- Chapter 104 -
The Human Factor
Draxum met with the mysterious doctor in his office, pacing up and down in agitation.
"The Turtles who defeated Krang destroyed my lab," he reported. "Everything is gone."
"I tried to warn you of what they were capable of," the doctor said matter-of-factly.
"Yes... one mistake will suffice in that regard. Still, every cloud has a silver lining. The Oozesquito swarm is upon New York City."
"Indeed. And soon, the city will begin to succumb to the mutations."
Draxum grinned evilly, looking out onto the New York skyline. "The age of the yokai... will soon begin."
Back at the Canal Street apartments, the Hamato/Lee siblings updated the rest of the clan on the latest goings-on in the Hidden City. They told the adults about Draxum, the Oozesquitoes, and about Raph's Ninpō.
"So... it appears this Baron Draxum seeks to fill the void Krang left in his wake." Splinter mused.
"There was bound to be someone who would try," Kasumi remarked.
"We screwed up, Mom," Kagome lamented. "By blowing up his lab, we wound up setting all of those Oozesquitoes loose. God knows how many people are gonna get bitten by them."
"What's done is done. We can't change it."
"We could've done something," Vee insisted. "Smashed the bugs, made sure to close the portal-"
"Cut the crap, will ya?"
All eyes turned to Tai as he stood up.
"Tai, don't be mean!" Airi objected.
Tai held up a hand in her direction before turning to them. "Could've, would've, should've. It doesn't matter. Kasumi's right. You can't move forward if you keep looking backward. Stop worrying about what you could have done in the past, and start thinking about what you can do now. Besides, you said it yourself. That swarm was huge. Even if you did try to stop the bugs, how many could you reasonably take out before some got out?"
"Maybe so," April remarked. "But it's still frustrating."
"I agree," Hisako clutched her Aeon crystal. "All our power… but it's not enough."
Tai shook his head. "Draxum was gonna unleash these Oozesquitoes one way or another. This isn't on you."
"We know," April assured. "But that doesn't change what we need to do."
"We need to get stronger," Hisako insisted. "We need more power."
"Then we better get back to Ninpō training, eh?" Mikey suggested.
The girls shared a nod, following Mikey back down to the dojo, where Asuka was already waiting.
"So…" she began, "are you ready, then?"
"Yeah, we're ready," Leo confirmed. "Let's do this."
-X-
Despite their high hopes, this second training session didn't go much better than the first. Raph was unable to manifest his ninpō again, only creating red lights around him. Karai had something happen; namely, something exploding in her face. She fell back, rolling along the ground before coming to a stop. With an angry growl, she punched the ground in frustration.
"Damn it!" she swore. "No matter what I try, it just keeps blowing up in my face! Like everything always does!"
"That's not true," Leo assured. "Ninpo is difficult for all of us. You're actually manifesting something, so you're already ahead of us."
'Yeah, something that's most likely singed my eyebrows off." Karai deadpanned.
"That's why Kami invented eyebrow pencils," Kagome quipped.
Karai sighed, standing back up. "Well... third time's the charm."
She raised her hand again, trying to focus, only to get another explosion.
"That's it! I'm getting some air!"
With that, Karai turned on her heel and stormed out of the dojo, angrily spouting a string of nonsensical gibberish in a manner, not unlike Yosemite Sam or Home Alone's Harry under her breath.
"Think it's break time again?" Leo asked.
"We probably should go and see how things are going with the Oozesquitos," Donnie decided.
Asuka nodded. "Go. We'll continue whenever you're ready."
As soon as they were all out, she sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I need a drink."
"You get used to it," Kasumi assured as Asuka sat down, pouring a glass of sake.
"I know from personal experience that learning the Ninpo isn't easy. But this... wow."
"They are young and impatient," Splinter told her.
-X-
When Leo and the others got outside, they heard the sound of metal thumping. They rounded the corner to see a still-irate Karai kicking a dumpster repeatedly, still muttering indignantly.
