"I can't believe that movie was three hours," April sighed as the trio emerged from the movie theater, stuffed full of too-buttery popcorn and sour gummy worms. "It was much better than I originally thought it would be, though." Both Echo and Mr.O'Neil let out shocked gasps in unison.

"You didn't think it was going to be good?" April's dad asked absolutely dumbfounded, falling in stride next to his daughter while Echo stood on April's opposite side as they began the walk home. Echo nudged the girl's shoulder, just as teasingly shocked as the man.

"I literally read the online reviews to you at lunch on Monday. It's one of the biggest movies to ever launch in theaters since Disney bought Marvel and Star Wars," Echo exclaimed. "Critics were losing their minds over it! The fact that it's actually been going toe-to-toe with such major franchises!"

"I know, I know," April elbowed her back in the ribs, grinning. "It definitely didn't disappoint me. Although I'm still going to say Infinity War was better."

"Of course, Infinity War was better," Echo agreed wholeheartedly. "I don't think you and I have ever cried so hard in a movie theater before at the end." It was then that Mr.O'Neil suddenly began to stumble and clamped a hand on his daughter's shoulder dramatically, but before either April or Echo could ask what was wrong...

"Mr.Stark...I don't feel so good..." Echo found the joke in his actions and let out a laugh, especially when April grumbled under her breath and nearly let her father collapse to the pavement beneath them. He apologized profusely for it, considering how much of a mess everyone was after seeing that movie, but both he and Echo still chuckled inwardly as they continued to walk.

This was the kind of conversing everyone would miss, the kind where they were comfortable and excited to be around each other with never a dull moment in sight. This environment, with April and her father around... Echo felt as if she was genuinely part of the family. Like she and April were truly sisters, not just best friends. She could vaguely remember having a sister before her parents' split, but that blood bond that had been lost in the divorce was nothing compared to the life-long friendship she'd formed over the past ten years with April O'Neil.

A silence fell between the group, one where everyone knew what the other was thinking, and Echo took a deep breath, trying not to cry as they all realized this was it. That was the last movie they'd ever see together. That was the last bucket of popcorn they'd share, the last gummy worms they'd toast to each other before eating. A heavy weight fell over Echo's heart and April placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, though she was in just as much agony as her best friend.

"Echo...I-"

The sad talking would have to wait as a white van suddenly shot down the street, its tires squealing as it turned the corner where they would've crossed the street to the O'Neils' apartment complex and blocked their way. The doors to the suspicious vehicle slid open and three men in black suits stepped out, all wearing boring looks on their faces that seemed too similar to each other.

"Uh...I think I'm a little too full to eat any of their candy..." Echo joked under her breath as April's father stood between the girls and the three men protectively. It was a coping mechanism she'd had since she was little, laughing in serious moments when she felt helpless. She was a big hit at funerals.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mr.O'Neil questioned loudly and began to push back against the girls, gesturing for them to slowly step away from the oncoming men. "Back off! Or we'll call the police!" He threatened, but their new triplet friends weren't phased by any of it.

"Dad..." April whispered in fear and grabbed onto the sleeve of his jacket, her opposite hand taking hold of Echo's. The space between the two groups was beginning to shrink from four yards to three and a half, then three yards, decreasing in length with each step. If they were going to make a move, they needed to do it soon.

"Girls, when I tell you to run, you run," Mr.O'Neil whispered roughly under his breath. Two and a half... two yards... "Get on your phone and call the cops."

"Dad, we can't leave you-"

"Run!" The man shouted as he lunged at the three suit-clad individuals. They all knew he wouldn't last long, but a small head-start was better than none when it came to escaping a kidnapping. Before April could argue, Echo grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her in the opposite direction, back towards the movie theater while April's father bought them some time. They could hear the sound of their protector struggling against the will of their attackers, then a shout of surprise and both girls turned their heads around for a split second to see what had happened.

Laying in a lifeless heap on the ground was Kirby O'Neil, a vile of some sort injected into his neck and the three men lifted him up, hauling him into the vehicle. April shrieked in terror and tugged violently against Echo's grip. "We have to help him! Dad! Dad!"

"We need to get help!" Echoed yelled and refused to let her friend go, despite her panicked begging. It was hard for her to watch as the only father figure she'd had in her life be thrown into a white van like a sack of potatoes, but not as hard as it would have been to see that happen to April as well. She was determined to take care of her friend, even if it meant pulling her kicking and screaming away from danger.

Her determination didn't get her very far when a hand suddenly grabbed her from behind, wrapping around her stomach and shoulders tightly and two more latched onto April's wrists. Two more of those goons had sneaked up behind them from the alleyway and cut off their escape before they could get far enough away.

"Let go of me!" Echo yelled and fought against the suited man's grasp, but he was stronger than he looked and seemed to feel no pain no matter how many times she stomped on his foot or elbowed him in the ribs. "Let go, you bastard!"

Although she'd been hoping earlier that something would happen to keep her from leaving New York City, being kidnapped by men in a white van was not what she'd wished for.

