Chapter 29

Fly on the Wall

As he worked in his lab, Stockman had to wonder when his life had gone so wrong.

He wasn't a bad guy…

Okay, sure, he'd committed himself to a lifetime of villainy, but all those jerks that were always ruining his life and throwing him into dumpsters pushed him into it.

And it wasn't like he was super villain material (Not like his current employer, anyway). He didn't want to take over the world or anything. Just become rich and famous, and give the aforementioned jerks a well-deserved butt kicking.

So all in all, he, Baxter Stockman, (to quote Wreck-It Ralph) was a bad guy, but he was not a bad guy (end quote) who in anyway deserved the treatment he was getting.

But just because he didn't deserve it, didn't mean it wasn't happening, and boy was it happening. He, Baxter Stockman (hadn't he said that already?) was in the forced employment of a super villain (one who was far more deserving of this treatment in his opinion) and had to complete all of the Shredder's demands, otherwise the metal madman would activate the collar around his neck, and cause Baxter to be covered in mutagen.

And if there was one thing he didn't want, it was to become a mutant freak like Tiger Claw, Rahzar, and Fishface (he preferred the ninja brats' names for the hench-mutants, they were much more fitting and suitably insulting).

So day after day Stockman swallowed his pride, and did the Shredder's bidding within his lab, which had gained a pest control problem in the form of flies thanks to his employer's not giving him any time to clean on top of his demands. All the while he was planning his ingenious escape (which was still in the drawing board phase, unfortunately, but he was sure to have a breakthrough any day now).

And besides, his employment was going rather well, if he did say so himself. He had been able to maintain the Foot-Bots to peek condition, and repair the ones broken by those brats Shredder was obsessed with. He'd also been the one to provide the Shredder with the revelation that his lady love was, in fact, still alive, not that the Shredder had ever thanked him for that, the ingrate.

The only snag in Stockman's duties to the Shredder was the mutants. Try as he might, he could not seem to get the mutagen to work the way he wanted it too, and instead of creating fierce mutant warriors, he was instead creating creatures that were, for lack of a better word, silly.

But Stockman was certain that with his success in the other fields, the Shredder would overlook his mistakes on that front, and the mad scientist was sure to make a breakthrough with the mutagen any second now.

Or at least he had been certain of it, until the Shredder visited him in his lab one day looking furious.

"Baxter Stockman," the Shredder said darkly, making the scientist pale and wheel around as he approached. "I ordered you to build me a mutant army. And you give me THIS!"

He threw several photos of Stockman's failures at him, making the scientist wince.

Stockman knew he was in trouble now. Ever since that Tang Shen woman had rejected him (not that Stockman blamed her, who would want to marry a lunatic like him), the Shredder had been even more irrational and quick tempered than ever before. Which was saying something, since he had already been a record holder for the world's most bloodthirsty maniac before hand.

Knowing he had to defend himself if he wanted to keep his hide, Stockman quickly picked up the nearest one, which featured a man with a duck's head. Unfortunately, it was one of his worst ones.

Still, he had to try and sell it, or he dreaded to think what the Shredder might do.

"No, no, don't you see," he said, trying to convince the Shredder that it was a worthwhile mutant. "It swims, flies, and knows Tae Kwon Do, it's a triple threat!"

The Shredder looked far from impressed, and lashed out with his gauntlets, cutting the picture to ribbons and leaving a gash on Stockman's hand, making the scientist cry out in pain.

"Can it, Stinkman," said Rahzar, not interested to hear Stokman's wails. "This is the last time you mess up!"

Stockman looked up from his bloody hand, and glared at the mutant. "Mess up?" he asked indignantly. "At least I do something productive around here, all I've ever seen you do is fail beat a few stinking kids."

Rahzar looked livid at his audacity, and began snapping his oversized teeth at Stockman's face, making the scientist flinch away.

"No, Bradford," said the Shredder, making the mutant canine pull away. "I have a more suitable fate in mind." He glared at the scientist and said menacingly, "You have failed me too many times."

"NO!" Stockman shouted desperately. He then backpedaled and tried to reason with him. "I mean, please, Master Shredder. I've got plans. Huge plans! Mutant pigs and rhinos."

The Shredder looked far from impressed, and with a swift motion, he threw a rolling table at him. Stockman yelped as the corner of the table grazed his head, leaving a bleeding cut.

"Pigs?" Shredder asked scathingly as Stockman pressed his hand to his forehead to try and stop the bleeding.

"And… Rhinos," said Stockman weakly.

Stockman then flinched worse than he had at Rahzar's snaps when the Shredder brought out the trigger for the mutagen collar on his neck.

"What are you doing, No!" he begged at the sight of it. "You can't!"

But the Shredder's face was impassive as he placed his thumb on the trigger button.

"I wouldn't be of any use to you as a mutant," Stockman wailed. "Please, don't!"

But the Shredder pressed the red button, and Stockman started to panic as he heard the collar start beeping loudly.

"I am not a man of idle threats," said Shredder darkly.

Rahzar snickered next to him. "Bet you'll end up a bigger freak than me, Stinkman."

"There's nothing wrong with idle threats!" wailed Stockman as he tugged helplessly at the collar, trying to get it off before it detonated.

But the other two only watched as he became more and more frantic with each beep of the collar.

Suddenly, Stockman felt one of the flies that had been buzzing around his lab land on his nose and he let out a wail of despair as he realized what that meant.

Just then the collar let out a buzz and stopped beeping.

Stockman opened his eyes wide. The capsules didn't pop, did that mean what he thought it meant?

He looked up at Shredder and Rahzar to see the canine mutant's retreating back, and the Shredder looking at him almost in amusement.

Figuring that meant he was off the hook for now, Stockman collapsed to his knees and kissed the Shredder's feet.

"Yes, Yes!" he said in utter relief. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you-"

He would have continued on like that, but the Shredder kicked him away from him.

Stockman looked up to see why, only for his blood to turn to ice as he heard the sound of glass shattering right by his ear, and a splash of liquid in that same spot.

Stockman screamed as the mutagen began burning like acid on his head, shoulder, and arm. It hit some of his injuries, and burned even more painfully than he'd ever imagined possible as the substance entered his bloodstream. The rest of the capsules started popping as well, covering Stockman in the ooze, and making him fall to his knees screaming in agony.

