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Some TMNT stuff was always meant for grownups. |
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, volume 1
- Previous: The Great Chase/Transcript
- Next: Teaming Up with Fugitoid/Transcript
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Leonardo (It's only been a week since our master, Splinter, disappeared... But it seems like years. If he is dead—as we fear—we are alone in this world. Who will lead us... Guide us? Our new human friend, April, has been very kind—putting us up here in her home—but she is not Splinter, and no one can take his place! We'll never stop searching for him—never!) Other Turtle "Hey, Leo—c'mon, let's get out and get some exercise!" Leo "Yeah, might as well!" Turtle A "Hey—it's the king of the jungle!" Raphael "Yahoo!" Turtle C "Raphael, can't you do anything without showboating?" Raph "Kreegah bundolo!" KEVIN EASTMAN and PETER LAIRD CO-CREATORS/WRITERS/ARTISTS |
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Leo (I'm glad that Mike and Raphael thought of this... Not only is the exertion a welcome diversion...) Leo (...But it's a beautiful night to be out in! That cool breeze blowing in off the ocean...) Leo (...It's carrying away some of this New York City smog. For once, the air is almost clear!) Michelangelo "Allez—" Other Turtle "Beautiful! Great flip, Mike!" Mike "—Oop!" |
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Mike "Whee!" Donatello or Raph "Show off!" Leo "No one around—this looks like a good place to take a breather..." Leo "Okay—take five, y'all!" Leo "You too, Raphael!" Don "You know, I could get used to this..." Leo "What's that, Don?" Don "Living above the streets, Leo, rather than under them." Leo "You're right... I could—" Mike or Raph "Yeah... There's lots more to look at..." Mike or Raph "...And it smells better." Leo "Uh-oh...!" Don "What's wrong, Leo?" |
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Foot Ninja A "you will die now, turtle scum!" Foot Ninja B "For the death of our master, the Shredder—you will pay!" Leo "I never welch on my debts—" Leo "—How's this for a down payment!" Foot Ninja A "Ahgk" Foot Ninja B "Yaiiee" Leo "Hai!" KLAK! Leo "Ow!" Leo "That hurt, creep!" Foot Ninja C "Yaaa!" |
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Mike "Uh-oh—things don't look too good here..." Foot Ninja D "Yai—! Huh?" Mike "...Time to get a new perspective!" Foot Ninja E "Eh?" CRAK STAK WHUMP Mike "Hah! Heard ya coming, pal! What did that good for nothing bum, the Shredder, teach you guys anyway?" Mike "Too bad I can't stop to give you a few pointers!" Mike "Bye, bye, now!" |
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Foot Ninja F "...For the Shredder!" TAK TAK THUNK Don "No..." Don "—"For Splinter"!" Foot Ninja G "Hah! You cast away your bo*!" [* Staff] Foot Ninja G "Now you stand alone and weaponless—" Foot Ninja H "—Against three of us! Now die!!!" Don "Your overconfidence betrays you—" Don "—For I am a ninja turtle, and my best weapons—" |
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Don "—Are my body and my mind! Hyah!" Foot Ninja G & H "Aggg!" Raph "Damn! This bozo's takin' too long to fall—an' there's two more charging from behind me! No time to dodge, and I'm too close to the—" Foot Ninja I & J "For the Shredder!" Raph "—Edge!" Raph "Aw, no..." Raph "I don't think I like this!" Foot Ninja I "Yaaa!" Foot Ninja J "Aiieeeeee" |
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Raph "Eight stories down— —That clothesline! It's my only hope!" Raph "If—I can—just twist enough—!" Raph "Got ya!" SNAP! Raph "Ulp!" Raph "That's" Raph "Not" Raph "Supposed to" Raph "Happennnnn" Woman "Oh, Herb... We might wake the kids! Tee, hee!" Herb "C'mon, hon—"Cagney and Lacey" is over... Let's..." |
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SMMEEESSHH! Woman & Herb "Yaaa!" Raph "Oh wow..." Raph "What a landing!" Raph "Uh... Hi there! Sorry about you... Ah ...Window... Um..." Raph "Ah... Better be going now!" SLAM! Boy "Momma—who was that little green man?" |
