Month: November 2024

Megumi and Arsha arrived with the Sources and the three 3V2R prizes in the prearranged universe. Metaltron, Intrag, Hiro, Dr. Borg, the Dalek Rift Controller, their partners, and the hostages met them. “Deciding to go without the bot?” asked Hiro.

“I’m not in the mood for your snark, Hiro,” replied Megumi.

“We have the Sources and our prizes,” said Arsha. The two women set their loads down. “Now let our friends go.” Metaltron turned to her allies.

“A bargain’s a bargain,” she said. “Besides, shooting them now won’t work. Too many of them are immortal.” Intrag shrugged.

“All right, follow me!” barked Hiro. He and the hostages headed to the Sources and prizes. He then cut the hostages’ bonds and shoved each one to Megumi and Arsha. He used a new device to lift the Sources and prizes up and levitate them to Metaltron.

“Dammit, Megumi!” snapped Dell Conagher, a purple TF2 Engineer. “That was stupider than grilling with-!”

“Calmly, Dell. Calmly,” soothed Megumi. “Arsha, Optimus, and I have a form of insurance playing out.” Everyone then heard someone snap their fingers. They turned to see Metaltron acting as if she just remembered something.

“Hiro, Dr. Borg, would you and your friends move closer to our foes?” she said.

“…What’s going on here?” asked Dr. Borg.

“Just need to test the range on something,” replied Metaltron.

“…Not sure I like being a target here,” remarked Hiro. Still, he and his partners obeyed, as did Dr. Borg and hers.

“…What’s going on here?” asked Arsha.

“Hell if I know,” replied Megumi. “And I think our arch-enemies are just as confused.”

“There we go!” Metaltron then pressed a button and an energy field surrounded them.

“WAIT A MINUTE!” shouted Hiro. “That was meant for all of us!”

“What are you talking about?” asked Megumi.

“This universe is an unstable one!” answered Hana. “That shield was meant to keep us all safe while you heroes died!

“Maybe I would,” gulped Arsha, “but Megumi’s-.”

“No, not even I could survive the raw Apocalypse energy being unleashed by a universe ending,” replied Megumi.

“…That’s alarming,” remarked Arsha. “…But, wait, why are your friends here on OUR side?”

“Because we have no further need for our alliance,” replied Intrag. “We have all the partners we need…and a new plan.”

“You were scheming behind our backs!” Igura accused Metaltron.

“Naturally,” replied Metaltron. “Khan may have been content to recreate universes and rule over them, but, if I might indulge in old Dalek ways, I’d rather start from scratch. Erase it all. Wipe the slate clean!”

“…Doesn’t look like those dullards understand what you’re saying,” remarked Phury.

“It seems that way,” agreed Metaltron.

“Permit me to translate, my lady,” offered Intrag. “I learned to translate genius into imbecile during my reign.”

“Translate away,” replied Metaltron. Intrag grinned as he explained to his enemies.

“We’re going to reset the multiverse utterly and rebuild it to our liking!” he said. “We will be GODS! …Which means, Dr. Borg, you and Hiro won’t exist. Neither will your spouses, children, or those meddlesome idiots we both had to suffer!”

“INCONCEIVABLE!” shouted Remsu.

“You keep using that word,” replied the Rift Controller. “I do not think it means what you think it means.”

“I see your Rift Controller knows a thing or two about that particular movie…universe…whatever,” said Megumi.

“That’s Khan!” snapped Hiro. “We mutated him into the Dalek Rift Controller!”

“So, for you, Metaltron is triple crossing you,” said Arsha. “Betrayal stings, doesn’t it?”

“Not as much as Apocalypse energy will sting for you! Ta!” Metaltron and her gang then vanished into a rift that opened behind them. The Rift Controller couldn’t resist a quote.

“And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges! Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act 5, Scene 1!” It then vanished into the rift. Megumi then pulled out her communicator.

“Death! This is Megumi! Requesting evacuation rift back to After Academy! Multiple people will be following!”

“I read you!” replied Death. “Opening emergency rift now!” A rift then opened and Megumi and Arsha herded their enemies into it before jumping in themselves. It closed behind them and the universe’s stars exploded at the same time, vaporizing everything.

---

The group escaped safely, tumbling out of the rift. Death goggled at the sight. “What are THEY doing here?!”

“The plan went sideways for all of us!” explained Arsha. “They betrayed Khan by turning him into a Dalek with the powers of a gateway and now Metaltron betrayed them!”

“I just…wiped from existence by that blue freak?!” shouted Dr. Borg. “I’d like to see her try after I shove the Rift Controller up her-!”

“BUT…not if we get to her first!” insisted Megumi.

“You can’t,” replied Hiro. “She’s already aboard her flagship. She has an entire fleet going to Foundation Prime to enact her plan.”

“To erase it all like she said?” asked Megumi.

“…If you want to stop her,” said Dr. Borg, “then it appears we need to work together. We DO have a common enemy.”

“…Much as I hate to admit it, she’s right,” sighed Death.

“…Here we go again,” muttered Megumi.

“Wait a minute,” realized Arsha. “They weren’t there either.”

“They?” asked Megumi.

“Hiro, where were Nemesis Prime and his Terrorcons?!” Arsha demanded.

“Same place as Optimus and the other Transformers, I assume,” replied Hiro. The heroes goggled. That meant that their enemies DID anticipate such a maneuver! A call then came through.

“EMERGENCY!” shouted Megatron’s voice. “THIS IS A MEDICAL EMERGENCY! OPTIMUS PRIME IS BADLY WOUNDED! HE WAS RUN THROUGH WITH A SWORD IN NEMESIS PRIME’S POSSESSION!” Megumi’s heart sank as Death checked her smartwatch, fearing the worst.

“…His…his fate is…” Death looked regretful as Megumi guessed the sentence’s end.

“…What…what could have…? …Let me see!” she demanded.

“That’s not advisable, seeing-!”

“LET ME SEE WHAT LOCKED HIM TO HIS FATE!” shouted Megumi. She yanked Death’s arm to her and scrolled through the smartwatch’s fates and saw Optimus’ fate through his optics. He was fighting against the Terrorcons in the old Gotham Underground before leading to the new Batcave.

“Just let us take this universe and yours will be spared!” cackled Crystal Widow.

“You’d never stop at just one!” retorted Optimus as he swung a fancy looking sword. “I’LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!”

“Optimus, don’t be foolish!” growled Megatron.

“PRIME!” shouted Nemesis Prime’s voice. Optimus…then gasped. He was looking directly into Nemesis Prime’s optics, then looked down…to see a wicked looking sword running through his chest at the Spark Chamber. “At last!” panted Nemesis Prime as everyone stopped fighting with the Terrorcons smiling and the other Transformers gasped in horror. “After so many years…Optimus Prime DIES!” Nemesis then pulled his sword out and Optimus’ vision went blurry while his hearing became worse. Death then turned off the feed.

“…He can still be saved!” pleaded Megumi. “We can get Ratchet here and-!”

“It’s not that simple,” replied Death sadly.

“We have to try!”

“Megumi, I appreciate that you want to help him-,” Megumi grabbed Death and pulled her close to her face.

“You will NOT tell me to give up on him!”

“I’m not saying that at all!” hissed Death as she briefly turned to her classic appearance of a skeleton in a black cloak. She then resumed her more human appearance. “But it’s not just that one stab. Optimus was wounded by the other Terrorcons and I fear the wounds are…fatal.”

“I’m not going to waste time on how you intercepted Megumi’s call,” said Arsha as Khan’s image appeared in the Gateway, “nor will I waste time humoring you with this!”

“Oh? Humoring?” asked Khan innocently.

“You tried to get the Sources of Flourishment!” snapped Optimus. “You failed miserably!”

“I think not, Optimus Prime!” retorted Khan. “Because I have some things…and some people that Megumi may know!” He stepped back to reveal several people, five of them from what we consider fiction, and five crystal spheres, colored dark-blue, orange, sickly-green, yellow, and dark purple.

“…The Sources of the Apocalypse,” whispered Megumi.

“And their guardians,” remarked Arsha.

“And unless you surrender your 3V2R prizes and the Sources of Flourishment to me,” threatened Khan, “your friends end up as BORG Drones instead of Lord Drones!”

“DON’T GIVE IN!” called Mickey Mouse. “MEGUMI, DON’T LISTEN TO HIM!”

“Megumi, please!” begged a Korean woman, Duchess Deung Moon-kyung. “Our lives-!”

“Will belong to me permanently!” interrupted Khan. “Consider my proposal, you three! You have 24 hours, your time scale!” The call ended.

“…Impromptu meeting,” said Megumi. “We gotta discuss this now.”

---

“So, what is the plan, Brother?” asked Megatron once everyone was brought into the loop.