From a safe distance, the Shredder stood watching these proceedings with an odd glint in his eye.

The last rational thought that Stockman had before the pain took over was, 'He's enjoying my pain!'


"We're really doing this here?" April asked nervously, glancing at the door every few seconds.

She and her boyfriend were in the school science lab working on Donnie's latest formula for retro-mutagen.

Donnie laughed. "You're jumpier than Casey when we snuck into the auto-shop. Don't worry about it," he said. "We won't get caught, I'm a ninja remember. Besides, I may or may not have hacked the school emails, and sent all the chemistry teachers to a lunch meeting at Antonio's Pizza."

"Will there actually be a lunch meeting when they get there?" April asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, they can start one if they like," Donnie replied. "But they'd have to pay for their own pizza."

April couldn't help but giggle at that. "So why are we doing this here, anyway?" she asked. "Isn't your own lab better equipped?"

"Equipment wise it is," Donnie admitted. "But chemical wise…" He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "The chemicals I need for these experiments are expensive, and not really the kind of thing most distributers just hand out to fifteen-year-old kids. I usually can get supplies one way or another, but it's easier to just borrow some from the school."

April raised an eyebrow as Donnie used some of the chemicals in the formula. "Saying you're borrowing them, implying you'll one day give them back?"

Donnie sent April a smug look. "Well, one day when I get famous patenting and selling my inventions, I'll be able to credit this school for helping with my education and give it a generous donation. The acclaim they'll get will more than make up for a few used chemicals."

April burst out laughing at that.

Donnie preened at being able to make her laugh, before turning his attention back to the chemicals he was working with. With great care he lifted a vial of green liquid and poured it into the beaker of mutagen. "Almost got it," he muttered to himself. "Almost… got it."

April let out a sigh as the mutagen in the beaker turned purple. She could commend Donnie for his determination in creating a mutagen cure, especially with all the people who were depending on it. But she had to admit, the constant failures were starting to get her down. It was starting to look to her like there might not actually be a cure for mutagen.

But she held her tongue and continued to watch Donnie work. She had to admit, his look of concentration when he worked was adorable. But just watching him wasn't why she was there. After the fiasco with Kurtzman revealing the reason the Kraang were after her, and the strange mutation in her DNA, Donnie had had the idea of trying to use her genetic code in his antidote formulas.

His tongue sticking out the corner of his mouth in concentration, Donnie lit the Bunsen burner under his latest mixture, and then added a small sample of April's DNA to the mix.

The mixture turned from purple to orange, and Donnie nodded in satisfaction.

Taking a small sample of the mutagen, he dropped it onto a slide and peered at it through a microscope.

"Okay mutant cells," he prayed under his breath. "Please turn normal. Please turn normal."

He watched in anticipation as the cells under his microscope twitched around, but didn't return to their normal state.

Donnie had just let out a groan of disappointment, when right before his eyes the cells suddenly shifted back to their original, non-mutated state.

Donnie looked up from the microscope, his eyes wide. "Eureka," he said in disbelief. Then an ecstatic grin spread across his face. "It did it! I really did it!"

April's eyes widened in shock. "You did it?" she asked in equal disbelief. "You really did it?"

"I sure did!" Donnie cheered, and with an ecstatic whoop he began dancing with April around the science lab in delight. The redhead let out a laughed as he swung her around, his euphoria was utterly infectious.

But their merriment was interrupted when the lab door opened and Irma and Mikey popped their heads through.

After he'd smacked her in the face with his skateboard, the youngest Hamato Ninja, and the goth girl had become fast friends, and often hung out together at school. April had been thrilled when she found out, as she and Irma were already good friends.

"You guys sure have weirdest places to go on dates," said Irma with a humorous smirk. "First square dancing in the science labs, what's next, a romantic picnic on the history museum's roof?"

Donnie looked like he was actually giving that idea some thought.

But April chuckled and said, "Nah, Irma. Donnie just finished a project he was working on for awhile, and we're both really happy about it."

Mikey's eyes widened when he heard that. "And by project, do you mean that project?"

Donnie beamed at him and nodded.

Mikey pumped his fist into the air. "Aw yeah!" he cheered. "I always wanted a jetpack!"

The other three teenagers stared at him in bewilderment, and then smacked their foreheads in unison.

"For the last time, I'm not making you a jetpack, Mikey," said Donnie in exasperation. "I don't even trust you with a driver's license."

Mikey pouted. "So then what project just finished?" he asked reluctantly.

"The important one to, uh, help Raph," Donnie said, shooting a nervous glance at Irma.

Mikey nodded, then his eyes widened in realization. "Oh, you mean that one! Sweet!" he cheered.

April nodded with a wide grin. "I'll go call the others to let them know what happened," she said stepping past Mikey and Irma out of the lab. "Be back in a minute."

As she hurried away, she overheard Irma ask curiously, "So is anyone going to tell me what this big project is?"

April had to snicker at the stuttering answers the two brothers struggled to give as she passed out of earshot.

As she hurried through the crowded halls of her school, she pulled out her cellphone and began searching to find a quiet spot to make her call. Deciding that the outdoors was the best bet, she headed toward the exit, humming cheerfully under her breath as she went.

This day couldn't get any better.


This day couldn't get any worse.

That was the first thought Stockman had as he slowly became aware of his surroundings again. Vaguely he noticed the Shredder was no longer there, and for that at least he was grateful.

Pulling himself to his feet (at least he still had those, unlike Fishface), Stockman began lurching through his lab. Every molecule of his body ached, and he could barely maneuver himself through the room. The only bright side was that the mutation seemed to have healed the injuries he had gotten from the Shredder, though the areas where they had been still stung worse than the rest of him.

But one type of pain stood out over the rest. Hunger. The mutation had left him ravenous, and anything would do.

Knocking over his trashcan, Stockman caught a whiff of something he could eat. Despite the fact that before today he would have never stoop to digging through garbage to feed himself, he now found himself frantically shoving the empty boxes of Chinese food aside to where a half eaten candy bar sat. He'd thrown it away originally because he had dropped it on the floor, and he knew the five-second rule was a load of hooey.

