- Chapter 54 -
Buried Secrets
"And it's another wonderful evening, prime time for your favorite Sewer Hour. So, I've had one shell of a day today. Someone close to a friend of mine came back! We were all happy for her, but sadly, things just weren't meant to be. Let me give you the rundown… "
Three days after the incident with the Creep, the teens found themselves standing before a nearby tree. At the foot of said tree was a gravestone reading "Renee O'Neil. Beloved wife and mother."
"Well…" April began, "here she is."
"So this is your mom…" Hisako noted.
"Wish we could have met her," Leo said.
April chuckled slightly. "She'd think you were something else, that's for sure."
"What... how did it happen?" Donnie asked gently.
"I was six years old. One day, she just got sick, and never got better. Dad arranged for her to be buried here, then took me and Robyn to New York. We... haven't been back since. Until now."
Midnight walked over to her, nuzzling against April's leg and whining. April patted the pup's head before resting a hand on her mother's tombstone, bowing her head in respect.
"Are you gonna be okay, April?" Casey questioned.
"Yeah. Yeah… It's just…" April sighed. "It's a stark reminder that I'm the only O'Neil who escaped. Dad's a mutant... and I don't even know where Robyn is."
"We'll get them back, April," Donnie promised. "Somehow, we will."
After a few minutes, April slowly stood up, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry, you guys. I... I need some time alone. To clear my head."
"Don't be sorry," Kagome soothed. "Take as long as you need. We'll be here."
April nodded, then followed a small path into the woods.
"Poor April…" Mikey lamented.
"Yeah," Raph said. "I mean, at least we have most of us here. April…"
Leo watched her go. After a minute, he hobbled over to his hunting attire and yumi.
"Guys, I'm gonna take off too. Get some hunting done."
"Try not to get mauled by a deer again, huh?" Vee suggested.
Leo leveled her with a glare.
"What?" Vee defended. "I'm being serious?"
"I'm not gonna get mauled by a deer." Leo assured.
"Oh yeah," Mikey agreed. "Lots of other woodland critters to get mauled by. Cougars. Bears. Squirrels." He trailed off as Raph gave him a dirty look, holding up his hands. "Shutting up now."
"Okay, I'm leaving now," Leo deadpanned. "If I catch something, don't be surprised if I decide not to share."
As he headed off into the woods, Casey scratched his head.
"Is that supposed to be a threat?" he asked. "I mean, we've got plenty of food."
"I think he's just antsy to stand on his own two feet again," Raph replied.
"That and he's still feeling self conscious about the fact that he's still having issues walking," Hisako added.
Meanwhile, April had gone out walking deep into the woods, finding herself standing on the ice of a frozen lake. Before she could do much more than register the fact, she looked down to see the ice beginning to crack under her weight.
"Oh, sh-" was all she managed before ice shattered beneath her, plunging April into the freezing water. The cold was so shocking that she almost immediately choked on water, her limbs going numb and making it difficult to move. She barely managed to break to the surface, grabbing onto the ice surrounding the hole.
"H-help!" she screamed as loud as she could. "Someone! P-p-please, help me!"
Fortunately, Leo's hunting trip had taken him nearby. Hearing her shouts, he hurried in the direction they were coming from, stopping short at the sight of the redhead struggling to keep her head above the ice.
"April!" he yelled. "Hang on!"
He planted his sword in the ice and tied his cloak around it, allowing him to slide out onto the ice.
"N-no!" April gasped. "Leo, stay back!"
"Not gonna happen!"
"Please, just go get Casey or Kagome! You're cold-blooded! If you fall in-"
"By the time I got back, you'd be good as dead, April! I'm not losing anyone else!"
Leo's eyes widened in horror as the ice cracked, dropping April back in. Holding firmly to one side of the rope, he dove right in after her. The cold hit him even harder than it did April, but he didn't let it get to him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled himself up with the rope. With all of his willpower and might, Leo pulled the two off of the ice and back to safety. Gritting his teeth, he pulled himself to his feet before picking the chilled April up, carrying her back to the farm.
-X-
Back at the farmhouse, the group was seated on the porch. Midnight perked, seeing something ahead before barking.
"Midnight?" Hisako asked. "What is it, girl?"
Midnight pointed with her nose. The group turned, gasping to see Leo limping up the path, carrying a barely conscious, soaking wet April.
