The neon lights of Manhattan didn't feel like a welcome home. To the four brothers huddled in the back of the Party Wagon, the city looked like a graveyard of steel and shadows, haunted by the robotic hum of the Kraang. Leonardo gripped his katanas, his knuckles white. They had spent months in the woods of Northampton, healing and training, but the silence of the forest had been replaced by the heavy, metallic scent of a conquered city.
As the van rolled through the debris-strewn streets, Michelangelo pressed his face against the glass. He had joked about missing pizza for months, but seeing the empty storefronts and the Kraang droids patrolling the sidewalks silenced even him. Raphael growled low in his throat, his hand resting on the door handle, ready to burst out and break something. Donatello was focused on his scanners, tracking the bio-signature they had come back for: Master Splinter. [S3E9] Return to New York
The battle that followed was one of restraint and desperation. The brothers refused to strike back with full force, even as Splinter’s feral instincts drove him to attack. It was April who stepped forward, using her developing psychic connection to reach through the fog of his mind. In the flickering light of the damp tunnel, she called out to the soul buried beneath the madness. Slowly, the fire in Splinter’s eyes faded, replaced by a painful, flickering recognition. The neon lights of Manhattan didn't feel like a welcome home
