Character Creation Contest #29

We’ve had 28 of these! From ninjas, to archers, to warrior princesses, from original villains both DC & Marvel , to Mayan epics, marvellous bunnies, horror private investigaters, new G.I Joes, to Vikings and a dozen others (found here http://www.comicvine.com/forums/fan-fic-8/character-creation-contest-fan-fic-edition-winners-1476597/#11 if you want a look at the past)

Enough nostalgia, let’s get to it.

In 1984 a pair of young comic book creators stumble into gold after a casual sketch whilst brainstorming. Taking their tax return they invested the money in themselves to produce their comic which was a parody of the biggest four books of the day. That idea has made more money that has been calculated with animated shows, merchandising, several films including a new due this year, rap songs and comic books.

They are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Cowabunga! But what I want is the Teenage, the Mutant, the Ninja but NO turtle. They don’t live in the sewer. Other creatures live in the sewer.

Your mission if you choose to compete is:

*Create a Teenage Mutant Ninja (insert your thing here) and they'll still be called Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello and/or Raphael

*Do it in under 1000 words because otherwise we get epics that whilst good hurt your eyes if you’ve got 5 entries

PLUS AN ADDED BONUS TO THE WINNER! That’s right, asides from bragging rights about winning, the winner will get an original sketch of their creation by the talented and lovely artist Erik Arreaga (see his site here http://www.phour-nyne-guy.com/)

* Splinter, Shredder, April O'Neal, Casey Jones, The Foot Clan and other elements are useable and still the same dependent on whichever version you wish to use.

* We run on Australian time since I won and I get to set the rules. So at the moment it is the 1^st of August 2014 at nearly 3pm. The contest will begin on the 2^nd of August at 12.01am and run for 14 days aka two weeks, ending on 16^th August at 11.59pm AUSTRALIAN TIME meaning you Americanos it’d be the 15^th coz today is still your 31^st…gotta love a round planet

Best of luck to all and let’s see if we can have some new entries

So some call outs:

@pyrogram and @wildvine and @impurestcheese and @cbishop as you are regular contestants in these things.

@joshmightbe and @tommythehitman and @spideyivydaredevilfan26 and @dngn4774 and @awesam because you're on the "leaderboard" of lots of posts. >

@the_poet and @the_impersonator and @delphic because you should throw your hat into the ring aka "I challenge you!"

@arthurkerr and @jackjack390 and @saint_wildcard coz you're newish and we'd like to see what you've got.

Now if you weren't @'d my apologies, this contest is open to all. Just trying to drum up so new blood into the mix.

Good luck to those that compete.

@dagmar_merrill: Hopefully you will as well

@batkevin74: Hm...man, I got nothing right now. I'll have something in two weeks though (I hope). lol Cool on the prize.

@batkevin74: Batkev', please call out arthurkerr (my callout won't work right now- had to "reply" you) He's been very active on the board the last week or so. Let's see what he's got for one of these contests. :)

@cbishop: I did, will do it again. Yo @arthurkerr let's see what you got :)

Ohhh that looks like some fun. Have to think on it.

I have to research allot but in most part would love to do something.

A idea or two comes to mind but to do it justice would have to know the characters much better.

If I had a simple thing to do.

Like get up out of bed and make it to training.

I would mess it up.

I dreamed of a huge pizza round and hot with extra cheese and lots of pepperoni.

Just when I was reaching for a slice.

The alarm clock rang and wow was it loud.

I dropped my pizza , smashed the alarm and fell back into a deep deep sleep like no other.

Then it happened.

I found myself in water attacked by my very blankets struggling to get out.

I swam to the surface and found my air.

Master Splinter looked at me from the edge of the pool.

What time was training he asked.

I know I am late Master Splinter but I am hungry.

Leonardo said Master Splinter as leader of the group you must set a prime example for others to follow.

Not only for the group but for your fellow kids at the home for orphaned kids.

I looked up at him and sprang from the water and bowed.

I will not be late again I said.

