Live-Action Earth (Dimension B); New York City, December 19TH, 1997 A.D. |
Who are you? Who sent you here?" Leo held the odd-looking katana to the Turtles throat, pinning him in place on the ground.
"Its one of Queases clones again," Don remarked, studying him. "It has to be."
Leo narrowed his eyes and looked him over once again. "No." Everything about him looked so real, so natural. "No, I dont think so..."
Mike finished the sentence for him. "This one looks genuine." He glanced at Raph. "Hey, its got your color bandanna on..."
While the others had been practicing, this Turtle imposter had seemed to just fall on them from a ripple the sky. But how exactly did it get here, and where had it come from? Donatello had gone over all the possibilities, but he just couldnt come up with a concrete, scientific answer. Of course, were she around, Venus would probably insist that it was magic.
As the others were deliberating, Michaelangelo found his opportunity to make his move. In a swift motion, he shoved the blade aside, flipped backward, and was on his feet facing them.
"Hey, its mobile!" the one in the orange mask shouted.
Michaelangelo rubbed his head. "Jeeze,
guys, what gives?" But as he looked closer, he noticed that
these were not his brothers, but some very strange looking Turtles
in different colored masks, wearing letters on their belts and/or
straps. The only one of them in red shot him an evil stare.
"Who are you? Whered you come from?"
"My names Michaelangelo... Im a Ninja Turtle,
and"
"Wait a minute... hold on!" The orange-masked one seemed
a little upset. "Im Michaelangelo!"
"Who are you working for?" the blue-masked one asked
coolly.
Michaelangelos head was spinning. Perhaps that bump on the
head had done more damage than hed thought. Or maybe the
time or dimensional travel had messed with his brain. Wait
a minute! Dimensional travelthats
it! Im in an alternate dimension. Too many bad science
fiction novels and films came to his mind. "What day is it?
What year is it?"
"December 19th, 1997your
last day on Earth if you dont tell us who the heck"
"Raph..." The blue-masked Turtle
held out a hand, stopping him.
Michaelangelo stared at them in disbelief. "Raph?
Did you say Raph?"
"Thats my name," the red-masked one hissed.
"On the contrary, buddy." The voice from behind caught
everyones attention, and when they turned around, they found
themselves facing another red masked Turtle who looked strikingly
similar to the one that had fallen on them just moments ago. This
one had no bandanna, but instead had an eyepatch over his left
eye.
"Raph!" Michaelangelo grinned. "So he didnt send me here alone..." But Leo... Donny... Renet... if Raph and I are here, what happened to them? Where are they?
"Would someone like to tell me what
the hecks going on here?" the blue masked one stood
eyeing them skeptically, his fists on his hips.
"You tell me." The second displaced Turtle went to join
the first. "One minute we were in the 79TH
Level of Null-Time, and then suddenly I was face first in a pile
of dustn shit in this crazy place."
Michaelangelo buried his face in his hands, rubbing it for a moment, muttering, "An alternate dimension..."
"Turtles from an alternate dimension?"
orange masked Mike asked, rubbing his temples. "Stranger
things have happened, I guess."
Raphael stared at his surroundings. The walls were made of brick,
the floor of concrete, not too much different from their current
cemetery mausoleum den back home. At the far end, a ladder stretched
high above them, probably leading to the world above. Suddenly,
recognition struck him. A sewer... this is a sewer...
But not any sewera
subway station, either abandoned or otherwise left unfinished.
Cars of a train still on its tracks seemed to have been made into
the dwellings of the Turtles of this dimension.
"Uh, nice place, guys..." Michaelangelo began to walk
slowly around the room, noticing the empty pizza boxes and weapons
strewn all over the place. It almost reminded him of the lair
he had grown up in back home in the sewers, except this was a
disaster area. Blankets, dirty dishes, and some indistinguishable
items covered every inch of the place. Splinter would have never
approved of such disorder. "You always lived here?"
"Not always," Michaelangelos orange-masked counterpart replied. "We did grow up in a pretty bogus sewer den... then we lived for a while in Aprils country home after her store burned down"
"Your April had her store burned down, too? Ours did, too. By the Shredder?"
"Nope, but Im sure he ordered it," the purple-masked one answered. "It was Tatsu and his Foot thugs."
