Fighting the Good Fight
Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings
A/N: So here's an idea I've had for a while featuring the Mighty Mutanimals. I love this group, so I thought it would be awesome to do a story featuring them. The Turtles will be in this, too, so don't worry about them being absent. This first part is one I've been dying to get out, so I'm really excited to be doing so now. I hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot and nothing more.
Summary: Four mutants were changed forever thanks to the Kraang. Now they have banded together and the Mighty Mutanimals are determined to continue fighting the good fight no matter what happens.
Spike sat in his bowl and chewed on his leaf. He really liked these treats though he wished his Master would take him on missions with them. He was eternally grateful for Raphael for rescuing him as he did, but he wanted to see more than just the confines of Raph's room, the living room, and the dojo. He wasn't even allowed in Donnie's lab because Donnie was afraid he would get hurt.
He lifted his head up as Raph came in. He didn't seem to be hurt, but he was still mad.
"I swear, Leo's drivin' me up a wall," he grumbled. "He thinks he's so great just because Splinter made him the leader. He's got no right bossin' me around like that. I should have been the leader. I would have done a better job than he does. Do you think I'd make a good leader, Spike? Chew on your leaf if you think I'd make a good leader."
Spike chewed on his leaf because he did think Raph would make a good leader and also because he was hungry. He wasn't sure if Raph really thought he understood what Raph was saying, but Spike did. He knew how frustrated he was with his brothers at times and how he wished things were different. Spike wished that, too. He wished that he could sit by Raph and put his arm around him and reassure him that things were going to be okay.
He wished that he was a mutant like Raph instead of a pet turtle.
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The alligator chirped as he was lifted out of his tank. The human held him gently and seemed to remember not to be rough with him, which he appreciated. He still didn't have a name, but maybe that was because the human couldn't think of one.
"You're so cool," the human said. "I just hope Mom and Dad don't find out I have you. You have to stay quiet, okay?"
The alligator chirped an assent because that was all he could do. He was happy to be here and hoped that would live a long life in this human's home. The human gently put him in his tank and gave him some food. The alligator fed off of it, a rumble of content issuing from his throat.
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Tyler Rockwell smiled as he hugged his mother and father. He had just graduated from Oxford University and now had a degree. It had taken him a long time to achieve it, but he had finally accomplished his goal of becoming a college graduate.
"We are so proud of you, Tyler," his mother said. "You truly are a great son."
"And what do you plan to do with this achievement now?" his father asked.
"I think I'm going to move to America," Tyler replied. "I've heard there's great opportunity over there for scientists like me."
"But that's so far from home, love," his mother protested. "We wouldn't be able to see you all of the time. How could we check on you?"
"I know it's far, but I have to do this," he replied. "It's a great opportunity, and I need to take it while it's still there. I hope you understand, Mother."
She sighed. "I do, Tyler, but I'm going to miss you." She gave him a hug and he hugged her back.
"Well, I wish you the best of luck," his father said. "I just hope you'll do good work as you were born to do."
"Thank you, Father," Tyler said. "I'll do my best." He embraced his parents one last time and then prepared to head to America. He knew that he had the best opportunity there and that it was a great place with great people.
Little did he know that moving to that country would change his life in more ways than one.
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The pigeon flew over the city along with his fellows. He was happy in the city and loved getting as much food as he could from the people who often threw things away. Humans were sometimes so wasteful, but that was an advantage for the young pigeon and his flock. He settled down in Central Park and saw a couple on a bench. They were always so kind and were always nice enough to feed them their bread.
"Oh, look, Harold, here are the dear ones," the woman said.
"Yep, right on time. Do you have the bread, Ingrid?"
"Yes, I do," she replied and she threw it on the ground for the hungry pigeons.
With a coo of excitement, the young pigeon darted over to one of the pieces and began eating it happily. He relished the taste of the bread in his mouth just as he did every time they came to the Park. Nothing could ever be as good as this was.
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Once again, Raph was mad at his brothers. He stormed in, muttering about how he was tired of being on the team and wanted to be on his own. He had said this many times, but Spike firmly believed that this time he meant it.
"You get it, don't you, Spike?" Raph asked his pet.
Spike let out a little chirp in agreement. Of course he knew what Raph wanted. It was the same thing he wanted, too. He wanted to be a mutant and work side by side with Raph, ridding the world of the bad guys together. It didn't seem like too much to ask. They were interrupted by Mikey saying that Raph needed to help clean up. Raph refused, saying that it was Donnie's mess and that he didn't want to clean up. Mikey told him to tell Splinter that, and Raph said he would. With a huff, he yanked his door open and then slammed it shut. The mutagen canister rolled off of his drum set and crashed to the floor, spilling the contents.