"LEO! APRIL!" Hisako screamed.
Instantly, everyone rushed outside to help them.
"Get them inside!" Donnie shouted. "Hurry!"
The two were immediately rushed inside. Hisako and Kagome helped April change into dry clothes before seating her on the couch, wrapping a blanket around her. Leo was seated in a chair before the fireplace, wrapped in a thick blanket with his feet in a bucket of warm water.
"This is bad…" Donnie dreaded.
"I'm making soup!" Mikey declared, rushing towards the kitchen.
"Mikey-" Vee began to protest.
"Chicken noodle!"
"... okay then," Vee replied, relaxing a little.
"I screwed up. I wasn't paying attention and fell through the ice," April shook her head. "I don't even wanna think about what would've happened if Leo hadn't shown up when he did."
"Stuff happens," Raph replied. "It was an accident. What matters is that you're both okay."
"Uh... what are you doing, man?" Casey asked.
"It's called friction. I'm warming her hands up to avoid frostbite."
Casey glared and took the other hand, doing the same with her other hand and blowing on it. The two just kept at it for a while, glaring at each other as April rolled her eyes. Finally, Kagome stepped in.
"Okay, enough," she insisted. "I'll handle April. This is no time for any stupid love triangles, guys."
"But-!" they both objected.
"No buts," Kagome cut them off. "April's health is more important than you two going at it. If you wanna help, go to the basement. Find some blankets or a space heater, or something."
The two headed off to do so, allowing Kagome to turn to Leo. "With that out of the way, how are you doing, Leo?"
"Well, I can feel my toes again," Leo replied.
"Just keep soaking them," Hisako advised.
"You gave us a real scare, bro," Raph remarked.
Kagome shook her head. "That was the craziest thing you've ever done. You should've gotten me or Casey. Or better yet, Hisako."
"There was no time," Leo replied. "By the time I'd found one of you and gotten back, April would've been a popsicle."
"Yeah…" Raph agreed. "I'm just glad you two got back as fast as you did."
"Uh, guys?" Donnie's voice came from the basement. "You better come take a look at this!"
One by one, everyone made their way down to the basement.
"What do you think he found?" Mikey asked. "Evil clown? Dead bodies in the cellar?"
"Oh yes, Mikey," Raph said sarcastically. "I'm sure Kirby was a deranged maniac who kept his victims' severed heads in the basement."
"Really?!" Mikey exclaimed, getting a facepalm from Raph.
"Trust me," came Donnie's voice, "you need to see this for yourself."
They all entered the basement, heading to the very back corner behind the water heater. Suddenly, Casey burst out of the darkness with a loud "BOO!", laughing hysterically as everyone jumped, Mikey reflexively leaping into Vee's arms. As they settled down, Mikey blinked, realizing where he was.
"Oh hi, Vee. So…" he chuckled awkwardly. "You come here often?"
Vee dropped him, causing a small explosion of dust.
"Um… guys?" Hisako began. "There's something here."
They heard footsteps, spinning to see Leo and April heading down the stairs, blankets around their shoulders.
"What are you two doing up?" Kagome demanded.
"We wanted to see what's going on." April replied.
"This is what's going on," Donnie stepped aside, allowing the group to get a clear look at what he found: a small pod that bore the unmistakable design of Krang's technology.
"This…" Hisako realized, "this is an Utrom cryopod. It's intact... and operational."
"But what the hell is it doing in April's basement?" Raph asked.
"A better question: who or what's inside?" Leo questioned.
"I don't know…" Hisako said. "I'm not reading anything from whatever's inside it."
"Now that everyone's here, let's check it out." Using his wristband, Donnie wiped some fog off of the window of the cryotube, recoiling at the face he saw inside.
"What is it?" Vee asked.
"Not a what. A who." Donnie stepped aside, allowing them to see the occupant. Everyone gasped.
"Holy Chalupa…" Casey let out.
Inside the tube was a human woman. Barring her blonde hair, she looked like an older version of April.
"April?" Hisako asked.
April dropped her blanket in shock. "That's... that's my mom…"
"That's impossible," Vee insisted. "We were at her grave less than two hours ago."
"That's my mom, Vee," April adamantly said. "I- I don't know how... but that's her." She turned to Donnie. "Get it open. Now."
"April," Donnie began, "we don't know for sure if-"
April scowled, her eyes flashing. "I said NOW!"