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Raph "Leo! Don!—You guys okay?!" Leo "Yes! Go help Mike—he's chasing down the last two!" Mike "Game's over, creep—" Mike "Ow!" Raph "No, Mike!" Foot Ninja K "For the Shredder!" CHANK! Mike "Agg..." Raph "You just made your last mistake, bugeyes—" Raph "—'Cuz nobody cuts up my best buddy an' gets away with it—" Raph "Nobody!" Mike "I can get him, Raph—" Mike "Ow!" |
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TCRI Raph "Got that?!" Foot Ninja L "—For the Shredder!" Foot Ninja L "For the Shred—" Raph "Shuddup!!!" [As Raphael administers the coup de grace, his peripheral vision picks up something...] [Something startling...] [...And in his mind, a chord is struck...] TCRI [...By a name from the past!] Raph "No—No, it can't be—!" Mike "Raphael—what is it—?!" Leo "Are you alright, Raph?" Don "Leo, look! Look!" |
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TCRI [Then they all see it...] [...And four turtles share the same shock of recognition...] [...The letters TCRI leap out of their memories...] [...As they recall their origin as related to them by Splinter!] [Of that day fifteen years ago... A speeding truck on a potholed street... A heroic act by a young boy...] SKREE [A metal cannister, jarred out of the truck, bouncing on the street... Smashing a bowl holding four small turtles...] TCRI SMASH [...The turtles and the cannister falling into an open manhole... The canister breaking open, releasing a glowing ooze...] [...The young turtles, stunned but alive, crawling around in that ooze... And the changes began!] |
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Raph "Unbelievable!" Leo "All this time—it was right here in the city!" Leo "What is that place?" Don "Let's go check it out!" Leo "Not now—Mike's hurt!" Don "—And it's too close to dawn!" Mike "No... I'm alright—really!" Raph "No, you're not! That's a pretty bad cut!" Raph "We'll return tomorrow night—let's go home!" Leo "Come on, Don—!" Don "I'm coming!" [A few hours later...] Don "Strange..." |
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Don "That's very strange..." Leo "I hope those stitches hold, Mike—that's a pretty bad slash..." Leo "What's strange Donatello?" Don "There's no listing in the phone book or in information... And the chamber of commerce has never heard of TCRI!" Leo "Hmm... Must be a C.I.A. front or something..." Mike "Or a top secret weapons lab!" Raph "What is?" Turtle A "TCRI." Raph "Oh yeah?" Turtle B "About time you got out of the shower, Raphael! There'd better be some hot water left!" Raph "Don't sweat it, big boy!" SNAP Turtle B "Ow! Hey!" KNOCK KNOCK |
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KNOCK KNOCK Raph "Shhh!" Raph "♫ Who ♪ is ♪ iiiittt? ♫" April O'Neil "Aw, come on—who else knows you live up here? Open up—I've got a surprise for you!" April "You like my new 'do?" Raph "Wow! You look great!" Raph (—For a human!) April "I got it done at this new-wave place; what a mistake!" April "The guys gets all mad because I wouldn't let him shave it bald on the sides and dye the top orange!" Raph "Well, if I had hair I'd definitely go there!" April "Oh, my—what happened to you guys!?" Leo "We tangled with that damn "Foot" group again!" |
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Leo "They ambushed us—about twenty of them! Cut Mike's arm up pretty bad... But we took care of them!" April "Ooh, Leo—your cut looks pretty awful, too! Here, give me that peroxide!" April "Where'd you run into those guys—around here?" Leo "Ow!" (Casey Jones watching with telescope from window across the street) Leo "No, over in Brooklyn. We got 'em all... I don't think we were followed back here." April "I shudder to think what might happen if they found out where we lived!" Leo "But—that's not the really big news!" Leo "Don, go get the display case..." Mike "He's right... Wait 'til you hear this!" |
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T.C.R.I. Leo "Do you remember the TCRI cannister, April?" April "I—I don't think I ever saw it, but I do remember Splinter telling me about it..." April "...Wasn't this cannister the source of the mysterious "goo" which caused you to mutate?" Leo "Right you are! Well, after all this time, we have a lead on this "TCRI" company—while fighting the "Foot" we stumbled onto a building bearing that same logo!" Leo "We're going back tonight to check it out... Even though it means interrupting our search for Splinter!" Leo "He'd understand, though. The chance to know why we are what we are—it's just too important to pass up!" April "I want to come with you..." Leo "Thanks... But no, April—" Leo "—You can't come. It's too dangerous... Not to mention illegal!" Leo "We must go—the answers we might find are that meaningful!" |
