I must be real sucky at math. Remember how I said Dead of Night would finish with a grand total of twenty-five chapters? I honestly meant twenty-four. I've been trying to add that extra chapter, but if I do, it'll shorten up all the others, and I don't wanna do that.
So, let's just hurry up and get it done. Hey, did you notice? It's almost been a full year since I started this story! My first baby… they grow up so fast.
Okay, I need to stop being corny.
Hope ya like!
Disclaimer: Adult rated TMNT, for extreme violence. Hmm… I see! That's why I don't own them!
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Not daring to turn his back on Stockman, Mikey told the children to get back into the hallway. It would not be a good idea to put them in harm's way when they'd just gotten out of it.
The orange-clad turtle watched as the Slayer's right hand seemed to pull a ball of fire out of nowhere. He held it loosely, like a regular child with a baseball, then threw it at Stockman.
The scientist didn't have a catcher's mitt, but he didn't care. Knowing that he, like many of their other enemies, wouldn't go down so easily, Mikey actually wished it would hit him in one of those spots every man dreaded.
That idea was quickly dismissed when he remembered that the only natural part left of Baxter Stockman was his brain.
At the last second, the robot was able to dodge the fireball. He was about to say something, most likely about how smart he was, when the five of them moved in.
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Despite the fact that he and Raph had got beaten by this child earlier, Leo found that his Ninjitsu skills still kept up with the Slayer's advanced abilities. And when combined, they made a good pair.
The Slayer turned invisible. Though keeping aware for him, Stockman turned his attention to the foes he could see. He pulled out the tiny, electric stun gun. Leo hated that thing.
More aware than he'd been in a while, Leo moved in much faster than the turtle of The Tortoise and the Hare, cutting the little gun in two.
Stockman barely had time to take in the loss before Raph charged in with a yell, kicking the scientist square in the chest and knocking him back a bit. Once he was out of the way, the window to the right broke itself apart, hurling into him.
Probably fearing the little shards would enter his circuits, Stockman blocked the attack with his forearm.
"Slayer…" He said, looking around, "I won't kill you unless you force me to. Agent Bishop doesn't even have to know about this escapade-"
A fireball was thrown in the direction of Stockman's holographic face as a response.
Immediately turning his attention to it, Stockman frowned. "Fine. If that's the way it has to be…"
So focused on the Slayer, the turtles were able to get a few good shots in. Don nearly tripped him with his staff, but Stockman grabbed on to a corner of the wall to prevent his fall.
With blades and weapons of solid oak, they backed him up in a corner. Mostly, they were blocking, but Leo knew that would probably change.
It did when Stockman tried to use his arm as a club to hit Mikey. Raph dug his sai into the robot's hand then, tearing out a few pieces of it.
And then a force passed them all, pushing Stockman up against the wall, keeping him there.
The Slayer became visible once more.
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Barely even breathing heavily, the Slayer held Stockman in place, pinned to the wall. As strong as his robotic body was, the Slayer was able to keep him there.
Even if it was using every ounce of his strength. God, he could feel every muscle in his body straining. But it didn't matter.
He has been waiting, dreaming of this moment for a long time. He'd fought for it; been denied it. But now he had it.
Closest to him, he could see Donatello. He opened a link between them. Talk for me…
For a moment, the purple-clad turtle looked confused, but he quickly figured out what he meant, nodding his understanding.
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Donny moved behind the Slayer, in view of Stockman. After telling the scientist what was going on, as well as everyone else around them, he listened for what he was going to say.
"For months," he began for the boy, "nearly a year now, I've been transformed into this thing before you. You took me off the streets, but to a place worse than they ever were." There was a pause. "You cut me open more times than I can remember; put all kinds of things into my body. You shot me; electrocuted me; poisoned me, all in the name of science. You took my tongue." The Slayer nodded his hands, pointing out the metal on his body before breaking a security camera off the wall and crumbling it up like a piece of paper with his telekinesis. "You took my humanity."
The Slayer cocked his head, never looking at Donny; keeping his gaze on Stockman. Don listened to the rest of the words. "Your soldier is rebelling, Stockman. And you're the one who's gonna pay for it."
Don, along with everyone else watching this, saw the electricity that started out in the Slayer's hand. He was a smart kid; an electric current running through Stockman's metal body should fry his brain.
Stockman recognized this as well. The holographic image of his head turned away as the voltage began to run down his creation's hand.
But then, the electricity stopped, right as it was about to reach his fingers. He heard the Slayer in his head. I have one more thing to tell him…
Nodding, Donny translated the boy's question. "What was my name?" The Slayer leaned in really close to Stockman now. "Before you turned me into the Slayer, who was I? Did you even know my name?"
