Spike watched as Raph stormed into the room, pausing and turning to him. "Heya Spike." They gently rubbed his head, a kind smile on his face. "Look, me and the guys are gonna go into something really bad this time around. If worse comes to worse, don't give Master Splinter too much trouble, understand?"
Hm….that was going to be tough. On the one hand, the rat raised Raph, who taught Spike everything he ever needed to know about the world-basically that it was filled with idiots that needed to be beaten into cream, but on the other hand, he raised the other so called 'brothers', who were more trouble than they were worth. "Meeeh." He nodded, he would look after Splinter for Raph's sake, but if the Rat was too much trouble, he'd ice him.
"Good boy." With a scratch on the shell, Raph handed over some leaves, before walking to the emergency crate. "It's time …" Flipping the lock, he opened it up, taking out enough weapons to equal the body mass of Raphael and his brothers combined, and started strapping them to his body and stuffing them into his shell. Man, what he would've given to have that much space. Most Spike could manage was the piece of lettuce he kept in case of emergencies. "There's no messing around this time. Can't leave anything to chance."
Taking his treat, Spike left the room, slowly marching to check up on the rest of the turtles and seeing if they were just goofing off like usual. He was fully expecting that lazy good for nothing leader Leonardo watching his dumb space cartoon for 'inspiration' or some other dumb excuse like that.
"Leonardo." He saw the rat speaking to the boy. "Given the scale of this mission you undertake, it does not bode well that everything will go as planned." The rat that gave Spike mixed feelings placed a hand on the turtle's shoulder. "Expect the unexpected boy."
"Yes sensei."
"And as leader, it falls on you to make the tough choices." The man continued. "I have seen you grow into the role, and I trust you to make the right one. With the world at stake, sacrifices must be made….no matter what they are….or who."
The blue turtle seemed to pause at that, contemplating, before nodding. "Yes Sensei, I understand." If Raph died because of a choice, everyone died. That blue bastard BETTER not think about doing that! Everyone else was expendable, but Spike would murder the whole world for Raph to live.
Continuing to walk, he saw Michelangelo surrounded by a bunch of lame comics. "Never say we're safe and sound, triggers a 'what could go wrong' senario … oh no, did I trigger it already just then!?" Okay, he was being an idiot like always. Of course the end of the world wouldn't make him any smarter….then again, not like he was expecting a freaking miracle to happen.
"Nah, jynx's only get triggered when you say them in the heat of the moment." The Spider-bastard walked in with some kind of beaker in his palm. "Essentially never let your guard down-why DO you have a pair of underwear laying around?" He pointed to the large pair of tighty-whities.
"I just like wearing them for the experience, alright?" The idiot explained. "You know, in case we ever had the chance to live top-side like regular people, you know?"
"… Alright." The weirdo shrugged, mixing up some stuff. "Add the menthonal and …" He placed it into a container, closing it up. "Compressed and ready for action." The Spider-bastard muttered, filling a backpack with large canisters of metal cans and canisters of fluid. Weak, but at least he seemed serious for once. "A little ridiculous, but we all make sacrifices."
"A spider-pack." Mike oogled at the thought. "Like, what if you just carried a giant power pack filled to the brim with web fluid and shot it out of some tubes connected to some blasters or something…..oooh, what if I had something like that!?"
"You already have a giant shell on your pack."
"A turtle backpack cannon!"
"Maybe later…you know, if we survive the onslaught after today." Donetello muttered, walking out with that weird metal turtle he made.
"...You're bringing out the robot the Kraang took over?"
"I removed the Kraang control from it''s head. It's strictly a pre programmed automatron now." Donnie patted the walking pile of bolts on the head. "And he's going to be our distraction while we storm the castle from the topside."
"And if he goes rogue and tries to murder us?" Mikey asked.
"Let's be honest, that would be the least of our problems if the technodrome makes it through." The supposed brainiac of the group shrugged. "The implosion device takes a while to charge after each firing, so we need to save use of it until we REALLY need it."
