Episode 3; Fury of the Foot Clan
Empire City, one week after the mess with the mob;
Every day, when lunchtime rolled around, there were many places to eat in Empire City. No matter your taste- Chinese, Thai, Mexican, or good old English fish n' chips- there were always a good selection of restaurants to satisfy your pallet. But if it was pizza you were craving a nice, fresh, juicy pizza, the absolute best choice was the four-star restaurant known as Vinnie's Pizzeria. With it's 1950's style dining room, a huge arcade, and fast delivery times, it drew customers from all over the five boroughs. Vinnie's was one of the finest eating establishments on the border between Chinatown and Little Italy, and a favorite stop for any customer looking for a 'nice slice'.
In the kitchen, chief Pietro Calzoni had just finished taking three hot pepperoni and cheese pizzas out of the oven, putting them in the stack with the stack with the other three pizzas he had already cooked up.
"There, she-a done." Pietro sighed, wiping some sweat from his brow. "Hey, Keno! I got another delivery for you! It's that Hamato Yoshi guy in Chinatown, two block away."
"You mean that guy where we deliver the pizzas through a sewer grate?" Keno Reyes, the teenage pizza delivery boy, asked. "Pietro, do you know who this Yoshi guys is? Or why Vinnie gives him six free pizzas every day?"
"Eh, thats-a something we've been debating about since long before you started ta work here." Pietro replied, stroking his goatee thoughtfully. "See, about twenty years ago, back when the boss was a pizza boy himself, he was delivering a-pizzas to Chinatown. On the way he got-a attacked by a mugger, an' a monk named Hamato Yoshi, he save him with his kung-fu." The chief continued boxing up the last of the pizzas. "About four years later, ol' Yoshi and Vinnie they make-a deal; Yoshi give him a bunch-a treasure from the temple he left- enough to pay the pizzeria's expenses for a decade, I heard- an' in return every night we-a leave six pizzas near that grate every day for de past sixteen years."
"Wow, no wonder Vinnie could afford to leave on that worldwide vacation years ago, and leave you in charge." The delivery guy shook his head. "But has anyone ever seen this Hamato Yoshi, or ever wonder why he orders so many pizzas?"
"No, it-a not our place to question it, but it-a your place to deliver de pizzas." Pietro pointed a finger towards the door. "Now get-a goin', I need you back here to make five more deliveries on de east side!"
Keno headed out the door, carrying the stack of six pies for his delivery. Having finally heard the story behind this mysterious customer and his pizzas, the sixteen-year-old delivery boy was a bit suspicious of this whole setup. Keno was the son of two immigrant parents from the Philippines, and had grown up right next to Chinatown, even studying the Philippine martial art Yaw-yan from his father. He had never heard of a martial artist named Hamato Yoshi, and he was curious about the rumors surrounding this mysterious man. Setting the pizzas down next to the sewer grate, Keno snuck around the corner in the nearby alleyway, to watch and see who came for the pizza.
What actually opened the sewer grate, emerged from below, totally caught Keno by surprise. A large humanoid turtle, with an orange bandana, and big shell on his back, picked up the pizzas, and handed those pizzas to another turtle in the depths depths below. And Keno Reyes, the brave martial artists who lived on the tough streets of Empire city, did the most manly thing he could think of at the moment... and promptly fainted, passing out on the ground.
"Uhhhh, dude? You ok?" He thought he heard a voice say, as he slipped into unconsciousness. Aw, major bummer, man..."
...
In it's day, the Hall of Science building had been the crowning jewel of the Empire city world's fair more than 20 years ago, featuring state-of the-art exhibits, and magnificent displays and dioramas. But after the fair, the building had simply been locked up, and mostly just used for storage. Being farther away from the more populated areas of town, even looters and the hobos had never taken an interest in the structure. So when shredder and his two minions set foot in the place, it was the first time anyone had done so in nearly two decades.
"Gee boss, you sure this dump is gonna make a good hideout?" Bebop asked, as he and Rocksteady proceeded to move furniture and gear into the Hall of science's many rooms. "I mean, it don't look like anyone's been here for a really long time."
"It will suit our needs, you cretin. Don't you worry about that." Shredder replied, motioning for the two thugs to put down the last of the luggage. "Now hurry up, and help me get things set up in here."
