Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tony

The thing is, Tony doesn’t exactly do surprises since the kidnapping.  Looking back on it, he didn't really like them during his 'Merchant of Death' days either.  Pepper took to great lengths to make sure he knew exactly what was coming his way, and she's had to work even harder after Afghanistan.  He's still suffering for not being prepared for that bombshell.  He's worked hard to stay one step ahead of everything and everyone.  Created suits, launched satellites, and even started birthing an idea with Bruce.  Something that will protect the world when he can't anticipate the unknowns space will throw at them.  Something to help the world breathe easier like he does when he's in the suit.  The point is, there’s a lot of effort in his circle to combat any surprises, and the team thing has made it easier for him.  There’s not much going on around the world, or off it, that he isn’t either aware of or preparing for. 

Which is why the Kraang incident was so devastating. 

He was knee-deep in Latvian snow when Jarvis pushed the message that something weird was going down at Metro Tower.  The team stopped and discussed it quickly and quietly.  At that moment, they didn't even consider abandoning the Latvia mission.  It took them months to track down this Hyrda group and discover where these creeps were storing the chitauri weapons.  If they pulled out over nothing, this cell would dissipate and who knows how long it would take to track them all again.  Steve checked with SHIELD and they confirmed that it was weird, but not yet Avengers weird.  The team decided to push forward and let SHIELD handle it.  Tony hadn’t been too worried.  SHIELD dealt with weirdness all the time before the team formed. 

So, they continued.  They hit the compound hard and were met with more weapons and metas than they were expecting.  It took a while to take control of the facility, but they were rounding up the last of the bad guys when Jarvis pushed a video file of something fast and distinctively non-human attacking a military helicopter.  He still remembers the shock.  The ‘what the fucks?’ slipping before he could control it.  The team moved then.  Left the rest to the SHIELD agents that followed and headed home.

They were taking off when Jarvis announced that the sky ripped open for the second time to spill eldritch horrors onto the city below.

Natasha was pushing the aircraft to the limit, and they were halfway across the Atlantic when the videos started to flood in.  Confusing images of cars, planes, and buses coming to life and attacking the very people they were meant to transport.  Tony couldn’t make heads or tails of it.  He’s never seen organic material taking control of inorganic material like this.  Never thought it possible outside of cringe sci-fi movies.

They landed just outside of New York when the freakish ship thing exploded, and every slime-covered electronic seems to lose the will to live. 

It was over.  In the minutes after the invasion was confirmed failed, all manner of shady government agencies started pulling aliens and tech from the rubble, and it was over.  The city, and possibly the world, was saved. 

And it had nothing to do with them.

Three months after the whole event and Tony’s still trying to piece together what the hell actually happened.  Trying to puzzle out where these monsters spawned from.  It’s grueling work, but he’s got 70% of the mystery solved.  It’s that last thirty that’s being purposely elusive.

“You find anything?” 

He turns, ready to make a joke about internets and aging but Steve’s demeanor stops the barb in his throat.  He’s tired.  Dead tired from the looks of it and Tony can relate.  They’ve all been on edge.  Everyone’s digging to find anything they can to make sure this doesn’t happen again.  The team doesn’t have the greatest history with portals, and they would all be more comfortable if they knew how it opened so they can make sure it stays closed.  Tony sinks into his chair with a sigh before turning back to the computer.  He taps a few commands and an ad for a museum exhibit engulfs the screen. 

Steve takes a step forward, “What is this?”

“This,” his finger taps the screen, and a picture of the exhibit idol pulls up.  “Is what started it all.  I just don’t know how or why.”

It was hard to pinpoint exactly when the alien activity started, but Tony discovered that the night before the Metro Tower incident, there were reports of suspicious lights and activity at the pier.  He had to track down grainy video and out-of-focus selfie shots, but the pixels told a clear story.  A bright, pink light flashed over the abandoned pier an hour or so after midnight. 

Hours later hell crawled out of the sky.

“The only notable event that happened before the light show at the pier was this,” He waves to the screen.  “A robbery, which was apparently done by ‘mutants.’  This voodoo thing was the only thing they stole.  Two hours later the pier lights up like a Christmas tree, and then a few hours after that, Metro Tower.”

“Hypno,” Steve breathes.

“Gazoontite.”

“I’m serious,” Steve says.  “A few people mentioned a robbery committed by Hypno.  This must be what they were talking about.”

Tony rolls his eyes, “Right.  Or a crazy in a hippo costume.”

“Seriously Tony.”

“C’mon Rogers.”  Tony says, “You can’t possibly believe the mutant stuff?  I know you like to keep your feet on the ground, but you can’t believe everything everyone tells you.”

“I just don’t understand you,” Steve says.  “Bruce is literally a mutant.  Why can’t you believe this.” 

“Technically, Bruce is an enhanced individual,” Tony hums.  “But the rest is too much.  A Hippo?  A mantis?  Let’s not drift into the land of cartoons ok.”  He doesn’t want to be a skeptic.  He’s seen the blurry photos and colorful videos, but he just started to accept aliens.  Mutant animal people are on next year's list of things that turned out to be true.  God, next thing you know, they’ll be asking him to check out Hydra activity at Hogwarts.  

Steves snorts but slumps against the nearest desk and focuses on the screen.  “What else have you found?”

“I have a ton of footage from that day.  Tons of videos of these ‘heroes’ but watch.”

Tony flicks the screen and multiple videos start playing, almost all of them of the same scene.  Three people destroy a possessed helicopter before one of the aliens comes in like a damn missile.  Tony glances at Steve and sees the exact moment Cap puts it together.

Steve straightens, “Their faces.”

“Blurry.”  Tony finishes.  “Every single video.  I gotta admit, I’m impressed.” 

Impressed is an understatement.  The sheer scope of this type of programming and data manipulation is staggering.  The team has to be huge, heavily funded, and very underground.  They have to be in order to evade Tony’s attention for this long.  None of the colleges have even recruited anyone close to this. 

“You can’t find anything on them?”

“Not yet,” Tony answers.  “We have to find them.  They’re the missing link.”   

He leans against the desk with Steve, watching the clips repeat.  He’s trying not to get frustrated, but no one hides from him.  At least not this well.  He watches the kid grab the missile and fling it back at the helicopter.  The kid doesn’t even hesitate.  Like he’s done this a thousand times, and from what he can tell the young girl only has a bat, and a wooden one at that.  She’s got balls, that’s for sure. 

“What’s the logo?”

Tony raises an eyebrow.

“On the kids’ cloak,” Steve continues.  “It’s no Champions, is it?”

Tony frowns.  Logo?  “Jarvis,” he calls.  “Find a clearer image of the kid’s cloak.  Then isolation and enhance.” 

Jarvis spits out an affirmative and the videos start moving at indecipherable speeds.

“So, not Champion,” Steve jokes.

The videos stop and an isolated, clear image of an unfamiliar logo appears on the screen.  He doesn’t recognize it.

“Jarvis, find this logo.”

“Searching Sir.”

Steve starts to sit up then.  “You think it could be something?”

“I don’t know,” Tony answers.  “But it’s all we’ve got right now.”

“I have located the image sir,” Jarvis says.  “The logo is not attached to any product or service, but the image is trademarked.  It belongs to the company Genius Built.”

Tony snorts.  “Someone’s got an ego.”

“Look who’s talking.”

Tony doesn’t respond because he’s too busy grinning.  A clue.  A legit clue.  Where there’s a trademark, there’s information.  This is all he needs.  He’ll hack the agency and get what he needs and contact this team immediately.  Who knew fashion would provide the answer? 

He throws Steve a grin.  “Pepper always told me to pay attention to brands.”

Steve laughs but Tony is already moving.  It’ll take no time at all to find the contact information associated with the company.  He zooms in until the purple D-like logo takes up the entire screen and he can’t stop grinning.  The computer lights up with an email address.

“Bingo.”

Chapter Text

Donnie

Donnie's not surprised to see this message sitting proudly at the top of his company's inbox.  He is a one-of-a-kind genius, so it was just a matter of time before Stark reached out due to the superiority of Genius Built.  He had it all planned out.  He’d go back and forth via emails and stiff phone calls, and after three and half months he’d graciously accept a meeting with Starks people.  Then he’d ‘borrow’ a few cloaking broaches.  One for himself, one for Mikey, because he promised his younger brother a front row seat to him becoming a billionaire, and one for Raph, his bodyguard.  

Leo would wait in the car as the chauffeur.

He obviously wouldn’t sell the company, but he’d make a deal with the man to use some of Donnie’s soon-to-be patented tech, and in return, Donnie got to play with much more advanced tools.  He’s done fantastic with what the family must work with, and everyone pitches in on Dumpster Day to help him find tools and pieces, but who knows what he could accomplish with proper funding?  Also, he’d be able to rub it into Starks -and the worlds- face that when it comes to tech, he’s unmatched.  So yes, he’s been expecting to open his email one day and find a message from Stark Industries.  

The only problem is it’s four years too early.

He hasn’t even patented or released anything under Genius Built yet.  He was waiting until he turned 18 so he could make legal decisions without Dad’s permission.  He even had the first line of products that would make him a millionaire within his first two years of business.  As it stands now, Genius Built is just a name, logo, and a very professional email address.  There isn’t any reason for Stark to reach out to him.  

Well, there are a few.

The chair squeaks a bit as he leans fully into it.  He’s aware of the human's hero-ing above them.  Donnie and his brothers have even caught them fighting bad guys in the streets, and who could forget the first alien incident?  The suit looks cool, certainly decades ahead of any human tech, but Donnie’s not so easy to impress.  His old Tech Bo could do half the stuff that fashion nightmare gets up to today.  Probably.  He would need to see the schematics.   And lab.  And just get his fingers into the wiring-. 

Donnie shakes himself and looks at the unopened email with a frown.  There’s one obvious reason why Stark is reaching out, but he just can’t figure out how the human made the connection.  Donnie runs one last scan before opening it.  He opens the attachment first and nearly laughs at the image of his logo standing proudly on Casey’s cloak.  He forgot about that.  A rare misstep.  But now that he’s really looking at it, future Donnie had a point.  Genius Built apparel looks divine.  He knew he always had it in him, who else could create sleek black accessories infused with flexible communication devices?  Will his genius know no end?  Donnie focuses back on the actual email and he reads it quickly, eye ridge going up with each line, then goes to the top to read it again. 

Huh.

“Hey guys,” he yells.  “You might want to see this.” 

It doesn’t take long for the three of them to spill into his lab.  Leo comes in first and drapes himself across the back of Donnie’s chair.  “What’s up?  You find the secret ingredient to Luenzo’s Pizza yet?”

“No,” Donnie scowls.  “They’re locked down tighter than Fort Knox, but it’ll fall soon.  They always do.  No fellas,” He enlarges the email, “We’ve been invited to a meet-up of sorts.”   

Raph’s hand settles heavily on his shoulder as the larger turtle leans in to read.  “Dear Genius Built…….Talk about…….agree to meet…..love…”

“IRONMAN!!?!?”  Mikey shouts.  “THE Ironman wants to meet us!”

“Wow,” Raph whistles.  “The Avengers.  That’s some top-level hero stuff.”  

Donnie shares a look with Leo.  Top-level huh?  Raph is practically jumping in excitement that ‘real’ heroes are asking to meet with them.  

“Ok,” Leo says.  “Let’s focus.  Why do they want to meet D?”

“Take a guess.”  

The room goes quiet, and Leo lifts up.  “But how? Donnie, you said your program would cover us.”

“And it did.”  A beautiful piece of programming, probably his best.  It continuously scans the internet for images related to their ever-growing family.  If you’ve uploaded something with even just 5 green pixels, his program has seen, screened it, and blurred all identifying markers.  Except for one.

“But,” Mikey says.  “How?  I would’ve thought he’d find APRIL before he found us.”

“Well.  He didn’t find us.  He found me.  Technically,” Donnie answers.  He pulls up the attachment. The clear image of his logo.  “Or more importantly Genius Built.  I did say it was trademarked.”

“So, he doesn’t know about,” Leo waves a hand, “this whole situation?”

“I wouldn’t count on it.”

Leo raises a brow ridge.  “So, what’s the problem?”

“The problem is that Tony Stark sent this.  Personally,” Donnie answers.  “It’s one thing if his assistant sends an email, it’s a whole ‘nother thing when Stark, the Avenger, asks to meet with you.  I might not know him, but he seems like the ‘dog with a bone’ type.”

Raph stops fidgeting.  “You think he’ll find us.”  

Donnie taps his fingers against the armrest.  “I’m confident in my tech but I’ve never had to defend our identities from a multi-billionaire before.  He has access to resources that I can’t even fathom.  Sooner or later, he’ll find us.”  

It’s a sobering thought.  They’ve only dealt with the threat of exposure twice, and both of those were through mystic means.  Humans are different.  Cruel.  They’ve been lucky that most of New York doesn’t care who or what’s walking down the street, but the Avengers?  If they deem the Hamato Clan to be a threat, then that’s it.  The sheer reach they have means they’d never be able to leave the Hidden City.

“We go,” Raph finally says.  “But we choose the location.”

“Just me and Donnie,” Leo adds.  “You two can hang back for support, and if anything goes left, I’ll portal us out of there.”

Raph nods.  “Good idea.  Send them the ok for the mid-rise rooftop on 48th street.”  He frowns, “Just Ironman and Captain America.  No one else.”

“Please,” Leo scoffs.  “they’re going to have people looking out just like we are.”

“That’s fine,” Raph says.  “But I’m more comfortable if it’s just Captain America and Stark on the roof.  Besides, they don’t want to draw attention just as much as we do.”  

Not a bad idea.  48th is busy enough that they won’t try anything, and it has enough building coverage for Mikey and Raph to hide nearby.

“We’ll reconvene on the old theater around the block then I’ll portal us home.”

“Uh,” Mikey interjects.  “You might want to mention that you’re a mutant.  You know, so they don’t blast you as soon as they see you.”  

“Fair point, Angelo,” Donnie turns back to the computer.  “I’ll let them know to expect green mutants, one with stylish purple and black accents,” He looks Leo up and down, “and one that’s kind of blue.  You guys down for tonight?  The proverbial rip the band-aid off?”

Leo pushes off the chair with a stretch.  “Might as well.  There’s no real reason to delay it.”

“What do they even want to know about the Kraang?” Mikey questions.

“You know humans,” Donnie starts.  “They have to know all the W’s.”

“Are we going to tell them?”

Another good question.  There’s no real reason not to tell the local superhero team.  They wouldn’t want a repeat of that awful day either.  It’s just….

“We’ll meet them first,” Raph says, “and go from there.”

Donnie nods and turns back to the computer.  His fingers move quickly over the keyboard before he makes a decisive click.  “And done.  I’ll let you know when I hear back.  Keep your calendars open boys.”

“I’ll tell Dad and Draxum,” Raph says.  “Just in case.”

“I call dibs on telling April!” Mikey sings.  “Man, she’s going to flip.”  

They filter out of the lab one by one except for one.  Donnie tries to ignore him, he really does, but the air is off when there’s more than one person in his lab.  “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like it.”

Donnie sighs.  “You don’t like anything anymore Leon.”

“That’s not true!” Leo shouts.  “I like you guys, I like April, I LOVE winning.  Draxum’s finally growing on me-.”

“Leo.” 

The slider stops, smile slipping off his face.  “I just don’t like it.  I mean these guys work with the government.  That’s like mutant hiding 101.  Stay away from the big, bad, scary, possibly dissecting government.”      

Leo starts pacing, and Donnie just watches him.  It’s a valid concern.  He’s researched as much as he could about this SHIELD agency, but he hits a wall every time.  Which screams shady and overreaching, but Donnie agrees with Raph on this one.  The risk of Stark pushing them out outweighs the risk of talking to them.  “Look,” Donnie starts.  “I can’t say it’s going to work out.  In fact, there’s 24% chance of this blowing up in our faces, but the odds are much worse if we let Stark smoke us out.”

“I know.”

He studies Leo.  The scowl and defeated posture.  It feels wrong on his brother somehow.  “I think the best thing we can do is prepare and be ready.  I’ll stay close to you so if there’s even a hint of trouble, you can pull me out.”

Leo’s shoulders drop.  “Yeah.  I won’t let anything happen to you, Donnie.”

He rolls his eyes and spins back to the computer.  “I know you won’t.”  he pauses, “We’ve got each other.  No matter what.”

“No matter what.” 

Warm arms quickly wrap around him and are gone before he can retaliate.  He wants to be irritated, but he knows Leo needs more time.  They all do.  Maybe he should ask Draxum if there’s such a thing as a Yokai therapist.  It’s not exactly healthy how they all try to creep and check in on each other.  It’s caused many awkward late-night confrontations.

He blinks as another message comes in from Stark.  That was quick.  He scans it and reads it but it’s a simple agreement to the terms and an off-color joke about mutants.  Donnie feels a smirk pull at his lips.  Let the man believe whatever he wants.  The reactions are always funnier that way.  He closes out the email and stands with a stretch.  He’s got a few hours to kill, he might as well start drafting that quarantine idea.

Tony

There’s always a certain rush in discovering the elusive.  A mix of satisfaction combined with a nice boost of the ego to confirm that there’s not much on this planet that he can’t eventually track down.  The people in the video proved to be worthy opponents.  It’s never taken this long to track down people he has on video, but it doesn’t matter now.  He’s got them.  He was still high off the discovery and the first thing he tried was to track the address.  See if he could connect it to an IP address or a server but that brought up nothing.  Which, he probably should have expected.  The guy’s literally editing photos as they’re being uploaded, so it stands to reason he wouldn’t slip on something small like an email address.  So, he crafted his message.  Sent a request to meet and made sure it came from his personal account, so the guys on the other side would know it was real.  Tony hadn’t drafted an email since he left college, so he kept it short.  A simple, ‘Hey! Thanks for saving the world, we should chat sometime!’, and with some further additions (and corrections) from Steve, the email was sent into cyberspace.  He remembers leaning back, crossing his arms behind his head in satisfaction, and waiting for the inevitable response.

And waiting.

And waiting.

A tap on the shoulder has him jerking awake.  He rubs his eyes before stretching, and he groans as cracks pop down the length of his back.  Tony slumps forward before pulling up his email.  He’s gotten a couple hundred during the night, a few creative insults, and requests from Pepper, but nothing from Genius Built.  What the hell?

“Nothing?”

“Nothing,” he grunts.  “I don’t get it.”

Bruce just hums and starts collecting notes off his desk.  “People do have jobs you know.”

“Oh don’t give me that,” Tony says.  “Who ignores an email from Tony Stark?”

“I don’t think that’s a good enough excuse for their boss,” Bruce says.  The man grabs his signature mug, a sort of welcome to the tower gift Tony left on his desk months ago.  The light green mug reads in white letters ‘I’m a sweetheart with a temper.’  Steve, the hardass, didn’t find it funny but Bruce had cracked the wildest grin he’d ever seen on the man.  “Come on.  Fury’s meeting is going to start soon.”

“I need to be here when they respond.”

Bruce snorts.  “I’ve played Word With Friends with you during one of these things.  I know you have the brain power to keep an eye on it during this meeting.”  Bruce fills his mug with tea and walks toward the door, swiping a notebook off Tony’s desk along the way.  “Let’s go.”

Tony stands there before grabbing his phone with a sigh.  Bruce is right, and it’s not like he plans to listen anyway.  He follows Bruce into the elevator and double-checks his phone.  

“You know,” Bruce muses.  “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were being stood up.”  The man's lip curls, “The great Tony Stark left on read.”

“I liked you better when we weren’t friends.”  

Bruce chuckles.  “When was that?  Before or after you poked me on the Helicarrier.”

“Before,” he answers.  “Any acts of antagonization on my end is an overture of friendship.”

Bruce lets out a full laugh at that and Tony grins.  It’s always interesting to see the other man relaxed or having a good time.  He’s always so guarded, but he’s gotten better since he decided to move into the Tower.  The door opens and Tony starts to mentally prepare himself.  Bruce will let him know if there’s anything important he needs to pay attention to.  He checks his phone again and collapses into the chair. 

“Hear anything?”

He takes a calming breath.  “No Rogers.  Tell you what, you’ll be the first one I notify, ok?”

Steve just blinks before throwing a look at Bruce.

Bruce sets his mug down and drops into the seat next to him.  “Ignore him,” Bruce says.  “He’s not used to being stood up.” 

“Ohh,” Clint leans over the table with a smirk.  “Who has the guts to stand up the Tony Stark?”

“A lead.” 

That pulls the smirk off bird boys face.  “On the Kraang incident?” 

“Yep,” he pops.  “One of the kids in the video had an unknown logo on his outfit.  Jarvis was able to connect it to a Trademark.  Which led to an email address.  Now I’m just waiting for a response.” 

Natasha’s voice cuts in cold.  “And if they don’t respond?”

“Alright everyone,” Bruce interjects.  “Relax.  He sent the message last night.  For all we know whoever manages that email works a regular job, or it could be something simple like they don’t check an inactive business email that often.  Let’s give them 24 hours before we start pulling the city apart.”

Bruce is right.  Tony knows he’s right.  It’s just- he’s so close to answers, and it sets him on edge that the only obstacle is a stupid email.  

Fury walks in then, all scowls and non-nonsense, and Tony immediately checks out.  He looks at his email before forcing himself to think about other things.  Maybe like working on that communication device for Thor.  No one’s really seen the guy since his emo brother's hissy-fit, but they could really use their alien guy to answer an alien question.  If Thor would just take him to Asgard then he’d have a better understanding of how to build this thing.  Thor’s vague explanation didn’t help either.  It would be great if he used actual scientific terms instead of magical ones.

He finds himself drifting to the drawl of Fury’s speech and pulls up Words with Friends.  Bruce was practically begging for a game earlier, and who was he to deny his friend the small things that keep him calm?  He's just set up to send a truly devastating word Bruce’s way when the table shakes.  He looks up into the irritated face of Fury.  “Am I boring you Stark?”

“Uh, yeah.  Just a bit.”

Fury pulls his hands into fists.  “Maybe this cavalier attitude is why aren’t getting anywhere.  I never thought it would take you this long to find people Stark.”

He puts his phone down.  “Ok.  One, that’s uncalled for.  Two, what’s got your eyepatch in a twist?”

Bruce leans over.  “They haven’t given him the alien yet.”

Tony turns an incredulous look Fury’s way.  “Still!?”

The man just scowls harder and pulls away from the table.  “God Damned E.P.F.”

“Who?”

“The agency that got to the alien first,” Natasha says.  “E.P.F.  Earth Protection Force.”

“Wait,” Tony says.  “I thought SHIELD had a bigger pull?”

“Apparently we don’t,” Fury snaps.  “Bishop’s been a thorn in my side for a long time.  He’s got connections.  International connections.  I can’t even get access to anything they’ve already done with the alien.  It took everything I had to get its fucking name.”  

Tony opens his mouth to answer but a buzz pulls his attention downward.  He stares at the notification before jumping out of his chair and making for the front of the room.  “Everyone shut up.  I got a response.” 

The room falls silent and Tony’s already pulling the message up on the projector.  After all the anticipation, the message itself is rather short.  It contains a quick acceptance to meet up and is followed by a date, time, and place.  There’s a note at the end and Tony reads it with growing disbelief.  “You gotta be kidding me.”

“They’re mutants,” Steve gloats.  “I knew it.”  

“Shut up Rogers,” Tony says.  “You didn’t know anything.  Besides, ‘green with stylish purple and black accents?’  He’s messing with us.”

“Mutants aren’t exactly a new thing, Tony.”  

He waves Bruce off.  “Yeah, we all know about Xavier, but we’re talking animal human mutants right now.”

“I don’t care if they show up dressed as Sesame Street,” Fury says.  “I want fucking answers.  I want to know everything they know and more importantly, how they closed that hole in the sky.” 

“Aye, aye captain,” Tony says.  “But they have to be lying.  You can clearly see on the video that they're human.”

“Maybe this is an unintended giveaway,” Clint says.  “The only videos we see are of these two kids.  An operation this big?  I mean, we all assumed there were more people involved, and it looks like we were right.”  

Tony hums and turns back to the display.  Barton has a great point.  He throws one of the videos up and plays it again.  This time he takes his eyes off the two and starts looking at the areas around them, but doesn’t see anything outside of the usual.  The kid catches the missile.  Flings it at the helicopter, then the alien dives in on them.  The bodysuit leaves a huge crater and a plum of dust engulfs the two.

“Wait.  Go back a bit.”

Tony doesn’t question it.  He rewinds ten seconds and lets the video play.

“Stop,” Barton gets up then.  He walks around the table and sets a finger just to the right of the girl.  “Here.  The dust is off.”  

“Jarvis.  Isolate and scan the pixels around the girl.”

“Yes sir.”  

“What did you see?”  Steve asks.

Barton moves closer to the monitor.  “I’m not sure, but this dust isn’t right.”

“Scan complete, sir,” Jarvis announces.  “There appears to be an overlapping of pixels where Master Clint has indicated.  The pixels seem to be copied and stretched to cover a hole.”

Tony whistles.  “Damn this guy is good.”

“In English.”

“Somethings been edited out,” Bruce answers.  “And the surrounding pixels have been copied and stretched to cover it.  It’s clean work too.  Some of the cleanest I’ve ever seen.”

“Not too clean if old Hawkeyes can see it,”  Tony says, but he’s shaking.  He needs to meet the mind behind such beautiful programming.  

“Hey Jarvis,” Barton says.  “How tall is this hole?”

“Approximately 3’6” sir.”

“Unless that missing piece is a toddler,” Fury says.  “I’d say they’re hiding a small mutant.”

Tony doesn’t care.  It didn’t matter if these people were talking hedgehogs.  He just needs to get in the same room as them. To create something this sophisticated?  Could it be because this ‘mutant’ team has to stay hidden?  It’s not out of the realm of possibility.  A great need drives creativity.  

Tony claps and turns to the rest of the room.  “Alight super spies.  Which one of you wants to follow us to this rooftop?  Also, I gotta say it.  A rooftop?  Very 80s.”  

Clint snorts but raises a hand.  “I’ll do it.  They’ll probably have others with them and I’ve got the best eyes on the team.”

“Alright!” Fury says.  “Let’s be prepared.  We’ve only got a few hours till this meat up.  Stark, is there anything you can put on them?”

“I can,” Tony answers.  “But I wouldn't recommend it.  With a team this smart?  They’ll find it, and that would be to quickest way to ruin the relationship.”

“The most important thing sir is the Invasion,” Natasha says.  “We need to get as much as we can from this first meeting.”

Steve leans forward.  “We should bring a picture of the idol.  They probably know what it means.”

“How many people are we expecting in this group?” Bruce asks.  “We keep speaking in plurals.”  

“It’s gotta be a group of ten, at least,” Tony says.  “And that doesn’t include who could possibly be funding them.”

“Do we have a lead on that?” 

“No,” Fury sighs.  “We’ve looked into it and can’t find any activity of funds coming into New York.”

“I wonder where they’re getting the processing power from?” Bruce hums.

“Guys,” Steve says.  “Let's focus on questions to ask first.”  

Tony zones out with that announcement.  He doesn’t really need to listen to this, besides, Rogers will keep the conversation on task when they get to the rooftop.  He looks at the clock.  1 pm.  Just nine hours until they finally get some answers.  For the first time in a long time, he feels himself tapping the table in frustration.  Nine hours.  It suddenly feels lightyears away.

“Hey.”

Tony rolls his neck to Bruce.  He’s not sure when Bruce got up, but the other man is already at the door.  “You want to work a bit on our project before you have to go?” 

Tony chuckles before walking past Bruce and out of the conference room.  “I take it back.  I like you better when we’re friends.”

Steve

Tony checks his watch for the third time and Steve already knows what’s coming.  “They’re late.” 

“No,” Steve sighs.  “They’re not.”

“Who doesn't get to a meeting like this early!” Tony says.  “it’s 8:30 pm!  Honestly, they should have beat us here.”

Steve just rolls his eyes and tries to ignore Tony’s complaining.  The man has been on edge since they left and Steve gets it, he really does, but it can be annoying.  Although, that is Tony’s default.  

Steve shifts and rolls his shoulders to adjust the shield on his back.  They all agreed it would be best to come in full gear just in case anything went wrong.  This new suit is a little darker and easier to move in, but he envies that Tony’s gear can now fit in a briefcase.  It sits inconspicuously next to the agitated man but at least he’s comfortable in loose jeans and a long-sleeve shirt.  Tony huffs and adjusts the sunglasses and probably the camera hiding in the lens for the fourth time.  

