Lincoln Island
Somewhere in the South Seas

The sea above the viewing window in the Nautilus bubbled and frothed as if it was boiling around the submersible. As many times as Allan Quatermain had traveled in Nemo's great vessel, he never tired of it. He and the various Captains often did not see eye-to-eye, but the Nautilus was still like a second home.

Light exploded into the submarine as it broke through the surface inside Dakkar Grotto, a large caldera at the base of the volcano on Lincoln Island. The bright blue water of the lagoon shined bright in comparison to the obsidian rock of the island. An island which had changed greatly since he had last been here. He could see a geothermal power plant coming out of the mountain, and modern buildings poking up above the jungle beyond.

As he was escorted form the vessel onto the dock, Quartermain noticed an island full of activity. Soldiers of various races, creeds, and colors milled about, all dressed in the same uniform. Grey fatigues with black body armor over top, across the right breast of their chest was emblazoned with a symbol that looked like the Kraken of legend. Jack didn't have just a following. He had his own army.

Lincoln Island was no longer a refuge. It was now a rogue state.

As he made his way down the dock, he saw other, smaller submarines docked next to the dreadnought that was the Nautilus. All of them were nuclear powered as well, and looked like they could be crewed by a few dozen men each. While the Nautilus was fashioned after the same Kraken on the crews' uniforms, the smaller ones looked more like sharks ready to tear into their prey.

At the end of the dock stood Jack Dakkar, the current Captain Nemo, under beautiful, obsidian statues of his late mother and grandfather. Jack was clad in the same uniform as his soldiers, except with a blue-green sash around his waist and a matching turban on his head. On his hip was a scimitar, its pommel fashioned like the shell of a great clam.

He turned to face Allan, a warm smile that the latter never expected painted across his caramel colored face. It had been too long, Allan thought. Dakkar was showing his age. Living the life he did made his features hard, and the lines in his face seemed more like cracks in a foundation than skin. His beard was streaked with silver hairs. But there was still strength and fire behind his brown eyes.

"Allan!" he exclaimed and shook the old adventurer's hand. "It has been far too long. Welcome back to Lincoln Island."

Quartermain was puzzled, but happy to have a warm reception, "I must admit I was surprised when I received your invitation. Much has changed here since the last time I saw it."

"My people hae turned Lincoln into a technological marvel, haven't they?" he beamed with pride as he looked past Allan towards the geothermal plant. "My mother and grandfather would be proud of what we'e built here."

"Yes...your people," Quatermain mused. "Or your army?"

Nemo's eyes shot back at Allan, a flash of anger illuminating them for a moment before softening, "Please, Allan. We're here to talk as friends. The business can come later. Let's take a tour of the island, shall we?"

The tour was illuminating, if nothing else. Nemo showed off his armory, his airstrip featuring jet fighters and attack helicopters, the island's main, bustling town of Independence Port, before finishing at his private villa overlooking Washington Bay. Quatermain was struck by how this place was a fully functioning island nation, when a few decades ago it was still little more than wilderness and a few huts.

They were now seated on Nemo's veranda, looking out of the crystal clear waters of the South Pacific as the sun began to fade past the horizon. In the distance, Allan could see the billowing storm clouds of the odd atmospheric disturbance that kept this archipelago hidden from the rest of the world. Only those who knew the route could get here, and the Dakkar family were the only ones to ever figure it out. Around them the sounds of the jungle murmured quietly in the background. At the edge of the terrace was a strange, ancient-looking, brass contraption that reminded Quatermain of a telescope, but it was missing the glass in the eye piece.

His host motioned for him to sit, as dinner was being served to them. As Allan did so, he asked, "Aren't you afraid they'll find you here? Building the island up like this could make you visible to satellites. You are a wanted pirate."

Nemo smiled and laughed loudly, swirling his wine glass, "They don't see what's in front of their noses. And that's the problem. No. I am not worried they will find me. They still haven't found the island with the giant ape on it right next door. Besides, who would they send after me? The so-called GI-JOE? That squad of muscle-brained oafs and bombastic bimbos? They're tied up with lesser men who dream of world conquest."

"And what do you dream of, Dakkar?" Quartermain leaned over his meal to ask. "What is the point of this nation you have built."

"I have some of the best and the brightest here, Allan," Jack was proud of himself. "I promised to show them the truth of the world, and in return, they will help me bring that truth to the masses."

The old adventurer's eyes narrowed, "So you fashion yourself a cult leader, then? A prophet?"

Nemo rolled his eyes, "No. Nothing like that. Prophets are charlatans, preying on the weak minded in order to carve out some power or riches or sex for themselves. I do not tell my people about anything I do not have direct, or familial, knowledge on."

The realization washed over Allan's face like the waves hitting the beach below, "My god...you don't mean?"

"Yes," Dakkar got serious. "I've told them everything about the League. Showed them what I could. I took them to see relics of the world. Of the real world. Of the parts that have been hidden by humanity's ignorance or the power structure's misdirection. They have seen things people have been blinded too for far too long."

"Jack," Quartermain half-begged, half-warned, "you can't. The secrecy statutes. Everything your mother and grandfather-"

"My mother and grandfather hated keeping this all a secret!" the pirate king flew into a rage. "My grandfather left your team not because you used biological weapons to stop an alien invasion. He left because afterwards you lied to the people about what really happened. You lied to them and said it was a plague, not that the quarantined area was full of alien technology. You kept them in the dark about something that, for all we know, could have been nothing more than a scouting party with more on the way. If that happens, humanity could have been preparing for well over a century. Instead it goes about its life like a sheep ready for slaughter."

He stood and began to pace the veranda. In that moment, as much as it pained Allan to think it, he reminded the old man of Dakkar's grandfather.

"My mother watched humanity kill something at the bottom of Tokyo Bay that could be considered nothing short of a divine beast," he pointed in the direction of the ocean. "All because the poor creature had the audacity to wake up in a world it didn't recognize. And again the powers that be lied about what happened. All because it was more easy and convenient than the truth. But the truth is we will be just like that creature. We will be the ones who stumble accidentally upon a world we don't recognize. I have seen it, and we will be slaughtered because we are not ready."

"And what's your solution, Jack?" Allan asked. "Tell them everything? Create a panic? Drive some of them mad?"

Nemo shook his head and motioned for one of his men to approach. As he reached his master, the man handed Dakkar a small object in an ornate, silk pouch. Nemo fiddled with the string before dumping the object into his hand. He twirled it as he looked at it, a blood-red jewel wreathed it iron tentacles. He dismissed the guards around them, and continued "No. Telling them would just mark me as a madman. This is what I will use to teach them the truth. I've spent years searching for it. The ruins of Thule are not easily accessed."

Quartermain's face turned to stone as he looked at the trinket, "A Seeing Stone. You should know better than to play with the objects of the Old Ones, Jack."

"Oh I haven't used it on myself," he waved the concerns away. "I'm not an idiot."

"You just said you've seen the future," Allan shot back. "Are you sure?"

"That...was an unintended consequence from the ritual," Nemo responded. He motioned towards the telescope-like device, "But I have no tried to gain knowledge for myself. I just had to prepare to give it to the rest of the world. This will not give them everything. But it will be like a pinhole piercing a dark curtain. It will let the light of knowledge in for the first time in centuries."

"Nemo," Quartermain was clearly terrified, "if you do this you will hasten the conflict you've seen. Humanity will move to protect itself. Everything else will do the same. War will be inevitable."

"War is always inevitable," Dakkar shrugged. "At least in this case both sides will be on even footing. Balance would be restored, and the world would be as it should be."

As the pirate lord approached the device, ready to put the jewel into it, he heard a gun cock behind him. He turned to find Quartermain aiming a small, concealed gun at his face. Dakkar knew that even at this distance and with a small caliber Allan could kill him. The man's aim was legendary. If Allan wanted to, Nemo's eyes would be smoking holes in a blink.

"Just like all the others," Nemo muttered. "I hoped you would see the benefit in this, Allan. I would hope you would join me."

"I'm not one to sign up for folly, boy," Quartermain growled. "They thought you were trying for a nuke. Or planning a terrorist attack. I never would have guessed you were going for something like this."

Dakkar smiled, "So who sent you? CIA? MI-6? Did Bond give you that peashooter?"

"He did," Quartermain didn't blink. "They wanted to bring you in alive. But I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Oh, I won't be brought in," Nemo shook his head. "And you won't be leaving this island."

"Oh is that right?"

A shot rang out, but not from Allan's weapon, which exploded in his hand, the shards ripping through his hand. He cried out in pain, and Nemo laughed, "You should have taken the shot, old man. The world is passing you by. And I'm going to drag it into the light if I have to."

From the shadows around the terrace, a man emerged, brandishing a pair of guns. His skin was chalk white, and on his chest was a red, circular wound.



Dakkar motioned for him to secure Quartermain, "I may not like the Americans, but they certainly know a good weapon when they see one. I had to...borrow this one when I found out about him."

"Now," he sighed with relief and slid the jewel into the apparatus, "let there be light."

The telescope began to pulse with a red glow, and it hummed with power. A red beam shot from the end of it, and flew towards the horizon, directly towards the rising moon. Somehow, it struck the celestial body, and turned the white object to a deep, bloody red.

And the world began to awaken.

"Cowabunga!" Michelangelo's voice bounced off the sewer pipes as he sped though the sewers of New York City. The teenage turtle couldn't help but smile as he sped through the concrete tubs and soared over chasms where they dove down towards the deeper bowls of the city. Every so often he would pass a moving train car or get a glimpse of the city above him, which would light up his imagination with a thousand possibilities.

Mikey loved humans. Well, he technically didn't know any humans, but he loved the idea of them. He watched them on TV. He watched them from sewer grates. He marveled at how many of them there were, and how different they all were. He wanted to meet them. He wanted to be friends with them. He wanted a real life.

Of course, he also knew they could be dangerous.

He still had nightmares about the night his sister was taken. The night the van sped up next to his family as the scrounged for food and scraps in the city. The men inside tried to take all of them, but Father had managed to fight them off. But he wasn't fast enough to save Artie. The scene plays out in his head nearly every night. He missed his twin more than anything in the world. The two of them were the youngest of the family, and were the only two that were related by blood.

Of course, the departure of their adopted sister had hit him hard as well. Leo and Raph had been butting heads more and more lately. Donnie seemed more closed off than ever.

Mikey just wanted his family back.

He sighed as he reached their lair, pulled the false pipe by the otherwise unseen door, which then swung open, revealing the cavernous chamber on the other side. Old, dark, wooden walls lined the main room of their home. Donnie theorized it had once been the hideout of bootleggers during the age of prohibition, and that hypothesis definitely fit. The main room was like an ornate meeting room, full of old books and furniture. Above them, a system of mirrors reflected light all the way from the river down into their home. The turtles had made it their own, of course. Donnie updated the electronics, and TVs and video game consoles were now interspersed with the turn of the century woodwork.

The lair had been boxed in by construction, and it was more than likely no one knew it was there. The walls around it were thick. There was always a chance that humans would find them, but Donnie was doing his best to make sure that wouldn't happen.

Branching rooms came off the main chamber, featuring bathrooms, the boys' bedrooms, a full kitchen, a dojo, and their father's room. There was even a big space that was blocked off by a cave in, which Donnie and Raph used as a workshop.

"Anyone home?" Mike called out, receiving no response.

He shrugged and plopped down on the old, Victorian couch before turning on the old Super Nintendo they had managed to salvage. If no one wanted to hang out, he was at the very least going to beat Link to the Past.



The sound of fists hitting a heavy bag echoed dully through the dojo, as the lone figure struck the training tool over and over again.

His hands were taped up from above the wrist all the way down to his knuckles, but the repeated punches still bruised and broke the green skin underneath the protection. He was in the training room too much. He knew it, Leo knew it, and Master Splinter definitely knew it. He wasn't even training. Not really, anyway. He was just in here taking out his frustrations.

He had too many frustrations.

He was mad that they barely ever left their home. He was angry that Master Splinter, after all these years, still would not tell them why they were training in the ninja arts. He was pissed off because Leo never asked the questions he needed to. He was frustrated that he wasn't allowed to do more to help the humans above.

But most of all his was furious that his father ignored the fact that their sister had been missing for the better part of a decade.

It was all getting to be too much.

His brothers shared some of his concerns. They were all better at hiding it, in different ways. Mikey pretended to be dumb, aloof, and a clown to mask the fact that he's torn up about Artie to this day. Don threw himself into his tinkering and reading to mask the fact that he's uncomfortable with all the combat Splinter seemed to be preparing them for. Leo focused on a mission he doesn't know the goal of in order to pretend that he had a purpose. They were all broken in some way.

How could they not be. They were mutant turtles gifted human intelligence and amazing abilities by a random accident. They were bound to be fucked up in the head.

"You are troubled, Raphael."

The soft, almost melodic, tone of Splinter's voice carried over the relative silence of the dojo. It was a sound none of the turtles had heard in days. Ever since the red moon, Splinter had been alone in his room meditating. Over what, they didn't know, but here he was.

Raphael turned to see the tall, slender, human-like rat standing in the door, leaning on the cane he always had with him. These days, his dark, chestnut-brown fur was tinged with more and more grey. He may not have been as fast as he once was, but he was still wise beyond his station.

He made his way to the center of the room, and sat cross-legged before motioning for Raphael to join him.

As the young turtle did so, he asked, "Master, it's been a while."

The rat sighed, and the fur around his mouth ruffled, "There was much to think on, my son. Too much. For too long I have kept our family here. For too long I have believed we were safe. That we could be happy cut off from the outside world whenever possible. I believed I was training you, but for what I was never sure. Until the blood moon. Until I remembered."

Splinter trailed off, staring into the dark corner of the dojo. Raphael, on the other hand, had a chill run through him. He had never heard Splinter talk as he was. It was almost as if he was scared. Even when they lost Artemisia, he kept his calm about him.

"Master?" Raph asked with a quiver in his voice.

