Chapter 1

Leo couldn't stop looking out the port hole in the ship's rest area. For all intents and purposes, he should've been ecstatic. Just like his hero, Captain Ryan of the show Space Heroes, he was traveling among the stars in an alien vessel. It should have been the most exciting adventure he had ever been a part of, and truthfully it was, but he couldn't bring himself to be happy.

The earth, his home for all sixteen years of his life, was gone, destroyed by a savage alien race and he their black hole weapon. Everything was just gone. The lair, his favorite pizza parlor, china town, New York: everything that he had loved about the earth was just gone. But that wasn't even the worst part. It could all have been prevented if it hadn't been for their mortal enemy: the Shredder.

Once known as Aroku Saki, he had formerly been a friend and rival of Leo's father, Hamato Yoshi aka Splinter, he had grown to hate his former brother over the love of a woman. What followed was a decades long feud that had been seemingly been put to a truce when the earth was at stake. But that had been a ruse. Shredder's hatred blinded him to everything else, and on that night he had finally enacted his revenge by striking Splinter down mere moments before he could stop the Triceratons' horrible Heart of Darkness weapon. It was Shredder's fault, and Leo hoped that he truly got what he deserved in the end.

In an attempt to ward off his depression, Leo shifted his attention to those that had joined him in survival.

First and foremost was his three brothers. Donatello, the brains of the team with the purple headband, was busily tinkering with something he had found. It was fitting, really. Whenever Donnie was faced with something he just couldn't comprehend, he would fall back to something smaller to take his mind off of it. It wouldn't last, Leo knew, but at least he was keeping busy. Then, there was Raphael, and it appeared the red clad turtle was repeatedly bashing his fists against a wall. While incredibly temperamental, it was unquestionable that he was one of the most caring, kind hearted people Leo knew. As hard as things were for himself, he knew Raphe was having a harder time. He hadn't been strong enough, he was probably thinking. He hadn't trained hard enough, pushed himself far enough, and now everything was gone. Leo wished he could comfort him, but he knew it was pointless. Better just to leave him alone and let him cope. Finally, there was Michelangelo. Oh, how Leo's heart ached to see his youngest brother so mournful. Mikey has always been a source of ecstatic energy and youth, and he was always the first to goof off and make the most of life. But now, he was barely even moving, lying face first on the floor having cried himself to sleep. That had been one of the most excruciating things Leo had ever been forced to watch, and he was certain that there would more moments just like it in the near future.

The turtles were not the only survivors, fortunately. Their two humans friends, and perhaps the only non-lethal, non-mutants that had known of the brothers' existence, were seated on a couch and asleep. First and foremost was April O'Neil. She had been their first human friend, and she had also been their introduction to the world beyond the sewers. It helped that she too was a mutant possessing psychic abilities thanks to an altered ancestory. She and the turtles were practically cousins, and like family they had stuck by her in the hardest of times. Whether it was saving her father from aliens, undoing a horrible mutation her father had undergone, or going to an alternate dimension so as to save her from aliens that had horribly mutated him. Suffice to say, April had had it rough. Next to her was Casey Jones, age 15. Overall, Casey was a loudmouth punk with a heart of gold. When things had started getting freaky in his city, he had donned the guise of a vigilante to fight back. Fortunately, he had met the turtles, whom gave him a few pointers and helped him to become the hero he had always wanted to be. Fat pot of good that seemed to be now.

Just then, the door to the rest area slid open, and in stepped the group's unexpected host. He was a solid white robot not much taller than April naked Dr Zatim Honeycutt. Apparently, he had been human at one point, but a lab accident had destroyed all but his brain, and thus he had built a body to house him. Leo studied the robot with a small grain of suspicion. Sure, he was thankful for salvation of the death of his world, but just where had this guy come from? Or, perhaps the more pressing question was how convenient it had been for him to show up and save them at the last possible second. It was time to get down to business.

"Alright you!" Leo began with a small growl. "I want answers! Just who the heck are you and where are you taking us?"

"Now, now." the robot said with cheerful, and strangely British, tone. "I promise you that I mean no harm, and I will answer any and all questions in time. But first, I would to check everyone over and ensure that your injuries aren't too severe. That was quite the war zone I pulled you from."

"We're fine!" thundered Raphael as he protectively took to his brother's side. "And we'll be taking those answers NOW!"

Dr Honeycutt's LED eyes flashed with a tired look, and he groaned internally.

"Oh, very well. Please awaken your friends. They should all be part of the coming conversation."

Leo and Raphe nodded, and they got to work rouse the rest of their lot. Raphe moves over to Donnie, and he placed a hand on his shoulder. Donnie looked up from his project, sighed, and then got to his feet. Leo was kneeling next to Mikey, and he gently shook his younger brother. He woke with a start, and he looked to Leo as fresh tears rose from the bottom of his lower lids. Leo did his best to hold a straight face, and he helped his brother to his feet and helped him over towards the doctor. Last was the human teens, whom Donnie elected to wake himself.

"April," he whispered as he shook them entry, "Casey? You need to wake up."

April was the first to rouse, and she blinked at Donnie for a moment. At last, her features sagged with despair.

"I was hoping…" she croaked with a sob. "I was hoping that had all been a bad dream."

"You and me both, Red." Casey said with a sigh. "You and me both."

They all joined the rest standing in front of the doctor, and they all waited for him to speak. As for the doctor himself, he seemed strangely nervous. He began to pace in front of them with his hands behind his back, and he wracked his brain for the right words.

"I know you must all have a thousand questions." He began. "I shall answer them all to the best of my ability. To start off with, yes, your planet is gone, and you are the only survivors."

It was a knife twisting in each of their hearts. While not new information, to merely have it confirmed by a second party only made it harder to bear.

