Mikey stood dramatically over the couch, looking down on the tiny turtle. "There we were Spike, fighting the Kraang as usual. Peter was throwing webs and jokes, Raph was being grumpy and stabbing them left and right with no remorse, Donnie was using cool nerd stuff to get us there, Leo took charge, and I, with my comic skills, gave insight into the situation."
Spike stared at him blankly, before he slowly began to walk away. "I've taught you well, my adorable little bro." Raph chuckled as he rubbed the turtle's head.
"Your little bro who happens to be your pet." Peter snickered as he sat on the ceiling with his phone, texting someone. "Gee. I wonder why you like him so much."
"It's because he lacks your need to snark at every turn." Raph stated. "... Also I've gotta ask, just because you can, why do you always feel the need to hang upside down? Is it like a bat thing?"
"Kind of. After a while, I just kind of felt more comfortable sticking upside down like this in my off time." Peter shrugged. "I find I can process the world a lot more easily when I'm like this. Plus it makes mundane activities more exciting." He held cards in his free hand as he was playing against Donnie. "I'm all in."
"Hah, I got you now-" Donnie stopped talking as Peter layed down his deck. "…. That hand is terrible, how the heck did it beat mine!?"
"Cause you got a worse hand?" Spidey asked.
"Or maybe the Spidey sense works on cards?" Mikey shrugged.
"Whaaaat, that's ridiculous." Spidey waved off. "If that was the case then I would win every card game."
"….You do win every game." Donnie glared in realization.
"... All bets are final." He shot a web line to the pot, snatching it.
"If it wasn't for your self imposed state of guilt and depression, you'd make a killing in Vegas." Raph laughed.
"All great gamblers have a flaw. Mine is responsibility." Peter took it in stride. "What's up with Leo?" He pointed to the silent and meditating turtle.
"Whenever he finishes Space Heroes, he takes a month to take his mind off it so he can enjoy the show all over again." Donnie explained.
"You know you could just … find a new show, right?" Peter asked.
"We tried. It's REALLY hard to find VHS tapes floating around in the sewers." Mikey complained. "And anytime we try to use the internet for binging, Donnie's computer gets loaded with viruses, so that's our.T.
"Not to mention modern tv is either too mind numbing or too political to enjoy." Donnie stated. "Why can't we just enjoy raw science and senseless violence? Can't we avoid geopolitical and social problems with every single conflict? Like seriously, not every piece of media has to be a message or lecture."
"Eh, it's a trend that'll die out once something else blows up and crosses hairs." Spidey shrugged as he continued to text. "Me and Liz spent the last two weeks or so making fun of modern CW shows."
"So you're finally fixing your girl problems and just picking someone?" Raph asked.
"One, don't have girl problems.."
"Cough, Black Cat kiss, cough." Leo faked coughed.
"Cough, Gwen's kiss, cough." Mikey added.
"Cough, MJ flirting, cough." Donnie faked for good measure.
"…you guys are mean." Spidey pouted.
"Hey, you can always pick on Leo and Donnie's terrible love lives as retribution." Raph pointed out.
"Hey!"
"True.." Spidey nodded. "Anyways, we've just been hanging out together at my house. Nothing official, just enjoying each others company while the world's allowing us to breathe for once." He answered. "Speaking of, we better get ready for patrol in an hour."
"Do we really need to? Even the small thugs have been quiet since the Kraang attack." Mikey pointed out.
"Maybe we got lucky and a building fell down on them." Raph snarked.
"They're quiet for now, but after a while someone's gonna show their face again." Peter answered. "Between Tombstone wanting a buck and Shredder wanting you all dead."
"Aren't you overreacting a bit?" Donnie asked. "We're not gonna have trouble every night after all."
"This isn't me being cynical, this is me being pragmatic." Peter sighed. "Something is going to pop up eventually, likey right when your unprepared to handle any of it:
"Spidey, it's Parker luck, not Tuttle luck." Leo said. "Nothing bad is gonna happen just because we're having a little fun."
Beep
They all turned to the orb thingy Donnie had, which was glowing and pulsing. "... Well?" Peter raised an eyebrow.
"Come on; even you have to believe in coincidence." Mikey countered.
"Coincidence, yes. Parker Luck, doubly so."
Donnie hooked up his laptop and began doing his cool hacking thing. "Looks like we're dealing with a … stealth ship?" He asked, looking something over. "Ah, that's apparently the Kraang name for the Invisible Flying Kraang."
"The IFK returns!" Mikey shouted. "… Maybe Raph was right about grabbing some missiles while Tombstone was friendly."
"Now you know to never doubt my judgment ever again, isn't that right Spike?" The normally angry turtle scratched the unmutated pet on the chin.
"Don't worry, we can just go back to the good old plan." Peter grinned. "Sneaking in and destroying the thing from the inside out."
"And HOW are we going to sneak onboard an invisible ship?" Leo asked. "We can't just run around town and hope it shoots at us like last time."
"Oh, let's put honey on the ship, and follow the bees that chase after it." Mikey suggested, getting a slap from Raph.
"Actually, since it's been pretty quiet for the past few weeks, I've spent some of my spare time setting up satellite detection for Kraang Teck." Donnie held up a little doo-hickey with whisk for antenna. "I just need to adjust the signal-" He turned a nob.
"AHHHHHH!" Peter out of nowhere screamed, clutching his head. "FUCK! PAIN! SO MUCH PAIN! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"
"...Dude, what the heck are you talking-ah, ah!" Mikey ducked under an incoming fist that barely missed him as Spidey started flaring all over.
"My Spidey Sense is going off like crazy! We're under attack, I don't know what it is!" He screamed out, looking around the room with twitchy eyes.
"Nothing's happening right now-watch it!" Leo jumped over a kick and flipped behind spidey to hold him down. "Donnie, turn that radar off, he went crazy when you turned it on!"
"Done!" Donnie flipped a switch, as Peter stopped struggling.
"Oh … ooh that was weiiiird." Spidey said, slowly getting up. "My Spider-sense never went off like that before… it was like everything was turned up to twenty."
