Bear with me on this chapter, I know it's extremely long. This story is going to have a few large chapters because it will get very complicated and have lots of characters.
Just a reminder: the turtles of multiple iterations will be identified by the year their version came about at the end of their name. Example: 2012 Leonardo would be Leonardo12 and 1990 Michelangelo (from the movie) would be Michelangelo90.
Leonardo87 felt awkward and as he stood behind his brother Donatello, trying to comfort him as he patted him on the back. Donatello had been trying for weeks to rebuild the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick for weeks and after many failed attempts, was nearly to the end of his rope. Leonardo felt sorry for him. Never before had Donatello not known how to build something.
Raphael87 had never seen his brainiac brother so sad, yet so determined. Donatello seemed to have a fire inside him, pushing him to build better and faster, just to see his dimensional duplicate again. All the turtles had felt such a connection, like they belonged, to the other turtle dimensions. But it seemed as if the dimensions were meant to stay separate, because it was pretty much impossible to connect them again.
"I can't do it," Donatello said, exasperated. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. The broken portal stick lay on the table, smoldering. Michelangelo offered him a pizza, which he refused.
Suddenly, there was a huge rushing noise. Papers flew forward into a huge vortex opening up in the middle of the Lair. The turtles braced themselves, gravity pulling them towards the hole with extreme force. It was like a giant swirling portal, a mix of purple and green colors. "We're being invaded by aliens!" Michelangelo screamed, remembering an event such as this happening in the movie he had watched yesterday.
"Not even close, Michelangelo," said a voice. A familiar voice. The turtles perked up, shocked.
"Donnie?" yelled Donatello87, the vortex seeming to suck up the sound. "Is that you? The other Donatello?"
A form walked out of the portal, and strode towards the turtles hunched against the table. It was a tall turtle, wearing a purple mask over pupil-less eyes. It was Donatello! The turtle pressed a button on the machine in his hands and the portal closed. Nobody noticed the thing, just a blur of orange and green, that jumped out at the last second and hid behind a couch.
Donatello87 rushed up to his new best friend and gave him an enthusiastic hug, while the rest of the turtles came over. They jumped high in the air, barely managing the give their tall dimensional brother a high-three. "Long time, no see! Care for a slice of pizza?" Michelangelo87. "I started saving a slice for you a month ago, just in case you came back, but I think it's gone bad now."
Donatello03 smiled wide, chuckling. He could see the machine sitting on the table, something that looked pretty similar to the real Trans-dimensional portal stick, and he knew that Donatello87 had missed him, too.
Shredder12 walked down the aisles of TCRI like he owned the place, which wasn't that far off. Robots, all with the same realistic human look, stood at the ends of their cubicles. They were the Kraang, a race of pink, brain-like alien creatures that had unlimited technology. They came from another dimension, and had been on the Earth for many years, Shredder had deduced from the few times he'd spoken to them. Shredder didn't think much about the Kraang or how odd they were, he merely saw them as a way to unleash his revenge upon the turtles and Splinter. After all, that was all he thought about.
A Kraang walked beside him, leading him obediently to the top floor, and Karai followed behind quietly, looking at all the still robots with mixed awe and disgust.
"Did the Kraang follow my orders?" Shredder said, his voice echoing behind his metal mask. He brandished his fists, covered in sharp and threatening metal spikes. The Kraang, nameless and just the same as all the others in their identical human suits, replied. "The answer is yes. Kraang have done what is known as 'research'. The Kraang who are working for this place revealed to Kraang ways of which you described. What is known as success will be yours. Defeat will come to those known as the turtles."
"Good," Shredder said. He looked happier than he had in years. Karai could tell, even behind his mask; she knew her father well after fifteen years training by his side. Splinter, the rat who took everything away from her, would be dead. She shared her father's happiness, but a small part of her thought of Leonardo. How nice he had been to her when they first met and gotten to know each other. She hated him, but found it fun to be around him at the same time, even if she was always attempting to kill him.
The group walked into the top floor of TCRI, so high up it felt like they were running out of air to breath. Shredder made sure to keep his blades visible, and Karai kept her sword brandished, shiny and threatening. They did not trust the Kraang, they only had a mutual partnership to accomplish their unified goal: defeating the turtles.
There were a group of Kraang, in their regular robot appearances, surrounding a big computer. They talked simultaneously and the room was filled with the sound of their odd speech and the sounds of their robot suits moving. The computer they were at looked misshapen and beaten up, like a conglumeration of several machines. It probably was, since it had just been rebuilt after the humongous battle with the turtles, which had destroyed TCRI.
