.xX. I Hate Space .Xx.
Summary:
What's the most terrifying thing about space? It's not the creepy alien monster on that planet, or the unexplainable black hole in this galaxy. It's how far apart, infinite, yet connected it is. How very little it takes to get lost in it forever. – Raph definitely knows.
Hello and welcome to a sci-fi, Ninja Turtles, multi-chapter story I, WinterHeath (edit: now Fihuli), am proudly presenting!
This story had started developing two and a half years ago when the 2012 series space arc was still fresh in our minds. It is a kind of response to my disappointment with that arc; and to a whacky dream I had that turned into a simple but fun plot idea.
This fanfic is not an AU. It takes place somewhere in the middle of the turtles' space journey, in which I wanted to go further with the concept of space and aliens and all around weirdness, danger, unfamiliarity, and miscommunication that alien multiculturalism would bring.
My beta reader and advisor is the talented CelandineGranger. She helped me greatly in improving the plot, chapters and my writing, as English isn't my first language and I'm not as good of a writer, or as big of a grammar nerd as she is. Check out her account for more amazing TMNT stories!
If you know me from DeviantArt or tumblr, you know who my favorite turtle is and who gets the most of my attention. And this story is not an exception, as the summary suggests. So get ready for a Raph-centric rollercoaster ride. ;)
I myself rate this story as 15+, but on this site it is rated T mostly for the unsettling and scary atmosphere it will convey, which might not be for the faint of heart. There will be a chapter or two that will lean more towards an M rating. I will warn about that in advance but I promise it will be nothing of what this story might hint at at some point.
Well, I think this author's note is long enough. Enjoy the first chapter!
xXVXx
Chapter One
The City of Neon and Smog
Just as the turtles, April, and Casey plopped down on the bunkbeds like worn out jute sacks, tired from another mission to get the black-hole generator's pieces back into their hands and a quick escape from the Triceratons a couple of hours ago, and ready to catch some needed "Zs" – the spaceship started buzzing and sounding the alarm that shook them all back up to their wobbly feet. The unexpected alert caught them off guard, but they were all quickly sober and running towards the control room.
The sound strangely died out in the middle of their sprint. Everyone's minds quickly jumped to the worst possibilities: being attacked by the Triceratons who caught up with the ship; crossing paths with bounty hunters or space pirates; hitting an asteroid shower for the second time already.
It was in the control room with the wide, rounded windshield that they got a view of what was really happening. The ship had landed on an unknown planet in a kind of futuristic looking city.
"Is something wrong, Fugitoid?" Leonardo was the first to arrive and the first to ask the question that sprouted from everyone's heads at the sudden wake up call.
"Ah, not at all." The robot waved his hand reassuringly at his Earthling friends while his eyes changed into the closed ones Mikey named "the happy smiling emoji eyes, bro, it's obvious."
"I apologize for waking you up in such an unpleasant way. I grazed a post when landing and it triggered the alarm."
The robot saw the group of juveniles nod understandingly in response. Their attention was soon diverted, curiosity only rising at the sight of their destination.
"I wasn't planning on such a sudden escape from the Triceratons. We had to travel an extra long distance for there to be only a zero point three percent chance of them tracking the Ulixes. But we have now almost run out of fuel and this is the closest planet I could stop on to refill the tanks. Maybe even recharge the power generator. My data shows electricity, along with everything else, here on Niktikleptis is very cheap."
"No kidding! Look at all those lights and neon signs!" Michelangelo gasped. He had already glued himself to the large windshield like a little kid window shopping outside a candy store the moment they had stepped in the main room and learned there was no danger.
The rest all joined the turtle's side to get a better look at the outside themselves. The ship was standing on some kind of small "gas station" platform located high up, between old, dark skyscrapers decorated with colorful, neon signs. The tall, rusted buildings sunk deep down below them where the ground couldn't even be seen as no light reached its bottomless pit. The same went with the sky as it was blocked by more buildings growing one out of the other and cables and wires strapped across the open space between them, where even more alien signs hung in bright light. Flying vehicles were gliding through the smoggy gray air and metal rails ran along the buildings and on them hung some strange kind of trams or gondolas.
All the buildings were wrapped in sidewalks with stairs growing out of them like branches and were swarming with countless alien species –most of which the team had not seen before.
Everything was a tangled mess of roads, platforms, wires, pipes and lights. The air was covered in thick smog, the light pollution giving the whole scenery a shady, 80s, city nightlife kind of atmosphere.
