(Operation: Break Out)
Gamelover41592: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it.
Spectacular Webhead 11: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. To say that version of Swarm is not well liked would be a gross understatement. Robbie Daymond isn't bad as Spider-Man, and neither is Drake Bell, but yeah, Josh Keaton is definitely up there, I can't deny that.
Superjoeyf721: The other mentioned villains being lame was the intention of the joke. But who knows, if they can make the Spot a worthy villain like in Spider Verse, anything is possible with guys like these, especially given how Spider-Man's rogues gallery is as large as it is.
Vfc15650: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Spider-Man might be the main focus of the story, but he can't be at the forefront all the time, so I had him pushed off to the side in this one. As far as the TMNT rogues gallery goes, that's actually a good question. But keep in mind that Marvel has much bigger rogue's galleries, so it's a lot of opportunities to exploit.
C.S. Allen: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Swarm was a decent challenge for me to write about, but it seems it was well received. To be fair, Shredder is seen going out in public in his armor in the canon series, so I don't think it's a stretch. As far as including Toxin goes, I still haven't decided yet. I don't think it's been established if Sandman has a daughter in Spectacular, so I haven't decided on that either.
TheIrishman1999: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it.
5FingerDeathFist: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. That's flattering, but I wouldn't be able to come up with any art for that sort of thing. But I do my best to honor the legacy of Stan Lee as much as I can.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): Harry Osborn is supposed to be pretty complex. I've seen so many fics that just write him off as being as bad as his father with no chance of redemption, but I thought that was too easy. His arc is going to take some time in this story. Raph having his head lodged up his shell is from the canon series, if shown a bit more since other characters argue with him more here, but he's not bad per se. But yeah, Harry's gonna have a long arc going here, and it's going to be a rough one, for better or for worse.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): That's an interesting idea. I can't make any promises, but I'll at least keep it in mind.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): Believe me, I've heard plenty about how enthusiastic you guys are about Karai's redemption arc. I'm going to do my best to do right by her, but I won't spoil anything.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): I've never actually heard of The Thousand before you told me, but I'll take your word for it.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): You're not wrong, Daredevil vs Tatsu would be one hell of an interesting fight to see.
Zzz3: Liz and Harry being a thing in the comics is a big reason why I chose to have them connect with each other here, along with wanting to give them significant roles in the story going forward. I also learned about the concept of Liz being Firestar awhile back, and I found it to be pretty interesting. We'll see how things pan out.
ZukahanMultiColor: Truth be told I had never actually heard of the Galactic Alliance of Spider-Men before you mentioned it to me, but at the very least I can make a few mentions and nods to it when the time comes.
C.S. Allen: On the one hand, the thought of Daredevil helping the group to get new suits and/or armor similar to his has crossed my mind a few times. On the other hand, considering this takes place after the events of the Daredevil series (an AU version without the Defenders), that means that Melvin Potter would've been arrested, and Daredevil likely wouldn't consider him to be an ally anymore. But then again, given that a few years have passed since those events in my story, I wouldn't say it's impossible, so I guess we'll see.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): That's pretty interesting.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): You pretty much said it best, no promises.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): That would be a pretty interesting concept, but Shredder doesn't have the technological expertise to pull off something like that.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): Thank you.
TheIrishman1999 (continued): I can't guarantee anything about the 2003 TMNT series, but I can say that the idea of including elements from the PS4 game has definitely crossed my mind a few times up to this point. You've got a lot of other interesting ideas too, but I'm not going to confirm or promise anything.
TheIrishman1999 (continued): Thanks, and keep up with reading my updates.
Godzillaboy2021: Oh believe me, both of those thoughts have crossed my mind on more than one occasion. But we'll see how it plays out in due time.
Althea Sirius: Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it. Truth be told, Swarm was the hardest villain for me to write about so far, but it seems like I did it well enough.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): I didn't really give any thought to having the Juggernaut show up in this story, but I wouldn't be against it either.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): Personally I wasn't very fond of that version of the Juggernaut, so if anything, it's going to be more like how he was in Deadpool 2. But yeah, "Two Russian rhinos walked into a bar" is a good joke.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): I'm not so sure about that, given how Shredder isn't really the scientific type in this version.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): Thanks, I'm glad to see you liked it so much. You're not wrong, that would be a pretty cold idea for a story.
5FingerDeathFist (continued): It's fine, I get it, and that would be a cool idea for a story if I ever decide to do it. But I've got enough on my plate as it is at the moment.
Tortugafash2002: I did add some nods to Sandman's adventures, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a whole episode dedicated to Sandman's heroics. Spider-Man getting a new suit made of the same stuff as Daredevil's is an idea that's crossed my mind more than a few times, but I had figured that if I was going to do that, I would save it for the right time. I have considered Raph donning his Nightwatcher identity, the same with Mikey as Turtle Titan, but I actually never heard of Leo as the Ghost of the Jungle. As for the clones, we'll have to wait and see.
Pikachu345: I knew that Swarm was going to surprise a fair number of people, but I thought it would make things less predictable. I wouldn't say no to having a nod to Captain America meeting a Nazi. It is kind of funny that Spider-Man got pushed to the side. I woudln't hold my hopes too high for anything involving clones.
Colacheunion: I'm gonna go ahead and tell you now, I'm sticking with the main four turtles in this story, and that's it.
Replies to Colacheunion: Sorry guys, but there aren't any going to be any other Turtles in this story. It's the main four and that's it.
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Another day came, and with it work on certain… personal endeavors.
"So let me see if I've got this." Gwen looked up and down the Spider X Suit, then glanced over at Peter "You've been building this suit based on tech that you and the guys have stolen from the Kraang?"
"I like to think of it more as recycling." Peter gave a shrug from where her was working on something at one of the lab tables "It's no Iron Man but it's got its own perks. The big problem with getting it to work before was that I didn't make it proportionate to my own body structure, so my body has to work with the suit and not the other way around. But by remodeling the suit so it's situated to my body type, it's gonna be like a whole different thing. The Kraang aren't gonna know what hit them when I finally put it into action."
"Nice. So have you tested it out yet?"
"Unfortunately no, after the last time the rest of the guys aren't exactly keen on being on the receiving end of this thing, mostly because it kind of almost blew us up. The less said about how that went, the better."
"Uh huh. So to put it in simple terms, it's a lack of available testing."
"At least while it's in the Lair, and after the whole Metalhead fiasco, Splinter pretty much put a stop to any real combat with these things until the bugs have been worked out. This way we can prevent the Kraang from possibly taking control again, or levelling a city block. Combine that with the crap ton of drama we've been dealing with lately, and it's been sort of pushed off to the side for awhile. But that ends now."
"The same goes for me." this was when Donnie stepped into the lab… which was immediately followed by Metalhead "Now that I've finished with upgrades to Metalhead, it's about time we put it to the test."
"So you're testing each other's inventions at the same time?" Gwen guessed.
"Yep."
"Huh. Good idea."
"Thanks. Plus this is gonna be fun." Peter gave a smirk as he stepped into the Iron Spider Suit, which promptly closed around him as the systems activated "Speaking of which Gwen, you might wanna give us some space. The last thing we want is for you to get caught in the crossfire."
"Fine, just promise me you won't go too far with this." so Gwen stepped away from the suit and made her way.
"Alright Donnie, I think it's time to bring it."
"On that we can agree." so Donnie pressed a button on Metalhead and took a step back, giving them the space they needed "Mind if Metalhead makes the first move?"
"Go ahead, give me your best shot. It'll give me the chance to test out what my suit can do in the meantime."
"Fine but remember, you asked for it." so Donnie gave a nod to Metalhead, prompting him to unleash a wave from the flamethrowers on both of his arms.
"Flamethrowers, not too shabby. Too bad they don't work." Spider X leapt back onto the wall behind him, then began darting along the walls in order to avoid the oncoming barrage of flames "Not when I've upgraded my armor to work with my enhanced agility."
"Not bad, but let's see how you do when I kick it up a notch." Donnie then activated Metalhead's laser machine gun.
"About like this." Spider X stuck out both arms and unleashed a wave of purple energy that promptly cancelled out the blast from the laser machine gun.
"Was that some kind of energy webbing?"
"Yep. When I upgraded the web-shooters I built in here, I used some components from one of the Kraang's energy cannons so my webbing is always charged up. The Kraang might be evil and kinda stupid, but their tech is awesome!"
