Welcome back to continuing coverage of our top story. Here's a recap of the events of the last eight hours. As seen here in our exclusive footage caught on home video, a blinding flash lit up downtown and surrounding areas, apparently projected into space. The origin of the flash was the TCRI building, where senior correspondent Alex Carlin is standing by.
Yes Dwight, the scene here is tense in front of the still silent TCRI building...what the...?! It's happening again, what in the name of...?! Is this the vanguard of some alien invasion?! Or is this...the end of life as we know it?
When ninjas and Honeycutt regained their senses, they found themselves in a familiar chamber. Or at least, familiar to the ninjas. The TCRI building.
"They're back," exclaimed Mortu. He was standing by with two of those brain blob aliens in their hovercrafts.
"Not this place again," said Raph.
Mikey let out a cheer, "We're home! Yahoo! We made it!" He started kissing the ground, not caring how dirty it might be.
Suddenly, six figures appeared behind the ninjas and Honeycutt. Three Federation soldiers and three Triceratons that accidentally got caught in the beam with the ninjas and Honeycutt.
"Heads up, guys," exclaimed Leo. "Looks like we brought back some tagalongs!"
"Rule number one, never pick up hitchhikers," said Raph.
As the Triceratons and Federation pointed their guns at each other, Mr. Mortu came in and exclaimed, "No! Remain stationary! Stay calm! We will return you to your native continuity!" His words fell on deaf ears as he was forced to duck when a Triceraton fired at him.
"What is this madness? Where are the rest of our warriors?" Then the Triceraton saw Honeycutt. "The Fugitoid! Seize it!"
"Oh, dear," said the professor.
One of the Federation troops shouted, "Fire!"
The two forces began shooting at each other. Both groups dove for cover and continue firing. "Take cover!" shouted Leo. The ninjas and Fugitoid dove in different directions. Mikey sprung onto one end of the platform and said, "A welcome home party? You shouldn't have." His suit's tail extension suddenly got blasted off. "No, I mean it! You shouldn't have!"
The brain aliens tried to stop the fighting, only to get fired at. "Deploy stasis beam," said Mortu. A brain alien deployed a weapon from beneath its hover skiff and fired at a Triceraton, freezing him. The brain alien proceeded to fire at the other combatants until both the Triceraton and Federation fighters were frozen.
The sight of the brain alien made Dante groan and grab his head in pain. "Dante? What's wrong," asked Mikey.
"This is just like what happened before," reminded Leo.
The Foot Clan's symbol appeared in Dante's eyes as a look of rage formed. He lunged for the brain alien and began to squeeze its head, only for two Guardians to appear and pop a pill into his mouth. He immediately stopped and fell to the side, unconscious.
"Dante!" shouted Raph. "What did you do to him, you Agent Smith ripoffs?!"
"My sons," shouted a familiar voice. "Stop!"
Leo's eyes widened. "Master Splinter?"
"They are not our enemy," said the old rat.
"Master Splinter," the turtles exclaimed, rushing over to hug him.
He let out a groan as he said in a strained voice, "My sons, it is good to see you, too. Please, my spine!"
Dante groaned as he awoke. "What happened?" He looked around the room, then saw Splinter. "Master Splinter!" Excited, he rushed over and gave him and the turtles a hugging tackle, making them all fall over.
Splinter let out a gasp. "Can't breathe!" The turtles and Dante got off him and he helped himself up. "Here. I want you to meet some friends. I believe you have met the Guardians." He gestured to the men dressed in long black coats. "It was they who found me after the battle with the Shredder and brought me here to these benevolent beings who saved my life. This is my good friend, Mr. Mortu. Mortu, these are my sons."
"Um, thank you for saving our sensei," said Leo as he and his brothers bowed. Then he asked Splinter, "But who are they? What are they?"
"They call themselves Utroms. And their story is inextricably interwoven with our own." Splinter walked over to a vat with green slime in it. "The ooze that originally mutated us all was a byproduct of their experiments with this transmat device."
"So, the chemical makeup of the ooze is caused by the interdimensional shift of nonessential subatomic particles," said Donny.
"Yeah, those big words makes sense," said Dante.
Mikey babbled, "But where were we transported? How did we wind up back here? And what, what..." Raph silenced him by slapping him on the head. "Ow."
"All will be explained," said Mortu. "First, there's some business to take care of. Beam these intruders back to their original coordinates."
"Yes, sir," said one of the Utroms. He pressed a button and the transmat made the two Triceratons and three Federation troops disappear.
"Master Splinter, this is Doctor Honeycutt," Leo introduced the Fugitoid.