The teenagers were consumed by the sight, their tiredness forgotten somewhere in the back of their curious eyes. To a short degree it looked slightly like a futuristic sci-fi Earth city would. Very, very short degree. But they were all homesick and the thought of something even only slightly Earth-like was very welcome to them.
"This place looks like infinite Tokyo," Donatello blurted out, his eyes darting in all directions, looking at everything at once. He couldn't stop staring at the swarm of flying transports that buzzed through the city's traffic, his mind ever so impressed by the technology, even if he had seen far more advanced machinery in the span of the last two months they had spent in space.
"More like that one dangerous alley with a shifty nightclub I like to avoid," April commented sarcastically but with the truth still thick over the words. The pretty neon lights did give the place a lively look but it felt like they hid the poverty cowering behind it. Everything looked old and a tangled mess; buildings on top of older rusty buildings. She was sure if the lights died out it would look like an endless dump.
"Let's check it out!" Casey suggested excitedly, hearing April's previous snark but wanting to explore the city anyway.
The turtles all agreed, being overwhelmed with curiosity of the new place. April was a bit skeptical but even she couldn't resist looking around. It wasn't like these opportunities just popped up every day. Most of the time they just floated through empty space with not much to see.
The team turned to get their gear when Fugitoid hurriedly stepped in their way, his hands in a rushed stopping gesture.
"I don't think leaving the Ulixes is such a good idea," he squeezed out his nervous, high-pitched voice.
"Why not?" Raphael already crossed his arms.
"Do you recall how we stopped on that first planet with the marketplace and I had warned you to be careful because it could be dangerous, and then you almost got killed by an angry mob and even made a lifelong enemy? – Well, this is a whole new level of danger," Fugitoid explained.
He knew the teenagers were mostly skilled warriors but they were young and inexperienced in space travel. And the professor had assigned himself as their protector. He shouldn't expose them to any risks if not necessary. This planet was crawling with dangerous criminals and on top of that it was a city in which you could easily get lost.
"We're in the Elas 13 Solar System which has the highest rating of crime in the known universe! –It's a whole solar system with its own criminal laws," he tried to intimidate them.
"What about the unknown part of the universe?" Mikey asked cheekily, which won him a smack upside the head from Raph. "Hey!"
"That back then was our first time on a different planet. Besides we know how to handle ourselves," Leo argued in the name of all of them. He wanted to see as much of space as he could. Besides a few hours wouldn't be getting in the way of their mission to retrieve the rest of the black-hole fragments. They had just gotten one a couple of hours ago. They should be allowed to have a little bit of fun.
"Yeah, we were just overly excited back then, and that was almost two months ago," Donnie stepped in for support.
"And you're not overly excited now?" Fugitoid questioned in a voice that would usually be matched with a risen eyebrow if he sported one – preferably two.
"No…" they all answered in union and earned an exhausted sigh from the robot.
April joined Fugitoid's side when she noticed how serious he was. "Maybe we should trust Professor's judgment. Why do you want to go out so badly?" She was getting a bad vibe from the city that she didn't want to ignore anymore. She knew her telepathic powers were mostly right when it came to such things.
"Because it looks cool," Raph blurted out as if it was the most obvious reason. – Which it was.
April backed away without a sound: Once guys set their minds on something because of its looks, it's impossible to change their minds. She wasn't a fan of arguing and she trusted and knew her friends enough to know they could get out of trouble if they ever stumbled into it.
Fugitoid tried one last time to be reasonable. "This is an ecumenopolis that covers almost the entire planet. There are too many possibilities of you simply getting lost, let alone something happening to you…"
Just as he spoke the last word he knew he had made a mistake. The boys took his words as a challenge. They were young teenagers, eager to see everything and prove themselves in every way possible. Simple "no-nos" wouldn't change their minds.
"Dude, we're from New York City! We can handle big nasty cities!" Casey smirked smugly.
"Yeah, dude!"
The turtles all nodded grinning and all five were eager to leave already and get their spacesuits and gear on.
A sigh passed the robot's speakers as he gave in. "Very well, you may go…"
The boys did a little victory cheer before rushing off to get to their space equipment.
"I wanna see what kind of awesome and weird shops you can find!" Mikey laughed as he raced them to the cabinets.
"Gather here before you leave and get lost permanently!" Fugitoid shouted after them, another sigh escaping his speakers after.
"Don't worry, Professor," April laid a comforting hand on the robot's metal shoulder. "Those guys have made it through a lot weirder stuff than an alien city."
It didn't take more than two minutes for everyone to get ready to go outside, including April, who promised to keep an eye on the boys if they got any stupid ideas.
They gathered in front of the main entry gates, everyone's helmets tucked under their arms and ready to be put on.
