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 |  Three from a Future Mutant Animal Society travel back in time to save their world |
| [Introduction]
So recently I recieved the children's book 'Save the Human' by David Wood which is basacally Planet of the Apes for elementary school age kids, a fable of the future where after Humans nearly killed themselves off, Animals have risen up and now use human for everything humans used animals for, humans are pets and foodstuffs, both farmed and hunted they perform in circuses you get the idea... Here is a story where Mutant Animals rule the Earth and Humans are their slaves, everything would be hunky dory except for the fact the planet is slowly dying, crops are beginning to die, both on the land and underwater the Earth is at risk of becoming a giant barren lifeless desert unless a solution is found fast. The Greatest Animal Scientists believe that long ago there was a mysterious element in the past that needs to be brought to the future to revitalize the Earth, they build a time portal and intend to send Animal Society's Greatest Heroes as 'Temporal-Nauts' but upon first turning on the time portal seems it has a mind of it's own and refuses to take the chosen heroes instead sucks three average citizens from arounf the world to send them back to early 21st Century |
| Name: Avery Beetle Age: 18 Sex: Male Species: European Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus) Birthplace: Liverpool England Occupation: High School Student/Musician Likes: Smoothies, Playing his Guitar, Hanging out with friends Dislikes: School, Being Alone, Extremly Hot Weather Bio: Avery was born in the Insect District in Liverpool England he's been wanting to form a Garage Band for years but so far no one else will join, when the crops started failing to grow that was particurally alarming to his family since they're pure herbivores, very would've liked a pet human but his family never got one since in Animal World the largest insects get is one foot tall, a Human could easily still squish a Bug Person |
| Name: Charles Wolfe Age: 25 Sex: Male Species: Wolfdog (A Wolf-Dog mix) Birthplace: Western New York Occupation: Produce Farmer Likes: Taking care of his crops, and being with his pet human, a 23 year old female named Rebecca (Jones). Dislikes: Those that are excessively cruel to humans. Bio: Charles has a complicated relationship with his pet human, Rebecca. On the one hand, files show that his family has owned her line for years. On the other, even older records indicate that her family, Jones, once owned his. Then, there's his own personal feelings for her, being less of a Master-Pet relationship, and more that of being lovers. He'd only marry to continue his line, if the female held similar feelings for their own male human pet, and wanted that sort of thing to continue, with all of them being a blended family. However, the crops failing make him wonder about the future, and if there'd be that generation. |
| Feeling too hot to practice his guitar, Avery joined his family in the living room as they were watching the New Report on TV, taking place live in the place known as New York City. Standing at the Podium was Chief Resercher Professor Rhino, a Black Rhino who had worked numerous miracles curing various animal illnesses like rabies, ringworm, hoof in mouth disease by eperimenting on humans, that led to the question since he seemed to be an expert on biology studying diseases what was he doing talking about an Astrophysics Experiment? "My Fellow Animals." Snorted Professor Rhino "My collegues and I have been working hard on studying the cause of our planet's inceasing lack in fertility we have determined that in the past there was a mysterious element that is no longer with is...We haved dubbed this 'Element X' we believe this element was last known to exist at the end of the 20th Century and the beginning of the 21st just before humans nearly ruined the Earth...Therefore..." He gestured to a trie of browny animals, it was hard to dertemine what kind of animals they were because of their concealing spacesuits other than they were all something large. "We have chosen our finest heroes to travel back to that time period to procur some Element X to bring it back to our time period..." |
| Charles was out in the field with Rebecca. They were sharing a picnic together. Sure, it might get lonely on occasion, but then again, based upon some old records, there'd been human farmers that would lay with their sheep. Of course, Charles was glad that there were still feral animals around - he disliked those that ate humans, just because they could. It was one thing if the human had died from accident, illness, or old age, but he disliked the idea of killing a sapient creature just to eat them. |
| The News Reporters of course tried to question Professor Rhino like, how did they know this 'Element ' was the thing they needed to revitalize the world and how did Element X cause plants to grow, but Professor Rhino said "Enough now, time is money after all, we must turn on the time portal and begin the greatest experiment animal society has ever known!" So Professor Flipped the giant lever a lever larger enough only a creature his size or larger could move it. The Time Portal intself was large as well, it was a giant white circle gate built in the middle of Times Square, as it was turned on the circe filled with ethreal blue energy everyone there gasped in amazement. But then there were several creaks and groans like huanted house...An expression of horror came to Professor Rhino's face! "Holy Manure!" He exclaimed "This shouldn't be happening!" Before anyone could ask what he was talking about, the energy in the gate seemed to form a mouth, that seemed to filled with pointy energy 'teeth' and around the mouth enery arms appeared they began to stretch around the world searching for the animals the temporal energy seemed to prefer |
| "More venison?" Rebecca asked. "Of course, my lovely." Charles opened his mouth, and the human placed a piece inside. He swallowed it. "Delicious as always. I'm glad mother taught you to cook." "I'm glad to be yours," said Rebecca. Charles smiled, and gave her a gentle kiss. "I wish that I could make you my mate." |
| Everyone who was watching TV was frozen as the blue energy arms reached across the sky, the Beetle Family were not expecting one of the arms to come to their front door grab their Teenage Son and pull him back across the Atlantic towards the time portal! |
| That was when Charles noticed a shift in the weather. "Let's get inside," he said as he held onto Rebecca. The pair went towards the house. However, that was when the blue arms grabbed both of them. "Don't let go Master," Rebecca said, frightened. "I won't," Charles said, just as scared. |
| Back at Times Square when one of the three 'Temporal-Nauts' tried to enter the time portal they bounced off the energy and went flying into the crowd, Checking to see if he was OK they unscrewed his helmet and it was revealed he was...Doctor Beagle! One of Professor Rhino's Colleages! The Small Dog had been put in a large suit with stilts to make him seem like a larger creature than he actually was! |
| Charles didn't know what was going on, as he and Rebecca were dragged through the air. |
| Obviously it took longer for Avery to arrive because Charles and Rebecca were already in New York and he had to be dragged all the way across the Atalantic. Meanwhile the News Reporters were trying to ask Doctor Beagle why he was put in a large suit to disguise himself as some other creature, Professor Rhino knew he couldn't risk the the secret being revealed to he got on all fours and charged at the reporters... |
| Charles and Rebecca found themselves flying above NYC. "I never did like going to the big cities," said Charles. "Local ones are bad enough." "It looks scary down there," said Rebecca. "I'll protect you, no matter what." Charles gave Rebecca a kiss. Rebecca gave him one back. |
| Charles and Rebecca circled around in the air. "See anyone else?" Rebecca asked. "I don't know," said Charles. "Wait, I think I see something." |
| Eventually the energy hands were pulled into the time portal, for a few monments the creatures were spinning around in a a swirl of psychadellic colors, it left one feeling not sure weather it made you want to puke or have a seizure... |
| There also was the faint sound of...Music...Avery could distinctly hear the words 'I want to fly like an eagle into the future...' which was ironic given they were going into the past. Then they were spit out, being a Small Insect Avery was quickly caught up in a breeze but then he remembered he had wings and started flying |
| Charles and Rebecca crashed into something, Charles trying to shield Rebecca as best as he could. |
| "Ooh..." Avery groaned "..That was nauseating I shouldn't have had that seaweed salad..." And with that he proceeded to barf. Meanwhile, the heroes had landed in Gotham City, next to a heist being pulled by the Scarecrow...The Scarecrow had used his fear gas on the Bankers to have them distracted while he and his goons could take on the money they wanted |
| Charles and Rebecca stood up, the wolfdog groaning in pain from the impact. "You alright?" "Yes, Charles," said Rebecca. "Stay near me," said Charles. "I don't know what's going on." |
| As Scarecrow and his goons ran out of the bank heading toward their getaway truck, Scarecrow slipped on Avery's puke and found himself sliding until he collided with a pile of trash cans |
| Charles didn't know what was going on, so he didn't move, keeping quiet, and indicated to Rebecca to keep quiet herself. |
| As Scarecrow was dazed and confused and rubbing his sore head, Avery took a moment to gaze upon what had just slipped on his puke...And because of the costume including the ghoulish mask Avery at first didn't reconize it as a human... "A ghoul!" Avery screamed "A real live ghoul!" Scarecrow two henchman looked down at who had just spoken and froze "Did...Did that bug just talk/?" |
| Charles had a bad feeling that something bad was going to happen. So, he grabbed a rock, and threw it at a wall, to potentially distract the two humans, who looked to have some sort of weapon. |
| However the Goons were accustomed to this kind of treatment, even before they became criminals during their rough childhoods the other kids freequently threw rocks at them. "Boss..." The Fatter of the two goons said "...I think we may have breathed in your fear gas...Cuz we're seeing a talking bug!" Scarecrow still rubbing his head "Well do either of you have entomophobia?" "Wait..." Avery said "...Is that thing just a human in an ugly mask?" That got Scarecrow's attention he looked down and saw a Beetle standing on hind most legs and staring at him. |
| At this, Charles picked up some more rocks. "Rebecca, get down on the ground, and don't move unless I or someone more official says otherwise." At this, Rebecca laid down. There was a look in her master's eyes, one she rarely saw. It scared her. Charles threw the rocks at the hands of the two that had weapons, in an attempt to disarm them. |
| This the Goons finally had to notice "Boss..." One the Goons "I think we really REALLY got some of your fear gas cuz I'm seeing a werewolf!" |
| Charles then grabbed a trashcan, and threw it at the big one, hoping that the group would leave while they could. |
| Scarecrow finally rose and saw what seemed like a Wolf Headed Man... "You may just be a fear gas halluencation..." Scarecrow said trying to keep himself composed "...Or you may just be a hooligan in a werewolf costume...Either way..." He raised his glove hands "...I'll give you the fear gas for good measure..." Just then Scarecrow was knocked down by Batman swinging into the scene |
| Charles blinked, as he watched the fight between the two masked humans. The one in the black cape and cowl reminded him of something from some old records. "Rebecca, I think it might be safe for you to get up," he said. The human, carefully got up. "Master, what's going on?" "I don't know, but I think that the one dressed as a bat is a Protector," said Charles. "There's stories about them." |
| Batman raised an eyebrow under his mask, the woman calling the Wolf Man 'Master' This could be a perfectly consentual thing and this couple was just into some really kinky stuff. "Look...Wolfy..." Batman said "...I don't know if you two are just on you're way to a costume party or something but..." "Hey! Don't step on me!" Avery squeaked causing Batman to look down and saw a one foot tall Stag Beetle standing on hindmost legs...That was probobly the first real hint these peple weren't from around here and they weren't wearing costumes... |
| "Okay, you have my attention," said Batman. "What's going on?" "I don't know," said Charles. "Either dimension hopping, or time travel. I'm a produce farmer, not a theoretical physicist. One moment, Rebecca and I are enjoying a picnic, next we're flying through the air, over a city I hate going to, then we get sucked into some sort of portal, and end up here." |
| Meanwhile in the Animal Society in the Future for attacking the press, Professor Rhino was arrested by the Police and was being held in the Police Station for questioning since he tried to disguise thrre of his fellow scientists as creatures they were not everyone was beginning to get suspicious and thinking this quest for this mysterious 'Element X' was actually a cover for something else somethin g they didn't want the rest of animal society to know. As Professor Rhino sat in the interogation room smoking a cigarette one of the police dogs said "You think because of all his world in curing diseases he would no better than to smoke..." |
| "So, you don't know what's going on?" Batman asked. "I told you, I'm a produce farmer," said Charles. "What's your relationship with her?" Batman asked, looking at Rebecca, who seemed to be trying to stay behind the wolf man. "That's complicated," said Charles, not quite sure how to tell one human from another time, or dimension, that humans were pets or slaves at best where he was from. "All you really need to know is that I'm her protector." "Maybe I want to know," Batman said, as he walked up to the wolfman. Charles looked at the masked one. "Ever own a dog?" Batman blinked. "Yes." "It's the same thing between me and her," said Charles. "Only, it's the other way around." "You own her, as a pet?" Batman asked. "There's worse fates for a human where I'm from," said Charles, as he looked over at a butcher shop, that had a wide variety of meat on display. "Much worse." Batman looked where the wolfman indicated. "You mean, humans are seen as meat livestock?" "My family never got into that business," said Charles. "Too much work for not a whole lot of product. That, and human meat is expensive for that reason. I've always preferred beef, pork, chicken, fish, and other livestock that didn't take as long to grow up and reproduce anyways. The only way I'd ever eat Rebecca was if she was already dead first, preferably of natural causes, long after she's had children, with them having had theirs by that time." |