“That’s why we’re here,” replied Optimus. “We need ideas.”

“What we need,” remarked Thundercracker, “is someone that was in the enemy’s counsel.”

“We have Batman and the others,” said Farmee.

“We weren’t that deep in Khan’s inner circle,” replied Batman.

“But there was one who was,” said Gandalf as he smoked a pipe. “One Boulton.”

“I am NOT putting Boulton through that again!” snapped Richard.

“That ain’t your call, Richard,” called a voice. A deassimilated Boulton then approached the group. He was accompanied by Tom and a few police officers. No guns, given that he was more than cooperative. “I was deep in Khan’s head,” continued Boulton. “I know how he thinks.”

“Then you have the coordinates for his base universe?” asked Megumi.

“You can’t go there,” said Boulton. “I helped him reverse-engineer abandoned Vortonian scattering technology.”

“Ooh, nasty!” shuddered Rosadera.

“What does this scattering technology scatter, exactly?” asked Megatron.

“The atoms of any beings that may try to invade whatever universe you’re in,” explained Rosadera.

“…How quickly did the Vortonians abandon that tech?” asked Liam.

“Not until their final days, sadly,” said Death.

“So how do we get in?” asked Brittney.

“There’s a universe Khan didn’t think to use,” said Boulton. “It has a direct path leading straight past the scattering technology.”

“What’s the universe?” asked Megumi

“The identifier string calls it 1-N-J-U-5-T-1-C-3.”

“Injustice,” remarked Richard. “In that universe, the Joker made Superman think he was fighting Doomsday, but it was really Lois pregnant with their son. He went so far as to kill her and her heartbeat was tied to a nuke in Metropolis. Superman then killed the Joker and formed the One Earth Regime with other heroes that thought like him, as well as a few villains. That universe’s Batman led a resistance group with Lex Luthor.”

“That version of me hasn’t contacted me, so I’m assuming they’re still all right,” said Batman.

“Well, it splintered into two timelines after their Brainiac attacked. One is where Superman used Brainiac’s skull ship to mind control unwilling superhumans to form a new Legion, the other is where you sent Superman to the Phantom Zone after he talked about killing Brainiac.”

“It’s through the latter branch,” said Boulton. “The best bet will be in the new Batcave in the Gotham Underground through the now defunct Arkham Asylum.”

“That still leaves the hostages,” remarked Optimus. “How do we free them?”

“…We give Khan what he wants,” suggested Arsha. Everyone goggled at her. “And we got some advice from Anansi to help with that.”

“…Ooooohhhh!” recalled Optimus as a grin appeared on his face.

“You two spoke with Anansi?” asked Death.

“Here’s what I have in mind…” Arsha began outlining the plan.

---

Khan was in his throne room, pondering how to construct the New Multiverse. “…Maybe I should spare Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan. …No, those two goofs had their time. …Wait, is there someone I can resurrect?”

“You know, with the way you abused those two lately,” remarked a Guard Drone, “Sonavok and Ziddet will betray you.”

“…What? Betray me?” asked Khan. He then hammed up his “surprise” at the suggestion. “A Romulan and a Cardassian, two of the most sly and power-hungry races, plotting to betray me?! I tell you, I’m shocked! Shocked and dismayed! I had no idea! You just can’t trust ANYONE these days!”

“I think I saw them write something in the Tome,” said the guard. Khan arched an eyebrow, then opened the Tome to find that, yes, someone DID write in it.

“‘The instant Khan asked the Collective for clarification, the Tome burned his hand and was forever severed from his use.’ A bit ham-fisted of them, don’t you think?” The door then opened to reveal the Dalek Supreme, Sonavok, and Ziddet. “It IS polite to knock, you three,” admonished Khan.

“We require your presence in Grid 9, Subjunction 12!” barked the Dalek Supreme.

“I’m busy, you over-sized saltshaker!” dismissed Khan. “Get out!”

“We require a Rift Controller to better integrate with the Time Controller!”

“You have my sympathy, now go away!”

“Your multiversal expertise would make you an ideal candidate,” remarked Sonavok.

“I doubt it,” replied Khan. “I know how our tech works, but to any others…how did that Learman woman put it…my mind is a very opal.”

“The Rift Controller is slaved to its Gateway-styled casing,” said Ziddet.

“So, the Rift Controller is a Dalek, huh?” scoffed Khan. “Well, in case it’s escaped your notice, I am NOT a Dalek.”

“You WILL be,” came the voice of the Lord Collective.

“…What?” The instant Khan asked the Collective for clarification, the Tome burned his hand and was forever severed from his use.

“Take him!” ordered the Dalek Supreme. Sonavok and Ziddet then grabbed Khan and removed the neural transceiver connecting him to the Lord Collective.

“GET OFF ME!” demanded Khan. “YOU CAN’T DO THIS! LET GO OF ME, YOU HAM-FISTED-! YOU TWO ARE FROM RACES KNOWN FOR THEIR CUNNING, NOT THEIR-!”

“While this isn’t the more subtle of our plans…” began Sonavok.

“There’s something to be said for occasionally indulging in…ham-fisted tactics,” finished Ziddet.

“You will be transported through a nuclear reactor area via a transient time corridor!” said the Dalek Supreme. “We have temporarily lowered the reactor’s safety measures!”

“The radiation will kill me, you idiot!” argued Khan.

“Mutagenic drugs will be administered into your system! They will accelerate the mutation of your body!”

“What about our agreement?! The New Multiverse I offered your leader?!”

“Metaltron, Intrag, and Nemesis Prime have advised that our terms remain unchanged! Retrieval of the Apocalypse Sources and the 3V2R prizes are of top priority!”

“But the godhood I promised you all! The power! You all promised! You said that I would lead you through a new era!”

“As the new Rift Controller, you will be able to advise us in matters of Multiversal Conquest to better lead us to victory! You will still…pull our strings, as it were!” The group then arrived at an area with a time corridor active. Metaltron, Intrag, Nemesis Prime, Dr. Borg, and Hiro were all watching. Khan was held in place as Hiro stuck a syringe into his neck. He then administered the contents, the mutagenic drugs Khan was told about. After a few seconds, Hiro pulled the syringe out as Khan was feeling a little…unwell.

“Throw him in,” ordered Metaltron. The Dalek Supreme put his manipulator arm onto Khan’s back and used suction power to hold him. It then pushed Khan towards the time corridor. Khan tried to resist, but the Dalek Supreme had a strong grip on him and maintained its manipulator arm’s position.

“No! Please! Stop!” begged Khan. “You can’t do this! I’LL BE REVENGED ON THE LOT OF YOU!” The Dalek Supreme quickly extended its manipulator arm and thrust Khan into the time corridor, releasing its grip on him. Khan tumbled through the time corridor, screaming all the while.

“Khan’s now in transit,” reported Nemesis Prime.

“The casing is completed as well,” said Dr. Borg. She pulled a cloth off of a special Dalek casing. It looked like it had a small gateway tilted at an angle behind the speech indicators, had intersecting rings on its neck like the Time Controller, and in place of the standard Dalek manipulator arm was a multi-dexterous, three digited, jointed claw. It was sky-blue with purple sense globes and a purple bumper.

“Mutation of Khan organism is complete!” reported the Dalek Operator manning the time corridor. “Retrieving now!” The time corridor brought back its passenger. In place of Khan, the Author…was a Dalek mutant. “Mutation stable!” reported the Operator.

“Let’s stuff this thing in there, then,” said Nemesis Prime as he picked up the mutant and put it into the new casing. Metaltron then integrated it into the casing’s systems. The small gateway on its dome then opened a rift.

“…Integration…complete…” croaked the new Dalek. Like a normal Dalek, the speech indicators flashed on every syllable.

“Seal your casing,” ordered Metaltron.

“I…obey.” The casing then closed on the Dalek mutant. The eyestalk then glowed purple.

“Report systems status!” barked the Dalek Supreme.

“All systems…fully operational!” reported the Rift Controller. “…Onboard Gateway Computer: activated! …I see you!”

“Quotation identified!” called the Dalek Supreme. “Sauron! Universe M-1-D-D-L-3-3-4-R-T-H! Late Third Age!”

“Victory is assured!” cheered Metaltron.

Richard had gotten his van to the Chrome Trim Car Auction, a very high-class automobile auction site. Michael was looking over the description of the Spectacular. “…‘Hand-crafted by a renowned Vortech Wars Veteran and News Anchor,’” he read aloud incredulously, “‘the van sympathetically marries the class of Chrysler and Dodge’s names to the modernity of the…’ Richard, you ARE joking!”

“Hardly a lie!” protested Richard. Michael read on.

“‘The interior would benefit from some minor alterations.’ What interior?! And those alterations will need to be conducted with a hand grenade! You gotta put that thing down!”

