Chiming bells.
Smoking incense.
Draped cloth.
A turtle kneeling before a large rat sitting on a cushioned chair, eyes closed, arms and legs in meditative positions, slowly mouthing a mantra. Leonardo had come before the Ninja Turtles master and was now showing reverence as he drew closer.
"What is it, my young student?" Master Splinter opened his eyes and focused on the bowed head of Leonardo.
"My master, we have met worthy foes. Donatello lies wounded, Kasey and April are scattered and we are at a loss as to who our enemies are and what they want." Leonardo spoke in a near whisper.
Master Splinter closed his eyes.
"They kept referring to April as Princess and I believe they were here to kill her."
"Who were they?"
"Two toads, like we're turtles, but taller, stronger and more experienced."
"Did they quote song lyrics?"
"One of them did."
Master Splinter opened his eyes again and moved to from his seat to where Leonardo was bowing then placed his left hand on Leonardo's shoulder, "What else?"
"They called in two humans they called the Dragon Twins."
"The Dragon and the Toad have come for April. Alone, the turtle cannot win, but with five other teenagers with attitudes, there may be a chance." Splinter gripped Leonardo's shoulder.
"Where do we find these… teenagers with attitude?" Leonardo was uncertain about that term.
"Angel Grove, California."
"Forgive my impertinence, but that is across the continent. How will we get there and back before our foes return again for April?"
Splinter retrieved a gold coin from his pocket with his right hand and raised Leonardo's head with his left so that he would look at it then he said, "This coin is an emblem of the power that fills them. It will take you to their command center. Once there, you are to make arrangements for them to come to New York. Tell them Master Splinter summons them, they will understand."
Leonardo took the coin and examined it, "How does it work?"
"Hold it in your right hand, bring it to your chest, then thrust it outward in front of yourself and say 'It's transportin' time!'" Master Splinter made motions with an imaginary coin.
"Why have they come for April?" Leonardo finally asked after putting the coin away in his head band.
"I do not know. I had seen them before, years ago, and they were a force for good. But now, their motives seem muddled and cloudy, their minds overtaken with vengeance. Be wary of them, young student, their true powers are yet to be shown." With that, Master Splinter returned to his seat.
Leonardo rose slightly with his head still lowered and walked out backwards. After passing through the first barrier of hanging cloths, he rose up fully and walked back to the rest of the Ninja Turtles. Donatello still lay unconscious, wrapped blankets in the middle of the floor.
"We need to get him to a doctor." Michelangelo turned to look at Leonardo.
"We can't move him again. It's too risky even if we aren't stopped by those things from earlier." Leonardo replied walking closer.
"Then what are going to do? Let him die?" Michelangelo was angry and spit every word out with force.
Leonardo retrieved the coin Splinter had given him earlier from his head band and showed it to the group.
"We are going to use this to transport us to Angel Grove. There, we may be able to find someone who can help Donatello better than we can." Leonardo turned away from the other turtles.
"It's transportin' time!" Leonardo yelled as he did the hand motions that Splinter showed him.
As he did the hand motions, the air around him began to smudge and shift. When he finished both the motions and the words, a massive yellow portal appeared in front of Leonardo.
"Come on Michelangelo and Raphael. Bring Donatello as well, we may yet be able to revive him." And with that, the turtles left through the portal into Angel Grove.
Up in low earth orbit, the Battletoads and the Lee brothers were in their respective bunks resting for the next inevitable fight. The Professor had stayed active, searching the New York area for any signs that the Dark Princess was accessing her powers but as of yet, nothing.
Maybe she hasn't learned them yet, The Professor thought, or maybe they're still too weak.
This gave him an idea and he began to change the frequency that the scanners were searching on. Almost instantly, the screen flared with the signatures of a massive energy release. Down below, under the city, someone had just used a powerful magic. What kind, The Professor could not make out, but it was magic nonetheless.
"Toads! Lee brothers! Wake up! We've found the Princess!" Professor T. Bird spoke in a PA.
Rash came running in first, "Where is she?"
"In the underground tunnels underneath the same city you all just left. My scanners have detected magic being used in distant section of the tunnels but for what purpose, I can not be sure."
"It could be a trap." Zitz walked in, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I detect one life form down in the tunnels. The turtles may be using April as bait to lure you in a hard to assault position." A wireframe representation of the tunnels along with the life form signature replaced the face of Professor T. Bird.
"Professor, you still have the hover bikes?" Rash smiled as he spoke.
"Indeed." the Professor replied, returning to the screen.
"This is going to be so bad!" Jimmy said as he walked in and high fived Rash.
"Hell yeah!" Rash said back.
***End Episode Four***