Ch.11: Tackling Doubt
"Raph! Bro! We have to go!" yelled Mikey as he sprinted rapidly through TCRI's halls, searching for his missing brother.
He had no idea where General Traag could have taken Raphael in this building, but Mikey knew that it was extremely urgent for both of them to get out of there fast. Stair by stair, he ran and checked all the floors, barely noticing any obstacles as they came into his path.
His frantic rush was suddenly halted when he crashed into an employee just stepping out of a strange room. The features on the man's face changed quickly as soon as he saw Michaelanglo and all of his Turtle Titan garb.
"Security! Security!" the man yelled " Breech in the upper labs!"
The whole world turned chaotic after that yell, and sirens screamed and flashed dancing red light along the walls. Pushing the man aside, Mikey sprinted away, desperate to get back to his search for Raphael, when four armed goons suddenly blocked his path.
Guns pointed at his chest, Mikey had no choice but to turn back and run all the way back downstairs, where the secretary had obviously been alerted and would have all the doors locked.
Although still worried for his brother, Mikey knew that motion was better than just standing around to die. Sliding his way down the banister to the ground floor, Mikey raced himself towards the exit, only to find an armed force of militiamen standing in his way.
Nun-chucks would do him no good here, and neither would the extra grapple wire he had strapped to his belt. The shield hanging on his back was no match for twenty guns at once. It didn't take the genius brains of Donatello to know that his turtle goose was cooked.
The elevator doors behind Mikey suddenly slid open, and General Traag suddenly entered the room, weapon in hand as well. His face lit up with an evil smirk when he spotted Turtle Titan in his sights.
"Well well well" said General Traag " a loyal flunkie to the end. To bad your discovery comes to late. The Nightwatcher belongs to us now, and our secrets die with your last breath. Any last words false hero?"
Before Mikey could comment a giant crash suddenly erupted through the wall as the entire weight of the Party Wagon suddenly rolled inside. Never was Mikey so glad to see the symbol of his Cowabunga Carl torment bob in the light of this rescue.
As soon as the wagon rolled to a stop, Leatherhead burst through the doors, and started attacking armed goons left and right. Leo and Donnie weren't far behind, and Mikey wasted no time joining his brothers in the fray.
In a matter of minutes nearly half of the contingent was knocked down, but there still a lot more fire power than those came from. Thinking it was a very wise caution to retreat, Mikey and bros headed back towards the van, while Leatherhead, more reluctant, followed them inside.
Grinding up the gears, Donatello placed the Party Wagon into overdrive and blasted out a hole so they could escape. A few lasers fired after the van's screeching wheels, but efforts were useless as the turtles left the whole staff of TCRI in the dust.
General Traag growled at the thought of his victims escape, but could hardly boil in grief after the victory he achieved today. Soon the world would bow to Krang, and Earth will become another prize of Dimension X.
Moments later, sighs of relief could be heard throughout the lair, as Mikey and his brothers returned, desperate to recover from their unfortunate adventures of the night. On the ride over, Mikey had explained the strange stuff he had seen over at TCRI, and was worried that Raph was still in there, a prisoner of General Traag.
He flipped back the red hood, displaying his sorrow through the eyes of his orange mask. His one, real chance to live up to his dreams of being a superhero, and he blew it on his first case.
" I'll swear I'll find you bro" claimed Mikey to himself during the ride " I swear it,"
Tensions were high as they walked back into the lair, but soon broke with the shock of familiar friends. Casey and April stood waiting out in the center of the lair with Master Splinter to greet them, along with another friend Mikey thought he would never again meet.
"Ninjara,"
The reunion was happy, and at the same time sad. Problems swayed back and forth as both Ninjara and the turtles explained their different tales of woe. It was a hard call to how they would react to face them, and Leo was extremely unsure as he battled with the decision in his mind.
TCRI seemed to be the primary threat right now, but if Shredder had joined forces with their company, they needed to figure out what the villain was up to first. A split vote occurred as the decision was made, with Mikey complaining loudly on the final choice.
Ninjara was shocked at Mikey's abrasiveness as the orange-masked turtle stomped out of the room, displaying anger that was more attune with their protective brother. A lot of grief set on the household, and doubt settled in. Doubt on whether all of them had made the right choice.
"Ugh," Raphael groaned, as the faint sense of light flittered back into eyes, reflecting through the shields of his metal mask.
The scenery around him appeared to be nothing but a dream, like a cheesy sci-fi movie combined with a horror film.
"I must have knocked my head hard," thought Raphael, aiming to remove his Nightwatcher helmet so that he could afford a better view.
He never had a chance to reach that far before the click of a gun suddenly caught his ear. An evil brain-thing in a robotic suit looked down on him, atomic weapon in hand. An evil sneer lit up its grotesque face.
"Welcome to Dimension X,"