Raphael and Michaelangelo shook their heads, asking simultaneously: "Tatsu?"
"Big bald guy," Don continued. "Bad attitude; not big on words. Shredders right hand man for a while. Not sure what happened to him."
"So you guys killed Shredder, too?" Raphael asked the Turtles of this dimension.
"Not exactly," Leonardo responded. "Splinter sort of killed him the first time... but he wasnt really dead. He came back, then mutated himself into, well, a SuperShredder in a club Vanilla Ice was performing at."
"Youre kidding..."
"No, he really did become a SuperShred"
"No... Vanilla Ice?"
Leo shrugged. "I guess the Foot found him afterward and reversed the mutagen in his bloodstream like we did to Tokka and Rahzar... made him normal again. Last we saw of him he was a catatonic wreck torn into two personalitiesThe Shredder and Oroku Saki."
"Aw, shit, man," Raphael mused. "We killed Shredder for reals twice. Blew him up real good the first time, then fearless leader Leo chopped his fucking head off the second three years later." Raphael chuckled, debating whether or not he should mention that in his dimensionrealityhe had taken on the mantle of the Shredder.
This dimensions Turtles seemed taken aback by Raphaels words. Leonardo was the one to ask the question they all pondered: "You Turtles... kill?"
"Were ninja," Raphael answered without shame. "Ninja kill. Or is the definition of ninja different in this whacked out dimension?"
Leonardo winced. "Thats... not what Master Splinter taught us... he taught us"
"Whatever, man," grumbled Raphael.
He started pacing around, starting to look restless. "You
know, this place is a real dump. Whos your decorator, Ghandi?"
The one in the tattered red mask pushed past the others and stared
Raphael coldly in the face. "What did you say?"
Raphael stood his ground, a tight scowl spreading over his lips.
"I said this place sucks."
"Hey, One Eye." The red masked one pulled out a double
sai staff, holding it up so the light reflected off its tip, as
if to emphasise his point. He snapped it open, taking a sai in
each hand. "No one comes into my home and degrades it. Take
that back."
"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do
if I dont?"
"Im gonna run you through, and use you as a wall ornament."
"You and what army?" Raphael too, pulled out his weapons.
"Dont forget which one of us is willing to kill."
Michaelangelo stared from one to the other, realizing with awe,
that in this angered state, it was actually hard to tell the two
apart, aside from a few physical characteristics. The other Turtle
was a little taller, and his forearms and ankles were covered
with a heavy white lacing. His bandana was torn and tattered,
possibly from battle. But their angered expressions matched almost
perfectly.
"Hold on, Raph." The blue masked one tugged his comrade
by the arm, and reluctantly, he allowed himself to be pulled away.
The two groups stared at one another for a while, each scrutinizing
the other, trying to find an answer to this maddening puzzle.
What were these other Turtles doing here? Where had they come
from? Who were they?
Finally the blue masked one spoke up. "Okay, look. This isnt
getting us anywhere. Now, you two seem like reasonable Turtles.
Why dont you tell us who you really are and how you got
here?"
Michaelangelo decided that he better be the one to explain this
whole thing. Raphael seemed to be very close to losing his patience
entirely. He explained about Renet, about the time travel, about
their trip to the 79TH Level. He told them
about their discovery of the Shogun, how somehow familiar he seemed.
He explained the Shoguns plans and the events that took
place in the 79TH Level leading to their
"banishment," evidently to the alternate dimension Michaelangelo
and Raphael now found themselves in. He even talked about their
own master Splinter and everything that led up to their mutation.
"That cinches it..." Donatello stared at them in awe.
"These guys arent clones, theyre us."
He knew his friend was right. There was no way that these guys
could have possibly known all theyd told him about their
master and their transformations otherwise. One of the only discrepancies
was their relation. This Turtle claimed they were brothers, but
it had been made clear to him by both Don and Master Splinter
that they werent of the same blood. Another discrepancy
was their ageMichaelangelo
and Raphael were nineteen in their reality, but the Turtles in
this dimension were seventeen... though it could be attributed
to the apparent fact that not only had the two Turtles been thrown
into an alternate dimension, but two years into the past. He should
have made the connection earlier. December 19th, 1997 one of the
native Turtles had said earlier... it was December 19th, 1999
in Raphael and Michaelangelos reality.
