Battle Nexus

The **Battle Nexus** is a fighting arena in the Hidden City owned and managed by Big Mama.

## Description

The Battle Nexus facility is located in the west-central Hidden City in a densely-populated urban neighborhood just west of The Crying Titan and northeast of the Mushroom Forest. The wishing fountain and Heather's house are also nearby.

The facility's exterior is never depicted in a well-defined manner, but the main arena consists of a high-walled, open-air, stone enclosure with a low hexagonal fighting arena surrounded by elevated audience stands. The arena has large, irregularly-arranged spikes near the walls, several torches along the perimeter of the arena, and rugged green stone flooring. A white circle with two parallel lines inside it marks the center of the arena floor. Behind and further above the audience stands on one side of the hexagon is Big Mama's personal luxury box. Her luxury box is lit by strings of large, glowing green crystals and fire bowls placed along the walls. Her luxury box has a green glass railing facing the arena, a long red couch, and behind it is a gold elevator, a dark yellow counter, and seemingly a green display cabinet. On the floor behind the couch is an emblem in Big Mama's image and the roof of her luxury box features a massive statue of Big Mama. After sustaining injuries after she takes over New York City, her luxury box is converted into her personal hospital room while she recovers.

There is seemingly another arena that is small compared to the main arena. It has purple and blue lighting and is a hexagonal platform surrounded by seemingly water. The arena platform has large, irregularly-arranged spikes on opposite sides of the arena and a cyan circle with two parallel lines inside it marking the center of the arena floor. The arena is surrounded by what are seemingly holographic screens, an elevated walkway with audience stands, and massive statues of Battle Nexus Champions. Where this arena is located in the Battle Nexus and its purpose is currently unknown.

The Battle Nexus houses its Champions in Champions' Row located to the left of the Battle Nexus entrance. It is multiple circular stone rooms lit by several skylights and each room is connected via rounded and keyhole archways. Along the walls are dark purple and grey detention doors with gold exterior locks, however, it is currently unknown how large this area is. Lou Jitsu's cell is recessed into the wall and has a nameplate posted above the door fame along with a "do not open" safety sign. The cell interior is dark grey, unfurnished, and relatively small with seafoam green geometric markings on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

The Battle Nexus can be accessed from the Grand Nexus Hotel via a portal gateway.

## Battles

The Battle Nexus is a major blood sport attraction in the Hidden City and its fights are broadcasted live to the Grand Nexus Hotel sporting lounge. It involves authentic violent confrontations between at least two combatants, though it is common for there to be several combatants, especially for acclaimed competitors. Both sapient and non-sapient Yōkai alike compete in the Battle Nexus, but it is unclear the amount of competitors that volunteer to participate compared to the amount that are selected and compelled to by Big Mama.

A fight can be won by a single competitor or team either incapacitating or killing all their opponents. Competitors forfeiting a match seemingly isn't permitted. Battle Nexus fights are free-for-alls with very little rules, in fact, Big Mama encourages fights to be more dramatic and gory to make them as thrilling as possible, drawing in more profit. Even so, Big Mama may add limitations to her fighters (e.g., banning weapons to increase the fight difficulty) and alter the fight conditions at any time. A competitor can ascend to being a Battle Nexus Champion by achieving an extensive winning streak. Along with fighters, the Battle Nexus also features arena clowns whose purpose is to provide comic entertainment for the audience, seemingly through physical comedy.

## Competitors

Known participants of the Battle Nexus:

* Lou-Jitsu/Rat-Jitsu (all-time champion)
* Stewart
* Operator
* Evil Six
* Leonardo
* Shadow Fiend (champion)
* Troll (champion)
* Amphisbaena (champion)
* Cortex (champion)
* Sprite (champion)
* Raphael
* Donatello
* Michelangelo
* Carl Sando
* Hypno-Potamus
* Ghostbear
* Meat Sweats

## History

Aside from Big Mama being the owner and administrator of the Battle Nexus, nothing is known about its history before its most famous participant Lou Jitsu debuted there.

Lou Jitsu was a human martial arts movie star who became Big Mama's lover, but Big Mama only ever interacted with him in her human disguise, successfully making him believe she was a fellow human. One night, Lou Jitsu proposed marriage to her and Big Mama used the opportunity to reveal her true Yōkai nature, kidnap Lou Jitsu, disappear him to the Hidden City, and force him to fight in her Battle Nexus for years. Their relationship disintegrated, but Lou Jitsu proved a hit with the spectators and a boon for Big Mama's business, becoming the greatest Battle Nexus Champion in history. Baron Draxum was one spectator particularly taken to Lou Jitsu's fighting skill, well-built body, and fiery demeanor. At some point, Lou Jitsu was entered in a match against a turducken and triumphed over it.

After a time, Lou Jitsu became disgusted with fighting and refused to partake in Battle Nexus matches and in turn, Big Mama imprisoned him in Champions' Row. One day, Draxum helped Lou Jitsu abscond from the Battle Nexus in exchange for a favor. Their brief entanglement that followed back at Draxum's laboratory resulted in Draxum and Lou Jitsu becoming fathers to four mutant turtle sons, and in Lou Jitsu accidentally becoming a mutant rat himself. Lou Jitsu subsequently retreated from both human and Yōkai societies altogether to raise the Turtles in secret, and would not appear in the Battle Nexus again for more than 13 years.