@arthurkerr: To be honest, I think you missed the point of creating a Teenage Mutant Ninja Something. You've got two weeks dude, have a think and maybe an edit, also your formatting needs some work. If you need help just ask and we'll see what we can do

@batkevin74: that was just off the top , I was more thinking on where they would stay and how they would train etc etc.

I would have to research the group and where they lived and so on. My thoughts were a group of teens that were at a home for kids. The head master would be Master Splinter his main group would be the Teen aged ninja group and from there you have a secure base.

Then its just becomes picking up the peaces and forming the plot line. Where does the April fit in and the rest.

Powers and so fourth.

Ninja are trained from child hood and so on they jump corn stalks and learn the arts from very very young. I would love to see a story that showed this and we could even flash back to some points that really drove home the mutant aspect of it all. Maybe one has super reflexes and another really strong and so on and you always need somebody that can heal damage of others...

Always food for thought what makes a great story, who can you relate to in the tale?

I mean somebody has to be the strong end and somebody has to be the one that may fall down from time to time but in the end it is a strong team and that is what makes it all come together.

@arthurkerr: That's fine, just put it all together and wrote it up and post your entry here. Don't go telling everyone your story before it's finished

@batkevin74: Crud, I looked your post over twice and still missed it. Good on ya. Yeesh. :}

@dagmar_merrill: I might try but I can't think of anything.

@dagmar_merrill: You got time :)

@knightofthechronicle you also should enter

How much can you twist the original concept of TMNT?

@maccyd: That's part of the idea but the essentially it's a new animal/mineral/vegetable/whatever you want to be TMN? :)

@batkevin74: Mkay, I'm just not as familiar with TMNT as I'd like to be and wasn't sure how much was meant to be referenced from the franchise (supporting characters, enemies, etc).

@maccyd: As much as you need or want for your story. Basically it's the origin story of your TMN? creature/es :)

Okay I will see what I can come up with for my TMN (Insert Name of Species here).

Donatello Steward

Origin Story:

Growing up in German Town, Memphis, Tennessee isn't necessarily the most exciting thing in the world. Being a few miles out from downtown Memphis makes this town a shadow town which also makes it perfect for those who prefer the shadows. Donatello “Donte” Steward is just one such person. Donte, a young man who is roughly 17 years old and a senior in high school has many other “electives” that your average American teenager does not. It all started with a cancer, a cancer found in his liver.

At the ripe old age of 14 Donte was faced with a crisis and it looked as though he would be one of many Americans that would not graduate that year.

The cancer was in his liver, passed down to him through his father whom he never knew, the young man was not diagnosed until it was considered “too late to operate” and was thus given a time frame for life expectancy. That’s when the good Doctor Koren appeared, an older gentlemen in his late 60’s this man was researching ways to cure cancer apart from traditional radiation treatments. When he heard of Donte’s case, he saw an opportunity to try his new “anti-cancer serum” an antidote to the genetic code that causes cancerous cells to form. Donte was taken to a laboratory for testing, being physically inept and too weak to survive the process that the serum used in order to remove the cancer, the doctor arranged for an archaic form of training known as the “Art of Ninjutsu” to be taught to Donte.

For three months, using most of his allotted time, Donte trained until he was ready for surgery. A small phial of anti-cancer was shipped to the lab’s medical center and Donte was taken in to the O.R for surgery. As Donte was on the table and being operated on by Dr. Koren and his four assistants, an explosion was heard across the lab facilities. A noxious gas had been released and was flooding through the laboratory, as the containment protocol was activated to effectively seal off most parts of the lab from contamination. However the primary ventilation center of the facility was breached by an unknown infiltrator, this man or woman opened the hatch which allowed the poisonous gas to leak into the Operating Room that Doctor Koren was in with Donte. Just as the anti-cancer serum was being injected into Donte’s liver, the gas spread throughout the room and caused the doctors in the room to pass into unconsciousness. The assailant from before came into the room and mixed the anti-cancer serum with artificially enhanced steroids before re-injecting the serum into Donte and closing up the incision left during the surgery. The man then took the unconscious boy along with some needed medical supplies to keep him alive, to an undisclosed location where he nursed him back to health.

