Mike's P.O.V.

New York, New York-most say it's a helluva town.

I say, it's a shelluva town...Of course, I wouldn't know that, considering I've never seen it in person. My name is Michelangelo, but since we're friends now, you can call me "Mike". I...led a pretty "shell-tered" childhood. Heh-heh, little pun there.

But in a way, it never really ended for me. Even when I discovered the...awkwardness that comes with puberty. Not to mention, the...URGES...the less you know about THAT, the better. It's like someone flipped a switch in my brain or sumthin'! And Raph's secret stash of magazines isn't really helping!

I bet you're wondering who "Raph" is. Well, on that note I think it's time you met my siblings.

*focus on drawing of Leonardo, done in midnight-blue pen ink, with Leo's name underlined, with the subtitle: "The Battle Commander"; he is pictured wearing a traditional white samurai robe, holding both of his swords*

This is Leonardo, but I call him 'Leo' to save time. He's kinda like the Tommy Pickles of our zany little crew-gutsy, determined, bold & focused. That's why he's "The Battle Commander". Thanks to his keen eyesight and sensitive hearing, Leo is VERY well-balanced, which makes him more skillful when wielding his ever-flashing twin katana blades...or are they dual ninjato? I always get 'em mixed-up; still, no matter how dangerous the situation, Leo doesn't mind sticking his neck out.

*focus on drawing of Donatello, done in periwinkle pen ink, with his name underlined, with the subtitle: "The Creative Genius"; he is pictured wearing a pair of protective goggles, and holding a test tube & beaker, with a wrench & tool belt*

That one's Donatello, or 'Don'. The brains of the operation. Whenever you need something fixed, or just need help understanding complicated stuff, Don is the right turtle for the job! He's also kinda the reason we have a working TV with cable down here. Calls it "Turtlevision". No doubt about it, Don is the best Turtle you'll ever find. He's the brains of the group and the designer of our crazy vehicles. Rather than use his bo or brawn, Don usually prefers inventing some device or clever thingamajig to foil the foe. Still, Don's one tough turtle with his staff, which enables him to parry, vault, and crush...just like Robin Hood, but maybe better!

*focus on drawing of Raphael, done in ruby pen ink, with his name underlined, with the subtitle: "The Witty Voice"; he is pictured holding a sai in one hand, a laser pistol in the other, and a toothpick in his mouth, looking like a late-80s/early-90s action flick hero*

Over here is Raphael, or 'Raph'. He's known as 'The Witty Voice', on account of his sarcastic comments. Raph is DEFINITELY the wittiest Turtle you're likely to stumble over. If things aren't going his way, his tongue snaps out sarcastic jokes dipped in poison. Even though he's referred to as the snapping ninja, the rest of us know he means well. Raph's clever skill with the deadly sai allows him to strike at a distance and really keep his opponents in stitches. His way with a manhole cover has made him famous in sewers everywhere. He's also second-oldest, but he doesn't like me taking his magazines since I return 'em all messy. Last I checked, they were already old, so what was he getting so worked up over?

*focus on drawing of Venus, done in sky-blue pen ink, with her name underlined, with the subtitle: "The Rational Mediator"; she is pictured meditating*

That's our little sister, Venus De Milo. I call her "Venny" for short. She's sorta like the Chuckie Finster of our little team, but it's mostly because she's concerned for our well-being. She might be kind of a scaredy-cat, but she can kick some MAJOR tail...and I should know! Venny dedicates much of her daily training ritual to building her mental agility and throwing accuracy...which she accomplishes by positioning her target 20 feet away. Once she achieves 10 bullseyes in a row with her kunai, she moves the target further away.

*focus on drawing of Michelangelo, done in orange pen ink, with his name underlined, with the subtitle: "The Wild & Crazy One"; he is pictured standing on a skateboard on 1 foot, clutching a comic book in the other with his toes, in his left hand he swings one of his nunchuks, and he wears a radio DJ headset (with a little microphone on the left side) on his head*

And that kooky-looking sonuvagun there? That would be yours truly. No matter what crummy things might happen, I stay cool...cool because he's the master of the whirling nunchukus. It takes eight pounds of pressure per square inch to break bone. The nunchukus generate ninety! In the midst of the most difficult of duels, I can be seen swinging my deadly nunchakus in one hand while dangling a wedge of pizza in the other.