| "I think I better take all of you someplace safe..." Batman said as he heard the sound of a police siren approaching "Folks here wouldn't understand what you are..." |
| "Don't blame you there," said Charles. "I'm sort of surprised you're calm about this." "Seeing a wolf man from a possible future or alternative dimension with a human slave-pet, along with a talking bug, are on the low end of strange for me," said Batman. "Come on. There should be enough room for you all to fit in my car." |
| Now Scarecrow heard all that after he got knocked down by Batman, and althugh he was too dizzy to say anything, he had comprihended all of it...And he knew then and there it wasn't a fear gas hallucenation...The fear gas conjures up frightful sights and sounds, not elborate conversations between characters. Scarecrow did not fear the idea of animals rising up and taking the place of man, he didn't believe dumb b+easts capable of such things if he ever encountered someone with such a fear he would have written them off as stupid and childish and probobly have watched too man+y Planet of the Apes movies... |
| Charles then looked down at the other masked man. "What about him?" "Not a problem," said Batman, as he took out a pair of handcuffs. Quickly, he cuffed Scarecrow's hands behind his back, and cuffed him to a pipe that was connected to a high wall. "That will keep him from getting away from the police," said Batman. "Now, let's get going." "What if he mentions us?" Charles asked. "The police hearing that Batman is working with a Wolf Man, along with a girl in a skimpy costume and a talking bug, to take down a couple of criminals - nothing new," said Batman. "Not my first time getting help from an alien, or a mutant, or whatever, or, of course, helping them. Now, let's go. Commissioner Gordan's a good man, and would be willing to just let you walk away, but Harvey Bullock can be a pain in the butt to deal with, and might keep after you for questioning, although, to be fair, he's an honest and uncorrupted cop." |
| As they got in the Batmobile Batman realized what Charles had said about meat... "You said you prefer normal meats like beef and pork and such..." Batman said "...Are there...'Normal' and intelligent versions of the same animals?" "Pretty much." Avery said as he sat on the dashboard "It's a mystery our scientists have been trying to fugure out for years, why some individuals of the same species evolved and others didn't" |
| "So tell me, have you had human meat before?" Batman asked. "I have, but said humans died of natural causes, illness, accidents, or by other means," said Charles. "The religious sect I'm of forbids the killing of humans for the purposes of consumption - I can't even buy human meat from the market, store or order it at a restaurant, to eat it." "What if a human dropped dead in front of you?" Batman asked. "As long as I had no hand in killing the human if it was healthy, and it wasn't killed for me to eat, or killed to be eaten, then the tenants of my religion allow the consumption of said human by those of our sect," said Charles. "Of course, some exceptions exist, like protecting one's self, or granting Mercy to the dying, and eating them afterwards." "How did that come about?" Batman asked. "There's an old practice called Protection - human slaves, pets, or livestock, that risk their lives to save that of their master, become Protected, along with those of their bloodline, and thus cannot be slaughtered for food, or at least, that's how it's supposed to be," said Charles. "Story goes, a Tiger Prince and their human slave were on a small ship, sailing to other parts of the world. There was a storm, the mast was damaged, and collapsed - would of hit the Prince, had the slave not shoved them out of the way, getting hit instead, breaking their back in the process. Currents took them to an island. There wasn't much to be had, so, a week later, the slave, dying of their injury, offered their body to the Prince. The Prince told the slave that they were Protected, and couldn't do it. The slave took the Prince's knife, and took their own life. Of course, after a week of starvation, having a bunch of fresh meat right their in front of you, wakes up the apatite. Afterwards, he wrapped up the bones, and another ship came by, saw his wreckage, picked him up, still carrying those bones. Until he got home, he ate no more human flesh. After he buried the bones, in the family cemetery, he looked for information on that slave's line, so that they could be Protected. None of the slave's close relatives were alive. So, he made a vow - he'd never claim the life of a human for food, to make up for not being able to Protect that slave's bloodline." "Interesting," said Batman. "What about you?" "Grow up with someone, you feel a certain amount of attachment," Charles said, as he gave Rebecca a gentle kiss. "Like I've said, I couldn't kill Rebecca to eat her, unless she was already dying of something first." He looked at Batman. "I killed another to protect her once." Batman looked at him. "Explain." "Long story short, my sister was engaged to a dog that was the son of a banker, and was very wealthy, as in human meat every week wealthy," said Charles. "Sister told him that we didn't eat humans, unless they died of natural causes and such. So, we were going to have a pig roast for a pre-wedding ceremony, I'd bought the pig, I was going to host the ceremony, and all the stuff a brother does for their soon-to-be married sister. They came to my place the day before the ceremony, my brother-in-law-to-be's first time there, and they saw Rebecca, but instead of seeing her as a slave or pet that was someone else's property, they only saw her as meat to be eaten. I saw it in his eyes, as I'd seen it plenty of times before, especially by those from bigger cities. Most seem to understand the word 'No' though. This dog, I don't think he'd ever heard of the word before. When he asked why we couldn't have Rebecca as the meal, my sister told him, quite plainly, unless Rebecca died of natural causes, there was no way she'd end up on the menu. During the night, I woke up, wanting some company, so I went to Rebecca's room, to bring her to my bed for warmth, among other things, and I found him trying to suffocate her with a pillow, to make it look like she'd just died in her sleep, so that she could be the meal instead of the pig. I threw him off of her. I went to check on her. That dog pulled a knife, stabbed me in the back - got me in a kidney. He said that he was going to kill me for denying him his meal. In that moment, I realized something - Rebecca was in grave danger, and I had to protect her. I have a strong pair of hands, not to mention claws at the ends of my fingers. I choked the life out of that dog, to save the life of the one that I cared about." "What happened after that?" Batman asked. "Thankfully, my sister realized that I wouldn't kill her husband-to-be without a good reason, especially when Rebecca told her what had happened," said Charles. "She was double upset when the in-laws-to-be brought up some humans that were meant to be substitutes for the pig we'd planned to use, live ones, thankfully. She decked the father, clawed the mother's face, took the humans, tossed the body at the parents, and told them that if they tried to come after her for killing their son when he tried to attack me, she'd kill both of them." "Wait, your sister took the blame?" Batman asked. "We lived in a small town where most are of our sect, and she was a police officer," said Charles. "She killing someone to protect her younger brother and a beloved pet - very believable, as I didn't really have a violent bone in my body..... for the most part." |
| (Author's Comment: OK that last post was a bit much...Still trying to wrap my brain around, time for a brief segway Meanwhile in New York City, Donatello was feeling uneasy, restless...Since the defeat of the Tengu Shredder a few months ago, Don had been thinking more and more about how many times they had saved the human race, had numerous humans friends, but they still couldn't walk amoung the humans in unless it was Halloween...Also as he was 19 going on 20 he may have been suffering from 'The Spring Fever' the deep evolutionary need to propagate one's genes so more and more his daydreams had been turning to imagining if there were more creatures like themselves... |
| Thus, Don went over to Master Splinter, who was in meditation. "Master, during your meditations, have you ever encountered someone like us?" he asked. The rat opened an eye. "What's troubling you, my son?" "Well, I'm not sure how some of the others are handling it, but we're adults, and we've never encountered a female like us," said Don. Splinter chuckled. "I know of what you speak of. I too wish to have romantic encounters with a female rat, be it a human modified by rat genes, or a rat modified by human genes, or even an alien rat that's of appropriate size and sapient, as long as they were something similar to myself. Sometimes, even certain magazines don't offer the relief I seek." "So, what do you do, during such moments?" Donatello asked. Splinter chuckled nervously. "To be honest, there's a blind prostitute that I tend to visit at night during such times. Either she thinks I'm just a hairy human, or she's past caring what I am, so long as I got her money. We also use condoms." "Um, where do you get the money?" Don asked. Splinter grinned. "There's always some fool that wants to mug a helpless crippled old man, only to find out that the crippled old man isn't as helpless as he seems." He then chuckled. "They don't need their money after that - and the woman enjoys the cash." "So, you set yourself up as bait to rob muggers, all to have money to pay this woman for her services?" Don asked, astonished that his father would admit to doing such things. "Given what they'd of done to an unprepared person, I think it's fair," said Splinter. "They might even learn what it's like to be robbed, so as to not rob another in the future. I don't usually encounter the same mugger twice." "But, you've told us to never steal," said Don. "You've said that it wasn't right." Splinter sighed. "It isn't right. I want to openly walk into a store, buy what I want, pay for it, leave, and not be bothered by others on the street," said Splinter. "However, money isn't the only things I've, technically, stolen, like food and clothing, but I try to 'pay' for it with the money that I've taken from the muggers, by leaving the cash on the counter, with an itemized list of my 'purchases' and I probably overpay them. I don't take debit or credit cards, and I don't take personal items, only what's needed. I've done what I had to. To be honest, if I could get a fair trial, and you and your brothers would be alright without me, I'd walk up to a police officer, and turn myself in for all the thefts I had to do to keep you and your brothers alive." Don sighed. "I suppose you're right. Food doesn't just grow too well in a sewer." Splinter chuckled. "Now, back to your problem - there'd be issues finding such a blind human woman - your shell makes it too obvious that you're not human." "So, what do you suggest?" Don asked. "I'll do some extra meditating," said Splinter. "Maybe contact our one rabbit friend - seems that there might be turtlefolk in their land, if what you've told me about his world is accurate." "Why do you say that?" Don asked. "The locals called you a kame," said Splinter. "Kame is Japanese for turtle." |
| Don was a bit unsatisfied with Splinter answers, the female thing was one thing but also he just wanted to be free to have his genius reconized by society he had already begun thinking before he had his talk with Splinter about the possibility of finding one of the disposel sites where TCRI stored their ooze getting the containers of ooze and mutating not just turtles and rats but other animals make a mutant animal population so Humanity could no longer ingnore them! Meanwhile after some serious grilling Professor Rhino finally admitted "All right! All right! There is no such thing as Element X!" "Then why lie?" Asked one of the Police Dogs "The actual reason isn't to revitalize the Earth in our time." Professor Rhino said "Seems the damage is done, the humans of the past did something that would cause the Earth to slowly die ni matter what was done, what I was attempting to do was move our society to the fertile past! Clearing out the Humans of that time so there would be room for us!" |
| (Oops, mistook Don for Leo for a moment - Leo was the one that went to Usagi's world.) Splinter looked at his son. "What's really troubling you?" Don sighed. "I guess, I wish that my genius could be recognized, publicly. I also wish that there were other mutated animals." Splinter chuckled. "Tell me, how many children do you wish to have?" "What do you mean?" Don asked. "I too thought about making more like us - find more of the ooze, and use it in the water system to cause other animals to mutate, so that I could have an army to take on the Foot Clan," said Splinter. "But, then I saw something that ended that rather quickly. It was back when you were still toddlers, young, and innocent in the ways of things. We lived near a house, that had a mother, father, daughter, and a dog. They were the Smith family. Mother cared for daughter and dog, daughter loved the dog, and the dog was faithful to the daughter and mother. The father though, he was an alcoholic, abusive, and more importantly, he was a cop with a seemingly good record. There was always yelling and loud barking, and it was clear that the dog hated the husband. Anonymous phone calls amounted to nothing - they thought that someone had an issue with cops or something. One night, the shouting and barking was so bad, I had to do something beyond making a phone call - I grabbed a staff, put on a wig, and a few other things to make Mr. Smith think that I was just wearing a terrible costume, and I was about to give him what he deserved when I heard a set of sounds that chills me to this day - a gunshot, followed by that girl screaming, another gunshot, a growl, the man screaming in pain, yet another gunshot, and then, just the sounds of the girl. I went to the window, and I saw everything - woman and man both dead, woman from a gunshot, and the man from having his throat torn out by the dog, who was dying from a gunshot, and there was the girl at the top of the stairs, having seen it all went down, a bullet hole in the wall near her. You have no idea how heavy my heart was to make that phone call. It quickly changed my thoughts about just spreading our mutations to other animals. It would be one thing if the animal had a good relationship with humans, as they might see them as friends, but what if it was an animal that was protective towards some, yet hostile towards others, or worse yet, was hostile towards all humans? What if instead of seeing humans as possible friends, as you and your brothers have done, what if they saw all as enemies, or worse yet, knowing the instincts of some, as possible sources of food? I don't know if I could have lived knowing that I'd unleashed such horrors upon the world. It would be one thing if they'd been carefully raised, as I have you and your brothers, but what if all they know was violence and hate towards humans?" Donatello sighed. "You have a point." Splinter smiled. "Still, if you found animals with primarily good relationships with humans, maybe you could create more like us, just remember that you will, essentially, become their father." |
