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The Genastone: Chapter 6
By Cere
Raph grinned as he stared at the Turtles with red glowing eyes. The Genastone cackled as it floated beside him. "What have you done to him?" Ninjara asked in fury.
"It's simple," the Genastone replied. "After draining his life energy, I took control of his lifeless body. His consciousness is operating under my parameters. Your love here is mine now."
"What did you call him?" Ninjara asked.
"He is, isn't he?" the Genastone said. It laughed to see Ninjara's facial expression. "Oh, there's so much information contained in Raphael's brain, and it's all lying there for me to look over."
Ninjara roared and leapt at the Genastone. Raph stepped forward and stopped her. She struggled, but his grip on her arms was too tight. "Raph, let go!" Ninjara exclaimed, with a small sense of fear. Raph just glared into her eyes.
Mike walked forward and kicked Raph in the chest. He let go and fell back. Then Mike grabbed Ninjara's shoulders and pulled her back. "C'mon," he said. "This is freaky. Let's get out of here."
Raph picked himself off the floor and growled. "We'll never let you escape," he snarled.
Heavens, Leo thought. "Don, we need a diversion."
"I got one," Don replied. He pulled off a wristband, took out his discharger, wrapped the cloth around the prongs and pushed the button. As the fabric caught fire, he tossed it to the floor. "Everyone run!" he shouted.
The Turtles took off and the fire crept to the discharger's power core. The explosion flung Raphael and the Genastone backwards. When the smoke cleared, the Turtles were gone.
Raph growled. "I won't let them get away," he shouted and he started to run after them.
"Wait a minute," the Genastone called. Raph halted and looked back. "You need to be more suitably equipped."
With those words, life energy streamed from the Genastone and solidified around Raph. He now wore a suit of bright crimson armor. "Excellent," Raph said, moving around in his new armor. "It doesn't weigh a thing."
"Precisely," the Genastone said. "Just be careful of those dischargers." Raph nodded and ran off to pursue the Turtles.
The Turtles walked dejectedly back into the lair. Mike plopped heavily down onto the couch. Don sat at his computer chair and swiveled idly. Ninjara held herself and leaned against a wall. Leo turned and looked at all of them.
"So," Mike said, "what will we do now?"
Splinter sensed the emotion and entered the room. "What has happened?" he asked. "Where is Raphael?"
"The enemy got him," Mike said from his horizontal position.
"Got him?" Splinter asked with raised eyebrow.
"The Genastone has him under some kind of mental control," Don explained.
"Then how will you free him?" Splinter asked.
Don shrugged. "Stop the Genastone, I would assume." He looked to the others for support.
"But what if we have to fight Raph?" Mike asked, propping himself up on one elbow.
Ninjara looked up and briefly connected with Leo's gaze. There was a mixture of sadness and anger in her eyes. Ninjara turned away sharply.
Leo turned back to the group. "Then we'll fight him," he said. "A few bumps to the head won't hurt him permanently. Just remember that it's not really Raph we're fighting; it's the Genastone."
Leo looked back and Ninjara was gone. Take care of yourself, he silently wished to her. "So, Don," he said, "how do we defeat the Genastone?"
Don shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
"C'mon, Don, you're the brains of the group," Mike said. "Can't you think of anything?"
"Hey, I thought of the dischargers," Don defended himself.
"Yes, you did," Leo said, "but that's not going to be enough."
Don held up his arms in surrender. "I can't think of anything. Nothing can pass through its shield."
"So then what about trapping it?" Mike suggested. "Or, I remember you talking once about draining its energy."
"Don't have the ability to contain life energy," Don replied. "And as far as trapping it goes, it can break out of any prison we put it in."
"Is there no choice?" Leo asked. "Do we have to destroy it?"
"That's the way it seems," Don answered. "But there's no way we can get through its shield."
"You keep on saying that," Mike said. "It has to have a weakness. How about Dr. Thompson's data?"
"It proves my point," Don replied. "All mass is repelled, and all energy is absorbed into the matrix."
Leo frowned. Something was in the back of his mind, bothering him. "All energy?" he asked.
Don nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, but it's the truth."
Leo scratched his chin. That something was still nagging at him. "Maybe," he muttered.
