Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Of all the places for their mutated brother to be, trapped inside an invisible dome was not on the top of their list. It was so specific, so strange, that each pair of eyes were drawn to Donnie, hoping that perhaps they could elaborate further. But they didn't. 

Thanks to their mystic goggles though, the group could get a closer look, or rather the mute gray outline. It was a perfectly round sphere, almost planet-like in appearance. It looked built recently, brand new in fact, but at the same time as though it had been there for years. 

"So, you're saying Leo is inside this...circle thing?" Raph repeated, still unsure even as he handed off the goggles back to his sibling for safe keeping. He never wanted to discredit his extremely intelligent sibling, but he was naturally a bit hesitant to go inside a suspicious location without any other knowledge.  Especially if Leo wasn't even in there. But they also didn't seem to have any better options.. If Donnie's tracker was accurate, they had to take that chance. It was their only key to finding Leonardo. 

"Technically it's a highly technological geodesic dome with a cloaking device not a 'circle thing' but yes, affirmative." 

"It's entirely invisible without these fancy goggles! How are we gonna get in if we can't even see it?" Mikey pondered, pretending he understood everything that Donnie had stated. 

With a mischievous grin plastered on her face, April started to spin her mystic baseball bat around. "Leave that to April O' Neil!" she eagerly snatched the goggles from Donnie and took a closer look for herself, "See? There's a button right on the side. That must be the opening." 

"It could also be a self-destruct button," Donnie stated dryly, taking the goggles back and putting them back on with a disgruntled huff. "There's a chance it could explode the second you press it." 

April cringed. "...I'm taking that chance." 

"No, we'll go around and see if there's another way in. There has to be another entrance." 

She folded her arms, scowling. 

Donnie mirrored her with the same scowl, "It could be dangerous, that's all I'm saying. We all know what happened last time someone went running in to save the day." That off-handed comment held more weight than they seemed willing to admit. 

April could tell it did, which made her more determined to push, "But it's worth a shot. We don't have time to think about what might happen. Leo might be in there, waiting for us!" 

"If his mind is still there," Mikey stated grimly. "He was pretty out of it last time." 

Donnie gave their little brother a weary look before replying to April, "I'll bring the sub closer to the dome- and then you can swim and push the button. Hopefully it won't explode." 

"Stop saying it'll explode," April glared at them, pausing for a moment before heading straight for the door. "I'm already stressed about swimming in the ocean as is. If I get eaten by a shark or something, I'm blaming you." 

Mona cleared her throat once they arrived close enough to the invisible dome. "Actually, maybe I should swim up there? I can hold my breath a bit longer. Salamander privileges," She winked. 

"Sounds good to me," April smirked, but looked relieved . "Would you like to do the honors?" She held out her bat expectantly. 

Mona Lisa's eyes twinkled at her new friend. "Always." 

"Not to be the one to oppose smashing things," Raph said slowly. "You probably shouldn't go smashing random things without knowing what might happen-" 

Mona spun around to poke his plastron. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm gonna do it anyway." 

"Be careful!" Raphael didn't even try to hide his amazed stares as Mona swam towards the opening, bashed the air aggressively for a good few minutes. It looked a bit amusing at first, since it seemed as though she was fighting nothing. Then the doors slid open after her last swing. He sighed dreamily, "Isn't she great?" He couldn't help but swoon. She was so beautiful with her turquoise gills shimmering from the sunlight above. 

Donnie rolled their eyes, attempting and failing to drag Raph by his mask tails, "Yeah, swell. Let's go, Casanova." 

After Mona had finished bashing the opening in, they entered the chromatic silver dome quickly. The cloaking device only seemed to work outside, for when they entered, it was perfectly visible. The walls were rigid and white polyethylene, shiny like aluminum foil, but thicker. 

"This place doesn't look like it was made by a human, not even military tech is this weird," April commented. "I think you were onto something before, Dee, it looks beyond our world. Extraterrestrial to the extreme." 

"This technology is certainly advanced, and that's coming from me. Might be Kraang related," Donnie murmured under their breath. They knelt down to examine what looked like a glowing fuse box with buttons and switches. "Hmmm..." 

"But we beat those guys!" said Mikey, before pausing. "Or at least, in this story's canon timeline we did!" 