"Uh, Karai?" Leo piped up.
She paid him no mind, continuing to ram her foot into what was becoming an increasingly large dent. Eventually, a green halo blocked an attempted kick.
"You're gonna break your foot at this rate, Karai," Hisako warned.
Karai slowly turned to them, still visibly angry.
"Okay, let's chill," Vee insisted. "Just breathe in and out, like this."
She breathed in through her nose for four seconds, held it for seven, then exhaled through her mouth for eight. A moment passed before Karai followed the same rhythm, doing it a few times before relaxing.
"Better?" Vee asked.
"Yeah," Karai sighed. "Thanks."
She rubbed her temples.
"We're going to patrol," Leo told her. "See if we can find any of the Oozesquitos."
Karai nodded. "Honestly, I need a break. The next time a Ninpō attempt blows up in my face, I'm gonna scream."
"You already did," Casey pointed out, only for Raph to slap him upside the head.
As they headed out, Donnie pulled on a pair of goggles. "My Ooze Specs should be able to help us track the bugs."
"Aren't those the things you used to find me during Krang's occupation?" Karai asked.
"Yep," Donnie nodded. "Do not look at any of us while wearing them. It's like looking at a flashlight through night vision. Erika found that out the hard way."
"Good to know," Karai replied as they slid them on, staring at the sky.
"Are those stars or bugs?" Mikey asked.
Donnie pulled them off. "They're too small. This won't work."
"Well, shit," Raph remarked.
"Hang on," April cut in. "Even if we do find the bugs, what then? Does anyone have a bug-catching net or anything to trap them?"
"Um… well…" Donnie began.
"For that matter, what would we even do with them?" Mikey added.
"I... that is to say…"
"And how would we keep Draxum from making more?" Vee included.
"Alright, I got it," Donnie snapped, exasperated. "My bold and daring plan has more holes in it than the plot of a Michael Bay movie."
"We rushed into this," Leo said. "Let's get back to the lair and come up with a plan."
"Good idea," Karai nodded. "Let's head back."
"Can we get some pizza?" Mikey asked. "All good plans happen over pizza."
Leo shrugged. "Sure."
After buying pizza, they set the boxes out at home. Karai opened one to see it was absolutely loaded.
"Green peppers, onions, mushrooms, anchovies, tomatoes, chili peppers…" She raised an eyebrow. "Salami and tuna... and are those pecans and chocolate buttons?"
"Yeah…" Raph shrugged. "In the future, let's not let Mikey make the order."
"Fortunately, I got a normal one." Kagome set the box down, everyone grabbing a slice.
"Alright, so we need a way to track the Oozesquitoes as well as contain them once we do," Donnie said.
"Draxum still needs the right chemicals to actually make the mutagen, right?" Vee pointed out. "Empyrean and Kraathatrogon milk are only two parts of the puzzle."
"Most of the other chemicals are pretty basic," Hisako remarked. "Though a few require permits to purchase."
"Hence chemical thefts," Leo deduced.
Donnie typed away on his laptop, checking for any such thefts. A moment passed before he blinked.
"Huh… okay, this is weird. The chemicals we're looking for... haven't been stolen lately."
"Really?" Raph questioned.
"Yeah, chemical thefts have gone down to basically nothing."
"That… doesn't make sense."
"Actually, with Krang gone gone, it kinda does," Karai said.
"Then Draxum got the chemicals legally?" April pondered.
"Somehow, I doubt he just walked into a chem lab and paid for them," Casey deadpanned.
"Unless he had someone acquire them for him," Leo deduced. "Don, can you look up those in the city with the licenses for the chemicals, and line that up with recent purchase history?"
"On it," Donnie typed away. "Alright... I've got a few names…"
"Drop any big corporations," Karai advised. "Draxum doesn't seem the type to get involved with human bigwigs."
