Forward And Back Again
Haunting Stockman
Author's Note: This chapter is mostly a flashback/backstory tale to what was established in the previous chapter. And it explains how the Utrom Shredder put everything together, more or less.
Many decades ago…
With one final scream, the Utrom Shredder's enlarged robotic armor was completely destroyed.
"No!" Ch'rell screamed. "Noooo!"
By this point, he was no more, at least physically. In the air hovered a glowing Utrom spirit that looked down upon the carnage on Earth Prime. At some point, the evil Utrom stopped his bellowing when he realized he had completely left the mortal plane and entered into another mode of existence as an astral ghost.
Below, the multiple Turtle teams were saying their goodbyes and the original Prime Turtles had already left.
"Those fools think they're done with me?" Ch'rell's ghostly spirit cursed. "By all means, treat me as if I am vanquished. Allow peace to make you soft, for one day I will return!"
Despite his great anger, the Utrom Shredder realized now that he no longer had a corporeal body, he still had one thing left, even though his plans to destroy the Turtles on Earth Prime had failed… all the time in the world.
"Bah," Ch'rell looked around. "It would appear that Krang was good for something after all. Who knew he had such a treasure like the Book of Balaraphon?"
The evil spirit floated higher and higher into the air until he left the atmosphere.
"Concentrate," Ch'rell growled, focusing his mind, body, and spirit together. "Astral projection can transcend dimensions and worlds if I only focus…"
Finally, Ch'rell opened his ghostly eyes. Before him was a blue portal.
"Excellent!" Ch'rell smiled, floating through the portal back to his own world.
oooo
Present day. Area 51.
"Good job Stockman," Bishop told him. "We're back on schedule thanks for your efforts. The President is also pleased with the discoveries you've made on alien biology."
"Good thing the President is fully on board with what we're doing now," Baxter Stockman smiled.
"Since we've made enough progress, you can have the next week off," Bishop promised.
"Excellent," Stockman smiled. "I've been wanting to take a trip for a while."
Bishop raised an eyebrow.
"Where would you even go?" asked Bishop. "You don't exactly have a human body anymore. And we know what happened the last time you tried to create a clone body…"
"I have just the solution," Stockman revealed.
At once, the robotic brain in a jar pressed down on a button to reveal a more humanoid skeletal robot in a container.
"Observe," Stockman told him.
The containment unit glowed as smoke filled the robotic body. After the smoke cleared, the robotic body had been covered with a synthetic skin that made the robot look completely like the human Baxter Stockman in the flesh again.
"Impressive," Bishop admitted. "If you ask me, you should've just done this to begin with instead of cloning yourself."
"Oh give me a break," Stockman shook his head. "Besides, it was only through trial and error with my clone body that I realized the need for something a little more efficient like my new synthetic android body."
"Enjoy your time off, Stockman," Bishop shook his head, walking off. "Just don't do anything to draw attention to yourself."
"You know it," Baxter Stockman hooked his own robotic cortex to the new synthetic android body to begin the transfer.
oooo
"This is stupendous!" Baxter Stockman admired himself in the mirror in the facility's bathroom.
From head to toe, he looked exactly like his old self again but this time he had the added bonus of robotic super strength underneath his synthetic skin.
"Now I can go wherever I want, live a normal life again maybe," Stockman mused aloud.
He'd equipped his new body and synthetic skin with enough nerve sensors that he could feel the sensations of pleasure as well. It was still a work in progress but there was enough of a chance now that he could enjoy a warm meal or a hot cup of coffee once more.
"You, Baxter, are looking sharp," Stockman smiled in the mirror, showing pearly white teeth.
"Indeed you are, Stockman."
It was a familiar voice that once struck terror in Stockman back in the days when he was still employed by the Foot.
"What?!" Stockman looked around fearfully. "Who was that?"
Despite looking up at the ceiling, at the stalls, on the walls, and down on the floor, Baxter Stockman could see nothing.
"Must've been my imagination," Stockman turned back to the mirror.
This time, however, the ghostly image of Ch'rell as a red Utrom stared right back at him.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!" Baxter Stockman fell back in fright.
"You look like you've seen a ghost, Stockman," Ch'rell smiled.
