Bishop to Knight/Transcript

This is a transcript for Bishop to Knight, the sixth episode of season 6 of TMNT (2003 series).

	The episode begins inside a room that is basically a wall of monitors. Each monitor shows a different view, some of the city, some of the space around the Earth.
President Bishop	Begin holo-search now. [View expands to show Bishop standing inside the room, which encompasses many floors.] Notation, I’m seeing an influx of Triceraton population. Inspect immigration reports. Weather patterns shifting over Europe. A dramatic spike in New Manhattan power grid usage. Hm, what’s the cause? [The O’Neil Tech building comes into view.] Code alpha.
Computer	O’Neil Tech security camera activated.
	All of the other monitors go blank and then one very large monitor activates in front of Bishop. It shows the main entrance to the O’Neil Tech building.
Bishop	Angle two. [The image shifts to show a group of five standing near the entry.] Magnify.
	A close-up shows Michelangelo as he puts on a pair of sunglasses.
Michelangelo	The future’s so bright I gotta wear shades.
	The monitor shows all four of the turtles with Cody Jones.
Bishop	Impossible. The turtles? Here? My old friends. [He steps into the light, giving a clear view of his face.] This is a bright future indeed.

{Opening sequence; title song}

	Inside Cody Jones’ penthouse, Michelangelo searches the kitchen for something to eat. He opens a cupboard.
Michelangelo	Come on, you guys gotta keep your junk food somewhere. [He grabs a box.] Ah. Huh? Bleh! [He tosses it over his shoulder and returns to the cupboard.] Hm. Ah! [He tosses a can.] Blech. [The can hits Serling.] Not one of these has cream filling listed in its ingredients. [More cans hit Serling.] I mean, how did you survive for a hundred years without things like sugar frosted sweetie cakes?
	Cody is seated at the table with the other turtles as they all eat.
Cody Jones	Serling buys nothing but the best. Masoodon balls are ten times healthier than anything from your century.
	Raphael spills the contents of his spoon back into the bowl in front of him.
Raphael	Yeah, dig the mossy goodness.
	Michelangelo walks over to the table carrying a can.
Michelangelo	I don’t want best and most-healthiest, I want good. Good as in bad. [He throws the can and it bounces off Serling’s head.] Cheese dog burgers and chicken fried steak and fried turkey jerky, and … [Raphael smacks his head with a spoon.] Ow!
Raphael	We get the picture. Plus, you were getting drool on me.
Cody	No one eats that stuff anymore. I mean, maybe downtown you could find something.
Michelangelo	Downtown it is! Lead the way, Cody. [The doors open to admit Darius Dunn.] I want indigestion by noon.
Darius Dunn	Downtown? I hardly think so.
Serling	Master Cody, have you forgotten about today’s appointment?
Dun	The O’Neil Tech quarterly board review? Young Cody has to inspire troops. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.
Cody	Aw, drek. Sorry guys, you’ll have to tour downtown without me.
	He leaves.
Donatello	Well, I guess it’s just us.
	The turtles leave the building on various rides; Leo on his Shell Speeder, Don in his Steel Wheel, and Michelangelo riding behind Raphael on his Shell Speeder. They drive through the city until they reach the downtown area and come to a stop.
Donatello	I just can’t get over this city. It’s an engineering marvel. New Manhattan built right over our old Manhattan.
Michelangelo	Hey, enough lip flapping. On to some lip smacking. I smell eats! [He races over to a food cart that advertises Hot Dogs.] Cheese dogs! One hundred percent beefy goodness filled with dreamy cheesiness.
Vendor	One hundred percent, yes. Beef, no. Rijerian rump beast, no cheese. Gel traxian tube worm juice. [He presents at hot dog with worms crawling all over it.] More protein than cheese.
	Three of the turtles react with disgust.
Michelangelo	I’ll take a dozen.
Raphael	Mikey, you are one sick turtle.
Donatello	Gross.
