HEY, KID, YOU'RE   A LONG WAY   FROM NICKTOONS!

Some TMNT stuff was always meant for grownups.

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[I want to go home! Not to my family's small apartment, here in New York City, America... But home to the land of my birth--China!] Chang Lao "I-I've lost them--!" Frankie "Hey-- There's our little pet!" Lao "Oh, no--!" Frankie "Pounce an' punish time, dudes!" [Life there was so simple, so beautiful... In our small village, we all shared a culture and lifestyle... We were a community! Here, it is so different... We don't fit in...] Frankie "Grab the little puke!" [We left China to escape religious persecution... And found the freedom we craved in America! But we also found more hate and violence than we thought possible!] Frankie "You're not getting away this time!" Lao "No---No!" NEW YORK NINJA Starring--Donatello! Story and Pencils - Eastman and Laird Inks by Ryan Brown Lettering - Steve Lavigne

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Frankie "Missed ya at school today, brat! Guess it's just our good luck that we'd run into ya tonight!" Frankie "Just 'cuz ya skipped school today don't mean ya can skip your protection payments, geek!" Frankie "I got my rules, ya know!" [Close by...] Donatello "Night maneuvers are great--especially when it's Raphael's turn to find me! Ha, ha, ha!" Don "...And this time, I got to make the rules: One hides, the other seeks... And if the seeker can't find the hider..." SKRUNCH Don "...In fifteen minutes..." Don "...The seeker does dishes for a week!" Don "Whuh-oh!" Don "This alley's occupied! What's going down...?" Frankie "Frankie says "dues paid every day no matter what!" You dig?!" Frankie "Got any cash on ya? No?" Frankie "Tell you what--you fight me, right here an' now..." Frankie "...An' I'll call it even! Heh, heh, heh!" Don "Looks like five high school hoods extorting money from that little kid..!" Don "I hate bullies!" Lao "N-No... I-I will not shame myself by fighting..."

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Frankie "I shoulda known, ya coward! Now ya gotta pay the price!" Lao "Aah!" CRASH Lao "Oof!" Don "I've seen--" Don "--Just about--" Don "--Enough!!!" Don "Haii!" WACK Other Bully "Gah!" Frankie "Hey--what the hell--?!" THUP Don "Had enough...?" Bully "Hah!" SNIK Don "Jerk!"

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Don "--And don't come back, slimeballs!" Don "You okay?" Lao "Ah..Ah... Y-Yes... I-I..." Lao "W-What are you? A demon--?" Don "No... A ninja--and a friend! That's all you need to know!" Don "Do those thugs often harass you like this?" Lao "Yes! If I don't give them money every day I get beat up--!" Lao "My family is poor, and today I had no money--so I skipped school to avoid the beating!" Don "Hmm..." Chang Lao's father "Lao?" Lao "Father--!" Don "That's my exit cue..." Father "Is that you, my son? What was all that noise?" Lao "Ah... Nothing, Father!" Father "Come upstairs now--it's too late for you to be out!" Lao "Yes, Father!" Don "Got to run, pal!" Don " 'Bye!" Lao " 'Bye!"

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[Minutes later...] Don (Poor little guy... Hope he's okay!) Father "Lao, my son--you are bruised! Have you been fighting those bad boys from school...?" Lao "No, Father!" Lao "--But they are so many, I can't escape them!" Father "This problem truly saddens me, my son..." Father "...This strange new place has many horrors, and they often seem to travel in packs! But we must be true to our beliefs, even if we suffer abuse at the hands of the ignorant..." Father "...The way of non-violence is the true path to heaven!" Don (This is heavy! The boy's father has rejected violence as a method of dealing with certain problems... But can this truly help his son to survive in the mean streets of New York City?) Don (With a little training, the kid could defend himself... But not against six guys! He needs an ace in the hole to get out of this jam!) Raphael "Boo!" Don "Aaahh!" Raph "Hah! Got ya, with a minute to spare!" Raph "Now you've got K.P. duty for a week! Ha, ha ha, ha, ha, hah!" Raph "Race ya home, Don! Hee, hee!" Don (What a knob!)

