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NMNT Season 3 Chapter 9: A Battle with Gravity
-A Private Foot Airbase Outside New York City: Day-
It was a bright and slightly blustery day as a Foot helicopter approached a very large airplane hangar. As it touched down, the hanger doors opened and Dr. Chaplin stepped out to greet the people stepping out of the helicopter which were Oroku Saki, Karai, Hun and Baxter Stockman.
"Dr. Chaplin, I trust what you have to show me will justify this excursion from the city," said Saki.
Dr. Chaplin smiled as he replied, "Believe me master, you're gonna dig it big time." And he led the group inside the hanger. He then flipped a switch which activated several enormous search lights and revealed an enormous Zeppelin. It was colored black and had the Foot symbol painted on the bow.
"You brought us all the way out here for a blimp?" Stockman asked in annoyed disbelief, "what kind of dumb-ass authorized this project?"
Saki narrowed his eyes in a scowl as he replied, "I did."
Stockman turned his holographic head in surprise as he tried to rectify his situation, "Oh-uh, well I'm sure you had your reasons oh wise and revered master."
"Indeed," Saki replied as he turned his head towards Dr. Chaplin and changed his scowl into his usual neutral expression, "Excellent work Dr. Chaplin."
"I installed the Triceraton Force-field override mechanism you recovered, just as you requested sir," said Dr. Chaplin, "this baby will break through the atmospheric shield around Beijing and retrieve the desired cargo, no problem."
"And just what does the boy genius think he's retrieving?" Stockman asked Saki as Dr. Chaplin opened the Zeppelin's door/loading ramp.
"A Triceraton anti-gravity generator," Saki replied.
"But master, removing an anti-grav generator from a city floating twenty miles above the Earth's surface is a guaranteed suicide mission!" Stockman exclaimed in slight protest.
"Yes, that is why I've selected you to lead this operation," said Saki.
"Me?" Stockman said in a nervous and fearful tone.
Karai then voiced her concerns. "Master," she said, "what of the millions that will surely die when they come crashing down to Earth?"
"They are of no concern to me," Saki replied darkly.
"You bastard child, how dare you question the master!" Hun exclaimed at Karai in an accusing tone. He then turned to talk to Saki and said with a small smile, "I am behind this plan 100%."
"That is very good to hear Hun," Saki said with a smug smile, "because you will have the honor of accompanying Dr. Stockman on this very dangerous mission."
Hun gulped in nervousness as Dr. Chaplin led him, Saki and Stockman inside the Zeppelin. Karai, on the other hand, stayed behind contemplating her next move.
-New York City Rooftops: Night-
Later that evening, on a cloudless night where the moon could shine its brightest, the five brothers hopped from rooftop to roof top while making sure to stick to the shadows. The group then collectively stopped on a rooftop that was across the street from another Foot salvaging site.
"There it is," said Raphael, "right where Casey said it would be."
"I still can't believe Casey of all people gave us this lead," said Leonardo.
"Well, the guy's allowed to be right every once in a while," said Naruto.
"But the question is, what does the Shredder want with this stuff?" Donatello asked (and before I forget, he has a new Bo Staff).
"For an intergalactic yard sale?" Michelangelo jokingly suggested. Raph did not find the joke funny as he hit him lightly on his head. Leo then looked closely and found something rather peculiar.
"Hmm, there's no police presence. Must be something really important down there if Shredder doesn't want the authorities knowing about it," he said.
Just then, Don's Shell Cell rang.
"Hello?" he answered before immediately grimacing at the sound of a fax trying to get through.
"God damn, not that stupid fax call again?" Raph groaned.
"Well, not this time," Don said as he dug around his trusty duffel bag and pulled out a PDA, "this time I came prepared with my trusty Palm Top to trace the signal."
He then hooked his Shell Cell to his PDA using a cable, but what happened next surprised him; the screen showed a download of sorts was commencing as the command 'Download in Progress' appeared.
"'Download in progress'? Impossible," he said.
"Don,"'said Leo as he the others took a look at the salvage operation, "figure it out later, we've got something much bigger over here." He then pointed towards a specific spot where it was shown that the Foot was apparently digging out a Triceraton bunker-like supply ship.
