Eve Prologue

Eve of Destruction
Created on Saturday, September 25, 1999

The eastern world, it is explodin'
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
Your old enough to kill, but not for votin'
You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'
And even the Jordan river, has bodies floatin'
But ya, tell me over and over and over again, my friend
Aw, ya don't believe we're on the eve of destruction

Eve of Destruction by The Turtles

Prologue

The streets of New York were empty. Signs of life consisted of the homeless or strays whom would wander aimlessly for shelter or scraps of food. The world had certainly reached it's end in terms of pollution, famine, crime, and garbage that has seemed to double over the past century. Even in the daytime, the skies had a blackened tinge from smog and factories that bellowed out the dangerous toxins into the once crisp, clean air. People were basically scared to walk on the sidewalks anymore. Rarely you'd see someone walking alone or ride a bicycle along the roads. Gangs rose up left and right in the defense of the wasteland of a city in hopes of restarting a new era of civilization. Politics? Ha! To them, it was mere child's play of dressing in business suits, have a cell phone stuck to their ear and ride around in fancy cars to get to important meetings. The SWAT Team was reformed with new heavy artillery. Buff 6'4 men wearing bullet-proof vests carried guns with barrels the size of watermelons would frequently roam the city in search for any unusual activities. Making sure there wasn't any trouble amongst the teens as well as business men fighting over a taxi cab. Little things make the difference. The arrests were another problem. A person would get cited for $1000 for dropping a gum wrapper if spotted. If the laws and protection were so high, why was the city falling apart? Politics. The nice, dressed men whom sat behind desks pretending to be doing hard work had given up on the city. They left the dirty work for the police and SWAT Team. Little did they know a small but effective clan was beginning underway to fight back the crime and reclaim the town that was once theirs. An unknown group that houses within the walls of the old police department building have been scheming and hiring youths of all ages to train and become soldiers to go out and end this constant war on the city. But something had been stirring deep within the stronghold of the building. Something out of the ordinary that could be heard or seen in the National Enquirer or such abhorred papers as that. The world may never discover this clan's secret nor ever wish to uncover the facts. For secrets, it is sometimes best to keep the unknown.....unknown.

Four brothers sat in a row across from their sensei. Four, mutant turtles and a gigantic rat were once a family down in the underground sewer. Now, with the future taking it's toll on the group as well as the city above, a heartfelt farewell was soon underway during their final conversation.

Leonardo, the loyal and devoted son, was almost in tears when his father departed from him and his brothers. Departed for home; back to his roots in Japan. His brothers had their reasons for staying in New York and decided to join him when they were good and ready.

"I can no longer stay in this city. I need some time alone. Alone to think." Their father spoke gravely to them.

"Yes, Master Splinter." Leo bowed to him.

"I leave you in charge as before, Leonardo, and trust that you will treat your brothers as I have. With kindness, respect and love."

Raphael rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. The hot-headed one, as he was sometimes called, disdained the fact that one of the four should be put in charge of anything.

The other two brothers, Donatello and Michaelangelo, listened in utter silence. Their father, as he became known to be, was leaving them alone for the first and longest time. He has left them in the past but always returned. This time, he was leaving for good. This meant they were growing up and no longer needed his parental supervision. Throughout the years of joy, happiness, pain, sorrow and redemption, it was at this point that the chapters were beyond the climax and that a brand new story was yet to unfold for the lives of these young adults.

"Will you write to us, sensei?" Mike's voice was weak with mournfulness.

"It is rather difficult to send mail to an unlisted address so I have contacted April and she will hold my letters for you. I have also informed her of my departure and she wishes me well. She also wishes you to come visit her at Casey's farmhouse for awhile. It has been months and she is longing to see you all. Please, tell her, Casey and Shadow that I love and will miss them all."

The tears finally fell down onto Mike's beak once the word 'love' was mentioned. The fun-loving brother of the group was also a sentimental at heart. He had grown so fond of his master, despite the grueling 7am workouts in the dojo and the strict orders that were thrown out to him. When rough times called for a quick joke, he'd have the last laugh. For the moment, no one felt like cracking a smile. Donatello sat next to him and patted his arm in condolence. He kept a straight face and would only respond with a few nods to Splinter. It's not that he wasn't a sentiment like his brother Mike. He could be just as bad as him if he wanted to. Don was considered shy, eccentric and kept more to himself within the den of his computer lab. His quietness frightened his brothers. At times, they wondered when he would go into another world, how much strength would it take to pull him back into reality.

