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Some TMNT stuff really isn't for little kids. |
Solicit[]
The Turtles are trapped by a fearsome new mutant foe with seemingly no way of escape. Their friends make a last-ditch attempt to save the Turtles, but will secrets in City Hall spell salvation or doom?
Appearing in #108[]
Major characters[]
- Alopex
- April O'Neil
- Baxter Stockman
- Donatello
- Leonardo
- Lita
- Jennika
- Michelangelo
- Mona Lisa
- M.O.U.S.E.R.s
- Raphael
- The Slithery
Minor characters[]
Species[]
- Humans
- Mutant anteater
- Mutant arctic fox
- Mutant bear
- Mutant chameleon
- Mutant frogs
- Mutant owl
- Mutant rabbit
- Mutant salamander
- Mutant turtles
- Mutant weasels
- Robots
Locations[]
Story So Far[]
As the Turtles begin to make a new home in Mutant Town, something dubbed “The Slithery” is abducting young mutants. The TMNT search for the missing mutants only to become captured themselves!
Summary[]
At the Splinter Dōjō, Alopex and Mona Lisa have fallen asleep in the living room. Two of the weasels have dozed off on top of them, but Zink is still awake. Suddenly Mona Lisa jerks awake and asks what time it is. This wakes Alopex, who quickly chases Zanna off of her. Alopex asks what’s going on and Mona says they fell asleep on the job. It’s very late and no one is back yet. They give each other a worried look, but then Zanna pulls on Alopex’s tunic and asks for breakfast. Alopex agrees, saying she doesn’t think anyone is going back to sleep soon.
Cut to April O'Neil, who bursts into the secret basement room at City Hall to confront Baxter Stockman. She demands to know what all the computer equipment is for. Stockman tells her that he’s monitoring a problem, that there’s a dangerous mutant loose and he needs to keep it contained. April realizes that’s why the M.O.U.S.E.R.s are there and also that Stockman has had those resources in place, which he’s used for spying. Stockman calls it observation, saying he wouldn’t have discovered the problem if he hadn’t been watching. He asks her to imagine the public relations nightmare if the information gets out. April is furious that he's worried about self-preservation, rather than doing the right thing and helping.
She then wants to know exactly where and how it’s been contained. Stockman says inside the borders of Mutant Town and that part of the Mousers’ job is to keep it from escaping. April counters with concern about the safety of the poor people in the town, and then notices that he’s observing the sewers. Stockman says that like her Turtle friends, the mutant he’s monitoring has a penchant for dark and damp places. Looking at the large monitor, April spots the Turtles. They are unconscious and dangling from strands of green slime. When she shouts that they’re in trouble, Stockman tells her not to be rash and it’s not prudent to interfere. He’d rather observe and collect data before making any decisions. April is so enraged she stutters, finally shouting that this is not over before bolting out of the room.
In the sewers, Jennika comes to and slashes the slime holding her in place. She reacts with disgust to the stuff and Lita, who is nearby, hears her. Lita rushes into Jenny’s arms and they hug. Jennika then asks Lita to give her a hand freeing the others. Soon the other Turtles are free and Leonardo asks if Lita is okay and says they were worried about her. Lita starts to cry, blaming herself for everyone’s capture. Jenny quickly wraps her arms around Lita and assures her that nobody blames her. All that matters is Lita is all right. Michelangelo adds that Raphael runs away all the time and they still love him. Lita says that she’s a bad ninja; that she tried and tried to get them out but couldn’t do it.
Leo assures her that it’s okay. Her training has just started and she’s still learning. It’s okay to make plenty of mistakes along the way. Raph adds that Mikey screws up all the time, which he protests. Leo says that they are all grown up and they’ve been doing this all their lives, but are still figuring things out. Jenny suddenly says that Lita said “us”. The other mutant children come out of hiding then and Leo greets them. He tells the group they are happy to see them and they need to get out of the pit before The Slithery comes back.
With the kids clinging to their backs and Raph carrying the extra child, they climb the wall and escape the pit. As they are walking through the tunnels, Leo hears someone coming. It’s April, who is happy that they are all right. She tells them she was looking for them and then explains what she found out about Stockman. Leo asks if she can take the kids back to the dojo while they take care of The Slithery. April agrees and Leo explains to the children who she is and that she’ll get them the rest of the way out.
Suddenly, Lita spins back towards the Turtles, concerned that they will hurt The Slithery. She tells Leo that she knows the eel shouldn’t have taken them, but it’s not like the story because he didn’t try to eat them. The salamander agrees and says he’s not like them- he’s more like an animal, going on instinct. It was sort of like he was collecting them and didn’t mean them any harm. Jenny tells the kids that they’re relieved they are okay, but even if the thing’s not evil, it’s still a threat. Leo says that Jenny is right, that it’s dangerous and they can’t risk it taking anyone else. Lita suggests they just ask him to leave and Mikey assures her they won’t hurt him if they don’t have to. The kids all leave with April then, and Leo notices Don is pondering something. Don asks what if the eel did just leave. If Stockman’s been trying to keep it contained, maybe The Slithery doesn’t even know it can get out. He says maybe if they can get it to the river, it can head out to sea, that it’s essentially an eel and maybe that’s where it belongs. Mikey likes the idea, but Raph says they have to catch him and Jenny adds they have to find him first. Then Don suggests they get him to come to them.