"Whoa, a Triceraton supply ship," Don said in surprise.
"Looks like we need to get a closer look," said Naruto.
-The Private Foot Airbase Outside New York City: Night-
Inside the Zeppelin in the bridge, Hun and Baxter Stockman seethed.
"All our loyal service," Hun remarked angrily, "and this is the thanks we get. Pushed aside by the new blood."
"For once in my life I agree with you," said Stockman, "Perhaps it's time we pushed back." Just then the doors to the bridge slid open as Dr. Chaplin stepped in.
"Hey," he started to say in a care-free tone, "I just wanted to say no matter how bad the Shredder treats you, I'm still honored to be working with the legendary Baxter Stockman. Even if you are a freakish brain-in-a-jar shadow of your former self."
Stockman was not amused.
"But to tell you the truth, I can't stand to see someone I admire reduced to such a pathetically shitty existence," Dr. Chaplin continued as he observed Stockman's current condition while walking over to him, "So I decided to end your suffering." And he picked up the cylindrical glass case that held the brain and lone eyeball (in addition to the holographic head).
Stockman began to panic as he frantically shouted, "Hey, what the hell are you doing? Get away from me!"
But Dr. Chaplin just pushed a button on the holographic projector and silenced Stockman as he turned to the door and called out, "Okay boys, bring it in!"
At that moment, two foot ninja carried in a rather enormous grey colored cyborg body that had all the necessities: hands, arms, legs, feet and a torso. Dr. Chaplin then opened the chest cavity of the torso and carefully placed Stockman's brain and lone eyeball inside a brand new blue-liquid filled container. Then he shut the cavity and allowed the body to fully integrate Stockman's brain as he 'awoke', his holographic head taking place in the space where a head would be on the cyborg body.
"Release me at once you bastard!" Stockman shouted before he stopped himself and took a closer look as to what happened to him. "What the?" he said in curiosity.
"What do you think of your new kick-ass bod?" Dr. Chaplin asked.
"I have limbs," Stockman said in amazement and disbelief as he lifted both robotic arms before shouting, "I have limbs!"
"I figured you'd need them to survive the mission," said Dr. Chaplin.
Stockman walked for a bit before saying, "Ah yes, the mission; pity you'll miss out on the incredible maiden voyage of this incredible vessel you designed and built with your own two hands. Not to mention witness first hand as an entire city crashes down from the stratosphere."
"Man that would be so cool," Dr. Chaplin replied, obviously happy of the praise Stockman was giving him.
"Yes," Stockman said slyly, "Of course, you could decide to go behind the Shredder's back and join us, but that would be wrong wouldn't it?"
"Hey," Dr. Chaplin shrugged nonchalantly as he smiled, "what the boss doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"
"True," said Stockman as he put a hand Dr. Chaplin's shoulder, "and naturally I would assume full responsibility for your well-being throughout the entire mission. After all, we wouldn't want you to fall victim to some...unfortunate accident."
-New York City, Foot salvage operation: Night-
All was calm as the five brothers stealthily entered the salvage site. But what was strange was that no people on the site at all.
"How weird," said Naruto, "you'd think this place would have at least one henchman skulking around."
"Well I don't like it," said Leo, "Keep your eyes open."
"You think they're in the ship?" Raph asked.
"Naruto," Leo asked as he turned his head towards him, "you think you can sense anyone in there?"
"There is a technique I could use, but it would only sense chakra signatures," Naruto replied.
"Why don't you do what you did on the Triceraton Homeworld?" Don asked.
"Because there I enhanced my sense of smell and hearing, if I tried that here I would get a lot of interference," said Naruto.
"Then we'll do it the old fashioned way," said Leo, "through the front door."
The brothers then headed towards the supply ship where the door was already wide open as they stepped inside.
-Inside the Bunker Supply Ship-
Don took out flashlights and gave one to each if his brothers. They all turned them on and proceeded to walk down a hallway. Presently they came to the central room of the ship.
"Nothing here of any value to the Shredder," said Don as he looked around.
Suddenly a barrier behind them came down and blocked their way out of the ship.
"Yeah, nothing in here but us!" Mikey panicked. Just then several lights turned on and from out of the shadows, Karai made her presence known.
"Karai?" said Naruto.
