One Universe: Independents Edition Season 1 IC Thread

[Carnage27]

Earth

"What the hell is going on!?" the human male screams as the fighter jet fires its machine guns towards the escaping ambulance.

"Obviously someone wants you dead," the driver responds calmly.

"Why the hell would someone want us dead?" the female asks, panicked. "We never did anything."

The driver notices how protective the female is of the bag she holds next to her as he slams on the brakes, allowing the jet to scream overhead, and then a missiles appears from the front of the car and rockets off. It slams into the fighter jet, sending it spinning out of control.

"That remains to be seen," the driver responds, still smiling. In fact the humans realize the driver hasn't stopped smiling since they got into the car. "Oh that's not good."

"What? What's not good?"

Just then, two sport cars, one black and one white, zip up on each side of the ambulance. Then, spinning spikes pop out of the wheels of the cars and they slam into the side of the ambulance, the sound of scraping metal ripping through the ears of its inhabitants.

The driver hits the brakes again and taps the back of one of the cars, sending it spinning into its counterpart. The ambulance quickly pulls around the accident and attempts to speed off again, but it's obvious the last attack took a bit out of the vehicle.

The driver looks over at the humans sitting next to him, "Are you two trustworthy?"

"What do you mean man? Concentrate on the road!" the male yells.

"Don't worry about the road and answer my question."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Good," he responds and wheels the vehicle around and ejecting the two of them into the ditch on the side of the road. "Stay down in cover. Whatever you do, don't move until I tell you."

And then, amazingly, the ambulance shifts, squeals, and transforms into a giant robot, who then pulls a gun off his back.

The robot takes aim and fires, just as the two cars come into view. The bolt hits between the two, causing an explosion and sending the two flying through the air. One slams into the desert surrounding the road, and the other transforms in midair, and is able to roll through the fall standing and firing back at the ambulance-bot.

"Give me the humans, Autobot!"

The ambulance rolls out of the way of the blasts and returns fire, "You've broken protocol, Runabout."

"It won't matter soon," the black sports car mocks. "We've discovered something that will change the tide of the war forever."

Just then, the ambulance notices the fighter jet approaching in the air, and fires a blast into it just as it begins to transform into yet another robot. Luckily, this causes it to slam into the sports car, and the robot quickly reverts back into its ambulance form, and the driver appears in a buzz of electricity.

"Get in," he calls to the humans, and they scramble into the cab.

"What the heck was that?" the female asks.

"I'll explain later," the driver responds as rubber squeals against the road.

"What are you?"

"Call me Ratchet," the driver smiles. But the smile fades as a police car approaches, transforms and points it's weapon at the ambulance. The humans exit, and Ratchet transforms again, "Prowl."

"Ratchet, you are in violation of the Code of Autobot Interplanetary Conflict."

"Prowl, there's no time," Ratchet pleads. "They've gone into Siege Mode."

**********

Autobot Orbital Command
Opulus System​

"Optimus," Bluestreak says, coming into the command module and Prime looks up from the reports in front of him. "Urgent message from Prowl's detachment on a planet called Earth."

"What does it say?" the Autobot leader asks his aide-de-camp.

"I don't know, sir," he responds. "It's marked for your opticss only."
​

 

[Byrd Man]

​

Previously

Spoiler

Horseshoe Nebula

[YT]T-oQlNDzZss[/YT]


Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor ran around the TARDIS' control panel as the ship shook and rocked. He looked up at the monitor on the console and watched the display on the screen.

"And we're here," the Doctor announced to Lincoln as the TARDIS stopped shaking. Lincoln stood up from his seat and walked over to the TARDIS control panel.

"Where are we, Doctor?"

"A space station the Orion Syndicate use as a regional hub, a clearing house. They've got the population of Centauri 8 here and they're splitting them up to go to other regions of the galaxy. They'll be spread all across space, sold into slavery by the Syndicate and the people they work for. Some nine billion slaves. That is, unless we stop them."

"Well," Lincoln said. "What are we waiting for?"

The Doctor led the way out the TARDIS. They came out the door and into a dark hallway. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the area around them. "We're down in the engineering deck of the space station. We need to go about fifteen decks up to the bridge."

He checked the readout on the screwdriver before putting it back into his pocket. "We're in luck. Most of the guards are away from this area."

"You said there were billions of people kidnapped," Lincoln said as he looked around. "With those many people, how many guards are there?"

"We're in luck. Most of this is operating by automation. There are only about a hundred thousand syndicate members and associates aboard this ship."

"A hundred thousand against two?"

"Hardly seems fair," the Doctor said with a smirk. "Perhaps we should wait for them to bring more people. Now, come on!"

The Doctor and Lincoln made their way out the engineering deck and up two decks before they heard voices approaching from the other end of the hallway.

"Are we going the right way?"

"Dammit, man, I'm not a navigator!"

"This way," the Doctor whispered to Lincoln.

They ducked into a side room and right into a large Orion male.

"Hello," the Doctor said. "Wonder if you'd help me out. We're a bit lost. Told my friend here I wanted to by some slade. He thought I said slaves. Funny mix up, isn't it?"
The green skinned alien grabbed the Doctor by the shoulders and tossed him across the room. The Doctor slammed against the wall and fell to the floor.

"Well, that's just rude," he groaned under his breath.

While the Doctor recovered, Lincoln struck out at the Orion. He struck the alien with a hard jab to the cheek. The Orin swung and Lincoln ducked, coming up with a solid uppercut that knocked the Orion back. The Orion quickly recovered and punched Lincoln in the stomach. Lincoln groaned but struck out and struck the Orion with a left hook to his nose. A solid pop followed the blow and the Orion reached for his nose. While he was in pain, Lincoln dropped the alien with a powerful haymaker that took him to the floor.

"Are you alright?" Lincoln asked as he helped the Doctor up.

"Fine," he said as he brushed his shoulders. "Just my pride."

The door leading into the room opened and three figures stepped in.

"Good God," one of the men said. "It's him. Again."

"You are a sight for sore eyes, Doctor." The leader of the group said.

"Yes...and you lot would be?"

"You don't remember us?"

"Not the foggiest. You know me, though. I suppose that counts for something."

"Don't forget, Jim, he's a time traveler."

"Yes. He told us that our first meeting with him was his second meeting with us. It would appear our timelines are out of sync."

"Fascinating..."

The Doctor, Lincoln, and the three Starfleet officers walked down the corridors of the Orion facility. The Doctor and the captain were in the lead while the three other men walked behind them.

"I recognize the uniform," the Doctor said as they walked. "Starfleet. Mid to late 23rd century."

"That's correct?"

"So, who are you? You obviously have already met me, but I would say introductions would be in order for the sake of me and President Lincoln."

"I'm Captain James T. Kirk. And these are--"

"Shut up," the Doctor said with a delighted giggle. "You are not the Captain James T. Kirk. Starship Enterprise. Only officer to ever beat the Kobayashi Maru. I am a fan!"

He grabbed Kirk's hand and shook it vigorously. He turned and smiled at the Vulcan officer. "And you're Spock! Half-Vulcan, half-human, all cool. It's a pleasure." He shook Spock's hand while the Vulcan gave the Doctor a curious look and arched his eyebrow.

"And you!" The Doctor said to the other officer. "Uhh....Sulu?"

"Dammit, man, I'm not a pilot!"

"Doctor Leonard McCoy!" The Doctor said, his face breaking out into a large grin. "Bones! I can't believe I'm meeting you all! I'm - what's the word I'm looking for - yes, geeking out. I'm geeking out right now! Of all the places in all the centuries I could have wound up, I run into the away team of the Enterprise. Brilliant."

"Can we go?" McCoy growled. "Lives are on the line here. We can't afford to listen to you prattling on. I'm a-"

"Let me guess, you're a doctor and not a sounding board?"

McCoy fumed while Spock spoke up. "Doctor McCoy is correct. Lives are in jeopardy. The longer we wait, the more peril there will be."

"You're right Spock," Kirk said with a nod.

"Are you here because of Centauri 6?"

"Yes," Kirk said. "Starfleet command directed us here to investigate this facility. We were in the area. Our ship is in the outskirts of the Nebula. We beamed in."

"Ah, yes, beaming technology. Never fancied it myself. I never got put back together properly, always ended up with my socks on my hands and my watch on my ankle. Anyway, let's go."

The five men began their trek down the corridors, Spock scanning the walls as they went. Suddenly, another Orion stepped out into the hallway. He gave out a cry of surprise as Kirk pulled out his phaser from its holster. The Orion was shot down by two quick bolts of blue energy. The Doctor scowled at Kirk.

"Phaser set to stun," he said with a nod. The men gathered around the unconscious Orion, both Spock and the Doctor scanning him.

"Fascinating."

"What?"

"The collar," the Doctor said, drawing attention to the silver collar around the Orion's neck. "The other Orion we encountered had one just like it. Didn't have time to scan it. It appears to be a neural inhibitor."

"It limits higher brain functions, as well as dampening portions of the brain's decision making centers. Essentially it takes a person--"

"And turns them into a mindless robot."

"So these guards are slaves?" Lincoln asked.

"It would appear to be the case. But if there are neural inhibitors working here, then there must be a hub."

"What's our next move?"

"Simple. We split up. One team goes down, the other goes up. The ones going down get to work on freeing the people of Centauri 6, the ones going up disable the neural inhibitor and turn the Orion Syndicate's numbers into nothing."

"Bones and I will go about freeing the prisoners. Mister Spock, escort the Doctor and President Lincoln to the control centers of the facility."

"As you wish, Jim."

"Soon as you get word from Spock, contact the Enterprise and go about getting beamed back on the ship."

"Why, Doctor?"

"Because," the Doctor said, his face taking on a serious tone. "Once everyone is free on ships, I'm going to blow this facility up and watch it burn."

 

[Carnage27]

​

New York

"War is coming, huh?" Casey says over his breakfast. "Wonder what that French guy thought last year was."

"That wasn't war, that was an attempt at extermination," I respond as I stare out the window. The Foot's attacks on us and select people in the city were enough to expose them and draw attention to them, but that wasn't warfare. It was surgical strikes. "The fear in this guy's eyes makes me think this is something bigger than just The Foot."

Casey gives me a surprised look, "If that's the case I don't think the two of us are gonna stand much of a chance, Leo."

"Trust me, I know."

If something big is on the horizon, we're going to need my brothers back, if not more. That much is certain. The Foot are involved, as well as at least one other faction. This isn't going to be easy.

"Take a look at this," April says, plopping a newspaper down in front of me. "Three men gunned down in the middle of a busy street. All supposedly honest businessmen that owned local stores."

"Random violence?" I ask, beginning to read the article.

"That's what the police are saying," she nods. "But, there are some oddities. They say the shots were precise and the weapons used were expensive."

"Sounds like there's more than meets the eye here," Casey chimes in with raised eyebrows.

"I agree," I nod. "April, can you do some digging?"

"Of course," she says with a smile. "I was gonna do some anyway."

"Awesome," I chuckle. "Casey, head to the crime scene and scope it out. You're my eyes and ears during the day."

"You got it, broski."

"Whatever you guys do, be careful," I nod to the two of them. "I'm going to get some sleep for patrol tonight."

**********
​

Island in the Pacific
Exact location unknown

The General sits in the highest spot on the island, overlooking the meager staging area he has set up. This island has served him well over the years, allowing him to pop in on his secret projects every now and again. Maybe when he own this planet he would make this his holiday retreat.

"General," one of his underlings says, entering the room. "I apologize for intruding but something has been picked up on our scanners and we believe it required your attention."

"What is it?" the General hisses.

"Our scanners detected the use of Cybertronian technology on the planet."

"You're sure? They rarely allow for detection."

