The Casey Chronicles

by Matthew J Gilbert (retail) (epub)

  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 af
ter 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!”

  April raced out of the park toward the hockey rink.

  Donnie just sighed. “That’s what she wanted to say?”

  April threw open the doors to the hockey rink, her mind reeling. Was Casey okay? Was he hurt?

  To her surprise, he was just fine. In fact, he seemed to be having the time of his life, finishing off a Footbot with his stick.

  “That is how you play hockey!” Casey said, standing victorious over a pile of Footbots.

  “Casey! Are you okay?” April cried, running out onto the ice without any skates, slipping and sliding.

  “Of course I am,” he said, catching her in his arms. “Steady there, Red.”

  He held her close, her heart beating fast. They smiled, staring into each other’s eyes. In that moment neither of them had to say a word. They both felt it—they were going to be more than just study partners.

  Casey had never seen April so happy.

  And neither had Donnie.

  He was secretly watching them from the stands. Even though he had April back, her heart belonged to someone else.

  The next day, April made her way below the surface. It had been months since she visited the Turtles’ lair. In a way, it felt like she was returning home. She got butterflies in her stomach when she glimpsed them in their natural habitat again: four mutant brothers gathered around the TV, watching some weird anime show together.

  Like a family.

  Her family.

  “Hey, guys,” she said, surprising them.

  One by one, the Turtles looked up from the TV set. They were all smiles.

  “April!”

  “You’re back!”

  “What’s up?”

  Even Master Splinter broke meditation to come out and welcome her back to the dojo after a long time away. “It is very good to see you, April.”

  “I missed you, Master Splinter. I hope we can start training again soon.”

  “Of course,” Splinter replied. “Whenever you wish.”

  She respectfully bowed to her former sensei before turning back to the Turtles. She paused, shifting uneasily. “I never got a chance to tell you guys that I’m sorry … for everything.”

  “You’re sorry?” Leo replied, remembering the events of that fateful night.

  The mutagen.

  The accident.

  Her father.

  “But we were the ones who screwed up,” Leo continued apologetically.

  “It was an accident,” April said, speaking from the heart. “And more importantly, you’re my friends. I don’t ever want to hold a grudge again.”

  “You’re the best, April!” Mikey said, offering her a slice of pizza. “To mark this day, I offer you … the Slice of Eternal Reunion.”

  April looked the slice up and down. What had once been a scrumptious slice of cheese pizza had become a science project. “It has lint and dead bugs all over it.”

  “I know. I just found it under my bed,” Mikey expla
ined, cradling it like some priceless relic.

  “It’s … eternal.”

  Realizing April wasn’t going to touch the slice, Mikey decided to honor it the best way he knew how: by scarfing it down in one bite!

  April stepped around the others and walked up to Donnie. The closer she got, the faster his heart beat. She locked eyes with him. “Thanks for always being there … even when I didn’t want you to be.”

  She threw her arms around him.

  And as if the moment couldn’t get any better, April gave Donnie a tiny kiss on the cheek.

  Donnie felt a rush unlike any he’d ever felt before. Forget defeating Shredder and the Technodrome. Today was now officially the best day of his life. He stared at her with hearts in his eyes and only one thought on his mind: I love being a Turtle!

  Mutant monsters and robot ninjas are takin’ over my city.

  How long before those freaks hurt somebody close to me?

  Like my dad.

  Or my little sister.

  Or April.

  I’m not waitin’ around to find out.

  All my life I’ve known that I’m meant for something greater.

  This is my calling.

  My destiny.

  A true warrior has gotta be prepared.

  Casey barely recognized his face in the mirror.

  Since his battle with the Footbots, he’d decided to make some changes. He’d upped his workout—chin-ups, push-ups, you name it—and bulked up as much as he could. He needed to be stronger than ever. He needed to be able to take a beating. He needed to be ready for combat.

  Next, he suited up for battle. He started with his hockey pads. Normal gloves were great on the ice, but for hero work, they needed a little something extra. With some industrial glue, he added rusty nails to his blocker, and voila! Homemade spiked gauntlets.