Forward And Back Again
Back To The Forward
"Raph, do you remember when Zixx might've given his ancestor those horse race results?" asked Donatello.
"If I remember correctly… honestly, I don't even know," Raph admitted.
With the advanced tech Torbin Zixx had, he could've been gone anytime during the nights he stayed in the lair. Or it was possible Zixx had gone during that moment in time when Casey and Raph were celebrating at the bar somehow during his bathroom break. While Raphael had some guesses, none of his conclusions felt solid enough.
"I… I don't know," Raph admitted, wishing he had kept a closer eye on Zixx in all this time.
"I could use the time window but I'd have to know the exact time and place we need to go to," Donatello revealed. "That way, we can steal whatever Zixx gave Lloyd."
"It... it might've been during Zixx's 'bathroom break' when he hung out with me and Casey," Raphael admitted. "But I'm not even a hundred percent sure of that."
Before the team could continue their discussion, a familiar figure fell into their lair through a glowing portal.
"Ow!" a young woman in blue cried.
"Renet?" asked Leo.
"What're you doing way out here?" asked Mikey.
"Oh my gosh!" Renet cried. "Guys! I'm so glad to see you again!"
"So what's the situation?" Donatello asked as he helped her up.
"So… there's been a disturbance in time," Renet got up, explaining herself. "Lord Simultaneous has been captured and being held hostage in this new altered timeline. And worse, my Time Scepter is going haywire!"
"Is there anything you can tell us about what's going on?" asked Leo. "We watched a lot of it just unfold. The future we knew got completely wiped out. Just like that."
"Yes," Renet shook her Time Scepter, trying to get it to work. "Darn it! This thing won't budge!"
"Need me to hit it hard?" offered Raphael.
Renet thought about it but then turned her attention to the time window Donatello had created.
"I'll just explain it," Renet told them. "As you guys, like, already know… the future's been altered and one guy is responsible for it."
"Torbin Zixx," Raph crossed both arms.
"He's known as Emperor Zixx now," Renet informed them. "In the new timeline, Torbin Zixx mapped out and created for himself, he's the absolute ruler of the entire world and anything he says is law."
"I knew he was in love with himself but I didn't think it would be this bad," Raphael shook his head. "This is what I get for thinking I can trust that lying dirtbag again!"
Donatello zoomed in on an image on his time-based communication device that showed Zixx's face on a flag amidst the darker skies.
"Renet's statement has been confirmed," Donny nodded. "Renet, could you at least pinpoint the exact time and place Torbin Zixx handed his ancestor betting results? That way we can just steal it and undo this whole mess."
"Yeah, my memory's kinda hazy about when he pulled off this stunt exactly," Raph said in embarrassment.
"Uh… sorry guys," Renet scratched her head in equal embarrassment. "My Time Scepter is going through major malfunctions because of this time-space collapse. It took way too much energy just for me to crash-land here."
"Aw swell," Raph's shoulders sank.
"There is one thing we can do though," Renet told them.
"What's that?" asked Mikey.
"We can take Donatello's time window and go back to the future again," Renet beamed. "Besides, I think Lord Simultaneous is being held there anyways so we can mount a rescue mission."
"Hmm," Donatello rubbed his chin. "We could also get some idea of how to undo this future if we go there ourselves."
Raph sat down, shaking his head. "I really should have just kept a closer eye on Zixx at all times instead of falling for his sob story and thinking I could relax around him."
"It's not your fault, Raph," Leo told him. "The guy's a good actor. He could sell saltwater to island residents."
"So are we all in?" asked Renet. "Onwards into the future?"
All four Turtles and Splinter nodded in agreement.
"It's settled then," Donatello stated. "But first, I have something for all of us."
Donatello went over to his mainframe and typed in an access code. Beneath the mainframe, a compartment opened up, revealing several familiar things.
"Are these our future weapons?" asked Leo.
"Not exactly," Donny told them. "But they're modeled almost exactly like what we had in the future, just in case the need ever arose that we'd have to go back one day."
"You did a spectacular job, my son," Splinter took out a staff resembling what he had in the future.
"You guys ready to suit up?" asked Donatello, putting on some of his futuristic armor and pads.