Donnie immediately got to work, pressing a few buttons. Slowly, cryogenic vapor escaped with a hiss, Mrs. O'Neil thawing out before snapping awake with a violent gasp. Donnie opened the pod, catching her as she stumbled out.
"Take it easy, ma'am," he soothed.
Mrs. O'Neil slowly looked up, opening her eyes and getting a clear view of the mutant turtle in front of her, as well as the others behind them. She just looked at them wide-eyed, before Mikey said the only thing that came to mind.
"Uh…" he grinned sheepishly, "Meow?"
"What... where?" Mrs. O'Neil managed. "Those aliens..." Her eyes snapped wide open. "Oh no… Kirby!"
"Mom, it's okay!" April hurried forward. "They're my friends!"
"Where am I? And how do you…" Mrs. O'Neil blinked, "April? No... Just a few days ago, you were only six years old!"
She wavered before fainting.
"I guess fainting runs in the family," Mikey deadpanned.
-X-
Later, after Mrs. O'Neil had come to, they properly introduced themselves. As she took in the information and her current situation, Kagome set a cup of jasmine tea on the table in front of her.
"Here, Mrs. O'Neil," she offered. "This should help calm your nerves."
"Thank you," Mrs. O'Neil said, taking the cup. "And please, call me Renee."
"Renee…" Hisako mused. "Huh, that's my mom's name too."
"Renee…" Leo began, "what happened to you? How long have you been down there?"
"A very long time," Renee took a sip of tea. "Krang's influence has been around here for years. It was my grandfather who discovered it. He made the mistake of awakening Krang's men... and they paid him back by experimenting on him and his entire bloodline. They knew we were the key to unlocking their precious mutagen. We were their guinea pigs."
"Awww, guinea pigs are so cute!" Mikey squeed.
Raph promptly smacked him. "I told you not to be stupid."
"April… My April… She was their perfected specimen," Renee went on. "As her 'broodmare', they decided to preserve me in case they needed a second one. Kirby escaped with Robyn and April to New York. But I wasn't so lucky."
"We thought you were dead," April remarked.
"A ruse," Renee explained. "A means to ensure that they could hold me forever. Now I'm free, and we never have to be apart again. But... where's Kirby?"
"Kirby? Oh, he got turned into a wicked Kraang-headed-" Casey was cut off by a hardy whack over the head by Donnie's staff (1).
"Casey, please," he sighed. "Do not pull a Mikey."
"Dad's... Not here right now," April began slowly. "Krang... he took over New York. We were lucky to escape with our lives. We... Don't know where dad is. Or Robyn."
"Then it's just you here? All alone with these… things?"
The Hamato siblings immediately bristled.
"Renee, with all due respect, they're not things. They're our friends," Kagome told her, keeping her tone level. "And the only thing currently standing between Krang and total world domination."
"Sweetie, you have to understand that aliens ruined my life and the lives of everyone I love," Renee replied. "I'm not about to trust some strange creatures I just met."
Sensing the rising tension, April took her mom's hand. "C'mon, Mom. Let's go outside and catch up."
As soon as they were out of earshot, Mikey spoke up.
"Is it me, or does April's mom seem a little bit... off?" he turned to the others. "She's all kinds of wrong. You believe me, right?"
"Oh, just like the time tiny elves stole your nunchucks and replaced 'em with mozzarella sticks?" Casey deadpanned. "Or the time you and Klunk entered a breakdancing contest?"
"She's been through alot," Donnie pointed out. "And she's been trapped in that pod for over a decade."
"I dunno, I think I'm with Mikey on this one," Hisako said. "I couldn't read her at all."
"Yeah…" Leo crossed his arms. "There's something rotten in Northampton."
"Oh yeah," Raph agreed. "Renee's grave is on the property. And I don't know about you, but after all that work, I doubt they'd just keep her in the event they needed a spare. They already tried that with Hisako."
"Oh come on, guys," Casey said. "You're gonna need a lot more than speculations to convince me that Renee is-"
Loud barking sounded from outside.
"Midnight!" Hisako screamed.
They hurried outside to find Midnight glaring at Renee, hackles raised and teeth bared as she growled. Renee approached slowly.
"Now now, little puppy. I'm not going to bite."
She reached to pet her, and immediately pulled back as Midnight snapped at her.
