Chapter 32: Moan-A Lease-On the Voyage
The submarine surfaced. A door opened where a brunette man emerged with a two-piece paintbrush mustache and small beard. He wore a turquoise suit with a red "F" on the left of his body and a glass monocle over his right eye. Ash and Buffy seemed to be surprised at the brunette appearing. Raphael was on the bridge with the lizard brunette. "That's the Kleptofoil!" the lizard brunette warned Raphael. "And that's Captain Filch." Hopping on board Crump's yacht, Filch was confronted by the party-goers.
"Shiver me timbers," Filch laughed. "What a wealthy-looking group of land-lubbers!" Crump reached Filch, upset at his lavish party being hijacked.
"Exactly who are you?" he questioned. "This is a private party!"
"How right you are, my fine Bucko!" sneered Filch. "My private party! I've already sent ransom demands to the major newspapers!" Above, Ash and Buffy didn't like the idea of being held hostage.
"He's willing to hold us at ransom?" believed Buffy.
"I've got an idea," Ash pondered. "But first, I need to get you to safety. Come on!" They left as Filch also noted them while a school of mutated lavender anemones surfaced. Ash and Buffy entered the cabins. "I need you to stay here and keep the door locked until I come back."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm not one who doesn't keep a promise." He closed the door and proceeded to the stairs before reaching the bridge and spotting April and Vernon as Vernon held the camera down.
"Vernon, why aren't you getting this on tape!?" she scowled.
"And get that awful pirate angry at me?" believed Vernon. "No way!"
"Gimme that camera!" she snapped before taking the camcorder from Vernon. "Jeez, I should've taken Pete along instead of you. You're such a wimp!" Filch had gathered most of the party-goers with the anemones.
"If anyone tries anything, ye'll be thrown to Davy Jones's Locker Room," he threatened.
"Listen, they're not worth as much as you want!" pleaded Crump. "This is my yacht, so I should be your hostage!"
"Tis not your call, Crump!" snapped Filch before spotting April filming. "You with the camera! Be sure to stay in focus. I want everyone to see what happens here. The world must learn to fear… Captain Filch!" Ash heard Filch and hid in a new room. However, he found Raphael with the lizard brunette.
"You knew Captain Filch was gonna be here!" scolded Raphael. "And you steered this yacht right into his trap!"
"No, I was trying to steer us away from him!" she pleaded.
"Oh, yeah, sure," Raphael doubted. "Tell me about it." The lizard brunette sighed, disbelieving Raphael's denial.
"Let's calm down while Filch has everyone on this boat hostage," Ash jumped in. The lizard brunette seemed surprised to see Ash.
"Hey, you're from the interview with Miss O'Neil!" she recognized. Ash nodded before turning to Raphael.
"I've hidden my girl, Raphael," he admitted. "What about her?"
"You got a girl, Ash!?" gasped Raphael,
"That princess-looking girl who you talked to," the lizard brunette recalled.
"Anyway, we need to do something about Filch," Ash mentioned. "He's released those sea-things onto the other passengers."
"The mutant anemones," the lizard brunette identified. "If only I could reach the Ninja Turtles."
"We can still deal something to Filch if we organize a plan," Ash spoke. Raphael looked to the window where the mutant anemones closed in.
"If you have one, we'll need it in five seconds!" he warned. Ash and the lizard brunette gasped when they saw the anemones breaking in. Ash stood, flicked up his cape and pulled his tonfas out.
"I'll keep them at bay!" he ordered. "You get those guys to safety!" Raphael's face read disgust.
"Sure, he can hide his weapons but I can't," he nagged.
"Why does Ash carry nightsticks?" the lizard brunette questioned.
"Right, and I can't hide anything from you, Mona Lisa," Raphael shrugged. He and Mona Lisa undid the ropes. Ash blocked a swing from one of the anemones before throwing it at another. This bought the three enough time to get the captain and navigator in sailor uniforms out of there.
"Take cover," Ash ordered. "We'll get the Filch out of this boat." Raphael's head shook.
"I thought his moment at the House of Ha-Ha was over," he muttered. They split as Ash, Raphael and Mona Lisa were on the other side of the boat.
"This way!" both Mona Lisa and Raphael chose, pointing in opposite directions. Realizing which way they were pointing.
"Trust me on this," Raphael promised. "The guards are all up on the bow. We should go this way."
"I'll take the other way," Ash suggested. "I can cover your backs while you do." Mona Lisa nodded before she joined Raphael above. "Pikachu would've been helpful by now… but I got a girl to save. Maybe she'll like him." He proceeded on where he saw April and Vernon try to slink away from the mutant anemones. "April! Vernon!"
"Ash, you're okay!" praised April.
"Same with you," Ash sighed. "We need to get in contact with the others."
"Why would we need them to come along?" complained Vernon.
"Do you know anyone else who can save us out here?" questioned Ash.
"Of course!" scoffed Vernon. "The United States Marines, the US Navy, the Coast Guard…"
"But we don't have any way of contacting any of them!" advised April. She led the boys to the escape boats hanging on the side when Raphael and Mona Lisa popped up. "Raphael, you and your friend in the lizard costume made up?"