Spike looked at the green stuff congealing on the floor. Its glow seemed to mesmerize him, and he had to find out more about it. He jumped off of his perch and crawled toward the mutagen. He took some in his mouth and relished the funny taste it had. He crawled within the stuff, noting how it stuck to him. Then suddenly, things changed. Pain consumed him as he began to grow. He became bigger than he was before and spikes protruded out of his shell. He swallowed back a scream as the pain continued, and then it was gone. When he looked at himself he found that he was no longer a pet turtle.
He was a mutant.
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The alligator was still happy with the human boy. The human came home from school and smiled as he looked at his pet.
"Hey, there," he said. "I hope you haven't been lonely. I wish I didn't have to leave you."
Suddenly, there was a loud knocking on his door.
"Chuck, what are you doing in there?" his mother demanded.
"Nothing, Mom!" Chuck called back.
"Yes, you are," his father replied. "You've been holed up in your room a lot and now you're talking to someone. Have you snuck a girl into your room?"
"No, Dad, I'm not talking to anyone," Chuck told him.
That wasn't good enough for the parents, and they forced his door open. Their eyes widened as they saw their son holding a baby alligator in his hands. The mother let out a shriek, and the father snatched him from Chuck's arms.
"No!" Chuck yelled. "Leave him alone! He's harmless!"
"I can't believe you brought an alligator home!" his father yelled. "What were you thinking?" He carried the alligator into the bathroom.
"Get it out of here!" the mother wailed.
"Dad, what are you doing?" Chuck asked.
His father didn't answer and simply dropped the alligator into the toilet. There was a flushing sound, and then the alligator felt himself spinning before he was sucked into darkness. He wasn't sure how long it lasted, but then he shot out of the pipe and landed on firm ground. Before he could think about what to do, he was surrounded by humans dressed in business suits.
"Kraang, what is that creature that is sitting on the thing known as the ground?" one of them asked.
"That is what is known as an alligator, Kraang," another one said.
"This specimen will be useful in Kraang's experiment," the first one said, and he picked up the alligator and took it away. The alligator tried to bite, but it had no effect on the human.
He was taken to a lab and strapped to a table. One of the humans held a syringe filled with a green substance which he injected into the alligator. At first, nothing happened, but then terrible pain wracked his body as he began changing from a baby alligator into a mutant. The pain didn't stop as numerous experiments were performed on him and all the alligator could do was mourn the loss of the home and the human who had cared for him so deeply.
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Tyler Rockwell was good friends with Victor Falco. The two of them were inseparable as they spent time in the lab and talked about experiments. They went out to dinner together and talked about their families. Victor graduated at the top of his class and Tyler was happy to know someone as smart as he was.
But something changed one day as Victor was talking about what he wanted to do. "I want to create a serum that helps me delve into the minds of others," he said. "I think that would be an ingenious idea."
"But that's impossible, Victor," Tyler argued. "There's no such thing as a serum for reading minds."
"Ah, but there is," Victor said. "I have been studying it, and I think I've got the right formula to help me. But I need a test subject to help with this, and you are the best one I can think of."
"Victor, you're my friend, but have you tested this out before?"
"No, you will be the first one I test it on," Victor replied. "Please, Tyler. We're friends, aren't we?"
"Yes, we are friends, but I don't want to do this. You'll have to find someone else to run your experiment on."
Without warning, Victor jabbed Tyler with a syringe filled with a green substance. Tyler yelled in pain, hardly daring to believe what his colleague had done to him. Then the yell turned into a scream as pain racked Tyler's body as he began to change from a human into a monkey. After the change was complete, Tyler yelled viciously at his friend, but all that came out of his mouth was a monkey's scream.
Victor laughed in triumph. "As you can see, it works. I knew I wouldn't be able to test it on a human, so I knew I'd have to have an animal to test it on instead. Monkeys are very intelligent, but the zoo wouldn't let me take one of theirs, so I found a canister of mutagen and put some monkey DNA in it. Now, you are my test subject, and you will serve your purpose well, Tyler. Don't be mad. Think of it as your contribution to science." With an evil laugh, Victor put Tyler in a cage and locked it tightly. Then he turned on his heel and left his friend alone.