His father looked down, his warm, brown eyes meeting his adopted son's. He smiled, "I'm sorry, my son. It is time for us to have an increased presence on the surface. We have hid for too long, and I fear it may have allowed our enemies a foothold we could have prevented. Now we must ensure they do not get more."

"Enemies, father?" Raphael asked, almost with an intense hunger. He had been training for so long. It was time to show what he could do.

"I will explain later when Leonardo returns," his father smiled calmly. "He is visiting your sister in her new home."

"Alopex," Raphael said, his eyes narrowing.



The clicking of keys going up and down echoed through Donatello's room as he idly surfed the internet. Everything that came across his screen sent him slumping deeper and deeper into his chair. The humans were fighting. The humans were killing each other. The humans were polluting. The humans were persecuting some of their own kind.

The world they had been born into was dangerous and deadly, and all Donnie wanted to do was help them. Yet he was stuck below the surface, unable to really use his scientific knowledge in any meaningful way. The internet helped. He could reach out, but he was only so believable over the internet and not in person.

His father believed they would help protect the world from some unknown threat. They were training in combat by the time they were able to walk. He drilled them nearly every day. They were masters of hand-to-hand combat, or very nearly at that level.

Don hated it with all his heart.

He didn't want to fight. There was enough violence in the world. He had better ways of helping, yet all Splinter wanted to do was hone his fighting ability. He was tired of it.

"Donatello," the voice of his father came from behind him. "When Leonardo returns, we will meet in the dojo. There is much to discuss."

"Understood, father," he responded, more coldly than he intended. But his father knew of his frustrations.



He watched from the shadows of an alley as the cars stream down the street like an endless stream. At least, what he saw from streams on TV. He had never seen one in real life. If he spent the rest of his life in the city, he probably never would see one. That was an odd thought. Spending his entire life in this humongous, sprawling organism of concrete and steel. It didn't feel right, deep down. He was an animal, after all. Or at least he was. He still wasn't sure what he was.

Still, staying here forever, never getting out, seemed weird.

New York was his home, and up until that part of his life, it was his entire world. He rarely saw the surface, as Master Splinter decreed it off limits outside of the times they needed to scavenge.

As the torrent of traffic continued to flow, he looked to the sky. There the moon shone big and bright above the city like a spotlight. It had only been weeks ago when the moon was as red as fresh blood. The color made the face in the moon turn from a benign old man to a wicked, sneering demon ready to devour the world it watched over.

Some said the red moon was an omen, a sign of the ends times. He wasn't sure about that, but he had noticed his father acting strangely ever since that night. So maybe people weren't all that far off the mark.

The cars stopped, and he peaked his head out of the alley to make sure no more were on their way, and that the street was clear of pedestrians. When he was sure he was alone, he dashed across the street with surprising speed. On the other side, he kicked off the sidewalk and sailed over a fence, landing on the other side in a junkyard.

He had been here many times before to visit his sister. She had been living here for the better part of a year under the watch and care of her new family. Thinking about it still brought a bitter taste to his mouth, but if she was happy and safe, he couldn't be too mad. She'd come back to them when she was ready. He was sure of that.

What he wasn't sure of, totally, was her new protector. Hob was a mean son of a bitch, and his motives had never really been clear. But he kept Al safe, so he was tolerated.

He weaved his way through the rows of garbage, following the path he knew by heart at this point. The mountains of junk were something to awe at. Him and his brothers often sifted through it, looking for anything they could use in their home. It was a treasure trove, and they were thankful for it.

It was an odd space in modern New York. Something left of a bygone era, somehow untouched by the city's changing face.

Before long, he came across his destination. Rising up in the middle of the junkyard, hidden from everything around it, was a sprawling shack. Built out of pallets, plywood, and corrugated steel, it stood like something out of the Mad Max movies he watched with his brothers. While they lived underground, this is where his sister now resided.

He approached, and before he reached the front door, a squawk rang out in the night above him. He looked up to find Pete, a large, anthropomorphic pigeon perched on the roof, "Hi! I'm Pete!"

"Holy shit you can talk now?!" the interloper asked with surprise.

"Hi! I'm Pete!" the pigeon replied.

"Okay...," the other one look at him sideways. "I'm gonna go inside."

"Hi! I'm Pete!"

"Okay, pal," he chuckled. "You stay Pete."

The door to the shack, an old door to a shipping container, creaked loudly as it swung open. The warm, orange light poured out into the rubbish. As he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, he heard Pigeon Pete call out that he was, indeed, still Pete.

The door slammed shut, and an old, upside down dumpster popped off the ground. From the opening came a tangle of red, armored limbs, before a face with stalk eyes and crustacean features.

"Ah! Private Leonardo!" the huge hermit crab Herman snapped a quick salute. "Good to see you, soldier."

Soldier. That's what Hob saw his family as. Soldiers in the inevitable war between mutants and humans. None of the mutants knew where they came from, really. Hob thought their "births" were providence. He thought they were destined to come about. That they were part of a new, natural order of things. He also assumed that meant a clash between their kind and the humans. Leonardo was young, but he was a solid strategist. He knew of about ten mutants in New York. Even if there were five times as many, there were millions of humans to every mutant. That wasn't going to end in a victory for Hob.

Plus, Leo had no desire to fight the humans. They were flawed, sure. Many lacked the honor he valued so much. But they were good, deep down. That much he was certain of. Even if they didn't always show it, there was good in them.

"I'm not a soldier, Herm," He rolled his eyes at the crustacean. "Just Leonardo."

"Whatever you say, Private," Herman responded. "The time will come when you see your mistake!"

Moving further into the hovel, Leonardo came across the kitchen, where he found Old Hob, the leader of this band of mutants, as well as Alopex, his estranged sister, sitting at the table. When he entered, Hob turned to face him with his good eye, the other hidden behind a patch. The old alley cat had lost the eye before his mutation. He snarled at the turtle, bearing his sharp teeth, and ruffling his greying orange fur, "Turtle."

"Hob," Leo nodded. The turtle never understood why Hob hated the humans so much. Maybe it was from his time before the mutation, when he was living on the street. But whatever the reason, it was intense. "My sister said she wanted to talk to me. Mind if we do that alone?"

"She ain't your sister no more," he growled and stood. He stood a head taller than Leonardo, but while the turtle and his brothers were built short and powerful, Hob was tall and lithe. His muscles constantly tensed, as if he would strike at any moment. Leonardo always felt uncomfortable around the cat. "She's a member of the Mutanimal Liberation Army. She has a purpose now. A real purpose."

"Whatever, Hob," Leo grunted. "Just let me talk to her."

"Or what?" he smiled meanly.

"Back off, Hob," Alopex finally spoke up. "I told you he was coming. You said it was fine."

The arctic fox's white fur waved as she moved between the two mutants. She was as tall as Hob, but looked bigger, mostly because of the puffed out fur. She was the quickest fighter Leo had ever encountered. She may not have been as strong as him and his brothers, but she could hold her own with her speed.

Hob mumbled something before leaving.

Once he was gone from the room, the two mutants took a seat at the table. Alopex looked down before meeting Leo's eyes, "He's right, you know. I'm not your sister."

"Oh come on, Al," Leo rolled his eyes. "Not this nonsense again. Of course you are."

Her face turned angry, her sharp teeth showing, "No, I was just a fill in for your real one. A replacement for Splinter to try and make amends for his failings. Nothing more."

Leo's eyes narrowed, "You can tell yourself that all you want. But deep down you know it's not true. We miss you. We want you to come home. You don't have to believe me, but it's the truth."

She shook her head before changing the subject, "Whatever. That's not why I told you to come."

Alopex shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she continued, "I was scouting the city the other night for Hob. We're trying to track gangs, the mob, and other criminal organizations. Just to get a lay of the land. See who we could use on our side if things go south. Well, last night I came across a fight club in the Bronx. Kids, not much older than us, fighting in a ring. Not a huge deal, I thought at first. A lot of the gangs have initiation fights. But this was different. It was being overseen by ninjas."

That got Leonardo's attention, "Ninja? Your sure?"

"Yea," she nodded. "A large group of them. Stoic as they watched the fights. Probably twenty or so in their shozoko. Five more had kasa and special markings on their uniform. Maybe elites or an honor guard. Those were situated around a dias with three...well for lack of a better term thrones. Two young women in the same elite garb sat in the lower chairs. They looked like they could have been sisters. But above them...above them was the one that was clearly in charge. This dude radiated bad. He was garbed in both shozoko and armor, with bladed claws attached to his forearm armor. His helmet looked like a cross between a buzz saw and a samurai. There was just an...intensity about him. Gave me the creeps."

Leo took the information in. A group of ninjas in New York City was about the last thing he ever expected to see. Could this be why Master Splinter was hold up alone? Could it be related to the red moon?

"I also ended up fighting one of them," Al admitted next, reaching into a band on the floor and tossing Leo a mask. "I took that off of him. I wasn't paying attention and he got the jump on me. Probably a lookout. Didn't stick around to see if there were any more. Whoever these guys are, Leo, they're smart. They're talented, and they're recruiting for something big."

"Yea...we'll look into it," Leo nodded and looked down at the mask, running his finger over the emblem on the forehead.

It was nothing more than a red foot.

---

_{{-: New York City - Central Park :-}}

---

An ear-splitting shriek rips through the calming atmosphere of Central Park as a terrifying monster finds himself surfacing from one of the park's larger lakes. All the nearby onlookers threw themselves into a panic as they ran back to the safety of the metropolitan lights, screaming their lungs out while crying for immediate assistance and calling 911. The abomination meanwhile began to make his way onto shore and immediately initiates a rampage through the bristling park in a fit of primal rage. He was abysmally hungry for any form of viable nutrients that he can get his hands on - and they were all running scared from him. He would engage any moving organism - regardless of who they are - charging at them with his hooked claws whole, ripping through the lush grasses and throwing park benches towards the fleeing humans.

When he approached a straggler, he nabbed the person with his hooked appendages and, with his suction-looking mouth, he clamped down on the victim's chest. Once set, he began sucking up all of it's blood - reducing his poor victim into nothing but a pile of skin and bone. He tosses the lifeless corpse aside as he continues to search for more of his prey northwards.

The local forces of the NYPD were amongst the first responders that were drawn to the scene as they began to open fire on the terrifying beast. Yet much to their dismay, their bullets would have little effect on it, with most bouncing off the monster's hard exoskeleton. The armored creature produces another deafening screech as it continues charging forward, tossing over a nearby police car as it rips apart through their defenses. Not even the arial assistance of a nearby chopper seem help deter the beast's ultimate fury.

And it already has his sights on two officers backed into a corner...

As the monster rears it's mandibles at the helpless officers, he would feel something crush the left side of his face. He could feel the hard-pressing of cold-metal and the power that was behind it as he finds himself reeling to the side and crashing into the storefront. As he raises his head over the falling debris, he finally sees the owner of that metallic foot...

The NYPD will not be alone in this fight, for their savior has finally arrived...

Ultraman.

Beneath the cold red and white armor, Shinjiro Hayata eyes down his monstrous opponent with vigorous determination. Not taking his eyes off it, the armored hero calls out to the officers behind him.

"Head for cover!" he tells them bluntly, "I'll take care of this monster myself."

The two officers complied as they rushed back to their vehicles immediately. The kaiju monster finally rears back to full height as it roars back at him in defiance.

"Alright big guy." Shinjiro said as he readies his battle stance, "Let's see what you can do..."

With that, the monster begins to charge at him again while raising his hooked hands to strike the hero. Yet Ultraman was quick to react as he activated his Specium Blades, blocking the hooked hands with his left blade while striking the creature's belly with his right. The blade sliced through the protective plating with relative ease as the beast feels a burning sensation slive through him. Yet before it could counter, the blades would vibrate wildly as it launched Ultraman straight into the beast. The impact would be hard enough to send the two flying the opposite direction back into the forest, skimming across the ground before sliding into a nearby pond.

As the hero attempts to pummel the creature out of his misery, it would suddenly fire a beam of red energy from his chest, pushing Ultraman away several meters as it attempted to regroup its bearing. The armor took most of the hit, only producing a minor burn mark on its torso, Shinjiro had to be more careful around this brute, less he desires a careless death. But one thing is for certain...

The battle has only just begun.

Blossom managed to get ready in record time as she ran down the stairs to see her two sisters almost finished with their breakfast. Eggs, toast, cereal, and orange juice were on the menu though Blossom knew she didn't have too much time to enjoy them. "Morning Bubbles! Morning Buttercup!" Blossom smiled as she scooted into a seat and quickly prepared her breakfast so she could heave it down the hatch.

"Good morning Blossom!" Bubbles exclaimed with her natural enthusiasm. "It's going to be a wonderful day! Just look at that sunshine outside!" Bubbles nodded toward the kitchen window and happily sipped some orange juice out of her glass. As Blossom turned to take a better look, Buttercup snarfed down the last of her toast and grinned at Blossoom.

"So meet another cute guy in your dream so you wanted to stay in bed longer?" Buttercup joked in a tone that said it was probably the reason Blossom had gotten up so late. Blossom's first instinct was to blush but then she remembered how the dream had ended that morning, with the face of an ugly simian practically laughing at her.

"If only, instead all I got was an incredibly hairy face."

Buttercup grimaced a little. "Ugh, that's just downright nasty. But seriously Blossom you really need to get love out of your head and just live a little like I do!"

"Humph, well I can't say sports, metal bands, and beating the stuffing out of bad guys is exactly living the high life! What you need is a little romance in your life, course I guess since you're not even trying to find a boyfriend I'll be finding true happiness first."

Before they could argue anymore Bubbles intervened. "Oh cut it out you two! Let's just enjoy the day together. After school we could go to the park, watch a movie, or even go to the mall! There are so many nice things we could do!" Buttercup pouted a little and crossed her arms but Blossom very quickly let it go.

"Right, well I better hurry out or we'll be late for school! Thank you Professor for our bountiful meal!" With that Blossom dug into her breakfast at an astounding rate and was quickly done. Even though he was their father sometimes they liked to refer to him by his Title, he certainly looked the part a lot of the time and was still experimenting even at home after all.

