Peter could barely find himself to register anything going on in the outside world right now. Nothing mattered right now. Nothing mattered, nothing in his life as Spider-man or Peter Parker mattered right now. Above all else, he had one responsibility, the one responsibility Uncle Ben left to him the moment he died. Taking care of Aunt May… and he completely failed.
A heart attack. She said she was feeling warm, the stress from the fight … all his fault. Not your fault. You can't put anything on age. No … but he should have at least gotten the message sooner. He should've been by her side at the hospital instead of sleeping for twelve plus hours. While he was getting rest, Aunt May was getting hooked to tubes and monitors.
Well you stopped the Sinister Seven. That … was true. And he was putting that on the backburner for now. All he could do was sit and wait for any result. And the waiting just made him antsy and noxious, and-calm-and suddenly Peter felt a calming and soothing wave of emotions wash over him. It's gonna be alright. The doctors are gonna fix her. All you need to do is sit here and wait on the positive results.
Right … right, everything would be fine … they'd be fine. They saw a man walk up to them. "Peter Parker?"
"That's who we are." They answered.
"I'm Dr Bromwell. I was the doctor who went over your Aunt May's case." He said.
They stood up. "Is she alright? Is she hurt? Is she-"
"Everything is gonna be fine." The man raised his hands. "All she needs is rest, and a calm environment. It's very critical that she doesn't get stressed right now."
"Can…can we see her?" They asked.
"I'm afraid she's unconscious at the moment." The Dr. continued. "But the moment she wakes up, I'll let you know." They sighed in relief. Everything is fine. Everything was fine, there was nothing to worry about. "However … There is the matter of the bill. You're the next of kin?"
"We're her only kin." The only one's she could rely on, the only family the other had in this cruel and unforgiving world."
"Then this is yours." They handed them a paper … for fifty thousand dollars. "Your insurance can cover about twenty percent of the bill, but the rest is on you guys."
….WHAT THE FUCK!? How the hell is that fair!? Do they expect everyone that gets sick here to be millionaires? HOW DOES THIS SOCIETY FUNCTION ECONOMICALLY!?
"We … we can't afford this." They told truthfully.
"We have long term payment plans, Peter." They patted their shoulder as if that'd make it better!? "Don't worry, everything will be fine."
"Yeah…" Words, just empty words of empty platitudes from a money grubbing parasite! If he really cared he wouldn't be taking advantage of an old lady and her kid!
"Doctor Bromwell, you're needed in room twenty seven." A nurse spoke up.
"If you'll excuse me." The man apologized emptily before walking away.
Peter gazed at the retreating man, then back at the bill. Twenty percent … that only covered ten thousand, that still left fourty on them. Forty thousand on a kid barely living on a freelance photography check and a lady in retirement. Did they just expect them to have the money in their pocket? Was the world just expecting them to fail and squander into poverty?
They walked out of the hospital of gloating criminals, barely paying attention to the world around them. They'd be paying these bills until they were gray. Just great, more Parker luck to ruin the- "You!" They were pushed into a wall, apparently by Eddie. "What the heck is with you, man!?"
"What are you blathering on about, Brock?" You do not need to deal with this ungrateful moron. You've saved him countless times and he refuses to talk to you until now.
"You could have gone to the police the moment you took those photos of Spidey taking the alien!" He shouted. "But no, you let it escape, and now the connor's had to cut me loose! ! I don't have a college fund anymore Parker!"
… Complaining about money … to them? To the ones drowning in forty thousand dollars worth of hospital bills? "Get your head out of your ass for once Eddie. We have more important things to deal with than you."
"Oh, you think you have more problems than-?"
"Listen..bro." Peter lifted the jerk by the collar, shutting him up. "We don't care what grievance you have with us, you will leave us be in peace, far away from your insufferable, petty whining!" They slammed the moron into a wall, walking away. So many problems. They keep piling up over and over. It's never gonna end...not unless you make it end.
