I'm so sorry this chapter is so long. I'll try to shorten them from now on. This one is just the turning point in the story and needed a lot of detail.
Cowabunga, dude!
Oh, and this story takes place between the 2012 episodes "Wormquake" and "The Wrath of Tigerclaw".
The turtles, 2003, 1987, and 2007 versions united, gasped as something stepped out of the portal, a dark form hard to make out from far away. They gripped their weapons harder, preparing to fight, as they struggled to make out the form on the next roof as the wind rushed towards them.
A man walked out, clothed in dark colors and shimmering silver armor. Nearly every inch of his body was covered in dangerous sharp objects. He was tall and muscled, his fists clenched as he walked around the roof, examining his new surroundings.
"What is that?" Leonardo07 asked, squinting. He and his brothers had defeated their Shredder years ago. This couldn't be him. It couldn't. Yet it looked very similar to the Shredder he remembered.
"The Shredder! Old frying pan-face!" Raphael87 exclaimed, turning to his counterparts, wide-eyed. "Not ours, though!" He looked at Michelangelo07. "Is he yours?"
"Our Shredder died! Years ago!" Michelangelo07 explained. "No way he is alive." He looked up with a scarred expression, watching the villain's every move.
"All right," Leonardo87 said,"We have no idea what dimension this Shredder is from, but he's going down! No one messes with the turtles!" He slid his katanas out of his holster slowly, determination and anger etched into his face. His twin swords gleamed in the darkness.
The portal closed and the wind dropped drastically in a matter of seconds, allowing the turtles to regain their footing and prepare for battle. Shredder turned his menacing face, catching the large collection of turtles with his good eye. At first he was confused as to why there were so many, all looking so different, but pushed it out of his mind. Metal spikes, nearly two-feet long, slid out of the medal cuffs around his wrists. He roared and the silence that had enveloped around them shattered like glass.
"Turtle Power!" The 1987 turtles yelled. The held their weapons out in front of them and ran forward, not showing any sign of fear. They may be goofy most of the time, but they were surely some of the bravest turtles. If they had to fight, they always would.
As the 1987 turtles rushed forward, they each leapt into the air, practically flying as they travelled to the next roof to face their enemy. Michelangelo's nunchucks spun at high speed, Leonardo's double katanas glinted brightly, Raphael's sais were a blur, and Donatello's bo staff circled above his head at incredible speeds. They landed on the roof, angrily eyeing Shredder, sizing him up.
The 2007 and 2003 turtles looked at each other, knowing what they had to do. They couldn't leave the little guys to fight alone. Plus, they had to stop this Shredder, who ever he was, because they both knew what someone so evil could do to the multi-verse. They also had to find out where this Shredder came from, how he had gotten here. Donatello03 slid his bo staff out of his holder, nodding to the others to go.
Raphael03 walked out of his room, yawning and stretching. He plodded into the lair slowly, and was surprised to see only Leonardo in the room. The blue-masked turtle was alone. Usually Donatello and Michelangelo were awake long before Raphael. More often than not it was Michelangelo shouting or one of Donatello's inventions exploding that woke Raphael up. Today, there had been nothing.
"Hey, um, Leo? Where's Mike and Don?" Raphael said.
"I don't know," Leonardo said. "...I just hope they aren't in any trouble."
The 2007 and 2003 turtles ran at top speed, soaring from one roof to another. They landed next to the Turtles Classics. Raphael07 wasted no time - he rushed towards the Shredder, maneuvering away from his metal grasp, and tried to plunge his sai deep into the villain's skin, only to be pushed away by a heavy metal hand.
Raphael07 flew nearly ten feet before landing hard and tumbling the length of the rooftop, stopping inches from the edge. He groaned, pain overtaking him as white blurred his vision, and didnt' get up. Raphael87 stopped and took a breath, looking like he felt some pain as well. He was dizzy for a moment, but he shoved the feeling away.