"Did Donnie hack your powers?" Mikey asked.
"No… that can't be right… unless…?" Donnie looked at the doohickey's little screen. "Unless I just found the frequency that your Spider-sense runs on… fascinating."
"You wouldn't find it fascinating if you suddenly felt like a freight train was being rammed straight into your brain." Peter grumbled, rubbing his head. "I could detect everything… the hotness of the pizza… the leaky faucet in the kitchen… even Mikey's breath ... there was no filter to what counted as a threat."
"Mind making a copy of that for pranks?" Raph asked.
"Do it and I web you upside down with Mikey's underwear glued to your face." Peter threatened.
"I'll have to go back and study this later." Donnie noted, writing something down. "In the meantime, given the circumstances, Peter, you'll have to figure out the frequency from a rooftop while the rest of us sneak into the ship."
"You sure?" Spidey asked. "Granted, the IFK isn't anything compared to the technodrome, but it's only the second alien ship you'd have burst into."
"We took down Kraang Prime. A couple of drones shouldn't give us too much trouble." Leo said. "Although … does it say if they're carrying any superweapons that could give us trouble?"
Donnie looked at the screen. "Nope … mutagen shipment for 'the ones known as the Foot' … a LOT of it too."
"Guess Shred head's trying to get ahead in the mutant villain department like Tombstone was with the mutates." Raph grinned, spinning his sai's. "That's only going to make stopping this all the more sweater."
"And stopping this just became a priority." Peter nodded. "Gonna need a lab assistant though. Mikey, you wanna come with?"
"...Dude, you're asking him to help with science?" Raph asked as they all stared at him. "How much did Donnie's thing scramble your brain.
"Not sure, but it's mostly just setting up equipment." He shrugged. "Leo and Raph are the fighters, and Donnie's probably the only one of us who could make sure the IFK doesn't crash into a random apartment."
"You could just ask April." Leo suggested.
"Yeah … but she just got her life back on track. Kinda wanted to give her a while days to settle in, you know?"
"It's been two weeks."
"Still doesn't mean…" A ding went off on Spidey's phone. "Hang on, just got a text. 'OMG, please tell me there's something I can do tonight, dad's driving me crazy, curfew's the worst, April.'" There was a moment of silence. "Alright, she's in."
"Huh, that was almost too easy." Mikey grinned.
"Just make sure to keep her safe." Donnie said. "And don't do anything funny.." He held up the radar.
"Really?" Peter asked. "You think I need more problems with females? Me and April are just friends, nothing more. I still support you, bro."
"Good. Let's keep it that way." Donnie smiled way to creepily as he headed out the door.
"Again…he is SCARY whenever April's involved." Raph noted, and everyone nodded in agreement, even Spike.
Donnie looked to the night sky, their new experimental flight pack on their backs. "You see anything Peter?" He asked into the T-Phone.
"Nothing yet. Area is showing up all clear for the moment … this is giving me so many fishing vibes."
"You're fishing trips involved hunting for aliens in the clear night sky? Mikey asked.
"No, anytime Ben took me on one we never managed to catch anything…other than that komono dragon that one time….I have a weird relationship with reptiles."
"And you thought alligators in New York were impossible." Raph rolled his eyes.
"Not anymore plausible than turtles flying in the air with bat wings and fans….seriously, I understand vulture flight tech, but not turtle scrap tech."
"It's all about gliding with air currents and lifting power you get from a bit of physical effort." Donnie answered. "As long as we jump from a high enough place we'll fly."
"What if we're too low?" Mikey asked.
"Then your shell should protect you from the impact." Donnie said. "At least a seventy percent possibility you won't crack."
"...I don't know whether or not to call those odds bad or good based on our track record." Leo shook his head. "This shouldn't be a hard one fellas. If we can take out Kraang Prime, we can deal with one stealth ship."
"IFK!" Mikey insisted.
"Might want to tell them that, just picked it up. Fifth avenue onto Madison, five stories high." Peter announced. "Better get your shells moving, you got fifteen seconds till the window closes."
"On it, everyone, into the T-launcher." Donnie ordered as they got into position.
"Go time, turtles, shell out!" Leo jumped.
"Still need to workshop that battle cry!" Raph shouted as he followed after. "And Donnie, if we blow up, I reserve the right to slap the green off you!"
"Relax, there's only a fifty percent chance of that happening." He pushed the button.
"That's HAAAALLLLF!" Raph screamed as they were launched into the air. "DOONNNIIIIIIEEEEEEE!"
"YEEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH…..I LOOOOVEEEE BEING A TURTLE!" The launcher lost it's steam as the four of them were left free falling in the air. Time it… three… two… one…
FOOMF
The gliders caught enough wind to pop out, allowing them to surf the currents. "And I looove being a flying turtle even more!" Mikey shouted.
"Is what you feel like all the time Spidey!?" Leo shouted as he did a flip in the air. "It's awesome!"
"Yeah, that was my first thought to web slinging.."
"You mean until you hit your face and crashed into a car." Raph lauged, spirling in the air. "Some of us here though happen to be naturals-"
Smack
All four of them crashed against the invisible round surface. "Hello, mister kettle, the Pot is ready to take your call."
"Annnd disconnect." Donnie grumbled, turning off the com. "Okay, there should be an entrance on the bottom, let's crawl down and find it."
"To think, just a month ago we were afraid of this thing." Raph smirked as they made their way down. "It was like we were running around like a cockroach without its head."
"Heck, we beat up a cockroach without it's body." Mikey commented as they found a latch. "Our lives are crazy and I love it, and it's only getting better. Maybe we can meet up with those Fantastic Four guys and trade super hero stories."
"You mean when/if their building ISN'T surrounded by paparazzi and news reporters that'll catch us on camera the second we even come close?" Leo countered.
"Exactly." Mikey smiled.
"Wouldn't count on it." Raph grumbled. "Donnie, your science worship is in the wrong place. That guy had the eyes of someone begging to dissect me."