Tyler was outraged at what Victor had done. He couldn't believe his friend would stoop so low as to betray him like this. Tyler knew he couldn't stick around and remain a test subject. He was determined to leave and make sure that Victor's experiment didn't succeed.
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The pigeon saw some crumbs on the ground and hurried to peck at them. After he finished his meal, he was surrounded by humans dressed in business suits. The humans began talking, but the pigeon didn't really understand what they were saying. He cooed, and they picked him up and took him to a laboratory. He was strapped to a table and injected with a substance that was green and glowing. Pain filled him as his body began changing and when it was over, he was a mutant pigeon at the mercy of the Kraang.
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Raph was surprised at the change in his pet but also delighted. This was what he'd been hoping for since he rescued Spike from his fate. He helped his pet get some gear and suit up to fight crime.
"You look awesome, Spike," Raph said.
The bigger turtle laughed. "Never liked the name Spike," he said. "Call me Slash."
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"So what's your name anyway?" the freckled Turtle asked him.
The alligator really liked this new friend, but his question seemed odd. "I do not have one," he replied.
The Turtle's blue eyes widened in shock. "You don't have a name?! Well you're in luck 'cause I'm a genius at naming stuff." He bent down and examined the alligator even opening his mouth to look inside. "Your head is kind of leathery. How about Headleather? Heather? Wait, Leatherhead. That's it. Leatherhead."
The alligator smiled. "Leatherhead it is," he agreed. "Thank you, my friend." He was happy to not only have a friend in his midst but to also have a name. He was no longer just an alligator. He was Leatherhead.
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Rockwell took one last look at the Turtles before escaping. There was no way he was staying in that lab. He had to find a new home and get away from Falco as soon as he could. There was no telling what the scientist would do to him if he stuck around. He wandered the city until he found an abandoned warehouse. Yes, this would do for now until he could find something else. He sighed as he curled up on some blankets.
He was no longer Tyler Rockwell, brilliant scientist. He was a freak.
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The pigeon sat in his cell, unable to process what had happened. He noticed a red-haired man sitting next to him.
"I can't believe they got you, too," he said.
"Yeah, I didn't think this would happen," the pigeon responded. It was a shock to learn that he could talk as a normal human could, but it came in handy.
"Do you have a name?" the man asked.
"Nope, I'm just a pigeon," the bird replied.
"How about if I give you one?" the man suggested. He thought a moment and then smiled. "I'll call you Pete. Would that be a good name?"
The pigeon smiled. "Yeah, I like that name," he said. "What's yours?"
"I'm Kirby," the man said.
"Nice to meet you, Kirby," Pete said.
"I have a favor to ask of you. I need to get a message to my daughter. Could you somehow do it for me?"
Pete nodded. "I'd love to help you out. Just tell me what to do."
Kirby compiled the video for his daughter and gave Pete instructions on how to find her. Pete nodded and when he had the opportunity, he escaped to carry out his mission. He just hoped he wouldn't fail.
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The city was in ruins as the Kraang invaded. Slash was worried and wondered where the Turtles were. Were they safe, or had they been captured by the aliens? If they had been captured, he was going to make sure the Kraang paid for that. No one messed with his friends. As he went along the rooftops, he spotted his other teammates not far behind him. They had met after the Kraang had invaded and had forged a bond based on how their lives had changed thanks to the aliens. They were a good group, and Slash was happy that he'd found them.
"I don't see any other robots," Leatherhead reported.
Slash shook his head. "Nope, I guess that's the last of them," he said.
"Wait, what about over there?" Pete asked as he pointed.
Slash followed the pigeon's gaze and saw a group of Kraangdroids converging on a human. Slash growled low in his throat. "That's all kinds of wrong," he said. "What do you say we take care of this threat?"
Leatherhead, Rockwell, and Pete all agreed. This couldn't go on any longer.
Slash smiled. "Mutanimals, move out!" he ordered. They converged on the Kraangdroids and beat them into submission. Once they were all defeated, the group celebrated and headed back to their secret base. Slash was happy that everything was turning out okay. Sure, the Kraang were still around, but as long as the Mighty Mutanimals were around, things would change. They would continue to keep on fighting the good fight and rid the world of the Kraang once and for all.
A/N: And that's the end of the first chapter. I had fun with it, and I hope you enjoyed it, too. I have good plans for this story, and I definitely can't wait to write more. I know I skipped them all being imprisoned by the Kraang, but I felt the chapter was long enough without that, so that's why I skipped that part. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.