Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Colors were swirling around Leo as he dashed over buildings, across rooftops, without a worry. The breeze felt great against his skin as he smiled at his youngest brother’s laughter as he seemingly flew in the air, golden chains being used like he was Spider-Man. Raph seemed to be bouncing around across great expanses with a big smile, his snaggletooth prominent. For a moment, Leo could see flashes of pink and green by his eldest brother’s side of his cat Melon keeping up with them despite how fast and far they moved across New York’s skyline. Donnie was the one going the most wild though as he zipped through the sky with his jetpack, rising up high, dipping down low, and free falling every so often with flashes from his phone. Behind them, he could hear the rasp of rope being pulled taunt and shot out over and over with the bright, comforting cheers of CJ keeping pace. The world was finally good and safe for him to explore.

It had been such a long time since Leo felt so free, so happy with his family. Nothing was holding him or his brothers back from enjoying themselves. 

They all toppled and rolled onto a rooftop where Leo suddenly was snatched up in Raph’s arms. He was tugged into a big group pose as Donnie dropped down with his phone out, taking a sudden photo with a bright flash.

It took a moment for Leo to blink away the bright flash. Huh. That was sort of… familiar. 

“What’s on your mind, Leo?” Mikey asked, leaning against Leo, being careful of the fact that Leo was still wearing his knee brace.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just some deja vu, that’s all,” Leo said as he waved Mikey off with a grin.

Donnie hummed as he looked through the photo on his phone, brightening his screen and turning it so Raph could see it better. Right, they were all still working with his reduced vision and finding the best phone settings for him. “You had deja vu over this of all things? Normally it happens with simple, everyday occurrences for you,” his twin pointed out. 

CJ checked over his own gear as he walked over and looked at the picture. “Oh, that looks so good,” the future teen said with stars in his eyes. “You’re really good at taking pictures, Donnie.”

“Of course I am. I document everything,” Donnie said as he gave Raph his phone so he could adjust and look over the picture as he pleased. Wow, Raph was allowed to hold Donnie’s previous phone. It might have been a backup, but still. Wow. Melon leaned against Raph’s side, looking curiously up as her tail slowly swayed.

Leo shrugged. “Yeah, I know. It’s nothing, just a little weiiiiir— Hey!” Mikey dragged Leo down by his scarf and started rubbing the top of his head. “Lemme go, Mikey!”

“Just gimme a sec— Aha!” Mikey let go, holding out a glowing blue thread that he had seemingly pulled from Leo’s head. “You had a Ninpō dream, like the ones I get.”

“A Ninpō dream?” That was a new one. So Leo had some future vision at some point. “That’s so awesome!”

Raph looked over and smiled. “They can be pretty cool.”

“Wait, everyone has Ninpō dreams but me? So not okay,” Donnie said with a huff.

“No, not as a dream, but I get ‘em sometimes when I meditate. Nothing big though, at least not yet. You’ll get there maybe after working a bit more with Rara,” Raph said, patting Donnie’s head before handing him back his phone.

“You have been doing that one-on-one training with him recently,” Leo pointed out with a grin. “Maybe you could just code it into existence.” Donnie’s mystic abilities involved him somehow coding things into reality. Leo didn’t pretend to understand it. As it was, he only understood Ninpō because his own Ninpō was so forthcoming with answers when he asked. 

“Yeah. Donnie could totally get Ninpō dreams if he actually relaxed enough to let them happen,” Mikey teased with a snort. Leo could tell even without the imprint that Donnie was getting a little agitated. Time for Leo to do the big-brother-slash-co-leader thing and step in. 

“Mikey, don’t tease Donnie. Donnie, keep working on your mystic skills. I’m sure the dream stuff will work for you eventually. Okay? Okay.” He took a breath and calmed his nerves. Any sort of conflict between family members, even small things like this, really set off Leo's anxiety these days. He could control it but it was better that the arguments just didn’t happen. “By the by Donnie, send me that picture. Then let’s get our butts back to the sewers.” Leo glanced at Raph to judge his reaction. Even if they were co-leaders, Leo still really looked up to his big brother and wanted to make sure everything he was doing and saying was cool with him.

Raph nodded subtly when he seemed to catch Leo’s eye, though he could also see CJ watching them curiously. Right. In the future, only his Sensei led. His Uncle Waffle hadn’t been around really to help, though not of his own volition. 

Leo’s phone buzzing brought him out of his thoughts. “Done and done. When we go back, are we eating? I’m craving… pizza,” Donnie said as he looked at Leo expectantly.

Leo shrugged. “Pizza sounds good to me.” With a smooth motion and a twirl of his katana, Leo sliced open a portal. He shot Donnie an amused smirk before bowing and gesturing to the portal. “Thank you for flying Air Leo. Please make sure you keep your hands, feet, and other limbs inside the portal space at all times.”

Melon sneezed and gave Leo an unimpressed look before nudging Raph to start walking, keeping her head pressed into his right hand. Raph rolled his eyes, both his brown and nearly milky one, before he walked through with Melon. Mikey followed along after him with a cheer about ordering pizza. CJ followed suit with his own cheers, finally having settled into his love of the gooey goodness from the gods. 

“What was the look for, Cos?” Donnie asked as he waited by the edge of the portal, raising a brow at Leo.

Leo chuckled and shook his head. He held out his hand and a blue Ninpō knife formed on his fingertip. He balanced it there for a moment before it vanished. “We share our Ninpō now, remember, Fizz? You could have made a portal just as easily as I can.”

Donnie paused for a moment as he blinked. “Right, I knew that. I was just testing you to ensure that you remembered that.” 

Oh, right. Donnie hadn’t been doing too great after… the invasion. He and his brothers were loads better after the whole mess, like their appetites were back to normal, but Donnie’s transformation into a Specialist affected his brain more than the others. Literally, in more ways than his memory. But they were working on it.

Honestly, with how much progress everyone was making, it was easy for Leo to forget just how badly scarred they all were both mentally and physically. He didn’t want to linger on that thought though. That would unpack a whole barrel of worms, not just a can, that he didn’t want to touch. He was doing better. He just had to keep reminding himself of that.

“Sure thing, Fizzy. Now get your butt through this portal. My knee is starting to go and I wanna get off my feet before I end up shell down on the ground.” The injuries Kraang Subprime had inflicted on Leo were still causing him issues even a month later.

"Though with your impressively crafted and designed battle shell, it wouldn't be a problem if that did happen," Donnie said, tapping on the edge of his shell with a finger and then gesturing to the Genius Built branded knee brace he had on. "Same goes for the brace. I guess rest is important though." With that and a dramatic verbalized, “Sigh,” Donnie trailed his way through the portal.

Leo could only shake his head fondly as he followed after his twin. Some things would never change no matter how much they’d been through.

Even with a month passed since he and the younger version of his family defeated the Kraang and stopped the apocalypse from happening, CJ still felt weird, and not in the good way. He knew he was weird since all of his family was, and he took pride in that, but this wasn't the good kind of weird. 

He was on guard all the time, ready for missions or threats every second, for someone to be sent out, including him. Noises he didn't recognize in the night still woke him, but it would just be Donnie being coerced to sleep, Melon going about and doing night cat things, or the shifting of pipes or the ground above in a non-life threatening way. It was better but it still wasn't great.

Honestly, as bad as his former life seemed, CJ wished it was still like that. Yes, he worked his whole life for this kind of peace but was this really peace? He didn't envision it like this and he didn't know how to live with it. No one had prepared him for it besides saying how great and amazing it would be. He wanted to go on missions, have something to do, have some kind of... purpose besides aimlessly existing. Spending time with the younger version of his family was great, especially since they were becoming a new family for him, but...

No, that was just a selfish messed up line of thinking. CJ shook himself out of those errant thoughts as he focused back on the video game in front of him. Breath of the Wild on the Switch. Yes, a boy who awoke from a long slumber and had to do tasks to stop the dangers from erupting while saving the one he cared for, even if he didn't fully remember her yet. This game was great. Link was super cool. Though Revali was a bit... irritating, but his ability was super useful. If only Link had a grappling hook like CJ did so he wouldn't have to hear that bird's annoying voice whenever he needed to shoot up into the air. 

“Hey CJ? You got a minute?” That was Lenny, Donnie’s robot AI son formerly known as SHELLDON and someone who CJ had also looked up to in the apocalypse. Though instead of being this super cool adult, Lenny was just an awkward kid like CJ. Maybe even mentally younger than CJ at this point. “I could use some help. It’s nothing serious. Just… Yeah.” When CJ glanced over, he saw Lenny tapping his boosters together nervously. 

CJ had Link land behind some trees and paused the game before looking properly over at Lenny. “Of course. I’ve always got time for you. What’s going on?”

“Can you help me check on Dad?” Lenny fidgeted awkwardly while he hovered in the air. “He’s been locked in his lab all day and I can’t access the cameras to check on him. I’m worried he might have slipped into an episode again.”

Donnie had apparently been suffering with some serious paranoia in the lead up to the invasion, and being possessed by the Kraang had just made it worse. He was much more scattered than even CJ’s Uncle Tello had been, and he had these weird periods of time that everyone called Paranoia Episodes where he’d lock himself away from everyone and work tirelessly on some project or another. Most of the time, these projects were about protecting everyone, but to the extreme level. One of the more recent ones involved locking everyone down hardcore in their rooms for ‘their own safety.’ Yeah, it was that sort of thing.

CJ quickly saved his game before he turned off the console and TV. “Yeah, of course.” Lenny before had always been a big brother to him, helping him out always whenever he asked. He’d do the same for younger Lenny here. “You know, if you ever need me, don’t be nervous to ask. I’m always more than happy to help you out.” CN walked over and knocked his head against Lenny’s with a smile.

Lenny let out a chirp in response, clearly relaxing at CJ’s words. “Thanks, CJ. It’s just kinda hard to ask for stuff like this. Still getting used to having actual feelings, y’know?” He knocked his head against CJ’s fondly.

Right, Lenny was still in this learning phase of how to feel and process his wants and desires instead of having it all figured out. Plus he was still a drone of sorts instead of an android. “Well I’ll help you out. I know everyone else is more than happy to help you out too. We all care about and love you, Lenny.” CJ let out his own chirp to soothe this little guy and it seemed to work. Good.

“It’s still so cool that you can chirp and everything,” Lenny enthused as they started heading to Donnie’s lab. “Can you churr too? What about the clicks that Uncle Leo does sometimes? April can’t manage either of those, even if she can chirp.”

CJ hummed and cleared his throat. It had been a while since he’d done either but… Yeah, okay, he could still churr. Click too. “I dunno, can I?”

Lenny looked at CJ in awe. “You are so cool, dude,” he replied seriously.

Oh. CJ felt his cheeks warm and he quickly laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Thanks, Lenny.” Was this what it felt like for Junior and Frida and Lenny when all of them were younger and he gushed over them as a kid? 

Unaware of CJ’s thoughts, Lenny just let out a happy, almost mystical chirp and continued flying up to Donnie’s lab. CJ saw that the door looked to be locked, but it was hard to tell without actually trying it. When he typed in the code, it slid open easily. That was one point in favor of no episode at least. Donnie always locked the door when he was having an episode.

When CJ walked in with Lenny hovering by his side, no alarms went off. Another point there for no episode. Oh, and he could hear Donnie conversing with someone. “I told you that I am fine, Michael. I am in editing mode and need to finish this script up.” Okay, he was working on a video essay for his YouTube channel. No episode whatsoever. Phew. 

“Donnie, you’ve got shrimp posture. You need a break,” Mikey insisted with a huff. “You need to do some stretches and take a screen break.”

“Oh thank Pizza Supreme,” Lenny muttered, sagging slightly in the air. CJ patted Lenny’s head and smiled as the little robot chirped in response. He took it upon himself to walk them further in and oh yeah, yup, Donnie had bad shrimp posture. Also a messy desk, which was becoming more and more common since everything happened. His Uncle Tello had messy desks but he always made sure to neaten and tidy them up and reorganize everything after his work was done or when he needed to step back. That seemed to be slipping Donnie’s mind every so often. 

“I do not need a screen break. I need to finish this last page,” Donnie insisted back before he took a sip from his water bottle. He pushed his glasses up which yeah, he was also wearing now instead of contacts. Those were reserved for missions or flying around now, according to Donnie. No one seemed to complain about that. “I haven’t finished a good script in ages and I’m on a roll.”

“How long will one more page take?” Mikey asked, a sickly sweet tinge to his voice. Eugh boy, even CJ knew to fear that tone. 

“Oh, Dad is in trouble if he doesn’t answer this question right,” Lenny muttered. It was clear now that he was enjoying the show with his previous worry forgotten.

Thankfully, Donnie seemed to pick up on the tone as he glanced at Mikey. “Uh… A minute?”

Mikey hummed and nodded. “I’ll give you two. Then it’s break time whether you’re finished or not.” Donnie nodded before turning to his screen, his hands becoming a blur as he worked. Wow. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” CJ said as he finally entered the room instead of hovering by the entryway. Lenny stayed close to his side, clearly not comfortable enough to risk drawing Mikey’s attention.

 “Hey CJ. Heya Lenny,” Mikey cooed, rocking back on his heels with his hands behind his back. “I realized Donnie hadn’t come out for the last three of his hourly checks sooo I decided to come check on him. I’m getting him out of his chair and dealing with the shrimp posture.”

CJ looked at Donnie and hissed through his teeth. “Yeah, it’s bad. He needs it for his back and shell,” he agreed with a nod. “Just going to do a stretch with him or going to have him re-engage with the world again?”

“Re-engage is probably for the best, considering that he’s pumping out a fire script right now.” Mikey shrugged. “I’ll probably drag him around to help do the shopping for dinner after some good ol’ stretches.”

“Sounds like a great plan,” CJ said as he thought for a moment. Lenny wouldn’t be able to go out with Donnie to make sure he was okay. CJ wanted to get used to this new world of his, though it was overwhelming and thinking about going out… 

After glancing at Lenny, CJ felt his determination lock in. “Mind if I tag along?” he asked Mikey, glancing at Lenny with a smile for a moment before focusing back on the turtle in front of him.

“Sure. It’ll be fun,” Mikey said as he beamed. In the future, Master Michelangelo—or Uncle Mikey as CJ would call him when they weren’t on missions—had been a literal ray of sunshine in the dark and gloomy world of the apocalypse. That seemed to be just as true, if not more so in the past. Mikey didn’t have the same troubles Uncle Mikey had weighing him down which just let his joy and his blinding smile shine brighter

“Alright, great. I’ll just get my things.” Did CJ have things to bring that weren’t his gear? He had only gone out once last week to go to that restaurant where he saw this timeline’s version of his Uncle YuuYuu, Junior, and Tio Hueso. They had just gone into one place that felt familiar though. That was a lot different than actually going out and about. What would he need for that?

“Hey CJ, why don’t you make sure you have something comfy on, something to fiddle with, and your phone,” Mikey suggested with an understanding smile. “Also maybe bring some headphones. The world up top can get pretty noisy.”

CJ nodded and gave Mikey some finger guns that he hoped weren’t too awkward. Oh, no, they totally were. “You got it.” Still, he was a life saver as he walked out with Lenny, seeing Donnie thankfully finish his script in just the nick of time.

“If you keep one side of your headphones on, I can be on call and you can zone out with me,” Lenny offered shyly. “It can be overwhelming on the surface so being able to tap out quickly is useful.”

Glancing over at Lenny, CJ couldn’t help but smile as he reached over and patted his head. “Thanks. Think you could help me get my stuff together too?”

Lenny nodded excitedly. “Sure!” 

CJ turned a corner and almost walked straight into Leo, who had the robot arms of his battle shell holding up a bunch of papers for him. “Oh, hey CJ. Hey Lenny. Sorry, I was distracted with all this stuff.” He waved his hand and the battle shell put all the papers into a pile and tucked them away under his waiting arm. “What are you guys up to?”

Right, Leo was more tech-forward than Sensei was. Or was it more testing and analysis? Well, he had the time to since he wasn’t leading the resistance or raising a family during the apocalypse with Uncle YuuYuu and Frida. “Just getting some stuff to get ready to head out with Donnie and Mikey. Gonna get Donnie out of the lair because he’s been in shrimp mode and to go shopping for dinner.”

Leo hissed sympathetically. “Oof, yeah. He needs a break if he’s hit shrimp mode.” He nodded before taking a breath and giving CJ a warm smile. “It’s cool that you’re heading up top but if it gets too much, just buzz me, yeah? I’m all for pushing limits but this is a big step and there is no shame in ducking out early if you gotta.”

Even if Leo wasn’t his Sensei, he had taken on a sort of older brother role. Funny, especially considering CJ was older than Leo. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. What are you trying to do with all that paperwork?”

“Oh, this?” Leo looked surprisingly pleased with himself. “I’ve been trying to identify your DNA donor so I can properly tailor any medicines you might need for, well, you. I haven’t had much luck but I did have a bit of a breakthrough. I was gonna ask Donnie if I could use his lab for my analysis.”

Okay, so it was analyzing stuff. “Glad the DNA samples I gave were helpful. I wish I had a medicine sample on me for you to use. Would’ve been a lot easier that way.” Sensei normally held those though in his medic pouch so he hadn’t had a chance to have any on him. Ah well.

“Yeah, probably, but… Do you think you can handle a bombshell or do you want it to wait until later?” Leo asked, his expression somewhat hesitant.

CJ raised a brow. “Like, a bombshell right now?” Leo nodded and CJ thought for a moment. “No, not if I still want to head out. When I get back, yeah.”

“Got it.” Leo gave CJ some finger guns, even while he had a huge stack of papers under one arm. “Hey Lenny, since you’re gonna be staying here, you wanna help me with my analysis? At least when you’re done helping CJ.”

“Sure. It’ll be fun!”

Hopefully the finger guns CJ gave this time weren’t as awkward. “Okay. I’ll send him your way when we’re done. Have fun,” he called before heading off to the guest car he was staying in. Well, it used to be the guest car but it still felt weird calling it his room. It had more space and comfort than his old shared space he had with Frida, was safer, and overall better, but…

“Hey CJ, maybe while you’re out, can you see if Mikey and Donnie will let you look around for some decorations for your room?” Lenny suggested, glancing around the mostly bare subway car. “I know I could offer a few suggestions to help this place feel more like home.”

The smile that took over CJ's face was one he couldn't help. Even if Lenny was practically a little kid, he was still looking out for CJ. "That sounds great. What kinda places should we look at for cool room décor?"

“Well now that you’ve got stuff for your room, CJ, I need to pick up stuff for dinner.” Mikey was way too happy at the moment. Donnie couldn’t place why but he wasn’t going to question it. Mikey’s good mood meant he was willing to make Donnie’s favorite: Gourmet Tex Mex. If Mikey's inexplicable good mood got Donnie what he wanted, he would leave it at that.

CJ had headphones resting on his head, the patented Genius Built™️ pair Donnie had whipped up for him. Seeing him wear it and knowing he was listening to a playlist that Raph and Donnie had curated didn't make him feel emotions, no. Totally not. Couldn't stain that emotionally unavailable bad boy image, especially not on the surface. The glasses were already pushing it. "Of course. Thanks for even letting me get some stuff for my room."

Donnie waved him off with a hand from where his face was buried in his phone. "It needs to have life to and in it. If you hadn't asked, I probably would've overnight ordered you stuff because yeah, your room needs a touch of personality. But anyway, onto the more important thing here: Gourmet Tex Mex."

"Uh... What is that?" Did CJ seriously not know of the best food to grace this planet Donnie barely tolerated? Oh, and this poor lost lamb hadn't had pizza before either. The apocalypse really had been unforgiving if that was the case.

“Tex Mex is a style of cooking that comes from Central America, mostly from Mexico and the neighboring countries and states, like Texas. That’s why it's called ‘Tex Mex’,” Mikey explained, shifting to walk backwards so he could face CJ as he talked. “It’s got a lot of wonderfully complex flavors and normally it’s kinda spicy. It’s the only really spicy food that Donnie will eat. And, in order to make it gourmet, it’s all about the ingredients you choose, use, and all the ways you blend the flavors to make it more complex and to deepen them.” 

Even while walking backwards, Mikey seemed to know exactly where he was going as he led them down a side street, away from the crowds, and stopped outside what looked like a mom-and-pop grocery store. Huh. Well it smelled heavenly so this must be the place for the best ingredients.

CJ blinked as they stopped and still looked lost, even if he seemed to enjoy the explanation. “Uh…”

“Angelo, I cannot believe that I, of all people, am saying this to you but your explanation did not help. You just confused him more,” Donnie said before he patted CJ’s shoulder. “It’s foods like tacos, enchiladas, burritos, fajitas, and nachos.”

Clarity reached CJ’s eyes as he nodded. “Oh! I know what you mean now. Those were things Hueso loved to make when he could. Well, some of the things.” Made sense, but the old bone man could make those kinda of food and not pizza in CJ’s timeline? The world must have just grown to hate pizza, and that was not a world Donnie ever wanted to partake in.

Mikey just shrugged. “Hey, I had no idea if he’d have any context for those foods or not.” He turned and gestured to the shop. “But now let me introduce to you the best shop in town if you’re making any Tex Mex or Latin style dishes!” With that, the box turtle marched in without a care in the world. “Hey Juan? You working today?”

“Hey, Angelito.” A nasally voice chuckled from inside the store. “And what can I do for you today? You spoiling your brothers again with your fabulous cooking?”

“You know it!” Mikey almost was chirping from how happy he sounded. “And hey, I brought along two members of my family. Get your butts in here, guys. Come meet my friend.”

CJ raised a brow and walked in. Okay, so this guy wasn’t in his timeline. Donnie noted that down on his phone as he walked in. “We’re coming, Angelo. You have so many friends. It’s insane.”

“I know, I’m just that amazing.” Mikey was sitting on the counter, swinging his legs as he leaned back a little. The person behind the counter, this ‘Juan’ character, did surprise Donnie somewhat. He was a mutant for one thing, a blue gecko if Donnie had to guess, and he looked to be around Donnie's age. 

“Greetings, fellow reptiles. I am Juan and it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Donnie could detect the faintest hint of an accent through the gecko’s voice but his word choice was delightful. “Based on the color scheme, I’d say you’re most likely Donatello. I don’t recall Angelito ever mentioning a human boy being part of the family. Regardless. It’s nice to meet you.”

“That’s CJ. He’s a newer addition to the family but he’s my brother nonetheless.” Mikey smiled softly while shooting CJ a wink.

That got a real smile from CJ which was good. He needed to smile more. “Hi there,” the human teen said as he waved before sticking his hands back into the pockets of his hoodie.

Oh, it was Donnie’s turn to interact then. He nodded to Juan. “Hello, greetings, salutations and whatnot,” he said as he glanced down at his phone and opened up his document that listed all of Mikey’s friends. Very quickly, he added Juan and what he noticed about the mutant in there. So far, he seemed like a more favorable friend that his younger brother made compared to his more rambunctious rapscallions he hung with.

“A fellow linguistic aficionado. How delightful.” Juan’s dry tone did nothing to hide his actual excitement. Huh. That was curious. Sarcasm was something that Mikey very rarely gelled well with. He liked enthusiasm and pep.

“Donnie is a genius so yeah, he knows a lot of big words. Unlike you, mister. I heard you got grounded again .” Mikey poked Juan’s cheek and got his hand brushed aside as a result.

“What can I say, Angelito? The boy is bad for me but I can’t help myself.“

“If the data says he’s bad, you should probably stop,” Donnie said as he added a few more notes to his online doc. 

CJ scoffed. “Says the one who has so much data against his bad habits but refuses to change them,” he muttered under his breath, loud enough for Donnie to hear.

Donnie turned, mid type, and stared at CJ. “I’m going to pretend that I did not hear that, dear CJ, because I am a nice brother.”

“Avoiding it even still then,” CJ said, raising a brow with a hint of a smirk on his lips that reminded him too much of someone else in his family.

“He’s got you there, DonDon.” Mikey hopped down from the counter and offered Juan the shopping list he insisted on writing down before they left. Clearly he hasn’t learned to properly utilize nature’s notepad. “You got all this in stock?” 

The gecko scanned the list before handing it back. “You know where everything is kept. Go grab it.”

“Perfect. Thanks Juan!” Mikey turned to Donnie and CJ. “I’ll be right back. Play nice.” With that, he almost literally bounced down the aisles and out of sight.

“Ah, that boy has too much energy. Now we just need to figure out how to harness it. We’d power all of New York for the rest of eternity.” Oh, Juan was definitely someone Donnie could see himself possibly talking to for more than just today past this small talk.

Not that he’d ever say that though. He would need to pass a series of tests to see if he was truly worth Donnie’s time and interest. “I’ve already thought about that. There’s no conceivably ethical way to do that as of now. Even if there was to be one, there’s always the risk of hurting him in some way, shape, or form.” Not worth the risk in Donnie’s book, even if the idea was tempting.

“Yeah, we don’t want to risk hurting him. He’s too sweet,” Juan agreed with a nod. Then he smirked. “So we just have to wait until he inevitably snaps and turns evil. Then we are justified in imprisoning him for his limitless power.”

Donnie shook his head then, not looking up from his phone. Didn’t mean he still wasn’t watching Juan carefully from his peripherals though. “Nah. If that happens, we’re all dead in a heartbeat if he doesn’t choose to spare us. Which he might, but still. No chance in hell or whatever belief you may have regarding the afterlife and such.”

That made Juan snort. “Oh there are ways. You just have to know his weaknesses to defend yourself from him.” Juan lifted his head and called down the store, “Hey Angelito, watch out. We got a delivery of plantains yesterday.”

 “What?! Ew ew ew ew ew!” 

Juan looked satisfied. “One of many I’ve recorded.”

CJ raised a brow. “You record the weaknesses of your friend? Who would—”

“Ah, I haven’t recorded that one. Makes sense though since he wouldn’t bring plantains into the lair if he hates them so much,” Donnie said as he opened up a different document and added information into the list in Mikey’s column of weaknesses. 

“I stand corrected.”

“Hey, wanna compare lists? Since I have a bunch you’d only find topside and you probably have a bunch I’d never think to check,” Juan offered. “Gimme your number. And don’t worry, this isn’t a flirtation. I know you’re not inclined in that way.”

Alright, he passed Donnie’s tests. After opening up his contact list to create a new contact, he handed his phone over to a new potential companion. “Here. Just put your details in here. Also, I am either a frequent spam texter or I message once a blue moon. It does not reflect on you. Mostly. You’ll know when it does.”

“Don’t worry, I’m the same,” Juan said as he passed the phone back.

“Aww, look at you two. Getting along. Have you made a friend, DonDon?” Mikey cooed. He brought over a basket and passed it to Juan who started ringing his things up.

“You say that as if it’s not a common occurrence. Who wouldn’t want to converse with such a brilliantly sharp mind?” Juan shot back with a snort.

Donnie snorted as he added a little gecko emoji next to Juan’s name and saved his contact. “Many are intimidated by my brilliance and sharp wit.”

“Or you scare them away,” CJ said, looking away ‘innocently’ when Donnie looked at him. 

“Angelo, I think CJ’s too comfortable with us.”

“Good. We need another person who is smart enough to knock you down a peg.”

“So harsh, Angelito,” Juan teased. “Didn’t know you had it in you to be so cruel.” 

“Oh I can be so much worse, Juan. Don’t tempt me.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

Donnie leaned against the counter and pointed his phone towards Juan. “This one. I like this one. I’ll like you more if you defend my honor.”

“Anything you say, sweet prince of the mind. I’ll be your humble knight, though don’t expect shining armor. I actually work for a living.” Mikey just rolled his eyes fondly.

Yes, this one was a keeper. “Don’t worry, I’ll make you some. Plus, if you were my knight, I wouldn’t expect shining armor unless it was cleaned. Dull armor means you’ve been working hard,” Donnie said with a nod. 

“Dear spirits, no,” CJ groaned. Ah, jealousy was a cruel mistress. Of course he’d be jealous of Donnie’s incredible new friendship.

“Ah, someone who understands me. A man after my own heart, platonically.” Juan grinned, dramatically putting a hand to his chest before turning to Mikey. “Now, this would normally come to $49.78 buuut since you’re our best customer, I’ll round it down to $45 even. Deal?”

“You’re so good to me, Juan.” Mikey sighed fondly, handing over the cash. “I’ll send you pictures of dinner, yeah?”

“You’d better. Your stuff looks leagues better than anything I can find on social media.”

“Definitely tastes better too,” Donnie said with a nod before he sent Juan a text, sharing him on the list of weaknesses he had for his family. Hey, if he became someone Donnie visited and he possibly even came over to the lair, he could help find weaknesses for more than just his youngest brother.

“No doubt.” Juan passed the paper bag of groceries over to Mikey. “Now you three, don’t be strangers. And Donatello, I’ll send you the list after I get off my shift.” 

“Thanks again, Juan. See you later!” Mikey called.

Donnie nodded as CJ awkwardly waved and shuffled out with them. “Good luck working, you poor sad chump,” Donnie said with a singular wave of his hand before he re-entered the evening side streets of New York City.

“I think that covered everything I needed for dinner,” Mikey said as he glanced over the list. “Everything else we already have. So. Wanna go back home now?”

After glancing at CJ, watching both pads now slip over his ears, Donnie nodded. “Yes. I want my Gourmet Tex Mex, thank you very much.”

After getting home, Mikey vanished into the kitchen to start cooking and Donnie had headed up to his lab. That left CJ to do what he wanted. He wasn’t sure what that was. Maybe go decorate his room? Or return to his game?

He was heading up to the subway car bedroom room when he was once again intercepted by Leo. The slider looked somewhat nervous and he kept patting Lenny’s head as he hovered beside him. “Hey CJ. You got time for that bombshell about now? It’s, uh, I have all the information at this point.”

CJ slid down his headphones to rest around his neck and nodded. “Yeah, sure. Can I just drop this bag off first so I can fully focus on the bombshell?” 

Even if Leo was a younger version of his Sensei, he had a harder time reading him. Maybe because he didn’t let himself fully open up like Sensei had. There was still that closed off part of him that he held up, even with family. Because to that, CJ couldn’t tell if this was a good or bad bombshell. Leo had said he was analyzing CJ’s DNA, so… 

Wait. “Did you figure out who my DNA donor was? To make me not an exact clone of my mom?”

Leo nodded, his expression somewhat conflicted. “Meet us in the training room? It’ll be a bit more private there.”

Okay, so this has to be someone Leo knew. What human guys did Leo know? Or maybe it was a girl whose DNA was tweaked to work as a donor? “Yeah, of course. I’ll be right over.”

Leo nodded again and took a breath. He started heading down the ramp to the training room, seemingly more relaxed. He didn’t stop patting Lenny though so maybe not as relaxed as CJ hoped. Why was a teenager harder to read than a battle hardened veteran? It was Sensei who had taught CJ to read people for spirits sake!

Well, Sensei had always been open with him. Maybe that was the difference: Leo didn’t want CJ to know what he was thinking. That was the only thing that CJ could think of as he went into his room and put the big bag down on his bed. He took off his hoodie too and hesitated before taking off his headphone and putting them and his phone on his desk set up where some seats had previously been. He’d set this place up later with some help from Lenny and maybe Leo if he was up for it after this bombshell.

With that, CJ hurried down to the training room. Raph, Splinter, and Draxum would be finished with it by now, so it would be totally private.

Leo was sitting on one of the crash mats while looking down at the papers in his hands. Lenny was going around the room to  the different cameras and disabling them from the sounds of things. Oh wow, this was going to be very private. Leo wasn’t even letting Donnie know.

Okay, so whoever CJ’s DNA donor was a big deal. At least, if CJ’s line of thinking based on how he inferred details from context clues was right. He made sure the training room door was shut fully as he walked over and sat down by Leo. “Uh, hey.”

“Hey.” Leo offered CJ a smile and a small sigh. “Okay, I’m going to preface this whole chat with something important. The only people who will know this are you, me, and Lenny. If you’re happy to share, you can share. We will not say a word to anyone else. On top of that, we have some things set up to wipe any details about this from every computer in the lair, including Donnie’s backup storage and cloud storage. There will be no record of this if you ask us to delete it. That okay with you?”

Oh. Even bigger than CJ thought. Who the hell was his DNA donor?! Was it some bad guy like that Big Mama woman somehow or, even if it made no sense, the— No, stop. Don’t spiral and entertain those thoughts. “Yeah, totally.”

“Okay.” Leo handed CJ the first piece of paper. “To start with, the majority of your DNA is Cassandra’s, as expected. But… Only 75% of your human DNA actually belongs to her. The other 25% of it is, well… It's complicated. But the first of the two bombshells I’ve got is that you’re not totally human. You’re not Kraang or anything, but you’re only about 65% human. That’s similar to Mikey’s DNA, believe it or not.” That was insane. He wasn’t totally human? It made sense, with how many hits he could take and why he was so durable in general but still!

“So I’m a mutant? But a more homemade version of it, I guess,” CJ thought out loud. He didn’t want to look at the paper yet, didn’t want to read it over. He needed that confirmation and to be told all this before the papers sealed this in.

“Yeah, in essence. The reason you don’t look more animal-like is because of how you were made. Human base and all that. It’s complicated, but here.” He passed CJ another piece of paper. “The first part is a breakdown of your human DNA. The second is about your nonhuman DNA.” 

CJ took a breath before looking at the first paper. As expected, it showed the 65-35 split between human and other. The human DNA was then further split between Cassandra and… Asian male? How did that work? There weren’t very many Asian guys that the turtles knew at this age, or even in the resistance. On further investigation, the area of origin was… Japan? 

When CJ looked at the second page, his heart almost stuttered. The 35% was broken into a few categories. 30% yokai, 5% Panthera leo, 5% Alligator mississippiensis, 60% Trachemys scripta elegans. 

The summary rounded out with the following: Nonhuman DNA identified as 100% mutated red eared slider.

Oh.

CJ took a deep breath. “Well, I guess me thinking my Sensei was like my dad and realizing that… wasn’t far off at all.” What Uncle Tello said to Sensei before when Raph and Leo had brought their spirits, including Uncle Waffle’s, over to talk with him made more sense. Chiding him for not revealing the truth. 

For not revealing that he was actually his dad.

“It’s just more proof that you’re actually family?” Leo offered awkwardly. “Like I said, no one else has to know if you don’t want them too. Lenny and I are sworn to secrecy. And I’ll make sure Donnie doesn’t bug you about it either.”

After a moment, CJ looked at Leo. “This doesn’t change my view of you at all, so you know. Nothing. It’s just, well, confirmed something for me that I’m glad to know.” It did make his heart swell, but in the best way possible. Yeah, he’d need to unpack this more later, but it made all the moments with his family he grew up with, with the Hamatos, Uncle YuuYuu, Frida, his Sensei all the more important to him.

“That’s good.” Leo looked up at him with a smile. There was still something dancing in his eyes, but CJ couldn’t place it. “I promise not to make it weird or anything, but… it’s good to know that future me got a bigger family than I initially thought.”

CJ nodded as he tried to but couldn’t place what it was in Leo’s eyes. “How are you personally feeling about this?”

Leo paused before answering. “Honestly, a little weird. You represent the nightmare situation of losing my brothers but also the dream situation of having a family. And I don’t hold either thing against you,” he clarified quickly, waving a hand. “It’s just… weird to think about. That biologically speaking, you are technically mine, even if I don’t think of you that way. You’re already a brother to me anyway. It’s just… yeah. Complicated and weird feelings. But happy is the prevailing emotion.”

Lenny zoomed down and over, letting Leo pat his head again. CJ’s eyes softened before he nodded. “If they weren’t complicated and weird, I’d be concerned,” he said as he smiled. “I mean, here’s a way to think of it: it proves that no matter what, you get a family. You’ll have a family, even in the worst of times. That still happens. You’re still happy with the people you love, and you don’t have to worry about that nightmare situation now.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point.” Leo nodded, glancing away from CJ with a small smile. “Thanks, Casey.”

CJ hummed before he shifted and held the papers up. “Can you destroy this stuff?”

Lenny swooped down and took the documents. They were ash before they hit the ground. “Done. And the virus is working as we speak,” the drone confirmed with a nod. “The only records now are mental ones.”

“Thanks,” CJ said before he knocked his head against Lenny’s. “I appreciate it.” Lenny let out a fond churr and nuzzled against CJ before zipping off.

“I, uh, saw you had a bag when you got home,” Leo started hesitantly. “You get anything fun?”

CJ looked at Leo then and smiled. “Yeah, some stuff for my room. Got some posters, some desk decorations, and Mikey insisted I get a plush. Wanna see?”

“Yeah!” Leo lit up. Just like that, he went from awkward to bright and beaming. It was almost enough to give CJ whiplash. “You want some help putting it all up?”

Still, CJ could take it in stride. “Yes please. I never really had my own room to decorate. The room I’d share with my sister wasn’t as big, and she was the one who had an eye for design, not me. Mikey and Donnie sort of helped me pick out stuff too since there were… a lot of options.”

“Yeah, it can be a bit overwhelming.” Leo stood and offered his hand out to CJ. “But don’t worry, Leon’s got you covered.”

CJ snorted as he took Leo’s hand. “Sounds great. Thanks.”

Leo hauled CJ to his feet with a grin. “Awesome. We probably have at least an hour before Mikey’s done with dinner which is plenty of time to decorate.” Leo hesitated, then intertwined their fingers and squeezed gently. “Plus, we can start finding you a style that feels most comfortable based on how you like your room. One that can include your awesome plastron-styled body armor.”

That made CJ hesitate. “No. I wanna keep it on, not display it,” he insisted, but he squeezed Leo’s hand back.

“Oh, I meant clothes, not wall decorations,” Leo clarified. “You can get to know a lot about someone’s style based on how they like to keep and decorate their room. And CJ, I love you, but you’ve been stealing all our hoodies for weeks now. We gotta get you some clothes of your own. To bulk up the closet a little.”

CJ felt his face warm up at that. “I’m sort of used to stealing other people’s clothes or getting hand-me-downs,” he admitted as they started walking out of the training room. “Never really had my own clothes. Sort of just communally shared clothes, if that makes sense?”

“It does. Which is why we’re gonna sort you out with some amazing, stylish, and, above all, comfy clothes just as soon as I have a feel for what would work for you.” Leo looked very pleased with himself and rather excited too. “Don’t worry, you’ve got one of the most fashionable turtles to help you out with that.”

CJ stared at him. “Isn’t that Donnie? Wait, no, he’s the most fashionable. So isn’t it Mikey?”

Leo let out an affronted gasp. “How dare you?! I am easily one of the most stylish turtles in existence! The only one who can rival me is my twin, with his e-boy-punk-goth combo swag.”

“Well prove me wrong then,” CJ challenged.

“Oh, it’s on. Get that skinny butt moving. We have some styling to do.”

Chapter Text

Leo was bored, something he was painfully familiar with since his training and trips up top were very limited due to his still healing body. He hated being held captive in his own home. That plus the weird lingering feeling of dread that crept up on him whenever he was idle—no it wasn’t a heart attack. He checked—meant that Leo despised not being with his brothers, his dads, CJ, or the girls. He figured the dread was some form of PTSD, but Carol had yet to identify it.

That was why he was making his way into Donnie’s greenhouse. If anyone could provide some entertainment, even just in the form of some witty banter, it was Donnie. 

When he walked into the lab to get to Donnie’s greenhouse, he heard music. Now, that wasn’t uncommon since Donnie was as much of a music head as Raph, just in a different way. It was the kind of music that caught him off guard. It was… jazz? What? That was Raph’s thing.

Now Leo was curious. If Donnie was acting weird, it was Leo’s chance to either have some fun or learn something new about his twin. Using his usual methods to avoid detection, Leo slipped silently into the greenhouse and headed towards the source of the music.

When he slipped further in, he found Donnie playing jazz from a small set of speakers next to the biggest pumpkin Leo had ever seen in person. It was well over ten feet tall and eight feet wide, looked exactly like a classic pumpkin, and was sitting beside Donnie, who was looking over it carefully. He wore his glasses, which Donnie was beginning to wear more and more, though his goggles were slid down over and around them as he seemed to be getting a closer look at something by its stem. “Yes, you are perfect,” Donnie muttered before he slid his goggles up and on top of his head, his glasses staying as they were. “Ethel Crabapple will never know what hit her.”

Leo lightly knocked his knuckles against a shelf nearby as well as gave a small prod through the imprint so Donnie didn’t get jumpscared by his arrival. “Holy Pizza Puffs, that is a big pumpkin,” he enthused, walking closer but still giving Donnie some space. “I don’t think I’ve seen a bigger or more perfect looking pumpkin in my life .”

Donnie instantly held a hand up, and then a robot hand from his battle shell stopped Leo from getting too close. “Yes, and it shall stay that way,” his twin said before the hand retracted back into the black metal. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She really is.” Leo nodded. Hey, he could be a supportive twin. Especially since he and Donnie had been even more in sync they both tapped so deeply into the imprint in the past few months. “You growing her just for the sake of it or are you planning on kicking some butt at a show or something?”

“Ah yes. I suppose I haven’t told you about it yet, but have you ever heard of… Gourdfest?”

Huh. “Can’t say I have, dear twin of mine,” Leo answered.

Donnie grinned. “Well, it is a festival for gourds, as the name suggests, but I have been going the past few years, entering my precious pumpkins I have grown. I thought I would surely win with ease but I have found my greatest botanical rival there: Ethel Crabtree.” Donnie dramatically rested the back of his hand against his forehead. “She has been nothing but a pain in my botanistic backside since I entered, beating my beautiful babies every year. Well, this year I have ensured my victory with intense selective breeding to create my lovely beauty you see before you.” He gestured proudly to his pumpkin, his robot hands popping out to add flare by shaking and even releasing biodegradable sparkles.

Leo crossed his arms and nodded, impressed. He let his own pride and excitement for Donnie filter through the imprint. “Nicely done, DonTron. When is this wonderful celebration of gourds?” Leo asked with a grin. “I would have thought it would have been last month, considering we’re heading into winter now.”

Donnie sighed. “It was postponed due to the clean up from, well, that whole mess that happened at the start of October. Plus, it isn’t winter yet. Still fall, so having it the second weekend in November isn’t too bad,” he said with a shrug. “Plus, it won’t be overshadowed by the best holiday so there will be more people present to watch me obliterate Ethel.”

“Mind if I join the crowd?” It would give Leo something to do for a day, maybe two. Plus, it got him out the lair, gave him some time with Donnie, and it let him support his twin with a part of himself he was still learning to share. What wasn’t to love? “I wanna be there to see you kick that old lady out of the number one spot.”

Donnie looked at him, then walked over. He properly looked Leo up and down, close and personal, before he pulled back. “Pack an overnight bag for… possibly two nights. Yes, two nights.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Leo said with a bright grin. “And hey, mind if I let the others know where we’re going? They might even want to come and support you too.”

There was a moment of hesitation before Donnie nodded. “Sure. Just make sure whoever comes is quick with packing. I plan to leave in thirty-three minutes, at two o’clock sharp.”

Leo nodded and leaned forward just enough to knock his head against Donnie’s. “You got it, Fizz. And hey, we can take my portals to ensure your baby doesn’t get too jostled around on the trip over.”

“Thank you, Cos. Now I need to finish packing my own bags so go go, off off.” He waved Leo off and out of the greenhouse with his own hands. Well, Ninpō construct versions of his hands.

“I’m going. See you in thirty-one minutes,” Leo chirped before almost zooming out of the greenhouse. Yes! Road trip!

As he zipped out and turned the corner out of Donnie's lair, he bumped into someone big and sturdy. "Leo, watch where you're running. Are you alright?" Raph asked, an eyepatch carefully resting over his damaged eye. Oh, Mikey must have finished decorating this one because the cherry blossom embroidery was gorgeous. He offered a hand out to Leo, the one not resting against Melon's head.

Leo grabbed Raph’s hand and beamed. “Yeah! Donnie is going to a festival and is entering his giant pumpkin into the contest. He said we can come along if we wanted to, but we had to be packed and ready to leave at two o’clock on the dot.” For some reason, this whole situation had Leo feeling as excited as a little kid. He didn’t know why but he was just so pumped for this contest. Maybe Donnie’s excitement was leaking over through the imprint. Either way, it was awesome.

Maybe it wasn't just the imprint because Raph grinned too. "Oh, awesome. Is the festival gonna have, like, pumpkin foods and stuff?"

"Probably."

"Count me in then. I'll let Mikey know and see if he wants to tag along too. Uh... Think Melon would be able to come too or nah?"

Leo paused, then he nodded. “Mikey’s been working on a vest for her, right? One that she’ll actually wear?” he asked. Raph nodded. “Then yeah, I don’t see why not. I mean, they’ve clearly not had a problem with Donnie being there. What’s the harm in a few more mutants?”

Raph let out a sigh of relief at that. "Okay, cool. I'll peek in Mikey's room and tell him. How many nights we packin' for?"

“Two. And remember, if we’re not ready by two o’clock exactly, we’re not going.” Leo paused. “I’m gonna invite CJ, but I think it might be a little bit too much for him this early on into his present day adjustment.”

"Oh, he's not even here right now. He's doing his first robotics lesson with Junior."

Leo furrowed his metaphorical brows at that. "Wait, wasn't he gonna teach Junior Japanese or something?"

"Yeah, but apparently Junior changed his mind when he found out CJ knows a lot about robotics and saw his grappling hook when he went over last week," Raph said with a shrug before he continued walking. "So two and two, two and two. See 'ya then, Leo!"

“See you in a bit!” With that, Leo rushed to his room. He’d give CJ a call, maybe say hello to Junior too, then get to packing. Oh this was gonna be awesome.

“Gently now, you’re almost through fully, and… There! We’re clear, guys!” Mikey called through the frankly massive portal Leo was holding open. In order to avoid as much damage to the gourd as possible, Leo had suggested he move the pumpkin through a portal by moving the portal itself. That was a bit of an effort to begin with, but the sheer size of the portal he was holding open as well as the distance they were traveling was more than enough to wipe out his Ninpō for a good few hours at least. Still, the pumpkin made it though safely and so had everyone else. Leo quickly shifted the portal to the side before stepping through, almost a few feet to the left of the trolley that pumpkinzilla was on. 

“Okay, anything else we need before I close the portal home?” Leo asked with a huff. “Because I won’t be opening another for a good few hours.”

Raph shook his head from where he stood to the side. Melon pressed against his side, now in an adorable vest that stated she was a service animal at work, and even shook her head too. "No no, we are all fine and well and whatnot. Close the portal so you do not collapse," Donnie said as he waved his hand and took the handle of the purple construct trolley. Mikey's golden chains were carefully holding the pumpkin steady. Raph had his own red constructs up on the sides and front to keep it from tipping over. Truly a team effort here.

Leo nodded and let out a small huff as the portal closed. He sank to his knees, the spider arms of his battle shell stopping him from actually touching the ground. Hey, he was dramatic but he was not about to get dirty without a good reason. These jeans were too nice for that.

Raph carefully picked him up by the back of his battle shell and plopped him onto his shell. He was wearing that nice letterman jacket that was reinforced so it wouldn’t get ruined or torn by his spikes. Donnie had really outdone himself with that one. "There you go, it's okay," Raph said in a playfully condescending baby voice.

“You try moving a one-point-five ton pumpkin over one hundred miles in just two minutes,” Leo grumbled, clinging to Raph’s shell and knocking his head against his older brother’s head in thanks. Even if he was gonna be grumpy about the teasing, he was grateful for the ride. His knee, strapped up in his knee brace, was happy for it too. 

“It’s that heavy? Wow, Donnie. You’ve really set some records this year!” Mikey cheered, making sure to keep his distance from the pumpkin itself at Donnie’s insistence.

Donnie waved his hand. "Yes, bigger than the biggest pumpkin weight on record, easily beating out the current world record far as I've researched. Better be enough to beat her," he said as he started walking without any real issues. 

"You seriously don't think you're winning with this?" Raph asked with a raised brow, following along beside Mikey. The look Donnie gave over his shoulder said enough. "Well I think you'll win, no prob. You got this in the bag! Er, well, patch? Cart?”

“Regardless, this is the biggest, healthiest, and most pumpkin-looking pumpkin that has ever existed.” Mikey put his hands on his hips and nodded firmly. 

“What they’re trying to say is that you’ve worked hard to grow the best pumpkin possible. We all believe in you so you should believe in yourself too,” Leo added with a small smile and some reassurance into the imprint. 

His twin hummed and nodded, looking straight ahead as they walked. "We will see when we get there."

Raph kept looking forward but whispered only loud enough for Leo to hear, "He's got a lil' bit of a nervous stink, which he's never got. Maybe you and him can talk or something later?" 

“I’ll work with him on this,” Leo agreed softly.

 Since losing half of his vision, Raph’s sense of smell had gotten so much more powerful. Leo had never really given much thought to Raph’s naturally stronger sniffer, but it seemed like Raph had decided to put that snoot to good use and learn the smells of everyone’s base emotions. Leo would need to come up with some way of detecting them if he wanted to keep up with Raph in any way. Then again, Leo’s hearing was uniquely powerful, something he found sort of ironic considering most red eared sliders had very poor hearing. Donnie was more sensitive to touch too. Maybe they all had a sense that was just naturally stronger than the others. Something to research later.

Raph nodded and he smiled as he glanced at him from over his shoulder with his good eye. “Thanks.” Melon’s tail even whipped up to brush against Leo’s leg purposefully before it went back to slowly swaying.

Leo shot Raph a grin back in return. This would be awesome.

“Hey, I’m seeing decorations around over there!” Mikey cried excitedly, pointing at some flags and streamers that were hung from trees up the road. “Is that where the festival is, DonDon?”

“Well, they decorate all of the small main road as well as where the festival is,” Donnie explained as he waved to the fall and gourd-themed decorations. “This is a small village so this is where their shops, restaurants, and businesses reside.”

“It’s just this main road and that’s it?” Raph asked as he turned his head to look at the shops once they got close. Little mom and pop shops, restaurants, and businesses, about a dozen at most surrounding a roundabout in the middle of town. “It’s so… quiet.”

“It’s pretty cozy,” Leo agreed with a nod. Something about getting away from the city was honestly invigorating. Maybe he needed to take more trips into the quiet of the surrounding towns.

“I think it’s a little too quiet, but it is super cute,” Mikey added with a hum. No surprise that their chaotic artist who thrived on urban architecture and design would prefer the city.

Donnie hummed and nodded. “Yeah, it’s too quiet to be here for too long. New York is quite a town.” Made sense for his eccentric, music-blasting twin as well. “This village is nice too, but not as nice as New York.”

“What about you, Waffle? Could you ever see yourself living somewhere so quiet?” Leo asked, leaning down over Raph’s shoulder.

Raph seemed to think about it. “Maybe. Depends on who I’m with, I guess,” he said after a moment. “I wouldn’t wanna be here alone so I’d have to be here with someone who would be okay with the quiet peace of it all.”

“Good answer.” Leo hummed and flopped against Raph’s shell before hopping down and heading to walk next to Donnie. “So, once we drop off your beautiful baby, what’s the timeline from there?” he asked.

Donnie carefully turned the trolley around the corner and down a dirt path. “We will head back to the hotel nearby and get set up for the night then, if you all want, we can explore Main Street.”

“Sounds like fun!” Mikey agreed with a nod. Everyone else nodded too. 

Ahead, Leo could see the festival grounds. A number of real and plastic pumpkins and gourds of all sorts of colors and patterns were littered around the base of trees, stalls with various pumpkin themes were set up and scattered everywhere and in the center was a large white tent towered over everything. 

“Wow, this place takes their pumpkins seriously. As they should, honestly, but still. It’s bigger than I expected.” Leo shouldn’t have been surprised, really. Donnie wouldn’t have bothered entering if the competition was too small.

“Of course it’s big. It’s the biggest event for this whole village. They go all out for this more than any other event or holiday,” Donnie said as he continued to walk, going past booths and stalls. People looked at him and waved, and Donnie just nodded coolly—or as coolly as Donnie could—but did nothing else. Okay, Donnie was being his usual prickly self.  That didn’t mean Leo couldn’t mingle and get to know people. 

“Hey, Donatello!” a guy in one of the stalls, one selling pumpkin-themed jewelry, called. He had a jovial face and honestly, Leo could tell he was a nice guy from the moment he laid eyes on him. 

Deciding that he could hang back a little, Leo gave a cheerful wave and jogged over. “Hey there! You know my brother?” he asked.

The stall owner chuckled and rested his hand down after waving back. “Yeah, everyone in town does. Who wouldn’t remember and know that special of a kid?”

“He is pretty awesome,” Leo agreed, offering his hand to shake. “I’m Leonardo, his twin. Most people just call me Leo. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you. You can just call me Mr. Lee,” he introduced as he shook Leo’s hand. “If I may ask, what brought you here to join Donatello this year for the festival?”

“Well he’s worked really hard this year and his pumpkin is absolutely gorgeous so we all wanted to come and support him,” Leo said with a grin and a casual shrug. He put his hands into his hoodie pocket. No need to mention the fact that this was the first time they’d even heard about the contest. “I know he’s been really excited so when there was a chance for me and my brothers to come support him and watch him hopefully take home the prize, we weren’t gonna turn our noses up at it.“

“Honestly, I didn’t know he had brothers until I just saw you all,” Mr. Lee admitted as he stood up properly. “It’s nice to see you all come and support him like this.”

Leo nodded and shrugged again. “He can be a little private. I think it comes with the territory of being a reclusive genius and all that.” He snorted. “We’re all just here to have a good time and support our brother though. So if you hear anyone asking questions, feel free to tell them we’re just here for fun like everyone else. Also yes, the big guy might look intimidating but that is his pet cat who is working as his guide animal. He’s a big softie, especially when animals or kids are involved, even if the spikes look a little scary.” Might as well set the locals at ease if he could. Part of being the faceman that everyone else overlooked was the fact that Leo had to manage expectations and relations with any bystanders, making sure they didn’t come off as too intimidating with their mutant turtleness. It was a bigger job than Leo suspected even Raph realized.

“That is good to know. I think all of us can figure that anyone with your brother is a good egg, so to speak.” Mr. Lee smiled and reached over, patting Leo’s shoulder carefully. “Thank you for reassuring me though. I’m sure the word will spread.”

Leo grinned. Mission accomplished. “Thanks, Mr. Lee. Hey, are those Jack-o-lantern earrings?” April would go crazy for those. 

“Hey, Leo!” That sounded like Mikey. Whoops. Mingling would have to wait until later. 

“Sounds like my brothers have noticed I wandered off,” Leo said as he laughed sheepishly. “I’ll see you later, Mr. Lee! Thank you!”

The older gentleman held up his hand then. “Just a moment.” He grabbed the earrings, which were stuck in a card with a cute fall-themed design, off the stand and offered it to Leo. “Here.”

Leo blinked in surprise as he carefully took the earrings, then he dug into his pockets. “Oh, thank you. Lemme— I’ve got my wallet in here somewhere.”

“No, take it. As a gift. Do not worry about paying me back, please.”

Leo froze in place. A gift? What had he done to earn that? Regardless, he pulled his hand out his pocket and held the earrings close, giving a bright smile and small bow. Wow, Splinter’s habits were really rubbing off on Leo. “Thank you so much, sir.“

“Leo!”

“Uh, whoops. Thank you so much sir. I’ll see you later!” With that, Leo jogged off. That was so nice. If Leo had ears, he’d totally keep these earrings for himself. This might be the first gift he’d ever gotten from someone he didn’t a) already know well or b) who wasn’t trying to scam or bribe him. 

“Hey. Sorry guys, I was just chatting with one of the stall owners, Mr. Lee. He’s really sweet and look! He gave me some earrings. I bet April will love these.”

Raph turned his head to properly look over at Leo. “Really? That’s so nice. Lemme see ‘em later,” he said with a smile. Leo did just that, holding them up for Raph to get a good look. Raph nodded approvingly. 

When Leo looked around, he saw that Donnie wasn’t there. “Where’d DonDon go?”

“He went into the tent over there,” Raph said before he gestured over to the white tent. Now that Leo was closer, he realized that what he thought were exterior decorations were actually paintings done along the bottom and edge of the tent. Realistic, cartoony, and everything in between. It was honestly beautiful. “Asked if he could set up his pumpkin alone, without us.”

“He seemed really determined about it too,” Mikey added from where he was perched on Raph’s shell. “Also, those are so April’s style.”

“Huh.” Hopefully Donnie wasn’t either stressing or terrorizing the little old lady Leo suspected Ethel Crabtree to be. Leo would be ready to swoop in with a fix for his twin’s attitude either way. Silently, he prodded the imprint and checked if Donnie was okay. At the same time, Leo brought out the collapsible cane he had and leaned against it. Walking on an uneven surface and going uphill was more taxing on his knee than he thought. Or maybe Leo was just losing his touch and he needed to get out more. If only he was allowed to train.

Thankfully, Donnie didn’t seem too stressed. His twin sent him feelings of reassurance back through the imprint, as well as the silent invitation for him to come in, him alone. “Hey guys? I’ll be back in a few.” Leo took a step back. “Donnie’s wanting some private twin time so I’m gonna go check on him.”

“I wish I could do that cool mental talk too. Hey, Waffle, wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to talk psychically? Like Doctor Love can in Jupiter Jim!” Mikey started chattering away to Raph which gave Leo the opening he needed to slip inside the tent without further complaints.

When he was inside, wow, the pumpkins just went on and on to either side of him. So many sizes, colors, and overall variety. Way more pumpkins than Leo thought he’d see in here. All the way down to his right was Donnie, his pumpkin near the stage set up. He stood there and tapped his foot as he looked to the right of his pumpkin where there was nothing. It was a large empty space that seemed to fill his twin with dread.

Leo walked, relying more heavily on his cane than before while being careful not to bump into anyone or any pumpkins. He wouldn’t want all this hard work to go to waste. Normally he’d just zap to eliminate the possibility of a blunder but he was still tired from the portals over. Luckily, most people seemed to step aside when they saw he had a cane, giving him warm smiles. Wow, everyone in this town was so nice. Leo wasn’t getting a single bad vibe at all, which was so rare. “Hey twin, you good?” Leo asked when he got close enough.

Donnie glanced over and hummed, sticking his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “There should be a pumpkin here,” he said as he glanced back over to the empty spot.

Leo managed to put the pieces together quick enough. “Maybe she’s just running late. With the dates shifted around, she might have needed to organize some extra help,” he offered, knocking his elbow against Donnie’s. “Somehow I don’t think she’d miss the biggest contest of the year.”

“She’s always had her pumpkin here before mine. I always plan to be the last one to deliver their pumpkin here every year in order to scope out the competition,” Donnie said. “Ethel Crabtree is never late. She’s always the first one here.”

“Do you want me to see if I can dig up why she’s not here yet?” Gathering intel was another thing the faceman was very good at.

Donnie hesitated before he laughed haughtily and shook his head. “Maybe she knew I would outdo her this year so she was scared off. Not that I blame her.”

“I mean, with such a perfect pumpkin, who wouldn’t be intimidated?” Leo offered, looping his free arm around Donnie’s. Even if Donnie never rejected Leo’s touch anymore, he’d keep the reassuring contact to a minimum and to where he knew Donnie would be most comfortable. “You’re gonna win this, hands down.”

“Oh, if Ethel Crabtree isn’t here? Most definitely.” Donnie glanced at Leo then and frowned. “Is your knee bugging you?”

“A little, but nothing the brace and cane combo can’t handle.” Leo waved Donnie off. He was fine. He wasn’t stressing it. He was just needing some extra support, that’s all.

Donnie raised a brow. “Is it the dirt roads and uneven terrain that’s making it act up, isn’t it?”

Damnit, why did Donnie have to be so perceptive. “Like I said, nothing I can’t handle.” Leo didn’t want to be sent back inside again, to be cooped up in the lair and fussed over like he couldn’t do anything himself. He knew his brothers just worried about him after everything but Leo was capable of taking care of himself. He knew his limits. Like when he was able to call it a night during their first rooftop run the other day. He could be responsible with his body and his health.

For obvious reasons, Leo kept those feelings shielded from the imprint. He just let Donnie feel the reassurance and quiet confidence instead.

“Do you want to sit down somewhere for a bit before we head back into town and check in? See if you can faceman it up with some more locals before we go eat. I know you like to do that in new locales.”

Leo did not want to sit down but he did want to mingle a bit more. He could compromise. “Yeah, that sounds good. Also I’ve already been facemaning it up. Check it.” He pulled out the earrings from his pocket. “I was chatting with this really sweet stall owner, Mr. Lee? He’s very fond of you, by the way. But yeah, he just gave these to me for free. I’m gonna give them to April because you know she’ll go crazy for them.” As he chattered, Leo let Donnie lead him to a bench.

Donnie hummed, taking the pair that were backed on the nice cardstock. “Ah, the festive jewelry man. He often switches what he does but always has pumpkin-themed jewelry. Remember those alien-themed ones I gave Sunita last year? Snagged them from this guy. April will love these.”

“He seems really nice. Everyone here does. It’s a really nice place to visit. Thank you so much for bringing us.” Leo wanted Donnie to know just how much he was appreciated and valued, even just for small things like letting them tag along to support him . Leo knew better than ever that Donnie struggled with his value and purpose in the team. He wanted to make sure his twin would never question it again.

Said twin hummed as he gave Leo back the earrings. “Mhm. Well, you all needed fresh air. I know you all hate being cooped up, especially you right now with this whole situation—” He gestured to all of Leo as they sat. “—going on. Thought this would be a good enrichment activity for you. Sort of forgot about the possibility of the terrain agitating you though.”

Clearly Leo wasn’t doing a good enough job of masking his frustrations. “It’s no problemo, DonTron. Nothing I can’t handle.” Deflect, reassure, and recalculate. Leo would need to pay closer attention to his twin’s emotional probing in the future. “But yeah, getting out of the lair and into the fresh air is definitely a perk. But also, getting to see you shine and dazzle in a field you’re passionate about! I’ve known you’ve loved your botany for a long while but this is the first time I’ve gotten to see the results of it.”

Donnie grinned but hesitated. “You know, it’s okay to talk about things bugging you. I might not be the best equipped to handle everything but I can at least help, like you do for me.” Why was deflecting and changing the topic back to one of Donnie’s favorites—himself and his projects—not working?

Leo paused before very slowly taking Donnie’s hand and intertwining their fingers. He let a sliver of his true feelings slip through the imprint. God, he was weak when Donnie asked him to open up. “I’m okay. I just— I don’t want to seem ungrateful for everything you guys are doing, is all. I’ve just been feeling sort of… smothered and babied as of late. Mainly by Mikey, Raph, and Dad. You and CJ and Rara have been more gentle but less… patronizing. And it’s frustrating being cooped up inside while everyone else gets to go out and do stuff again,” he confessed quietly, resting his head on Donnie’s shoulder.

“Why do you think I said ‘yes’ to letting you come? They don’t mean to be so bad. Just tell them. Or, if not, I can tell them. Or maybe Rara can. I dunno.” Donnie squeezed Leo’s hand and rested his head against Leo’s. “Rara might be the better option. I have abysmal social skills, even now.”

“You’ve gotten loads better.” Leo hummed softly, relaxing a little. “And I dunno. It’s just until my injuries aren’t so bad. I don’t want them to feel bad for wanting to take care of me. I know they all still feel guilty about everything, even though it’s not their fault in the slightest.” Leo adjusted his scarf without pulling away. “I dunno. It’s just another layer of mess to deal with after everything.”

“Doesn’t mean they can’t fix how they’re acting, even if they don’t mean to be suffocating you. You can let them know you want them to still care but take it down a few notches, y’know.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Talking feelings was still complicated for Leo. He didn’t like doing it. The exception was with Donnie, but even then it was hard. Even with this sort of mystic soul connection that helped him articulate things without having them misunderstood. “I’ll think about it. And maybe ask Rara because spirits know that I’d suck at trying to say it myself.”

“I’ll be there with you. Go the Rara route. He knows how to explain this kinda thing without it going awry,” Donnie said before he squeezed Leo’s hand again. “Okay, so you wanna faceman it up with some village folk and see if Raph and Mikey have slipped off to try to find the best food stall? Spoiler alert: they’re all good.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Leo smiled and squeezed Donnie’s hand back. He let a whisper of gratitude find its way through the imprint too. He felt a little lighter having discussed something that bothered him. Huh. Interesting.

Donnie stood then and waited for Leo to stand and resituate himself with his cane. “Onward!”

After great food and a great night of rest—even if they had to push the two beds together in one of their booked rooms for him—Raph was more than ready for the festival. It wasn’t as crowded at Times Square but it was still packed. Even so, everyone gave him, Melon, and Mikey space to walk without worry. Huh. More people respected her vest than Raph thought they would. And him, in that respect. He hadn’t walked in big crowds since losing a lot of his vision so it made this whole thing less anxiety-inducing. It still caused him some, of course, but it wasn’t too bad. It was manageable. Yeah.

“Can’t believe none of the stalls for food were ready until today,” Raph said before he sighed. The mingling smells that wafted through the air made his mouth water a little. “Oh, they smell so good. Which one do y’wanna try first, Mikey?”

“I’m thinking the one that says ‘pumpkin pasties.’ I mean, pasties are an English dish. What are they even doing over here?” Mikey grinned, flapping his hands. “It’s gonna be so awesome, I’ve always wanted to try—” He cut himself off and looked down. 

Raph felt a small tug on his jacket. When he glanced down, he saw the most adorable kid, maybe about five years-old, looking up at him. The kid had curly black hair, bright green eyes, and a gap in his teeth. Oh, and he was staring up at Raph with stars in his eyes. “Excuse me mister—” Wow, Raph had never been called ‘mister’ before. “—are you a dinosaur?”

That… caught Raph off guard, to say the least. “No, I’m not,” he said around a laugh before he carefully squatted down with Melon’s help. “I’m a turtle. Mutant turtle, actually.”

“Wow.” The boy’s eyes seemed to light up even more. “That’s even cooler than a dinosaur. Is that why you have the cool looking red mask?”

Raph raised a brow. “No.” He glanced around and raised a hand up then as he stage whispered to the kid, “I’m actually a ninja. So are my brothers, who are also mutant turtles. Including my little bro right here.”

“Hi there.” Mikey peered over Raph’s shoulder and waved. 

That made the little boy start to literally jump in place with excitement. “That’s so awesome! You’re so super cool, mister!” he cried, throwing his hands into the air.

“Louis! There you are!” A young woman rushed over, squatting down next to the boy, presumably Louis. “Don’t run off like that, okay?” She turned her attention to Raph. “Sorry if he was bothering you, sir. He, uh, he’s in his dinosaur phase,” she said as if that explained everything. Judging by Mikey’s sounds behind him, it did.

“No Mama, he’s not a dinosaur. He’s even cooler. He’s a ninja mutant turtle!” Louis exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air again in his excitement.

Raph smiled and waved his hand. "He wasn't a problem or a bother," he promised before patting Louis's head. "He's just excited, is all. I like his energy. Reminds me a lot of my knuckleheaded bros." Melon meowed in agreement, though she didn't move from beside Raph, pressed firmly against his side.

Raph felt Mikey properly lean against his shell. “I’m taking that as a compliment because Louis is awesome,” he giggled. The boy in question seemed to light up from that.

“But I’m just a kid! You’re a whole ninja turtle!” Louis insisted, wiggling around a little. Pizza supreme in the sky, this kid was adorable.

“Kids can be just as awesome as ninja turtles too,” Mikey stated with what sounded like a grin. 

“He’s right, baby. You are pretty awesome,” the woman agreed before turning her attention back to Raph and Mikey. “My name’s Sandra. Uh, Sandra Crabtree. It’s nice to meet you both.”

“It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Raph and this is my little brother, Mikey. We’re here to support our brother, Donnie,” Raph introduced with a smile. If presumably a relative of Donnie’s rival was here, surely she’d turn up. Hopefully that’d made Donnie happy. He had such a bad anxiety and worry stink this morning.

“I sort of figured you might be related to Donnie.” Sandra chuckled. “Ethel always gushes about his pumpkins. She’s my grandmother-in-law. My husband and his brother are helping her bring over her pumpkin as we speak. She’s been really looking forward to seeing Donnie’s entry this year.”

“It’s huge !” Mikey enthused, flapping his hands excitedly.

“That’s awesome.” Louis nodded seriously. “Mister Raph? Can I touch your spikeys please?”

Raph nodded before he reached back and grabbed Mikey by his shell, putting him down beside himself. He then took off his jacket and slung it over his arm. “They aren’t sharp but still try to be careful, yeah?”

Louis reached out and gently grabbed one of Raph’s spikes with his tiny child hands, his eyes full of wonder. “Wow,” he whispered to himself. Then he turned away from Raph’s spikes and looked up at Raph properly. “The spikeys on your shell are almost like— like a climbing wall. There’s so many of them!”

“I climb on Raph’s shell all the time. He’s really strong,” Mikey added, sitting in the grass nearby.

Raph had to adjust himself so he could properly look at Louis. “I’m strong but Mikey’s strong too. But I could handle you climbing up there if you wanted to try.”

“Can I, Mama?” 

“Well, if Raph says it’s okay…” Sandra didn’t sound worried and her smile was warm.

“Yay!” Without another word, Louis scrambled up Raph’s shell, cheering with excitement the whole way until he was level with Raph’s head. He didn’t seem to need any help. He must climb on things a lot. Sandra’s fond yet slightly exasperated expression just confirmed that. “This is so cool! You’re so super cool, Mister Raph.”

Oh spirits, hearing himself be called ‘mister’ while he was still a teen was a weird experience. Being called cool by this little guy helped wash away that weird feeling though as Raph smiled, surely showing off his snaggletooth. “Aw, why thanks, bud. I ‘preciate that,” he said as he held his free hand behind his back, ready to catch Louis just in case. Even masters of the craft had their occasional slip ups.

Louis just seemed so content on Raph’s shell, getting himself nestled between the bigger spikes with ease. His small weight was comforting and relaxing in the best ways and honestly, the fact he was on Raph’s bad side actually helped calm Raph a little as well. Melon let out a content meow and nuzzled into Raph’s hand as if agreeing with the sentiment. “You good back there, big guy?” Raph asked, especially since he couldn’t really look back and check.

“Yeah. You’re really comfy,” Louis said, resting his head against the back of Raph’s.

Oh spirits, his heart. “Why thank you. I’m glad to hear that. Raph prides himself on his comfy factor.”

“Can I hang out with you today, Mister Raph?” Louis asked shyly. “You’re super cool and it’s fun riding on your shell and you’re super nice too.”

“Baby, he might have plans with his brothers,” Sandra interjected. “We don’t want to mess with his day if he’s already got plans, do we?”

“No, Mama.” Louis sighed. Even so, he clung a little tighter to Raph’s shell.

“My bro and I were planning on trying to find the best foods here and play some games. We don’t got insider info to know what’s the best or not though, so we could really use any help we could get,” Raph said as he felt any resolve he could’ve possibly had fade away.

“Are you sure, Raph?” Sandra asked, sounding both shocked and pleased. “I mean, we’re happy to help but…”

Raph moved the hand behind his shell to politely wave Sandra down. “Sure as I’m a turtle mutant,” he said before his hand moved back. “Mikey, you’re cool with that, right?”

“Yeah, it sounds fun—” Mikey cut himself off as a small shape rushed past him.

“Louis! I found— Woah.” The little girl skidded to a stop and stared up at Raph in awe, her brown eyes sparkling.

“Hi Maddie! Look, I made a friend. He’s a ninja turtle.” Louis waved from Raph’s shell.

Looking over at this new child that suddenly appeared, Raph smiled and waved. “Hi there. I’m Raph. Nice to meet you, Maddie.”

Maddie just stared in shock before squealing in delight. “I love turtles! And ninjas! Ninjas are so cool! You’re so cool and big and your spikes are so awesome,” she cried. Then she turned to Mikey and looked at him. “You’re not as big but your spots are so pretty! Are you a ninja turtle too?”

“Yeah, I’m Mikey. Raph’s my big brother.” Mikey replied with a proud grin. “Are you friends with Louis?”

“Yeah. Maddie is my bestest friend,” Louis said before shifting to hug Raph carefully.

“You wanna stick with us too, Maddie? Louis and his mom were going to show us the best places to eat,” Mikey offered with a bright grin.

“Yes please,” the little blonde girl cried. She shuffled closer to Mikey. “Could I ride on your shell please?”

Mikey looked surprised. “Oh, my shell doesn’t have cool spikes like Raph does buuut you can ride on my shoulders.” With a wave of his hands, golden chains wrapped around Maddie and lifted her into the air. The little girl squealed with delight again as she was deposited on Mikey’s shoulders. She hugged his head as soon as she was settled, giggling happily.

Sandra gasped softly, her eyes lighting up with something Raph couldn’t place. Curiosity got the best of him as Raph stood and rested one of his hands against Melon’s head. “Everything all good, Ms. Sandra?” Raph asked in a more hushed tone as he took the few steps he needed to be beside her.

“You boys were there, weren’t you? During the invasion?” Sandra asked softly, sounding like her heart was breaking. “I saw those chains in the broadcast.”

Oh. Right. “Uh, yes ma’am. We helped stop the Kraang.” Thinking about it hurt but he knew that it was okay to think about. They survived it. It sucked and was painful, but they made it through. They were all getting better. Plus, they stopped the apocalypse. Still didn’t mean Raph didn’t occasionally have nightmares every other night about them, but it was better than living them on the daily.

“Oh you brave boys.” Sandra sounded even more heartbroken, but she also sounded so proud. “Come on, let me buy you something nice as thanks. My husband was in the city when it all happened. It’s thanks to you boys that he’s still here.”

“Wait, Mister Raph, you helped stop the bad aliens?” Louis seemed to choose just this moment to tune back to Raph’s conversation. Of course the kid did. 

“Uh, yeah. My brothers did more than I did, sorta had to help save me first, but I helped out,” Raph admitted.

“That’s so cool! You saved my daddy!” Louis insisted. “You’re my hero, Mister Raph.” He leaned over and hugged Raph’s head.

Raph shifted his arm so he could reach over his shoulder and carefully hug Louie back as best he could. The emotions he felt hearing all that from a kid, someone he hadn’t known at all before today, it… Words couldn’t describe it. “Thanks, big guy. That means so much to me,” Raph sincerely said as he tried to keep his voice calm and all normal.

“You’re like a superhero, Mister Raph,” Louis said softly. “I’m so happy you’re my friend. Can I tell my friends at school I met you?”

Okay, wow. Emotional roller coaster time. “Yeah, sure. If you really wanna. I won’t stop you.”

“Thank you!”

Okay, everything was going to be fine. So what if his rival Ethel Crabtree hadn’t shown up yet. No, Donnie wasn’t stressed or worried. Totally not. Not like he wanted her to be there so he could beat her fair and square. This hollow victory would work, right? 

Ugh, no. If she wasn’t there, what was the point? Ethel Crabtree was the only one who made this competition worthwhile. All the other plebeians had measly little pumpkins and couldn’t compare. That was the only reason Donnie was worked up. Totally. Nothing else made him so tense and full of unbridled energy that he needed to do an impromptu sparring session with a training dummy that Leo teleported in from the lair. Totally nothing else. Anyone who said otherwise was either dumb, ignorant, or both.

“We should get back. Judging will start in a minute,” Leo said with a hum as he looked up from his phone. “Also Mikey just texted me. He and Raph just found some of Mrs. Crabtree’s relatives, said she’d be over very soon with her pumpkin. She’s got two of her grandsons helping her or something? I dunno. But she’s on her way.” 

Oh thank Pizza Supreme. Donnie let the staff he constructed out of his well of mystic energy vanish as he sighed. “Alright, time to see how badly I’m going to decimate Ethel Crabtree,” he said, stretching his arms high above his head. Yes. Now his victory would be the perfect amount of sweet.

“Sure. That’s why you were freaking out,” Donnie could just about make out Leo’s muttering. He sounded fond though, and the imprint said as much as well so Donnie couldn’t be too frustrated.

“Exactly why,” Donnie retorted as he and his twin strolled back from the forest and back to the nicely decorated tent. Yes, time to see his rival and rub his impressive baby in her old, wrinkly, kind face!

He heard her almost as soon as he walked in the tent. “Oh, Donatello! So good to see you again. I must say, your pumpkin looks so beautiful. We’re going to have a tough contest this year.” Ethel Crabtree might look the part of a stereotypical kind grandmother gardener, complete with little apron and a straw hat, but Donnie knew that under that unassuming front laid a competitive botany badass. Obviously she wasn’t to the same level as Donnie, but she was undeniably talented. That’s why she was the only one worthy of being Donnie’s rival. “My boys are just bringing in my entry now. They’ll be here any second.”

Donnie walked over to her and nodded as she stood by his pumpkin. Oh, his would dwarf hers easily. “Ethel Crabtree,” he said with a nod. “I thought you got cold feet for a while there. Glad to see you didn’t buckle under your surely building nerves.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” She smiled. As she did, the front of the tent peeled open and two burly young men, Simon and Edward Crabtree, came in. Donnie’s heart dropped. Somehow, Ethel had grown a pumpkin large enough to rival Donnie’s. It didn’t have that signature pumpkin shape, but it was appealing and, more importantly, big . That must have been why Ethel was late: she needed both her grandsons to actually move the thing. And that was when it was on wheels too by the looks of things! “I just had to make some last minute arrangements so my boys could help me move my darling.”

Donnie felt his jaw drop as he stared at the pumpkin just as it was wheeled over and carefully placed down next to his precious pumpkin baby. He knew she was a genius botanist like himself but… “Hm. It’s nice but not impressive.”

Ethel just giggled at that. “I must say, I’m a little nervous seeing your beautiful gourd but at least mine’s kept up. It’ll be a close contest. I know we’ve both worked hard for this win.”

That was the point Leo decided to step in. He must have noticed Donnie’s agitation through the imprint. “Mrs. Crabtree, hi! I’m Leo, Donnie’s twin brother. It’s so good to meet you.” 

Ethel looked surprised but then she beamed. “Oh, it’s lovely to meet you too, dear boy. I didn’t realize Donatello had such a charming twin.”

“Charming when he wants to be, yes,” Donnie grumbled as he waved in Leo’s direction. “My other brothers will be here shortly to watch me wipe the floor with you.” He had to. They couldn’t see him fail. Not that it was going to happen. He clearly worked harder, right? Maybe. No, he did.

“Well it’ll be a good show.” Ethel winked before wandering over to her grandsons and cooing over them both.

“Wow, she is… a little old lady. But I can really get a feel for that fire you mentioned her having. Wow.” Leo sounded surprised but impressed.

“She may be old but she’s powerful,” Donnie sagely said in an attempt to calm himself. He would be fine. He would win. He would impress his brothers.

“Well, maybe so, but she’s still got nothing on you.” Leo’s intense faith in Donnie’s skills helped soothe him a little. “You’ve got this in the bag. You have the biggest, healthiest and most perfect looking pumpkin I’ve ever seen! Any other pumpkin even close to that size always comes out mangled like hers.”

“Yes, that is true.” Though Donnie had grown perfect pumpkins in the past, Ethel Crabtree still beat him. Somehow. Every time.

“ Breathe, twin. ” The chirps caught Donnie off guard but he found himself taking a deep breath regardless. “ Calm. ”

Donnie took a few more deep breaths before Leo seemed a bit more satisfied. He felt a bit calmer, though he had to pointedly not look at the pumpkin to his right. He needed to sit on the other side of his pumpkin, away from hers, if he wanted to stay calm. “Come on, let’s take a seat.” Leo wrapped his arm around Donnie’s shoulders and guided him to the left of his pumpkin, away from Ethel’s. “Mikey and Raph should be here any minute, and the judging has just started. You’ve got this, Fizzy.”

“Of course I do,” Donnie said, though he knew he couldn’t lie about his confidence this time. Leo clearly knew about his nerves, though maybe not why he had them. Still, he tried to ignore that as he sat down on the ground, leaning against Leo when he sat down beside him and his arms crossed over his hoodied plastron.

Across the tent, Donnie spotted Raph and Mikey walking in and settling down next to a family. Well, next to was generous. The kids were literally climbing on them. Good. All his brothers were here to witness his great victory.

He would win. 

Donnie had to.

The judges came around, as serious and silent as ever. The three looked Donnie’s pumpkin up and down once before they scribbled some things down on their clipboard and moved on. When he glanced down at his hands and saw them tremble, he tucked them under his clothed armpits.

Without a word, Leo scooted closer and leaned against Donnie with the perfect amount of pressure. He churred softly, only loud enough for Donnie to hear. Even if he didn’t say anything, Donnie knew Leo would understand how grateful he was. As long as no one else saw how ridiculous he was being right now, it was fine. Leo wouldn’t tell a soul. Snitches get stitches and all.

After they finished looking over every entered pumpkin, the judges wandered up onto the stage and out of sight. Okay. Now it was just a waiting game. Leo didn’t shift an inch or stop his gentle churring. Donnie knew he wouldn’t unless Donnie himself changed their set up.

After what felt like an eternity as well as the blink of an eye, one of the judges cleared their throat. They were all back in state. “Alright, will everyone gather around please. We have deliberated and have the results of this year’s incredible Gourdfest Pumpkin Contest ready to share.” Oh god, Donnie wanted to be sick. Why did he feel so queasy? He hadn’t felt like this any other year.

Leo sat up when Donnie shifted but he reached down to take Donnie’s hand. “You’ve got this, Fizzy. Breathe. You’ve done amazing.”

Donnie didn’t trust himself to speak so he nodded instead. He took Leo’s hand and allowed his brother to help him up. Okay. He might not have been the faceman but Donnie could play the part he needed to.

“I think it might be a little obvious who has taken our top two spots, as we often find. Which is why we will announce the podium winners from the bottom up,” the head judge said into the microphone. Okay, it was go time. “In third place, we have Sarai Mendez!” A young woman with a respectably sized pumpkin cheered and ran up onto the stage, accepting the white ribbon and the small trophy that came with it.

After shaking her hand with the judges and getting back down off the stage, the head judge nodded and looked back to the crowd. “Before we announce the winner, I wanted to thank everyone for being here, especially after what happened last month. We are so grateful you all could make it and then some, as well as those who helped make us being here possible.” Donnie swore he saw the judges glance at him and Leo then his other brother before the head judge continued. “Now, we always know who the top two are: Ethel and Donatello. This year, they’ve surely broken world records. It was near impossible to choose a winner, though one of our two contestants inched past the other. Now, congratulations to—”

ROAR.

The ground almost shook as the deafening roar echoed around the tent. The pumpkin next to Donnie, his baby, rumbled before it shot a good six feet into the air as long, thick vines sprouted from its stem. A large, gaping maw tore itself into the front, along with two beady eyes, as the pumpkin stood and charged at the pumpkins opposite it and across the tent.

What?! As people screamed and ran out of the tent, Donnie ran over and waved his arms. No way this was real. How was his pumpkin doing this? Had he mixed empyrean into the breeding process ages ago? Maybe. Donnie honestly didn't remember but oh god, the other pumpkins were getting smashed! "No! Bad pumpkin! When we say we are going to smash the competition, we don't do it literally! It's a metaphor !" The pumpkin roared again and just charged at another pumpkin, smashing it and sending pumpkin splattering everything nearby. 

“Donnie!” Leo zapped to Donnie’s side and tugged him out of the way of the splatter, letting his own hoodie take the brunt of it. “Eugh. Okay, is this an empyrean-based mutation?” he asked, shucking his hoodie and leaving him in just his skinny jeans.

“I think so,” Donnie admitted as he looked over to where pumpkin guts now remained. In his peripheral vision, he could see Raph and Mikey reentering with Melon and their Ninpō beginning to glow bright. “Don’t hurt my baby!”

“That’s your pumpkin?!” Mikey cried, slipping over on some pumpkin guts and staring at her in shock.

“Of course it is,” Raph grumbled, grabbing Mikey by the back of his shell and hoisting him back to his feet. “Melon, keep the civilians out of the way. We’ve got this.” Said cat meowed and ran off.

“I’ll get some retro-mutagen. Keep it busy! I’ll need less than five minutes.” Before Donnie could say another word, Leo vanished through a portal under his feet. It was probably a good thing. He wasn’t cleared for any fighting just yet.

“Just keep her from leaving the tent and stop her from pummeling those poor precious pumpkins!” 

Raph gave a salute before he slammed his fists together, forming a red construct body around himself. “Hey there, uh, pumpkin. We don’t wanna hurt’cha. Just step away from the other guys around you and—”

The pumpkin roared again and started charging at another pumpkin. “Oh no you don’t!” Mikey’s chains seemed to form a circle in the air and a bright glow blinded Donnie for a split second. When he could next see, the pumpkin was traveling much slower than before. It seemed to be taking Mikey a lot of effort but the pumpkin wasn’t being damaged by the time attack.

Raph quickly closed the distance and took advantage of Mikey’s support, grabbing the pumpkin by its sides carefully. Wait! “Don’t grab her like that!”

“How else am I supposed to stop her if I can’t touch her?!”

“I dunno! You could bruise her!”

“She’s gonna bruise me , Donnie!”

“Grab the vines!” Mikey grunted, adjusting his stance and the grip on his chains. “I can’t hold her for very long like this.”

“Okay!” Before Donnie could correct them, Raph flipped over and grabbed the vines, holding them back and restraining his baby. “You need to calm down there. You and your kooky plant dad person over there.”

The pumpkin roared and tried to escape, but thanks to her large size, Raph’s careful positioning, and Mikey’s time slow spell, she couldn’t so much as swipe at Raph. She turned to look at Donnie almost pleadingly, seemingly so confused. She stopped struggling a moment later, sitting down in the grass. Mikey dropped his time spell but Raph didn’t let go of the vines.

Donnie took a deep breath as he walked over to his pumpkin. He carefully rested his hand against where her cheek would be as he looked at her. “Why are you trying to destroy the competition literally? I didn’t teach you that.” Possibly.

The pumpkin let out a sad burble and clumsily reached out with a short vine, patting Donnie gently on the head. “What? What’s wrong?” Donnie asked as he reached up to hold her close. Oh, it was so sturdy and beautiful. She really was a healthy gourd.

The pumpkin burbled again and gently pat Donnie’s head, then his cheek. Then she poked his plastron with her vine before slowly wrapping it around him and tugging him closer. Wait, was she hugging him? Was this her way of trying to comfort him?

Did she sense his nerves? “Hey, it’s okay,” Donnie said as he carefully raised his hands up and wrapped his arms around her as best as he could with her rotund size. The pumpkin burbled once more and held him a little tighter. That was clearly the right thing to do because she started letting out a small, almost purr-like sound.

Almost silently, Leo landed nearby and took in the situation. He held up a large injector and motioned to the pumpkin, making eye contact with Donnie. He could sense the question in the imprint.

Donnie sent a confirmation through the imprint before he focused on his creation. “You know, I’m sorry if I put a lot of pressure on you. That wasn’t fair of me to do. You’ve done amazing and I’m proud of you for working so hard and growing to be so strong. You are incredible.”

Without another word, Leo climbed up the tent support next to the pumpkin and leaned down, using the spider arms of his battle shell to support him. He injected the retro-mutagen into the pumpkin’s stem, so careful as only a true doctor could be. 

The pumpkin made a small sound of surprise but didn’t struggle. Instead, she just pat Donnie’s head once more before turning back into her former state in a wisp of smoke. “And that’s that taken care of,” Mikey huffed, sitting back.

“Hey, what’s this?” Donnie heard Leo mutter, reaching down again but putting no weight into the still intimidatingly large pumpkin.

Donnie slowly and reluctantly let go of his pumpkin to look up at Leo. “What’s what?” he asked after clearing his throat.

Leo held up something that really caught Donnie off guard. It was an oozquito. What? “Guess we found out why your pumpkin went loco. I’m gonna go talk to the judges.” Leo hopped off the pole and headed over to the stage, pulling out his cane with a huff. He started chatting amicably with the judges, who looked less than impressed but their eyes softened more and more the longer Leo talked.

“I thought Rara caught all the oozquitos.” Raph shook his head, dropping the vines and scooping Mikey into his arms. “I wanna go sit down. You good from here, Dee, or do you need us to stick around?”

“Donatello!” That panicked voice sounded like Ethel Crabtree. But why would she be panicked?

“I think he’s good, Waffle. Let’s go chill with Louis and Maddy again. And find Melon.”

Donnie nodded in agreement with Mikey. “I’m alright. Thank you for the aid, gentleturtles.” He bowed a little before he waved his brothers off. Raph nodded and walked around, heading back towards the entrance of the tent.

Donnie felt more than heard someone run up behind him. “Oh my goodness, Donatello, are you alright? Your pumpkin had quite the grip on you! Oh, do you need any wipes to get the other pumpkins’ guts off? Do you need any first aid?” Donnie was not expecting his botany rival to be so freaked about the situation. “Oh, I was so worried!” Ethel quickly grabbed Donnie in a surprisingly gentle hug, as if she could not help herself.

After a moment or two, he wrapped an arm around Ethel and rubbed her back. “I’ve dealt with much worse. This was nothing, and she didn’t hurt me.”

“That just makes me even more worried.” Ethel reached up and cupped Donnie’s cheeks. “You’re just a boy. You shouldn’t have to be dealing with anything worse than— than school and friends and maybe a summer job. You shouldn’t have to be saving people or saving the world!”

“I’m not just a boy though. I’m fine with that. It’s— Wait, you know about us saving the world?” Donnie’s brows furrowed as he looked properly down at the woman in his arms.

Ethel blushed and looked away. “My grandson, Simon, was in the City when the aliens came. He recognized you fighting off a hoard of the corpses with your brother. Only told me about it. Said he didn’t want to worry the others,” she confessed quietly. “I wasn’t going to bring it up.”

Oh. “I… Well I’m glad he’s alright.”

“You saved his life, Donatello. But you shouldn’t have had to,” Ethel insisted gently. “I was hoping that this would just be another great competition for us where you didn’t have to worry about that sort of thing for a few days. I suppose there is no escaping it, really.”

Donnie shook his head. “Yeah, no. The cruel mistress of chaos loves to follow me around, especially as of late. I guess I am too irresistible, though I cannot blame her for having impeccable tastes.”

“That she does.” Ethel chuckled, patting Donnie’s cheek before pulling back. Her eyes were soft and fond. “But I somehow doubt that’s what’s had you so nervous for this contest. I mean, I’ve scarcely had any scathing remarks from you this time! I had really been working on some, uh, what did my granddaughter call them? Spicy comebacks?” She giggled softly. “I might just be an old bat who is hopefully your biggest botany rival, but care to share what’s been on your mind? I’ve got some extra life experience that might come in handy to decode what you’re feeling.”

Donnie hesitated before he glanced at his brothers, all doing some form of crowd control over the mess he made. He tried to formulate his thoughts into coherent sentences that wouldn’t be a rambling mess, but it was proving to be a Herculean task. Finally, he just settled on, “I wanted to impress my brothers, to show them I’m more than just a tech guy. I know they value me for me, but…”

“But you wanted to prove to them that you’re more than what you just appear to be? That your other talents and interests are just as important and something you’re just as good at?”

“I guess,” Donnie admitted as he scratched the back of his head. “I just… want to show them I’m more than just whatever they think I am? I guess what you said sums it up nicely though.”

“Well, as an outside observer, can I tell you what I saw today?” Ethel asked, leaning in a little bit as she lowered her voice.

Donnie looked at her with a raised brow. “That I’m totally going to be disqualified for what happened?”

“I saw your twin brother looking beyond proud when your pumpkin was being judged. You’d have thought he’d grown it himself,” Ethel corrected with a chuckle. “And your other brothers, they made sure to listen to you and not damage something that meant a lot to you. They might not understand the beauty of botany the same way we do but they’re proud of you for the fact that you do. I don’t think you need to worry about if they’re impressed or not since they already are.”

“That’s getting me right in the feels. Oh boy,” Donnie said as he clutched over his heart. “You really think they’re impressed? That impressed? This is sort of nothing compared to saving the world and other things my brothers can do.”

“Doesn’t mean they’re not impressed and insanely proud of you.” Ethel put her hands into the pockets of her floral printed gardening apron. “And uh, considering how hard your twin is working to ensure you don’t get disqualified because of that bug thing mutating your pumpkin, I’d say he’s direct proof of that.” She nodded at Leo who was walking back towards Donnie, looking rather smug and pleased with himself. The imprint was bubbling with satisfaction of a job well done.

Donnie looked properly at his twin then and blinked. “Oh boy,” he said, sure that the fondness in his voice was obvious.

“I’ll let him tell you what he looks so pleased about. Do come join me back by your stand when you’re done, dear. Even if your, uh, entry has shifted in place a little.” Ethel cooed and gave a fond wave before heading back over to her still pristine pumpkin.

“Heya DonTron. Tell me, who’s your favorite brother? Is it me? Because I just did the most awesome thing possible for you.” Leo was clearly in a good mood after everything.

After raising a carefully drawn on brow, Donnie rested his hands on his hips. “You need to tell me what you did that could qualify you to bump Mikey out of the ‘favorite brother’ position he currently holds before any changes are made.”

Leo smirked, even if the normally mischievous expression was closer to a grin, as he leaned closer. “I got you back in the competition by virtue of this.” He held up a very dead, totally drained oozquito. “You see, I explained that I found it, what it is, and what it can do. When the judges heard all of that, of course they let you back into the contest. After all, that little mutation mishap wasn’t your fault. And they’ll be sure to let all the other contestants know too, so no hard feelings whatsoever.” Oh wow, Leo had been working hard .

Donnie clasped both hands on Leo’s shoulders. “Okay, you’ve kicked Mikey out of that spot. He’s gotta work hard to earn this back now,” he said before tugging Leo in for a hug. A real one that would linger for at least a few seconds.

Leo seemed surprised but he hugged Donnie back just as tightly. He melted into the contact, churring, and Donnie was certain he saw Leo’s tail wagging happily. Sap. “Well, you’ve worked so hard on your pumpkin, Fizzy. And we’re all super proud of you for it. You deserve to have your moment in the spotlight for all your hard work so everyone else can appreciate you too,” Leo murmured, only loud enough for Donnie to hear.

After a moment of consideration, Donnie asked, “Are you guys actually proud of it?”

“So proud,” Leo confirmed with a nod. “We can tell this means a lot to you and honestly, Fizzy, look at the results. That’s a world record holder, easily. And she’s the most beautiful pumpkin in the world! You’ve clearly put so much time and effort into growing that, and you’ve put so much love into it too. How could we not be proud of you for that?”

Donatello was a strong turtle. He wasn’t going to let this moment of intimate vulnerability make him cry. Not in front of strangers and festival goers, for sure. Especially not his rival. “Do you think Mikey and Raph would say that to me too? Not that I need the validation or anything, no no. I have grown past that. Clearly.”

“Of course you have,” Leo chuckled and gave Donnie an understanding squeeze. “And I have no doubt they would say the same. Not as eloquently as me, of course, but the same basic principle.”

That got a snore out of Donnie. “Oh no, but with their own personal flair added to the sentiment, surely,” Donnie stated before letting Leo go from the hug.

Leo hesitated before letting go as well. He took his place by Donnie’s side and took his hand with a teasing grin. “Come on. Let’s go get back to our seats.”

Donnie nodded as he intertwined his fingers with Leo’s. “Yes, let’s.”

As they sat back down at their spot, something dawned on Donnie. Wait, why the hell hadn’t he brought it up before? He was going to blame feelings and emotions on almost missing this. “Where the hell did the oozesquito come from? I triple checked and then double checked those triple checks to make sure nothing came with my pumpkin besides it and us.”

Leo’s grin turned devious. “Well, I never said where I found it, just that I found it,” he explained with a shrug. “It’s not up to me if they jumped to the conclusion that the oozesquito was responsible for the mutation. And if I’ve been learning a few tricks after befriending Ron like, let’s say, sleight of hand, well who’s to say what I could get up to.”

“Oh, you’re coming to the dark side,” Donnie almost sang as he beamed with so much pride. He wrapped his arms around Leo once more and gave him a good squeeze.

Leo laughed, a bright and beaming sound that Donnie realized he hadn’t heard so loud and free in a while, save for their rooftop adventure last week. He’d need to make a mental note to remedy that. “Gotta keep up with my awesome twin somehow,” Leo joked, his eyes twinkling with joy and mischief. “After all, how else can I ensure that the stuff I come up with is Genius Built quality? I have big boots to fill if I wanna be worthy of working with you on stuff.”

“You’re right about that. Keep up the good work,” Donnie said as he knocked his head against Leo’s. “I need my twin to be close to on par with me.”

“Exactly.”

