Chapter 37: Invasion of the Punk Frogs
Karai sat in Shredder's throne, speaking with her father through a Mouser's holographic projection screen.
"It seems you have been busy in my absence, daughter." Shredder remarked. "And equally unsuccessful."
"I had to do something!" Karai objected. "The Turtles need to be stopped, and our plan needs to be set in motion!"
"Hear me, Karai." Shredder said sternly. "You will have no more dealings with Krang and his ilk until I return."
"What?!" Karai shouted. "Father, I made a mistake, I'll admit to that. But I won't fail again! Just give me one more chance and-"
"This is my command, Karai." Shredder cut her off. "Do not disobey me, or the consequences will be most unfortunate."
Karai stopped at that, then gulped.
"Y-yes, Father." she relented.
"Good." Shredder replied, ending the transmission.
Karai sat in silence for a few minutes, then came to a decision.
"Bring me Stockman." she ordered two of the Footbots flanking her.
They left, and after a few minutes, came back with Stockman.
"You called for me?" he asked.
"Change of plans. We're acting tonight." Karai told him. "Prep the mutagen. The Turtles are going down one way or another."
Stockman gulped, twiddling his thumbs.
"Well, about that…" he let out.
Karai glared at him, scowling.
"How'd you screw up this time?" she grumbled.
"I didn't screw anything up!" Stockman defended. "Krang's men messed up this time! The mutagen they were transporting ended up in the Great Swamp in Putnam County!"
Karai pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance.
"I'm surrounded by morons." she muttered, before getting up and donning her face mask. "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."
"What are you going to do?" Stockman questioned.
"What do you think? I'm gonna comb every inch of that swamp until I find the mutagen." Karai said matter-of-factly. "Tell Hun and the Dragons to keep the Turtles occupied and off my back."
Stockman nodded. "Of course."
Meanwhile in the Great Swamp, two people were going kayaking. One of them noticed something strange in the water, and looked to see the very mutagen canister Stockman had told Karai about. It was cracked open and leaking into the water.
"Hey, look at that." he pointed out to his friend, who looked to see a group of frogs jumping into the ooze.
"What do you think it is?" his friend asked.
"I can tell it ain't supposed to be here." the first man replied, leaning over the side of his kayak. "Hey, little fellas? Come on outta there. That stuff ain't good."
At that moment, one frog's head broke the surface. But he was no longer a normal frog, but a human-sized mutant. Both men screamed and fell out of their kayak.
"Frog monster!" one of the men shouted. "RUN!"
Both men swam away as fast as they could as four more frogs emerged from the ooze, equally mutated…
Down in the lair, the Turtles and Hisako were gathered in the living room, watching Super Robo Mecha Force Five, even if Donnie was engrossed in his latest project. As they watched, Kagome entered the room, holding something behind her back
"Guys, I got something to show you." she announced.
Mikey hit the pause button on the tape as the group turned. Kagome then pulled her hands in front of her, revealing she was holding a magazine.
"Ta-da!" she cheered. "This is my new summer issue for Seventeen. Was just published today."
On the cover of the magazine was Kagome wearing the yellow bikini she'd worn when they'd gone swimming together in the Lee family's pool. Everyone gushed over the photo, voicing their compliments and appreciation.
"Looking good, Kagome." Leo complimented.
"Yeah, what do you think Raph?" Mikey asked, giving his brother a wry grin.
Raph looked at the photo, his jaw practically on the ground as he tried to find the right words.
"N-nice..." he stammered.
However, his head was far more vocal.
"Dammit, my shell is tightening." he cursed.
"Dude, I really didn't need that image in my head." Hisako mentally chastised. "Seriously."
Raph went beet red, turning to his sister.
"Stay out of my head!" he snapped.
"Why, what were you thinking?" Mikey quipped.
"About going to the city of Nunya." Raph retorted.
"Nunya?" Mikey repeated.
"Nunya damn business!" Raph snarled.
Vee rolled her eyes, plopping back onto the couch.