"You guys have to believe me!" Mikey shouted. Ever since last night he's been trying to convince his brothers on what he saw with Spidey. It was the only thing that made sense. Ever since the black goo got on Peter, it was slowly turning him more and more into a jerk. A violent, almost murder happy jerk, something he knew for a fact Spidey would never do willingly, not unless his Aunt May was near death. Unfortunately …
"Mikey, for the last time, the alien is not controlling Peter." Leo repeated. None of them believed a word out of his mouth. Because for some reason, aliens taking over somebody was impossible, when they literally fight aliens almost every other day.
"He was literally about to kill Doc Ock if I hadn't said something! He almost killed Karai, then their was fish face, it's the only thing that makes sense here!"
"First off, I would have done the same to Karai if I had the chance." Raph said. "Second, you were the only one who saw anything that night, the rest of us were trying to get our vision back in working order after the big brawl."
"Oh come on!" He shouted. "We all know he's been getting moody and weird lately! It's gotta be the alien!"
"Mikey, I've scanned the alien multiple times." Donnie said with a groan. "It doesn't have a nervous system or organs of any kind. Excluding 'magic', there's no way it's smart enough to take on the Sinister Seven, tie them up, and take photos all in the same night."
"Plus his friend Harry turned out to be the raving green lunatic trying to kill him, of course he'd be moodier." Leo said. "Not that I blame him…..we almost had the six on the ropes, but the moment Spider-bytes came in, we got our shells kicked."
"Let's be honest, we never did." Raph grumbled. "Splinter was right … we're way too behind on training."
"Well … can't we talk to Pete or something?" He asked. They haven't had a conversation with him since the pulverizer incident, and Mikey feared that the longer they spent apart, the harder it would be to bring back the 'friendly neighborhood' Spider-man.
"Pete's with his aunt in the hospital Mikey." Donnie said. "That's why we're focusing on the Kraang power cell without him, remember?"
"Right…" How bad was everything going if he couldn't even get excited about seeing Leatherhead again? "Leatherhead's going to be pretty miffed when he hears the news."
"Which is why you, his best friend, is gonna be the one to tell him." Raph said, pushing him to the front.
"... If it was anyone but Leatherhead, I would accuse you of making me bait again." He glared.
After a long swim underwater, they came out in a small opening, looking to see Leatherhead in a corner, growling … before he blinked away the white. "Chef Michelangelo?"
"Leatherhead!" He ran forward and hugged the fellow reptile. "Aw man, I knew I'd see again! Those Kraang had nothing on you!"
"They may taste bitter, but victory over those parasites is always sweet."
"That same fiery spirit I see." Leo chuckled nervously.
"So, what brings you to my lair?" He asked innocently.
"Well …" Mikey tensed. "You know how you trusted us with the crystal?" He saw Leatherhead nod happily. "It sort of … got taken … by the Kraang."
"...YOU LOST THE POWER CELL!?" Leatherhead shouted in rage. He ran past Mikey, grabbing Donnie's face and shaking him.
"WHY IS IT ALWAYS MY FACE!?" His brother screamed.
"Michelangelo has earned my trust! You on the other hand have not!" The big guy began swinging at his brothers. "If there is any fault to be had, it is obviously on the rest of you!" If everything wasn't going so wrong at the moment, this would be a very cathartic moment for Mikey.
"Leatherhead, chill!" He began scratching the guy where he liked it. "Relax … it's all right …"
The big guy began breathing much more softly, before sighing. "I'm sorry, I've been reading a self help book in my spare time. Occasionally I slip."
"It's all right, small improvement is still improvement." He rubbed the guy. "It's cool …"
"You're right …" The reptile sighed. "I'm sure you and your brothers did their best to protect it, and not do anything stupid such as take it into the open."
Mikey blinked at that. "Well actua-"
"It was all because of this Pulveriser dork." Raph slapped Mikey on the shell and spoke up. "Some fanboy wannabe that thought he could be a hero just because he had a rubber costume."
"The point is, we need information." Donnie went up. "I highly doubt the Kraang would go through the effort of making a second portal if they didn't have a powersource anyway … Leatherhead, where was the first? The one you came out of?"
Leatherhead stared at a wall. "I do not remember much … but it was littered with a symbol." He began drawing hexagony things on the wall, all connected.