Over the next several days, the masked villain and his two henchman managed to get living quarters, a training area and dojo, and an alchemy laboratory all set up for themselves. And after all that work was completed, shredder immediately set to work on the next phase of his plan.
"Gee boss, whatcha doin' now?" Rocksteady asked, as the shredder proceeded to mix two chemicals together.
"Why, getting ready to build our mighty army... which will include you two simpletons, as well." Shredder replied, pouring some green liquid from a glass jar, into a test tube. "This miraculous liquid Tatsu gave us with his dying breath, shall be the key to our ultimate victory over the turtles."
"Gee, boss... I didn't know you wuz good at science!" Bebop exclaimed, watching his employer work. "I just thought you wuz a kung-fu guy."
"All Taoist monks are expected to be proficient in alchemy." Shredder replied. "My father taught me some of the basics when I was young... as you shall soon see."
"But boss, I thought that alchemy stuff wuz about makin' metal into gold." Rocksteady added. "How did something like dat make the toitles?"
"That's just western alchemy, you imbecile. In China they also practiced internal alchemy , the ability to change a being on the inside." Shredder explained, putting the beaker filled with ooze down. "Fifteen hundred years ago, the great Taoist sage Chang Tao Ling created this mutagen; which he called the elixir of life. Discovering his creation was filled with power, Chang believed it would grant anyone who drank it immortality."
"Wow, dat's incredible!" Bebop replied. "So's why didn't he make everybody immort-er, immort-uh, make em' live forever?"
"Chang Tao Ling discovered they actually had the power to change a living creature's shape, had believed they were too dangerous to fall into the hands of the wicked. He then took the formula with him to his grave, and nobody has ever been able to replicate the formula since." Shredder replied. "After Chang's death, his followers came to be known as the Celestial masters. They hid the elixir of life away, splitting the mutagen into over a hundred containers hidden at Taoist monasteries all across China." Shredder crossed his arms. "The monks developed wudang Kung-fu to defend the monasteries, and kept the elixir safe for centuries."
"So how did da magic water end up here in America?" Rocksteady asked. "And how did it make the toitles?"
"Back during the last war, the Japanese destroyed all seven of the temples, and slaughtered nearly all of the monks." Shredder explains. "My father's sifu brought one of the canisters to America, and that's what mutated the turtles. A few years ago, my father went back to china, and searched the ruins of the other six temples. This container of mutagen was the only one he could find. Father believed the other containers have been scattered all over the world."
"Wow, dat's really interestin', boss." Bebop replied, even though neither he nor Rocksteady had really understood what Shredder had been telling them. "So what ya gonna do with that magic potion?"
"First, I'm going to use this 'magic potion', to actually create my new army." Pouring a few drops of the ooze onto the ground, the shredder used his wrist blades to cut his right arm, and let a few droplets trickle into the ooze. After he chanted a few words in mandarin, the mixed puddle of ooze and suddenly exploded into a burning green flame.
"Ahhh! Boss!" Rocksteady cried out, as he and Bebop comically hugged each other out of fear. "What's goin on!?"
From the center of the flames, a group of over fifty foot soldiers in full gear marched out of the burning ooze, as if appearing out of thin air. They appeared like normal people at first, but as Bebop and Rcoksteady stared at them, they saw these foot soldiers were dressed all in purple and black, had oddly shaped tall heads, and seemed all hunched over with gangly, awkward arms.
"Boss, what the heck is wrong with them?!" Bebop asked, noticing the foot soldiers weren't even breathing. "They look like they're robots, or sumpthin."
"In a sense, they are like robots. These foot soldiers are magical constructs, whom the turtles can easily destroy, but the will simply re-form back here, where the spell was first cast." Shredder slashed one of the foot soldiers, who vanished in a puff of smoke, then re-spawned from the dried puddle of ooze a few minutes later. "An inexhaustible source of foot soldiers, who will obey only me! Well, even if they are even lower in brain power than you two."
"That's great and all, boss, but what about us?" Rocksteady asked. "What's that gunk gonna do to Bebop an' me?"
