Duck and Cover

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Part Two

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"Leonardo!" Mike exclaimed, pulling his attention from the filming for the first time as the light crashed down to the ground. Pieces of glass and metal were scattered all over the pavement.

Leonardo lifted his head up and looked over at the disaster. Then he looked back down at the kid in his arms. "You okay?" The boy nodded wordlessly.

"Cut!" The angry director threw his doughnut on the ground and stormed over to where Leo and the boy stood. "You just ruined that take. And that light!" His face was beginning to turn bright red. "Do you have any idea how much that costs?!"

Leonardo was about to start defending himself when the director grabbed the little boy by the arm and yelled in his face. "Where are your parents? Someone has to pay for this!"

Leo saw red. He grabbed Fausner by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. The boy was now near tears. "Now you listen here, you-"

"What's going on here?"

The group turned to see Ace Duck walking towards them. Raphael and Donatello walked over from the opposite direction. The director pointed at Leonardo and the boy. "These two are trespassing. And destroying the studio property!"

"It was an accident!" Leo shouted back.

"Go set up for the next shot," Ace said. Then he watched the director storm unhappily back to his chair, taking his frustration out on the camera guy and the interns. Ace turned back towards the boy and for a second Leo thought the actor was going to start yelling at him too, but Ace just knelt down to the kid's eye level. "You know you aren't supposed to be here."

The boy, who couldn't have more than six, held out a notebook and a pen. "Mister Ace Duck, sir, can I please have your autograph?"

Ace smiled and happily took the pen and paper. He chatted with the boy as he wrote, asking his name: "Lew." And where his parents were: "Over there."

"There you go." He ruffled the boy's black hair as he handed back the autograph book. "Now get going before Mr. Meanie comes back."

The boy didn't need to be told twice, he was out of there like a rocket. Ace chuckled as he stood up, turning to Leonardo. "Nice catch."

Leo allowed himself a small smile. "Thanks. I'm Leonardo." He held his hand out.

Ace grasped it firmly. "Nice to meet you. I'm-"

"Ace Duck!" Michaelangelo finally got over the shellshock of one of his heroes standing right in front of him. He grabbed Ace's hand and shook it furiously. "I'm like, your biggest fan! You're my hero!"

Ace smiled politely. "Hey, easy there, pal, I'm kinda attached to those pinfeathers."

Mike let go with an apologetic smile. Ace looked him over and burst out laughing. "Definitely not within the target age group."

Leo was about to make a comment about how Mike was in the age group, mentally, when Mike blurted out, "That's not a costume. You're a mutant like us!"

Leo cuffed Mike gently on the back of the head. Ace laughed again. "Is that what we're called? Huh."

"So what's your story?" Donatello asked.

Leo glanced over at Raphael and Donatello. "What're you two doing here?"

"It's called a plot device," Raphael told him. "You think you'd be able to recognize one by now."

Leo gave Raph an unamused glance and looked back at Ace expectantly. Mike was a bundle of excitement. "Yeah, dude, tell us how you came to be the totally awesome hero you are today."

Ace cleared his throat. "Well, it isn't exactly heroic, but..."

***Flashback***

The sky was clear and blue, not an obstacle in sight. Pilot Ace Conrad was enjoying the blissful feel of flight as he soared hundreds of miles above ground, far away from traffic jams and crazy drivers. Ever since he was a small child, he was convinced that this was the only way to travel. Even pretended he had wings from time to time. Although that had ended shortly after suffering from a broken leg after trying to fly from his treehouse.

He chuckled to himself. And today he was happy piloting his own plane. And a prototype at that. Brand new, first of its kinda, and he was the first man to take it up. If this wasn't heaven, he didn't know what was.

"Fabulous," Ace replied back over the radio. "Flies like a dream. Real smooth."

"Roger that." Ace gently eased the controls to circle the plane back towards the test strip. Suddenly, a bright stream of light shot down right in his path. "What the-?"

Ace didn't have time to reply, or even evade, and flew right into the middle of the beam.

Ace heard him, but couldn't reply. He pulled the stick to the right as hard as he could, pulling the plane from the beam. It also sent him into a spiral and he was too low to pull out of it in time.

SPLASH!

Ace managed to steer the plane into a nearby pond. The crash scattered the wildlife away. Small mammals, frogs, and ducks fled from the scene. The cockpit door of the plane opened, slamming back against the hull of the plane. Ace half-walked/half-crawled out the door and tumbled into the water. The animals started coming back, curious about what had just invaded their home. One of the ducks even had the audacity to sit right on Ace's head.

Before Ace could even catch his breath, the beam was back. Without the plane to protect him, Ace was hit full force. It felt like he was being pulled inside out. He tried to scream but he couldn't find his voice. Finally it stopped and he fell face first back into the water.