The Turtles head into the tunnel where the partial wall has been built. Don muses that The Slithery showed up right after the Mousers made that screeching sound. He reaches down and takes the head of one of the destroyed Mousers to fiddle with the wires. A second later it emits an ear rupturing screech after which Don quickly pulls the wire out. He then says all they need do now is sit back and wait.
At the kitchen in Alopex’s shelter, Alopex is seated at the table with her head in her hands. Mona Lisa asks if she’s worrying about Raph, which makes Alopex look up quickly to say she doesn’t know. Alopex says she’s thinking about how the guys are back together so the town has their patrols, and between the dojo and her place, she knows they do good work. She wonders if it’s enough. Mona asks what she means and Alopex says that no one is looking out for these folks. Hob’s people are no better than thugs and they know the Mayor doesn’t give a damn about mutants. She says they need to be more organized and proactive as a community. They need to get everyone involved in helping themselves and others. Mona asks if she means something like a government, to which Alopex replies maybe, she hasn’t thought that far ahead. Mona says she can see it now: Vote for Donatello – he’s way smarter than you. Alopex jokes: Vote for Raph – he knows where you live. Both girls burst out laughing.
Cut to the sewer tunnel, where The Slithery has arrived and swims towards one of the broken Mousers. Standing on top of the wall, Leo shines his flashlight on the eel, which startles it. The Slithery turns away, but finds Raph, Jenny and Mikey standing there. Mikey tries to calm the creature, but the eel smacks him with its tail. Raph leaps it action and tries to strike the creature, but discovers it’s too slippery. The Slithery then rises out of the water, curves against the ceiling of the tunnel, and strikes Leo and Jenny with its tail. Leo sits up in the water and says they have to control the tail. Both Mikey and Raph try to hold onto The Slithery’s body, but find that it’s too slimy.
Don strikes the eel on its head and shouts that they have to find a way to contain it. Raph brings out a fish hook and says the way you catch a fish is to hook it. He throws the hook, which is attached to a rope he’s holding. The hook catches in the dorsal fin and Mikey helps Raph drag the eel back towards the wall. Soon the Turtles have moved the trussed up eel over the wall to the other side. Leo tries explaining to The Slithery that they are going to untie him, but he has to go, he can’t stay here.
Jenny asks if this is the best idea and wants to know what happens if it comes back. Leo asks what options they have, kill it or take it home with them. Mikey says they can’t kill it because it’s an innocent animal. Raph says that even if it’s not malicious, it’s still a problem. When the family dog starts biting the neighbors, you put it down. Leo contemplates their points, admitting they are both right and he needs more information. Suddenly, Mikey calls out that The Slithery is making the decision for them. It has escaped the ropes and is swimming away. Raph leaps for the rope still attached to the hook in the eel’s fin, but the tail whips up and strikes him, dislodging the hook in the process. The Slithery dives into the water and swims away.
The next day, the Turtles reunite the children with their families. Raph turns to his brother and tells Mikey that he got his horror movie after all. Mikey says it all turned out too well, that a proper horror movie needs a twist. Jenny is just happy it’s over, but then asks if it really is. Leo asks if she means if The Slithery comes back. Don muses that seeing The Slithery and those other odd fish tells him how much they don’t know about the effects of Hob’s bomb. He wonders if new creatures are mutating this long after the fact. He also wonders if there a mutants that are evolving still and if there are more like the eel, or if he was an anomaly. Another question he’s pondered is what might be happening outside the town walls or in the sea. He tells the others to imagine all kinds of wild animals with enhanced bodies but no human intelligence. This gives the others food for thought and Don says that he needs a lab and to do some research. They need to start figuring out the bigger picture and get ahead of potential threats. Leo says they need to do it before someone like Stockman does and tries to take advantage of the situation again.
At City Hall, April has stormed into Stockman’s office to confront him. She tells him to stop the secret surveillance of Mutant Town. Stockman wants to know what he’d do that. April tells him that she’ll expose him if he doesn’t. The threat that he hid and the risk he exposed the mutants to, along with the conditions those poor people live in. She says that at best, the Mousers are spying on them without their knowledge and at worst, they’re potentially dangerous weapons wandering around where children can find them.
April says that if he wants eyes and ears in Mutant Town, to let her do it. Like an Ambassador of sorts, since she has friends there and can be useful to both sides. Stockman agrees and accepts her offer. But as she starts to leave, he grabs her arm and tells her to watch herself because one day she’s going to push him too far. After she’s gone, Stockman talks to himself, saying it doesn’t matter and he can let her win – because he already has what he wants. He opens a cabinet door where two Mousers are holding eggs from The Slithery.
See also[]
Trivia[]
Mutant children and their parents.
- On page 18, when the missing children are reunited with their families, some of the parents appear to be the same mutant animal species as their children in an apparent sign of family relation. This would be logical for humans, but given that each of the mutagen bomb victims in the earlier City at War story arc originally appeared to mutate into random species, and even Laurel (a rabbit) and her son Felix (a bear) are of different species, it would seem improbable that multiple sets of related characters would share the same species.