I own neither the 2003 Fast Forward season Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles nor the characters of Moo Mesa, but I also make no money from writing about them here, so please don't sue and just enjoy.

Leo folded his arms over his plastron. On the one hand, he really wanted to keep things peaceful. Splinter was still out of commission, and they had no idea what was going on outside the dojo and this facade it had created to keep them busy. On the other, there was every reason to believe this "Masked Bull" was asking them to do a dishonorable deed. On a third hand, nothing really mattered here, did it, except keeping himself as his family safe? It was all fake. These really weren't heroes and bad guys, but programs that probably mattered less than a Saturday morning cartoon.

Leo inwardly shook his head, actually keeping it still. What mattered was holding out until Donnie solved the problem outside and came back with Cody to let them out of here. He kept his gaze meeting the Masked Bull's as he asked, "Can we think about it a while first?"

Not only the bar patrons, but his own brothers looked at him and went "Wha …"

Leo turned a glare on Raph and Mikey. He could feel Moo glaring at the back of his skull as he did. The Masked Bull's low, smooth voice replied, "Not for very long."

Leo glanced at Splinter still in the chair. "Can I carry my father upstairs first? I don't want him to get caught in any crossfire ..."

Now the smooth, deep, menacing voice went "Sure … Carry your pa upstairs then come down and earn some gold."

Leo walked over on "almost" silent feet. After all, everyone was staring at him anyway, and he needn't let out more ninja secrets before them. Then he knelt and picked his father up. He glanced back at the masked bull's wide eyes staring at him through the holes in the draping mask. Leo's grim, straight-lined mouth didn't change expressions at the sight. He turned away and headed up the stairsteps on slightly more silent, however. Raph followed muttering, "Leo, what are you thinking?'

Mikey also followed whisper-yelling, "Yeah, we can't join the bad-guys!"

Leo shushed them briefly and kept going up the stairs. Upon reaching the second floor, he turned and walked past one room. He'd noted from the corner of his eye it had an open window, but no bed visible through the doorway. The next open door did reveal a bed. He entered it and placed his father on the white, simple quilt spread on it before turning to Raph and saying, "Close the door."

Raphael stood arms crossed over his chest and reached backward with one foot to slam the square of wood with a brass nod into place. Mikey stood on the other side of the now filled doorframe hands on hips and about the darkest glare Mikey ever did get on his face. "Well?"

Leo looked from his father back to his brothers. His own glare was milder. "Well, what? We wait here for Donnie and Cody to get back. It's only a hologram guys. It's not worth any of us getting hurt over as long as we can hold out without fighting."

Raph snorted "And they just let us do that downstairs? They'll come up to 'check on us' and our loyalty any minute. The longer we stay up here the unhappier both sides will get."

Leo looked back over his shoulder a laxer look on his face and exhaustion in his voice, though not from the few fights they'd had that day. "What did you want me to do Raph? Get in a fight with Master Splinter down, when it's not necessary?" He turned his stare back on his father.

Raph raised an eyebrow. "We got him up here now. If one of us stays with him, the other two can fight at least."

Leo looked over his shoulder. "Raph, it isn't real."

Raph jabbed a thumb at himself. "But 'I'm' gonna be real ashamed if we just stay up here hiding especially since we were just trying to convince those cows with badges, we were their friends."

Leo bowed his head and sighed.

. . .

The Masked bull kept his eyes on Moo, especially the Marshall's dominant gun-hand, but his ears were cocked and waiting to hear the door already slammed shut above him to open again. It made sense. Even an outlaw might want to take care of his injured pa, but how long could that take?

He had three lawcows and who knew how many law-abiding saloon patrons staring him down and snorting even though he had the drop on them. Yeah, a few of his fellow escapees were scattered among em and all had a beef against Moo and his deputies, but the law-cows had slipped out of a lot of his and their traps before. Boothill and Saddlesore being outside also didn't make him feel much better either.

Boothill had peaked his interest by telling him of three masked 'turtles,' of all things, standing without a scratch in a Saloon where Cowlorado and his own brother were picking themselves up off the floor. Boothill had even said he'd seen no guns in the turtles' hands. Marshall Moo had been acting somewhat suspicion of them too the vulture had said.

He and his brother had been waiten for a good opportunity to break out with a few others itching to get Marshall Moo and his deputies. Now was their chance especially with new help in the mix. If he could get rid of the Marshall and his deputies for good, maybe the mayor of Cowtown could make something up to get him declared officially innocent of their joint crimes and reinstate him as Sheriff. The only reason he'd kept his mouth shut about the mayor's involvement, was the chance he'd do something like that for him later, and boy would he remind his old boss of that now he was out.

Without the other lawcows, things would be cake for both of them. Oh, maybe the two ladies Cowlamity Jane, and Miss Lilly would kick up some fuss along with those Code of the West abiding kids, but without Moo, Dakota, and Cowlorado all the most annoying law-abiding citizens might just sell out and move away. My, wouldn't that open up a lot of prime land? It was all too good an opportunity to pass up. If only those turtles would come back down and be all he hoped.

Boothill slipped through the doors behind him came up and tapped him on the back, "Um, sir, where do you think those three are?"

"How should I know? You told me about them."

Saddlesore the humanoid scorpion with squinty eyes in a flat-brimmed dusty black hat, not nearly as dangerous or frightening as his description implied, though he tried, came in after Boothill. He whisper-yelled. "We got the drop on them! Why don't we just take care of them ourselves?!"

Boothill's voice lightened as he nodded. "Yeah, then we could keep all the gold for ourselves as well!"

The Mask Bull veiled the anger in his voice with much less care than he had his face. "Well, that worked out well the 'first' 200 times we tried it, didn't it? No, we're going to wait for the new help."

A shiny piece of metal flew out of nowhere and knocked the gun aside letting Moo jump forward and collide with his foe. Saddlesore and Boothill jumped about a foot in the air and screamed. Cowlorado yippee-i-ki-yayed while throwing a lasso around them. The Scorpion and Boothill turned to run dragging the still cheering spotted cow at the end of the rope. Dakota grabbed the rope as it went by himself and pulled them up short. The buffalo from the card game drew a gun and pointed it at the two deputies.

"Cowabunga!" The Buffalo turned in time to see Michelangelo sliding off the banister, through the air and into him. Standing atop him, Mikey raised his arms, clenched his hands together, and shook them in victory.

A red bull in a green vest ran out from where he'd been helping the blue bull with the orange gloves get free of the wall the latter had crashed through. Together, they charged Dakota and Cowlorado still holding the rope. As the deputies turned to see this, Leonardo and Raphael jumped from the "second" floor on top of the charging cows taking them down so their faces collided with the first.

Meanwhile, Moo had unmasked the masked bull showing a nearly identical face to that of the red bull underneath Raphael. Moo pulled this other red bull up by the collar of his shirt, "Well, if it isn't the old sheriff of our beloved town." He gave the other bull a bit of a shake before continuing, "You're going back to federal prison along with the rest of these yahoos!"

As the mule in the ten-gallon hat charged both Leo and Raph, causing the turtles to turn around atop their own prisoners, Moo turned toward them, pulled his own gun, and shot two gold stars badges out that ricocheted off the back wall and collided with the mule's head underneath his big hat. The claim-jumper swayed on his hooves and collapsed. Moo twirled his gun and holstered it as the three turtles gave him grateful smiles. Folding his humanoid arms over his chest, Moo smiled back.

What do you think?

God bless

ScribeofHeroes