- Chapter 23 -
Cockroach Terminator
After another rigorous training session, April and the Hamato teens, sans Donnie, were seated in the TV room just chilling.
"How's your dad holding up, April?" Kagome asked as she sat down next to the red-head.
April sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"He hasn't left the house since you saved him," she confessed, her anxiousness evident in her tone. "Robyn has tried to get him to see a doctor, but he's really scared."
"I don't blame him," Hisako remarked, sinking into the couch cushions with a grunt. "I mean, anyone could be an Utrom these days."
April glanced over at her, wincing sympathetically as she turned back to the turtles.
"She's still upset?" April guessed.
"Wouldn't you be?" Raph questioned rhetorically.
Leatherhead shuffled in at that moment, carrying two cups of tea on a tray. He handed one to Hisako, who took it gratefully as the croc curled up on the couch next to her. They both sipped on their tea, Hisako leaning on him in with a sigh of her own.
"He's been here ever since TCRI," Kagome explained to April, gesturing to the croc.
"I will not abandon Oracle when she needs me," Leatherhead said as he wrapped his thick tail around Hisako's frame. "Not again."
"I'd say she needs you now more than ever, Leatherhead," Mikey remarked.
"Guys!" Donnie called from the lab, drawing everyone's attention. "Drop whatever you're doing and get in here! I've got something to show you!"
"Oh boy," Leo sighed, getting to his feet. "Let's see what crazy contraption he's whipped up this time."
They made their way to the lab, Hisako on Leatherhead's shoulder. Once they entered, they were greeted with a smiling Donnie, who was holding his hands in a cupping motion in front of him.
"My friends," he began, "I have here today, the next step in our ninja crusade to save our fair city."
"I thought that was the smoke bombs," Vee remarked.
"That was then, and this is now. Behold!"
He uncovered his hand to reveal... a lone cockroach. Everyone just looked at the roach with confusion and disenchantment, all save for Vee. The female turtle flipped out in utter panic, knocking the roach out of Donnie's hand with a shrill shriek.
"ROACH! Knock its block off!"
She grabbed a hammer from Donnie's workbench, preparing to bring it down on the roach.
"Wait, don't!" Donnie shouted, intercepting the hammer. "You'll smash it!"
"It's a filthy, disgusting bug!" Vee retorted. "Crush it, now!"
"You can't crush this roach," Donnie insisted, picking up the roach to try and protect it. "He's special. Really special."
"It's a cockroach!" Vee snapped. "How is it special?!"
"Because I outfitted him with a remote controlled camera," Donnie said proudly.
The group stole a glance at the roach, and sure enough, it wore a bug-sized camera device on its head.
"Well, that proves why you're special," Leo deadpanned.
"We can send him into the Technodrome and spy on..." Donnie stole a glance at Leatherhead before going on, "you-know-who."
"So..." Kagome tried to understand. "You're gonna bug the Technodrome... with a bug."
"Cockroaches are everywhere in New York. Nobody will think twice about a few extras, not even the Utroms." He picked up his laptop, showing the others the camera footage. "We can see everything the Spy-Roach sees through here."
"Hey, I name stuff," Mikey griped. "You know the rules."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Dr. Namenstein," Donnie let out, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "What would you call it?"
Mikey thought for a moment, then grinned. "I got it! The Spy-Roach!"
There was a moment of silence, Raph lifting his hand to smack Mikey until Leo caught it. He just gave Raph a shake of the head and Raph reluctantly lowered his arm. Donnie pinched in between his eyes, letting out a groan.
"Anyway, like I was saying, the Spy-Roach's camera records the footage and sends it to my laptop. I can revisit the archived data, which we can use at a later date."
The screen showed Vee's scared face, right before she slapped the roach out of Donnie's hand. Mikey laughed, pointing at the screen.
"Vee, you should see your face," Mikey joked. "Oh, wait... you can!"
"And you gave me a hard time about my cat phobia," Raph mused, crossing his arms.
"Cats are cuddly and cute," Vee justified. "Roaches are fucking gross. Slimy, filthy pests. And they just. Don't. Die."
"Which is another reason to use them for spying," Donnie remarked. "Even if they're caught, you can't get rid of them."
"Commendable, Donatello," Leather complimented. "You should be proud."
"Agreed," Hisako said, smiling.
Donnie smiled. "Thanks, guys."
Mikey turned back to the screen, pausing it on Vee's look of terror. He couldn't help but laugh. "That's my favorite part! Hey Donnie, can I get this on a T-shirt?"
"Wanna see my favorite part?" Vee asked with a threatening edge to her voice.