"Makes sense," Vee agreed. "I'm guessing they're probably privately owned and operated."
"Not well known, but with enough of a budget to collect the chemicals in large enough quantities," Hisako included.
Donnie typed away for a few moments before nodding. "Got it! The best fit would be NextGen Labs. A small start-up that, according to its website, specializes in new-age genetic research. Their goal is to eliminate chronic illnesses and boost humanity to the 'next stage of evolution'.
"Sounds a bit too good to be true, if you ask me," April remarked.
"Yeah, way too good," Mikey added.
"Who runs it, D?" Leo asked.
Donnie clicked on a link. "Okay, it was founded by a doctor Victor Falco, and the late Dr..." he blinked. "Dr. Tyler Rockwell…"
That threw everyone for a loop.
"The monkey in the metal diaper?" Casey asked.
"He wasn't always a monkey," Donnie pointed out. "He'd been mutated… and left with crippling amnesia."
"And left to slave away under Krang's men when we found him," Kagome recalled.
"This is way too much of a coincidence," Donnie closed his laptop, tucking it into his bag. "We need to get to Mutanimal HQ. With this information, we might be able to jog some of Dr. Rockwell's memories, and learn just who this Dr. Falco is."
In no time at all, they arrived at the Mutanimals' base, everyone gathering as Dr. Rockwell took a seat.
"What seems to be the problem?" he asked.
"Doctor... I'm going to show you something," Donnie opened his laptop, logged in, then turned the screen toward the doctor. On the screen was a photo of a human Dr. Rockwell and Dr. Falco next to each other in front of the NextGen building. When he saw the image, Dr. Rockwell's reaction was visceral. He screamed like a primal chimp, lashing out and grabbing the laptop before smashing it on the ground. He continued to scream as he smashed it over and over again.
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea!" Mikey cried.
Leatherhead and Slash quickly restrained the doctor, holding him back until reason and sanity returned to his gaze. When he saw the shattered laptop and how the Turtles were all in battle mode, he began to try and calm down.
"I'm… I'm sorry…" he managed. "That... I don't know where any of that came from. I have never felt such a... visceral reaction to such things before."
"Looks like our hunch was right," Leo mused. "Whatever happened to you before we found you in that lab with Dr. Lilja, this Falco must have been involved."
"You would be correct," Rockwell confirmed as Leatherhead and Slash released him. "My memory isn't as good as it once was, but seeing that image brought back some… unpleasant memories."
He sat down. All was silent for several moments before he began to talk. "Victor and I founded NextGen with the intent to heal the world. Create one without weakness, without outcasts. All that changed when representatives of Mirage Industries came along, offering us a lot of money to help them with experiments involving mutagen and some bizarre kind of neurochemical."
Hisako put a hand to the back of her skull, going pale. The Turtles knew that she had a few scars under her hair there, ones corresponding with very large extractor needles. Leatherhead also perked.
"The psychotropic compound…" he growled. "Those bastards actually tried it."
"The what now?" Leo asked.
"It was part of Project Oracle, created using samples of Oracle's cerebrospinal fluid," Hisako gripped the hair over the puncture scars on her skull as Leatherhead went on. "It was intended to boost a specimen's neurology to such a degree that they could attain human-like intelligence and social skills. When combined with mutagen…"
Donnie got it. "The subject would get Hisako and April's powers."
"Indeed," Rockwell confirmed. "My mental abilities are thanks to that compound. Though I doubt I will ever possess the powers and skills of the originals. I wanted nothing to do with it... but Victor had other ideas. So one night, he invited me out for drinks so we could talk. I don't remember much after that, only waking up in a cage in this body, surrounded by Krang's men."
Raph gritted his teeth. "The bastard must have roofied you and handed you over to Krang to save his own ass."
"If that's the case, then why would he team up with Draxum now?" Hisako questioned.