"I agree. That's how I was able to give Metalhead a rocket fist and missile eyeballs!" Donnie was quick to launch one of the fists and a series of missile eyeballs.
"Nope to the nope, to the nope!" Spider X continued to maneuver his way around the lab to avoid the Rocket Fist, quick shots of energy webbing subduing the missile eyes with ease, all while avoiding any significant collateral damage.
All the while, Gwen watched the spectacle unfolding from outside the lab with a small fond smile 'I know this whole thing is crazy, but it's great to see Peter so enthusiastic about something like this.'
"Let me guess, they're doing more testing?"
Gwen looked over to see April making her way out of the dojo "Yep, and they're having a lot of fun with it by the looks of it."
"Not surprising, I've been helping Donnie work on Metalhead since I've been down here, and he's really enthusiastic over it." April let out a chuckle "Honestly I don't think I ever see him as happy as when he's in his element, working on all sorts of inventions."
"Peter is the same way. Since the whole Spider-Man thing started with him, I see this whole new fire in his eyes, this determination unlike anything I've seen from him before. It's amazing to see what he does with it too."
"I can imagine" April glanced over to see Gwen blushing and a small smile spreading across her lips "You really do care about Peter don't you?"
"Yeah… I've been in love with him since seventh grade. I started to doubt that it was ever going to happen after all the drama we wnet through, but now that we're together… I don't think I've ever been happier."
"That's really nice. Part of me does wish I had something like that."
"Do you though?" Gwen followed April's gaze to where she was watching Donnie working on controlling Metalhead "Or at least someone you want it with?"
"...Let me get back to you on that." April let out a small cough "Anyway Splinter wanted me to get the guys, it's time for training."
"Right. You heard her Pete, time to put the test on pause!"
"Aw man." Spider X let out a groan as he stopped in the middle of releasing a set of mechanical spider limbs "I was about to see if I could use the energy webs from these things, doing that would've been so cool."
"Pete, you know there are things you can't do with me while you're in there."
"...Fine." so Peter breathed a sigh as he stepped out of the Spider X suit and placed it against one of the walls in the lab, then glanced over at Donnie "Well if nothing else I call that a successful test of what the suit can do now."
"The same goes with Metalhead's repairs and uprades." Donnie placed Metalhead off to the side, then grabbed his staff as they made their way out of the dojo "But I can see you took a few more liberties with the suit, and not just with its weapons and mechanisms."
"It wasn't for nothing, but the thing definitely had some problems during testing. Sometimes you just have to pop the hood. Plus Gwen has been helping me to come up with a few new ideas for carrying this thing around."
"Like what?"
"Like this." Peter pulled out his Spider Cell and pushed a button… which subsequently caused the Spider X suit to compress down into the form of a red and silver backpack.
"That's incredible!"
"I know right? Once I have a few more kinks worked out, I'd be able to drag this to school and nobody would even know."
"I'm not so sure about that." Gwen was quick to cut in "No offense, but I'm pretty sure that dragging around a suit made of alien tech to a public high school is a good idea."
"Yeah I know, but it's still fun to think about." Peter gave a grin as he slipped on the backpack, which caused the Spider X suit to reform around his body… and subsequently propel him back and make him crash into Metalhead, knocking it to the ground and sending various other pieces of equipment crashing to the ground.
"...No. Just no."
"Yeah I think you're right." Peter stepped back out of the Spider X suit and quickly removed the backpack "Anyway I think it's time for training."
"Uh huh." Donnie glanced over at the wreckage of his lab, then back at Peter.
"I swear I'll help you clean up."
"Fine." then Donnie cast a glance over at April "So she's gonna be watching us train too?"
"That's my guess. You're gonna try and impress her aren't you?"
"Um… maybe?"
"Hey it's fine man, if you wanna make yourself look good then I'll throw you a bone. Unless it turns out Gwen is watching, then I can't make any kind of promises."
"Fair enough."
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(the scene opens up to Peter Parker as Spiderman standing on top of one of the buildings in New York. The scene shifts to the same scene as before but now it shows the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo standing next to Spiderman. Spiderman turns to the audience as he raises his right arm before he shoots out his web from his wrist towards another direction off-screen and begins to web-sling as the TMNT begin to follow him as the title of the fanfic: Along Came Some Turtles appeared.)
Whoa Whoa Whoa...
(The next scene shows Peter Parker standing alone on top of a building, but then he looks back to see the Turtles standing behind him, and he smiles. The scene then transitions to the five of them spending time with their friends and family, all of them having a good time with each other)
Daijoubu ore ga nanman kai mo sakende yaru
Kimi no ashita ga subete kagayaite iru to shinjiteru
(The next scene shows a past events involving Spiderman's origins (getting bitten by the spider and losing his Uncle Ben) and the TMNT origins (them and Splinter getting mutated, along with flashes of their training to become ninjas) as well with all the important details for each one shown and how they come to be who they are now.)
Yume wo kanaete subete no hito ni kasanariau kyoutsuuten
Akirame nakattatte koto soredake sa maken nayo
(The next scene shows the rooftops of New York city as Spiderman and the TMNT were having a stand off towards the Foot Clan ninjas and mutants. They all stood there in silence as the heroes charged forwards to face their foes)
Mukaikaze ni nagasare kujike sou na toki wa
Kono te nigire TRY TO TAKE A CHANCE mou
Kimi wa hitori nanka ja naize?
(the next scene shows the villains Spiderman and the TMNT have dealt with over the years as the Shredder takes the top of this pyramid of villains.)
Motto motto mae e mae e kimi no ashita yume akiramenaide (Whoa Whoa Whoa)
Sou naite nai de susume MY WAY ima (Whoa Whoa Whoa)
Kimi o terashiten da hikari (Whoa Whoa Whoa)
Akirame nanka zenbu sutete tsuyosa to hikikae ni mata kizutsuite (Whoa Whoa Whoa)
(The next scene shows the heroes fighting their respective villains with Spiderman handling The Rhino, Doc Ock, Green Goblin, and Venom while the TMNT dealing with Stockman-Fly, Bebop, Rocksteady, Tiger Claw, and the Shredder.)
Demo kimi no massugu na hitomi ni wa
Ima mieru daro hikari
(The next scene shows the heroes looking battered and defeated but they begin to rise back up as Raphael stood up with a roar as Spiderman shot some webbing towards the screen.)
Whoa Whoa Whoa...
(The final scene shows a still image of Spider Man and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ready to face off against their villains once again)
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One embarrassing training session later…
"Okay, so that… happened." Peter cringed slightly as he helped Donnie onto his feet "If it's any consolation, at least the Donnie Puppet is a step up from having the in-crowd at high school dunk you into a fountain."
"That actually happened to you?" Donnie shot him a raised (metaphorical) eyebrow.
"First day of junior year. Turns out being the Spectacular Spider-Man doesn't mean crap when you have a secret identity to keep yet still try to ask out one of the hottest girls in school." then he paused as he looked over at Gwen and tried to cover his tracks "In my defense, that part of my life is not one I'm proud of."
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna give you the Look or anything." Gwen let out a chuckle as she caught Peter in a quick kiss on the lips "Not for something like that anyway."
"Good enough for me. But note to self, keep the mention of the popular girls on the down low in front of the GF.'
"Hey by the way Pete, before I forget, I actually wanted to talk to you about something… in private."
"Oh. Nothing bad right?"
"That… depends on how you take it."
"Okay…? Do you want to do it now?"
"No… not yet. I think it's something we should do when we're alone."
"Okay, I'll take that as… not at all creepy or unsettling."
"Right… so you guys go ahead and do… whatever it is you're going to do. In the meantime, I'm gonna go and… yeah." so Donnie made his way out of the dojo, during which he pulled Raph off to the side "Hey, what the shell was that supposed to be?"
"What, I'm just having some fun." Raph gave a shrug "You know how much Mikey loves it when I break out the Donnie Puppet."
"That's not the point dude, April was watching!" he gestured to where April was sitting by the TV with her laptop.
"Pretty sure that she liked it too, what's the big… deal." Raph cut himself short when he got a good look at Donnie's face, and then he burst out laughing "Seriously dude, you really still think that you have a shot with her?"
"Well I mean I… maybe…?"
