It's a new rainy night in the ever-glowing streets of New York, the quadrillions upon quadrillions of water droplets pelting the dark pavement before flowing in thick trickles for the nearest open manhole cover, joining the much larger river of murky liquid that made the city's sewer drainage...
However, the usually mundane quiet was about to be interrupted by a familiar stomped rumbling behind the stone walls, sensed by two common grey rats before they scramble away for their lives.
...And forcing their way through the brickwork using their razor sharp teeth and strong steel body, was none other than one of those strange robots that attacked our protagonist family of six not too long ago!
"It may not look like much, but this tin toy can chomp its way through steel and concrete like Michelangelo through a pizza."
Somewhere back a few of the under-surface blocks, were the five teenage ninjas that made up that made up that family, tailing after the little metal terrorizer.
"A bunch of these robots saw fit to trash our old lair, and nearly turned our sensei into robo-chow."
"...Huaaaaaaaah!"
It would seem this time, those tin carnivores had found a new target to rid the sewers of, they being a woman based on the pitch of that scream. Donatello quickly narrows down the direction the echo sounded from, and the rest follow him in a run to where the newest victim of these robots was...
Getting a closer look at said figure trapped with their back against a blocked-off passage by five of the robots, we see that they were indeed female, human at that, with velvet red hair grown about past shoulder-length, tied into a high bun with a few strands escaping to frame her light ivory-complexioned face, bottle green eyes shining with fear, and wore a light plum purple belly t-shirt, a pair of tan cargo pants held up to her hips by a black belt, and onyx trainers with light blue laces that were currently drowning in the sewer water.
"I get a closer look at these machines, and the techno-geek in me can't help thinking, 'Awesome'..."
...Thankfully, this young woman would have a chance at continuing life, when our four anthropomorphic turtles and one young human girl come leaping in, vengeance burning in irises cast over their metal-skinned enemies.
"But the ninja in me can't help thinking, 'Payback'."
Hours Earlier, Michelangelo's POV
It's been about a week since my family and I were forced to run for our lives from our old home when these freaky razor-toothed robots came crashing in and basically made the lair next-to-impossible to live in. After my brothers, sister and I had our crazy adventure up above the sewers (which truth be told, is technically not the first time we've all been up there at the same time; more like the first time we could get away with it, hehehe), we would meet up with our dad and follow him to this new place to call home.
Gotta say, after doing a mass sweep and clean, it's starting to feel like the best place in the world to be. Not only did we all have a shell of alot more space that we'd each get our own rooms (which means I don't have to deal with Raph's super-loud snoring anymore; thank you, god), but it also meant things like fitting in a major entertainment system, which I was tweaking with right now, adding the sixteenth TV screen in the square corner I got going on in the upper left.
Almost, done...
Currently, it was just me, Don and Master Splinter in the new digs, while Leo, Raph and Yori went out on another salvage mission to the old lair, while also test-driving my tech-savvy brother's new vehicle, the Sewer Slider, lucky turtles and girl...Still, got my own projects I can keep busy with.
Just hope I didn't screw up the wiring this round...
"What's the matter, Mikey? Can't decide what to watch?"
Imitating a commander off a sci-fi show I can't remember the name of at the moment, I droll back to my brother,
"I need more powerrrr, Captain. The Turtle Cave must be set for maximum entertainment potential."
I plug in the main cable, and hear a promising buzz of electricity.
Alright, I think I got it!
I then walk over to snag up the remote and test the On/Off...bu~t I guess I must have used too many power outlets, for all I got was the blinding version of 'TV snow'.
"Gh! Aww..."
By this time, Don was back on ground level from his climb to the ceiling to torch on some reinforcement...insulation, whatever, and would take Raph's role in mocking my name of choice for our new home.
"Turtle Cave? That is so lame."
I knew that unlike my rougher-spirited brother, his tone was of the more 'chiding joking' rather than 'sarcastically insulting', so I just smiled in a challenging manner and piped back,
"What would you call our new digs? The Shell-ter?"
"Auhhh...How 'bout, The Sewer of Solitude?"
"Terrapin Station?"
"The School of Gifted Reptiles?"
"The Hall of Ninjustice!"
Master Splinter clears his throat to stop our little naming game before it got out of hand, pausing his repair work the fighting dummy Leo ripped with his swords during yesterday's training to stand up from the old blue couch we brought in two days ago, before voicing his own thoughts.
"We will call this place, Home."
...Letting the simple title sink in for a few seconds, I shrug and agree that this place was as good as it needed to be without some fancy name.
"Hm, catchy."
Sensei smiles knowingly, before bringing up the other three members of our family.
"Now, what is keeping Leonardo, Raphael and Shiori?"
I move to pick up a bundle of wood and cart it out of the living room area while answering,
"They just went to get the last of our stuff from the old lair."
Don adds as he moved across the steeping stones of this river feature our new pad had to his science table,
"And with the way the new Sewer Slider is performing, they should be back any minute now."
Heh, it'll definitely be a minute if Raphie-boy's driving.
Shiori's POV
It's been a good few hours since Leo, Raph and I left from our new home to do one more collection of whatever didn't get demolished in that freak attack by those evil little robots, and we managed to get a good last haul packed into the new convertible-like vehicle Don finished yesterday. Right now, I'm sitting on the edge of the doorway to the driver seat, talking to one of my friends from the regular streets (Talon) over my shell-cell while Raph stood nearby, his nonchalant stance hinting that he was about a toe into the conversation bubble.
"So, how's your guy's new place lookin'?"
"A shell of alot less gutted than it did in the beginning, (small smile) which I gotta tip thanks to you and the others for helping us get a hold of some new furniture, tech and plumbing."
"Aah, it was no trouble. Least we could do for you all considerin' what happened. Nice armoured truck, by the way...Man. I'm still blown away and pissed that some jerk went and let loose some crazy robots that took ou' the foundation of your family home."
