Blood on the Streets - Untold Tales of the TMNT aka Tales #36 Sequel mk.II

After receiving a lot of positive responses to Tales #36, I decided to rework the sequel I had in mind and narrow it down to this story. The two major things people responded to were the action and the story, and both are elements I would like to up the ante on with this Tale providing intense ninja action with an intricate done-in-one story.

Picking up some of the story elements in Tales #36 that many responded so well to, this story would take a closer look at the status quo of the New York underworld following the major shake up that would have happened during and following the City At War arc.

Where Tales #36 was predominantly focused on the character of Gordon Miller, with the Turtles being more of an occurrence, this story would see the Turtles in the forefront, with Miller making more of a Commissioner Gordon style cameo appearance.

The story's action would once again focus heavily on the ninja aspect of the Turtles, and we will be able to see how well trained they are when they have to deal with both Foot ninjas AND heavily armed gangsters.

There would also be a heavy focus on the Turtles working together as a team, as brothers, especially during their fight with the heavyweight gang-leader.

Something else I would like to highlight is how the Turtles manage to keep tabs on certain aspects of New York's criminal element, which would be shown when Don and Leo examine the way the gangs have been moving and when Casey tells them how he heard about the arms deal. This could tie in well as sort of a carry-on from the relationship established with Miller and Whitmire in Tales #36, and could possibly even make reference to Nobody/Officer Longer.

Hopefully you like what you see!

SYNOPSIS:

In the months that followed City At War and the reformation of the Foot Clan, the gangs and powerplayers of the criminal underworld began vying for control over certain territories once held by the Shredder and the Foot Clan. Now, someone is aiming to become top dog in this villainous food chain, brutally waging war against the various gangs and heavy hitters for their territory, and with the police seemingly at a loss and Karaiís Foot Clan no where to be found, only the Turtles can do anything to put a stop to the violence in the streets.

We open on a police raid of a derelict building, believed to be a mob hideout. The police bust in only to find that, once again, someone has beaten them to one of the heavy hitting gangs/criminal organizations. Outside, we see that Leo and Mike are watching from a nearby rooftop, having followed the police trucks to the site of the raid. They are meeting with Miller (from Tales #36) who explains to them that the Foot have vanished (although there could still be some buried in the force covering for them) and right now, their big worry is the increasing gang problem. Miller offers to forward what files he can on to them to see what they can do.

The Turtles head back to the lair where Casey and Raph are shooting some hoops and Donatello is working on something. They seem to all be talking about something when Leo and Mike arrive home. After explaining the situation to Don, Casey and Raph, they check through the files Miller has given them and Don works out that the attacks have been aimed at gangs that have ties to the Foot Clan. They also manage to deduce who the next major target is likely to be, which all ties into what Casey was telling Raph and Don before Mike and Leo got back: word on the street is that someone has managed to get their hands on some heavy duty weaponry and that this new gang is the buyer. They all agree to check it out, and if it turns out to be right, then they may be able to put a stop to the violence and prevent this new gang from reaching the top of the underworld.

The Turtles and Casey arrive at the warehouse the deal is set to go down and are confronted by something they werenít expecting. The dealer is Lin (the traitorous Foot ninja who had infiltrated the NYPD from Tales #36) with an entourage of Foot clansmen! The buyers arrive, a group of thugs, led by the hulking Copperhead (tentative name), whose hulking physique and ugly mug put even Hun to shame! Our heroes formulate a plan, a way they can take care of the gangers and get their hands on Lin, and launch their attack.

In the battle that follows, the Turtles dominate the gang and take down some of the Foot clansmen, but seriously underestimate Copperhead, who proves to be more than a match for the Turtles. Lin manages to escape during the fighting, and as police sirens draw closer, the Turtles, Casey, and the gang leader all make their own exits. The police arrest the gang-members and Foot clansmen left in the building and secure the weapons. Later Miller meets up with the Turtles and they discuss the revelations of the evening. Miller thanks them for putting a stop to things before they could get out of hand, and our heroes part ways.