Disclaimer: I don't own any of them sob. TMNT belongs to Mirage and Ben 10 belongs to 'Man of Action'. If I own them, Ben wouldn't be such a doofus and Mikey would have a hardcore alter ego! I do own the OCs who will appear in future chapters.
Chapter Two: Meet the Tennysons
The lair was strangely quiet. The usual sounds that was usually associated with a certain Nunchaku wielding turtle was absent. The lair was so still that it gave the image no one is currently living there. Splinter walked out of his room feeling uncomfortable and anxious. His tail twitched and his ears slightly flattened against his head. He saw his genius son walking toward the kitchen, 'Donatello my son.'
Donatello stopped, 'Master Splinter, is Mikey home yet?'
Splinter's whiskers twitched, 'No my son. I am quite concerned that he is late.'
'Yes, he should've been back half an hour ago.'
'What's wrong? Mikey's not home yet?' asked Leonardo as he approached the two.
Donatello shook his head, 'He's not home… I'll go check on his Shell Cell signal. Maybe he's in trouble.'
'Hey, where's the goofball?' asked Raphael as he stepped into the living room to join Leonardo and his father.
Leonardo shook his head, 'We don't know, he might be in trouble.'
The red banded turtle growled, 'He better not be goofin' off somewhere else…'
Though he said that with anger, his family knew that he is also worried of the youngest of the four turtles; he's just never good at expressing his concerns. Donatello called them to his lab and everyone rushed to him.
'What is it Don?' asked Leonardo.
Donatello pushed back his chair, 'I got his signal but it's kinda weak. Something must've happen to his Shell Cell.'
'Let's go get 'im!' said Raphael impatiently.
With a nod from their rat-father, the remaining three turtles rushed out of the lair following Donatello's directions. Leonardo frowned; he hoped his brother is not in danger. He was slightly startled when his red banded brother's pace quicken, Raph must be very worried, he thought. Not like he was least worried. His mind was already sketching strategies in case they needed it.
Michelangelo groaned and opened his eyes groggily. His head was pounding painfully and his whole body aching. He heard muffled voices around him. He blinked when a blurred figure loomed above him, he could only make out the brown blot.
'Hey, you okay?' asked Ben.
'Ughh, where am I?' the turtle asked weakly.
Gwen and Max appeared behind Ben. Their grandfather gave a friendly smile, 'Don't worry, you're safe here with us. You're in the Rustbucket.'
Michelangelo raised an eye ridge, 'Rustwha- Whazzat?'
'It's my grandpa's RV. I'm glad the dart's not poisoned. How's your head Mikey?' asked Gwen kindly.
The turtle groaned and clenched his eyes shut, 'My head hurts… feels like Raph is punching at my brain.'
'Who's Raph?' Ben asked.
'My bro… who are you guys? Aren't you… freaked out? You know, because I'm a giant talking turtle,' said Michelangelo as he gazed at their faces once his vision cleared.
Ben grinned, 'Dude, we've seen a lot of strange things. Nothing freaks us out!'
Michelangelo gave him a confused look. Max sighed, 'These are my grandchildren; Ben and Gwen. Call me Max. So Mikey… Where'd you come from?'
'I live here in the Big Apple.'
Gwen raised a brow, 'You live here?'
'Well, not actually in the city. Me and my family live underground where it's safe for us since we're… different.'
'So are you an alien? Oww! Gwen, what was that for?!' Ben hissed as he rubbed his arm where Gwen had punched him.
She gave him an annoyed glare, 'Weren't you listening doofus? And isn't it obvious? He's a turtle not an alien!'
Max pushed them apart gently, 'No fighting! We have an injured guest here… Oh, this must be yours.'
Michelangelo took the Shell Cell from the retired Plumber and thanked him. Ben tilted his head, 'So, Mikey, could you tell us how you became… this?'
The orange banded turtle shrugged, they seemed trustworthy and they did saved him. He told them how he, his brothers and their adopted father became what they are. Just because of the strange ooze found in the sewers of New York City. The Tennysons looked at each other before they turned their gaze to him. Gwen spoke, 'Well since you share your secret with us I guess it's fair we share ours.'