"I must apologize for my present condition," said the Fugitoid. "This mechanical body was..."
Wait. Weren't there three Triceratons? Yes. Unbeknownst to everyone, one Triceraton managed to hide while his comrades got stunned. He crawled across the floor unseen, reached an opening in the floor and dropped through, falling into the sewer system below.
"So, that's how I came to be here," Honeycutt said, finishing his story. By this point, the boys took off their space suits and atmosphere converters.
Splinter glared at his sons. "I see my sons have gotten into their usual amount of trouble in the eight hours they've been gone."
The boys' eyes widened. "D-Did you say eight hours," asked Dante. "We were halfway across the universe for three weeks!"
"Perhaps I can explain," said Mortu. "The exigencies of interdimensional travel affect not only the basic laws of three-dimensional space, but the fluidity of temporal mechanics as well."
"That is so cool," exclaimed Donny.
"Yeah, if it made any sense at all," said Mikey.
"What the heck is going on here," Raph demanded.
"All will be explained," said Mortu. "But first, Dante, I need you to come with me."
"Uh...why," the boy asked.
"Dante, have you and your brothers ever wondered why you needed to take those pills, or why you attacked me and my people when they wore off?" Dante nodded. "Well, you'll find out. We have to perform the surgery."
"S-Surgery?!"
"Hey, you're not going to cut up our little bro," Raph shouted.
"It's alright," Splinter said. "If it's beneficial for Dante, I will allow it."
Dante looked at Splinter, who gave him a nod. "Okay," he said.
A few minutes later, Dante exited a chamber with Mortu by his side. "Dante, how do you feel," Leo asked.
"A little weird, but fine. These Utroms have surgical precision unlike any Earthling!"
"Now, look at this," said Mortu as he held up a slide with a small piece of flesh in it. "We extracted this from Dante's brain."
"Ew," Mikey exclaimed.
"What is it," Donny asked.
"An inhibitor chip," said Mortu. "This is the reason you attacked me and my companions, as well as your brothers, Dante. Those with this chip implanted in their bodies obey the woman you call Nathalie, and by extension, the Shredder."
"Shredder?!" the turtles exclaimed while Splinter's eyes widened.
"Yes. The chips are surgically implanted into the brains of every single Foot Sleeper embryo past stage three of development."
"Who are the Foot Sleepers," Dante demanded.
"The perfect genetically built spies and assassins, created by Nathalie at the Shredder's behalf. They were placed around the city and programmed to kill any of the Shredder's enemies upon making eye contact. She created about twenty-one of them so far."
Dante's eyes widened. "Th-The dog tag with my name. And the numbers...8/21."
"We always assumed those numbers meant his birthday," said Donny. "But, you're telling us Dante is...number 8 of 21 kids that obey the Shredder?!"
"Oh, my," said Professor Honeycutt.
Dante was frozen in silence. "So...I'm not a kid. I'm a weapon made by the Shredder's scientists?" His body began to tremble. "I'm a monster."
"No, you're not," Raph insisted. "And take it from someone who literally is a monster. You're still that same annoying kid who always looks up to me."
"It is not the form of a thing that matters," said Splinter. "It is its nature."
Dante smiled. "Thanks, guys. But I still feel bad for the other twenty kids that are forced to do the Shredder's bidding. I wish there was a way we can save them."
"I'm not sure if we can," said Donny. "That would require surgical precision. Something even I don't have."
Mortu handed Dante a device that resembled a jet injector. "This is how we were able to remove the inhibitor chip from your brain. Use it to save those children."
Dante took it and said with a determined look, "I will. But I still want to know not just my nature, but all our natures." He gestured to his turtle brothers and rat father. "How does it tie with you Utroms, and the Shredder?"
"That's what I like to know," said Mikey. "It's all so confusing."
My friends, let there be no more secrets between us," said Mortu as he loosened his tie and then spread open his shirt to reveal the Utrom pilot inside his stomach. Mortu's true form. The turtles and Dante gasped in surprise. "Follow me. We shall begin... at the beginning," he said.
Meanwhile, outside the TCRI building, the National Guard had arrived and surrounded it.
"Alpha Unit, move out!"
"All civilian personnel, clear the area!"
However, none of them noticed the small spider-like robot climbing up the side of the building. Its carapace opened, revealing the head of a certain mad scientist thought to be dead.
"I'm back," Baxter Stockman laughed.
Inside, Mortu led the way into another chamber. At its center was a set of tall pods.
"I've seen this movie," said Mikey. "We're, uh, not gonna have anything burst out of our chests, are we?"
