by 3 Ninja Tales (The Rise of Tiger Claw; The Casey Chronicles; Mutants in Space!) (retail) (epub)
“Casey, stop!” Leo cried.
His warning came too late. WHAM! In one swift motion, the Kraang swept his leg around, kicking Casey to the ground.
So much for the element of surprise. Now that Casey had started a fight, the Turtles had no choice but to jump in and help their friend. “Get him!” Raph yelled to the others.
Raph got to the Kraang first, but his ninja skills proved no match for the Kraang’s. WHOOMP! With ease, the Kraang took Raph down.
“Do not do this,” the Kraang warned.
But Mikey was already leaping toward the alien. “I got him, dudes! YIIIAAAHHH!”
Mikey swung his nunchucks at the Kraang, but the alien swiftly trapped his hands, took away his nunchucks, bopped Mikey with a fist, and smacked him with his own weapon.
“UGHHH!” Mikey groaned.
“Mikey!” Leo called, concerned that his brother was hurt. He drew his katana sword from its sheath strapped to his back and attacked!
But the Kraang moved so fast that Leo couldn’t get anywhere near him with his sword.
“I am not here to fight you,” the Kraang said.
“Too late for that!” Leo answered, drawing his second katana sword and swinging both of them wildly at the alien. The Kraang dodged every blow of the swords so rapidly that he became a blur.
“That’s imposs—OOOF! UGHHHH!”
The Kraang had landed a single mega-fast punch to Leo’s chest that sent him sailing back through a row of hanging sides of beef. This Kraang might have looked like all the others, but he sure didn’t fight like them!
Seeing his brothers so easily defeated didn’t stop Donnie from entering the battle. Without hesitating, he jumped toward the Kraang, whipping his bo staff right at the alien’s head.
“YIIIIAAAAAHHH!” he cried as he attacked.
But the Kraang blocked the bo staff, shattering it! He grabbed Donnie, pulled him close, spun him around, and locked him in his grip.
The other three Turtles stared at the Kraang, shocked. He had Donnie!
The Kraang held Donnie tightly in his grasp. Donnie struggled, but there seemed to be no escape.
“Turtles!” the Kraang said sharply. “Refrain from attacking! Believe me when I say I am not your enemy.”
He let Donnie go. This Kraang was different from any he’d ever seen. It seemed … almost human.
April tried to use her psychic ability to read the Kraang’s intention. “I sense he’s telling the truth. He’s not like the other Kraang. I think he’s one of the good guys.”
A Kraang who was one of the good guys? Leo, Raph, and Casey weren’t ready to believe it. Not yet. They stood ready to resume the fight the second the alien showed any sign of aggression.
“You may call me by my Earth name,” the Kraang said. “Bishop.”
“Ah,” Mikey said, nodding knowingly. “And when you wrote that note on the alley wall, you drew a bishop! Coincidence? I don’t think so.”
“But you look just like all the other Kraang!” Casey protested, not ready to be friendly with this alien.
“I was the one who created this body,” Bishop explained. “The other Kraang copied me.”
He opened up his human body, revealing the Kraang alien body inside. The small, brainlike creature looked peaceful.
“I am a member of the Utrom tribe,” he continued, “a small group of Kraang defectors. We broke away from the Kraang Hive Mind many centuries ago.”
Donnie nodded, looking very interested in this piece of information. Even in a tense situation, he loved learning something new. “Fascinating. It makes sense the Kraang share a hive mind. A really stupid hive mind!” Then he realized what he’d just said. “Um, no offense …”
Bishop closed his human body, hiding himself inside again. “I have broken my Utrom vow not to intervene in earthly matters, but I must warn you: the Triceratons are coming.”
The Turtles, April, and Casey couldn’t believe it. They’d just recently fought a single Triceraton alien and beaten him, stopping him from sending a signal beacon into space. “The Triceratons?” Leo gasped. “As in plural? But we stopped the beacon!”
Bishop shook his head. “No. They are coming, and they are carrying enough firepower to destroy the entire solar system.”
Mikey gulped. “Could you repeat that last part?”
“The news gets worse,” Bishop went on. “The Kraang have finally fixed the Technodrome and are about to invade once more.”