"Raphael!" Leonardo07 shouted, eyes wide. His closest brother, the one he'd fought beside for years, was down. The blue-masked turtle felt anger flutter up inside him, consuming all rational thought. He would make the Shredder pay. He ran towards the Shredder with poor timing and sloppy movement, while Michelangelo87 and Donatello07 were doing a good job keeping the man busy. Leonardo07 leapt into the air, sliding his blades past each other. Unsurprisingly, the blades only hit Shredder's metal mask and made a dent. Before the blue-masked turtle even fell back to the ground, Shredder grabbed him by his throat, holding him up in the air.
Leonardo07 gasped for breath, his swords falling to the ground beneath him. Yet he didn't look down; he glared at the Shredder without blinking. If he should die, he should die fighting. Leonardo07 wrapped his fingers around Shredder's huge fist, trying to pry himself free. His eyes dashed to Raphael07, who was still down for the count, and then to Shredder's face. It was the single-most scary thing he'd ever experienced, as he felt all air leave him, while Shredder said,"Prepare to die, freak." The grip around Leonardo's neck only tightened. Leonardo saw spots spring up in his vision.
"NO!" screamed the rest of the turtles at once. They nearly flew towards the Shredder, hitting him with blurs of nunchaku, staffs, sais, and swords. The Shredder stumbled back in complete shock, and Leonardo took his chance to pry the thick fingers off his throat. He fell the ground, coughing and gasping for breath. He didn't take his eyes off Raphael07 for a moment, looking for movement in his brother.
"Man, not even Utrom Shredder put up this good a fight!" Michelangelo03 exclaimed, flipping towards Shredder to make another hit. His nunchucks slammed into Shredder's thigh and the orange-masked turtles flipped backwards to avoid the responding punch.
Shredder seemed to be getting the idea that he was no match for this high amount of turtles as they pushed him closer and closer to the edge, denting his armor as much as they could. It was one against eight angry turtles. "Why are you here?" Donatello03 screamed, bringing his staff around to thwap against the man's side as Michelangelo leapt over him and went for the Shredder's face.
"Why else?" Shredder said, his voice like a clap of thunder,"To kill turtles." He grabbed Donatello03's staff and snapped in it half in his fist like it was nothing more than a twig. The purple-masked turtle stumbled back before Shredder had the opportunity to grab him. Two more turtles, just a blur, ran up and distracted him before he could attack the unarmed Donatello03.
"We have to get him out of this dimension!" Donatello07 commanded all the others. "He's not meant for this place. He belongs to another dimension of turtles and we can't deal with him." The rest of the turtles nodded, rushing up to fight even more as Donatello07 ran to Leonardo07 to help him up. He offered the wheezing turtle his hand to help him to his feet.
"Raph! We have to help Raph!" Leonardo07 yelled, pulling his arm away from the purple-masked turtle trying to help him up. He bent down on his knees on the ground, his other hand in a death grip around his katana hilt. The sword was in his hand, but he didn't feel it. He didn't feel anything but panic.
Donatello07 looked over to Raphael07, still on the ground. "We can later. For now, he should stay out of Shredder's attention. I don't know how much more injury Raphael can stand, or if..."
"Don't say it," Leonardo07 commanded, standing up on his own, wincing. "Raphael's not dead." He felt his arm, brushing away a stream of blood from a small gash, and rushed back into the fight.
"Okay bros!" Michelangelo87 said, backing out of the chaos. He plucked out the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick from where he usually stored his nunchucks. "Let's send old bucket-head back to wherever he came from!"
"How are we going to tell what place is his dimension?" Leonardo87 asked, ducking Shredder's swinging arm. He lashed out with his sword and Shredder recoiled as the blade made contact with his leg, shouting out in pain. Leonardo87's sword returned to its hilt tipped with red blood, a very rare occurance. He dashed across the roof to help Michelangelo87 with the Trans-Dimensional Portal Stick.