Done with their meals, the girls did their last check ups to make sure they didn't leave anything behind and headed out the door. Before they disappeared they each turned back to look as Professor Utonium made it to the front door to send them on their way.

"See you father!"

"Later Dad!"

"Adios!"

"Goodbye Girls! Have a good day at school!" Utonium kept waving for a little bit longer, then closed the door and went down to the basement, his laboratory. His usual pleasant demeanor was soured as he thought about the call he had received a few days ago. An old colleague of his had called to request that he return to work. Apparently one of the big-wigs had been on the lookout for prominent scientists to recruit and his expertise on biology, robotics, and extra-dimensional theories had peeked their interest. Thinking about going back to work after so long seemed rather exciting and frankly after so many years of taking care of the girls he had been getting a little antsy. Sure he still dabbled and invented on the side but he missed the work environment and the equipment of a well stocked laboratory.

There was a rather large problem, aside from just having less time to spend with the kids, the Townsville Laboratory was no longer usable. Townsville Labs had been thoroughly ransacked by Mojo Jojo, also it had basically been blown up during a battle between the girls and the insane chimp. There was just no place to work left in Townsville, the place he had been offered was in New York of all places, if he took the job, they would have to move and leave so many things behind, friends, memories, and of course their home.

Sure Townsville wasn't the same as it used to be, many people had moved away to greener pastures, more many young people, Townsville was not their final destination but just their starting point, but none of that changed the fact it was their home. Professor Utonium had built his life here, with the girls and his wife, Anna. This was the house he had taken her over the threshold, this was the house he had lived with her, this was the house he saw his girls first steps, this was the house that had to be remodeled a few times due to his children, JoJo, and himself, this house was all his girls had ever known.

Could he do that to his beautiful girls? Force them from the only home they knew because he wanted to work again? Force them to enter an entirely new environment and lose all of their friends? Would Blossom, named after his wife's love of flowers, try to argue against their going? Would Buttercup, named after Anna's favorite desert, rebel and never speak to him again? Would Bubbles, named after Anna's ability to always remain cheerful, grow silent dealing with the shock? The Professor knew his mind was being a bit over dramatic but at the same time he had real doubts about what would happen.

"What should I do Anna? I suppose my only choice is to had a long talk with the girls when they get home. Maybe I should leave it up to them, Sugar, and Spice, and Everything Nice, that is what little girls are made of. Well, my perfect little girls had to grow up some time. Funny how they are the ones with all the powers but all I can think about is wanting to protect them, even from the pain of such an important decision. I just hope they give it serious thought before making a decision." The Professor sat down at his desk chair, and waited.

The pounding of fist meeting target.

The furious growling of the attacker.

The snap of bone being smashed to flakes.

The cold hard ground at his back.

Wait, what the hell?

Gilad was on the ground with a broken orbital bone, staring up into the lights above.

What had just happened? He didn't think he was that drunk.

He ran a hand over his bloodied face, his cold, clammy fingers being coated in warm blood from a massive cut in his eyebrow. It felt good in a way. He pushed himself to a seated position, his hand staining the canvas.

Right, he recalled entering a fighting cage.

Right before he blacked out.

Okay maybe he was that drunk. On the bright side, he felt pretty sober right about now. On a completely unrelated note that headache could be either a concussion or the result of that aforementioned drunkenness. Well he was up now. What was he even here for again?

"Gilad? It's Tina."

Oh, Tina's calling. Either that or the big hairy Japanese guy in front of him has a very high voice.

"Hey Tina," he responded out loud, much to the visible confusion of the bloody-fisted gentlemen in front of him, right before Gilad's fist covered his confused expression.

"Just calling to let you know about a big monster mash going on in New York, like... I'm talking big."

"Oh really?" Gilad responded, holding his opponent in a leg-lock and elbowing him in the head. "That's interesting... too bad I'm in... uh..." Gilad looked up at the room around him, spotting a few tattooed Japanese men with missing pinkies. "Japan, right now, definitely Japan."

"Oh I know, just letting you know. You know, just kaiju stuff, seems like something you wouldn't wanna miss out on."

Damn her correct observations.

"Fine, I'll see about making my way across the Pacific within the hour," he said, dragging his opponent's face along the cage and popping his shoulder out of place.

"No need!" she responded all bubbly-like. It almost sounded like she expected him to say that. "Just get to open ground and I'll toss you over."

That's strange.

He'd never had a geomancer do that before. He pondered why this could be as he drove the other fighter's head into the mat with a slam.

"Never knew a geomancer could do that."

"Oh yeah!" she said. Excitement seemed to be building in her voice. "It's supposed to be a last resort thing but whatever, you're immortal if anything goes wrong."

Well, she was right there at least.

"Alright you've convinced me," he said, holding the fighter in his arms like he was cradling an infant. "Just give me a second." He tossed the fighter into the cage wall, collapsing it and causing a few of the spectators to draw swords. Yay.

A not-very-interesting fight later, Gilad wandered out of the building with only two swords sticking out of his abdomen.

"Right... open ground."

"You're in the middle of Tokyo."

"Yeah... but there's no roof or anything."

"I'm going to open a hole through the Earth, I'd rather not accidentally sink the capital city of Japan, thanks."

"Don't seem like a very skilled geomancer if you can 'accidentally' sink a city," Gilad grumbled as he walked through the streets, ignoring the concerned passers-by as they attempted to get his grievous wounds taken care of. His interactions with the passers-by were simple, sometimes he'd just need to reassure them with a bored "I'm alright.", sometimes he'd have to knock out some police officers, the usual walk back from a day at the bar.

Finally, after walking for far too long, he exited the city.

"Right, I'm here."

Almost immediately after he said that, he fell, and kept falling. The air above quickly faded into a horrible stuffy heat, he couldn't breathe, his body burned, his lungs cried out in pain, and then it was done. It was impossibly quick but astonishingly painful.

And somehow a baseball-sized hole had been burnt into his torso. He could see right through himself.

"I see why nobody has ever done this before."

"Yeah, not a fan myself, oh well, you're here."

He turned, and yep, he was here, right outside New York City.

"Well, time to get to work."

Gilad ran into the city, prepared to fight and probably get drunk again.

April O'Neil sat back and watched as the cameras rolled through her section of the main Techno Cosmic Research Institute, or TCRI for short. She had no idea why they were here. Probably interviewing Doctor Jordan Perry and Baxter Stockman, the two mega geniuses that ran the place. She was nothing more than a college intern, trying to get something that looked good on the resume. She would love to work there full time, but she was low woman on the totem pole as of now.

She was smart, sure. She wouldn't have been able to get this position if she wasn't. Especially as nothing more than a freshman engineering student. But there was a long way to go before she could have a real career here.

TCRI was known for many technological advances in robotics, medicine, and computing. More of a think tank than a product creator, they were out to better humanity, which was something April was desperate to do as well.

Still, there were strange things about the place. Large swathes of the building were heavily secured, and she had never seen anyone come in or out of them. No one talked about what was going on in there, which led April to believe it was some sort of top-secret, government project.

"Looks like old Perry got himself some more screen time," Irma motioned towards the crew and pushed her glasses back up her nose. "Guy just can't help himself."

"No," April shook her head and pushed her red hair behind her ear, "but he's doing good work here. Sometimes I don't blame him for his vanity."

"Yea," the other girl shrugged. She was older than April, but an intern as well. The two were working on fixing bugs in the programming of autonomous exterminator robots that Baxter Stockman, Perry's partner in the TCRI venture, thought could rid the city of its rat problem. It was a good idea, even if April didn't think it would ever really work. "But he can come off as pompous now and again, can't he?"

April chuckled, "I think that's just the English accent, Irma."



Incense smoke wafted through the dojo as the four turtles sat on their heels, their knees on the ground.

Splinter paced in front of them, leaning on his cane as he did so. Once Leonardo had returned from his excursion to the surface, the master had gathered his sons in the dojo, but that was nearly half an hour ago. Since then, he has been silent, pacing the floor, searching for the words to say to his children.

What he would say would change everything for them. It would make them targets. It would thrust them into war.

"Ever since our transformation," Splinter began, finally, "I have known we were special. That we were changed for a reason. What that reason was, I could not be sure. Still...I have always remembered things from before we became what we are, unlike the four of you. Some of those memories were nothing more than vague shadows, dancing in a flickering flame. Some were solid and formed like moving statues. They were where our training came from. They were why I was always certain some threat was on the horizon, even if I could not remember what it was."

He took a seat in front of his children and exhaled a deep breath, rustling the fur around his mouth, "Most of my memories were of the latter variety. Until the red moon. That night, it was as if my mind had be thrust into a raging waterfall of knowledge. My past, everything that has happened to me, flooded back into my mind. It was too much to bear all at one time. Which is why I shut myself off from you. For that, I apologize."

"We understand, father," Leonardo tried to console his sensei. "I can imagine that was a difficult time."

"Brown-noser," Raph muttered under his breath before receiving an elbow to the shoulder from Leo.

Mikey chuckled.

Splinter merely smirked. His sons were still children, even if they were trained in the art of ninjutsu. Being shinobi did not change their nature. He was heartened by that. He just hoped they would be able to keep their spirits in the trials to come.

"Thank you, my son," Spinter continued. "As I sifted through my memories, attempting to piece together my life, I remembered how I came to be at your side. Before I was on the streets, I was the pet of a man named Hamato Yoshi. Yoshi had come to America from Japan with his wife, Tang Shen. The two were happy and in love, and at some point, Shen purchased me as a pet. I spent my time in my cage watching my master run exercises in his own dojo, teaching young ones as I did you."

"Whoa!" Michelangelo exclaimed. "He was like your sensei, sensei!"

"Indeed," Splinter smiled at the youngest turtle. "His teachings were stored in my mind, only usable after our transformations. But he was a fierce warrior, and the guardian of a terrible secret."

He stood again, turning his back to his sons, the red robe he wore was the color of dried blood in the candle light, "Hundreds of years ago in Japan, there was a clan of shinobi called The Foot. While I have taught you to use ninjutsu with honor and to defend the weak, The Foot had no such scrupules. They worked to dominate Japan and its people, ruling behind a puppet government. All of this was done to serve their leader Oroku Saki, also known as the Shuredda. Saki desired power, but his true goal, as legend goes, was immortality. He desired to steal the secrets of the gods themselves, and live forever, dominating the planet as he did."

"Nothing more than a fairytale, I'm sure," Donatello scoffed.

Leo wasn't sure. He put his hand into the pouch on his belt and ran his finger over the mask Alopex had given him once again.

Leo looked over at Donnie. While Don was admittedly a scientific genius, he had closed him off from their father's spiritual teachings. Don didn't believe in chi or yokai or tengu. He believed what was in front of him. What he could feel. Leo felt his brother was weaker for it, and hoped he would see the light.

"Maybe, my son," Splinter turned to acknowledge him. "But his soldiers followed his beliefs fanatically. They were willing to die for Saki's goals. And they did. A force rose up against The Foot and their puppet regime, and drove the clan into hiding. Some believed Saki died that day, but he did not. Instead, he was placed in a stone casket by the clan's mystics, and placed into a deep sleep, from which he would be awakened by a descendant."

"Oh come-" Donatello was cut off by a look from Master Splinter.

"The casket was guarded by the line of Saki's elite guard, being passed down from generation to generation," the rat continued. "All the while, it was hunted by the Shoguns' own shinobi. None wanted the Shuredda to return. Eventually, the casket was taken from the Foot, and hidden. Its location was known only by a select few, and that too was passed down through their lines. My master Yoshi was the last of that line."

"Wait, so he knew where the casket was?" Leo realized. "He came here to America to hide. To make sure Saki wasn't found."

"Yes," Splinter nodded. "The Foot began to reemerge in Japan, and Yoshi was afraid that they had found out that he was the last to know of Shureda's location. So he took his pregnant wife to New York, believing they would be safe there."

"But they weren't," Mikey groaned, knowing what was to come.

"No," Splinter sighed, the sadness in his voice was evident. "The Foot found our home here in New York. In their attack, my cage was knocked open and I was able to escape. Their leader at the time was a girl no older than you are now. She threatened to kill Shen if Yoshi did not reveal the secret of Saki's resting place. He did so, and she killed her hostage anyway, leaving Yoshi to his shame and failure. I watched as my master took his own life in the ritual of seppuku, his body falling next to Shen's, their eyes locked on one another even in death."

Leonardo could see the wet streaks of tears running through the fur around Splinter's eyes, and his heart broke for his father. To witness all this tragedy, brought on by such dishonorable actions, brought anger to his heart.

"Monsters," Raphael growled, outwardly showing the same anger as Leo. The two were more alike than different, Leo was just better at keeping his emotions in check, or at the very least masked. "The dishonor. The barbarity. You always taught us to be better than that."

"And as I said, The Foot has never believed in honor," Splinter closed his eyes and tried to compose himself. "And now they are our responsibility to stop."

The brothers looked at each other. Leonardo could see the determination in everyone of them's eyes save for Donatello, who had never been excited at the thought of fighting. Leo wanted to stop the Shuredda before he could finish his goals. Raphael wanted to bring someone so dishonorable to justice. Mikey wanted to avenge Yoshi and Shen. Even Don felt a twinge of anger at the story.

Splinter said with an air of destiny, "I believe we were created to stop The Foot and Saki from their goals. While my master was never able to see his child take up his burden, we can do so. We are the last of the Hamato line, as unorthodox as we are. We are tasked with finishing Oroku Saki, once and for all."

"But sensei," Mikey asked, "where can we even start to find him?"

"Easy, Mike," Leo said, tossing the mask onto the floor of the dojo. "He's in New York. Alopex saw him and his ninja."



They were gaining on him.

He shouldn't have done what he did. He knew that before hand, but he was tired of sitting around doing nothing. The Purple Dragons were poisoning his neighborhood, and if he just sat around no one was going to stop them.

The hockey mask he wore over his face bobbled up and down as he ran through the streets of the Lower East Side. He would have to secure it better if he ever did this again.

