THREE NEW CHAPTERS TODAY, DON'T FORGET THE OTHER TWO
"So you haven't heard anything at all?" Gwen asked Peter on the phone. Ever since that weird day at the noodle shop, April just upped and vanished, once again another member of their friend group disappearing. The only difference was that they didn't know whether April disappeared on her own or was kidnapped.
"Nothing, she just went dark after Harmony showed up." After two days of her not showing up to school, she went to her dad and told him everything. He launched a missing person's case for April and labeled 'Harmony' a suspect, trying their best to locate either or. Sadly the mysterious new girl seemed to disappear into the wind just as suddenly as she came.
"Of course." This was just perfect. Of course the moment things were finally starting to get back to a relatively normal atmosphere, something like this happened. On the upside, it made her push the kissing thing between her and Peter into the far backside of her mind. Maybe this was a sign that they weren't ready for that level yet. "I'll let you know if my dad finds anything. Well, you and Irma."
"Yeah, I'd rather notbe called at two in the morning to ask if I found anything about a girl's missing crush." He responded, before yawning.
"Tell me about it….although she's been weirdly quiet about the whole thing." Come to think of it, Irma was rather distant…or at least more distant than she usually was.
"Must be stress from. They were pretty close." He said. "Anyway, I've gotta head out. I'll be sure to talk more at lunch tomorrow."
"Yeah, talk to you later…" Gwen nodded, hanging up after hearing the beat. It was nice that he was at least able to have a normal conversation with him…but ever since thanksgiving, they never had the chance to be in one spot for long periods of time. Maybe … maybe she shouldn't have done anything, just kept it inside? Why did she have to act upon her emotions anyways? Couldn't she have waited until college where they would hopefully be more emotionally mature adults? Why did she have to kiss him!?
…Because after she was dangled from a parade balloon by some evil spider-man clone, one of her main regrets was not making a move. Oh for Pete's sake, she was such a child. It was just a survivor high! Like with Gloria and Kenny back in middle school!
"Why do relationships have to suck?" She groaned, slamming her face into her bed … before her computer dinged, saying she got an E Mail. "Please at least be good news." She read the description….and it was from Harry. Guess he must've been allowed internet privilege at the rehab center. "Please for the love of god be good news." Don't let it be more bad news, she didn't know how much more she could take.
"Hey Gwen, it's me. They allowed me to finally have some internet access … as long as it's monitored, so please don't give out any embarrassing Highschool stories about you or me." She read, with a little chuckle. A little humor was a good sign. "Any about Peter and the rest of the gang is totally up for grabs though. I need as much blackmail material as I can get."
She began typing. "Nothing much else has happened that's 'embarrassing' per say … although I did overhear May describe April as a girl with a 'wonderful personality'."
"Pffft, hah! I think Peter's aunt just likes setting him up with Red head's in general. Maybe that's the real reason why she didn't approve of that ms. brant lady from the bugle."
"Yeah…that's totally the reason…." She muttered to herself. Wait, was that way things went wrong with Peter? Did he just like Redheads more than blondes? Wait, but he tried to hit on Sally at the beginning of the year-aggh! She was going into a pointless tangent. "In more depressing news….April's gone missing. There was this girl named Harmony at Murakami's shop who seemed Irma levels of obsessed with her. Nobody's seen either of them for over a week by this point."
"...Wow…..that's depressing. My problems are pretty small in comparison." He shouldn't downplay himself like that, that's what led to the issue to begin with. "Don't worry, I'm sure Spider-Man can help her just like he helped … my dad."
"We seem to have a habit of being saved by the web head….him and those turtles that never get mentioned." Gwen thought it over. "Weird Peter never get's pictures of them."
"My dad never said anything in the interview, I think Spidey wants them out of the picture … can't quite tell if that's glorryhounding or not."
"When the pictures go to the daily bugle?" Gwen smirked. "That's literally feeding the hate train Jameson likes to write."
"True, although dad says any press is good press as long as all eyes are on you."
She paused, figuring out how to word it. "Are you … talking with him?" She asked.
"Every day he comes by to check my progress. It's … nice." He nodded. "Sure mom visits too, but old Stormin Norman's never been the paternal type before. Giving me this much attention…it's weird in a good way."
She smiled as she typed some more. "Most things are."
"Thanks for the update … It's nice to hear from you guys. One of the few things keeping me down on the ground. The food's terrible but they said it helps my system readjust without the green." She was about to write up another joke, until a second email popped up. "Medication time. Gotta bounce. Talk more tomorrow?"
