- Chapter 63 -

Battle for New York, Part 2

The mutants all reconvened at TCRI, and Mortu got to work calibrating the portal as Donnie retrieved Metalhead from Harold in the lab.

"You sure you guys can handle this?" Leo asked. "Krang's most likely gonna be attacking at full force."

"You let us worry about that, Leo," Tai told him. "Just focus on saving those people."

"Yeah, we got this," Slash assured.

Leatherhead nuzzled Hisako's cheek affectionately. "Be safe, Oracle."

"Don't worry," Hisako assured. "We'll be back with all the cured New Yorkers in tow."

Zephyr turned away from the sight, scowling in jealousy before a hand touched his shoulder. He turned to see April standing there.

"You don't need to worry," she told him. "They're basically like brother and sister."

"What? Worry? About that?" Zephyr stammered. "Nah, I- I…" He sighed, realizing he'd been made. "Is it that obvious?"

"Hisako's not the only psychic around here," April said, patting his back. "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me."

Zephyr sighed in relief. "Thanks."

Off to the side, Oyuki had borrowed Hob's lighter and was using it to light up, sighing in bliss as she took a long-awaited cigarette break. Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"Is this really the best time for a nicotine fix?" she asked.

Oyuki shrugged. "If I'm going out, it's not happening without one last smoke."

Mortu pressed a few buttons, and the portal slowly opened up.

"Hurry!" he told the Hamato siblings and Kagome, who quickly put on their rebreathers and jumped in. As soon as they were in, something began pounding on the doors with all its might.

"They're here!" April shouted.

Jade smirked, cracking her knuckles. "I am so gonna enjoy this."

"Let's crack some skulls!" Tai shouted.

The door was finally bashed down, revealing multiple Krangdroids, as well as bizarre gorilla-like robots with blue fur. Everyone gaped at that.

"What the hell are those?!" Mizuki demanded.

"Biotroids…" Leatherhead told them.

Jade charged in, twirling her staff. Getting behind one of the Biotroids, she swung her staff with a yell, slamming it into its back. After a minute, the robot's big black butt cheeks fell off, revealing a pair of twin laser guns. Jade gaped in shock.

"It's got laser guns… in its butt?!" she shouted.

The guns immediately began firing, and Jade scrambled out of the way as the showdown began.

The Hamato siblings and Kagome exited near the same area where they had arrived in Dimension X before, looking out over the cliff at the bizarre landscape.

"And back again," Hisako said, shivering.

"Okay, first things first," Donnie piped up, holding up a retro-mutagen canister. "We need to find a way to disperse all this before we find the people."

"Well, why not a Technodrome?" Mikey offered. "Those things have mutagen cannons, right?"

"Where are we gonna find one, Mikey?" Kagome asked. "Sam said Krang only has one, and it's on Earth!"

Mikey pointed up, and they looked up to see one floating overhead. "He also said they're mass-produced here."

"That's brilliant, Mikey!" Donnie exclaimed. "Now how to get up there…"

"Easy," Hisako replied before pushing them all off the cliff.

They fell for a short distance before finding themselves falling above it. Green halos surrounded them as Hisako guided them over to the ship.

"Okay," said Vee. "Now what?"

"We find the control room and take control, then find the mutagen supply," Leo replied.

"If they're mass-produced, then this ship is probably set up like Krang's," Hisako mused. "Everyone follow me."

"Sis, you're really stepping up," Raph said with a smile.

Hisako shrugged. "You can thank our vision quest in the woods for that."

Back on Earth, the Hamato Clan, Guardians, and Mutanimals continued fighting. Slash swung his mace at several Krangdroids, shattering them to pieces, before wrestling with a Biotroid alongside Leatherhead, while Krangdroids continued swarming in by the dozens.

"Now, what do we have here?" a new voice piped up.

The Krangdroids parted as Krang himself walked in, his hands behind his back.

"Krang!" Mortu shouted in surprise.

"Well, well, well," Jade said sarcastically. "If it isn't the great General Krang, descending from on high to mingle with the commoners."

"Silence, you insolent worm!" Krang shouted, firing a laser blast at Jade, which she narrowly dodged. Without breaking stride, Krang turned to Mortu.

"Mortu, why do you insist on interfering with my plans?" he questioned. "I'm trying to give the Utroms a new home. Everything I do is to ensure the future of our species."

Mortu scowled at that. "No! This was never about our kind, Krang! This is about you! This has always been about you! Everything you have done is for your own selfish, sadistic desires, because the only thing you care about is YOU!"

"He's right!" Tai added, glaring at him. "There's nothing noble or honorable about what you did to Leatherhead and Hisako, you sadistic fuck!"

"The mutation and the mistake?" Krang questioned. "Stepping stones in a much grander scheme. They should be proud to be sacrificed for the glory of the Utroms."

