Alien Wars
"And what have you done to my friend?"
Raphael's fury knew no bounds. This was the last straw. How could the Kraang - and a minion at that, not even Kraang Subprime - dare to come back there after what had happened?
Both his brother and his best friend were missing. There would be no mercy. Raphael lashed out, ready to pin his enemy to the ground…
The Kraang moved, and if he wasn't exactly graceful he was efficient. Raphael couldn't do anything as his arm was grabbed and he was sent flying across the basement.
"Your manners are lacking, mutant," the Kraang dared to remark.
The turtle saw his family take stances to fight back as the Kraang raised his arms in a gesture of peace. "I mean you no harm."
"Liar!" Raphael had picked himself up and was upon the Kraang again. This time he would not underestimate the enemy. This time he would…
The Kraang moved out of his way and tried to use his momentum to trip him. It was a clumsy trap, and Raphael had no problem avoiding it…
Before he had time to register what was happening, he was crashing against the wall. He repressed a grimace. His shoulder was still reminding him that no so long ago it had been sliced open.
It was barely a relief when he was joined against said wall by his brothers, showing that they had tried their luck with no better results.
"I repeat, I mean you no harm." The Kraang sounded slightly exasperated. "If you give me a chance to explain myself, I'm certain that we will sort out this misunderstanding."
"Like I'll ever trust a Kraang," Raphael spat as he stood up once more, feeling a little wobbly.
"He's telling the truth," April said, fingers pressing against her temples. "I can feel he's different."
Raphael shook his head, denying her words. He felt Leonardo's hand on his shoulder and shrugged it off.
"I don't believe it!" he shouted.
"Raphael, enough," Splinter said softly.
Raphael stopped, wincing. He took several deep breathes as his reason caught up with him. That Kraang did sound different, if only because he spoke English and not Kraanglish. And he wasn't aggressive in the slightest, considering that Raphael had attacked first.
His father addressed the Kraang. "We're listening."
The Kraang bowed his robotic head. "Thank you. I'll be short. My name is Bishop and I'm not a Kraang, I'm a Utrom. There are very few of us left and the Kraang, under Kraang Prime's command, are trying to destroy us. I was hoping to find there an old ship we could have used in our war."
"You're too late," April said. "We think Kraang Subprime took it."
"He also kidnapped two members of our team," Leonardo added, his voice tense.
Bishop clenched his fists, the first true sign of anger Raphael saw him display.
"Subprime. I shouldn't be surprised."
"So you know the guy?" Raphael spun his sai. "You're what, friends maybe?"
"No. We're sworn enemies."
April frowned. "And? You're not telling us everything."
Raphael refrained from telling that it was to be expected. Kraang or not, this alien would have to go a long way before he would be ready to trust him.
Bishop sighed. "You're very perceptive, human. Again, I shouldn't be surprised. Yes, Kraang Subprime was once a brother in arms. We Utroms looked up to him, our Knight. We believed that he deserved it in body and in heart." Bishop bowed his head in sorrow. "We were wrong. His betrayal was a harsh blow for all of us."
"A knight?" Raphael snorted. That word simply didn't apply to Irma.
"That guy has no honor," Leonardo added, continuing Raph's sentence.
Bishop closed his eyes briefly, as if the truth of these words pained him. "I must agree with you, mutant. Most of our brethren were enslaved by Kraang Prime, but Subprime made his own choice."
"Enslaved?" April asked softly.
Bishop nodded. "Kraang Prime was once one of our scientists. She discovered mutagen and used it on herself. It both developed her telepathic abilities and drove her crazy."
"These dictators." Michelangelo nodded gravely. "Power corrupts them all."
Raphael lifted an eye ridge at that statement coming from his brother's mouth. But he had to admit that Michelangelo was right.
"Why take this ship now?" Leonardo suddenly asked. "It has been in this basement for years."
"You're correct." Bishop intertwined his fingers. "It is, in fact, thanks to you. After their defeat at taking over the Earth, the Kraang are weakened. It is the perfect time to try our boldest move yet. We Utroms intend to free the Kraang from their slavery."
"Now look at that," Raphael whispered. "Turns out we're famous, uh?"
If the situation hadn't been so dire, it would have pleased him.
"How do you intend to free them?" April had taken a step forwards, captivated by Bishop's story.
"We made a substance that can cut off the telepathic link between Kraang Prime and the rest of the Kraang. We saw how you healed your fellow humans, even though you had so few combatants. We intend to do the same."
"A substance?" Splinter had been mostly quiet until then, but now he was frowning.
Something twisted in Raphael's stomach.
"Yes. It has been in the making for decades, but Subprime stole our supply and..."
"It's you! You made that thing!"
It took both Leonardo and Michelangelo to prevent Raphael from jumping down Bishop's throat for the third time.
"Irma gave it to Donnie," Raphael went on, unshed tears in his eyes. "It almost killed him!"
"Irma?" Bishop raised an eyebrow.
"Kraang Subprime's name on Earth," Leonardo explained, his tone stiff. "Did you really make it?"
Bishop frowned. "Subprime must have altered it. It wasn't meant to harm."
"Have you any idea where he might be now? Like we told you, he has our brother and our friend."
