The Manhattan Project, Part 1

The Manhattan Project, Part 1 is the thirty-ninth episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012 TV series). It will air as a one hour special on March 14, 2013. Although the episode was released a week early on March 2, 2014 on Nick.com

Major Characters

 * April O'Neil (Mae Whitman)
 * Casey Jones (Josh Peck)
 * Donatello (Rob Paulsen)
 * Fishface (Christian Lanz)
 * Karai (Kelly Hu)
 * Kraang (Nolan North) and Biotroids
 * Kraathatrogons
 * Leonardo (Jason Biggs)
 * Michelangelo (Greg Cipes)
 * Rahzar (Clancy Brown)
 * Raphael (Sean Astin)
 * Shredder (Kevin Michael Richardson)
 * Splinter (Hoon Lee)
 * Tiger Claw (Eric Bauza)

Minor Characters

 * 1987 TV series April (Cameo)
 * 1987 TV series Casey (Cameo)
 * 1987 TV series Donatello (Cameo)
 * 1987 TV series Leonardo (Cameo)
 * 1987 TV series Michelangelo (Cameo)
 * 1987 TV series Raphael (Cameo)
 * Baxter Stockman (Phil LaMarr)
 * Carlos Chang O'Brien Gambe (Jim Meskimen)
 * Foot-Bots

Plot Synopsis
This episode opens up with Karai, several Foot-Bots, Rahzar, and Fishface tracking down the Turtles and spying on them from behind a billboard. Rahzar then comments that The Shredder did not authorize Karai's little operation, but Karai is quick to remind him that she is the one in charge whilst her father is away. She then tells him that, if they actually manage to defeat the terrapins this time, they might actually get some credit for once....The villains then quickly confront our unsuspecting heroes and engage them in a large fight. While Rahzar, Fishface, and the Foot-Bots busy Raph, Mikey, and Donnie, Leo duels with Karai, as he frequently does during many of their encounters. Leo then tries to desperately tell her about the true circumstances - How the Shredder is not her father and that Splinter actually is her true, biological father - but Karai purposely chooses to be insouciant to this and says that the only thing she's interested in is for Leonardo to beg for his own, dear life...Suddenly, an earthquake interrupts the two's conversation and catches all of them off-gaurd. Leo is able to push Karai out of harm's way, but a nearby tower then falls right next to him.

The others quickly make haste to free Leo and they discover that he is okay - but, as it turns out, the villains have already escaped, which upsets Leo, as he could've potentially changed everything by talking with Karai one on one. Back in the lair, Donnie is showing the others where the epicenter of all of the earthquakes seems to be - and that the recent earthquakes have been occuring in such a pattern that some form of Technology may very well be responsible for each and every single one of of them. Elsewhere, Leonardo then approaches his sensei, informing him that he tried to tell Karai about the truth. Splinter does commend him, saying that his heart is precisely in the correct place - and he begins to think that, perhaps, it is just about time to tell the others. So, he does just that, explaining to the three of them that fury ultimately caused the Shredder to take Miwa away on that fateful day...The three brothers seem to have a very hard time believing this, and Splinter only understands them all too well. He then says that the truth must be revealed to her - and that, it too, will feel somewhat like an earthquake.

Meanwhile, at Shredder's hideout, Karai, the two mutants, and Baxter Stockman are discussing when the Shredder will possibly be back with his new 'secret weapon'. Bradford then says that he heard the 'secret weapon' was originally a child that got mutated by the Kraang decades ago. Suddenly, the automatic door soon opens and, as the Shredder proudly enters, all of the Foot-Bots bow in unison. The Shredder then walks up to his throne and sits on it, telling his men that he has just found a new lackey - "The most feared warrior in all of Asia", in his eyes. Then, a menacing mutant tiger Tiger Claw comes in after him. All of the others seem to be rather stunned to see such a menacing-looking beast - and Karai coldly asks why The Shredder enlisted yet another freak. Right afterward, Tiger Claw tells the Shredder that he is quite dissapointed that this is the Foot Clan that he told him all about.. Karai then notices the stub of a tail on the tiger's back and asks where he got it from. The mutant explains that he lost his tail in a duel - and one day, he will find that very person who took it and make them pay dearly. The Shredder then tells Karai to treat her brand new ally with alot of respect, for he is Saki's new second-in-command. Karai is appalled by this, saying that she earned that position fair and square. Shredder then tells Tiger Claw to find and capture Splinter and the Turtles, commanding Karai to follow Tiger Claw's every order.