Clint’s voice cracks through the earpiece.  “Look alive.  I’ve got four unknowns coming in on your 6.”

“Finally,” Tony mutters.

Steve scans the rooftops but can’t make out any silhouettes or movements.  The whole area is covered in shifting shadows from the neighboring buildings, and the uneven heights of the rooftops offer plenty of blind spots for this team to emerge from.  He didn’t want to say it out loud, least he start an unnecessary argument with Stark, but this is probably why they weren’t here yet.  The tactical advantage of picking this spot lets this mysterious Genius Built watch and observe them first without giving away their position.  It speaks to a strategic, possibly trained, group of individuals.  

“Whoa,” Clint whistles.

“What is it?”

“One of them is big,” Clint says.  “Like Hulk big.”

Steve tenses and sends a look Tony’s way.  The man’s already picking up his briefcase but he doesn’t activate the suit.  Right.  This is a friendly meeting.  No reason to get aggressive just yet.

“Looks like the big one is hanging back with the smaller one,”  Clint says.  “Huh.  I guess they know I’m here too, the little one just waved at me.”

“Waved?”

“Two are coming to you now.”

Steve hears them first when a slight buzzing fills the air with a sound akin to a helicopter.  The mutants come into view and Steve blinks.  They’re definitely animal mutants, that’s for sure.  The one in purple flies down, propellers spread wide from its back, and a similar-looking creature in blue hangs off him. 

“Guess I owe you an apology Rogers,” Tony whispers.

The two land before them and the propellers seem to fold into the purple creature's back.  Which, the longer he looks, the less like a back it actually is.  There’s something heavy and mechanical peaking over the purple one's shoulders.  A jetpack maybe?  The mutants stand to their full height and Steve feels his head tilt down with a blink.  They’re short.  Shorter than what he was expecting.  Steve takes in the green skin, the apparent armored fronts, and the three digits on each hand.  It doesn’t click until he sees the curved shell outlining the one in blue.

Turtles.

“So what am I looking at,” Tony asks.  “You guys are what?  Salamanders?  Frogs?  Snakes?”

Steve keeps his face neutral but his fingers twitch.  If he got it, then he knows Tony figured it out as well.  He doesn’t understand the man.  Why start with insults when this is supposed to be a friendly and informational mission?

The purple one just raises an unimpressed eyebrow.  “Cute.  Well, we’re here, what did you want to talk about?”

“What, no introductions? Seems kind of ru-.”

Steve steps forward and places a tight hand on Tony’s shoulder.  “Thank you for meeting with us,” he says.  He holds out a hand.  “I’m sure you already know Stark, but I’m Steve.” 

The purple one just stares.  Steve’s smile starts to drop the longer his offered hand stays in the air.  Another second passes before the blue one steps forward and shakes his hand.  “Forgive my brother, he’s contact averse.  I’m Leo this is Donnie,” Leo gives him a fixed smile.  “So what can we help you with?”

The grip is strong.  Really strong, and Steve can’t see any strain or tension in the turtle's arm.  His eyes go to the twin swords framing the turtle's shell.  Steve has no doubt Leo knows how to use them.  He releases the shake and Tony jumps in and pumps the turtles hand.  “Tony Stark, a pleasure to meet you.”  He drops the shake and looks around.  “You didn’t bring your three-foot friend with you?”

Leo’s jaw drops.  “You know about D-.”

Donnie's hand comes up and lands with a smack against Leo’s face.  “Be calm Leon,” Donnie says.  “He’s bluffing.”

“Oh am I?”

The turtle smirks.  “Of course you are.  If you weren’t you would have said what he was, not the height.”  The turtle places a hand under his chin.  “Let me guess, the pixels right?”

Tony drops his briefcase.  “ You built that program?!?”

“Why of course,” Donnie says.  “I’m the brains behind this whole operation.”

“Genius Built?” Steve asks. 

“In the flesh,” Donnie says.  “So let us get down to the important stuff.  What did you think about the program?  Better than anything you’ve ever done right?”

Steve flinches as the communicator transforms Clint’s laugh into a high pitch whine.  He looks at Donnie and tries not to smile.  This ones got attitude.  And confidence.  It’s like looking at a green Tony.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Tony says.  “It was brilliant though.”

“Everything I do is.” 

God the mouth on this turtle.  Steve hides a smirk behind a cough and reaches into his pocket.  He pulls out the image of the idol and holds it out to Leo.  The turtle takes it with a frown and his whole face falls.  He tilts it so Donnie can see it.  “What do you want to know about the key?”

Key?  That’s what this thing was?  Tony steps forward with a dropped jaw and a growing look of realization.  “I knew it,” Tony breathes.  “The light at the pier.  That was the first portal.  Are you saying the Kraang opened it with this-this Key?  Why?”

The turtles share a look and Tony clicks his tongue.  “No,” Tony says.  “They didn’t open the first portal did they?”

“No,” Leo answers.  He passes the photo back to Steve.  “Their followers used it first to bring them here.”

“Of course,” Tony laughs.  “What does a key open?  A fucking lock.”

Steve stares at Tony, mind racing.  He can’t be suggesting what he thinks he’s suggesting.  “Wait, are you telling me humans brought them here?  Why?”

“C’mon on Cap,” Tony snorts.  “Why else do people do stupid shit,” he turns to the turtles.  “Let me guess, they thought they were opening the door to lost Gods, infinite riches, a thousand virgins?”

“Uh no,” Donnie says.  “They knew the Kraang wanted world domination.  From what I gather, they thought they would be soldiers or something under Kraang rule.”  The turtle hums, “I guess in a way they were right.”

Steve tries to wrap his head around it but he can’t.  He never can when it comes to people wanting destruction on the entire world.  Loki made sense in his own twisted way.  An enemy country, no matter how otherworldly, is nothing new when it comes to war, but people who open the doors to death on purpose?  He’ll never get it, but It wasn’t his job to understand it, it was his job to stop it.

“Who was it?  Hydra?”

“Bless you,” Leo says.  “and they’re a non-issue now.”

“Still,” he pushes.  “A name would be nice.  You can’t be too sure when it comes to these things.”

“Oh we can be sure about this one,” Leo chuckles.

“I’m sorry,” Tony interjects.  “You’re so sure because….?” 

“They were the first ones….Kraangified if you will,” Donnie says.  “Pretty sure there’s no coming back from that one.  Mostly.”

There was no coming back from that.  The people in the Tower who just had something on their heads were ok physically, but mentally?  A lot of them are still in asylums dealing with the horrors they saw and committed under Kraang control.  The ones who were physically warped though?  It still makes him sick thinking about the senseless beast they’ve become.

Steve frowns but holds back on pushing.  They need a name to verify on their own that the threat is neutralized.  An organization that had access to alien information that even SHIELD didn’t know about is pretty important.  He doesn’t like the reluctance to give it up either.  “And the key?” 

“Handled.” 

“Handled how?” Tony says.  “Has it been destroyed?”

Donnie crosses his arms.  “No.  We’ve had problems finding anything that can even put a scratch on the stupid thing.”

Steve frowns.  “What’s it made of?”

“Wood,” Donnie says.  “Every scan I’ve done says it’s wood.  Japanese beech to be exact, but it won’t even burn.  My lasers can’t cut it either.”  Donnie scoffs, “Mystic energy is the bane of scientific reason.”

Mystic?

“Oh come on!” Tony shouts.  “Mutant turtles.  Fine.  I’ll accept it because it’s standing right in front of me, but now you want me to believe in magic ?”

“Believe it tin can!” Leo grins.  “It’s real and it’s lit!”

Lit?  Steve takes another look at the two of them.  At their height, physique, and the touch of nobbiness in their elbows and knees.  A horrible conclusion dawns on him.  “How old are you two?”

This takes the grin right off Leo’s face.  “How old are you ?”

Steve raises an eyebrow and Tony throws his hands up.  “You can’t be serious!” Tony says.  “Teenagers.  Really?  What are you, 13?”

“16,” Donnie answers.  “Give or take a few months.” 

A loud groan reaches his ears and Steve tries not to show how shocked he is by that number.  16.  They’re so young.  “Are the-,” he waves to the other buildings, “-others the same age?”

“One’s younger,” Leo answers.  “And everyone else is older.”

Steve rubs his face.  God, younger.  He hadn’t really thought about how old this team could be.  He just assumed they would be…adults like everyone else.  When they first dropped on the roof he chalked their height up to their mutation, but to know they’re this small because of their age?

“Hey,” Leo says.  “What’s with the gloom and doom attitude?  Our age doesn’t change the fact that we saved the freakin world a few months ago.”

“And we are grateful,” Steve appeases.  “Really.  It’s just.  A shock, with how young you are.”

“How did you do it,” Tony asks.  “Saving the world and what not?”

This shuts both turtles down.  They look older, worn out, and Steve starts to take in the scars on Leo's limbs.  He knows that look.  The feeling of winning the impossible and still feeling like you’re fighting.  

“The short answer?” Donnie says.  “We pulled the key after we got the ship in the rim of the dimensional doorway.  Once that closed, it took out the ship and sealed Kraang back in the prison dimension.”

Steve doesn’t know where to start with that.  There’s so much about that day that they don’t know.  Prisons, gates, and dimensional doorways?  The more pieces these turtles add to the puzzle the clearer it becomes that they themselves were working with only two corner pieces.

“Look,” Leo interjects.  “The Kraang are gone.  The key is safe.  There’s no real reason to get into details.  Are we good here?”

Steve feels it instinctively that this is all they’re going to get tonight, and possibly forever if they don’t find a way to keep in contact with them.  He looks at the turtles, their closed-off expression, and the picture of the key hanging from his own hands.

Wait.

“We can help you with the key,” Steve offers.

“What?”

Tony jumps in.  “He’s right.  We have access to technology that can do a deeper scan, and weapons you wouldn’t believe.  We could help destroy the thing.”

The turtles don’t say anything but Steve pushes forward.  “What’s the harm in trying?  If we can’t destroy it, then you can just contain it like you’re already doing.”  

Please, he thinks.  They still don’t have the entire picture and Steve gets the feeling that if this is it, then they’ll never learn what fully transpired that day.  There’s also the concerning matter of this key and the one captured Kraang.  Steve respects what they did, he really does, but something this powerful shouldn’t be in the hands of teenagers.  

The black wrapping on Leo’s arms lights up with a green symbol.  A deep voice speaks loud and clear.  “We’ll think about it,” the voice says.  “Donnie.  Leo.”

The two turtles nod before the machine on Donnie's back expands to show the vertical propellers.  Leo wraps a hand around the base of the wings.  “We’ll be in touch.”

Before he can get in another word, the turtles take off.  Steve stares after them until he can’t follow their silhouettes.  That voice at the end.  How the other two just fell in line tells Steve that was the leader.  Hopefully, he’s an actual adult.  “Do you think they’ll reach out?”

Tony just stares at the sky.  “I do actually.  Quick thinking there Cap.  I think that’s an argument they can’t really refuse.”  Tony’s quiet for a second more.  “Was that a communicator built into the fabric of those armbands?”

“Tony.”

“Right, right,” he says.  “I’ll discuss it with Bruce.  Magic though?  Can you believe it?”

He can actually.  After all, the tesseract is magic, even if Bruce and Tony like to deny it.  He doesn’t want to start an argument though.  They’ll find out soon enough once they can scan this key.  “Let’s go.”  

They have a lot to cover with Fury and the team.  Tons of new information that still feels like too little, and clear video to go over and discuss.  How many aliens were on that ship, and how many did they seal?  Hopefully, they’ll hear back from them soon. 

It turns out he didn’t need to worry about their response, because ten hours after the meeting, a new email requesting a sit down populated in Tony Stark’s inbox.

Chapter Text

Leo

Portal creation and the weight of the act is an experience he doesn’t think he can ever explain clearly.  Not even to his brothers.  He’s transported his family all over the world with these swords but it’s…..different when you’re the one in control.  The concentration and effort behind each portal is something he’s secretly worked on since the portal jacked-turned vacation incident.  When he learned that they weren’t taken by some malicious pirates, that it was him who messed up.  A cold feeling had dripped down his shell.  He could have sent them to the middle of the ocean, a different country and he’d have no idea how to find them.  The thought of losing them over a simple mistake of control changed his whole relationship with his sword.  

It’s different now.  His control so fine-tuned that not even the threat of death would cause him to make a portal mistake.  He trusts his weapons and his power explicitly to get him and his family where they need to be safely.  It’s as easy as breathing now and he doesn’t second guess the weight of them in his hands, the force in their cuts, or the vibration of energy in his chest.  

He just wishes the rest of the world were as easy to trust.

It’s not like he doesn’t trust the Avengers.  Well, he doesn’t, but that’s not the point.  The point is his family has the key sealed away in a tiny mystic dimension created by Draxum, and Leo doesn’t see any reason why that should change.  He understands the want to see that stupid log shattered to dust.  To feel the weight fall and to finally know that no matter what, that Kraang guy could never escape.  He gets it, he just doesn’t think bringing in such high-profile people into the mix is going to help.  

He didn’t want to go to the rooftop meeting, but as Donnie said, it would be worse if this turned into a Mutant Menance situation.  So he went, and he hoped, that it would go easy.  That they’d say their piece and never have to see them again.  Of course, nothing goes his way, and Captain America had to make an offer they couldn’t really refuse. 

They’ve been discussing it for the last hour and Leo has the sneaking suspicion that this is going to come down to a vote.  And he’s painfully outnumbered.  

“Look,” Leo interjects.  “Why are we assuming that whatever they have can do better than Donnie?”

“An unexpected good point Nardo,” Donnie says.  “We’ve used some extremely powerful lasers and weaponry.  I can’t really think of anything Stark could pull out that we haven’t already tried.”

Leo snaps his fingers and points in agreement.  There’s nothing this team can offer that they aren’t already doing.  And they have a mystic safe.  

“What about Thor?” Mikey says.  “He’s an alien.  He could have weapons made from stuff that’s not even of Earth!” 

“Great point Mikey,” Raph says.  “And what about that shield that Captain America uses?  Isn’t it like, indestructible?”

“It is,” Donnie says.  “I’ve been looking into it too and I’m starting to suspect that it’s alien.”

“You think everything is aliens,” Raph scoffs.  “I say we put it to a vote.”

That’s the exact phrase he was looking to avoid.  He looks around the room and his eyes settle on his last hope.  “Wait,” he says.  “What about Draxum?  Weren’t you looking into mystic means to destroy the key?  How’s that going?” 

Draxum raises an eyebrow.  “Well, this is a surprise.  Michelangelo, mark this day.”

Leo rolls his eyes.  “Ha ha.  So?  What’s going on with your lead?”

“It’s still in development,” Draxum says.  “I put the word out that I’m in need of…assistance.  Now I just have to wait for his response.”

Leo frowns.  He should have known Draxum would let him down.  “You can’t just find this guy?”

“This isn’t the type of individual you find.  He finds you.”

Leo scoffs and turns directly into April's stare.  He shifts, avoiding her gaze, but the girl is already pushing her way to stand before him.  He sinks deeper into the couch as April hops on the armrest, making herself comfortable.  “What’s wrong Leo?  You never willingly speak to Draxum.”

“Nothings wrong,” he says.  “I just don’t think it’s a good idea to get the Avengers involved.” 

“I agree,” Casey says.  “If Ma-Leo says it’s a bad idea then it’s a bad idea.”

Leo sends the boy a grateful grin but the room erupts into loud and obnoxious groans.

“Of course, he would say that!” Mikey says.  “He agrees with everything Master Leonardo suggests.”

“No, I don’t!”

“Oh really?” Donnie says.  “Just last week you agreed to trash Draxum’s home to quote ‘test his loyalty.’” 

Casey goes red and Leo sits up.  “Hey!  We didn’t ‘trash’ his place.  It was just some light redecorating.  He needed more pictures of us in his home anyway.”

“I considered it trashed,” Draxum grumbles.  

“We are getting off track,” Dad says.  “Like Red says, let's put it to a vote.  All for letting the Avengers try to destroy the key?” 

Five hands go up and Leo feels his heart sink.  “I can’t believe Draxum is on my side and you guys aren’t!”

“What can I say,” Draxum shrugs.  “I don’t trust humans not to make the situation worse.”  He glances at April, “no offense.”

She rolls her eyes.  “None taken,” she pats his arm, “Sorry Leo, but if we don’t try everything to destroy it, this thing will just keep hanging over us.”

She’s right.  He knows she’s right, but he feels better when the stupid key is sealed in the pocket dimension.  He can’t even stand it when Donnie pulls it out for more tests, and that’s for a few hours.  To have it out possibly for days?  It doesn’t help that the other Kraang might still be alive.  That’s if the government hasn’t already pulled her apart.

“Ok,” he sighs.  “But I have conditions!”

A small weight lands on him, knocking the air from his lungs, and strong arms circle lightly around his neck.  “Whatever makes you feel better.”

He smiles.  “Thanks, little brother,” He speaks to the room.  “ We stay with the key.  At all times.”

Raph nods.  “We’re on the same page so far.”

“Even when testing,” Leo pushes.  “One of us should always try to be in the same room or nearby.  Just in case.”  

Donnie nods.  “That’s fair.  Besides, I’m sure we’d hear it if something came busting into that gaudy tower.”

“Why is it gaudy?” Mikey asks.

“Oh please,” Donnie scoffs.  “It has a giant ‘A’ on it.  We get it Stark.  You’re hosting the avengers.”

“But,” Mikey frowns.  “You put your logo on everything too?” 

“Yeah, but mine’s not in everyone's face,” Donnie says.  “Plus it’s classy, sleek, and elegant.”

Raph's hand engulfs Donnie's huge head, silencing the softshell.  “Outside of Donnie's weird jealous-”

“I am NOT jealous-”

“Fine!” Raph rolls his eyes.  “Fangirl act, are there any other rules?”

Leo pauses to think.  He taps his fingers against Mikey's arms and his eyes are drawn to the scars on the box turtle's hands.  “Mystic powers to a minimum,” Leo says, face hard.  “Like, not at all if we can help it.”

Mikey pops up.  “But we already told them about mystic stuff?”

“We told them the key was mystic,” Leo corrects.  “And we never said we had mystic powers.  Just-lets keep it on the low for now.”

Raph studies him before nodding.  “Ok.  Mystic powers on emergency use only.  Anything else?”

The room is silent and Raph’s face breaks into a grin.  “Perfect!  Donnie let Ironhead know that we want to do a sit down this time.”  Raph crouches down and it’s just like old times.  Before the Kraang and the sacrifices.  “We bring the key and Donnie, tell them to come with some scanners so we can do the initial readings there.  There’s no point in going all the way to the tower if they can’t help.”

“Not bad so far,” Donnie says.  “Keep going.”

“Then after you and Stark nerd out, we hit them with our terms.”

“What if they don’t have rooms ready for us?”

“Please,” Leo says.  “That tower is massive.  Trust me, Mikey, he’ll have room for us.”  

“So then it’s up to them,” Raph continues.  “If they don’t want us at the tower then we split and that’s it.  We’ll wait for Draxum’s mystery-possibly evil-contact to get back to us.”

“You throw around the word evil a lot,” Draxum chimes in, “when it comes to me.  Why doesn’t Foot Recruit get the same level of scorn?”  

“Barry,” Leo says.  “We’ve been over this.  You threw me off a roof.  You’ve got two more years until I let that go.”

“It’s been two years already!”  

“Anyway,” Leo says.  “Fine.  I’ll go along with it for now.  Donnie set up a dinner date for tonight.”  

“Couldn’t agree more,” Donnie says.  He pulls out his phone and his fingers fly across the screen.  “Let’s make them take us to dinner.  Somewhere fancy.  God knows Stark can afford it.”  Donnie turns to them with a smirk, “What are we hungry for boys?  Oh!  There’s that super fancy pizza place downtown.”

Mikey gasps and his eyes begin to sparkle.  “The Upper Crust!  It takes months to get on that list!  Do you think he can get us a table?”

“Oh he’s going to do more than get us a table,” Donnie says.  “We’ll get the whole rooftop!  It’s the least he can do.”

Leo shares a grin with Raph.  Donnie can deny it all he wants but he knows his brother.  He’s been fangirling over Stark ever since Ironman started flying in that fancy suit.  The only issue is when Donnie fangirls he gets mean.  Leo flashes back to the Jupiter Jim sidekick race and all of his brother's sabotages.  It’s weird, but it’s Donnie.

“Sent!” Donnie sings.  “Now we wait.  I’m going to start packing just in case.  I have a lot of equipment to bring.”

“I need to decide what comic I want signed!”  Mikey grins, taking off for his room.  “I can’t believe I’m going to meet Captain America!”

“Wait for me!” April shouts.  “We need to go over what pictures you’re going to take!”  

Draxum snorts and leaves for his own home.  He’s moved into an adjacent tunnel after the whole Shredder nonsense, and Leo’s still not used to having the man so close.  Donnie thinks it’s a matter of time before the man moves in with them, but Leo doesn’t think that’ll ever happen.

Everyone filters out of the living until it’s just Leo.  He sinks deep into the chair and rubs his eyes.  

“Are you ok Leo?”

Leo looks between his fingers to see Casey settling on the ground before him.  Peace has really done a number on him.  He’s no longer skin and bones, and his muscles seem to grow every time Leo sees the kid.  There’s a fullness to his face that wasn’t there before and smudges of ink line the scars on his hands.  

“I’m fine,” Leo says.  “I guess I’m just being paranoid.”

Casey frowns.  “You know.  We didn’t have superheroes in the future.  I mean, there were you guys of course, and everyone heard the rumors about Upstate, but an actual team?  That was just an impossible dream.”

Leo tries not to frown.  He doesn’t like it when Casey reminds him how bleak the future used to be.  He gets what the kid is trying to tell him though.  He looks away from the boy before him, he should be thankful that a super team is even willing to help.

“But,” Casey smiles.  “I remember a few years back where we ran into another group of surviving humans, and the leader was badass.  It was like nothing could hurt him!  Literally!  I swear I saw him fall from a seven-story building and he just got back up.”  Casey shifts and his smile falls a bit.  “The thing is, Master Leonardo was the only one who didn’t really like the guy.  He could never explain why, but he worked with him because it was the best for everyone.”

Great.  Even his future self knew when to put aside his petty paranoia.  

“Then one day,” Casey continues.  “A mission went bad, like real bad.  And this badass guy who was basically indestructible was reckless.  Like almost got half the team killed reckless, and the only reason why the team survived was because of Master Leonardo.  I don’t know, even though he was willing to work with this guy, he was always preparing for the what if.  We split from his group after that, we had kids to think about, you know.”

No, he didn’t know.

Casey gets up and places a hand on his shoulder.  “Trust your gut on this Leo.  It’s never steered you wrong before.”

It has though.  It’s steered him wrong in the most important moments.  He places a hand over Casey's and smiles up at the boy.  “So,” he pivots.  “How are night classes?”

Casey’s face lights up.  “It’s going great!  My teacher even said I’ll be ready to take the GED test next month.”  His face falls in irritation.  “Dale continues to be an ass.  I swear, one day I’m gonna knock his teeth…”

Leo listens to Casey’s school escapades and feels himself relaxing.  It’s great that Casey gets a chance to experience regular life.  It hurts though, that he’ll be gone soon.  The boy tries to hide it, but they all see it.  Casey wants to travel.  See the world outside the concrete walls of New York.  Donnie’s already in the process of procuring a passport.  A gift for getting his GED and a reminder that he would always have a place here.  

He knows that Casey trusts him and his decisions, but it’s not him.  Not exactly.  The turtle Casey trust is twenty years older.  That Leo sounds strong and sure.  A leader carved from strife and devastation.  He has none of that yet, and he's scared about what he needs to lose to become the turtle Casey knows.  He’s glad Casey still believes in him, even in his naivety. 

He just wishes he was half the Leo Casey remembered. 

Tony

A resounding crash of thunder and the subsequence shake of the tower jolts him awake.  He looks around, confusion and fear warring in the valves of his heart, but there’s nothing.  No enemy or attack.  Tony checks the windows to see a clear New York morning, no hints of clouds or rain in sight, and he falls back into the mattress.  Thunder without clouds can only mean one thing.

The bed shifts with a groan.  “We have to do something about that entrance.”

Tony yawns and curls around the small form of Pepper.  “I’ll try but I don’t think he can be house trained.”

She laughs gently before rolling over in his arms.  She stretches to steal a kiss before sitting up.  “I probably need to be up anyway.  The jet takes off in a few hours.”

“Why don’t you take the meeting here?” Tony says.  He slides closer to sling an arm over her waist.  “It’s not like they’ll turn you down.”

“Wish I could,” Pepper says.  “But it’ll be easier to meet them in person.  Also, a few days on the beach will do me some good.”  She turns to him with a smile.  “Besides you’ve got the alien incident to focus on.”

She bends to place a soft kiss on his hair before slipping out of the bed.  She looks beautiful like this.  All long lines and pillow-pulled hair.  She lets the nightgown fall to the smooth marble below her feet.  There’s some rustling, then the soft sounds of water blanketing the walk-in shower fill the room.

“I’ll meet you in Malibu when things here get a bit more stable.”  He calls.

“Ok,” she says.  “Go make sure Thor isn’t destroying our kitchen.  For the third time.”  

He could go back to sleep to this but he doesn’t.  Tony rolls out of bed with a grunt and a toe-curling stretch.  It’s way too early for this.  He grabs his phone and makes his way to the kitchen.  He’s actually happy that Thor is already back.  Usually, the guy takes off with a “See you a few days my friends!” and then no one hears from him for a good 4 months.  He rounds the corner and stops to take in the site.  The kitchen isn’t destroyed, thank God, but everyone's up.  He checks his phone and the clock still reads six in the morning.

“Ok,” Tony says.  “How come I didn’t get the team breakfast memo?”

Steve takes a sip of his coffee with a sigh.  “It wasn’t on purpose.  Thor practically shook the whole building awake.”  

“I’ve been up for the last few hours going over that video,” Bruce mumbles.  He takes another sip of tea as his fingers move lazily over the tablet.  “I would love to get a DNA sample.  Test their strength and shell durability if they’re up for it.  Their articulation is very human-like too, I wonder if it’s a 50-50 DNA combination?”

“Ok, Bill Nye,” Tony says.  He sits in the open seat next to Bruce and snatches his place.  There’s not much on it, just a few pieces of bacon and two pieces of toast but it’ll do.  “Hey Rogers, pour me a cup of coffee.”  

“I don’t work for you, Stark.”

“Eh, you kind of do.”  

Steve snorts but gets up anyway.  The pushover.  Tony looks at Thor and is surprised to see his plate full of pancakes and bacon.  “Didn’t you just get here?”

Thor grins.  “I did!”  

The man doesn’t elaborate and Tony lets it go.  It’s too early for this, especially without any coffee.  Steve sets a steaming mug before him.  “You’re a God-sent Rogers.”  He takes a huge sip and lets the warmth rush over him.  He lets the noise of the kitchen fall away until the caffeine finally has a chance to hit.  Tony blinks, more awake than before, and turns back to Thor.  “Did anyone fill you in?”  

Thor frowns.  “Aye.  Lady Jane told me of the attack.  I am sorry I wasn’t here to help.”

“Don’t be,” Natasha says.  “We weren’t here either.”

He clenches the mug but doesn’t say anything.  They made their choice in Latvia and they have to deal with it.  “About that Pointbreak,” he says.  “We wanted to ask if you knew this species.  We don’t have a lot to go on.  We only have the name of one of them.  It goes by Kraang if that rings-.”

Thor’s fist lands heavy on the table.  “It was the Kraang?  And your world survived their assault?”

What?

“Wait,” Clint says.  “I thought the thing's name was Kraang?”

“No,” Thor says.  “As far as we can tell they have no names.  They are simply the Kraang.  A powerful race that has terraformed thousands of planets, some even suspect across dimensions.” 

A dimensional doorway.  That’s what the kid said.  

“Their devastation was starting to creep into the space my father protects,” Thor continues.  “Their first assault was on Midgard over a thousand years ago, but by the time my father and his armies reached this planet, they were already gone.” 

“Gone where?”

Thor leans back.  “I do not know.  The local Midgardians said that the evil had been sealed away.  They would disclose nothing else.”

This story just keeps evolving.  The more he learns the more he feels like he’s grasping at straws and strings that lead to nowhere.  “That sort of explains the human part,” Tony says.  “They probably have legends about this Key in all the wrong circles.”  

“Who vanquished them?” Thor asks.  “I have heard of no other world that has survived their attack, and never twice.”