“Coming up to Lot 25,” called the auctioneer. “A beautiful 1956 Citroën DS. Start me, if you will, at 200,000 studs. 200,000. Do I hear 250,000? 250,000? 250,000! Do I hear 300,000?” The final total reached 3,000,000 studs. The buyer handed over the total and gave the auctioneer the delivery information. “Coming up to the last lot, Lot 26, the…Spectacular.”

“That’s me!” Richard whispered to Michael.

“A…fantastic hand-crafted minivan,” the auctioneer couldn’t believe he said it, but he HAD to emphasize the positive, his job depended on it. “A very unusual machine. Beautiful, stylish Dodge Grand Caravan coachwork. Again, a very unusual, unique vehicle on sale this afternoon.”

“Unusual?!” Michael chuckled. “Unusual?! He’s being very generous!”

“Start me, if you will, at…300 studs,” said the auctioneer. Richard goggled in horror.

“WHAT?!” he yelped. Michael laughed.

“Starting at 300 studs,” continued the Auctioneer. “Any advance on 325? 325! Do I hear 350? 350 studs? 350!”

“Somebody’s bid?!” asked Michael. The bids went up.

“400! Do I hear 425? 425?” Richard rolled his eyes and raised his marker. “425! Do I hear 450? 450? 450 studs for this unusual minivan? 425 going once! 425 going twice! 425 sold to Mr. Richard Saunders! Come forward to pay and give us your delivery information and Lot 26 is yours!” Richard grumbled as he went to pay.

---

Back with the Horsemen, now that Order was in the picture, she also had to put up with Famine’s pasta bowl deliveries. “I’ve been acting like your mother here, you know that?” grumbled Order as she stacked empty bowls into Famine’s hands. “I’ve been talking to you, we ALL have, it’s like we’re talking to a wall! I heard Death say, ‘we don’t wanna see you get another bowl’, and you still go and get one! All right, come on, let’s go.” Order led Famine to the sink. “Watch how you walk. And hurry, will you? We got a lot.” Famine then stumbled and all the bowls came crashing down. “Oh, for the love of-! How many times do I have to tell you? Neatness counts!”

“It was an accident!” protested Famine.

“It’s always an accident with you,” sighed Order. “You’re my sister, and I love you, but I tell you once! I tell you twice! It’s like you don’t listen to me! Why is that?!”

“Why don’t you believe me when I say I can’t say no to a guy like him?!” argued Famine. “Besides, he’s a cutie and he thinks I’m cute!”

“…Cute? He thinks you’re cute? I think you’re cute too! But what’s gonna happen when the bill comes in, huh? You ever think about that?!”

“Don’t worry, I got a plan!” assured Famine.

“Yeah, sure you do.”

“GOTCHA!” called War’s voice.

“HEY! WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?!” yelped a man’s voice.

“That’s him!” said Famine. She dashed off to the main dining hall with Order in tow. All the Horsemen were surrounding the poor delivery boy. He had a stack of pasta bowls as usual. “Ooh! Food!” cheered Famine.

“That’s enough!” snapped Death. “I think it’s time to get some answers here!”

“…Oh, okay,” sighed Famine. She looked to the delivery boy. “Hey, Rupert, I gotta know, why are you giving me all these pasta bowls?”

“…W…Well, Miss Famine,” said the delivery boy, Rupert, “I just…you know the expression that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? …Well, I…I wondered if that was true…for you. You see, I’ve got a…a crush on you and…” Famine sat next to him and patted his hand.

“Then, perhaps, we should go out to eat on an official date?” she suggested.

“Y-You mean it?!” asked Rupert.

“With all my heart.”

“Ugh, sappiness,” groaned War.

“There’s a question your new girlfriend is avoiding, so I’m gonna ask!” said Lacey. “Rupert, how much are all the pasta bowls gonna run us?”

“Oh, nothing, Ma’am!” replied Rupert. “They’re all free and so are future deliveries.”

“…Free?” asked Death.

“Yeah!” confirmed Rupert. “We recently hired a new chef that’s been making all sorts of new bowls and the boss wanted him to simply throw away the rejects, so I offered to take them and see which ones Famine would like. You know Famine better than I do.”

“And the way to my heart IS through my stomach!” said Famine.

“…Well, if that’s the case,” said Life, “I guess we panicked for no reason. Sorry to delay you like that, Rupert.” The Horsemen released him.

“I’ll see you for our first date when this whole affair is over!” called Famine.

“Just to make sure I got it right, fine dining or casual buffet?” asked Rupert.

“Buffet, please!”

“I know the perfect buffet place! See you then!” Rupert then left the Horsemen’s mansion, jumping and clicking his heels as he went back to his car.

“…I’ve never seen a man click his heels like that outside of Vaudeville,” remarked Death. Famine sat down and began eating her newest acquisitions. Bounty then looked over Famine’s shoulder. Famine sensed it and looked behind her.

“…You wanna try some peppermint and shrimp alfredo?” offered Famine.

“Forget the pasta,” replied Bounty. “Does Rupert have a brother or sister that likes cooking?”

“…I dunno. I’ll have to ask him when he comes back,” mused Famine.

---

Megumi, Optimus, and Arsha headed to the Gateway with Liam and Palmarta. “So you guys visit the Mushroom Kingdom and someone comes back from a universe with a Source of the Apocalypse?” asked Arsha.

“That’s right,” confirmed Megumi. “It was Alesandro’s idea. Speaking of which, I think it’s his turn to come back.”

“Aye, it is,” confirmed Liam. “Let me just give him a call.” He activated the comms. “Alesandro, it’s Liam. Me and Palmarta are heading to the Mushroom Kingdom. Confirm that you’re ready to head back to Beyond City. …I said confirm.”

“That’s odd,” muttered Megumi. “He’s a punctual guy.” Liam tried someone else.

“Mickey, this is Liam. Have you seen-?”

“Liam?!” yelped a high-pitched feminine voice. “It’s Minnie! Have you seen Alesandro or Mickey or War’s Source?!”

“…Aren’t they in your universe?” asked Palmarta, worry creeping into her voice. Megumi took over the call.

“Miss Mouse, this is Megumi. We’ll find them.”

“Please do,” said Minnie. “I’m really worried right now.” The call ended and Megumi called Vorton.

“Vorton, this is Megumi. Lord Alesandro Ortiz, Lord Mickey Mouse, and the Source of War are missing. Begin a search starting from the-.”

“Trying to find a certain rat?” came a voice. Megumi realized the call was intercepted!

“Khan!” she snarled.

After the pizza party, it was time to say goodbye. “It was fun, touring New York with you all,” said Hiroki. He then made the mistake of sniffing the Lair’s air. He then gagged. “G-Gomen!” he apologized. “Not used to the…flavorful air here.”

“It ain’t that bad!” protested Raphael. He then took a sniff, then coughed.

“Okay, there must be something wrong with the air purifiers,” remarked Donatello. “‘Scuse me.” He headed off to his lab.

“It was an honor to fight alongside you, Hiroki-san,” said Leonardo as he bowed.

“The honor is all mine, Leonardo-san,” returned Hiroki as he bowed.

“Thank you all for the rescue,” said Order. “Now, I’d like to return home.”

“Same here,” agreed Jazz. Hiroki then pulled out his phone and called home.

“Beyond City, this is Team T-M-N-T,” he said. “Mission accomplished! Need a rift back home!” A rift then opened. “Sayonara!” Hiroki called out to the Turtles and their friends and family. He, his team, and Order then jumped into the rift.

---

“…Not…one…lousy…Source,” grunted Khan as Tormo reported his failure.

“No, Sir,” gulped Tormo.

“This sets us back, you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“…Anything to say that may help your case?”

“…No, Sir.”

“…Smart in the long run.” Khan then heard a knock on his throne room door. “Come in.” Hiro then came in with a smile on his face. “Hiro. What can I do for you?”

“It’s more like what did I do for you!” replied Hiro. He then produced a dark blue crystal sphere. Khan’s eyes goggled.

“You got the Source of Death!” he cheered.

“And its guardians, Jason Ikamesh and Colleen Doyle!” reported Hiro.

“Hostages! Even better!” Khan turned to Tormo. “See if you can replicate Hiro’s success with the Source of Chaos.”

“Will do,” replied Tormo. He headed off to tell his team.

---

Hiroki and his team returned safely home. Xiomara was about ready to hug him. “Ah, mi-!” she said.

“YAME!” yelped Hiroki. “I…had to travel through New York City’s sewer system. I don’t think I smell all that good.” Xiomara took a whiff and gagged.

“Of all the times to be right!” she choked.

“So, should I be expecting Order to smell that bad too?” asked Death.

“Probably a safe assumption, Sister,” replied Order.

“Well, in any case, welcome back!” greeted Death.

“Thank you, Death,” returned Order.