"I don't get why you're so bent out of shape about this." she let out. "I mean, you bought practically every issue of the mag from that newsstand."
Kagome turned to Raph, smiling coyly.
"Did he now?" she ribbed lightly.
Raph sputtered for a few moments, unable to come up with a sufficient reply. After a good minute, he just threw his hands up in the air and stormed off to his room. The door slammed shut behind him as Donnie snorted.
"You'd think he'd mellow out a bit now that they've kissed." he commented.
"Love's a funny thing, D." Mikey told him, patting him on the shell.
"And how would you know?" Donnie retorted.
Kagome giggled, then approached Donnie. She peered over his shoulder, eying his latest project curiously.
"What're you working on?" she asked.
"Something Mizuki requested." Donnie replied, holding up what looked like an arrow. "She wanted an upgrade to her arrows for whenever Krang shows up again."
"You going for Hawkeye or Green Arrow?" Mikey questioned.
Donnie shrugged.
"Eh, bit of both." he replied nonchalantly.
At that moment, Leo's T-Phone went off and he answered it.
"It's me." came Tai's voice. "Leo, turn to Channel 6. You might wanna hear Robyn's latest report."
Leo nodded, before turning to Mikey.
"Mikey, Channel 6." he ordered.
"On it!" Mikey declared, turning to Channel 6, showing Robyn on the screen. Raph hurried out, having heard everything.
"This is Robyn O'Neil, with a new shocker." she began. "Frog monsters in New York?"
Everyone froze at that, finding themselves glued to the screen.
"That seems to be the case, as two kayakers report sightings of humanoid frog-like creatures in the Great Swamp."
The screen shifted to one of the kayakers, who looked wild-eyed and scared out of their wits.
"There was some kinda weird, glowing ooze in the water, and the frogs jumped into it!" He explained. "Next thing we know, they're popping out of the water, walking and talking!"
It then turned to the other kayaker, who looked equally frazzled and terrified.
"They were normal going in, but then… BAM! Monsters!" he declared.
The screen cut back to Robyn, a solemn look on her face.
"Could this be the work of the mysterious aliens that recently terrorized Manhattan?" Robyn posed. "Stay tuned as this story unfolds."
Mikey turned the TV off, and they all processed the information.
"Ooze in the swamp?" Raph questioned bitterly. "Great. Just what we needed."
"Well, what do we think, guys?" Leo asked.
"It's either Krang or Karai." Hisako deduced. "One way or the other, this spells trouble."
"Just because they're mutated doesn't necessarily mean they're dangerous." Kagome pointed out. "But there's no harm in checking."
"Looks like we're going frog hunting!" Mikey declared.
"Sounds… really lame, the way he said it." Raph said simply.
-X-
The group quickly suited up and made their way to the surface, but didn't get far before they heard a loud smash. They all turned to see one of the Purple Dragons tossing a garbage can through a nearby window.
"These punks just never learn." Raph muttered, brandishing his sai and making to go after them.
"What about the frog situation?" Vee demanded.
"It can wait!" Raph snapped. "These assholes are causing trouble right now!"
"Hang on, Raph." Leo insisted, grabbing his brother by the arm. "That's probably what they want. Think about it. Ooze falls in the swamp, mutant frogs appear, and the Dragons just randomly decide to riot in the streets?"
"So?" Raph questioned.
"So it's a diversion!" Leo snapped.
"Either way, I'm not gonna let these punks get away with destroying our town." Raph shot back.
"Then we'll split up." Hisako cut in. "Half of us deal with the dragons, and the other half deals with the frogs."
"Uh, there's seven of us." Mikey pointed out. "How can we split up into halves, exactly?"
"That'll work." Leo said, ignoring him. "Raph, you, Vee, and Kagome deal with the Dragons. The rest of you are with me. We'll deal with the frog fiasco."
"Uh, you didn't answer my question." Mikey said, scratching his head. "How can we split up in halves?"
Donnie sighed, pushing him along.