The Turtles first learned of the Battle Nexus' existence when they also first met Big Mama at her Grand Nexus Hotel above ground in New York City. When Big Mama showed them the sporting lounge in the hotel's secret Yōkai section, giant video orbs showed a live broadcast of a Battle Nexus match. At this point, Big Mama had been struggling to find suitable Battle Nexus competitors to capture audiences' attention and bolster profits, resorting to use her own hotel operator and a weak mutant named Stewart as competitors. She saw an opportunity to use Draxum's Oozesquitoes to create new mutants to debut in her Battle Nexus and collaborated with the Turtles to collect them. She also aimed to make the Turtles arena clowns, regarding them as unbefit fighters. However, her efforts failed after Draxum caught onto her plan and the Turtles realized they were contributing to something they called "barbaric" and refused to aid her. Draxum ultimately reclaimed his Oozesquitoes and released them back into New York.

Splinter had a pleasant dream about himself as a human winning a Battle Nexus match by tearing apart his cybernetic opponent with his hands where he was afterward rewarded with cheers, thrown flower petals, and a trophy. He made an audience member swoon by briefly flirting with her before being awoken by the Turtles.

Grand Nexus Hotel guard Gus watched a Battle Nexus fight from the sporting lounge that resulted in competitor Kid Cthulhu triumphing by punching their opponent unconscious.

Splinter and his son Leonardo asked for Big Mama at the Grand Nexus Hotel, Splinter revealing that he was the man who was once Lou Jitsu. Intrigued, Big Mama remotely ordered fox bellhop to have the two portaled down to her Battle Nexus luxury box. Splinter and Leo wanted Big Mama to help them defeat the Shredder who had recently been partially awakened and was on a rampage in New York City, and they reasoned to the infamously self-interested businesswoman that the Shredder also posed a threat to her business interests above ground. She offered them the use of a mystic collar that, once worn, would allow another person to mind-control the wearer with a corresponding mystic ring, but she demanded to be given something in exchange. Over Splinter's objections, Leo pitched for Splinter to return to the Battle Nexus arena and fight with no weapons, this time under the stage name Rat Jitsu. Big Mama accepted the arrangement, but changed the terms at the last second and forced Leo to fight Kraken Tom and the Evil Six alongside his father. But Leo had anticipated this and set in motion a cunning plan that allowed him and Splinter to win their match and give Big Mama no choice but to adhere to their agreement. The Mad Dogs subsequently managed to force the Shredder to wear the collar, bringing him under Big Mama's custody and control.

Big Mama did remove the Shredder from the public eye. But unbeknownst to Splinter and the Mad Dogs, she also decided to cash in by disguising the still-mind-controlled Shredder and having him fight in the Battle Nexus as her new Champion named Shadow Fiend.

Raphael found himself mistaken for a criminal named Heinous Green, and ended up escaping Hidden City police custody together with a trio of criminals called the Mud Dogs who also mistook Raph for Heinous Green and assigned him as the gang's new leader. All of Raph's attempts to sabotage the Mud Dogs backfired, bringing them amazing successes. Since the Mud Dogs were loyal to Big Mama as the major local crime boss, they went to see her at her Battle Nexus luxury box to deliver her a cut of the money they stole. It was here that Big Mama immediately recognized Raph and revealed that he was not Heinous Green, and that the real Heinous Green had arrived separately. Raph fled the Battle Nexus with Heinous Green in hot pursuit.

Big Mama abducted all of New York City's inhabitants using her mystic orb and held her Battle Nexus tournament in New York's emptied cityscape instead of the main facility in the Hidden City. In this event called the Battle Nexus Wizbang, Battle Nexus Champions Amphisbaena, Cortex, Troll, and Sprite were pitted against the Turtles paired in teams of two: Michelangelo with Meat Sweats, Donatello with Hypno-Potamus, Raph with Ghostbear, and Leo with Carl Sando. Mikey and Meat Sweats had to feed Amphisbaena before it got impatient and ate them and they won after Amphisbaena ate itself. Donnie and Hypno had to face Cortex in a chess game or else Donnie would become a chess piece for him to own and won after Cortex accidentally knocked over his own king piece. Raph and Ghostbear had to fight a troll Yōkai, but seemingly lost after being struck by the troll's club. Leo and Carl had to make a sour sprite Yōkai laugh who possessed the Statue of Liberty before she disintegrated them and won using physical comedy. Big Mama's plan to seize New York City backfired on her when Foot Recruit discovered that Shadow Fiend was actually the Shredder under mystic mind control. Foot Recruit pilfered Big Mama's ring from her and used it to make the Shredder implode Big Mama's Grand Nexus Hotel.

Big Mama's life was spared, but she was severely injured, and her luxury box at the Battle Nexus arena in the Hidden City was converted into her personal hospital room. It was here that the Mad Dogs visited her, informing her that Splinter had been captured by the Foot Clan. Big Mama still had feelings for Splinter, so she provided his sons with information that helped them track down the Foot and their two abducted fathers to The Crying Titan at the center of the Hidden City.