"They might still have some leftover tech," Donnie said. "Either that, or someone might have stolen it from them. But why in the water of all places. Did it sink? Or was it put down here intentionally? So many questions, and I'm going to figure it all out. Once we rescue Leo." 

"It reminds me of Filch's old lab where he kept me," Mona shivered. "It has his face written all over it. And well, he is a fish now." 

"But we defeated him too," Raph frowned. "I mean, I assume we did. He looked in pretty bad shape, and with the boat sinking...speaking of, did the other passengers survive the shipwreck? Should we have been more concerned about that?" 

Donnie scoffed, moving away from the control panel to meet in the middle, "We were obviously occupied with Leo getting mutated. But, I did see them escape into lifeboats, just like us," They tapped their chin, more questions spiraling in their head. "Well Fishface is a fish who can swim." 

"Excellent deduction, Donnie." 

"Thank you April," They said without missing a beat. "So it's possible he's still alive since the ship went into the water. He might have fixed up the place. Can't imagine him actually constructing it, that would be giving him way too much credit." 

"Fishface wasn't that strong of a fighter though," Raph said, withdrawing his fist away from the windowless wall. "We could have turned him into sushi if we wanted to." He almost huffed out a laugh, but it came out as a strangled sound in his throat instead. 

"But we didn't. He could have slivered off like the snake he is." 

"Which begs the question if he was the one who made this elaborate dome," Donnie glanced down at the tracker. "and if he did make it and all evidence points to Leo being here..." 

"Then he must have taken Leo and brought him here," Mikey whispered, eyes wide with panic. 

Raphael paled. 

"It's just a possibility," the box turtle added quickly, hoping that was not the case at all. 

"That our brother is being tortured by a deranged monster as we speak," He clenched his jaw, anxiety bubbling inside him. "It's gotta be true," Just imagining his brother, his caring brother; trapped, hurt and alone was enough to make his anger rise. He was never the violent type, even to foes, but this was different. Phineas Filch was a dangerous mutant capable of causing harm right in front of them. Probably more, since Mona Lisa had never explained in full detail of what she endured, always dismissing or avoiding the topic entirely.  "Filch is gonna pay," He growled. "Nothing else matters except finding Leo and turning him back. Mona do you have the...?" 

The salamander mutant lifted the retro-mutagen from her bag, "Already one step ahead of you." 

Donnie's tracker started to glow a vibrant royal blue, pointing towards the right. "He's close. This way! I mean, I'm assuming he is," They took the lead this time, with April marching behind them, followed by Raph, and finally Mona and Mikey lingering in the back. 

"So..." Mikey tugged at his nonexistent shirt nervously and pointed at the bottle.  "About that retro mutagen stuff...what's in it?" He scrunched his nose. 

"Why do you ask?" 

"I just don't wanna give anything potentially toxic to my big bro. But I'm sure you already know what's in it. Of course you do!" 

Mona did not answer and instead seemed to walk faster. 

"Mona?" Mikey scrambled after her. "Mona Lisa!" 

There was an awkward pause. "Ummm...chemicals and stuff?" 

"Chemicals and stuff!" He sputtered, horrified. 

Mona sighed. "We've been through this, I don't know what's in it, but it's our only option to save Leonardo." 

"Or it could turn him into a pile of goo! Or a regular, non mutant red eared slider." He froze in place, suddenly realizing that terrible thought. "What do we do if he becomes a normal turtle?" 

"Feed him lettuce and keep him a heat lamp by his side?" 

"Mona, I'm serious!" 

"We won't need to do that," Raph shot her a look. "Because he'll be back to his old self." 

"Of course. We have to think positively." 

"I just..." Mikey felt his eyes prick with tears. "If he really is being hurt by Fishface, then what if...what if this stuff makes him worse? It would be all our fault." He rubbed his arm, swallowing his tears and stared at his siblings ahead, who all stopped to listen to his concerns. "I'm scared. And he doesn't deserve this, he was- he was trying to save us and now..." He noticed Donnie's wince at that, and that action made him want to shrink into his shell, mortified for running his mouth again. Leo had been trying to save Donnie, and he knew his smart sibling still took the blame for that. "I don't wanna lose him again." 

