Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Day of the Rat (A 90s Movies Story)

Chapter 7: Return of the Turtles

"Leo...! Grab this...! Grab it!" Leonardo looked round, confused. The voice came again. "Leo!" He looked up.

Directly above, in line with the one he was on the brink of falling into, there was another entrance to a vertical shaft. To his delight, it looked like all three of his brothers were up there. Donatello, or he presumed it was Donatello, it was difficult to tell, was dangling a staff toward him, and that was what had tapped him on the head.

"Ya hear me? Grab hold!"

Leonardo let go, a surge of adrenaline making him giddy, and grabbed for the staff. The others lifted it and him a few feet and he was then grabbing hold of sturdy green forearms and being hauled up to join them. In the process of this, Donatello's bo slipped from his hands, was lost in the churning water below and disappeared down the shaft. "Ain't we meant to like water?!" Raphael protested, shouting over the noise.

"You know..." gasped Leonardo, "I'd visit again, but I wouldn't wanna live there!" They all laughed, out of sheer relief.

"Flushed..." said Donatello, lamenting his lost staff.

***

"Great! An epidemic of rats and Channel Three's number one reporter isn't anywhere to be found." Ed wasn't even particularly angry, more sort of resigned. He had long since accepted this wasn't going to be a good day. The biggest news story in weeks, and him and his people had been caught napping. He pulled a small electronic device from his pocket and looked at it, worried. "Still, it's not like April not to answer her pager. I hope she's OK."

"It's OK, Ed, I'm here, I'm here..." Out of breath and still finishing off his tie, Jim McNaughton hurried across the newsroom. His fleshy face red with exertion, he carefully arranged the wisp of hair left on top of his head in the reflective screen of one of the TV monitors.

"Here comes number... Uh, not one anyway," Ed muttered. Out loud he called "Jim! Good to see you, glad you could make it."

"Hey, you know me, Ed. Always on call. Gravitas on demand. I should have cards made up with that. Whad'ya think, huh?"

"That sounds just great, Jim. Listen, need you to sit in on a few extra bulletins. I want somebody who can think on their feet for this one, OK?"

"You bet, Ed. Always happy to oblige."

"And if you need anything, Irma will handle it. Just ask." Ed hurried toward his office, muttering "Not even two."

"Right..." Jim looked around the bustling newsroom smugly. Irma caught his attention, hurrying across the room with all the cares of the world on her narrow shoulders. He clicked his fingers. It took Irma a moment to realize that was meant to get her attention, and she pointed at herself questioningly.

"Uh, yeah... Alma. Coffee, two sugars, just a splash of milk. The tiniest splash - no more, no less. I'll be at my desk if anyone needs me."

Irma took stock of that, and recited the order. "One splash of coffee, two milks, no more sugar. Right, boss." And with that, she got on with more important things.

***

[BEEP]

The small electronic device lay abandoned on the ground, and seemed to be taking it to heart. Every few seconds a sound issued from it, sounding more insistent each time. Several pairs of feet ran past. Green feet.

[BEEP]

Now the Turtles were in an alley, in the shadow of the buildings on either side and with no one to see them, Raphael stopped and stood shaking himself to get rid of some of the excess water.