Thank goodness help was closer than they thought it would be.

***

Raphael stepped quietly as he led the attack, sneaking around the van after the first kidnapper threw the red-bearded man into the back of their vehicle. Though the blonde in leather was putting up a good fight, Raph still didn't hesitate to step in.

"Hey!" He yelled from behind the first guy as he stepped onto the street. His outburst caught the suited criminal's attention and he turned around just in time to receive a hard punch from the mutant turtle. Though the attack was enough to make him stumble a bit, he hadn't fully lost his grip on the girl. Raph wound his arm up for another hit-

Blondie used the imbalanced moment to her advantage and rolled forward, hard, and fast. In an instant, the criminal was flipped over her body and crashed onto the street with a heavy thud, slamming onto his back and probably cracking a few bones in the process. She breathed heavily through her mouth, but didn't hesitate to turn back and acknowledge her rescuer.

"Hey, thanks," She exhaled as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear then gasped when her eyes fell to Raphael, her eyes doubling in size as she looked up and down his body in shock. "Holy shit..."

"No, no, it's okay," The hot-headed of the four tried to calm her down, extending his hands as a show of peace and slowing stepping towards her as she stepped back. "I'm not gonna hurt you, I'm one of the good guys- oof!"

"Sorry!" Mikey called out from across the street when he'd over-shot his weapon, pulling his chained nunchuck back towards two other men in suits he'd began to fight against. From a quick glance around, Raph noticed sis brothers had joined in on the assault as well, with Leo and Mikey holding off two or three goons each and Donnie making it his mission to rescue the redhead.

"As I was saying-" He turned back to speak to the girl again, but she was already on the move, grabbing a lead pipe, one as thick as a bottle and as long as her arm, from the alleyway and jumping back into the fray. "Wait! You should probably let us handle this!"

He wasn't used to being ignored. Usually he was the one out of the four to ignore his brothers when they ticked him off, not the other way around. But as the guy on the ground got to his feet again and lunged for Blondie once more, Raph watched the girl swing the pipe like a baseball bat right upside the head of her attacker, knocking the kidnapper back on his ass and leaving Raph in a mixture of awe and admiration. "Holy shit..." He muttered to himself.

She stomped on the man's chest for good measure, then turned back to face Raph once more. As she walked up to him, leaning the pipe on her shoulder as if it were an actual baseball bat, the girl gave him a small smile. "As you were saying?" She teased with a cocky smirk, then ran to free her friend. Raph let out another low whistle and scratched the back of his head somewhat bashfully, grinning like an idiot.

His happiness didn't last long before Donnie accidentally crashed into him, sending them both flying in opposite directions and the backs of their shells hitting the pavement. "Donnie! What the heck?" He exclaimed, but Donatello was already leaping back into this chaotic excuse for a battle.

The fight was turning into a complete disaster, each brother absentmindedly running into each other as they attempted to kick some serious butt. Though their fighting skills were impeccable, every other swing of a fist or kick of a foot was met with a body that didn't belong to the bad guys. The brothers were running into each other like chickens with their heads cut off and it made a fight that should've been easy to win absolutely impossible to control.

"Echo!" A feminine voice pierced the air and Raph became distracted from his current opponent just in time to see one of the goons grab Blondie from the back of her neck, lifting her up into the air before turning her around and slamming her back against the side of the van. The blunt force sent a web of dents across the white surface and rocked the vehicle back onto only two of its tires before her eyes closed, her body collapsing into a heap on the ground.

"Oh my god!" Mikey gasped. The turtle screamed, petrified, and the rest of the turtles were just as stunned at the sudden change in tone of this fight. In a split second, this situation had turned from beating up a few criminals to potentially witnessing a murder. In a split second, the greatest night of their lives had turned into what could've possibly been their worst. And it sent a shiver of fear through their bones that they'd never felt before.

Their lack of focus was all the bad guys needed to push the fight in their favor, batting the boys to the side like they were flies before climbing into the van and driving away, their tires squealing just as loudly as they had before.

"Oh my god," Donnie breathed out on the verge of panic as the brothers climbed back to their feet and sprinted over to where the girl's body lay. "Oh my god, please have a pulse. Please have a pulse, pleasehaveapulsepleasehaveapulse..." He stammered as he knelt down beside her and put his hand on her wrist.

Leo, Mikey, and Raph all waited with baited breath for what felt like an eternity before Donnie sighed with relief. "She's alive."

"What do we do?" Mikey asked, his eyes still wide as saucers. "Leo, what are we going to do? What are we going to tell Sensei?" The youngest of the bunch began to hyperventilate, but stopped when his oldest brother put his hand on his shoulder and told him to take deep breaths.

"Where's the nearest hospital from here?" Leo questioned urgently, but remained calm for the sake of his brothers.

"It's all the way across town," Donnie stated and sighed after a couple seconds of thinking. Raph recognized the look on his brother's face that moment it appeared. It was the same look he got every time he thought up some crazy scheme and the red-masked ninja turtle wasn't sure if that was good or bad. "I...I have an idea, but you're not going to like it."