But now he didn't care that the candy had been in the trash for days, he wanted it.

With a retch he puked up a wad of acid, which melted he candy bar down wrapper and all. He then leaned down to slurp up the food hungrily.

With his hunger abated, Stockman stopped as the full realization of what he'd become sunk in.

"What am I?" he asked in despair, noticing a slight buzzing quirk to his voice. "I nothing anymore! A freak! I'll never be taken ssseriously as a ssscientist!"

He then caught sight of his chalkboard, where he had been trying to crack the code of the mutagen.

An idea bloomed in his mind as he looked at it. "Or, wait," he hissed, and grabbed his chalk and wrote frantically on the board as the ideas came to him.

He muttered to himself as he worked on his new theory. If he could combine his mutated form with the pure DNA of a human, then the new transformation would make him more human in appearance, but still keeping the added might of his new mutation. This would work. This had to work!

Just then he heard the sound of someone enter his lab behind him.

"Stinkman?" called out Rahzar's voice as the canine walked through the room with two Foot-Bots. "Where are you?"

Stockman ducked clumsily into a hiding place as the ninjas came further into the lab.

"I want to see what you turned into," Rahzar said as he searched, amusement clear in his voice.

Stockman trembled with rage as he remembered all the torment the canine mutant had put him through. He'd show him. He'd show them all!

He yanked on a cord to kill the lights, making Rahzar tense as he was plunged into darkness. "Scared to show yourself, Stinkman?" he snarled, his glowing eyes searching for his prey. "It's not like you can get much uglier."

That does it!

With a flash, Stockman flew out and took out one of the Foot-Bots. He took out the other just as quickly and efficiently, leaving Rahzar alone. To add insult to injury, he threw one of the Foot-Bots' heads at the dog's feet.

Stockman could sense Rahzar was actually starting to get nervous, and he reveled in that fact. Big bad Chris Bradford was actually getting scared of the man he'd spent so many months pushing around and insulting. Revenge was far sweeter than that candy bar, and Stockman just couldn't get enough of it.

"Show yourself, mutant!" Rahzar yelled, doing his best to keep his nervousness out of his voice.

But Stockman had no intention of giving in to his demands. With a retch, he spat acid onto Rahzar, making the canine yelp in pain.

But as much as Stockman wanted to prolong the torment, he had an experiment to accomplish. So before Rahzar could spot him, he took off through a window and flew through the city on his new wings.

He had a human specimen to find, and he had just the target in mind.

Lets see how those ninja brats reacted when he took their pretty, little redheaded friend and dipped her in mutagen.


April finally found a good spot outside her school where she could make her call, and also not be overheard. It was quiet and out of the way, and no one was in sight. The only sound she could hear was that of a few bugs buzzing around.

She hit speed dial for Raph's number and waited for him to pick up.

It took a few rings, but finally Raph answered and said, "Moshi moshi?" in a sleepy voice.

April had to smile. It sounded like she had caught him basking, well this should wake him up.

"Donnie did it!" she said excitedly.

There was a pause, and Raph said in a confused but more awake voice, "What?"

"He did it!" she said again gleefully, not noticing that the bugs were suddenly getting louder behind her. "He finally figured out how to make retro-mutagen! He did it!"

Now Raph sounded wide-awake. "He did?! That's AWESOME! Where are you?"

April opened her mouth to reply, but what cut off as a new voice rang out right behind to her.

"Retro-mutagen?!" came a loud buzzing voice.

April wheeled around and let out a piercing scream at the hideous sight that met her eyes.

Hovering in front of her was something out of a horror movie. Bulbous green eyes stared back at her, attached to the biggest fly she had ever seen.

April tried to back away, but the fly was too quick for her. It lashed out with a claw like appendage and threw her into a nearby tree, knocking her unconscious.

Looking down at his prey, Stockman became aware of a small voice coming out of April's phone, which she had dropped when she screamed.

Picking it up, he said into the device, "Come to my lab in three hourssss and bring the retro-mutagen, or the girl mutatessss with me!"

"Derik Stockboy?" came the alarmed shout from the other end.

"Baxtar Ssstockman!" he snarled as a correction. He then threw the phone to the ground to break it, and spat acid on it for good measure.

He then gathered up the girl and flew out of sight.

Back at the Renaissance Dojo, Raph was staring at his phone in horror as he realized what had happened. He didn't know why Stockman had seemingly flipped his lid, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let April get mutated, even if that meant staying a turtle for awhile longer.

With numb fingers, Raph hit the button that would call Donatello, and braced himself to deliver the bad news.


Donnie had not taken the news of his girlfriend's capture well.

In fact he had outright panicked, and called an emergency meeting down in the Lair to rally everyone to storm Stockman's lab and save her.

Fortunately, Leo assumed command before he could do anything too drastic. "Don't worry, Donnie," he said, placing a hand on the hysteric genius' shoulder. "We'll get her back, but we have to keep our heads."

Raph nodded. "If it comes down to it, just give him what he wants. I'll stay a turtle for longer if that's what it takes," he said firmly. "You made that stuff once, you can do it again."

Metalhead beeped in agreement and gave Donnie a thumbs-up encouragingly.

Donnie took a deep breath and calmed down marginally. "But it takes so much mutagen just to make a small amount of retro-mutagen," he said. "It'll take months before I can synthesize more."

"Um, a few more months, or April's life," said Mondo Gecko, who pretended to ponder the dilemma. "No contest, dude, staying like this is worth it so long as your girl is golden. Even thinking otherwise is totally bogus."

Sir Malachi nodded in agreement. "Besides, I have no wish or desire to be human again."

That made everyone stop and stare at the feathered mutant. "You don't?" asked Casey in surprise.

Malachi nodded. "Since I was told of Donatello's endeavor to createth such an antidote, I have been giving such a goal some thought." He then dropped his accent and looked glum. "I miss my parents, sure, but as Martin Milton I was nobody. I was just a friendless kid with one leg who was just limping through life. But now-"

Malachi flew a lap around the Lair and used his powers to make it look like the glade of an enchanted forest. "As Sir Malachi the Sparrow Wizard," he said, taking up his accent again, "I can doeth such things as Martin could only dreameth of. I can fly, createth such wonders, and gaineth such fellowships as I have with you loyal souls." He smiled at them as the illusion faded, and said in his regular voice, "I'll tell my parents once I work up the nerve, and I can only hope they'll accept me like this."