The group joined again at the exit to the lair and stood by to watch Splinter walk out of the room and out of their lives. He hugged them all and turned to step out, never once looking back. Sniffs and sniffles were heard among them as they watched the rat slowly walk out; his patted feet lightly touching the floor in his path. Farewell, Splinter. Father.

It wasn't long before arguments flared, fist fights started and furniture was thrown around the lair. Raphael grew sick and tired of Leonardo telling him what to do. Leo constantly reminded him at the drop of a hat that he was put in charge by Splinter. Raph soon went off on his own to either smolder in his room or watch TV with his bud Mike. He seemed the only one who would understand. Donatello spent many hours in his lab to escape to the wonderful and infamous world wide web. A place where he ruled and answered to no one. He entered many different and new domains, chatting on message boards or talking with people in chat rooms of the mIRC. He chose the name Don-san with no questions asked and became a favorite among the other people he talked to. One girl in particular, whom he hoped was a girl, talked to him frequently. The two got to know each other by sharing the same interests and it got on the level of trading personal email to one another. Her name was Rachel, 17 years of age, just graduated from high school and was attending NYU.

"Your parents must have expensive tastes to send you to a school like that." Donatello's fingers sped across the keyboard. He sent the message.

"Actually, my parents have champagne tastes and beer pockets. My grandparents helped pay for my intuition. Fancy that!" Rachel replied.

Donatello felt it was too soon to pop the big question of meeting her in person just yet. Trapped behind the safety of his computer screen was a good enough shield for the time being. He also felt deep down she might reject him when she discovers he's not human. He so longed for companionship and yearned the chance to experience the real world. A chance to leave the dimly quarters of this underground lair. He had longed to see the world for what is was instead of looking out a window called Microsoft. It just wasn't the same. It would only be a matter of days before he knew he would be fighting for his life than the simple love interest of a cyber companion.

Raph and Leo have agreed to get along by not talking to one another unless if necessary. This took a breather for Mike and Don which were happy with the decision. It wasn't entirely over but was a start. The two remained separate aside from all sitting at the dinner table where comical pettiness would arouse between the two.

"Mike, tell Leo to pass the salt."

"Leo, Raph says-"

"I know what he said. Tell him to get it himself."

"Raph, Leo says-"

"And why the hell should I? It's sittin' right next to him! Is it such an effort to lift a hand and pass it?"

Don finally grabbed the salt and slammed it down in front of Raph; tiny grains of salt spilling out on the table.

"His Majesty's salt." He gritted his teeth to him.

"Shut up, Donny!"

The dinner went fairly well but the company had to go. Dessert was brought out by Mike with a death by chocolate 6 layer cake. This delicious, rich, little devil made in heaven brought a smile to everyone's face as he cut between the lush layers of frosting. The Got Milk? crave came up and Mike was one step ahead of them. He took out the plastic milk container and poured some into 4 cups to quench the thirst of his brothers. Poor actors had to suffer without it in those humorous commercials about eating pastries with nothing to gulp it down with.

Leo decided to call April that evening to tell her they would be coming to visit on the following Friday when she and Casey were home from work and Shadow from school. She was thrilled with the idea and made plans at what time to pick them up and bring them to a long-awaited family gathering. The others agreed and it was settled once Leo explained it. Being underground for too long can drive a person (or a turtle) to the nut house. The following Friday meant a whole week. Leo checked the calendar. 6 days left to go.

The group adjourned to the couch to watch TV and surprisingly, there wasn't much arguing to speak of on what to watch. It was mostly a 'I could care less' or 'whatever you want to watch is fine with me' attitude. Eventually, Don got up to catch a plane into Cyber World followed by Leo whom went to read quietly. It always seemed Raph and Mike were the last ones at the tube.

"They obviously have no culture."

Raphael frowned. "You mean TV has culture? And to think I was rotting my brain the whole time."

"How can you think if your brain is rotting?" A pillow was thrown at Mike. "Hey! I didn't have to make that chocolate cake for you ya know!"

"Thanks to you I have to workout more to burn off the extra calories."

A large explosion erupted above them that shook the entire room. Raph and Mike clung on to whatever they could find before the noise brought Leo and Don into the room.

"What the hell was that?" Leonardo stared upward; his brothers soon doing the same.