"Okay dude seriously, that is just adorable. And sad. It's pretty much sadorable. Word to the wise here Donnie, if you wanna impress April, then do me a favor and leave me out of it." and then he walked away.
"Yeah, I'll… be sure to do that."
"If I could add to that." Peter stepped out of the dojo and patted Donnie on the back "If you want to do just about anything productive, tune out anything and everything he says. That's what I do personally."
"It's not as easy when you have to live with him."
"True. For what it's worth though, I'm rooting for you and April."
"Really?"
"The way I see it, if I can manage to hook up with Gwen after the dumpster fire that has been my social life, anything is possible."
"Thanks. I think."
"It's what I'm here for." Peter patted him on the back again, and the two of them made their way out into the Lair's common area, only to be met with the a series of scrambled electronic noises coming form April's laptop "Okay, either you're taking up remixing as a hobby or you just got an email from one of those scammers like the Nigerian Prince."
"I set those to go into my spa folder ages ago." April told him flatly "I have no idea what the deal is with this one. That was just some random email that I opened up and it started playing by itself for some reason."
"Okay, so that's not ominous at all."
"But it is a bit surprising." Donnie noted "Sounds like someone sent you some sort of telemetric sine wave sub carrier."
"Yeah Donnie, you're gonna want to dumb that down a few notches for the people who don't speak science."
"You know what I mean, it's an interference modulation used to encrypt cover trans-" and cue a shot of webs over Donnie's mouth.
"Yeah I understand it, so does Gwen, but being in high school for the better part of four years means you have to learn to translate to stupid for the jocks. It means someone sent her a secret message."
"Who would be sending me a secret message?" asked April.
"Probably someone who wanted it to be a secret." Peter was met with a series of dull looks, followed by the sound of a rimshot "Thank you Mikey."
"It's what I'm here for dude." Mikey gave a grin as he held up his T-phone "Plus they got an app for everything!"
"Of course they do."
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Hours passed, the day was winding down, and most of the occupants of the Lair were asleep.
'Okay, let's see here…' Donnie on the other hand was in his lab, working at April's laptop, and to be more specific, on the secret message 'Maybe if I adjust this frequency here, un-scramble the speech there and…' he pressed the button.
"April, it's dad." the sound of that voice was enough to make Donnie freeze in place.
"Mr O'Neil…"
"I pray that you get this message. I've been moved to a secret Kraang facility, the coordinates are included. Please send help if you can."
"Oh man. Guys you gotta listen to-" Donnie was about to call out to the others, but quickly cut himself short as he uploaded the coordinates to his T-phone and grabbed his staff as he made his way out of the Lair 'Raph will see who's sadorable now.'
What Donnie didn't notice however, was that Mikey got up just in time to see him leave, so he grabbed his nunchucks and started following after him in silence, pulling out his T-phone as he did so 'Better shoot Pete a text, let him know stuff's gonna go down.'
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Morning came, and the sun was just beginning to rise over the skies above New York.
"You know I'm pretty sure most parents wouldn't be cool with their girlfriend coming over so early in the morning." Peter noted dryly as he opened the door and let Gwen into the house "But then again, Aunt May isn't most parents."
"Yeah I think we know that already. Not many parents would be okay with their charge hanging out with a pack of turtles in a sewer." Gwen let out a chuckle, but then her smile faded as her demeanor turned serious "But putting that aside for now, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. Something serious."
"Okay, so this isn't ominous at all. Wait you're not breaking up with me are you?"
"God no, after everything we went through to get together there's no chance I'm ever letting go of you."
"Good enough for me." Peter gave a shrug as the two of them sat down on the couch in the living room and he set a cup of coffee down in front of her "So what's up?"
"I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. About our friends. About people that… used to be our friends."
"You mean like Harry?"
"No. Well yeah, and I don't see that getting better anytime soon. But then I got to thinking… we might not be able to make things right with one friend, but we could at least try to make it right with another."
"I'm not following you."
"I mean… with Eddie." that was enough to make both of them flinch "I doubt you want to hear about this after everything that you went through with him, the Symbiote and Venom, but even so… I can't bring myself to hate him or turn my back on him."
"...I know." Peter set down his mug looked away fro Gwen "Even after everything Venom did, trying to kill you back on Thanksgiving, trying to frame me as a criminal and then exposing my secret identity… I could never bring myself to hate him. At least not the Eddie part. But even so, I… I can't look at Eddie the same way anymore. Even without the Symbiote, the stuff he said to me… about how he always hated me, resented me for having my Aunt May and Uncle Ben to take me in and not him. All through that I kept pleading, hoping that the Eddie Brock I saw as my bro was still in there… now I wonder if he was ever in there at all."
"Peter…" Gwen had tears brimming in her eyes as she pulled him into a tight hug, with him burying his face in her hair.
"But even so, I feel the same way… like even after everything, I just don't think I have it in me to hate him… not Eddie Brock… not my bro… I just…" Peter was cut short by the sound of his phone ringing, which he promptly pulled out as he read the notification, and he breathed a long sigh "Typical."
"The guys need you?"
"Pretty much. Apparently Donnie snuck out to go on a solo mission, Mikey went after him to give him some backup, and he wants me to go give the others the heads up before this turns into something worse." Peter wasted no time as he removed his clothes to reveal his Spider-Man suit, along with putting on his webshooters and gloves, then turned to Gwen "I hate to break up the early morning teenage romp, but…"
"But the guys need you, I know. And I'll stick around until May wakes up and let her know that you had to run out."
"Perfect, thanks. And listen, about the whole Eddie thing… if you wanna help him then I'm not gonna stand in your way. As for me… we'll see. Just promise me you'll be careful okay?"
"I swear."
"Good. I'll be back soon. I swear I'll make this up to you." he caught Gwen in a quick kiss, put on his mask and made his way out the back door, then started swinging away through the New York skies.
'Whatever happens Peter, just come back safe.' Gwen gave a small smile as she watched his form disappear into the distance, but then her gaze hardened 'But you're not the only one that's going to do the whole hero thing today. Things might be over with Harry, but I'm not going to give up on Eddie so easily. He's been at Ravencroft for so long now, I can't help but wonder how he's doing.'
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Meanwhile, with the friend-turned-villain in question…
"Alright, let's start from the beginning." a young woman with black hair going down to her shoulders, clad in a white lab coat with a blue blouse, a blue skirt and matching heels and a clipboard in hand (Ashley Kafka) sat down in a chair and looked over at her charge that lay on the bed at the other end of the room "So do you feel any better today than our last sesion?"
"I don't know about better…" a young man with blonde hair, clad in a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans (Eddie Brock), laid back on his beed, his gaze kept squarely on the ceiling as he began to recount certain events "But things seem a lot clearer now… memories are coming back to me, and a lot of it keeps me up at night."
"Like what?"
"Like Pete… my bro…" Eddie scowled at the mention of Peter's name "For so long I thought he was my bro… then about a year ago, he showed me his true colors. How much of a user he was, how he'd do whatever it took to get ahead… even if it meant hurting people that he claimed to be his friends. I thought he needed a taste of his own medicine, make him see how much it hurt to have something he cared about taken away. If he actually cared about anything."
"You have said a lot about things that Peter supposedly did, and you talk as if you were more than just angry about it. You sounded hurt." Ashley looked up at him as she wrote a few notes on her clipboard "Why don't you tell me a little bit about your history with Peter."
"If you really wanna know…" Eddie breathed a sigh as he sat up and faced Ashley "The story is pretty much just the same old story. We were two kids who grew up together. Our moms were best friends, our dads were both scientists and partners. They had a startup lab they built together in Queens. I only remember bits and pieces, but when I was about four they had this big project going for this huge organization, I think it was called the EPF… not sure what that means truth be told. Anyway, they were gonna head off for this big conference… and then that plane crash happened."
"I'm so sorry."
"Yeah well, it happens I guess…" Eddie paused to wipe away a few tears "The big difference is that he had his aunt and uncle to take him in. I got tossed around the foster system. For so long I was always alone."
"And you held some resentment for Peter because of it?"
"Honestly, yeah. The ungrateful little- He took them for granted. He never knew how good he had it, and he took everything for granted. Even so, despite all of that I've kind of always been his big brother. Not officially or anything, but still…"
"Despite these hidden negative feelings you had, it didn't change the fact that you genuinely did care for him."
