The smell of melted cheese filled the air as the turtles finally tore open the boxes.
Donnie grabbed the peanut butter and jelly first, stuffing a slice into his mouth without hesitation. "Dude. This is like… a high-tech car and a supercomputer had a baby." His words came out muffled, sauce dripping down his chin.
Raph grumbled but yanked a slice of the hot sauce special, chomping into it like it was a challenge and trying not to breathe out fire. "Not bad."
Mikey took a slice of extra cheese and pepperoni. "Alright..." He took a bite. "Uum-humm."
Leo sat quietly, a slice in hand, but his eyes stayed on John.
"You wanted answers," He said finally. "Here's the truth."
The others slowed their eating, listening.
"Two weeks ago, Shredder made his move. We were tracking one of his squads that tried to steal toxic chemicals from a lab in New York. It looked like a standard raid, nothing new. But while we were away, Shredder and the rest of the Foot Clan attacked our home."
Raph's grip on his slice tightened. "Cowards. They waited until we weren't there."
Leo nodded. "When we got back, Master Splinter was barely alive. He'd fought them off as long as he could, but… he was poisoned. It wasn't anything we'd ever seen. His breathing was shallow, his body was shaking, and even Donnie's tech couldn't stabilize him for long."
Donnie set down his slice, face tight. "I've analyzed the toxin a hundred times. It's not natural. The compound is advanced, engineered... It's unlike anything I've ever seen. Whoever made it wanted it to stick and spread fast. I can slow it down, but I can't stop it."
"Which means," Raph growled, "the one that made it also made the cure."
Leo looked at John squarely. "And every lead we've chased points here. The Foot Clan moved supplies through Dakota in the last month, and just last week, another new shipment entered the city, but never got out. Then Donnie hacked into the city's security system and found footage of Karai and Antonio Puzorelli. Which means there is a 90% chance that Shredder's here, somewhere in your city, and he's the only one who knows how to reverse this poison."
Raph clenched his fists, the slice of pizza in his hand crushed beyond recognition. "When we find him, I don't care what it takes. He's gonna pay for what he did."
The park went quiet for a moment, save for Mikey chewing happily on his second slice. "Man, poison, ninjas, thunder guy, and now pizza. This city's got everything."
John sighed. "So your enemy is in my city, planning god knows what. And if he's with Ebon, then things are about to get messy."
Maureen's face flickered through his mind, Harley's grin right behind it. The thought of Shredder causing chaos and spoiling his plans for Harley's birthday made his knuckles itch.
"Alright, find his location and let me know. I'll capture him alive for you. You boys won't have to lift a finger. Sounds good?" He asked.
Raph wiped sauce from his chin and let out a sharp laugh. "You think you can just stroll in, grab Shredder, and hand him over like it's a takeout order? You've got guts, I'll give you that. But you don't know what you're dealing with." He jabbed a thumb at his own chest. "We've gone toe-to-toe with that monster for years. And even together, we barely keep up. Now, even our master got hurt. He's stronger than any of us, and now he's got an army. Mutants, metas, freaks juiced up on chemicals we can't even name. You're just some pizza guy with unbreakable skin and a spark show. Strong, no doubt. But against Shredder and his army? You won't last a minute."
Donnie nodded. "Raph's not wrong. Shredder doesn't just fight with blades and muscle. He's mastered toxins, hallucinogens, and neuro-poisons. He can cloud your mind, turn your senses against you. All that strength you've got means nothing if your nervous system is compromised. Once his venom gets into your bloodstream, it's game over."
The turtles were sitting in a loose circle on the grass now, pizza boxes open between them. Raph leaned forward, glaring hard, as if daring John to argue. Donnie tapped a finger against his knee, analytical even while eating. Mikey was halfway through his third slice, watching with wide eyes, curious how John would react.
John stayed where he was, one shoulder pressed against the tree trunk. His arms were crossed. Golden sparks cracked faintly across his knuckles before fading.
"Poison, mind tricks, an army." His voice was even. "Sounds like a Tuesday."
Raph growled. "You're not listening. We're telling you this isn't some street brawl. Shredder is lethal."
John tilted his head. "I didn't say he wasn't. I'm saying it doesn't matter if he's lethal, has poison, and an army. It's all useless before the power of the Gods." He opened his palm as lightning danced over and around his fingers. "What does scare me is letting him run wild in my city, near my people. That's not happening."