"We need to talk," Karai answered.
"Why don't you talk to the Sais!" Raph exclaimed as he reached for his weapons, but Leo stopped him.
"Raph wait, let's hear her out," he said as he grabbed his right shoulder, "she did help us out last time."
"Yeah, but she also tried to kill you the time before that, remember?" Mikey asked Leo.
"I apologize for the elaborate set-up, but I knew of no other way to contact you," she said, "I need your help. My master is planning on removing the anti-gravity generator that is currently keeping the city of Beijing afloat in the sky. But once he does so, he is sentencing millions of people to their deaths."
"Let me guess, you want us to stop him?" Naruto asked.
"Precisely," Karai replied.
"So," Leo asked, "does this mean you've finally come to your senses and turned your back on the Shredder?"
"No, I am still duty-bound to serve the Shredder as always. It is just...my morals have changed ever since I...my heart...I just do not wish to be the cause of millions of innocent deaths," Karai replied.
"Even if we agree to help you, what's to stop the Shredder from just coming back to grab the anti-grav generator the next time?" Don asked, "It's not like we can just shut it down."
"Actually," said a familiar robotic-voice emanating from Don's duffel bag, "I might be able to provide some assistance in regarding that particular technical conundrum."
The brothers all gasped at once in shock.
"Am I hearing things?" Mikey asked.
"No way," said Naruro.
"It can't be," said Leo.
"It has to be," said Raph.
"But how?" Don asked as he frantically dug around in his duffel bag and pulled out his PDA, which was the source of the familiar voice. At that moment, on the screen, Professor Honeycutt's robotic head appeared before them.
"Hello," he said.
"Professor Honeycutt!" the brother's happily exclaimed.
"It is you," said Raph.
"But how, we all saw you sacrifice yourself," said Naruto, "you saved the world."
"Oh dear, I'm afraid I don't remember any of that," said Professor Honeycutt, "the last thing I recall was that I was on a rooftop with Donatello broadcasting a signal to make me invisible to the Triceratons. What you all don't know was that I also uploaded a backup of my memory core into the satellite communications network, set to contact you in the event of my destruction. Which...I'm assuming must've happened."
"So you were the one making those calls to my Shell Cell," said Don, "and the download: that was you sending your memory core into my Palm Top."
"Well...most of it. Your hard drive was lacking capacity so I had to forgo some...nonessential information," the professor admitted. Mikey then grabbed the PDA and talked to the professor.
"Who cares professor," he said with a smile, "I'm just so happy to see you!"
"I'm sorry," said the professor, "but do I know you?"
"Michelangelo!" Mikey answered happily.
The professor gave no response.
"Mikey?"
No response.
"The Mikester?"
Still there was no response. Then it dawned on him while his brothers sniggered as quietly as they could.
"Wait," he said, "so I'm non-essential information?"
The robotic professor just ignored him as he continued to address the group.
"Anyway," he continued, "I couldn't help overhearing your dilemma Miss?"
"Karai," she answered as she gave a polite bow.
"With my knowledge of Triceraton technology, I should be able to assume control of the anti-grav generator and gently lower the city of Beijing back to Earth, in theory," said the professor.
"Saving those lives in the process," said Naruto. Leo then grabbed the PDA out of Mikey's hands.
"That's brilliant professor!" Leo exclaimed.
"So, am I to assume we have a deal?" Karai asked.
"Deal," said Leo.
"Now how do we get into Beijing?" Naruto asked.
"Leave that to me," said Karai.
-The Private Foot Airbase Outside New York City: Dusk-
In the wee hours of the evening the next day, more specifically before the sun set, supplies were being loaded into the Zeppelin.
Karai was busy giving directions to a henchman carrying one lone wooden crate. Hun, who was already suspicious of her presence, became even more suspicious at the lone crate.
"What's in the crate Karai?" he asked as he approached and stood next to her, "and why are you suddenly joining this mission?"
"That is none of your concern," Karai cooly replied as she walked away while Hun growled silently in anger.
Meanwhile, Dr. Chaplin busily gave directions to some henchmen as they carried in giant metal spheres.
"What exactly is all this?" Stockman asked as he stood next to Dr. Chaplin.