"Yeah. I kept looking out for him, kept bullies off his back… and do you know what he did? He chose to profit off of the pain of other decent people, like our bosses. And me. It was thanks to him that I lost everything. I lost my job, I had to drop out of college, my whole life was being torn apart at the seems… all because of Pete. l I couldn't take it anymore, so I just… pretty much snapped."
"You reached your breaking point."
"I did. Until… someone else found me. He was the only person I thought I could count on to not abandon me. With him by my side, I felt unstoppable, I felt powerful, I felt like I was in control of myself again… but it didn't take away how much I hated Pete. I wanted him to pay for all the stuff he had done to me. To us. He took everything from me. I wanted him to feel the kind of pain I had… but I did things. Things I'm not proud of. I hurt people, just to hurt Pete. After all my time in here, I just got to thinking… I'm not the only one who got hurt by Pete. Others have too. Pete's the only one who's guilty, not them." he sighed as he leaned back "I don't get it, why do I have to feel like this now?"
"Maybe because in your heart, you know it's not right." Ashley looked up at him "Two wrongs dont' make a right Eddie. You are right that taking your anger out on others isn't going to undo anything that's been done, or get rid of this anger you hold. Not even Peter."
"But after everything he's done-"
"Is that actually what happened?" that caught Eddie off guard "Is that how it went? Did Peter do these things just to further himself or spite you, or is there more to that?"
"Does that even matter?"
"Yes it does. I've seen far too many relationships get torn apart because of misunderstandings and miscommunication to just base perception of events on one perspective. It's important to always find out what really happened, because that's what really matters."
"I guess, but…" Eddie paused and breathed another sigh "I can't stop hating him. It's just part of me."
"Hatred and anger aren't going to undo what's been done, or help you get back what you've lost before. I can see it in your eyes Eddie, you're a genuinely good person who cares about other people despite whatever might have happened, or whatever lot you've been given in life."
"You… really think so?" Eddie seemed taken aback by this, but gave a small smile "You really want to help me?"
"Of course. It's like I said, you're a good person, and I'm not going to give up on you until I see that good person brought back to the surface."
"I… Thank you."
"It's what I'm here for." Ashley gave her a small smile as she stood up and tucked her clipboard away into her lab coat "I think we've made good progress today, so let's see where we can get tomorrow."
"Do you really have to go?"
"I'm afraid so, our time is up and there are other patients I need to help, like Mr Dillon."
"Oh. Yeah. Him. Just… take care of him too okay? He is a friend."
"I know, and I'll do my best. But I'll be back tomorrow Eddie, I promise. See you then." and so she turned and walked out of his room.
All the while, Eddie just gave a small sad smile as he watched her go 'I'm gonna be waiting for that… Ashley.' he breathed another sigh as he laid back on his bed 'Well at least one good thing came out of being stuck here for months… Let's just hope that Pete doesn't end up ruining this for me too.'
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Meanwhile, with the secret mission…
'Okay, it shouldn't be too far from here.' Donnie made his way along the rooftops of the city, following the coordinates in his T-phone 'Hold on April, I promised you that I was going to bring your dad back to you, and I'm going to keep my word. And show Raph who's really "sadorable" at the same time.' he was about to continue on his way, only to be stopped by a set of hands grabbing him by the face "What the-"
"Take it easy bro, it's just me."
"Son of a-" Donnie freed himself and recovered in time to avoid falling, then whipped around only to find Mikey standing before him "Mikey, what the shell are you doing here?"
"What else brah, I'm backing you up. You figured out that whole secret message thing April got right?"
"It's… a message from her dad, about where he's being held."
"And you're gonna go save your girlfriend's dad to win her over."
"She's not my girlfriend!" and yet Donnie's cheeks still turned pink "Anyway go home, this is too dangerous."
"Too dangerous for two turtles but it's cool to leave one to go it alone? Besides, I just straight up went ninja on you son. You didn't even know I was up here. I don't care what you say, I'm going with you. Besides, if you wanna stick it to Raph for making fun of you, I got no problems with helping you do it. I'm here for you bro, end of story."
"...Alright, fine." Donnie breathed a sigh as he held up his T-phone "I already downloaded the coordinates to the Kraang facility. Let's get moving."
"Right behind you bro." and so the two of them took off cross the rooftops.
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Meanwhile, in the Lair…
"Oh great, morning already…" Leo let out a long yawn as he pulled himself onto his feet, only to take a look around and see no sign of the others "Hey Raph, where are Donnie and Mikey?"
"Huh? I dunno…" Raph let out a groan as he picked himself up "Not since last night after I made him into a Donnie Puppet. Oh yeah, and Mikey was talking in his sleep, something about being a rodeo detective with Donnie."
"And finding out who stole the buckaroo diamond." this was when Peter made his way into the Lair "It was the clown for the record, Mikey sent me a text this morning about his whole dream sequence in an amount of detail that's ridiculous for him."
"Okay putting that aside, you know where Mikey is?" asked Leo.
"Yeah he texted me this morning. Apparently Donnie went off on a solo mission and Mikey went to give him some backup, told me to give you guys the details. Also as a quick note, it's either the clown or the butler. Every time."
"Duly noted, now do you know where they went?"
"Mikey didn't say, I did mention the whole thing about his pizza-induced dream. But I've got a few ideas." so Peter made his way into the lab, Leo and Raph following close behind him, and he opened up April's laptop "Number one on the list is this."
"You mean the secret message?"
"He was screwing around with it for hours last night, anyone who knows him would say that he and Mikey followed it."
"After he figured out what it was."
"Give me a few minutes and then I can-"
"Oh give me the damn thing!" Raph snatched the laptop and started shaking it violently… only to find himself webbed to the wall and the laptop snatched away from him.
"And that concludes this segment of "what Donnie would do if he turned off his brain and amped up his testosterone." Now give me a minute." Peter opened the laptop back up and started typing away on it, until…
"April, it's dad." the sound of Kirby's voice got everyone's attention "I pray that you get this message. I've been moved to a secret Kraang facility, the coordinates are included. Please send help if you can."
"And just like that we have our answer, Donnie went off to be the hero and in a shocking twist, it looks like Mikey is stopping someone else form doing something stupid."
"First time for everything I guess." Raph muttered.
"Trust me, the irony isn't lost on me." Peter breathed a sigh as he downloaded the coordinates of the message onto his Spider Cell "There's only one thing right now that could make this more complicated."
"Dad?"
Peter glanced over to see April standing in the doorway "And that would be it. Alright A-team wannabes, let's move."
"Not dignifying that with a response." Raph grumbled.
"Too bad, it's out there, so let's move."
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Meanwhile, with the rescue team…
"Alright, this is the place." Donnie leapt onto one specific roof and cast a glance down at the garage sitting in front of them "Doesn't seem very Kraangy."
"I dunno, seems kind of like their style." Mikey gave a shrug "Didn't think that about the huge TCRI building or most of their stuff."
"Fair point. Anyway let's go." so the two of them stealthily made their way down onto the street and over to the building, with Donnie picking the lock, and the two of them made their way into the garage, creeping around in silence, until…
"It is the one called the Turtles!"
"I got it!" Mikey whipped around in time to whack the Kraangdroid behind them using his nunchucks and knocking it to the ground underneath a suspended car "He's down!"
"And now he's about to be out." Donnie pressed a button on a nearby console, causing a car to drop down on the Kraangdroid "Looks like this guy could use a tune-up, huh? Yeah man, am I right or am I right? Who's the hero now?"
"I'm pretty sure Pete would say anyone but you. Seriously dude, that pun was lame."
"Well excuse me for not being the king of quips like- Crap!" Donnie and Mikey were forced to duck to avoid the oncoming barrage of blasts from another group of Kraangdroids "Okay, no need for a response."
"Good call man, that pun sucked."
"Alright I get it, let it go already!" the two of them ducked behind a car on one of the racks as the blaster fire continued, until one of their blasters struck a control panel… sending the car, as well as the two of them falling down a trap door, screaming all the while.