Don't get me wrong, living down here is cool! There's always something new to explore...though I can't help but wonder...is there something ELSE up there?

Normal P.O.V.

Mike closed his journal and glanced wistfully up at the ceiling of his room, lost in his thoughts. Suddenly, something came to him that snapped him out of his reverie...something of the utmost importance...a new episode of his favorite show, "The Adventures of Cowabunga Carl & Big Bubba" would be on in four minutes!

In a flash, Mike placed his journal on his bookshelf, and raced out of the room in a blur. Who says Turtles are SLOW?

Raphael was on the couch in the TV room, dead asleep. A thin trail of drool cascaded from his mouth. On the TV screen, a wrestling match was taking place between the challenger, the Thunder Buzzard, and the champion, El Puño de Tigre (Tiger Fist).

Mike arrived in the TV room and glanced down with a wry smile. No doubt Raph had fallen asleep while watching an all-night Wrestle-Rama marathon. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened...more like the 12th.

When Raph really got his snooze on, it was nigh-impossible to wake him. You could splash him, tickle him, blow up a balloon & burst it within his hearing range, and he'd still be snoring like a log...with nostrils.

Mike leapt over the couch, stealthily snatched the remote from Raph's fingers, and changed the channel to Channel 39-The Animation Station.

And just in time for Cowabunga Carl & Big Bubba, no less. Michelangelo let out a wistful sigh. Since he was a turtle tot, he'd modeled his life after CC. Heck, Cowabunga Carl was the whole reason he'd started using the nunchuks and saying "Cowabunga" as his catchphrase.

Donatello shuffled into the main room, bags under his eyes and a cup of coffee in his three-fingered hand. Fresh off another technological all-nighter, from the looks of it. He glanced down at the sleeping turtle.

"Late-night wrestling marathon?" he asked.

"Correct-a-mundo." came Mike's reply as he put his feet atop the trash-can ottoman. Don rolled his eyes (or at least with as much energy he could muster) and took another sip.

"Figures," he sighed, climbing gingerly over the couch and slumping onto it.

Mike sighed, admiringly. "Y'know what makes Cowabunga Carl so awesome?"

Don slowly blinked, one eye at a time.

"Is it the weapons?"

"Nah."

"The catchphrase?"

"Maybe."

"The fact he's ALSO a turtle?"

"Close, but no."

"*sigh*...then what?"

"It's that he has a girlfriend. Wish I had one."

"...Mike, we're giant humanoid turtles trained in martial arts. We don't exactly have a wide range of options when it comes to dating."

"So...you're saying...when we die, nobody's gonna remember us, and there's gonna be nobody to carry on our legacies?"

"Well, that's painting it a bit broadly...but yes, that IS what I'm saying."

Mike let out a deep, long groan of discontent. He HATED when Don laid out just how horrible and merciless reality could be...that always made him want to crawl back into bed for the next week and cry.

But...NO! He wouldn't let reality get him down and crush his hopes and dreams.

For each time he'd been let down in his life, he'd resorted to watching "Cowabunga Carl" to help cope with it.

"Well...I don't CARE if we're turtles. Somewhere out there is somebody who's gonna like me for ME! I just KNOW it!" he replied, standing up with a confident aura radiating around him.

Donatello gave a wry smile. Though he didn't like shattering Mike's hopes and dreams, he DID enjoy it whenever he smiled. Somehow, it made things a little bit better.

Mike hadn't expected to have company while he was watching Cowabunga Carl & Big Bubba, let alone from Don of all turtles, but he tried not to overthink it too much. Right now, he was just happy to have someone to watch with him.

Just as the commercial break began, Mike felt a hand touch his shoulder. With a panicked yelp, he grabbed the hand and flipped the arm it was attached to over the couch.

Though instead of a sinister assassin hoping to kill him, he found his older brother Leonardo, his cerulean eyes glowering at him through his blue mask.