"Just get moving." he ordered.
Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and Hisako hurried off, leaving Raph, Vee, and Kagome to deal with the rioting Dragons. Raph whistled, getting their attention.
"Hey, losers!" he shouted. "Which one of you wants to get punched first?!"
Elsewhere, Karai had made it to the swamp and taken a boat out into the water. It wasn't long before she found the canister. She carefully lifted it out of the water, and frowned to see it was cracked open and empty.
"Damn it…" she muttered.
Just then, a low ribbiting echoed through the swamp, getting Karai's attention. She turned, gaping to see the five mutated frogs lurking nearby. They were all wearing crude clothes made of leaves and bark, armed with even cruder spears.
"So that's what happened to the mutagen." Karai remarked, before looking to the side, an idea forming in her head.
"Not what I had in mind…" she thought, "but I'll take what I can get."
After a minute, she turned to them, removing her mask and smiling.
"Hey there." she said to them. "How are you doing?"
The frogs looked at her, exchanging glances before hopping closer.
"No need to be afraid of me." Karai assured. "I'm one of the good guys. Why don't you come with me? I can give you a good home."
One of the larger frogs approached her, as if examining her.
"Home…?" it questioned.
"Yeah." Karai replied. "A place where you can be safe, without other humans freaking out over you."
After a moment, the frogs all nodded and jumped into the boat alongside Karai, who turned around and went back the way she had come.
"Where exactly are you taking us?" one of the frogs asked.
"First, there's one thing we have to take care of, to be sure you can truly live in peace." Karai told him. "A group of evil mutant turtles."
Raph kicked one dragon into a trash can, before backhanding one who tried to sneak up on him. Vee split kicked a pair of them, landing on her hands before double-kicking a third.
One of the Dragons ran at Kagome, screaming and balling up his fist. Kagome quickly snatched up a trash can lid and held it out like a shield just in time; the Dragon threw a punch, and a loud GONG! sounded as his fist connected with the lid. The punk reeled back, yelling in pain and clutching his swelling hand just as Kagome clapped him over the head with the lid before bringing it down over his head, dropping him.
Dragon Face stepped forward, cracking his knuckles, but before anything could happen, they heard a buzzing noise. He removed his cell phone from his pocket, checking his latest text.
"Fall back, all of you!" he ordered his men. "Hun's orders!"
The Dragons immediately stopped their riot and scrambled away, leaving Raph, Vee, and Kagome looking on in confusion. Eventually, Vee broke the silence.
"Where's everyone going?" she questioned. "Bingo?"
"Think we should follow them?" Kagome asked.
Raph let out a growl of frustration. "Dammit, Leo was right. This was a set-up!"
"Wow, Leo was right and you were wrong?" Vee said sarcastically. "Shocker."
"Zip it." Raph snapped.
"Let's just get to the swamp." Kagome cut in. "Leo's gonna be waiting for us."
"How, exactly?" Raph questioned. "They took the Shellraiser."
"The old fashioned way." Kagome said as she let out a loud whistle. "TAXI!"
After a few minutes, a taxi cab pulled up. The driver gaped for a few seconds before getting his act together.
"Sir, we need a ride." Kagome told him. "To the Great Swamp in Putnam County, ASAP."
"Uh, okay." the driver gave in. "Get in."
All three piled into the cab, and it took off.
At that very moment, the Shellraiser was pulling up at the Great Swamp.
"Well, this is certainly a charming place." Hisako said flatly. "And I live in a sewer."
"Hey, we're turtles." Leo replied. "This is basically our natural habitat."
"Not true, actually." Donnie cut in. "We'd usually be found in lakes or rivers, not swamps. At least, not our species of turtle."
"Whatever." Leo told him. "Let's just go."
The three Turtles all made their way to the water's edge, but Hisako hung back.
"If it's all the same to you guys, I'll wait here." she told them. "Keep the engine running."
Mikey shrugged and jumped into the water, Leo and Donnie following suit. As they paddled away, Hisako's T-Phone buzzed, and she pulled it out of her jacket pocket; it was a text from Kagome.