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Meanwhile, with the mental patient…
'Okay, so there's been one decent thing about being stuck in here.' Eddie was left musing to himself as he laid back on the bed in his room 'At least I got the chance to see Ashley again after all this time. Too bad they all think I'm freaking nuts because of the Symbiote. I had all of these dreams, making something of myself and getting my name out there. It's part of why I wanted to work with Dr Connors in the first place, and to pay for college. Then Pete had to ruin all of it for me. I lost my job and I had to drop out of ESU. Then I met the Symbiote, and we together we became Venom. For so long I had been alone, until I met it… And together, we had the power to do anything we dreamed of, and we wanted to take revenge on Spider-Man, on Pete, for what he had done to us. But there's no more us now, only me. I lost the one I loved most, twice, because of Spider-Man. No… because of Pete. I know who he is behind that mask. I tried to out him once, and show this city who the real villain is. It didn't work, and there are way too many people out there that believe he's a hero, but I know the truth. I know that Spider-Man does nothing but use people and ruin lives, like mine. I tried to expose him for who he is, and I got separated from my other half and thrown in here.' he scowled as he looked up at the ceiling, but then gave a ghost of a smile 'But I'd be lying if I said it was all bad. I do get to hang out with Max every now and then, and being with Dr Kafka… Ashley… that's just a bonus. Too bad she doesn't believe the whole Symbiote thing. She keeps saying that it was just some delusion caused by stress related to my fallout with Pete. Well she's half right. I lost everything because of him. My job, my school, my power, basically my whole life. Still though, she's basically the only person that's made it worthwhile for me lately. Sucks that I only get to see her once a day for about a half hour. I just wish I could see her more than that.'
"Eddie?" and Ashley appeared in the window of the door, causing him to bolt upright "You have a visitor."
'And for once the universe decides not to kick me in the- Wait what? What was that?"
"You have a friend here to see you."
"I don't… I don't have any friends." Eddie gave a scowl, but it faded away the moment that he saw Ashley give him a soft smile.
"Of course you do Eddie. You just have to realize it, and be wiling to let them in when they reach out to you. One of them is right now. See for yourself."
"Who are you talking about?" Eddie made his way over to the door, and his eyes widened as he saw who stood on the other side "Gwen…"
Sure enough, Gwen stood on the other side of the doorway, giving Eddie a small smile through the window "Hi Eddie."
"What are you doing here?" Eddie was left taken aback by the sight of her, but then it turned back into a scowl "Let me guess, you come to rub it in my face?"
"No Eddie, I just want to talk." Gwen looked over to where Ashley stood off to the side, then leaned closer to the window, her voice low enough that only Eddie could hear "I know the truth about why you're in here."
"You mean… about it…?"
"About the Symbiote? Yeah, I do. And I know about Peter's secret. I know about all of it. A lot of stuff has happened since you've been in here. Peter told me about what the Symbiote tried to do to him, what it did to you."
"So you know?" Eddie lowered his voice as well "You know what… we tried to do to you last Thanksgiving? And you came here anyway?"
"I know you've done some things Eddie, but I don't blame you for it. Not all of it. I know the real you, the one that cares about people. I might not have been able to help you before, but I'm going to do everything I can now."
"Drop it Gwen, you're not the reason I'm in here." Eddie's scowl deepend "Pete is."
"What?"
"You heard me. Pete is the reason why I'm in here. He's the reason I lost everything."
"No, that's not what I-"
"Okay that's enough." Ashley was quick to cut in "I think that's enough for today. Sorry but I have to ask you to leave."
"...Alright." Gwen took one more look back at where Eddie was scowling at her, and then she went on to follow Ashley towards the exit.
"I'm sorry. I know the situation between Eddie and his friends is… tense to say the least, and I don't want to upset him."
"No it's alright, I understand. Thank you for doing all you are to help him." Gwen gave her a small sad smile, then her face fell as she reached the exit, where George was waiting outside his car.
All the while, a certain figure in red and black, with horns on his head, stood on a nearby rooftop overlooking the scene taking place 'It looks like helping Mr Brock through his struggles didn't go as smoothly as Ms Stacy had hoped. Perhaps it's time I try and lend my own assistance on this matter.'
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Meanwhile, with the backup…
"I just don't get it." Leo was left musing to himself as he, Raph and Spider-Man made their way towards the secret Kraang facility "Mikey doing something stupid and reckless is one thing, but why would Donnie try to rescue April's dad by himself?"
It was this question that caused Raph to speak up as he came to a halt, promptly the others to do the same "Well… it might've had something to do with how last night I told him he doesn't have a shot with April."
"You what?! Why the shell would you say something like that?!"
"Because he doesn't have a shot with April."
"Well yeah, but you don't just tell him that!"
"Seriously?"
"Seriously." Spider-Man shot a look at him "Add that to the incredibly long list of reasons why I choose to never listen to anything that comes out of your mouth."
"...So is Daredevil gonna show up at some point?"
"Actually there was something else I asked him to today."
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Meanwhile, at the Lair…
"Okay, let me see if I got this straight." April shot an incredulous look at Gwen as the two of them made their way into the dojo "Less than a year ago this guy tried to kill you just for the sake of spiting Peter, and now you're trying to be friends with him?"
"That's the short version, but yeah." Gwen looked rather sheepish as she said this, but it quickly faded away as her expression turned serious "But it's not that simple."
"Sounds pretty simple to me. Keep in mind that this is the guy who kidnapped and tried to kill you last year just, not to mention leaking Peter's identity to the world to try and set him up, all just to spite Pete. And that's just the stuff we know about."
"But he wouldn't have been driven to do all of that in the first place if it wasn't for the Symbiote messing with his mind. I remember what Peter was like when he had the Symbiote, it messed with his mind and made it into something he wasn't. Eddie's a good person."
"Really? Because from what MJ told me, I'm pretty sure the Symbiote didn't have anything to do with him asking MJ out just to spite Peter. Even if you could help him, are you sure he even wants it?"
"Maybe not, but I… I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't at least try. Things might be on the rocks with Harry, but I can't just give up with Eddie." Gwen took a breath as she looked over at Splinter "You don't think I'm wasting my time do you?"
"I would not be so quick to assume in this situation." Splinter told her "All beings are capable of great good and great evil, and thus all beings must be treated as though they are worthy of the chance for redemption. However, these chances must be taken with caution, because while all beings deserve a chance, very few of them take it."
"Meaning that me trying to help Eddie either will or won't backfire?"
"Correct. You must trust your instincts. However, you must also beware the trap of believing something to be true simply because you wish it to be so."
"So trust my gut on this, unless my gut turns out to be wrong."
"Correct. Now if you would please step aside, I will be conducting a lesson for April's training today."
"...Okay sure." so Gwen stepped off to the side and took her place next to the tree.
"Excellent." with that set, Splinter turned his attention to April has he started to walk literal circles around her "Now then April, today I will be training your mind. I want you to close your eyes and listen to the silence."
"Right." April closed her eyes… which lasted about five seconds until she looked up at the light shining through the storm drain above them 'Dad…'
"I know what you are thinking April, but it is best for you to remain here."
"Sensei that message I got was from my father, I should be up there trying to help him!"
"The best way for you to be reunited with your father is to wait here. Now again, close your eyes and listen for my movement. Listen for the silence."
"Hai sensei." so she closed her eyes, only to quickly grow frustrated "This is ridiculous, how am I supposed to listen for the silence?" she opened her eyes… only to find that Splinter wasn't in front of her anymore "Oh. Like that I guess."
"You weren't listening." Splinter directed her attention to where he stood behind her "Now do it again, and remember to listen deeply."
"Okay. Listen deeply." April closed her eyes and tried to concentrate… and immediately latched onto a series of distorted sounds "Well I heard you that time."
"Heard what? I did not move."
"Then what's that sound? You do hear that right? I can hear it coming from down there, let's follow it." and so she made her way in the direction of the noise, with Splinter and Gwen both following her out into the common area.
"I do not hear anything."
"Are you sure? Because I hear it plain as day."
"Strange. Most curious April, that you are able to hear something that I cannot. I must commend you on this." Splinter looked over in April's direction… only to find that she and Gwen were now nowhere to be seen "April? Gwen?"
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Meanwhile, with the teenage girls in question…
"Okay, I think it's coming from somewhere in the tunnels." April made her way through the set of sewer tunnels, only to turn around and see Gwen following close behind her "But why are you coming too?"
"I can't just stand aside while you're doing this." Gwen told her firmly "I can't just sit around and do nothing when people I care about are doing something dangerous. It's bad enoguh that I can't help Peter with his Spider-Man stuff. At the very least, I can watch you're back while we do this."
"...Alright, but if Pete finds out I fought tooth and nail to make you stay at the Lair."