Mikey looked at the image. "The olympics?"
"Yes Mikey, the Kraang are taking over the olympics." Leo rolled his eyes.
"You say that with sarcasm, but with their non kraang droids, that's completely possible." Mikey pointed out.
"Hmm … seems familiar …" Donnie muttered, taking out his t-phone, and looking at the same image. "It's the same image on the canister of mutagen that created us… but it's been somewhere else ... wait a minute….. I got it!" He began typing down on the phone.
"What is it?" Leo asked curiously.
"The Technological Cosmic Research Institute, TCRI!" He shouted. "They're like Oscorp and Tricrop, but international and not quite as advanced. They're also responsible for the Genome Project!" They showed a tall pointy building. "They've been hiding in plain sight this entire time."
"Then that's the Kraang home base." Raph said, looking at Leo. "Probably more fortified than anywhere else."
"Stealth mission it is. We go in, nab the power cell, and get out." Leo nodded.
"I'll invite Peter." Mikey said, pulling out his T-phone, only for Leo to put a hand on his own.
"Peter's waiting for his Aunt to wake up Mikey, we can't get in the way of that." He said. "Imagine if we were waiting for Master Splinter to wake up."
"..." Mikey had no counter to that. If it was Master Splinter on the line, then they'd be devastated. Heck, they almost lost both him and Peter's aunt when the rat king came in.
"Michelangelo … I worry for your masked friend." Leatherhead noted as the gang began making their way. "But if the Kraang manage to open their portal to Dimension X… there will be no one left to worry about."
"I … understand." He nodded. "It's still going to be wicked dangerous without the extra hands on deck going into Kraang central."
"Hmm … we can get April's help." Leo muttered. "But … Leatherhead, would you be willing to go back there?" He asked.
"He ain't exactly the picture of stealth." Raph deadpanned.
"No, but he is a massive rampaging reptile that can hold his own as a distraction and break out no sweat." Leo said. "... If you're up for it."
Mikey's large reptilian buddy thought it over for a second. It was a lot to put on a guy who spent most of his life trying to get away from the Kraang. "This world is my home. I won't allow the Kraang to ruin it even further. I shall assist you, my friends, in any way that I can."
"Well that's muscle on our side, I say we're covered." Raph pounded his fists as the guys began talking up a plan.
What was that saying Peter said all the time…about power and responsibility? This felt like one of those times….but didn't they have a responsibility to save their friend?
April wanted to keep arguing, keep trying to tell Peter that something was wrong … but she couldn't, not with his Aunt May in the hospital. Like she told Gwen earlier, it was just bad timing. Although she had to wonder exactly how legitimate 'parker luck' was when it seemed like everything was falling down the drain all at once. It was like the universe didn't want Peter to catch a break with anything.
And now she was snagged away from that little worrying tidbit to helping the turtles sneak into TCRI, a heavily fortified KRAANG company apparently, and dash away. "Run me through the plan one more time?" She asked, putting on her disguise.
"This box is going to contain me, my brothers, and Leatherhead." Donnie went over the checkerboard. "You roll it in, hit the elevator button from a distance, make sure the kart rolls into the open elevator, then leave the building as quickly as possible."
"The doors close, the team jumps out and sneaks out of the elevator through the emergency exit." Leo continued. "The Kraang open up the elevator, and find one very angry Leatherhead in its place."
"Uh huh…and I'm supposed to be able to push along four mutant turtles and a giant alligator all by myself?" She asked. "And pushing from a distance… those both feel like they fit Spidey's wheelhouse more than mine."
"We can't exactly get the web head involved." Raph said. "No matter what Mikey says."
"The suit is evil and alive, guys." The orange turtle complained. "It's taking over his brain!" That did sound ridiculous… but in a way that it made perfect sense. She never saw him act like such a jerk before the black suit. Honestly, this felt TOO obvious.
"We can discuss Spidey's not sentient suit later." Donnie interrupted. "I reinforced the cart so it shouldn't be too heavy. And for the button … magnetic yoyo." He handed her a red yoyo.
