|
Some TMNT stuff really isn't for little kids. |
Solicit[]
Raphael and Alopex come face to face with a new group of mutant bikers intent on doing things their own way. Will the Road Hogs be friend or foe?
Appearing in #110[]
Major characters[]
Minor characters[]
Mentioned only[]
Locations[]
Objects and vehicles[]
Story So Far[]
The Turtles have set up a dōjō to help train the inhabitants of Mutant Town and become more involved with their community. This has not gone unnoticed and Leonardo has just discovered he’s being watched by a mysterious octopus mutant!
Summary[]
The mutant octopus, Stone, leaps on Leonardo and wraps an arm around his waist and a pair of them around his neck and mouth. Stone lifts Leo off of his chair, but Leo quickly headbutts him and yanks the arms from his upper body. The pair wrestle on the floor and Leo stretches to reach the leg of the fallen chair. He swings the chair and smashes it against Stone’s head. Then he takes the broken leg and stabs Stone in his upper chest with it before kicking Stone away from him. Leo stands over the fallen Stone, but then the mutant octopus jumps up and squirts ink in his face. Stone escapes while Leo is trying to scrub the ink out of his eyes.
Elsewhere in Mutant Town, Raphael and Alopex stroll along the sidewalk together and then pause to grab a burrito from a sidewalk vendor. Raph comments that he never thought he’d be able to do something like this and Alopex agrees. As they continue their walk, Raph teases her about how quickly she eats and she counters by saying he’s taking dainty bites like a princess. They are still joking and holding hands as they turn a corner. Raph quickly spots a group of motorcycles lined up in front of a bar. The pair walk over to look at them and Raph says he always wanted to zoom through the city on a sweet ride. Alopex agrees that would be fun. Suddenly, a group of bikers, the Road Hogs step out of the bar and spot the pair. The leader of the group, Tusk, tells them to get away from their rides.
Raph angrily replies that they weren’t going to steal their crappy bikes. Tusk snaps at him, saying their bikes are the fastest rides in Mutant Town. Then Tusk slaps him back, recognizing the duo as ninjas from the Splinter Clan. She tells Raph that they are on Road Hogs turf and to get out. Raph informs her that they are from the Splinter Clan, but aren’t there for turf or nothing, that the neighborhood is theirs, too. Tusk calls him “little ninja” and tells him to prove it. Tusk swings a punch at him, which he easily ducks away from and Raph asks her what happens if he beats her. Tusk says she’ll take the Road Hogs and leave. Raph dodges another couple of attempted blows, and then lands a solid punch to her face while asking that she just not freak out about people simply looking at their bikes. Tusk manages to get in a blow to Raph’s chin that knocks him down, angering Alopex. She leaps and kicks Tusk in the chest and then Raph dives at Tusk, taking her down. She calls them cheaters as Raph gets her in a head lock. Alopex interrupts to suggest that they settle this with a race.
Raph releases Tusk, liking the idea of a race, but telling Tusk she’d have to let him ride one of their precious bikes. Tusk agrees to a one-on-one street race, just the two of them and Raph tells her she’s on. As the two of them start their motorcycles and line up, Tusk asks if Raph has ever ridden a motorcycle before. He tells her yes and that she doesn’t need to worry about him – he’s going to smoke her. Alopex waves a handkerchief and starts the race. They zoom along, Raph taking the lead, and then Tusk maneuvers past him. They reach a building under construction and Raph takes a route through some very large pipes, which puts him ahead of Tusk. This lasts only seconds as Tusk races up a ramp and flies overhead to land in front of Raph. She’s looking back at him rather than watching where she’s going and bashes headfirst into some debris, which knocks her off the motorcycle.
Seeing her fall, Raph grins, but when she doesn’t move he turns and goes back to help her up. Tusk doesn’t understand what he’s doing, but Raph walks her back to where everyone is waiting. Alopex asks what happened and Raph says it was a little accident. Tusk tells Raph he won, but he says nobody won and to forget it. She says okay, but then tells him to keep the bike, since he did so good on it. Tusk says they are cool with the Road Hogs and they leave. Raph and Alopex stand looking at the motorcycle, Raph still not believing she gave it to him. Alopex teases about him losing miserably, but he tells her he didn’t lose, Tusk was the one who spun out. Alopex hugs him and tells him he was badass to help Tusk. Raph gets on the motorcycle and apologizes for ruining their date, but Alopex says that it was awesome. Now they can ride around the city wearing shades and leather gloves. She asks if he really expected to have a normal date and he says she’s right. As Raphael starts the motorcycle, with Alopex on the back, he wonders if they can find other trouble.