"You s-s-sound like him," Stockman adjusted his eyeglasses as he got back up shakily. "But just what are you?"
"I suppose there is no more point keeping secrets," Ch'rell informed him. "For you see, the Oroku Saki you worked for all those years ago was indeed my outer shell."
"So, the Shredder was an alien the entire time," Stockman collected himself. "Who knew all this time the one who mutilated me was a grotesque alien slug."
"Sneer at me all you want, Stockman," the Utrom Shredder replied. "But I require your services and you will assist me one way or another."
"Me?" Stockman's face contorted into anger. "Help you? After all the horrible things you've done to me?! You've got some nerve!"
"This is not negotiable," the Utrom Shredder told him. "My spirit requires a new body and you will create one for me. You will assist me one way or another!"
At that point, Stockman had heard enough. The fear he had felt before at seeing Shredder again had completely turned into anger and vengeance.
"Here's a third option," Stockman pointed his palm towards the red Utrom spirit in the mirror.
At once, a blue repulsor cannon appeared in Stockman's palm, humming to life with a burst of energy.
Stockman unleashed a blast that struck the Utrom spirit in the mirror dead center, shattering the glass completely.
"Stay dead and never get in my business again," Stockman sneered.
Confidently, Stockman strolled out of the bathroom.
The spirit of Ch'rell appeared in the air once more as Stockman walked away seemingly unconcerned.
"One way or another, Stockman," Ch'rell promised.
oooo
"Alright, that trip to Hawaii is set," Stockman set the clock in his room. "Only thing left is to test out the sleep functions of this synthetic android body."
Stockman got into his bed and put the sheets over himself.
"I won't even have to toss and turn," Stockman said blissfully.
Before long, Stockman's sleep function set in as the lights automatically turned off.
Suddenly, the spirit of Ch'rell appeared, hovering over the unconscious Baxter Stockman.
"Very well Stockman," the Utrom Shredder promised. "We do this the hard way."
In his dormant state, Baxter Stockman looked around in his dream. He was in his childhood home again and once more in his original body as a young boy.
"I… I'm back home," Baxter looked around.
The sun was shining outside and food was prepared on the table. All of this brought Baxter back to a happier time in his life.
"Baxter," a woman's voice called out.
"Mom?" Baxter looked around.
"Come to me, Baxter," the voice beckoned again.
Baxter Stockman looked at the door to the house where the voice originated.
"I'm coming, mom," Baxter promised, walking towards the door and opening up.
Rather than his mother, Baxter found himself face to face with the Utrom Shredder once more. Ch'rell floated malevolently in the air with glowing eyes.
"No, not you again!" Stockman cried.
At once, Stockman noticed he was in a man's body again.
"You will never be rid of me, Stockman," Ch'rell grew bigger and bigger while his tentacles grew longer and longer.
"No, stay back!"
One of Ch'rell's elongated tentacles reached out and grabbed Stockman, holding him in the air.
"Obey me, Stockman!" ordered Ch'rell. "Or this nightmare will never end!"
"Just stay away from me!" Baxter cried out in horror. "I don't want anything more to do with you!"
"Let's give you some extra incentive," Ch'rell opened his giant, gaping jaw and dropped Stockman inside.
Stockman fell for what seemed like miles and miles until he landed in the middle of a battlefield.
"What's this?!"
All around him were alien warships belonging to Ch'rell destroying and plundering a planet from long ago.
Soon, the Shredder in his normal armor appeared before Stockman.
"Ready to relive the fun we've had in the past together, Stockman?" Shredder asked, raising a claw.
"No, get away from me!" Stockman cried.
Instantly the Shredder raised his clawed hand and brought it down on Stockman.
oooo
After what seemed like hours of torture, Baxter Stockman woke up. Had he still been human, he would've woken up in a cold sweat. The agony the Shredder put him through in a mere dreamscape was real enough that he realized the situation was no longer tenable.
One way or another, he had to end the torment… even if it meant obeying the Shredder's spirit.
"So Stockman," Ch'rell's evil apparition appeared before Baxter. "Now do you see things my way?"
"I… yes," Baxter Stockman finally conceded. "I will build you a new body. Just tell me what to do. And please, don't do that ever again!"
