On a cold, quiet night in New York the Ninja Turtles emerged to the surface, their shells barely visible in the dim light of the alley. They were on a mission, desperately searching for a cylinder of mutagen, which they knew could cause a disaster if it fell into the wrong hands. The alley was dark and deserted, piles of trash and dumpsters stacked along the walls.

“It must be around here somewhere,” Leonardo murmurred as he surveyed the surroundings. With a quick signal, he motioned for his brothers to search the area.

Raphael opened a dumpster with a jerk. “I don’t see anything here… just trash,” he said with a grimace of disgust.

Mikey was crouched next to a dumpster, searching with less enthusiasm. “Who would have thought we’d spend the night rummaging through trash?”

The turtles immediately tensed, their bodies adopting defensive postures. “Did you hear that?” Donnie asked, looking up from his search. The crying was repeated, this time a little louder, coming from a small box at the end of the alley. “It could be a trap,” Leo warned, pulling out his katanas and standing on guard. Raphael pulled out his sais, and Michelangelo readied his nunchakus, all ready for whatever might come out of that box.

Donatello with his Bō staff in hand used the end of his staff to slightly open the lid of the box. But instead of a threat, what they found stunned them. Inside the box was a human baby, its teary eyes staring at the turtles with innocence.

“A… baby?” Leonardo whispered, slowly lowering his katanas.

“It’s a baby!” Mikey exclaimed. Without a second thought he carefully lifted the baby out of the box. The baby stopped crying and looked at Mikey with a curious expression, reaching out its small hands towards him.. "We need to get him to the lair," Michelangelo said, a tender smile on his face. "Look at him! He's so small and needs help. Splinter will understand."

The other brothers exchanged glances, knowing that the situation was getting more complicated than they had imagined.