The bespectacled mastermind led his surordinate through the massive hole that the Machine had left in the cavern wall, just before he had trapped the Jackrabbits inside. Proteus’ eyes were immediately drawn to the hulking white turret, on its tank-treaded base, alone in the middle of the enormous chamber. He stared at it, wide-eyed in silent awe, as Tokivi, the reptilian operator of the Machine, skittered past the two turtles, and took his place at the controls of the turret.
Devan threw an arm about Proteus’ shoulders, in a gesture the latter almost mistook as friendship. “Well, my good, loyal Proteus, are you ready to have power and strength beyond your wildest dreams bestowed upon your body and mind?”
Proteus sneered. “I’m ready, sir.”
“That’s what I like to hear.”
Tokivi nodded to Devan, then glanced at Proteus. “Move in front of the turret, about ten meters out. I don’t have any more guided missiles to spare, so I want to make this as, pardon the pun, straightforward as possible.”
Proteus blinked a few times, then followed orders, moving to the spot Tokivi had indicated. There were a few noises, mainly assorted beeps from the lizard’s direction, and then a loud whir, followed by a click, as the barrel of the turret leveled itself out, pointing directly at Proteus’ midsection.
The solid turtle felt a shudder of apprehension course through his body. What if it didn’t work? What if, instead of making him super strong, it turned him into a vegetable?
No. Nothing was going to go wrong. He was going to be the next elite soldier of the Turbulent sect of Devan’s army. If it worked on Vaper, what reason was there for it to fail on him? Still, another shiver of anxiety rolled down his body, and he almost began to have second thoughts.
Devan, who had moved beside Tokivi on the turret platform, noticed Proteus quivering. He snickered. “Is my Turbulent-to-be getting cold feet? What’s wrong out there, Proteus?”
Proteus shook his head, and glanced up at Devan and Tokivi. “Nothing, sir. I’m as ready as ever.”
“Good.”
With that, the red trigger button was pressed deep into the turret’s console, with Devan’s hand upon it.
The red rocket, lodged inside the long barrel of the Turbulence Machine, let out a monstrous roar as it ignited, and the entire turret bucked as the crimson torpedo propelled itself along the barrel’s length. It charged, like a mad bull, out of the mouth of the turret, and the outer shell quickly disintegrated, revealing the dark, amorphous mass within. Proteus tightly closed his eyes in fear as the malicious cloud approached.
The last thing Proteus felt was a blast of freezing cold, and then he blacked out.

Devan wondered why he hadn’t thought of this earlier. A Turbulent Tuf Turtle would be an excellent – no, beyond excellent… more like perfect – addition to his forces, even more so than the rabbit Vaper. While his first Turbulent was sleek, fast, and dangerous, he was still a rabbit. Devan simply did not trust rabbits, whether they were Turbulent or not.
Now, with Proteus joining the ranks, albeit limited, of the Turbulents, Devan’s anxiety could finally be allayed. Proteus was already loyal to him, and if the process of Turbulence could make even the most hateful of rabbits a trustworthy servant…
Meanwhile, Proteus had been infused with the dark energy, released from its prison within the blood-red missile to embed itself into the turtle’s body. The sound of his scream of painful shock could only be heard for a split second, before he was silenced by the dark, glass-like bubble that formed around his body. Dark waves rolled down the surface of the invisible sphere as it lifted into the air, taking Proteus with it.
The turtle within the sphere silently screamed in fear and agony as the effects of Turbulence transformed him. Bolts of dark electricity arced across, around, and through the bubble, and Proteus spasmed violently every time one of the black bolts cut through him. A thick arc surged out from Proteus’ body, and struck the lizard Tokivi square in the chest, sending the reptilian operator sprawling over the back of the turret, and to the ground behind it with a thud.
A few seconds later, the sphere shattered, dropping Proteus to the ground. As all of the Turbulents had done before him, he landed neatly on the ground on one knee as the shards of the sphere fell around him. His head was bowed, his eyes were closed, and his breathing was low and regular. He seemed to be completely at ease.
Devan gasped out loud. Never before had he seen such a radical change in one of his minions, from any of his other experimental projects. Proteus’ shell and scales, which had been respectively purple and bright green in colour, had turned a glinting silver, and he was noticably larger than he had been before. To top it all off, there was a single, curved blade attached to him, up the length of his shell.
Proteus stood up slowly, and Devan couldn’t help but admire his intimidating outward appearance as he brought himself to his feet. His eyes, glowing red embers floating in his otherwise dark eye sockets, opened to observe his master’s expression.
Devan opened his mouth to say something, but Proteus beat him to it, and the silver turtle’s voice was deep, harsh, and menacing. “It is done. I am ready to kill.”
Devan sneered, and pointed to the hole where they had entered only a few minutes ago. “You can start with the Jackrabbits, then. Now get to it!”
Proteus needed no further encouragement, and he quickly left the cavern, on the hunt for the unsuspecting rabbits…

Derby: Filter bypass removal.