Chapter 18: Ratsurrection

2 minutes earlier...

Todd sat on the bike, helmet on, fidgeting impatiently. Irma hurried over, laden with a number of objects begged, borrowed or stolen.

"We can't leave it much longer..." Todd warned.

"I know, I know, I know..." Irma draped a large sheet around him and wrapped it as securely as she could while leaving his arms free. "But you can't get so much as a drop of that stuff on you." She experienced a giddy moment of self-awareness, and a surge of panic at the realization of what she was doing. Namely, assisting a minor to do something extremely dangerous in possession of a vehicle he wasn't even supposed to drive! "Todd, are you sure about this? I don't think this is a good idea..." she said nervously.

"I can do this!" he said, determined. "Look, we're the only ones out here who even know what's going on. We have to try!" He looked round, irritated, as they were joined by several other people. Irma noticed them only when it was too late, and realized with a start it was Jim McNaughton and his crew from Channel 3. Broadcasting live.

"So, what have we here, huh...?" he asked, laughing-voiced. "Well, young man, I hope you're not going to perform any stunts here tonight. Don't go jumping over any rats. Seriously, though, what's this about...? I'll ask your mom here."

Irma was becoming increasingly annoyed as he spoke, and that just about did it. His mom? I'm only twenty-three! Plus, they'd met at Channel 3 and now he didn't even recognize her! Why, that-! All she ended up saying was "Excuse me? I'm not his mother!"

"Aunt, whatever," Jim replied, only half-listening. "What's this all about?"

"Now or never...!" interrupted Todd, revving up the bike's engine. He had been watching the space where there used to be a window above, and seen the figure looming up. He shifted inside the hastily-donned makeshift cape, adjusted the helmet one last time and judged the distance across the square carefully...

Looking sidelong at them, bemused, Jim turned to go and addressed the camera again. "Well, folks, as we leave this young would-be Evel Knievel to do whatever he's gotta do, you have to wonder where our city's police are at this moment. Makes you wonder, indeed." Jim looked back at the rat-infested square. "Like, maybe they know something we don't."

Irma stood back and put her hands over her face, too terrified to look, as Todd set off and accelerated across the square toward the foot of the pipe. As he hoped they would the rats scattered from his path, self-preservation overriding the Rat King's control, however briefly...

Todd turned the bike as he approached the wall of the building, twisting gradually sideways and jumping off right before impact...

The bike hit the wall and broke apart, leaking fuel, just as the first drops of mutagen issued from above. No rats were there to receive it, but some of the liquid got on Todd's protective gear as he crawled urgently away. He saw the rats starting to come back and speeded up as much as his injured knee would allow. After all that, was this even going to work...?

The bike caught fire and a few seconds later it exploded, damaging the bottom of the pipe and driving away the rats. Todd threw off the protective gear and quickly limped the last few paces to safety helped by Irma. "We did it!" he announced triumphantly. "Uh, I hope April's not too angry about the bike."

April was pacing back and forth a few steps, using what little freedom she had, and looked up, startled, at the sound of the explosion. "What was that...?!"

The Rat King was facing out, away from her, but she saw his shoulders slump a little.

The Turtles got some funny looks as Chief Sterns led the way into the Crisis Control Room. Headphones and mics were set aside, mouths hung open, conversations were interrupted. Silence reigned.

"Get on with what you're doing," Sterns commanded irritably. "Nothing to see here!"

"Well, Raph..." Leonardo patted his brother on the shoulder. "Is it everything you hoped?"

"What?"

"Here we are, out of the sewer and among people."

"And him." Raphael pointed to Sterns, and the Chief looked up at him suspiciously.

"What...?" Sterns demanded, and Leonardo and Raphael enjoyed their private joke.

Donatello had rushed to the central desk. "Ooh, I've always wanted to get a look at this close up." He picked up the headset. "May I..?" Sterns nodded, and Donatello listened in.

"I don't know exactly what you four can do about this..." Sterns said to Leonardo, "But I have a feeling this sort of crisis isn't totally new to you. Hell, I may not be in a job tomorrow... There might not be a New York tomorrow if this is as bad as you say it is..."

"It's bad," said Leonardo. He got distracted by Michelangelo perching on the desk of an attractive young female police officer and making her laugh by juggling some stationery. Turning his attention back to Sterns, he sighed.

"What you got, Chief, and I swear to you I'm not making this up, is a supernatural being who can control the minds of all rodents. We think he might have got access to the ooze that made us the way we are, so imagine if you want to a whole army of mutant ninja rats..." Leonardo watched Sterns' face throughout this, but the Chief kept his expression neutral.