	Standing in a shadowed alcove, a soldier watches the turtles. His communicator issues instructions.
Bishop	Get them alone.
	After Michelangelo get his hot dogs, the brothers stroll along the sidewalks.
Leonardo	Doesn’t it feel great to be walking out in the open? Not having anyone run away from us like we’re monsters?
	Many different alien species walk past them.
Raphael	Competition for the label monster’s a lot fiercer here in the future. Although the way Mikey’s scarfing down those tube worm dogs, I think he’s in the running.
	They turn down an alley and suddenly find their way blocked by soldiers who arm their weapons.
Leonardo	Okay, we’ll just be heading this way then. [They start to back up.] Carry on with your menacing.
	More soldiers arrive behind them.
Raphael	That does it. It’s ninja time.
Leonardo	Not here. Too many civilians to risk a firefight. Go!
	The turtles bound past the soldiers and run down the alley with the soldiers shooting at them. Turning a corner, they find themselves in a dead end.
Donatello	Dead end. Emphasis on dead.
	A sound turns them and all four draw their weapons. Bishop steps out of the smoke billowing in the alleyway. Two soldiers step up next to him.
Bishop	Gentlemen, I’m glad to see you’re still fit, after all these years.
Turtles	Bishop!
	A line of soldiers form to either side of Bishop.
Michelangelo	Great. Hip-hop didn’t make it a hundred years into the future, but Bishop did?
Raphael	Ha!
	He races past his brothers.
Leonardo	Raph!
	Raphael leaps at Bishop, but passes right through him and collides with a trash can.
Raphael	Hologram? You stinking…
Leonardo	What do you want, Bishop? And how are you even here in 2105?
Bishop	I could ask you the same. But first, how would you like to work for me?
	The turtles all stare at him, and then burst out laughing.
Donatello	Work for you? Like the time you scrambled my DNA? Or tried to mutate the entire city of New York? That kind of work?
Bishop	Times have changed, gentlemen. [The hologram of Bishop fades to be replaced by a playback of a fight in the space around the Earth.] I spent centuries struggling against the inevitable alien menace, then one day realized that all I had done was waste precious time and resources. [It shows Bishop in his personal space craft.] So I chose a new tact. [Cut to Bishop at a large meeting table, with other alien species representatives in seats to either side of him. Bishop stands to shake hands with an alien standing before the table.] I decided the best way to protect the Earth from aliens was to make them our allies. [They are in an auditorium filled with humans and aliens.] Hence the Pan Galactic Alliance was born. [Bishop stands before a flag bearing the emblem of the P.G.A.] An organization dedicated to the fair representation of all races from Earth and beyond... [Other species join him in front of the flag. The hologram changes back to Bishop.] …with peace as a common goal. And of course, I became its president. In an honest election, I assure you.
Leonardo	So it’s like the U.N., but for aliens, and you’re the president?
Michelangelo	I knew I sensed a glitch in the matrix.
Bishop	Indeed. Despite my best efforts, the peace we’ve achieved is tenuous. Earth is still a target of the galaxy’s greedy and corrupt, but as a non-partisan official, I can no longer show favoritism for the Earth nor take matters into my own hands. My sources inform me that a notorious intergalactic mercenary named Torbin Zixx will arrive on Earth tomorrow, [The hologram changes again to show the exterior of a building with the name Abroc’s Abyss on its front.] for a clandestine meeting here, at Abroc’s Abyss.
Leonardo	Then why not just arrest him?
	Bishop’s hologram image returns.
Bishop	I hope to catch him as well as his conspirators. An open assault would tip them off. However, if I had some covert operatives working on my behalf… a team comfortable working in the shadows? Besides, we’re not entirely certain what he looks like. With Zixx in New Manhattan, I have no doubt destruction will follow, unless you trust me and stop him.
	The turtles have returned to Cody’s penthouse and told him the story.
Cody	Cool. You guys know President Bishop?