She grabbed Mikey's shoulders and rammed her kneecap into his crotch. A chorus of sympathetic groans sounded as Mikey fell to his knees, cupping his groin.
"I have a shell..." Mikey groaned. "How did that work?"
"I find it best not to question these things," Donnie replied, turning back to his screen. "There's some stuff about turtle anatomy that grosses even me out. (1)"
-X-
Later, Donnie managed to pilot the Spy-Roach into the Technodrome as the rest of the clan and co watched. Through the screen, they say two Krangdroids chatting casually while on guard duty.
"So, I've switched to what the humans call a gluten-free diet," one announced. "I've lost quite a bit of weight."
"You are looking quite slim," the other remarked.
"Thrilling." Mikey deadpanned.
"Wow," Hisako said flatly. "You'd almost forget they're a bunch of sadistic fucks."
"Almost..." Leatherhead agreed.
"Come on..." Donnie grumbled, slamming his head on the table in annoyance and boredom. "There's got to be something crucial to their plans here."
"Anyway, are we ready for the next phase of the invasion?" the second Krangdroid asked.
Donnie's head shot up as everyone's attention was pulled back to the screen.
"That doesn't sound good," Kagome mused.
"Yes," the first Krangdroid replied. "The laser drill is primed and ready."
"Laser drill?!" Everyone shouted.
"What do they want a laser drill for?" Raph wondered.
"Maybe if you shut up and listen, we'll find out," Donnie snapped.
"We still need the diamond lens," the second Krangdroid pointed out. "Once we have it, the drill will be able to bore straight into the Earth's crust."
"I don't like the sound of that," Vee remarked.
"You shouldn't," Hisako said with a nervous edge to her voice. "Operation Deep Cut. One of Krang's more ambitious plans."
"And a bad one, I'm guessing?" Mikey questioned.
"Yeah, it's bad. Unless you think the city needs a giant lava fountain."
"Well, lava surfing could be fun," Mikey remarked.
"It won't be," Donnie informed him. "The entire city will be flooded with lava, and thousands of innocent people will be flash-fried."
"That psycho's gonna turn New York into the next Pompeii!" Raph shouted.
"They said they needed a lens," Leatherhead pointed out. "Perhaps your Spy-Roach can find out where they will strike.
Donnie turned back to the screen to have a look around, but suddenly, the screen went blank.
"What the..." he said aloud. "The signal's gone!"
"What?!" Raph shouted. "What do you mean gone?"
"Exactly what I said. Gone. Vamoose. Pfft."
Vee scoffed. "Good riddance."
"Don, can you cross reference the labs that could have the lens Krang needs?" Leo questioned.
"I'm insulted you even have to ask." He typed away on his laptop, searching for barely a minute before he found what he needed. "Got it!"
"Then let's haul shell!" Leo exclaimed.
They all piled into the Shellraiser, Leatherhead coming along, and drove off for the lab.
Down in the Technodrome, something moved within a mutagen vat. From it emerged a monstrous creature, a hideous hybrid of organic flesh and technology. It turned its grotesque head towards the surface, making its way there. As it stalked towards the light of the city, it had only one thought on its mind... revenge.
-X-
The Shellraiser drove through the streets of Manhattan, just going along peacefully. That peace was quickly interrupted when the vehicle hit a massive bump. The Shellraiser lurched forward with a loud ka-thump, one that shook all eight passengers. Vee and Kagome narrowly managed to hold onto their safety straps, but Hisako lost her grip, slamming into the side of the wall.
"Ka-thump?" Donnie remarked. "That's a very bad sound."
"It sounded more like a ba-dump," Mikey remarked.
"Personally, I heard a thwap," Raph announced.
"Thwap?" Mikey and Donnie both asked.
Raph slapped them both, making a "thwap" sound. "Thwap."
Leatherhead headed over to Hisako and helped her up.
"Thanks for wisecracking while I sit here with a huge bump on my already fucked up head," she muttered as she rubbed her head. "Ow..."
"Sorry," Raph said sheepishly. "Are you alright?"
"Peachy," Hisako replied flatly.
"On that note, what the hell did you hit, Leo?" Kagome asked.
"I have no idea."
Everyone made their way outside to investigate.
"I hope it wasn't a person," Vee shared.
"If it is, we'll pass ourselves off as head trauma," Mikey suggested.
As they piled out of the Shellraiser, they were greeted by the sight of an enormous brown figure that seemed to have wires sinking into its flesh. Raph winced at the sight of the thing, turning away slightly.
"Damn, that thing is fugly," he announced.
"Fugly?" Hisako questioned.
