Reality Check/Transcript

This is a transcript for Reality Check the nineteenth episode of season 3 of TMNT (2003 series).


	VOICE-OVER INTRO
Michelangelo	You are not gonna believe this one! But I'm in a world where the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are Teenage Mutant Super Turtles! You heard me, Super Turtles! And I get to be a superhero. Well, all right, more like a teen sidekick. But I'm beginning to get the idea that the one really bad thing about being a superhero is that you always have to fight supervillains.

{Opening sequence; title song}


	The episode begins in the turtles’ lair with Michelangelo looking through his comic books.
Michelangelo	Fantastic. Incredible. Amazing. Ah, I love comics. [Nearby, Leonardo is practicing with his katana.] You wanna know why I love comics, Leo? I know you wanna know. Come on, guess.
Leonardo	Probably because of the superheroes. Hah!
Splinter	Focus, Leonardo.
Michelangelo	Ding, ding, ding! Give the sword-wielding Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle a prize! It’s all about the superheroes. Superpowers, supervillains, super costumes; it’s all just so amazingly perfect!
Splinter	Michelangelo, enough! Leonardo is training. You may join him as you seem to have too much free time on your hands.
Michelangelo	Um, I think I hear Donny calling me. Coming, Donny! [The ground starts to shake.] An earthquake! Not again. Earthquakes always mean something really bad in this city.
	Waves form in the tidal pool and then a strange green energy pushes its way up from the water. The energy swirls above the pool.
Leonardo	Master Splinter, what’s going on?
Donatello	We’ve seen that kind of energy before.
	From the green, glowing circle, a figure falls and unfurls its wings.
Splinter	Drako.
Leonardo	And the Daimyo’s son. This is what we told you about, Master Splinter, they merged somehow, combined together.
Raphael	All into one ugly package!
Ultimate Drako	We told you we would return! We told you we would have our revenge!
Raphael	Revenge this, wack bag!
	Raphael leaps at the intruder. The Ultimate Drako freezes him in mid-air and then grabs Raphael with his tail before flinging him against a support post.
Ultimate Drako	As if you could simply fight us! We control time and space with Lord Simultaneous’ Time Scepter! We are unbeatable!
Donatello	Someone, quick, grab the – Aah!
	All of the turtles leap for the Ultimate Drako. He quickly freezes all four of them. Splinter leaps as well and is also frozen.
Ultimate Drako	Now we will have our vengeance!
Ultimate Ninja	Leonardo! Destroy him first!
Drako	No! We agreed, the rat first, then the Daimyo, your father.
Ultimate Ninja	Then Leonardo!
Drako	They will all pay, all of them!
Ultimate Drako	Yes, all of them will learn the meaning of suffering beyond time and space!
	The Ultimate Drako waves the Time Scepter and a bright flash of light hits Michelangelo. When it clears, he finds himself falling and he hits the floor with a thud.
Michelangelo	Unh, feels like someone used my head for a punching bag. [He looks around. He is inside a building, but everything looks very futuristic.] Whoa, what happened? That Drako thing... Where is everybody?
	He goes to look out a window. The entire city has changed and he inside a building shaped like a huge turtle shell.
Michelangelo	What the shell? [He backs up and runs.] This is crazy! I have to find the others!
Computerized voice	Do you require aid?
Michelangelo	Ah! Who’s there? Where are you? Where am I?
Computerized voice	Error. You are here. Where do you wish to go?
Michelangelo	Uh... [An elevator door opens next to him. He enters.] Wherever my brothers are? [The elevator drops rapidly.] Whoa! [It stops and the door opens.] Huh? [He steps out.] No way.
	In a futuristic landscape, he sees four turtles who are dressed like superheroes. Above the turtles, on a cliff overlooking them, are robotic creatures of various shapes, who form the Terrorkinetics.
Armorgga	The final battle has come, superfreaks. Nothing that lives can defeat the Terrorkinetics.
Graviturtle	We’ll see about that, Armorgga. Super Turtles, count it off! [He snaps the whip he’s holding and then spins it around himself before rising off the ground.] Graviturtle.
Shellectro	Shellectro.
	He uses electricity to lift himself off the ground. Griddex clenches his fist and grows to an extremely large size.
Griddex	Griddex.
Blobboid	Blobboid.
	He transforms from a gelatinous mass into a turtle shape.
Graviturtle	Let’s take ‘em, turtles.
Michelangelo	No way.
Armorgga	Attack!