"We double checked the numbers and it seems to be the case."

"Thank you, leave me." As the minion leaves, the General ponders, "What are you up to, Megatron...."

**********
​

BPRD Headquarters
Colorado

"You think we made the right choice, Mike?" Donnie asks as he fiddles with an old camera. "Coming out here and leaving Leo behind, I mean."

"Come on, dude," Michelangelo replies as he pounds away on a Playstation controller, his tongue halfway out of his mouth. "We're having mad fun out here. You're learning, and I, like, get to fight vampires and werewolves and stuff. What's not to like?"

Donatello shakes his head a bit. Mike was a creature of impulse, always wanting to try out what was cool or new. He loves his brothers, but he doesn't reflect on what being away from them means. They've only been gone for a few months.

"But we're a family, Mike. We can't just leave that."

"We haven't, bro. Just taking like a break. Is this about that reading you picked up?"

"Kinda. But also when I talked to Leo. He just didn't sound right."

**********
​

New York

I stand over last night's crime scene, peering down from the rooftop above. Even tonight, it's a crowded street with plenty of people walking around the marked off crime scene. Whoever was shooting into a crowd like this needed precise shots and a hell of a lot of skill.

Leaving the scene, I head back towards April's apartment to see what the others may have found. But as I traverse New York, something catches my eye. A trio of black sedans pull into a darkened alley, and I head to a fire escape above it to see what's going on.

I witness a group of men in suits leave each car, three of which carry briefcases. They stand around for a while, before a group of Foot ninja appear from the shadows.

"You did well last night," one of the ninjas says. "That should send a message to those that look to leave the Foot's grasp. The Shredder may be dead, but we still run New York."

"You got it," one of the other group says. "And here's our weekly contribution."

They hand over the briefcases, and as the Foot open them, I can immediately tell something is wrong. The lead ninja looks up again, "What is this? Empty? Is this some kind of joke?"

"No," the suited man replies, and he and the others draw guns. "This is a message. The boss ain't workin' for you no more. Without Shredder, he's gonna take a little bigger piece of the pie."

And with a series of bangs, the Foot drop to the ground.

 

[Byrd Man]

​

Previously

Spoiler

The Doctor, Lincoln, and the three Starfleet officers walked down the corridors of the Orion facility. The Doctor and the captain were in the lead while the three other men walked behind them.

"I recognize the uniform," the Doctor said as they walked. "Starfleet. Mid to late 23rd century."

"That's correct?"

"So, who are you? You obviously have already met me, but I would say introductions would be in order for the sake of me and President Lincoln."

"I'm Captain James T. Kirk. And these are--"

"Shut up," the Doctor said with a delighted giggle. "You are not the Captain James T. Kirk. Starship Enterprise. Only officer to ever beat the Kobayashi Maru. I am a fan!"

He grabbed Kirk's hand and shook it vigorously. He turned and smiled at the Vulcan officer. "And you're Spock! Half-Vulcan, half-human, all cool. It's a pleasure." He shook Spock's hand while the Vulcan gave the Doctor a curious look and arched his eyebrow.

"And you!" The Doctor said to the other officer. "Uhh....Sulu?"

"Dammit, man, I'm not a pilot!"

"Doctor Leonard McCoy!" The Doctor said, his face breaking out into a large grin. "Bones! I can't believe I'm meeting you all! I'm - what's the word I'm looking for - yes, geeking out. I'm geeking out right now! Of all the places in all the centuries I could have wound up, I run into the away team of the Enterprise. Brilliant."

"Can we go?" McCoy growled. "Lives are on the line here. We can't afford to listen to you prattling on. I'm a-"

"Let me guess, you're a doctor and not a sounding board?"

McCoy fumed while Spock spoke up. "Doctor McCoy is correct. Lives are in jeopardy. The longer we wait, the more peril there will be."

"You're right Spock," Kirk said with a nod.

"Are you here because of Centauri 6?"

"Yes," Kirk said. "Starfleet command directed us here to investigate this facility. We were in the area. Our ship is in the outskirts of the Nebula. We beamed in."

"Ah, yes, beaming technology. Never fancied it myself. I never got put back together properly, always ended up with my socks on my hands and my watch on my ankle. Anyway, let's go."

The five men began their trek down the corridors, Spock scanning the walls as they went. Suddenly, another Orion stepped out into the hallway. He gave out a cry of surprise as Kirk pulled out his phaser from its holster. The Orion was shot down by two quick bolts of blue energy. The Doctor scowled at Kirk.

"Phaser set to stun," he said with a nod. The men gathered around the unconscious Orion, both Spock and the Doctor scanning him.

"Fascinating."

"What?"

"The collar," the Doctor said, drawing attention to the silver collar around the Orion's neck. "The other Orion we encountered had one just like it. Didn't have time to scan it. It appears to be a neural inhibitor."

"It limits higher brain functions, as well as dampening portions of the brain's decision making centers. Essentially it takes a person--"

"And turns them into a mindless robot."

"So these guards are slaves?" Lincoln asked.

"It would appear to be the case. But if there are neural inhibitors working here, then there must be a hub."

"What's our next move?"

"Simple. We split up. One team goes down, the other goes up. The ones going down get to work on freeing the people of Centauri 6, the ones going up disable the neural inhibitor and turn the Orion Syndicate's numbers into nothing."

"Bones and I will go about freeing the prisoners. Mister Spock, escort the Doctor and President Lincoln to the control centers of the facility."

"As you wish, Jim."

"Soon as you get word from Spock, contact the Enterprise and go about getting beamed back on the ship."

"Why, Doctor?"

"Because," the Doctor said, his face taking on a serious tone. "Once everyone is free on ships, I'm going to blow this facility up and watch it burn."

, firing lasers at the fleeing heroes. Spock fired over his shoulder as he ran, blue bolts of stunning energy shooting from his phaser and ricocheting off the walls.

"Here we go!" The Doctor shouted as they came to a stop at a closed door. The Doctor ran his sonic screwdriver around the door frame and stepped back as the door slid open.

"Go, go, go!"

The three men darted into the door as it slid shut. Laser fired bounced off the door and rattled it.

"That won't hold them long," the Doctor said as he turned away from the door and looked around at their current location. They were inside a barracks. "Spock, see how Kirk and Bones are coming along, will you?"

"Will do," Spock said, flipping on his comm. "Spock to Kirk. The Doctor wishes to ask--"

"Not now, dammit!" McCoy growled over the line. The sounds of phaser fire and screams crackled in the background. "In case you can't here, we're having trouble!"

"Sit tight," the Doctor said as he ran through the barracks with the two men. Behind them, the door leading into the barracks bucked in its frame.

"Easy for you to say!"

"Not really, no."

With a crash, the entrance into the barracks was tore open by two large Orion slaves. The Doctor came to a skidding stop and looked up at an air vent.

"There's our way up. Spock, cover us."

"Gladly," the half-Vulcan said, turning towards the two aliens and firing off covering fire with his phaser. Lincoln gave the Doctor a boost and he started to loosen the vent cover with his screwdriver.

"Ha," he said as he removed the vent cover. "Able to do more than put up shelves. Take that, Captain Jack!"

"What was that?" Lincoln asked from below.

"Nothing. Let's go!"

The Doctor and Lincoln jumped into the vent with Spock behind them. The three crawled through the vents of the slave facility, slowly making their way up to the top levels.

"Kirk to Spock," Spock's comm beeped. "Report!"

"We're almost the control hub, Captain," Spock replied.

"Make it fast. Bones and I are trying, but we're outnumbered down here."

"Soon as we knock out the control hub, it should be easy going."

They came to a stop underneath a grate. After a few turns with the sonic, the grate was loose and the Doctor popped his head up into the room.

"Here we are," he said from below. "The control hub of the entire facility. Should take only a few minutes to knock it out of comm-- ah!"

A figure leaped from the shadows and grabbed the Doctor by the lapels of his jacket. The Doctor was slung against the wall and his foe roared in his face.

"WHO DARE CHALLENGE THE MIGHT OF THE SYCORAX?!"

"Sycorax?" The Doctor asked, slightly confused. "No, this is the Orion Syndicate, not the Sycorax..."

"Who are you?" The Sycorax snarled at the Doctor.

"I'm the Doctor."

The Sycorax recoiled at his words.

"Yes, I know. New face since the last time we met, but still the same...mostly, I suppose. Subbed out the trainers for some boots and the necktie for the always cool bowtie."

"The Doctor," the Sycorax said, mulling over those words. "Then it will be a pleasure to kill you in the name of the Sycorax, as well as my employers, the Orion Syndicate.

The Sycorax prepared to strike the Doctor, but was cut short as a powerful right hook struck the alien in the head and knocked him to the floor.

"I think not," Lincoln said, tossing off his stove-pipe hat and removing his jacket. "You are a slave trader," he said as he looked down at the recovering alien, rolling his shirt sleeves up as he spoke. "I believe that those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. Doctor, Spock and I will stall this man while you disable the control hub."

"Good man, Abe," the Doctor said with a small smile.

The Doctor rushed to the control hub while Spock and Lincoln watched the Sycorax pull himself to his feet.

"Very well," the alien spat. "Who wishes to die first?"

 

[wiegeabo]

"Well Holmes. Another trying case, eh?" I plop down in 'my' chair in the apartment I've been sharing with Holmes for the last two weeks. It's really Holmes' and Watson's apartment, but since I'm technically Watson, I guess it is mine too.

Sorry, I mean 'loft'. Need to stay English, after all.

Has it really been two weeks?

How can Watson stand this man?

Yes he's brilliant. His mind works on a level that I can't comprehend. And I'm the genius who built a time machine! I have a feeling if I could remember my training in psychoanalysis, he'd be a fascinating, if infuriating, case study.

"Challenging for you, perhaps." Holmes goes to the kitchen as soon as we're inside, and pulls one of his specimens out of the fridge. I'd be complete disgusted by this if I hadn't done the same thing in med school. At least...I think I did that. Then he goes about preparing a slide for his microscope.

"Oh come now, Sherlock. You can't tell me-"

"I knew who the murderer was three days into the investigation."

"You knew no such thing."

"It was the soot on his boots. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a sample, and therefore had nothing to provide Lestrade except my brilliant deduction."

"I shared my room with the man as he continued to lead us on!"

"You were in no danger. He didn't want to expose himself."

"Small comfort. And far too much innuendo in that last bit of conversation."

"There was?" I roll my eyes as Holmes looks up and replays the words in his mind. "Ah." He shrugs and goes back to work.

I pick up the paper and snap it open to a random page. It's so strange being in the future. Learning about what's going to happen. I know I shouldn't be fooling around with future history but, honestly, who can resist?

"So what shall we do now? Care for something to eat? Tea perhaps?"

"How about we discuss who you really are?"

"Who I-? What on earth do you mean?" I ask, swallowing my surprise and apprehension.

"Oh, I'll admit, you are a quick study. Far quickly than Watson usually is. For all his assets, he can be quite thick most times." Holmes doesn't bother looking up from his scope as he talks. "You're accent has become quite good. Not to mention your phraseology and use of local idioms. And you're mannerisms are improved. Watching Watson's vlogs, no doubt."

I force a laugh. "What are you on about? If I'm not me, then who am I?"

"Elementary. You're a time traveler."

 

[wiegeabo]

"Well Holmes. Another trying case, eh?" I plop down in 'my' chair in the apartment I've been sharing with Holmes for the last two weeks. It's really Holmes' and Watson's apartment, but since I'm technically Watson, I guess it is mine too.

Sorry, I mean 'loft'. Need to stay English, after all.

Has it really been two weeks?

How can Watson stand this man?