"That reminds me, I would LOVE to get a sample of Reed Richards' dna. The effect of cosmic radiation mutations to mutagen mutations would be fascinating to study." He was already having a hard enough time believing Peter's radioactive spider story, but COSMIC radiation was a whole other story.
"Nevermind, crazy loves crazy." The turtle rolled his eyes as they made their way in, with three Kraang floating around. "Hey brainiacs, miss us?"
"It is the ones known as the turtles!" One Kraang shouted. "Bring out the bioweapon."
"What weapon?" They asked as one of the Kraang floated over to a pod, which opened up to a … giant green, headless gorilla, which it quickly took the place of. The mass of muscle got up, turning to them slowly … before chainsaws emerged from its nipples.
"...Oh man, where do I even BEGIN to name this?" Mikey said with a gulp. "Saw nipple… Gorrisaw, Sawrilla, yeah, I'll go with that. Sawrilla!"
"Don't bother trying to name it, it's gonna become scrap before that even matters!" Raph shouted, charging ahead as it Slapped the incoming turtle away into the panels.
"Kraang finds this that which is known as … cathartic." The Kraang spoke, rushing forward as it tried to punch and dice them at the same time.
"AHHH!" Donnie shouted as he jumped around, having to avoid the tentacles and chainsaws WHILE avoiding the giant fake muscles. "It's like a combination of Doc Ock, Rhino, and Fishface!"
"Strong, smart, sharp, and ugly!" Leo continued, trying to slash it in the back. "It's hide is more thick that usual Kraang Armor!"
"Why didn't we bring Spidey, he could've punched this!" Mikey screamed out he avoided a saw.
"If you can't attack it from the front, go for the back!" Raph tried to stab it from behind, slicing away at the giant…plastic butt it had at the behind. Before Donnie could even question WHY it would even bother with a fake butt…. two reasons popped out of it and began firing lasers.
"Butt cannons…." Donnie gulped. "IT HAS BUTT CANNONS!?" WHY WAS ONE OF THE MOST RIDICULOUS THINGS THEY COULD'VE FOUGHT ALSO THE MOST DEADLY!?
"I WOULD BE LAUGHING IF THIS WASN'T SO TERRIFYING!" Mikey screamed as he ran around the console, where a few lasers hit.
"Kraang, watch where Kraang is firing!"
"Kraang would love to see Kraag try to beat the ones known as the turtles."
"Kraang would never do that as that is Kraang's job!" The kraang piloting the mech shouted back.
"If you don't want this destroyed, then how about I do it!" Mikey shouted, stabbing the console. "HA!"
"Warning. That which is known as Kraang's gyroscopic stabilizers have been compromised." A voice announced as the stealth ship began to spin out of control.
"MIKEY!" Everyone shouted as the ship went up and down constantly, tossing everyone into every corner of the ship.
"AHHHH!" Leo shouted as he was hit against a wall, causing a hidden doorway to be open, and revealing mutagen…. tons and tons of canisters of mutagen that began to fall out. "The mutagen! Quick, grab it-ahh!" He was slapped by the Bio-mech.
"Kind of hard to do with the world's getting dizzy!" Raph shouted as he landed on a control panel…oppening the latch in the middle of the floor.
"NO!" Donnie held out his hand … but it was too late. Canister after canister of mutagen began falling … all across New York city. It could fall on anyone, it could mutate anything … they needed to stop this now! Donnie began crawling to the control panel, trying to hold on despite the out of control spinning. "Hey Kraang, why don't we take this somewhere else….LIKE THE MOOON!" He steered the ship upwards, even with the contraption still spinning around like a top.
"Kraang is highly against that concept!" They shouted.
"Everyone, abandon ship!" Leo shouted, making his way to the window with his blade pointed at the glass.
"What about the Krraang!?" Raph shouted.
"Forget them, we need to grab that mutagen pronto!"
"Hello, mister kettle, the Pot is ready to take your call." Peter snarked as he saw them hit the side of the IFK.
"Annnd disconnect." He chuckled as the phone cut out. He was a little worried, but they seemed alright enough to handle one mission against a couple of Kraang from the inside. And maybe it was time he was a little less stingy about letting the others do things on their own.
"Very rarely does Peter Parker spend a night on a rooftop." He mused, staring up at the sky. There weren't many stars, mainly due to all the lights that were on throughout the city, but it was still nice to gaze at, if only for the relaxing atmosphere. "I only recall, like, three other times I've done so."
"Was Spider-Man's nightly patrol not doing it for you?" April asked, getting up from the small antenna they set up and sitting down across from him.
"High wind altitude is one thing, but relaxing cool breeze of autumn as you sit back is another." He answered. "Honestly, I'm surprised you were so ready to jump on board something Kraang related so soon."
"I'm not going to let a giant ugly brain slug scare me from living my life." April shot back with a smirk, before looking at the door. "We just have to make sure to keep it down. My dad's ptsd has been getting worse. He has me on a six o'clock curfew."
"Yikes. I thought May's nine o'clock curfew was harsh." He winced.
"Yeah, when you've been kidnapped for months, you think everyone is out to get you and your daughter." She answered. "Not to mention the brainwashing … I mean, I haven't SEEN anything too crazy since then, but … yeah that was unpleasant." April groaned. "I haven't even explained to him the extent of my psychic powers since being abducted. Occasionally I read his mind without meaning too."
"I can actually top that. Donnie found the signal that my Spider-sense ran on. My brain suddenly thought everything around me was dangerous. Slightly moldy fungus, a crack in the floor, a butter knife, you name it." Basically the world's worst ice cream headache.
"Yikes." She winced. "Why can't superpowers just be straightforward without complicated side effects? Like if I get super speed, I want to run fast, not constantly go through the constant ache of how time's slower now or I need to constantly vibrate molecules or something like that."
"Everything has a trade off my friend. Like how nerd smarts means you get picked on." He answered, looking around. "So … I wanted to talk to you about something… you know that… I have… an issue with girls, right?" She was the best person he could talk to about this stuff and not get mocked for it….well…not too much anyways.