Donatello87 stepped back from the fight, pondering what to do. Suddenly, he had a brilliant idea, and could almost feel a lightbulb blinking on above his head. "We'll use the particle emissions! Remember how we tracked Utrom Shredder's movement through the dimensions to the Turtle Primes with the particle emissions his portal left? The Trans-dimensional Portal Stick is already programmed to track them!"
"Rocket idea!" Raphael87 cheered. He turned and looked at no one in particular, just the endless city lights. "Now if I only knew what particle emmissions were, exactly."
"What is the Utrom Shredder?" the metal-covered menace roared. "Tell me now!" He grabbed Donatello03 and slammed him down on the roof with extreme force, causing Donatello03 to scream in agony. Nearby, Donatello87 dropped to his knees, suddenly in pain. Leonardo87 ran forward, ready to beat Shredder away from Donatello03. Shredder suddenly lashed out with his arms and caught Leonardo87, sending the turtle soaring backwards. Leonardo crashed into a pole holding up a billboard and fell to the floor. "What are the Turtles Primes?" the menace screamed again, kicking Michelangelo07 away with force. Donatello03 crawled away while the menace was distracted. "What are the Turtle Primes?" Shredder repeated, his voice gravelly and angry.
"Oh no!" Michelangelo07 called, backing up as Shredder grabbed his first pair of nunchucks. "This Shredder is competent! He's heard everything we've said!"
"Kraang!" Shredder screamed. There was a buzzing near his ear, like someone was speaking through an earpiece. Great, he's got contact to his dimension, Donatello07 nearly said aloud. Can this day get any better?
"Krang? Did you say Krang?" Raphael87 gasped. "I know him!" The Shredder made to punch him, but Raphael hooked his sai around the man's arm and heaved him to the ground over his back. Shredder didn't even seem hurt, pushing Raphael off of him and standing up. Leonardo87 came flying towards him but he kicked him to the ground without even looking at him.
Donatello87 came out of no where and kicked Shredder in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards. Michelangelo87 ran closer, fiddling with the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick. "How do you work this thing?" He pressed a random button and a bolt of light shot out of it, forming an image on the floor. Shredder stepped into it and sunk through it, screaming.
The turtles ran up and looked at the image. "Man, that's definitely not that Shredder's dimension," Michelangelo07 said nervously, scratching his head.
"No," Donatello03 said, his white eyes wide with fear. "That ours."
Leonardo07 limped up to the rest of the group. "Okay, you guys have to go take him down. I've got to stay behind and help Raphael." He looked sharply at Donatello07. "He's not dead," Leonardo07 seethed, before he ran off to the edge of the roof.
Donatello07 and Michelangelo07 watched their brothers from a distance, as Leonardo vainly tried to awake Raphael. They took a breath, their eyes narrowing as they pushed emotion away. They knew what they had to do. "Let's get the Shredder."
Shredder shouted as he fell from the portal, tumbling from it onto a new roof. He stepped back, gathering his new surroundings. He could tell it was night but this New York was no where near as dark as the last one had been. The buildings were all square and colorful, stretching on for miles and miles. It was a bit disorienting.
"Kraang," he said. He could hear the earpiece turn on with a burst of static. It had been damaged in the fight but he could still hear talking through it. "Where am I?" He began to walk to the edge of the roof, ignoring the pain a turtle's katana had dealt him. Blood stained his clothes, but there was no major injury that would prevent him from fighting, at least in his opinion.
He nodded and the Kraang bot on the other end relayed information on this new dimension. As the robot described how the turtles of this dimension looked, Shredder was reminded of the two tall, robust turtles that had been in the group who'd fought him. How could that be?
Shredder knew that the Kraang were back in his home dimension, surrounding the computer monitors as they examined this dimension. He followed their confusing orders to get the the Lair here, where the 2003 turtles resided. If only they knew so much about the turtles of their own dimension, Shredder thought angrily. We would've found them out ages ago.