Purple Dragon fight was a setup. It said. Leo was right. We're taking a cab to the swamp.
Copy that. Hisako texted back. Bring swimsuit. Preferably not bikini.
With that, Hisako put her phone back in her pocket and kicked back, waiting. Some time later, a taxi cab pulled up, and Raph, Vee, and Kagome pulled out. Kagome handed the driver two hundred-dollar bills and walked over to Kagome, carrying two wetsuits.
"Here." Kagome said, handing Hisako one. "We took a detour."
"Grabbed one for yourself, huh?" Hisako questioned.
"I'm not gonna swim in swamp water in a bikini." Kagome told her. "No telling what's in that water."
"Leo and the others already go ahead?" Vee asked, getting a nod from Hisako.
"Then let's not keep them waiting." Raph declared.
Kagome and Hisako went into the Shellraiser, exiting after a few minutes in their wetsuits and their hair done up in buns.
"Let's move." Hisako told them.
Raph and Vee eased into the water first, with Kagome and Hisako following. Kagome shuddered at the frigid temperature.
"Oh my God, that's cold." she let out.
Elsewhere in the swamp, Karai was training the five mutant frogs she had found, showing them different katas and techniques, all of them mimicking her style effortlessly.
"You've all picked up martial arts quite well." Karai observed. "You just might be able to handle the Turtles easily."
After a minute, she clapped her hands together once, getting their attention.
"Now, you need names." she decided.
"Whatever names you give us, we will accept." said one of the frogs, a chubby blue one with reddish eyes.
Karai smiled. "My father raised me on stories on historical conquerors and warriors. So I'll name you after his personal favorites."
She looked at the chubby blue frog. "You will be Attila the Frog." She turned to a dark green one with a long, fleshy-looking mustache. "Genghis Frog." Then she looked at a dark blue one with a three-pronged fleshy-looking beard under his chin. "Rasputin the Mad Frog." She turned to a skinny, short light green one. "Napoleon Bonafrog." Last but not least, she turned to the fifth, a reddish-green frog with a shock of hair on her head, clearly a female. "And you will be Jeanne de Frog. From this day on, you will be known as the Punk Frogs."
Genghis smiled slightly. "I like the sound of that."
From a safe distance away, Leo, Mikey, and Donnie watched from the water. It wasn't long before the other four Hamato ninjas paddled up.
"What'd we miss?" Raph whispered.
"Karai found the frogs first." Leo told him. "She just named them, and it looks like she's gotten them on her side."
"Shit." Hisako cursed.
"Just outta curiosity, what'd she name 'em?" Vee questioned.
"In this order, after Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Rasputin the Mad Monk, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Joan of Arc." Donnie replied.
"Well, ain't that something." Raph deadpanned. "We're named after Renaissance artists and art, and she named 'em after psycho killers and world conquerors."
"Actually, Joan of Arc wasn't a psycho or world conqueror." Donnie began. "She was a hero of France during the Hundred Years' War with England. Canonized as a Catholic saint after she was burned at the stake, and-"
"Not now, Donnie!" Vee cut him off.
"Uh, guys!" Hisako cut in, pointing. "They heard us."
Sure enough, Karai and the Punk Frogs were turning in their direction, noticing them.
Mikey gulped.
"Ohhh, monkey poop." he cursed.
"Well, isn't this fortuitous?" Karai remarked with a smirk.
"Damn it…" Leo muttered, before drawing his swords. "Time to fight!"
They jumped out of the water, confronting the frogs. Karai snapped her fingers.
"Punk Frogs, attack!" she ordered. The Frogs charged forward, clashing with the Turtles.
"Destroy the evil Turtles!" Jeanne declared, attacking Vee.
"That's what Karai told you, huh? That we're the bad guys?" Vee asked.
"Ya look in the mirror lately?" Mikey quipped.
Jeanne jumped into the air, kicking Vee squarely in the face and knocking her on her back.