Raphael didn't miss Leonardo's clenched fists, even though his brother's voice was perfectly controlled. He waited, hanging on the Utrom's every word.
He was utterly disappointed.
"No. Subprime could be anywhere." Bishop must have realized that they had been crushed by his words, because he quickly went on. "But maybe my fellow Utroms will have information. I'll ask them."
"We're coming with you," Leonardo said before Raphael could.
Bishop tilted his head. "Are you certain? You'll land in the middle of a war."
"All the more reason to be there." Leonardo nodded fiercely. "Kraang Subprime might be taking the ship to this war as we speak, with Donnie and Casey on board."
Raphael shivered as another thought occurred to him. They knew from Michelangelo's experience in Dimension X that time elapsed differently there. What if Donatello and Casey were already in the middle of said war? What if they were already...
"We need to hurry!" he exclaimed, not daring to end this particular thought. "Maybe they've already been in there for weeks!"
The upset exclamations of his family told him that they hadn't thought of this yet. But Bishop didn't seem overly concerned.
"I'm able to control that parameter," he answered. "We'll enter Dimension X right after I left it. Who's coming with me?"
Everybody, including Splinter, stepped forward.
Bishop took a deep breath. "So be it."
Taking a device from his pocket, he pushed a button and a light blue portal appeared in the basement.
One by one, they disappeared through the Utrom's portal.
Neither Donatello nor Casey had talked much after Kraang Subprime's revelation. The ship was still flying through Dimension X, with no headquarters in sight.
The only positive point was that Donatello had managed to partially repair the ship. The freeze functionality was now fully operational, and they had used it on Kraang Subprime. It had at least stopped him from teasing and mocking them, although they had learned more about the extent of his craziness - and in particular about the explosion of the turtles' lair. Apparently the bomb so easily triggered by Michelangelo had been there just in case, but as Kraang Subprime put it, 'Human technology wasn't reliable.'
Now Donatello had done everything he could. They would have to wait until the ship arrived at its destination, and take steps from there.
It was time to address the elephant in the room.
"What are we going to tell April?"
Casey didn't answer immediately. Donatello knew that he was as upset as he was about this - not only had a woman been murdered, but that woman was the long-lost mother of the girl they both loved.
Casey might very well be his rival, he was also the only person who truly understood how terrifying the prospect of hurting April was to Donatello - even if it was only as the bearer of bad news.
"If I were her, I would want to know," Casey finally whispered.
Donatello's shoulders sagged. "Yes. I guess I would want it too. I just... I suppose I don't want to be the one telling her that her mother is dead."
Casey hesitantly put his hand on Donatello's arm. "We could tell her together."
Donatello smiled at Casey, grateful for the offer.
"I can't believe that slimy alien is so proud of being a murderer," Casey added, tilting his head towards the frozen shape of Kraang Subprime.
"Yes." Donatello came closer to the chamber. "I don't think he'll ever stop. But he won't catch us unawares again."
Casey looked grimly at the ship's control panel. "What are we going to do when this thing finally arrives where it's supposed to arrive?"
Donatello threw his arms up. "You mean, when we land in the middle of the Kraang headquarters? Well, I hope they still have portals to the Earth. Or we'll be stuck together for a very long time."
Casey snorted. "And I don't want that, that's for sure."
Donatello nudged Casey, who nudged him back, and soon they were caught in a nudging contest.
They were rudely interrupted by a pink light blinking and the unmistakable sound of a Kraangdroid voice.
"Kraang, identify yourself to Kraang."
Both teenagers turned to look at the screen. The ship was coming closer to the biggest Dimension X planet they had ever seen.
"The Kraang headquarters," Donatello whispered.
"If Kraang doesn't identify himself as Kraang, Kraang will have to destroy Kraang's ship. Kraang is warning Kraang."
Donatello hurried to the control panel and cleared his throat before pressing a button. He needed to make his best impression of an alien robotic voice. Thanks to Michelangelo, he had some practice. "Kraang speaking. I'm with Kraang. We're back from a mission for Kraang Subprime."
"Kraang is glad to hear Kraang is Kraang. Kraang has come back just in time. Kraang must hurry to join Kraang!"
Donatello didn't dare to ask what they had come back just in time for and ended the communication. He exchanged a relieved glance with Casey. At least they weren't going to be destroyed just like this.
"So, what's the plan, Donnie?" Casey asked.
Donatello took his time to answer. The reasonable path would have been to hide and wait for a good opportunity to use a portal.
On the other hand…
He glanced at Kraang Subprime, thinking fast.
On the other end, being into the heart of the Kraang's territory was a unique opportunity. With the right strategy and a drop of improvisation, maybe they could ensure that the Kraang wouldn't be able to abduct and kill people for a very, very long time.
Having made his decision, Donatello smirked. "If I told you that I'm going to undertake a very dangerous and very stupid mission, what would you say, Casey?"
Casey grinned and spun the robotic leg he was using as a temporary hockey stick.
"I would say that no mission is too dangerous or stupid for Casey Jones."
"It'll be just the two of us. We can't expect any back-up." Donatello extended his hand towards Casey.
The human shook it ceremoniously.
"For April," he whispered.
"For April."