Suddenly, he had an idea. "Kraang, give me all the information you have on the Turtle Primes, now."
Michelangelo07 was the first to come into the new dimension, rubbing his head as his eyes got used to all of the sudden, bright colors. He was used to darkness with the occasional splash of color from a neon sign but this endless colorful city was completely different than his New York. It felt like another city entirely, an imposter.
Raphael87 came in next, tumbling into Michelangelo07, who was standing too close to the portal. The rest of the turtles came rushing in, dodging the others as they spread out across the rooftop.
"No time to waste!" Michelangelo03 shouted, waving for everyone to follow him. "There's no telling how fast that Shredder could find our Lair! We didn't come after him fast enough, he got a head start!"
"He's got contact to his dimension," Donatello03 said, leaping to the next building. "I noticed him talking through an earpiece. He said 'Kraang'. Do you think...?"
"Why would Krang be with that Shredder trying to destroy us?" Leonardo87 said,"He was with us when we fought Utrom Shredder. He should know not to mess with the multi-verse; all life depends on the survival of the Turtle Primes. That Shredder is looking to kill as many dimensions of turtles he can, I can tell."
"It's dangerous for all turtles if the Shredder from another dimension we don't know of has found out about the multi-verse. There's a simple way to destroy us all, just cut off the Turtle Primes!" Donatello87 said. "We can't let that Shredder get to them."
"Man," Raphael87 said,"I just thought of something. The Turtle Primes fight crime all the time, risking their lives practically every night. If their death means all of ours as well, maybe we should go to their dimension and cover them in bubble wrap!"
It sounded like a joke, but none of the turtles laughed.
The turtles leapt to the ground below, landing gracefully. The leaned into the shadows of the buildings, inching towards a nearby manhole cover. The streets were nearly empty but even in this hectic, scary time, they knew it would be dangerous for them to be spotted by even a regular civilian.
Donatello03 lifted up the manhole and all the turtles plunged in. Michelangelo03 lead them down the tunnels, running at top speed.
"Raphael! Raphael, wake up!" Leonardo07 pleaded, shaking his brother. He'd been doing so for nearly a half hour, but with hardly any progress. Raphael still lay on his chest on the ground, eyes closed. Leonardo had felt a very small pulse in his brother, but there wasn't much hope. Raphael had been hit harder than Leonardo knew was good for him.
Leonardo07 didn't know what he would do if Raphael died. He remembered fighting alongside his closest brother, in training sessions or battles, for a good part of his life. If Raphael was dead, it was like a part of Leonardo was, too.
"Raph!" Leonardo squeaked, shaking his brother harder. "Raph!" he pleaded louder. He felt cold inside, fearing the worst. His brother wasn't moving. Raphael couldn't be dead. If he was - if he was - it was all the 2003 and 1987 turtles' fault. They attracted Shredder to this dimension somehow, Leonardo thought. Rational thought had left him ages ago; now only panic and paranoia was in his mind.
There was the sound of police sirens coming towards the building. Surely, someone had heard or seen the huge and noisy fight with the Shredder and had called the police. Leonardo didn't have much longer. He had to do something, quick.
Finally, Raphael moved. His fingers flexed and he groaned, a low deep groan full of pain. Leonardo leapt back in surprise. Raphael opened his eyes slowly, like even that was hard to do. "Get me back in the fight again. That Shredder is going to have a lot of regrets." His voice was weak. He certainly was in no condition to fight, with a large cut running down the length of his right leg, from where Shredder's bladed fist had made contact with his skin.
"Raph!" Leonardo beamed. He pulled his brother to his feet and let him lean on him. "Sorry brother, but the fight is over for now. I'll explain everything when we get back to the Lair." He didn't show it, but he was happier than he'd ever been.
When police men stormed onto the roof two minutes later, their guns out, eyes scanning the area for the people who had made such a ruckus, there were no turtles to be found.