"How many shots does it have?" The web head asked.
"With how compact it is…..Only around five or six if we're lucky."
"Then we make 'em count." Leonardo confirmed as he packed away his swords. "This is the big one, brothers. Once we step out that door… there's no going back. We either save the world or die trying."
"We're not going to die you idiot." Raph said as he came out, decked head to toe in weapons. "We're all getting out, together. No turtle left behind." Well, except Mikey, that went without saying. And Spidey. He wasn't a turtle, so it was perfectly okay for him to be left behind for dead. Oooh, maybe they could use him as a human shield. Spike would've loved to see that in action!
"Could have worded that more nicely, but yeah, Raph's right." That April girl came in, hugging the nerdy turtle and patting Spider-man on the back. "You're gonna come out of this fine. You guys saved me and you've saved my dad… you can save the world."
"If you say so." The spider-basted sighed. "Just… if anything goes wrong… tell Aunt May I'm sorry…. Sorry for all the late nights and… sorry for Uncle Ben."
"… I'll tell her." The girl nodded, looking away.
"We have three hours until it goes off people, let's do this." Leonardo nodded as the group all moved to the Shellraiser.
"Do you really think they're ready for this?" April asked the rat.
"They have no choice but to be ready." The rat stated with a somber gaze. "Be safe my sons, remember your lessons."
"Hai, Sensei." Honestly, only Rapheal seemed ready for this….so hopefully that meant Raph would be the only one to come back!
Karai waited out in the small section of the abandoned subway tunnel, waiting for the final piece to fall in place. This would've been the perfect opportunity to find the turtles layer, charge into their home and destroy it along with their master, just as the hamato clan did to hers…but destroying Hamato Yoshi was an honor that belonged only to her father.
This however, would be a close second to the satisfaction she sought. If she couldn't hurt the turtles and spider directly, then she could do it indirectly by targeting the one person that seemed to be in the middle of it all. "Are you sure it's this way dad?"
"Yeah, right behind the old tunnel up ahead." First key part, implant the suggestion of a hideout, and have the father lead an unsuspecting April right to Karai and some footbots. A small part of her wanted say it was a bad idea to trust the aliens trying to take over the planet, but as Shredder the turtles made it abundantly clear, revenge was CLEARLY more important that life on the planet, so she might as well side with her family as Leo and the other's had already.
She watched with sweet glee as the red head rounded the corner, her eyes widening. "Karai!"
"Hey O'Neil, you miss me?" She smirked, sending a kick that the girl was able to evade. "Whoa, you actually managed to dodge this time. Congratulations, you might actually make me sweat one drop before I beat you senseless."
"Dad, run, it's the foot!" The girl shouted as the man paused. "Dad…DAD! Move!"
"Oh, he's not going to move unless I order him to." She held up a little remote.
"What did you do to him!?" She shouted as the foot soldiers grabbed the girl. "What did you do!?"
"See, thanks to my little suggestion, the Kraang have been working on mind control." Karai answered. "It's not perfect, so the man might have a bit of brain damage when this is all said and done." She smirked, knocking on the man's skull like a door. "Inform Splinter of the Foot taking April. Then try to beat him senseless." They would fail, but one father figure beating another would likely hurt the girl even more.
"Dad, please, come back, snap out of it, please, SNAP OUT OF IT!" April cried out fruitlessly as Mr. O'Neil left.
"Oh, he's not snapping out of it anytime soon. We had PLENTY of time to rig his brain. You didn't think that you actually SAVED him as easily as you did?" She snickered. "You know, it's funny. You all were so desperate to have him back that none of you even questioned how it was so easy to locate and grab him."
"...You…the Kraang…"
"Yep, we've reached a mutually beneficial agreement." She laughed. "We use you as bait to lure out the turtles, and in return we hand you over to them. Just had to wait until your little possy left your little hideout. That way your precious little master will have no choice but to head out to find you….leaving him nice and vulnerable for the Shredder." Karia smirked. "Everyone wins this way…except you and everyone you care about."