"Fair enough. So where do we go from here?"
"I'm not sure, but I think it's in one of these tunnels."
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Meanwhile, with the rescue mission…
"Okay, through here." Donnie led Mikey around a corner to avoid a group of Kraangdroids that were patrolling the facility and they continued on their way, until they noticed a Kraangdroid come out of a high tech door "Looks like that's the main control room of the facility."
"So we bust in?" Mikey readied his nunchucks "Say the word and we go Booyakasha all over their brains."
"Stuff like that is why we think you spend too much time around Raph. Just wait until I give the signal." so Donnie closed in on the Kraangdroid and slid his T-phone over to it as it began ringing, prompting the Kraangdroid to pick it up "Now!"
"Got it!" Mikey closed in and whacked the Kraangdroid with his nunchucks, knocking it into the wall and knocking it out cold "It ain't for you, but this is." he whacked the Kraang out of the droid and into a wall "So what now?"
"Now we leave him here and do this." Donnie picked up the head of the Kraangdroid and pressed it against the scanner, allowing them to enter the control center, with the security cameras displaying every cell, until he saw Kirby huddled against a wall in one of them "That's the one!"
"Cool we found him, so what now?"
"Give me a minute and we'll find out." Donnie started working on the console and pressed a few buttons, and a moment later they were met with the sound of doors opening "Now let's go get him and get out of here."
"Right." Mikey was about to follow after Donnie, only to stop when he noticed something blitz across one of the screens "What the-"
"Mikey let's go."
"Yeah, yeah I'm coming D." and so Mikey took off after Donnie.
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What went unnoticed however, was that from one of the cells Donnie opened came a large newt creature, which didn't waste any time in going on the move, dispatching a group of Kraang that he came across with ease, as well as devouring one of them whole, before reclaiming his armor and weapons and letting out a feral shriek.
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Meanwhile, with the rescue team…
'He has to be somewhere in here…' Donnie and Mikey cautiously made their way throughout the facility in search of Kirby, only for the soun of fluttering to cause the former to whip around with his staff pointed, but there was no one there 'Nothing… guess I must be tense…'
"Yo D I found him, he's in here." Mikey cracked one door open to reveal Kirby inside "You wanna get this one?"
"Way ahead of you." so Donnie placed his staff on the back of his shell and slowly made his way into the cell "Hello, Mr O'Neil? It's me Donatello, and my brother Michelangelo. We came to get you out of here."
"Thank goodness you've come!" Kirby immediately bolted upright and pulled Donnie into a tight hug.
"Right… so shall we go."
"Immediately." and so Kirby made his way out of the cell.
'Okay, that seems a little… off.' Donnie shared a look with Mikey, but they followed Kirby out into the hallway regardless.
"I have to say I am relieved, I thought that you might be able to decipher my message."
"It wasn't really that bad, you used a basic DVB scramble algorithm, so all I had to do to decode it was…"
"Flop the ECM datastream. Excellent." Kirby gave a smile, but it was cut short when they took notice of a blur rush by at the other end of the hall "Um, Donatello… why are all the other cells open?"
"I must have opened them when I let you out, but all of them were empty."
"I don't think so bro." Mikey flinched at the sound of whirring and a faint shriek, prompting him to draw his nunchucks.
"Okay don't panic Mikey, whatever this is I'm sure we can handle-" Donnie was cut short by a loud thud, courtesy of the newt creature dropping down behind them, snarling and aiming its weapons at them "Okay change of plans, we can probably panic a little bit."
"Eesh, and I thought I was the one who said stupid stuff that screwed us all the time."
"Yeah I got it Mikey, the irony isn't lost on me." the three of them ducked around a corner as the newt started firing at them "So what the shell is that thing?!"
"I believe it's one of the Kraang's alien experiments." Kirby told them "You must have released it along with me by accident."
"Okay then, but what is it?" the three were forced to take off running "It appears to be some family of salamandridae if I'm not mistaken."
"With that proboscis, it's clearly a pleurodelinae, a newt." and then they were met with a high tech disc bursting past them and embedding itself into the wall in front of them, forcing them to duck as it exploded.
"A newt huh? With stuff like that it's more like-"
"The Newtralizer!" Mikey blurted out "I totally called it, that one's mine!"
"...Yeah, good for you." Donnie idly patted Mikey on the back, and the three of them took off to gain some distance from the newly-dubbed Newtralizer.
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Meanwhile, with the backup…
"It's a freaking autobody shop." Raph shot a skeptical look at Leo and Spider-Man as the three of them made their way to the entrance to the garage "You guys sure this is the right place?"
"These are the coordinates from the message, and take a look at this." Spider-Man knelt down and picked up a lock pick off the ground "One of Donnie's calling cards."
"Either that or the mechanic stole his lock pick." Leo muttered.
"Right, because the mechanic wanted to break into his own place. Smart." Spider-Man was met with a series of looks from the others "What, with Mikey gone someone has to fill that void. Fine whatever, let's just move."
"Pretty sure I said that, but okay. Let's move." Leo opened the garage door, and the three of them moved inside, until they found one of the Kraangdroids "Looks like we're in the right place after all."
"And I'm pretty sure Donnie took this guy out." Raph noted dryly.
"How can you tell?"
"Because he looks like he got bored to death, like I do every time Donnie says stuff."
"And like how I lose brain cells every time you open your mouth." Spider-Man was met with a low growl from Raph, which he promptly ignored "Anyway let's think about this. Knowing how the Kraang operate, they'll probably put the mechanism somewhere in plain sight."
"You have any ideas?" asked Leo.
"Just gonna take a guess here, but… how about this?" Spider-Man pushed a button on the nearby control panel, causing the hatch in the floor to open up "Huh, that actually worked. I guess the law of averages meant I was bound to catch a break at some point."
"Good enough for me, nice work Spidey."
"It's what I do, now let's go. The sooner we get down there, the sooner we stop the others from getting themselves killed."
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Meanwhile, with the mental patient…
'Well my day officially went to shit.' Eddie was left brooding to himself as he glanced out the window of the door to his room 'Seriously, I had a good thing going today, and then I had to deal with Gwen showing up. It's like the universe wants to screw me over."
"I believe most of your recent shortcomings are self inflicted."
Eddie whipped around to face the window to his room, only to find a man in a suit with a cane and sunglasses standing on the other side "Am I supposed to know who you are?"
"No Mr Brock, but I know who you are." the man pulled out a card "My name is Matt Murdock of Nelson, Murdock and Page. I've heard about your current situation from one of my associates, that being one Peter Parker."
"Great, he's got another one." Eddie's scowl returned full force "Let me guess, you're gonna try and appeal to the goodness in me and get me to let go of how much I hate him, or some kind of crap like that."
"That thought did cross my mind."
"Well forget it, if you knew half the crap I do about him then you'd be singing a different tune right now."
"I'd argue that I know more about Mr Parker than you do at the moment, but there are things that both of us know about him. His life underneath the mask for example. And I know plenty about you as well Mr Brock. For example, I know you went by another name… Venom."
"...So what?" Eddie's scowl briefly gave way to shock, but it returned a moment later "So he told you, big deal. Doesn't change the fact that he ruined every part of my life. I'm gonna hate him for the rest of my life for everything he's done to me, and there isn't a damn thing you can say to change that."
"I can think of a few things to say to you. The first being, to get over your damn self."
"...You could try a little bit harder than that."
"I'm a really good lawyer, and I believe that a sizable part of that is saying what people need to hear." Matt's gaze hardened behind his sunglasses "In case it slipped your notice Eddie, Peter isn't the one to blame for the fact that he had relatives to take him in and you didn't after you both lost your parents. He's not the one to blame for the fact that you bonded with a creature like the Symbiote and went on a rampage of misguided vengeance. He's not the one to blame for the fact that you ended up where you are now."
"Like hell he isn't-"
"He's not, neither are any of the people that he holds dear, the ones that you tried to kill just to spite him. They're innocent in all of this, and I think you realize that more than you're willing to admit. Even after all that you did to him as Venom, trying to kill him and endangering the lives of those he loves just to spite him, he still didn't want to give up on you. Even now he wants to help you, to see you become the person that you once were." Matt was met with only silence from Eddie, and then his gaze softened slightly "Don't think I don't understand it either. I myself spent a long time cursing the lot that I had in life. Losing my father at a young age, a man who was my teacher, the woman I once loved, and many other good people. But at the same time… I realize that if my life had turned out differently, then I would never have become the man I'm meant to be. I've seen many good people die throughout my life, people that deserved so much better. But on the other hand, while a number of people have died, countless others have lived too. Maybe it's all part of God's plan, and maybe my life has turned out the way it had to be. To turn me into the person I'm meant to be. If there's one truly important lesson that I learned in life, it's that we don't get to choose how our lives turn out. All we can really do is make the most of it." Matt finished his speech and stepped back slightly, a tense silence overtaking them for a moment.