A sad frown came to grace my lips as I muttered back,
"Yeah, believe me, we all are in our own ways...It's only these last few nights that I can actually close my eyes and, go to sleep without picturing those sharp jaws gnashing my direction."
Or my brothers and sensei for that matter...
Talon could sense more than what I was making out verbally.
"...I'm guessin' the whole ordeal stirred up some old feelings from, 'that night', huh?"
Sucking in a silent breath, I close my eyes in preparation of what precisely he was talking about...
(Flash)
My first home, which housed a whole bunch of other kids like me, like my four best friends, nothing but a mass pile of smoking rubble sizzling from the light spray falling from the sky during that startling cold May night, after it was destroyed by a huge fire started by...well, someone who clearly had a problem with the Lady Liberty Orphanage. Just dunno what...yet.
(Flash)
Exhaling, I reply in a surprisingly dry tone,
"Yeah, I, guess it did..."
So, just to clarify for the confused minds listening in from their little corners of the universe, yes, I was an orphan.
Long story short, my mom had me at a very young age (think about as old I am now or a year younger, according to Mister Liberty, the ex-caretaker of the orphanage), and decided after four years of taking care of me that it would benefit both our livelihoods if she took me to a more proper sort of home, and not continue a risky life of living between short apartment rents and the gutter.
Some would classifying it as abandoning your child, and I was one of those people in the beginning...but, now that I'm older, I think I'm finally understanding that my birth mother didn't give me up because she didn't want me. She gave me up...so we could both survive, simple as that. I'm not sure if she succeeded on her end or not, but I send good thoughts every now and again. And no, I have no idea who my birth father is, nor do I really care to find out anytime in this coming future, for any man who dares to ditch their romantic partner over something like having a kid, is a spineless coward in my eyes. Besides...I have a dad in my life now who loves me and cares about me.
Anyway, the next five years weren't too bad in that old orphanage: may not have always been in the best shape (especially the radiator during winter), but it certainly was no dump. What really put alot of life into the place was us kids, who usually fell under the range of two to eighteen, if with the rare babies and even rarer overage kids who stuck around to help keep the place in top line. Two of my best friends, Talon and Ariana, are a part of that last demographic, while the other two, Shun and Ortensia, are a little closer to my age, he older by four years and she by only one cycle of the 365. Bottom line, we're as close as close can get...
Then, one evening just two months or so after my ninth birthday, this group of mystery arsonists came crashing into the place and set it all to flames for no real rhyme or reason! It was scary as all shell, and I almost became a part of those unfortunate innocents that...didn't make it out in time, but thankfully, Ortensia woke me up before the smoke got real thick, and we bolted out of our shared room before escaping through the kitchen backdoor.
...But watching the whole building go up the way it did...it was unreal...
After that, I'd spend the next week and a half ducking through streets and alleys with my gal pal, focusing on both surviving and dodging the police...and child services. I knew the stories about foster care, and there was no way in shell I was gonna become a part of that freak fest, or Ori. However, we'd lose sight of eachother during a particularly stormy night, which left me on my own for another week and some. By that point, I started implementing the sewers as a safer place to travel from the prying eyes of adults, not wanting any grownup to tell me where to go with my life...Still, it was lonely...
...That would all change, when I met my new family.
...
But I think I'll save that part of the story for a later point before this turns into a novel, along with how I hooked up again with my quartet of besties. Let's get back to the present, shall we?
So, my friend above ground hums over the phone knowingly, choosing not to speak any further out of respect for the both of us, just as I hear footfalls heading my way from the, old lair, belonging to Leonardo who was carrying over the last real-intact piece of the past: a strange, empty glass-metal canister with the label TCRI, which what I've been told in several tellings once contained an even stranger substance that was responsible for creating the mutants that are my four brothers and sensei/father.
Yet another mystery to solve...
"Our home, for fifteen years, six in your case, Yori...haah, and this is all that's left."
Talon pipes in via shell-cell,
"Hey, I know it hurts now, but trust me when I say this, Leo: no object can replace the memory. In the end, stuff is just stuff, nothin' compared to the good times you use 'em for, which will always be in your heart and mind."
That seemed to cheer my brother up a little, and he cracked a slight smile before replying back,
"Heh, that almost sounded like something sensei would say...Thanks, Talon."
"No probs. And Raph, I know you're listenin', so you keep my words in mind too, okay?"
Said brother with the pair of sais grunts a bit in response...
"I won't blame ya for being angry, of course, 'cause I am for all of you. Just be careful of your temper."
"Yeah, yeah, I know...Still."
Raph steps over towards a nearby rectangular pole of brick with reasonable cracking, grinding through his teeth,
"When I find out who built those homewreckin' robo-roaches...!"
He punches the post, which because of the weak support this section of the sewers, causes a slight rumble to pass.
"Raph! Come on. Let's not trash this place anymore than it is."
I nod in agreement with Leo, and our brother refrains from letting anymore anger loose that this place can't handle anymore, turning to join us on the Sewer Slider with he sliding into the driver's seat, me the passenger, and Leo atop the pile of things we managed to unearth. I say into the speaker of my cell,
"Guess this is where we hang up for now, Tal."
"Alright. But, before you go, I just have something to ask regardin' those rabid robots."
"Shoot."
"...Did it seem like they were, how'do I word this, 'targeting' Sensei Splinter more intently than they were de rest of you guys?"
That wasn't a question I was expecting...and yet,
"Huh...You know, thinking about it now, (looks at Leo and Raph) it did seem like they were heading after Sensei more, didn't they?"
They hm in similar airs to my hum of suspicion, before my brother wielding the double katana asks,
"Why do you ask, Talon?"
"Well...I can't say for certain if this will be connected with the attack a' your old home, but...there's this big story comin' up on today's news that features some kind-a new robotics technology that's supposedly going to, 'settle the affairs of our city's sanitation', or something of that regard...Might be worth tunin' in when you get back to your new place. Heh, I know Donnie might be interested."
"I see. Thanks for the tip; we'll keep that in mind."