Raphael	So it’s true? Bishop wasn’t feeding us a line of Rijerian rump beast?
Cody	No! He’s really the president. A great one, too. Everyone loves him. The guy’s been incredible for the city, for alien’s rights.
	Donatello is doing research on his holopad.
Donatello	Check this out. I found lots of dirt on Torbin Zixx. He’s a troublemaker of legendary proportions.
	He clicks through several pictures of Zixx, but they never show his face.
Leonardo	Those are the best images you can get? He could be anyone under that getup.
Donatello	Zixx of the Black Blade, Zixx the Enigma. He sounds pretty bad.
Raphael	But it still doesn’t prove Bishop’s come over from the dark side.
Cody	No, but what if the president’s right and this Zixx guy does something bad and nobody stops him?
Leonardo	Not on our watch. But, if it’s a trap, we’ll make Bishop sorry he was ever reborn.
	Cut to Abroc’s Abyss.
Michelangelo	There it is. Well, it looks pretty normal from out here.
	They enter. The bar is crowded with many types of aliens.
Raphael	So much for normal.
	At a nearby table, a large blue alien in a dark purple cloak leans on the tabletop as he addresses two smaller purple aliens.
Blue Alien	Me the best smuggler in entire galaxy. Greased lightning. Nothing touch me, Torbin Zixx.
Michelangelo	Business must be good. Zixxies put on some pounds since that footage we saw.
Raphael	Pretty stupid for a wanted guy to pipe off like that.
Purple Alien	Oh, yeah? Well, go suck a tube of traxian worm juice.
	Both the purple aliens start laughing. The blue alien growls and lifts his fist, but Leonardo catches hold of his wrist.
Leonardo	Hey, take it easy. Come on, my friends and I will buy you some Masoodon.
Blue Alien	Mind your own business!
	He takes a swing at Leonardo, who ducks his punch.
Leonardo	Or the hard way works too, Zixx. It’s ninja time!
	He leaps as the alien throws a punch, but only hits the floor where Leonardo was. The alien rips up the table where the two purple aliens are sitting, and they run. On one side of the room, a figure in a long purple cloak watches the fight. The large alien swings the table at the turtles, who dodge easily.
Michelangelo	Getting a table in this place is murder.
	Raphael snaps his sai together and throws them at the alien. They hit the table he’s holding and knocks it from his hands. Donatello swings his bō and the wind generated sweeps the alien off his feet. Leonardo points his katana at the alien’s head.
Leonardo	Outside Zixx. We need to talk.
	The figure in the cloak moves up behind the turtles.
Torbin Zixx	He’s got nothing to say to you.
Leonardo	Back off. This is Torbin Zixx, the legendary mercenary and smuggler. Our business is with him, not you.
	Zixx grins.
Zixx	Snap that spud, he’s not Torbin Zixx… [He whips out two blasters and points them at the turtles.] … I am!
Turtles	You’re Torbin Zixx?
Zixx	You four have to be the worst bounty hunters that have ever come after me.
Raphael	Hey, if you’re Torbin Zixx, then who’s that big mouth?
Zixx	Just another wannabe. No class.
	Raphael swings his sai and knocks one of the blasters out of Zixx’s hand. Zixx shoots into an overhead beam with the other blaster, and then shoots a zip line into the hole. The line pulls him up.
Leonardo	Don’t let him get outside!
	Zixx makes it to the door and exits.
Raphael	I’ll get him!
	He bounces off of the blue alien’s stomach and races after Zixx, who turns down an alley. Raphael leaps and grabs Zixx and both crash into stacked boxes. As Raphael is extracting himself from the boxes, Zixx picks up a garbage can shoves it down over Raphael’s upper body.
Raphael	Hey! What the shell? [He stands up and wobbles around. Zixx hops onto the ladder for a fire escape.] Get me out of here.
	Zixx drops a round device on the ground just before Raphael manages to free himself. He hears laughter and turns to see Zixx standing in the alley.