“That’s who we’re trying to connect with,” Steve says.  “We’ve gotten bits and pieces of the story.  But they pulled the plug on their portal.  Destroying their ship and sealing most of the Kraang.”

Thor leans forward.  “They destroyed their ship?  These must be some formidable warriors!  When will I get to meet them?”

“Soon, if everything works out,” Steve says.  

A buzz pulls his attention.  “Well speak of the devil,” Tony says.  

Steve sits up.  “Did they agree?”

Tony scans the email and can’t fight the laugh that bubbles in his chest.  “Listen to this kid!” he laughs.  “He wants me to treat the four of them to dinner at the Upper Crust.  The wait line for that place is almost 6 months long.”

“Can you get it?”

“Don’t insult me, Rogers,” he says.  “I’ll pay extra for them to stay open after hours tonight.”  He grins, “the kid said it’s the least I can do.  He’s hilarious.”

Natasha sets her cup down.  “What about the key?”

“Oh they said they’ll bring it to dinner for an initial scan,” he says.  “And some demands, very cloak and dagger.”  

“You said four,” Clint says.  “Are the other two coming?  You’re going to need a sturdy chair for the big guy.”

A yes, the apparent Hulk of the group.  A thought hits him.  “He said Donnie was his brother.  Do you think the other two are related?”  

“Possibly,” Bruce says.  “But I wonder how related they actually are.  I've been looking at the footage and the two that you met appear to be different species of turtles.”  Bruce thumbs through his tablet and pulls up an image of the brothers.

“What strange creatures,” Thor says.  “These are the warrior?”

“Yes,” Bruce answers.  “But you see Leo, the one in blue.  These red markings and lighter scales on his appendages indicate that he’s a slider.”  Bruce flips the tablet for all of them to see and he starts to pick up speed.  “Now, I assumed they were the same species, and that the other one was just hiding his marking, but the closer I look at the technology on his back,”  The image switches to a slightly out-of-focus view of the turtles leaving.  “The more I realized it’s covering the entirety of where its shell would be.  Almost like it was protecting it, and there’s only one turtle that would need to protect its shell.”  The picture changes to something completely ugly and with a somewhat familiar attitude.  “A softshell turtle.”

Clint takes a bite of his bacon.  “Isn’t that the hissing thing off of Gumball?”

Bruce blinks.  “Yes, I guess.  I’m not familiar with the show.  Anyway, I think this is some sort of mechanical shell.  He’s clearly enhanced it with extra technology.”

“Cool technology if you ask me.”

“No one’s asking,” Natasha says.  “What does this have to do with the Kraang or the key?”

“Well,” Bruce stumbles.  “Nothing really.  It’s just to have such similar mutations across different species of the same family is fascinating.  How much of their mutation was influenced by human DNA?  How does it affect their health-.”

“Ok Bruce,” Tony said.  “We got it earlier.  You’re excited.  You can come to the meeting.”

“I’m coming too,” Natasha says.

Of course, because SHIELD needs eyes on everything, which reminds him.  “Where is Mr. Gloom anyway?  I thought for sure he’d be all over this.”

“Fury's pursuing a contact to get the alien in SHIELDs custody,” Clint says.  “It looks promising so fingers crossed.”

“You even managed to capture one?!” Thor booms.  “You Midgardians never fail to amaze.”

“We didn’t do that either,” Bruce says.  “The human half of this team did that.”

Tony grits his teeth.  “Thank you, Bruce.  For reiterating how utterly useless we were during this crisis.”

He takes a calming breath.  “Look, we meet with them again.  We scan this key and then we convince them to give it to us.  Shouldn’t be too hard, they’re kids after all.”

“Doesn’t mean they’re idiots Stark,” Steve grunts. 

Natasha leans forward.  “I want to remind you guys that the main priority is this key in SHIELDs possession.  Whether that be intact or in pieces.”  

Tony usually doesn’t jump on the ‘SHIELD is right’ bandwagon but he agrees on this point.  He’ll feel better if they had it, not some teenagers playing hero.  “Alright, I’ll call the restaurant and get everything set up.”

He swallows the last of Bruce’s breakfast before the other man can complain.  He gets up then, sends a little wave over his shoulder, and heads back for the bedroom.  There’s still time before Pepper has to leave, and he plans to make the most of it.

Natasha 

The staff just sets down the pizza when Tony’s phone goes off.  The waiter lingers a bit, taking in the site of Tony Stark and Captain America, but Natasha clears her throat.  The waiter turns to her and she sends him a sharp smile.  The boy stumbles, apologizing, before fleeing the rooftop and closing the door behind him.   They’re situated in the back corner of the rooftop portion of the restaurant.  The place is exquisite, grand marble spills over the floors both indoors and outdoors.  The plates and silverware are dressed in intricate designs and solid oak has transformed into sturdy tables and furniture, giving the area an almost victorian presentation.  It seems a bit much for pizza, but looking at what’s placed in front of her makes her reconsider.  Some of these pizzas look straight out of a painting, and few are overflowing with flowers as if the dough itself was a vase.  It’s an interesting choice of restaurant coming from a group of teenagers.

“They’re here,” Tony says.  “They said they’ll drop down once all the staff is downstairs.”

Natasha keeps her eyes on the rooftops but can’t really pinpoint where they are.  Steve was right, they definitely utilize the flowing shapes and coverage of New Yorks skyline really well.  She finally catches movement in her right peripheral that soon transforms into a small amphibian shape.  

“Third building on the right.” 

Steve doesn’t move, but Tony whips around.  Natasha takes a sip of her water and rolls her eyes.  So much for stealth.  She sets her glass down and turns to the shape fully, there’s no point in hiding it since Tony gave them away.  The shape multiplies as two more melt from the shadows and then one huge shape engulfs all three.

Natasha purses her lips and lets her nails dance once against the table.  The shadows move in unison and drop silently to the restaurant floor.  They stand up and she immediately recognizes Donnie and Leo flanking the smaller one bathed in orange.  The bigger one gets up from its crouch and just keeps rising until he’s towering over the three.

“Clint wasn’t kidding,” Tony whispers.

Natasha doesn’t say anything but feels her hand dance over the gun in her purse.  This turtle is all jagged edges and muscles.  She can almost feel the floor vibrating with each step this goliath takes.  The traditional sais sit threateningly against his hips and the blood red of his bandana enhances the sharpness of his teeth.  

Steve stands with a tightness around his mouth.  “Hello, Donnie.  Leo.  Thank you for coming.”

Leo just snorts and the red one puts a hand on the blue one's shoulder.  He sends the slider a glare before turning to Steve with a smile.  “Thanks for meeting with us.”  He looks at the table and bench.  “Are you sure this will hold?  I don’t wanna break their chair.”

Natasha blinks.  Huh.

“Of course, it will hold Raph,” the orange one says.  “These things can take like 500 pounds.”

Raph frowns.  “Just in case, I’ll sit on the bench.  Go grab some chairs guys.”  

Natasha watches the boys rearrange the chairs and she uncurls her grip on the gun.  He seems legitimately concerned about the furniture.  Raph situates himself across from Steve and Donnie claims the seat in front of Tony.  Bruce looks into the beaming face of the orange one while she’s stuck on the end with a scowling, blue teenager.

“Fascinating,” Bruce says.  “Are you a snapping turtle?”

Raph blinks.  “Uh, yeah.  I am.  How’d you know?”

“They’re the only turtles with spikes on their shells,” Bruce points out.  “But yours are a little exaggerated.”  

“Oh, well,” Raph fumbles.  “I’m Raph.  You already met Donnie and Leo,” he pats the smallest one on the head.  “This is Mikey.”

“I can’t believe you actually got a table at Upper Crust!” the turtle grins.  “I heard they actually grow their own flowers so they have complete control of taste when pairing them with cheese!”  The turtle reaches forward and grabs a slice of the floral pizza and the wood-cooked cheese pizza.  He bites into the floral one and seems to melt into the table.  “Delicious.” 

He must be the young one.  

“I’m glad you like it,” Steve smiles.  “How old are you kid?”

“15.”

“Jesus,” Tony breathes.  

“Hey!” Mikey says.  He sits up and pumps his arms, displaying a surprising amount of muscle.  “Don’t worry about me.  I’ve been kicking bad guy butt since I was 13!”

“Yeah!” Leo says.  He throws an arm over Mikey’s shoulders.  “Plus, he’s got his older brothers looking out for him.”

Natasha watches as Steve’s smile gets smaller.  The reassurance doing the opposite of what they probably intended.  She can't really relate.  She’s been fighting since she was placed with her first family.  At least these kids had each other.

Steve turns to Raph.  “How old are you?”

“I’m 17, sir,” Raph says.  

Steve’s eyebrows furrow.  “Your voice.  You were on the communicator last night.  The leader?”

“Yes, that was me,” Raph says.  “But me and Leo kind of tag team the whole leader thing.” 

“Interesting,” Tony says.  He turns to the softshell across from him and points to his arms.  “Are the communicators built into the very fabric of those armbands?”

Donnie smiles.  “So glad you noticed,” he slides one off like a glove and pushes it over to Tony.  Tony grabs it, bends it, and even pulls it.  Natasha’s slightly curious about it as well.  Something like that could make missions easier.  Might even help plant bugs if all you had to do was replace a tie.

“Incredible,” Tony says.  “It still feels like fabric.  I can’t even tell there's anything mechanical in here.”

The softshell is practically glowing.  “Thank you!  Maybe we could trade schematics.  I’ve always been interested in your-.”

“Alright,” Leo says.  “Before the nerds start nerding, let's get to business.”  

He pulls out a scroll and rolls it open before Mikey.  The paper looks old, but it’s blank.  Mikey pulls out a pencil, and she takes in the hair-thin scars that start at his fingertips and travel down his hands in sharp, straight lines, disappearing into the black of his armbands.  The turtle starts drawing complicated circles and symbols Natasha can’t identify.  The boy does it quickly and flawlessly.  There’s not a single wobble in the lines the turtle makes.

“Soo,” Tony says.  “Is this arts and crafts or..”

The turtle just grins and finishes the last of the symbols.  Mikey then pushes the scroll to Raph and he does…something with his fingers and then his hand starts glowing.  Natasha slips her grip back over the gun as a small hole opens over the scroll.  She can’t see much but a swirling of green and orange colors.

“What the hell!”

“Is that a portal?” Steve asks, but his voice is hard.  

The boys don’t seem to notice.  “Yeah!” Mikey says.  “We keep the key here so no one can take it.  It’s like a safe.” 

Donnie leans over the table and sticks his arm shoulder deep into the hole.  “A dimension safe,” he corrects.  His tongue slips out as he searches.  “We had a friend build it for us.  Mysticism can be usef- Aha!”  He pulls his arm out and sets the key between them.  The scroll goes dim and the portal closes.  “It’s the safest way we can store it until we destroy it.”  

Tony just stares.  “That’s magic?”

“Does it take all of you to open it?” Bruce asks.  

There’s a more important question.  “Can anyone learn this?”

“Uh-yes,” Leo says.  “To all your questions.  But never mind that!  We’re here for a scan so,” he gestures to the key, “scan it.”

Tony just snorts and puts a small briefcase on the table.  He grabs the sides and starts to pull the case apart.  The whole contraption then expands upwards and outwards until the space between Donnie and Tony is taken up by a small machine.

Donnie leans forward, his shell opening enough for a metallic arm to come out and complete a scan of his own.  A giant hand shoots out and pushes the softshell back.  “Not now Donnie.”  

The turtle grumbles but sets the key in the middle of the scanner.  Natasha looks at the key, but it means nothing to her.  It sits there like any other ancient idol dug out of the dirt and put on display.  She knows appearances can be deceiving, but she expected something.  The tesseract felt sinister, this feels like…nothing.

“So,” Steve starts.  “How’d you find out about this key?”

Good question.  She watches as Raph and Leo share a series of looks that include shifting brow ridges before Raph answers.  “That night we thought we were just stopping a robbery.  We ended up losing the key to the Foot.  That’s when we knew it was something serious, we just didn’t know what.”

The Foot.  Finally a name.  Her face doesn’t change but her heart skips a beat.  She’s heard that name before, she’s just not sure where.  She’ll look into it later.

“A…..source ended up tracking us down and letting us know what this key could open,” Raph continues.  “He knew they were going to open it that night, and we were able to track them down, but it was too late.  They had already started the ritual.”

“Who was the source?”

Leo leans forward.  “It’s a non-issue.”  

The tone makes Natasha squeeze Steve's leg under the table.  He doesn’t push.

“We managed to grab the key from the dock,” Leo says.  “But they came after us.  Things happened.  They got the key again and then Metro Tower went down.”

There’s a lot redacted in that sentence.  She can tell by the way Mikey’s face drops and how Raph looks at the table.  There’s an entire novel missing from this retelling.  She's starting to think that'll never get the full story.  Just bits and pieces that lead to an inevitable ending.  They might not need the full story anyway.  It's last on her list as far as she's concerned.  The truly important thing from that horrific day is the key.

“Well,” Steve says.  “You closed it in the end.  That’s what matters.”

Leo looks at Steve.  “Yeah, we did.  It took everything we had to seal that guy.”  

“Wait,” Natasha says.  “How many were there?”

“Three,” Mikey answers.  “And they were super strong!  Especially the last one.”

Only three.  Three of them did that much damage.  “Do you know why there were only three?”

Leo hums.  “I think that’s all that was left.  We didn’t see any other Kraang on the ship.  I didn’t see any in the prison dimension either.”  

“How did they terraform Metro Tower?” Bruce jumps in.  “They didn’t have their ship then.”

“Oh that was the little one,” Mikey says.  “He would like, touch the floor and Kraangafy everything around him.”  

“Was he the only one who could do that?” She asks.

“I think so,” Mikey squints.  “I didn’t see the other two do it.” 

There’s a sigh at the end of the table and Tony finally lifts his head.  “So Donnie was right.”

“As always.”

“It is just wood,” Tony continues.  “But there is a weird-”

“Mystic,” Donnie says.

“ Weird,” Tony emphasizes.  “Energy coming from it.  As it stands now, I don’t think I have anything that can break it.”

A chair screeches across the floor and Leo’s already up.  “They’ve got nothing.  Let's go.”

“Leo,” Raph says.

“Now hang on son,” Steve says.  “Just let him finish.”

Leo glares before dropping into his chair with a huff.  Natasha feels her lip twitch.  Teenagers. 

“As I was saying,” Tony says.  “I don’t have anything, but that doesn’t mean I can’t build something.  If I can match the energy coming off this key then it stands to reason I can destroy it.”  He looks at Raph.  “I would just need to do a deeper scan at the tower.”  

She catches Leo narrowing his eyes.

“Plus,” Bruce adds.  “Thor got back today and he’s actually heard of the Kraang.  I’m sure he has something that can help.”

“At the tower,” Leo deadpans, raising an eye ridge.

Raph rolls his eyes.  “Can you give us a minute?”

Raph gets up then and grabs Leo and Donnie by the shells and caries them a few feet away.  Mikey gives them a smile before filling his plate with pizza and joining his brothers. 

“So,” She starts.  “Magic.” 

“Or so it seems.”

“Oh come on, Tony,” Bruce says.  “They literally opened a portal on the table.  With just a piece of paper and a pencil.”

“How are you ok with this?” Tony says.  “You’re just as much of a scientist as I am.”

Bruce takes a bite of pizza.  “Tony.  I grow inexplicably in size and have survived a bullet to the head.  All this from a process I am still trying to understand.  Magic isn’t a hard topic for me to accept.”

Well, she doesn’t think Stark can argue with that.  The magic though is interesting.  So is the organization's name.  “I’ve heard of the Foot,” she says.  “I just don’t remember where.  I need to speak with Clint.”

The turtles un-huddle and make their way back to the table.  They don’t sit down.  

“Ok,” Raph says.  “Here’s the deal.  We go where the key goes.  If you have better equipment at the Tower, then you have a place for us too.”

“And we prefer to be on the same floor,” Mikey adds.  “And the new Playstation with four controllers,” the turtle grins.  “If you have it.”  

Raph nods.  “Thank you, Mikey.  Those are our terms.  Take it or leave it.”

“We’ll take it.”

The turtles stop and Leo leans against the table.  The boys eyes are narrowed as he studies them.  “That was pretty quick.  You don’t need a moment to talk about it?  Think it over perhaps?”

“No,” Tony says.  “I have no problems with you guys staying.  Do you need time to pack?”

“Yeeesss,” Leo says.  “Yes, we do.  Pick us up in the morning at the docks.  We’ll be ready.”

Donnie grabs the key and Raph reactivates the portal.  They drop the key in and Mikey erases the circles and symbols.  “Alright, hermanos!”  Leo says.  “Pack up the pizza and lets roll!”

“Wait!” Mike shouts.  He digs into his pouch and pulls out a comic book.  He places it and a pen in front of Steve with stars in his eyes.  “Would you sign my comic?  And maybe a picture.  My friend is going to flip!”

Steve just stares before a smile blooms on his face.  “Of course kid.”

Raph coughs and pulls out a comic of his own.  “Since you’re already signing.  Could you sign mine as well?”  He blushes, “please?”

Natasha stares at the turtles.  They’re trying to hide it, but they’re positively leaking with excitement when Steve actually signs their comics.  It’s cute.

Tony cleaars his throat and taps the table before Donnie.  “Kid, don’t you have something for me?  Tony Stark.  A.K.A the one and only Ironman.”

The turtle frowns before his whole face lights up.  “Yes!  Thank you for reminding me.”  His shell expands and a mechanical hand places a piece of paper in Donnies hand.  He slides the single sheet of paper over to Tony.

Natasha leans over to get a better look and has to turn and cover her face.

“If you would just read through this Non-Disclosure Agreement and sign at the appropriate spots," the turtle says, setting down a pen.  “My work and processes are proprietary.  I’m sure you understand.”

Bruce shoulders shake in silence and Steve smothers a laugh into his elbow.  She can't help it either, but she manages to  control herself enough that all that escapes is a smirk.  She glances to find Tony grinning widely at the NDA.  He picks up the pen and signs with a flourish, not even bothering to read the document.

“I like you kid,” he laughs.  “I can’t wait to work with you.”

Chapter Text

Raph

He still finds it weird to stand under a glaring sky completely uncovered.  It’s not like the rooftops, with shadows made long from an unforgiving sun whose sweltering heat dares a New Yorker to look up.  He can work with that, with scorching rooftops and the illusion of invisibility, but it’s different on the ground.  There’s nowhere to hide.  No shadows to disappear into and nothing to conceal the bulk and sharpness of his shell that marks him as other.  He envies his brothers in that sense.  Their size leads the average human to mistake them for one of their own, while his height alone is a beacon for unwanted attention.

He used to cower because of it.  Hunch down to feel more like his brothers and fit into his father's arms, but it never lasts long.  He continues to grow, and he worries that one day he’ll be too large and sharp for the family.   

He scans the skyline one more time before counting his bags again.  He didn’t bring much, heck the only one who brought more than one bag was Donnie, but Raph still counts the one at his feet.  He shifts, then bends down to check his bag one more time.  

A throat clears before yellow converses step into his field of vision.  He shuffles through his stuff before looking up into April’s unimpressed gaze.  “Hey April,” he says.  “Beautiful day we’re having.”

“Don’t beautiful day me,” she says.  “You’ve checked your bag five times already.  Five!  That’s three times more than necessary.”  she collapses to the ground.  “What’s wrong?”

Raph sighs and sinks fully to his knees.  “I don’t know.  I guess I’m just nervous.”

“Why?”

“April.  It’s the Avengers!” Raph says.  “They’re like, the heroes of heroes!  What if I mess this up?”

This is all Raph has ever wanted to be.  A real hero.  He knows he and his brothers have done a lot of good for this city, but it’s different to be acknowledged for it.  By a group of real superheroes.

“Mess what up?” April asks.  “You’re not going on missions with them.”

“Not yet,” he mumbles.  “But this could be the start of a beautiful partnership between the Mad Dogz and the Avengers.  We could be on a roster.  It’s just a lot of pressure.”

April leans against him.  “You’re going to do your best and that’s all you can do.  I mean, we saved the world!  Twice!  that’s one heck of an application if you ask me.”

Raph smiles.  They did save the world, not every hero can say that.  “You’re right.  We’re just as much heroes as they are!”  He bumps her shoulder.  “Thanks, April.”

She grins and punches him back.  “No problem, Raph.”  

It hits him hard how much he wants her to come to the tower with them.  A human who can vouch for them and everything they’ve accomplished.  Raph doesn’t think the Avengers will doubt them, but things work out better for them when a human cosigns on their decisions. 

A wail shatters their moment and April drops her head back with a sigh.  “You know what you should be worried about? Splints.  You’d think you guys were off to college with how long he’s been crying.” 

Raph laughs and looks at Dad.  He’s been at it all morning.  It was sweet earlier, now it’s creeping on embarrassing.  He watches as Mikey drops into a squat and tries to comfort him, but Dad just jumps into Mikey’s arms and cries harder.  

“Maybe we should have left him at home with Casey,” Raph hums.

“You think.”

Casey wanted to be here, but they all knew it was a bad idea.  They can’t afford for him to fall on the Avenger's radar, not when his identity is still new.

There’s a hum in the distance and Raph looks up to see a small jet heading their way.  

“Ok Dad,” Leo says.  “You need to get it together.  They’re going to be here any minute.”

Dad just continues to sob and hug Mikey.  “Why do you care?” Dad cries.  “You didn’t even want to go to the stupid tower!”

“Cleary I was outvoted.”  The jet gets closer, and Leo begins to sweat.  “Dad!  I know I don’t trust them but it’s the Avengers!  You’re going to embarrass us.”

“I do not care!” Dad shouts.  “My boys are leaving!  I didn’t think this day would happen until I married you off!”

Raph rolls his eyes.  Again, with the marriage!  If it were up to Dad, they wouldn’t even date another yokai until they were in their twenties.  He’s with Leo on this one though.  “Dad!” he yells, “How are we going look like a team of sophisticated, mature adult heroes if you won’t stop crying!”

“Exactly!”

Really.  They did all the crying and hugging at the lair this morning!  There shouldn’t be any more tears.  The box turtle shifts in Dad's arms, and he catches Mikey’s eyes beginning to glisten.  That can’t be good.

The jet lands behind them and Dad just cries harder.  Donnie scoots further away to stand with Draxum and Raph feels his face heat up.  He can’t even bring himself to look at the jet.  Great.  They’re supposed to be heroes!  Not kids being picked up for their first day of school.

“Dad,” Raph begs.  “Please.  We’re going to miss you too just-stop crying.”

Dad takes a breath and holds it. Raph feels his shoulder drop and he lets out a sigh of relief.  

“Red is against me too!” Dad wails.  “Why do all my boys want to leave me!”

Raph stares in shock.  He can’t believe this is happening right now!  In front of The Avengers!  A lighter hiccup hits his ears, and he looks just in time to see Mikey’s face break.

“I’m going to miss you, Dad!”

Leo crashes into him, pulling him down.  “This is just perfect,” Leo hisses.  “We’re going to look like a bunch of babies in front of the Avengers.”

Raph glares.  “Don’t you think I know that!”

The doors of the jet hiss open behind him and Raph panics.  “Just-calm Dad down.  I’ll distract them.”

Steve

The docks the boys provided for pickup were a relatively quick flight from the tower.  It took just a moment to verify the location details with Donnie, then he was taking off in the Quinjet with Clint, guiding them smoothly above the city buildings.  Steve adjusts his seat belt and checks his phone.  They should be loading the boys up soon and they’ll be back at the tower before lunch.  He twists to count the seats in the back.  He eyeballs the empty space for their luggage and hopes it’ll be enough for everything.

“What’s got you so nervous?”

“I’m not nervous,” Steve says.  

“Yeah, and I’m Ironman,” Clint scoffs.  He pushes the jet to the right.  “Come on Cap.  What’s wrong?”

Steve watches the outline of the docks become visible on the horizon, and he feels his shoulders rise in anticipation.

“I’ve never been around kids.” He confesses.  “I don’t even know how to talk to them.”

Clint laughs.  “First, they’re not kids.  They’re teenagers, and that’s a whole different ballgame.”  Clint turns slightly and the dock comes into view.  “The thing you gotta remember with teenagers is that they hate being talked down too.  They think they’re little adults.”

Steve nods.  “Ok.”

“And I promise you,” Clint continues.  “They’re going to be more nervous than you.”  Clint squints.  “Huh.  I guess that’s our 3-foot friend.”

Steve leans forward as the turtles and their companions become clear.  The girl he recognizes from the outfit alone, but the creature hugging Mikey.  He squints, “Is that a tail?”

“I always knew New York had a rat problem.”

The jet lands with little noise against the concrete.  Steve takes a deep breath, unbuckles, and walks to the back of the aircraft.  It’s going to be ok.  He just needs to get them to the tower.  The door opens and the sounds of Mikey and the unidentified mutant’s wailing fill the empty space of the Quinjet.

“Sounds like someone’s first drop-off!” Clint chuckles.

Steve ignores him and takes in the scene before him.  Mikey and the creature are collapsed against the ground in a deep hug, crying.  Leo stands above them, whispering furiously and gesturing at the jet.  Donnie is off to the side talking to some shrouded gentleman, but his eyes are glued to his phone, and Raph comes out of nowhere to take his entire attention.

“Hello, Ste-I mean Captain America.” Raph fumbles.  “We are ready to go, sir.”

The crying increases in volume and Raph’s skin tints red.  “Excuse our dad.  He’s not used to being an empty nester.”

Dad?

“My boys are all grown up!” the creature sobs.  “They don’t even need their father anymore!”

“Oh, Dad!” Mikey cries.  “I’ll always need you!!!”

Steve smiles and feels his shoulders loosen.  It never occurred to him that these kids would have an actual family.  It’s rare in their line of business, and he would assume even rarer with mutants.  Steve is a little shocked that it’s not another turtle.  He wonders vaguely at their mutation circumstances.  How do animals find themselves in the unfortunate position to twist out of their God-given form?  The rat makes a New York sort of sense, rats have taken over most of the cities underground, but turtles are a conundrum.  

“It’s alright,” he says.  “I understand.”

 He doesn’t remember much about his own father, and his time with his mother was devastatingly short.  So, it’s nice to see a family so clearly love each other.  He looks at the hooded figure conversing with Donnie and his eyes narrow.  The mystery figure is tall, taller than him by a few inches, but Steve doesn’t like how shrouded the character is.  He can’t even make out the person’s face.  “Who’s your friend?”

Raph blinks before a grin breaks out.  “That’s April.  You’re going to love her.”

Oh, the girl.  He looks at her and she’s trying, unsuccessfully, to pull the rat off Mikey.  She looks young too.  Why are all of them so young?

He flickers his eyes to the shrouded man.  “And you’re taller friend?”

Raph furrows his brow and he looks over his shoulder.  “Oh.  I forgot he was here.  That’s Draxum.  I wouldn’t take anything he says seriously.”

Steve raises an eyebrow but lets it drop.  He looks back at the sobbing father and finds himself walking towards the man.  He doesn’t crouch.  “Hello, sir.  It’s nice to meet you.  I’m Steve Rogers.”

The rat just wipes his eyes.  “Ah yes.  The man who convinced my sons to leave their poor father home.  Alone!”

A chorus of groans breaks out around him.

“-Dad!”

“-Knew we should’ve left him at home-.”

“-You voted yes!”

Steve blinks.  “Sorry, Mister…?”

“Splinter.”

“Mister S-.”

“Master Splinter.”

Ok, now he’s just being difficult.  “Master Splinter,” Steve corrects.  “I just came over to thank you for letting my team help.”

“You are welcome.” 

“Also, you’ve raised some fine boys,” Steve adds.  “I’m impressed with what they’ve been able to accomplish at such a young age.”

That stops the tears.  Splinter stares at him before his fur glows pink.  “It wasn’t easy, raising four boys alone.”

There’s a loud snort from the one in shadow and Splinter frowns.  “Ignore him, he has no heart.”

“Please.”

Steve glances at this hidden Draxum character.  The dynamic isn’t hostile just…weird.  “Be that as it may,” Steve continues.  “They saved the world and for that, we’ll forever be grateful.”

Splinter grins.  “I did train them well,” the rat turns to face the rest of his kids with his youngest still in his arms.  “I am so proud of you boys.”

“We love you too Dad!” Mikey grins.  “One final group hug!”

The group pulls in quickly.  Mikey stands up with Splinter in his arms and the rest collapse around him with Raph enveloping all of them at once.  Only one doesn’t join.

“Draxum,” Mikey sings.

The hooded man just shrugs before stepping forward.

“We don’t have all day Barry,” Leo calls.  