Elsewhere, April and Casey are exploring the rooftops in the city, keeping a sharp eye out for any crime occuring. However, April then hears and spots the Kraang down in a secluded alley way. They are all in a single file line stepping into some type of portal, one by one. The two then jump down, and manage to defeat the final one that is about to enter. April then instinctively presses a button, which causes the apparent potal to dissipate and the little piece of Tech then falls to the ground. April remarks that they should bring it back to Donnie for him to investigate. Casey then asks what's keeping them from bringing it to an actual laboratory, but April responds that Donnie is very advanced. In the sewer lair, Donnie inspects the Tech and April then shows him the button to activate the portal. Donnie is immediately intrigued by it, as expected...Raph then jumps directly into it, also prompting Casey, April and Donnie to all join him. Mikey joins them as well, and thus, Leo is reluctantly forced to as well. Right after they go through, however, another earthquake makes Donnie’s lab rattle a little bit, causing the portal to deactivate itself, leaving them stuck on the other side.

Upon entering, everyone is greatly intrigued by the countless number of portal doorways and the suprisingly impressive views of what seem to be other dimensions. When they look into one, they actually happen to see the 1987 incarnations of the Turtles, Casey, and April in one of the portal views!! They then spot one of the portals going back to Dimension X, home of the Kraang...However, a few large Biotroids then exit out of the doorway and start aggressively attacking the Turtles. The team works together to destroy several of the pugnacious droids, but one manages to knock Mikey, Leo, and Raph through a portal, which ends up zapping them into a grabage dumpster in New York City. They are relieved that they are back in their home town, but Raph is upset that the others are still back there. Meanwhile, both Tiger Claw and Karai are sitting on a nearby rooftop, and luckily for them, the Turtles happen to walk by and Tiger Claw reminds Karai of their plan, before jumping down and stopping the Turtles in their tracks.

After promptly introducing himself, Tiger Claw begins firing his two modified pistols at the Turtles. He is suprisingly powerful and the Turtles find themselves overwhelmed by both him and his artilery very quickly. So, Mikey advises that they should to take to the high ground and they do just that, but Tiger Claw pursues them with the use of his jetpack.

Meanwhile, Casey, April, and Donnie manage to both grab and push the very last Bio-droid through one of the portals to Dimension X. However, several Kraang (who are forcing an odd worm creature through an exit with stunners) are fully aware of the threesome spying on them - and they send another large squad of ordinary Kraang droids through a portal to confront them. The Kraang command the trio to surrender, much to the latters' total reluctance. They then take them into a New York City subway through a portal.

Meanwhile, the Turtles are still immersed in quite a tough battle against Tiger Claw. In the chaos, Raph is pinned down with a net that Tiger Claw shoots from one of his weapons - and all of them are subsequently incapicated for a brief moment. Tiger Claw then seizes Mikey's leg and picks him up, threatening to drop him down a very long chimney (that was seemingly wrecked by one of the earthquakes). The other three brothers gape in shock when they see their little brother about to be killed. Obviously, Leo would never allow this to happen and demands to have a choice of some sort. Leo is then given the opportunity to 'summon' his Master Splinter for some assistance. Leo clearly knows that it's a trap for his sensei, but he has little care at this point.

