This is a transcript for Mission of Gravity the fifteenth episode of season 3 of TMNT (2003 series).
| VOICE-OVER INTRO | |
|---|---|
| News Anchor Dwight | And now to our continuing coverage of the floating Beijing crisis. It’s been several months since the invading Triceratons lifted the entire Chinese capital into the stratosphere. The atmospheric shield that surrounds the city has been proven impenetrable. The city is kept aloft by a huge Triceraton antigravity generator, and while efforts by Beijing's top scientific minds to gain control of this alien technology have been undertaken... the results have proven near disastrous. [Scientist: Must reverse energy flow.] With no way in, no way out, and no way down, there seems to be no way to save the poor people of Beijing. |
{Opening sequence; title song}
| The episode begins at a private airfield which is flying the Foot Clan flag. A helicopter comes in and lands inside a large hangar. Dr. Chaplin is awaiting its arrival. The doors of the helicopter open and Shredder, Hun, Karai, and Baxter Stockman get out. | |
| Shredder | Dr. Chaplin, I trust what you have to show me will justify this excursion from the city. |
| Chaplin | Believe me, Master, you’re gonna dig it big time! |
| He leads the way farther into the hangar, past a set of double doors. Anchored to the floor is a very large blimp. Stockman, his brain encased in a stasis tube with a holographic image of his face projected above it, pushes past the group. | |
| Baxter Stockman | You brought us all the way out here for a blimp? What pea-brained halfwit authorized this project? |
| Shredder | I did. |
| Stockman | Oh. Well, I’m sure you have your reasons, oh wise and revered Master. |
| Shredder | Indeed. Excellent work, Dr. Chaplin. |
| Chaplin | I installed that Triceraton force field override mechanism you recovered, just as you requested, sir. This baby will breach the atmospheric shield around Beijing and retrieve the desired cargo. No problem. |
| He presses a remote and a ramp in the back of the blimp lowers. | |
| Stockman | And just what does the boy genius think he’s retrieving? |
| Shredder | A Triceraton antigravity generator. |
| Stockman | But Master, removing an antigrav generator from a city floating twenty miles above the Earth’s surface is a virtual suicide mission! |
| Shredder | Yes. That is why I have selected you to lead this operation. |
| Stockman | Me? |
| Karai | But, Master, what of the millions of innocents that will perish when Beijing comes crashing to Earth? |
| Shredder | They are of no concern to me. |
| Hun | How dare you question the master. I’m behind this plan one hundred percent. |
| Shredder | Good. You will have the honor of accompanying Dr. Stockman on this extremely dangerous mission. |
| Hun appears startled. All but Karai walk up the ramp into the blimp. Karai remains where she is, looking worried. Night time and a full moon. The turtles run the rooftops, leaping from building to building. They stop when they reach an area of destruction in the city. Below them, Foot clan workers clear debris while guards watch over the site. Each of the turtles is wearing night-vision goggles. | |
| Raphael | Here it is, just like I told you. Another one of Shredder’s alien tech garbage-picking goon squads. |
| Donatello | I wonder what he’s collecting all this stuff for. |
| Michelangelo | Intergalactic yard sale? [Raphael thumps his head.] Ow! |
| Leonardo | Hmm. No police security this time around. Must be something really important buried down there if Shredder doesn’t want the authorities knowing about it. |
| Donatello’s shell cell rings. | |
| Donatello | Huh? [He answers on his headset.] Hello? |
| He grimaces as a high-pitched tone comes through. | |
| Raphael | Oh, not that stupid fax call again. |
| Donatello | Only this time, I came prepared with my palmtop to trace the signal. [He looks at the screen.] Download in progress? Impossible! |
| Leonardo | Don, figure it out later. We’ve got something much bigger over here. |
| Using their goggles, they spot what Shredder has been excavating. | |
| Donatello | Whoa! A Triceraton supply ship? |
| Leonardo | Let’s take a closer look. |
| Back at the Foot clan hangar, Hun and Stockman stand on the bridge of the blimp. | |
