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The Fifth Turtle is a story in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures Special issue 11, published in the fall of 1994 by Archie Comics.

Appearing in The Fifth Turtle (Archie)[]

Major Characters[]

Minor Characters[]

Species[]

Locations[]

Objects and Vehicles[]

Synopsis[]

In the sewers of New York City, Splinter is heading home with his favorite pizza, double anchovies and black olives, and contemplating a quiet night alone, as he believes his sons are visiting April. As he enjoys the thought of peace and quiet, his sons sit in the dark, preparing a surprise.

As soon as Splinter opens the door, the lights flash on and everyone yells “Surprise!” and “Happy Birthday!” Splinter drops his pizza, which splatters on the floor.

Joining his sons for the surprise party are April O’Neil, Ninjara, and Oyuki Mashimi. Splinter is clearly pleased, thinking that his birthday had been forgotten, but Leonardo explains that was just a ruse to catch him off guard. When Splinter laments the loss of his pizza, Michelangelo shows him a table stacked with his favorite type of pizza.

As they are talking, Splinter admits that he hardly remembers what it was like being human, which makes April think how tough it must be for him to be a rat after all these years of being born a man.

The next day, at April’s apartment, Oyuki heads out to visit Kato Li in the hospital. After she’s gone, April returns to her research into a cure for Splinter. This leads her to the Genterprises Corporation, where she discovers they’ve changed their name to Mergenterprises.

She is greeted by a friendly intern named Perri Grey, who says she will give April a tour of the facility. Before they can even move, Dr. Koss arrives. In a very belligerent manner he tells April that all tours have been suspended and that the new owners don’t like people snooping around. Then he turns on Perri and asks if she read the rules changes memo.

Perri apologizes, saying she must have missed it because there have been so many memos lately. He sends her back to work and chases April out of the building. Outside, April spots an Acme Bakery truck parked at a loading dock. She immediately recognizes a man pushing a barrel marked “Toxic Danger” as Tim London, one of the Shredder’s old men. April decides to do some investigative reporting that night.

She watches as Dr. Koss pays off London for the barrel. Before the door can fully close behind the doctor, April sneaks into the building. She traverses the halls, thinking how she’s learned so much about stealth from her associates, when Perri slams into her.

They carry on a whispered conversation where Perri explains she’s grown suspicious about her employers and tells April that none of them have seen the company’s new owners. Together they sneak up to the door to Dr. Koss’ office and listen in on a conversation he’s having.

Dr. Koss is speaking to someone about the purchase of ooze and how the company can use it to complete their mutagen /anti-mutagen experiments. All they need now are test subjects.

April whispers that they have to get out of there and get the cops, but before she and Perri can move, they are caught by a Grem. April shouts for Perri to run and then punches the Grem, knocking him down. She runs as the door opens and Dr. Koss along with other Grems come out.

As they are running, April tells Perri that what they saw was a space alien. They don’t get far though, as two Grems catch them in a net and haul them to holding cells in the basement, saying they will make excellent experimental subjects.

After April and Perri are in cages, M’dar orders B’zar and E’vel to expose the subjects. The Grem spray the two woman with the mutagen they bought.

April is transformed into a mutant turtle, while Perri becomes a mutant flying squirrel. M’dar is pleased by the results, and says that they are ready for a Grem test subject (which turns out to be E'vel). He also say that Dr. Koss is due for a recharge session in the persuader.

When they leave the room, April tells Perri that they can get out of this, and that some of her best friends are mutants. She says that they might have gained new abilities that will help them out of their fix. Perri is able to squeeze through the bars and April snaps through a bar with her powerful new beak. Using her new claws, April rips open an air duct and both crawl through onto the roof.

Perri uses her flying ability to fly them over the fence and down to the ground, though it’s a rough landing. April then leads the way to the sewer home of the turtles, where they are greeted with intense surprise.

April quickly explains what happened and says she recognized the Grem from the drawings that Mike had made. The turtles and Splinter get ready for action, saying they are going to kick the Grem’s sorry hides back to outer space again, after making them cure April and Perri. April dons a white mask and asks Perri if she can handle the nightstick she’s holding. Perri explains that she worked two semester as a campus cop when she was in college.

Back at Mergenterprises, M’Dar receives the report that the test subject is showing no ill-effects and the Dr. Koss is back under full control again. M’Dar says that they are ready to test the antimutagen and to bring the subjects up from the basement while he mixes the ooze in with the rest of the formula. Just then, the five mutant turtles, Splinter and Perri burst in through a skylight.

They are immediately set upon by the mutant-Grem and knocked aside like ragdolls, much to the delight of the Grem. As the turtles and Splinter charge back into battle, April holds Perri back, saying they are going to need more than muscle to win the fight.

April says she heard M’Dar say the antimutagen was almost done and that they should try to finish it. She and Perri locate the vat holding the re-agent and as the others continue their fight, April climbs a ladder and dumps the ooze into the vat. Perri hooks a hose up to the vat and April yells at the guys to duck. When they are out of the way, April sprays the mutant-Grem with the antimutagen concoction.

The beast changes back into a regular Grem and along with his fellows is handily defeated. Soon the Grem blast off and the turtles tell them not to come back again. Returning to the building, they learn from Perri that Dr. Koss is feeling better, but still confused. Then she tells them they have a bigger problem; they used up almost all of the antimutagen on the mutant-Grem. There is only enough left to cure one of them.

The turtles immediately decline, saying they like being mutants. Splinter is also accustomed to his life and says that one must always move forward, never backward.

April tells Perri to take the cure, because her friends will teach her how to cope with being a mutant. Perri says thanks… and then no thanks as she splashes April with the antimutagen.

Once April has returned to her human form, she asks Perri why she did that. Perri says the world would miss a famous reporter, and that using Grem’s notes, she might be able to recreate the cure, if she can find more ooze. Besides that, she also really likes being able to fly.

Splinter tells them that as a wise person once said, “All’s well that ends well”. Michelangelo grins and says he thought that April was kinda cute as a turtle.

Notes and Trivia[]

  • At Splinter's birthday party, the shirt Oyuki is wearing has the name of Japanese pop-punk band Shonen Knife.
  • Ninjara is seen behind the door when everyone yells "Surprise!" She does not appear again.
  • Despite Perri and April equipping weapons before the battle (a nightstick and a katana, respectively), neither is seen using them in combat, and in Perri's case, she is never seen holding it once they return to Mergenterprises.
  • Although Splinter dons his cloak while in the lair prior to the battle at Mergenterprises, he is not seen with the group until E'Val rushes them all, four pages into the fight.
  • On page 23, a turtle wearing blue, but wielding a Sai, attacks a Grem.
  • When April is de-mutated, her Ninja Turtle attire (headband, joint pads, belt, and presumably, katana and sheath disappear instantly.

See also[]

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