"Why, I'm going to use it to give you two strength and power greater than the turtles possess." Shredder explained, pouring the last of the mutagen from the container into two shot glasses. "It should either turn both of you into your birth zodiac animal, or your animal spirit guide. It depends on what spiritual or philosophical tradition you follow, if any."
"Wait, boss, no!" Bebop protested. "We don't want to be animals!"
"Yeah, we's happy bein' normal!" Rocksteady agreed. "Well, as normal as we are, anyway."
"Oh, so you two are happy being total losers? You liked being kicked out of the dragons because they think you're both too stupid to tie your own shoes?" Shredder asked angrily. "You enjoy the fact neither of you can defend yourself from even amateur fighters, and I had to save both of you from the cops the first time we met." Shredder grabbed them both by the collars. "You both are so pathetic, the two of you were beat up an old old man with a cane when you tried to mug him. How do you think either one of you would fare against the turtles?"
The two punks looked at each other for a moment, and thought about how they had been pushed around their whole lives. They thought about how everyone, with the sole exception of the shredder, had treated them like trash just because they weren't as smart as everyone else. Now here was shredder, the one person on the planet who thought they had value as human beings, offering them a chance for true power, so they wouldn't be jokes anymore. And as they thought of all those mocking teachers in elementary school, tormenting bullies in high school, and cruel family members who disowned them, a burning hatred began to grow in their hearts.
Without another word, the two punks each grabbed one of the shot glasses filled with ooze, and both downed it in one gulp. It was only a few minutes before they both collapsed to the floor, screaming, as their bodies began to contort and change from the mutagen.
...
When Keno came to, he found himself lying on a couch, in the middle of some odd... living room... that appeared to be in the sewer?! As he sat up, the pizza delivery guy saw four of the mutant turtles -along with a giant, talking rat- sitting nearby. He could here they were arguing about him.
"Oh, great... Mikey led another one of those humans down here!" Raphael complained, glancing over at Keno. "I thought we were supposed to be keeping ourselves secret from the world. Y'know, so they don't lock us up in cages?!"
"Dude! I couldn't just leave him there lying in the street!" Mikey protested. "He's the dude who brings us our pizzas!"
"Eh, I don't know if it was such a good idea to bring him back here, Mikester." Donatello added in. "I mean, April and Irma are okay and all, but letting the pizza guy know!?"
"I don't believe this will be a problem, considering our deal with Vinnie over the free pizzas." Leonardo replied calmly, looking over to Splinter. "What do you say, master?"
"It is the will of the Tao that these people entered our lives. The Tao is all about change, and I embrace this change." Splinter replied simply. "All of the people in our lives have made a difference, and it is only natural that as we increase our activity on the surface, a few more humans will learn of our existence."
Excuse me, I'm right over here, ya know!" Keno grumbled, finally speaking up. "Who the heck are you guys? And why do you all look like giant, talking animals?"
Splinter soon recited the story of their past again, and the amazed Keno took it all in. Finally, a big grin spread across the pizza delivery guy's face.
"So, you guys are like... ninja turtles?" Keno asked excitedly. "That is so cool!"
"We are NOT ninjas! Why does everyone think we're ninjas?!" Leo protested angrily. "Ninjas aren't the only people who practice martial arts, you know!"
"Chill out man, I was just teasing ya!" Keno laughed. "And don't worry man, I'll always make sure you guys get some pizza, and maybe I can slip in some Chinese food from next door for the rat over there."
"That would be much appreciated." Splinter nodded. "With the turtles around, one can grow tired of Pizza."
"Hey, dude, you into comic books?" Mikey asked hopefully. "Cause' I totally love reading stuff like justice force!"
"Nahhh, I'm more into action movies." Keno responded. "Ya know, stuff like Rex-1, the awesome robot cop? Or Rondo, the big guy with guns and a red bandanna?"
"Aw yeah, now this kid's got taste!" Raph added, giving Keno a noogie. "I'm gonna like having this guy around here, we can watch horror movies together, like Creepy Eddie on Oak street!"
They all continued to talk, as Splinter clicked on the television to watch his evening soaps. But as soon as the set was on, it was a familiar reporter who appeared on the screen.