"We're locked and loaded," Mikey took out two orange glowing chucks and spun them around gracefully.
Before long, all of them had put on their gear.
"Wow, that's spiffy!" Renet admitted.
"What's really spiffy is Raph picking his teeth with his future sai's," Mikey told her. "You should've seen him when I caught him in the bathroom using them as a toothpick!"
"Too much information, Mikey!" Raph slapped Mikey upside the head.
"Alright guys," Donatello turned on his time window, adjusting it for genuine time travel use. "It's time for us to go forward and back again!"
oooo
Immediately, a portal opened up in the future as the Turtles, Splinter, and Renet walked through.
"This isn't really the exact place I remember," Mikey looked around. "No bright skies at all!"
"Some things haven't changed apparently," Donatello noted, looking at an alien closing down shop at his foot stand. "This society still has humans and aliens co-existing."
"Plus Zixx's face is plastered everywhere," Leo looked around, seeing the visage of Emperor Zixx just about everywhere.
"So first we find out what happened to Cody," Raph stood next to Renet. "Then we can go find Lord Simultaneous. Hopefully he can fix this mess."
"Hmm, something does not feel right," Splinter looked around.
While the current future city of New York they were in had similarities to the future they remembered, there were some key differences. One of which was the fact that during night time, there weren't a whole lot of people out.
"Stay alert, my sons," Splinter looked around, sniffing the air.
"Hello hello, what's all this?"
Immediately, the Turtles recognized the phrase. But as they turned around, they did not see the familiar Constable Biggles they remembered. However, it was still a familiar face.
"Jammerhead?!" the Turtles cried.
"That's Officer Jammerhead to you chumps!" Jammerhead growled.
The alternate future Jammerhead wore a similar suit to what he had in the original timeline, except the only difference was that his glowing cloak was a dark red instead of the usual blue color.
"Officer Jammerhead?" Raph frowned. "But you're just a street punk!"
"Oh, wanna get mouthy with an officer of the law, do we?" Jammerhead sized Raph up.
As Renet turned around, she saw a massive alien being with three heads standing behind her.
"Uh, hi?" Renet waved.
"You got any idea what time it is?" asked Triple Threat, another familiar foe the Turtles had faced before, similar to Jammerhead.
"S-Should we?" asked Mikey.
"You see folks, I've been doing this job for a while and any good New Yorker, human or alien, should know that in these parts, we're running a curfew," Officer Jammerhead told them, looking down at his watch. "And my goodness… you guys are out way past that curfew!"
"Think you could point us in the direction of a hotel then?" asked Michelangelo. "We'll do better next time! Promise!"
"That's not how it works, bucko!" Jammerhead pointed his blade at Mikey. "You see, it's the duty of the Phantom Force to make an example out of those who disobey the law."
"No exceptions!" Triple Threat added.
At once, multiple masked soldiers appeared at once after turning off their invisibility setting, wearing similar suits to Jammerhead, cloaked in a dark red as well.
"We'd better be careful," Donny whispered to Leo. "These guys aren't the Street Phantoms we once knew."
"Now I could start breaking bones and leaving bruises," Jammerhead told them. "But I could be persuaded to let you guys off the hook just this once, provided…"
Jammerhead looked over at Renet with a primal desire in his eyes. At once, she could tell what he wanted from her physically.
"How 'bout it?" Jammerhead offered her with a smile. "Your friends get off with a night in jail and a fine if you and I spend some quality time together."
"Eww, gross!" Renet grimaced.
"How about no?" Raph took out his weapons as the rest of the Turtles got into a fighting stance.
None of them were willing offer Renet up as a sacrifice to the vile Phantom Force officer.
"I see some bones need to be broken after all!" Jammerhead frowned. "Phantom Force, attack!"
As two Phantom Force officers attacked, Donny drove his staff into the ground and spun across it, kicking both of them to the side.
"Let's do this, guys!" Donny cried.
"IT'S NINJA TIME!"
All the Turtles began fighting the Phantom Force at once. As Renet turned around, Triple Threat reached towards her. However, Splinter kicked the massive alien in the chest, sending him stumbling back.
"We will handle this, Miss Renet," Splinter promised.