Yes he's brilliant. His mind works on a level that I can't comprehend. And I'm the genius who built a time machine! I have a feeling if I could remember my training in psychoanalysis, he'd be a fascinating, if infuriating, case study.

"Challenging for you, perhaps." Holmes goes to the kitchen as soon as we're inside, and pulls one of his specimens out of the fridge. I'd be complete disgusted by this if I hadn't done the same thing in med school. At least...I think I did that. Then he goes about preparing a slide for his microscope.

"Oh come now, Sherlock. You can't tell me-"

"I knew who the murderer was three days into the investigation."

"You knew no such thing."

"It was the soot on his boots. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get a sample, and therefore had nothing to provide Lestrade except my brilliant deduction."

"I shared my room with the man as he continued to lead us on!"

"You were in no danger. He didn't want to expose himself."

"Small comfort. And far too much innuendo in that last bit of conversation."

"There was?" I roll my eyes as Holmes looks up and replays the words in his mind. "Ah." He shrugs and goes back to work.

I pick up the paper and snap it open to a random page. It's so strange being in the future. Learning about what's going to happen. I know I shouldn't be fooling around with future history but, honestly, who can resist?

"So what shall we do now? Care for something to eat? Tea perhaps?"

"How about we discuss who you really are?"

"Who I-? What on earth do you mean?" I ask, swallowing my surprise and apprehension.

"Oh, I'll admit, you are a quick study. Far quickly than Watson usually is. For all his assets, he can be quite thick most times." Holmes doesn't bother looking up from his scope as he talks. "You're accent has become quite good. Not to mention your phraseology and use of local idioms. And you're mannerisms are improved. Watching Watson's vlogs, no doubt."

I force a laugh. "What are you on about? If I'm not me, then who am I?"

"Elementary. You're a time traveler."

"...Say again?"

"It was quite obvious. One moment you were acting like Watson, the next you were a completely different person. Only someone as dense as Lestrade would have been oblivious to the change. Which is why I was the only one to notice."

"You're not wearing a disguise, because no disguise is that good. And I checked."

"That's not evidence-wait, what do you mean you checked?!"

"Add to that your accent. As I said, it's improved quite rapidly. You certainly have a keen ear. But for an entire day it sounded like an American attempted English speech. I would guess...Indiana? Definitely mid-western America in any case. Your lack of knowledge of current events, idioms, and London geography, the way you carry yourself..."

"Enough, Sherlock. Just...enough." I rub my forehead. "How could you possibly know all that?"

"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. You were either a time traveler or possessed by a spirit. And spirits do not exist."

"But time travelers do?"

"Obviously, since you are living proof."

"That's a tautology."

"And now I'm certain you are not Watson. If I had to guess-"

"Oh, please do."

"Turn of the millennium?"

"...1999."

"Interesting. Too bad you're not from the future. Then you might be more useful. So why are you hear?"

I hold back my urge to hit Sherlock, and wonder how the real Watson does it.

"You couldn't deduce that?"

"If you insist."

I put my hand up. "I leap-that's what call it-I leap uncontrollably from person to person in time-"

"Helping people. Hoping each time your next leap returns you home."

"...I'm starting to hate you a little."

"You were trying to help me with the case."

"And yet I'm still here."

"Perhaps because you weren't all that helpful."

"Do you realize how annoying you are?"

"I've been told."

And that's when Al decides to show up.

He steps through the door to the holographic chamber he uses to communicate with me.

"Sam! We've got it. Ziggy figured out why you're here!"

"What do I have to do?"

Al stares at me, then Sherlock. "It's ok, he knows."

"Talking to a friend from 1999? Some kind of...mental projection?"

"You told him?"

"He figures things out."

"Really..."

"Al."

"...Huh? Oh, right. Ziggy says there's a 96.4% probability that-" he taps at the console in his hand. "The hallway, Sam. Now!"

I quickly run out the door, knowing enough to not question Al in times like this.

"Oh my-!!!"

And on instinct, I reach out and grab Mrs. Hudson before she falls down the stairs. The packages stacked in her arms tumble down as she almost did.

"98.2%, Sam."

"Oh Doctor Watson. Thank you. I think you just saved my life."

I look at Al.

"99.4%!"

This is why I was here? This is why I had to put up with Sherlock Holmes for two solid weeks?

"100!"

"Are you-"


Everything changes in an instant of tingling energy that lasts forever.


"-serious?"

SMACK!

The pain across my face snaps me back to reality.

"Of course I'm serious, my dear Captain. I'm not in the...humorous mood you knew me for the last time you saw me."

I look up...and can't believe who I see looking back at me. "Holmes?"

"Who?" Holmes looks confused for a moment. Then something dawns on him.

"Ah, yes. I'm not the man I once was. New face and all will do that."

"You look just like...Who are you?"

"Why, my dear Captain Jack, it is I."

Spoiler

"The Master."

 

[Byrd Man]

​

Previously

Spoiler

"Kirk to Spock," Spock's comm beeped. "Report!"

"We're almost the control hub, Captain," Spock replied.

"Make it fast. Bones and I are trying, but we're outnumbered down here."

"Soon as we knock out the control hub, it should be easy going."

They came to a stop underneath a grate. After a few turns with the sonic, the grate was loose and the Doctor popped his head up into the room.

"Here we are," he said from below. "The control hub of the entire facility. Should take only a few minutes to knock it out of comm-- ah!"

A figure leaped from the shadows and grabbed the Doctor by the lapels of his jacket. The Doctor was slung against the wall and his foe roared in his face.


"WHO DARE CHALLENGE THE MIGHT OF THE SYCORAX?!"

"Sycorax?" The Doctor asked, slightly confused. "No, this is the Orion Syndicate, not the Sycorax..."

"Who are you?" The Sycorax snarled at the Doctor.

"I'm the Doctor."

The Sycorax recoiled at his words.

"Yes, I know. New face since the last time we met, but still the same...mostly, I suppose. Subbed out the trainers for some boots and the necktie for the always cool bowtie."

"The Doctor," the Sycorax said, mulling over those words. "Then it will be a pleasure to kill you in the name of the Sycorax, as well as my employers, the Orion Syndicate.

The Sycorax prepared to strike the Doctor, but was cut short as a powerful right hook struck the alien in the head and knocked him to the floor.

"I think not," Lincoln said, tossing off his stove-pipe hat and removing his jacket. "You are a slave trader," he said as he looked down at the recovering alien, rolling his shirt sleeves up as he spoke. "I believe that those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. Doctor, Spock and I will stall this man while you disable the control hub."

"Good man, Abe," the Doctor said with a small smile.

The Doctor rushed to the control hub while Spock and Lincoln watched the Sycorax pull himself to his feet.

"Very well," the alien spat. "Who wishes to die first?"

James Kirk and Doctor McCoy were running across the space station's hangar bay, swerving around large cages were hundreds of subdued captives were tied down. Laser fire shot over their heads and all around them as they ran.

"Where are we going, Jim?!" Bones growled as they ran.

"To the hangar controls," Kirk replied. "I have a plan..."

*****

Inside the space station's main control room, the Doctor furiously typed on the control console. "Ahh, come on!" He cried out. "Orion Syndicate and their love of double redundant firewalls."

Just then, Abraham Lincoln crashed on the console beside the Doctor. His nose was bloody and he had a black eye. "How's it coming, Doctor?" Lincoln asked as he picked himself up and wiped his bloody nose.
​

"It's going," the Doctor said. Behind them, Spock and the Sycorax were locked in combat. The Sycorax had a sword and swung it wildly at Spock.

"Careful," the Doctor shouted as Spock dodged the blade. "Lost my hand to one of those blades one time. Very painful."

****

Kirk and McCoy rushed across an open space in the hangar bay. Behind them, hundred of Orions were running after them with phaser rifles and swords.

"Kirk to Enterprise," he said into his comm.

"This is Enterprise," a Scottish tinged voice replied.

"Move the ship right outside the space station's hangar bay."

"I canna do it, the space station is too big. We'd be sucked into it's gravitational pull, captain."

"Beaming range then, Mister Scott. Prepare for a massive amount of life signatures to beam. Kirk out."

The two men came to a skidding stop right beside the hangar controls. Kirk looked behind him and saw the Orion thugs getting closer. Kirk grabbed for a dangling chain beside the controls and motioned for McCoy to follow suit.

"Hold on tight, Bones," he said as he hit the hangar controls. The hangar doors started to slide open. The vacuum of space started suck out air and any loose peoples out the hangar and into the empty void. All the captives, tied down and in steel reenforced cages, stayed where they were. But the Orion strongmen began to be sucked out into the void while Kirk and Bones held on to their chains for dear life.

****

Spock disarmed the Sycorax with a Vulcan karate chop. The Sycorax rebounded by striking the Starfleet officer in the face and knocking him to the ground. The Sycorax prepared to hit Spock while he was down, but was knocked sideways by a flying haymaker courtesy of America's 16th president. The Sycorax fell to the ground, dazed and barely conscious.

Behind them, the Doctor attempted to disable the space station's defenses, and disable the inhibiting collars controlling the Orion Syndicate's soldiers.

"Oh, no," the Doctor said as he looked on console's monitor readout. "Three hundred life signatures all going out the hangar into space!" The Doctor's shock and confusion were gone as soon as he saw the life signatures diappear off the screen. "Traces of beaming technology... Oh, brilliant! USS Enterprise, I salute you!"

"Doctor," Spock said as he came over. "I do not wish to impose, but perhaps your efforts to shut down this slave operation would be better served if you attempted to shut down power here in the central hub?"

"How can I do that with all these firewalls?!"

"I believe there is a power socket in the far corner of the room."

"...Ah," the Doctor said after a moment. "But that's simple, and boring, and I can't show off in the slightest!"
Spock arched his eyebrow and the Doctor shrugged.

"Oh, alright!"

****

The space station's hangar doors closed shut and Kirk and McCoy fell to the ground.

"Kirk to Enterprise," he said as he stood. "Report."

"We managed to beam all the Orions aboard," Scott said over the comm. "We're putting them in the brig now, captain."

"Give me just a second," the Doctor said on the line. "Just one more second and then you won't need to put them in the brig. Also, could you open up a line to Starfleet?"

****

The Doctor kicked out the power plug to the space station's central hub. All across the facility, the power cells on the inhibition collars on the Orion thugs flickered before shorting out.

"There we are," the Doctor said with a smirk. "Freedom."

Both Spock and Lincoln approached him. Lincoln was putting his coat and hat back on. "What do we do now?"

"We go downstairs and help Kirk and McCoy free the hostages. Starfleet is sending ships to pick them all up and send them back to Centauri 6."

"What of the people who did this?"

"That inhibition signal was coming from somewhere. With the TARDIS, I could probably trace it back to its source."

"Once the people are free and safe, that will not stop the Orion Syndicate from coming back."

"I know. President Lincoln, ideas?"

"A house divided against it self cannot stand.

"A metaphor to describe the United States' division against slavery?"

"Not in this case. This time, I say we divide this house and watch as it falls."

"I like it!" The Doctor said with a laugh. "I knew it was a good idea to bring you along!"

****

The Doctor and Lincoln were on the bridge of the Enterprise with the rest of the crew. The TARDIS was sitting in the back. The view screen in front of them showed the blurry motion of warp speed.

"Is this what it feels like not to travel by TARDIS? It's too long and the view's making my head hurt."

"We're almost there," Kirk said from the captain's chair. "Is it time to send out the signal?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Lieutenant Uhura?"

Uhura nodded and set up the communications line. The view screen in front of them changed to a picture of a humanoid man with a mustache dressed in a black shirt.

"What's going on?"

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise."

"Hello, Ramos. Remember me?"

Ramos stared at the Doctor with a confused look while the Doctor looked him over.