The man huffs and walks forward, lowering his hood.  Steve didn’t know what he was expecting, but it wasn’t this.  The mutant is covered in reddish brown fur with sheep-like ears that twitch and rotate at each sound.  It’s only as the man steps closer that Steve hears the click of hoofs against the concrete.  He wasn’t expecting to see another set of animal mutants.  He wonders suddenly how many mutants are out there.  

“I did not think I would be welcomed.”

“You’re not!” Leo says.

“Of course, you are!” Mikey shouts.  “You’re family.”

The mutant doesn’t say anything else, but he does wrap his arms quickly around the group.  

“Ok,” Donnie says, pulling himself from the hug.  “Let's get this train moving.”  The turtle swipes his arm and the whole thing lights up.  Donnie fidgets with the screen before the purple boxes start to lift and head for the Quinjet.  Donnie watches all the boxes load themselves before heading up the ramp, “We shall miss you, Father!”

Steve smiles at the softshell and turns to find the rest picking up colorful duffle bags.  He glances from the bags to the bandanas.  He’s starting to see a theme.  The kids give a final wave before jogging up the ramp.

“Call me when you get there!”

“We will!”  

“And don’t eat too much junk food!”  

“Dad!” Leo groans.  “It’s only a few days.  We’ll see you soon, ok?”

Steve feels his chest warm at the sight.  It’s not every day he gets to interact with such a mundane scene.  He sort of feels like a camp counselor.  

Just then, the air around him tilts.  Steve tenses and turns into the yellow glare of Draxum.  He didn’t even hear the mutant move.  Steve adjusts his stance and stares back.  “Can I help you?”

“Nothing better happen to them,” Draxum says.  

“And nothing will,” Steve answers.  “You have my word.”

The mutant just sneers.  “We’ll see about that, human.  Just remember, there are worst fates than death.”  

With that, Draxum turns and walks back to stand with April and Splinter.  Steve watches him for a second before moving for the Quinjet.  Draxum’s dangerous, but Steve’s not sure how dangerous.

“Did you threaten him?” He hears Splinter ask.

Steve walks onto the Quinjet and motions for Clint to shut the doors.  He doesn’t hear the rest of the conversation, but Splinter's satisfied grin is all the answer he needs.  What protective parents.  

Steve turns back to the group and finds four pairs of eyes trained on him.  He shuffles, hesitates, and places his hands on his hips.  “Alright, gang-”

“Gang?” Clint laughs. 

“Let’s buckle up,” Steve continues.  “Safety first.”

“I call shotgun!” Donnie shouts.  The kid runs and claims Steve's seat for himself.  He buckles in quickly before turning to Clint.  “So, you wouldn’t happen to know how this bad boy works, would you?  Because I’m drafting plans for an ariel-.” 

Steve sends Clint a smile before sliding into the seat next to Leo.  The boy doesn’t look at him, just buckles up and rotates to look out the window.  

“So,” Steve starts, turning to the other two.  “This your first time on a plane?”

“No,” Leo answers.  “We fly Delta every time we vacation to Florida.”

“Leo!”

“What Raph!”  Leo shouts.  “If he’s going to ask stupid questions, then I get to provide stupid answers.  That's how it works!”

“I’m sorry about him-.”

Steve holds up a hand.  “No, he’s right.  It was a dumb question.”  He fumbles a bit to find something else to ask.  The flight isn’t long, but he believes good relationships are important when working with a team.  They should at least be friendly towards each other.  “So,” he tries again.  “Are you excited about the Tower?  I think it’s the tallest building in the city.”

“We’ve been up higher.”

“Leo,” Raph says.  “Knock it off.” 

The slider just huffs and fully turns his head away from Steve.  

“Well, I’m excited,” Mikey grins.  “A real superhero base!  It’s just like the comics.”  

“Yeah!” Raph nods.  “I bet it’s got, like, a command center, and a training roo-no!   A training floor.”  

Steve feels his face heat.  “It’s not really a command center.”

“Did you hear that Raph,” Mikey squeals.  “That means there is one!”  Mikey gasps before leaning as far as the seatbelt allows.  “Will we get to meet the Hulk?” 

Steve smiles.  “You already met him actually.”

“WHAT?!” Raph shouts.  “When?  We love the Hulk!”

“You remember Bruce,” He answers.  “From the Upper Crust?”

“That was the Hulk?”

“No way that was him!” Leo suddenly says.  

“Believe it.”  

“Wow,” Leo whistles.  “Now that’s pretty cool.”

“Talk about a secret identity,” Mikey grins.  “Do you think he’ll go green if we ask?” 

“I wouldn’t count on it buddy,” Clint answers.  “Hulks a bit…emotional when he’s on the scene.”

“Oh please,” Mikey says.  “That’s nothing.  I have a wonderful track record working with people and their emotions.”

Donnie twists with a raised eyebrow.  “You do?”

“Of course, I do!  I’m Dr. Feelings,” the boy smiles.  “I’ll talk to Bruce and see if we can get to the root of the emotional issues he has with being green.”

Clint laughs.  “I’m pretty sure Bruce knows the emotional root for Hulk.”  

Leo leans forward, a smirk growing on his face.  “I say we let him try.  It can’t be any worse than Draxum.”

Steve frowns.  That implies there were issues with the taller mutant.  He copies Leo’s motion and looks at Raph.  “So,” he says.  “How did you meet this Drax-.”

“Look!”  Mikey shouts.  The smaller turtle is out of his seat in an instant, face planting into the front window.  “It’s Avengers Tower!”

All the boys are moving then.  The snap of seatbelts flying fills the air and the turtles run to the front of the jet.   Steve tries not to panic.  “Hey, boys!  Safety first!”

“Move Leo!”

“You move your tall head, Donnie!”

“It’s not tall!”

“Eh,” Raph says.  “It kind of is.”

Clint cackles.  “Relax mom!  Oh man, I can’t wait to tell Stark.”

Steve just sits back with a laugh of his own.  The ship begins to slow as Clint prepares the Quinjet for landing.  The wheels have barely touched down before the boys are running for the ramp.  Steve gets up and pushes through the throng of teenagers.  “Everyone! Grab your bag and stay away from the edge!”

The boys don’t move.  They continue you to push towards the door.  He knows they're excited, but he would like for this to be a one-time trip.

A sharp whistle cuts through the jet and the boys stop.  “Listen up!  Get your bags and walk, slowly, into the building,” Clint says.  “It’s windy out so stay away from the edges understand!”

“You can count on us!”

Clint just looks, and Raph pushes Mikey’s head down.  “We got it!”

The boys grab their stuff and only when they stop fidgeting does Clint let down the ramp.  The kids file off the plane and head straight for the door.

“How did you do that?” Steve asks.

Clint just pats him on the shoulder and jogs off the jet.

Tony

It’s the loud racket of shouts and exclamations of awe that lets Tony know that his Tower has been invaded by a group of teenage mutant turtles.  He takes a deep breath and wishes again that Pepper was here.  She knows how to interact with kids.  Hell, he hasn’t even looked at a child since he left for college.  The thundering sound of footsteps above is what finally pulls him off the couch.  Why does every activity have to be thunder and lightning with this guy?

He makes it into the kitchen just as Thor crashes into it. 

“Warriors!” Thor booms.  “I am honored to meet you!  I have never heard of a world surviving a Kraang assault.”  

“Oh,” Raph says.  “Thank you-.”

“Wow!” Mikey jumps in.  “You’re Thor!  This is so cool.”

“I am honored to me you as well,” Thor says.  “You must tell me the tale of how you vanquished the Kraang.  Mikey? Is it?”

“It’s Michelangelo,” Mikey answers.  “But everyone calls me Mikey.”

“Wait,” Tony interjects.  “I thought Mikey was short for Michael.”  He squints at the other turtles.  “What are your full names?”  

“Sorry sir,” Raph says.  “My name's Raphael.  That’s Leonardo and Donatello.” 

He raises an eyebrow, “What, you parents were into the arts?  Do you guys even have parents?”

“A Dad,” Mikey answers.  “And I’m pretty sure we named ourselves.”

“How does that work?”

“Poorly,” Donnie deadpans.  “That’s why Leon has the worst name.  Now!  Take me to your lab so we can get started.” 

It's great that they're both on the same page.  He’s itching to get started as well.  “Ok, all of you follow me.”  

“Why do you need all of us?” Leo says.  “Don’t you just need Donnie?”

“This key is mystic, right?  Well, I need something to compare it to.  You guys are going to open your mystic scroll, I’m going to get a reading, and then it will just be me and Donnie.”  

They follow him out of the kitchen and Tony keeps an eye on the floating boxes.  He doesn’t doubt that the kid brought all his data on mystic energy, but Tony needs his own baseline.  Maybe even compare it to the energy that the Tesseract leaks?  They get to the elevator, and he stares at it before turning to Raph.  Now that he’s looking at the kid in the light, he’s not Hulk tall, but he’s definitely big.  He bets that shell weighs a ton. 

“How about you take the next elevator hulkling.”

“Yeah,” the turtle agrees.  “I’ll meet you guys down there.”

“Do not worry Raphael,” Thor says, slapping a hand on the snapper’s shoulder.  “I will keep you company.”

Tony rolls his eyes, “Course you will.  Alright, everyone else on.”

It’s a short ride to the lab and Donnie’s the first one off once the doors open.  The kid filters from each corner of the room, never staying long in a section.  His goggles are down, and Tony can just make out the flittering images of text and analysis.  Hmm.  That’s convenient.  Maybe he’ll make something similar.  

Tony turns to the rest of the group with a clap.  “Listen up Rugrats Rats.  We’re going to open your mystic safe on this platform behind me.  This should give you guys enough space to do your alakazam sticht, and I’ll be able to get a reading from every angle.”

“Rugrats Rats?” Leo snorts.  “I thought you were just old, not ancient.”

Mikey smothers a grin, but Steve has the nerve to throw his head back and laugh.

“Really Rogers.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve chuckles.  “It’s just nice that someone else is being called old for a change.”  

The elevator dings and Raph and Thor join them.  “Great!” Tony says.  “Let’s get this show on the road.  Boys, if you would.”  He stops and turns to Steve, “go grab your shield.  We might as well get that out of the way.”  

Steve heads back for the elevator and the turtles shuffle onto the platform.  Tony circles to his computer.  “Alright Javis,” he says.  “Start the scan.”  

The platform begins to glow.  He motions for the boys to start, and the slider pulls and unrolls the scroll before Mikey.  The process is very similar to what they did at the restaurant.  Mikey scribbles his jagged symbols and then Raph does something weird with his fingers.  Like a combination of a snap and handshake, then his hand begins to glow and so does the scroll.  The computer lights with readings and energy levels like nothing he’s ever seen.

“Incredible,” Thor says.  “I haven’t been this close to magic in a while.  Not since my brother's passing.” 

“The readings are interesting too,” Tony says.  He feels for Thor, but he’s not exactly crying over the egomaniac.  He taps the keyboard and brings up the readings from the Tesseract.  Where that energy was mostly gamma, this is something else entirely.  Undefined even.  

The door opens behind him, but Tony ignores it.  Donnie reaches into-for all scientific purposes-a legitimate dimensional rip, to pull out the key.  They roll the scroll up and leave the piece of wood sitting in the middle of the table.

“So, this is the key,” Thor says.  “I can feel a dark energy emanating from within.” 

“Thanks, Gandolf,” Tony says.  “But we need something more tangible than that.”  He jumps from behind the computer and motions to Steve.  “You’re up Rogers.”

The turtles back up when Steve approaches the table.  Donnie pulls his goggles back down and his mechanical shell opens to present the turtle with a tablet.  Steve picks the idol up.  “It really doesn’t feel like anything.”

Steve lays the key on its side.  He moves his feet and settles until there’s a slight bend in his knees.  He holds the shield over the key and the room stops.  No one moves or breathes.  Steve stays still until he explodes up in a movement that’s a touch hard for Tony to track.  The shield comes down strong and hard on the key and the room rings from the impact.  

“You’re kidding me.”

The key sits there in one piece.  Tony’s at the table in a heartbeat.  He flips the idol all the way around and his jaw drops.  “There’s not even a scratch on it.”

“There’s one on mine.”

Tony turns because he can’t even comprehend that sentence.  He pulls the shield out of Steve’s hands, examines the edges, and there it is.  The smallest chip on the rim.  The only imperfection on the entire weapon.

He whips his head back towards the key.  He knew the boys weren’t lying when they said they couldn’t destroy it, but this?  Not even Thor’s stupid hammer could damage the shield.  “Jarvis,” he says.  “Did you get that?”

“Yes, sir.  It appears there was a spike of energy right at the moment of impact.”

It’s protecting itself.  

“Alright!” He yells.  “Everyone out, except for early renaissance here.”

“Wait!” Mikey says.  “Where’s Bruce?  I want to talk to him about the Hulk.”

“He’s in his personal lab,” Tony answers.  He walks toward Donnie and tips the boy’s tablet down to view his readings.  They’re slightly different, but Tony was right.  Donnie has way more information to compare it to.  “It’s one floor down kid.”  

“Don’t bother him too much, Mikey.”

“Relax, Raph,” the turtle says.  “I’m Dr. Feelings.  Just you watch.” 

Tony tunes them out as they filter back towards the elevator.  He looks back at the key before moving behind his computer.  “Look at this,” he says.  He feels the turtle lean over his shoulder.  It’s weird, there’s no real heat coming off this kid.  He’ll have to let Bruce know. 

“Ohh, that’s an interesting energy signature.”

“The Tesseract,” he says.  “Courtesy of Thor and his ancient Greek planet.”

“It’s different from the key,” Donnie says.  “But it has a stronger output.” 

Not enough for him to request Thor bring it down here.  He crosses his arms and stares at the key.  “Do you know how it was made?”

“The story goes that four great mystic warriors combined their power to make this key,” Donnie says. “Or at least that’s what Dad says.”

“Another turtle?”

“Rat actually,” Donnie smirks.  “Our 3-foot friend.”

Tony throws back his head with a laugh.  No wonder the kid called his bluff.  “How does a rat find itself becoming a parent to four mutant turtles?” 

“That’s not important right now,” Donnie says, he taps the screen.  “The key is protecting itself.  I had an idea about building a machine that could mimic that mystic output, but I didn’t have the tools.  Do you think that’s possible?”

“I do,” he hums.  “Or maybe something akin to solar?  We attempt to destroy it by capturing the energy it emits.”

“And then turn it on itself in the form of a laser,” Donnie finishes.  “That could work too.  Even cracking this thing would be a win.”

“Send me your information on mystic energy.  You’re mimic idea could be a second option.” 

Donnie links his system to Tony’s and all the screens light with information.  He looks through it, at the sheer number of different mystic energies and samples.  “You sure aren’t hurting for subjects.”

“Of course,” Donnie says.  The turtle claims and empty desk and pulls out a stylus.  “There’s mystic energy everywhere.” 

 “Funny,” Tony says, but he’s shaking.  “I’ve lived here most of my life and I’ve never noticed any mystic energy.”

“You’re not alone on that one,” Donnie answers.  “My brothers and I found out about it like two years ago.  Crazy you can live somewhere your whole life and never really know what’s going on.”

It is crazy.  Tony has accepted crazy, but this is almost too much.  He’s prepared for everything that could come out of the sky, but this?  He’s trying not to let it shake him.  Pepper’s already tip-toeing over the number of suits he has stashed in Malibu, and he can’t start doing the same in New York. 

He forces himself to pay attention to the task before him.  He looks at the data pouring in from Donnie and he starts working.  None of the mystic energy so far is the same.  There are slight variances between each subject and artifact listed in Donnie's archive.  A pit forms in his stomach at what that means.   “You’ve had all your shots, right?” he jokes.  “Measles, mumps whatever diseases a turtle can get?”

“Ha ha,” the turtle deadpans.  “No, but we rarely get sick.”

“That’s lucky.”

“Less luck and more by design I would assume.”

Tony stops.  “Design?”

“Well yeah,” Donnie squints, writing out some calculations.  “You didn’t think four mutant turtles happened by accident, did you?”

Tony doesn’t know what he thought exactly.  Mutant humans exist, Charles and his exclusive school are proof of that, so he just thought the same thing could happen to animals.  A rambling voice that sounds like Bruce begins to surface in his memory.  Of 50% and human combinations.

He sits up in his chair.  “Someone made you on purpose?”

The turtle just nods in affirmation and pulls up another data point.

“Why?”

Donnie raises an eyebrow.  “What?”

“Why?” he pushes.  “Why did they mutate you?”  A horrible thought hits him.  “You didn’t start human, did you?”

“No, that would be our father,” Donnie says, hands scrawling out equations.  “We started out as regular turtles.”

The rat used to be human.  He thinks he’s going to be sick.  The kid's not even phased, but why would he be?  This is probably old news to the boy, but the horror behind it pulls at his core.  Is there no way to reverse it?

“As for why,” Donnie continues.  “Well, why do you think someone mutates people and animals?”

“Weapons?” he breathes.

“Yep,” Donnie pops.  The kid looks up with a frown.  “Hey, do you think the hammer could work?  How exactly does that work?”

Tony blinks at the topic change.  “Not likely kid.  It’s more of a ‘packs a powerful punch’ type of weapon.  As for how it works.  I have tons of theories, all of which he won’t let me test.”

“Figures,” Donnie scoffs.  “Magic is the bane of science on any planet it seems.”

Tony smiles.  “Yeah, but their magic is more science than anything.  It’s a bitch trying to get Thor to explain it in any way that makes sense.”

“Wow,” Donnie drawls.  “Someone needs to put a dollar in the swear jar.”

“Are you serious,” Tony grins.

“Very.  I am a young and impressionable mind.”

Tony laughs and turns back to his computer.  The ego on this kid.  He loves it.  Tony looks through some of the calculations Donnie has already scribbled out and he frowns.  He makes a slight adjustment and works out a more efficient problem next to it.

“Hey,” Donnie says.  “What was wrong with my original energy regulation?”

“Nothing’s wrong with it if we were trying to blow up the Tower,” Tony says.  “Seriously, you need to watch these output levels.  We don’t want an explosion that could level a city block.”

“I typically say go big or go home,” Donnie says.  “But I will concede for now.”

Tony just snorts and keeps working.  He inputs a few simulations for Jarvis to run but his eyes keep going back to the mutant across from him, still thinking about what he learned.

“Which country?”

The kid doesn’t bother to ask for an elaboration.  “A hidden one.”

“What?”

“Never mind,” Donnie waves.  “It’s a non-issue.”

“Everything’s a ‘non-issue’ with you guys,” he scoffs.  “Are these the same people funding you?”

This causes Donnie to stop.  “Funding?”

“Yeah,” he gestures to the kid's tech.  “Clearly someone is providing you with resources to build this stuff.”

Donnie blushes, and Tony didn’t think that was possible.  “I’m flattered you think that.”

Wait.

“Wait,” Tony says.  “You’re not funded?  How do you afford your materials?”

“You’d be surprised at what you can find in the city dump.”

Tony chuckles, but the turtle doesn’t even crack a grin.  “Oh, you’re serious.”

Donnie puts down his stylus.  “I’m a little confused here.  What did you think was going on with my family?  We didn’t exactly invite you to our building for a sit-down.”

Which, alright.  Looking back that probably was a tell, but most people in the super circle are very private.  For all he knows their building could be invisible.  It's not likey, but it's possible.

“So where do you live?  Where do you work?”

“Underground,” Donnie sighs.

“Under-but there’s nothing under New York but sewers and tunnels,” Tony says.  “Don’t tell me you guy live in the sewers.” 

“An abandoned subway station actually.” 

“What the hell!” Tony says.  “How are you guys not sick?  All that dirt and bacteria?  What the hell was your father-.”

“Hey!” Donnie stands.  “Our dad did the best he could!  What would you do if you’d been mutated out of human shape?  Sure, you’re loaded, but he didn’t exactly have the face to rent an apartment.” 

Tony puts up his hands.  “You’re right-it’s just a lot to take in.  Kids shouldn’t grow up in the sewers.”

Donnie just looks before sitting down.  “It wasn’t too bad,” he says.  “I siphon most of our power from the city grid, plus we have a pretty neat setup.”

Pretty neat.  Of course, a kid would think it’s neat to live underground because they don’t know any better.  They’ve never known any better.  He feels for their father, but there had to be a better solution.  Tony clenches his fists and sits down, he goes through the equations, creating a few of his own, before glancing up.

“City dump huh?”  Tony says.  “How much of your stuff had Stark on it?”

Donnie narrows his eyes.  “None of it.”

“Eh, I guess I should have expected that,” he smiles.  “I do make the best tech in the world.”

Donnie grins.  “For now!  The world hasn’t seen what Genius Built can do!”

They fall into an easy routine after that.  It’s nice.  Like working with Bruce if the man would let his hair down and strut like he should.  They get through most of the preliminary equations and throw them at Jarvis to run through a cycle of simulations.  Tony brings the kid to his 3D table and shows him how he fabricates his builds through a hologram.  The boys light up like it’s Christmas.  

They work through the frame and Tony feels his impression of the softshell grow.  Tech’s as easy as breathing for this kid.  And the risks and leaps he’s willing to make remind Tony of himself when he was that age.  There are other things he notices of course.  Like the scars and unwillingness to be without his mechanical shell.  He does raise an eyebrow at the wooden stick.  You would think someone as smart as Donnie would at least have a metal one.

A ringing breaks the atmosphere and Tony follows the sound to Donnie’s wristband.  The turtle taps the alarm off and stands with a stretch.  “Time for a break!”

“Really?” Tony says.  “You don’t want to power through the night?”

“Oh, I do,” Donnie answers.  “But my brothers have a hard 'break every eight hours' rule.  And I’m hungry.”

Tony pulls a screen and reviews the data.  Jarvis still has a few hours to run the simulations and they can’t really do much until that’s complete.  He’s never really taken a break before.  “Alright kid,” he stretches.  “Let’s go grab some grub.”

Steve

They filter out of the lab, heading back for the elevator when Steve stops.  He could take all of them down to see Bruce, but what would that do?  Wouldn't that be boring for a bunch of kids to sit in a lab?  He looks at the kids and Thor before making a decision.  “How about you guys go up,” He suggests.  “And I’ll take Mikey here to see Bruce.  He’s only one floor below.”

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Thor says.  He slings an arm around Raph and slaps a hand on Leo’s shoulder.  “How about a friendly spar dear warriors!” 

Raph is silent before his face breaks into a grin.  “Heck yeah!  That’s awesome!”

“Super awesome,” Leo says, swiping at Thor's hand.  “But I’ll go down with Mikey to the lab, ok?  We’ll check back with you guys in a sec.”

Raph shrugs and presses the elevator button.  “Be quick, Leo.  What about you Steve?”

“Oh,” He blinks.  “Sure.  I’ll come back up with Leo here.”

The elevator door opens, and Thor drags Raph inside.  “Excellent!  We shall see you on the training floor!”

Raph’s eyes sparkle.  “Mikey!  A floor!”

“I know!” the box turtle says.  “This place is so cool!”  

The elevator closes on Raph’s beaming face and Mikey spins to face him.  “Lead the way, Captain!”

“Follow me,” he pivots.  “There are stairwells at the end of every hallway.  Typically, you need a code to enter certain levels.”  He pushes the door open and holds it open for the boys.  “I’m sure Tony is working on getting you guys a code.  The elevators work fine once you're past level 90.”

“Real secure,” Leo mumbles.

Steve’s smile dips.  They walk quickly down the steps and before he knows it he’s pulling the door open to Bruce’s lab.  The man sits quietly behind a small desk, glasses falling forward and hands moving fast over a notebook.  He doesn’t move when they enter and after a moment of silence, Steve clears his throat awkwardly. 

Bruce doesn’t even jump.  “Sorry.  I didn’t hear you come in.”  Bruce looks up and finally, there’s a change in expression.  “Oh, I forgot you guys were coming today.”

“Mister Hulk, sir,” Mike says, he glides into the lab like he owns it and plops down in a chair opposite of Bruce.  “My name is Michelangelo, everyone calls me Mikey, but you,” the boy says, leaning forward on the desk, “can call me Dr. Feelings.”

Leo laughs and a ghost of a smile haunts Bruce’s face.  “Dr. Feelings, huh?”

“Exactly.  You don’t mind if I just-,” the boy grabs a wayward notebook and pulls out a pencil, “-thank you.  Now, let’s talk about your relationship with the color green.”

That does it, Bruce leans back and laughs.  Laughs in a way Steve has only ever seen with Tony.  He forgets sometimes how tightly wound the doctor keeps himself.  

Bruce wipes his eyes.  “Michelangelo correct?  A true renaissance man,” the scientist turns to the slider.  “I guess your name is Leonardo then?”

“Yes,” Leo says.  “The most popular.”

“Right,” Bruce laughs.  He pushes his notebook away and turns to give Mikey his full attention.  “Where would you like to start Dr. Feelings?”

Mikey positively beams.  “We can start immediately but first,” the turtle is before him and Leo in a flash, pushing them towards the door.  Steve grunts at the force, the kid is strong.

“Whoa-hey!  Mikey, no shoving.”

“Of course, Leo,” Mikey says.  “I wish you guys could stay, but doctor-patient confidentiality.  My hands are tied.”

Mikey gives them a final push and Steve stumbles out of the lab.

“You’re not even a real doctor!” 

“That’s not what Donnie says,” he cackles.  “Have fun, Leo.”

“But-.”

“I’ll be fine!” the turtle holds up an arm.  “I’ll contact you if I need you.”

The door slams in their face and it’s just him and Leo.  Steve looks around before crossing his arms.  “So,” he starts.  “Would you like to see the training floor?”

The turtle just huffs and makes way for the elevator.  

“Guess that’s a yes,” he mutters.  He follows the turtle, and the elevator ride is silent.  Steve wants to say something but doesn’t know what to say to Leo.  Steve seems to constantly put his foot in his mouth when it comes to the blue turtle.  He doesn’t get it.  Things are going well-ish with the other three.  

The elevator stops and he notices immediately that the floor is vibrating.  He walks down the short hall with Leo at his heels and he opens the door.  Thor and Raph are trading blows.  Powerful blows.  They’re moving fast too.

“Whoa!” Leo shouts.  “Go Raph!”

The bigger turtle startles, and it’s just enough for Thor to land a solid punch.  The turtle goes flying and lands with an audible crash on the opposite wall.

“Leo!”

“Sorry big bro!” Leo cries.  

Steve jogs over to Thor.  “What the hell are you thinking?” he hisses.  “He’s a kid!”

“Yes!” Thor smiles.  “A very powerful one at that!  I don't have to hold back as much with him!”  

Steve stares before turning to the turtles.  He knows they were strong, but to trade training blows with Thor like this?  He studies the two in a new light.  Raph makes sense.  He’s built for power, but he wonders about the others.

“That was great!” Raph says.  “Can we go again?”

“Why of course!”  

Steve walks off to the side and sends Leo a glance.  There’s only one way to find out.  “How about you and me?”

“What, spar?”

“Yeah,” Steve says.  He drops down into a stretch.  “It’ll be fun.”

It’s like that’s all the kid needed.  The boy drops into a series of stretches himself and slips his swords off.  “Wow.  I can’t believe I’m about to fight an Avenger.”

“Spar,” he corrects.  Steve stands with a final pull to his arm and turns to face his opponent.  In this view, the turtle looks even smaller.

Leo gives a short bow before dropping into an unfamiliar stance.  

A bow, Steve notes.  It looked Japanese.  

Leo twitches then launches straight for him in a flash.  He’s fast, Steve thinks.  Steve leans away from the punch, ducks under the following roundhouse, and throws an arm to block the spin kick all in quick succession.  Really fast, he thinks.  He shifts.  Dodges and starts to press his own attacks.  The slider has good eyes.  Flowing under his two jabs and brushing away his straights.  Steve twists.  Pivots, and rotates into a heel kick.  

Leo falls straight to the mat under his kick.  Steve catches the flicker of movement before he feels a strong swipe on the ankle of his stabilizing leg.  The boy twists.  The room spins, but Steve gets his hands by his head just as his back touches the mat.  He kicks up straight into the charging face of the slider and he grins.

They trade blows like this for what feels like hours.  The boy’s technique is good, but there are some weird holes in his defenses.  Moments where it feels like Leo forgets where he is, which provides Steve with multiple openings.  The turtle is clearly missing his swords as well.  His fingers keep twitching for his shell before he remembers nothing is there.  It’s one of these weird pauses where Steve gets the upper hand.  He breaks through the boy's defenses and settles a decisive front kick to the middle of his chest.  

