Annual 2001
"Code of Honor"
Part III: Pyyrhic
by Dino Pollard and David Wheatley
based on characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird
Leonardo
Donatello
Raphael
Michaelangelo
Splinter
April O'Neil
Casey Jones
Wolverine
Shredder
NOTE: This story takes place directly after Wolverine #16 so read that, first.
"Tomo nakaniha ryuu!!" the Shredder commanded, before running off to
engage Wolverine in battle.
"Anyone know what that means?" Mike asked.
Foot ninjas surrounded them quickly, each of them brandishing weapons. Kuroyama
stood side-by-side with the Turtles, his sickle gleaming in the candlelight.
"On second thought, nevermind," Mike recanted. "I think I just
figured it out..."
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
"No..." April muttered, lying in bed.
*THUMP*
*THUD*
*WHUMP*
*CRACK*
"...GO... AWAY!..."
*KA THUD*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
*CHUDD*
"STOP!"
*CCHUDD*
*BRACKK*
*THUD*
*BASH*
*CCRAACK*
"...Fo..."
Something came up through the wooden floor - ninjas wielding weapons.
"...The Foot..."
*BAM*
*BAM*
*BAM*
The door suddenly broke off its hinges, revealing a man dressed from head to toe in body armor covered with blades.
"NO!!!" April shouted, standing and running. She found herself running, yet the Shredder's blades kept tearing it up from behind. She was finding it harder and harder to keep her speed up.
There were four silhouettes standing up ahead.
"GUYS!!" April shouted. "Oh thank god I found you, I was so wor--"
She reached out for the silhouettes, but fell right through them.
"Guys...?"
*BAM*
*BAM*
*BAM*
"No... please... no..." April muttered.
The Shredder's massive blades struck the floor a final time, and she found herself falling... while the Shredder laughed.
"NO!!!"
"What?!" Casey exclaimed, running into the room dressed in a robe and brandishing a baseball bat. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine..." April replied, sitting up. She looked around. "Where are we?"
"A Motel 6 in Jersey," Casey stated.
"Jersey?!" April exclaimed. "Did you drive far enough?!"
"Calm down," said Casey. "It's not that bad."
"Are you sure it's safe here?" she asked, pulling the drapes just enough so she could peer out the window.
"As safe as safe can be," he replied, resting the bat on his shoulder. She glanced back at him, and for the first time, noticed his clothing.
"Why are you wearing a robe?"
"I was in the shower."
"The shower? Some bodyguard you are."
"Hey, cut me some slack," Casey said. "I've been running non-stop ever since the guys left.* We drove through the night, and I take us to this hotel--"
"Motel," April corrected.
"I take us to this motel, and I scouted the perimeter," Casey continued. "The door is deadbolted, and I had the water pressure on low so I could hear if anyone came in, and I kept the bat with me in the bathroom just in case."
( * The Turtles left for Japan in issue #9 - Dino )
"And you took the time to put on a robe when my life could've been in danger?"
"For your information, I just got out of the shower and I already had the robe on. Christ, what's your problem?"
"Sorry, I guess I just get a little cranky when an elite clan of ninjas targets me for assassination!"
"Hey, you're lucky I'm doing this!" Casey exclaimed. "There was no need for me to be trailing you all day to ensure that you would be safe! I could've just made several sweeps by your apartment, and that would've been it."
"Fine, whatever," April stated. "I just had a bad dream, that's all."
She sighed and sat down on the bed, when something occured to her.
"Why is there only one bed?"
"Only room left," Casey replied. "They're filled."
"A Jersey Motel 6 is filled?"
Casey pulled open the drapes and pointed to the glowing NO VACANCY sign.
"Does that answer your question?"
"Well that's just great..." April said.
"Hope you don't kick in your sleep."
"Wait... you're not suggesting..."
"Where else am I gonna sleep?"
"Perfect..." April muttered.
Kuroyama dove forward, driving the sickle into a ninja.
"WE ARE NOT FINISHED, SHREDDER!!!" he shouted, as he cut through the Foot.
