The Crime Fighter Collection

by Matthew J Gilbert (retail)

  “No! Stop it! Stop it!” Mikey yelled, doing his best to keep Raph at bay.

  “Raph!” yelled Leo.

  Suddenly, they all heard a low groan coming from the couch in the living room. The brotherly bickering would have to wait: Kirby was slowly regaining consciousness.

  “Mr. O’Neil,” Donnie said softly. “Are you okay?”

  Remembering only fragments of last night’s double-cross, Kirby hung his head in shame. “I’ve done something terrible,” he confessed.

  “It wasn’t your fault, Mr. O’Neil,” Donnie reassured him. “Just tell us what happened.”

  Kirby sighed, the weight of the world on his shoulders. “It appears the Kraang have formed an alliance with your enemy, Shredder.”

  That was the last thing Leo wanted to hear. “Shredder and the Kraang are working together?”

  “That’s not all,” Kirby admitted. “I fear the Shredder has handed April over to the Kraang.”

  Donnie’s heart began to pound. “Shredder kidnapped April!”

  “Dudes, this is getting freakier by the minute!” Mikey said.

  “Sensei must have gone after her,” Raph realized, putting the pieces of the night together.

  “So where is April now?” Donnie asked.

  “Shredder said he would hand April over to the Kraang,” Kirby told them. “They’re taking her to the Technodrome.”

  As if he had summoned it by name, Kirby saw the Technodrome appear on the TV in front of him. The local news was reporting the warship’s path of destruction throughout the city.

  Kirby and the Turtles watched as an intrepid news anchor—with a long, complicated name—stood in front of the terrifying scene: “This is Carlos Chiang O’Brien Gambe here. Pandemonium in the streets as a ‘techno-terror-dome’ approaches downtown.”

  Talking over the TV volume, Raph said, “We just escaped that freaky sphere. Now we gotta break into it?”

  Kirby nodded. “In a matter of hours, the world we know will be gone. The Kraang want April to help in their conquest of Earth!”

  Things were looking bleak for the Turtles: Their sensei was nowhere to be found. Their friend was being held captive. And their planet was in grave danger. They had to save the day—no one else could.

  They knew what they had to do.

  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were heading back to the Technodrome.

  April slowly opened her eyes. With her vision temporarily blurred, she felt like her entire head was in a fog. She was exhausted; her arms and legs throbbed with pain. She could barely move. Where the heck was she? A hospital? It certainly didn’t smell like any hospital she’d ever visited. It took her eyes a few moments to adjust.

  She heard a booming voice say, “April O’Neil.”

  Her vision cleared, and now she understood why she couldn’t move. There were restraints around her wrists and ankles! She was trapped inside a waking nightmare, held captive inside a sleek control room, surrounded by strange alien devices and video screens. Right in front of her was the biggest Kraang she’d ever seen! Its face stretched from ceiling to floor, set inside a gigantic compartment in the wall.

  With a devious smile, it said, “April O’Neil. Kraang has waited a long time.”

  This wasn’t just a giant Kraang, April realized. It had to be a leader, an elder of theirs. A Kraang far more dangerous than she’d ever encountered. She had no choice but to stare directly into the cold, slimy eyes of their ruler . . . Kraang Prime!

  “Where am I? What’s going on?” April asked.

  “Like all Kraang, I am called Kraang,” Kraang Prime said coyly. And then it jokingly added, “But you can call me Kraang.” It could feel her fear. Her emotions were amplified to Kraang Prime’s hyper senses, and it was a sensational feeling for the extra-dimensional kingpin. The time had come to truly frighten her.

  “Kraang has need of this planet for Kraang to live on,” it said, relishing her reaction to this news.

  “Um, that’s great, but . . . we’re kind of using it,” April said. “So you came all this way for nothing? That’s a bummer.”

  “No, Kraang came all this way for you, April O’Neil,” it snarled back.