When Donte finally woke up it had been 2 weeks since his surgery, but something was different. His body which had been somewhat toned from the intense training of the ninjutsu training, had become even more fit. His muscles were more condensed but larger in mass, his joints had more elasticity and he could react to outside stimuli nearly two times faster than he could before. The assailant who had “kidnapped” him revealed himself to be a Grand Master of a School of Ninjas known as the Iron-fist. These ninjas swore to protect the United States from those who would doom it, as the man removed his face-mask it revealed the face of Donte’s own father. After an explanation as to why he kidnapped his own son, his father: George Steward, inducted Donte into the family business. The Iron-fist work in the shadows, they are headquartered in Memphis which is a major hub for shipping and transferal of goods, making it easy for various squads of Iron-fist ninjas to reach the different locations within America; as well as being the old founding spot of the order itself.

Abilities:

Superhuman Strength:

Donte has a strength level above that of an average human of his age and height. A result of the anti-cancer is that he is able to lift roughly half a ton in weight, he can focus his “chi” in order to deliver a punch of roughly 1,500 psi. This makes his physical strength well above your average human, and even above many ninjas within the Iron-fist Order.

Superhuman Agility:

Donte’s agility, balance, and bodily coordination are all enhanced to levels far beyond the finest human athlete. His tendons and connective tissues are twice as elastic as the average human being, and due to his high level training he is capable of performing complex acrobatic stunts with minimal difficulty in most situations.

Chi Empowerment:

Though not actually an ability, Donte is able to achieve extreme levels of mental focus, he can consciously activate parts of the brain normally inaccessible to the average human mind, making him able to physically perform on a level above the average human athlete or combantant.

Martial Arts:

Donte is a high level fighter, using not only ninjutsu but also various martial arts including Marine Martial training, Kung-fu, Boxing, Kickboxing and Judo; mixing all of these into a unique fighting style of his own.

Equipment:

Donte caries two sheathed katana on his back, he also has two harnessed double-ended sais just below his lower back, and a sheath strapped to his left leg that holds 6 kunai. A pouch strapped to the other leg holds wire, flint and other handy trinkets.

(This is what I've got so far, I may add an appearance description just above his ability description, let me know if this is too long or if anything I put in is invalid for character creation rules. Thanks!)

EDIT: Fixed up the location for which he is from.

Teenage Mutant Ninja… Aligators!! Huh? Huh? How bout it?

@jackjack390: Write the story and you've got yourself an entry.

@jackjack390: As @cbishophas said, write it up in less than 1000 words and that's an entry.

@batkevin74: I figured out how I will make the Teenage Mutant ninja _______ my own. I should have a submission in late tonight or early tomorrow.

@dagmar_merrill: No rush, you have like 11 days

( I could get into details but 1000 words is not enough) So I simply suggest a start. One moment in what could be something more.

One taste of a small peace of a huge world.

Open up and say Ahhh

A Simple Taste

Every Eye On Me

The darkness holds many wonders.

It is scary and it has many things hiding in places unknown to anybody.

How much room is in the dark?

What threats does it hold and where will the dangers come from.

More then one writers has brought our fear of the dark to the light and we see monsters and we beg for the dark to return.

I did not wish to see the truth they say.

As Plato would say when Socrates wrote his work The Great Republic.

Put me back in the cave chain me to the rock and take away my understanding of a greater universe.

Do not let me see the world and all its dangers.

The dark can be a very dreadful place.

Then something happens and it says.

Wait

Listen

Look for something more in the dark.

A sign of a hero.

The bringer of understanding and the sign of good things to come.

He whom has the fire and he whom fights back the demons in the night.

Sitting high on top a very old building is Master Splinter.

Unchanged by time he is a character that has withstood the elements.

Never written about by Socrates but he has his own story to tell.

His words and his actions highlight a time when the dangers of man came from man itself.

He sat before the old home and he reached into a bag that held secrets to long ago.

He pulled out four orbs shiny like steel and he marked them with names.

Leonardo.

Michelangelo.

Donatello.

Raphael.