"This is the Oracle Pod Chamber where our race assumes its highest state of communion," explained Mortu. "Where many minds enter into oneness by sharing life experience. Inside these pods, you'll be able to share the story of our lives."
"You know, I can't think of one science fiction movie where a pod has been a good thing," said Mikey.
"All will be explained," said Mortu. "Please enter the pods."
The film covering the pods' openings separated and the turtles, Dante and Splinter each climbed into a separate pod. The see-through film covered the opening, and semi-organic mental caps clamped onto their heads.
"Easy," Raph snapped.
"Fascinating," said Donny.
"A little off the top, please," joked Mikey.
"This isn't going to hurt, is it," Dante asked.
"No. Don't be afraid. Prepare yourselves to become one with the sacred memories of the Utroms." He pressed a button and the gem at the center of the caps lit up. The turtles, Dante and Splinter soon find themselves floating in nothingness, with lights flashing around them.
"Amazing," said Donny. "Technically, this is only happening in our minds. And we're all sharing the experience simultaneously."
The next thing the group knew, they were in another chamber, one that was technological and organic. Three Utroms floated in a pod, while a fourth was at the wheel. The fourth, revealed to be Mortu, asked the three in the pod, "Your blessing, Honored Navigators?"
All three of them said at once, "Your course is straight and true. Through the vastness of space and time, Captain. You have the blessings of the Navigators."
"Master Splinter, your friend Mortu's the captain," said Leo.
"Okay. I'm not even gonna ask about the brains in the jar, Mr. Mortu," said Mikey. But Mortu did not respond. "Mr. Mortu? Guys? Yo, blobheads." They didn't respond. He folded his arms with a huff. "Fine. Be that way. Snooty Utroms."
"Mikey, this isn't real," said Dante. "We're just watching a memory. Like a movie."
"But it all seems so real." He reached out to touch the Navigators' pod and his hand slipped through. Suddenly, the history sequencing shifted and the turtles, Dante and Splinter found themselves floating in nothingness.
"Whoa, what's happening," asked Raph.
"If it's a movie, maybe we're cutting to the next scene," said Mikey.
Once more the scene solidified and the turtles, Dante and Splinter were back on the Utrom vessel, in a different area. A large pod holds an Utrom prisoner, four separate cables running to harnesses on his body. This Utrom was different from the others. He was red in color, had three prong-like protrusions on his head, and had a lightning-shaped scar going down his left eye.
He spoke in a rasping, grave voice, "These security precautions are pitiful. You will never hold me."
Mortu used his hover pod to float up to the prisoner's face and said, "We have finally captured you after a hundred year search. We're not about to lose the most ruthless criminal the universe has ever known."
The red Utrom laughed and said, "I will escape and you will all perish. That is my promise."
"Big talk, little slime ball," Raph
"Big talk, little slime ball," said Mortu.
Raph chuckled. "Hey, I like the way this Mortu guy thinks."
As Mortu flew away, Mikey made faces at the red Utrom. "Yoo-hoo! Hey, there, you ugly little Utrom!" He blew a raspberry at him.
"Michelangelo," scolded Splinter. "You should know better than to tempt fate!"
"But, Master Splinter, you're always saying we should tell the truth. And the truth is, Mr. Creepy here is pretty ugly!"
"That is not the point."
"Just let him have his fun," said Dante.
The sequencing shifted again. The group found themselves on the bridge once more. Donny looked out the window and said, "Hey, look! We're passing close to Earth."
Suddenly, a female Utrom exclaimed to Mortu, "Captain! The prisoner has escaped!"
Mortu quickly spoke into the PA system, "Security, report!"
"The prisoner is attacking! We are- AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Static was all Mortu heard next.
The alarm blared and the lights began to flicker. The three navigators said, "Emergency! Power cut! Engines are offline! Our minds are going dark. Cell by cell. We are undone."
Mortu shouted, "Helm, you have control of the bridge! Security detail, with me! To the engine room!"
"I hope nothing bad happens to these guys," said Raph as he watched them go. "I'm kinda getting to like 'em."
"I think it did," said Dante.
"He's right," said Leo. "Whatever happens, it's all history now, Raph."
Another sequencing shift took the group to the engine room as Mortu and the security team arrived. "Careful! The prisoner is very crafty!"
There was a hissing sound and they reacted with a gasp. The red Utrom slithered from around the back of a machine with two sparking power cords in his tentacles. "You see? I always keep my promises. Goodbye, Captain." He touched the two power cords together, causing an explosion that caused the ship to begin plummeting.
Mortu made it back to the bridge and shouted, "Helmsman! Helmsman, set a course for that uncharted planet!" He pointed to the Earth. "We are Utroms. We are one! We shall not fail! We shall not fail!
