by 3 Ninja Tales (The Rise of Tiger Claw; The Casey Chronicles; Mutants in Space!) (retail) (epub)
“Fine,” she said defiantly. “You want a fight?”
But out of nowhere, a Footbot snuck up on her and pinned her arms behind her back. Her war fan fell limply to the ground. April’s fight was over. But the Foot’s was just getting started.
The bots moved in unison, like a pack of wolves, closing in on her from all sides. More weapons began to appear: an arsenal of scythes, katanas, and spikes. The bots’ eyes burned red.
April struggled to break free, but the Footbot held her with an iron grip. April feared her bones might break under the pressure. She winced, bracing for the worst. …
But a familiar weapon pierced the Footbot right in front of her. The bot collapsed into a heap of scrap metal.
“Donnie!” April exclaimed. He was holding the bo staff that had just saved her life. The same one that was about to finish off the rest of the Footbots.
In a blur of green, Donnie somersaulted through the air, taking out Footbot after Footbot. He cracked their CPUs with his staff, then stomped their circuits into oblivion. Donnie deployed his secret bo staff blade and destroyed the bot holding April with a sharp strike.
“Took you long enough,” April joked, with a sigh of relief.
“I’m sorry! I had to figure out your coordinates on the T-Phone—”
Before Donnie could finish his thought, two ninja stars flew at them.
Karai!
Shredder’s daughter was flanked by more Footbots. “Well, I was hoping for all the Turtles to see this … but I guess one’s good enough.”
Donnie readied his bo staff once more. He’d just gotten April back in his life, and he wasn’t about to lose her again!
At that exact moment, Leo, Raph, and Mikey were facing down a hailstorm of blaster fire. White-hot lasers whizzed by their shells as they fanned out.
Leo was the first to strike. The incoming blasts were so rapid he had no choice but to keep his distance and launch ninja stars. He could hear the metal projectiles connect with a screech. He vaulted forward and unsheathed his trusty katanas, slicing a droid at the knees.
Raph bolted next. He surprised two Kraang-droids with a stiff-arm sai attack.
The Turtles were feeling pretty good … until a dozen more Kraang-droids arrived. The fresh droids shot up the room, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Mikey took a deep breath and sprang into action. He released the secret chain from his nunchucks and caught the barrel of a Kraang-droid’s blaster in one swift move. The droid squeezed the trigger, releasing a steady bombardment of laser-fire. Mikey quickly pulled back on the chain and spun the droid. The whirling dervish took out every other droid in the room. Their systems were fried before their exoskeletons hit the floor.
Leo dispatched the final shooter with a crane kick. Victory was theirs!
All that was left were a few defenseless Kraang brains in their tiny floating pods. These aliens hovered around their dormant cybernetic secret weapon, the Dark Ninja Robot. They tapped some commands into their computers.
The Dark Ninja Robot looked exactly like Shredder. It stood nearly eight feet tall, with barbaric proportions and a steely mask.
Mikey couldn’t believe how cool it was. “Whoa, that thing is awesome!” he exclaimed. And then he added, “In an evil kind of way.”
The sound of popping cables and depressurized air startled them all back to reality. A cluster of wires detached from the Dark Ninja Robot, allowing its platform to shift so its boots could touch the ground.
It was powering up!
“Ummm, guys,” Leo said nervously. “The giant robo-ninja just finished charging!”
Its eyes suddenly glowed red.
“You don’t look so tough!” Mikey yelled as he ran toward it, spinning his nunchucks. He went airborne for a dive attack, when—
The Dark Ninja Robot’s head snapped up to attention, tracking Mikey’s trajectory. A shape made of brilliant light materialized in its hand. It was a thin, curved beam crackling with white-hot energy.
It was a plasma whip!
The robot cracked it masterfully, slashing Mikey to the floor with a thud.
Raph gasped. “Mikey!”
The Dark Ninja Robot’s head swiveled toward Raph. Its red eyes emitted a heat ray! Raph cartwheeled out of its scorching path.
Leo joined Raph for a two-on-one battle. Both Turtles pulled their weapons, ready to attack. But the robot had something else up its sleeve— literally! With a flick of its wrist, it suddenly released a plasma sword!