"This is April O' Neal, from channel six news, reporting you you live from the Empire City zoo." The redhead said into her microphone. "Several costumed martial artists, resembling members of the decimated foot clan, have taken control of the zoo interior. Although the attackers have chased most of the staff and zoo visitors away, zoo veterinarian Jane Goodfellow went missing about the time the attack started."
"Hey guys it looks like you better..." Keno looked, and noticed the four turtles weren't there. "Hey, where the heck did they go?"
"The turtles don't just wait around when there are people to be saved." Splinter mused. "Well, vanishing with a trace is about the only thing they do have in common with ninjas..."
...
"All right guys, let's get rollin'!" Donnie exclaimed, as they went running out of the lair. "And this time, we don't have to race across the rooftops."
The turtles followed Donnie down a long tunnel, until they arrived at a large garage area adjacent to the lair. The other three were surprised to see a 1960's Volkswagen van, with a green and yellow paint job. As Donnie opened the door, the four turtles piled inside.
"Whoa, Donnie, this is awesome!" Mikey exclaimed, looking over all the gadgets and controls. "This thing's gotta have everything!"
"So this is what you and Irma have been working on for the past week." Leo complimented him. "Well done, Donnie."
"Thanks, Leo. We really had a lot of fun working on it." Donatello explained. "This thing's got a huge stereo, air conditioning, a radar system, a C.B. radio, two machine guns that pop out of the roof, and a built-in Atari 2600 with 500 games and a T.V. set. I really couldn't have done with without Irma's help... or her dad's old van.
"So we finally got what every teen always wants; our first car." Raph chuckled. "Well, at least it doesn't have turtle designs painted on the sides, or doesn't have 'mutant turtles' written on it."
"All right, let's give this 'turtle van' a workout." Leo exclaimed. "Punch it, Donnie!"
Donnie turned the keys, and the van's engine roared to life. The vehicle took off down a long tunnel, coming out in the basement of an abandoned parking garage, and raced up onto the streets.
"You guys are lucky I've been practicing on that plug-in driving video game Irma gave me." Donatello boasted. "Or we'd be crashing into stuff left and right."
"Hey, Leo? Who do you think these bozos are?" Raph asked, as they raced through the streets. "I mean, we already took the foot clan down."
"I dunno, could be a bunch of copycats." Leo replied. "Or maybe a rival triad gang?"
"Well, whatever the case, we're gonna kick their tails in!" Raph replied. "...either that, or get our tails kicked in."
"Uhhh, dude? I totally don't think we have tails any more." Mikey chimed in. "We kinda lost em' when we mutated."
"SHUT UP, MIKEY!" The other three replied in unison, as the van sped on towards the Empire city zoo.
...
The scene at the zoo, was utter chaos.
Several foot soldiers were pulling the animals out of their cages and enclosures, tying the beasts up, and preparing them for their horrible fates. Big cats and primates, bears and wolves... nearly every kind of land animal had been dragged to the zoo's central courtyard, and huddled into a large circle together. A few of the foot were over in the corner, sharpening their blades, and preparing to use them on the poor creatures in a very grisly manner.
"Oh no, this is terrible!" A woman muttered, looking out from her hiding place. "They're going to slaughter all these poor creatures!"
Looking out of the closet she was concealing herself inside, Dr. Jane Goodfellow watched in horror as many of the animals she cared for were put in great danger. She knew who these monsters were; from their uniforms, they were obviously members of that horrible triad from Chinatown she had heard about on the news. And that being the case, it was obvious that they were here to butcher her poor animals to ground up their bones for herbal remedies to sell on the black market.
Looking out at the captured animals again, the African-American veterinarian thought of the poor tiger who's paw she had bandaged just three days ago, and the seal she had nursed back to health after he was rescued from an oil spill in the North Sea. Ever since she was a little girl, Dr. Goodfellow had enjoyed coming to the zoo with her mother, and spending time gazing upon the animals. When she was a teen, she had volunteered to help care for the wounded and sick ones, tenderly treating to their wounds. It broke her heart to see animals suffer, that's why she had gone to school to be a veterinarian. And now she was about to watch all of her precious charges die, at the hands of these barbarians. As one of the foot soldiers raised his jian, the frightened veterinarian could only look away...
