Author's Note: I came up with this idea while I was lying in my bed, thinking about the other story I'm currently working on. Again, it was about TMNT. My favorite incarnation of the franchise has been the 2003 series because of how serious and kick-ass it was most of the time. But, after a while, I checked out the 1987 series. And, to be honest, I can see why so many people like it. Despite its corny nature, it can be pretty funny at times, and the characters are very likable. I've seen more than 100 of the 193 episodes, so I've got a good enough sense of the show. So, I'm going to write one based off of that series for once, mostly. It's going to be a basic story, kind of like an episode of the show would play out, except maybe a bit longer.
Summary: During a fight with the Shredder, Raphael gets a new mutagen poured on him and turns into…2003 Raph! How will the family deal with the new Raph, and what will Shredder do when he finds out about this startling transformation? Warning: I'm not sure how good I am at writing jokes like they did in the show. This is all new to me.
Changes
Raphael rubbed his eyes slowly, letting the cold sewer breeze waft over his face. He slowly sat up in his bed, taking in the familiar surroundings and making sure everything was in its proper place. Confirming that, he laid back down in his bed. He had just had the most wonderful sleep ever. He had dreamed about fighting the Shredder and Krang with his brothers. The brothers had been losing, but then all of a sudden they had grown to the size of buildings and crushed Shredder and Krang like bugs.
Raphael smiled and thought, 'Any dream like that has to be a sign of good things to come.'
That smile of his only grew larger when he caught the smell of pizza through the kitchen.
'Looks like Michelangelo read my thoughts.'
Without hesitation, Raphael grabbed his bandana off of his desk and sprinted to the kitchen. Upon entering it, he found his brother Michelangelo taking a pizza out of the oven. It's intoxicating smell almost made Raphael drool in delight, and when he looked at it, he couldn't help but shout.
"I can't believe it!"
Michelangelo turned his head towards the shout in confusion, and questioned, "Can't believe what, compadre?"
"You made a pizza!"
Now Michelangelo was really confused, "Dude, I make pizzas every day. How is this one any different?"
Raphael frowned, as if in disbelief that his brother could be that oblivious, "But, this one is completely normal, without any crazy toppings on it at all!"
Michelangelo looked down on the pizza, and shrugged, "Well, sometimes I just like to go back to basics."
Reaching down to pick up a slice, Raphael patted his brother on the shell, "Tell me about it. I can't tell you how many times I've nearly barfed over chocolate fudge, sardine, and chili pepper pizza. With of course, plenty of whipped cream on top."
"Hey, can't blame me for being creative."
Laughing, Raphael called out to his remaining brothers, "Hey guys! Pizza!"
Almost as if in a cartoon, Leonardo and Donatello's heads popped out from their respective roles, and they said in unison, "Did someone say pizza?"
They rushed over to the other two brothers, and immediately, the four began digging into their pizzas. Cheese flew all over the place, and their mouths quickly became covered in sauce, but they didn't care. They were eating heaven.
With a smile on his face, Master Splinter walked into the room and observed the sight of his four students devouring their breakfast.
'And unfortunately, their lunch and dinner as well,' the middle-aged rat thought. He quietly walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a package of his favorite sushi, not wanting to interrupt his students' eating. But, his presence was enough to cause the brothers to snap their heads towards him. Knowing he was caught, Splinter said to the four, "And how are you this morning, my students?"
Immediately, the four dropped their pizzas and bowed to their master in respect, Michelangelo still with a sliver of cheese hanging from his lower lip.
"We are fine this morning, Master Splinter." Leonardo said, "And how are you?"
"Perfectly fine, Leonardo. Do not fret over me, I was simply getting some sushi of out the fridge for my breakfast."
Standing up with a smirk, Raphael said, "I still can't believe you eat that gross stuff, Master. I would rather eat a pile of Krang's mutagen."
Master Splinter smirked right back and said, "And I could say the same about the pizza you eat, Raphael."
The other three brothers erupted in laughter and fell on the ground, clutching their stomachs.
"He got you pegged, Raphael!" Michelangelo said, almost chocking on his pizza.
With a huff, Raphael crossed his arms. "Come on guys, it wasn't that funny."
Wiping tears of laughter away from his eyes, Donatello put an arm on Raphael's shoulder, "Yeah, but since you spend most of your days cracking jokes at the rest of us, it's that much funnier when you get your comeuppance!"
Raphael put a finger to his chin in thought, then suddenly smiled. "Yeah, you're right," he said, "I can't be right all the time."