"Shredder," of the Kraang said, addressing the metal-covered menace. He walked, robotically, over to the man, and began relaying information. "Those who are known as the turtles are a larger threat than previously expected by Kraang. Immediate action is necessary."
"What?" Shredder said. The Kraang didn't immediately respond. Karai pushed her way forward and brandished her sword, taking after her father. She knew that these aliens were capable of so much more technology-wise than humans; they could have easily uncovered something important. And she needed to know, now.
"Spill the information, robot creep," she demanded.
"There are multiple dimensions of what are known as the turtles," the Kraang robot said very quickly. It didn't speak again. The brain-like form in the chest cavity opened its green eyes, seeing the malice in Shredder's. The Kraang's scary green eyes moved about the room, sensing the tension that had just arose.
Not a word was spoken. Shredder merely slid his hand through the air and the robot fell to pieces on the floor. "Kraang!" he shouted, anger inflicting his words, and all the robots turned to look at him. "Get a portal ready. I've got some turtles to take care of!" The robots rushed in all directions, some running into each other.
Shredder turned and walked down towards the end of the room, straight through the hectic mass of Kraang bots. Karai following like a puppy on a leash. Shredder's eyes narrowed. He felt the burn on his face, caused him by Hamato Yoshi. "When I get through with ALL of the turtles, I'll finally have my revenge."
Karai sighed. Shredder, again, didn't see it odd that there were multiple dimensions of turtles, in his narrow-minded ways. He only saw more turtles to kill, more Splinters to defeat, a chance to take his revenge as many times as he wanted. If he couldn't defeat the turtles of his dimension, he could get his revenge on another's. Nothing would stop him. Shredder believed that killing the turtles and Splinter would bring him peace in life, heal the wound in his heart, and possibly his mind, caused by Tang Shen's intimely death.
What would Shredder do after his enemies were defeated? Karai wondered. She stared at her distorted reflection in his sharp metal contraptions. Maybe take up making knives.
Donatello03 sat at the table with all of the Classics and their Splinter, talking about the things that had happened to him in the past month. The events he discussed felt mediocre in comparison to the Turtle Classics' retelling of their battle with Shredder and his Giggle Ray, and all their battles since. The turtle classics' stories sounded like the plots of cartoons, but at least they were better than Donatello's retelling of how he actually knocked down Leonardo in ninja practice this week.
"Sorry, I might be boring you guys with my stories," Donatello03 said, interrupting Michelangelo, who had been getting on a tangent. "My Shredder is defeated, after all. My brothers and I don't do much crime-fighting anymore." He looked around at the Lair, feeling an overwhelming feeling that he belonged here. "It seems like you guys are having the time of your lives with it. Now that New York crime is under control in our dimension, I'm not sure what my brothers and I are going to do now."
Donatello87 shook his head. "You're not boring." He chowed down on his pizza, seeming happy just that his inter-dimensional brother was there. "And I don't know what I'll do after my ninja crime-fighting days are over, either. Maybe I'll pursue the Nobel Prize." The turtles broke into a rowdy conversation once again.
Splinter observed this new Donatello, not knowing exactly what to think of him. He'd never imagined the turtles being so tall as he was. "My sons, they have missed you very much, er, Donatello. Why did you take such a long time to visit us?"
Donatello03 looked down at his food, thinking over his words. "The Turtle Primes forbad us to do any more travel between dimensions. It's too dangerous. But I came here anyways, I missed you guys." The turtle classics realized this was exactly how they had felt about the 2003 turtles, forbidden to visit them but willing to do so anyways.
"The Turtle Primes do have a point," Donatello03 added after a moment. "Our dimension-hopping brought a lot of trouble last month. It was a miracle we survived."
"The Turtle Primes," Raphael87 scoffed, lifting his chin up in self-pride. "Those bossy monochrome morons think they can tell us what to do just 'cuz they're the source of all turtle life." It was true. The Turtle Primes were the first turtles, and the rest of the multi-verse spread off of the source dimension like branches on a tree. It explained how all the dimensions could be so similar, yet so different, and how they even existed.
Suddenly, something moved out of the shadows and jumped forward, jut a blur of green and orange. "I missed you guys, too!" The turtles made the figure out as Michelangelo03, standing tall and proud in front of them all. They sat in shock as the turtle said,"Think I'd let Donnie here visit you without me coming along?"
"Mikey!" Michelangelo87 sat up in his chair, a large smile spread across his face. Michelangelo03 came over and Splinter gave him his chair, treating him no different than he treated his turtles. Michelangelo87 handed his friend a huge slice of pizza.
