The Crime Fighter Collection

by Matthew J Gilbert (retail)

  Two Kraang-droids down, four to go!

  Now it was Donnie and Mikey’s turn to get in on the archery action. With only a split second to aim, Donnie managed to take out the droid at the bomb’s control panel.

  Mikey opted for a close-encounter attack. He did a barrel roll onto the rooftop, running directly toward the oncoming Kraang-droids. With impressive speed and ninja reflexes, he dodged blaster fire and rapidly shot down two bots on his own!

  And that left the last Kraang-droid for Leo. He somersaulted onto the hotel sign and dropped down with his trusty katana blades, slicing the final bot right down the middle!

  Now there was nothing between the Turtles and the bomb but dismembered droid parts and a few harmless, slithering Kraang brain-things.

  “Okay, Donnie, it’s up to you,” Leo said.

  But as Donnie opened the bomb’s access panel, his jaw dropped.

  “Uh-oh,” he muttered.

  There were Kraang symbols, encrypted combinations, and a tangled nest of detonation wires inside. The mutagen tanks gave off a haunting green glow, stressing him out beyond belief.

  “Umm . . . Donnie!” Leo said with concern. “You told us you could do this!”

  “I didn’t count on a design this complex,” Donnie admitted.

  “They’re aliens from another dimension,” Leo said firmly. “What did you expect? A big round ball with a lit fuse that said BOMB?”

  “No, but this is—”

  Raph interrupted them, noticing the bomb’s countdown clock. “Boy, I sure hope this argument goes on for another four minutes and fifteen seconds!”

  Trying to ignore them and focus on the task at hand, Donnie looked down at the bomb control panel. Then back at the countdown clock. Then back at the panel. This wasn’t going to be easy.

  With his brothers watching his every move, Donnie gently reached out to touch the trip wire. . . .

  “Careful!” Leo shouted, startling Donnie.

  Donnie shot him a look. He wiped the sweat from his brow and took a deep breath. He resumed reaching for the wires when—

  “Watch out for those wires!” Raph warned.

  “You guys are not helping!” Donnie shouted.

  Mesmerized by all the buttons just waiting to be pushed, Mikey offered his suggestion: “What if we just pushed this button?”

  Raph grabbed his hand. “Don’t you think you’ve pushed enough buttons tonight?” he growled.

  As the numbers continued to tick away, Leo couldn’t take it anymore. “Donnie, you’re gonna have to speed this up.”

  Donnie snapped. “I can’t work with all this pressure!” he yelled.

  Something caught Leo’s attention out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see that they weren’t the only ones watching Donnie try to defuse this bomb. “Um . . . that might be a problem,” Leo muttered.

  The Turtles looked up in unison to see two figures on the rooftop.

  It was Bradford and Xever—Shredder’s top two henchmen! And they were ready for a fight!

  The bomb might not have gone off yet, but the Turtles now found themselves in a seriously explosive situation!

  The sounds of power punches and karate kicks distracted Donnie as he worked on the bomb. Even though he wasn’t in the fight, he felt like his concentration was taking a beating. He glanced up every few seconds to see his brothers facing off against Xever and Bradford in what looked like an epic battle between ninja masters.

  With a skillful flip, Xever effortlessly threw Mikey to the side. But just as he was about to finish him off, Leo jumped in and countered with a swift spin kick.

  “You guys picked a really bad time for this!” Leo told Xever.

  “Oh, sorry for the inconvenience,” Xever said sarcastically. “When would you prefer to breathe your last breath?”

  As Xever unleashed a roundhouse kick, Leo tried to reason with him. “If that thing goes off, it’ll wipe us all out!”

  Meanwhile, Bradford and Raph were engaged in a battle of blades. Bradford fearlessly swung his samurai sword down at Raph’s awaiting sais. “I’d rather perish with honor than live in shame!” he announced.

  Raph saw an opening and knocked the wind out of Bradford with a fierce thrust. He turned and shouted to Donnie, “Will you hurry up and defuse the bomb? We’re dealing with a couple of nut-jobs here!”

  “Be quiet!” Donnie yelled from the bomb panel, trying to focus.