"...Why?" Eddie looked up at Matt, his expression not as bitter, but still cautious "Why are you telling me all of this?"
"Mr Brock… Eddie… I believe that people deserve a chance at redemption. Not everyone takes it. Not everyone is worthy of it. But there are multiple people who believe you are, and I choose to trust in their judgement." Matt slipped a card underneath the door "That card contains any information you need to contact me. If you're ready to let go of your hate and start over, then I'll do everything in my power to help, I give you my word. But the choice has to be yours." and on that note, Matt turned and walked away without another word.
'Great, so he's got lawyers huh?' Eddie picked up the card and looked over it as he sat back on his bed 'Shows what he knows about Pete, I waste so many years looking out for him and he pays me back by ruining my entire freaking life. He deserves to pay… but Gwen, May, the others… he isn't wrong about them. They're not Pete, they didn't do anything to hurt me. Hurt us. They can't just burn like that for stuff they didn't even do… Can they?'
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Meanwhile, with the backup team…
"Alright, at least we don't have people trying to blow our heads off yet." Spider-Man took a look around as the three of them made their way down the halls of the facility, only to find a downed Kraangdroid sitting in front of the door "And from the looks of it the way has already been cleared for us."
"So Donnie and Mikey must have gone through this door." Raph moved towards the door and tried to open it… by prying it open in several failed attempts, eventually growing frustrated and move to break through the door with his sais, only to find his arm webbed to a wall "Oh for the love of god!"
"Again with the point about turning off brain cells. Knowing Donnie, they probably just gained access through hacking or… the scanners." Spider-Man picked up a nearby Kraangdroid and moved to hold it up to the scanner… only for this to be cut short by the alarm sounding "And if I had to guess, I'd say that's where Mikey came into play."
"And this is the part where we come into play." Leo drew his swords and readied himself as he turned around to see a group of Kraangdroids closing in on them "Speaking of which we've got company, so let's get down to business."
"Works for me." and so the three of them charged towards the group of Kraangdroids.
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Meanwhile, with the rescue team…
"Come on let's go, we have to lose that thing before-" Donnie was forced to cut himself short as he, Mikey and Kirby were forced to screech to a halt when they found a group of Kraangdroids waiting for them at the end of a hallway "New plan, we gotta go the other way!"
"Uh, not really an option D." Mikey pointed to where the Newtralizer was standing at the other end of the hallway with his blaster pointed.
"Okay… maybe trying to go on a solo mission wasn't as good an idea as I thought."
"Yeah no kidding, so what's our next move?"
"Well at the moment, the only one I can think of is… In here!" Donnie grabbed Mikey and Kirby by the arms and dragged them into one of the cells, slamming the door shut behind them "Okay, that was way too close."
"You are aware this is a detention facility." Kirby pointed out.
"Wait what?"
"I'm saying that you just locked the three of us in a cell."
"...Oh. Affirmative. Well anyway, I should be able to get us out."
"I dunno about that one D." Mikey pointed to where the Newtralizer was running his tongue along the outside of the door "I'm thinking we might be better off in here right now."
"For once Mikey, we actually agree."
"Yep, I got my moments." Mikey gave a grin, only to be startled by the Newtralizer pouncing at the door to the point where he started clinging to Donnie in fear.
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Meanwhile, with the Spider Support Squad…
"Okay, so far so good…" April dropped down a ladder after watching two Kraangdroids leave a particular sewer tunnel, then helped Gwen get to the ground safely "They're gone for now, but we had better get moving before more of them show up."
"So what do we do then?" asked Gwen.
"Right now the only thing I can think of is doing what Splinter said, listen to the silence, listen deeply." April closed her eyes and began concentrating, until a series of distorted noises drew her attention "That way!" she took off down a certain tunnel, with Gwen following close behind her, until they came across a large sewer drain area, with both of them rummaging through some piles of trash until they came across a white metallic orb "I think this is it."
"What is it though?"
"I have no idea, but it looks pretty Kraangy to me."
"Alert." the voice of a Kraangdroid sounded from within the tunnel, prompting April and Gwen to grab hold of the crystal and hide behind a large pipe "The Kraang communication device Kraang searches for is activated in this vicinity." and then two of them reached the sewer drain, only to find nothing there.
"...Kraang is that which they call idiotic." the other Kraangdroid turned and walked back into the sewer tunnel.
'Okay, that's it then…' Gwen shared a look with April and the two of them breathed a sigh of relief, and then the former turned to look and make sure the Kraangdroids were gone… only for her leg to hit the pipe, creating a loud clanging noise, which immediately drew the attention of the Kraangdroids, prompting them to close in on the girls and prepare to fire their blasters at them, until…
"Hey!" a set of cables wrapped around one of the Kraangdroids from above, yanking him away to get hurled across the area, courtesy of Daredevil as he dropped down onto the scene "For once I actually agree with you, Kraang are known to be idiotic."
"That which is known as incorrect statement. The one known as Daredevil will soon become the one known as Daredevil who is destroyed." the remaining Kraangdroid pointed his blaster at Daredevil and started firing at him.
"You clearly don't know an incorret statement when you see one." Daredevil maneuvered his way around the area to avoid the oncoming barrage of blasts, one of which hitting a nearby valve and causing the drain to flood, which prompted him to latch onto both Gwen and April (and the orb by extension) to pull them to safety, before using the Devil's Horn in its baton form to take out the last Kraangdroid with a single hit. With that over, he turned back to the others "Are you two alright?"
"A lot better than we would've been, thanks to you." Gwen breathed a sigh of relief "So I take it you're Daredevil?"
"I am. I was wondering when I would get to meet you in person Miss Stacy. I've heard a great deal about you from Mr Parker."
"Yeah, apparently that goes around a lot."
"Indeed. As much as I'd like to continue the pleasantries, I suggest we return to the Turtles' Lair before more Kraang arrive."
"Sounds good to me." April breathed a sigh as she looked down at the orb in her hands "Maybe then we can figure out what this thing is for."
"And whether or not we can put it to good use." so on that note, Daredevil escorted the two of them, and the orb, out of the drain and back into the sewer tunnels.
What none of them noticed as they left however, was that as water continued to flood the sewer drain, it also caused a nearby septic tank to be drained of its contents, and from it emerged a small sack, which caught onto the pipe and a large hole was torn in it… and from that hole in the sack emerged a certain black substance that crawled its way out of the drain.
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Meanwhile, with the backup team…
"Alright, looks like we're getting close." Leo and the others glanced down at the smoking ruins of a few Kraangdroids, only to be met with the faint sound of growling "I don't like the sound of that."
"Who knows, maybe if we ignore it then it'll go away." Spider-Man was immediately met with a few looks from the others "Yeah I know, but it's how I cope." and then the growling got even louder just as his Spider Sense started going off "Doesn't mean it ever actually works."
"Rokka rokka!" the Newtrzlier dropped down from the ceiling and fired a barrage of scatter blasters at the group,
"Okay new plan, get the hell back!" Spider-Man leapt to the front and fired a few shots of his Impact Webbing, which enveloped the scatter blasters… and caused them to subsequently explode on the spot, destroying a few of the cell doors around them, and Spider-Man let out a shallow smokey cough underneath his mask "I figured that was gonna go differently."
"We all did." Leo shook off some of the disorientation and looked over to find Donnie and the others in one of the cells "Donnie! Mikey! Mr O'Neil!"
"And the giant lizard with weapons coming at us." Spider-Man pointed to where the Newtralizer was preparing to advance on them.
"I called this guy the Newtralizer actually." Mikey told him.
"Oh yeah, because it's a giant bloodthirsty newt. Clever." but this little moment was quickly cut short by the Newtralizer firing a barrage of lasers at the group, forcing them to retreat back to the control center "So… how's the two-man mission going?"
