"Burroughs, Leary, and Kubrick. Three powerful names for three powerful souls."
The three students stood quietly in front of their master, the Naming Rite completed mere moments ago. Each was thinking of the future and what it held for each of them.
"Prepare for the coming days, my students. There will be nothing but trial and tribulation in your future." The fourth occupant of the sewer junction point said. The four were in what they called home, the maze of ancient sewers that resided beneath the urban sprawl Japan had become.
Three of the four persons gathered in the small room were anything but human however. Each stood at about 5'11", muscles hidden beneath their green skin, their backs covered by a protective shell. A simple piece of cloth was wrapped around each ones midsection, no other clothing apparent on their amphibian bodies. The three were near identical, but upon closer examination certain differences became apparent.
The middle of the group, runes tattooed into his flesh, began writhing his hands in front of him, chants uttered from its lips. Practising the Kaibil, a path of martial arts blending magic and fighting styles, the tatted figure was a powerful foe.
The largest of the group spun a staff before him, its mechanics causing it to grow and shrink in length at the mere thought of its bearer. Spinning like a top, the Staff wielder moved effortlessly around the sparring circle, twisting at odd angles, the staff whistling through the air.
The last stood shorter then the rest, with a patch of fur on his chin. Carrying two blades in his hands, the runt began a flurry of kicks and thrusts, performing a kanta only he knew. As his dance of death continued, the blades he carried sparked with power, a hum filling the air around the warrior.
"Prepare to fight", The human, the only other person in the room, said.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: IFS #1 (of 3)
"Prepare to Fight"
Written By: Alex `BioHaz' Cook
Edited by: Jac Milnestein
"Damn."
That was all Chow `CJ' Jones could say in the dark room. His arms chained to the wall he now rested next to, the statement pretty much summed up the current situation. CJ had been damned. Due to the so-called Angels that reside over Albion torturing the Japanese man for information he doesn't have, CJ has come to accept his new life. The path that led him here has been long and winding, but he wouldn't retrace a step for the life of him.
In the back of his mind, CJ knew his Rebellion would come for him, sooner or later. He just hoped he was alive when they arrived.
*******
"There are the co-ordinates, as promised." The voice said through the computer speakers. A woman of no more then 20 sat at the terminal and grimaced as she read the contents of the file just delivered.
"Laeticia, this says he is in Rijushini Tower! How the hell are we going to get in there?!" the woman asked in a hurry.
"That is exactly were your precious Chow `CJ' Jones is being held, that I can promise you. He is scheduled for the final interrogation tomorrow. Better hurry and save your leader, dear." Laeticia replied, obviously aware she held the upper hand in this communication. "All I ask is safe passage through Japan. Nothing more, nothing less."
"You may be an `Angel', Laeticia, but I still don't trust you." the woman answered.
"You don't have to trust me Michelle, you just have to save your leader. Laeticia out." The Angel finished, cutting off the connection.
Michelle let out a sigh, realizing just how much trouble they all were in.
"Rat! It's time!" Michelle yelled down the hallway as she stood up from the computer.
*******
Burroughs, spectacles on his bald green head, waved his hands in the air, energy following his fingers. Microwaves of power began to almost seep off of Burroughs' body, pooling on his fists and feet. Bringing both hands together and bowing, Burroughs let out a long and satisfied sigh. A glint in his hidden eyes, Burroughs spoke to his brothers.
"Ready?" And the fight began.
Burroughs lashed out savagely, magic coupling his attack. Pink and purple trails followed his attacking appendages, exploding on contact. Taking two steps to the right, Burroughs confronted Leary first. A sidekick to the solar plexus caused the runt to drop to the ground, Leary's feet attempting to sweep Burroughs to his back as he fell. Burroughs hoped effortlessly, landing on the balls of his feet evading the attack from Leary. Left foot coming up high, Burroughs crane kicked Leary, connecting with his collarbone.