| Don thought about what he just heard, Splinter said he could mutate other animals if he took responsibility for them and raised them right, and Don thought, he was an adult now, surely he could handle taking new mutants under his wing...I mean how much harder can it be than building his machines? Meanwhile in the Batcave, Batman gave his three guests and area where they could be. "There's a lot of delicate equipment in here," Batman said "I would appriciate it if you don't mess with it." "By the way..." Avery said "...Who was the Ghoulish Human we encountered." "The Scarecrow..." Batman said "...Real name Jonathan Crane, a former Professor of Psychology who experimented on his students to create a fear toxin..." Author's Note: RIP Kevin Conroy |
| (Great, another dead Batman - he'll be missed as much as Adam West.) Batman looked at Charles. "I hope you don't mind, I'd like a blood sample from you." "What for?" Charles asked. "I'd ask for one from Avery here, but that might be tricky," said Batman, as he looked at the beetle. "I'm more used to dealing with human-sized mammalians." "Do you need one from me?" Rebecca asked, nervously. "To be fair, it would help me out, to see what your background world is like, such as any possible diseases and such," said Batman, as he looked at Rebecca. He looked at Charles. "Would be useful to know if she's protected from infectious diseases that exist here." "She's had her flu shot," said Charles. "I've made sure of that. Why do you want my blood?" "You aren't the first group of animals or humans that have been mutated that I've encountered," said Batman. "I've even been mutated a couple of times myself. Trick is seeing how they affect the being, like if the mutation makes them extra aggressive or not. Also, some times, there's a connection between different groups of mutants that otherwise never met." "I suppose it would be useful to know the origins of our evolution," said Charles. Batman went over to a medical table, and got a few sterilized needles and vials for collecting blood. "You might want to sit down." "Better do mine first," said Charles. "Rebecca doesn't like needles - I have to make her look at me whenever the, um, doctor gives her a shot or needs a blood sample." "You can use veterinarian, if that's what they are called," said Batman. "Not my first time dealing with a world or time period where humans were seen as pets, slaves, or livestock. Caused and aided a few rebellions." "So, you've dealt with those in our sort of world?" Charles asked. "As long as you're not an abusive owner, I won't have a reason to neuter your ancestors," said Batman, as he put Charles' blood in a machine. "Trust me," Charles said, as he carefully kissed Rebecca, allowing Batman to take a blood sample from her. "I wouldn't let anything bad to happen to her, if I could help prevent it." Batman placed the blood in another slot, and pressed a button. The machine spun a few times. A result spat out. "Mixture of wolf and dog DNA, and traces of-" Batman typed on the computer. "Interesting. I need to contact someone." "Who?" Charles asked. "Someone who would be seen as one of the smartest people on the planet, if he was allowed to show himself in public," said Batman. Donatello felt a vibration coming from his shellphone. He saw that he had a video call from Batman. "Um, hello?" "Are you aware of any other mutants with your type of mutation, besides your immediate group?" Batman asked. "Well, there's a mutant crocodile named Leatherhead, who lives in an abandoned subway station about ten minutes away from us," said Donatello. "Easily as smart as me, but has an anger issue that can make Ralph's bad days look good by comparison. Tell me he hasn't caused you any issues." "Has he been experimenting with the mutagen that created all of you?" Batman asked. "I don't think he has, as we tend to talk about such things," said Donatello. "Why do you ask?" Batman turned his Computer's camera, to point at a wolfman and a beetle, and a human woman in skimpy clothes. "Apparently, they're from a world, or timeline, where mutated animals rule, and humans are slaves or pets at best, and livestock or lower at worst." "And what does that have to do with me and my mutation?" Donatello asked. "I don't know about the beetle, but the wolfman has traces of the same mutagen that created you and your brothers, and I'm guessing Master Splinter, not to mention your friend Leatherhead," said Batman. |
| "Oh...Oh..." If this had been a previous time, Don might have been excited baring the humans as slaves part...But given what he had just been thinking about doing a few moments ago, he broke into a cold sweat, was this like a Terminator type situation, was he going to be involved in a stable time loop that would lead to a dytopian future? |
| "Don, is there something you'd like to tell me?" Batman asked. "To be fair, I was thinking about using the mutagen to create more like myself," said Don. "Let's face it - I'm a 20 year old male that would like some company." "Is there anyone else who might have access to the mutagen?" Batman asked. "There's two others," said Donatello. "An Agent Bishop, though I doubt he'd intentionally create such a thing, and a Baxter Stockman, who might as a means to get some sort of revenge." That was when there was a ding on Batman's end. "Okay. This might be a shot in the dark, but do you know an Arnold Casey Jones Jr. and an April O'Neil?" "The ones I know are good friends of my family," said Don. Batman typed something on his own end, and the images of Don's two friends appeared side-by-side. "Are these them?" "That's them," said Don. "Why do you ask?" "Seems that Rebecca, who seems to be Charles's pet human, is descended from them," said Batman. "Granted, there's others, and finding two of your friends as her ancestors is nothing in the grand scheme of things, but my information seems to indicate that they do work with beings unknown on occasion - I guess that's you and your group." There was another ding. "A veterinarian bloodwork from a husky malamute, belonging to April O'Neil and Arnold Casey Jones Jr.? Seems to be one of Charles's ancestors, along with a wolf from the Bronx Zoo." |
| Don...At that point grabbed a nearby brown paper bag and began hyperventaliating... "You OK?" Batman asked "I'm sorry..." Don gasped "...But I haven't even done anything yet and I fear I'm destined to doom humanity and the future..." Meanwhile Jonathan was back at Arkham, once again another plot foiled before it even got off the ground...But right now his mind was for once concerned with something other than himself...He heard what the Werewolf said, a future was coming where humans would be enslaved by animals...Was the Future Animals being here part of the plot somehow? Jonathan had never watched any Terminator movies but he was familar enough with the science fiction concept of the stable time loop, |
| "It might not be you," said Batman. "As you've stated, there's others with access to the mutagen." |
| "I know...I know..." Don said as he mopped sweat from his brow "...But just a few moments ago I was thinking so much about all the things I wanted...Wanting to have a mate, to be able to not hide and have my genius reconized..." "I understand..." Batman said sympathetically "...Listen could your family and Maybe O'Neil and Jones come to Gotham?" Meanwhile as he was taken to the Arkham Rec Room, Jonathan had been thinking deeply, who could he possibly tell about this bizarre turn of events, most of the other rogues if he told them would immediatly laugh and dismiss what he had seen and heard to huffing his own fear gas, but Jonathan knew there was one rogue with a whimsical enough imagination to believe such things were possible. "Jervis..." Jonathan said seeing him in his rgular spot by the chess table. "Good evening Jonathan." Jervis said "Sorry your excursion was so short, maybe a game..." "I need to talk to you about something I saw while I was out..." Jonathan said "...You're the only one who's likely to believe me." Jervis raised his eyebrows "What would think of the world beocming...More like Wonderland?" Jervis knew Jonathan long enough to know that question meant something serious. "What are you getting at Jonathan? How like Wonderland?" "I mean..." Jonathan made his voice as quiet as possible "...Animals walking on their hind legs, speaking fluent Enlgish wearing clothes..." |
| The one known as the Mad Hatter chuckled. "I'd say that you'd taken to inhaling your own supply, but I know full well at a Wonderland-like set-up isn't what you fear." Johnathan groaned. "So, you wouldn't believe me if I told you that I saw a werewolf dressed like a farmer with a human woman dressed in some sort of slave outfit?" Jervis's eyebrow went up. "Okay, now I'm interested in this delusion." "So, I'm sure that you heard that I tried to rob a bank, and that Batman took me down," said Johnathan. "Nothing unusual about that," said Jervis. "Especially around here." "What was unusual was who else was there - a humanoid wolf dressed like some sort of farmer, a woman dressed up as a slave from that space movie thing that had that guy with a laser sword, and a beetle that was like a foot tall," said Johnathan. "More importantly, the wolf claimed that where he was from, humans were slaves and pets at best, and indicated that there were worse fates, while looking at a butcher shop." Jervis blinked. "Aliens perhaps? There's plenty of odd things out there. We've seen some of that." Johnathan nodded. "He talked like he was from the future or some such thing." |
| "Curioser and curioser..." Jervis said as he rubbed his chin "...You've got me interested Jonathan, perhaps we can work on escaping together to unravel this mystery..." Meanwhile Don told his family that Batman had called him telling him he may have found other mutant animals like themselves...But he left out the whole 'from the future' part." "He said we should bring April and Casey as there might be something that concerns them as well." Meanwhile Batman was serving his guests some food, Avery took a sip of Chamomile tea, to him the tea cup was like a giant bowl he had to lift with all four of his arms... "Before I clonk out from this tea..." Avery said "...I realized there is something you ought to know...We're pretty sure a third denizen of our world got pulled in by one of those...Energy arms but we never got a good look at whoever they were..." |
| "Are you forgetting her?" Charles asked, with a slight growl, indicating Rebecca. "That's three." |
| "Sorry..." Avery said quickly "That tea must be making me really sleepy, I meant there was a third arm pulling someone we couldn't see you two were being pulled together...Come to think of it, that third person could very well also be a human for all we know, could perfectly blend in here..." |
| (I hate it when I time out) "Maybe they are from Florida," said Charles, as he worked on a small cooked pig that a human named Alfred had brought it. "Humans can walk around freely there, and can even carry weapons, including pets and slaves that got their owners' permission. Of course, there's the legalized public nudity and sex, but minor issue, if I ever decided to leave New York." "So, besides being a farmer, I can see that you've done some work as a butcher or a meat chef," said Batman. "You seem to be doing some rather precise cuts for the typical farmer or hunter." Charles grimaced. "I used to work for a butcher shop/restaurant, and that was my job, to cut up animals, including dead human pets and slaves that had died of natural causes and were then given back to the owner's family for their own consumption, in accordance to my religion's tenants. Problem was, the owner of the place wasn't of our faith, and he wanted to sell prime grade human meat to those that had money." He looked over at Rebecca. "She worked there, sweeping and such, her pay going to me. One day, I was sick, she went in, the place was empty, besides her and him. He jumped her, diagrammed her with a marker, pointing out her better cuts of meat, and was about to slit her throat, when she kneed him in the groin, buying her the time to escape, and get to me. I found the strength to get there, found that the cops, including my sister, were already there. He tried to claim that Rebecca was Dangerous, and needed to be put down. I grabbed a knife, and I slit his clothes, told my sister what had happened, and they cuffed him, then and there, because, you see Rebecca's not just my family's pet, she has the Mark or Protection, making an attack on her the same as if it was done to me. That was when we smelled blood from behind a closed door, one I'd never been through, but had the keys for. Four other pets and slaves were in there, in the process of being drained of blood - one had the Mark of Protection, making his crime basically Murder, and I will tell you, we hang murderers." |
| All this he was learning from the Wolf was making Avery think about what he had just said not counting Rebecca as a 'person' Avery was beginning to realize while he was an Herbivore who had never harmed humans and hadly ever encountered them living in a bug district where everything is built for the smallest of people hardly anyone had humans because they had no room for pets who towered over them and most of their buldings but all that aside Avery was beginning to realize he didn't think of humans as 'people' like most every other average Animal citizen he thought of them as something that existed for the pleasure of animals... |