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[Later that night...] TCRI Turtle A "I don't see any side doors or windows—this place is strange!" Turtle B "Mike's scouting the back—" Mike "Hey, guess what—?" Mike "—Zip! Not a door, window, ledge, or anything!" Other Turtle "Then how do we get in? We can't go through the front door—and Mike can't climb all the way to the top with that arm wound!" Raph "I've got it! Watch this—!" Raph "Eee..." Other Turtle "Oh, I see! We got up to the roof of this building..." Raph "Yah!" Same Other Turtle "...Then cross over! But wait—what if that door has an—" SHRAK Same Other Turtle "Alarm?" |
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Leo "Raphael, your luck never ceases to amaze me! That had to be the only nonwired door in this whole block!" Raph "Not luck, Leo—sheer skill!" Leo "Hah!" Mike "Move it, guys! Let's get up to the roof before we attract a security guard or something!" BLAM Raph "Hmp! They don't make doors like they used to!" Turtle A "Nice throw!" Turtle B "So far, so good!" Don "I'll go first—this place must have security devices—" Don "—And I'll need my bag of tricks!" Other Turtle "It's your show, Don!" Don "Hmm... Only one camera watching the roof entrance...?" |
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Don "Oh, I see—these electric eyes take up the slack!" Don "The camera's just a small problem—those eyes will require some fancy foot-work!" Don "First, an instant photo of the area scanned by the camera—" CLICK ZZZZT Don "—Then attach it to this holder—and for my last trick, to get the photo in front of the lens without being seen—" Don "Here goes nothing—!" [At a security station within the TCRI building...] Man "Another pigeon blocking the roof camera--this city is infested with them!" Don "OK, guys—c'mon over!" Don "Now we can walk right in front of it..." Don "—But be careful to walk where I tell you to—these electric eyes are very sensitive!" |
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Don "Hmmm... Just as I thought—magnetic locks! So all I've got to do is create the right flux pattern in this probe... Mmm..." Mike "Hurry up, Don—I feel very exposed out here!" CLAK! Don "Tada!" Don "After you!" Turtle A "No one in sight on this floor..." Turtle B "Wow!! Check out this bizarre writing!" Don "Nothing here but a long hall—with one small window." Turtle "Can't see much... Looks like a big chamber, with cables and stuff running up the sides..." Same Turtle "Light coming from down below... Hmmm..." Leo "What is this place anyway?" Raph "It's the same on this floor, Leo—a hallway with just one window!" Raph "Let's keep going..." |
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Leo "Strange—four floors, and all the same! A hall, one exit door and one tiny window!" Mike or Raph "What do they do here?!" Raph or Mike "I'd like to know who "they" are!" Turtle A "At last something different! Looks like a kind of reception area..." Turtle B "Up here? We're still three floors to ground level!" Leo "Whatever it is, it looks more normal than the top four floors!" Leo "Maybe we can start learning something about this odd place..." Leo "Hmm—what's this?" |
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Mike or Raph "Not a very neat reception desk, if that's what it is..." Don "Look at this mess—papers all over the place!" Turtle "And look—they're covered with bizarre diagrams and that weird writing!" TCRI (Utrom symbol) Turtle "What's that, Don?" Don "I'm not sure—some kind of I.D. card... Maybe..." Turtle "Quiet, you guys—someone's coming! Go for cover!" |
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Man A "There are but a few more adjustments to make in the dematerialization crystals, and the mechanism will be ready." Man B "Excellent. I will be glad to quit this world, and return home." Man B "I miss my mate and little ones. It's been so long!" Man A "I don't blame you--I've seen holovids of them!" |