"Honestly, not one of my better ideas." Donnie muttered amidst the sound of banging from the door.
"I noticed."
"Alright save the snark for later." Leo drew his katanas off his shell as the banging continued on the other side of the door "We gotta find a way out of this prison."
"Technically this is a detention center." Kirby pointed out "The difference being that-"
"Not now Donnie- wait." Raph cut himself short "Oh right, sorry Mr O'Neil, force of habit I guess." and then he looked at the others "Great, now there's two of them."
"Better two of him than two of you." Spider-Man noted dryly, but any comeback Raph could make was cut short by a large group of Kraangdroids, forcing the five of them to go on the defensive and start ripping through the Kraangroids, only for more of them to keep coming in "I think it's pretty safe to say that this isn't gonna work forever!"
"I know, but I think I have a solution for that." Donnie ripped through another Kraangdroid with his bo staff and started working on the control console.
"Pretty sure this isn't the time to check your email!"
"I'm not. My guess is that if they had the Newtralizer locked up, it wasn't because he was one of their friends." Donnie pushed a button and opened one of the doors to let the Newtralizer into the room, prompting him to start ripping through numerous Kraangdroids.
"...Okay then."
"Apparently he likes trashing Kraang." Raph muttered.
"I'm pretty sure everyone likes trashing Kraang at this point.."
"For once we actually agree." Spider-Man dragged the others behind the control console and let the Newtralizer finish off the Kraang.
"Huh, I can't believe that actually worked." Leo muttered.
"Wait for it."
"Rokka rokka!" once he ripped through the last Kraangdroid, Newtralizer readied his shoulder cannon and fired a series of scatter blasters at the group, forcing them to run like hell with him on on their trail, until they reached the hatch leading into the garage.
"Okay so what now?"
"We've gotta access the control panel." Donnie told him "As far as I can tell, the garage is the only way out of here."
"Works for me, I got it." Raph moved to stab the panel with his sai, only to find it being grabbed away by Donnie.
"Easy Raph, I've got."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, really." so Donnie grabbed the sai… and promptly stabbed the panel, sending the six of them careening up into the garage, with Donnie pulling Kirby out of the way of the car that was about to fall on them "That was a close one wasn't it?"
"That's one way to put it." Spider-Man breathed a sigh of relief… only to almost immediately be met with a certain sensation going off in his head "Another way to put it is that it's not over just yet."
"What do you mean?" Leo received his answer in the form of the Newtralizer bursting out of the hatch and landing on top of a car glaring down at them "Oh. I'm thinking a new plan is in order right about now."
"Works for me. You guys get Kirby out of here, I'll hold off our friendly neighborhood Punisher cosplayer here."
"No, we're not leaving you alone like this. Donnie and Raph can get Mr O'Neil out of here, the rest of us will deal with him."
"Fair enough." so Spider-Man leapt towards the Newtralizer to get his attention, only to be forced to retreat to avoid an attempt to claw at his face, though he did manage to land a solid roundhouse kick to the face that sent him staggering back before being forced to go on the evasive to avoid an oncoming barrage of laser blasts.
'Crap, this isn't good.' Donnie and Raph on the other hand were trying to guide Kirby to the exit, only to quickly find the Newtralizer closing in on them 'Crap!'
"I got him!" Raph pulled a smoke bomb out of his shell and threw it at the Newralizer, stunning him with a cloud of smoke and allowing them to grab Kirby and make a break for it.
"Hey ugly, right up here!" Spider-Man latched onto Newtralizer with a webline and yanked him towards him, taking the chance to deal him an uppercut to the jaw, then a roundhouse kick to the chest and then a smash attack to the head that knocked him to the ground "Had enough?"
"Rokka rokka…" Newtralizer let out a snarl as he pounced toward Spider-Man, the two of them exchanging a series of even blows until he activated one of his thermal detonators, the force of the explosion blowing Spider-Man clear into a wall, and then he whacked Leo with his tail when he tried to sneak attack him, knocking him to the ground. Then he moved in and prepared to finish them with his laser gauntlet, until…
"Booyakasha!" Mikey suddenly hurtled towards Newtralizer from above… while driving a car that subsequently crushed him once it hit the ground.
"...Well that happened." Spider-Man picked himself up out of the wall and made his way over to the car "You okay in there Mikey?"
"No worries dude, I wore my seatbelt." Mikey climbed his way out of the car and was pulled back to his feet by Spider-Man.
"Works for me, now let's just get the hell out of here already." and so the three of them, along with Raph, Donnie and Kirby, took their leave of the garage and prepared to make their way back to the Lair.
What none of them knew however, was that after they were gone, the Newtralizer burst out of the back of the car, completely unscathed.
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Later, at the Lair…
"Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore." by this point, April and the others had made their way back to the Lair "At this point just about anything can come from the Kraang."
"That point I can agree on." Daredevil glanced down at the orb in April's hands "But it still raises a question about how the two of us being able to hear something even Master Splinter was unable to."
"You could hear it too?" Gwen shot him a raised eyebrow.
"Exposure to some of the Kraang's chemicals took away my sight as a child, but heightened all of my other sense to the point where I developed what I refer to as Radar Sense. At least that can explain why I was able to hear the frequencies of this orb, but not why April can."
"I don't really know what to tell you." April muttered "It probably has something to do with why the Kraang are after me."
"April?" came a new voice that caused April to freeze in place, and then slowly turn her head to where the Turtles, Spider-Man and Kirby made their way into the Lair "Oh my god… Dad!" she promptly bolted over to him and pulled him into a tight hug "Dad I can't believe it, you're really here!" then she turned to the others "You guys saved my dad… I don't know how to thank you all enough!"
"It's really Donnie here you gotta be thanking." Mikey gave her a wide grin "The dude gave it everything he had."
"Well I-" Donnie didn't get a chance to cut in.
"Seriously, he stayed up all night figuring out that message, then we went to get him and he fought like a maniac. He was a beast the whole time, nothing stopped him-" Mikey was finally shut up by a hand getting slapped over his mouth.
"Okay thanks Mikey, that's enough of that. Anyway those weren't really my exact words at the time, but-" Donnie was cut off by a pair of arms wrapping around him.
"Thank you Donnie… thank you." April pulled Donnie into a tight hug, and then she went back over to Kirby… leaving Donnie to faint on the spot.
"Well you get points for trying." Spider-Man patted Mikey on the shoulder as he took off his mask, revealing the face of Peter Parker, and then he made his way over to Gwen "So… how did it all go today?"
"Honestly, it was… a lot." Gwen breathed a heavy sigh as she sat down in front of the TV, Peter taking a seat next to her "He seemed so angry, so hateful… Like a different person."
"That's what the Symbiote does. Trust me, I would know." Peter cringed at the memories "It filles you with nothing but rage and hate, to the point where you can't even see when your own friends are trying to help."
"How did manage to break its hold on you?"
"You mean aside from Flash Thompson of all people giving me a reality check? Someone said what I needed to hear… and the memory of my Uncle Ben helped too." Peter wrapped his arm around Gwen and let her lean her head on his shoulder "Don't give up on him though. I don't think either of us should give up on him. We gotta find a way to open his eyes, one way or another."
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What none of our heroes knew however, was that Shredder and the Kraang, per their newly formed alliance, had actually intended for Kirby to be freed and brought to the Turtles' Lair, and that it was only a matter of time before they were able to claim vengeance.
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Meanwhile, with the unsuspicious…
"It honestly feels like a dream." April let out a sigh as she led Kirby into the dojo and gave him a smile "But it's good to have you back."
"And it's good to be back." Kirby returned the smile with one of his own and pulled April into another hug… but unknown to her, he had an evil-looking scowl on his face.
A/N:
Well guys, this is it, the last chapter before the first season finale. There really isn't as much to say about this chapter compared to the previous one, aside from a few different bits with certain characters, but whether or not our heroes realize it, the beginning of the end is upon them, and they'll have to be ready for the fight of their lives (or the first fight of their lives anyway).
On another note, I think it's time to address the elephant in the room, or rather the black hate-driven Symbiote in the room: Eddie Brock finally makes his appearance in this story. I knew going into this that I was going to have him make his debut close to the end of the first season, though he doesn't have the Symbiote. Not yet at least.
Anyway that's all I really have to say for now. Take care and stay safe out there, and I'll see all of you when the big moment arrives: the finale of the first season.