Of course, that would depend on if he even made it out of this alive.

The Dragons had been running drugs in the area for a long time. He knew that. But recently they were getting more aggressive. They were getting violent. And they were recruiting people from the local high school. That was what really set Casey Jones off. That's what made him take down one of their lieutenants just a few minutes ago. He beat the bastard down with a baseball bat. He wasn't sorry about that. But he was definitely disappointed in the fact he didn't notice the five other guys across the street.

He made a turn down an alleyway. A wrong turn down an alleyway. He found himself facing a dead end.

"Casey," a familiar voice grunted at him from the mouth of the alley, "what the hell do you think you're doing?"

The teenager turned to find Arnold Jones, his father, standing at the lead of the men. He stood at six-foot-five, a good two or three inches taller than Casey. He was a tank of a man, even if his alcoholism had covered a lot of his muscle with fat over the years. Still, ever since the mysterious new boss moved into the city he'd trimmed down and become more like his old self. The vest he wore loosely over his chest showed the dragon tattoos on his chest and arms. He was Casey's father once. Before Casey's mother died. Before the drink took hold of the man. Before he joined back up with the Dragons and began to turn Harlem into a hell hole.

"Attila," Casey spat the man's nickname. "Thought you'd be out somewhere brainwashing kids for your new master. Does he know you're out without a leash?"

"How the hell do you know-" Arnold cuts himself off. "You go home. You never do this again, and maybe we can forget this ever happened."

"Screw you, old man!" Casey rages. "I ain't ever gonna live under the same roof with scum like you again. I'm not gonna stop until I wipe you and your gang out of New York."

Rage filled Attila's face before he looked at the other men next to him, "Boys, let this be a lesson. Sometimes you have to whip your son to make him see reason."

Arnold Jones approached Casey, the devil in his eyes.



The warehouse was dark, but he could see the rows and rows of initiates standing before the dais he was now seated on. Dozens of new men and women for his clan. All the best, brightest, and strongest the streets of New York had to offer. Some in the clan believed it was foolish to recruit here. They believed the legion of shinobi they brought with them from the homeland would suffice. They believed introducing outsiders would dilute The Foot's power.

They were fools.

Oroku Saki knew that in order to win, in order to achieve his goals, he would need to use every asset at his disposal. These new Foot Soldiers knew this city better than he did. They knew its workings. That would be invaluable. His trusted guards and granddaughters would be able to kill his enemies, but he needed these spies to feed him information.

The Shuredda knew the knowledge he sought was here in New York. He needed only to find it, and then his quest would be at an end.

He rose, and Tetsu, his chief drill sergeant, called out to the recruits, who bowed. On either side of him, his granddaughters looked up at him. Pimiko looked at him with a fierce pride, the same that he felt in her. It was her who reclaimed The Foot's destiny by killing her disappointing father and returning the Clan to its ninja ways. Before that it was nothing more than a two-bit crime family scuffling with other Yakuza dogs. On the other side was young Karai, still full of insecurities and wonder. Still, she was skilled, and he saw great things in her future.

Saki looked from side to side, scanning the crowd. He saw his elite guard scattered throughout the crowd, giving the illusion that everyone in The Foot was equal.

"Welcome," he said in a normal tone that still seemed to boom through the large area. "Welcome my family. Today, you take a step into a larger world. After tonight, you will leave behind any petty problems and connections you had in your own life. They are meaningless in service to the Clan. Your family and your friends are now beneath you. They are not worthy. But you are. For you now take a step into something that is bigger than yourself. Something bigger than they could ever hope to understand. Destiny bends to the will of The Foot. It will be you that shapes the future. Together, we will claim what is rightfully ours...and the world will cower before us."

"That was a real bombshell father dropped on us! Tree incoming Buttercup!"

"I see it Bubbles!" Buttercup rushed forward, dodged under the approaching tree and kicked it upward so it flew above the heads of a picnicing family. "I know right!? Kinda felt like a punch to the gut how out of left field that was!" Fuzzy Lumpkins raged as he saw his tree throw get deflected. The family of five quickly ran for cover from the rage of the furry humanoid.

"Get yer scrawny butts out of here Powerpuff girls! This here is my territory! All the green places in this here town are mine by birthright! I'll crush you, this town and return it back to it's pristine glory!" Fuzzy Lumpkins growled, his hulking body bristling with power and malice, but the PowerPuff girls had more pressing matters to discuss.

"I know it's a hard pill to swallow girls, but father did tell us to think it through before answering. I know it's hard to imagine but we can't just think of ourselves, after all the professor has given his all for us these past years, maybe it's about time for us to give him something he wants?" Blossom said to try and be the voice of reason while their emotions ran high even their own. "Also Fuzzy! Get out of Townsville's parks and go back home already!" Blossom flew toward the large monster, dodged a swipe at the last second and smacked him a good one on the side of his head, causing him to spin around and nearly trip over himself. But mostly all it did was make the sasquatch like creature mad.

"I do feel bad about taking up all dad's time these past years, but Townsville's been our home for so long. I just don't know about moving to such a big city, it kinda seems scary, all those people we don't know, a new school and everything." Fuzzy Lumpkins finally drew his shot gun from his back and started firing at the girls, forcing them to take cover as their conversation continued with rarely a pause.

"I'll be hard for sure I won't argue that but I'm sure we can make new friends there!"

"I will admit I'm getting a little bored here in Townsville. This is the first time in months Fuzzy has shown up to stomp on our turf, Mojo Jojo's in jail, and the regular crooks hardly even seem to try these days. I bet there will be a lot of punching bags in New York!" Another gunshot exploded and this time knocked off a chuck of tree Buttercup was currently plastered behind. "Alright Fuzzy! That's enough shots from you!" Buttercup jumped out from behind the tree and flashed her heat vision right at Fuzzy Lumpkin's barrel. The Gun quickly turned red hot causing Fuzzy to drop it in pain.

"Yeow! Blast it and tarnation! I'm plum tired of you girls always getting in my way!" Fuzzy stomped the ground and turned completely red in rage, his muscles started to expand as the rage built up in his system.

"We shouldn't move there just because you want to fight bad guys Buttercup. Anyway, we better wrap this up quickly before Fuzzy goes completely out of control!" Blossom warned them as Fuzzy raged like a mad rhino, tearing up everything in his way. Buttercup moved to intercept him but unlike with Blossom, Fuzzy was ready this time and grabbed Buttercup by the head and slammed her into the ground, cracking it with his power, forcing Buttercup to cough up the air in her lungs.

"Don't worry I'll save you Buttercup!" Bubbles then started to make cute little squeaking noises and a brave squirrel answered her call and launched itself at Fuzzy's face.

"Gahh!! Get off me ya dirty varmit!" Fuzzy let go of Buttercup and desperately tried to grab the squirrel but the nimble beast was too fast for the large Lumpkin.

"Alright girls! Let's remind him why he shouldn't mess with the Powerpuff Girls! Time to finish this!" Blossom nodded to Bubbles while Buttercup hopped back over to them, her face messed up with dirt.

"I'm gonna give you payback for that Lumpy!" Buttercup quickly joined up with Blossom and Bubbles, they lifted themselves off the ground and rocketed toward Fuzzy who was still distracted by the squirrel. With a click from Bubbles, the Squirrel dashed away leaving Fuzzy just enough time to turn and get a face full of Powerpuff Girl fists. Fuzzy tumbled over and rolled across the ground from the force of the combined blows, stopped after a few meters and sat up in a daze. Fuzzy shook his head and regained his senses just in time to kiss Bubbles shoe.

"You're gonna-oof!-hafta-gahh!-do better than-Bleh!-that to stop old Fuzzy Lumpkins!" Despite the kicks and punches Fuzzy's high adrenaline was still coursing through his body giving him the power to tank the blows without too much worry. Girls girls jumped back, making a triangle around Fuzzy as he growled and tried to figure out with girl to go for.

"Well we could just beat you black and blue!" Buttercup rammed a fist into her palm to emphasis she kind of wanted to do just that.

"But we'd really love to settle this more peacefully Fuzzy." Bubbles smiled and gave him a wink.

"And we've stalled you long enough for the police to arrive!" Blossom announced triumphantly as many heavily suited up officers crawled out of their police cars and an armored van.

Fuzzy looked at Blossom with a puzzled look and then just laughed. "Ha ha ha! That's the funniest darn joke I've heard all day! What are the boys in blue gonna do against The Fuzzy Lumpkins? Shoot me with those pea shooters, you know those bullets would just bounce right offa me!" Fuzzy thumped his chest and grinned but Blossom just grinned wider.

"I don't think you'll be so smug after realizing they've gotten a few upgrades the Utonium way!" Fuzzy looked over and noticed the guys from the van had some rather heavy looking guns and some sort of net shooters as well. Before he could think about attacking them they started to fire and suddenly Fuzzy found himself stuck like a pincushion with needles.

"What the heck are they...doing to me...what's going on?" Fuzzy lost the red coloring in his body and could feel his body start to get sluggish. Seeing this the troopers fired the heavy nets, pinning Fuzzy to the ground who knew he should have easily been able to rip through them but just couldn't muster the strength to.

"The police now have a special sedative just for you Fuzzy! Without all that adrenaline pumping through your system you're just a big softy!"

"So soft that kids could even use you as a giant teddy bear!" Bubbles giggled as Fuzzy found himself unable to think anymore.

"Thanks for that last fight Fuzzy! Not a bad way to end our careers here." Butter cup gave Fuzzy's back a hearty thump, forcing Fuzzy's face into the ground.

"Now that wasn't very nice Buttercup!" Bubbles protested since Fuzzy couldn't even fight anymore.

"Hey! He deserved it after he smashed by face into the ground! I can already feel the bruises forming on my face!"

"End of our careers huh? So Bubbles, Buttercup? Have we reached our decision?" Blossom asked as the girls looked at each other's faces, their faces were set with decision.

Bubbles decided to start. "You know I'm scared about moving but I bet there are a lot of fashions and shops that I can find over there. It'll be hard to leave everything I know behind but I'm sure I can manage. Dad deserves to do something he loves, just like he put his heart and soul in upgrading the Townsville police force!"

Buttercup nodded as she tried to rub all the dirt off her face but mostly just succeeded in smearing it even more. "You know, I'll be really sad to leave this town behind, went to my first rock concert here, had some really good battles, but I'm getting quite antsy. I feel like maybe we've finally outgrown this town and there's nothing here to challenge us anymore, especially with that creep Mojo behind bars. If I can find new challenges and make father happy I'm all for it."

Blossom nodded, took a deep breathe and gave her piece. "You know I really didn't want to go at first. I've made so many good friends here, we were born and raised here so Townsville has always been our home. I don't know too much about New York but at least father said we'd be living in one of the suburbs rather than the more metropolitan areas of town. You know I was really surprised when father brought up moving, I thought he would never leave out house considering all the memories we've had together along with the memories he had with mom. I really wished we had gotten to know her, even for just a little bit."

Bubbles and Buttercup both nodded at the mention of their mother, the Professor had told them some stories and they had seen some pictures but that was all they knew about their mother. All they knew was their mom was a remarkable woman who had managed to give birth to them despite the difficulties.

"The fact that father is willing to move after so long is proof he is trying to move on in life. I know I for one am not going to get in his way. I know it's sad to leave but as long as we are all together I know it will work out! So we are all agreed then right? Let's support our dad all the way and make this move to New York a resounding success! One three! One, two three!" The girls clapped their hands together and ran back home to tell Professor Utonium their decision to support the move while Fuzzy Lumpkins was dragged into the armored vehicle to get carted away.

The girls had just made of the biggest decisions in their lives, and life was going to change in a very big way.

Witwicky Ranch, Colorado
Evening

---

The sun's sleepy form was beginning to lay down upon the horizon, preparing to hand its watch over to the moon in little more than an hour. Stevie Witwicky lounged on the hood of a beat-up Volkswagen, his head resting against the windshield and his laptop perched on his knees. Hundreds of lines of data raced down the computer's screen, letting the teenager know in real-time the exact condition of his livestock. Over four hundred cattle were beginning rapidly scanned, their individual heart-rates, body fat and other important health information all being fed into his single computer from over two dozen drones that were combing the pastures faster than any human field hand could ever hope to match.

A few months ago Stevie would've had to wake up before the sun did and he'd still be out working his ass off to get this much work done. It was mindnumbing, backbreaking work, and he couldn't be more happy that his drones had proved such a massive success; he could finally lounge around and do nothing at all for as long as he wanted, his dad saving money was just a nice side effect.

The final robot checked off, announcing that it had finished scanning its designated cattle and was flying back to the recharge station for the evening. Witwicky let out a self-satisfied sigh, slapping his laptop shut and setting it down beside him. "Looks like the Mini-Cons went off without a hitch. You a proud dad, Bee?"

Static sounded from the radio for a second, followed immediately by a series of high-pitched beeps and whistles.

"I completely agree." Stevie nodded. "And I definitely, one-hundo percent understand you."

Another series of lower-pitched beeps blared from the radio, intermixed with static and interference. It was the only form of communication the Autobot had used since Stevie was introduced to him- it?- and he still had little idea what it was supposed to mean. Not that he cared much; it wasn't all that hard to tell what Bee was thinking based on the tone of his beeping and whistling.

"Love you too, guy."

The sound of a rumbling engine and shouting voices drew a knowing groan from Witwicky. He sat up, sliding off the front of his car to look down the ranch's driveway. A line of dirty pickup trucks was trudging across the gravel, making a beeline up toward the ranch house itself. Stevie brought a hand up in front of his eyes to block out the dwindling sun, giving himself a better view of the men packed into the beds of each truck. He couldn't get a proper count of them, but he guessed there were at least thirty of them spread across the four incoming vehicles.

"Well, shit on a stick." He mumbled, spinning around to jog up toward the house. "Yo, dad!" He shouted, hoping his father was near enough to hear him as he bounded up the porch and through the front door. "We got trouble!"