| "So, why are humans allowed to be Free in Florida?" Batman asked. "An interesting one, but a group of rustlers and thieves tried to steal some Governor's human slaves, pets, and livestock. The Governor saw what was going on, and the criminals tried to shoot him. A house slave shoved him out of the way, taking the bullet. This enraged the other humans - they took up farming implements - shovels, pitchforks, and such - and fought the criminals. One even grabbed a gun, and killed the leader of the criminals. Now, the humans were decreed Protected, including their families, but the one that had died protecting the Governor had no known family, but they'd been a Feral human beforehand, and thus part of a Wild herd that was known to travel in Florida. Thus the Governor made the decision to Protect all Feral Humans in Florida, including giving them the option to integrate into society if they wanted to. As for weapons, everyone else already carried weapons, feral humans carry weapons for their own protection and hunting, and since his humans had protected him from harm, again, Governor made the decision to allow well-behaved pets, slaves, and some livestock, to carry weapons, with the permission of their owner." "Interesting," said Batman. "Heck, the guy wasn't even part of our sect when he made the decree," said Charles. "He still isn't." |
| "What kind of Animal was that govener?" Robin asked "Just trying to get a mental picture here?" Meanwhile as the Turtles, Splinter, April and Casey were headed from New York to New Jersey to reach Gotham, Don felt a heavy feeling in his chest he knew April and Casey would meet their own desendant from the future, and Don couldn't shake the feeling that he was the one responsible for creating this hoffic future, who else could it be? Both Bishop and Stockman hated Mutants it was very unlikely they would create Mutant Animal Slaves because they knew from experience how unpredicatable they could be...Leatherhead likely wouldn't because his Utrom Family taught him their policy about not interfering with life |
| "The Governor of Florida's a snake - one of those big anacondas," said Charles. Robin blinked. "Okay, so what are herbivores like towards humans?" he asked. "You carnivores seem to mix between wanting to look after humans and wanting to eat them." "Mixed bag there, but when it comes to human abusers, herbivores are the worst," said Charles. "It's like, carnivores know that, since we must kill to live, it's good to show compassion towards the kill - make it quick, painless, just end it. Herbivores though, it's like they have some sort of sadistic pleasure in the kill - it's like, since they're not on the menu, let's cause a lot of pain." He looked at what was left of the pig. "I remember my first taste of human meat. Rebecca had been sick for a few days, when she was six, and I was eight. Father took me to the vet with her, to help keep her calm. It was the first time I smelled Death-to-Come. It's a built-in instinct, that let our ancestors know that this was the prey to eat. I saw this young male human, a few years older than me leave the veterinarian's room. The doctor called his owner, a rabbit, in. Well, being young, and naïve in the ways of the world, I asked him what was wrong. He said that he had cancer, that he was going to die soon. Rebecca, also being innocent, asked if the vet could help him. Nothing could be done - it was in his brain, in an inoperable spot. The rabbit came out, and he was angry, grabbed that boy's arm, and started dragging him, causing him pain, more than an owner should cause to their pet, slave or livestock. Father got upset at this - mother always said that I got my gentleness from him - he grabbed the rabbit's shoulder, and asked, 'How much do you want for the human?' Fifty thousand gold later, he was ours, to do with as we pleased." "So, what happened?" Robin asked. "Six months later, I had my first taste of human meat - right leg if I recall correctly," said Charles. "However, during the six months we owned Timmy, we took him all over - parks, theaters, museums - did more traveling than we'd ever had prior to meeting him. My parents wanted his mind to be filled with good times, before things became painful. His last words to me were, 'Thank you for being my little brother.' I was quite sad after he died. The next day's supper was hard, as he was on the platter, surrounded by the sorts of food he had enjoyed during his time with us. Still, it was suppertime, and he was supper. If nothing else, mother did him up real good - couldn't even taste the cancer. After that, buried his bones under an oak tree, placed a marker. Took me a week to talk - it was Rebecca, who aske me why I was sad. I told her that I missed Timmy. She gave me a hug, saying that Timmy was within me, and that she was giving him a hug through me. Well, even at that age, I knew that Timmy wasn't in me any longer, but it still felt nice. Helped to cheer me up, seeing her smile as she hugged me. Since then, she's always been hugging Timmy, and any other human I've eaten since." |
| "You think the Herbivores might have a persicution complex?" Robin asked "Acting out because of...Genetic memories of being hunted?" Meanwhile in Arkham Asylum Jervis and Jonathan were trying to work out both how to escape, and how they could begin to solve the mystery of the future 'Planet of the Animals' "Jonathan..." Jervis said through a a hole that seperated their two cells "...I think we should bring on Edward for this." "Oh!" Jonathan groaned "Not that smart aleck!' |
| "It's the sort of thing that's up his alley, a big riddle," said Jervis. "Besides, he's not as crazy as some others." "Is this a party line, or can anyone join in this conversation?" asked the inmate on the other side of Johnathan. The Scarecrow groaned. "Knock it off Joker," he said. "You're the last person I'd want to talk to." "Tell me what happened," said Joker. "I heard that there was a big dog that helped bring you down. What did you do - steal one of his bones?" "Something tells me that, if even half of what you've said is true, he's one that would end up as dog chow," said Jervis. "Of course, that would depend upon how their society is actually run." He looked at Johnathan. "What do you think? We need someone who is smart enough to work with, yet not crazy enough to just betray us." "You have a point," said Johnathan. "See who else might qualify for this task. I'm not in the mood for a 'Planet of the Animals' thing, especially if humans are indeed seen as slaves, pets, or especially, livestock that's raised for meat." "That would have to be a specialty product - humans take too long to be a common dish to have, especially if you want to keep a viable population around," said Jervis. "Maybe the rich ones would do it." |
| "Unless they found a way to genetically engineer humans able to breed like rabbits..." Jonathan said darkly Avery was no longer able to stay up any longer after drinking so much of that herbal tea and fell asleep on the arm of a sofa, it was Rebecca who asked if there was a suitable bed to put such a small creature. Batman brought out a doll bed that belonged to his Mother from when she was a child, Rebecca tucked the Beetle in her self "I do feel some sympathy for the Bugs..." She said "They're both smaller than all the other creatures, and most other animals seem to dislike them because they're so alien compared to vertebrates most dissmiss them for being...Ugly..." And that was when Batman remembered Don had told him Raphael had an intense fear/disgust of bugs... |
| "Tell me, what are things like between you and Charles?" Batman asked. "What does he do?" "He's a produce farmer, growing fruits and vegetables, mostly, unless he's raising something for his own personal consumption," said Rebecca. "We live together, we work together, we sleep together, we mate with one another - although he seems to listen when I say no - and he really cares about me." "He's mentioned having some moments of anger where he does things that he says aren't what he normally is like," said Batman. "Are you ever worried that he might hurt you?" "I think he takes on my anger, and adds it to his own," said Rebecca. "I can't show anger, no matter what others might do to me - comments, touching, anything - angry slaves, pets, and livestock rarely live to see their grandchildren grow up. The tiger that ran the butcher shop/restaurant that Master Charles worked at was the worst one - if I could have, I would have slit his throat, but I couldn't so I got him in the reproductive organs, and ran to my master. He was sick, real sick, should of stayed in bed, called up his sister, and told her what had happened - but he was so angry, he got out of bed, walked to that place, and I heard what happened. John was the next worst one - he tried to suffocate me in my sleep - not much I could do, until Master Charles came in, and threw him off of me - he got really angry then. I watched him choke the life out of John, all while having a knife in his back from that dog." "What about Timmy?" Batman asked. Rebecca smiled. "Well, I can't remember much about him, I was real young at the time. I remember that he was sick, and that we did a whole lot of traveling. I remember Master Charles being really sad when he died. He missed Timmy, and so did I, so I hugged him, because I knew that he'd eaten part of Timmy, so it was like I was hugging him too. Silly, as Timmy had already passed through, but I was young and innocent of that sort of stuff, but I felt that some part of Timmy was still in him. Master Charles felt better after that, and so did I." "Have you had any other masters?" Batman asked. "Just his family," said Rebecca. "A good number of my ancestors have been owned by the Wolfe family, save for those brought into it through marriage or purchases. Funny, Master Charles said that there was records that showed that his ancestors were once owned by mine." "So, what do you know about how they came about?" Batman asked. "Only what I've been told, but as Master Charles has said, 'What we are taught, and what actually happened, might be different.'," said Rebecca. "One story says that there was a war, and they were created as a means to supplement an army. Another said that the Creator got angry, and made the other animals intelligent to punish humans. Another says that humans were almost extinct, when the other animals started walking on two legs. For all I know, all three might be right, or wrong." |
| OK here's where we take a break for a few days before my parents go on vacation again "I called a Mutant Turtle and his family..." Batman said "...Maybe they can help us solve this mystey..." The End! |
| The next day the Turtles came to Gotham City and took their 'Secret' means to the Batcave providing Scuba gear for Splinter, April and Casey because of the swim underwater |
| "I just hope that Nickola is all right with your mother," said April, as she took the scuba stuff off. "She's just a puppy." "Relax," said Casey, as he took his off. "Mom's taken care of a Rottweiler and a Great Dane before. A Huskey Malamute shouldn't be too much of a trouble." "Compared to the mutt she called a son, a puppy should be no trouble for your mother," said Ralph. "Wait, you got something to say?" Casey demanded, with a growl. "I have no idea how your saint of a mother got a knucklehead like you," said Ralph. "Bring it on," Casey said, reaching for his bat. "If you two gentlemen wish to spar, please do so while wearing the appropriate equipment, with the proper waster weaponry," Alfred said, as he showed up. "What's a waster?" Casey asked. "Some kind of drinking game?" "Training weapon," said Alfred. "Doesn't kill, and can be replaced easily if broken." The butler walked away. "Follow me." "Batman must be a fairly wealthy man to afford a butler," said Casey. "I wonder if he's as rich as Bruce Wayne." "Exactly as rich," came Alfred's voice. "To the exact penny." "What does that mean?" Casey asked. "Sounds like a smart way of saying that the two are one and the same without saying it," said April. "There are times I wonder if your mother is right about you not being good enough for me." "Oh, come on April," said Casey. "Just because I'm not the smartest doesn't mean that I can't come up with a good idea on occasion." April chuckled. "You do come up with a good idea, once in a while." She then kissed the man on the cheeks. "Adopting that puppy was one of them." "She's not that much of a puppy, and is old enough to be bred," said Casey. "Still, I hope that the Bronx Zoo catches that escaped wolf that got out during transportation near momma's farm." At this, Don became pale, as he recalled Barman's words about the wolfman's ancestors. |
| Meanwhile, the third animal from the future finally arrived in the present day. She was a black panther, dressed in a form fitting body suit. Her name was Jessica Noir, professional treasure hunter/thief. One moment, she was preparing to steal a diamond as big as her head from a museum, the next, she found herself on a rooftop of some strange city with no other animals in sight. Just a lot of humans walking around. Most would panic or at least be worried how they got here. But Jessica saw this as an opportunity. A chance to aquire some new items for her collection, and maybe grab a human or two for dinner. |
| Author's Note: Thank you kindly Johnny Fox sorry for the late invitation the campfire is going to go on a bit longer than till Next Sunday like a little before Thanksgiving Batman introduced the Turtles and their friends to the group he had found, and as expected Raph was not pleased to find one of them was a Bug. "And an ungly one too..." Raph said darkly "Raph!" Don exclaimed he knew Raph hated bugs but still he wasn't expecting him to insult an intelligent one to his face. "Yeah, yeah..." Avery said with a resigned expression "It's the mandibles, a lot of vertebrates are turned off by the stag beetle jaws..." Meanwhile in Arkham, Scarecrow and Mad Hatter were trying to persuide Riddler to join in their plan, when suddenly the lights went off in the Arkham Rec Room. "Nobody panic..." Said the Guard "But...There seems to be a Panther on the roof..." |