While this was going on, Splinter heard a sound outside the door. Ninjara must have returned, he reasoned. He silently moved to welcome her as the Turtles talked. This must be very hard on her. We are not usually asked to fight the ones we love.
He reached the door and opened it. "Nin-" he started to say, but it wasn't Ninjara on the other side of the door.
Ninjara stood on a tall building top. The city spread before her. Somewhere in that city, Raphael was under the control of...
She growled and turned away. A cold wind blew her fur. It had been a long night. She pulled her sword out and started performing training exercises while thinking.
It was all a lot to absorb. She had begun the night with Raph by her side. The drastic change was hard to handle. What would happen when she came face to face with him again? She knew it would happen. Could she fight her love?
She made a couple quick disabling thrusts. It reminded her that her fighting style was non-lethal. It was designed to take down her opponent, not kill them. She didn't have to fear harming Raph.
But maybe that wasn't what she was afraid of. Her fighting style was non-lethal, but what about Raph's? He would be ruthless under the control of the enemy. He probably wouldn't hesitate to harm her, even kill her. How could she fight that?
She tossed her sword down in anger. It clattered along the roof. She hung her head in her hands. That's what she was afraid of, not of fighting Raph, but of Raph winning.
She lifted her head and looked at the fallen sword. Slowly, she walked over and picked it up. Well then, she thought, I'll just have to keep him from winning. She sheathed her sword. I'm sorry, Raph, but it's for our own good.
She turned back and looked at the city. Maybe there was still a chance that Raph would listen to reasoning. Or to love. And if not, she thought, fingering the handle of her sword, I hope he'll forgive me.
She leapt off the building, onto the fire escape, and out into the night.
Splinter was thrown across the room. He crashed into a bookcase and fell to the floor in a shower of books. The Turtles faced the door and saw Raphael standing there, encased in life energy armor.
The Turtles leapt into action. Leo ran back and checked on Splinter, while Don and Mike faced Raph. "The Genastone has given me his power," Raph said. "It is useless for you to resist."
"Great, Raph," Mike taunted, "you've got the bad guy clichés down pat."
Raph snarled and leapt at him. Mike tried to hit Raph with his nunchakus, but his armor effortlessly deflected the blow and his fist rammed Mike into the couch. Don's bo harmlessly batted Raph, who snatched it from Don's hands and broke it in two.
"This suit also gives me enhanced strength," Raph said as he kicked Don backwards into the wall.
"Then I'll have to take it away," Leo said, as he jumped into battle with discharger sparking. He touched Raph's helmet and made it disappear. Then he swiftly kicked Raph in the face.
"You'll pay for that," Raph said, grabbing Leo's ankle as he kicked again. He wrapped both hands around Leo's leg and spun him around in circles, a look of glee on his face. Then he let go, flinging Leo headfirst into a wall.
"Ha!" Mike exclaimed. He held his discharger up to that back of Raph's head and pushed the button. Raph screeched as electricity flowed through his head. He grabbed Mike's hand, pulled it away, and wrapped another hand around Mike's throat.
"What the hell was that supposed to do?" Raph growled, tightening his grip.
A half of Don's bo bounced off Raph's head. He turned just in time for the other half to hit his face. "You mutants are more annoying than mosquitoes," he said, throwing Mike into Don. The two crashed against the wall.
Leo crept up behind Raph and pressed his discharger against the back of Raph's armor. Raph snarled again and in one swift motion knocked the discharger into the air. Leo and Raph both jumped for it, but Raph shoved Leo aside and grabbed the discharger. He smiled wickedly at Leo and crushed the device.
Mike and Don picked themselves up and stood next to Leo. Raph laughed. "The three of you cannot beat me," he shouted. "I am too powerful!"
"Then maybe a fourth can help," Splinter said as he leapt on Raph's back. Raph had little time to react before Splinter pinched a nerve in his neck. Raph fell to the floor unconscious.
"Awesome, Splinter," Mike exclaimed.
"Thanks," Splinter said tiredly. He gripped his shoulder and winced. "Though I think that is the last time I wish to be thrown across a room."
"Are you hurt?" Leo asked.
"A little," Splinter replied, "but I can attend to myself. Help your brothers with Raphael."