The Turtles couldn’t believe it. The Technodrome? The Technodrome was the Kraang’s huge and deadly weapon, an enormous spaceship with terrifying firepower. The Turtles thought it was lying at the bottom of the ocean, broken.
“Do you have any more terrible news, Bishop, or is that it?” Raph growled.
The alien turned toward Raph, fixing his stare on him. “If the Triceratons arrive when the Techno-drome rises from the sea, they will home in on this planet and vaporize it.”
The Turtles, April, and Casey looked totally freaked out. “Sorry I asked,” Raph said.
April stepped forward. “Bishop,” she asked, “why do the Triceratons hate the Kraang?”
“For millennia the two species have fought over Dimension X,” Bishop explained, walking over to a table. He took a small device out of his pocket, placed it on the table, and pressed a button. A holographic image appeared above the device: Triceratons battling Kraang on the floating islands of Dimension X. “The Kraang used their intelligence to battle their foe, while the Triceratons relied on brute strength and cunning.”
The holographic image shifted. In space, Kraang Technodromes shot powerful laser blasts at Triceraton raptor fighter ships and a huge Triceraton mother ship. The Turtles stared at the miniature battle, fascinated.
“It seemed the Triceratons would win,” Bishop said, “but the Kraang used the most powerful weapon in the universe… .”
“Sarcasm?” Mikey guessed.
“A black hole generator.”
In the holographic projection, an immense weapon generated a black hole.
“It wiped out the Triceratons’ entire planet.”
The tiny planet was sucked into the miniature black hole with a POP! The Triceraton mother ship was surrounded by Triceraton raptor fighters.
“Only a single Triceraton fleet of spaceships survived. They vowed vengeance against the Kraang, at whatever cost.”
Bishop pushed a button and the holographic projection vanished. “The battle may have ended, but the war still rages across Dimension X.”
Everyone stared silently, awed by what they had seen. Then Leo spoke up. “Why are you helping us, Bishop?”
Bishop cocked his head, as though he were slightly puzzled by his own actions. “Because … I have watched you. I have seen the good you have done in quiet, in secrecy, simply for the sake of goodness. That is why I help you. Now … shall we begin?”
Deep below the streets of New York, in an abandoned subway station, the Turtles lived and trained in their lair with their father, Master Splinter. Splinter stood in the doorway of Donnie’s lab, reassuring Leatherhead, a fierce mutant who had started life as a pet alligator.
“Do not worry, Leatherhead,” Splinter said in his calm voice. He gestured toward Slash and Doc Rockwell. “They are still asleep. They will heal in time, but they need rest.”
Slash, a massive mutant who had begun life as a pet turtle, was bandaged up. Doc Rockwell, also known as Mad Monkey, a brilliant scientist who had mutated into a giant monkey with telepathic powers, had an ice pack on his head. Both had been injured fighting the Triceraton.
Leatherhead looked as grateful as a large, mutant reptile could look. “Thank you, great Splinter, for caring for my friends.”
The Turtles, April, and Casey entered the lair’s common room, bringing Bishop with them.
“We’re back, everyone!” Mikey sang out. “And we’ve brought a new pal!”
When Splinter and Leatherhead saw Bishop, their mouths fell open. Leatherhead was i
nstantly so furious that he sounded like a mighty engine revving up. “Kra … Kraaaa … KRAAAAANNNNGGG!”
“No! No, wait!” April cried, trying to stop him from attacking Bishop.
Too late.
Leatherhead swung his arms and snapped his jaws at Bishop. But the Utrom Kraang dodged the mutant reptile’s attack just as easily as he had the Turtles’. Within seconds, he tripped Leatherhead and slammed him to the ground.
“Leatherhead! Calm down, dude!” Mikey said. “It’s okay. This is Bishop. He’s a good Kraang! An Oolong!”
“Utrom,” Donnie corrected his brother. “He’s not like the others!”
“I do not trust him,” Leatherhead growled, staring at Bishop.
Leo assumed his role as leader. “All right, here’s the plan. Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Leatherhead—you take the Sub. Infiltrate and stop the Technodrome underwater, before it launches. But if it does launch, the rest of us will take it out from the Turtle Blimp.”