"Just what we need." Vee grumbled, holding her bloodied nose. "Kung fu frogs."
Napoleon leapt onto Mikey's back, thumping him on his head.
"Ow-ow-ow! Quit it!" Mikey yelped, before flipping him over and holding up his hands.
"Look. Napoleon, right?" he asked. "You got it all wrong. Karai's lying!"
"Like they're gonna believe anything you say!" Karai taunted.
"Hey, we got Bludgeon to see the light." Hisako shot back. "Why not these guys?"
"Bludgeon was a fluke!" Karai retorted. "I found these five! Trained 'em! Named 'em!"
"And I'm sure you changed their diapers too!" Raph quipped.
Attila turned to Kagome, shooting out his long tongue like a bullwhip. Kagome dodged, grabbing the tongue before Attila could retract it.
"Sorry, Froggy. First date." she quipped. "No tongue!"
With that, she yanked Attila forward before decking him. Rasputin charged at Hisako, who casually vaulted over him.
"Always liked playing leapfrog." she remarked, before whirling around and kicking him in the face. Leo crossed weapons with Genghis.
"Please, stand down!" he pleaded. "We're not the bad guys here! If we wanted it, you'd all be dead already!"
"I'd like to see you try, shellback." Genghis retorted.
"...Maybe they aren't."
Everyone turned to Napoleon, who was looking uncertain.
"They... really don't seem like the ultimate evil Karai described them as." he pointed out.
"It's a trick, you idiot!" Karai shouted, pointing to Hisako. "It's the work of the psychic I told you about! She's messing with your head! Her mind control will fry your brain!"
"What?!" Hisako objected. "No, I-!"
But she didn't get to finish before Rasputin grabbed a large rock and bashed her in the head with it. Hisako dropped, unconscious before she hit the ground. Seeing this, Raph saw red, and he whirled on Rasputin, tackling him to the ground.
"How DARE YOU?!" he bellowed, grabbing the very rock Rasputin had hit Hisako with.
Rasputin looked up in fear as Raph prepared to bring it down on his head, but Leo darted in and grabbed his wrist.
"Don't." he said firmly.
"Why not?" Raph demanded. "He hurt Hisako!"
"Then this is our chance to be better than them." Leo told him.
After a few tense minutes, Raph managed to calm himself and backed off. Rasputin looked up at him in surprise, as did the other frogs.
"I'm not one of the bad guys here." Raph informed him. "Otherwise, I would have smashed your head in."
Rasputin looked genuinely conflicted, and thought over his options.
"Rasputin!" Karai shouted, glaring at him. "What are you waiting for?! He gave you an opening! KILL him already!"
At that moment, Jeanne's tongue hit Leo and Raph in the back of the neck, knocking them down.
"Get up, Rasputin!" she ordered. "Before they squish you!"
"But they spared me. And they're vulnerable." Rasputin objected. "There's no honor in it."
"They tried to kill you!" Attila shouted, kicking Donnie aside and running over to him.
"But they didn't!" Rasputin pointed out. "He could have done it, but he stopped!"
"The psychic is messing with your head!" Karai insisted, pointing at Hisako, who was in the water nursing a large bump.
"Oh, yeah." Hisako said sarcastically as she slowly sat up. "My head's split open, I've got a bump the size of the Empire State Building on my head, and I'm messing with the frogs' minds."
"They're not acting anything like the monsters you claimed they are. And now you're demanding I kill them while they're unable to defend themselves." Rasputin went on, glaring at Karai. "How can you claim to be good if you are willing to do such brutal, immoral acts?"
"You wanna know why?" Karai demanded. "Because these monsters took everything from me! Their sensei killed my mother! They deserve no mercy!"
The frogs pondered that information for several minutes, then Napoleon broke the silence.
"So what?" he asked. "Even if that is true, your beef should be with their sensei, not them. Why should the kids suffer for the parents' actions?"
Karai scowled, drawing her tanto. "Either you do what I say, or you die WITH THEM!"