"Fucking ugly."
"And stinky," Mikey added, holding his nose. "Smells like a butt sandwich."
"What is it?" Leo wondered.
Donnie approached it, poking it with his staff as he examined the technological parts of its body. His eyes widened and he gulped. "I- I think that's Spy-Roach."
"What?!" Vee let out.
Unbeknownst to the group, the mass began to twitch slightly. As it did, Hisako let out a soft grunt of pain, rubbing her temple. Leatherhead placed a hand on her shoulder as she stumbled back.
"Oracle?" he asked.
"I'm okay… I think." She grimaced. "Just feel like something's poking at my brain."
"That's how we lost the signal," Donnie realized, oblivious to Hisako's side conversation as his eyes were glued on Spy-Roach. "He must've been exposed to some mutagen."
He gestured to part of Spy-Roach's head with his staff, examining him with utter fascination. "Look how the cam helmet merged with the exoskeleton. We have never seen a merge of organic and inorganic matter like this before."
"Yeah, that's great, D," Vee replied in a panic. "Now let's talk some more about it while we're driving away at about a thousand miles an hour, okay?"
Mikey grinned, turning to his sister.
"Aww, what's the matter?" he asked in an exaggerated baby voice. "Is wittle baby Vee scared of the big, scawy squashed bug?"
"Can we just get away from that goddamn abomination already?!" Vee exclaimed.
"Vee, we creamed it with the Shellraiser," Kagome told her. "What's gonna happen? Is it gonna get up and come after us?"
As she said this, a large shadow began to overtake her. Everyone stared up at it in horror as Hisako slowly lifted up a hand to point at it.
"Uh... Kagome?" she let out in a quiet, terrified voice.
Kagome paused, closing her eyes. "It just got up, didn't it?"
Hisako nodded as Kagome turned around. Her eyes opened and were greeted by the sight of the seven foot tall techno-organic cockroach standing over her. Its mandibles clicked menacingly as them as the group stood completely still.
"I suggest we take Venus' advice," Leatherhead proposed.
"Agreed," Leo responded. "Besides, we need to find that lens before the-"
Leo was cut off by the sounds of Donnie yelping. The entire group turned to see Spy-Roach grabbing Donnie by the leg. It glared at the Turtles with a single red camera eye narrowing at Vee. She just let out a shriek of absolute terror as it began to come after them, making a beeline for the safety of the Shellraiser. As she ducked inside, Raph drew his sai and spun them in his hands.
"Well, you know what they say, the bigger they are…" He charged at the Spy-Roach, who swatted him aside easily. Mikey winced upon watching his brother go skidding across the asphalt and into a building.
"The more bones they break," The orange turtle finished.
Leatherhead charged at the creature, letting out a roar as he grappled with it. Their strength seemed evenly matched, giving Leo, Mikey, and Donnie a chance to charge at it, striking it with their respective weapons. Kagome was quick to do the same, though it seemed to have little effect.
"This thing is tough!" Kagome let out as she attempted to cut through a seemingly metal appendage.
"Of course!" Donnie responded, holding off two more appendages with his staff. "Roaches are among the most resilient creatures on the planet. They can even withstand a nuclear explosion!"
"Well that's encouraging!" Raph remarked, still on the ground and in pain.
"They're also super-gross," Mikey remarked, causing the roach to smack him into a garbage can. "Ouch! Sorry, Mr. Sensitive!"
"Where's Vee?" Leo questioned.
Just then, the Shellraiser's manhole shooter flipped out with Venus at the controls. "Eat hot manhole cover!"
Everyone ducked out of the way as she started shooting at the creature. One by one, the manhole covers bounced off the Spy-Roach's tough exterior plating, though one eventually managed to connect with Spy-Roach's face. The force of the blow knocked it flat on its back, seemingly out cold. However, even in unconsciousness, it still twitched and clicked, much to Vee's horror.
"Oh, shit…" she cursed.
She then started firing at it in a frenzy, screaming the entire time. Finally, Leo came up and grabbed her.
"Whoa, whoa!" Leo let out. "Ease up, Vee. I think you got him."
"Right," Vee let out, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "Okay."
She then fired one final cover, striking the Spy-Roach right between the legs.
"Will you knock it off?!" Kagome snapped. "It's down already!"
Leatherhead then reached up and plucked Vee from the firing seat, depositing her down on the ground.
"You were only wasting ammunition by this point," he told her as Leo shut down the weapon.
Hisako let out a whistle, shaking her head. "And I thought I reacted poorly when it came to my fears."
"So what do we do with that thing?" Raph asked, pointing at the downed Spy-Roach with his foot.