In the lair, Splinter answers his son's urgent call and tells him that he will be on his way very shortly. Meanwhile, Tiger Claw has tied up the four Turtles, and, having suffered through enough patience in his lifetime, he claims that their lives will end here and now. He then very slowly begins pushing them towards the chimney, with Mikey apologizing to Raph for eating his brother's very last slice of pizza earlier....Just when all seems lost, Splinter arrives on the scene and demands his sons to be let free. Tiger Claw then begins firing his inimitable weapon at Splinter, who dodges all of the attacks. Splinter then jumps down to where Tiger Claw is, but the latter moves out of the way by using his jetpack. While being shot at, Splinter weaves through the blasts and is then able to toss some pieces of brick towards Tiger Claw. This does knock him off-balance for a second, but he then draws his large sword and claims that he will now slice Splinter into nothing but bite-sized morsels...

Meanwhile, April, Casey, and Donnie are still being lead by the Kraang to go somewhere (which is completely unkown). Casey then falsely says that the Kraang mentioned feeding them something, but April corrects that they mentioned feeding them to something earlier. Casey, unwilling to have such a thing happen to him, decides to make an abrupt move and defeats one of the Kraang droids behind himself. April and Donnie then join in on the action as well - and Donnie manages to hit a sewer wheel with his staff, causing a bunch of gas to immobolize and incapacitate all of the droids. They then successfully escape through a door, which leads them into a large and wide, yet short tunnel. At the very end of the tunnel, a gargantuan creature, along with a bunch of Kraang come into their view. April then quickly takes note of the fact that the Kraang are seemingly 'milking' the giant worm for Mutagen!!! And Donnie quickly comes to the conclusions that this is what has been causing the quakes and that this is exactly where the Mutagen comes from - and the idea obviously disgusts all of them. However, unbeknownst to them at first, a smaller worm is sitting right behind them and it alerts the Kraang of their presence. The Kraang then release one of the creatures (which are known as Kraathatrogons) and it quickly begins to attack Donnie, April and Casey...

Meanwhile, dozens of ninja shurikens and other weapons are being thrown at one another in Splinter and Tiger Claw's duel. Tiger Claw then lets loose yet another net out of his gun, but Splinter manages to leap over it and he then catches it, throwing it back at Tiger Claw. Tiger Claw evades this, but Splinter then seizes his sword and then starts slowly pushing him backwards towards the very edge of the building. Master Splinter then aims the sword directly at Tiger Claw, intent on finishing him off, but, just out of sight, Karai is holding a blowgun in her hands and she fires a dart right out of it, managing to hit Splinter in the back of the throat. At first, Splinter merely tugs it out and examines it, but then he begins to loose his balance and he falls over, sprawled on the ground. Karai then appears and stands over him, and all that Splinter can possibly say is "MIWA...", before falling unconscious. Karai then turns her attention to a desperate Leonardo, who tells her to spare her real father's life. However, Karai views this only as a way to get Splinter in the clear - but Leo assures her that it is not. Having heard enough of him, Karai then raises her sword and prepares to deal the finishing blow to him.

To be continued...

Trivia

 * The title used in television listings for this episode, as well as on nick.com, is "Wormquake!". However, the in-show title is "The Manhattan Project".
 * The Manhattan Project was the research and development project that developed the first atomic bombs for use in World War II. It is also the subtitle of the third TMNT NES video game.
 * The episode released a week early (March 2, 2014) on official distributors for the series, including nick.com
 * When the gang was looking through the portal to Dimention X, the screen shot was reversed as April's bangs were swung to the left side instead of the right.
 * A sneak preview for this episode was revealed in the 2013 NYCC.

Quotes
Michelangelo: (After seeing the 1987 versions of themselves.) "It's Us! Why do we look like dorks?"

Raphael: Is that suppose to be April?

Donatello: Nice Jumpsuit.

Gallery
The Manhattan Project, Part 1/Gallery