"Don't thank me. Thank Shun...Whoops, gotta go; Ari's trying to bake again, and I don't wanna clean up another batter explosion. Catch you all later; stay safe!"
We all voice our byes to Talon, and I click my shell-cell off...
"Alright boys, homeward bound we go."
Raph didn't need to be told twice, and immediately started the engine while clicking on his seat belt - I doing the same - before putting the Sewer Slider in gear, the wheels shifting so that we'd be heading back hovercraft-style.
Donnie the techno-turtle does it again...
"Now remember: Don said the accelerator hasn't been calibrated yet."
Ah! Leo, why would you tell Raph that?! Don't you know he'll-
"So take it nice and-"
The word 'slow' would get stretched by surprise when our driver would do the opposite, cranking the speed all the way to go ramming down the tunnels!
"Yeeee-haaaw!"
Leo fumbles his grip slightly before locking himself in place atop the pile of remnants, while I opted for plastering myself into the seat while gripping the door like it was my lifeline, which let's face it, with the way Raph drives, it may as well be. He meanwhile, was having the time of his life:
"I'd call this a successful field test, wouldn't you, Leo? Yori?"
Fighting against the rush of the wind, I manage a smile both irritated and admittingly a little thrilled.
"Agh, I'll stamp the word Successful on the document after we get back home without crashing!"
The guys just laugh at my banter, before we all find ourselves crying out excitedly through the sewers as we sped back to where the rest of our family is waiting.
Talon's right. Having a souvenir, is nothing compared to the experience.
No POV
As the two turtles and young girl with black beach waves sped back to their new lair, we zoom our view over Donatello's work station, where he was tinkering with the metal remains of one of the robots that had caused the family so much grief. Splinter's reflection would come up in the steel head next to the turtle's as he gazed down at the parts with caution.
"Even though it is inactive...that thing still makes me uneasy, Donatello."
"This is state-of-the-art robotics, sensei. Brilliant work. I just gotta know what makes it tick."
It was at that moment that the engine of the Sewer Slider comes echoing in from the entrance/exit of this large underground home, and eyes would fixate on the returning forms of Leonardo, Raphael and Shiori carting the last bundle of physical memories that escaped annihilation. The turtle with the blue bandana mask would hop down first after the vehicle is parked, carrying a box in his arm containing items that belonged to one of his other brothers.
"Hey, good news, Mikey! Your DVD collection survived."
Michelangelo readies a hand to catch the flying cardboard holding the dozens of movies he's gathered over the years, along with some CDs that he and his sister have collected together.
"Awe~some! Let's throw in something light on story and heavy on gory, 'cause the video monolith is ready to rock 'n roll!"
He clicks the televisions on, and this time, we'd have perfect picture quality, specifically, the local news.
"In a press conference today at Stocktronics Incorporated, New York's new leading technology firm..."
"Booooriiiing..."
Donatello calls to his brother to prevent him from switching the player input to VHS.
"Wait! I wanna see this," and Shiori adds,
"Same here. I think this is the report Talon said to check out when we got back."
"Oh! Did he call while you guys were at the old lair?"
"Yep. Just wanted to check in on our progress with deckin' out the new place and see how we were doin'."
Attention focuses back on the live news report as the anchor speaks up again, the scene being inside a high-tech laboratory of sorts.
"Founder and CEO, Doctor Baxter Stockman was on hand to unveil his latest innovation."
The camera zooms in on the face of the man himself, he being of African-American descent with chestnut skin, about five foot ten, brown eyes covered by a pair of maroon-framed square glasses, short black hair styled in a flattop, and wore an outfit comprised of a white shirt and onyx black tie under an Alice blue lab coat, relaxed-fit blue jeans, and brown loafers.
"A wise man once said, 'Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door'. I say, let the path-beating begin, for I, Doctor Baxter Stockman, have designed the solution to our city's ever-growing rat problem. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, the ultimate expression of rodent-termination technology: The Stocktronic Mouser!"
...And much to the shock of the terrapins, rat and human girl, that said invention, was none other than the same robot that came in droves to nearly eliminate their family!
(...Riiing)
Shiori and Splinter jump slightly as her shell-cell suddenly went off, before relaxing when the former figures,
"Must be Talon again," and grabs out her turtle-inspired communication device to answer.
(Beep)
"Hello?...Oh hey, Shun!...Yeah, yeah we're watching it right now, and it looks like your intuition was correct. (Narrows eyes) That bot's the same as the other ones that nearly wasted us a week ago...Hang on, lemme put you on speaker."
As she switches the listening reception, Donatello comments almost disappointingly over this new revelation while looking at the decapitated head of one of the now named Mousers.
"I can't believe that the famous Baxter Stockman would try to pass off these killer robots as a good thing."
Michelangelo grabs the severed head for his own hand to use like a sock puppet as he jokes,
"And what's up with those glasses? (Dumb accent) Dork city!"
Shun pipes in via Shiori's shell-cell,
"And they're not even telling half the story. Ori and I did some digging over the web and through a few conversations with some mutual acquaintances at Globe Institute, and apparently Stockman's been organizing all kinds of projects involving the city's sanitation...What's strange though is that no one seems to know where the funding comes from."
The girl with honey-coloured irises quirks with a raised brow,
"So, like an anonymous benefactor? How's that unusual?"
A second voice, belonging to a female close to her age, exclaims through the cellphone speaker,
"It's weird 'cause not even the best hackers can pinpoint the source! I mean, I get Stocktronics is a high-end tech company, but something like these Mouser robots had to cost more than their budget can handle."
"True..."
A growl ensues from Raphael's throat, before he stomps forward to thrust one of his sais into a TV screen in a spout of anger, hearing all that he needed to.
"I say we head over t' Stocktronics and kick some serious shell!"
But he would not get very far, when the giant grey rat in the brown monk robes steps in his way with a stern expression matching his tone.
"Absolutely not!"
