The Turtles were frozen by the terrifying vision standing before them.

“Oh man, do you think that’s . . . the Shredder?” Donnie asked. For weeks, they’d only heard about this monster of a man from Splinter, but now he was a flesh-and-blood threat standing a few feet away. They all noticed the spikes, blades, and gauntlets that covered his armor.

“Well, it’s definitely a Shredder.” Raph smirked.

The Turtles sensed a wicked smile forming beneath the armor on Shredder’s face as he crept closer.

“There is undoubtedly a fascinating story in how my old nemesis came to teach ninjutsu to four mutant turtles,” Shredder snarled. “Perhaps I will let one of you live long enough to tell it.”

“You’re gonna have to catch us first!” Leo said. “Mikey!”

Mikey had one of his ninja smoke bombs at the ready. “So long, sucka!” he yelled, throwing the bomb to the floor—

But nothing happened. No flash charge. No smoke. Just a splat and a cracked egg at their feet.

The Turtles all looked at Mikey at once.

“Oops. All right, that one’s on me.” Mikey smiled sheepishly.

But they weren’t smiling back.

And neither was Shredder.

The Turtles had no choice but to face him right there on the rooftop of the Hotel Wolf!

Raph charged first, both sais aiming for Shredder’s heart. The ironclad ninja master blocked Raph’s every move, gracefully catching his sais in the spikes of his armor. With a forceful front kick, Shredder booted Raph into the neon hotel sign.

Leo jumped in, bringing his katanas down onto Shredder’s shoulder spikes. His attacks were faster than Raph’s, but it didn’t seem to matter—Shredder zipped around him with ease, flicking Leo’s katanas away and kicking him to the ground with a speedy kata combination.

Donnie cried out in horror, “Leo!”

He rushed to his brother’s side, finding him dazed and injured. It wasn’t every day he saw his older bro—his leader—fall to an enemy. Donnie felt his anger swell. Swinging his bo staff, he tried to smack Shredder but barely made a dent.

Watching this go down, Mikey decided he was done waiting. He unleashed the secret blade from his nunchucks chain and joined Donnie’s side for the tag team!

They alternated punches, kicks, and combo attacks—just like they’d practiced back at the dojo. Mikey even wrapped his chain around Shredder’s arms, but the ninja master slipped out a split second later! He truly lived up to his fearsome legend. It was as if his ninjutsu transcended reality.

Donnie and Mikey didn’t stand a chance against him. Before they knew it, Shredder flung them both to the ground with brute force.

Not wanting to accept defeat, the Turtles got back on their feet and headed in for more. They were all tired, hurt, and afraid.

And Shredder knew it.

He could feel it—the same way animals in the wild could smell someone’s fright. He relished this moment, his gauntlet blades projecting from his armor. In a series of slashes, he cut Donnie’s weapon in half, overpowered Raph, and pummeled Leo with a crushing blow.

Shredder was just about to finish them off when something suddenly caught his wrist. He looked down to see Mikey’s chain!

With all his weight and speed, Mikey used the other end of the chain to rappel down the neon hotel sign that had been towering over them. The moment he began to fall, the chain started to pull—which meant Shredder got yanked up into a trap!

Ensnared, Shredder dangled in the air, unable to break free.

The Turtles took a breath, lucky to be alive. They looked on in wonderment at their master’s oldest enemy. He was even more frightening than they’d imagined. Never did they think they’d actually see this fabled warrior up close, let alone face him in battle. Had they achieved the impossible? Had they actually gotten the better of Shredder?

Shredder looked back at them, his eyes narrowing to a fiery gaze. He wasn’t used to being thwarted by his opponents. He unsheathed his gauntlet blades once more and sliced through the hotel sign as if it were tissue paper, cutting himself down and pinning Mikey underneath it in the process.

As the other Turtles lifted the severed sign off of Mikey, Shredder landed on the roof with a thud, electric sparks raining down all around him.

Shredder had regained his strength and had the Turtles on the run once again. Soon the only Turtle left standing was Leo. Shredder quickly pinned him against the wall. Holding his blades centimeters away from Leo’s eyeballs, Shredder demanded, “Tell me where Splinter is, and I promise your demise will be swift.”

In fearless silence, Leo stared down the edge of Shredder’s blade, refusing to reveal anything. He could see the jagged tip getting closer when they both heard a sudden gasp!

Someone—or something—could be heard choking for air right behind them.

Shredder looked down to see a slimy fish-shaped mutant. It had the face and enlarged mouth of a fish but the arms, hands, and fingers of a man. It was covered in the glowing ooze that had created it.

“Help me,” the fish mutant wheezed, its webbed hand reaching out for assistance. Its voice was human and very familiar.

Shredder stared in shock. Just behind him, the Turtles’ eyes widened at a second freakish sight. They backed away, spotting another figure being birthed from the mutagen. This one was much larger and was covered in hair. It resembled a gargantuan wolf-man, with one enlarged fist and spike-shaped bones that protruded from its back.

“What is this?” Shredder asked, disgusted.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. The mysterious mutagen ooze had worked its magic, transforming two men into monsters.

When Shredder returned his attention to the Turtles, they were gone.

“Noooooo!” Shredder shouted to the skies.

He had lost his targets and accidentally found himself with two new followers. And though their faces were deformed, he somehow knew who they were.

“Xever?” Shredder asked in disbelief. “Bradford?!”

These had once been their human names, but Bradford and Xever were no longer people. They had been reborn as . . . mutants!