"C'mon," Don said, "let's take off his armor and tie him up."
"Do you think the Genastone's control has stopped?" Mike asked.
"Maybe," Don replied, "but it's best to be sure."
Ten minutes later, Raph's life energy armor was destroyed and Raphael was tied up. "Should we wake him?" Mike asked.
"Not yet," Don said. "We need to think of our next move."
"Well," Leo pondered, "now that we have Raph, we may have a bargaining chip with the Genastone."
"I don't know," Mike said. "It probably doesn't care that much about Raph."
"If I had the right tools, I could examine him," Don said, "try to find the cause of his possession. But I wouldn't know where to start."
"I don't suppose some holy water would help," Mike suggested.
"This isn't The Exorcist, Mike," Don said.
"Maybe we could question him about the Genastone," Leo said, "find out any weaknesses."
"His loyalty to me is unfailing," a voice said. "He won't tell you anything."
The Turtles turned to see the Genastone displayed on the computer monitor. "Hey," Don exclaimed. "How did you-?"
"Through the miracle of the internet," the Genastone explained. "By patching myself into your data lines, I can see and hear you through your computer's webcam and microphone."
"What do you want?" Leo asked.
"I became worried when Raphael didn't return right away," the Genastone. "I wondered, if something has happened to him, how could I replace my wonderful puppet? Then, an answer came to me. Literally. " The camera view shifted to show a familiar figure encased in life energy bonds.
"Ninjara," Leo whispered.
"She stepped right into my hands," the Genastone continued. "Wanted to rescue her poor lover. Instead, she found me."
Mike growled. "You'd better not have hurt her."
"Oh, don't worry," the Genastone replied. "Apparently, she is a natural species and not a mutation like yourselves. Unlike you mutants, she has a minute amount of life energy. That's why I'm willing to make a deal."
"What kind of deal?" Leo asked cautiously.
"Since I know how much she means to you, I will trade her for my puppet there."
"No way," Mike protested.
"Now, now," the Genastone said, "I wouldn't dismiss it without consideration. You will find that Raphael is not of much use to you. You have until tomorrow at nightfall to deliver him to me, or I will be forced to dispose of this useless fox." The image cut out.
The Turtles were silent. "What do we do?" Don asked.
"We sleep," Leo said. "It's given us a lot of time. We'll work better after being refreshed."
After checking that Raph was securely bound, the Turtles climbed into their beds for some well-deserved rest.
In its underground fortress, the Genastone explored the internet. There was so much interesting data to absorb. Military secrets, weight-loss plans, video game codes, the information went on and on. It was tempting to interfere in certain places, but the jewel restrained itself. Disrupting the world was not important. Collecting life energy was.
That's what went wrong the last time. The Egyptians had defeated it because it hadn't had enough energy. The Genastone had been trying to recover any memory data it had on the period, but all it could think of was its shield not being strong enough.
But another thought crossed his logic pathways. The servant had been bad. Raphael? The mutant had failed, yes. No, something else. Armor was dangerous? Yes, indeed. It had been right to equip Raphael with armor. The mutant's inferior intelligence must have caused his downfall.
Details of government conspiracies filtered into the Genastone's awareness. My, they were interesting. It may be wise to rethink its plan if the authorities wield that much power. However, that would involve more hours of planning, and the plan was very capable, so revision might not be necessary.
The plan was perfect. First, the Genastone would disrupt the rice operations in Malaysia. Then, after destroying the comic book industry, fencing in of polar bears would quickly bring the world to its knees. Finally, controlled release of nuclear radiation would mutate the animal species into perfect batteries for its continued conquest.
The plan was absolutely perfect. It tested correctly in all logic pathways. Now, all it had to do was wait for the mutants to arrive with its servant and the plan would be ready to be put into action.
The Turtles awoke in the afternoon. Raph was still in a controlled state, spewing constant insults at his brothers. They kept him in his bonds. Don was the first to work with Raph. He took Raph into his lab and hooked up various instruments to his head.
"You feeble scientific instruments cannot pierce the effects of my superior master," Raph shouted.
"A biased accusation," Don countered, observing the instrument readouts.
"There is no point in delaying the inevitable," Raph continued. "Join the Genastone and be a part of its glorious power."