"We won't lose him again," they said firmly. "Don't even think about that happening. We're gonna find him, cure him, and make Fishface regret that he ever messed with one of us. Capeesh?" 

Mikey solemnly nodded, not even feeling bothered when one of Donnie's robotic arms from their battle shell extended and patted his head. It was a comforting, not condescending gesture that made him feel less afraid and surprisingly eased his nerves. 

"Good." 

He wanted to say more, but Donnie and April were already farther down the hall, both animatedly discussing the tracker and Leo's location. 

Raph gave him a crooked grin, shrugging. "Keep going Mike, Donnie knows the way with that tracker. And as long as one of us knows what's going on, I'd say that's a good sign." 

They started to hurry to catch up with April and Donnie, about to enter the next room, when suddenly, there was a rush of cold air at the opening. The automatic door abruptly slammed shut like that of an elevator. With no handles, not even a secret key pad or anything, there was no way of entering the room. The group was separated. 

"Seriously?!" Raph groaned, examining the door to see if there was another way in. He tried to push it, to no avail. And without a handle, obviously pulling wasn't an option either. He blinked. 

"Donnie! April!" Mikey shouted as loud as he possibly could and pressed his face against the door. "Are you guys alright?" Silence. He frowned and tapped his foot, "Either they're in trouble, or they're ignoring me." 

"Or alternatively, the door is a slab of concrete and they can't hear you," Mona commented. 

"Hang on, step back, I've got an idea," Raph said, raising his fist to pound against the door repeatedly. He tried a few times, to get nothing but a slightly brushed hand. "Okay...new theory..." He winced. "Smashing is not always the best option. Any other ideas?" 

"Like I said, slab of concrete." She knocked on it for added emphasis. 

"We've tried opening it, smashing it..." Mikey pondered, trying to think of more ideas when his phone buzzed from his belt. "Ooh!" He reached for it, stared at the screen for a few seconds before brightening. "It's a text from Donnie!" 

"What's it say?" 

"It says: Do not try smashing the door. We are fine. smiley emoji, turtle emoji. See if you can find another entrance, we will continue to use the tracker to find snake emoji, lol." 

"Snake emoji?" Mona repeated. "Do they mean Leo?" 

"Who else would it be?" Raph almost wanted to laugh, even if it was in poor taste. "We need to find another way around." He needed to get out of this tech zone. It was too noisy, too much buzzing and clicking of metals in the background. 

"This place is like a maze. Too many doors and corridors." 

"We'll find a way, no need to worry!" Mikey said, surprisingly cheerful. Before any of them could turn to face another door, they were halted by a chilling voice. It did not come from an intercom, but right behind them. 

Mona was the first to react, stumbling back. 

"Oh, I think there's plenty of reasons to worry." 

Sneering at them with a wicked grin, was Doctor Phineas Filch himself. 

"Ah sewer apples." Mikey groaned. 

"You..." Raph growled, already with his sai at the ready. The striking revelation that the clicking noises he had heard were the sounds of Filch's robotic legs. In fact, everything about the once pitiful-looking mutant fish had been upgraded with silver armor and gauntlets, even some kind of squishy, orange breathing device where his dorsal fin should be. Though he didn't seem to have any of his crew left, his new look left them wary. 

"Good to see you all again," Filch drawled sarcastically, eyes drawn to Mona, glancing her up and down. "Lisa, lovely as always. Your betrayal, although expected, still came as a surprise to me. You had so much potential." 

"You better watch your mouth, Fishface, unless you want a sai in your eye." 

Mikey stepped forward, eager to egg him on. "Now tell us where Leo is, or else we'll kick your fishy butt to New Jersey!" 

Fishface laughed. "Leo? I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean...Oh! You must be referring to the mutant I so lovingly created," there was a devilish twinkle in his eye that left them all uneasy. 

"Gross! You didn't create him, you double mutated him!" said Mona, scoffing.  

"Those are merely semantics, for Leonardo belongs to me now. Only me. His mind and body were too easy to destroy, it barely took a few days to make him crack! It was delightful!" 

"This ends now, Filch." The red banded turtle snarled, fists clenching his sai so tightly, he was close to dropping it. 

