TMNT: Echo’s Of Kraang
Chapter 5- The Storm Breaks
The world erupted. A bolt of blue-white lightning tore through the reinforced ceiling with a deafening crack. Concrete exploded as steel twisted. The laboratory shook violently as blinding light swallowed the chamber.
Every Kraang Droid froze. Every turtle instinctively shielded their eyes. The bolt struck one of the towering Kraang Walkers dead center. For a heartbeat... Nothing happened. Then the machine detonated.
A fireball burst from its core, hurling twisted metal across the laboratory. Purple sparks rained from the ceiling as pieces of the massive walker crashed into the floor.
Smoke rolled through the room. Blue arcs of electricity danced wildly across shattered machinery. Leo looked up through the hole blasted into the ceiling. "What—" A figure dropped through the smoke. Not gracefully or dramatically. She hit the ground already moving. The impact cracked the concrete beneath her boots. Long blonde hair whipped behind her in a messy ponytail as blue lightning crawled over her forearms like living veins. Without a single glance toward the turtles, she sprinted straight through the smoke. A Kraang Droid raised its weapon. She never slowed. Electricity exploded from her hand. The blast hurled the machine through three computer terminals before it disappeared in a shower of sparks.
Another lunged toward her. She caught its arm. Twisted. The metal screeched. With one violent motion, she slammed it into the floor hard enough to crater the concrete before another burst of lightning surged through the machine, reducing it to smoking scrap.
"Kraang identifies Subject B12!"
"Kraang defensive protocol!"
"Kraang recover Subject B12!"
The woman didn't react. She was already onto the next target. Raphael blinked.
"She's been doing all this!?" Before anyone could process what they were seeing—
The floor split apart. Massive roots erupted through the concrete like they had been waiting beneath the building for years. They wrapped around a charging Kraang Walker's legs. With a violent pull, the towering machine crashed sideways. Before it could recover, thick vines burst through the floor and wrapped around its limbs, pinning it helplessly against the ground. Chunks of broken concrete rose into the air. For a split second they hung weightless. Then they launched forward like cannon fire. The slabs slammed into a wave of advancing Kraang Droids, scattering them across the laboratory. A second young woman stepped calmly through the cloud of dust. Smaller than the first. Copper hair framed by a braided crown. Golden amber eyes reflected the blue flashes of lightning dancing around the room. She lifted one hand. The vines tightened instantly around another struggling droid until its joints groaned under the pressure. She said nothing. Her focus never wavered. Donnie stared. "The vines!" Mikey slowly lowered his nunchucks.
Before anyone could answer... Something sprinted through the smoke. Four legs.
Gray fur. Too large to be an ordinary wolf.
It bounded over a line of Kraang Droids before disappearing into the haze. One of the Kraang pointed frantically. "Kraang detects Subject P38!" The wolf vanished behind a row of terminals. A heartbeat later, one of the Kraang Droids suddenly turned and opened fire on its own allies. The turtles looked at it in confusion. Raphael frowned.
"What's it doing?" The Kraang Droid reached for its helmet. Its face rippled like water. Metal became skin. Skin became dark honey-colored flesh. Short black hair streaked with platinum fell across silver eyes. The disguise melted away completely as a grin spread across the young woman's face.
"Aw." She sounded almost disappointed.
"I was hoping they'd keep shooting each other a little longer." She drove an elbow into the droid beside her, snatched a throwing knife from her belt, and buried it into another machine's optic sensor before shifting again. Bones twisted. Limbs reshaped. Within seconds, the wolf was back.
She barreled through another line of Kraang Droids, jaws clamping around the arm of one machine before flinging it across the room.
Leo couldn't keep his eyes off the battlefield.
They weren't fighting together by accident.
Every movement was coordinated. Lightning drove the Kraang where they wanted them.