Leonardo03, Raphael03, Splinter03, and Casey Jones and April sat around in the Lair. Leonardo was on his fourth cup of tea, but nearly everything had changed between his first and his fourth. Donatello and Michelangelo had been missing for hours now. Leonardo and his family were beyond worried.
Casey and Raphael had left the Lair a while ago and had done a thorough search through part of the city, but had come back with no leads. Adding to that, ever since Raphael03 had returned to the Lair, he'd been feeling pained for no reason at all. It had gotten better a few minutes ago, but Raphael had described the pain at the beginning as being unbearable.
"My sons," Splinter said, his eyes weary and his expression sad. He gestured to everyone in the room. "We mustn't panic. Wherever Donatello and Michelangelo are, we will find them. Until we do, I'm sure they'll be capable of taking care of themselves."
Raphael groaned, clutching his side. "You guys go look for them. I'll stay behind in case they come back."
"I'll stay with you," Casey Jones said, nodding to Raphael. He took his mask off his head and set it on the table. Raphael03 smiled.
As Splinter, Leonardo, and April began to walk out of the Lair, there was a sudden noise. It wasn't too loud, but it was nearby. The sound was of something wading through the sewers. They all looked at each other and then leapt behind various pieces of furniture to hide. Casey helped pulled Raphael, who was still in pain, behind the couch.
"What the shell?" Leonardo whispered, peeking from around a table.
A man had walked into their Lair, his menacing eyes soaking up every detail. There were barely any places on his body not covered in sharp, gleaming metal armor. He looked a lot like Utrom Shredder, but that couldn't be him. The turtles had defeated him a month ago, without a doubt.
The man, walking around the Lair and examining it, seemed to be paying only a portion of attention to the Lair. As he walked by April, who was hiding behind a table, seeming to not notice her, his gleaming metal spikes barely inches from her face, she thought she heard buzzing near his ear, echoing inside his helmet. Someone, or something, was speaking to him through an earpiece, but she couldn't make out any words.
"Come and face me, you despicable creatures!" Shredder called. Suddenly, he leaned over the couch and pulled out Raphael, who began to kick and shout. Shredder had known where everyone in the room had been the whole time.
"What do you want with us?" Splinter yelled, coming out of hiding with April and Casey.
Shredder pinned Raphael to the wall. Leonardo leapt out from behind the table and flew towards Shredder, his foot pointing outwards for the kick. The metal menace ducked at the right second, too late for Leonardo to react, and the blue-masked turtle ended up making contact with Raphael's chest instead. The red-masked screamed in pain and, now that Shredder was no longer holding him, slid down the wall into a heap on the floor.
"Man, is Raphael getting dealt all the hard blows today or what!" shouted a new voice. Leonardo turned and was surprised to see his brother Michelangelo.
And Michelangelo?
Two more orange-masked turtles followed the tall, square one into the Lair. The first was familiar - Michelangelo87 - the second was not. He was very tall, even a few more inches taller than Michelangelo03, and was lithe and skinny. His eyes were big and he was obviously as energetic as the other two.
"What's going on?" Raphael03 called to Michelangelo03. "Who is this yahoo attacking us?" He pressed himself against the wall, struggling to stand up.
"It's a long story!" Michelangelo07 replied. He ran to the Shredder and knocked him down with a single kick. Even more turtles, one of them a very unfamilar-looking Donatello, rushed into the Lair and began to hold the Shredder back, dealing him a large number of blows.
Raphael03 stood up, his leg aching where Leonardo had kicked it, but looked up at his blue-masked brother and gave him a thumbs-up. He ran into the chaotic fight with the Shredder, only a little slower than usual.
Donatello07 approached the Shredder in just a blur and gave the villain a round-house kick. He recoiled, punching Donatello away, as he was surrounded in blurs of green. He felt fists and feet and weapons fly at him, some only denting his armor, some causing him pain. He could hardly see what was going on and anger boiled underneath his skin.