The frogs all gasped in shock, before angrily glaring at her and walking away.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Karai shouted. "Get back here, you slimy cowards!"
Vee burst out laughing at that, wiping her eyes.
"Wow." she remarked. "You sure have a way with people, Karai."
"Well, this is the second time you fucked up making mutants, Karai." Raph said with a smirk. "When Daddy gets home... wish I could see what he's gonna do to you."
"This isn't over, freaks!" Karai shouted before throwing a smoke bomb to a nearby tree branch, shrouding her escape.
"'This isn't over, freaks'," Mikey mimicked. "Sheesh, she needs a better exit line."
Genghis turned to Leo, sighing.
"We owe you an apology." he admitted. "We picked a fight with you over nothing."
Rasputin looked at Hisako with remorse. "I'm sorry."
"It's cool." Hisako replied, shaking her head. "Just... need to wait for the world to stop spinning."
"As soon as we get home, we're having April take a look at that bump." Kagome said.
Leo held out a hand to Genghis, who shook it.
"So, what're you gonna do now?" he asked.
"Probably stay here in the swamp, away from prying eyes." Attila told him. "It's all we've ever really known."
"Excuse me." Napoleon cut in. "I gotta know. What Karai said about your sensei… is it true?"
"No." Leo shook his head. "The man she calls her father is the one who did it; he kidnapped her and lied to her her entire life. Believe it or not, she's as much a victim as we are."
"A psychotic, bitchy victim, but yeah." Raph deadpanned.
"Well, nobody's perfect." Mikey added.
In the lair, Erika examined Hisako as Donnie continued to test the retro-mutagen. After yet another failure, he pounded the desktop with his fist.
"Damn it!" he cursed. "All those tests, and NOTHING!"
Erika came in, dropping a bloody cloth from Hisako's head on his desk.
"I need more gauze." she told him.
Donnie handed a roll over. "How is she?"
"Large bump, but thankfully, only a mild concussion." Erika informed him. "The last thing she needs is more brain damage."
"I can hear you, y'know!" Hisako shouted from the living room.
"I've tried everything I can think of for the retro-mutagen, and still no success." Donnie grumbled. "This blows. If only more people could be immune to mutagen like Hisako."
As soon as those words were out of his mouth, Donnie's eyes widened in realization. He looked down at the bloody cloth Erika had brought in.
"Wait…" he said aloud. "That's it!"
He hurried out to Hisako, who was nursing her bump with an ice pack.
"Hisako, I hate to ask, but I need a blood sample." he told her.
Hisako cringed, but rolled up her sleeve and looked away. Donnie did his best to ignore the puncture scars as he gently poked a needle into her arm and drew the blood he needed.
"Why didn't I think of this before?" he remarked. "Hisako's immune to mutagen... her blood must be the key!"
Going back into his lab, Donnie dripped Hisako's blood into the retro-mutagen mixture he was working on, and then pricked his finger, dripping his own blood onto a Petri dish. Afterwards, he placed a few drops of the retro-mutagen into the blood sample, and examined it under a microscope.
Under the scope, the blood cells shifted back and forth for a few moments, even changing into non-mutated, normal turtle cells for a moment or two… before shifting back.
"Blast it…" Donnie muttered, rubbing his eyes. "It almost worked, but something's still missing. What could it be?"
Erika snapped her fingers in realization.
"Wait…" she began. "Kurtzman said that April's DNA is the key to perfecting Krang's mutagen, and she was infused with Hisako's DNA and powers. You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"April's blood must be the key!" Donnie exclaimed. "It's worth a try. We just might save Sydney and the others yet."
Author's Note:
The Punk Frogs here are an amalgamation. They use the 2012 designs, but the 1987 origin. Jeanne de Frog was introduced to have a counterpart to Vee, and is copyright to me. Thank you to Author of the Insane for helping me with the name.
And at long last, Donnie's getting close to cracking the retro-mutagen! Wooo!
Please R&R. Until next time!