Old souls they were warriors all in the struggle to understand the universe.

Teachers of the arts.

Splinter had other names he went by.

To the maid he was the grand father she had known since child hood.

To the kind policemen on the corner he was uncle.

To the crime element of the city he was a peace of despair and a pain when they crossed paths.

To the universe he was a lone star shining in the night but no longer could he shine alone.

His students would have to step forward and battle with him.

Tossing the orbs into the air they began to orbit around splinter.

Come take your place young ones.

From the shadows they emerged and each grabbed an orb with their names on it.

Then they said nothing they simply looked out over the city and meditated on the things to come.

Sitting down around Master Splinter they prepared for the war ahead.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

News Caster

In the casting of every story , in the pool of life.

Every hero has a soul whom just wants to understand and spread the word.

April goes to class she is the school paper reporter.

She has been hardened by the idea that if you want to see change immerse yourself in the effort.

In this cause she has hardened mind and soul to fight and to sneak and to find a way to gain knowledge few have or ever will.

She looks down on the group this night she is amazed by the power of Master splinter and his group of Orphans.

April steps in shadow and takes her place behind the leader of the youths.

Where have you been April says Master Splinter.

She does not answer he knows the answer.

This leaves only one lost soul.

Where was he this dark night.

Over the side far into the city flash after flash and then a park all around him death.

Casey shows up just long enough to strike and stop the attack on a young women and then in the next instant not a single word to anybody he is gone.

To appear in his place by Splinter.

April takes his hand.

Do not speak she says.

The Master is troubled.

The doors open up behind the group as all the orphans poor forth and pile up on the teens.

We missed you they scream and the joy spreads like a virus only the good kind.

There is plenty of bad things in the dark.

How do you ever see the good things if you never turn on a light to see.

Every tale is just a taste of what could be something more if you look further into the back ground.

You walk through the hallways and into the rooms.

You go up to the floors waiting for exploration.

How bold are you my friend?

Do you see the possible in the future of man kind.

When dangerous minds wait and the cave behind us.

Has been torn down and left scattered to the winds.

No safe place to hide.

You must fight.

In

the

Dark.

They say the bomb was so strong its effects ran through time itself. The Origin, as it's now known to us, is nothing more than a wasteland of a universe, hoping to pull itself back together before the final collapse. We knew about this, though we shouldn't. We existed within our time, but our knowledge came from without. We were the products of a travesty that would not happen for many more years than I could count off in a lifetime. We were mutated, unnatural, and detestable.

By we I refer to those who banded with me in the first weeks of my sentience. We were like one, a family that stuck together, if for no other reason than we understand each other's pains. Yet, for all that, we were not the only ones to mutate. There were others, not entirely like us. They were too bloodthirsty, too angry, and they lived purely for destruction and ruin. It reminds us how lucky we were that we found each other in the beginning, rather than them.

We were born with natural instincts to protect, and our master, Splinter, nurtured it further. He, unlike us, was aged when the mutation came upon him, yet, somehow, he retained his sanity. He put up with us while we grew, and he taught us how to survive, as well as how to protect those who could not protect themselves. He was no pushover himself, though, we can only guess that his martial arts knowledge came to him, somehow, from the bomb. In any case, it was lucky for him, and for us. We four were given names by Splinter: Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo. They gave us a focus to put our identities in, and then we were further tied together under a banner, something we could all call ourselves as one group rather than four individuals.

We were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Raptors.

We were young, we were fit, we were intelligent. We were so much more than we were ever meant to be, and yet, we had a lot to learn. In a world where it was eat or be eaten, kill or be killed, our heightened senses of morality at best served to unbalance the food chain. We might save one life, but that life could be extinguished on the next day, and there would be nothing we could have done. Splinter warned us of this, and still it stung as each and every day made it that much clearer just how true it was. We might protect, but so long as those around us were void of the all too human features that had been born into us, our efforts would be both in vain, and perhaps even misplaced.