Leonardo87 picked up Donatello03's Trans-dimensional Portal Stick and examined it closely. "This is truly an amazing invention, Donatello - both of you." He looked at his reflection in it, imagining Leonardo03's next to it. He sighed. Too bad all of the other turtle team hadn't come to visit. He'd have loved to see the other Leonardo again.
Back in the 2003 dimension, Leonardo03 sat alone in the Lair at the table, stirring his tea. It was so early that even Splinter was still asleep, along with the other turtles. The Lair, as big as it was, felt empty. He looked at the area over to his left that Hun the turtle had destroyed when he'd infiltrated the Lair. Leonardo could almost see all the Turtle Classics hoping around the room in their rush to defeat the man.
He missed Leonardo Classic. And he had an odd feeling that Leonardo Classic missed him, too.
Raphael87 took the Trans-dimensional Portal Stick out of Leonardo's hands and examined it, too. "Hey Donatellos, wanna visit some other dimensions? There are so many out there."
Both of the purple-masked turtles hesitated. They shared a glance at each other, and could tell they were both thinking the same thing. Maybe it was the thrill of being back together, or the fact that they'd already broken their promise to the Primes by dimension-travelling, but slowly two reckless smiles slid across their faces. "Yeah, why not?" they said simulaneously.
"Cowabunga, dude!" Michelangelo87 shouted, plucking up the Portal Stick. He pressed a random button and it began to whirr like an engine, flicker with yellow light. A bolt of color shot out and hit the wall, spreading out to form an image. The six turtles and Splinter, who looked a little apprehensive, stared at it in awe.
"Woaaah..."
Sprawling New York City, with equal splashes of darkness and bright colors from neon lights. It rained hard, pitter-pattering the only noise in the whole city. Four small forms ran by in the distance, performing amazing tricks as they maneuvered themselves about on the rain-slick rooftops. The Turtles. What dimension of the multi-verse was this?
The turtles all walked forward, pushing away all their second thoughts. Splinter stayed behind, waving, hiding his nervousness. He'd waved goodbye to his sons as they went on so many strange, dangerous missions that he was now used to it. Why should this time be any different?
-The 2007 movie universe-
Four teens ran along the rooftops, their breath sharp and their footfalls becoming heavier and heavier with each step. The one in the front, named Leonardo, tried hard to endure the tiredness that had fallen over him, but once he came to the end of the roof, he realized he was too exhausted to leap to the next and ended up falling in a heap against an arched glass window.
Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo came up and sat down next to him. They were tired, too, unable to discern the sweat on their arms from the rain pouring down on them. Donatello picked up the ends of his mask, uselessly squeezing the water out of them. "How long was that training exercise, Leo?" he asked. He was usually the most shy and silent turtle of the brotherhood and the others were surprised to hear him talk. Maybe working in IT tech support for a couple years, a job he had recently quit, had finally made him come out of his shell and speak more.
Leonardo smiled, proud that he'd lasted full-on training for such a long time. "At least seven hours, Donnie." Usually their training only lasted four to six hours, but since Leonardo had returned from Brazil, the turtles had realized their crime-fighting days were not near over and began to train more rigorously than they had in two years. They were nineteen-years-old and Leonardo couldn't see the day when they'd finally take off their masks. Soon they'd just have to be the Early Twenties Mutant Ninja Turtles. Not really as good a ring to that title.
Michelangelo slid farther and farther down the glass window, breathing hard. His eyes were closed and the turtles all knew he was asleep. They were quiet, listening to him talk in his slumber, something he often did that Leonardo had missed during his days in Brazil. "...Dude...Dude...Dude..." There was a long pause. "...Dude..."
Raphael stood up and stretched. "Let's get back to the Lair." He began to walk to the edge of the rooftop, Leonardo standing up and following after. Donatello looked down at Michelangelo, who was able to sleep through anything. He hesitated. "Uh, guys, can we wait until Mikey wakes up? I don't want to carry him back to the Lair like you made me last time."
Raphael groaned impatiently, stopping in his tracks. He didn't say anything, and let the stress flow out of him, breathing softly and closing his eyes. He'd realized when Leonardo had returned that anger wasn't a good alley to go down in his life and he'd been working hard for the past weeks to get it under control. He didn't want to see his brothers flinch at his every move anymore, preparing to get out of his way if he went off.
Donatello knelt beside Michelangelo, trying to shake him awake. Raphael gathered himself and joined his purple-masked brother. "Yo, Mikey, wake up."