  With a burst of rage, Xever launched a series of lightning-fast attacks on Leo and Mikey. He managed to dodge their weapons and perform a spinning split kick that sent both Turtles flying backward onto their shells.

  Leaping away from his own fight with Bradford, Raph somersaulted over to help them out. He rushed Xever, but it was no use. The wiry thug was too fast for Raph’s brawling, street-fighting style.

  As Bradford swooped down to face Leo and Mikey, Donnie was still racing the countdown clock. Thankfully, all the wires he’d disconnected so far had been ineffective booby traps and decoys.

  “Down to two wires,” he said to himself. “Which do I cut, black or green?”

  “Go for the green!” Mikey yelled from the rumble just as Bradford leveled him with a punch.

  Mikey was the last Turtle Donnie wanted to listen to, but he noticed the countdown clock was in the final seconds. The bomb was about to blow! There was no time to disagree with Mikey.

  “Eh, why not?” Donnie asked himself, snipping the green wire in half.

  Donnie shut his eyes, bracing for impact—

  Nothing happened.

  He looked up to see the countdown clock frozen in time with one second to go! He had done it—the bomb was defused! The city was safe!

  “Guys! Guys!” Donnie called out excitedly. “Mikey was right about something!”

  But this was no time to celebrate. On the upper level, where the bomb’s mutagen tanks were stowed, Bradford had gained the upper hand against Leo and Mikey. Donnie grabbed his bo staff and sprang into action. He surprised Bradford with a jumping strike and bought his bros enough time to get back on their feet. Then he sprinted up behind Xever and Raph and stopped their fistfight with a flurry of ninja moves. With Donnie in the mix, it was clear the Turtles had the edge they needed.

  Within moments, Xever and Bradford were up against the tank of mutagen, and they knew they were close to losing this battle.

  Leo stepped forward with his katana raised. “You are worthy adversaries, but the fight is ours! Lay down your weapons!” he commanded in his best hero voice.

  “Never!” yelled Xever.

  “You don’t have a choice,” Leo told them. “You’ve lost.”

  Bradford ignored Leo’s words, concentrating instead on the strange glowing tanks behind them. Maybe they did have a chance to escape—a chance to turn the tables on the Turtles once and for all. An idea was forming. He tightened his grip on the samurai sword and got into position. “If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me!” he threatened.

  Bradford turned toward the glass tank that contained the mutagen and plunged his sword into it, shattering the glass. A luminescent geyser of blue-green ooze sprayed out, washing him and Xever away into the darkness.

  Under flickering lights, the Turtles watched the mutagen bomb’s power source malfunction and shut down for good. All was quiet now on the roof of the Hotel Wolf.

  Turning to face his brothers, Leo smiled. “So to sum up: we kicked the butts of the Kraang and Shredder’s top henchmen while defusing a bomb and saving the city.”

  “Yeah, we’re not overconfident,” Raph said, remembering what Splinter had told them back at the lair.

  “We’re just that good,” Leo bragged.

  The Turtles celebrated with an epic high three, beaming over their victory. . . .

  Until they heard a deep, menacing voice.

  “Your skills are impressive,” the voice growled.

  The Turtles looked up to see a spiky figure before them silhouetted against the moon.

  “
. . . but they will not save you,” the figure went on, jumping down to their level.

  The Turtles took in the towering mass of bulging muscles and jagged armor. He moved with unnatural speed and looked at them with a bloodlust that sent a chill up their shells.

  The Turtles were frozen by the terrifying vision standing before them.

  “Oh man, do you think that’s . . . the Shredder?” Donnie asked. For weeks, they’d only heard about this monster of a man from Splinter, but now he was a flesh-and-blood threat standing a few feet away. They all noticed the spikes, blades, and gauntlets that covered his armor.

  “Well, it’s definitely a Shredder.” Raph smirked.

  The Turtles sensed a wicked smile forming beneath the armor on Shredder’s face as he crept closer.

  “There is undoubtedly a fascinating story in how my old nemesis came to teach ninjutsu to four mutant turtles,” Shredder snarled. “Perhaps I will let one of you live long enough to tell it.”