Roots trapped anything that escaped. The shapeshifter finished whatever was left standing. It was seamless. Like they'd done this hundreds of times before. Within moments... The laboratory fell silent. Smoking pieces of Kraang machinery littered the floor. The remaining Walker groaned helplessly beneath thick vines. One damaged Kraang Droid attempted to crawl away. Fresh vines immediately wrapped around its torso and pinned it flat against the concrete.
The apparent leader of the Kraang force tried to stand. The blonde woman reached him first. One white boot planted firmly on the droid's chest. With almost casual indifference, she grabbed the machine by its helmet. Twisted and pulled. The metallic shell separated with a loud hiss. A pink Kraang alien blinked in surprise as she plucked it from the body suit. She tossed it across the room. It landed with a wet splat before scrambling backward in panic.
The wolf stalked after it. A low growl rumbled through the laboratory.
The Kraang froze. The blonde woman crouched until they were eye level.
Blue sparks crackled softly around her fingertips. Her voice was calm.
"Where. Is. Emiko?" Her heavy southern accent didn't go unnoticed by anyone.
"Kraang information regarding Subject Q17 remains classified." The wolf's lips curled back, revealing rows of sharp teeth. Then, to the turtles' surprise, the wolf spoke.
"Well..." Her tone was almost cheerful. "It's either classified..." She took one slow step closer. "...or I eat you right here." The growl that followed echoed through the silent laboratory. Not one of the three women had looked at the turtles. Not once.
꧁֍֍꧂
The laboratory fell silent. Only the crackle of dying machinery filled the air. Blue sparks danced lazily across the floor where dozens of shattered Kraang Droids lay scattered in pieces. The remaining Kraang alien trembled beneath the enormous gray wolf standing over it. Its breathing became quick and erratic. The blonde remained crouched in front of it, one forearm resting casually against her knee. Her bright green eyes never left the creature. She didn't raise her voice,
she didn't threaten it, she simply asked again. "Where is Emiko?" The Kraang blinked. "Kraang possesses no authorization to disclose information regarding Subject Q17." She didn't react. "Try again." Her eyes narrowed. "Kraang information regarding Subject Q17 remains classified." A deep growl rumbled through the wolf once more.
The Kraang flinched, the wolf slowly lowered her head until her nose was only inches from the pink alien. Her lips curled back, exposing rows of sharp teeth. "You know..." She spoke without changing back, her words came through low and distorted. "I've always wondered if Kraang taste like squid." The alien's eyes widened. "Kraang recommends against consumption of Kraang." The wolf giggles."Oh?" It's tail flicked lazily behind her. "I wasn't asking." The growl deepened.
Across the room, the smallest women quietly looked away. Her fingers twisted together nervously. She hated this part, hated seeing anyone or thing afraid, but she also knew...
If anyone deserved answers... It was them.
The blonde never looked away from the Kraang.
"Where."
"Is."
"Emiko."
The alien's breathing quickened. "Kraang confirms Subject Q17 no longer remains within Kraang Bio Facility Network." Her expression changed for the first time. Only slightly. "...No longer?" The words were barely above a whisper. She leaned closer.
"What does that mean?" She asked. "Subject Q17 transferred under higher authorization."
For the briefest moment... Hope flickered across their face. "Transferred where?"
The Kraang hesitated. Its expression suddenly became blank. Donnie noticed it first. "...Leo." Too late. The alien's jaw snapped shut. A faint crunch echoed through the chamber. Its body convulsed violently.
Purple veins spread beneath its skin.
"No!" The blonde lunged forward. The Kraang collapsed before she could reach it.
Its eyes glazed over. Within seconds it stopped moving. Silence filled the laboratory.
The wolf slowly shifted back into her human form. "...Well..." She stared down at the body. Her short shagged bangs spilled into her face "That was rude." She scoffed at the robot. The smallest women quietly knelt beside the fallen alien. She checked for a pulse anyway. After several seconds...