"Really?" Donatello asked. 'Raphael admitting he was wrong? That's impossible.'
"Really." Raphael responded. "If I was right all the time, then I would damage all of your already fragile egos."
"Ego?! I'll show you ego!"
Donatello instantly leaped on Raphael, and before Splinter could blink, the other two brothers had entered the brawl, and the four ninja turtles were tossing and turning on the floor, battling each other for dominance.
'Teenagers.' Splinter thought, choosing to ignore the fight for the time being and turning on the television to his left. He flipped the channel nob to the right until it landed on Channel 6.
'Perhaps Ms. O'Neil will have something interesting to present on the news today.'
As if the world had heard his wish, the channel opened up to a news report being done by April O' Neil, with a message labeled "BREAKING NEWS" under it. Ms. O' Neil, dressed in her regular yellow jumpsuit, had a neutral expression on her face, but Splinter could clearly see the frantic look in her eyes.
"My students," Splinter said, effectively stopping the fight in front of him, "Perhaps you should pay attention to the news report. It appears to be important."
Instantly, the four turtles got up and leaned in close to the television in order to listen to what April had to say.
"Breaking news," April began, her hands wringing her papers nervously, "It appears the notorious villains Shredder and Krang have made a raid in the New York Crime Lab and are using the Technodrome to wreak havoc throughout the city. People are curious as to what they plan to do with the stolen chemicals, but given their track record, it's obvious it can't be for anything good."
'Oh great,' Raphael thought, 'What a perfect way to end a great start to a day.'
"We at Channel 6, and many citizens are waiting for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to make their moves on the evil duo. They have been known to stop these villains before, so I have no doubt in my mind they will be able to accomplish that task again."
Leonardo stood erect and lifted his sword in the air, "Well then we'd better not let those people down! Come on brothers, let's show old Shredder what we turtles are made of!"
'For the one hundred millionth time,' Raphael thought.
With a battle cry, Leonardo leaped into the air and started to the ladder that led to the surface, while his brothers followed. Wasting no time, Leonardo shoved the manhole cover from its spot, and one by one, the four ninjas jumped through the hole and onto the surface. Raphael, being the last to exit the hole, stopped at the surprised looks on his brothers' faces. He followed the direction of their eyes, and…
'Well, aren't we lucky?'
The Technodrome was right in front of them, in all of its giant golf ball glory. Before Raphael could even wonder as to how the Techonodrome had happened to be right where they needed it to be, the front door of it opened, and the four tensed in anticipation.
However, no one exited it. No Foot Soldiers, or Rock Soldiers. No Bebop, no Rocksteady, not even Shredder or Krang. No one.
Raphael got angry, "Hey, what's the big idea here?! Why would Shredder leave the door open for us like that?"
"Perhaps it's a trap." Donatello mused. "He probably has something set up for us in there somewhere. He wouldn't just let us stop him like that. I know him to be stupid, but not that stupid."
"It doesn't matter." Leonardo said, stepping forward. "No matter what he has ready for us, we'll just defeat it like we usually do. We can't just stand here and allow him to get away with those stolen chemicals. Who knows what he has planned for them?"
"Leonardo's right." Michelangelo said, "We'll take down Shreadhead like always, and before we know it, we'll be back in the sewers scarfing down our pizzas. Come on, let's go!"
The four quickly rushed into the Technodrome and began the arduous journey to the top. Throughout the run, Raphael noticed the almost creepy lack of obstacles. There were no trap doors, no lasers or guns. Their way was virtually unblocked. Raphael began to feel a nagging sensation in the back of his mind, a premonition of things to come.
'I'm starting to think Donatello was right about the whole trap thing.'
Before he knew it, the four were at the top of the Technodrome and at the door that led to Shredder's main battle room. With a mighty kick, Leonardo knocked down the door and the turtles entered the room, light on their feet.
Once again, there was no one around. All they could hear was the beeping of Shredder's computer and the bubbling of mixing chemicals surrounding them. The turtles settled themselves into a battle position, arranging themselves in an equal distance from each other. They formed a circle and faced away from each other, waiting for something to happen.
But nothing did happen. The four brothers stood silently for several minutes, and nothing changed.
Feeling a need to lighten the mood, Michelangelo said, "It's quiet….too quiet."
Leonardo responded with a glare at his younger brother. "Michelangelo, really?!"
Michelangelo shrugged, giving a small smile, "Hey, I can't help it. I've always wanted to say…"
His explanation was swiftly cut off as four cages fell from the ceiling and landed on each of the turtles, trapping them where they stood. It happened so fast the turtles weren't able to react appropriately. Michelangelo simply looked around and said, "What?"