"..." They all stared at him.
"I blew the budget on the Shellraiser and Spider-Cycle, give me a break!"
"My first weapon … is a yo-yo." April muttered, not knowing if she should be flattered or insulted. "...Thaaanks.." She should ask Splinter about getting a weapon soon. She did NOT want to be known as the yo-yo girl.
"Thanks for doing this April." Leo nodded. "Everyone, ready up. This is a Kraang base, no room for mistakes." The turtles all jumped inside of the box, followed by a growl as it closed up.
April sighed, taking a deep breath … and was her first true mission. It was a small part, but it was a small part she had to play well or else the whole plan was doomed. The cart was light enough … she was moving … through the door … Ms Camble was at the front desk. "Delivery." She said, pushing the cart forward, throwing the yoyo.
"Leave it outside." The woman spoke, standing up. Come on, come on … it hit the button, the door opening as the box slid through. Thank you Peter! She couldn't fail geometry! "May I see identification." The robot said, moving closer.
"Sorry, I must've left it in my other coat, I'll go look for it!
The shutter door began sliding down, as April bolted, faster, faster … she rolled under, making a break for it as the only loss was her hat. "Thank you kunoichi training." April muttered to herself as she ran down the street, turning a corner.
She did it … SHE DID IT! First mission, success! Finally, the first thing to go right in weeks! Now if only she could get everything sorted out on the Peter front. Please, please let it be easier than this morning. Her powers were reacting weirdly and she didn't want to argue with their brain again.
Raph crawled along the elevator shaft, inch by inch, moving up to the top. "How much farther?" He asked Donnie, the only nerd they had available….well science nerd at least. Leo was a nerd for Space heroes, but that qualified him for the title of dork.
"The most important stuff is probably on the top floor…so about fifteen more floors at least."
"The one time I wouldn't mind having the Web head's powers." Raph groaned as he felt his palms getting sore.
"Come on, not that much farther." Leo said. "Plus it's quieter this way, easier to sneak in."
"Um, guys?" Mikey said.
"Mikey, if this is about the suit being alive, I'm gonna punch you." Raph was getting annoyed with the discussion. Sure the guy was being a jerk as of late, but an alien doing a better job than all of them combined while mind controlling Peter was just stupid. It would've been more obvious if the suit was evil, and they would've noticed.
"No … the elevator's coming up." Mikey pointed down, seeing the elevator indeed coming towards them.
"Donnie, what are the chances we can ride that?" Leo asked.
"If it hits the top floor?" Their purple brother asked. "We become splattered turtles."
"Then I think we're better off taking the stairs." Raph began prying on the closet door he could find. He opened it up … and saw the Kraang in what looked like a normal cubical office room putting on skin suits. After a second of staring, he quickly closed it. "I will never be clean." Raph muttered in horror.
THE ALERT FOR THOSE KNOWN AS INTRUDER! THE ALERT FOR THOSE KNOWN AS INTRUDERS!
"Guys, I think they know we're here!" Mikey shouted.
"Into the elevator!" Leo shouted, jumping down. "It's the only safe place left!" He shouted as doors in the shaft began to open, in them armies of Kraang with guns. "...I should really stop saying stuff like that."
"Yes, yes you should!" Raph screamed, throwing shuriken as he jumped onto the elevator, forcing the hatch open and jumping in, taking down the Kraang bots inside as the turtles rushed into the space and tried closing off the exit so they didn't get shot at. "Can't we just get a break for once!?"
"I told you we should've brought Spidey!" Mikey shouted, wrapping his nunchucku around one of the Kraang and banging them against the wall.
"We can do this!" Leo shouted, slicing another Kraang in half. "We just need to grab the Power Cell and run! We're not always going to be able to rely on Peter for everything!" He sliced another into thirds. "We shouldn't have to anyways! We're ninjas! We SHOULD be enough!"
"What's wrong with relying on a friend!?" Mikey shouted.
Before they began shouting even more, the door opened … and suddenly Raph couldn't breathe. Everything began to get blurry … and suddenly, he fell unconscious, barely gazing at a room of white. "GGGSAAAACCCCCK!"