“If everyone can take a seat please. Settle down, now, settle down.” The head judge waved his clipboard and the chatter and discussions happening around the tent simmered down to nothing. “It is unfortunate that our ceremony was… interrupted as it was. However, due to certain information that has come to light, the panel and I have opted to not disqualify Donatello’s pumpkin due to the mutation being out of his control.” There was a bout of whispers and even some cheers but nothing more. “That being said, we had already established that the top two spots belonged to Donatello Hamato and Ethel Crabtree, as always. And this year, I am pleased to announce that the winner of the annual Gourdfest Pumpkin Competition is… Donatello!”

It took a moment for the words and the implications of said words to process for Donnie. Wait, he won? He had finally done it? It took him a moment to be able to look over at the stage, then to register the cheers and cries of celebration around him.

“You did it, Fizzy! You won!” Leo cheered, squealing in excitement as he all but shoved Donnie to his feet. “Go get your prize, dude! Stop waiting on it!” 

Donnie didn’t even chastise Leo for shoving him but instead cleared his throat as he walked over and up to the stage. The thunderous applause, which would normally overwhelm him, was comforting for once. It was nice. “Congratulations, Donatello.” The head judge was smiling as he handed Donnie the blue ribbon, the engraved trophy, and the certificate for the world record as well. “This is well deserved. And you’re still young so we’re expecting great things from you in the years to come. You’ve still got plenty of time to grow into an even more amazing botanist.”

Donnie stared at the certificate. These judges were even more powerful than he realized, and he thought they were powerful and intimidating to begin with. “Thank you so much. I will not disappoint next year. I promise.”

“I should hope not.” The head judge beamed, a genuine and large smile. This was the first time Donnie had seen any of the judges give anything but a small, polite smile. “You’ve proven just how talented you are. And I’d hate to think you’ve peaked at what, sixteen? No, I’m sure you have even more to give than what we’ve already seen.”

“Oh, I shall not peak this early. That’s only for high schoolers that waste all their potential by thinking life begins and ends with popularity, homecoming royalty, and the like,” Donnie said. Totally not calling out anyone from April’s school, nope.

“Well said. Now, why don’t you go celebrate with your brothers. They look eager to have some of your time.” At some point, Raph and Mikey had made their way over to Donnie's chair, and were clapping wildly and loudly, just as visibly proud as Leo was. And surprisingly—or maybe less surprisingly at this point—Ethel Crabtree was clapping and cheering almost as loudly as Donnie's brothers.

Donnie looked over at the group and smiled, especially when he saw even the motorcycle named Melon meowing audibly for him as her own cheer. “I guess so. Well, who wouldn’t be eager to be in the presence of a world record holder?” With a quick shake of the hands of all the judges, Donnie made his way off stage with all of his prizes that would most definitely be prominently displayed in his lab once they returned home.

As soon as he was off stage, he was wrapped in a group hug by his brothers. Leo was at his shell, so it wasn’t overwhelming, but it was a lot. In a good way. He could feel their pride. “You did it, DonDon!” Mikey cheered. “You got first!”

“Not like we ever doubted ‘ya. You’ve been working on this for months and months. I remember when you started the, uh, trials? The many times you were growing these,” Raph said, solidly nodding with a big grin. “You even broke a world record! You better be hangin’ that up. We gotta celebrate.”

Oh wow. The validation, the pride, the genuine excitement. Oh yes, Donnie would soak in the attention. This was awesome.

“You’re right. You boys do need to celebrate.” The sound of Ethel Crabtree’s voice didn’t send a spike or irritation through Donnie’s brain like it used to. It was now more something akin to… fondness? “So let me pay for your dinner tonight. My treat.”

Raph shifted from what Donnie realized was an incoming noogie to look over at her. “What? Oh, you don’t have to, Mrs. Crabtree,” he started.

“But I want to. It’s what my most esteemed botany rival deserves after all.” Donnie didn’t even need to look over to know that Ethel winked. “My only request is that my family join us. They’ve been so eager to meet you all, and I believe that some of you might already be somewhat friendly.”

“Yeah, Louis has decided Raph is his favorite.” Mikey snickered.

Donnie turned and stared in dramatic horror at his oldest brother. “Fraternizing with the enemy?!”

“I dunno what that means!”

“Oh, you would say that to get out of your irreprehensible actions, Raphael. Scoff,” Donnie said with a turn of his head.

“I don’t know what that means either! Are you saying it’s bad that I hung with them? I didn’t even know at first, Donnie. I swear!”

“Hey, Louis said that Raph is his hero. I think he should get a pass for that,” Mikey offered with a small grin. “Besides, Dee: free food.”

Donnie narrowed his eyes and looked at Ethel. “What kind of free food we talking here?”

Ethel hummed in thought. “Well there is a rather nice, out of the way Tex Mex restaurant just off Main Street—”

“Sold! Come on brothers. To the Tex Mex!”

Chapter Text

Leo held back his sigh as he finished packing his bags. “Raph, it’ll be fine. It’s just an overnight stay at Hueso’s, nothing groundbreaking. I’m just babysitting Junior for the night. Like I’ve done dozens of times before.” He knew Raph wasn’t trying to smother him, and that he was trying to back off after Draxum’s talk with him, but still. This was a bit much.

“Sorry, it’s just none of us haven’t spent the night together since, well, everything. What happens if Donnie has an episode when you ain’t here to help? What if something happens when you’re over there? What if—”

“You’re more than capable of handling Donnie’s episodes, Raph. And if it’s really that bad, text me.” Raph’s anxiety stink was getting almost overwhelming. “And if there’s a problem, I’ll text. Or Junior will. He’s a sensible kid, Raph, you know this. And I’m not the only turtle with portals, remember? Either me or Donnie can ensure that we’re covered in emergencies.” Leo tried not to let the irritation seep into his voice. Raph had his own issues after the invasion besides his half blindness. Leo needed to respect that, even when those issues started to make Leo feel like he was being strangled. Again. They just needed to keep up communication. “I’ve got my knee brace on, my shell cover in my bag, and all my painkillers in case things get hairy tonight. I’ll be fine .”

Raph seemed to finally put the pieces together as he nodded and sighed. He held up a hand and turned around, muttering something to himself as he did some deep breathing. When he turned back around, he at least looked apologetic. “Right. You know your limits. You know yourself better than Raph does, and he’s sorry. He doesn’t wanna ruin your plans.”

“I know, big guy. You’re allowed to be worried. It is a big step.” Leo would concede that much. “Just make sure to temper it with some logic, yeah? C’mere.” Leo stepped forward and scooped Raph into a hug. Go back a couple of months and he would have been able to pick Raph up. Damn injuries. They couldn’t heal fast enough.

Raph hugged Leo and sighed as he knocked their heads together. “Yeah, gotta remember that. Logic isn’t Raph’s strongest area, but he’s working on it,” he promised as he rubbed Leo’s head.

“I know you are, Waffle,” Leo assured him. That’s why he held his temper; it wasn’t Raph’s fault he was more anxious than before. After everything they’d been through, it would be a surprise and sort of worrying if Raph wasn’t more anxious. “You’ve got an awesome training session planned with CJ later, right?”

“Yeah, I do. Lots of fun and cool stuff we’re gonna do to figure out his fighting style and what kind of training he can do to improve and adapt to this new environment for him.” There he went. Leo could see his big bro relaxing as he got excited over his training plans with CJ. Good.

Leo pulled away from the hug and let Raph ramble as Leo finished packing. It was just an overnight bag so he didn’t need to have anything excessive. Plus, he was genuinely interested in Raph’s process. 

“Well, that sounds amazing. Don’t let me keep you from it,” Leo said with a grin when he finished getting everything together. He slipped on his backpack and nodded. “Go have fun training CJ. I’ll text you if I need anything, yeah?”

Raph nodded before he reached over and yanked Leo into another hug and wait, no, it turned into a noogie. “You better. Tell Junior I said ‘hi’ and that he better listen to that record he borrowed. I wanna know his thoughts next time I stop by.”

“Hey!” Leo squirmed but couldn’t free himself despite his flailing. “Okay, I will. Now lemme go, Raph!”

His older brother let him go after giving him an obnoxious kiss. “Aight. Have fun,” he said with a fond smile.

“Thanks, Raph. See you tomorrow!” With that, Leo stepped back, opened a portal, and stepped through. 

He came out just inside the door of Run of the Mill and headed straight for the apartment above. Junior and Hueso would be expecting him, no point in lingering downstairs where a certain rabbit yokai might spot him. No, he wasn’t avoiding Yuichi Usagi, Hueso’s newest employee who was an adorable dumbass and exactly Leo’s type. He just… didn’t want to get distracted. Yeah. That was it.

When he made his way up, he could hear the hustle and bustle of Hueso finishing getting his things. He popped out of his room as Leo closed the front door, suitcase in hand. “Ah, pepino. Punctual as usual. Thank you for spending the night and watching Junior. He’s missed your babysitting, even if your brothers have done a good job as well. Plus, no offense, but I would not trust your twin to watch Junior overnight.”

“In all honesty, Tio, neither would I.” Leo knew they’d stay up all night talking robotics or something. Donnie and Junior got on just a little too well to be good overnight buddies.

Hueso nodded as he grabbed his hat from the hanging rack, putting it onto his head. “I have food you just need to heat up ready in the fridge for you three. Text or call if any emergency comes up, sí?”

“Of course. Same as always— Wait, three ?” By the time the words registered for Leo, Hueso was already gone out the door and down the stairs. Well, so much for clarification. Leo would just have to find out for himself. He turned, leaning more heavily on his cane at the moment because damn those stairs took a lot out of him, and headed further into the apartment. “¿Dónde está mi primito favorito?” he called with a grin.

As he walked around, it was only the slight creak of the older floorboards of this attic-turned-apartment that clued Leo in of Junior’s whereabouts before he carefully hugged Leo from the side. “Here!” he cheered. He still wore his favorite hat but had certainly grown a few inches taller since Leo had seen him a few weeks ago. He had on a new jacket but still had that adorable tooth gap. “Hola primo.”

“Hola Pequeño,” Leo cooed, hugging Junior back. “You’re looking good. I love the new outfit.” He paused. “Your papa mentioned three people here. There’s me and you. Who else is here with us today?” Not like Leo couldn’t handle another kid, but still.

Junior smiled as he held onto Leo. Oh. Oh no. There was something mischievous in his little guy’s smile, similar to Donnie or Mikey when they were about to get their way. “Weeeell—”

“Hey June! Did your dad already leave?” Leo’s stomach dropped when a familiar voice rang from further inside. One with a slight Japanese accent. “I needed to ask him something about some of your kitchen appliances.”

“Oh, you little sneak,” Leo hissed. Junior was well aware of Leo’s crush. Basically everyone was. He must have had something to do with this. “You’re so getting it now.”

Without another word, Leo dropped Junior through a portal that landed him on the couch. Leo zapped so he was sitting on Junior a moment later, not putting much weight on him. It was just enough to thoroughly pin him. Okay, Leo could do this. “Tio Hueso’s gone but the awesome babysitter is here!” he called. Yes, his voice sounded normal. “I am currently sitting on the baby.”

There was the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps before in came Yuichi. Oh spirits, he looked even cuter than when he worked! He had on red eyeliner and his ears up in a ponytail and a blue crop top with a cute jacket and black cargo pants on and— No! Focus! “What?!” the bunny yokai called with wide eyes. “Don’t actually sit on him!”

“Yuu, help! Leo is trying to kill me,” Junior wailed dramatically, draping a hand over his forehead.

Leo rolled his eyes and poked Junior’s cheek. “Yeah, totally. I’m totally trying to kill you by putting almost none of my weight on you,” he deadpanned. Spirits, Donnie was rubbing off on Leo. “I’m totally not using my good leg and cane to support the majority of my weight just so I can pin you just to be silly.”

Yuichi let out a sigh of relief, resting his hand against his chest then as he muttered something that Leo couldn’t understand under his breath. Something in Japanese. “I swear, June. You are going to be the death of me.” 

“Why would you say that? I’m a perfect angel!”

Leo snickered and dropped a little more weight on Junior before climbing off. “You’re a terror,” he corrected fondly. “It’s a good thing I love you, Pequeño, I swear.” He leaned on his cane and grinned down at Junior. “Now, let me put my bag down and we can catch up properly.” 

Okay, now for the big step. Leo looked at Yuichi properly and smiled. Hopefully it was warm and friendly instead of totally awkward and flustered. Leo was pretty damn good at masking his true feelings when he was prepared. “And hi, Yuichi. Nice to see you again. Did you say you had a question about the appliances? I might be able to help.”

Wow, Yuichi was shorter than Leo realized. He looked to be about a foot shorter than Leo. Four-seven? “Nice to see you too, Leo. The question can wait. I was just going to ask about the blender for future use,” he explained before rubbing the back of his head.

“I’ll see if I can give you some pointers later.” Leo grinned, swinging his bag off and putting it by the couch. He stretched out his arms but he was ready for Junior’s antics this time. The spider arms on Leo’s battle shell caught Junior just as he was leaning close to poke Leo’s side. “Nuh uh, Pequeño. Don’t think Donnie didn’t trick my battle shell out, and don’t think you can out-ninja your sensei.”

Yuichi’s eyes lit up while Junior pouted. “But you’re not wearing your Donnie goggles. How the heck are the robot arms working? Donnie told me they only work when you wear the goggles last time he visited.”

That got a snicker out of Leo. “I can trigger them off with my Ninpō, Pequeño. Donnie is a technopath and we share powers. He could use my shocks and probably my Ninpō channeling too if he tried.” Leo was still a little hazy about where the lines were drawn between their Ninpō at this point. Blue, his Ninpō, wasn’t too much help and Leo wasn’t even going to try conversing with Purple, Donnie’s Ninpō. That was just asking for trouble. “It takes more focus and effort, but I can do it.” 

With that being said, Leo pulled the goggles out from inside his battle shell and put them on before he carefully set Junior back down on the couch. The spider arms retracted with a thought. He sat down next to the skeleton child with a huff before holding his arms out. “C’mere.”

Junior quickly scooted over and into Leo’s arms, clinging happily to him. “I missed you. The others are great but you’re the best babysitter,” he murmured.

“I’ve missed you too, Junior,” Leo murmured, closing his eyes and resting his head on top of Junior’s. “I asked your papa if I could come over basically as soon as I was cleared to. I’ve missed you so much.” Spending time with Junior calmed Leo in ways few other things could. He always left feeling more centered, focused, and at peace than when he arrived. Plus, Junior was just a delight to be around. Despite their rocky start, Leo knew he and Junior were a perfect match in terms of energy.

Junior hummed and gave Leo a little squeeze. He glanced to the side and saw Yuichi walk into the kitchen before he spoke up again, still in a hushed tone. “Sorry for not telling you about Yuichi. I thought you might’ve dipped if I told you he was here and I didn’t want you to not show ‘cause of, well, y’know.”

“I wouldn’t dip on you, Pequeño,” Leo assured him just as softly. “I might have gotten a bit flustered, sure, but I wouldn’t dip on you unless I had no other choice.” He pressed a kiss to Junior’s head. “I get why you did it so I’m not upset. Just don’t keep stuff from me in the future, yeah?”

“Okay,” Junior agreed before looking up at Leo. “Before you ask, Hueso and Yuichi agreed that he wasn’t ready to be alone to take care of me and that they felt more comfortable with you here. Him being new still to the country and all that. Oh yeah, he’s also living here in the guest room. Hueso felt bad for him and I insisted he live here.”

Of course he did. Junior was a sweetheart like that, though Leo couldn’t help but think he had another reason for it. He hadn’t forgotten that apparently Junior had chosen Yuichi himself and insisted he work at Run of the Mill. Well, whatever Junior was up to, Leo wouldn’t let it get to him. He could totally be cool and calm. Yuichi would just be another friend. No reason to get flustered.

“Hey Junior, you wanna check out my knee brace? It’s all mechanical and while I can’t let you take it apart, you can remove the side panel and take a look at how it works.”

The nine year-old gasped and nodded. “Yes please. Donnie made it, right?”

“Yeah, though he did base it on my design.” Leo was pretty proud of that part. His Ninpō construct he had been using was so effective, Donnie took notes.

Junior smiled so wide as he pulled back. “Show. Now!”

“Pizza Supreme, Junior, have you gotten even smarter than when I last took care of you?!” Leo cried, skimming through the blueprints of projects Junior had planned out. “With a bit of refinement, you could totally make these work. CJ’s been working with you on your robotics, right? Have you made anything yet?”

“No, not really. We’ve more so been discussing theory,” Junior said before his eyes lit up. “Wait, maybe. Hold on.” He patted Leo’s arm before hopping off the couch and running through the kitchen to the hallway of bedrooms.

Leo watched him go with a fond smile. That boy had too much energy. With a small sigh, Leo flopped back on the couch and relaxed. He needed to build up his energy levels again. He was already getting a bit worn out and he had barely done anything!

Just as he was starting to really relax and melt into the couch, a hand to Leo’s shoulder made him jump. “Oh, I’m sorry! I thought you heard me come over,” Yuichi quickly apologized.

“It’s cool. Come take a seat.” How had Leo missed Yuichi coming over? He had amazing hearing! Maybe the rabbit was even lighter on his feet than Leo thought. If that were the case, Leo needed to get some pointers.

Yuichi quickly walked around and sat on the couch, giving a cushion’s worth of space between them. “Junior said that you had something you wanted to tell me as he ran by me to go to his room?” Oh that little—

“I didn’t, but we can still chat.” Leo grinned. “I think this is his way of getting us talking.”

Yuichi shook his head and draped his arm over the back of the couch as he looked at the hallway past the kitchen. “You can just tell or ask me to talk to Leo like a normal person, you know!”

“But you’re not normal, Yuu!” One of Yuichi’s eyes twitched for a moment at that, though he shook his head fondly.

Leo also rolled his eyes fondly. Okay then. Junior wanted them to talk. They could talk. “That reaction tells me you’re no stranger to dealing with kids. Cousins, maybe?” he ventured. 

“Many cousins. Two closer in my age, fourteen and thirteen, and then maybe half a dozen between the ages of three and eight.”

“That is a lot of kids. You must have the patience of a saint to be dealing with them on the regular growing up.” Leo was impressed.

Yuichi gave a so-so hand motion as he properly leaned back into the corner of the couch where the arm met the back. “Depends on who you ask. I try my best. Do you have any siblings besides your three brothers that I’ve met before?”

Leo paused. “Depends on who you ask,” he shot back with a smile. “The human you saw with us is kinda our brother too. He’s been around here at least once, his name is CJ. And then we have another human called April, and she’s basically my big sister despite us not being biologically related.”

“Yes, CJ. He’s very smart and fun. Oh, that sounds nice and quaint. Wait,” Yuichi said. He muttered something under his breath, again in Japanese. His fingers bounced a few times as he said something slowly, syllable by syllable. “That sounds… nice and comfortable?”

“Yeah. It is pretty nice. My clan is pretty big on the whole found family thing and my family is no exception.” Leo snorted. The Hamatos had brought people into their fold for centuries according to Raph, bringing in the lost or abandoned to become part of the clan. Sadly, the Foot had eliminated every other branch of that family tree which left Leo and his family as the only Hamatos left. They had picked up the adopting tradition without even knowing all this. “To give you context: Junior and Hueso are technically part of my clan too.”

Yuichi blinked. “Oh wow. How cool,” he said before shifting a bit. He grabbed a blanket draped over the back of the couch and laid it across his crossed legs. 

Meanwhile, Leo shifted his scarf a little to bundle up and get a little cozier before pulling his good leg underneath him, shifting to face Yuichi properly. He couldn’t bend his bad leg too well so he didn’t try. It would be uncomfortable. “Yeah, it is pretty cool. We’re still trying to figure out what it means to be part of this clan, but we’re finding it out as we go. Junior already mastered one part. He saved my brother’s life, believe it or not.”

“Wait, really? How so?” Yuichi asked as he focused on Leo. As he did so, Leo couldn’t help but notice Yuichi start to idly fiddle with the hem of his jacket sleeves.

“Well, he saved my twin from, well, me.” Leo took a breath. Why not get this out the way? It would at least help explain some of his weirder quirks and cover him if he happened to disassociate at any point tonight. Junior was educated on how to help Leo out if it happened, even if it was really rare now, but Yuichi might panic. “It was a whole thing with hypnosis and mind control and, uh, I was forced to hunt down my brothers thanks to that. Junior managed to summon his weapon from his own Ninpō mystic powers and block my attack, which gave me enough of a mental shock to back off a little. He’s so brave, and I’m so grateful even if I wish he wasn’t even slightly involved when that stuff was going down.”

When Leo looked back at Yuichi, having glanced away as he explained, he saw the awe and shock in his gaze. “June told me you all have been through a lot but he didn’t tell me all of that. I am so sorry you all had to experience that, but you are all so brave.”

Leo’s cheeks warmed at the compliment. “I, uh… We just did what we had to do, y’know, get by.” Brave? Him? He didn’t feel brave. He had almost given up entirely during the invasion. He had chosen the coward's way and tried to get Subprime to end him quickly in the prison dimension instead of trusting that his brothers would find a way to get him out. He knew that if it came down to a choice between the world or his family… he’d choose his family now, no hesitation. Leo wasn’t brave, even if he wished he were.

“Most people wouldn’t not be able to do that, let alone actually try to,” Yuichi said as he reached over and took one of Leo’s hands. Oh lord, oh spirits! His hands were soft and even a bit fuzzy. “You did it for your family, right? You are very clearly a family person. Again, it takes bravery to follow through with the things you’ve been through, like stopping the invasion and saving those you love from an awful fate, succeeding at saving them. I think you are very brave.”

Leo had to look away from those earnest and surprisingly intense brown eyes. Be still, his beating heart. “Thank you, Yuichi.”

“Of course,” the rabbit yokai said before leaning back and letting go of Leo’s hand. Leo had to stop himself from trying to go back and grab it. Stop it. “Sorry, was that a bit too much? I saw you be very affectionate with others, but I sort of did that without asking.”

Leo looked back quickly. “No no no, it’s fine. I am a very tactile turtle. I think it’s the red eared slider in me. I was just flustered by your genuine comment.” Where were Leo’s filters?! He was normally better at masking than this!

Yuichi nodded slowly as he fiddled with the hem of his jacket sleeves again. They looked quite stretched out. “Well it’s true. I’m not used to being tactile with others but my cousins and aunt. Oh, and June by this point. He’s like family, as is Hueso,” he said.

Leo hesitated. Could he offer? Should he offer? Would it be inappropriate? “Well, if you like being tactile, I’m more than happy with that.” Leo’s mouth ran off before he could think about what he was saying. Wouldn’t be the first time, but now was possibly the worst timing for a case of his motormouth.

Yuichi blinked and paused with his fiddling. “I’ll…” He stopped himself before he scooted closer, leaving a little bit of space between them. Maybe an inch or so.

Before he could let himself think about it too much, Leo scooted closer, closing that gap between them. He rested his arm against Yuichi’s. Oh wow, why was this so nice? It just sent a bunch of endorphins rushing through Leo’s head, maybe some dopamine and serotonin too. They weren’t even touching directly, with Leo’s hoodie and Yuichi’s jacket being there, but it was still nice. Plus, Yuichi seemed to relax at the contact. He could feel it and saw the other’s shoulders loosen up.

Spirits, he was so smitten. Leo was so screwed. “Let me know if you need to tap out. If you don’t get a lot of contact, I know it can be overwhelming. I promise, if you need some sanity space, it won’t upset or offend me. I get it,” Leo said. 

Then he picked up on something. Just outside the living room, towards the kitchen, there was a shuffling sound. Junior was watching while trying to stay out of sight. “We also have an audience,” Leo added in a whisper.

Yuichi’s head whipped around as Leo spoke, and he snapped his fingers at Junior. He said something in Japanese and Junior popped right out of his hiding spot. “I wasn’t,” Junior said with a whine.

“And I’m not a white rabbit.”

“You could be bleaching your fur or something, I dunno.” Yuichi squinted his eyes at Junior. “You could!”

“What did you say to him?” Leo asked around a small laugh.

“I said that he was spying on us,” Yuichi said as he waved Junior to come over. The little skeleton yokai did, though he was pouting up a storm.

“That he was.” Leo drew a line above himself and a portal formed below Junior. Leo caught him as he fell through, holding him close. “You know, if you wanted to get me and Yuichi talking, you didn’t have to leave the room to do it.”

Junior easily curled up against Leo. “Well it worked, didn’t it?” He pouted and whined when Yuichi poked his forehead, just under his hat. “It did!”

Leo snickered and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it did.” He paused before glancing at Yuichi. “Hey Yuichi, quick question. Opinions on swords and knives?”

“Swords are way cooler than knives.”

“I mean, true, but there are some pretty cool knives out there.” Leo looked down and Junior. “Come on, Pequeño. Like we practiced. You’ve got this.”

Junior’s eyes lit up as he realized what Leo meant. “Oh, yeah!” He hopped out of Leo’s lap then like he was chopped liver and held up his hand. In it formed his tanto, which Yuichi gasped over. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep the sheath on while I show off.”

The night went by faster than Leo thought it would. Junior showed off his katas, they had a nice dinner, and Leo showed Yuichi how to use a blender without covering the kitchen in his mango pineapple smoothie. Yeah, he now understood why Yuichi couldn’t be left alone either. He had looked so confused and panicked when looking down at the blender options, and he almost forgot to lock the lid down. 

Now, after making sure Junior was asleep, Leo sat down on the couch with Yuichi as he finished off his almost comically large drink. His fluffy tail was wagging a mile a minute as he put the glass down. “Is he snoring?” Yuichi asked as he looked over at Leo.

“Of course,” Leo said as he grinned. “Loudly. Somehow adorably but it’s still loud .”

“Okay, good. Unless fireworks go off, I doubt he’ll wake up,” Yuichi said as he glanced over at his glass. He picked it back up and sucked up the small bit of his drink left and then put the glass back down.

“Yeah, he’s a heavy sleeper,” Leo agreed. He himself could flip flop between a very deep sleeper and getting almost no sleep at all. Thankfully, while his body was still healing, he was sleeping well. “Plus, I think all that showing off really tired him out. It’s been a while since he had someone to show off to.”

“He never offered to show off like that before. Junior always tells me how school is going when I ask and he’ll then talk in detail about his day, but I didn’t know he knew how to do all that. He’s like a little samurai warrior,” Yuichi practically cooed.

“Ninja warrior,” Leo corrected with a smug grin. “I’ve been teaching him ninjitsu. I won’t be starting him on any kendo until he’s a little older and stronger.” Splinter might have been mostly trained in ninjutsu, but the Hamatos were skilled in a number of disciplines, including kendo. That’s where Leo had learned most of his sword skills from and what Splinter continued to teach him.

“Ah, that’s right. He told me you all were ninja warriors,” Yuichi said as he smiled. “You never know though. Maybe he wants to become a samurai one day.”

“He might.” Leo nodded but he still looked smug. “Buuut it’s through ninjitsu and Ninpō that he can use mystic arts sooo…” To demonstrate his point, Leo summoned one of his katanas into his now outstretched hand. It crackled with electricity. Oh yeah. He was cool.

Yuichi’s mouth hung as he stared at his katana. His fur seemed to puff out as well once the electricity crackled in the air. “Woah. Is that actual electricity?”

“Yup. And I can generate enough to down a trained warrior in seconds.” That was an understatement, but Leo didn’t want to brag. He could take down many people at once with his shocks.

“That is so cool!” Yuichi sat up properly and got close to Leo, looking at his blade while staying a respectable distance back from it.

Leo stopped the sparks and looked at Yuichi curiously. “You know much about swords?” he asked. The way Yuichi’s eyes were focusing on the small details, he at the very least had some experience with swords, if he didn’t use them himself. He seemed like he’d use a katana if anything.

The rabbit yokai raised his hand and made a so-so hand motion. “I have studied a decent bit in relation to samurais, but not as much as I would like. I did start to learn more about them once I came over to America.”

Leo hesitated. Would that be too forward? He never let anyone handle his weapons outside of battle. Then again, he was already pretty attached to Yuichi. His gut feeling told him that Yuichi was safe. Leo took a breath and offered his katana. “You wanna feel?”

“Wait, are you sure?”

“You can’t break it.” Leo nodded. “Just try not to hurt us or break anything in the apartment.”

“Oh, I would never swing it around or use it in here! I would need to be outside or in the right setting to train or fight to properly use this,” Yuichi insisted before hesitantly taking the katana. He got the right grip on it easily, not hesitating, fumbling, or questioning his own actions. This wasn’t his first time wielding a katana before. “This is a nice weight. Good grip with your tsuka as well.”

“Yeah. I manifested it to be a perfect balance for my particular style,” Leo explained, tucking his good leg underneath him. “I’ve had to modify my grip on my swords because, y’know, kinda a couple of fingers short for the standard grips. But hey, they work and normally I can work with both my katanas with no problem. Or an ōdachi if I’m dealing with something big and strong.”

Yuichi nodded as he carefully turned Leo’s blade over. He looked closer, though still kept a decent distance. “Are there… faint lines carved into your katana? Shapes and a possible language or runes here?”

“Yeah. I haven’t figured out what they say but, uh—” He summoned his second katana and activated his Ninpō. Immediately, the markings on the blades of both of his katanas glowed and shimmered, just like his markings did. Leo was surprised to realize that the designs on his battle shell also glowed when he glanced back. Huh. Something to mention to Donnie.

“Maybe you could look them up in the library in the Hidden City. Surely there must be something about this there, or you could ask a weapons expert,” Yuichi offered once he shook out his head and seemingly got over the shock of Leo and his katanas glowing.

“I’ve had an expert look them over.” Sunita worked in the Mystic Library and she couldn’t find a single match. “We got nothing. But we’ll keep looking, I’m sure we’ll figure it out eventually.” Leo let his crest come out as he vanished his swords. He was feeling oddly proud right now, even if he couldn’t place why. “Whatever it is, it’s much older than the records in the Hidden City.”

Yuichi nodded and curiously looked at Leo’s crest that had formed and hovered over the middle of his plastron. “Is that your clan’s crest? It looks…” Cool? Sleek? Stylish? “Like a pizza with a single pepperoni on each slice.”

“I mean, pizza is the food of the gods so I can’t say that’s wrong.”

“Uh, what?”

“Pizza is amazing, so us having a pizza as our clan crest means we’re amazing.” Leo nodded firmly. “You understand, right? Pizza is just objectively the best.”

Yuichi raised a brow at Leo as his crest vanished. “No it isn’t.”

That got an offended, dramatic gasp from Leo. “How dare you?! Pizza is the best food ever. How dare you insult the best food ever!” He kept his dramatics up so Yuichi wouldn’t start to worry that Leo was being serious.

“I’m not insulting it. I’m just stating facts. Pizza is not the best food ever,” Yuichi stated seriously, but his smile gave him away. “You’re just, er… What’s the word?”

“Correct? Intelligent? The most handsome and amazing turtle ever?”

“Oh, wrong! Also biased. Extremely biased.”

“Okay then, wise guy. What is the best food?” Leo leaned forward, grinning at Yuichi.

Yuichi grinned victoriously and pointed a finger at Leo. “Chikuzenni,” he confidently said with a smug smirk.

“The name’s familiar but I can’t say I’ve ever had that. So it can’t be the best food in the world.”

A strangled squawk escaped Yuichi then as he almost fell back on the couch. “Never— Uncultured!”

Leo laughed at that. “Oh, no, I am not uncultured. You just haven’t found the right pizza yet. Once you do, you will see the world as I do.”

Yuichi narrowed his eyes as he shook his head. “You need to try chikuzenni. I’ll make some for you and you’ll see how blinded you are by bias.”

Leo matched Yuichi’s playful glare with an even stare of his own. “Deal.”

After a good few seconds of staring each other down, the two of them burst out laughing. Leo noticed his crest finally faded away as well. “I swear, you are this super cool hero that has awesome powers and yet you’ve never tried chikuzenni while thinking pizza is the best food ever. You are really something special, Leo.”

“Eh, I’m not so cool.” What was wrong with Leo right now? Denying his own coolness? He must really be out of it. He blamed the cute rabbit yokai in front of him. “I’m just a guy who got lucky when it came to the powers lottery. You, on the other hand, you moved across the world to a country you knew very little about in a practical setting and not only have you got a stable job, you’re doing pretty well for yourself.”

Yuichi looked at Leo then, brows furrowed. Wait, has he said something wrong? “Uh… what? No. Since I arrived here, I almost got arrested twice in the Hidden City, barely managed to scrape by for a week while going from house to home every night, and somehow managed to find this job. The only reason I got this was because June liked me so much for some reason, otherwise I would be out on the streets.”

“You almost got arrested twice?” Leo was impressed. “How’d you get out of it? Because the Hidden City police is incompetent but dang if they aren’t persistent.”

“Uh… I run fast? I mean, I have practice from whenever I would leave the farm and visit Neo Edo.” Yuichi’s ears perked up then as he waved his hands in front of himself. “Wait, that came out wrong!”

Leo grinned and leaned forward more. “Oh do tell me more, Yuichi. I might want to get some pointers. I mean, I’ve been arrested a few times already so escaping them seems like a better option. And I try not to use my portals when I can avoid it. It brings too much attention down there.”

Yuichi stared at him with utter confusion while still looking so flustered. “You— What?!”

“I was arrested. Uh, as far as my family knows, it’s just once. But between you and me? We’re looking at three times.” Leo threw in a wink just to complete the devil may care attitude. Nailed it.

“What did you get arrested for?!”

“The first time, it was because I was still trying to get the hang of my previous portal weapon and I ended up dropping right into the middle of a very important and secret meeting with the Council of Heads— The, uh, leaders of the Hidden City. The second time, I got cursed with some evil yet stunning hair that knocked me out and used my body to steal things. The third time, well let’s just say I made a bit of a mess in Witch Town. The actual witches there were very understanding and lovely. The Hidden City police… Less so.”

Yuichi just stared at him in utter confusion and shock. “You get into a lot of trouble for a world-saving teen hero.”

“I’m a mischief maker. Sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes it’s not.” Leo shrugged. “But tell me about what happened with you! How did you almost get arrested twice?”

When the attention was drawn back to him, Yuichi pushed his fingers together and looked away. “Uh… Well, I sort of got confused when talking to someone at what I thought was a drink bar but was actually an adult bar when I first came into the city. The second time, I thought I paid for a meal and walked out without paying. Eheh.”

“Those are miscommunications. I don’t blame you for either of those things.” Leo shook his head. “You made mistakes. That’s not arrest worthy. Those guys are assholes.”

“That’s what I said! But then they got angrier and I just booked it. And then I sort of ruined this guy’s cabbage stand… both times I ran. I think that man is out for blood now.” Yuichi shuddered and shook his head out then.

Leo snorted and nodded. “Yeah, I know the guy. He’s vicious.” Yuichi sure had been through a lot since moving over here.

“Yeah, he is. I try to not go near that general area though unless someone is with me just in case,” Yuichi explained as he flopped back against the couch cushions. “Thankfully, I only truly go down there to work.”

“I thought you worked at Run of the Mill?” There was no reason for him to be in that part of the Hidden City, the only other thing really was the— “Wait, are you a fighter in the Battle Nexus?!”

Yuichi looked at Leo and blinked. “Um… Yes? I fight there three times a week and then work at Run of the Mill as well.”

“But you’re fifteen! Anyone under eighteen is supposed to only fight twice a week at most .” That was something Leo had insisted on when Hypno and Warren had taken over the place. He’d need to give them a call later. Still, if Yuichi was a fighter, that explained why he was so competent with a sword.

“Oh, yes, that rule. I insisted for more and proved myself, and then Mr. Hypno and Mr. Stone let me, but only if I was careful and with this whole long list of rules,” Yuichi explained before he rubbed the back of his head. “I didn’t think I’d be able to since I only started fighting when I first came to America, but apparently I was a, what’s the word? Oh, natural.”

“That’s the only reason you would be allowed.” Leo would still call them to find out. “Ron and Warren are both very careful with any younger fighters.”

Yuichi nodded. “They are. They’re really nice as well, though I was surprised to see them there when I came over after my application was accepted.”

“Why were you surprised?” Warren and Hypno always met each and every fighter before they started as fighters.

“I thought the owner was a yokai woman, not two mutant men.”

“She’s not the owner anymore,” Leo replied sharply before he cringed. “Sorry. She and I have a—… a history. But she’s not the owner anymore.” Leo was. And sure, he left Hypno and Warren to deal with everything but it was still technically Leo’s business. He had to sign anything they wanted to put in place. “Big Mama was not a good person. And she made things very dangerous. It was literally life or death in the arena, and the rewards weren’t really worth it.”

Yuichi hummed and nodded. “Yeah, I heard when I was coming over. It was a bit of a relief to hear that it wasn’t like that anymore by the time I got there, y’know? Lucky timing on my part,” the rabbit yokai said with a light laugh.

“Yeah, really lucky,” Leo agreed softly. If Yuichi had come over any sooner, would Leo have had to fight him? If he was a natural, Big Mama would have wanted Leo against the best to show off. And if Leo had seen Yuichi as a threat then as Blue Oni, he would want to ‘play’ with him. Leo shuddered at the thought. People didn’t make it back from those ‘games.’ “I’m glad you came over when you did.”

“Me too. Sort of had to delay my trip over a bit due to family stuff so what’s the phrase? It was a blessing in disguise,” Yuichi said before looking at Leo. His brows furrowed, showing off the slit in his left eyebrow a bit more. “Did I say something wrong before? You don’t look okay.”

Leo glanced away and sighed. “Uh, I used to fight in the arena. Before it was good.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Yuichi sat up properly then with wide eyes. “I had no idea. I won’t bring it up again. Please accept my apology,” he said before bowing fully forward. As he did so, his ears flopped forward and hit Leo square in the face. Yuichi gasped again and raised his head up, hitting Leo again in the face with his ears. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay?!”

Leo snickered which turned into a full blown laugh. “It’s fine, I’m okay.” He waved Yuichi down. “And talking about the Battle Nexus is fine, just… Big Mama is a bit of a touchy subject because of it. Dunno if I can comfortably go back there or else I’d come watch you.”

“You do not have to come back down. I know they are streaming fights as well now, but again, you do not have to watch if the association makes you uncomfortable,” Yuichi firmly insisted, holding his ears this time as he bowed again from where he sat.

“Streaming the fight might be kinda cool. What days do you fight?”

Yuichi stayed bowed as he listed, “Normally it’s Monday nights, Wednesday afternoons, and then sometime on Friday, normally the evenings or nights.” Woah, Monday nights and Fridays were the most popular times excluding weekends, especially that coveted Friday evening-night slot.

“Hey, you’re taking all my old slots,” Leo joked. “You must be really good if they’re giving you those ones.”

“I just want to train to be able to become a worthy samurai. I’ve never truly had experience before the Battle Nexus,” Yuichi said. “If having those slots helps me, then I’m glad for them.”

“Well then that natural talent is beyond impressive. The slots they’ve put you in are the most popular and coveted slots available. They only put the best of the best in there and the fighters who give the best show. That’s why I was in them before,” Leo explained with a confident pose, sparkling a little as his grin lit up the room. Or that’s how it felt anyway. Hopefully he wasn’t looking too awkward.

Yuichi looked up, still in his bow. Wasn’t that hurting his back? “I would imagine so. You’re a hero so of course you would have the skill and talent to be there. Plus, you’re quite entertaining to watch, let alone interact with. I can see why you were here,” he said with a sincere smile.

That made Leo blush. He hesitated, then guided Yuichi to sit up properly. “Relax Yuichi. You don’t need to bow to me.” He paused before smiling. “And you think I’m entertaining?”

“Uh, yeah? You’re funny, charming, witty, and quick on your feet. You’re engaging too and are just really cool,” Yuichi said as he listed each descriptor off on a finger, starting to count on his other hand now. “You’re also really eye-catching and, uh… What were the other things I was going to list? Either way, you are clearly an amazing showman and overall person. I’m surprised you even want to talk to a Japanese farm boy who is struggling to get by in America. You could talk to anyone and do anything you want!”

Leo was sure his face was as red as his stripes. “Of course I want to talk to you,” he insisted. “You’re fun and funny and earnest and so interesting. I bet you’re an amazing fighter too, and you’d put on an amazing show. If I can talk to anyone, I want to talk to you.”

Yuichi’s fur on his face puffed out a bit. “What? You’re the interesting and funny one here, not me! I’m boring and dumb.”

Leo wagged a disapproving finger at Yuichi. “Don’t start on that, Yuu. You’re amazing and honestly, I’ve wanted to get to know you properly from the first time I saw you. I was just shy.”

That just made the bunny yokai look confused more than anything else as he held onto the edges of his jacket sleeves with his fingers. “You did?”

Leo nodded, not breaking eye contact with Yuichi. “I did. So don’t diss my friend. Yuichi is fun and funny and interesting. And I want to get to know him better, okay?”

Yuichi hesitated before he nodded, not breaking eye contact either. “Understood.”

Leo and Yuichi spent the rest of the night chatting and just hanging out. Yuichi thought Leo’s jokes and puns were hilarious and honestly, Leo found his little crush shifting into something more substantial. He had never met anyone more earnest or just… genuinely sweet as Yuichi. If nothing else, Leo knew they’d be good friends. 

He wasn’t exactly sure when he passed out. Leo just knew that at some point, he felt a bony hand gently shake his shoulder, bringing him up out of the alluring grip of sleep. He was warm and comfortable and there was a soft yet grounding weight against him. It felt right in a way he couldn’t explain.

“Five more minutes,” he grumbled, not wanting to leave this comfy slice of heaven he was in.

“If you wait five more minutes, Junior will be awake and see this. You will never live it down, pepino.” Hueso? What the heck was he talking about? Oh, but the soft weight against him was so comfortable and soothing. He didn’t want to wake up and leave this. “I will not even try to wake Yuichi up because he sleeps like the dead.”

Yuichi? Right he was probably asleep here too— 

Wait. Leo’s eyes flew open and he looked down at the warm, fuzzy weight that was lying against his chest. Oh .

Said fuzzy weight was snoring up a storm, face half buried against Leo’s plastron. He was wrapped and contorted around Leo in a weird yet comfortable looking manner as he smiled in his sleep. “You see what I mean now?” Hueso asked, sounding both very unamused as well as extremely amused at the same time.

“Yes,” Leo whispered, his voice cracking. “Tio, help. Please .” Oh this was too much. His crush-slash-feelings were too strong and Leo was quickly getting overwhelmed. And Yuichi looked so adorable and comfy and Leo was not prepared to face the consequences if someone other than Hueso caught them like this.

Hueso sighed and shook his head as he shifted from where he knelt next to the couch. “How did you get yourself into his mess?” As he asked, he carefully shifted Yuichi’s arms and legs, moving him off of Leo and to instead lie back on the couch. There was a slight line of drool down his chin and his red eyeliner was smeared to hell and back across his cheeks and the sides of his eyes, all in his face fur.

“We were talking last night and I guess we fell asleep.” Leo scrambled back from where Yuichi was now lying, climbing to his feet. He grabbed his cane from the side and leaned heavily on it, his legs too wobbly from adrenaline to be of much use. At least his knee wasn’t hurting at the moment. Then Leo’s eyes softened and he gently brushed Yuichi’s ears away from his face. There. That was a little better.

Hueso watched but said nothing about it. “I see. Yuichi can be quite the blabbermouth once he gets going.”

“He’s quite the chatterbox,” Leo agreed. “But then, so am I. It was fun. We just… He’s easy to talk to,” he finished lamely, looking away.

“Yes, he is. He draws you in and you cannot help but lose an hour or more of your time just discussing life and anything else that interests him,” Hueso echoed before he stood. He grabbed the blanket that seemingly had been kicked across the room and put it over Yuichi. The rabbit yokai curled up into a ball under it then and he smiled. Then he let out a sudden loud snore that made even Hueso jump and curse in Spanish under his breath.

Leo snickered weakly at that. “Yeah. He’s a charmer for sure.” He paused and rolled out his shoulders, clipping his cane on to his battle shell now that he felt stable enough. “I should get going. If you’re back, my brothers are going to be expecting me any minute and I know they’re going to fuss if I’m even a little late.” They had gotten better with the babying and fussing but it was still a lot. Leo was more than capable of taking care of himself. He was sixteen, not six.

Hueso looked curiously at Leo. “Alright. Do you need someone to remind them that you’re a teenager and not a child?”

“You can try.” It would be nice to have another adult remind them of that fact. “Rara has already tried. It’s mostly Mikey, Raph, and Dad and I get why but at the same time, I’m stable. I’m not at risk with the stuff I’m doing.” He shook his head. “It’s just because they care and are worried after everything. I know they’re not trying to smother me.”

The skeleton yokai raised a bony finger as he took out his phone. He typed something out that took maybe half a minute before he pocketed his device. “There. If they baby you after that, you let me know.”

“Gracias, Tio,” Leo said with a smile. He quickly knocked his head against Hueso’s before stepping back. “I’ll see you later.”

Hueso nodded and rubbed Leo’s head. “See you later, pepino.”

Leo grinned and waved. He grabbed his backpack before opening a portal to outside the lair. He took a second to scrub his cheeks, trying to cool them and hide his blush before he took a breath. There. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a normal night babysitting. He zapped down to the main room, having to rebalance himself a little to make sure he didn’t fall over. Ugh. He was still getting used to the battle shell and knee brace. They were awesome but the additional weight meant he was still adapting.

“Hey Leo,” Mikey sang from behind him. Leo almost jumped but managed to steady himself. “How was the babysitting?”

“Good. Junior was happy to see me again, nothing too crazy.” Leo shrugged. He knew what would happen if Mikey found out about Yuichi and Leo didn’t think he could handle the teasing right then.

When Leo turned to face Mikey, his youngest brother’s expression turned from happy to scheming. “Oh really now?”

Eugh boy. “Uh, yeah.” Play it casual. Don’t get worked up. If Mikey smelled weakness, he’d be after it like a shark after blood in the water.

“It was just you and Junior? What did you two do to catch up?”

Oh no. He knew. How did he know? “Same old. He told me all about school, we watched Lou Jitsu movies, we practiced his katas, and he even practiced with his tantō.” If Leo didn’t acknowledge the first question, maybe Mikey would leave it. Leo didn’t like that smirk on his little brother’s face.

Mikey held his hands behind his back then and bounced them to and fro while he rocked on his heels. “Was there anyone else there who watched those movies with you two?” Damnit.

Leo wasn’t getting out of this, was he? Okay, so long as he kept his head, this would be fine. “Uh, yeah. Yuichi is staying with Hueso and Junior at the moment. He’s got the guest room.” Nailed it. Cool as a cucumber. There was a reason Hueso called him Pepino.

The devious smile became innocent. Too innocent. “Did you two do anything after Junior went to bed?”

“We talked. That’s about it.” Leo was finding his anxiety starting to spike now. He didn’t want this. He couldn’t take the teasing right now. If he were calmer and it wasn’t so early, maybe he would be fine but right now he couldn’t take it. “Just let it go, Mikey.”

“That’s not what the eyeliner on your chest is telling me,” Mikey insisted as he poked Leo’s plastron. There was smeared red eyeliner.

Fuck. “Oh, yeah. Uh, we both passed out on the couch. No biggie.” Why wouldn’t Mikey let it go? Couldn’t he see Leo was getting uncomfortable? Ugh. “Just leave it. Nothing happened.”

“Aw c’mon! You’ve been crushing on Yuichi so hard—”

“Mikey,” Raph firmly called. When Leo looked to the side, he saw him walking with Melon walking by him, but not pressed against his side. “I know we talked and Leo asked you to stop. Stop bringing it up. He doesn’t wanna talk ‘bout it anymore.”

Leo looked back and gave Raph a grateful smile. His big brother would always have his back when it counted. “Thanks, Raph.” 

“Fine,” Mikey huffed, crossing his arms. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Yeah, well your aroace butt wouldn’t,” Leo shot back, crossing his own arms. He used it as a chance to quickly scrub away the eyeliner on his plastron.

“No, it wouldn’t. I gotta ask Donnie for a good way for you to get it. A good metaphor. It’s too early to think of one right now,” Raph grumbled before he walked over to Leo and Mikey. He wrapped an arm around Mikey and gave him a stern noogie. “No more teasing him ‘bout his crush, okay? Just like how you told me you weren’t gonna do it for me anymore when I asked.”

“Hey! Okay, okay! Lemme go, Waffle!” Mikey whined, struggling to escape the noogie. While that happened, Melon wandered over and nuzzled against Leo’s side. 

“Hello, Millie Moo,” Leo cooed, reaching down and stroking her. “I know you’ve always got my back too, don’t you baby?” Melon purred happily in response.

Raph eventually let Mikey go with a smirk. “Okay, good. Now, how ‘bout you set up that game for us like I asked instead of waiting to surprise attack Leo.”

“Got it. I’ll be in the games room then.” Mikey huffed, shooting up into the air and floating over towards the games room in the higher level. 

“Thanks, Raph,” Leo sighed, rubbing his face with his free hand. “That was getting to be a bit much.”

“Raph’s got you. He did a bit of meditating and reflectin’ last night after training. Sorry for treating you like I have. You know your limits, and I need to stop babyin’ you. We all do.”

Whatever Hueso said to the others clearly worked. Leo shuffled over and hugged Raph. “Thanks, Waffle. I know you guys didn’t mean anything by it.”

His big brother hugged him back and knocked their heads together. “Of course. Also, even though you totally gave me a hard time for my crush in the hotel, if you ever need to talk it out, Raph’s here for ‘ya.”

“That was me deflecting and you know it,” Leo grumbled with a small huff. “Besides, I’ve been helping you chat with Mona for months now. So I’m glad you’ve got my back on this one.”

Raph’s cheeks got darker at the mention of Mona. “Yeah, of course. We gotta stick together through crushes and whatever.” He let Leo go then and patted his head. “Now go relax. Donnie’s still sleeping and I think CJ’s tinkering with some stuff with Lenny. Dad and Rara… Who knows. If they’re in their room, leave ‘em be.”

“I might go nap with Donnie.” Leo was still feeling pretty tired. “Before I go, can you help me put on my shell cover? I fell asleep in my battle shell accidentally.”

“Oh yeah, just direct me on what to do. Haven’t done it before, I don’t think.”

Leo nodded and pulled out his shell cover from his bag. He quickly detached his battle shell and held out the cover to Raph. “You see the gel strips on the inside? Line those up with the cracks on my carapace and gently press them in. Then stretch the fabric and hook it over the edges of my shell,” he explained. It was an ingenious design. Donnie had really outdone himself when it came to Leo’s shell care.

Raph let out a confident hum. “Oh, Raph’s got this,” he said as he took the shell cover. After gesturing for Leo to turn and Leo following through, he felt the gel strips carefully and gently line up against his cracks. It didn’t take long for the fabric to snugly rest around his shell. “Got it on like a boss. Everything feel alright?”

“It’s perfect. Thanks, Raphadoodle.” Leo beamed. “Where is Donnie sleeping?”

“Uh, in your room. He got super bad and close to an episode but helping him sleep there actually stopped him from having one. Surprised it worked,” Raph admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. Melon meowed and gave him a look. “You were too, missy. Don’t gimmie that look.”

“You guys should have called me if he was struggling,” Leo insisted. He didn’t feel anything through the imprint so Donnie must have masked it from him for some reason. “I could have stepped back for a moment. Or Donnie could have come over and I could have calmed him.”

Raph gave Leo a smile. “Unless it was an emergency, we didn’t wanna. You haven’t been able to go out for a while without us breathing down your neck. Plus, we know how much you and Junior both were lookin’ forward to it.”

Leo’s expression softened and he couldn’t help the fond churr that escaped him. “Thanks, Raph. I’ll see you later?”

“‘Course, bud. Go have a good nap.” Raph gave a wave before he hurried along to the gaming room, Melon trailing right behind him.

Leo shot them a smile before he zapped up to his bedroom, putting down his bag and putting his battle shell on its stand. He glanced to his bed and yup, there was Donnie. His twin was curled up under the covers of Leo’s bed. Only his head poked out as he slept. That and… Wait, was Donnie cuddling Professor Sparkles?

That was adorable. So much for not liking plushies. Leo snapped a quick picture and sent it to his backup storage. That was going in his newest journal for sure. As soon as his phone was away, Leo climbed into bed and curled up next to Donnie. With a little bit of maneuvering, he managed to get Donnie to shift and lie against Leo’s plastron. Thanks to the shell cover and the specially designed mattress that Leo had, he could comfortably lie on his back again so this was comfortable. Plus, he liked having Donnie sleep on him like this. It was a good reminder that his twin was okay, that Leo wasn’t alone. It also meant that nothing would be able to make Leo leave the bed before Donnie woke up, no mental programming or otherwise.

Once Leo was all settled, Donnie shifted and wrapped an arm around Leo. He hummed happily then and faintly smiled but did nothing else. Oh, totally an emotionless bad boy moment for Donnie right there. Leo’s twin was unfairly adorable when he was sleeping. If only Leo could coax it out of Donnie more when he was awake. 

Leo wrapped his arm around Donnie, rubbing his carapace and churring contently. Even if he had slept surprisingly well last night, nothing really beat being curled up all cozy and safe with his twin. He closed his eyes and felt himself start to drift within seconds.

Before he did fall asleep, however, Donnie let out a pleased, sleepy churr. Sap.

Chapter Text

Now that CJ was feeling a bit more secure in his new home, he decided it was high time for him to start taking advantage of the plentiful resources available to him. Sure, his gear was amazing and he wouldn’t change it for anything. His Uncle Tello and Junior and Lenny—the ones from the future—had made them for him. But they were also working with limited supplies, something that wasn’t an issue in the present day. That was how he found himself working at the bench Donnie had set up in his train car room, rewiring his grappling hook bracer and just fine tuning all his gear. High-grade, low weight titanium alloy, brand new wires, and a fresh coat of paint to round everything off. Wow. This thing was a work of art. Uncle Tello would be proud.

Not for the first time, CJ found his chest aching. He missed his family. He missed his home, the place he felt safest and happiest. Sure, he loved the present day teenage turtles and April and everyone else he met, but he missed his family. Sensei’s words still stuck with him though. He’d work with these guys and one day they’d become a new family to him, just as dear as his old family. 

Spirits, he was getting sentimental. 

With a hum, CJ focused back on his work. No point in getting distracted.

A knock on his door, however, kept him from getting back to work. So much for limiting distractions.

CJ pushed up the goggles Donnie gave him to borrow and looked over to the door of his room. Weird. Any of the turtles would just come on in, all except Raph. It sounded too soft to be him though. Splinter or Draxum…? “Hello? You can come in.”

A familiar head of curly hair poked its way into his room. “Hey, CJ. You busy?” April asked with a grin. She slid in, a certain amount of mischief in her expression. Eugh boy, CJ knew his Auntie Apple well enough to know that April was up to something, and that something would either be really fun or really chaotic. Or both. Usually both.

“Uh, I guess not,” CJ said as he rolled back in his rolling chair to properly face April. “Why?”

“Because I wanted to know if you’d be up for a day out with me and the girls,” April offered, her bright grin never faltering. “Just give you a chance to see what it’s like to be a human teenager with some other teens who live on the surface.”

Being a human teen on the surface? Well, he was better the last few times he went up above, so long as he had his headphones on. “Sure, just let me grab my headphones and phone. Oh, and let the others know where I’m going.”

“Sure. I think Leo and Raph are out at the moment. Something about stretching their legs? And Mikey is with Hueso. I think he said he would be teaching Hueso his secret recipe of the chocolate soufflés. I dunno.” April shrugged and shook her head. “Donnie’s home, though. He’s in his lab.”

“Okay, I’ll tell him then,” CJ said as he put his borrowed goggles to the side in favor of grabbing a hoodie. His own, thanks to Leo. It wasn’t much, a simple camo green with black embroidery along the back, but he insisted that Mikey had plans for it. He then put on his headphones, covering one ear, and pocketed his phone. Then he grabbed the goggles to give back to Donnie. “What are we gonna do?” CJ asked as he turned and faced April.

“Uh, well we’re starting at my university. Giving you a chance to see what school is like especially since, y’know, you’re kinda advanced for your age,” April explained as they walked out of CJ’s room and towards Donnie’s lab. 

Huh. When did CJ start thinking of it as his room? It had to have been in the last few days, right? Interesting. “Wait, advanced? Really?”

“You’re sixteen but you’re already super advanced in robotics and you have the equivalent education to a high school diploma at minimum in basically every other subject. And that’s a lowball estimate,” April deadpanned. “Basically, you’ve got the education level of someone in their twenties or older.”

“Oh, okay. Well, there weren’t many kids in the apocalypse and we all were sort of taught by my Uncle Tello and a handful of others,” CJ said with a shrug. “That was just our normal. I’ve never heard of a university or high school before.”

“Makes sense then,” April replied with a shrug. “I mean, if Donnie was in charge of your education, it’s no surprise that you’re where you are academically. Basically, high school is for teens, university is for adults. Like eighteen plus usually. It’s also specialized so you only study what you specifically choose to rather than being taught a little of everything like you do in high school. Make sense?” Oh, that actually sounded cool though. Why was April talking about high school like it was a bad thing?

CJ nodded as he started to follow April out and over to Donnie’s lab. “Yeah. Why is learning a little of everything bad though? It sounds like it would be great. We had a limited amount of everything, just the basics to get us by, but then we would have Uncle Tello teaching us math and robotics and engineering, Uncle Mikey taught us the arts and more critical thinking skills when he had the time, and Auntie Suni taught us history and reading skills.”

“It’s not so much the lessons as it was the people.” April shuddered a little as she explained. “It’s very hierarchical and very harsh to anyone who was… different. Needless to say, I was happy to get out of there. It wasn’t a good time for me.”

CJ’s eyes softened then. “I’m glad you aren’t in there anymore then. I’d definitely like to take a look at your university then. It’s where we first met when you knocked me out, right?”

“Oh, right. Yeah.” April laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry about that.” 

She looked like she was about to say more but an angry shout from inside the lab cut her off. In an instant, April was on guard as she rushed in she’d of CJ. “Donnie?! What happened?”

Donnie sat in his chair, his lab looking nearly spotless except for his desk he was currently sitting at. He was staring at his hologram monitor beside him with a seething rage. Seeing how angry he was, CJ hid a bit behind April. “I finally found who let Kendra and those ignoramuses out! The fucking EPF of all god damn government branches!” He grabbed the empty bottle of water in front of him and chucked it at the wall.

“Wait, Kendra’s out?” April asked with her clenched jaw. The name was familiar to CJ but he couldn’t place why, just that he remembered Sensei saying it with such venom at some point when CJ was much younger. “And she’s with the EPF?! I knew those guys were bad news!”

“Yeah, of course they’re bad news. I never disagreed with you there,” Donnie said with such venom in his voice as he grabbed a full water bottle this time and threw it. Thankfully, not hard enough to make the bottle burst or crack open. “I just— Oh my god. Stupid freaking— Augh!”

“Dad, stop throwing your bottles around,” Lenny intoned mildly. “Get your bō staff out and use the stress relief dummy in the corner. That’s why we have it.” 

“Lenny’s right,” April said with a nod. Her expression was more serious than CJ had seen since the invasion. “But DT, the EPF. They’re the ones who hired my university to make the herbicide. As in the blue goo that hurt the Kraang.”

Right, CJ remembered that. Vaguely. That day was getting a little hazy with every day. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not. “Right, they also did that,” Donnie said as he got up and summoned a purple construct bō staff into his hands. He twirled it around expertly before looking at April and CJ. “They’re also the ones who vow that any and all alien life, as well as any that isn’t purely human in nature, is to be dissected, destroyed, and decimated if they cannot be used to benefit humanity. The worst branch of the government.”

“Totally agree.” April nodded.

“Hey, does this qualify as reason enough to dismantle—”

“No, Lenny, we can’t take down the government. Yet,” April amended with a grin. “Give it time.” She paused before throwing an arm around CJ’s shoulders. “By the way, I’m borrowing CJ for the day. Taking him out to Uni then around with the girls, okay?”

Donnie looked over CJ then. “You have your headphones, your phone. Do you have your Donnie debit card?”

“My what?”

With a, “Sigh,” Donnie walked over to one of his desks and opened a drawer full of folders. He quickly perused through them before pulling two things out. He opened the colorful one and then slid the thin plastic into it before giving it to CJ. The colorful material folded into itself and was purple with the Genius Built logo smack dab in the middle. “Here. The one with the Genius Built™️ logo on it is for when you want to make purchases. If anyone asks about your identification, give them the card with your picture on it. Okay?”

CJ quickly nodded. “Uh, sure. Thanks?”

“I’ll make sure he’s covered. Thanks, Donnie.” April smiled, leaning over and knocking her head against Donnie’s. Well, okay, she had to tug him down by the shawl he was wearing, but that was a common enough occurrence. April was tiny.

Donnie nodded and flattened out the shawl Leo had lovingly made for him before looking at CJ. “If it gets to be too much, text me the portal emoji and I’ll come pick you up.”

“Understood. Thanks, Donnie.” Said turtle nodded before walking over to what CJ referred to as Donnie’s tantrum corner. The turtle took a deep breath before terrifyingly decimating the stress-relief dummy. Rest in pieces, brave fabric soldier. It never stood a chance.

April didn’t remove her arm from around CJ’s shoulders as she guided him out of the lab. “Best give him some space. You know what he’s like when he gets like this.” April pulled out her phone as they walked and sent a quick text to a number that CJ didn’t get a chance to see. Instantly, a glowing pink portal formed in front of them and April led CJ through it. 

They emerged in an alleyway near the university he had found April at, Eastlaird. Okay, he was topside already. Not many people around and the weak winter sun was shining as brightly as it could. Okay, this was fine. He could manage this no problemo.

CJ quickly reached into his front hoodie pocket and tugged his phone out enough to start playing some of the calming playlist Raph made for him recently. He could play it and be able to easily focus on April at the same time. “Who made that portal?” CJ couldn’t help but ask as he pulled his hand out of his pocket.

“Cassandra. She’s gotten pretty good with them in the last few months,” April explained with a grin. “She’s had the skill to make them for a while but she never really put the time in to hone it until recently. Saved our butts a few times when we were dealing with Big Mama and saving Leo, so she’s been practicing since.”

Right. His mom but not his mom. They hadn’t really talked since that initial meeting before the invasion started. She said she wasn’t CJ’s mom here, which was true. But they hadn’t talked since to figure things out. He hadn’t really seen anyone beside the turtles, Splinter, and Draxum since the invasion ended. Maybe April a handful of times but that was about it. “Oh, cool. I didn’t know she had any mystic abilities.”

“Hers are all learned, besides her Ninpō. That’s something all her own.” April sounded insanely proud. It made sense. Even when CJ had been little, he knew how close his mom and his Auntie Apple were. They were like sisters and honestly, seeing that was still the case for them now just warmed CJ’s heart in a way he didn’t quite get, but he very much appreciated.

CJ nodded as April led him inside the university halls. “Yeah. From what I recall, some yokai and mutants are born with or develop the abilities. It’s nearly unheard of for humans to be, though the rare few who are dedicated and skilled enough can develop them as well.”

“Cassandra is pretty special,” April agreed with a nod. “All yokai and mutants have some level of mystic abilities though, even if they’re just very mundane. Mystic power is tied to their life force. Or, at least, that’s what Barry’s told me.”

Right. “Yeah, you’re right about that.” CJ needed to brush up on his knowledge, refresh himself. How could he forget that?

“I’m actually studying about yokai and everything now, so maybe we can exchange notes. I’m guessing you knew at least a few in your timeline.” April paused and handed CJ a piece of paper. “Lemme know which of these sounds the most appealing to you. And don’t try to be humble either, I want you to enjoy yourself here.” It seemed like she had handed him a list of… classes? Subjects? He wasn’t totally sure.

CJ looked over the list and squinted. “Um…” There was a bunch of information for each listed item and he didn’t fully get what they were talking about. He could pick out some ideas and phrases that made sense to him though. “These that talk about robotics and engineering sound interesting.”

April took the list and nodded. “Okay. And I’m taking you straight to a level three class. You’re way too advanced for the beginner stuff. Trust me, even I’m more advanced than that stuff, and that’s just from hanging out with Donnie.” With a bright smile, April took CJ’s hand and started leading him through the halls of her university with a sort of confidence and purpose that CJ rarely saw from anyone in this timeline. Clearly his Auntie Apple had started her girl power streak young.

“Are you sure we can walk into the class?” CJ at least had some idea that you had to be allowed to go into a class to be able to visit. “Aren’t you studying, uh, journalism? That doesn’t sound like it goes along with advanced robotics and engineering.”

“The benefit of studying journalism: I can get into just about any class,” April said with a wink. “They don’t check if you’re registered for classes, and I have a pass that lets me check out basically any class I want on the basis of being able to do research about the topics we’re writing about. Besides, Leo sneaks into classes all the time.” She tugged him into a lecture hall and up to the back rows. There were another set of doors at the back of the class, probably leading to another corridor.

There were a decent number of people littered throughout the seats. CJ looked over them all in such different styles of clothes with varied setups. Most everyone had a computer with a notebook, but everyone at least had some device. Almost every student had at least one coffee, if not two. No teacher seemed to be in since everyone was either talking with one another, on their phones, or doing something on their laptop.

“Here.” A small tablet was placed in front of CJ. “I figured pens and pencils probably weren’t super common in the apocalypse so I made sure to snag you one of these for your notes. If you wanted to make any, I mean.”

CJ looked at the device and picked up the stylus. Oh yes, it felt just right. “We had my Uncle Tello’s tech for most of my life.” When he was… gone, a lot of his tech stopped working. That included tablets and the like that weren’t for essential needs. “It’s been a while since I’ve taken notes with a stylus. My stuff was stuck with speech-to-text for a while and my digital keyboard wouldn’t work.” Even with the great minds still left, no one could properly repair their devices.

Uncle Tello’s tech was a conundrum to basically everyone except Lenny, Junior, and Sensei. The latter was busy running the whole resistance and taking care of his family and the other two were more focused on keeping their base hidden and keeping their defenses online. They didn’t have time to do repairs on non essential equipment.

“You’ve got it all working now, though, right? The stuff you brought with you?” April asked curiously. “If not, I know a certain genius who has been dying to get his hands on your stuff and has only been held back from just outright stealing— I mean borrowing by his siblings.”

Duh. “I have tinkered around with it but haven’t been able to crack it yet. I can give some of it to Donnie. Just gotta take down the defense measures so he doesn’t get, well, ended by the tech.”

“Lemme guess, Uncle Tello put in some lethal protection to make sure no one messed with your stuff?” April sounded amused. Well that did line up with Auntie Apple. No matter how crazy Uncle Tello’s antics got, she would just sigh, smile, and get on fixing his fixes and messes.

CJ nodded. “Yeah. He didn’t want anyone touching or messing with anyone’s belongings. So I couldn’t get into Uncle Mikey’s things or Lenny’s or anyone else’s but my own.”

“Clever. Though, guess that’s sort of a given,” April snorted fondly and shook her head. “Oh, hey, the lecture’s starting. Lemme know if you wanna bounce, okay? We can leave at any time and we won’t get into trouble for it.”

CJ looked at April then as he held the stylus a little tighter. “What are you going to be doing?”

“I’ll be right here working on one of my assignments,” she assured him.

As long as this wasn’t a waste of April’s time, CJ could comfortably sit in for his first ever non-Uncle Tello lecture. “Alright. Thank you, April.”

Well, that was a good refresher on the basics. CJ wasn’t sure why April assured him that this was an advanced class. Maybe she had taken him to the wrong class? Either way, it was nice to remind himself of these important foundational ideas and skills. 

The other students who looked baffled and confused as they walked out just confused CJ. This was baby stuff. Why weren’t they getting it? Still, CJ quickly saved the notes and sent the file to his phone before carefully putting the tablet away in its case and giving it back to April. “Thanks for letting me borrow this.”

April pushed it back into his hands. “Keep it. You’ll get more use out of it than I will. I write faster than I type anyway.”

CJ stared at the tablet and then April. “I— Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. If I do need one, Donnie will just make me a new one anyway.” April shrugged casually but he could see the twinkle of affection in her eyes. He recognised it. Auntie Apple had that same look when she’d look at him or Frida or even Lenny. Wow, April of this timeline loved him already? That was… He wasn’t expecting to be loved. It made his own chest warm in response.

He held the tablet close to his chest and smiled so fondly at her. This would be going straight to his room and his desk after today. “Thank you, April,” CJ said before he went to hug her. He stopped though and just held out an arm.

April didn’t hesitate to hug him back. Her hugs were warm and tight in just the right ways, like she could squeeze him back together where he was broken. “Sure thing, Casey.”

Okay, that one was getting through to him. CJ sniffled and held her close, making sure to be careful of his new gift as well as April herself.

“Casey, it’s okay. I’m not gonna break if you squeeze,” she assured him around a soft chuckle. “I’ve been hugged by sleepy Raph, and hun, you’re strong but you’re also a twig compared to him. Do your worst. Just let it out.”

“Just…” CJ put the tablet down to the side before he clung tight to April. He buried his face against her hair, which she let him do.

April held him just as tight, just as lovingly, as he desperately needed. She stroked the back of his head, smoothing down his wild hair while simultaneously rubbing his back and holding him in just the best ways. “I gotcha, CJ. It’s okay.”

He sniffled and nodded, nuzzling a little against her head. “Thanks,” he lamely muttered, but he meant it with all his heart.

“Sure thing, Casey.” April let him cling to her until he felt some semblance of composure return to him. He awkwardly detached himself from her and fluffed up her hair again from how he had flattened it a little. “Thanks. Ready to go?”

CJ thought for a moment before he grabbed the hair tie Mikey had given him. He quickly tied his hair up into a braid before he gave April a thumbs up. “Alright, I’m good now.”

“Awesome.” April turned and led CJ out the back of the lecture hall, making sure he picked up his tablet. The corridors were mostly empty again, so clearly the next classes had already started. “So how did you find the level three class? You seemed pretty on top of it all when I glanced over.”

“Wait, that was really a level three class? That felt like a baby basics refresher,” CJ said with wide eyes. Everyone thought this kind of thing the lecturer discussed was advanced ?

“Oh yeah,” April said with a nod. “I’m pretty sure I saw at least two people crying and one person just walked out halfway through saying how they were quitting. It’s that hard for most people.” She grinned and poked his cheek. “Guess you’re just a genius too, Future Boy.”

A genius? No, no way. “I won’t take that title, but thank you,” CJ said as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“Hun, if that stuff was baby basics, you’re a genius,” April explained as they walked. “That was one of the higher level classes for a non specialized college. Even at a specialized college, you wouldn’t get much harder,” she insisted. “Also you’re sixteen . Everyone else in that room was twenty, minimum.”

“Wait, really?” CJ asked as he walked with her down a hall. He wanted to say something or comment further on how that couldn’t be true but found his brain to sort of be fried at that fact. This was hard stuff, yet it was so easy for him. He was a genius? But his Uncle Tello and Junior and Lenny were the geniuses with this kind of stuff.

“Yes, really. Clearly, your Uncle Tello, Lenny, and Junior have taught you well. Based on the fact that was baby mode for you, I’d say…” April hummed in thought as she rubbed her chin. “You’re probably maybe about one or two years behind Donnie? So in theory you could totally match what he was doing at fourteen.” What?! No way was CJ that smart. Uncle Tello was a genius. He’d always been a genius if Donnie was anything to go by. No way CJ was at that level.

He wasn’t going to keep debating April on this though. That wasn’t what today was for. “Wow. That’s crazy,” was what CJ said as April slowed her stride and he stopped along with her.

“Just a little,” she agreed, sending another text. A pink portal opened up. “C’mon. We’re gonna be seeing Cassandra. She’s gonna be introducing you to her Brownies.”

Oh. CJ took a breath then. April had said he was going to spend a day with the girls, and she was included in that grouping. He could do this. He just needed to not make this awkward and weird. Totally doable for him. After nodding to April and mentally preparing himself, he walked through the portal first.

Cassandra was waiting outside what looked to be a large warehouse. “Hey, Casey Junior.” She gave him a casual salute from where she was leaning up against the wall. “Okay, to make things easier, you call me Cass and I’ll call you CJ, yeah? That way neither of us steal the other’s name.”

It took CJ a moment to catch up and process what she had said. What she offered made him feel better as he nodded. “Yeah. Sounds good, Cass,” he said with what he hoped was a warm smile.

“Awesome.” Cass pushed off from the wall and grinned. “Now that’s out of the way, get over here!” The next thing CJ knew, he was being manhandled into a noogie. He heard April laughing at him from somewhere nearby before seeing her go back through the portal, mentioning something about class and that she’d meet up with them after.

CJ sputtered and flailed naturally in response as he tried and failed at getting her to stop, unable to properly say goodbye for now to April. “Wh— Ack!” He managed to grab her hand on his head and, with a bit of finessing, bending, and shifting, got her into a noogie. Ahah! He quickly noogied her head, watching her maroon streaked hair go nuts. “Wow, Raph was right. This is satisfying.”

“Hey!” Cass laughed and squirmed, batting at him with no real strength. “You’re fiery. I like it. Take no prisoners!”

He couldn’t help but grin as he let Cass go, but not before ruffling her hair once more. Granted, it was different from when CJ last saw her. The right side of her head was shaved, but the top and rest of her head transitioned to a nice mane of hair to her shoulder. It suited her. “Oh, can never take prisoners,” CJ said as he fixed his headphones.

Cass was a ruffled mess but she was beaming proudly. “Damn right. Now c’mon, I want you to meet my Brownies. Mikey said you’re decent in the kitchen, right?”

CJ thought before he made a so-so hand motion. “I don’t have Donnie’s kitchen curse so I’m not hopeless.”

“That’s fair. Not everyone can be as good as Mikey after all,” Cass conceded. She started marching into the warehouse with her head held high. Inside, CJ was shocked to see a couple of dozen little girls working hard in about five different kitchen set ups. They were working with what looked like chocolate batter and had the same precision as any assembly line Uncle Tello had ever made. Some were packing chocolate rectangles into boxes while others still were making notes on clipboards as they looked over the boxes. “Welcome to Grandma CJ’s Brownies.”

CJ looked over the whole warehouse in awe as the girls worked so efficiently. Some had on headphones, but most were either zoned in and focused solely on their task or were chatting as they worked. The smells wafting around were divine as well, even if CJ wasn’t too sure what a brownie was. Well, those chocolate rectangles, obviously. “You own a whole food production line?”

“Uh, yeah, kinda.” Cass sounded a little sheepish. “It started as a way to fund stuff for the Foot, buuut now it’s used as a way for little girls with too much energy to get their energy out .” Cass fiddled with her fingers as she spoke and CJ spotted some golden chains looped around them. “It’s for charity, mostly. I take enough of a cut to pay rent and have some spending money, then the rest goes back into the business and profits go to charity. The girls don’t get paid exactly, but they win points which they can exchange for prizes which actually include cash.”

Oh wow. “This is insane! I’m a good way, I mean,” CJ said as he tried to wrap his head around all this. Cass owned and ran all this at eighteen? “You’re insane in a good way too! I’m just… You’re such a badass!” From what he could see and what he heard from Uncle Mikey and Auntie Apple’s stories, running a business was no joke. All while helping out kids at the same time? Wow.

“I am?” Cass sounded genuinely surprised. “I mean, of course I am!” She puffed up her chest a little and put her hands on her hips. CJ was sure if she were a turtle, she’d be chirping and her tail would be wagging. As it was, she had a soft blush on her cheeks. “I just wanted to make sure kids didn’t end up… going down the wrong route like I did. These girls all have anger issues or something like it.” Her voice was softer and more fond now. “Here I can teach them life skills, and how to destroy their enemies and break their spirits!” And there was the fire. Yup. That lined up with the faint memories that CJ had of his mom too. Soft one second, crushing skulls the next. Sometimes literally.

“Hey, you worked with these girls to help keep Kraang zombies at bay, right?” CJ vaguely remembered hearing a sentence that sounded something like that. Maybe. He had heard ‘brownies’ at one point when she had been at the lair last. “I’m glad they’ve found a good place with you. I’m sure they look up to you if they’re willing to fight by your side like that.”

“I take care of them,” Cass agreed with a nod. “But in the end, we’re a little family all on our own. Oh, speaking of.” Cass cleared her throat and shouted, projecting her voice louder than CJ was expecting. “Listen up, girls! I’ve got my, uh, cousin CJ visiting today. He’s family, so you will give him the same respect you give me. Got it?” There was a chorus of agreement and every little girl who could saluted at Cass before returning to their jobs.

CJ made sure to salute them all back before looking at Cass. “Okay, so what am I doing here? What’s the plan?”

“If you’re up for it, I wanna put you to work with the Brownies. So you can see what it’s like to have a job,” Cass offered, looking at CJ curiously. “You don’t have to though. We can do other stuff if you’re not up for it.”

“Oh, I can do that.” It had been a while since CJ had really done any ‘jobs’. He had them, different roles and duties he’d do, but he hadn’t really needed to do anything besides some cleaning and taking out the garbage since settling into the lair. Oh, and accompanying Splinter and Draxum on grocery runs occasionally since Raph wasn’t good to continue doing those yet. He was itching to do some manual labor again. “What do I need to do? Am I gonna make some of those chocolate bricks?”

"Brownies, and yes.” Cass grinned. “I’ll be sticking with you and by the time we hit lunch, you’ll be an expert.” She waved some girls over. “Nicola! Tasha! CJ and I will be working at your station, you’re gonna be helping him, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am!” How were these girls as adorable as they were intimidating?

CJ looked down at the girls who were at least half his height before he gave them a salute. "Teach me the ropes, Nicola and Tasha."

He saw how both the kids' eyes lit up from the salute and how their chests puffed up in pride. Then they reached forward, grabbed his hands with a giggle, and dragged him over to a kitchen station. 

He heard Cass laugh and follow behind him. Well, hopefully he'd do his Tio Hueso and Uncle Mikey proud with the work he was about to do.

“Okay, ladies!” Cass called, her voice echoing around the warehouse. “And CJ. Lunch time!” There was a cheer and dozens of little girls filtered out of the main floor of the warehouse and towards a back door, all chatting happily. Laughter floated around.

CJ smiled at Nicola and Tasha. “Thanks so much for helping me,” he said as they handed him a box of brownies. “And thanks for the goodies. I’ll make sure to come visit and work with you two again.”

Tasha waved and headed off with the other girls. Nicola hesitated before holding her arms out and shuffling closer. “Can I give you a hug, please?” she asked shyly.

After he squatted down a little, CJ hugged her and held her close. “Of course. I come from a very hug-forward family, so you can hug me any time I’m here.”

“Thank you,” Nicola whispered, hugging him right. “My family isn’t very huggy but I am. Miss Casey has been making  sure I get lots of hugs while I’m here. Your cousin is really nice and cool.”

CJ glanced over and saw Cass in the distance, checking over all the girls. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he nodded and gave Nicola a little squeeze. “Yeah, she is.”

“Thank you, Mr. CJ. You’re really nice too.” Nicola pulled back and gave CJ a beaming, gap tooth smile before saluting.

He gave a salute back, his expression as serious as could be. “You’re super nice too, Nicola. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Mr. CJ!” Nicola waved and ran off to join her friend.

“Seems like you’re getting on well with my Brownies.” Cass sounded proud as she walked over. “You’re pretty good with kids.”

CJ turned on his heels to look at her, then he put down his hand. “Well, I’m just treating them like equals,” he said with a shrug. “Plus, they’re all really cool and sweet. It’s easy to get along with them.”

Cass gave CJ a look he couldn’t quite place. Somewhere between fond, proud, and maybe a little sad? “Your family raised you right, CJ.” She clapped him on the shoulder before grabbing his hand and basically dragging him out of the warehouse. “We’ve got plans for lunch already sorted.”

He stumbled initially before he managed to catch up and follow. “Oh, okay. Where are we going, Cass?”

“April’s parents’ place!” A pink portal snapped open in front of them before CJ really had a chance to process what was said. The next thing he knew, he was standing outside a worn looking apartment door. Without hesitation, Cass knocked, not letting go of CJ’s hand.

The door opened just as what Cass said clicked for CJ. There was an extremely white guy with his hair pulled back into a ponytail as he smiled. It was April’s stepfather, Ant. Just seeing the guy, even if he was a lot younger than CJ remembered last seeing him, made his heart swell in the best of ways. “There you guys are. Come on in. I just finished my pièce de résistance,” he said, waving his hand as he spoke with a weird accent CJ knew wasn’t actually his.

“Awesome. Thanks Ant!” Cass grinned, tugging CJ into the apartment. “Has April arrived yet or are we waiting on her?”

“Hey guys!” April poked her head out from the kitchen. “I was just helping plate up. How was work?”

After tearing his eyes away from glancing back constantly at this youthful Ant, CJ looked at April and smiled. “It was fun. I’ve been itching to do some work lately.”

“Itching to do it?” Ant asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah! It’s been weird not having responsibilities to do and having so much free time. I like to keep myself busy.”

Ant nodded at that. “Okay, that’s more reasonable. A busy body. I feel you there. Always gotta keep the brain going, otherwise it’ll turn to mush.”

“I know! It’s so weird not having to constantly be on guard or have something to do,” Cass agreed. Wait, Cass was agreeing with CJ on this? 

“Move the talk to the dining table, lunch is gonna get cold otherwise!” April called, vanishing into the kitchen again. As she did so, CJ got a whiff of something rich and warming and… tomatoey?

“Oh, my masterpiece! Hurry your butts up,” Ant said, rushing into the kitchen then.

CJ blinked and nodded before glancing at Cass. “You’re in the same boat as me there? Why?”

Cass glanced away, looking almost guilty. “They, uh, the Foot Clan isn’t kind to recruits,” was all she said.

He hadn’t ever heard of that group before but CJ wouldn’t push it. Clearly it made her uncomfortable. He’d have to ask someone else. For now, he gave her hand a squeeze and led them both into the kitchen.

The dining table was just through from the kitchen and set up on the four plates were… CJ wasn’t sure what. It looked like some sort of meat, maybe chicken, smothered in a tomato sauce and cheese. There were some greens next to it but it didn’t seem too complicated. It smelled heavenly .

“You made chicken parm?! Score!” Cass cheered, shooting to what was assumedly her place at the table. She continued to drag CJ with her and he ended up sitting next to her.

“I know Future Boy is tough and all, Casey, but please try not to tug his arm out its socket,” April teased as she sat down opposite CJ.

“Hey, it’s one of the few things I can cook beautifully without the chief of the fire department joining us for lunch,” Ant said as he sat down beside April. He ruffled her hair with a smile before looking at CJ.  “Have you ever had this before?”

CJ shook his head as he looked over the food. “Never, sir. It smells amazing though.”

“You’re in for a treat, CJ.” Cass grinned. “Ant doesn’t cook a lot, but what he does make is usually amazing!”

“Suck up,” April snickered fondly, earning a gasp from Cass.

“You take that back!”

April chirped back in response, a smug grin on her face. “ Never .”

“Ugh, no fair! You know I don’t speak turtle!” Cass whined, pouting.

“She just said ‘never’ Cass, don’t worry,” CJ said as he smirked. 

Ant looked up from where he had started cutting up his food. “You speak turtle?”

“Yes I do, sir, as well as a lot of—”

Ant waved his hand and shushed CJ, staring at him with a firm expression. “I was hoping it was a fluke but I am no ‘sir’ in this household. Just call me Ant. Please. You all have way more authority here than I do.”

CJ blinked and looked at the older man as he pointed out, “This is your home.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t save the world.”

“I dunno how it was in your timeline, but dad has never been one for formalities,” April explained with a bright grin. “Just Ant is fine. Or Tata, if you wanna match the turtles.”

From the faint memories CJ had to Ant, it matched up. “I’ll just stick with Ant,” CJ conceded as he gave the older gentleman a smile.

“Good. Now eat, damnit. Please.”

With permission given, Cass started eating ravenously. How she could eat with so much enthusiasm escaped CJ. Then again, he knew he’d probably be no better.

Hesitantly, he cut into the chicken. It released a puff of warm, slightly spiced steam that almost made CJ’s head swim in the best way. He glanced at April, who was eating like a normal person. She nodded in encouragement. CJ took a bite and oh spirits, this was amazing!

Words couldn’t describe how it tasted. CJ wasn’t good at describing food besides saying it was good or bad with varying degrees of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ based on adjectives he knew. Lately, foods were all going into the ‘incredible’ and ‘life-changing’ categories in his mind. This one was both, and he couldn’t stop himself from eating somewhere between April and Cass.

“I think you got a new fan, Dad,” April teased.

“I’m glad to hear,” Ant said, and it sounded like he was smiling. CJ couldn’t tell from where he was staring at the food he was inhaling. “Good thing I made enough for seconds.”

After a filling meal and having a lovely talk with Ant, April insisted they move on. “We still have to go see Suni! She’s off work now,” April had said as she practically pushed CJ through the portal while he was still trying to say ‘goodbye’ to Ant. 

Now, CJ was familiar with the remains of the Hidden City. He had hidden out there from time to time growing up with his family, when being above ground was too dangerous, even in their base. Those were during the extreme winters and the beginning of the heat waves. He had heard it had been bustling and full of all kinds of life, yokai, and the like before the invasion. They hadn’t taken the warnings as seriously for the invasion, hadn’t listened to his family. A lot didn’t make it past the first few years, so the Hidden City crumbled along with them.

He knew this Hidden City would be different, would be full of life. He had underestimated just how

busy it would be. There was movement in every corner of his vision, colors and sounds assaulted his senses. Smells, some beautiful and alluring and others just plain nasty, wafted around and danced through the air. It was chaos but for some reason, CJ didn’t feel totally overwhelmed like he might have above ground. He grew up around yokai, the ones smart enough to listen to his family and join the Resistance early, so the cacophony of sensations the Hidden City brought were commonplace to him.

“Quite a sight, huh?” Cass said once she made it through. She wrapped an arm around CJ’s shoulder, even if she was shorter than him. Somehow she made it work.

CJ nodded as he looked around at all the fluttering and passing by creatures and beings. In the distance, he saw posters for different up-and-coming fights for the Nexus as well as advertisements for shops that sold things from clothes to assassin’s gear to the best pizza to ever exist in the Minotaur Maze. Oh, and there was a mermaid lagoon? What was a mermaid?

“It’s a lot to take in, but we’ve got time to do some exploring,” April hip checked CJ gently before looking around and lighting up. “Suni!” She shot off and grabbed Sunita in a tight hug. The slime girl was in her human form and wow, she was so cute when she was this young. Even in the future, Auntie Suni was adorable but this was something else entirely. 

“Hi Apple,” Sunita cooed, kissing April sweetly before beaming at CJ. “Hi, I’m Sunita. Although, you probably already know that. It’s nice to put a face to the name.”

CJ smiled and nodded as he walked over with Cass, taking and shaking Sunita’s hand. “It’s nice to meet yoUH!” He yelped when he was tugged into a sudden hug by Sunita, held close with an arm.

Wow. Okay, yeah, good to know Sunita had always been like this. “I’m happy you’re here and safe now. Also I can see the family resemblance. You’re very handsome, CJ.” She knocked her head against CJ’s. The familiar gesture warmed his heart just as much as the hug did.

“Why thank you, Sunita,” CJ said as he rubbed the back of his head shyly. 

Cass barked out a laugh as she came over and gave him a hair ruffle. At least his braid didn’t come out. “You’re gonna make him turn into a cherry or something if you keep talking him up, Suni.”

“Well he deserves to feel like he looks good,” Sunita responded primly before sticking her tongue out at Cass. “Now, let’s get moving. Leo said he organized some yokai spending money for us all and we had to pick it up from the Battle Nexus.”

“Wait, he did?” April asked incredulously. “He never told me about that.”

“That’s because you’d tell him off for spoiling you, Apple.” Sunita shook her head fondly.

Cass nodded in agreement. “He’s smart, O’Neil. He knows how to get around your yammering and nagging when he wants to treat you,” she said. 

Before April could say anything, Cass went behind CJ and squished his cheeks. He tried to push her hands away but they stayed firm. “Come on, we need to spoil Future Boy. How can you say no to this face?”

“Oh, I’m all for spoiling him, I just didn’t realize Leo was contributing,” April shot back with a fond eye roll. “Now stop manhandling the poor boy, Cass. I mean, yes, he does have very squishable cheeks—”

“He does!” Sunita cried happily.

“—but that doesn’t mean you need to do the squishing.”

“I resent that comment,” CJ deadpanned to deaf ears.

Cass pulled her hands back then and sighed loudly. “Fiiine. Only because we’re about to get some money though. I’m debating on whether or not the color I have right now stays or goes, plus I want to see what cool gear they have down here.”

“Well, you strike me as a dark green sort of guy,” Sunita continued with a grin. “I bet it would look awesome, especially as an accent to your braid. Give you a signature color like the turtles have.” She pressed a button on her brooch and turned back into a slime girl. “Of course mine is lime green. April’s is yellow and Cassandra’s is baby pink. It also happens to line up with the color of our Ninpō.”

Wait, their what? CJ turned to look at Sunita properly as they walked. From behind, he could see Cass and April talking about something or another. “You have Ninpō too? You and Cass? I thought only the turtles and April had it.” He had sworn it was something he only heard his uncles and Sensei having, as well as his Auntie Apple here and there. No one else ever used it or brought it up. He’d have it too if he was also part turtle, he now realized. Huh.

“Everyone who is a Hamato has access to Ninpō. Bloodline Hamatos have the strongest connection, but anyone who has been accepted into the clan can use it,” April explained. “I have it for two reasons: firstly because I am the boys’ big sister by choice. Second because I hosted the spirit of Karai, the original founder of the Hamatos. That’s why my Ninpō is unusually strong for someone who isn’t blood related.”

“Mine comes from my connection to Raph!” Sunita supplied helpfully. “He and April brought me into the family, so as long as I have my connection to them, I have my Ninpō.” She held her hands in front of her, like she was cradling a ball, and a Hamato crest formed in front of her chest. “See? I’ve got red and yellow in my crest, as well as my natural lime green. Also now I’ve got pink too because Casey and I are besties. Not as close as her and Mikey, but she’s still my girl.”

“Heck yeah. When I first got my crest, it was just orange and pink,” Cass said as she and April caught up. “Now I’ve got yellow and lime green in it as well as red. Raph is more recent, but we’ve become training buddies and I’ve been helping him learn to relax and not be so stressed.” She sounded pretty proud of herself there. 

Wow. Well, they never really talked about Ninpō much when CJ was around. Sensei’s was basically nonexistent for some reason, Uncle Tello used his for his constructs religiously, and of course there was the badass mystic warrior that was his Uncle Mikey. “That’s so cool,” CJ said as he studied Sunita’s crest. “So your crest can continually change and adapt over time?”

“Yeah!” Sunita nodded. “No one else knew that until we found it out. It only changes for people who aren’t bloodline Hamatos because our connection to the clan changes over time.” 

“In the old days, having a multicolored crest was one of the biggest honors.” April explained, bringing out her own crest. It was mostly yellow with a purple segment, but each of the circles was a different color, clearly representing each of the turtles—except Donnie—Cass, and Sunita. It also, surprisingly, had white on the inside of the main circle. “It meant that you were interconnected with the family and a true Hamato. It was viewed as just as important as the solid colors of the ones who were born to it.”

CJ nodded as he looked at the white on the inside. “I can see all the turtles and you two here. Who’s the white circle for?”

“Oh, that’s Splinter.” April beamed. “He and I are tight. I used to go on missions with him before the B team was a thing.”

“Master Splinter is truly amazing when he isn’t talking your ear off,” Cass added with a snort. “He helped me out a lot, but I don’t have him in my crest. It just depends.”

“I mean, he did help raise me,” April pointed out with a small huff of a laugh. “Not that my parents knew until recently. Well, Dad did but that’s another subject entirely .”

“I still think it’s messed up that they couldn’t know until recently. Not blaming any parties, just think it sucks.” Sunita sighed. “I want to live in a world where I can just… head up to April’s parent’s place or lounge at home and not need my brooch, y’know?”

Cass huffed. “You could. NYC is becoming pretty open about this stuff but the stupid head things down here wouldn’t allow it.”

CJ stared at her then. “Uh… Excuse me?”

Cass waved her hands passionately then, ignoring CJ’s confusion. “They’re so ahead but behind. I get they wanna protect their city and yokai kind and whatever but it’s super hard to get a cloaking brooch and so many people want to go above and hang with people. If they didn’t have the rule about having to disguise up there, we’d make so much progress and you wouldn’t have to live in constant worry, Suni!”

“They’re more accepting of mutants , Casey. Not yokai. If you’re not connected to an animal in some way, you’re still a freak. Until yokai are known, people will always be freaked out by me.,” Sunita corrected with a small huff. “And as for the Council of Heads… I’m working on it. The Mystic Library has a lot of books about law.” 

“You’ll kick their metaphorical asses! And then we can have a proper date on the surface without you having to hide your cute and gooey self,” April cooed, kissing Sunita’s cheek. Somehow she didn’t come away slimy.

Casey nodded and crossed her arms. “I’ve seen a few plant mutants up there and people have accepted them too,” she added. “People are more accepting than you think, Suni. Plus, it’s New York City! That’s one of the best places for you to be able to be yourself because no one cares.”

“That’s true. Well, then I just have to tackle the council of heads.” Sunita nodded as she led CJ and the others into the Battle Nexus. Wait, when had they arrived here? CJ had been so absorbed in their conversation that he had barely noticed the sounds of cheers and the clash of weapons nearby.

“Hey, look! There’s Hypno and Warren. They must be who Leo sent to give us the spending money.” April pointed at the couple, who were both staring at the larger than average phone in Hypno’s hand, whispering to each other and snickering occasionally.

These two definitely looked more at ease and less on edge than when CJ had seen them last in his time, but they were still just as close. Warren was propped on Hypno’s shoulder as he laughed, seemingly unable to contain it. “Oh, this is a good one, Ronnie,” the worn mutant said before wiping a stray tear forming in the corner of one of his eyes.

“I told you, these kids are hilarious,” Hypno laughed, shaking his head. “We’re lucky Baby Blue’s been sending us recommendations.” He paused before looking up and smiling. “Oh, hello ladies and gentleman. Lovely to see you all again.”

“Hey Hypno. Hey Warren. How’s it going?” April grinned, leaning against Cass. “You guys are looking good.”

Warren chuckled at that. “Well of course we do. The lovely Hypnopotamus always looks good, as do I, the great Warren Stone, the former greatest adversary of the turtles. Now that we've come to an agreement, I am now their greatest comrade and ally! Haha hah !”

“I prefer calling you Worm,” Casey said, though it was clear her comment wasn’t heard past Warren’s vaguely tempered ego.

Hypno rolled his eyes fondly and nodded to CJ. He offered one massive hand to shake. “You must be the lad Baby Blue’s been gushing to us about. Pleasure to meet you at last. How’s the Hidden City treating you so far?”

“It’s so much better than I reeehally thought it would be,” CJ said, grateful for his smooth recovery as he shook Hypno’s hand. He totally nailed it.

Hypno arched an eyebrow but said nothing against him. Yup, he totally nailed the recovery. 

“Well I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” the magician said with a nod. “However, while you four might have access to Purple’s credit cards, what you really need to enjoy yourselves down here is this.” He pulled up his sleeves, showing that his arms were bare, before a large leather pouch appeared out of nowhere in his hands. Sunita gasped and clapped excitedly. April chuckled and joined in as well.

CJ couldn’t stop himself from clapping. He always loved these little sleight of hand magic tricks. Cass didn’t seem too impressed though as she grabbed the pouch and tossed it between her hands. “And a-yoink. Thanks for delivering the goods to us, Hippo.”

“Of course, Cassandra.” Hypno didn’t seem bothered by Cass’s attitude. If anything, he seemed to take it in his stride. “If you four are still going to be in town at five, we have a new match going on. Our new star fighter is on tonight and it’s shaping up to be a good one.”

“Oh, yeah?” Sunita sounded excited, small bubbles started fizzing inside her body. “How much are the tickets?”

“For you lovely kids, they’re free.” Hypno looked proud to say that. “Just head over to the elevator, the guards will let you up to the balcony.”

Cass nodded before glancing at CJ. “We’ll see if we’re here around then. We’re sort of playing it all by ear.”

“You can still stream it if you can’t make it in person. You do have that doohickey that my snarky purple ally made for you that lets you stream it at home, right?” Warren asked.

“Yeah, it’s all set up.” Sunita nodded enthusiastically. Wow, he knew Auntie Suni was a bit of a wild card but he never expected Sunita to be so excited at the idea of watching a fight.

“She streams most of the fights these days. Says they’re better than wrestling by a mile,” April teased with a snicker. 