"Of course. I'll always be here." It wasn't like she could go anywhere else, especially with her dad practically keeping her under a microscope. Sure it wasn't completely unjustified given what happened to April, but come on.
"Test number two hundred and sixteen." Peter muttered, looking under the microscope. "Mutant DNA comes in contact … cells begin to revert …" Looking successful. "… And processed to become so reverted that they aren't able to function." He groaned, banging his tired head against the desk. "Come on, I've been a chemistry wiz before middle school, how the frick am I only feeling dumb now?"
"To be fair, it is alien science from another dimension." Donnie said as he spoke from the other side of the lab.
"I know, I know, but the base structure should be simple enough to understand. But when I looked at the molecules of Mutagen they functioned as a liquid despite the gelatinous state." It wasn't even functioning right on an atomic level! "I'm sorry Tim." He said to the jar on the wall. "We're not going to be able to cure you today… or tomorrow… or next month".
The goop just stared at him blankly, blinking as the guy's liver floated aimlessly in the goop that was his body. "I can't imagine how much pain he must be feeling now." Donnie sighed. "Every nerve, every fiber of skin and vein melted down."
"And if the nerves are gone, then he can't feel anything ever again." Peter lamented. "No hugs or warmth … and that's excluding the acid." He had to fix this. "Alright, time for experiment two hundred and seventeen." He wasn't allowed to feel sorry, he had to improve and save them from his mistake. "You still got the DNA scans from the mutant wasp corpses?"
"Well what was left of them …" He replied, sending the data over. "I don't know what the heck Mikey and April did to them, but for a moment I actually felt sorry for our psychopathic brain invaders."
"As a victim of multiple mind controlling parasites, I'm honestly surprised they didn't smash them any harder." Peter muttered, looking it over. "The dna reads like a normal wasps, but with several added chromosomes to each strand, like it's a hexagonal tower constantly building up one after another."
"You think it was building to something specific?" Donnie asked.
"Well if the theory we had yesterday held any weight, we could be looking at the very core codex to an organic mind controlling serum." He thought aloud. "A way for the Kraang to control someone … luckily the stuff is still only mildly trackable, so even with their advanced tech they'd only be able to implant simple suggestions."
"If their goal is to eventually mutate the earth…then what does that mean for normal people." Donnie questioned. "What would they mutate into?"
Peter was about to offer his guess, until the rest of the guys walked into the lab. "Hey guys." He waved. "We heading out on patrol tonight?"
"... Dude." Mikey said. "It's four in the morning."
"It is?" Peter asked, looking at the clock. "Could've sworn it was nine p.m."
"You were so caught up in your nerd work you completely ignored us." Raph rolled his eyes. "We just got back from patrol. Nothing major other than one or two Kraang stragglers."
"Shoot." Peter groaned, rubbing his head. "Really need to manage time better." Yes he desperately needed to cure Tim, but he also needed to be at home with Aunt May, swing around and help people during daylight, work on school, get pictures for the Bugle to pay the bills for both sides of his life, figure out how in the WORLD to deal with the super strong ethical dilemma of how to deal with the Shredder, focus on Gwen and that kiss.
"Yeah, you need to get to bed, or at least go home." April came in with her arms crossed. "Have you even talked to Gwen at all since the Karai incident."
"Yeah, we had a conversation thursday about how she was worried about you and was constantly checking in with her dad about your case and finding 'Harmony'." He air quoted.
"And how many times have you seen her in person since then?"
"I just told you I talked to her yesterday."
"Today is Sunday." Mikey put in.
"... Who need's calendars?" He chuckled weakly.
"Peter." Leo said sternly. "You and Donnie can't keep ignoring sleep trying to cure Timothy."
"Oh no, we actually decided to divide and conquer." Peter replied, shaking his head. "I'm trying to find a formula that can cure Tim, and Donnie's trying to hack the Kraang data and find April's dad." So they could hopefully get at least one mistake fixed before they turned gray.
"Twenty seven Kraang bases and none of them detain any humans or prisoners." The turtle muttered in contempt. "I'm almost a tenth of the way through the list."
"This, this right here is why you got your butt whooped by zombie wasp Leo and had to get saved by Mikey." Raph pointed out. "Not saying I don't enjoy laughing at your expense, but we need the spider side of you more than the nerd side."
He groaned, standing up. "Fine, fine." He pulled out his phone. "I'll set my alarm for an hour. That way I can brush up and be home in time to 'wake up' so Aunt May doesn't get suspicious and think I'm either on drugs or doing things I'm not allowed to say around Mikey."
"Come on, I'm not a kid! I can take it!" The little turtle yelled indignantly.