Some people say travesty breeds travesty. Others say it gives rise to a strength that urges for a better tomorrow. They are both correct, in a manner of speaking. It's hard to judge intent in relation to cause and effect. One's intent does not always correlate well to the effects of their cause, but surely the fault still lays with them as strongly as if they'd meant for it to happen all along. Ignorance is a plea that often falls onto the deaf ears of those who remember too strongly the wrongs that were not meant to be, but still were.

That is how we were born, and that is how we were given another chance. The details of the rift are not entirely known, but be it by some strong unknown magic, or hyper advanced technologies, nigh countless realms of time and space were gathered together like so much scrap, and harvested.

Give welcome to the universe composed of many. Marvel at the time where the past, present, and future are no less than next door neighbors. It's changing every day, and nobody knows how to deal with it, but we really have no choice, so we do the best we can.

It feels wrong for it to feel so right, but in the events of the rift, we were given a chance to fulfill the lives we had always imagined for ourselves. A diversity had broken out greater than any faced in any single point in time.

An enemy appeared from the throng, a creature that would have seemed human if not for the demonic will it possessed. It was hard to know if it was born that way, or if it was a monster born of the bomb, but it hardly mattered. With its army it carved a name for itself in the shadows. It took power for itself, and forced people to obey.

It would be a lie to say that the appearance of this being calling itself Shredder did not, in some manner, spark an interest in me. It shouldn't have been that way. I should have relished peace, and known that me not having to use my skills was a good sign. Still, when it appeared, a smirk grew on my face, and when it began its reign of terror, my smirk grew wider. I had needed for so long to take what I had learned and to apply it to a worthy cause.

Shredder's aims were endless, and we stood against it, a wall, small in size, but great in spirit. We shut down its operations, and took the first chance we could to bring it down. At least, we tried. Shredder was too much for us, its army was too much. We were too young, too inexperienced, too naive, and too drunk on ourselves.

Splinter's death at the hands of Shredder shook us to the core. It threatened to break us apart. It also gave us clarity. Let it be known that we will stand as one, and we will find others to join us, and together we will strike down Shredder's dominion. We won't do it for ourselves, we will do it for each other, and because it is the right thing to do.

Antarctica, a chilling spine tingling atmosphere that most people couldn't live in. But, I and my brothers did, we did for very long, living normal lives with our families, until the incident. Toxic waste was spilled all over our homes, and for help, people took us back to America so we could be put in a zoo.

The zoo didn’t help, but I and my brothers, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and I, Donatello, were beginning not to feel like we did back in Antarctica. Leonardo thought it was the air, or maybe just the warmer climate of North America, but that wasn’t the truth at all.

The toxic waste had messed with our bodies, made us things that weren’t what we were, not the things that we had been. We were once normal teenage penguins living in Antarctica with our families, but toxic waste turned us into TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA PENGUINS!

Okay, we weren’t ninjas yet, but an old wise monkey from the zoo name Splinter taught us the ways of a ninja. We were trained when the keepers left, and one night, us five escaped. We fled to the sewers. It was our only place of safety.

Splinter was probably one of the nicest people that had ever helped me and my brothers. He taught us the wisest advice, tips and tricks, and he put us into a whole different world when he introduced us to pizza. I thought fish was good, but pizza was the best!

We stayed in the sewers for most of our lives, until the city needed us. At the time, the toxic waste turned us into abnormally large penguins, and I came up with the ideas of eye masks, I didn’t really know why, they just looked cool.

Splinter just didn’t train us, he gave us super cool weapons. It was one of the first nights that the city was in crisis. We had just exited the sewer armed with our awesome Sais and other stuff. I put on my eye mask and we prepared for where the crisis was coming from.

We sprinted towards the action, well, more of fast-waddled towards the action. A man, or somewhat of a man wore metal armor, and had a metal helmet, and he was armed with the exact same weapons as us, but his were more, fatal.

Master Splinter said they called him Shredder. He was evil, indeed evil. He wrecked havoc on the city, and he captured Raphael. Master Splinter said he would help us on the “mission” and he did. He helped us truly, and he will always be remembered.

We were racing out of the warehouse that Shredder owned, all five of us. Shredder reached for us, and Master Splinter wasn’t fast enough to dodge the grasp of Shredder. We tried helping, but it was too late. Shredder slaughtered Master Splinter in cold blood.

