193Here is more. Thanks for all your comments. TMNT aren't mine. But you already knew that. Oreo cookies are owned by Nabisco and the Double Stuf ones are the bestest of all!
Frankenstein Wannabe Part C
The guys came to the place because of some disturbing rumors. They'd heard that some "odd things" were being discovered at an apparently abandoned sight that many suspected had belonged to the person who'd launched the rocket from the middle of New York. They'd also heard that the Purple Dragons were behind it.
They knew, of course, that it wasn't a place that had belonged to Shredder- it was the remains of Bishop's clone lab, where they'd come so long ago to rescue Master Splinter. Yes, they knew who it had truly belonged to. But Leo was curious as to why it was being bandied about as being a former lab of the Foot.
Don had been here enough with Leatherhead and Professor Honeycutt, scrounging through the debris, to doubt that anything of importance had been found; but still, as he told Leo, you never know- it might be worth a look at.
Karai also knew that it wasn't a Foot lab. And though she wasn't certain that Hun was involved, she highly doubted it.
"He doesn't have the intelligence to loot such a place," she said with such disdain that Leo had smiled.
She also warned Leo that to investigate it would be stupid.
"You know that it is a trap. You know that it is a former secret laboratory of Agent Bishop," she told him the night before, during a brief and secret meeting.
"I know that I must investigate it," he had replied. "I know that I must keep my family and my Master safe- from whomever threatens them. If Bishop is trying to lure us out, I need to find out all I can- hopefully without accommodating him by falling for it. I owe him." And she didn't try to dissuade him anymore.
But she determined to find out more herself. She may be honor-bound to follow her father's path, but she still would aid this person who had borne him so much ill-will.
She "owed" him- in a different way than he "owed" Bishop.
So they had shown up via the original tunnel they'd used when coming in the train car. There was evidence of water damage, but nothing much else remained. Whatever hadn't been destroyed in the explosions had been taken care of by any "cleanup crews".
"Why are we here again?" Mikey asked nervously. Raph rolled his eyes.
"Well, we're here because Fearless Leader wants to check out some rumors about Bishop, but you're here 'cause you whined about being left behind."
Mikey took a deep breath.
"Look," he calmly said, to the surprise of all. "You're right. I'm tired of being left behind. And I'm tired of being babied. I've healed. I'm part of this family. I want to be involved."
They looked at him with newfound admiration, mixed with shock. He had sounded so- so- mature.
"Okay, Mike. Point taken," Leo acknowledged. "Now, let's spread out and find out if the Dragons are really salvaging this place."
"Or if it's a Bishop trap," Raph couldn't help adding.
"But why?" Mikey couldn't help whining.
They ignored him and moved out, each equipped with a waterproof sack of goodies that Don had whipped up.
"After all, parts of the place may still be flooded," he'd said, "and what I've put in these will be helpful."
Mike had eagerly inspected the contents- night vision goggles, electric shock shuirken, smoke bombs, portable breathing devises, first aid kits, Oreo cookies-
"Oreo cookies?" Raph had asked, looking at Don.
"Well, for quick energy," he had lamely said.
Mike quickly ate his.
"Hmmmm! Double Stuf ones!" he had enthusiastically sighed.
"Mikey, those were for emergencies," Don chided him.
"Well, it was an emergency," Mike defended his actions. "I was in danger of panicking, and Oreos are a great way to calm down."
Now this sounded like their old, familiar Michelangelo!
They split up in teams of twos, and spent the better part of the night searching the area. But nothing looked like what Leo had been hearing.
"Really, Leo, this is a waste of time," Don was saying for the tenth time. "Or else a colossal trap. Let's get out of here."
Leo sighed. He was certain there was something more to it than just a mere trap.
They met up with Raph and Mike on a lower level.
"Not much here worth takin'," Raph was saying, when an explosion rocked the room- from a distance- they all swayed but kept their feet- except Mike, who went down on one knee despite a desperate attempt to stay standing.
"We told you to stay home," Don nagged him, as Mike, obviously in pain as well as embarrassed, fought as hard as he could to keep the extent of the hurt out of his face.
"Come on," Leo commanded, and they made their way through the labyrinth of corridors and tunnels towards what they felt was the direction of the explosion.
"Why are we going towards an explosion?" Mikey, the pain subsiding, finally was able to voice in his usual manner.
Before he could receive a proper response, Leo held up a hand, and they faded into the background, alert.
The corridor they'd been traveling now emptied out onto a large chamber that seemed to have many exits. On the main floor was Bishop and about ten of his henchmen, wiring certain tunnels it seemed.
"Hurry up, gentlemen," he was saying. "I want to be ready when our guests arrive."