---

After a shower and deassimilation operation, Hongo joined with Megumi, Batman, Gandalf, and Wyldstyle. “The five of us, together again,” he said.

“It’s been a long time, Hongo-san,” said Megumi.

“Too long,” said Gandalf. Hongo then noticed Batman brooding as usual.

“All right, what’s on your mind?” he asked. By now, everyone paid attention to him.

“There’s the Bat-Brooding,” chuckled Wyldstyle. “I used to date a version of Batman, so I should know.”

“We have the Sources of Flourishment,” remarked Batman, “who’s to say that Khan won’t try the same trick as Hiro did with the Sources of the Apocalypse?”

“That would be a worry,” remarked Megumi. “…IF the Horsemen didn’t think to counter that trick. After Academy is more heavily guarded now and anti-Lord procedures are being implemented should they come back with a greater force.”

“You have?” asked Wyldstyle. Megumi looked at the entire group.

“Come on, guys, give us some credit here. We haven’t been just sitting on our asses waiting for our teams to return. We needed to develop plans to counter any of the enemy’s plans. While one team was away, the others took time to develop plans for keeping the Sources safe. But any strategists’ help would be appreciated. THAT’S why I’ve been trying to call you, BRUCE!”

“…I was busy,” grunted Batman. “…But I’ll definitely be at the next strategy meeting. When is it?”

“Tonight at 8. And I’ll have Alfred remind you too.”

“Not a bad idea.”

---

“This looks like Blackarachnia’s old lair on Mobius,” muttered Optimus as his holo-form followed Arsha into Anansi’s cave.

“She weaves webs like this?” asked Arsha.

“Yeah. I got tripped up on one of her trap lines and was dangling for a bit.”

“So she’s more spider than car, hm?” asked Anansi as he came out.

“That’s part of her charm, sir.”

“Anansi, I know your role is a sort of story guardian,” said Arsha, “but is there a way to destroy the Tome?” Anansi flinched.

“…Not by any power we possess, sadly,” he admitted. “Not unless you’re willing to sacrifice your life like that. Even Megumi would have to die.”

“Immortals too?! Oh, Vector Sigma!” shuddered Optimus.

“None of us can make that sacrifice,” remarked Arsha. “What else can we do?”

“Well, I DID just come up with a safer idea,” said Anansi. He brought Optimus and Arsha into a huddle.

---

“All right. Thanks Alfred,” said Megumi. She hung up the house phone.

“So, Batman’s in on the strategy meeting?” asked Richard.

“Yep. And Alfred heard that Optimus and Arsha had a little planning session with Anansi,” replied Megumi. “So we’re gonna get that…erm, Richard, what is that on the counter?” She pointed to a piece of paper.

“Ah! That’s my description of the Spectacular for the auction tomorrow morning!”

“And it ain’t to a junkyard, Mom,” warned Kaitlyn. “It’s at that car auction Michael goes to so he can add to his vintage car collection.”

“Richard, no one is going to buy that piece of crap!” protested Megumi.

“Thank you SO much for the confidence!” retorted Richard. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I got some editing to do!” Richard took the description of the Spectacular and headed off to his office.

“…I swear to every god in the multiverse, Anansi as well, Richard is frittering away his money this way!” complained Megumi.

“…Mom, you’re not really one to talk,” remarked Kaitlyn.

“Come again?!”

“Need I remind you how much that barely used knock-off Batcave cost us? We had to be REALLY lean with our money.”

“Now hang on a minute-!”

“Was it or was it not that incident the impetus for me and Kaede learning how to budget?” Megumi opened her mouth to argue, then sighed.

“You win this round, kiddo,” she grumbled.

“Could someone explain what’s happening to Shred-head?” asked Michaelangelo.

“Mikey, what happens when you leave your phone on the charger for extended periods of time?” asked Donatello.

“Well, the battery becomes so…” Michaelangelo realized what Donatello was driving at. “…so dependant on the cable and it can’t hold a charge all that good anymore! Dude, are you telling me the sword’s stand-?!”

“Was its charging dock!” realized Leonardo.

“Exactly! Their batteries probably aren’t lithium-ion ones,” confirmed Donatello, “but it looks like the Utroms still had the same problem as us in Ancient Japan! Probably still do today!”

“BAH!” dismissed the Shredder. “Batteries or not, I still know how to use a sword!” The Shredder swung wildly…not exactly proving his boast. Leonardo easily intercepted the sword swings with his katanas and knocked Tengu no Ken out of the Shredder’s hands.

“Looks like Leo knows how to use two swords better than you can use one,” snarked Raphael.

“MOVE ASIDE!” called Kamen Rider Ichigō. He front-flipped into the air, then stuck his foot out. “RIDER KICK!” he shouted. He then sailed towards the Shredder at high speeds, foot first! The kick connected with the Shredder’s face and knocked the helmet and face mask off of his head!

---

While that went on, Shockwave, Jazz, and Nightbird were dealing with their Terrorcon opponents. Shockwave noticed how Jazz and Nightbird were fighting. “Learned one another’s styles, have we?” she asked.

“An agreement between us,” replied Nightbird.

“How better to teach our respective schools?” continued Jazz. He then combined Circuit-Su with Five Servos of Doom to take down Straxus. Shockwave pursed her lips as she arched an eyebrow under her visor. She then combined Metallikato with Crystalocution, shattering Rodimus Unicronus’ arm completely. Rodimus Unicronus screamed in pain as he fell, clutching his stump as it leaked Dark Energon.

“Fascinating,” said Shockwave.

---

“Grgh! Stupid, back-stabbing ape!” snapped Tormo. “Why is Yamta the only sane human I know?!” His ears then twitched when he heard a certain phrase.

“Final attack!” called Sengoku’s belt.

“Uh oh,” gulped Tormo.

“RIDER SENGOKU KICK!” announced Sengoku as he performed his Rider Kick. He slammed his foot straight into Tormo’s nose! Sengoku then landed and posed as an explosion engulfed Tormo. The fires of the explosion died and a singed Tormo picked himself up while holding his broken nose. The Lords he called in were all battered and beaten, as were his allies. Taking Order now would be suicide.

“RETREAT!” he ordered. “WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!” He then glared at Sengoku. “Mark my words, those responsible for this humiliation will pay with their lives! And when next we meet, I will collect the fee…PERSONALLY!”

“Hey, that’s my line!” snapped Straxus as he opened a rift. Tormo and his forces then retreated.

“Dudes, we got Order,” remarked Michaelangelo, “let’s boogie out of here!”

“Michaelangelo is right,” agreed Splinter. “Let’s go.” He pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it at the ground. In the smoke, Donatello grabbed Tengu no Ken. Once the smoke cleared, the only one standing was a maskless Shredder. He roared to the heavens once he saw the damage. When his roar died down, he heard sirens and the click of safeties being unlocked on guns. He turned to see New York State Police leveling their guns at him.

“Oroku Saki?!” yelped an officer.

“I don’t believe it!” shouted another. “He’s the Shredder!”

“Hands in the air!” ordered a third. The Shredder snarled and threw a smoke bomb, vanishing in the night.

---

“State Police were baffled when it was discovered that Oroku Saki, the head of the Technological Cosmic Research Institute,” said the newswoman once everyone made it back to the Lair, “was, in reality, the Shredder, the villainous head of the criminal agency known as the Foot Clan. In response to all that was revealed, the Governor called for TCRI to be thoroughly investigated and brought under state control. The preliminary investigation also turned up the body of Big Mama Joro, the once head of the Yokai Mafia. Many Yokai families are expressing relief that such a criminal element has been cut off.” The camera turned to a Kappa in a hoodie.

“Let me tell you,” he said, “when I heard that the spider was killed, I found myself sleeping easier at night. She wanted us Yokai to conquer humans, but the majority of us don’t swing that way. We just wanna work with humans. WITH humans, not FOR them.” The broadcast turned back to the newswoman.

“Unfortunately, what this will mean for the future is up to conjecture as many pundits believe that the death of Big Mama Joro will create a power vacuum for her underlings to try and sieze control. On top of that, with the Shredder evading custody, it is more than likely that the Foot Clan would take advantage of any Yokai Mafia civil war. Irma Langenstein, Channel 6 News.” Raphael then turned off the TV.

“Still a gloomy lady, ain’t she?” he muttered.

“She has a point,” remarked Hiroki. “Who’s to say that the power vacuum won’t result in civil war?”

“It’s not as bad as that,” replied Hongo. “The Shredder will be scrambling to try and recover the power he lost and the Yokai Mafia families will be keeping out of human affairs for a while so they can build up their own power bases. Either way, the problem has made itself into manageable chunks.”

“You are quite right, Hongo-san,” agreed Splinter. “The power evil has over New York may not have gone away totally, but it IS diminished.”