The Dark Ninja Robot parried every one of Leo’s sword strikes, knocking him down again and again. This gave Raph enough time to jump up and land on the robot’s back, digging his sais into its spiked shoulder mounts.
But the robot was unharmed. It tossed Raph into the air, then kicked him like a rag doll. As Raph lay wounded, he heard Leo reenter the fight. He charged bravely with his katanas. But the Dark Ninja Robot caught him with its plasma whip, slapping him down with an electric jolt.
Leo was shell-shocked and unable to move. The plasma whip tightened around him, searing his arms and sending electric shocks through his body.
“Let me go!” he groaned.
The Dark Ninja Robot lumbered toward him, its eyes burning red with heat. Nothing was going to stop it from vaporizing the Turtles!
Leo’s heart was racing. He felt like the plasma whip was roasting his insides and scrambling his mind. He gritted his teeth, trying to stay strong, trying to think of a way out. But it was no use. The Dark Ninja Robot came closer.
Suddenly, it stopped. Its head snapped up awkwardly, almost like it was rebooting.
“Subroutine program taking over,” the Dark Ninja Robot said aloud, confirming its new system priorities. “April O’Neil located.”
The plasma whip retracted, freeing Leo from its stranglehold. He watched the Dark Ninja Robot’s boots ignite like boosters on a rocket, carrying the robot through the glass ceiling with the speed of a missile.
“It’s going after April!” Raph said. “C’mon!”
Raph helped Leo up and headed for the exit. Mikey was about to follow when he noticed a Kraang blaster on the floor. He excitedly picked it up. “Too awesome!” he said, squeezing off a few blasts by accident. The weapon was so powerful he could barely control it. Energy bolts flew everywhere, a few nearly zapping Raph and Leo!
They turned angrily, staring daggers at Mikey from the exit.
Mikey gulped. He gently set the blaster down on the floor and decided to stick with his nunchucks.
Unaware that his brothers were on their way to back him up, Donnie was bracing himself to face an army of Footbots alone. If that was what he had to do to protect April from Karai, then so be it.
“Stay away from April!” he warned Karai.
Karai’s lips curled into a smile. “Footbots, keep the Turtle busy!”
All around him, Footbots swarmed in an attack formation, making it hard for Donnie to cover April. He had no choice but to break away and take them on. He swung his bo staff, clocking one bot upside his dome and scissor-kicking another. As he traded punches with two more bots, Karai cat-walked across their shoulders, making a beeline for April.
“This is between us girls,” Karai said, landing gracefully before April in a fighting stance. She twirled a scythe and readied its blade.
Anger filled April. She had bested Karai once, knocking her down a subway stairwell. She could do it again.
April pulled out her tessen. The two kunoichi began to brawl—their fight picked up right where it had left off. After swapping a few jabs and kicks, Karai booted April to the cement with a bicycle kick.
April yelped in pain, rolling away to safety just as Karai’s scythe came down, cracking the ground. April tossed her fan.
It whiffed wildly into the air, missing Karai by a mile.
A wicked smile played over Karai’s face. “Your skills are weak, April. I’ve had years of training—”
THWACK!
The fan darted back
like a boomerang, nailing Karai in the jaw. She was stunned into silence as she watched April catch the fan like a pro.
“You talk too much,” April told her with a smirk. But there was no time to gloat. Karai was enraged. She charged April with her scythe and knocked her down, the scythe blade swatting away the fan.
April was defenseless. She raised her hand in front of her face, anticipating a vicious attack.
WHAM! Donnie’s staff came down just in time to shield April from Karai’s blade.
“You’re not gonna touch her!” Donnie yelled. He whacked the scythe out of her hands and unleashed an expert-level kata that sent her stumbling backward.
Now it was Karai who was defenseless.
Donnie spun his bo staff, moving in for a finishing blow, when he noticed something odd swooping through the sky—it looked like something out of a comic book: an armored man with rocket boosters on the bottoms of his shoes.