"Posi…posion gas…" Donnie gasped, falling to the ground right beside him.
Great … that was how it ended … gassed to death … and here he thought it would be Mikey's gas that did him in. After a while he groaned, slowly coming to, seeing that they were in some kind of glass container. "... Great, we're prisoners …" He felt around. "With no weapons." Way to go, fearless leader.
"We just hit a little snag. We're going to get out of this eventually." Leo tried to reaffirm, knocking on the glass wall as Kraang flew around, watching and observing them. "The poison gas just caught us a little off guard."
"If Peter was here, his spider sense would've detected it." Mikey pointed out.
"We don't need … who am I kidding?" Leo groaned. "We're useless …" He kicked the ground. "We've gotten too used to him watching over us."
"It's not that he's watching over us, he's a part of the team, regardless of what he thinks." Mikey pointed out. "If one of us is out, then all of us are."
"He did pretty well for someone not a part of the team." Raph said, looking around. "It looks like they're still poisoning the air. If we get out, we die." Great, just what needed. Another anger inducing predicament he couldn't hit his way out of.
"It may not be poison gas…at least from their perspective." Donnie observed, watching the Kraang fly by. "I think it's just the type of air they breathe in dimension X. To us, it's just toxic."
"Then how have the Kraang been breathing whenever they leave those suits?" Raph asked the nerd. "Why would they even come to a planet that they can't even breathe on?"
"Maybe they're trying to mutate the planet so it can be just like home." Mikey shrugged.
Everyone paused at what Mikey said, as that single sentence blew their minds. It….it made perfect sense.
"That explains the mutagen, and the scientists!" Donnie pounded his fists. "They're trying to make Earth into another dimension X!"
"... Should we give more credence to the alien being alive idea?" Leo asked.
"I keep telling you guys, an organism without even a single organ can't perform a task that complex. Even the Kraang are bound by science despite all the weird dimensional stuff they have going on." Donnie rolled his eyes.
"Peter has organs, maybe it's just like a leech that uses him for everything it needs." Mikey pointed to his brother.
"Yeah, but …" Donnie paused on that one. "No … to be able to connect to that … no it came from space." He shook his head. "It would have to be adaptable to any theoretical organism … unless it's nothing but a pile of DNA …" The turtle started to pale. "Oh my god."
"Okay, mister genius." Raph would hold the grievances he had later. "If you're so smart right now, mind giving us an idea HOW to get out of here?"
He looked around. "... I can get us out, but breathing is another matter entirely."
"We're turtles, we can hold our breath underwater." Mikey pointed out. "If we crack a window open, we won't have to worry about anything.
"... I'm scared." Raph admitted honestly. Mikey being right once was one thing. But three times in a row …
"That's just how I roll." Maybe some of that gas was getting inside of the glass. He HAD to be hallucinating right now.
The kin was sick. They weren't sure how to feel about the kin. On one hand, they were holding back the host. On the other, they were the only thing keeping the host from pulling a 'Frank Castle' on all of New York City. They'd support the choice of course, but … mental stability came first. Then again, if Peter Parker just killed all his enemies, life would be much simpler for him and for New York. Maybe they could resort to permanent crippling. Technically not killing if it was coma induced brain damage.
They could feel Peter Parker's anxiety build up inside of him. No matter how much work they put in to impress the endorphins, the stress always reached its boiling point. Sure, the nourishment from the adrenaline was lovely, but not at the expense of their host. The problem came down to money. Always money money money. We can't pay for the turtles anymore. We can't afford it. It costs you money you could've saved up for Aunt May, for the bills in case of emergencies. Their selfishness has cost you too much already.
They had to play this delicately. Not too aggressive, use the sound logic of their problem to help rid the host of the parasites infesting their life. But they couldn't rob a bank. They had an image to keep, and they wouldn't lose it. They could steal from a criminal, but most weren't rich enough.