Splinter whacks his son's head with his walking stick to emphasize the protest for action, before lecturing,
"Your last venture to the surface was a disaster...You can ill afford to be seen by more humans."
"Aw, I'm hurt, Sensei Splinter! I thought you liked us."
Shiori laughs behind her hand at Ortensia's playfully injured tone, before chiding back through the shell-cell,
"He didn't mean it like that, Ori. He's just referring to those humans who mean to cause harm or refuse to believe in the extraordinary. You, Shun and the other two are the fabulous exception to that rule, (looks at Splinter) right, Sensei?"
Said Ninjitsu Master nods with a minuscule smile, coming to say into the shell-cell himself,
"Yes, your four are exceptionally open minds I wish the surface world could have more of."
Ortensia and Shun both reply,
"Gee, thanks."
"That's kind of you to say, Sensei Splinter, and we of course understand your caution over too much exposure."
Stockman's voice sounds from the TV screens again, catching everyone's attention as the report continues towards a demonstration of the Stocktronic innovation, the camera now focused on the scientist's aid, they being that same redhead mentioned earlier (or later, perhaps?), she wearing her own lab coat over the rest of her outfit.
"My lab assistant, Miss April O'Neil, will now release several rats into the Simulation Chamber...April? Proceed, my dear."
She dumps a cardboard box full of several regular grey rats into a maze at one end, just as he sets the single Mouser Robot down to head in from the other side.
"Now observe the sheer genius, that is my Mouser, in action!"
...And to spare the more squeamish readers of the gory details, we'll just say that the metal monster really 'did their job', to which the rats stood no chance of surviving against. The group of six cringe at the display, Shiori gulping before asking aloud nervously,
"Uh, anyone else besides me gonna pretend they didn't just witness, (shudder) that?"
Her two friends sound a simultaneous,
"Me," over the phone, and Michelangelo comments,
"Aw man, I'd sure hate to be a rat in this town, hm. Oh! Sorry, sensei."
"And the Mouser's search and retrieval functions are all ingeniously controlled from a remote mother computer..."
Sighing, the girl with silver roots in her black beach waves then politely requests,
"Okay, can we please switch to something that doesn't feature a boastful man and his shadowy projects?"
Her brothers and father nod in agreement, hearing all they could take...
Meanwhile, inside an upper floor of the building that housed this latest robotic technology, the lab assistant with green eyes and red hair points to a monitor that was playing the news story with a smile, her boss overlooking her shoulder from behind her seat.
"Oh this is so great! My friends, my family will finally see that I really do work with The Baxter Stockman."
"You flatter me, Miss O'Neil. I like that."
Suddenly, a chimed beep sounds, before displaying a rather puzzling result grid for the two scientists to see regarding the Mouser Robots.
"Huh, that's, strange. I was running a routine diagnostic check: half the Mouser Prototypes aren't even transmitting. It's like they just vanished..."
Clearing his throat slightly, Stockman replies dismissively,
"I'm, sure it's nothing, April. Probably just a computer glitch. I-I'll have a systems tech go over it in the morning."
Yet, the redhead with bottle green irises was stubborn to waving such a mystery off.
"But what if the Mousers have been tampered with? We should go over all their transmission back-ups."
She stops typing when Stockman's hand grips her shoulder as he insists a bit more forcibly,
"That won't be necessary, April. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm expecting a specific call from a very important financial backer."
With that, the man exits through a sliding door for his office, leaving his aid to hm with a finger under her chin in suspicion...
Returning now to the underground home of the Hamato Family, we see them moving on with the day by undertaking a new training session, the focus today being on the teen's weapons...All is quiet and still for a short moment, before Donatello makes his move, crying out as he leaps down from the higher perimeter of the main area for this space, aiming to hit his teacher with one of the ends of his bō staff. However, Splinter swiftly dodges that and a second side-sweeping swing, before whacking the turtle back over to the edge of the training circle.
"Do not lead with your shoulders, Donatello."
Leonardo quickly tries to come at the rat from behind, both katanas raised to thrust downward from mid-air. But, he too would be counteracted when Splinter spins around to knock him backwards with his walking stick, sliding to the ground on his shell with a groan.
"Faster on your counterattack, Leonardo."
"Hah!"
The third student to attack would be Shiori, she attempting to strike with both her fists and elbows. Unlike the first two teenage ninja, she manages to hold out for a couple seconds longer, blocking and hitting her sensei's own weapon with her tonfa...until his tail comes to wrap around her left leg to yank her downward!
"Auh!"
Shiori would then feel Splinter's palm thrust hard against her side halfway, the impact sending her back a few feet before she collapsed to the ground.
"Gauh, shell..."
"Do not disregard your vulnerability during each offensive drive, Shiori."
"Mph, noted, sensei."
Spinning his nunchaku, Michelangelo rushes forward to take a crack at attacking Splinter, who ended the moment quicker than it started by tripping the turtle with his walking stick.
"Mind your footwork, Michelangelo."
That would leave Raphael as the last teen ninja to attack, yet he misses the mark too, his sai swinging against open air before he was quickly disarmed and shoved into a padded part of a brick post.
"You are distracted, Raphael. You must learn to focus your attacks."
Brushing his shoulder off upon being released, the turtle gripes with a wave of his fist,
"Neh-I'd like to focus my attacks on that Stockman guy...Why can't we just go topside and show 'im a little mean and green?"
"Because I forbid it."
Raphael groans in disappointment...With that absolute in the wind, the anthropomorphic rat moves on to enter his own finished room, it built in the classic Japanese household style with automatic sliding screen doors and wooden stairs.
"We will resume your training in the morning."
As soon as the doors closed, Michelangelo took this moment to do one of his impressions of his sensei.
"Hah. 'We will resume your training in the morning'."
Splinter's voice echoes from behind the screen framework in a knowing tone.
"I heard that."
Donatello jeers,
"Buste~d," while Raphael comments with a fist clapped into his palm,
"Rr, I'd like to bust a few heads...!"