“…Speaking of things diminishing,” remarked Donatello, “so’s my stomach! Where’s Mikey with those pizzas?”

“And Jazz too,” agreed Hiroki.

“They sure are taking their sweet time!” muttered Leonardo.

“You can’t rush art, my dudes,” called Michealangelo as he and Jazz brought out a couple of pizza box towers, enough for everyone to have a slice. “You’d get crap art otherwise. We’re all named after artists in the first place anyways, we should all know that.” Raphael took a sniff and his mouth watered.

“Oooohhh, I missed the smell of good, home-made pizza!” he said.

“And I had Jazz as my student, so we’ll start on his first,” said Michaelangelo. Jazz took four boxes off one of the towers.

“Just scope out these babies!” he said as he opened the boxes. The Turtles…goggled in horror!

“Babies?!” yelped Raphael. “These things ain’t even been born yet!”

“Whoa, bogus!” called Michaelangelo. The pizzas were the size of a man’s fist instead of the usual 14 inches!

“Jazz, I don’t believe it!” snapped Donatello.

“Is this your idea of a sick joke?!” snarled Leonardo. The Turtles growled at Jazz as they advanced menacingly on him.

“And after I took you under my wing as a pizza student?!” growled Michaelangelo.

“Whoa, chill out! No way!” protested Jazz. “Ask your dad! It was his idea!”

“Throwing our pops under the bus, huh?!” snarled Raphael.

“It WAS my idea,” interjected Splinter. The Turtles goggled at their father. “I had Jazz make them especially for you boys to remind you that the small victories are just as important as the two big ones achieved tonight.”

“…Two?” asked Raphael. “I mean, what we did to the Shredder’s a big one, but what’s the other?”

“You coming back, you dingus,” replied Donatello.

“Raphael, there was no way we could do anything without you,” said Leonardo.

“…Yeah, me running out on you guys was a pretty big mistake, wasn’t it?” muttered Raphael. “Well, I ain’t making that mistake again!”

“And I say that’s worth celebrating,” said Splinter. “Now, there ARE normal pizzas in there.”

“That’s all we wanna know!” said Michaelangelo. “Let’s dig in, folks! COWABUNGA!” The pizza party then began!

Everyone picked themselves up, the heroes being more sympathetic to each other and helping one another. The only one standing was a changed Oroku Saki, the Shredder! His armor now covered more of his body and looked more frightening. All you could see were his eyes! In his hand was the very sword he sought. “…The power!” he whispered. “I had almost forgotten the legends! Tengu no Ken! The very sword with which my first ancestor, Oroku Sansho, laid villages to waste, brought castles to ground, vanquished armies! The sword that he used to conquer Japan and control the Tokugawa Shogunate as well as the Emperor! Now…this power is MINE!”

“Ours, my hubby-husband,” corrected Big Mama Joro. “That WAS the deal, was it not? And if you wanted to go outside, you really must learn to use the dimbly-door.”

“…And you, Big Mama Joro, would be wise to use the last few minutes of your life to use REAL words, not nonce,” growled the Shredder.

“Last few-?” Big Mama Joro’s eyes went wide, then she snarled, her fangs dripping with venom. “You picked a hell of a time to divorce me!” She leapt at the Shredder, but he side-stepped and fired an energy wave from the sword. The energy wave knocked Big Mama Joro onto her back, then the Shredder jumped onto her and ran the sword through her abdomen. She screeched in pain and thrashed as the Shredder stabbed multiple times…then her arm-pedipalps went limp, her face froze in a look of pain, and her legs curled up.

“…Huh,” said Donatello, rightfully horrified about how Big Mama Joro was executed. “…So…her vital organs are in the abdomen, just like a normal spider.”

“Perhaps I should figure out where a turtle’s heart is!” cackled the Shredder.

“Shredder, you reneged on our deal!” challenged Tormo. “You’ll regret it!”

“You said so yourself! I’m an entrepreneur! I see an opportunity and I sieze it!”

“Where you see opportunity, I see impulsiveness!” Tormo pulled out a communicator and spoke into it. “The Shredder has betrayed us! All hands, to my position!” The Lords then appeared.

“THE BORG?!” yelped Leonardo.

“No, the Lords!” replied Sengoku.

“More free-thinking than the Borg,” explained Jazz. The Lords then attacked.

“I’ll have your hide for this!” called Tormo as the Lords swarmed the Shredder.

“Try and take it!” The Shredder then cut down his attackers. …Well, there WAS one that was giving him trouble.

“Hiroki!” called the Lord. “Hurry! The Keystone! Shrink Leonardo!”

“Keystone?” asked Sengoku. He then remembered. “The Scale Keystone!”

“What?!” asked Leonardo.

“Leo-san, hold on!” warned Sengoku. “Scale Keystone, activate! Lessen scale of Leonardo!” Leonardo then shrank.

“WHAT THE?!” he yelped.

“Find a weak spot!” urged Sengoku. “Any weak spot!” He then threw the tiny Leonardo at the Shredder. He then turned to the renegade Lord. “As for you, call me a petty fanboy, but I preferred your usual suit instead of all that Borg kit.”

“I’m not going to insult you like that,” replied the renegade Lord, “because you’re right in how much better the suit is.” He then put his left hand to his waist and stuck his prosthetic right arm out past his left shoulder. He then moved the prosthetic in an arc towards his right. “Rider…” he said. A bulky area around his waist shattered as a cover split open to reveal a wind turbine that spun as the wind blew into it. He then pulled his prosthetic to his waist and thrust his left hand past his right shoulder. “…HENSHIN!” He then jumped high into the air and the Borg kit was destroyed as a green suit and helmet appeared. A red scarf then appeared on his neck as he landed. His suit looked a little bulky, but the helmet…dark green with red compound eyes, a pair of antennae, and a mouth plate to resemble a grasshopper’s mouth…that was all that was needed to confirm his identity.

“Takeshi Hongo!” cheered Sengoku.

“…The first…Kamen Rider?!” breathed Splinter.

“Dude! Dad used to obsess over him like Leo does with Star Trek!” said Michaelangelo. Speaking of which…

“Hey! Could stand to be big again!” called Leonardo.

“Normalize scale of Leonardo!” directed Sengoku. Leonardo then grew and almost toppled the Shredder, but was thrown off easily. His brothers helped him up.

“No dice!” he said. “The armor even covers the joints!”

“There’s gotta be something!” replied Raphael.

“Bah!” scoffed the Shredder. “A television hero tries to save the day?! I’m not a villain from your world!”

“But you ARE a villain!” retorted Kamen Rider Ichigō.

“Bringing order by any means necessary is NOT evil!” The Shredder attacked, but Ichigō, being the genetically altered cyborg he is, leapt out of the way. He then went on the offensive, throwing punches and kicks alongside the Turtles. Unfortunately, the Shredder could hit back hard, especially with the sword in his hands.

“It’s no good, Hongo-san!” protested Leonardo. “That sword’s made him too powerful!”

“We have to find a way to get it away from him,” said Sengoku.

“That won’t stop him,” replied Splinter. “Once the sword is reunited with the armor, the wearer will have untold power, even if the sword is separated from him.”

“His first ancestor attested to that?” asked Shockwave.

“That story’s been passed down the Foot Clan since it was first founded,” confirmed Splinter.

“Well, we gotta do something!” growled Raphael. “We can’t-! …Donnie?” Raphael turned to see Donatello looking at something.

“…Donatello, will you please pay attention to the situation at hand?!” snapped Sengoku.

“I am, Hishikawa-san. Look at the sword.” Donatello pointed at Tengu no Ken. Sengoku looked harder and blinked.

“Are those…are those runes dimmer?” he asked.

“I think so.” Donatello turned to Tormo. “Hey, Big Nose! Where did you find that sword?”

“How should I know?!” protested Tormo. “Rodimus Unicronus, where’d you find the sword?!”

“It was in the museum, on a sword stand you’d usually see Japanese swordsmen putting their weapons on,” replied Rodimus Unicronus.

“Do you remember any details about it?!” asked Donatello as he and his brothers rolled out of the way of the Shredder’s newest attack. “Hurry, man! The fate of the world depends on it!”

“Th-There was a plug in the stand! It was connected to the sword just under that alien octopus thing at the end of the handle-!”

“Hey, call me crazy, but are those runes getting dimmer?” asked Raphael.

“BINGO!” called Donatello. The Shredder looked down at the sword and realized Donatello and Raphael were right.

“What?! NO!” he shouted. As the runes dimmed, the armor slowly morphed from its mystic state back into its normal state.

“…Raphael,” asked Karai as she and Raphael restrained Miyoko, “who are they?”

“War and Pestilence,” replied Raphael. “Yes, from the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They’re Order’s sisters.”

“…Okay.” Karai seemed to take it in stride.

