Chapter 22: Zipp Off the Old Block

"Guys, come on over!" shouted Donatello. Those in the lab came into the tech room where they observed an orange tank-like machine. Everyone became interested with the new device.

"What's this?" asked Brock.

"It's my patented Pizza Dough Maker," Donatello replied. Ash and Brock seemed skeptical while Michelangelo liked the idea.

"Radical, dude!" he approved as Donatello grabbed a sack of flour.

"A little flour…" he listed before grabbing a bucket of water. "A little water…" Finally, he came to a lever on the side. "And watch!" The machine whirled around and started the process.

"A way to make pizza dough without getting your hands dirty?" questioned Ash. "I don't know…" Quickly, Donatello heard a problem with the maker.

"Sounds like the flywheel's a little off," he assumed before globs of pizza dough shot out like cannonballs. Everyone ducked, though one did get Brock flush in the face as he fell.

"BROCK!" shouted Leonardo. Donatello pulled the lever back which powered down the machine. Ash and Pikachu came to Brock, worried about his well-being. He started to come around and wipe his face, seemingly okay.

"I'm going to sound like another cartoon character when I say 'd'oh'," he muttered. "Because that hurt."

"Yeah, I don't know about pizza-making," Raphael shrugged. "But that's one heck of a weapon." As the Turtles and Trainers assessed the damage, Krang was assessing the damages to the Technodrome after Michelangelo, Raphael, April, Vernon, Pete, Ash and Pikachu used the explosive charges to activate the volcano and trap their fortress.

"This is unbelievable!" he yelled. "First, we're trapped on an island floating in Dimension X, then we have that one trainer mock me while foiling with the explosive charges, and now we're trapped by the magma from the volcano we tried to free ourselves from!"

"Not to mention that we have a handful of morons to deal with!" pointed Shredder, referring to Team Rocket, Rocksteady and Bebop.

"Why, oh why were we cursed to have them join in!?" complained Krang. "We must get off this volcano before the magma destroys the Technodrome!" Using his super suit, Krang pulled the large lever.

"You don't expect us to go out there and push, right?" nagged Jessie. "It wouldn't look good for the complexion." Suddenly, a crash. A chorus of metallic smashes worried those inside. "That didn't sound good."

"Hopefully, it's not serious," Shredder assumed. They entered the engine room where a giant gold beam broke off of a generator.

"Oh no…" gulped Krang.

"It just got really serious!" yelped James. "Are those the shafts?"

"They are, and they're busted!" complained Krang.

"So?" shrugged Rocksteady. "Why not just get a new one to replace it?"

"On this miserable dump of a planet!?" snapped Krang. "This is what I get for thinking a small army would end those turtles." Meowth came to the broken shaft and picked a piece of the metal.

"Krang, what's dis metal?" he asked. "It's notin' like dat back in our world."

"I'm glad you asked," Krang replied. "That metal is called Rigidium. It's the strongest metal in the known universe."

"It definitely isn't strong enough for this place, if I want to be honest," Jessie mentioned.

"It's the only thing we need, unless you can come up with a sturdier metal," Shredder challenged. They returned to the main room where Krang made a discovery.

"Well, what do you know?" he awed. "There's a huge quantity of Rigidium on Earth."

"What you're saying is that we need to find it and bring it back here?" guessed Jessie. "If you ask me, James, Meowth and I can get those shafts back in order without redundum."

"That's Rigidium, Rock Head!" snapped Krang. "And if you can fix those shafts without it, be my guest." At the Channel 6 garage, the staff gathered for a story.

"April, the Lofty Tower is having its grand opening at noon," Burne informed. "And I want you, Pete and Irma to cover it."

"We won't let you down, Chief!" promised April with Pete nodding.

"Now wait just a darn minute!" voiced Vernon. "I should be the one to cover this story!"

"Why?" questioned Pete. "So you could keep the camera on yourself like you did in Dimension X? You still prefer yourself as the star when the focus is on Donald J. Lofty this time, cutting the ribbon alongside the mayor."

"That's because I still am the star and be offered the assignment!" claimed Vernon.