The turtle with the orange bandana replies in a relaxed manner,
"Chill, bro. We don't need no steenking surface world..."
He walks into the living room area to flop onto the couch and flip around the television channels.
"We got late movies, top ten video countdowns, BMV Vert Highlights. Some, really weird Korean-language soap opera..."
As Shiori walks with Donatello back over to the table where he had the Mouser Robot parts laid out, she corrects her more laid-back brother with a smile.
"It's actually Japanese, Mike, and it's a drama called Good Luck!."
Note: Copyright Ownership over the Good Luck! series belongs to creator Doi Nobuyoshi, and the TBS Network.
"Whatever. It's all Greek to me!"
The girl giggles silently behind her hand, and Donatello shakes his head with a smile of amusement before grabbing his blowtorch and putting on his safety goggles.
"O~r, you could give me a hand with these Mouser parts...If I can get one working, we can trace it back to its source and find out what Stockman's really using them for."
"...I dunno, Don, that sounds a little risky. What if, Stockman somehow finds out one of his robots got reprogrammed and tries to, you know, trace back?"
He glances up for a moment to chime to his sister,
"That's a risk we might have to take. Your friends did provide a good start with their insights, but there's still alot more to uncover. Plus, as long as these things are still runnin' loose around the sewers, heading out from the lair won't have at least a little danger. Better to have some form of preparation beforehand."
"Mm, I guess you're right about that..."
The turtle with dark yellow-olive green skin could sense his sibling's lingering worries, and flashes a gentler smile while reassuring,
"Hey, don't worry, sis, you know me: I take every precaution seriously like it was my own shell. I promise to be absolutely sure that these tin toys can't lead their creator back in here."
That seemed to calm Shiori's spirit, and a small smile spreads onto her warm beige-complexioned face.
"I know you will, Donatello...especially since I'll be acting as a second pair of helping hands."
"Uh! Really?"
"Uh-huh. I think doing some puzzle work on this little tin turkey will help eliminate any remaining fear my heart still has."
Her brother bursts into laughter over that familiar nickname, before waving an inviting hand towards her to join in on the project...Leonardo watches the scene from his seat atop the bordering perimeter for the main space of the entire with a smile of his own.
Heh, well I guess that's one way to face your fears...Good on you, Shiori.
His attention then diverts onto his brother with the emerald green skin as he 'yawns' and says to the pair at the lab table,
"Eh, you two go ahead, but I'm beat. I'm gonna rack."
Watching the other go, the turtle with dark pear green skin couldn't help but mutter with a suspecting frown,
"Since when does Raph, turn in so early...?"
And why do I get the feeling I'll be forced to play the Splinter card in the next while?
...At the same time motions were being set within the underground of New York City's Manhattan, Baxter Stockman was in his large personal office speaking with the mysterious benefactor that held no visible identity...as of yet.
"The Mousers will be ready, when I say they're ready. Our first field test was-"
He's interrupted by a very familiar deep voice, belonging to noneother than the same man we'll recall from last time who 'silenced' that Purple Dragon gang leader!
"Was, a complete failure! I, do not tolerate failure."
Stockman was unafraid, of course, countering with a touch of cheek,
"Which is why you'd make a lousy scientist. The test was suppose to expose any design flaws...As a result, I've already upgraded the Mousers for greater durability, and I assure you, they'll perform flawlessly, for the next phase of the plan."
"They had better, Doctor Stockman...for your sake."
...Unbeknownst to either man, April had eavesdropped on the whole conversation from behind the door...
A little more time passes, and we return to the Hamato Family Lair just around the time of night that the atmosphere had quieted down to virtually action-free, as evident by the snoring form of Michelangelo who fell asleep on the couch watching TV...
But then, another turtle-shaped shadow with a red bandana suddenly exits from his room, and silently somersault-drops from the higher section before making a mad dash out of the home, most likely fixing to track down Stocktronics on his own merits...Yet he of course would not get very far, thanks to the keen observer that was his brother with the double katana, waiting for the other only several feet outside the large doorway.
"Midnight stroll?"
"Outta my way, Leo."
"Master Splinter said we stay put."
Raphael preps himself for fighting his way past Leonardo:
"Look, I'll go through you if I have to."
The latter does the same in response:
"I'd like to see you try, hothead."
"Careful what you wish for, Splinter-junior! Hiiiiiyah!"
The emerald-skinned turtle then proceeded to try and pin the other in a tackle, before both would go wrestling around in a roll, ending with the dark pear green-skinned terrapin on top.
(Tack-tack-tack-tack-tack-tack-tack-tack...)
Thankfully, before their fight could really escalate, a Mouser Robot comes running by from the direction of their home to distract them, followed by their other siblings.
"Hey guys: Shiori and I got one working!"
"And it's real eager to head back to its creator!"
"Come on! He's faster than he looks!"
The two previously-squabbling turtles watch the other three vanish down the tunnels away from the lair, before Raph quirks a bit sarcastically,
"Sooo, you just going to let that Mouser roam free?"
Leo replies in premonition for the future,
"Master Splinter is so going to kill us," lifting himself off of his brother to go after the others...
"Well? You comin' or what?"
"If you insist..."
April's POV
My god...It's like I don't even know my own employer anymore...
What in the world has Doctor Stockman gotten into?
I couldn't shake off this foreboding feeling after listening in on his meeting with that anonymous financial backer, their voice alone sending a chill down my spine. All that, on top of this strange activity with the Mouser Prototypes...my instincts knew something was up, so I decided to try and do some digging on the project's more intimate details. Only problem is I can't really access much through my monitor...I fight the urge to flinch when my boss's voice then sounds from a few feet away, and spin my chair around to face him.
"Goodnight, April dear. Try not to work too late. You know I don't like to pay overtime."
Nor do you appreciate nosy minds...
"Goodnight, Doctor Stockman."
...I wait until I'm sure he's gone down enough of the elevator, before jumping to my feet to sneak inside his office, heading straight for his main computer.
