Forward And Back Again
Future Under Siege
"See you guys later," the off-duty soldier waved to his comrades as he headed off.
"Later, Mark!"
Mark walked down the street to the parking garage where his vehicle was stowed away.
During his time at work, he was noticing how the cyborg Triceraton was progressively becoming more and more authoritative even though Zixx was supposed to be the Emperor, almost as if he was now the one in charge.
And there was also the matter of the others in the administration becoming less and less respectful to Torbin Zixx.
Mark finally reached the fourth floor where his flying car was parked.
"Finally, some off time," Mark muttered to himself.
He took his suitcase which contained his uniform and put it in the back trunk. As he closed the trunk, he saw four mutant turtles, a rat, and a blonde woman in a blue suit.
"What?!" Mark turned around.
"Sorry to do this," Raph told Mark and punched him with enough force to knock him out.
oooo
By the time Mark woke up, he became aware of the fact that his hands and feet were bound. Additionally, a rag surrounded his face, preventing him from speaking.
The Turtles, Splinter, and Renet were at work on something near his computer.
"Hey guys, he's awake," Renet told them.
"Oh, I wasn't expecting him to wake up this soon," Donatello frowned, typing away at Mark's computer.
Mark also noticed that his suitcase was open, with the Turtles examining his soldier uniform and helmet.
"Mmmmph!" Mark struggled against his bindings angrily.
"Maybe we should do something about this guy?" Michelangelo suggested.
"Good idea," Donatello agreed. "He doesn't need to know what we're doing."
Mikey, Raph, Leo, and Renet walked up to Mark. Raph took the rag off his face, finally letting Mark speak up.
"You're those fugitives we were warned to apprehend!" Mark growled.
"You're a real bright one," Raph rolled his eyes.
"Tell me what you're doing!" demanded Mark. "And why are you targeting me?"
"We're not going to kill you," Leo told him. "But we need to use your place temporarily. And that means making sure you don't get in the way of what we're doing."
"That doesn't make me feel re-assured," Mark swallowed, not buying Leo's line that they didn't have lethal intent.
"I can make him go night night again," Raph offered.
"He already has one black eye," Renet pointed out.
"I have a better solution," Leo told them.
Leonardo picked Mark up and carried him to a faraway room in his townhome.
"What're you doing?!" demanded Mark.
Leo put the rag back on Mark's mouth and put him in the closet.
"We'll let you out when we're ready," the Turtle told him.
"Mmmmph!" Mark protested.
After that, Leonardo locked the closet door and went back to his brothers, father, and Renet.
"That takes care of that for now," Leo told them. "So what do we have, Donnie?"
"I'm analyzing the frequency of this soldier's gear, uniform, and helmet," Donatello told them. "Once I'm done, I think I can discover the right jamming frequency to deal with the TriShreddatron's army so we don't have to fight an entire military all at once."
"Who'd thought all these soldiers in the future being so reliant on tech would backfire on them," Michelangelo grinned.
"All these soldiers are connected to their helmets by neuro-link," Donatello explained. "Once I'm able to affect that link, we can take out the army in one fell swoop and go directly for the TriShreddatron."
"An excellent idea, my son," Splinter nodded in approval.
oooo
After that felt like over two hours, Mark saw the door opening up as the Turtles came for him.
After they took the rag off his mouth, Mark was able to speak again.
"About damn time," Mark grumbled.
"We got what we needed," Donatello told him.
"So what now?" demanded Mark.
"As promised, we're not going to kill you," Leonardo told him.
"Great, now untie me," Mark demanded.
At once, Leo sliced off the restraints on his hands.
"However, we can't just let you free to alert the regime," Donatello informed him.
"Wait, I thought you were going to let me go!" Mark protested.
"We will," promised Leo.
At once, Leonardo grabbed Mark and pinched down on two nerves. Mark tried to move but the nerve strike eventually made his body to limp, effectively knocking him out.
After Leo was done, he and Raph took Mark and put the man on his own bed.
"That ought to knock him out for the next eight hours or so," Leonardo nodded.