“That’s because they are!”

“Don’t tell Raph that or he’ll be so upset,” Cass said, patting Sunita’s shoulder. “Now, as much as I love to talk about fights, I’d rather not fight you guys to finally let us go explore and spend someone else’s money.”

“Go have fun you crazy kids.” Hypno waved them off fondly.

Warren did as well, but by the time he started, Cass had turned them all around and pushed them forward. “Onward! To CJ spending someone else’s money on himself because he deserves it!”

As fights played on the TV in the living room of the trio’s apartment, now that Yuichi’s fight was done, CJ decided to spend his time looking at this… yokai creature. Apparently he was named Mayhem by April and spurred on their whole start of knowing what yokai and mystic everything was years ago, but CJ had never heard of nor seen him before this moment. He was like some sort of enigma, and CJ wanted to know what he was. 

This little cat-dog-thing stared back at CJ from his fluffy pet bed. Was he trying to figure CJ out too? Did he have some lingering smells from the apocalypse on him? No, he smelled like mangoes and vanilla now. Hopefully.

Vaguely, CJ heard April and Sunita whispering and giggling around him but he didn’t look away from the yokai creature. There was something familiar about the so-called ‘Mayhem sounds’ that he had made when CJ first arrived. Though Mayhem was silently staring at him now, CJ was almost certain that Mayhem had been speaking in some sort of yokai language.

“I got snacks!” Cass called as she reentered the living room. Mayhem screeched and jumped, breaking eye contact with CJ. “Since none of your lazy butts wanted to get it but kept complaining ‘bout wanting them.”

April and Sunita both laughed as Mayhem started making Mayhem sounds at Cass and yeah, CJ recognized some of those sounds. A lot of them sounded *very* similar to how some yokai in the resistance would cuss at people so as not to get caught. They always did thanks to Uncle Mikey, who seemed to have a thing against swearing, something present day Mikey did not have. 

“Oh, Cass, you made Mayhem lose his staring contest with CJ,” Sunita cooed, reaching over to stroke Mayhem’s head. The little yokai creature leaned up into her touch but still seemed to be pouting.

“The creature that just cursed up a storm because of her loud entrance?” CJ asked as he started drawing out what those sounds were written out as in the air. 

The one who had been cussed out stopped herself from giving Mayhem a treat. She pulled it away right before Mayhem could snap down on it and stared at the little guy. “Wait, he did what now?”

“Specifically was cursing at you,” CJ clarified as he drew the letters out to figure out the words. He was almost there. Maybe he… No.

“You understand him?” April asked, excited and wide eyed.

CJ shrugged after a moment. “Sort of. I heard bits and pieces of this language around growing up. It’s an old and ancient yokai language. Don’t know the name of it but I can understand it. Vaguely.”

“If you can, tell me what Mayhem just said to me,” Cass said, glaring daggers at Mayhem. He tried to look so innocent as he smiled and attempted to look cute. 

As he hummed, CJ held up a finger with the hand that wasn’t writing in the air. “Almost… Ah! He said, and I quote, ‘Goddamnit all to hell, I almost had him. Fuck you, Cass.’”

April burst into loud, bright peals of laughter as she clutched her stomach and leaned back in the chair. Sunita was looking at Mayhem in shock. “I need to watch my mouth around you.” Mayhem looked at CJ with a betrayed glare.

“Ohoho, you must not have heard him correctly. If he had said that, he would not be sitting so high and mighty on his little pet bed,” Cass said with a dangerous edge to her voice. 

CJ raised a brow as he looked at Mayhem. “Oh, he totally did,” he said with a smirk before he lied back on the couch and took a bag of chips from Cass. Mayhem snarled out another string of curses at CJ. He didn’t need to take any time to translate those ones, even if they were very colorful and creative. 

“Oh, I wish we could understand him too.” April sighed, still holding her stomach as she calmed down. “If my little monster is gonna swear at us constantly, I at least wanna know what he’s saying.”

Huh. “Maybe you can. Cass, put him and his bed down.” Cass groaned and dropped the pet bed, though Mayhem vanished and reappeared in April’s lap. “I’ll see what I can do. Sunita, do you think you could help me find some translation books? If I can find them and then work some… Oh yes, I can totally make it with enough work and time.”

“I’ll check out the books for you after my next shift,” Sunita promised with a smile and nod. 

“Hey, this can be a fun project for you,” April pointed out. “And it means you won’t be left with lots of time just to try and fill. Gives your hands something to do.” Huh. She was right. April had clearly been paying attention. That was a nice feeling, being recognized and remembered like that.

CJ nodded as Cass flopped down next to him on the couch. “You can also ask Donnie about his nerd stuff and see if he can help at all or at least give you a place to start.” She stuck her tongue out at Mayhem as he curled up and plopped down against April, back to them all.

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Hopefully he won’t be so… worked up when I get back.”

“He should be better now he’s let off some steam.” April assured CJ. “Plus, if I know Donnie, which is something I pride myself on, he will be lingering right around Leo and Mikey when you get back, wanting to hear about your day.” 

“Speaking of, did you have fun today, CJ?” Sunita asked earnestly, fiddling with her own hair.

It took him a moment to fully formulate how he wanted to answer this. “Yeah, I did. I liked hanging out with you guys and spending time with you. I liked learning about all the different things you guys do, the different places you go, and just learning about you guys. It was nice.”

“But the Brownies were the best part of today, right? After spending someone else’s money,” Cass said, wrapping an arm around CJ’s shoulder. He just rolled his eyes with a smirk as he flicked her forehead. “Ow! Rude. You should do that to someone else, not me.”

“I think that flick is meant to tell you that he enjoyed every part equally, Case,” April snickered. “And that maybe, just maybe, he can’t choose one thing as his favorite. Am I right?” Her dark eyes met CJ’s, filled with warmth and understanding.

He smiled and nodded. “Listen to her. She’s smart.”

“Oh, and I’m not?” Cass verbally prodded.

CJ smirked. “I didn’t say that, but if that’s what you think— Ack!” He got tugged into another noogie, and he couldn’t get free this time. 

“HaHAH! Got you, nerd.”

April and Sunita both snickered and CJ heard the equivalent of laughter from Mayhem as well. Even if he was still settling into the present, he realized that at the very least, he was safe and comfortable here. In this apartment with April, Sunita, and Cass, he was comfortable and safe.

Chapter Text

His anxiety was swelling up in his chest as Raph stared at his phone screen. Come on, this wasn’t that big of a deal. He had sent Mona texts so many times since he got her number ages ago. They talked each other up. She was cool! They got along! What was one little text where he asked if they could go out together and hang? It totally didn’t have to be a date if Mona didn’t want to. He just had to send the message he carefully crafted and revised multiple times. 

…Maybe he needed to change it a bit. No, it wasn’t right. Why use so many emojis? She’d laugh at him. No, she was too sweet for that. Or maybe she’d find it hilarious and awesome like him. No, he wasn’t awesome and hilarious.

“Raph. Raphadoodle. Ground Control to Major Raph.” 

Leo’s voice cut through the anxiety like a knife. Right. Leo was here. He was here to help Raph with his not-a-date-date and help him prepare. “You’re overthinking again. You know how to talk to Mona and I keep telling you she’s so into you, it’s not even funny. Just send it. You’ve got this.”

Raph blinked a few times and looked over at Leo, sitting beside him on his bed. Melon was by their feet on the floor, her tail slowly swaying as she watched. “Can you check it over one last time? I didn’t use too many emojis, right?” Raph asked as he handed his phone over to Leo.

“Of course.” There was no teasing edge to Leo’s voice, no playful ribbing or even a fond eye roll. He was being very gentle and understanding, almost uncharacteristically so, but Raph was grateful for it. He couldn’t handle any teasing with this situation. “It looks great, Raphie. Just breathe, big brother. She’ll accept.”

As he took his phone back, Raph slowly exhaled. He glanced over his text one last time. 

Red_Angel: hey Mona! 😊 so I was wondering if after talking so much and with me being cleared to go around as long as someone else is with me… do you wanna hang out? 😄 we could go and eat, do some other things after, all that fun stuff! 🤗 tonight maybe if you’re free? I know it’s sudden but if not, we can schedule it for another night

Raph took a deep breath and sent it. He dropped his phone to the side then and held out his arms. Melon climbed up the bed and sat in his lap, curling around him. “Oh spirits, I can’t believe I sent it,” Raph said with a whine. His heart was going so fast that he thought it would beat right out of his chest.

Leo shifted so he was behind Raph. He leaned against Raph’s shell and rubbed his shoulders soothingly. “It’s okay, Raphie, she adores you. She’ll say yes,” he assured him gently. Then there was a buzz of a phone. “And that would be her. Lemme coach her through how to reply.” Leo snickered as he pulled back slightly. He stayed pressed against Raph’s shell as he started typing.

A moment later, Raph felt his phone buzz. He yelped and held on tighter to Melon who did not seem bothered at all. She instead nuzzled her head against Raph’s and licked his head. Her rougher tongue, while most would be weirded out by the feeling, helped ground him a bit and calm him down. “I can’t look. Oh, but I wanna know what she said. Can you read what she wrote for me?”

“Sure, but I know what she’s said already.” Leo picked up Raph’s phone and unlocked it without any hesitation. Wait, how did Leo know— Not the time. “Yup. She’s agreed to see you tonight and she’s very excited.” 

Raph peered at the phone screen and her message through his fingers. 

Mona_Lisa: hey Raph! Yes! I would love to go out tonight! 😁What time should I meet you? And where? And do I need to dress up? 😉

Raph let out a deep breath he didn't realize he had been holding to take his phone from Leo and type out a response.

Red_AngeL: great!!! 😄 meet me at 6 near the apothecary shops and big fountain in the shopping center? and just make sure you wear something you can comfortably move around in! 💃 

Mona_Lisa: perfect! See you tonight Raphie 😘

Leo snickered when his phone buzzed again. “She’s freaking out because she sent that kiss emoji. She’s now getting really nervous. Should I tell her you’re happy about it?” he asked, pointing his phone towards Raph’s tail.

Raph glanced over and wow, okay, his tail was moving quick. He nodded after he sent her a quick 'see you then' with the same kissing emoji back before tossing his phone to be banished in his growing plush pile. "Yeah." Holy spirits, he had done it! He could hear his heart beating in his ears, Wow, was he getting an adrenaline rush from just that?

“You are so smitten and it’s adorable, Raphadoodle.” Leo grinned and sent a text to Mona. “You two would make an amazing couple and I know you’re both into each other. So it’s gonna be amazing tonight.” He flopped against Raph’s shell again. “You wanna show me what you’re wearing? Get your gay-best-friend-slash-brother to give you some fashion advice?”

“I would like the advice of my coleader -slash-brother,” Raph said as he looked back at Leo as best he could over his shell. He took a deep breath to hopefully calm his heart, then another. “Uh, I have it hanging in my closet Donnie made me. All together with a red ribbon around the hangers.”

Leo knocked his head against Raph’s before hoping to his feet. He was halfway to the closet when he stiffened. “Eugh boy. Incoming.” Before Raph could question what Leo meant, Mikey poked his head into Raph’s room.

“Hey Waffle! You wanna help me with some cooking?” he asked with a bright grin. “I’m gonna be trying a new recipe.”

Raph looked over and gave Mikey a smile. “Oh, I’d love to but I got other plans. Tell me how it goes and save me some leftovers to try later, yeah?” So long as he was calm about it, everything would be alright.

“You’ve got plans? What are you gonna be doing? The girls are all away at the moment.” Mikey frowned.

He thought for a moment on how honest to be with his little brother. They had talked though. Mikey could handle the truth. “I’m heading out to hang with Mona,” Raph answered. “Gonna go out to eat and hang after.”

Mikey stared at Raph for a moment before his face split into a mischievous smirk. He opened his mouth to say something, and Raph started getting nervous, but Leo cut him off. “Mikey, don’t even.” 

Mikey glanced at Leo and half glared. “What? I’m not allowed to be happy Raph has a date?”

“That’s not what you were going to say and you know it.” Leo crossed his arms and stared down Mikey with an even gaze. “You know about his feelings, yeah? So respect them and don’t tease.”

They had talked about this. Raph even came up with a good comparison after Mikey teased Leo about Yuichi. “Remember the art comparison,” Raph said after slowly exhaling. Melon knocked her head against his then and that helped calm him. “I wanted t’be honest with you, bud. So yeah, I’ll be out and won’t be back until late.”

Mikey looked a little lost for a moment before his expression softened and he nodded. “Okay, Waffle. Have fun.” Without another word, Mikey left.

“That… went better than I expected,” Leo admitted after a moment.

Raph smiled as he looked at Leo. “We had a talk and I came up with a good way for him to wrap his head around it,” he explained. “Now, how’s my outfit?”

Mikey wasn’t sure what to feel. On one hand, he was really excited for Raph. Mona seemed like a really sweet girl and Mikey knew Raph was crushing hard . On the other hand, he had been excited to try this new recipe with Raph. Well, there would be other days to try it. And poor Raph looked so nervous. Mikey didn’t want to add to his stress. When Raph got nervous, he tended to—

He tended to mess up. 

Oh no, he would need help. But he was going alone so who would help him?

Leo wouldn’t go with Mikey to help Raph out. The way he stared at Mikey and spoke? Yeah, no. Donnie wouldn’t dare go, but even if Mikey wanted to ask, he was cooped up in his lab right now. Lenny was busy helping CJ with a new project of his. Dad and Rara would reprimand him and tell him to stay home, even if it was clearly the wrong call. Who—

“Mikey Mikey Mikey! Why are you staring off with a thousand yard stare at Raph’s train car room? Did something happen? Did he redecorate it or something and it needs some re-redecorating?”

That’s right, Junior was staying over tonight. Everyone was taking turns hanging with him, and it must have so happened to be Mikey’s turn for the night. “No, he’s not redecorating,” Mikey began, turning to smile at Junior. “But… he’s going on a date tonight. And I’m worried he’ll get nervous and make a fool of himself. I was trying to figure out who might be the best helper for me helping Raph. Can you think of anyone?”

Junior blinked as he processed what Mikey said before he grinned. “Oh, I can help! Let me help!” he practically shouted as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

Mikey shushed him with a bright grin. “Knew I could count on you, Junior,” he whispered, guiding Junior away from Raph’s room. “I’m gonna try to figure out when Waffle is leaving, then we need to start planning our move.”

“Oh, I can go in and ask,” Junior offered in a hushed whisper. “Like I can ask about dinner or something and when we’re eating and then get the info from them.”

“You’re a genius, Junior.” Yup, the little skeleton child was totally the best choice as Mikey’s right hand wingman. “Could you sort that out? I’ll wait here and we can plan from there. Oh, and be careful. Leo is in there with Raph at the moment. We don’t want to clue him in on what we’re doing.”

Junior’s expression turned serious as he gave a salute and nodded. “Sir yes sir.” He grinned then and hurried to Raph’s room. Mikey heard him knock and call out before a door slid open then shut.

Now that Mikey was set with his partner in crime, he just had to brainstorm how to help Raph. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Raph because he did! He was just also very aware that Raph got flustered easily and when he got flustered, he’d say and do things that weren’t the most… charming. There was no filter when Raph got flustered. It wasn’t pretty. 

Maybe he could see if there were any opportunities that could make Raph look more charming. Or maybe he could even make them! Yes, perfect. Create moments where Raph could shine, feel proud, and break through those nerves. They could definitely make that happen at wherever they ate and hopefully wherever Raph was taking her to hang out after. That would be perfect. And maybe… yeah, Raph was a great dancer too! Maybe he could set up something with music. Then Raph could sweep Mona off her feet and woo her like a gentleman! Yes, it would be amazing!

The pitter patter of feet rushing over brought Mikey out of his thoughts. “Okay, I got the info we need and I don’t think any of them suspect a thing,” Junior said. “Raph’s leaving through a portal from Leo a few minutes before six. I sort of overheard where and I know where he’s gonna be! I think his date’s gonna be in the Hidden City too so we can tail ‘em.”

“Awesome. Let’s go early so we can get ready.” Oh, this would be awesome.

Raph took a deep breath as he stood waiting for Mona. He adjusted his tie just a smidge so he could breathe, though he double checked his clothes to make sure nothing was off with the help of his phone camera. Comfy black jeans? Check. Red button up still had the sleeves half rolled up? Yup. The eyeliner Leo insisted on doing with a bit of gold glitter? Yeah. Okay. He was fine. Raph was great even!

“Raphadoodle, don’t forget to breathe,” Leo reminded Raph through his comms. “You look great, you’re a great guy, and Mona is smitten. You’ve got nothing to worry about, big brother.”

Raph glanced down at his wrist, to his normally red comms unit. How Leo made it gold baffled him. “As long as I don’t mess it all up or trip,” he said before adjusting his embroidered eye patch. “I’m very worried about possibly tripping. I told her about my eye, right? Yeah. Maybe. Did I? Oh spirits, I need to check my messages.”

“We’ve both told her about your eye, Raph,” Leo soothed. “Also that embroidered black and gold eyepatch kinda gives it away. I made sure to pack your collapsible mystic cane if you need it, okay? Just take off the gold bracelet and that’ll turn into the cane.”

“Alright. Thanks, little bro.” Everything was fine. Raph had planned it all out and Leo helped perfect any possibly overlooked detail. “And thanks for everything. I really ‘preciate it.”

“You both deserve to be happy. And besides, us romantics need to stick together. I’ll be on the line if you need me, but you’ll be fine.” Leo sounded like he was grinning as the comms line went dead.

Raph put his arm down and sighed. Right. He had this. He’d be fine.

“Raphie! Raphael! Hey!” A lilting voice cut through the hustle and bustle of the yokai going around. Raph turned and his heart almost stuttered.

Mona looked amazing. She was in a baby pink dress that came down to just above her knees, with matching shoes and a cute bow in her gingery brown hair. Oh, her curly hair just looked so soft and bouncy and Raph instantly found himself wanting to touch it. Her tail swung freely behind her. Even her golden markings, more visible along with her muscles now that she wasn’t so covered up as she wasn’t at work, seemed to shimmer and sparkle as she came down the street as quickly as she could. She was… Raph had no words to describe just how beautiful she was, and he felt like even Mikey’s word spell wouldn’t even help. The words just didn’t exist.

As Mona hurried over, it took all Raph had not to become a stuttering mess. He swallowed and waved as he smiled. “Hey there, Momo,” he called. His voice sounded like it normally did so that was a win in Raph’s book. No shaking, trembling, or voice cracks.

Mona stopped just shy of falling into Raph’s arms. She shyly pushed some of her hair back over her shoulder. “Hey, Raphie. It’s good to see you in person again.” Spirits, her voice was just sweet and melodic. “You look very handsome. Dashing, even. I thought you said we didn’t need to dress up.” Wait, was he over— Oh, right. She was just playfully teasing him… while complimenting him and his appearance, Ohmigosh!

Raph cleared his throat as he tried to at least think over what he was about to say. He didn’t want to embarrass himself. “Yeah, I thought so too, but look at you. You’re showing me up here,” he said as he gestured to all of her. Wow, he had also forgotten just how tall she was and how he liked looking up at her. “The heck, Momo.”

Mona giggled and stepped closer, getting right in Raph’s personal space. He had no problem with this turn of events. He felt her run a hand down his right side, his blind side, and take his own hand before squeezing it gently. “I wanted to make sure I looked nice tonight.“ She intertwined their fingers.

After a moment, Raph squeezed their held hands. “Well you certainly blew me outta the water. Now I look like a bum. A bum, Momo!” He gestured to all of himself with his free hand. “C’mon now.”

“No way are you a bum,” Mona disagreed with a giggle. She hesitated before reaching up and booping his snoot. Ohmigosh! “You look like a snack.”

He blinked and crossed his eyes to look at her finger as it lingered by his snoot. “Like a—” Okay Raph, keep it calm. Even if she did just compliment him like that and wow, was it suddenly hot in the middle of December? Weird! “Oh, well it takes one to know one then,” Raph said before he even realized what he was saying.

Mona’s eyes widened slightly and the gold markings on her face and neck started to shimmer and almost swirl. Oh wow that was beautiful. “Thank you, Raphie,” she cooed, glancing away with a shy and flustered smile.

“Of course,” Raph said after clearing his throat. He turned away too and fanned his face with his hand before turning back to Mona. “So! Dinner?”

“Dinner.” Mona nodded. “Lead the way.”

“Okay, so we have our amazing disguises. Now we just need to figure out how to make Waffle look good.” Mikey wasn’t really sure how he managed to score a table in the restaurant Raph and Mona were at. He had some money saved to be able to afford it, no problem, but he figured that a place with its own chandelier would be booked weeks in advance. The fact he got a table not so close to Raph and Mona that they would hear him and Junior but also not so far away that they couldn’t see the future couple was also impressive.

Junior hummed from where he sat at the seat across from Mikey. He wore a black top hat with a little clip on bow tie and button-up shirt. Lord, Junior looked so dapper and put together! “Well, we gotta find a way for him to show off. Him getting a reservation here definitely helps there. I’ve never been to a place so nice before,” Junior said from behind his menu. He brought it down a bit to peer around the restaurant.

“If you’re not sure about any of the foods on here, lemme know.” Mikey was pretty well versed about Junior’s safe foods and thankfully, he recognized most of them on the menu. He adjusted the skirt of his baby blue and white dress. Gosh, he was loving wearing something as floaty as a dress. He never really registered that it was something he wanted to try until Casey suggested it. 

Wait, he was getting distracted. “We should maybe… have something to show off his strength? We know Mona is strong, Leo told us as much, so she’d appreciate the fact that Raph is also strong.”

Junior hummed as he kept peering across the restaurant and their surroundings. He took one of the free pieces of bread and nibbled on it before his eyes lit up. “Oh! Oh!” He stopped and shushed himself then before he leaned over, using his tall menu to block to the right, where Mona and Raph were, from their line of sight. “There are some decorative barrels up near them. See?”

“Oh, that is perfect! Good eye, Junior.” Okay, so how could they use that? “Hey, should I use my Ninpō to make them fall? Then Raph can catch them and show off to Mona!” Mikey nodded proudly. It was the perfect plan.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Junior said with a proud grin. “He’d show off and help protect others. Double whammy!”

“Oh we make the best team,” Mikey cheered softly, giving Junior a fist bump. He could still remember when Junior was hiding behind Leo when he first met Mikey. Look at them now, the dream team.

Junior snickered happily and pulled his menu back, looking back over the options as he nibbled on his bread. “We gotta wait for the right opportunity,” he said after swallowing a small bite.

“Yeah. So… choose whatever you want from the menu. I’ll let you know if it’s good for you to eat.” Thank goodness yokai restaurants seemed to make similar dishes to surface ones.

“You sure?” After Mikey nodded, Junior hummed and scanned the menu. “Uh… The phoenix sandwich at the bottom of the right page?”

Mikey glanced at the menu and nodded. “That one would be fine for you. But you know, you don’t have to limit your choices based on the price.” Mikey could see right through what Junior was doing. “We can afford to get something nice. You don’t need to go for something cheaper if something else is catching your eye.” Leo had given everyone a lot of yokai money for when they decided to have trips to the Hidden City. Mikey could afford this stuff easily with what he had saved.

Junior hesitated and didn’t look up at Mikey. Instead of speaking, he ate some more bread and buried his face back into his menu.

Mikey reached over and rubbed Junior’s back. “Hey, it’s okay, Junior. Talk to me about what you’re thinking?”

The skeleton child hesitated again before swallowing the last of his bread. “I know you have money to spend but it could be used on other things. More, er…”

“Practical things?” Mikey offered with an understanding smile. “Well it’s okay if you want to choose the phoenix sandwich but I also want you to know that you are more than welcome to choose something else too. This money I have is sort of like… extra. We’ve bought what we need and have enough for something fun as well. This is the fun money, and I want to spend it with you. If that’s on a phoenix sandwich or on something bigger, that’s okay. Just so long as you’re having fun and enjoying yourself, I’m happy with it.” Mikey hoped that made sense and that it was the appropriately big brother style answer. He’d only ever gotten to be a big brother for a day; he was still trying to figure out how to play that part for Junior.

After glancing up at Mikey, the concern in Junior’s eyes seemed to fade somewhat. A kid didn’t need to worry about money like this. Wasn’t Hueso well off with his business? “Would it be okay if I got a shocklate dessert after? The shocklate lava cake with ice cream?”

Mikey paused and looked things over before nodding. “Yup! I think that sounds like a great idea.“ Mikey was now determined to make sure Hueso got as many customers as possible to ensure that he and Junior never needed to worry about money. If Leo was aware of this—honestly, he would be—then Hueso was likely refusing the money Leo was offering. Mikey knew Leo wouldn’t hesitate but he also knew how stubborn Hueso could be.

“Okay.” Junior nodded, then he nodded two more times before he put down his menu. He took the nice glass of water and drummed his fingers against the glass before he looked at Mikey. “What are you getting?”

“I’m thinking the toasted chicken and tuber sub sounds pretty good.”

“A tuber sub?” Before Mikey could clarify, Junior took the menu again with his free hand and pointed it at Mikey, then to the barrels. “Opportunity time!”

“Oh, right.” Mikey turned and focused. He reached out mentally and tugged at the barrels, feeling them start to topple with his Ninpō. But they never made it any further. He tried again and nope, no magic, no movement, nothing. “What the— My Ninpō isn’t working on them!”

Junior hummed and rubbed his chin. “Maybe they have mystic neutralizers?”

“Uhhh mystic what nows?”

“Mystic neutralizers. Some businesses have them but they’re super pricey. It keeps any mystic abilities or anything from working to keep customers and staff safe. Papa looked into them once but gasped at the price and said some colorful things about the people who made them.” Junior nodded and looked around. “This place is fancy so they probably have them.”

That made sense. “Okay, we’ll have to come up with a new plan.” They could do this. Junior and Mikey were the ultimate team. They would figure out how to help Raph show off.

“Oh, I got it! If the waitress comes, please order me the kid’s phoenix sandwich with fries and their veggies.” Before Mikey could ask or say anything, Junior hopped off his chair and darted off somewhere in the sea of yokais and mutants dining and chatting.

Welp. Mikey trusted Junior to be able to take care of himself for five minutes. The waitress did come over within seconds of Junior leaving, so Mikey placed the orders and relaxed, trying to spot the little skeleton child.

It took him a good bit but when Mikey spotted him, it wasn’t where he thought Junior would be. Yeah, no, sitting on top of the chandelier with a little tool kit open in his lap, carefully working on unscrewing it from the ceiling! When Junior caught Mikey’s gaze, he smiled and gave him a big thumbs up before he continued working.

Oh no, that was too much even for Mikey! Junior would fall and without his Ninpō, Mikey wouldn’t be able to catch him! Mikey was just standing up when he lost sight of Junior. One second the kid was in sight, the next he was gone. Not even in a flash of light. Could Junior zap?!

“What the heck?” Mikey swore he heard his neck crack with how fast he turned his head. Junior was back in his seat, sitting there with his tool kit. He had the screwdriver still in his hand as he blinked and looked at his hand, then around himself.

Okay, so it wasn’t something Junior had done himself but still! “That was dangerous, Junior. What if you fell?” Mikey leaned over and hugged Junior carefully. “I know we want to help Raph but not at the cost of your safety, please.”

Junior hugged Mikey back and patted his back. “I would’ve been fine. You would’ve caught me,” he said with complete sincerity and belief. “I was being careful though.”

That was a lot of faith Junior had in Mikey. What had Mikey done to earn that? He wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter. He’d make sure he’d live up to it. 

“I’m glad you were being careful. But I’m not sure if we’ll get another opportunity, so let’s just enjoy our dinner when it gets here. Then we can see where they go next and try to help out at the next location, yeah?” Mikey offered as he pulled back with a smile.

“Aww. We didn’t even get to help out, but okay,” Junior said before letting out a long sigh.

“We’ll find the perfect moment to strike,” Mikey assured Junior with a grin. “A ninja is a master in patience.”

Junior nodded after considering that for a moment. “Right. Okay.” He smiled before he patted Mikey’s arm. “So, tell me about yourself. What’s been going on since I saw you when you made the soufflés with Papa?”

Raph normally wrote things down to remember them, but he was using nature’s notepad tonight. After studying and perfecting the plans for tonight to make sure nothing went wrong, he sort of had it memorized. Dinner at the nice and fancy restaurant Sunita got him reservations for? Check. Now it was time to head to that dance lounge she had suggested. He memorized the route from the fancy as heck restaurant to this place and so far, there were no hiccups or bumps or anything.

“Honestly, everyone was saying how it would be better to live on campus, but I’m glad to still be living at home.” Mona was talking about her time at the Hidden City University so far and it honestly sounded amazing. “Plus, who doesn’t like coming home to a home cooked meal that you don’t have to make yourself?” She giggled and beamed. “Though I do enjoy baking. That’s always fun.”

“I’m someone who always loved being at home so I can’t imagine moving out for school.” Granted, Raph had never been to school either but it sounded fun. “What kinda stuff do you bake? I mastered this chocolate and mint cookie for Leo to try and a lemon shortbread for Donnie last week.”

“Oh, lovely!” Mona cried happily. “I mostly make breads and savory things, but I have been making more cakes and pastries recently. My almond bread is still my best recipe though.” The fact she baked along with every other cool thing about her was just amazing. Raph was so lucky to be getting to spend his night with her.

Raph squeezed her hand as they walked with her on his good side. “You’ll have to teach me how to make that sometime. I haven’t ever tried making bread before. We have a family of sweet tooth fiends, myself included, so I try to make baked goods more often than not,” he explained.

“That’s awesome.” Mona sounded genuinely impressed and excited. “You’ll have to teach me some time.”

“Maybe we could have a baking daaay together. Yeah!” Good save, Raph. He mentally high fived himself at such a smooth recovery. This wasn’t a date, not yet. Maybe. It was a hangout. Where they dressed up nice and went to a fancy schmancy place and then went dancing after.

“I’d like that,” Mona said with a hum and a nod. “I’d like that a lot. But, uh, you’d really… want to do this again? Just us and everything?” She sounded surprised and shy but so happy, as if she wasn’t expecting that at all. But how could she not? She was amazing!

Raph turned to properly look at her as he gave her the best smile he could. “Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I wanna?”

“I mean, I’ve never really had a second date. No one’s been interested.” Mona didn’t sound too upset by that. Just resigned.

He stopped her then and pulled them both to the side. Thankfully, no one was really going along this street so it wasn’t hard to do this. “How could no one be interested in you, Mona? You’re so sweet and kind, interestin’, intelligent, and pretty. Those people are crazy!” As he spoke, Raph realized Mona definitely referred to this as a date. His cheeks got hot but he didn’t stop talking. He meant every word he said. “I’m sorry those people are idiots but clearly they were just, I dunno, intimidated by your awesomeness or something.”

Mona stared at Raph in what seemed to be awe, her golden markings shimmering and almost twinkling from her blush. “I… Thank you, Raphie.” She stepped closer and draped her arms over his shoulders, resting them there. He could feel her twirling his mask tails around her fingers. “But I’m glad no one else was interested. Because that means I get to enjoy you being interested.”

Oh spirits. Raph felt his brain almost begin to short circuit but he quickly recovered, even if the way she was looking down at him made his knees weak. “I’m glad they were all idiots too. Clearly they don’t understand an incredible person when they see one,” he said before hesitating. After a moment, he reached and rested his hands against Mona’s side, gentle but secure with his hold. Was that too much?

The way Mona’s smile grew slightly told him that it was the right thing to do. She closed her eyes contently and leaned down, resting their foreheads together. Mona let out a content sigh which morphed into a deep, rumbling hiss that reminded Raph of a purr. Wait, was that her version of a churr? It was so adorable! But why was she tending up and pulling back?

“O—oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

Raph reached one hand up and cupped her cheek, keeping her from pulling away any further. “Shouldn’t have let yourself do whatever natural response you just did? Do not say sorry for bein’ you, Momo. Never. Plus, that was so cute and sweet.”

Mona opened her eyes and stared at Raph again, her markings almost glowing from her blush. “How are you real?” she asked, leaning into his touch and hissing happily again.  “You’re like an angel.” She half whispered her next words, as if it were a secret just for them. “My Angel.”

“I’m just bein’ honest,” Raph said as he brought her down again, his face as hot as the kitchen when someone would be cooking up a storm in the lair. He knocked their heads together and churred briefly. “I thought honesty was important for any relationship, y’know. Don’t wanna build it up on lies or anything. That ain’t healthy.”

“Very true,” Mona agreed, shifting to hug Raph properly. He was pressed against her collarbone and held there as she hissed happily, one hand pressing against the back of his head, the other pressed gently but firmly against his shell. “Still makes me feel special. Thank you, Angel.” As she spoke, Raph felt something strong but flexible wrap around the end of his tail. Based on the content sigh and hiss from Mona, it was her own tail. “Can I call you that, Raphie? Can I call you my Angel?”

He responded instantly as he said, “Of course, Momo. Why you gonna call Raph your angel though?” As he asked, Raph wrapped his arms around Mona and rubbed her back idly with one hand.

Mona melted into the touch. “Because you are one,” Mona insisted softly. “You’re sweet and gentle and good, but you’re also fiery, powerful, and protective.” The hand holding Raph’s head against her shifted to twirl his mask tails again, almost absentmindedly. “Plus, I read somewhere that in one of the big human religions, Raphael was the name of a powerful and important angel. I’d say it fits.” She leaned down to whisper to him, “As for why I want you to call you my angel… Well I think you can figure that part out.”

Oh spirits oh spirits oh spirits oh spirits— “Raph’s got ‘nough brain power to figure that one out.”

“Good.” Mona giggled and pressed a very light, very sweet kiss to the end of Raph’s snoot. “Was that okay?”

He stared up at her with who knows what kinda expression on his face before quickly nodding. “Yeah! Yeah, it definitely was. So okay. More than okay, even.”

“Cutie.” Mona pecked his snoot again before grabbing both his mask tails and carefully dragging him forward as she started walking, easily walking backwards and weaving through the now quiet streets. “I’ve got somewhere I want to take you now. Mind if I derail us a little here?” As Mona asked, she squeezed his tail with her own.

Raph found himself unable to talk as he just shook his head and followed her. He was more than happy to go wherever Mona wanted to take him.

Mikey had lost Raph for a little bit after dinner. He and Junior had been talking and enjoying their food so much that they left a bit after Raph and Mona had. They also weren’t heading to the dance spot Raph had planned. Thankfully, Junior had managed to spot Raph as they were searching around for any other places they could’ve gone. He and Mona were hand-in-hand, deep in conversation with Raph leaning a bit against Mona as they were walking to a different dancing spot. Some kind of dance lounge, by the looks of it.

It seemed like Mona was the one leading, which made sense as to why they were going somewhere different from the plan. Well that was one explanation. Seeing the happy, lovey dovey expression on Raph’s face though? It made Mikey feel weird. Maybe he was just happy for his big brother, or worried. What if Mona tried to take advantage of him?

“Mikeeey. Earth to Mikey. Hellooo.”

Mikey almost jumped out of his shell. “What?! What?” He looked down at Junior. “Sorry, did you say something? I was just… watching them,” he finished lamely. He didn’t want to explain his thinking to a nine year-old.

Junior blinked as he looked at Mikey. “Uhuh. I was saying that we need to just go in there. That’s an all-ages kinda dance lounge though most of the kids like me will be gone since it’s getting late.”

“Well that just means we get to have some more fun without them.” Mikey used his chains to lift Junior up and onto his shoulders. He rested nicely in the gap between Mikey’s neck and his shell. “I’m thinking we hijack the music system and put on some awesome music that I know Raph can dance to. What do you think, Junior?”

“Yeah! Oh, there’s gotta be a lot of good ones. Which one would be best for Raph and Mona to dance together to though?” As Junior asked, he took off his hat and crossed his arms on top of Mikey’s head.

Mikey passed his phone up to Junior. “Take a look through the playlist called ‘Waffle’ and see what you think. Leo’s told me you know more about dancing than me.” Mikey much preferred ballet, boy bands, or his indie music, not the stuff Raph listened to.

Junior took it and hummed as he started to look through it. “Oh, a lot of good choices here,” he said as Mikey walked with him into the lounge.

“Okay, I’ll get us to the DJ, you get us some sweet tunes to play for Raph and Mona.”

 The little yokai gave a thumbs up before he rested his head on top of Mikey’s and scrolled through his phone. “Uh, you have a lot of texts. Maybe you should check them?”

“I’ll check them later,” Mikey assured Junior with a grin. If it was really important, whoever it was would call him or use the communicators. 

Mikey wove his way through the crowd towards the DJ booth. He had someone walk in front of him so he stopped. That’s when he realized he couldn’t see the booth anymore. “Huh? Uh, Junior, can you see the DJ anywhere?”

Junior hummed before glancing up from Mikey’s phone and looking around. “Oh, it’s that way,” he said, pointing with Mikey’s phone before his face was back, looking through the playlist. “There’s a lot of songs on here. Like, a crazy amount.”

“Raph loves music. Like, he really loves music.” Mikey was pretty sure Raph loved music even more than he loved baking, maybe even more than he loved training. Maybe just as much as he loved wrestling. Mikey would need to ask later about that.

"I can tell. He's got good taste," Junior said before glancing up. "Uh, why are we near the exit of the lounge? I thought you were going over to the DJ booth."

Mikey looked up and stopped walking, his eyes wide. “I was going in the direction you pointed. What the heeeck?!” No swearing in front of the child. That didn’t change that someone was totally messing with them. “Junior, pass me my phone. I want you to keep your eyes on the DJ booth as I walk, okay?”

"Okidoki." Junior gave Mikey back his phone. "Lookout Junior on duty."

“Let’s give this a go.”

Mikey focused, watching the DJ booth. He walked towards the booth with purpose, not letting anything distract him. Then someone walked in front of him for a split second and the booth was gone.

"Uuhhh I think I saw a little flash? Then we were here," Junior said before he hummed. "Huh. But other people were going up to the DJ booth so it isn't some protective system."

“A flash of light?” Before Mikey could question it further, he spotted Raph being led to the dance floor by a very happy looking Mona. No! They were too late!

Junior looked over to the dance floor, following Mikey's gaze. "Oh, well they can still enjoy dancing to whatever song comes up. We can still try to get a song playing after this dance. Wait, has Raph danced since the whole eyepatch thing?"

“No idea.” Mikey shook his head.

“He’s been practicing with me,” a voice hissed from behind them and Mikey couldn’t help but tense up. How had someone—

Before Mikey could finish his thought or even turn around, he was falling. It was a short drop, only a few feet, but it still made him stumble a little and have to hold on to Junior tighter so he didn’t fall off. When Mikey looked around, they were back on the surface, in an alleyway. How the—

"Leo!" Junior cheered from atop Mikey as he held his hands out. "Oooh, now the flash makes more sense." Well fuck. "What are you doing here? Were you trying to help Raph out too?"

Leo was standing in front of them suddenly, arms crossed and his expression less than impressed. If Mikey didn’t know what Leo’s actual angry face looked like, he would have said Leo was pissed. “Yes, like he asked me to. And Mona did too. Unlike you two, who decided to step in without an invite.” Oh yeah, they were in trouble.

Good thing Mikey was great at thinking on his feet. After all, he has learned from the best. Who was angry. In front of them. No, don’t focus on that. Focus on improv. "It's called providing support from the sidelines, Leo. We were just making sure everything went well for Waffle. Plus, how were we supposed to know you were going? You sorta didn't want me in the room so I couldn't ask. I think Junior and I were doing a great job." 

He reached a hand up and Junior raised Mikey's hand down as he shook his head. "Not while Leo's unhappy," Junior whispered. "Otherwise I'd totally be high-fiving you. High-threeing you?" 

Leo didn’t seem impressed. “You two were causing problems and making it harder for me to keep you both safe. And Junior, I expected better from you. Going on the chandelier? What were you thinking?” He shook his head. “You have ignored all my texts, Mikey, and the only reason I haven’t called is because Raph would hear your emergency ringtone and I didn’t want him to know you were there.”

“I was trying to stay focused to try and help Raph. I didn’t agree with the chandelier, but otherwise we did everything while trying to be safe,” Mikey insisted as he placed his hands on his sides. 

“I was being safe on the chandelier and Raph would’ve totally caught it,” Junior said as he looked at Leo. “He’s an amazing hero and deserves to shine like one to Mona, especially since she seems so sweet and Raph adores her.” Raph really did seem smitten with her and he deserved to be happy.

“Raph would have caught it, but that wasn’t the point of tonight,” Leo sighed as he rubbed his face. “Look, the only reason you two aren’t locked in the lair right now is because A, I saw you both having a good time at the restaurant and B, I know you only wanted to help.” He paused and shook his head, then stretched out his leg. Mikey noticed he had his knee brace on but didn’t appear to have his cane. “Raph wanted to have a night away from thinking about being a hero. He just wanted to go on a date with a pretty girl who he really likes and forget his other responsibilities for a while. If you two had shown yourself, he would have gotten flustered and worked up because he doesn’t do well with an audience.” That was a good point. Also Leo wasn’t super angry. That was a lucky break, honestly.

“Okay, so maybe the restaurant wasn’t great but what was so wrong with us wanting to request a song for Raph to—”

“And Mona!”

“—to dance to with Mona?”

“In a style he hasn’t practiced since he lost half his vision,” Leo deadpanned. “The music wasn’t a bad idea, but I am still disappointed that you two wouldn’t be honest about coming out tonight. Do you know how worried CJ and Donnie were when they couldn’t find you two? You didn’t tell anyone where you were going!” He huffed and shook his head. “Ugh, I hate having to be the responsible one but you two really need to sit back and think about what you were up to. I know you wanted to help, but you almost caused Raph a lot of problems by accident. This wasn’t cool.”

Mikey wanted to debate this further, point out that he left a note in the kitchen that was probably overlooked, and he almost said that and more. The weight of Junior on his shoulders stopped him. He needed to be a good role model and, as much as Mikey hated to think it, Leo had a point. It wasn’t cool. Mikey just wanted Raph to be happy and he almost ruined it for his big bro. “At least you were there to stop us from doing that. Sorry, Leo,” Mikey said as he bowed his head. 

“Sorry,” Junior echoed. “We did leave a note though. Did they not check the kitchen?”

“I guess not. I haven’t left you guys since I spotted you heading to the restaurant.” Leo snorted with a small smile. “I figured it would be better to make sure I could keep an eye on you, so I made sure they’d let you in.” Wait, that was how they got a table?! Leo had been watching them this whole time?

“So you’ve been watching us ?” Mikey asked with a raised ‘brow’ of his own. “Sounds a little weird—”

“Stop. You’re walking right into a trap,” Junior said as he patted Mikey’s cheek. “Dream team helps each other not fall into those.”

Mikey couldn’t help but smile and nod. “Right. Thanks, Junior.”

“You’ve been paying attention to my lessons, Pequeño.” Leo was sounding more fond and less annoyed now, so they were getting out of the danger zone. “But yes, I was watching you. I didn’t want to make a scene for you guys or for Raph, so I’ve been sabotaging your attempts to ‘help.’” Leo’s battle shell made quotation marks around his words with its spider arms. Then Leo pulled out some bits of paper and held them up. “Anti-Ninpō sigils. They can’t stop big stuff, but they let me stop you from dropping those barrels. And I managed to portal Junior down from the chandelier.”

Mikey gasped and took the paper from Leo’s hands, even as he complained. “Say what?! These are a thing?! Since when?”

“I’ve been working on them with Dad and Rara during our training sessions.” The paper was covered in mystic circles and glyphs that made Mikey’s head spin. It was almost a piece of art.

“You gotta teach me this. You and Dad and Rara.” He wanted to learn how to create something so intricate and cool.

“Sure. We each have a unique one.” Leo fanned out some more papers with a grin before tucking them away. “Now, you two wanna go home? Maybe go chill together after having such a nice meal?”

Mikey opened his mouth to answer, especially since he and Junior weren’t getting in trouble, but Junior cut him off. “Wait! Before we do that, I need to shop.”

Carefully, Mikey picked up Junior from his shoulders and held him in his arms in front of himself. “You need to shop? For what?”

“Yuichi! His birthday’s at the end of next week, on the 21st. I dunno when I’ll be coming down here again but it definitely won’t be before then. I gotta get him a gift,” Junior insisted.

“Wait, it’s his birthday soon?!” Leo almost screeched. He took a breath and calmed himself before he nodded. “Okay. We can go shopping but then you two really need to get home. I don’t want you two to get your butt kicked by Dad or Rara when he realizes Junior isn’t in the lair like Tio expects him to be.”

“Why would I get my butt kicked?” Junior asked with a pout. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

Mikey bit back a comment that wanted to come out about Leo’s huuuge crush on the bunny yokai. “Yeah, it doesn’t. But let’s quickly go so that doesn’t happen to either of us. Or you, Leo, since you didn’t bring us back. Don’t want you getting in trouble either.”

“I have plausible deniability,” Leo shot back before rolling out his shoulders and drawing his katanas. “Okay, Hidden City shopping district, here we come.”

Okay, things were going great. Better than great, even. Leo was right about the style that Mona liked to dance in and it was right up Raph’s alley as well. He was dancing and swinging and just about keeping up with Mona as she spun and twirled. Spirits, she was amazing.

She insisted on calling him Angel but he was pretty sure she was the real angel herself.

They ended the song with a twirl, a dip, and a wOAH! Raph was lifted up into the air by Mona as they spun before the final beat of the song played. The crowd cheered as the two of them panted.  Damn. She really had swept him off his feet in more ways than one tonight.

Before Raph could say anything, Mona grinned up at him and held him over her shoulder like a sack of flour as she walked off the dancefloor. He sputtered for a moment before he managed to get out, "Momo!" He totally didn't sound lame when he called her name, nope. Why would someone even think that?

Mona laughed, and squeezed him gently and oh, that was his butt. He totally didn’t let out a very manly squeak there, no way. “Nope. You’re all mine and I’m making sure no one else gets a piece of you tonight,” she cooed, the tip of her tail wagging.

Wow, okay, she was possessive. Not that Raph minded. “Like I would go with anyone else,” he said as he was sat down on one of the couches in the more lounge area of this dance lounge. “I’m here for you and just you. You know that, right?”

“I do.” Mona shifted to sit next to Raph and curled against him. “The way you’ve been looking at me left no doubt in my mind.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “You know I’m here for just you, right?”

Raph looked at her and nodded as he reached up and ran his finger through some of her curls. “Yeah, I do,” he earnestly said, just loud enough for Mona to hear.

Mona let out a pleased hiss, closing her eyes and leaning into Raph’s touches. He noticed how some people shifted a little away when they heard Mona’s happy sounds but he couldn’t care less. They were clearly idiots if they couldn’t appreciate how beautiful Mona’s hisses were. 

“Tonight has really been magical, Angel. Thank you.” Mona hummed happily, nuzzling against Raph’s shoulder.

“Of course. It’s the least you deserve, and you made it magical for me too,” Raph said before he took a deep breath. He kissed Mona’s temple but didn’t pull away and freak like he wanted to. Well, internally he was freaking out. His mind was either doing two things: focusing on keeping him calm appearance-wise outwardly or inwardly. Oh, and breathing. So three things.

Mona sighed happily. Raph could feel her melt against him as she hissed again. He was pretty sure he was falling in love with that sound. He wanted to hear it all the time. Not only did it mean Mona was happy, it meant that she was nearby and Raph wanted her around as often as he could have her. Wow, how did he get so lucky?

If he really wanted her around more often, Raph needed to be brave. Heck, he went around the City, protecting it and his home for years. He had saved the world more times than he could count on one hand. He’d do anything to protect his family and had when it counted most. 

So why was asking the girl he liked out, even when he knew clearly by this point and would be more than happy with that, so scary?

Raph felt Mona’s tail wrap around his and hold on tightly. She took a breath, as if she were trying to build up some courage, before she lifted her hand and looked at Raph properly. “Can I do something… a little crazy?” she asked suddenly, her expression nervous but hopeful and her golden blush shimmering.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, of course." Raph had to swallow to keep his heart from jumping out of his throat.

Mona nodded and smiled, her expression going almost shy. She reached up and cupped his cheek. “Just… stop me if you’re not into this, okay?” was all she said before she very slowly leaned in. Was he going to— Oh spirits, she glanced at his lips. She was going to kiss him.

Okay, if she was going to be brave, Raph could be too. He reached up and cupped one of her cheeks as well. Before anything stupid could tumble out of his mouth, Raph leaned in and closed the distance, gently pressing his lips against hers.

Raph had once read that kissing someone for the first time felt like fireworks going off. He couldn’t help but agree, it was like there were fireworks exploding in his brain and his heart was pounding in time with them. But at the same time, it felt like the ultimate comfort. Like lying at the bottom of the pool, weightless and without a care in the world. Like being curled up under the heat lamp. Like coming home. Like a million little comforts, each just as exciting as the next. 

Kissing Mona felt like the best thing in the world and even if it only lasted a second, it felt more right than almost anything else had.

When they pulled back and Raph looked into Mona's eyes, he could only think of this comforting feeling, of her. "Will you be my girlfriend?" slipped out his mouth, and it took Raph a moment to register what he said. He was happy with it, no heat creeping up his cheeks. No worry, anxiety, nerves. Nothing. Spirits, that was nice.

The joy that lit up Mona’s face would be enough to light all of New York City, without a doubt. “Yes! I would love to be your girlfriend!” she cried, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him firmly once again. This time there was more fire, more sparkles and explosions, but the comfort didn’t change.

Raph happily cupped both her cheeks then as he returned the kiss, his eyes shutting as he let it linger before pulling back. "And that means that I get to be your boyfriend then, yeah?" he couldn't help but ask with a grin.

“Yes!” Mona nodded enthusiastically, her eyes bright. “Oh Angel, yes!” She melted into his touch, her eyes closing in contentment. She hissed, louder and deeper than before but no less content or happy. The tip of her tail was wagging even from where it was wrapped around Raph’s.

His heart swelled in the best of ways as he brought her face closer so he could kiss the tip of her snout, then rub their snouts together. "Perfect."

Mona kept her eyes closed but the dreamy smile on her face didn’t shift. She sighed and her markings shimmered and swirled. Raph felt her hands on his plastron, just resting against his chest as she leaned into his touch. “You’re so amazing, Angel. Thank you.”

“Thank you , Momo,” Raph said as he shifted so he could rest his head on top of hers.

Chapter Text

As much as Casey hated to admit it, training in the cold was one of the best ways to stay focused and awake. That was how she found herself and Mikey sitting in a frostbitten and isolated part of Todd’s forest, sitting on a mat made of bamboo. It was surprisingly insulated. 

“Okay Casey, here’s what we’re going to do: focus and breathe as you summon up your Ninpō.” Mikey was teaching Casey how to use other mystic powers besides her portals and her homing hockey puck Ninpō. She wanted to become the best ninja witch possible but she didn’t like Draxum enough to trust him to train her. Plus, who wouldn’t want to learn from their bestie? “Just focus on doing that for now. We need to figure out your specialization.”

Casey nodded but couldn't stop herself from looking over Mikey. "Are you sure we're good to do this though? You look more like an orange marshmallow than a turtle right now with all that winter gear." Didn't turtle brains and everything do bad in the cold? Bruh... something. 

“I’m just being cautious since my bros aren’t around,” Mikey explained. “I normally am fine in the cold, but if I start to go into brumation, only they can snap me out of it. Not even April can snap us out of it so I’m taking extra precautions. Just in case.”

Right, that's what it was called. A shutdown as turtles went into a sort of hibernation? Something along those lines. "I mean, we can wait for a day that's not so cold," Casey offered as she adjusted her scarf around her face.

“Nah. I wanna get out the lair for a bit. Leo’s been a little… His vibe has been a little oppressive recently.” Mikey shook his head. Casey knew that Leo and Mikey had a bit of a fight about Raph’s date the other day but oppressive? That seemed a bit extreme, especially for those two. She could see it if Donnie was brought into it, or if Raph was in uber anxious-protective mode.

Casey raised a brow and wanted to say something, but they could talk about it later. “Okay, sure. Well, when we're done, we could hang at my place? I know April and Suni already left for the holidays and won't be back until 'round my birthday, January 7th. We’ll have the whole place to ourselves.” They were spending the break with April's grandma for the whole time and Suni was so excited to meet the older woman. It was almost overwhelming last night with all the packing and excited energy buzzing about the apartment.

“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Mikey agreed with a bright grin. “Now, c’mon! Ninpō time!”

"Alright, alright," Casey said, holding her hands out and waving Mikey down. "Just lemme get it out." She crossed her legs and shut her eyes as she held her hands in front of herself, in front of her chest. After a few deep breaths, she focused on her new family, everyone in it, the love she felt from them. Not even a moment later, she could feel the warmth of her crest in front of her.

Mikey let out a small sigh, seemingly basking in the light of the crest. “Good.” He sounded relaxed. “Now, I want you to try to pull your Ninpō into your core. Bring it from your limbs and pull it in as tight as you can.”

Easy. She had already done this before with her mystic energy she developed and built up inside her back in the day. Casey took a deep breath in, taking in the energy throughout her body into her core, and when she exhaled, she let it settle. She only needed to do that three times as she tightened her hold, almost into a ball shape.

“Very good.” Mikey sounded so proud but so at peace. “Now, I want you to hold that core of energy in you as close as you can. You should feel it want to escape, not into your body but somewhere else. Can you feel that?”

Casey furrowed her brows as she held it just on the precipice of her Ninpō wanting to escape, and she pushed it a smidge further. It didn't want to escape back into her limbs, but now she had no idea where it wanted to go. Thankfully, she had a damn good hold on it. "Yeah."

“Good. Now, I want you to let it out. Not into your body. Let it flow out of you and into the world.” That sounded… intense. “It will be a lot but it will let you sense the world in a different way. Mine found its way into the chains, Donnie’s into his code. Rara’s into his vines. Let yours flow and see where it takes you.”

"Oh... kay," Casey murmured out. "Do Raph and Leo know what theirs are?" She just needed a minute to compose herself before trying that.

“No, they don’t. Or if they do, they haven’t discussed it with me,” Mikey admitted with a small huff. “It’s special and unique to everyone. It might be similar to someone else’s, but never identical. Just like Ninpō, it is unique to you.”

Casey slowly nodded her head once. Okay, she had this. She was Casey freaking Jones after all! Even if her chest ached and felt like it was seizing up, she let her energy go while making sure it didn't return to or get sucked back in by her body.

As soon as she did, she felt the energy sink into the ground and spread out from her. The pain and tension ceased, leaving just a comfortable ache in her limbs. A new view of the world resolved itself in her mind, one made of energy and life instead of color and vision. The trees had their own spark, as did the scarce wildlife around her. Mikey, of course, was an almost blinding beacon, glowing and warming her like the sun. Beneath her, she could sense a line running along the ground, connecting to a much thicker line further on. The lines pulsed with energy, almost breathing.

“What do you see, Casey? What do you feel?” Mikey’s words glowed with an energy all their own.

"Energy and life," Casey muttered. "All of it." Even the grass had a faint trickling of it, all around her. It was overwhelming yet rejuvenating at the same time, feeling all this life and presence here. Gave her the energy she needed while she sent hers out to intermingle with it all.

“Is there any structure to it or is it in chaos?” Mikey asked, his voice soft and awed.

"It's contained in every living thing. There is a line though. Running below us in one direction. It feels like it's alive," Casey tried to explain.

“A ley line,” Mikey breathed. “That’s amazing, Casey. What you’re tapping into is something very rare and special. Very few people actually can sense the real ley lines.” He sounded excited and proud which made Casey want to puff up with pride. “See if you can follow the line. Let yourself drift with the energy. I’ll keep you grounded here while you see where it takes you.”

She could try. Okay, so focus on the line and follow it. Casey honed in on it and followed the energy, settling in it like she was floating along a lazy river. She found herself drifting away from her body, the dual sensations somehow not overwhelming her. She had her body but her true self was drifting along the line.

“Tell me what you can see as you go, what you can feel.” That was Mikey’s voice but it felt distant somehow, like it was floating on the breeze.

“I see animals, trees, the creatures in the snow,” Casey listed as she went. “They look more like things made of energy, warped into those shapes, than actual animals and plants and stuff.”

“That’s amazing, Casey.” 

Casey’s lazy float down the line suddenly came to a stop. A wall of energy blocked her, cutting the line off harshly and stopping her from going or seeing anything beyond it.

“Are you alright, Casey?”

She tried to look at all past it but it was a harsh, long wall of nothingness. “Yeah. Just something blocking my way down the line,” Casey explained. “I can’t go any further. I don’t know what it is.”

“Come back, Casey.”

“How?”

There was a pause. “Grab the chains.” As Mikey’s voice floated over to Casey, two chains appeared on either side of her. Golden and warm and glowing with the same brilliant light that Mikey had.

She reached out and grabbed hold of them, wrapping them around her hands once, twice, three times to make sure they were snug and secure. “I got ‘em. I got you.”

“And I’ve got you.” Much faster than her gentle float down the line, Casey was pulled back. Within seconds she was back in her body. The transition from energy to reality was jarring but the chains eased her into it as gently as possible. Woah, what a head rush.

She reached up and pressed a hand against her temple, taking a deep breath. Casey looked over at Mikey when he reached over, his hand on top of hers. “I’m alright,” she assured him. “That was just a wicked zip I just had, y’know?”

“Yeah. I wanted to get you back quick in case the wall of energy was dangerous.” Mikey rubbed Casey’s shoulders. “Still, you did amazingly. I’m so proud of you for managing that, Case.”

“Thanks, Marshmallow,” Casey said. She grabbed Mikey’s hand before she could flick her forehead and let out a short laugh, sticking her tongue out at him. “Of course I’d do amazingly. I’m Casey Jones!”

“You’re really something else.” Mikey sounded so fond that it made Casey’s chest ache in the best way. She didn’t think she’d ever find someone who loved her as much as Mikey did. “We should really investigate that wall of energy though. Mind if I call my bros to help out? Because if it’s that powerful to block a ley line, it might be dangerous.”

Casey opened her mouth to agree before her eyes softened. “You all good to have all them come over?” Her mind went back to Mikey’s earlier comment regarding the lair and Leo.

“Issues or not, I know they’ve got my back.” Mikey nodded firmly.

“Okay then. Yeah, invite them.” Casey shifted to rest her head against Mikey’s shoulder, hooked over the cushioning of his coat as best she could as he took out his phone. “It might take them a minute or two since they gotta bundle up.”

“Nah, they’ll just throw on a jacket and call it a day.” Mikey grinned, typing on his phone. Not even ten seconds later, a glowing blue portal appeared nearby. Leo stepped out of it, stretching in the weak winter sun. He had his cane. 

“Hey, Miguel. Hey Case. Everyone else should be here any minute.” He sounded normal, as if there wasn’t something going on between him and Mikey but Casey knew Leo was the best at masking. “Mikey, you mentioned a wall of energy. Is everyone okay first and foremost?”

“Yeah, Casey is just a little tired from the training we were doing.” Mikey nodded.

Even still, Casey flexed her covered arms and grinned. “Nothing can keep Casey Jones down,” she cheered before she picked Mikey up in her arms and stood. Her arms managed to just get around him and she held onto her forearms to keep him snug.

Mikey nuzzled into her touch. “Where’s everyone else?” he asked.

“Raph was at home with Melon, Donnie was with, uh, a friend I think…” Casey didn’t miss how Leo trailed off and looked a bit awkward. Interesting.

A purple portal appeared and out walked Donnie, wearing a hat with flaps and a jacket. Oh, and even a scarf. “Salutations and whatnot. Where is the wall?” he asked, face buried in his phone.

“We’re just waiting on Raph before we go to it,” Leo explained, looking away awkwardly.

“Hey, who are you texting?” Mikey asked, getting himself comfy in Casey’s arms.

Donnie didn’t glance up as he answered, “Juan.” Who?

“Explain, nerd. That gives me nothing.”

“Well Mikey asked, not you,” Donnie said with a monotone voice, his thumbs never stopping.  

Casey looked down at Mikey then, keeping note on how Leo kept looking away as he glanced down at his own phone. “Who’s Juan, Marshmallow?”

“You remember the gecko mutant? Him.” Oh, right, the nerdy guy with a dry sense of humor from that shop Mikey liked to go to. Yeah, made sense he and Donnie would get along. 

“Weren’t you just with him?” Leo asked. His voice gave nothing away, just a vague sort of amusement, but if Donnie looked up for more than a moment, he would see just how awkward Leo was being.

Donnie hummed, his eyes behind his glasses glued to his phone screen. “Yeah, but our hangout was cut short and we still had analyzes we were discussing so we’re continuing it over text.” Casey didn’t miss how Leo rolled his eyes. Donnie clearly did.

“Oh, here comes Raph. And Melon.” Leo glanced at his portal as Raph stepped out, his golden cane out and Melon’s head pressed into his free hand.

“Oh, Waffle, is it a bad eye day? Did you need to go back and relax?” Mikey fussed, not leaving Casey’s arms. “We can handle it if you need to tap out.”

Raph gave a reassuring smile as he shook his head. “Nah, Raph’s fine. He can handle doing a little investigating. No biggie.”

Casey looked at Raph with concern for a moment before she squeezed Mikey in her arms. “Well, since all of the peanut gallery is here—”

“Rude,” Donnie called out.

“—let’s get going.”

Leo was fine . Sure, Donnie had spent the last few days going over to visit this Juan guy, who he refused to introduce Leo to, and sure Leo had been basically left alone in the lair besides his parents and CJ, but he was fine! 

Okay, so maybe Leo wasn’t fine. But he could deal with a bit of jealousy without alerting Donnie. Donnie had a friend who he wasn’t related to and who wasn’t just sort of given to him like April was. Leo didn’t want to get in the way of that beautiful, nerdy friendship. Even if he was feeling a bit neglected and left out, he didn’t want to be limiting Donnie. It wasn’t his fault that Leo had very few actual friends. 

Maybe Leo needed to actually spend some time getting to know people better. All his friends were either children, his family, or people who were now closer with other people. Well, except Yuichi, but the rabbit yokai had to work!

Ugh, Leo was not enjoying this walk at all. It left too much quiet space to introspect.

“Everything okay, bud?” Leo almost jumped as he looked to the side at Raph. His co-leader looked at him with worry. “I can smell a bit of a stink comin’ off of you. Not like B.O. stink, but a negative kind.” Melon looked up at him and meowed, her tail swaying and brushing against Leo.

“Oh, uh…” Leo glanced at Donnie, then at Mikey and Casey. Ugh, why was he getting so isolated again? He hated it. He was having issues with Mikey, who had been acting weird to Leo since Raph’s date night, and Donnie was getting more and more distracted with other people and things.

He couldn’t just say that stuff aloud though. The others might hear and it would upset them. 

‘ Me okay no ,’ he signed. Hey, if he couldn’t speak aloud, he just wouldn’t say it out loud. ‘ Me jealous about Donnie new friend. Mikey happy with me no. Me thinking too loud. ’

Raph’s ‘brows’ furrowed as he hummed. “Okay, that explains the smell then. You know, I think discussing it would help,” he whispered as he glanced up ahead. “You know, feelings are meant to be shared and talked about, not all bottled up.”

‘ Me want upset them no ,’ Leo shot back, shaking his head. ‘Donnie and Mikey happy. Me want upset them no .’ He didn’t want to mess with whatever they had going on. Besides being weird around Leo, Mikey had been really happy recently. Donnie had a friend. Leo didn’t want to let his own jealousy and issues get in the way of that. So what if he was feeling a little neglected? Nothing he couldn’t handle.

A grumble from beside him made him focus back up on Raph and his unamused expression. “But you’re upset. Sometimes you gotta upset people to make things better. Plus, leaders gotta be honest. You ain’t being very honest with the whole team right now,” Raph whispered. “Raph don’t want you falling into old habits, y’hear?”

“I won’t, I won’t,” Leo reassured Raph, signing for him to be calm. “If I was, I wouldn’t be telling you this, would I?”

Raph paused and nodded. “You’re right. Raph appreciates that, but do it with the others too. I don’t wanna sit on this and not be able to help, y’know? I mean, I could tell, but that ain’t my place.”

“Yeah, okay, okay. I’ll… talk to them,” Leo promised softly, rubbing his chest. He was focusing on keeping a clamp on his side of the imprint so the guilt, jealousy, and frustration didn’t leak through, but it was tiring. Still, until he was ready to talk, Leo would keep things under wraps. He didn’t need that to distract Donnie and so far it was working. Donnie was as oblivious to Leo’s dilemma as he had been on day one.

“Good.” Leo suddenly stopped in his tracks as an arm wrapped around him. He yelped and before he could escape, he was assaulted with an obnoxious kiss. Not that he would actually complain. Raph had been giving those more and more lately and it always made Leo feel loved and cared for, even if they could be loud.

“Dang it, Raph, you’re gonna suck out my brain one day,” Leo grumbled playfully, squirming out of Raph’s arms. 

“Hey, the wall of energy is over here!” Mikey called, gesturing to where he was being carried by Casey, who was standing just on a very normal looking piece of ground. “DonDon, you have a good connection to mystic stuff. Can you sense anything?”

Leo stepped forward, then his eyes widened as he spotted something through the trees. “No way.” Leo dropped his cane in surprise. He shot forward, running through the supposed wall of energy and straight at the—

Ohmigosh, it was! A real life, honest to god flying saucer! It was easily twice the size the Turtle Tank had been. There would be space to walk around in this thing. But it was a flying saucer . “Fizzy! Fizzy, look!”

“Hold on,” Donnie called as he followed Leo, his voice getting closer. “What are you freaking out abooouuuholy butter pecan pudding!” He zipped by and pressed his hands against the cold side of the ship. “This is a gen-u-ine spaceship right here.” His hand knocked against the side as he rested his tympanum next to the exterior. “Oh, and this is a kind of material we’ve been planning to but haven’t been able to synthesize yet.” Finally, he pressed his face against the side of the ship and deeeeeply inhaled. “Yeah, definitely something Earth and humans will never be able to make for at least another thousand or so years.”

Leo couldn’t help himself. He hugged the ship with both his arms, clinging to it as best he could. “She’s so beautiful. Think of the discoveries waiting inside.” Leo gasped, looking at Donnie. “Think of the technology!” They had to find a way inside now . He could sense the hull had some sort of anti-portal field somehow so he wouldn’t be zapping. Just another discovery to investigate. Leo didn’t even know anti-portal tech was even possible.

“Oh, I know!” Donnie’s bō staff appeared in his hand, saw blade extension whirring. His battle shell’s arms pulled out his goggles and placed them on his face. He seemed to scan the ship as the others walked past the energy field. “Aha!” After side stepping and getting his position ready, he started to saw along what Leo realized was the door gap to try to force open whatever lock mechanism was there. “It should open eventually!”

Leo put his hand on Donnie’s shoulder and silently pointed to what looked like a control panel off to the side. Technopath Donnie should have no problem hacking into that, and it wouldn’t risk damaging the ship further.

“Aww. I never get to use my saw,” his twin said, his head hanging as the staff vanished. Regardless of his moping and dramatics, Donnie walked over to the control panel.

From behind them, Leo heard Casey mutter, “Wow, and I didn’t think spaceships actually looked like this. Thought it was just some sci-fi stereotype or whatever.”

“Look at it this way, Fizz. Less damage for us to fix,” Leo chirped, his tail still wagging a mile a minute.

“Should we really be opening an alien spaceship?” Mikey asked, glancing around. “What if the alien comes back?”

“This thing has been abandoned for months. We’ll be fine,” Leo assured Mikey with a grin. He hugged the ship again, closing his eyes and churring happily.

“How can you tell that?” Casey asked as Leo heard her walk closer with the puffball that was Mikey presumably still in her arms.

Leo pointed. “The skid marks and crash marks tell us everything. Things are growing in the results of the crash.” A perfect countdown for knowing how long the crash had been there. The trees had healed from where the ship crashed past them and winter flowers were visible beneath the snow. “She’s been here for months because life has moved on around her in that time.”

Casey looked around and nodded with a curious hum. “Whoever crashed its long gone so we don’t gotta worry about the old owner, I don’t think,” Raph said with a nod. “If anything, it’ll only be ‘cause it’s more of a pain to leave it for whatever reason. I think we’re in the clear spot though.”

“Which means, gentleturtles and Cassandra, that this glorious vessel of transport is ours,” Donnie nearly sang as he stepped to the side and flourished his hands to the door that slid up and opened the ship up. Dazzles and sparkles were very much present as Donnie did his signature showing-off-jazz-hands.

“Amazing work as always, DonTron,” Leo said with a grin, heading inside and looking around for any sign of danger. Okay, nothing but the gentle hum of computers.

Wait. The gentle hum…? This thing still had power!

Without any further hesitation, Leo rushed inside and headed to what looked like the main console. He pressed a button on a panel and low and behold, a holographic screen appeared in front of him, flickering and weak but there. “Donnie, she’s still got some juice,” he cried, trying to make out the words on the screen. Leo assumed they were words. The white symbols looked to be closer to hieroglyphs but Leo was both a linguist and determined. He was going to figure this out. Besides, it kinda felt like he could already recognize small portions of this, even if he had no basis to.

“Oh, this baby is gorgeous!” Leo heard Donnie cry out as he cooed over and complimented the ship. From the corners of his vision, he saw Donnie looking over the seats, the control panel, and going back to look over the divided-off section past the seating area. 

Raph let out a low whistle as he and the others walked in. He was relying a bit more heavily on his cane and Melon as he led the back of the small group. “This is like double the size of the Turtle Tank at least.”

“The way the seats are set up look like this is a soccer mom van that got a huge upgrade,” Casey said before barking out a short laugh and finally putting Mikey down.

Leo spotted Mikey clinging to Casey but he didn’t really do more than glance, so he wasn’t sure what made Casey laugh again a moment later. No, Leo was fixated on going through the menus of the computer, trying to follow his instincts to figure out what was what. “What‘s behind the wall back there, Fizz?” Leo called. He was so close to cracking this, he was sure of it. 

“I dunno, some sort of pod? Maybe some chemicals?” Donnie called back. Wait, maybe—

“Is it a Medbay?!” Leo cried, looking over towards Donnie. No way, this was so cool! His own alien Medbay!

“I think so,” Donnie confirmed. “I think these are healing pods back here. Two of them.”

Raph gasped from behind the wall. “Oh, and there’s a snack bar back here? Sweet! With alien snacks too!”

“It doesn’t look like they’re out of date. Probably. Let me just grab a small sample from each snack and theeen he ate them already. Welp. How do you feel, boss man? How did they taste? Tell. Me. Everything .”

“Ohmigosh! Look at all these pictures! I bet these are all aliens. The anatomy is so cool! I’m gonna have so much fun drawing these!” Mikey was cheering from somewhere else in the ship.

Leo turned his attention back to the computer. He knew he was close, he just had to—

A panel lit up blue next to him. Maybe he could use that. Following his instincts, Leo pressed a few more buttons. “Hey Donnie? Do you have a physical copy of your ‘proving people wrong’ dictionary on you? The version with the slang.”

Donnie was by his side, book in hand. “I currently have the ‘online presence’ version. The original for real life is at the lair somewhere,” he said before offering it to Leo.

“You wrote that?” Casey asked as she walked over. 

Donnie crossed his arms over his chest. “Of course. One needs to be able to educate others about important life skills, especially with how toxic the online sphere has become over the years as—”

Leo snatched the book and put it into the blue light. It started floating as soon as Leo let go. Then the cover flipped open and the pages started turning. “Yes!”

“I wasn’t done with my extensive explanation of my dictionary,” Donnie whined before he watched the process. “Oh, you’re using my dictionary to help the computer system learn English! Very smart and of course you’d need my literary masterpiece to do it.”

“It’s a dictionary,” Casey deadpanned. 

“An invaluable one, dear Cassandra, because I wrote it.”

“How did you know how to do that, Leo?” Mikey asked as he got closer and peered at the scanner. 

“Dunno. Just followed what felt right.” Leo shrugged and grinned when the computer beeped and closed the dictionary. He picked it up and passed it to Donnie.

“Language accepted. Earth language: English. Added to database,” a feminine voice echoed around the ship. “The ship’s door was unlocked with the correct passcodes. Are you the new crew?”

Leo was left speechless for only a few seconds before he cleared his throat. “Yes, we are.”

Donnie grinned as he waved his book by Casey’s face, only to tuck it away before she could snatch it. “Yes. We have at least four new members to register,” he said before turning to look at Mikey. “Go get Raph. He must’ve found more snacks somewhere. Either that or Melon wanted to explore.”

“On it,” Mikey was almost sparkling with excitement.

“Chief medical and communications officer Leonardo, present. Preferred name: Leo.” Hopefully that would work. 

There was a pause, then a beep. “Affirmative.”

After clearing his throat, Donnie smirked and said, “Chief engineer, technician, mechanic, and botanist Donatello Othello von Ryan Hamato, present. Preferred name: Donnie, but will also accept—”

There was a beep. “Affirmative.”

Donnie deflated forward as Casey laughed. “I’ll have to work on that later.”

Leo rubbed Donnie’s shoulder. “We can sort it out after. This is our ship after all.”

“Chief weapons expert and Mystic Master Michelangelo, present!” Mikey cried, leaping from behind the short wall. “Preferred name: Mikey.” He took Raph’s hand and led him over. “You next, Waffle. You should be captain.”

When Leo looked over, he could see the slight tension in his face and his forehead scrunch as if uncomfortable but trying to hide it. “Me? Captain?”

“Well, preferably not just the captain. You’re more than that, but you definitely are best suited, sans Leo. I don’t know if this ship does co-captains,” Donnie said as he felt around under the control panel.

“Well, we can check that later,” Leo suggested. “You should be captain, chief of security, and chief anthropologist. Since you know the most about humans and history.” He beamed. If Raph was uncomfortable, Leo didn’t want him to have to work too hard. Leo could portal him home after this, let the big guy get some rest.

Raph laughed but it didn’t sound as hearty and full as it normally did. “Chief anthropologist, huh? Okay, sure. Why not.” He cleared his throat and looked towards the panel. “Captain, chief of security, and chief anthropologist Raphael, but you can call me Raph.” Melon meowed in agreement and excitement.

The computer beeped then. “What about the fifth present member in the ship?”

“Currently a guest.” Leo waved off the computer. “Potential crew member but unassigned. Name: Cassandra Jones. Preferred name: Casey.”

A chime different from the earlier beep sounded off. “Understood.”

“Computer, disable portal shields.” There was a chime that let Leo know it had worked. Then he turned his attention to Raph. “You want a lift home, Raph? Since we know this is safe, you can go back to what you were doing before we interrupted you.” That would give Raph an out without letting the others know he’s not feeling great. Donnie and Mikey would feel bad if they felt like they were forcing Raph to stay.

Raph looked relieved at the out. “Yeah, sounds good. My vision’s actin’ up a bit so—”

“Do you have a headache? Dizziness? Slight nausea and coordination issues? Vision fogginess?” Donnie asked, rapid fire style. 

“Uh, sorta, I gue—”

Donnie drew a line in the air and gestured for Raph to go through the purple portal that appeared. “Go home and lie down then. Turn off the lights in your room and don’t play any music.”

Leo grabbed Raph’s wrist and took his mystic cane off the bracelet there, offering it to him. When had Raph put that away? “Take it slow and don’t rush. Let Melon take care of you,” he instructed.

“I’ve messaged Dad and Rara,” Mikey added, pocketing his phone. “They’ll be around if you need any help, Waffle.”

“Anything you need us to pick you up whenever we head back?” Casey asked as she was by Raph’s side.

The smile and fond expression Raph wore almost made Leo forget that his big brother wasn’t feeling well. “Nah, Raph’s good, but thanks.” He took the cane from Leo then and slowly exhaled. “He’s just gonna sleep this off.”

“Call us on your comms if you need us home. We’ll be there. Remember: no screens,” Leo said firmly.

“Got it, chief medical and communications officer,” Raph said around a small laugh before he walked through the portal. Before Donnie closed the portal, Leo watched as Raph was guided to sit down on his bed by Melon before she started trying to tug off his jacket. “You’re gonna ruin Raph’s jacket, Melon. He’s got it.”

The portal shut and Donnie dusted off his hands. “You’re welcome, fam. Now, onto the matters of the ship…” His hands went back down to feeling under the control panel, to the right side, opposite where the driving controls were. 

Casey scrunched her nose up as she watched Donnie. “Does he look crazier than normal to anyone else right now or is it just me?”

“Nah, he’s onto something.” Leo turned back to the computer and started scrolling through the menus that he could actually read now. His hands and eyes moved faster than he realized he could. “Computer, please organize a damage report.”

“Affirmative, Leo.”

“I never thought I’d be the one to say this but—Demon Possession.” Leo could almost feel the way Mikey was pointing at him and Donnie right then. He’d be proud if he wasn’t so focused on breaking down this system into something they could use.

“Double Demon Possession,” Casey corrected. Yeah, she was totally pointing too. Leo could feel it. Not literally, thank the spirits. “Think we can take refuge somewhere on the ship?”

“No, it’s too open. It’s only a matter of time before they come after us,” Mikey replied solemnly. 

Leo rolled his eyes. “How’s that glove box coming, Fizz?” There was a click and a cheer. “Oh, he found it.”

“A glove box? In a spaceship?” Mikey asked.

Donnie stood with a thick manual in his hands. “Either Raph or Cassandra’s earlier comments on the seats resembling a soccer mom’s van made me realize that this is probably not as big of a deal to the extraterrestrial being who left this, like a teen who abandoned the car their stole from their parents in order to not be held liable under insurance and said parental figures.” He looked over the thick bound material before he took off his goggles and waved them over to Leo. “Try seeing if the ship can install a translator on here. Surely it has that capability.”

Casey raised a brow. “I feel like you’re just jumping to—”

“Computer, is that something you can do?” Leo cut Casey off with a grin as he held Donnie’s goggles.

“Affirmative. Translator now installed on both Leo and Donnie’s devices,” the computer replied.

Leo fist pumped. “Oh this is so cool!”

“You guys are nerds,” Mikey shot with a smirk, as if he wasn’t just as excited about this whole thing. Leo knew better. Mikey’s tail hadn’t stopped wagging the entire time they’d been on the ship.

Casey quickly added, “Super nerds,” before she gave Mikey a high three. High five? Eight fingers in total so maybe high four in this case. 

“Oh, so you don’t want to be able to fly around in Mother Shell, you two?” Donnie posed as he took his goggles back and pushed them down as he started reading over the ship’s manual. 

“I never said that,” Casey instantly replied. “Don’t put words into my mouth!”

“Hey, Mother Shell. I like that.” Leo grinned at Donnie.

“That is a pretty cool name,” Mikey conceded with a grumble.

Donnie beamed with pride and shook his short mask tails out, a trail of dazzling sparkles flying behind him. “Of course it is. Word play combined with my brilliance is a recipe for success.”

“Computer, set the ship name to the ‘Mother Shell.’” Leo turned his attention back to the computer.

“Affirmative.”

Leo was just about to get into his deeper research when an ear piercing sound echoed into the ship. It was coming from outside for sure and sounded like metal scraping against metal. He doubled over in pain, covering his tympanums as he tried to block it out.

There was a hand against the back of his battle shell before the sound was muffled to where Leo could think. “Cos?” Donnie asked with worry in his voice. “What happened?”

“Do you not hear that?!” Leo asked incredulously. Spirits, that was so stupidly intense. How was no one else even flinching?!

“Clearly not. You do have the best hearing out of all of us,” Donnie pointed out as he helped Leo stand. As he was helped, Leo noticed Donnie’s goggles were no longer on his head. “What is it you’re hearing?”

Leo blinked and reached up, feeling the goggles. “Where are my goggles? I thought I had them on…” he muttered before shaking his head. “It sounded like metal on metal.”

Donnie’s robot hand put Leo’s goggles in his hands. “They fell— Wait, metal on metal?”

“Is someone outside the ship, trying to key it up or something?” Casey asked. “Or maybe they’re trying to rip it apart!”

“Let’s go check. C’mon, Case!” Mikey grabbed Casey’s hand and dragged her out of the ship. 

The scraping sound stopped for a moment and Leo took the chance to swap his goggles back on to his head. There, that was better. He’d been working on the noise-canceling feature of his headphones to help with sensory overload recently. Just one of the solo projects he’d started while Donnie was out with Juan.

Not the time. “I’ve got a really bad feeling. We should go check on them,” Leo said, rubbing his face as he stood properly.

Donnie nodded as he lifted his hat and put his goggles on underneath. “Agreed. You sure you don’t need my goggles though? I have an updated noise-canceling feature that your goggles don’t have yet.”

“I added it myself.” Leo waved him off. “Tuned to my sensitivity and everything.” He was actually pretty proud of himself for that update. Lenny had helped. He’d been teaching Leo a lot more about tech and how to make it.

“Oh really? You’ll have to show me when we get back,” Donnie said. Not the response Leo was expecting. Or wanted. No, focus. Donnie pressed the sides of his headphones under his hat flaps before he hurried out, Leo right behind him. 

Once outside the ship, Leo almost tumbled over again when the sound started up. It wasn’t as intense as it was before but it was still pretty loud. His headphones would need more calibration.

Standing a little way away from the ship was an alien. It reminded Leo a little of the Sandro brothers in the fact it was very crablike. It had large claws for hands and four spindly legs. Instead of being a red-orange color, it was blue and silver and its claws had a metallic sheen to it.

“Holy— Fizzy, it’s an alien.” Leo patted Donnie’s arm, staring at the alien in awe. Then he realized that the alien was also the source of the sound. It was rubbing its claws together. And both Mikey and Casey were staring at the alien with blank expressions. Shit.

Donnie seemed too infatuated over seeing the alien to notice what was happening with the others. “It is. Okay, deep breaths. You’ve practiced this, Donatello.” 

“What? Fizzy, no, it—”

“Greetings,” Donnie started. He took a step forward and the alien looked over. “My name is Donatello Othello von Ryan Hamato, resident of the planet you are currently on called Eee-urth. It’s a pleasure to meet you. And now the bow.” Donnie held a hand out to his side and the other rested against his chest and he bowed forward. “Nailed it.”

The alien let out a chittering round of clicks which Leo couldn’t understand. Then his headphones crackled to life and Leo heard exactly what was being said. “Oh, he’s a funny one. Yes, you’ll both do nicely.”

“Donnie?” Leo said warily, reaching out with the imprint to try and give a warning.

“Oh yes, the translator works,” Donnie said with a grin while still in his bow. “I am quite fuuuh wait, do nicely?”

Leo zapped over and pulled Donnie backwards by the back of his shell just as a golden chain shot out and whipped where his head was. “It’s hypnotized Mikey and Casey somehow,” he hissed, getting Donnie to stand. “Not a friendly alien.” Damnit, where was Leo’s cane? His knee hurt and he wasn’t cleared for battle yet. He must have dropped it in his excitement. He’d just have to make do since he couldn’t afford to not have both hands free.

Donnie summoned his tech bō and glanced at Leo. “Metal on metal. The guy’s claw.” 

Before he could say more, Donnie blocked an incoming kick from Casey and twirled her foot up, catching her and then tossing her into Mikey. “You’re not cleared to fight yet. I can handle them if you deal with the cralien. Crab alien.”

“Got it. Be careful.” Leo nodded with a huff. He heard some more chittering.

“Hmm, you two have some resistance. No issue. I’m sure you’ll still sell well once I get through to you.” The ringing, scraping sound got louder but Leo kept blocking it out.

“Do you want to sell us, Crab Cakes?” Leo managed to hobble closer, clearly not being seen as a threat if the alien’s possibly amused expression was anything to go by. Perfect.

“Ah, so that little device also allows you to understand me,” the alien said. “You both must have one then.” The pitch changed and from his peripherals, Leo saw Casey and Mikey’s tactics change slightly. Donnie adapted though, still keeping the two at bay. He wouldn’t be able to forever though. “But yes. I don’t believe I’ve encountered creatures like you three before. The human? Yes, but not one that fights like that.”

“We are quite impressive,” Leo agreed, forming himself a Ninpō cane to use. He stopped a few feet from the alien and positioned his construct in front of him to lean forward on. “Now I’ll give you one chance. Call off the attack, let my family go, and I’ll let you walk out of here unharmed.” This would be perfect for Leo to let off a little steam, channeling his frustration, anger, and jealousy into some bloodlust for a little while. He could control himself. He just needed a vent.

The alien let out a string of clicking sounds, similar to that of a laugh. “Oh, maybe you’re giving the other one a run for his money with being the funniest out of the four of you.”

“I take it that’s a no.” Leo took a breath. His body might not be up to scratch but his Ninpō? It was stronger than ever. Dozens upon dozens of Ninpō constructs formed around them. Guns. As many different sorts as Leo knew, and with more variety than what Donnie liked to summon. They swiveled in place and all focused on the alien. “Is that your final answer?”

The noise cut out suddenly. Donnie’s yelp was audible but Leo couldn’t see what happened. “Okay, not worth it,” the cralien said, raising its claws up. “I didn’t know surface dwellers knew the mystic arts. Maybe Earth isn’t such an easy place to get products to sell anymore.” Before Leo could say or do anything, a pod swept down, beamed up the cralien in the blink of an eye, and it zipped off.

Oh that felt good. With another breath, Leo pulled back his constructs and collapsed them back into energy. He did wish he could have maybe gone a little further, maybe roughed the cralien up a little, but Leo was feeling much calmer than he had before. Huh. Maybe violence was the answer sometimes.

“Leo.” Casey’s hand rested against his arm, bringing him back out of his head. “You alright? We didn’t rough you up, right, and that ugly crustacean didn’t either?”

“No, I’m fine.” Shit, he sounded way too calm. Too much like Blue Oni. He turned to look at Casey and beamed. “Just scared him off. He’s gonna think twice before coming back to Earth for his business.” That was better. More energy and feeling.

Her brows were furrowed and the worry was there. Double shit. He hadn’t turned the Leo back on soon enough. “I ain’t buying that you’re fine, but I’m not going to push you,” she whispered to him. “Just… find someone to talk to about whatever it is you’re feeling, even if that person isn’t me. If you don’t, I’ll kick your ass.” The hand against his arm moved to prod him in the chest pretty roughly. “Got it?”

Leo nodded and raised his free hand in surrender. That seemed to be enough for Casey. She backed off and turned, rushing over to Mikey where he was sitting down nearby.

Mikey was helping Donnie sit up, checking over him while the other swatted his hand away. “I’m fine,” Donnie insisted before readjusting his cap, which had gone askew at some point.

Wait, Donnie was on the ground?! Leo turned and rushed as quick as he was able to to be by his twin’s side. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Donnie waved Leo’s hand away like he had done with Mikey. “I’m fine. Mikey just had me swaddled in his mystic chains before you stopped the cralien. When he broke free, he dropped me.” He patted his face then before looking around. “And made me lose my glasses in the wintery tumble. How wonderful.”

Mikey held out the undamaged frames to Donnie. “They weren’t far and I undid any damage.” He sounded somewhat sheepish. “Sorry, Dee.”

“It’s not like you intentionally did it,” Donnie said as he took the glasses. He checked them over before putting his frames back on. “Though if it puts your mind at ease, you are forgiven.” One of his robot hands appeared and patted Mikey’s head. Mikey chirped and leaned into the touch with a happy smile before the hands retreated back into Donnie’s battle shell.

“Okay, so if everyone is good, let’s take a breather and then I can try portaling this beautiful ship to the garage,” Leo suggested with a grin. “There’s no projects or anything in the ship, yeah?”

Donnie shook his head before he stood, helping Mikey up to his feet. “Not as far as my investigation skills are concerned, and I was very thorough with checking every nook and cranny.”

“Awesome. Let’s go get comfy for a while out of the snow, then we can get home.” Leo looked at Mikey and Casey. “Sound good to you two?”

“Yes…” Mikey was staring at Leo with an intense yet unreadable expression. Leo didn’t like that. He didn’t want Mikey psychoanalyzing him right here and now. His nerves wouldn’t last through it; he was too high strung right now.

Casey wrapped an arm around Mikey’s shoulder and tugged him a little. “Come on, Marshmallow. Let’s go see if Raph actually raided all the snacks or not.”

“I’ll make a tasting guide!” Mikey sprung to his feet and let Casey drag him away. It was like his previous intensity was forgotten the moment Casey engaged him. Wow, she was powerful.

Leo looked at Donnie when his twin wrapped an arm around Leo’s shoulder. “Want to see if the damage report is all calculated?”

“Sounds like fun, Fizzy.” Leo leaned into Donnie’s touch, relaxing at the familiarity. Pizza Supreme in the Sky, he was pathetic if he was craving contact like this after just a few days alone. Geez. But Leo also didn’t want to take Donnie away from his own stuff for much longer. He was probably going to be missing Juan soon. Leo didn’t want to get in the way of that budding friendship. “Then we can get back to the lair and she’s all yours, chief engineer.”

Donnie snorted at that. “Uh, that’s chief engineer, technician, mechanic, and botanist to you , good turtle.”

After getting a devastating report of the exuberant amount of damage the Mother Shell sustained and warming up a bit, everyone returned to the lair. Granted, Mikey and Casey were only there briefly. They insisted on going back to Casey’s apartment where CJ would eventually meet up with them once his day with the Brownies was done. Donnie made that portal for them with ease. 

He had turned to Leo to ask for his help with Mother Shell but his twin had said he needed to rest his leg. A reasonable need after straining himself. Donnie let him go and spent some time getting his new baby set up so he could properly fix it later. He also made sure to snap some pics of her, himself, and the two of them to send to Juan. 

The fact that he got walls of text with Juan freaking out and demanding to be allowed to the lair to see it in person had Donnie smirking. And Juan said Donnie was lame before. Hah! How could he be lame with a freaking spaceship? Trick question because he couldn’t. Then again, Donnie suspected insults were Juan’s way of showing affection. Considering how much Juan insulted Mikey and how fond they clearly were of each other, it was a reasonable hypothesis. Regardless, Donnie was now the coolest person, reptile or otherwise, that Juan knew.

However, he felt like he was done for the day. It was getting close to dinner and now they had to fend for themselves since Mikey was away. Donnie put his phone away and walked to Leo’s room because where else would he be if he was resting his leg?

Surprisingly, Leo wasn’t in his room. His room actually looked untouched. Completely untouched, like Leo hadn’t been in there in days. What?

Donnie frowned as he stepped out of Leo’s room. Well, he had been busy working the past few nights so Donnie had assumed Leo would have slept in his own room but clearly his assumptions were wrong. The hell. Where was he then?

Pulling up his bracer, Donnie checked Leo’s tracker to see where his twin was. He had to be in the lair, right? He would’ve let the family know if he had gone elsewhere. It wasn’t like he had crashed with the girls, and he hadn’t done an overnight babysitting job since that first one back, so—

He was in the… training room? Why was he in there? Leo’s knee still wasn’t strong enough to support him to do any proper training, especially after today.

With that in mind, Donnie rushed down to the room. He didn’t want to zap and potentially startle Leo, making him get hurt worse but at the same time, he couldn’t let his twin train himself into an early grave. Again . Ugh, Donnie thought they were past this.

When he reached the training room, Donnie was at least relieved to not hear the sound of metal slicing through the air or the sound of heavy impacts. When he peeked in, though, he saw Leo on the mats, running through his tai chi forms. He only did that when he was meditating to process his feelings or when he was really frustrated with something. Either way, it wasn’t a good sign.

Leo seemed to be having an easy enough time going through the motions, eyes closed with his focus. His movements were smooth and strong and for a moment, it was hard to tell he was injured.

Then his knee gave out and Leo went careening to the mat. He let out a low grunt and slammed his fist down, his expression one of anger and genuine frustration. Donnie didn’t feel a whisper of it through the imprint. Not a single breath of anything Leo was feeling. Was he… holding himself back from the imprint?

Okay, yeah, no. Donnie wasn’t letting whatever was happening here continue. He walked into the training room and ignored the sudden head turn from Leo once his footsteps echoed on the flooring right before the training mats. “You. Explain. Now,” Donnie said as he walked over to his twin and knelt down beside him.

Leo pushed himself into a sitting position, his face now schooled into an expression of surprise but also a calm sort of sheepishness. Donnie didn’t even need the imprint to see the flicker of panic in his eyes that he very quickly managed to repress. “Oh, hey Fizzy. I was just working through some stuff. The cralien really wound me up, y’know?” He laughed awkwardly, as if he was sheepish about being caught instead of panicked. “Yeah, not my smartest idea. Should have just done the Raph or Mikey way of meditation for now.”

Donnie’s eyes narrowed. “Cut the crap. It’s clearly not just the cralien. Tell me what you’re working through.”

Oh, Donnie felt that reaction through the imprint, even if Leo snapped it shut a millisecond after Donnie felt it. The bristling annoyance, the frustration, the guilt . The imprint almost sang with a cacophony of negative emotions. The way Leo’s own eyes narrowed slightly at the accusation also said volumes to what he was going through. Even with his impressive masking abilities, some of his true feelings still showed on his face.

“It doesn’t matter. And besides, it’s nothing. I’m fine and I’m dealing with it myself.” Leo’s response was unusually curt and dismissive. It hurt but just proved that yes, there was something big going on here.

“By doing your forms and tweaking your knee in the process?” Donnie pointed out. “You clearly aren’t dealing with it well. Add in the fact that I didn’t feel the clear anger and frustration I saw before you knew I was here through the imprint tells me that it’s been a while. Spill it, Leo.”

Leo looked away and clammed up, his expression becoming almost… pouty. What? “Why? Are you gonna actually stick around for it?” That was not the response Donnie was expecting. Nor was the frankly poisonous edge to Leo’s tone.

Donnie stared at Leo as he tried to understand why he was acting so childish. “Uh, yeah? Where the hell is all this coming from?” As he asked, he fiddled with the hem of his shawl—the one Leo made him while he was initially recovering from the invasion—he changed into once they got back.

“Uh, right here.” Leo said, as if it were obvious. “The lair. Where I’ve been cooped up and left basically alone for the last week!” Oh. “I’m not supposed to leave without an escort or without someone sticking nearby. And guess what? Everyone has been off doing their own thing without me! CJ’s been helping out with the Brownies to give Casey some time off, April is with her grandma, Yuichi has work and the Battle Nexus so he’s exhausted when I’ve been able to message him, Raph’s been off with Mona since they got together and she’s now on break from school, Mikey’s been avoiding me since that mess because he thinks I’m still pissed about what happened when I’ve told him it’s fine and I’ve moved on, and you’ve been off with your new best friend!” 

Leo’s voice was getting louder as he ranted and let out all the pressure that had clearly been building. “I’m so happy you’ve made a friend and Juan seems like a cool guy but your every waking moment the past however long has been focused on him! We were supposed to work on my headphones together but I had to do them alone. I’ve upgraded your sprinkler system in your greenhouse too just to have something to do! And I’ve been having to crash with CJ because you’re up late and won’t go to bed when I’ve been coming to see you, and I still can’t sleep alone. He and I both get nightmares so at least I have company. I just— I feel so shitty that I’m feeling like this and I just want it all to stop!” Leo pulled his good knee to his chest as best he could, his scarf bunching up enough to mostly cover his face as he hid.

It took Donnie a good few moments to process the huge load Leo dumped onto him. "Why didn't you tell me any of this earlier? Why did it take me prodding you like this for me to know? If you had told me, I would have readjusted my plans. I could've stayed and brought Juan over instead of going to his place." Had everyone really all been out and about? "I didn't know you were being left alone. I wouldn't have left you if I had known. I know you thrive with parallel play at the bare minimum."

“Because,” Leo mumbled into his scarf. “I didn’t want you to feel like I was trying to— to restrict or hoard you. I want you to get to live as your own person away from me too.” He sounded so tired and so guilty. “I didn’t want to mess with what you had going on because I was jealous.”

Donnie's eyes softened as he moved closer and took one of Leo's hands in his own. "I'd let you know loud and clear if I ever felt that way, but I don't feel like that around you, dumdum." He knocked their heads together. "Plus, you sort of can't go anywhere alone right now. We gotta keep that in mind when we're making plans or decide to go out and do things. It isn't fair to you."

Leo paused, then intertwined their fingers. He shifted to lean against Donnie’s shoulder but didn’t look up at him. Very slowly, Donnie felt the imprint open up just a little. Just enough that he could get a proper feeling of Leo. He didn’t realize he had been missing his second heartbeat until just now. 

“You know I hate feeling like a burden,” Leo muttered. It wasn’t a disagreement, so Donnie was counting that as an improvement.

