I'm sorry that my first update in forever is something completely irrelevant, but after seeing the newest episode that featured the Mighty Mutanimals, but noticeably missing a member, well, I just had to write something. Especially after that half-a**ed hand wave about his absence. "We don't talk about Pete". That was so dumb and mean to Pigeon Pete. Anyway, anyone who's read a lot of my stories can tell that I like to stand up for the mostly forgotten characters. So have this for now, and maybe I'll be able to get back into writing other things as well.
Also, this is just headcanon for now, since no one really knows what actually happened to Pete.
It had all started so innocently, so routine. Jack had sent them to clear up the last traces of the Kraang and Triceraton bases. The whole team was relaxed, jovial, gently teasing each other and making pointless conversation, since there weren't any more invasions or attacks on mankind. But then, it had changed so quickly. They had been so relaxed assuming that no one was interested in these old hide outs anymore, that they hadn't noticed that there was someone in the abandoned building with them until he was practically on top of them. Not even Rockwell had noticed that his presence until it was too late.
Fortunately, the mysterious human had attacked Slash first, who had the most "formal" ninja training. He just managed to dodge the darts that were sent towards him, shouting at his team to be at the ready. But the stranger was fast, and had at least a dozen masked men with him, and they managed to shoot another ten darts before the mutants could move to attack. The resulting fight was was blurry and indistinct in Slash's mind after that, overshadowed by the events that followed. Pete, shot down mid-flight, carried out by the masked men, shut inside a truck, the mysterious stranger following the masked men out. The truck dissapearing into the night as they all chased it down as fast as they could, but were not nearly fast enough.
"PETE!" Slash had cried into the darkness, uncaring if he woke up the humans and blew their cover, as he fell to his knees, cracking the asphalt below him. His teammate was captured, and he had been unable to stop it.
They had gone back to Jack immediately, and he had, unsurprisingly, told them to after their comrade in arms. It took some tracking work from both Slash and Rockwell, tracking both Pete's scent and psychic signature, but they managed to track down their lost friend to a building owned indirectly by Don Visioso.
Only...only, when they had gotten there, they had been too late. They hadn't needed Rockwell to tell them that he was gone. It was impossible for him to be otherwise. They had found him in pieces, torn to shreds as if he had been mauled by giant cat. But no wild animal could have been this precise, this intentional. Slash couldn't have looked any longer, and turned away from the mutilated body. Even Leatherhead, who was unfortunately no stranger to the brutalities that science could achieve, was sickened and shocked by the callous and horrifying treatment of his friend.
They had taken what they could of the remains of their friend, though pieces and various organs were missing, and began the long trod home. It was fortunate for the people that had been there that the Mutanimals had already knocked them all out. Slash and Leatherhead, and even the usually level-headed Doctor, would surely have done worse to any conscious humans that they would have run into in this dark place.
With Leatherhead and Slash having no knowledge on what to do for a funeral (though Slash had seen Raphael occasional say short prayers at Teng Shen's at the shrine in the dojo), Rockwell and Kurtzman made the preparations.
"I'm sorry, Tyler". They heard Kurtzman say, "I know that you don't like it, but I'm afraid that cremation is the best option. If we buried him, who knows who would find his body or for what purpose."
They head Rockwell reply, perhaps the quietest and most subdued they had heard him, "I understand."
They had the informal funeral later the next night. They burnt what they had of his body deep in Central Park, a place that Pete had often wanted to fly. The whole time they watched the blaze silently. None of them had ever been much for words. That had usually been Pete's role. When there were only ashes left, they all took turns throwing them to the breeze. They had all thought it would be what Pete would want, going out free in the sky.
The next days (weeks) were some the of most difficult any of them had been through. Slash spent most of his time pacing their lair with a dark look on his face during the day, and running out in the night, beating up any criminals he met along the way. As a psychic, Rockwell was not only emotionally devastated, but mentally and even physically as well. Though he had often been annoyed by the somewhat scatterbrained bird, he was suffering greatly from his death, and from the grief that it caused everyone else. Leatherhead was perhaps the worse affected. Not only had his friend been brutally vivisected, but seeing his death had reminded him of his own experiences at the hands of immoral scientists. Every day and night was spent on a hair trigger for him, the littlest thing could set him off into his "Crazy eyed" mode. Pigeon Pete was dead, and they were all suffering from it in their own ways.
However, the memories of his last moments had been so horrible that the remaining Mighty Mutanimals had shoved the though of his death out of their minds as best as they could, and tried not to bring it up as much as possible. Rockwell had offered to actually erase the memory completely, but they all declined. If he wiped the memory, then Rockwell would be forced to bear the knowledge of Pete's end all on his own. Slash and Leatherhead couldn't even think of doing that to their teammate. So they all remembered. Remembered, but, for the sake of continuing on their work, tried their best not to.
So, yeah. This could be all wrong, and Pete could have just abandoned them or something. But with the references made to Dr. Feral (who, I have found out, is a not very nice to mutants guy. Look him up in the wiki), and the Mutanimal's aversion to the subject, I can only assume the worst. So, anyway, R&R, no promises that the next thing that I do will be anything relevant.