"What, you? Peter Parker, having girl problems? That never happens." April laughed
"I swear everyone picks on me." He pouted, shaking his head. "Anyways… so… I was in the middle of debating everything between me, Liz, and Gwen, and I thought I made my choice… but then Liz showed up at my door and… well, now I think I'm sure but not too sure."
April raised her eyebrow. "You're falling for Liz?"
"I mean, we went on a date, she dumped Flash for me, she's understanding of when I need to ditch, curious about science, funny when she wants to be …" He listed off one after the other. "And apparently her first thought after realizing it was safe to come outside was to check up on me in person. Me, out of all people, the guy who's rep at school is currently growing to be known for flakiness to outshine the nerdiness." Peter sighed. "Even Gwen just gave me a phone call when the whole thing was over… I think… I think Liz really likes me."
April looked at him weirdly. "And… and you like her like that… like… like her like her like that?"
"Yeah… I'm pretty sure I do…" He said. "It's just… with Gwen being the only longest friend I know now still around… I feel like I'm gonna screw things up again between us, especially since I'm not even sure HOW to feel about her like that. Like, would it just be friends, or friends plus … waaay too complicated." He groaned. "You know what I mean?"
"Yeah…" She sighed, turning to the side, before shaking her head. "I mean, yeah, I understand where you're coming from, once your friends with someone, it's hard to imagine moving into something more serious and personal… so yeah… I get it." April rubbed her cheek. "But…if you do choose Liz…..there's still Spider-man to consider."
"Well it's not like there's any girl I can just say 'hey, I'm secretly New York's most hated menace. Why don't you let J. Jameson know for a cash prize'." He sarcastically spat. "The mask and romance do NOT mix." Peter rolled his eyes. "Plus, I'm pretty sure anyone who realizes that Spider-man is secretly an average nerd from queens would instantly reject the idea on principle."
"I…I wouldn't say…instantly…" April said with a blush. Wait….…was she-
"Is that a shooting star?" He pointed upwards at the sky, instantly getting his mind off that train of thought that probably wasn't right to begin with.
"In the New York sky?" She asked looking up. "How can you see anything with all the street lamps?"
"Slightly above average sight." Nothing super, but better than wearing glasses. "Right there." He pointed at a twinkling, shooting star … a couple of them … that got more green as they got closer and closer. "What the …"
"Is that…..MUTAGEN!?" April shouted as she pointed at what was clearly dozens…if not HUNDREDS, of canisters of mutagen falling into the streets.
"Guys, what the heck did you do!?" He shouted at the sky, wondering where the turtles were. So many vials were spreading everywhere…meaning anyone and anything could become a mutant at any time! He had to go out there, stop the canisters, top-April-"LOOK OUT!" He shoved her out of the way of an oncoming canister. {Chemical}
Shatter
"AAAAAAHHH!" It was burning, his body was burning just like the bite.
"PETER!"
"STAY BACK!" He shouted, moving away. "Don't touch the mutagen … April, you need to leave in case …." In case he lost his mind to this pain. Peter took in deep breaths as he moved himself to a corner, trying to block out the pain and prepare himself for the inevitable monstrosity he'd become.
"Peter…" April gasped back and forth, looking like she wanted to run but didn't, taking out her T-phone. "Donnie, come on, come on, pick up, pick up…"
"Kiinnndaaaa offfff aaa baaadddd tiiimmmee Appirrrilllll-!"
"PETER WAS HIT WITH MUTAGEN!" She yelled into the phone.
"HE WAS WHAT!?" The turtle shouted, followed by a crash. "NOT NOW YOU CHAINSAW CANNON GORILLA!"
"Aww … they go to … the zoo … withouuut ME!" He screamed out, clutching his chest as he felt his heart beat erratically, his Spider sense going either max or silence at intervals. "AHHH…so…cold…so hot… everything's feels…. numb…."
"Peter, just stay calm, it'll be okay.." April tried to reassure. "You haven't changed yet, so… so it had to be okay… right?"
"I … haven't?" He looked at his hands. Even with his blurry vision, Peter didn't see any hairs or spikey legs. "I haven't …" {chemical chemical chemical chemical} "...My Spider sense is still blaring…..and it…it still feels cold….warm…numb." This didn't make sense, every mutegenic process he's seen was instantaneous. Only thirty seconds at most until a full body transformation occurred. "Ooh … Petey's a tired boy." The world was getting tipsy tervy. "Don't touch me … if you see … mutagen-" He fell to the ground.
"PETER!" Huh….Donnie was right…..her voice was cute when it was shouting.
Sandra Deel was not the luckiest person in the world. In fact, some might call her the unluckiest bitch that was ever born. They'd also called her slut and pyschotic maniac, but what the fuck did those people know? She was her own person, she did what she wanted and took what she wanted IN SPITE of what the world told her she was.
She took money, food, and pleasure whenever she could. And if they ever tried to say no or stop her, bam, those bastards were ten feet in the fucking grave. She left a long trail of bodies in her wake, about twenty confirmed kills to her name, something Sandra felt she should be rewarded for, given the time and effort she gave into all of it. Trust her, it wasn't as easy to fuck and kill someone at the same time as tv made it look.
Except nope. She was surrounded inside of a zoo in the middle of the night. What the fuck was the deal with these sons of bitches!? You kill one cop and suddenly everyone wanted to lock you up! Why do some people have to be so deranged? Nobody gave a damn when she killed some homeless chick, but a boy in blue was somehow 'untouchable' for some stupid reason.
"Come out with your hands up!" She heard a voice shout. Seeing little choice, she jumped into an exhibit. Some weird monkey thing called a lemur from what the signs said. And as if to make matters worse, all of them started hollering as they jumped at her.
"Stupid monkeys! Go back to sleep!" She shouted, grabbing and tossing one away. "You stupid rats are going to blow it for me!"
"The lemurs are going wild. Carter, check it out." Some lady cop voice said.
"Sandra Deel, there's no use in hiding, you killed a cop!" A man shouted as she heard the trees scuffling. "The only way you're getting out of this is either with handcuffs or a bullet in your head, and believe me, me and the rest of us are VERY flexible with taking you in dead or alive!"
