leaning towards the latter. 

Finally, the truck began to approach a guarded gate. Leonardo slid down the back of the truck and climbed below it, holding on tightly to the vehicles under carriage. His shell was inches from the ground, but there was enough clearance, and he wouldn't be seen down here. Above he would have been a sitting duck.

Once the truck came to a stop, the men inside began unloading its contents into the building. After what felt like an eternity, the men were gone and Leo felt confident enough to slide from beneath the vehicle. He then found a shadowy area to assess the situation he found himself in. It was clear the Hand had converted an old warehouse area into their base. But where was once aging industrialism was now a full fledged ninja dojo. He could see at least a dozen men standing guard by the walls. Luckily none of them seemed worried about the inner compound.

That was a good thing, for sure.

He scaled the main building, peeking into windows when he could. But he saw little of use. A few quarters of the ninja. Nothing all that noteworthy. At least not until he came to a big window overlooking the main atrium of the dojo.

There, sitting on a dias above the sensei position, shining brightly below the lights, cut the visage of Oroku Saki's helmet.

[color=0054a6]"Holy shit, am I the luckiest bastard alive,"[/color] Leo said in pure amazement.

That was before, of course, a sword found itself at his throat. As the steel pressed on him, he didn't move, but looked out the corner of his eye at its wielder. There he saw a girl, not much older than he was. She pressed a finger to her lips, instructing him to be quiet.

[color=9e0b0f]"My name is Karai,"[/color] she whispered. [color=9e0b0f]"I am of the Chaste. And you and I seem to have similar goals."[/color]

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Gunfire continued to ricochet off the truck as the Dragons refused to let up their attack. Considering what Splinter had told Raphael and his brothers about the Hand, he didn't blame them. The Dragons weren't anything more than a street gang. They wouldn't have a shot in hell against a ninja. Making sure he was dead was the best idea they could possibly have. 

[color=92278f]"We need to get away from these trucks!"[/color] Donnie called over the sound of gunfire.

[color=ed1c24]"No shit, Donnie!"[/color] Raph growled back at his brother.

[color=f26522]"We're about to become Swiss cheese bros!"[/color] Mikey's eyes were about as big as the moon with worry.

[color=ed1c24]"No we're not, Mike,"[/color] Raphael nodded to his belt and took smoke bombs off of it. [color=ed1c24]"You guys remember the exercise father makes us do? Where we throw the stars over our shoulders? Same principal. Make sure you get them far enough. Listen to the gunfire to judge the distance. Donnie, lay a few down closer to us. I want to be able to bridge the gap quickly so they don't have time to gun us down before we get there."[/color]

[color=f26522]"Yea, that would be no bueno,"[/color] Mike nodded.

[color=ed1c24]"On my count,"[/color] Raph nodded.

The smoke bombs flew silently through the air, and once they hit the ground all hell broke loose. The smoke exploded into the air, covering the entire battlefield in a thick covering of smoke. The three turtles knew that it wouldn't last, but it had done its job. They could hear the Dragons yelling in confusion and the gunfire had subsided.

[color=92278f]"Now,"[/color] Donnie said, and the three of them sprinted towards both sides of the road where the shooting had come from. Don and Mikey took one side of the road, and Raph had taken the other.

He knew he was the better fighter than the other two, and had no problem taking on the Dragons by himself. In fact, he relished at the opportunity. These thugs had no idea what was coming for them, and Raphael was more than happy to deliver it personally. 

The first Dragon was reached when the fog of war was still thick. He didn't see the mutant turtle coming. The butt of Raph's sai struck him across the temple, dropping him to the ground in a heap without the ninja needing to break his stride. The next two were fumbling for flashlights on their belts. He hooked one of their guns out of the man's hand, spun it, and threw it at the other. The metal of the weapon struck the second man on the bridge of his nose. Raphael heard the crack of the bone and the yelp of pain as it broke under the swift strike. He was on the now-bleeding man in a blink. Using his momentum, Raphael grabbed the Dragon by his shoulders and tossed him into the now-disarmed one.

By now the smoke had started to dissipate, but it didn't matter at this point. The turtles had broken their ranks. Raph had estimated that there were about twelve guns participating the attack. He had already taken three of them down. If his brothers were anywhere close to that he assumed there would be four more done. That left five. 

They didn't stand a chance.

He saw two of them in range, nothing more than shadows in the fog at this point. But they were facing towards him. They may not have noticed him yet, but they would, especially when he moved. He flipped a sai around and tossed it as hard as he could at the man on the left, and took off after it. He heard it crack against the man's skull. Luckily it did exactly what he had hoped. The other man was distracted by the gambit, giving Raph time to roll towards him, and deliver an uppercut that brought him clear off his feet.

[color=ed1c24]"God I am good,"[/color] Raph mused to himself.

[color=9e0039]"Not good enough,"[/color] a voice announced itself from behind Raphael. The turtle turned to find a hulking blond man looming over him. A smirk was painted over his broad face under a nose that had been broken way too many times. He cracked his knuckles hungrily at the turtle, "I dunno what the hell you are, but you've pissed me off."

[color=ed1c24]"I mean, to be fair, we didn't really mean to, you just shot up our ride,"[/color] Raph chuckled. [color=ed1c24]"So really, you brought this one on yourself."[/color]

[color=9e0039]"Shut up, would ya?"[/color]

The fists came fast and furious. The speed was surprising to Raphael. he had expected the man to be strong, but clumsy. It was clear from how he fought that he had been trained at some point. That was a worrying proposition. 

Raph did all he could to keep out of the reach of the larger man. He managed to block a few of the haymakers, and even managed to get a kick to the man's chin in. That just seemed to make him angrier. Raph's ankle was snatched out of midair and he was brought off his feet and slammed to the ground. The blow knocked the wind out of him, and the turtle gasped for air.

[color=9e0039]"All you freaks think this city is yours to control,"[/color] he raised his foot to stomp on Raphael's head. [color=9e0039]"But I'm gonna remind you that we're still here."[/color]

Before his foot came down, something hit him hard and exploded with a small pop, driving him backwards. Raphael looked up as a succession of other projectiles did the same, sending the big man into retreat. Raph searched for their origin, his eyes finally falling on a figure in a hockey mask standing in the shadows. He motioned towards Raph, [color=0076a3]"Come on! You guys need to get out of here!"[/color]

Raphael didn't need to be told twice.