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He could hear every drip of water from the leaky pipes which filled his home.

He could hear the flies buzzing around him. Donnie had done his best to try and rid the lair for them, but it was impossible to rid an entire underground system of the pests.

Next to him, he could hear his sensei breathing slowly.

Meditation had come naturally to Leonardo ever since his transformation. He could easily close out the distractions of the outside world and center himself. His thoughts and worries faded away into a trance like state and complete calm. After the weeks he had been having since the Foot arrived, Leo needed that more than ever, but had not found the time to do his exercises until now. The newly arrived ninja clan was more cunning and brutal than the mob and their Savate lap dogs had been so far. The Foot were the real deal. They were the ninjas everyone talked in whispers about. They were badass, and they weren't going to let anyone push them around. They were here for the city, and possibly more, and they weren't going to suffer anyone foolish enough to get in their way.

Unfortunately for them, Leonardo and his brothers were going to stop them whether they liked it or not. That is, they would if Leonardo could figure out a way to hamper their progress at all. So far it had been one setback after another. The Shredder and his followers were beating the Turtles to ever punch, and were throwing some before the Turtles could even think of their next move.

"You are distracted, Leonardo," Splinter's gravely voice said from beside him. No matter how deep into meditation Leonardo was, he had never come close to Splinter's level of concentration. The Turtles' sensei was the posterchild for focus and control. Maybe it came with his age, Leo didn't know. But he always knew when even the slightest thing was wrong with one of his adopted sons. "What troubles you?"

"The Foot, Master Splinter," Leo responded. "I don't know how we're going to stop them. I don't know if it's even possible."

"Everything is possible, Leonardo," Splinter stood, leaning on his staff. "We are well trained, and we fight for righteousness. We all fall, Leonardo. We all struggle with the darkness in this world. But we will fight it. And we will win the fight. Or we will fall. But we will not let indecision and fear stop us."

Leonardo shifted on his knees. The constant losses against the Foot weren't the only weighing against Leonardo's mind. There was the constant fear he had since being named the leader of his brothers festering underneath. He wasn't afraid to die like his father seemed to be insinuating. No, he was afraid of surviving. He was afraid of surviving when one of his brothers or allies fell in battle. He was also afraid that it would be his fault or one of his orders that got them killed. Leo often wondered if this was the burden of all leaders or if it was just him. Either way, he attempted to fight it just as he attempted to defeat the Foot.

"You're right, Sensei," Leo lied, attempting to hide his true feelings. "Do you mind if we stop for the night? I'd like some time to relax."

"Of course, my son," Splinter smiled.

Leo stood and trudged out of the training dojo section of their lair, entering the antechamber that was once a subway station long ago. Lounging on the couches set up around the old TV they had managed to get working from the dump were Leonardo's brothers. Raphael fiddled with an old video game system, obviously frustrated he wasn't doing better. Donatello was tinkering with a computer motherboard as he attempted to get the Turtles connected to the grid. Mikey sat in front of the TV engrossed in the game.

"Done with your daydreaming?" Raphael said with his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth. Raph wasn't a meditating type. Raph was the kind to rush into anything at any time. "Good. Sit down I need a second player and Mikey stinks."

"I don't stink, bro. I just like to smell the roses more than you do," Mikey said calmly. Mikey was a free spirit and a bit of a flake sometimes, but that's what made him special. Still, Raph often lost patience with his baby brother.

"And I don't have time to play games," Donnie said not looking up from the tech he was working on. Leo knew that meant he really didn't want to be bothered. 

"I got time for a game," Leonardo smiled and took a seat. There would be time for the Foot and their other worries. But for now he'd be the teenager he was.

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The families had enough. They were being squeezed on all sides. The Foot had set up shop in the city and were taking no prisoners. Mutant freaks were fighting each other and the mob. And then there was the Darkness monster. They were getting desperate and had to get creative if they were going to survive. 

That's why they were here at StockTech.

"Dr. Stockman," the man said from the shadows, cigar smoke billowing away from his silhouette, "you know why I'm here."

"I have debts," the skinny, nervous scientist said. He was a certified genius with robotics, but he gambled quite a bit, and because of it he was in danger of losing his company. "And you're here to make me pay. But I...I don't have the money. Not yet. Not until I finish my contract for the city."

"Well, that's what I'm here for too," the man laughed. "See, our dear departed police chief told me all about your little pets. And we figure once you turn them on for the city your could give them a new, secondary target. Namely four, big, green ones."

Stockman's eyes shifted from side to side as he understood what the mob was asking of him. He didn't say anything for an answer. He merely nodded his head.