"Midnight, what's gotten into you?!" April demanded. "Hisako, control your dog!"
Hisako went over to Midnight, petting her while looking at Renee in suspicion.
"Sorry, Mrs. O'Neil," she said. "She's usually so well-behaved."
"Violent dogs used to be put down," Renee said bluntly. "I'd hate for that to happen here." Hisako tensed as she went on. "So please, control that puppy."
Hisako kept her cool, giving the woman an icy glare as she picked Midnight up.
"Yes, of course," she said as she went back inside to her siblings. "I've only had Midnight for a few days, but if that woman hurts my dog, I am going to level this place."
"Okay…" Casey began, "maybe there is something fishy going on here."
"Never doubt the animals," Mikey declared.
"Leo, what should we do?" Donnie asked. "If we act against Renee and we're wrong... we'll lose April."
"For now we observe," Leo decided. "We need proof and we need concrete evidence."
"We should take turns watching Renee," Vee decided.
"Yeah," Donnie nodded. "In the meantime, I should probably seal my lab. If she's against us, there's no way we can give her mutagen."
He got up, heading out to find April now sitting alone on the porch. "April? Where's your mom?"
"She went for a walk. She said she needed to clear her head, get some fresh air."
"Oh? Where?"
"Around the barn. Why?"
Donnie quickly hid his shock. "Oh, no reason. Just wondering."
He rounded the house before hurrying to the barn, finding the door ajar. Sliding his staff off his back, his serious eyes slipped on and he made his way inside. He heard clucking coming from within, and rounded the corner to find Renee standing before a hen, holding up a canister of mutagen.
"Hey!" Donnie yelled. "What do you think you're doing?!"
Renee jumped with a yelp, the canister slipping out of her hands and shattering on the ground. The chicken walked up to it, pecking at the mutagen puddle.
"No, no, no!" Donnie cried. "Don't eat that!"
The chicken clucked painfully, falling back. Donnie and Renee watched in shock as its head seemed to swell, pulsating slightly.
"Oh… shell."
Eventually, it stopped, and the chicken rose to its feet, visible intelligence and sentience in its eyes. Shaking his head, Donnie turned to Renee as he picked up the chicken.
"Mrs. O'Neil, what are you doing in my lab?"
"I saw that chicken wander in here and tried to catch it," Renee replied. "Then I saw the mutagen canisters you have stashed away."
"You shouldn't be in here," Donnie insisted. "It's dangerous."
Renee's gaze hardened. "This is my home and my barn. I go where I please. Try to remember one thing before lecturing me: you're on my property, and I'm well within my rights to kick you and your freaky friends to the curb whenever I choose."
Donnie cringed. The chicken in his hand clucked and bobbed its head towards the door.
"Right… sorry."
-X-
Later, the group had met up, April included. Donnie showed them the mutant chicken before sitting down.
"Mrs. O'Neil was in the barn. In my lab. And she was messing with my mutagen supply."
"Resulting in Dr. Cluckingsworth here," Mikey noted.
"And of course you named it," Vee sighed.
"I found an old Mr. Spell toy up in the attic," Raph set a child's alphabet toy in front of the chicken. "Maybe it can help shed some light on what happened."
Dr. Cluckingsworth looked over the Mr. Spell, before typing with its beak. A Siri-esque voice sounded out everything she wrote.
"Mrs. O'Neil grabbed me from the chicken coop and brought me into the barn. She seized the mutagen and intended to use it on me from the start. For what, I don't know."
"No doubt to see how stable it was," Hisako mused. "I really don't like this."
"What are you insinuating?" April demanded.
"April, c'mon," Mikey insisted. "Something's not right here. Your mom's super sus. Midnight hated her on sight, and that dog likes everybody . And now she's messing with mutagen?"
April shook her head. "That stuff ruined her life. She... probably just wanted to know what it could do."
"And her trash-talking the Turtles to their faces?" Kagome asked. "What's the excuse for that?"
"She said it herself. Aliens ruined her life. And she literally just met them."
"She threatened my dog!" Hisako shouted. "Promised to kill her! Midnight's just a harmless little puppy, April!"
"She- She-" April stammered.
"Okay, enough!" Leo cut in. "We need solid proof, and we're wasting time. It's time we went straight to the source."
They all turned to him slowly.
"Leo... are you saying what I think you're saying?" Casey asked.