"All you had to do was say yes, Stockman," Shredder smiled. "In any event, do this for me and you will be a free man afterwards once I return to the world of the living."
"You… you promise?" asked Stockman.
"You are a brilliant mind," Shredder informed him. "But you are not the only brilliant mind out there. I have allies on other worlds who can serve your purpose just as well, if not better."
"Alright," Stockman said, finally being humbled. "Tell me what I need to do. If you need a new body, you should know that we have the body of an Utrom specimen at this base."
"That's better news than I expected," Ch'rell grinned. "In the morning, I will give you my exact genome sequence. Through that Utrom's cellular structure, I expect you to create a new clone body for me."
oooo
"You're up early," Bishop noted.
Stockman looked around the lab for the right specimen.
"I've decided to put my vacation on hold," Stockman finally replied.
"Why the change of mind?" asked Bishop.
"Well," Stockman said, hoping Bishop would buy his explanation. "I did some thinking. And I realized that maybe I haven't fully thought things through. After all, the last time I got myself a new body and tried to go out there, things didn't turn out so well. I'm going to need to run more tests here to make sure I'm ready to face the world in my new synthetic android body."
"I'm glad to see you're learning from your experiences," Bishop crossed his arms, seemingly proud of the fact that Stockman was finally learning from his mistakes.
"I'm going to stay here and have a more low key vacation," Stockman told him. "Test my new body more before I go out there into the world. And maybe do some other tinkering of my own."
Finally, the scientist found what he was looking for, the preserved body of an Utrom in a liquid jar.
"Say, do you think I could borrow this?" asked Stockman.
"What for?" asked Bishop.
"Well, I just wanted to see what made this particular species tick," Baxter rubbed a hand on the glass. "Clearly this Utrom species is very long lived and I'd like to study it and perhaps uncover the secrets to immortality."
Bishop looked down, giving it some thought. After a while, he decided that he liked the idea. After all, there was still a lot of work that needed to be done in the future and he wanted to oversee all of it, over centuries if need be.
"Alright Stockman," Bishop agreed. "You can have this specimen. But I expect results. Do you understand?"
"Thank you Agent Bishop," Stockman picked up the preserved Utrom in the jar. "I understand perfectly."
oooo
One week later.
"You've really outdone yourself, Stockman," Ch'rell's ghost hovered beside Baxter Stockman's shoulder. "It is exactly as I specified, from my genome down to the scar I asked for."
Ch'rell's new Utrom body was encased on a small pod that the two of them observed.
"I hope you're happy," Baxter told him. "I put a lot on the line just to make you this new body. For the equipment or parts I needed but didn't have access to, I even went above and beyond my usual limits to obtain them."
"There are things in this base that not even Bishop allows you access to?" the Utrom Shredder's malevolent spirit asked.
"Believe it or not, I don't have free reign," Stockman informed his former boss. "Oh sure, Bishop never tortured me the same way you did but believe you me, he can still run me ragged and deny me access to a lot of things I want to do."
"How much longer before this body is fully operational?" demanded Shredder.
"Your body is complete," Stockman told him. "Right now, I'm just trying to figure out the best way to get you out of this base. After all, we can't have my current employer finding out you have a new body and that I was the one who made it."
At once, a knock was heard on the door.
"Oh no, could it be?" Stockman turned on a screen.
"Stockman, let me in!" demanded Bishop.
"Uh… what's the occasion, Agent Bishop?" Stockman asked with a nervous smile as Ch'rell frowned.
"Four days ago, my men reported some missing instruments from Lab C," Bishop told him in a voice that meant business. "And just yesterday, my men told me before I had a meeting that you were seen entering into Lab E without permission to take equipment I explicitly said you were not allowed to."
"Oh, uh," Baxter stammered. "I… you see, the situation is a little complicated but… in searching for a solution to eternal life with Utrom DNA, I made an error and well, it's probably best you don't come in right now."
"Stockman, you have exactly one minute to open this door before we force ourselves in," Bishop warned. "I won't be waiting for long."
Quickly, Stockman turned off the screen.
"Okay, this is bad," Stockman told Ch'rell. "I'm going to launch your body into space and you can repossess it there. You can float through space, right? Just do that and get out of my life for good! You have what you want now!"