"Good morning to you, too," commented Leo. "Are you always this jumpy, or did that just start?"

Mike shook off his initial shock, which gave way to mild irritation. "Dammit, Leo, don't DO that!" he griped. "Almost gave me a heart attack, too..."

"Relax, little brother." came another voice. It was Venus Artemsia De Milo, the fifth of the turtles...as well as the only female turtle.

Mike furrowed his brow. "Aren't YOU the little sister?" he asked. "Last I checked, I was hatched 2 minutes before you."

"Maybe, but from how you act, you wouldn't know it," came the reply.

Before Mike could issue a rebuttal, each of the Turtles (save for Raph) got bonked on the head with a wooden staff. Turning towards the source of the whacking, the Turtles found that it was courtesy of their father, their co-sensei, Master Splinter.

"Glad to see that all of my children are here," he spoke wryly. "I wouldn't want you to miss this important announcement."

As he started talking, he was cut off by Raphael's loud snoring. "Would someone care to wake him up?" he asked.

"Nobody? Well, to do something right, you must do it yourself," he shrugged, before smacking Raphael on the head with his cane.

"OWW! Sonuvabitch...who the hell did tha-" came Raph's angry griping, until he spotted who was responsible. "M-master Splinter! Forgive me, sensei, I meant no disrespect. I simply thought it was an unknown attacker..."

Splinter simply took it in stride. "No, Raphael; you were right to have suspicions-for all you know, the person who struck you could've been some sort of assassin hoping to harm you and your family-so it was right of you to be on-guard."

Raph brushed the crust from his eyes and beamed, tiredly.

"I just wish you wouldn't use such crude language..."

Raph's prideful beaming drooped a little. He could handle a few criticisms.

But that could wait. "What's with the wake-up call?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"My children...I have exciting news," replied Splinter, a smile curling across his fuzzy lips.

The five leaned in, curious.

"Your mother and I have been talking...and we've decided...that the five of you are finally old enough to venture up to the surface."

The next few minutes were filled with loud, ecstatic cheering. Raph was spinning in his shell like a break-dancer on cardboard, Don and Venus were gleefully doing the Tango, and Leo and Mike had hooked their arms and begun dancing around in a circle like a pair of square-dancers. Tang Shen, or "Whisker", entered the living room and smiled at her husband.

"I take it they heard the good news?" she asked.

Splinter smirked in reply. "You'd be correct in that assumption."

ELSEWHERE, UP ON THE SURFACE...

April Harriet O'Neil wasn't what you would refer to as an average teenage girl.

...But it's not like she was half-alien, half-human hybrid or anything! That'd be like some kind of ridiculous plot twist pulled out of nowhere!

For starters, she was a prodigy. However, since her mom was dealing with financial troubles, she couldn't afford to go to a prestigious school for gifted children, and she had to settle for attending boring old regular high school.

Granted, there was the occasional fight in the lunchroom or the hallway, but those were actually pretty dull.

Not to mention, she was very athletic, not to mention acrobatic, but that didn't keep the school jocks from making fun of her.

Speaking of jerk jocks, approaching April at the moment was their ringleader, "Blazing" Burne Thompson: local meathead AND captain of the school football team.

Trailing behind him was his dweeb of a sidekick, Vernon "Vern" Fenwick. Everyone knew that the only reason Burne kept Vern around was so he could do his homework for him, which allowed him to stay on the football team AND slack off to his heart's content.

April rolled her eyes in dismay. This was NOT the kind of B.S. she needed to deal with today.

"Well, well, well..." sneered Burne, a mean-spirited smile crossing his greasy face. "if it isn't April O-Squeal."

April blew a tuft of hair out of her face, disinterested. "I don't have time for this, Burne. I've got better things to do than deal with Neanderthals like you."

"Hmm...looks to me like ya got PLENTY of time." sneered the meatheaded mook.

"Yeah! Considering it's last period before we head home, you have plenty of time on your hands!" added Vern dutifully.

Burne glared back at his toady. "Did I say you could speak?"

Taking the hint, Vernon nervously backed off.

