Half Shelled Heroes Book 2/ TMNT 2012

The Kraang Conspiracy

"They are the creators of the Mutagen. They operated in the shadows. Many of their secrets were hidden from the world...until now!"

Days Later

In New York, At Night

The Turtles were on one of their training exercises, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. However, this time they have decided to let April tag along, where she is finding it quite difficult to keep up with them. "I never understood how turtles could...could be so...so fast." April said then she groans as the turtles look at her. "Come on, April. This is just the warm-up." Mikey said to her. "The warm-up? For two hours?" April said to them. "That's what ninjas do. Training sometimes lasts four, five hours at a time." Cheyenne said to her. "Are you kidding me? I'm gonna puke. What about a real mission?" April asks them. "It took fifteen years of training before Master Splinter let us go on a real mission. You got a long way to go, sister." Raph said to her. "It took us seventeen years of training." Tasneem said to Raph. "You poor thing." Raph said to her while he pats her head. "Not that long. A decade or two will fly by like that." Donnie said to her while he snaps his fingers. "For a turtle." April said to him. "It has nothing to do with being a turtle." Jamey said to her. "Maybe we should take her on more missions, Leo. It makes sense." Donnie said to his brother. "Yeah! The best training she could have is hanging with the ninjas." Mikey said to them. "Uh-uh. No way. It's too dangerous." Leo said to them. "What if something happens to her?" Raph asks them. "Yeah, like Shredder jumping out of nowhere and attack her." Jamey said to them. 

"Right, so not going to happen." Leo said to them as he looks away from them. "I can do it, Leo." April said to him as she walks over to him. "Not happening." Leo said to her being somewhat callous without realizing it. "You don't have to be mean." April said to him making Cheyenne walk over to her. "Take it easy on him." Cheyenne said to her. "Yeah..." Donnie said to her as he walks over to April. "He's been down for a while now." Donnie said to her. "Why?" April asks him. "Leo is upset that Jesse had left without saying anything, and days had gone by since her departure." Donnie said to her. "He is upset about that." April said to them. "Well, he does love her. So, give the guy a break." Tasneem said to her. "Yeah, this is his first time having a girlfriend." Jamey said to them as Raph walks over to Leo who was looking at the stars in the sky. "You okay?" Raph asks him. "Yeah, I'm still a little hurt and sad. Jesse knows that she can talk to me." Leo said to him. "Maybe this time, she wanted to do it herself." Raph said to him making Leo look at him. "I only hope that she's okay wherever she is." Leo said to him.

Suddenly April clutches her head and she groans. "My head. Guys, I think there's someone watching us. Right over there." April said as she points at the water tower where the group sees a figure of a man who starts running away.

"Get him!"

All of the Turtles yelled in unison, then the group started to chase after the guy. "Grappling hooks!" Leo yelled and the turtles pull out their hooks and shot them to the other rooftop. The turtles land on the rooftop suddenly Donnie gets hit with April's hook making him and Cheyenne turn to see April's hook was not working making Donnie shots other rope for April who looks at it. "April, use my rope." Donnie said to her. "April, use my rope. She's already slowing us down, Donnie." Raph said to him from the other side of the rooftop as Cheyenne and Donnie walks over to the group. April uses the rope to get on the rooftop then she runs over to them. The group sees the man escapes into his very own apartment.

The group goes over to the window and they sees the lights was off. "It's quiet. Too quiet." Donnie whisper to them. "Good to know." Jamey said to him as Leo began to open the window then the group enters. The turtles turn on their flashlights that when they saw tons of pictures most of which are the Kraang and Mutants, including the Turtles themselves that catches the group's attention. "It's us." Cheyenne said to them. "Not just us. Photos of mutants and Kraang. Lots and lots of Kraang." Leo said to them. "So what's with all the creep-tastic pictures?" April asks them while Raph hears the man from behind a wall. "Well, I guess we've seen enough here, guys. Let's get out of here." Raph said to them while eyeing the wall. Raph walks over to the wall then he grabs guy and pins him to the door, holding his Sai at his neck, the man was wearing a brown hat and trench coat, the man's name is Jack Kurtzman. "Whoa! Don't hurt me. I'm a friend." Jack said to them. "Stalker more like it." Jamey said to him. "After all these months, finally face-to-face with the talking ninja turtles, and April O'Neil herself." Jack said then he walks over to April but Leo gets in front of him. "You better start talking, pal. What's with the photos? Who are you?" Leo asks him. "The name's Kurtzman. I was a journalist on the case of the missing scientist last year, and then I discovered something much bigger. The Kraang." Jack said to them as he opens his book. "The alien infiltration is long-lived. Ancient, in fact. The Kraang have been trying to use mutagen to terraform the Earth for thousands of years. But they couldn't use the mutagen in our universe without a specific chain of human DNA. They spent millennia capturing people, shaping humankind's genetic code, until finally..." Jack said as he holds up a photo of a baby that was April which catches April off guard. "That's me." April said to him. "Your mother was taken by the Kraang before you were born. Then, she was experimented on." Jack said to her. "My mom?" April said making Jack look at her. "That's why you're so special, April. Your DNA can perfect the mutagen in this dimension." Jack said to her, April was stunned by this, stumbled back. "I...I think I need to sit down." April said to them as she leans on the couch. "Am I miss counting, but I thought there was eight turtles." Jack said to the turtles. "You are not miss counting, she is..." Jamey said then Leo cuts her off. "Nothing you need to worry about." Leo said to him. "Okay." Jack said to them suddenly, the Norman droids arrive, knocking the door open. "They found me! I don't know how, but they found me." Jack said to them. "Kraang, the human known as Kurtzman has allied himself with the ones called the turtles, who are turtles." One of the Kraang said. "Observe, Kraang. Disintegrate first. Capture for interrogation later." Other Kraang said to the other.