"I'm afraid this isn't a costume, Miss O'Neil," Mona Lisa corrected. "I'm a mutant."
"Absurd!"denied Vernon. "That is not even good enough to be declared a mutant." Mona Lisa sighed, expecting the denial.
"You don't believe I'm a mutant, do you?" she challenged. "Well, let me tell you how it all happened." Raphael rolled his eyes.
"Oh boy…" he gulped. "I feel a flashback coming on…" Mona Lisa bowed her head to the story she was about to tell.
"I didn't always look like this," she started.
(Flashback)
A scene of laboratory appeared. "There… yeah, see? I told you so!" scoffed Raphael. A grown brunette young woman wearing a lab coat.
"I used to be a normal college student," Mona Lisa started. "A physics major." Then, it shifted to another yacht where the brunette was dressed in a pink sundress with a bunch of young adults. "One day, on a field trip with some friends, our boat was boarded by Captain Filch." The brunette felt threatened as did her friends, but they dove out and tried to swim away. The brunette wasn't so fortunate. "My friends managed to escape, but I was taken prisoner aboard his sub, the Kleptofoil. He learned of my background in physics and tried to convince me to help him. He wanted to rule the world using hi-tech piracy, so I played along in hopes to sabotage him." There was another laboratory the brunette entered. "One night, I sneaked into his laboratory, determined to destroy it… but something went wrong." The brunette grabbed a large mallet on a machine, but a pipe above her became overheated and burst, flooding the laboratory with a strange green liquid. The brunette floundered, trying to free herself. "I was caught in a backwash from the sub's nuclear power source and became the horrible mutant I am today… and ever since I've been trying to stop Captain Filch from carrying out his schemes… but I failed." The brunette emerged, now as the lizard, meaning she was Mona Lisa.
(End Flashback)
Mona Lisa mulled to the outcome as Ash palmed her shoulder. "Aside from a lizard with hair being rather out of place, you're not a horrible mutant at all," he comforted. "We've seen worse."
"Agreed," April sided. "Besides, it's… kind of cute." Mona Lisa looked hopeful about the ordeal.
"Anyway, we need to save the passengers and remove the Filch from Crump's boat," Raphael plotted as he brought out his Turtle Comm… which had water dripping from the device. "Oh great…"
"Well, that proved useful," Vernon scoffed. Ash reached inside his cape and pulled his Turtle Comm out.
"Here," he offered. "Use mine. I didn't want to bring it, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to have it around."
"You're a lifesaver," Raphael praised.
"We won't be saved if they make it!" alerted Mona Lisa. Looking, the anemones were on the pursuit. Raphael eyed shuffleboard cues and tossed one to Ash and Mona Lisa.
"Have you played shuffleboard before?" he asked.
"No…" denied Ash. Mona Lisa flung her tail, tripping one anemone.
"All you do… is THIS!" shouted Raphael as he pushed the cue into the anemone before pushing it to the other anemones.
"There are better ways to sweep them off their feet," April joked. "If you can reach the Turtles, we'll stop Filch."
"But they won't be able to reach with the sub's force field encasing all of us," Raphael reminded.
"Leave that to me, guys!" offered Mona Lisa. "You create a diversion."
"We can do that, Mona Lisa," Ash promised with a fist to her. Seeing the gesture, Mona Lisa realized and bumped fists with him.
"Do any of you mind if I wait in here?" asked Vernon as he ducked into the escape boat with the drape cover inside.
"Vernon, why did you come along on this voyage in the first place?" asked Raphael. Vernon feigned to answer.
"He wants the money and exposure," April sighed. Ash and Mona Lisa shook their heads.
"Even Pikachu could do it for far less,"Ash mulled. Suddenly, a scream. Everyone heard it before turning. Ash realized where it came from. "Buffy!" He sprinted while everyone broke for their assignments… except for Vernon who cowered in the emergency boat. Ash reached the cabin and saw the door of the cabin broken down. He knew Buffy was captured. "Oh no you don't!" He put the mask back on before he bailed from the lower levels as Buffy was escorted by the anemones to Filch all tied up.
"Even I have to applaud my mutant anemones for this!" he gloated.
"Let me go!" she snapped. "Get your slimy hands off!"
"Don't worry, princess," Filch sneered. "Soon, you'll see what's in store for yourself." Crump stepped forward, hoping to get Buffy free.
"Let her go," he pleaded. "She's not involved in any of this!"
"Au contraire!" scoffed Filch as he cupped Buffy's chin to lift. "She'd make a fine lady for the greatest pirate to ever sail the Seven Seas."
"Not when Ash is still onboard!" snapped Buffy.
"This 'Ash' will be in for a surprise after I make you my wife," Filch claimed.
"Look, take all the money I have!" offered Crump. "My cars, my yachts, my Patch-a-Pato-" He shook his head, trying to straighten himself. "I mean, Pop-a-Poopa-" He shook his head again. "I mean, my pizza chain! Just don't take her away!"
"Never!" denied Filch. "She will be my prized possession."
"The only prize you'll receive!" announced Ash. "Is a pair of silver bracelets!" All turned to see Ash masked up. He stood at an upper tier, facing Filch and the others. It's now a battle to free the hostages and stop Filch.
TO BE CONTINUED...