"Okay, listen carefully now. You have an Earth hour – one hour! – to look around and come back here. Don't go too far because you'll get lost. Don't stray into small labyrinth passages because you'll get lost. Don't take any of the transports because you'll-"
-"Get lost. We get it," Casey whined, never being the most patient of them.
"Don't talk to anyone. Don't make eye contact with anyone. Don't consume anything. And stay together."
"Don't worry, Fugitoid, we'll be careful and stay out of trouble. We're just gonna look around a bit," Donnie reassured.
Fugitoid gave a nod, knowing Donatello meant what he said, yet he still couldn't help but worry.
"Keep your helmets on. Foreigners are not used to the pollution and extreme lack of oxygen in the air that is a consequence of such an enormous city."
Everyone put their helmets on in unison at the robot's order.
"Keep your communicators on you."
Everyone nodded with their communicators strapped to the chests of their suits.
"Be careful."
Fugitoid opened the gates and the teens, who were previously still and listening like good students, hopped out faster than the blink of an eye. Professor watched them leave the station and couldn't help but yell after them.
"Remember: One Earth hour!"
They waved in response but disappeared sooner than he liked.
The team ran down the rusted stairs leading off the platform and stopped on the last steps just before they would submerge with the crowd of pedestrians on the iron sidewalk that went alongside the enormous building. The aliens all looked like 80s and 90s freaks with colored mohawks and other strange hairstyles. Most of them wore old worn-out but colorful clothing styled with neon prints and glowing jewelry, but between them there were only a rare few who wore new shiny polished jackets and oversized fur coats so puffy they'd even scare away a yeti.
A lot of the strange faces were crooked and grim as of lowlife scum and criminals and not even one of them wore breathing helmets. Some had some kind of gas masks strapped to their belts but none of those were being used either. Which made the group of friends in their fancy space gear stand out more than necessary.
"Wow, if Bebop was here, he would blend right in," Mikey commented as they all dumbly stood on the steps taking in the sight before them. There was no way to disagree with the freckled turtle.
"So where should we go?" Leo, who was in front, asked the rest after they started getting strange looks from the crowd for just mindlessly staring around.
"I want to see what kind of tech they have here. It looks really advanced but still feels extremely outdated in comparison to what we've already seen. Maybe I could get something cheap like a small generator or something and try to analyze it back at the ship. Fugitoid did say that everything here is cheap," Donnie beamed with his customary nerdiness.
"Mhm, that's really interesting, Donnie. I would love to spend my time looking at alien toasters that are advanced but not very advanced."
"Thanks, Raph. You're a real charmer," Donnie grumbled, not in the mood for his brother's sarcasm.
"I wanna play videogames! I miss the games at home. They should have like an arcade somewhere, right? This place looks like it has arcades," Mikey jumped up and down as if he could get a better look that way.
Casey leaned on Mikey's shoulder and stopped him from moving too much. "I'm with the little guy."
"Count me in. I rather play games than look for toasters any day." Raph stepped to their side, too.
"Okay, fine. You three go your way. April and I will go with Donnie."
"Wait, Leo, Professor said to stay together."
"Don't worry, April. Fugitoid just worries too much. Besides we're just splitting into two groups. We'll all be fine."
April glared at Leo who innocently smiled back at her in return. Before she could say anything, Mikey grabbed Raph and Casey by their wrists and excitedly dragged them down the last steps.
"I'm sure were gonna find something super cool down the block!"
They slipped into the pedestrian traffic and escaped down the sidewalk like paper boats down a stream.
"I guess we go the other way." Leo offered April a chance to lead the way. She roughly grabbed Donnie's arm and clung to it, pulling them both forward in the said direction, using every fiber in her from exploding in Leo's face.
The leader strolled behind them like a lost pup, feeling a bit guilty for angering the redhead.
xXx
"That arcade was whack! I couldn't even understand the controls." Casey stretched his arms in the air as they progressed down a narrow platform.
"Tell me about it. I'm surprised we even found one, but, man, was it not worth it. We only have about twenty minutes left before we have to be back at the ship," Raph grumbled.
They were walking on an old sidewalk that was attached and going alongside a skyscraper. To their right was the wall of the tall building to which the platform was connected, which was packed with makeshift shops and stands of some kind of flea market.
And right to their left was a bottomless pit that just screamed "certain death." – The rusty, creaking, grated floor wasn't helping ease the scary feeling of falling through. The space between these skyscrapers was much narrower than before in the main avenue, which gave the "alley" a very thin compressed look. Flying vehicles flew through the air on the left regularly but it was clear they were no longer on a busy street. It lacked the thick crowds and bright colorful signs. There were still a few but not enough to completely light up the dark smog filled air. It looked like a very foggy day, if fog had a grayish brown color.