"Who the hell is this guy?" Raph asked, dodging a ninja's blade. "The Sickle?"
"I am the Black Mountain of the Hand," Kuroyama replied. "Now shut up and fight."
"Who the hell does he think he is, ordering us around like that?!" Raph demanded.
"Weren't you listening?" Don asked. "He's the Black Mountain of the Hand."
Don drove his staff into a ninja's throat. He quickly pulled it back and drove it into the crotch of a ninja trying to strike from behind.
"Oooh... sorry about that," Don muttered.
"Guess he won't have any little Foot soldiers running around anytime soon," Mike stated, one of his nunchukus snagging a lance and pulling it away from the ninja. Mike brought the other chuk against the side of the ninja's head.
Raph moved quickly, delivering short slashes to the ninjas with his sais before backing out immediately. He drove the sais into a ninja's back, flipped over him, pulled the sais out, and kicked another ninja.
Leo remained silent, his thoughts centered on finding his master. The banter of his brothers was drowned out - to him the world was silent. He paid no attention to his brothers or Kuroyama fighting beside him - instead he saw the black uniform of the Foot stained with blood as his katanas sliced through them.
Kuroyama watched their leader with intent - Leo fought with such savagery and yet, such skill that was rarely found in a warrior of his age. His skill was in perfect balance. Unlike his brothers, he didn't place more emphasis on weapons or hand-to-hand - he utilized both equally. Sometime in the future, Kuroyama would like to meet Leonardo in battle.
The Turtles continued to fight with savagery - thoughts of their master with them. And his current location a mystery.
One man - The Shredder - held the answer to that question and while the Foot were doing battle with the Turtles, their leader was taking on the X-Man known as Wolverine.
"Bub, I don't know what this is about," said Logan, keeping his distance as his healing factor kicked in to repair the damage done to him in the fall from the balcony. He knew his claws wouldn't regenerate in time, but he hope that he'd regain the use of that arm quite quickly. It was a simple dislocation of the arm and hopefully would fit back in to place quite soon. Besides it wasn't too much of a disadvantage, as Kuroyama had run the Shredder through just few moments ago.
"Then you will die in ignorance," replied the armoured warrior and he attacked Logan, brushing past him as Logan moved out of the way, the blades on his armour cutting in to the mutant's already wounded arm, but Logan was not the typical warrior. He had experienced worse cuts from fighters with more savagery than the Shredder and had experienced far greater physical pain than a dislocated shoulder and a few deep cuts.
"Sorry, bub, but you'll have to do better than that," snarled Logan as he did a kick, knocking Shredder sideways. Shredder grunted as he fell, but his arm went down to the floor and he pivoted around and knocked the legs from under the mutant.
"Then I shall," he said. "I have been waiting for this moment a very long time, Weapon X!"
Logan's eye's narrowed at the mentioned of that name. It was a long time since he'd been a part of that program but the legacy it had left him had a far greater reach than anyone could have ever guessed. He leapt back, pushing the dislocated arm back in place as he pushed down - whether it was down to his healing factor or the move he wasn't sure. It still hurt but he had both arms to used again in the fight. However now he wasn't in a mood to talk and he leapt towards the Shredder, his remaining claws extended and ready.
Shredder was ready though and he moved out of the way, not realising that was what Logan wanted. Shredder turned and realised his error as he saw the mutant grab hold of the Honour Sword of the Clan Yashida, the claws sinking back in to his forearm as he did so.
"Clever," murmured Shredder, as he moved towards the mutant, slowly, as they circled each other. The Honour Sword glinted in the light, as did the edges of the blades on the Shredder's armour. Logan moved first, his blade coming down and Shredder raising his arm to meet it, the two blades clanging against each other, as Wolverine punched Shredder in the gut, extending his claws at the same time, cutting in to the already punctured flesh.
"UUH!" groaned Shredder as he kicked back, freeing himself of the claws, and there was a fire in his eyes now. He was wounded, but still going and had still survived after taking on Kuroyama and now Wolverine. Logan could sense he was hurt, but the man kept going and he could respect that kind of attitude. This kill would serve him well...
