TCRI Research Facility
A nerdy black man in a white lab coat and large glasses strolled down a hallway, passing several locked security doors, each one with its own secrets. The most secure door stood at the end of the hallway where the man opened an eye slit on the door, staring into the darkened room. "And how is my favorite test subject doing today?" After a few seconds, the door shook with a vibration from being pounded on from the inside. "You'll come around, my friend. Soon you'll see the light." The man closed the slit before turning around to see Tatsu and his assistant standing right behind him. He jumped in surprised, catching his glasses as they slipped down his nose. "Mr. Tatsu, I wasn't expecting you today," Baxter Stockman said. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" "The time is fast approaching to unveil our plans for this city," Tatsu told him. "Tell me that we are ready." "Well, uh, Mr. Tatsu, the thing is--" Tatsu's assistant grabbed Stockman by the throat with an iron grip. "Why do you seek to disappoint me, Dr. Stockman?" Tatsu asked as he slightly nodded at the woman, who squeezed harder. "We had an understanding." "The experiments themselves are going better than anticipated," Stockman choked out. "But while physically the results are better than we hoped, mentally they still haven't accepted the change. There's nothing we can do about free will. Perhaps if we had voluntary participation, ones who want to be improved." "Unsatisfactory answer," the woman said. "Master?" "Let him go, Irma, although the good doctor is failing me, he may have a point," Tatsu told her. "Perhaps we should offer some voluntary recruits to test his theory. And if those fail, then you can separate his head from his body." Irma dropped the doctor, letting his slide to the floor as Tatsu stared down at him. "My patience is not to be taken lightly, Dr. Stockman," Tatsu said calmly. "The next time you bring me unsatisfactory news... you will join your ancestors in the afterlife." As they walked away, Stockman tried to catch his breath, all while a low laughter was heard from behind the door. * The Tang Shen Dojo Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo snuck into the dojo without anyone noticing them. No one except April, who stood in the doorway behind them. "You could have come in through the rear entrance, I left it unlocked for you." The three Turtles jumped in surprise as they turned to face April. Leonardo was quick to bow as a sign of respect. "Miss O'Neil," Leonardo said as he stood up. "It is an honor to finally be able to speak with you." "The honor is mine," April told the trio. "Perhaps you can tell me why The Purple Dragons are targeting my student." "We believe he has something on the Purple Dragons, something that his brother passed on to him before his... passing." Leonardo told her. "Walt's death hit us all pretty hard," April told them. "He started as a student here, but he had anger issues. More than we were equipped to deal with here. We tried to help him, but The Purple Dragon's influence was too great. The day he walked out of this dojo is one of my biggest regrets." "The Purple Dragons are the reason he died," Donatello said. "Do you know what he did to make them want to kill him?" "Zack happened," April told them. "Zack... isn't a fighter. He's incredibly brilliant but he's not the physical type. Seeing them together when Walt a student here, he was a complete opposite of the angry, violent boy I usually saw. Zack had a calming influence on him, one The Purple Dragons probably didn't take kindly to. They most likely made him choose between them and his brother." "And he chose the kid," Leonardo realized. "By then it was too late to get out and he knew too much. But now they're targeting Zack, and we think it's because Walt left him evidence that could take them down. We just need to find it." "Okay, I'm just going to acknowledge the elephant in the dojo," Michelangelo said. "How come she's not freaked out by us. And why did you say that she knows us? I've never met you before in my life, and I've been around for a few years." "You remember," April said as she looked at Leonardo. "How much?" "I'm gonna call him Leonardo, after that hunk in Titanic." a little girl's voice echoed. After staring off for a few seconds, Leonardo looked back up at her. "I remember enough. Do you know where Zack might hide something important?" "His locker, he says it's the safest place for all of his valuables," April told them. "But I can't just let you invade his personal space." "His life is on the line," Leonardo told her. "If he has something on The Purple Dragons, we need it to put them down. Please." * At the park, Zack rushed toward the bottom of the hill where Danny had come to a stop. His head had hit a rock along the way, knocking him out and causing it to bleed. "Come on, Danny, wake up," Zack pleaded as he saw a small lake near him. He ripped a sleeve off of his shirt and got it damp, trying to stop the blood as he held it to Danny's head. "Please, I need you to open your eyes." "It's better that he doesn't witness this," Hun said as he cracked his knuckles. "You think that's a lot of blood? Just wait until I'm through with you." "Please, my friend needs a doctor," Zack pleaded. "Just let me get him to a hospital." "You think I give a damn about either of you?" Hun asked with a sinister smirk. "Or do you think he cares about you? No one cares about you, you little punk. Not him, not your parents, that dojo leader, or that idiot brother of yours." "Shut up," Zack said as he stood up. "Don't talk about my brother." "Your brother died like a little bitch," Hun told him. "Just like you're about to." Zack screamed in anger as he went to punch Hun, who easily blocked and knocked Zack unconscious with one harsh blow. "Damn, I really wanted him awake while I beat him to death." Hun said. "Hey, Justin Bieber, how about you pick on someone your own size?" Raphael asked, appearing virtually out of nowhere. Hun's eyes went wide as he looked at the humanoid turtle. "Wh- what the hell are you?" "I'm pissed off, that's what I am," Raphael as he punched his knuckle into his palm. "You really want to do this? Or do you want to walk away and crap your pants in private?" Hun immediately rushed toward him as Raphael smiled. "I was hoping you'd go with option A." Raphael met Hun punch for punch as The Purple Dragon Member attacked, both members showing their fierceness for combat as they attacked each other with everything they had. "Is that the best you've got, freak?" Hun asked. "Not so tough when you're not attacking people behind their