"Sorry. That's not until a few decades from now, sorry... Actually, I think that was back during my celery days. Actually, I know it was because you stole it off my lapel after you captured Tegan and I and ate it in front of us... And now I'm rambling. Sorry, it's impolite,"

"What is the meaning of this?!"Ramos roared.

"The meaning of this is that fifteen minutes ago, Starfleet destroyed the Orion Syndicate's slavery operation in the Horseshoe Nebula."

"But not before freeing the 2.5 billion captives you were preparing to sell into slavery."

"How much money is that, Mister Spock?"

"At the going rate? Nine hundred and five billion, seven hundred and thirty-six million, two hundred thousand, six hundred and forty-five credits."

"Nearly a trillion credits down the drain."

"That has to sting. And now, it's time to add insult to injury. Before the Enterprise smashed the space station to bits, I was able to track a signal back to you, Ramos. You and your mobile base of operations."

"I'm afraid you've show your hand. Keyword in your sentence is mobile. By the time Starfleet reaches the location, I'll be gone."

"I'm sure you would be..."

"But it was the Doctor's idea to contact you while we warped to your location."

The Enterprise popped out of warp speed and the floating spaceship that Ramos came into view.

"Phasers are armed and torpedoes are ready, Ramos. Surrender or suffer the same fate as your space station."

Ramos fumed and Kirk smiled. He turned to say something to the Doctor, only to find him and Lincoln gone. An odd gust began to blow through the Enterprise's bridge.

[YT]TMlle0gBZ7Q[/YT]

And just like that, the TARDIS, Lincoln, and the Doctor were gone.
​

 

[Batman]

Washington, DC
The Smithsonian

A great philosopher once said that to achieve perfection, one must first admit to having imperfections and build upon them to better his ways. In some respects, this saying was even taken by some of the ancient Greeks as a life metaphor, using their various Gods as the template to strive for. In esssence, that is where we as a society originate the idea that all men are, infact, created equal and can achieve limitless potential after embracing the faults that make us. We are our own blank slate. Our own canvas. And it is up to us - and no one else - to use that canvas to try and create works of art.

Then came the elusive concepts of law and order. Words with meaning that existed before the idea of facism or government. Imperialism or slavery. These are the concepts that would spawn forth from those original words, though no one certainly seems to want to admit it. Law, by it's very definition, was created to ensure that all knowing citizens follow a certain regime or pattern by which we can all cooperate and "get along", overthrowing the idea of lunacy and chaos - evil, in it's purest sense. It was an extreme measure to combat a series of extreme measures, and the gamble seemed to pay off for a time. What no one seems to want to say is the fact that centuries later, we would see the first world war. Followed by a second, infact. And yet everyone in government sat on their highest perch and decided that despite these setbacks to the cause, constitutional amendments and guidelines were still the perfect system by which to keep things in modern civilization all neat and proper.

You see, they never admitted their faults to begin with. They pretended they had none. Thus, I believe, it is the perfect example of why law has failed. Justice is a term with a wide spectrum of definition. Personal bigotry and biases have shaped the system into what it is. Outdated concepts fuel the masses and the sheep of the Earth decide that it is right because it has simply always been, and are far too preoccupied with their electronic stimulus to think rightly for themselves.

The point? There is no such thing as law, and it was proven long ago that there is definitely no such thing as order.

I intend to prove that very point to the world.

"Over here! Jesus, it's over here!"

At the stroke of midnight, The SWAT unit of Washington Central PD rush into the vault level of The Smithsonian Institute, one of the most highly guarded museum archives in the world. To bypass all levels of security would take an advanced thief appoximately six weeks, seven hours, and three minutes for even thirty seconds of leeway. That includes systematic encryptions, laser triggers, security cameras, motion sensors, and a hidden relay computer that documents all known inhabitants every hour on the hour.

Of course, what an advanced thief wouldn't know is that at midnight, the systems shut down and recalibrate for fifteen seconds, leaving a window of opportunity for anyone looking to steal the precious goods inside absolutely no time to get in, take the valubles, and get away. This information is crucial, only shared with specific members of the Washington police circuit.

And me.

"Oh my god, he wouldn't have..."

The police captain silences the panicking members of his unit with a wave of his hand, indicating that the bomb squad move in quickly and quietly. By now, they've disabled all security measures to spare themselves time. And time is what they'll need. Because underneath the Smithsonian, in the dead of night, I have placed a five hundred ton shell of what appears to be a government grade hydrogen bomb. The countdown started at midnight, and it's only set for twenty minutes.

Statistically speaking, their technicians can't disarm it in twenty minutes. They see their problem.

Nevertheless, they begin peeling back the outer casing and rewiring the circuitry as the SWAT team manuever through the safe's hall, guns held high with laser sighting to accompany a lack of sufficient aim.

"I don't get it, how the hell did he sneak into this place anyway?"

"Who knows what the bastard's capable of? Intel said that he's supposed to have connections all across the board. The feds, the mob... hell, even the cops have men working for him. We might have a leak."

"Then why risk it for this? Why the museum?"

Listen to them, prattling on about their theories while a mad killer goes free.

The level of incompetence almost surprises me.

"Look, we just gotta keep our eyes peeled. He tipped us off about the bomb, now it's up to us to figure out if he's still in the building. If he's gonna try and steal anything inside,"

"Then now's the perfect opportunity? With a room full of SWAT?"

"You've never heard of this guy, have you?"

They round the corner leading to the elevators. They've circled the entire floor. The captain pulls up the collar of his shirt to speak into the transciever. "Unit three, you see anything up there?"

"Negative. We've barricaded the area tight, no one's leaving."

"Copy that. Standby, there's nothing down here. We'll rendevous in the lobby. We'll find him eventually."

Signaling his men to take point, the first officer presses the button for the elevator's retrieval.

At this point, I can see through the micro-cameras I've installed that the expressions of the bomb technicians have changed, as they find a stuffed teddy bear inside of the inner shell. I could almost smile, if I weren't preparing myself for the next step of this deceit. The technicians run to warn the captain of the apparent trap that they've ran into, but they're not in time to stop the elevator from opening.

What they find inside? Oh, if I could could only take a picture.

"On the contrary, Captain..."

"I've found you."

Predictably, they simultaneously begin to open fire.

And all goes according to plan.

 

[Carnage27]

New York

I finish telling April and Casey what I just saw, and I can tell they're worried.

"They just gunned them down?" Casey asks, horrified.

"Like dogs," I respond after taking a sip of water. "I'm no fan of The Foot, but no one deserves to die like that. It's cowardly."

I've always despised firearms. Their a coward's weapon, and using one in battle is the least honorable thing one can do in my eyes. Even I think it's wrong to use them against The Foot, and I think I'd rather take down those men than the rest of the ninja clan.

"Who do you think they were?"

"The Mafia," April says, pulling a file from her bag. "I did some digging at work and found the reason those men were gunned down the other night. It was believed they have...had heavy mob ties. Nothing was ever proven, but there we go."

"Mafia?" Casey asks perplexed. "Why would they be goin after the Foot?"

"The Shredder had the entire city under an iron fist," I respond, it making sense now. "And now that he's gone, it looks like someone wants a little bigger piece of the pie."

"Or a lot bigger," Casey mumbles.

April looks up from the file, "So what's our plan here? We can't handle a gang war, Leo."

Just then a breaking news bulletin comes over the TV screen in the other room, and I stand to check it out. The anchor breathlessly starts explaining that there's been another brash gang-violence attack in Manhattan. Apparently a rocket propelled grenade was fired into a storefront, killing a businessman and his associates working late as well as a few citizens.

The name of the place's owner flashes across the screen, and April says, "That name rings a bell. Yup. Here. A supposed high level mafia figure."

"So now The Foot is using RPGs?" I seethe. This has escalated quickly. And if I wait any longer it's going to get a lot worse. "I need to get my brothers. You're right April. We can't deal with this alone. I don't even know if we can deal with it with them. But it's the best plan I've got."

"I'll drive," Casey smiles. "It's spring break anyway. Why not take a roadtrip?"

"And I'll go get Splinter this weekend," April nods. "He should be here too."

**********

"You're out gunned, Boss," Baxter Stockman smiles from behind his desk. "The Foot are powerful. Trained. And plentiful. You won't be able to win this war."

"You know about The Foot?" Big Boss asks in a deep voice.

"I have powerful friends," Stockman smiles. "I know all the powerful criminal elements. And I think we can help each other."

"How so?"

"Well, I have a new weapon to test in the field," the scientist responds. "And you have a battle."

Stockman presses a button and the wall behind him slides open, and the metal clank of feet start behind him.

Big Boss smiles, "They're...interesting. And what do you want me to do."

"Eventually your battle with the Foot will bring out giant...turtles. No need to seem surprised. You'll see them. It will happen. And when it does, you need to use some of these to capture them and bring them to me."

"That's it?"

"That's it," Stockman nods.

"We have a deal, Doctor."
​

 

[Byrd Man]

Alpha Centauri System
24,219 AD


The Doctor and Lincoln ran across an open wheat field as an entire legion of Roman soldiers gave chase. The legionnaires wielded laser spears and were using them to take potshots at Lincoln and the Doctor.

"Why are they chasing us?" Lincoln asked as they ran, laser fire zapping all around them.

"They think we tried to assassinate the Robo-Ceasar!"

"But we stopped the assassination!"

"I know! You can't reason with a Roman, I managed to fing that out the hard way!"

They ran over a hill, where the TARDIS was sitting. The two hurried into the box and the Doctor locked the door behind him. The Doctor and Lincoln leaned against the TARDIS door, catching their breath. "And that was the 6th Roman Empire of Earth."

"That's what Earth becomes?" Lincoln asked, adjusting disheveled hat. "Things revert to the Roman Empire?"

"Time is cyclical," the Doctor said, walking towards the TARDIS control panel. "What's old becomes new, becomes old becomes new. Look at you and look at me. What do we have in common?"

Lincoln furrowed his brow at the Time Lord and pondered his question. The Doctor smiled and touched the tie around his neck.

"Bowtie?"

"Bingo! We both wear bowties. They were in when you were president, then they fell out of fashion and now they're cool. Time, cyclical. Bowties, cool. Get it? Got it? Good. Let's go!"

The Doctor shoved the TARDIS' wibbly lever. The TARDIS shook and began to disappear back into the timestream.

*****

The TARDIS materialized in the middle of a wooded area at dusk. Gigantic redwoods towered over the tiny box. Inside the ship, the Doctor and Lincoln were getting ready to leave.

"Just a warning," the Doctor said as he read the readout on the monitor. "We're in Oregon and it's April of 1848. Just curious, where were you in 1848?"

"Mostly in Washington," Lincoln said. "Some time I spent back home in Illinois. It was the last year of my one term in the House."

"Right. No chance of running into yourself, then. That's good. Very good. Let's go."

The two men stepped out of the TARDIS and into the woods of Oregon.

"Why are we here, Doctor?"

"Not sure yet. The TARDIS brought us here."

"The TARDIS? I thought you controlled it?"

"Most the time. Sometimes, she controls me. She takes me I need to be. Least that's what she said."

"You've talked to her?"

"Yes," the Doctor said with a small smirk. "Long story. She had her consciousness absorbed into a dying woman's body and talked to me before we fixed her... Okay, not that long of a story."

"DOCTOR!!!" A voice cried from further into the forest. "I NEED A DOCTOR!!!"

The Doctorturned to Lincoln and shrugged. "See what I mean? Takes me where I need to be. Now, what are we waiting for?"

With that, the Doctor and Lincoln began to run through the woods towards the cries for help.
​

 

[Carnage27]

Autobot Orbital Command

Optimus Prime sits down at his command chair and flips on the message from his troops. The image that greets him is Ironhide, and old and stalwart Autobot. The two didn't always get along, but now Prime considered him to be one of his closest comrades.