The boy huffs, stumbling back into a fall, before rolling to his feet.  Steve drops his shoulders and stands straight.  “Good match.”

Steve walks and sits on the bench.  He wishes he had the foresight to bring a bottle of water.  He’s not out of breath, but it would help.  He’s surprised to see that Raph and Thor are still going at it.  

The bench creaks.  “Thor’s really holding his own.”  

He laughs.  “I was just about to say the same about your brother.  You guys are good.”

“Naturally.”

“You’re Dad’s a great teacher.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that” Leo smiles.  “We’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I bet you’re even better with your swords.”

“Of course,” Leo says.  “They’re like a piece of me.”

Steve nods.  “I get it.  That’s how I feel about the shield sometimes.  Took a hell of a long time to learn how to use it though.”

“Ditto, amigo.” 

A thought hits him.  “You know, your…sheepman?  He threatened me earlier.”

“Draxum?!” 

“Yeah,” he chuckles.  “He told me there are fates worse than death if anything happens to you guys.”

“Wow,” Leo laughs.  “The big softy.  Wish I had that on tape.” 

They watch the rest of the fight in companionable silence.  Thor doesn’t look like he’s slowing anytime soon, but Raph is starting to lag.

“Geez,” Leo says.  “This guy doesn’t stop.”

“That’s the thing I’m learning about aliens,” he says.  “They’re super strong.  I think Thor’s people favor it.”

“What?”

“Yeah,” Steve grins.  He sits up and drops his voice to mimic Thor.  “You Midgardians are weak,” he imitates, “Strength always prevails!”

There’s a snap.  The bench shakes and Steve turns to catch the blue tails of Leo’s bandana as the door closes.  Steve is up and following him in an instant.  He didn’t have to go far.  The boy is a few steps away from the door.  He’s leaning heavily against the wall and he’s breathing hard.

Steve walks up to him but doesn’t touch him.  He knows a panic attack when he sees it.  He just doesn’t know what triggered it.  Was it something he said?  It had to be.  They were finally communicating.  He looks back to make sure no one followed them.  He moves until he’s in front of the slider.  “Leo, I’m not going to touch you, just breathe with me ok.”

The turtle doesn’t react, and Steve doesn’t force him.  He starts breathing and counting each breath out loud until he sees Leo copying his movements.  They stand like that, breathing until the turtle stops shaking.  Steve reaches out but stops.  “You ok, son?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you su-.”

“I said I’m fine!”  Leo turns away from it.  “Look-it’s nothing I want to talk to you about.”  

Steve’s studies Leo shell before dropping it.  It’s not his place to push.  They still don’t really know each other.  “Ok.”

“I said-,” the turtle stops and wheels around.  “What?”

“I said OK,” Steve says.  “It’s not my business.”

“It’s not.” 

“I know,” he agrees.  “Do you want to go back into the room?  I’m pretty sure I can convince Natasha to get down here and challenge you to a sword fight.”

The turtle just stares, eyes flicking all over his face.  Steve’s not sure what the boy finds, but his shoulders drop, and a small smile pulls at his lips before nodding.  Steve nods back and sends a quick message to Nat.  “Let go.”

He follows Leo back into the room, but the turtle doesn’t go back to the bench.  He sits a little off to the side and Raph is by his side the next second.  Steve goes back to the bench to give them some privacy, but something makes him pause.

There’s a huge crack running down the length of the wooden bench.  He looks back at the boys and reassesses their strength for the third time.      

The rest of the night goes by without any fanfare.  Natasha does come down, dragging a complaining Clint with her, and spar with Leo.  It was something to watch that’s for sure.  There weren’t many sword fights in the 40s and there are fewer now, but this was something else.  Leo is clearly a master at the craft.  Like the slider said earlier, they are truly an extension of himself.  He honestly thought Leo would take the win if it wasn’t again for these weird little pauses.  

They stayed down there for hours.  Most of it was the turtles daring Clint to hit things they didn’t think were possible.  He had to draw the line though at Raph throwing Leo, spinning in the air, so Clint could hit his bandana tails.  They did it anyway.  Steve would scold the man if he didn't trust Hawkeye's aim, he just didn't want them to see the team as irresponsible.  And shooting arrows at teenagers is something he considers irresponsible. 

It was fun though.  There’s usually not this much laughter in the training.  He checks his watch and stands up.  “It’s getting late,” he says.  “Let’s get some dinner then see if we can drag Stark out of the lab.”  

“Race you to the kitchen!”  Leo shouts and darts out of the room.

“Wait that’s not fair!  Leo!”

The boys sprint out of the room and Clint follows behind with a grin.  Steve does a few cool-down stretches and gets up when Natasha stops next to him.

“They’re well trained,” She says.  

“They’re good,” he agrees.  “You should have seen Raph fight Thor.”

Nat just hums and leaves the training room.  Steve takes one last look at the damaged bench and heads out as well.  Leo and Raph are already arguing in the kitchen by the time Steve gets there.  He takes a deep breath, letting the spices fill his nose before releasing it.  Looks like Bruce is cooking tonight.  He turns the corner and is surprised to see both Bruce and Mikey manning the stove.

“I didn’t know you could cook?”

“Why would you?” Leo grouches.  “You just met us like yesterday.”

“Don’t mind Leo,” Mikey says.  “He’s a sore loser.”

“I didn’t lose though.”

“I’m pretty sure Raph made it to the kitchen first,” Mikey answers.  He sets a plate full of chicken and vegetables in the center of the table.  It’s not just that one plate though, more and more food is added until there’s barely any room to sit.

“That smells good.”

Steve jumps at Tony’s voice.  “What are you doing up here?”

“What, was I not invited to team dinner?” Tony asks.  “This is my building you know.  I can walk into the kitchen when I’m hungry.  I'm starting to think you don't want to eat with me.”

Steve sighs.  “That’s not-,”

“Unclench Rogers,” Tony says, falling into an open seat.  “Jarvis is running some simulations for us.  We thought it would be a good idea to grub before finishing.”

“I thought it was a good idea," Donnie corrects.

Tony just rolls his eyes and pulls a plate from the stack.  He fills it with chicken, vegetables, and the newly put-out rice and starts eating.  It becomes a free for all after that.  Thor waited for them before overloading two plates with more food than any regular person could consume.  Steve takes a bite and blinks in surprise.  It's good.  Really good and he made sure to thank the chefs.  

It turned out to be a fairly ordinary dinner.  Tony bored the table with what they were getting up to in the lab before Mikey interrupted with his own story.  If Mikey could be believed, he really connected with Bruce and his ‘antagonistic feelings within himself.’  Bruce didn’t confirm or deny, only grinning and shaking his head at anyone who asked.  Feelings weren’t all they got into apparently.  The box turtle had done some simple physical tests for the doctor and that’s all Bruce would talk about if you let him.  How interesting it was that Mikey could go into his shell, the placement and strength of his lungs.  Steve stopped listening after a while, but it was nice.  No talks of upcoming missions or Hydra labs to bust.  It reminds him, painfully, of the dinners he would have with the team during the war.  Sure, it wasn’t as fancy or nice as this, but the feeling was the same.  It would be nice if all nights were like this.

Natasha

It's two hours past midnight when Natasha opens her eyes.  She sits up and gets out of bed with little sound.  She pulls her hair into a ponytail and doesn’t bother to slide into her shoes as she slips out of her room.  She walks soundlessly to the end of the hall and opens the door to the stairwell and quietly jogs down the four flights of stairs.  She stops at the door, pulls out her phone, and sends a quick text.  It’s another five minutes before Tony joins her.  He closes the door slowly and leans against it with a sigh.

Natasha takes him in.  The bags under his eyes and the dropped posture with a critical gaze.  She already knows how this conversation is going to go.

She asks anyway.  “So?”

“I hate to admit it,” Tony says, rubbing his face.  “But I don’t think it can be destroyed.  I’ve been trying to deny it all day, but the kid's readings tell a damning story.”

“Which is?”

“In layman’s terms?” he says.  “Mystic energy isn’t consistent.  It’s different for each user, like a fingerprint.  It’s looking like the only way to destroy this key is to use the same energy that made it or disrupt it somehow.”  He turns a tired smile her way.  “Unless SHIELD has a time machine laying around, then disrupting the energy is the only way.  The only problem is there’s no real way to do that.” 

“They don’t have a mystic way?”

“They have a guy working on it,” he says.  “But apparently mystic objects and artifacts are notoriously hard, nearly impossible, to disrupt.”  

“What about Thor?”

“I doubt his planet could offer up anything to destroy it,” he groans.  “We compared it to the Tesseract Nat, although that cube is stronger than this, the energy is too different.  It won’t do anything to that hunk of indestructible wood.”

There’s no way to destroy it.  This is the worst-case scenario.  She had hoped that with the combined wits of Stark and the mutant, they might be able to figure it out.  Or at least be able to fall back on Thor.  She looks at the wall and for a moment, pretends that she can see straight into the lab, to the softshell sleeping softly on the couch.

Tony's talk with the turtle confirmed everything they thought they knew about this team was wrong.  Their oldest fighter is 17 with only two adults supervising their activities. They don't have a base or a home, just abandoned spaces under the city.  They have no real defenses and aren’t funded or supported by anyone.  While brilliant, everything this kid has made was created through scrimping and scavenging.  She can admire the resilience, but the most damning part of this equation is that they’ve been discovered before.  She doesn't think they meant to give that away, but she was able to piece that together from their last conversation.  They got the key, then the Kraang got it back.  The unsaid part is that their home was discovered.  What’s stopping someone else from finding them and the scroll?  From someone taking their most vulnerable hostage and forcing the drawing out of them?  SHIELD and the team wouldn’t know until it was too late.  

“Tony.”

He sighs and pulls out a small flash drive.  He stares at it.  “I really like them you know.”

Natasha places her hand over his.  “I do too.” 

She takes the flash drive and heads back upstairs.  She pulls out her phone and calls the first contact.  “It’s Natasha.  I’ve got it.  Start preparing the decoy.”

Chapter Text

Bishop

He’s always found it interesting how overlooked the bishop is in all its iterations. A forgotten piece on a chess board.  A mid-level ranking in most churches.  For most, a bishop is a sacrifice for a win or a mouthpiece for holier positions, but for him, he’s found power in its perceived neutrality.  It’s afforded him the flexibility to move across departments and into more…. favorable positions.  It also opened the door to the accumulation of resources that sometimes surprises even himself.  So many people in power tend to forget that they are touchable.  Forget about the diagonal and how a perfectly good setup can threaten a king.  He’s mastered the art by now.  Has enemies and allies forked or pinned into making the decisions he wants.  It’s how he operates and very rarely does one escape a trap he’s laid.

Nick Fury, however, is the perfect example of a king who always manages to slip out of checkmate at the last second.  He’s never paid too much attention to SHIELD, which might be one of his few oversights.  They both have the same goal of protecting this planet, but Nick prefers the diplomatic approach.  An asinine method, but not many people get to experience the alien threat as personally as Bishop had.  

Despite how prepared he believed himself to be, the invasion was something he never anticipated.  There was no inkling of anything entering Earth's space, or any tells from the shifting plates beneath their oceans.  For all intents and purposes, the Kraang materialized out of thin air in the middle of New York.  Not even his mystic connections were able to provide any useful insight.  The only information he had was the stolen idol hours before and the specimen refused to disclose its purpose.  He could guess with the information he had on hand, but Bishop didn’t make decisions or plans from unfounded speculations.

Bishop tightens his fist as he waits for the video call to connect.  If only the Avengers hadn’t gotten to the mutants first.  He would have made them talk.  He considers briefly going after the girl but again dismisses it.  There’s a high probability that she knows the purpose of the idol and the fate of the last two Kraang, but she is not important.  At least, not yet.

A tech lifts a finger and Bishop widens his stance as the call connects.

“Well, well,” The voice says.  “If it isn’t my good friend Bishop.”

His mouth twitches.  “Fury.”

“I’m sure you’ve already heard from the President.” 

“I have.”

Fury smiles.  “Great!  Then I guess there’s nothing for us to go over.  Have the alien ready within 48 hours.”

“How did you convince the President?” He asks.  “I’m surprised he relented.  Seeing how your own methodology amounts to… 'finders’ keepers’ in its simplicity.”

“Funny,” Fury chuckles.  “Since that’s the attitude that got us here in the first place.  I just explained to the president that SHIELD would be able to provide better insight into the alien.  I mean we do have an expert on our side.”

Bishop narrows his eyes.  Yes, the Asgardian.  It’s the only ace Fury can pull, and he uses it liberally.  It hasn’t produced enough fruit in Bishop’s opinion.  According to his spies, this Thor hasn’t even provided a catalog of intergalactic threats.  Not even a name or race that they should be wary of, and he claims to be their protector.  The man just comes and goes as he pleases and leaves the door to alien assaults open in his wake.    

“We have the alien perfectly contained,” Bishop says.  “We’ve gained valuable information from studying its biology.”

“That’s great.  It would be even better if you would share that information.”

“Of course,” Bishop answers.  “In exchange for your information on Asgard.  I am very interested in a reported cube atop Avengers Tower.” 

Fury’s mouth goes tight and Bishop smirks.  In this aspect, he can respect Fury.  The man is secretive to his core and covets control over what he can’t.  The difference between them is that Fury lacks the follow-through to get real results.  

“Relax,” he says.  “The alien will be ready.  I assure you, your no doubt extensive groveling at the President’s feet for this opportunity will not be in vain.”

That gets a reaction.  A visceral one.  Another flaw Fury can’t hide.  His emotional outburst and ill-advised connections to his work will leave SHIELD vulnerable to the E.P.F soon enough. 

“48 hours Bishop,” Fury says.  

The connection cuts and Bishop can almost hear the expletives falling from Fury’s lips.  He adjusts his tie and walks out of the command center.  He walks briskly down the hall and stops just before the guarded doors of the labs.  His fingers fly over the keypad before ending it with his thumb pressed against the scanner. 

The doors open with little noise.  He steps into the lab and takes it in.  The place is huge, taking up most of the underground space.  There are multiple projects going on, true horrors that only a visionary could see through, but he heads for the containment center in the back.  He walks past the spread-out bodies of the poor souls mutated by the Kraang, by pulsating pieces of the ship they were able to recover, to stand in front of a giant tube.

The alien floats in a vivacious liquid, it's one eye closed, with a permanent scowl on its face.  The alien had stopped speaking two weeks into its confinement.  Not like it was saying much when it was talking.  Just threats of death and mutilation that Bishop methodically turned back onto the creature.  The specimen though has proved to be very resilient.  It’s taken everything they had to separate one tentacle from the body.  Not including using some very expensive and dangerous weaponry to burn and peel pieces off for study.  It’s a shame that they still haven’t discovered what the turtles used to burn through the alien's flesh.  The hole goes clear from one side to the next and should have disrupted the creature's brain function, if not killed outright.  Such resilient creatures. 

“Is it true, Bishop?”

He doesn’t turn away from the container.  “It is.”

“But,” Dr. Chaplin says.  “They can’t do this!  We’ve just scratched the surface of what we can learn from this creature.  We’ve finally made headway with how it connects to the robotic skeleton!” 

“I know Dr. Chaplin,” he says.  “We’ve been outranked.”  

“But!”

“Enough,” he turns.  “You have 48 hours to get the specimen ready for transportation.”  He spins on his heels and walks towards some of their more…questionable experiments but stops.  “Prepare the specimen for container B1.”

“But Sir,” Dr. Chaplin stutters.  “We’ve determined that B1 isn’t strong enough for-.”

“B1,” Bishop repeats.  “Am I clear?”

Dr. Chaplin bows his head.  “Y-yes, sir.”

“Good.” 

Bishop continues to walk, and a smirk grows on his face.  Fury wants to prove to the world leaders that SHIELD is more than capable of handling and containing the alien.  More capable than the E.P.F. 

Fine.  

If that’s what he wants, then Bishop is more than willing to provide Fury with an opportunity to prove his point.

Chapter Text

Tony

It’s early morning when his alarm buzzes insistently against his wrist.  He fumbles, hand swinging for a non-existent alarm clock before his surroundings come back to him.  He taps the watch until it’s silent and sits up with a groan.  He needs a new couch in this lab, or maybe a bed.  He’s a billionaire, he can afford it, but what does it say to have a bed in his workspace?  He can already hear the tabloids, ‘Married to his work.’  Predictable.  He stretches, back popping and stands with a quiet grunt.  Luckily, he didn’t wake the kid with all his flailing.  He kicks into his shoes before quietly leaving the lab. 

He sent a message for an early meeting after talking with Nat.  It might have been late, but Jarvis will make sure everyone gets to the training room on time.  He contemplates taking the elevator before electing for the stairs.  A little light exercise will wake him up for what’s sure to be an interesting discussion.  He pretty much knows who the holdouts are going to be, but the meeting might surprise him.  

He pushes the door open and he’s not the first one in the training room.  Of course, mister and misses super spy beat him to it.  He waits for the others to filter in before running a scan over the entire room.  He knows that Donnie hasn’t been to this level.  The boy practically sleeps in the lab…. not like he’s any better, but still.  If it were him, he’d put bugs everywhere he could reach.  He hasn’t found any in the lab yet, but that could just be because of proximity.  

Bruce is the last to shuffle in with a hot mug of tea and a yawn on his lips.  The man sits on the bench and takes a sip before leaning back with a sigh.  Tony taps his phone and Jarvis scans the entire floor.  There are no bugs detected but he puts up a dampening field anyway. 

“Jarvis,” He mutters.  “Keep an eye on our turtle tots.”

Bruce shoots him a look before yawning again.  “So, what’s this meeting about?”

Tony looks a Natasha.  He broke the news to her last night, so he’s not going to be the one to break it to the team.

Natasha rolls her eyes and steps forward.  “There’s no way to sugarcoat this, so I’m just going to say it.  The key can’t be destroyed.”

That wakes everyone up.  Steve straightens against the wall and Bruce’s jaw goes tight.  Even Thor seems to get the severity of that statement.  

“Are you sure?”  Steve says.

“According to everything I can pull from the piece of junk,” Tony answers.  “This mystic energy is one of a kind.  All mystic energy is specific, which I’ll explore personally later.  The only way to destroy it is if the original people do, and since time travel isn’t a thing, that’s out.  Or we’d need to disrupt the energy enough for us to break it, and that’s not possible either.”

Steve flicks his head towards Thor.  “What about Asgard?”

“What about Asgard?” Tony scoffs.  “We’ve compared it to the Tesseract.  Don’t worry Goldilocks.  Your blue cube is stronger, but the energies are too different.  Think of it like putting two magnets of the same charge together.  It’s not going to work.”

“I can still ask my father,” Thor tries.  “We were going to go to war with them.  There must be something.”

He just shakes his head.  The Tesseract is the strongest thing on Asgard according to Thor, not counting his hammer.  If Thor’s hammer couldn’t break the shield, then it’s definitely not destroying the key.

“So, what's the point of this meeting?” Bruce says.  “Clearly, it’s not just to tell us this.  If it was the turtles would be here.  And seeing how Jarvis is monitoring them, this is something you don’t want them to know.”

“Yes,” Natasha says.  “Tony has provided me with a full scan of the key.  I’ve sent it over to SHIELD and we’ve built a replica-”

Bruce puts his cup down with a snort.

“A replica,” she finishes.  “They’ve copied it down to the wood type and every carving imperfection.  Visually, it looks the same.”

“What does that matter?” Bruce says.  “You just explained that these mystic energies can’t be replicated.  They’re going to know if you take it.”

Silence.  He knew Bruce would get it, but he was kind of hoping to ease the others into the idea.  

“That’s what this conversation is leading to right?” Bruce says.  “Taking the key and giving the boys-what, a dummy?  They’re not idiots Nat.  They’re going to notice.”

“We know they’re going to notice,” Natasha says.  “But we’re hoping to have the key in SHIELD custody by the time they do.” 

“Why?”

“The turtles have been discovered once before,” she answers.  “They don’t have a secure base.  What’s stopping someone else from finding them and taking the key?”

“They have a three-point mystic lock,” Bruce deadpans.  “That seems pretty secure to me.”

“All it takes is one hostage,” Tony jumps in.  “Can you promise that they won’t give it up to save one of their own?”

“Can you?” Bruce retorts.  “And they aren’t exactly defenseless Tony.  Donnie has a superior security system.”

Natasha frowns.  “You know this how?”

“Because I talk to them Nat,” he says.  “Their base has more sensors than this Tower.  They’re mutants hiding from humans.  You don’t think their resident genius wouldn’t do everything in his power to protect them?”

It’s a good point.  He’s seen first-hand what this kids' tech can do.  Donnie’s going to be something great when he grows up, and that’s the problem.  When he grows up.  As it stands now it’s just him.  He has no support.  They all don’t have support.  A team of possibly eight or ten is not enough to keep the key safe.  

“SHIELD can hide this artifact better than anyone,” she pushes.  “This might be even better for them.  They can’t give up a location if they don’t know where it is.”

“Let’s not pretend this is for their benefit,” Bruce says.  “We haven’t even waited for their mystic contact to come back with a solution.”

“Who knows how long that’s going to take,” Tony says.  “We need to bury this thing while it’s still here.”

“You don’t even know the ritual to open the portal,” Thor adds.  “What are the chances this faceless enemy will?”

“The Foot knew,” Clint says.  “I’ve heard of them—a radical, ancient clan operating out of Japan.  There is never just one cell of The Foot.  There are likely others stationed around the world.”

Tony nods.  “Exactly!  What if they come back and get the key?  We wouldn’t even know until it was too late.  At least if we have it, we can bury it on the Raft.”

Bruce laughs but it’s not a good sound.  “The Raft?  That’s where you want to put it?  In the middle of SHIELD’s most dangerous criminals.  Yeah, that’s a way safer place than a literal rip in dimensions.”  

“That might have been a bad example,” Tony winces.  “But we can bury this thing deep.  We can do our part in making sure this never happens again.”

“So, what’s the point of this meeting?” Bruce scowls.  “It seems like you two have already made your decision.”

“We’re a team-,” Bruce snorts but Tony ignores it, “-and we should make this decision as a team.  Let's put it to a vote.”

“I vote that it’s a terrible idea,” Bruce says immediately.

“I must agree with Dr. Banner,” Thor says.  “It seems unwise to step in when these warriors already have it under control.”

Tony nods, so far, the votes are falling how he expected.  “Clint?”

The archer is silent for a moment.  “I’m with Nat,” he says finally.  “I’ve heard stories about The Foot.  Horrible ones.  They aren’t a group you want to make an enemy out of.  They turn grudges into blood feuds.  It would be easier if we were their enemy, not the boys.”

All eyes turn to Steve.  He hasn’t said anything since the start of the conversation.  It’s always hard to tell where boy wonder is going to fall on these types of arguments.  Bruce, he knew like the back of his hand.  He barely tolerates SHIELD and deception is a no-go for him, but Steve?  He could fall either way.  Tony needs Steve to be on his side on this.  It can’t go to a tie.  

“Steve,” Bruce pushes.

“They’re children,” the man says, and Tony feels his shoulders fall in relief.

The bench snaps under Bruce’s fist.  “They’re not infants!” Bruce grinds out.  “We’re talking about them like they’re four.  Jesus!  They saved the world without any help from us.  Mikey said they’ve been fighting bad guys and mutants since he was thirteen.  I don’t see why we suddenly need to intervene on this.  Especially with SHIELD.”  Bruce looks up and rolls his eyes.  “Relax Nat.  You’ll have to wait for an emergency to see my party trick.”

Natasha clears her throat, but Tony catches her hands moving away from her wrist.

“That’s the point Bruce,” Steve says.  “Mikey shouldn’t be responsible for fighting bad guys.  He should have-.”

“Should have what, Steve?” Bruce interjects.  “Been in school?  They’re mutant turtles.  Their lives weren’t going to normal from the start.”

“Look, Bruce,” Tony says.  “I like them too-.”

“It’s not about if I like them, Tony,” Bruce interrupts.  “It’s about if I respect them as a team.  We didn’t even know anything about this idol until they told us.”

“I get it!” Tony yells.  God, how often is Bruce going to bring up how utterly useless he was?   “Clearly, we knew nothing about this team, or about these aliens or-or this key to a prison.  We knew nothing!  We were nothing!  We couldn’t do anything last time, but we can do something next time.  By making sure a next time doesn’t happen with this key.”

“Tony-,”

“We can be part of the solution,” Tony pushes.  “We know who the enemy is now.  I know what’s on the other side and for once we have a way of actively monitoring this situation.  We’ll know exactly where the key is, so if anything comes for it, I’ll know immediately.  I’ll be ready to stop another hole in the sky or anything that could come out of it!”

Bruce just stares, eyes heavy and Tony turns from the gaze.  

“I’m sorry Tony,” Bruce exhales.  “I’m not that kind of doctor.” 

Tony tenses and the room goes silent.  How dare he.  It’s been an unspoken argument between the two of them.  About nightmares and a Malibu home slowing being filled to brim with suits.  Despite what Bruce might believe, he’s fine.  The suits are there to keep them safe, to keep Pepper safe.  If Bruce didn’t agree, then he wouldn’t be helping on their little side project.  These little jabs and hints to see a therapist is starting to get old.  He already has Bruce and Pepper; he didn’t need to talk to anyone else.  There’s no point, they wouldn’t understand anyway.

He turns to Steve.  “So, I take it you agree?”

Steve looks between them but doesn’t comment.  “Yes, I do.”

“Great,” he claps.  “Now we just need to discuss when we're going to take it.”  

“Can you at least wait until after I speak with my father?” Thor interjects.  “I promise you I’ll be back within one of your Earth days.  I’ll have Heimdall watch this realm.  I swear it.”

“Thor.”

“Are you going to sit here and tell us that you can’t wait 24 hours?”  

“Stop,” Steve says, pushing off the wall.  “We’ll wait for Thor.  And if Asgard doesn’t have an answer-,”

“It won’t,” Tony mumbles.

“-then we look for an opportunity to grab the key.”

Bruce gets up, “I assume this meeting is over?”  He doesn’t wait for an answer and slams the door behind him.

“I shall leave as well,” Thor says.  The God walks to the door and turns around.  “Please wait for my return.  I beg you.”  

Thor leaves the room on that and then it’s just the four of them.  Tony stares at the forgotten mug, throat tight, before turning to the rest.  “We can’t wait 24 hours.”

“I agree,” Natasha says.  “Bruce is going to tell them the moment Thor fails.”

“Look,” Steve sighs.  “We said we would give him 24 hours.  Let’s give it 24 hours.”

“Fine,” Natasha spits.  “But if an opportunity arises where the idol is alone, then we take it.  SHIELD is waiting on the lower levels ready with the decoy.”

Steve doesn’t like it, he can tell, but at this point, it’s not up to him.  The team, well the majority, has decided to move when the opportunity arises, whether that’s before Thor gets back or not.  Bruce will see eventually that this is for the best.  So will the boys.  They won’t like it at first, but teenagers don’t always know what’s best for them.  God, he’s starting to sound like his father.

He just hopes it doesn’t come to blows.

Steve

Things feel different after the meeting.  Like a heavy weight or fog that hovers around the rest of the morning.  Steve walks into the kitchen and isn’t surprised to find Bruce absent.  The man was upset.  More upset than Steve has seen in a long time.  He knows though, instinctively, that the man is giving them until Thor returns to change their minds, and Steve’s conflicted.  He pulls the freezer door open and grabs a packet of frozen waffles.  He pops them quickly into the toaster before turning to grab a drink.

“Jesus!” Steve jumps and clutches his chest, heart beating.  He stares at the turtle before him, he didn’t even the boy come in.  “Mikey,” he says.  “Good morning!”

“Good morning!” the kid grins.  “Where is everyone?”

“Ugh, still resting,” Steve answers.  “We had an early team meeting.  I think a few went back to sleep.”

“Wow!  So cool!”

Steve stares at the kid.  He’s barely even a teenager.  They aren’t infants a voice hisses; I actually talk to them.

His waffles pop and Steve grabs them on autopilot.  He loads his plate but doesn’t sit.  “So,” he starts.  “When you’re not fighting bad guys what do you like to do?”

This seems to catch the turtle off guard.  “Oh, I like to draw.  Art is kind of my thing.”

Well, would you look at that?  “Me too kid.”  Steve settles at the table and Mikey falls into the chair across from him.  “It was something I brought with me during the war.  I think some of my sketches are still hanging around in museums.”

“What do you like to draw?”

“People,” he answers.  “I like to draw people.  Mainly old friends,” he looks at his plate.  “What about you?”