The first truck in the column came to a grinding halt, and the rest following behind it stopped soon after. Angry mumbles left the lips of men clad in dusty jeans, flannel shirts, and wide-brimmed hats. A few carried weapons with them: bats, pipes and car irons clutched in worked and calloused palms. A handful among the crowd had shotguns tossed over their shoulders or pistols on their hips.

That grumbling crowd parted to let a single figure through their ranks. He was a tall man, with strong arms and a crooked, hawkish nose. The sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled up to the elbows, and his blond hair was cropped short around his ears. There was an energy to his movements, a jumpy, unfocused energy, like that of a child, that betrayed the laugh lines on his face. "Don't ya'll do nothin' til I tell ya to, ya hear?!" He yelled to the mob, his voice bellowing like thunder and his accent thick and strong. Murmurs of agreement rolled through the gang gathered to his back, though they were significantly less enthused afterward.

Daniel Witwicky shoved his way out the front door, his shoulders so broad that he had to shift sideways to keep from getting stuck in the frame. His arms were thick and lined with dark hair, ending in hands peppered with old, ugly scars. Danny's gut would've been more noticeable on a shorter man, but his over six-foot tall frame held the weight well, making out the old man to be far larger than he had any right to be. "If you boys are here to work, I apologize, we just finished for the day." He spoke loudly, projecting his voice so that the distant gang could hear him, but there wasn't an ounce of anger in his tone; he was cordial, in fact, his broad smile only barely hidden by the bushy, gray beard that covered his face.

"I don't believe we have enough plates to invite you all in for supper, either, so I'll kindly have to ask you to leave." Though Witwicky worded it as a request, it was hard for the disgruntled mob to miss the old service rifle Witwicky had clutched in his meaty hands. It looked to be the same tool he had once carried in the jungles of Vietnam, and there wasn't a man standing opposite him that didn't know he could use it.

Stevie wasn't nearly as polite, however, as he shoved an accusatory finger down at Reverend Silas. "He's sayin' you need to take your thugs and-"

Daniel placed a hand on his son's shoulder, silencing him. Stevie looked like a twig standing side by side with his old man. He was a few inches shorter and built more lithely than his pa, though his work on the ranch had refined young Witwicky's muscle well enough. Still, it didn't all mean too much in the face of thirty men with bats and guns in hand.

The Reverend was quiet for a few moments, seeming to be...elsewhere, like he was listening to someone else talk. It wasn't until a couple of awkward seconds had passed that Silas actually responded. "You can't hide it from us anymore, Mr. Witwicky. We know your little secret!" He yelled. Daniel and Stevie shared a brief, worried look as the local pastor started forward, emboldened. His wolf pack moved just behind. "We know you do the devil's work here. We know why you n' your boy are the only people you let on your ranch anymore."

Old Man Witwicky just shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about, Reverend. My son and I are born again, same as the rest of you." He nodded at the men in the back, recognizing all of them from the nearby town's single church.

Silas gave a hardy, malicious laugh. "Really?" He asked between chuckles, incredulously. "Seems to me you haven't been to service since Cathy died. She was one of the Lord's own, yes, but it seems to me you didn't quite like that-"

"The hell you tryin' to say about my mom?!" Stevie roared, leaping down from the porch before his father could take a hold of him. Immediately several of the townspeople rushed forward to stand between the angry rancher and the shepherd of their flock. Stevie must not have noticed they were there, for he just kept moving forward, going so far as to try to walk through them to scream at Silas. "What do you mean, huh? What the hell do you mean?!"

"You know just what I mean, boy." Silas snapped. "Cathy done knew the devilry you and your father were doin' out here, knew about the powers you're meddlin' in, and you two just couldn't stomach it-"

Stevie threw two of the pastor's vanguard to the ground in a quick, well-executed motion, before immediately ramming his fist up into Silas's teeth. The reverend hadn't expected such ferocity from the boy, nor that he'd be able to get past his men, so he took the full force of the punch and ended up with blood splattering from his lips and a tooth flying from his mouth. The thugs didn't take too kindly to that, setting upon Stevie and dragging him to the ground through sheer numbers. They started flailing into each other, throwing punches, knees, and kicks that could've easily killed the smaller Stevie if no one intervened.

"THAT'S ENOUGH." Daniel bellowed, lifting his gun to fire into the sky to accentuate his point. The gangle of people atop his son scrambled off, allowing Stevie to half-crawl, half-run back up the porch to where his dad was now standing with his weapon aimed at the crowd. "Nobody touches my boy." He stared, steely-eyed, into every barrel pointed right back at him.

Silas had recovered by now, though the sleeve he'd held to his mouth was now stained crimson. "You can't lie to the sons of God, Daniel. He doesn't just speak to us through his word anymore. I've seen the truth after he made the moon bleed-"

"Oh, please." Stevie sneared.

"-God showed me what's comin'. He's showed me the Black Epoch that lies on the horizon if we don't rise up n' stop all you devil worshippin' sons'a'bitches from bringin' on Judgment Day." Silas continued without skipping a beat, his every word annunciated with clear and precise emphasis, filled with an emphatic and powerful passion that roused the righteous fury of his followers. "He's told us the only way to save our town from damnation is 'ta cast out the sorcerer and the demon worshippers n' the sinners. You're on the list, Daniel. God showed me yer true face."

There were shouts of affirmation and praises to God given in response to his words. It was all the energy Silas needed to redirect toward their true purpose. "Search this property, my brothers in Christ. Find the source of their witchcraft and set it to the pyre! N' Find the body of the woman, too; God would want her to get a proper, Christian burial." The Reverend commanded, and his flock followed. They split off into smaller groups, headed up to the house, around to the garage and toward the stables. Others turned about and went for the fields, likely in search of Cathy Witwicky's grave. "And make sure these two don't move a muscle, ya hear?! They move, they die!"

Stevie was bouncing on his heels, his muscles rippling with anger despite the blood dripping freely from his nose. Daniel had a death grip on his son's arm, holding so tight that there was little Stevie could do as he watched on in horror at the sight of the townsfolk he had once called his neighbors ripping through his belongings in search of proof of devil worship. It was absolute, utter insanity, and there wasn't anything he could do but stand there and watch.

A handful of the dusty, rural thugs went up to the Volkswagen sitting in the driveway. They shattered the windows to get the doors open, throwing the contents to the ground and tearing through every compartment and pulling up the carpet in search of whatever it was they wanted to find. "HEY!" Stevie screamed to no avail. "Don't you touch that- fucking stop!"

One of the men pulled out a knife and took it to the interior leather seats, and that was enough to set Witwicky off. He ripped his arm away from his father and took only two steps forward before the sound of a shotgun firing echoed across the ranch. Stevie hit the ground, crying out in pain, and Daniel rushed down to his side. "No...No, damn it, no-"

"Stay right there!" One of the gunmen ordered, though he didn't fire when Danny knelt down at his wounded son's side.

"You stupid, stupid boy." Daniel snarled, putting pressure on the entrance wound. Most of the pellets had found their way into Stevie's shoulder and arm, avoiding major organs, yet...they were only inches away from tearing into his face and killing him in an instant. Even still, without a doctor nearby, it was possible his boy might not make it.

The Volkswagen's radio flared to life without a single person touching it. Nothing came through but blaring, blank static, blasting so loud that it gave everyone nearby a piercing headache.

Daniel stood up, holding a hand out toward the car. "No!" He shouted. "Bee, don't- Don't you do it-"

But Bumblebee didn't listen.

Bumblebee was tired of seeing his family being bullied and hurt by a bunch of tiny, useless sacks of flesh.

The car began to move. The hood flew up on its own, and the interior folded in on itself, crushing the single man that was still inside. It transformed in a matter of seconds, arms and legs of a black, unknown metal slamming into the dirt with a rumbling crash. Bumblebee slowly rose to his feet, his armored face contorted in anger and his body slicked with wet, sticky fluid from the cultist it had just compacted. A dozen different panicked screams pierced the air as eyes turned to see the impossible looming above them like a titan from a time long forgotten. He towered over the humans at a monstrous fifteen feet, like a modern Goliath, and wielded strange, alien weapons that hummed with energy. A low, unnatural gargle of static and fury left the giant's voicebox as it pointed the barrel of its guns on the people threatening the Witwickys.

"BUMBLEBEE, STOP!" Daniel tried to scream, but he found his voice lost in the commotion and panic of the moment.

"The horns!" Silas yelled at his men, pointing up at the yellow behemoth's head with a shaking, terrified finger. "Look at the horns! Its the devil we sought- The Lord has brought us-"

Anything else the Reverend meant to say was drowned out by the sound of pistols and shotguns tearing through the air, most of them bouncing harmlessly off the alien's chassis like pebbles thrown at a battleship. A few flew wide, blowing chunks out of the ranch house or kicking up bits of gravel or dirt. Daniel slung his weapon over his shoulder and slipped his arms underneath Stevie's body, lifting his son up between them as he started toward the house as quick as his old bones could carry him.

One of the cultists took notice and attempted to pursue.

The mistake cost him his life as Bumblebee turned one of his Stingers on the man, turning his entire form into a splatter of gore and ash in just a single blast. The sound of the cannon firing echoed through the wilderness like the shot heard 'round the world. It was the first sound of many, many like it before the ordeal came to a close.

---

The holdout was quiet as a dark figure slowly made their way through empty rooms. Every now and again a sentry would appear only to be swiftly and silently taken down. They were a shadow upon the wall. They were truth and justice.

The closer they got to the heart of the lair the more goons started to appear. They would have to take a different approach if they wanted to take out the boss with the element of surprise. Initiating a no holds melee was not the way to go.

They holstered their weapon and with a quick physical feat, climbed and wall and settled safely in the ceiling. They took a few moments to check the surroundings and to quickly disable a small motion detector. They waited a long minute to make sure no one would come investigating. Then they headed off following their HUD to their destination.

It was far slower crawling and taking care of sensors than it had been on the ground. But it was also more prudent. It's a good thing they didn't have to sneeze though.

There was a soft chime from the HUD letting them know they were there. They stopped and listened for sound then cracked open the ceiling. There was no one in the room below. They waited a few minutes to see if that would change. It didn't.

Did the boss know they were coming? Mind made up they dropped down into the room with their weapon drawn. All at once everything was cast into a red glow and alarms all throughout the base started going off.

Usagi bit the tip of her tounge as she jerked the controller wildly.

"No. No. No! No!" She cried as the boss decended upon her character. She watched in dismay as the HP bar started dropping fast. She flung her body to the left as if somehow she could help the animated pixels avoid the killing blow.

With a huff of displeasure Usagi tossed the controller on Mamo-chan's couch. Despite this being only a few hours after she had arrived, he still had classes. Which left her all alone in a strange country. Usagi huffed again and picked the controller back up.

"You're going down." Usagi told the boss as she hit the retry button. If she focused on the video game she didn't have to think about being in America. Nor did she have to think about how tired she was. The seventeen hour difference was killing her. But if she wanted to spend time with Mamo-chan she needed to stay awake. She couldn't sleep while he was awake. She couldn't.

Usagi forced down a sniffle and tried to push those thoughts from her mind. It had only been two years since he left for America. And he had written and called and even visited twice. Still, it wasn't enough. But she was here now. She had graduated and was here.

"Take that!" Usagi shot the evil boss in the face. "And that!"

She giggled with glee as the HP bar for the boss began to drop instead. Mamo-chan might play different video games then she did, but he did have good taste. As expected of her fiance.

The engine roared as the car sped along with a caravan of SUVs and two armored cars carrying armed agents. The BPRD hadn't mustered this kind of show of force in the middle of a big city since New York in 1984 when those idiots damn near dropped a death god on Manhattan. Though, back then every rube didn't have a camera in their pocket. That made disavowals a lot easier. Now everything would be on YouTube in a few minutes, which made the speed they could set up a perimeter all the more important.

Kate Corrigan wasn't sure it would matter, though.

Something had happened. They still weren't sure what exactly. Their contracted mages and witches were working on trying to nail that down. But whatever it did changed things on planet Earth at a scale that has never been seen.

Things across the globe were waking up, and people were waking up to the reality of the world which the BPRD and other agencies had tried to hide for eons. That was dangerous. The old quote about a person being smart but "people" being a pack of panicky animals was true, in her experience.

The more people that find out about the truth of the world, the worst this will all get. They were going to end up with some kind of war. Kate was sure of it. Whether it was natural vs paranormal, or peopled rebelling against governments that had been lying to them forever was the question.

The worst of it was the BPRD wasn't ready for something like that. They had resources, sure. They had a good number of agents, some of them pretty damn special. But they weren't equipped to fight back against some sort of mass, world-wide event.

The Earth Protection Force might stand more of a chance, being a military born entity, but Kate was unsure of their methods. They tended to throw the baby out with the bathwater, which could alienate potential allies.

When the group reached the park, however, Kate got a sight she wasn't excited to find.

A perimeter of military-style vehicles had already been set up around the park. Above, a few helicopters were circling the area. All of them had the NYPD logo on them, but she knew better. This was the EPF. Well, at least the EPF that they wanted people to see. In reality, they were far more secretive.

She opened her door and slammed it behind her, racing to the line of vehicles, "Okay, who the hell is in charge here?"

"Ah, Dr. Corrigan!" a voice thick, almost too-thick, with Southern drawl announced its presence from beside her. Instantly she knew who it belonged to, and shivers went down her spine. "So good of you to finally join us."

Agent John Bishop sauntered up, his hair slicked back, stubble on his face, and sunglasses covering his eyes as they always did. If the BPRD was interested in knowledge as well as defense, the EPF were more into extermination. The two organizations had butted heads often, and Bishop was one of the most radical of their agents. He despised anything that wasn't human. He believed the war that Kate feared was the only way to ensure humanity's survival. In short, he was a fanatic, ready to instigate such a war if need be.

"Bishop," Kate seethed at the man, who merely smirked behind his glasses. "I should have known you would beat me here."

"And it's a good thing I did, too," he motioned to the park. "Looks like we got a monster on our hands, and a couple of freaks trying to fight it. After that red moon the other night, I think it's high time I put some trophies on the wall of headquarters."