As Renet turned around, she saw Michelangelo knock away a few Phantom Force soldiers with his nunchucks but was about to get ambushed by one with a rifle.
Quickly, Renet leaped through the air and kicked that soldier away, much to Mikey and Raph's surprise. She spun her staff around like a bow and knocked out two more soldiers coming her way.
"Yeah, I've been practicing guys," Renet told them, letting them know that she was at a point where she could handle herself in a fight.
Triple Threat, in the meantime, punched at Splinter as hard as he could.
"Stay still!" Triple Threat shouted.
Splinter kicked Triple Threat across his left head.
"Something that small shouldn't hit that hard!" Triple Threat grabbed his jaw.
"Underestimate my size at your own peril," Splinter told him.
Triple Threat punched at Splinter again but the mutant rat side-stepped it, grabbing Triple Threat by the arm and tossing him to the floor. The three headed alien returned fire by back-handing Splinter away as soon as he got back up.
"Ugh!" Splinter landed on the ground.
"Say goodnight!" Triple Threat stood over Splinter, raising his own hands to smash down.
Quickly, Splinter threw his staff, striking Triple Threat in the center head.
"Agh!"
Splinter leaped up, taking advantage of the situation to grab his staff as it still spun mid-air and brought it down on the alien's head once more. As Triple Threat grabbed his own head in pain, Splinter jumped up yet again and kicked the alien right in the jaw, striking him to the floor and totally knocking him out.
After that, Splinter rejoined the fray with his sons just as the Turtles knocked out the last of the Phantom Force alongside Renet.
"My, that was impressive," Officer Jammerhead clapped his hands. "You beat my elite Phantom Force and Triple Threat! Bravo!"
"Does this mean you're ready to crawl back to your hole?" Raph advanced upon Jammerhead menacingly as the other Turtles and Splinter surrounded him.
"Afraid not," Jammerhead smiled. "Because you see, there's something you guys here aren't grasping. I'm not gonna just surrender to a rat, four turtles, and a blonde babe."
"You'd better if you, like, know what's good for you!" Renet told him angrily.
"Take your best shot then," Jammerhead offered.
In anger, Renet punched at him. In all this time, she'd been practicing her fighting abilities after her adventures with the Turtles and based on some of Lord Simultaneous's compliments, she was indeed improving.
But today was the day that all her training amounted to nothing.
Quickly, Jammerhead, step-sided her punch like she was trying to hit him in slow motion. In an instance, Jammerhead struck her in the neck, arms, and stomach with nerve strikes and in a split second, Renet fell to the ground paralyzed.
"Did I mention I'm better than all my guys put together?" Jammerhead smiled as the Turtles and Splinter realized what was up.
"Renet!" Leo cried.
"Get him!" Raph snarled.
The Turtles and Splinter attacked Jammerhead all at once. Every last swing, punch, and kick they threw at him was dodged effortlessly. The only other time they remembered Jammerhead, normally just a low level gangster, being this good was during that time Jammerhead downloaded the skills of multiple martial arts masters into his body and attacked them at the tower while Starlee's parents were there.
"The shell?!" Raph cried as Jammerhead caught the middle of his sai with one hand while catching Mikey's nunchuck with the other.
"Really?" Jammerhead taunted. "My grandma moves faster than you guys!"
With that, he yanked Mikey and Raph into each other, slamming their faces together. As the two Turtles fell, Donatello leaped in with a swing. Jammerhead caught the bo with his hand and kicked Donny in the stomach, sending him crashing back.
"Don't tell me he downloaded more fighting styles," Leo gripped his swords tightly.
The Turtle with the blue bandana charged, swinging his blades at Jammerhead who merely took out his own blade and blocked all of his swings. Casually, Jammerhead knocked both swords out of Leo's hands and spun around him, slamming the blunt end of his own sword into Leo's neck to take out the leader of the group.
Splinter came in next, kicking at Jammerhead who ducked. The Phantom Force leader blocked the next kick and punched Splinter in the stomach. He then struck Splinter with a powerful palm strike in the face, knocking Splinter out.
Donatello got up alongside Raphael and Michelangelo. Immediately, he realized that Jammerhead was cybernetically enhanced like he was the last time.