Shit, shit, come on, come on … escape, she needed an escape … was that a shooting star coming at her-
Crack
"FUCK!" She screamed out, a burning sensation in her veins. "FUCK FUCK FUCK!" Everything hurt, every nerve was in agony!
"I found her Wolf!" A man came around the tree. "She's … oh my god."
"AHHHHH FUCCK…FUCK, FUCK!" What the hell was going on?! She was just trying to mind her own fucking buisness, why the hell was this happening to her.
"She's wha..oh my god, what the hell is that!?"
"Don't just stand their you fucking retards, help me!" Sandra cried out in pain as everything started getting warmer.
"Stay back, stay back you freak!" That male cop began firing his gun at her, but Sandra didn't feel anything other than the burning sensation of that fucking green gunk burning into her skin.
"I SAID … HEEEELP MEEEEE!" With her shout, the two went flying off into a wall, cracks behind her back. Shock of what just happened got rid of the pain, either that or it was just dying down. "… The fuck?" She looked at her hands….her black and white furry… animal like hands and what felt like a tail sticking out of her ass. "… Good god I became a furry." Downside, she was a freak of nature. Upside was she got to charge double for anyone into that shit.
"De wolf, Carter, come in." The walkie blared out from the cop.
Sandra walked forward, stumbling from her new legs. They felt … stronger, better … Everything felt better actually. "Whoa… did I get taller too… nice…." Hm….There were a bunch of super freaks running around town already… was she one of them now? "Now… let's… seee-whoaaaa!" She jumped out of the habitat, bursting through the roof into the air, going way higher than before. "Whoa…never been this high before." She grinned. "Definitely a super freak now….lets see HOW freaky."
"Monster!" Some cop shouted. "Stand down!"
Sandra went to shout at him. "NO WAY PUNK!" And the man was sent flying. "Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!" This was amazing! She could destroy people just by telling them to fuck off! Or she could finally kill her shitty landlord and avoiding fucking him instead of paying rent. The possibilities were endless now!
Splinter tended to Parker, who more or less, looked fully recovered. "Give it to me straight doc … how long until I become the spectacular spider-turtle?" He had quietly suspected that his sons would hit a roadblock after their latest victory, confidence did no one good in the long run….but the mutation of their closest friend was a bit shocking to say the least
"We're gonna lose Peter!" Michelangelo cried out. "We just got friends, and we're losing them in the same year!"
"Knock it off, both of you, don't even joke about it!" April, visibly distressed about the situation, shouted. "Donnie, tell me it isn't as bad as we think it is! Peter hasn't transformed into anything, so he has to be good…right? Tell me that's the case!"
"I'm working on it." Donatello said. "X Rays, blood tests, looking at his genes … no section's going to be overlooked."
"How could we do this?" Leonardo sat in a corner. "An entire town … and Peter … MUTATED!" It seems that his son truly, in this instance, understood the weight of his actions.
"Well…..horrible disfigurations aside….I won't have to worry about…rent anymore." The boy smirked, still trying to keep his spirits high.
"Plus we know for a fact now that web head here really CAN'T get any uglier." Raphael chuckled.
"I dunno, looking like you … is a nightmare enough … oooh it hurts to laugh." Peter groaned.
"Quick, we need the least funny thing known to turtle!" Michelangelo shouted. "Donnie, do a comedy routine."
"Ha, ha, would you guys keep it down, I'm going over Peter's biometrics." Donetello glared as he went over his computer.
"That's right Don, keep being an unfunny nerd!" Raphael hit his brother in the head. "Ow."
"Okay, while we're waiting to see if laughs a lot is gonna grow extra arms, we need to figure out what to do about the mutagen." His anger prone sone commented. "Over a hundred or so canisters fell into the streets of the most busy city in the world.. There's no way not at least over a dozen or so of them haven't broken and mutated someone by this point."
"We need to be out there, grabbing them before the worst happens." Leo muttered. "Before criminals become more dangerous, before innocents become outcasts, before …" He shook his head. "Donnie and April can stay here with Peter, the rest of us need to be topside."
"Hey….Hey I can keep moving-" Peter tried to get up, but was pulled back by the collar from April.
"If you walk out of the lair so help me god I will sick Splinter on you." April stated. "… If that's alright?" She turned to him.
"I've seen the type of injuries the boy has endured. This feels like a case where outside intervention is needed." Splinter nodded.
"Oh come on … if a diced up stomach from the Shredder isn't gonna keep me down, nothing a good stretch can't fix for a messed up mutation, right?" He asked.
"We don't know how much you have been mutated. Luckily you didn't touch anything else to mess with your DNA, so everything seems good..on the surface that is." Donetello responded. "Alright …." He turned to the boy. "The good news is that you're fine. You have one hundred percent human DNA and twenty six percent spider DNA … your mutate powers must have taken the hit."
"…wait, didn't you say it was twenty-five percent before?
"That's what I said, your powers must have taken the hit." Donnetello reiterated. "A little extra spider is literally the only difference between your new and old DNA samples. Honestly, between this and you switching from a human with spider powers to spider to human powers is … groundbreaking. Maybe we could form some sort of retromutagen with this."
"So that's it? No extra arms, no eyes growing in the back of his head?" April asked, looking cautious and skeptical. "We managed to avoid the worst possible scenario here?"
"Apparently." Peter shrugged. "I guess every once in a while, the Parker luck gives me a break." He stood up, walking to his costume. "Now if you excuse me, we need to go track down … fourty, fifty … a bunch of mutagen canisters before the entire city is destroyed."
"I still wouldn't recommend that. We're still unsure just how far the mutated genes will operate under stressful conditions." Donnetello said
"Well I don't exactly have the choice to just sit around and wait when people could get hurt." Peter answered. "You people already know my stance on that, and a dozen people could already be mutated into villains of the week as we speak."
"Donnie, can you track the canisters somehow?" Leonardo asked.
"If I can get an uncracked canister and study its properties … we never really got us an unopened vial of mutagen before." His son responded. "We should've grabbed one of the vials before they fell."