| Hun | All our loyal service and this is the thanks we get. Pushed aside by the new blood. |
| Stockman | Perhaps it’s time we started pushing back. |
| A door opens behind them and Chaplin enters. | |
| Chaplin | Hey, I just wanted to say no matter how bad the Shredder treats you, I’m still honored to be working with the legendary Baxter Stockman, even if you are a freakish brain in the jar shadow of your former self. The truth is, I can’t stand seeing someone I admire reduced to such a pathetic existence, so I’ve decided to put an end to your suffering. |
| He chuckles as he grabs the stasis tube. | |
| Stockman | Wait! What are you... [Chaplin reaches for the holograph button.] No! what are you doing? |
| Chaplin presses the button and Stockman’s image vanishes. Hun watches as Chaplin carries Stockman away. All is quiet at the construction site as the turtles enter the grounds. | |
| Michelangelo | Hey, no Foot goons. |
| Donatello | Where did they all go? |
| Leonardo | I don’t like it. Keep your eyes open. |
| Raphael | You think they’re in the ship? |
| Leonardo | Only one way to find out. |
| They enter the ship, using flashlights and their goggles to see their way around. | |
| Donatello | Nothing in here of any value to the Shredder. |
| The door suddenly slides shut behind them. | |
| Michelangelo | Huh? [His brothers run to the door and bang on it.] Nothing except us turtles! |
| All four turtles strain to open the door. The lights come on and they turn. | |
| All | Huh? |
| Karai walks towards them. | |
| Leonardo | Karai? |
| Karai | We need to talk. |
| Raphael | Talk to the sais, ‘cause the ears ain’t listening! |
| Leonardo | Raph, wait. Let’s hear her out. She helped us last time, remember? |
| Michelangelo | And she tried to kill you the time before that, remember? |
| Karai | I apologize for the elaborate setup, but I knew of no other way to contact you. I need your help. |
| Back on the blimp, a door opens and a large, robotic body steps forward. Chaplin takes the stasis tube which holds Stockman’s brain over to it and removes the lid. He reaches in and takes Stockman’s brain out of the liquid and hands the brain to the robot. It places the brain in the opening on top and then its chest opens to reveal the brain going into liquid inside the robot body. Connectors attach to the brain and the chest closes. A holographic image of Stockman’s face appears atop the robot body. | |
| Stockman | Release me at once, you... What the— |
| Chaplin | What do you think of your new bod? |
| Stockman | I have limbs! Ha! Powerful limbs! |
| Chaplin | I figured you’ll need them to survive the big mission. |
| Stockman | Ah, yes, the mission. Pity you’ll miss out on the maiden voyage of this incredible vessel you designed and built with your own two hands. Not to mention witness firsthand as an entire city crashes down from the stratosphere! |
| Chaplin | Man, that’d be so cool. |
| Stockman | Yes. Of course, you could decide to go behind the Shredder’s back and join us. But that would be wrong, wouldn’t it? |
| Chaplin | Hey, what the boss doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right? |
| Stockman | True, and naturally I would assume full responsibility for your well-being throughout the entire mission. After all, we wouldn’t want you to fall victim to some unfortunate accident. |
| Cut to the Triceraton supply ship. | |
| Karai | And so if they remove the antigrav generator, they will be sending millions to their doom. I need you to prevent this from happening. |
| Leonardo | So does this mean you’ve finally come to your senses and turned your back on the Shredder? |
| Karai | I am duty-bound to serve the Shredder as always. I just do not wish to see millions suffer. |
| Donatello | Even if we agree to help you, what’s to stop the Shredder from coming back for the antigrav generator the next time? It’s not like we can shut it down. |
| A voice comes from inside his duffel bag. | |
| Fugitoid | Actually, I might be able to provide some assistance regarding that particular technical conundrum. |
| Michelangelo | Whoa! I must be hearing things! That sounded like Professor Honeycutt. |
| Donatello opens his duffel and takes out his palmtop. It comes on and an image of the Fugitoid’s face appears. | |