| Back in the Batcave, an alarm went off, and almost everyone ran towards the monitor. "That's Arkham," said Batman. "Roof sensors. Intruder? Camera." The monitor showed the rooftop. There was a panther woman. "Jessica?" Charles asked. "Know her?" Batman asked. "An ex-girlfriend," Charles said. "We broke up when she said that Rebecca would make for a great wedding supper - I informed her that Rebecca was Protected, and thus not on the menu." "So, she didn't try anything towards Rebecca?" Batman asked. "My sister had a chat with her in the bathroom, and seems that there was more than just words exchanged, as she ran out of the bathroom, and my house, with a broken nose and a torn dress," said Charles. "My sister walked out of the bathroom, her face scratched, blood on her dress, and grandma's jewel encrusted gold Bone Carrier pendant. Jessica had tried to steal it." "Bone Carrier pendant?" Batman asked. Charles pulled out a small metal pendent from under his shirt. It looked like a bundle of bones tied together. "Just as the Prince carried the bones of his dead slave that he'd eaten, so that he could put them to rest, we too carry the bones of past slaves and pets we've eaten, until they can be placed to rest. It's a reminder of the Vows we made at our Baptism, as it were, after we had our first human meal. We carry the bones until they can be buried." As this, Rebecca gave Charles a hug. Charles stroked her hair, and gave her a kiss. "So, religion aside, got anything on how to keep her from causing trouble?" Batman asked. Charles chuckled nervously. "Catnip, Valerian, Tatarian Honeysuckle and Silver Vine - does the same thing to felines that cannabis does to humans. She could be rather interesting while under the effects of that stuff. I guess she doesn't do much of that these days, if she wants to keep her head clear - last I heard, she was a thief and treasure hunter. That being said, you might want to hurry - while most Predators make due with other meats, like beef, pork, chicken, and venison, if they have the chance to eat human meat without issue, they might take it." "Well, I doubt she'll get that chance," said Batman. "Arkham is full of dangerous criminals. She might need to be the one needing rescue." He looked at the turtles. "You coming?" "Might as well," said Ralph, speaking for the turtles, who all nodded. "Count me in," said Casey. Batman rolled his eyes. He looked at Charles. "What about you?" The wolfman walked over to a table filled with less-than-lethal weaponry, and picked up a collapsible police baton. "This will do." "Do you know how to use it?" Batman asked. Charles swung his arm, extending the baton. He spun around, striking a training dummy, carving out the face. He then collapsed it, placing it on his belt. "My sister made sure that I knew how to use any weapon, just in case someone tried to steal Rebecca. She also made sure that I knew how to fight. Always said to use my head first though. We try the catnip concoction first." "The supplies should be easy to find," said Batman. "Master, what about me?" Rebecca asked. "Stay here, where it's safe." "I'm coming," said April. Casey looked at her. "April, I know you can fight, but please, stay here." "We'd feel better too," said Donatello. "I'll need help keeping watch," Splinter said, as he placed a hand on April's shoulder. "I don't know how to use some of this computer stuff like my sons do." "I'd call it a favor if you looked after Rebecca for me," said Charles. "She means everything to me." |
| While that was going on, Jessica was strolling along the roof of Arkham, looking for a potential entry point, when she was surprised by a voice from behind her. "I thought I was the only Catwoman in this city." Jessica turned to see a human woman dressed in a tight leather outfit and holding a whip. "Is that some kind of costume?" Asked the human "No. I'm a real panther." Just then, Jessica 's stomach growled, and she looked at the human with hunger in her eyes. "In fact, why don't I show you just how real I am...on the inside!" |
| Just wanted to say Jessica being a tresure hunter really dovetails nicely into solving the mystery if she had just been an office worker or other mundane job she would be more likely to be as clueless as the other protaganists Catwoman who had always gotten even the largest of cats even giant tigers to obey her was very much alarmed when this Cat Person decided she wanted to eat her, Catwoman got out her whip, but Jessican just grabbed the whip and yanked it out of Catwoman's hands, But then some leapt on Jessica's back pinning her to the ground, Jessica snarled and roared but then she was finally able to see who it was, she gasped! She reconized the face and most importantly the Puple Mask, she reconized it from when she discovered the ancient temple under Tokyo a secret she wished she had never discovered because she had been forced to sear to never reveal what she had learned there under penalty of being spayed without anesthesia... "T-T-Turtle Father!" Jessica gasped like she was seeing a ghost "Turtle Father?!" Donatello also "Please!" Jessica covered her face "Have mercy My Lord!" |
| "It's part of a religion practiced mainly by reptilians, especially turtles, where we're from," Rebecca said, over an earpiece to Donatello. "They claim that there were four Gods, the Red Father, Warlord of the Warriors, the Orange Father, Clown Prince of Jesters, the Blue Father, Ruler of Leaders, and the Purple Father, the Chief Scientist of the Thinkers. Supposedly, they in turn with the sons of the Rat Master. In and case, you might be able to get her to surrender without issue." "Right," said Donatello. Then, in as authoritative of a voice as he could manage without breaking, he said, "Lay belly down on the rooftop, arms behind your back!" Fearfully, Jessica laid down, doing as she was told. She'd been informed that the Turtle Fathers were skilled fighters that were unbeatable in combat. "Well, this is a refreshing turn of events," said a familiar voice, as a set of metal restraints were placed on her wrist. "Charles?" Jessica asked, as she was hauled to her feet. She turned her head, and found herself looking at her ex-boyfriend. "What's going on? How are you here?" "Still figuring that out," said Charles. "You ought to be thanking us," said Batman. "The folks inside of this place would have skinned you alive, and turned your hide into an actual cat suit." "Humans don't scare me," said Jessica. "These folks make Feral Florida Humans seem like New York Pet and Slave Humans by comparison, based upon what I've been told," said Charles. "I'm sure you know what they tend to do to would-be poachers!" Jessica gulped at this, pretty fearful by what she'd heard. "What do they do?" Batman asked. "Well, let's just say that most Florida humans like carrying blades as sidearms, and poachers are lucky if said Feral human settles for just detailing them," said Charles. "Now, I think we might want to go." "Say, is your sister still upset over the misunderstanding over your grandma's pendant?" Jessica asked. "Not as upset as I was over what you said about Rebecca," said Charles. "I'm sure that you heard about her late fiancée, not to mention my one ex-boss." Jessica chuckled nervously. "Right. You and you Bone Carriers and your vows about not killing humans for food." |
| "Anyway, did you say this was an insane asylum?" Jessica asked "I thought it was a museum." "No." Said Batman "You won't find anything worth stealing here, just a bunch of homicidal lunatics." |
| They returned to the Batcave Jessica told her story of something she discovered a few years ago "I discovered a temple under Tokyo..." She said "...A secret cared for by a clan of Turtles, they said none of them were desendants of the 'Four Gods' none of the Four Gods ever had any biological children, and they were a mix of different species of Turtles anyway, they told me they were the keepers the the real story of Animal Society...That long ago the Four Gods and their Adoptive Father were the only intelligent animals on Earth all because of an accident when a drop of 'The Necter of Heaven' fell upon them. "Ooze..." Donatello said quietly "Doesn't sound as good as Nectar." Jessica said "Anyway I was told, that it was The Purple Father because of his feelings of loneliness decided to share the gift he had been given with other animals to create a new nation of animals...He found the secret store of Heaven's Nectar and he began with small harmless animals, housepets, small woodland creatures one of them was a beautiful little black cat named Jynx Purple Father thought her only to be a common stray but actually she was a former Lab Animal..." Everyone tensed up a little bit hearing that. "Anyway Purple Father took them to a Farm in Northhampton as a place he could raise them in relative safety, he also expanded his brood to include docile large animals...Livestock and Herbivores like Deer, after they had grown a bit he introduced them to his brothers and father... His familay trained them in the Martial Arts, only a few like Jynx could he train in the ways of Science, then he Purple Father made his play and annouced the creation of his Animal Nation to the Human Population at large...Humanity did not take kindly to this New Race and began to persicute the Animals they fled into the sewers but the humans followed them down... Jynx argued that they must now form an army with the remaining Nectar if they were to survive, but Puprle Father insisted a peaceful solution could be reached, thus a divide began between those who believed in Jynk and those who believed in Purple Father. Using what she learned in the Lab, Jynx used some 'Clockword Orange' techniques to condition her followed to feel intense hatred for humans and conditioned the Carnivores to think of human meat as the delicacy to end all delicacies, she then sent her birds and bats out with 'Nectar Bombs' to evolve animals around the world Purple Father finally confranted her, she killed him with claws she had dipped in poison knowing the rest of the family would avenge their brother's death Jynx and her followers killed the other three brothers and the Rat Father, knowing there were still some of the brood who followed their Father and not wanting the cause a Civil War...Jynx offered mercy for the Turtles' followers on the condition they let her go down in history as the true founder of animal society and that the Four Brothers would be mytholigized as Gods to the point of forgetting their original names...Only this particular Clan knew the Truth keeping it in case the truth was ever needed..." |
| "And just what were the names?" Charles asked. "The rat was Splinter, the Red was Raphael, the Orange was Michelangelo, the Blue was Leonardo, and the Purple was Donatello," said Jessica. "And you told no one why?" Charles asked. "I want to have kittens one day," said Jessica. "You could of told the Bone Carriers that you found some sort of alternative text of a book or something that showed that we were supposed to live in harmony with humans, not enslave them and make them our pets," Charles said, with a low growl. "And cause a Civil War?" Jessica asked. "You Bone Carriers have enough troubles, with your Vows of not killing humans to be food." "When a Governor that's not of our sect decides to decree Feral Humans in his state Protected, you'd better come up with a better reason for staying silent," said Charles. Jessica gulped. "That's because Priests don't want to be hunted by armed humans seeking revenge for the death of the one that Protected them." "I'm not scared of Priests," said Charles. "My parents told me how a Priest abducted a human female of breeding age that belonged to the Prince, and ate her - the Prince hunted him down, and killed him." "Did your folks tell you the part where the High Priests caught him, and tortured him to death?" Jessica asked. "My folks told me about that part of the story. You know very well that they don't like Bone Carriers because of their beliefs." "Can't say that I much like those that follow the Priests' beliefs myself," said Charles. "Besides, I heard that the Prince died requesting the meat of the same species as the Head Priest to be his last meal - Head Priest was so upset, he slit the Prince's throat. After all, while we might have rules on human flesh, there's no rules on eating others." |
| Meanwhile, after Jessica had caused the blackout at Arkham, Joker whooped "Doors Open Boys!" Expecting once again another mass breakout of Arkham, but this time the inmates were a little more hesitant to just run out with reports of a Panther on the roof, Joker huffed and began making his escape while there was no visability, he seemed to be heading out the backdoor, Scarecrow was determined to NOT go the same way as the Joker. "I know a way..." Scarecrow said "...Through the caves underneath Arkham, you may remember from my plan to spread my fear toxin through the city's water supply." "Of course." Riddler sighed "How could we forget that?" So they gingerly climbed through the caverns where Gotham's resivoir was, Scarecrow shuddered as he realized he had no idea how many Future Animals were coming and where they would show up "Oh how I would hate to meet a Beast in here..." Jonathan said "How I would hate to die in my Arkham clothes..." Edward said as he in particular hated the 'Prison Pajamas' the inamtes had to wear. Meanwhile, Don was feeling on the verge on a panic attack! He now knew for sure that he was the one who caused this horrible future to happen, and analizing his train of thought before the time travelers arrived he could see exactly where it went wrong, he realized because it was humanity's approvel he actually sought he realized creating the other Mutants, being he made to worship him, was actually a 'masturbatory exercise' a means of puffing up his sense of self before trying to announce himself to the world with all his followers in tow...And then when Humanity turned on them his Children rightly feared for their lives...The thing was Jynx was right...Humanity at large would never accept them, he created a Brood of Mutants for his own sense of pride and exposed them to the world putting them in danger...Really it served him right to be killed by Jynx for that leval of pig headded idiocy! Not able to bare it any longer Don ran for the underwater river he came into the Batcave in "Don! Wait!" April called after him but Don had already dived into the water. |
| "You might want to bring him back before he does something foolish, like try to kill himself," said Charles. "Besides, either he lives, or someone else makes us." "How do you figure that?" Mikey asked. "Because I'm still here, and not fading away, or whatever happens in those time-travel stories where folks from the future alter the past," said the wolf as he looked at the turtle. "I've read some of the older records that were clearly fictional." "In any case, let's get going," said Leo. "We'll be asking more questions when we get back," said Ralph. Charles nodded. The trio jumped into the water, going after their brother. The wolf let out a sigh. He was just a farmer - a produce farmer at that. "So, let me get this straight, your race, and every other Predator eats humans, right?" April asked, as the female came up to Charles. The wolf nodded. "We do. A human that dies while being the property of folks like us, ends up being the dinner of a Predator within three days, regardless of them being slaughtered or dying of natural causes, or accidents, or whatever. The main difference is, as a Bone Carrier, if Rebecca were to die before me, I'd at least find a nice place to bury her bones, like on a hill that had a nice view of sunrises and sunsets, and leave a marker, stating who she was, remembering her, while anyone else would just toss her bones in the trash and all but forget that she ever existed." |
| Damn." Said Casey "I know humans are capable of some messed up stuff, but that's a whole new level." |
| Avery for his part was beginning to wonder what he was doing here, Chales was Pro-Human Jessica had info on the true nature of the past, he didn't have any of those things so why did the Time Portal pick him of all people? |