"ENOUGH!" He hunched forward and then broke loose, knocking the turtles backwards. They landed on the ground more than five feet away. Shredder, now free, lunged for Leonardo87, pulling him up into the air by his throat.
As Michelangelo87 stood up, the dented Trans-dimensional Portal Stick laying a yard or so away, he began to protest,"Let Leonardo go!" He ran towards the Shredder, only to have Leonardo thrown at him. They both fell into a heap, groaning.
Leonardo03 stepped back from the fight, suddenly feeling pain in his arm he hadn't remembered beind dealt. He felt winded, as well, all of the sudden. He watched Leonardo87 stand up, who was rubbing his arm in the same spot and catching his breath, too. What was going on?
Shredder grabbed the end of Donatello07's staff that had been soaring towards his face. "You really think you all can defeat me? I will have my revenge! All turtles, and all Splinters, shall pay for the death of Tang Shen!"
"Tang Shen?" Raphael87 said. He turned to Donatello87. "Any idea what he's talking about?" Donatello merely shrugged.
"You will know death!" Shredder roared, his voice echoing for a long time. He kicked Michelangelo87 to the wall, and the turtle's shell left a heavy dent in it. The Lair was being destroyed all over again, a month after it had been last time.
Karai watched from a high vantage point as the Kraang raced from computer monitor to computer monitor, following her father's activity in the new dimension. She could see him, dealing with innumerable turtles, and was confused. Each of those turtles looked so different from the ones she had grown up knowing about. Just how different was each dimension of turtles? Why were there even mutliple dimensions of them?
A few minutes ago, the Kraang had been in a frenzy, the phrase 'Turtle Primes' being tossed around the room. They had began to speak to the Shredder, giving him a relatively short answer to his question as to what the "Turtle Primes" were. Their answer simply was "We don't really know" phrased into their long, confusing way of talking.
They had only found out about the dimensions of other turtles a short time ago. Shredder couldn't expect them to know everything about it yet. Karai felt like her father was sort of being used as a lab rat, sent out to multiple dimensions so soon as the Kraang watched, taking notes. It was like they had found a way to manipulate the Shredder, who was so narrow-minded and unsuspecting, to do their bidding. If he couldn't destroy the turtles, the Kraang would step in and do the job for him. Better to put him in the line of fire first, just in case he could actually take down the turtles.
Karai had had enough. She was disgusted at the Kraang for using her father in such a way. She leapt down from her vantage point and into the mass of bots. She walked through the crowd like their queen, straight up the monitor. "So, how much do you freaks know about the Turtle Primes?" she asked, curious. She knew wouldn't get much out of them - either the Kraang were holding back information or they really didn't know.
One of the robots stepped forward. "Those known as the Turtle Primes are the source of all life for the turtles."
Karai stretched and yawned. "I figured that much out from their title." She looked at the bot. "Is that all you know?"
The Kraang hesitated, still, but finally spoke again. "Kraang figures that if those known as the Turtle Primes are eliminated, all of those known as the turtles would die as a result."
"So, you pretty much guessed that?" Karai said, leaning on the computer, looking up at the Kraang with a sadistic expression. "You don't know what their dimension looks like, or even how to find it? How do you even know the Turtle Primes exist?"
"Kraang has only what are known as theories. From study of all turtles of many dimensions, Kraang has noted what is similar and what is different about each. There is a remnant of what are known as the Turtle Primes in each turtle of every dimension. It is known as 'Source DNA'."
"Huh." Karai nodded, more interested in looking at her reflection in her sword. "So, I'm guessing, if you break down the source DNA in a turtle, you'd be able to use that to find where Turtle Prime is?" She looked up and saw the Kraang in a stunned silence. "What? You think I'm not smart?" She huffed and walked away, slicing off one of the robots legs as she went.
