Chapter 35: HACKenbrush & Slash
The mutated Slash was on a rampage as he started slashing away at anything in sight. "I want my binky!" he cried out. People ran from Slash's slashes and destruction. "I'll tear this place down until I have my binky!" Lamposts, hydrants, cars… anything Slash used Shredder's Shaolin Swords on, it was heavily damaged, if not destroyed. Meanwhile, the trainers found Hackenbrush with a few men who were poorly disguised as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, especially their off-colored eyemasks and tools. They started filming while hiding around the corner.
"Now, have you four plotted the scheme?" voiced Hackenbrush. "You need to commit crimes so that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are blamed. If they blab on the authorities, no one will believe them!" Ash and Brock growled to the plot.
"Makes us glad we're doing this filming to prove the Turtles' innocence," Brock whispered. Hackenbrush turned to the group.
"Now, I want you to do a bank robbery," he demanded.
"But… we don't know how to crack a safe!" a brunette wearing a dark purple eyemask and holding an iron rod shrugged. Ash and Brock collasped onto their faces from the rebuttal.
"That can't be right," Brock groaned. Hackenbrush had another idea.
"Alright… so maybe a hold-up?" he suggested.
"But, we don't have a gun." a blond with a bright red eyemask and holding forks denied. Ash and Brock collasped again.
"He picked these four to frame the Turtles?" groaned Ash. "No wonder they're useless." Hackenbrush wasn;t convinced about throwing in the towel.
"Well, what crimes do you know?" he questioned.
"Um, embezzlement?" guessed the one with the red eyemask.
"Embezzlement!? Who ever heard of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles embezzling?"
"Credit card fraud?" This wasn't the answer Hackenbrush wanted.
"Those aren't daring crimes! I've got to ruin those Turtles' reputation somehow!" Suddenly, crashes. All turned to see Slash as he smashed through a brick wall. A car came at Slash and honked a horn, but Slash crushed the car's hood. The phony turtles gasped and ran in fear.
"Whoa!" gawked Ash and Brock.
"Watch where you're going!" snapped Slash. Brock saw a problem with the new turtle.
"That's not one of ours!" he warned.
"What was your first clue?" irked Ash. Slash approached Hackenbrush.
"Have you seen my binky?" asked Slash. Ash, Brock, Hackenbrush and Pikachu blinked, confused to Slash's asking.
"Your… binky?" repeated Hackenbrush.
"It's my-" struggled Slash. "My palm tree. I-I want it!" Ash and Brock blinked more, curious to Slash's desire.
"A palm tree is his binky?" repeated Ash as he turned to Brock. "A little help, Brock; you've helped your younger siblings, right?"
"I was thinking the same thing," Brock studied. "What I'm believing is that he's a baby turtle who got mutated and someone was trying to ween him of his binky too soon… but if that's the case, this turtle had to come from Dimension X." Ash and Pikachu irked to the belief.
"Meaning that Shredder's behind this to match our Turtles with his own," Ash concluded. "I had a feeling that he had more mutants to come after us."
"I don't have a palm tree on hand," Hackenbrush denied. Slash lifted Hackenbrush by his shoulders. Hackenbrush seemed frightened at being hoisted. "But- But I could get you one!" This made Slash wonder as he lowered Hackenbrush.
"You could?"
"Of course… and a great big palm tree to boot! A whole forest full! Heck, I can get you a condo in Florida." The location made Slash confused.
"What's a… Florida?"
"A magical place where palm trees grow right out of the ground." A deal made Slash rather skeptical.
"And I suppose you want me to do something for you?"
"I do. I want you to go to the Freedom Bell." More confusion from Slash's face.
"The what bell?"
"The Freedom Bell; the city's most beloved landmark! What are you, some kind of foreigner?"
"First time here."
"Come, I'll show you where to go." Hackenbrush led Slash away as Ash and Brock lowered their cameras.
"Brock, you called it," Ash believed. "He's got to have been Shredder's newest pet."
"Let's get our friends to help," Brock wanted as he brought out his Turtle Comm. "Leonardo, Shredder's got a new mutant to cause problems, and he's teamed up with Hackenbrush to smash the Freedom Bell!"
"Good work, you two!" praised Leonardo. "We'll follow your lead. In the meantime, rendezvous with April at the Flying Pizza Inn. I'm sure she'll want your footage of the events."
"Okay, keep us posted," Brock agreed. He put the Turtle Comm away. "Let's get going!" Ash and Pikachu nodded before they left with Brock. Elsewhere, the Turtles were wearing trench coats and fedora hats journeyed around Manhattan with caution.
"So, another turtle's causing a little mayhem," Raphael muttered. "I have to admit, Hackenbrush managed to find a perfect candidate."
"Though, Ash and Brock should be meeting up with April after we told her about dirt on him," Leonardo reviewed.
"I hope they have enough evidence on Hackenbrush to get him off our backs," Donatello wished.
"What we need to do is stay out of sight and beat this new turtle to the Freedom Bell and stop the destruction," Leonardo plotted. Before long, they spotted a group of people who found them. Despite their disguises, the mob appearing seem to recognize them.
"It's the Turtles!" shouted one man. The Turtles realized their cover was blown.
"I guess that didn't work too well," Michelangelo gulped.
"They're the ones who smashed my car!" another man claimed.
"They're the ones who wrecked my store!" another man claimed. The Turtles began to realize the mob was after them and they couldn't defend themselves.
"Seems like the warning we got came too late," Leonardo gulped. The group charged at the Turtles who had an idea: run.
"Let's get out of here!" cried Michelangelo.