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[After my first encounter with the mysterious ninja creature, I wondered if it would be my last... But the events of that day were merely a prologue of things to come...] Don (This is really pushing it--twice out in broad daylight today...) Don (...Once to follow Lao to school, and again to follow him back! What will I do if those creeps jump him in the crowded street?) BECKY'S BURGERS [...] HIGH SCHOOL Don (I can't expose myself to all those people!) Don (Here we go--school's out!) Don (--And there's Lao!) Don (Uh oh... There's the local racketeers!) Frankie "Weelll... Looky here!" Frankie "The kid with the karate friend!" Frankie "Your freaky buddy hurt us last night, wimp... And Frankie say we take it out on you!" Frankie "Get-im!" Franie "Ha, ha, ha! Lookit him run!" Don "Here we go, sports fans...! Come on, Lao--head for an alley or something--!" FINNES CONDEMNED CLOSED

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Don "Good boy! An empty warehouse!" Don "Just keep away from them 'til I get over there!" Frankie "Hah! We got you now, crazy ninja boy!" Don "Gotta hurry!" Don "I'll use a different entrance to surprise the jerks!" Don "Our shells sure come in handy for stuff like this..." CRASH! SKIIIIIIIIID! Don "...Of course, the landings can be hell!" Frankie "Whazzat?!" Other Bully "Don't matter... We got what we want right here!" FLARES 1 DOZEN GAS Don "All right! The goons are on the other side of this wall! I'll--" Don "Hey, what's this? Gasoline, flares... Looks like somebody was going to save the owners the cost of bulldozing this place...!"

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Don "These flares I can really put to good use..." Don "...To scare those punks!" Frankie "Oooh! Now he puts up a fuss--just like a cornered rat!" Frankie "I know how to take care of rats..." SNICK Frankie "...Permanent, like!" Lao "Aarr!" EEEYY-YAAA-AAA! Frankie "What the--?!" CRASH Don "Haii!" Don "Foul humans, prepare to face my wrath!" Don (Boy, did that sound stupid...!) Bullies "Yaa!" Frankie "Ooghf!" Other Bully "Guck!"

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FOOMP BAP WACK Frankie "This "creature feature" freak won't stand up to a .45-caliber slug I bet--!" Lao "No!" BLAM Frankie "You rat--! Ya made me miss! I'll--" WACK SPAK Lao "Oh, no..." Lao "...Father...!" Don "Thanks, Lao--you saved my life!" Don "Begone!!!" Don "If any of you ever bother Lao again, I will find you--and you will know true pain!" Bully A "Don't have to tell me twice!" Bully B "I'm outa here!"

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Don "Ouch! These things get hot!" Don "Well, Lao, that should take care of--" Don "--Lao? What's wrong?" Lao "Punish me, ninja! I've used my hands to harm another..." Lao "...I've dishonored myself and my family! Oh, what did I do?!" Lao "I can never face my father--he'll know I've disgraced him..." Lao "I must run away!" Don "No, Chang Lao--you've done no wrong. You acted to save my life--how could that be dishonorable?" Don "You are right to respect your father's teachings--he is a good and wise man! In a perfect world, his ways would be the best..." Don "...But as you well know, this world--especially New York--is far from perfect... And there are times when one must choose the lesser of two evils! The Shaolin monks of your native China had a saying: "Avoid rather than check, check rather than hurt, hurt rather than maim, maim rather than kill." You chose to hurt that creep rather than have him kill me... And by my philosophy, that was the right choice." Lao "Y-Yes... I think I see... Perhaps my father does not have all the right answers!" Don "Come on, Lao... Let's get you home! I'll come to see you again and we'll talk more." Don "You'll make it... Trust me!" [And he did come again... We have spent hours after school, talking and learning from one another. He is teaching me the arts of ninjitsu, and I tell him tales of my homeland. I still eagerly await his visits, although he comes less and less often lately... He says I'll make it now, and I believe him. At the very least, no one takes my lunch money from me anymore!] THE END