"I do, so I'll tell you this: you aren't one. I'm really really sorry we've made you feel this way. Plus, I can and always will be who I am whether I am or am not with you, so you never need to worry about smothering me or whatever," Donnie said as he squeezed Leo's hand. "Also, I've been an ass and haven't had sleepovers with you. And we haven't been able to do turtle piles because of everything so I really should have been paying better attention and remembered all that. So I made a whoopsie. Whoops."

Leo giggled softly and Donnie felt a tickle of fondness through the imprint. “That was two ‘really’s so I know you mean it.” He nuzzled against Donnie and sighed. “Thank you, Fizzy.”

Donnie hummed and rested his head against Leo's. "I know, I'm great." So Leo hated being alone now. He used to tolerate it but now it was clearly too much. Maybe Leo needed a companion that could always be with him. Hm. A train of thought for another time.

“I… I’m sorry for getting so angry with you and snapping,” Leo said after a moment. “And I’m sorry for clamping down on the imprint so hard. I just… I didn’t want you to feel bad.”

"Well I would have felt bad anyway. Like, now I feel bad because I've neglected you along with everyone else, but now I can fix it." Donnie reached a free finger down and poked Leo's snout. "I am the master of fixes, after all."

Leo scrunched up his beak adorably and giggled. “Yeah, you do follow through with your fixes,” he agreed.

"Exactly. Now, let's start fixing this by getting your dumbass to bed. Then, we will make the executive decision on what to order for dinner. I will make someone pick it up. Probably you and I together if your knee isn't too fucked up. If it is, I'll dispatch Dad and Rara with guilt and claims of child neglect." 

Leo snickered at that. “It’ll send them packing. But so long as I use my cane, I should be fine.”

Donnie nodded before he shifted and picked up Leo in his arms as he stood. "Alright, good. Now let's get to your room, you dumdum."

Leo flailed a little and yelped as Donnie stood, then wrapped his arms around Donnie and clung. He rested his head on Donnie’s shoulder and seemed to melt, closing his eyes in contentment. Donnie could feel as much as he could hear Leo’s churrs feel Leo’s tail wagging slowly too.

Yeah, Donnie wasn't going to let something like this happen again. Leo would need to be buddied up indefinitely in some way, shape, or form. He'd reach out and message others about it. "So, I'm craving some sushi. Or maybe some bao buns. Or both. Doesn't your fave ramen delivery place have both those on their menus?"

Chapter Text

After having a long chat with Leo about what he needed and how Donnie could support him, Leo was doing better. Donnie was quite proud of the progress he and his twin had made, and he managed to work his schedule around spending time with Leo and ensuring that Leo wasn’t left alone any more.

Well, unless he asked to be alone. Like today. It was a couple of days after Christmas and Donnie was working in the garage on the beautiful Mother Shell. Leo had gone for a nap but when he woke up, Donnie was going to ensure that Leo could comfortably relax with him while they engaged in some parallel play. It would be perfect.

Or at least it would have been perfect if Donnie didn’t get an uncomfortable, grumpy feeling echoing in his chest less than half an hour into Leo’s hour-long nap.

Huh. Did something wake Leo up early? Donnie pulled out his phone as he rolled out from under Mother Shell, texting his twin.

Othello: u good???

He waited a moment but surprisingly, Leo didn’t open the message. He didn’t even leave Donnie on read. What?

That’s when Donnie detected the sound of shuffling feet nearby. When he looked up, he felt his stomach drop. Leo looked terrible. His skin was a sickly pale green, the red and yellow in his stripes almost too intense in contrast. He looked bleary and dazed and generally just didn’t seem to be doing well.

“Donnie,” Leo whined, sniffling softly, “I don’t feel good. And I had a nightmare.”

Donnie was on his feet and by Leo's side in seconds. "Yeah, you look awful." He raised a hand and felt Leo's forehead before pulling his hand back near instantly. "Jesus Christmas cracker, you're burning up."

Leo just whined and let his head drop forward onto Donnie’s shoulder. Since Donnie had kept his shawl off while working on Mother Shell, he got to feel the intensity of Leo’s fever on his shoulder. It was stupid high. Leo needed to get quarantined, now. “Everything aches. And m’so tired…”

“Yeah, I can feel why.” Donnie wrapped an arm around Leo’s shoulder as he started to guide Leo out of the garage and into the Medbay. “Come on, we’re gonna get you to the Medbay.”

“Okay.” Not even a fuss or some form of protest? Leo was really sick. Oh, and that little turtle sneeze just proved it. Weird. It was the wrong season for Rat Flu. What could Leo have gotten sick with?

“When did you start feeling like this?” Donnie asked as he began his investigation.

“Just— sniffle— just now. When I woke up,” Leo explained. “Had a bit of a headache which is why I went for a nap, but this just started.”

Interesting. “And when did the headache start? You didn’t mention it to me at all today.”

“Just a few minutes before I went for a nap.” This thing worked fast, whatever it was. Leo coughed, turning his head so he didn’t cough on Donnie. “Fizzy, it hurts,” he whined pathetically.

“Don’t worry, you’ll feel better soon,” Donnie assured Leo as he patted his twin’s head. 

As much as he hated germs and sickness and the like, he realized his fate was sealed as soon as Leo plopped his head against Donnie’s shoulder. Normally, if anyone ever got sick, they stayed away from Donnie. His immune system had always been the worst out of everyone. However, it was a fifty-fifty shot on Donnie getting sick whenever Leo was sick. Leo was a clingy and cuddly sick and always went to Donnie, even when they weren’t on great terms. They were, as Mikey coined, sick buddies.

It also didn’t help that Leo slept over. Even if he wasn’t displaying symptoms earlier, Leo hadn’t done anything today that would have gotten him sick. That meant that he was already ill and Donnie was likely infected already. In fact, was he feeling a bit sniffly? Maybe.

“Are we going to the Medbay?” Leo asked, turning away from Donnie to sneeze.

“We are,” Donnie confirmed as he sniffled. Eugh boy. “I’ve perfected something that we can ride out our wave of sickness in.”

“You’re so smart, Fizzy. You always have exactly what we need when we need it,” Leo cooed, sounding more out of it by the second. “So lucky t’have such a smart ‘nd amazing twin.”

Donnie patted Leo’s head and texted the lair group chat with the other. 

Othello: leo sick so I’m sick too 🌡️ 

Othello: gonna quarantine in the Medbay

Dr_Rude: u need me to bring u guys anything???

Red_Angel: how bad and do I need to get Rara?

Future_Boy: I’ll get Leo’s plushie and your phone chargers. 

It was nice to know that his family would all gather to help him out. Donnie knew it was the case, but seeing proof that his family was there for him for something as mundane as getting sick never failed to warm his heart. Even if he would never admit to it because it went against his emotionally unavailable bad boy image that he was still white knuckling as hard as he could.

“Aww, you’re happy, Fizzy.” Leo was sounding even more out of it and dazed. “I like that you’re happy. Happy Fizzy means happy Cosmos.”

"You're such a sap," Donnie said. Oh, he was so going to lord this over Leo. 

Othello:  why tf there no soup emoji???

Red_Angel: how dare they! 😠 

Othello: 🔪 🔪 🔪 

Othello: anyway

Othello: soup plz, uh he said he likes fizzy being happy bc happy fizzy = happy cosmos, and ty CJ 

Future_Boy: 👍🏼

Red_Angel: oh he’s doing bad. I’ll get Rara. 

Red_Angel; also cute

Red_Angel: he’s such a sap

Dr_Rude: I’ll get some chicken noodle soup started with Leos recipe 

Leo didn’t respond to Donnie’s comment. He just nuzzled against Donnie’s shoulder and started churring, the sound getting a faint whistly quality that signified a sick turtle. Still, it was a very happy and cozy sound. With how Leo wrapped his arm around Donnie’s waist, it was pretty safe to assume that Leo was going to be clinging for at the very least until his first full feral switch, if not longer.

Donnie tucked his phone away and, as they entered the Medbay, took off his battle shell. He carefully put it to the side of the entrance as he tapped at a few buttons on the wall that appeared when he swiped over the wall space. "Okay, you have your shell cover on. That's good," Donnie muttered as the inflatable bubble room that he created after Raph's double mutation incident. It was a state of the art Genius Built™️ creation he whipped up, especially since they no longer had literal holes in the wall as bedrooms. This gave them more room, a slot for food to be given and returned, as well as access to anything and everything one might need while sick. It was also extremely tough and durable so it would be hard to break out of when they inevitably went feral.

“Hey, this is cool, Fizzy. I like the bubble room.” Leo cleared his throat and nuzzled against Donnie’s shoulder, churring happily. “ Twin smart. Twin protect me. ” Wait, Leo was going to turtle talk so soon?! He must be really bad if he was going full on feral this early on.

Donnie quickly tapped the edge of the bubble room and watched it unzip itself. “Of course I’m smart. I’m gonna use my smarts to protect you and everyone else in our apparently ever-growing family,” he said as he walked into the decently sized room with Leo. Once they stepped through, the zipper door zipped itself shut. There. Now they were quarantined and not a threat to the oh… outh… Achoo .

Leo’s eyes widened when Donnie sneezed. He stood up straighter, tugged Donnie over to the large cot bed contained in the bubble room, and forced him to sit. Then he curled around Donnie and started churring, as if trying to comfort Donnie. “ Twin protects twin. I will protect you. ”

“I just sneezed, you dumdum. …But thank you,” Donnie said as he rubbed Leo’s head and adjusted his glasses. They just needed to ride out this sickness for a day, two at most.

It had been over three days since the twins had gotten sick and Raph was getting worried. Not only were they still sick, they were actually worse, slipping in and out of feral mindsets and clearly struggling to continue to function. The last time any of them had gotten this sick… Raph didn’t like to think about what he had remembered on his quest to find and stop Savage.

“Dunno what to tell you guys.” Leo was clogged up with a stuffy nose, a high fever, and a rough voice from coughing and sneezing so much. “We didn’t do anything strange before we got sick. We just suddenly were.” He was sitting on the bed in the bubble room Donnie had set up with his twin lying across his legs. Leo was stroking Donnie’s shell, the latter being strangely silent. Raph guessed he was probably feral right now based on the fact his pupils were huge.

“I haven’t been able to track down the source of your illness either,” Draxum added as he shook his head and looked over his tablet. “It’s not mystic-based or viral-based either. I’m still waiting on the results for bacteria but I don’t know what I’ll find.” 

“What about fungal?” Mikey offered, staying close to Raph. They both needed the comfort. “Is that a possibility?”

“No, I designed you to be resistant to any sort of fungal infection.” Draxum shook his head again. “Unless you directly ingest or inject a fungus into your bodies, it won’t take hold.”

“Well there has to be something we haven’t checked yet,” Splinter insisted. “My boys are never sick this long. They’ve only ever been sick this long once, but it wasn’t this intense. We just didn’t have the access to medicines and whatnot before. Surely there’s something we’ve overlooked.”

CJ sighed from where he sat to the side. “We’ve checked everything we reasonably could. I don’t know what this could be.” He glanced over at the twins. “Unfortunately, this kinda stuff isn’t something I’m familiar with. I helped out anytime mutants, yokai, or humans were sick, but never with you all. I wasn’t allowed near you guys when you were sick.”

“There’s a good— sniff— good reason for that,” Leo chuckled, looking down at Donnie. “And I’m predicting a bout of it in three. Two. One.”

Donnie’s hazy gaze turned toward Raph and Mikey then. Eugh boy. “I will eat you both. This feeble prison cannot hold me forever. Once I am free, you two shall be mine and you will be delicious,” he said with a growl.

“Called it.” Leo smirked. “Cannibal Mode Donnie, unlocked.”

“I forgot you boys did this when you’re sick,” Draxum deadpanned, rubbing his face. “Yoshi, how do you deal with this?”

“You just have to let it run its course. Purple won’t hurt Blue,” Splinter assured Draxum with a sigh. “Still, we need to try and figure out how to help them.”

Raph shuddered as Mikey clung to him, hiding behind him while on his shell. “Well, we’ve dealt with aliens. All of us once and you three—” He gestured to Mikey then the twins. “—twice. Could it be some kinda infection from that? Alien, er… exposure.”

“It is very possible. We’ll hopefully know where I’ve run their samples through a few more tests.” Draxum looked down at his tablet again and started tapping on the screen.

“Is there anything we can do to help their symptoms? Any mystic cures or anything like that?” Mikey asked, peering around Raph and Donnie and Leo. When Raph glanced over at the twins again, he could see Leo’s eyes starting to dilate. 

“There is a potion that should help. I’ll write up the ingredients, see if it’ll help them focus and feel better.” Thank goodness their Rara was such an amazing alchemist. If anyone could help the twins, it was him.

As Raph let out a sigh of relief, he couldn’t help but ask, “These ingredients are easy to get, right Rara?”

“Mostly,” Draxum admitted with a shrug. “You should be able to find most of them in the Hidden City shops. Some might be kind of difficult to track down though. They’re quite rare.”

“We’ll find them.” Mikey nodded firmly. “Just give us a list and we’ll track them down.”

“When you are least prepared, I will strike and bite through your flesh and eat you before you can escape my clutches,” Donnie hissed.

CJ let out a small laugh. “Oh wow, I see why no one ever let me hear Uncle Tello when he was sick now!”

“He’s the worst, but all of us except me get it,” Mikey explained. “Something about each species having cannibalistic tendencies.” 

“I wonder if he’d react the same to CJ if he chirped,” Leo posed with a hum, clearly trying to hold off his feral mindset as long as possible.

“ I do not want to test that right now!” CJ cheerfully said.

Raph nodded and patted CJ’s head. “Good. Don’t subject yourself to that.” He ignored Donnie’s low growl and even the barking sound he let out, though Mikey and CJ both flinched. “Donnie, quit it.”

Donnie’s growl didn’t stop. If anything, it got deeper and more threatening. It was enough to make even Raph shiver. Leo laughed and patted Donnie’s shell gently. “Enough of that, Fizzy. You can’t win this fight. Let it go.” When the growls didn’t stop, Leo rolled his eyes and snapped his beak down next to Donnie’s face. “Enough, twin,” he repeated firmly.

Donnie huffed and rested his head down, making his glasses shift a bit. He didn’t break eye contact with Raph and Mikey though. He even glanced at CJ and shot him a glare. CJ shuddered. “Rara, you have the list all done, right?” Raph asked.

“It will be on your phones by the time you’re outside the lair.” Draxum nodded. “Don’t hesitate to call if you need help.”

Raph gave a thumbs up before looking at CJ. “You wanna come with, bud? I know we’d love your help and you’d love not being stared at like that.” He shot Donnie a glare that matched his.

CJ nodded and instantly stood. “Yes please. Just let me get my gear.”

“We’ll meet in the main room in five,” Mikey agreed. 

“Y’know, they do look… pretty good.” Leo sounded a little out of it. His eyes were fully dilated now. “I bet I could…”

“You totally could. They’ve got some nice meat on their bones and they all probably have their own unique flavor profile,” Donnie agreed.

Raph wrapped an arm around CJ and turned them around, pushing CJ out first. “Yup, meet in five!”

“Who do you call dibs on, Leo? I want Mikey. He probably has a nice kick to him on account of his fire abilities.”

“I’ll take Raph. I could take Raph.”

“Okay, then we split CJ.”

There was a sound like a whip crack. “Stop threatening to eat your brothers!”

Okay so shopping for the ingredients wasn’t too bad. Mikey recognized a lot of them from the last time they went shopping for this sort of stuff, and most of it was pretty easy to find. Honestly, it was much easier than he had thought. 

That was until they needed the final ingredients. The Cyan Jungle Vine Sap and the Purple Jungle Feverfew Flower. They sounded innocent enough but no store in the entire Hidden City seemed to stock them.

“Okay, this is starting to get annoying,” Mikey huffed after another store failed. “Maybe we should just see if we can harvest this stuff ourselves.”

Raph sighed as he rubbed his head. “This is what Raph was worried would happen. If the stores ain’t got ‘em, they’re probably a pain to get.” Melon was back home, not with them. After all, Raph had Mikey and CJ to look out for him. He seemed to be doing great anyway.

“I can message Mr. Draxum and see if he has any idea where they could be.” CJ had his phone out and was typing away before Mikey or Raph could say anything else. The human teen was doing a great job at keeping his head and staying calm. He was honestly giving Raph a run for his money, and that was saying something. “He‘s sent us a map.”

After pulling out his own phone, Raph squinted and looked over the map. “Yeah, okay. Going out to an island up top the City, near the Resort and Spa Leo’s banned from and the Minotaur Maze.” 

As Raph was tracking the distance, he heard the lair chat go off again. “Okay, I see why people don’t go there. Quite hazardous but we’ve got this, no sweat,” CJ said so nonchalantly with a nod before tucking his phone away. “We can handle boiling waters and giant alligators and whatever else.”

“Boiling water?!” Raph almost screeched at the same time as Mikey screamed, “Giant alligators?!”

CJ nodded as he took a hair tie and twirled his braid up into a bun. “Yeah. C’mon, let’s get going.” Without waiting for a response, he started to head out of the town shopping district.

“How is CJ so calm about this?” Mikey whispered to Raph as they followed after him. He just didn’t get it. Sure, CJ was from the apocalypse but surely that would make him more cautious around danger, not less.

Raph shrugged as he stayed with Mikey on his bad side. “I dunno,” he whispered back. “Maybe he’s grown numb to this kinda stuff? Y’know, overexposure and all that.” Mikey’s spell had golden sparks flutter from his lips as Raph corrected himself with, “No, wait, desensitized. Like how Donnie did that with jumpscares from games and movies.”

“That would make sense.” The thought of that made Mikey both worried and sad. If that were the case, they’d need to find a way to set a new baseline for CJ. It would be totally understandable that he was still struggling to settle in if his normal was dangerous to the point that giant alligators and boiling water didn’t phase him.

CJ’s voice startled them from their discussion. “C’mon, you two! Hurry up.” Raph picked up the pace then and Mikey matched his brother’s longer strides with his speedy walk.

God, Donnie hated being sick. Not only was he weak, but his brain hiccupped in its thinking. He had tried to figure out when he was coherent what could have gotten himself and his twin so sick but every time he got close, he lost it all. Ugh. It didn’t help that wearing his glasses was starting to give him an extreme headache, but he couldn’t wear his contacts either. He was weak, trembling, and useless. Being sick was the worst.

Oh, and that was before he even considered Leo and his state. If Donnie was sick and trembling, Leo was twice as bad. For some reason, whatever infection was working its way through them was targeting Leo much worse than it was Donnie. Since Donnie’s last round of feral turtle brain, Leo hadn’t had a single coherent, complex thought. He was stuck in turtle brain, only really processing limited stimulus and seeking out small comforts. It was lucky he seemed so content to lie across Donnie’s lap and receive head pats instead of shell rubs. His shell wasn’t healed enough for that. 

“Hello my little Purple and Blue. Daddy’s brought some nice, warming soup for the both of you.” Splinter’s voice was light and gentle but even Donnie could hear the worry underlying his words. “Oh, Purple, are you awake right now?”

Donnie looked over at what he assumed was Splinter based on the colors of the blob outside the bubble room. Granted, the colors were tinted purple but the shape matched as well. Lord, he was so blind. “Yes I am,” he said, throat raspy and stuffy at the same time. He turned his head to the side and sneezed.

“Oh, my baby boy…” Splinter sighed. There was the sound of a zipper being pulled and Donnie spotted the blurry shape of his father by the food slot. “I’ve brought two bowls of soup for you. They’re cooled enough to eat straight away, so you don’t need to worry about waiting or burning your mouth.”

“ Daddy? ” Leo raised his head, turning to look at the bubble wall. “ Daddy is here? ”

Splinter chuckled at that. “I know what those chirps mean. Hello my Baby Blue. Yes, I’m here.”

“ Daddy! ” Even Donnie couldn’t help but smile at the joy and enthusiasm in Leo’s chirps.

Unfortunately, Donnie had to get up and move to get their meal. Ever so carefully, he moved from the cot since Leo’s head wasn’t on him anymore. “Thanks, Dad,” Donnie said as he stood and rested a hand against the bubble wall.

“Don’t strain yourself, Donatello,” Splinter murmured, holding his hand out even if there were a wall between them. Donnie was close enough to make that much out, anyway.

“ Daddy brought food? Daddy take care of twins ,” Leo chirped. There was a shuffling sound as Leo presumably sat up. Based on how slow it was, Donnie would guess it took him a lot of effort.

“Yes, he is,” Donnie answered before he made it over to the food slot. He rested his other hand against where Splinter’s rested. “And I won’t. Really though, thanks for the soup.” He reached down and took the tray before taking a deep breath. “How’s Rara doing with his data crunching and analysis?” From what he could tell, Rara had sequestered himself into Donnie’s lab so he could work with his tech and Lenny to get this all sorted.

“I’m not sure. He hasn’t been very forthcoming about it,” Splinter confessed. “I haven’t seen him much since this morning.”

So things were not looking good. “How have you been doing?” Donnie asked as he balanced his tray in one hand while using the other to use the wall again as a guide and support to head back to the cot.

“I’ve mostly been trying to cook. It helps take my mind off things.” Splinter wasn’t an amazing chef like Mikey, as he preferred microwave and frozen meals thanks to the convenience. That didn’t mean he was a total slouch in the kitchen. He was able to make some decent food overall. And his ramen was still Leo’s favorite, even when compared to Mikey’s. Wait, was that the soup that Splinter had made them?

Donnie wished he wasn’t so clogged up so he could smell and tell. “Has Melon been keeping you company?”

“Yes, she has been. When she hasn’t been keeping an eye on you two for me, anyway.” There was a meow from what seemed to be the door to the Medbay.

Leo made a small sound of confusion, then let out a chirp that sounded similar to a meow himself. Then he giggled and chittered proudly.

"Hey, quit the chittering and chattering, Leo. Time for you to eat so you don't die," Donnie said as he made it back to the cot. He carefully put the tray down on the side table, next to their charging phones and Donnie's glasses, before giving Leo his bowl and spoon. "Eat up."

Leo looked up at Donnie before his head whipped to look at the door. He let out a questioning chirp. 

“I’ve found something concerning. Who’s awake in here?” Draxum asked. Based on the blurry blob in Donnie’s vision, he guessed that Draxum was looking down at his tablet.

"I am," Donnie said as he sat down carefully on the cot next to Leo. "What's the concerning hiccup in our health?"

“There is no basis for infection.” Draxum deadpanned. “There is no infection that I can detect.” 

“But that’s not possible, is it?” Splinter asked. “There has to be something.”

“There’s no bacterial, viral, or mystic basis for this illness. I don’t even think they’re contagious.” Draxum sighed. 

There was a pause before Leo seemed to light up, the imprint bubbling with the same joy that Leo had when he realized Splinter was nearby. “ Rara! Rara is here! ”

Another pause. When Draxum next spoke, it was with a sort of surprise and a lot of fondness. “Yes, I am. Hello, Leonardo.”

Donnie rested his head in his hand, rubbing his chin. "Well, you haven't tried checking for fungal, right? I know you said that theoretically we should never get it unless injected or ingested, but it's worth a shot." There was no way there was no infection. He and Leo were proof that there was something.

Draxum nodded, then froze. The blob in Donnie’s vision didn’t move an inch. “What’s wrong, John?” Splinter asked. “You’ve gone so pale.”

“Didn’t Leonardo mention he felt like he’d been stabbed? In the prison dimension, when his shell cracked?” Draxum croaked out.

"Yeah, but that was—" Wait. Donnie tensed as he realized what he had missed in that haze of panic and instincts. Something had stabbed Leo and now he had this infection or possibly disease because Donnie hadn't listened. "I had thought it was just a sensation because of the rocks stuck in between the cracks of his shell," Donnie said, his voice trembling and throat threatening to close up. Shit. Shit shit shit shit.

Donnie felt Leo shifting around next to him, then two arms wrapped around him. Leo started churring, guiding Donnie to rest his head on Leo’s  plastron. “ Twin protect twin. Twin saved me. Twin good. Not twin fault ,” Leo insisted between his churrs.

It took Donnie a few moments to compose himself. He couldn't let his composure drop. Leo needed him. "So how am I sick then if just Leo got this fungal infection? You said it wasn't contagious."

"Well, what is the one thing you and Blue have that no one else does? Your imprint thingy. Maybe it's infecting you that way," Splinter suggested. "Did you check that yet, John?"

“On it now.” Donnie hadn’t heard Draxum sound so serious in a long time. There was a beep from the tablet. “It seems like you’re siphoning off the worst of the infection, keeping Leonardo as stable as he can be,” he confirmed. “His symptoms are getting worse, but they’re much more mild than they would have been if your imprint wasn’t taking some away from him.”

“ Twin protect twin, ” Leo repeated.

Well at least that mystery was solved. "Is there any way to cure this infection?" Donnie asked as he shifted an arm to rub Leo's head.

“Not until I can identify the source of it. If I can identify what it is, I can cure it,” Draxum said with a huff. “It’ll take days to process the possibly fungal sources, though. It could be anything. It could even be Kraang in origin.” Leo let out a scared chirp at the name and hugged Donnie closer, as if shielding him. “Sorry, Leonardo. But yes, it could even be from them. They weren’t fungal in nature, they resembled a cephalopod more than anything, but it’s impossible to know without samples.”

Donnie looked at his twin. "I don't know if either of us can last days," he admitted. "Do you think the potion the others are procuring the ingredients for can help us fight this off?"

“It’ll manage your symptoms, so you’ll be totally functional again.” Draxum sounded tired. “I can’t say it’ll cure you, but it will stop either of you getting worse or being slowed by the symptoms.”

"Though it'll give us the time we need to process the data and find a cure," Donnie insisted. "Right?"

“Exactly. And it’ll get both of you to the point where we can pick your brains for your combined knowledge. Right now, Leonardo would be our best bet to identify what’s wrong with you both, but he’s obviously out of commission.” 

“ Twin okay? Twin need protecting? ” Leo asked, knocking his head against Donnie’s and rubbing his arm as he continued to hug Donnie close. “ Twin shaking. Twin scared? ”

Donnie turned his attention to Leo then. Shaking? "No, I'm not scared. Though it may be my body developing a new symptom. You know my body's awful at dealing with this kind of stuff." Not that he wished these on Leo, but if he had this and Donnie dealt with the mental symptoms, then at least Leo would be able to provide some aid and guidance.

Leo nuzzled against Donnie before shakily tugging Donnie into his lap. He grabbed the soup and spoon from the nearby table and looked at Donnie with a stubborn pout. “ Twin need ea t,” he insisted. “ Twin need eat and drink. Then feel better. ”

"Only if you eat first," Donnie said as he held his bowl and put it to the side. "Where's your stuff? Where the heck did you put your soup?!"

Mikey was honestly struggling to stay positive considering the situation. Sure, he knew his brothers were getting the best care they could be and that Draxum would be doing everything possible to ensure Leo and Donnie got better, but that didn’t mean Mikey didn’t still worry. Add the fact that the last time Leo had really hung out with just Mikey was beyond awkward because Mikey was still upset when he had no right to be. What if the last thing he did with his big brother was make him sad because Mikey was being childish?

"—key. Hey, Mikey." Raph's voice brought Mikey out of his head and back to reality. "You all good up there, bud?" They were right by the island now, it and its lush jungles in sight from where they stood at the beach. "We're here."

Mikey looked around in awe. This place was beautiful, even with the bubbling lake and the giant orange and blue alligators in the water. There was a thick canopy covering the lake somehow and Mikey saw two gorges on either side, making two large waterfalls that somehow didn’t empty the lake. 

“How do we get across? Those alligators look big enough to bite you in half, Raph, and then use me and CJ as toothpicks!”

"I dunno, maybe using your ch— Wh! CJ!" 

Mikey looked over to see CJ already zipping across with the use of his grappling hook. He swung over a large distance before landing on the head of one of the alligators. He avoided the large open mouth with ease and springboarded off of it and onto another, then another and another until he was all the way across the lake on the other shore. "C'mon guys, you got this!" CJ shouted as he cupped his mouth to allow his voice to reach across the waters.

Mikey was in awe. He didn’t know CJ could do that. “Think you could manage that, Waffle?” he asked softly, staring at the lake. He could float over no problem but carrying Raph would be a bit harder.

Raph sighed. "I dunno if I've done enough training to be able to do that kinda thing again just yet. I have been training more with my Ninpō though so maybe I could make a bridge?"

“You trust me?” Mikey did have one spell that could work to get them both across.

"Of course." Raph's instant response warmed Mikey's chest.

Mikey nodded and closed his eyes. He drew out his mystic circle and held his hands out towards Raph. Okay, now… Shrink!

There was a yelp and when Mikey opened his eyes, Raph was about the size of a tot. Perfect. “Now I can carry you no problem.” Mikey crossed his legs and hovered mid air, holding his arms out for Raph to climb up.

Raph's eye had a star as he hurried over and climbed up into Mikey's lap. "That's so cool. How'd you do that?" Woah, weird to hear normal Raph voice out of tot-sized him.

“I’ve been practicing.” Mikey held Raph close and floated easily over to where CJ was waiting. This was fun. Why didn’t he float around like this more? It was such a useful way to get around.

"Clearly. And you're floating like a boss too. It's so cool!" Raph cheered as he threw his fists in the air.

“Remember when I kept floating by accident?” Mikey asked, laughing at Raph’s excitement. “Well I finally figured out how to translate that into something actually useful. As for the shrinking spell, it’s not as powerful as using an artifact but it does come in handy.”

Raph reached up and cupped Mikey's cheeks. Ohmigosh, his tiny hands were so stinking cute. "Stop dissing my brother. He's cool and awesome and an amazing boss-like mystic warrior."

“You are so freaking adorable, Waffle,” Mikey cooed, rubbing his cheek against Raph’s and giving him an obnoxious kiss to the forehead. Hah! Payback’s a bitch! “Okay, I’ll be nicer.”

His tiny older brother looked so unamused and it was amazing. "I swear," Raph said, shaking his head as they made it across the water.

CJ looked up from his phone and smiled, tucking it away in his pocket. "Oh, the tiny trick. Nice one, Mikey, and good use of it."

“I’m guessing future Mikey’s used it before?” Mikey asked, letting Raph down. With a wave, his big brother was back up to normal size. Mikey leaned in the air with a grin. Awesome.

"Many times. It's quite handy," CJ said before he turned to face the jungle. "Also, I'll say something I heard all the time growing up: floating all the time will give you muscle atrophy, so the recommended floating ratio is one hour for every three hours of walking."

Mikey blinked before letting his legs drop down to the ground. He hadn’t even realized he was still floating. And why was it harder to actually land than it was to float? Mikey would need to talk to Rara about this when Leo and Donnie were-—

Right. The twins were sick. That was why they were out here, trying to find the ingredients. He was having so much fun with his mystic stuff that Mikey had almost forgotten.

"Alright, let's get going," CJ said as he started walking. Raph followed right behind him, Mikey by his side. CJ took out his chainsaw hockey stick and started slashing away leaves in their way with ease. "Be careful of the plants, by the way. They have an acidic residue they sometimes leak."

“How do you— Dude!” Mikey threw out his hand, having a small barrier stop more acidic goo landing on CJ’s arm. The human teen had a small burn on his arm and Mikey had to focus to heal it. Thank Pizza Supreme that he had been learning some healing magic recently.

"How do I 'dude' what?" CJ asked as he glanced over his shoulder. How did he not even react to that? It burned a hole through his hoodie!

“Okay, first off, terrible joke,” Mikey deadpanned. “Second, how did you not even realize you were literally being burned by acid?!” He pointed at CJ’s arm, which luckily was healed thanks to Mikey’s spell. A faint scar still remained.

CJ blinked as he looked down at the spot, then he frowned. "Aw. I really like this hoodie."

"I can fix it up for you," Raph reassured him. CJ seemed to relax at that. "For real though, how'd you not notice?!"

"I dunno. Maybe my nerve endings don't register that kind of pain anymore? Or pain levels that low." That low ?!

“Just how much have you been through?” Mikey whispered, then shook his head. “Don’t answer that. Not now, anyway. And dude, I know it’s hard but I think we really need to talk a bit more about your past. If this is low level pain, we need to know at least some of what’s happened to be able to take care of you properly.”

The human teen looked between Mikey and Raph then. "Oh. Oh, you're both serious about this."

"'Course we are!" Raph said as he waved his hands. Mikey ducked to avoid being smacked in the face. Right, he was on Raph's bad side. "We care about you and this ain't normal. Not anymore, at least. Maybe it was when you were growing up."

“Talking about it and us understanding what you’ve been through will help ground you in the present and let us know what we need to do to help you do that.” Mikey explained, pulling out his Dr. Feelings glasses and putting them on. Thank you Leo for teaching Mikey how to use portal space. 

And now Mikey felt bad again because he was a dick to Leo.

CJ hesitated before he nodded. "Okay. Uh... after the twins are all better though?" At least CJ was reasonable and could be reasoned with to talk about things unlike most of the family. They were getting better, but still. They could all learn a thing or twenty from CJ.

“Yeah, of course,” Mikey agreed instantly. “We need to have a fresh mind when dealing with those sorts of topics. And… even if you just want to talk to one of us and then they can summarize it to the rest of us, that’s okay too.” Mikey knew CJ was especially close to Leo and Donnie. Mikey loved CJ of course but he knew what it was like to feel more comfortable talking with one specific brother.

"I'll talk with you two later about it then," CJ said. Mikey saw how that sentiment made Raph smile. "For now though, we should keep moving. I'll deal with the vines ‘cause of, y'know, everything from recently. The flower we should all be able to handle."

"You got it, boss man," Raph said as he gave CJ a little salute. 

CJ's eyes lit up at the nickname before his chest puffed up with pride. He gave Raph the same little salute back.

“You’re leading this mission, CJ. You just direct us,” Mikey agreed, taking Raph’s hand. It was as much to make sure Raph didn’t smack him by accident as it was to help keep him steady on the more uneven terrain they were hitting.

If it was possible for CJ's chest to puff out even more, it would be. "I won't let you down," he said as he turned back around, this time watching out for any acidic residue as he cut down leaves.

Donnie wasn’t sure where he was exactly. He just knew he needed to protect his twin who was sick. When he woke up with his twin curled against him and churring contentedly, Donnie found them too exposed. There were no walls around him. Attacks could come from any side.

So, as soon as his twin was able to move, Donnie built them a nest and a den with the materials he had available. It wasn’t perfect by any means but it meant that they’d be warm and somewhat safer from outsiders trying to approach. Donnie just had to protect his twin until the rest of the bale returned.

If he had a rest of a bale.

No, they had to have a bale. Bales were important, they needed to exist together for safety. There was a protector, a hunter, a fighter, and a little one who took care of the nest. Four members of a bale at minimum to keep everyone safe and stable. Two to go out, get food, and keep away rivals, and two to stay home and take care of the den and any food they gathered.

Donnie knew he must have a bale or else Leo wouldn’t have lasted so long with the injuries and sickness he had. He was healing so he didn’t have to hunt or protect the nest. They had to have a bale.

For now, it was Donnie as the protector, even if he felt he was normally the hunter. He was left here so it fit for now. He needed to protect Leo. His twin. His bale.

“ Twin? ” Leo chirped weakly, lifting his head to look around. His breathing was whistly and ragged and Donnie was getting worried. He didn’t have anything to make Leo better. He didn’t even have any food and Donnie couldn’t go out hunting. He couldn’t hear the water nearby and he couldn’t risk going too far away or else Leo would be left defenseless. 

Donnie churred softly as he looked down at Leo, resting their heads together. Oh, he was burning up. This wasn't good. "Hey," Donnie whispered, his throat aching. "I'm here. Twin is here."

“ Twin .” Hearing Donnie’s voice, seeing him, seemed to help relax Leo immensely. The tension in his body drained away and even if he was clearly sick and in pain, he smiled and closed his eyes. “ Twin. Twin protect me. I am safe .” He nuzzled his beak weakly against Donnie’s before knocking their heads together. He sighed softly and crawled over, resting his head on Donnie’s lap with a weak but content churr.

"You're safe here. I will protect you," Donnie echoed before he heard a sound from nearby. He tensed instantly and held Leo close, curling around him. Even if he was considerably weaker and more frail due to his soft shell, Donnie would protect his twin with his life.

He hissed at whatever enemy approached. "Stop where you are if you value your life."

“It’s okay, Purple. It’s just me,” a gentle, accented voice said from outside the den. Donnie couldn’t see who it was and even if he felt like he could relax because that voice felt safe, he knew better. He couldn’t let anyone near his twin or else he could lose Leo forever. “I have water and medicine for Blue and for yourself. Something to help with your fevers.”

"Leave it by the entrance of the den," Donnie instructed. "If you try to enter with them, you will regret it."

Donnie saw a clawed hand put two pouches on a tray by the entrance of the den, along with a few water bottles. The footsteps didn’t get any closer. In fact, they stopped entirely. “I mean you no harm, my beloved son. I only wish to take care of you,” the voice insisted, still just as gentle and sweet as before.

Ignoring the confusing statements this voice made, Donnie grabbed the tray and slid it in. He took one of the pouches and opened it, peering inside. Okay, these looked to be good. Pills. These would help his twin. 

Ever so carefully, Donnie opened a water bottle since his hands ached. He churred and got Leo's attention. "Can you sit up and lean against me? I have medicine to give you. It will help you feel better."

Leo nodded and weakly pushed himself into a sitting position. He leaned heavily against Donnie, holding almost none of his own weight. That was okay. Donnie was strong enough to take care of Leo, and that included being able to support him.

“ Where this from? ” Leo asked blearily, opening his eyes. He took the pills and downed them with some water when Donnie helped him. “ Was not here before. ”

"From somewhere outside," Donnie said as he rubbed Leo's shoulder. "It will help you feel better."

Leo sighed, then looked towards the entrance to the den. “ Someone outside? Who? ”

Donnie looked towards the entrance as well. He paused. "Who are you?"

The soothing voice chuckled. “I am your father. May I come in please, Purple?”

“ Daddy? Daddy here? ” Leo looked at Donnie. “ Daddy help us. ” He sounded so innocent and earnest. As much as Donnie wanted to refuse, he couldn’t. Not when the idea seemed to make Leo so happy. Well, if this intruder was lying, Donnie would take care of him. Then he wouldn’t need to go hunting for Leo; they’d have some meat here already. If he was their father, he could help.

Donnie sighed and looked at the entrance. "You can come in," he conceded as he pushed the water bottles and— Well, if he was to take care of Leo, he needed to have this, even if he wanted to save it to help Leo later. He took the other pouch of pills and downed it with a swig of water.

“I’ll bring more medicine for you and Blue soon, Purple, I promise.” A small rat man wandered into the den and smiled up at Donnie. Instantly, alarm bells went ringing in Donnie’s head. How was a rat supposed to be their father?! They were turtles! He wasn’t even a reptile. He had to be lying.

Leo, though, didn’t seem to realize that. He stared at the rat man with confusion, his eyes still hazy. Hesitantly, he reached out a hand towards the rat. The rat moved to take it but stopped short, looking at Donnie as if asking for permission. Well at least the intruder respected Donnie’s authority here.

With a sigh, Donnie nodded. How did this rat man think he'd be able to fool one over on ol' Donnie? He didn't have great sight without his glasses but he wasn't, y'know, blind .

The rat took Leo’s hand, chuckling softly when Leo weakly tugged him closer. Donnie didn’t stop him. Even if he was lying, having the rat man around was relaxing Leo somehow. Donnie would take it, at least until the intruder got too comfortable and then Donnie could strike.

“Careful, Blue.” The rat laughed, letting Leo bring him right next to Donnie. Then Leo put the rat’s hand on his head and sighed when the clawed hand started stroking there.

“ I know you. Daddy. Love you ,” Leo chirped before starting to churr happily.

“I recognize those chirps. I love you too, my little Baby Blue.” The rat smiled softly and Donnie was taken aback by the raw honesty and love in his voice. If nothing else, it seemed like the rat man believed himself to be their father, and so did Leo. Huh.

Still, it didn't line up. Seriously, a rat being a father to turtles? Donnie squinted at this stranger. "So... You're our father?"

“I am.” The rat nodded with a soft smile. “I know it is unusual, but I am your father and I love you both and your brothers dearly.”

"Mhm. So, uh, how ?"

“It’s complicated,” the rat, their apparent dad, said as he shook his head. “It’s a whole ordeal that involves mutation and mystic nonsense but rest assured, you are my children.” 

“ Daddy. Twin. ” Leo wasn’t just churring, he was letting out little happy chirps now too, his tail wagging. He curled against Donnie and lied back in his lap properly, his arms wrapping around Donnie’s middle comfortably. It was more relaxed than even Donnie had been able to get him alone. “ Safe. Protected. ”

Donnie looked down at Leo then and sighed. If Leo believed it, then he’d deal with it. “Okay, Leo,” Donnie said before knocking their heads together.

The rat held up his hand, offering to give Donnie head pats too. “Let me take care of you, my son. You’ve done a beautiful job of caring for your brother. Let me help.”

There was a moment of hesitation before Donnie bowed his head to this rat, who reached up and put a clawed hand on Donnie's head and started stroking him in the perfect way. Instantly, Donnie found himself relaxing. This was… familiar. It felt safe and comforting in a way he didn’t quite remember but he clearly knew. Any doubts he may have had about the rat before this were gone. He wouldn’t be relaxing so easily for anyone except family. 

“There you go, Purple. It’s okay. Daddy’s here. Daddy will take care of you. I’ll take care of you and your twin,” Dad murmured.

“Thank you, Dad,” Donnie murmured as he shifted to rest his head against Dad’s shoulder. Oh, that was nice.

“Of course, my son.” He was cradled close, with Dad never stopping his gentle stroking. “I’m so proud of you. Even when you’re unwell, you’ve done such a good job of taking care of your twin. I know our family will be well taken care of with you around.” 

“ Twin take care of everyone ,” Leo agreed, nuzzling against Donnie’s leg.

Donnie let out a soft sigh before something clicked. “‘Our family’? So it isn’t just us?”

“It’s not just you. You have two brothers, one older and one younger,” Dad confirmed. Leo let out a happy chirp and some excited clicks.

“ Big brother! Very big but lots of love. Red. Bale protector ,” he explained, looking up at Donnie. “ Little brother, the littlest. Bale’s little one. Orange. Very strong. ” He yawned and settled down again. “ Full bale. ”

Okay, that made more sense. Even if Donnie couldn’t remember them right now for some reason. Ugh. “Will they be back soon?” Donnie asked Dad, shifting to be able to look up at him.

“Yes, they will. And they’re bringing medicine to help make you both feel better,” Dad assured Donnie. “And don’t worry if things are a little blurry for you. It’s normal for your memory to struggle when you’re sick.” A gentle kiss was pressed to Donnie’s temple and wow, that felt nice and reassuring somehow.

Well, Donnie didn’t like that he had memory issues when he wasn’t feeling great. He’d need to try working on that. “Okay,” he said instead of voicing those thoughts. For now, he let Dad comfort him and Leo with his presence as he shut his eyes. He could relax. They were safe.

Leo was getting worse. Donnie was honestly scared they might have to put him on a respirator if he didn’t improve soon. It was like his body wasn’t even trying to get better. He just kept getting worse and worse and his breathing got more and more ragged. 

“Do not fear, my son. You brothers have returned and are bringing the potion now,” Splinter assured Donnie. He hadn’t left their side since Donnie, in his full memory-lapsed and feral state, accepted Splinter as Dad and trusted him. Donnie had napped after that and when he woke up, he felt a little clearer and somewhat better. The fact he was healing and Leo wasn’t though just made Donnie even more worried.

Sitting beside his twin, Donnie looked over Leo with worry. What the hell was making his brother suffer like this? Hadn’t he suffered enough? “Okay, good. I don’t know how much longer he can take it.”

“He will be okay, Donatello. Don’t worry. He will be alright,” Splinter said soothingly. 

Leo just lied there, his breathing whistly and weak. He hadn’t opened his eyes in almost an hour and the only reason Donnie knew he was still conscious was because he was monitoring the imprint for any slight changes.

A sound at the entrance of the Medbay had Donnie’s head whip around so hard, he was sure he got some form of whiplash. Raph and Mikey stood there, potion vials in hand. They were frozen in place, surely because they saw the state Leo was in. Raph moved first though, hurrying over and unzipping the bubble room. “Mikey, give ‘em the vials. Now.”

Mikey almost flailed, rushing forward and into the entrance of the bubble room. He held out two periwinkle colored potions to Donnie. “Here. Drink this and it’ll clear the symptoms within a couple of minutes.”

Leo let out a small whimper, the first semi-conscious sound he’d made in ages. He curled closer to Donnie, pressing his face against Donnie’s leg with a whine. “ Scared ,” he chirped so weakly.

Donnie quickly grabbed the vials in one hand before shifting to look down at Leo. “‘Scared’? Scared of what?” he asked, reaching down and rubbing Leo’s temple.

It was like Leo didn’t hear Donnie at all. “ Scared ,” he repeated. “ Scared. Scared scared scared scared! No no no no no! Scared! ” He started writhing and Donnie felt the buzzing on his wrist from his tech gauntlet. That pattern meant someone’s heart rate was getting dangerously high!

Shit. Donnie took one of the vials and was about to open the top when his body suddenly flared up in pain. He felt his joints and muscles seize and lock up, his hand clenched right around the glass. Thankfully not enough to shatter it but he could barely think past the insane pain that was coursing through his body as he felt himself fall back.

The vial was ripped from his hand and Leo’s panicked chirping was cut off by the sound of him choking. Almost instantly, the pain Donnie felt dropped to more manageable levels. Still blindingly intense, but he could think. “Here, my little Purple. Drink up.” The glass vial was pressed to Donnie’s lips.

It was a struggle for him to swallow. Presumably Splinter—based on the nails and slight furriness of the fingers—rubbed his throat and helped him get it all down. Oh god. Donnie felt his body begin to relax and the ability to move slowly return to him. That was terrifying, not being in control of his body like that. It was too much like—

No. No no no nonono, don’t think about that. Not about how it fel— 

Stop .

Even if Donnie’s autonomy and senses were returning to him rapidly, Leo’s panicked chirps started right up as soon as he stopped choking. “ Poison! Dying! Danger! Danger! Scared! ” he clicked and chirped. Donnie managed to look over just in time to see Leo retract into his shell. His scream of pain couldn’t have been missed even if Donnie were trying, nor could the intense, burning pain radiating through the imprint. Even in his agony, Leo didn’t leave his shell.

Even if it hurt and he was on the precipice of some attack himself, Donnie moved and wrapped his arms around Leo’s shell, bringing him close. “Y’re not dying,” Donnie promised through a shaky whisper. “Y’re okay.”

“ Dying! ” Leo insisted from inside his shell, his whimpers getting weaker. “ Danger. Danger coming. Dying. ”

“What danger?” Donnie asked as he saw Raph squat right by them, ready to help if and when needed. Mikey was somewhere nearby, surely. Splinter was behind him possibly. No, he was. Donnie felt his dad's hand rest against his soft shell carefully.

“ Danger coming. He coming. ” Leo’s whimpers were starting to trail off. “ Dying. Poison. He coming! Can’t stop! Kill— ” Leo’s voice cut out suddenly.

Everyone was right by Leo in an instant. “Leo?” Donnie asked, his heart going a mile a minute. He tried to reach through to his twin through the imprint and couldn’t. Did he get the potion too late to stop the effects fully? He couldn’t feel Leo. “Cos? Cos?!”

There was silence. 

No one even dared to breathe.

Then, like a candle sputtering back to life, Donnie felt his second heartbeat restart. Donnie almost wanted to cry.

Leo groaned and slowly came out of his shell. “Okay, ow ,” he grumbled weakly, reaching up to rub his face. “Note to self: no retracting when your shell is shattered.”

Oh thank Galileo. Donnie clung to Leo and buried his face against his twin’s shoulder. He had never felt such relief before in his life. “Leo!” both of their brothers called out with varying flavors of panic and relief intermingled into their voices.

“Woah, hey, Fizzy. I love you too,” Leo laughed, hugging Donnie close with shaking arms. “And hi. Uh, everyone is here, around us. And we’re in the Medbay… I feel like I missed something big.”

“Do you not remember, Blue?” Splinter asked. He started rubbing Donnie’s shell soothingly. 

“Um… no? The last thing I can clearly remember is waking up from a nightmare and heading downstairs to find Donnie,” Leo offered with a helpless shrug of his shoulders.

“Leo, that was days ago,” Raph said. How did Leo not remember? “You two have been so sick since then. We thought… We thought we lost ‘ya just a sec ago.”

“You suddenly cut yourself off from what you were saying and we got scared,” Mikey added. Donnie felt Leo pull one hand away from his shell and flail it. He must have grabbed Mikey’s hand because Donnie felt his little brother lean over and knock his head against Leo’s. Leo did the same for Raph, and Splinter a moment later.

“I’m here. I’m okay. Besides being tired, a bit achy, and having a killer headache, I think I’m good.” 

“Wait, you still have a headache? The potion was supposed to clear all your symptoms.” Mikey sounded just as confused as Donnie felt.

“That’s… Well, we can tell Rara and investigate it,” Raph said before he reached down and rubbed Leo’s head. “Raph’s just glad you’re both here and okay. You two scared the heck outta us.” 

Donnie could only shrug. Oh, he was nonverbal. At least he wasn’t having a full on meltdown or breakdown. So, looking at the positives on this one. And Leo was here. Leo was relatively safe and okay.

“I’m glad to be back. Sorry if I threatened to eat anyone?” Leo put both his hands back on Donnie’s shell and started rubbing gently, helping to soothe him.

“You only threatened us once, and you included CJ in the promise to eat us. Donnie was gonna eat me, you were gonna eat Raph, and you’d split CJ.” Mikey sounded way too chipper for what he just said. Donnie didn’t remember that but that wasn’t unusual.

Leo snorted and shook his head. Then he looked down at Donnie. “You think you can handle other touches, Fizzy?” he asked softly.

Donnie nodded after a moment as he clung tighter to Leo, though he made sure to avoid his twin’s shell. He didn’t want to make his brother hurt or ache any further, even if he seemingly didn’t remember any of it except for what he felt now.

“Raphie, can you carry us to Donnie’s room please?” Leo asked, adjusting his hold on Donnie slightly. The gentle rubbing on Donnie’s shell didn’t stop. “I think we should try to get some rest outside the Medbay. And then we can do some research. Maybe some brain scans to figure out why I’ve still got the headache.”

“Got it. Pops?” The hand on Donnie’s shell went away. “Thanks.” Raph grunted and then Donnie was lifted up with Leo. “Mikey, can you grab their things? And don’t put your fingers on the lenses again. It’ll smudge ‘em up.”

“I won’t! I’ll just levitate everything to be safe!” Mikey still sounded way too happy. Maybe he was just trying to bolster the mood a little.

Leo started churring, holding Donnie close. It was clear he was already starting to fall asleep while he was also very clearly trying to stay awake. From what Donnie could feel in the imprint, Leo wanted to take care of Donnie as much as possible before passing out. Dumdum. He just had an insane sickness he couldn’t remember and was still having symptoms from. Donnie wanted to verbalize all that but couldn’t so he instead sent the sentiment through the imprint.

“Hey, you’ve just spent the past few days taking care of me. Let me fuss a little,” Leo grumbled. Donnie could hear the smile in his voice. “You know it calms me down.”

“Is Donnie protesting your fussing again?” Mikey asked, snickering.

Raph snorted. “Oh, you know it. I don’t even need the twin bond and imprint and whatever to know that. I can feel him silently fuming.” His brothers were dead to Donnie.

“No need for the dramatics, Fizz. They were worried about you too. And you know teasing is one way they show their love and care,” Leo snickered, rubbing along the spines on Donnie’s shell. “I’ll tone down the fussing though if it’ll help you relax.”

That was nice. Daddy liked that. Donnie nestled closer to Leo then, putting his head next to the crook of his twin’s neck. “Aww,” Raph whisper-cooed. Ugh, okay, they were reanimated to life to Donnie now.

Leo shifted so one hand kept running along the spines of Donnie’s shell. The other he used to cradle Donnie’s head and keep it where it was. Donnie liked this position. Not only could he smell Leo’s natural turtle scent that was rapidly getting healthier and healthier, he could feel the subtle thrum of Leo’s pulse against his snout. Proof that Leo was okay.

“Here, I’ve got the door, Waffle.” There was the sound of a train car door opening.

“Thanks, Mikey.” After a few more steps and some careful moves, Donnie was under his sweet sweet covers. Oh how he missed them. His position with Leo hadn’t shifted in the slightest. Not even a centimeter. “‘Aight, is everyone good? Need Raph to do anything else?”

“Nah, I think we’re good. Thanks Raphadoodle, thanks Miguel.” Even Leo’s voice sounded better, the vibrations tickling Donnie’s snout. The churrs buzzed through Leo’s chest, soothing Donnie further. Having such tactile feedback about how healthy and conscious Leo was now just set him at ease like nothing else could. 

“Sure thing. Sleep well, Leo. Night, Donnie,” Mikey whispered, clearly tiptoeing out of Donnie’s room.

“G’night, the two of you,” Raph whispered. The door to Donnie’s lab slowly opened before it shut behind them. Yeah, probably to talk about everything with Rara. Start working on getting Leo fully better.

That didn’t matter right then though. What mattered was that his twin was safe.

“Is there anything you need from me, Fizzy?” Leo murmured, not stopping his soothing ministrations. Donnie could feel how Leo was paying close attention to the imprint, listening for anything Donnie might let through.

Donnie just squeezed Leo once more and sent his relief through the imprint. He just needed Leo safe and that’s what he had.

Chapter Text

Leo had woken up nice and early to get some scans done, namely a brain scan and one of his nervous system. After being updated on the situation, knowing he had some fungal infection from that place, he needed answers as soon as possible. It took his family, including every one of his brothers, soothing him to keep himself from having a panic attack. 

After his scans, Mikey had insisted he make breakfast, specifically Leo’s favorite: cinnamon French toast with a side of fresh blueberries and raspberries as well as maple syrup to use as toppings and some hot cocoa to drink. Donnie and Leo waited in the kitchen at the dining table because Leo knew if Donnie wasn’t there, his twin would either fall back asleep in bed or lose himself in data analysis work. As it was, Donnie was head down in his crossed arms at the table, snoring softly. Raph was on movie picking duty while CJ was helping Draxum and Splinter in the lab.

To help keep himself from just running out and doing his own analysis, Leo made sure to keep stroking Donnie’s shell. His twin hadn’t put on any of his artificial shells yet and Leo was grateful for it. The familiar ridges, spines, and now scars from the Technodrome helped soothe Leo in ways he couldn’t quite explain. He just guessed that was the power of a good stim.

“You don’t have to go all out for me, Mikey. Just some regular French toast would have been more than fine.” Leo chuckled, watching his little brother work like a whirlwind around the kitchen. As he spoke, a golden chain lowered a steaming mug of hot cocoa in front of him. “Thanks.” Leo took a sip, knowing Mikey would get it to the perfect temperature to drink straight away. As expected, it was perfect. Sweet and chocolatey and rich and thick with just the right amount of cinnamon and nutmeg blended in.

“I know I don’t have to but I want to,” Mikey said as he started working on something. Leo couldn’t see what exactly. “You’ve been through a lot and you deserve it. Er, and I sorta wanna make it as a way to apologize to you for, you know, being a dick and avoiding you while being a dick.”

Leo blinked in surprise. Not what he had been expecting. “Hey, it’s cool. We all get a little caught up in stuff occasionally,” he said with a smile. Hopefully Mikey would see the warmth and know Leo was being genuine. He was just glad that Mikey wanted to be around him again. “If it makes you feel better to hear it: I forgive you. But I had already forgiven you for that stuff. I am kinda the king of avoiding my problems so I get it.”

Mikey frowned, though his shoulders seemed to relax. “I know. I realized that you had when I thought you’d still be mad at me, so I felt bad about that. Then I realized I was jealous ‘cause Raph went to you instead of me about all this. Yeah, I know Mona’s your friend and all, and yeah, I teased when I shouldn’t have, but it still hurt. But I took that out on you and it’s been two weeks and I haven’t apologized? Super huge dickhead move! It’s almost the new year! I’m supposed to be Dr. Feelings yet here I was being a huuuge asshole to you.”

As he ramble-rant-apologized both verbally and with his hands, the kitchen continued cooking in Mikey’s stead. His mystic powers got the French toast out, plated, and decorated to the nines not just for Leo but for everyone else too. “I don’t get how you could forgive me when I was so awful to you! It was like a now-version of the temper tantrums I had as a kid.”

“Maybe because you’re still a kid?” Leo pointed out as he stood. His knee ached a little but spending days doing literally nothing but lying still had really sped up the healing process. He didn’t feel like he needed his cane right then. “We all are. Not to mention the fact that we’re all pretty hormonal. Emotions are gonna run wild and it takes experience to be able to temper them.” He shrugged as he walked over to Mikey, limping a little bit but nowhere near as badly as he had been. “You realized your mistake and you’re sorry for it. Can’t ask for more than that, can I?” Leo held out his arms with a soft smile. Mikey really seemed like this had been bothering him. Leo wanted to take that pain away if he could.

Mikey stared up at him as his big eyes got wet. He clung to Leo, arms wrapped around the back of his neck while he was burying his face against Leo’s plastron. “I am. I’m so sorry,” Mikey whined. Leo felt drips of water against his plastron, just below his scarf. “So so sorry.”

Leo cradled Mikey close and started churring, rubbing the back of Mikey’s head sweetly. “I know. I know you are, Mikey, it’s okay,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of Mikey’s head. “It’s okay, you can hold me tighter. I won’t break. I’m not going anywhere, Mikey. It’s alright.”

His little brother held on tighter then as he cried. If that’s what Mikey needed, Leo was more than happy to help out. He was an emotional guy, after all. Yeah, if he hasn’t let his emotions out until now, it wasn’t surprising that it came out in a tidal wave like this.

Leo held Mikey close until he had stopped crying and was pulling away. He smiled at his little brother and pulled out a tissue from his battle shell, gently dabbing away the tears from Mikey’s cheeks. His youngest brother leaned into the touch as he hiccupped and sniffled. “I— I— Thank you.”

Leo’s smile softened and he pressed a kiss to Mikey’s forehead. “Sure thing, Miguel.” He was happy to take care of his family, even if it was only in small ways.

Mikey reached up and scrubbed his face with the back of his hand before looking over at the table. He snickered, which of course meant Leo had to look. There was Donnie, blindly reaching over to where Leo had been, trying to grab at someone who wasn’t there as he grumbled and whined. “Coooos.” His head was still down and his eyes were clearly still shut as well.

Leo couldn’t help the fond churr that escaped him as he quickly slid back into his seat. With one hand he took Donnie’s searching one. With the other he started stroking Donnie’s shell. “Hey, I’m here. I’m here, Fizzy. You can relax. I didn’t go anywhere.”

Donnie relaxed, his shoulders loosening as he hummed. “Good. Dunno why y’left. Dumdum.”

“I’m gonna call the others in for breakfast,” Mikey said, knocking his head against Leo’s. He put down Leo’s plate in front of himself and Donnie’s by his head before heading out of the kitchen.

“Mm? Whozzat?” Donnie lifted his head up and looked around, eyes still shut. “Santa? Mothman?”

“It was just Mikey. He made breakfast for everyone.” Leo murmured, shifting a little to rest his head against Donnie’s shell. The rough, leathery texture against his cheek reminded him of when he was little and how he’d use Donnie’s shell as a pillow when they napped. It was surprisingly comfy and if he didn’t have an amazing breakfast in front of him, Leo might be tempted to just nap there. “I think I saw him put extra vanilla in your cocoa too, so you know.”

Donnie hummed, resting his head back down on the table. His hand grabbed the cocoa cup from the table and somehow managed to drink it without lifting his head. No spills, no mess, no nothing. “He did. Good brother.” He yawned and put the mug back down. “Good, even ‘f he’s hiding Mothman’s whereabouts from me… Or wassit Santa’s?”

“Probably Mothman’s,” Leo said, holding back his chuckle. Sleepy Donnie was always an adorable sight and not one Leo got to engage with often, surprisingly. He knew laughter would snap Donnie to attention though so he just needed to keep that to himself for now. “Santa we can track with the right tech while Mothman is a bit more nuanced.”

Again, Donnie hummed as he repeated the same miracle from earlier. “Yeah, but Mikey’s suuuper buddy-buddy with Santa. Mothman? I dunno.”

The fact Donnie had zero filters when he woke up and would not get any until he either had caffeine or woke up naturally was one of Leo’s favorite things. “Oh really? I didn’t know that.” Of course, Leo loved indulging Donnie too. Before it would have been for blackmail; now it was just because it was adorable… and also for blackmail. “Maybe he is hiding Santa’s whereabouts. Or, and this is just an idea, maybe he’s hiding both. Maybe he knows where Santa and Mothman are.”

“So he does know where both of ‘em are. Dirty lil’ gremlin,” Donnie grumbled. “What else ‘s he keeping from us? The nuclear codes? All t’digits of pi? His drugs ?”

“I can at least confirm that he’s not got any drugs.” Leo was really struggling not to laugh. Oh he was glad that Donnie’s battle shell recorded everything. “But hey, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know the other stuff. Maybe he even knows where childhood innocence went.”

“I need t’bottle that up for reasons. Also, y’sure Mikey doesn’t have drugs?”

“Certain. I’ve been tracking the biometrics.”

Donnie hummed as Mikey walked back inside. Completely oblivious to this fact, he continued and said, “You super sure? Swore he had the leafy relaxer ‘f you know what I mean.”

Leo sighed and rolled his eyes fondly, sitting up and stroking Donnie’s shell again. “Dude, that’s our stash you’re thinking of. And no one ever uses it without us.”

“Wait, you two have weed?!”

“Don’t tell Raph and I won’t tell him about how you like to sneak the wine we get for cooking,” Leo shot back with a smirk. Raph knew about Donnie growing it in his greenhouse, as did Splinter and Draxum, but Mikey didn’t have to know that. 

Mikey narrowed his eyes at Leo. “Deal.”

“Angelo sneaks wine? Oooo .”

“I’m surprised you didn’t already know.” Leo smiled and shook his head. “It’s not the end of the world. He’s sensible… Most of the time.” He hadn’t forgotten when he had to cover for Mikey having a massive hangover from going a bit too hard on the alcohol the night before. They were teenagers. There were worse stupid decisions they could be making. And besides, their bodies filtered out alcohol much quicker and more efficiently than even yokai bodies did.

“Donnie, don’t—”

“I knew ‘bout the tequila that one time but not the wine.”

Now that was something Leo didn’t approve of. Hard spirits? Nuh uh. “Tequila, huh? You’d better explain, Miguel. For the sake of your health.”

“Uh. Uh. Oh HEY fam! Breakfast time!”

After Mikey avoided telling Leo anything—he’d have to get the details from Donnie somehow—all of the turtles moved into the TV room. CJ apologized for missing out but his robotics lessons with Junior were important. They helped give CJ structure and Leo wasn’t going to take that away. The adults were going out shopping since they had neglected doing that while taking care of sick Donnie and him.

So it was just the four brothers all watching Lou Jitsu: Rattling Ramen Revenge. Donnie lounged against Leo while on his phone, Mikey leaned against him, and Raph sat at the foot of the couch with Melon sprawled about.

Honestly, Leo was feeling pretty good. They just needed to wait for the brain scan results and the scan of his nervous system to start rendering and they’d be golden. Today was going to be a good—

A stab of icy pain lodged itself into Leo’s temple. He flinched, grunting from the sudden sensation, and rubbed his eyes. “Everything okay?” Donnie asked in a hushed whisper, glancing up from the Atomic Lass fanfiction he was reading. “I felt that through the imprint.”

“Yeah, just a headache.” Leo sighed, shaking his head. He paused. “It felt the same as— …when I got sick.”

Donnie put his phone down instantly and looked at Leo. “It’s back already?”

Leo nodded slowly, then he cried out as another shard of ice lodged its way deeper into his head. What was happening to him?! “It hurts, Fizzy,” he whimpered.

The sounds of kung fu action stopped and Leo could feel everyone’s eyes on him. “Leo? Donnie, what’s happenin’?”

“The headache’s back but worse,” Donnie answered as he wrapped around Leo. Even his twin’s soothing touches and hold weren’t enough to even somewhat reduce the pain he was in. 

“Mikey, the potion.”

“On it.”

Leo took a breath as the pain suddenly vanished. What? “It’s… gone?” he whispered. Leo didn’t dare open his eyes just in case the light triggered off his headache again. When did he close them? “The headache is gone?”

“And I’m here. Surprise.” Even if Leo had never heard that voice before, even if he knew that it wasn’t possible, he knew exactly who was talking to him. 

Leo was so fucked. 

“Oh.” Leo’s voice cracked badly as he opened his eyes and looked at his brothers. It was taking everything he had not to start panicking.

Mikey was stopped near the entryway, looking back over his shoulder at Leo. Raph was hovering right by him, Melon looking with worry. 

Donnie was the first who seemed to pick up on what was happening though. “Please tell me it isn’t who or what I think it is,” he almost begged. 

“What? What are you talking about?” Mikey hesitantly asked.

That seemed to click it off for Raph as his face paled. Maybe Leo’s face gave it away too with whatever expression it had morphed into. “Spirits no.”

“What? What’s happening?!”

Donnie exhaled slowly as he propped his glasses up to rub his face. “You remember how Subprime—” The name made everyone in the room flinch. “—said there were special plans for all of us, including Leo?”

“Yeah, but I never really found out what they were. I thought none of us knew.” Mikey walked back over slowly.

Spirits, Leo would need to spell it out. “I— I have an evil alien warlord in my head. Kraang Prime is in my head.” Somehow he managed to say it without choking. This just— It shouldn't be possible. “It was supposed to be over. They were supposed to be gone .”

“But the sharp pain you felt in your shell when it cracked,” Donnie pointed out, sounding upset. Not at Leo. At himself and the situation. “I thought it had just been the rocks lodged in the cracks of your shell. It must’ve been from Kraang Prime being injected into you.”

“Which explains the fungal infection and how you got it. The Kraang must start and be a fungus originally,” Raph finished, sounding horrified.

“Once they have all the pieces, they figure out everything so quickly,” that awful voice said. It was smooth and sounded like the voice of someone both infinitely wise but also extremely soothing. Genderless. But it echoed around in Leo’s brain as if everywhere but also right there. “Not that I expected any less based on what I’ve learned about you all.”

“Don’t talk about them like you know them,” Leo almost spat. “You have no right.” 

“Wait, is he talking to you?!” Mikey gasped. He might have flailed but Leo could barely see, even if his eyes were opened. The rage and panic and fear pulsing through him made it hard to focus on anything properly.

“If he wants to refer to me as ‘he’ then that’s fine. Whatever works, but I do know them from you and your memories.” Oh great, this asshole invaded his memories too? “Though I sense that you are not happy with my presence.”

“Gee, I wonder how you figured that out.” Everything else seemed to fade away for a moment. It was just Leo and Prime. “You’re not welcome. Get the fuck out of my head and stay away from my family.”

“Unfortunately, that is not something I can do. Even if I wanted to leave, the way Subprime executed this does not open any opportunities for this. Idiot didn’t even listen to simple instructions.”

“I swear, I am going to end you.” Leo didn’t think he’d ever experienced true hatred until now. “If you so much as think about hurting my family again— ”

“I don’t want to,” Prime insisted. Leo was good at reading people—part of the requirement of being a face man—and this moldy fucker was… being honest. “I really don’t. Get that notion out of your head.”

“Considering what the others did, forgive me for having reservations,” Leo shot back. Still, he found that with a little focus, he could get a proper sense of Prime beyond the surface. Somehow, the brain squid really didn’t want to hurt them. In fact, he seemed… to care about them? What?

Leo got the sentiment of Prime raising whatever equivalent of a shrug they could produce. “I never said that I blamed or was upset at you for having these reservations, did I? I didn’t. It’s understandable. Also, not a brain squid.”

“Brain mushroom then since you’re a fungus.” Leo would take the little victories where he could. If the little insulting nicknames annoyed Prime, Leo would take it.

“Fair. The squid tentacle part came from the Utrom I resided with before,” Prime explained. Ugh. Why wasn’t he getting annoyed? That was supposed to be one of Leo’s specialties.

“—lo? Leo?! Do I need to slap him to—”

“Donnie! Don’t slap Leo!”

“But he’s unresponsive and I don’t have smelling salts since someone ate them because they thought they were rock candy for some reason!”

Leo blinked a few times and regained focus on reality. “I would appreciate it if you don’t slap me,” he said, his voice weak and soft. 

“He’s back!”

“Did I go somewhere?” Leo frowned at Mikey. “Oh, wait, was me talking to Prime making me unresponsive? Did I sort of disassociate?”

“Your eyes sorta glazed over but you were still talkin’ out loud,” Raph explained. “I think you sorta disassociated.”

“Because you focused on me while so angry and hostile and I was so focused on talking with you,” Prime said from the back of Leo’s head. Better than them being everywhere. “I’ll try to stick back here and see if that’s better. I’m learning and adapting to this just as much as you are.”

“That’s… unexpectedly polite of you.” Leo frowned and shook his head. He looked at Donnie and gave a weak smile. “Sorry. They were sort of echoing everywhere? So it sort of took all my attention. They’re staying in the back of my head for now so I can— so I can focus.”

Donnie stared at Leo for a moment before he got up and suddenly left the room. “Donnie!” Raph cried out as he got up. “Where are you goin’?!”

“Lab.”

Leo didn’t hesitate. He zapped next to Donnie and walked with him. “You guys call Rara and Dad. Explain the situation? We’re gonna go look over the test results.” Leo needed some time with his twin and a chance to process away from Raph and Mikey.

“Wh— Okay, I guess,” Raph called as his voice got further away.

As much as Leo loved his oldest and youngest brothers, he needed time with just his twin to figure this out. Of course they had an extra passenger for now but they would figure out how to fix this. Donnie always fixed their biggest problems, even if his fixes often had other repercussions. Donnie always fixed things. Donnie could fix Leo.

Hesitantly, being too scared to check in the imprint right then, Leo reached out and brushed his hand against Donnie’s. He didn’t want to force Donnie into a touch he wasn’t comfortable with but Leo could really use the comfort and reassurance. Still, he kept that back from the imprint. He didn’t want to guilt Donnie into holding his hand either.

In an instant, Donnie took Leo’s hand and intertwined their fingers. “Lenny,” he called as they entered the lab. “The scans are done, right? My bracer buzzed. Pull them up. Please.”

“You got it, Dad!” Lenny zipped out from his room just as the two scans appeared on Donnie’s wall of screens. “Oh. Oh that looks… Are you okay, Uncle Leo?!” 

His brain was… Well, it was infested with Kraang matter. It was visible throughout the cerebrum, mainly concentrated in the frontal and temporal lobes. His brainstem was pretty much overtaken too. His parietal lobe was untouched and his occipital lobe hadn’t been too badly hit but… “Spirits, they’re in every part of me that makes me me! And look at my nervous system! It’s more fungus than nerves at this point!”

Donnie looked over the scans, zooming in on seemingly random spots for Leo’s nervous system. “Okay, so I can’t just remove it like I was hoping I’d be able to. Brain surgery also seems unlikely. Maybe I can ask April to see if she can find any more of that blue goo, but that would need to be experimented on and refined so it only harmed Prime and not you,” Donnie muttered as he pulled his goggles down over his glasses.

“The herbicide contract has been taken from her university,” Lenny supplied helpfully. His worry and fear showed clearly in his voice. “I’ll start working on tracking it down again.”

They could fix this. Donnie could fix this. Donnie did the impossible every other day in small ways. Between Donnie, Leo’s brothers, and the rest of his family, they pulled off the impossible on a grand scale on a regular basis. 

But what if they couldn’t?

What if Leo couldn’t be saved?

What if Kraang Prime took over and Leo became—

“Donnie, I need you to promise me something,” Leo whispered, not looking away from the screens.

“If you’re going to ask me to do what I think you’re going to ask, I can’t.”

“Then I’ll ask Raph. Or Mikey. Or Dad or Rara or Tio or CJ or Yuichi or— or—” Leo was vaguely aware he was trembling. He was also hyperventilating and his speech was getting disorganized. His pronunciation was taking a hit too. 

He couldn’t look away from the scans. He was being turned into a Kraang. He was infected and dangerous and he could be used to start the apocalypse again except this time it really would be his fault because if he never came back from the prison dimension, Kraang Prime would never have escaped. Worse still, he could be used to hurt his family. They had no idea the limits of this thing, of how much it could influence him or how long they had before Leo was consumed by Kraang matter. He had no way of knowing if he was even going to be aware by the time the infection had spread fully or if he’d even recognize his family by that point.

Leo knew that if Donnie couldn’t fix him, if there was no cure, he needed to die. Prime was bound to Leo’s nervous system and his brain. If Leo died, so would Prime. A last resort that Leo knew he wouldn’t hesitate to take if that’s what it meant to keep his family safe.

Leo blinked and he was facing Donnie, not looking at the scans. His twin’s goggles were back on top of his head as he stared just slightly down at Leo. When had Donnie grown a few inches? “You know what? Fine. Okay. I’ll do it if it comes down to it, but it won’t,” Donnie said as he squeezed Leo’s shoulders. “I swear on my life. You’ve already given up so much for us, for everything, even if everything didn’t deserve it, but fine. Just follow my breathing. Please.”

Follow his breathing? That— Leo could do that. He took a great, heaving breath and wow, had he stopped breathing for a moment there? That might explain why Leo’s head was spinning. But he was a turtle, he could hold his breath for twenty minutes, minimum. Weird.

Everything felt disconnected and floaty. Leo was aware and he wasn’t at the same time. Still, he forced himself to take another breath, this one less like a desperate gasp and more like a normal but shaky breath. Follow Donnie’s breathing. Leo could do that. Just focus on the inhale and exhale of breathing. It was mechanical and surprisingly hard but Leo was managing it. Just focus on matching Donnie’s breathing.

After some time, Leo found he could breathe and process his surroundings. He was on the floor of Donnie’s lab. He had a blanket around him with Professor Sparkles in his lap. Huh? When did that happen?

“There you are,” Donnie murmured from beside Leo. When Leo glanced over, he saw Donnie sitting beside him, an arm around Leo’s shoulder as his free hand was tapping at holographic screens. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Leo leaned against Donnie’s shoulder, feeling very tired and very weak after that whole… panic attack? Was that what that was? It felt different from ones Leo had before but then this was a very different situation. “How long have I been…?” He didn’t know how to explain his thoughts. A rarity for a chatterbox like Leo.

“Fifteen or so minutes. Not too long,” Donnie said as he rubbed Leo’s covered arm. “How are you feeling? Awful, really awful, really really awful, or just okay?”

“Awful. No reallys,” Leo replied after a moment. He curled closer to Donnie. “Coming to like this made it drop a level from really awful .” His voice was a little rough again. Probably a side effect from his poor breathing.

Donnie hummed and pulled something extra up before tapping away on the hologram screen. "Good... to... know."

Leo sighed softly. “You’re taller than me at the moment,” he muttered.

"Yeah, I am. From what I've gathered, I had a growth spurt while we were in the bubble room. A mild one, mind you, but still a growth spurt nonetheless." Donnie leaned his head to rest against Leo's, not looking away from his screens. The colors and text reflected off his glasses. "I'm now the tall twin."

“Ugh. I’ll catch up with you eventually.”

“In your dreams, mayhaps.”

“Future me was tall. CJ said so.” Bickering about something normal was helping Leo relax further. He needed this.

Donnie hummed. "Because you begged him to tell you about it. I, on the other hand, am confident in my future of the heights I will achieve both in terms of achievement as well as physically so I do not need to ask to know I will be the taller twin forevermore."

“I’m gonna get a growth spurt eventually,” Leo huffed, nestling closer to Donnie with a pout. “We’ll end up the same height. I’m sure of it.”

"Mhm, sure. And I'll have a romantic partner one day," Donnie said, as if talking down to a young child.

Leo rolled his eyes. “Don’t patronize me, Fizzy. I’m still older than you, even if you are temporarily taller.”

Donnie snickered at that. "Okay, so you're valuing age over beauty then. I see how it is. I am the more beautiful twin, after all."

“Nuh-uh! I’m the pretty twin! That’s been like my whole thing for ages .”

"Beauty and pretty are two different things. Pretty is defined as 'attractive in a delicate way without being truly beautiful or handsome' while beauty is 'a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.' You are pretty but I am beautiful." Donnie pulled over two mini holographic monitors to show him the definitions that appeared when one Googled them. "See."

“I hate you so much, Fizzy,” Leo deadpanned. “Can’t even let me have this one thing.” He closed his eyes and nuzzled against Donnie’s shoulders. He fluttered his fingers at Donnie’s face for good measure. There. Dominance established, at least according to his turtle brain.

Donnie patted Leo's hand condescendingly before moving it away from his face. Then he fluttered his fingers against Leo's cheek. Asshole. "I did. You're pretty and I'm beautiful. Two different things."

Leo batted Donnie’s hand away with a small, playful growl. Okay, his strength was back and he didn’t feel so shaky. He could totally go for some roughhousing if Donnie kept being like this. He had his battle shell on so he’d be safe.

“Someone’s jealous they aren’t the beautiful one,” Donnie sang before poking Leo in the snout. “Though the beautiful one is glad the pretty one is feeling a bit better.”

Again, Leo batted Donnie’s hand away before he snorted softly and looked up at his twin. “The pretty one will concede that the tall one has indeed made a difference.” He nuzzled into the crook of Donnie’s neck and closed his eyes again. “Can we stay here a little longer, please?”

“Yes we can because the pretty one has fallen for the tall one’s mind games. Said tall one can stay here a bit longer before he needs to move his arm to avoid pins and needles.”

Donnie didn’t make any progress on Leo’s infection after Leo’s understandable and, honestly, totally reasonable breakdown. The two stayed on the floor of Donnie’s lab, curled up together and just bickering like normal. Donnie suspected that Leo was latching on to something he knew to help him process.

Still, Donnie had suggested Leo head to his room with Melon and Lenny to cool off after they finally untangled themselves from their impromptu turtle pile. Again, familiar surroundings, familiar grounding figures, and it gave Donnie the space to start planning. He might not be the planner of the team but he was pretty damn smart if he did say so himself. Strategy came bundled with that.

He stayed in his lab, curling up in his new chair with knees up and by his plastron. One hand fiddled with the hem of his shawl as the other typed and underlined then crossed out another thing on the touch screen under his fingertips. They needed to find more information on Kraang. If they had tissue samples, they could work on analyzing the genetic makeup of the fungal component. After isolating it from—

The hand on his shoulder made Donnie squawk and he flailed before falling out of his chair. “Warn me next time, whomever that was,” he hissed as he held his arms up, ready to fight whoever. It would help through if he wasn’t face-first on the floor. Hopefully his glasses were okay. Ugh.

“We said your name like three times, Dee,” Mikey sighed, grabbing Donnie and helping him up. “You were really lost in thought.” 

“Are you doing okay, Donnie?” CJ asked, peeking around Raph. His expression was tired and worried but not judgmental or pitying. Donnie wouldn’t be able to take pitying.

Donnie waved his hand at the others. "Yeah yeah, just deep into trying to solve this problem."

Raph's chasm was making an appearance. Oh boy. "You ain't gonna try doing it alone, right?"

"Of course not, he said believably and with a trustworthy, lovable smile." Donnie then tried to make that trustworthy, lovable smile appear on his face. Was it working?

“While I have no doubt you can do it by yourself—” CJ didn’t sound very convinced. “—having some help will speed things up. Put us to work, Donnie. These two might not be scientists but they can follow orders.” He crossed his arms and gestured to Raph and Mikey with his head.

“You didn’t include yourself in that, CJ,” Mikey pointed out with a small pout. 

“I am a scientist.”

"He tried talkin' science with me and it felt like talking to a Donnie copy. He's a scientist," Raph vouched. CJ puffed his chest out proudly at that.

Donnie groaned, pinching then rubbing the area between his eyes once he pushed up his glasses. "I can't do anything without Kraang samples right now. I have samples of Leo's DNA before and now after this, but I need that Kraang DNA."

"Well, there was Sister who was taken... by the EPF," Raph said. "They're your least fave government branch, right?"

"They are. Gold sticker on Raph's 'Donnie Point System' board later."

“We’ll work on locating her. I can use a spell!” Mikey offered with a hopeful grin. 

“And while you don’t have Kraang samples, you have me. I’ve spent my whole life studying and analyzing Kraang DNA. I’ve cured more Kraang zombies than I can count. I’m the next best thing we have to a living tissue sample,” CJ insisted as he stepped forward. Donnie had never heard CJ sound so serious or confident. He liked this side of Future Boy. It reminded him of some of the best parts of himself and Leo.

Donnie nodded. "You're going to teach me everything you know about Kraang DNA then," he said before pointing at Raph and Mikey. "You two go and track Brother. We never saw what happened to him so he might be easier to locate with a spell since I can also hack into the EPF system.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Raph nodded firmly. He was firmly in serious leader mode which Donnie actually appreciated right now. Stability and familiarity helped him focus.

“We’ll work with Rara to try and track Brother. And we’ll talk to Dad and see if there are any documents in the old stash of scrolls he’s got that might help,” Mikey said, his expression also becoming focused and determined.

“I’ll ask Sunita to check the mystic library too,” Raph added.

“And I’ll teach you and Lenny everything you need to know about the Kraang,” CJ finished. 

Donnie exhaled as he checked off his mental checklist. "Okay, I don't think there's anything else I need to cover right now. Yeah." He made sure his glasses were firmly back on his face before he looked at his brothers and CJ with a smile. "Thank you."

"Of course. He is our brother too and we wanna help him," Raph pointed out before he poked Donnie in the middle of his forehead.

“It’s not just on you to fix him. It’s on us. As a family ,” Mikey stressed. “We’re stronger together.” He didn’t poke Donnie but he could feel Mikey’s disapproving and also somewhat amused stare.

“That’s one thing I think we can all agree on,” CJ added. “You guys are always stronger together.”

“No, we are stronger together,” Mikey corrected. “That includes you too, CJ. You’re family too.”

Raph nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you have your own room here. You're family whether you like it or not," he said.

CJ looked a little overwhelmed at the comment but he smiled. “No, that is something I want.”

"Good because you're stuck with us now. Like gum on the underside of a subway railing," Donnie said before he shuddered. "Eugh. Maybe not the best comparison since it was so nasty."

“I know what you mean,” CJ said before he laughed. He looked genuinely happy before it was replaced by focus and determination. “Now, let’s get to—” 

A buzzing from everyone’s communicators cut CJ off. Donnie’s bracer lit up with a code and his headphones on his goggles crackled to life. “Alien signature detected. Threat level: 5.” That was the sound of Mother Shell’s computer.

Great. Just as they were on a roll. Not that Donnie was complaining about getting to meet another alien lifeform but the timing could have been better. He tapped his bracer as his battle shell was removed from its place on the wall and snugly put over his softshell. "Alright, so it's an airborne alien," Donnie said as his robot hands put his goggles carefully down over his glasses. "It's causing massive damage with the speed it's traveling, the wind gusts down the New York City streets creating a funnel for damage."

“Guess that means you need something that moves fast as well as a choke point,” said Leo as he walked in, casual as anything. He had his knee brace on but no cane. His swords were already attached to his battle shell. “It’s either angry or scared so our best bet is to slow it down enough to talk.”

“Leo!” Mikey cried, looking over with worry. “Are you sure you’re up to help? You’re not cleared for missions yet.”

“I’m clearing myself. I need to get out of the lair for a bit.”

Raph sighed. "As much as I wanna disagree, Leo needs to come. If we waited and waited to properly clear Leo and even me to go on missions, we'd be waiting forever. Then we'd get rustier than we've already gotten. Our best bet is to just go now. We do need Leo," he said. "So. Leo, am I cleared for missions too?" 

“Keep your cane bracelet on for emergencies and you’re clear,” Leo said.

Raph held up his wrist and showed off the bracelet. "Okay. CJ, can you stay here and start inputting what you know into my system?" Donnie asked as he took off his shawl and carefully rested it on his desk. No way was he risking losing or damaging this.

“Lenny and I will get down as much as we can before you get back,” CJ said with a grin. “C’mon, Lenny.” He started walking deeper into the lab. “Hey, has your dad developed the memory transference chips yet?” As much as Donnie wanted to follow that conversation, he needed to focus.

“Okay. DonTron, you’re our best shot at catching the alien with your jetpack. See if you can follow it and herd it towards a choke point,” Leo instructed, opening a portal. “Raph, Mikey, we’re gonna be setting up a net to catch the alien without harming it by mixing your Ninpō.”

Donnie gave a thumbs up as he walked through the portal and onto the rooftop of a New York City building as Raph instructed for some reason behind him. Their first mission since the invasion. Lord, it had been a while. It would be nice to get back into the rhythm of these and have that part of his structure back.

His head whipped around and followed the readings on his goggles to see the alien in the distance. It was fluffy, had wings, and vaguely had some bird-like features from the helpful side profile image that his goggles pulled up for him. Aaand then it zipped by like that, whipping up the wind and causing crashes, sirens to go off, and glass to shatter. Oh, it was going so fast. Donnie was excited to go as fast as it. 

Before Donnie could launch himself up, he felt a hand grab the top of his battle shell and tug him down. “Your current boosters won’t reach that sort of speed, Fizz,” Leo said, messing with something out of Donnie’s vision. “Not unless you try this stuff.” Blue pixels swirled around them for a moment  and Donnie felt something click into place around the solid fuel source compartment for his jet boosters. “Just a little something I’ve been working on for you. Just be careful, this thing can accelerate you fast enough that you’ll be dealing with like 9Gs easily if you punch it. Probably more.” He let go of Donnie’s shell.

Donnie blinked and looked at Leo before knocking their heads together. He glanced and saw Raph and Mikey there. Okay, something Donnie didn't consider: his siblings would all see him become an insane adrenaline junkie and ride it out with his jetpack. He needed to be super vulnerable about something so precious that Leo only knew about but had never seen. Only Lenny had ever seen it but to a mild degree for his rides.

No biggie. 

Oh lord.

After taking a few deep breaths and shaking out his hands, Donnie tapped the side of his headphones. Music began blaring and he nodded his head to the beat. He took a few steps forward, to the edge of the building, and let the music and his tech take him as he dropped.

For a moment, he let himself free fall. The adrenaline he adored started buzzing through his veins, somehow amplified more than normal. That’s when Donnie realized that it wasn’t just his tech he had to rely on to save him. He was having to rely on Leo’s fuel source, not something Donnie himself had tested. His life was entirely in his and his twin’s hands and it was glorious .

Then Donnie kicked in the boosters and shot into the air even faster than he expected, hearing Leo’s breathless, joyous laughter echoing behind him and through the imprint. Raph cheered from behind and Mikey whooped and hollered. It invigorated Donnie more than he thought as he let himself boost up, twist around in the air, and then follow the readings on his goggles as well as the damage all around to find this alien.

He had to punch up the speed of the boosters to actually catch it. The avian-like alien, an Aviorus according to Mother Shell, was going at insane speeds. Oh, Leo was so getting something special for unlocking this new level of speed for Donnie. Somehow, despite how fast he was going, Donnie found he was still able to stay focused. 

Thanks to this stellar upgrade, he caught the alien a moment later while using his own bracer as a reference point to track its course. The Aviorus glanced over but didn’t slow its speed. Okay translator, don’t fail Donnie now. He cleared his throat and smiled at the Aviorous. “Greetings. I am Donatello Othello von Ryan Hamato. I’m going to skip a lot of my greetings speech and cut straight to the chase, my dear friend: what’s going on? How can I help?”

“You have a translator? Oh thank the clouds and rain!” the Aviorus cried. Their language reminded Donnie of Xhosa, the click language. “I cannot stop or slow or they will get me. They already have my nest mates! We were just stopping to gather more water for our onward journey. We meant no harm.”

Donnie kept himself from tensing. “Describe who took your nest mates. Were they humans in suits?”

“Yes!” The Aviorus turned abruptly but slowed just enough for Donnie to catch up. “Have they harmed your kind as well? You are not like the grounded creatures of this planet.”

“They haven’t since I’ve hid us well but I know who you’re referring to. If you follow me, I can help—” 

Cutting himself off, Donnie raised his arm and formed a construct shield that stopped some kind of gunfire. No, they were darts. One stuck in the construct shield, and it was small and slim. Shit. “Guys, it’s more than we thought,” he said into his comms band. “Our new friend is being hunted down by EPF and they’ve found us.”

“Thank you, kind green one, for saving me just now,” the Aviorus gasped. “Please, fly away before they realize you’re here!”

“Get the alien to rendezvous 12. We’ll meet you there with a portal,” Raph instructed over the coms. “Raph and Mikey will work on taking down any grunts in the way!” 

“Good thinking, big guy. Just be careful. You too, Donnie!”

“But of course.” Donnie’s goggles instantly created the route to get them to the right rendezvous point. “I’ll do you one better, my friend. We will get you out of here safely. Just follow me.”

“Okay!” The Aviorus stayed tight on Donnie’s tail as they flew, with Donnie creating Ninpō shields to block the darts that were coming their way. “My name is Hak’tal. I’m from the Aviorus colony planet Korvent.”

Donnie had to keep himself from asking a plethora of questions like he wanted. That would come once they were safe. “Wonderful to meet you, Hak’tal, though I wish the circumstances were better.”

“The same to— Look out!” Two very strong arms were suddenly wrapped around Donnie as a dart, much larger than any of the others, shot straight at his plastron from below. Hak’tal rolled in the air, taking the hit in their lower back and protecting Donnie from being hit himself. Almost instantly, their grip went slack and they started to fall from the air.

“Oh no no nonono.” Donnie wrapped his arms around Hak’tal instantly as he tried to slow their sudden fall. “Guys, follow my tracker. I don’t think we’re going to make it to 12.” He managed to thankfully slow it enough so he could redirect their fall from the pavement to inside a dumpster instead. Wonderful , but at least they wouldn’t be splattered across the pavement of this alleyway.

Then suddenly they were falling again, only to be caught by a very familiar pair of arms. “Raph’s got you.”

“Are you guys okay? What happened?” Leo asked urgently, helping Donnie out of Raph’s arms and starting to check over Hak’tal. He paused, cocking his head, then started saying things in the language that Hak’tal spoke. “It’ll be okay. We’re friends.”

“You speak Avis?” Hak’tal asked blearily, not resisting as Leo started checking them over in Raph’s arms. “I did not know anyone else on this planet did.”

“I’m a fast learner,” Leo said after a moment, still using that alien language. It took Donnie a second to realize that Leo was getting his translator to say what he wanted, then just repeating it. Clever. And perfect for a polyglot like Leo. “Where are you injured?”

“My back. My wings feel numb. I cannot fly. I am a burden. You and your nest mates should run. I will not reveal your likeness to the humans,” Hak’tal insisted, their speech becoming almost slurred, if clicks actually could slur.

Raph looked down at Hak’tal and frowned. “Can you tell this guy that we ain’t leaving him behind? My big bro senses are tingling and telling me he’s trying to pull that kinda move.”

“He is,” Donnie said before opening up another portal, this time to the lair. “Come on, we need to move quick.”

“Got it.” Raph took a step towards the portal.

“Drop me!” Hak’tal screamed, suddenly squirming as best he could. Before anyone could react, metal hoops dropped down from the sky and formed a sparking cage around Raph and Hak’tal. They both screamed as shocks overran their bodies.

“Raph!” Mikey screamed, summoning free floating chains to try and pry apart the bars. Leo had his hands on the cage itself, doing the same. The shocks didn’t seem to phase him even as Raph started to sway from the intensity of them.

Okay, this was clearly tech. Donnie had technopath powers and abilities. After closing the portal, he focused on the sparking cage and found he was able to work his way in. With the jerk of his head, the hoops collapsed and shocks stopped. Raph groaned and dropped to his knees, still holding onto Hak’tal. “That’s well made,” Donnie bitterly said as he rolled out his neck.

Mikey rushed forward and helped hold up Raph. Donnie cursed internally when he sensed more of these cage hoops coming. He could hold them off, naturally, but no way could he hold them off and make a portal. And there was no telling if the hoops had a lock on Hak’tal or if they were just coming to all locations. Taking the alien home could lead the EPF right to their doorstep!

Maybe if they could get out of the city, they could lose the EPF and get Hak’tal to safety. But no way could Donnie make a long distance portal like that while also keeping the hoops away. They’d need Leo to get everyone out of there. “Leo, can you portal us to point 25?” No instant response. “Leo!”

Leo was staring at the ground, eyes wide and body trembling. He didn’t seem to be seeing anything in front of him, though, with how hazy and overwhelmed his expression was. Goddamnit, why now?! Couldn’t that brain squid just back the fuck off while it was literally life or death?!

Donnie stepped back and held onto Leo’s wrist as he kept enough of his focus on keeping the hoops at bay. He could easily multitask here. With a deep breath, he tried something he only theorized about that could now feasibly be possible thanks to their imprint: actual twin telepathy. He prodded and reached out to try to get into Leo’s mind, to hear what he was thinking and that stupid brain squid. He needed his twin here.

It took a moment, but then Donnie managed to pick out a powerful, genderless voice echoing in his head. “—the dart hit him between the second and third carina, so your best bet to would be to—”

“Can’t this wait?!” Leo screamed mentally. “I can’t focus! You’re being too loud and my team needs me.”

“I’m trying to provide you with some help, which you were thinking you needed!”

“Hey, uh, how about you shut up because right now you’re making Leo disassociate when we’re in the middle of a life-or-death situation,” Donnie spat, which promptly silenced the other parties.

“Donnie?” Leo managed after a moment. 

Then Leo blinked hard and his eyes gained clarity. He took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. “Which portal point?” he asked aloud.

“Point 25,” Donnie said aloud as he squeezed Leo’s wrist before letting go.

“Got it.” Leo took a breath, his swords lighting up with the ancient runes that Donnie had yet to translate.

“Ah. So these are the so-called saviors of New York,” a feminine voice said from the entrance of the alleyway they were in. Donnie’s head snapped to face the human. They were relatively young, mid thirties maybe. Their skin was tanned but their hair was white and they wore a proper business suit. They also were holding what looked like an energy rifle. “Somehow I expected more.”

Donnie didn’t even have time to process the comment before he and everyone else were falling through Leo’s portal, landing a few inches down on the soft grass next to the hockey pitch in Todd’s forest. Leo’s portals were always so accurate and never let them fall far.

After collecting himself, Donnie looked over to see Mikey checking over both Raph and Hak’tal. Okay, he has those two covered. Donnie turned and after closing the distance with a few steps, wrapped his arms around Leo. “Just breathe. If you need to, follow my breathing, okay?”

“I’m breathing.” Donnie honestly wasn’t sure if Leo had spoken aloud or not. The way he was holding Leo made it hard to see his face. “I’m breathing, I’m okay. Just overwhelmed.”

“Alright.” Donnie knocked their heads together and rubbed Leo’s shoulder and arm. “Hey, I can go in and yell at Prime again. It was very satisfying to make him shut up. Or her? Them?”

“They don’t really care. But him works? I think? I’ve been using they and him.” Leo groaned, leaning in to Donnie’s touch. “Also be my guest. He hasn’t stopped talking since you started flying. My head was twice as loud as normal.”

“So he’s still talking? Okay Prime, last warning before I come in and shut you down and shut you up. I’ll take a lot of pride in it too and I’ll gloat about it aaall day. And night. And week.”

Leo’s head met Donnie’s shoulder. 

“Your father is right: you are funny, Donatello.” Prime sounded smug. “Do you really think I would have revealed myself if I could be removed easily? Though I must say that the telepathy is a surprise.”

Donnie mentally laughed at Prime once he felt like he had a solid connection. “Always expect the unexpected with me. I do the impossible all the time. That includes getting rid of you. Once I have all the knowledge and resources I need, you will be dead and gone. Just you.”

“So confident,” Prime almost cooed. “And so loyal to your brother too. Yes, you all were definitely the right choices to lead the Kraang. It’s just a shame that my previous subordinates were so… close-minded.”

Ugh. This asshole was insufferable. “Yadda yadda yadda. Big bad talk. Pretentious ramblings.”

That got Prime to actually laugh. Leo tensed up and rubbed his chest with a small huff. “Your joy feels weird,” Leo grumbled.

“You’ll get used to it. I hope to feel more as time goes on.”

“I don’t,” Leo shot back, speaking purely mentally now.

“Okay, so make Prime’s existence as unbearable as possible. Can do. Say Prime, how do you feel about Cocomelon?”

“That’s more likely to torture me than him, Fizzy,” Leo grumbled. “This is still my head you’re duking it out in.”