backs." "Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you," Raphael as he spun kicked Hun, sending him twirling to the ground, where he quickly recovered and moved before Raphael could attack while he was down. Meanwhile, Zack started getting up, seeing Raphael and Hun were fighting. Seeing a chance to get Danny to safety, he started dragging his new friend away while the fighters had been distracted. * "There's nothing in here," Donatello said after having combed through Zack's locker. "Just his karate gi, some pictures and some food that's way past its expiration." "I can't believe I broke Zack's trust by doing this." April told them. "Zack's trust isn't broken," Leonardo promised her. "We're trying to save his life. If we can find what the Purple Dragons are looking for--" "Hey, I know this place," Michelangelo said while looking through Zack's pictures. He held up a photo of Zack and Walt. "It used to be a skate park before it got closed down. I used to sneak down there and watch the kids skateboarding, hoping one day I'd be able to join them." "Walt loved to skateboard," April told them. "He wanted to teach Zack, but never found the time. That was their special spot." "Wait a minute," Donatello said as he took the photo. "If this was their special spot, who else knew about it?" "Just me," April told them. "Before Walt joined the Purple Dragons and gave up on the things he loved doing with Zack. Zack mentioned he goes there sometimes to sit and think in the middle of the night when no one else is around." "I think whatever Walt left for Zack is there," Donatello told them. "We need to get to that park." Just outside the door, a spy for The Purple Dragons eavesdropped before pulling out a cellphone. "Aunt Irma, call me back, I found something you might be interested in." * Danny moaned as he started opening his eyes, seeing nothing but darkness around. "Zack?" "Shh, don't move, I put a cold compress on your head, hopefully the bleeding's stopped," Zack whispered. "I got you to a small cave that was big enough to hide in. The Purple Dragons found us, but we got away. I don't know if it's safe to leave yet." "Why'd you save me?" Danny asked. "Because you're my friend," Zack told him. "You saved me, first. I guess we're even." "You don't want to be my friend," Danny told him. "I was trying to join The Purple Dragons, Zack. Hun told me that if I got you alone so he could get to you... that I'd be a full member. I nearly sold you out." "Why are you telling me this?" Zack asked as he backed away. "Because you're the first person in a very long time that's been cool towards me," Danny said. "The kids at school, the guys in the gang, hell, even my own Dad, don't seem to want to hang out with me. But you... you took the time to be with me. I'm sorry I set you up. If you want to leave me here to die, I don't blame you. Anyone else would." "I'm not anyone else," Zack told him. "And I do feel kind of pissed at you right now, but I'm not leaving you to die. Friends don't leave friends behind. We'll spend the night here, and hopefully it'll be safe to leave in the morning." * Raphael kicked Hun backward down another, smaller hill. As he landed at the bottom, Raphael jumped down and picked Hun up by the collar. "You're gonna leave that kid alone," Raphael told him. "Or next time I'm not gonna go so easy on you." "Maybe it was me going easy on you this whole time," Hun said as he kicked himself off of Raphael, knocking him off-balance. Before he could recover, Hun kicked Raphael into a small chasm that sat behind the Turtle. Raphael fell a good dozen feet, landing hard on the ground as Hun looked down and spit down at him. "Good riddance, freak." * "You don't have to do this," Leonardo said to April as they arrived at the skate park well after the sun had set. "This isn't your fight." "Zack is my student," April told him. "The Purple Dragons made it my fight when they targeted him. Besides, we have a lot to talk about once we finish this." "I suppose we do." Leonardo told her as Donatello and Michelangelo looked over at him. "Uhhh, want to fill us in on this, boss?" Donatello asked. "Later," Leonardo told them. "Right now, fan out and search. I don't know what we're looking for or where, but if it's anywhere, it's here." Michelangelo stared around the park, imagining himself hanging out with the normal human teens, being treated as if he were a human while sighing to himself. "Find anything?" Donatello asked. "Not yet," Michelangelo told him. "You know, I saw Walt hanging out with Zack sometimes. You could tell Walt really loved the little dude. I felt kind of jealous, hoping that one of my big brothers would hang out with me like that." "You know none of us knows a thing about skateboarding," Donatello told him. "Stop being so emotional about not getting us to ride a wooden board with you. We need to find that... whatever." Leonardo frowned, watching the conversation from not too far away. "This place is abandoned, Michelangelo," Leonardo said. "Maybe soon we could come here together, as long as there's at least two of us watching each other's back while we're out of the lair. You know, late at night where there's less risk of being caught." Michelangelo was about to respond when he noticed something. "Wait a minute...," the Turtle said as he remembered that being the main spot Walt and Zack hung out at when they were there. It was a large, hollow upright orange pipe meant for balance with a hole near the top. The Turtle reached in and pulled out a small wrapped package. "Guys, I found something!" "Good work, little brother," Leonardo told him. "Let's get this somewhere safe and find Raphael." As the Turtles and April turned to leave, they found themselves surrounded by every member of the Purple Dragons, a good many of them armed with chainsticks, bo staffs and swords. "Hey, who invited these dorks?" Michelangelo asked. The masked troops stood aside as Tatsu stepped forward. "Give us the package," Tatsu ordered in a gruff voice. "And maybe we let you live." "Oh, I've got a package for you." Michelangelo said as Donatello stopped him from raising his hand toward the gang. "Very well, you had your chance," Tatsu said as he lifted his arm and made a fist to signal his followers. "Leave no one alive." To Be Continued...
1 Comment
Terence Jordan
3/12/2019 01:09:51 pm
Another amazing issue. You capture the turtles very well. The story keeps pulled in all the way and have me anticipating for the next issue. It's about to go down!!
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Tobias ChristopherAuthor, pubescent ninjitsu master Archives
February 2019
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