His head leaning away from them, Stockman raised the hologram a little bit forward. "I-I…" the scientist trailed off in fear.
But then he smiled.
Immediately, Donny knew he was up to something, as did his brothers, who moved forward. Don tried to shout out something, but it was too late.
Like lightning, a slot opened in Stockman's robotic arm, a hypodermic needle popping out, held by a tiny metal hand. It stuck itself into the Slayer's neck, in the spot where the skin of his neck could be seen, emptying its contents into him.
The second it started, the boy was trying to move away, but then he gagged. Don saw a blue light appear by the syringe. It faded away without doing anything.
The four of them then moved in, ready to get it out of him, but a voice went off in Don's head. He was sure his brothers heard the same thing.
Don't… I just wanna die…So they stopped. Then the Slayer spoke again.
Not that I deserve it, but could you get a hit or two in for me…?Don didn't know about the rest of his brothers, but he was almost sure that they're answers were around the same lines. Yes.
Blood was pouring out of the Slayer's moth and nose now, finding ways through his metal mask. When the syringe was empty, before Stockman could even take it out, he fell to the ground.
Straightening his robotic body, Stockman looked at him. "You, child, were no one in your previous life. Had you stayed with me, you would've become the first of the greatest species this earth has seen. But now, you're nothing more than a stepping stone."
Stockman looked up, kicking the Slayer aside and out of their way. "He could've gone far. It's a shame. But my life is, after all, more important. Had I chosen to keep him alive, he would've undoubtedly tried to terminate me again. His life or mine." He shrugged his robotic shoulders. "Concentrated dose of digitoxin. Even for a genetically advanced human, it works every time."
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Watching every detail of the fight progress, making sure her friends, including Raph, didn't get hurt, Sil saw the battle go from good to bad in the blink of an eye from her spot around the corner.
She was the closest to the fight; the only one who would dare disobey the ninjas fighting for them.
After all, you never knew when they could use her help.
Stockman kicked the Slayer, her tormentor, only feet from her. A part of her was glad; he was getting his.
But such thoughts were soon banished. Even if he'd been the cause of so many other children's suffering, he'd had the worse end of the stick. And he hadn't gotten his revenge.
As she heard Stockman speak of the digitoxin, she cringed. A great amount of that stuff caused the heart to explode. Usually the death wasn't painful; it was over in a second.
But the Slayer was still alive. She knew because she watched his neck arch back, heard him gagging on his own blood.
He turned his head, saw her there. And he spoke to her. His telepathy must've been weakening, because she could barely hear him. Sil…? Since he knew so many things about them, she wasn't surprised that he knew her name. Please… come here…
Hesitant, Sil finally made sure she was out of harm's way before crawling over to him. It was horrible, not to mention practically impossible, that he was still alive. However, she recalled that he had healing problems. Clearly, his body was still trying out the hopeless task of repairing itself.
There was a difference between closing a gaping wound and replacing an organ.
She heard the Slayer's voice again. At least you're loved… I've always been hated… forgettable… There was a long pause. I'm sorry… tell everyone… I'm sorry… for what I've done… Another pause. But don't remember me… for all the pain I caused…
That's when a series of images ran through Silhouette's head, much like her repeated and feared memoryBut they didn't belong to her.
-sitting by a garbage can. Told that mommy's coming back. Waiting, waiting, waiting-
-sleeping, eating in a dumpster. Hiding from men with knives. Getting caught. The kicks, the punches, the gagging. Praying that it will just stop-
-walking by the people, always looked down on. Never loved. Lonely-
-living in fear. Fear of everyone else, fear of the animals, fear of the sky. Knowing you're the underdog-
-the man in the shiny suit. Knowing he's not like the others. They hurt. He'll kill-
-knives through the skin. All the blood, all the blood-
-waking up. Finding metal on the skin-
-waking up. Finding metal through the skin-
-waking up. Finding the tongue is gone-
-the tests. Underwater. Through fire. Bullets in the skin-
-the punishments. Electrocution. Shots-
-the pain-
-pain-
-pain-
-freedom-
He let her go. Sil looked at him, gasping. Suddenly, she realized she was holding his hand. Very tightly.
She couldn't see his eyes, but she felt she was looking into them. Then the Slayer finished. My name was Curtis… Whether people like it or not… I used to be human…
Sil nodded. I forgive you… She smiled. Curtis.
Smiles can't be heard, but she thought she caught one. And then Curtis was dead.
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It didn't matter how angry he was at the Slayer for everything he'd done. By tenfold, Raph was much more furious with Stockman.
Despite the rage, he made sure not to get too close to the scientist. The last thing he needed was that stuff Stockman had used on the Slayer killing him.
Raph remembered how strong Stockman had been back at April's apartment. He'd clobbered them.