Since, we have been tracking down Shredder across the city while he wrecks havoc across the city, we eat pizza, and sometimes we get to save a hot chick named April, who I think is hitting on me, but I don’t know. The world would be doomed without THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA PENGUINS!

@batkevin74: Do I need to make a whole team or can I focus on just one?

@oscuro: It is up to you but the team would be preferable. Look forward to your entry

@batkevin74: ok. I had an idea for a singular character but I think I can fit a group into it

@oscuro: It's totally up to you though

OK bear with me will work this on the fly....

Its TMN The Opera guy

Soooooooooooooooooooo you want to beeee a ninja guy.

Sooooooooooooooooooo youuuuuuuu want to make a ninja cry.

Run around town bringing bad guys down not dress like a clown and tryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

The stage is set the lights go low and master splinter is seen running around in a panic.

He runs from one side of the stage to the other and he looks and he looks but he finds nothing.

He slumps over the and begins to sing.

Innnnnnnnnnnnnn my worse nightmares I find my reason gone away.

In my crazy dreams I lost the will to laugh and play.

In my fantasy I wish I had simply stayed in bedddddddd.

Then A female in horrible black armor comes and pokes and prods him and she sings.....

I left you long ago for your hero saved the day ways.

Shred the world and pour the truth out of all you see before you.

I will pave the way but you will not ignore me.

Teens without a cause.

I will have my last laugh.

You will watch as I destroy them.

Nothing but a measly peace of warn out you...

The curtains fall as we go to the next scene.

Leonardo and the rest of the teens are fighting Shredder..

He cuts them all on the back of the leg and then flips back and tosses a smoke bomb and leaves the stage.

Michelangelo sings a sad song about how they were beaten and left to bleed on the rooftop as splinter is waling away.

It all ends as Casey and April are singing and walking to the school for challenged ninja and blind acrobats.

They sing the song. Singing in the rain as the rain begins to pour and the curtain falls and ends yet another scene.

@arthurkerr: Which one is your entry, since you've so far submitted two?

ooops I am sorry my real one is always the one where Master splinter is from the old days (not old just cursed ) and the first one of the first ninja in recorded history. He is a cursed part of the house he lived in and he makes it a place to raise orphans and that is how we meet our mutants.

He take the house and splits it apart and sends it out into the world and has new places built around it and so can travel any place in the world by going from one part of his house to another.

So he pulls together orphans from all parts of the globe he forms a huge team and he opens the minds of people by not just being a ninja and a great protector and defender.

He does it by showing them how to treat people and kids and leading by example.

My short reply should have been 27 lol.

@arthurkerr: ??? Lets keep it simple, your first post, your second post or this last post.

this one . Thank you. sorry for the trouble.

@arthurkerr: So writing first or the first one was...thank you. Now are you going to edit that or that's how you want it?

lol

Two questions:

1) Can I focus on a single character or do I have to include all four of the mutants?

2) Is it a short story or a wiki profile?

Sorry I was more just putting the idea out if they liked it then that is nice. Winning was never my intent lol. Just love a great story. But who would not love to create a scene and see it in print to create a world and see it brought to life on a page to do such things would be truly amazing. Just thinking out loud.

Alligators, Penguins, Raptors...oh my! :)

@thespiritstalker:

Short story format (see the op for word limit)

Not sure on the other rule. You could make four but focus on one.

Here's my entry. Had some trouble with it. 'Hope you enjoy it.

Never Forget

Aliens. Robots. Monsters… Shredder.

The adventures they had would be a goldmine to any science-fiction writer. And the stories, the stories they could tell you were so unbelievable. You would object, and then kick yourself when you remembered who—or what you were talking to. Every day gave them something new. And against all these troubles, they chose what mattered most: family. But now, the most surreal feeling came not from an outside enemy, but one of their own.