The others nodded in understanding, and turned back to the matter at hand.

"We'll figure out about who gets the retro-mutagen later," said Leo, getting down to business. "Right now we need to save April, and we have two hours left to do it."

"Why does Boxcar want retro-mutagen anyway?" asked Mikey. "He's not a mutant."

"But remember when Leo had shellacne," said Donnie, looking thoughtful. "Rahzar and Fishface had stuck a collar on him full of mutagen."

"Yeah, as incentive to keep Storkman from betraying them and making another 'Maze of Doom'," Miwa added, making quotation marks with her hands.

Donnie nodded. "What if Shredder got mad at him and activated it. If that's the case, then Dexter got mutated and is now desperate for a cure."

"Desperate enough to take Red, at least," said Casey darkly.

Silently, Miwa held out her hand to Raph and Mikey, who both scowled and forked over ten-dollar bills for the bet they'd had on Stockman's mutation (and pointedly ignoring the glare Leo shot them for gambling on it).

"Then the question is, what has he become, and how do we fight him?" said Leatherhead, bringing up the question they all were thinking.

Leo turned to Raph. "You were talking to him, Raph. Did you hear anything that could be a clue?"

Raph frowned as he remembered the ransom demand. "Stockman's voice didn't sound too different," he said. "A little wobbly, like he was talking through a faulty megaphone, but that was it. The only thing that really stood out was the buzzing."

"Buzzing?" asked Miwa.

Raph nodded. "Yeah, it kind of reminded me of the mutant Spy Roach's wings when it was flying." Raph's face then twisted in revulsion. "You don't think he's become a cockroach, do you?"

"Could be," said Donnie, looking worried. "Or the buzzing might not have any connection to Slinkman at all. Until we see him, we won't know anything for sure."

Leo looked pained at that. Coming up with a plan with such little information was dangerous. But April didn't have the time they'd need to gather more.

With that in mind, he addressed everyone and said, "Alright guys, here's what we're going to do."


April hated being the damsel in distress.

She'd hated it when the Kraang first tried to kidnap her, and had gotten away with her dad. She'd hated it when she was being stalked by Pigeon Pete, and had to run to her friends in fear. She'd hated it when her brainwashed father was beating Leatherhead with an electric rod right before her eyes and used her as a shield to keep the gator from saving her. She's especially hated it when the Kraang had her strapped down in TCRI with a needle coming at her head, and just when she'd been trying so hard to prove herself.

And she was really, really hating it now.

She'd woken up in mid flight of Stockman taking her back to his lab. At first she'd tried to struggle free. But when she kicked the fly mutant in the face hard enough to drop her, she had quickly found that getting free didn't mean much if she was splattered on the pavement from falling at such a height.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, she was not sure which), Stockman had caught her again, and continued flying her back to his lab.

When they finally reached it, Stockman dropped April in front of his giant vat of mutagen.

"Ssstay," he commanded her, before turning to fetch something from his desk.

"Baxter," said April, attempting to reason with him while searching for a way out. "You don't have to do this. Gifuto can help you. He can make more retro-mutagen. It'll only take a few month-I mean- hours."

But Stockman didn't look like he wanted to be reasoned with. He seemed to find what he was looking for, and straightened up. Turning back to April, he said, "If he failsss, I have a back up plan…"

April did not like the looks of the long coil of rope in his hands. Narrowing her eyes, she subtly pulled out her tessen and said, "So do I."

With a yell, April slashed her tessen at Stockman, cutting what little of a cheek he still head, and knocking him back.

April then turned and tried to run, but Stockman used his wings to fly over her head and block her escape.

She tried attacking him again, but he was ready for it this time.

"No escape!" he cried as he hit her with surprising strength.

The blow left April dazed for a few seconds, and that was all Stockman needed to bind her wrists and steal away her tessen. With her struggling to get free, he continued to bind her with the rope until she was tied up in an uncomfortable, and, more importantly, helpless position.

Satisfied with his work. Stockman grabbed the end of the rope not tied to her, and flew up towards the rafters, dragging her with him.

April struggled all the way, only to freeze when she saw what Stockman had hung her over.

Directly below her, the mutagen glowed and bubbled, as if just waiting for her to drop in.

"You go here," said Stockman, though it seemed like he was mostly talking to himself, "and I presssss the button. You fall, and I-I jump in. We c-come apart and come together. You, me assss one. More human than I am now."

April recoiled in disgust as she heard this plan. On the list of things she never wanted to do in her lifetime, getting merged with a crazy fly man was pretty near the top.

"Baxter," she said, attempting to reason with him again. "Listen to me. I worked with Gifuto to make the retro-mutagen. Dropping us into a vat of ooze isn't going to save you. You gotta trust me on that!"

But Stockman seemed to ignore her, and instead picked up a candy bar and vomited on it so he could suck up the melted treat in a disgusting fashion.

April's stomach rolled at the sight, and moved 'getting merged with a crazy fly man' to the very top of her mental list of things she never wanted to do.

"No!" Stockman shouted when he finished eating. "This is the only way! Only way! Stockman Fly c-c-cannot trust anyone!"

April's hope diminished as the fly dissolved into insane ramblings about how his plan would work, even though she knew it wouldn't. It was clear that like many a mutant his sanity had been effected by his mutation, making him irrational and desperate. A dangerous combination.

Helpless to do anything, she looked down at the mutagen again as it bubbled underneath her.

Did she mention how she hated being the damsel in distress?


Outside Stockman's lab, the assembled team was awaiting Leo's signal to set his plan into motion.

At a nod from the lead ninja, Malachi positioned himself near the broken window and peered in, and used his powers to show the others what he saw, April tied above the vat of mutagen, and the grotesque form of Stockman hovering in front of her, ranting like a lunatic.

Seeing this, Leo signaled for Malachi to continue on with his portion of the plan.

Malachi's eyes glowed as he sent an illusion into Stockman's head, making him think Leo and the other teens had broken in on the other side of the building.