"There's three of us and only one of you, so it's better for your sake that you tell us where our brother is." Mikey twirled his nunchucks around. "Go on!" 

Filch did not reply, and instead proceeded to laugh, louder, this time. His laughter drowned out their shouts, which he too ignored as he pressed a button on his armor. The armor extended, silvery protection plates wrapped around his entire body, muzzle, and tail, leaving only the dorsal fin and his eyes uncovered. Spikes expanded from his robotic gauntlet fins and when he grinned, a row of dense, pointy teeth appeared. 

"Let me be clear, children. You will never see your brother again," He said, voice robotic and emotionless but his expression was still with a sadistic smirk. "Or make it out of the Technodrome alive." 

His smugness, his nonchalant demeanor and personality only infuriated Raph more. How such a cruel monster could possibly stand there, openly admitting to harm an innocent, was enough to make Raph go full savage. Leo didn't deserve this. No one deserved it, but especially not Leo. 

“How do you make it look so...easy?" Leo asked, leaning against Raph's massive shoulders. 

"Make what look easy?" 

"Being a good brother, a good leader-" He murmured. The slider hugged his knees and sighed. "I'm constantly stressed and scared I'm gonna mess up. I can't let you guys down. I'm a wreck every night, Raph. How do you do it?" 

Raph huffed out a laugh, tugging Leo's bandana tails fondly. "Are you kidding? I was always scared! I was terrified every time you and the others put themselves in dangerous situations. But Dad always told me that's the mark of a true leader. You care so much Leo, and that's not something to be ashamed of. You're strong and capable.  You're gonna make an amazing leader. Okay? Look at me bud," He lifted his younger brother's chin and wiped the tears from his cheeks. "You've got this." 

"I just feel bad," Leo admitted softly. "I stole your role. Aren't you mad?" 

Being honest wasn't the right thing to do at this time. He was upset, heck, maybe a little angry at Dad for making that sudden decision. It was Raph who truly saved the day, it was Raph who solved the last puzzle connecting to the ninpo. And it was Raph who got his role stripped from him in a matter of seconds. It wasn't fair. But Hamato Raphael had learned from a young age that things will never be fair for him. 

So he couldn't be honest. Not now. 

"Mad? No way. You might be surprised to hear this, but you've always had that leader spark to you. Anytime I was out of commission, you seemed to take charge without any issues. Like when I went savage and lost in the sewers. It was all you. Not Mikey, not Donnie..." Leo's smile faded at the mention of Donnie, who was still struggling with the change of dynamics within the team. "They'll come around," He assured, noticing Leo's torn expression. "It's been a difficult adjustment." 

"They hate me." 

Raph's face fell, patting the side of Leo's shell. "Don't say that, Donnie would never hate you. They'll come around eventually. It takes longer for them to get used to change, but they don't hate you." He didn't sound too confident in that statement. Donnie had their weird moments, especially now with their insistence that they would make a better leader or that Raph should just stay leader. They had gone on saying anybody but Leo. "Say Leo?" 

"Hm?" 

"I can't imagine anyone better to be a leader. Sure I was surprised at first when Dad made that random announcement, but I should have seen it coming.  Besides, I've got a pretty solid role, being the big brother protecting my baby siblings." He teased. "So no, I'm not mad at you for 'stealing' my role. And obviously I put stealing in quotes." 

Leo chuckled. "I won't let you down Raph. I promise."

His pupils turned white. "Give me back my brother!" He roared, charging towards the mutant beast with the rage consuming his insides and bursting out from inside him. He could hear Mikey's frantic shouts, begging him to stay back, but the sounds were muffled and distant, as though he was underwater. He was too angry. Too mentally exhausted to focus on any fighting techniques Splinter had taught him. He had to save Leo. Even if it killed him. 

Each punch, dodge, smash, and kick felt heavy and exhausting. It didn't help that the armor was preventing him from actually attacking Filch, and the mutant cyborg fish was easily causing him more pain than the other way around. To add insult to injury, the stupid fish couldn't stop laughing at every single blow he hit. 

"You really think you can face me and my tech? I'm the most powerful mutant in the ocean!" Filch mocked. "And with your brother as my ally, I'll be able to take over the World!" 

