Thief in the Night is the comic in the thirteenth issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Appearing in Thief in the Night[]
Major characters[]
Minor characters[]
Locations[]
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Synopsis[]
On the roof of the Metro Museum of Historical Art, the Turtles peer through a skylight at the special World of Ancient Japan exhibit. Of primary interest is the Nakatomi blade, and the sword is specially guarded by a field of laser sensors. Raphael is bored, which Leonardo does not understand. Both he and Michelangelo find it fascinating, while Donatello is busy working on a gadget with a screwdriver.
Mikey asks about the sword and Leo explains that it is the reason they are there. He reminds Mikey that Splinter used to tell them bedtime stories about that sword, but Mikey doesn’t remember. Raph facepalms as Leo begins retelling the story.
Long ago, a samurai was challenged by an oni and they fought. Because they were evenly matched, the fight went on for years, with neither winning. The oni was too stubborn to quit until there was a winner, so the samurai suggested that they seek out the Nakatomi blade. Legend had it that the sword could be drawn only by the worthiest of warriors, so it was the perfect test. The oni attempted to draw the blade from its scabbard first, but failed. However, the samurai drew the blade effortlessly and the oni fled in terror, accepting defeat.
Mikey thinks the story is awesome, though he had to have heard it many times. Raph reminds him that he always fell asleep right away – like he’s about to. Meanwhile, Don has been peering through the skylight and spots Fishface and Foot Soldiers. Raph is finally happy at the chance to punch something and opens the skylight, surprised that the security is so bad that it didn’t set off an alarm. As the Turtles drop into the museum, Don tells him the bad guys have probably already disable the alarm.
Raph points out that the laser sensors around the sword appear to still be functioning. Excited, Mikey says he’s always wanted to do this – and proceeds to perform a very acrobatic display as he slips past the crisscrossing lasers. As he’s telling his brothers to try it, the lasers suddenly vanish and Fishface announces that he cut them. He is happy for a chance to fight, thinking that all he was going to get the chance to do was snatch a dusty old sword.
Leo draws his sword and leaps over the Foot soldiers, telling his brothers to deal with them while he takes on Fishface. Raph complains that he should be fighting Fishface because he’s sorta Raph’s nemesis. Don says that since he’s fighting two ninjas at the same time, he should let someone else borrow his bad guy. They keep up the banter as they fight and Leo tells Fishface they are not going to let him get away with a priceless treasure.
Fishface proceeds to smash the sword’s glass case with his metallic leg, saying that Shredder wants all of the stuff displayed, but most especially the sword. He grabs the sword and tells Leo he’s going to use it to teach him a lesson. Unfortunately, though he struggles to do so, he can’t remove the sword from its scabbard.
Leo informs him that it’s a magic sword and is only for real heroes. Fishface doesn’t believe in magic and thinks the sword is a fake. Shredder won’t be happy about that, but bringing him the Turtles will make up for it. He then flips up onto one hand and uses his metallic legs to kick away both of Leo’s swords. As Fishface leaps to deliver another kick, Leonardo slides under him and snatches the Nakatomi sword from his hand.
Fishface sneers as he tells Leo that sword won’t help him since its worthless. Leo counters by saying Fishface just isn’t epic enough to use it. Like the legend says, only someone truly worthy can draw the blade. Which is exactly what he does, much to everyone’s surprise. Fishface is incredulous and Leo quickly proves the blades worth by slicing through the tube that feeds water into his gills.
Swearing to make him pay, Fishface runs off, followed by the Foot. Mikey promptly begins bowing to Leo and calling him the worthiest warrior. Raph wants an explanation as to how Leo could draw the sword. Leo grins, saying it might be because he’s the worthiest warrior… or it might also be because the sword has a latch.
Leo suggests they check out the rest of the exhibit now that the bad guys are taken care of. He takes the sword back to the display and says he has stories about pretty much everything in the special exhibit. But as he sets the sword down, it sets off an alarm. Don explains that he fixed the security system. Raph is relieved to have been saved from Leo’s stories by the bell and the Turtles flee the museum.