"Pete's right, though," Burne reminded. "The way you've been messing up recent stories, you're lucky that you still have a job." Vernon seemed miffed at the refusal.

"Isn't the Lofty Tower supposed to be the tallest in the world?" spoke Irma. "I mean, I hope it's safe."

"Yeah, towering the Empire State Building by several stories," Pete confirmed.

"Hey, hey, hey!" warned Burne. "Think of what a story it would make if, by some weird fluke, it would topple over?" This made Vernon weary and stepping back.

"I, uh…" he stuttered. "I, uh… I change my mind! You deserve this, April!" Pete shook his smiling face.

"What's the matter, Vernie?" he taunted. "Don't have the heart to stand on the roof a hundred stories high?" Vernon tried to regain his posture.

"N-N-No!" he stammered. "I-I-I-I-I just…" Unable to find his courage, he darted out of the garage.

"Oh darn…" sighed Pete. "I was about to tell him that being a star means the need to reach the sky." April and Irma giggled. Meanwhile, Team Rocket started to repair one of the shafts.

"While they do the work on the shafts," Krang started. "We can use the trans-dimensional portal and get the Rigidium from-" There was an explosion that was felt by everyone.

"What was dat!?" wondered Meowth.

"We'll look into it," Shredder informed. He, Krang and the mutants exited the Technodrome and found an egg that crashed nearby. "There's an egg…"

"Too bad we have no bacon," Rocksteady muttered. That's when the egg began to move.

"I tink it's hatchin'," Bebop studied. It hatched and a pale pink creature broke out. It started to fly around and Krang backed up.

"Oh no…" he shuttered. "It's… a Zipp!" The creature, the Zipp, flew around as Bebop adored it.

"Gee," he awed as the Zipp landed on his finger. "He's kinda cute." Krang's panicked face disagreed.

"You fool!" he shouted. "That's the most feared creature in all the galaxies!" Shredder seemed skeptical about the claim.

"This little guy?" he wondered. Krang couldn't stand the Zipp.

"We must retreat before it destroys us!" he warned as he rushed back to the Technodrome with the others following, including the Zipp. Krang used the steel door to seal away the Zipp. "Safe…" Team Rocket came to the group.

"From what?" questioned Jessie.

"A creature with an unspeakable destructive force!" warned Krang. The Zipp squealed, sounding closer. "NO!" More squeals from the Zipp as he ate through the hull of the fortress.

"Dat?" guessed Meowth. It zipped to Meowth and tried to eat the embedded coin. "GET IT OFF!" he repeatedly shouted as Jessie tried to wrestle it from the Alley Cat Pokémon. James had a ball ready.

"Let's see if I can seal him!" he prepared. "Go, Pokéball!" He threw the ball, but the Zipp ate and swallowed it in one gulp.

"You're supposed to catch it, not the other way around!" stammered Jessie. The Zipp continued to eat anything he saw.

"Bebop, Rocksteady, catch him!" ordered Shredder. Meowth felt his charm having a bite taken off while Rocksteady and Bebop chased the Zipp.

"I don't get enough hazard pay," he whined. The Rockets and mutants were no match for the Zipp's speed. Shredder managed to catch him.

"What to do about this…" he pondered.

"And what do you have in mind?" mulled Krang. "The only way I can think of-" He stopped when he had an idea. "Actually, we can send the Zipp to Earth for those pesky Turtles to deal with! The trans-dimensional portal opened. "That way, the rest of you can retrieve the Rigidium without interference!" Shredder threw the Zipp into the portal as it yelped. Meanwhile, the Turtles and Trainers polished the pizza dough off the furniture and appliances.

"At least the mess isn't permanent," Brock sighed in relief.

"You can say that again, dude," Michelangelo agreed. "Donatello's gizmo isn't ready for the limelight."

"Or any light to speak of," Raphael pointed out.

"Donatello," Brock voiced. "From now on, the next time you make a new invention… let it be something that doesn't involve pizza-making."

"Agreed," Ash nodded. "I'd rather make pizzas by hand than let some machine do the work, even when it comes to kneading some dough." Raphael snickered to Ash's pun.