"Uh, uh, uhh, that'd spoil the surprise," Dr. Chaplin replied with a knowing smile.
-Ten Minutes Later-
With the people and necessities on board, the Zeppelin's jet engines roared to life (did I forget to mention that the Zeppelin has two jet engines) as the hanger roof opened. The Zeppelin's anchors were then raised and the airship started to ascend rapidly.
The sun then started to set as the Zeppelin headed on a course for China.
-14 Hours Later, Beijing, Night-
Inside the Zeppelin, Dr. Chaplin announced over the PA system, "Attention all hands: welcome to China. The floating city of Beijing is dead ahead. Pretty damn cool, huh?"
-Inside the Zeppelin, Cargo Bay-
Karai stealthily snuck around until she knelt next to a side of the wooden crate that would hide her.
She then gave two light taps and whispered, "Stand by, we are approaching Beijing."
"It's about damn time, I really gotta use the little turtle's room," Mikey groaned with a whisper.
Meanwhile up in the bridge, Dr. Chaplin began to slow down the engines to the point where the Zeppelin crawled through the sky as he pushed a button and called out in the PA system, "Activating force-field override." The Zeppelin then phased through the force-field with little difficulty.
Back in the cargo hold, Karai was unaware that Hun saw her kneel beside the crate and whisper something (though he couldn't hear what she said). But to him, it was enough to confirm his suspicions.
"I knew you were hiding something you little bitch," he muttered as he walked over towards the cargo hold control panel which had two sets of buttons: one pair to open and close the loading ramp and the other pair to open and close the floor. He then deliberately pushed the 'Open' button for the floor and sent Karai and the brothers falling to their deaths.
"Oops," he said in an evil innocent voice, "have a nice landing you bitch."
Meanwhile, as the band of brothers were falling right out of the sky, Raph shouted, "I knew we shouldn't've trusted her!"
"We'll argue about it later," Naruto said as he pulled back his right leg, "everybody brace!" He then forcibly kicked open one side of the crate. Everybody then fell through the hole and continued falling. But at that moment, every brother pulled a cord and out popped their own individual hang gliders. Well, almost every brother as Naruto streamlined his body to catch up to Karai.
"Naruto, what are you waiting for?! Deploy!" Don shouted with worry.
In an instant, Naruto had managed to grab Karai by snaking his left arm around her waist.
"Got 'cha," he exclaimed as he used his right hand to pull the cord to pop out the hang glider.
"Thank you," said Karai, "But now you must land, we have much work to do."
-The Zeppelin-
"We're just about to touch down in Tiananmen Square," Dr. Chaplin announced. He then looked around the bridge but only found that Stockman was standing beside him.
"Where's Karai?" he asked.
"She got...bumped from the mission," Hun answered as he made his presence known on the bridge, "Apparently she had a little...falling out with the organization."
-The streets of Bejing-
Without so much as a gust of wind, the five brothers plus Karai stealthily landed on a street.
"What the hell was up with the instant sky diving lesson?!" Mikey exclaimed.
"It was an unforeseen event," Karai calmly replied as the brothers stowed away their hang gliders, "But I have my suspicions."
"You know what you're problem is lady?" Raph asked in a slightly exasperated and annoyed tone, "You can't decide whether you want to help us or kill us, so make up your damn mind already!"
Leo walked over to calm his hot-headed brother down.
"Not now Raph; we're miles off target and we need to get to Tiananmen Square," he said.
Presently, Don found a means of transportation: a red bicycle with a very large open wagon attached to it.
"Hey guys," he said as he ran over to inspect the bicycle before hopping in the wagon with his trusty duffel bag, "how about this; low tech, but effective."
While every brother just shrugged and began to get on, Leo turned around to address Karai.
"Hop in Karai," he said as he turned, only to find that she wasn't there, "Uh, Karai?"
-Tiananmen Square, the Anti-Gravity Generator-
At the site of the Anti-Grav machine, the Chinese Military kept constant vigilance on the only piece of technology keeping them alive for the moment.
Just then, the Zeppelin stealthily flew in.
"God damn it, no one told us there would be a welcoming committee to contend with," said Stockman as he noticed the group's situation.