"Sir, all indications are they are nearby," reported one of the many flunkies.
Don and Mike looked rather nervous at this pronouncement. They turned to their brothers- and for some reason froze.
The look on Raph's face and the look on Leo's were identical- and indescribable.
Twin masks of Death, Mike for some reason thought.
Something's up, Don thought. Something's up and they're not telling us...
And then, without warning, the Slayer was upon them!
All four, caught off guard, were sent slamming down to the floor where Bishop and his crew were standing. All, even Bishop, looked surprised at this sudden appearance. But he recovered nicely.
"Ah, gentlemen," he purred. "I am so tempted to use the phrase 'how nice of you to drop in', but I would like to avoid such flippancy."
There was no time to respond- the Slayer was on them, and the men with Bishop were joining in.
They didn't join in for long. Leo and Raph each killed three before the fight could really get started. The remaining four backed away as fast as possible.
They had weapons, but they didn't want to use them. The room had many powerful explosives stored there- Bishop's task that night had been to finish destroying possible evidence. The survivors were not keen on dying, no matter how much Bishop might urge them. Their coworkers had died so quickly!
Bishop looked on in a detached manner, as if watching a tournament, judging with a critical eye the actions of the turtles versus his Creation.
"Continue with the work," he calmly ordered the remaining four, eyes on the struggles of these mutated freaks against his pride and joy. The men hesitantly resumed wiring a few more terminals.
"You may as well give up and let the end be quick," Bishop advised the guys. The Slayer was making quite a job of them.
Raph was bleeding from several places where the blows the Slayer had landed had actually cut his skin. Don was lying in a corner, bo staff broken in three places, trying to keep from losing consciousness. Leo and the Slayer were facing off, when Mikey dived in front of his brother, distracting the creature and knocking it suddenly backwards into Bishop.
And then Bishop landed on one of the plungers and-
The explosion, unintended until the room had been cleared, rocked everyone to the floor. Dust, smoke, dirt, heat, noise- everything was a blur to everyone. Each being there, man or turtle, was sure the end had come.
But it hadn't. The full compliment of explosives had not been wired to the detonators just yet- they had been in the process when the Turtles had been knocked into the room by the Slayer.
There was much coughing, gasping, cursing. There was much calling of names on both sides.
Don managed to dig out his night vision goggles, and they helped him see through the airborne debris. His breathing device came in handy, and with the goggles he could see that Leo and Raph, though they hadn't put on their own goggles, had managed to get out the air devises.
Bishop, gasping and wheezing, was beside himself with fury- and alone.
Don again saw the same indescribable look on his two brothers' faces- he saw them glance at each other, weapons ready, and then as one they headed for Bishop- and something they couldn't see-
"Guys!" Don shouted, pulling the mask from his face. "Guys! There's a hole in the floor! Don't move! You're headed right for it!"
Sure enough, as the dust and smoke thinned, they could see the gigantic hole in the floor, separating them from their intended target.
Bishop was livid on the inside- six of his men gone, his plans to trap the Turtles prematurely sprung without the desired results, and his Slayer strangely silent.
"Well, freaks, looks as if we are not meant to spend some time together," he managed, brushing dust from his ever present black coat. "I had hoped to persuade you to join me for a few days."
"Leo," Don suddenly said, before he or Raph could respond to Bishop's challenge. "Leo- I can't find Mike!"
Cold panic gripped all three of them.
And they looked down into the dark hole in the floor.
"Sir," a muffled voice sounded from another tunnel. "The Slayer is missing. His signal indicates he is a level below us- and moving away steadily, north/northeast. He appears to be following something. I'm picking up unidentified movement."
"Well," Bishop was quick to realize. "Perhaps one of you will be spending some time with me- let's go see if we can catch up with our future guest, gentlemen."
Raph without thinking threw one his sai at Bishop. The agent realized at the last second what was happening- he moved, but not enough. Raph drew first blood.
"You-" Bishop, regardless of the dangers, grabbed a gun from one of his men and started firing. The guys managed to escape, and Bishop's men managed to get him to calm down.
Bishop hated losing control like that. Those freaks! But he got back in control of himself and ordered his remaining men to follow him into one of the tunnels.
"Nuts. I didn't kill him," Raph hoarsely whispered to Leo, as they came out of hiding.
"Mikey!" Don uselessly was yelling into the hole. He knew it was stupid- if what Bishop's man had said was true, Mikey was somewhere down there heading away from them, being chased by that monster.
"Don, we'll find him," Leo assured him, while Raph found his way to the other side to Bertie his sai. He came back with a grim souvenir.
"Here, Donnie," he said, offering his blood-coated sai to his brother. "I got you some Bishop DNA."