“Hmmm, I don’t really have a favorite,” Mikey says.  “I like color the most though.  Dad let me graffiti all over the walls at our old lair.  You should have seen it!  I had pieces scaling three levels!”

“Old lair?”

“Yeah,” Mikey dims.  “We lived there my whole life!  But it was destroyed two years ago.  The new one’s not bad, it’s just not home yet, you know?”

Steve looks around at this tower of glass and metal and thinks about dirt and foxholes.  Of a team laughing in bunkers and an echo of a familiar clap on his shoulder.  “I get it,” he says.  “It takes a while to get used to.”

“You’re telling me,” Mikey huffs.  “We each get our own subway car so that’s cool.”

Steve just cuts into his waffles.  He doesn’t like to think about how they live.  All abandoned tunnels and subway cars, but what choice did they have?  Bruce might be on to something, but it doesn’t make it right.

“What happened to your old lair?”

“Oh, you know,” Mikey waves.  “Typical bad guy stuff.”

He opens his mouth to ask another question when Raph rounds the corner.  It still gets to him, the sheer size of this kid.

“Morning Raph!” Mikey says.

“Moring Mikey,” Raph yawns, sharp tooth catching the light.  “Do you mind making me some breakfast?  I’m a little sore from yesterday.”

“Of course!”  Mikey jumps up and heads for the fridge.  “Man, I wish I could have seen it!  I was too busy running on a treadmill with Bruce.”

“Treadmill?”

“Yeah,” Mikey hums.  He disappears under the island and the sounds of pots crashing fill the kitchen.  “He’s interested in the turtle thing.  We talked while he did other stuff.  Not as cool as fighting Thor though.”  

“You let him test on you?”

Steve jumps at the sound and turns to find Leo in the kitchen with Mikey.  He whips back to the door to see Donnie as well and his heart beats.  He didn’t hear any of them coming.  Now that he’s thinking about it, he didn’t even hear Raph’s heavy steps when he first entered the kitchen.

“No Leo,” Mikey groans.  “All we did was physical stuff.  Running, strength all that jazz.  He went over this last night.  Did you know that my lungs are slightly bigger than the average teenager's?”

“That’s what he was talking about?” Leo says.  “He sounded like Donnie, so I just tuned him out.”

“Ha,” Donnie says.  The turtle sits with a stretch.  “So, Cap, or do you prefer Rogers-you know what it doesn’t matter.  I have a question for you.”

He blinks.  “Ok, and I prefer Steve.”

“Hmmm, I like Rogers, anyway.”  Donnie pulls out his phone, “Is it ok for our friend to stop by today?  You saw her at the pier.”

He furrows his brow before it hits.  “April, right?  Ugh, sure.”

“Great!  I already told her you said yes.  She’ll be here after the test.”

Mikey sets a large plate of eggs, toast, and bacon before Raph.  “Test?”

“Yeah, Stark and I finished up the lasers last night.  We’re going to test them today.”

“Do you think it will work?” 

“Honestly, Leon,” Donnie sighs.  “I don’t.  Mystic energy is too specific.  Like a fingerprint.  I don’t think either laser is going to work.”

The turtles seem to fall at that.  “Well, all you can do is try,” Steve says.  “Plus, Thor left this morning to see if they might have anything on Asgard that could help.”

Leo narrows his eyes.  “And how long will that be?”

“He said he’d be back tomorrow,” Steve answers.  “So, I guess after that you guys will have to decide what to do.”

Leo pulls back.  “Y-yeah, I guess we will.”

“Will probably keep it in the safe,” Raph answers.  “It’s super secure in there.  Then we’ll wait and see what Draxum’s shady mystic contact has for us.”

“What’s the story behind him anyway?” 

“Why do you want to know?” Donnie asks.

“He just rubbed me the wrong way.”

“Oh!” Leo says.  “Get this.  Draxum threatened him.  Captain America!  Told him if anything happens to us that he’ll be next.”

“Draxum?!”

“Eh, I can believe it.”

“I told you he cared!” Mikey says.  “He’s fine Cap!  He’s family.”

“Evil family,” Leo mutters.

“Leo!” 

“Fine, fine,” the boy laughs.  “Let’s get this test over with.”

Natasha

The tests fail as expected.  There isn’t even any real surprise at the failure.  They all knew it was coming, even the turtles, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t try.  Natasha stares at the idol standing innocently and unscratched in the middle of the table.  It would be easier if the damn thing would just break.

“Welp,” Donnie says, pulling up his goggles.  “That went exactly as expected.”

“You know, I was kind of hoping for a surprise,” Tony says.  “Maybe even holding out for my first time at being wrong.”

“Well, I’m never wrong and I don’t wish to be,” Donnie adds.  

“I don’t get it!” Leo says.  “We’ve seen other mystic junk break, why can’t this?”

Natasha turns to him.  This is new information.  “What broke it?”

“Mystic armor,” Raph answers.  “Powerful, evil ancient mystic armor.  The key word here is ancient.”  Raph frowns, “maybe if we had a piece of that laying around, but we destroyed it completely.”

Tony throws his hands up.  “How many mystic things are there?  I swear every time I talk to you guys there’s more mystic stuff thrown into the conversation.  Where is all this mysticism coming from?”

That’s a good question.  Natasha had a chance to look over the information Donnie provided.  A lot of it was redacted, with no names or locations, but the amount of data he has is a big clue.  It tells her that there were more people involved in this mystic world than just a handful.  Almost like a network, and that conjures thoughts of secret societies and hidden platforms.

“Don’t worry about it,” Donnie says.  His phone goes off, “aaannnddd right on time.  That’s April.”

“This is the girl in the video?” 

“Yeah!  She’s great,” Mikey says.  “I was surprised you guys found us before her.”

“You didn’t invite boy-wonder?” Tony asks.  “The one with the cable.”

“No.”

“Why n-.”

“No,” Leo reiterates.  

The tone is familiar.  This must be the supposed source.  He must be someone recognizable if all the turtles don’t want them to know his identity.  

“I’ll grab her,” Steve says.

“So, this failed,” Leo huffs.  “What’s our next step?”

“We wait for Thor,” Bruce says.  “He said he’ll be back tomorrow after talking with his father, and if that doesn’t pan out, then it’s up to you guys.”

Tony looks around, “Did anyone hear that?”

“Oh, grow up Tony.”

“There it is again,” Tony gasps.  “My lab might be haunted with all this mystic nonsense running around.”

Bruce scoffs but doesn’t say anything.  The turtles' glance between the two of them and Natasha just shares a look with Clint.  It’s always awkward when Tony and Bruce are fighting.  Tony’s an expert in passive aggression and Bruce isn’t too far behind him.  She remembers their last argument.  Bruce made food Tony hated for every meal for a month, and Tony had the entire upper levels painted green.  It was a nightmare.  Hopefully, once this runs its course, Bruce will see how necessary it is for SHIELD to have the key.  

“Hey, guys!”

“April!” 

The turtles surround her in a quick hug before falling away and Natasha takes her in.  She’s wearing the same outfit from the video but with a long bag slung across her back.  The young girl is all sharp features and brown skin, with her hair split into two puffs.  

“It didn’t work?”

“No.”

“I don’t want to say I told you so,” Leo starts.

Donnie rolls his eyes.  “Then don'-.”

“But I told you so!” Leo shouts.  “I’m never wrong guys.  I don’t know how to be.”

Natasha smiles.  It's weird to be around, well kids.  The only experience she has is with Clint's and they’re young.  

“What’s the plan now?” April asks.

“The plan is to wait for Thor,” Raph says.  “If his thing doesn’t work then we go home and wait for Draxum.”

Natasha frowns.  That’s exactly what they want to avoid.  They need to make an opening before Bruce beats them to it.  She knows Bruce.  If he doesn’t like a plan, then he’s not going to stick with it.  They’re only saving grace is Thor’s deadline.

“When did Thor leave?” April groans.  “I wanted to see him fight Raph.  I always miss the good stuff.”

“Is that why you brought the bat?” Mikey says.

The girl breaks into a wolfish grin.  She swings the bag around, unzips it, and pulls out a green flaming baseball bat.  The room breaks into a cacophony of panic.  Natasha and Clint jump back, and she’s already got her hand on her Widow’s Bite.  Tony stumbles, shouting at Jarvis to activate fire protocols.

“WAIT!  WAIT!” Raph shouts.  The snapper moves to stand in front of April and is quickly dosed in fluffy fire retardant.  The room goes quiet until the rest of the boys fall on their shells laughing.

Raph huffs and wipes the foam from his face.  “It’s not real fire.  At least I don’t think it is.”

What?  Natasha pulls out of her crouch and looks closer.  The bat is a shifting green flame, but the girl isn’t hurt.  She steps closer, bringing herself to stand next to the girl, and notices that there’s no heat.  

April grins and twirls the bat in her hands.  “Pretty sweet, right?  I got a witch to enchant it for me.”

“Oh c’mon!” Tony yells from the floor.  “I said I draw the line at Harry Potter.”

“I feel your pain,” Donnie says.  “I didn’t like the witches either, but their enchantment works-wait.” Donnie turns to April.  “Did you bring that here to fight Thor?”

“D, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!” April exclaims.  “When would I ever get the chance to go toe-to-toe with a God?”

Clint clears his throat.  “We’re still here.  You could test it out on the training floor.  Not like there’s anything else to do until Thor gets back.”

April’s eyes sparkle.  “Yes!  That would be great.  Come on, guys.”

“I’ll pass,” Donnie says.  “Stark already said I could look at his suits.”

“One suit.”

Donnie just waves.  “You guys have fun though.”

Natasha twitches, mind racing.  This could be their opportunity.  Tony’s suits are in the basement.  If the rest of the boys follow them to the training floor.  “I’m down for a spar.”

“Great!” Mikey says, grabbing Bruce’s arm.  “You’re going to love this!  Maybe this will help you test the durability of our shells.”

“Test what!”

“Relax Leo,” Mike scoffs.  “Let’s go.”

Leo leans against the table.  “You guys go ahead.  I’m going to chill with the eggheads here.”

Natasha flexes her fingers.  Shit.  They’re so close.  They need to get everyone out of this lab.  SHIELD only needs ten minutes.  She feels Bruce’s eyes on her.  If she says anything here, he’ll know.  He wouldn’t leave then; he’d make up some excuse to stay in the lab with the key.

“C’mon kid,” Steve says.  “I’m going to get my shield to see how it stands against a magical bat.  You can try it out if you want?”

Leo falls over.  “The shield?  I Leon, the greatest ninja alive, gets to throw Captain America’s shield!?”  The slider breaks for the door, “You nerds have fun!  Cap, go get that baby!”

Natasha smiles, but she pauses for just a second to catch Tony’s eye.  The man doesn’t nod, Bruce still hasn’t filtered out yet, but he taps his phone.  Good.  He’ll let her know when they leave for the lower levels.  Then the key will be in SHIELD custody.  There’s a pit forming in her stomach, but she ignores it.  This is for the best.  For all parties involved.  Bruce might have mocked the Raft, but it’s a good idea.  Burying this artifact in the lowest levels is almost foolproof.  Plus, once the alien is in SHIELD custody then they guarantee that the two will remain separate.  There’s no time for guilt or second guessing.  The decision has been made, and if everything works out, the key will be out of the city by the time the boys discover the decoy.

____________________________________________________________________________

Natasha watches as the girl trades blows with Steve.  She’s clearly had some training.  Natasha can tell from the footwork alone, but April’s a brawler at heart.  Especially with that bat in her hands.  April uses it like no weapon Natasha has ever seen.  Even now, the girl launches the weapon at Steve and is racing towards him seconds after it leaves her grip.  The bat spins green through the air before striking hard against the shield.  Steve grunts before pushing the bat away.  The girl jumps, almost expecting the deflection, and spins, “APRIL O’NEIL!”  April’s kick connects with the base of the bat, sending it flying back at him. 

Steve just manages to get his shield up, the force of the supposed magic pushing him back before he drops to one knee.  He gets under the weapon, pivoting, and pushes the shield up and away.  The bat flies over his shoulder and it hits the wall with a solid thunk.

April lands on her feet, jaw dropping.  “Aw, man!”

“Wow,” Steve says.  “You sure know how to use that.”

“Thanks,” she grins.

“Yeah, yeah.  April’s great,” Leo says.  “Now let me at that shield!”

Steve throws back his head and laughs.  He walks over and claps a hand on Leo’s shoulder.  “Alright, let’s go to the targets.”  

Natasha watches them go and feels a buzz against her hip.  She pulls out her phone and her heart beats hard.  It’s a thumbs-up from Tony.  She looks up quickly before shooting Maria a quick text.  She’s slipping the phone back into her pocket when April pops in front of her.

The girl grins, flipping the bat in her hands, and holds it out to her.  “Wanna give it a swing?”

Natasha stares at the weapon.  She’s never handled anything mystic before, but she’s not going to let that stop her.  She grabs the handle.  It’s light in her grip but the wood is solid.  “Do I need to do anything special?”

“Nope!” April pops.  “It just packs one hell of a punch, or at least that’s how I use it.”

Natasha hums and steps a bit away from the girl.  She spins it experimentally in her hand, getting a better feel of it, before setting up a solid two-handed grip.

“Remember,” April says.  “You take a step, plant your feet, lower your hips and let it swing, baby!”

She smirks at April’s enthusiasm and follows the instructions easily.  It’s not her first time swinging a bat after all.  She puts her weight behind the swing.  A strong gust of wind flows through the training room and even pushes Clint a bit.  Natasha looks down at the bat.  She needs to get herself one of these.

“Impressive,” she says.  Natasha sets the bat down and turns to April.  “Now let’s really look at your hand-to-hand.”

April drops low into an unfamiliar stance, face breaking out into a manic grin.  “Let’s rumble!”

Natasha smirks, she likes this kid.  She sinks down, breathes, and lunges.

Raph

Raph catches a bit of April’s spar with a critical eye.  She’s really improved, but just like Leo, her hands twist for a missing weapon.  He’s not much better, and if you take Donnie's bo away then that’s pretty much it.  Maybe he should talk to dad about increasing their hand-to-hand combat training.  He loves his sai, but you never know when another demon will pop up and eat them for dinner.  Raph ducks under Clint's kick and focuses on his own spar.  He’s holding back, not really able to go close to all-out like with Thor, but Clint’s technique isn’t something to underestimate.  

“So,” Clint says.  “What’s up with your eye?”

Raph stumbles mid-punch, jaw falling.   Wha-how?  

“Don’t worry,” Clint chuckles.  “I don’t think anyone else has noticed, except for Nat.  You’re a little slow to react on your right.”

Oh.  That makes sense.  He pulls out of his stance and stares down at his hands.  At the fuzzy lines on his right.  “It’s damaged,” he says finally.

“Is it recent?”

“Yeah,” he swallows.  “During the invasion-I was hurt.”  He scans the room but the others aren’t paying attention.  He steps closer, “They got me early on.  They-uh-.”  His chest constricts, “they made me hurt my-.”

He can’t even finish it.  He’s never talked about it.  Not with anyone.  He thought maybe a stranger would work but he can’t get the words out.  They sit heavy in his throat, just like how the Kraang twisted his insides, and then he’s back there.  In the orb.  Changing.  And it hurts, but he can’t escape, and-.

“Hey,” Clint says and Raph’s back in the training room.  He sucks in a deep breath.  He looks to his brothers and sags when they aren’t looking his way.  He doesn’t want to bother them with this.  He’s fine.  

“I get it Raph.” 

He focuses back on Clint.  “You do?”

Clint sinks to the floor and pats the spot in front of him.  Raph follows, crossing his legs.  The man clears his throat and pulls out an arrow, “I was the first taken out during the Chitauri invasion.  The leader behind the attack had a mind control staff,” Clint fiddles with the mechanics of the arrow.  “I helped them open that portal over New York.”

Raph stares.  His shoulders rise.  “Me too,” he whispers.  A confession.

He tenses for the questions, the accusations, for something, anything.  Someone’s finally going to blame him for what happened.  His family would never do it, they can’t bring themselves to, even though he deserves it, but the Avengers have no ties to him.  They’ll see that he’s not a real hero.  How can he be when he helped advance the invasion?  Clint will get up and tell the others, and they’ll punish him.  It’ll be alright.  He can take.  He deserves it.  

A hand covers his.  

He looks up into the openness of Clint’s face and he tears up.  Don’t.  Not where everyone can see.  “It’s just,” he says, “when I look at my hands, sometimes I see-.”

“Blood,” Clint finishes.  “Me too kid.”  

He sniffs.  “My brothers pulled me out of it.  I had to pull one of those Kraang things off me, but by that time it was so embedded in my eye.”  He chuckles, but there’s no humor in it.  “I’m surprised I didn’t lose it.”

Donnie didn’t say it, but he was surprised too.  Donnie’s been looking into creating contacts, but their resources and knowledge are low when it comes to eye care.  He knows it bothers Donnie, but it shouldn’t.  He can see just fine.

“Jesus, kid.  That’s a lot.”

“Yeah,” Raph says.  He studies the archer, takes in his calm expression and apparent peace.  “How did you get over it?”

“Oh, I never got over it,” Clint says.  “I just learned to accept and live with it.  Somedays it hits harder than most, and I don’t think the guilt will ever truly go away, but my family made it easier to bare.”  

Raph smiles.  I guess the Avengers are like a family.  He looks over to see Leo throwing Cap’s shield with a good amount of accuracy.  His chest warms, he knew Leo would be good with the shield with how well he throws his own swords around.  “I don’t know if I can talk to them about it.”

“You will,” Clint says.  “Someday, just don’t force it.  They’ll be there when you need them.  I mean look at us, some of us still won’t talk about what happened during our own invasion.  Somethings you have to sit with until you’re ready,” Clint laughs.  “You’d be surprised how many arguments the word therapy causes.”

A memory hits him.  “Is that what’s going on with Bruce and Stark?  There was some weird energy between them earlier.”

Clint sits up, his face smoothing to an unreadable mask, and the energy shifts.  Raph pulls back at the sudden change.  Did he hit a nerve?

“That’s the gist of it,” Clint says.  “They had a….difference of opinion during this morning’s meeting, and some of that came up.”

Raph raises an eye ridge.  “Ok.”

“Bruce and Tony will work it out,” Clint insists.  “They have a weirdly strong friendship.  It just throws off the whole dynamic when the science bros. are arguing.”

“Science bros?” Raph gaffs.  

“Yeah,” Clint grins.  “Try to slip that into your next conversation with Stark.  He hates it.  Personally, I think it’s because I came up with it and he didn’t.”

They need to find one for Donnie, or maybe Stark is the answer to that.  They seem to be two sides of the same coin, or however that expression goes.  Clint doesn’t try to get up and neither does he.  It’s nice to just sit with someone who understands.  He watches as Mikey pops into his shell for Bruce to start stacking chairs on his back.  He’s not worried.  Despite mother hen Leo, Mikey knows his own limits, besides, it’s going to take more than a few pounds to crack their shells.  

Steve

Leo has good aim, great aim even.  Most have trouble with the shield when it comes to the spin, they don’t really factor it in, or they throw it like a frisbee.  It doesn’t work that way, the weight alone means that it won’t have much of a curve unless you throw it with the intent to curve it.  Leo’s having no trouble getting the shield to hit the targets, it’s the bounce back that’s giving him problems.  He winces as the shield catches the boy against the chest, throwing him to the ground.

“Great job, Leo,” he jogs over to the fallen turtle and offers a hand.  “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Leo grunts.  “It’s going to take more than a giant frisbee to take me out.  No offense.”  

“None taken,” he laughs.  “You’ve got good aim.”

“Thanks,” Leo takes his hand, allowing Steve to pull him up.  His skin is cold, but he’s starting to associate that with the turtles.  He studies Leo, attention drawn once again to his scars.  There’s a deep one hidden between the plastron and shell.  He takes a chance.  “What happened there?”

Leo raises an eyebrow before he realizes where Steve is pointing.  Leo’s face closes off with a smile.  “Oh, you know.  Just the regular risks of saving the world.”

“The Kraang did that?”

Leo doesn’t say anything, just goes to pick up the shield.  Steve doesn’t push.  He gets the feeling that Leo doesn’t do well with strangers poking into his business.

Leo throws the shield a few more times.  “Yeah,” he says finally.  “It was the big one.  He was something else.  The stuff of nightmares.”

There’s a whole story in that one sentence.  Steve grabs the shield from Leo and throws it.  “Before I woke up here, my biggest villain was the Red Skull.”

“Red Skull?  What, was his skull red under x-rays?”

“Yes, actually,” Steve laughs.  “He was a nazi.  He took some version of the super soldier serum, and it made him just as horrific on that outside to match what was in his heart.”

Leo hums.  “I forget that you’re old old.”

Steve’s smile falls a bit.  “I do too.  Anyway, the last time I faced him?  It was the hardest fight I’ve ever been in.  Even at the end, it was just me on his plane filled to brim with explosives, heading for American soil with no way to safely land the plane.”

He throws the shield again.  Hard.  It ricochets off the target and comes flying towards them.  He catches it, hands trembling from the force.

“What did you do?” Leo asks.

“The only thing I could do kid,” Steve says.  “I sunk the plane.  Deep into the Arctic.  The next thing I know I’m waking up and being told 70 years have passed.”

Leo doesn’t say anything, just pulls the shield out of Steve’s hand and gives it a mighty throw.  The shield bounces back and Leo just manages to catch it.  “I did that,” Leo says, throwing it again.  “During the Kraang invasion.  The last guy was tough.  Really tough.  We weren’t going to beat him, and the only way to stop him was to seal him back in the prison dimension.”

The slider catches the shield with a grunt.  “So, I took him with me.  Crossed over the portal with the Kraang in my arms and instructed my team to close the door.  I got to say though, that really made him angry.”

Steve feels his heartbreak.  For someone this young to be put in that position.  To make the ultimate sacrifice.  It’s not fair.  None of it is fair to them.  “How’d you get out?”

“My brothers,” he smiles.  “Courtesy of Mikey.  He didn’t give up on me.  He opened the portal with just enough time for me to get through and closed it on the slimeballs face.”

Steve follows Leo’s gaze to Mikey.  The boy is tucked in his shell, letting Bruce stack numerous things on top of him.  “He’s going to be ok right?”

“Oh, for sure!  We do worse than this during the lair games.” 

“Lair games?’

“Oh, man!” Leo cackles.  “You guys are missing out.  Maybe after-,” he hesitates, “-all this.  I’ll bring the video around.  Maybe even some Jupiter Jim’s.  It’ll be fun.”

He tries not to let his smile fall.  Leo is finally talking about afters with them.  If only that key could be destroyed, then they wouldn’t be forced into this decision.  “What’s Jupiter Jim?”

The shield falls with a clang.  “You don’t know Jupiter Jim!  Now we have to watch it tonight.”

Steve grins at the excitement on Leo’s face.  A movie night isn’t such a bad idea.  “Sure kid.”

Tony

His phone buzzes a soft notification.  He flips it over to read two words from Natasha.  It’s done.  All the tension falls from his body.  It’s over.  The only thing now is for SHIELD to get it out of the city.  He’ll know where both threats are now.  That's one worry crossed off his list.  The only thing left now is space and a suit of armor around the world. 

“Good news?”

“Great news actually,” he says.  He looks at Donnie.  He’s smart.  Donnie will understand why this had to be done.  Sure, he’ll be emotional at first, but he’ll have no choice but to agree once the logic rolls in. 

“Can I have the schematics for this big one?”

Tony leans over his shoulder.  “The Hulkbuster? Why?”

“For starters, it’s pretty cool,” Donnie answers.  “Second, it’s giving me ideas for a Raph mech, maybe even one for all my brothers.”

“Why?”

“Why do you have a Hulkbuster?” Donnie asks. 

“That’s not the comeback you think it is brainiac,” Tony says.  “Hulk can sometimes be ruled by his emotions.  This is our ‘just in case.’  Bruce and I built it together you know.”

“Uh,” Donnie says.  “Is this the part where you tell me what’s going on with you Bruce?  Because frankly, I don’t really care.”

Tony snorts.  “Nothing is going on between me and Bruce.  Friends fight sometimes.  It’s just a difference of opinion.  He’ll see though that I’m right.”

Donnie hums and sticks his arms deeper into the construction-like suit.  “I have to applaud you on your creativity.  The mechanics of this thing is beautiful.”

Tony grins.  “I was about to say the same thing about your escape pods.  Beautiful pieces of equipment.  Have you ever had to use it?”

“Once,” Donnie says.  “During the invasion.  It got us out of a dicey situation.  Well almost all of us.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.”

Tony lets it go and focuses back on the slim disk of metal before him.  He’s still not sure how the machine completely breaks down.  It should be bigger, and bulkier to do the things that Donnie demonstrated.  Nanites?  He’s been tinkering with the idea, but this is really pushing him to commit to them.

Everything about Donnie pushes him.  Makes him want to jump in the garage and start creating.  It’s been a while since someone’s been able to challenge his technology.  Bruce comes close, but he’s not really interested in metal and programming.  Which is a shame, Bruce would be a great engineer. 

Donnie’s phone lets out a sharp jingle.  A mechanical arm emerges from his shell and holds it to the softshell’s face.  If Tony could convince the kid to take the shell off, he would take it apart in a heartbeat.  He doesn’t even bother to bring it up though, he gets the feeling that the shell is the kid's arc reactor. 

“Oh, look,” Donnie starts.  “They are summoning us for a movie night.”

Tony leans back to check the clock.  It’s already 9 pm?  Where did the day go?  Usually, he would push to stay in the garage, but he doesn’t want Donnie to check on the key.  He keeps up with a stretch.  “Let’s go see what they have in store.”

By the time Tony and Donnie make it upstairs, both teams are already settled in front of the tv.  He looks around the couch and drops down next to Steve.  “What are we watching?”

“Something called Jupiter Jim.”

Tony drops his head back with a groan.  “Moncrief, I can’t stand that guy!  Or his cheesy show.”  He turns to the turtles, “I hate to break it to you, but Moncrief’s-.”

“A nutjob,” Raph says around a mouthful of popcorn. “We know.  We ran into him at Galaxy Con.  He used to kidnap his fans because he thought they were real aliens.”

“What!”

“Yeah, but we freed them!” Leo says.  “And since then, we've had authentic Jupiter Jim fun!”

“Crazy fun if you ask me.”

“Man,” Tony whistles.  “I knew he was crazy, but I didn’t know he was that crazy.  I heard he took all the props when the show was canceled.”

“He did,” Donnie says.  “Unironically they all work.  He’s outfitted his whole apartment to look like his spaceship.”

“Cuckoo!” Raph sings.

“Is that part of the show?” Steve asks.  He looks concerned.  

“No,” Mikey answers.  “That’s just his real life and legal troubles.  Now!  Let the Jupiter Jim marathon commence!”

“Marathon?”

Tony leans back with a cackle and settles in for the sci-fi crap fest.  It’s not horrible.  Steve’s reactions get him through most of the night, but they’re on their third hour when April calls it a night.

“Alright, guys.  I gotta bounce, I have class in the morning.”  She turns to the Avengers, phone ready, and snaps a picture.  “Don’t worry!  This won’t appear on any blogs.  It’s for my personal collection.”

April turns and says bye to the boys before Steve gets up to walk her out.  Everyone starts to stretch and move after that.  He looks over, ready to kick Donnie out of his way, but the boy's asleep.

“I got him,” Raph says.  “I don’t think he’s even slept in the room that you provided us.”

“To be fair, I haven’t either.”

Raph laughs and picks Donnie up with ease.  Mikey jumps with a yawn onto Raph’s shell, climbing it until he settled at the top.  Raph turns to Leo, “you want a ride too?”

“Naa, I can walk,” Leo says.

Tony watches as Raph walks with the weight of the two turtles effortlessly.  He wonders how strong he is.  Maybe Bruce was on to something with the physical test.  He makes his way out of the living room and heads for the bedroom.  He hasn’t slept in it since Pepper left.  Too busy dealing with the turtles and his own avoidance of her absence.  He just steps into his bedroom when Jarvis speaks low over the speakers.

“Sir, Donatello just released a small group of robots.  My calculations determine their destination is the lab.”

 His heart drops.  Shit.  They can’t find out about the decoy now.  The key just barely left the tower.  What can he do?  He can’t destroy them.  That would alert the turtles immediately.  Can he alter their programming?  No, he knows enough about Donnie to know that’s a bad idea.  Maybe duplicate the energy readings?  That might work.  It could fool Donnie enough just for tonight.