"There is no glory in sacrificing the innocent," Mortu rebutted.

Krang scowled. "I shaped this planet into what it is today! I shaped humankind as well! The Earth belongs to me, and what I do with the insects who crawl upon my creation is my right!"

"It doesn't matter how we came to be, or who made us!" Mizuki declared. "This planet is ours, Krang! And you're not welcome here!"

"As I said, you are nothing but insignificant insects to me." Krang growled. "And insects get squashed! "

As he spoke, a Biodroid crept up behind Mizuki, preparing to smash her… only to spark and slump forward, Tai's katana buried in its back.

"Nobody messes with my girl," Tai declared, yanking his sword free.

Krang let out a furious growl, then glanced to his henchmen.

"Kill them!" he yelled. "Kill them ALL!"

Back in Dimension X, the Turtles, Hisako, and Kagome had managed to storm the control room of the Technodrome. Quickly taking care of the Krangdroids inside, Donnie ran over to the control panel, examining it.

"Interesting," he mused. "The mutagen isn't just an armament. The Technodromes use it as fuel!"

"Could've sworn I told you that," Hisako said. "Mutagen has a lot of different uses."

"Then converting their supply should be as simple as popping open the gas tank," Raph remarked.

Donnie went to do just that, and Hisako went wide-eyed.

"Wait, wait!" she shouted, but she was too late. Donnie poured the retro-mutagen into the fuel tank, and everything slowly stopped working.

"What's going on?!" Kagome demanded.

Hisako sighed. "I was about to say that the fuel converters aren't calibrated for retro-mutagen."

"Of course," Donnie facepalmed. "I'm an idiot."

The Technodrome immediately dropped like a rock, and Donnie hurried over to the fuel converters to calibrate them.

"Mayday! Mayday!" Mikey screamed, grabbing Leo around the neck as he did. "This looks like the end!"

"Mikey, this is no time to panic!" Leo shouted, yanking him off.

"Donnie, do something!" Kagome screamed.

"I'm working on it!" Donnie yelled.

"Well, work faster!" Raph snapped. "We're about to be greasy little smears on the rocks!"

Donnie pressed a few buttons, and the ship slowly powered back on, stopping its descent. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"That was too damn close," Vee let out.

"Unfortunately, our little stunt didn't go unnoticed," Hisako told them.

They looked, seeing a few of Krang's stealth ships approaching.

"So…" Raph began, "is there a phrase in any Dimension X language for 'up shit's creek?'"

"Wouldn't know," Hisako replied. "But I do know this one." She slammed her hand on a large button. "Eat lasers, shitheads!"

Massive lasers fired out of the Technodrome's cannons, blasting the stealth ships out of the sky.

"Okay, we need to move fast," Leo insisted. "Hisako, can you sense out the New Yorkers?"

"I can try," Hisako replied.

She sat down on the floor, assuming a meditative position. Keeping silent, she pointed straight ahead, like a compass. Mikey turned her to test, seeing her arm remaining in the same direction.

"Okay, here's the plan," Leo said as they piloted the ship in the direction Hisako indicated. "Donnie, if this ship is like Krang's, it'll have a dimensional portal as well. Once we douse them with retro-mutagen, you use that portal to send 'em back to Earth. As soon as they're cured, they won't last long in this air."

"Right," said Donnie. "Kagome, Vee, you two man the portal. Raph, you handle the weapons. Leo, you steer. Mikey, keep an eye on Hisako."

"It's now or never, you guys," Leo said. "Let's do this."

On Earth, the fight went on, and the group was beginning to wear down.

"They just keep coming, you guys!" Hana shouted. "I don't know how much more I can take!"

"We have to keep fighting!" Rockwell told her. "If we fall, the Turtles may be lost in Dimension X forever!"

"We just gotta buy them a little more time!" Jade insisted.

Hob fired on several Krangdroids, with Metalhead supporting him.

"If it's our time to go, then it's our time!" the cat mutant declared. "But we're gonna give these brain blobs hell before we do!"

The fight continued, and Krang grinned evilly.

"Your army wears thin, Mortu. You can't keep this up forever," the evil general laughed. "Face it! You have lost !"

At that very moment, a shuriken hit his suit in the back of the head.

"Not yet!" came Splinter's voice.

They turned to see him standing there, flanked by Karai, Kasumi, Seiko, Yukio, Shiden, and Asuka.

"Dad!" Tai and Erika cheered happily, getting a nod from Shiden.

Karai smirked. "You didn't think we were gonna be sidelined forever, did you?"

"You've plagued this city for long enough, monster!" Seiko added.

At that moment, something repeatedly hit Krang at super-speed. Alopex skidded to a stop as Amaya and Li entered as well.

"Your reign of terror ends today!" she declared.

"The first escapee," Krang snarled maliciously. "I've wanted to destroy you for years."