Logan paused at that thought - either his concentration had slipped for a moment or the influence of Shadow King was increasing it's pressure.
"Get out of my head," he growled, but the pause had given Shredder time to compose himself, blood oozing down his armour and he was obviously ready to continue the battle, even if Logan was not.
High above them, watching in the shadows was Nina McCabe. She needed to see what was going on, whether or not she would approach her former lover, Kuroyama, whose child she was carrying.
The spawn of the undead, the chosen one of the Hand, their living Messiah.
She shuddered at the feeling of such responsibility, and the potential in her possession. She needed to know which path to take and what to do next. She needed counsel, but of her old life there were none who would speak with her, who would take her in. her family thought her dead, Elektra was missing and she truly had no-one else.
Besides, if she was being honest with herself, this was something that she needed to work it out for herself. She watched the warriors fight, noting that neither Wolverine or Kuroyama had lost any of their style in the months since she had seen them last.
"WE ARE NOT FINISHED, SHREDDER!!!" Kuroyama suddenly shouted, and she marvelled at the way he sliced through the Foot, the inexperience and less talented ninja warriors standing no chance against his mighty onslaught. His voice, though, still gave her a chill. Elektra's words from the months before came back to her, when she had her former friend at her mercy.
"Strike then," Elektra had said. "I will not stop you. I never intended for this, for you to be abused like you have been and I know that the scales must be balanced."
"This isn't about us," Nina had told her, doubting the words she was hearing. "This is about you and the Hand."
"No, it isn't. 'The rituals be damned', you said. This has never been about the Hand, it's been about us. By going with Kuroyama you have moved to the person who would look after you, like I failed. Like your father failed."
The shot had hit her in the way Elektra had been looking for and at the time it had shamed her at how easily she had been played. "How dare you bring him in to this?"
"The truth hurt? You've tried to be me, you've tried to destroy everything good in my life and tried to hurt me. Everything you've done to me says revenge and I am tired of this. I am tired of running from you. If it takes my death to satisfy your soul, so be it. A swift strike to the throat now would crush my windpipe and I would slowly suffocate."
"You do not deserve such a swift end. You deserve to scream as I did, so I can watch as you die."
"So be it. Kill me, but remember this - I love you, Nina. No matter what you do and what you have done."
"You're lying."
"So what if I am? Kill me and have done with it."
"I... I..." Nina had faltered
"You're hesitating. Whose will is dominant - yours or the Hand?"
"I... don't... know..."
"Then it is not the Hand," said Elektra. Those words had haunted her when she heard them, and haunted her still. It had sown the seeds of doubt, using love as the weapon to strike her down and she had been lost ever since.
"Nina," said a voice as a hand touched her shoulder and she turned to see who it was.
"Kuroyama," she gasped. She could see him looking at her belly.
"You are pregnant." He said it as a statement of fact more than a question.
"I am," she said, knowing she couldn't lie to him. She knew the truth about herself now. It wasn't for the Hand or for herself she did things - it was for Kuroyama. She loved him, and that was all she needed to know. "The child is ours." Kuroyama said nothing but she could see that he was re-evaluating things. This war with the Foot had suddenly lost the priority it had carried moments ago.
Then he looked down to the floor, evaluating the scene before him, and she could see him smile underneath her mask as he saw events unfold. There was only one real choice for him now and he made his decision swiftly.
"I will return," he said as he looked at the sickle that replaced his missing hand, then back to the floor. "Unfinished business."
Logan had developed a problem. The darkness that polluted his soul was responding to something within the Shredder. It was giving him an extra fight and the Shredder now had him on the back foot. The blades came at him again and again, and again and again and again he deflected with the sword, but there was such power and such fury in Shredder's moves that he couldn't get time to himself to go on the offensive, and with his mental turmoil as well, he knew this wasn't good.
Then a scent hit him.
"McCabe?" he whispered, distracted for a moment and the Shredder attacked once more, his gauntlets ripping into Wolverine, gashing his upper chest. Blood poured down Logan's clothes as he fell to the floor, and the Shredder stood on the wounds, spikes on his boots pressing in to Logan's skin.