"Anyways, since it's the end o' the day, I figured you could spot your ol' pal Burne a little dough, y'know?" suggested Burne. "I wanna take my girl Tiff out somewhere nice tonight, an' I gotta good feeling that tonight's gonna be the night we get it on!"

April cringed. She really didn't need to know about Burne's sexual ambitions.

"Forget it, you lead-weight," responded a younger voice. "April doesn't owe you a stinkin' cent!"

April and Burne glanced down to see that the voice's source was April's adoptive brother, Zachary "Zack" Allen-O'Neil. Burne almost keeled over from laughing at the sight before him-a 12-year-old was trying to stand up to the Blazing Burne?

He reached down and picked Zack up by the back of his shirt, hoisting him so that their faces were level. "Real cute, small fry. We got us a little Rocky Balboa right here! Well, I don't think you understand-"

But before he could finish, Zack's left leg shot out and punted Burne in the gut, causing him to drop Zack so he could clutch his stomach, which was in GREAT PAIN.

And while he did this, April and Zack took the opportunity to leave the building as the last bell rang, signifying the end of the school day.

"...thanks for the help back there..." April spoke, finally breaking the silence that had long persisted since they had started for home.

"No prob. Nobody extorts from my sister." replied Zach.

"Speaking of which...what were you doing at my school?" asked April.

"Mom said for me to wait for you to come out once my school ended for the day." explained Zach. "And when I saw what was going on...well, one thing led to another."

April playfully tussled his hair. "Angel was pulling pranks on you again, wasn't she?"

Zach snorted. "Obviously. It's like she enjoys singling me out or something! Like I'm the injured gazelle, and she's the hungry lion waiting for me to fall behind so she can pounce and rip the flesh from my bones like wrapping paper!"

"..."

"..."

"...I think she likes you."

Zach's face went blank. "...what."

"I think the only reason she pranks you is because she secretly likes you. She's just too shy and prideful to admit it," explained April.

Zach clutched the bridge of his nose and wearily shook his head. Older sisters think they know EVERYTHING...

"I know you're a prodigy, but I gotta say that's the single dumbest thing I've ever heard. Next you'll be telling me we're gonna get attacked by...oh, I dunno-NINJAS or something!" he replied.

April couldn't help but chuckle at her adoptive brother's overactive imagination. Whoever heard of ninjas in New York? What was next, mutants in Manhattan?

The duo was so caught up in their laughter they didn't notice that they were now surrounded by a group of thugs. Their one significant trait? They all wore a purple tattoo of a Chinese dragon on their left wrists.

"Getting attacked by STREET GANGS, however?" Zach commented. "That seems MUCH more realistic..."

Needless to say, April O'Neil didn't expect to be mugged with her little brother while walking home from school.

But Manhattan can be a dangerous place, especially when you don't watch your back. Sadly, April had made this mistake-and the first time people make this mistake, it might end up being their last.

"Well, well...looks like we got some customers!" chuckled one gang member, spinning his crowbar. "Let's hope they can pay the fine!"

"What fine?" asked Zach.

The gang member tittered to himself, before leaning over to Zach. "Ya see, kiddo, people who cross through Purple Dragon territory gotta pay a protection fine!"

"Protection from what?"

"From US," he finished, before eyeing April up and down. "But protection is a rather bland racket...and I could use some excitement, if you know what I mean."

The other gang members chuckled. Zach didn't know what they meant, but April sure did-and it made her turn pale.

Where was a hero when you needed one...?

MEANWHILE, AT THAT SAME TIME...

The Turtles, now clad in their disguises, headed up through the manhole and to the surface.

"Oh man, this is SO BEYOND AWESOMENESS!" giggled Mike, barely hiding his excitement.

"Keep a lid on it, Mike," advised Leo. "Remember what mom and Sensei told us-"

"We know, we know," groused Raph. "stick to the shadows and don't let anybody see you. We hear ya loud an' clear, Splinter Junior."

As Mike and Don chuckled, Leo huffed through his nostrils in annoyance. "Let's just go..." he grumbled.