He then pointed a finger at the ground. The lightning arcs shot out of his finger and carved a phone number on the ground.
"You find Shredder or anyone related to him, call that number. You wanna save your master? Don't rush in without me."
"Alright, we'll call you," Leo said as he stood up and walked to John. He clenched his right fist and pointed toward John. "Thank you for lending us a hand."
John fist bumped him. "Thank me when I capture Shredder. Oh, and don't forget to leave a review for the pizzas."
With that, he walked out of the park, got on his delivery scooter, and drove away. A few minutes later, another lightning bolt crashed somewhere in the city, not far from the park.
...
[A few minutes later]
Meanwhile, the night sky over Dakota buzzed faintly with static energy. Virgil Hawkins, better known as Static, cruised on his trademark flying disk, the Static Saucer. The city spread out below him, quiet in patches but alive with distant traffic and the occasional bark of a dog. With Richie busy at a family wedding, the patrol felt lonelier than usual.
A sharp crack split the silence. A bolt of lightning lashed down, jagged and blinding, even though the sky was clear. Virgil slowed, eyebrows furrowing.
"Lightning in a cloudless sky?" he muttered.
Virgil leaned into his saucer and shot toward the strikes, scanning rooftops and alleys. By the time he reached the sites, there was nothing—no scorch marks, no smoke, just quiet streets.
Hovering above an intersection, he spotted someone familiar. The pizza guy. John, the owner of J&H&M Pizza, was driving his delivery scooter along like nothing had happened. "Oh, man. Now I'm craving some nice pizza."
He flew around the block, looking everywhere.
"Weird. Another Bang Baby with powers like mine?" he thought. He circled the block once more, searching for any trace of residual energy, but came up empty.
Deciding not to waste time chasing ghosts, Virgil continued his patrol. His saucer hummed low as he skimmed above rooftops and streetlights. That was when he noticed movement near the edge of town.
[Ace Chemicals]
A cluster of figures dressed in black scaled the fence with practiced precision. They moved like shadows, their faces hidden beneath masks. Virgil frowned and dropped altitude, sparks buzzing faintly across his hands.
"Well, that can't be good."
He zipped down and landed in front of them, sparks arcing in warning as he blocked their path. "Sorry, fellas. Facility's closed. No tours after hours."
One of the figures broke from the group without a word. Fast. Too fast. The ninja lunged straight at Virgil, fists wrapped in cloth and striking like iron. Virgil barely had time to raise an electromagnetic shield before the blow cracked against it.
[Crackle!] He was pushed backward from a single punch.
The rest of the masked intruders slipped through the fence and vanished toward the chemical plant's interior while their comrade kept pressing Virgil with ruthless, silent strikes. The ninja was so fast that it looked as good as teleportation, and he was barely dodging and blocking the attacks.
"Okay, hold up," Static gritted out as he blocked another strike. Sparks lit the night around them. "I've fought a lot of Bang Babies, but this is new. Ninjas? What are you doing in Dakota?"
The silent fighter didn't answer, spinning into a kick that sent Virgil crashing into the nearest light post.
Virgil groaned and pulled himself upright, brushing grit from his jacket as sparks crawled over his hands. The masked fighter flipped gracefully through the air and landed lightly on the cracked pavement. For the first time, Virgil heard her voice—sharp, cold, and unmistakably female.
"Don't get in my way, kid. Leave." She turned on her heel, steps measured and calm, like she hadn't even broken a sweat.
"Wait!" Virgil called, raising his voice across the street. His saucer hummed to life beneath his feet. "What are you ninjas planning? What are you doing in Dakota?"
The woman stopped mid-step. She tilted her head just enough for Virgil to catch the curve of a smirk beneath her mask. "Only the strongest has the right to ask questions. Go home, kid."
Electricity flared around Virgil's fists. "Yeah, see, that's not how I do things." He snapped his wrist forward, firing a sharp bolt of lightning.
The blast lit up the night but she moved like flowing water, sidestepping so cleanly that the bolt scorched only the street behind her. She didn't even look rattled.
Virgil narrowed his eyes. "Then I'm gonna make you answer my questions." His stance lowered, both hands glowing brighter as the saucer lifted him a few feet off the ground. Sparks snapped and hissed in the air.
The ninja slowly turned back to face him. She raised her hands, settling into a low guard, weight shifting lightly on her toes.
"Try it, then."
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