"Yea… uh… exactly how did that happen?" April asked with a glare.
"... The Kraang had a new machine. Some kind of gorilla bio mech." Leonardo answered. "We fought … we were unprepared … the fight caused the ship to spin out of control …" He clenched his fists. "It's our fault, and we're going to set it right before the worst happens."
Both Peter and April's expressions narrowed, and Splinter expected Peter at the very least to snap angrily, but before another word could be spoken, the tv blared loudly. "The absolute worst thing has just happened. Mere weeks after the sudden and mysterious invasion of the brain people, another monster has appeared out of nowhere and is wreaking havoc!"
"Wow, the universe works fast." Michelangelo answered with surprise. "I thought it was more of a slowburn chaos kind of thing."
"It's chaos! It's chaos down town! There's some kind of shrieking madwoman killing eveyone-aggggggggghhhh!" Blood appeared all over the screen as the signal got cut off.
"And usually the mutants that get created aren't this public or bold." Leonardo added. "Or violent for that matter."
"Just don't fall in love with them and we should be good." Rapheal noted. "Every female villain goes after you or Spidey, and I don't need to hear the flirting."
"Seriously, what I have with Black Cat is nothing on what Leo has with Karai." Peter rolled his …
"What is this about Leonardo and Karai?" Hamato Yoshi asked with a twitching eye. "And why have you never told me about your encounters with m-… with the Shredder's daughter before?"
"Sorry Sensei, supervillain, gotta run!" His son shouted as they all ran out of the room. "You all promised to take it to the grave!"
"They just… let all that mutagen fall…" April lowly muttered as they watched them leave.
"Mistakes are inevitable April, if we existed as perfect beings who have never done wrong, we would not be alive." Splinter answered. "The proper response is to accept what you have done and fix the mess, growing to avoid repeating it."
"Does that matter when it could change people's lives for the worst?"
"Especially then." Splinter reiterated. "Let us be fortunate that no other misfortune has fallen onto Peter."
"This time." She shook her head. "We might not be so lucky next time."
"... If it's any consolation, I am grounding them for whatever incident happened between them and Karai." Kunoichi were trained to do terrible things to the enemy by any means necessary … The ideas alone for what someone brainwashed by the shredder were far too disturbing to imagine.
Raph ran across the rooftops. This night was a disaster. First they got whooped by the Kraang, mutagen fell on the city, Peter nearly became a monster, and now some crazy chick was on the loose. It was just one thing after another on the humiliation train. Raph thought he and his brothers were done screwing up after kicking Kraang Prime's butt.
"Found the trail." He pointed at the wrecked street … littered with bodies.
"Oh god…I think I'm gonna…bleeggggh!" Mikey threw up, barfing on the rooftops.
"Yeah, that's the normal reaction to a dead body." Peter nodded. "Looks like a real nut job got their heads on the mutagen. We better go before this gets even worse."
"Not even the Goblin was this deranged." Raph growled, trying to turn his focus away from the blood spilling all over.
"And at least Shredder keeps it hidden and under wraps." Leo muttered as he went forward. "Come on, giant mutant, shouldn't be that hard to find."
Eventually they came across some furry lookin chick standing over a crying woman, claws raised overhead with a savage filled grin that felt like it should have been on a shark. "This is for not giving me a discount on the burger, bitch!"
"Seriously, language! Some people these days really can't see that!" Spidey shouted, shooting a web at the back of the mutant's hand and pulling her away from the woman. "I suggest running now, before Ms ferret goes feral again!"
"I can be as feral as I want when I want, Spider-douche!" The mutant shouted, ripping the webbing off her hands.
"And she looks more like a lemur than a ferret." Donnie added, jumping down when the civilians all got out of viewing distance.
"Oooh, bunch of giant turtles leaping from buildings. And here I thought your kind was stuck waiting for the hare to take a nap." The woman laughed.
"Nah, there's a reason why we cross the finish line first." Leo glared, taking out his swords. "Stand down and there won't be any trouble. We get that being a mutant is a lot to take in.."
"Your kidding me? It's the best fucking think that's happened to me in ages." She laughed maniacally. "No more cops telling me what I can and can't fucking do. If anyone says no, BLAMO, goopy skulls and broken stomachs."
"So we really are just dealing with a remorseless psycho, aren't we?" Raph took out his sai's. "Good, I didn't feel like playing nice today anyway."
"Still wanna name her first … oh, oh, how about, Lemaniac!?" Mikey shouted as the four of them tried to get the jump on her, only for her to run up the wall and flipp over them.
The mutant woman chuckled in amusement. "Sorry, I'd probably wait a bit until you name me kid. The look's aren't really a good indicator of how I do things."
A bunch of webs shot at her feet as Spidey walked up. "And how would you say you 'do things' then?" He asked with a growl. "Call me curious."
"Like this." She smiled, inhaling … "HEEEELLOOOOOOOOOO!" With a WAY too loud shout, Spidey was sent flying into a building, cracking the walls.
"...Donnie, since when could monkeys shout thunder?" Raph asked.
"First off, she's a lemur, and second, it might have something to do with some lemurs having developed sonar, much like Bats and whales…"
"Lovely, isn't it? One shriek of my name and EVERYONE remembers me…you know, everyone that survives that is. Isn't that FUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNN!" She shouted again, blasted him and his brother's down the street.
"Okay, that's smarts …" Leo groaned as he got up. "She can only shout in one direction. Trap her from multiple points."
The turtles all jumped around her, with Spidey shooting himself overhead. "Shriek eh? You think about joining a death metal band?" He asked, shooting some webs from above.
"Nah, I prefer just plain old death!" She leapt into the air and grabbed Spidey by the throat. "It just really scratches that IIIITTCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHH!" She screamed into Peter's face from close range as they could see blood leaking out of the ears.
"Too bad you can't reach the back!" Raph shouted, thrusting himself behind her and shoving her against the ground. "Slightly agile and a loud mouth, you don't got nothing we can't handle."