"Leo would never join you," Raph said defiantly. "No matter how far gone his mind is, he would never join you willingly." 

"Who said anything about willingly?" 

A robotic fist collided with his face, the impact causing him to fall backwards onto the chromatic floor. From the corner of his eye, he saw Mikey spring into action and try to parry and block with his nunchucks held vertically only to be smashed against the wall. Mona was nowhere in sight. He winced and groaned, ready to try again. But his smashing hands were bruised and cracked with blood. If he tried again, it was likely the same outcome. 

'Thanks Donnie for getting separated. Really could use your tech right about now,' He thought bitterly, wiping his mouth. 

Mikey, on the other hand, was trying a different approach. Once he was hit against the wall, he bounced like a slinky spring with the heels of his feet as a boost. Now in the air, he hollered out a mighty 'cowabunga' and landed on Filch's face, now trying to open the helmet covering his true form. He tried pulling it, only to realize it was shut completely from the inside. He tried another tactic, whacking it with his nunchucks. "Take this Fishface! And that!" He punched the glass covering, expression shifting from confident to pained in a matter of seconds. "Ow! Ow! Omigosh that really-" he cried out, an extendable arm grabbed his torso and held him up to the wounded red banded turtle. 

"Face it, Raphael," Filch remarked cruelly, ignoring the irony of that statement. He was the one, after all, clad as a fish cyborg. "My suit was crafted from titanium with cybernetic enhancements built from the very aliens that invaded our planet. I'm unstoppable. Invincible. It will save you the embarrassment if you give up now. Unless," he twisted his arm and tightened his grip on Mikey. "You would be willing to join me." 

"You kidnapped and mutated my brother, tortured my friend, separated me from my siblings and are now holding my younger brother as a hostage...why would I ever want to join you?" Raph snarled. "Did I even give any indication I'd want to join your hypothetical fish army to take over the world? Are you even listening to yourself?" 

"Even if it meant releasing your friends?" Filch bargained, dropping Mikey roughly on the plastron. 

"Don't listen to him!" The younger turtle pleaded. 

"Your friends would walk out of here free, and you would even get to see your brother Leonardo again. Doesn't that sound like a fair deal? Together, with my plans and superior intellect we would make the perfect team." 

"Yeah, uh, about that." A voice chimed from behind him. Mona Lisa was casually leaning against a pillar, staring at her nails. "I'm not saying it's a bad idea, wanting to take over the world and all that..." 

"Mona!" Raph said, alarmed. 

"No, no I'm serious. Ruling the world sounds awesome," She stepped forward. "But is it really practical? Ruling the entire world is a lot of pressure and that idea is so vague too! What does that even mean? Are you planning to overthrow the government? Do you still want to have that fish army deal or have you moved on from that fantasy?" 

"I don't need to listen to you question my genius plans!" Filch hissed. "You're a traitor!" 

"See this is why I betrayed you! You're making up nonsense as you go along," She tilted her head and pointed at Filch's orange breathing ring. "And for some self proclaimed genius, you really didn't see this coming, did you?" 

"See what?" 

"Do it Mikey!" 

"On it!" Mikey cheered, latching onto Filch's back like a sloth. "Ready to be owned, Fishface?" He taunted. 

"What's going on? What are you doing you little brat?" Despite his best efforts to throw him off, Michelangelo held on tight, and immediately started to pull at the breathing ring. "No! No! Stop!" One last tug, and the ring was heaved off, tossing the kidney shaped device to the ground. "No!" 

Without his breathing device, Filch was essentially helpless- even with his powered suit. A literal fish out of water, he flopped to the floor, shriveling up and screaming in agony. 

"Really Doctor Filch, you should have thought of protecting the device that helps you breathe safe and secure!" Mona commented, watching as Filch's eyes bugged out one last time, skin gray, lips blue with one final pitiful gasp. 

Then silence. 

"Is he...?" Mikey poked him with one foot. The mutant did not budge. 

Raph nodded thickly. "Holy shit." 

"I think I just murdered a guy." 

"You killed a homicidal monster, so I think that cancels things out? That's like ...PEMDAS," Mona said. "I think." 

Mikey winced. "Dad's gonna be so disappointed in me!  Now what do we do?" 