And as they climbed up the ladder, Venus whistled "A-Hunting We will Go" all the way there.

The Turtles were amazed at the sights of the surface: supermarkets, repair shops, karate classes, comic book stores...you name it, and as long as it was realistic, it was all around them.

"It's glorious..." gasped Don.

"I could look at that sunset for HOURS," Raph beamed.

And as they were admiring the scenery, an ear-piercing cry tore through the air: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

This instantly jostled the Turtles out of their tranquil state.

"Anyone else hear that?" asked Venus.

"Bet they heard it over in Delaware," retorted Raph, knocking some imaginary water from his non-existent earholes. "Amiright, Mike?"

But when he opened his eyes, the orange-clad terrapin was long gone. Raph's eyes darted around wildly.

"Where is he? Where'd he go?! Dammit, if something happened to him..."

A tap on the shoulder shook him out of his frenzied worrying. Raph turned to Venus. "WHAT?!"

Venus pointed upwards, and Raph, Leo, and Don glanced in that direction. They saw Mike, running across the rooftop of an apartment building and heading towards the source of the scream.

Leo sighed, putting his head in his hands and cursing under his breath.

"Let's hope he doesn't make things worse..." sighed Venus, as she, Don, and Leo pulled out their grappling guns, and aimed them at the rooftop.

"You comin', Raph?" Don asked his brother, who was lost in thought.

Raph quickly snapped out of his stupor, before casting a glance at a nearby dumpster.

"You three go on ahead..." he replied, a small smirk forming on his lips. "I'll catch up..."

Elsewhere, Mike was leaping across the rooftops, approaching the source of the panicked cry.

I'm actually makin' pretty good time travellin' by roof...and Leo says I'm not stealthy...I sure showed him when I snuck away like that! Quiet like a mouse! Betcha he was kinda proud, too!

The daydreaming turtle was soon jostled out of his reverie when he realized that he was right above the alley where the scream came from.

Please don't let it be a dude, PLEASE don't let it be a dude...

Using Leo's spyglass, which he'd previously "borrowed", Mike glanced down into the alley, and saw a VERY attractive teenage girl-at least his age!

Bodacious! It's a girl...and MAN ALIVE, SHE IS SMOKIN'!

He then glanced around at the unscrupulous people surrounding her.

Pickin' on a pretty lady? Why, the nerve of those buttheads! Someone oughta teach those guys a lesson-and I'm just the turtle to do it!

Cracking his knuckles, neck, and back (or midsection, I guess), Mike prepared to leap into action as he closed his eyes and breathed through his nostrils.

Best be careful...it could be dangerous.

Mike's eyes shot open and curled into triangular slits, as he let out a dark chuckle.

"Well, then...LET' S GET DANGEROUS!"

The roughnecks came closer and closer to April and Zach, each of them brandishing a weapon or blunt object, but suddenly...

a single, solitary cry jolted them to attention:

"COWA-B-U-U-U-U-U-U-N-G-A-A-A-A-A-A-A!"

As the thugs turned around, they saw a 4-ft. tall man clad in a trenchcoat, fedora, and blue jeans land on the ground in front of them, and stand up while reaching into his jacket. In both hands he now gripped a nunchaku.

"Hey, dudes!" he smirked. "Looks like your mothers never taught you manners. 'Cuz if they did, you'd know it's not nice pickin' on pretty ladies!"

At this, April's face turned a very noticeable shade of red.

The thugs didn't know what to make of this...until their (de-facto) leader, known as 'Fung', began to chuckle. And that chuckle soon grew into a full-fledged guffaw. The other thugs joined in on Fung's laughter, albeit with a noticeably awkward tone.

Finally, the laughter subsided when Fung put up his hand. He looked the man up and down.

"So you're a hero, huh?" he scoffed, lighting a cigarette and taking a few puffs. He then exhaled the smoke, before snuffing out his cigarette on Zach's head and chucking it into a dumpster.

"Randy, Coop-show Dudley Do-Right here just what happens to heroes in this town," he ordered to two college-aged kids; the first, Randy, was Caucasian with blonde hair. The second, Coop, was a tan-skinned kid, shorter than Randy by a couple inches, and had scruffy brown hair.