"Really? So you know where babies come from?" Raph said.
"…I would if Master Splinter told me." Mikey grumbled.
"So yeah, one hour of sleep should fit super powered Spidey." Well, for the most part.
"That goes for you too Donnie." Leo ordered. "You can't use that brain of yours if it's fried like chicken."
"Fine, fine." The turtle yawned. "Let me just-"
Ping
They all turned to the computer. "... Is that a screensaver noise or 'we're gonna have to send sleep deprived people into battle' noise?" Leo asked.
"It's a keyword notification." Donnie said, moving back to the computer, his eyes widening. "Detention Center … DETENTION CENTER!" He shouted with happiness
"Isn't that the one place in school Peter goes to when he's late for class?" Mikey asked.
"Me and Ms Latera play crosswords." The boy nodded.
"It's also another word for prison!" Donnie shouted. "As in holding up important people and captives!"
"Wait … Donnie." April said. "Did …"
"I found our first lead on your dad!" He shouted. "Come on, we have to get going-"
"Leave me out of your attempts to woo April." Raph rolled his eyes.
"First off, rude, second, that wasn't what I was doing; and third, jerk." Donnie listed. "This is serious."
Peter reached for his web shooters, already equipping them. "We go in during the day when no Kraang expects the turtles to break in, grab Kirby, get out."
"Yeah, and your both still sleep deprived." Leo crossed his arms. "Like you said, this is just the first lead, and your acting like it's a guarantee."
"If there's a one percent chance that April's father is there, then we have to devote everything we have to saving him!" Donnie justified.
"You know, said girl is right here!" April shouted. "And…And I agree with Leo."
"….What?" Both he and Donnie said at the same time.
"Guys, you've been at this for months, not just looking for my dad, but fighting mutants, aliens, ninjas, supervillains, and now your running yourselves ragged just to help me." April sighed while shaking her head. "I don't want to be the reason that you end up passing out in the ground dead in the middle of what could be a trap."
"April, if anyone's going to be responsible for what happens to me, it's me, not you." Peter said.
"There, right there, you're only proving my point!" April groaned in frustration. "This isn't you taking responsibility, this is you throwing yourself out there because you don't know how to take care of yourself!"
"I can take care of myself." He argued.
"You put your webshooters on backwards." Mikey pointed out. "Dude, at least get some sleep. We can figure it out later tonight."
"If we wait any longer, we risk the chance of them moving." Donnie argued.
"If me and the fearless leader keep watch of the place, will you two shut it?" Raph asked.
"We..I.." Donnie tried to argue, only to yawn. "April-" He tried to say.
"If you fall asleep right now I'll hug you."
And like that, the turtle was out like a light, falling to the ground. "…Wow, that was…too easy." Raph rolled his eyes again. "Anyways, we're taking your nerd stuff." He grabbed the computers they were using. "Now sleep before knock you unconcious."
"I …" He sighed. "Fine …" Peter would just … have to hope New York could handle it for a while.
"Good. We're locking you guys in here." Leo said. "And we know you can break out of here, so stay or April will tell Aunt may your doing drugs."
"…That's a really low blow." Peter grumbled.
"Good, then good night, and don't let any more bugs bite." April responded with a bit too sweet of a smile before slamming the door shut, as it locked behind them. Alright, go to sleep, he could-
"Oh good, I thought they'd never leave." Donnie immediately rose from the ground.
"... Dude, you were snoring and had a relaxed body and everything." He said with shock.
"We're Ninja. Faking death and unconsiousness was one of the first things Splinter taught us." Donnie grabbed his bo. "I have a secret exit I installed for occasions just like this."
"….That April impression plan chart really comes in handy, doesn't it?" He asked.
"Like you wouldn't believe." He said, before turning back to Peter. "Soo … you in or … is that threat super bad?"
"Bad as you wouldn't believe." She would bring about an unholy hand of god. "But look, April's dad really needs to be rescued, and she's one of the few people in the Peter side of my life who I can actually be myself around. I'm going to help out anyway I can." Peter looked to Donnie. "Lead the way shellhead."
"Great… side note, mind being my wingman too?" The nerdy turtle pleaded. "First impressions and all… you know, ones that aren't filled with adrenaline and anxiety."
"You've seen my love life and you think I would make a great wingman?" He asked skeptically.
"Leo's into Karai, so he arguably would do worse than you. Raph would do the opposite and laugh and ruin my image. And Mikey's … Mikey." True. "You at least have a track record of getting girls to fall for the nerdy charm I try to have."