He looked down at Wolverine and Wolverine looked back, their eyes meeting and the vaguest hints of recollection came at Logan, but he could not say where from.
Not too far away the Turtles were looking for more people to hit.
"Aww... no more?" Raph pouted, once the last Foot soldier was taken down.
"What happened to Kuroyama?" Don asked. "Wasn't he fighting with us?"
"I didn't see him leave..." Mike muttered.
"Forget Kuroyama," Leo stated. "The Hand isn't our concern. What I want to know is what happened to Splinter?"
"Let's ask him," said Raph and dived towards Shredder, knocking him clear of Wolverine.
"Damn it, Raph," said Mike and went to help Raph. They had barely taken the last Shredder,* so it stood to reason they'd need to team up and take on this one.
( *See the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TCB - Dino )
"Thanks," muttered Logan, as Leo and Don helped him up. "Go help your brothers while I heal up," he said, crouching, getting his bearings back. There was nothing like a fresh shot of pain and hurt to clear your head. The turtles did as they said, wanting to find news of their mentor and Logan heard a thud behind him.
"Bub," he said, picking up the sword and standing tall to face his adversary. "Guess it's our turn."
Kuroyama simply nodded.
Behind the red mask that he wore on his head, Leo's eyes narrowed. Inside them was hate and rage. He turned them towards the Shredder, fixating his gaze on the armored ninja.
"Where's Splinter?" he asked.
"None of your concern," the Shredder replied. "He will be dead soon."
Leo's mouth curled into a snarl, baring gritted teeth. He lifted his katanas and dove towards the Shredder, slicing through the air effortlessly.
The Shredder brought up his gauntlet and blocked the blades, driving the blades of his free hand into Leo's abdomen. The leader of the turtles fell to the ground.
"Awright, that tears it!!" Raph exclaimed, hurling a sai which lodged itself in Shredder's arm. Mike leapt in, slamming his nunchukus against the Shredder's helmet, before delivering a swift roundhouse to his back.
Don ran to Leo's aid, examining his wounds.
"Hold on, lemme take a look," he ordered.
"I'm fine..." Leo stated. "It's just a scratch."
"A deep scratch, but you're right," Don said. "Still, this doesn't look like a very good situation. Kuroyama ran off somewhere - probably to gather the Hand. So we should be gone by the time he gets back. And that means that someone's gotta find Splinter."
"The Shredder is mine..." Leo muttered.
"You may be the leader, but you can be a real idiot sometimes," Don said. "You're the only one we can spare. Raph, Mike, and I are still in relatively good health."
Leo watched as the Shredder held his own against Raph and Mike, then looked up at Don.
"...okay," he stated, pulling himself to his feet. "I'll find Splinter, you guys take care of the Shredder."
He ran off, while Don ran forward and jammed his bo-staff into the Shredder's back before he could stab Mike.
April's eyes slowly opened. She looked up at the small space between the curtains and could see that it was still dark out. She looked to her side and saw that Casey wasn't in bed, but his boots were still standing by the front door. Grabbing her coat, she pulled it on and opened the door of her motel room.
She saw him standing by the van, a cigarette in his mouth and his eyes wandering everywhere. He was watching the perimeter. She went back inside and closed the door. One key remained on the table, which means that he had the other one.
He was watching over her. She'd wager that he barely got any sleep last night at all. And her she was, treating him like little more than a pile of shit.
Suddenly, April O'Neil's opinion of Casey Jones jumped ten levels.
Leo ran through the complex, searching rooms and dodging ninjas. He knew that the Shredder's injuries meant that he wasn't at full strength - and he didn't want to run the risk of taking on a squadron of Foot.
He passed by a door, and he felt... something. It was almost instinctive, but something told him he should open it. Drawing his katanas, he kicked the door open and moved inside.
The room was pitch black, and Leo could hear a dripping sound, possibly from a faucet. He felt around for a light switch and activated it. The room became illuminated with light, and Leo saw that the dripping hadn't come from a faucet.