Donnie tutted. “Yes, but I can figure out a way to isolate the experience to just Prime so that way only he has to suffer with whatever I beam in here. Or maybe I could find one of those over-edited to hell videos and can play that directly to him. On loop. Until he begs for mercy.”

That got Leo snickering. “You’ll have so much fun when you figure out how to make it just one of us you’re talking to.” He paused, then his thoughts turned a little smug. “Also, I told you twin telepathy was a thing.”

“I made it a thing. It didn’t exist before now. You’re welcome.”

“Still, it’s a thing. You denied it would be possible.”

“Because I didn’t know about magic and mystics and whatever at that point in time. New data and evidence can change things, as can I.”

“And I’m proud of you for that.” Donnie could feel the pride as much as he could hear it in Leo’s tone. Oh wow, this was an interesting feeling. So powerful and genuine. Was the imprint more intense now? Or was Donnie just more aware of it? Either way, it deserved more research.

“As you should be,” Donnie said before humming. “Also, Prime has now shut up. If you start talking again, I’ll come in here and recite the digits of pi to you.” Even if he loved it, he knew most hated it. Surely that would include Prime.

There was no comment from Prime and Donnie could feel how relieved that made Leo. Prime was still lingering but at least he wasn’t so present that Leo had to be dealing with him all the time. Donnie mentally nodded in satisfaction before he pulled back into reality. He blinked and looked at Leo. “Any better?”

“Much.” Leo nodded, still talking mentally but seeming much more comfortable. He was clearly present enough to be glancing around. “Thank you, Fizzy.”

After giving the ok hand to Leo, Donnie glanced over to Mikey. “How are Raph and our new friend doing, Angelo?”

“They seem dazed but I think they’ll be okay,” Mikey said, giving Donnie a smile. “I’ve patched them up as much as I can, including fixing their burns from the shocks. Now I just need someone who knows medicine to deal with the dart.”

“I can do that.” Leo spoke aloud at last. “Just gimme five.”

Donnie gave Mikey the best smile he could. “Thanks for the help. How are you feeling?” Even if he hated dealing with emotions, Leo was still recovering and Raph was out. Third in command needed to take charge for a minute.

“A bit overwhelmed,” Mikey admitted, shaking out his hands. Donnie didn’t miss the small tremors there. He might need to review the compression glove designs he had, ensuring they accounted for how being emotionally overwhelmed could make the tremors worse. “But I’ll be okay. Hak’tal is really nice so that’s helping. They keep trying to groom me, I think. At the very least they’re rubbing their beak against my shell in a tickly, friendly way. It’s nice.”

Yes! Proper friends with an alien. One of many life goals relating to extraterrestrial life forms? A-check. “Hak’tal is very warm and welcoming,” Donnie said as he made sure Leo was good to lean against him. Once he did that, he walked over with Leo and sat them down beside Mikey and the others.

Hak’tal let out a chirp-like sound that Donnie instinctively knew was a greeting. He was leaning against Raph, keeping one arm wrapped around him and his wings spread and wrapped around Raph as best he could, as though shielding him. Yup, friendship definitely achieved. 

“Hello, kind green one. Are you alright?” Hak’tal asked, his eyes hazy and his expression dazed but pleased. “You and your nest mates are truly strong and brave.”

"I am fine. We all will be. I'm just glad that we could save you from those jerks," Donnie said as he watched the dazed Raph wrap an arm around Hak'tal.

“You did save me. I owe you a life debt.”

Donnie blinked before waving his free hand. "As much as I would like that, you don't." His holographic screens appeared then and his hand moved to rest against the holographic keyboard as well. "Just tell me more about yourself. Spare no details. I want to know everything ." 

Okay, Leo had this. It was a simple trip. He was just explaining the situation with Prime to Hueso, Junior, and Yuichi, no big deal. Leo had been stuck with the parasite for more than twenty-four hours. He had time to process what was happening. He needed to be honest with them, especially since it might impact his ability to babysit. 

“The door is open, pepino!” Leo heard how tired Hueso was from work. Maybe this was a bad idea. “Come in and take a seat, I’ll be right out. Yuichi and I are just getting changed.”

“Gracias, Tio.” Leo hated how weak his voice sounded but he couldn’t really do much to change that.

When he came in, Junior was waiting nearby. The concern in his face was evident right off the bat. He was by Leo’s side in an instant but he didn’t jump up or tackle-hug him like normal. “Hi Leo,” Junior said as he hugged him.

Leo hugged Junior close, curling around him somewhat. “Hola Pequeño,” he murmured. Then, taking a breath, Leo hefted Junior up and balanced him on his hip. “I gotcha. Let’s head to the couch, yeah?” He was grateful that his knee was healed enough for this and that it was a low pain day.

Junior nodded, hugging Leo again from his new position. “What’s wrong? If your knee or shell’s hurting, I can walk over there myself. You don’t need to carry me.” The care and concern from Junior warmed Leo’s heart.

“My body is actually doing a lot better,” Leo assured Junior. “Though a lot has happened. Bad stuff. And it’s hard to talk about so I want to be sitting down when I tell you guys. But holding you helps calm me down, mi primito.” Leo smiled and knocked his head against Junior’s.

“You’re a huge sap,” Junior said as Leo sat down with him on the couch. “You’re lucky I like you.” He rested his head against Leo’s plastron, his head slightly cushioned against Leo’s scarf.

“Sappiness is just one of my many charms,” Leo shot back. He held Junior close and stroked his back. His weight combined with the gentle motion helped Leo relax to no end. 

“Seems like he knows exactly how to help you.” Prime was kind of giving Leo ‘space.’ All that meant was minimal comments and not reading Leo’s thoughts at all times. It was still preferable to when Prime demanded attention.

Leo couldn’t help the annoyed huff. He reached up and lightly knocked the side of his head. “You stay out of this,” he muttered. Leo didn’t dare talk to Prime mentally at the moment. He didn’t want to zone out again and freak out Junior and everyone else.

Junior stared up at Leo then and blinked a few times. “Is Donnie annoying you through your imprint thingy or something?” he asked as he bunched up his hoodie sleeves in his palms.

Leo hesitated. “Donnie’s not annoying me, no,” he decided on saying after a moment. “I’ll explain when your papa and Yuu get out here, okay? It’s… I don’t want to talk about it more than I have to.”

“Oh. Okay.” Junior looked up and over to the kitchen after that, hooking his chin over Leo’s shoulder and shell as best he could without choking himself. 

When Leo looked over, he saw Hueso and Yuichi coming through. They were both dressed down though looked exhausted. Maybe now wasn’t the best time. “Hi Lee,” Yuichi said with a smile, perking up when he saw Leo.

Leo’s cheeks warmed a little at that. Lee? That was a first. He liked it. “Hey, Yuu.” He managed a smile, trying to ignore Prime’s snickering. “Hey Tio.” Judging by the concern on Hueso’s face, Leo’s smile wasn’t up to scratch.

“Hola, mi sobrino,” Hueso said, coming over and rubbing Leo’s head before heading to the armchair nearby. “What’s wrong? You said it was urgent that you speak to us all today.” Eugh boy. Leo had hoped to have a little time easing into this conversation.

Yuichi blinked. “Urgent? I thought you said agent before, like we were going on a mission or were going to give us a, um… What’s it called?” As Yuichi sat down on the couch next to Leo, he pointed a finger at Junior. “What is it called in English?” He said something in Japanese.

“Oh! A mission briefing,” Junior supplied.

Yuichi nodded. “That thing.”

“No, it’s urgent.” Leo took a breath and hung his head. “Tio, Pequeño, you remember how I got stuck a few months back? In the prison dimension?”

“Of course we do, Pepino. We almost lost you for good.” Hueso sounded concerned. He probably could see where this was going, at least partially. He was smart like that.

“Well I’m not the only one who made it back.” Why was this so hard to say? Just say it: Kraang Prime is in my head and is potentially going to possess me. It wasn’t that hard!

Yuichi looked between Hueso and Leo, clearly trying to pick up pieces and understand what was happening. “But didn’t you say that the guy you wanted to keep locked up in there was still there? Who else could have come out? It was just you that your brothers saved. That’s what you and CJ have both told us,” the rabbit yokai said.

“It’s in here, isn’t it,” Junior said as he reached up and tapped Leo’s temple with a bony finger. “That’s who you were telling to be quiet. Whoever came back with you.”

Of course Junior would put the pieces together. Leo nodded mutely. “It’s… in your head? Like a memory or…?” Hueso was clearly confused.

“Sort of. I… You saw the Kraang zombies, tio. I’ve got— I’ve got the same sort of stuff in my body now. Except it’s attached to my brain and nervous system, not my main body. It’s… It’s Kraang Prime. They’re a fungus and it’s latched on to me. They’re in my he ad— ” Leo cut himself off as his voice cracked. He shook his head and closed his eyes. He could feel his body trembling a little at the admission. “That’s why I got so sick before. My body was trying to burn out the infection or take me down with it.”

“Like a parasite inside you that’s spread and settled inside of you. Inside your body and your mind since you can hear it,” Junior clarified to the clearly confused Yuichi as well adding what he understood. “You have someone else in your body but also in your head. Like a roommate that’s bad and you hate that won’t leave.”

“Like an annoying roommate who won’t leave and won’t stop making snarky comments,” Leo agreed with a huff.

When he glanced to the side, Leo saw the gravity of the situation dawn on Yuichi based on how his expression changed. Hueso as well as he had a full grasp on what was going on with Leo. “Do you know how to get rid of this… thing?” Yuichi asked.

“No.” Leo looked right at Yuichi, not even bothering to try and mask his fear for once. “No we don’t. The only thing we know for sure works against the Kraang… Well, it’ll kill me too if we tried it.”

“Dios mio,” Hueso muttered.

Junior hugged Leo a bit tighter then. “But you have a bunch of people who are more than happy to help. Like your brothers and dads and your friends and us!”

Yuichi nodded. “Right. I’m sure Donnie and CJ are already doing a bunch of scientific research while Raph and Mikey are doing the more mystic research to help you out,” he said with a big grin.

Leo held Junior close and sighed. “You’re right about that. Everyone is working towards getting rid of Prime.”

“I’m hurt, really.” Wow the brain mushroom had sarcasm. 

“Shut up.”

Yuichi asked, “Did the brain parasite just talk to you?”

Leo nodded. “Unfortunately.”

Yuichi furrowed his brows. “Can he hear everything we say through your ears?”

“Yes.” What was Yuichi thinking? Leo couldn’t tell. “I mean, technically I don’t have ‘ears’ in the traditional sense. I have tympanums which is kinda—”

“Okay, through your tympanears. Got it.” Yuichi was suddenly right in Leo’s face. Oh spirits, his face was getting so warm. Could Yuichi feel it as he moved closer and—

“Hey, brain parasite! Shut up and leave Leo alone!” Yuichi shouted right into Leo’s tympanum.

Leo’s head rang for just a moment. That had just— Yuichi was—

Leo burst out laughing, a genuine sort of joy pulsing through Leo. An ease he hadn’t felt since getting sick. “Wait, what’s happening? Did it stop talking? Are you okay?” Yuichi asked as he looked at Leo with concern.

“You’re such a dumbass,” Leo cooed fondly through his giggles. He leaned over and knocked his head against Yuichi’s without thinking. “I think you stunned him into silence with your volume.”

Yuichi’s eyes lit up. “So I’m not a dumbass then. I’m a smartass.”

“No, YuuYuu. Just… no,” Junior said. “That doesn’t mean what you think it means.”

He had a cute ass. Leo managed to stop himself from saying that out loud. 

“Really? That one? Out of every man on Earth?” Prime asked incredulously after a moment.

“Yes, that one,” Leo thought back with a viscous grin. 

“Thank you, Yuichi. I needed that,” Leo said aloud.

Yuichi beamed and Leo heard soft thuds. “Oh, now you got his tail going,” Junior said as he rested his head against Leo’s scarf. The child pouted when his forehead was flicked. 

“Shush, June,” Yuichi said with a huff. His attention focused back on Leo then. “Of course, Lee. I’m glad I could help.” Then he hesitated before leaning forward and knocking their heads together. “This is a sign of trust? I’ve seen you do this with Sir Hueso and Junior before, and your family.”

Oh, right. Leo had just done that, hadn’t he? His cheeks got hot as he realized Yuichi just did it back . “Uh, it’s a sign of affection,” Leo admitted, somehow not stuttering. “Like a hug or a forehead kiss.”

Yuichi nodded as he let out an, “Oooh.” He smiled before knocking their heads together once more. “Understood.”

Okay, that made Leo’s cheeks flare up. Still, he shifted and wrapped an arm around Yuichi, holding him close and knocking his head against Junior then Yuichi. “Thank you. All of you.” 

“Of course, pepino. We’ll all be here to support you however you need. Just say the word,” Hueso insisted, his expression soft and fond.

“Gracias, tio. Te quiero.”

“Te quiero, pepino.”

Chapter Text

It was nice to be able to go out on missions again. Everyone had started, honestly, getting a bit stir crazy. Raph went out but never for missions, and the guy loved bringing justice. He had made a whole persona around it that he talked about wanting to bring back again. Mikey and Donnie had been going out but only to hang with others. As far as Leo knew, there was no butt-kicking involved. 

Then there was Leo, who had been bottled up and confined until the parasite in his head showed up. Yeah, Kraang Prime. What a wonderful … surprise. 

But besides that, he and his brothers were out on patrol. Their third patrol since the new year rolled around. April and Sunita still weren’t back yet, and CJ was crashing with Casey until they were. Dad and Rara decided that the boys were all well enough for them to leave the lair for a getaway trip. So that meant it was just Leo and his bros going around, not having to worry about anything. Just like before.

Well, mostly. Leo had to deal with Prime, who liked to add their own commentary and snarky responses. Also Donnie had become more and more hostile to the EPF over the past few days, getting more irritated while trying to hack into their systems than Leo had ever seen from his twin. Apparently Kendra had been thwarting his every attack and he was pissed .

“So the latest hack was a bust?” Mikey asked Donnie, swinging along on his chains next to Donnie and the others as they jumped from roof to roof. Leo was enjoying the stretch and comfortable ache of his knee actually working again.

He was enjoying Donnie’s palpable frustration less. His twin took a deep breath. “I mean, I thought that would be clear when I said I still have not been able to get into their systems,” he said with a slightly speedier response than normal. His voice sounded like it wanted to raise an octave. 

“It’s alright, bud. You can just learn from this one and know what to do and what not to do next time,” Raph offered.

“He’s going about things all wrong,” Prime huffed. They had gotten better at not overwhelming Leo when they spoke but they were still annoying. “He’s so prone to overthinking things and this is no exception.”

Leo hesitated. He shouldn’t indulge Prime at all, but he couldn’t help but be curious. “What do you mean?” he asked mentally.

“Well if your twin just stopped using his normal methods, the human wouldn’t be able to predict him. He’s probably going in with his usually flashy and somewhat narcissistic style and that’s exactly what she would be prepared for.” Damnit. Prime was right.

Donnie groaned as his jetpack had him hovering above the rooftop, rubbing his face as he flew alone beside everyone. “I have been doing that though. I’ve been learning and adapting but nothing’s worked. I don’t understand. It’s like she’s watching my every move.” This line of thinking wasn’t what they needed. 

“Tell him then,” Prime insisted as Mikey and Raph tried to soothe Donnie. “If you don’t want him to work himself up into another paranoia episode, tell him.”

Leo groaned and rubbed his face. “Guys, my brain mushroom has just made an annoyingly good point. I need you to be annoyed with me.” He took a breath. “Dee, you’re going in with your usual strategies, right? Your usual signature style and dazzle? That is exactly what Kendra is expecting and is used to. If you went for a more simple approach, you’ll be harder to counter.”

Raph laughed. “No way Donnie is. He’d know Kendra would expect that from a mile away.” Leo could see Donnie beginning to sweat. “He’d be going the unexpected route to take her down but even that ain’t working. Right, bud?” 

Donnie wasn’t looking at any of his siblings. There was a moment where Leo felt red-hot embarrassment through the imprint before it was cut off. “Of course I have totally been using that. Not my signature, not at all! That would be… too obvious. Yes.”

Mikey seemed to pick up on Donnie’s discomfort. “Well, it doesn’t matter. Prime needs to stay out of our business.”

“Yeah! Why does it matter what the parasite thinks?” Donnie said before he gave Mikey a high-three.

Prime sighed. “You shouldn’t have mentioned me, Leo. Now they aren’t going to listen to your suggestions if they think I influenced your decisions.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “I think my brothers know who’s in control, thanks,” he huffed aloud. He almost missed the flinch from Mikey and Raph, which just pissed him off. Ugh, why did the mushroom have to keep being right?

“Either way, I’m going to try again tomorrow. Hopefully this patrol will be a good way to reset my brain,” Donnie said with a nod.

Raph cleared his throat and nodded along with Donnie. “Yeah. Man, I’ve missed doing this.” Leo wasn’t in the mood to join in with the conversation anymore. Stupid brain mushroom. Stupid paranoia. Stupid lack of trust. 

“Yeah, it’s so nice to be out on patrol. It’s also nice to be out at night again. It’s been a while.” Mikey grinned, doing a backflip and hovering sideways in the air.

Raph chuckled as he turned his head a bit more to be able to watch Mikey. “Yeah. It’s still weird to be able to go out during the day, y’know?”

“Yeah, but it’s nice,” Mikey agreed, floating over to Raph’s good side and around him until he landed on Raph’s shell. “I like being able to bask in the sun rather than just under the heat lamp.”

“It is also nice to not just be limited to botched pick ups for food and 7-Elevens. I like being able to go into actual stores during open hours and browse,” Donnie added as he did a flip with nonchalant ease thanks to his jetpack. 

Raph hummed and knocked his head against Mikey’s. “Yeah, it’s nice. Just wish that it wasn’t just us who could go out, y’know? Like Mona doesn’t feel comfortable with it, and Hueso and Junior can’t come out. Suni has to always broach up. Doesn’t feel fair.”

Leo agreed. It wasn’t fair. His friends shouldn’t feel like they had to hide. New York had already proved that it would accept those who were different by accepting the mutants. Why would they see the yokai as any different? Still, he didn’t voice his thoughts. He was being grumpy.

“You’re being childish,” Prime deadpanned.

“And you’re being annoying,” Leo shot back mentally.

Donnie glanced over at Leo then and he could feel a push of concern. Him being quiet was probably sending off a lot of alarms and signals. Ugh. Leo pushed back against the imprint, sending the mental equivalent of a huff and an eye roll without actually dipping into the telepathy side of their connection. 

It had only been a few days of him being infected and already both Raph and Mikey were starting to doubt Leo and his suggestions. He even made a point to mention that he was annoyed that Prime had a good point and yet they still thought he was being influenced? Ugh. He knew they felt bad about it but that didn’t change the fact that it still stung. Leo wouldn’t be a danger to his family, he wouldn’t let the Kraang have control. If they thought he’d do anything except resist and dig his heels in, they didn’t know him at all. 

“Well, hopefully ideas will change and everyone can come back to the surface,” Mikey said with a grin. “I know Sunita said something a few weeks back about trying to get a case together to get yokai to the surface to the Head Council thingy.”

“She did. She’s been working hard at researching laws and other related things,” Raph said with a smile of his own. 

Raph opened his mouth to continue but Donnie’s bracer loudly blared. “Sorry, thought I put it on silent mode with the vibrations on,” he said before tapping and checking it. 

At the same time, Leo could feel Prime tense. Or, well, the equivalent of. It was hard to describe but he could hear the faint gasp from him. “Donnie is about to notice what that signal came from. Whatever you do, do not go and investigate.” Prime’s smooth voice was tense, firm, and serious.

“Oh-kay,” Donnie started, bringing down his goggles. “I’ve gotten an alien reading somewhere nearby us. The signal isn’t clear enough for my tech to properly detect what kind it is, but it’s in an incognito EPF lab in a supposedly ‘abandoned building.’” Donnie’s robot hands did the air quotes around the last two words.

Leo tapped the side of his goggles, activating his link to Mother Shell. “Computer: analysis on the signal please.”

“Affirmative, Leo. The signal is of an unknown structure that does not match any known samples from my data banks. However, it is extraterrestrial in nature.” Huh.

“An unknown alien? Interesting.” Leo hummed aloud. “We should maybe investigate—” As soon as he said that, Leo’s head started to pound and he gasped as he stumbled. Damnit! Prime was getting intense again!

“I just said not to! I know you aren’t deaf, especially not in your own mind.”

Raph was right by Leo’s side, helping keep him up. “Leo!”

Leo shoved Raph’s hand away with a huff as he stood properly. “I’m fine.” He didn’t want to be coddled again. And beyond that, if Raph didn’t trust him properly right then, Leo didn’t want his help. Maybe it was petty but Leo figured he was entitled to at least that much. “Prime is trying to keep us away from that signal for some reason and he’s being very loud about it.” Leo smacked the side of his head a few times. “Just shut up for once.”

Prime huffed but said nothing else. Good. “If Prime doesn’t want us to go, we should go,” Donnie insisted. 

Raph looked over at Donnie and frowned. Leo ignored the hurt look his co-leader had. He was the hurt one right now. “Are ‘ya sure? Should we really investigate if we don’t know the alien? It could be dangerous.”

“Oh, so now we’re listening to Prime?” Leo shot back. “We deal with dangerous mutants all the time. And yeah, aliens are a bit different but that doesn’t mean we can’t handle it.” Leo wouldn’t do what Prime wanted. He would prove he wasn’t being influenced by Prime and that he could make his own choices. “We can get some samples, enough info for Mother Shell to do some analysis, then bounce.” Safe but scientific. And totally against Prime’s advice, which was nice.

“I wanna see more aliens!” Mikey agreed with a cheer. “And also say a big ‘F You’ to Prime!”

Raph flailed a little. “Guys, I’m not agreeing with Prime. I just think—”

Donnie rested his hands against Raph’s shoulders, his jetpack allowing him to be at eye level with their oldest brother. “Do you really want to do what Prime wants us to do?”

“Of course not! But I just think—”

“Then to this unknown alien we go,” Donnie said, letting go of Raph and turning in the direction his goggles were probably feeding him. 

Raph looked completely unamused and very frustrated. “Aliens are very different than mutants, guys. It’s a whole new territory for us. Yeah, Hak’tal was cool, but that crab alien you guys faced wasn’t. We need to—”

“Need to what, Raph?” Leo asked, turning to stare at Raph. “Please, tell us what we should do here.”

Raph frowned as he looked at Leo. Emotions danced across his face too quickly for Leo to be able to pick up on. “I think that we don’t let Prime influence our choices.”

“Oh, like that hasn’t already been happening with how you and Mikey have been reacting to Leo?” Donnie spat as he turned around. 

Raph flailed his arms. “Wait, hold up. Why are we g—”

“ Because —”

Raph stomped hard on the roof, causing everyone to stop. “Stop cutting Raph off and let him get his thoughts out, Donnie!” Said turtle huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “This is a new thing to all of us. We’re all trying to cope with this new situation, and maybe the ways Mikey and I have been respondin’ haven’t been the best, but we’re trying. We all got messed up with Kraang trauma and thought we were done with it, but we ain’t. Okay. But that don’t mean we’re turning on each other or are questionin’ each other. We just need time, and Raph’s sorry if he hasn’t been great with doing that. He’s been working through stuff that’s come back up ‘cause of Prime being here, even if it isn’t a good reason or excuse. It ain’t. But this ain’t about Prime right now. This is ‘bout us and dealing with the situation in front of us right here, right now.” 

Raph turned and faced Leo. “And I’m gonna say this directly to you. I'm sorry, Leo, for not treating you or respecting you like I should. I’ll work on it, as your big brother and as your co-leader.”

Leo took a breath, his chest aching. Okay. Now he had no reason to be petty or grumpy; Raph apologized and clearly meant it. And he was right, trauma did make people make bad choices sometimes with how they handle things. Leo nodded at Raph and tried to focus on the actual situation at hand. Forget Prime was there, just focus on the questions itself. “To be honest… It's a hard choice. On the one hand, checking out some unknown alien doesn’t sound very safe,” Leo started. “On the other, if it’s something that is dangerous, would we be putting people in danger by not dealing with it ourselves?”

“This feels like one of those double bind philosophy problems,” Mikey whined, rubbing his head.

“Psychological, actually. Where we are faced with two undesirable courses of actions,” Donnie explained with a frown. “I think it’s clear what we need to do though. Even if it seems dangerous, we need to go.”

“Raph isn’t too sure about this.”

“Honestly, neither am I, but if this thing is as dangerous as Prime seems to think it is, we don’t have much of a choice here.” Leo sighed, rubbing his face.

“We need to go,” Mikey finished with a focused nod. “If it’s a risk to us, it’ll be a double risk to normal people. We can’t let them come under fire because we didn’t take a look while we had the chance.”

“You really should have expected this,” Leo mentally huffed at Prime.

Leo got the feeling that if Prime could, he would be raising his arms up in exasperation. “When things go wrong, you can’t say I didn’t warn you all.”

Raph rubbed his arm and sighed. “Okay, fine. But we’re gonna be extra careful. No takin’ any unnecessary risks. If Leo or I say we go, everyone has to listen. Got it?” Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Okay. Our plan is to go in, investigate, get samples, then get out if we can’t deal with the potential threat immediately.” Leo glanced at Raph to ensure they were on the same page. Okay, now this felt better and more familiar. Leo had missed this.

Even if he still didn’t seem too happy and confident, Raph nodded. “Yeah. Donnie, Leo, you both need to be ready to portal us out at any point.” Donnie sighed and nodded but said nothing.

“Can do, Raph.” Okay, it was go time. Leo could handle a proper mission again. He would be fine. “Donnie, lead the way.”

Donnie gave a thumbs up before he started leading them. As everyone followed, he sent one more pulse of concern and worry through the imprint. This time Leo reached back, sending back the equivalent of an apology as well as some reassurance that he was okay. He had been acting a little childish. His own frustrations shouldn’t play into a mission like that.

Leo could see the ever slight change in Donnie’s posture, his shoulders relaxing ever so slightly. There was some relief through the imprint as well. 

Yeah. Leo felt a little guilty now. He needed to just deal, not let his anger get the best of him. He’d been struggling with that since the whole situation with Big Mama… Maybe he needed to talk to Raph about anger management techniques.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long to get to where the signal came from. The building did indeed seem abandoned, all decrepit and the like. Donnie landed on his feet and nodded. “This is the place.”

With how the windows were plastered over with what looked like black and red paper, Leo could believe it. “What is that stuff up there? It looks like…” He shuddered as he recognized it. “It looks like a wasp's nest.” Mikey took a step closer to Raph.

“So it’s a wasp alien?” Raph suggested with a frown. “Well that ain’t good. Can we get some of the nest to study then go?”

Donnie shook his head. “Getting a proper alien sample would be more beneficial.”

“Let’s be quick,” Mikey said softly. “I don’t like bugs very much…” Leo could relate, and for similar reasons.

Raph patted Mikey’s head. “Why don’tcha stay with one of us then? You stay with Donnie and I’ll stay with Leo. That way, one person who hates bugs can be with one person who don’t and we can have a portal buddy.”

Donnie nodded. “Good plan. Wasps are child’s play compared to bees, so I will help protect you, my dear Angelo.”

“Thanks, DonDon.” Mikey almost skipped forward, stopping next to Donnie. As much as Leo would love to be with his twin, he also knew Donnie was the right person to take care of Mikey here. His twin had the most gardening knowledge and therefore the most knowledge about insects. He could protect Mikey and calm him if he got overwhelmed. Plus, keeping Leo and Donnie separate was smart. It meant that if the teams split up, they’d still have a silent, instantaneous way to communicate thanks to the imprint.

Raph walked to Leo and gave him a small smile. “You good with this, bud?”

Leo nodded and smiled. “Yeah, I’m good.” He walked over to Raph and elbowed him lightly. “After all, who wouldn’t want to be paired with me?”

Raph rolled his eye and looked over to Donnie and Mikey. “Actually, can I be with Donnie now?” he asked in a deadpan voice, though was clearly joking. Right?

The fact he was actually questioning that fact annoyed Leo as much as it made his chest ache. He should never feel like he needed to question his brother’s intentions. And yeah, Raph winked at Leo with his good eye. He was only joking. Leo needed to get his head on straight. “I swear if you make a joke about not being straight, I’m going to scream,” Prime huffed. “You make way too many of those jokes for someone who didn’t know their sexuality until a few months ago.”

“You’re the one who chose me. Deal with the consequences.” Leo couldn’t help but snicker at Prime’s groan. Yes! Finally he found something that worked!

Donnie led the way inside, Mikey behind him. He had some lights appear from his battle shell that helped illuminate the way ahead. Raph let Leo go in front of him as he rounded up the rear.

“Those lights are a bad idea. If you insist on this idiotic adventure, at least pretend to be somewhat sensible about it,” Prime grumbled. That was a good point, honestly. If they were dealing with insects, lights would attract them.

“Fizzy, no lights. They’ll bring out the bugs,” Leo said through the imprint. He didn’t need to mention Prime, it would just set Donnie off again.

In an instant, the lights were gone. “Wait, why are you putting them away?” Mikey whisper-asked. 

“Just recalled that bugs are attracted to light. You know, ‘like a moth to a flame’?” 

“Oh yeah! Nice remembering,” Mikey said. There was still faint light from different parts of the lab, though a lot were covered with the nest gunk. They all had to be careful where they walked to avoid any residue.

Okay, Leo was the one with the least amount of texture issues. He could start the data gathering process. Eugh. Using the spider arms on his battle shell, Leo reached over to some of the hive matter and cut it off, putting it into one of the many vials he kept on his person at all times. Hey, Leo never knew when he might find an interesting or particularly gross sample.

“So, what kind of samples should we, uh, be getting?” Raph whispered to Leo. “Also, uh, is directly grabbing it a big no?”

Leo paused as he considered. “I’m just getting a range of samples,” he admitted in a whisper. “And we should be okay to grab anything dry, but wet stuff shouldn’t be touched directly. Just watch out for bugs.”

“Trust me, you’ll know if you see one.” Leo got the strange feeling of Prime shaking their head in disappointment.

Raph nodded as he looked around as best he could. “If you see something I can get, let me know,” he whispered. “Something you or your robo hands can’t get.”

Leo nodded, pointing up to a particularly dry looking stalactite on the ceiling. It seemed to be slightly different from the other materials around them. “Okay, got it.” Raph made a construct hand that reached up, carefully held the end of the stalactite, then broke it off before offering it to Leo. “There.”

Leo grinned and put it into his samples compartment. He signed his thanks before he found his attention drawn elsewhere. Something was… What was he hearing? “Fizzy, stop!” Leo called in the imprint. “I’m hearing insect wingbeats.”

His twin stopped and cocked his head as he looked around. Donnie’s eyes locked onto a doorway further ahead that he had been walking towards. He pointed in that direction and shook his head before he scanned around, goggles still on. After looking in a different direction, he quickened his pace and waved for his brother to follow.

Leo and Raph started walking, then Leo froze. His body reacted before Leo himself knew what he was doing. He tackled Donnie, throwing his arm up to block the large wasp-like creature that was diving straight for his brother. Its mandibles dug deep into Leo’s forearm and its stinger tried and failed to pierce his battle shell. He screamed in pain and vaguely, he heard Prime do the same.

Before Leo knew it, the bug was knocked off of him. He heard Raph’s grunts before there was a screech of pain, too high pitched to be any of his brothers. “Leo, Donnie, are you guys okay?!” Mikey asked as Leo felt his youngest brother help him up. 

“I’m fine,” Donnie said as he was up in an instant, helping Leo up. “Idiot! Why did you do that?!”

“I just reacted,” Leo panted. Wow, he was feeling flushed from that shot of adrenaline. “Didn’t even realize what I was doing until I jumped.”

Donnie huffed and shook his head. “I swear, your instincts need to stop.” He moved his hand to create a portal but froze when the sound of buzzing got loud.

“We need to go further in,” Raph said as he picked his brothers up, put them on his shell, then booked it. In a construct hand was the stinger from the wasp. “We need a good distance before either of you can make a portal.”

“We don’t want to risk them getting into the lair,” Mikey agreed from where he was held under Raph’s arm, being carried like luggage. “Take a left here. I’m not sensing any bugs that way.”

“Got it.” Raph quickly took a left, barely skidding on the floor with the sharp turn he took. His hand held up the stinger and Donnie’s robot hands took it and put it into a large container.

“Right at the next turn!” 

“Guys, the buzzing is getting louder!”

Leo saw Donnie turn and face behind as purple constructs appeared in the air. The sound of shots being fired cut through the buzzing. “Mikey, can you send any fire back to burn the bugs?! Please!”

Mikey reached forward and grabbed a chain. He cracked it like a whip and a massive plume of flames burst out from behind them. Leo could feel it prickling on the back of his neck. “Direct me, Donnie! I’ve got the spark now!” Mikey cried.

“Go where you see the red dots,” Donnie insisted. “Just go nuts!”

“Oh this is gonna be fun.” 

Leo’s head was starting to spin. Was he getting hot or was that just the bursts of Mikey’s flames? And why was Prime still screaming but getting quieter? 

“Take a left here, Raph. There’s a door we can shut.” Leo pointed, trying to stay focused. 

Raph grabbed the wall edge and swept them around the corner before running through a door. Donnie slammed it shut when they made it through and it shut instantly.

They ended up in a large open room with a single pedestal made of hive matter in the center. On the pedestal sat a beautiful black and red ball that seemed to glow and pulse with an energy all its own.

Leo wanted it.

He needed to have that.

“Oh, that sports ball wannabe looks disgusting,” Donnie said as he hopped off Raph’s shell and drew a line in the air. “Come on, let’s go.”

Leo found himself fixated by the beautiful orb. He needed it. “Shouldn’t we take that? It would be the perfect sample.”

Donnie’s robot hand waved Leo off. “No. We have enough and that seems to have energy to it that would not mesh well with us. I also just don’t like it and its vibes,” he said before he flinched at the rhythmic thuds that started at the door.

“We’re going,” Raph said as he walked to the portal, Leo and Mikey still on his back. 

No! They needed the orb. Leo would just have to make sure they’d get. The others didn’t realize how important it was, but Leo would make sure they would. 

When he was walked through the portals with his brothers, Leo made a portal of his own right under the egg to land safely on his bed. Perfect. And no one noticed a thing. They’d thank Leo later.

Once the portal closed behind Raph, he sighed and let his brothers off his shell. Spirits, that was terrifying. Still, he grinned and rested his hands on his side. “Well, that was awful! But we got good things to test and sciencify, right?”

“Yes indeed we do. Leo, can you give me samples you collected? I’ll put them into the analyzer in my lab,” Donnie said as he held out his hand expectantly to said turtle.

Leo blinked slowly a few times, as if he were struggling to focus, before he nodded. “Oh, uh, right. Here.” He pulled out the samples from his battle shell and offered them to Donnie. That’s when Raph caught sight of the inflamed bite on Leo’s arm. Spirits that thing looked painful and it was probably infected too.

“Perfeeeholy guac and cheese chips.” Donnie instinctively took a few steps back as he flailed, though his robot hands grabbed the samples. “That looks awful! And disgusting!”

“Huh?” Leo looked down at the bite. He didn’t look nearly as concerned as he should. “It’s not so bad. I’ll go patch it up.”

“You feeling okay, dude?” Mikey asked, reaching up to poke Leo’s cheek. “Holy shhhhugar cookies. Sugar cookies.” He nodded firmly, glancing at Raph almost guiltily. “He’s burning up.”

Raph walked over to Leo and felt his head. Oh spirits, he was. “Donnie, is the bubble room still up?”

“It will be by the time you get there. Go shove him in there after taking care of his wound. I’ll be in there after getting these set up to be analyzed,” Donnie instructed.

“What? It’s not that bad, guys.” Leo gave everyone a shaky smile. Yeah, it was totally that bad. It was almost bad enough that Raph wanted to break his own rule and toss some money into the swear jar he started in the new year.

“Mhm, and I’m not a softshell turtle. Raphie?”

With that, Raph picked Leo up in his arms. “You’re coming with me, bud.” Leo didn’t struggle but he did pout, hanging limply in Raph’s arms.

“I’ll go start making some more soup. Something light so it won’t mess with Leo’s stomach too much,” Mikey offered, heading to the kitchen with a wave. “Lemme know if you need any mystic assistance. Hey, that sounds cool!”

“Hopefully not, but I gotcha, Mikey.” Raph split off from the others, walking with Leo to the Medbay. “Bro, you’re burning up. Like really bad. Also the bite looks disgusting. How are you feeling?”

“Pretty alright. It stings a little but nothing too bad,” Leo replied, still just hanging limp in Raph’s arms. “Maybe a little spacey but I can deal. Does it really look that bad?” His veins were sticking up and turning black in the area around the bite. How was he not freaking out?!

Okay, so this bite was probably messing with Leo’s brain. No, most definitely was. Alright, so his brother was poisoned with some unknown alien venom and none of them knew how to treat it. Great. Fantastic even. Hah. Raph totally wasn’t internally freaking out. Nope! “If any of us had a black spot where we were bitten with our veins popping out like how Dad’s 3D movies do when we wear those flimsy cardboard glasses, would you think that would look bad?”

“Yeah, that sounds pretty bad,” Leo agreed with a hum. “If I was going to treat that, I’d probably start with a blood sample to figure out what’s causing it. Then… wash the spot, put an ice pack on it, and keep the area raised to stop as much blood from getting to it.” He nodded. “Then I’d get Donnie to do an analysis on the sample so I can come up with a cure.”

Okay, Raph could do that. He walked into the bubble room and placed Leo down on the cot there. “Just stay right here, yeah? Don’t go anywhere. Raph needs to get those things you said.” A needle, syringe, and tube to get a blood sample, something to clean the area, an ice pack, and something to wrap his arm up. Needle and stuff, cleaning stuff, ice pack, wraps.

Leo didn’t fuss when Raph put him down. Instead, he just smiled airily and let Raph get to work. 

Okay, needles were in the drawer of syringes. So we’re the blood holding vial things. Leo had taught Raph how to take blood if needed so he was set on that part, so long as Leo didn’t panic thanks to his fear of needles. Cleaning stuff would be kept by the sink. Ice packs were in the freezer and wraps were in the main med kit. Okay, Raph was set.

“Needle and stuff, cleaning stuff, ice pack, wraps,” Raph repeated to himself before nodding. He turned back and walked into the bubble room, though he stopped at the entrance as he stared at Leo. “Leo,” he said carefully, “What’cha got there?”

It was the ball-looking thing from the alien hive. “Something special.” Leo smiled, cradling the ball on his crossed legs with his arms wrapped around it. “You wanna come see? It’s got a nice texture.”

Raph felt his gut tell him to run, his turtle instincts telling him to flee, but his big brother instincts were telling him to help his brother. It was a no brainer to which one Raph listened to. “Uh… What’s so special about it, bud?”

“Well, it’s hard to explain.” Leo out a few thoughtful clicks. “But she’s special. So I’m gonna look after her,” he finished proudly. “Oh, you wanted to take a look at my arm, right? Here you go.” He held up his injured arm, offering it to Raph. He stayed wrapped around that ball thing though.

Ever so carefully, Raph took Leo’s arm. “‘She’?” Raph asked as he quickly but carefully drew some of Leo’s blood. He didn’t even flinch or react in the slightest. Oh spirits, this wasn’t good.

Before he could probably draw back, Leo’s hand shot forward. He grabbed Raph’s arm, tugging him down with enough strength to overbalance Raph. Before Raph could really process, he felt Leo bite down hard on his forearm, a burning ache spreading from the injury almost instantly.

Raph bit down his screams and grabbed Leo by the head, pulling him back and off of his arm. He took a deep breath as he stared angrily at Leo, constructs keeping Raph’s brother restrained as he danced out of the bubble room, which zipped up behind him, and put the closer blood sample on a table. “I don’t care if something’s messin’ with your head. What the heeeck, Leo!”

Leo had his eyes closed and cocked his head, his smile content and blissful. He let out a string of clicks that Raph couldn’t translate for the life of him. Wait. That wasn’t turtle talk. 

When Leo opened his eyes, they were totally black. No pupil, no colored part, not even the whites. Just… black. Black and reflective, almost like… an insect’s eyes. 

Oh spirits, this was bad.

Raph turned his head and took a deep breath as he shuddered. “DONNIE! MIKEY!”

His comms crackled to life. “What’s going on, Raph? I’m on my way!” Mikey sounded like he was already running. 

Behind him, Raph could hear Leo still clicking, the sound almost resembling a coo. He must have been cradling the egg again— Wait, what?

Raph looked over and blinked as he stared at Leo and yeah, the egg. How did he know that? “Leo bit me,” he managed to say after a moment. 

“Wait, Leo bit you?” Donnie asked in horror.

“He did. And he brought the egg back that you said not to somehow.”

Donnie sputtered over the comms. “Wait, egg ?”

“How do you know it’s an egg, Raph? It just looked like a weird soccer ball!” Mikey cried. “Donnie, is this like zombie rules or what?!”

“I don’t know! I guess! Raph, are you in the bubble room?”

It took Raph a second to respond as his head got a bit woozy. “Huh? No, outside it. I left, uh… Oh, I needed to put Leo’s blood sample outside the room. Yeah.”

“You need to go back into the bubble room for us, Raph. Watch over Leo and the egg for us,” Donnie insisted. Raph could do that. But why? He could do that just fine from out here. Maybe even better.

“Waffle, please. We need to make sure Leo has the right help to take care of the egg,” Mikey added. Well, if his little brother was so insistent, Raph could do that.

“Okay, bud. If you say so.” Raph unzipped the bubble room and walked in. 

Within seconds of him walking over to Leo and the egg, he heard the door zip shut behind him. When Raph glanced back, he saw both his brothers there with panicked looks. Why did they look so worried? They were going to all take care of the egg before she hatched as well as once she emerged from the egg.

Leo let out a string of clicks and yeah, Raph couldn’t help but agree. Things were going to get better.

Mikey felt his heart drop. He watched as Raph’s eyes turned black in real time. It was like ink bleeding through paper and rapidly spread out from his pupils. 

Shit, this was zombie rules. “What do we do, Donnie?” Mikey whispered, staring at his two big brothers. They were clicking at each other in a way that Mikey’s turtle brain couldn’t translate. It felt gross to listen to.

Donnie stepped back as his robot hand grabbed the blood sample. “Thankfully, I updated this bubble room so Ninpō and anything mystic does not work once zipped shut. Those two will not be able to do a dang thing while that is shut, so we just need to analyze Leo’s blood sample and make a cure.”

“Oh thank Pizza Supreme.” Mikey sighed, sagging a little. Then he looked at Donnie. “Put me to work. How can I help?” Wait, were Donnie’s eyes dilating a bit? But he didn’t get bit so he shouldn’t be infected or getting any effects.

“Just follow me for now,” Donnie said as he led the way out. When Mikey glanced back before he left the Medbay, he saw Raph and Leo staring at them with eerie smiles and a string of unfamiliar chirps. It made Mikey shudder.

Those two were planning something, Mikey could feel it. They were too calm for two insect turtles that were locked up. “Donnie, what do we do?” Mikey begged. “They’re up to something bad, I can tell.”

“Yeah, they are. We just need to be aware and work on analyzing and making a cure,” Donnie repeated as he rubbed his face with a hand. “That’s our best bet right now.”

“Are you okay?” Mikey asked because yeah, Donnie’s eyes were definitely dilating. That was never a good sign.

Donnie shook his head out and then slapped himself! He seemed a bit more aware then. “No, so I’m going to work while I can.” 

Before Mikey could question any further, they turned into Donnie’s lab. Lenny was right there waiting. Donnie’s robot hand gave the blood sample to him. “Analyze this pronto.”

“You got it, Dad.” Lenny grabbed the sample and stuck it into a machine. “How long are we working with?” What? What did Lenny mean?

“I don’t know. Ten minutes?” Donnie walked over to where his various shells lived when not in use and took his off. “That’s me being hopeful.”

“I’ll speed up the analysis.” 

“What time limit? Can someone explain to me what’s going on?!” Mikey barely held back his angry shout. “I’m scared and freaked and I don’t like people talking past me!” He almost missed the small curls of flame that danced along the ground when he stomped his foot. Woah. That hadn’t happened before.

Donnie looked over at Mikey then. “Right. Apologies. Sort of hard to focus right now.” He walked over to Mikey and took his hands. “You know the imprint? Yeah, Leo’s pushing through it to try to make me let him and Raph out. Then he’s gonna infect me. The time limit’s how long I have until I cave.”

Oh. Mikey swallowed hard. “Then let’s make that cure so we don’t lose anyone else,” he said with as much determination as he could conjure.

“We have to wait for the analysis to go through, but yes. I have a feeling you’ll be crucial to making it,” Donnie said as he patted Mikey’s hand.

Mikey took a deep breath before he nodded. “Get me the samples that might be important. I’m gonna see if I can figure out some mystic stuff that might counter the hive.” That was a good name for the aliens. The Hive. He’d have to input that into Mother Shell later if the computer didn’t come up with its own name.

The next eight minutes were a blur of all three people in the lab working together. Near the end of those eight minutes, it was more so two people. Donnie leaned heavily against one of his desks, resting his forehead against the surface of it as he took deep breaths in and shakily let them out.

Lenny’s analysis was done and he was working on cobbling together a cure based on that. He had given Mikey samples of that to play with too and so far, Mikey wasn’t having much luck. “How are you doing, DonDon?” Mikey asked, focusing on the spell he was channeling into this sample. C’mon, it had to work! They were running out of time.

Donnie didn’t say anything at first. “Try combining what y’re doing together, you two,” he said before he groaned.

Mikey dropped the spell and looked to Lenny. The little drone nodded and held up a vial of something, a deep purple liquid. Mikey held out his hands. 

For a moment, the spell did nothing. Then golden sparks started rippling through the purple liquid, changing it into an almost glowing, metallic gold. “Trial cure reads as ninety-nine point nine percent destruction of sample.” Lenny gasped. “We did it!”

“Lenny, get my injector,” Donnie said as he slowly stood up, rubbing his face roughly with both hands.

Lenny zipped to a counter, grabbed something, then zipped over to Donnie. “I’m already configuring my systems to use it myself.”’

“Perfect. From what I can tell, this alien only cares about organic. You’ll be safe.” Donnie exhaled slowly. “Mikey, where’s Melon?”

“Hiding in Raph’s room, I think,” Mikey said, rolling out his shoulders. That spell was surprisingly hard. He was tired.

Donnie exhaled again and shook out his head. “I’m worried they’ll go after her. She’s organic.”

“She’ll be okay. She’s got her escape routes.” Mikey had been working for months to set up little tunnels that only Melon and Lenny could get through. That way, if they ever had another Kraang or Shredder situation, they could be safe. It had been a personal project. “Trust me, she’ll be okay.”

“Okay.” Donnie almost violently shuddered before he rolled his shoulders back. “I don’t think Raph will go after anyone. It’ll be either me or Leo.”

“You can’t catch what you can’t find.” Mikey went over to Donnie and stood next to him. “It’s okay, DonDon. We’ll be okay.” Mikey didn’t want to be left alone with just Lenny. He didn’t want to know his brothers were all infected by this parasite, but he also knew that there was no point in trying to stop this. If Leo was getting Donnie this easily through the imprint, the only way to get Donnie back was to cure Leo. The only way to cure Leo was to get close enough to give him the cure, which meant he was going to escape one way or another. “Turn off the cameras. Make it hard to find us. Then we’ll be ready.”

Donnie pointed to the camera in his lab. “Already done. Trackers are disabled. Won’t be able to re-access them for a full day. Tech too.” Right, Donnie had that tech shut down. Leo had used it before, but for two days to stop Donnie from working himself to the brink of death during his first two-week paranoia episode. “Waited until the cure was done to do that.”

“Good plan.” Mikey rubbed Donnie’s shoulder when he was certain the touch would be welcome. “It’s okay, DonDon. We’ll be okay. You can let go.” Mikey could almost feel how hard Donnie was resisting, how much pain it was causing him. Mikey couldn’t sit around and just wait to lose Donnie while his big brother suffered. At the same time, Mikey wasn’t leaving Donnie’s side until his brother was gone.

Donnie looked a little paler in color when he shook his head out. “I also may have put the lab on lockdown so any portals won’t work and entrances, as well as any other ways out are shut down. Except those little tunnels you’ve made for Lenny and Melon,” he quickly informed Mikey before he patted the hand on his shoulder. Oh lord, was he trembling. 

Donnie’s hand lingered on Mikey’s before he straightened himself out. His eyes glazed over as he slowly pulled his hand back and looked dead ahead. Almost too fluidly, he walked forward and out of his lab without hesitation.

Mikey took a breath and followed him out. “C’mon, Lenny. I know our first place to hide,” he said as he watched Donnie head towards the Medbay. They had seconds at best.

Mikey grabbed a chain from the air and let it pull him down from Donnie’s lab and straight into the games room. He hid himself behind some of the remaining arcade cabinets, sighing in relief when Lenny joined him. “Okay, so we need to get Leo first. His portals and zaps are more accurate than Donnie’s and if he can use his strategy brain, he’ll be our biggest threat. Any ideas?” Mikey took another breath. “I know Donnie disabled portals but we have no way of knowing if it works across the lair. He hasn’t tested something on that scale.” He knew that much about Donnie’s anti-portal tech.

Lenny leaned his head forward in thought. “Well, we could try to trick Uncle Leo to come here. Let him think he has the upper hand. If he isn’t going to view me as a threat initially ‘cause of the virus he has, I can sneak behind him and inject him with the cure.”

“There is something I can do to bring him here.” Mikey sat on the ground and crossed his legs. Okay, time to focus. 

Mikey felt his body lift off the ground and start hovering a few feet off the ground. He took a breath. Then another. Then he opened his eyes.

His body floated a few feet in front of him. He himself was a softly glowing, floating turtle. Yes! Astral projection was working! “Can you hear me, Lenny?” Mikey asked. Okay, if this was working like Mikey intended, he’d be able to hear Lenny with his physical ears and as well as with his spiritual ears.

Lenny looked around with wide eyes. “Woah! I totally can.” Mikey expected Lenny’s voice to echo but it didn’t. Thank god. “How are you doing that?”

Mikey did a flip, enjoying the weightlessness that astral projection gave him. “Just a little magic trick I picked up from Rara,” he explained as he grinned.

Lenny couldn’t seem to figure out where Mikey was as he kept glancing around the room. Perfect. “Oh, I wish I could do that. This is so totally wicked.”

“Thanks! Okay, so I’m gonna lure Leo here. You stab him with the cure,” Mikey said as he rolled out his spiritual shoulders. “Keep an eye on my body, I should still be able to hear you.” In theory. Hopefully it held up.

“You got it, Uncle Mikey.” Lenny nodded seriously before he zipped out of view. Using the darkness as his hiding spot. An up-and/coming ninja for sure.

Mikey paused before he floated up. Time to try this out. He floated through the floor and up into the rooms above. Thank Pizza Supreme. Okay, time to get to the Medbay. 

Pushing himself as fast as he was able, Mikey shot through the lair and poked his head through the door of the Medbay. He didn’t need to worry about being spotted; he just wanted to know what he was up against.

Already what he saw sent chills down Mikey’s astral shell and spine. The bubble room was open, though it was now encased in the hive material. Mikey could see Raph sitting in the center of the room with the egg on its own hivey icky pedestal behind him. His big brother held out his hands and his red constructs would form in the shape of the hive matter before solidifying as the actual matter.

Leo and Donnie were both standing outside the bubble room, clearly giving Raph space. Donnie didn’t have any bites on him and his eyes were as normal as they could be right now. Yet with how Leo was almost cradling his twin close to his plastron, Mikey had no doubt that it wouldn’t last. Leo was chirping and clicking in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable way that made Mikey’s spiritual stomach turn. Donnie was silent but didn’t resist when Leo grabbed his wrist and bit down, the motion almost tender. Huh. Even when controlled by an alien parasite, Leo couldn’t really hurt Donnie.

Leo held Donnie close still once he pulled his mouth back, guiding his head to rest against Leo’s shoulder as he groaned. Donnie blinked once, twice, and then after the third, his eyes were all black. He chittered questioningly, in such a wrong and repulsive way, as he looked over at the egg and then up to Leo.

Leo responded in kind, knocking his head against Donnie’s before helping him stand again. Without another word, Donnie left the Medbay and headed in the direction of the garage. Perfect.

Mikey took a breath and whispered, “If I can deal with that egg, the others will be fine, right?” Please please please work. 

At that, Leo perked up and looked around. Yes! He chittered softly to himself and tilted his head as he seemed to be trying to place which direction Mikey’s voice came from. Raph even glanced over. He chirped and clicked, nodding at Leo specifically.

“Damnit, they’re guarding it. I’ll have to back up and come up with a plan to destroy it somehow,” Mikey whispered, making sure the sound came from the door. It was working. Leo was paying attention. It wouldn’t take too long for Leo to follow him and get cured, then they could work on Donnie. Raph would have to wait, but only because the twins were volatile if only one was infected.

Leo nodded back to Raph before he exited the Medbay. As he left, some constructs left with him, beginning to spread throughout the lair.

Eugh boy, that wasn’t good. Mikey would have to be fast. He zipped ahead of Leo and muttered to himself just loud enough for Leo to hear. “Okay, think. Where can I go where they won’t look? The games room. I’ll be safe there.”

Surprisingly enough, Leo didn’t just portal down. He seemed to check around first, looking in different possible hiding spots. There was a building of clicks as he got close to Raph’s train car, his eyes narrowing as he cocked his head.

Oh shit. Mikey zipped into Raph’s room. Melon, who was curled up in the corner with her fur puffed up and her ears flat to her head, stared at Mikey. Thank goodness animals, especially cats, were able to see projections. He waved silently, then headed to the back of the car where Raph was still decorating. He gestured to the wall where the secret panel was. Okay, hopefully his mechanisms worked. He had learned a lot from Donnie but Mikey hadn’t had a chance to test it out with Melon properly.

Melon quickly stood and padded over, her ears still flat against her head and her eyes just slits from her fear. She nudged the panel and the mechanism opened smoothly. Thank god. She slid inside and the door shut behind her, leaving her to shuffle through the tunnels that Mikey had dug. “Meet us in the games room,” he whispered only loud enough for Melon herself to hear. He got a nod in return as she silently shuffled off down the small tunnel.

When Mikey looked back into Raph’s room, he saw Leo had made his way in. He sniffled around and chirped a few times before he swiftly exited. 

Again, thank god. One crisis averted for now. Time to focus on his own crisis. 

Mikey made sure he was ahead of Leo again, just inside the games room when he next spoke. “Who just opened Raph’s train car? Oh god, I hope they didn’t get Melon.”

Leo stayed silent, slinking along in the shadows. If Mikey didn’t know where he was, there would’ve been no way he would have found him. This was when being a ninja wasn’t a good thing. Leo even snuck his way into the arcade, cleverly using the furniture and arcade cabinets to help keep himself hidden.

Okay, time to get Leo where Mikey needed him. Mikey headed to the other side of the machines, opposite and far enough away that his body wouldn’t be spotted but close enough that he would be audible. He let out a scared, shaking chirp.

Since he was behind the machines, Mikey couldn’t really see Leo. Instead, he barely heard his brother’s footsteps, Leo’s off-putting breathing with a slight hiss with every exhale. Even if Mikey knew that Lenny was about to strike any second, he couldn’t help but feel as scared as the noise Leo made. 

Then Leo let out a chittering, hissing screech as the sound of a mechanical ‘ click ’ echoed throughout the games room. “This is to help you, Uncle Leo,” Lenny said with a hint of a whimper as he finished his reassurance.

Mikey didn’t hesitate. He reached out, sensing where Leo’s body was, and bound him in heavy chains. The cure would take time to work and Mikey couldn’t risk Leo hurting either himself or Lenny. 

As soon as Leo was bound, snarling and clicking threateningly, Mikey brought his projection back into his own body and opened his eyes. He floated out from behind the machine, calm and feeling strangely zen.

Leo was practically writhing about on the floor, kicking his feet and trying to get up from where he was on the floor. Lenny hovered nervously nearby, watching Leo, before he glanced over at Mikey. “Thanks for the help, Uncle Mikey. You good?”

“Yes, I’m alright,” Mikey said with a nod. “Just staying focused. He’s trying really hard to escape.” As soon as he said that, Leo fell limp with a groan. “Don’t fall for that. He’s still awake.”

Lenny stopped moving closer to Leo then and instead made his way to hover beside Mikey. He looked Mikey over then. “I know you got Uncle Leo down here. Did you see Dad and Uncle Raph?”

“Your dad was heading down towards the garage. Raph is still in the Medbay. He’s making the hive matter with his Ninpō.” Mikey shuddered. Leo groaned again from where he lay on the ground. “And Leo is awake again.”

“Ugh… not fun. Hated that. Would not recommend,” Leo huffed, his eyes opening. They looked back to normal. One brown and one purple eye.

Mikey let himself land on his feet before he let the chains go. He kneeled down beside his brother and clung to him. “Leo!” He rubbed his cheek against Leo’s. Hey, he deserved a moment or three of clinging to his brother. Now he and Lenny weren’t alone.

Leo hugged Mikey back, cradling him close. His grip was weak but present. “Hey, Miguel. You got me. It’s okay, I’m okay,” he murmured.

“I was so worried,” Mikey whimpered before knocking his head against Leo’s. “Don’t scare me like that again!”

“With this family’s track record? He can’t promise that,” Lenny said as he hovered down. He knocked his boosters together. “Hi Uncle Leo.”

Leo knocked his head against Mikey’s before beckoning Lenny down. He knocked his head against the little drone’s as well. “Hey, Lenny.” Leo took a breath. “And Mikey, I’m sorry, but I can’t promise that I won’t scare you like that again today . I’m not totally cured. I’m stable, but only for so long.”

“Right. Imprint and all that,” Mikey said. If it got to Donnie, it would get to Leo too. “So we have to be quick and get Donnie.”

“Not just the imprint. I'm patient zero. And I can’t hear Prime or see my bite properly,” Leo clarified. “Your best bet is leaving me here while you guys go get Donnie.”

“I can do it,” Lenny said suddenly. “I can go check where he is and if he’s in a good spot, I can inject him right away.”

Mikey looked at Lenny and rested a hand against his back. “You sure? It’s gonna be dangerous, and I can’t fix you.”

“I can do this,” Lenny repeated seriously. “I’ve got this, Uncle Mikey. You take care of Uncle Leo.”

If Leo wasn’t going to be stable, he might need to be chained up again. “Okay. Be careful, Lenny,” Mikey said as he knocked his head against the drone’s. “Please.”

“I will be, Uncle Mikey. I promise.”

Lenny couldn’t just sit around while his dad, while his whole family needed him. Last time his family had been hurt by a mind-controlling alien, Lenny hadn’t been able to do much. He had been locked inside the communicators without his main body and without a way to really help.

He had his body this time. 

He would save his dad.

Lenny made his way towards the garage, turning his boosters to run silently for now. His dad had said that the alien wouldn’t see him as a target because he was inorganic. That gave Lenny the advantage.

When Lenny made his way in, there was already hive matter that was beginning to encompass the garage. He could see his dad looking over the controls set up by the garage door, clicking lowly as he tapped along the keypad. The alien wanted him to open a door, any door, to let it and them out. Hah. They weren’t ready for his dad’s over-preparedness.

Lenny glanced around before slipping into one of Mikey’s little tunnels. He made his way around to the back of the garage, out of sight of the alien controlling his dad. 

Alright, what had Uncle Leo taught him about stealth? C’mon, ninja lessons, don’t fail him now. 

Lenny shook himself in the air and let out a silent huff. Okay. Okay, he had this. He needed to distract his target first. The sterile needle casing would work. Using his little projectile cannon set to the lowest power, Lenny shot the cylindrical casing at the wall nearby.

His dad’s head perked up as he looked in the direction of the sound. C’mon, take the bait. C’mon… And his dad was going over to investigate. Yeah!

Next step was… move slowly and silently, stick to the shadows and blind spots. Well. There was a deep shadow cast by the Mother Shell that would get Lenny right next to his dad. That would be perfect. He darted into the spot before his dad came around, then started moving so slowly. He didn’t make a sound and even turned himself to his emergency power options so his power core wouldn’t make any more noise.

Ever so slowly, his dad inched around the Mother Shell. In his hands formed a construct bō staff, his head turning this way and that in such a non-Donnie way that if Lenny had a stomach, it would be churning. He sniffed the air and turned his exposed shell to Lenny as he started creeping towards the doorway to exit the garage.

Okay, now it was time for ninja lesson three: when it’s time to strike, move swiftly and with accuracy. It sounded cooler the way Uncle Leo said it but Lenny couldn’t remember how he said it exactly right then.

Lenny shot forward and injected his dad right in the back of his neck, then darted up and into the air. He stayed well out of the reach of his dad’s bō staff.

The clicking screech his dad let out wouldn’t leave Lenny’s mind for a long time as he grasped at his neck and turned right away. His eyes scanned right over Lenny, looking for something organic. He turned then to dart out of the garage but stopped in the doorway, falling down with a groan.

Lenny was prepared, his spider arms reaching forward and grabbing his dad under his arms. His boosters strained a little as he fought to keep his dad from eating the concrete but he managed to lower him down gently enough.

“Ugh. Pizza Supreme, that was awful,” his dad groaned. He reached his hand up to rub his head and when he opened his eyes, they were back to normal: one eye the same blue as Uncle Leo’s Ninpō and the other brown.

“Dad! You’re okay,” Lenny cried, dropping down entirely to nuzzle against his dad’s cheek. Lenny did it! He saved his dad all by himself this time. He could protect his family, just like his dad and uncles did.

Instantly, his dad’s arms wrapped around him and held him close. He felt so secure and safe. “Lenny?”

“Yeah. Hi Dad.” Lenny kept nuzzling against his dad’s cheek. “I was so worried. Are you feeling better?” Lenny knew he was but for some reason, he felt like he had to ask. He didn’t deny going with his feelings ever since he actually got them.

His dad nuzzled back after a moment. “Oh, for sure. I can still feel the remnants of it in the back of my mind though.” After a moment, he groaned and sat up with Lenny, keeping him close. “What’s the status right now?”

“Uncle Leo is clear for now, I’ve got lots of the cure left, and Uncle Mikey is taking care of Uncle Leo.” Lenny nodded. They had this now. With three out of four of the brothers around, they could totally save Uncle Raph and destroy the infection.

With a hum, Lenny’s dad started to draw stuff in the air as he thought. “Okay, so… And then… Alright. I have some ideas, but we gotta talk with Mikey and Leo first. Where are they? And is Melon safe? I don’t recall seeing her and you didn’t mention her either.”

“I don’t know where Melon is,” Lenny admitted, “but I don’t think she’s been caught. Uncle Mikey didn’t mention her. He and Uncle Leo are in the games room.”

“She’s probably hiding in your tunnels then.” Once he nodded, Lenny’s dad slowly stood with Lenny’s help. His brows furrowed and he cocked his head to the side before drawing a line in the air. Nothing happened. “Thank Pizza Supreme. It works. No portals. Alright, let’s hurry.”

“Right. Here, let me help you walk. You’re still shaky.” Lenny wrapped his spider arms around his dad and started flying forward slowly, holding up his dad as best he could. Lenny wouldn’t let anyone hurt his dad again. Lenny would protect him.

For once, his dad didn’t argue. Instead, he carefully rested an arm across Lenny’s back and walked along with him. “So it was just you with me in the garage. That had to be terrifying,” he whispered as they walked.

“It was a little scary,” Lenny admitted softly. “But… I just knew I needed to protect you. I had to help you this time. So I wasn’t scared, even if I thought I should be.” It was weird. Feelings never made logical sense, but then that’s what made them feelings. They didn’t need to be logical. Lenny liked having feelings.

His dad looked so fondly at him and with so much love. Just before they made it to the games room, he stopped Lenny and knocked their forehead together. “ Proud. Love you. Love son lots, ” he chirped.

It wasn’t often his dad slipped into turtle chirps. They made Lenny’s processors and hard drive feel warm and fuzzy, especially with what his dad was saying. “ Love you, ” Lenny chirped back. “ Love Dad lots. Protect Dad. Love Dad. ” He churred and Lenny was pretty sure that if he had a tail, it would be wagging.

Oh, the smile he got in return made him feel even warmer and fuzzier. After one final forehead knock, Lenny’s dad slowly pulled back before they entered the games room together. “Helloooh. Uh. Why is Leo, uh… chained up to the wall like that, Angelo?”

“You tell me,” Uncle Mikey huffed, shaking his head. “He just jumped me! And his eyes looked normal!”

“Ugh, I told you I would be swapping in and out, Miguel.” Wait, Uncle Leo was talking? Wasn’t he just infected again though? “I told you to chain me up but you didn’t listen.”

Lenny’s dad sighed and pinched the area between his eyes, mask included. “Okay, well I have an idea for how to beat this creature. Parasitica, by the way. That’s the name of this species, and what an apt name it is.”

“Yeah. That works.” Uncle Mikey nodded. “Okay, so what do we do?”

“We take out the egg. We need to get Raph away, distracted with someone else who may get reinfected again, and our key player here is Lenny. He’s undetectable and can inject the egg to kill it before it hatches.”

Uncle Leo let out an angry hiss when Lenny’s dad said that but then he took a breath and hung his head. “Yeah, that is the best option. But Mikey, you and Lenny need to run. I’m not sure how long I’ve got and if I go, so does Donnie.”

That made Lenny and Uncle Mikey whip their heads to look at Uncle Leo. “Wait, just us?!” Uncle Mikey cried out. “But— But—”

“Go!” Uncle Leo snapped, his pupils already dilating. “I can’t resist it forever and I can’t let you two get hurt. Go before Parasitica figures out how to make Raph or me mind meld!”

Lenny didn’t want to leave but he made eye contact with his dad. His dad nodded and Lenny helped push his Uncle Mikey out of the room. “Wh— Lenny!”

“If we want to help them, we have to go.” If Lenny could, he’d be tearing up. He didn’t want to leave either but he had to protect his family. That meant getting Uncle Mikey out of there.

After a moment, he got a shaky sigh back from his unc. “Right. Right. C’mon.” His uncle quickly moved, hurrying from the games room to the Medbay. “I— I’m gonna go and distract Raph for you. That way there’s no one there to stop you.”

“That works.” Lenny could do this. He could save everyone. He could—

Uncle Mikey cried out in pain, blue sparks dancing along his form as he collapsed. Oh no. “Uncle Mikey?! C’mon! C’mon, you have to get up!” Lenny tried his best to help Uncle Mikey to his feet but the box turtle could barely seem to support himself. That’s when Lenny noticed the white eyes. Already?!

When the sparks stopped, Uncle Mikey slowly stood. His eyes stayed that pure white as he looked at the way they came. “Uncle Mi—” Off he swung on his chains, into the main area and out of sight. Back to the games room.

Damnit, Uncle Leo had to be using that special mind meld technique he used on Dad before, where he could basically force them to do what he wanted. According to Grandpa, it was a rare and dangerous gift that some leaders in the Hamato clan had. Uncle Leo could be really scary when he wanted to be.

Either way, Lenny was alone and he needed to move now . He’d just have to sneak into the Medbay on his own. He was basically invisible to them anyway. Right? He could sneak past Uncle Raph, inject the egg, then hide until things were better. Maybe find Melon and curl up with her. She’d help Lenny feel better.

After nodding to himself, Lenny hurried to the Medbay. He still made sure he was running his emergency power options. No way did he want to attract anyone’s attention. Especially not Uncle Raph if he saw Lenny, let alone as a threat. The thought would have made Lenny shudder if he could. Even if he didn’t have any proper physical feedback from his feelings, Lenny’s boosters still spluttered at the thought.

He made his way upstairs and silently slipped into one of Uncle Mikey’s many tunnels. Lenny had memorized their pathways. This one would put him out right next to the bubble room. He pushed open the panel and peeked out, trying to see where Uncle Raph was and what he was doing.

The bubble room was covered entirely by the black and red material that resembled that of a wasp's nest. Oh, and so was the Medbay itself. It took him a moment to find Uncle Raph. He was sitting in front of the pedestal where an orb sat. No, the egg. Every so often, Lenny saw it shake or twitch.

Uncle Raph shifted from his hands held out to look around. Instinctively, Lenny scooted back in the tunnel. His uncle got up and looked around, sniffing but saying nothing. Still, his eyes narrowed as he hovered by the entrance of the bubble room, his tail slowly swaying to and fro.

Did he hear Lenny? But Lenny was supposed to be invisible! It was the one good thing about inorganic. He ducked back, half closing the panel as he watched Uncle Raph properly.

The thuds of Uncle Raph’s footsteps that were normally comforting send a wave of anxiety through Lenny each time. He looked around, huffing as he sniffed the air before he jumped at a pink and green blur. 

Landing on her four feet, Melon yowled at Uncle Raph. When he locked eyes with her, all the fur stood on its ends and she hissed. He growled back and went to grab for her, but she leaped away and out of the Medbay. Uncle Raph was right on her tail, chittering. 

Thank you, Melon. Now was Lenny’s chance!

He wouldn’t let this distraction go to waste. Lenny flew down to the egg and injected the rest of the cure into it. Hopefully his Dad’s theory was right. Lenny didn’t have the sort of mystic powers needed to make more of that but this was his last shot.

There was a loud screech that came from inside the egg. It rocked and started to crack open. Lenny quickly flew back as he watched the egg rock and shake before the screams of agony tapered off. There was a hissing sound as well as steam seemed to pour from the cracks before something melted out. The egg finally cracked open, but nothing but melted goo was inside.

Oh thank the spirits it was over. But that meant—

Lenny zipped out of the Medbay. “Uncle Raph? Melon! Are you okay?!” He needed to make sure neither of them got hurt!

Right near the entrance of the Medbay was Uncle Raph. He was on his knees with Melon right beside him, mewling and butting her head against him. “Huh? Lenny?” When his uncle looked over, Lenny could see his eye was back to normal.

“Uncle Raph!” Lenny was by his biggest uncle in a second, clinging to him with his spider arms and nuzzling his cheek against Uncle Raph’s. He was okay! It worked! “How do you feel? You’re not dizzy or hot or anything? How does your bite feel? Do I need to get the first aid—”

An arm back around him with a churr got Lenny to relax. “Thankfully I’m fine. See?” Lenny’s uncle lifted his arm where Uncle Leo had bitten him and it was fine. There was a bruise there and some healed-over indents but nothing else. “I just feel super tired from making so many constructs. Speaking of.” With his other hand, Uncle Raph waved and the wasp matter vanished. Melon pressed beside him just in time, as he shuddered and slumped a bit more forward. “Ugh.”

Lenny kept his arms around Uncle Raph, helping to hold him up. “I’ve got you, Uncle Raph. I’m gonna make sure you get what you need to feel better,” he promised, churring and nuzzling against Uncle Raph’s cheek. Oh, Lenny was just so happy that his family was safe. He had done it, he had saved them. He protected everyone. His processors and his hard drive were getting warm again in the best ways, more so than Lenny had ever felt. He had protected his family. They were safe. 

He wasn’t alone anymore.

Very faintly, Lenny heard a gasp. From Uncle Raph. “Lenny. Lenny, I want you to look down for me, bud.” His uncle didn’t sound worried though. Even if he was clearly tired, he sounded so happy past it.

Lenny opened his eyes and looked down. His processors felt foggy and slow. What? He was… glowing? “Am I overheating again?” Lenny asked slowly, trying to figure out what that circle on his chassis was— 

Wait. Circle? “Is that… Uncle Raph, is that— Do I have a crest?” he asked so softly. There was no way. Lenny was inorganic, a construct. Crests were for living people. They were for people with souls and Ninpō and— and—

How did he have a crest?!

“Yeah bud, you do. Told you that you were family. Guess the ancestors finally realized it,” Uncle Raph said before he knocked his head against Lenny’s.

Lenny just couldn’t look away from his crest. It was purple but a deeper purple than his dad’s, closer to indigo than violet. It was wholly that indigo too, not mixed with any other colors. That only happened with bloodline Hamatos, right? But Lenny was built, not born. He wasn’t— He couldn’t—

Lenny felt his processors get fuzzy and slow again; his equivalent of tearing up, he supposed. “Daddy,” he called, reaching into his dad’s comms because Lenny couldn’t process this. He couldn’t compute the fact that he was getting a crest.

“Lenny? Lenny, where are you? Are you okay?!”

“I’m— I’m outside the Medbay with Uncle Raph and Melon.” Lenny hiccupped. “I’m okay, I just— I don’t know— I don’t get—” He couldn’t even string together a proper, coherent sentence.

“He’s okay, just overwhelm—”

Then his dad burst into view in front of Lenny. He gasped softly before he knelt down in front of Lenny, cradling his face. “You got your crest,” he whispered, his voice full of awe. “Purely your own color. No one else has this besides me, my brothers, and your grandpa. Well, and now you.”

“Mhmm.” Lenny nodded and leaned into his dad’s hold, closing his eyes. This was good. This he understood. “I— I—I don’t understand how, though. I’m a— a machine.” Lenny felt so much younger than he was. Or maybe he actually felt his age for once. Only a few years old instead of version 16.1.7. Either way, this was just— He couldn’t compute this. It was a good feeling but so much and his processors couldn’t handle it.

He could hear his dad fondly hum before he felt their foreheads rest against each other. “Even so, you’re more than that. You grow. You live. You feel. You want. There’s so much to you that’s a miracle, Lenny. I did make you, and that combined with everything else proves you’re a Hamato too. You are my son after all, are you not? So I dictate that you are and have been alive for a long while.”

“I’m… alive?” Lenny whispered. Was that even possible? Sure he felt and he wanted and he loved so intensely but he was alive…? “I’m alive.” He blinked slowly, his energy core whirring faster and faster like a heartbeat starting to race. “I’m alive! And I’m a Hamato!”

“Heck yeah you are, little guy,” Uncle Raph said around a laugh. 

“Oh for sure he is. Lenny Hamato. I like the sound of that.” His dad hummed happily and clicked his tongue. “Unless you want to change anything about it before I make it official?”

“No, that’s perfect.” Lenny beamed, looking up at his Dad. “Lenny Hamato. I think it suits me.”

His dad poked him in the middle of his snout. “It sure does. Now, can you help me get your uncle to his room? He looks awful.”

“Aaand you just ruined a heartfelt moment.”

Leo yawned as he finished typing up the report into Mother Shell’s system. Everyone else had gone to bed after that exhausting day with Parasitica but Leo had decided to finish off his notes before he forgot the data.

He didn’t like sleep much anyway. He didn’t like what he saw when he dreamed now.

“You may not like sleeping anymore but you need it.”

“I’ll go to sleep when I’m done. Just— I don’t want to go through it again. Not yet.” Leo huffed. He hated that Prime was making good points. And it wasn’t just now, he was right about the Parasitica too. They should have stayed away but if they did, innocent people would have been targeted instead.

Prime sighed but didn’t say anything further. At least not for now. Ugh. Leo needed to say something to this fungus, didn’t he?

“Look, I know you’re not… happy with my choices. But you also need to remember that you chose me,” Leo said as he shook head. He wasn’t even sure if he was speaking aloud or mentally anymore. It all felt the same with Prime. “You saw what I was like in my brothers’ memories. You saw me on the Technodrome. You knew who and what I was. You can’t make me stop running into danger if there is a chance my actions will help protect people. Especially the people I care about.”

There was a pause. “I know. But I want you to make the most informed decisions possible. You are self-sacrificial. You need to be able to calculate yourself in that ‘protect people’ mindset as well, Leo.”

“Why do you care?” Leo knew the answer. He knew it like how Prime knew what Leo was thinking. It wasn’t self preservation.

“Multiple reasons. I chose you for a reason. I want you to be okay. I also went through and lived through your memories. I care about your family too. If you’re not going to be the one with the self preservation skills here, I’ll be the one to handle them for you. But I don’t want to take that autonomy away from you.”

“I don’t want to die,” Leo conceded after a moment. “I don’t want to die but living, it’s… hard. Especially with this whole mess.” He gestured to his head. He wasn’t even talking about Prime, even if the alien did make things more difficult. It was somehow comfortable. Sharing his head with someone who could keep up with his way of thinking. It had only been a few days but Leo was already getting used to it.

He might even miss Prime’s company when they were inevitably separated and Prime was destroyed.

“Living is quite a difficult thing, though I’m not sure I’m the best person to talk about this with,” Prime conceded. “April’s mother is a certified therapist, correct?”

“She’s been working with me.” Leo nodded and sighed. “Carol is great. If my brain just stopped trying to give the answer that everyone wanted to hear, that would be awesome. I don’t even realize I’m doing it until it happens.” He wrapped up his report and saved it under the compendium’s listing for the Parasitica alien. “The joys of having too good a social radar.”

Prime sighed as he said, “Well, you’re also used to doing that when you aren’t trying to make a buffoon out of yourself.”

“Being a little stupid makes people laugh. Can’t ask for anything better than that.” Leo would do anything for his brothers’ happiness. He stood and stretched. “Okay Prime, might as well get this over with. You think Donnie will mind if he wakes up with me clinging to him tomorrow?”

“After everything that’s happened today? Most definitely not.”

Chapter Text

Ugh. Donnie felt tense and achy as he felt himself beginning to wake up. Why? He hadn’t done anything the day before. He had just been spending some fam time with the fam, worked on getting access to EPF, and then finished the night working on a personal project. None of that should have contributed to him being sore and achy like this, not more than the normal aches and pains he felt on the daily.

It took him a moment to realize that he was also alone in bed. Weird. Normally Leo would come crash with Donnie even if he had stayed up late working. Donnie had even been going to bed earlier again to better accommodate Leo’s circadian rhythm. The fact his twin wasn’t here wasn’t concerning, per se; it was just unusual.

Slowly sitting up in bed, Donnie stretched himself out with his hands above his head before he put on his glasses. Ah, sight. If only he was allowed to do laser eye surgery on himself so he didn’t need to rely on these frames and lenses.

A knock on his bedroom door snapped him out of his thoughts. “Fizzy?” Oh, there was Leo. “How you doing, twin of mine? Any lingering homicidal urges? You gonna start hissing if I come in?”

Donnie blinked and stared at the door. “Is this a lead up to some weird joke or activity you’re going to force me to participate in against my will?” Did something happen yesterday that he forgot about? Ugh. Curse his deteriorating memory. Another thing Donnie wanted to fix but wasn’t allowed to.

“And he’s back, ladies and gentlemen,” Leo chuckled as he opened the door. “Good morning, Fizzy. Glad to have you back with us.” He wandered over and flopped on to Donnie’s bed. He was only wearing his shell cover so he clearly hadn’t been up too long. Leo normally put on his battle shell almost immediately.

After staring down at Leo for a good few seconds, Donnie prodded his twin in the throat, above where his scars were. “Explain.” Another prod, this time on the side of his neck. “Now.”

Leo groaned and rubbed his throat, then adjusted his scarf to better hide his neck. “You had an episode yesterday. As in the whole day.” Oh. “It was one of the worst yet.”

“But I vividly remember doing a lot of things yesterday.”

“Well you were in paranoia mode yesterday. Maybe it was the day before you were remembering?” Leo shrugged. “I dunno how your episodes work. I just know that basically as soon as you left your room yesterday, you were in paranoia mode. If you can even call it paranoia. I’m more likely to call it feral territorial turtle mode but honestly, who’s keeping track?”

Donnie thought for a moment. “I remember spending fam time with the fam, working on hacking for EPF access, and working on my YouTube content after while also doing some basic lair upgrades yesterday,” he admitted.

“Yeah, that was the day before yesterday.” Well shit. “Yesterday you were lighting up missiles as you tried to shoot at Usagi. And clinging to me. And hissing at everyone .” Leo snickered and shook his head fondly. “You were very cuddly though, so I can’t complain too much.”

Shame crept up the back of Donnie’s neck, even if he didn’t fully regret his actions. Now he remembered what must have triggered his paranoia episode. “None of you told me that the bunny was going to be staying over, let alone for a whole week. I blame that on you all and your poor communication skills.” They all knew at the very least that Donnie despised Yuichi Usagi with every fiber of his being.

Well, everyone except Leo at least. Somehow his twin was oblivious to Donnie’s loathing. “Hey, I didn’t know either. I found out just before you did,” Leo defended with a huff. “And it was a last minute decision from what I heard. Not that I really got to ask .”

Donnie narrowed his eyes at Leo. “You still don’t know why he’s here for a whole week with us?” No way. Leo was very curious, especially anything and everything related to this rabbit.

“I didn’t get a chance to ask,” was Leo’s reply. “You held me hostage basically until bed and while Yuichi doesn’t go to sleep early , he does sleep deeply. And then this morning, I came straight to check on you.” Oh. “I’m not upset, before you get worried. Just a little peeved that you treated me like a plushie the whole day. I had things I wanted to do. Thankfully they weren’t urgent so it’s not the end of the world.”

At that, Donnie raised his hands in the air. “Hey, I wouldn’t have done that if I was mentally present. I just lost a whole day.” So many plans were now set back because of this. Ugh. He’d have to reschedule and reorganize so many plans on his sheets now.

“So did I.” Leo didn’t sound upset; he was just stating a fact. “You hid me away in a den I couldn’t get out of from breakfast until bed and hissed and tried to bite anyone who got close. In fact, I think you did bite Raph. He was just lucky it was a warning bite and not a proper chomp.”

Oh. Ew. Donnie would need to brush his teeth multiple times and do a few mouthwash gargles. “Lucky for us both. Blegh.”

Leo didn’t laugh. He just started fiddling with the chains Mikey gave him to wear around his wrist. Oh no, this wasn’t good. “Why did you react so badly to Yuichi staying over?”

Pizza Supreme, help Donnie now. Please. Oh, he wasn’t helping. Now he was cursing Pizza Supreme as he tried to figure a way of discussing this without hurting Leo’s feelings. “Er… Um… Sudden drastic change of plans last minute?”

“No, that wouldn’t make you cling to me like you did.” Leo sighed and rubbed his face. “I just… You don’t have to tell me but can you at least try to get along with Yuichi? He’s a good guy and he’s someone I consider a good friend. Plus, you know I like him. Spirits, everyone knows I like him except him somehow.”

And that was the problem. Donnie couldn’t say that though. Even he has enough social awareness to know that. “I can promise tolerating him and his existence when we coexist in the same room.” Maybe. Possibly.

“Well, it’s something, I guess.” Leo chuckled. He sounded tired. “Just… don’t chase him off. It would be hard to do because he’s so polite and respectful and he really tolerates more than he should but he means a lot to me. Hell, he’s one of the very few friends I have. Even if I didn’t have feelings for him, he’d mean a lot to me.”

Donnie blinked and frowned as he looked at Leo. “One of your very few friends? What? I’m the one with very few friends here.”

“You have people you regularly interact with online,” Leo pointed out. “You chat with them a lot. And you’ve got Juan too. I have Mona, who is dating Raph and doesn’t spend nearly as much time with me as she used to. And I have Yuichi. Everyone else is in the clan in some way and even then, they have people they’re closer with. Junior is the exception but he’s also nine and has school.” He sighed. “I have connections. People I can call on for favors because I’m charming or they owe me. Friends? Yeah, don’t have too many of those. Again, why do you think I got so upset when I was left alone continuously? I had basically no one to talk to.”

“I can disagree with you. Though you said they’re in the clan in some way and they’re busy, you got April and the girls too,” Donnie pointed out as he stood up and stretched. “You also have CJ. He’s super close to you. Lenny too.” Hopefully he was helping. Donnie was really trying here and wasn’t sure if this was how one comforted another with this sort of sadness. It was a form of sadness Leo was feeling, right? Loneliness too?

“Again, they’re all family. Plus they don’t have time for me that often compared to before. April has school and her job while Casey and Sunita have work or they’re hanging out with their besties or romantic other. CJ spends a lot of time with the Brownies, with Junior, or with Rara or Dad. Lenny is usually working on stuff, either for you or with you. Still, he's normally got the most time for me out of everyone you’ve listed.” Leo waved Donnie off. He didn’t even sound upset, just resigned. Wow, Leo had some angst building that Donnie hadn’t even been aware of.

Well this wouldn’t do. Damnit. Donnie really didn’t want Yuichi to be the best option here. If Leo and him got together, then Leo would have less time for him. Eventually, when they would be all-consumed by love, Leo would leave, travel the world with this basic bunny boy who was clearly a massive pushover, and never want to be with Donnie again. Did he want his twin to be happy? Yes. Did he want that to be without him? The jury was still out on that one. 

“Well, you need to make more friends then. Maybe in the Hidden City or possibly even out in space. Make some real long distance friendships,” Donnie only partially jested as he walked over to his mini fridge in his room.

“Mayhaps. I just need to find some people I actually trust. Most people… Yeah, no.” Leo shook his head. 

Donnie peered into the mini fridge as he tried to formulate his response. Hey, when did he get iced coffee? He hated the stuff even if Leo— Oh. He probably got it for Leo without realizing it. “Okay, so you need to work on yourself before you can make more friends. Easy…er said than done, admittedly,” Donnie said as he grabbed the bottle of iced coffee and a bottle of flavorless juice for himself. He expertly avoided the pillow thrown his way before closing the fridge with his foot. “Oh, so the baby doesn’t want his iced coffee then?”

“Wait, since when did you keep iced coffee in your mini fridge?” Even as he questioned it, Leo held out his hand. “Please and thank you, best twin ever. I need some caffeine this morning.”

Donnie sat back down on his bed. “As the best twin ever to exist before now, currently, and in the future and beyond, I got some for you. You’re welcome.” He did a little bow to his left then his right.

That got a smile from Leo so Donnie counted it as a win. His twin took the coffee and cracked open the lid, sighing happily as the familiar and somewhat comforting smell of coffee wafted from the bottle. Donnie developed a fondness for the smell of coffee after Leo started drinking it as much as he drank tea. The smell often ended up clinging to Leo most mornings, at the very least until his first portal or zap.

Not that Donnie would ever admit to it. Nope. Instead of possibly doing that, Donnie just cracked open his own drink and took a good few sips. Ah, flavorless juice. His beloved.

Leo took a few mouthfuls of his coffee. He sighed softly, lowering his drink slowly as he got a thoughtful look on his face.

Then Lenny rushed in. “Don’t drink that!” he cried.

Donnie, who unfortunately happened to be mid sip, choked on his juice. He pulled his bottle away and coughed a few times. He flailed his arm towards the direction of hopefully a little trash can of some description or some other disposal waste bin. He didn’t find anything but thankfully he stopped choking after only a couple of coughs. 

“Oh no oh no oh no!” Lenny started flying back and forth, his equivalent of pacing. “Why did you give Uncle Leo that coffee?”

“Hmm?” Leo looked over but he seemed distracted, as if Donnie hadn’t just started choking in front of him and as if Lenny wasn’t pacing.

Donnie looked at his son and frowned as he rubbed his plastron. Okay, so the warning wasn’t for him. And he was breathing normally again. “I just almost choked to death. Nothing big or major, he said with no sarcasm whatsoever.”

“During your episode last night, after we got Leo from you, we locked you in the lab and in here. I was looking over the cams just now and saw you tampering with the coffee on the cameras,” Lenny explained, still pacing. “I dunno what stuff you put in it but it can’t be good.” They both looked over to Leo, who was staring off into the distance without any real focus. He was tracing one finger idly around the rim of his bottle. He barely even seemed to realize Donnie was there, even after Donnie almost choked to death.

Well shit. “If I was super protective over Leo last night, it would’ve been something related to that protectiveness,” Donnie said with a frown. “Or I’d at least think so. Apparently not since he didn’t even care that I was choking a second ago !”

“Huh? Did you say something, Donnie?” Leo asked, looking over. There was a subtle haze over his eyes, his pupils were slightly dilated and he seemed to be slightly flushed. “Sorry, I kinda got lost in thought.” He put the lid on his iced coffee and set it to the side, giggling softly as he did.

Donnie sighed but watched as Lenny inched closer to the drink. He reached over and grabbed Leo by the face, making him look over at Donnie and Donnie only. “Yeah, I almost choked to death on my juice and you didn’t even notice nor care. Which was kind of rude.”

“Oh, uh, sorry. I’m glad you’re okay now?” Leo shrugged helplessly. “I was distracted. Sorry.”

Lenny snatched the drink and it vanished inside his body. Surely he was getting a sample because this was not how Leo reacted to Donnie almost choking. His twin would’ve checked up on him after making a joke at his expense. He was doing neither right now. “What was distracting you so much that you didn’t care about me almost dying in front of you, dear Nardo?”

“Thinking.”

A beat. “About…?”

Leo giggled and glanced at the door. “About the fact that Yuichi is probably making breakfast. It’s just— it’s so domestic .” He giggled again, his cheeks getting warmer under Donnie’s hands.

Oh. 

Oh no .

“I must have tried and failed last night to make a hatred potion or something,” Donnie deduced. Yeah, and he made the opposite instead: a love potion. A really powerful one so now Leo’s lovey-dovey emotions towards that damn bunny were amplified! No! “Mikey literally makes us breakfast every morning, Leo. No way the rabbit is doing that. Please tell me you haven’t been thinking about the rabbit this whole time.”

“He has a name , Donnie,” Leo huffed. Then he got that doofy grin again. “And yeah, I have been. He’s just so awesome. And we have him for a whole week! Oh, this is gonna be amazing.” The rhythmic ‘ thud thud thud ’ of Leo’s tail hitting the mattress echoed around Donnie’s room.

Donnie groaned as he glanced to Lenny. “If you haven’t already started analyzing the coffee, can you do so in my lab so we can work on fixing this whole situation?” With one hand, Donnie gestured to all of Leo.

“I’m already on it. I don’t want to leave you two alone right now,” Lenny replied. “Because of him, not because of you.”

Leo pulled back and lied back on Donnie’s bed, hiding his face in the covers and giggling almost drunkenly. Ugh. This was a nightmare. Why, paranoia-fueled Donnie?! “Leo, you aren’t a white girl on a Disney Channel sitcom. I know you’re basic like one but stop that. Please. My patience can only tolerate so much basicness right now.”

“Dad, his oxytocin levels are rising,” Lenny warned.

Donnie glanced at Lenny. “Remind me what those do again. My brain went to certain functions that do not match the current situation.”

“Oxytocin in the love hormone,” Lenny explained with concern. “That plus his endorphins are on the rise. He’s literally in the puppy love stages of a relationship, by my estimates, and it’s only gonna get worse.” Lenny sounded about as worried as Donnie felt.

Yeah, this was bad if it was continually rising. Donnie glanced back over at Leo then as he giggled. Did he dare check? The things Donnie did for the love of his family. “Let me check how bad it is,” he said and, in a selfless act, dove into Leo’s mind through the imprint to see just how bad Leo’s thoughts were.

Instantly, Donnie was overwhelmed. It was like his whole world, no, his whole universe shifted to orbit around a singular point. His smile, his laugh, everything about Yuichi just kept Donnie stuck. The urge to protect, to provide, was familiar to Donnie but this was something new. This was love like Donnie had never felt. It was addicting. It was right .

It took all his willpower to pull himself out of the imprint as the feelings left him in an instant. Gasping for air, Donnie rested a hand against his plastron. They needed to fix this and fast. That was terrifying and if those feelings only got worse and more intense… The thought made Donnie’s mouth dry up a bit and his heart race. “Leo? Why are you getting up?”

“I’m gonna go see Yuichi,” Leo simply said, a beaming smile on his face and a warm blush on his cheeks. His tail hadn’t stopped wagging. 

“Dad, are you alright?” Lenny asked softly, pressing close to Donnie’s side.

Donnie wrapped an arm around Lenny as he took a deep breath. “We need to make a cure as soon as possible.” It took all of his willpower and swallowing his pride to add, “Tell Rara.” This was dangerous. Scary dangerous. Even if Rara would be disappointed in Donnie, that didn’t matter in comparison to the danger not only Leo was in, but everyone else, especially that rabbit. 

Donnie stood before Leo left, taking his hand. “Can I come with you? I want to know why he’s staying here for so long.” Frame this interaction in a more positive light. Hopefully it would just make Leo happy since it was Yuichi-centric.

“Sure! I know Yuu would love to see you. He probably feels really bad about yesterday and wants to make sure you’re okay.” Leo took Donnie’s hand and almost dragged him out of the train car. Okay, more enthusiasm than Donnie had been expecting but it was manageable.

Donnie had to quicken his pace a bit so his arm wasn’t ripped out of its socket. “Oh really?”

“Yeah, he thinks you’re really cool and he really wants to be your friend,” Leo explained with a grin. “He’ll be happy to see you’re up and about.”

“Well, he isn’t wrong about me being really cool. The coolest even,” Donnie said as he tried to see if his dramatics would garner anything from his twin.

“Yuichi is the coolest,” Leo shot back, not an ounce of joking in his tone. Then he smiled again. “But you’re pretty cool too. You have to be if he wants to be your friend.”

Yeah, okay. Everything was now framed around Yuichi and him being the best in any positive regard. Great. Totally awesome, not at all thought sarcastically and with a growing contempt. “Yes, I suppose so,” Donnie said, having to keep himself from gritting it through his teeth.

“I’m glad you agree.” Leo beamed, but there was a hint of ice in his expression. “I’d be upset if you didn’t.” Was that a threat?! Eugh boy, he was getting worse already.

“Well I don’t want to upset my dearest darlingest twin,” Donnie assured Leo. “I care for said twin very very much.” He took a deep breath and added, even if it hurt his soul, “And who and what he cares for as well, including Yuichi.” Ah! Ah! Eugh!

“That’s really good to hear. Yuichi really wants to be your friend so he’d be sad if you didn’t like him.” God, this obsession just made Donnie’s skin crawl. He was thankful that he never would experience the horrors of romantic love himself. His past crushes on Atomic Lass and others like her totally didn’t count. “Hey, you smell that? It smells like fried fish. Yuichi is cooking!”

Oh no. Donnie really was banking on it being Mikey who was making breakfast today. And who ever heard of fish for breakfast before? Well, it was probably a Japanese thing. Donnie was partially Japanese, so… “That isn’t in Mikey’s breakfast repertoire so I guess you are correct. Didn’t know this guy cooked. You told me he didn’t even know how to use a microwave or blender until you taught him.”

“He struggles with more modern appliances but he can cook,” Leo explained proudly. “His family just didn’t have much in the way of technology. It didn’t really make it into the countryside outside of Neo Edo.”

Of course Leo knew all of that. “I see.”

When they walked into the kitchen, Donnie kept himself from admitting the smell was divine. It wasn’t. No. Yuichi stood at the stove, cooking what looked like a bunch of food in multiple pans and the like. He was even wearing one of Mikey’s aprons. Was that allowed? The yokai didn’t even seem to notice that Donnie and Leo had entered based on how he was humming some tune Donnie didn’t know to himself while stirring with long chopsticks in the wok.

“That smells amazing, Yuu,” Leo cooed, letting go of Donnie’s hand. “You’re making us a full spread? That’s so sweet of you!” He walked into the kitchen and let out an almost musical chirp of happiness.

The rabbit jumped and looked over, a hand resting against his chest. Wow, he really had to have been focused or out of it to be scared by Leo. “Leo! Oh, and Donnie!”

Even if he didn’t want to, Donnie gave a little wave as he followed Leo in. “Greetings.”

Leo giggled softly and went over, hugging Yuichi from behind and knocking their heads together. “Don’t let us distract you. How can I help?” he asked. Based on the fact that Yuichi didn’t look uncomfortable, only mildly flustered, the hug and the head knock must be something they’d done before. Gross.

Yuichi cleared his throat and looked back at everything he had going on the stovetop. “Uh, I’m not sure. Breakfast should be ready soon,” he said as he went back to stirring whatever was in the wok. Another hand took a ladle and stirred it in a pot, lifting some of the contents up as he sniffed it. “Yeah.”

“How about I set the table then?” Leo offered.

“That would be nice. Mikey already took out all the silverware and dishes already when he was in here with me,” Yuichi said, gesturing with his elbow to the island counter. “There should be enough there for eight.” Eugh. This was domestic. Donnie hated it.

“I’ll make sure everything else is ready.” Leo’s touch lingered a second longer than it needed to before he walked off with a notable sway to his hips. Dear Pizza Supreme, even being in the same room as this was torture, especially with the fact that Yuichi was watching Leo . Fuck. Donnie hated every second of this.

Was this hell? Surely it was. What did Donnie do to deserve this? He didn’t do anything wrong to this degree! Sure, he wasn’t a morally upstanding citizen, but this was pure agony that only the most egregious of wrongdoers deserves. And it wasn’t like he could leave either. No way could Leo be trusted alone with this stupid rabbit boy right now. 