​

"Prime," Ironhide starts, "I'm disobeying direct orders to get this to you, but I'm not gonna sit by and watch us lose this war. The Decepticons have broken cover in an attack on humans and Ratchet. Not to mention one of the humans with Ratchet stole info from another human that shows a command bunker. If Siege Mode has been initiated, Megatron can't be far behind. I think you need to get here ASAP."

"You're right, old friend," Prime says, standing. "I'll see you soon."

**********

Ark-19
Bottom of Lake Michigan
2 days ago

"I'll hear none of it," Prowl says, continuing to chew Ratchet out over his break in protocol. "We have rules, Ratchet. Or have you forgotten? We stay hidden to save these worlds from an all out and devastating war. We're trying to save these creatures-"

"Hey!" the female named Verity protests.

"-from their extinction!"

"You don't have to tell me about why we have protocol, Prowl. But I'm telling you the war has already started. Runamuck and Runabout were out in force, not to mention Thundercracker. They tried to kill these ones, and who knows who else. Was I supposed to stand by and watch. And look at the info on the female's device."

"It's Verity," she scoffs and flips on the tablet in her hand. "Here. It looks like some sort of ship on the side of a mountain."

"Where did you take that picture?" Ironhide, the old soldier of the group asks, obviously worried.

"Well..." the female says, looking down. "I stole this tablet. Figured I could make a quick buck. No clue where it came from."

"Oh that's great," the male human, named Hunter says.

"Prowl, we need to contact Prime. Megatron might-"

"No. Not until we're sure. What's going on. Absolutely no communications. For all we know this is a rogue faction of Decepticons," Prowl says, leaving the others.

"Which would still bring Megatron here," Ratchet says to Ironhide.

"I agree. I'll contact Prime. You tell Bumblebee to find that bunker."

"What about us!?" Hunter asks impatiently. "You can't just keep us here!"

"Unfortunately my friend, for now, we need to. For your safety. You don't know the world you've just stepped into."

**********

Earth
Incident Scene 18k-45
2 days ago

"Now could you please explain what you saw again ma'am?" the man in the suit and sunglasses asks the portly woman sitting in front of him. "About what happened with the bus."

"How many times do I have to tell you government people?"

"Oh I'm not with the government, ma'am. But please continue."

"I was sitting there, and all of a sudden this blue plane came out of the sky and buzzed the bus! It ran us off the road. And then that girl ran off like a bullet, and the guy in the suit followed her. After that, all I heard were explosions. But I didn't see nothin'."

"Okay, thank you, ma'am. You can go back into the waiting room."

As she leaves the man standing in the shadows of the room steps out. He's an African American, suave and confident, compared to the grizzled old veteran that interviewed the woman. "So what do you think it is?"

"Well, I have a hunch," the older man says, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag, "But I sure hope I'm wrong. What'd the others say?"

"Bout the same. Some fighter jet comes along and gives 'em a little buzz cut. Girl runs off with an agent in pursuit. Somehow the agent ends up dead, girl gone, and some sort of death match goes down in the desert."

"Christ I hoped this day would never come," the man in the suit says. "Go take care of the witnesses. I've got a call to make."

The younger agent leaves and the remaining one flips open a phone, "Zed? It's K. We need to talk. I think Cybertron has come to Earth."
​

 

[Byrd Man]

​

Spoiler

Alpha Centauri System
24,219 AD


The Doctor and Lincoln ran across an open wheat field as an entire legion of Roman soldiers gave chase. The legionnaires wielded laser spears and were using them to take potshots at Lincoln and the Doctor.

"Why are they chasing us?" Lincoln asked as they ran, laser fire zapping all around them.

"They think we tried to assassinate the Robo-Ceasar!"

"But we stopped the assassination!"

"I know! You can't reason with a Roman, I managed to fing that out the hard way!"

They ran over a hill, where the TARDIS was sitting. The two hurried into the box and the Doctor locked the door behind him. The Doctor and Lincoln leaned against the TARDIS door, catching their breath. "And that was the 6th Roman Empire of Earth."

"That's what Earth becomes?" Lincoln asked, adjusting disheveled hat. "Things revert to the Roman Empire?"

"Time is cyclical," the Doctor said, walking towards the TARDIS control panel. "What's old becomes new, becomes old becomes new. Look at you and look at me. What do we have in common?"

Lincoln furrowed his brow at the Time Lord and pondered his question. The Doctor smiled and touched the tie around his neck.

"Bowtie?"

"Bingo! We both wear bowties. They were in when you were president, then they fell out of fashion and now they're cool. Time, cyclical. Bowties, cool. Get it? Got it? Good. Let's go!"

The Doctor shoved the TARDIS' wibbly lever. The TARDIS shook and began to disappear back into the timestream.

*****

The TARDIS materialized in the middle of a wooded area at dusk. Gigantic redwoods towered over the tiny box. Inside the ship, the Doctor and Lincoln were getting ready to leave.

"Just a warning," the Doctor said as he read the readout on the monitor. "We're in Oregon and it's April of 1848. Just curious, where were you in 1848?"

"Mostly in Washington," Lincoln said. "Some time I spent back home in Illinois. It was the last year of my one term in the House."

"Right. No chance of running into yourself, then. That's good. Very good. Let's go."

The two men stepped out of the TARDIS and into the woods of Oregon.

"Why are we here, Doctor?"

"Not sure yet. The TARDIS brought us here."

"The TARDIS? I thought you controlled it?"

"Most the time. Sometimes, she controls me. She takes me I need to be. Least that's what she said."

"You've talked to her?"

"Yes," the Doctor said with a small smirk. "Long story. She had her consciousness absorbed into a dying woman's body and talked to me before we fixed her... Okay, not that long of a story."

"DOCTOR!!!" A voice cried from further into the forest. "I NEED A DOCTOR!!!"

The Doctor turned to Lincoln and shrugged. "See what I mean? Takes me where I need to be. Now, what are we waiting for?"

With that, the Doctor and Lincoln began to run through the woods towards the cries for help.
​

Oregon
April 1848

The Doctor and Lincoln rushed through the Oregon forest towards someone calling for help. The Doctor had his sonic screwdriver out and at the ready for any potential danger.

The two men came into a clearing where two young women were hunkered down in fright. "Please," the eldest woman begged. She had long blonde hair and looked to be all of twenty years old. The other woman looked to be in her late teens. "It's coming for us!" The younger woman screamed, her hand out and pointing towards the encroaching darkness.

The Doctor held his sonic screwdriver out and scanned towards where the girl was pointing. "Abe, you may want to help the two ladies up," he said as he checked the screwdriver's readout. "And we may want to consider running in the near future."

"When?" Lincoln asked, helping the two frightened girls up.

"If I'm reading this right," the Doctor said, squinting to read the readout. "About four seconds ago. We should have started running about four seconds ago."

On cue, a savage roar echoed through the trees. In the shadows outside the clearing, the Doctor saw a pair of yellow eyes. The owner of the eyes roared again and stepped into the light. It was nearly ten feet tall, covered in hair from head to to toe, and slouched like an ape. It eyed the Doctor and the three humans before roaring again.

"Alright, now time for my well thought out plan that saves us all."

The Doctor fiddled with the buttons on the sonic, sending out a high-pitched screech that made the beast wince and fall to its knees. "That buys us some time. Now, run!"

Lincoln, the Doctor, and the two girls ran out of the clearing and into the woods while the monster slowly got to its feet, shaking away the disorientation. The beast roared again and began to give chase after the Doctor's party.

"What is that?" Lincoln asked, huffing and puffing as they ran.

"It's a monster!" The youngest girl shouted.

"That's not nice," the Doctor said with a shake of his head. "To him, it's you lot that the monsters."

The four ran down a hill towards a stream. The two women jumped over the small creek while Lincoln followed. The Doctor jumped over the creek and looked over his shoulder just as the monster was coming over the hill.

"How far away do you girls live?"

"Just over the next ridge," the eldest girl said.

"I hope you have locks. We're going to need them."

"Doctor," Lincoln said. "Any idea what that thing is?"

"Of course. It's an alien. If I'm right, it's from the planet Xuaton Major. The Xuatonians have been coming to Earth off and on for years. What the universe calls a Xuatonian, you lot call something else."

They came over another ridge to a small cabin nestled in the woods. A man and a woman where on the porch while a young boy of ten played in front of the house.

"Ma!" The eldest girl screamed. "Pa! Get inside now! It's coming!"

The man stood up and started to rush inside as the woman scooped the boy out the yard and followed the man inside the house. As the Doctor's party ran down the hill, the alien beast roared once again as it came over the hill. The girls and Lincoln ran inside the house while the Doctor brought up the rear, closing the door.

"It's name," Lincoln said. "What do we call it on Earth?"

"Many things. Sasquatch, Yeti, Abominable Snowman, Bigfoot. That's right. Bigfoot is outside that door and you know what? He's not too happy."

 

[Spike_x1]

Even while merely making our approach to the planet, all of the ship's crew could feel the air of death around the once great and powerful Cybertron. I can see the chill run down Cyclonus' framework. Out of all of my colleagues, I would have thought that he would have the struts to maintain composure at the sight of our old home on the viewscreen. Still, I cannot bring myself to blame him for being taken aback. Even I feel myself boiling with barely contained rage.

"Sensors, Scourge?" I ask my science officer.

"Nothing, sir. Cybertron is devoid of lifesigns."

Concern for Cybertronian life now overwhelms my sense of anger at what has become of the planet. "Planetary evacuation, perhaps? Are there any distress beacons or indications of the cause for Cybertron's lifelessness?"

"One moment," replies Scourge as he does a more in depth sensor scan. "There are radical radiation spikes sweeping the entire planet's surface, as well as intense seismic instability. I'm also seeing hundreds of distress beacons, but they've all been degraded from Cybertron's radiation."

"Not everyone escaped in time." I begin making my way off of the bridge and towards the nearest airlock. "Straxus, take us into orbit. The Ark should be safe from harm." As the pilot does as he's told, Cyclonus grabs my arm as if to ask where I'm going. "I have to see this for myself."

Within moments, I've found an airlock and made my exit to descend to the planet's surface on my own. The radiation can't harm me, and the quakes are of no concern. Landing safely in Kaon, my footfalls echo eerily over the planetwide silence and I can only sneer in disgust. This was once a bristling hub of ideas and inspiration for generations! And now the torn streets are lined with piles and piles of bodies, and some of them are even arranged as though they were intended to supply cover from gunfire. There was battle here, and it was especially brutal on both sides of the fight.

No, it wasn't just a battle. This was a war.

That's when I see it for the first time. One of two different types of crest that I would later discover all over Cybertron, representing those responsible for this apocalypse.

Walking the once golden streets of Kaon after sending word to my crew in orbit, I cannot help but think of what must have transpired here on our world. This planet was once rich with life and thriving with culture, but now? Now it cannot sustain any life, and all who dare to walk its surface die from radiation and starvation.

Fortunately, the journeys that we have taken have... altered myself and my people to a point where we are not so limited in our capacity for survival.

It takes several days of tireless walking and surveying the scale of the planetary damage with my own optics before I finally step foot in the borders of Iacon. Reading data from scans in orbit is one thing, but to see such brutality first hand? I can even see some poor fool impaled on one of the thirteen celestial pillars surrounding the Great Vault, each pillar representing one of the original Thirteen Transformers. To see it desecrated in such a manner goes beyond mere carnage and horror of war.

This is just sick.