It came from his father, who hung from metal chains almost lifelessly, blood dripping from his many wounds.
"Splinter..." Leo muttered, and moved quickly. He ran to his master, and looked at him. "Master... it's me."
Splinter's eye weakly opened, and he looked up at his pupil. He tried to force a smile, but found he couldn't.
"Leonardo..." he muttered weakly. "Shouldn't have... have come... trap..."
"What?" Leo asked.
*THUNK*
Leo fell to the ground. Behind him stood Lotus, holding a small club in her hand.
Shredder flung Mike into the wall, before slashing into Don's shell. Raph came up behind him and drove a sai into his back. The Shredder winced in pain, but grabbed Raph's neck and slammed him onto the ground.
Shredder looked up to see Lotus up above, nodding her head.
*CLANG*
Don's staff connected flawlessly with Shredder's jaw, the impact causing his helmet to fall off. The three Turtles were shocked to find the identity of their enemy.
"It's... not him?!" Mike asked.
"I thought so," Don replied. "Splinter killed Saki.* This guy isn't Saki."
( *Back in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TCB - Dino )
"Very good," the Shredder stated. He leapt to his feet, pulling out the sai Raph stabbed him with and hurled it at the turtle's chest.
"RAPH!!" Mike exclaimed.
"Uggghhh...." Raph groaned, as he fell to the ground. "I don't feel so hot..."
Don looked at the wounds.
"Donny, is he...?"
"He's alive, barely," Don said. "The sai missed his heart, but I think it may have punctured a lung. We gotta get him to a hospital."
"First, I'm gonna kill this guy!!" Mike exclaimed, running at the Shredder, only to be forced back with a fierce roundhouse kick to his head.
Don slowly began to stand.
"That's it..." he stated. "You're dea--"
*BONK*
The Shredder grinned once more as Lotus stood behind the fallen Don.
"Issai dekiagari?" he asked.
Lotus nodded.
"Mou sousui keserasera sanka aitai,"* Shredder continued. Lotus grinned beneath her mask.
( *Wouldn't you like to know what they're saying? Me too. - Dino )
The Shredder and Lotus turned away from the turtles, intent with their victory this day.
The first impact nearly took off Logan's head and sent him flying back in to the wall, away from where the action was with the Turtles. That was fine by him, though, it meant he wouldn't get in their way and they wouldn't get in his. He stood up, spitting the blood out of his mouth and he could see Kuroyama coming at him. His sword was a few meters away and he knew he'd never get to it in time to defend himself properly.
"Hell with this," he said, and released his claws. The fully formed set were ready for their foe, but the broken set seemed to be mere splints extending out of the back of his hand. However Logan didn't care, they were sharp and jagged enough to do at least some damage and he gave a snarl as he raced towards Kuroyama, which became a growl as he got closer and turned to a roar. The sheer savagery in Logan's cry gave the Black Mountain a moment's pause, for the last time he had heard such a cry it had cost him his hand.
That pause was all Logan needed to strike at him, and he slammed the claws in to the Black Mountain's mid-section, throwing him down to the floor. Kuroyama gave a cry as Logan twisted his wrists.
"Where's Elektra?" he said, the spittle flying from the fanged team on to the mask of his enemy.
"I do not know," said the Black Mountain, grabbing Logan by the throat. "And if I did," he continued, "I would not tell you!" With that he hurled Logan from off of him, doing more damage to himself, but it did not matter too much for he was dead and the matter that constructed his being would regenerate in time. He did not bleed as normal beings and he had taken much worse at the hands of others.
He could still remember the strike of the sword as Ogun had killed him.* He had been there, watching as Ogun spoke, telling him that he was not worthy and he would never be the warrior that Logan was. Kuroyama died with Ogun's face in his eyes, Logan's name in his mind and revenge in his heart until it simply stopped beating. When he was restored, Ogun was dead and Logan was the only one left to whom he could gain revenge, but first he needed to gain a reputation and he had done so, working his way up to become the Master of the Hand, taking Ogun's place within the order.