"...Dude..." It didn't seem to be working, Michelangelo was still fast asleep.
Leonardo stood at the edge of the rooftop, smiling. Two years being away from his family had made him forget just why he loved them. Now he could never see himself doing anything but leading them, through everything from training exercises to their greatest fights. He'd never leave them to fight their own battles without help.
Suddenly, the wind picked up, screaming with power. Leonardo felt air slam into him, trying to knock him down, and his mask ends fluttered furiously. Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael huddled against the arched window, yelling in confusion. Leonardo struggled to stand his ground, feeling his feet slide out from under him slowly on the slick rooftop. "What's going on?" he shouted into the wind and rain hurling towards his face.
Something new appeared on the next building over, a small black vortex-like object swirling in mid-air. It reminded Leonardo of the portal the thirteen monsters had been thrown into after their fight with the turtles. They are coming back, Leonardo thought, pulling out his swords. He hunched forward to resist the wind, ready to fight if he had to. Memories from the fight with the monsters flicked in and out of his mind.
He couldn't believe what he saw step out of the portal instead. Even through the hurtling wind, Leonardo could hear his brothers' gasps. The thing across them on the other rooftop stepped out of the portal, five other similar forms following it, spreading out. They stared at Leonardo and Leonardo stared back. "Turtles?" he asked, puzzled.
Sure enough, the things across him were definitely humanoid turtles. An orange-masked, a purple-masked, a red-masked, and a blue-masked that were short and pudgy, and two other taller ones. Leonardo could barely think, his mind was rushed, but he could hear his brothers get up and and walk over to his side. The portal closed and the wind stopped immediately. The rain slowed down to a light drizzle.
"They look just like us..." Michelangelo said, ogling. He was now completely awake, thanks to the shocking wind. The turtle began to walk down the edge of the rooftop, staring at them all. The short turtle across the roof with an orange mask began to walk along the rooftop as well, mimicking Michelangelo's movements. "Clones!"
"No, Mikey," Donatello said, pulling Michelangelo away from the edge of the rainslick roof. "They are definitely mutant turtles, and they have our mask colors. But they look very different from us, too. Different height, different shades of green..."
"What do you want from us?" Leonardo yelled.
Suddenly, one of the turtles across the roof backed up, ran forward, and jumped all the way over to them. He landed on the roof gracefully, but all the others on the roof started and leapt backwards. "Stay away from us, clones!" Michelangelo warned, reaching for his nunchucks.
The mystery turtle stood up and brushed himself off. He was tall, almost as tall as the 2007 Turtles, but with a robust square face. He wore a purple mask and the eyes underneath it were completely white. Leonardo07 walked up to him,"What do you want?" He kept his sword out, showing distrust for the new turtles.
Donatello03 smiled a little, waving for the rest of the new turtles to jump over. Donatello07 gripped his bo staff hard, knowing that he and his brothers were outnumbered by these new imposters.
Once all the new turtles were on the same rooftop, Michelangelo87, carrying the Inter-dimensional portal stick, walked up to the 2007 turtles. "We come in peace, earthlings," he said, just before Donatello87 pushed him out of the way. The 2007 turtles narrowed their eyes suspiciously and the 1987 and 2003 turtles began to wonder if doing more dimension-hopping was truly a poor idea. These new guys didn't look too friendly.
"Sorry about that," Donatello87 said,"That's just Michelangelo being Michelangelo." He turned and looked at his brothers behind him and they nodded for him to continue. Donatello87 nodded, turned to the 2007 turtles and said,"I understand we've got some explaining to do..."
Shredder stomped up the white gleaming stairs, looking at his reflection staring right back at him. He was determined and ready to get this over with. Within hours, he would finally have his revenge on the Turtles and Splinter. As many times as he wanted.
He stepped onto a large white circle, surrounded by three strange attachments on the side, their design a little like guns, The giant machine's design was a distracting white and pink, humming as it slowly turned on. Shredder could hear the Kraang behind him, clicking buttons and giving commands. After what Shredder had done to multiple Kraang when they had refused to let him use the portal, the aliens were following his every order once again.
The monitor, large and ominous, displayed the dimension that Shredder was about to travel into. The city was dark, much darker than the New York of this dimension. Close-ups and each of the turtles, out in plain sight on a rooftop. They were lithe and tall, all very similar to each other. They looked radically different from the 2012 turtles, the ones this Shredder was used to.
Karai, silently and obediantly, followed her father up the steps and began to take her position next to him in the middle of the portal device. However, Shredder held out his hand, commanding her to go back. "This endeavour is for me and me alone, Karai. You are to stay back and make sure the Kraang follow my orders. Do not let them close the portal on me."