	He fires rockets at the Super Turtles. Graviturtle dodges one and Griddex bats two of them aside. Blobboid opens a hole in his center and two rockets pass through. A rocket hits the ground near Michelangelo and he leaps out of the way, but another hits right where he’s standing.
Michelangelo	Whoa!
	Slaythereen opens its mouth and a laser blast shoots out. Shellectro fires back and the two energies hit each other. Gnet Gnet, a tiny robot, jumps onto Griddex’s shoulder. Griddex slaps at it, but Gnet Gnet is fast and leaps to another shoulder. Griddex keeps slapping at it.
Griddex	Off of me, you little creep. [Gnet Gnet plants an explosive device on Griddex’s back and then jumps away.] Aw, shell, this looks like an itch I can’t scratch.
Graviturtle	Griddex, shrink.
Griddex	Great idea, Graviturtle.
	He shrinks to a size smaller than the explosive and falls away from the device. Graviturtle lassos the device and flings it. Griddex uses Blobboid’s shoulders as a slide and jumps on top of the explosive.
Griddex	And I’ll catch it on the flip side. [He guides the explosive onto Frisbat and then backflips off of the floating cyborg to land on the ground.] And kaboom.
	Griddex grows again as Frisbat explodes. Armorgga begins firing rockets again, and Michelangelo, who is unhurt, stands up. Another rocket hits the ground behind him and throws him forward on his face.
Michelangelo	This is out of control. This is-- [Kngign, a robotic dog, smashes into him and knocks him backwards. Michelangelo slides on his shell and sees Kngign coming at him.] Oh, shell. [Michelangelo grabs its mouth and struggles to keep it away.] Down boy! Bad robopooch, bad!
	Griddex walks over and smacks Kngign with a backhand, sending it sprawling.
Griddex	Who the shell are you? You’re not supposed to be here.
Michelangelo	Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing.
	All of the Super Turtles gather near Michelangelo. Armorgga fires a multitude of rockets at them.
Griddex	Computer, freeze!
	Blobboid holds up Gnet Gnet in front of the rockets, but the holograph freezes everything.
Blobboid	What’d you do that for, Grid? I was just about to-- [Griddex shrinks down to turtle size and Blobboid spots Michelangelo.] Whoa.
	Michelangelo laughs nervously and waves.
Michelangelo	Uh, hey, guys, what happened? What’s up with the super powers? Where’s Master Splinter? Where’s that Drako, Daimyo son thingy?
Graviturtle	Is this part of the new hazard shell training program, Shellectro?
Shellectro	I assure you he’s not part of any program of mine.
	The holographic background vanishes and they are all standing in a training room.
Michelangelo	I’m not a program, I’m Mikey.
	The Super Turtles look at one another.
Griddex	He’s infiltrated the Shell of Justice. We better scan him, this could be a trick.
	To scan him, Michelangelo has been placed on a device similar to a CT scanner. It scans from toe to head and he talks during the entire process.
Michelangelo	Guys, that supervillain slugfest was awesome. Are there any more supervillains? Do you have team-ups with other superheroes? Wait, do I have super powers?
Shellectro	Scanners show him to be normal, no super powers. No flight, no ability to change. Just a normal teenage mutant turtle.
Michelangelo	That’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Sparky. [He starts to phase shift.] Whoa!
Blobboid	What was that?
	Shellectro examines the readouts on his monitor.
Shellectro	Hmm, there’s a large amount of residual chronal energy in his cellular matrix. I don’t think he’s from this time period, maybe not even this dimension. [Michelangelo starts to phase shift again.] And, he’s still in flux. I believe it’s trying to put him back where he belongs.
Michelangelo	By sending me back home?
Graviturtle	Possibly. Or our dimension could be simply trying to erase you.
Michelangelo	Wh...?
	Michelangelo is sitting up.
Michelangelo	So if I’m not from here, then you guys aren’t my brothers, my real brothers, and that means my brothers are still back in my world, fighting. I’ve gottta get home! I’ve gotta help my brothers and Master Splinter! How do I get home?
Graviturtle	Well, how did you get here?
Michelangelo	It was Drako and the Daimyo’s son. He’s this kind of ultimate ninja. They got merged together into some kind of Ultimate Drako after I won the Battle Nexus championship.
	The Super Turtles all look at each other.
Shellectro	Okay. Uh, I don’t think we have an Ultimate Drako in our files. Perhaps he has an analog in this universe. Shellitron 1000.