"Forget about it," Leo answered. "We have bigger fish to fry. Like stopping Krang from turning New York into a lava bath."
"Leo's right," Vee agreed a little too quickly. "Let's scram."
"You just wanna get away from that thing," Mikey accused.
"Is that so wrong?" Vee questioned with an angry expression. "Look at it!"
She went to point at Spy-Roach, only to find that the mutated bug had completely vanished. Her face turned a lighter shade of green as she gulped.
"Oh..." she squeaked. "It's gone… Can we leave now?"
Leo nodded, then everyone climbed back into the Shellraiser. As Leo prepared to pull away, Mikey grinned. "Hey guys. Whaddaya get when you cross a turtle with a chicken?"
He let out a snort, then turned to Vee.
"Venus de Milo!" He declared before breaking down into hysterics.
Vee's fist then came down on Mikey's head so hard she drove it down into his shell, silencing his laughter.
Across down in a well-known science lab, some Krangdroids were collecting the necessary lens from a large telescope
"Will this be sufficient for the plan?" One of the Krangdroids questioned, holding up the lens.
"It'll do," a second Krangdroid replied.
They began walking out of the lab with their freshly stolen cargo. Before they could make it very far, the Shellraiser skidded to a stop in front of them. The doors slid open and the entire Hamato Clan emerged.
"Seriously?" The first krangdroid exclaimed. "I can't believe you freaks are trying to ruin our plans again! Don't you have lives? Get a hobby! Woodworking, origami... something!"
"Stop trying to wreck our planet and we'll think about it, freakos!" Mikey snapped.
At that time, Leatherhead emerged from the Shellraiser. His eyes glazed over as his gaze locked onto the Krangdroids.
"Utroms…" he snarled.
Before anything more could be said or done, he roared and charged forward. The others winced and covered their eyes as he tore them to pieces, save for Hisako, who seemed unusually numb to the scene.
"Well... I think I'm skipping dinner tonight," Kagome declared, a hand on her mouth.
"I got the lens!" Vee called out, grabbing the lens as it rolled towards her feet.
"Leatherhead!" Hisako called out, drawing the croc's attention. "C'mon big guy! Time to bail!"
Leatherhead nodded, his eyes returning to normal as he and Vee made their way back to the Shellraiser. The remaining Krangdroids moved to intercept them, but that was when Spy-Roach jumped in between the two groups. At the sight of the gigantic bug, Vee screamed and hid behind Raph and Kagome. The Spy-Roach then knelt down and picked up a blaster, firing it at the krangdroids.
"It's using tools…" Vee realized. "IT'S LEARNING!"
"Get a hold of yourself, Vee!" Raph snapped. "It's just a roach!
"No, it's a bigass, mutant cyborg roach wielding a fucking laser blaster!" she screamed.
The roached turned to them and Hisako let out a louder grunt of pain, falling to her knees as she clutched her head.
"What the hell?!" she exclaimed.
Seeing Hisako fall, and the oncoming threat, Leo quickly took charge.
"Donnie, Mikey, Raph, you deal with the roach!" He ordered. "Leatherhead, help Hisako. Kagome, Vee, you're with-!"
He cut himself off, seeing a distinct lack of his other sister.
"And she's gone," he let out, his voice laced with annoyance and anger. "Freakin' perfect."
While Vee hid behind the Shellraiser, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey confronted Spy-Roach
"Alright Roachie," Mikey let out, spinning his nunchaku. "Time to meet your maker.
"But, that would be me," Donnie told him in confusion.
"Yep," Mikey agreed before shoving Donnie towards Spy-Roach. "Go get 'em, tiger!"
The roach clicked its mandibles again, eliciting another pained cry from Hisako.
"C'mon Donnie, do something!" Raph snapped. "Smack it, shock it, spray it with bug spray, anything!"
"Bug spray!" Mikey exclaimed.
Mikey then pulled out a can of bug spray from his shell and started spraying Spy-Roach. The toxic spray caused it to cry out in pain.
"...He just happened to have bug spray on him?" Raph asked.
"Worry about it later," Donnie told him.
Mikey continued spraying as Donnie and Raph took advantage of Spy-Roach's weakened state. They struck every chance they got as Mikey continued his poisonous assault.
"Oh yeah!" he shouted as he flipped through the air and kept spraying. "How ya like me now?"
Unfortunately for the group, Mikey's bug spray eventually ran out. He looked at the can, then up at Spy-Roach, a nervous smile on his face.
"Uh-oh..." he whimpered.