"You sadistic bastard," she growled at him. "Two enhanced people, or whatever, are in there defending innocent people and you want to kill them? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What the hell is wrong with me is that your boy Serizawa told us, the DoD brass, the Joint Chiefs, and the damn president of these United States that the thing sleeping under Central Park was nowhere close to waking up," Bishop pointed with force towards the sounds of the battle within. "Now it's awake, and we're gonna have to think of some crap excuse as to what it is. And on the same day that happens, a weirdo in a metal suit and Renaissance Fair actor with super strength show up to fight it? Uh uh. Oh no. I'm not waiting around and taking them on faith. For all I know this is the beginning of an invasion, Corrigan. And I'm not letting any soldier that isn't human escape the battlefield."

He motioned for men to move Kate away from the makeshift command post. She struggled against them, and he turned back, "Don't even think about letting your red friend out. I know he's in one of those armored cars. He steps foot on this street, I'll kill him too. Far as I'm concerned the government has already let your pets have too much leash."

Kate watched in silence as he gave an order to his troops, "Engage all hostiles. I don't want anything that isn't human to leave the park. We're ending this now."

"This is Vernon Fenwick for Channel 6 News, reporting from the Techno Cosmic Research Institute here in New York City," the man on the television said as Splinter sat down with a cup of tea. His sons were in the dojo, preparing to go out into the New York night. He was nervous, of course. The city was a dangerous place, and they had spent so little time on the surface.

But he knew they were strong. They would not fall prey to the surface as he had allowed Artemisia to do all those years ago.

His daughter. He still thought about her every day. About how he had been the one to fail her. How he was not fast enough to save her. He hoped, without much conviction, that she was still out there somewhere, and he would be able to make up his failure to her.

"TCRI, as it's known for short, has been a beacon of invention, and a crown jewel in New York's tech sector," the reporter continued. "It's not often that members of the press are allowed in this beehive of creativity, but we were given a special look inside, and a sit down with Doctor Jordan Perry, the director of the institute."

The screen shifted to showing shots of various labs and experiments going on, before showing a man in his mid-to-late fifties. His hair had already turned white, but he had a kind face wrinkled by smile lines. Still, there was an air of intelligence about him.

"Doctor Perry has been the driving force behind TCRI, along with his partner Doctor Baxter Stockman," Fenwick continued. "Having emigrated from the United Kingdom after graduating from Oxford and getting a doctorate in physics from MIT, Perry immediately started his think tank in the city, first in a lab no bigger than a studio apartment. Now the lab is turning out scientific breakthrough after scientific breakthrough. I sat down with Dr. Perry to discuss their first in-house product line."

"Dr. Perry, thank you for sitting down with us," the interviewer started.

"My pleasure," Perry smiled, a cordial English accent flowing from his lips.

"So you've invited us here to talk about your new project? Something about cleaning up the city?"

"Yes!" Perry got excited, like a shot of lightning went through him. "Something of the sort. Vermin have been a problem in big cities since the beginning of time. They've brought disease and plague throughout history. So we've been working on these little guys."

Perry pressed a button, and in a moment a line of sparkling, two-foot-tall, bipedal robots marched out in unison. Their bulbous heads were bisected by a razor-sharp, toothy beak with a sensor "eye" on their forehead.

"Wow!" Fenwick exclaimed. "Now that's impressive!"

"Thank you," Perry smiled. "These little guys are going to rid the world's cities of vermin in a snap. They've been designed to track rat and mouse DNA in sewers and the like, to help keep our fair city sparkling."

Splinter's eyes narrowed at the TV. He would have to tell Donatello about this. The last thing he wanted was one of these creatures busting into their home because they tracked his rat DNA.

"Well, I certainly think that's something we could desperately use, though I think you might be putting some cats out of a job."

"That's true," the inventor chuckled. "But we think this may be a little more efficient. And the city has just given us the go ahead for a pilot program so we can see some results. Or little Mousers will be out cleaning up New York sooner than you think!"



"Come on," Donatello pleaded with his brothers. "You guys cannot believe this. A ninja who is hundreds of years old has awoken in New York in order to find out the secret of immortality so he can take over the world? Like...we're really taking this at face value? Maybe we should take a minute to really figure this out."

The other three turtles were preparing for the hunt. Raph taped and re-taped his hands. Mikey spun his kusarigama around to check its balance, even though he had used the weapon hundreds of times before during training. Leo was meditating in the middle of all of them, focusing his mind for anything that could come their way.

Donatello had been apoplectic ever since Splinter's message with them. When the others decided that it would be prudent to start patrols in the city to search for The Foot and its leader, Donnie had heard enough. He loved and respected Master Splinter, but he made it known that he did not think tracking down a fairy tale was a reason for them to hastily return to the surface on a regular basis. He was sure that they should be more strategic than that.

Leo had heard enough. He enjoyed his time meditating in order to center himself before a fight, and Don's rambling wasn't allowing him to really tap into his Chi. Instead, he was just getting annoyed. Leonardo imagined this is how Raphael felt every moment of every day. If that was the case, it was totally understandable that his brother often lost his cool.

"Don, we get it, man," he said, finally breaking his attempt at keep calm and letting his brother burn himself out. "You don't believe Master Splinter. We do. I know you've never been thrilled about fighting. That's cool. If you want, you can hang back and help on the comms. It's not like we're going to think less of you or anything."

Leo winced as that definitely came out wrong.

"No...you're right," Don nodded. "I've never wanted to fight. And it's true, I think it's nuts that father thinks that there is a centuries-old ninja in New York. But if there is a ninja clan in the city, I'm not letting you guys face it alone."



Jordan Perry stood over a computer console in the off-limits wing of TCRI. Behind him a massive assembly line pieced together Mouser robot after Mouser robot, creating an army for his disposal. An army of scouts to search and retrieve the things he had lost far too long ago.

Beside him, Baxter Stockman worked. Stockman was a genius. Not as smart as he was, of course, but a genius none the less. TCRI never would have became what it was today without him. For that, Perry was forever grateful to his partner.

"Levels are nominal," Stockman smiled after a few more key presses. "We are good to go for activation. Care to do the honors?"

Jordan smiled at the other man, "We've worked a long time for this."

"We have," Baxter agreed. "And we came up with a pretty good cover story, if you ask me. The mouse catching business was a stroke of genius, if I do say so myself."

"Always so humble, my friend," Perry chuckled and pulled a vile of blood from his lab coat pocket. "For fifteen long years they've been out there. And if anyone ever found them, they would be led back to us. To our true project. And if that happened-"

"We'd have every regulatory agency kicking down our door," Stockman grumbled. "And science doesn't have time for that."

"No it does not," Perry agreed and put the vile into the computer. Instantly, the dozens of Mousers sprang to life, and began walking out of TCRI and into New York. "Let's reclaim our creations."



April couldn't believe what she saw. The Mouser she had stayed late to run some diagnostics on after the demonstration today had activated on its own, and was now marching straight for the exit of the building.

"Okay...that's weird," the intern said to herself. "Let's see where you're headed."

---

_{{-: New York City - Central Park :-}}

---

The armor-clad hero was forced to step back as the brutish monster reared it's ugly head back into place. As it issued another ear-splitting screech of fury, it's eyes glowing a blood-crimson, both fighters would suddenly turn their attention to an approaching sound coming their way. Ultraman instantly knew what was coming. When it came to situations like this one, the NYPD was usually amongst the first on the crime scene. And judging by the threat, he figured that Monarch would also be on their way as well. He's already been grabbing more attention than usual - and all the wrong kinds at that. He frantically waves his left hand towards them to back off from the fight.

"Everyone stand back!" he shouted quickly, " I having verything here under contr~ URK!"

With his attention driven away, the kaiju took the opportunity to upper-cut the armored warrior as his hooks struck against his body. Ultraman, however, would land on his feet - dazed but alert.

"Damn," he cursed to himself, "Focus Jiro - don't let them distract you. Just finish the job quickly and explain things later."

Revealing his specium blades once more, the armored warrior rushed towards his opponent as it readied to fire another beam from its chest. Expecting this, Jiro proceeded to leap just before it fired, jumping up several meters into the air before raising one of his blades and striking its neck. The beast attempted to strike at him again with his hooks, waving them frantically as he begged for a hit, but the ultra-warrior was simply too nimble. He avoided all of his strikes and soon enough Ultraman was right on top of his carapace. He began to jab his blades into the monster's head, but the protective armor on top still proved to be rather difficult to penetrate. The kaiju hollered wildly as he forcedly crashed into the ground, finally getting him off. It would counter by grasping his chest in his pincered-tail, flailing him about while dragging the warrior on the ground. Jiro was able to utilize his blade to slice open the very tip that housed the pincers, freeing himself at last. The kaiju roared in agony of this sudden burst of pain as he attempted to tend to his wounds - giving Ultraman the time he needs to quickly regroup and recalculate his strategy.

But what he wouldn't realize until just now, that another warrior is about to enter the fray...

"Right... kaiju..." Gilad mumbled to himself as he took the blades from his chest and impaled them downwards into his neck for easier storage. He sprinted through the streets of New York, leaving a trail of blood. He mumbled to himself, thinking about ways to kill a kaiju. He'd done it before but... it had taken a lot more firepower than he currently had. As he rounded a corner he spotted a barbecue on top of a large balcony, and with it...

Two propane tanks.

He had his firepower.

Climbing up the building, he grabbed the propane tanks and fastened them to his hips with some pilfered nails.

Now he just needed a way to trigger them.

As if on cue, a police cruiser sped by. Gilad smiled, leaping from the roof with a grunt, and slamming down on top of a parked car. Kicking his way in, he hotwired it, and sped off after the cruiser.

With a little effort, he managed to get beside the cruiser. He kicked open the door, knocking the metal to the street beside, and leapt over to the cruiser. He climbed on top and kicked his way into the windshield. With a boot on one officer's throat, he relieved the other of his pistol just as the car crashed, spinning through the air and sending Gilad flying. He crashed into the asphalt and left a hefty amount of flesh behind as he burst back into a sprint.

Right, bomb and trigger.

He realized that the car probably had heavier weapons in the trunk, and momentarily turned back to grab a shotgun.

Bomb, trigger, and boomstick.

Now to get to Central Park.

He arrived a few minutes later on a pilfered motorcycle, which he swiftly crashed into a tree.

Oops.

He pulled himself to his feet, pulled a branch out of his knee, and examined the skyline.

He was just in time to see the kaiju fall to a massive metal golem.

That's new.

"Tina, fuck's that thing?"

"I honestly haven't the foggiest, it is fighting the kaiju, so maybe work with it?"

Gilad worked alone, Tina knew that. He wasn't just some slut who would fight alongside anyone at any time, a fight is like a kiss, you don't just go up to random people and kiss them now do you?

"'With' is a dirty word, Tina. Bad girl."

"I'm sure the other geomancers enjoy your playful flirting but I'm not in the mood right now, just do what it is you do."

Flirting? He wasn't... well whatever. He supposed that with the beast prone, now was his opportunity. From the small glimpse he got of the thing, he thought he saw an exoskeleton, which meant the joints were weak spots. Or it could be a shell, if that was the case he could get between the plates.

Well he had two bombs, why not try both.

He dashed over to where the massive beast lie prone. It was huge, that much was true. Not only huge, but shelled, and on its back. All the better.

He leaped in between a split-trunked tree and used that vantage point to get onto the beast's belly. Before he had time to think outside of a quick "time to move", he had shot one of the tanks with the pistol and tossed it at the beast's shoulder. He probably wasn't going to kill it immediately, but robbing it of its weapons would make that part easier.

Then he saw its massive red eyes, dead and staring blankly. Huge beacons that drew his eyes. Ugly, horrible things. He wanted to break them so badly.

So Gilad tore a tank from his waist and tossed it, drawing his shotgun swiftly. He held steady as it arced down, down, right towards the beast's head. Finally, it was just right, and with a blast of shells, the propane tank exploded, just as the one he'd tossed at the beast's shoulder also finally came to the end of its fuse, the pair of explosions launching Gilad off of the beast and off into the treeline.

Hopefully that did some damage.

He hoped, and kept hoping as his head hit a rock and his skull smashed like glass.

"It was a shame the Powerpuff Girls had to move away along with the Professor, Townsville really enjoyed having them around." The Mayor of Townsville, a short white-headed gentleman, looked wistfully out the window of his office, taking a small break from his regular duties. The town really had benefited quite a lot from the Powerpuff Girls protection but fewer and fewer strange things had been happening in Townsville these days so really, perhaps it was just fate for the Powerpuff Girls to move away.

"Well as long as we still have Mojo Jojo locked away I think our beefed up security forces can handle most of the remaining threats. Professor Utonium really did a great job helping our boys have the tools necessary to keep our town safe, perhaps if we had the funds to rebuild the science lab we wouldn't have had him leave for greener pastures. Oh well, maybe I'll just have a pickle or two before I get back to work." The Mayor reached under his desk to his special stash of dill pickles to munch on when suddenly the front doors to his office burst open. He leapt up in surprise and stared to see a face that should not have been there.

"Salutations soon to be ex-mayor of Townsville for it is I, Mojo Jojo who will soon be in control of this fair city." The green-skinned simian smiled evilly and his dome that protected his exposed brain seemed extra shiny today. The monkey whipped his cape behind him and strode forward with malicious intent.

"H-How is this possible! I checked only a day ago and you were still in your cell! There has been no reports of a breakout at all!" The mayor shook in fear as the super-intellectual monkey reached his desk and started to rub his hands together in anticipation.