Raphael	You think it’s funny? Dude, I am so gonna knock your block off. [He jumps, feet first, and flies right at Zixx, who doesn’t try to move. Instead of kicking Zixx though, Raphael goes right through what is actually a projection, and kicks a dumpster. Rolling over, Raphael sees the device.] I’m really starting to hate holograms.
	Zixx is standing on a rooftop looking around. Dark matter floods onto the rooftop next to him and takes the form of Sh’Okanabo.
Zixx	Right on time. Do you always make such grand entrances?
Sh’Okanabo	To an insect, a human being appears to be a god. I am called Sh’Okanabo.
Zixx	Right. And that’s the small talk portion of the meeting. What’s the job?
	Sh’Okanabo extends a tentacled hand and gives a package to Zixx. Once he has it, a hologram image of a map pops up over the package.
Zixx	You’re laying down all these credits for a moon run? That’s it? That’s like using a bazooka to kill a fly.
Sh’Okanabo	Get the package to the moon, and do not fail me, Zixx.
Zixx	Consider the package delivered, so long as the credits clear.
	He bows and when he straightens, Sh’Okanabo is gone.
Raphael	Yo, poppin’ Zixx! [Zixx turns to see the turtles have arrived on the rooftop.] We ain’t through with you yet.
Zixx	Color me impressed. I’ve been found. [He backflips onto the rooftop ledge.] But you’ve been Zixxed.
	He winks, spreads his arms, and falls backwards. The turtles run to the ledge.
Leonardo	No!
	As he falls, Zixx activates a button on his wrist controller and a flying racer swoops under him. Zixx drops into the pilot’s seat and the cockpit closes.
Raphael	That dirty dealing lunatic! We’ll never catch him now.
Donatello	Never say never. Introducing… [He presses a button on his gauntlet and a round device shoots out.] …dandy Donny’s tachyon tipped tracking device. [The device attaches to Zixx’s racer.] Patent pending.
	Cut to a view of the NYC Moonport.
Donatello	The Moonport. Gateway to the galaxy. [The Hovershell flies towards the Moonport.] If you’re a smuggler, it’s the fastest way off Earth. There’s the howitzer gravity lift. The ships are encased in a special field so they can be safely launched into space at incredible speeds, and everything on board survives the trip to the moon.
	A ship launches as he’s explaining the mechanics of travel. It shoots up from the gravity lift inside a beacon of light and flies straight to the moon. The Hovershell comes in for a landing near Zixx’s parked racer.
Raphael	How the shell do you know all this?
Donatello	Cody’s almanac hollow vids. We travel the world so you don’t have to.
	The turtles hop down from their ship.
Leonardo	Don, check Zixx’s ship. We’ll scout ahead.
	He and Raphael run ahead, while Donatello and Michelangelo check the vehicle.
Donatello	Empty. He’s in the Moonport.
	He and Michelangelo stop at a wall where their brothers are standing. Near them on another wall is a sign that reads “Restricted. Extra-Terran Defense Grid”.
Donatello	Extra-Terran defense grid ahead. [A hologram of the Earth pops up on Donatello’s gauntlet.] Satellites stationed around the Earth detect illegal or cloaked ships entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Almanac channel, again.
Michelangelo	See, TV is good for you.
	The turtles leap up and catch hold of the top of the wall. They see Zixx walking along the skylight that covers the Moonport.
Leonardo	Zixx.
	Zixx places a device on the glass. It creates an opening that Zixx can jump through and enter the building. The turtles race over and leap through the hole just before it closes. In a launch bay, a transport ship waits to liftoff.
Passenger	We should be moving soon. They’re just loading the cargo.
	Robots roll around the launch bay taking care of cargo and liftoff preparations. Zixx crouches near the transport ship and takes a grappling hook from his cloak. He fires it at an overhead pipe and when the rope wraps around, Zixx swings into the ship through the open cargo door. He clings to the ceiling and makes his way forward. The turtles arrive in the bay.