The Spy-Roach then aimed its blaster at him, but before it could fire, a speeding tanker truck crashed right into it. Mikey watched the truck skid across the street, taking Spy-Roach with it. The truck kept going as the driver abandoned his vehicle, running for the hills. The tanker then crashed into a building and exploded, supposedly taking Spy-Roach with it.
"...Well that was lucky," Mikey noted.
Turning away from the wreckage, the group turned back to the Shellraiser and their cowering sister. As they looked at her, they noticed a distinct lack of a lens.
"Uh, where's the lens?" Raph questioned.
"She lost the lens?!" Leo exclaimed.
"I was busy!" Vee defended, coming out from behind the Shellraiser.
"Busy cowering in terror!" Leo snapped.
"If it is not here, then the Utroms must have it," Leatherhead rationalized. "We must retrieve it at all costs!"
The group returned to the Shellraiser, Leo glaring daggers at Vee with each step. "You blew it, Vee! You have got to get your head in the game."
"I know, and I'm sorry," she replied sheepishly. "This stupid phobia of mine is gonna get us all killed."
Leo just sighed, then turned towards Donnie's station. "Please tell me you've got something for me, Don."
"I've been doing some research, and I think I know where we need to go." Donnie gestured to the screen he was working at. "Here are the Utrom bases we know about, and here are known fault lines in New York. Now, if you-know-who wants to drill into the earth's core, then this is where he'd do it."
He pointed to a single base on the map. Leo nodded, then quickly jumped into the driver's seat. "Then let's get going."
They prepared to go, but barely made it half a mile before they felt that familiar ka-thump. As the Shellraiser came out of it, Hisako crumbled into Leatherhead's grip, her eyes out of focus.
"Oh, now what?!" Kagome snapped.
Donnie pulled out his laptop, letting out a gulp as he looked at the screen.
"Uh-oh..." he said in a terrified voice. "He's back!"
"The roach?!" Vee exclaimed. "Where?!"
The group looked at the screen, seeing the Spy-Roach's view of the underside of the vehicle.
"It's under us!" Vee screamed, jumping up and grabbing the safety grips on the ceiling to suspend herself off the floor.
"Oracle..." Leatherhead let out, trying to shake Hisako awake. "Wake up!"
To add to this collection of problems falling in their laps, the Shellraiser suddenly began slowing down, eventually coming to a full and complete stop.
"Shit, he cut the drive shaft!" Donnie cursed.
"Donnie, how is he finding us?" Leo questioned.
"He could be using the homing signal I used so Spy-Roach could find his way back to the van."
"There's a homing signal?!" Leo exclaimed.
"Dude, even I would have turned that off!" Mikey remarked.
"Excuse me, Mikey," Donnie retorted. "I've been a little distracted."
All of a sudden, Hisako sat up in Leatherhead's lap. Her back was stick straight, and her eyes remained out of focus.
"Venus De Milo," she declared, her voice cold and emotionless.
Everyone turned to her, completely weirded out by her sudden mood shift. Leatherhead turned her towards him, looking more than a bit worried.
"Oracle?" he questioned.
"I am not Oracle," she informed him. "I am Spy-Roach."
Everyone immediately turned to Donnie.
"Okay, how the fuck is that thing in Hisako's head?!" Raph snapped.
"I don't know!" Donnie answered desperately. "Maybe the wireless signal mixed with the mutagenic frequency, and it's somehow hijacking Hisako's brainwaves?"
"Hey!" Mikey shouted. "Spy-Roach! Why you attacking us, dude?! What'd we ever do to you?!"
"I'm not after you." Hisako pointed robotically at Vee. "I'm after her. The bitch who tried to squash me with a hammer."
Vee flinched, pointing a shaking finger at herself.
"M-me?" she stammered. "Fuck..."
Hisako lowered her arm, turning to Leo. "Hand her over, and I'll leave the rest of you alone. Protect her, and you'll all suffer her fate."
Mikey let out a small chuckle. "Huh, the one turtle who's afraid of cockroaches has a psycho roach hunting her."
"Yeah, irony, I got it," Vee scowled. "Any other new developments?"
"Time's up," Hisako announced.
All of a sudden, a semi-organic saw blade pierced through the bottom of the Shellraiser, just inches from Vee's dangling feet.
"He has a SAW?!" Vee shrieked.
"For getting through vents with the camera!" Donnie supplied.
Leo looked down at the blade, then over at his bespelled sister still sitting in a very anxious Leatherhead's lap.
"Look Spy-Roach, I get that you're angry with Vee, but she's our sister!" the blue turtle tried to rationalize. "We can't let you kill her, and we don't have time to work this out! Krang is going to destroy New York! Don't you care at all?!"
