Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Heroes in a Hard-Shell

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Heroes in a Hard-Shell is a 2D-animated action-comedy-drama series based on the hit underground comic Eastman & Laird's TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES, as well as its many incarnations. It is currently running as a fanfiction at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14127303

The series is rated TV-14 DSLV, and is the first Ninja Turtles series to receive that rating.

Synopsis
15 years ago on June 9th, 1992, the recently-married HAMATO YOSHI and TANG SHEN had just moved from Japan to MANHATTAN, where they purchased 5 baby turtles from a pet shop. But due to an incidental encounter with an alley cat & sewer rat, followed by a T.G.R.I. truck careening out of control, crashing nearby and puncturing the tank, they were all doused in a strange purple goop which transformed them into the animals that they respectively came in contact with...not to mention, it caused the quintet of tiny turtles to gain human qualities and traits. 15 years later in 2007, the 5 tiny turtle-tots have become five unusual turtle teens. At the helm is LEONARDO, the bold, self-proclaimed leader; the technologically-gifted and diplomatic DONATELLO; the short-tempered and fearless RAPHAEL; easygoing, adventurous MICHELANGELO; and meek, curious, & self-conscious VENUS DeMILO. The team ventures to the surface, only to end up coming to the rescue when the notorious Purple Dragons street gang threatens the city. But is there something (or someone) more fiendish pulling the strings?

Seasons and sagas

 * Season One: The Krang Saga
 * Season Two, Part 1: The Shredder Saga
 * Season Two, Part 2: The Nightwatcher Saga
 * Season Two, Part 3: The Turtle Titan Saga


 * 3-Part Special: Secret Shell Wars


 * Season 3, Part 1: The Triple Threat Saga
 * Season 3, Part 2: The Dragon Lord Saga
 * Season 3, Part 3: The Dark Shell Saga
 * 5-Part Special: The Wrath of Ch'rell (series finale)