"Now, let's find out what sort of plan you've been cooking up with those Mousers, Doctor Stockman..."
It wouldn't take me too long before something unusual unveiled itself, namely, an odd symbol shaped like a three-clawed footprint(?) in dark red.
"Hm, never seen that icon before..."
I click it with the mouse...and it triggers open an elevator hidden behind his bookshelf!
"Ah! What, is...?"
...I've definitely stumbled onto something big, and there's no turning back now.
Moving away from the computer, I walk over and enter the secret elevator, which oddly enough had no buttons for specific floors, meaning that this path had only one destination. As soon as the double-doors closed, the transport would immediately start diving downward, and I really mean down!
"Oh!"
It took several minutes...but then I reached my stop.
"Haah, finally."
Exiting from the elevator, I would find myself traveling along a glass walkway that overlooked a large manufacturing plant, housing a growing army of the Mouser Robots! Looking downward, I mutter,
"I don't care how bad the city's rodent problem is...This is serious overkill."
What could Doctor Stockman be planning with so many Mousers?...Maybe the computers down here will give me a clue.
Moving away from the window, I start making my way for the control box...unaware that my trespass would be detected.
Sewers, No POV
As Miss O'Neil continues her own investigation into Doctor Stockman's current activities, we catch up with the terrapin quartet and their human sister as they kept chasing after the Mouser Robot Donatello put back together so they could track it back to its source. They would soon find themselves heading across a large pipe within a section of the tunnels that pooled humanity's grungy waters into a deep whirlpool.
"Watch your step here, guys. Don't wanna end up as Turtle Soup."
Yet even as Leonardo said that, Shiori's left foot would slip a little, causing her to stumble before barely saving herself by falling forward with her hands out in the middle.
"Yeep!"
She'd then receive a helping hand up from Raphael:
"Teh, what happened to watchin' your step?"
"Oh stuff it; it's not my fault my shoe lost grip."
The group reaches the end of the line, where the little machine would've been cornered...if it hadn't employed the strong grip of its toe claws, and started stomping up the wall! Donatello comments with a frown,
"Resourceful little critter..."
"So what'll we do now?"
Reaching under his belt, Leonardo answers Raphael's question with,
"Like Master Splinter says, 'A ninja, is always prepared'."
Slipping on his own pair of shuko spikes, Michelangelo jokes,
"I thought that was the boy scouts," to which Shiori would add in good nature,
"Nah, wasn't it the girl scouts?"
The pair laugh a little before receiving light nudges from Donatello and Leonardo respectively.
"Very funny,"
"Now come on, let's get a move on."
The turtle with the fern green skin and orange bandana mask lead the way up the brickwork...
"Hauh, next time, let's leave the wall-crawling to the dude in the blue and red tights."
"Times like these where you wish you had a certain bat-themed antihero's utility belt, huh?"
Note: Rights and Ownership to Spiderman and Batman references belong to Marvel and DC Comics respectively.
...Leonardo comments in a near-deadpan to his brother and sister,
"You guys read way too many comic books."
The quintet follow the Mouser up the wall and into a new tunnel pipe, and as they restart their run after the latter, Michelangelo suddenly asks,
"Just our of curiousity, Don: what's to stop ole turbo-jaws from chewing up another 6.2 on the rector scale?"
"I shut down its jaw servos. (Slight smirk) It couldn't even chew through a stick of gum."
...Unfortunately, that statement would come to figuratively and literally bite back against the tech-savvy turtle, when the robot suddenly stops to start munching a new path for itself through a section of piping on the right! The group tailing it gasps, before Raphael comments sarcastically,
"You were saying?"
"But I...I'm sure I shut it down, and Shiori even double-checked."
Michelangelo pats Donatello's shoulder with a sympathetic smile.
"Don's finally lost his techno-mojo. Sad, really."
"It must have some kind of security override routine...Come on."
They move over to the new pathway chomped into the walls, and Shiori bends down to peer inside, humming in thought,
"It's not, too narrow...I might be able to go after it through this way."
Leonardo disagrees with that idea:
"No way, Shiori, that's too dangerous. We don't know how stable that tunnel is."
"But-"
"Oh no..."
Their irises turn to focus on their brother with the purple bandana mask, who was staring up at the ceiling with a worried expression.
"What is it, Don?" "What's wrong?"
"If I'm not mistaken, that's a serious water mane hanging right over our heads...!"
Raphael asks,
"So?"
"So, our little Mouser friend just ate through the pipe's support!"
In accordance to this troubling observation, we hear a rusty creak coming from the thick pipe, and see several cracks forming with water leaking out.
"Incomiiing!"
(Creeeee-SPLASH)
The pipe bursts, releasing its contents in a large gush that hits the quintet of young ninjas full-blast, carrying their yelling forms back the way they came! Thankfully, Donatello acts fast as they all fell downward into the main chamber, pulling out his bō staff to swing over another pipe like a zip-line pulley to stop his trajectory.
"Gh! Grab on!"
His brothers and sister shift their trajectories towards him, and form a mutant/human ladder by eachother's ankles, Leonardo grabbing Don, Shiori the former, then Raphael her, and finally Michelangelo taking hold of the second-to-last person...
"Ow! Watch where you point those shuko spikes, Mike!"
"Aw keep your shell on, Raph! I got an idea!"
The turtle at the bottom of the 'ladder' starts swinging forward, much to Leonardo's confusion.
"Mikey, wait! What're you-!"
He'd be cut off when the terrapin who wielded nunchaku lets go the next swing forward, falling through a waterfall of sewer water for the other side, his siblings joining right after...They all make it to the wall, and Donatello asks,
"Guys, you okay?" Spitting out some water, Raphael mutters,
"Peachy," while Shiori shivers,
"That w-w-water felt so gritty and cold...I'm gonna need a long shower after this..."