"I'll survive," Hisako insisted. "My kind always survives. Besides, that's what you get for defending that murdering little bitch."
"Hey!" Mikey interjected. "That's our murdering bitch! No offense Vee.
"None taken... I think," Vee replied.
Leo drew his sword, slicing it in a deadly arc that cut clean through Spy-Roach's saw. Through the small hole in the floor, an unholy screech was heard. Hisako's head whipped towards Leo, her voice deep and furious.
"You'll regret that..."
"We look after our own, deal with it," he declared before turning to his brother. "Donnie, fix the Shellraiser. The rest of us will keep the roach busy."
Vee gulped, sweating slightly. "We will?"
"Yes, we will," Leo told her, giving her a point look with emphasis on the word 'we'. "Get your act together, Vee."
Hisako seemed to chuckle, though her face remained impassive. "Yes. Come face me, murderer."
Raph slammed his foot on the ground, glaring at the hole in the floor.
"Get the fuck out of our sister's head!" he snapped.
"Yeah!" Vee declared, swallowing her fear in lieu of anger. "If you got something to say to me, say it yourself! Hisako is not your damned puppet!"
"As you wish," Hisako replied.
As she said this, several cockroach appendages stabbed through the slit in the door, attempting to pry it open. Raph jumped at the sound, then turned Vee.
"This is your mess, Vee!" he told her. "So you clean it up!"
He grabbed her by her bandana, dragging her to the hatch on the roof and throwing it open.
"Yo, Spy-Roach!" he shouted, pulling Vee up so the cockroach could see her. "Venus De Milo is right here waiting for you!"
"Seriously?!" She screamed. "You're using me as bait?!"
"Pretty much," Raph shrugged.
"You motherfucking traitor!"
Spy-Roach removed itself from the door, looking up at Vee and Raph with clicking mandibles.
"The red one wants to live," Hisako's voice emanated from inside the Shellraiser. "Good. Come, little turtle. Face me, if you dare."
Raph grinned, then shoved Vee forward. She slid onto the hood of the Shellraiser, stumbling forward before landing on the asphalt in front the mutant bug. As she picked herself up, her knees were knocking together violently.
"I- I thought I said... g-get out of H-Hisako's head," she stammered.
"NOW!" Raph shouted.
Mikey and Leo then dropped down and trapped Spy-Roach in a trash can. Raph then jumped down on top of it as Leatherhead emerged from the Shellraiser with Hisako. As the Spy-Roach banged on the sides of the can, he spoke through Hisako once again.
"You fools!" she shouted. "You dare rob me of my vengeance?!"
"Vengeance is pointless!" Leo insisted. "All it does is lead to more anger, more pain!"
"Yeah, you have your whole life ahead of you," Mikey added. "You can do whatever you want! See the world. Fall in love…"
"This is what I want!" Hisako screamed just as Spy-Roach burst out of the can. "It didn't have to be this way, but if you're so insistent on defending Venus, then you can all die with her!"
"I think we can live with that!" Raph snapped at the roach.
"So to speak," Mikey whimpered.
"Wait," Vee spoke up, getting between the roach and her siblings. "Leave them out of this. You want me? Come and get me!"
She then took off running. The Spy-Roach screeched, quickly running after him.
"Coward!" Hisako screamed as the figures retreated into the darkness.
Vee wasn't sure were she was going, her moment of bravado disappearing as she ran off in a blind panic. She dove into an alley, hiding behind some trash cans. She cowered in fear, her hands over her head as heavy footsteps came up behind her.
"I'm sorry I tried to squish you!" she shouted in a panic, quaking in her shell. "I promise I'll never be cruel again! Just please, leave me alone…"
"On one condition…" a voice that sounded like someone trying to impersonate Hisako.
"Anything!" Vee screamed.
"Be good to Michelangelo!" the voice insisted.
"...What?" Vee let out, turning to see Mikey speaking in a falsetto voice.
"Let him read your comics once and a while," he went on, unaware he'd been discovered.
"You little shit!" She screamed as she jumped to her feet.
Mikey let out a girlish shriek as he ducked behind Leo, narrowly avoiding Vee's attempt at grabbing him.
"Yikes!" he let out. "So much for learning your lesson."
"Where's the bug?!" Vee demanded.
Leo jerked his thumb at a section of quick-dry cement behind him. Petrified in the stone was the Spy-Roach, much to Vee's relief. The others joined the trio, LH carrying a limp Hisako in his arms. Raph looked at the frozen cockroach, chuckling.