As she stood in the doorway to the room, Karai turned and looked at the giant monitor. The fuzzy image of her father fighting off so many turtles.
Shredder's way of travelling through all of the dimensions to kill the turtles one by one was a rash and uneducated idea. Karai knew that now, since taking everyone down by killing the Turtle Primes would be much easier. There's no telling what lies out in the many dimensions of the multi-verse. Shredder surely didn't think he'd live to kill them all, did he? Did his thirst for revenge take him over the edge?
As she walked out of the room, she remembered what she'd said. "If you break down the source DNA in a turtle, you'd be able to use that to find where Turtle Prime is." She didn't know how she knew that, but the least she knew was that it was right. She also knew Shredder would not live if he continued to fight each and every dimension of turtles. If she wanted to see him again, she would have to do something.
Donatello07 leapt on Shredder's back and the menace thrashed around trying to pull him off. Michelangelo03 swerved in between his moving arms and kicked Shredder in the chest. Donatello leapt off of Shredder's back as the man fell to the ground. The purple-masked turtle ran forward and pulled Michelangelo03 away as the rest of the turtles, plus Splinter and Casey, began to attack the man while he was down.
Donatello07 could see the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick a short distance away, forgotten in the heat of battle. He pointed it out to Michelangelo03. "Bring that over here. We've got to send Shredder away again. He doesn't belong to this dimension either. Plus, we're not exactly winning this battle" - their was a loud noise and Donatello03 flew back into wall (Donatello07 winced, feeling a jab of pain as well).
Michelangelo03 looked around at the crumbling walls and destroyed furniture. "Plus, he's completely trashing our Lair." The orange-masked turtle turned and ran towards the portal stick, and once he secured it in his grasp, he ran back to Donatello07.
Donatello07 took the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick into his hands. "Now, if we just track Shredder's particle emmissions, like Donatello Classic said, we'll be able to find where Shredder came from." He ducked as Michelangelo87's nunchucks flew over his head, their owner not too far behind. "Only problem is, we have to get this thing close to Shredder until the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick gets enough information to specify his dimension."
"Gotcha," Michelangelo03 said, giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "...Sort of." He grabbed the Portal Stick and began to run towards the Shredder. "Cowabunga! Hey, Shredder knock-off! Bet you can't catch me!" He dodged the Shredder's flying fists and flipped the machine on.
Donatello07 rubbed his temples, worried for both Michelangelo03 and the device. "We really shouldn't trust the Mikeys with the Portal Stick," he groaned.
"A little help here!" Michelangelo03 called, backing away from the Shredder's persistant attacks with the Portal Stick clutched close to his chest. It hummed mechanically, lighting up, as it sensed the particle emmissions portal use had left on the Shredder's body.
Leonardo03 and Leonardo87 rushed up to help, kicking and punching to their hearts content. They distracted Shredder and Michelangelo03 was able to get even closer to him, pointing the Portal Stick at the man. It began humming louder.
"Fools! You are no match for the Shredder!"
Leonardo03 and Leonardo87 shared a knowing glance and smiled wide. "No, I think it's the other way around." They ran up and simultaneously kicked Shredder in the chest, enough to send him stumbling into the wall.
"The Trans-dimensional Portal Stick is done!" Michelanagelo03 called as the device stopped humming, surprised as he saw an image of the Shredder's dimension spread out from the device, projecting onto the floor. Michelangelo03 gazed at it wide-eyed. "Woah, that New York is cool!"
"Mikey!" Raphael03 whined. Michelangelo03 jumped and was reminded again of what he was supposed to be doing. He ran towards the Shredder, aiming the image. "Hasta la vista, Shred-head! Send me a postcard!"
Shredder ran from the image, hissing into his earpiece. "Kraang, send me a portal! Now!" He fended off Michelangelo03 near him, his sharp metal hand landing on the Portal Stick. There was a "klang" and a large dent was left in its surface. The image sputtered and flickered off.