Computer	I am at your service, Super Turtles.
	The computer projects a 3-D image into the center of the room.
Michelangelo	That is so great. Donny would love this. I mean, the Donny from my world. Obviously your Donny loves it already, which kinda brings up a question that’s been bugging me. If you guys are me and my bros in this dimension, then which one of you is me?
	The Super Turtles look around at each other. Blobboid scratches his head.
Blobboid	Uh, I’m pretty sure it’s not me.
Graviturtle	Maybe we should focus on the matters at hand.
Michelangelo	And where is your Master Splinter? You know, wise rat, walking stick? You should have one of those.
Blobboid	Ah, we did, a long time ago.
Shellectro	But he’s, uh, he’s—
Graviturtle	We lost him.
Michelangelo	Oh, I’m sorry. I-- Poor Sensei.
Graviturtle	Look, we need to stay focused here. Shellitron. [The computer displays a 3-D image of an alien creature.] Was it the Transmogrifier?
Michelangelo	No, but that guy looks wicked. But Ultimate Drako’s kind of more mangled looking.
	Another image is displayed.
Shellectro	What about the Brainstone? He could harness that kind of energy.
Michelangelo	No, no, no. Maybe I could draw a picture or something. [An alarm begins blaring.] Are we under super attack?
	They look up to see the roof hatch open and a helicopter coming in for a landing. When it lands, a hatch opens and two security guards descend the stairs. They are followed by April O’Neil’s alternate dimension counterpart.
April O’Neil	Super Turtles, Megatropolis needs you. A doomsday device is set to go off in less than one hour. At that time all life on Earth will be exterminated. You’ve got to hurry.
Michelangelo	April? Wow, this is so cool! Except for all life on Earth being exterminated.
April	All right, Super Turtles. I’ll brief you as quickly as I can. Your arch nemesis has made his move.
Shellectro	We’re ready, Mayor O’Neil.
Michelangelo	Mayor O’Neil? That is so cool!
April	Jones!
Casey Jones	Coming, your Mayorship. Whoa!
	Casey’s alternate dimension counterpart trips and falls down the stairs, dropping papers in the process.
April	Get it together, Jones. Time is of the essence.
Michelangelo	No one is ever gonna believe this back home. Yo, Case, how’s it going? World in danger, time to kick some shell, right?
	Casey gathers up the papers he’s dropped.
Casey	Actually, sir, violence is rarely the answer.
Michelangelo	This is definitely a different dimension.
	April takes the papers from Casey’s hand.
April	The Sliver has returned. We obtained these schematics of the tower were the Sliver plans to unleash his doomsday device.
	She hands papers out to the turtles.
Graviturtle	So the Sliver’s end game has begun. Mayor O’Neil, the Super Turtles will stop him. This time for good.
Michelangelo	That sounds pretty wicked. Can I come? It would be my first ‘save the world from an evil supervillain’ mission. [He starts to phase shift.] Whoa, it’s happening again! I’m in flux. This is it, I’m going home! Thanks for everything. Wait’ll I tell the guys about this. Bye! Bye now! See ya! [The phase shift abruptly stops.] Uh, oh... Guess I’m staying.
	The Super Turtles and Michelangelo arrive at Sliver’s tower.
Graviturtle	There it is, Turtles, the Sliver’s tower fortress.
Michelangelo	Whoa. So, uh, how do we get in.
Shellectro	We knock, Super Turtle style.
	Shellectro shoots a bolt of electricity at the door. The door doesn’t open, but the electricity triggers a building defense that shoots a liquid substance at him, which hardens quickly. Graviturtle uses his whip to bend two of the hoses and Blobboid shoves his hands into the other two hoses, causing them to explode.
Shellectro	Guys, a little help here! [Graviturtle wraps his whip around the substance trapping Shellectro and disperses the substance into the air.] Thanks, Grav. [He plops down on the ground.] Hey, watch the merchandise.
Graviturtle	According to the Mayor’s schematic, that panel should house the power grid that controls the perimeter defenses. Think you can handle it, Grid?
Griddex	Watch the master a work.
	He grows to a huge size and then rips the panel off. He chuckles before punching the controls that are inside and ripping out the wires.
Blobboid	Front door’s open, let’s go.
	Graviturtle puts an arm out to stop him.
Graviturtle	Hold up. That one’s a dummy. We want the real entrance, up there. [He points high up on the tower. The Super Turtles break into the throne room.] Sliver!