"Indeed! If you indeed go down to the prison and check again you will still find that I, Mojo Jojo am still in prison, but that is a lie! The Mojo Jojo currently held in the Townsville jail is actually my second most clever creation, the Robo Jojo! In my last encounter with the accursed Powerpuff girls I decided that I needed to drop off the grid for a while to prepare for their demise. So, I concocted a most clever scheme, to allow the girls to defeat me while went underground to prepare for what will be our last encounter." Mojo Jojo slammed his fists on the desk and turned to lift his hands up in the sky in complete triumph. "Like I had envisioned you stupid humans fell for my ruse and now everything is ready for the day I finally rid myself of the Powerpuff girls and force Professor Utonium to give me the formula for chemical X so that my plans for world conquest can finally come to fruition! Now Mayor! Call on the Powerpuff girls so that I may end this once and for all! There is nothing that can stop my plan once all the pieces are in place!"

"Errr...well Mr. Mojo normally I would but, the girls are no longer in Townsville." The Major admitted nervously as he wondered how Mojo Jojo would react to the news.

"Ha ha ha! Please Mr. Mayor, who is the current head of this city, do you take me for a fool! I know you must be trying to prevent the girls from falling into my clever trap but that was a poor lie! If you will not call the Powerpuff Girls then I will!" Mojo Jojo leapt behind the desk, shoved the Mayor to the side and opened up the drawer with the emergency hotline and quickly dialed.

"I'm sorry but this number is no longer in service or you have dialed incorrectly."

"No, I must have dialed incorrectly in my haste to quickly my most diabolical scheme yet." He dialed in the number again, which was written on the bottom of the drawer, and listened.

"I'm sorry but this number is no longer in service or you have dialed incorrectly."

Mojo Jojo's mouth opened wide in shock when he couldn't reach the Powerpuff girls. "This cannot be! Surely there must be another way I can contact them!" Mojo Jojo turned to the Mayor, who merely shook his head.

"The Professor insisted that since they were moving so far away that it was best the line was cut so the girls wouldn't feel like they still needed to protect the town, he wanted to have a clear restart."

"But if the Powerpuff girls are no longer here, and neither is Professor Utonium, then I cannot lure the Powerpuff Girls into my trap and if I cannot lure the Powerpuff Girls into my trap by today then it will be impossible to maintain the output of my newest device which is key to destroying the Powerpuff Girls. Even if I did manage to lure the girls here the Professor would be left behind and if the Professor is left behind he could easily go into hiding and then I might never be able to extract from him the secrets of Chemical X! This is completely outrageous! Ridiculous! Completely unacceptable!" Mojo Jojo started pacing around in a circle trying to think of his next move, while the Mayor attempted to inch himself away.

"Even if I take over Townsville without the formula for Chemical X my plans for World Domination all that would be for naught! Taking over an entire town for any length of time before I could put my true plans in motion would only make me a target to other forces. I will have to alter my plans drastically, mayor." Mojo saw the Mayor almost make it to the door but quickly moved to intercept him and got in his way. "Where did Professor Utonium and the Powerpuff Girls move to?" Mojo clasped the Mayor's head between his hands and started to squeeze, causing the Mayor to grunt in pain.

"They, they moved to New York city! The Professor was given a great job deal by some bigshot I'd never heard of before! Please! Just leave!" The mayor pleaded as he was forced to look in the made eyes of the eccentric chimp.

"The Big Apple is it? I have heard that there is perhaps no greater hive of scum and villainy in that area. Quite the playground the Powerpuffs will have over there. Still, it would make an excellent place to hide out while I prepare for my alternate plan. Like it or not for my plans to be realized I must have Professor Utonium's formula and the only way to do that is to follow them. Well, admittedly I as losing good places to hide out here anyway. Now the problem is being in jail has too many benefits for me to give up, so I cannot just let you go Mr. Mayor." Mojo Jojo let him go and the Mayor collapsed on the floor.

The mayor groaned and managed to get up on his hands and knees. He looked up at Mojo's grinning face with dread.

"What are you going to do to me Mojo?"

"Well it would be fun to just end your life right now and replace you with a Robo Mayor but I don't have the time or resources right now to make such a sophisticated item. If you suddenly vanished the authorities would get suspicious and inspect Robo Mojo more closely, revealing him as a mere robotic copy, so instead I will just have to modify your memories a little bit." Mojo reached into his clothes and took out what appeared to be a small spray of some kind and made then quickly pushed the button of top to spray the contents into the Mayor's face, knocking him unconscious. "Of course since I am free to do as I please I may as well make a few modifications as well as I am sure I can make use of Townsville some day in the future."



"Well girls we're here!" Professor Utonium proudly parked the car in front of a fairly nice looking two-story house in a decent looking suburb. The yard was a bit small and of course it would take a while to move all their stuff inside when the moving trucks came in a bit later. The girls jumped out of the car and took a closer look at the house. It sat there, foreign to their eyes, it was hard to think of this as their new home.

"Well at least it's a cute house! I like the railing on that small balcony up there!"

"I'm sure we'll get to know her inside out before no time!"

"I don't know, it certainly looks smaller than our old house, we better still be able to have separate rooms!"

"Well actually Buttercup, you know you girls used to sleep together all the time so I thought you'd be fine doing it all over again." The Professor twirled the house keys around his finger and tried to resist the urge to smirk.

"Excuse me!?"
"What!?"
"But I have too much stuff for one shared room!"

Professor Utonium laughed and clenched a fist around the keys to stop them. "Ha ha don't worry girls, there are enough bedrooms for everyone!"

"Whew..."
"That's a relief..."
"Please don't scare me like that dad!"

"Alright girls, let's get the bare essentials our from the car and I'll give you a tour of the house. Well let's hop to it, we'll all have to get used to some changes but I know we can pull through the rough patches if we work together!" Professor Utonium smiled and opened the door to their new house, things were certainly going to change there was no doubt about that.

---

Rows of ebony and blonde heads sat cross legged as Tai Pei stood in front of them. Small gi adorned each minuscule body, Tai Pei had hands clasped behind her back and her feet a little less than shoulder-width apart. To her students she issued,

“Breathing, most important. More oxygen makes it easier to?” a small girl with pigtails rose her hand, excitement lush,

“Think!”
“And better thinking leads to?”
“Better… um…” silence fell over the interior. After some time, Tai Pei interjected,
“Reaction! And better reaction means?” a welcoming tone from the sensei and her pupils responded in kind,
“Winning!” not quite what she had been trying to imbue in them.
“Yes, but no-” elated faces deflated, “it makes it easier to run. If someone is bigger or stronger or faster? Use your thinking!” she tapped her temple, “and get out of there safe!”
“Ohhhhh.” rang the children in unison,
“Dachi!” the students hopped to standing positions, feet together,
“Rei!” and they all bowed, Tai Pei as well.

Not long after the students had left and Tai Pei was placing focus mitts, shin guards, and helmets in their assigned lockers there was a knock on the door. An elderly lady with a handbasket of brownies and chocolate chip cookies, a linen scarf wrapped around her head and golden bifocals obscuring her eyes. She gave a smile, several teeth having abandoned her gums decades ago, and some golden ones replacing those which decided to stay.

“Yeyus, hello, baby! Would you like to buy some cookies? Help an old lady with her arthritis!”

“You don’t have arthritis, Esmerelda.”

“Couldja speak up a little, baby girl? Can’t quite hear you!”

“Esmerelda. Pl-”

The next thing Tai Pei knew, a floating hip toss had her lying on her back and another geriatric standing over her who spewed his eccentric voice at her,

“WHERE BUSHIDO BROWN AT, GUHL?”

Tai Pei coughed, she was sure some ribs were bruised,

“Agh!” she writhed,

“‘PEAK YO ASS UP! WHERE ‘E AT?” slobber and saliva misted at the grounded karate master,

“Y-you think I would t-tell you?”

“Y’EN GOT NO DAMN CHOOOOIICCEEE! HEEYAAAHH!” Stinkmeaner was about to level an axe kick to Tai Pei’s forehead before she rolled out of the way. Sideways momentum helped her get onto one leg and continue her sideways spin into a leg sweep. Colonel H. Stinkmeaner found himself lying flat on the dojo floor.

Glass shattered and scattered along the mats of the dojo as Esmerelda kicked the door off its hinges. Tai Pei dropped into a roll and Esmerelda tossed her basket of delectable sweets at Stinkmeaner’s head,

“Getcho ol’ ass up, Stinkmeaner! Ya dumb mothasucka!” Esmerelda tossed her linen scarf aside and assumed mabu, horse stance. Stinkmeaner kickflipped off the ground, glasses lopsided but never departed from his face.

“SHUT YA DAMN MOOUUTH, ESSIE!” Stinkmeaner drug his right leg along the mats of the dojo floor in a line in front of himself before he lifted that same leg straight up and positioned it to the side of his head where his foot touched the side of his ear.

“Now, sweet baby, Ms. Essie gonna ask you one mo’ ‘gain! Just tell us where he is! ‘Cause see, now, Ms. Essie don’t wanna have to put a foot in that pretty li’l ass! She been trynna change her ways, goes to church every Sunday! But if you lies once mo’ ‘bout where Bushido Brown is…” Esmerelda frowned, matronly sweetness subsumed by creases and wrinkles when she did,

“...you gon’ make me get to sinnin’.” a growlish and deep voice pushed her sentiment well into Tai Pei’s mind,

“I. don’t. Know.” Tai Pei smiled smug. Stinkmeaner and Esmerelda charged, so did Tai Pei.

Airborne went Esmerelda and Tai Pei first with Stinkmeaner staggering his own ascent to assure he would land the critical blow,

“YAAAAHH!” screamed Esmerelda,
“HEEEYAAH!” Tai Pei shrieked,

Esmerelda missed wide. Tai Pei landed a spinning back kick into Esmerelda’s chest which sent her flying through the dojo’s window behind Esmerelda and into the bustling streets,

“Awwwrgh! My arthritis!” Esmerelda expelled dramatically as she lie on the concrete,

“WILL YOU SHUT THE HELL UP, NYUKKUH!” Stinkmeaner planted a sidekick into the airborne Tai Pei’s sternum and sent her flying into the dojo wall behind her. She was knocked out cold. Stinkmeaner collected Tai Pei’s husk and tossed her over his shoulder. He would deliver her to Coffee.

Once outside, he stepped over Esmerelda’s body. Shocked civilians circled around and some called 911. One of those ‘civilians’ was Mrs. Dolemite, owner of the Silver Satin club and the only person in Harlem who knew where Bushido Brown was.

Witwicky Ranch, Colorado
Evening

---

The scent of expended energon rose up from the smoking barrels of Bumblebee's stingers, and the surviving townspeople had been driven away. He stood sentinel before the Witwicky house, towering above the old wooden structure; his frame rose and fell in a slow, methodical fashion as heat dispersed from his form. The Cybertronian scout watched for several moments as the tiny humans scattered into the fields, their panicked cries dying out as they gained considerable distance from the ranch in record time.

All about the yard lay piles of ash and molten organic matter with nothing that could be readily identified as human remains surviving the encounter. Energon-based weaponry was disturbingly effective against organics, Bee quietly noted. It wasn't until silence reigned over the farm that he stored his blasters in his sides, the guns disappearing up into his body so that they might recharge. The machine knelt to the ground, his shoulders sinking and his arms collapsing into themselves, continually folding and changing until the fifteen foot tall giant had compacted into a tiny, old-fashioned car. That ancient little bug drove itself up toward the ranch house's window, peaking inside to get some look at his human companions.

Daniel Witwicky had his son, Steven, laying atop the dining room table, the previous contents spilled haphazardly onto the floor. His old, gnarled hands were hidden underneath rubber gloves stained in his son's blood. The boy was howling like a banshee, but his father was yelling at him to stay still, and poking at his interior with some kind of tool. Bumblebee had seen something like it before, back on Cybertron. He'd seen the faces of old, grizzled surgeons as they tried to convince some poor wounded soldier to stay online just a little longer.

Bee grimaced at the memories, and at the ache in his spark as Rachet's face flashed before his mind. Bee remembered what it was like to be where Steven was. He didn't envy it.

Nearly half an hour passed before anything changed. Steven had stopped his screaming, and Daniel's shoulders had sunken with exhaustion. The old man slunk out the front door and cast his heavy eyes toward Bumblebee. He was quiet for a time. Not but an hour earlier, life had been...normal. He could never have expected everything to sour so suddenly. Witwicky sighed and shook his head, tossing the pair of ruined gloves down onto the porch. "Alright, Bee. You remember the drill?" The former marine asked.

Bumblebee responded with a serious of high-pitched beeps and whistles before turning about and heading toward the barn. Daniel, meanwhile, started back inside, glancing down at the watch on his forearm. They had around fifteen minutes before Steven would be aware enough for travel. Fifteen minutes to prepare all of the bug-out equipment, get the mini-cons in the air and ensure every scrap of information on Daniel, his son, and his wife was destroyed. He wasn't particularly fond of the idea of leaving his life behind, but...

'It wouldn't be the first time.' He thought glumly.

---

_{{-: New York City - Central Park :-}}

---

As the trilopod screeched towards its armored opponent, he was unaware of the newcomer that was fast approaching his location. So when he felt the large explosion rock its left shoulder, it reeled in utter surprise. Fire had consumed that portion of his body yet he still kept put, only turning towards the new opponent who entered the fray with its red insectoid eyes. Ultraman also turned towards the figure with visible confusion as he attempt to figure him out.

"Who's he?" he thought to himself as he continued standing in battle position.

With his attention interrupted, the kaiju beast began to focus on the warrior and screeched loudly towards him. It rose those hook appendages and smashed them down to the ground as it prepared to attack this unwanted intruder. But once it commenced to charge towards him, its chest glowing in volatile energy, it'd fail to dodge out of the way of another tank which exploded right under its head and opposite shoulder. The rippling explosion caught the monster off-guard as it was taken back by the movement, shrieking in utter agony as yellowish-green blood spilled from his wounds. Its chest had been nearly blasted-open by the tank - leaving that beam attack useless - and its right arm had been ripped clean off by the explosion. Its other arm still hung from its socket but it was badly burnt and hung from just a few major strands of muscle and meast.

This was the perfect opportunity for Ultraman to finish the job.