But as the flying figure came closer, Donnie realized it wasn’t human at all. He took in its oversized proportions and glowing red eyes. Then he recognized it as the Kraang’s secret weapon: the Dark Ninja Robot.
And it was coming in for a landing.
Donnie’s jaw dropped. He had never seen weaponry so advanced.
April shivered at the sight of the robo-monstrosity. “Donnie, I’m thinking … retreat!”
As April and Donnie gazed at the robot’s fearsome face, Karai collected herself and walked with a newfound confidence. Her protector—her creation—had been completed and was here to do her evil bidding.
“Like my new toy?” Karai asked, her eyes meeting April’s. She couldn’t have been happier that the time had come to field-test her little battle machine. She turned back to the Dark Ninja Robot and commanded: “Robot, eliminate the girl!”
Knowing he had to protect April, Donnie sized up the Dark Ninja Robot, trying to figure out the best plan of attack. He knew it could fly, but could it fight?
Donnie spun his bo staff and charged forward. He swung full-force at the robot’s head, but the Dark Ninja Robot was too quick for that. With a simple, effortless move, the robot caught Donnie’s staff in midair.
April tried to run, but something started pulling her back. She felt a hot, almost-liquid substance bundling her arms together. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t breathe. A bright crackle of energy coiled around her like a glowing rope. It was the Dark Ninja Robot’s plasma whip!
“Let me go!” April pleaded.
She tried to wriggle free, but it was no use. The Dark Ninja Robot was much too strong.
She waited for the robot to finish her off. Lucky for her, it had a sophisticated ID scanner. It quickly recognized her.
“System override,” the Dark Ninja Robot announced. “Do not destroy April O’Neil. Capture for the Kraang!”
And with that, the Dark Ninja Robot activated its thrusters and began to fly away with April in tow!
Karai gasped. This wasn’t the plan! Using her spear, she knocked the robot off its flight path, bringing it and April to the ground with a thud.
The Dark Ninja Robot studied Karai. “Threat detected,” it announced. “Eliminate threat.”
Karai backed up cautiously.
Seeing his opportunity, Donnie ran past the robot to April.
“Are you okay?” he asked, helping her up.
“For once,” April began with a relieved smile, “I’m actually glad the Kraang want to kidnap me.”
Meanwhile, inside the Shellraiser, the other Turtles kicked their rescue efforts into high gear with the help of their best tracking device. They finally had a bead on April’s coordinates.
“Left, Leo!” Raph barked from his navigation station. “The signal’s getting stronger!”
Leo turned the wheel hard, banking around a corner and into a park. It wasn’t long before the Shellraiser’s headlights flashed on a familiar figure … the Dark Ninja Robot! The metal warrior was gaining ground on April and Donnie.
Leo hit the brakes, cut the wheel, and sent the Shellraiser spinning into a high-speed three-sixty. At fifty miles per hour, the vehicle was like an unstoppable wrecking ball of pure steel, slamming into the Dark Ninja Robot and sending it flying through the air. It hit a nearby brick wall with a crash, the impact frying some of its core circuits.
“Oh, yeah!” Mikey cheered. “Firing manhole covers!”
Mikey squeezed the trigger and opened fire on the Dark Ninja Robot. A barrage of manhole covers bounced off the robot’s face.
Mikey screamed, “Eat it, Chrome Dome!”
The Dark Ninja Robot suddenly stood up, alert. It shook off the damage and activated its heat vision, slicing the incoming manhole covers with ease. The iron disks fell to the cement in cauterized lumps.
Now it was the robot’s turn. It lashed out with its plasma whip, catching Mikey off guard in an electrically charged corkscrew. The robot tore Mikey away from his cannon and threw him aside.
Leo and Raph leaped out after him not a moment too soon. The robot made a beeline toward the van and flipped it over. It bounced off a wall with a crash.
Leo watched the Shellraiser roll to a halt. It was scrap metal now. “Aw, I just waxed her,” he groaned.
It was then that the Dark Ninja Robot resumed its target practice with Karai. The robot went after her with everything in its arsenal: heat vision, plasma whip, and plasma sword.
It was an impressive sight, and Mikey geeked out accordingly.
