BAD BLOOD

01PLOT

Open as Uncle Darius contacts Cody via holovid, but the Turtles are taking the boy to his martial arts practice session, so Mikey cuts off the onerous uncle and the guys hurry to their meeting with Master Splinter. An angry Darius is then contacted by Sh'Okanabo. The alien explains that the two have mutual interests in getting rid of the Turtles. Sh’Okanabo has a plan - he has used his alien technology to create super-clone versions of the Turtles whose sole purpose is to destroy our heroes!

Mike, Leo and Raph are in the Dojo where Mikey has created a new holographic scenario - the brothers will square off against the Pre-Teen-Cute-As-Can-Be-Judo Duckies! Raph grabs one of the small opponents, tosses it over his shoulder with disdain and leaves in a huff. Meanwhile, Cody is training with Master Splinter by sparring with Donatello on the penthouse rooftop. Don rushes Cody, who performs a perfect throw. Jones is doing well in his training.

Sh'Okanabo contacts Dunn and presents his offer. The alien will send his Dark Turtle clones into battle against the real Ninja Turtles in exchange for payment that will be discussed after the mission is completed. Darius, hoping to rid himself of the Turtles, agrees. With that, Dunn departs to the penthouse to set up a trap for the Turtles.

Inside the penthouse, Serling's cleaning duties are interrupted by Darius. Dunn asks where Cody and the Turtles are and is informed that Jones remains on the rooftop with Splinter while the Turtles will be arriving any moment. Darius asks for some privacy and pretends to make a phone call. Dunn fakes a discussion about some sort of surprise for Cody. The Turtles, wary of any plots Darius may have in store, decide to follow him.

Cut to the Turtles in the Hovershell as they follow Darius' limousine downtown. Suddenly, the Hovershell is hit with a missile and crashes right outside a warehouse. A mysterious figure runs into the building and the TMNT pursue. Upon entering, our heroes are greeted by their four evil clones!

As the good Turtles get ready to do battle against their dark doppelgängers, it seems the odds won’t be that even. A giant magnet device pulls the good Turtles’ weapons into the air. Ignoring the odds set against them, the heroic ninjas attack. A battle ensues and Mikey gets tossed through a wall into a bar next door. Unfortunately, it becomes clear that they're overpowered by their evil twins and the Dark Turtles knock their opponents unconscious.

Back at the penthouse, Cody and Splinter realize something is awry - the Turtles have been missing for hours! Cody attempts to call his friends but gets no response - he then tries to track them and discovers that only Mikey’s wrist gauntlet is working (the other Turtles’ gauntlets were destroyed in the fight). Splinter prepares to leave alone to search for his sons, advising Cody that it may be too dangerous. Cody pleads his case, stating that the Turtles are always there to help him and he wants to return the favor - and prove his abilities. Splinter smiles and acquiesces to the boy's wishes.

Cut to the warehouse as Cody, Serling, and Splinter arrive. The Turtles aren’t here, but they find Mikey’s tracking device nearly smashed on the floor. Cody uses a nanotech device to search for clues that reveals traces of sewage and salt water. As they try to figure out what happened, an alien frog grabs Cody - and it looks hungry!

As the frog threatens to devour Jones, Splinter fights back. Cody gets released but Splinter is thrown through a hole into Abroc’s Abyss (the bar the Turtles had fought in earlier). Splinter smashes into a table and a bar fight breaks out. Cody's tracking device overhears two patrons talking about another fight between some Turtles. The man mentions that the guys they were fighting smelled of sewage and salt water. Cody uses his wrist computer to track a place in the city where sea water intersects with the sewers and discovers there is one main area where this takes place. Jones tells Splinter that he knows where the Turtles may be held and Splinter nods - but before they can move, Constable Biggles and his men raid the place. Splinter and Serling are blamed for the trouble while Cody manages to slip away to find the Turtles.

Cody enters the sewer system. Using a holographic map, he tracks down the Dark Turtles' lair - suddenly, the monsters themselves arrive! They lead the boy right to their abode, where the original Turtles are shackled. Once the Dark Turtles leave the room, Cody frees his friends from their restraints - unfortunately the Dark Turtles emerge and grab Cody!

The Turtles are at bay to their imposters as Cody is in their clutches. But not for long as Cody, using his ninja training, flips Dark Mikey and uses a smoke bomb to escape! Jones grabs the real Turtles' weapons. The Turtles face off yet again with their dark clones, but now in a fair fight! With even odds, the Turtles easily defeat their evil clones. However, the clones escape by creating a tunnel collapse. With that, the Turtles decide to have a chat with Darius.

Later, at Cody’s penthouse, we discover that Darius has freed Splinter and Serling from jail and cleared everything with Biggles. His excuse for going downtown via the route that the Turtles were attacked on was to purchase a birthday present for Cody (an old Justice Force comic book). The Turtles don’t buy the story and remain suspicious.

Cut to Darius and Sh’Okanabo as they talk via monitors. Although the Dark Turtles failed this time, Darius seems to have use for them and agrees to pay Sh’Okanabo's fee. The alien wants Cody's Time Window plans held inside O'Neil Tech. Dunn explains it was a one-time anomaly, but Sh'Okanabo thinks his alien technology will be able to solve the mystery and make a working time machine. Dunn agrees to the deal.

02CAST & APPEARANCES

03OBJECTS, VEHICLES & PLACES

04SCREEN GRABS

4 frames. Auto-matched screencaps via Fancaps.net.

05MEMORABLE QUOTES

Dark Michelangelo: "Clones from your tissues, but with lots and lots of issues!"

Leonardo: "If you are my clone, you should value the ways of bushido... of honor!" Dark Leonardo: "My brothers and I share many similarities with you and your siblings. But valuing honor, not so much!"

06TRIVIA

• First appearance of the Dark Turtles, whose skin colors match their mask colors, with the exception of Dark Mikey, whose skin is yellow.
• Dark Donatello's snooty behavior is similar to that of the clone Don made of himself in the original cartoon's episode "Donatello's Duplicate" from 1991. In that story, though, his clone was an enhanced replication that looked and sounded exactly like the old toon Donatello, unlike the fanged, long-tailed purple monster here in 2105.
• The Dark Turtles' lair is a highly corrupted version of their second lair (similar to the fact that the Dark Turtles are corrupt versions of the Turtles).
• When the Dark Turtles escape, Dark Don is seen carrying Dark Leo away from all the rubble as the Dark Turtles walk out.
• When Cody uses his device to crawl across the ceiling, he makes a reference to the Marvel superhero, Spider-Man.

07FAN REVIEW

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