"As for how I managed to save you at the last possible moment," Honeycutt went on, " it is because, to a degree, I knew it was going to happen."

Despair quickly turned to shock, and in Raphael's case blind rage. He lunged for the doctor, an it took the combined strength of his three brothers to hold him back.

"You knew?!" he bellowed with wrath. "Then why the heck didn't you warn the planet about it? Why didn't you save everyone else?!"

"If you will calm down, I'll elaborate." The doctor replied. As Raphael settle, the doctor cleared his throat and continued. "As I was about to say, the reason I knew is because it was I that invented the black hole generator used against your planet. However, prior to that event, I had designed for a much more peaceful purpose. During my previous life, I was tasked by the Triceraton Republic to build a new power source for their primary mothership. It's old power cells were starting to burn out, and they had no real homeworld to go back to. I had been experimenting with black hole manipulation as a sort of hobby, and I figured the energy harnessed by such an anomaly would a perfect long term solution to their problem. However, no sooner had I given to them did I learn what their true ambitions were. I tried to stop them right them right then and there, but well…."

His voice trailed off, and he looked down at his hands. The teens assembled exchanged pitied glances amongst one another, and Raphael himself felt sorry about his outburst. After a moment of reflection, the doctor cleared his throat and continued.

"It took me a while to, shall we say, put myself back together. By then,, I had learned of the Triceratons' invasion of your planet, so I rushed over to help. Unfortunately, by then there was little I could do. So, I rounded up you lot as quickly as I could, and then I flew is to safety. I'm terribly sorry for your loss, in far more way than I am capable to express, but I promise that I'll take of all of you to the best of my ability. You will all be my honored guests."

The teens once again exchanged glances, unsure how to respond. In the end, Leonardo stepped forward, and he bowed respectfully to the robot.

"You honor us, sir. We thank you for saving our lives, and we'll try not to be too much of a bother."

Dr Honeycutt smiled, and he likewise bowed to Leonardo.

"There is no need for formalities my friend. I just hope that you will all be comfortable aboard my humble vessel."

They then straightened, and the doctor clasped his hands together.

"Now then, with that messy business done away with like a worn out bandage, maybe now I could be honored with your names, please."

The teens each took turns identifying themselves, and the doctor smiled as best as his robot form would allow.

"Splendid. Now that that is done, would you all kindly join me on the bridge? We shall be setting out soon, and it is a sight You shan't want to miss."

He started out the door, and Leo and his friends swiftly followed suite. The bridge of the ship was shaped in a large half circle with three separate stations: one in the middle and one on each side. At the front of the room was a massive screen that showed the space before them, and the teens ooed and awed at the spectacular sight. Before was an endless spiral of stars and nebula with the occasional planet and swarm of asteroids dotting the space way. Dr Honeycutt chuckled to himself as they approached the glass for a better look.

"I wish I could be where you all are, right now." He said wistfully. "I've been traveling in this old tub for so long now that the concept of seeing such wonders has become quite monotonous."

"How could you grow tired of such a wondrous sight?" April gushed with utter amazement. "It absolutely amazing! Sure, I've seen pictures, but they don't do the real thing justice."

"Look at all those stars." Donatello said with awe. "I think that one is a red giant! Oh, and that over there! That's a blue dwarf!"

"This is so metal!" Casey exclaimed as righteous tears streamed down his cheeks.

""It really is incredible." Leo agreed. "It's so beautiful. Don't you think so, Miley?"

He awaited a reply, but one never came. He looked down to his brother to see that he was just looking at the floor with his head pressed against the glass and looking absolutely somber.

"I miss Splinter." The younger teen finally said, and Leo once again could feel his heart breaking. He wrapped an arm around his younger brother'a shoulder, and he pulled him into a tight hug.

"We all do, bro." he whispered in his ear. "Trust me. We all do."

As for Raphael, he seemed to be the least interested in the view. He had his back pressed against the glass, and he was watching the doctor like a hawk as he entered the middle station and a cone formed around his body.

"You said we're going somewhere." He said aloud so that the others could hear. "Care to explain just where, exactly?"

"A galaxy far far away." Honeycutt chirped with cheer. "I've always wanted to say that. But seriously, we are about to travel several qua-trillion light years away from your home galaxy to a planet called Coruscant. The Triceratons no doubt saw my ship, and they'll probably come after us if we tarry for too long. Fortunately, I have a friend at our destination who can put us up until things quiet down. In the meantime, maybe we could come up with a more permanent solution to your lost planet problem, or perhaps a complete reversal."

Leo perked up at that, and he stared at the robot with a hopeful look.

"Wait a minute! Are you saying that there might be a way that…"

He trailed off when the doctor flashed him a wink and smiled.

"Rule 1 about the cosmos, Leonardo: literally anything can happen. It's just a matter of finding the proper catalyst. Now then, everyone buckle up for what promises to be the most exciting adventure of your lives!"

The six teens dashed for the remaining two stations just as the doctor engaged the hyperdrive. They watched with ever mounting excitement as the stars around them became long streaks of light, and soon they were rocketing through the cosmos and the universe beyond, all eagerly awaiting the exciting journey ahead with hopeful hearts.

….

Meanwhile, on a steamy swamp planet in the middle of nowhere, a lone figure sat on a log in a deep trance. The near twenty years of exile had done little to dull his powerful mind, and he focus remained clear and true.

Suddenly, he felt a tickle at the back of his mind. A new presence had just entered the galaxy, and its resonance had found him even hear on this backwater planet. In spite of himself, the figure smiled, and he allowed his mind a moment to bask in the heavenly light the presence radiated.

"A welcome feeling, this new presence is." The figure mused quietly to himself. "Learning more about it, I look forward to."

The figure chuckled to himself, and he continued to reach out and looking for a means to open contact with this strange, but welcome presence.