| "So, how did you end up here?" April asked. "You like asking a lot of questions," said Charles. "My parents and teachers say that I was a reporter in another life," said April. "Well, to be fair, I have no idea what all happened," said Charles. "One moment, me and Rebecca were having a picnic. The next, we were flying through the air, going around in circles, before ending up here." |
| Jessica, meanwhile, was marveling at the sheer size of the Batcave, along with the various trophies Batman had collected from his rogue's gallery over the years. Particularly a giant coin humans called a penny. She had seen them in museums she'd robbed before, but those were much smaller. "Where did he even get this?" She wondered aloud. |
| "It had something to do with one of the Master's Battles with someone named Two-Face..." Said Alfred Avery for his part was trying to do something to make himself feel better about the situation "You Like...Rock Music?" Casey smiled and April said "I like everything except opera..." "I was an aspiring rock star," Said Avery "I've composed a few songs this is a song I've written called 'Green Blood' Meanwhile the three Rogues, Scarecrow, Riddler and Mad Hatter had found their respective costumes and were now dressed in them...Feeling much better since clothes make the man But was they walked through a meadow they caught the distinct sound of crying...They saw a Large Turtle, but they knew from experience of this Mutant Turtle, but they didn't know him well he was sitting on the bank of a river, hugging his knees, saying to himself "This is all my fault, I doomed Humanity...All because I was selfish..." Well this seemed to be all Scarecrow needed to here, he went up to the Turtle sickle in hand and said "So you're the one behind all this insanity..." Don turned and looked at the villain but he didn't not fight back "Tell me..." Scarecrow said as he trembled "...Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now..." But even as he said that something stayed his hand and it wasn't pity or sympathy of anything like that, if the creator of this future now regretted it...Was the future still happening, and still the question of why the future animals came to the past if they had such a plum postion in their time why come to the past? There were too many unanswered questions and killing this Turtle might not make anything better... "Well..." Scarecrow said as he trembled "...Are you going to give me a reason? And then Don despite himself smiled "I don't know..." He said "...From what I've heard you're a Nihilist and a misanthrope so isn't the end of the world something you want?" A shuriken then came and knocked the sickle out of Scarecrow's hand... |
| Don and the rogues looked, to see the other turtles waiting, ready for a fight. Ralph had a throwing knife in his off-hand. "The shuriken was just a warning," the turtle said. "The knife will be for keeps." "Don't you know what will happen if he does whatever it is he does?" Scarecrow asked. "We know," said Leo, as he drew his sword. "Now, leave us be." "These two mean it," said Micky. "Best walk away now - things get serious when I have to be the calm one for once." Mad Hatter and Riddler grabbed Scarecrow. "There are some riddles not worth solving," The Riddler said. "Like 'What does the Afterlife look like?' as I want to live for a while yet." "I agree with you there," said Mad Hatter. The trio walked away. The turtles walked over to their brother, sheathed their weapons, and sat down. "Why didn't you you let them kill me?" Don asked. For once, it was Micky that delivered the slap to the back of someone's head. "What was that for?" Don asked, as he rubbed the spot. "For the smartest of us four, you can be pretty dumb," said Micky. "You're our brother - we'd never abandon you." "And stop talking about dying or getting yourself killed," said Ralph. "Besides, you've been to the future, and you caused things to change because of what you knew," said Leo. "Maybe with the right people, we could change things for the better, not only for humans, but for those that follow after us." "How?" Don asked. "I'm going to cause Casey and April's great-great-great-great- whatever - granddaughter to be a pet to a wolfdog that is descended of Nickola, their current pet." "It's like those movies," said Micky. "Maybe we could change it. We could set things up so that instead of being Master and Pet, Charles and Rebecca are indeed friends, or whatever it is they'd actually like to be. Sort of like that Minority Report film - since we know what is going to happen, we could alter it." "For once, I have to agree with Micky," said Ralph. "Maybe something bad will happen - maybe WW3 will still come, maybe there will be a war between humans and mutants, but we could set things up so that things don't go so bad for either side." "Since we know, we can make a choice, and perhaps prevent a bad future, and set things up so that there's harmony between the species," said Leo. "Right now, we have allies that are humans - should we decide to, well, for lack of a better word, become the Turtle Fathers, we make sure that the kids have good experiences, while also preparing them for possible trouble." "We got Splinter, April, Casey, Batman, the Justice League, Alfred, plus all the others we've helped," said Micky. "And you got us," said Ralph. "We'll stick with you." Tears feel down Don's face. "Thanks guys." "Now, let's knock off the mushy stuff and get back to the cave," said Ralph. "Maybe Batman's ordered a pizza or something." |
| Meanwhile, at Justice League Headquarters... "Incoming Transmission From Batman." "Put him on screen." Said Superman. "Hello, Bruce. Anything to report?" "Do I ever. I think I just might be involved in our strangest case yet. And considering the stuff we usually deal with, that's saying something." "What's the situation?" ""It involves time travel and mutant animals from the future." "... That's...pretty unusual, even by our standards." "Told you. I think I might need some backup on this." "This must be pretty big if even the World's Greatest Detective needs help. I'll gather the team and be there ASAP." |
| Having Trouble with Autocorrect again BBWolf? You keep writing Raph and Ralph and Mikey and Mickey? Also while looking up Planet of the Apes I learned Roddy McDowell who voiced Mad Hatter played Cornelius on Planet of the Apes, just thought it was funny The Ninja Turtles returned Avery spoke up. "Good you're back...While you were gone I had a moment of clarity while I was singing...And I realized maybe we should have told you why we came to the past, it wasn't supposed to be us, it was supposed to be three great heroes but the time portal went nuts and...Could someone bring me a piece of paper and a pencil?" Robin brought the Young Beetle some paper and a pencil, it seemed Avery was dancing with the pencil as he drew things on the paper and little arrows between the things showing how they were connected. So after what was just revealed I realized, 'Charles was chosen because he;'s pro-human and Jessica because she has the tue knowladge about the history of our society, Why am I here? Well while singing I began putting the pieces of the puzzle together, the reason we came to the past was because our world is dying, it's becoming harder for crops or any plants to grow we're worried in a few years Earth will be nothing more than a barren desert with no life at all, so a few scientists headed by Professor Rhino." "Who I might mention is a disease specialist not an astrophysicist so I have no idea how he got in charge of this time portal mission..." Charles said "Right..." Avery said "...Anyway they built a giant time portal like a giant white circle and they were supposed to send some heroes they had chosen to retrieve what they called 'Element X' which they claimed would refertalze the world but the time portal seemed to go nuts grow arms and reach around the world to grab us instead." "So you were selected to change the future instead..." Don said "From piecing together what I've heard," Avery said "...I think whatever's killing the world happened during the war between Humans and Animals, something was done maybe it had a delayed effect and now we're dealing with the consquenses..." "So it seems Element X is what destroyed the world..." Robin said "...Rather than what will save it." |
| As this, Charles began checking his pockets. "What are you looking for, Master?" Rebecca asked. "My venison jerky," said the wolf. "Chemicals and such move up the food chain, if I remember my agriculture classes right, which is why I tend to use organic methods, although I've been wondering why the crops were failing more often. Maybe this Element X is in that jerky." "Back right pocket," said Rebecca. "Like usual." The wolf pulled out a small packet of dried meat. "Thanks." "Might not even need that," said Batman, as he looked at the computer. "I still have the blood from the two of you earlier, although I might be able to get more information about this Element X through it, and at least one more source." He looked at Jessica. "I could use a vial of your blood - fresh biological matter makes things easier than dehydrated meat." "Why not Avery?" the panther asked. "I'm not that familiar with insect biology to get a safe sample from them," said Batman. "Mammalian though, I can do." |
| Jessica became noticeably nervous, as she had a rather deep fear of needles. "Would you prefer some catnip first to calm yourself?"Charles offered. Having dated Jessica, he was aware of her phobia. |
| Meanwhile the three Rogues had found a secret hideaway and while the rested and recuperated they had plenty of time to think. "Some tea Jonathan?" Jervis asked as he poured the Scarecrow some tea Jonathan nodded, he had taken his hat and mask off but still had the rest of his Scarecrow costume on. "I wanted to thank you two for...Holding me back...I don't know what came over me, it's not worth losing my life to those...Freaks...Sewer Urchins..." But even as he said those insults he said them sort of half heartedly thinking about how all his life he had strived to be feasome he thought about those creatures and imagined them saying "You're just jelous cuz we're genuine freaks and you have to wear a mask" Scarecrow didn't realize this was his personal projection and the Turtles wouldn't think that. But all and all the three rogues felt rather cowed and ashamed because they realized they had been spoiled by Batman they knew now they were signifigantly less Sassy when facing an opponant they knew didn't have the same 'No Killing' rule as Batman, Also they realized the Turtles very existance was disturbing to them, before the only thing similar to them was Killer Croc, and Killer Croc was actually a human with a skin condition but these guys were actually highly evolved animals and comparing them to Croc highlighted how extraordinary they were, they had normal human voices and were able to express themselves pretty eloquently, Brooklyn or California Surfer accents aside and while Killer Croc was rather unsubtle these guys were fully fled Ninja capable of the grace of a feline despite being Turtles. Scarecrow and particular thought about what Donatello had said to him, that really was a suicidel teen attempting to goad him into killing him...That shoulden't the end of the world be something he wanted?" and Scarecrow now realized that partially completly earnist question had struck him to the core! He relized he had suddenly became pretty gung ho to preserve the status quo he had so often disparged if it meant saving his own skin and therein lied the rub...He was forced to contend with the fact his pretense of standing for anything with his crimes were all ad-hoc rationalzations and that all he was was a bully hurting others because it gave him pleasure just an overgrown toddler while a bunch of teenagers were more men than he was |
| "I think we got lucky back there," said Mad Hatter. "Red and Blue masked ones both seemed ready to kill - the Orange, from what I recall from out last encounter, tended to be a goofball, and seemed to the voice of reason this time." Riddler nodded. "That's because they're family, and folks fight harder to protect their family than they would a stranger." "You got a point there," Mad Hatter said, passing him a cup of tea. "Thanks," said Riddler. "Still, I have to wonder - what does the future actually hold? We've all seen a few things. Perhaps they aren't from Our Future, but that of a Parallel World. After all, remember the Justice Lords?" Mad Hatter shuddered. "Saw what that Superman did to Doomsday - makes one wonder what he'd do to an ordinary human." "I heard from a former Cadmus operative that version of Superman had killed his version of Lex Luthor, because he killed their version of Flash," said the Riddler. "I don't think our Superman would go that far, but he has come close to snapping - don't ever piss him off too much." "I can say that, whatever else, we're spoiled with Batman," said Mad Hatter. "Still, Flash is okay too - sometimes he even has a drink with his foes when they aren't up to something." "Still, makes one wonder," said Scarecrow, as he walked over to the other two. Back at the Batcave, the Turtles showed back up from the river entrance. "So, what did we miss?" Micky asked. "Well, seems Batman ran into Catwoman while he was out getting catnip for Jessica over there," said April. The panther lady was in a relaxed state, playing with a toy ball that Catwoman and Rebecca were rolling back and forth, as she chased after it. "The catnip was able to calm her down enough for Batman to take his blood sample without issue," said Charles. "I have to admit, this is quite funny," said Casey. "Just don't mention how she reacts around that stuff," said Charles. "I made that mistake once. She kneed me in the groin!" "Ow!" exclaimed Casey, as he realized the implications. "No telling cat lady she's a pussy cat - got it!" |
| Just then, the rest of the Justice League arrived. "Sorry we took so long." Said Superman "Ran into a few detours along the way." Wonder Woman noticed Rebecca, still dressed in her revealing attire. "Why do you dress like this?" She asked, and Rebecca explained how she was legally Charles' property. "You let him control you?" "I love him." Said Rebecca "And he loves me. Besides, it's better than most humans get in the future." The Flah spoke up "What I don't get is, how do a bunch of animals take over the world, when we have the likes of us, the Lantern Corps, the Amazons, and several other such groups to protect humanity?" |
| "Don't forget the Justice Force." Mikey said "That's what we're trying to figure out," Leo said "However the Time Traveling Animals did reveal they game to our world because theire world is dying, crops are failing to grow..." Just then the Bat-Computer dinged "Finally got some results from the blood samples," Batman said "Seems this chemical, this 'Element X' is a chemical that can be traced back to the EPF." While the Justice Leage were less familar with the EPF the Turtles instantly knew what that meant "Bishop!" Don snarled |