* (This little bit of info was revealed in Wolverine #4 - David)
But that was then and this was now, and there was unfinished business at hand.
"I owe you, we owe you, and payment is due, Wolverine," he said, as Logan stood up, his chest wounds almost healed from the damage that Shredder had done to him. The X-Man quickly looked from side to side, getting his bearings and then he looked back at Kuroyama.
"You ain't the man to take it from me," he snarled, and rolled to the side to reclaim the Honour Sword and he brandished it. "Now let's try this one more time."
Nina watched the various battles below. The turtles were outmatched against the Shredder but it was interesting to see the man's moves. She saw his moves had a strange familiarity, a style that was as if it were from an order she had not seen since her training. It had been obvious he had a dislike for Wolverine, and it seemed to be more than a rival animosity between himself and the Hand. She watched as the fourth turtles slipped away, allowed to do so by the ninja warriors hiding in the shadows. That was also interesting and she would have liked to have followed to see what was happening but the fight between the man she loved and his mortal enemy garnered her full attention.
The blade of the mutant samurai clashed with the sickle of the undead warrior, in a spark of metal on metal. Kuroyama followed it up with a punch to the gut, but Logan followed his shot at the same time with a head butt. Kuroyama's head rocketed back as Logan doubled over, the wind knocked out of him and he dropped the sword with a clang to the floor. Kuroyama recovered first and kicked the blade out of the way, just as Logan stood to his feet, unsteadily. His chest was misshapen and Nina could see his rib cage had been smashed by the blow.
"You are wounded, you are old," said Kuroyama.
"You ain't got the best of me yet," said Logan, his breath ragged and Nina wondered if he'd a punctured lung. His fury was evident and his full set of claws came out. "Didn't need the sword last time, won't need it now." They charged towards each other and the claws cut deeply in to Kuroyama's side, taking a harsh amount of him. Kuroyama skidded to the floor, clutching the gap underneath his rib-cage laughing.
"What's so funny," said Logan, then felt dizzy and lifted his hand to his head. Or tried to. Something was wrong.
"Now, you and I are even," Kuroyama said, walking away and fading in to the shadows as Logan collapsed to his knees. His vision was starting to blur, but he looked to his forearm and noticed that his hand was missing just after his wrist. His eyes widened as he fell to the floor, collapsing in to a growing pool of his own blood and he could see his missing hand some distance away, though he wasn't sure how far it was. He could barely see.
"Get… you… bub…" he muttered as his eyes closed and then he moved no more.
Nina smiled as she watched Logan lying there, bleeding to death on the floor of the warehouse and Kuroyama touched her shoulder.
"My love," he said and she turned and kissed him.
"Let's get the hell out of here," she said and the two of them made their exit. "What about the Foot?" she asked as they made their escape.
"Another day," replied the Black Mountain. "For now," he said, touching her stomach, feeling the life within her, "we have other concerns."
"Mou sousui keserasera sanka aitai," Shredder continued. Lotus grinned beneath her mask.
The Shredder and Lotus turned away from the turtles, intent with their victory this day . He looked towards the fallen Wolverine and smiled. It had been a good day indeed then they disappeared.
Suddenly a light appeared in the room and a young woman stepped through, her red ninja costume almost the same colour as the floor she stepped on to as the portal closed behind her, but her eyes went wide at the scene before her.
"LOGAN!" she cried as she saw the fallen body of the man she loved and she raced to his side. She did not care that the sticky liquid she knelt in was his blood, only she was at his side. His breathing was light and ragged, his heart beat was thumping against his chest and she could see the veins in his body reacting to the damage and his healing factor was trying to do it's work, yet without blood to keep it going, she knew it was all in vain. She tore a piece of his shirt and bound the wounded arm, then she lifted his head, and spoke gently in to his ear, hoping to elicit some kind of response from him.