"Krang, will you stop those infernal tests?"

The bodiless alien pushed away from the console and turned his bubble-walker around. "Don't bother me Shredder. I have to test this weapon to make sure it's up to my standards."

"But it's not even a vital system," Shredder complained. "Shouldn't you be trying to get this thing completely built before working on secondary systems?"

"Stupid human. Weapons always have top priority." Krang turned back to the console. "Hmmm... It looks like this laser isn't working properly. I should have known better. Inferior Earth technology could never replace the advancements in Dimension X."

***End Flashback***

Mike was grinning ear to ear. "Wow."

"Umm, one question. How did you know it was Shredder and Krang when you weren't anywhere near the Technodrome?"

Leo elbowed Raph in the side. "Raphael, what did we tell you about pointing out plotholes?"

"What happened after you passed out?" Donatello asked.

"Well," Ace said. "I came to and saw that I had been changed into a giant duck! I had no idea what to do. I hid when the search and rescue crew came looking for me. I worked for the government, I know what they do with things like what I had become. So I let them think I was dead. I returned home and luckily my parents and brother believed me."

"So, like, how'd you end up on TV?" Mike asked.

"Funny story, that. My brother's a television writer. He was hard pressed for an idea so he decided to use me as inspiration. As luck would have it, the network loved it, and I got cast because that way they wouldn't have to spend a ton of money on costumes."

"Ace, we need you back on the set, NOW!"

Ace scowled over his shoulder. "That'll be my cue. Maybe I'll see you guys around." He was off and jogging towards the director before any of them could say anything.

Leo was a bit annoyed at Ace's sudden departure. "Come on guys, we've got work to do."

"Work?" Raphael repeated. "What work?"

Leo knelt down next to the busted light, then stood and looked up at the pole it had been attached to. "This didn't fall by accident." He gestured Donatello over. "See? None of the supports are damaged."

"You're right. It looks like someone took off the bolts."

Raph crossed his arms. "And they couldn't have, say, come loose over time, hmm?"

"Not the way these people work." Leo hiked his thumb towards the crew. They were all busy. "We've been watching them. They check all the equipment pretty often. They'd have noticed if even just one of the bolts had come loose. No, someone did this on purpose, and we have to find out who."

***

Shredder paced in an alley not far from the set. "So, you did it?"

Bebop and Rocksteady nodded. "We made the light fall, just like you wanted, boss."

"Excellent." Shredder twirled his cape around. "With all the damage you two have done, they'll have no choice but to stop their ridiculous Holiday program." He started laughing maniacally and Bebop and Rocksteady shared a worried look.

"Um, actually..." Rocksteady started. Before he could utter another syllable, Shredder was towering over him.

"Actually what?" Shredder growled.

"Actually, we just did..." Rocksteady gulped. "One light."

Shredder narrowed his eyes. "One?"

"Well, you see... There was this kids under da light, and then he got saved."

"By one of da toitles!" Bebop added.

"The Turtles?!? Here?" Shredder threw his hands up in the air. "Just perfect. Must they always interfere in my plans?"

"Yes, we must!" Leonardo stepped into the alley, disguise discarded, swords drawn. "Your evil plan ends here, Shredder!"

"You'll never stop me, you miserable mutants!" Shredder shook his fist at them.

"Out of curiosity, what are we supposed to be stopping you from doing?" Raphael asked.

Shredder took on an intimidating villain pose. "First I plan to ruin this pathetic television show, then all of Christmas!"

The Turtles looked at each other, then back at the laughing Shredder. "You're going to ruin Christmas? Seriously?"

Shredder stopped laughing. "What's wrong with that? All good villains have tried it at least once in their careers!"

"Yeah, but," Raphael snickered. "It's not exactly "you", you know what I'm saying."

"Yeah, you're usually trying to power up the Technodrome or take over the city," Don pointed out.

"Well, yes, I just thought I'd do a little expanding."

"Well you're not getting away with it!" Michaelangelo yelled, stepping to the front of the group. "You can't destroy Christmas! You won't get away with terrorizing a TV crew or even kidnapping Santa Claus!"

"I wasn't planning to- You still believe in Santa Claus?" Shredder interjected.

"Because it's about more than that! It's not all about decorations and carols and presents, it's about the joy of giving and being with family. It's about having one day of peace and happiness around the world."

Shredder looked shocked. "You're absolutely right! I almost did a horrible thing! What was I thinking? I give up!"

The turtles stared in muted shock. Mike blinked. "Whoa. Seriously?"

"No. Bebop, Rocksteady, get them!"

***

Part Three

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