She looked up. "...It's gone." The blonde remained perfectly still. She stared at the lifeless Kraang for what felt like forever. Her fists slowly clenched. Not out of rage, but out of frustration. Another lead and another dead end. Another answer ripped away before she could reach it.
She stood. "We're done here."
Without another word, she turned and walked deeper into the facility. The other two immediately followed. Only then did Leo finally step forward. "Wait." None of them stopped. The one that had been a wolf moments ago tilted her head slightly. "...Um. I think someone's talking to us." The blonde didn't even glance over her shoulder. "They ain't important." She kept walking. Raphael raised an eyebrow. "...Excuse me?"
Mikey blinked. "Okay. Ouch! That one kinda stung." Donnie looked toward Leo. "What do we do?" Leo watched the three women disappear down the corridor leading toward the sealed vault. He slid his katanas back into their sheaths. "We follow them."
The massive vault stood open. Its ancient locking mechanisms hung motionless after centuries of silence. Inside were rows upon rows of crystalline storage drives filled towering shelves stretching farther than the eye could see. Alien star charts floated above holographic tables. Walls were covered in unfamiliar symbols. Dozens of containment cylinders housed glowing fragments of technology unlike anything Donnie had ever seen. His eyes widened. "This..." He stepped inside almost reverently. "...This is an archive." The blonde ignored the room's overwhelming scale. She walked with purpose, like she'd already decided exactly where she was going. The smallest women quietly gathered several crystal drives from one shelf while carefully checking the strange symbols etched into each one. The shape shifter wandered farther inside, opening drawers and peeking into containers. "Ooh..." She held up a glowing alien device.
"I have absolutely no idea what this does."
She looked toward Donnie. "...Do you?"
Donnie instinctively answered. "...No." She shrugged. Tossing the device over her shoulder. "Cool cool."
The turtles exchanged puzzled looks. The three women moved through the archive like they weren't exploring... They were searching. Searching for something incredibly specific, and judging by how confidently they navigated the vault... This wasn't the first Kraang archive they'd broken into.
꧁֍֍꧂
The archive was enormous. Crystal drives lined towering shelves from floor to ceiling, each glowing with a faint violet light. Alien maps floated between suspended holographic projectors while forgotten machines hummed quietly beneath layers of dust. It was obvious the women had done this before. The blonde headed straight for a terminal buried deep within the archive. Her fingers flew across unfamiliar Kraang controls with practiced confidence as rows of alien symbols scrolled across the display.
The smallest women moved from shelf to shelf, carefully selecting only certain crystal drives before placing them into a worn satchel slung over her shoulder. The shape shifter had absolutely no system whatsoever.
"Ooo..." She opened another drawer "That's... definitely gross." She quickly shut it again. Donnie couldn't help himself. His eyes followed the crystal drives the smallest was collecting. Then the terminal the blonde had activated. Then the file names racing across the screen. His brow furrowed. "...You're looking for project records." Konami's hands stopped moving. The archive fell quiet. Slowly... She turned around. For the first time since crashing through the ceiling...
Her attention settled entirely on the turtles.
Bright green eyes swept across each of them.
The blue mask
The red.
Purple.
Orange.
She studied their weapons. Their posture. The strange mix of human and turtle. None of it seemed familiar. The turtles found themselves doing exactly the same thing.
She broke the silence. "Who are you?"
Mikey leaned toward Raphael, keeping his voice low. "...She doesn't know us?" He said jokingly. Raphael shrugged him off. The shape shifter looked between the turtles and the blonde. The blonde didn't take her eyes off Leo. The smallest tilted her head curiously. Leo stepped forward into the silence among them. "My name's Leonardo."
He gestured toward his brothers.
"Raphael."
"Donatello."
"Michelangelo."
"We've been protecting this city for years."
The blonde listened without any visible reaction. "The Kraang have been our enemies for a long time. We're trying to stop them."
Her gaze drifted past Leo, toward Donnie.