"If anybody but a giant mutant turtle had told me that, I'd be having him committed right about now..." It was his turn to sigh. "Well, I'm not about to let this city fall on my watch. What do you need?" Leonardo and Raphael glanced at each other, as Michelangelo came over to join them, casually waving goodbye to his new friend.

"OK, Chief," said Donatello, putting down the headset. "I got an idea, but I'm gonna need carte blanche."

"I don't know if this is the right time to start thinking about dessert, Don," said Michelangelo. "But if we are, could I order some pizza first?"

After putting the keg of mutagen back on the floor, the Rat King made his way with difficulty over to a wall and leaned against it for support. Several minutes later, he was still there. April, sitting on the ground where the rats had her penned, looked up at him despondently. "You OK?"

It took visible effort for him to turn. "Now, there is a question."

"Kinda my specialty." April stood up, brushing dust and fragments of wall plaster off her leather pants. "What happened to your mutant army? Did the plan work?"

"It seems not."

"Yeah," she mused. "Hey - If your plan has failed, I suppose you might as well, y'know, let me go…?" That was said with an affected casualness, like the possibility had just occurred to her and it was, um, no big deal or anything... He shook his head, despite the pain it obviously caused him "Oh, come on!" she said with a more genuine note of desperation. "How does giving me back to the Foot help anything...? Least of all, me?!"

"I have no wish to kill you, and yet I cannot risk your jeopardizing my cause. You give me little choice."

"Yeah, right…" Turning away, April really wished she could come up with a convincing counter-argument - Basically, anything but wait here and be handed back to the Foot. Handed back to the Foot. The Turtles could make a joke out of that, probably, but she didn't feel much like joking. Breathe slow, O'Neil… Calm… There had to be some way she could persuade the Rat King to let her go.

"Well, I escaped once already," she pointed out sullenly, sounding feeble even to herself.

"I'm sure they will hold you more securely this time," he replied.

Yeah, I'm sure too... That colony of butterflies in her stomach was back. "Look, no offense, but your cause-" April stopped, and chose a different tack. "You know, you don't look so good. And that's not an insult, it's an observation." His breathing was coming in ragged gasps, and she wasn't even sure he was still listening. "Seriously. Lemme get you to hospital," she said hopefully.

He gave the ghost of a smile. "You don't understand."

"Don't understand…? Yeah, you probably got that right. Tell you what, go ahead and explain if you want...!" With that, his eyes flickered and he suddenly toppled over to the floor and lay there motionless.

"Oh, come on!" she exclaimed. "Really?" She threw up her hands in a gesture of frustration, and when they returned to her side after slapping loudly against leather-clad thighs April cringed at the noise she had inadvertently made - The rats were calm, and she really did not want that to change.

"Uh… You OK there?" She moved from side to side and stood on tiptoes to get a better look, but there wasn't much she could do trapped in the corner. "Well, that's great... Just great!" She looked down at the rats - With or without their master, they were still clearly intent on keeping her prisoner. "If you would just let me out, I might be able to help!" They stayed where they were.

"No, didn't think so." She leaned against the wall, arms folded. "Great going, guys!"

Freddy led the way cautiously along the hotel corridor, alert, ready to fight at any moment. As he turned a corner he found himself face to face with Matt and the rest of the other party. "OK. Floor checked," Freddy said brusquely. "Anything?" Matt shook his head. "Up we go."

For a while the rats stayed guarding April. Gradually, though, they started to wonder why they were doing that, and without the controlling animus they had no answer. They drifted off, individually scampering around investigating their surroundings.

Cautiously, April stepped out of the corner. She was free. A quick glance back at the exit, and then down at the Rat King's body. He was still breathing. "Listen, uh, I'll send some help. OK?" Her eyes darted back to the exit. "Uh, I gotta go. If the Foot are around somewhere, I really don't wanna be here when they arrive."

The Rat King's eyes closed, and for a moment she thought that might be it. She glanced back again, and reluctantly moved closer to him, crouching down. "Oooohhh... Why do I get myself into these things?" She saw blood seeping out from under his body. "Oh God." He was a little too heavy for her to move, and even then, moving him might make things worse...

A hand reached up and gripped hers convulsively, and held on. April tried to pull away, but after a moment she relented. This was it for the Rat King, so it seemed. She couldn't bring herself to leave him there alone.

A swift Turtle conference – it was funny how quickly that was catching on – decided their next move. Once again Donatello would go solo, and he was going to have a busy night ahead of him. The others would head straight over to Holland Square through the sewers. "Everybody good...?" asked Leonardo. "OK, let's go!"

April felt the grip of the Rat King around her hand slacken, and gently set the hand down onto his chest. The bandages were looser around the face now, and she could see him clearly. Thinning dark hair, deep creases. A kind-looking face in repose. A regular guy. Not a monster. She sat there by the body for a moment, unexpectedly saddened. If she hadn't been so affected, April might have noticed the shadows move around a little more than before.

