The Crime Fighter Collection

by Matthew J Gilbert (retail)

  They weren’t properly attached!

  The Sub floated silently. It was completely defenseless against the monster.

  “Wow, that is fast!” Mikey said, watching the engines disappear into the distance.

  “Pedal! Faster!” Donnie frantically shouted.

  Leo, Raph, and Mikey snapped back to the moment and hit the stationary bikes once more. They were exhausted, and in no condition to pedal their way to safety, but they had no choice.

  “Feelin’ the burn!” Mikey said, pedaling furiously.

  Just then, the Turtle Sub creaked loudly. And kept creaking. Almost like something was crushing it like a tin can. The walls closed in.

  The sea monster had the Sub in its grasp, its long tail and flippers enveloping the craft completely. It squeezed harder.

  “That’s it! It’s got us! We’re all gonna die!” Donnie screamed.

  The Turtles braced themselves for implosion, locking their eyes shut and listening to the strained sounds of the Sub caving under the pressure.

  Then everything stopped.

  The creaking sounds ceased, giving way to a different kind of noise altogether—a strange, guttural animal noise the Turtles had never heard before. They weren’t scary sounds. They were almost soothing. A musical animal call never heard on planet Earth before.

  Raph turned to his brothers and let out a disgusted noise of his own. Leo felt the pressure loosen up on the walls and realized that the monster wasn’t squashing the Sub.

  It was hugging it.

  “I think it’s in love,” Leo said.

  “Hey!” Mikey protested, grossed out. “We’re not that kind of Sub!”

  Donnie saw his chance. He pulled a lever, releasing small stun-mines from the Sub’s weapon hatches. The explosives detonated, scaring the beast away from its submarine soul mate.

  Mikey felt a little bad that the Turtles had to break the monster’s heart. But as they pedaled the Sub away, he knew the sea monster wouldn’t be sad for long. After all, there were plenty of fish in the sea.

  Karai’s Dragon Chopper screeched to a stop. She cut the engine and investigated a few back alleys on foot. It was only a matter of time before she found April and brought her back to Shredder like a trophy.

  Suddenly, April sprang up behind her, swinging the pizza guy’s bike helmet like a weapon.

  “You’ve got guts,” Karai admitted, evading April’s attack. “Let’s see if I can pound that out of you.”

  April stood her ground. She locked eyes with Karai, snapping a strange-looking fan out of her purse.

  “A tessen,” Karai said, impressed by April’s weapon of choice. It looked like an ordinary fan, but it was actually made of metal and wood—and was sharp enough to cut through steel. “It’s beautiful and unassuming, but very powerful … in the right hands.”

  April lunged forward, using the tessen like a sword. She sliced through the air furiously. Karai used her ninja know-how and lightning-fast reflexes to reverse April’s move and swipe the tessen away. Karai threw it to the ground, taunting her.

  Karai opened up her stance, and April attacked. She thought back to the katas that Master Splinter had taught her: power-punching in set patterns. She fought hard, determined to land a hit on Karai, who dodged the strikes gracefully.

  This is too easy, Karai thought, just as she felt the wind get knocked out of her and an insane pain shoot through her torso. April had landed a kick!

  Karai was stunned. It wasn’t often that someone surprised her in battle. She doubled over. “Good one.”

  “Glad you enjoyed it.” April scowled.

  “Now it’s my turn.”

  Karai made short work of April, pummeling her blow by blow. With every hit, it became more and more difficult for April to pick herself up again. And with a combo of punches and kicks, Karai knocked April clear out of the alley and onto the busy sidewalk.

  “What makes you so special?” Karai said bitterly. “You’re the center of an alien conspiracy, protected by mutants, and trained by a great ninja master. Why?”

  “I don’t know.” April winced, staggering back up on her feet. Then, in a burst of rage, she grabbed Karai in a wrestling hold. The two girls grappled, unaware that they were inching closer to the subway entrance.

  “I’m flunking trig, my friends are mutants, aliens got my dad, and I lost my mother!” April yelled.

  Karai froze, abruptly letting go of April. “You lost your mother, too?” she asked with a tremble in her voice, backing off.

  Splinter’s teachings echoed through April’s mind: The key is to unbalance your opponent.

  Noticing they were at the top of the subway stairwell, April saw her opportunity to unbalance Karai. She used her opponent’s moment of hesitation to deliver a hard kick. Karai tumbled down the stairs and vanished into the shadows of the subway.

  In that moment, a whole new April stood up. Gone was the damsel in distress. The girl who stood at the top of those stairs was a true kunoichi now. Exhausted and bruised but triumphant!

  April smiled. “Not bad for a nobody.”

  The moment the Turtles docked the Sub outside the lair, Donnie dialed April on his T-Phone. With every unanswered ring, he became more anxious.

  “Come on, April, come on, April …”

  “Hey, Donnie!” he heard her voice say over the speaker.

  Instant relief washed over him. “April! You’re okay!” He was so overjoyed that he yelled it through the sewers at the top of his lungs. “You hear that, guys? My sweet princess is alive!”

  And with that, Donnie’s face turned bright red. “Did I mute that?” he asked her.

  “Let’s just agree that you did,” April replied.

  Normally, that would have mortified Donnie. But not today. His not-so-secret crush was coming home! He smiled. “You got it!”

  A short while later, the Turtles and Master Splinter were gathered around April, listening to her recount her fight with Karai. “When her guard was down, I flipped her down the subway steps and bolted!”

  Amazed by her story, and proud of her bravery, each of the Turtles cheered her on in their own way.

  “That is awesome!” Donnie said, beaming.

  “You rock!” Mikey complimented her.

  “Kick-butt!” Raph agreed.

  “Impressive, April. You used your training well,” Master Splinter said. “And you fulfilled the most important goal of the ninja—to come home alive.”

  “Thank you, Sensei.” April bowed. “Looks like I can take care of myself after all.”

  “Yes. And no.”

  April gave her master a puzzled look. He was obviously proud of her, but his solemn tone indicated he was about to give her some bad news.

  “Karai may have failed this time,” Splinter told her. “But if Shredder wants you, he will stop at nothing to find you. And with the Kraang after you as well, the wisest decision is for you to remain here, in the sewer, with us.”

  April’s eyes widened. “What?!”

  “That’s great!” Donnie blurted out—until he looked up at an obviously devastated April. He masked his excitement and mumbled, “I mean, that’s horrible … that your life as you know it is over … and I’ll shut up now.”

  “I can’t stay down here!” April protested. “I mean, what about school? My friends? Everything?!”

  “April, Master Splinter’s right,” Leo said, trying to reason with her. “Until we stop Shredder and the Kraang, this is the only place you’re safe.”

  April stared down at the floor, deep in thought. Am I really about to give up my normal life?

  She looked around the room at the faces of the mutants who wanted to help her. With her dad out of the picture, they were the closest thing she had to a family.

  “So once we stop them, I can have my life back?” April asked.

  “Yes,” Leo replied.

  And with that, April made up her mind. She looked up at Master Splinter and the others with confidence—that same confid
ence she had gained when she had bested Karai. If she could do that, she could do anything.

  Her eyes narrowed. She was ready for whatever challenges were ahead of her.

  “Let’s get started.”