Steal from Shredder? … Did they feel confident enough in fighting the entirety of the Foot for forty thousand dollars worth of cash? Dogpound and Fish face were nothing individually, but the Sinister Seven was already a close call. It was only due to their convenient weaknesses to each other, as well as the bumbling of the turtles, that they managed to defeat them.
What if they stole one of the Kraang parts? Get a different mask, and sell it 'annoymously', and steal it right back as Spider-man? They'd get the money, and the no good crooks they sold it to would get nothing. In fact, they'd get less than nothing.
No, too long term. That led to the same problem as just stealing it from crooks, they wouldn't have enough. Who was rich enough, who was greedy enough, who was easy enough …
"Petey?" They turned to see Liz Allen staring at them with concern. "Are you alright? We heard about your Aunt."
"I…we're as fine as I can be." They also had mixed feelings about Liz Allen. From the memories they took in, she seemed to cause the LEAST amount of stress for Peter Parker among his 'friends'. No kidnapped parents, no drug problems, no gold digging. They didn't even get mad when their host had to run off. But just like April … the closeness irked them.
"Peter." The parasite known as Gwen Stacy came forth and sat down next to their host. "If you need to talk about it …"
"Talk … talk is the last thing we need." They spoke. "Everyone just wants to talk and downplay the problems, that's all that ever happens. What's going on is that my Aunt nearly died and her hospital bills are through the roof!"
"Tiger, calm down.." Mary Jane, the aloof bitch. Just a floozy that felt like she could come in and out of everyone's lives whenever she could because the drama was fun for her.
"Calm down!? No, we won't! Everyone's been getting on our case about how we've put so much time into our job, how I'm somehow SELFISH for trying to have a living!" Yes, yes, finally, they were finally loosening their barriers. "But guess what, all we can do is work because even with the VERY little that I'm making, the Parker family is still in debt! My Aunt is suffering, and it takes her having a heart attack for everyone to finally give a damn!"
They weren't going to help, they just wanted to have conversations. Gwen's always just wanted to talk, never bringing solutions to a problem. She could have just sent Harry to a counselor and he'd never be the Goblin. She placed all that burden, all that guilt on you because she needed a scapegoat for her own uselessness.
"Petey, please, if you don't think we'll understand, then help us understand." Liz pleaded
"We just told you!" He shouted. "Our entire family is in debt! But suddenly the Parker's misery is EVERYONE's business now!" We don't have any friends, we don't have any allies, we just have ourselves. "Where was this concern two weeks ago? A month, three months ago!? WHERE was the support when Uncle Ben Died!?"
Gwen paused, looking down guiltily. Not even bothering to make an excuse or justify her actions. If they were your real friends, they would know how much trouble your in, the stress of taking care of an ailing aunt, and the lack of financial security. School mates don't care about your crime fighting life, and the turtles can't understand your money problems. It's too much. Just too much for one person.
"We're done with this." The host began walking away, negativity boiling. Don't worry, they'd always be there … but the money was still an issue … oh, OH! Jameseon can't help us, neither can any measly job off the street…but there's one Big man in town that can
… Are we really that desperate? Wouldn't we do anything to save the ones we love…like Uncle Ben? … Then we'll do it. Finally … everything was right.
Donnie finally managed to cut a small enough crack. "Alright … Mikey, into the shell."
"I came up with a lot of smart points, why am I being used as a battering ram?"
"Because you came up with so many smart points. You get the honor of being the Battering ram." Raph chuckled as they picked their little brother up
"Why does it sound the same as when you say I'm bait?!" He screamed.
"Okay team, breathe in." Leo said. "One … two … three!" They all inhaled as they moved back, before slamming Mikey into the glass.
Shatter
And the air instantly became warm with thick gas as Mikey fell to the ground, flipping as he bounced between three floating Kraang. "BHYAAKOOSShhhOOO!" Mikey cheered with his mouth still shut as he kicked two of them away.
Donnie internally groaned as he made his way to their weapons. They could hold their breaths, but not forever. He grabbed his staff, throwing the other their gear as he whacked a Kraang out of the air.
Focus, find the crystal, escape the Kraang, take in air. That's what Donnie needed to focus on as he fought off some more Kraang blasting at him. Come on, where was the power cell, where was the power cell!?
