In the Dark is issue 27 of the TMNT Adventures, and was published in December 1991. It also consists of a backup storyline called The White Ninja.
Appearing in In the Dark[]
Characters[]
- Benny
- George
- Mr. Rutt
- April O'Neil
- Police officer
- Sheriff
- Emily Boudica
- Beth Ann
- Michaelangelo
- Splinter
- Leonardo
- Raphael
- Donatello
- The Uncanny Trio
Locations[]
Synopsis[]
A chemical company in Innsmouth, Massachusetts is paying two men to load their truck full of toxic waste and then illegally dump it out in the hilltowns of the state. The factory is also illegally burning waste, resulting in deadly fumes rising out of their chimneys. An owl and a crow accidentally fly through the lethal steam and fall into the smokestack. Inside the facilities, a factory foreman trips over the truckers' cat and then angrily tosses it into a vat of waste. All three animals are pumped out of the factory via a drainage pipe and arise in newly mutated forms - with a vendetta against humanity.
A year later, April is driving to Boston to write a story about toxic waste when her rental car gets a flat tire. O'Neil is in the middle of nowhere, but using a map, notices that Innsmouth should be within walking distance. After a very long trek, April is found by an Innsmouth police officer, who takes her to the station. The sheriff tells April that he'll have her car repaired, in the meantime, she can grab a bite to eat at the local diner. As soon as April leaves, the lawman calls the restaurant and tells the waitress to "take care" of O'Neil. The woman slips something into the reporter's milkshake. When April gets up to leave the diner, she suddenly feels very ill and falls to her knees in tear-inducing pain. A teenage girl named Beth Ann shows up and helps April stand up, telling her that they have to go, before "they" show up. O'Neil is suspcious and heads off on her own, only to be grabbed by the sheriff, who tells her that she won't be permitted to leave. April runs off and soon has the entire town chasing her, everyone being eerily silent.
April manages to give her pursuers the slip and makes a call to the Turtles' lair. Mikey answers the phone, but thinks that it's a prank call. As April tries to convince him it's really her, something snatches her out of the phone booth.
When Mike joins his brothers, who have been practicing, Master Splinter asks him who called. He states that it was a prank call from someone pretending to be April. The guys remind him that no one knows that they're friends with the reporter and only April knows their phone number - so it had to be O'Neil on the phone! Mikey slaps his forehead in disgust as the TMNT pile into their van and race out to save April.
The Turtles make it to Innsmouth and find it quiet. After they park the Turtle Van and go out to the sidewalk they see people are walking the streets like zombies, taking no notice of the mutant teens. Beth Ann arrives and leads our heroes to an old house where April has been taken. The Turtle teens break into the house just in time to stop the cat, owl and crow mutants from forcing April to drink some toxic waste. Raph sends the evil mutants flying with a kick and a battle breaks out. The TMNT vanquish their foes with ease, sending them flying out of a window. Mike apologizes to April for thinking her call was a prank, but the reporter is so thankful to see her friends that she doesn't mind. After the cheerful reunion, Beth Ann points out that the bad guys have flown the coop.
One week later, the factory has been closed down. April reports to the police chief that the mutants were created by illegal toxic waste. The three had been adding the same waste to the townspeople's food and water supplies, which put them into a zombie-like trance and allowed the mutants to control them. The lawman thanks April for her help and April says goodbye to Beth Ann.
As April rides off in the Turtle van, three shadowy mutant forms the heroes depart.
See also[]
- In the Dark/Gallery
- In the Dark/Transcript
Trivia[]
- The fictional town of Innsmouth was popular within the mythos of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, most notably in his novella “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”.