Crackle! A lightning bolt crackled in the sky and seemed to hit somewhere... The Turtles looked up.
"Lightning in the clear sky? That's weird," Donnie mumbled.
A few minutes later...
John's boots crunched against the gravel as he crossed the dim park. The pizzas balanced easily in one hand. The park was dead quiet except for the faint buzz of a lamp above the lone bench. On it, a rock pinned down a stack of bills.
From the shadows, a voice rasped low. "Place the pizzas on the bench, take the cash, and walk away."
John set the boxes on the bench, took the cash, and tucked it into his jacket. Then, he asked. "What are the Turtles doing in Dakota City? Sightseeing… or Shredder?"
There was a moment of silence.
Then four shapes burst from the shadows, hitting the ground hard and circling him. Their shells glinted faintly in the lamplight. Each one taller and bulkier than John remembered from cartoons and comics. These weren't kids' mascots. These were warriors.
He turned his head slightly, pointing a finger as he spoke their names. "Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. You're bigger than I imagined."
The tallest, carrying twin katanas, narrowed his eyes. Leo. Calm but cautious. "You know too much. Who are you?" He narrowed his eyes.
Raphael stepped forward, red mask framing his scowl. His sais glinted in the dark as he leveled one toward John. "Speak. You with Shredder? How do you know us?"
John's expression never flickered. "That doesn't matter. What matters is why you're in Dakota City, and I want to know why."
Raph's lip curled. "Wrong answer." He twirled a sai in his hand and put it back into the waist holder. "I'll beat it out of you, then you can talk."
"Go ahead," John said with his usual calm expression. "Do your worst."
"Wait! Raph!" Leo sensed something unusual and a sense of danger from the man before him. And before he could stop Raph...
He snarled and lunged. His fist shot forward in a brutal hook. It connected square with John's jaw.
Crackk! The impact cracked the air, dust kicking up around their feet.
John didn't even blink. He stood there like a pillar with zero damage and looked at Raph as if he was expecting more, and was now disappointed. "That's it? You hit like a kid. Try harder or would you like to eat first to get some energy?"
Raph growled. "You cocky son of a—"
He swung again, faster, harder. John caught the fist in one hand, fingers locking around the turtle's knuckles like a vice.
"What power?!" Raph strained to pull free.
"Better," John murmured, his grip unyielding. Then he shoved. The force sent Raph skidding backward, feet grinding furrows in the dirt until he slammed into a tree. Bark splintered.
"Raph!" Mikey shouted, nunchucks already whirling. He spun into the air, flipping over John's head, and snapped both nunchucks down at once. Wood and chain cracked against John's shoulders.
John didn't move. "Cute." He reached up and caught one of the chains mid-swing.
"Oh-oh!" Mikey's eyes went wide as John yanked him out of the air and slammed him onto the ground with a bone-rattling thud. Dust sprayed up around them.
"No one hurts my brothers." Donnie came in next, bo staff leveled. He didn't charge recklessly. Instead, he slid forward, jabbing fast and precise, aiming for joints and pressure points. The staff snapped against John's ribs, wrist, thigh, each strike landing sharply.
John yawned as those attacks were meaningless. They echoed like steel on stone. Donnie's brow furrowed. "What the hell are you made of?"
"Doesn't matter. What matters is that your leader told you to stop, yet you kept charging in blindly. And for the record, I got anger issues and unresolved traumas that still haunt me in my sleep. So, I'm gonna vent it all by beating the shit out of you all," John said. He seized the staff mid-strike and pulled, dragging Donnie forward. Donnie rolled with it, twisting and kicking upward. His heel clipped John's jaw, snapping his head back slightly.
John chuckled. "Almost." With a flick of his arm, he hurled Donnie across the grass. The turtle rolled and landed in a crouch, already resetting. He then looked at Leo. "They still have a long way to go."
"That they do," Leo agreed.
"Like, why attack someone without talking first?" John said with a little shrug. "So..." He pointed his finger at Leo. "Come at me. Show me your ninjutsu and whatnots."
Leonardo slid one foot forward, drawing both katanas. His posture was precise, his shoulders square, eyes locked on John. The calm was there, but so was the pressure. A leader's weight. He had watched his brothers get tossed like rag dolls and felt the pulse of danger rolling off this stranger. But he couldn't back down.
"You've made your point," Leo said evenly. His blades glinted beneath the lamp's buzz. "But we're not leaving without knowing who you really are."
John tilted his head, lips curving into a faint smirk. "Then come find out. Let's see what the fearless leader of the Ninja Turtles can do."
Leo exploded forward, faster than his size should have allowed. His katanas crossed in a flash, slicing downward in an X-strike. Sparks flew when the blades met John's forearms. The sound rang like steel clashing against stone. Leo's eyes widened but he didn't falter. He spun on his heel, twisting into a sweeping slash at John's waist.
John caught the blade between two fingers. He didn't even flinch. "Sharp," he muttered, flicking his hand. The katana wrenched free from Leo's grip, tumbling through the air before it stabbed into the dirt behind him.
Leo didn't hesitate. He pressed forward with his second sword, stabbing toward John's chest. John sidestepped, the point whistling past his ribs. In that instant Leo used the momentum to flip forward, slashing upward with a rising arc that could have gutted a car in two.
John let the strike connect. The blade screeched against his skin, leaving not a mark. He sighed. "You're disciplined. Controlled. But you're holding back. You want answers. Don't you?"
Leo jumped back, reclaiming his fallen sword in one fluid motion. His eyes never left John. "You're strong. Stronger than anything we've fought before. I can tell that this won't be easy. But we don't quit."