"I told you it was a trap!" Donatello shouted.
"Well you don't have to shove it up our noses, now do you?" Raphael shouted back.
"That's not my point! If we're trapped, then Shredder is going to get away with whatever he has planned!"
"Right you are, my young reptilian friend."
All four turtles visibly shuddered at the sound of their long time enemy, the Shredder. He stepped out of the shadows, wearing his usual garb of metal spikes and gauntlets, while accompanied by Krang, who was using his bubble walker to walk beside Shredder. The two held superior smirks on their faces, while the Shredder held a small test tube in his gloved hands. The test tube was bubbling with a bright red liquid, and all of the turtles very not very eager to find out what it was.
"You see, I was tired of always plotting my evil schemes and having you meddlesome reptiles thwart them," The Shredder said, walking around the cages, "So I decided to try a different tactic. You see, I had always sent my best obstacles your way in order to stop you. Since I kept you constantly alert, you were able to overcome my obstacles and eventually defeat me."
"Yeah yeah, Shredhead," Raphael said, putting a hand over his mouth and yawning, "Nice backstory. Can we pick up the pace a bit?"
"Silence, vermin." Shredder said, looking at the red-banded turtle with contempt. He continued, "So I…"
"We." Krang interrupted.
"We," Shredder corrected, giving a grunt of annoyance, "came up with the brilliant idea of allowing you free passage into our Technodrome, leaving nothing to slow you down."
"That way our guard would be down and you would have the best opportunity of capturing us." Donatello said, eyes widening in shock.
"Right you are, Donatello." Krang said, clapping his tentacles in delight. "And now that we do have you in our grasp, they'll be nothing to stop us from testing out our new super-soldier formula."
"Super-soldier formula?" Michelangelo asked.
Krang gave out a guttural laugh that made all of the turtles shiver. "Indeed, reptile. We used the chemicals we stole from the Crime Lab and combined it with some chemicals of our own to create a formula designed to increase the size, strength, speed, and fighting ability of the person who drinks it."
Shredder held up the test tube, giving an imposing figure, "And I, the Shredder, shall be the first to try it out."
Krang continued, "Once we both drink the formula, we will become unstoppable! No one in the Earth will dare oppose us!"
Both villains proceeded to laugh loudly, their voices echoing throughout the room. Then they both turned away from the turtles and walked towards their computers.
Michelangelo turned towards his brothers in worry, "Dudes, what are we going to do? We can't let Shredbucket get away with this."
Raphael nodded in agreement. 'There's got to be a way to get out of these cages.' Looking around for a flaw in the design of the cages, his eyes finally rested on his iron sais, which were still firmly planted in his belt. He pulled one of them out, and smirked.
'Well, I guess Shredder isn't all that brilliant after all.'
Raphael moved over to the handle of his cage, and began picking the lock.
Noticing Raphael's actions, Leonardo said in a heated whisper, "Raphael, what are you doing?!
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Raphael responded, "I'm picking the lock so we can get out of here."
"Well hurry up then! Your weapons are the only ones thin enough to pick the locks. You'll have to do the same with the rest of us."
"I know!"
Raphael worked as fast as he could with his sai, twisting and turning it through the lock in an attempt to find the right spot. Finally, after much effort, he heard the click that indicated that the lock was unlocked.
"Yes!" He hissed in triumph.
He silently crept over to Donatello's cage and began the process over again. He worked faster this time, hoping desperately that the feat he had accomplished could be done twice.
As he grunted with the effort of gently handling his sai, Raphael thought, 'I really hope Shredder and Krang don't suddenly decide to turn around and spot what I'm doing. That would be so cliché it would…'
"Hey, turtle!"
Turning around, Raphael saw both Shredder and Krang facing him, a look of frustration on their faces.
'Oh great.' Raphael thought, 'Just my luck.'
"Bebop! Rocksteady! Deal with this reptile!" Shredder shouted, pointing a shaking finger at Raphael.
Almost out of nowhere, the mutant rhinoceros and hog barged out from another door and made their way towards the sai-wielding turtle. Grinding his fists together, Rocksteady said, "We're gonna grind you into itty bitty turtle bits."
"And all yer little friends are going to watch!" Bebop added, swinging a large metal chain over his head.
"Guess again, freakshows!" Raphael shouted, as he leapt into the air and began to battle with the two henchman. He fought valiantly, but he quickly found it was hard to best two muscle bound creatures that easily stood a foot taller than him, even with his ninja skills.