"Alrighty then, dating tips from Spider-Man number one, clean off the dust when you crawl out of the vent. You want to look new and sparkling." Peter quipped as he put on the mask. They'd be fine.
Donnie looked over the coordinates. "This is the place …" He gazed down at the location. "But … It's a car repair shop."
"Hiding in plain sight?" Peter suggested. "They already did it with TCRI."
"Fair enough." He nodded. "Looks easy enough to enter … how many guards do you think there are?"
"I wanna say five, maybe six." Spidey said. "From what I could see from the windows anyway."
"Alright." Donnie looked at the place. "You go in and drop a smoke bomb, we rush the Kraang droids, then scope out the place for Kirby."
"Sounds like a plan." The vigilante cracked his knuckles. "Been a while since I pulled out Kraang banter, hope it's as funny sleep deprived as it is awake." It never was.
Before they jumped down, a familiar tune of itsy bitsy spider began blaring out. "Been a while since that happened." Donnie noted.
"Just gonna chalk it up to luck." Peter said. "You know, the rare kind." He answered. "Aunt May, I-"
"PETER BENJAMIN PARKER!" His angel's voice cried out from the phone. "If you and Donnie don't stop this suicide mission and come back here right now, I swear I-" Spidey instantly hung up.
"…I didn't know your middle name was Benjamin." Donnie noted, trying to divert from the horrible situation they had landed themselves in.
"Uncle Ben has had an influence on me since the day I was born." Spidey chuckled brokenly. "She is so going to kill me."
"Who? April or May when she follows through on that threat." Donnie asked.
"Oh it'll be one of them." With that ominous note, they shot out a web, slinging into the shop. "One delivery of posterior kicking for those who call themselves Kraang!"
"The posterior that belongs to that of Kraang shall not be kicked by the one known as the man of spiders-" The Kraang guard was tackled into the ground and immediately sent into pieces.
"You're right. The postier that belongs to the one known as Kraang shall be kicked by the man of spiders and the turtle known as Donetello!" He jumped in, spearing one in the chest."... Shoot, I'm so sleep deprived you got me doing it."
"Soon the entire team will be capable of quipping with the best!" Peter shouted, shooting out two web lines and slamming the bots into one another. "So if you guys need to terraform the earth, how are you breathing oxygen?"
"The Kraang shall not inform the one known as the man of spider's superior breathing techniques to what is known as your planet's lackluster atmosphere."
"And here I am being nice enough to talk to you. You know how many people are willing to keep conversations going with the lingually challenged?" Spidey asked as he kicked the last bot. "Very few."
Donnie looked around … seeing nothing. "No Kraang tech …"
"Maybe …" Spidey looked around. "Or maybe they're hiding the inside as well as the outside …"
"Inside of what?" Donnie questioned as he looked around. "It looks like a normal garage." He saw a lever, and left with very few Options, decided to pull it.
Clank
… Which lifted a car and showed off a metallic lift."Of course…a secret base." Peter observed as they saw the entrance. "What better way to kidnap people than by taking their car's for 'repair'?"
"Alright then. We head down there, sneak past the Kraang." He commented as he knocked out a brain crawling around. "Then we grab Kirby and get out."
"Yep … go time." With a press of a button, the two began to descend. What they found below was a rocky looking but still pretty advanced hall of heavily secured doors. "Definitely getting dejavu to the prison they had the first night we teamed up."
"Yeah, except …" Donnie looked at the walls with curiosity. "It might be the sleep deprivation … but the guys may have had a point."
"Come on, you were the one pointing out the secret entr-"
"Yeah no I get that. But the walls here … non metallic halls? Minimum cameras? " He asked. "Doesn't it seem like a rush job?"
"What, you think the Kraang didn't put much effort into this one?" Peter wondered. "Well they were scrapping for resources before they had the portal again, maybe this was something they made trying to spare some parts."
"Maybe …" Still, it seemed off for-
Peter grabbed his back, pulling him away from the corner. "Shh, one Kraang bot." He muttered. "Donnie, I'll stick to the ceiling, you pull a diversion."
"Right…. oh man, don't tell I'm the Mikey here." He grumbled.
"You guys really like conforming to designated roles." Peter rolled his eyes.
"I like being behind a computer. Comfort zone." He retorted, putting his T Phone on ring … and setting it off. He heard the droid come closer … closer … then turned the corner, aiming its gun at him.
"That which is known as the turtle has been found by Kraang in place of Kraang."
"Yes I have." Donnie replied, raising his hands. "Oh whatever will I do?"
"The one known as the turtle shall surrender in the place of Kraang for Kraang…" The droid aimed the blaster at him, only for a web to grab it by the head, and for Peter to jump down, tying it to the ceiling.