The Hamato-Kame Clan

 * Leonardo Kinzo 'Leon' Splinterson (voiced by Benjamin Diskin): Considered the eldest sibling (though he only hatched a few seconds earlier than his siblings) and leader of the team, he is distinguished by his blue mask and being a darker shade of green than his siblings. His signature weapons are a pair of ninjato (which he mistakenly refers to as katanas). Leonardo is driven, takes his training seriously and even in his spare time doesn't neglect his training --though he tends to be annoyed when his siblings do not take things as seriously. However, he bears the burden of having his siblings' lives in his hands, and his duties as a leader take a toll on him (the reason why he watches a cartoon called  "Randy and the Dino-Fighters "), and he takes it really hard whenever the team suffers a setback. He is considered the best fighter of the five due to his training, but he truly sets himself apart due to his skills and strategy.
 * Donatello Bardi 'Don' Splinterson (voiced by Charlie Schlatter [regular] and Phil LaMarr [alternate]): Donatello (or “Don” by Zach) is the brains of the team, slightly-taller than his siblings and clad in a dark-purple mask, goggles optional. Despite his fighting skills being on-par with his siblings, Don’s true power lies in his brilliant scientific mind, able to construct complex machinery and gadgets from discarded materials for his family to use and save the day with. Despite his intelligence, he’s not very good at improvising and loses his cool whenever things go wrong, and since he’s more of a builder than a strategic thinker he lets Leo be leader. He takes great pride in his inventions and yearns for recognition. He is also a firm believer in scientific possibilities and doesn’t exactly hold well together when confronted with the supernatural. Out of the entire team, he’s the most socially-awkward, especially around April’s friend Irma, on whom he has a massive crush.
 * Raphael Firenzo 'Raph' Splinterson/The Nightwatcher (voiced by Scott D. Menville): Clad in a red mask and a hot-blooded attitude, Raphael is the second-in-command of the team. He is hotheaded, temperamental, and sarcastic, which allows enemies to take advantage of his anger many times and (as usual) clash with the more levelheaded Leo. He’s prone to storming off in a huff, but usually he always comes back and reconciles with his siblings, because even though he gives them a hard time, he does love his friends and family very much. He acts tough and grouchy (typical New York attitude), but in actuality he is quite insecure, believing that humanity will only see them as “freaks” and “monsters”. He’s not ignorant of his flaws, and despite being “cool but rude” (his words, not mine...sorta), he has gained better control over his temper. Raph is the only one of the Turtles who is almost on par with Leo in terms of fighting skills. Physically the strongest of all 5 Turtles, he sometimes trades technique for brute force, making his moves effective but flawed. Despite his snark, rudeness and temper, Raph is a loyal ally and once you manage to prove yourself to him he considers you a friend...though for some, it takes a while to warm up to, though it’s more out of worry than actual malice.
 * Michelangelo 'Mike' Splinterson/The Turtle Titan (voiced by Jaleel White [regular], Kyle Massey [alternate]): Fun-loving, adventurous, and laid-back, Mike is the self-proclaimed “wild and crazy” Turtle, and he knows it. Despite being skilled enough to keep up with his siblings, he prefers to slack off, although he knows when to be serious. He may appear less intelligent than his siblings, but it’s more due to childlike naivete and a playful outlook on life than genuine idiocy. Plus, he’s smarter than he lets on, often surprising his friends and siblings with hidden bouts of intelligence, but due to his chill demeanor, he prefers to let others like Leo and Don do the heavy thinking. He has a chill, surfer-dude like attitude and is the only one who keeps his cool in most situations, as well as the first of the Turtles to befriend Zach. Mike happens to be a bit of a flirt with the ladies, but that’s only because he’s always wanted a girlfriend...which leads to him being manipulated by some of the team’s female foes....and later, leads to him and April falling for one another. Though he can be a bit slow on the uptake, his optimism and heart never fail to lift the spirits of his family and friends, and he’s considered the heart of the team. He loves making wisecracks and snarky comments in battle to trip up his enemies and irritate them.
 * Venus Artemsia "Venny" de Milo (voiced by Kyla Pratt): Venus is the youngest (by 2 minutes), most cautious, and the clumsiest of the Turtles, though it's suspected that this is a ruse to lure her opponents into a false sense of confidence and let their guard down. She is sweet and kind to her friends, but in battle she is a savage, lethal fighter. She takes Zach under her wing and becomes sort of a big-sister-figure to him, and enjoys listening to J-pop music, dreaming of starting her own J-pop group someday. She later develops a crush on the hulking mutant turtle Slash, being the only one who sees him as a kind-hearted, misunderstood soul who only seeks acceptance. Despite being the youngest, she acts as a big-sister to the team (especially when Leon is wallowing in his own self-pity), since her cautiousness is mostly because she wants to keep her brothers from getting killed. She has a great interest in classic literature, mostly the works of Ray Bradbury.
 * Hamato Yoshi/Master Splinter (voiced by Sab Shimono): Since he became a rat-man, Splinter has raised the Turtles as his own kids, alongside Tang Shen, as well as teaching them the art of Ninjutsu, in the hopes that if they ever came face-to-face with an evil like Shredder, they would at least be able to take him on. While he is a loving father, he is also a stern yet wise and caring sensei. He is sometimes enigmatic, but it’s only so the Turtles will figure things out for themselves since that’s the only way to learn things. Being overprotective of his children, he was reluctant to let them venture to the surface on their own, but expressed great pride upon learning that they are able to handle it. He secretly fears that someday his children will no longer need him, though no matter what, they’ll always need him as a dad. He keeps in touch with his cousin, Hamato Takeshi.
 * Tang Shen/Whisker (voiced by Mary Elizabeth McGlynn): A Chinese woman who is Hamato Yoshi’s childhood sweetheart, and later his wife. She loved nature, so she decided to include a turtle pond in the backyard of their home, which led to the purchase of the 5 baby turtles. She and Yoshi considered having children, but Tang Shen was sterile, which is why they consider the Turtles their children. She also aids Splinter in training their children, whom all refer to her as “mother” (though Mike used to call her “mommy” before switching to “mom” when he turned seven). In a twist of irony, while Yoshi was mutated into a humanoid rat, Tang Shen was mutated into a humanoid cat. It hasn't affected their love for each other, though.
 * April Harriet O'Neil (voiced by Nika Futterman [regular], Catherine Taber [alternate]): A 16-year-old prodigy stuck in normal high school (due to her mom's financial problems), where she is in a rut, bored and she, her little brother, and her mother live in a small apartment. She and Zach were saved by the Turtles when the Purple Dragons tried to mug her, and ever since she has been close friends with them, helping them adjust to the world and help them in their endeavors, all while getting a lot of excitement in her life. Out of all the Turtles, she has become the closest to Mike, actually gaining a crush on him, and beginning kunoichi training so she can battle alongside the Hamato-Kame Clan. Needless to say, April had much growing-up to do in a short time due to the looming threat of Krang, but still manages to hold her own against more experienced fighters.
 * Zachary “Zach” Allen-O’Neil (voiced by Drake Flynn--me): April’s 12-year-old adoptive brother who’s always got a question on his mind and a precocious crush on a girl who’s older than him. His estranged father, Dr. Chet Allen, is believed to have been killed by the notorious street gang known as the Purple Dragons. Since then, he was taken in by April and her mother. He likes to act older than he actually is, attempting to flirt with girls he gets crushes on and sneaking along on the Turtles' missions in order to prove his worth to them.

Allies and annoyances

 * Angel Bridge (voiced by Breanna Yde): A rough-and-tumble, sarcastic, feisty 12-year-old tomboy whose (widowed) dad adopted the kid who would soon become the street vigilante Casey Jones, Angel rarely takes crap from anybody. She frequently targets Zach as the main victim of her many pranks (ever since they were in Pre-K), but it's only because she has a massive crush on him. However, Zach isn't exactly willing to forgive her for them so easily...
 * Arnold Jones, Jr./Casey Jones (voiced by Travis Willingham):