The ship began to burn up as it entered the planet's atmosphere. Mikey tried to remind himself, "It's only a movie! It's only a movie! It's only a- WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"
The vessel hit the water and bounced. Mortu pulled back on the steering gear, straining to keep the ship skimming just above the water's surface. It bounced several times and Mikey screams. Then the vessel hit a shoreline, breaking up on impact. The turtles, Dante, and Splinter rise up from the wreckage.
"Dude," said Mikey. "I can't believe we're in one piece."
"Remember, this is all a memory, an illusion," Donny reminded him.
"Tell that to my stomach!"
"Tell me about it," said Dante. "I think I'm gonna throw up!"
Meanwhile, outside the TCRI building, soldiers had set up barricades and a tank drove past. The Battle Shell was parked in a nearby alleyway. April and Casey were inside, monitoring the situation.
"Looks like they're gonna try something," said Casey.
"They guys still aren't answering their shell cells," said April. "They've been gone more than eight hours already."
"All right, time's up. I'm goin' out there."
He got up to leave, but April put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. "To do what, Casey? There's about a hundred National Guardsmen between us and them. The best way we can help the guys is by sitting tight and being ready when they need us."
Frustrated, Casey slammed his fist on the dashboard. "I know, but I don't have to like it!"
Meanwhile, back in the virtual reality playback, the turtles, Dante, and Splinter were outside of the Utrom vessel's remains. The surviving Utroms, including the three Navigators in their pod, sat around a campfire. Mortu said, "My friends and honored Navigators. We are all safe, but the ship is ruined. "He displayed a three-dimensional image of the solar system. "We are stranded on this primitive planet millions of light years from our home world."
"There is not enough to salvage to repair the ship," said the navigators. "We cannot return home?"
"No."
"How are they gonna get home," said Mikey.
"They didn't," said Dante.
"But what about now?"
An Utrom approached Mortu and said, "Captain! There's a structure beyond the next rise."
The Utroms, along with the turtles, Dante and Splinter, climbed the rise to a ridge overlooking a village.
"Wait...is this," Dante asked. His eyes widened with excitement. "It is! We're in Japan!"
Donny saw a samurai practicing his moves with a katana and said, "Eleventh century feudal Japan from the look of it."
"I got one word; wow," said Raph.
"To actually be here to see the birthplace of Bushido and Ninjutsu," said Leo excitedly.
"Hey, guys!" Mikey bounced over to stand in front of the samurai and held up his nunchaku. "I'm in a samurai movie." He spun his nunchucks against the sword, and though they didn't touch, he still countered each of the man's moves. "Your blade cannot touch the mighty ronin, Michelangelo-san! I am the storming sea! I am the breaking wind!"
"Michelangelo, show some respect," Splinter scolded.
Aww! Sorry, Sensei." Mikey started walking back but stopped upon seeing a picnic lunch. "Yeah! Well, I'm definitely gonna respect his breakfast." He knelt and tries to grab a rice ball, but his hand went through it. "Huh?"
Dante laughed. "Did you forget? It's not real!"
Mikey sobbed over-dramatically.
"There is some sort of lesson here," said Splinter with a smile. "But I'm enjoying this too much to think what it is."
The other turtles all laughed at Mikey.
Back at the Utrom's campsite, they held a meeting. One of the Utroms said, "In brief, Captain, we conclude that the technology on this planet is too primitive to build a flying vehicle, let alone an interstellar ship or even a hyperspace transmat device. The technology simply does not exist. Not yet, but we can wait."
"Okay, reality check," said Mikey. "How long do these guys live? They're gonna wait centuries until they can build themselves a way home?"
"I believe that is exactly what they do," said Splinter.
"And still are," said Dante.
Outside of the TCRI building, Stockman searched the glass windows until he found the disguised opening. The metal shell on his spider body closed over his head and he scuttled inside, crawling along the ceiling. "Proceeding to phase one."
Inside the virtual reality, a group of people walked along a dirt road. The Utroms pulled back into the shrubbery in order to observe them. At their base camp, a pair of Utroms floated next to a rectangle box made of bamboo shoots and covered in cloth. One of them said, "From our technology that we've been able to salvage from the crash, I give you the Exo-suit!" He pulled back the cloth and opened the box, revealing a robot suit with a hole in its stomach big enough for an Utrom to fit inside.
"With the proper covering, this will allow us to move us to move among these humans undetected," said the other scientist.
"So that's how they came to develop those robot bodies. Amazing," said Donny.
"It's still kinda creepy," said Dante.
The scientist flew into the stomach cavity and took control of the robot suit. "I believe a field test-" The Exo-suit moved awkwardly. "Oh, my- is in order."