| "Who is this Bishop?" Charles asked. "A guy with access to a lot of advanced technology," said Leo. "Been around since at least 1812 or so. Hates aliens and mutants." "Makes me wonder if he's still around if he's as old as he is at this point in time," said Charles. "Oldest human I know of was at least eighty years of age before some cancer killed him. Many don't even make it to sixty - with most not even making it to forty." "Why is that?" Superman asked. "Is your world so harsh for humans that many don't live past their fortieth year?" "In a word, yes, but not because of the natural environment, but rather because of history and one of the founders of mainstream society," said Charles. "What do you mean?" Wonder Woman asked. "The phrase Long Pig comes to mind," said Batman. Superman turned with a growl, and began walking towards Charles, anger in his eyes. "So, you eat humans?" At this, Rebecca ran in front of Charles, placing herself between her master and the angry one. "Don't you dare harm him!" Superman looked at her. "Why would you protect someone that eats humans?" "Because he's not like most that see me as something to be placed on the menu," said Rebecca. "Bone Carriers don't raise humans as livestock, unlike most of society. He's risked his life to protect me, repeatedly. If you're like this now, what happened when things started? The Justice League, or whatever you call yourselves, it doesn't exist where we're from." Charles looked over at Jessica. The panther was still playing with the ball, with Catwoman. Despite acting like a cat, he knew that she still possessed her intellect, and would respond if someone talked to her. "Hey Jessica," he said. "During your travels, did you ever find out about the Justice League, and what happened to them?" |
| "Well, I've never exactly heard of a Justice League before. But I have heard how there used to be humans with amazing abilities that would fight to protect the innocent. At least, until The Big Boom." "What do you mean?" "Back during the war between humans and mutants, all the defenders, as they called them, were summoned to a remote island under the pretense of negotiating a truce. But it was a trap, and the island was nuked with them on it. They say the most powerful one amongst them survived, but dismayed by the death of his comrades and seeing the war was hopeless, he flew off into space, abandoning this planet, never to be seen again." Everyone looked to Superman, who had a look of total disbelief on his face. |
| Meanwhile at the EPF, Bishop had become aware of flux in the Time Space Continuum, he began to suspect it might have something to do with the Turtles...Also he had been preparing something for a while if he ever seemed Earth a lost cause...A toxin as a way to 'Salt the Earth' leave Earth an eventual barren wasteland like its Solar System neighbors because if he couldn't have the Earth than nobody could. Meanwhile Joker decided to drop in on the three Rogues... "What do you want Joker?" Scarecrow grumbled "Don't tell anyone..." Joker giggled "...But I'm on the verge of the Greatest Caper of all!" The Other Rogues sighed and decided to just let Joker have his fun. "Some Goverment Bloke has been contacting me for my toxin expertise..." Joker said "...I forget his name some chess piece name or something like...Rook...Anyway he promised me diplomatic immunity if I helped him create to ultmate weapon..." |
| "So, what does this Element X do?" Charles asked. "Simply put, it's a toxin that as it builds up in your system will eventually kill you," said Batman. "Same with anyone and anything with enough of it. Animal, Mutant, Plant, or Human. In short, it's a slow death, and nasty." "And this is in our blood, including Rebecca?" Charles asked. Batman nodded. "With a bigger collection pool, I'd know more, but it stays in the food web, from what I can tell, using the deer jerky as a baseline, along with Rebecca, at some point, enough will be consumed, and you'll die." "How long?" Charles asked. "Comparing you with Jessica, seems that you've got another thirty years," said Batman. "Jessica, I'd say fifteen." Charles blinked. "That adds up to the usual age ratio comparison - Bone Carriers manage to get to sixty on average, many wealthy mainstreamers don't make it to fifty. What is the difference?" "Diet," said Batman. "Humans seem to have more of the element in them than deer, by comparison, five as much, judging by the deer jerky and Rebecca's blood." |
| I'm sorry I skipped you Johnny Fox but I wanted to add at least once today After Joker left the three 'Tea Party Gentlemen' after his Gloat-Fest Scarecrow sat back and thought about what he just heard, 'Diplomatic immunity to the Joker in exchange for the Ultimate Weapon? Well some goverment agent w=is going away for treason we probobly won't hear about it' None of the three knew anything of Agent Bishop or the EPF 'The real toxin expert is Poison Ivy...' Scarecrow continued to think 'But she'd never trade her secrets to a government agent on account of hating humanity and men in particular...' Though Jonathan suspected Pamela's man-hating was a front to get women on her side for her cause she just hated all humans equally save for Harely Quinn But then remembering Poison Ivy's obsession with the enviroment reminded him of the situation at hand with the Planet of the Animals...Two and two were quickly connecting in his mind. "Say..." Jonathan said quietly "...You don't suppose this ultimate weapon might be a reason for the time travel..." Scarecrow, Riddler and Msd Hatter looked at each other for a moment and then ran out of their hideout. Net thing you know Batman got a message from Commishonor Gordon that Scarecrow, Riddler and Mad Hatter walked right into the police department demanding to see Batman claiming they had a very important message for him |
| "I'm on my way," said Batman. He looked at the rest. "Anyone else coming?" "I'll come," said Charles. He walked over to a stand of outfits Batman had, and picked up a tenchcoat and fedora, putting them on. "This ought to do to blend in." The turtles started snickering at this. "What's so funny?" Charles asked. "Nothing," said Micky. "I know of a few detectives that like wearing that sort of getup," said Batman. "Think you can handle dealing with three danger criminals?" "Try handling people that speak to you nicely, when they tell you that they want to use someone you care about for either breeding or as a feast, and turn down their huge offers of money," said Charles. "Best offer for Rebecca was over a hundred million gold. Turned that one down without blinking. I took a knife to the kidney to protect her from my would-be-brother-in-law, and when I was sick and still decided to confront my boss, over him trying to kill her, turns out that I got double pneumonia. I got no problems facing death for her. Mind you, I'm just a produce farmer, but, like I've told you, my sister taught me more than a few tricks. Besides, these guys probably know you and your methods - they don't know me." |
| Batman and Charles entered the Batmobile and made their way to the police station. "Where do you get all these things, anyway?" Charles asked. "Get what?" "This car, for instance." "Let's just say I have a lot of connections." They arrived at the station, to find the three villains waiting for them. "Now, what's so important that you'd be willing to out right tell me about it and risk going back to Arkham?" |
| "All right Batman," Scarecrow said "I think we may have fianlly figured out why these Animals were sent to our time...JOker just came to us just to gloat a goverenment agent promised him diplomatic immunity in exchange for helping him create the Ultimate Weapon in the form of a toxin..." |
| "What d you know about this agent?" Batman asked. "Joker said that he was named after a chess piece," said Scarecrow. Charles and Batman looked at each other. "Bishop." "Do you know them?" Scarecrow asked. "No, but we know who does," said Batman. He started walking away, Charles following him. "Try to behave." "Like your friend's trenchcoat, by the way," said Scarecrow. "His tail's sticking out though." "Like anyone would think anything odd about it while he's around me," said Batman. "Seriously?" Charles asked, quietly. "When you work with aliens, mutants, metahumans, robots, and other crazy-looking beings, after a while, folks get used to seeing show up with folks that otherwise look odd," said Batman. "So, this is the famous McGruff the Crime Dog that took on Scarecrow and his goons," said a detective. "Bullock, what are you up to?" Batman asked. "Aside from dealing with a new landlord, that's being a pain in my tail over how my place looks, not much," the detective said. "Hopefully this one won't try to kill me." |
| Back at the Batcave, the Justice League were discussing their supposed future fate. "I can't believe we all get wiped out just like that!" Said Cyborg "Except Superman, who just gives up and abandons Earth." Superman, meanwhile, had hardly spoken at all. "Maybe not." Said Green Lantern "Now that we know this alleged peace meeting is a trap, we just don't fall for it, and the whole situation is avoided. Right?" |
| Meanwhile Bishop and Joker were finally meeting face to face in a hidden location underground, Bishop would have wanted to bring backup but Joker had insisted he come alone, still Bishop felt confidant he could handle one human lunatic, most of the Turtles' villains disregarded Joker as a buffoon who's obesseson with Batman bordered on erotic still most were grateful that obessesion seemed to keep him confined to Gotham. "So..." Bishop said "...At last we meet Mr....Napier..." Joker scoffed "Rest assured Bucko, that name is only an alias, one of many..." Joker said Bishop scowled he obviously didn't like how familar Joker was already, but he felt confidant he wouldn't have to put up with this nonsese much longer. "I am grateful for your help in creating the ultimate weapon..." Bishop said "...And soon you shall help complete another one of my goals, I have long been fasinated by your...Unique physiology and while the clown aesthetic is less than ideal whatver gives you toxin immunity could come in handy for my new race of super soldiers..." Now Joker was actually expecting a double cross, but he wasn't epecting this guy to want to dissect him! Tear him apart in hopes of getting goodies for his experiments, Joker was incensed and he also realized 'He don't know me very well do he?' One was able to rile him up by using his likeness for his casino he sure as hell wasn't going to let this Bozo cheapen his brand by making clones of him! Out of his pocket Joker pulled a gun that leanghened several times finally ending his gaudy human mouth at the end. "Hold it right there Agent Mulder!" Joker said "This gun is filled with my Joker Venom one false move and...Eh?" Joker noticed Bishop's face showed no fear, at most surprise of 'How the heck did you have that gun in your back pocket?" "You're not afraid of my Joker Venom?" Joker asked "Surely you know what it does! You like that Poison Ivy chick and got toxin immunity?" And that was when Bishop realized how severely he had underestimated the Joker, he still kept up the veneer of a Poker Voice but deep inside him a tiny voice was saying 'Oh Balls! I think I may be in over my head!' He realized Joker might be able to figure out his secret that he was no longer...Organic and could risk exposing that secret to the world |
| However, Bishop had a backup plan, although he didn't like it. "Dude." Joker blinked. "Dude? Who uses 'Dude' these days?" "Just making some conversation, Bro," said Bishop. Donatello felt a vibration from his shellphone, as the Batmobile entered the cave. The message said "Bishop." "No way." "What is it?" Batman asked, as he and Charles walked up to them. "Seems Bishop sent a message," the turtle said. "That guy hates us," said Raphael. "It's a trap," said Micky. "If you open it, he'll hack your email and get you signed up for Chinese porn and stuff." The other turtles looked at him. "Seriously?" Raph asked. "It could happen," said Micky. "Not his style," said Leo. "Let's see what he wants." Don opened the message. It was a video of Bishop. "Doubt that you were expecting a message from me, so I'll make this quick," said Bishop. "If you're watching this, I'm in deep trouble, especially given what I see as a typical Tuesday for myself. In short, I need your help - there's a tracker I've activated and this video can help you to track me. Now, you could delete this message, and not try to save me, but, as much as I hate you, ignoring a call for help isn't like you. I also know about the time travelers. Help me out, and I might be able to help them out." |
| "We should probobly see what it is he wants..." Leo sighed But as they were deciding what to do, Joker suspected from Bishop's msirk he was up to something. "Well who cares about you?" Joker said slowly backing away always keeping his gun towards Bishop even if he wouldn't be affected by the toxin the confustion caused by the clud could be be enough to make his getaway "You've got your share of the toxin, I've got my share...That's right! I was making my own supply while we were working together over the phone!" "What?!" Bishop exclaimed "If I've got to go down I'm taking you with me!" Bishop said "I'll take my share of the toxin and spread it around the world!" He then squirted his Joker Venom at Bishop all that did was cause he to cough and sputter for a few moments while Joker made his getaway but it worked when he could finally see again there was no trace of the Joker |
| As he left the building, Bishop found himself looking at not only the turtles, but the founding members of the JLU, Catwoman, a cat mutant that acted like it was coming off of some sort of a high, a woman in some sort of slave getup, and a wolfdog mutant in a trenchcoat and fedora. "If you're looking for Joker, he's gone," said Bishop. "Turned out to be more than I expected." "A hard learned lesson," said the one known as Batman. "Tell me, is there a way to undo Element X?" "That would depend," said Bishop. "I made it to protect humans." "Your plan backfired," the wolfdog said. "Instead of protecting humans, your plan placed them in serious jeopardy." "Explain," said Bishop. "Let's just say that being Slaves and Pets are nice fates compared to what a lot of humans tend to get," the wolfdog said. "There's a significant population of what are known as Ferals, that live away from folks such as myself, they are what you'd call Wild Game for hunting in many places, except for Florida - it's illegal to hunt Ferals there due to a government act after a Feral saved the life of the Florida governor. However, a lot of humans are seen as little better than cattle - living on farms until it's time for them to be slaughtered -that can all be laid at your feet. Maybe if you'd given peaceful methods a chance, perhaps folks like me and Rebecca could be lovers openly, and not be Master and Pet where I use her like a sex slave on occasion. I'd love to put a ring on her finger, and not have her wear a collar and leash - might be able to do that in Florida, but not New York, or New Jersey, or most other places. Luckily for her, I'm a Bone Carrier - she'll get a decent burial, her bones placed in a hole in the ground, with a marker to help remember her, unlike most whose bones get tossed into the trash and forgotten." |