The fly cried out in rage at what he saw, and flew down where his perceived enemies were. Unfortunately, before he went he spat his acid at the rope holding April up, and it began eating away at it.

Acting quickly Leo, his siblings, and Metalhead darted into the room. Leatherhead, Casey, and Mondo stayed outside in case they needed surprise backup. While the ninjas kept an eye on Stockman, the robotic turtle quickly flew up to where April was hanging and freed her, before lowering her into Donnie's arms.

"Nice work, guys," she said with a grin as Donnie pulled off the ropes. "And we didn't even have to give up the retro-mutagen."

She spoke too soon as one of the walls of the lab suddenly exploded inwards, and in stormed Rahzar with a large group of Foot-Bots. One of the rocks from the explosion few up to where Sir Malachi was perched, and clocked hard him right in the face. The sparrow swayed at the blow and fell back out the window in a dead faint.

Outside they heard Mondo Gecko yell, "I got him! I got him!" Followed by a loud thump and a groan of, "Got him…"

But with Malachi unconscious, the illusion on Stockman faded, and the fly started looking around in confusion. "What?!"

But Rahzar paid no attention to these antics, his glowing gaze fixed solely on the Hamato siblings. "I heard you say retro-mutagen!" he said with great interest. "I can become human again?"

With Malachi down, and the teens suddenly outnumbered, Leo was glad he had his backup plan. "NOW!" Leo yelled towards where Leatherhead and Casey were waiting as he, his siblings, and April pulled out their weapons, and Metalhead armed his rockets.

Another wall of the lab was broken trough, and in stormed Leatherhead and Casey ready to fight.

"Sssstop putting holes in my lab!" screeched Stockman as he flew at the offending two, spitting acid as he went.

That was all it took to get the fight started. The ninja teens rushed at the Foot-Bots, Casey started going against Stockman, and Leatherhead pounced on Rahzar causing the two predators to begin a vicious fight of tooth and claw.

As they fought, Raph eventually found himself fighting next to Mikey as the youngest babbled happily at him.

"I've gotta come up with a name for Stoolman, but I'm drawing a blank," Mikey complained. "What do you name a gross, hideous fly?"

Raph grunted noncommittally as he jammed his sai in one of the Foot-Bots' chest. "Don't know, don't care," he growled. "I'm just glad he's not a cockroach."

"'S not like a fly is all that better," Mikey pointed out, using the sickle of kusarigama to behead a Foot-Bot who had gotten to close. Then his eyes lit up, and he was so excited he didn't even see another Foot-Bot sneak up behind him before Miwa threw a shuriken through its head from her own fight. "I got it," he said excitedly to Raph.

Right on cue, Casey smacked Stockman with enough force to land him right beside Raph and Mikey's battle.

Mikey beamed down at the fly and pointed to him dramatically. "Your mutant name shall be Buzzkill!"

Raph slapped his forehead in disgust.

Stockman didn't seem to appreciate the name either, and began filling his mouth with more of his acid spit.

"Look Out!" Raph yelled, tackling Mikey out of the way of the acid projectiles.

They landed behind some crates away from the fight. Which was fortunate, as Raph's tackle had knocked Mikey's hood off his head.

Mikey grinned at his big brother. "Some people just don't appreciate a good mutant name."

Raph rolled his eyes and ruffled Mikey's curly hair fondly in reply, making the youngest squawk and yank his hood back into place. The two quickly jumped back out of their hiding spot, and ran to join the fight.

The fight was going well for the Hamato team, their skill outweighing the numbers against them. That is until Leatherhead's wrestling match with Rahzar got too close to the mutagen vat.

With a vicious kick, Rahzar threw the snarling gator off of him and against the side of the vat with great force.

The blow only dazed Leatherhead, and he was back up and roaring a second later. But his charge to take on Rahzar again was halted when he heard a loud and horrible creaking sound.

The alligator looked over his shoulder and was horrified to discover the mutagen vat was actually starting to tip over towards the his friends' fight.

"Watch Out!" he bellowed, only to be tackled by Rahzar before he could try to use his strength to set the vat upright once more.

The teens looked up at his yell, and at the sight of the tipping vat they began scrambling madly for cover, the Foot-Bots chasing after them as they went, only to be cut down by the frantic teens.

But one of the downed Foot-Bots that still had some life in it, and it reached up and snagged April's ankle as she tried to flee the oncoming mutagen. The girl let out a startled yelp of surprise and fell flat on her face, before turning to try and kick the Foot-Bot off of her.

"APRIL!" Donnie shrieked as he saw his girlfriend's predicament.

"I'll get her," shouted Mikey, doing an about-face to run back to her. He was the fastest of his siblings and had the best chance of getting there first.

Donnie moved to follow him, but Casey and Leo held him back and pulled him to onward safety.

Mikey reached April in a flash and slammed his nunchuck down on the Foot-Bot, making it release April's ankle. He then threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and started running towards the others.

From her undignified position, April had a clear view of the vat as it tipped farther and farther over, its contents dribbling onto the ground below.

Buzzkill was circling the tipping vat excitedly, feeling that he would be able to complete his experiment after all. He even began pushing the opposite side so that it would fall over faster.

Mikey was in the homestretch of getting out of the mutagen's way. His siblings and Casey were all perched on top of a large tower of boxes that would keep them out of flood level.

Seeing that the vat was about to pour, Leo yelled, "JUMP!"

Just as the entire contents of the vat came rushing out in a massive wave, Mikey made a giant leap for safety, his free hand outstretched.

Miwa was closest, and reached out as far as she could to catch him, balancing precariously on the crate with how far she was leaning out. "Come on!" she yelled.

Mikey and Miwa's fingers were a hair's breadth apart from each other for a brief instant before the mutagen wave overtook him and April and sucked them both into its glowing green depths.

"NO!" shouted Mikey's siblings in utter horror.

Buzzkill let out a cheer of delight. "Three Become ONE!" he yelled as he dove towards the mutagen lake that was now in his lab.

With an enraged yell of, "EAT IT BUG!" Casey threw his hockey stick at Buzzkill, knocking him off course, and out one of the lab's windows. Metalhead took off flying after him to keep him away until the mutagen had drained.