"I think..." Raph picked up the control panel that Filch had been carrying and pressed a button. The door that had been previously locked snapped open. "Woah..." 

"Donnie and April aren't on the other side!" Mikey exclaimed. 

"We have to find them."

The moment the doors had shut behind on Donnie, they realized that Doctor Phineas Filch was not messing around. They had texted their brothers, obviously that was the first thing they did. 

"I let them know we're gonna keep looking for Leo," they told April shortly after the message had been sent. 

"Sounds good." April took their hand. "Donnie? You're shaking," she commented as they walked down the corridor. 

"No I'm not," they said, shoulders stiff, not even realizing they were trembling all over everywhere else. "Just a little bit." It was easier to admit their feelings to April and vice versa. Together they gave each other comfort, a sense of purpose. 

"It's okay to be scared, Dee. I'm scared too." 

They didn't reply to that statement. Why admit the obvious?  

The tracker beeped and buzzed erratically once they made it to the final door. April shot Donnie a wary look, before reaching for the doorknob. 

"Don't." They said softly, retracting their own hand away. "I don't know if I can see him." 

"What? Why?" 

"I mean obviously I know I can see him but- when we turn him back, I don't want to face him because..." They bit their lip. 

The realization dawned on her at once, and she felt a pang of sympathy. "You think he'll be mad at you for the way you acted." 

"He hates me." 

"You don't know that." 

"Please." They folded their arms. "It wasn't just petty sibling rivalry back then. I was so...so angry when he became leader. I kept telling him it was a mistake, that he didn't deserve it. What kind of sibling does that? Then he goes and plays hero boy and saves me, even though I didn't deserve it. I know it's selfish to think about, but I'm scared about seeing him after everything I did. I wouldn't blame him if he never forgave me." 

"You have to make things right," April said wisely. "And seeing as I had to deal with both of you complaining about one another for the past year, it's nice to see that both of you were...are...dealing with similar fears. So my advice here is that you have to face this. Even if you're scared Donnie. Alright?" She held out her hand. "So open that door with your tech magic." 

"Scoff, I thought we agreed my tech isn't related to magic?" They chuckled, tapping away at their wrist tech. When the door opened, Donnie finally accepted her hand. "Thanks. What would I do without you?" 

She returned the smile. "Any time." 

There was a rush of cold air blasting as they entered. It seemed like an average laboratory from the looks of it. Desks, scattered notes, computers that looked as though they seriously needed to be updated, test tubes... 

April saw him first. She let out a choked gasp. 

"No..." 

Chained and battered with wounds beyond belief, was Leonardo. He was coiled in a ball, scars mutilating his mutated body. If it wasn't for his weak chest rising, Donnie would have assumed he was dead. But somehow, he pushed through, despite the abuse he suffered through. 

"Leo!" They somehow found their voice, mind rattling but remaining frozen in place. Their hands were trembling, clammy with anxiety and ready to faint from dizziness. 

"We have to get him out of there!" April shook Donnie out from completely freaking out by gripping the wrist and pulling them towards the containment unit. 

"Leo!" They cried out. "Hang on, I-I'm gonna help ya out!" 

Approaching Leo while still panicking was not an easy task. At least April was by their side. They gently pressed their hand against the glass, wondering if there was a control panel or something that would help them out here. They couldn't focus. 

Before they could even get close enough to reach for Leo, the serpent mutant retaliated suddenly, fins sparking up and letting out a terrifying roar. Both teens flinched, hugging each other in fright. 

"Leo, calm down, it's only us!" April quickly said, yelping into Donnie's arms as Leo snapped his jaws- just barely missing her head. "Does he know it's us?" 

"I don't know!" Donnie, still holding April, tried to walk forward again. Leo started to growl and snarl, refusing to let them move towards him. Donnie decided it would be wiser to back up against the wall, even though they didn't want to. They were so close to rescuing him, but this barrier would surely make everything more difficult. 

They made a frustrated noise. "He isn't letting me come closer! How am I supposed to calm him down if he doesn't want me near him? How do we release him if he's freaking out?" 

April climbed down, resting a hand on their shaking shoulder, and finally pulling them back. They wouldn't stop shaking. Even with Leo trapped behind glass and unable to actually harm them. 