"Have these people here ever even seen sunlight? I can't even see the tops of the 'scrapers." Raph observed the nonexistent sky above them.
"I'd count these aliens here lucky. Imagine living down there in the pit. There doesn't even seem to be a light of any sorts."
The two boys both cautiously leaned over the side of the platform to look at the bottom which looked like a black brownish void consuming the foot of the buildings. There was no fence in that part of the street where they stood and it made the pit and the fear of falling that much scarier. Just as they cautiously observed the view, Raph got a panicked feeling of something missing beside them.
"Where's Mikey?!"
They swung around suddenly scared for the sake of the little brother. He wasn't with them! Both their eyes darted around panicked.
All the worst case scenarios were already playing in Raph's head at a thousand miles per second. What if someone took him?! What if he fell over?! What if he got stabbed!? –Before his eyes locked with the familiar light green mass back at the end of the sidewalk where they came from.
Mikey seemed to be just standing there talking to someone out of their sight.
Raph didn't waste a second and sprinted through the scarce crowd, as fast as his legs could carry him to his side. He turned the oblivious turtle around by the shoulder and screamed into his face before Mikey even got a look at who grabbed him.
"Mikey! What the heck!?" he shook him by the shoulders and silently thanked God and every other holy being that nothing happened to his little bro.
"Oh, hey, Raph." Mikey smiled. – Which both relaxed and irritated Raph to no end. "This guy was offering me this glittery powder that you mix with any drink and it tastes like dreams. Cool, right!"
"What!?" The hot-tempered brother looked over Mikey's shoulder at the scrawny, greasy, four-armed, gray creature, in an old, stretched, oversized jacket, who Raph instantly labeled as an alien drug dealer. He wanted to kick the thing between the legs where preferably his junk would be if he, by any chance, had any. But his concerns directed him back to Mikey.
"You didn't try any of that stuff, did you?"
"Nah, bro."
That was an enormous relief for the older brother.
"I couldn't, I'm wearing a helmet, remember. And besides it costs way too much – so I tried to bargain…" he whispered the last part to him.
Raph couldn't explain the anger and rage he felt towards Mikey's pea sized brain that couldn't see the difference between good and bad. But somehow, with a deep intake of breath, he managed to cage it and save it for later on the ship. He pulled Mikey away and flung him into Casey who had caught up and was already standing behind them.
Raphael gave the alien the nastiest, darkest look he could muster with his poisonous green eyes –which left the creature speechless and wide-eyed – before pushing his brother and friend away from the place. He itched for a fight but he hadn't forgotten Fugitoid warning them countless times earlier not to get into trouble in the alien city.
"Mikey, don't talk to anyone except for me and Casey until we get back to the ship. And from now on I'm walking in the back because you clearly can't be trusted to be out of sight for even a second!"
"Aw, man! I'm not complaining, but what did I do?"
"You're a moron, Mikey," Casey jumped in as a substitute for Raph. "That guy was trying to sell you space drugs. You don't know what those things could do to you. You could've been 'more high' than these skyscrapers."
"Oh, I see… I had no idea, dude. If I was so tall, I wouldn't even fit into the spaceship anymore, and then you'd have to leave me behind. Thanks for the save."
Casey and Raph both face palmed but none of them said a word as they continued to walk down the littered, rusty platform. It wasn't worth explaining. And Mikey's innocence was just too precious to spoil, even for them.
xXx
The four-armed alien observed the three leave down the road, his eyes focused on their backs. He kept staring at them until a nice inconspicuous distance grew in between them. He grabbed a communicator out of his jacket and dialed a number much like on an Earthly cellphone.
"Whaddya want?"
"I just found a GAG you do not want to miss out on."
"Here? AHAHA! Are you sure you're not delusional?" a rough voice came from the other side of the line. It was laced with too many smoked cigarettes, but you could still hear the feminine sound of something like a woman.
"Hurry up if you don't wanna miss the golden opportunity. Just lock on my signal. I'll follow 'em around."
"Them?"
"There's two with 'im, but they shouldn't be a problem."
"Give us seven. Keep a distance. I don't want them scattering away."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
He flung the communicator into his old jacket and pulled the hood over his head. With a hunched posture he started following the three strange aliens.
xXVXx
Here we are, with the prologue of the story. Please leave a review of your first thoughts. If you don't have a ffnet account, you can leave a Guest review, which is equally appreciated. :)
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