"Hurry, my son! We cannot let Shredder escape!" Splinter shouted. He and Casey ran after Shredder, trying to grab hold of him. Shredder suddenly stopped and thrust his fist forward, sending the frail Splinter backwards. He advanced toward the rat, moaning on the ground, but Donatello03 shouted and ran in to stop him. Suddenly, something appeared about ten yards away. It was obviously a portal, but looked different from the ones the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick opened up. It glowed pink and its surface looked a little like water. Shredder bolted through it, Donatello03 close at his heels, anger flaring up his eyes, and the portal closed before anyone else got even close to it. Donatello03 was inches away from where it had been a millisecond before.
"No!" Donatello03 shouted. "He's out in the multi-verse again! And we have no idea where." He turned and looked behind him, at Splinter standing up slowly. Shredder's gone too far.
"No worries, bro!" Michelangelo03 said. He tapped his forehead, indicating he had an idea. "We'll track the particle emissions! Trusty ol' particle emissions."
"Uh, I don't think that glorified flashlight is going to be tracking anything," Raphael87 said, staring at the humongous dent in the side of the device. "Shredder dealt it quite a blow."
"I knew we shouldn't trust Michelangelo with the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick!" all three Donatellos groaned. Donatello87 walked up and took the Portal Stick into his hands, analyzing it quickly.
"Yes, Shredder decimated the device on the machine I installed to track the particle emissions. It will take hours to fix, maybe days! Time we don't have." He flicked a switch and the machine whirred, projecting a new image onto the wall, and onto Michelangelo07 standing in front of it. "Fortunetly, the portals still work...sort of." The image flickered and blinked on and off.
"Well, at least we know what dimension Shredder came from," Michelangelo03 said, trying to cheer his brothers up. "I got a good look at that dimension. Now we've just got to find Shredder and put him back in his place."
"Let's stop wasting time!" Raphael03 said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's go find him. If we have to travel through every dimension of the multi-verse, so be it."
"It'll be fun!" Raphael87 said. He smiled and Raphael03 just stared at him.
"How are we the same turtle? You're more goofy than Mikey." Raphael03 rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall next to Michelangelo07. He looked at the turtle up and down - his first time really looking at a 2007 turtle for a long amount of time. He raised an eye-ridge but didn't say anything, inwardly groaning at the fact that Michelangelo was now taller than him.
Donatello07 turned on the machine and flipped the switch to a random dimension. "There's no telling what dimension he'll be in. We'll just have to go through them randomly." He looked up at the image of the dimension, seeing a huge city, with bustling streets. There were many people hanging around the buildings, all eating pizza. Four tall forms walked through the bustling crowd, all wearing trench coats and hats pulled low over their faces. A woman followed them, her arms piled with three pizza boxes. The image flickered on and off again, the scene the portal displayed following the trench-coated people like a camera. They were obviously the turtles. When no one was looking, the disguised ninjas opened up a manhole cover and leapt in, the woman following after.
"That dimension looks nice," Michelangelo87 said,"Definitely enough pizza! Totally bodacious!" The turtles approached the portal cautiously.
"Hurry, my sons!" Splinter said. "I'll come with you. You'll need as much help as you can get." He approached the turtles, but as soon as he took a step, he groaned and fell to the floor. Casey and April ran up to him, helping him to his feet.
"Splinter, are you okay?" April said.
"I injured my foot while fighting the Shredder," Splinter said. "I'd hoped I could continue even with the injury but I see now that I need time to heal." April nodded and looked to Casey, silently agreeing that they'd stay behind with Splinter. Plus, that Shredder was unpredictable, he might come back to this dimension, so they'd have to protect Splinter.
All of the turtles nodded, all feeling sorrow for the sensei's injury, even if he wasn't necessarily their Splinter. All the turtles had a strange sort of connection to him. They turned and rushed into the portal, knowing they'd wasted more time than was sensible.