  “Aw, you shouldn’t have. No, really. You shouldn’t have,” she said. April stared at Kraang Prime in disbelief. There was no way all of this could be about her. The Kraang needed scientists to help with their evil plot, and she was no scientist. Up until her father’s kidnapping, when she was actually applying herself at Roosevelt High School, she was barely passing remedial biology! They had the wrong girl.

  Kraang Prime could sense that April didn’t know the truth about herself. It decided to enlighten her.

  “Your mental energy is uniquely attuned to this universe,” Kraang Prime explained. But words could only go so far between the two species. So it decided to psychically “push” the memories into her head, making her remember.

  Under Kraang’s influence, April experienced her memories in high-speed flashes, one after the other. She recalled the lab monkey she had investigated with Donnie a while ago, and how she had somehow known the mutant’s true hidden identity by simply listening to its feelings. Or how, because of some unexplainable instinct, she had been able to excel in her kunoichi training with Splinter, despite being a total ninjutsu novice. There was something different about her lately. She wasn’t feeling like her typical self. At times, she felt like her head might explode because of some unseen force. And now she knew why. She was psychic!

  “Once Kraang gains this ability, Kraang will transform your world into a world for Kraang,” it proudly announced.

  “And how are you going to do that exactly?” April asked hesitantly.

  Just then, a mechanism hummed to life with a high-pitched drilling sound. April saw a titanium arm extending toward her. At its very tip was a long, stabbing needle. She struggled, trying to pull away, but it was no use. It was like she was being moved toward it—when she realized she was actually connected to this terrifying machine!

  As the machine’s arm wound around her, April began to feel dizzy. The last thing she remembered before losing consciousness was opening her mouth to scream.

  The fight raged on between Splinter and Shredder. Neither had a clear edge. Both were ninja masters, with lifetimes of experience between them, and as the highest-decorated warriors of their respective ninjutsu arts, they were able to match each other’s skills step for step. This meant pure deadlock as every kick was met with a kick, every punch with a punch.

  Splinter tried to surprise Shredder with a fast strike from his rokushaku bo, but Shredder caught the end of the weapon in his blades, pushing his enemy back with a forceful move.

  Before Shredder could counter, Splinter pushed a button and released a concealed metal spear tip from the end of his bo. Shredder dodged just in time for the glinting tip of the blade to miss his face by a hair.

  Now it was the Shredder’s turn to attack. He faced his target, then lunged forward with his blades drawn and unleashed a barrage of strikes before finally slicing Splinter’s bo in half!

  Never breaking their stances, the two circled each other, always at the ready for the other’s pounce.

  “Why must you persist in this insanity?” Splinter asked Shredder.

  To Splinter’s surprise, Shredder answered, “You took Tang Shen from me!”

  “She was never yours!” Splinter defiantly shouted back.

  And with the jagged piece of broken bo still in his hands, Splinter revealed a secret grappling hook. He swung its chain right as Shredder moved for another attack, taking his legs out and launching him up with one firm pull.

  The Technodrome brought chaos to the streets of New York City. Throngs of people tried to flee its path, but the war machine’s monumental mass made that nearly impossible!

  A terrified news reporter and a cameraman were on the scene. “The aliens are here!” the reporter screamed into the camera. “That’s right, folks, run for your ever-loving lives, becau
se they’re abducting us!”

  Suddenly, one of the Technodrome’s hydraulic panels opened, releasing a fleet of flying pods!

  “That’s right, men, women, children—even pets aren’t safe!” the reporter yelled. A Kraang pod flew down and scooped him up into the ship.

  That was the end of his broadcast!

  People everywhere were being abducted by the Kraang pods: little old ladies, street performers, math teachers. No one was safe!

  In the cockpit of one of the pods, a Kraang-droid pilot repeated its orders from high command. “Kraang must collect human specimens for Kraang.”

  But some of the droids may have been confused about what the word human meant. Some pods were busy abducting alley cats and park pigeons!

  Meanwhile, a few blocks away, police officers attempted to maintain law and order during the invasion. “Don’t worry, ma’am, the cops are here!” an officer said as he helped a lady to safety. For a brief moment, it seemed he had saved the day—until he was suddenly sucked up into the pod. “Help!” he pleaded. “They’re gonna probe me!”