But the Hamatos didn't even spare the fly a glance, and instead scanned the green ooze on the floor, searching desperately for their baby brother and their friend. Even though Donnie had managed to mutagen proof their ninja clothing, not even that could protect against the complete dousing that the two had had.

The mutagen bubbled, and frothed as something rose up out of it.

With a cough, April burst out of the mutagen, looking as whole and human as when she went in. Sadly, the same could not be said for the unconscious and ooze covered Mikey she currently had slung over her shoulders.

She waded through the mutagen to the crates, and shoved her charge up first before climbing out herself and collapsing, her adrenalin spent.

Once they were both out of the mutagen, Donnie threw up a shuriken that triggered the sprinkler system to wash away the rest of the slime both on the floor and off the two teens it had doused.

As the water cleared the ooze away, the siblings gathered around to look over their baby brother, and pray he was still Mikey despite the change.

Like Raph, he'd mutated into a giant turtle. His scales were a lighter green than Raph's and his face was rounder, though his freckles were still present on his face. He was also a bit smaller than Raph, but otherwise he looked about the same as his hotheaded brother.

With a groan, Mikey opened his eyes and looked up at his siblings. "Now that's what I call a wipeout," he moaned weakly.

Letting out a laugh of relief, his siblings all piled on top of him in a group hug.

Seeing that Mikey was as okay as he could be, if a little woozy, Casey turned is attention over to April. "So why didn't you change like he did?" he asked in confusion.

Donnie looked up from Mikey, and quickly gave his girlfriend a once over, his eyes widening in shock. "But how did-" he broke off and gasped as it came to him. "You're immune to mutagen!" he declared in shock, pulling his vial of retro-mutagen out of his duffle bag. "That's why your DNA worked to create retro-mutagen. Amazing!"

"Are you kidding me?" snapped Raph, who was supporting a wobbly Mikey on his new feet. "We get mutated saving her butt, and it turns out we didn't need to bother?"

April opened her mouth to reply, but a crash on the other side of the room cut her off. The mutagen had not fallen where Rahzar and Leatherhead were brawling, and they were still going at it with extreme prejudice.

They hurried towards the fight to help their alligator friend out, but then Buzzkill shot back through the window and snatched the retro-mutagen from Donnie's hand.

Unfortunately for him, Metalhead was right behind him, and slammed into the fly and made him drop the vial by the mutant's brawl.

Seeing the vial, Rahzar shoved Leatherhead away, and dove for it. Only for Casey to use his second hockey stick to knock a Foot-Bot head at the canine mutant, making him fall over, and allowing Leo to snatch the retro-mutagen back up.

"We've got April and the retro-mutagen!" shouted Leo to the rest. "Let's get out of here!"

Raph hefted Mikey onto his shell for a piggyback ride, and they all rushed out the lab doors.

Buzzkill howled in rage and took off after them through the broken window. "No escape! No escape!"

Rahzar looked down at the remains of his Foot-Bots, before snarling and taking off after them as well.

Outside, the mutants and teenagers all squeezed into the Shellraiser and took off, the group from inside the lab pointedly ignoring Mondo's questions about why Mikey was suddenly a turtle (Malachi was still unconscious, or he would be asking too).

Seeing that Buzzkill was gaining on them, Miwa fired her garbage cannon at the fly. As he dodged her shot, she spewed curses under her breath and fired again.

"You're not gonna start hating April again, are you Sis?" Mikey asked, who was still dazed and weak from his mutation. "It wasn't her fault."

Miwa spared her brother a glance, before turning her attention back to her periscope to aim. "Not this time," she said viciously. "This time I know exactly who's to blame, and I have him right in my sights."

To punctuate that statement, she fired her cannon with precise accuracy, catching Buzzkill in the stomach.

The fly slowed down as it plowed into him, but instead of going down, he instead spat his acid on it and started eating it. "Delicious," he muttered to himself.

Inside the Shellraiser, Miwa roared in rage and shot the cannon again, this time getting Buzzkill in head, and making him crash onto the street.

Miwa grinned viciously, and cheered, but Mikey wasn't fooled. "It's not your fault for not catching me either," he said before passing out from the day's events.

Miwa stopped in mid cheer to look over at him in shock. Looking at the others she asked, "You don't think the mutagen made him psychic, do you?"

The rest could only give her helpless shrugs. With Mikey, you could never really tell.

Just as it looked like they were in the clear, Rahzar appeared before them with an army of flying Foot-Bots, and even more on foot.

"Flying, evil, robo-ninjas," said Mondo Gecko as he saw them appear on one of the Shellraiser's computer screens. "Now I've seen everything. What's next, invisible ninjas?"

The Foot-Bots flew ahead of their vehicle and poured an oil slick onto the street, making the Shellraiser spin out of control and crash.

Seeing that there was no way out but to fight, Leo led the charge back out of the Shellraiser to take on the Foot-Bots and Rahzar again.

As they went, Mondo was left in charge of keeping an eye on Mikey and Malachi, both of whom weren't in any shape to fight. The gecko saluted when he got this order, and sat himself at the manhole cover launcher, and dared any Foot Freaks to come close.

Unfortunately, it was the Shellraiser all the Foot wanted to get at, as Donnie had left his duffle with the retro-mutagen inside.

To prevent this, the teenagers and Leatherhead positioned themselves around the vehicle and didn't let any of the Foot-Bots get through. To further protect it, Metalhead positioned himself on the roof of the Shellraiser, and used his lasers to shoot down the flying enemies.

Then, of course, Buzzkill showed up again, and was proving to be as annoying as the insect he had mutated into. He was able to use his new speed and maneuverability to flit through the fighting factions as well as past Mondo's manhole covers to shove the door open and begin searching the vehicle.

Malachi awoke and yelped in surprise when the fly burst in, and tried to scare him away with an illusion, but Buzzkill hit the sparrow with his claw like hand, and resumed his search, paying no attention to the unconscious Mikey.

"Where issss it?!" he hissed as he dug through the vehicle. "Where?!"

Mondo pulled himself back in from the manhole launcher, and grabbed Donnie's duffle from where it was hidden. Pulling out the retro-mutagen he held it up for Buzzkill to see. "Looking for this, freak job?" he asked in a voice far braver than he was feeling.