“—ie? Um, Donnie?”

Donnie blinked and looked over to the rabbit that was a blight on Donnie’s existence. “Huh?”

Yuichi was looking right at him then and seemed to have been for a good bit. “You’re alright with fish and rice, right? For food textures. And egg?”

Oh. “Uh. Yes. I am.”

The yokai let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. I asked Mikey earlier but I wanted to double check. Raph too, when he came in to feed Melon. I wanted to make you all a nice breakfast after letting me stay for the week. Sir Hueso and June are going away for a week.” Oh dear lord, was he just dumping all of this onto Donnie of all people? Yeah, he wanted to know, but not like this. The preferred way was secondhand from a brother or parental figure. “Run of the Mill is closed for the week as well. They offered to let me stay in their home alone but I didn’t feel quite comfortable with that. I’m not a big fan of staying alone.”

Okay, it seemed like Yuichi was done rambling. Oh god, he was starting expectantly at Donnie. Why him. Why Donnie. “Uh… huh. And how did that end up with you staying here? Didn’t you have anywhere else to stay? Like, the Battle Nexus hotel since you’re a fighter.”

Yuichi looked back at the stovetop then. “Yes. I was going to, and I was telling Mikey about it over text. He insisted I come and stay with you all instead.” That traitor. And he didn’t warn Donnie?!

“It was very thoughtful and sweet of Mikey. Though if any of us had known, we probably would have done the same.” Leo sounded positively giddy from where he was setting the table.

Donnie couldn’t dare say a thing against it. He just hummed and got himself a drink from the fridge. If only there was alcohol in here. Now would be the time Donnie would happily try it. 

“Aww. Well, that kindness is why I’m making this Japanese breakfast for you all. It’s the least I can do to show my thanks to you all.” Ew. A brownnoser.

Leo must have detected Donnie’s annoyance because he got a flash of hostility rush through the imprint. It reminded Donnie of when Leo would snap his beak at him when they were really little, or when they were sick. It was a warning, a reminder to not push any further.

Okay. Donnie just needed to block his emotions off in the imprint. Great. This was a fun time for Donatello. No sarcasm at all here!

Yuichi took the pots and everything off the stove and onto the island. “Oh, I should’ve asked you to keep the plates and bowls here. Need to plate everything.”

“Oh, I’ll bring it all back.” Leo quickly zapped everything back to the island, his bright, warm smile never shifting. The heart eyes were so obvious and it was sickening.

“Dad?” Lenny whispered, nudging Donnie’s shoulder. “Rara wants to see you before breakfast starts. I think he’s grabbing everyone else too so we can plan.”

Donnie glanced over and then back to Yuichi and Leo. “Someone needs to watch him though,” he whispered back. God did he want to leave though. He felt sick. “Unless you…?”

“I can watch them for you,” Lenny promised. “Everyone is in the main room by the heat lamp.”

“Good luck.” Donnie knocked his head against Lenny’s and slipped out. Even if Donnie knew he was going to be judged supremely and unfairly for the mistake his paranoid self had made and be reprimanded for it, it beat that hell he was escaping from.

His remaining brothers, CJ, Splinter, and Draxum were all standing by the heat lamp. Mikey and Raph looked frustrated, chatting softly between themselves. CJ looked worried, glancing around and relaxing minutely when he spotted Donnie. At least someone was happy to see him. Splinter looked disappointed and tired. Draxum, though, didn't look like any of the others. His expression was soft and he held out his arms for Donnie. “Come here, my son.”

Wait, what? Why wasn’t Draxum disappointed or upset like the others? He must not have gotten the memo or something. Well, Donnie wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak. 

Unless this was a trap. Donnie hovered by Draxum and stared at him as he felt the others, sans CJ, giving him a look. “Uh… Why?”

“Because you’re upset and I’m wanting to comfort you,” Draxum replied patiently. “I understand what happened and I also know it’s not your fault. You’re not in control of yourself when you have an episode. You don’t have your proper reasoning or your morals to guide you. You wouldn’t subject Leonardo to this or to the hatred potion I suspect you were aiming for when in your right mind. So, because of that, I am not upset. I just want to take care of my boys.”

Oh. That… was not what Donnie was expecting. Huh. He took a hesitant step forward, then another, until he was standing right against Draxum. “I wouldn’t,” he agreed in a hushed whisper. “I really wouldn’t. Maybe for someone else but not anyone in our family.” He quickly added, “Or Yuichi.”

“You wouldn’t hurt us like this on purpose,” Draxum agreed softly, cradling Donnie close. “It’s okay, Donatello. We’ll figure this out.”

Donnie nodded as he hugged Draxum back. If he melted against his second father, well, he wasn’t going to be the one to point it out. He just wanted this fixed. 

Raph’s throat clearing got everyone’s attention. “Okay, so we can’t leave Leo alone with Yuichi. They need constant supervision, even if it’s gonna piss off Leo the longer he’s affected. He’ll threaten us and eventually may actually attack us. I’m okay with being on constant Leo duty. Whoever isn’t is gonna be working to make a cure for this thing.”

“I’ll stick with you, Waffle,” Mikey offered, climbing on to Raph’s back. “I can restrain him if he gets too much.” 

“I’ll work to check the Mystic Library with Sunita’s air for a possible cure,” Splinter added.

“And me, Donnie, Lenny, and Rara can work on making a cure here,” CJ finished.

Donnie nodded. “That works. Also, Raph, Mikey, warning to you both: Leo is only focused on Yuichi and only cares about him. He already loosely threatened me before we even saw him.” He looked at Mikey specifically then. “He’s going to evolve into that one kind of anime troupe. You know the one.”

Mikey shuddered while Raph looked confused. “I’ll explain later, Waffle.”

“Please. I don’t watch any of your animes except that one you showed me a few years back.” Donnie didn’t even want to know which one Mikey tried to introduce Raph to. Unless it was DBZ. That would make sense.

“Okay, okay. Now, should we go save Lenny?” Mikey asked with a chuckle. As Mikey said that, Donnie got an alert on his bracer. It was from Lenny, warning him that Leo’s oxytocin levels were rising again and that his testosterone was going up as well.

“Yes. Now. Go. Also, warning: he’s worse than you are with Mona, Raph.”

“Wh— Mona and I aren’t bad,” Raph sputtered before he shook his head. He did hurry with Mikey to the kitchen though, everyone else heading there as well.

The scene they walked in on made Donnie’s stomach churn. Leo was wrapped around Yuichi from behind, his head resting on top of the rabbit’s. Leo’s arms were securely wrapped around Yuichi’s waist and his tail was wagging happily. Leo’s eyes were closed blissfully and he was churring . Eugh, it was sickeningly domestic and Donnie hated it. What was worse was that Yuichi seemed to like the attention.

“Lee—” Nicknames based off of the already established primary nickname Leo had? Disgusting. “—I do need to be able to set the table. I can’t do that if you’re holding me like this.” The food had all been plated in a very appealing way. It even smelled divine. Not that Donnie would admit that out loud. “We also need to call everyone in to eat. I don’t want the food to get cold.”

“O kay Chi,” Leo cooed, letting Yuichi go, though he playfully made it look like it was a real effort. “I’ll text everyone in the group chat to let them know.” 

“No need. We’re all here!” Mikey cheered.

Yuichi looked over and his face lit up. “Oh! Oh, I didn’t even finish setting up.”

“No need. We can grab our portions.” Splinter sniffed the air as his mouth watered. “You made a traditional Japanese breakfast? I haven’t had this since I was a boy.”

“We are being spoiled,” Leo agreed, lightly hip checking Yuichi as he walked past with his plate.

Yuichi’s cheek fur fluffed up and he cleared his throat. “Be careful. I also have a miso soup to go with your breakfast. I didn’t do a full breakfast with all the sides, but I did soup, rice, eggs, and fish. There should be enough for seconds,” he explained with a quick bow.

“That’s still so awesome, Yuu. Thank you so much!” Mikey cried. Out of the corner of his eye, Donnie spotted Leo’s poisonous glare sent Mikey’s way. Eugh boy, he was getting possessive now. That was never a good thing.

Raph smiled and bowed back, as did CJ. “Thanks. You really didn’t have to.”

“I know, but I wanted to,” Yuichi insisted before the rest of the family started grabbing their plates. “I really hope you like the meal.”

“If it tastes half as good as it looks, Orange’s chef status is going to be threatened,” Splinter teased as he grabbed his plate.

“Nah, Mikey is still the best chef,” CJ defended with a laugh, grabbing his own plate and a bowl of soup. “But I bet Yuichi is a close second. This smells better than most things I’ve tried.” Now that was a big compliment. Clearly CJ was a lot like Leo with his preference of Japanese foods.

Donnie had to look away as he saw how much Yuichi’s face lit up once he specifically grabbed his plate of food. He really couldn’t handle this. His body wanted to eject him out but before Leo drank this drink, he said he’d promise to tolerate this guy. He’d do that for his twin. Holding back a huff, Donnie sat down and started eating with everyone else.

The food was divine. 

The rice was soft and fluffy and the perfect texture, no under- or overcooked grains. The fish was crispy but still tender and juicy somehow. The little egg pieces were flavorful in the right ways and the soup was filling, warming, and even the tofu and seaweed in it didn’t set off Donnie’s texture issues.

How did the rabbit know just how to cater to Donnie’s needs and preferences? How did he hit every mark not just well, but getting a perfect score each time?!

Donnie silently ate this delicious meal as everyone started to eat, compliment the food, and either dig in or talk between bites. He still sat next to Leo so he glanced over at his twin as he ate. Survey the situation.

His twin ate just as ravenously as always, but his gaze almost remained fixated on Yuichi. He was talking with Yuichi, laughing at Yuichi’s jokes, and having some point of contact with Yuichi at almost all times. Ugh. If Leo and Yuichi ever got together, Donnie would murder something if they were like this. He didn’t want Leo and Yuichi to get together, but he was aware that it was a possibility.

It didn’t take too long for everyone to finish their meal. Yuichi scanned around and reached over, starting to collect all the plates, bowls, and utensils. “What are you doing?” Splinter asked as he stopped Yuichi, a hand on top of one of his. 

“Oh, I’m just cleaning—”

“After you made that meal for us all by yourself? Absolutely not! We shall clean it for you. It’s the least we can do after such a delicious meal to start the day,” Splinter insisted with a nod.

“We should go start preparing then,” Leo suggested, almost bouncing in his seat. “You’ve got a fight today, right? Let’s go down to the Nexus and I can help you warm up!”

Wait, Leo was really that infatuated that it superseded his emotions towards the Battle Nexus? Even Yuichi seemed surprised by that. “Wait, what? But you told me you couldn’t be back in the Nexus in person due to past issues. I was planning on heading down there alone and—”

“Well I need to get past it somehow,” Leo said with a shrug. “Really, I shouldn’t leave it for too long considering everything. I can leave if I get uncomfortable but I don’t think I will.” He smiled at Yuichi. “I’ll be there with you so I’ll know I’m safe.”

Something danced across Yuichi’s eyes that Donnie couldn’t make out or identify. “Uh, okay then, I guess?”

“Awesome. Let’s go.” Without waiting for an answer, Leo grabbed Yuichi’s hand and dragged him out of the kitchen.

The rabbit flailed his free hand as he stumbled out with Leo. He got out an apology to the others before he vanished from sight. Once they were in the clear, Splinter said, “I can soak these and use our fancy new dishwasher Purple made. Everyone ready?” Everyone nodded. 

Mikey was really not liking being back by the Battle Nexus. Yes, Warren and Hypno were nice now and were keeping everyone safe but that didn’t mean that Mikey felt comfortable here. 

This was where they had almost lost Leo and Donnie. There were a lot of bad memories here, even if the tacky and garish decorations were gone. 

He wasn’t the only one who had them either. Raph was tense and stiff as they walked into the Battle Nexus, looking around and craning his head this way and that. “Leo’s probably in the owner’s box.”

“Which is up in M—in his office.” It wasn’t Big Mama’s office anymore. It belonged to Leo and Warren and Hypno. Mikey still didn’t want to go up there.

Raph nodded. “Let’s see if we can find a spot close to the fighter’s area and where we can watch Leo and Yuichi. Have you ever watched Yuichi fight before?”

“Nope. Haven’t watched any fights besides our own or Dad’s,” Mikey admitted. He was a relatively peaceful turtle. He didn’t like violence for the sake of violence. He didn’t get wrestling or the Battle Nexus. Mikey just knew it made his brothers happy so he’d tag along when invited. He liked being included.

“It’s not too violent anymore. It’s like a show. Nothing lethal with docs on standby. A lot safer than it was before,” Raph assured Mikey. “Wanna find us a good place to sit?” When they arrived, they had alerted Hypno and Warren of the situation so at least they were aware. It was weird to talk so normally with them without the worry of threats or a fight.

Hypno had actually been really kinda cool, even if Warren was still just as boastful as before. He really stuck out in Mikey’s memory way more than he had as a villain though. The good guy look suited him. “Those seats by the stairs look free.” Mikey pointed, taking Raph’s hand and leading him towards the spots. “It’ll give us a clear view as well.”

“Sounds and looks good to me,” Raph said before carefully sitting down with Mikey’s help. The quick steps weren’t too great for him, especially with his bigger size. At least he was good in the seats.

Mikey knocked his head against Raph’s and turned to the arena. “So Hypno said Yuichi would be up next. Here’s hoping he’s a good showman. I haven’t seen the arena so full since we saw Leo’s battles… or Dad’s on the recordings.”

“Apparently he’s the next up-and-coming champ,” Raph said. “I mean, that’s what Warren says when announcing Yuichi. I’ve seen him go a few times when I’ve been able to catch his fights on livestreams. He really is a showman.”

“Guess he and Leo really are made for each other,” Mikey joked. “Leon needs someone who can keep up with him.”

“He does. This would be a lot easier if Donnie was better with the concept of sharing.”

“We wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place if he was,” Mikey agreed. “Why do you think he’s so against Yuichi? I mean yeah, Yuichi is a bit of a dumbass but he clearly makes Leo happy. And he’s had no problem with Mona.” He paused. “He had a small problem with Sunita after her and April started dating, but he got past that real quick. This has been months .”

Raph groaned and nodded. “This started as soon as Donnie locked eyes with Yuichi in Run of the Mill that first time in October. It’s ridiculous.” He thought for a moment. “Are like softshell turtles super territorial or something? He’s closer to April and Leo than us in that way.”

“Yeah, they’re territorial and aggressive.” Mikey had found that out when he was nine and interested in their different species. “But why Yuichi? He could be a great friend to Donnie. I can see them getting along really well.” He sighed and shook his head. There was no point in guessing right now; it wouldn’t change anything.

“We’ll just have to confront Don about it later,” Raph said before he turned his head. Mikey heard the music playing from the speakers slowly fade away as the lights started to shift and focus on the arena. 

“Good morning, ladies, gentleman, and everyone else in between or elsewhere. I am your favorite announcer, Warreeeen Stooo-ooone.” The huge crowd present all cheered loud and proud. “Ah yes, my Stone-Heads. But I know you aren’t here just for me. You’re all here for our star of the hour and his big match. He’s not just going up against one enemy from the young adult bracket, oh no. He’s going up against an infamous pair that has been undefeated since joining us in the ring. They’ll make your mommy shake in her boots, and then have your mommy’s mommy do the same if she isn’t asking them for autographs. Give it up for the rough and tumbling duo of Bebop aaand Rocksteady!”

Warren was a talented announcer. Even Mikey found himself getting into this already as two yokai strode into the arena. The warthog looking one had a purple mohawk, a nose ring, and an open vest. While he was much smaller than his partner, he was bulky and Mikey knew this guy would pack a punch even without the baseball bat and pistol he had strapped to his back and hip. 

The other one was a rhino, much taller than the warthog, with two horns. He had an army green tank top on which did nothing to hide his natural armor plating. Mikey felt that even he or Raph would have trouble knocking this guy around with how firmly grounded he seemed. The sledge hammer and rifle he had strapped to his back looked tiny next to him. 

Yuichi was going to fight them?! There was no way. They were in the young adult bracket, they had never lost before, and they looked like they were five times his weight!

When Mikey glanced at Raph to bring this up, he was surprised to see no worry or concern on his brother’s face. Yeah he liked wrestling and this kind of stuff but he wasn’t at all freaked out? “Oh, these guys ain’t gonna beat Yuichi,” Raph said around a laugh and a huge grin. 

Once the crowd calmed, Warren cut through them with a laugh of his own. “Yes, this duo is quite the fearsome one. But will they be able to outspeed our speed demon? Outshine our bright burst of a bunny? Will they shine brighter than…. Haaanabiii!”

Hanabi… That meant firework in Japanese, right? Yeah, that suited Yuichi.

Dark blue and silver fireworks started going off around the arena as Yuichi sprinted in. He was dressed in dark blue samurai armor, complete with the scary half mask that left only his eyes exposed. His ears came out the top of the helmet. His armor was decorated with multicolored firework patterns all over it. His katana had a dark blue hilt and looked wicked sharp. Yuichi launched himself off a rock in the arena, flipping with more grace than should be possible in such bulky armor, and he landed lightly in his designated starting area as he held his katana high. The crowd lost it, almost as though he were conducting them to crescendo. Wow, he was good.

Raph was cheering loud and proud, cupping his hands around his mouth as he stomped his feet. “YEAH!” He joined the crowd in chanting. “HA-NA-BI. HA-NA-BI. HA-NA-BI.”

“That’s right folks, our beloved bunny boy who always blows us away. Bets are now closed. I’m not going to say who I would have bet on.” Down below, Mikey watched as Yuichi nodded towards the yokai pair and they nodded back. If they were talking, Mikey couldn’t hear a thing. “Now, let’s ruuumbllle!”

Mikey found himself swept up in the crowd, his energy shooting up with theirs. He counted down. “FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!” 

There was the sound of a gunshot somewhere above the arena and suddenly everything was in motion.

Yuichi seemed to almost vanish from his starting circle, appearing a few feet to the left as he dodged the shots Bebop and Rocksteady sent his way. What the— Mikey only knew one person that fast, and Leo was able to zap. There was no way Yuichi could—

The rabbit shot from rock to rock, his form blurring as he moved almost faster than Mikey could keep up. There was the sound of metal clashing against metal as the yokai pair shot at Yuichi again and he deflected their bullets . 

Mikey couldn’t help himself. He cheered just as loudly as Raph did, on his feet and screaming his support.

Some people in the crowd even seemed to be ready for the deflected bullets with gloves on, like they were trying to catch a ball from a game. One yokai at the closest row to the edge leaned down and caught the stray bullet, and everyone cheered in awe or jealousy at their catch. They held it close and looked so happy. Mikey couldn’t help but admit he was a little jealous. 

The only thing that caught Mikey’s eye besides the fight that drew him out was a familiar cheer that was louder than the rest. Looking in the direction the cheer came from, Mikey saw Leo in the box, whooping and cheering with hearts all around him. “You got this, Hanabi! Kick their sorry butts!” His form was tiny in comparison but Mikey could see him waving and cheering. No way Yuichi didn’t hear him.

Even though his ears twitched, Yuichi kept fighting. He zipped across and seemed to vanish. Wait, what?! Where did he go? His opponents were looking around in confusion and shock, going back-to-back with their handheld weapons ready instead of their guns.

That seemed to be their mistake. As soon as they readied their weapons, Yuichi was behind them. He landed a solid kick to the warthog’s back, sending him sprawling into the rhino. Yuichi vanished again. Mikey focused and managed to pick out his dark blue form in the air above the two yokai. He dropped down, disarming then both with a powerful one! Two! Kick!

While the two staggered, Yuichi tripped them. He dropped to the ground, his katana held across both their throats. Mikey had sparred with Leo enough in the past to know that it was the blunt edge and that they weren’t in any danger.

The crowd lost their damn minds and Mikey almost did too. He glanced back at his blue-themed brother in the box and saw him losing it before he left. They couldn’t stay here long. 

Mikey reached up and poked Raph’s side. Raph didn’t seem to notice, too busy whooping and cheering as Yuichi pulled his blade back and offered his hands to his two beaten competitors. “And that is why you always bet on our lucky rabbit, folks. Sorry to the diehard Bebop and Rocksteady fans out there but no one can beat our rabbit king here!” Warren cheered, and the crowd seemed to absolutely lose it then, Raph included.

Mikey knew he wouldn’t be able to get through to Raph while he was wrapped up in the energy of the arena. Mikey groaned and grabbed Raph’s arm, tugging him out of the seats and to the down towards the bullpens. He remembered where they were and it was better to intercept Yuichi than to try and take Leo on themselves. Leo wouldn’t try anything with Yuichi around.

Once they were closer to the bullpens then the stands, Raph seemed to snap himself out of it. “Oh, sorry,” he apologized sheepishly. “But wasn’t that so cool!”

“It was,” Mikey agreed with a grin. Watching Yuichi fight… Well that was something he might be able to get into. “He’ll be down in the bullpens so let’s go catch him before Leo does.”

Raph nodded. “I think they converted the area a bit though so it’s more like a locker room situation. Not so… like it was,” he explained as best he could. Not that Mikey could blame him. Remembering their time down there sent a shiver up his shell.

“Yeah, makes sense. That would have been something Leo would insist they change.” Mikey thought for a moment as they kept walking. “You think Yuichi knows that Leo owns the Battle Nexus yet? I don’t know if he would have brought it up.”

After a moment, Raph shook his head. “No. Based on how Yuichi talked though, he knows at least that Leo has a bad history with it. Probably knows he fought here before at least. Maybe he mentioned her too.”

“They’ve gotten really close really quickly. Leo’s probably opened up to him,” Mikey agreed with a nod. He glanced around at the blue, green, white, red, and yellow tile mosaic patterns on the walls that lead down to the bullpens. So much nicer than the sterile plain gray it used to be.

When they finally made it down, there weren’t bullpens anymore. Instead, there was a nice lounge area for fighters to relax, talk, and hang. There were some games around including pool, foosball, darts, and more. There was a drink and snack bar as well. Then to either side were locker rooms. 

Raph gasped and his eye had stars in it when he saw Bebop and Rocksteady playing pool together. Oh no. They didn’t have the time for this. Mikey took his big brother’s arm and dragged him into the locker room that was for males. Oh, there was a gender neutral one as well as a female one. Nice. “We can say hi to them on the way out,” Mikey promised.

“Hey! Big Red, Pipsqueak!” That was very much a New York accent. Huh. Maybe a mutant? “You guys can’t go in there, it’s for fighters only.” Glancing back, Mikey saw Bebop looking their way. “If you’re looking for someone, come over here. Maybe we can help.” They didn’t have time for this but Mikey knew they wouldn’t get in now. Might as well give Raph something nice from today. Maybe they could get an autograph or something. 

“Okay, sure. But our brother is the owner of the Nexus so we’ve got permission.” Mikey walked over to the pool table with Raph, almost laughing at how excited his big brother was getting. Raph’s tail was going a mile a minute. Mikey hadn’t seen Raph this excited since before Ghostbear broke his heart as his idol in Battle Nexus New York. Huh. Wonder what happened to that guy? Mikey knew he got married but otherwise he had no clue.

Rocksteady’s eyes lit up for a moment before he grinned. “Oh, you’re Big Blue’s brothers, huh?” Why did Mikey have to be the only small one? “Nice to meet’cha then. Name’s Rocksteady, and this is my boy Bebop.” He hit the black ball with his cue and chuckled as not just the striped ball he was aiming at but two others also fell into the side holes. “Oh, you’re so toast, dude. I have you right where I want you.”

“No way, I still got this!” Bebop huffed as he took his shot.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Mikey.” Mikey gently pushed Raph forward. “My big brother Raph here is a big fan, if the hand flaps and tail wagging didn’t make it clear enough.” Hey, just because Mikey would support his big brother didn’t mean he wouldn’t tease him mercilessly. Maybe they could afford this detour. At least this way Raph was happy and they’d see if Leo tried to get past them. This looked to be the only entrance to the locker rooms.

“You look pretty tough, big guy.” Bebop gave Raph a once over. “You a fighter too, or just a fan?”

Raph straightened himself up and beamed. “Oh, I did fight once. Wrestling-wise! And then technically I’ve fought in the Nexus two different times, but I’m also a big fan!”

Rocksteady looked up as he took his next shot and sunk his last striped ball. “Oh, wait, you fought that Ghostbear guy before, right? You and Big Blue. I remember watching that stream ages ago. Remember that, Bebop? When Ghostbear finally ate shit but Jessica stole the win.”

“Oh my god, I couldn’t stop laughing.” Bebop nodded with a grin which showed off his tusks. “You two fought great together. If you’re ever looking for some sparring partners, hit us up. You guys live on the surface still, right? Man, it’ll be good to get back up there again.”

Raph’s tail was going so fast. Thank the lord the area around them was clear. “Really? Oh, that would be awesome! I haven’t been able to spar with someone my size in ages.”

“Oh, I’d love to tussle with you, Big Red. As long as we ain’t fighting for real, we’re down basically any time, any place. There are training and sparring rooms down here too if you’re ever around.” Rocksteady hit the black eight ball in and cheered. “HaHAH! In your face, dude. Told you I’m the undefeated pool champ.”

Bebop groaned. “You wait, I’ll get you next time.” He shoved the pool cue back into Rocksteady’s hands. “If you’re gonna gloat, you ain’t getting any of my pizza tonight.”

“What? You can’t do that to me, bro. You just can’t.” Rocksteady pouted before he put the cues back on the wall racks. “So, you two. Who were you going to go see?”

“Yuichi. He’s staying with us this week and we wanted to congratulate him on an awesome fight,” Raph said. “He’s in that locker room, right?”

“Yeah, he’s in the showers,” Bebop confirmed as he nodded. “He’ll be out in a sec. Never takes very long in there.” He patted Mikey on the shell. “We’ll make sure you don’t miss him, don’t worry about that.”

“Thanks, guys.” Okay, maybe Mikey was enjoying hanging with these guys as well. Definitely a worthwhile pitstop.

Rocksteady chuckled as he went and reracked the pool balls. “Oh, Cottontail. It was a great fight against him. Wish it had lasted longer though.”

“Yeah, he really got a good beat down on us,” Bebop agreed with a laugh. “He’s a good kid. Much politer than any other fighter we’ve faced and about as dumb as a bag of rocks when he’s not in battle. Love that kid.”

“Hey, we’ve only just talked to him. Give him more credit than that,” Rocksteady said as he poked one of Bebop’s tusks. “Plus, he offered to take us out to eat one of these days. No other fighter’s done that. I’ll defend Cottontail’s honor if you ain’t gonna.”

“Just said I love the kid. Don’t mean I’m gonna say he’s something he ain’t.” Bebop batted Rocksteady’s hand away. “Speaking of, there’s your bunny. Here, take our card here. Call us when you get a chance.” Bebop put what looked like a business card into Mikey’s hand. “Hey! Cottontail! You got visitors.”

Yuichi looked over, a dufflebag slung over his shoulder while dressed in his more casual wear. He blinked and then smiled as he rushed over. “Raph! Mikey! What are you doing here?” His tail was going a mile a minute as he quickly let his ears down from the top bun they had been in.

“We came to watch you fight!” Mikey cried, reaching over and giving Yuichi a hug. “You were awesome , dude. I’ve only ever seen Leo move that fast. How long have you been training?”

“Um… Formally? Since I arrived here and was accepted as a fighter. Before that I would occasionally do it with sticks and tools from my auntie’s farm,” Yuichi admitted as he hugged Mikey back.

“Wait, you can’t be serious,” Raph said as he hugged both Yuichi and Mikey. “That’s only a few months. You’re a natural then!”

Yuichi’s tail went into overdrive then. “Really?”

“You’re probably about matching us in skill,” Mikey said with a nod. He had no doubt that Yuichi could match them. They were a little rusty at the moment, especially since they lost a lot of time with no real training, but they could still hold their own. No doubt Yuichi could keep up with them at the moment. At their best… Eh, it was a fifty-fifty.

“But you guys are heroes!”

“Heroes who haven’t been able to keep up with their training like they want to,” Raph pointed out before noogying Yuichi’s head. “You’re the up-and-coming champ for a reason.”

Bebop and Rocksteady laughed fondly behind them. “Looks like you got some good friends there, Cottontail. Have a nice day. We’re gonna go grab our stuff.” Bebop gave a casual salute and patted Mikey on his shell. Rocksteady clapped Raph on the shoulder. Then they both headed into the locker room.

“Hey Yuichi.” Wait, when did Leo get here?! “Hey Mikey, hey Raph. Didn’t know you guys were coming to watch the fight.” Mikey hadn’t even heard him come in and based on the vibes he was getting, Leo was much, much worse than he was before. Mikey could barely even feel Leo’s Ninpō. He was losing his connection to the family, to them because of this potion. Oh, Donnie needed to hurry up with that cure.

Yuichi looked over and smiled, though he didn’t leap over to Leo like he had yesterday when he arrived in the lair. “Hey Leo. We didn’t know he had a fight ‘til you two left so we decided to come and watch. He did a great job,” Raph said as he knocked his head against Yuichi’s. Said rabbit smiled and did it back. “Much better in person than streaming it.”

Mikey felt Leo’s Ninpō flicker even worse and he didn’t miss the glare shot Raph’s way while Yuichi was distracted. “Yeah, he’s really great. He kicked those other guys’ butts!” Mikey added brightly. “Even if they’re really cool.” He could see that Leo bit back a retort.

“Yeah, he’s an awesome fighter. He—” Leo staggered to the side. “He’s… really good.” His eyes fluttered shut as he fell, seemingly passed out.

Raph let go of the others right away and caught Leo before he could hit the floor. Yuichi let out a small sigh of relief, the worry clear on his face. Wait, what? “Okay, tell me what’s going on with Leo and why he’s acting so weird and so… much more than he normally is. While we get back to the lair.”

“It’s… complicated,” Mikey admitted as Raph scooped Leo into a bridal carry. “Can we talk when we’re actually back, please? I don’t want anyone overhearing us, especially here.”

Yuichi nodded as he waved them over to a hallway. “There’s a teleport station over this way. Once we are back and Leo is being taken care of, we’re talking.” Since when could he be so firm and commanding?

Well, Mikey wasn’t going to disagree. “Lead the way.”

To say Yuichi was worried would be very inaccurate. He was beyond worry. Leo had been admittedly strange all day, hostile to his brothers, and he hadn’t left Yuichi alone at all except when he was in the locker room and fought. Admittedly, Yuichi had enjoyed the attention at first but then it just got concerning.

He was glad to drop Leo off with his twin, CJ, and Baron Draxum, who was also Leo’s other father. That had been a mind blown moment.

“Let’s head to the main room,” Mikey suggested as they left Donnie’s lab. “We can talk out there, under the heat lamp.”

Yuichi nodded. He wanted all of his questions answered. “They’ll be able to help him though, right?”

Raph rubbed Yuichi’s head and smiled. “Yeah, they will.” Alright, good.

Mikey led the way and was the first one to sit down on the beanbags. “Before we get into what’s going on with Leo, I have to ask something.” He took a breath. “It’s gonna sound— It might not seem relevant but how did you feel about how Leo was acting with you this morning? Before he got… creepy.”

Mid sit, Yuichi froze. It took his brain a moment to catch up with what Mikey was asking, what he was trying to see from Yuichi. Did he know? Did all of them know? Did— No, take a deep breath. Sit down on the beanbag. Prod and ask. “How is it relevant?”

“Just trust me, it is.” Mikey didn’t look upset, just sort of guilty.

Yuichi glanced over at Raph. The big guy normally wore his emotions all the time. Raph just sat down and gave Yuichi an encouraging smile. Oh, he was not getting out of this, was he? These feelings were supposed to be a secret. He wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about them. But… “Will explaining the feelings help Leo?”

“Yes.” Mikey sounded sure. Damnit, he really didn’t want that answer.

Taking the end of an ear in one hand, Yuichi gently rolled and unrolled it as he took a deep breath. Even if it was wrong for him to feel this way, he had to admit it. Hopefully Raph and Mikey wouldn’t hate him for it. He really liked them. “I… liked them. I mean, Leo’s attention in that way towards me.”

“Okay.” Mikey smiled and sounded relieved. Wait, what? “Okay, good. I sort of thought so but I wasn’t sure and I didn’t want to assume—”

“What Mikey’s saying is we sorta had a feeling.” They knew ?! Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no— 

A big hand on Yuichi’s back made him flinch. “Hey. Is everything okay, bud? Sorry for freaking you out—”

Yuichi pulled himself back and stood then, staring at Mikey and Raph. Both were up on their feet then, looking a bit confused as well as worried. “Why— How did you know?” The words stumbled out of Yuchi’s mouth before he could stop himself.

“Dude, how are you both so oblivious?” Mikey asked, rubbing his eyes. “Okay. Here’s the deal: we knew because Leo has had a massive crush on you since he first met you at Run of the Mill and we’ve been looking out for possible hints of you liking him back.”

Leo what ?! “No, he just said he was shy when we first met,” Yuichi clarified with the wave of his free hand. 

“Because he had a big ol’ crush on you as soon as he saw you,” Raph said before resting a hand on his side. “Like, insanely huge.”

No. Not that kind of no though. It was okay for Leo to like any guy he wanted. That was fine. But… “No. He can’t like me. But anyway, how is this related? My… feelings.” Try to move on was the right course of action. If they kept talking, well, Yuichi didn’t know what would happen. He hadn’t ever talked about these feelings before. Most of his feelings. America was weird and extremely open.

“Because we needed to know if it was okay to tell you the truth or if we needed to change things,” Mikey said plainly. “You’re a good guy and I don’t doubt that you wouldn’t treat him differently knowing what you know but at the same time, it’s better to be sure. We protect our family first and foremost.”

“Easy there, big man, don’t get ahead of yourself,” Raph soothed, rubbing Mikey’s shoulder. Mikey took a breath.

“Leo was acting like he was today because of a love potion that he accidentally took. It latched on to his feelings he already has for you because they are so strong, but it’s overwhelming him. Now, because you have feelings for him too, I’m okay with telling you how he was this morning. The tactile stuff and the holding you and compliments? Yeah. That’s how he wants to be but in a healthy way, obviously. It’s just gotten out of hand because of the potion.”

Leo liked him back? That was… 

Yuichi took a few deep breaths as he tried to ground himself. “He really shouldn’t want to though.” Keep taking those deep breaths and rolling his ear up and down in his fingers. Just keep doing that. Make sure his sleeves were up on his jacket.

“But why?” Mikey sounded genuinely confused. “You’re a good guy. Great, even. And you’re a good match for him too. Why wouldn’t he like you and want to be cute and domestic with you?”

How did they not see it? Everyone in his village did, would tell and help him when he’d go and run errands for his auntie by himself. Yuichi learned it. How were they so okay with the idea of him dating Leo? “I— I shouldn’t— He has better options,” Yuichi conceded instead. Why was he being such a coward? Stupid. Idiot. He should have just— Not the time.

Raph took a step forward then with some understanding in his gaze. “Yuichi, please. Tell us. We ain’t gonna judge you for whatever you’re gonna say. I know that’s not what you wanted to say.” He rested a hand against Yuichi’s shoulder and for a moment, it felt like he was back with his mom. Asking him to admit to the mistake he made, but it would be okay after. He wasn’t in trouble. 

Shaking his head out, Yuichi swallowed the stubborn lump in his throat. He hung his head down as he spoke. He couldn’t dare look either Mikey nor Raph in the eyes as he admitted this sin. “I shouldn’t like men. It’s okay that Lee does, and I think he deserves to be happy with someone who can make him happy, feel fulfilled, give him what he wants and needs. That shouldn’t be me. I shouldn’t even think of him or view him or any man in that light. He deserves better than me.”

“Why do you think that it should be someone else?” Mikey asked. “He likes you. He wants you. He thinks you’ll give him everything that you said and if you love him too, you’d do your best to provide it, right? So what’s the issue?”

Didn’t Mikey hear what Yuichi said? Or did he only process the later half of what he said? “Like I mentioned before, I shouldn’t like men.”

“Who told you that?” Raph asked. “And why did they tell you that? It wasn’t your family, right?”

“No, they didn’t.” Auntie and Yoruko and Sakura and all the little ones were always so warm, welcoming, and kind. They never spoke an ill word about someone else unless they deserved it. Not that saying him liking men made him broken wasn’t an ill word since it was true. For him though, not for anyone else.

Raph squeezed Yuichi’s shoulder then. “Was it the people of your village?”

“Yes. They wanted to help me by letting me know and giving me advice on what to do.”

“Well they’re wrong,” Mikey deadpanned. “You liking men is no different from Leo liking men or Raph liking women. Hell, we have two dads who are smitten with each other. Our sister is a lesbian and I’m aroace. There is no ‘broken’ or ‘wrong’ way to love so long as everyone involved gives consent and is happy.” Wow, Yuichi didn’t realize how passionate Mikey was about this. “You are an amazing person, Yuichi, and someone we want to see happy. Leo loves you, with or without the potion. Raph, tell Yuichi just how happy Leo was when he got back from that sleepover at Hueso’s.”

Raph looked from Mikey to Yuichi then and his eyes were soft. “Very happy. Though you already know he’s your friend and would do anything for you. You don’t think it’s wrong for anyone to love anyone however they want, right?” Yuichi quickly shook his head. “It’s just you liking men.” He hesitated but Yuichi nodded. “Then it’s your village’s issue and their issue only. You clearly know it’s okay but they put their thoughts and ideas onto you as this pressure you feel you have to uphold. Now, we don’t know what you’ve been through but we’re here for you and love ‘ya no matter what. No matter who you love, even if I think you’re making a bad call by liking my idiot brother. They just don’t like those who are different and are trying to ‘help’ by makin’ you like them, even if that ain’t how it works. You get me?”

With a tight throat, Yuichi nodded and clung to Raph. He scrubbed at his eyes with the palm of his free hand. “Sorry. I— I made this all about me when we’re supposed to help Leo.”

“We just need to wait for Rara and CJ and Donnie to make the cure. There’s nothing to do on our end,” Mikey said as he shrugged. “But you talking to us about this, it’s good. It’s good for you and that’s important too, Yuichi. We want you to be happy and feel loved. That isn’t gonna change just because someone else in the family is also in need.”

He already did. By Sir Hueso and June as well as by the Hamatos. And Leo really liked him? 

Wait.

A love potion?

Yuichi pulled himself away just as Raph was about to pat his head. Raph almost fell back, windmilling his arms to stay steady. “Wait, did you say he drank a love potion? There’s no known cure for that. I don’t even know if it’s possible for a cure to be made for that!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mikey said as he waved Yuichi down. “If there was no cure, Rara wouldn’t have been working on it with Donnie and CJ.”

“No, he’s right. You guys really should listen to him.” That was Leo’s voice but he didn’t seem to be anywhere nearby. A canister dropped down from the ceiling and started spewing pink gas. When Yuichi looked up, Leo was hanging off a platform with a gas mask on.

Right away, Yuichi pulled his shirt over his nose. No no no! He hesitated to take off his jacket for one of the others to use. Before he could decide, Raph and Mikey both dropped. If this was a love potion, Yuichi needed to book it! 

Apologizing to the others, Yuichi zipped out of the main room. Okay, where was the exit into the sewers? If Leo got those two, he must have knocked the others in Donnie’s lab as well so he couldn’t go find them and ask them for help.

Yuichi felt a pinch in the back of his neck as two arms wrapped around his waist. “Hey, it’s okay, Yuichi. Just breathe.” Yuichi’s vision started to swim as the dart took effect. “We’ll be together properly soon. I’ve already got your potion ready.” Leo giggled. “It’ll be just us, and that’s all we’ll need.”

Yuichi tried to pull away but Leo scooped him up into his arms and cradled him close. “Lee…” He tried to push himself away from Leo but his arms were held easily in one of Leo’s hands. His head was swimming too and he couldn’t stop his head from dropping against Leo’s chest. “Please, don’t.”

“Shh shh shh. It’ll make sense soon, my dear. Don’t fight it.”

Before Yuichi could fight anymore, he fell unconscious in Leo’s arms.

Five minutes. Donnie had left Leo unconscious with Draxum and the others for five minutes. In that time, his twin managed to knock out everyone, temporarily disable Lenny, knock out Mikey and Raph, then steal Yuichi away. Not to mention he had stolen the spiked iced coffee and was probably planning on feeding it to Yuichi so they could have their ‘happily ever after’ together.

That’s why Donnie was rushing through the sewers, following the imprint more so than his trackers. Leo could disable those; he couldn’t stop the imprint. Not completely.

Thankfully, it didn’t take Donnie too long to find Leo. He heard the gentle humming of Splinter’s old lullaby from down a branching path. He was sure Leo would be down there.

As he approached, Donnie slowed his walk with what he hoped would work as a cure in his hand. Had they tested this sample out at all yet? No, but this was Donnie's only shot. The only chance to fix his screw up and save his twin from his mistakes. If Donnie’s jealousy of what could happen ended up creating his worst fears in the worst possible way... Well, best not to think about it right now. After all, he always succeeded in the most desperate of moments, right?

When he turned the corner, Donnie’s heart stuttered with worry. Yuichi was curled up on a blanket pile, clearly ones that Leo had hurriedly scavenged from the lair before leaving because none of the nice blankets were there. He was passed out and his expression was pinched with worry and discomfort. Leo was fussing over him, adjusting the blankets and making sure that his makeshift ‘nest’ was as comfortable as possible. The iced coffee was set off to the side, the lid still firmly in place, thank Pizza Supreme.

Okay, so anything was on the table for Leo right now. Hopefully this gamble would pay off for Donnie. 

He cleared his throat, causing Leo to stop his motions and humming to turn and face him. Leo bared his teeth, seemingly on instinct, and hiss. Donnie held up his hands then though still held onto the vial of the cure securely. "It's just me. Hopefully that isn't a problem."

Leo blinked and relaxed. Well that was honestly a surprise. “Hey. No, I just… wasn’t expecting visitors yet.” He shook his head before turning back to fuss over Yuichi. “What are you doing here, Dee?”

"I was hoping to dissuade you from doing all of this and breaking your Ninpō connection with our family, though I doubt you want to do that right now." Donnie took a deep breath and couldn't help but frown when Yuichi curled up in the 'nest' and slightly away from Leo as he whimpered. "So I have a deal instead."

Leo paused and cocked his head but didn’t turn around. “I’m listening.” He reached out to the side, seemingly on instinct, and a blue portal tried to shimmer into existence. Instead, a painful shock just rebounded and hit Leo. He cried out in frustration and shook his arm with a huff.

"Yeah, if you let go of our family, that whole thing won't work anymore." After exhaling, Donnie held out the vial to Leo. "Drink this. If this doesn't work because I'm sure you can easily figure out what this is supposed to be, I'll leave you alone to do this whole screwed up non-consensual situation with bunny boy here." He gestured to Yuichi and Leo up and down with the vial bottle.

“No interference?” Leo asked, turning around. He was smirking but Donnie could see the cold calculative processes running behind his eyes. Strategy brain was in full swing. “That doesn’t seem like you, Donnie. You never let things go so easily. Then again, you and I both know this whole love potion situation is getting almost irreversible.” He stood and wandered closer to Donnie, rocking back on his heels. “Do you swear to stay out of the way of my plans here? Naturally, you can come visit one Yuichi is mine properly but until that point, no interference. Right?”

Donnie stared dead at Leo, not messing or fooling around. "Yes, if you're really okay with losing this bond with our family."

“I honestly couldn’t care less.” It stung. It hurt so badly to have Leo say that without a hint of joking or sarcasm but this would work. Leo would get better and things could go back to how they were.

Leo took the potion and studied it. “Hmm, not what I would have gone with. Oh well. That’s your mistake.” He downed the vial in a single shot.

The sewers were quiet, relatively speaking, for a beat. Then another. The third beat was when Donnie's stomach started to churn. No, this had to work. Donnie was always able to fix these sorts of things at the last second. That was his thing!

Leo studied the vial before tossing it to the side. He hummed and rocked back on his heels again. “Sorry Donnie. I don’t feel any different.” 

It took everything Donnie had not to fall to his knees. As it was, he couldn't keep his tears back or stop his throat from tightening. He... failed to fix his mistake? Leo was stuck like this forever? He was going to lose his twin. His whole family was going to lose Leo because of Donnie and his stupid jealousy.

Leo blinked and frowned, rubbing his chest. “You’re… upset by this outcome.”

"Of course I'm upset by this! Clearly I wanted to have this work. Why the hell would I want you to be lost to our family forever as an insane yandere stereotype because of my jealousy and stupid nonfunctional brain and paranoia episodes?!"

Leo blinked slowly, as if processing things. “Because I’m happy? In ways I never knew I could be?” he offered, but even he sounded unsure by his reasoning. 

Donnie couldn't stop the laughter that escaped him, even when it sounded a bit unhinged. "Without your family?! Without our brothers?! Without me ." He just tore his twin away from him. Nail in the coffin. "From what I saw on the cameras in order to figure everything out, Yuichi didn't consent to any of this either. If you're so obsessed and in love with him, shouldn't you care about him too? God, I really fucked this all up just because I was jealous and scared of losing you after just getting you back."

Leo frowned again. “You were jealous? Donnie, you should have known that I— I—” Leo shook his head and rubbed his plastron again. “Twin time was always special to me. You think I would have wanted to lose that? Before this, I mean. You think I would have given that up?

The ‘was’ was salt in the wound. "Well it doesn't fucking matter now, does it?" With a more bitter laugh this time, Donnie turned around. "Donnie just screwed it all up again because he's just a stupid dumdum who can't admit to or talk about anything until it's too late!" 

“Donnie…” Leo sounded almost regretful and Donnie felt him reach out, felt Leo’s hand hovering close to his shoulder. Leo was running hotter than normal.

It was just his mind wanting Leo to sound sorry. The heat was probably from the love potion. "Well, I lost the deal. Have fun with your new-and-improved Yuichi." Donnie had to step away. He needed to get away. This was all too much. He drew a line in the air and stumbled through the portal as he started to feel a true sob build up.

“Donnie? Donnie?! Fizzy!” Leo stumbled forward, trying to grab at Donnie but the portal snapped shut too fast. The absolute agony radiating through the imprint brought Leo to his knees.

His twin needed him.

He needed to get back now .

But Leo couldn’t leave Yuichi here. Leo still walked slower because of his bad knee and he wouldn’t be able to bring Yuichi if he tried to go any faster. He’d overbalance.

Acting on instinct alone, Leo scooped Yuichi into his arms, blankets and all, and drew a line with his arm. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon!” A portal flickered then burst to life. “Yes!” Leo sprinted through and gently deposited Yuichi on Leo’s beanbag under the heat lamp. 

With his hands now free, Leo turned and sprinted as fast as he could up towards Donnie’s lab. That’s where he’d be, right?

Leo barely even registered that he was zapping forward every few steps.

When he zipped in, he didn't see Donnie. Just Lenny deactivated along with CJ and Draxum unconscious. He'd have to check on them later but Donnie needed him. Where was he?!

Leo zapped around the lair, going from room to room. Where would Donnie be?! Where could he—

Wait, Leo was stupid. He had a built-in Donnie Tracker! He focused on the imprint and let it guide him. He just needed to find Donnie. He needed his Fizzy to be okay.

He ended up honing in on his twin. He was in Leo's room. Okay, just zap there and help him.

When he first appeared in his room, Leo looked around and didn't see his twin right away. He opened his mouth to call for Donnie but a whimper caught his attention. Swerving around, Leo saw Donnie on the opposite side of his train car, at the far end where nothing had been decorated or changed around yet besides the old subway seats having been removed. He was curled up, shell facing Leo, dead silent besides the occasional whimper and hiccup. Donnie’s battle shell was dropped carelessly on the ground a few steps away and he himself was swaddled up in Leo’s blanket.

Oh thank the spirits. Leo had never been more grateful.

He zapped to Donnie’s side without meaning to, hands hovering inches from his brother. “Donnie? Donnie, can you hear me? Can I touch you? Oh, Fizzy, did you scratch? I can patch you up, it’ll be alright.” Leo was rambling but he suddenly had so many feelings and they were all coming out at once. Primarily, though, it was worry and care for his twin. Leo needed to protect his twin.

Donnie curled up somehow into a tighter ball, wincing as he brought his hands to his plastron. He shook his head. "Not real," he whimpered, his throat sounding raw and hoarse. Leo could see the tear tracks down Donnie's face, way clearer than before since he hadn't put his mask on today. There were big wet splotches on his glasses lenses too.

“No no no, this is real. I’m here, Fizzy. I’m here. It’s okay.” Leo hesitated. He didn’t want to work Donnie up into a worse state. That being said, he couldn’t just leave Donnie to suffer. He nodded to himself. He’d do what he needed to to make Donnie feel better.

With that in mind, Leo scooped Donnie into his arms, carefully pinning his twin’s arms to his side so he didn’t flail too badly and smack himself or Leo. Leo also made sure to keep his own arms low to stay out of biting range. He knew where to hold to avoid that mess.

Still, it didn't mean that Donnie didn't squirm or try to flail. Yeah, this was a bad breakdown. They just needed to ride this out until Donnie was better and receptive to the outside world, or at the very least to Leo.

Eventually, Donnie tired himself out and just flopped his head against Leo's shoulder. "This can't be real. Didn't make a cure," he tried to reason, seemingly more to himself than to Leo. His voice cracked badly at the last syllable and Donnie winced.

“Well it is real, somehow. I don’t understand it. I dunno how love potions work.” Leo shifted to carefully cradle Donnie in his lap. He had Donnie sit sideways over his legs, supporting his back with one arm and letting Donnie rest against his shoulder. With his now free hand, Leo took off Donnie’s glasses and set them carefully on a nearby ledge, out of the way of any further possible flailing. Then he just held Donnie close and closed his eyes, getting Donnie to tuck his head into the crook of Leo’s neck. “I just know that one minute I was focused on Yuichi and then the next I was in so much pain because you were hurting because of me and I knew I needed to find you. I zapped around basically the whole lair looking for you.” The others would be waking up soon. He didn’t make his knock-out stuff very potent and his override on Lenny was temporary.

"I..." Donnie sniffled and nestled close, closer to Leo's neck. One arm loosely wrapped around Leo. "You're really here and you don't hate me?"

“Of course I don’t hate you,” Leo promised, pushing as much love and care as he could through the imprint. “You’re my twin, how could I hate you? And remember what I told you? There’s nothing you can do that I can’t forgive you for, Fizzy.” Leo had meant that all those months ago and he still meant it now. Short of murdering someone in their family, there was nothing that Leo couldn’t forgive his brothers for. “We are going to be having a talk about boundaries and stuff later but I don’t hate you. Not even slightly.” He knew he was rambling on a little but the vibrations of Leo talking would help to calm Donnie further.

There was a pause before Donnie spoke again. "Did you hear what I said before? Before I ran off."

“I did.” It had hurt to hear Donnie speak so poorly about himself. “Talking about things is… hard. Especially feelings like jealousy. I mean, look at me a couple of weeks ago. I was bottling up so much because I didn’t want to be left alone.“ Speaking of, Prime was thankfully giving Leo some space. Leo suspected they had been phased out since yesterday because it was boring being locked up and crazy love potioned Leo wouldn’t have been fun to talk to or deal with.

"But I've been feeling like this since you first laid y'r eyes on Yuichi." That was the first time Donnie actually referred to him by name. "I didn't want t'lose you again after I just got you back. I thought, I dunno, that he'd take you 'way to somewhere I couldn't get to you. I just almost did that to myself and everyone else."

“But you didn’t. You still managed to bring me back.” Leo didn’t know how but the power of familial love did have a good track record against mind fuckery bullshit. Maybe that was the answer. “And Fizzy, I’d never go somewhere you couldn’t follow, not unless I had no other choice. I’m not having another prison dimension situation again, okay? I swear, you won’t lose me like that again.” Leo refused to ever leave Donnie or the rest of his family like that again. The world could go fuck itself because Leo was staying with his family no matter what.

Donnie sniffled and shifted a bit against Leo's shoulder which meant he was doing his best to nod. "Okay."

Leo just held Donnie close and started gently rocking back and forth, humming a nothing melody that he came up with as he went. It seemed to help since Donnie relaxed more and more as Leo went on. He just needed Donnie to relax enough to…  There we go.

“Can I take a look at your arms, Fizzy? Did you scratch?” Leo asked softly, pressing a kiss to the top of Donnie’s head.

His twin hesitated. He pulled his hands out and signed, ' Yes. Scratch arms me. ' Now he was going nonverbal. That was fine. That's one of the reasons why turtle sign was invented.

Very gently, Leo guided Donnie to lift one of his arms. Then he reached out to the side and grabbed his emergency med kit, reaching into portal space once more. “Don’t worry my dearest, darlingest, handsomest twin. This might sting a little but I’m staying right here with you. It’ll pass quickly.”

Donnie snorted. ' Sting me want no. Bad twin. Bad bad bad bad bad. '

Leo grabbed Donnie’s hands and stopped him signing for a moment. “You’re not bad. I won’t take that kind of slander or libel of my twin, understand? No one gets to bully him except me and his family. And Donnie is a genius who loves his family more than anything, to the point that sometimes mistakes are made.”

If Donnie had his mask on, his brows would be raised. Leo let him pull his hands out so he could sign again. ' Bad twin you. You give me sting .' He hesitated before adding, ' Thank you. '

“Oh, I’m the bad twin?” Leo asked with a smirk as he pulled up Donnie’s sleeve. Oh, yeah, these were bad scratches. “I see how it is. Well you’re just lucky I’m more committed to being a good doctor than how hurt I am by your accusation.” Leo prepared the disinfectant on a cotton pad and yeah, this was gonna suck. He carefully shifted so he could pin Donnie’s other arm against Leo’s plastron to stop him flailing as he often did when Leo cleaned up his injuries. He was such a big baby. “I’m the best, smartest, and most turtliest medic, remember? Your words, not mine.” As he spoke, Leo pressed the disinfectant to Donnie’s arm and started quickly and gently cleaning off his scratches.

Donnie hissed through his teeth and shook out his head as Leo worked. His arms did twitch but Leo’s firm holds kept him from doing anything. Since his arms were kept in place, Donnie switched to finger spell. ‘ D-O N-O-T R-E-M-E-M-B-E-R. ’ Oh, Donnie was such a little shit. Thank the spirits he was. He was feeling better if he had this much energy to act like this.

Leo kept working as quickly and efficiently as possible. It wasn’t the first time he’d patched Donnie up after a meltdown and it wouldn’t be the last so he had plenty of practice. He put some Atomic Lass bandaids over Donnie’s scratches, ones Leo had custom made for this very reason so they were big enough to cover everything without being uncomfortable. Not that Donnie needed to know that part. That was just a fun tidbit of information that Leo would keep to himself.

“Are you accusing me of lying? Me? Honestly, Fizzy, I thought I’d have more support from my twin.” Leo playfully grumbled as he started work on Donnie’s other arm. He gave Donnie more freedom to move as well. If Donnie was feeling good enough to sass Leo, even in sign language, Leo wasn’t as much at risk of getting smacked.

Donnie snorted, though he hissed and sucked air through his teeth. ‘ E-A-R-N I-T. ’ How harsh! Good. Donnie was definitely feeling better.

Oh but if Donnie was going to challenge him on this, Leo would earn that respect. Guess that tidbit would get shared after all. “I would have thought getting you custom made purple Atomic Lass bandaids would have gotten me at least some points.” He chuckled, pressing a kiss to Donnie’s temple. Hah! That would get him.

His twin seemed to be thinking it over. Oh, he wasn’t going to play this off, was he? Donnie did a so-so hand motion as he smirked. 

“Jerk,” Leo snickered, pressing another kiss to Donnie’s temple. “You’re lucky I love you so much.”

Donnie knocked his head against Leo’s before he looked down at his arms. His eyes shifted then. ‘ O-T-H-E-R-S O-K-A-Y? ’

Leo hesitated. “They should be. I haven’t checked on them, admittedly, but I didn’t do large doses or anything.” 

As he spoke, Leo felt his stomach drop. Fuck. He had literally just done a whole ‘knockout gas and kidnap the target’ deal on his family, hadn’t he? And, double fuck, he had literally knocked out Yuichi with a knockout dart while whispering sweet nothings and promises of things being better. Even if Yuichi knew about the potion, what chance would Leo have with him now? He wouldn’t even want to be in the same room as Leo, let alone date him. There went his best friend. “Okay, so, now that you’re okay, I’m gonna crawl in a hole and just die of mortification. I think that’s justified, maybe even karma for, ugh, everything ?”

Donnie frowned at that and shifted. ‘You fault no. Me fault yes. Me responsible. Me explain Y-U-I-C-H-I. You lose him me want no. ’

Leo blinked in confusion. “You… don’t want me to lose him?” But just that morning Leo wasn’t having to coerce Donnie into just being civil with Yuichi. Clearly Donnie had a change of heart and Leo wasn’t going to push it further. He curled around Donnie, rested their cheeks together, then closed his eyes. “Thank you, Fizzy. That means a lot to me.”

His twin hummed as Leo felt his phone buzz. Then buzz again. And again and again. Before he could open his eyes, Donnie tapped his shoulder and finger signed against his shoulder. ‘ I G-O-T T-H-I-S. ’

Leo nodded and just stayed curled against Donnie. Now that Donnie was okay, Leo felt the exhaustion from everything hit him at once. All his real feelings for the day sort of jumbled together and dumped themselves on his shoulders. 

Something else registered for Leo. He had been to the Battle Nexus again. And beyond that, he enjoyed it, not just because Yuichi was there. Maybe he could very possibly consider going there again sometime. Hypno and Warren wouldn’t mind it. He would have to think about it a bit before he went back down though.

Still, Leo was feeling just tired and content now. Donnie was okay. He was taking care of things for Leo. Leo could rest. He started churring softly, still wrapped around Donnie. 

A tap against his shoulder got Leo to focus instead of doze. ‘ M-O-V-E T-O B-E-D? ’ was spelled against his shoulder.

Leo paused before nodding again. He adjusted his grip on Donnie, opened his eyes, and stood up. Wow, this was easier than before. He half walked, half stumbled to the bed but still managed to put Donnie down carefully. 

Leo opened his mouth to speak but found no words came out. Oh. He was nonverbal now too. Well, it made sense with how overwhelming everything was. He resisted the urge to scratch at his own wrists and instead shook his hands to get Donnie to focus on them. ‘ Me or you become pillow? ’ he asked.

Donnie looked over Leo for a moment before he pointed to himself. Shifting, he lied back on Leo’s bed and held his arms open. Leo didn’t need to be told twice as he climbed down and rested against Donnie. His twin cradled him close, resting Leo’s head against his plastron and shifting to place Professor Sparkles in Leo’s arms before wrapping an arm back to hold him close.

Leo nuzzled against Donnie, a small family chirp bubbling up past his lips. If nothing else, he was safe and loved where he was. He was protected and loved by Donnie. Maybe that was the cure for the love potion, having someone love him so intensely and loving them back just as much. Of choosing to love someone else. 

As that thought passed through Leo’s head, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Okay. He could do this. Leo had faced down yokai and mutants, the Shredder twice and won, and the Kraang and still came out on top. He had faced some of the worst horrors Earth had to offer.

So why was the thought of talking to Yuichi so terrifying to him?! 

This was his best friend, the guy who somehow understood Leo better than anyone else managed to. At the same time, he was also the guy that Leo had gone full yandere on and had fully intended to drug and force him to love Leo back.

Yeah. That might be why it was so scary.

“You know he wouldn’t blame you, right? I don’t think he’s smart enough for that,” Prime huffed sardonically.

“Two things: first of all, rude. Second of all, he is plenty smart. You just don’t appreciate him and what smarts he does have,” Leo mentally shot back, rolling his eyes. C’mon, Leon, you could do this.

Leo took a breath and lightly knocked on the door to Yuichi’s train car room. There was a brief moment of silence that sent Leo’s heart racing. “Come in,” Yuichi called from inside.

So far so good. Leo poked his head inside, unable to make eye contact with Yuichi but at least managing a smile. Hopefully it wasn’t too awkward. “Hey. Just me.”

Yuichi looked relieved from where he sat at the desk in the guest room. He closed a notebook he had there and put down the pen he was holding. “Hi Lee.” Okay, he was still using the nickname. That was a good sign, right? “I’m glad to see you. Are you feeling better?” As he asked, Yuichi bunched up the sleeves of his jacket into his palms and turned in the rolling chair to fully face Leo.

Leo fiddled with the chain around his wrist, struggling to keep looking at Yuichi. He was still ashamed of everything even if Yuichi didn’t seem to blame him too much. “You mean at all,” Prime deadpanned. Leo stopped himself from smacking his temple in retaliation.

“Yeah, uh, I’m feeling better. I mean, I’m not all crazy now so that’s a good thing.” Leo gave an awkward laugh and rubbed his arm. “And, uh, I’ve had a good sleep so physically I’m better too.” Leo was so pathetic. He was the face man and yet he couldn’t even Leo it up for a simple conversation with Yuichi.

Yuichi let out a sigh of relief at that before getting up from the chair and sitting down on the guest bed. “That’s good. But what about mentally?” After asking that, he patted the spot next to him on the bed. 

Even after everything Leo did and said while under that potion, Yuichi was okay with Leo being so close to him? He wasn’t going to turn Leo away. He should have. “Just stop the self deprecating thoughts and sit down beside him,” Prime said around a groan. “If you do, I’ll leave you alone while you’re here talking with him.”

“Deal,” Leo said mentally, sitting down next to Yuichi properly. He blinked as Yuichi’s question actually registered.

“Oh, um. Mentally, I, uh… I’ve been better,” Leo admitted aloud. He focused on his lap, on the chains around his wrist for him to fiddle with. “I feel really gross about what I did while I was affected by the potion. Not, uh, not because of anything to do with you,” he quickly added. Leo didn’t want Yuichi getting the wrong idea. Then again, what was the right idea? “Because of me. You’re— you’re amazing, Chi. I just feel gross about how I treated you in the, uh, later stages.”

“When did it switch from good to gross?” Yuichi asked. Okay, Leo wasn’t expecting that. What had he been expecting though? When he glanced over to look at Yuichi, Leo saw him sitting criss cross, turned to fully face Leo and focus on him. He had his jacket sleeves fully bunched up in his palms adorably, and his ears were all down, draping over his shoulders, and— No! Stop it. Focus.

Leo had to look away, his cheeks flaming. “Uh, when it went from cute to creepy?” That didn’t clear anything up. “Probably when I dragged you down to the Battle Nexus when you weren’t comfortable. Somewhere around then.” Leo had just been focused on getting Yuichi away from the ‘threats’ to their ‘relationship.’ Ugh. That potion sucked .

“That’s when I noticed something was off with you then. I liked what you had been doing before, though it was definitely more than what we’ve ever done before,” Yuichi admitted which wait, what? “I had assumed you were more comfortable because you were home and Donnie was feeling better. By the way, he apologized to me about his behavior and explained his paranoia episode to me. I completely understand where he came from. We hadn’t properly met before and I was changing his normal pattern of day-to/day life without warning. But, uh, yeah. That was when I realized things weren’t normal.”

Leo’s gaze snapped back to Yuichi. He had liked the cuddling and the casual touches and the way Leo had lingered and given in to the feelings and desires that had been plaguing him since—

Not the time.

But Yuichi liked that Leo had been… like that?

“You… really liked all that stuff?” he couldn’t help but ask. It was too good to be true, right? Yuichi couldn’t like Leo back. He was so good and he was healing from everything he’d been through and Leo was just— Leo wasn’t any of that. He wanted to be but Yuichi was just so out of Leo’s league.

Suddenly, Yuichi was right in his face. Oh spirits. He poked Leo right between the eyes. “Stop thinking negative thoughts about my best friend.”

Leo blinked. “How could you—”

While somehow keeping his sleeves bunched up in his palms, Yuichi pinched the area between Leo’s eyes as well as poked his jawline. “I can see the tension forming here and here. You only do that when you’re thinking negatively about yourself. I learned that when you talked about the prison dimension and Kraang invasion when you babysat June and I.”

Leo couldn’t help but lean into Yuichi’s touches a little. He pouted. “Considering I was a total creep to you and was about to literally drug you to love me, I think some self depreciation is understandable.”

Yuichi raised a brow. “But that isn’t what the negative thoughts were about.” Damnit. How was he so good at reading Leo? He didn’t even have an imprint or anything to help him. “Am I wrong?”

Leo’s pout grew and he glanced away. “No…” Yuichi sandwiched Leo’s cheeks between his covered palms and forced Leo to look at him. “Hey, no fair.”

“What isn’t fair?”

“I can’t look away when I’m feeling awkward or nervous.” Or really wanting to kiss Yuichi’s cute little nose, but Leo managed to hold that one back.

That got a laugh out of Yuichi. “Oh, like I haven’t been forcing myself to not look away when I have felt like I’ve wanted to hurl because of my nerves. Which has been multiple times since you’ve walked in, mind you. If I can’t look away, you cannot either.”

Wait. “Why are you nervous?” Yuichi hadn’t drugged Leo or threatened him with a love potion or been really super creepy towards Leo. Why would he be nervous?

“See, this is where I would definitely look away if I wasn’t forcing myself to not do that sort of thing.” Yuichi exhaled slowly and shut his eyes before opening them. “Because I feel like I do not deserve to love you, even though I do. A lot. Or to be loved by you, that you deserve better.”

Leo blinked. Then again. And again. 

He couldn’t process.

Yuichi loved him?

He knew Leo loved him for real?!

He thought he wasn’t good enough…?

Leo reached up and cupped Yuichi’s cheeks, rubbed his thumbs along Yuichi’s cheekbones. His fingers fluttered along Yuichi’s jawline without his conscious input but Leo didn’t care.

Yuichi just said he loved him.

“I don’t think I deserve better,” Leo said softly, vulnerably. Somehow his voice didn’t crack or waver, despite the nerves and adrenaline pulsing through his whole body. “You can’t do better than the best. And… and even if I somehow did deserve someone who might be better than you, I wouldn’t want them. I want—” Leo swallowed hard. “I want you .”

Yuichi looked at him the whole time Leo spoke, leaning into his touch. “Why me ? You know I’m—” The yokai in front of Leo exhaled slowly but didn’t look away. “Well, you know. And everyone thinks I’m dumb. Granted, I’m not the brightest but I’m not that stupid either, even if everyone thinks so. I’ve also just realized because of your brothers that I’ve developed internalized homophobia but just towards myself. No one wants to date someone who is homophobic towards himself!”

“Well, as much as I wish you weren’t homophobic towards yourself… I still want to date you.” Leo didn’t look away or try to turn, even as his cheeks started to burn with how hot his blush was. It was now or never. “You’re handsome and witty and funny and yeah, you’re a dumbass. So am I. You’re smart where and when it counts. You’re also so kind and generous and sweet and caring and I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so genuinely good as you. Even my Ninpō can sense that.“

That seemed to catch Yuichi off guard as he stared at Leo. “You think I’m good?” he asked, his voice cracking.

“Yes.” Leo’s gaze was firm and even. “Yes, you’re good, Chi. You’re so good.” His fingers fluttered against Yuichi’s jaw again. “You’re so wholly good that it seems impossible. But you’re real and amazing and— and—”

Yuichi reached over and knocked his head against Leo’s. “I don’t think I could handle you describing me so good— er, so positively right now. I’m a bit overwhelmed. In a good way, but I’m still overwhelmed.”

Leo nodded, letting himself fall silent. Yuichi said it was in a good way so Leo wouldn’t panic just yet. He leaned forward and knocked his head against Yuichi’s, letting out a soft chirp of, “Love you,” as he did so. Not that Yuichi understood, but it was the thought that counted.

That got a smile out of Yuichi so he at least did something right there. “I really do want to date you, Leo,” Yuichi said after a good minute or two of silence.

“I’d like that too,” Leo agreed softly. “We can take it at our own pace. No rush or anything. Just do what feels comfortable.” If Yuichi was dealing with internalized homophobia, they’d need to ease into things so he could be comfortable. Leo could wait. He knew that if this really was right, they’d end up comfortable in the end. “I know it might be a bit much, so don’t worry if you’re not ready for the label, it’s genuinely no problem but… will you be my boyfriend?”

Yuichi nodded after a beat. “I don’t know if I can say it just yet, but yes.”

“That is more than fine. It can just be for us for now.” Leo leaned forward and gently bumped his snout against Yuichi’s nose. “Whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

Yuichi’s nose twitched instantly and it made the rabbit snort. “Won’t your family pester you though? I know Donnie said he gave me his blessing yesterday and I didn’t realize what he meant until this morning.”

Donnie did what ?! “I, uh, I mean, I can smooth things out with them if you’re not comfortable—”

The yokai patted Leo’s cheek to get him to stop talking. Leo stopped his rambling and focused back on Yuichi. “They can know but ask them to not, what’s the phrase? Blow it out of the portions? I think Mikey and Raph will understand after the talk I had with them.”

“CJ should be fine but I’ll keep my dads and April calm,” Leo agreed sheepishly. “Just so we can set some boundaries because as you’ve seen, I’m a very tactile turtle, what out of yesterday morning was okay with you? And, uh, are affectionate nicknames okay beyond just Chi?” Leo was a sappy romantic. He wanted to make sure he didn’t cross any limits for Yuichi and scare him off.

Yuichi hummed as he slowly pulled back, letting go of Leo’s cheeks. It took everything Leo had not to whine for him to keep holding him like that. “No touching exposed skin that is normally covered by clothes, like my bare stomach. And nicknames? Uh… I don’t know?” He shrugged as he sat back, pulling his face out of Leo’s hands as he seemed to think.

“If you’re okay with it, I’d like to call you cariño.” Hey, Spanish was a romantic language and Leo was a romantic turtle. Plus, it was special. None of his other family members besides Tio Hueso and Junior spoke Spanish as far as Leo could recall. “It means darling in Spanish.”

The fur on Yuichi’s cheeks puffed up a bit before he cleared his throat. “Um, yes. That is okay.”

Leo giggled softly and smiled. “Okay, good. Um, in terms of what I’m good with… Uh, just about anything? Unless I’m freaking out or really focused on something, just do what feels right. I’ll let you know if I’m not into it.” Yuichi already knew what Leo’s limits were with contact—no touching his shell, no touching his neck—but other than that, he was pretty comfortable with whatever. Leo liked to think he was a pretty easy going guy.

“Understood.” With that, Yuichi flopped back onto the bed, almost starfishing out all across it. One of his legs did flop across Leo’s thigh. “Why was that so tiring?”

Leo chuckled and patted Yuichi’s covered leg. “Because emotions?” he offered, flopping back next to Yuichi. He hesitated and held out his arms, his expression gentle and understanding. “Wanna nap together? Nothing we haven’t done before.”

Yuichi exhaled and nodded. “Nothing we haven’t done before,” he echoed before shifting to rest against Leo. His head rested on Leo’s plastron and he carefully draped his arm across him before shutting his eyes.

Leo wrapped his arm around Yuichi lightly, resting his hand on his side. This… this was nice. It felt safe and comfortable and familiar but also new and exciting. Leo’s pulse wanted to race but the peace of just relaxing with his best friend overrode that. Yuichi might be his boyfriend now but he was Leo’s best friend too. Hopefully that would balance out the awkwardness of first dates. Spirits knew that his first two dates with Nikolai, the fox yokai he had accidentally been flirting with a few months back, were awkward. That’s why they didn’t meet again for a third.

After a minute or so, Leo glanced down at Yuichi to check in on him. His eyes were still shut and he looked relatively relaxed. His brows were furrowed together, probably because of his thoughts, and he wasn’t as relaxed as he normally was. Still, he nuzzled against Leo’s plastron and sighed before it turned into a soft snore. He was asleep already?

Leo couldn’t help but smile softly. He rubbed gently at Yuichi’s side, being careful not to tickle him by accident. He wanted Yuichi to relax, not to wake him up. 

Yuichi’s brows relaxed a bit and he curled a bit closer around Leo. A small smile formed on his lips. There. Better than before.

Leo couldn’t help it. He started churring softly as he closed his eyes. He felt Yuichi relax further against his plastron.

Yeah, this was pretty good. At least the whole love potion thing had something good from it after all.

Chapter Text

Leo had been through a lot. Between Big Mama, the Kraang, and now the love potion, he had lost or almost lost his Ninpō a number of times. It was strong but fragile. Leo didn’t want to be cut off from it ever again. 

That’s how he found himself sitting in Draxum’s workshop, in the middle of a spell circle that looked eerily familiar to the memory spell. He didn’t want Draxum to see his memories, even if he was happy to talk about them with his Rara. Leo didn’t want anyone seeing his memories. That included Prime, but Leo didn’t have much of a choice there.

“As part of your training, we are going to be taking you back to a time your Ninpō feels is a defining moment in your growth,” Draxum explained. “It might be good. It might be bad. But it is important. Understanding this moment will help your Ninpō grasp more firmly onto your being and allow you to use it more instinctively.” 

“Will… anyone else be able to see what I see?” Leo asked hesitantly. They were alone but Leo was still worried.

Draxum shook his head as he finished lighting the candles. “No. Only you and you alone. Prime won’t even be able to see it since it will resonate purely with you and your soul.” He shook out the match before disposing of it in a nearby trashcan.

Okay… Alright, Leo could work with that. He had a feeling he knew where the spell would take him anyway. There was one moment where he knew he felt something inside him snap. “Better have some tissues at the ready, Rara. This is probably gonna get messy,” he joked, waving his hand.

Draxum sat down in a circle and held up a box of tissues. “Already prepared,” he said before sitting the box outside the spell circle. “Now just take deep breaths and count down from ten. By the time you reach ‘one’, you should be back in the memory.”

Leo nodded. He closed his eyes and started counting. He hoped and prayed that he was wrong with what he was about to see. 

His Ninpō told him that he wasn’t.

“You two are going to be cleaning the TV room up for what you did. Top to bottom,” Dad said, staring down sternfully. His hands were on his sides as he looked at Leo and Donnie. “You two know better than this.”

Donnie ducked his head down, pushing his glasses up so they didn’t side down his face. “Sorry, Dad,” he muttered out, looking at his feet.

Leo, on the other hand, was feeling great. Dad was paying attention to him and Donnie again. He was away from his shows and actually focusing on them. The fact that he had trashed the TV room while Dad was napping helped with that. Clearly Leo had done a great job. Donnie had to be acting so Leo would too. 

He hung his head and fiddled with his fingers. “Sorry, Dad,” he mumbled, glancing to the side. Oh yeah, Leo was a great actor. Donnie would be so proud of him after this.

Dad sighed deeply and pinched the area between his eyes. “Do not do it again. Now go and grab the cleaning materials you need and clean up the TV room.” 

“Alright.” Leo saw Donnie grab the mop and bucket before taking them out of the kitchen. Following out after his twin, Leo grabbed the soap, broom, dustbin, and a trash can. He had to keep himself calm until they were far out of sight of Dad. His tail went wild then. Mission success.

A bit of cleaning for some undivided attention from their Dad? Worth the cost, easily. Plus, Leo got more time with Donnie, even if they had to do chores. That was always a good thing.

Leo made sure he had everything they needed before he turned and got ready to head to the TV room. He couldn’t hold back how his tail wagged, even if he might run into Dad again. He was just so happy!

When Leo turned to Donnie, he realized that his twin was still acting. He stared bitterly at the mess Leo had made in their names while he held on tight to the handle of the mop. Dad wasn’t going to come in for an hour at the very least so Donnie didn’t need to keep on acting. Wow, he was really good at this.

“Why are you still being sad, Fizzy?” Leo asked, looking at his twin. “Dad won’t be back for ages.”

“Because we’re in trouble? Why did you do that, Leo? If you want to get in trouble, that’s fine. I don’t want to get dragged into trouble for things I didn’t even do.”

Leo blinked, confused. Did Donnie not understand that Leo had done it for both of them? He was getting them attention and getting Dad away from the TV for a while. Why wasn’t Donnie happy about that?

“I thought you wanted it too.” Choosing good words was sometimes tricky, especially if Leo got emotional. He just knew so many of them that it was hard to choose the right ones. He would try his best though. “I didn’t know it would make you upset with me.”

Donnie looked at Leo then, how upset he was clear on his face. “You know I hate getting in trouble. I want Dad’s attention, yeah, but not this way. He’s not gonna like us if we get in trouble.”

But getting into trouble was the only way Dad paid attention to them anymore. Why wouldn’t Donnie see that? “That’s not true!”

“No one likes troublemakers, Leo. If we keep doing this, he’s gonna look at us like we’re a pain. This is a short-term solution to whatever Dad’s going through,” Donnie said. “You didn’t even ask me if I wanted to be part of this. You just trashed the TV room while Dad was napping without asking me. I would’ve told you it was a bad idea.” Donnie’s voice got higher in pitch the longer he talked which he only did when he got super upset.

Donnie getting upset was making Leo upset, but he was also getting angry. Why didn’t Donnie stop him if he thought it was such a bad idea?! “Well I don’t see you coming up with ideas or— or— or trying to fix things!” Leo just wanted things to go back to how they were before! When Dad had lots of time for them and didn’t spend most of his days in front of the TV looking so sad and grumpy. Why didn’t Donnie get that?!

“I’m seven, Leo! I dunno how to fix Dad being sad or in front of the TV. I can’t just fix people. I make or fix machines . If they have a problem, I can easily figure out what’s wrong with it.” And now Donnie was raising his voice at Leo. He hadn’t done anything wrong!

“I’m also seven but at least I’m trying!” Leo snapped back.

“Yeah! You’re seven! It’s not up to you to fix an adult who isn’t even helping himself! You’re not the Dad mechanic or whatever. You’re his son.”

“Exactly! I’m his son and I want him back! Clearly you don’t. Maybe we’re not so much alike.” Leo hadn’t meant that. His mouth snapped shut and his eyes went wide. “I— Fizzy, I—”

Donnie stared at Leo with tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Leo reached his hand out but Donnie stepped back, out of Leo’s reach. He shook his head before taking a deep, shaking breath. “I want Dad back to how he was before but people change. Sometimes not for the better. Guess that you changed for the worse too.” Donnie shoved himself past Leo before he ran off.

Leo turned and ran after him. “Fizzy! Fizzy, wait!”

“Leave me alone, Leo! I don’t want to see you!”

“Fizzy, please—”

Donnie stopped suddenly and Leo almost tripped as he tried to stop himself from running into his twin. His twin’s face was wet and his eyes were red and puffy. “Stop calling me Fizzy,” he spat. “Only Cos can call me that, and you clearly aren’t him anymore.”

Leo stared at Donnie in shock. He wasn’t Cosmos anymore? His twin was rejecting him so fully and completely? 

Tears welled up in Leo’s eyes too as he glared at Donnie. If Donnie wanted to get rid of Leo, then Leo would get rid of Donnie too. There wouldn’t be a Fizzy and Cosmos anymore. “Well fine! I guess we aren’t twins either then because— because Fizzy and Cosmos are twins and we aren’t them!” Leo turned and ran. He didn’t know where he was going, only that he wanted to go somewhere where Donnie wouldn’t find him ever.

He eventually found himself right outside Raph’s room. Donnie would never find him here. He pulled back the curtain and yelped when he saw Raph in there. Raph also cried out from where he was on his skateboard, just catching himself before he fell. “Leo?”

Leo sniffled and scrubbed at his eyes. He tried his best to hold back his tears, even if his bottom lip quivered. That was a good word. Focus on good things. Ignore the bad stuff. Ignore Donnie. “Donnie and I had a fight. Can I hide in here until later?”

Raph’s eyes widened before he nodded. “Oh. Yeah, sure.” He put his skateboard by his handheld weights before going over to Leo. He wrapped an arm around Leo’s shoulders and walked him over to Raph’s bed. “Wanna talk ‘bout it?”

Leo shook his head. He wouldn’t tell anybody about that fight. Not properly. He wouldn’t tell anyone about what he was feeling either because if his twin would throw it back in his face then Leo couldn’t trust anyone with his feelings. 

“Donnie and I aren’t twins anymore. He said so himself,” was all Leo told Raph. If Leo couldn’t be Cosmos anymore then they weren’t twins because they had special names for each other and if Leo couldn’t be Cosmos then he couldn’t be Donnie’s twin. And he didn’t want to be either! Donnie was a selfish, eggheaded weirdo who didn’t want to fix things, just stay and play with his stupid machines.

Raph frowned but didn’t try to dig in further about it like he normally would. “Maybe you’ll be twins again when Donnie realizes that that’s silly,” he said as they sat down on Raph’s bed. Raph looked around before grabbing one of his plushies and giving it to Leo to hold. It was really soft and nice. “When Raph’s upset, he tries to work it out. Though Raph knows that ain’t your thing. Another thing Raph does though is hold a friend and sometimes yell into a pillow what’s upsetting him. You could write down how you’re feeling though since you’re a writer.”

Working out? Well Leo had read about endurance training. That might be a good way to work his feelings. It said it needed a lot of punching and kicking things. Also writing. He needed to start a journal or something for his feelings, one that Donnie would never be able to find or see ever in the history of never. Leo didn’t want anything to do with Donnie anymore. 

“Thanks, Raph.” Leo hugged the plushie tight and flopped against Raph properly. He’d be okay to go and clean up his mess soon. He just needed to make sure he was calm when Donnie eventually saw him. No way could his twin ever know how sad and angry their fight made him. Leo wouldn’t let anyone see him get sad or angry again. He’d be, uh, the face man! Like in that movie the A-Team! The face man who was always cool and funny and everyone liked. Yeah. That’s who Leo would be from now on. He wouldn’t be Cosmos, he’d be Face Man Leo.

Leo opened his eyes and when he did, he was back in Draxum’s lab. The lights on the candles blew themselves out before a box of tissues was placed in Leo’s lap. “What do you need right now, Leo?”

Leo took a breath. Then another. Then he reached down and grabbed a tissue. “I—” What did Leo need? He dabbed his face with shaking hands. “I need—” He hated that memory. It set in stone so many bad habits and poor choices and so much pain stored in it. Still, revisiting it properly now that he was older? Getting to see it with fresh eyes and see what mistakes he made, knowing he had worked hard to fix them? That made the pain better. It didn’t remove it entirely, but it chased away the knot that held tight on his heart. “I need Fizzy.” He felt the sentiment echo in the imprint without him even meaning to send it.

Draxum nodded and stayed by Leo’s side for the few moments it took for his Fizzy to appear through a purple portal. He hurried into the circle and kneeled down beside Leo. “I’m here, Cos.” He tugged Leo close, against the shawl Donnie wore. Leo knitted it for him and anytime Donnie was home or doing work on his lab, he wore it. He left his important work to come help Leo. “I’m here.”

Leo clung to his twin. His twin who he had made up with, who he had fixed his relationship with. His twin who he had a special connection with that no one else could ever feel or understand. His twin who wanted him, who needed him just as desperately as Leo needed Donnie. As Cosmos needed his Fizzy. 

“I’m sorry, Fizzy. I didn’t mean it, I promise. I love you so much. I’m so happy you’re my twin,” Leo babbled, his face pressed against the shawl and Donnie’s shoulder. It smelled of metal and electricity with an undercurrent of lemon, just like Donnie. It calmed Leo down to no end, his babbling trailing off after only seconds.

“I… do not know what prompted this, but I forgive you? Yeah. I love you too and I’m happy you’re my twin as well.” Donnie knocked their heads together and kissed the top of Leo’s head.

“We were doing the memory training,” Leo heard Draxum explain. “I don’t know what he saw, but he asked for you almost immediately.” Leo didn’t pay attention. It didn’t matter. He was safe with Donnie and nothing would separate them again.

“I see. The first session was rough for me too, as I’m sure you recall, Rara.” Then, after adjusting the volume of his voice, he asked Leo, “Was it the fight?”

Leo nodded, clinging tighter to Donnie. Donnie understood. Leo let everything he was feeling during that memory bubble up so if he wanted to, Donnie would be able to reach through the imprint and see for himself. Leo wouldn’t hide his feelings from Donnie again.

“Rara, is he done with training?”

“Yes. Just the initial memory for today. Do you need help getting up?”

“Leo, can Rara help us up and to your room?”

Leo nodded. So long as he didn’t have to leave Donnie’s side, he’d be happy. Wait, if Donnie knew about what happened, did that mean he’d gone through this too? Was that why Donnie had been so clingy in the days leading up to Leo’s breakdown a few months back? Donnie had been doing training with Draxum around then. Was it this stuff? 

Well, Leo had let him cling regardless. And he was more than happy to cling to Donnie now that he was going through it himself.

Chapter Text

After spending the week with Yuichi with on-and-off training when Yuichi had to work at the Battle Nexus, Leo found it a little lonelier once his boyfriend—Ah! It still didn’t seem real—left to return to Hueso and Junior. 

What was he doing to fill the void right now? Well, Donnie was busy working on heavy-duty Mother Shell repairs with Raph’s help. CJ was currently working on some personal project with Lenny. Maybe Mikey was free to hang. Yeah! They could have some fun misadventures and shenanigans. 

He stood outside Mikey’s room with an offering of snacks and soda as he knocked on the door. “Oh Miguel,” he sang out. “My dear youngest brother. I have some snackies for you.”

There was a beat of silence. But Mikey was in there. He heard a sniffle from inside. “What kind?”

Wait, a sniffle? Eugh boy. It was a good thing Leo had brought snackies. Misadventures could wait. Leo needed to be a good big brother.

“Well I’ve got some white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies, some of those pork scratching things that you seem to really like, and I even brought you your favorite soda,” Leo called through the door in a singsong voice. He needed a chance to judge the situation before he could actually help.

There was a pause and Mikey sniffled again. “You mean pork rinds?” Before Leo could agree, his little brother said, “You can come in.”

Leo balanced the tray on one hand and opened the door, heading straight to where Mikey was curled up in the corner. The snacks were placed on Mikey’s desk nearby and Leo sat down. He held open his arms. “C’mere, hermano. What’s wrong?”

Mikey looked up at Leo, tears streaming down his face as he sniffled. If it wasn’t his brother, Leo would say he looked almost comically sad. Well, it depended on the reason if it would be funny or not since Mikey got sad easier than most. Like the time he cried over snakes not having arms. 

Mikey clung to Leo as he whimpered, the blanket wrapped around him staying on him like a cape. “The— the tagging spot Cass and— and I do all our muh— murals at is being deh— demolished. It’s— it’s being turned into an office buh— building!” He clung to Leo like a lifeline as he started bawling.

Leo gently rubbed Mikey’s shell and sighed. “Really? That’s…” That was horrible. Leo knew how much that place meant to Mikey and all the artists in New York. The fact they were tearing it down for something so dull? That was just insult to injury. “I’m so sorry, Miguel.”

“It’s— it’s so sudden too. The signs just went up today and thuh— they’re tearing it down tuh— tomorrow! Cass is doing a Brownie trip and cuh— can’t be here to see it one last time!” Mikey wailed and hid inside his shell.

Leo held Mikey close. Okay, how could he help with this? There was no way to stop the destruction and building so he had to come up with another plan. 

While he thought, Leo held Mikey’s shell close and started knocking a familiar pattern on to it. Whenever Mikey got overwhelmed or was really tired and hid inside his shell, Leo would gently knock out a soothing rhythm on his carapace. It would not only help Mikey relax, it was a reminder that he was safe, that Leo was there with him. It was something special for them and he knew if there was ever a time to be helping Mikey relax, it was then. 

“Hey, Mikey, why don’t we go and get pictures ourselves? We can take pictures and you can make them into a scrapbook which you can then share with Casey,” Leo offered. It was the best he had, short of trying to portal a whole building alone.

Mikey’s crying, which had calmed down thanks to Leo’s knocking, stopped as he sniffled. “Pictures?” His eyes were visible from inside his shell as he looked up at Leo.

“Yeah, we can get one of Donnie’s good cameras and take a bunch of pictures of everything you guys made.” Leo nodded. He hoped his smile was reassuring and comforting.

“That… that sounds nice.”

Leo kissed Mikey’s head when it popped out his shell before knocking their foreheads together. “How about you enjoy the snacks and soda I brought and I’ll go let the others know and grab Donnie’s camera? Then maybe grab April? I know she’d be excited to see what you’ve made.”

Mikey nodded as he sniffled and a box of tissues floated over to him. He grabbed some and blew his snout into them. “Oh— okay. She’s also better than us at taking pictures. My hands still get shaky sometimes, even— even with Donnie’s compression gloves under my wraps.”

“Your recovery is still amazing but yeah, we can get April to take pictures,” Leo agreed, kissing Mikey’s head again. “Get her to use those journalism skills to take some well framed shots.”

“Mhm.” The blanket that had sort of fallen when Mikey retreated into his shell retucked itself around Leo’s little brother. “Thanks, Leo.”

“Sure thing, Mikey.” Leo gently adjusted Mikey to be on a pillow before standing up. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

Mikey nodded and the tray floated over to him. He took it and cracked open the soda first, nursing it as he drank it. God, he looked so sad and pathetic. Under any other circumstances, it would have been funny. It was just upsetting now.

Leo took a breath before turning and leaving. Okay, first stop, garage. He needed to talk to Donnie and Raph, then he needed to call April.

Mikey stood outside the freshly placed fence around the abandoned mall that housed so much art. So much love and passion and creativity was going to be destroyed for a stupid office building. How many more did the city need? There were already so many!

Honestly, it was stupid. This was a place that taggers and graffiti artists had been coming for years. It was an unspoken understanding that they’d use this building and not go elsewhere as much. Mikey had been doing his murals here for years now, and it was about to be torn down.

“Wow, I can smell the art in there already,” Leo said as he rocked back on his heels. “For an abandoned mall, it’s pretty gorgeous from out here.”

“I mean, the fresh tags on the outside help with both of those,” April said as she gestured to the more vulgar protests for the planned demolishing of the building. She did snap a picture of them with the camera slung around her neck. “Case and Donnie’ll get a kick out of these.”

“Donnie will set it as a profile picture somewhere, I’m sure,” Leo agreed with a snort. “Now, let’s get in there and get these pictures. Mikey, you need to show us around.”

Mikey nodded as he looked around for a hole that surely was cut into the fence. There was one just nearby, which Mikey lifted for his older siblings to go through. “There’s a lot of good pieces in here,” he said as he ducked through and brushed himself off. “Though we gotta b-line to the area Case and I sorta claimed for ourselves.”

“Thanks, Miguel. And lead the way—”

“If you guys are thinking of going in, I wouldn’t,” a young voice said. Glancing over, Mikey saw one of the artists who he often spotted in the mall walking over. He was tall, maybe late teens at most, and he had a sick looking chain tattoo wrapped around his arm.  Wait, that was new. “Hey Spots. Careful. This place is haunted now.”

Wait. Mikey clung to whoever was closest to him as tight as he could, which happened to be Leo, and yelped. “It’s— it’s—”

“It’s haunted?” April finished as Leo patted Mikey’s head. “You sure it wasn’t just the place making noises ‘cause it’s, y’know, old? And abandoned?” Even as she asked, there was a twinkle in her eye. “Unless you have specific specter details and a proper eye witness account for us.”

“Saw it myself,” said the artist. “Left me with this wicked mark but hey, doesn't hurt anymore.” He held up his arm with the chain designs on it.

Leo made an annoyed sound. “There’s no such thing as—” He paused, took a breath, and groaned. “There’s no such thing as a mystery we’d turn our noses up at,” he deadpanned. “We should investigate and see if we can figure out what the… ghost wants.”

April looked over the artist’s arm with interest while Mikey’s head whipped around to stare at Leo. “Wait, you didn’t deny it was a ghost. You even said there was a ghost.” He grinned at his brother as he felt a wave of self-righteousness wash over him, his fear momentarily gone. “You finally believe in them.”

Leo’s face was a picture of annoyance and discomfort. “Yeeeeaaah,” he said without much enthusiasm. “I totally believe in ghosts now. You—” He gave an awkward smile. “You convinced me, Mikey. This one is totally a ghost.”

Mikey squinted long and hard at his brother. Okay, he clearly didn’t, but he was giving this to Mikey for some reason. Well, he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth and he’d milk this for all it was worth. But… that meant dealing with a ghost. That was haunting his spot. Why was everything bad happening to his special tag space?! “It is and we’ll have to get rid of it.”

“Ooo, are we gonna be banishing this ghost? Doing an exorcism?” April asked with a delighted grin as she turned around. “Do I get to beat up a ghost?!”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Leo turned to face April. “We’ll figure out what it wants and get it out of there.”

“Just be careful guys,” the artist said. “I’m gonna bounce. Take care.” He waved and left through the hole in the fence.

Mikey waved to the artist and thought for a moment as April and Leo started chatting. Huh. The guy faced a ghost here who marked him with those chains. As he watched the guy go, Mikey stared at his arm and saw— 

Nothing else. Hm. Must’ve been a trick of the light that caught his eye then.

“Well, we should get in there.” Leo took a breath and rolled out his shoulders. “Glad I brought the battle shell instead of just the shell cover.” He reached out to the side as a small portal formed, letting Leo grab out his katana.

From inside the mall, an ear splitting screech echoed out as the windows in the roof flashed with light. 

Leo frowned, then summoned a construct knife into his hand. Again, there was a screech and more flashes from inside that continued until he vanished it. “That thing is sensing my Ninpō,” Leo whispered. “I could feel it reaching out when I used it…”

April thought for a moment before she reached out and summoned her bat. Once more, screeching and flashes of light filled the air. “Mine too. Mikey, you might wanna tap out unless you gotta use your mystic mojo.”

Well, it was a good thing Mikey was training not just in the mystic arts again and that he brought his nunchaku with him. It was just hidden under his hoodie in his new strap pouch. He pulled his out and nodded. “Wait, but normal weapons don’t work on ghosts. It’ll just go through it!”

“We’ll figure it out as we go,” Leo said, taking a deep breath before opening another portal. He gestured to it, keeping an eye on the flashing and flickering rooftop.

April walked through first before Mikey followed, staying right by her side as they walked out to the second floor of the mall. He looked around and down at the first floor while he took in the large palace of art that would soon be gone. Different styles, mediums, and more of art stretched down to his left and right as they entered into the center of the abandoned mall, right by the empty fountain. Every storefront was claimed by a certain artist, the pulled-down garage-like doors each tagged by an artist or artists that claimed that space. All of this beauty, all of this creativity, all of these personalities were about to be lost to some greedy jerks.

A hand to his shoulder made Mikey jump. “Take some deep breaths, Mikey,” April said. “It’ll be alright.” Mikey nodded, reaching up and holding April’s hand as he took a deep breath in… then let it out. In again… then out.

Leo came through the portal and it snapped shut behind him. The blue glow that accompanied it, though, didn’t fade at all. When Mikey peered around, he spotted that Leo had opened another portal on the lower level. “Bait,” was his explanation as he stared at the portal, his eyes flickering around.

Oh. Oh Leo was luring the ghost to the portal. That… wouldn’t be good.

The screech that echoed around almost made Mikey jump into his shell. An amorphous being made of light shot into view, glowing too brightly to properly focus on. It examined the portal, chittering and screeching as it seemed to try and fail to interact with it.

Mikey clung to April from behind. “Do you think it smells fear?” he asked in a hushed whisper. April rolled her eyes and fondly patted his head as they all peered at the glowing entity below. 

The longer Mikey tried to look though, the worse he felt. A headache started to form against his temples and then spread throughout his entire head. It was almost like it was burning his head and mind. He had to duck his head into his shell and take deep breaths for his head not to feel like it was going to explode right then and there. Maybe in the next ten or fifteen minutes.

“April, do malls have like a connected back room section?” Leo asked softly. Mikey could only assume that Leo had spotted something.

“Oh, totally. Back corridors where loading docks and service elevators are,” April answered. Mikey could feel her talk and the vibrations helped calm him a bit more.

“Take Mikey. I’ll be through in a sec.” Wait, what?!

Mikey poked his head out of his shell and turned his head to look at wherever Leo’s voice came from. “Excuse me?! I am not leaving you alone with that for any amount of time,” he whisper-shouted, pointing in the direction that he assumed the blob that made his brain hurt was.

Leo’s eyes were fixated on the lower levels still. It didn’t look like he was even blinking. “Yes you will. Because you two have stronger Ninpō than me and it has spotted us.” Oh. “You two are going to run. That’s an order.” Leo’s voice was perfectly calm and reasonable, as if he wasn’t describing a horrible ghost-alien-monster coming after them.

“You better be careful,” April said. Mikey’s head whipped around to stare at her before she properly picked him up, piggyback style from where he clung to her from behind, and started to book it away from the fountain and down to one of the ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ doors. 