Raphael	That ship there. He just went in there.
Donatello	That’s the entrance to the cargo bay.
	Zixx jumps down from the ceiling and sneaks through the line of crates.
Zixx	Best way to smuggle something off planet is in the cargo hold of the guys doing the watching.
	He attaches the package given to him by Sh’Okanabo onto the side of a crate.
Leonardo	And the best way to get discovered is to talk to yourself out loud.
Donatello	Of course, the tracking device we planted on your racer didn’t hurt.
	Zixx throws a smoke bomb on the ground.
Raphael	Smoke screen!
	He spots Zixx through the smoke and charges. Raphael smashes into Zixx and they both go flying over a packing crate.
Leonardo	Mikey, Donny, get the package!
	Michelangelo locates the device and is about to reach for it when it beeps and spider-like metal tentacles shoot out. Michelangelo screams and Donatello grabs him to yank him back. Both of the them hit ground and one of the tentacles pierces the floor in front of them.
Michelangelo	Handle with care, huh?
	Raphael and Zixx are still tussling. Zixx manages to push Raphael back.
Zixx	Oh, no. No!
Donatello	What is it, another trick, Zixx of the lame escapes?
Zixx	It’s a bomb.
	The sides of the device spread to reveal a control panel with a countdown.
Moonport Control	Transport 23, proceed to howitzer gravity lift tube.
	The transport rises and enters the long, cylindrical tube to wait in line behind other ships.
Michelangelo	Uh, come again? I thought you said…
Zixx	A bomb. Neutrino splitter. Very effective with a fumble trigger. Try to open it, chop it out, or disarm it and you’re drek, along with everyone for a mile.
	Raphael slams Zixx against a crate.
Raphael	There’s passengers on this transport! Are you insane?
Zixx	I didn’t know. I just delivered the package. It’s not like it was labeled a bomb.
Donatello	I see, so you just turn a blind eye? How do you sleep, Zixx?
Leonardo	Forget him. We need a plan, now.
Michelangelo	Um, scream very, very loudly?
Zixx	You guys work on that. [He knees Raphael and then jumps over him.] I’m out of here.
	He performs a split kick that knocks Leonardo and Donatello out of his path, and then a hand flip over a crate to a clear path. Zixx starts running and shoots the controls for the cargo door. The doors slide open and he leaps out of the transport ship.
Leonardo	Let him go. There are innocent passengers on this ship. It’s ninja time. Let’s move!
	They exit the cargo hold and run towards the passenger section.
Moonport Control	Attention passengers. Several ships are ahead of us in the queue, but we should be launching soon.
	The passengers are all talking among themselves when the door slides open and the turtles enter. They run to the front and turn to address the passengers.
Leonardo	Um, ladies and gentlemen, there’s an emergency situation. Everyone needs to get to the escape pods, now!
	No one moves.
Raphael	How do you say bomb in future-ese?
	The passengers all shout, jump out of their seats, and flee. Two escape pods exit the transport ship.
Moonport Control	Green light. Queue is in motion.
	The transport ship moves forward in the tube. Donatello enters the cockpit, where the robotic captain is at the controls.
Donatello	Captain, you have to get us to a safe distance! If that thing blows, it’ll take out the whole Moonport.
Captain	Cannot abort the launch, sir. The ship is locked into the runway channel. We are at the point of no return.
Donatello	Then is there any way we can go faster? Cut the line and launch before the bomb explodes?
Captain	Yes. Override the autopilot.
Donatello	Excellent. Where’s the autopilot?
Captain	I am the autopilot.
	The door opens and the other turtles enter.
Leonardo	Donny, the good news is that all the passengers have made it to safety in the escape pods.
Michelangelo	Bad news; no more escape pods.
	Donatello pushes the Captain back enough to get in front of it and at the controls.