"COWABUNGAAAAAAAAA!"
Hearing someone cry out with that old surfer's call, Dr. Goodfellow looked back in shock to see four... humanoid turtles jump at the foot soldiers, and begin to attack them . They were like a hurricane, raging over their masked foes like a force of nature. The one with the blue mask began slicing and chopping away at the foot soldiers, making them vanish in large puffs of smoke. The red masked turtle stabbed away at the goons again and again with his oddly-shaped daggers. the foot soldiers vanished one by one, leaving behind only smoke clouds.
"Hey, what gives?!" Mikey called out in exasperation, knocking two of them over with roundhouse kicks. "These guys just disappear when we hit em!"
"They must be some kind of golems!" Donnie yelled, pole vaulting himself at a whole group of the foot soldiers like a bunch of bowling pins. "This is so awesome! Our first encounter with the supernatural!"
"Real or not, don't let up!" Leo called out, chopping one foot soldier straight down the middle, making him fall in two halves. "We can't let them hurt these animals!"
"Works fine fer me!" Raph sneered, stabbing another foot soldier though the skull with his weapons, and ripping his head clean off. "I need something to take my frustration out on!"
The four turtles continued to fight the foot soldiers; punching, kicking, and headbutting their way to victory. Severed heads and broken limbs went flying in every direction, before all quickly disappearing in flashes of smoke. They were winning the fight against the foot soldiers, but it was obvious the battle was tiring them out. As Mikey destroyed the last of the foot soldiers, all four turtles stopped, bending over to catch their breath.
"Whoah, dudes!" Mikey gasped out. "That was, like, totally intense!"
"I'm just glad it's over." Donnie replied, still out of breath. "I don't think I could've taken much more!"
Smiling at her mysterious saviors' banter, she wondered if they were wearing costumes, or they were some kind of mutants. But before she could decide wither to come out from hiding or not, she saw two towering, animal-like shadows appear on the other side of the wall.
"Ohhh, lookie what we gots here, Roacksteady!" One of the shadowy forms exclaimed, as he towered over the exhausted heroes. "It's four tired-out shellbacks, ready fer crackin' open!"
"Ohhhh, goodie!" The other voice replied. "I was looking forward to some turtle soup!"
Barely staying on their feet, the four turtles readied themselves for round two.
"I-I don't believe it." Donnie gasped out in shock. "T-they're mutants, like us!"
"B-but how can that be?!" Leo asked in disbelief. "I-I thought the mutagen that transformed us was the only dosage!"
before the turtles stood a giant rhino-man, and an anthropomorphic warthog. Both were wearing street punk clothing, and the rhino wore an old army helmet with googles, while the warthog had a purple Mohawk with shades. The two seemed to look at the turtles with a petty contempt, that enraged the turtle with the red mask beyond words.
"I dunno who these wierdoes are," Raph growled. "But they're goin' down!"
Raphael lunged at the two giants, daggers blazing in anger, when Bebop caught him with a powerful kick. Then punched him into the ground, and began to stomp on his hard shell. Michelangelo jumped in jumped in to try and save his brother, but Bebop caught him by the throat with his free hand, and began to choke the party dude.
"MIKEY!" Leo and Donnie cried out, charging in to try and help their bothers. But Rocksteady double-clotheslined them to the ground, and picking the two up by their shells, slammed their heads together.
"AHHHHHH!"
"AIEEEEE!
UGHHHH!"
"ARAGGHHHH!"
"Those poor turtles!" Jane exclaimed in horror. "Those terrible monsters are beating them to death!"
Rocksteady tossed Leo aside like a rag doll, and to pound on Donatello, again and again the rhino drove his fist into the turtle's face like a steam hammer, sending teeth and blood flying everywhere. Looking up from his pounding under Rocksteady's foot, Raph screamed.
"Leave him alone, you damn- AHHHHH!"
"You've got your own problems ta worry about, shellhead!" Bebop snorted, steam coming of his snout. Raising his foot again, the pudgy pig brought hi weight down upon Raphael arms, breaking the bone, then brought his other foot down up his leg, shattering that bone, as well. Leaving the Broken Raph behind, he took the now limp Michelangelo he had been strangling, and began slamming him into a nearby wall, again and again. Poor Mikey screamed, as his blood was spattered all over the angry warthog.