“Dude, I so want plasma nunchucks,” Mikey said, salivating over the robot’s sizzling weapons. And then, looking up at his tech-savvy brother, Donnie, he added, “Can you hook a Turtle up?”
But Donnie wasn’t listening. He was focused on one thing: the exposed wiring on the robot’s back! It must have come loose when the Shellraiser banged into it. Maybe this cybernetic warrior had a weak spot after all!
“Guys,” Donnie announced, “I think I know how we can take that thing down!”
Though it was welcome news at that moment, the other Turtles were still sore about Donnie’s bailing on them back at the Kraang lab.
“Oh, are you on this team?” Raph said with a smirk.
“Yeah, way to ditch us, dude!” Leo piled on.
Even Mikey was mad. He blew a raspberry at Donnie.
April piped up over the commotion, coming to his defense. “Go easy on him, guys! If it wasn’t for Donnie, I would have—”
Wham! Karai silenced her with a surprise scissor kick to the gut. “I don’t need that stupid robot to finish you,” Karai yelled. “Hiyaaa!”
“April!” Donnie shouted, his heart racing.
Leo stood in his way. “I’ll help April,” he assured him. “You guys take down—”
“Chrome Dome!” Mikey shouted, completing his brother’s sentence. Even in the thick of battle, Mikey didn’t want to miss the opportunity to name the bad guy.
As Leo began brawling with Karai, Donnie heard a crash from behind. Then another. And another!
Chrome Dome had finished off the remaining Footbots, throwing their still-sparking parts into a pile of garbage. Now the only things standing between it and April O’Neil were the Turtles!
It was elimination time.
Chrome Dome charged at them, swinging its plasma sword with terrifying precision.
It tracked every one of the Turtles’ somersaults and dodges, but it couldn’t land a hit. The Turtles’ simultaneous ninja moves were too frenzied for the robot. They were nothing but a blur of green.
This allowed Mikey to trap it with his secret nunchuck chain! With Raph’s help, he wrapped it around Chrome Dome. The robot couldn’t move!
Now, it was Donnie’s chance to jump in and do a little rewiring.
He leaped onto Chrome Dome’s back, tearing away the system panel and ripping out some of its circuits. The robot spun out of control. The Turtles hung on for their lives as the robot’s body revolved like a gyrating top, whirling them around and around at supersonic speeds!
The g
-forces sent everyone flying to the ground. Mikey pulled himself up, trying to shake off his dizziness. He was seeing double, but one image became clear.
The plasma sword!
It must have been thrown to the ground with everyone else! Mikey grabbed the futuristic weapon as fast as he could. He tightened his grip around the handle, and plunged the white-hot electrical blade into Chrome Dome’s back, frying its circuits for good.
The Dark Ninja Robot slowly sputtered, the last of its power draining away with a fading hum.
Mikey smiled, knowing they had pulled the plug on Chrome Dome.
And that wasn’t the only battle where the Turtles could claim victory. It was clear that Leo had bested Karai once again. As April stood safely away from the action, Karai was on the ground, staring down the razor-sharp end of Leo’s katana.
“It’s over, Karai,” he said.
“For now!” she replied, throwing down a ninja smoke bomb. In a flash, the Shredder’s evil daughter disappeared. When the dust settled, it was the Turtles—and their best friend, April—who were left standing.
Together.
This was cause for celebration. But Mikey didn’t realize it. He was still too entranced by the awesomeness of the plasma sword. He pulled the glowing blade from Chrome Dome’s back and studied it. “Can I keep it? Can I keep it?” he begged.
April smiled. It felt good to have her friends back. But it also felt like her entire body was going to be bruised tomorrow.
“That … wasn’t … too difficult,” she wheezed as Leo helped her up.
“Easy does it,” he told her. “It’s over now.”
“I just need to catch my breath.”
Donnie, Raph, and Mikey joined them.
“Thanks, guys,” April said to them with a smile. “I just wanted to say …”
But she trailed off, her eyes widening in panic. The Turtles were confused. Just wanted to say what?
And with a gasp, April remembered, blurting out: “Oh, my gosh! I forgot about Casey!”