More specifically... Toward the scanner still clipped to his forearm. Its display continued blinking with the same three energy signatures. Her expression hardened instantly. "You been followin' us."
Donnie instinctively looked down at the scanner. "It's not—" Leo answered before he could. "We've been tracking an unknown energy signature." He paused. "The destroyed facilities. The missing drives. We were trying to figure out who kept getting there before us." Her eyes narrowed.
"It was us." She hissed. "We didn't know that," Leo replied honestly. "We know now."
She folded her arms. "Congrats! You found us." There wasn't even a hint of accomplishment in her voice. Only caution.
Leo held her gaze. "We're not your enemy." She refused to break the gaze. " We don't know that. And you don't know us."
The room grew quiet again. The shape shifter looked back and forth between them before raising a hand. "So...This is awkward." No one acknowledged her. She lowered her hand. "...Yeah. Thought so." The smallest stepped a little closer to the blonde, her voice soft enough that only the three women could hear. "They don't seem like they're lying."
The blonde didn't respond, her eyes never left Leo. Years of betrayal had taught her one lesson better than any other. Trust wasn't something you gave. It was something people earned, and these strangers... Hadn't earned it.
꧁֍֍꧂
The silence lingered. Leo and the blonde stood several feet apart, neither willing to look away first. Neither seemed intimidated by the other. Neither seemed willing to budge. The archive itself almost disappeared around them. The shape shifter looked from one to the other. Then sighed dramatically.
"...Okay. I'm gonna get back to work." Without waiting for anyone's approval, she wandered farther into the archive, opening another drawer. "Hmm..." She pulled out a sealed silver packet covered in Kraang symbols. "...Think this is food?" Mikey perked up instantly. "Food?" Raphael pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mikey."
The women shrugged. "I'll test it." Before anyone could stop her, she tore open the package and sniffed it. "...Smells weird."
She poked a tiny piece with her finger. "...Definitely weird." Mikey leaned over curiously. "Wouldn't recommend it." He said, so she tossed the packet back into the drawer and immediately found something else."Ooo... This is shiny." She picked up one of Donnie's discarded sensor modules from where it had landed during the fight, turning it over in her hands. Silver eyes lit up.
She looked toward Donnie. "You made this?"
Donnie blinked. "...Yeah." She looked impressed. "Oh." She flipped it over again, studying the tiny circuits. "That's actually pretty cool." She pointed at the blinking display. "How's it work?" Donnie hesitated.
"It detects and compares unknown energy signatures." Her eyes widened. "Seriously?" She walked closer. "Can it help us find what we're looking for?" Donnie glanced toward the blonde before answering. "...Maybe... Depends on what records you're looking for." He fixed his glasses. "Emiko."
The answer slipped out before the shape shifter even thought about it. The blonde broke her glare with Leo and shot her a look.
The shape shifter immediately winced.
"Right. Probably shouldn't have said that. Oops."
Nobody spoke. She looked around awkwardly. "Well... Since I'm already oversharing..." She pointed a thumb toward herself. "I'm Vikki." She pointed toward the smaller copper haired women gathering crystal drives."That's Fawn." Then toward the blonde who glared into her soul. "And that's Konami."
Konami closed her eyes for half a second.
"...Vikki." She huffed. Raphael couldn't help smirking. "I like her." Vikki grinned. "Most people do." Mikey pointed at himself enthusiastically. "I'm Mikey."
While the conversation stumbled forward, Fawn quietly closed the satchel hanging at her side. Her amber eyes drifted toward the turtles. None of them had attacked. None of them had tried to stop them. If anything...
They looked just as confused as she felt.
She stepped beside Konami and lowered her voice. "I don't think they're with the Kraang." Konami didn't answer. Her attention remained fixed on Leo. "They could still be a problem." Fawn glanced back toward the turtles. Leo met her eyes.