Once they reached the open pipe again, the emerald green-skinned turtle wielding the twin sai would jump inside first, swinging from the more sturdy broken water pipe that broke from the pressure to land safely on the right pathway. His other siblings would join him shortly afterward, the young girl of the bunch straightening up with another shudder spreading goosebumps over her damp skin.
"Brrr...Sometimes I envy you guys and your ability to ignore your cold-blooded reptile trait..."
Her brother wearing the orange bandana mask hugs her from behind to help warm her up, joking with a wry smile,
"Maybe you've just hung around us so long, you've become an honourary turtle."
Shiori giggles a bit and mutters,
"That might explain alot," and their other three brothers stifle their own chuckles at the thought...
Raphael then says intimidatingly as he puts away his shuko spikes,
"When I get my hands on that little metal menace, I'm gonna grind 'im into little bot burgers!"
Donatello chides,
"Easy, Raph. We still gotta keep it in one piece," while Michelangelo wonders,
"What makes you think we'll even find the little blender butt?"
Leonardo gestures a thumb over to a much larger hole in the brickwork and pipes left of the five.
"I think he left us a few clues..."
...
At the same time, April O'Neil would have already begun her computer search for further answers to the mystery that was Baxter Stockman's true motif for the Mouser Robots, unaware that she accidentally tripped a motion detection alarm in the glass walkway...
"Rat problem my eye. What're you really up to, Stockman?"
...The redhead would quickly receive her answer, but not from a computer monitor.
"Now, now, Miss O'Neil. That would be telling."
She spins around to find the man with chestnut skin and brown irises shielded by spectacles entering the room from the elevator, that arrogant smile on his face now carrying a dangerous undertone.
"Suffice it to say, my army of Mousers will make me a a very rich and powerful man."
The glass protecting the control box rolls down as April inquires strongly,
"But, aren't you already a rich and powerful man?"
"Aah, Miss O'Neil, so brilliant, yet, so naïve. I will truly miss working with you."
"What?! You mean I'm fired?"
"In a, manner of speaking."
Stockman clicks the largest round button of a remote control he held behind his back, and before she could get away, the newly ex-scientist aid is seized by a mechanical claw! It moves until April is directly overtop a portion of the Mouser army, before dropping her down below, ripping her lab coat in the process.
"Oof! A-Auh..."
"I'm afraid I can't let you live, Miss O'Neil. You've seen far too much already, and, (smirk) well, let's just say I have trust issues."
In that effect, that section of the killer robots is activated, leaving the poor redhead a standing duck in a sea of mechanized jaws!
Donatello's POV
My brothers, sister and I head down that new path made by our little metal 'friend', which lead to a section of the old city subway that none of the pedestrians above ground really hang about in these days...I quickly pinpointed the Mouser's location on the other side of the tracks.
"There!"
We all start running for it...but one thing I nearly forgot about was that just because humans didn't walk down here frequently, doesn't mean the trains wouldn't roll by. In that effect, Leo would have to yank Raph backwards before he became subway splatter!
"Look out!"
And while it was good that none of us got run down, we'd also lose sight of the Mouser again...
"Whoooa, robo-houdini!"
Thankfully, Shiori would put us back on course, pointing to the back of the leaving subway.
"More like robo-hitchhiker!"
Said it before, and I'll say it again: resourceful little critter...!
Mikey groans,
"We'll never catch 'im now," but Raph saw differently:
"Two can play at that game."
And before any of us could stop him, he'd jump straight onto another passing train, using his sais to pin himself to the roof! Leo and I would comment,
"What a maniac!"
"Yeah...Wait for us!"
The rest of us four would then scramble aboard the subway from whatever point we could reach, and rode on until the Mouser chose an area to jump down from.
"There's our stop!"
Following Raph, we'd all jump down and head after the robot through another large opening in the wall.
Sheesh...Just how far does this Mouser intend to go?
April's POV
Oooh this is bad, really bad!
When Stockman made his intent over my life clear by activating the Mouser Robots that I had been dropped between, I was almost ready to scream bloody murder! Yet, I knew that panicking wasn't going to do me any good, especially since I had no access to the authorities. Instead, I sped over to the nearest fire extinguisher set up here at manufacturer floor to use as a makeshift weapon, pointing the nozzle at the robots.
"Keep back! I know how to use this!"
One tries to spring at me, and I release some foam...but it didn't do me any good other than create a temporary smoke cloud. At that, I decide on another course of action, and whacked the canister base right against the Mouser's head, crushing it!
"Ha!"
I wouldn't be given alot of time to feel confident in my little victory, when the rest begin their charge. I try to employ that move again, but the next robot would clamp its laws on the canister, causing it to explode and release the contents in a much bigger smoke cloud!
In both panicked and careful thought, I chose this moment to try and make a break for it, running along one of the diagonal sides towards the exit point where the robots enter the sewers from.
This is my only chance; gotta make it count...!
Stockman calls in a taunt through a speaker,
"You can run, Miss O'Neil, but you cannot hide from my Mousers!"
Oh yeah? Watch me!
Luck was on my side for that moment, and I managed to open the secret door into the city's underground. I wasn't able to see where I was going at first thanks to the extinguisher's fog, and tripped into the dingy sewer river.
Ugh, gross...
But the scientist in me and my fears of being chomped to bits by those Mousers kept my disgust at bay, my focus fixed on running down a random path for anywhere I could escape to...Only problem was that I had entered the part of the waterways that held winding pathways, and no signs of a manhole cover.
"Hah, hah, which way out?...Which way out?!"
It only took me less than half a minute to decide on heading down a new direction left of where I came out from, determined to beat this situation at all costs.
Shiori's POV
Come about five minutes after we hopped a train to chase after that crazy robot, we'd find it in another main waterway control section of Manhattan's sewers...What my brothers and I didn't expect to find, was a twin!
"Whoa...Who invited him?"
I shrug at Mikey, while Raph took the initiative:
"I got it!"
He then throws a shuriken at the Mouser, slicing a deep cut across their metal head, taking them down...or so my high-three-ing brothers thought, until the chrome dome lifts itself upright again!