"We didn't do anything that other turtle did!" cried Donatello.
"They won't listen!" realized Leonardo. They ran from the mob calling out the damage Slash did. Meanwhile, Bebop and Rocksteady seemed to have repaired the damages Slash left while Meowth watch.
"Dere, just like new," Bebop sighed in relief. However, parts fell from devices already damaged.
"Youse were saying?" nagged Meowth as Shredder entered to see the mess.
"What the devil's going on here!?" he snapped as he saw a door off its hinges. "And what happened to that door!?" Rocksteady tried to take the fall.
"I, uh, slipped on a banana peel when I came in?" he claimed.
"When I explain everyting to you, big guy," Meowth voiced. "Youse not gonna be happy about it."
"I can't wait," Shredder growled. "Krang, get over here this instant!" He turned to Bebop and Rocksteady. "You two have a lot of explaining to do!" Bebop and Rocksteady became fearful of what Shredder had planned. At a new pizzeria in Manhattan, April listened to Ash and Brock while Pikachu snacked on a breadstick.
"This is all to eraticate the Turtles from their home?" reviewed April. "The nerve! I had a bad feeling about Fenton from the beginning, but now I want to question Lofty about his involvement!"
"But that leaves out the origin of the new turtle that Hackenbrush acquired," Brock pointed out. "Though, Ash and I do believe he's a new mutant Shredder created."
"It makes sense since Hackenbrush has shown to be an opportunist," April muttered. "Hopefully, the Turtles will stop this new menace while I bring the footage to Lofty." Pikachu's ears perked up. He turned to see Slash approaching.
("Trouble!") he squeaked. Hearing Pikachu, the humans turned to find Slash smashing the front of the pizzeria.
"I smell something good!" he voiced. Ash and Brock couldn't believe they're now facing Bebop's mutant.
"April, stand back!" warned Ash as Slash reached the kitchen where several pizzas were ready for delivery. Slash stuffed his face with the pies.
"I'm still trying to understand mutations," Ash gulped. After eating several pizzas, Slash wiped his face.
"That hit the spot!" he smiled. "Now for the Freedom Bell!" He left the pizzeria and the humans as a bit stunned.
"That… was the new turtle, right?" questioned April. Before long, the Turtles came by.
"Sorry we're late!" gasped Raphael. "Had a mob chase us."
"Did you guys see some weird mutant that's causing all of the trouble?" asked Michelangelo. Ash and April pointed toward the direction where Slash headed.
"Alright, let's stop him!" ordered Leonardo. They began the chase after Slash.
"As much as Brock, Pikachu and I want to help the Turtles," Ash started. "We'd rather confront Hackenbrush about his schemes." Pikachu squeaked to back Ash's idea.
"There's a chance he's back at the launch site of the Space Scow," April assumed. "We can get there since I have to cover it." To Ash and Brock, their opportunity was close at hand.
"We're not Pete, but we'll happily be your cameramen!" offered Brock.
"You're hired!" joked April. "Now, come on! We have a rocket blasting off!"
"AGAIN!" joked Ash and Brock as they headed to the news van. April looked confused to what the boys added. She shrugged before getting in the driver's seat. In the Technodrome, Bebop explained the situation about Slash to Shredder, Krang and Team Rocket.
"And so, dat's what happened!" he finished. The humans and Krang seemed surprised to what Bebop made.
"You mean you created your own super-mutant turtle and didn't even tell us?" gawked Shredder.
"And let him escape!?" added Krang.
"Well, he was wreckin' da Technodrome!" complained Rocksteady.
"I wouldn't have thought you would be having a pet turtle when you're dealing with Turtles," Jessie pointed out.
"And we deal with a lot of irony back home," James softly shook his head. "Remember those giant Pokémon back in Kanto?"
"It doesn't matter what kind of mutant Bebop and Rocksteady made," Krang argued. "We could use that mutant turtle on those Turtles!"
"And you're going to bring him back!" ordered Shredder. Bebop and Rocksteady became worried. At a silver bell hung on a platform, Slash spotted the bell.
"This has to be the bell that human mentioned," he believed. Bringing out the Shaolin Swords, Slash prepared to cut down the platform holding the bell. "This is for my binky." The Turtles soon arrived.
"Alright, buster!" voiced Raphael. "Hold it right there!" Slash found himself with the other Turtles.
"Oh, more of my kind!" he awed. "Now, I can test my strength." Leonardo spotted the swords.
"Aren't those Shredder's Shaolin Swords?" he pointed out.
"I thought they looked familiar," Donatello noticed.
"They're mine, and so will my binky!" argued Slash. "Besides, there's only one box turtle who is strongest… and that's me!" The five turtles attacked, Slash being the lone opponent. Donatello swung his bo at Slash's head. It made contact, but the bo broke.
"Oh, that was my favorite bo staff!" he whined before Slash threw him into a pond. Leonardo and Raphael had grabbed at Slash's shell, but Slash overpowered their hold. He picked the two up and threw them away. Michelangelo threw his grappling hook at Slash, but he caught the line and swung Michelangelo around and around before throwing them into the fountain.
"Shredder saved a tough one for last," Raphael gasped. Leonardo pointed his sword at Slash.
"You're giving us Turtles a bad name, brother!" he scolded before the two clashed swords. However, Leonardo's swords broke in one strike. "Uh oh!" Slash picked up Leonardo and threw him into the fountain.
"I think we need Ash and Brock to help out," Michelangelo pleaded. Slash picked up the giant bell and held it over his head. Now, the Turtles are about to get their bell rung by the mutant turtle's wrath. How can they escape?
TO BE CONTINUED...