DANKSY

"My point exactly. Plus, it's already covered in Krang goop."

"All the more reason the Krang will never think to check inside and the EPF will keep their distance!"

"Ugh, Donnie, help me out here," Raph looked to his brother who was still busy typing away as his visor scanned the harbor filled with ruined warships.

"As much as I'd hate to admit it, Liberty Island would not be a bad spot for a new home base. It's a strategic position within the harbor and while the statue is rather loud and proud, the star shaped fortress beneath it was designed to be able to fire in every direction. The sediment-based soil below is malleable and free of underground structures so it would be easy for me to drill and create a new, proper lair."

"There, see?? Even the brain-ace can admit when I have a good idea," Leo grinned at his big brother, to which Raph could only pout.

"You do realize that if we do this though... we will become residents of New Jersey," Donnie paused in his typing to arch a brow Leo's way.

"What?? No way! Everyone knows that the Statue of Liberty is part of New York!" Leo gaped.

"Well technically, there have been many legal disputes through the decades regarding the jurisdictional boundaries between New York and New Jersey, culminating in a 1998 Supreme Court ruling that extended New Jersey's sovereignty over the artificially filled portions of both Liberty Island and Ellis Island as well as--"

"SHORT VERSION, Don-tron."

Donnie sighed as he closed all his projections of the court case documentation. "The Statue of Liberty and parts of Liberty Island are New York... but everything man-made or below the sea level is New Jersey."

"So if we built a lair below the Statue of Liberty..." Mikey began.

"It would actually be in New Jersey. Yes." Donnie finished.

"Are you KIDDING ME?? What sort of ruling is that?!" Leo threw up his arms.

"Regardless, it is where the current borders stand and I doubt either the remnants of the US government or the EPF have any interest in hearing your case now."

Leo's pout only held for a moment before he brightened with a new idea. "Well then I'll just live in the statue!"

"I don't think--"

"DIBS ON THE HEAD!" Leo quickly cried out.

"DIBS ON THE TORCH!" Mikey immediately followed.

"GUYS! We can't call dibs on a National Monument!" Raph barked.

"Oh, don't worry, Liberty and I go waaaaay back. I made her laugh once, ya know," Leo grinned.

"Hehe sorry Raph, ya snooze ya lose!" Mikey's grin matched his brother's.

"Well before you all start calling 'dibs' on federally owned property, you should know that the head and torch aren't actual rooms. They're just stairwells that are likely in need of serious repair," Donnie winced.

"It'll be fiiiiiine," Leo shrugged. "I'll just portal in some wood planks, maybe a nice throw rug, and it'll be a humble abode before you can even climb all those stairs!"

"That sounds terribly unsafe and hardly up to code," Donnie deadpanned.

"Yeah. We're doing this so we can finally bail on the Central Park Colony, right?" Raph urged. "The last thing we want to do is move to someplace even less safe. At least with the new Lair underground we have some means of protection. There'll be no going back to the EPF, once we leave..."

All four grew silent at the mention of the EPF. It had only been a year since they sought asylum at the Central Park Colony after their lair had been raided by the Krang. The humans had managed to save Raph's life, but at the cost of their freedom. Now they had become nothing more than first wave fodder for a colony of humans who feared and hated them... along with all the other mutants and yokai refugees. To be fair, the four brothers had it easier than most mutants since the EPF at least found them useful.

"Don't worry, I'll be happy to move down underground once Donnie's done drilling... though I'm sure he's going to be busy for some time," Leo finally smiled, calling them all back from their quiet thoughts.

"Well, by my calculations... it should only take me a few months to drill out a basic floor plan. Kitchen... living room, six to eight bedrooms--"

"Oh we're going to need WAY more rooms than that," Leo smirked, happy to see the confusion painting his brothers' faces.

"Why would we need so many?" Raph tilted his head.

"Cuz I want to build more than just a lair for us..." Leo smiled as he stared up at the giant statue still standing strong even against the encroaching Krang vines. All three brothers looked at Leo with surprise, watching as he turned to smile their way with that all too hopeful spark in his eye.

"I want to build an entire colony."

"...IN NEW JERSEY??" Mikey scoffed.

~~

Thanks for reading! If you like the way I write and want more Replica-related stories like this I have loads more on my Patreon. Everything from the story of how Donnie got his scars, to the original Alien Invasion that happened without Casey Jr's intervention, and a near 40 chapter arc on what exactly went down in Shanghai. It's been so fun getting to tell these extra little stories floating around in my brain. There's way too much to fit into an entire comic so this has been a great way to get these worldbuilding ideas out and into the ether.

Also, for those curious, I always included a timeline since uh... there's a lot that goes down in this near 25 year span of time, haha!

I really grappled with the concept of how long it would take for the boys to figure out that the statue was the key. Most interpretations seem to assume they figure it out right away, but honestly, without CJ there to warn them in advance and tell them what it looks like they don't have a lot to go off of aside from Splinter's vague mention of a key. The fact that the Krang were praised by the Foot is enough to set off Donnie's alarms but... with the Foot already gone by the time the Krang make their grand appearance on Metro Tower, the connection can only be hypothesized.

MWAHAHAHAHHAAA!!!! LETS GOOOOOO