But no matter. If their story was true, they
had been taken from their own time and dimension and sent here,
which also meant that the whole timestream, if not the fabric
of material reality itself, could be in great danger. But why?
Why had they been sent here of all places, to face another version
of themselves? And what would happen to history now that they
had?
"This is too weird," the orange-masked Turtle exclaimed.
"Oh well..." he held out a hand to his new found friends.
"Im Michaelangelo. But you can call me Mikey."
Michaelangelo stared at his counterpart thoughtfully. He seemed
a little overly dramatic, almost to the point of annoyance. He
was sure glad that thishopefullywasnt his permanent dimension.
Otherwise, he might drive his own self crazy! Nevertheless, he
seemed genuine and witty, two things he admired in himself.
"Hi, Mike, nice to meet you." He shook the others
hand. "Im Michaelangelo, too. For the sake of our sanity,
why dont you call me Michaelangelo and Ill call you
Mike?"
The Turtle agreed, and proceeded to introduce himself to Raphael.
The red-masked one was the last to approach the new Turtles, and
he did so cautiously. "I still dont know if I trust
you guys, but if you really are us, then I guess I should
say welcome to our humble abode."
As Raphael shook his counterparts hand, a weird feeling
flowed through him. This was like looking into a mirror of his
very soul. He could see himself now in a way that he never had
before, and it both frightened and amused him.
Their introductions were broken suddenly, as the lairs alarm
system began to sound. Michaelangelo stared at the flashing police
lights in fascination for a moment. Wonder how they got that
down here. Hmmm... maybe I could convince Donatello to put one
of those in the lair back home...
"Don," Leo asked quickly. "Whats going on?
Is someone close to the lair?"
"Ill check it out on my Turtle-fied Eye in the Sky."
The purple masked turtle sat down in front of a strange looking,
souped-up computer monitor and began to type on the keyboard.
"Cripes, its the Dragon Lord!" he breathed. "Hes
close to the lair, but not down here in the sewers. Looks like
hes above..."
"Can you pinpoint his location?"
The Turtle typed a few more things into the computer, watching
anxiously as the bright dot moved quickly to the north. "It
looks like hes moving toward the old museum on 132nd street."
"Well, whatre we waiting for? Lets book!"
Raph grabbed up a pole with a sai at each end. Raphael couldnt
help but laugh a little. The weapon looked utterly ridiculous.
"Mike, go tell Splinter and get Venus."
Mike scooted quickly from the room.
Venus? Raphael thought, Who the hell is that? Their
chimpanzee sidekick?
He found out soon enough, when this dimensions Mike reappeared
with another Turtle right behind him.
"Whoa... whos the babe?" Michaelangelo gasped.
Aside from an embarrassing occasion when the shapeshifter called
Lurch briefly turned into one and made out with him, he had never
seen a female mutant Turtle before, and quite frankly, it fascinated
him.
"This is Venus DeMilo, otherwise known as Mei Pieh Chi,"
Leonardo introduced quickly.
"Hello," the light blue bandannaed female Turtle said
gracefully, if not a little confused. "It is nice to meet
you... but please, do not refer to me as babe. Or
hottie, for that matter."
"Uhhh... sorry..." Michaelangelo blushed.
A female Turtle? Raphael thought to himself. With tits?
Man, now Ive seen everything!
"Well have more time for introductions later. Right
now, we have to stop the Dragon Lord!"
"Wait a minute! Who the hell is this Dragon Lord, and why
the hell should we help you?" Raphael demanded. He thought
briefly of his brothers nemesis, the Warlord Go-Komodo,
whose henchmen referred to as "The Dragonlord," but
didnt think the Turtles he was in the company of now meant
the same guy.
"Raph, theyre us," Mike observed. "Their
enemies are our enemies."
"The Dragon Lord is a powerful adversary," Leo said.
"If you help us defeat him, I swear that we will do what
we can to help you defeat this... Shogun... and return home."
Leonardo had never been one to go back on his promises. After
a moment of deliberation, Raphael finally agreed.