"You….you're selling out the world for a petty GRUDGE MATCH!?"
She kneed the girl in the chest. "Your friends made it abundantly clear that this blood feud is the only thing that matters in the world… so frankly, I don't give a damn anymore if the world burns." She punched the redhead in the face. "I offered them help to stop the Kraang and they tried to murder my father!" And another punch to the face, drawing blood. "So why the hell should I give a damn anymore!?"
"...You….petty….little…bitch…" The girl laughed as she wheezed in the pain.
"You know, if it wasn't for the fact you were a hated enemy, I'd admire your moxie. " She smirked, socking the girl in the stomach. "But other than that…you got nothing going for you girl. And you got no Spider-Man to save you this time."
"...They're gonna win…..they'll…"
"Maybe…but you'll probably be dead by the time they figure it out…. and so will Hamato Yoshi." Karai cupped the girl's face. "And I can live contently knowing I helped bring those freaks down a peg-"
SMACK
The red head gave her a headbutt that made her flinch just ever so slightly. "Wow…gotta admit, didn't see that coming." She laughed. "But the funny thing about headbuts is that it's a double-edged sword. You could crack your own skull along with your enemy's." She looked at the dazed girl's face. "And unlike you, I'm used to the pain."
She nodded to the two soldiers, who carried the girl away. Watching her suffer and watching Hamato Yoshi die … today was a good day.
Peter scaled the side of the building alongside the turtles, strong winds blowing across the area. "So what do we do when we get up there?" Mikey asked.
"This side of the building has the least visual security on it, meaning we'll be unseen until the top floor. From there we have to get around a few cameras and some Kraang guards." Donnie explained. "We'll figure out the rest when we get to the window."
"TCRI, can't believe it." Peter muttered as he continued to climb with as much determination as he could muster. This was his first time entering the joint, given how last time, he was busy almost compromising everything that he was due to a parasitic relationship. "The one company rivaling Oscorp in this city and it was Kraang central this entire time… just right under our noses."
"TCRI, Tricorp, Oscorp, is every company in this city a front for evil science?" Raph asked.
"Probably. We should probably keep our eyes out on Stark Industries and the Baxter Foundation for the foreseeable future then." Donnie noted.
"Shame, Reed Richards seemed like such a nice guy." Peter muttered as he kept his eyes narrow. This was the big one, his time to step up and truly put the hero in super hero. Aunt May was counting him. April was counting on him. Liz, Gwen, Erma, even the likes of Flash, all their lives hanged in the balance. "How's little Metal head doing?"
KABOOOM
"Blowing up the lobby as we speak, so he hasn't turned evil." Donnie nodded.
"Not yet you mean." Mikey shot back.
"Tonight we take what we can get." Leo interrupted as they finally reached a ledge to walk on. They began moving, noticing a camera constantly moving around.
"I'm on it." Raph let out a low whistle, as a pigeon came flying down, landing on raph's shoulder.
"..Pigeon whisper…. out of all the ninja skills you've picked up, that's probably the most impressive if random, not going to lie." Peter admitted.
"I like animals better than people." Raph shrugged as he moved to the camera, moving the bird's head to the screen, constantly blocking it as they all moved around. "Good boy, stay nice and be confused for the camera."
"Aww, you've really come into your soft side these past three months." Mikey cooed as Raph socked him in the shoulder. "I can feel the love bro….no matter how painful it feels."
They kept moving forward once more, hearing Kraang talk around the corner. "It's quiet. The precise amount of quiet Kraang expects."
"Kraang loves it when the right amount of quiet occurs. Kraang hates the noise of the city known as New York City."
"Agree, Kraang will love it once the city known as New York is terriformed and becomes the city known as Kraang City."
"Never let it be said that the Kraang aren't honest to a fault." Peter grumbled.