Ben raised his left arm and showed him the Omnitrix, 'See this? It's an alien technology which enables me to transform into any alien life form. You might have heard from the news about the appearance of hero aliens.'
Michelangelo sat up, 'Oh! You're that kid, Benjamin Tennyson!'
Max smiled, 'So you've heard of us.'
The turtle grinned, 'You bet! I have newspaper clippings about you in my scrap book along with other heroes. Tell you guys something, I'm the Turtle Titan!'
Ben's eyes lit up, 'No way! You're THE Turtle Titan?! Whoa!'
Gwen's brows twitched, 'What's this about?'
'Dude, he's like this hero in the Silver Sentry comic book I read. I didn't know you were real! So, does that mean the Silver Sentry is real too?!'
Before Michelangelo answer the question, the door was slammed open and his red banded brother entered the RV. He growled menacingly at the three humans and charged at them with a roar. The Tennysons were startled by this intrusion and they stood rooted to the floor. Michelangelo leapt out of Gwen's bunk with incredible speed and stood between his brother and the humans, 'RAPH STOP!'
Raphael stopped instantly, relieve in his eyes when he saw his brother, 'Mikey, are ya oka-' he was interrupted when his brother suddenly fell into his plastron and he caught the weak turtle, 'MIKEY?!'
'His head was hit and someone shot him with a tranquilizer. He's still weak,' said Gwen.
Raphael glared at them; before he could say a word his brainy and eldest brothers entered the RV, 'Raph! You shouldn't- Mikey?!'
Don rushed to his youngest brother's side and noticed the bandage around his head. He looked up and finally noticed the three humans staring at them in fear, confusion and wonder. He looked up when Leonardo placed a hand on his shoulder, 'How is he?'
'He's fine… just a slight concussion…' said Max.
Leonardo turned to the three humans and stared at them warily, 'What did you do?'
Ben stepped forward defensively, 'Hey! We didn't do anything! In fact, we helped him when he was ambushed by these ninjas in black and red!'
'The Foot,' Raphael hissed.
'Foot? That's a stupid name,' said the brunette bluntly.
Everyone nearly jumped when Michelangelo chuckled, 'Y-you bet… it's lame… huh?'
'Put him on my bunk,' said Gwen as she motioned at the empty bed behind her.
After putting the injured turtle into Gwen's bunk, the others had a long chat outside the RV about what's going on and they exchanged stories about themselves. Luckily for them that the Rustbucket was parked under a bridge where it's secluded so no one will notice the turtle brothers. Don was confused and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Leonardo noticed this, 'What is it Donnie?'
'I dunno. Something feels off… Why would they shoot a tranquilizer in the last moment when they could see Ben defeated most of them? There's no way they could fight him off anyway, why are they so intent on taking Mikey?'
Leonardo's expression darkened, 'You have a point there…'
'If we want answers, we know who to look for,' said Raphael gruffly.
'Who?' asked Gwen and Ben simultaneously.
Leonardo's eyes narrowed, 'Karai.'
Agent Bishop was starring at the papers lying on the desk. Most of them contained some data concerning a certain orange banded turtle. Data he had managed to keep when the turtle was in his captive before and data that his men had given him while they watched the turtle at a distance. He skimmed the papers swiftly with trained eyes, 'Michelangelo…'
His eyes then shifted to a folder with red 'Top Secret' stamped on it. He opened it and flipped through the papers and scanned the photos and information the folder contained. It was about Ben Tennyson, the Omnitrix and his alien forms. The folder contained little information about the Omnitrix but he was sure that it's a device made with alien technology. He smirked at the thought of possessing the Omnitrix and using it for his own purposes.
His eyes darted back to the papers about Michelangelo; he needed the turtle to make his 'perfect army'. The turtle was agile and strong. He knew that behind the goofy attitude, the turtle was capable of doing incredible things. Bishop could see it; the turtle was much more skilled than his brothers. He just didn't show it. He's just too damn humble to outmatch his beloved brothers.
The pale dark-haired man grinned, 'Michelangelo and the Omnitrix… it's like killing two birds with one stone. Must be my lucky day.'