Donatello	I’m overriding the autopilot. [The transport pushes past another ship in the line.] We can’t stop the bomb, but we can launch it as far away from the city as possible so no one gets hurt.
	The transport enters the gravity tube lift. As it waits, the Hovershell suddenly flies down into the tube to the transport ship.
Moonport Control	Ship launch sequence initiated in ten seconds.
	The Hovershell pulls around to the front of the transport so that the turtles can see inside. At the controls, Zixx gives them a thumbs up gesture.
Raphael	Torbin Zixx!
	The Hovershell flies around to the top of the cockpit.
Moonport Control	Ship launch sequence initiated in five seconds.
Raphael	What’s he doing docking with our ship?
Moonport Control	Ship launch sequence activated.
	Lights come on all around the gravity tube. Zixx presses a button on the Hovershell’s control panel and a hole opens up. A hologram of Zixx appears in front of the turtles and points up.
Leonardo	He’s our ride out of here. Go!
	The turtles enter the beam of light that is holding the hole open and are lifted out of the transport and into the Hovershell.
Raphael	This better not be another hologram.
Moonport Control	Three, two, one – ignition.
	The transport ship shoots out of the howitzer gravity lift. There’s a closeup of the bomb’s timer, and then shift back to Zixx, who pilots the Hovershell off of the transport. Zixx turns the Hovershell backs towards Earth. As the transport nears the moon, it explodes. The explosion takes out one of the satellites in the defense grid. President Bishop is watching on his monitors.
Bishop	The Extra-Terran defense grid. It’s down.
	The Hovershell arrives back at the Moonport and Zixx sets the ship down next to his racer. The top hatch on the Hovershell opens just before the turtles come bounding into the cockpit to see Zixx standing near the controls.
Michelangelo	Uh, thanks for changing from coward mode to rescue mode.
Zixx	I thought you guys were just bounty hunters, but when I saw you go back to rescue the passengers… I may be Zixx of the Black Blade, but I’m no monster. I swear, I didn’t know what the package was.
Leonardo	So who did?
Zixx	His name’s Sh’Okanabo. You find him, save a piece for me. I owe him.
Leonardo	We owe you, Zixx, but you’re crazy if you think we’re just gonna let you go.
Zixx	Ha, ha, ha. What makes you think I’d be dumb enough to give you a choice? I’m already gone.
Raphael	Gone out of your mind, maybe.
	He leaps at Zixx but goes right through him, out through the hatch, and lands in a puddle outside. Donatello walks over and sticks a hand through the hologram of Zixx.
Donatello	Wow, he’s good.
	As a dripping wet Raphael gets out of the puddle, Zixx’s racer takes off. Raphael growls.
Raphael	Show off.
	Cut to Bishop, still in his monitor room. Each of the turtles appears on a different screen as they converse with him.
Bishop	While I would have preferred that a ten-trillion credit transport didn’t detonate, your work was exceptional, gentlemen. You saved many, many lives tonight.
Leonardo	What about this Sh’Okanabo?
Michelangelo	Gesundheit.
Bishop	A myth. An alien bogeyman. Clearly Zixx meant to throw you off balance hoping you’d know the story. We need to focus on facts, not fiction. Tonight’s explosion temporarily knocked out our Terran defense grid. I do not believe that this is coincidence. [A ship passes through the night sky over the city.] If the grid were the actual target, it stands that someone wanted to bring something very large to Earth undetected. [Pan down into the Chelsea Chasm. A dark ship rests at the bottom.] If so, we are dealing with a clever and ruthless adversary. [Shadows pull back from the interior of the ship to reveal Sh’Okanabo standing over a glowing globe.] So instead of worrying about fairy tales, we need to ask the question… [Sh’Okanabo reaches down to stroke a large, glowing egg. Many more are in the ship around him.] …what did they bring to Earth and just how dangerous will it prove to be?
	Sh’Okanabo begins laughing.

{Roll end credits}