Two More Turtles (TMNT Book 1)

Closer...

Mii-wa was coming back from whoever she was when she headed out. She looked at us and I waved nervously at her before following Mikey into the water.

We quickly retreat to the roofs, heading to an area that it might be suspicious for a large battle-armored guy like Baxter. As we did, I noticed that Naomi wasn’t moving closer to Raph this time, but Raph closer to Naomi. Mikey was jumping over to me.

“What do you think his nickname should be?” he asked me.

“I don’t know…” I admitted.

“Guys.” Leo looked over at us. “Shush. I see a light here.”

We flipped over and looked down. Ironic enough, Baxter was down there. Donnie opened the window and we jumped down.

“I am not Baxter Stockman.” Baxter said to himself. “I am the Bax-Man! No… I am the Suitinator! Aw, that’s terrible! Captain Punch-You-Hard. Oooooh.” He groaned. “Why is this so difficult?”

“I kinda liked the Suitinator.” Mikey smiled.

“Shh!” we all whispered.

Baxter looked at us individually, “You again?”

“Alright Stockman, nobody wants to hurt you.” Leo said, pointing his swords at him.

“We don’t?” Raph asked with a confused expression on his face. “Did I miss a meeting?”

Ignoring Raph’s comment, Leo continued, “We just want the T-Pod.”

“Give up my source of power?” Baxter asked, getting up. “Why? So you can laugh at me again? Throw me in a dumpster?!”

We all kinda looked surprised, like irony was biting back at us.

Raph then growled, “Sounds good to me.”

Naomi nodded and got out the stick staff and lunged at Baxter along with him. Baxter hit at Raph, sending him against a wall and making a dent. Then he turned on Naomi and kicked out at her, sending her against the opposite wall.

“Ouch.” I breathed.

Leo, Mikey, Donnie, and I each took our turn and ran at him. Baxter’s metal arms extended, ramming into Donnie and Mikey, sending them against the walls as well. Me and Leo with our swords jumped up his arms and slashed one each, cutting them into pieces.

Baxter laughed and grew another pair of arms.

“What the--?” Leo wondered.

“No fair!” I said.

Then Leo and I turned around as we heard a small clinking sound. A small robot came up and jumped at my head, but Leo pushed me out of the way, making the robot latch on his head instead.

I tried to help him pull it off, but the robot locked on to Donnie, Raph, and Naomi. It shot out lasers and they jumped away. They got their weapons out, but the robot shot them away.

“Lasers!” Donnie cried.

Then the robot shocked Leo and he started running at the three. They all ran off, leaving me and Mikey to Baxter.

“Hey Stockman!” Mikey called, jumping toward him. He got out a numb chuck and started twirling it, then got out the small point at the end of one. Yelling, he extended the reach of his chain and the metal link at the end wrapped around Baxter’s armor, keeping him restrained.

“Thanks, Mikey!” I called, jumping up and attacking out.

“No problem--- YAH!” Mikey cried out as Baxter started twirling his armor around in a circle.

“Mikey!” I cried. Baxter looked at me as he spun around, making Mikey dizzy.

I jumped up and started to attack, but Mikey rammed into me. Now we were both flying in the air. I didn’t even have my swords no more, the force of the blow knocked them away.

The twirling stopped and I fell off, but Mikey was being used as his own numb chuck. I looked around for my swords, found them lying on the ground a few feet away. Rolling to them, I tried slashing out at Stockman’s feet, but he kicked me away.

Raph came up with his Sais back in his hands and was about to leap at Baxter, but got knocked away along with Mikey. Leo came up and cut the chain so Baxter couldn’t bother Mikey anymore than he had.

Then Donnie and Naomi came up, both having the same idea and getting out their blades. Donnie’s staff got crushed by Baxter’s hand. “Hey!” he said, throwing away the useless broken stick.

Naomi twirled in the air and brought down the blade, doing a split in the air, but Baxter caught her and she cried out as she was thrown against the wall behind Mikey and Raph, breaking her staff in half.

She got up, rubbing the back of her head, “You gotta be kidding me…” she said as she looked at the staff.

Then we all grouped back together and started at Baxter once more. Baxter ran at us then Mikey got kicked, ramming into all of us. Baxter picked all of us, busted though a brick wall, opened a dumpster and threw us all in it.

I landed on Mikey and I blushed when he looked at me. Naomi on Raph, Raph looking shocked, but Naomi was too focused on the fight to even notice. Or if she did, she paid no heed to it. I saw her eyes look at Raph quickly. She knows.

“Foolish turtles!” Baxter said. “Did you really think you could defeat me?”

“Well, yeah.” Mikey said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“All my life--”

“Great, now we get to hear a life lesson…” Naomi muttered angrily.

Raph nodded.

“People have laughed at me. The other kids in school, my co-workers, the woman who fixes the copying machine. How was I suppose to know you don’t pour tollar in the top? But when they behold the power of this suit, they won’t be laughing anymore. They‘ll tremble in AH!”

Stockman’s armor started glowing.

“Okay, what’d he pour in at the top?” Naomi asked, looking at us, ignoring the fact that Baxter’s armor was getting stronger.

“What’s happening?” Leo asked, looking at Donnie.

I don’t think anybody heard Naomi… I looked at her and shrugged.

“Stockman and the T-Pod.” Donnie said. “They’re… merging. They’re becoming one single entity.”

“The Stockman Pod.” Mikey concluded.