L’energia del Natale, (Christmas energy), is a story in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic published by Rizzoli. It appeared in issue 51, 1991, of the Italian children's magazine "Corriere dei Piccoli".
Appearing in L’energia del Natale[]
Major characters[]
Minor characters[]
- April O'Neil
- Bebop
- Homeless man
- Ninja del clan del piede
- Rocksteady
- Young boy
Species[]
- Disembodied brain
- Human
- Mutant rhinoceros
- Mutant turtle
- Mutant warthog
- Robot
Objects and vehicles[]
Locations[]
Summary[]
Earth is in danger again from a threatening orbiting satellite, which is the result of Krang’s evil genius and Shredder’s evil technology. They are ready to spoil everyone’s holidays. Shredder communicates with Krang, telling him that he’s calling the satellite “Sam X”, because it’s the opposite of “X Mas”. He asks if Krang likes it, but Krang tells him it’s results that count. This time, he says, they have the chance to absorb the psychotonic energy of the Christmas holidays. Shredder calls that energy kindness, light, love, and charity, which he believes to be stupidity. Krang agrees, saying that for common people, these feelings have huge energy. When Sam X is in position, he will activate the accumulators through telepathic waves. The satellite will become a large battery that will provide immense energy reserves to the Tecnodromo. This will leave the entire city in the dark and cold for a long time. In those conditions, they will be able to take over easily. Shredder says he’s sent his mutants to place psychotonic transmitters in the city and by this time they should have completed their mission.
Bebop and Rocksteady, wearing Santa costumes, walk past a nightclub and an elderly homeless man. They are certain that their boss will congratulate them. The homeless man holds out a plate bearing a few coins and asks for charity, wishing the pair of mutants a Merry Christmas. Rocksteady stops his partner and says he has an interesting idea as he looks at the homeless man. Using a magnet, he steals the coins from the man’s plate and then the pair take off running.
A young boy, out shopping with his mother, sees the “Santa Claus” duo and exclaims about them stealing from a poor beggar. The old man starts calling for help, and the boy quickly rips into the package he’s carrying, apologizing to his mom for opening his gift early. The gift is a remote-control police car, which he uses to chase after the fake Santas. They hear the siren and think the cops are already on their tail. Just ahead of them is a pizza restaurant and at that moment, the Turtles are exiting, after having enjoyed pizza and calzones. They spot Bebop and Rocksteady running away from the toy police car. Michelangelo jumps forward and smacks Rocksteady on the head with his nunchaku.
Shredder has been watching on one of his monitors and curses the fact that the Turtles are always getting under foot. Krang tells him that Bebop and Rocksteady know how to get into trouble and that he will deal with the situation his way. Inside a very large android body, Krang arrives on the scene and blasts the Turtles with a liquid that is extremely sticky. Donatello manages to avoid the liquid, but his brothers are caught and unable to get free. Racing around a corner, Donatello realizes that he escaped by the skin of his teeth. He knows this is the work of Krang and Shredder. Donatello then sees he’s next to a high-voltage electrical box with wires overhead running from it and that gives him an idea. He takes out a shuriken and throws it upwards, cutting through a pair of wires. They come down and hit Krang’s android body, short circuiting it and making it fall. Krang leaps out of the body and slithers as fast as he can away from a pursuing Donatello, who taunts him for being helpless without a container. With nowhere else to go, Krang takes shelter by leaping down into the sewers.
Meanwhile, in the Tecnodromo, Shredder is trying to reach Krang because all he’s getting on his monitor is static. He starts shouting for Krang to answer, because the satellite is almost vertical to the city. Without the mindflow that drives the android body, Sam X can’t be activated. He decides to resort to extreme measures and use his robots.
Donatello has raced to the lair and is using his electrochemical detector to determine what the substance is made of that has his brothers trapped. He soon has the answer, saying that it’s a silicioide substance and he has the right remedy. Back on the street, the trapped Turtles spot an approaching vehicle and recognize that it’s Ninja del clan del piede. Just as they think they are cooked, Donatello arrives and tells them not to worry. He points a device that looks like a modified hair dryer at the substance trapping his brothers and fires. Shredder orders his robots to use their laswer micronizzanti and reduce the Turtles to ants. They fire the lasers at the trapped Turtles, but the heated mastic has solidified, and the rays are reflected away from them. Those rays bounce back at the Ninja del clan del piede and miniaturizes them.
Telling his brothers to watch out, Donatello uses his bō to smash the solidified mastic and frees the other Turtles. Michelangelo congratulates him on doing a great job and then asks what they do next. Donatello replies they will surprise old Shreddy since it’s Christmas. The transmitter on his robots will lead them to his hideout. With all of his connections broken, Shredder is in the dark as to what is happening. Just as he wonders where his mutants have gone, they arrive and start stammering excuses. He calls them idiots and says he doesn’t want to hear their excuses. Shredder states that they are in trouble. The Sam X satellite is now vertical and the countdown is almost at zero. Without Krang, they can’t activate the telepathic link. He shouts into a communicator for Krang’s whereabouts and is surprised when a reply comes from inside the Tecnodromo.
A sopping wet Krang arrives and tells them he caught a bad cold in the fog down below the city. Rocksteady thinks his voice sounds funny, but Shredder urges Krang to connect to the satellite quickly, as time is already up. However, Krang’s cold is so bad, he can’t perform. The Turtles arrive at the lair and sensing a storm in the air, they don their flu masks. Just then, Krang lets out a cyclonic-like sneeze that destroys the satellite communication equipment. His virus infects the transmitter, which in turn affects Sam X, which explodes. As the Turtles exit the sewers, they are greeted by April, who tells them they missed the comet. Donatello explains that they saw it on Shredder-TV. Michelangelo invites her to enjoy a pizza with them while they tell her all about it. Nearby, someone is singing “Turtles-Bells” in tune with “Jingle Bells” and Raffaello breaks the fourth wall to tell the readers to sing along with the chorus.