"Well then, shall we get going?" asked Mikey.
"Of course, we've got a future to save," Raphael cracked his knuckles.
As the others headed out, Raphael lingered for just a little while longer.
"You okay Raph?" asked Michelangelo.
"I got something to tell you Mikey," Raph informed him.
"What's that?"
"It's good to know you're safe and sound, bro," Raphael hugged Michelangelo.
"Whoa, nice to know big tough Raph's capable of showing emotion!" Mikey noted.
"Don't get used to it," Raphael let go of the hug and put Michelangelo in a playful noogie.
oooo
Inside the upper floors of the Aion Citadel, a ventilation door opened up as Donatello was the first to emerge.
Soon after, the other Turtles, Splinter, and Renet leaped down after having entered the building though the ventilation system. They were inside a closet facility judging from the cleaning equipment they saw inside.
"We're inside," Donatello told the others. "Our mission will be divided into three big objectives."
"First we take out all the troops," Leo remembered. "That's where you come in, Donnie."
"Then we take out the Shredder and his elite minions," Splinter nodded his head sagely.
"Then we save Lord Simultaneous and after that, we restore the future," Renet finished.
Donatello created a holographic projection through the watch he had on his wrist.
"So this entire complex has been mapped out and we know where Lord Simultaneous is being kept," Donatello told everyone. "First we go in that direction."
Leo was the first to open the door and peer into the hallway. So far, there were no troops or anyone stationed in the immediate area.
"The coast is clear," Leo acknowledged.
"Alright then, everyone… follow me," Donatello told the team.
Donatello left the room and soon, everyone else followed him.
oooo
"Sir, there's been a breach in security," Viral told the TriShreddatron.
The Shredder, his team of engineers, and his top minions were hard at work on a trans-warp gate, which Ch'rell personally oversaw.
"What is it?" demanded Ch'rell.
"The Turtles are back," Viral told him. "And they've infiltrated this building!"
"No!" the Shredder snarled. "We are about to make a breakthrough! This must not be allowed!"
"They survived?" Torbin Zixx looked worried.
"Jammerhead!" Shredder ordered. "Take all your men and destroy them!"
"I'm on it," Jammerhead promised, getting up and running out the door.
After Jammerhead left with the troops, the TriShreddatron turned back to the remainder of his followers.
"What shall we do?" asked Darius Dun.
"Continue working," the Shredder told them. "Do not engage the Turtles unless they make their way here. We will finish what we are doing one way or another."
"You're the boss," Triple Threat's three heads looked at each other and shrugged.
oooo
As the Turtles came close to the main center of the Aion Citadel, the hallway became flooded with soldiers. First multiple soldiers appeared in front of them, blocking the entrance.
After that, they also noticed hordes of troops were behind them as well, blocking any potential exit strategy.
"I'm impressed you're still alive," Jammerhead appeared before the Turtles, Splinter, and Renet.
"I'm glad to see you here first, Jammerhead," Donatello told him.
"Why?" demanded Jammerhead. "I mean, what does it matter? I got orders from the Shredder himself to put all of you on ice!"
All at once, the soldiers raised their laser rifles, focusing on the group.
"Because that's what I was counting on," Donatello smiled, pressing down on a remote.
At once, every soldier's helmet hummed to life with an electrical surge that struck all of Jammerhead's men at once.
"Aaaaahhh!" the soldiers screamed.
"Agh, what's this?!" Jammerhead shouted as his own visor began to crackle with electricity too.
Before Jammerhead knew it, all of his soldiers fell to the floor unconscious from the electrical overload.
"I successfully hacked into the neuro-link that connects all your soldiers," Donnie informed him.
Jammerhead dropped to his knees in pain but unlike the other soldiers, he wasn't down and out.
"That," Jammerhead growled. "That was unpleasant!"
Jammerhead got up again and took a fighting stance.
"Well, time to go with Plan B," Donnie whispered to his family. "Stand back and let me handle Jammerhead."
"You got this, bro," Mikey encouraged.