As they hurried out into the sewer tunnels, Michaelangelo stared
after Venus, and then glanced excitedly at Raphael. "Wow...
we certainly dont have one of those at home!"
"Jeeze... you guys have a Hummer?"
Mike stared at the vehicle in awe. "Master Splinter would
never let us have a car..." He thought better of mentioning
their aircar, which had once nearly gotten them in an extreme
amount of trouble when they had been seen landing it in their
Westwood Cemetery lair. "Were ninja; we move with the
night... and fade away into it..."
"Yeah, well, he doesnt really like the idea of us
having one either, but hes gotta admit, it sure helps us
get around!" Leo hopped in the drivers seat and started
up the engine as Michaelangelo watched the others battle for a
spot in the front seat.
As soon as Raphael spotted Raph with his motorcycle, Michaelangelo
knew there was going to be trouble.
"Wait a minute... you have a bike?"
Raph grinned at his counterpart, who stood there in complete awe
over the massive machine. "Yeah...shes a beaut,
isnt she?"
"Wait... this aint no fair! You guys get all the cool
shit, and were stuck back in our time with nothing but our
feet and our weapons! What gives?"
Raph shrugged and started up the motorcycle. "Thems
the breaks, I guess. You should see the anti-vampire gear we used
on Vam Mi."
Raphael laid his hands on the handle bars. "Lemme ride this
muther."
"I dont think so." Raph gave him a cocky look.
"Look, Im not leaving here unless its on this."
"Fine," Raph snarled. "Goodbye."
"Youre not listening to me..." Raphael held his
grip on the motorcycle.
"Get your hands off my bike!" Raph yelled.
"Its just as much my bike as it is yours. Im
you, remember?
An argument ensued, which turned into shoving, which turned into
the tipping of the motorcycle.
"Youre gonna pay for that..." Raph hissed.
Finally, Leo stepped in. "Knock it off, both of you! Were
supposed to be trailing the Dragon Lord, not fighting amongst
ourselves." Suddenly, that idea seemed so bizzarefighting
with ones own self.
"Come on, Raphael," Michaelangelo pleaded. "We
dont belong here. We need to help these guys and find a
way out of here. You do want to go home, dont ya?"
Raphael mumbled something inaudible, and stormed off toward the
Hummer to join the others. "Fine. But then I get to sit next
to her." He found a spot in the back right next to
Venus.
Raph glared as he picked up the bike, but then, noticing no damage,
a satisfied smirk spread across his face.
Leo glanced over at Michaelangelo and noticed his seat belt wasnt
fastened. "A good ninja always buckles up," he instructed.
Michaelangelo forced a smile and glanced back at Raphael, who
was rolling his eyes and murmuring "what the fuck?"
This Leonardo was even more annoying than the one back home.
"Raphn Roll, baby!" Raph shouted as he peeled
out on the motorcycle.
"Yeah!" Don shouted. "Were gonna show the
Dragon Lord some Total Turtlefication!"
"Its mega-shellage time!"
"Mess with the green and its gonna get mean!"
Raphael itched under his eyepatch, giving Michaelangelo a curious frown. Michaelangelo just shrugged.
The museum was dark and quiet. Beams of light
lit up the room, casting orange shadows on the expensive paintings
and sculptures. The crackle and hum from the security system was
the only sound. Leo glanced to Don, who nodded in return. He knew
what to do. Carefully and quietly, he rushed away, in search of
the control panel. After a few moments of careful testing and
analysing, Don found the correct switch and pushed it. Dim lights
turned on suddenly, and the lazer beams fizzled out.
They glanced around carefully, searching for signs of their enemy.
All was quietdeadly quiet in
fact, and Raphael didnt like it.
"Looking for me?" a deep, menacing voice said from behind
them. They whirrled around, and Michaelangelo and Raphael saw
one of the craziest sights theyd ever seen. It was a six
foot tall talking dragon man, reminding the two of King Komodo
back home. His skin was reptilian green, his eyes the color of
sapphires, and he wore his black hair in a pontytail down the
back of his neck. He was wearing some form of protective armor,
and he weilded a sword. A funny looking, smaller dragon creature
rested on his shoulder, a silly grin showing off his many sharp
teeth.
Leo drew his sword and held it steady in front of him. "Youre not going to win this time, Dragon Lord."