She did hear the scuffing of a boot on the floor and, eyes widening, realized too late that she was no longer alone. April looked round and saw Freddy's smirking face just a few feet away. "Were you very close?" he asked mockingly.

She flinched as she was hauled to her feet by two Foot ninja, who immediately started tying her hands. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" she protested unhappily, as Freddy got up and smiled at her coldly.

"You have to admit, that was funny?" he asked lightly.

"Why don't you go find yourself a mirror, Freddy? It's the only- Ow! It's the only... appreciative audience you'll ever get!" Her gaze drifted over, betraying the concern uppermost on her mind, as one of the ninja cautiously picked up the abandoned keg and glanced inside. He nodded in response to his leader's questioning glance, and Freddy seemed pleased at that as he turned back to her.

"It's funny you should say that. I intend to connect with a very appreciative audience very soon... Yours." Ignoring her what the hell are you talking about? look, he nodded toward the exit and with a Foot ninja gripping each arm April was bustled away.

The door into the stairwell had a little window in it, and Irma peered timidly through before venturing inside. At the first sign of a Foot ninja on the stairs above, she was glad she had. Shrinking back out of sight, she waited as booted feet squeaked their way down to the same level as her and then began descending the next flight. Risking another glance through, Irma's heart sank at what she saw.

April did her best to give the two ninja holding her as hard a time as possible – wriggling, digging in her heels and generally making them work for every bit of ground covered. She figured she had a reputation for feistiness to uphold. If not, she certainly wanted one.

What did Freddy mean about connecting with her audience…? She threw a concerned look behind her at the ninja carrying the keg of mutagen, and found her attention caught by something else for a moment. Did something catch the light behind the doors leading to the main corridor...? Like a pair of spectacles...?

Above, half-crouching in an agony of indecision, Irma watched helplessly as April and her captors disappeared from sight. She couldn't quite believe she was just watching and doing nothing - but what could she possibly do?

Bryan had lost count of the cups of tea he had accepted politely from the inhabitants of the apartment. He never strayed very far from the body of the mutant rat in the bed. What did this mean…? Somehow, he knew this was the source of the voice that had guided him here, though he had no idea how. Yet the rat seemed to be in a state beyond mere sleep. No attempt to wake him had been successful, and the family had simply put their comatose guest to bed and hoped for the best.

The boy had explained some of it. His grandfather had found the kappa lying on the ground unconscious that afternoon, and acting more out of instinct than anything else had swiftly concealed him and sought help to bring him here. They had no idea where he had come from, but firmly believed his well-being had been entrusted to them for a short while. The kappa had woken briefly during the evening, and told them to expect a visitor to the sign of the rat, then he had lapsed into his coma.

Bryan stared at the rat's face for what seemed like hours, hoping some great truth would reveal itself. Something made him believe that waiting for this creature to impart its knowledge was the natural way of things.

Bryan... The time has come...

The statement needed to be repeated before Bryan realized it wasn't some kind of auditory hallucination. He leaned forward and, trying not to let the creature know how vaguely ridiculous he felt, tried to project his own thoughts. Before he got anything coherent together, the voice came again.

I know everything about you, Bryan... There is no need to hide anything from me...

Uh, everything...? Typical. The fate of the world at stake – Really? Where did that come from? – and he was worried about-

-There will come a moment where it all depends on you, Bryan. You must be ready...

There was more. Much more than that. Bryan listened.

The elevator pinged. The doors opened, and there was a moment of silence. The rats erupted from inside. They streamed along the corridor and into the area being renovated, apparently knowing just fine where to go. A pre-proggrammed purpose drove them, an ancient one, and nothing would stop them.

Irma certainly wouldn't, and nor did she have any intention of trying. She tiptoed her way in and stood, petrified, as the rats surged past her. "Ooh, I hate rats...!" she squealed. Then added "No offense…!"

The rats congregated around the prone body of the Rat King and waited a moment. Then, as one, they passed in a wave over his body. Then they sort of pulsed, it was the only word Irma could think of to describe it. A slow rhythmic in and out motion, as if the carpet of rats was one single living, breathing, thing.

Before her horrified gaze, they left the Rat King's body and, again as one, left the area. The sound of their scampering feet on the floor faded into the distance. Far off, she heard the elevator door ping again.

Rats can use elevators...? Even though it was by no means the strangest aspect of what Irma had just seen, it was the part she just couldn't get past!

The Turtles – or three of them at least - ran through the sewer tunnels, once again in their element. "It's funny..." Raphael said.

"What?"

"We finally got it so we can go wherever we want up there, and the first thing we do is choose to come back down here."