"Be careful, Raphael!" Leonardo shouted, using his katana to try and slash at his lock, "It's not as easy fighting them alone!"
As he executed several flips to create some distance away from his foes, Raphael responded angrily, "And you think I don't know that?!"
He paused to wipe the sweat off his brow, and breathed heavily. 'Man,' he thought, 'if I don't find a way to take these guys out soon, my brothers won't be able to escape, and Shredder's plan will fall into play. There's got to be something around here that can…'
Raphael looked up towards the ceiling, and to his delight, he found a fifth cage situated near the other four. Reasoning that the fifth one was probably for Master Splinter, Raphael waited with baited breath as Bebop and Rocksteady neared closer to his desired destination. When they finally got to the spot right under the cage, Raphael held up his hand, "Hey guys, guess what?"
Stupidly, the two mutant henchman stopped in their tracks and stared at the turtle. "What?" they said in unison.
"Know what's more pathetic then an idiotic mutant rhino and hog?"
"What?" they repeated.
"An idiotic mutant rhino and hog trapped in a cage!"
Raphael deftly threw both of his sais towards the chains that held the cage in the air, and they hit their mark with only the precision a ninja could muster. With nothing to hold it up, the cage let gravity overcome it, and it clanged to the ground, effectively trapping Bebop and Rocksteady in its clutches.
Both mutants stared in shock at the bars in front of them, before they began clawing at the bars in obvious fury. Bebop barked, "You measly turtle! We'll get you fer that!"
"Yeah yeah." Raphael muttered, waving his hand dismissively at the two, "Save it for next time. I have more important matters to attend to."
Turning around, Raphael found the Shredder looking past him at the cage where Bebop and Rocksteady currently resided in. His looked angry, but Raphael found something eerily strange about his hand movements, as well as the contorted expression on his face. They almost looked forced, as if the Shredder were acting in a bad superhero movie.
"You infernal nitwits!" Shredder shouted, "Why do I pay you for this?"
"But Shredder, you don't pay us at all." Rocksteady said.
"Enough out of you, you wretched beast!"
"Ok, I've had enough with the small talk!" Raphael said, "It's time to stop your evil plans Shredder!"
With a ninja cry, Raphael leapt forward, and began to duel with the Shredder. They began to exchange the usual punches and blows that Raphael and his brothers usually gave to the villain, but this time Raphael noticed a distinct difference.
Rather than having a difficult time, Raphael was actually gaining the upper hand. He felt like part of it had to do with the fact that the Shredder was holding a fragile chemical and couldn't use his one hand. But even with that disadvantage, the Shredder had usually taken all four of them without too much effort. It didn't make any sense.
'What's making this fight any different?' Raphael thought, 'Are we really getting better at this? Or is Shredder just faking?'
Rather than taking time to consider the Shredder's motives, Raphael decided to throw caution to the wind and continue with the fight. With each punch that he threw to the villains' face, with each kick that he gave, he pushed the Shredder closer and closer to the control panels.
'Won't be long now before he's trapped.'
Raphael moved even faster, letting his ninja skills take over his mind. He made the Shredder back up, bit by bit, until he was no more than two feet from the control panels. Giving all that he had, Raphael threw one final punch and smirked when he felt it connect.
With a grunt, the Shredder fell back onto the control panel. Raphael took the ample time that he had to take out one of his ninja stars and rush forward. The Shredder made an attempt to right himself up again, but he found that hard to do when a sharp metal instrument suddenly found its way onto his neck.
"Now Shredder," Raphael said, his voice taking on its usual cocky tone, "you're going to give me that formula, you and Krang are going to walk out of the Technodrome, and soon enough, you two are going to follow the Yellow Brick Road right over to jail. Capisce?
Shredder looked down at the formula in his hand, before giving Raphael an evil smile.
"Actually Raphael," Shredder said, "I have something else in mind."
He popped the cork to the test tube, and Raphael held the ninja star tighter to his throat.
"Instead of simply giving you the formula…"
The sound of Shredder's voice gave Raphael pause.
'Wait, what does he mean by that?'
"Why don't you try it FOR YOURSELF!"
'Oh no. OH NO!'
With an evil laugh, Shredder threw the contents of the test tube straight into Raphael's face. The chemical, as red as his mask, cascaded down his green face, landing on his feet. For a second, Raphael felt nothing. He blinked in confusion before smirking at Shredder.