"Looks like Vee's not the only one who froze up," he quipped.
Vee glared at her brother at first, then smirked, approaching Spy-Roach's statue.
"Ha! Not so tough now, huh?" She gave the statue a poke. "You're just a-" she cut herself off when the head fell off, revealing nothing inside. "Hollow shell? What the…?"
"What happened to the bug?" Raph questioned.
"He must have molted," Leo rationalized.
"Molted?" Vee gulped.
"Yeah," Leo replied. "Roaches shed their skin when... they get... bigger…"
He trailed off at the implications of what he said hit him. Vee whimpered, putting her head in her hands.
"A cockroach…" she mumbled. "Why'd it have to be a cockroach?"
Hisako then sat up, surprising everyone.
"Surprise!" she declared, clearly still being used as a conduit for Spy-Roach.
There was the sound of something large landing behind the group, and they all turned to see the freshly molted Spy-Roach. It had transformed into a slimy white maggot-like creature with a big mouth and bulging black eyes.
"Oh, that is nasty!" Kagome exclaimed.
It then sprouted a set of wings with blue, shimmering tech patterns on them. Raph's eyes went wide at that.
"It can fly?!" he exclaimed.
Hisako laughed as Spy-Roach examined its new form.
"This cockroach has wings," she mused with a laugh. "How about that?"
"Right,' cause it wasn't a big enough pain in the shell when it was grounded," Raph grumbled.
The transformed cockroach lifted into the air, wings buzzing menacingly.
"Face it, Venus," Hisako snapped. "There's nowhere you can go, nowhere you can hide, that I cannot find you!"
Vee gulped again, backing away slowly. "Uh… Is it too late to say I'm sorry?"
Spy-Roach swooped down at her.
"Guess it is!" Mikey declared. "Run!"
Everyone took off for the Shellraiser once again, Hisako still shouting in Leatherhead's grip.
"Yes!" she taunted. "Run, you coward! Run like the scared little child you are!"
"Donnie, tell me you fixed the engines!" Leo shouted.
Donnie poked his head out from under the hood of the Shellraiser.
"Yeah, but why?" he asked.
Spy-Roach swooped down, screeching loudly.
"That's why!" Leo screamed.
Donnie gulped, closing the hood. "Oh."
They made it into the Shellraiser, slamming the door shut. Spy-Roach slammed hard into the now locked door, shaking the entire vehicle.
"Venus de Milo!" Hisako shouted as the Shellraiser shook again.
"Oooh, full name," Mikey winced. "You're toast."
"I thought you were a ninja, an honorable warrior!" Hisako went on, "And here you are, cowering in your vehicle like a scared little girl. Pathetic!"
Raph quickly manned the trash cannon and started firing at Spy-Roach. "How's this for pathetic?!"
Spy-Roach ended up taking a garbage ball to the face and started screeching in fury.
"YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME!" Hisako screamed. "I'LL CHASE YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH!"
Spy-Roach forced the door open, but Kagome grabbed one of the safety handles on the ceiling. She swung from it, kicking the roach square in the face and knocking it on its back.
"Chew on that, slimy!" she declared.
"Floor it, Donnie!" Leo ordered.
"Flooring it!" Donnie shouted, slamming on the gas and sending the Shellraiser screeching across the road.
As they left the mutated roach in their dust, Vee slumped against the wall.
"I had my chance to face him, and I couldn't do it," she muttered as she put her head in her hands. "I'm so freaking useless!"
Donnie glanced back at Hisako, who was slumped over in Leatherhead's grip.
"She is not waking up..." The croc said quietly. "I fear the creature is still alive."
"We can't worry about that right now," Leo insisted. "Don, how close are we to the drill sight?"
"The laser drill is just up ahead, just past the front gate," Donnie answered, reluctantly turning away from Hisako. "Unfortunately, because this is such a big project and we've already interfered, I'm almost positive there will be Krangdroids everywhere. I hope you have a plan, Leo."
Leo nodded, adjusting his grip on the wheel. "Ram the front gate and we'll go on from there."
"Works for me."
The front gate buckled under the weight of the Shellraiser, ramming right through it. After plowing through the gate, as well as several Krangdroids, the Shellraiser came to a skidding stop. Before they can do anything, the hatch on the roof was thrown open. Spy-Roach's hand reached down, grabbing Mikey and yanking him out of the Shellraiser.
"Mikey!" Raph screamed at he tried and failed to grab his brother.
Vee turned to Hisako, who was sitting up for the third time.
"You've forced my hand, Venus," she declared. "Come out and face me now, or your precious little brother will pay the price!"