  Not far away, the Turtles hid behind the remains of a burnt car, watching the Technodrome. They were looking for a way to bust inside and rescue April!

  Raph had his game face on. “So, how do we get up there?” he asked.

  Leo watched carefully: it seemed the only openings to the Technodrome were the docking hatches for the pods. “We gotta get on one of those pods,” he deduced out loud.

  “But how?” Donnie asked, noticing the ground troop of bots that were heavily armed and watching the street.

  “We could create a diversion,” Leo answered.

  “Excuse me,” Raph interrupted. “How many bots are standing guard?”

  “Eight.”

  “I see.”

  And with that, Raph backed into the shadows.

  Mikey was thinking, too. “We dress up like robots . . . sneak in,” he suggested.

  “Or . . . ,” Donnie said, ignoring Mikey, “I could try to override their security codes by—”

  “Yaaaa!”

  The sound of Raph’s signature war cry instantly silenced them.

  One by one, Raph slashed and stabbed his way through the rest of the Kraang-droids. Soon there was nothing left but robot parts littering the street, a titanium leg here, a metallic hand there. And for his final trick, Raph leaped off the remains of an exoskeleton, launching himself into the air. He caught a hovering space-pod and pulled it down to earth!

  Stunned, Leo could only say, “Or . . . that . . . might work. Let’s go!”

  SMASH! Shredder’s fist narrowly missed Splinter’s face. Somehow, despite the growing intensity of their fight, the two ninja masters showed no signs of exhaustion—only anger. Shredder could see the fire in his opponent’s eyes. It was a fire he hadn’t seen since that fateful night in Japan years ago.

  “You never had anything but your hatred, and if you defeat me, you will have nothing!” Splinter reminded him, and hurled his jagged spear through the air.

  With catlike reflexes, Shredder sensed the attack and sprang toward the ceiling, performing a backflip dodge that few warriors in the world could execute. The tip of Splinter’s spear flew a fraction of an inch from Shredder’s eyes, missing its mark.

  “That is where you are wrong,” Shredder taunted as he landed on his feet.

  Splinter considered this for a moment. He knew Shredder had nothing to live for. That was why he fought with zero hesitation, never fearing death. But that statement . . . He seemed so confident. What did he have up his sleeve?

  “You took something from me, so I took something from you,” Shredder confessed with an evil grin. “Your daughter!”

  A grave look came over Splinter’s face. It couldn’t be. He thought back to that painful night.The night he’d lost his family forever. Or had he?

  Tang Shen’s screams echoed through his memories as he thought of the flames his enemy—Oroku Saki—had set to their home. He recalled seeing Oroku Saki running away from the fire, carrying something in his arms. But all these years he’d assumed it was a weapon of some kind, or the torch Saki had used to set the blaze. Never once did he consider it might have been a child. His child. Baby Miwa . . .

  Could the daughter of Hamato Yoshi be alive after all these years?

  The shock snapped Splinter back to reality. The thought of his only child being raised by Shredder—as his own—was far too much to bear. “No! It can’t be!” he yelled.

  Seeing Splinter’s distraction as the golden opportunity he’d been waiting for, Shredder savagely attacked. The tables had turned!

  Hitching a ride on their hijacked space-pod, the Turtles got closer and closer to the Technodrome. They could begin to see inside the warship’s loading bay. It was a sleek network of mechanical arms that were docking incoming pods and releasing new ones for transport. A hatch leading into the bowels of the ship was just ahead of it. There were no Kraang in sight!

  As one of the arms gently guided their space-pod into port, the Turtles saw they were approaching the hydraulic hatch. They prepared for it to open. “Okay, guys, this is it. On three,” Leo said. He counted off: “One . . . two . . . three!”

  They leaped together just as the ship’s hatch opened. Their plans were suddenly turned upside down . . . literally! Defying all physics, the Turtles found themselves flying upward! They flailed, trying to catch the wall as they flew past, but it was no use. They hit the ceiling at full speed.

  “What the heck’s going on?!” Raph yelled.