"The feeling is entirely mutual, General," Alopex snarled. "You ruined my life, so now I'll end yours!"

The Turtles' Technodrome hovered before three small floating islands. They looked down, seeing the mutated New Yorkers slaving away.

"Holy…" Donnie let out.

"There's so many of them…" Leo added.

They noticed them chipping away at the purple crystals on the walls.

"So that's what he brought them here for," Kagome realized. "They're mining for power cell crystals."

Hisako clutched her head, wincing. "They're all in pain… Screaming for help... for release…" She collapsed to her knees, tears in her eyes from the emotional onslaught. "It's too much…" she hiccupped, her eyes screwed shut. "Too much..."

"Don't worry, we're going to save all of them," Leo declared. "Raph, you ready for this?"

Raph grinned, manning the mutagen cannon. "I was born ready."

"Wait, I just had an idea," Vee cut in. "If this thing could send all of them back to earth, you think we could reverse the effects on say… the Utroms under Krang's control?"

Hisako's eyes snapped open at that. "That's brilliant! We can send all of Krang's goons and resources back here... without him! He'll be trapped on Earth without his army backing him up!"

"Donnie, can it be done?" Leo asked.

Donnie grinned, popping his neck. "Give me two minutes." He rapidly pushed several buttons, eventually nodding in approval. "Okay! Raph, fire the retro-mutagen! We're gonna send the people back to Earth, and Krang's goons back here!"

Raph hit the fire button, coating every person with retro-mutagen. As soon as they started shifting back, Vee and Kagome hit the portal button, sending them back to Earth. Donnie grinned, cracking his knuckles.

"And now, for the coup de grâce …" he declared.

On Earth, the fight continued, when suddenly, every Krangdroid barring Krang himself began glowing bright pink.

"What?!" Krang demanded. "Who's using the transmat device?! I didn't authorize this!"

The Hamato siblings and Kagome materialized at that, and Krang glared at them as his men started vanishing one by one.

"You!" he shouted. "What have you done?!"

"We hijacked another Technodrome while we were there, Krang," Donnie replied. "All of your mutated slaves have been cured and sent back to Earth, and all of your men, your technology, your resources... they've been sent back to Dimension X. Without you."

Hisako stepped forward, looking downright malicious as she loomed over him. He opened his mouth to say something, but she telekinetically ripped him out of his suit, pulling him toward her.

"Unhand me, you worthless project!" Krang demanded. "You will suffer for this! You will-"

He was cut off as Hisako's lips twitched and she began chuckling. Her laughs started out low and quiet, but soon, she doubled over, laughing hysterically.

"I will what?" she taunted. "You're alone, unarmed, helpless, and shunned." She snickered slightly as the situation hit her. "It's ironic. For hundreds of years, you thought yourself above the world. And now…" She dropped him and stepped on him, putting just enough pressure to let Krang know she could easily squash him if she wanted to. "Now you're the lowest of the low. I wouldn't even consider you a threat anymore."

"You… you…" Krang growled. "How dare you?! I am the great General Krang!"

That just got another laugh out of Hisako. "Who are you the 'great general' of? Didn't you hear what Donnie said? There's no one around you anymore! Your men are gone. Ch'rell is gone. Your weapons and mutagen, all gone."

Leatherhead promptly lifted Krang's exoframe up, smashing it to pieces.

"And so's your body," Hisako finished, grinding her heel on Krang. "There's nothing to stop me from popping you like a grape under my foot. But that's the easy way out. I want you to suffer like I did, alone and hunted."

She straightened up, removing her foot from Krang. "Besides, I don't wanna get brain gunk all over my sneakers, and you're not even worth it."

Krang ineffectually beat his tentacles on the ground as his situation fully dawned on him.

"No… NO!" he shouted. "This can't be happening! This can't be the way it ends! I am General Krang !"

Hisako turned her back to him, approaching her family. "Goodbye, Krang. And good luck. You're gonna need it."

Krang scowled, scurrying for the door. As he went, he had one last thing to say. "This is not over, Turtles! I will regain my power and what I have lost, and when that day comes, I will make you suffer!"

And with that, he was gone.

"So…" Mikey piped up, "did we win?"

"Yep," said Raph. "We won."

"We did it!" Tai cheered, picking up Mizuki and spinning her around. "We beat Krang! We saved New York!"

"BOOYAKASHA!" the Hamato septet cheered, all high-fiving.

Slash grinned. "Whaddaya say we celebrate?"

Jade smiled as well, rolling her shoulder. "Fine by me."

And with that, the entire group went out into the night to celebrate their grand victory.

Author's Note:

And with that, New York is saved from Krang.

Next chapter, the Turtles and co. help clean up the city and restore order, while Shredder takes advantage of Krang's fall from grace to expand his own empire.

Please R&R. Until next time!