“Sir,” Jarvis interrupts.  “The robots appear to just be stationed around all entry and exit points.  No scanning detected.  I'll keep an eye on them and will let you know if they move towards the decoy.”

Tony collapses into the mattress, shaking.  That was too close.  If even one of those scanned the decoy, then it would be over.  He knows there’s a high chance of them finding out tomorrow, but he's not ready for it to happen tonight.  It’s been a good day and he’d rather end on a high note.  He crashes after that.  Sinking into a deep, restless sleep, dreaming of locked doors and the ever-present nightmare of a swirling galaxy.

David

He didn’t even realize there were abandoned places like this anymore, especially in New York.  Well, they weren’t technically in New York anymore but semantics.  The view would be pretty, with its old brick and choking vegetation if it wasn’t the ass-crack of dawn.  He checks his watch again and curls his lip.  The bastards are late.  “They’re late.”

There’s a sigh from the driver's seat before a manicured hand turns up the radio.  David scowls and looks out the window.  He hates it when they pair him with Sara.  The frigid bitch.  He scratches a bit at his beard before the hard sound of tires on gravel pours into the vacant lot.

“Finally.”

He hops out of the truck, tucks in his shirt, and adjusts his hat before walking to the back of the cargo hold.  He waits, face stern and lips frowned, for the armored truck to park in a way where its back faces the door of their own vehicle.  Good, this will make the transfer easier.  The back of the truck opens to show two men in matching black uniforms and military haircuts standing in its mouth.

He can’t help himself.  “You’re late!”  

The men don’t say anything.  Instead, one disappears deeper into the vehicle, and the other presses a button against the wall.  A ramp slowly pulls out until its heavy weight crushes the rock below.

Guess it’s all business then, he can play that game.  David turns and knocks twice against the truck; a second later the cargo door opens and starts lowering the ramp simultaneously.  He turns back just in time to see the men unloading and he stiffens.  He’s seen a lot in this business.  It’s part of the job when you work for SHIELD, especially now that aliens are more tangible conspiracies, but this is something else.  The alien being rolled off the truck is grotesque.  All squishy pink and unmoving tentacles.  There’s even an eye missing, with an unsettling hole going from front to back.  He watches as the men roll it into SHIELDs cargo hold before stepping up to help them secure it.  The thing behind the glass doesn’t move the entire time and he’s starting to wonder if it’s even alive.

Fury will be furious if the E.P.F gave them a dead alien.  

Despite the late drop-off, the exchange is quick and efficient.  The E.P.F soldiers don’t say a word and are packing up and driving off mere minutes after the alien is secure.  David watches the truck pull slowly out of the abandoned lot before he circles the vehicle and pulls himself back into the passenger seat.  

“That was quick,” David says.

Sara just pops her gum and puts the truck in reverse.  He needs to get out of these shitty shifts.  He checks his watch and does some quick math in his head.  It should take them a few hours to get to New Jersey, if the traffic is good, and that’s a crapshoot with New York.  Sara turns onto the main road and David hunkers down for a, hopefully, easy drive.

___________________________________________________________________________

He should have known today was going to suck.  They made it through the city ok, but traffic turned into a freaken standstill once they entered the Lincoln Tunnel.  David wiggles, trying to twitch the stiffness out of his limbs, but it’s no use.  He looks at the wall of cars, at Sara’s relaxed form and he moves his hands to his seatbelt.  He stands with a hunch before shuffling towards the back.

“What are you doing?”

“I need to stretch,” he says, pushing the backdoor open.  He stands to his full height with a groan, back cracking like never before.  He twists, purposely setting off more cracks, before stepping deeper into the cargo hold.  The alien floats unmoving to his left in its container and David shivers.  He forces his attention to the right.  There’s a bunch of alien shit in here.  Some more Chitauri tech, some alien goop from a few months ago, and a couple of boxes stacked neatly next to each other.

He walks toward one of the containers and flips the lid.  There’s nothing interesting in the first box, just more Chitauri junk.  He looks at the smaller case tucked beside it before crouching down.

“You know you’re not supposed to open that stuff.”

“I know, but aren’t you curious?” 

“No.” 

“Well, I am,” he retorts.  He reads the manifest and grins.  “Hey, this one says it’s from the Tower.”

“Leave it alone Dave,” Sara calls, but her voice is bored. 

He flips the lock and opens the box, expecting to see some Asgardian tech or even cooler, Ironman stuff, but he frowns.  He reads the manifest again.  He reaches in, hesitantly letting his fingers brush against the wood, but nothing happens.  He picks up the little totem and squints.  It looks old, but not Norse.  He turns it over in his hands, maybe there’s a switch at the bottom? But nothing.  “This is lame.”

“What is it?”

He rolls his eyes; he knew she couldn’t resist.  “The paperwork says it’s some sort of key, but it looks like a piece of ju-.”

There’s a loud clank behind him and he jumps.  He turns, wood still in his hands, to face the container.  The alien is pressed fully against the glass, its whole body nearly split in half by a sharp, maniacal grin.  He shakes as the creature's one, wide-open eye appears to glow.

Tink.

He glances down and his heart stops at the hairline crack creeping up the base of the glass.

“SAR-!”

Steve

Morning sneaks on him quickly.  He didn’t get much sleep, wrestling with the guilt that comes after making the hard decisions.  He rolls over for the third time before checking the clock.  It flickers a harsh, red 8 am and Steve finally sits up.  There’s no reason to avoid them now, not when there’s a good chance that they’ll find out today that the key is gone.  That’s if Thor actually comes back today as he promised.  

He goes through his morning on autopilot, and he’s dressed and walking to the living room before he can even process it.  He stops, finding the couch occupied by all manner of turtles, with Bruce cooking in the kitchen.  “Good morning.”

Grumbled good mornings rise from the couch but they don’t get up, eyes focused on the screaming pink dog saving an old woman on the tv.  He forgets that cartoons have really evolved since he last paid attention to them.  He watches for a second as a demoness climbs out of a puddle to viciously eat an old man.  Steve raises an eyebrow and fights the urge to change the channel.  The content seems a bit inappropriate.  

He walks into the kitchen and sits cautiously at the table.  He hasn’t talked directly with Bruce since the meeting, so he’s surprised to see the man cooking breakfast.  “Good morning, Bruce.”

“Steve.”

Still upset then.  Steve sighs and grabs a wayward tablet.  There’s always one or two lying around the tower.  He flickers through the news, but there’s nothing noteworthy happening.  Just politics, celebrities, and accidents this morning.  The one in the tunnel seems like it’s going to be a hassle.

“Morning Cap.”

He nods to Tony as the man stumbles to the table.  He doesn’t say anything to Bruce and the other man doesn’t say anything either.  It’s weird to see them fighting.  Tense even.  The whole team is on edge when Tony and Bruce aren’t in sync.  

“Anyone heard from Pointbreak?”

“No,” Natasha says.  Steve turns to see her and Clint enter the living room.  Clint stops though, leaning against the back of the couch to watch the cartoon with the boys.

“Typical,” Tony says.  “We’ll give him until lunch to label him officially late.”

“Of course, you will,” Bruce mutters.

Tony scowls but doesn’t say anything.  No one says anything.  Steve wishes desperately that he’d gotten a cup of coffee before he sat down.  At least then he could drink it awkwardly.  

A shrill ring cuts through the atmosphere.

“Oh, that’s me,” Donnie says, pausing the tv.  “Hey, Draxum.”

Steve sits up.

“Hmhm,” Donnie says.  “Huh, that’s interesting.  Ok, great! I’ll let them know.”  Donnie hangs up and looks over the couch with a grin.  “Good news boys, Draxum’s contact came through.”

“Took him long enough,” Leo says, but he’s grinning.

“I know,” Donnie says.  “But it’s here now.  We’ll grab the key and see if this baby works!”  He turns back to the Avengers.  “Give me your numbers.  I’ll let you know if we managed to crack this thing.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Steve finds himself asking.

“Then we’ll just wait for Thor,” Donnie answers.  “But there’s a 50/50 chance that Draxum’s thing will work.  He has deep mystic connections.”

“And what exactly is this ‘thing’?” Tony asks.

“According to him, it’s a mystic bomb.  Should destroy everything mystic and non-mystic in a 3-block radius.”

“Jesus.”

“I know,” Donnie smirks.  “Pretty cool, right?  We’ll drop both the key and bomb in the pocket dimension and hopefully, that’ll be the end of this Kraang mess.”

The boys start to stand up and he panics.  He knew it was going to happen today, but not this early.

“Why doesn’t he come here?” Tony asks, but his hands are in fists.  “I’d be interested in getting some readings on this mystic bomb.”

“No can do, partner,” Raph says.  “Draxum doesn’t do well around humans.  Besides, I’m sure Donnie’s going to try to capture the whole thing from inside the safe.”

“Boy am I!”

“I’d actually like to scan this bomb before we try and test it,” Tony says, standing up.  They’re all standing up now.  Bruce turns off the stove and swivels to look at them with narrowed eyes.  

“Why?” Mikey says.

“Just,” Tony stumbles.  “Just to make sure it’ll work.  No point in activating a literal bomb if it’s not going to do anything.”

“As if that matters,” Donnie scoffs.  “All our attempts here have failed, what’s one more failure?”

“Plus, the explosion will be contained,” Mikey adds.  

It’s a damnably good point.  There’s no real reason why the boys shouldn’t try.  Steve looks around, but it’s becoming clear that they’re running out of excuses.

“I’m glad this Draxum character got back with a solution,” Natasha says.  

What?  He shares a look with Tony.  What is she doing?

“But maybe we should wait for Thor,” she finishes.

Tony jumps on the point.  “Right!  At least that way you don’t have to come back if Thor’s weapon is a dud.”

“You didn’t,” Bruce whispers.  

The boys frown, but Leo’s looking between all of them.  “Why don’t you want us to take the key?” 

“Kid, that’s not it,” Steve says.  “Look, why don’t you convince Draxum to come here?  No one’s going to bother him because he’s a mutant, and then we can evaluate if this mystic bomb is really the best option.”

Leo doesn’t say anything and neither do his brothers.  They’re moving restlessly and it takes a moment for Steve to realize that they’re closing rank.  They move around each other, shells together in a tight circle.  Leo’s hands come up to unsheathe his swords.

This isn’t good.

Steve brings his hands up in a placating manner.  He takes a step forward.  “Leo, please.  Let's just talk.”

The slider's eyes flicker to Natasha and his grip tightens on his weapons.  Steve stops as the turtles’ markings begin to glow.  Leo adjusts and swings one sword uselessly through the empty space between them.

Only, it’s not useless.  A blinding blue circle of energy opens below the boys and swallows them whole.  It closes before anyone else can move.  

Did he just?

Tony grabs his shoulder roughly.  “Did you know he could do that?”

“No,” Steve says.  “I didn’t.” 

“Wow,” Bruce calls, tone flat.  “Honest to God teleportation, and betrayal.  I thought we decided to wait till Thor came back.  As a team.”

Natasha’s already moving.  “We don’t have time for this.  We need to get to the lab before they discover the fake.”

They all move towards the staircase, but Steve knows it’s too late.  They try anyway.  They fall into the lab just as Leo shatters the decoy against the ground with a powerful throw.

“I knew it!” the boy shouts.  “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted them!”

“You took it?!” Raph growls and the giant is no longer gentle.  “Why!”

Steve opens his mouth to say something, anything, but nothing comes out.

“Who cares about why?” Leo spits.  “When did you do this?  We just tested it yesterday!  Was it last night?”

“It couldn’t have been,” Donnie says.  “I put a sensor on this entire floor before I went to bed.  There’s no way they got past me.”

“Then when-,” Leo gasps and his swords sag.  “After the failed test?” the slider looks Steve in the eyes, and his voice cracks, “is that why you asked me to train with you?”

“Is that why you all got us out of the lab?” Raph asks, his eyes never leaving Clint.  “To-what?  Distract us while you stole from us?  Was anything you even said real?”

“You lied?”  Mikey’s voice is small and thick.

“No,” Bruce says.  “Mikey I never agreed-.”

“Don’t,” Leo’s voice cuts like steel, “talk to my little brother.”  

“Let’s try to calm down,” Natasha says.

“Calm down?” Raph laughs.  “We came here in good faith because we trusted you.  I trusted you!  To help!”

“We are helping kid,” Clint says.  “And yesterday wasn’t a lie.  It might not look like it now, but we are helping.  SHIELD can bury this key, truly bury it where The Foot can’t find it.  You don’t know what The Foot is really like.  Their blood feuds alone-.”

Raph slams a crackling red fist on a nearby desk, destroying it completely.  The glow fades, but Steve doesn’t take his eyes off the teen.  Could they all do this?  “We know all about The Foot!  We’ve been fighting them for years, more than that!  Our clan’s feuded with them for generations!”

“What?”

“And don’t,” Raph growls, red electricity crawling over his form.  “Pull that ‘we know best’ crap.  You didn’t know anything about the key, the Kraang, or the invasion until we told you!”  

“We do now,” Tony stresses.  “We can help now.  We can make sure it never happens again.”

“We were making sure it never happened again!”  Leo shouts.  “I should have never let you convince me to leave yesterday.  Gosh- Something told me to stay in the lab.”  Leo glares at Steve.  “So what?  Yesterday’s little heart-to-hearts were to learn more about the invasion.  Do you guys even care about us?”

“Leo,” Steve begs.  “This wasn’t malicious.  SHIELD has resources you can’t believe.  This isn’t something kids your age should be worried about.  We can help with this.”

“You didn’t even ask!” Mikey yells.  “You can sugarcoat it all you want, but you stole it.  What kind of help is that?”

“Kid-.”

Shrill beeping cuts through the noise and all four of the turtle’s armbands flash blood red.

Donnie pulls up his screen.  “April’s S.O.S,” the softshell breathes.  He taps his wrist.  “April!  What’s-.”

“IT’S LADY BRAINFACE!” The tiny voice shouts from the communicator.  “SHE’S BACK!”

Leo drops his arms completely but doesn’t let go of his swords.  “What?”

“I’m sure it was her!”  April shouts over the street noise.  “I’m trying to follow her on my bike but she’s moving too fast!  I’m losing site of her!”

“Where are you?”  Raph shouts.

“On 44th!”  She pants, “heading west!”

The boys don’t move, just stare at each other before Raph nods his head.  Leo moves.  Faster than anything Steve’s seen from the boy.  Steve leans his head back as the tip of a sword materializes against his throat.

“Where is it?”

Steve looks down into the hard and empty face of the slider.  “Leo-.”

The sword presses closer.  Steve feels it slide against his adam’s apple and a prick of moisture on his neck.  “Where. Is. It?”

“Whoa,” Tony says, “Just- who’s Lady-.”

“The Kraang,” Raph says.  “The one the government took.  Where is it?”

No one says anything and Raph rolls his shoulders.  Red light sparks and covers his arms from the elbows down, doubling their size.  “Don’t make Donnie find it.”

“Natasha,” Steve says.

She doesn’t move for a long minute.  Mikey takes out his nunchucks.  They glow bright orange and elongate until they touch the floor.  A hiss fills the room along with the acidic scent of burning plastic.   He hears the rustle of clothing.

“Speaker,” Donnie demands.

There’s a click, then a ringing fills the silence.  Steve keeps his eyes on Leo, but the boy remains steady.

The call connects.  “Yes?”

“Maria,” Natasha says.  “Where’s the key?  We’re having a bit of an issue over here.”

Maria sighs, “So are we.  Our transportation truck was caught in the Lincoln Tunnel accident.  We can’t get in touch with either of our drivers.”

Leo’s face crumbles, “She already has it.”

“Who was-.”

“I’ll call you back.” 

Leo drops the sword and moves back to his brothers.  “She already has it!  That accident was her!  I can’t believe this, it took everything we had last time!” 

“Then where is she going?” Mikey cries.

“April said she saw her on 44th,” Donnie says.  “That’s the opposite direction of the tunnel, and there’s nothing in that direction.”

“But she can’t use it right?” Mikey adds, swinging his nunchucks until they shrink back to size.  “Only the little guy could make a doorway, and he was portal chopped with the Technodrone!”

Leo looks up, “The Foot knew the ritual.”

“But they were all krangified, Leo,” Donnie says.  “I doubt she even knows how to find the rest of them.”

“The pier,” Raph says.  “She’s heading for the pier.”

“Well that’s good right?” Donnie asks.  “We went back and torched all the Kraang goop!  There’s nothing there for her to use.”

“The Foot didn’t need those alien vines to open it the first time,” Raph says.  “They had that stand-alter thing.  If that’s still there, with the spell intact….”

They all go grey.  

“We gotta go!” Raph shouts.  “Now!”

“Wait, wait!” Steve shouts.  He doesn’t understand everything that’s being said, but the parts he did implies that there’s trouble.  City destroying trouble.  “We can help.  Take us with you.”

The turtles turn to them simultaneously, eyes cold and faces set.

“Donnie.”

The softshell slips off his Bo and gives it a twist.  Purple light flies up the length in a jagged pattern before a solid wall of purple energy pushes against him.

It hits Steve hard in the chest and he grunts from the impact.  The force doesn’t stop until he’s pinned with his team against the wall.  He fights against it, but just as quickly, it falls away.  Steve lands on his knees with a cough.  He looks up, but the turtles are already gone.   

“Did anyone get any of that?” Tony coughs.  “And are these powers new to everyone or just me?”

Steve stands and looks at the empty lab and the shattered decoy.  “It’s news to me.”

“We’ve got to go,” Clint says.  “The Kraang escaping isn’t good, but I’m more worried about what had them panicking like that.”

Tony’s already at the door, “Meet me at the Quinjet!” He shouts, “I know what pier they’re talking about.”

Steve goes to follow but the whole building shakes.  He stumbles.  An earthquake?  But that’s not possible.  He shares a look with Tony and they rush to the nearest window.  In the distance, a sharp, pink light lingers like lightning.  

Tony curses.  “Something tells me they didn’t make it in time.”

Chapter Text

Leo

Please.  

Please.  

Please.

They fall through the portal for what feels like hours.  He keeps his hands steady, and his mind focused on the destination.  He has to when traveling a great distance, but he can’t stop the overwhelming feeling of dread coiling in his throat.  He should have pushed the idea of just staying home.  Tried harder to convince his brothers to wait for Draxum, and screw Stark if he’d tried to flush them out.  At least then it wouldn’t be personal.  Just two groups on opposing sides of an issue.  A fight over possible exposure with no way for the Avengers to get their hands on the key.  It would have hurt to be at odds with the heroes, but not like this.

Not this tearing and ripping that threatens to pull at the frayed ends of his control.  Not Mikey’s tears and Donnie’s seething silence.  Not Raph’s complete look of devastation.  

He’s so stupid to have fallen for this song and dance.  Was this the plan all along?  To get them to let their guard down so they can swoop in and take the key?  Did the Avengers think they would thank them?  ‘Oh, thank you for saving us from our own inadequacies?’  Were they expecting a parade for making the choice for them?  

He feels the pier pull closer to his core and he readjusts his grip.  It doesn’t matter now.  They can turn this around.  They can intercept her and without the mech suit, she’s nothing.  This fight will go differently than the first one.  They know what to expect now.  How to fight them in their most vulnerable.  The distance is closing in and he pulls up his swords, signaling to the other to get ready.  The portal puts them right in front of the podium and they’re moving the moment their feet touch the ground.  

His eyes shake, she’s already next to it.

Step.

Mikey’s chain elongates forward, bright orange burning through the air.

Step.

A glowing red rushes past his peripheral.

The key connects.  

Mikey’s nunchuck circles the air around the key.  Leo hears his bother pull.  A tension runs down the length of the chain, tightening the closer it gets to the idol.  

The key glows pink.  

Lightning strikes and a familiar, powerful force of a door unlocking push them and Mikey’s nunchuck away.  Leo lands with a grunt.  He rolls over his shoulders until he’s back to his feet.  He looks up and his face falls even more at the open doorway.  They were so close.  He moves, ready to teleport back to the podium but he freezes.

A metal foot emerges from the portal, cracking the concrete beneath it.  Two clawed hands reach out, flexing, from the black and curl around the rim of the doorway.  They pierce the flesh-like edges, causing a viscous dark liquid to drip free.

A single red eye glows from the darkness.

“No.” 

The monstrous suit ducks to fit the bulk of its body through the portal.  A vicious grin splits across the midsection.  “Well done, Sister.”

Leo stills his trembling hands.  

“Of course, brother,” Sister says.  “Time to finish what we started.” 

“Indeed,” Kraang says.  Long fingers reach for the key and pulls it almost gently from the podium.  The door closes with a decisive snap.  “But first this.  There’s no use for a key that only opens an empty room.”

The Kraang opens its mouth, letting out an ear-curling, familiar scream.  Leo braces for the tar-like power to wash over him.  It drips over his core, trying to trap it, but Leo pushes against it.  He and his brothers know how to fight it, the same trick isn’t going to work twice.  Kraang stops screaming and Leo reaches for the familiar thrum and feels his power flicker across his swords.  He turns to find Raph still covered in red, Donnie’s Bo pulsing purple, and Mikey swinking burning nunchucks.  He breathes in relief.  They all fought it.  

There’s a creak.  The splintering of a thousand fibers, and a soul-shattering crack.

Leo watches in horror as the key falls to pieces in the Kraang’s grip.  Bu-How?  Nothing they’ve done has even put a scuff mark on it.  How did he-Disrupt the energy somehow, Stark’s voice filters in like a forgotten warning.  Then maybe we can dent this thing.

The scream.  It seals energy.  Mystic energy.

“No,” Raph whispers.

This can’t be happening.  Their chance.  Their only chance.  Gone.  They have to beat him now.  There is no other choice.  Long as this guy is still moving, he’ll try to destroy this planet.  Leo slides his fingers, shifts his feet, and lets his energy hum to life under his skin.  He feels his brothers do the same.  

We aren’t ready a thought whispers.  His eyes go white, sword coming up just below his line of sight, blade facing out.  He breathes. 

They have to be.

“Now,” Kraang says.  The monster focuses on them and sinks into its knees.  Its face breaks into a snarl and its eye vibrates a dangerous red.  “Time to kill some vermin.”

Steve

They’re taking off in the Quinjet mere minutes after the quake.  Steve adjusts his gloves and looks around the jet.  Everyone is grim-faced and suited for action, but no one knows what to expect.  Steve thought he had an idea when it came to the Kraang.  He imagined them like the Chitauri, just with better suits, but what the boys did in the lab?  Now he doesn’t know how this fight will go.

“I can’t believe you guys did it.”

“Bruce,” Tony sighs.

“No, I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Bruce interrupts.  “It’s not going to do any good now.”  Bruce pauses before continuing, “I’m just trying to stay angry I guess.”

The jet goes quiet at this announcement. 

“What are we expecting?” Tony says after a while.  “How bad do you think this fight is going to be?”

“Well, guessing from these secret powers,” Clint calls.  “I think we should be prepared for any.”

“Loki level?”

“I don’t think so,” Steve says.  “I have a feeling this is going to be much worse.”

He thinks back to how the boys have been dancing around the horror of that day.  At how strong this last guy was.  How their only option was to seal him because they couldn’t beat it.  Steve recalls the portal and Raph destroying a metal table with barely any force.  If they could do that, who knows what this alien is capable of? 

“There it is,” Natasha says.  They all get up and crowd the cockpit.  The abandoned building grows in view, and it sits unmoving on the pier.  Steve lets himself believe that the boy did it.  That they stopped whatever had them so scared from leaving the prison.  

The building explodes on his next breath.  

The Jet jolts, dropping quickly from the soundwave.  Natasha pulls at the controls until the jet evens out.

“That can’t be good.”

The building falls in complete ruin, and smoke drifts up and over the water, but it can’t hide the glowing red figure rising out of the rubble. 

“Holly Shit.”

Steve watches as a red projection of Raph grows over two stories in a matter of seconds.  He can make out the speck of green in the middle of the behemoth.  Taller now than the building crumbling beneath him, the project pulls back a fist.  It flickers, not really there until that too is doubling its already gigantic size.  The fist comes crashing down and the Quinjet jolts from the force of the movement alone.  

A blood-red light shoots from the debris and severs the projection at the shoulder.  

The projection falls, sending up another wave of smoke.  The bright red flickers out of existence but a faint blue portal opens below the falling green.

“We need to get down there,” he says.

Stark slaps him on the shoulder.  “How good is your balance?”

The Quinjet circles around the collapsed build.  Red and orange light up the sky the closer they get.  The colors shift, and suddenly the boys are moving into the open space of the pier. 

Steve watches in horror as the enemy becomes visible.  The android is huge, over twice the size of the Hulk with a grotesque mix of human and animal-like appendages.  A familiar pink sits in the midsection.

“Whoa,” Tony breathes.  “That suits a lot different than the one on tape.”

Steve nods.  It’s fast too.  The thing turns to them suddenly, eye flickering.  Donnie materializes, Bo glowing a light purple before extending into something resembling a missile.  The weapon connects, knocking the head to the side.  A powerful beam of energy shoots out barely a second later.  Steve flinches as the light blows by the jet, causing it to shake from the force. 

Bruce gets up, hands moving before his shirt hits the floor.  “I’ll see you down there.”

Bruce opens the door and the sounds of destruction envelop the Quinjet.  The man jumps without a second thought.  Steve rushes to the door and watches as Bruce veers in the boy’s direction, body bulging along the way. 

Tony steps next to him.  His suit moves and a handhold materializes between his shoulder blades.  “Cool, huh!  A certain green genius inspired the idea.”  The palms of the Ironman armor light up.  “Hold on tight Cap.” 

Steve grips the handhold and follows Tony out of the jet.  Tony falls with enough of a downward slant that he’s able to stay tucked behind Tony’s shoulder blades.  Steve squints against the violent wind, but he still can’t believe what he’s seeing.  The turtles are moving in perfect sync.  Flashing in and around each other in a blaze of color as they fight the behemoth.  It’s as easy as breathing for them.  Donnie and Raph go in with powerful blows.  Mikey catches any hits or blocks and pulls them to a stop before the android can even retaliate.  Leo filters in and out of existence, putting his brothers where they need to be while also dropping gigantic pieces of rock and concrete on the machine.

It’s nothing he’s ever seen before, and it should be more than enough, but it’s not.  The alien is always one step ahead with a heavier blow or deadly scan of a laser.  He looks for Bruce and the man is already green.  Hulk flips and points himself like an arrow towards the fight.  Bruce will beat them there, and maybe that’ll be enough.

“I guess they were really holding back huh?”

Starks awe filters through the communicator and he nods.  It’s putting a lot of conversations into perspective.  He can’t focus on it though.  The boys are outmatched, that much is obvious.  Steve moves his fingers against the handles.  This is probably going to be the hardest fight they’ve ever been in, and he doesn’t think they’re ready.

The ground shakes as Hulk finally makes contact.  Steve sets his jaw.

They have to be. 

Raph

It’s not like he didn’t know the Avengers would follow them.  It’s pretty standard hero practice to follow a team who left in such a panic.  He knew they would come, and if they didn’t know where they were before, that portal shake definitely gave away their position.  It's just-Raph was preoccupied with more pressing matters, so he lost himself in the fight.  Let himself become one with his brothers and tried not to think about how this would end.  Because this guy was just as fearsome as he remembered. 

They chase after it into the open air of the pier.  Donnie leaps forward, Bo elongating into his missile-powered hammer.  The Kraang swipes for the softshell, but orange wraps tightly around the appendage.  Donnie sends the machine flying but it quickly rights itself.  Mikey jumps in after it, wrapping around the tumbling Kraang, before unfurling with a massive yell.  A wave runs through the chain, flipping the Kraang up, before slamming it violently against the ground.

It skids from the force but is on its feet in the next second.  The Kraang pauses, its head turning towards the sky, eye flashing.  Raph follows its gaze and his stomach drops.  The jet.  He throws out an arm, willing his projection to stretch fast, but it’s not going to be enough.

A portal opens, dropping Donnie to the right of the machine.  He twists his wrist, the Bo gets larger and swings the weapon into the base of the alien’s neck.  The head creaks, sending the blaze of heat just past the jet.  The Kraang pivots, deadly hand reaching for Donnie, but another circle of light opens behind the softshell.  Donnie turns the missile, propelling himself through the portal.  The Kraang swipes at empty air and yells. 

There’s a roar.  A break in the clouds, then an explosion of sound and concrete. 

Raph coughs from the dust, but Hulk is already moving.  He lets out another roar as he throws a powerful fist at the Kraang.  It connects with the only exposed part of the alien.  Kraang soars, tumbling, before landing deep in a nearby warehouse. 