"Yeah." Leonardo appreciated the irony, but at that moment they reached the foot of the ladder where, unknown to them, Freddy and company had accessed the hotel earlier. "We'll go up here. The hotel is evacuated, so it's OK."

Michelangelo threw himself up the ladder and was soon pushing up against the access cover. "Whoa, guys, this is heavy."

"Need some help?"

"Nah, I got it." With a final grunt of effort, Michelangelo had pushed the cover up into the cellar and with an agile movement leaped up after it.

"OK up there…?" Called Leonardo.

"Gimme a sec, guys," Michelangelo replied. "It's dark up here…" He felt something on the floor next to his hand, and picked it up. A leather glove. Why did that…? Of course, April's other glove. How did it…?

Something dived at him from one of the corners, and bowled him over before rolling away again. Whiskers! Dazed, Michelangelo sat up and saw a flying ball of fur hurtling toward him again. "Guuuuuys...!"

Leonardo and Raphael climbed into the cellar and stopped for a moment, astonished. Not for long, though. Their response to one of them being in trouble was hard-wired, and they threw themselves after Whiskers and the four of them collapsed in a heap of limbs. With an enormous effort, they wrestled Whiskers into submission and held him down so they could get a good look at him.

"What the-?" Raphael was incredulous.

"Anyone else starting to feel a little less special?" pondered Leonardo.

Kevin, Jim McNaughton's driver and assistant, was fielding the inevitable complaints about him as he wandered back to the van with the cameraman and sound guy. He felt like he spent half his time doing that. "Yeah, I know, guys, I know, but the thing is..."

He tailed off as he approached the Channel 3 van, some instinct made him uneasy. Something wasn't right. Hushing the others, he wandered round it once, had a look at the tires and then stood there for a moment. Shaking his head, he dismissed his qualms. "Sorry guys, I just had a... moment there. I dunno. Don't mind me, OK?"

The other two gripped the van's rear doors and hauled them open as Kevin made his way to the cab. Light flooded into the interior - and Foot ninja sprang forward out of the shadows!

As Kevin and the others were quickly overpowered more Foot ninja emerged from the nearby alley and darted for the back of the van - One of them had April pinned against him, a gloved hand clamped over her mouth. Only a few seconds later, with all their prisoners in the back of the van, the party of Foot ninja sped off in their stolen vehicle.

Jim hurried toward the van, muttering irritably. He had just been to take a leak, and doing that in New York at 3am was a bit of an adventure to say the least. He had promised the guys he would just be a few minutes, and that must have been at least twenty minutes ago. Then he thought about it, and shrugged. Let 'em wait. He was the talent.

He stopped, astonished. The van was leaving without him! Jim watched as it departed, and anger, confusion and petulance fought for dominion on his broad face. We'll see about this! Looking round, Jim hit upon a solution. He waved his hand in the air. "Taxi...!"

Bryan Bryant strode through the dark streets, back the way he had come, with a new purpose. He knew where he stood now, and he knew who he was. He was part of a struggle against evil that had been raging since before history itself – and now, finally, whatever the mistakes of the past, he was on the right side.

They were waiting for him, and as he passed they erupted from the alley en masse. Bryan spun round as they impacted upon him and rat after rat climbed up his body and engulfed him. Paralyzed in terror, his muffled scream was cut off completely, and the shambling, shaggy mass of fur and tails collapsed, the body within thoroughly cushioned, protected from harm.

Pulsing.

Eventually the rats moved off their victim, and the prone body of Bryan Bryant lay on the ground. One eye snapped open, and quickly closed again. Then both opened together. Bryan finally had, strictly speaking, what he had always wanted from life. He was no longer alone.

Splinter woke. This time, properly. The boy was the first to notice, and called his grandparents excitedly. By the time they made it through to the bedroom, their kappa guest had risen from the bed and stood shakily before them.

To their astonishment, Splinter spoke to them. "I... Thank you... I am sorry, but I must... leave you. There is much to do..." As he shakily took his first steps, Splinter grabbed the corner of the bed for support. The boy gestured for him to stay there and ran out of the room.

He came back a minute later, holding something with the reverence due a magic talisman. "Here ya go, Mister Kappa..." he said in a hushed tone. He handed over and Splinter gladly accepted something that gave him both physical and spiritual support. His stick.

Now he was ready. The master ninja was back.

Bryan Bryant got to his feet and took in his surroundings. It was a lot to get used to. It had been nearly sixteen years since the last time this process had taken place, and it always left the body a little shaky. He needed time to acclimatize. Not too much time, however. The end game approached.

The Rat King smiled at the prospect.

Next: The Rat King goes shopping, April gets back to work and Whiskers loves being a Turtle...