| Fugitoid | Hello. |
| Donatello | It is Professor Honeycutt! |
| Raphael | Professor, you’re alive! No way! |
| Leonardo | It can’t be. We saw you sacrifice yourself. You saved the world. |
| Fugitoid | Oh, dear, I’m afraid I don’t remember any of that. The last thing I recall, I was on a rooftop with Donatello broadcasting a signal to make me invisible to the Triceratons. [Flashback to scenes from “Worlds Collide, Part I”.] What I didn’t tell you is that I also uploaded a backup of my memory core into the satellite communications network set to contact you in the event of my destruction, which I’m assuming must have happened. |
| Donatello | So you were the one making those calls to my shell cell. And the download? That was you sending your memory core into my palmtop. |
| Fugitoid | Well, most of it. Your hard drive was lacking capacity so I had to forego some nonessential information. |
| Michelangelo grabs the palmtop. | |
| Michelangelo | Who cares, Professor? I’m just so happy to see you! |
| Fugitoid | I’m sorry. Do I know you? |
| Michelangelo | Michelangelo! Mikey? The Mikester? Wait. So I’m nonessential information? |
| Fugitoid | Anyway, I couldn’t help overhearing your dilemma, Miss... |
| Karai | Karai. |
| Fugitoid | With my knowledge of Triceraton technology, I should be able to assume control of the antigrav generator and gently lower the city of Beijing back to Earth. In theory. |
| Leonardo | Saving millions of lives in the process. [He takes the palmtop.] That’s brilliant, Professor. |
| Karai | So am I to assume we have a deal? |
| Leonardo | Deal. Okay, now how do we get into Beijing? |
| Karai | Leave that to me. |
| At the blimp, loaders are taking a shipping crate into the cargo hold. Karai is inside, directing their placement. | |
| Hun | What’s in the crate, Karai? And why are you suddenly joining this mission? |
| Karai | That is none of your concern. |
| Hun growls. Another pair of loaders, under Chaplin’s direction, brings aboard several giant silver spheres. | |
| Stockman | What exactly is all this? |
| Chaplin | Uh, uh, uh. That’d spoil the surprise. |
| The sun rises, and so does the blimp, on its way to Beijing. Soon it approaches the floating city. | |
| Chaplin | Hey, attention, all hands! Welcome to China! The floating city of Beijing is dead ahead. Pretty cool, huh? |
| Karai steals into the cargo hold and runs over to the crate she had loaded aboard the blimp. She taps on the crate. | |
| Karai | Stand by. We are approaching Beijing. |
| Inside the crate, the turtles are all crammed together. | |
| Michelangelo | About time. I really gotta go to the little turtles room! |
| On the bridge, Chaplin has the wheel. | |
| Chaplin | Activating force field override. |
| He presses a button and the blimp sinks down through the force field that covers the city. Karai is still standing next to the crate and does not see Hun peering at her from around the side of another crate. He speaks in an undertone. | |
| Hun | I knew you were up to something. [He steps back to a control panel and hits a button with his elbow.] Oops. Happy landing, Karai. |
| A hatch opens under Karai’s feet and sends both her and the crate holding the turtles plummeting. | |
| Karai | Aah! |
| Turtles | Aah! Umph! Ah! |
| Raphael | I knew we shouldn’t have trusted Karai! |
| Leonardo | We can argue later! Everybody brace! |
| They kick their way out of the crate. Each turtle pulls a strap on the pack strapped to their shells and gliders pop open. All but Leonardo. | |
| Donatello | Huh? Leo, what are you waiting for? Deploy! |
| Leonardo dives towards the falling Karai and grabs her as they near the top of a building. | |
| Leonardo | Gotcha! [He pulls the strap and the glider deploys, lifting them away from the rooftop with inches to spare.] We made it. |
| Karai | Of course. Now land, Leonardo. We have much work to do. |
| On the blimp... | |
| Chaplin | We’re just about to touch down in Tiananmen Square. Where’s Karai? |
| Hun | She got bumped from the mission. Apparently, she had a little falling out with the organization. |
| A man on a cycle rickshaw suddenly stops in surprise and then leaps off his bike, gibbering as he runs away. The turtles and Karai come in for a landing in the street. The turtles pull the gliders back into their packs. | |