The Dragon Lord laughed, shaking visibly as he did so. "Not only am I going to win, but I will have you on my dinner plate tonight!"
As he began to cackle again, Raphael exchanged
curious frowns with Michaelangelo. They had fought some pretty
cheesy villains before, but this guy took the cake.
"Ohhh... majesty, can we eat them now? Just a little taste,
perhaps?" The little dragon at his shoulder squealed in a
high-pitched, irritatingly scratchy voice.
"Silence, Wicke! First we destroy them... then we eat."
Raphael pulled his sai from his belt and stepped up to face the enemy. "Sorry, but you aint eatin nothing, shitface. In fact, I doubt youll even be around to see your next meal."
The Dragon Lord stared at him in confusion
and then at his comrades. There were now seven Turtles instead
of five. Were they multiplying? Was he hallucinating? Where had
the other two come from? It didnt matter. This defeat would
be even more glorious than hed hoped. He would be able to
absorb the power of seven mutants instead of five.
The seven Turtles stood in ready mode, preparing for the battle.
Raphael figured taking out this dragon guy would be easy. He hadnt
expected a whole army of black-clad Rank warriors to scurry in
from the shadows.
"Get them!" the Dragon Lord shouted.
Suddenly, the swarm of green-faced ninjas were upon them.
"Its Green Time!" the five shouted. Michaelangelo
shot Raphael an amused, questioning look. Raphael just grinned
and shook his head.
The battle broke out. Raphael and Michaelangelo noticed that the other Turtles didnt use their weapons much. They seemed to prefer their bare hands. Raphael, however, enjoyed working with his sai, and decided that their triumph would be much quicker if he used them. Besides, as Raphael rationalized it, a dead enemy doesnt come back for more. Michaelangelo also weilded his nunchuks, which Mike watched him use in interest. His counterpart used nightstick-like tonfa, which were much more restrictive. That was probably why he generally discarded the weapon most of the time.
The Turtles made short work of the Rank warriors. With the seven of them working together, it had been easy.
"Piece of pie." Venus grinned. Leo didnt bother to correct her this time.
But their battle wasnt over. Now they faced their most threatening opponent, the one which the Turtles had never been able to bring down before.
The Dragon Lord was obviously furious at the defeat of his well-trained, yet often defeated soldiers. An evil snarl spread across his lips and his eyes began to glow red. Mike took a step back and began to visibly shake. Michaelangelo watched his counterpart, wondering why he was so stricken with fear.
Then he realized why when a flame of searing flames shot from the Dragon Lords mouth. He was definately not in a good mood.
The Turtles backed up to form a sort of huddle, all the while keeping their eyes on their dragon enemy and his annyoing little sidekick, Wicke.
"Okay," Leo whispered. "This is going to be tricky."
"Tricky?" Raphael smirked. "Believe me, weve faced far more dangerous villains than this! Baxter Stockman, The Shredder, Pimiko, Komodo, Romero, the Triceratons... this guy aint shit!"
"Yeah, cmon, Leo," Raphaels eyepatchless counterpart responded. "This guy aint so tough. The only reason why we havent defeated him yet is cause you wouldnt let us use our weapons on him."
Leo sighed. "Look, Raph, I just wanted us to learn how to fight as a full-fledged team. If we work together, if we get our minds on the same track, we can defeat anything. Were ninja; we use our bodies and minds. Weapons are meaningless without that."
Michaelangelo thought about that for a moment. Wasnt that what their Leo had been trying to get them to understand for a long time? Suddenly, it all made sense. The Turtles were skilled, yes, and their weapons helped them defeat their enemies. But they had something much stronger than that. They were bonded, both mentally and emotionally, a tie which nothing but death itself could ever sever.
But ninjas... ninjas were assassins.
"Okay, now, Ill take the lead. Raph, you and, uh, Raphael can follow up and attack from the side. Now..." He stared at the two of them seriously. "This is going to take teamwork, so no bickering."
"Yeah, yeah..." Raphael mumbled. Just like my Leonardo... always so damned bossy...
"Michaelangelo?" Leo continued. "You can join Don, Mike, and Venus at the rear. Everyone understand their positions? Good." He drew his oddly-crafted two-in-one sword. "Now... attack!"