Leo nodded. "It's the only way to be sure. Don, I want you to take a closer look at that pod in the basement. In the meantime, the rest of us… we're going to exhume Mrs. O'Neil's grave."
"Leo, no!" April objected. "You can't!"
"It's the only way. If there's no body there, she's real."
"You saw her body," Donnie pointed out. "Buried it and everything."
"But maybe it was a fake. Or maybe Krang's goons dug her up."
"She's blocking my mental abilities," Hisako pointed out.
"I'm the way I am because Krang experimented on Mom before I was born! Of course she'd have some psychic power!"
"April," Vee cut in, not unkindly. "Who are you trying to convince? Us... or yourself?"
April paused, unable to properly reply. "I… I'm…"
"This is the best option to reach the truth," Dr. Cluckingsworth typed out.
April slumped in resignation as the group departed to do their designated tasks. As they headed out, Renee entered, getting April's attention.
"April… we need to talk."
-X-
"Are we really gonna do this?" Raph asked. "Leo, we're basically defiling a grave here!"
"Believe me, I don't like it either," Leo sighed. "But it's the only way to prove whether or not what we found in the basement is April's real mom."
"We are so going to Hell for this, dudes." Mikey remarked.
"Let's just get this over with," Vee insisted.
"Agreed," said Hisako. "I may not believe in any of that mystic stuff, but digging up a grave feels like all kinds of wrong."
They got to work, digging up the dirt before the tombstone before eventually hitting a wooden coffin. Hisako focused, slowly and carefully raising it above ground.
"Alright," said Kagome. "Moment of truth time."
Leo grabbed the lid, slowly lifting it up. Inside were the mummified remains of Mrs. O'Neil, proof she had been dead for a very long time.
"...Fuck, man," Casey sighed. "This is gonna break April's heart."
"Yeah…" Hisako began, "and here's the worst bit. If Mrs. O'Neil's here, then what the hell did we release?"
-X-
In the basement, Donnie typed away at a small computer terminal hooked up to the pod.
"Alright, let's see what we're dealing with here."
He typed away for a bit. Eventually, his efforts bore fruit, data popping up on the screen as he looked it over. As he read it, his eyes went wide.
"Oh, no… April!"
-X-
Upstairs, Renee had sat down with April.
"We should go somewhere, just the two of us," she insisted. "Just drive off and leave these turtle creatures behind. I don't trust them."
"I…" April shook her head. "Mom, they're my friends. I know they haven't exactly gotten off on the best foot, but they're really good people. They saved my life."
"I'm your family, not those freaks," Renee stated bluntly.
"Mom, why are you acting like this?" April demanded. "They're not all that bad."
"I'm acting this way because creatures like that ruined my life and put me on ice for ten damned years!" Renee snapped. "And it's high time you make your choice, April."
April was stunned. "I- I don't want to choose. I can't!"
Renee scowled. "You WILL!"
She roughly grabbed April's wrist, dragging her to the door.
"Mom, stop!" April pleaded, trying to pull free. "You're hurting me!"
"It's them or me, April! You have to decide! Decide, NOW! DO IT! THEM, OR ME! DECIDE!"
Before she could go any further, a shuriken came flying in, hitting home right in Renee's left eye. She shrieked in pain, falling back.
"Get away from her, you imposter!" Donnie declared, standing in the doorway.
"Donnie!" April cried out in shock.
"April, I'm sorry, but that thing isn't your mom!"
The others burst in at that as Renee let out an unearthly shriek, her body distorting and spasming as green blood oozed out of her damaged eye. The creature began to morph and grow, her skin turning a motley mixture of blue and purple. Her mouth broadened and her teeth sharpened. It bent forward, becoming almost insect-like, and its hands became deformed, skeletal claws.
"M-Mom?" April let out.
"It's a clone, April," Hisako explained. "A sleeper clone designed to retrieve you."
"You just had to stick your nose in where it didn't belong…" Renee snarled. "You've made Mother very angry!"
It rose to its full height, screeching.
"RUN!" Leo screamed.
They got out of the house as the creature smashed through the door, chasing them.
"That… that thing…" April gasped. "What do we do?!"
"First things first," Kagome cut in. "Donnie, what is that thing?!"
"Like Hisako said, a sleeper clone with her memories!" Donnie explained. "Some sort of early infiltration experiment that utilized a combination of Mrs. O'Neil's DNA and Utrom DNA, but it was too dangerous and unstable! Krang's men put it in cold storage and just tried to forget about it!"