"One thing you talkative little buggers are good for is practice with stealth attacks." Peter smirked, dusting his hands. "Looks like a locked door …"
Donnie looked at the small pad, then at the Kraang droid. "You thinking it's a facial scanner or a hand scanner?"
"Let's rip off both, just to be sure." Spidey cracked his knuckles.
"... Ah Kraang." Brain and brawn team for the win.
Kirby stared at the rocky ceiling, watching it with mild fascination. It was a nice change of pace from … you know, eternal metal chambers that he's seen one after the other ever since he was captured by the Kraang.
He's been coping … enough. The fact he was still here alone ment that April was safe, which was all he needed. Hopefully Pigeon Pete was able to give out that message to those turtles who helped save her. He couldn't bear the idea of his daughter still out in the city, helpless to all the dangerous aliens and mutants the Kraang would no doubt send after her.
He barely understood why they wanted either of them to begin with. His scientific background wasn't genetics or physics, so they didn't need him for the mutagen. They didn't even treat him like the other scientists they captured. Kirby was just … there, locked away, constantly questioned on the daily about his family and their whereabouts.
The first change was last week, where he was brought to a room he … didn't quite remember, before finding himself here. As usual, they never answered his questioned, but then he could hardly call them hypocrites when he wasn't complying. Kirby wasn't going to lie, he was getting really close to losing it. Just the idea of seeing the sun again was starting to sound more like a fantasy than a hope.
He heard footsteps, wondering if the Kraang were planning his normal meal of 'minimum nutrients'. "Nothing in here … here … you know Donnie maybe you had a point." A strangely familiar voice said. "This might have been a rush job, I'm not seeing any prisoners in these cells."
"Do they think April's dad is a low priority? That can't be right, they consider her too important." Another voice questioned.
"April?" He asked. "Do you know April!?" Kirby shouted to the door, running up to the glass.
"He's here!" The turtle man from the night it all happened showed up. "Mr O'Neil! We found you. I'm Donatello, I'm a friend of your daughter."
"Tell me she's safe, please tell me she hasn't been captured!" Don't let everything be for naught!
"No, she's in a place no one's been able to find or track down for months." Spider-man came up from behind Doneatello. "She can tell you all about it at the reunion party. We're breaking you out right now."
"Thank you …" He began crying as the turtle began messing with the wiring. "Thank you for everything …"
"Not a problem, just the work of your normal average friendly neighborhood heroes." Spider-man waved off.
"Almost … done." Donnatello flicked a wire as his cell door opened … along with every cell door in the hall. "Ah … I must have hit the all release … by mistake."
Beep Beep Beep
"I mean, it can't be too bad. All the cells that we've seen were empty." Spider-man scratched his head. "Why would they even build so many cell doors and not fill them?"
"This is just speculation on my part…but I think they were all fed to one prisoner specifically." Kirby admitted, recalling nights where he heard sounds of munching and vicious chewing.
"... I'm sorry, did you say fed?" Spider-Man asked with apprehension.
"Yeah, sometimes I would hear the Kraang freak out over one of the prisoners, saying it was the most dangerous one they had in possession."
"... Well that's a sign for us to run." The turtle grabbed his arm as they began moving through the halls. "The only things the Kraang are afraid of were Leatherhead and the symbiote. I don't want to imagine something on that level on our tails."
"Especially when we're not functioning on full power." Spider-Man said as they weaved through the building. "Come on, we came from this way, then this way, than thiiisssss…" He trailed off as they came face to face with a … salamander?
Black and orange, tall, covered from head to toe in all kinds of gear, and it was devouring a Kraang brain. "Kraaagggaaaaaaaaa." It growled as it slurped done the alien, looking right at them with wide and neutral eyes, like it was examining them.
"I take it you don't want to be friendly, right?" Spider-Man asked. "Because we'd totally be down with being friends."
"KRakagraha." It responded, aiming their arm blaster at them.
"... Did ANYONE understand that?" The Spider-man asked. "On another note, DUCK!"
"KRagghggaha!" The creature began firing rapidly at them.
"I think it's reptile for 'you're fried meat'!" Donatello shouted.
"Actually, going by the eyes and face, it's something much more salamandry, like a newt or something!" Spider-man exclaimed as they ran down the hall, only for a disk to be thrown at a wall nearby, and blowing up, sending the three of them backwards.
"Newtralizer is more like it." Donnatello groaned.
"...If April wasn't going to kill you for ignoring sleep and going off alone, Mikey's gonna kill you for naming him." Spider-Man replied. "I'll draw his fire. Get Kirby to the lift, meet you in five minutes."
