Chapter 13: Pizza the Bakery
Training in the Lair, the Turtles, Trainers and Pokémon practiced. Facing the targets, Ash cocked his tonfas back before throwing it at the target. He threw while Michelangelo and Splinter watched. The tonfa struck the corner of the target. "It's not easy when I'm throwing my tonfa than when I have a Pokéball," Ash admitted.
"But why would you throw your weapon, dude?" asked Michelangelo.
"Ash is understanding the many uses of new weapons, Michelangelo," Splinter pointed out. "Do not forget that your nunchaku have several different uses in and out of combat."
"Besides, I bet you can come up with some attacks without them," Ash encouraged.
"So true, bro," Michelangelo laughed. As they continued, Brock faced Lombre with the kunai knives.
"Ready, Lombre?" asked Leonardo. Lombre gazed sternly to its trainer.
"Use Razor Leaf!" ordered Brock. Spinning, Lombre flung a flurry of leaves at Brock. He slashed at the leaves and knocked them down, pieces of leaves strewn. "Good work, Lombre!" All Lombre did was sigh.
"Your reaction time is significantly high, Brock," Donatello studied. "Though, leaves don't normally move straight."
"I know, and I only went after the ones that came the closest to me," Brock pointed out before turning to Ash as Raphael had Pikachu on his shoulder. "Hey, Ash! Let me try with Grovyle's Bullet Seed!" The request made Ash blink. It took a few seconds before he realized the idea.
"You bet!" he allowed. Grovyle came to face Brock while others seemed curious.
"Not that I don't agree with his idea," Raphael questioned. "But wouldn't Bullet Seed be flying faster and straighter?"
"Common sense would say that," Donatello pointed out. Grovyle spat Bullet Seed at Brock before he slashed at them with the kunai knives. His arms moved faster to strike the seeds before they struck him. However, some seeds flew around his arms and hit him in the face, arms, legs and torso. After the attacks, Brock knelt. He looked to the others. "I should've also said the Bullet Seed attack can be rather sporadic."
"Not to mention that there are better ways to sow the seeds of discontent," Raphael joked. Brock mocked a laugh before Leonardo's Turtle Comm rang.
"Sounds like April found trouble," he alerted as he accessed his Comm. "April, what is it?"
"Foot Soldiers are attacking an Electronic store in the mall!" warned April. "I'm guessing they want to rebuild the Technodrome with all of the tools!" Leonardo knew their time to act was now.
"We're on our way!" he advised before disconnecting. "It's just some Foot Soldiers, so it'll be the four of us."
"Are you sure?" wondered Raphael. "We don't need Ash and Brock?"
"There's nothing about Rocksteady or Bebop," Leonardo pointed out. "I'm sure we'll be back to have some pizza."
"Sounds like 'easy peasy lemon squeezy' to us," Michelangelo believed.
"Regardless, my sons," Splinter spoke. "Take caution."
"We will, Master Splinter," Donatello promised. The Turtles departed as Ash sighed, hands on his hips.
"Understand, young Ash," Splinter spoke. "My sons have more experience with Oroku Saki and his criminal activities and prepare themselves for situations like this." Ash nodded, knowing that he had no standing.
"Not that I'm arguing," he sided before getting an idea. "Say, Master… Is there a chance I can train with you to know how far I'm at?" Splinter smiled to the request.
"Are we that anxious to prove our worthiness?" he pondered. Ash gulped as the raven-haired from Vinnie's arrived.
"Hello!?" he called. Everyone turned to find the young raven-haired pizza-maker.
("You're from Vinnie's!") realized Pikachu. The raven-haired smiled.
"It's the pizza-loving mouse!" he joked. "How are you doing?"
("Pretty good!") replied Pikachu.
"So what brings you down here, Diego?" asked Brock.
"I actually wanted to treat the Turtles after all they've done to protect Manhattan," Diego replied. "I guess I missed out."
"Miss O'Neal called about a few crimes taking place on the streets," Splinter informed. Diego blinked to the news.
"Channel 6's famed reporter?" he blinked.
"Yep, but her friend's fallen for me," Brock admitted. "Not that I'm complaining." Diego giggled to the claim.
"I'm not going to push it," he backed off. "Anyway, I saw your interview with April and I'm curious. What was it in the interview that you didn't want to bring up?" Recalling watching the interview themselves, Brock knew the topic.
"See, I'm training to become a Pokémon Breeder," he answered. Diego became nervous to the title.
"Oh, that might explain Ash's point to you about April," he remembered. Ash wove his hand to stop the embarrassment. "Right. Well, I can imagine how big you are with pizzas since you're with the Turtles." Ash shook his head.
"Not big time, but we have enjoyed pizzas," Ash admitted. "One of my favorites is my mom's Deep Dish Chili Dog Pizza." Diego seemed intrigued to the name.
"Deep Dish Chili Dog?" he repeated. "So, it's a Chili Dog and a pizza?"
"Yeah, and I've had it as well," Brock claimed. "It's also where I learned about Ash's spicier side." Diego chuckled to the idea.
"I totally get it," he understood. "What comes on a Deep Dish Chili Dog Pizza?" Ash smiled to the interest.
"Chili powder," he started. "Chopped onions, hot dog pieces…" Diego listened and listed the toppings.
"I'll have to talk to Vinnie about it," he awed. "Meanwhile, I have the ingredients to make the focaccia crust that I used for the BBQ Chicken Pizza a few days ago." They reached the kitchen where Diego turned on the oven… or at least tried to. "Odd… I think I know why these guys prefer us over their own." Torkoal came to the kitchen which Diego spotted. "Hey, is this tortoise one of yours?" Ash came to Torkoal with an idea.