Splinter looked concerned. “The Technodrome? Leonardo, what is going on here?”
“There’s no time to explain, Sensei,” Leo said. “You just have to trust me when I say the whole world is at stake—and only we can save it.”
At the bottom of the bay, deep in the cold seawater, sat the Technodrome, stuck in the mud. Inside, on the bridge of the gigantic flying weapon, Kraang Subprime was excited. The Kraang’s second-in-command and master spy still wore the robotic disguise he’d worn when he went undercover as Irma, April’s friend from school. But the disguise was open, revealing the alien inside.
“Finally!” he cried excitedly. “After two Earth-years of repairs, miscalculations, and general mess-ups, the Technodrome is ready to fly again! Voilà!”
Using his tentacle instead of a robotic arm, Kraang Subprime pressed a button on a control panel. The Technodrome started up, sputtered, and died with a metallic wheeze.
Kraang Prime, the leader of the aliens, glared at Kraang Subprime, annoyed. “What is that which is known as the problem, Kraang Subprime?”
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.
He kept pushing the button, but the Technodrome kept sputtering, failing to start up. The purple face of Kraang Prime scowled even more than usual.
High overhead, above the bay, Leo, April, Casey, and Bishop floated slowly through the sky in the Turtle Blimp. They were tracking the Turtle Sub below the surface.
“All right,” Leo said. “Let’s hope Raph’s team can take down the Drome.”
“And if they cannot,” Bishop added, “we must destroy it. At any cost.”
They looked at the explosives rigged to the carriage of the Blimp. Casey smiled, always happy to see anything blow up, but April wasn’t so sure about their plan… .
Below the waves, the Turtle Sub swam through the water, diving down toward the Technodrome. Donnie was driving. When he’d gained enough distance from the gigantic weapon, he powered the Sub down.
Raph, Mikey, Donnie, and Leatherhead launched themselves out of the craft and swam to the Technodrome. None of the Kraang saw their approach. With his massive strength, Leatherhead tore a hole in the side of the metal Drome and the four of them slipped through… .
Back on the bridge, Kraang Subprime’s button-pushing was growing more frantic. “Don’t worry, oh Heinous One!” he said to Kraang Prime. “Kraang Subprime will get this baby started in two shakes of a tentacle. Heh …”
Suddenly, an alarm sounded! VREEE! VREEE! VREEE! VREEE!
“NOW WHAT?” Kraang Prime thundered. “Why is this not Kraang Prime’s day? WHY?!”
In a corridor of the Technodrome, the alarm blared as Raph, Donnie, Leatherhead, and Mikey ran, fighting throngs of Kraang as they made their way through the shiplike weapon. Raph spotted Kraang aiming a huge cannon at them. “Leatherhead! Take that cannon DOWN!”
Roaring, Leatherhead leaped toward the cannon, toppling it just as it fired! FWOOM! Mikey and Donnie were busy knocking down more Kraang.
“We gotta get to the core!” Donnie yelled. “MOVE!”
Battling the Kraang, they made their way down the hallway… .
On the bridge, Kraang Subprime was still punching the ignition button over and over. “Come on, come on … ,” he muttered, panicking.
Finally, the Technodrome hummed to life!
“YES!” he cried joyfully. “Sweet Mother of Kraang!”
“The Technodrome … RISES!” Kraang Prime announced in evil triumph.
Up in the Turtle Blimp, Leo, April, Casey, and Bishop watched as the surface of the water began to boil. Then … WHOOSH! The gigantic Techno-drome emerged, dripping, from the bay, and rose into the air!
“Oh, no,” April said in a small voice.
“That is just so awesome!” Casey exclaimed, “and terrifying.”
The massive Technodrome rose, higher and higher. It was so gigantic that it made the Turtle Blimp look like a kid’s birthday balloon.
Leo yelled into his T-phone. “Raph! You guys have two minutes to blow that thing before we do!”
Raph’s voice crackled through the T-phone. “Back off, man! We’re heading to the core now!”
Back on the bridge, Kraang Prime proudly looked at a monitor that showed the Technodrome hovering above the Earth’s surface. “Excellent work, Kraang Subprime! Now to mutate the WORLD!”