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Turtle A "That was close! Let's go checkout some of the rooms on this floor!" Turtle A "Hey where's Raphael?" Turtle B "Up on the light—where else?!" BUMPF! Raph "Neat huh?" Leo "This one's locked..." Mike "This one too..." Leo "Locked!" Mike "Locked!" Leo "...And locked!" Raph "Want me to kick it in?" Don "Raphael, is that your answer to everything?" Mike "Hey—listen—!" Don "Oh—Oh—more company! And no place to hide!" Don "Only one chance..." Don "If this card is what I think it is—" Don "Let's see—I'll put it in this slot—" Don "Match the symbols on the card with those on the panel—" Don "—And pray!" BZZZ CLICK Don "It worked quick, get inside..." Leo "Whew—just made it!" Other Turtle "L-Leo—! Look!" |
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Raph, Leo, Mike & Don "Splinter!" |
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Utrom A "Alert status! Sensors in the main lab have picked up four unidentified intruders!" Utrom B "What--!?" Utrom C "Not the lab--!" Raph "Nooooooo! Master Splinter!" Raph "I won't let them display your body like this—I'll smash!" Don "No Raph—wait!!" Utrom "No time to put our skins on--we must hurry! They could destroy all our work--!" Other Utrom "At all costs we must preserve the translocation matrix!" Mike "Splinter's not dead!" Raph "He is—he is!!!" Leo "Raphael, listen to Donatello!" |
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Don "He is alive—but in some kind of suspended animation!" Don "These machines monitor and support his vital functions!" Raph "I—I guess you would know, Don—" Utrom A "The intruders are right inside--I hear them." Utrom B "Prepare yourselves!" Utrom C "Set weapons at quarter charge..." Utrom "Go!" Utrom A "Don't move, intruders--!" Utrom B "Fascinating! What kind of lifeform are these creatures!" Utrom C "Drop your weapons--and you will not be harmed!" |
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Leo "No way!" Leo "Move it, guys!" Utrom "Stun them!" Leo (What are these things?) SHACK Leo (—Some kind of robot?) ZAK ZAK ZAK TKUMP Raph "Hai!!!" ZAP! Leo "Yow!" |
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Utrom A "We must aim more carefully--our energy beams could damage the circuits in the machines." Utrom B "But--how do we hit them?" Utrom B "These creatures move too fast!" Don "Follow me, guys—we'll find an exit this way!" Utrom "No! You must not enter that room!" Don "Yikes!" Leo "Head down there!" Don "Go—Go! An' keep your eyes peeled for the doors!" |
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Utrom "They're heading for the translocation matrix chamber! We must stop them--before they ruin years of work!" Other Turtle "Wow! Look at this wild hunk of machinery!" Leo "Here they come! Are there any exits?!" Mike or Raph "...And I don't see any others!" Raph or Mike "This one's locked!" Leo "It's too late anyway—!" Utrom "Creatures, move away from that machine--now!" Leo "Don't do it, you guys! It must be important or they'd shoot!" |
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Mike "Leo—I see another door beyond this machine—maybe it's an exit!" Mike "I'll distract them and you three go for it!" Leo "No Mike—you can't—!" Mike "Do it! This stand off won't last forever!" Mike "I can't go through them—so I'll go up!" Mike "Grab these wires and flip over—!" Don "Good luck, Mike! If we can get away—" Don "—We'll come back for you!" Raph "—You can bet on it!" Mike "Ahg—! My arm—the wound from the "Foot" battle—can't hold on!" BASH Mike "Unf!" Utrom "No! The control panel!" |
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Utrom "--It's activated the translocation device! Quickly--shut it down before--" Utrom "--Too late! Once started the sequence must run its course!" Mike "N-No! What's happening—?! Stop it! Stop that thing!!!" Mike "Stop it!" Mike "Let—" SMASH Mike "—Me—" BAP Mike "—Go!!" Mike "Leo—Don—Raph! You're fading away—!" |
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Mike "Don't leave without meeeeeeee" [To be continued!] |