Disclaimer- I don't own any part of TNMT (besides some fan paraphernalia).
Introduction
Winter settled over the city and spread its arms out as if to embrace the streets. The air was a frigid sheet that froze any moisture into a sparkling glaze on the exposed concrete and tightly shuttered windows. A bitter wind blew through the streets, making any person still lingering outdoors hunch their back against the dreadful force. Silently, snow began to fall from the swollen clouds that obscured the moon and stars, filling the freezing night with the added chill of darkness.
Not all of the city's inhabitants were dismayed by the lack of light, however; four shadows darted above abandoned alleyways and across rooftops, flickering silhouettes that went unseen by all. Their passage was as quiet as the falling snow, and nary a whisper of sound could be heard, at least until…
"It's cold as dicks out here," one of the forms complained when the group paused for a few seconds on the roof of a warehouse not too far from the loading docks. "Why are we out here freezing our asses off instead of having pizza by the warm, toasty fire pit?"
"Language, Mikey." A different voice, this one ringing with authority, responded, "And we're here 'freezing our asses off,' as you so eloquently said, because Donnie caught wind of a suspicious shipment coming from an unknown location."
"Well, actually," the tallest shadow cut in, "'caught wind' isn't as accurate as saying that I ran a complex data-analyzing program on the city's records for a few hours, as I simultaneously cross-checked the local FMC database while also regulating…"
He was interrupted as the final mysterious figure placed his hand over the other's mouth.
"Shut it, nerd," he said brusquely.
A brief tussle between the two ensued as Leonardo, the owner of authoritative voice from before, forcibly pushed them apart.
"Focus." He commanded, ignoring the muttering of his reluctantly complying brothers as he walked to the edge of the roof. Surveying the docks intently, he pointed as he caught sight of something. "That's the one we're looking for, right, Donnie?"
The tall turtle followed Leo's finger and examined the accused watercraft intently before nodding slowly. "The symbol on its flank matches the one in the database, so it seems likely that it is indeed the correct ship," Donatello said confidently.
"Well," interjected the once-downtrodden Michelangelo, "what are we waiting for?!" With a whoop, he ran to the edge and leapt off, somersaulting neatly in the air before landing deftly on his feet. "Let's go search us a big boat!" His voice echoed off the sides.
Rafael's voice was a mixture between exasperation and annoyance.
"Do you think he purposefully ignorers the whole 'ninja stealth' thing, or is he just too big of an idiot to realize he's as subtle as a herd of cattle?" He sighed.
His remaining brothers shrugged before they jumped off the roof in the same abrupt fashion as Mikey (minus the shouting) and swiftly caught up to the over-excited teenager.
Not to be outdone, Rafael took a running start and vaulted recklessly off the edge.
It had taken the foursome a full half-hour to fully infiltrate the massive S.S. Periculum, mostly due to the abnormally high number of guards that patrolled its deck. Instead of dissuading them, however, the presence of the heavily-armored men only heightened the tension between the turtles and made them extra-cautious.
Even Mikey knew that such a large amount of lookouts meant that there was something hidden beneath the otherwise normal-looking cargo ship.
Leading the way, Leonardo was the first to find an inconspicuous way in: a small trapdoor made for servicing the ship's dense network of wires, pipes, and vents. Quietly, all four of the turtles slipped in the narrow passageway and crawled on their bellies until they found a vent that opened over what looked like a supply closet.
There was a hand-sized panel on the side of the door that Donatello unscrewed as the rest of his brothers clambered down. Connecting one of his gadgets to an exposed wire, he began to scroll down the screen. A few button-pushes later, and he gave a quick o.k. sign to his brothers.
"I've disabled their security cameras for a couple of hours. I couldn't see if they had any other security methods in place, though, so tread lightly."
Nodding their understanding, the group stepped into the dimly-lit hallway cautiously with their senses on high alert.
"Remember," Leo whispered, "this is a reconnaissance mission. Do not engage with anyone."
The young ninjas did not need telling twice. They knew the drill: get in, look around, and get out with hopefully none the wiser. If they found any evidence of something suspicious, such as something related to the Foot Clan, they could decide what plan of action to take back at their base, where the wisdom of Splinter-sensei could guide them. But for now, their main priority was stealth.