Leo would relive this moment continuously when awake. He lay in his hammock, staring at the ceiling. We’ve come far from being mere gorillas in a lab. We can get through anything together. He closed his eyes, hoping for at least a few hours sleep. But he couldn’t stop thinking about Splinter. He was old, they knew he would die eventually but it didn’t have to be that way.

Leo summoned the scene in his mind. He watched as the frail body of Splinter tackled him to the ground, taking his place from a fatal stab to the chest. The rest was a blur. Raphael took care of the machine, and the man who piloted it. The explosion was so deafening, Leo could not hear his masters dying words as he lay in his arms. He died against a machine, Leo thought. Where’s the honour in that?

It was Splinter who saved them from being test subjects. He too, was a subject. Like them, his animal body was mutated into the body of a man. He took them to the place they now call home. It was an underground city directly below London with sewers, tunnels, bridges and underground structures.

The place they dwelt was colossal-sized. It resembled a super-advanced jungle gym equipped with ropes, climbing nets, bars and scaffoldings. Even the hammock they slept in was made of rope.

Leo rocked back and forth in his hammock, enough to gain momentum to lazily tip his body out. He was built like a tank and yet, he landed silently on his feet. It was cat-like. He was over thinking things. He sat on the cushion that belonged to Splinter. It hadn’t been moved since. It was cold. Leo crossed his legs and hoped an hour of ru jing could relieve him. Splinter always meditated. He said ru jing was entering a state of silent awareness. It was tranquillity. It was nothingness.

It was as if the spirit of Splinter was with him. His mind was calm and his internal state open for observation. I can’t use his wisdom without them. I’m afraid I’ll lose them forever. After the incident, Leo expected them to draw closer, instead the opposite happened. He never felt more alone. He broke his mental silence and turned around. There his brothers lay asleep. Except for one.

Raphael remained still on a rooftop, like some stone gargoyle. He glared down as a man was running from the 23 gang and was headed for an alleyway. The situation was hopeless, if he wasn’t watching.

He hadn’t trained since Splinter died, none of them did. They rarely talked either. Raphael couldn’t take it. It was always at night when intense emotions would rise. He needed to channel it into something violent. The Nightwatcher was created for this reason.

As the man reached a brick wall he seemingly gave up. He knew he was going to die. The 23 were notorious for killings. Before they could close the gap between them and him, something happened. What appeared to be a metal man fell from the sky. The gang froze in their steps.

The armour Raphael wore was originally a Shredder android. It was made into a performance-enhancing exoskeleton by his super-intelligent brother. It was samurai-like and on the back Raphael carved the words ‘Never Forget’ in Chinese characters.

‘The only thing between him and you is me,’ he said, his voice tough. ‘So what are you gonna do?’

The gang was frozen and gave no response. Raphael pressed several buttons on his wrist which was accompanied by a humming sound like the roar of motorbike. He ran and leaped into the centre of the gang. He was too fast for even the man to follow. All he could see was bulky figure performing unbelievable feats. The gang, all twenty three members dropped as if dead. He clenched his fist causing a blade to extend from his gauntlet. He raised his arm and was ready to bring it down. This was the pinnacle of his ‘therapy.’

‘Back off Raph,’ a voice warned.

It was familiar. He looked up and saw Leonardo standing on the same roof. His boots made a high-pitched noise. Something was spinning. Raph jumped and to Leo’s amazement, ran up the building walls.

‘Finally,’ he smiled. ‘The great one speaks,’

‘You always were the most stubborn,’ he said, unveiling his trademark blades.

‘What’s this?’

‘What does it look like?’

‘You—you wanna fight,’ he laughed.

Both of them knew Leo was out of shape. Yet for some reason he seemed refreshed. Suddenly, Raphael’s gauntlet blade slid back into his wrist. Leo leapt and spun a kick that knocked Raphael back, his helmet flying off.

His feet were steady again and he charged at Leo. The two returned blow for blow and counters endlessly. However, Raphael’s exoskeleton provided him with extra speed. And he was getting faster. Leo was forced to defend most of his brothers blows. They wouldn’t stop coming. It reminded Leo all too well of the times when they use to train.