Buzzkill buzzed angrily at the sight. "Give it to me!" he snarled.

But Mondo darted past him out the door and yelled, "Armonia! Hot potato!"

Miwa looked over at him as he threw her the retro-mutagen, and just barely managed to catch it, before tossing it to Leo to keep it from a Foot-Bot's hands. Buzzkill darted out of the van after it, and Mondo slammed the door shut behind them to keep anymore bad guys from going in and getting to his friends.

Just as he managed to do that, a Foot-Bot came out of nowhere and punched him into a brick wall, knocking him unconscious.

The game of hot potato continued throughout the fight, the vial of mutagen passing between the Hamato siblings and their allies. It was sometimes intercepted by their enemies, but not for very long, as the team would quickly work to get it back.

Finally the vial landed in Buzzkill's hands, and Metalhead had to take to the skies to chase after him in circles. The rest of the fight was close behind him on foot, all of them wanting that orange ooze.

The fly was fast, but Metalhead's rockets were built for speed, and he was soon gaining on the mutant scientist. Even with all the receptors on his eyes, Buzzkill was too busy looking behind him at Metalhead to pay attention to where he was going. This, ironically, led to him crashing head first into a billboard advertising 'Jonsey Kitty Pest Control'.

Groaning in pain, Buzzkill dropped the vial and slid off the billboard onto the roof. The vial rolled to the edge of the roof, and began tipping precariously over the edge.

Instantly everyone dove for it, causing them all to crash into each other in a giant dog pile, and knocking the vial over the side of the building.

On the street below, Mondo Gecko pulled himself to his feet and clutched his head in pain. He wandered over to stand under a streetlamp to see if he was bleeding.

Unbeknownst to him, the retro-mutagen was hurdling towards him from above. The vial smashed on the streetlamp, showering Mondo with glass and its glowing orange contents.

Mondo let out a yelp of shock, and scrambled to get away from the wet. But then he felt a familiar burning sensation on his skin, and he started screaming in pain.

Buzzkill and Rahzar both let out yells of rage at this, but they quickly realized that they were all out of Foot-Bots, and they were far outnumbered by the other team.

Snarling at this realization, Rahzar grabbed Buzzkill and dragged him off to the mercy of the Shredder.

Once the two bad guys were gone, the team turned their attention to the street below, and the rapidly changing Mondo Gecko, who was still writing before them.

Then with one final groan, Jason collapsed to the ground human as the day he was born, and exhausted beyond belief.

Hearing the sound of sirens in the distance, they quickly gathered him up and took off in the Shellraiser to safety.


An hour and several tests later, Donnie sent the former Mondo Gecko out of his lab with a clean bill of health, and a new pair of pants (he no longer had a tail to fill in the hole of his own), leaving the genius to turn his attention to his new turtle brother. Malachi had been given an ice back for the bump on his head and sent away earlier.

Jason then went up the stairs to where the rest sans Raph were all waiting to hear the news about Mikey's mutation. Raphael, however, was back down in the lab with Donnie and Mikey so that the genius could compare the two mutations, and hopefully be able to tell if something was wrong with the youngest.

Despite assurances that he was not to blame, the former mutant couldn't help but feel guilty about the whole ordeal. Jason had regained his human form, but in the course of the same night his best friend had lost his own.

Finally after much waiting, Donnie appeared on the stairs, Raph following behind him, and helping Mikey figure out how to walk on his new feet.

When Mikey saw how glum everyone looked, he shot them all his signature vibrant smile. "Why's everyone looking so down?" he asked in genuine confusion.

Leo approached his brother with a concerned glance. Before, Mikey had still been fairly out of it, and this was he first time he was awake enough to answer questions.

"You okay, Mikey?" Leo asked.

Mikey beamed at him. "Of course I'm okay, dawg!" he said brightly. He then pushed himself off Raph and struck a pose. "Look how cool I am! LTD!"

Leatherhead gave a relieved smile when he saw his friend appeared to be alright, and despite Raph's frantic indications not to ask, he said, "LTD?"

"Like a turtle do," Mikey practically sang. Then he started loosing his balance, and Rah had to hurry forward to catch him again.

The red wearing turtle rolled his eyes, and moved Mikey towards the couch to sit next to his mother (who promptly pulled him into a hug and began fussing over him). "He's been coming up with stuff like that all night," he griped. "His other favorite is-"

"I love being a turtle!" Mikey burst out cheerfully once his mother let him go.

Most of the room stared at him in surprise, and Donnie and Raph shared annoyed glances.

With a sigh, Donnie explained, "I ran every test on him that I could, and compared them to the ones I did on Raph. As far as I can tell, he's as healthy as a mutant turtle can be, and is still as sane as he's ever been."

"If you can call whatever Mikey is 'sane'," Raph added. "It took us twenty minutes to convince him not to give himself a mutant name."

At the assurance that Mikey was still Mikey, the entire room let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Well, that's some good news at least," said Leo who was the most relieved of all.

Miwa watched with vague amusement as Mikey figured out how to pull his head inside his shell, and began popping his head in and out of it like a green whack-a-mole. "How long did you say it'll take to make more retro-mutagen?" she asked, getting the feeling that somehow turtle Mikey might be even more annoying then regular Mikey could be.

Donnie's smile dimmed. "A few months, unfortunately," he said. "We need ten canisters of ooze for just one batch of retro-mutagen, which we'll have to collect through various means. And then it takes time for the mutagen to synthesize."

"The point is that it can be done," said Tang Shen, giving her genius son an encouraging smile. "We can handle the time it takes to accomplish this goal."

"In the meantime," said Yoshi, glancing down at Mikey (who gulped as he sensed oncoming doom). "I will work with Michelangelo as I did Raphael to bring his skills back to their original level, despite this change."

Mikey groaned as he remembered all the work Raph had had to go through when he mutated, and was not looking forward to that.

Raph, meanwhile, was still pissed about one little detail. "I still can't believe me and Mikey got mutated for nothing," he grumbled, shooting a look at April.

Donnie shot his brother a poisonous glance, and Jason hissed, "Not cool, dude."

Yoshi's eyes turned stern, but April held up a hand to stop whatever lecture he was about to give, signaling she wanted to speak.