Mike tossed a marble forward, creating attention as the Kraang moved close … and then the turtle simply just pushed the two off the ledge, the brains in robots falling twenty or so stories. "Kraang thinks that this will leave kraang that which is known as the mark."
"Kraang believes that Kraang has stated that which is known as the obvious."
"And Mikey taking the direct route." They were really not playing around today.
"Alright…everyone have your oxygen converveters ready." Donnie instructed as they all connected tiny straw-like tubes into their mouths. "Tread carefully Peter. Once we break inside, we'll be bombarded by toxic gasses from dimension x."
"Nothing the lair hasn't already prepared me for." He quipped as he adjusted his mask. Just quick and easy out. Break in and blast that portal into smithereens. The world was literally riding on this.
"On the count of three, we charge in." Leo ordered. "One….two…..threee!"
Smash
They burst their way inside. "Hey Kraang, your Pizza arrived, no cheese and extra buttkicking just like you asked!" Mikey shouted as they burst through, brown mist filling their vision as it began to fill the room. "Boooyaaakaaaashaaaa…!"
Thump
{Hot solid object} Well, Peter now knows what his Spider-sense feels like when he's almost swated out of the air by a GIANT MOLTEN HAND! "Hey there, you look a little hot under the weather. Ever try ice cream?"
"GRraaaaa!" The giant molten man roared as it began chasing them, Kraang in little floating pods flying around them shooting lasers.
"Sorry, we're all out of the 'kill us right this instant', might I suggest the mint chip!?" He screamed as he swung up to keep the big guy distracted. "So any suggestions on how to keep the big guy down!?"
"If we have five shots, we're using one now!" Leo shouted, aiming at the giant rock man, and firing.
Zweeee, Shoooo, Pop.
With a weird sounding explosion, the rock monster was blasted into pieces, flying across the room. "Donnie…you gotta make more of these and bring them to every battle!" Raph shouted. "That was awesome!"
Screee
The sound of scratching marble filled the air as the chunks of rock began scraping across the floor, rolling up into each other and reattaching itself. "I guess the Kraang made sure batteries were included with their toys!" Spidey shouted, sending out a glob of shell webbing and making it stick to the ground. "Take down the portal!"
Leo aimed the gun … which beeped as a meter on the side slowly filled up. "It needs to recharge!"
"All Kraang converge at the point of convergence that which is known as the room of which the portal to dimension X is located." Several more Krang filled up the room
"Well isn't that fun." Peter grumbled. "Get ready boys, we're in for the long haul!"
"You have a very messed up definition of fun!" Mikey shouted.
"I don't know, for once something he says actually puts a smile on my face!" Raph grinned as he charged into the horde of Kraang while pulling out a bunch of blades. Hell must've froze over if Peter and him were agreeing.
Splinter took the time to meditate for what was to come. He prayed to his ancestors for his sons to have the strength to come through on their mission. There was so much he had yet to teach them, so much wisdom he had yet to impart, yet he couldn't do much other than wish them luck.
Sure, he could've aided them in the journey, provided much needed physical support and covered their, to be frank, numerous blind spots. But that led to another problem…if they were always turtles that always relied on Splinter, then they would never be the turtles that could thrive … without him.
They must make their own mistakes, their own sacrifice, and grow as true ninja in this unfair world. Though they weren't by blood, his sons shared so much of his own youthful personality when he was human. Brash, unfocused, curious, and often had other priorities other than his training. It wasn't until he lost everything that the man once known as Hamato Yoshi finally grew up, and learned the responsibility of what it took to be part of the Hamato Clan.
Splinter did not want that for his sons. He wanted them to be free … but he knew too well that the world needed protectors of the night. They needed to be ready, whether they were already or would gain the skill through a trial by fire.
He took a minute of silence to appreciate that for the lonely path he had taken, he was able to recreate a small family out of the trials life had thrown at him. Not only for his sons, but for April as well, who gave him a taste of the type of person he would've wanted Miwai to grow up to be. And Peter, who kept his sons focused, taught them of the world, and made sure they kept to their sense of justice, the type of man Splinter wished he could've been at that age.