  “I think the Kraang forgot to pay their gravity bill!” Mikey replied.

  “It appears the Kraang have developed a way to generate anti-gravitons,” Donnie informed them as he struggled against the metal ceiling.

  “Is there any way for you to generate anti-anti-gravitons?” Leo asked.

  Donnie turned to Leo, correcting him. “You mean gravitons?”

  “Yes!”

  “No.”

  While Leo and Donnie snapped at each other, Mikey was turning even greener. And for a Turtle, who was already pretty green, this could only mean one thing. “Guys, I’m gonna throw up . . . or down! Or maybe sideways! But one thing’s for sure . . . I’m majorly gonna throw!”

  Leo knew they needed a way out of the situation, and fast! No one wanted to be covered in a comet of Mikey’s vomit! He needed to get their minds off the nausea.

  “We still have a job to do,” he reminded them. “So let’s go.”

  Using all of his strength, Leo pushed himself off the ceiling and waved his arms to propel his body toward the exit. At first, it was strange. But it soon became easier, like swimming . . . in thin air! The other Turtles saw this and followed his example.

  Slowly getting the hang of zero gravity, the Turtles made their way deeper into the Technodrome, floating from hiding spot to hiding spot. They eventually came to an area that was filled with Kraang. There were Kraang-droids floating around, too. And thanks to the zero gravity, they were faster than usual and able to keep a tight patrol on this area of the ship.

  Mikey was feeling better now, and having a blast flying around. “Zero-G is bangin’! The Kraang should turn this into a carnival ride!” he shouted.

  “I think they’re more interested in using it to destroy the earth,” Leo told him.

  Mikey shrugged. “It could do both.”

  Suddenly, a piercing wail startled them all into silence. It sounded familiar, like a girl’s scream.

  “Oh no! It’s April!” Donnie exclaimed.

  “Can you say that a little louder?” Leo said in a hushed yet angry tone. “I don’t think the entire Technodrome heard you!”

  “Never mind,” Raph said, looking around. “They did.”

  A swarm of Kraang-droids was closing in on them, with their blasters ready.

  The Turtles were surrounded!

  April O’Neil had a throbbing headache, and in her dizzy state, she could barely keep her eyes open. She could feel the helm
et of draining tubes that had been attached to her forehead. If this were an ordinary hospital room, those tubes would have been pumping vitamins or fluids into her body. But here, aboard the Technodrome, it was connecting her directly to Kraang Prime, allowing the ruler of the Kraang to siphon her psychic energy at a frightening rate.

  A strange yet familiar symbol on Kraang Prime’s forehead began to glow. The Kraang ruler laughed diabolically, jarring April back into consciousness for a moment.

  “Yes! Yes!” it growled, its power growing.

  Squinting, April saw the tubes pump more of her energy, making the head-symbol light shine brighter, almost blinding her.

  “It’s working!” Kraang Prime proclaimed as its newly acquired power began to charge up the Technodrome. All across the ship, lights flickered on. Outside, even the giant eye atop the dome became illuminated.

  April wasn’t quite sure what was happening, and she was starting to think she might not live long enough to find out.

  The Turtles were in the thick of battle with the Kraang-droids when they felt a rumble like an earthquake.

  “That can’t be good,” Leo said, noticing how unstable their alien surroundings had become. It was clear the ship was slowly transforming.

  When the walls of the Technodrome finally stopped shaking, the Turtles went back to fighting

  the Kraang-droids. Leo saw more droids coming toward them in sophisticated fly-over attack patterns. But thanks to the zero gravity, the Turtles managed to dodge the Kraang’s energy bolts by bouncing between the walls.

  And then something clicked in Leo’s mind. If they wanted to get the advantage in this midair matchup, they’d have to adapt and use their newfound ability to fly!

  As the next wave charged them, Leo drew his trusty katanas and flung himself forward in a spinning motion. The zero-G intensified his momentum and sent him zipping through the air like a whirling ninja saw blade. With a tight full-body spiral, Leo cut through a battalion of bots without even breaking a sweat.