The redhead then walked up to Raph and looked him straight in the eye. "I'm sorry you two got mutated because of me," she said. "But you didn't mutate for nothing."

Raph gave her a disbelieving glance.

"Do you remember who was on the roof with us that night?" April asked sharply. "My Dad was there, and he didn't know I was immune to ooze anymore than you did at the time. And where was my dad when the mutagen was falling towards us?"

Raph's face softened as he remembered. "Trying to protect you," he admitted.

"Exactly," said April with a nod. "He was right in the line of fire with me. If it hadn't been for you, my Dad would have mutated instead that night, and who knows what he would have turned into."

Raph blinked in surprise as he realized that.

April then smiled and hugged him. "Thank you for saving my Dad," she said.

Raph was stiff as a board under her hug, and could barely mutter out a tiny, "Sure, no problem."

Leatherhead spoke up next. "Michelangelo's sacrifice was not in vain as well," he said, making the others turn to him in surprise. "I had a clear view of the vat as it fell during my fight with Rahzar. If Michelangelo had not freed April from where she had fallen, she would have been crushed underneath it as it hit the ground."

April paled as she realized just how close she'd been from being squashed, and quickly went over to hug Mikey in thanks as well. "Thanks, Mikey," she muttered weakly.

Mikey patted her head and said again, "Like a turtle do."

After talking for a few more hours, discussing plans and solutions to their current problems. Then finally the Lair mutants decided to call it a night.

As Malachi and Leatherhead turned to head out the sewer passageway, they were surprised to see Jason following them.

At their surprised looks, the ex-mutant shrugged and said, "Would it be cool if I, you know, still crash with you guys?" His face then fell and he explained, "Being human again is bodacious and all, but I've been thinking. I… I'm not so sure I wanna go back to my parents' place. Not after, well…" He broke off, but the mutants were able to fill in the rest. They all knew that his parents' reaction to his mutation had been less than ideal.

The alligator and sparrow exchanged glances, and smiled. "I doth see nary a reason, nor a cause to send thee on thy way," said Malachi with a nod.

Leatherhead nodded in agreement. "I have no problems with your continued stay as well, my friend," he said. "So long as you keep the promise you made earlier to Master Yoshi, and return to school."

Jason winced and deadpanned, "Like I said, dudes, why go back to my parents' place, I've already got a Dad right here," jerking his thumb at Leatherhead as he said 'Dad'.

Malachi chuckled good-naturedly, and Leatherhead looked surprised and pleased at that comment.

As they headed off into the sewers, Jason had to remark, "Look on the bright side, now that I'm human again we can, like, get our own groceries. No more of that healthy junk Leo, Donnie, and April keep pushing on us."

The sound of cheering rang out through the sewers at that.


Meanwhile, Rahzar delivered Buzzkill to his master's feet via dragging him across the floor.

"Look at you, Stinkbug," the canine mutant taunted as he stepped away. "I'd squash you right here. But Shredder has other plans for you."

Buzzkill slowly raised his head as the Shredder glowered down at him. "I have one last mutant I want you to create," he said darkly. "Or I will pluck your wings like the lowly insect you are."

Rahzar held up a candy bar to Buzzkill, but then kept it to himself tauntingly. "Another of Tang Shen's sons was mutated tonight, Master," he growled darkly. "Into another turtle. Lured to this insect's lab in a futile attempt to cure himself."

Buzzkill buzzed angrily and tried to tell the Shredder that it had been Rahzar's fault the mutagen had spilled, but was cut off when the Shredder kicked him across the room in a rage.

The fly slumped unconscious to the floor, and two Foot-Bots dragged him from the room.

Seething, the Shredder asked, "Is there anything else to report?"

"Yes, Master," said Rahzar with a bow, grateful that Buzzkill had been removed before revealing his own part in the failure. "It seems that retro-mutagen exists, and Tang Shen's children attempted to use it to barter with Stinkman for one of their friends. I do not know how they obtained such a thing."

The Shredder looked thoughtful at this.

Tiger Claw had been listening from to the whole exchange from the shadows, and at this he stepped over and said, "Master, if I may?"

The Shredder glanced over at the feline and nodded.

"Tang Shen's cubs are often at odds with the Kraang, and many times have run off with their supplies if the Kraang's reports are to be believed," Tiger Claw said. "The alien bugs are the ones who created the mutagen, it seems likely that they would also create something to undo what they have done."

The Shredder's eyes narrowed, seeing the merit to his lieutenant's assessment. "And they have kept such knowledge of its existence away from me," he said in a voice that promised pain on the alien invaders once they'd outlived their usefulness.

He then sent a sharp look at Rahzar and Tiger Claw. "From now on I want you both to seek out more of this retro-mutagen. Find a supply and bring it to me, but do not let the Kraang know. The pitiful worms are still of some use to me, for now."

Rahzar perked up at the task. "If I may be so bold as to ask," said Rahzar subtly. "Why do you wish to have retro-mutagen?"

Apparently he wasn't subtle enough, as the Shredder fixed him with a steely glare. "If I cure Tang Shen's sons, they will be indebted to me, and more easily molded against their father," he said darkly. "If you succeed in this mission, I will grant you access to the chemical as a reward. But if I catch you human again before the her sons…" He unsheathed the blades of his gauntlets in warning.

Rahzar gulped and nodded quickly. "Of course, Master," he said.

With that the Shredder swept out of the room to make plans. He had a family to claim.


A/N Merry Christmas peoples, here is my gift to you, another teenage mutant ninja turtle joins the roster :3. A lot of people were thinking I'd mutate Donnie this chapter. Haha, nope :). Though to be honest, out of all of them I think Mikey'd take the change the best. Yeah, a lot of changes in this chapter for good or ill. I was a little disappointed when they didn't really give Stockman a decent mutant name in the show. But then I figured it might be because Mikey wasn't there when he mutated, and with everything happening he didn't get the chance. But I did like the idea of Buzzkill being his name, so here you go. I also de-mutated Mondo, and mutated Mikey, so he's a turtle now too. There is a reason for this, you'll just have to keep reading to find out what it is.

Once again, Merry Christmas to you all.

Disclaimer: I own nothing