"That's a good point," Leo agreed. "If I had to wager a guess, I don't think it was Krang that mutated Dr. Rockwell. I think it was Falco."
"And now he's supplying mutagen to Draxum to make Oozesquitoes," Vee deduced.
"Wait," Hob cut in. "You wouldn't happen to be referring to these annoying, glowing green fuckers? They've been all over town."
Karai nodded. "Yep."
"And this... Draxum, he is responsible for them," Leatherhead added.
"Him and this Falco guy," Donnie confirmed.
"I'd say it's time we pay Falco's lab a visit," Raph suggested.
Sometime later, the Turtles were standing on the rooftop of a building adjacent to the NextGen labs. It was a small complex with a sign out front and an alley for deliveries, lowkey enough that anyone would overlook the building.
"What's the plan?" Karai asked.
"For now, we don't have any hard evidence to prove he's slimy," Donnie said. "So we need to find it."
"Think we should try and talk to him?" Mikey asked. "A whole 'you know what we know' scenario?"
"That might work," Leo decided. "Keep him talking, distract him while the rest of us do some snooping."
"In that case, us humanoids should do the talking," Karai decided.
"Humanoids?" Kagome questioned.
"You and Casey are the only pure humans," Karai explained. "Me, April, and Hisako just look it."
Vee nodded. "Good idea."
One by one, all of them jumped off the roof. The humanoids all headed for the front door, making their way inside. The secretary looked up, giving them all a smile.
"Hi, welcome to NextGen Labs. Can I help you?"
"We'd like to talk to Dr. Falco." Kagome requested.
"Do you have an appointment?"
"Tell him it's a representative of Kohaku Enterprises."
At that, the secretary nodded. "Very well."
She pressed a button on an intercom. Dr. Falco? Someone is here to see you. A representative of Kohaku Enterprises."
"Is that so?" Some blinds from an inner office opened and a pair of eyes stared right at the five of them, then they snapped back into place as the intercom beeped again. "Let them in."
At the secretary's nod, they headed to the aforementioned office, entering to find an older man with white streaks in his black hair, wearing a white lab coat, brown shirt, and pants, and a tie, seated at a desk.
"Dr. Falco, I assume?" Kagome asked.
Falco nodded. "That would be me. Now, what brings the esteemed daughter of Kasumi Lee to my humble laboratory?"
"I was hoping we could talk about your business partner," Kagome replied.
"If you are referring to Dr. Amino, he's currently on a retreat in DC. He won't be back until the end of the month."
"Actually, I meant your other partner. Dr. Rockwell, the co-founder?"
Falco sighed. "Yes, Tyler. It's a shame what happened to him. Another victim of Krang's machinations. What hurts me is that I doubt I could identify a body even if one was found. Those monsters aren't ones to leave their victims with their humanity intact."
Kagome shook her head. "No. They're not. I know that from personal experience."
"I can imagine so," Falco's eyes scanned over the five of them. "But I digress. What is it you wanted to discuss?"
-X-
Around back, Donnie easily hacked the keypad on the side door, granting the Turtles access. They slipped inside, immediately taking to the rafters. The lab itself was sparsely populated with only a pair of interns cleaning. They could see the outline of Falco in his office through the blinds, then they noticed the darkened office across the hall.
"Wanna bet that office has what we're looking for?" Mikey whispered.
Leo nodded, the group dodging the interns to step inside. Donnie took a look at the name.
"Doctor Nigel Amino…" he mused. "DNA… Way too on the nose for a geneticist. He probably picked it himself."
He wrote it down anyway, determined to look it up later. Then he sat down on the computer, plugging his T-Phone into the computer.
"I'll download the files and we can look them over more later," he decided. "In the meantime, keep watch on the door."
Vee nodded. "Got it."
-X-
Back in Falco's office, he blinked at what Kagome had revealed. "Tyler is alive?"
"He is, yes," Kagome confirmed. "Krang's experiments irrevocably changed him, but he remains sane."