"Galvatron, sir?" Cyclonus' voice comes in over the comm link. He's still monitoring things from the Ark. "You're at the Vault of Iacon, my lord. Is there anything you require assistance with?" I know for a fact that orbital scans cannot penetrate the walls of the vault, so what he's really asking is if he can be at my side while I tour the museum.

"At your discretion, commander."

With the alt-mode of a space-capable jet fighter, Cyclonus doesn't waste time getting here, and I can hear his approach after only a few clicks.

Transforming and dropping to his feet beside me in a single fluid motion, I see my own look of disgust at Cybertron's current state mirrored on his face before making our way through the crumbling doorway and into the vault. "Are we looking for anything specific, sir?"

"Information, and anything to help correct this apocalypse."

 

[Byrd Man]

​

Oregon
April 1848


The Doctor, Lincoln, and the five family members who owned the cabin they were currently in were huddled around the fireplace.

"What's the plan, Doctor?" Lincoln asked. Outside an alien people on Earth called Bigfoot was waiting for them. It was going on two hours since they had been chased inside the cabin by the alien.

"He's angry, obviously. He wants something, but why isn't he talking? The TARDIS translates every known language in the universe past and present, save for a select handful. We should be able to understand the language of Xuaton Major."

"Maybe there's something wrong with him," the father of the family said. "We've been seeing something in the woods for a year now, but only recently has it been aggressive. Could it be rabid?"

"I don't think the Xuatonians can get rabies or any other type of Earth disease. Very durable people, the Xuatonians. Have a thick skin, both literally and figuratively. Why else would they enjoy being called Bigfoot?"

Out in the darkness,the Xuatonian roared in anger and the family huddled together in fear. The Doctor locked eyes with the little boy as he trembled and held on to his mother.

"We've waited long enough," the Doctor said as he stood. "Abe, wait with these people. I'm going to go talk to it."

"But, Doctor, it'll tear you apart!" The eldest girl pleaded.

"Maybe," the Doctor said with a shrug. "But it's better to go out there and face it than to sit in here afraid. I don't know what's this Xuatonians' problem, but you know what? He's just acting like a bully now. And there are three things I can't stand. One of them is bullies."

The Doctor straightened his jacket and bowtie as he prepared to step out the front door.

"If I may ask," Lincoln said. "What are the other two things?"

"The other two things I can't stand? Selfishness and yogurt. Bullies, selfishness and yogurt. Those are my dislikes."

With that, the Doctor stepped out into the night. He was three steeps across the porch when the Bigfoot grabbed him by the lapel threw him halfway across the yard.

"Bad idea. Bad idea. Bad idea."

He was scrambling for his sonic screwdriver when the Bigfoot picked him up again. As the alien held the Doctor over his head, the Doctor pulled out his sonic and aimed it at the Bigfoot. He hit the button and let the sonic impulses wash over the Xuatonian. The alien screeched in pain and dropped the Doctor. While both scrambled to recover, the Doctor read the readout on his screwdriver.

"Wait a minute!" He yelled out in shock and surprise. "I know what's the matter with you!"

The Bigfoot was preparing to get up while the Doctor pleaded with him to stay down. After seeing that the alien had no intention to stay down, the Doctor sighed.

"I'm sorry about this in advance..."

He swung his foot and kicked the alien in the face. The Xuatonian screamed and fell to the ground. As it wriggled, it spit something out it's mouth. The Doctor bent down and picked it up, holding it up into the moonlight to look at it.

"Aha! Just as I thought. That's why you've been so cranky, that's why you didn't talk. You, my friend, had a cavity. A whopping one at that. The toothache that thing cause must have been unbearable. Trust me on this, I'm the Doctor..."

*****

The sun was beginning to rise. The TARDIS was parked in the cabin's front yard. The Doctor and Lincoln were standing by it and ready to go as the family and the Xuatonian watched.

"Thank you, Doctor," the Bigfoot said, his jaw wrapped with a bandage. "The amount of pain I was in, I wasn't in my right mind. I'm sorry I attacked you."

"Don't be. You just only bruised my lung a little. It'll get all better soon!."

"What do you do from here?" Lincoln asked.

"I'm going to make amends," the alien said with a nod. "I'm going to help these people out with their farm until my debt is paid."

"Why not go home? Or do you like being in grainy, out of focus photographs?"

"Xuaton Major was my home, but not anymore. They were once a good people, Doctor. But they became consumed by bloodshed and war. I don't suppose you would know what that is like."

"All too well, I'm afraid. If you want a new start, you certainly got it here."

​

"Thank you," the father said. "For all you've done."

"You want to really thank me, then you'll have a good life. A life free of despair and sadness. Knowing you lot had a happily ever after That's my thanks."

The Doctor smiled at the group and Lincoln tipped his hat just as they darted into TARDIS. A few seconds later, the box dematerialized into thin air and the two were far away and on to their next adventure.

 

[Carnage27]

BPRD Headquarters

I lean against the door frame of my brothers' room here at BPRD and smile. Mikey has his face buried in a comic book, and Donnie is looking over some sort of data from his latest assignment. Dr. Indiana Jones led me in and gave me the time.

"Might as well have never left home," I say. Mikey's so thrown off by the sound of my voice he flails his arms and falls off his bed.

He springs up and runs over to me, "Leo! Dude! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to get you two back," I say, stepping back from my brother. "This is gone on long enough. We're a family, you two. We're meant to stick together. I know the Shredder situation fractured who we thought we are. But I know who we are. We're a team. We're brothers. And we've got a city to protect."

"Why now, Leo?" Donnie asks. "We've been gone for months. And now you come with this speech? Why not before."

I toss a few papers from New York down on a table in the room, all highlighting the escalating gang violence going on in the city, "That's why. The Foot and the mob are involved in a war. It's just starting but it's already escalated to some ridiculous levels. Their killing each other in public, and civilians are dying. Casey and I can't deal with this on our own. We need you to help take care of New York. Our home."

They share a look and Mikey looks at his feet, "I dunno, bro. We're supposed to be working here..."

"We made an agreement with Dr. Jones that said if you were needed in New York you could leave at any time," I respond, pleading with them.

They think it over for a few moments, and Donnie puts his hand on my shoulder, "I'm coming back. I haven't felt right since leaving. You're right. We're a team. A family. And we have a responsibility to the people of new York."

"Yea, let's bust some skulls! Plus, you cannot get a decent pizza out here..." Mikey grins. "But what about Raph?"

"Don't worry about, that. I'll take care of it."
​

 

[Carnage27]

Basin City

The armor clad warrior slams his steely fist into one of the attackers and laughs in mockery. A second of the group receives a round house kick to the jaw, sending him flying into another one of his friends. A fourth attacker fires a gun at the armored attacker, the bullet bouncing off harmlessly.

In return, the attacker tosses a ninja star at the man's hand, digging in and causing him to scream out in pain. The warrior, like lightening, unsheathes a sai from his hip and drives it towards the man's throat, but it's caught by a blade. My blade.

"Not fast enough, Raph," I say before turning towards the thug. "Run. Now."

He does so, along with his other injured friends.

"What the hell are you doing here, Leo?" Raph seethes underneath his helmet.

"You've been reckless, Raphael," I say, putting my sword down and stepping back from my brother. "But more importantly, you've gone against everything we've trained for. We're ninja. We strike hard and fade into the night. We're not glory hogging vigilante showboats. Running around trying to beat every criminal within an inch of their life isn't what we're here for. I've seen the news reports about you. 'The Nightwatcher'. Is that what you're calling yourself. You want to be Batman or something?"

"Ha!" Raph blurts out. "You would be jealous of what I'm doing here, fearless leader. Helping to clean up the country's most dangerous city alone."

"Is that what you call it?! Because from where I'm standing all it looks like indulging bloodlust," I snarl back. "You were always reckless. I thought we worked through this last year Raph. And yet here we are. You wondered why you were never given the chance to lead? It's because of this. You're reckless and pig headed, and have a thirst for blood. And one main thing...I'm better than you."

"Haha...well, I doubt that very much, big brother," Raphael says, taking his other sai off his belt and flipping his helmet off, dropping into an aggressive stance. "And if you really believe that, why dontcha you prove it?"

I take my other sword off my back, and twirl them both in my hand, "Don't do this, Raph."

And then he charges me. Our weapons clang against each other in a flurry of movement. Raph's sais are powerful and deadly, but their range is limited. He stabs down hard with one of them, and I spin and deflect the blow with both of my blades, then use my momentum to spring into a kick across his jaw.

"You never mind your surroundings or the flow of the fight," I instruct as he attempts a clumsy upper cut slash. I kick him in the belly, causing him to roll away from me. "And you open yourself up to attack."

"Always Splinter's favorite son," Raph spits onto the ground. "Always lecturing. You really can be unbearable sometimes."

"I only lecture because it's obvious you need it," I respond. "You have no balance. No control."

He charges me again, proving my point. He stabs, slashes and attempts to cut me, but I easily avoid and parry, "You're strong, Raphael. Stronger than any of us. But without control your strength is like the sword in the hands of a child. He may be able to swing it, but an adult will be able to take it away from him."

Another downward stab with both sais are met with my swords and I slide from underneath him flipping him to the side, spinning his weapons from his hands, and placing one of my swords on Raphael's neck.

"This is over, Raphael. No more of this. We're on the same side. And we need you. Donnie, Mikey, April, and Casey. All of us. New York is about to go to war with itself and I can't stop it without you. Now, are we going to set this aside?"

Raph is conflicted. I know he is. He's always wanted glory. Always wanted the limelight. Always wanted the fight. But he's loyal. He never would have hurt me badly even if he did win this bout. He's our brother, no matter what his propensity for violence tells him.

"Yea," he finally says. "I'm in."
​

 

[Carnage27]

Earth

"I cannot believe this," Hunter says, kicking the side of his and Verity's cell. "Imprisoned by a bunch of robot aliens for days. I knew this would happen one day."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Verity asks with a suspicious eye.

"Aliens. I knew they were coming."

"Oh god, you're a conspiracy theorist?"

"I dunno if you've noticed, but we're sitting in a gigantic alien spaceship," he smiles wryly. "I dunno if looking at me like I'm crazy is all that warranted."

"Good point."

In another part of the Ark, the remaining Autobots sit in silence, doing their daily duties. Since the battle with Thundercracker, Runabout, and Runamuck, Ratcher has been quiet and reserved, not intent on allowing Prowl to boss him around like he usually does.

But as the medic Autobot looks at one of the Ark's scanners, he pics up a blip headed towards their location, "Prowl, Ironhide. We've got something incoming."

"Size?" Prowl asks, not sounding all that worried.

"Large, Cybertronian signature," Ratchet responds before realizing what it is. "My word."

Within minutes, the airlock is open, and from inside, steps Optimus Prime, leader and head general of the Autobot army. The water from Lake Michigan runs off his red and blue robotic armor, and even now, completely relaxed and out of battle, the Autobot is a sight. Powerful and confident, he is a leader in every sense of the word. "Autobots."

"Prime!" Prowl exclaims in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I was told there was a situation that required my attention," Prime responds in a calm, deliberate voice. Prowl is a good soldier, and he knows it. But he's also too by the book, and often unable to cope with changing situations. And if what Ironhide said is correct, the situation has changed drastically.

"Were you?" Prowl asks turning back looking at his two teammates.

"I contacted Optimus," Ironhide meets his gaze. "The situation is more dire than you let on, Prowl. We need him here."

"I agree," Prime nods. "And let's not waste any time. I want to see their base."

"Bumblebee is there now. We'll meet up with him and see what he's found out."

**********

"So what do we do?" Agent J asks the other two men in the room. "You say this transformers come in a turn a planet into rubble."