“Now, War, Pestilence,” Raphael said to the two Apocalypse Horsemen, “explanations?”

“Primordial forces like us,” said War, “cannot be contained without consequences. Once there’s just that little chance of freedom after prolonged imprisonment, the results can be catastrophic and world-ending.”

“If I were freed after being contained,” explained Pestilence, “there would be a plague that would wipe out at least 85% of a planet. War, well, World War III wouldn’t even come close to the devastation that would be wrought on a planet. In Order’s case, everyone would turn to stone.”

“So how do we free her without her going Medusa on us?” asked Raphael.

“Well, thankfully, a Horseman of Flourishment or of the Apocalypse can do that,” said War.

“You just stay out of the way,” warned Pestilence.

“Come on, Raphael Nii-san,” said Karai. “Let’s move Miyoko out of the way.”

“Getting casual, huh?” snarked Raphael as he helped Karai with moving Miyoko away from the door. Once they were clear, War and Pestilence opened the door and had to push their way through the energy Order was putting out.

“ORDER!” called War over the noise. “ORDER, IT’S US! WAR AND PESTILENCE! WE’RE HERE TO GET YOU OUT!”

“ORDER, CHANNEL YOUR ENERGY INTO US!” shouted Pestilence. “THIS PLANET ISN’T READY TO BE PETRIFIED!” The two Horsemen then each grabbed their sister’s hand and drew Order’s energy wave into their bodies. The process was painful, according to their expressions. After a good long while, Order’s eyes started to dim. A little while longer, they were back to normal…as normal as a primordial being’s eyes could be. She collapsed into War and Pestilence.

“Take it easy, sister,” soothed War. “You’re safe now.” Order then slowly looked up.

“…Still wearing that damaged armor, I see,” chuckled Order. War smiled.

“There’s the Order I remember!” she said. She looked outside the cell. “It’s safe!” she said to Raphael and Karai. The two ninjas then cautiously went into the cell. “Raphael, Karai, meet Order.”

“Order and I technically already met,” said Karai.

“So I DID hear you promise to get me out of here,” remarked Order. “Well, it’s a good thing you didn’t do that on your own or it would have been disastrous.”

“Yeah, a Karai statue wouldn’t be good on anyone’s lawn,” snarked Raphael.

“Why are you two here, though?” Order asked her sisters.

“Someone is after your Source,” replied Pestilence. “That person has the Tome!”

“What?! Then I must go home immediately!”

“What about your Source?” asked War. Order then pulled a Crystal Sphere in her colors out from her skirts.

“I always keep it with me,” she explained. “Subspace pockets and all that.”

“What about our friends?” asked Raphael.

“Friends?” asked Order.

“We have a team holding off the Shredder’s forces, but the Tome-user’s forces are coming with Tengu no ken!” explained War.

“…All right, so we beat the Shredder, beat the Tome-user’s forces, party a bit, THEN we go home? That’s the plan?” asked Order.

“That’s the general plan, yes,” replied Pestilence.

“Excellent! Let’s go help it unfold that way!”

---

Oroku Saki had donned his armor, becoming the Shredder, and was engaged in a duel with Splinter. “It’s bad enough that your family steals my daughter away by poisoning her mind against me, now you would invade my home?!” roared the Shredder.

“You stole her from me first, Saki!” replied Splinter. “She made her own choices when she learned the truth!”

“You and I both know that the truth is malleable!” The Shredder delivered punches and kicks worthy of a master, but so did Splinter. He also incorporated some rat fighting behaviors such as biting. …Not his favorite maneuver, but needs must.

---

Hiroki, meanwhile, was in his own armor as Kamen Rider Sengoku and trying to grab Tormo. “WATCH OUT WITH THAT TOE-STABBER!!” yelped Tormo as Sengoku swung his sword.

“What are you, Shemp Howard?!” retorted Sengoku. “Well, if we’re gonna be quoting various franchises!” Sengoku then swapped in an ID tag.

“Hanzo Hasashi Steel!” announced his belt. The wardrobe then attached armor pieces that evoked Scorpion from Mortal Kombat. He then fired a rope spear into the goblin’s shoulder.

“GET OVER HERE!” he shouted as he yanked Tormo towards him, pulling the rope spear out in the process. He then decked Tormo right in his nose! Tormo clutched his shoulder with one hand and held his bleeding nose in the other.

“Now I’m mad!” hissed the Goblin. He then drew a wand. “DRASKALDA!” He fired fists made of fire from his wand and pummeled Sengoku with them.

“What kind of nonsense was that?!” yelped Sengoku.

“It’s a special magic language!” retorted Tormo. Just then, Nightbird called up Sengoku.

“Sengoku, we have a problem!” she said. “The Terrorcons are returning to the estate! They have the sword!”

“Because, of COURSE, it’s never easy!” complained Sengoku. “Hold them off as best you can! We’ll aid you when we finish things!”

“You might want to hurry, because-!” The call cut out.

“Nightbird?! NIGHTBIRD?!” Nightbird then ended up crashing through the ceiling, dented and battle-scarred. Rodimus Unicronus then landed near her.

“Well, well, well, Megsy’s little wifey!” cackled the Terrorcon.

“His partner in every way!” hissed Nightbird as she dueled him. The duel then knocked something out of his hand. It looked like a tachi with some sort of brain-like creature with tentacles, two eyes, and a mouth at the end of the handle. Two tentacles wrapped around the entire handle and there were strange symbols that were NOT Japanese human in origin. The Shredder saw the object and goggled.

“…Tengu no Ken!” he whispered. Sengoku and Tormo goggled.

“…That’s what-?!” gulped Sengoku.

“IDIOT!” Tormo shouted at Rodimus Unicronus. “WE DON’T HAVE ORDER YET!”

“Ah, you’re out of order!” came Raphael’s voice. He, Order, War, Pestilence, and Karai arrived.

“And now you have Order!” called the Shredder.

“Oh no, you don’t!” retorted Tormo. “We ain’t surrendering the sword until you personally hand us Order!”

“Bah! You do not dictate terms anymore!” The Shredder threw a smoke bomb, then used the confusion to throw a flashbang grenade at Rodimus Unicronus. It exploded and blinded the Terrorcon. Rodimus Unicronus dropped the sword in the confusion and the Shredder grabbed it! He then unsheathed it and, in the process, unleashed an energy wave that leveled the building and knocked everyone to the ground.

“Where is he?!” grumbled Shockwave.

“Relax, Shockwave,” soothed Nightbird. “This is New York City on a Friday night. He’s bound to be caught up in traffic.”

“If he’s pulled over-!”

“Then he just transforms and spooks whatever bigoted cop decides that he’s the next black guy to be ticketed for driving while black.” That was when they heard an engine and saw Jazz travelling down the tracks. He stopped and let his passengers off.

“Have you encountered law enforcement on your return?” asked Shockwave.

“Well, yeah,” replied Jazz, “but that was because I sped. The officer was actually a friendly guy that seemed to know the Mad Dogz and the Turtles, so I only got a warning.”

“So he was just doing his job properly,” said Karai. “Now, I must go. Saki will want to know how my mission went.”

“Stay safe, will you?” remarked Raphael.

“As safe as I can be among the Foot Clan,” replied Karai. She headed out of the sewers.

“Jazz told me he and his boys made peace with you guys,” Raphael said to Shockwave.

“Our factions did, yes,” replied Shockwave, “but there’s still the occasional skirmish between Autobot and Decepticon.”

“Still, that’s not why we’re here,” remarked Nightbird. “Raphael, your family’s inside the living room.” Raphael gulped.

---

“His estate’s out in the country?” Hiroki asked the Turtles and Splinter.

“His TCRI funds are to blame for that,” replied Donatello.

“These are just reconstructions of what Karai told us,” said Leonardo.

“They’re really detailed,” remarked Hiroki.

“That’s where I came in!” chimed in Michaelangelo.

“Michaelangelo is probably the most artistic out of all my children,” Splinter said with pride.

“Funny how we were ALL named after Renaissance artists,” said a voice, “and Mikey’s the only one that does any art.” Everyone whirled around to see…

“RAPHAEL!” said Splinter excitedly.

“RAPH!” cheered Michaelangelo.

“Dude, you snuck up on all of us!” said Leonardo.

“When did you get here?!” asked Donatello.

“…About a minute ago,” replied Raphael.

“Well, dude, what are you standing in the doorway for?!” asked Leonardo. “We’re gonna need you on this! The four of us, together again!”

“Yeah, man!” agreed Michaelangelo. “You know how empty the Lair was without you?!”

“Michaelangelo speaks the truth, Raphael,” said Splinter. “The Lair…and our hearts felt empty without you.”

“…Guys, Pops, I screwed up by thinking I was too dangerous for you,” said Raphael. “I guess I didn’t trust that you wouldn’t let me go that far. …If you’ll let me, I’d like to come back and work on that with you.”