"MHAHAH!" Raph head butted one of the Kraang into the air, and threw another one right at Donnie. Almost by instinct, they took out their staff and whacked the Kraang like it was a baseball. The little brain was sent up, and up, and more up until it hit the highest black tinted window…
SMASSSSSSH
The air began to ventilate, allowing the turtles to breathe. "Oh man!" Mikey shouted. "I don't know if I could go one more second of silence."
"I could. Nobody got to jynx anything." Donnie replied, taking in a few breaths.
"Oh come on." Mikey waved off. "Nobody's gonna jynx it, we're smarter than that."
A giant silver and purple machine began to rev up, as a pink ball of energy began to emerge. Going by the platform design and the intense beams of concentration forming in the middle.."That's the Kraang portal!"
"So we don't have to focus on the crystal, we can just blow up their machine!" Leo announced.
"Then let's smash it!" Raph shouted as he threw a ninja star … which bounced off the metal. "OH COME ON!"
Out of the portal came … a giant golem of some sort. "GGGGG." The thing growled as magma began leaking from its mouth.
"That's a little big and blocky to be a Kraang!" Mikey shrieked as they jumped out of the way of one of its vicious steps.
"I think it's some sort of Dimension X native!" Donnie shouted as he avoided lasers from incoming Kraang. "Maybe even an artificial species that they've cultivated for the purpose of defense!"
"I know it's starting to sound a little racist, but I really, REALLY hate aliens!" Raph shouted, rushing forward and slicing the thing's head off. "... Why did that feel too easy?"
The rock monster's head began to roll up on itself…. and reattached itself like it was never damaged. "...Ask a dumb question." Leo muttered as they lept on one of its incoming arms, and kicked it in the face, making it spin. "Donnie, do we have any explosives on hand!?"
"A couple!" He shouted as he took out a nearby Kraang. "But only enough for either the rock giant or the portal! Maybe if we could get him on it?"
"I don't think anyone wants to volunteer for that!" Raph shouted as he avoided some lava spit.
Smash
"KRRAAAAANNNG!"
"LEATHERHEAD!" Mikey shouted excitedly, pumping his fists.
"I'm here, my friends. We may need to hurry up…" The alligator mutant looked up at the stone monster….and his eyes turned white once more. "THRAAAGG!" They leapt up at the magma monster, using their teeth to pry away their arms as much as possible.
"Does everything in Dimension X just have a lot of ra's followed by a g at the end?" Donnie asked himself.
"Wrong question!" Leo shouted as he slashed up some Kraang. "Leatherhead, get him on the portal!"
"WITH PLEASURE!" The Monstrous mutant began taking wider swings with their jaws and claws. Bits of what they could only describe as lava blood began spilling as the big guy forced the apparently named Thraag back.
Donnie pulled all their explosives into a single bag, mentally calculating the fuse, before lighting it. "Nine seconds!" He shouted, tossing it on the pad. "Make sure to jump when it hits two!"
"GARRRRAAGGG!" Regardless of whether or not Leatherhead heard them, they forced the rock monster on the platform, repeatedly slamming its head into the ground, preventing it from making another move.
"Leatherhead, you need to let him go!" Mikey shouted, held back by Raph.
Kaboom
…and the explosives….did nothing as a flash of purple was washed over the portal device. "WHAT!?"
"Donnie, why didn't it go kablooey!?" Leo yelled.
"The shield around it must be too durable…. we can't touch it at all!" Donnie yelled as the portal began revving up again. "And something else is about to come through!"
"Not if I can help it!" As the portal formed, Leatherhead threw the Thraag into the portal. "Farewell, my friends."
"LEATHERHEAD, DON'T!"
"I can prevent them from entering our world from their side! It'll buy you all enough time to figure out how to destroy the machine!" Leatherhead began to enter. "Thank you all…..I will alway treasure what you've done for me Michelangelo." And the brave mutant….the brave hero leapt forward.
"NOOOO!"
But it was too late, with a flash of light, they vanished. "Donnie, we need another plan!" Leo shouted.