"And he's inherited my mental abilities," Hisako added.
Falco rubbed his face. "I... don't know what to say. All these years, I assumed he was dead." He sighed. "Perhaps that would have been preferable to being in Krang's hands."
"We saved him," Kagome said. "Though he had amnesia when we found him."
"Amnesia… how much does he remember?"
"Depends," Casey replied. "What did you slip in his drinks, Doc?"
Falco paused, and then all of the emotion drained from his face. He sat up, cool, calm, and collected. The air in the room seemed to shift.
"I suppose there's no need for pretenses anymore, is there?" he remarked.
Everyone immediately got into defensive positions.
"Then it's true," April realized. "You roofied Dr. Rockwell, mutated him, and sold him off to Krang!"
"You're half-right. I didn't sell him off. He was proof of my process and the successful usage of the neurochemical compound. Though I will admit to receiving a tidy profit from it."
"Why?!" Karai demanded. "How could you?!"
"NextGen was founded to create a world without weakness, without outcasts. But Tyler wasn't willing to cross the lines necessary to actually do so. He sought to create a stronger, perfect human being... but didn't realize there's no such thing." Falco's eyes then fell on both April and Hisako. "Or at least, they didn't exist until now."
April shuddered with revulsion. "Draxum all over again."
Falco stood up, pacing before them. "Do you two have any idea what you are? The pinnacle of human potential! The ultimate life form! Faster! Stronger! Smarter!"
Karai, Casey, and Kagome all put themselves between the girls and Falco. Under their shirts, their Aeon crystals were pulsating as Falco prattled on.
"Human beings are weak, pathetic, feeble-minded creatures. They fight, they kill, they lie, cheat, steal, and betray! Why be human at all, when we could be so much more?!"
-X-
Across the hall, Vee could see how animated things were getting in Falco's office.
"Guys, something's not right," she reported. "I think Falco's onto them."
"Crap…" Leo cursed. "Donnie!"
"I'm working as fast as I can!" Donnie snapped.
"Well work faster!" Mikey snapped. "The back of my head is tingling, and that usually means stuff's about to explode!"
-X-
Back in Falco's office, he continued to rant and rave.
"Baron Draxum's plan will save us all! Improve this world! All those souls lost and alone... we can save them! We can cure them!"
Kagome, Karai, and Casey were all looking at Falco like he had just grown a second head. Hisako and April were silent, their eyes covered by their hair and their crystals pulsating harder.
"You expect us to side with you?" Kagome demanded. "Actually support all this... blasphemy you're spouting?!"
Falco chuckled darkly. "Blasphemy? Before what God, Miss Lee? A God repulsed by the miserable humanity He created in his own image? I will not be shackled by the failures of your God. The only blasphemy is to wallow in insignificance! The Baron and myself will take the refuse of your God's failures and make something far superior!"
"You're insane…" Karai spat.
"No, my dear. You're insane for not realizing the gift I am bestowing upon this world with the Baron."
"Gift?"
The lights flickered ominously, all eyes turning to Hisako and April.
"Just what part of this is a gift?!" April demanded.
"You're gods among insects!" Falco declared. "How can you not see that?!"
The other three went pale, seeing the two psychics seconds from snapping.
"You think we're gods?" Hisako hissed.
"Then how about some divine intervention?!" April shouted.
Their crystals gave off hard pulses that the others felt, and then the two grasped hands and began to glow.
"Girls…" Casey began, "If there was ever a time to run for the hills, I think this is it!"
The girls promptly bolted, Casey hot on their heels. Falco stood, mesmerized.
"Amazing…" he let out. "This is what the Baron and I have been looking for all along."
The girls lit up their hands and Falco closed his eyes, a single tear rolling down his face. Everything lights up in a blinding culmination of green and yellow. The Hamato Clan grabbed the interns and the secretary, making it out before the explosions went off. As they ran, Karai had time for snark.