No, way!
Leo mutters,
"This is not, good, guys," just as Don points out another issue to add on, they being a mini robo-army!
"Neither is that! These chrome domes are alot tougher than the last batch!"
"Yeah, and there's alot more from two..."
I note after Raph,
"That last batch of robots we took down must've just been the prototypes, giving Stockman the field info needed for some serious upgrading."
He mutters in an aggravated response,
"Great. Juuust great..."
Still, all the improvements in the world wouldn't make the robots invincible to our combined forces. We sprang against the Mousers unafraid, taking them out left and right, sending them back to the scrap heap where they belonged...Although, I was having a bit of a hard time landing more than just a dent with my tonfas, and found myself using them more as bite guards rather than the melee weapons they are.
Ugh, this is just not fair at all...!
If my other two brothers with the non-sharp weapons were having trouble like me, they weren't making their opinions prominent. If anything, Donnie's ninja and brainy sides were trying to fight for dominance.
"These Mousers are incredible! The servo mechanics, the circuitry, the articulation!"
"Geez, Donnie, why don'tcha just marry one already?"
He shoots a dirty look at Raph for the joke, while I smirk and top it off by quirking,
"I dunno, Raph; can you honestly imagine what the kids would look like?"
"Auh, Shiori!"
My brother wielding the sais and I burst into laughter as we continued the pressure against the Mousers...I then hear Leo call from an upper section of this area,
"Guys! The only way to stop 'em is to slice their heads off!"
Re~ally? Never would've thought of that...
Mikey wouldn't keep his sarcasm stifled like I did:
"Weeell, ain't that great news, for the turtle with the blades!"
Raph replies as he tosses a Mouser of his sai for Leo to cut into pieces,
"Drive 'em this way! We'll slice and dice!"
So with that plan made, Mikey, Don and I would use our respected weapons like the blunt objects they were to bat-whack and golf-swing the robots towards our other two brothers to be permanently shut down by the sharp ends of their blades. We all of course did our part, and I even managed to really smash a metal head or two once I switched my grip to hold the shafts and use the handles like axes...And after a few fast minutes of hacking, we reduced those killer robots to no more than giant piles of spare parts.
Ha! How'd ya like that, robo-dorks?!
"Great job, guys! Just make sure we leave one-"
Don's words would be cut off by a screeching roar from one last chrome dome that was still alive, before it tried to jump right for me!
"Ah!"
Thankfully, Raph would come to my rescue and used his sai to stab the Mouser halfway before tackling it with his fist to the ground...!
"Uh...Raphael..."
Slipping his blades back under his belt, he turns to me and claps a protective hand on my shoulder.
"You alright?"
Nodding, I move forward and wrap my arms around brother for a much-needed hug, slightly shaken from that near-miss.
That, was too close...Master Splinter's right: I need to be more careful of my vulnerability, even after battle.
Raph stiffens at first, but then hugs me back, and I hear the approaching footfalls of my other three brothers, they also feeling that brotherly urge to make sure their baby sister was okay. Yeah, we may be around the same age, but next to Mikey, I'm kind-of considered the baby of our sibling quintet, with four older and very protective brothers looking out for me.
"Shiori..." "Sis..."
"Yori?"
I part from Raph and sent a small reassuring smile to the others.
"I'm okay, guys...but, eh, I guess we'll have to find another way to trace Stockman now, huh?"
They smile a bit back with their own sighs, and Don replies with a wave of his hand,
"Oh never mind that. I can always put another one of these tin toys back together, but it's you that can never be replaced."
Leo nods in agreement:
"Protecting family comes first."
Guys...
"...Huuuaaaaaaaaah!"
We'd then all stiffen up on alert from the sound of a woman screaming from elsewhere in the tunnels!
"Uh!" "Huh?"
"What was that?"
"Someone else down here...?"
"...Ah! There must be more Mousers in another section of the sewers!"
And from the sound of that yell, we're not the only ones being labelled as robot fodder.
Feeling that call to help, I broke into a run down the west tunnel, with the others heading after me...
After a few lefts and a right, another cry from that voice would lead me to the source, they being a redheaded woman who looked around my friend Ariana's age, maybe a bit older, wearing a cropped tee a shade or two darker than Donnie's mask and tan cargo pants, being backed into a blockade by five Mousers!
Oh no!
I quickly glance at my brothers, they also occupying my expression of worry and urgency, speaking the collective volume of what we all were thinking.
We need to save her, now!
So just as she sounded another scream and the robots make the move to charge, my brothers and I sprang, turning those mecha-menaces into more metal carnage to add onto the massive pile we left behind...!
...
With the threat gone, the sewers became blanketed by silence, other than the sound of the steady-flowing backwash from the city and the 'shnnk' of metal from the sais and double katana as they're put away...Our 'damsel in distress' then spoke up with tremendous gratitude, voice ragged with exhaustion from must have been a heavy amount of stress.
"Oh...Oh, thank you! Thank you so much...! You saved my...my..."
She'd cut herself off as soon as we approached close enough for her eyes to soak in our appearances, more specifically, my brothers.
"Hey! How ya doin'?"
...I wasn't surprised that she'd pass out right after Mikey's enthusiastic greeting, for the sight of four anthropomorphic turtles in ninja gear isn't one for the faint of heart, especially after narrowly dodging death. So far, my four best friends above ground are the only humans who can take in such with a level-enough head, even if a little startled and gobsmacked in the beginning...
But anyway, Mike would then walk over and lift the redhead into his arms bridal-style, and turns to ask in a playfully innocent tone,
"Hey, so, can I keep her?"
I facepalm before stepping forward to lightly bop the back of his head with a scolding expression.
"Mikey!"
"Whaaat? We kept you after we found you, didn't we?"
"The word is 'adopted', bro...But never mind."
Sighing through my nose, I turn to ask the others,
"...So. Anyone got an idea for how we're gonna explain this to sensei?"