For just a moment... She offered him the smallest, most apologetic smile. A silent acknowledgment. We don't all feel the same.
Leo returned it with the slightest nod. It wasn't much, but it was the first sign that the wall between the two groups wasn't completely solid. Across the room, Vikki was already opening another cabinet.
"Ooh... Okay, if anybody finds alien snacks that don't smell terrible..." She looked over her shoulder. "...Let me know." Even Konami let out the faintest, almost imperceptible sigh. It wasn't quite amusement. But it was close enough that Fawn noticed.
꧁֍֍꧂
Konami's fingers danced across the Kraang terminal. Rows of alien symbols streamed across the screen faster than anyone else in the room could follow. Donnie tried.
He caught the occasional recognizable command.
Archive...
Transfer...
Subject...
Authorization...
The terminal chimed. A hidden compartment slid open beneath the console. Inside rested a single crystal drive unlike the others. Instead of glowing violet, its core pulsed a deep emerald green. A string of Kraang symbols illuminated its surface. Konami's breath caught. "Found it." She reached into the compartment and carefully lifted the crystal into her hand, relief crossed her face.
Only for a second before...
THUNK.
Something metallic bounced across the floor between both groups. Leo's eyes widened.
"Move!" The object erupted into thick gray smoke. The archive disappeared. Visibility vanished almost instantly. Before the smoke even settled, Shurikens screamed through the air. One embedded itself in the console inches from Donnie's head. Another sliced the tip of Vikki's hand as it landed in a compartment behind her."Fuck!" She groaned from shock more than pain. Another sliced through a hanging cable. Black-clad figures dropped from the upper walkways.
One.
Five.
Ten.
Then dozens.
The Foot Clan.
Raphael groaned. "...You've gotta be kidding me." Across the room, Konami let out an equally irritated sigh. Vikki threw both hands into the air. "Can nobody schedule an attack? I mean, we were in the middle of something!" The first Foot ninja lunged.
Nobody gave an order. Nobody discussed a plan. Everyone simply jumped into action.
Leo intercepted the first attacker before the blade reached Konami. Steel rang through the archive as his katana deflected the strike.
Konami didn't even look at him. She stepped forward at the same moment, blue electricity exploding from her palm into two more ninjas trying to flank Leo from behind.
Both attackers flew backward into a shelf of crystal drives. Leo glanced over his shoulder.
"Thanks." She answered without looking at him. "I wasn't helpin' you." Another pair of Foot soldiers rushed Leo. Before he could react, lightning cracked behind him. The attackers collapsed in smoking heaps. At almost the same instant, Leo cut down the ninja attempting to blindside Konami.
Neither acknowledged it.
Across the chamber, Raphael drove one Foot ninja through a stone pillar before another leapt onto his shell. "Oh, come on!" The attacker never landed. A massive brown bear burst through the smoke with a deafening roar, it slammed shoulder-first into three Foot ninjas at once. They crashed through a row of metal shelving like bowling pins.
The bear skidded to a stop. Bones shifted.
Fur receded. Within seconds Vikki stood where the bear had been, brushing imaginary dust from her magenta cargo pants. Raphael stared. "...Damn, girl. I like the way you think." She flashed him a cocky grin. "Most people do." Another ninja charged. She casually caught him by the wrist. "You're being rude." With one smooth motion she transformed again. This time into a massive wolf. The sudden change threw the ninja completely off balance. She slammed him into another Foot soldier before sprinting off after her next target. Raphael laughed. "Oh yeah. We're gunna get along just fine."
Elsewhere, Donnie ducked beneath a swinging sword. Three Foot ninjas closed in.
Before he could deploy another EMP, thick vines burst through the concrete. They wrapped around every attacker, pinning their arms against their sides. The ninjas struggled helplessly. Donnie didn't hesitate.
Three EMP discs skipped across the floor.
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
Each exploded beneath a captive ninja, disabling their weapons in bright showers of sparks. Fawn blinked. "That worked." Donnie looked equally surprised. "...Yeah."