"Good." John planted his feet, aura crackling faintly with golden sparks. "Then don't quit. Show me what the four of you can do together. Stop coming at me like amateurs. Come at me with full strength."
Mikey staggered to his feet, clutching his nunchucks with a sheepish grin. "Uh, guys? I think Rock Solid here just told us to go full combo mode."
Raph cracked his neck, still rubbing the shoulder that had slammed into the tree. "Finally. I was getting bored of watching him shrug us off."
Donnie twirled his bo staff, planting it in the dirt. "Then we go coordinated. No holding back."
Leo nodded. "Shell Shock formation. On me."
The brothers moved instantly, years of practice syncing them like gears in a clock. Mikey bounded to the left, spinning his nunchucks with wild rhythm. Donnie slid right, staff flashing in defensive arcs. Raph stormed straight up the middle, fists clenched tight, while Leo circled wide with his blades ready.
John cracked his knuckles. "Finally."
Raph hit first. He launched forward with a spinning kick, sai flashing in his other hand. John leaned back, letting the kick whistle past his nose. Before Raph could reset, Mikey was already there, swinging his nunchucks low toward John's knees. John stepped over the chain, but that gave Donnie the angle he wanted. His bo staff came down like a hammer, slamming across John's shoulders.
The sound echoed like wood striking iron. John didn't budge, but his grin widened.
Leo seized the opening. He surged in from behind, crossing both katanas in a twin slash at John's back. Sparks screamed as the blades raked across indestructible flesh. John pivoted, catching both swords in his hands. The energy around him flared gold, casting harsh light over the grass.
"You're coordinated. I'll give you that," John said. Then he shoved outward, releasing a blast of lightning that blasted all four turtles back. They hit the dirt, skidding and rolling, but scrambled to their feet without hesitation.
"Again!" Leo barked.
They came in harder this time. "Make some way, Mikey on the way!" Mikey vaulted off Donnie's back, flipping high into the air and raining down spinning chains like a helicopter.
"Take this!" Raph followed with a diving shoulder, his shell slamming into John's chest with the force of a battering ram.
For the first time, John shifted back half a step from the heavy impact. "Better," he murmured.
Donnie slid low, sweeping John's ankles with his staff. John didn't move, but Mikey's chains wrapped around his arm mid-swing. Leo dove in again, slashing faster and faster, aiming for pressure points. Together, they moved like a team, every strike chaining into the next.
John let them. He let the hits land, sparks flying, wood cracking, steel ringing. For anyone else, it would have been overwhelming. For him, it was fun. He stood amidst the fury like a mountain.
Finally, he clenched his fists and growled. "My turn."
He twisted, ripping Mikey off the chain like pulling a weed from the ground. Mikey yelped as John flung him sideways, rolling across the grass until he hit a bench and splintered it. Donnie thrust his staff at John's ribs, but John grabbed it, snapped it in half with two fingers, and punched Donnie, sending him flying a few feet.
Raph roared and tackled John from the side. They slammed into a tree, bark exploding around them. Raph swung his fists like hammers, each blow rattling the park with thunder. John let him rage, then caught both fists mid-swing. With a grunt, he lifted Raph off his feet and hurled him skyward. The turtle crashed down into the fountain thirty feet away, water spraying in every direction.
That left Leo.
He slashed, stabbed, feinted, rolled—his style was almost perfect. John parried with his bare hands, each deflection sounding like stone striking steel. Their movements blurred under the lamp's glow, sparks flying with every clash.
"You are good," John said, blocking another stab. "But…" He caught Leo's wrist, squeezing until the katana slipped free. "It ain't enough. You think too much before attacking."
Leo growled, twisting free with his other sword still ready. "And you talk too much." He lunged, blade driving toward John's throat.
John's hand snapped up. He caught the sword tip between thumb and forefinger. Sparks shrieked as the blade shuddered against unbreakable skin.
In a blur, John twisted the sword, yanked Leo forward, and planted a palm against his chest. A golden crackle surged. Leo shot backward like a cannonball, slamming into the dirt beside his brothers.
All four turtles groaned, struggling back to their feet, battered but unbroken. They regrouped, standing side by side, weapons raised.
John crossed his arms. "Not bad. That was somewhat better. But against Shredder? Not good enough."
Raph spat dirt. "The hell are you, some kind of coach?"
John smirked. "Well, I trained Harley and Maureen on how to make pizza and garlic bread. Does that count?"
Leo straightened, breathing hard but steady. His eyes narrowed. "You knew our names. You knew about Shredder. That means you know what's coming."
"Knowing the names doesn't mean I know what's coming," John said. The pizza boxes were lying on the ground, but still intact. "Eat. You'll need your strength. And when you're ready, we'll talk."
Mikey dusted himself off, eyeing John with awe and nerves. "Bro… we just went all out and he treated it like warm-up stretches."
Donnie adjusted his cracked staff with a grimace. "I don't think he's the enemy. He had many chances to critically injure us and kill us, but he simply brushed us off."
Raph growled, "I don't like him."
Leo kept his gaze on John, cautious, calculating. "Are you the protector of this city?"
John said as he stretched his arms and looked at his torn clothes. "Nope. I'm just a pizza guy who wants to live in peace. If Shredder is in town, it means chaos, and it might affect my business. Besides, I got a surprise birthday party planned for Harley this week. I can take the loss, but there is no way I'll let some ninja freak spoil my girl's birthday party. I even ordered a giant cake. What if that freak blows up the shop? So, speak up. What are you boys doing in Dakota?"
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