"That won't be a problem Doc," said Dr. Chaplin as he pushed a button, "Time for to unleash my surprise." The loading ramp then opened as many metal spheres fell out.
The military, not wanting to be crushed by these heavy pieces of mass, tactically retreated. But being crushed was the least of their worries as the spheres transformed into giant Mousers that walked on four legs.
"Mousers 2.0," said Dr. Chaplin, "I took your basic concept and gave 'em a little upgrade. Pretty neat huh?"
"*Humph* Upgrade? More like a side-grade," Stockman muttered.
Meanwhile down below, as the Mousers chased away the last of the Chinese military, they began to focus their efforts on securing the immediate area surrounding the anti-grav generator.
Dr. Chaplin then maneuvered the Zeppelin to hover over the large machine before lowering an enormous claw-machine like grabber atop it. He then slid down the cable that linked the grabber and the Zeppelin and climbed down to the control panel.
At the same time, the brothers made their entrance (Naruto was driving the bicycle at a fast speed).
"Anti-Gravity generator dead ahead," he called out.
"Ready to work your magic professor?" Don asked.
"Oh yes," Professor Homeycutt replied.
From above, Stockman saw their arrival.
"What? How on Earth did those meddlesome fools get here?" he wondered aloud in surprise.
"Don't worry Dr. Stockman, I got this," Dr. Chaplin said as he spoke into a microphone headset, "Mousers, attack!"
The enormous robots complied and began to attack the brothers.
"That's funny," Mikey said as Naruto brought the mode of transportation to a complete stop before all the brothers leapt out with their weapons drawn, "Karai never mentioned anything about over grown mousers."
"Nothing fancy guys, just clear a path for Don and the professor," said Leo.
Naruto then blew a silent, but steady stream of air powered by his wind style chakra which picked up a group of Mousers and propelled them into the air. He then leapt up and executed a barrage of punches and kicks (making it rain robot parts). As he came back down to re-join the group, Leo gave him a look as if to say 'What did I just get done telling you?'.
"What?" Naruto said as he held out his arms with his palms facing up, "You said nothing fancy."
Meanwhile, Dr. Chaplin hurriedly connected his portable control console to the generator's main frame access port.
"Commencing shut-down sequence," he said. He then spoke into his headset to address Stockman and said, "Get ready to haul me up when this baby rips free from the pavement."
Just then Don started to quickly scale the various platforms surrounding the generator (thanks in part to Naruto and the others for managing to clear a path for him). However, Dr. Chaplin noticed this but chuckled in a smug tone.
"Heh, heh, heh, you're too late green guy," he chortled but just as those words left his mouth, the generator ceased all functions instead of lifting itself off the ground."
"Oh shit!" Dr. Chaplin exclaimed in panic-surprise, "That's not supposed to happen!"
The city then began to fall at a rapid descent and anything that was not anchored to the ground began to float in the air.
Dr. Chaplin then maneuvered his way over to the cable and shouted to Stockman, "Pull me up, we're gonna have to ditch it!"
But Stockman had other ideas as he muttered, "No shit, but that's not all we're going to have to ditch my boy." He then pressed a button which severed the cable linking the generator to the Zeppelin.
Meanwhile, back in the falling city, Mikey shouted, "Ok, I don't know about you guys, but I've had enough free falling for one day!"
Don had silently agreed as he opened his duffel bag and said, "Showtime professor!" He then floated up to the access port and pulled out Professor Honeycutt.
"Now then," said Professor Honeycutt, "A carefully regulated surge in the anti-gravity flux capacitor should gradually decrease the descent at a rate of 12.6 thraxors per trigon."
And just like he said, the city then slowed down to a point where everything wasn't floating.
"Thank God that's over with," said Naruto as his feet touched solid ground once again.
"Too bad we're not out of the woods yet," said Raph as the brothers saw the Mousers advance upon them.
As they got out their weapons and resumed their fight, Dr. Chaplin managed to float down. "Yes, I'm alive!" he cheered happily, "Thank you God!"
His celebration was cut short when a lone Mouser leg fell and hit his head, knocking him out in the process.
Meanwhile, Don steadily held the professor as he continued to work as fast as he could.
"How are we holding up?" Don asked.