"I can fix this...I can fix this...I can..." 

Leo let out another roar. 

"We'll figure this out Donnie, I'll call-" They continued to shake, and it took April a moment to realize they were crying. "Donnie..." She wrapped her arms around them tightly, not letting go even when they tried to nudge her away. Tears formed her own dark eyes, the stress and fears of everything finally coming down, unable to hold in her emotions any longer and instead accepted it. She hugged them tighter, ignoring the sharp edges of their battle shell digging into her side. "I'm going to call Raph, tell him where we are, and we'll handle turning Leo back to normal." 

"I'll never forgive myself." She heard Donnie whisper, and in that moment, her heart shattered into pieces.

Raph picked up his phone the second April called, already prepared to do his responsible brother's speech; "Are you guys okay? We couldn't find you, and I was so worried when we separated! You won't believe what we did-" 

"We found Leo." 

"You- what?" He blinked. "Where?" 

"Look up from your phone." 

He complied, feeling a wave of relief when he saw her at the end of the hall. 

"April!" Mikey ran over to his sister and immediately embraced her. "Is Donnie-" 

"Inside with Leo," She answered. "I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but it isn't looking so good. We can't get through to him, he's just freaking out!" 

"As in, attacking y'all?" 

April swallowed thickly, devastated. She beckoned them to follow her to the laboratory, pointing at the trapped Leonardo. Seeing him there, unable to escape and in so much pain, made Raphael want to rip open the glass himself, or break down on the floor. But he couldn't, with Mikey and Donnie shivering, and April trying to pull herself together.  He had to put on a brave face. Mona shared a wary glance at him, before nodding. 

"That control panel over there might unlock his cage," April said. "But we can't get close enough to it without him wanting to attack us." 

The second Raph tried to approach the control panel, Leo snarled and snapped his jaws at him. "I see what you mean. I could try throwing a sai at it? Long distance aim." 

"And then when he's released, he'll immediately kill us all," Mona said, shaking her head. "There's gotta be an easier way to calm him down before we turn him back. Maybe..." She looked at April, then at a perplexed Raph, then finally at Mikey and Donnie.  "What about that family magic thing? Hamato Ninpo! Didn't you say it was a powerful mystic energy?" She grinned eagerly at April, who did not seem as excited. "Or something like that?" 

"I might have said something along those lines..." She murmured. "How would that even calm Leo down?" 

"If it's powerful enough, he might tap into it!" 

Raph hesitated. "I appreciate the idea Mona, but I'm not so sure..." He rubbed the back of his neck gingerly. "I don't know if that's how it works." 

"We haven't done it since we fought the Shredder," Donnie added. "And we've never done it without Leo." 

"It's worth a shot though, isn't it?" Mona pleaded. "I'm not part of the Hamato family so obviously I know nothing about it, but I have a feeling it might work! Then once he's calmed down, I can throw the retro mutagen on him." 

"I don't..." 

"I think we should do it!" Mikey interjected firmly. "We have to try at least," He smiled at Mona, and held out his hand for Raph. "For Leo." 

Raph winced as he heard Leo roar again. "For Leo." And took Mikey's hand. 

Donnie took Mikey's other hand, and April took their hand. Raph looked over to Mona, who shook her head. 

"Just you guys," She said. "I'm not a Hamato." 

Nothing happened at first. Aside from their synchronized breathing, it didn't didn't seem to be working or connecting them at all. Then, Mikey started to glow a vibrant orange gold hue around him. His pupils white and almost angelic, with a light innocence to them, he beamed. 

"Anatawa Hitorijanai. Say it with me, guys," He whispered. 

Mona did not know what the words meant, but it must have left an impact, for once the words left his lips, Donnie's eyes filled with tears. 

"Anatawa Hitorijanai," they echoed, now glowing a rich lavender aura around them. 

"Anatawa Hitorijanai," April had an emerald shine to her. 

Raphael was overcome with emotion. "Anatawa Hitorijanai." He finally was glowing a brilliant red. 

Somehow with all that, Mona had at least expected some positive reaction out of Leo. Some connection, some memories, anything! But instead, the serpent was only thrashing against the glass. 

"Come on Leo," Raph chanted under his breath. "We love you so much. Please come back to us." 