"Well Shredhead, looks like your super-duper formula didn't work. I guess now it's time for me to…
Raphael paused when he felt a slight tingling sensation all over his body. Looking down at his hands in anxiety, he watched as veins popped up, blood rushing through them at an unnaturally rapid pace. He could feel his arms and legs shaking, and before he knew it, he was on the ground, his legs no longer able to support his weight.
"What have you done to me, Shredder?!" Raphael yelled with all the strength he could muster.
Shredder leaned down towards the turtle, "Isn't it obvious, turtle?" He said, "I've doused you in my new formula?"
"Yeah, well get your laughs now, Shredhead. Because when I get better, I'll use my new powers to take you down!"
Letting out another one of his infamous laughs, Shredder said to the turtle, "Oh Raphael, you're sadly mistaken."
"Wh…What?" Raphael gasped, struggling to hold his weight up with his arms, which were now changing in size and color.
"You see, when I said I had made a new super soldier formula, I had been lying."
"WHAT?!"
"I knew you would be more careful around me if I said it was to be used against you, so I made it sound as if it was to be used for my benefit."
"So, what did you douse me with?"
Raphael didn't want to know the answer. Whatever it was he was soaking it, it was very quickly gnawing away at his insides. He could feel the pain inside him build up to an excruciating degree. All of a sudden, his arms lost their strength, and he collapsed on the floor.
'Please tell me it's not what I think it is. Please tell me it's not what I think it is. Please tell me…'
Shredder leaned in close to Raphael, and whispered in his ear, "Anit-mutagen."
And with that, Raph let out all of the pain in his system in an earth-shattering scream. Tears flowed from his eyes at the realization of what was actually happening to him.
"That's right turtle." Shredder said, chuckling maliciously, "Within minutes, you will be nothing but a tiny turtle again, unable to communicate with any of your friends or family, and reduced to eating pellets out of a can in a tank. I hope you enjoy the rest of life as the primitive animal that you are."
Leonardo, who had heard everything from his cage only a dozen feet away, suddenly burst out of his cage, having finally unlocked it. He ran towards his brother and Shredder, his katana raised.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS, SHREDDER!"
Shredder, to Leonardo's dismay, gave little more than a dismissive glance towards him. Easily dodging the katana that came his way, he responded in kind with a swift punch to the blue-banded turtles' stomach. He watched as the turtle kneeled on the floor in pain.
"No Leonardo, I don't think I will."
Standing up, Shredder beckoned towards Krang, who had been waiting patiently in the corner. Krang came forward, his bubble walker bouncing up and down with each step.
"I must admit Shredder," Krang said, "I'm surprised you were able to fool the turtles like that."
"You honestly thought that I, the great and powerful Shredder, wouldn't be able to fool a bunch of pitiful reptiles?" He looked down at Leonardo and Raphael with disdain, "You must take me, Krang, for a fool."
Walking over to the cage that held Bebop and Rocksteady, Shredder pulled a key from his pocket, and unlocked the door.
"Come Bebop, Rocksteady. We must escort these reptiles from this establishment at once."
"Yes sir!" They both replied.
Within a matter of minutes, all of the turtles were back outside of the Technodrome, having been tossed out by the two mutant henchman. Michelangelo and Donatello were tied up, while the injured Leonardo and mutating Raphael were left alone.
Standing at the entrance, Shredder looked back at the turtles and said, "I'm sure we'll eventually meet again, reptiles. But next time, it will be without the sai-wielder at your side."
The door to the Technodrome closed, and the entire vehicle went back the way it came, crossing over the same path of destruction it had already created. Before the turtles could blink, it was gone.
Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello now turned back towards Raphael, who still writhing on the ground in agony. His body flashed from yellow, to orange, to green, as his face pulsated and warped in its shape.
"Raphael?" Michelangelo choked, putting his hand on Raphael's shoulder and trying to fight back the tears from falling from his face.
"Yes?" Raphael uttered, fighting desperately over the immense pain he was suffering.
"I just wanted to let you know…"
"Know what?"
"No matter what happens to you, we'll all be there to take care of you bro. No matter what."
Raphael gave a slight cough and shuddered, "Th…Thanks Mikey."
Leonardo and Donatello put their hand on Michelangelo's, "We'll be there too." Donatello said.
"We'll all be there." Leonardo added finally.
As his eyes began to close, Raphael thought about the future. 'Maybe life as a normal turtle won't be so bad. I'll still be taken care of, and I'll still have everyone I love around me. Maybe it won't be so bad after all. Maybe…'
Those were the last thought Raphael could manage through his mind, before he finally succumbed to the pain and lost consciousness.
Author's Note: Tell me what you think of it, and get ready for more. I actually plan to continue with this one.