"Usually, yea," K responds. "There's a defined pattern of infiltration and escalation. They've been fighting for millions of years as far as we've gathered. Species from all over the galaxy talk of the Cybertronian Civil War all the time. Half the refugees we have on this planet are because of it. It's ravaged many of the inhabitable planets in the galaxy."

"And now it appears they're on ours," Zed, the director of the Men in Black, responds, rubbing his temples. "We don't have the firepower to deal with this."

"Not alone, no," K agrees. "But why do we need to go it alone?"

"What're you saying?" J asks with a laugh. "Call in backup? Last time I checked, we don't have a B squad to add in."

"No. I'm not talking about calling in backup," K says with his normal deadpan face. "I'm talking about picking a side, slick."
​

 

[wiegeabo]

"...Say again?"

"It was quite obvious. One moment you were acting like Watson, the next you were a completely different person. Only someone as dense as Lestrade would have been oblivious to the change. Which is why I was the only one to notice."

"You're not wearing a disguise, because no disguise is that good. And I checked."

"That's not evidence-wait, what do you mean you checked?!"

"Add to that your accent. As I said, it's improved quite rapidly. You certainly have a keen ear. But for an entire day it sounded like an American attempted English speech. I would guess...Indiana? Definitely mid-western America in any case. Your lack of knowledge of current events, idioms, and London geography, the way you carry yourself..."

"Enough, Sherlock. Just...enough." I rub my forehead. "How could you possibly know all that?"

"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. You were either a time traveler or possessed by a spirit. And spirits do not exist."

"But time travelers do?"

"Obviously, since you are living proof."

"That's a tautology."

"And now I'm certain you are not Watson. If I had to guess-"

"Oh, please do."

"Turn of the millennium?"

"...1999."

"Interesting. Too bad you're not from the future. Then you might be more useful. So why are you hear?"

I hold back my urge to hit Sherlock, and wonder how the real Watson does it.

"You couldn't deduce that?"

"If you insist."

I put my hand up. "I leap-that's what call it-I leap uncontrollably from person to person in time-"

"Helping people. Hoping each time your next leap returns you home."

"...I'm starting to hate you a little."

"You were trying to help me with the case."

"And yet I'm still here."

"Perhaps because you weren't all that helpful."

"Do you realize how annoying you are?"

"I've been told."

And that's when Al decides to show up.

He steps through the door to the holographic chamber he uses to communicate with me.

"Sam! We've got it. Ziggy figured out why you're here!"

"What do I have to do?"

Al stares at me, then Sherlock. "It's ok, he knows."

"Talking to a friend from 1999? Some kind of...mental projection?"

"You told him?"

"He figures things out."

"Really..."

"Al."

"...Huh? Oh, right. Ziggy says there's a 96.4% probability that-" he taps at the console in his hand. "The hallway, Sam. Now!"

I quickly run out the door, knowing enough to not question Al in times like this.

"Oh my-!!!"

And on instinct, I reach out and grab Mrs. Hudson before she falls down the stairs. The packages stacked in her arms tumble down as she almost did.

"98.2%, Sam."

"Oh Doctor Watson. Thank you. I think you just saved my life."

I look at Al.

"99.4%!"

This is why I was here? This is why I had to put up with Sherlock Holmes for two solid weeks?

"100!"

"Are you-"


Everything changes in an instant of tingling energy that lasts forever.


"-serious?"

SMACK!

The pain across my face snaps me back to reality.

"Of course I'm serious, my dear Captain. I'm not in the...humorous mood you knew me for the last time you saw me."

I look up...and can't believe who I see looking back at me. "Holmes?"

"Who?" Holmes looks confused for a moment. Then something dawns on him.

"Ah, yes. I'm not the man I once was. New face and all will do that."

"You look just like...Who are you?"

"Why, my dear Captain Jack, it is I."

Spoiler

"The Master."

"Tsk, tsk, Jack. I didn't think you'd be so easy to capture. What with that little organization of yours backing you up."

"Uhh...sorry to disappoint?"

"Well, nothing you could do about that, to be honest. It's hard to be surprised when you already know the outcome of the story." Hol-The Master nods at one of the men holding my arms. He pulls back me sleeve, reveling some kind of lether strap on my arm.

"You want my watch?"

"HA!" The Master smiles, and it's uncannily like Holmes. And, for a second, I think maybe it's actually him and I've just traveled further into the future.

"That sense of humor of yours. No wonder all the ladies, and gents, find you so irresistible. I guess being immortal gives you a strange sense of perspective. I should know," he says with a wink.

"Wait, what? Who's immortal?"

"Take it," he says. The man grabs the device on my arm, and gets a nice shock for his efforts that sends him across the room.

"Hmm...again, not unexpected. Oh well. Kill him."

"No! Wait!"

The other man pulls a gun and points it at me head.

"I'm not immortal!"

BANG

And everything goes dark...

 

[Carnage27]

New York

My brothers and I stand on April's building's roof, looking towards the Manhattan skyline. It's been almost a year since we've worked as a team, and I don't know how tonight will turn out. But I know we can't take the time to train and get back into form. New York is already paying the price for our past actions, I won't sit by and watch it dip further into chaos.

"I know it's been a while since we've fought as a family," I say to my brothers. "But as long as we remember our training, no one can beat us. This fight will be dangerous. And it will be different. Our enemies want to kill each other just as much as us, and we can use that to our advantage. As long as we work together, none can stand in our way."

"Uhhh, I can come to right?" Casey says, coming up to the roof in his gear.

"Of course. I did say the family," I smile at him.

But behind him, comes Master Splinter. He was the first to leave, and the sight of him shocks me. I really didn't think April would be able to get him to come back. The Shredder's deception affected him like nothing I had ever seen. He was shaken to his core. His convictions and life's meaning were all changed in a moment. But he looks strong now.

"My sons," he looks at all of us and smiles. "It gladdens me to see you here, together. It has been too long. And this folly proves it."

The words are like a slap in the face, "Folly? Excuse me?"

"This is not our fight, Leonardo," Splinter says, closing his eyes and bowing his head. "We have no reason to get involved."

"No reason to get involved? What do you mean?" my voice begins to rise. "We have every reason to get involved. This is our city. Our people. We need to protect them."

"We need to protect our family, my son."

"They are our family! April, Casey, the rest of them! And if we stand by and watch as innocents are gunned down, we're no better than the mob and The Foot."

"Why does this bother you so, Leonardo?"

I try and suppress my anger, but some of it still slips through, "Because this is our fault. We killed The Shredder. We sent the mob and The Foot into disarray. It's our fault this chaos is taking over the city. And I'm going to right our wrongs. With your permission or without it."

"And how long will you risk yourself for them. Until you're dead?"

This isn't my father. This isn't the being that raised me and trained me to be the protector of the innocent. Hamato Yoshi's deception has changed him. Dulled his sense of honor. But it's done the opposite for me. It's made my focus clear. I know what needs to be done.

"As long as it takes to keep them safe."

Turning away from my father, I head towards the fire escape of the building, "I'm going. Are you all coming?"

"Of course," Casey responds

"I'm in," Donatello nods.

"Hell yea," Raph spins one of his sai

"Totally," Mikey grins.

"Then let's go."
​

 

[Carnage27]

​

It doesn't take long for us to find trouble in the city. A hail of gunfire draws our attention from the roofs of the city, and we rush towards its source, which turns out to be a group of shipping wharehouses by the docks.

What we find astounds me. What seems to be an army of mob gunmen close in on a fortified position of ninjas. But they aren't Foot. At least they don't seem to be. As I watch, three of them are gunned down covering the rest's retreat into one of the buildings.

"We need a plan here, Leo," Raph says from behind me.

I start to formulate one, but nothing immediately springs to mind. The mob is heavily armed and an assault would be suicide. I brought ranged weapons but we still wouldn't be able to take them all out in time. I turn back to Donnie and Casey, "You guys go and find the power lines for this whole place. We need cover, and complete darkness is the only thing that's going to give it to us."

"And the rest of us," I continue, dropping the extra gear bag I brought and opening it, "are going to pick them off with these."

Inside are a bow and quiver for each of us. Raph, Mikey, and me pick up three of them and sling the quivers over our backs, "Once you guys get the power off, come back here and cover the entrance to the wharehouse to make sure we're not flanked."

The two of them head off to search for the power source, while my other two brothers and I spread out over the rooftops surrounding the building where the ninjas have hid.

I position myself behind an air conditioner unit, and notch my first arrow, ready to fire. But from down below, I can hear one of the mob bosses heckling the held up warriors from outside the building, "Come on, girlie! Ya can't win. You gotta realize that by now. We got ya surrounded, and most of ya friends are dead! And after we're done with you, we'll kill the Foot. All a dem!"

These ninjas aren't the Foot. That much is certain, and that's when it hits me. I had seen their dress before. The French man was wearing the same thing they are.

Not wasting any more time, I loose my arrow towards the man that was just taunting his enemies as my brothers fire down as well. The panicked screams of pain bring a smile to my face, and the mobsters begin searching wildly for the source of the attack. They begin firing wildly into the air, but as they do a transformer explodes a block away, shrouding the area in darkness.

My brothers and I fire once more into the crowd of gunmen before dropping down to street level and brandishing our hand to hand weapons. Before the mobsters know what hit them, we're on them. One attempts to swing around and fire a shotgun at me, but I slice the gun off and the handle and drive my knee into his solar plexus, dropping him to the ground, "Not today, pal."

Another takes aim at Mikey, but gets a shuriken to the hand, forcing him to drop the weapon, and Michelangelo then swats him across the face with one of his nunchaku, littering the pavement with teeth and blood, "Batter up!"

"NRAH!" Behind me, Raphael tosses one of his weapons into the shoulder of an attacker that was lookiing to club me over the head with a crowbar. He then spins around and slices a second attacker across the chest, splattering blood across my brother's shell. "Well, that wasn't too bad."

"Come on, let's get in there," I say as I head towards the small wharehouse.

I push against the door and it opens slightly, but as I do, three throwing stars imbed into the other side of the entrance. I brandish one of my swords as one of the people held up inside the building rushes at me with their own.

The clang of metal against metal echoes through the empty building as our swords meet time after time. I have to admit my opponent is skilled. Shorter than me, but they're fast. A diagonal slice forces me to give up my sure footing in a roll, but I manage to recover in time before a horizontal slice cuts my face off.

I sit in my defensive stance, looking for an opening, which comes as the attacker becomes more desperate. They perform an obvious feint, and I don't fall for in. Instead, I sweep their legs out from under them and put my blade to their neck, "Enough. If you haven't been paying attention, I just saved you and your men."

Just then, the lights come back on, and I get a good look at the person I was just fighting, and the realization is shocking. It's a girl. Not much older than me if I had to guess, but obviously skilled. Japanese descent...and beautiful.

"You!" she says in surprise.

"Aw, look at that Leo," Raph laughs from the doorway. "The little girl almost beat ya!"

"Burn!" Mikey giggles.

"You've heard of us?" I ask, offering the little ninja my hand.

She ignores it, and stands on her own, "Of course I have, You killed The Shredder."

Looking at her suspiciously, "So what? Are you here for revenge? Are you part of the Foot Clan?"

"Yes, but we are not here for revenge. If we were, you'd be dead already," she says as her men come to her side. "We are here to regain the honor of the Foot. The Shredder tarnished our name. And now Foot from all over the world are here to right his wrongs."

Surprising. But I don't know how much I can trust her. She could still put a knife in my back. Well, figuratively speaking.

"I'm Leonardo. These are my brothers, Raphael and Michelangelo."

"Sup, ninja chick," Mikey says with a goofy wave. "Can I, like, get your number?"

"Funny, Mikey," Raph sighs before stepping over towards the newcomer to the city. He's a good two heads taller than she is, and massive to boot. "You better not screw us over. Because if you do, it'll be the last mistake you ever make."