Luck. Most of it had been, after all. They'd been taken by surprise; had fought in a limited area.
Busy fighting Donatello, Stockman left an opening, his back to them. Raph took it, sliding under the robot's legs to join, slashing with his sais through a few tiny wires that were visible beneath the plates of metal that served as his knees.
Stockman gasped in surprise as his legs shut down. Raph couldn't help but grin. But then, of course, a burst of blue light blinked on in that area, dimming after a moment. Stockman smiled. Looking at Raph, he tisked. "You inferior turtle. Don't you know by now that I'm sure to have a back-up system?"
As Stockman continued to brag, before Raph could utter a swear word, the red-clad turtle noticed Mikey take out a nunchuck behind the scientist, straightening it horizontally in front of him. Leo appeared then, using it to leap up onto Stockman's shoulders.
Turning around, He spared one katana a glance before digging it between Stockman's shoulder plates and jumping down to the ground.
After he was down, safe and sound, standing by Mikey, Raph couldn't help but notice him falter. Leo even looked confused by the sudden movement, but he brushed it off, standing tall once again.
By now, Stockman had turned his head around to face him and Mikey. His arms flew to his back, hands trying to pull the katana out.
That's when Raph realized that the exact position of the sword had been planted strategically.
From the looks of it, Donny had figured this out too. Yet he seemed to know what to do about it. Staring at the sword, his purple-clad brother looked at the wall- at a panel on the wall.
Raph turned his attention back to Stockman for a moment, to make sure he wasn't going to suddenly turn around.
Mikey was grinning at him like a fool. "Don't you just hate those hard to reach places?"
Even as he was speaking, Don had quietly raised his bo staff.
One hand still trying to take the katana out, Stockman snorted. "What does it matter? You didn't even manage to damage any of my circuitry."
Closer and closer, the bo staff came to the panel.
Sheathing his other katana, Leo took two steps forward, keeping his eyes on Stockman. "You of all people should've understood."
Frustrated, Stockman gave up on the sword. "What are you blabbering about now, turtle?"
Leo continued as if the question hadn't been asked. "You tortured him; tore him apart. Like he said, you took away his humanity." The blue-banded ninja paused. It was clear who he was talking about. "And you kept on going." Leo shook his head in disgust. "You weren't going to stop with him, were you, Stockman? Once they were ready, you were going to do the same thing to those little kids. You were going to tear them limb from limb… just like the Shredder did to you."
The holographic image of Stockman grit his teeth. "No… I was going to do all those things to give them a purpose, to benefit the earth! Shredder destroyed my body as a punishment."
Mikey crossed his arm. "And you didn't punish your Slayer?"
Raph recalled the doorknob; being told it was electrified. Stockman must've known he couldn't get away with a lie here. For once, he kept his mouth shut.
Don's bo staff quietly touched the panel. With the skill of a ninja, its bearer opened it silently.
Looking upon the breaker box, Raph realized what the plan was. The panel was directly behind Stockman, and he was just a little taller…
This might just work.
Mike continued Leo's speech. "So, you get your revenge, plus a little extra." He pretended to think about it. "When you add it all up, it doesn't look that good for you, does it?"
Leo shook his head again. "The Slayer; eighty-eight children; my brothers; me. Let's face it, Stockman, an eye for an eye just isn't good enough when it comes to you."
Laughing, Stockman turned his torso around to them, then his legs. Raising his arm, he pulled out the small missile launcher. "Well, I better fix that then."
After a look of confirmation from Don, he and Raph simultaneously took on one of Stockman's legs, knocking him off balance and sending him backwards.
Having forgotten the other two turtles, Stockman was unprepared for the attack and unable to keep Leo's katana from jamming into the breaker box. A tremendous voltage traveled up the sword and through Stockman's metal body, straight to the brain housed inside of it.
The action took the electricity out of the building. Many of the light bulbs nearby shattered. As they did, the four turtles hit the floor, to avoid the glass.
When all was done, they stood, just as the back up power systems started out in some places, throwing the area into a twilight coated atmosphere. Not too far away, they were able to make out the forms of the whimpering children, most standing away from the place where the Slayer's body had landed.
By the time his eyes had adjusted, Raph was grinning, checking out his brothers to make sure they were okay.
He didn't miss the haunted look on Donny's face. His brother looked at him. "The floors don't conduct electricity.
Horror-stricken, Raph looked down at his feet, noticing the metal floors once more. We could've been barbecued…
He sighed. "Ain't that a good thing?"
Donatello glanced over at the smoky rubble that used to be Stockman. "Hopefully…"
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All right, that was kinda short. I'm sorry. Also sorry if the action sequences sucked. Oh, and if I was wrong about the digitoxin.
So, I better go now. Please review! One chapter down, only two more to go!