"Sorry, must have been the extra calories kicking in." Raphael rubbed his stomach.

"Sounded like an earthquake." Mike hoped.

"Earthquakes aren't explosive you dip!" Raph smacked him on the head.

"No, but they can cause explosions."

Donatello walked away toward the ladder and looked up. He wasn't one for hunches but one thing was for sure. Their night was going to be more than just watching TV. A small, metal sphere dropped from atop the ladder and Don caught it in a quick reflex. He stared down at it with a feeling of sudden terror.

"Oh, damn...."

Leonardo looked over with a frown. "What's wrong, Don? What is it?"

"Um, guys? I have one word for you."

Raph raised his eyebrows and stood up. "And that is?"

"RUN!!!"

Donatello threw it as far as he could and ran over to the group. He didn't stop there.

"Go! Move! Now!" Don flailed his arms frantically as the others followed him.

Shortly, a large explosion similar to what went off earlier hit at closer range. A bomb! They were under attack. The bomb went off and left the ladder, and whatever else was around it, in shambles. The room started to shake and shudder even harder as the Turtles hightailed for another exit. They ran as fast as possible while the room behind them was nothing but ablaze. The tunnels were dark and endless as they ran through them. Empty and abandoned tracks gave them a safe path from oncoming trains. They could hear more bombs going off around the area. The deafening sound was all they needed to hear to know it was impossible to get away. The tunnels turned to an eerie orange glow as the flames drew nearer. Finding a sewer path, Leo lifted the manhole and gestured his brothers to go first. He was the last to go down before a wave of flames flew over his head within seconds. The group wandered the maze of sewer passages with wordless sorrow. Their home was destroyed. Gone from existence. They stopped to rest against the wall for a minute or two. Leonardo looked back with anger and despair.

"What have we done to deserve this? What have we-" Mike cut himself off from heavy panting and the urge to throw up. He stood up and relaxed, allowing the nausea to pass.

"We're breathing, Mike. That's what we've done." Raph's voice was low and hardly audible. He stared down at his sai blades tucked within his belt and gripped one of the hilts.

"Our home. My lab. This can't be happening." Don placed a hand to his eyes and shook his head.

Raphael brought up a hand. "Leo, we should wait till it clears out and try to get whatever is left for supplies. We have nothing but ourselves and luckily our weapons."

The sound of another explosion echoed in the stone walls. The Turtles jolted and looked around them.

Leonardo shook his head. "We can't go back, Raph. We've been spotted and it would be suicide to return. If you insist on going home, you'll be walking right into a quick death."

"What are you talking about? They bombed the area, the fires will die down and we can check to see what's available to take with us."

"What if there are men scouting the premises? They're not just going to bomb and leave without surveying first."

Donatello jumped in next. "Plus, Raph, where are you going to find a gas mask? Borrow one from the fire department?"

"What the hell would I need that for when there's no fire?"

"I'm talking about afterwards. The fire will leave behind dangerous toxins in the air such as asbestos which will coat your lungs and will eventually kill you. I've never heard of a turtle getting lung cancer before but with our human traits, anything's possible."

"Are you buying this?" Raph asked Mike as he thumbed to Don.

Michaelangelo shrugged. "I heard somethin' about that on Rescue 911 so it must be true."

Donatello rolled his eyes. "Of course, it's true! Why would I make up something like that?"

After much consideration, the group returned to the lair with caution. The rooms were blackened from the fire, priceless antiques were broken from the blast, pictures had a black tinge to them, some were burnt to cinders. Their living room couch seemed to withstand but took a few beatings. The train car that stood in the center was leaned on an angle on the tracks; one side of it blackened. The Turtles pressed their beaks closed and squinted their eyes as they looked around. Donatello was right. A white, flaky substance was slowly moving around in the air. Don quickly ran to his room to see his computer and lab equipment demolished. He found some floppies and zips that were left unharmed and placed them in a sack by his desk. Before leaving the room, he searched around for anything scarce or useful. The others checked around and packed as much food that was still good into large sacks. They found items of value still intact and grabbed as much as they could; packing them away like they were criminals ransacking a house. Don returned to the front and found his brothers. Tears glistened in his eyes as he stared at the sight. It could have been from the smoky atmosphere to make them watery-looking. His brothers knew him better than that. Last thing to snatch was their hat and trench coat disguises and a last look around before running out to safety.

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