	The throne sitting high up on a pedestal above the floor turns. Sliver leans out of the shadow and chuckles. Sliver turns out to be an evil version of Master Splinter.
Sliver	Welcome, my sons.
Michelangelo	No! It-it can’t be. Master Splinter? You guys told me he was gone.
Shellectro	No, we lost him, lost him to evil.
Graviturtle	Sliver, we stopped being your sons a long time ago, evil one. Your madness ends here.
Sliver	Am I the mad one, Graviturtle? [A panel in the floor slides open and a device ascends.] Behold, the end and the beginning.
	The device has a timer which is counting down.
Shellectro	The Penultimate Nullificator.
Michelangelo	That’s a cool name. [The Super Turtles glare at him.] Uh, comic geek, sorry.
Blobboid	Sliver, not even you would be so insane as to activate the Penultimate Nullificator. It would destroy everything.
Sliver	Not quite everything, Blobboid. Thanks to my modifications, only life outside my tower will be exterminated. [The device rises up to the throne pedestal.] We are safe.
Graviturtle	We’ll stop you, Sliver.
Sliver	I think not, my sons, for I know all your strengths and weaknesses.
	He presses a button on his walking stick and a cage, glowing with green energy, drops from the ceiling to trap all of the turtles. Shellectro attempts to zap the cage, but his power has no effect on it.
Blobboid	The cage is made of Utromidium.
Shellectro	The only substance stronger than our powers.
Griddex	It’s a barrier we can’t pass. We’re trapped.
Michelangelo	I should have seen this one coming. I mean, even Superman has his Kryptonite.
	Sliver presses the button again and the cage lowers into the floor. He walks over to look down at them.
Sliver	In time, my sons, you will learn to follow me once more. Together we will rebuild the world and rule it. [He laughs maniacally.] Soon, my sons, we will rebuild the world in our image.
	Sliver has returned to his throne. In the cage, the Super Turtles are all seated on the floor, looking weak. Michelangelo stands in front of them.
Michelangelo	Look, can’t you guys do anything?
Blobboid	The Utromidium drains our superpowers.
Michelangelo	Utromidium, stupid comic book weakness. Wait a minute. We can’t break out of this Utromidium jail cell, but maybe we can get the Sliver to let us out.
	The clock on the Penultimate Nullificator is down to two minutes, eighteen seconds. Sliver sits on his throne, watching the timer countdown.
Michelangelo	Um, excuse me, Master Splinter? Uh, I mean, the Sliver. [Sliver looks down to see Michelangelo hanging onto the cage’s top bars to lift himself up.] I was wondering if I could talk to you in private. I’m not really with these other guys.
	Sliver presses a button and the part of the cage Michelangelo is clinging to rises up. It then forms a circle around Michelangelo as the bars on the cage close again. The sphere floats up to the tower until Michelangelo is face to face with Sliver.
Michelangelo	Master, uh, Sliver, this is gonna sound weird, but I’m not from this dimension. Where I come from, you and me and my bros, we rule the world.
Sliver	Another dimension?
Michelangelo	Yeah. There we don’t think like these chumps. I’m loyal to you, to Master Splinter, uh, Sliver, my father.
	Sliver walks down the stairs and the sphere holding Michelangelo floats alongside him.
Sliver	How I have longed for my sons at my side. Tell me more.
Michelangelo	Destruction good, humanity bad! Wipe ‘em all out, I say. Start over. That’s what we did in our dimension. That’s why I’ve come here to help you.
	Sliver presses the button that releases Michelangelo from the Utromidium sphere. Michelangelo kneels before Sliver.
Sliver	You would fight beside me?
	Michelangelo suddenly transforms – revealing that it was Blobboid the entire time.
Blobboid	Sliver, no turtle would ever help you!
	Blobboid elongates his arms and yanks the walking stick out of Sliver’s hands. He presses the button that makes the Utromidium cage rise into the air. The bottom opens and the other Super Turtles as well as the real Michelangelo fall out. All land on their feet.
Griddex	Your idea actually worked, ninja boy.
Michelangelo	Can you believe it?
Graviturtle	Now, someone grab the Nullificator.
	A hand that looks exactly like Blobboid’s snatches the walking stick away from Blobboid.
Sliver	I think not! [Sliver glows with power as he grows in size. Parts of his body replicate that of the Super Turtles.] Insolent whelps, you waste my time with this pointless exercise when you know my victory is inevitable.