Even when Splinter's time came, he could rest assured that his sons still had friends and family looking out for them in his place. It wasn't the perfect life, but it was a good life he wouldn't trade for anything in the world.
He heard the door open, turning to see that April's father had walked back in. "Mr O'Neil, what brings you here?" He hadn't heard any noise in a while, assuming it was merely April and him silently praying for Peter and his son's safety.
Instead of the energetic response they usually had, the man stared at him blankly, and spoke with a monotone voice devoid of feeling. "The Foot has taken April O'Neil."
"What!?" He immediately rushed to his feet. "How did this happen!? How did they find out!?"
"The Shredder sends his regards." With the same emotionless tone, the man ran forward with an intent to strike. Sensing something wrong with this picture, Splinter merely stepped to the side and tripped the man with his tail, pressing his foot down on Mr. O'Neil's back.
Looking down, observing every inch of muscle and skin, Splinter noticed a tiny piece of metal in the man's neck, likely the source of this problem to begin with. If he took it out without Donatello's assistance, it could cause injury. "So they've compromised your mind…brainwashed you into giving up your own daughter.." Saki's cruelty truly knew no limits. How many daughters did he separate from their fathers in the years Splinter hid from the world? When would the cycle end!?
….It would end when Splinter put the man into the ground. That was the only way this madness ended, the only way to ensure the safety of his family. "Peter will be furious when he learns of this." Splinter lamented, knocking the man out as he went to grab some chains and a notepad. If nothing else, he will at least explain the situation to his sons if … when they return.
Leo looked over the implosion cannon. "This thing isn't looking too good! I think it's got one or two more shots left before we're on our own!" And it wasn't helping that the giant made of lava reconstructed itself constantly. "Guys, I need a clear shot at the portal!"
"A little-hiahhh-busy trying not to drown in Kraang!" Donnie shouted as he whacked a few of the floating pod Kraang into each other.
"Wouldn't matter anyway!" Peter screamed as he shot a taser web at the big giant to try and draw its attention. "As long as that forcefield is up even the implosion cannon won't work! We need to disable it!" He jumped in the air, avoiding a ball of magma. "Wow, seriously, get some medication for all that vomit, a stomach should not act like that."
"That which is known as the barrier protecting the portal for Kraang shall not be stopped by the ones known as the turtles and the man of spiders." One bot said bluntly, firing off lasers.
"Oh you don't say!?" Raph shouted on frustration as he grabbed the bot by the neck and slammed its head down on the portal, breaking apart as the barrier still held strong. "Donnie, tell me your nerding us out of this!"
"Get me to a computer and I'll figure that-MMMM!" The turtle shouted, struggling under the swarm of Kraang. "I..I could use five minutes-"
"The event which is known to Kraang as the arrival of the technodrome is the event that is to start in the timespan known as shortly." The announcer voice said as the pink beam in the sky was shot into the air.
"We don't have five minutes!" Spidey shouted as he shot shell webbing at Thraags face. "We can't break through the shield… what about the power cell!?" He pointed to the crystal which was off to the side. "What if we blew that up instead?!"
"With the level of power it's giving out, it'll take out the entire building with us in it if we're lucky!"
Leo looked over the continuous flow of Kraang, Thraag, the pink beam … and he recalled Splinter's words. "Spidey, Raph, get everyone out!"
"What!?" Raph shouted. "Dude, we're not going to bail in the middle of trouble city!"
"You're not! I'm just gambling really, really badly right now." Leo answered, pulling out a couple of miniature bombs as he began taping them to the implosion cannon. "I'm only going to get one shot at this, so if this goes wrong, I need you guys to get clear of ground Kraang zero!"
"Wha … Leo no!" Mikey shouted. "Do not raise the heroic sacrifice red flags!"