"I'm afraid I'll have to divert power from the atmospheric shield," the professor replied, "Although, the wind resistance may actually work in our favor." He then proceeded to do just that and just as he predicted, the wind started blowing everywhere. However, just as he also predicted, the winds actually helped slow down the rate of descent. But, while this proved to be useful, it did not make the battle down below any easier.
"As if we didn't have enough problems," Leo said as he sliced up two more Mousers.
All of a sudden, Karai leapt from out of nowhere as she wielded a chain with a mace attached to it.
"Oh, NOW you show up," Raph remarked as he knocked another Mouser away.
"I could ill afford to be seen coming to your aid earlier," Karai replied as she tore up Mousers left and right, "If the Shredder were to find out..."
"No more talk, let's just rip these things to shreds," said Naruto as he formed a giant Rasengan and demolished a large group of Mousers.
Just then, Don shouted to the group, "The city is almost back on Terra Firma!" He then turned his attention back towards the professor and said, "I hope you know what you're doing professor."
"So do I," Professor Honeycutt replied as he made the generator emit an electromagnetic pulse which destroyed not only the generator itself but any and all remaining Mousers. And with that, the massive chunk of land landed back in the exact hole it was dug out of.
"That electromagnetic pulse should have burned out this device while simultaneously nullifying those awful metal ruffians," the professor explained. Don could only smile.
Back at the site of the battle, all the Mousers lay immobile and smoldering as the group put their weapons away.
"It is over," Karai simply said as she began to walk away.
"Not until you walk away from the Shredder Karai," said Leo.
Karai paused as she looked back and replied, "You know I cannot do that."
And she began to walk away again, but this time Leo stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder and turned her around.
"This is the perfect opportunity," he retorted, "They think you're dead. You can disappear and we can help you start a new life."
"Could you easily turn your back on your father?" Karai asked with a stern expression, "even if you knew the things he did were wrong?"
The group gave no reply and Karai walked away.
Leo tried to stop her a second time, but this time Naruto held him back.
"Stop," he told his turtle brother as they both looked at her retreating figure, "it's true, people can be swayed by the right person. But you're just not that person."
"But Naruto..."
"She'll change, I guarantee it. Even if she doesn't realize it herself," Naruto said with a smile.
Just then, Don made an inquisitive "Hmm" as he checked his palm-top.
"What're you lookin' at?" Raph asked.
"Isn't the Forbidden City supposed to be...North of here?" Don asked. Just then the sun started to rise in the most peculiar manner.
"And isn't the sun supposed to rise in the East?" Mikey asked as they all looked at the strange phenomena happening right in front of them.
"Oh dear," said Professor Honeycutt, "Did I set the city down in the wrong direction?"
-Oroku Saki's Headquarters, the Secret Underground Lair-
"The Master will be disappointed that we came back empty handed," said Hun as both he and Stockman stepped off the elevator.
"Not to mention the unfortunate deaths of Karai and Young Dr. Chaplin," Stockman added.
As they approached Oroku Saki, who was working on something that was contained inside a cylindrical container, Stockman muttered, "We blame it all on them; just follow my lead."
Saki stopped what he was doing as he heard them approach.
"Master," Stockman began, "We have unfortunate news: Karai and Dr. Chaplin are..."
"Wait," Saki interrupted as he went to answer a video call on the main chamber's enormous monitor.
As he brought up the video feed, he said, "Perhaps you would like to share your news with Karai and Dr. Chaplin."
As if on cue, the two aforementioned people appeared.
"Hi Dr. Stockman," Dr. Chaplin exclaimed happily as he pointed out the anti-grav generator behind them, "Everything's okay, we made it!"
Saki then crossed his arms and scowled angrily at Stockman and Hun.
"B-b-b-but sir, we-we-we can explain," Stockman said in complete nervousness as he and Hun both started to back away with scared expressions on their faces.
Saki just approached them as he put a claw on his right hand.
"NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Another two months, TWO AGONIZING MONTHS for just one update! This is unacceptable!"
Please forgive me, but real life is hard to control when you have a hobby. Plus I had to finish watching season 3. Not to mention that I recently rediscovered My Life as a Teenage Robot on iTunes (what that means is that I watched the show growing up, but then completely forgot about it until now).
So, as always, please leave a review.