| Michelangelo | Hey! What was with the instant skydiving lesson? |
| Karai | It was an unforeseen event, but I have my suspicions as to who is responsible. |
| Raphael | You know what your problem is, lady? You can’t decide whether you wanna help us or kill us! Make up your mind already! |
| Leonardo | Not now, Raph! We’re miles off target, and we need to get to Tiananmen Square! |
| Donatello goes over to the cycle rickshaw and tosses his duffel bag inside. | |
| Donatello | Hey, guys! How about this? [He hops in.] Low-tech, but effective. |
| Leonardo | Hop on, Karai. [She has vanished.] Karai? |
| In Tiananmen Square, at the site of the tower the antigrav generator sits atop, Chinese troops shine search lights into the sky. | |
| Stockman | Great. Nobody warned us we’d have a welcoming committee to contend with. |
| Chaplin | No sweat, doc. Time to unleash my surprise. |
| He presses a button and the cargo hold ramp opens. The spheres roll out and drop in the Square. The troops gasp and run to avoid the falling objects. | |
| Chaplin | Mousers, Version 2.0! [The spheres open to reveal upgraded versions of the Mousers. The Chinese troops begin firing on them, but the bullets bounce off.] I took your basic concept and gave them a little upgrade. Cool, huh? |
| Stockman | Hmm. Upgrade? More like a side grade. |
| The Mousers proceed to smash the search lights. | |
| Soldier | Go, go, go! |
| The Mousers chase all of the troops away and then the Mousers chomp their way through the security fence. The blimp comes down to within a few yards from the top of the antigrav tower. A large clamp lowers from the blimp and grabs onto the antigrav device. Chaplin slides town the rope and then takes a ladder down to the control panel. Meanwhile, Michelangelo peddles the bicycle towards Tiananmen Square. | |
| Michelangelo | Antigrav generator dead ahead! |
| Donatello | Ready to work your magic, Professor? |
| Stockman spots the turtles. | |
| Stockman | What? How on Earth did those meddlesome reptiles get here? |
| Chaplin | I’ve got this one, Dr. Stockman. Mousers, attack! |
| Michelangelo | Funny. Karai never mentioned anything about overgrown Mousers! |
| Leonardo | Nothing fancy, guys. Just clear a path for Don and the Professor! |
| The turtles charge into the Mousers as Donatello makes a run for the tower. Chaplin watches from his spot high on the tower, and then moves back over to the control panel. | |
| Chaplin | Commencing shutdown sequence. Get ready to haul me up when this baby rips free from the pavement. |
| Donatello springs off the top of one of the Mousers and grabs onto a tower rail. He proceeds to climb. | |
| Chaplin | You’re too late, green guy! [The tower shakes and a spike of power rolls downwards.] What? |
| Raphael | What the shell? |
| Chaplin | That’s not supposed to happen! |
| The city begins to fall. As it plummets, loose objects on the surface float into the air. | |
| Turtles | Whoa! Aah! |
| Chaplin | Pull me up! We’re gonna have to ditch it! |
| Stockman | Oh, that’s not all we’re gonna ditch, my boy. |
| At the blimp’s controls, Stockman presses a button and causes the rope on the winch to wind all of the way off. Chaplin is climbing the rope attached to the winch, but the rope goes slack and he falls. | |
| Chaplin | Aah! No! |
| He hits the top of the tower and the blimp flies out of the force field and away from the city. On the surface, the turtles and Mousers hover several feet off the ground. | |
| Michelangelo | Way too much freefall for one day! |
| Donatello | Showtime, Professor! |
| He opens the duffel bag and the palmtop starts to float away, but he catches it. Donatello maneuvers his way to the tower control panel and holds the palmtop up next to the controls. A thin yellow beam shoots out of the palmtop into the controls. | |
| Fugitoid | Now a carefully regulated surge of the antigravity flux capacitor should gradually decrease the descent at a rate of twelve point six fraxels per trigon. |
| Everything floating slower lowers to the ground again, including people and the turtles. Michelangelo kneels on the ground. | |
| Michelangelo | Yes! [He kisses the ground.] Back on solid ground! |