Mikey clung to her and looked back at Leo for a moment before whipping his head back at April. “Why are we leaving him?! We don’t know what that thing is!”

“I’m starting to get an idea of what and I’m followin’ orders,” April whispered back sharply. “Plus, you clearly aren’t feeling too hot yourself. You staying there is more of a liability.” She shouldered open the door that had long since been unlocked and booked it down the corridor with Mikey.

There was a screech from the main part of the mall and Mikey heard Leo curse loudly. April sped up a little. “Run! Guys, run!” Leo yelled, his voice echoing down the corridor. From a point closer than Leo was, Mikey heard the creature scream.

Mikey clung to April and looked ahead. Okay, think. What could he do to help? He glanced around at the set of doors they went through at the end of the corridor and the shelves by it. Extending his nunchaku, he whipped it around the end of the shelving and pulled it down to block the door. If this thing was corporeal, no way would it easily be able to get through that door now!

There was another screech and Leo cursed louder.

“Hey. I’m gonna distract it.” Leo appeared next to April, running next to her. He stayed just in Mikey’s field of vision. “Find somewhere safe and see if you can figure out a way to contain it. This thing is eating Ninpō.”

“Wait, it eats what ?!” April cried out as she looked at Leo. “Okay, ‘cause I’ve been putting my mystic feelers out there—”

“Please don’t say that word ever again, Poof.”

“—and I’ve figured out that creature is—”

Mikey waited for April to finish her statement but she never did. He looked at her and waited to hear the end of the sentence but she was done talking. Wait, what? “The thing’s what?”

“It’s—” Her mouth moved but for some reason, Mikey couldn’t see it or hear what came out from her. He could feel the vibrations since she was piggybacking him but otherwise? Nothing. Uh… What?

Leo shot Mikey a confused look before looking back at April. “Yeah, you’re right. We just don’t know who. Right now, it doesn’t matter. Find a way to contain it while I distract it.” He sheathed his katanas and instead formed two blue glowing katanas in his hands. “Oh this is gonna suck so bad.” He peeled away from the group and through another door. Mikey heard a crash and he assumed the light creature followed after Leo.

April hissed through her teeth but she kept on running. “Okay okay okay, where can we go?”

Mikey looked around and thought. “We can hide out in Case and I’s space. I can direct us there and if there’s stairs, I can use my nunchaku to swing us down.” Even if he didn’t fully get what was happening, which was getting more and more frustrating as his headache lingered, he’d help. No ghost light creature thing was going to haunt his art spot!

“Okay, I can get us down there. Do you have any ideas on how to beat this?” April asked, taking a sharp turn down another corridor that led to some stairs.

Mikey shook his head as he got his nunchaku to spin nicely to the side, its chains extended. “Nope! ‘Cause I can’t hear what you’re saying about it.”

April stopped dead in her tracks. “Uuuh what?”

Before he could elaborate, he wrapped an arm around her torso and his legs clung tighter to her middle. “Hold on!”

“Wait, you didn’t answer my—”

The nunchaku swung and wrapped around the railing before the stairs. Mikey’s momentum carried them up in a loop, going upside down and high in the air before swinging them around. He couldn’t help but whoop as April screamed, momentarily in panic before it turned into a loud, excitement-filled cheer as she clung onto Mikey as best she could with one arm. The other shot up above her as they spun before they landed with April sliding to her feet. Again, the momentum sped her up as she skidded so she bolted herself out of the stairwell. Somehow, her glasses stayed on her face perfectly fine.

April was panting from adrenaline but she didn’t slow her pace. “You can’t hear what I’m saying about the thing,” she clarified. When Mikey nodded, she blinked before huffing. “Okay, do you know any spells that can contain beings of pure energy? This thing doesn’t have a corporeal form but I can hear it still kicking Leo’s butt!”

Mikey frowned as he racked his brain of all the spells Rara had taught him. “I think so, but it requires a huge space for a spell circle. We can get paints from my spot. Turn right over here!”

April followed Mikey’s directions. “I’m guessing we need to draw up a mystic circle?” she asked. “Barry’s been teaching me the different sigils. Just tell me what goes where and I can help you make it.”

“Mhm.” Mikey glanced at his arms and saw they were shaking. Whether it was from the whole situation, his own shakes, or both, he couldn’t tell. “I’ll probably need you to do a lot of the circles,” he said before pointing to his spot. Oh, the door was still down but he loved his and Cass’s tag of hockey sticks in front of a flame. “There. The old shoe store.”

“Ironic.” April snickered, dropping to the ground suddenly and skidding under the thin gap between the door and the floor. She stood and put Mikey on his feet at last. “Okay, mystic master. Direct me. Also we need to hurry—” There was a loud ‘ thud ’ followed by a cry of pain from above. That sounded like Leo. “Leo can only hold out for so long. He hasn’t been fighting very long, right?”

“No but the sooner we get this done, the better.” Mikey dashed and leaped over the counter, digging under to find his bag of paints and spare masks. He shook some of the spray paint cans and yeah, they still had a lot of paint left. He tossed two cans and a filtration mask over to April while he quickly tugged on his own mask. He then picked up two cans of his own and grinned. “Let’s snag that monster, graffiti-style.”

Alright, it wasn’t perfect by any means but it would do the job. Mikey stood back and pulled up his mask as he looked over the huge spell circle outside the shoe store. Thank god there wasn’t a stupid kiosk on the way. “Okay, we’re good, April! Now we just gotta lure the monster over.” At least it wasn’t a ghost. Mikey could handle an en— monster.

“Got it.” She raised her wrist and pressed a button. “Leo, can you get it down here? We’re outside the shoe store.”

There was a crackle of static before the speakers of April’s communicator buzzed to life. “Yeah.” Leo sounded exhausted and pained. “Yeah I can. Gimme two minutes tops. Stay out of sight, both of you.”

Mikey frowned but reluctantly did as he was told. If Leo was as beat up as he sounded, Mikey could step in sooner than he planned. Regardless, he and April hid inside the former shoe store behind some display counters.

After a few moments of waiting, Leo sprinted into view. He had black burn marks all along every one of his limbs, along his plastron, and even some on his face. His hands shook and he was limping pretty badly. Still, he was somehow as fast as ever as he shot past Mikey’s hiding spot and stood in the center of the spell circle.

“Hey! Come get me! Look at all this Ninpō I’ve got!” Leo took a breath and closed his eyes. For a split second, Mikey was seeing double. Leo was standing in the circle, but then, so was Blue. Leo managed to project his Ninpō like that?! It only lasted for a second but seemed to be enough. There was a screech and the light creature came shooting towards Leo.

Leo skipped backwards just as the creature entered the circle, getting trapped instantly. 

Mikey launched himself over and ran to the spell circle, skidding down onto his knees. He stopped himself right by the edge as he focused on the circle and keeping this creature contained. The warmth of his Ninpō, his mystic energy, came to the surface in an instant as he slammed his hands down. Every line spray painted down glowed white then orange as it shot up. The whole space was lit a pretty orange hue before all of the color sucked itself back into the spell circle, creating a dome that ensured this thing couldn’t escape.

The creature turned and launched itself at Mikey, slamming into the dome and falling backwards. It seemed dazed for a moment before it started slamming into the dome over and over, trying desperately to get to Mikey. The dome held firm though and it didn’t get even close.

Leo hobbled over, leaning heavily on a blue construct cane with a blue Ninpō knee brace on. “You guys okay?” he asked, even as he panted.

Mikey had to force himself to turn away from the creature. Even being this close to it was making him feel sick to his stomach. He turned just in time to see April chopping Leo’s head without any real force or strength. “You’re seriously asking us that right now? You look like you asked a guy to beat you up ‘cause you lost a bet and you asked the wrong guy to do it since he didn’t hold back.”

“Barely hurts now.” Leo waved her off. “If it wasn’t for my knee, I’d be feeling fine.”

“You’re covered in literal burn marks!” Mikey cried, flailing his hands at Leo’s everything. 

Leo laughed awkwardly. “I got grabbed a lot when the light kept trying to come after you guys.”

“Oh boy, we’re gonna have a talk later,” April chided before she turned to the creature. She smirked, and Mikey saw her get closer to his dome. “At least we’ve finally gotten this guy. Not so scary now that you’re like a bug under a cup. Heh heh huAAH!” Judging by the sound, the creature slammed against the barrier again. April flailed back and dropped her bat.

Leo rolled his eyes and helped her up. “Don’t antagonize him.” He chopped April on the head in the same way she had done to him. “Now, you’re sure this guy is—” Leo’s mouth moved but once again, Mikey heard nothing. He couldn’t even lip read what Leo said because he sucked at that. When April nodded, Leo’s eyes softened and he looked back at the dome. “I know what to do about this. Mikey, can I get inside the dome?”

“You wanna do the what now? That thing almost turned you into burnt Leo-mari! There ain’t no way I’m letting you in there,” Mikey said with a huff. He had to angle himself where he would look at April and Leo without seeing that thing, but even looking in that direction was making him nauseous.

“Trust me.“ Leo looked at Mikey with an even gaze. “I know what I’m doing.”

Mikey rested his hands on his side then in a very Raph-like manner. “Tell me what this thing is first. You two both know but I don’t. I hate not knowing this kind of important stuff.” He did his best to ignore the bangs and thuds to his left, but he must have flinched at least once or twice.

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t hear me,” Leo said. His gaze didn’t waver and his expression remained calm. “I want you to know, and you will, but you won’t process this until I prove it to you. Your Ninpō is blocking it.”

That took a good second or so for Mikey to process. “Like what happened when my Ninpō was going all crazy and I couldn’t tell when I bottled everything up?” Well that… made a lot of sense. Why he couldn’t hear what the others were saying sometimes and why he couldn’t look at that whatever in the dome. Why it made him feel so ill.

Leo nodded. “I want you to know what this is, but you can’t until you see it.”

Mikey took a deep breath then. “Okay.” He shut his eyes as he kneeled down beside the spell circle. His body tensed as the sounds from this contained creature got even worse. His throat and stomach felt vile and his head felt like it was threatening to split open. 

Still, he persevered. He took another breath and with it, he gave Leo the ability to walk in and out of the dome with ease. It was just as easy as that, as breathing in and breathing out. “You can go in now.”

“Thank you, little brother.” Leo shot Mikey a smile before turning and looking at the dome. “I know you’ve always got my back.” He walked forward and into the orange dome.

As much as everything in Mikey wanted to look away, he couldn’t. He needed to watch Leo, make sure he was okay, and be ready to defend him if the creature attacked him again.

Leo walked into the center of the dome while the creature was focused on Mikey. His brother paused, then let out a sharp whistle. At the same time, he dissolved his knee brace and cane, standing by himself even if it clearly hurt. “Hey, little light. Eyes on me.” The creature turned and screamed at Leo. It started charging but Leo didn’t draw his weapons or even flinch.

It stopped inches from Leo’s face, a tendril of light reaching up and slowly brushing over the burns. Leo closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, a small smile on his face. “There you are. Hi,” he murmured. 

The creature burbled curiously in response, taking on a more humanoid form. It was shorter than Leo by a good few inches but that was all Mikey could really make out. With the form change, though, came a lessening of Mikey's symptoms. It was easier to process.

“Hey now, you didn’t hurt me. It’s okay.” Leo’s voice was so soft and gentle still, so soothing, as the creature kept stroking Leo’s cheek. It’s hand, complete with two long fingers and a thumb, brushed over the burns once more. The marks fizzed and faded, vanishing from along Leo’s body as well. “See? It’s all better now.” He reached up and cupped what Mikey assumed was the creature’s rounded cheeks. “What do you need? How can I help you?” he asked so softly, his eyes turning gold for a moment as he got a response. “Oh, really? Okay. Mikey, drop the dome.”

In his peripheral vision, Mikey saw April move from sitting behind him—when had she done that?—to move to the side. He saw her eyes flash gold momentarily. Huh? “You want me to drop it?!” Everything in Mikey’s mind, his instincts, everything screamed at him to keep this dome up. If he let it go, he wouldn’t be safe. Danger was imminent. 

“You trust me, right?”

Mikey’s response was instant. “Of course.”

Yet here was his brother, whom he brought back from the depths of nothingness in another dimension, telling him this. His brother who always had his back. All of his brothers did. His family always kept him safe, even if he didn’t realize it at the time. Even if he fought tooth and nail against it unknowingly. 

“Then drop it.”

So Mikey listened to his family as he crossed his arms over his chest and then slashed the dome away, orange flames licking the air before bursting into starbursts of light. Even as everything screamed and yelled and his head felt like it was going to explode with his instincts panicking.

He took a deep breath, and it settled. 

His family knew what was best.

In an instant, the light was in his face. He could just about make out hair tufts on the side of its round head and see where its eyes would be as if stared at Mikey. It didn’t attack, though, it just seemed… curious. 

Slowly, the light reached up and put its hand next to Mikey's face, not touching. It was as though it was waiting for permission.

Mikey slowly exhaled as he looked at this creature. Somehow, the light radiating off of it didn’t daze or blind him. After a moment, he leaned closer to the hand and nodded.

The touch was surprisingly gentle. Mikey felt the light’s mystic powers reach into his, skimming some of his energy off the surface, barely the equivalent to taking sea foam in relation to the whole ocean. Still, he gasped as his own Ninpō reacted. 

Like recognized like.

The Ninpō creature staggered back, seeming to float a few feet into the air as its form collapsed in on itself. There was a rush of energy and from that single point, the creature exploded out of its light form and into a shell. Specifically, the glowing, semi-translucent version of a shell that could only be achieved through Ninpō ghosts. Even more specifically, an older, more worn and somewhat scarred version of Mikey’s shell.

Leo leaned forward, arms out and ready to catch the shell in his arms. He staggered back with a laugh and landed on his rump, tugging the glowing shell into his lap.

Even if he only skimmed the surface, Mikey found himself exhausted. When he fell back, April’s arms were there to catch him. He leaned back against her and curled up at the shell in Leo’s arms. 

“It’s CJ’s Uncle Mikey.”

April knocked her head against Mikey’s. “Makes sense why your Ninpō was trying to block this out. It’s your worst nightmare you just faced.” She kissed Mikey’s temple and nuzzled against him. “You feeling decent?”

“Nope. But I can live. I think. Maybe.”

“You’ll manage. Just breathe, Mikey,” Leo said with a smile. He paused, then looked down at the shell in his lap. He brushed aside the awesome looking cloak that seemed to be attached to the shell with harnesses and started knocking their special patterns.

It took a moment, but then Future Mikey popped out his shell, stretching his arms forward and his legs back as he yawned. He let out a sleepy chirp and curled up in Leo’s lap, seemingly content to keep sleeping.

Leo chuckled and stroked Future Mikey’s head. “Hey there, big little brother. Time to wake up.” Future Mikey just sleepily batted Leo’s hand away, causing the latter to laugh. “Guess some things never change.”

“I’m not that bad,” Mikey insisted as he curled up in April’s lap. She wrapped her arms snugly around him and it helped him feel a bit better. He took a few deep breaths as he took in the details of Future Mikey. 

His hair— Wait, hair?! Woah. Mikey was going to grow hair! Well, Future Mikey’s hair seemed like it had been balding before it changed before Mikey’s eyes. It turned from an off-green-white color to black, and the wrinkles on his face and body seemed to fade away. His hair was tied back like when he was a human, half-up half-down, with white streaks in the same places. It was like he got younger right in front of their eyes. 

Future Mikey looked so cool! And Mikey was going to get hair!

“That’s Badass Mystic Warrior to you, Mr. Sensei,” Future Mikey yawned as he opened his eyes. “Did CJ do—” He looked at Leo and blinked. Then he looked around, including at April and Mikey. “Huh. Guess he did. Hiya.”

Leo chuckled and ruffled Future Mikey’s hair fondly. “Hi. Yeah, CJ did it. We stopped the invasion.” He paused. “Did future me really call you that? I mean, it’s clearly deserved if current Mikey is anything to go off of but still.”

“You bet your shell he did.” Future Mikey sat up slowly, with Leo helping him, and settled himself comfortably in Leo’s lap. He almost seemed to melt when Leo wrapped his arms around his waist to hug him and rested his head on top of Future Mikey’s head. “Spirits, it feels nice to be held with no pain for once.”

“You got old,” Leo said. “And now you’re not.”

“Side effect of drawing more Ninpō than I could handle on the regular. That’s not something you should have to deal with so long as you keep up your training and are careful.” That was directed at Mikey. “After all, you’re not having to protect hundreds of human survivors in an apocalypse. Although it did add to the whole mystic master vibe I had going on. Anyway, I’m young again because this is what my body would have been if I hadn’t been hit with the Ninpō side effects. My Hamato Spirit hadn’t aged after all.”

“Well we don’t want Mikey becoming an old seventy year-old man in his thirties so that ain’t gonna happen,” April said as she reached down and pinched Mikey’s cheek. Even if he would normally whine and bat it away, Mikey didn’t for once. His sister smiled at that and chirped, knocking their heads together. 

Mikey chirped back and knocked their foreheads together before looking at his future self. Okay, important questions. “When did you grow hair? I wanna grow hair!”

Future Mikey blinked before he smirked. “Started when I turned eighteen. Gonna warn you, it’ll be awkward and fuzzy at first but don’t panic ‘cause it gets lovely and luscious soon enough. Our hair grows fast.” He flipped his hair and it seemed to sparkle. 

Leo pouted. “Of course I remain bald for my whole life. It’s not fair.”

“Hey, you get Dad’s strong chiseled chin. You can’t complain too much.”

“Oh yeah, like the Crimson Chin from the Fairly Odd Parents,” Mikey said. April barked out a laugh, and Future Mikey snorted. 

Leo looked very unamused. “I tolerate so much abuse from you all.”

“Yeah, like we don’t tolerate it from you first,” Mikey pointed out. April nodded in agreement. “Plus, it ain’t abuse if it’s the truth.”

“I can’t believe how mean you guys are to me. After everything I’ve been through!” Leo wailed dramatically. He probably would have said more but his ringtone started up. “Oh, shoot, right. Someone’s been calling me.” His phone popped out his battle shell, held out on a spider arm. Leo leaned back to answer it. 

Mikey spotted his older self stare at the spider arm in confusion. “I didn’t end up in a totally alternate universe, right? Since when does Leo have a battle shell?”

Mikey and April glanced at each other then before April decided to speak up. “Well, Donnie only made it after stopping the invasion. Help heal his shell cracks and keep him feelin’ safe,” she explained as she drummed her fingers against Mikey’s arms.

Future Mikey paused as his eyes softened. He rubbed his face tiredly. It was weird for Mikey to see his face without a mask on, especially when Future Mikey looked so tired. “You kids have been through more than I realized. I’m sorry we put that on you.”

“If you hadn’t warned us, we would’ve followed the same path as you guys,” Mikey pointed out. “Even if we’re all roughed and fucked up a bit after, it’s better than a world-ending apocalypse. I’d take hand tremors and some trauma over that any day of the week. No offense.”

“Soaking your arms in cool water will help with the tremors.” Future Mikey leaned forward and showed his own arms. His wraps went higher than Mikey’s and his hands shook slightly. “Mine were much worse before.”

Mikey glanced down and nodded. “Thanks.” He reached over and his hands hovered over the cloak. God, it looked so cool. “Do you think I’ll still get a cool cloak or cape or something? Like it’s destined for it to happen like my luscious locks?”

“I dunno about destiny but this was a gift from my Donnie,” Future Mikey said with a grin. “I’d say it’s likely you’ll get one sooner rather than later.”

Oh, Mikey would need to subliminally prod Donnie into making him one then. “Hell yeah!”

Future Mikey smiled and relaxed again. “Okay, so, I’m guessing my bros are probably waiting for me. Unfortunately, without a proper conduit, I can’t connect to them. Is Casey still living with you guys?”

April nodded and hooked her chin over Mikey’s shoulder. “CJ? Yeah, he is. Got his own train car room and everything. I’m guessing he’s gonna be your conduit?”

“Yup. Don’t tell him I’m here though. Let’s make it a surprise.”

“Considering you were a Ninpō monster, trust me when I say that he’ll be surprised.” Leo sat up again, joining the conversations. 

“I was a what now?!” Future Mikey looked back at Mikey properly. “I am so sorry. You must have been freaked out of your mind! No wonder everything was hazy after the time gate…”

Mikey shrugged. April whined and he quickly apologized to her and her jaw. “My Ninpō wouldn’t let me process it so I just thought you were some light monster creature thing,” he said as he tried to make gestures with his hands that encapsulated what his mind perceived him as. “I’m just glad that you’re okay now.”

“I can only imagine how scary that was. I know you said it was hazy and all but yeah, no thanks,” April said as she rubbed her jaw and cheek. She then looked at Leo with a raised brow. “What was the call ‘bout?”

“Donnie and Raph need backup, ASAP,” Leo said, shaking his head. “I’ll drop you guys off at home, then I’ll have to love you and leave you while I go help them.”

April looked concerned as she helped Mikey up. “Weren’t they in the garage working on fixing up your new ride?”

“Yeah, Mother Shell. Our new spaceship,” Mikey said.

His big sister gasped. “Your new what now?! Oh, Donnie is so dead for not messaging me about that sooner.”

“They were, but they ran into some problems,” was Leo’s answer. “Nothing a little portal power can’t fix though. So, as much as I wanna keep holding you, big little brother, we do need to get going. And I think future me is gonna wanna hold you even more.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Future Mikey nodded. “Let’s get going.”

CJ sighed as he kept on the blindfold that April insisted he wear. “April, I love and adore you very much but why are you dragging me around with a blindfold on?” He had been diligently working on the blueprints and logistics for a translating collar for Mayhem when she barged in. Thankfully everything was digital so he could undo the big smear he had drawn across the design. “Also, aren’t you supposed to be snapping photos with Leo and Mikey of his and Cass’s murals and stuff? I really wanted to see those pictures instead of doing whatever this is.”

“Trust me, Future Boy, you’re gonna wanna see this,” April replied. She sounded like she was smirking. “We’re almost there. Hey, careful. Stairs starting right on your left leg.”

Was that really going to be his nickname from now on? “I wouldn’t need to be so careful if I could, oh, I dunno, use my eyes .” Still, CJ listened to April’s instructions and took a step up… and almost fell because apparently the stairs were going down, not up.

April didn’t let him fall but she did laugh at his misery. Jerk. “We’re almost there. Just heading down to the main room and… there. Stand right there.” CJ got a sense of a couple of other people nearby, maybe two, as well as a source of heat and energy. “Okay, CJ. Take off your blindfold.”

“I swear, if this is another huge prank, you all are so dead,” CJ said as he reached up and undid his blindfold.

It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the strangely bright lights of the main room. When they did, though, he dropped the blindfold in shock.

“Here there, Casey.” Uncle Mikey stood there, glowing, slightly tinted golden, and somewhat translucent but there and real and looking younger than he had since before CJ’s mom had died. His warm smile, though, was the same. So was the strength and power and feelings of safety he brought.

It took everything CJ had not to just cry on the spot. He was here. He wasn’t lost anymore. He had his Uncle Mikey back, back before he started to give more and more of himself after they both lost his mom and Uncle Waffle. Before the pain of that loss took a toll on him.

Instead, CJ reached forward and clung to Uncle Mikey, then he let the tears fall. Even if his uncle was clearly a spirit, he felt firm and warm and there, as if he was alive in front of him instead of a spirit. But he still was alive, sort of. And he was here. “Uncle Mikey!” he cried as he rested his head on top of his uncle’s.

Even if his uncle was so much smaller than CJ himself, he still managed to scoop CJ into his arms and hold him close, cradling like he always did when CJ was a kid and was missing his mom. “Heya Case. I’ve missed you. I’m so dang proud of you, little man.” CJ felt himself get more supported. It took a second for him to realize that Uncle Mikey was floating in the air in lotus position and now was holding CJ in his lap. “You’ve gotten so much bigger. It’s only been a few months!”

CJ couldn’t help but lean against his uncle and rest his head on his shoulder as he snorted. “What? No I haven’t.”

“Oh is that so, mister?” Uncle Mikey grabbed CJ’s fingers and wrapped his hand around CJ’s wrist. “When I last saw you, your wrists were skinnier than mine. Now look at them! Your shoulders are broader, so is your chest, and I can say with some level of expertise that you are heavier than when I last carried you.” Huh. Maybe he had gotten bigger.

“When you said ‘bigger’, I was under the assumption that you meant height and I know I haven’t gotten any taller,” CJ clarified. Okay, believable enough to clear his name. Possibly. His godfather was really good at seeing through his bluffs though.

“Mhmm.” Yeah, he was caught. “It has only been a few months, right?” Uncle Mikey asked. He waved his hand and golden butterflies and birds started flying around them and fish started swimming below them. “Tell me, what have you seen?”

CJ looked over the glittering images and pointed to the birds. “I’ve definitely seen a few of these. Right now it’s January so there aren’t really any butterflies around. I have seen a few fish when I visited Central Park that one time.”

“Yeah? And how are you finding the present day?”

“I… I see why you guys fought for this. It’s really nice now that I’ve gotten used to it but I still don’t think I’ll ever be over the fridge noises at night.”

Uncle Mikey laughed at that as the images faded. “Yeah, your Uncle Waffle was the same.”

CJ snickered. “Raph still hates it. Leo does too.”

“Big babies, all of you!” Uncle Mikey teased, nuzzling his snout against CJ’s cheek, giggling brightly as he did.

“I think we deserve the right to be big babies,” CJ said as he shifted to nuzzle back. “Also, the pizza back here is amazing. I see why you guys talked so highly about it.”

“Best food ever,” Uncle Mikey agreed with a hum. “Now, I think it’s time we get some other people in on this.” He lifted his head and smiled at Mikey. “You sure you’ve got this, little me? I can manage the gateway.”

“Nah, leave it to me.” Mikey winked and drew out his spell circle. CJ watched in awe as Mikey followed the same motions that Uncle Mikey had in the future, flowing from one to the next without hesitation. His motions were smooth and comfortable and even as he held his hands out, he didn’t seem to be straining. Fighting and working hard, yes, but not straining. Not in the same way Uncle Mikey had been. 

A golden spark twirled in the air just in front of Mikey. He grabbed the edges with his hands and pulled, ripping open space and time with his bare hands. With an almighty shout, he threw the portal open. Not a single crack formed on his body, nor a single wrinkle on his face. He had done at age fifteen what Uncle Mikey had only barely managed at age thirty-nine.

To say CJ was impressed was the understatement of the century. CJ was totally going to hype Mikey up like he deserved after this. Also help him take a nap because spirits would he be wiped after this.

Mikey stood there, panting for a moment, before he beamed. “I got it!”

“Yes you do.” Uncle Mikey sounded almost in awe.

Before anyone else could say a word, a green and blue figure shot out from the portal.

“Mikey! Casey!” Sensei scooped Uncle Mikey into his arms, hugging both him and CJ close. “You’re okay, little brother. Spirits, we’ve missed you. And you, Casey, look at you! You’ve gotten so much bigger!” he babbled happily.

“Nardo, I cannot believe you’d run off to see them without us!” Uncle Tello had his arms around everyone a second later. “Michael. Casey Junior. It’s good to see you.” He knocked his head against them in turn.

There was a playful scoff before everyone was lifted off their feet. “Liar,” Uncle Waffle said. “Of course you can believe it.” Then he grinned wide and knocked his head first against CJ, then Uncle Mikey. “Hi Casey. Hi Mikey!”

Uncle Mikey blinked and stared at Uncle Waffle. He looked down at the arms around him, then teared up and shifted to cling to his biggest brother. “I can touch you now, Waffle! I— I can feel you!” He sobbed, family chirps slipping between his breaths. That’s right, Uncle Mikey said that he could speak to Uncle Waffle and the other family members they’d lost through the years but they couldn’t touch each other. That only came from Uncle Waffle’s powers, which didn’t work in the same way when he was a spirit himself.

Uncle Waffle shifted to hold his youngest brother close. He kissed CJ’s head before putting him and his other brothers down so he could cling to Uncle Mikey and keep him close. “I’ve missed holding you,” Uncle Waffle said before he started churring. “Missed you using me like a jungle gym.”

Uncle Mikey clung to Uncle Waffle like a lifeline. He let out broken chirps and churrs, hiccupping and sobbing the whole time.

Sensei scooped CJ into his arms, holding him close. “Let's give them a minute. They need it,” he said. Then he turned and gave April a casual salute.

“Damn, boy, you got big.” She let out an impressed whistle. 

“Hey, Little Poof. You don’t.” He laughed loudly when she reached over and smacked him. “What? I’m just being honest!”

Uncle Tello shook his head and ‘tsk’ed. “Idiot.” He gave April a smile and nod. Then he did the same for Mikey. There was a fond glint in his eyes before he looked to CJ. “How you doing, Lil’ Spark?”

“I’m doing good,” CJ answered as he nestled closer to Sensei. He missed this. “Better now that you’re all here, even if it’s only for a little bit.”

Uncle Tello snorted and ruffled CJ’s hair. “We said we would be back, didn’t we?” He glanced at Sensei then. “We did say that, right?”

“We did.” Sensei nodded. “But it’s still hard being apart.” He knocked his head against CJ’s. “And, DonTron, look at how big he’s gotten! His shoulders are probably close to yours now at his age! What have they been feeding you, Casey? Clearly it’s gotta be good stuff.”

“Tell me they had you try pizza,” Uncle Tello said, gaze even. “Please.”

CJ snickered and nodded. “Yes, from Tio Hueso’s restaurant. I’ve also been eating either Mikey or Raph or sometimes even Draxum’s cooking.”

Uncle Tello nodded. “Good. Now, the ultimate question: pineapple on pizza?”

“What? DonDon—”

“Shut your face, Leo. CJ, choose wisely.”

CJ couldn’t help but snicker. “Honestly, I haven’t tried it yet so I can’t answer that.”

Sensei gave an exaggerated, “Phew,” and pretended to wipe off his brow.

“This isn’t fair. Why do you guys get to be so tall?” Mikey grumbled off from the side. He had walked closer and was looking up at Sensei and Uncle Tello. “Even Future Me is short. Why do you two get to be big?”

“Because I got the tall genes from Dad and Donnie is a large turtle,” Sensei replied with a chuckle.

Uncle Tello added, “Plus, you get to stay fun-sized. Isn’t that nice?” CJ had to keep himself from bursting out laughing at his uncle’s delivery.

“Fun-sized? FUN-SIZED?!” It seemed like Uncle Tello had forgotten about Dr. Delicate Touch, considering Uncle Mikey almost never brought him out when CJ was growing up.

In an instant, Uncle Tello was behind Sensei and CJ. “I’m just quoting what Cassandra would always call you when you lamented about it,” he said super quick. “Also do not hurt me or you’ll hurt the child. No one wants to hurt the child.” He reached over and squished CJ’s face in his hands. “You cannot hurt him. Look at his face!”

“Some things never change.” Sensei sounded so fond and happy. “Don’t worry, DonTron, I’ll protect you from the super powerful mystic master who just happens to be smaller than us.” He turned to Mikey, a bright grin on his face. “Cassandra doesn’t get any bigger either, so you’ll match up with her pretty well. Also please do not terrorize my twin too much.”

“Only because you’re being nice to me,” Mikey huffed, crossing his arms. His eyes were bright though, and even CJ could feel how happy the little turtle was.

“Thanks, Big Man.” Sensei laughed softly, patting Mikey on his shoulder. “Now, we can’t stick around too much longer. Don’t wanna exhaust your powers too much.”

“I can keep going.”

“I know you can, Miguelito, but we also need to get our Mikey home. He needs to see everyone else. You’re not gonna deprive Cassandra of her bestie, are you?”

“I guess not…”

Okay, that answered a question CJ had but never got answered last time. “Is everyone else who passed—”

“Yes, they are with us. If they are part of the Hamato clan, they are with us after they pass. Sensei and your Uncle YuuYuu are as obnoxiously in love as always,” Uncle Tello said before avoiding Sensei’s chop. “I can say that about my twin and bunny boy bestie, Leo.”

“You and Yuichi are best friends?” Mikey asked, his eyes sparkling. “Leo and Yuichi have only just started dating in this timeline. And Donnie doesn’t seem to like Yuichi much. I’m glad that you guys can be friends!”

“Yeah! I’ve been so confused when I’ve seen Donnie mope about Yuichi. They’ve always been best friends when I’ve been around and when I was growing up.”

Uncle Tello waved his hand. “He’ll get over it. Give it a year or some trauma-bonding, whichever comes first. It was the trauma bonding for us because lord knows I was worried about losing my twin for no good reason.” He raised his hands when Sensei gave him a look. “Hey, I can admit my faults when they’re over two decades past and gone. I can grow and blossom like the beautiful flower I am.”

“You’re lucky I love you, Fizz.” Sensei leaned over and knocked his head against Uncle Tello’s. 

“Glad to see some things never really do change.” Mikey beamed and took a step back. “I’ll give you space to say goodbye to CJ. I’m gonna say hi to Supersized Waffle!” He ran off to where Uncle Waffle and Uncle Mikey were finally calming down.

April was already lingering nearby, looking over Uncle Waffle in awe. CJ couldn’t help but snicker before looking back up at Sensei. “Oh, by the way, I know now. Leo did some DNA analysis.”

Sensei blinked before his cheeks went red and hot. “Ah. Um… hi, son?” he stammered out with an awkward laugh. He looked pleased, just flustered.

“Idiot,” Uncle Tello said. Again, he dodged one of Sensei’s flailing limbs. “I’ve insisted he tell you for ages, Casey Jones. You know how stubborn he can be.” Again, he dodged another limb.

“Last time I didn’t want to make it weird for him and little me!” Sensei protested. “I just forgot to factor in little me having more time because of everything and having, y’know, the tech available easily. It’s been a long time since we had anything like that.” He pouted but pressed a kiss to CJ’s temple. Then he did it again but this time made it a loud, long, obnoxious kiss.

CJ snickered but didn’t flail or pull away. “I meant even before then, but sure, whatever,” Uncle Tello said. “Is it awkward?”

“No. We just sort of agreed I’m a Hamato and we’re just definitely family. Only Leo, Lenny, and I know. Also, Cass and I sorta have a cousin-sibling-whatever relationship,” CJ explained.

“Awesome.” Sensei gave CJ a squeeze. “I’m glad you’re settling in, Casey. I’ve missed you, but I’m so happy you’re getting comfortable here.”

CJ sighed and rested his head against Sensei’s shoulder. “I’ve missed you too. All of you. It’s… weird, trying to live without all of you guys,” he admitted. “It’s weird not living in the constant state of being alert.”

“I can imagine if that’s all your life was,” Uncle Tello said. “We all sort of did not account for you and others in the same boat as you adjusting to not living in that state. Guess we just got so used to it it sort of left our minds, the need to adjust. But you’re doing well, Lil’ Spark. Definitely got hiccups I’m assuming since no one is perfect, as decreed by Miss Hannah Montana herself. Regardless, you’re doing your best and have others to help you when said hiccups occur. That’s what matters.”

“And even when things are hard, you just need to pick yourself up and try again,” Sensei added with a proud grin. “I know you’re already good at that, but it bears repeating. If you can rely on the people around you, you’ll be fine.” He pressed another kiss to the top of CJ’s head.

CJ smiled and shifted to knock his head against Sensei’s, then Uncle Tello’s. “I better see you guys again soon,” he insisted.

“I’m sure you will,” Sensei said around a laugh. “And if you really miss us, well I’m sure little Raph will be willing to bring us over to his mind palace to see you. We have our connection now, and our Uncle Mikey, so we can visit whenever you need guidance or you just wanna see us.”

“I feel like if he saw us whenever he wanted to, we would never leave, dear brother of mine,” Uncle Tello pointed out before giving Sensei a bit of a noogie. CJ couldn’t help but snicker and nod in agreement.

“Well, make sure you use it sparingly,” Sensei amended with a laugh and a shrug. “We don’t want to wear out little Raphadoodle, even if he’d probably volunteer.”

CJ nodded. For special occasions or moments. “Got it, Sensei.”

“I love you, Casey.” Sensei knocked their heads together.

“Love you too, Dad,” CJ murmured before he reached over and tugged Uncle Tello close. He knocked his head against his uncle’s. “Love you, Uncle Tello.”

His uncle chuckled fondly and gave CJ a small squeeze. “Love you too, Lil’ Spark.”

CJ felt a large hand rest on his head and ruffle his hair. “Heya Case. Sorry I didn’t come spend loads of time with you. We’ll have to make up for it next time.” Uncle Waffle was as sweet as ever and he looked so happy with Uncle Mikey perched on his shell again.

“That’s okay. I sorta get that you two had a moment,” CJ said with a smile. “You better hold up your end of the deal.”

Uncle Waffle gasped dramatically. “You doubt me and my promises? How dare you!” He scooped up CJ into his arms and gave him a noogie, enough to mess up CJ’s braid without it falling out. CJ whined and pouted when Uncle Waffle pulled his hand back.

“Practice your Ninpō,” Uncle Mikey said. He leaned over Uncle Waffle’s shoulder to look at CJ properly. “Do some training with little me and this time’s Rapaw, okay? They’ll help you find yours properly. And Casey, make sure you have fun, okay? It’s all well and good settling in and doing jobs and missions, but make sure you leave time for yourself to just mess around as well, yeah? See if you can talk to young Yuichi and Mona. I think you’ll get along really well with them here.”

CJ had been a bit more isolated besides joining Cass along with her Brownies and sometimes joining the turtles. That would be good for him. “Can do, Uncle Mikey.”

“Good. I wanna hear all about your adventures next time I see you.” He sounded serious about that too.

Well, CJ wasn’t going to let Uncle Mikey or anyone else down. He gave a salute to his uncle that was returned. “Be good, Casey,” Uncle Waffle said, gently squeezing CJ before putting him down. “We’ve been here long enough. Now let’s go get you back to be lovingly assaulted with love, Mikey.”

“I honestly can’t wait. I’ve missed everyone so much!”

“Less talky, more walky.” Sensei appeared from nowhere, pushing Uncle Waffle towards the portal. He laughed when Uncle Waffle flailed a little. Honestly, Sensei looked younger and more alive than CJ could probably remember. Maybe having all his brothers together just made that much difference for him.

“I’m going, I’m going! It’s not nice to shove people, Leo,” Uncle Waffle playfully chided. Uncle Mikey stayed on his shell and snickered while Uncle Tello brought up the rear. He acted as if he was corralling them towards the portal. “What a mean brother.”

“So mean,” Uncle Tello dryly agreed with the shake of his head.

“You think this is mean? Nah, this is mean!” Sensei stopped pushing at the last second before kicking Uncle Waffle in his shell to shove him through the portal. Sensei laughed, gave a salute to everyone else, and grabbed Uncle Tello’s arm, pulling him through the portal as it closed. Uncle Tello made sure to give a lazy salute as he was dragged through before it shut. 

CJ was by Mikey and April in an instant. April picked up Mikey in her arms, which he didn’t complain about. “Okay, you’re tired after that.” It wasn’t even phrased as a question. “How about you nap while CJ and I snag those photos we couldn’t get before? Then you can help with the fun part of making the scrapbook.”

“Sounds like a—” Mikey cut himself off with a yawn. “A good plan.” He curled against April with a sleepy chirp.

CJ smiled and nodded. “Sounds very good,” he agreed. “The big man needs his rest after the big stunt he pulled.” He knocked his head against Mikey’s before chirping softly and then, after a moment of hesitation, kissing Mikey’s temple. “ Thank you. Love you ,” he chirped to Mikey.

Mikey seemed to be half asleep already when he chirped back. “ Love you. Love brother. Brother stay? ”

Oh boy. CJ glanced at April and asked her in a whisper, “He wants me to nap with him. Can the ace journalist handle snapping the shots by herself?”

“You got it.” April nodded with a grin. “Let’s get you boys comfy.” She started walking, lightly hip checking CJ as she went. “Don’t wanna separate my little brothers after all.”

CJ couldn’t help how his heart warmed at that statement. “Not when the littlest brother demands you to nap with him. You never go against his wishes, lest you incur his wrath.” As April snorted and rolled her eyes as they walked. “ Brother stay. ”

Mikey let out a happy, sleepy family chirp. This was… CJ didn’t quite have the words to describe the feelings that Mikey’s chirps brought up. They were special and familiar. They reminded him of Frida.

As he headed up to Mikey’s room, CJ’s chest warmed. Sure, he had his dad and his uncles but now… He also had brothers and another big sister. At the very least, he had Mikey and April.

Chapter Text

Back when they first found the Mother Shell, Raph didn’t think he’d be able to help very much with the repairs. He wasn’t smart in the same ways Donnie, Leo, Lenny, and CJ were. Sure, he wanted to help, but he didn’t know if he could.

That was what made Donnie’s request for his help all the more surprising. Raph was happy for it though. Even if it was just helping with some heavy lifting, he liked the fact that he could help out his little brother and spend some more one-on/one time with him. Donnie was so often hanging out with Leo and Lenny or was messing around with Mikey that Raph didn’t get as much time with the younger twin.

“And this should be the last of the casing you asked for, Dee,” Raph said as he snapped the final sheet of metal into place. He glanced down at Donnie’s half-hidden form on the ground under the spaceship. Raph was pretty sure he was lying on his skateboard. “Anything else we need at the moment?”

Donnie hummed as he rolled himself out from under Mother Shell, goggles on and over his glasses. He was covered in what Raph could only assume was spaceship oil on his face and plastron, though it wasn’t black. It was this weird shifting purple that Raph couldn’t focus on for too long without his brain hurting. “Not for the external repairs,” Donnie said as he sat himself up on his skateboard. It always fascinated Raph how there were a few kinds of ways to get dirty that Donnie didn’t mind: actual dirt for plants and gardening or the grease and oil from mechanic work. Everything else? Donnie would cover himself in hand sanitizer and soak in it for a good while. “Thank you for agreeing to help me, boss man. I really appreciate your help.”

“Raph is always happy to help with this sort of stuff.” Raph gave a bright smile and a thumbs up. “After all, I am the biggest brother. I can help with the heavy lifting and I can do my best with the other stuff too!”

Donnie smiled and nodded as he stood and stretched himself out. “That’s part of what I love about you, big guy: you’re always ready to help out. You don’t do it now to the ends you used to go to though, which is good. You have limits and boundaries… mostly. I still do like when you go along with my mostly harmless experiments like the ant tasting and whatnot.”

“Wait, you do experiments on me?”

“Aaanyway, you always help and are there for me. I appreciate it and you a lot. You also ask more than anyone else if you can help and support my ideas and inventions the most, which is why you’re going to get first dibs on customization after me.” Donnie stood beside Raph and looked at Mother Shell, making a rectangle with his fingers and looking at the ship through it. He still didn’t push up his goggles. “You’re obviously getting all your lumbar support and settings as well as new and improved seats. Cup holder, snack dispenser with a Raph limit lock on it, and a spot for Melon beside you. What else would you like, big guy?”

The compliments Donnie was piling on Raph right then made it a little hard to think. They were so similar to what Donnie said to him in Donnie’s dreamworld and it just made Raph so happy to know he was helping make the perfect world Donnie imagined a reality. 

That being said, he had no idea what else he would add to the Mother Shell. “Uh, I dunno, Dee. I’ll leave that sort of stuff up to you. You always know how to make things just right.” He had done it with the Turtle Tank. Raph trusted Donnie to do it here too. “Go wild. Within reason, of course.”

The grin Donnie got almost made Raph worried. Almost. “Thank you, big brother. I won’t let you down. Maybe Leo and Mikey, but not you. Don’t know about CJ yet since I’m still learning him.” Donnie looked over the ship and nodded. “Alright. Ready to help me finish her exterior?”

“Tell me what you need me to do.”

“So what are we looking for again?” Raph asked as Donnie led him through the purple portal. They were back at the crash site where they had found Mother Shell previously.

“We need, uh, we’re looking for some missing parts.” Donnie hated how he had to pause there. He knew what they needed, what they looked like, and where in the ship they went. It just took much longer than normal to recall. “Here, I’ve got some diagrams.” His battle shell’s robot hands held up a tablet with pictures for Raph.

“Oh, okay. Can do.” At least Raph didn’t judge Donnie for his hesitation. If anyone understood what Kraang infection could do to your head, it was Raph. Donnie knew Raph still got the occasional hallucination of being infected when he looked in the mirror sometimes. Donnie made sure to subtly and casually check on and help out his biggest brother when his cameras alerted him of those episodes.

“The settings should be all set to match your new visual needs as well. Just pinch to zoom in and extend your fingers to zoom out if and when needed.” Donnie adjusted his glasses and pulled his goggles down. This was getting a bit cumbersome, even if he adjusted his goggles to perfectly fit around his frames. A back burner project to figure out a better solution to this situation was required. “We have to get some of the internal components for the ship. It works but it can’t fly without its power source or some of the bits and bobs that make sure we don’t just crash if we somehow manage to make it into the air.” He had been able to recreate what the pieces should look like based on what was missing when he dove into the innards of the ship in order to find them.

“Got it.” Raph was using the tablet with at least some success. It seemed to take him a moment to realize that Donnie had set it up to have the same motion controls as his phone. “Oh, hey, this one looks cool. Like a lightsaber hilt. And it says it goes next to the fuel rods? What are those even made from anyway? ‘Cause Leo said they wouldn’t be radioactive when he was helpin’ you out last time.”

Donnie looked around while making sure Raph stayed close. The parts couldn’t have gone far from the crash site. The snow was at least clear so it would be easier to find them as long as some animal didn’t take any of them. “I am unsure. Some alien substance and materials. I’ll learn what exactly once I take it and study it before fixing up Mother Shell. That way, I can synthesize and create replacements if and when needed.”

“Okay, so you’re gonna learn about it to be able to make more,” Raph said with a nod. He glanced around, then huffed and pulled out his eyepatch that Mikey made him, slipping it on. It was black with a nice golden design. “That’s better. I’ve got some vision today but it’s just distracting ‘cause it’s so blurry.”

Understandable. Not that Donnie could relate, but he understood in theory. “Yeah. I don’t know if you’ll ever get full vision back there, but you’ll adapt. Well, you have been adapting.” Even if there were stark reminders with each brother that they were all affected from the invasion in October, Donnie often forgot. Either because of his scrambled brain or due to how his siblings were recovering remarkably. Not that they didn’t have off or bad days. Donnie knew he was a definite case for that when he had his episodes. Or when Leo needed his cane and knee brace. Or when Raph had bad eye days and needed to lie down. Or Mikey when he couldn’t cook or do art if he had bad pains and spasms.

… Okay, maybe Donnie just forgot about the bad days. Ugh. Stupid brain.

The hand to his shoulder made Donnie jump. “Sorry bud. You were spacin’ out there for a minute there. You good?”

Donnie rested his hand against his plastron as he caught his breath and nodded. “Yes. Just… thinking and getting lost in thought, I suppose. Reflecting.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Raph shrugged and glanced around again. He paused and sniffed at the air. “Huh. Something smells weird over there.” He gestured and started stealthily creeping closer.

Donnie followed his brother’s lead, staying by his side as he summoned his tech bō from the back of his battle shell into his hand. “What kind of weird? A good, neutral, or bad weird?” he asked in a hushed whisper. His goggles beeped in his ears as well. Whatever Raph smelled seemed to have the parts they needed. It had the same signature trace that he got from the materials on Mother Shell when he studied and analyzed its components.

“Neutral, I think. It’s hard to tell,” Raph said between sniffs. He paused and held out his arm to stop Donnie, crouching down behind a bush. 

An alien was studying the crash site. It was humanoid and seemed to have almost chitin-like natural armor covering it. It also had mandibles and compound eyes. Yup, very much an arthropod alien. Awesome.

“That’s an alien. And it’s got a weird, kinda hostile— Wha— Donnie!” Raph whisper shouted as Donnie strode forward.

“Greetings,” Donnie called, sure his translator was functional as he spoke. He took a step forward and the alien looked at him. From what Donnie could tell, he seemed to be like a college-aged alien. Don’t question how he knew that. He just could tell. “My name is Donatello Othello von Ryan Hamato, resident of the planet you are currently on called Eee-urth. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Donnie held one hand out to his side and the other rested against his chest and he bowed forward. “And you are?”

The alien blinked slowly, one eye closing before the other. “You’re not a standard life form from this planet, and you have a universal translator. What are you?” it asked. The translator gave the alien a more masculine voice, which covered up the clicks and burbles from its native language.

“Well, like I said, I am a resident of this planet. I am part human, part turtle. Best of both worlds,” Donnie said as he stood up proper. Didn’t want to make his shell ache. “And you are, my friend?”

“Key’nath, from Pharan in Sector Twelve,” the bug-like alien said slowly. “I’m a Huth. Hey, are you a mutant? I didn’t realize Level Three Planets had those, only Level Four and above.”

Oh, there was so much good data Donnie got from that response alone. “Why yes I am. A mutant and quite proud,” Donnie said, sure that sparkles had formed around him. “You said Earth is level three. How many levels of planets are there and what does each level signify?” As he asked, a hologram screen appeared and he got his hand ready to type and jot down what Key’nath said. Such a vast well of information stood right before him!

Key’nath paused. “Well each level is another step towards intergalactic travel. Level five is when most species get out of their solar system. Level seven is the top, which is where my species is.” He sounded quite proud of that fact. “Speaking of space travel, have you seen my ship nearby? I left it here less than a solar cycle ago but it’s gone.”

“Oh, the spaceship that had been abandoned for such a long time? The one that seemed forgotten and no longer cared for by the previous owner because of the atrocious state it was in? Where it seemed like the previous owner didn’t care for it? That spaceship?”

Key’nath narrowed his eyes, the compound nature of them making it feel as though many different sets were suddenly focused on Donnie. Eugh boy. This wasn’t good for his paranoia. “You have seen it. Where is it? I need it back, quickly.”

“Hey, Donnie? That alien dude isn’t sounding too happy.” Raph appeared next to Donnie, his stance slightly defensive. “What’s he saying?”

In a moment, Donnie had a transcript of the conversation from his translator on a hologram screen that he gave to Raph. “He’s looking for his ship that he lost months ago here,” Donnie informed. “Says he needs it back quickly.” He looked back towards Key’nath. “Why do you need it back? It had seemed like it was long abandoned and that no one wanted it anymore.” He hoped things would stay civil, even if all of his social cues he had learned said otherwise. This new possible friend was such a wealth of otherworldly information that Donnie was dying to expunge from him.

Key’nath let out a string of angry chitters that Donnie’s translator clearly didn’t pick up. “This was my first chance to get back to it. My friend gave me a ride off world and my parents got on my back about school.” Yup, this was a college-aged alien. “I need to get it back for repairs before they notice it’s gone. I’ve had to constantly get lifts from my friends to and from classes.” Raph made a small sound of surprise, maybe of slight amusement as well.

Donnie rested his hands on his side after pushing his goggles up, leaving him with just his glasses resting on his beak. “Honestly, the ship was in such poor condition when I found her. I’ve turned her from a ship on the brink of death to a thriving baby, almost ready to ride. Can’t you let your parents know and you can use your space insurance to cover the costs of a new ship?” Wait. “Oh, is there spaceship insurance? Do you need a license to drive a spaceship around? Are there spaceship driving lessons? Are there intergalactic highway—”

“Donnie.” Oh, right. He had to play it cool.

“That ship was a gift. I can’t just get another one or cover the cost. You’ve got the ship. Where is it?” Key’nath demanded.

Donnie stared at Key’nath as he processed what the alien told him. “That was a gift. Yet you crashed it. How long did you have such a beauty for before you crashed it?”

“Does it matter? It’s mine.”

“If it didn’t matter, I wouldn’t have asked. How long did you have her before crashing her?”

“Like, three solar rotations.” That meant years, right? Key’nath said he crashed the ship here less than a solar cycle before. Wait, no, that’s a solar cycle . How long was a solar rotation?

“A solar rotation for the Huth lasts the equivalent of an Earth week,” his goggles helpfully supplied.

Oh. Oh .

“You barely had her for that long, for three weeks, and crashed her to near ruin? And that was a gift ?!” Donnie let out a short laugh before he gave Key’nath a stern look. “You reek of being a spoiled golden spoon child that is used to always getting his way and getting whatever by asking. With how you spoke about your alien race, you also have a superiority complex. Mm yeah, no. Not giving you the ship back since you’ll just wreck her again.” Someone who cared that little for something so incredible did not deserve her.

“Well the ship won’t run without these.” Key’nath pulled out the components from a bag on his back. “Either give me my ship back or you can say bye bye to the potential converter, the fuel rods, and the stabilizers.” The fuel rods were even smaller than Donnie had initially thought. Oh he had to get his hands on them.

Donnie thought for a moment as Raph was by his side. “Sigh. You are right. Okay, fine. There’s no way I could ever hope to run the ship without those,” he said as he rested a hand against his forehead. “If you give me the materials and let me study them for a moment, I’ll return them to you and bring the ship back here.”

The alien paused. “I genuinely can’t tell if you’re being serious or not.” That got a snicker out of Raph.

“I am!” Donnie had to swallow his ego for a moment in order to feed into this asshole’s own. “You are… clearly better than me. I cannot hope to outwit you. Yes.” Raph thankfully stayed quiet as he instead rubbed Donnie’s shoulder in a comforting way.

“Okay then.” Key’nath walked forward and gave Donnie the fuel rods and the stabilizers. “So, uh, is this your brother?” he asked as he fiddled with the potential converter. “He looks pretty strong.”

Donnie took both and ever so subtly moved his hands to hide them as he scanned them with his Ninpō and got an understanding of their makeup. Woah. That was… incredible. He was utterly fascinated. “Yes he is,” Donnie answered as he glanced at Key’nath. He took both the fuel rods and stabilizers in one hand and then held out the other to take the energy converter. As he held his hand back and just out of sight, he portaled them back into the garage of the lair. “I just need the converter now, if you would.”

Key’nath kept fiddling with it, almost absentmindedly. His six digits moved quickly over the small, tube-like structure. “You know what this does? It takes the potential energy stored in the stable fuel rods and converts it into something usable for ships. That’s why you can hold the rods in your hands.” He held up the potential converter to Donnie, pointing it so the open nozzle that looked like where the blade of a lightsaber would come out of faced him and Raph. “With the right know-how, it can also be used to transfer skills.”

Donnie felt Raph’s hand grab him and pull him behind his biggest brother just as a beam of green light shot out of the potential converter. It hit Raph head on and passed through him seemingly harmlessly to hit Donnie as well. The worst pins and needles feeling ever hit Donnie. It went from his plastron throughout all of his body. His brain and muscles ached as that feeling overtook him before it suddenly was all gone. 

Looking over himself, Donnie couldn’t help but laugh. “Well you clearly don’t have that know-how since we’re just fine.” He patted his big brother’s arm as he barked out a, “Hah HAH!”

Raph was sent flying, only just landing on his feet somewhere across the clearing. “That… hurt? And you sent me flying, which shouldn’t be possible.” Raph rubbed his face with a groan. Then he froze. “Wait, I know this feeling. Donnie, this is important. Tell me the states of matter. All four of them.”

Why was that important? “Well, at least you know there are four of them,” Donnie said as he cleared his throat. “They are—” He stopped and thought. Well, he tried to but there was nothing there. Even when Donnie tried to think, there was just… no thoughts. Nothing. Nada. But this was easy. He didn’t need to think to answer this baby level question. “Florida, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey.”

“Donnie, those are states in America. Solid, liquid, gas, and plasma, remember?” Raph looked at Key’nath. “You gave me his smarts and gave him my strength. And you took everything but the basics.” Oh, that didn’t sound good.

“Well done, big boy, you figured it out.” Key’nath gave some… something slow claps. Donnie knew he should know the word but it just wasn’t coming to him. “Now tell me where my ship is and I’ll turn you back.”

Donnie looked at Key’nath and squinted his eyes. “You clearly don’t care about your ship. You just don’t want to get in trouble with mommy and daddy. I am not letting you hurt my baby again,” Donnie said as he pointed his finger at the alien. “Now give me the thingy so I can fix her after you hurt her.”

“You couldn’t even use it if you wanted to!” Key’nath laughed, then pointed at Raph. “And you couldn’t even get this away from me to try reversing it.” He took a few steps back, chittering in what Donnie thought was a laugh.

“Donnie, what is he saying? I dropped the screen when you sent me over here,” Raph said, glancing around almost desperately.

“He’s, er… He’s saying I can’t use the thingy he has and you couldn’t get it from him.” Donnie looked and saw his tech bō before he grinned. He took it and twirled it before pointing it at Key’nath. “But I can get it from you.”

“Are you sure?” Key’nath glanced around before pointing. “Hey, what’s that?!”

Donnie looked over at where Key’nath pointed. “What’s what?”

“Wha— Donnie! He’s getting away!” Raph rushed over and grabbed Donnie’s arm. He started running again but ended up falling onto his shell when he couldn’t pull Donnie forward. When Donnie looked back over, Key’nath was gone.

Wait, where did he go? Donnie looked down to ask Raph and frowned. “Why are you on your back? What happened?”

“I tried to pull you after him as he ran and I fell over because I have almost no strength left,” Raph huffed. He tried to push himself to his feet. “I can’t get up. Can you help me please?”

“Oh, of course, big guy.” Donnie squatted and carefully took both of Raph’s hands. “Alright, aaand up you go,” he said as he slowly helped Raph to his feet. “There you are.”

“Thanks.” Raph pointed. “He went this way. Let’s go.”

Donnie let go of Raph’s hand and nodded. “Alright.” He started to walk but stopped when he heard Raph fall again. Turning around, Donnie squatted down and helped Raph back up. “There we go.”

“It seems like my legs aren’t quite strong enough to hold up my body weight anymore. I can stand and manage a few steps, but it’s going to take some practice before I can properly move again.” Raph shook his head and rubbed his face. “Also that conclusion just hit me without me really having to think about it. I don’t like this feeling.” He put an arm over Donnie’s shoulder. “Can you help me walk, please?”

After blinking, Donnie nodded. “I understood that last part. I can help you walk.” He wrapped an arm carefully around Raph’s shell, as far as his arm would go. The robot hand that suddenly appeared made Donnie jump. “Oh wait. That’s right, I have robot hands! That’s so cool.”

Raph let out a sound that Donnie couldn’t really describe, maybe it was a groan? Then he smiled at Donnie. “Yeah, you do. And they are really cool, Dee.”

Donnie grinned. “I’m helping you walk so that we can find… Oh, right. That alien. Which way did he go again?”

Raph nodded in a direction that was mostly straight ahead. Why was he pointing that way again? “Key’nath went this way. He’s pretty fast so we might need some help catching him, especially since I can barely walk.”

Right. Need to get the thing from the alien. “Can’t we call someone to help us?” Donnie asked as he started walking the way Raph nodded towards. “Like… Um… Who’s someone who’s fast? Someone who’s blue. Sonic?”

“Leo.” Right. How had Donnie forgotten how fast his twin was? “Leo is probably our best bet. Hopefully he isn’t too busy with Mikey. Get us to that clearing over there. I can sit on that rock while we try to call him.”

“Got it. Isn’t Mikey fast too?” As he asked, Donnie walked over and carefully helped his brother sit down. Once Raph was seated, Donnie felt around his person. Where was his— “Ah!” he yelped as his robot hand held out a phone. A purple one. Oh, it was his. Right. He took it and thankfully it unlocked as soon as he tapped the screen. “Okay. So, calling Leeeo. Leo Leo Leo… Hah! Here’s his number. Oh, that’s a funny picture I have of him,” he said as he tapped on it. Wait, no. Hit the ‘call’ button.

Raph looked almost like he was in pain, but he didn’t say anything so he was probably fine. Instead, he focused on the phone ringing. “This is Leon’s phone. Sorry I can’t pick up right now. You know what to do at the—” ‘ Beep .’ Wait, what was he supposed to do?

Donnie pulled his phone back and held it out to Raph. “Leo isn’t picking up.”

Raph took the phone and pressed something on it. “Well let’s try again.” This time the ringing sounded out loud instead of just when the phone was close. 

“This is Leon’s phone. Sorry I can’t pick up right now. You know what to do at the—” ‘ Beep .’ 

“Okay. I’m sure he’s fine. He totally hasn’t been captured by some evil crazy scientist or pinned down by the police. He and Mikey are fine .” Raph sounded panicked now and more than a little freaked out.

“Well I doubt it. They were going to take pictures of Mikey’s art stuff with April, right?” Donnie vaguely remembered that. “So they’re probably busy doing that and Leo’s phone might be on silent. I’m sure they’re fine and we can just wait until they’re not busy.”

“Right.” Raph took a deep breath. “You’re right. We should just… chill. Until we get through to Leo.”

Donnie nodded before he sat down next to Raph. Wait, no, on his good side. “You don’t sound very chill right now,” he said as he looked up at his big brother.

“I am not feeling very chill,” Raph said. “I have too many thoughts and it’s setting off my anxiety.”

Oh. “Well I have no thoughts going on. At all. It’s weird. Is there anything I can do to help?” Donnie asked as he turned to face Raph.

Raph paused before holding his arms out. “Hug? Just, uh, gently. I’m feeling kinda fragile at the moment. It’s… uncomfortable.”

Gentle. Donnie could do gentle. He nodded and reached up, hugging Raph as best and gently as he could. “Like this?”

Raph wrapped his arms around Donnie and seemed to relax into his hold. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s perfect. Thank you, Donnie.”

“No probbles.” Donnie shifted to gently rest his head against Raph too. “You’re nice to hug, Raph,” he said as his tail started to wag.

Raph let out a small, happy sound and held Donnie a bit tighter in the right ways. He didn’t squeeze too much. “Thank you, Donnie. You’re really nice to hug too.” He started churring, which reminded Donnie of a cat purring. He didn’t know what cat, but a cat.

“Raph, if you had to be any other animal besides a turtle, what would you want to be? I know I wouldn’t want to be a monkey since they’re my least favorite animal.”

“Oh, um…” Raph looked a little surprised. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever really thought about it.” He paused and nodded. “Something that can be very cuddly. Like a Maine Coon cat because then I could still be big enough to cuddle you all and warm you up in my fluff.”

Donnie nodded. “Yeah. You’re big and fluffy but not. You can definitely act like a cat too. I feel like I’d be a cat too because I act like one. I think. It just feels right. What about Leo and Mikey? What animals do you think they would be?”

“Mikey is definitely a dog of some sort,” Raph said with a laugh. “Some sort of smaller dog. Like a Jack Russell. Small and affectionate, but then also angry. Leo’s probably also a dog. I’d say… English Springer Spaniel. We have one at the animal shelter and she’s a dream most of the time but she’s also very mischievous.”

“Oh. I don’t know a lot about dogs. I know more about cats. Normally. When I can think. Which isn’t right now. It’s funny to think that both brothers with autism are cats and the ones with ADHD are dogs.”

“I mean, when you consider what the aspects of the two neurodivergencies are, it makes sense.” That didn’t make a lot of sense but Donnie wasn’t going to question it. “I’d say you’re probably a Siamese cat.”

Which one was… “Oh! The fancy ones. Aww, you think I’m fancy. Which I can definitely be with my, er… The word starts with ‘r’ and the second word starts with a ‘p.’ I know that much,” Donnie muttered as he rubbed his cheek against Raph’s plastron. Gently, of course. He didn’t want to break Raph.

“Refined palette,” Raph said with a gentle sigh. He rubbed Donnie’s shoulders and wow, that felt really nice. Maybe it would feel nice if Raph rubbed his shell directly. Raph didn’t have magic hands like Leo did, but he could still do nice rubs. “Well I can do that for you if you wanted,” Raph offered, patting Donnie’s battle shell. “Since we can’t do much at the moment, I can totally give you a shell rub.”

Huh? “How did you hear that? I thought I was thinking that. But I’m also not thinking at the moment.” Donnie was so confused. Eugh.

“You were saying it out loud, Dee, but that’s okay. Did you want a shell rub?” Raph didn’t sound upset so maybe Donnie didn’t need to be either.

Donnie nodded as he reached up and hit some buttons. His battle shell slowly let go of him then. Huh. He didn’t even need to think about it. Something memory? “That would be nice. Thanks, Raphie.” He put his shell carefully to the side and looked up at his big brother.

Raph lightly tugged on Donnie’s wrist. He didn’t manage to move Donnie but he got the picture. He followed Raph’s tugs until he was lying across Raph’s lap. After Donnie crossed his arms under his head, Raph started rubbing Donnie’s shell in a soothing motion. Oh, yeah, Raph totally knew how to give good shell rubs.

“Thanks, Donnie. It feels nice for me too. Makes me feel like I’m taking good care of you.”

Donnie moved his neck and head around to look up at Raph as best as he could. “Well you are. You’re my big brother and you always look out for me. Even if we don’t talk as much as I want to, or you’re busy with this and I’m busy with that, we always help each other out. You do a lot of little things for me and I really like that. I really like you.” He blinked and let out a churr as Raph rubbed a sore spot on his back. “Oooh, that hurts but in a good way.”

“I really like you too, Dee.” Raph kept massaging that sore spot until it wasn’t sore anymore. “I love you lots, even if I don’t always take time to say it to your face. I’m gonna try to do that more because you deserve to know.”

“I don’t say it enough either. I dunno why. I want to but can’t. I should be able to but then I feel I have to show it instead of say it? I dunno how that works but I guess it does. Somehow. But I can say it now so I will. I love you, Raphala. I love you lots, even if we don’t spend as much time together as we should. Even if you like beating me at, uh… something. And then…” Oh, there was another good rub on his shell. Donnie churred and stretched his arms and legs out.

“Well I can feel how much you love me, Donnie. You always take such good care of us all, and we all know how much you love us even if you don’t say it.” Raph sounded like he was laughing softly, but in a nice way, a warm way. It wasn’t mean or… something. Something that started with a ‘j’. “It is nice to hear it though. So thank you.”

“Of course. If I can remember to, I’ll try to say it more often. Like now. I love you, Raph.” Donnie shut his eyes and hummed happily. “Oh, question. What’s a new thing you’ve learned you like lately? Normally I uh… do something to find it out if I don’t already know. Don’t remember what I do, but I must not have done it lately so… Yeah.”

“Something new I’ve learned… Well, I discovered something about lock picking recently. My fingers are too big, but it was really interesting.”

“Well I can’t buy you a lock picking kit then. What’s something new you learned you like lately that I can buy you?”

Leo wasn’t sure what to expect when he portaled to Donnie and Raph’s location. He just knew that when he spoke to Donnie, he couldn’t make heads nor tails of what he was saying and when he spoke to Raph, something just felt… off.

He wasn’t expecting to see Donnie lying across a very anxious looking Raph’s lap, getting a shell rub and looking blissed out. Raph, on the other hand, seemed uncomfortably hyper present.

“Hey, mis hermanos. What’s the emergency?” he asked.

Raph looked over and the relief was palpable. “Oh thank the spirits you’re here and not taken by some mad scientist that isn’t Donnie.” What the hell? “Okay, so the long and short of it is that we came here looking for the missing internal components of Mother Shell after Donnie fixed as much of the interior as he could without them. We ran into the jerk who crashed Mother Shell and demanded we give it back. Donnie got two of the three parts but the alien switched our brains and brains to the extreme. I can barely even walk without support. Donnie cannot even think. It’s a disaster and we cannot do this alone, especially with how badly my anxiety is spiraling because of having too much processing and thinking capabilities.”

Ah. That was… Well Leo would just have to push aside his exhaustion and pain from his earlier adventure with Mikey, April, and Future Mikey. His brothers needed him.

“Okay. Well, this is quite a predicament you guys have gotten into.” Leo walked forward, trying to mask his aches. It seemed to work well enough considering how relieved Raph looked. “Don’t worry. Leon’s here to sort things out.” He squatted down next to Donnie’s face and gently rubbed the back of his head.

Donnie leaned into Leo’s touch and churred as his tail started to wag. He blinked a few times as he opened his eyes before he looked up. When he saw Leo, he looked so happy but the intelligent spark that was always present and dancing in his eyes was nowhere to be seen. “Leo! Hi!”

Leo felt his heart break for his twin. If Donnie was aware enough to process what had happened, he’d be in agony. It was a blessing that he was just blissed out with no filters. Leo didn’t let his pain show on his face, instead giving Donnie a soft, warm smile.

“Hey Fizzy. It’s good to see you,” Leo said with a hum, still stroking Donnie’s head gently. The fact he was so emotive and open was a nice side effect. He was churring so easily and wagging his tail with no embarrassment. Leo was going to focus on the good parts so he didn’t just break down. “Looks like Raphie’s been taking good care of you, hasn’t he?”

Donnie nodded and leaned even more into Leo’s touch. “Yeah, though Raph was stressed so I tried to help him out too. He’s gonna be super stressed after all this but I’ll try to do something to help him then too. He said he liked practicing customizing clothes so I might get him some kit.” Donnie beamed at that before he gasped. “Oh, by the way. Love you, Cosmos.” He turned his head to look up at Raph. “Love you, Raph.”

“I love you too, Donnie.” Judging by the soft smile Raph gave Donnie, this wasn’t the first declaration of his feelings Donnie had given.

“I love you too, Fizzy.” Leo bent down and knocked their heads together. “That’s very sweet and generous of you, wanting to help out Raph with his new hobby.”

“Well duh. I always try to, uh… help you guys out with new hobbies. I remember always dropping stuff off for you guys. Like Mikey with the weird mask he uses when he goes out to do art or your expert magic kit that I got you.” Wait, the one he found in his old boxes when he finished cleaning out the last of his boxes the other day? He hadn’t already had it before? “Or even that uh… box of things I got for CJ. And I feel like I’ve done it for everyone but I can’t remember.”

Raph’s eyes softened and he rubbed Donnie’s shell. Leo’s twin churred and relaxed. “If you let him, he’ll ramble his heart out and go on different tangents. Matches up a bit with how my brain’s going right now but… yeah. He’s been pouring out anything and everything to me when he hasn’t been blissed out from the shell rub.”

“Guess you must be giving one hell of a shell rub then,” Leo weakly joked. He took a breath before smiling at Donnie. “Thank you for being so thoughtful with everyone, Fizzy, even when we don’t realize just how thoughtful you’ve been. We all appreciate it a lot.” He paused. 

Alright, time to figure out how to help. Leo wouldn’t be too much help considering how tired he was. Raph said he could barely walk so it would be up to Donnie to face down the alien, but his twin barely had any lights on in his head, let alone had someone home. Well, Leo’s body might be exhausted but he still had his strongest tool: his brain. “Okay Fizzy, do you think we can try some stuff? I wanna help you guys find the alien and get the parts to fix Mother Shell.”

Donnie stared at Leo for a good few seconds before he nodded. “Oh, yeah. Totally.” 

A pause. “He means right now, bud.”

“Oooh. Okay.” Donnie carefully moved and got up, stretching his arms above his head. “What do I need to do, Cos?”

Leo picked up Donnie’s battle shell and put it on him. “Let’s test out the limits of your strength, okay? And let’s start big. Wanna see if you can break that rock over there with just your hands?” That was something that would be at the edge of Raph’s strength normally. If Leo understood correctly, it should be easy enough for Donnie.

His twin looked at the rock for a second, up and down, before nodding with a grin. “I do wanna see.” Donnie walked over to the boulder that was there—probably a remnant from the crashed ship ages ago—and picked it up with ease. Then, with his other hand, he looked like he was going to grab the rock too. Instead of doing that, he just held it out to balance himself as he threw the huge rock to the ground and it shattered. Raph’s Ninpō appeared and shielded everyone from the shards of rock that skyrocketed from the small crater now present. “Woo! That was awesome.”

“That was awesome,” Leo agreed, walking over to Donnie once Raph’s constructs vanished. “Okay, next test. Try to pick me up and hold me above your head. But remember, I’m fragile because of my injuries so you need to be careful. You’ve got this though.” Since Leo had an idea of how much strength Donnie had, he needed to figure out how much control over it Donnie had.

“Got it.” With no effort at all, Donnie picked up Leo, slow and steady. He was very careful and deliberate with his movements but, with a swift motion, held Leo up and above his head with a single hand. “Like this? This okay?”

Leo blinked in surprise before beaming and laughing. He let his pride show through the imprint. “Yup! Just like that. You’re doing great, Fizzy.”

Donnie cheered, as did Raph from where he sat. Through the imprint, Leo could feel pure, unadulterated joy from his twin. When was the last time Donnie felt that? Had Leo ever felt this through the imprint? He wasn’t sure, and that saddened him. “Woo!”

“Okay, you can set me down now, Fizzy.” Leo reached down and patted Donnie’s head gently. “Raph, since you can use your Ninpō, try using that to help support you. Like when I use my cane. Position them around your legs and under your hands for balance.” When Donnie set him down, Leo shifted to wrap himself around his twin in a loving hug. If Donnie was feeling everything more intensely than normal, Leo would make sure he kept it to positive emotions.

Donnie churred and melted against Leo as Raph nodded. “Right. Makes sense. With all this brainpower going into overdrive, how didn’t I think of it sooner?” As he spoke, he was already following Leo’s advice to the letter. Even better actually as he adjusted for things Leo didn’t think about. “Oh, I know why. Because my brain isn’t used to this and is so overwhelmed that it’s in a constant state of panic. Spirits, I have a bigger and better appreciation for Donnie and his massive brain now. Though I don’t appreciate some of the things I’ve been feeling besides what I’ve mentioned.” He stopped himself talking and groaned. “Gettin’ myself back on track. Is this what you were referring to, Leo?”

“Yeah, exactly that.” Leo nodded, guiding Donnie’s head into the crook of his neck. He made sure his twin’s temple was cushioned on Leo’s scarf. Donnie was the only person who could get near Leo’s neck like this. “Okay, so now I have a better handle on the situation with you guys, Raph. Can you please tell me what you know about the alien and how this all happened?”

It took way less time than Leo thought to get caught up. As Raph explained, Donnie curled around Leo and clung almost like a koala. “So, in short, I wanna kick that rich college kid’s butt so bad but I can’t. Ugh. I should be able to easily figure out how to work the potential converter to reverse this whole situation.” Raph gestured to himself and Donnie as he said that.

“Yeah you’ll be able to,” Leo agreed. “I can find him for us. It’s just a matter of getting him out of commission…” He kept stroking the back of Donnie’s head, holding him close, as he thought. Hey, even if Donnie was taller at the moment, Leo was still the older twin. He’d take care of his brother. “Wait, that's it!” 

Leo focused. “Can you hear this?” he asked through the imprint.

Donnie’s eyes opened then as he glanced around. “God?.”

“No, it’s not God.” Spirits, Leo’s patience was being tested here. Luckily, Prime seemed to be happy taking a back seat today and wasn’t taking advantage of the situation. Leo wouldn’t be able to handle him on top of everything else. “It’s me, Fizzy. It’s Cosmos. I’m talking to you through our imprint.”

“Through our… Oh. Right. That thing we got,” Donnie said out loud. “That’s cool that we got the imprint. Hi.”

“Hi.” Leo let his fondness and amusement bleed through the imprint before he got serious. “If I told you to do things in here, do you think you could follow those instructions quickly?”

“Yeah, I think so. I’d do them as quickly as I could.”

“I know you would.” Leo gave Donnie a quick squeeze. “I love you, Fizzy.”

“Love you too, Cos,” Donnie said before looking at Raph. He beamed up at him. “Love you, Raph.”

After making his way over, Raph smiled and rubbed Donnie’s shoulder. “Love you too, bud.”

Leo knocked his head against Donnie’s and continued to hold him close. Maybe this was the only good part of this whole situation, the fact his twin could feel so freely without getting bogged down with the mess and insecurities that came with having too many thoughts. Leo’d have to try and encourage this part again if he were able.

Leo started churring as he closed his eyes. They could go after the alien in a second. He just needed a moment to rest and recuperate some energy. He just needed to hold and protect this raw, unfiltered version of his twin for a moment.

It didn’t take too long to find the alien that Raph described. He was waiting not too far away, looking anxious but also utterly bored on what Leo could only figure was his species's version of a phone. Oh, Donnie would love to get his grubby hands on one of those, but first things first: the potential converter.

“Okay, don’t say anything out loud. Just respond with a nod if you can hear me, Fizzy,” Leo said in the imprint. With basically no thoughts in his head, Donnie was even more prone to getting distracted than before. Leo had to be very clear and concise with his instructions. He kept his eye on the alien, just glancing over at Donnie to make sure that he understood.

Donnie nodded from where he stood next to Leo and Raph. Their oldest brother glanced at Donnie with concern as he kept himself upright. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out how to walk around with his constructs, but that was the extent of what he could do. “This will work but you just need to be quick and careful with it. Key’nath will try to distract Donnie with the most basic, insulting tricks.”

Leo nodded. He kept his conversation mental because Raph probably wouldn’t approve of the wording, even it was their best shot at fixing everything and getting everyone safe. “Which is why, Donnie, you need to only listen to me. Don’t listen to any other voice, only this one inside your head. This is the one you can trust without a doubt. Do you understand?”

Again, Donnie nodded but also gave two thumbs up. Oh, Leo was going to so apologize to his twin after all this. He already felt guilty enough setting all this up, but he didn’t know what this alien was capable of. None of them did. Leo had to protect his twin by ensuring he only listened to what Leo was able to control. 

“I love you, Fizzy. This setup is only temporary.” 

Leo took a breath and focused. He spoke aloud next. “Raph, you keep watch. I’m not going to be very aware of our surroundings but if something comes our way, just shout.”

“You got it. Even if I can’t move, I can at least use my Ninpō constructs. Wish I could use my clones right now but c’est la vie.”

“Still weird.” Leo sat down and got into a meditative position. Okay, for this to work and for Leo to properly help Donnie, he’d need to lean as far into the imprint as possible. And as much as he’d like to use his tai chi forms right now, his body just wasn’t up to it. He’d just have to make do.

With a gentle push against the imprint, Leo felt himself start to fall, almost float through it. The sensation was hard to describe, just an overwhelming awareness of Donnie and his entire being. Leo’s own sense of being was dull and dim in comparison, but again, that worked in their favor. 

When Leo next opened his eyes, he wasn’t seeing through his own. He was seeing through Donnie’s. This was something Draxum had theorized about after his and Leo’s one-on-one training session: the ability for the twins to borrow each other’s senses. They already reacted to each other’s needs without thinking; this was just a further extension.

Leo focused and dropped most of his mental barriers that he was holding up between himself and Donnie, letting about half his thoughts fill Donnie’s head. Mainly thoughts of battle, of strategy, and of movement. Donnie would be able to use Leo’s thoughts and processing speed to get through this.

With a sense of focus and a goal now in Donnie’s mind, he took out his tech bō and quickly strode over to Key’nath. “Hey. Jerk! Give me the thing or else,” he said as he pointed his staff at the alien that jumped at his sudden voice and appearance. Don’t let this guy know that Donnie was capable right now. Let him still think he’s dumber than a bag of bricks.

Key’nath seemed surprised for a second, then he laughed. “‘Or else’? What are you gonna do, idiot? Throw something shiny at me?” he taunted, taking a few steps back, away from the tree he was leaning against. “Probably not. You’d just stare at it and chase it or something.”

With Leo’s insistence, Donnie just stared even at Key’nath. Kept on staring, not responding or reacting. Then take a few steps forward. “Give. Me. The thing.”

Key’nath looked a little shaken but Donnie could tell that he was trying to hide it. Leo’s understanding of body language seemed to work on this type of alien too. “Tell me where the ship is and I will.” Key’nath took another few steps back, holding the thing closer to his chest.

Donnie didn’t. He just closed the distance instead, taking a few steps towards Key’nath. “Give it.” After giving the right input, Donnie’s tech bō had its hammer attachment appear from the top. It sparked. “Or else.”

“How are you— You’re too dumb to be able to do this. How are you able to use your weapons and stay focused?! I took everything but the barest essentials!” Key’nath was outwardly panicking now, stumbling backwards. “If you attack me, you’ll damage this and then you’ll be stuck like this forever!” He held up the device and then held it close to his chest again. “You can’t hurt me or you’re stuck.”

“That’s what you think.” Donnie swung his hammer, kicking up some dust and using a bit of misdirection with his Ninpō to obstruct his portal as he stepped back through. Leo made sure Donnie left an illusion of himself there, standing menacingly. Have Donnie appear behind Key’nath and his robot hand snatch the converter up. Deposit it into the battle shell before Key’nath could snatch it back. “And a-thank you.”

“I— What?!” Key’nath staggered to the side, his compound eyes wide and scared. “What are you?! I didn’t know this planet had mystic users on the surface!”

“I’m Donatello,” was all Leo had Donnie say before he let his twin go and follow his instincts. Donnie pulled back his hammer. “Fouuur!” He swung it down into Key’nath and sent him flying further away from the forest, off into the sky. There was a sparkle in the clouds as Donnie raised his hand up and above his forehead, like someone watching their shot go far. “And there he goes, flying off like Team Rocket. Except less cool and more of an absolute prick.” Leo let his amusement show and sent a mental call to bring Donnie back to his hiding spot.

When Donnie made it over, Leo watched as his battle shell handed the device back to Raph and as Donnie sat down in Leo’s crossed legs. Okay, time to pull back.

But this was so comfortable, so natural.

Leo needed to be in his own body.

He liked being unified with Donnie like this.

Donnie needed Leo to be back in his own body. 

That’s right, Donnie needed Leo in his own body so Donnie could go back to normal.

With a breath and a lot of effort, Leo pulled himself back out of Donnie’s mind and into his own. His own eyes shot open and he was panting hard. Okay. Okay he was back. Shakily, he wrapped his arms around Donnie and rested their heads together. That was… a lot. Better keep that level of merge for emergencies only.

Donnie churred and knocked their heads together happily. When Leo glanced over at Raph, he could see him working on the potential converter. Okay, it wouldn’t be long until everything was sorted. Then DonDon would be back and Raph could walk and they could all go home. Ugh. Two-in-one-day intense adventures weren’t Leo’s forte. “Love you, Leo,” he murmured.

“Love you too, Donnie.” Leo churred contently as he stayed pressed close to his twin. He needed a nap. That could wait until he was back home though.

“Knowing Donnie, he’s going to shut himself out when we’re back to normal,” Raph said. Leo glanced over at his co-leader then. He was working just as quick as Donnie would when he was hyper focused on a task. “I’ll talk to him. You want to but you’re exhausted. Don’t think I didn’t notice your limp and all the pains and aches you have. I’m observant, y’know this, even without this insane processin’ power.”

Leo waved his hand in Raph’s direction. “I was good enough for this. And besides, you guys needed me. It’s just a little tiring when you spent twenty minutes getting your ass handed to you.” He would explain properly later, when everyone was back to normal and Leo had a chance to rest. Either that or he’d get Mikey to explain. Or April. Probably April.

“April was with you guys. I’ll ask her.” Leo was sure his expression showed how grateful that suggestion made him feel. “Don’t push yourself though. I know you helped us but I’m also here to help you out. Big brother and co-leader. I know you’re more the leader of the two of us and I’m happy to be your support, second-in-command, but still.”

“Don’t worry, Raph, I know my limits.” Wait, shit, that sounded like when Leo had his breakdown before the whole Kraang thing. “And they’re sensible limits this time. I’m gonna go for a nap once we’re home. And Donnie? You are welcome to join me at any point if you’re feeling up to it.” He gave his twin a squeeze, chuckling softly as the churring got louder. Leo churred back, softer but just as happy and loving.

Donnie looked at Leo and smiled wide. “Okay. Wait, I’m only supposed to listen to the voice in my head. But it’s gone now.”

“You can listen to anyone you want now, Fizzy. It’s okay,” Leo murmured in the imprint. He had forgotten to remove that. “That was only for battle.”

His twin blinked before he nodded. “Okay,” he said before curling up around Leo happily. “Your scarf is really comfy. It feels really nice.”

“It is really comfy,” Leo agreed. “Raph did a really good job of making it. It makes me feel safe and less uncomfortable about the scars on my neck. And it’s cozy, which is perfect for snuggles.” He pressed a kiss to Donnie’s head. That got a churr that honestly almost sounded like a purr. 

“Okay, I’ve got it done. Leo, I’ll need you to hold the converter and shoot it at Donnie and I,” Raph said. Leo looked up and saw his brother holding the device. “All you have to do is push the middle button while pointing the end that looks like where a lightsaber would come out of at us. I know Donnie’s all snuggly with you, but I need to hold him for this.” As he spoke, Raph sat himself down and his construct supports vanished once he was settled.

“Okay.” Leo gave Donnie a squeeze and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Time to go snuggle Raph now, DonDon. And so you know, no judgment for anything that happened today. You did good. And it was nice to get to know your feelings without you overthinking things. This stays just between us three.” He knocked his head against Donnie’s before transferring Donnie into Raph’s lap. Leo couldn’t help the fond laugh when Donnie tried to keep clinging to him. 

With a small sigh, Leo undid his scarf and wrapped it around Donnie’s neck, letting him snuggle down into it. “Bring it back to me at dinner or something.” He grabbed the device from Raph.

Raph shared a knowing look with Leo as he held Donnie close. “What, am I not cuddly enough for you?” he teased before knocking their heads together. 

At that, Donnie looked up at Raph and smiled. “Hi Raph. I love you.”

Raph nodded subtly to Leo as he held Donnie close while giving him the ability to pull away if and when needed. “Raph loves you too, DonDon.”

Leo took a breath and pushed the button. 

A bright green light shot from the end of the potential converter and enveloped Donnie and Raph for a moment. Then, when they were visible again, Leo got a clear sense through the imprint. Donnie was back to normal. By that logic, so was Raph.

Raph looked relieved and Leo could see his muscles twitch a bit. He glanced down at Donnie, just like Leo now did. Donnie, now with the attention all on him, stared between them. “What? I know I’m amazing but you don’t need to stare,” he said before glancing away. Leo was happily surprised that Donnie didn’t move.

Okay, so at least the snuggly aspects didn’t wear off immediately. “I’ll portal us up to your room, big guy, then I’m gonna bounce back to mine. My bed is calling for me. Leo. Leo,” Leo joking whispered. With a careful flick of his katana, a portal opened up. “After you two fine gentleturtles.”

Glancing down at Donnie, Raph slowly stood and held him close. Donnie still didn’t look at either of them as he glanced away, though Leo felt a flicker of gratitude through the imprint. For just a moment, but it was there. “Why thank you, Air Leo,” Raph said as he walked through the portal.

After everything that happened, Raph was glad to be home. He was exhausted and not being able to move in his own body was just draining in ways he didn’t know he could experience. Still, it was over now and his brain wasn’t whirling like a tornado of anxiety anymore.

“Have a nice rest, guys. I’ll see you later.” Leo walked through the portal just after Raph and it snapped shut behind him. Even if Leo was obviously tired and in pain, he had still stayed to help them and even now, he was still fussing over them. Raph made sure to bend down a little so Leo could give him a forehead kiss and knock their heads together. Leo then did the same for Donnie.

Raph waited for Donnie to knock his head back against Leo’s before he bent down and gave Leo an obnoxious kiss. “You wanna try a different flavor of turtle brain? Too bad. Your brain-sucking powers didn’t work,” Leo sang before he walked out with a two-finger salute. “Also, dropped the converter off in your lab, Fizzy. You’re welcome.”

Donnie hummed and fiddled with the end of Leo’s scarf. Specifically, the purple, orange, and red stripes. Okay Raph, you could do this. Talk things out with Donnie. It was clear he didn’t want to so it was the biggest brother’s job to start the convo.

“So… that was a lot today, huh?” That was so awkward. Ugh, Raph hated his Raph brain sometimes. At least it was genuinely his own. “Your brain power is impressive, Donnie. I didn’t realize just how fast and attentive it was until I had it myself. And not just a duplicate like the brain stuff you did with us before.”

Donnie blinked and still didn’t look at Raph. “Oh. Uh, thanks.” Woah. He actually sounded surprised. “If you want to sit, you can. I won’t run away if you let me go, so you know. I know we need to talk about all that.”

“Right.” Raph sat down and adjusted his hold so Donnie could pull away and sit on Raph’s bed if he didn’t want to be held. He was actually enjoying getting to hold his little brother so he hoped Donnie would stay. “But yeah, talking is probably good. Just please be patient with Raph. He’s struggling to figure out his words again.”

Donnie did stay close but shifted a bit in Raph’s lap. “Yeah, I’m still getting used to having thoughts again, which I missed oh so dearly. It’s taking me a minute or so to refamiliarize myself. I must say though that I did always admire your strength but I didn’t realize how much control you needed to have over it. That blew me away.”

Raph couldn’t help the small, proud churr he let out at Donnie’s words. “Well, I’ve always been the one who is the biggest so I’ve always needed to be careful of you guys. Being careful and in control just happens without me thinking about it now, like how I control my temper too.”

“Makes sense. I thought it was just sort of a thing that you didn’t need to control. Again, impressive. I don’t think I could ever handle that though,” Donnie admitted before he patted Raph’s shoulder. “Kudos to you.”

Raph gave Donnie a gentle squeeze. “And I don’t think I could handle being as smart or as fast in the brain as you can. You’re just on a whole other level, Dee. Even more so than anyone else I know.”

“As are you, big guy.” With that, Donnie seemed to think about something. “We don’t spend as much time with each other as we should. We need to change that. Would you mind if I brought some of my work in here when you meditated or did some other activity in your room?” He quickly added, “Because if you came into the lab, you might knock stuff over and I have a lot of important projects that cannot be touched or trifled with right now.”

“That’s more than okay, Dee, I get it,” Raph laughed. “I’d love to spend more time with you so you’re welcome to join me basically whenever. And, uh, it would actually be a good chance for us to compare our research too.” Raph hadn’t made much progress on the whole Kraang Prime business but he did have some points from his research with Sunita.

His brother hummed before he nodded. “Alright. That sounds like a good hangout. I’ll pop in sometime soon to do that with you then.” Donnie hesitated before he asked, “You aren’t going to tell the others? I know Leo said you guys wouldn’t, but I didn’t hear it from you. About our… excursion.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Raph promised. “Not even Melon.” That was how serious he was about keeping this between them.

“And you won’t tell Michael. Or your girlfriend.”

“Not a word to anyone else, ever. Only you and Leo, and only when we’re totally alone.”

Even if Raph didn’t have the imprint or anything like Leo and Donnie had, he knew his brothers well enough. The relief Donnie felt showed. It was in small ways, but the fact he relaxed and felt that relief was huge. “Thank you. Really really.”

“Sure thing, Dee.” Raph paused. “You wanna just relax here with me until dinner? Today really was a lot.”

“As long as you are okay with me burrowing my snout into my phone, then yes. Also, speaking of Melon, where is she? I know she still is a mutant cat but she’s been your helper as of late.”

“I think she was relaxing with CJ so she’s probably with him still. Either that or she’s curled up with Mikey.” Melon was usually happy to leave Raph in the care of his brothers most of the time these days, so long as Raph was having a good day. “If Leo was exhausted by whatever his adventure was, Mikey is probably doubly so. Also, yeah, go ahead and use your phone, Dee. I’m probably gonna just doze anyway.”

Donnie hummed and hesitated before he reached back and took off his battle shell. He put it down as he portaled his shawl into his hands and put it on. “Do you want me to play my Red Angel playlist? No, that’s a bit too much for dozing. My Raphie one. It has relaxing jazz music.”

“The Raphie one sounds perfect. Thanks, Dee.” Raph shifted to lie down, letting Donnie get comfy in the crook of his arm with his head on Raph’s shoulder. “Also, I like the scarf and shawl duo. They match somehow.” Leo had really done such a good job on that shawl. Raph was so proud of him, and clearly so was Donnie considering how much he wore it.

“Too much blue in there for me. Maybe if the purple and blue swapped in the scarf I’d be down for it.” Even so, Donnie adjusted the scarf so he could lean against it. “I mean, I know you said you wouldn’t make me anything after the nagging I did, buuut you did just say this combo looked good on ol’ Donnie. Think you could reconsider that ‘never’ of yours?”

“I think I might. Maybe.” Raph gave Donnie a playful squeeze. “But only because you’ve been good to ol’ Raphie recently. I mean, that zooming font stuff you put on my phone has been so helpful.” Raph was already drafting up what he might make for Donnie as they spoke.

“Well, I don’t want my brother-slash-one-of-our-co-leaders to struggle. Adjusting things to make them work for you is simple and easy enough.” Donnie waved off Raph before music started to play from his phone. This was one of Raph’s favorite smooth jazz songs. Donnie definitely knew that. “Plus, you’re less likely to reverse it than Leo. He’s an idiot with his phone. Mikey will break his. You’ve been a lot more careful recently, though I still won’t forget how many you used to eat.”

“Hey, Raph’s better than that now.” Admittedly, Raph did use to put basically everything in his mouth, especially when he panicked. He blamed his snapping turtle DNA. “But yeah, I’ve been careful. Don’t wanna break stuff when you’ve worked so hard to make it.” He started stroking Donnie’s shell in the way he seemed to like the best when he had no filters. “You always take great care of us, Dee. And we’ve all noticed. We’re grateful for it.”

Donnie relaxed and melted against Raph then. “Thanks. I just want everyone to be happy and okay,” he muttered. “Don’t tell anyone I said that.”

“Not a word,” Raph promised. “Although I think we all know it anyway. Through the small actions you do.”

“Hush. No they do not. I have an incredibly upheld emotionally unavailable bad boy image.” Sure Donnie did. “Cannot damage or alter that.”

“Oh, of course,” Raph said with a nod and smile. “My brain must still be scrambled from everything.”

Donnie frowned and looked at Raph. As he opened his mouth, he seemed to get it and instead, he pointed his phone towards Raph. “Exactly. Now, let us relax and recharge in our own ways before dinner. I’m assuming it’ll be something we order or that Rara makes after today’s events.”

“Probably,” Raph agreed, settling down and closing his eyes. He was still smiling as he started to drift off to the sounds of Donnie’s playlist and his little brother tapping away on his phone.

Chapter Text

Donnie knew his brothers probably wouldn’t approve of him being out so late. In their minds, especially Leo’s mind, Donnie was still recovering his lost beauty sleep from his two week long paranoia episode. How wrong they were. Not only was Donatello fully restored, one-hundred-and-twenty percent, he was better than ever! He also had a surefire way to knock himself out whenever he needed to get more rest. Those Night Night sounds audio Leo had made really made a massive difference. 

Which was why Donnie was out exploring the woods for a small crash site alone at night. Everyone else was sleeping and Donnie didn’t want to disturb their circadian rhythms, especially not CJ and Leo’s. Those two were easily the hardest to get to sleep and CJ had been working hard helping out Mona with her exam prep. As much as Donnie wanted CJ’s input for this exploration, his health and sleep schedule came first.

With his goggles down, he looked around at the crash site he finally found. The data Donnie got from the Mother Shell system informed him that it was a small rock that crash landed. It was from a solar system quite a ways away. Lots of useful information could be gathered from a space rock, especially from a system that wasn’t the Milky Way. Donnie bobbed his head to the dubstep playing in his headphones as he followed the skid marks and wreckage around the area. Despite how small the size of this supposed rock was, he thought it would have done massive amounts of damage compared to what it did. Huh.

The crater wasn’t even smoking, which was very unusual. The crater also wasn’t very deep, only a few feet down. It must have been going much slower than most meteors. The rock was also much bigger than Donnie thought it would be, probably about the size of his fist. It was also a deep blue color and— Wait, was that a flash of green his goggles detected?

Donnie carefully stepped down and picked up the rock as his goggles scanned it. “Interesting. There’s… alien flora life in here?” His battle shell hand had a small saw blade extension that carefully cut open the rock where there was already a crack. What could be in here that survived in space as well as the atmosphere of this planet?

There was a small sprout with a green stem, a deep red rootball, and a blue flower bud. It seemed to unfurl itself slightly as he held up the rock, leaning toward Donnie. Maybe it was searching for a source of heat?

Oh, easy. His battle shell’s saw blade changed out for a heat lamp. It turned on and hovered above the intergalactic plant. “There you go. Oh, you are just gorgeous. Hi there,” Donnie cooed. He’d need a pot for it and soil. Did it thrive in the same kind of soul they had? Did it need the same or different nutrients?

The plant leaned towards the heat lamp and the bud opened up, revealing what looked like a beautiful cyan and dark blue rose. Oh, that was just gorgeous. “Alright, I will definitely need to bring you home,” Donnie said as he carefully cradled the plant in one hand. He adjusted the settings of his goggles to try to identify this beauty. Surely the Mother Shell had records of it in her vast compendium.

As he leaned in, the flower let out a burst of pollen into Donnie’s face. It got right up his snoot and into his mouth, making him cough and splutter. Okay, maybe not his brightest ideas. That being said, the pollen smelled beautiful and sweet.