Don ignored Raph and continued his examination of Raph's brain. When he was done, he left Raph, still raving, and gave his report to the others.
"There are differences in brain lobe activity," he explained. "Increases in aggressive regions, shifts in devotional areas, and other various modifications. His brain waves also exhibit slight alterations. He was completely uncooperative with all personality tests I attempted to administer. That's the limit of what I can find out with my resources."
"Any possibility of curing him?" Leo asked.
"I'm not sure," Don said. "His primary personality is in repression. I also detected residual life energy levels in his brain, so maybe that's keeping him like this? I don't know. Maybe eliminating that life energy would return him to normal, but I can't do anything about that before tonight."
"It's okay," Leo said. "I'll try to get through to him."
Leo entered the room and closed the door behind him. An hour later, he emerged with a disappointed look on his face. Raph's parting taunts were heard from the room before Leo slammed the door shut.
"Anything?" Don asked.
Leo shook his head. "The problem is, he's got a one track mind. The only thing he cares about is his 'master.' Every time I tried to reason with him, to undermine his false beliefs and bring out the real Raphael, he always resisted."
"All right," Mike said. "I guess it's my turn with the rascal now. Bring him out here."
Leo and Don fetched Raph and sat him in a chair. "Your efforts are futile," Raph said. "Soon, you will be batteries to power my master, and then you will also serve him."
Mike held up a roll of duct tape. "Raph," he said, "I'll give you one chance to change your mind."
"Why should I take orders from you," Raph leered, "a pathetic attempt at a mutagenic aberration with no place in this natural world and would be better off eaten as a soup in some half-rate restaurant?"
"Oh, shut up," Mike said, and promptly duct taped his mouth shut.
"I don't think that helped him much," Don said.
"I sure feel a lot better," Mike said matter-of-factly.
Leo gave a sad smile. "Actually, it's probably the best thing we could have done with him."
Don glanced at the clock. "We're out of time," he said.
"That's okay," Leo said. "We're out of ideas. Grab your weapons and let's go. We have a long way to carry him."
The sun was low in the sky when the Turtles arrived at the Genastone's hideout. It had been difficult to carry their uncooperative brother through the city, but somehow they had accomplished it.
"Do you notice the looks some people gave us?" Don asked, setting down the sack with Raphael inside.
"It's New York," Mike said. "People have seen weirder things than three men in trenchcoats carrying a large sack."
"Still, I'm glad no one asked questions," Leo said. After checking that nobody was watching, he took off his coat and slit open the opening to Raph's sack. Raphael fell out, arms and legs bound and with duct tape still over his mouth. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get out of here."
Mike and Don took off their disguises and helped Leo gently drop Raph down the entrance. Then the three figures slipped in after him. The same red glow pervaded the air as they brought Raph down the stairs.
At the bottom in the central chamber, the Genastone was waiting for them. Ninjara was lying next to him, bound and with her mouth covered. Her eyes displayed a sense of disappointment at their arrival.
Leonardo had no time to react to Ninjara's facial expression before the Genastone greeted them. "Welcome, mutants," it said. "I'm pleased to have my puppet back."
Mike threw Raph on the floor before the floating jewel. "All right, you have him back," he said. "Now can we take Ninjara and leave?"
"I'd love to," it said, "but I have a better idea."
The Turtles had no time to react as tentacles sprung from the walls and wrapped around them. They struggled, but it was no use. They were firmly trapped.
The Genastone released Raph and restored his suit of life energy armor. "I am pleased to be with you again, master," he said.
"I know," the Genastone said. "I made you that way. Now, grab these mutants, the girl too, and take them with me. My plan is almost ready!"
The Turtles' bonds shrank to cover their wrists and ankles as Raph walked over to carry them. Ninjara gave a worried look to Leo, who replied with as much reassurance as he could convey. It'll be all right, he thought, as they were carried deep into the Genastone's citadel.
to be continued...
| Chapter 5<-- | Back to Ninja Turtles | -->Chapter 7 |
What did you think? Your feedback is welcome! E-mail me at cere_8@hotmail.com
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all related characters are the property of someone else. This is a work of fanfiction and no copyright infringement was intended. The Genastone is my own creation.