| "And this will all somehow be my fault?" Bishop asked somewhat hesitantly. Everyone nodded. "Well, when I was thinking up this scheme, I certainly never thought this would be the result!" |
| As soon as everyone got above ground Joker soon revealed the etent of his revnge he had secretly recorded the phone conversations he had had with Bishop and was now broadcasting them all over Gotham to reveal the extent of Bishop's wickedness... "I've had my suspitions about those Turtles since day 1..." Everyone in Gotham heard "...Parcticurally that purple banded one, he's too clever I worry he's going to find a way to create more freaks like himself..." Don turned and stared at Bishop. "So I've come up with this worst case scenario plan," Bishop's voice said "If Earth ever becomes a lost cause I'll salt the Earth...The Freaks will have Earth for a while but then Earth will turn into a barren wasteland...Meanwhile I'll take my army of supersoldiers into space for revenge and conquering of alien worlds..." The Justice Leage glared at Bishop who realize how truly screwed he was "So it wasn't really to protect Humans..." Avery said as he appeared out of Don's Duffel Bag "...Your plan all along was to destroy everyone to spite everyone!" Then Joker's voice came in "If I'm going down Bishop, I'm taking you with me...Let's demonstrate the Ultimate Weapon by spreading it over Gotham...Then the recording had a sound of Biplane taking off." Bishop hissed "Frick...The Toxin when soaked into the soil and absorbed into the food chain takes years to kill animal or tree life but when if living things come in contact with it direcectly in gas form it would be like breathing in chlorine gas!" All of a sudden James Gordon and Harvey Bullock came running towards them "Batman..." Gordon said "...Scarecrow, Riddler and Mad Hatter escaped...Scarecrow gassed the guards he claimed he knew where Joker kept his plane and that they could intercept him before he reached Gotham..." "Scarecrow does know how to pilot a helicoptor..." Batman said "I'm getting Deja View..." Robin sighed "...Of the time Joker tried to drop a Nuke on Gotham, and just like this time we relying on another Rogue to stop Joker..." "Only unlike Harley, these three are unlikely to show Joker mercy." Batman said "I fail to see how that's a problem..." Leo said folding his arms "Yeah," Raph said "At the very least these Mooks just want to save their own skins." "Maybe not..." Don said "...I...When I was facing Scarecrow and I asked why he hesitated killing me since it seemed the end of civilazation would be something he wanted he sputtered, and seemed embaressed I had called his bluff, but then I saw something in his eyes...Seems in calling his bluff I forced him to realize there were things he liked about society and that he actually doesn't want it to end..." |
| Charles walked up to Bishop. "The tenets of my faith forbid the killing of humans to eat them, save in necessary situations, like starvation or defense of self or others," the wolfdog said. "You, I would break those tenets for - but I suspect that your meat would be rotten, if not poisoned." He walked away. "You're just a talker, aren't you," said Bishop. He looked away, only to find the Rebecca woman in front of him. "What do you want?" Rebecca decked him, breaking his sunglasses. "That's for all the humans that had to suffer, because of you, including myself!" Then, she kicked him in the groin. "Oof," said Micky. "I think he felt that one." "I thought that she couldn't fight," said Batman. "We were thinking of moving to Florida," said Charles. "Sister taught her a few things after the last illegal attempt to turn her into a Meal. Human Slaves and Pets there are allowed to learn how to protect their Master." Rebecca walked up to them. "I feel better now." She gave Charles a kiss. Charles looked at the JLU. "So, who's fast and strong enough to stop a plane and disable this weapon?" |
| Meanwhile in the countryside outside of Gotham Joker's biplane loaded with two tanks of the toxin to spread over Gotham was flying rapidly towards the city when suddenly some distance away a Helicoptor appeared in its path. A message came on the plane's radio "Joker! We're warning you," Came the Scarecrow's voice "We're warning you, surrender now or we're be forced to take drastic action." "Oh come now you old bag of straw!' Joker replied mockingly "Are you really going to go Kamekaze on me?" "We have come to realize..." Scarecrow sighed "...That there are things worth preserving even at the cost of our own lives,Humanity's hopes and dreams that inspired us." 'Oh crap!' Joker thought 'Sounds like he really means it!' "I'm warning you..." Joker said "...If you cause me to crash to the tanks of gas will blow up and cause the rcological disaster you're trying to prevent!' |
| "Unlikely," said Batman's voice. "The JLU is right behind you, along with some others willing to throw in to stop the disaster you're about to make." Joker looked, and saw that Superman, Hawkwoman, and several other flying superheroes, plus a few supervillains, were right behind him. "I'm impressed," he said. "So, where are you?" "At the Gotham landing strip, with police, to take you in," said Batman. "What about Bishop?" Joker asked. "Aside from getting his glasses busted, along with his nose, he was also kicked in the groin by a woman," said Batman. "Ouch!" said Joker. "Didn't think that's all it would take to bring down Mr. Suit." "He's already been detained, and is being watched," said Batman. Charles sat in the room, watching Bishop. "I'm surprised that the turtles and the JLU would want someone like you to watch me," said Bishop. "Aside from being a wolfdog mutant, you got nothing special." Charles tapped his nose. "I got your scent. I can track you down. Anyone else could do the rest." Rebecca came in, and gave him a plate of cold meat. "How do you plan on eating her?" Bishop asked. "Raw, or cooked?" "Depends on how she wants to be done up," said Charles. "Fried, roasted, grilled, poached, or whatever, with her favorite foods as sides." Bishop looked at her. "And you are okay with this?" "He plans on eating me after I've died, hopefully of old age or some such thing, hopefully after I've seen my future grandchildren grow up and find mates," said Rebecca. She left the room. Charles chuckled. "The Divide and Conquer tactic," the wolfdog said. "Not bad, but she already knows that one day, after she dies, I'll eat her." "You know, handcuffs are supposed to be done from behind?" Bishop asked. Charles pulled out a sawed-off shotgun, one known as a Lupara. "The butler offered this to me. Said that the name for it translates from Italian for 'for the wolf', which I thought was rather fitting. Buckshot, so while you might be able to survive the injury, or whatever, it's still going to mess you up, as I'll use it on your legs." "Do you know how to handle such a weapon?" Bishop asked. "I'm a farmer, and have to deal with vermin trying to eat my crops all the time," said Charles. "I'm also a hunter, and I enjoy venison. In either case, I know how to handle a firearm - I'd starve if I didn't know how, as my crops provide me with money for food, and hunting provides me with more food." "What about a human?" Bishop asked. "To be honest, I've never had to kill a human, even in defense of myself or others," said Charles. "But I have butchered plenty of them, and I've eaten more than a few over the years." He fingered his pendent. "I'm a Bone Carrier - the Prince that founded my religion carried the bones of the slave that sacrificed their life to save his for hundreds of miles to place them in the family cemetery - I hope my journey with her bones is merely a couple hundred yards to a spot we enjoy having picnics at." He looked at Bishop. "However, even if I wasn't of that faith, Rebecca is under a Protected status, because one of her ancestors protected one of mine. In the eyes of the law, a crime done to her, is the same as if the crime was done to me - assault, abduction, killing - all the same. I've killed two to keep her safe, one personally, one more indirectly, when it was found that in addition to assaulting Rebecca, they'd killed another Protected human - we hang murderers, just for you to know, Bishop. I knew both of her would-be-killers. For her, I took a knife to my kidney, and got double pneumonia. For her, I'd die, if that's what it took. Tell me, what pains would you be willing to take, to protect humans? Would you sacrifice your life to save even one? I got to admit, that video doesn't do you much good - you'd come back for revenge, sure, but would you fight for them?" Bishop was silent at this, as he looked at the wolfdog. "It's funny when the very thing you hate has done more to protect the humans than you've claimed to have done," said Charles. "You're a coward. I can understand running from a fight I couldn't win, but I'd at least try before retreating. Heck, before a fight started, I'd at least try a peaceful option - fighting or running could be done later." |
| Meanwhile, from the outside, it seemed like the Joker would have no choice but to land and be taken back to Arkham. But unknown to the Heroes or Villains pursuing him, Joker still had one last trick up his sleeve. |
| Joker dropped the two tanks of toxic gas, fortunatly Superman caught them "I'll take these somewhere safe." Superman said and flew off Joker sighed "This is so much easier when it's just me and Batsy." Afterwards with both Bishop and Joker behind bars Ms. Waller came, she wanted to talk to the Turtles. "I think we've learned something..." She said "..Our greatest error was not accepting you..." April, Casey, the Justice Leage and the Time Travelers were all there with the Turtles they leaned in eagerly, even Scarecrow, Riddler and Mad Hatter were there though they were tightly handcuffed "Therefore I have a proposition for you..." Ms. Waller said "...We have decided that perhaps our world could benifit from being a Multi-Species society, perhaps humans need the strenghs of the animals given the times you've helped us, so we want to help you raise new Mutants, we'll gather young animals from reputable breeders and zoos to Mutate and you and a few others will help raise them to be intergrated into society..." Waller turned to the three Arkham Rogues, "We have taken note of your willingness to sacrifice yourselves to stop Joker..." She said "...And we have a propistion for you, we have learned from, the unfortunate reserch Bishop gained from their friend Leatherhead that large animals are not affected the same way as small animals by the Mutagen, larger animals hold on more to their instincts for some unknown reason, but the Turtles and Splinter cannot raise these Multi-Species children alone, they need strong personalities to keep them in line, therefore we're proposing a way to earn your redemption these Mutant Children need humans who can emphthize with a 'beastly state of mind' to raise them." The Turtles and the League were shocked by this proposel of letting criminals raise baby mutants The Rogues themselves were surprised "Are you saying..." Riddler said "...Become Mutant Nannies?" "Foster Fathers..." Ms. Waller said |
| At that moment, Casey's cellphone rang. "It's mom. One moment." He stepped away. "What was that?" "I hope it's nothing too serious," said April. "She can be annoying, but she has her moments." "Okay, just let me know if anything else happens," said Casey. He stepped back to the group. "Good news, bad news, and crazy news." "Is your mother alright?" Splinter asked. "Oh, she's fine, but it seems that Nickola has been getting out of the house, and she's got a more feral lover than what we'd had in mind for her," said Casey. "Seems that they found that escaped wolf in her backyard, and momma didn't get to the water hose in time." "Are you telling me that our furbaby and this escaped zoo wolf knotted?" April asked. "Yep," said Casey. "Momma's telling me that we're going to have some wolfdogs in our future." "Oh boy," said Don. "Might as well tell them now," said Leo. "Tell us what?" April asked, as she looked at her friend. Don looked over at Charles and Rebecca, who were looking at them. "Rebecca is descended from you two. Charles is descended from that wolf and your dog." "Seriously?" Casey asked. "How long have you known?" "Batman found out, and told me," said Don. "I didn't know how to tell you." |
| Seems this was the last thing that was needed as the Time Portal sucked the four time travelers back to their own time... They were in Times Square but this time things were different, it looked like half New York Half a blooming jungle with waterfalls and lush tropical trees intermingled with the Skyscrapers. Also immediatly noticable Rebecca's clothes had changed, she was not wearing the clothes of a slave but a respectable dress. There were humans walking among the Animals, some were couple with mixed children who either took after their human or animal parent, there had been fertility treatments to get closely related species children, but nothing as radical as say a human and wolf! They stopped in front of Central Park where previously there had been a marble statue of a slender cat woman sitting on a throne there now was a bronze statue of the four turtles the four founders of animal society standing and reaching their arms out to the animals around them. As Avery stared at this he was bumped in midair by something the tip of a Rhino's horn "Aside!" Grumbled the Rhino "Coming through!" "Professor Rhino?" Avery said The Rhino turned and looked at him "Professor?" He asked "Is that your idea of the joke? I'm a street sweeper Son, always have been..." The came to a building withn a stature in from of it, the stature was of a woman who looked very much like April laying her hand tenderly on the hand of a wolfdog who seemed to be kneeling as if he was being knighted the plague under the statue said 'In honor of the first humans who aceepted our kind' "So it is true!" Avery exclaimed "The world has become a better place!" Even Jessica realized she no longer felt hungry for human flesh... The End! |
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