| Raphael | Unfortunately, so are they! |
| He points at the Mousers as they hit the ground. The battle against the metal menaces begins again. Chaplin slowly drifts down to the ground as well. | |
| Chaplin | I’m alive! I’m alive! [A falling Mouser hits him on the head and knocks him out.] Oh... |
| Donatello | How are we holding up? |
| Fugitoid | I’m afraid I’ll have to divert power from the atmospheric shield, although the wind resistance may actually work in our favor. |
| The surface wind kicks up. | |
| Leonardo | As if we didn’t have enough problems. |
| The turtles are surrounded by Mousers. As they start to attack, Karai suddenly appears, leaping into the circle to join the fight. | |
| Raphael | About time you showed up! |
| Karai | I could ill afford to be seen coming to your aid earlier. If the Shredder were to find out— |
| Leonardo | Enough talk! Let’s do it! |
| He begins slashing Mousers. Michelangelo hops onto a Mouser’s back and wraps his nunchaku around its neck. | |
| Michelangelo | Yee-haw! Get along, little Mouser! |
| He uses his Mouser to attack another, smashing that one to pieces. A Mouser begins climbing the tower towards Donatello, who hears it and spins around. He hits the Mouser with his bō and then kicks it off the railing. The Mouser lands atop another and both explode. | |
| Donatello | The city’s almost back on terra firma! |
| Michelangelo | Hyah! Whoo-hoo! Giddy-up! Yeah! [He gets thrown.] Whoa! Ugh! |
| Mousers converge on a stunned Michelangelo. Two Mousers smash Leonardo between them. Raphael slams into one of them and knocks it down. Another Mouser grabs Raphael and tosses him into the air. He hits the ground hard and is surrounded by three Mousers. Karai wraps the chain of her Manriki-gusari around the legs of a Mouser and pulls it off its feet. Another opens its mouth to grab her, but she leaps into its maw and uses her legs to keep the mouth from shutting. It throws her down and pins her to the ground. She begins kicking at it. Nearby, Leonardo is on his shell, wrestling with a Mouser. Donatello stays focused on his task. | |
| Donatello | I hope you know what you’re doing, Professor! |
| A pulse rolls down from the tower and along the ground. It hits the Mousers and they begin to overload and collapse. The city drops back into the hole in the Earth from which it was pulled. | |
| Fugitoid | That electromagnetic pulse should have burned out this device while simultaneously nullifying those awful metal ruffians. |
| The group on the ground gather together amidst the smoking remains of the Mousers. | |
| Karai | Then it is over. |
| She starts to leave. | |
| Leonardo | Not until you walk away from the Shredder, Karai! |
| Karai | You know I cannot do that. |
| Leonardo runs forwards, catches her arm, and turns her. | |
| Leonardo | This is the perfect opportunity. They think you’re dead. You can disappear. We can help you start a new life. |
| Karai | Could you so easily turn your back of your father, even if you knew the things he did were wrong? |
| Donatello joins them. | |
| Donatello | Hmm. |
| Raphael | What are you looking at? |
| Donatello | Isn’t the Forbidden City supposed to be north of here? |
| Michelangelo | And isn’t the sun supposed to rise in the east? |
| Fugitoid | Oh, dear. Did I set the city down facing the wrong direction? |
| Cut to the Foot Clan headquarters. Hun and Stockman are riding in an elevator car together. | |
| Hun | The Master will be disappointed that we came back empty-handed. |
| Stockman | Not to mention the unfortunate demise of Karai and young Dr. Chaplin. [They exit the elevator and walk towards Shredder.] We’ll blame it all on them. Just follow my lead. Master, we have unfortunate news. Karai and Dr. Chaplin are— |
| Shredder | Wait! [He walks over to a monitor.] Perhaps you would like to share your news with Karai and Dr. Chaplin. |
| He turns the monitor on. Karai and Dr. Chaplin appear onscreen, standing in front of the antigrav tower in Beijing. | |
| Chaplin | Hi, Dr. Stockman! Everything’s okay! We made it! |
| Stockman and Hun look in shock and dismay at Shredder, whose eyes narrow. | |
| Stockman | B—But, sir, w--we can explain. |
| The pair back away as Shredder advances on them. | |
| Both | No! |
{Roll end credits}