"Until we dug it up…" Raph muttered.
They hurried into the barn, barricading it behind them.
"Okay…" Mikey began, "this Mom-Thing... any bright ideas on how to stop it?"
"Well... clones tend to be unstable," Hisako mused. "Remember the April clones that exploded? We just need to destabilize her."
"How do we do that?" Vee demanded.
The ground began to bulge up in mounds, before the newly christened Mom-Thing's head burst out like a grotesque mole before them.
"Die quickly! That is my suggestion!"
A massive tail ending with a stinger bloodily burst out of its back, opening to reveal a massive, drooling maw filled with thousands of tiny suckers, each dripping slime. Casey grabbed a blowtorch off of Donnie's workbench, taking aim at the Mom-Thing.
"Eat this, bitch!" He burned the beast, causing it to cry out in pain. Eventually, a claw lashed out, knocking the blowtorch out of Casey's hands.
"It's over, mutants," the Mom-Thing growled. "Tonight I dine on turtle soup."
As the tail lashed out, April acted on instinct, jumping before her friends. The tail grabbed April by the feet, drawing her in as she squirmed.
"April, we can be together," Mom-Thing said soothingly. "No more pain. No more sorrow. Join us. Become one. We will be a family again. It's all I wanted."
"No!" As she was completely absorbed, April was surrounded by a yellow halo. "YOU ARE NOT! MY! MOTHER!"
Mom-Thing began spasming, the yellow glow spreading throughout her body.
"Everyone, duck!" Hsako screamed.
The ninjas and Casey all ducked for cover behind various things in the barn, Mikey snagging Dr. Cluckingsworth as he dove into a haystack. All of a sudden, the Mom-Thing exploded with a scream, covering the barn in slimy green fluids. April dropped to the ground, alive and covered in the glop. One by one, everyone stuck their heads out of their hiding spots.
"April?" Donnie asked. "Are you okay?"
April wiped her face, then looked up, close to tears. "No... no I'm not."
She dropped to her knees and sobbed. Donnie instantly knelt down and placed a comforting hand on her.
"April... I am so sorry you had to endure this."
She leaned into him, crying heavily as all her grief came crashing down on her. Donnie hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. Casey was the first to join the group hug, followed by Hisako, then Kagome and the rest of the Turtles, all of them holding the weeping April and offering whatever comfort they could. Midnight was the last to join in, nuzzling April's side.
Some time later, the group stood before the newly reburied coffin of the real Renee O'Neil. April sighed, slowly turning to them.
"So…" she began, "is this the part where you guys all tell me 'I told you so'?"
"At any other time, I'd say yes," Mikey admitted. "But this time, April... I hate that I was right."
April turned to him. "I guess... All my life, I've dreamed of having my mother back, and when this Mom-Thing showed up... I wanted so badly to believe it was her… but deep down... I think I knew from the beginning." She sighed. "Even if it wasn't her, I feel like I've lost my family all over again."
"No, you haven't," Mikey placed a hand on her shoulder. "Because it's right here."
She looked up, seeing everyone turning towards her, causing a small smile to grace her face.
"Thank you… all of you."
"Hey, it's what we do," Vee assured.
"The minute we saved you from Krang's men, you became part of the Hamato Clan," Leo told her. "And that means you're part of the family. We're with you to the end of the line."
"And that goes for me too, Red," Casey chimed in.
Midnight barked in affirmation. April smiled again, happy tears in her eyes. "What did I do to deserve friends like you guys?"
"Let this be a lesson to everyone. Blood and DNA doesn't make you family. Blood may be thicker than water, but when someone is willing to bleed for you, that's when you know they care. Find someone who will stand up for you, even when you've been a massive jerk, and someone who will help you see the truth and change for the better. This has been the Sewer Hour with Cowabunga Carl. Stay safe, take care of yourselves and your family, and remember: Anata wa hitori janai."
Author's Note:
(1): Basically, the scene in the SpongeBob episode Clams when Squidward bashed SpongeBob in the head with a fishing pole.
Well... that was a burnout, but here it is. The scene with Leo saving April was taken from the Mirage comics.
Next chapter, we go back to Manhattan to find out what the rest of the clan has been up to in the Turtles' absence.
Please R&R. Until next time!