Another wave rushed them. Without exchanging a word Fawn raised both hands.
Roots erupted beneath the attackers feet.
Donnie launched a retractable drone overhead. The drone fired smoke canisters while the vines yanked the disoriented ninjas off their feet. They moved as though they'd trained together for years. Neither of them had planned it, it just worked.
Throughout the archive, the battle became impossible to follow. Blue lightning flashed between collapsing shelves. Vines tore through cracked stone. Foot ninjas vanished beneath charging wolves, tangled roots, and precise sword strikes. The turtles and the three women still weren't fighting with one another, but they had stopped fighting around one another. Without ever saying it aloud... The Foot Clan had become everyone's problem and for the first time that night... The odds had shifted against the ninjas.
The last Foot ninja disappeared into the smoke. Silence settled over the archive once more. Only the crackling of damaged machinery and the distant groan of collapsing metal broke the stillness.
Raphael lowered his sai with a grunt.
"They always know when to leave." Mikey twirled his nunchucks once before hooking them back onto his belt. "I was just starting to have fun." Donnie's drone drifted lazily back into his hand, its battery nearly depleted. "...I think we got everything."
Leo slowly slid his katanas into their sheaths.
His eyes immediately searched the room.
Konami stood near the terminal where she'd recovered the emerald crystal drive. She tucked it safely into a pouch on her belt.
Fawn finished securing the last few crystal drives inside her satchel. Vikki was...
"...Are you stealing a chair?" Everyone looked toward her. She had somehow found a small rolling office chair and was attempting to drag it toward the exit. Vikki looked back at them. "What? It's got wheels."
Konami didn't even look up. "Leave it." Vikki huffed dramatically. "...Fine." She sighed before letting it roll away."There goes my new chair." Fawn couldn't hide a small laugh. The three women gathered near the shattered opening in the ceiling where the lightning had first entered.
Without another word... They started walking.
Leo stepped forward. "Wait." The women stopped, only for a moment. Konami's shoulders stiffened slightly, she didn't turn around. The room became quiet again.
Leo opened his mouth. Then stopped.
What was he supposed to ask?
Who are you?
What happened to Emiko?
Why are the Kraang hunting you?
What was on that crystal drive?
A hundred questions raced through his mind. None of them felt like the right one.
He simply said, "We're not your enemies."
For several long seconds...silence.
Then Konami spoke. Her voice was calm and measured, almost tired. She tilted her head ever so slightly. "...find someone else to chase." A cold wind swept through the broken ceiling as dark clouds rolled overhead, blue electricity danced between them. Fawn offered the turtles one last gentle glance. A silent apology. Vikki lifted two fingers in an easy wave. "See ya, turtle dudes." Konami never looked back. Lightning exploded across the opening.
CRACK!
The blinding flash swallowed all three women. When the light faded... They were gone. Only drifting smoke and the faint scent of ozone remained. For several moments...
No one spoke. Finally, Mikey broke the silence. "...Sooo..." He looked toward the hole in the ceiling with a grin stretching across his face. "...Anybody else think they were totally awesome?" Raphael snorted.
"...Little bit." He grinned. "A little bit?" Mikey laughed. "Dude! Did you see the bear?!" Raphael smirked. "And I'm not saying I'd like to spar with her...But I'd definitely like to spar with her." Mikey smiled big thinking about fighting a bear.
Donnie looked down at the scanner still glowing in his hands. The three mysterious energy signatures were already speeding away across the city. For the first time since he'd built the tracker... He smiled. "At least now we know who we've been chasing."
Leo never looked away from the empty sky above. His thoughts lingered on the woman who had crashed into their lives like a thunderstorm... Only to disappear just as quickly. After a long silence, he spoke quietly. "...Not yet." Because despite everything they'd seen... The mystery wasn't over. It had only just begun.