"Amen to that, dude," Michelangelo sided. After Ash scraped the dough off the wall, he looked and couldn't find Pikachu.

"Hey, did anyone see where Pikachu took off to?" he asked. The others also noticed that Pikachu wasn't present.

"Not really," Leonardo shook. "I doubt that he would go above ground-"

("TROUBLE!") shouted Pikachu as he entered the Lair. Everyone turned to the Mouse Pokémon.

"Pikachu, what is it?" asked Donatello. Pikachu pointed back the way he came while squeaking for anyone to listen.

"It sounds like Pikachu found something," Brock determined. Pikachu led the charge with everyone following. They reached a barrel with squealing inside as it jostled around.

"What's this, an angry rain barrel?" joked Raphael.

"More like what's angry inside of it," Ash corrected. "Michelangelo, get behind the barrel."

"Why?" wondered Michelangelo.

"I think I can grab whatever is inside," Ash planned. Nodding, Ash and Michelangelo positioned themselves.

"Careful, Ash," Brock warned. "It could be something poisonous." Ash nodded, understanding Brock's concern.

"On three…" he counted. Michelangelo had his hands on the barrel. "One… two… THREE!" Michelangelo lifted the barrel as Ash reached in and snagged what was in it. "Gotcha!" He pulled out the Zipp that Shredder threw through the trans-dimensional portal. The Zipp became grateful to Ash as he hugged the trainer. "Whoa, real affectionate…"

"That's for sure, but what is it?" asked Raphael. No one was sure, but Leonardo had a suggestion.

"Perhaps Master Splinter will know," he offered. Agreeing, everyone filed back into the Lair where Splinter saw the Zipp in Ash's hands.

"I have no idea what this creature is or where it came from," Splinter shrugged. "Never in my life have I seen anything like it." Brock would agree.

"It's like the time Togepi hatched from his egg when Misty was with us," he compared.

"I know," Ash giggled. The Zipp saw a can. He flew to it before eating the aluminum. "That can't be healthy."

"Yeah, like, why did it eat the can?" asked Michelangelo. The Zipp soon found the TV set, and flew to eat the VCR. The Turtles and Trainers watched in dismay.

"That thing ate our VCR!" complained Raphael.

"Makes us glad we returned Snow White & the Seven Samurai this morning," Ash gulped. Using a Sai, Raphael cut the Zipp's path.

"Okay, leadbelly!" he started. "You can't just-" The Zipp bit through the Sai. Raphael looked defeated. "It's gonna be one of those days." Splinter watched the Zipp, understanding its behavior.

"It seems to only eat metal," he studied.

"At least it's getting its fiber," Ash teased.

"I can't imagine that thing coming across a Steelix," Brock gulped. Seeing the pizza dough maker, the Zipp chomped through and ate the machine completely.

"My maker!" yelped Donatello. It burped, but then it was aglow. A second later, one Zipp became two.

"It multiplied!" gawked Brock. The Zipps flew around happily while everyone but Splinter tried to catch them. Nothing worked as bodies were strewn and Pikachu using Thunderbolt didn't tag one of them. The Zipps left the Lair. Michelangelo realized the destination.

"They're heading for the street!" he advised. The Zipps' behavior made Donatello curious.

"I'd like to know what made that creature become two?" he wondered.

"There wasn't anything special about your maker, right?" asked Leonardo.

"No, though it was made entirely of copper," Donatello informed.

"So if that thing eats anymore copper," Brock assumed. "We'll be seeing more and more of them."

"Then it's a safe bet that with all the copper above like in telephone wires, plumbing…" listed Donatello. Ash and Pikachu irked to the thought.

"We need to do something about this and fast!" urged Ash. They reached the surface where there were hundreds of Zipps flying around. Disbelief became their faces.

"Fellow Turtles…" hummed Raphael. "I think we've got a bit of a problem on our hands." With Zipps multiplying uncontrollably, how can the Turtles and Trainers stop the Zippy blitzkrieg?

TO BE CONTINUED...