Hm. Donnie let his battle shell collect a sample of the pollen while another set of robot hands settled this plant in a pot of soil. Hopefully this soil would help the plant grow. “I really do wonder what you are,” Donnie murmured as he tapped the side of his headphones to directly contact the system. “Mother Shell: identify this species of alien flora. Please.”

“Processing.” 

“ Peep .” Wait wait wait. Did the flower just ‘peep’ at him?!

Donnie gasped as he looked down at the flower. “You can make auditory sounds at a level I can hear? Oh, this is incredible. Hi there, little flower.”

“ Peep .” The flower seemed to lean more towards Donnie. It let out another burst of pollen but Donnie didn’t cough as much as before. “ Peep .” It sounded happier than before.

“You are lucky I do not have allergies or asthma, little flower. That’s Raph,” Donnie said as he held his plant closer. “Mother Shell, is there any progress on the results for this plant?”

“Still processing. Unusual genus detected. Processing.”

“ Peep .” The plant released another puff of pollen. “ Peep .” That one sounded almost like a coo. The plant seemed so much happier. It leaned closer to Donnie’s face and nuzzled against him.

Donnie cooed back and nuzzled against the plant in turn. “You are definitely coming home with me. Oh, I’ll have the perfect spot for you in my greenhouse.”

As Donnie leaned in, he dropped his bō staff. A sharp attachment sliced into his hand, leaving a shallow cut. The plant let out a distressed, “ Peep! ”

Donnie hissed and shook out his hand. “Ow ow ow ow. The heck. Why was I so clumsy over something so simple?” One of his robot hands appeared and had the medical supplies needed to clean off, disinfect, then patch up his cut.

The plant leaned closer to his injured hand, reaching out to try and comfort him. “So concerned for me? Aw. You’re so sweet,” Donnie said as he allowed for the plant to look over his wound. “It’s nothing bad. Just a simple cut.”

The plant leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to the wound, even making a small, “ Mwah .” The sting of the cut and the bleeding stopped almost instantly.

Wait, his plant kissed his wound? That was incredible. His plant was so incredible. And it even healed Donnie’s wound with such a simple form of contact. “Yes, let’s get going home. Do you have a name, my little flower?”

His beautiful plant looked up at him and let out a small, happy, “ Peep .”

“Donnie Junior? Oh, that’s so adorable. Such a lovely name for a lovely flower,” Donnie cooed. There was a sound coming from his headphones that caught his attention. He tapped the side of his headphones. “Yes?”

“Alien flora identified. Did you require details, chief botanist Donnie?”

“Yes please. I want to learn more about my baby.”

Coming back from his hang session with the girls, Mikey was more than ready for dinner. He had a good plan for tonight: some pasta bake with a nice side salad and garlic bread. It would be easy to put it together. As far as Mikey knew, everyone was home so he’d need to make enough for seven. Well, if Raph was there, nine servings. 

Mikey took off his heavier coat and left on his army jacket from Casey. Okay, he would be able to cook all this without an apron on. What meat would he need to put in this? Well, they had chicken last time. Maybe beef this time around. No, some bacon and pork. Yeah, he had some of both already prepared in the fridge.

“Hey, is that Mikey getting home?” That sounded like Leo. It was coming from the games room. “I thought he was hanging with Donnie. I haven’t seen either of them all day.”

Oh. Dinner might need to wait. “Mikey said he was hanging with the girls today. I thought Donnie was hanging with Juan.” That was Raph. “I know CJ’s hanging with Mona and Yuichi.”

Mikey quickly swung his way up to the games room with the platforms and his chains. “Hey guys,” he said as he walked in. Raph and Leo were both on the couch, playing Cuphead. It seemed that Miss Chalice was long since dead as Raph finished off the boss as Cuphead.

“Hey, Miguel.” Leo gave Mikey a wave as he leaned back on his beanbag. “How are you?”

“I’m good. You doing okay? You sound a little out of it.” Mikey squinted at Leo. Did he need to get out Dr. Delicate Touch?

“Yeah,” Leo sighed. “Just a little confused. I haven’t seen Donnie all day. I thought he was hanging with you. If he’s doing anything else, he normally gives me a heads up for what his plans are.”

Raph looked over at Leo. “Maybe he’s doing some lab stuff. He and I did some note comparin’ last night. Mostly me telling him a few things and listening to him do most of the talkin’,” he said as he put his controller down.

“We could go check,” Mikey said as he walked over to Leo and leaned against his brother. Maybe some contact would revitalize Leo and put a pep in his step before they looked for DonDon.

Leo leaned into his touch with a happy churr. “Well, maybe.” 

“Let’s go check on him,” Mikey said again. Leo wouldn’t take initiative here, he clearly didn’t want to be a burden but Leo needed to realize that this wasn’t something they minded doing. He needed to rely on them more.

Raph nodded as he stood. “Leo, you want to check on Donnie. Let’s go and find him then check up on him. You know it’s okay to do things you wanna and that we’re okay with that too, right?”

Leo blushed and looked away. “Sure.” Yeah, he was a liar. Still, Mikey wouldn’t call him out on it. So long as Leo was working with them, he would be nice to his big brother.

“Well if you didn’t know before, you know now. C’mon.” Raph walked over and patted both Mikey and Leo. “Let’s check out his lab. If he ain’t there, we can ask Lenny.”

Leo still looked a little shy but he didn’t complain. Maybe he was listening after all. “C’mon, Leo!” Mikey tugged his big brother to his feet, laughing when Leo windmilled his arms. “I gotcha!”

From the corner of his vision, Mikey saw Raph smile as he led them all out. Leo seemed to be a bit more lively as Mikey clung to one of his arms while they walked. “You sure you aren’t secretly a koala or something there, Miguel?”

“You have our DNA samples, Leo. Wouldn’t you know if he had koala in him?” Raph asked with a snicker.

“Very true,” Leo said with a sage nod. “Though I don’t think his lion DNA would account for the clinginess.” 

“Wait, I have lion DNA?!” Mikey almost screeched. He did not know that particular fact.

“Yeah, we all do. What, you thought our sharp choppers came from the turtle side?” Leo playfully snapped his beak at Mikey, showing off the slightly sharper teeth that they all had. “Nah, we have panthera leo in us.”

Raph snorted. “Ah yes, here Mikey roar. So fearsome and powerful.” Mikey played along and did his own rendition of a roar. “Okay, that needs some work. Four outta ten. Sorry, bud.”

As Mikey’s head drooped dramatically, they entered Donnie’s lab. Eugh. It was getting messier. Half of the desks were covered with either half-finished projects or junk. Donnie needed a reminder to keep his space clean. Normally he was a clean freak but with the whole invasion incident, he wasn’t at peak Donnie state. 

Raph walked in first and looked around. “Huh. He ain’t in here.” He rested his hands on his side before poking his head into the expanded space for Lenny. It was no longer just a little closer space. It was its own little room, now with a workspace for Lenny as well as some room for other hobbies and whatnot. By the looks of things, Lenny was in there, working on a project of his own. “Hey, Lenny.”

Said little drone turned around and chirped. “Hey uncs. What’s up?”

“Hey Lenny.” Leo walked over and rubbed Lenny’s head, getting a pleaser churr in response. “We were just wondering if you knew where your dad was? I haven’t seen him all day and he isn’t in his lab.”

Lenny looked confused at that. “He’s been in his greenhouse all day. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you guys that.”

“Not a word.” Leo shook his head. “The only thing I’ve known is that he’s been really, really happy today.” He rubbed his chest. Oh, the imprint must be up and running strong. And Leo thought that was because Donnie was hanging with Mikey? The big softie.

“That’s not like Dad at all. I thought he already told you dudes,” Lenny said with a frown. “Huh. Well, he’s right in there. Go bug him and yell at him for not telling you.”

Raph nodded and rubbed Lenny’s head this time. “That’s the plan. Has he eaten?”

“No clue.”

“Oof, that’s not good.” Leo cringed a little at Lenny’s statement. “Mikey, you’re on breakfast bar duty. They’re in the cupboard next to his mini fridge. Raph, you should take hydration. He’s more likely to listen to you than to me about this stuff since he just throws my previously unhealthy patterns back in my face.”

“Yes sir, fearless leader!” Mikey gave a salute before running off to grab those bars. 

“Hey, fearless leader, I like that,” Mikey caught Leo saying proudly as he followed Mikey out. “Hey Raph, think it suits me? The Fearless Leader.” Mikey could almost see Leo’s dramatic pose and yep, when he glanced back, he saw that Leo had his hands on his hips and was basically sparkling. Dork.

Raph barked out a laugh. “Yeah, no. Mikey, the heck. We’re co-leaders and we know Leo ain’t fearless. You’re gonna give him an even worse ego.”

“Dunno what you’re talking about, Waffle,” Mikey shot back with a grin. “I didn’t say anything.” Leo snickered and elbowed Raph playfully.

Mikey yelped when he felt a big hand on the top of his head. It dragged him back over to Raph and into a headlock then a noogie. “You’re lucky I love you. I’ll tell Donnie you need hearing aids. How ‘bout that then?”

“I don’t need hearing aids! Waffle, let go !” Mikey squirmed, not putting much force into it. He knew he could do some real damage with how strong he was if he actually struggled. “Besides, Leo would have to tune them.” 

“Yeah, no, that would still be Donnie. Trust me, you don’t want him near your tympanum with his volume control.” Leo was outright laughing now.

Raph knocked his head against Mikey’s before letting him go. He made sure to give an obnoxious kiss before doing so, being quite loud with it. “Did you hear that , bud?”

“Heard you sucking out my brains,” Mikey said with a pout. He jumped up and poked Raph’s snoot before running off to grab the breakfast bars, giggling at Raph’s spluttering. Hah! He showed his big brother.

Mikey made his way over to the little breakfast bar area. Oh geez. It was a mess. It looked like a raccoon had ransacked the place and then some just to spite Donnie for some injustice he committed. Mikey really needed to talk with his brother and help him clean things up. Not that Mikey blamed him. He was scattered after the Kraang. The fact this all slipped past his neat freak germaphobe of a brother? No bueno, as Leo would put it. 

After poking around and reorganizing things how Mikey knew Donnie liked his things, he left with a few breakfast bars. He was low on a lot of his snacks and drinks too. Another thing Mikey mentally noted as he walked into the greenhouse, where he could hear his brothers already talking.

“So did you get any sleep last night?” Leo asked. Eugh boy, he didn’t sound pleased. “You went out late, without telling anyone, and got a cool new plant. Awesome, great, but seriously, Dee, you need to be a bit more sensible. What if something got you?”

“Cool your jets, Leo. Donnie’s smart. I get you’re worried, but you don’t need to smother him.” Raph must have put his hand on Leo’s shoulder because Leo sighed.

“I know. I just… worry. I’ve got a bad feeling at the moment, like something big is coming.”

Donnie let out a, “Sigh,” and Mikey could imagine him pushing up his glasses to rub his face. “It’s probably because we do have multiple threats at the moment. We have EPF and are worrying about him in your head. We are finally able to relax after that huge mess we’ve dealt with. We’re healed. We’re fine. We’re learning how to deal with the thing in your head and then the government. We are fine.”

“Right.” Leo took a deep breath. “Sorry. I’ll… back off a little.” Mikey decided he should come in now, help defuse the tension and brighten things up. Leo wasn’t meaning to be overbearing, he was just worried and feeling a bit neglected. He and Donnie had dedicated twin time every day to keep them both feeling good and he hadn’t gotten that yet, let alone any real interactions from Donnie whatsoever. Mikey couldn’t blame Leo for feeling a bit overwhelmed.

“Hey, I brought breakfast bars!” Mikey came in with a bright grin. He held up said items and waved one in Donnie’s direction. “When Lenny said you’ve been in here all day, I thought I’d bring a snack to help you keep up your energy.” Don’t make Donnie feel ganged up on. Mikey was just here to help. Then Mikey could figure out what was needed to actually help.

Donnie looked over and wow, he looked both amazing as well as a bit worrisome. He had a few bags under his eyes, which used to be his norm. It made sense if he hadn’t slept though, and he hadn’t pulled an all-nighter in ages. Otherwise, he radiated such a positive and happy aura that it was a bit infectious. “Ah, thank you, Angelo.” Donnie quickly walked over and took one of the offered bars.

“No probbles!” Mikey put the other bars on a counter nearby. “So, you were out last night? What cool plant did you find? Is it a nice color?” He gasped in excitement. “Does it have a pretty flower?”

A twinkle appeared in Donnie’s eyes as he looked over his brothers. “Do you all want to see her? She is quite a beauty.”

Raph grinned and shrugged. “Sure. Why not. If she isn’t actually pretty though, Raph’s gonna be honest ‘bout that.”

That for a scoff and a wave of the hand from Donnie. “Oh, it is gorgeous and if you don’t think so, I’m gonna make Leo give you a vision test.”

“Oh, he’s serious about the beauty. Okay then, show us.” Leo waved at Donnie, grinning. 

“Yeah, show us! And if it’s really pretty, I can paint it to immortalize it for you, DonDon!” If Donnie was this proud of a plant, Mikey wanted to make sure he treated it with the appropriate respect. If it was ugly, he could make fun of Donnie later.

Raph seemed to carry the same sentiment as he nodded subtly at Mikey while they followed Donnie. Leo stayed by his twin’s side and seemed to be brightening up. Yeah, he needed his twin time and missed it. “So, it is an Affacorious species of plant. The origin of it is unknown,” Donnie said as they walked and wow, the greenhouse was bigger than Mikey thought. As they walked, he saw what he realized was a section just for the mystic weed Donnie grew. Raph didn’t seem phased by it. Did he already know about it?!

Oh Mikey was so gonna bully Raph about that later, get the truth about it. Then he was going to squash Leo for using his drinking stuff as blackmail. 

“Wait, so it's got an unknown origin? Is it an alien plant?!” Mikey cried as Donnie’s words actually registered.

“Wait, did I not say that?”

Raph quickly clarified by saying, “You told us but Mikey wasn’t there for it. You vouched that it was safe and all that, which we believe. We don’t think you’d bring in anything dangerous to the lair. You’re super careful ‘bout that sorta thing.”

Mikey stumbled to a stop when they walked into the back, sealed off area of the greenhouse. On the desk in a small plant pot sat the most beautiful flower Mikey had ever seen. Its stem was the most vivid green that Mikey had ever seen with such interesting, clover-shaped leaves. There were no thorns, even if it seemed to be some sort of rose. Its flower, though, was the most amazing part. It was as big as a dinner plate and was colored a beautiful, rich cyan with dark blue tips to each petal. It formed a beautiful ombré. 

Mikey needed to paint it.

“And this is the beauty herself,” Donnie said as he slid to his desk, doing jazz hands. He wasn’t wearing his battle shell or home shell, surprisingly, so it was just him jazzing it up. There were lots of sparkles coming off from his hands though. “You may applaud. I know, I know. She’s incredible and it’s impossible to describe her true beauty and awesomeness with words.”

Mikey didn’t hesitate. He started clapping as hard and fast as he was able. He was almost dizzy with how beautiful that plant was. Raph was also clapping with enthusiasm. Leo was too but there was something… less about his energy that Mikey couldn’t place.

“She’s a beautiful color,” Leo said as he nodded in approval. “I knew you had a soft spot for blues.”

Donnie rolled his eyes with a smile. “I knew you’d say that.”

Raph rested his hands on his sides as Donnie opened his breakfast bar and started eating. “Does she got a name?”

“Uh, of course. Her name is Donnie Junior.”

“Well she is very much a Bella Donna!” Mikey cried, leaning forward to getting a better view. Oh this flower was amazing. He didn’t want to get too close and risk damaging her but he wanted to appreciate her as best he could. “And she smells beautiful . It’s like honey but somehow almost citrusy too?”

From the corner of his eyes, Mikey could see a brief moment of confusion from his older brothers. “Yes. She has an incredible smell about her,” Donnie agreed as he wrapped an arm around Mikey’s shell. “Everything about her is—”

“Outta this world?” Raph suggested with a snort.

“Totally,” Mikey agreed with a serious nod. “Are her petals as soft as they look, DonDon?”

“Even softer,” Donnie said in a mock whisper of awe.

“Ohmigosh,” Mikey whispered, flapping his hands as fast as he could. 

“Is this… a little weird or am I just being paranoid?” Mikey just caught Leo’s whisper to Raph. He didn’t care, he was too enamored by this amazing, beautiful, perfect flower.

“Yeah, no. This is a bit… much. It’s pretty and all but not worth this much of a fuss,” Raph whispered. Donnie definitely didn’t hear any of this with how he stood back from Mikey and walked over to the plant, checking it carefully over. Maybe they really did need their eyes checked if they didn’t get Donnie Junior.

“We’ll talk to them later. We’ll just let them have their little… plant fan club for now. It’s clearly making them happy,” Leo said softly. Then he raised his voice slightly. “We’re gonna go. Have fun, guys. I’ll cook dinner tonight.”

If they didn’t understand her, they didn’t need to stay here any longer. Donnie seemed to be oblivious to this though as he looked at them and smiled. “Oh, alright. Thanks. Michael, come here. Feel her petals.”

“Okay… Weird.” Leo looked over his checklist again, then back at his mini blood bank. There were definitely less blood bags in here than there should be. “I don’t remember using any bags recently. I should check my logbooks.” He shook his head and put down his checklist. These monthly checks were worth it after all.

“I think one of your family members may be a secret vampire,” Prime chimed as Leo headed out of the Medbay. Okay, this guy still sucked to be here but at least he knew boundaries. Mostly. He gave Leo a lot of mental space to himself but it still sucked to know this dangerous entity of mass destruction was in his head and all of his body. “Have any of them developed an aversion to garlic recently?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Leo replied with a snicker. He didn’t bother hiding the fact he was talking to Prime so he usually spoke aloud. His family understood, even if it ended up with them walking in on him seemingly talking to himself. “Though I have to say, Donnie has had an aversion to sunlight in the past couple of days.” He had been locked up in his greenhouse since yesterday. Leo could only assume that Donnie went to bed. He himself had crashed with CJ again.

Prime hummed. “I guess, but that’s also typical Donatello behavior now that he’s recharged and caught up on his lost sleep,” they added. Leo also got the sentiment of a shrug. “He is very much like a hermit if and when he is allowed to be one.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” It did bother Leo that Donnie was falling back into old patterns and seemed to be cutting Leo out again, but he just guessed that Donnie was stuck with a new hyperfixation. He’d obsess over this new plant for a few days then he’d come find Leo and they’d make up for lost time. “Maybe I should sneak him some garlic just to be safe, maybe some silver too. Wait, is silver for vampires or werewolves?”

“Werewolves. Wooden steak for vampires. Also crosses if I’m recalling correctly,” Prime said. “It wouldn’t hurt to put some garlic in his food tonight.”

“I’ll make sure I’ll make some Italian if Mikey doesn’t end up cooking,” Leo agreed with a laugh. “Then I can put in loads without anyone being any wiser.” He stopped outside his room. His room hadn’t been touched. The little tag he slipped in the handle was in exactly the same place as he left it yesterday after lunch.

But it was Saturday, Donnie always did a search of Leo’s bedroom at six pm every Friday night without fail. He never missed one. Ever . Not even during his biggest paranoia episode. 

Leo hurried inside. Maybe he was wrong and Donnie did do an inspection.

“You’re used to your twin barging into your room and searching through all of your belongings? Your family is extremely odd,” Prime said. Yeah, the nagging comments about his family and friends weren’t appreciated.

“That’s just how me and Donnie are.” Leo headed straight to his bookshelf and started checking things over. “That’s the sort of thing that happens when you’re locked in basically isolation for fourteen years.” He started skimming through his books. Yeah, they were in the correct order. Donnie hadn’t been in here.

Still, while Leo was here, he checked over his logbook. No blood used in the past few months. Something was definitely up here. “I’m starting to wonder if your vampire theory might be right,” Leo muttered.

Prime sighed and said, “Can you check in on Donnie? And his new plant. I haven’t heard of that species before and need a better look to see if I do know it under a different name.”

“Sure. I’ll also check with Lenny, see if he knows about who stole my blood bags. If it’s Donnie then things might be getting weird.” Leo rolled out his shoulders, put his logbook back, and headed towards the lab. “Hey Lenny? You around, bud?”

Lenny was hovering around outside the entrance to the lab, as if he was debating something. When he saw Leo, his eyes lit up as he zipped over. “Uncle Leo! Hey.”

Leo rubbed Lenny’s head with a chuckle. “Heya, little dude. How are you?”

“Um. Okay. I think.” Lenny tapped his boosters together nervously. “I don’t think Dad’s doing too hot though.”

“Oh boy, here we go,” Prime murmured. 

Before Leo could shush him, Lenny continued. “Dad’s been in his greenhouse ever since you guys left. Maybe he went to go to the bathroom but the whole time I’ve been up yesterday and today, he’s been in the greenhouse. I think he even slept in there, and you know how anal and insistent he is about sleeping in a bed.”

“He is really particular about that,” Leo agreed softly. “He didn’t do his weekly check either. My room wasn’t touched.” He paused. “Before we go talk to him, can you do me a favor? Can you check and see who’s been in the Medbay in the past week or so? Some of my blood bags are missing.”

Lenny nodded. “I’ll go and check the cams. Wanna come with me to my room while I check?”

“Sure, just know I’m also talking to Prime as well.” Leo wouldn’t hide that fact. Prime was the only reason Leo hadn’t freaked out and started getting overwhelmed with no twin time for two days. Leo needed some level of routine to stay focused and calm these days. He blamed the imprint and some of Donnie’s habits bleeding over.

“Oh. Okay.” Lenny shrugged before zipping into the lab and over to his room. 

Prime seemed to take in Donnie’s space. “Yeah, his organizational skills have sort of gone to crap. He isn’t doing good.”

“I was supposed to be helping him clean today,” Leo explained. “I guess I didn’t chase it up because I hadn’t seen him.” That made him feel a little guilty. He should have followed up on his promise.

Lenny chirped shrilly and got Leo’s attention. “Don’t blame yourself. It’s been weird and he’s being super weird,” he said as he settled into his dock and the computer screen there lit up.

“Sorry. I’m off my groove at the moment, Lenny. You know what I’m like when I don’t get twin time.” Leo laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. “What do you got on your systems?”

“I’ve been looking through and so far, nothing past the usu— Wait. Look at the screen.”

Leo looked up and so far, it was nothing. From the time stamp in the corner, it was from early this morning. Half past two. What did—

Donnie walked into the Medbay with intent. He walked right over to the blood bag cooler. Wait, he really took the blood? But why?

“We need to check on your dad. Now .” Leo turned, making sure his battle shell was ready. “Lenny, let’s get into the greenhouse. Be ready. We’re gonna figure out what is up with your dad.”

Lenny nodded, looking relieved. “Okay. Thanks, Uncle Leo. Uncle Mikey’s been in and out a lot too so I dunno. I couldn’t talk to both of them at once if he’s in there.”

“Mikey is in his room at the movement.” Leo had heard him on the way past. “We go in now. And Lenny, if things look risky, getting yourself out is your priority, understand? I can zap in an emergency, or zap to my katanas.” If Donnie was getting blood, things were definitely gonna be weird. “Also, Prime, any thoughts to add?”

“I’m currently trying to recall any flora that require blood. There are many. Too many. I need to see the flower again to narrow it down,” Prime said.

“Got it.” Leo took a breath. “Let’s go. Stay out of sight and get out if you get worried.” With that, Leo walked out of Lenny’s area and activated the spider arms on his battle shell. As soon as he was in the greenhouse, he zapped up to the ceiling and landed above the sprinkler system that ran over everything. The different areas of the greenhouse were only really separated at ground level; however, it was all clear up here. And wait, what was that smell? Was that a cloud or something at the end of the greenhouse?

Prime quickly correctly, “No, not a cloud necessarily. It’s pollen. A potent amount of pollen. I think that your human friend is also over there. He must have come in when we were conversing with Lenny.”

“What, how could you know that? I didn’t see that?” Leo switched to mental speak to keep up with his stealth. He took a deep breath because he didn’t want to breathe in that pollen. It gave him a bad feeling. Leo scuttled along the beams, using his battle shell to help him balance. He peered down and yep, there was CJ and holy fuck, that was a massive flower.

It was now potted in an area all for itself in its own planter. Instead of being a small plant, this monster of a beast was now the size of Mikey. The plant also had a huge ass mouth now? Holy shit? Its deep red roots were spread out and around the space of the back of the greenhouse as well. They just radiated an air of toxicity that Leo did not like. It also seemed to be right next to and also entering the air vents by the back of the greenhouse wall.

So much for being beautiful. Leo knew that this plant was bad news. He should have listened to his gut instead of playing it off as his growing paranoia.

“How can I help, Donnie?” CJ suddenly spoke up. Leo fixated on him. He looked dazed, confused, and almost sleepy. Was the pollen messing with his head?

“I believe so,” Prime answered as Donnie took one of CJ’s hands and took off his glove. “I just need to see what happens next to determine what kind of plant this is. If my suspicions are correct…” Donnie held up CJ’s hand as one of the plant’s tendrils took it. The sharp end of the root cut open CJ’s hand then wrapped around it, squeezing more blood out. A loud hissing filled the greenhouse as the blood that had been coming from the wound was sucked up by the plant.

Leo held back his instinctive hiss at the sight. That thing was a monster and it was a threat to his family. He needed to get rid of it. ASAP.

Without waiting for a response from Prime, Leo zapped back to the entrance of the greenhouse and took a gasping breath, letting out his growls and hisses as he tried to reign in his instincts. “What— what is that?!” he demanded, brushing off the pollen that had gotten on his skin.

“One of the few blood-thirsty plant species that exist. Of course you all would end up with that kind. Based on its roots, it doesn’t just drink blood. It also consumes flesh.” Well that was just fantastic. “It uses its pollen to warp the minds of its victims to prep them for consumption. Thankfully, it isn’t big enough to eat. Yet. It needs more nutrients through blood to do that.”

“Oh? Is that all?” Leo asked, sure his voice was an octave higher as he looked for the emergency shower Donnie installed in case of an experiment gone wrong. 

Prime sighed. “No. This species also chooses a caretaker. The caretaker helps feed the Affacorious. Clearly Donnie has been chosen as this creature’s caretaker, but it also means he will hunt you all down if you are not already affected by the pollen like CJ has. Mikey is probably affected too based on his behavior from yesterday.”

“I’m activating lockdown as soon as I’ve got the pollen off me.” Leo stepped into the shower and let the high pressure icy water clear his head. It only blasted for a few seconds but that was enough. He grabbed a towel from the side and started drying off as he headed towards Donnie’s lair controls. “How do we beat it?”

“From what I can recall, the only way is by cutting it off at the stem. That is its only weakness,” informed Prime. “I would also recommend grabbing filtration masks for you and Raph. Since your fathers went out last night to, let’s face it, party and probably stayed at some hotel last night after getting wasted, they should be fine. If they haven’t arrived back yet, they may be going out for round two tonight.”

“Never thought Dad’s movie star habits would be something to celebrate.” Leo huffed. He spoke into his communicator as he started typing in the lockdown codes, giving himself control. “Lenny, get out of there. This is urgent. Code red. Repeat, code red.”

“Code— Got it.” After a moment, there was a bit of a concerned chirp that came through the comms. “Um. Uncle Leo? I’m sorta stuck. I think it figured out I’m h—” The comms for Lenny cut out instantly.

“Lockdown. Now ,” Prime insisted with the utmost urgency.

Leo didn’t hesitate. He slammed his hand on the lockdown button. “Shit, okay. Filter masks are where again?” he asked as he left the lab. He had a few minutes to get Raph, brief him on the situation, and get CJ safe before they lost CJ and possibly risk Lenny’s destruction due to the plant.

“They should be in Mikey’s room or his art room, but I wouldn’t trust going into his room right now,” Prime warned. “We don’t know what kind of state he may be in.”

As Leo passed by the car rooms, all of which had metal doors shut down in front of their normal doors as well as the window shutters down, the concern he heard from one room caught his attention. “Hello? Waffle? Leo? Donnie? CJ? Is anyone out there? Why is there a lockdown?”

Leo hesitated. Even if he was affected by the plant, Leo couldn’t just leave Mikey sounding so scared. Plus, this gave him an opportunity. 

“Hey, Mikey,” Leo stood close to the door and knocked on it. “We’re in lockdown because something really bad has happened. Donnie’s plant is dangerous and wants to eat people.” As he spoke, Leo opened the tiniest portal to look through, trying to catch sight of where the masks were in Mikey’s room. And he spotted Mikey, standing right by the door, his attention fixated there. Perfect.

“Wait, what?! Eat people? Is anyone else stuck in there with the plant? Did it try to eat Donnie?” Mikey asked. Leo saw Mikey flail a bit as he spoke. “You gotta let me out so I can help!”

“I can’t do that right now, bud.” Leo spotted the masks and quickly grabbed two, keeping the portal open just enough to keep watching Mikey. “It’s dangerous and beyond that, people are getting mind controlled by it. It doesn’t seem to affect me or Raph, so we’re gonna be going in. This is to keep you safe, Mikey.” And now the real test: how would Mikey take this?

Mikey crossed his arms over his chest as he stared long and hard at the door. “But I can help! I can’t just sit here while you guys go off and face her. You gotta let me out, Leo.”

So far so normal but Leo had a bad feeling. “Mikey, with how enamored you were with the plant yesterday, I’m worried that its mind control might be really effective on you. I’m gonna need your help with cleanup later, but for now just hang tight and come find us when the lockdown is over.”

“If you’re that worried, I can get one of my masks on. You can’t just leave me here while DonDon gets eaten,” Mikey huffed. “Come on, Leo.”

“Donnie’s not at risk of being eaten. We are.” Leo paused. Maybe…? No, Mikey was just acting normal. He was too affected yesterday for him to not be affected now. “Unless you want to be eaten? See the plant grow nice and healthy and strong?” Leo almost cooed. “Give your blood and body to the beautiful blue rose?”

“Leo. Are you sure you’re not affected by the flower right now?” Mikey deadpanned. If Leo didn’t have the portal up, he would have been convinced. 

But he did. And he saw Mikey uncrossing his arms as he stepped back and scanned around the door and the windows with too calculated of an eye. For a moment, he saw a flash of the same yellow as the pollen. “Quit it and just let me out already, Leo. You’re wasting time and this is just getting weird.”

“Yeah, no.” Leo closed the portal. “I saw you. You’re affected. You’re staying here.” Leo pressed a button on his communicator and the lockdown on Mikey’s room doubled. “I’ll be back for you later, as soon as this stupid plant is dead.” Leo stepped back, holding the masks close as he glanced at Raph’s room.

BANG .

“Leo,” Mikey sang from his room where the loud attempt to break free came from. There was an undertone of Dr. Delicate Touch as well as something else. “Leo, my big brother. My big brave brother in blue. Please oh please let me out.”

BANG .

“Pretty please with a cherry on top.”

B A N G.

“System, triple the lockdown on Mikey’s bedroom.” Leo could only stare in horror as the train car rocked. “Actually, quadruple it. Emergency lockdown protocol delta nine.” Metal restrains wrapped around the train car and it was fully encased in a layer of titanium alloy. That would hold Mikey for now but they didn’t have long. 

Leo rushed over to Raph’s car and knocked on the door, trying to block out the crashes and bangs from Mikey’s room. “Raph? Raphadoodle, you okay in there?” he called, flinching at the next, louder bang.

There was a loud sneeze from inside. “Besides Raph’s allergies kicking his butt in the middle of freaking winter?” A sniffle. “Yeah. But he’s also hearing loud sounds from Mikey’s room. What’s happenin’?”

“Oh thank the spirits, okay.” Leo took a breath. “Long story short, Donnie’s alien plant has mind control pollen. It’s making Donnie its caretaker and he is gonna be wanting to feed it our blood and eventually our bodies. Mikey is under its spell. Prime thinks you’re probably safe because of your allergies, despite your improved sniffer.”

“Okay, that explains a lot. The only good time to have allergies, I guess. Dad and Rara are still out, yeah?”

“Yup.” Leo unlocked Raph’s room and hugged him tight when his big brother stepped out. “It is so good to have someone on my side who isn’t in my head.” This was getting uncomfortably familiar with the set up. Leo wanted this plant gone as quick as possible. He couldn’t handle fighting his brothers again.

Raph nodded as he hugged Leo tight. Oh, this was nice. “Raph can only imagine, but we got this, bud.” He rubbed Leo’s head for a moment and yeah, that was the good stuff. He wasn’t alone. He had someone fighting with him. Everything would be okay.

“We got this,” Leo echoed as he pulled back. “Here. I grabbed these from Mikey’s room when he was distracted. We need to move fast because Donnie has CJ in the greenhouse right now.”

In an instant, Raph was putting on his filtration mask. “He’s prob’ly going for CJ first since he doesn’t have shells or as tough of skin like we go. Eugh. Last time something nuts happened, Dad and Rara were out then too. We need to use that as like a warning signal or somethin’.”

“High alert when the parents are out,” Leo agreed, slipping on his mask. “I’ll get Donnie to add it to the systems.” 

Together, Leo and Raph ran over to Donnie’s lab. “I’ll get CJ out of the greenhouse, you try and restrain Donnie so I can cut down that plant. He is gonna fight to protect it and I don’t think I can manage anything beyond a spar with you guys at the moment.” He eyed the roots that were already creeping out from the greenhouse doors. “Also, don’t touch those roots. They’re part of the plant.”

Raph looked over to the root and visibly shuddered. “Got it. I really wish we could just have one normal week. Haven’t had a normal one yet. Just one week is all Raph’s askin’ for.”

“It’s been crazy since Christmas,” Leo agreed with a huff. “The plant is still in the back.” Leo mentally turned to Prime and mentally asked him, “If I get hit, can you hold off the pollen for a bit? Just as a backup plan, I promise. I noticed I’ve been the least affected out of everyone.”

“I’ll do my best, but yes,” Prime promised. “Since I’m here, I can help boost your resistance. I think you’re the least affected because of my presence. If I wasn’t here, you probably would be as affected as Mikey and Raph would be your only hope right now.”

“Eugh boy, okay. Thanks.” Leo glanced at Raph. “Okay, so, charge in headfirst?”

Raph grinned as he nodded. “Yeah, I will. You wanna sneak around while I take the big blows,” he said. “Sound good?”

Leo nodded. He got into focus mode before heading to the wall, using his ninja training to hide. This was still so cool that he was able to do it. He saw that Raph even lost sight of him after a second.

Raph charged in after taking a breath and Leo followed silently behind him. His bigger brother had all the power of a bull in a china shop while having the accuracy and control of a panther, slinking around while rushing in to avoid damaging anything else in the greenhouse. The pollen was heavy in the air too but he still went around and through it without any real issues. Leo lost sight of Raph as he heard a screech from what he assumed was the flower. Then there was a cry of surprise from Donnie. “What are you doing?! Get away from her. Get AWAY !” Oof, he sounded like he did when he had Rat Flu. That crazed, manic sort of sick haze.

Okay, Leo’s time to strike. He closed his eyes and focused, reaching out with his Ninpō. He felt that CJ was luckily still in one piece so Leo dropped him through a portal into the Medbay. One threat down, one to go. 

Upon opening his eyes, Leo rushed into the back of the greenhouse, staying out of sight as best he could as he charged at the flower. Unfortunately, it was a lot bigger than it had been a few minutes ago. Just how much blood did it take from CJ?! It went from the size of Mikey to the size of Mona at the very least. The roots were bigger, thicker, and it took over all the back of the greenhouse with ease. One of said roots grabbed Leo and tossed him back, away from itself as it hissed.

Leo rolled in the air and landed in a crouch, hissing back. He was sure his pupils were slits now. He was pissed . 

Okay, new plan time. Leo went to charge it again, ready to zap behind it and slice it off just above the roots. Unfortunately, that was when something solid slammed into Leo from the side, sending him sprawling to the ground.

It only took a moment for Leo to realize it was Raph. “Sorry ‘bout that,” Raph apologized as he got up and helped up Leo. “Donnie’s not very happy right now. I still got ‘im.”

“You will not hurt her!” Donnie screeched as he jumped on Raph. 

That got a yelp out of Raph as he backed away from Leo. “I swear, I am not lettin’ you live this down!”

“Raph don’t let him take your—” Donnie ripped off Raph’s filtration mask before managing to flip him, sending him right at the flower. His big brother got a face full of pollen straight from that horrible face-like flower. “No!” 

Leo was alone again. Everyone else in the lair was compromised. Leo was alone again and he had to fight his brothers. 

Leo was going to destroy that plant.

“Why is this becoming a trend with you? It’s only you,” Prime asked, but Leo ignored them. He didn’t need their shit right now. 

The flower put Raph to the side, using its roots to do so. Donnie turned and looked at Leo and oh spirits. His eyes were the same color as the pollen, just like with Mikey, and any and all tech was gone from him. No bracer. No headphones. No exoshells. Nothing. He didn’t even have on his shawl. Not even his wraps. Only his mask and glasses with a little mini alien flower wrapped around one arm of his glasses and positioned beside his head. The same blue and everything. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Leo. Come here and just take off that silly mask.”

“I’ve come for my brothers,” Leo responded, straightening his back as he took a deep breath of clean air. “I’m not leaving without them and I will not fall.” He threw aside his katanas, zapping them back to their stands before he summoned a weapon he had stashed away: a tech bō. It was a present for Donnie, made from the same titanium alloy that Mother Shell was and one that had every possible attachment that Leo could cram into it. He and Lenny had worked hard on it. It would be their weapon to save their family. “Anatawa hitorijanai.” He had to remember that. Leo had to hold that truth in his core.

Donnie’s eyes narrowed and any sort of friendliness that could be gleaned from him vanished. “You couldn’t at least keep up the banter? Fine. Try, but you will not hurt anyone, especially not her.”

“She is the only one I need to hurt. Let me end this and no one else needs to be hurt.” Leo fixated on the plant for a moment before focusing back on Donnie. “Let me help you, Donatello. She is hurting us. She will kill the rest of us or have you do it for her. I know that’s not what you want.”

There was no hesitation in Donnie’s words. “I am her caretaker, and all I want is for her to live and grow and be happy. You are keeping that from her.”

“Leo, move!” Following Prime’s words, Leo barely escaped from Mikey’s grasp. He danced over the roots that almost grabbed him by the ankles as well. Mikey already busted out?!

Leo had to focus. He smacked the side of his head, hoping some slight pain might bring his senses back online. He couldn’t see these as his brothers right now. They were enemies who wanted to hurt his family. He wouldn’t kill or maim, but he couldn’t hold back.

With that thought in mind, Leo started his near deadly dance. He twisted and turned around the others trying to grab him, smacking hands away from him with the tech bō and likely causing at least some bruising. 

He sliced up the roots that tried to grab at him with one of the many blades hidden in this staff, cutting them off from the source. They withered and died almost instantly. 

With practiced precision that came from many months fighting for his life in the Battle Nexus, Leo sent Mikey flying into Raph, sending them both staggering out of the back area of the greenhouse with a single swipe of his bō staff. 

Leo would save his brothers.

He had to.

Wait, where was—

Donnie ripped the mask off of Leo’s head from behind, kicking him down to the floor before Leo could catch his breath. “You are not keeping this from her.”

This was fine. Leo had resistance to the pollen already and he could hold his breath. Even if his shell ached from the hit despite the battle shell and even if he had to inhale some pollen, he could still do this.

He stood, leaning heavily on his tech bō as a desperate plan started to form itself in his head. He’d keep that one for if Donnie overpowered him. He knew his twin better than anyone. He knew how Donnie would behave, even if he was affected by this mind control parasite.

“You’re always so stubborn,” Donnie huffed as a haze of yellow pollen seemed to cling to him. “Just let it go. I know you’re tired. You’re hurting. Come on.”

Leo scrubbed away the tears dripping down his face. When had he started crying? It didn’t matter. He still scrubbed them away before charging at Donnie with a silent snarl, ready to strike to take him out of battle however he could without hurting him too badly. Leo didn’t want to hurt his twin.

A step too late somehow. Donnie grabbed the tech bō and used it to trip Leo while he still held on. As Leo skidded to the floor, while he tried to portal himself out, a purple construct blocked the way. Donnie was on top of Leo with a construct weeding sickle pressed against his throat. “If you move, this will also move.”

Leo’s shell ached worse and his knee decided to join the party. No way could he get out of this. Time for plan B.

“I don’t like plan B. It has too many assumptions.”

“Trust me to know my twin, Prime.” Leo laid still, staring up at Donnie pleadingly. He didn’t dare breathe yet so he couldn’t speak, but he wouldn’t stop trying to at least make Donnie hesitate.

Donnie stared down at Leo for a good few seconds. Leo knew if it hadn’t been him, or at the very least hadn’t been him or a handful of others, he wouldn’t be hesitating. But he was. His hand and arm twitched to pull the weapon away. “Well damn,” Prime said.

The flower let out a sound that Donnie reacted to. He tensed then relaxed. “I— Apologies. I don’t know why I’m hesitating.” Yet he still didn’t move.

“You cannot strike him down?” the flower whispered. Its voice was genderless, like Prime’s, but where Leo’s parasite was designed to sound welcoming and soothing, this plant just made Leo tense up in fear. Maybe that was just him. “Is he the special one you told me about, the one you have such a wonderful bond with?”

Donnie nodded. “He is. My twin.” He sounded almost too relaxed, though his body stayed where it was, unwavering in its current position to keep Leo pinned.

“Is he someone you would wish to keep with you?” the plant asked. Yes, this was working exactly as Leo planned. He kept his face neutral and his pleading desperation strong in the imprint. “It’s unusual for my kind to have two caretakers but if you wish it, my dear, then it shall be so. I would not separate such a unique and powerful bond for the sake of some food.”

“Thank you so much,” Donnie said, and the gratefulness was oozing from his voice. “I did not like having to act like I did, but I know you need to eat. I need to take care of you.”

“Bring him to me. Then you can both ensure that I am fed and taken care of.” Leo let out a scared whimper but he was grinning internally. This was going exactly to plan. Thankfully, Donnie was none the wiser to what Leo was up to as he took the fear and anger Leo was projecting at face value. If his twin was in a hazy mindset, Leo would use it to his advantage. 

“Huh. I know you are a brilliant strategist but again, damn,” Prime said. 

As they spoke, Donnie hefted Leo to his feet, keeping him from teleporting away with the constructs around him. The sickle stayed by his throat. “Fizzy, please don’t— don’t do this,” Leo begged, not needing to feign the exhaustion in his voice. The fear he was definitely amping up though. “I won’t struggle but please think about this. I know you don’t want to hurt anyone, not really.”

“It’ll be okay, Leo. We’ll be together,” Donnie assured Leo, definitely looking more relieved than before. “Then I’ll patch you up before we feed her. It’ll be okay.”

Leo whined and closed his eyes. Okay, time for him to put his acting skills to the test. “Prime, get ready. We’re about to be hit a lot ,” he mentally warned his brain roommate.

Prime sighed. “I’m as ready as I can be,” they said as Donnie forced Leo to kneel in front of the flower.

Leo’s head was pulled back so he’d be forced to look at the flower. He kept his eyes closed as the first puff of pollen hit his face, then the second, then a third. Wow, that was a head rush. 

Okay, now came the tricky part. While his eyes were still closed, Leo focused on building himself two constructs. Specifically on making construct contact lenses that would already be in his eyes. He knew the chemicals needed to make them as well as the dye required to make them yellow.

Leo coughed and sputtered as his eyes slowly fluttered open. Well he could feel the lenses in place and he could still see, so that was hopeful. He looked up at the plant in awe, then looked over to Donnie who was hovering nearby. He gave a delirious smile to his twin. “That… I feel amazing. Is this what you’ve been feeling, Fizzy?” He looked back at the plant. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Donnie let out a sigh of relief then before something a bit more unhinged crossed his expression. No hesitation. No worries. No doubt. That restraint was gone. “Of course. Now it’s time to get to work, to not be so serious.” He let out a huff as he rolled out his shoulders. “Oh dearest darlingest brothers of mine,” he sang as his smile got a bit too wide. “Come in here.”

Raph came in, holding Mikey in his arms. “Mikey got a little beat up but Raph’s got him!” They both looked so happy and excited.

“Is it time for feeding? Raph still needs to give her blood, right? So she can be big enough to eat. And then I get to feed her properly! Oh, or should I go get CJ since he was supposed to be the first sacrifice?” Mikey babbled, sitting up in Raph’s arms. 

Okay, so this was a side that Leo hadn’t gotten to see. The pollen made everyone a bit loopy. Well, Leo would just play along until the right time. He could feel Prime was still holding up strong. Time for Leo’s mimicry to also come into play. He matched Donnie’s smile, looking between his twin and his brothers as if he were hoping to learn what to do.

Donnie cooed fondly and patted Mikey’s head. “We may have time for you to grab him, but I thought you kept talking about wanting to be the first. You were sooo jealous when I told you DJ wanted him first.” He easily lifted Mikey up and out of Raph’s arms, putting him down before patting his head again. 

As Mikey giggled at the action, Donnie took one of Raph’s hands and carefully undid the wrappings there. He glanced over at Leo and explained, “We need to make sure she’s big enough to have a proper meal before we start. Getting some more blood from Raphiedoodles will do the job. He’s got some real good blood in here from being so healthy.” Donnie patted Raph’s biceps proudly before he continued undoing the wrappings.

Leo nodded in understanding. “Waffle really is very healthy, and he’s got a lot of blood from being so big! He’ll definitely be able to give a decent amount without passing out. I’d say… at least ten ounces without any side effects.” He nodded again, letting his grin go wider. “So that way you’re all good to give more later, Raphadoodle. And you won’t be spoiling any of your body from oxygen starvation.”

Raph’s tail was wagging like crazy and he smiled oh so wide. “Oh, that’s great!”

“It totally is. In fact, it’s so great that I can say how great it is in multiple languages. It’s great! Es genial! C’est bien! Sore wa subarashī! I can even do it in binary, but we don’t have the time for that. Yet.” Donnie had even done accents for each. Surprisingly good ones to match each language.

Huh. Maybe Donnie was better with languages than Leo thought. They’d have to test that out later. 

“So we just cut his hand and let her drink?” Leo asked, struggling to his feet. He summoned the tech bō from earlier to lean against, hobbling out of the way of Raph so he could get to the plant. As much as Leo wanted to strike now, he needed to wait. The right time would present itself soon.

“Yeah! That’s what I’ve been doing,” Mikey explained happily, flapping his hands. “But she was a lot smaller when I was feeding her so maybe she needs something else now.”

“She’s gotten enough from the bloody baggies, you, CJ, and I. Raphie just needs to give her his blood and my baby will be so big and good and ready for her first real meal.” He cooed again at her, leaning against the root that happily brushed against his cheek. “Oh, I know you’re ready for a good meal. Soon, I promise.” Donnie looked up at Raph then. “Are you ready?”

Raph nodded seriously. “Of course.” With Donnie’s careful guidance, he held up his hand. Donnie formed a construct knife in his hand and cut open his palm. In an instant, the plant’s root wrapped firmly around his palm and fingers, tugging his hand over to its mouth. 

Thankfully, Leo’s attention was drawn away from the sight before he could see the full process when Donnie strode over. “Now, after she’s done, she won’t eat Raph. He’s too tough,” Donnie said while imitating trying to chew through something that wouldn’t give. “Like beef jerky or thick rubber. Now, after she gets some or all of Mikeyroni in her, then Ci-Ci-Jee, she’ll be grown and ready enough to nibble on and feast with Raphielahdle.”

“I see,” Leo kept his wide eyed awe and his bright, manic grin in place. “I wish I could feed her myself. I feel like I owe her something for being such a meanie before.” He gasped. “Do you think that if I gave her my arm, you could make a new one? Future me only had one real arm and future Donnie made a whole new one in the apocalypse. She deserves something special like that to say sorry.”

Donnie froze in his exaggerated motions to turn cold and stare at him properly, as he had shifted to look at Mikey initially. “Wait, what?” The crazed and insane energy that had been built up was suddenly gone.

“Yeah, that way I can feed her and also apologize for wanting to hurt her.” Leo nodded eagerly. “I can do it carefully so I don’t damage the nerves. Then it’ll be easy to attach a prosthetic. Plus, she’ll get a starter before eating Mikey so she can work up to something bigger without straining herself.” It was good reasoning from what Leo could tell and Prime seemed to agree. It’s the sort of thinking the pollen would encourage too.

Donnie hesitated while Raph and Mikey gasped. “That’s so smart! And you can make Leo a new arm, right Donnie?” Raph asked. 

“I— Maybe? In theory? I’ve never tried to make a prosthetic before. I’m not set up to do that either,” Donnie said as he tried to back them out of this thinking.

“You can figure it out, DonDon. You’re super smart,” Mikey was on board too. Perfect. Donnie would be outnumbered and Leo had this in the bag. He just needed—

That. That’s what he needed. The plant was making more pollen now that it was finished with Raph. The pollen was so thick in the air that it seemed more like a fog than just particles floating in the air.

“I’m gonna do it. Then we can work together to make a prosthetic when we’re ready. I’ll use my non-dominant hand so I don’t get slowed down too much.” Leo stepped forward, leaning on the tech bō still. “I’m gonna do it and then cauterize it. Donnie, can you make sure there’s a bubble around us so none of my blood goes to waste? That way I’m giving as much as I can without being in danger.” 

“Aren’t you just so sweet and loyal?” the plant cooed. “Dear one, do as he says. He’s going to prove his worth as a caretaker here by making up for his mistake earlier.”

Any resistance Donnie had was now gone thanks to the extra pollen being produced. He leaned into the leaf that cradled his chin and smiled. “Of course.” Once he pulled back, his hands started to glow purple. 

“You’re so lucky, Leo,” Raph called as Leo stepped forward. He was cradling his hand which thankfully seemed to be healed over. At least there was some plus in this situation of seemingly all bads. “Bet’cha Mikey’s jealous.”

“I am.” Mikey nodded and sighed dramatically. “But at least I’m still gonna be the main course!” 

Leo beamed up at the plant and held out the tech bō. With careful precision, he rested one end in the planter, just behind the stem. With the other end, he popped out a large blade and held it against his shoulder. “Okay, the joint is here. I’ll cut off my arm. You can drink as much as you like without making me sick so I can still take care of you, and then you can eat my arm,” Leo said as if trying to remember the steps. “Does that sound okay?” The plant nodded. “Donnie, are you ready?”

Even with how much Donnie was clearly affected by everything, he hesitated before nodding. “Okay,” he murmured as he formed the construct bubble around Leo and the plant.

Leo took a breath and smiled at the plant. “You know, there’s something really special about pollen in the air,” he said, cocking his head. “It works like an explosive if you add a single spark.” Leo set off his Ninpō, sending sparks all over his body as he pulled the sharp blade against the stem of the plant, cutting it clean through.

He zapped out of the bubble as it screamed and was engulfed in a bright fireball. Leo kept the construct up, his face now expressionless as he stared on at the now-blue bubble. He didn’t even react when his brothers started screaming along with the plant.

Even when they collapsed, he stayed as he was. The plant went down in a pile of ash not too long after. Then the screams of his brothers died down, but they weren’t who he called for. “Lenny?”

The drone’s beeps gave Leo a bit of comfort. Lenny zipped his way over and looked over the others with worry as Leo let the bubble go. The threat was gone. There was no point in keeping it up. “Isolation?”

Leo nodded. “Can you undo the lockdown and check on CJ? See if he needs a transfusion. Everyone else should be okay.” He paused. “Only you and Melon with me, please. Let her know where I am?”

A trill escaped Lenny. “Of course. I’ll be in later since I’ll be double checking on the fam, just to be sure.” There was a pause as Lenny cocked his head to the side. “Lockdown disengaged. The lair is also filtering out any remaining pollen. Melon will be waiting in your room.”

“Thank you, Lenny.” Leo reached up and rubbed Lenny’s head. He smiled softly when Lenny leaned up into his hand. “See you in a bit, little guy. Love you.” He knocked their heads together before turning and leaving. He needed some time with just his thoughts and safe people.

When Donnie felt consciousness return to him, he was hit with a whirlwind of emotions, memories, feelings, and sensations. All of that was pushed aside though as he sat up from wherever he was, so fast that he almost got vertigo. It didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was Leo. Was he okay? Did he actually cut off his arm? Was he hurt? Was he safe? Did Donnie—

“Hey, hey, take it easy, Donnie.” CJ put his hand on Donnie’s shoulder, helping stabilize him. “Take a breath, everything’s fine. Just take it slow.”

But everything wasn’t fine. “Where’s Leo?” Donnie asked as he tried to catch his breath.

“Resting with Lenny and Melon in his room.” CJ glanced away. “He relapsed pretty badly. He only wants to be around people who he knows are ‘safe’ right now, but he’s fine. Lenny gave me an update while I got my transfusion.” Oh thank Einstein it was only a relapse and he hasn’t actually cut his arm off. Although, now Donnie thought about it, he did remember a massive fireball as his connection to the plant died off. Was that Leo’s doing too? He’d need to review the footage.

Donnie slowly nodded as he took another deep breath. “Alright,” he murmured before looking at CJ. “Are you okay? Where are the others?”

“Right here,” Raph said before squatting down into Donnie’s view. He looked fine. Tired, if anything, but otherwise okay. “Hey DonDon.”

Mikey peered over Raph’s shoulder, clearly perched on Raph’s shell. One of his wrists had a splint on it but he otherwise looked okay as he waved. “Heya, DonDon. We’re fine, just kinda beat up from our fight with Leo and a bit sore from everything else.”

“I did a full medical on everyone here once I was able to come out of the Medbay,” CJ added. “Everyone should be totally healed in a day or two, no problem. I’ll be all good within three days if I eat plenty of iron-rich foods, which Mikey is already planning out for me.”

That was good. Okay. Donnie nodded as he slowly exhaled. “We’re all good. Leo’ll be fine too. He knows how to cope with relapses,” Raph assured Donnie before knocking their heads together. “Also, we all need to work on our mental resistances ‘nd all. This keeps happenin’ and it ain’t fair on Leo. I could see how relieved he was when he saw I was okay as well as the horror right before I got a face full of puh— puh—” Raph turned away and sneezed a loud sneeze into his elbow. “Eugh. Pollen.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that, big guy.”

“Lenny said the pollen should be totally clear within an hour,” CJ supplied, rubbing Raph’s arm. “So that’ll clear your snoot, Raphie.”

Mikey seemed to light up at that but didn’t say anything. “Well… since we need to take things easy and I can’t use this wrist until tomorrow—” Mikey held up his splinted wrist. “—how about you guys help me cook dinner? It’ll be a nice slow cook so that Leo has plenty of time to unwind. And we can go check on him when it’s done.”

Raph beamed. “Oh yes. Raph’s been wantin’ to do some cookin’ with CJ.” He rubbed his hands together with a grin. “Donnie can be on chopping duty.”

“I would like to cut up some plants. Not any of my own, but to get out some plant-related agitation. No clue where it came from though.”

“Mhm. No clue,” Raph agreed with a snort. “Are veggies part of tonight’s dinner, Mikey?”

“Yup, a good array.” Mikey grinned. There was a hint of ice to it that made even Donnie shudder. Yeah, he clearly wasn’t the only one with plant-related agitation. “So you’ll have plenty of chances to get that energy out, DonDon. And it’ll be rich in iron, so it’ll be good for CJ too.” CJ let out a little cheer at that.

“Good.” Donnie sighed as he rubbed his face. “Note to self: do not investigate crash sites late at night alone again. At the very least, Lenny needs to accompany me.” He looked down at his wrist and frowned. “Oh. No bracer. Sad frowning emoji.” 

“No tech at all, bud. The flower made you go all-natural,” Raph pointed out. 

“Angry face emoji.”

“Here. I made sure they were ready for you.” CJ grabbed a bag from the side and offered it to Donnie. It had his bracer, his goggles, and his shawl all bundled up safely inside. “I knew you’d be looking for them when you woke up, Dee.”

Donnie couldn’t help but smile as he took them out and quickly put it all on. He hesitated when he took his shawl before putting it in. No need for his battle or home shell right now. Plus, he needed time for his actual soft shell to breathe. “Thank you, Casey Junior. It is much appreciated.”

CJ lit up and Donnie was sure that if he had a tail, it would be wagging. For some reason, his happy expression really reminded Donnie of Leo. He couldn’t quite place why. “No probbles, Donnie!” He paused before reaching out and adjusting the shawl. “There. Now the logo is in the right place.”

Mikey reached over and rubbed CJ’s head fondly. “You’re so good to us, CJ. Thank you.” CJ just giggled and beamed.

“‘Course he is. He’s a Hamato,” Raph said before knocking his head against CJ’s with a churr. CJ chirped and then churred right back. Oh, Raph beamed so bright at that. “Aight, let’s head to the kitchen. It’ll just be us five for dinner so no need to worry ‘bout Pops and Rara. They’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

“They’re party animals,” Mikey said with a giggle. “But why is it that things get crazy whenever they’re not around?”

“That’s what Leo and I were sayin’!”

Donnie hummed and cocked his head in thought as they headed out of the lab. Eugh. His space needed to be tidied up. “We need to be on guard when they decide to go out. It’s almost as if someone wants scenes of just us fighting these creatures in the lair without the two adults around to aid us.”

“Uuuuh. What?”

“Don’t worry about it, big man,” Donnie said as he patted Raph’s arm. “We’ll make note of that. I already have it in my systems.”

“Well the beef stew tasted absolutely amazing, as expected,” CJ said with a grin as he stood up from the table and stretched. “Lenny just buzzed me and said Leo should be stable enough for visitors now so we should go take him his portion.”

Thank god. Leo had blocked off the imprint so Donnie couldn’t gauge his status. It was understandable as to why Leo did it, but still. “Oh, Lenny buzzed you? You’ve gotten on his good side then,” Donnie commented as he stood. 

Raph nodded as he grabbed their bowls, quickly placing them into the sink to soak. “For sure. The little guy adores you, CJ.”

“Well I adore him too.” CJ smiled as he grabbed Leo’s portion from where it was kept in the oven. “He’s fun to hang with and he’s really sweet and curious.”

“He’s a cool kid for sure,” Mikey agreed with a nod. “You’ve done a good job of raising him, DonDon.”

The praise was unexpected but it certainly made Donnie feel hella good. “Why thank you. I am very happy with who he has become.”

“Love the little guy,” Raph agreed with a nod. “We’re lucky to have such an awesome nephew.” 

CJ led the way out of the kitchen, carrying the bowl of stew in his hands. He looked brighter and happier than Donnie had seen him in a while. Wow, the fact he was so happy after such a shitty couple of days really said a lot for CJ’s overall mental state. It was honestly infectious and left Donnie feeling more hopeful as they made their way up to Leo’s room.

He heard Leo in there before he saw anything. Or rather, Donnie heard a semi-regular ‘ thunk ’ of a knife being thrown and embedding itself into something wooden. When everyone peered into Leo’s room, they saw him in the far corner of emptiness, curled up in a pile of blankets, pillows, and a bean bag all arranged in a way that clearly imitated a nest. He was bundled in his scarf, which was spread open so it was as wide as it could be, and his battle shell was hung on the wall near his bed, in its usual location. Okay, so he must have his shell cover on instead. Leo was throwing a blue, Ninpō construct knife at a wooden box halfway down the train car from him, zapping it back to his hands after it hit. From what little Donnie could see, Leo was getting bullseyes in the painted-on target every time. He was focused and didn’t seem to notice them at all.

Leo blinked and glanced down at Lenny, stopping just before his next throw. “Hmm?”

Lenny nodded his head over towards the door. “You got some visitors.” 

When Leo looked over, Donnie did his best to look as non-threatening as possible. He wanted to run over so bad but he contained himself. Instead, he gave a meek little wave as he bowed his head. “We have beef stew.” Wow. Okay, Donnie wished he had an edit button in real life to retry that one.

Leo stared at them all for a minute. It was the most awkward and tension-filled minute that Donnie could recall in recent times. Melon stood, nuzzled against Leo’s cheek, and stepped back. Lenny did the same. Then Leo held open his arms and let out a very small, almost meek family chirp. 

In an instant, Donnie was in Leo’s arms. He churred and nuzzled his cheek against his twin’s. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he whispered quickly and quietly. If he knew his family right, any second now they’d—

Mikey was pressed against Leo and Donnie a second later, arms wrapped around both of them. He was also churring as he clung to Donnie as much as Leo, nuzzling against their shoulders.

Leo chuckled softly and leaned down, knocking his head against Mikey’s before resting his cheek against Donnie’s. Leo closed his eyes and churred, the soft sound of his wagging tail hitting the blankets catching Donnie’s attention.

Donnie let out a soft sigh as he made sure an arm was around Mikey as well as the other around Leo. And yup, Raph came over and sat behind them, pulling them all into his lap while wrapping his arms around them. The deep rumble of his churring relaxed Donnie to no end, and he was sure it was the same for Leo.

Things felt almost perfect. Donnie couldn’t quite place what was missing until he felt Leo shift and make grabby hands. “You want me to join?” CJ asked from nearby. When Leo nodded, CJ just chuckled. “Okay then.” He put down the stew on Leo’s desk and crawled into the nest, easily finding a place in the turtle cuddle pile next to Mikey. He wrapped his arms around Leo and Mikey, his hand just resting on Donnie’s shoulder. 

Leo closed his eyes and melted, his churring getting louder. Donnie couldn’t help but agree. Now this was a perfect cuddle pile. Donnie didn’t realize just how much CJ added to it.

There were some minor shifts. When Donnie glanced, he saw Melon wrapped loosely around Raph and Lenny shift to position himself in Donnie’s lap. He stood corrected. This was definitely perfect.

Leo seemed to agree. Any tension that has remained in his posture melted away and his churrs got louder and somehow deeper. His tail, which had been wagging slowly, was now going a mile a minute. “I love you guys so much,” he murmured. “So glad you’re okay now. Was so scared.”

“We’re okay because of you and your bravery, Leo.” CJ pressed a kiss to Leo’s head. “It was a scary thing but it’s over now. Everyone is okay.”

Raph and Mikey hummed in agreement. “We’re sorry you endured that, but it’s over now,” Donnie promised Leo before knocking their heads together once more. “Thank you, and we love you too.”

Leo shifted slightly so his cheek was resting against Donnie’s and he closed his eyes again as he nuzzled against him.  Donnie heard how Leo drummed his fingers lightly on Raph’s shell and saw how he was alternating stroking CJ’s hair and Mikey’s shell. He felt the imprint open up again and felt just how blissed out Leo was at that moment. It seemed like this was exactly what Leo needed now that he had calmed down from his relapse.

Good. They all definitely needed to work on their mental resistances so this didn’t happen to Leo again. Though Donnie didn’t mention that. Instead, he sent feelings of love and content through the imprint, let his brother feel how relaxed and at ease he was. 

For now, they’d all relax together. It’s what they all needed.

Chapter Text

Donnie wasn’t quite sure how he found himself in this position. The last thing he remembered, he had just finished the repairs on Mother Shell. Now he was… lying down? On his plastron. And, oh, that felt good. Someone, probably Leo, was rubbing his shell just perfectly. Leo still had his magic hands and yeah, shell rubs from his whole family felt nice now but Leo still gave the best ones. 

That fact combined with Leo’s gentle humming really set Donnie at ease. Even if he didn’t know exactly what happened, Leo was relaxed and comfortable and he was making Donnie relaxed and comfortable.

“Hey Fizzy.” Leo didn’t speak aloud or stop his humming as he instead spoke through the imprint. “How are you feeling? Back with me again or do you need some more pampering here?”

Back with… Oh. “I had another episode, didn’t I,” Donnie stated in the imprint. Not questioned. He had enough context clues. Glancing around, Donnie saw they were in his bedroom. And dear Archimedes was he exhausted. Deep in his bones and muscles. “Tell me how bad it was.”

“Surprisingly, not too bad. Longer than normal but I was able to redirect your energy pretty effectively.” Leo kept stroking Donnie’s shell and scratched in just the right spot.

Donnie didn’t stop his churr from escaping his lips. “Makes sense with the craziness from the past week or two.” Normally he had an episode every other week, sometimes more often if he got an incredible amount of stress. The longer it took to get an episode, the worse it would be. “What did I try to do this time?”

“It was mostly just coddling me, protecting me from the ‘bad things’,” Leo quoted, “so I managed to convince you to work with me on finishing off some projects, then coming to relax with me since I could keep watch.” He didn’t stop rubbing Donnie’s shell.

With a hum, Donnie glanced at Leo. He had to squint a bit since he didn’t have his glasses on. “Did we clean up my lab at all?”

“Cleaner than it’s been in months.”

Donnie needed to get back to how he was before with lab cleanliness. “Good. Thank you.”

“Like I said, it was an effective use of time.” Leo hummed and let out a happy churr. “And now, we’re taking a break from the lab and the lair.”

“How long was the episode? You said it was longer than normal,” Donnie said as he stretched his arms and legs out. He could definitely feel the exhaustion and fatigue settling into his limbs.

“A good few hours.” Leo lightly drummed his fingers on Donnie’s shell. “Normally it’s two at most, but you’ve been gone for at least four. It’s already lunch time.”

Eugh. And there was no way Donnie would really be able to get any work done with these kinds of aches and pains. “Well damn. There goes my day.”

“There goes your plan for today,” Leo corrected. “I however have already got a new plan for the both of us. We are going to go and see April’s parents.”

Donnie looked up at Leo then, stretching out his neck in the process. “Oh. That would be nice.” It had been a while since he had seen them. Was it since first meeting them face to face in his Hamato Herb human form? Perhaps. His memory was getting worse since the invasion. It was already awful enough beforehand.

“Carol is already making us lunch. I told her I thought you’d be waking up soon.” Leo paused. “We should get dressed, then we can go see them. Dressed nicely though. I see Carol a decent amount but I still wanna look nice.”

Huh. Oh, right. Therapy and all that. “Okay. How nice? Casual or semi-casual? Formal or semi-formal? You need to be more specific or give me fashion inspo pics for this.”

“Semi-casual. We are just going for lunch after all and to relax. But, at the same time, you need to dazzle and I need to be fabulous.”

“I mean, I dazzle all the time regardless. You need the extra work to look half decent.” He got a flick on the back of his head and he raised a brow. “You engaging just proves I’m right.”

“It just proves that you’re a jerk,” Leo shot back with no heat. He rolled his eyes before shoving Donnie off his lap and on to the bed.

Donnie rolled over and onto his stomach as he stuck his tongue out at Leo. “The jerk is the one who pushes first.”

Leo stuck his tongue out at Donnie before hesitating. “Can you help me put my shell cover on, please? I don’t wanna wear my battle shell today.”

“Of course,” Donnie said as he sat up and stretched. That included his neck and arms. “Give it to me. I can do it quick.”

Leo grabbed the fabric cover from the side and disconnected his battle shell, setting it on its appropriate hook set up for him in Donnie’s room. He turned his shell towards Donnie, letting him get a good look at it for the first time in a few weeks. The sealant was still holding firm and the cracks didn’t look quite so harsh. Even the big crack, the one that cut from top left to bottom right across Leo’s shell almost entirely, seemed to be forming new connections and was healing. Nothing was infected and everything looked fresh and clean. Not that Donnie expected anything else, but it was good to see it himself.

Carefully taking the cover from Leo, Donnie made sure the edges were held between his fingers before he slid it along and around the edges of Leo’s shell. He made sure to be careful but not treat his twin as if he was broken. He was just healing and recovering. “Alright. There you go. Now, you clearly have some clothing options in mind. Do you want to show me the possible fits?”

“Ant, honey, the twins will be here in less than five minutes,” Carol called as she poked her head out of the kitchen. She knew Ant was working and, knowing him, he hadn’t noticed the time yet.

Ant looked up from his battle station he had set up on the couch. A fluffy blanket wrapped around his lankiness, a jacket on, his laptop in his lap with a portable monitor set up on the coffee table. He also was in the middle of taking a big swig from his coffee. Which he promptly almost choked on. “Less than five?!” The laptop was moved to the side and his drink on the coffee table. Ant tried and failed to get up, falling to the floor in a tangle of fluffiness. “Ow.”

Carol couldn’t help but chuckle as she walked over and knelt down to help him up. “Yes, less than five minutes. I told you that Donnie finished his episode twenty minutes ago.” She pressed a kiss to his temple. “Are you alright, honey?”

“Check back with me on that one.” After a few seconds of scrambling in the tangled lump he was in, Ant managed to free himself. With a grin, he took Carol’s hand and stood up with her help. He gave her a peck on the lips as he dusted himself off of any remaining chip crumbs. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” Carol shook her head fondly. Her husband was a mess but she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Now, the boys will be here soon and lunch is about to be ready. So get your tush in gear. I’ve got to finish serving.”

Ant kissed Carol’s temple before letting her hand go and booking it. “It’s going!” He was such a dork. Carol giggled to herself before turning and heading back to the kitchen. She had a meal to finish.

In fact, her timing was perfect. She was just transferring the last of the plates to the table when there was a light, familiar knock at the door. “Ant, can you get that? My hands are full.”

“You got it!” In the flash of a moment she saw him, Carol couldn’t help but snicker at Ant’s Jupiter Jim hoodie he had changed into. “Hello,” she heard her husband practically sing as Carol put down the last plate.

“Hi Ant!” Leo sounded way more energetic than he had last time Carol spoke to him. Good. That boy needed something to go his way for once. “I love the hoodie. I didn’t know you liked Jupiter Jim.”

Ant snorted. “What? I never told you about Carol and I’s love for the series?”

“Wait, you two both love it?” Donnie sounded perplexed but also quite exhausted. Carol could only imagine how those paranoia episodes drained him mentally and physically. 

Ant snorted. “Yeah. It’s because of Jupiter Jim that we met each other. Now come on in, you two. Don’t want you to just stand out in the hallway.”

Carol walked over to the door and scooped Leo up in a hug as soon as the door was closed. She felt Ant wrap his arms around them as well. “Hello, Leon. It’s so good to see you again. You’re looking good, as always,” Carol cooed, pressing a kiss to the top of Leo’s head. He was dressed in white jeans, a dark blue shirt, and a light blue jacket. Nothing too fancy but he definitely dressed up a little to match his twin. Leo let out a happy chirp and a churr, his tail wagging.

After a moment, Carol pulled away and turned to Donnie. She offered him a warm smile and held her arms out. “You want a hug too, baby?”

Donnie glanced over in surprise. Why the heck was this boy surprised? He needed to come around more often if a simple offer of a hug made him look over like that. He adjusted his purple hoodie over his own black jeans as he cleared his throat. “Uh, sure. If you want whUHN.” Donnie flailed a little as Carol hugged him before melting happily against her.

She cradled him close, rubbing the back of his head gently. She also kept her touch light over his shell even if he was wearing an exoshell because she remembered Leo said it was sensitive. Still, if she ever got to that point, she’d love to give him a shell rub. The boys all seemed to enjoy that. 

“Much like April, I am very much a hugger, Donnie,” Carol said softly with a chuckle, smiling at Donnie after a moment. “If you’re okay with a hug, I’m gonna give it. And that means I’m always open for hugs too, yeah?”

Donnie glanced away, looking quite flustered. It was clear he was trying to put on some kind of poker face but yeah, no. He wasn’t pulling it off. Emotionally unavailable bad boy? Donnie wished. “Uh, er, sure. I mean, okay. Thank you for informing me.”

Carol smiled softly and pressed a kiss to Donnie’s forehead. “Come, sit. Let’s eat and you can tell me what you’ve been up to recently.”

“Mm. I do smell good food. What did you cook?” Donnie asked as he pulled back.

“I decided to try a few new recipes based on what April said you’re okay to eat,” Carol explained, looping her arm around Donnie’s and leading him over to the table. Leo and Ant were already sitting in their usual spots having an animated conversation. “So I made paella, a chicken, seafood, and rice dish, as well as a potato frittata as well, which is kind of like a quiche or an omelet.”

Donnie took out his phone then with the hand that wasn’t looped around Carol’s and tapped away at the screen with his thumb so quick that it was a green blur. “Mm… Oh. Yeah, that is passable for now.” He put his phone back into his front hoodie pocket. “Thank you for considering my dietary needs and restrictions when preparing this meal.”

“Of course, baby. I take care of my family.” Carol pressed another kiss to Donnie’s head before pulling out a chair for him. “Take a seat.”

With a hum, Donnie sat down next to Leo at the table. “I shall. Thank you.”

Carol smiled and headed to her own seat. “Okay boys, dig in.”

“Thanks for lunch, Carol, it looks and smells amazing ,” Leo said with a bright smile before starting to eat with a lot of enthusiasm, as always. The day Leo lost his appetite was the day the world ended.

Ant kissed Carol’s cheek when she sat down beside him. “This is incredible. I’ll do all the rinsing and stuff before running the dishwasher,” he whispered before he focused on eating. He grinned and the corners of his eyes twinged up in the way they did whenever he was truly happy, visible even behind his glasses. God, Carol loved this man.

Glancing over as she started to eat herself, Carol watched Donnie. He was watching the others, mainly Leo, before he took a spoonful of paella and ate it. His eyes lit up and it was clear he didn’t care about keeping up that bad boy image as he stuffed his face. Good.

“So, Donnie, Leo said you’ve had a big project in the works for a while now but he wouldn’t tell us what it was.” Carol shot the turtle in question an amused look. 

Leo shrugged helplessly. “It’s not my project to tell you about. She’s Donnie’s baby. I’m just her co-pilot.” 

“Co-pilot? Donnie, can you please explain what he means?”

Donnie’s eyes lit up as he looked up. “Whuh?” He swallowed his mouthful of food before quickly clearing his throat. “Oh. Mother Shell.”

Ant raised a brow, surely interested with the name play. “Ooo. Okay, so he said co-pilot and that’s a clear pun so. She’s a spaceship?”

A spoon was pointed right at Ant then by Donnie himself. “Yes sir. Oh, she’s incredible . I have so many pictures of her. She’s just about done. A day or two more of work and some final touches, a test flight, and she’ll be ready to fly anywhere on Earth. No space… Yet.”

“You boys have a spaceship?!” Carol cried, almost dropping her spoon. “That’s so awesome! How big is she? Has she got any cool tech with her? I’m guessing you’ve been modifying her to work for you. What have you done?”

Donnie beamed as he rested his chin in his free hand. “Double the size of the Turtle Tank internally though externally looks about the same size, if not smaller. She has insane tech, both alien and Genius Built™️, and I have done so much. It’s all on a document I’ve been recording any and all changes, mods, updates, and more in.” After holding out his arm, Donnie pulled his head back so he could pull his hoodie sleeve down. His long wristband—a bracer?—was revealed and oh wow, a purple holographic screen appeared! “Wanna read?”

“Of course I do.” Carol wanted to scream. “I didn’t memorize the layout and specs for the S.S Starbolt for nothing. Gimme the goods,” This was what all those years going to conventions was leading up to.

Donnie pushed the air and the screen floated over to Carol. Another was sent Ant’s way with the same information. “Take your time and read over her specs and whatnot. It may not be cooler than Jupiter Jim’s ship but it’s still pretty rad.”

“Thank you so much.” Carol started reading and be still her beating heart, this was even cooler than she could have ever imagined. And the best part? It was real . “Donnie, this is honestly amazing. I think you’ve outdone the Starbolt just on the sheer amount of tech you’ve got in this,” Carol said as she quickly had another mouthful of her food. “You’re not even a quarter of the size but you’ve got the same level of minutia and detail and gadgets crammed in. I’m more than impressed, young man.”

The sheer surprise in Donnie’s voice almost jarred Carol. “Really?” For someone who touted about himself and took immense pride in himself, almost to a fault, he clearly had some self-esteem issues. Some self-importance and self-worth issues as well. Inferiority complex. She started to pick up on it last time but this response alone proved it. “I mean, I know I’m amazing and superior to most but better than Jupiter Jim?”

“A whole league better.” Carol nodded seriously. “He’s not even on your level, Donnie.” Well if this boy needed the positive reinforcement and validation, Carol was more than happy to give it. It was well deserved. She’d put him in his place if he got too cocky, but she’d be happy to boost him up.

Donnie seemed to preen as he smiled before finishing his mouthful of food. “Well, his stuff is still impressive but I’m glad to have wowed. Genius Built™️ is here to serve, help, and dazzle.”

Carol reached over and gently stroked Donnie’s head, shifting to gently tickle the back of his neck. The other boys all seemed to really love that. Leo said it was something about it being an instinctual thing, and Carol wanted Donnie to keep riding this high.

After a moment of this, Donnie relaxed under the touch and his smile widened. He did pull away after a moment, even if it was clear he didn’t want to. “Er, thank you,” he murmured before he resumed eating. “For the kind but clearly deserved words and the meal.”

“Of course, baby. I’m happy to provide.” Carol turned back to her own meal and kept eating.

“So you guys are big Jupiter Jim fans if you can compare the Mother Shell and the Starbolt,” Leo said, taking a spoonful of the frittata.

“Big fans?” Carol laughed. “You’re looking at the winner of the National Atomic Lass cosplay contest five years in a row.” She posed with her hands on her hips.

Donnie dropped his spoon then with a spoonful of food on it. “The National Atomic Lass cosplay contest?” he asked, his jaw dropping. 

Ant snickered and beamed. “That’s actually how we met.”

“Elaborate. Now .”

“I had just won the contest for the second year running, and Ant came over in his Captain Mechanic cosplay—“

“Complete with working boombox toolbox!”

“Yes, complete with that. And he came to compliment me on my costume,” Carol giggled softly at the memory. “He was so flustered and sweet and I was instantly smitten. He took me out to lunch and the rest is history.”

Both Leo and Donnie stared at the couple in absolute awe. “I need pictures. ASAP.”

“What he said,” Leo echoed. 

Ant smiled and happily whipped out his phone. “Of course. Of course.”

A little after lunch, Carol pushed Donnie and Ant together onto the couch while she took Leo over to the loveseat. It had been a while since she had a chance to talk to just Leo and some one-on-one time would be good for him. Donnie and Ant seemed to be happily talking about 80’s music anyway.

“So how have you been, baby?” Carol asked gently as Leo got settled with his head on her lap. She stroked his head, from his forehead all the way back to where the knot of his mask rested against her thigh.

“I’ve… been better. The paranoia has been getting to me a little. A lot keeps happening,” he confessed softly.

“Like what?” she asked, inviting him to elaborate. She wouldn’t push Leo to say more than he was comfortable explaining, but giving him the space to vent helped him out. Then she could help if and where she could.

“Well, I’ve been feeling…” Leo trailed off. Carol knew that even with his realizations that he wasn’t alone, that he could rely on his family, he still had a hard time expressing his real feelings. Leo took a breath and tried again. “I’ve had the feeling of being watched for a while. Which is true. Donnie has cameras everywhere and I’m never left totally alone.” He tapped the side of his head to emphasize his point. “But I also have had bouts of jealousy. Mainly to do with my brothers spending time with other people, which is unreasonable to them so I’ve been trying to control it. I know it’s not true, but it feels like they’re gonna leave me if they find other people who are more interesting or less bro— less traumatized ,” he admitted quietly. “It makes me want to be hostile to them, which isn’t fair because they’re all really nice people. Some of them were even my friends first!”

“Well, let’s focus on the jealousy right now. When did it start?” Carol would dissect this further. She knew Leo was still a teen. He wanted things and he would want it then and there. Classic hedonism, but it got thrown off balance as soon as he was forced to be the leader. He’d been trying to regain that while juggling being a leader, having that much more responsibilities, all while still being a teen. “Did this jealousy start after the invasion?” That would have been when he was able to settle back to some of his old habits since he had opened up more to his brothers and gotten a hang of balancing himself and being a leader. He finally had the hang of it around then. At least, that’s what Carol had gathered from their sessions.

“Yeah, around about then,” Leo said with a nod. “When everyone started branching out a bit more. Except, well except me.” He paused, as if considering something. “I’m thinking that part of my jealousy sort of stems from the fact that they’re all growing and moving on and I’m just… stagnant.” Sometimes it was a blessing and a curse that Leo was so well versed in human—or, in this case, turtle behaviors. This time it was a blessing because it was helping him recognize the problems he was having with minimal guidance. “I was stuck at home for so long and even now I’m not exactly fit to go out for long periods of time thanks to my shell and my leg. And while my brothers have backed off on the overprotectiveness, I can still tell they don’t like me leaving the lair without them, they’re just better at keeping it to themselves. I try not to upset them too often. And when Prime is having a vocal day, I can’t even hang out with the friends I do have without running commentary. He’s been staying quiet mostly but when he does talk, he gets loud .”

“We just have to deal with and learn to manage with him for now,” Carol said. “Have you been trying any of those strategies I’ve given you, and how have they been if you have?”

“I’ve been trying them. They’ve been, uh, somewhat effective?” Leo shrugged a little helplessly. It jostled his position on Carol’s lap so he adjusted until he was comfortable again. “I can more easily distinguish their voice from my own, even when they’re actively trying to sound like me to mess with me.” That was something Carol hadn’t heard about before. “But it doesn’t make them any quieter. Or any less demanding of attention.”

Carol hummed as she tried to think about everything she knew about Prime and how they behaved. “I know that they’re reasonable, though it’s hard to deal when there’s a literal other person inside your head. You talked about setting limits, but did you go in depth with it or just set it generally one time?” As she asked, she twirled the longer strands of Leo’s mask tails between her fingers. Leo seemed to like that, even if it was just fabric and not actual hair.

The pleased churr that Leo let out just reinforced that. “I went in depth for the majority, but sometimes we find a boundary that I didn’t know was an issue and we talk about it. They’re very reasonable and honestly quite nice. We even just chat. They’ve even helped me a few times when I’ve started disassociating.”

That was good at least. “Have you talked to them about how this has made you feel? How overbearing they can be and how it’s negatively affecting you? It may seem obvious to you but they might not get it.”

“Many times,” Leo replied with a groan. “Trust me, they know just how much this is for me and how annoying it is. But they also can’t just disappear even if they wanted to.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “We’re making it work, even if it sucks. Plus, when they’re not being annoying, they’re relatively nice to talk to. We joke around and everything.”

Carol hummed as she looked down at Leo. “Well, at least it isn’t totally terrible and you’re making it work. If you ever need to vent though, I’m here. Do you want to dive a bit further into that jealousy or save that for another time?”

“Let’s save that for another time.” Leo shook his head and shifted to lie on his plastron. He crossed his arms under his head and looked up at Carol with a small smile. “Thanks, Mom—“ He cut himself off and his eyes went wide. Leo let out a flustered chirp and hid his face in his crossed arms with a whine, his face going hot and red. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

It took everything Carol had to not scoop Leo up in his arms and cradle him close. Instead of doing that, she cooed and bent down, kissing his head. “I’m more than happy if you want to call me your mom,” she murmured. His issues with his former ‘mother’ figure, Big Mama, was something she and Leo discussed in depth. If he was recovered enough past that point to look for another mother figure, that was great. The fact he considered Carol to be that new mother figure? It made her heart soar leaps and bounds.

Leo hesitated then sat up and curled against her, resting his head on Carol’s shoulder. He let out a soft chirp, one that April had taught her was a ‘family chirp.’ “I’d like that. Thank you.”

She wrapped her arms around him and kissed Leo’s temple. “Of course, baby.”

Carol was scrolling through her phone, just relaxing as Ant chatted with and entertained the twins. Honestly, Carol was feeling more sentimental after Leo’s slip up. She didn’t think she’d get any more kids at her age but she’d definitely adopted Leo. Donnie, Raph, and Mikey would definitely be her kids too, but they weren’t there yet. They weren’t at the slip up stage yet . Well, maybe Raph was. Carol would love for all her boys to call her ‘Mom’ as well. 

There was a knock at the door. “I got it.” Carol stood and headed to the door.

When she unlocked and opened the door, there stood Raph. Oh, and Mikey too from his back shell. They were both dressed casual as can be, but Raph was wearing that patched up and embroidered letterman jacket that was becoming synonymous with him now. At least in her eyes. It seemed like there were more sakura petals embroidered on now. He had on a black eyepatch with golden swirls embroidered on them as well. She couldn’t really see what Mikey was wearing, but Carol could only assume sweats like Raph had on and a jacket of some kind. He at least had a black beanie on with lots of pins. “Hi Carol,” Raph said with a smile and a wave.

“Hi boys.” Carol held her arms open for them. “I didn’t realize you were coming over as well. It’s so good to see you.”

Raph leaned down and hugged her. Mikey reached over and yeah, he had on a hoodie and then Cassandra’s army jacket over that. He would be warm. “Really? I texted Ant that and he said it was cool and that the twins were already here,” Raph said.

“Oh, it’s totally fine. He just neglected to tell me.” Carol kissed both her boys on the forehead. With him leaning down, she was about the same height as Raph, maybe an inch or two smaller, but still tall enough for this. She liked the fact that she could coddle him a little. He needed more people to take care of him and fuss over him just because, not discrediting Splinter or Draxum whatsoever with the amazing care they gave the boys while letting them be more independent and spread their wings. The more the merrier was her mindset here.

“Well it’s good to see you too, Carol. I’ve missed you loads.” Mikey visited the second most often after Leo, normally with Cassandra in tow. She only saw him last week but he seemed to always feel like it had been months. He was adorable.

“I’ve missed you too, Mikey.” She kissed the end of his beak, giggling when he scrunched it up a little. She paused before doing the same for Raph when he gave a small nod.

Raph smiled and knocked his head against Carol’s after the smooch. “Sorry for not visitin’ as much as I should,” he apologized before bowing his head. Yes. A lot of the time he planned to see her, something seemed to happen the day before or day of and he had to cancel. He always apologized, but it would often be something silly he did. Like the time he got his fists stuck in his mouth. Or the time he somehow ate too much sour candy on a dare and lost a lot of his tastebuds. That was a very sad day. Or, when it wasn’t something silly, it would often be a bad eye day. “I’ll work on it, I promise.”

“It’s okay, baby, you don’t need to worry,” Carol cooed. “You’re here now. That’s what’s important.” Even if his reasons were silly a lot of the time, Carol wouldn’t tease him about them. He probably got enough of that from his siblings. “Come in, boys. Tell me about what you’ve been up to.”

Raph stood properly then and walked inside. “You go first, Mikey. What were you doin’? You didn’t even tell me yet. Just kept telling me to mush like I was a sledding dog.”

Mikey giggled and knocked his head against Raph’s. “Me and Casey finished off painting Mother Shell!” he crowed excitedly. “She just needs the special top coat that Donnie designed and she’s all good to handle the heat of reentry after space travel.” Mikey posed confidently and Carol couldn’t help but clap as she sat back down on the couch. 

“You’d better have pictures, boy.”

“Yes ma’am. Here, check it.” Mikey handed over his phone.

Oh, this looked so cool. With the Hamato crest underneath and the turtle shell design on top, Carol was more than a little impressed. “You’ve done amazing, baby. Well done!”

“Thank you, Carol.”

Raph stared as best he could in Mikey’s direction with his jaw hanging open. “You were doin’ that today and didn’t tell me? I wanted to be there. Aww,” he whined as he looked over the pictures. “That’s so dang cool! Aw man.”

“Well you had other plans. With, uh, with Mona and Sunita and CJ.” Carol didn’t miss how Mikey glanced away with that list. Oh dear, was Mikey having some issues with one of Raph’s friends?

“Yeah, but I could’ve come home sooner to see you guys finish it,” Raph insisted. “I wanted to see you two finish painting the dang boss of a ship. Like seriously. That’s so cool.” And Raph clearly had no idea about any of this. He could only look at Mikey’s phone because of his bad eye and how Mikey was positioned on the same side as his bad eye.

Maybe that was intentional. “I mean, it’s nothing special. It was just finishing off the detailing. You saw it basically complete before Donnie’s episode.” Mikey shrugged.

“Still doesn’t mean I don’t wanna see you finish it up. Anyway, it looks good. Can Raph help with the coat thing for the ship?”

“Yeah, it’ll need an even coat put on tomorrow? Yeah, tomorrow,” Mikey said with a nod. He nuzzled his cheek against Raph’s. “Sorry about not telling you, Waffle.” 

Carol had been ready to step in just on the off chance that the boys started arguing. She was glad she didn’t need to. Raph and Mikey didn’t argue often these days from what she had learned but it did still happen, and it tended to get explosive.

Raph sighed as he nuzzled his cheek back. “Tell me next time, yeah? Even if he’s busy, Raph wants to be there for ‘ya. Always. He’ll make the time like he does to hang and walk and talk with Leo, chill and veg with Donnie, train and talk with Dad and Rara, and do the weekly music seshes with April. Spend time training CJ too. That’s not even includin’ others like Mona and Suni and Casey.”

“Yeah, I know. Sorry, Waffle.” Mikey did sound genuinely sorry and that seemed to be enough for Raph.

“So, Raph, what have you been up to?” Carol asked, getting Raph to shift so she could stroke both the boys’ heads. Mikey melted instantly into the touch, letting out soft, happy churrs.

Raph churred as well, smiling as his tail wagged a little. “Mona needed to study a bit. She’s really big into her schooling, so me, Mona, Suni, and CJ all had a big study session together. All of us were readin’ up on different things but we helped each other when we needed it. Stayed at Mona’s place and did it, which is really nice. Her parents are sweethearts too. So kind. Made us all lunch.”

“So you’ve met her parents now?” Carol asked, a proud but also teasing edge to her voice. She noticed how Mikey’s tail had slowed in its happy wag. Ah, so it was Mona that Mikey had problems with, even if everyone had gushed about how lovely she was.

Raph rubbed the back of his head as his cheeks warmed. “Yeah. They’re such sweet folks,” he said as he smiled. “I see where her sweetness comes from now. It was natural but also, er… nurtured too. Yeah. Nurtured.” He chuckled. “They make a killer meatloaf actually. I think you’d like it, Mikey.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah, probably. You know I’m a sucker for a good meatloaf!” Mikey’s grin was in place as soon as he was paying attention again, but Carol spotted the frustrated pout before that. 

Should she interfere? If something was bothering Mikey, he should have someone help him through it. Then again, if they didn’t come asking for help, Carol couldn’t just insert herself into their problems like that. Ugh, this was hard.

“Raph’ll try to bring some home for you next time, Mikey.” Raph looked so happy, talking about Mona. They had been dating for well over a month now so they were out of the honeymoon phase, but he clearly adored her. “Oh, Mona says ‘hi’, by the way. To you, Mikey. Gotta tell DonDon and Leo too.”

“They seem a bit busy with Ant right now but I’m sure they’ll love to hear it later,” Mikey said with a shrug. “Especially Leo. He’s missed her since he hasn’t gone down to the Hidden City as much.”

“Why hasn’t he?” Carol asked. If nothing else, she could learn what the other side of Leo’s problems looked like so she could figure out the truth and help her patient. Leo had given her permission to talk to his brothers about certain things, just so long as other parts of their discussions stayed private.

Both brothers shrugged. “He’s got the time to and he can leave the house no prob now,” Raph said. “Mona was askin’ ‘bout him and if he was doing okay since he hasn’t asked her to hang. Said he was always the one who asked just whenever he felt like hanging and they’d set up a time and everything. Was gonna tell him that she missed him too and wasn’t sure if she should text to ask him or nah.”

Ah, so it seemed like Leo’s isolation was more self-imposed than he realized. Carol would definitely need to address that, make sure Leo spent some time getting out and about to clear his head. “I think he’s felt awkward about going out because he didn’t want to worry you guys. He knows how you fuss and didn’t want to upset you.” She tickled under Raph’s chin. “He might just need a bit of encouragement to feel comfortable going out again, that’s all.”

Raph churred and leaned into the touch. “We told him it was fine if he went out. We even pushed him to today before Donnie had his episode,” he said. “Just gotta try again.”

“He can get a bit caught up in his own head,” Carol reminded Raph. “You know he’s a people pleaser at heart, even if he likes to be a menace.”

“I never really thought of him like that, but it does make sense. Huh,” Mikey mused, resting his head on top of Raph’s, his cheek getting somewhat smushed.

After glancing up at Mikey as best he could, Raph hummed. “Yeah, you’re right. Gotta talk with him ‘bout that. He’s been more of a pleaser lately ‘cause of the leader stress gettin’ to him. Gotta remind him that he don’t need to be in the leader role all the time. Thanks, Carol.” He bent down and planted a sweet kiss to her cheek.

Carol giggled and leaned into the kiss. “Of course, baby. I’m happy to help.” While he was still bent down, Carol pressed a kiss to his snoot. “Sometimes you just need an outside perspective.”

Raph snickered and smiled. “Yeah, y’do sometimes. Still, thanks. Love you lots, Mouuuuh best female adult figure. Eeyup.” Underneath the mask, Raph’s face was almost as red as the fabric.

Carol cooed and tickled under Raph’s chin. “You can call me ‘Mom’ if you want. I’d like to be ‘Mom’ to you guys,” she assured him.

“Are… you sure?” Raph hesitantly asked.

“I’m sure, baby. Besides.” Carol leaned in and whispered, “Leo was the first to break. He’s been calling me ‘Mom’ all afternoon.” 

“I kept stopping myself from calling you ‘Mom’ so I’m glad we can do it now.” Mikey sighed, beaming brightly. “Because you do feel like our mom, even if we haven’t known you in person for very long. You’ve always taken care of us even when you were just a voice on the phone.”

“Guess that means Ant’s our third dad. We got three dads and one mom,” Raph snickered as he shook his head. “We got Pops, Rara, and… what for Ant?”

“I dunno. Maybe we can do ‘Dad’ in another language?” Mikey suggested. “Hey Leo! If Carol is Mom, what are we gonna call Ant?” 

Leo head snapped to look at them with eyes wide and cheeks red. “I— Er— What?”

Donnie blinked and looked over at Leo. “If Carol is what now?”

Leo’s cheeks went as red as his stripes. “I, uh, I called Carol ‘Mom’ by accident and she said I could call her that,” Leo mumbled, poking his fingers together shyly. He wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone.

It took a few moments for Donnie to respond. “Well, she’s the best adult female influence we know. Good choice.” Leo let out a flustered chirp and didn’t look up towards anyone.

“You haven’t answered my question, Leo!” Mikey cried. “What are we gonna call Ant?”

“I mean, if we’re gonna be using another language, we could use Papa, Papi, Tata—”

“That one,” Ant said, stopping Leo in his verbal tracks. Oh lord, was he— “Tata. I claim the title of Tata.”

Of course he would.

“So we have Mom and our third dad Tata!” Mikey cheered. The other boys joined in, even Donnie, though he was quieter. Well so long as the boys were happy, that’s what mattered. Please just do not let them ask— 

“Why’d you pick ‘Tata’?” Dang it, Mikey.

Ant looked so proud as he said, “Because it sounds like tatas.”

Raph and Leo burst out laughing with Leo shaking his head fondly. Mikey just looked confused. “Well what does that mean?” Leo and Raph just started laughing harder.

Donnie, meanwhile, stared at Mikey. “Angelo. You’re joking, right? You’re just playing up the innocence card. Right?”

“No? I haven’t heard the word before.” Oh this poor boy. His brothers wouldn’t let him hear the end of this.

While Donnie continued to stare, Raph elbowed Leo. “Who should break it to him?” he asked in a hushed whisper.

“I ain’t doing it,” Leo shot back, elbowing Raph in return. 

“It’s slang for boobs,” Carol deadpanned. “Which is why these boys—” She shot Ant a look. “—find it so funny.”

Ant just shrugged with a lazy smile. “I didn’t realize it was so funny,” he lied as he leaned back in his place on the couch.

“Mhmm.” Carol wasn’t impressed. “Well, either way I suppose Ant is going to be called Tata from now on.” Her husband was a child sometimes.

“Wait, I thought it was slang for potatoes!” Mikey cried, frowning and putting his hands on his hips.

There was silence for a moment before Leo and Raph burst out laughing. Raph rested his hands on his knees, leaning forward as he wheezed while Leo clutched his stomach, half hunched over. Donnie, meanwhile, stared at Mikey in disbelief. “You are the second most chronically online person in the lair, second only to me. You watch the weird random niche videos and even the more common gaming channels. How did you think it was slang for potatoes ?!”

Mikey’s face burned. “The YouTubers I watch are family friendly.”

“Bullshit and you know it,” Donnie instantly responded.

“I just never paid attention, okay? I’m usually doing like three things when I’m watching videos. I miss things.” Donnie gave Mikey a look but didn’t press further as their brothers calmed down.

“Okay then, ‘Tata’, let’s get back on track.” Leo elbowed Ant. “We need to talk theories for what happens in the newest arc! Captain Mechanic and Doctor Love are still trapped by the Chicken Kaijus!”