"Its Green Time!" they all shouted, and this time Michaelangelo and Raphael joined in, just for the heck of it.
Instantly, Leonardo rushed forward, throwing a forward kick into the Dragon Lords stomach. The Dragon Lord didnt even so much as flinch. Leo staggered back a little and rose the sword.
"Youve been lucky in the past, Dragon Lord, but this time, youre going down."
The Dragon Lord began to laugh. "I dont think so, my reptilian friend."
Michaelangelo noticed that his mouth hardly moved as he spoke. How does he do that?
Leo tried a punch this time, making contact with the Dragons jaw. He wavered a little, but just barely, his eyes glowing red again.
"Leo! Duck!" Mike called from behind.
Leo dropped down just in time for the flames to miss his head. While the Dragon Lord was distracted with Leo, Raphael and Raph set themselves in motion. They had a planthey would attack simultaneously, one from each side. He may be able to block one, but he certainly wouldnt be able to handle both at the same time.
They charged, weapons in hand, heading straight for their enemys sides. Raphael was still amused at the crazy weapon Raph weilded. Whoever heard of a pair of sai connected at the handles before? But he reminded himself he needed to concentrate. There would be more time for questions later.
Michaelangelo couldnt help but wonder why they didnt attack simultaneously as a group, but Leo probably had his reasons. He always did. He glanced at Mike. "So... when did you decide to switch to tonfa?"
Mike shrugged. "Well, I did use to have chuks. Sometime after we went on a time-traveling trip to 1603 Feudal Japan, I guess I just got tired of the things. But now Im starting to fall in love with them all over again."
Raph ran for the Dragon Lord and sent a kick into his side, where the armor didnt protect him fully. He winced in pain, his eyes glowing more brightly than before.
"Just for that, youll be the first au derve."
"I dont think so," the Turtle snarled.
Meanwhile, Raphael was stealthily sneaking up on his other side. Their plan was working perfectly. But just as he was about to drive the sai into the Dragons side, the pesky Wicke spotted him.
"M-ma-majesty!" Wicke wailed. "Another Turtle... over here!"
"Shut up, you pesky lil short shit," Raphael snapped.
The Dragon Lord turned, fire burning in his eyes. Raphael matched the intense glare, and held it there, challenging him. The Dragon Lords anger grew.
In a swift movement, the Dragon Lord pulled out a jagged sword, so quickly, so violently, that Wicke fell off his shoulder to the floor. "Now you die," he said calmly.
Raphael met the challenge.
As the two began to fight, Leo returned to the others. "If were going to defeat him for good, were going to have to work as a team. Just remember what Master Splinter taught us."
"Dont worry, Leo," Donatello nodded. "We know what to do."
Venus reached in a pouch at her waist and pulled out two round kai mi balls. Mike grinned. He loved this part.
Raphael blocked the Dragon Lords stab with his sai. This guy was good, but not good enough. With the Dragons weapon caught, Raphael seized the opportunity and sent a kick into his chest. The Dragon Lord cried out in frustration. Still, Raphael was confused. He seemed to have a wall around him that was impossible to penetrate.
Silently, Venus snuck up behind the Dragon Lord and tossed one of the kai mi. The whole area where Raphael and he were fighting filled with smoke. "I am shinobi," she said proudly.
The others clutched their weapons and rushed into the smoke. Here was their chance to practice the art of blind fighting. Splinter had taught it to them well. With the Dragon Lord and Wicke seriously outnumbered, and unable to see or fight in the thick cloud of smoke, the Turtles had the advantage. Teaming up, Don cracked him in the side of the neck with his bo, one of the only places he wasnt protected by the heavy armor. The Dragon Lord was knocked off balance and clutched the sore spot on his neck. Michaelangelo seized the opportunity and began to swing the nunchuks, hitting him in every possible weak spot he could find. Leonardo used a sweep kick technique to knock him even further off balance, and eventually sent him to the floor. Mike joined his counterpart in attacking the Dragon Lords weak spots until he was bruised and weary, then grabbed some rope from around an exhibit and tied the Dragon Lord up by his wrists and ankles. Raph was busy with Wicke, one hand around his neck, pinning him to the wall. The Dragon Lord now subdued, Raphael made his move.