“Of course, my son,” replied Splinter. “This is your home and we are your family. As long as you make sure none of us turn to the path of the Shredder, we will do the same for you.”

“Turtle power?” asked Leonardo as he, Donatello, and Michaelangelo held their fists out for a fist-bump.

“…Turtle power!” replied Raphael as he fist-bumped his brothers. “All right, here’s what Karai managed to get from Shred-head…”

---

Saki and Tormo met in the Oroku estate. It was styled to look like a traditional Japanese Lord’s home. “Looks almost like a First Age Kitsune dwelling,” remarked Tormo.

“You have kitsunes in the Realms?” asked Saki.

“Yep. From one tailed to the most powerful nine tailed. My employer’s greatest enemy has nine-tail Kitsune blood in her veins.” That was when something fell from the ceiling. Saki and Tormo looked at the object and…Tormo went pale. “…That’s a man’s head…” he gulped. Saki picked up the head and examined it, then groaned.

“…KARAI!” he barked.

“You mean Miwa,” replied Karai’s voice. Saki shut his eyes and breathed in.

“…So it WAS you and the Turtles that I saw all those years ago when I took you in as a baby,” he said.

“You kidnapped me from my father!” snarled Karai. “And all because Tang Shen chose him! You chose attachment over a proper relationship!”

“And you chose poorly after learning the truth.”

“Well, trying to keep someone like Order locked up was a mistake!”

“That’s a man’s…wait, locked up?” said Tormo.

“I did say she was in my possession, did I not?” asked Saki.

“She won’t be for long!” challenged Karai.

“I would prefer it if you stayed away from Order’s cell,” hissed Saki.

“No, this has gone on long enough!” replied Karai. “This deal of yours MUST fall through!”

“You won’t get past the guards!”

“We’ll see!” Saki and Tormo heard footsteps on the roof. Saki then pulled out a communicator. He selected a channel that said “Miyoko”.

“Okaa-san!” he said into the communicator. “Karai is not to rescue Order! She is a traitor to the Foot Clan!”

---

Karai dispatched all that stood in her way between her and Order. The only one she was rightfully scared of was Saki’s mother, Oroku Miyoko. Why? It’s rare for a ninja to reach old age and Miyoko was in her mid-70’s. Karai approached a cell with a green woman in a green dress. Her eyes were glowing green. “I have the distinct feeling,” muttered Karai, “you need to be free before whatever will happen happens.” She then heard a whistling noise and rolled out of the way before throwing a kunai in the direction of the one thrown at her. It struck the beam running across the ceiling and broke, bringing the assassin to the floor. The assassin picked herself up and darted to the shadows. “…You know this has gone too far!” Karai insisted to the assassin.

“You mean you betraying your father, Karai?” hissed an old woman’s voice.

“Please, listen to me!” urged Karai. “That woman is quite literally power incarnate! Keeping her contained may lead to catastrophic results! No one would succeed, not even the Foot!”

“I’ve spent too long fulfilling the Foot Clan’s goals! We WILL control this entire planet!”

“…You’re that dead-set, then? …I’m sorry the conversation has to end this way.” Karai leapt onto the beam and charged at her assassin, Oroku Miyoko! The two dueled for a while, using every trick they learned. …Unfortunately, Miyoko learned more tricks than Karai. She managed to bring Karai to the floor hard!

“You fought as well as an Oroku, I’ll give you that,” said Miyoko, “but you made a terrible decision in throwing in your lot with that rat!”

“At least, unlike you,” said Karai, “Hamato Yoshi still has his humanity!”

“What you incorrectly call humanity, I call weakness!” Miyoko readied a knife…then a sai hooked around her arm and its owner threw her aside.

“I dunno,” grunted the sai owner. “Pops’ teachings helped me become stronger.”

“Raphael!” gasped Karai. Raphael helped his half-sister up.

“Listen, we ain’t got much time!” warned Raphael. “Pops is leading the charge here with the rest of our brothers, the Mad Dogz, and Jazz and his team! But Shred-head’s new business partners have the sword and are on their way here! We gotta free Order!”

“That might be difficult. Look at her.” Karai pointed out Order.

“…Hoo boy, this needs a delicate touch and me and my brothers do NOT do delicate.”

“Hey, what’s the hold up, Raaaaaaa…” War had arrived and trailed off when she saw Order’s state.

“War,” wheezed Pestilence when she arrived, “why did yooooOH NUTS!”

Hiroki and his team were stunned at what happened. “That’s…that’s just…wow!” muttered Hiroki.

“We’re…we’re sorry you had to go through that,” said Endea.

“…We’re gonna need Raph for this one,” muttered Jazz.

“He’s not in the right state of mind for that,” argued War.

“Oh, I think he is,” replied Jazz. “He just doesn’t know it yet. Donnie, can you call one of the Mad Dogz to see where Raph is?”

“Sure, I can do that,” answered Donatello. “But…what do you have in mind?”

“Let’s just say, he’s a bit like my best friend from when we first landed on Mobius.”

---

Jazz got the coordinates and temporarily changed his alt-mode to a coupe-styled Porsche 718 Cayman. He then changed his holo-form to a human of African ancestry with dreadlocks and a blue visor. Tom arched an eyebrow. “…Erm, Jazz,” he said, “this is 21^st Century New York City. The cops aren’t exactly nice to black dudes, especially ones that drive nice cars. Their first thought will be ‘That black dude stole it! Arrest him!’”

“That’s why Donnie’s gonna be guiding me away from those guys,” said Jazz. “Donnie, sync your T-Phone with my comms on my mark.”

“Got it,” replied Donatello.

“And…Mark!” The communications devices synced. “All right. Let’s go!” Jazz’s holoform hopped inside behind the wheel and he took off. Donnie guided him away from the police officers on patrol all the way to an apartment building in the rough part of Brooklyn. He stepped out and made his way to the apartment Raph would be in. Once he arrived, he knocked on the door.

“What do you want?!” called a voice.

“Just here to conduct Hamato Clan business,” replied Jazz. A young human in street hockey gear opened the door.

“…You must be new,” he said. “No one in the entire state’s heard of the Hamato Clan.”

“Combined interests,” replied Jazz. “May I come in. Mister…?”

“Casey Jones, and sure.” Casey let Jazz in. The other guys in the apartment, Raphael, a young woman with her hair dyed neon red, and a Japanese woman in ninja-gear about Raphael’s age all stared at Casey in disbelief.

“Dude, what the hell?!” protested Raphael.

“Casey,” said the ninja woman, “we’re supposed to be undercover!”

“You can’t just let any old guy in-!” snapped the woman with neon red hair.

“Guys, I know what this looks like,” interrupted Jazz, “but I’m here on Hamato Clan business.”

“Are you, indeed?” asked the ninja woman.

“…Wait, are you some Human Jazz cosplayer?” asked the woman with neon-red hair.

“…Come outside and I’ll show you all something more,” replied Jazz.

---

After a bit of convincing, Jazz pulled up in an alley with Raphael and the Mad Dogz watching. “You guys ready?” asked Jazz.

“Just do it,” grunted Raphael. Jazz shrugged, then his holo-form vanished and he transformed to robot mode. “…Y…You’re actually one of those robots from one of those TV shows Leo watches!” said Raphael, his eyes wide.

“Is your name really Jazz?” asked the woman with neon-red hair.

“Sure am, little lady!” replied Jazz. “So, Raph and Casey, I know them. But what about you two?”

“You can call me either Karai or Hamato Miwa,” replied the ninja woman.

“…You’re that little girl in the photo on Splinter’s altar,” realized Jazz.

“I was taken from him as a baby,” replied Karai. “Taken by Oroku Saki himself. Let’s just say time travel revealed the truth to me and I’ve been looking for ways to shut Saki down. April’s been a big help.”

“That’s me,” said the woman with the neon-red hair.

“Well, I’m here because me and my team kinda roped Raph’s brothers into a case,” said Jazz. “We’re looking for a lady called Order and Splinter said that she’s currently the Shredder’s prisoner.”

“It seems we’re working the same case,” said Karai. “That settles it. We have to band together and-!”

“Ixnay!” hissed Raphael. “That’s…look, I already told you how tense the situation is with my brothers.”

“From what they told me and my team,” replied Jazz, “the situation is only tense because you’re not back with them.”

“No, the situation is tense,” argued Raphael, “because I was ready to kill Leo because I was so angry about what he did a while ago!”

“I think you’re misreading the whole thing,” remarked Jazz. “They’ve already forgiven you, from what I’ve heard. …And from what I’m seeing, you haven’t forgiven yourself.”

“What are you, a ninja master like my dad?!”