	He floats in the air, controlling gravity the way that Graviturtle does. Sliver fires a bolt of electricity at Michelangelo, who leaps into a forward roll and comes up in a squat.
Michelangelo	You guys could’ve told me the Sliver has super powers too!
	Shellectro shouts and slaps his hands together to fire a burst of electricity at Sliver, who counters with one of his own. Then Sliver uses the same power that Blobboid is gifted with to punch Shellectro, throwing him backwards.
Sliver	You were always slow learners.
Griddex	Maybe we just had the wrong teacher. [He grows to giant size and attempts to seize Sliver from behind, but Sliver’s body turns liquid and Griddex goes through him.] Whoa!
	Griddex hits the ground and slides on his chin.
Sliver	Predictable as always, neophyte. [Griddex tries to rise.] Let me give you a hand. [He slams two gigantic hands down on Griddex’s back, smashing him to the ground.] Now, I have one final lesson to teach you.
	He lifts a hand charged with electricity, but Graviturtle catches his wrist with his whip.
Graviturtle	Not so fast. It’s about time you learned a thing or two, teacher, like the Super Turtles never give up.
Sliver	Remember, child, I taught you everything you know about your powers... [The electricity in his hand charges up and then rolls along the whip to shock Graviturtle. Blobboid charges Sliver.] But not everything I know.
	He gestures with his fingers and Blobboid becomes airborne. He smacks into the ceiling and flattens there, stuck. Sliver turns towards Michelangelo.
Sliver	And what are you going to do? No powers, no hope.
	Michelangelo looks around, noting that the Super Turtles are all out of commission.
Michelangelo	I may not have super powers, but I’m more than enough ninja to take you down.
	Sliver fires electricity at him, but Michelangelo bounds up to a support beam. Sliver fires again, and Michelangelo pushes off from the beam, hits another beam and pushes off again just before Sliver can deliver a punch. Leaping feet first, Michelangelo kicks Sliver directly in the chest. Sliver slams into the staircase with a groan and then sits up.
Sliver	You dare to touch me?
Michelangelo	Get used to it, Master.
	Sliver charges Michelangelo, who in turn runs at him. Sliver expands an arm, but Michelangelo dives under and leaps through the center of Sliver’s body.
Sliver	Fool, you cannot defeat me. I am-- What?
	He realizes his walking stick is gone. Michelangelo holds the walking stick and chuckles. He then presses the button. Sliver looks up.
Sliver	Huh?
	The Utromidium cage falls. Sliver tries to outrun it, but hits one of the walls when it drops, trapping him. Michelangelo walks up to the cage and Sliver tries to reach through to grab him, but is shocked hard enough to throw him back.
Sliver	You still lose, Ninja. The Nullificator will still cleanse the world.
	Michelangelo starts to phase shift.
Michelangelo	Oh, no, not now! [He turns to Sliver.] How do I stop the Nullificator?
Sliver	Why would I design a way to stop it? It is justice. It is destiny. It cannot be stopped, but we are safe within my tower. [The Super Turtles regroup behind Michelangelo, who turns to them.] We shall endure.
Graviturtle	I can stop it. I’ll fly it up into the stratosphere.
Griddex	But it’ll take you with it.
	Michelangelo is still phasing.
Michelangelo	No! There’s gotta be another way. [Michelangelo runs past them.] The Sliver said he modified the thing so it would only work outside the tower. What if we switched it so it only worked inside?
Shellectro	That just might work. [He uses his power to push up from the ground and fly up to where the Nullificator sits.] I can reprogram it electronically.
	He places his hands atop the device and electrical power surges all around him and the device. The power sweeps down the stairs and spreads inside the chamber.
Graviturtle	That’s it! You did it! Now, let’s get outta here!
Michelangelo	Sorry, guys, looks like I’m already on my way out of this world. If they write a comic about this, [He strikes a pose.] make sure they call me the Turtle Titan!
	Michelangelo fades out of sight. Graviturtle grabs Griddex’s hand and Blobboid hops onto Shellectro’s back. The Super Turtles fly out of Sliver’s tower.
Sliver	No~o!
	As the timer reaches zero, the Super Turtles fly away from the tower. The entire tower begins to glow and then with a blinding flash, it vanishes. At a future point, the Super Turtles, April and Casey stand near a statue of Michelangelo, which has a place in front of the Shell of Justice.
Graviturtle	He was a stranger from a strange land, and yet Michelangelo, aka the Turtle Titan, was one of us, truly our brother in arms and in spirit.

{Roll end credits}