"Just you and me?" Jammerhead straightened his head after his self-repairing system kicked into gear. "There's not going to be enough of you left for your family to hold a funeral for!"
Donatello swung his staff at Jammerhead who blocked it with his arm.
"My backup system has already kicked it back into gear after your little cyber-attack," Jammerhead told him.
Jammerhead gripped Donatello's staff and swung it, slamming Donatello shell-fist into the wall.
"Agh!" cried Donnie.
Jammerhead punched at Donatello who quickly rolled out of the way. Donnie spun his staff around and struck at Jammerhead's feet but the cyborg leaped over the attack. The turtle struck at Jammerhead with his staff a few more times but all the blows were blocked.
The cyborg returned fire by palm striking Donatello in the chest and knocking him to the floor.
Donatello leaped back up and hurled his staff at Jammerhead. The technologically enhanced staff flew towards Jammerhead like a boomerang but Jammerhead was still too fast, moving out of the way as the staff spun past him.
Soon, the staff came back like a boomerang but Jammerhead reached out with one hand and grabbed it, taking hold of Donatello's weapon. Jammerhead used the staff as a vault, launching himself forward and kicking Donatello onto the ground.
"Should've fought me with your family," Jammerhead grabbed Donatello by the throat with one hand. "Maybe that way you could've lasted three minutes longer!"
"No," Donatello smiled, holding on to Jammerhead's hand. "Fighting you one on one was just what I was counting on."
Jammerhead frowned.
Suddenly, Jammerhead noticed something on his wrist. It was some kind of device Donatello had planted on him.
"Hey, what did you just—"
A powerful EMP surged through Jammerhead's body.
"Aaaahhhh!" Jammerhead screamed.
This time, Jammerhead dropped Donatello as he began to clutch his head in agony.
"I analyzed your tech a while ago and came up with an EMP strong enough to short you out," Donnie told him.
"I'm not down yet!" Jammerhead cried, attempting to attack Donatello again.
This time, however, Donatello spun his staff around, driving the blunt end right into Jammerhead's chin, knocking him unconscious.
Finally, Jammerhead's body shut down from being overloaded.
"Whew, glad that worked," Donatello wiped away some sweat on his head.
"Excellent work, Donatello," Splinter told him. "You combined the lessons I taught you through your lifetime with your own prodigious talents in science that I was not able to instruct you on."
"Thanks sensei," Donatello smiled. "The good news is that now, we don't have to worry about Jammerhead and the soldiers anymore."
"The bad part is the hard battle is about to begin," Leo looked down the hall where the Shredder and his own lieutenants undoubtedly were.
oooo
"Sir, I'm afraid Jammerhead and his soldiers were unsuccessful," Viral informed the TriShreddatron.
"How?!" Ch'rell demanded.
The TriShreddatron got up from the engineering he was engaged in. The entire time, Viral was monitoring the situation through the cameras.
"The turtle Donatello took out all your soldiers through the neuro-link in their helmets," Viral explained. "And Jammerhead was defeated by an EMP created specifically for him."
The Shredder hurled his welding tool aside.
"Damn it all!" Ch'rell snarled. "I will see to this matter myself! The rest of you, pause your work!"
Darius Dun, Triple Threat, and Torbin Zixx stopped what they were doing.
"We deal with the Turtles now!" Shredder ordered.
Before long, the Turtles, Splinter, and Renet entered the main room where the trans-warp gate stood.
"How I have not been able to finish you off after all these years is simply baffling to me!" Shredder told the Turtles.
"Yeah, well, we don't exactly appreciate you coming back over and over again like an ugly cockroach either," Raphael told Shredder in return.
"My sons," Splinter told the Turtles. "This is where we make our stand. The future with Cody Jones that we once knew is on the line. Fight well and fight hard for our family, both present and future."
Torbin Zixx looked like he wanted to flee but for some reason, the murderous glare in Raphael's head made him freeze up, making Zixx fear that for the first time in his life, he'd be facing the consequences of his actions.
"Let's do this," Raph took out his sai's and charged.
To be continued.
