Nickelodeon Publishing - Secrets of the City

Adapted by
David Lewman

2018 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved. Nickelodeon, RISE OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.

Based on characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman

eISBN 978-1-68107-804-5

H ey, its Raph! As the biggest, oldest, best-looking Turtle brother, Im the leader. That just makes good sense. But even though Im supposed to be in charge, my brothers manage to talk me into doing a lot of stuff Im not all that psyched to do. Like the time I had to dress up as a mascot. You know, those costumed characters you see jumping around at sports events and hanging around Times Square in New York. Sometimes theyre big goofy dinosaurs or wacky pirates. Sometimes theyre char- acters from your favorite movie or television show.

Anyway, heres what happened

Oh, wait. Theres gonna be times in this story when youre gonna go, Hey! How could he possibly know that? He wasnt there for that part! Okay, I hear you. But the answer is my brothers told me all the parts I wasnt there for so I could tell you the whole deal.

Make sense?

Great! Lets go!

I was hot. I was sweaty. I couldnt see very well. But for once, I was out in the world, walking the streets of New York City instead of hiding in the sewer tunnels!

Usually we dont let people see us, because they tend to freak out when they notice four big walking, talking mutant Turtles. But this time, I was in disguise.

Still, I was nervous. What if something went wrong? Like it does pretty much every time we put one of Donnies ideas into action

I spoke into the microphone inside my headpiece. Whats the word? Am I clear?

My three brothers could hear me through a speaker on the dashboard of our Turtle Tank.

Looks bueno from here, Leo assured me, looking out the tanks dark-tinted windshield. I could hear him through my earpiece. He continued, You are a go for Operation Lets Hope Raph Comes Back Alive.

Will you stop calling it that? I growled. I was nervous enough about the operation without Leo giving it such a downer name.

This is our first-ever exploratory expedition! Donnie said, sounding a lot more positive than Leo. Theyll name sewers after you, Raph! Id request the Third Street sewer. By far the best.

At this point, you probably want to know what my disguise was. Well, I guess I have to tell you. It was a hippo suit. Thats right, a hippo. See, Donnie figured Id fit right in with all the other costumed guys in Times Square. The plan made sense, but I have to admit, I didnt want to blend in too much. It would be nice if someone wanted to take my picture. I mean, my suit wasnt that bad.

So I made my way through the crowds of people, heading for this joint called Russs Short, Hairy & Surly Clothing Store. I was on a mission.

Go get Splinters birthday gift! Mikey said, cheering me on. Our eyes depend on it!

I remembered the moment that started this whole operation. The four of us were in our underground lair, watching TV. Our dad, Splinter, had come in wearing this ratty old robe. (Yeah, I know hes a rat, but that doesnt mean his clothes have to be ratty.)

Oh, man! I cried when I saw him in that robe.

Cover up! Leo begged.

My eyes! Mikey wailed.

That mole is growing a mole, Donnie observed, disgusted. The robe revealed all kinds of stuff we had no interest in seeing.

Splinter ignored our comments. Whos up for jumping jacks?

He started doing jumping jacks, showing us EVEN MORE stuff we didnt want to see! We freaked and shrieked!

We gotta get him a new robe, Leo said.

And thats how I found myself shopping for a robe in Times Square, wearing a hippo costume.

D onnie flew a little drone with a camera over me so they could see where I was. Then they gave me directions to the store through my earpiece.

Steady as she goes, Leo said, watching the video monitor in the Turtle Tank. Old man on your right. Kid on your left. Hes got peanut butter ice cream

Your peanut allergies! Donnie cried. Evasive maneuvers!

I made a hard right turn away from the kid with the ice cream. Close one! I said. Man, this is crazy cool! First time any of us has moved through a crowd totally unnoticed!

The hippo suit is great, Mikey agreed, but I still think trench coats wouldve worked.

We could barely save up enough for one robe, Leo reminded him. How could we possibly afford four trench coats?

At that moment video text from April appeared on the dashboard monitor in the Turtle Tank. Donnie clicked away from the live drone feed to look at the video. It showed a little animated hippo with a turtle head, flying through the sky, leaving a trail of cookies behind it.

Aprils memes are so lit! Mikey said.

I know you think I wouldnt like cookies coming out of butts, Donnie said, but I do.

When he clicked back to the live feed, he saw a bearded dude bump into me and grab onto me to keep from falling down.

Sorry, my bad, I said, even though it wasnt.

The dude with the beard nodded and walked on. I took a couple more steps and found I was standing right in front of the clothing store. I reached into my pocket for my wallet and found nothing!

My wallet? I whispered so my brothers couldnt hear. My wallet!

I turned to the nearest tourist. Have you seen my wallet? I asked frantically. Theres a skull on it. And a Teddy Bear Town frequent buyer card inside.

The tourist shook his head. I ran to the next tourist.

In the Turtle Tank, Donnie asked Leo, Did Raph say he lost his wallet?

Raph! Leo yelled into the mic. Did you lose our money?

No, I lied to them. Then I whispered to the tourist, Have you seen my lost money?

You DID lose it! Donnie cried.

I whipped around to ask more tourists if theyd seen my money, but I slammed into this big dude, and my HIPPO HEAD CAME OFF! EVERYONE COULD SEE ME!

I gasped. My brothers gasped. And the tourists gasped.

All staring at me.

I was sure I was sunk. Theyd haul me off and throw me in a lab for scientists to experiment on, and Id never be seen again.

A woman with a baby walked up to me. Here it came the scream. The call for the police

But then she smiled! Your costume! Its great! Youre the Turtle-Potamus meme, right?

What meme? I asked. I mean yes, that meme. Which meme, now?

She pointed up to the huge video screen hanging over Times Square. On it was the same flying hippo with a turtle head meme that April had sent us.

Yes! I agreed. Im that! Theres nothing else I could possibly be. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, and so did my brothers.