Randy raised his hand and gave Fung the "A-OK" sign. "Ah, no sweat, Fung," he replied in a voice reminiscent of Meowth. "We're gonna have dis mook on his knees in no time flat!"

The man smirked underneath the shade of his fedora. "Is that a fact?"

Randy and Coop decided that they'd had it. Only 3 minutes in, and they ALREADY couldn't stand this guy. Brandishing their weapons, they lunged at the man, as April covered Zach's eyes so as to shield them from the sight of a horrible beating...

.

.

.

.

...which it WOULD have been if they were facing someone else. But since Michelangelo happens to be a Ninja Turtle, well...it was barely even a fight, especially since Mike wasn't even taking it seriously.

But how could he take these people seriously? They were like a really bad joke!

Eventually, Coop and Randy collapsed on the pavement-no heads went flying, but make no mistake, the both of them would feel the lingering pain in the morning!

Fung and the other Purple Dragon members were flabbergasted.

Who in th' hell IS this guy? wondered Fung, as his mouth gaped like that of a dying fish.

April's eyes were the size of pie tins, and her jaw had practically hit the ground. The very PORTRAIT of astonishment.

Zach, on the other side of the spectrum, was clapping and whistling, like someone who'd just finished watching a particularly good movie. And naturally, Mike couldn't resist removing his hat and taking a bow.

"Thank you, thank you!" he beamed, blowing pretend kisses to imaginary spectators. "You're a bodacious audience!"

.

.

.

...and then he realized-he'd removed his hat!

April had to rub her eyes and blink a few times to confirm that she wasn't seeing things. The person who'd saved them did indeed have lime-green skin, a jagged beak, and a pair of blue eyes behind an orange mask.

Upon seeing this, Fung snapped out of his stupor as a smirk began to form on his face.

So that's it, eh?

April was trying very, VERY hard not to defecate herself, drop to the ground in a fetal position, and clutch the sides of her head while laughing like a maniac (not necessarily in that order, mind you), but considering she and her brother had just been rescued by a large, green...creature, it was tough NOT to instantly start questioning her entire existence.

Zach was trying to calm his older sister down. "April...it's okay..." he soothed. "Besides...could just be a costume...you know how weird people in Manhattan can be!"

April's panicked hyperventilating eventually slowed to normal speed. "Y...you're right...thanks, Z...I was thinking I'd lost my mind...and thank you, mister...?"

"My name is Michelangelo-but you can call me...the TURTLE TITAN!" replied Mike, in the most heroic voice he could muster (and believe me, he's been practicing since he was six).

Zach's amber eyes sparkled with genuine admiration and respect. This was officially the most awesome person he'd ever encountered in the 12 years he'd been alive.

"But this isn't a costume...okay, the TRENCHCOAT, hat, and pants are a disguise, but the rest of me is all real." explained Michelangelo, discarding his clothing and revealing his plastron, shell, elbow and kneepads, as well as his two-toed feet along with his belt and circular "M" belt-buckle.

Zack and April could only gape, dumbfounded. This day just got weirder.

But before Mike could try and prevent any possible freakouts, he felt a piece of gravel bounce off his shell.

Turning around, he saw Fung, accompanied by his remaining underlings. A few were either popping their knuckles, while some were grinning devilishly at him.

"Hey, salmonella-brain!" chuckled Fung confidently. "Thought you could scare us with some dopey Halloween costume? Well, ya thought WRONG, 'cuz nobody scares the Purple Dragons. The Purple Dragons do the scaring."

Mike did a few leg-stretches to avoid pulling his hamstring, and then cracked his neck, getting himself nice and limbered-up.

"Oh-ho-ho, this is gonna ROCK!" Zack chuckled, pulling April aside so they could watch the show from a safe distance.

But before the others could attack, three other human-sized turtles landed on the ground with Mike, and they ALSO wore colored bandannas, belt-buckles with initials, and they also carried a weapon (or 2) with them.

