The fourth installment of the New Hero series. Once again I apologize for any deviations in canon, since I'm only going off what I saw in the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. I do not own the rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
As soon as I pushed the manhole into place, I looked around to see where I was. Upon identifying a pizza place across the street called 'Richards Pizza Parlor', I glanced around, quickly pulled off my disguise, and then began to walk down the dark street.
I was going to need to take the subway back, considering I was a decent ways across town, but at least I knew now where the turtles hideout was.
But it still felt wrong. I had been in the same room with them. One had even checked to make sure if I was okay. April even trusted me enough to introduce me to them. The situation had been a bit complicated… but still. I glanced at my phone and sighed. One missed call from April. I would have to call her back sometime. Spotting a stairway to the subway, I hurried over and made my way down to the trains.
Seven o'clock and I was crouched next to an open manhole with my disguise on, listening.
After I had gotten home last night, I had gone straight to bed. Then, upon waking up, I had gone immediately down to the café to check up on the time of the next terrorist attack. It was scheduled for seven o'clock.
Which left at me at my current location. I knew I could trust the turtles to jump on this job like any other, which meant I would have a little time to check out their base, and learn a little about them.
Suddenly, I heard a grinding sound and the sound of voices through the manhole. The voices were moving quickly as the quickly faded from my hearing as the turtles headed through the sewers.
"Better now than never." I thought to myself as I climbed through the open manhole and closed it behind me, then made my way to the wall once more.
"Let's see…" I muttered as I looked at the faint outline of the door. "Let's try… pushing…"
First I gave a light push with my hands. Nothing.
"Harder."
I leaned my full weight against it and gave it a shove. There was a grinding noise as the wall slowly swung inwards revealing a much darker tunnel that ended with a hole set into the floor.
I pushed the door closed, then moved forward to hole. It was a large dimly lit circular room. Seeing and hearing no movement, I jumped down into the room.
I landed in a couch, the noise echoing only for a brief moment before dying out. Straightening up I looked around at the room. The outer circle of the room was raised above the center, which was lit up.
Spotting another room on the other side of the circle, I hopped off the ledge and walked through the center to the other room. It was filled with computers and a bunch of other electronics.
I glanced up at the screens as I stepped into the room. Some functioned as cameras, focusing on what looked like all of the other entrances, the others, as T.V's.
"Huh…" I muttered as I spotted a tape player. "I haven't seen one of these in a while…" I thought to myself as I pressed the eject button and pulled a tape out.
"Mix tape number one… Let's see what you are…" I muttered as I put the tape back in and pressed play.
"Alright guys. You ready?" A voice, unmistakeably Michelangelo's, whispered. Then, "Three… two… one…"
I shook my head as they started to beat-box. I could only assume that it was the four turtles.
After listening for a few moments I pressed the stop button, just time to here something stop moving somewhere behind me. Quickly, I turned and used a quick wave of telekinesis to turn off the lights and the monitors, leaving me in the dark. Then, as I quietly as I could, I moved to the doorway of the larger circular room, and looked around in the darkness, my ears straining for any sound other than the soft drip of water.
My only warning was a slight tingle in the back of my neck. Time slowed to a crawl as I pushed off of the ground with my legs and twisted in the air, the object just missing me as I flew into the middle of the circular room and landed in crouch, my eyes searching the darkness for my enemy.
"Why have you come here?", a voice asked from the shadows.
"Who are you…?" I growled, deciding to mask my voice at the last minute.
"You would come into our home and ask who we are?" The voice asked. "That is true irony human."
"Human." The word reverberated in my head as I rose from the crouch. "You're not human…"
Sensing a sudden movement behind me, I twisted and raised my hands, using telekinesis to stop the object that I knew was flying at my head. It was a giant tail. A giant rat tail.
"No, and it seems you are not fully human yourself." I gasped as I was kicked in the stomach, causing me to stumble backwards and hit the outer edge of the room.
In front of me, a large, human sized rat stepped forward into the light. "And as for my name, I am Master Splinter."
"Sensei…" I breathed as I remembered the night I had met Michelangelo and Donatello. They had mentioned a sensei.
"Now…" The rat said as it watched me. "Will you answer my question, or will I be forced to beat it out of you?"
I looked at the rat for moment, then spoke. "I need to know if I can trust the Turtles. That's why I came here. To find out more about them."
The rat looked at me for a moment, as if considering my words. "Why do you need to know if you can trust them? How can we trust you?"
I sighed as I began to pace. "I only recently obtained these abilities. And as soon as I got them I decided I could use them for good. I assume the turtles told you about when they saw me at the warehouse?" I asked as I looked at Splinter.
He nodded.
"That was my first night using my abilities. When I saw them, and heard them speak, I knew immediately that I wasn't alone in defending the city. But I still don't know what their intentions are. Which is why I came here."
Master Splinter was silent for a while as I watched him. Finally, he spoke. "If you wish to know about us, then follow me." With that, he turned and walked into the monitor room, then continued through another doorway.
I followed as we entered a hallway, passing by a dining room and a bedroom before finally passing through a doorway into another, albeit smaller, circular room.
"Sit, please, and I will tell you our story." Master Splinter said as he took a seat on the floor. I followed suit and sat down cross-legged across from him.
The rat watched my eyes for a moment, then began. "It started a long time ago. Two scientists were working on developing a substance called mutagen. This mutagen was meant to be a cure for all ailments that might afflict the human race. But one of the scientists, Eric Sacks, intended to use it for evil. He had formed a plan in secret with his master, Shredder, to inflict biological warfare against the human race and use the mutagen as leverage to obtain money and power. His partner, upon discovering this plan, took it on himself to destroy the lab and the mutagen, so Eric would never get his hands on it."
Master Splinter put his claws together as he paused for a moment, then continued. "Sacks' partner perished in the fire, but the five animal test subjects escaped. We went in to the sewer, where the mutagen began to affect us in an incredible way. As time passed, our intelligence grew, and so did we in stature. But I had to care for the turtles, for they were young, so I raised them as my own and taught them the ways of the ninja, in hopes that they would be able to defend themselves, and possibly this city."
He stopped talking, and we sat in silence for a while, him watching me as I stared at the ground between us, just thinking.
"Yesterday, a chemical was stolen from a government lab by select members of the Foot clan." I started, shifting my body slightly. "Taking hostages at the theater was just a distraction for the police force, and possibly for you all as well."
I heard the faint sound of stone grinding on stone from the entrance of the underground base.
"They're planning something. Something important. It's the only reason they would keep it such a secret."
Splinter nodded as the sounds of voices came from the hallway.
"It may have something to do with the recent capture of their commander, Shredder, by your government."
"Do you know where he is being held?" I asked, the voices in the hallway going abruptly quiet at the sound of my voice.
"I do not..." The rat looked at the doorway, then held out his clawed hand towards the door. "...but perhaps it is time for you to be properly introduced to my sons."
A familiar orange masked turtle stuck his head through door and jerked his thumb at me. "So... who's the new guy?"