Dropping the battered Donnie, Rocksteady lumbered over to the wobbly Leo, picking him up by the throat.
"We's could easily kill youse right now, but dat's not the way da boss wants it." The rhino growled, glaring at the bruised Leo. "De shredder wants youse and your brothers to suffer, for all da pain ya caused him."
"The... shredder?" Leonardo stuttered in disbelief, as he pulled himself back onto his unsturdy legs. "B-but that's not possible. Oroku Nagi is dead..."
"Da boss ain't Ororku Nagi, he's da shredder. He said who he was before youse all killed Nagi is dead... now, he is only da shredder." Bebop added, leaving the other three turtles behind, and coming over to stand beside Rocksteady. "And dis whole zoo heist was a trick to lure youse all out.. so's we could do... DIS!"
Rocksteady lowed his head, charging at Leonardo with his horn. He sent the turtle flying straight towards Bebop, who punched him into a nearby wall, leaving Leo a blood-soaked mess.
"Sees ya around, toitles!" Rocksteady called back, as he and Bebop walked away."Next time we's meet, youse four won't survive!"
Looking out from her hiding spot, Dr. Goodfellow saw the four turtles all lying on the ground, the area all around them coated in blood. After debating over what to do for a few minutes, the veterinarian rushed out to help them, and to save their lives if she could.
...
"Ohhhh... my aching head..."
The next day, the four turtles were laying on cots in their sewer lair, while Dr. Goodfellow checked their vital signs, and Splinter gave them tea. all four of the mutants were filled with pain killers, and each tried not to move, so as not to bring more pain onto themselves.
"I want to thank you for bringing my students back here, Dr. Goodfellow." Splinter said gratefully, bowing to the vet. "Without your aid, they would most certainly would've perished."
"It's no problem, Sifu Splinter. It was the least I could do, given how they saved my patients, the zoo animals." Dr. Goodfellow replied, checking the turtles vital signs. "And you can be sure to call on me, whenever these guys hurt themselves in battle. And don't worry, I'll be sure to keep all of you a secret, none of you deserved to be experimented upon by people who wouldn't understand you."
"Thank you so much, doc..." Donnie mumbled, barely able to lift his head. "So tell me... are we gonna live?"
"Well, you four look like you're all coming along okay, your mutations seem to have given you an insanely enhanced healing factor; even your teeth and damaged shells are healing up." Jane shook her head. "Then again, your mutations have changed you faaaar beyond anything I've ever seen before. making you more human-like. I do believe this is the first time I've ever seen warm-blooded turtles before, very fascinating."
"In any case, as soon as we heal up, the four of us need to hunt down this new shredder, and take down his foot clan, just like we did the previous one." Leo groaned, trying to sit up again. "We could be a danger to the whole city."
"If he and his two pet attack mutants don't take us down first." Raph groaned. "Who do you guys think this new shredder is, anyway?"
"Possibly one of Nagi's students, who is seeking his revenge for his sifu's death." Splinter suggested. "In any case, I am certain we have not heard the last of this shredder, or the foot clan."
"Well, right now I don't want to think about any shredders or evil mutants, dude." Mikey whined, rolling over on his cot. "Since we each can't go back and sleep in our own rooms right now, I just want to lay here, and dream about a nice, big pizza!"
"Forget about dreaming, Mikey!" Keno declared, walking in with three pizzas under each arm. "I heard about how you guys were feeling under the weather, so I decided to bring you six extra pizzas to cheer you up!"
In her long career as a veterinarian, Dr. Goodfellow had seen many wounded animals do many miraculous things. But Jane would never forget the day, that she saw four badly wounded turtles jump out of bed, and scramble for pizzas like a bunch of starved piranhas in a feeding frenzy.
"Hey man, that's my slice!"
"Watch out! I want the one with pineapple topping!"
"Watch it, ya mooks! I want a pie, too!"
"Cowabunga!"
"Well, it seems their recovery is going better than anticipated." Splinter chuckled. "It appears pizza is greater than any medicine we could produce."
And as the four brothers chowed down, their two human friends and rat sifu looked on with smiles on their faces.
-END-