A Kraang-droid approached Kraang Subprime. “Kraang Subprime, that which is known as a balloon is heading for that which is known as—”
“Just spit it out already!” Kraang Subprime barked impatiently.
“Okay, look!” the Kraang-droid said, pointing at the monitor.
Kraang Subprime turned just in time to see the Turtle Blimp flying straight into the side of the Technodrome with all the explosives strapped to its carriage!
“You gotta be Kraanging me!” he yelled.
BOOM! A huge explosion rocked the Techno-drome.
Outside, Leo, April, Casey, and Bishop sailed through the sky wearing glider wings. They aimed for the massive hole they’d just blasted in the side of the Technodrome.
“I told ya it wouldn’t be enough to bring down the ship!” Casey cried. “Casey Jones knows explosives!”
Leo led the way toward the hole. “That wasn’t the point, Casey! We just need a way in! And we’ve got it!”
They sailed through the hole into a giant corridor. Immediately, they were in a fight with the Kraang. Leo hurled shurikens while Bishop blasted away with his lasers.
Bishop kept cool under fire. “Hopefully, Raphael’s team will reach the core without being disintegrated. Most likely not.”
“You’re such an optimist!” April observed.
The four of them dropped their glider wings and continued on foot, running deeper into the ship.
In a different part of the Technodrome, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Leatherhead found themselves surrounded!
“Turtle and alligator mutants,” a Kraang-droid ordered, “you will raise that which is known as forelimbs.”
They had no choice. They raised their hands.
Meanwhile, Leo, Bishop, April, and Casey were running along a corridor, taking down Kraang as they went. Leo used his katana swords to slash two Kraang-droids. Casey battered another with his bat, while April used her tessen fan to deflect laser blasts.
“Where to, Bishop?” April shouted.
Using his incredible martial arts moves, Bishop wiped out five Kraang-droids in four seconds flat. He dusted off his jacket and adjusted his crooked sunglasses. “This way,” he said calmly.
He raced off. Leo, April, and Casey followed. They stopped suddenly when they spotted Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Leatherhead on a level below them.
They were prisoners.
With their weapons drawn, Kraang-droids escorted Raph, Donnie, Mikey, and Leatherhead onto the bridge.
Kraang Prime and Kraang Subprime were waiting.
“This plan just keeps goin’ south,” Raph muttered.
Kraang Subprime flashed an evil grin. “Well, if it i
sn’t the Turtles and that stupid alligator thing that shouts ‘Kraang’ all the time! Looks like he’s not shouting now!”
High above them, Leo, April, Casey, and Bishop were watching. They had managed to stay out of sight so far. Leo was waiting for the right moment to attack the chamber full of Kraang and rescue the others. If the right moment ever came …
“Welcome, Earth Creatures!” Kraang Prime sneered, gloating over his prisoners. “You are about to enjoy that which is known as the invasion of Earth!”
He and Kraang Subprime burst into sickening laughter. Raph was about to say something defiant when another alarm sounded! VREEE! VREEE! VREEE! VREEE!
Kraang Subprime looked furious. “What now? Seriously? Again?!”
He ran over to the monitor to see what was going on outside the Technodrome. What he saw amazed and appalled him: the Triceraton mother ship flying close to the Earth’s moon!
Kraang Prime was shocked, too. “The … the … Triceratons? Here? Now?”
“No, no, no, no, no, NO!” Kraang Subprime cried. “Not the Triceratons! Not here! Not NOW!” He flailed his tentacles in the air, frustrated at this maddening turn of events.
On every monitor aboard the Technodrome, a hulking Triceraton with a broken horn, a scarred face, and a steel beak appeared. His cold eyes stared out from the screens for a moment. Then he spoke… .
“Greetings, Sub-Life-Forms of Earth. I am Captain Mozar of the Triceraton Empire.”
Who you calling sub-life-forms? Mikey thought. Also, what are sub-life-forms?
Captain Mozar didn’t take over just the video screens aboard the Technodrome. He could be seen on TVs and cell phones all over Earth. Some people stopped on the street to watch him on TVs for sale in shop windows.
“Let it be known,” the Triceraton leader continued, “that your planet is infested with Kraang, an insidious alien bent on mutating Earth into their own home world.”