Karai looked a little disappointed. She mumbled something under her breath and walked away, pushing robots down that got in her path. The crowd of Kraang quickly separated for her, and she walked straight down the open path to the computers. She turned to look at her father, then to a Kraang. "Do it."
"Your mother will be avenged by the time I return, Karai," Shredder said as the vortex opened behind him. The words were soft, strange for the Shredder, but they cut in to Karai like a knife. She looked away. "Send him away already," she hissed at the Kraang. She walked away, trying to regain control over herself as emotions flowed in. Her breath slowed, her eyes closed. She hadn't cried at all in ten years and she wasn't going to do so now.
It felt good, what Shredder said, after she thought about it. She looked behind, as her father climbed into the unknown, and smiled. "Make Splinter pay. If you can't find the turtles here, you can find them somewhere else. I just hope every dimension of them feels the pain you deal one."
The 2007 Turtles looked around at each other, sharing quick glances. These new turtles had just finished their story. It had been told quick and enthusiastically, with many interruptions, but the 2007 turtles had gotten the gist of it.
Raphael07 stepped forward, looking suspiciously at the newcomers. "So you want us to believe that there are countless dimensions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? You're jokin', right?"
The 2003 and 1987 turtles looked at each other, smiling like they were sharing an inside-joke. Donatello looked at the lithe, tall Raphael and said,"What more proof do you need?" He gestured around at all the turtles behind him.
Raphael looked at a loss for words. Leonardo07 could tell that his brother believed the story he'd been told. After all, there wasn't a more logical way to explain the sudden appearance of six more turtles. But Raphael seemed to be in denial. He was trying to push this sudden radical thing out of his mind. It reminded him, this portal-travelling, too much of the thirteen monsters they had only defeated weeks ago. That fight had nearly lost Leonardo.
Donatello07 stepped forward, as did the two other turtles that shared his name. He looked at them both, examining what was different and the same about them, and how they were similar to himself. Could they really be his dimensional duplicates?
"This Trans-dimensional Portal Stick," Donatello07 said, pointing to the device cradled in Michelangelo87's hands. "It travels through dimensions with the push of a button? How could you create a device that complex? It's impossible. My studies of dimensions and galaxies throughout the years have given me nothing near the knowledge needed to produce that." He stared at the device, analyzing it.
Donatello87 and 2003 shared a knowing glance. "Science isn't all about facts, you know."
Donatello07 began to object, but suddenly the wind picked up again. It knocked him down, but his brother Michelangelo quickly helped him to his feet. "Not again!" Leonardo complained, hunching against the arched glass window, crowded by the nine others around him.
"What's going on?" Michelangelo87 shouted, squinting into the hurtling wind. He clutched the Inter-dimensional Portal Stick with all his might.
"This exact occurrence happened when you six appeared!" Donatello07 shouted at the top of his lungs. "The vortex you opened acts as a black hole. That means there's more people coming, from other dimensions!"
"Okay, bozos," Raphael07 said, eyeing his goofy 1987 counterpart,"Exactly how many other turtles did you invite to this get-together?"
"Nobody!" Leonardo87 shouted in response. He looked at the new swirling vortex on the roof over, terrified of what could come out of it. "We've got to do something!"
"You'd think we already would have done something if we could," Michelangelo07 said, struggling to stand up. He rolled his eyes at Leonardo87.
"Something's coming out!" Michelangelo07 yelled, pointing at the vortex.
Throughout this story I am going to be sharing some of my experiences and observations about TMNT and its history on the bottom with each chapter. Here is my first one:
I am a huge fan of the 2007 TMNT movie, though that wasn't always the case. The first time I saw it I nearly despised it because I felt that the 13 monsters storyline was a little strange, even for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and that it needed Shredder. However, I see now the thing this movie was trying to set up: the Ninja Turtles don't need to the Shredder to be great. They were trying to be creative, because having Shredder be in everything TMNT was like having the Joker be the only villain Batman ever faces. The TMNT have so much more potential, but because the 2007 movie did not do so well, it is doubtful there will be a movie with any villain but Shredder for quite a while. I'm not saying Shredder isn't cool (he's actually one of my favorite villains ever) but the TMNT have so many different bad guys.
Sorry, that one was a little lame. Each of the tidbits at the bottom will sort of relate to the chapter above (such as my experience with one of the iterations of TMNT introduced in that chapter).
And sorry this chapter was so dang long! I hope it was good enough that you could plow through it. :D