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The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day today, and Shredder was once again committing a dastardly scheme. The armored ninja, along with Bebop & Rocksteady, had dragged some kind of machine up to the surface and placed it in an art museum full of statues. Leonardo took all this in as he and his brothers faced off against the villains inside the museum.
“Stop whatever you’re doing, Shredder, and back down!” he shouted. “Yeah!” chimed Donatello. “What is that machine for?”
Shredder snorted. “You turtles can’t stop me now! This machine will, uh..” he faltered on the last word.
“The Animator, boss!” Rocksteady cheerfully supplied. Bebop snorted and snickered. Shredder snapped his fingers and said “That’s right! The Animator will bring all the statues in this museum to life and they will follow my every command!” He let out an evil laugh.
“Whoa! Totally freaky, dude!” Michelangelo exclaimed. Raphael grinned. Leonardo could just tell that he was itching to tell a pun.
Leonardo shook his head. He had to focus. “Turtles, fight with honor!” he yelled as he led his brothers into battle.
“Get them, you maggot brained morons!” Shredder yelled as Bebop and Rocksteady started shooting. Leonardo swiftly dodged the shots as Donatello darted for the Animator.
Leonardo faintly registered Raphael cracking a joke as he shoved a vase onto Bebop’s head in the background, something about being hard-headed. He was focusing on Rocksteady at the moment, as he ran and kicked the gun out of the rhino's hands. (The gun was smooth and geometric, clearly of alien design. Maybe he'd have Donatello take a look at one of them later.)
As he swung his swords at Rocksteady, he glanced at Shredder and noticed that something was…off about him. He was hanging way at the back, wincing and touching his helmet at the sounds of battle. Leonardo only had a second or two to process this, as Rocksteady took advantage of his distraction and threw the turtle across the room.
Meanwhile, Donatello had managed to sneak to the machine unnoticed by Shredder. He was busily trying to find a way to put the machine out of commission for good. Leonardo caught a glimpse of Shredder noticing the purple turtle and yelled to warn him. However, Donatello was ready and dodged Shredder's swipe, jamming his bo staff into the machine. The Animator started smoking and sparking.
Michelangelo tripped Rocksteady, and Bebop bumbled over him on the floor as the machine exploded. Shredder screamed and fell to the floor as Bebop and Rocksteady were rocketed through the roof.
“Well, looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!” Raphael quipped. Donatello frowned. “That machine was really cheaply made…Krang needs to step up his game.”
As the turtles celebrated yet another victory, Michelangelo tapped Leonardo's shoulder. “Dudes, look at Shredhead.” He whispered. They all turned around and saw Shredder curled up and trembling on the floor.
They exchanged a silent look of confusion then slowly approached him. Leonardo had an inkling of what this was about, for he had seen shutdowns before. This sure looked like one.
Shredder was curled into a tight ball, eyes shut tight and hands clapped over his helmet. Leonardo studied him, then turned to Donatello. “This sure looks like an overload.” He said, keeping his voice low. Donatello nodded in affirmation.
“So what are we gonna do?” Raphael whispered. “We could just turn him in, but…” he continued. Donatello crouched down, picking up Shredder's rich purple cape. “It's weighted.” he said, putting it back down. “I'd say he probably likes pressure, judging from that and the helmet.”
They were all silent as Leonardo came to a decision. “You know how painful going through something like that can be.” he started. “We can't let someone else be helpless and in pain like that, even if it is our greatest enemy.” He gestured to Shredder's prone form. “Let's give this guy some pressure.”
They all nodded and started a procedure they had done for each other countless times before. All four turtles lay over Shredder, applying the pressure of their bodies to the villain, being sure to not touch his blades. Shredder whimpered as they surrounded him.
They all stayed like that for a long while, breaths slowly syncing up. It was almost cozy, if you ignored the fact that Shredder was their archenemy. Shredder slowly began to relax. Finally, he moved to sit up, the turtles scrambling off him. They all regarded each other in silence as Shredder stood up and dusted off his clothes.
Shredder stared at them, a bit unsteady. Then, almost imperceptibly, he gave a nod of thanks and jumped to the hole that Bebop and Rocksteady had made in the roof, then disappeared into the shadows.
Michelangelo broke the silence first. “Turbo weird experience, bros.” Raphael chuckled and shook his head. “Didn't know that was gonna be how we discovered something in common with ol’ Shredhead.” he muttered.
Leonardo breathed a sigh of relief. It had been a long day. “Let's go home, turtles. Master Splinter's waiting for us.”