"You've come so far, Leo!" Mikey shouted, blinking back tears. "We can't be a team without you! We can't be a family without you!" 

The serpent- Leonardo's eyes went wide. He slivered, muzzle against the glass, and made a soft noise. His entire body started to shimmer, a familiar shade of sapphire. He faded from the glass prison, and reappeared in front of them. His teleporting powers were still inside him. 

"It's working!" Someone shouted. 

With newfound determination, Mona Lisa stepped forward and released the retromutagen. 

His head was pounding. Leo tried to maneuver himself in a comfortable position, but found that nearly impossible. Every joint and muscle hurt, his head felt as though it was ready to explode, and generally speaking, he felt like crap. 

It was so dark too. He tried holding out a hand (fin? Whatever limb he had) and couldn't see what was in front of him. Pitch black darkness. 

"Am I dead?" He thought to himself. It was certainly a strong possibility, even though he had no memory of what happened to him. Just that he hurt a lot. "Shit, am I in the bad place?" 

Before he could even try to contemplate whether he had kicked the bucket or not, he heard a group of muffled, recognizable voices around him. Which did not help his headache. 

"I can't believe it worked!" Once voice exclaimed. 

"Is he alive?" 

"Yeah, look, he's breathing!" 

"He looks like hell." 

"Wow rude." Leo thought. 

"He looks just like Leo, but his gills...are they permanent?" 

"How am I supposed to know, Raph?" 

Raph?! 

"Guys shut up, he's waking up! He's waking up!" 

Leo yawned, blinded by the white lights. "The fuck...?" He mumbled. "Donnie turn off the lights, m' trying to sleep here." He winced, feeling a sudden sharp pain in his side. 

"Leo!" A chorus of cheers, followed by gentle hugs engulfed him, and he couldn't have been more relieved. Whatever had happened, the bits and pieces he remembered were over. He was with his family. He was home. 

Everyone was talking over each other, rambling about how he was back to normal, how they thought his new gills and scars made him look awesome, among other things he couldn't understand. 

"Guys, chill," Leo smirked, leaning back. "I really gotta get some..." His eyebrows furrowed once he spotted Mona Lisa. It took a moment for things to register, but he smiled weakly. "Hey." 

"Hey," She parroted awkwardly. "I'm Mona Lisa. I don't know if you remember me, but we initially got off on the wrong foot and I wanted to say I'm..." 

"I know," Leo admitted. "I remember some things." 

"She helped save you," Raph said, rubbing circles on Leo's carapace soothingly. 

"Hey," The slider weakly chuckled, shooting Raph and Mona separate looks. "I get it. Now come join the hug, or else. And thanks. All of you." 

Mona happily obliged. 

One month later 

The sun was peeking over the Hudson River. It was an ungodly hour, especially since it was still summer. Raphael had wanted to get extra early to not only impress Mona, but to watch the sunrise with her. Leo had insisted that it would be romantic or something. 

"I'm surprised you came," Mona teased, showing up from behind him, clad in a new magenta romper. "You hate waking up early." 

"It was no problem at all." 

"You set five alarms, didn't you?" 

"...Maybe."

Mona laughed. "How is Leo?" 

"He's recovering. Dad told him not to patrol and train for a while, Donnie's doing daily check ups, and I'm helping him with physical therapy." 

"You're a good brother, ya know that?" She mused. "I'm glad he's doing alright. And you?" 

"Better, now that my family's all together again. How's the roomies?" 

Because of her mutant status, Sunita had graciously invited her to room with her in the Hidden City. Turned out Cassandra Jones was living there too. 

"Casey snores and the walls are super thin," Mona stated drly. "I actually love living with them both." 

"I'm glad everything is sorted out. Mostly." He looked on at the horizon, content with watching the clouds float by, the peach orange swirling into a sky blue. It was beautiful. 

"I am too." Mona took his hand. 

Raph's cheeks warmed, and without really thinking, leaned down (since she was adorably short) and pressed his lips lightly against hers. The kiss was short and sweet, a little awkward and messy, and perfect. 

They both stood in flustered shock, until Mona intertwined her hand in his. Leaning against him, together they watched the sun rise above them, a new day bringing on a new set of adventures.