"We're not living in an comic book Mikey!" Donnie yelled as he whacked more Kraang away. "Soon as you blow it, just run Leo! Don't turn back and just run!"
"That's the plan!" Leo shouted as he swung out some shuriken at a Kraang blaster, blowing it up. Wait for them all to get out, you didn't need a reason to hold yourself up, and you didn't need to endanger them.
"Well I hate to be a lousy guest, but you Kraang party too hard for this spider. Plus you don't even have tiny sausauge and cheese bites. Worst housewarming party ever." Peter quipped as he sent a web line to Donnie and Mikey's backs. "See yah on the flipside, fearless leader!"
"See yah…." On the flip side…hopefully that didn't mean…the other side. He watched as the Kraang stormed in … if there was anytime to say it, it was now. "One lone man against an armada … what captain wouldn't like those odds?" Leo ran forward, doing his best to dodge the laser fire.
This was way more epic than any episode of Space Heroes however. This was real life… and he was at the edge. There would be no time travel to undo his death, no secret way out, or clone ready to take his place win he died….. This could possibly be the end. "Aim better at the one known as Leonardo!" One of the Kraang shouted as lasers continued firing around him, the implosion cannon almost fully charged.
His one regret was that his brother's weren't around to see just how awesome this was. He bet he could even get Raph to like the badassness of whatever cheesy line he gave next. He saw Thraag readying another magma loogie, getting into position, he diced three Kraang bots and stood in front of the power crystal, planting the bomb covered implosion cannon right next to it. "Come on, tall, dark, and ugly, hit me with your best shot!"
"Garrrraaaagggggggggghhhhhhh!" It roared as it raised its foot ever him… right ontop of the power cell.
"Say Goodnight Kraang!" He began flipping his way out.
They looked down at the glowing mess about to ignite. "Aww Kraang."
KABOOOOOOM
The force launched Leo right out of the window. He turned around to try and get a shot with a grappling hook … except the only building worth grappling was collapsing from the top down. Plus side, he wouldn't die in a fiery death. Down side, he was burning and hurting from that last blast, and was falling to his death. So this was it….this was the end…well…..it could've been worst….he was having trouble figuring out HOW it could be, but he was sure it could've been worst.
"I should have started a game a long while ago, catch the turtle!" Multiple webs latched onto his body, slowing descent into nothing as he was stuck in between two buildings. "I mean seriously, I could break the world record and forever hold onto it."
"Thanks for that….I honestly didn't have a landing strategy." He nodded, trying to move more comfortably in the webs as his brothers grappled down.
"Whataya know, the spider caught the dork of the hour." Raphael laughed, slapping him on the back.
"We were like 'waah', and Leo was like 'I got this', and the Kraang were all 'we are that which is morons'. Coolest moment in the books!" Mikey shouted out excitedly. "I knew reading up on all the tropes would've made us ready for this! We rock!"
"The portal's gone… it's finally gone." Donnie said in disbelief. "We… we did it… we finally got rid of the Kraang for good! No more trips and back from dimension X! No more mutagen!"
"We won …" Leo smiled. "The world is safe, and the Kraang have nothing."
"Guys, stop raising the 'It's all over' flag!" Mikey shouted in fear. "Otherwise something super bad will happen!"
"Mikey, for the last time, we're not in one of your comic books!" Raph shouted. "We came, we saw, and we kicked their butts, end of story!"
BEEEEWWWWEEEEEEEEEEPPP
A loud techy-sounding screech blared in the air as the sky grew darker. Looking up… they could all see the looming presence of what looked like a giant…. .giant… MASSIVE looking silver looking eyeball in the sky with a threatening glowing pink eyes shining brightly at the city below. "...I think we just entered the second act." He gulped.
"Guys …" Spidey said with fear. "Spider-sense is blaring …" Multiple objects seemed to shift across the thing … the eye and pillars on the side aiming at them … glowing with energy. "RUN! GET AWAY RIGHT NOW!"
BEEEEWWWWW