The pair ride along the street and above them, going in the opposite direction, Leonardo races across the rooftops in full gear. He does not realize that the weasels are following along behind. Leo comes to a stop on a rooftop overlooking the Mutanimals Headquarters, which is all lit up. He drops to the ground outside the tall fence surrounding the building and then shimmies up a light pole to drop into the interior yard. He quickly runs over to the side of the building to put a half-mask over the lower half of his face and pulls on a hooded cloak bearing the letter “M”. The weasels are trailing him the entire time, avoiding the sentries just as Leonardo has. Carrying a bat with nails sticking out of it, Leo walks towards the entrance, giving the guard the secret hand sign.
Leo strolls through the building, which has a number of crates stacked around. Other mutants lounge around and he hears a pair talking. A mutant hippo tells a mutant seal that he thinks Ray is letting the power go to his head and the seal agrees, saying that Hob probably doesn’t know half the stuff he does. The hippo then says they need a union, that Hob is a great guy but he’s not the best at running things. The seal adds that he’s sick of their tiny rations and they ought to get bigger meals, saying maybe they should join some other gang. Leo then passes an open door and looks in to see Man Ray and Herman leading a “Mutant Self-Defense 101” class.
Ducking into a shadowed corridor, Leo strips off the mask and cloak, changing into a flowered shirt, blue ball cap and sunglasses. He tosses a duffel bag over his shoulder and greets the nearest guard, telling him he’s looking for the main office. Leo explains that Mr. Hob is recruiting him, but he’s lost. The guard gives him directions and Leo thanks him before heading off. Once out of sight, he ditches the disguise and creeps down a corridor. The weasels climb into an air duct, chuckling at being sneaky. Below them, Leo stops just outside a doorway to eavesdrop on the mutants inside.
Old Hob addresses Stone, telling him that he wants to know what’s going on in that dōjō. Stone says he got in easy the first time and can do so again. Another occupant of the room, Night, says they’ll investigate the entire place. Hob expresses concern that the Turtles have a stronghold within Mutant Town. He’s not worried about other groups like the Road Hogs, the Fred Hamster Commune, the Punk Frogs, or the Kennel Klub, he feels the Splinter Clan is the one to watch. He muses that they have to be organizing for tactical purposes and wants his mutants to look for a secret cellar base underneath the dōjō if they find nothing else. Hob believes they are staking out turf for a reason and he wants to know what it is.
In the air duct, the weasels peek through the vent and when Zanna sees Hob, she shouts “Dada”. Mushroom shushes her and Hob doesn’t hear them because he’s instructing his spies to go out again tomorrow night. Stone and Night leave the room and then Hob sits down and sighs. Pete asks if he’s sad, but Hob says he’s thinking. He’s having second thoughts about how some of all this is going and wishes things could have gone better. Suddenly, Zanna bursts through a vent in the floor, escaping Zink and Mushroom who are reaching for her.
Leo is startled to see Zanna, who looks up at Hob and calls out to “Dada”. Surprised, he lifts her into the air, smiling as he asks what’s she’s doing there. The other two little ones come out of the vent and Zink says that “Dada” is bad because he put a net on them. Hob says he had to and apologizes. Distracted, none of them see Leo as he steps into the doorway and flings a shuriken at the overhead light. The shuriken severs the cable and the light fixture hits the floor with a crash. Hob pulls his pistol, demanding to know who’s there. Leo races in behind him and scoops up all three weasels before speeding back out of the room. After he spirits them out of the building, Leo sets them down and asks what they were doing, that they were supposed to stay put. Mushroom apologizes, telling “Mister Leo” that they wanted to be ninjas with him. Smiling, Leo tells the trio that they did great and he never realized they followed him. Zanna hangs her head and says she messed up. Leo comforts her and says she did really well, that they all did a great job and he’s proud of them. He stands then and says they must go because they have to tell the others about what they heard. Mushroom says the bad guys are coming tomorrow night. Leo starts running back to their dōjō, with the weasels racing alongside of him and says that they’ll be ready for the bad guys.
See also[]
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issue 110 (IDW)/Gallery
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issue 110 (IDW)/Transcript
Trivia[]
- The cover by Hal Laren is a homage to Me, Myself, and I.
- Two of the alignments Stone mentions are the Punk Frogs and Fred Hamster Commune. Sophie Campbell stated that she almost used the Sparrow-Eagles as well.