"My name is Karai," she bows to us before matching Raph's stare. "And I say the same to you, turtle."

Before we can talk more about her mission, Casey and Donatello burst through the door, "Leo!"

"I thought you were guarding the entrance!?" I ask my brother.

"We were but-"

"Leonardo, they're everywhere," Donatello says. "It's an army. I dunno what they are, but they're everywhere."

And that's when I hear the sound of metal feet marching toward us.

 

[Byrd Man]

Juktapozik
Second Moon of Chizzik
6,215 AD


The Doctor, Abraham Lincoln, and River Song were hunkered down beside a brick wall as a platoon of Sontaran soldiers marched towards them. Just a half hour earlier, the three of them had freed the 100,000 plus inhabitants of Juktapozik from a Sontaran POW camp.

"I can't believe you talked me into coming!" River shouted as she pulled a blaster from her hip.

"Oh, come off it!" The Doctor shouted back. "There's nowhere else you'd rather be!" He had a small orb in one hand, his screwdriver in the other.

"I could think of more than a few places I'd like to stick you!"

"Mind your manners, dear. We have company."

"Sorry to interrupt, but what's the plan?" Lincoln asked. The Sontarans were getting closer and closer.

"Good question, excellent question. I expected nothing less from the Great Emancipator."

"That means he doesn't know!"

"I do too know!"

"Prove it!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes and then activated the screwdriver. The sonic pulsed through the orb in his hands. The Sontaran platoon dropped to their knees, grabbing their ears in pain. The Doctor stood up from behind the wall and smiled.

"Portable Sontaran communications relay, plus sonic screwdriver equals painful feedback. Now, let's go!"

While the Sontarans were recovering, the three ran as fast as they could up a hill where the TARDIS was parked. Lincoln and River went inside while the Doctor brought up the rear.

"That was fun," River said, holstering her blaster. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, blue book. "Fought the Sontarans on Juktapozik with Abe Lincoln."

"What's that, Doctor Song?" Lincoln asked, removing his top hat.

"It's her diary," the Doctor said as he came up behind them and walked to the TARDIS controls.

"It's how I make sense of it all. My relationship with the Doctor."

"Yes, we've been known to meet out of order. My future is her past. Tricky business, time travel."

"Yes," Lincoln said, sitting down on one of the seats across from the control panel. "I'm starting to see that."
The Doctor turned to River and smiled. "Speaking of your diary, what say we work on making another entry?"

"Let's," River said with a wink. "The guards at Stormcage shouldn't miss me or another twelve hours or so."

The Doctor nodded and began to operate the TARDIS. River sat down next to Lincoln and smiled.

"Doctor Song, if I may ask... what exactly did you do to get sent to prison?"

"Oh that...," she said with a chuckle. "Killed my husband." She turned to the Doctor and watched him work. "By the way, Sweetie, Abraham Lincoln as a companion? Have I told you lately how much I love being a time traveler?"

"No, you haven't," he said, winding up a rotating lever. Once it was done, he rang a handbell hanging on the TARDIS console. "Next stop: wherever, whenever."

With that, the TARDIS disappeared into the time vortex headed for parts unknown.
​

 

[Carnage27]

They burst through the wall and are on us quicker than I could imagine. They chew through the very concrete and metal that forms the building around us with metal teeth and jaws, the sound worse than nails on a chalkboard. My brothers, Casey, and I meet the oncoming wave as it washes towards us.

​

"You have got to be kidding me!" Raph yells as he stabs one of the machines through the eyes.

One of them clamps down on my left arm, causing me to drop one of my swords. The pain is extreme, as the robot shakes its head, digging its mandibles into my flesh. I bring my other sword around and cut its head off, releasing my arm. Unfortunately, three more of them spring towards me. I slice through two of them, but a third gets by my weakened defenses.

Luckily, another blade destroys it before it can get to me. I look down and see Karai ready for the next wave of the mechanical menaces, "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet," she responds, tossing a few throwing stars into the advancing horde.

There's so many, that there's not much time to prepare for the next attack. I switch to a two handed form on my remaining sword. It sacrifices attack abilities, but increases my defensive capabilities, crucial at a time like this.

And I also concentrate. Hard. I calm myself and let myself fall into the meditative state. I feel my life energy flowing through me as I did once before when battling Shredder's elite guard. I open my eyes again and everything seems to have slowed down. A robot flies towards me, seemingly in slow motion. I swing my blade up and chop it in two.

I charge into the horde and slash into our enemies with precision. I mow them down like grass. I can almost sense when one is about to attack, and I rip through it with my katana. My skin and shell becomes slick with oil and sparks sting against it.

I still can't understand how I get into this state, but it's an amazing ability. Father said that those that master meditation can tap into the energies of the universe. I know I'm not at that level yet, but I'm obviously working on it and getting close.

But I'm taken out of the trance by a scream. I turn back and seem on of them claw across the face of Karai, and Casey has to bat it off her. I look and see my brothers and my other allies, and they're all struggling. These things are doing a job on us, and I dunno if we're going to be able to hold them over for very much longer.

"Turtles!" I call out to my brothers. "Retreat!"

I rush out of the swarm of robots and towards the back door of the wharehouse, but stop as I pass a load-lifter. I kick the thing on and send it rolling towards the mechanical hunters. It crushes the robots in its path, before striking the wall they burst through. As it does, the building above me shudders.

"Oh I really should have seen that coming," I mutter to myself as I rush towards the exit to the building. Rubble begins to fall around me as I slide through the open door, the building completely coming down behind me.

"Whoa, good plan, bro," Mikey says patting me on the shoulder.

"Not really what I had in mind, Mikey," I respond in pain.

"Still, better than something I would have come up with," Raph smiles as he helps me up.

"Are you okay?" I ask Karai.

She nods, "Fine. Just a scratch."

"So what the hell were those things?" Casey asks. "I thought this was just the mob and the Foot."

"Well," Donnie says, tossing a piece of one of the robots towards me. "It looks like we've got another problem to add to our list."

I snatch the piece of metal out of the air and look at it. The imprint reads "StockGen".

**********

The portal opens in front of Baxter Stockman, and he knows it's time. Out steps General Krang and a group of his Rock Soldiers. He motions towards Sotckman, who is shoved into a chair by one of them, "Baxter, I gave you so much time. So many resources. And yet you have continuously failed me. What am I to do with you?"

"No...no...I can still help you," the scientist pleads with the general. "You don't need to kill me. Please."

"Oh, I don't think I'm going to kill you," the general laughs in his odd, synthetic laugh. "Not until you witness my true power."

He heads towards the super computer in Sotckman's lab and begins hitting keys. The scientist looks at him with fear in his eyes, "What are you doing?"

"Making sure I draw these turtles and other do-gooders out. You say they're protectors of the city? Well what's the easiest way to bring them out, Stockman?" the general hisses. The scientist stutters, "Traag, our friend seems to have lost his tongue. Answer my question for him."

"The best way to draw out a foolish group of heroes is to invade this city, sir!" Lieutenant Traag calls out in a disciplined voice.

"Exactly," Krang says, unbuttoning the top of his military coat and allowing it to drop. "I think it's time for a little face to face."

**********

I wrap my arm, ready for an attack on this StockGen that sent this damned robots after us.

But something draws my attention in the night sky. A portal opens up quickly and out pours a series of aircraft and what looks like dropcraft. I don't know what it is, or where it came from, but it can't be good.

"Oh man, that can't be good," Raphael says looking up into the night sky.

"Don," I say to my brother, "any idea what the hell that is."

"Looks like some sort of portal," Donatello responds. "Could be dimensional. Can't tell without being closer."

"Casey, call April and get her and Splinter to us," I say to my friend. "Karai, get your men to us. I don't know what's going on, but we're going to need all the help we can get."

As the words come out of my mouth, a strange wooshing sound fills our ears and a small gust of wind begins to blow in our vicinity.

"Now what?"
​

 

[Byrd Man]

[YT]T-oQlNDzZss[/YT]

The TARDIS shook and came to a stop in its current location. Inside, the Doctor was wearing a beret while Lincoln and River sat in the seats beside the console.

"The Paris summer during the thick of the Revolution," he said with a smile. "What else could you ask for?"

"Soap," Lincoln said with a scowl. "If I smelled like that, I would have chopped off my head to get rid of the smell."

"What do you expect? They are French."

"Now, now," the Doctor said with a shake of his finger. River stood and began to fiddle with the device on her wrist.

"I'm afraid I have to go, sweetie."

"You sure? Outside should be New York in 2012. Exciting year, 2012. Superhero films, first contact with Vulcans, and that brilliant Mayan snake monster."

"We'll do it soon."

River winked at the Doctor and then activated the Vortex Manipulator on her wrist. She disappeared in a flash of bright light. The Doctor sighed and took off his beret. "Well... guys night out, I suppose?"

Together, he and Lincoln stepped out the TARDIS... and into an unexpected meeting.
​

 

[Carnage27]

Out of no where, a blue phone box thingie appears out of thin air next to the demolished wharehouse.

"Well, that's not something you see everyday," Casey says as he approaches the box. "And I see giant talking turtles every day."

"What the hell is a police box?" Raph asks with a chuckle. "And why is it disappearing and appearing in New York?"

The door squeaks a bit and begins to swing open, and I ready myself with my weapon and urge my allies to do the same, "I dunno, but it looks like we're about to figure out."

The door swings open, and out skips a gangly looking man in a bowtie, along with...what looks like...Abe Lincoln?

"Whoa...okay...where's Keanu?" Mikey says in confusion. "Because I see Abe Lincoln, dudes."

"Who are you?" I ask the new found strangers. "And why have you come?"

 

[Byrd Man]

Out of no where, a blue phone box thingie appears out of thin air next to the demolished wharehouse.

"Well, that's not something you see everyday," Casey says as he approaches the box.

"What the hell is a police box?" Raph asks with a chuckle. "And why is it disappearing and appearing in New York?"

The door squeaks a bit and begins to swing open, and I ready myself with my weapon and urge my allies to do the same, "I dunno, but it looks like we're about to figure out."

The door swings open, and out skips a gangly looking man in a bowtie, along with...what looks like...Abe Lincoln?

"Whoa...okay...where's Keanu?" Mikey says in confusion. "Because I see Abe Lincoln, dudes."

"Who are you?" I ask the new found strangers. "And why have you come?"

The Doctor and Lincoln looked around at the group assembled around the TARDIS. Lincoln looked confused, while the Doctor broke out into a wide grin.

"Turtles!" He shouted in glee. "What are you doing on Earth?"

The Doctor reached into his jacket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He scanned the closest Turtle, the one in the red bandana.

"The hell are you doing?!"

"Scanning you for your planet of origin, now hush."

The Doctor stepped back and read the readout on his screwdriver. His smile turned to confusion. "Wait a minute... You lot aren't aliens? You're mutants? No. That's not right. I know a race of aliens that look just like you, live halfway across the galaxy."

He tucked his screwdriver back into his jacket and pulled out his psychic paper, holding it out for everyone to see. "I believe this will tell you who I am..."

"It's blank..."

"You're a scout with the Rangers?!"

"You're a Domino's delivery man? Where's the pizza?"

The Doctor sighed and put his paper back into his jacket.

"Fine. I'm an 1105 year old Time Lord from the now destroyed planet Gallifrey. I'm the last of my kind and I travel through all of time and space with my time machine that looks like a police box... and this is my companion, Abraham Lincoln."

"Hello," Lincoln said with a smile and a wave."Pleasure to meet you all."

"No way," the turtle with the purple bandana said. "That's a bit too... unbelievable."

"'Said the giant, talking, mutant turtle...'"