A time shift showed the Exo-suit, now covered in clothing and wearing a straw hat, walking along the dirt path toward some humans. The Exo-suit's arms were splayed out and it walked with a wobbling gait, but the people ignored it. The turtles, Dante and Splinter followed it into the forest. The scientist pilot inside said as it began to walk like a normal person, "Ah. Satisfactory, most satisfactory. Test run concluded. First outing a complete success!"
Suddenly, the suit stepped on a trip wire, causing a log to swing toward them.
"It's a trap," shouted Leo. "Look out!"
The log slammed into the Exo-suit, knocking it onto its back. A shadow loomed over the scientist, who gasped. "You!"
It was the red Utrom. "What a wonderful toy. I want to play," he said wickedly.
It's that evil Utrom," growled Raph. "I was kinda hoping he didn't survive that crash."
The red Utrom kicked the scientist out of the suit and took control. He brought the Exo-suit to its feet and went after the Utrom scientist, who was attempting to flee. He grabbed one of the scientist's tentacles and picks him up, laughing maniacally as he dangled the scientist upside down.
Dante, forgetting he was only watching a memory, grabbed his chakrams and shouted, "Put him down!"
"You know what, I'm with Dante on this one," said Raph as he and his brothers armed themselves with their own weapons. "I know this happened a long time ago, but I'm getting mad right now!" They all tried to attack the red Utrom, but they just went right through him.
"Well, that we useless," said Donny.
The red Utrom tossed the scientist away, then walked away, cackling. Then the scene changed again.
"Now what," asked Raph.
"Time's passing, a lot of time," said Donny.
"What's happening?!"
At the crash site, the Utroms were hard at work, including the injured scientist. Additional Exo-suits had been built. Suddenly, a group of ninjas appeared and surrounded them before attacking them. Then, another figure appeared, clad in a samurai's armor and helmet and wearing a pair of clawed gauntlets.
"No..." whispered Dante. "It's...him! The Shredder!"
The Shredder pointed and shouted, "Ninjas, attack! Destroy them all!" Several Utrom in Exo-suits jumped on the Shredder and tried to attack him with shock staffs, but he threw them all off.
"What is the meaning of this," Mortu asked as he defended himself from the ninjas. "We mean you no harm. We come in peace!"
The Shredder kicked Mortu onto his back. "But you will go in pieces!"
"It can't be our Shredder," said Donny. "This is seven hundred years ago. It must be the Shredder's ancestor or something."
"Oh, yeah," Dante asked. "Look at the sigil those ninjas are wearing! It's the symbol of the Foot Clan!"
"Then, that must means we are watching the origins of the Foot," said Leo.
Inside the TCRI building, Stockman continued to skitter along the ceiling, unseen by Utrom patrols. He entered the Oracle Pod Chamber. While Professor Honeycutt marveled at the Utrom's technology, Stockman scuttled over to the wiring panel beneath the pods. His shield slid back and his head popped up as he removed a panel cover and began messing with the wiring. "Sweet dreams, you cursed freaks! Or should I say very unpleasant nightmares."
In the virtual reality playback, Mikey approached the Shredder. "Mikey, get back," warned Leo. "Don't get too close to him."
"Aw, don't sweat it, Leo. Like you told me, this isn't real, remember?" Mikey walked up to the Shredder and stuck his tongue out. "Hey, ugly. Bla-bla-bla!"
Suddenly, the environment suddenly changed and the turtles, Dante, and Splinter saw their weapons vanish. "Our weapons! They've disappeared," exclaimed Leo.
Suddenly, Mikey had the suspicion the Shredder was looking AT him and not THROUGH him. "What?!" Before Mikey could react, Shredder punched him extremely hard, knocking him unconscious.
Inside the chamber, Mortu and Honeycutt saw that something was amiss.
"What's happening," asked Honeycutt.
"I don't understand," said Mortu. "Something has gone horribly wrong!"
"Oh, dear! Michelangelo's vital signs! They're going critical!"
Stockman, still unseen, spoke into a communicator in his ear, "This is Stockman. All finished here. I am proceeding to phase two."
As the other turtles, Dante, and Splinter rushed to help Mikey, the Shredder said, "Curious." He turned to his ninja. "Capture those strange creatures. They may prove useful."
"Michelangelo needs help," exclaimed Splinter. "He is badly hurt!"
The other turtles and Dante saw the ninjas closing in.
"Someone must have altered the program on us," exclaimed Donny.
"Whatever! We're in it up to our necks," said Leo. "This reality isn't virtual anymore!"
To be continued...