As they wound their way through the labyrinth-esque hallways, they eventually wound up in front of a locked door. Simple red letters printed on the cool metal read: "DESIGNATED PERSONNEL ONLY. LEVEL 7 SECURITY CLEARANCE CARD REQUIRED AT ALL TIMES."
Leonardo was quick to respond. "Can you crack the scanner, Donnie?"
"Already on it." The purple ninja grinned as he plugged in another one of his many devices to the key-reader. "Just a few more seconds and…" he said, biting his bottom lip as his thumbs typed desperately, "bingo."
With a quiet 'whoosh,' the door slid smoothly open and a rush of clinical-scented air rushed out to greet them.
"Woah," Michael said, "this place is even cleaner than your room, Leo."
Standing in sharp contrast to the exposed, gritty metal look of the hallway they had just passed through, the boys were greeted with a stark, seamless white corridor. Even more timidly then before, they walked down the brightly-lit pathway. It was hard to believe that they were on a cargo ship.
"I don't like this," Rafael muttered.
Leonardo understood right away. In such a bright, narrow environment, there was nowhere for them to hide if a member of the "designated personnel" was to pass by them.
Before he could call for a tactical retreat, however, the hallway opened up into a spacious room filled with complicated-looking equipment.
Donatello looked like he was going to faint.
"That's an Underheisen Extractor! It's electrical charge is controlled enough to read brain waves!" He pointed at one of the pieces of machinery before turning around with a gasp as he caught sight of a different technologic tool. "A Brogenhon Superior?! None of them were supposed to have survived WWII! It can monitor literally every cell in your body using its hydro-adapted complex! Oh and there's a…"
"Donatello! Focus!" Leonardo sharply reprimanded his younger brother. Still, the purple-banded turtle couldn't help but mutter excitedly under his breath as the turtles walked cautiously through the laboratory.
"I don't see what's the big deal about all this fancy stuff," Michelangelo said eventually, bored of stealth already, "just looks like a bunch of metal and blinky lights to me." He finished, reaching out to poke one of the machines.
Just as his finger hovered over the surface of the device, an alarm sounded from every direction and the lights turned red.
Swiftly, the turtles all turned to glare at the youngest member of the team accusingly.
"I swear I didn't touch anything," he said, his hands up.
A voice interrupted any burgeoning argument the turtles could have started on some invisible intercom system, sounding distinctly panicked.
"Breach in Subject 127's containment chamber. I repeat, breach in Subject 127's containment chamber. All security personnel come to hallway 38. Deadly force is authorized. I repeat, use of deadly for- AAAHPLEASEGODNOAAAH…"
The message ended abruptly when the nameless man screamed.
Surprised, the turtles looked to each other in consternation.
"I'm guessing this is our cue to leave?" Mikey asked hopefully.
"Nope," Leonardo said, his voice steady, "our job isn't finished yet."
"To hallway 38?" Rafael seemed a little bored.
Their young leader nodded, and, together, they headed out of the large room - straight into the belly of the ship.
a/n- Hello dear reader(s)! Ohmygosh I can't believe someone read what I wrote *squee* thank you so much!
Ok, so I recently saw the new TNMT movie (Paramount) and I thought they did a pretty good job. There was some wonky stuff in there, of course, but it was a pretty decent movie. So decent in fact, it re-kindled my love for the turtles.
This story is a combination of several turtle universes, mostly the 2012 and a few elements mentioned in the earlier cartoons. Sorry if there's a lot of stuff that seems out of place, I'm kind of rusty. Don't hesitate to point out these mistakes (but be gentle, please, my heart is so very delicate, y'know).*However, I did mean to make our lovable boys a little more mature, hence the swearing, so please don't go haywire on me about that.*
Also, in future chapters there will be some mentions of abuse/torture both mental and physical, so if you have triggers, YE BE WARNED.
Please, please tell me what you think, what you like/dislike/hate/loathe/love, and tell me what you want, what you really, really want (yay super old references).
I hope that you enjoy this ride, I (tentatively) plan for it to be a long(ish) one (probably).
huggles,
hunnybehr