"Help me!" Mikey shrieked from outside the Shellraiser.
"We're coming, Mikey!" Donnie shouted back.
They prepared to get out and face off with the roach, but Vee held up her arm to stop them.
"No," she insisted. "This is all my fault. I'll handle the Spy-Roach."
"Vee, you don't have to do this to prove you're not afraid," Leo told her.
"I am afraid," Vee corrected, gripping her kamas. "But like dad's always saying, sometimes we have to face what we're afraid of."
"I'm waiting, little turtle girl!" Hisako taunted.
Vee took a deep breath, then opened the doors to the Shellraiser. She stepped out into the street, where she saw Spy-Roach hovered overhead. He was holding Mikey by his shell, the orange turtle terrified out of his mind. The others emerged as well, Leatherhead setting Hisako down on the ground.
"Good," Hisako spoke. "You're finally acting like a true warrior."
It dropped Mikey and Leatherhead immediately caught him. He put the orange turtle back down on his feet as the cockroach closed in on Vee.
"Now, come face your fear," Hisako growled.
"You think I'm scared of you, insect?" Vee snapped, stepping forward. "I've been acing your butt all night, and I'll do it again! Bring it on, you son of a bitch!"
Spy-Roach flew towards her, and she jumped onto his chest. Wrapping her legs around him, she began slugging away at his face. Leo smirked a bit at the fight, then looked back at Leatherhead.
"I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Vee and Hisako," he insisted. "The rest of us need to stop that drill."
Leatherhead nodded as the turtles and Kagome head for the drill. The Spy-Roach grabbed Vee's fists, pulling her off of his stomach and slamming her hard into the ground.
"Your brothers and friends are leaving you," Hisako pointed out. "Nobody to save you now."
"I don't need saving!" Vee snapped, kicking the roach off of her before backflipping back onto her feet.
Spy-Roach made a grab for her, but Vee sank her teeth into its hand with all her might. It screeched, dropping her in pain.
"You'll pay for that, you little bitch!" Hisako cursed.
The Spy-Roach took to the sky, fighting Vee all the while. As they flew overhead, they ended up slamming into the laser drill. It shuddered, the beam disrupted as the firing mechanism was directed away from its target. Vee saw this and grinned, an idea forming.
"Hey, buggy!" she taunted. "How about a round of laser tag?!"
She kicked the Spy-Roach right into the path of the drill's beam, blowing him to pieces. Hisako let out a scream that suddenly cut off. She slumped forward, out cold. With one threat dealt with, Donnie activated the bladed end of his staff, stabbing the laser controls. It sparked and fixed before finally cutting out all together. He let out a sigh, pulling his staff free.
"Crisis averted," he announced.
Leatherhead picked up Hisako, gently brushing hair from her face as she let out a groan, slowly opening her eyes. She rubbed her head as she slowly sat up.
"Ugh…" she let out. "I had the weirdest dream. This giant bug was doing a ventriloquist act, and his puppet looked exactly like me."
"Oracle!" Leatherhead shouted, pulling her into a hug.
"She's awake?" Mikey questioned.
"Fucking finally..." Vee let out.
Leo smiled at his two sisters, then turned to his purple clad brother.
"Donnie, no more techno organic mutants. Ever!" he insisted.
"Agreed," Donnie replied without hesitation.
-X-
The group went back to the lair, all of them exhausted from their ordeal.
"So, we saved the city from becoming a lava bed, and I kicked that roach's ass," Vee listed off. "All in all, nice night."
"Yeah," Raph agreed. "Hey Vee, sorry I was egging you on back there."
"Hey, I had it coming," she said with a shrug. "I mean, I did tease you about your cat phobia."
"Eh true. Call it even?
"Even."
"So, you think you're still afraid of roaches?" Mikey asked, feigning innocence.
"After that thing?" Vee scoffed. "Not a chance."
"Then you won't mind the little roach I just slipped in your shell..." he mused.
"You what?!" she shrieked.
Vee completely flipped out as the others just watched, laughing at their combined antics.
Back at the remains of the laser, one Krangdroid was dragging itself out of the rubble, only for a figure to appear before it. The Krangdroid looked up to see none other than Karai standing over him.
"Hello," she greeted. The little alien scowled at her just as her fist connected with his face, knocking him out. "Master Shredder would like a word."
She then grabbed the unconscious Utrom before carrying it away.
Author's Note:
(1): Take my word for it. You do not want to see a turtle penis.
Another one down. And the beginning of Shredder and Krang's alliance.
And I decided to give Vee the bug phobia, since Raph is already scared of cats in this version.
Please R&R. Until next time!