Chapter 8: The Helicarrier Part 1
Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey flew in Tony Stark's private Gulfstream jet through the clouds over New York City. After their skirmish in Stark Tower, Tony had gotten changed into a suit and loaded Tigerclaw and M.O.D.O.K. into his jet. The two had been cuffed with special patented Stark Industries energy cuffs that would take any movement they used to try and escape and channel it into the cuffs, only tightening their bonds. So far, the two villains were still out cold, slumped in the back seats of the jet and kept under the watchful eye of the new and improved Metalhead.
Leo sat next to a window, staring out at the passing clouds. Raph and Donnie experimented with their remote-control chairs by pushing buttons on the armrests. Mikey was busy raiding the plane's minibar.
"Aww, man," Mikey said. "No pizza anywhere." He plopped down in a chair, bummed.
"So sorry," said Tony Stark, walking in from the cockpit in a white tuxedo with a red rose pinned to the lapel. "Where are my manners?" He clapped his hands twice, and instantly three personal flight attendants walked in, carrying covered trays. They each did a double take at the sight of the turtles.
"Never mind how they look, girls," Tony said. "Pizza's on the menu."
At this each flight attendant uncovered her tray, revealing three choices of pizza: cheese, pepperoni and combo. The turtles' mouths began watering instantly.
"Dude!" Mikey cried. "He's got his own pizza deliverers! Sweet!"
They chowed down on pizza, although Tony declined to eat any. He didn't want his suit to get messed up. Instead, he poured himself some liquor from the plane's minibar.
Suddenly Leo choked on his pizza. "Is that . . . what I think it is?" he asked, staring out the window. The other turtles quickly moved to press their faces to the glass and see this sight.
What they saw took their breath away. A giant airship, modeled something after the aircraft carriers of the Navy. Except this one was using four large propeller turbines to hover high in the air, above the cloud level. Donnie dropped his pizza. "A feat of technology to behold," he breathed.
"That's the Helicarrier," said Tony, taking a sip of his drink. "Pretty big, isn't she? Headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D., a government organization that tries to keep the world at peace. Technically, they're my boss, thanks to the Sokovia Accords."
Their jet circled the Helicarrier twice before coming in to land. It taxied down the airstrip and screeched to a halt.
The turtles were a little nervous about stepping outside. They'd never been out in public before, and it seemed as though Splinter would advise them to be more secretive. "Hey, Mr. Stark," said Leo. "Do you think we could just . . . you know . . . wait here until you get back?"
"Please," said Tony. "For the umpteenth time, call me Tony. And no, of course you can't. You guys are the stars of the show, second to me, of course. I'm always the star."
But they didn't have to argue. A loud voice boomed over a bullhorn outside the plane. "This is Agent Maria Hill of S.H.I.E.L.D. You have been identified as security risks and will be treated as such. Please step out of the jet with your hands above your heads."
The turtles freaked out. The sight of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents outside, circling the plane with automatic rifles in their hands, did nothing to steady their nerves. "Seems like a misunderstanding," said Tony. He put down his drink. "I'll handle this."
He stepped out of the plane, arms raised in case any of the guards got triggerhappy. "Whoa, whoa, boys!" he said. "It's me! Tony Stark! And by the way, if you put bullet holes in my jet, I will personally sue each and every one of you."
"Mr. Stark," a voice called, "are you aware that you have brought four persons onto a top-secret government facility without the proper clearance?"
Tony walked down the boarding ramp and said something back, but the turtles couldn't hear it. Raph punched a fist into his palm. "Stark double-crossed us," he said. "Donnie, this is all your fault."
"Calm down, Raph," said Donnie. "Tony knows what he's doing. Besides, they have a right to be wary. They know nothing about us."
Just then, Tony poked his head through the doorway of the plane. "Hey, guys, it's all right," he said. "You can come out now."
The turtles cautiously stepped out of the plane and into the sunlight. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents lowered their rifles. A woman stepped forward, wearing a navy blue tactical suit and carrying a bullhorn. "Agent Maria Hill of S.H.I.E.L.D.," she said, extending a hand to Leo. "Welcome aboard."
"The pleasure is all ours," Leo said, shaking Hill's hand.
"Well, now that all the hellos have been said," said Tony, "Maria, you'll find two villains on board who should definitely be put into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody as soon as possible."
"That's for Director Fury to decide," Hill replied. Nonetheless, she signaled to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, who moved onto the jet and came out carrying Tigerclaw and M.O.D.O.K.
"Come with me," Hill said. "Director Fury wants to see all of you."
They walked off towards the bridge, and Donnie, on an afterthought, motioned for Metalhead to follow them.