Ch'rell still glared daggers at Stockman that Bishop had shown up at the worst possible time, like he wanted to bite Baxter's head off.
"Look, if you go into that body now, Bishop will just capture you and experiment on you," Stockman told him. "Do you really want to take that risk? When you're in space, you can pilot the pod from there and I even put cloaking sensors on it so Bishop's satellites can't track you."
Finally, Ch'rell relented.
"Very well Stockman," he sighed. "It was a pleasure working with you again."
"Afraid I can't say the same," Stockman frowned. "Now it's time to go."
Stockman pressed down on the button, opening up the hanger ceiling and launching Ch'rell's pod into the sky. The spirit of Ch'rell then followed it, disappearing from Baxter Stockman's presence.
At that moment, Stockman opened up the door for Bishop with only five seconds to spare.
"Stockman, what were you doing in there?" demanded Bishop.
"Well, you see, I tried to unlock the secrets of immortality in that Utrom body but unfortunately, I made a crucial mistake and unleashed a poisonous fume within that Utrom body, rendering it unusable," Stockman explained, lying through his teeth. "I had to dispose of the body and send it up into space where it'll self-detonate once in orbit."
Bishop looked at Baxter, examining him thoroughly. Truth be told, the things Stockman took weren't too significant but it was still important to set boundaries with the scientist, otherwise he would never learn proper respect.
At that moment, Bishop decided since nothing major happened, he would let it go.
"Alright Stockman," he said to Baxter. "Since you're so eager to tinker, I've got a fresh set of UFO crafts we've recently confiscated that I'll need you to look at."
"But my vacation isn't over yet," Stockman protested.
"Didn't you hear what I said?" Bishop glared at him. "It's time for you to get back to work."
"Y-Yes sir," Baxter's head sunk in defeat.
oooo
As Ch'rell's evil spirit entered into the body within the pod, he felt a jolt. Soon, he looked around him, realizing that he'd come back to life once more and that he had a corporeal body.
"Yes, yes!" Ch'rell screamed. "I live once more!"
"Now, to pilot this pod and rejoin my allies on Tenela-5," Ch'rell declared.
"Sedatives applying," a computer voice alerted him.
"Wait, what?" Ch'rell looked up in surprise.
A pin prick on his skin soon alerted him that he had been given a sedative dose.
"Stockman…" Ch'rell said drowsily. "You dirty…"
Soon, the Utrom drifted off into a deep slumber.
oooo
The Utrom did not know how long he had been asleep but at some point, he woke up and realized the situation had changed drastically for him.
"What… what is going on?" Ch'rell looked all around him.
His pod had crashed somewhere on an asteroid. Apparently, he was on a ring of asteroids surrounding a giant planet To make matters worse, he was on another ice asteroid with freezing temperatures.
"No, this can't be!" Ch'rell growled. "I was so close!"
Finally, the damaged glass to the space pod shattered, exposing Ch'rell to the complete coldness of the ice asteroid.
"Damn it all!" the Utrom Shredder screamed at the top of his lungs, realizing he was condemned yet again to another icy imprisonment as his face began to freeze up from the cold. "Not again!"
oooo
Over a century later.
Ch'rell did not know how long he had been frozen and unconscious but at some point, he realized he was no longer encased in ice.
"W-What?!" Ch'rell looked all around him.
Currently, the situation had changed. In front of him was a downed spaceship that was still burning from an explosion.
He could tell from the heat of the flames that they were the source for him being thawed from his icy imprisonment.
"Curious," the Utrom Shredder looked around.
"H-Help!"
Ch'rell turned to the side and saw a heavily injured Triceraton leaning against a rock before his legs gave out and he fell down.
It had been a long time since he'd last encountered a Triceraton and his previous encounter one wasn't exactly a peaceful confrontation. But as Ch'rell examined the Triceraton, an idea began to form in his head.
After all, Triceratons were a powerful race and one of them, Zog, had fought and defeated him before, albeit at the cost of his own life. Ch'rell had spent a lot of time pretending to be the human Oroku Saki. But what if, this time, he had a Triceraton as his host? With his fighting abilities and a Triceraton's superhuman strength, he would be unstoppable as a Triceraton Shredder.
