Previously...

The smell of freshly baked (or in this case, scientifically conjured) pizza quickly brought an end to Michelangelo's training, or at least for the moment. Leonardo introduced IRON Chef to Michelangelo and Splinter around mouthfuls of pizza, and soon everyone was enjoying the robot's culinary recipes. Mikey made a few suggestions himself, and though his tastes in pizza had always been a bit strange, IRON Chef was only too happy to comply. With his skill, the three of them were soon eating and actually enjoying toppings like bacon and hot fudge, pepperoni and marshmallows, and even bananas and kiwi. As they ate, Leo watched Mikey seemingly expand in front of his very eyes with no concern whatsoever. Leo was still a bit worried about the recent development in both his brother and sensei, but if Splinter was taking it in stride, maybe things were more under control than he thought? He ignored the tight feeling in his belt.

"Ah! I almost forgot!" Leo slapped his forehead as he remembered what he'd been doing before the whole robot incident. "I went out last night because there've been rumors that the Foot Clan awere up to something. I trailed a few, and found out that they're hijacking trucks."

Mikey swallowed a mouthful of sausage and gummi bears pizza and slouched back on the increasingly small sofa. "What's in 'em, dude? Gold bars? Electronics?"

"Snack cakes. Just... ordinary snack cakes as far as I can tell. But lots of them. We're talking crates of the stuff."

"Huh. Hrrrp! You don't think Shredder just really likes Twinkies, do you?"

"I don't think even -you- could eat that many Twinkies, Mikey. He's up to something again, for sure..."

"Speaking of snack cakes," piped up IRON Chef, "I'm quite proficient in baked goods as well! Though, in truth, making snack cakes is more of a chemical process than actual baking due to the unique compounds and preservatives that --"

Just then, the TV turned itself on and blared to life. Though the picture wasn't perfect, it was all too easy to tell who had just hijacked the airwaves.

"Is this thing on? Good!" The Shredder glared balefully at the camera, holding as commanding a pose as he could. "Attention citizens of Manhattan, or more specifically, the wretched reptilians skulking around in the sewers! It has been brought to my attention that you have something that belongs to me! Don't play stupid, I -know- you have it! You will return the IRON Chef technology immediately!"

"What?" Mikey was confused, scratching at his bloated belly. "Why would they want him? Are you sure Shredder doesn't have the munchies?"

"No, it's entirely reasonable for them to want me back," sighed IRON Chef. "Before I was brought here, I was the programming that made the food in their Technodrome's automated kitchen palatable. Without me, I'm sure the food is bland and tasteless."

"Whoa. No wonder he's pitching a pointy fit."

"And just in case you're thinking of disregarding this message," added Shredder as he pointed to two figures tied together with rope, "perhaps you'll think again when it comes to the safety of our hostages..."

1) '...your brothers, Donatello and Raphael! MWA-HAHAHA!'

2) '...your freakish sewer friends, Mondo Gecko and Leatherhead! BWA-HAHAHA!'

3) '...your dear human friends, April O'Neal and Casey Jones! GYA-HAHAHA!'

Finally, we get the bad guys in on this, eh? Conflict! And an excuse to try out some sumo, maybe! You guys know what to do. Pick the choice you want most, and the choice with the most votes in two days' time continues our story!