The turtles entered the bridge of the Helicarrier. It was an awe-inspiring sight, even for beings who had been to Dimension X and back. Numerous flight controllers sat at control stations, monitoring vitals of the Helicarrier as well as ongoing developments around the world. Ahead of them was a large paned window spanning the entire front of the bridge. At the center of the room, with two computer monitors on each side, stood S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director, Nick Fury. He turned to face them.
"Mr. Stark," he said. "Only you would try to pull something like this." He gestured at the turtles. "You do understand, of course, that these friends of yours need to be cleared by the government before you bring them onto the Helicarrier? Not to mention registered as heroes."
"Hey," said Tony with a maddening shrug, "is everyone overlooking the two prisoners I also brought on board?"
Fury shook his head. "Hill, take Stark's friends to the labs and keep them there. I'm going to have a talk with Mr. Stark."
"This way, please," said Hill, leading the turtles and Metalhead off a corridor. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents they passed hardly gave them a second glance, as if they were used to this sort of thing.
They entered a large white room with various tables, and a window that spanned one of the walls. Through the window they saw the hangar bay doors of the Helicarrier, and beyond that was nothing but blue sky. On the tables lay a variety of different projects and pieces of technology.
"Wait here, please," said Hill. "Hope you'll be comfortable. And, please, don't touch anything." She stepped out, and the door slid shut. Raph went over and tried to open it, but nothing happened. He banged in frustration on the door with his fists. "Please stop banging on the door," they heard Hill call through the door.
Raph sat down in a chair and crossed his arms. "We're as good as prisoners, guys," he said.
Mikey laughed at his brother. "Dude, Leo," he snickered, "who do you think would win in an Angry-Off between Raph and that eyepatch guy?"
Raph snarled and leaped at Mikey, tackling him and drumming his fists repeatedly on the youngest turtle's head. "Take it back!" he yelled. "Take it back!"
"Okay, okay, dude, chill!" Mikey squealed. "Ow! Stop it!"
Some sort of large, hideous creature sat in the launch bay of a gunship. He stood on his hind legs like a man, but looked like a rhinoceros. He wore triple-spiked shoulder pads and a yellow tank top, brown bandoliers, and camouflage pants. His large, gray hands sported golden knuckle dusters that had somehow fused onto the backs of his hands. The creature checked its weapon for the umpteenth time, an enormous Gatling-style machine gun with a large rotating barrel, complete with a large jet-black underslung ammunition case and two handles.
"Looky here, Rocky, this place'll be crawling with cops, but be careful where you point that thing," said the mutant that sat next to him. This mutant was a thin, man/warthog mix, wearing a purple-striped futuristic suit that looked a little like something out of the film Tron. His warthog tusks were uneven, and the hair on his head was worn in a purple-dyed Mohawk. A purple visor covered his eyes.
Ivan Steranko, aka Rocksteady, the mutant rhinoceros, glared around his horn at his comrade, the warthog mutant Bebop. "What are you saying, Zeck, old comrade?" he said in a thickly-accented voice tinged with Russian. "You don't trust me?"
"Not at all, Big S, not at all," Bebop said hastily, running his fingers over his techy suit. "I'm just saying that as long as we're on that flying rattletrap, I'd kinda like it to stay in the air, get me?"
Rocksteady tilted his head backwards in a knowing fashion. "Ohh, I am getting the idea," he said slowly. "We wait until after we save Tigerclaw to blow up flying aircraft carrier!" He hefted his minigun in anticipation.
"Now you're talking!" said Bebop. He stood up and moved over towards the ship's bay doors, passing by about twelve rough-looking mercenaries. They were all ex-convicts, armed to the teeth with automatic weapons. Once at the bay door, Bebop turned to face them.
"Now listen up. We're gonna have to move fast. Once we get down there, just follow me and Rocksteady over there, and you'll be fine." As he spoke, the bay door slid downward, making a short ramp to run and jump onto the Helicarrier.
Bebop activated a mechanism in his shoes, that spit a purple laser wire out onto the Helicarrier. It didn't look like it could support his weight, but support him it did as he jumped onto the wire and slid down it onto the deck of the Helicarrier. "It's go time, amigos!" he said.
Two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents on deck were rather startled by Bebop's sudden appearance. They opened fire on him with their rifles, shouting, "Halt!"
Bebop's fighting style, a mixture of martial arts and dance moves, enabled him to dodge the streams of bullets with ease. "Wee-hee!" he said, spinning to fire small short blasts of purple energy from his belt. The blasts struck the agents, and they collapsed.
It was at this moment that Rocksteady leaped downward from the gunship, roaring something that no one understood and spraying bullets everywhere from his Gatling gun. Bebop squeaked and dove for cover as Rocksteady sprayed the area with bullets. After about five seconds, he realized he wasn't hitting anything, and stopped. The twelve mercenaries hit the deck alongside him, and the gunship flew off.
"Okay, Rocky old boy, lead the way," said Bebop. "I'll be right behind you!"