SONS OF THE SILENT AGE

01PLOT

Open with the Turtles, April O'Neil, and Casey Jones as they set off on a rafting trip. Leonardo is still brooding in silence. The group floats down the river and passes an old nuclear power plant. Casey states that he heard that this plant is in the process of being shut down and Donatello notes that most of them aren’t safe. As our heroes continue to float past the plant, they are unaware of a group of mysterious fins in the murky water swimming by them. The camera switches to an underwater view and we see that these aren't fish - but some kind of humanoid fish-men - with big, sharp claws!

The group has made camp for the night and they're sitting around a fire telling jokes. Leonardo is off by himself, surveying the river absentmindedly, obviously lost in his own thoughts. April notices that her friend is still troubled, and goes over to him to see what's wrong. Leonardo explains that he feels like a total failure considering how poorly their last battle with Shredder went.

Suddenly, a fish-like humanoid comes ashore and collapses. It’s a Merwoman, and she's not breathing! Casey and April try to perform CPR, but this is cut short as four Mermen emerge from the river and attack, thinking that our heroes are hurting the Merwoman.

The Turtles must fight back to allow April and Casey time to help the Merwoman. As the Turtles battle, they are pulled into the murky water, leaving Casey and April alone with the dying Merwoman.

Suddenly, April is drawn into a trance by the Merwoman and sees the entire history of her species. This Merwoman is the last female of her kind, the four others are the last males. She telepathically explains to April how her people are very long-lived - indeed, she was a child back when the Mermen were slaves of the Y'Lyntians. Eventually, there was a revolt (see Episode #68) and the Y’Lyntian island sank, freeing the Mermen. The fish people spent many wonderful years living off the land, but over time, human society populated the planet, leaving little room for the fish people and thus they have been slowly dying off. The Merwoman also explains how she has been left on her own to tend the last eggs of her species, an arduous task which leaves her exhausted. Unfortunately, she fell asleep on the shore by the nuclear power plant and suffered radiation poisoning.

Meanwhile, the Turtles continue their underwater skirmish with the four Mermen. The tide of battle goes back and forth, with Raphael finally breaking free, and helps his brothers take down the others.

Back on shore, the Merwoman suddenly sits up and grasps April's temples. O'Neil is drawn further into the trance, and discovers that the eggs are in the path of the toxic waste leaking from the power plant - if something isn't done, the eggs will be destroyed, and the Merman will become extinct! With her warning told, the Merwoman collapses and dies.

The fight beneath the waves continues - but the Mermen sense that their woman has passed, break off their attack and surface. The Mermen carry the last female of their species into the water and push her into the current. The males then solemnly swim off on their own.

Our heroes started to mourn the death of Merwoman, until April realizes that they will be the last of their kind (just like the Turtles) unless they do something to save the eggs!

The group searches the area for the place in April's vision, and they approach the nuclear power plant. Donatello uses his equipment and discovers that the plant is leaking toxic waste directly into the river - and worse yet, a nearby dike is about to collapse, which will send all of the deadly poison into the stream. April realizes that the eggs are stored near the dike, so something will have to be done to stop it from breaking.

With an entire species on the line, Don quickly thinks of a plan to block the contaminated water. The Turtles and Casey sneak into the plant - Casey, Raphael, Leo, and Michelangelo will distract the workers, giving Donatello the chance to complete his mission. Don will redirect the explosive charges set to destroy the tower in order to have it fall into the stream, where it will hopefully dam the toxic waste.

Raph sets off the plant's alarms and the guards leave their work on the tower to find the intruders. Don enters the abandoned structure and is able to re-route the explosives. Raph, Leo, Mike, and Casey make their escape - but Don isn't answering his Shell Cell. Unfortunately, the brainy ninja has run into a burly worker, who attacks him. Don wins the fight easily, but the explosives are about to go off. The Turtle tries to carry the man to safety, but he's too heavy. With only seconds left to escape, Leonardo arrives and helps his brother carry the man to safety, just as the charges ignite and the tower collapses! Don set the explosives perfectly, and the rubble has successfully blocked off the stream full of toxic waste.

The Turtles, April, and Casey safely escape as a pickup truck pulls up. The plant's foreman is unhappy to see the collapsed tower. The worker that Don fought explains that it was a bunch of "do-gooders" up to no good and they need to chase them, but the boss replies that whoever did this has saved many lives because they successfully dammed the deadly water from going downstream. The foreman then states that they'll need to get a crew in order to clean up this mess.

At the bottom of the river, the Mermen eggs hatch. The merfolk tadpoles swim away, safe from the toxic waste, greatly increasing the Merpeople's chance of survival.

Our heroes are back on their raft (Leonardo is still brooding silently), sailing into the dawn of a new day.

02CAST & APPEARANCES

03OBJECTS, VEHICLES & PLACES

04SCREEN GRABS

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

05MEMORABLE QUOTES

Raphael: Then the first thing we have ta' do is sneak in there. Michelangelo: Right, and like the Three Musketeers used to say, "One for all and all for ninja mode." Course, I'm paraphrasing. _(smack)_ Owww! Raphael: What is wrong with you? Michelangelo: What?

06NOTES & GOOFS

• In one scene, five Mermen are shown by mistake.

07TRIVIA

• This episode was based directly off of the story-line of _TMNT_ #28, from Volume 1 of the original comics by Mirage Studios. However, that comic ends with the four Merpeople taking the dead female back into the river. April realizes that the four of them are the last of their kind that there will ever be, as are the Turtles. No such realization occurs during this episode because the second half of the story deals with April, Casey, and the Turtles saving the fish creatures' offspring. In addition, Leonardo takes Raphael's place, as Raph bitterly murmured in the comic story.
• The same Native American killed in "The Darkness Within" makes a cameo in the Merwoman's flashback.
• Raphael makes a reference to _Dora the Explorer_ when he says "Can you say... diversion?"

08FAN REVIEW

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