Dashing behind the hulking beast, Jiro went in for the attack as he used his specium blades to quickly decapacitate it from its armed hook. The trilopod screeched again as it flailed its body in absolute confusion. With his opponent now defenseless, it was time for Ultraman to take it out for good. Quickly, he went into a kneeling posture and placed his arms into a cross-like position. The mortally-injured beast took note of its opponent's position however and commenced to make a mad-dash towards him with absolute rage and abhorrence.

But unfortunately for it, it would be rendered useless as Jiro swiped his vertical arm to the side.

"You're finished!" the armored hero yelled as a beam of plasma-energy expelled from his horizontal arm.

The beam made a direct hit with the monster's belly, stopping it dead in its tracks as it simply stood there motionlessly. A few seconds later and its body would split in two, before violently erupting into a large explosion.

The trilopod was no more - disappearing as soon as it arrived.

Ultraman's chest light began to flicker red as he attempted to catch his breath. He'd then look at the direction of where the newcomer laid, unconscious on the ground with his head bleeding profusely. Quickly he rushed over to assess the damage, shaking him gently to hopefully get him to be conscious.

"Oi - are you ok?" he called to him.

Figuring that he'll not be getting a response, he looked over his shoulder towards the police and called for their assistance.

"I NEED AN AMBULANCE HERE, NOW!" he shouted as he continued comforting the fallen warrior.

"Ahh man, by the time I got here it was already over." Buttercup scowled down at the ground where the kaiju fight had just occurred. If she had just arrived a bit sooner she would have been able to get in her first serious scuffle since she had moved to the area. Sure she had managed to take down a few thugs but frankly it was a lot harder to find crime than one might think. Sure New York no doubt had a lot more crime than Townsville but she knew the old town like the back of her hand and it had been easy to sniff out the bad guys. New York was kind of hard to navigate and Professor Utonium had warned them not to be quite so open with their powers here. Back in Townsville they had grown up there so it was a very different environment and experience where most people frankly knew them, starting over again was a pain.

"Well maybe it's a good thing since those bozos are all around the place." Buttercup scoffed as she had noticed the Earth Protection Force was among those along with the police and the other the uh...Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense or whatever. They had a run in with those guys in the past as they had been worried the Powerpuff Girls were too open with their powers and could cause a panic if they became well known out of Townsville. Apparently they had made some deal with the Mayor at one point but she didn't know much about the details other than they were kind of annoying.

"Too much trouble to show up now, might as well just listen to some music on the way home. Man, I was just itching for some real action too..." Buttercup put in some earbuds and left before she could get spotted by those jerks.


"Ugh sooo bored." Blossom lounged around on the sofa in front of the TV, her position shifting every few minutes as she tried to find the perfect fit. "Maybe I should have gone with Bubbles to the mall." Blossom had looked through every channel they had but most everything on the tube was just garbage. She did enjoy watching the history channel from time to time but the topic at the moment wasn't something she was really interested in. Blossom rolled over, and fell off the couch with a thump. She landed on her face and just layed there and lazily turned off the TV as she thought about what to do with her face to the floor like she was trying to suffocate her boredom.

"Dad sure comes home late these days, maybe I just need to find a boyfriend. I'm in highschool now I should be able to handle it right?" Blossom questioned herself, her voice muffled by her position. "I wonder where Buttercup went, I think she just wanted to see if she could find any trouble so she could fight." Blossom forced herself off the floor and sat with her back to the couch and leaned her head back on the seat cushions.

She stared up at the ceiling for a moment then slapped her cheeks. "Come on Blossom stop being sour, you're the one who helped push everyone in this mood so you have to stay positive!" The leapt up on her feet but before she decided to leave the house she took a look at a picture on the hearth. It was a picture of her mother, who she had never met but who had given her life to give birth to Blossom and her sisters. "I'm going to do my best in your place mom, I'll try to make sure dad doesn't lose himself completely in his work." With a wave she left the house to explore the area.



"I knew there would be so many more stores and shops to see in New York but being here in person is like a dream come true!" Bubbles practically skipped around as she traveled from store to store, seeing all sorts of brands she had only seen in magazines and online before. "Ahhh, if only I had a larger allowance or a part time job I really could pick up the latest fashions! There are so many cute dresses, scarfs, and accessories to see!" Having the time of her life Bubbles flitted about without any real destination in mind. She had invited her sisters but Buttercup was more interested in trying to fight crime and Blossom hadn't felt like it for some reason, it really was too bad.

Suddenly Bubbles was confronted by a rather gaudily dressed individual she had never seen before. "Hello there young one, I couldn't help but notice you have a rather keen eye and sense of of what's trending."

"Errm thanks I guess?" Bubbles took a step back unsure of what to think, she really was wishing at least Blossom was with her.

"Say I'm currently searching for some young models actually and I think your bubbly looks and personality would be perfect for some of my fashion lines. Now obviously you shouldn't decide right away, here's my card." The man pulled out a bright business card and gave it to Bubbles. "Give me a call if you'd be interested, later!" As quick as he appeared he was gone.

"Wait so...I could potentially be a model for a teen fashion magazine!" Bubbles looked at the card in shock not quite sure if what had happened was real or not. "I better tell everyone else about it before I decide anything, but just thinking about being able to wear all those cute clothes, it's like a dream come true!"



The professor was still feeling the buzz of a new job and working in a true lab again. Sure he missed his old home lab but the equipment was second to none and being able to bounce his ideas off of his coworkers was something he hadn't been able to do in quite some time. Of course the biggest draw back was not being able to see his daughter's faces whenever he wanted. Sometimes when he had been working for long hours he found his mind wandering back to his girls and had feelings similar to withdrawals, just went to show how much being a father had changed him from the super scientist he once was.

At the moment he was in the robotics lab working on some interesting projects, before he had arrived they apparently had hit a snag in their robotics division but thanks to the Professor's help they had finally managed to fix an key issue that had been plaguing the team for months. "I see you've still got it Professor Utonium even after all these years." Professor Utonium's friend Kevin Xeon patted him on the back. "I was afraid all that time raising those girls of yours might have made you rusty."

Utonium smiled and rolled his shoulders. "You know Kevin I wasn't so sure myself but in my spare time I always made sure to keep up with the latest scientific journals along with my own experiments to keep my mind in shape. It really is great to be part of a team again."

"Well we are certainly glad you decided to be part of our team and not another like those TCRI blokes. They've got their geniuses but...well let's say there are some rumors about some sort of shady business going on there, nothing concrete of course but still makes one think."

"So I've heard our robotics project here is part of a larger scheme with a lot of different labs pitching in. Any idea what it's all about?"

"Afraid not, the higher ups are very tight lipped about it all. You know though, things have been getting a little weirder than usual, not sure what it is but could have something to do with it."

"Well as long as I can help out my fellow man that's all that matters, as long as I can see my girls of course."

"You really are a doting papa aren't you Professor? Almost feel bad for taking you away from them, but not really." Kevin laughed and started walking away. "Well I have my own projects to oversee so good luck square."

Utonium sighed and said under his breath, _{"Dang it Kevin you know I hate that name."}

It felt like there was electricity running through Raphael's veins. He had never thought he would be out and about in the city on patrol with his brothers. He always assumed that all he would do is train and train until he became old like Splinter. But it turned out his father was right. There was a threat out there. One that they had to stop.

And it made Raphael feel alive.

He was so thrilled to be on the surface that he didn't even mind that Leo had fallen directly into his insufferable leader act. Maybe it was the fact that he finally had some direction behind him, but Leo laying out orders and directing them almost felt normal. Usually that thought would send shivers down Raph's spine, but tonight he didn't mind. He might actually get to fight someone tonight, and that's all that mattered.

"So does everyone have their comm pieces inside their masks?" Leo asked, pointing to the sides of his blue face covering. "I want to make sure we stay in constant communication if we somehow get split up."

"Reading you loud and clear, big bro," Mikey confirmed as he climbed up through the manhole. Turtles don't have ears. Well, ears like humans do. Their mutation had given them hearing as good as any normal person, but it took Don's inventive genius to come up with a way for them to talk remotely. Embedding little speakers in their headbands did wonders.

"So what's the plan, anyway?" Rapahel asked anxiously. "We just gonna run around New York and hope we run into a few ninja?"

Leo chuckled, "Not quite."

"No, we're going to divine the location of the immortal ninja using a seance," Don grumbled as he came to the surface. If Raph was Leo, he woulda hit him. Don was being a real pain about all this. Him and Leo argued often, but this was different. Might have been because of Father talking about magic and all that. Raph didn't know. All he knew was he woulda hit Don.

Leo, of course, didn't, "No, Donatello. We're not going to divine anything. Al told me where she saw the Foot Clan before. We're just going to go to that building, find anything we can, and then see where we're at."

"Real genius plan there," Raph slapped his brother on his shoulder. "I can see why Splinter put you in charge."

"Thanks, Raph," Leo looked at him sideways, rolling his eyes slightly. "You have a better one?"

The second turtle raised his hands in defense, "Hey! I was serious. You need your joke programming fixed. Don, you can do that, right?"

"I can take a look at it," Donatello winked.

Leo grumbled as Raph nudged him playfully. He liked to annoy Leo. It was what he was best at. But he also knew when to pull back and let the eldest Turtle do what he needed to do. Donnie tended to not accept that he could ever be wrong, so he would often fight with Leo until his face was about as purple as the mask he now wore.

"Can we get on with it?" Leo asked impatiently.

"Yea, bros," Mikey jumped into the middle of them. "I've got some Foot Clan butt to kick!"

Raph chuckled at the youngest of the brothers. He may have been an...unorthodox fighter, but that often played into Mickey's hands during training session. He had an incredible ability to improvise and throw the more disciplined brothers off their game.

"Look," he motioned behind him, "I even marked the occasion."

By "marked", Mikey was being literal. He had tagged the wall with some green spray paint, depicting four facsimiles of turtles, all wearing the right colored masks. He was good. Probably another trait stemming from that creative streak.

"I like it," Leo looked at his brother's work approvingly. "Let's get to work."



April followed close behind the Mouser as it moved out of the TCRI building and towards the streets of New York. The diagnostic pad she had in her hands made no sense. According to it, this Mouser and all its brothers had been activated inside the building. But that was impossible. The pilot program wasn't meant to start until next weekend, and otherwise the Mousers weren't authorized to be out and about.

Something was certainly up.

She slunk behind the robot, sure she was all but invisible to it. They were only meant to hunt their prey. Other lifeforms were nothing more than obstacles to be avoided.

It turned down an alleyway before finding itself by a manhole cover. Using its metal jaws, it lifted the cover off and went down below the city, freezing April in her tracks.

"Okay, this is not how I saw my night going," she grumbled and followed the machine downward.



The rumble started low, like thunder in the distance. Alopex was the only one in the compound who could hear it. Sometimes having the hearing of a dog in the middle of the city paid off. Usually it was damn near deafening with the car horns and the sirens. But it was one hell of an early warning system, that's for sure.

She got out of bed and wandered to the front door. Next to it, Herman was asleep, probably dreaming of some battle he had never taken part in, but would regale her with stories about later. She was happy the militant was on her side, even if she found his grip on reality somewhat dubious at times.

Outside, Pete was probably sleeping as well. The pigeon tended to tucker himself out pretty quickly. How he was mutated Hob wasn't sure, but something clearly went wrong. He was the only mutant they knew of who wasn't all there upstairs. Still, he was sweet, and helped out a ton around their home.

The rumbling started to gain speed and volume, and before long even Herman started to stir, and he was a heavier sleeper than Mikey was.

"Whas that, private?" he grumbled to Alopex.

"Not sure," she shrugged. "Sounds like a stampede."

That's when the front wall of their makeshift home exploded in a shower of broken metal and splinters. Once she was able to look, she saw the massive wave of snapping metal jaws heading her way. She barely had time to react when Herman jumped to his feet and flipped the sides of his dumpster down, revealing a pair of machine guns that fired into the crowd of robots.

"Red alert! We are under attack!" he yelled out as he gunned down robot after robot.

Alopex did her part as well, darting towards robots that managed to get through the hail of gunfire. She used her speed to break the jaws of the robots before they could clamp down on her.

But there were dozens, possibly hundreds, more robots coming. She saw them climbing over the piles of junk in the yard, hungry for the mutants.

Suddenly, an explosion broke their lines, and Alopex turned to find Old Hob tossing another grenade into them, "We have to move. They found us, and it's not gonna be safe here anymore."

John Bishop watched behind dark sun glasses as the battle raged. Gilad Anni-Padda leapt off the ground and delivered a devastating blow to the large creature, before he slammed down onto the ground viciously. He split his head open as he crashed down. He'd be fine, of course. But the Fist and Steel of the Earth was reckless as always. Good. If he would ever come to his senses he'd become one of the strongest beings on the planet. John didn't want to have to deal with that.

The other one was impressive as well. Some sort of mechanical suit. He was fast, powerful, and dangerous. He had heard stories about a being like this before, out of Japan. Allegedly he had killed a few Kaiju out of the public eye decades ago. Alien ones, not the ones who were sleeping across Earth. Bishop wasn't sure if his men could handle the one in the armor, but as the monster fell, he figured he was about to find out.

"Good lord - are you ok?" he called to him.

Figuring that he'll not be getting a response, he looked over his shoulder towards the police and called for their assistance.

"WE NEED AN AMBULANCE HERE, NOW!" he shouted as he continued comforting the fallen warrior.

Bishop motioned to his men, who spread out around the two metahumans, "Don't worry about him, son. He'll be fine. Well, maybe not in the long run, but not much can keep the ol' Eternal Warrior down."

The one in the armor studied Bishop with confusion, which caused the EPF agent to smile with satisfaction. He liked knowing more than these freaks. They always thought they were so powerful. They always figured they were so much better than normal people. But he knew better. He knew that the only thing that made them different was the damn powers. Other than that, they were just as flawed as anybody. He liked making them realize that.

"Now you, on the other-hand," Bishop smirked, "I don't know who you are. And frankly, I don't care much. But I know you're showing an immense amount of power, which makes you a threat to these United States. Which means I'm authorized to place you under arrest. So how about we all go to headquarters and have ourselves a chat?"