However, there wasn't much he could do with that information as Jammerhead came in, knocking the tar out of Donny with a flurry of punches.
Only Mikey was able to get in one hit, kicking the slightly distracted Jammerhead across the face with a leaping roundhouse.
"Assaulting an officer of the law's gonna cost you," Jammerhead rubbed his chin, grinning wildly.
Raph got in front of Mikey but Jammerhead hit him with an elbow strike to the face so hard, Raph fell to his knees seeing stars. Jammerhead then caught both nunchucks as Mikey swung them down at him, kicking Mikey hard enough that he crashed into a lamppost, getting knocked out.
Raph looked up helplessly.
"As a Phantom Force commander who enforces the law for this regime," Jammerhead told him casually, "there are a lot of fighting styles out there I could use to keep people in line. So then I thought… why not download them all?"
With that, Jammerhead's fist connected with Raphael's face, taking him out of the fight.
oooo
As the gang woke up, they realized they were in a high tech containment cell.
"My helmet!" Renet cried.
The blonde woman looked frantically, as her helmet and Time Scepter had been confiscated. Soon, the Turtles and Splinter realized that their weapons had also been taken away.
"Good to see you're awake," Jammerhead walked in front of the cell with a few of his men.
"Jammerhead, I don't know who you think you are," Raph growled. "But we've whupped you before and if you don't let us out, we'll do it again!"
"Before?" Jammerhead looked quizzically at them. "You talk to me like we've met before! I ain't ever seen you freaks before in my life!"
"New timeline, remember?" Donny whispered to Raph.
"Anyways, since you guys were breaking curfew, I'm here to let you know the full weight of the law is gonna come crashing down on you," Jammerhead let them know. "However, when we confiscated your weapons, we found out some interesting things about your weapons. Your tech looks like it's from this era but the patents we found on them come from the 21st century. Interesting. Very interesting."
"So does this mean you'll let us go?" asked Michelangelo.
"On the contrary," Jammerhead told them. "Because of these findings, the Governor-General has decided to personally come see you before your execution."
"The Governor General?" Leo looked confused.
"Governor General Darius Dun of course!" Jammerhead confirmed.
"Darius Dun?!" the Turtles cried aloud together.
"None other!" a large, familiar man in a governor's uniform entered the room.
"Greetings Governor General," Jammerhead bowed. "Here are the curfew breakers we found. And our findings indicate they're using tech from another era."
"That is very interesting," Darius Dun sat down on a chair as he looked at the Turtles, Splinter, and Renet. "You know, judging from your reaction to the mention of my name, it would appear that you appear to know me somehow. Funny… because I don't recall ever meeting any of you in all my years."
"We know the kind of monster you are," Splinter pointed a finger at him.
"And since you're here, we're going to get right to the point," Leo told him. "What did you do to Cody Jones?"
"Cody?" Dun put up a sad expression that the Turtles couldn't tell was genuine or fake. "You would bring up my nephew? And accuse me of foul play?!"
"You've always wanted full control of O'Neil Tech," Donatello pointed out.
"I assure you," Darius Dun told them. "What happened to my nephew Cody on that fateful day all those years ago was an unfortunate terror attack by that anti-alien extremist group H.A.T.E. I had nothing to do with it. But since you insist on your slanderous accusations, I should point out that I'm not the one on trial here. You are."
"We get trial by jury, right?" asked Mikey.
"You're criminals who broke a curfew," Dun said accusingly. "Moreover, you had weapons from outside of this time era. Emperor Zixx told us to inform him if we ever capture any time travelers. Since it's getting rather late… we're going to continue this tomorrow. I hope you'll be more talkative tomorrow about who you are and why you're here. Otherwise, I can't guarantee you humane treatment."
Dunn looked over at Jammerhead.
"Trust me, you don't want to see him during interrogation time," Dunn smiled. "Enjoy the rest of your night... or what's left of it."
With that, Darius Dun walked off with Officer Jammerhead, leaving behind the gang in the darkness as they turned off the lights.
"Well, getting captured wasn't my idea of a trip to an alternate future," Renet sank down with her head hung low.
"We'll get out of this, Renet," Leo promised. "We've been through situations like this before and we always come up with an escape plan."
To be continued.