"Torkoal's mine," he claimed. "And I think he wants to provide some fire." Diego recalled April's footage, seeing Torkoal using Flamethrower made Diego think.
"Let's use it!" he urged before turning to Torkoal. "Would you do the honors?" Torkoal nodded before blowing Flamethrower into the stove. It wasn't a big flame but enough to warm the oven. "Perfect!" He brought out flour, dry yeast, some sugar, salt and olive oil.
"Why are there two different salts?" pointed Brock. Diego picked up one set of salt.
"This salt is kosher salt," he listed before picking up the other salt. "And this is sea salt. They're both beneficial to the focaccia bread." Agreeing, Ash and Brock began to learn about making the focaccia crust while Splinter questioned the bread itself.
"Focaccia?" he repeated.
"It's an Italian flat bread," Diego clarified. The trio started making the focaccia while mixing the ingredients according to Diego's direction. He monitored as Splinter and Pikachu observed. Brock laid out the pan before Ash and Diego lined the crust, deepening the dish. It was thrown into the oven as Brock brought out the ingredients. Diego and Brock worked on topping the pizza with the onion and hot dog pieces. The focaccia crust came out of the oven as Brock made and spread the tomato sauce around the inside before Ash sprinkled the cheese on top while Ash sprinkled chili powder. Once done, the pizza was put back in to bake.
"I must apologize," Splinter excused. "It is the first time I've seen focaccia bread. Of course, bread was never among what I had before coming to America." Diego blinked to Splinter's confession.
"It's weird that I'm with a talking humanoid rat," he murmured. Pikachu wove his arm to end the topic.
("It's a long story,") he motioned. The Turtles came back from their mission.
"We're back!" alerted Leonardo. Joining the Turtles was April.
"Hey guys!" welcomed Brock. "Did you take care of the problem?"
"Of course, amigos!" laughed Michelangelo. "Shred-Head still has it bad for us and the people." April sniffed the air and hummed to the scent.
"What is cooking in the oven?" she asked. "It smells rather good." Ash chose to speak up about it.
"Diego wanted to treat the Turtles personally and we helped," he replied. "Brock and I told him about a pizza my mom made in her Deep Dish Chili Dog Pizza." April and the Turtles awed the name of the pizza.
"Okay, that's a pizza worthy of Vinnie's," Raphael believed.
"Tell me about it," Diego agreed. "Seeing the toppings, I'm more than willing to talk to Vinnie about it." About an hour later and April and Diego returning to the surface, Ash stretched himself. He headed out of the Lair.
"Ash, where are you going?" asked Donatello. Ash turned back.
"I'm going topside to get some fresh air," he wished. Leonardo started to worry about Ash's decision.
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Leonardo brought up. "People have had to see the interview with April to know who you guys are."
"It's alright," Ash assured. "Besides, I'm only going to be up on the surface for about an hour." On that note, he left for the surface. He journeyed for a little while as people saw him and greeted the trainer. He welcomed them back while he came to a vendor on the street.
"Hey, you're the mouse boy!" the mustached man greeted.
"I don't like the name 'Mouse Boy, sir!" groaned Ash.
"No? At least none of us want to call you the next Rat King. Can I interest you in a New York-Style Dog?"
"Sure!" While the vendor cooked a plump hot dog for Ash, he noticed something catching his suspicions.
"Hold on…" The vendor blinked to Ash's refusal as he followed the sketchy people. In a back alley, Ash hid behind a dumpster before listening in to two guys wearing fedoras and trench coats.
"So, you know about the mouse that was featured on Channel 6 a few days ago?" one man briefed.
"Yeah, and your point?" the other man questioned.
"We need to find that kid, get the mouse and find a buyer who'll pay top dollar for that rodent."
"I know that the kid and mouse ain't stayin' in the apartments. After all, the policy of no pets allowed…"
"Even then, you know the kid will do anything to keep the rodent away from peering eyes." Rather than stay hidden, Ash exposed himself.
"You have a point about that," he spoke up. The men realized their scheme was overheard. Ash approached. "He's no one's but mine. You can forget taking him." The men growled, knowing that he could expose them for their greed.
"So, you know what we do to those who snoop on our business," the first man warned as he brought out a butcher's knife.
"We shouldn't do this to kids," the other man mulled. "But we don't want this getting out."
"Then, I'll take you out in this fashion," Ash smiled as he brought out his tonfas. The first man slashed, but Ash blocked it with the sticks before tripping him to the ground. The second man had a tire iron, but he couldn't swing as Ash jabbed his elbow, making the second man drop the tire iron. The first guy started to stand back up.
"Now you'll really pay!" he growled. However, a baseball bat struck the first man's back. He dropped the knife and grabbed for his back in pain.
"Lawbreakers who attack children will face my wrath!" bellowed a man. Looking up, Ash spotted a muscled raven-haired man wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, torn denim pants, a hockey mask and a bag full of wooden tools like a hockey stick, a few golf clubs and a flat-boarded bat.
"It's Casey Jones!" the second man screeched. He started running but the raven-haired caught and threw him in the dumpster.
"That's where your business belongs!" he retorted. The first man stumbled to run, but Casey brought the hockey stick out, hooking the first guy's leg. He threw the first man into the dumpster. "And that's where all criminals belong." He turned to Ash. "Stay out of this if you know what's good for you!" Knowing how fast he dispatched the businessmen, Ash nodded. "Good." Casey left, leaving Ash to wonder.
"Casey Jones?" he repeated. Who was that masked man, and would their paths meet back up?
TO BE CONTINUED...