"Really, Mike?" asked Leo sarcastically. "We let you out of our sight for ONE MINUTE, and you already get yourself into trouble!"

"What can I say, Leo?" Mike shrugged casually. "I got a magnetic personality!"

"No kidding," added Don. "when you're around, you attract trouble!"

"Lecture later, oh brainy one," Venus interrupted. "Oh, and remind me to hit you for that awful pun."

"Duly NOT noted!" came Don's reply.

"Look at da freaks!" snickered another P.D. thug, named Tsoi. "Isn't it a little EARLY for Halloween?" added another named Chung.

"Thanks for the chuckles, but nobody interferes with the Purple Dragons," concluded Fong. "ESPECIALLY not wearin' some stupid turtle costumes!"

Zach just smirked. "He's wrong; they're not wearing costumes..." he chuckled.

April glanced at him, confused; but before she could ask what he meant, the Turtles leapt into action, weapons a-blazin'.

The next five-to-seven minutes that followed could be best described as what the Tropers refer to as a "Curb-Stomp Battle".

The Purple Dragons might've found it easy to beat up hot-shots who thought they could get away with standing up to them, but they'd never dealt with trained ninja warriors. And naturally, since Fong wasn't exactly a fighter, he spent the entire battle cowering under a pile of week-old newspapers.

As soon as the fight was done, he gradually emerged from the pile and glanced out to see that all of his followers had gotten the ever-loving-crap beaten out of them. None of them were dead, just dizzy or knocked-out.

"Y...you think you won, ya freaks?!" he yelled at the Turtles, who instantly turned towards him.

"Looks like we missed one, dudes!" chuckled Mike. "Whatcha gonna do now, tough guy? You got no goons ta back you up!"

"SHUT TH' HELL UP!" snapped Fong. "DIS AIN'T OVAH! NOT BY A LONGSHOT! I MIGHT'VE LOST HERE, BUT WE'RE JUST GONNA KEEP ON DOIN' WHAT WE DO-MUGGIN' SAPS, STEALIN' FOR THE HELL OF IT, AN'...hey, do you mind? I'm yelling at you here!"

But the Turtles had stopped listening. Their attention had been snagged by a squeaking, creaking noise that gradually grew louder, until it was accompanied by a wild, zany scream.

And before Fong could even blink, he'd gotten slammed in the midsection and below by a dumpster, which sent him flying into a wall, konking him on the head and knocking him out cold.

The lid of the dumpster opened up, and Raph popped out, laughing dizzily.

"BEWARE THE NIGHTWATCHER, BEEYATCH!" he laughed, wheezing through his teeth. He then glanced at his siblings.

"Did we find Mikey?" he asked.

Venus rolled her eyes. Leave it to Raph to make an impact on the first beating...great, now Donnie has ME doing it!

"Yes, Raph; we found Mikey." she replied.

"Nice," smirked the large Turtle, fist-bumping his sister before glancing at the still-shocked April, and the ecstatic Zack. "Who are those guys?"

Mike's eyes widened, and he facepalmed. "Aw, man! I forgot to ask her name!" he groused.

At this point, the gravity of what she'd just witnessed hit April with all the subtlety of a brick to the skull or a kick to the chin. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, her body went limp, and then she fainted.

"Alright, team; we've had our fun," ordered Leo. "Now it's time to get moving. Sensei and Mother are sure to be worried for us..."

"But we can't just leave her there!" begged Mike, pointing at the unconscious April.

"Not to mention, the kid DID see us," added Raph. "He might tell someone."

Leo clutched the bridge of his nose and swore in Japanese for a little bit longer than last time. "Fine...we can take them with us..." he grumbled. "But we can't let Master Splinter or Mother know!"

The Turtles all nodded, heading towards a manhole cover, popping it open, and heading down the ladder-but not before tossing Fong's unconscious body into the dumpster. Mike picked up the unconscious April, bridal-style, and climbed down the ladder as he headed into the murky sewer tunnels, with Zack following behind.

A woozy Fong emerged from the dumpster, covered with garbage, and took out a communicator.

"Hey boss, it's Fong. We gotta little situation here..."

TO BE CONTINUED...