Raphael’s middle finger flipped out his fist and flicked Leo in the nose. He tumbled back. Before he could fall off the building Raphael grabbed him by the hand and pulled him back.

Finally he seemed exhausted. All his anger had left him. He smiled—

Both of them ducked at the firing of gunshots. Some gang members awoke and were now firing.

‘Some people never learn,’ Raphael smiled.

‘Together?’

‘Together.’

The two brothers leaped off the building towards the gang.

Can anyone join this? Or only those who were called out, or...?

@thejester: free to all, the more the merrier. look forward to your entry

Best throw my hat into the ring. With thanks to Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird whose dialogue I have used and slightly altered. Enjoy

**

NYC Sewer System

Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael gathered by the bedside of their master who lay there wheezing in his orange crate bed. Leonardo moved the blankets up to cover the old rat. Storm water runoff dripped rhythmically around them in time with the faint rumblings of the underground trains.

“M-my…sons.” He said in a low voice. “You have made…me so proud.”

“Don’t talk Master Splinter,” eased Donatello “Save your strength.”

The old rat smiled “I…am not long…for this world my son. Gather close…and I shall tell you…h-how we came to be…”

“Cool, origin story,” joked Michelangelo before getting a stern look from his brother Leonardo and a sharp jab in the ribs from Raphael.

Splinter reached out and patted Michelangelo on the hand. “It...was thirteen years ago, w-when I witnessed an accident. A blind man was nearly killed…by a truck. A young man leapt to his rescue…as the truck narrowly swerved away. A canister…flew from the truck and smashed into a bowl of turtles…being carried by a small boy. The turtles, glass and canister…fell into the sewer. Now since arriving from Japan and surviving on the streets, I must admit…I was going into that sewer to eat those small turtles.”

“Gross!” muttered Michelangelo.

“But fate…had other ideas. I arrived to see the four baby turtles…coated in purple glowing ooze. I scurried down into it…when you four arrived. You were very young, nearly blind and…abandoned. You had the same…instinct I had. Seeing you four struggle, I decided to help you…and after devouring a turtle for myself…I fed the other three to you four.”

Splinter looked up at his charges who were quite horrified at the story.

“You fed us radioactive turtle meat?” exclaimed Donatello in disbelief.

“It was that…or watch you starve.” replied Splinter.

“Go on master,” said Leonardo.

“After we had fed, I could feel the ooze somehow changing, mutating myself. It also affected you. It was you Raphael who named me Splinter within the first weeks.”

Raphael was taken aback. Michelangelo patted his brother on the head “Way to go dude.”

“I named you all from a book of Renaissance painters…that I found here in the sewers and began training you in the art of ninjitsu that I had learnt…by watching my owner when I lived in Japan. Now as I lay dying my furry children, I have something…to ask.”

“Anything,” said Leonardo without hesitation.

“I ask you to avenge...the cruel death of my owner, Hamato Yoshi and his wife Tang Shen. I ask you...to find the leader of the Foot Clan, a man known as Oroku Saki, and...to kill him! Will you do that for me my Teenage Mutant Ninja Raccoons!”

Leonardo’s paw drew his katana and held it out. Donatello rested his Bo staff on that, Raphael placed his sai and Michelangelo flopped his nunchaku to complete the pile. “We will!”

“Thank you…my sons,” Splinter exhaled and slipped into unconsciousness.

The raccoons bowed and quietly slipped out of their master’s bedroom into the living room area of their sewer home. Leonardo scratched his furry chin “Donnie, I need you to check the web and find out everything on this Oroku Saki, the Foot Clan. Raph; you and I are going to get some weapons.”

“What about me?” protested Michelangelo “I’m in! I want to help.”

“Mikey,” said Leonardo as he held his brother close “You have the most important job of all.”

“Really?”

“Yup, order us some pizzas!”

Hmmm, I'm beginning to think I shouldn't have just chosen another animal. I'm not going to take it back, but... well, I just hadn't previously considered not choosing something that wasn't an animal.

@lovelessnhk: My original idea was to have a pizza come to life and Splinter trains four slices of pizza...still might try and write it but it never really gelled in my head. I like your raptors though