Free The Casey Chronicles by Nickelodeon Publishing

Shredder might have left the country on urgent business, but his presence still ruled over his minions back home.
    No one felt this more than his daughter, Karai. Although her father was thousands of miles away, she found herself staring at him, thanks to a video feed broadcast by the M.O.U.S.E.R.S., small robots with projectors in their skulls. The droids’ transmission cast Shredder’s face in a pixelated glow, making him appear more monstrous than usual. And magnified to the size of a movie theater screen, his disappointment was all the more obvious.
    Karai hung her head in shame.
    â€œSo, Daughter,” Shredder’s voice boomed. “Not only do you disobey my orders in my absence, but your petty scheme failed miserably.”
    Karai knew she was in deep trouble. Over the past few weeks, she had tried to make her father proud by doing her best to capture the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She knew it wasn’t her responsibility, but she wanted to be the one to exact vengeance upon them.
    She just didn’t have the right tools for the job.
    â€œIt was those stupid Footbots!” she protested, staring daggers at the inadequate ninja robots that surrounded her. “They couldn’t keep up with the Turtles. But one good thing: the Kraang have been upgrading them! So—”
    â€œHear me, Karai,” Shredder growled. “You will have no more dealings with the Kraang until I return.”
    â€œUnderstood, Father.”
    â€œWait for my command and do not defy me again. The consequences would be … unfortunate.”
    Karai clenched her fists in anger. She couldn’t be seen as a failure—not by the Foot, and especially not by her father. It was time for drastic measures.
    And waiting for permission was not an option.

    Karai led two Footbots down a long tunnel, mulling over her plans. She was intent on making things right, and for that, she needed the extra-dimensional beings called the Kraang. They were scientists, soldiers, and notorious criminals known throughout the universe. And ever since Shredder had saved them from the wreckage of their space station, they were considered allies.
    They still give me the creeps
, Karai thought.
    Even though Shredder had struck an unlikely alliance with these slimy invaders, she felt uneasy around them: they were cooperating for the moment, but they were also aliens with their own agenda.
    Karai and her bots finally arrived at the lab. Kraang-droids, the metallic exoskeletons that housed the brainlike Kraang, patrolled the area. Other Kraang floated in mobile pods, free to swing their tentacles wherever they pleased. A dome in the middle of the room was hardwired into various computers.
    With the flip of a switch, steps
    materialized out of thin air. Karai climbed them to an observation deck as the dome opened. Smoke billowed out, and a giant robot rose from the floor. Its form was familiar to her: a suit of armor adorned with jagged spikes. It wasn’t even po ered up, but it sent a shiver along Karai’s spine. It was the ultimate in cybernetic warfare: a Dark Ninja Robot.
    â€œNot bad,” Karai said. “How soon until it’s online?”

    One Kraang-droid stepped forward to answer her. “By Kraang’s calculations, nine Earth-hour units before—”
    â€œNine hours?” Karai exclaimed. “I want to test it on someone
now.
And I’ve got the perfect target … April O’Neil.”
    The Kraang gasped. The mere mention of April’s name sent a psychic shock across their hive mind. Karai didn’t know that April was the key to funneling the Kraang’s telekinetic energy, that she was their secret weapon.
    Karai glared at the droid. “Is there a problem with that?”
    Sensing her frustration, the Kraang-droid hesitated, knowing it was unsafe to reveal the truth about April. Finally, it said, “Kraang sees no foreseeable problem, one called Karai.”
    â€œGood.