"Raphael!" Leo shouted, seeing him move with the rage in his eye. "No!"
But it was too late. Raphael was on top of him, burying one sai through a fold in the Dragons torso plate mail armor and the other straight into his gut. He thrust them in as far as he could, twisted them, held the Dragons wavering gaze for a moment, then withdrew his weapons and stood away.
As the smoke cleared, the Turtles stood around. Theyd done it. After all this time, theyd finally defeated their enemy, and it had been teamwork that had seen them through.
"This... isnt... over!" the Dragon Lord rasped.
"Majesty!" Wicke choked. "Help me!"
"Oh... shut up, you... blubbering idiot!" he snapped back, his voice choking on the blood caught in his throat.
"Good-bye, Dragon Lord," Venus
said quietly. "I will now banish you once again to the Realm
of Dreams where you belong, and avenge my master, Chung I."
"Nuh... no!" the Dragon Lord protested, pain in his
voice. "N-no, you... cant!"
But Venus ignored him. Instead, she closed her eyes and began
to concentrate, focusing all her power on the task at hand. Slowly,
her hands began to light up, and a swirling force began to form
around the Dragon Lord.
Raphael let Wicke go, tossing him into the void with his master.
As the air swirled faster and faster around them, the Dragon Lord
gave one last cry of defiance, and then they were gone.
Venus knelt down on one knee after it was over. "At last it is over," she sighed. "Shall we return now to our home in the toilet?"
"Sewer, Venus," Leo corrected for the umpteenth time. "Sewer."
"You have done well, my sons,"
Splinter said softly, sitting cross-legged in his subway car.
He glanced at the two new-comers. "All of you."
"Thank you, Master Splinter," Michaelangelo said, and
he and Raphael bowed. They wondered why this dimensions
Splinters right ear had been cut most of the way off and
considered asking him about it.
"You two... I see your own Splinter has taught you well," Splinter spoke to the two Turtles. "Please give him my regards."
"Well do that," Michaelangelo said. Since being returned to normal from the rabid bat-state he had been left in for those bleak months after being injected with Go-Komodos synthetic mutagen, Splinter had been spending most of his time reclusively, meditating during most of it.
Their extra-dimensional romp had been fun
while it lasted, but the two of them were ready to try and go
home. Even though they were returning to the real world, this
experience wasnt one they would soon forget.
Don came and stood in front of them. "Ready?"
"Ready as Ill ever be." Raphael grimmaced.
Raph walked up to him, and shot him a cocky smile. "Its
been real," he said.
"Yeah... youre all right." Raphael grinned.
"Hey, master, I think I want my chuks back." Mike
grinned and glanced back at Michaelangelo. "So you say in
your dimension you have a girlfriend?"
"Okay, lets get started."
Donatello pressed a button on the computer. "Now Im
not sure if this is going to work, but it should. I simply reversed
the gravitational pull from the first time hole." It had
not been any picnic figuring it out, but Don had some time to
study the physics of time travel since their experience in Feudal
Japan with Aprils scepter a year ago. "In, uh, theory,
that should send you back through the portal to your own time
and dimension."
The computer began to hum, and Michaelangelo and Raphael took
their places in the middle of the lair floor.
"Wait!" Venus called. "I want to go with you!"
"Huh?" Michaelangelo and Raphael glanced at each other
in shock.
"I want to see your world. I want to experience it and learn
from it. And perhaps I can be of assistance in the defeat of your
enemy."
"Now wait just a minute..." Raph protested. "Venus,
you dont know anything about this other world. Besides,
you belong here with us."
"How do you know you can get back?" Leo added.
"Mei Pieh Chi must make her own decisions." Splinter
stepped in. "She is her own person, just as all of you. She
must choose her own path."
"Thank you, Master Splinter." She bowed, then turned
to Michaelangelo and Raphael. "Do you have any objections?"
They looked at each other for a moment, sharing the same thoughtWhat would Leo think?
Raphael grinned. "What the hell. Welcome aboard."
Venus took her place with the other two and bid her farewells
as the world started to shift around her.
"Until we meet again." Leo bowed.
The three waved and faded into nothingness.
Damn... I gotta get me a bike! Raphael thought.
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