"Why is it wherever we go, something always blows up?!"
"I wish I knew!" Kagome cried.
"Um, guys?!" Casey called. "Hisako and April are still in there!"
"Shit!" Raph cursed.
The building was a wreck and looked ready to crumble at any second. Before anyone could do anything, Mikey gave off an orange glow.
"I'm coming!"
Then, he moved so fast that he was an orange blur.
"The Ninpō…" Vee realized. "He did it!"
-X-
Inside the building, Mikey was dodging and weaving around the fallen debris like he knew where it was going to fall before it did. He moved with more grace and fluidity than he had ever done before, even squeezing through gaps that he shouldn't have. Then he reached Falco's office, just barely taking time to notice the mangled remains of Falco before grabbing both girls and bolting. He made it back to the others, just in time for NextGen Labs to hoist the white flag and collapse. He dropped to the ground, suddenly exhausted. The orange marks on his body faded and he just laid on the asphalt.
"Holy Chalupa…" he managed. "What was that?!"
"I think that was your Ninpō." Donnie mused.
"It was like the whole world was in slow motion," Mikey remarked. "It was so trippy. And... I somehow knew what to do. Where to go to not get squashed by rubble, the best way to get to Falco's office and get Hisako and April out."
"What about the man himself?" Karai questioned.
Mikey made a face. "The less said, the better."
"Luckily, I was able to download the files," Donnie said. "Unfortunately, with my laptop broken, I'll need to have TCRI go through them for me."
"Right then," Leo mused as they looked over the building's remains. "We… better go."
As the Turtles and co fled the scene, a wall rippled and Draxum stepped out into the rubble. He looked around in disdain, shaking his head.
"How long do you plan to lay there, Falco?" he asked.
Some rubble shifted, and a bloodied Falco slowly stood up. Visible crackling and popping sounds filled the air as his bones reset and knitted themselves together.
"Apologies," he said as his neck snapped out of its unnatural angle. "Their combined power was much more than I anticipated. I was fortunate that our experiments increased my survival rate as high as it is."
He looked out into the city. "April O'Neil... Hamato Hisako... They're just as perfect mutations as you claimed they are."
"Indeed…" Draxum mused. "Though at the moment, they remain under the delusions of humanity, as well as the taint on their souls."
"Perhaps we can use this taint to our advantage," Falco mused.
"Perhaps," Draxum held out his palm, summoning an Oozesquito. "Perhaps they need to see the power we can offer."
After taking Hisako and April home, Donnie rode to TCRI in the Party Wagon. He walked in, meeting Samson at the front.
"Hey, thanks for doing this for me," he said gratefully.
"Of course," Samson assured. "TCRI is always willing to lend a hand."
Donnie pulled his T-phone from his belt, removing a small drive. "Here's all the files I pulled from NextGen. I need them scanned for details on chemical deliveries, Dr. Rockwell, and any mention of a Baron Draxum or Krang."
"Consider it done."
"Oh, and one more thing. Can you also look into a Dr. Nigel Amino for me?"
The blood drained out of Samson's face at that name, while the secretary choked on her coffee, spewing it out over her desk and coughing violently.
"Dr... Amino?" he repeated.
"Yeah, he's apparently Falco's new lab partner, but that name is way too on the nose to be real. Wanna make sure there's nothing we need to be worried about."
Samson nodded. "Yes, of course."
"Thanks."
Donnie walked out of TCRI, in time for the secretary to find her words.
"Amino…" she gasped. "He's still alive?"
"And in the city, it seems." Samson mused.
"Sir… if they learn the truth…"
"I know. If Rita ever finds out... God help us."
Author's Note:
Well, that happened.
Readers of Tales of Sonic will recognize Dr. Amino's name. But what is his connection to TCRI, and why does Samson not want Hisako to know? Stay tuned...
Please R&R. Until next time!