Doors opened as swarms and swarms of Kraang walked into the room. "That which is known as the destruction of the portal is that which is known as impossible to the one's known as the turtles. The one's known as the turtles shall taste what is known as the wrath of which comes from Kraang."
"I'll get back to you in about a week!" Donnie replied. "Right now we don't stand a chance on the Kraang's home turf!"
"We can't just leave!" Leo shouted as he blocked as many lasers as he could. "We already lost Leatherhead! This can't have been for nothing!"
"What about this thing?" Mikey showed off some kind of white little rectangle that fell off the floor.
"Seize the data storage unit device from the one's known as the turtles!"
"GRAB ALL THE RECTANGLES YOU CAN FIND AND BAIL!" Donnie shouted.
"Kraang is that which is known as a moron."
"Kraang is now calling you which is known as the black kettle to the pot."
"Kraang does not understand the use of metaphor Kraang has used."
Using the argument, they were able to grab a couple data cores and bail … good news, they had info on the Kraang! Bad news … they lost Leatherhead and were falling fifteen stories.
L. Thompson Lincoln signed yet another 'charitable donation' to hell's kitchen. Being two people wasn't as exciting as one would expect, it was mostly paperwork, phone calls, public speeches, and the spine breaking was only occasional. That wasn't even mentioning the thorn in his side that was dealing with the organization known as the Hand. They were like the Foot, except more secretive and harder to negotiate with.
Luckily, the Foot seemed to have a mutual rivalry going on (as if the name wasn't an indicator), and thus as long as Tombstone stayed on their good terms, they had their protection. Although he wasn't completely unconvinced that they weren't involved with the Green Goblin in some way or form.
The worst kind of game to play, no matter your age or power, was the game of politics. So annoying. It was a battle of pure will and mind. Attempting to solve it purely with physical force would only result in his downfall.
Tombstone heard the sound of bodies thumping, looking up to see Spider-Man standing over the body of his guards. "... I really need to invest in better locks."
"Or better security. Just saying, these chumps aren't exactly pick of the litter." The boy responded in a more blunt tone than usual.
"Well it'd be pretty conspicuous if Shocker and Sandman stood side by side with L. Thompson Lincoln … then again I was never one for needing protection." He cracked his knuckles. "So, are we going for another dance? Did the latest burst of criminal activity flip a switch?"
"You know, one thing I admire about our relationship is just how open we can be with each other." Spider man casually walked forward, as if he had no fear of attack. "You can relax Tomby. I'm here solely for business."
Intriguing. The confidence was bizarre enough on his own, but after the last time of trying to negotiate Tombstone assumed the man wasn't one for compromise. "And what type of business are you seeking?" He asked.
"Same offer as last time. I look the other way from your side of the crime pie, and you pay me."
"Not that I am one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but pardon me if this sudden change of heart vexes me just a little." Lincoln said skeptically, lowering his guard down just a little. "Last time I offered, you were quite vocal in your crusade against all crime."
"Reality crumbles idealism in the end, doesn't it?"
"Very true." Desperation was one of life's strongest motivators. One never knew how much they were capable of until they were at the bottom of society. "But I need undeniable proof you're willing and able to do my line of work."
"What do you need?" He asked.
"Proof that you're capable of compromising. One week, no crime fighting of any kind."
There was a small tension in the body, almost unnoticeable as if there was an internal struggle. "... Even the type that causes city blocks to go boom?"
"I control the super villain element in the city. Jaywalking, bank robbery, hostage negotiation, none of it goes off without my say so." Tombstone said. "Ignore the small crimes, and you won't worry about another breakout." For about another month or so. The Sinister Seven were useful on paper, but the likes of Doctor Octavious felt like they were the type to get a little too confident.
With that, they nodded. "Then we got us a deal." They moved to the window, pausing. "For the record, you might want to investigate a little group called the Kraang. I doubt they're completely under your control … friendly neighborhood tip." And with that, they leapt through the window.
"…" What a strange shift in personality. They didn't completely trust it. Either the Spider-man had reached a severe low point in his life, or this was temporary insanity.