“Well, a Cyber-ninja Grandmaster, yes, but not one as experienced as your dad. But even then, I’m seeing parallels between you and my best friend, Optimus Prime.” Raphael saw where this was going and wasn’t interested in a story.

“Hey, did I just see a mugger-?” April grabbed Raphael’s shell.

“Sit your shelled butt down, Raph,” she said. “I wanna hear this.” Raphael grumbled and sat down.

“This took place on the planet of Mobius, once known as Earth,” began Jazz. “After us Autobots got settled in, Optimus got a little cuckoo in the head with power. The Matrix of Leadership bricked itself to him and he reverted back to his pre-Prime form, Orion Pax. In a move that still baffles me to this day, he went on a solo-journey around the world to try and fix it, but a witch (yes, magic’s a thing on Mobius) gave him a kick in the pants, saying that he was starting to abuse that power. In the meantime, he left a holographic clone of himself, but the clone got worse, so we had to stage a mutiny against it. Given that the hologram was made of lights and forcefields, we were put on the backfoot, but Optimus managed to come back and shut it down…through a YuGiOh duel.”

“You’re joking,” grunted Raphael.

“I’m not! And it was as convoluted as any YuGiOh duel can get! …But even so, Optimus felt guilty about the whole thing, leaving us with a psycho version of himself. But, over time, he forgave himself.”

“Forgave himself? Even if that thing wasn’t really him, it was based on him, wasn’t it?! How could he forgive himself from that?!”

“It wasn’t an easy path for him, I’ll be the first to admit. But, like you said, it WASN’T him. And, if I heard the story right about you and your brothers, it was the Shredder that made you lose control to a degree.”

“To a degree?! I was gonna kill Leo!”

“And yet I saw him alive and well, so my point still stands.”

“Besides, you heard how much of a monster I am!”

“…Monster or merely a teenager that’s trying to settle his head?”

“Raph, I gotta agree with Jazz here,” interjected April. “You said that you didn’t want to pose a danger to your brothers, right?”

“Right,” replied Raphael.

“I heard the same thing,” said Jazz. “But they want you back. You wanna know why I stuck with Optimus?”

“…Why?”

“Because, deep down, I know he can rely on me to not let him turn evil. He said so himself when he became Optimus Prime again. I will bet you any money your family will do the same.”

“Raphael,” said Karai, “Jazz would have won that bet. Take it from me, I wouldn’t let you turn evil and neither will our brothers.”

“That goes for me,” said Casey.

“And me,” agreed April. Raphael said nothing, then he wiped his eyes.

“…You softies!” he grunted, trying to keep up the tough guy act. “Making me cry like that! Come on! This case is too big for us! Let’s get to the lair!”

After the shouting match, the Turtles split up. Raphael stood by the home gym, poised to spring. Donatello was working on the T-Phones alone. Michaelangelo was trying to meditate, but the fight was still fresh on his mind. Leonardo was in a dark corner for a while. He then stepped out after a while. “…Guys, we gotta talk,” he said.

“Whoever you are,” snarled Raphael, “there ain’t nothing left TO talk about!”

“I want to apologize,” said Leonardo. “You’re all free to not trust me. After everything that’s happened, that’s more than fair. Right now, I know that I AM who I say I am. And I have to trust that you’re all who you say you are. This thing doesn’t wanna show itself. It wants to hide and make us want to kill one another. If it IS hiding, that suggests that it’s vulnerable out in the open. If we fight and kill each other, then it won’t have any enemies left and would be celebrating its victory.”

“Even if you ARE Leonardo,” growled Raphael, “it doesn’t change the fact that we’re still stuck here and the dope with the oversized stick still hasn’t figured out a way to get us outta here!”

“Bite me, Raphael!” snapped Donatello.

“And,” continued Raphael, “it don’t change all the things YOU did by leaving us with Slash!”

“It WAS a mistake,” said Leonardo. “I’m sorry. I should have-.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you should have! I’m hearing a lotta that woulda-coulda-shoulda crap, but not a lotta what you DID!”

“Damn it, Raphael! I’m trying to get us-!”

“Oh, you’re trying to-!” At that point, Leonardo and Raphael got into another shouting match.

“Stupid intellectual dwarves!” grunted Donatello to himself. “Don’t know why I bother with them!” Michaelangelo simply gave them a sour expression since his meditation was going nowhere…then he saw a shadowy figure. Donatello then looked at Michaelangelo. “Look at him!” he continued to himself. “All the intellect of a-!” He then saw the shadowy figure. He then noticed that Michaelangelo was trying to get his attention. Donatello then pointed at the shadowy figure while maintaining eye contact with Michaelangelo.

“Uh, guys?!” Michaelangelo called to the still shouting Leonardo and Raphael. No dice. The two were still wrapped up in their shouting match. Donatello then pointed at a small, black ball on his belt, then pointed at Michaelangelo. Michaelangelo nodded and reached for his own. The two quiet Turtles then moved their hands to their weapons. Michaelangelo counted down from three with his fingers, then threw the ball at the ground, creating a smoke screen. He then appeared at the figure’s side and swung his nunchaku while Donatello swung his bo. The figure grabbed both weapons and threw the two Turtles into the wall at high speeds! Leonardo and Raphael stopped arguing when they heard what happened. Raphael then saw the figure.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!” he shouted as he charged at the figure, drawing his sai. Leonardo drew his katanas and the two Turtles attacked, but the figure threw them into each other, making them drop their weapons. A katana and a sai landed near Leonardo.

“MIKEY, CATCH!” he shouted as he threw the weapons at Michaelangelo. Michaelangelo caught the weapons and stuck the sai into the figure’s chest. The figure roared an electronic roar.

“YEAH, SCREW YOU TOO!” replied Michaelangelo as he swung the katana through the figure’s neck, decapitating it and dispelling the shadow. The Turtles could now see that it was a humanoid machine.

“…The hell IS that thing?!” spluttered Leonardo. Donatello picked up the head.

“It looks like an Utrom-droid,” he said.

“Then where’s the brainy-toy surprise that’s supposed to pop out?” asked Raphael.

“Um, Donnie, should the eyes be flashing now?” asked Michaelangelo. The eyes of the machine were blinking.

“So, are we done fighting?” asked a voice through the machine.

“SHREDDER!!” snarled Leonardo.

“But, why?!” asked Donatello.

“Because your master didn’t teach you a lesson he taught me all those years ago,” replied the Shredder.

“What lesson?!” growled Raphael.

“That brotherhood is fragile in the heat of conflict. I had my technical staff alter this Utrom-droid to create an illusion that would stir up conflict in all of you and simply let you try and destroy each other. Since you’re still alive, I can see that they failed in that regard. No matter. They still achieved my aims. Now you understand what I learned when your master killed Oroku Nagi all those years ago. Brotherhood is nothing. It is weak in the pursuit of power. …I’ll see you again when you’ve mastered that lesson.” The eyes switched off. It was then that they heard a banging on the door.

“MY SONS!” called Splinter’s voice.

“SENSEI!” called Leonardo. He ran to the door and pulled it open to let in Splinter and their human friends! The Turtles goggled.

“…Dudes, we couldn’t open that thing, right?” asked Michaelangelo.

---

After a few explanations, Raphael was sitting alone in his room, feeling ashamed of himself. He heard a knock on the door. “Raphael?” asked Splinter.

“…Come in,” mumbled Raphael. Splinter entered the room.

“You missed the meeting, my son,” he said.

“…I didn’t think it was a good idea for me to be there right now. …Did Donnie and April figure out what happened?”

“They couldn’t find anything wrong. Donatello believes that everything was most likely working as it should be and the four of you couldn’t hear anything over your own yelling.”

“…Great.” Splinter sensed something else in Raphael’s emotional state.

“…Raphael, this is probably a stupid question, but are you all right?”

“No, Pops, I ain’t,” muttered Raphael. “Is Leo near here?”

“Right here, Raph,” replied Leo as he stepped into the room.

“…Leo, it don’t matter if it came from the Shredder’s toy,” muttered Raphael. “All those things I said, they were real. I WAS that angry about Slash. …I was ready to put a sai in your eye.”

“But you didn’t. That’s the important thing.”

“No, the fact that I was even thinking about that about my own brother is the point! I…” Raphael sighed. “I-I need to get away from here. I need some time to think. The Mad Dogz are working a case and offered me a slot in their team.”

“…Will you be home in time for Mutation Day?” asked Splinter.

“…I wouldn’t hold my breath about it, Pops.”

“…Very well, my son.” Splinter put a reassuring hand on Raphael’s shoulder.

“Raph,” said Leonardo, “for what it’s worth, I AM sorry about Slash. Last month, I said you guys were my greatest strength. That opinion hasn’t changed.” There wasn’t much to say now. After a few seconds, Leonardo and Splinter left Raph so he could pack.