"You know that's only going to make April kill you even more, right?" Donnatello countered.
"That's if the Newtralizer doesn't kill me first." Spider-man sighed, flipping into the air. "Hey Newty! Krapakkaragan! That mean anything to you?"
The monster's eyes widened, and starting growling even more ferally, launching several bombs into the air that targeted the vigilante specifically even as he dodged. "KRRAAGHAGHAGAHAAAA!"
"I'm on a lucky street for getting people to kill me apparently!"
"... So you've been keeping April safe?" Kirby had so many doubts.
"We've kept her away from fighting anything." The turtle chuckled. "...Not that she hasn't tried to get into trouble.
"That certainly sounds like her… she's so stubborn." Just like her mom.
"Hey, it's not a bad quality per say, I mean, it's almost cu-"
KABOOOM
"Donnie, more fleeing, less talking!"
"Oh come on!" Mikey shouted. "We didn't even touch anything and the alarm's already going off!" So unfair, at least let him make a mistake before suffering the horrific consequences.
"Unless the sleep deprived morons set it off." Raph said. "Think they're surrounded?"
"Or already in a jail cell and thinking the rest of us are somewhere else." Leo thought. "I'm used to Spidey being stubborn about this stuff by now, but Donnie? His crush on April's going to be the death of him."
"She really just needs to say she's not into him." Raph shook his head. "… Unless she fits into that same weird category with Karai and Black Cat." He shivered.
"The thing between me and Karai isn't weird! Besides, there is no thing anymore… and there never was!" Leo shouted, shaking his head.
Mikey ran down the hall, finding a locked door, and a broken Kraang bot on the floor. "Ahh … I think I know how they got in …" He ripped off the arm and threw it at the door, watching it bounce off. "… No, that's not it."
"All hail Doctor Mikey and his genius." Raph cackled.
"Oh like you can do any better." Mikey grumbled.
"Sure I can, watch." He went up to the panel, and stabbed it. After a few seconds of sparks, the door opened. "See, better."
The bleeping now had red lights going off. "And now the Kraang know where we are." Leo deadpanned, before running through the door. "The point of a ninja is to be subtle, you know that right?"
"The alarms were already going off. It's not like we were going to be less subtle than that."
They walked into a room with a bunch of tv screens, and a wicked looking orb in the center of the room that glowed with purple dots. "Wow, so many channels." Mikey ooohed at the sight. "You think they get decent cable in space?"
"I really doubt it." Raph said. "They'd probably find Space Heroes offensive."
"Hey, it's a good show and-" Leo was cut off as some familiar old guy ran in on one of the screens with Donnie. "Hey, there's Donnie….and I think that's Mr. O'neil right behind him!"
"Huh, the nerds were right." Raph shrugged. "Wait, where's the web head?"
Mikey looked around. "Oh, he's fighting some cool lizard guy!" He pointed to another screen. "I'm gonna call him … the Explotile!"
"How many giant lizards are going we going to fight?" Leo asked. "We're three for three now."
"We're giant turtles." Raph deadpanned. "We invite reptiles just like Spidey invites bugs." Mikey wouldn't mind battling a cool beetle guy … just no more wasps … ever.
KAAABOOOOOOM
The door's of the room exploded open as Donnie and April's dad burst in. "I think the Kraang are panicking over the Newtralizer more than us." The old man said. "I've never seen them fire off so rapidly and randomly before."
"It happens." Leo said, before hitting Donnie in the head. "Did you seriously disobey an order!?"
"What, wouldn't be the first time." The brainy turtle argued.
"Wait … Newtralizer?" Mikey asked. "Gaah, did Spidey already name him!?"
"Actually it was Donetello that came up with the name." April's dad explained.
He turned to his brother with betrayal. "Come on! Bad enough Spidey's stepping on my name game with his terrible baddie titles, but you too Donnie! I thought you were my bro!"
"Don't know, it's better than Explotile." Raph nodded.
"Backstabing everywhere!"
KABBOOOM
The door was slammed open as a smokey Spidey was launched through it. "Gaah … wanna take a betting pool on what I said to offend him?"
"KRAAKANAAAA!"
"I just assumed everything you say is offensive to the ears of every living being." Raph snorted. "So want us to save your butt to be killed by April, or would you rather have us leave you here to end the pain early?"
"Well, since you've asked so nicely-"
KABOOOOM
More missiles were launched into the room, making sparks and smoke blast everywhere. "How about we focus on getting out of the narrow spaced and collapsible underground lair!?" Leo shouted as the walls began to crack. "Everyone, move it!"