"YOUUUU SUUURRRREEE!?" She shouted downward, as both of them were launched into the sky, her claw reaching around to clench itself into his arm. "Cause from where I'm standing, I got all the power I need, while you got a shell that'll probably crack from this height!" She flipped him on his back as the began to go downwards. "Who can't handle who now, TURTLE-BITCH!?" The force sent him down, hitting his back with a pretty painful hit, as Raph could feel a crack form. Luckily he was used to that, he was the only turtle WITH cracks in his shell, but still hurt like shell. "You know, I'm not much into cannibalism, but once I get done with you green freaks, I think a nice bowl of turtle soup sounds good, wouldn't you agree?"
"Why is it always soup!?" Mikey shouted as he tried to choke her out with his chain, which strangely enough, was a good choice to stop the airflow of noise. "Not that I want the villains to eat us, but get some variety in the turtle diet!"
"Hey… it… its…" The woman gagged as Donnie rushed in to pin her limbs down. "It's…. good…. for… the THROOOOOAAAAAAAAT!" She quickly shouted at Mikey as Donnie forced her down. "If you start getting handsy, I'm gonna… have… to start….CHARGING!"
"Well we only have pain to dish out, so you'll have to make do!" Leo shouted, stabbing his sword into the ground, punching her in the head.
"Not my cup of TEEEAAAA!" Leo gritted his teeth, his sword keeping him from falling back. "AREN'T YOU FUN! LET'S SEE HOW LONG YOU LAAAASSST!" The turtle began bleeding from the eyes and ears as he tried to throw another hit. "Don't you get it, you pieces of slimy green shit? I'm not some colorful wannabe trying to take over the world or some joker in a stupid costume. I do and get whatever I want, or people die! And more and more people are going to die the angrier you make me!"
"Sorry, Shrieker, that's kind of my deal!" Spidey jumped forward, and began spraying shell webbing all over her mouth. "Let's see the little birdie try to sing her way out of this one!"
"..." The woman took in a deep breath as a light muffling could be heard. "...!" Cracks could be seen forming in the hard cassing. "GGGGGGGEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTFUCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKED!"
The pavement beneath the gave way, forcing all of them to fall right into the sewers.
Leo felt his entire skeleton ringing as he tried to get his bearings. This madwoman was murdering everyone without mercy. It was their fault, their responsibility. If they couldn't stop her then she'd just go right back to hurting others with the powers they gave her. "Anyone wanna see if she can make Shakespeare exciting?" Spidey quipped as he got up.
"WHAT!?" Mikey shouted. "We're going skinny dipping!? That doesn't sound like a good idea right now dude!" Raph smacked his head. "I know that was supposed to hurt, but the ringing finally stopped."
"She's definitely more dangerous than Shocker, that's for sure." Donnie shook his head. "She may have a more limited range of attacks, but she makes up for it in firepower."
"Ironic that Shocker gave up his shield for firepower, but someone has him beat." Spidey chuckled. "Ah … we need a way to knock her out quick. Anyone have access to tear gas?"
"No, but we're in the sewers." Raph said. "Where our options are fumes, sewer water, and steam pipes."
"Hm… .alright, I think the best option right now would be the water…flood her mouth and stop her from screaming anything else." Leo analyzed.
"Hey turtles!" They all turned to the furry woman, who wore a savage grin from down the corridor. "You got me DIIIRRRTYYYY!" She screamed out, the soundwaves blasting them back.
"Sonics and inclosed spaces….not a good combo!" Spidey shouted as he put his hands next to his ears and put webbing around them. "..Okay…not perfect, but muffled enough!" He jumped closer in. "Don't worry, Shrieky, I'm sure all your fellow lemurs will be more than willing to pick the grime off you in whatever zoo you'll get sent to after all this!"
"IM! NOT! GETTING! CAAAAAGED!" The crazy chick tried to blast him as Spidey hopped around like usual.
"You'll probably get sent to a padded room given your body count… unless of course you get the death penalty." Donnie said, using her attention on spidey to whack her head against a wall, making her go dizzy. "Even the zoo has to put down rabid animals."
"Says the AAANIMAAAAAL!" She screamed at the turtle, launching him away.
"Don't you feel any shame!?" Leo shouted, trying to land a cut on her. "Any remorse for the lives you've taken!?"
"No, not really, that's what makes me, well, ME!" She shouted, using her tail to grab onto his arm. "No one gave a rat's ass about me all my life, and it made me realize that the only way to make it in this world was to look out me and my own self interest. I can do whatever I want and not be bogged down by pesky things like guilt and responsibility, unlike you freaks, who are probably doing this out of some misguided sense of duty."
"That's CAPTAIN misguided sense of duty to you!" Mikey shouted, once again getting his chains around Shriek's neck, beginning to pull her into the nearby stream of water. "Just because people won't like us doesn't mean we want to hurt them!"
"Exactly, we only want to hurt the jerks and scumbags like you!" Raph punched the girl in the stomaching before she could fire off another shout, likely trying to take the wind out of her breath.
"Shut … up …" She gurgled, straining against them as Spidey shot some more webs at her face, joing in on the struggle.
"Rockabye Shriekie in the sewers, hope you don't wake up and make our bruises bluer." Spidey quipped. "When the water flows and fills up your lungs, you'll pass soon before you rip out our tongues."
"...!"
"We gotta shove her into the water now before the soundwave builds up again!" Donnie shouted.
"Alright teams, on three, we charge and force her in!" Leo ordered as they all got into positions. "One, three!" He skipped as he shoved the woman as hard as he could.
"...lllleeeeeeetttmmmeeeeeeegooooo" The bleeding in his ears returned as they pushed past it, leaping altogether in the water and letting the flow overtake them. Everytime she tried to come up, someone would force her head back in
"How long does it take someone to drown!?" Raph asked over the occasional scream.
"Three minutes for a normal human!" Spidey answered. "But we're dealing with a mutant who has an enhanced lung compactify, so …"
""LEEET….. !"
"Go… suck…. AN EGGG!" Mikey grabbed one of the smokebombs, and shoved it down her mouth.
Poof
"AGGGGHH!" Shriek began gagging instantly, unable to get another word in as purple smoke filled her mouth.