  “You’re gonna have to catch us first!” Leo said. “Mikey!”

  Mikey had one of his ninja smoke bombs at the ready. “So long, sucka!” he yelled, throwing the bomb to the floor—

  But nothing happened. No flash charge. No smoke. Just a splat and a cracked egg at their feet.

  The Turtles all looked at Mikey at once.

  “Oops. All right, that one’s on me.” Mikey smiled sheepishly.

  But they weren’t smiling back.

  And neither was Shredder.

  The Turtles had no choice but to face him right there on the rooftop of the Hotel Wolf!

  Raph charged first, both sais aiming for Shredder’s heart. The ironclad ninja master blocked Raph’s every move, gracefully catching his sais in the spikes of his armor. With a forceful front kick, Shredder booted Raph into the neon hotel sign.

  Leo jumped in, bringing his katanas down onto Shredder’s shoulder spikes. His attacks were faster than Raph’s, but it didn’t seem to matter—Shredder zipped around him with ease, flicking Leo’s katanas away and kicking him to the ground with a speedy kata combination.

  Donnie cried out in horror, “Leo!”

  He rushed to his brother’s side, finding him dazed and injured. It wasn’t every day he saw his older bro—his leader—fall to an enemy. Donnie felt his anger swell. Swinging his bo staff, he tried to smack Shredder but barely made a dent.

  Watching this go down, Mikey decided he was done waiting. He unleashed the secret blade from his nunchucks chain and joined Donnie’s side for the tag team!

  They alternated punches, kicks, and combo attacks—just like they’d practiced back at the dojo. Mikey even wrapped his chain around Shredder’s arms, but the ninja master slipped out a split second later! He truly lived up to his fearsome legend. It was as if his ninjutsu transcended reality.

  Donnie and Mikey didn’t stand a chance against him. Before they knew it, Shredder flung them both to the ground with brute force.

  Not wanting to accept defeat, the Turtles got back on their feet and headed in for more. They were all tired, hurt, and afraid.

  And Shredder knew it.

  He could feel it—the same way animals in the wild could smell someone’s fright. He relished this moment, his gauntlet blades projecting from his armor. In a series of slashes, he cut Donnie’s weapon in half, overpowered Raph, and pummeled Leo with a crushing blow.

  Shredder was just about to finish them off when something suddenly caught his wrist. He looked down to see Mikey’s chain!

  With all his weight and speed, Mikey used the other end of the chain to rappel down the neon hotel sign that had been towering over them. The moment he began to fall, the chain started to pull—which meant Shredder got yanked up into a trap!

  Ensnared, Shredder dangled in the air, unable to break free.

  The Turtles took a breath, lucky to be alive. They looked on in wonderment at their master’s oldest enemy. He was even more frightening than they’d imagined. Never did they think they’d actually see this fabled warrior up close, let alone face him in battle. Had they achieved the impossible? Had they actually gotten the better of Shredder?

  Shredder looked back at them, his eyes narrowing to a fiery gaze. He wasn’t used to being thwarted by his opponents. He unsheathed his gauntlet blades once more and sliced through the hotel sign as if it were tissue paper, cutting himself down and pinning Mikey underneath it in the process.

  As the other Turtles lifted the severed sign off of Mikey, Shredder landed on the roof with a thud, electric sparks raining down all around him.

  Shredder had regained his strength and had the Turtles on the run once again. Soon the only Turtle left standing was Leo. Shredder quickly pinned him against the wall. Holding his blades centimeters away from Leo’s eyeballs, Shredder demanded, “Tell me where Splinter is, and I promise your demise will be swift.”

  In fearless silence, Leo stared down the edge of Shredder’s blade, refusing to reveal anything. He could see the jagged tip getting closer when they both heard a sudden gasp!

  Someone—or something—could be heard choking for air right behind them.

  Shredder looked down to see a slimy fish-shaped mutant. It had the face and enlarged mouth of a fish but the arms, hands, and fingers of a man. It was covered in the glowing ooze that had created it.

  “Help me,” the fish mutant wheezed, its webbed hand reaching out for assistance. Its voice was human and very familiar.