"Can I grab the tvs first!?" Mikey asked.
"MIKEY!"
"Fine, pardon me for wanting to be prepared for the next time the Tv gets smashed in the lair!" He yelled as they started running.
They dodged the lasers as the Newtralizer (terrible name) chased them, firing off blast after blast. "KRAAKAA!"
"You know, I'm starting to think he might not be a mutant." Spidey said. "If he was a newt he'd just be making clicks. You think he's something from Dimension X?"
"That or another alien altogether like the symbiote." Donnie nodded. "What was it that the Kraang called it? A klyntar?"
"Wait, if this thing is an alien …" Raph said, before growling. "Do we have three hostile and evil alien species on earth!?"
"Space heroes have not been done justice by the cosmos." Leo muttered, dodging a missile. "We can think about the implications later, we need to make sure Newt boy here doesn't get back to the surface!"
"I've got it covered." Spidey said, turning around. "Just make sure the lift is ready to launch the moment you see me!" He shouted before rushing in and launching himself into the alien's chest. "First English lesson, this is called a 'butt kicking'."
"Krakagakaka!"
I see you're a visual learner, so let's put it into practice!" They jumped, hoping on the Newt's head, only for the alien to slam Peter into a nearby wall. "I…was hoping you'd volunteer to be the dummy."
"I'll jump in." Raph groaned. "This is exactly what I was talking about when you don't get your beauty rest Spidey! You're already ugly enough as it is!" They kicked the newt in the head as their back was turned.
"At least..I don't have…moss growing on my back." Peter wekaley replied as they webbed the Newts mouth shut, punching it in the chest. "Okay, maybe a nap after this is said and done is in order." Finally, that plot was over.
They ran over to the lift, making their way onto it. "Lever's ready, hurry up!" Donnie shouted.
"Raph, I know you hate me right now, but you're gonna hate me even more in just a second!" Spidey shouted as he launched a bunch of webs at the Newtralizer, sticking it to a wall, before he shot two lines on the wall and pulled himself back like a slingshot.
"Spidey, you should know that there's no level of hate that you haven't reached with me!" Raph yelled as Peter rammed into him, sending them both back. "But your always manage to surpass those barriers!"
Donnie flipped the switch as they started going up, hearing the shouts of the Newtralizer get more and more distant. "Alright … that's … over."
"... Is it alright to leave that guy with the Kraang?" Mikey asked.
"Give me a second." Peter picked up one of the nearby cars and placed it on top of the platform. "And to answer your question, the Newtrailizer doesn't look like he's one to discriminate friendlies and enemies. Least down there he and the Kraang can duke it out without casualties."
"He's right Mikey. Besides, he was armed with a lot of explosives and sharp objects, he should be good to go." Leo said. "Now come on, let's get Mr O'Neil back to the lair."
"Thank you all …" They watched the man cry. "I could never …"
"You don't need to." Peter patted the dude's head. "It was our responsibility to save you in the first place. Just sorry it took so long … buuut we may have to work on either hiding you underground while brain aliens and evil ninjas chase you down."
"… Ninjas?"
"It's a long and awesome story dude." Mikey reassured. And another member of their crazy awesome friend group.
"We're back and-" She cut off Peter by throttling his neck.
"Are you out of your spider brained mind!?" She gripped as hard as she could, even though she knew this wasn't budging a single inch. "How many times do I need to tell you to take a break!? Do you want me to tell Aunt May you got hit by another bus!?"
"…Well to be fair that would be better than telling her I'm on drugs." He chuckled.
"This is not a joke!" She shouted. "And do not think you're off the hook either Donnie, I already told Splinter everything!"
"..,Okay that's bad but.."
"No buts!" She stopped him from going on. "You guys are my friends, the only friends I have that I can be myself around, and it sucks for me to stay on the bench in the background while you're sacrificing your health for my sake! Do you have any idea how much I hate that!?"
"April!" She was hugged by familiar arms she almost didn't recognize.. "You're safe! You're really safe!"
"... Dad?" She asked, finally looking to see the man she hadn't seen in such a long time. It was the same face, the same balding head, the same tired looking eyes. "Is…is that really you?"
"Yes, it's me.." The man she thought she would never see again trembled with his arms shaking. "I..I can barely believe it myself. I spent so many nights confused on what was real and what was just a delusion. I'm afraid I'll wake up to something horrible if I let go."
She hugged him back. "It's real … I swear it's real, dad …" He was back … they really got him back.