"Oh my ethics are screaming at me for drowning someone on purpose!" Spidey groaned as he continued shoving her back into the water, waiting for the struggling to stop. "Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, for the love of god please go to sleep!"
Bubbles from the water keping bubbling until they went quiet and the woman's eyes closed. "It's done, it's done…!" Leo said, picking her out of the water as the rest of them laid on the side. "Aaah … adrenaline dying down … so much pain in my ears." He whipped away the blood.
"Yeah, a couple of explosions to the head do that to you." Spidey nodded. "Don't worry, it'll go away… eventually…. hopefully the blood doesn't dry in your ears and clog your senses."
"Wait, that can happen?!" Mikey said.
"I'll scrub us …" Donnie mumbled. "Side note, Spidey, PLEASE get this woman an army grade muzzle and shove her in a cell."
"Webbing up her mouth as we speak right now, I'll tell the police to get something more heavy duty." Peter said, sighing as he webbed the woman up. "The mutagen created so many villains… I never thought it would end up in the hand of a psychopath like this… we were lucky with the past losers that got hit."
"Yeah … we were …" And now an entire city of innocents and monsters got infected … because of them.
April was feeling a lot at the moment. Anger, worry, fear, frustration, anxiety. Right now the first and last feelings were taking over as she watched the news covering the carnage. "The police are now taking in the mad mutant maniac, cop killer Sandra Deel, named as 'Shirek' by Spider-Man, into custody, where she will most likely be placed in Ravencroft if not given the death penalty." April saw a muzzled and jacketed monkey woman make violent screaming noises even with so many silencers locked on her face. "Over fifteen reported deaths have been confirmed. From this incident, public panic about the rising threat of mutants and monsters grows all the more larger, fearing the next creature wanting to take a bite out of them."
"You know, from how much bad press mutants get nowadays, I'm surprised people don't start accusing me of being one." Peter said as he and the guys made it back to the lair, looking bloody, beaten, and worse for wear. "Jameson is the type of guy to ride a bandwagon till it's worn out."
"Maybe he was just … more focused … on the crazy girl." Raph groaned. "No more action, my insides are scrambled mush."
"I finished check ups. Looks like we're fine on our ear drums not being burst." Donnie said, looking into Mikey's ear.
"Whoa! Yeah, my ears are a go!" He shouted joyfully. "Who wants pizza!?"
"...Over a dozen people died…..and you're asking about pizza?" April glared. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I …" The turtle winced.
"She's right." Leo stood up, wobbling slightly. "We got enough rest, we need to find the canisters."
"You can barely stand, fearless leader." Raph pointed out.
"We don't really have a choice do we? It's … it's all our fault." Leo bowed his head. "We let the mutagen fall…we opened the hatch and caused all of this."
Peter looked at the guilty group for a second, and she swore the guy was going to go off on them. "…I'd be a huge hypocrite if I got mad at you guys for this. You're not the only ones who's dumb mistake cost someone their life." He turned away.
"Yeah, but yours didn't reach the double digits…" Donnie muttered.
"Does the number even matter? A hundred lives or one… life is life. It's valuable, and people only get one." Peter said. "You guys already know I'm the poster child for self-appointed guilt for tragedies that could've been prevented. And if it was me talking all angsty right now, you'd be telling me to snap out of it and webbing my but to the nearest chair.
"True that." Raph nodded.
"So just get rest for now, heal up, and prepare to avoid sleep for the next week trying to track down mutagen canisters." Peter said. "Like a spider do."
"Alright…. I guess an hour or so of sleep wouldn't hur-" Leo couldn't finish on account of falling on his face right where he stood.
"Huh, so that's what it's like to be on the other side of it." Peter pondered, slightly hunching as he walked off. "Yeah, I better get the disinfectant. Sewer water on an open wound does not make a hardy mix."
"I got it." April got up and grabbed it for him. "I'm surprised…I don't think I'd be so quick to forgive something like this in the same position."
"Well, they're different than they were when we first met." Peter answered. "They know their actions have consequences now." He uncapped the bottle. "And plus… Well, it would be kind of stupid to even be mad right now. The last thing this team needs is to be divided and split up when we have a mutant epidemic on the rise. And with Harry and Eddie gone… well, I can use all the friends I can get."
"... I can get that." He needed at least some stability in his life. "... You were joking about the ignoring sleeping, right?"
"Oh heck no. When Timothy got mutated he joined the nightmares in my head, couldn't sleep if I tried." Peter answered. "That's why you put in the elbow grease and try to fix any problems and mistakes you make."
"Well, from my point of view, I think you're doing just fine." She smiled.
"Thanks." He nodded. "I'm glad I have you to talk to about this stuff. I can't imagine pour this out on May or Liz. They're not as prepared for the weird side of New York like you."
She felt a light blush come on. "Yeah, you know me, good ole April, always here… in the sewer… ready to talk." She wanted to do MORE than just talk though.
Peter chuckled as he walked out. "Alright guys, don't worry, this won't hurt a little bit."
"Aw sweet, totally need something non pain-AAAAH! YOU LIED!"
"No, I said it wouldn't hurt a little bit … it hurts a lot." Alot of feelings were racing through her mind right now, and at the moment, all of them converged on Peter. The only human friend she had that understood her life and her struggle, the one who she's been able to always count on to save her, the one she could always manage to talk to and who was able to make her laugh, and he was so responsible, and he was even pretty cute and-
She couldn't deny it. April O'Neil … had a crush on Peter Parker …..fuuuuuuccccckkkkkk! She couldn't have a crush! Gwen had a crush on him WAY before she did, and Peter was already doing stuff with Liz! Like … GAAAH! "... How does Leo have a more stable love life than me?" She lamented quietly. Why couldn't she have a crush on someone else? Well, there was Donnie she guessed…. But… there were some ... problems with that she wasn't willing to get into.
April shook her head. Peter took a hit for you tonight, saving you from being a hideous mutant … so she would make sure to have his back and keep him stable… even if she couldn't reveal her true feelings. The last thing he needed was for the love triangle to be a love square.