  Shredder stared in shock. Just behind him, the Turtles’ eyes widened at a second freakish sight. They backed away, spotting another figure being birthed from the mutagen. This one was much larger and was covered in hair. It resembled a gargantuan wolf-man, with one enlarged fist and spike-shaped bones that protruded from its back.

  “What is this?” Shredder asked, disgusted.

  He couldn’t believe his eyes. The mysterious mutagen ooze had worked its magic, transforming two men into monsters.

  When Shredder returned his attention to the Turtles, they were gone.

  “Noooooo!” Shredder shouted to the skies.

  He had lost his targets and accidentally found himself with two new followers. And though their faces were deformed, he somehow knew who they were.

  “Xever?” Shredder asked in disbelief. “Bradford?!”

  These had once been their human names, but Bradford and Xever were no longer people. They had been reborn as . . . mutants!

  Later that night, the Turtles returned to their underground lair not as heroes but as survivors. Shredder had left them battered, bruised, and barely able to stand. They sat around, sharing a heavy, uncomfortable silence as April bandaged them up as best she could.

  Master Splinter looked at his sons, aware that their pain wasn’t just physical, but emotional, too. He could tell that their experience with Shredder had put fear into their hearts. They were doubting themselves and their abilities as ninjas. He wanted to tell them everything would be okay, and that the next time they faced Shredder, things would be different. But he knew that would be a lie. He knew what Shredder was truly capable of—which meant the Turtles were in grave danger.

  “You were all very lucky,” Splinter told them.

  “I think we define that word differently, Sensei,” Raph objected.

  “Few have ever faced Shredder and survived,” Splinter explained.

  “He was just so fast,” Mikey said with a wince.

  “It was like he was everywhere at once.” Donnie shuddered.

  Leo gulped. He didn’t want to admit defeat, but being in denial meant endangering his own life and the lives of his brothers. With Master Splinter’s words echoing in his mind, he knew he had to say something. “You were right about us being overconfident, Sensei,” Leo admitted. “There are some things we’re just not ready for.”

  “Perhaps. But that no longer matters,” Splinter informed them as he put a comforting hand on Leo’s shoulder. “It is clear now that Shredder is a problem that will not go away.”

  One by one, the
Turtles each looked up at their sensei.

  “So prepare yourselves, my sons,” Splinter advised. “Because as of this moment . . . we are at war.”

  When the Turtles left the sewers to go out on their nightly patrol, the city was buried in fog. Leo instructed his brothers to keep a tight shell-to-shell formation, watching each other’s backs for any sign of danger.

  “Shredder could be anywhere,” he warned as they entered a darkened alley. “Stay frosty, guys.”

  “FYI, frost can’t accumulate unless it’s below freezing,” Donnie interjected. “Except during a process called ‘radiative cooling.’”

  The other Turtles exchanged exasperated looks—this was hardly the time for a science lecture! “Maybe he’s got an Off switch somewhere,” Mikey jokingly whispered to Raph.

  Raph smacked Donnie into silence.

  “Found it!” Raph smirked at Mikey.

  Raph and Mikey shared a laugh about that, until a cruel voice came out of nowhere, breaking the mood.

  “And I found four pathetic Turtles with only seconds to live,” the voice echoed.

  “Wouldn’t want to be them,” Mikey remarked with an innocent smile.

  “We are them!” Raph informed him.

  A feeling of dread filled the Turtles. Leo, Donnie, and Raph all drew their weapons.

  Realizing that the voice belonged to Shredder, Mikey unholstered his nunchucks and began walking backward, completely unaware that he was stepping into a trap.

  Shredder’s blade-covered arms shot out of the mist and grabbed Mikey, pulling him away into the darkness, Mikey’s screams echoing through the night. Before the others could react, Donnie leaped to his brother’s defense. He tried his best to bring his bo staff down on Shredder’s head, but it was no use. It got caught up in the blades and Shredder snapped it in two before kicking Donnie skyward.

  “Raph, take him now!” Leo commanded.

  The remaining two Turtles charged at Shredder, terrified but determined. With a series of rapid-fire power punches, Shredder deflected their weak attack and catapulted Raph into the surrounding fog.