"Guys, this is so emotional." Mikey said from the corner with weepy eyes. "Bro hug!" The young turtle grabbed the guys.
"Just so you know, next time you do this I'm hitting you in the face." Raph stated bluntly.
"I don't get it… you guys really…" April spoke up weakly..
"All Donnie and Peter." Leo nodded.
"Well, if we're being specific, it was mostly Donnie." Spidey pushed the brainy turtle forward. "He got the location down, made the plans, distracted enemies, hacked the doors. All I did was punch a giant newt."
"I mean, you did punch that newt pretty hard." Mikey nodded.
"Point being, it was mostly Donnie, ain't that right Shell head?" Peter nudged said turtle.
"I um … yeah." He said, rubbing his head nervously. "I wanted to make sure they didn't move him so … fast and furious."
She could barely get a proper hold on her emotions at the moment with so many swarming her head. Time and time again these guys risk life and limb to save New York and the rest of the world, and yet they still had time to go out of their way just to make her happy. "Donnie.." She ran up to the turtle and hugged him. "Thank you." And knowing what the turtle wanted, she smirked and placed a small peck on Donnie's cheek. Her feelings for the turtle may have been complicated, but she wouldn't deny the immense gratitude that she had.
"... I may be horribly brutalized by Splinter later … but it was worth it." Donnie said, before falling to the ground. "I love being a turtle."
"Wow, that is somehow the most unbelievable thing I've seen this week." Raph kicked the dazed Donnie, who was still lost in ecstasy.
"Our life's just gonna keep topping itself." Peter chuckled. "Now if you don't mind, I'm gonna take my-" His phone began ringing. "Nap …" The boy answered. "Hey Aunt May … yeah I just … slept in the library by accident, I have a school project coming up." He lied. "Yeah, that's the one … yeah, it's next to the store … oh, meet you there to pick up groceries?" Peter sweated. "You don't need…alright, see you in ten minutes." He hung up. "So…you're not going to tell May that drug story thing are you?"
"Hmmmm.." She jokingly thought about it for a second. "I won't…but I also won't give May an excuse if you're late to meet her up."
"That's fair." He nodded. "Guess that's my cue to go-" He was about to swing off, but April caught him by the arm.
"Seriously Peter, thank you." April smiled.
"No problem, just my friendly neighborhood duty." He grinned, putting on the mask. "I love being an arachnid!" Peter shouted as he swung out. "Dang it, doesn't have the same feel!"
"Yeah, stick to your own catchphrases, you know, if you can find one." Mikey called out. "Today's been a pretty good day overall, huh?"
"Yeah … it has." She hugged her dad again. For once … it felt like things were actually looking up.
Norman Osborn listened as the Shredder finished his tale. "When the time is right the agent will be sprung, the Kraang will have their April O'Neil, and I'll have my vengeance against Hamato Yoshi."
"Mind control … gonna have to look further into that. Hypnosis is effective, but not quite that drastic as to truly make someone act against their own will."
"Had it not worked on your son?"
"Oh no, that has gone over tremendously, but that's only due to his weak mental fortitude." He cared for his son, but there were several traits of his he'd rather get rid of. "I can repress the insecurities and memories of addiction, but the real hard part will be entirely on him. If he falls again, I'll have to resort to plan b."
"It would be for the best. Karai's fire of vengeance is only lit from the feeling of loss. Otherwise she tends to be quite playful with her prey."
"There is nothing wrong with getting into the heads of your enemies, just as long as they follow through." It admittedly took a while for Norman to accept the Greene's affect on his personality, mainly the theatrics and quips. It was merely a way to distract the enemy, lead them to believe they were messing with a clown instead of a mastermind. "I'll continue to be out of the city. While I would love to get Oscorp hands on the inevitable debris of whatever fallout happens, the risk on my own life would be too great." Let the turtles and spider man play the hero, Norman would pick up the pieces that were left behind. "However, once the Kraang debacle sorts itself out, I believe we'll be able to take a more subtle approach in knocking out Tombstone from his coveted throne. I have a scientist that can very well replace Stockman and Octavious."
"And their loyalty?"
"Pure scientific curiosity. As long as we keep giving them toys to play with, they'll stay in our lane." Miles Warren was an ace he was saving for a rainy day. "So you finally know the location of the turtles." He noted. "Do you plan on going there personally for your vengeance?"
"Do you?" The Shredder asked.
"What vengeance?" Norman asked. "None of my plans were ruined. And now I can help my son become a man without any interference." No more pesky outside influence, no more cuddling from his wife. Harry was well on his way to being a true Osborn… only then would he be worthy to take in the true power of the Greene.