A metal staff whistled in the air, connecting with Burroughs on his shell before arching back around and slamming into the Turtle's head. Turning quickly, Burroughs came face to face with Kubrick, staff gripped in determination. Dropping his magics, Burroughs took Kubrick on hand to hand. Producing a nightstick type weapon from his gi, Burroughs stood ready for Kubrick.
Leary, regaining his footing, yelled a battle cry as he flung himself at the two Turtles. Leaping in the air, Leary came down; left leg extended, hard on Burroughs. Wasting no time, Leary spun once landed, arching his right leg up and around. A roundhouse connected with Kubrick's jaw spinning the Turtle to the ground.
"Bastards, first round is on you!" Leary bellowed in glee. Too soon, hindsight would tell him later. Kubrick rolled on the floor, his staff tight against his body. His roll ending, the Turtle took to all fours, staying low. Scurrying closer to Leary, Kubrick sprung, bringing the end of his staff against the ground. Pushing one of the many buttons on the handle, the staff grew in length, vaulting Kubrick at Leary. Kubrick's left foot connected hard against Leary's face. Landing, Kubrick retracted the staff and swung it in an arch down, contacting Leary's right arm.
Taking the blow in stride, Leary counter-attacked, turning the opposite direction deflecting the staff. Finishing his revolution Leary punched Kubrick hard, first with a backhanded slap followed by a strong left. Reaching behind himself, Leary produced a knife from his shell, its blade already energizing with electricity.
Swiping and spinning, Leary attacks were not easily defended. Kubrick wouldn't have it any other way. His arms went up in defenses automatically, each blow deflected with ease. Then Leary's right arm dropped to low, his attack coming up short. Kubrick locked onto Leary's arm, weaving his own arm under his brothers. Dropping to a knee, Kubrick quickly broke the arm at the elbow.
Amid Leary's screams of pain, Kubrick leapt to safety, asking, "Who's buying the drinks now?"
A magical dragon pounced on Kubrick then, its caster standing proudly away from the fighting turtles. Burroughs called the mystic creation back, the dragon disappearing in a poof of disorienting smoke. Burroughs took advantage of the phased opponent, swiftly pricking two major nerve points on the Turtle's body. Falling to a heap, Kubrick rolled to the side to catch his breadth.
Two claps ushered from outside the arena. The Turtles quickly came to attention, eyes gazing at the makeshift dojo's doorway. In it stood Yon Gui, the Turtles' teacher, and long time friend.
"Enough for today, Turtles. Go, enjoy the city." Yon said peacefully.
The Turtles rushed out of the dojo, yelling and jumping in anticipation of the night ahead.
Yon stood in the now empty dojo, contemplative in anticipation of the night ahead.
*******
Rijushini Tower, on the outskirts of New Tokyo was about to become extremely active. A state of the art facility, Rijushini Tower was surrounded by an energy field that kept anyone wanting in out, and anyone wanting out in. This was the first and foremost interrogation area in the Japanese government, and the location of the rebel CJ Jones, supposed head of the Japanese Rebellion.
Flying in silent mode, an unmarked XJ-9 Stealth Cruiser floated past the tower. As it passed, the back hatched open, and two forms were seen jumping out into the night. Wrapped in black, the two free fell down to the tower. Closing in fast the two released small parachutes, meant to slow their descent, not stop it. Landing hard and rolling to a stop, the two were in position.
"Topside, checking in." One of the two dark figures said into a mike attached to his hood. The other figure produced a welding torch from his dark folds of clothing. Sparking the tool, the form began to slice a thin line into the door barring entry to the Tower.
"Entryway accessed, dropping EMPs charges now. Ten seconds till activation, mark!" the second paratrooper said into his mike. Each looked at each other and ran down the stairs, counting down to ten in their heads.
At the gate, the guard on duty was getting quite a show.
"Listen, my Dad works in the Tower! I need to see him. It's super urgent!" The bubbly voice said, looking at the guard expectantly. Bending every so often, Michelle had the guard under her trance. Letting this slip of clothing ride up a little higher then normal, let that piece drop lower then normal, and the guard's eyes were fixated on Michelle and no where else.