"Hey listen," the injured Triceraton told Ch'rell. "The name's Boss Zukko and I was on the run, with my ship being damaged. If you help me out, I promise I can reward you in a big way, little fella."
"Yes," Ch'rell finally smiled, revealing a row of razor sharp teeth. "I am here to help… HELP MYSELF!"
The evil red Utrom opened his jaw and bit into Boss Zukko's stomach, tearing through his flesh as the Triceraton crime lord screamed.
oooo
As Torbin Zixx took a turn at the alley during the chase, he realized he'd used up his last holographic weapon to confuse and distract his chasers.
"Oh great, not now," Zixx frowned.
"Turn around Zixx," a voice ordered.
Zixx turned around to see the lobster-like alien mob boss who wanted his head. He was there with multiple crew members who trained their weapons on him.
"We finally found you after all this time," the mob boss told Zixx. "It's time for you to pay up in full, with or without the money."
"Remind me, how am I going to pay up without the money again?" asked Zixx.
"We can start with your fingers," the mob boss sneered.
"Oh no, you're not gonna capture Zixx of the Black Blade," Torbin Zixx shook his head.
As Zixx turned around, an electric net fell on him, electrocuting him and forcing him to the ground. On the buildings, there were a few men who belonged to the crime lord.
"Aaaaahhhh!" Zixx cried.
"I'm really looking forward to this, Zixx," the alien mob boss walked up to Zixx.
At this point, Zixx was basically kissing the dirt. He tried to raise his head but only saw boots walking towards him.
"Wait, who are you?" the mob boss suddenly turned around.
"Aaaaahhh!"
Zixx tried to look up but couldn't quite make out what was going on. There was the sound of violence and fighting but he couldn't see it all. Before long, the laser shots stopped as Zixx heard the final body fall to the floor.
At once, a giant hand grabbed the electric net on Zixx and lifted it off of him.
"Boss Zukko?" Torbin Zixx was finally able to get a good view of his savior. "You saved me!"
"Yes, and I believe you owe me what's called a lift debt," Zukko crossed both arms.
"Well, I don't know if I'd use those exact words," Torbin Zixx dusted himself off. "But I do owe you."
"Good, because I have an offer for you," Ch'rell told him through Zukko's voice. "And it's an offer you won't want to miss."
A look of greed crossed Zixx's face and it was exactly what Ch'rell had been counting on.
"I'm all ears," Zixx agreed.
oooo
Present day.
At the coffee shop, close to the restroom in the hallway, a short man in a white priestly outfit appeared. He had sensed a potential disturbance in time and rushed to the area. Everything was on the line and if he did not complete this mission, the future would be at stake.
In only a short while, the man called Lloyd Zeiss would show up at the coffee shop and once inside the bathroom, he would finally take a look through the record book on horse races that his descendant Torbin Zixx had given him. And with that knowledge, he would head to the horse race with extra-marital girlfriend and alter the future in such a way that would be very difficult to undo.
And that was why Lord Simultaneous was here, so he could prevent Zeiss from reading the contents in that book, take away the book, and wipe his memories of the entire thing.
"One more minute and it's showtime," Lord Simultaneous declared.
The coffee shop was a place Lloyd often went to and before long, Torbin Zixx's ancestor would show up.
Without warning, the ladies restroom door opened up.
"Eh?" Lord Simultaneous turned his head to the side.
He had not been expecting company.
A cyborg Triceraton stood there before him much to the time master's shock. Before Lord Simultaneous could get a word in, the Triceraton punched Simultaneous with such a powerful and fast blow that the time master could barely react to the surprise attack.
At once, Lord Simultaneous fell to the floor with a thud as the TriShreddatron grabbed him and dragged him into the lady's room.
"Today, Lord Simultaneous, time is not on your side," the Utrom Shredder gloated.
Ch'rell pressed down on a switch on his gauntlet to open up a portal to the future.
"But me?" the TriShreddatron declared. "I have all the time in the world!"
Picking up Lord Simultaneous's body, the Shredder disappeared into the portal.
Before long, the commotion attracted a female coffee shop worker named Mandy over to check out what was going on. She peered inside but saw nothing. Shrugging, Mandy closed the door and walked back to work, just as Lloyd Zeiss walked past her to the restroom and took out the horse race book out of his suitcase to examine.
To be continued.