"Logan, can you hear me? It's Elektra?" No answer in any form came from the X-Man and Elektra could see from the amount of blood on the floor that he was very close to death. "God, no," she whispered, and she lifted his body. He was heavy, but the adrenaline was pumping through her veins in shock and horror at what she could lose, this close to finding him again* and she hoped she wasn't too late.
* (She and Logan separated in Wolverine #11 and rediscovered her feelings in Wolverine #17 - David)
"Gateway!" she cried out. "We need help. Take us to the X-Men!" Nothing happened. "PLEASE!" she shouted and suddenly a portal opened in the warehouse and she pulled Logan through, taking him to where she hoped that his friends, his family, would be able to save him. She failed to retrieve his hand, or notice the other fallen forms within the building, one of which was starting to stir.
Mike slowly got to his feet, looking about the room. Don and Raph both lay on the ground. He saw a puddle of blood and a hand on the other side of the room.
*BEEP*
He didn't see Leo or Splinter anywhere, though. The Shredder was gone.
*BEEP*
"What the hell is that?" he asked.
*BEEP*
He followed the sound to see a bomb attatched behind the Shredder's throne chair.
"HOLY SHIT!!" Mike exclaimed. "Donny, Donny get up!!"
He began to shake Don, trying to wake him up.
"DONNY!!! DONNY!!! GODDAMMIT DON, WAKE UP!!!"
Don's eyes slowly opened.
"Urgh... my head..." Don muttered. "What hit me?'
"Doesn't matter, if we don't get out of here soon, we're fried!!"
Don looked over to where Mike was pointing. He ran over to the throne and looked behind it to find the bomb hooked up. He tried to remove it, but found it firmly attached.
"Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "We've gotta get outta here!"
He ran back and picked up Raph.
"What about Leo and Splinter?" Mike asked.
"We have to get Raph out, grab his legs."
Mike gripped onto Raph's legs and the two turtles carried him out to a safe distance. They put him down, and looked back towards the complex.
"Hurry, we have to find Leo and Splin--"
*BOOM*
Don's words died in his throat as the bomb exploded, taking the Foot's headquarters with it.
NEXT ISSUE: "Code of Honor" isn't over yet! Check out Wolverine #18 to find out what's going to happen to Logan - guest-starring X-Men Omega! And then be here for TMNT #11 to discover the fate of Leo and Splinter!
SHELLSHOCKED
Some of you are probably wondering who deserves credit for scripting and plotting this issue. It wasn't specified in the credits, so whodunnit? Did David plot and did I script? Or was it the other way around?
It's neither. In truth, we both wrote it out. David came up with the ending that the bad guys win, and we each wrote our respective parts (I wrote the parts with the Turtles and their supporting cast, while David wrote all the parts with Wolverine and his supporting cast). Then, we just combined them together. The end result is pretty good, I think. Here's hoping you guys enjoyed it.
-Dino Pollard
July 17, 2001
Dino originally approached me about doing a TMNT crossover involving the Hand, since he knew that I intended to deal with them in Iron Man. However, since I had my Hand story mapped out pretty carefully, and it was going to be pretty serious besides, I didn't think the Turtles belonged in it. Good thing I made that call because, hoo, the Turtles and Wolverine meeting up... that's a no-brainer. That's just begging to turn into a cool story.
Dino's scripting seemed more "on" than usual this issue (and that's saying a lot, since he's a really damn good scripter). I loved the "pussy" exchange between Casey and the ninja, and Raph's struggles to communicate with the Japanese bartender were similarly funny.
The fight with Wolverine was about like I expected it to be. No real damage done on either side, the heroes fight for a while, then realize they're on the same side and decide to do a team-up. No surprises, but again, it was well-scripted.
Looking forward to reading Wolverine #16 now (not that I wasn't before, but it'll be interesting to see how David portrays the Turtles).
Thanks for the comments, Russ. Glad you enjoyed #10. I had fun writing the dialogue exchanges. This book has a lot of humor in it, so how could I not take advantage of the language barrier? There's just so much potential there for stupid humor (like the exchanges between Raph and the bartender and Casey and the ninja). Hopefully, you liked the rest of "Code of Honor" and don't worry: the best is yet to come.