Until the big explosion that was. Chain link fence sprayed everywhere as a force blast ripped the metal apart. Concrete followed soon after, showering Michelle and the guard in debris.
"This is outpost one, calling all posts! We have an explosion, ERK" The guard finished, Michelle's hand removing a small blade from his rib cage. "It won't kill you dear, but you'll be feeling my kiss for weeks!" Michele said as she ran towards the explosion, through the now open hole in the energy grid surrounding the Tower. "Gates are clear. Move in!" Michelle yelled into her ear mike as she ran across the landscaping towards the main entryway.
*******
"It's the bigger dick policy!" Leary cried as he reached for his fourth glass of saki.
The three sat in a little cafe in the lower sections of New Tokyo. Not the Underbelly, but high enough to actually see the sky and stars. The cafe was a trendy spot a few years ago. Now only a few patrons trickle in every now and then to listen to the Jazz band playing that night.
"Pardon me?" Burroughs asked, not sure where his sibling was going with this.
"It's simple. What is the fundamental basis of war? To prove one side is better then the other. Nobody screws with Albion, because they have the bigger guns. Thus, they are the better side. Whichever side has the biggest dick wins!" Leary commented triumphantly, sipping his warm saki carefully once completed.
"After hundreds of years of war and thousands of scholars spending their lives researching war, you've boiled it all down to `The Bigger Dick Policy'?" Burroughs asked, a little stunned by the simplicity of the previous comment.
"Yep," Leary replied, finishing off the last of his saki.
BOOM
All three heads spun to the right to look out at the New Tokyo skyline. A huge explosion had just rocked the Rijushini Tower; the bursts of flame still billowing out of the top.
"See, someone wanted to prove they had a bigger dick." Leary said with a smirk.
*******
"Move! Move! Move!" the Rat screamed as he rushed CJ out of his cell.
The guards that had been stationed at CJs doorway were now bloody chunks of humans littered across the floor. CJ looked at the destruction and grimaced slightly. He didn't want this; this was too extreme, too much. CJ fought to keep the bile in his throat as he followed The Rat's departing form.
CJ was in close pursuit until he saw the blinking lights of an Albion relay sitting in a room near him. After scanning behind him quickly, CJ bolted into the room and sat at the Albion terminal.
"Rat! Cover me!" CJ yelled as he jumped inside the room. The Rat turned and swore, watching the rebellion leader he had sworn to protect sit at the Albion Terminal. The Rat followed CJ, covering the doorway as CJ accessed whatever files he could.
"Hurry up son, we only have so long before the authorities lock this place down." the Rat said, his voice calm, but CJ had known the rebel long enough to know fear when he heard it.
CJ paid little attention to Rat as he accessed whatever files he could. Typing in a short command, a list of the most recently accessed files scrolled down the screen. CJ selected the first five files that had timestamps of today. He opened the first one quickly, checking to see what data he had acquired.
"Oh shit," CJ breathlessly said as he read the contents of the file.
CJ grasped his wrist and pulled out a long thin cord. The female end of the cord fit perfectly into the Terminal, and after a few more keystrokes, the files were copied into CJ's personal datapad.
"Rat, we have got to get the fuck out of here, now!" CJ finally said once his eyes were done scanning the files in his position.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next issue: more questions, a few answers, and we meet the members of the Japanese Rebellion. But whom are they rebelling against?
MUTATIONS
Welcome to the first issue of TMNT: IFS. I remember when I was eight or nine and I first watched the TMNT cartoon on Fox. I feel in love with it that very minute. Then I found out the series was based on a comic book, which lead me to falling in love with comics.
Fast-forward a decade and change. Jac approached me about doing an IFS series, which I thought would be interesting. I had always enjoyed some of the stuff Image produced, and I was jumping at the chance to take that mythos into the future. Then Jac mentioned the fact that TMNT was now published by Image, and it all fell together. Hope you enjoy the ride.
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