Raph looks at the Hulk.  At the power and rage concentrated in this massive beast and his hopes go up.  He shares a look with Mikey.  They might be able to pull this off.

A laugh swells from the rubble.  A metal hand reaches out of the wreckage.  The Kraang pulls itself out, laughing the entire time.  It points a claw at the Hulk, “Is this supposed to be a human?” Kraang chuckles.  “This is what weakness does!  The things you’ll twist yourself into to be better.”

It’s before the Hulk in a blink, arm reared back.  It rotates, planting a heavy fist in Hulk's midsection.  Raph can hear Hulk shout, but the man manages to get both hands around the metal wrist.  They skid, but Hulk bends and pivots, lifting the machine.  He roars and flips the Kraang over his shoulder.  The metal arm twists unnaturally at the shoulder until the Kraang is facing the Hulk mid-flip.  Its neck coils to stare directly at Hulk.  It pulls up a knee, aiming its foot for the scientist's chest. 

An orange band of metal wraps around the ankle.  Mikey pulls and Raph is already running.  The machine jerks; pulled almost taunt between Mikey and Hulk.  Raph taps his core, pushes his arm to double the size, and slams it down on the Kraang’s back. 

For a moment, he believes it works.  That they’ve buried the suit in the dirt, but the machine plants its other foot into the concrete, halting the fall.  The ground cracks and a gust of winds pushes Raph away.  The machine's wrist does a sickening roll in Hulk's grip, clawed hand engulfing the man’s arm.  The Kraang lifts the Hulk like he’s nothing.  It swings Hulk around, forcing Mikey to jump away.  It slams the man into the concrete.  The impact shakes the nearby buildings.  It lifts Hulk up and does it again in quick succession.  The alien raises Hulk up by the wrist for the third time.   The man is limp, and his shoulder is a touch too long.  It makes Raph sick to look at.   Kraang rears back, swinging Hulk again, but a portal opens beneath the man right before contact.  Kraang lets go with growl.  Leo drops Hulk a few feet away.  The giant groans cradling his dislocated arm.

Kraang stomps the ground.  It moves so fast that it almost disappears, only to materialize before Leo.  The slider glows but it’s too late.  Kraang grabs him lightning quick and throws him to the ground with a horrible crack.  Leo gasps on impact, but a giant foot slams him deeper into the dirt.  “Don’t think I forgot about you pest!”

Raph’s already moving with Donnie and Mikey on his heels. He grows with each step until he’s throwing a power-fueled punch at the soft spot of the stomach.  Kraang turns to them, clawed hand outstretched, and cuts through his projection like nothing.  Raph weaves out of the way.  Mikey spins from behind him, chain whipping out to circle around the machine’s wrist.  Kraang twirls, slipping out of the chain before grabbing it with a vicious grip.  It jumps with Leo still clasped in his foot to avoid a devastating swing from Donnie.  It spins, yanking Mikey into a swing that ends violently on the ground. 

Kraang rotates in the air and positions to land with Leo shell down and he needs to move.  Needs to stop this.  That much weight and force?  Raph has never had to think of their shells before.  They can take so much, but he doesn’t know about this.  Doesn’t know what would happen to his brother.  He rushes forward, stumbling just a bit, but he can’t stop.  He has to make it.  He’s not going to make it.

A whine cuts through the noise.  

A shield carves through the air and collides with the bottom joint of the machine's foot.  The force knocks the Kraang off balance just enough for it to land on its side.  Leo rolls out of the unforgiving grip with a cry and Raph’s by his side in an instant.  He helps Leo up but doesn’t ask if he’s alright.  There’s no time for that.  He looks up to see Steve hit the ground with a roll and catch the shield on the rebound.  The man stands up suit and all and holds the shield loosely by his side.  Stark lands next to him in a crouch, one arm out, before standing up.

“Ok,” Donnie says.  “That’s pretty cool.”

Kraang gets up again with a laugh.  “More humans, and significantly weaker than the last.  Why?” It sneers.  “Let me guess duty.  When will you learn?  It is pointless to resist the Kraang.”

Steve rolls his shoulders.  “We’ll see about that.”

Steve runs at the alien and Stark takes off, but it’s not going to be enough.  Raph knows this.  He places a hand on Leo’s shoulder and stands up anyway.  Leo staggers to his feet, wincing, but he brings his swords up.

They take off.

Steve runs straight for the abomination.  He twists and releases the shield for the second time.  The alien just laughs and bats it away.  An orange chain catches it on the rebound and it arches powerfully back at the aliens’ knees.  The Kraang flips from the force with a grunt.  It pivots, getting its hands beneath it, before pushing off the ground.  Stark meets it in the air.  Tony flips, unfurling a leg.  The sound of jets activating for more momentum spins Stark in a furious circle.  Tony brings the kick down hard.  The alien blocks it, before grabbing the appendage.  It turns, still in the air, and launches Tony to the ground.  

Raph runs, getting bigger with each step, and holds his arm out.  Mikey comes twisting, wrapping the flaming chain around his fist.  He positions himself under Kraang and jumps, arm pulled back.  The Kraang turns with his hand in a familiar flick position.

A shield wrapped in purple propels through the air and connects with the wrist.  Raph can feel the wind blow just beside his arm and he pushes past it.  He screams pivots and the blow connects with the Kraangs face.  The machine goes flying and a portal opens beneath him and Mikey.  He lands roughly and they all turn to the sky.  

There’s a flash, then a great beam of red light rains down on them.  Raph snags an arm around Leo and Mikey and grabs Stark.  He looks, heart in his throat for Donnie, but his brother is too far away.  He jumps out of the way and the blast destroys the ground beneath them.  He grunts from the landing and Leo is already struggling in his grip.  “DONNIE!”

Raph turns to where his brother was, tears already spilling.  The dust starts to settle, and he can make out the form of Steve covering his little brother, shield smoking slightly over both their heads.  He sags to the ground in relief.  

The ground shakes and Kraang stands to full, staggering height.  “Do you see now,” it mocks.  “There is no way for you to win.  Your shortcut is gone, and your little tricks mean nothing without it.  The Kraang is pure strength and strength always prevails.” 

Steve staggers to his feet, wipes the blood from his mouth, and brings up his shield.

“Please,” Kraang says.  “This is just pathetic.”

“I can do this all day,” Steve pants.

There’s a shift behind him and Hulks up too.  The giant grabs his injured arm and jerks it with a wet crunch.  Hulk shouts in pain or anger and walks forward.  Mikey jumps on Hulk's shoulder, swinging a burning nunchuck and Donnie adjusts his Bo.  There’s a grunt and he turns to find Leo also standing.  “Come on big brother,” Leo says, offering a hand.  “We’re doing a lineup.  I think this is one for the hero books.”

Raph looks to this undefeatable enemy.  This horror spat from prison.  Then he looks at his brothers.  Who despite everything don’t stop until they can’t get up. 

He grabs Leo's hands.

Raph rolls his shoulders and lets his power expand over his arms.  They can do this.  It’s not just them this time.  

Kraang crouches.  “Fine.  If you all or so eager to die.”

A rumble of thunder hums through the air.

Hulk grins.

A beam of lightning strikes the Kraang.  It stumbles but doesn’t fall.  Thor lands hard with a crack of thunder and a wave of concrete.  The God sinks deep into his knees.  The hammer glows a faint white before Thor snaps up, swinging hard.  The world seems to freeze as the weapon connects with the soft flesh in the midsection before the alien is sent flying.  Thor doesn’t waste time, just swings his hammer, and takes off after the Kraang.

Thor

Thor takes a quick inventory of his comrades and notes that everyone is moving before focusing on the enemy.  He spins Mjolnir and takes off after the demon.  He does not know what to expect from this battle and will not allow himself to speculate.  Loki would.  He would curse Thor’s foolish need to jump in without a plan, especially against an enemy as powerful as this.  The trickster would think of something so clever that Thor would have no choice but to follow his lead. 

But Loki’s not here anymore.

Thor has heard stories of worlds devastated by the Kraang.  He even remembers his father getting ready for battle all those eons ago.  He couldn’t understand as a boy, why father hugged him and Loki tight and held his mother for what felt like hours.  He could not fathom it then, the thought of someone so powerful like his father not returning.  They are Gods!  What could hurt a God outside of another? 

These past few years of loss, however, have taught him more than the thousands he has lived before them.  He tightens his fingers around the handle, feels the cloth of his fallen brother against his palm, and wishes he could receive Loki’s council one last time.   

He keeps Mjolnir steady, following its pull through the air until he collides with the beast.  The monster is huge, bigger than The Destroyer, and possibly more powerful.  Thor rears back, aiming a punch for the exposed midsection, but the beast blocks his blow with a fearsome claw. The neck coils over the metal chest, quick like a viper.  It drops its massive head close to him, glowing an ominous red.  Thor gets Mjolnir up just as the eye releases an unbearable heat.  The force of the blast sends him flying.  He flips, head over heels through the air before righting himself. 

He looks up straight into the oncoming fist of the monster.  

He lets Mjolnir pull him down under the blow, but an enormous knee comes up heavy beneath his ribs, knocking the breath out of his lungs.  He chokes but manages to wrap his arms around the thick joint.  He looks over his shoulder and can just make out the fast-approaching cityscape.  Thor pulls with all his might, yelling, and turns the behemoth into the oncoming structure.

They clip the corner of the building hard.  

They spin from the impact and Thor lets go from the force.  He bounces violently against the following roof and tries to bring his feet beneath him.  A sudden, powerful weight wraps around his entire body and squeezes.  He gasps and jerks as the monster skids against the next building.  It pivots.  Rearing back, before launching Thor at the structures below.

The first building takes his breath away.  He falls through three levels, before ejecting from the other side and into the next.  The steel beams in this one slow him down, but not enough to stop his crash landing on the street below.

He lands painfully against a group of vehicles, scaring the Midgardians inside and causing the ones on the street to veer out of his path.  He carves a deep hole into the road and is only stopped by an underground pipe.

Thor lays there and tries to catch his breath.  He feels his chest, wincing, but can’t find any imperfections in his armor.   He has not fallen from such a height in a long time that he’d almost forgotten how painful it can be. 

Thor rolls over and begins to make his way out of the hole.  His right hand grabs the crumbling edge of the sidewalk, and he pulls himself up with a grunt, pushing a vehicle to the side with his left.  He just makes it over the rim of the crater before collapsing into the wreckage of the street.  Thor shakes his head and pants into the debris.  The screaming and panic of Midgardians intensify in the background as the metal monstrosity lands heavily against the road.  Thor looks through his hair at the demon.  It might be far away, but Thor can feel its evil from here.  He grits his teeth and tries to get his feet under him.

“All-Father,” He pants.  “If you are listening, grant me this.”

The creature's heavy steps vibrate the concrete beneath his hands.

“If I should perish,” he says, digging his fingers into the rock.  “Give me the strength to bring this monster with me.”

Thor stands.  He stumbles, spits a bit of blood, and twists Mjolnir in his grip.  He looks at the green cloth, thinks of dramatics, and grins.  “And let the battle be glorious.”

Leo

He can only watch in shock as Thor literally drops from nowhere and sends Kraang soaring.  He’s not the only one.  Mikey’s even stopped swinging his nunchuck and his jaw is practically on the floor.  Talk about a dramatic entrance.  He feels something bubble in his chest though.  It warms him and he’s surprised to find himself smiling.  Thor, God of thunder.  He might be able to do it.  Might be able to destroy the suit and stop the Kraang.

“Ugh,” Donnie says.  “Did he hit him towards the city?”

Leo’s smile drops and looks closer at the direction the two went.  There’s a faint crash and the beginnings of smoke rising from a tall building.  “I think so.”

Why?  Why would he do that?  They’re right next to the water!  He tightens his grip and takes one step before falling over gasping.  He brings his hand to his side and hisses.  That alien got him good earlier.  He might have even broken a rib.

“-Leo!”

He blinks to find his brothers surrounding him and he sends them a small smile.  “I’m alright,” he says.  “We’re all going to be alright now that Thor's here.”

“I don’t know about that,” Tony says.  “I don’t think Goldilocks has ever fought something like that.”

“He’s strong,” Steve pants.  “Like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

“Yeah,” Donnie bites.  “We know.  This is exactly what we were preventing until you stole the idol.”

“Donnie.”

“I know Raph,” Donnie says.  “We don’t have time.  We need to think of a way to stop this thing.”

Hulk steps forward and in the next step, it’s Bruce.  The man fumbles, “W-what did you do last time?  Maybe we can repeat it.” 

Leo’s face falls.  “We can’t.  That Kraang guy destroyed the key.”

Tony’s faceplate comes up.  “What?  How?!  We couldn’t even scratch it.”

“It can block mystic energy,” Donnie sighs.  “It did it the first time to us when he came through the portal.  I didn’t even consider that he’d use it on key.”

“This would have been good to know,” Tony says.  “A heads up about such a deadly enemy and its inexplicable mystic ability would have been nice to know a day ago.  Which, not cool.”

Not cool?  “Not cool?” Leo glares.  “We’re in this mess because of you guys!  If you hadn’t taken the-.” He hisses as his side jostles.  He takes a deep breath.  Not now.

“Tony,” Steve says.  “We can’t fight right now.  Thor needs us.  We need to come up with a plan.”

There’s more crashing behind them and they all turn to the city.  Smoke starts to rise between buildings and the screams of people hum faintly in the background.

“The plan is to get the Kraang out of the suit,” Raph says.  “It’s the only way!  It can’t do anything without it.”

“Speaking of suits,” Donnie adds.  “Where did Lady Brainface go?”

Leo looks around but can’t spot a hint of her slippery tentacles.  He turns back to the destroyed building that started this all.  “Let’s hope we got lucky, and she’s buried under that building.”

Steve coughs.  “And if that doesn’t work?”

“It has to work,” Leo insists.  “There’s no other way.”

A small, firm voice cuts through the discussion.  “We don’t have to beat him.”

Leo turns to Mikey, a question on his lips, but it dies in his throat.  Mikey isn’t looking at any of them or the direction where Thor sent the Kraang.  His baby brother's attention is completely focused on his hands.

No.

“No,” Leo says.  “There has to be another way.”

“Leo-,”

“Leo’s right,” Donnie says.  “We can beat him this time.  There’s more of us and we can’t count Thor out just yet.”

Stark taps the side of his helmet, face grim.  “Thor might not be our ace in the hole.  Nat’s saying it’s not looking good.”

“Leo,” Mikey says.

“No!” he shouts.  “There has to be something else!  Raph?”

Raph doesn’t say anything and Leo’s heart drops.  He can’t be considering it too.  He won’t be outvoted.  Not on this one.

“What are we talking about exactly?” Bruce asks.

Leo glares at the man and bites down what he actually wants to say.  They don’t have time for anger.  Not with that lunatic destroying the city.

“Mikey can open portals,” Raph says quietly.  “It’s how we got Leo out last time, but they take a lot out of him.”

“Which is why we need to find another way.”

“Leo.”

He turns to Mikey and his face crumbles at the hard look of resolution.

“This is the only way,” Mikey says.  He turns to the Avengers.  “Get me to high ground and I’ll open a portal, but you guys will need to buy me time

“How much time?”

“I don’t know,” Mikey says.  “I’ve only done this once.”

Raph puts a hand on his shoulder.  “I’ll stay with him,” Raph stares at all of them.  “When he does this, he can’t move, and we’ll only have a few minutes.  We need to push the Kraang through it once it’s ready, as quickly as possible.”

“How dangerous is this?” Steve asks. 

“Dangerous,” Donnie says.  “So, we’ll need to be quick.  Once the portal is open, we push it in with everything we’ve got, but we need to do something about that laser first.”

“Agreed,” Leo says.  He doesn’t want to do this, but they have no choice.  They never do with the Kraang.  “Once the laser is out then Mikey can start making the portal.”

He digs his sword into the ground and heaves himself to his feet.  He takes deep breathes and centers himself like dad taught them.  The pain fades to a dull thrum, and he stands to his full height.  He doesn’t have a ton of time until he’s out of commission himself, so they need to move quickly.  He faces the burning city.  “Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

April

She’s not worried.  Why would she be worried?  There is absolutely no reason to be worried.  It’s just Lady Brainface.  If April could take her with a non-magic bat and an expired crane license, then little miss chewing gum doesn’t stand a chance against her boys.  The things they can do with those mystic power, and they’re hanging with the Avengers now?  She’ll bet anything Donnie’s already tracked the alien down and the boys are kicking its butt right now.  So there’s absolutely no reason to be worried.

April checks her phone one more time and taps her foot.  She pulled over after she hung up with the guys.  There’s no reason for her to bike blindly across the city after losing sight of the alien anyway.  She takes a sip of her soda and resists the urge to check her phone again.  See, she’s so unbothered that she even bought a drink.  Would a concerned person do that?  Its just-they should have called by now.  An update on the fight, a ping of a location, heck even a thumbs up would have been great.  She checks her phone again and groans.  It hasn’t even been ten minutes since she hit her S.O.S.  April stares at her contacts and frowns.  She lets her finger hover over one name.  She’s freaking out over nothing.

She presses call anyway.

April puts the phone to her ear and the other person has already answered.  She smirks.  He’s always so prompt.

“Hey April,” Casey says.  “What’s up?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” she says.  “Why would you even ask if anything was wrong?  Everything is fine!”

“I didn’t ask that,” Casey says slowly.  “Is something wrong?”

April hangs her head with a sigh.  “Look there’s nothing to worry about, but….,” she hesitates.  No.  He’s a part of the team now.  “I saw Lady Brainface a few minutes ago.  She’s escaped.”

“Who- the Kraang!” Casey shouts.  “And why are you still calling her that?”

“What can I say?  Raph has a knack for naming things.”

“Ok,” he says.  “Where are you?  Do you need me to meet you?”

“Yes-no I don’t know!” she groans.  “I already told the guys and I’m sure they’re handling it.”

“But?”

“But something doesn’t feel right,” April confesses.  “I’m on 39th, near the Bugle.”

“I’m leaving now,” Casey says.  There’s a pause.  “I thought this was over.”

“I did too,” she sighs.  

The ground shakes then and the street erupts in screams and cries of ‘Earthquake!’.  An Earthquake in New York?  Yeah, and she’s a renowned reporter.  April steadies herself, but it’s over just as quick.  She glares at the ground in suspicion.  It’s never that simple in New York, at least not lately.  April wouldn’t be surprised if alien sharks started swimming through the concrete like water right now.  It wouldn’t be as shocking as the sky whales.  She turns, still looking for a disturbance, and catches the tail end of pink lightning in the air.

Her heart drops.  

“April!  What was that?”

Her hand goes to the long bag she’s had with her all day. Suddenly grateful that she didn’t leave it at home.  “Bring your gear Case,” she says.  

April doesn’t move from the Bugle even though she wants to.  Desperately.  She can tell something big is going on.  She has a good idea of what it is, but she can’t entertain it.  If she does then it just makes her anxious.  Because if it is what she thinks it is, then… how?  The guys had the key.  It’s not possible for Lady Brainface to know where it is, let alone take it.  The guys and the Avengers would have stopped the alien.  There’s no way that wad of gum beat them and took the key.  No way that she hurt the guys.

She couldn’t have.

April keeps her eyes on the slow-growing panic on the streets and a loose grip on her bat.  She hasn’t heard any explosions yet, which leads her to hope that the light show was something else.  An Avengers threat and not an evil-giant Kraang threat.  The pink was just an uncanny coincidence.  

“April!”

She sags and turns to see Casey running up the street.  He’s fully decked out from his boots to his mask and she tries not to flinch, she hasn’t seen him dressed like this since the invasion.  A few people give him a wide birth, too busy fleeing or looking at their phones, but April greets him with open arms.  She hugs him quickly.

“It’s the Kraang isn’t it.”

He doesn’t phrase it like a question and April can no longer avoid the obvious.  “Yeah.  I think she’s opened the portal Case.”

“Hey,” Casey says.  “They’re ok.  I heard on the way over here that something’s going down at the pier.”

She slams a palm against her forehead.  “The stupid pier!  How could I forget about that.”  April jumps on her bike and motions for Casey to jump on.  “Let’s go-.”

She doesn’t know how she sees it.  If it was all the training with Splints or luck telling her to face a certain direction, but she sees it.  April lifts her legs and leans hard to the left, tipping the bike.  The tentacle brushes past her cheek and April feels the familiar sting of skin falling open.  They crash to the ground, but they’re both rolling to their feet with their weapons up.  

The street’s in a full-blown panic now.  People screaming and cars shooting down roads and sidewalks.  April keeps her eyes locked on Lady Brainface.  The alien crawls forward, hardened tentacles leaving small holes in the concrete.

The alien's mouth splits open.  “I’ve been looking for you girl.”

April wipes the blood off her cheek and stands up.  She studies the alien.  Takes in the missing leg, the scars running down the length of its square body, and the dripping empty socket.  The government has not been nice to this one.  April pulls her bat up and feels the pulse of power beneath her hands.  She didn’t feel mystic energy like the boys do.  They tried to explain it to her once.  Explain the energy they feel close to their hearts and how they use it.  They came up with some inspired metaphors, but it was like they were speaking another language.  It’s different for her.  The bat feels separate even when she handles it.  A continuous thrum of momentum and pint-up energy just waiting for the perfect swing to release it.  

She flips the bat and points it at the alien.  If Lady Brainface thought April was an easy target then she had another thing coming.  This alien had no idea what mystic wielder April could do and she’s about to find out.

There’s a rev of an engine behind her and she grins.  They let her live last time because the world needed immediate saving, but things are different.  There’s no technodrone, no suits, and no gooey guy terraforming the planet.  They have all the time in the world.

Casey steps beside her, eyes glowing a deadly green.  “We’re killing her this time.” 

Another statement.  

“Casey,” she smirks, “you literally read my mind.”

This fight won’t be easy.  Hell, nothing with the Kraang is easy, but it’s not going to be a walk in the park for this Lady either.  April’s got her mojo under her palm and Casey’s in a murderous mood.

She crouches.  “Let’s rumble!”

Raph

He hates that it has to come down to Mikey.  He doesn’t like the plan, in fact, he agrees whole-heartily that it’s a bad idea.  He and Leo vowed for Mikey to never use mystic hands after Casey told them what happened in the future.  Their bother died opening portals, and that was at the height of his mystic powers.  Mikey’s not even the portal guy!  That title belongs solely to Leo, and Mikey should never open up another portal as long as Raph is his older brother.

It’s just that Mikey’s right.  They have no other choice.

“I’ll portal us to that building there,” Leo points.  “We should be able to follow Thor's path once we’re in the city limits.”

It’s the barest plan they’ve ever worked with, but it’s all they have.  Find the Kraang, take out the eye, and buy Mikey time.  Everything else will depend on skill and luck.  There’s a cough and he watches Donnie walk forward and grab Tony's wrist.  The screen on the softshell’s wrist lights with flickering blue and Tony rips his arm away.

“Whoa,” Tony says.  “What are you doing?”

“I’m patching us into your network,” Donnie answers, fingers flying over the screen.  “We’ll need to be able to communicate in order to get this done.”

“You could have asked.”

“Like you did?”

Tony goes quiet and Raph shares a look with Leo.  Donnie is pissed.  He has every right to be, but this is like, the angriest he’s ever seen Donnie.  Where Leo is loud with his fury, Donnie gets quiet.  He seethes, schemes and plots.  Raph’s not in a forgiving mood himself, but he doesn’t know if he wants to make complete enemies out of the Avengers.  At least not yet.

“Aaannndd done,” Donnie says with a click.  His wrist lights up green, “Hello.  Can everyone hear me?  Including the super thieves?”

Leo whistles.

“Donnie!”

“You’re right Angelo.  We have more important things to focus on right now.  Can we all hear each other?”

There’s a pause, then Clint's voice filters over the communication device.  “We can hear you loud and clear.”

There’s an explosion behind them and Raph tenses.  “Great, so here’s the plan.  We need to buy Mikey time to open the portal-,”

“ Portal?” 

“-But before that,” Raph continues.  “We need to take out the laser.”

“I’m sort of fuzzy on how we accomplish that.” Bruce mumbles.  Raph eyes the man wearily.  Bruce is usually so…..calm.  It's weird to see him out of sorts and confused.  The flickers of green are new too.  He must be gearing up for this fight.

“I can do it,” Clint says.  “I’ll find the shot.”

“Good,” Steve says.  “We’re on a countdown once the portal is open, so we gotta move quick.”

“How long?” Natasha asks.

“I can hold it for 10 minutes,” Mikey says.

Leo and Raph speak in unison.  “Five.”

“Guys.”

Donnie places a hand on Mikey’s shoulder.  “Five minutes,” Donnie glares at the Avengers.  “Non-negotiable.”

Steve nods.  “Five minutes.  If anyone gets a chance, let Thor know.” 

There are affirmatives all around and another shake coming from the city.  They all turn to it then and Raph pulls in a breath.  He rolls back his shoulders and can feel his brothers getting in the zone with him.  “Stay nearby Mikey.  It’s you and me once that laser is out.”

“Got it.”

“Ok, blue,” Tony says.  “Get us up there.”

“Don’t call me that,” Leo scowls.  “You’re not my dad.”

“What?”

Leo steps forward, “Keep your knees bent.”

Leo’s markings take on their familiar glow and words begin to etch down the sword.  He slashes through space, pulling a portal into existence beneath them.  Raph hears Tony curse but he ignores it.  They fall through Leo’s flickering portal and land on the roof of a crumbling building.

Raph goes to the ledge and takes in the damage.  It’s not bad, at least not on the level of the invasion, but there are definitely going to be casualties.  He scans the street and an explosion to the left brings his attention to the Kraang.  Thor is trading powerful blows with the alien, sending a shockwave of dust and glass with each fist, but the Kraang has an edge.  Its suit is always a second faster, just a bit stronger and it’s making all the difference.

There’s a groan then a flash of tremendous green leaps past him.

Steve walks forward and tightens the shield on his wrist.  “Let’s do this.”

Raph shifts and feels for the pressure near his center.  His core always runs hot, like a campfire waiting to turn wild.  It’s a simmering heat when not in use and a raging inferno when he pushes it.  He knows how to fan it now to get the flame to the right size.  He feels Mikey land against his shoulder and he raises a brow ridge at Steve.  “You weren’t thinking of taking the stairs were you?”

He feels Steve wrap a hand around one of his spikes, then he’s moving.  He leaps over the ledge, opening himself to the freefall, and watches as the Kraang slams Thor deep into the concrete.  Hulk rushes in from the side, pushing the alien away from the fallen God.  Raph bends his knees and lands heavily before Thor.  Hulk moves around a punch and delivers two of his own.  Kraang growls, eye glowing, and a portal opens to its left.  Tony catapults from the portal, feet first and lands heavily against the underside of the alien's jaw.  The laser veers off, cutting through the tops of three buildings.  

A hammer sings past Raphs ears and plows into the alien's chest.  The alien skids a few feet, but its feet dig into the concrete.  There’s a flash of orange and Raph charges.  A car wrapped in flaming chains swings into the side of the Kraang, knocking it off balance.  Raph follows it with a powerful hit directly to the center of the robotic face.  The alien soars backward and Raph breathes.  He lets his projection wrap around the head and extend with the alien.  The long line of his projection acts as a beacon or a runway.

An arrow flashes along the red arm of Raph’s projection, slipping between the gaps in his fingers to land in the glowing eye of the robot.  There’s a shift.  A click.  Then a brilliant flash and the burning heat of an explosion.   He lets his arm fall apart in the midst of the bomb.  Raph shakes out and generates another one.  He looks up to see the Kraang's head turn, but the persistent glow of red is gone.  

Raph lifts up his arm, heart pounding.  “The laser is out!”

Tony flies past him, missiles launching from his shoulder blades.  There’s a flash and Tony’s are soon joined by purple ones.  The Kraang jumps back and scales the buildings behind it to avoid the missiles.  A circle of blue swallows the missiles and spits them out behind the alien.  The building erupts in fire.

“Go!” Leo shouts.

Mikey is already flinging himself up the side of a nearby building and Raph is behind him.  They move a few blocks away, not wanting to be too close, and settle in the middle of the rooftop.  Mikey turns in the direction of the fight and brings his hands up.  Raph swallows against the rock in his throat and sets a hand on his little brother's shoulder.  It might not help this early, there’s not even a spark of orange on Mikey’s skin, but Raph will be damned if Mikey bares any part of this alone.

“I’m right here.” 

He gives the shoulder a squeeze and focuses back on the fight.

Mikey

Mikey always thought of his power as color theory.  When he first felt the hum of the Kursari-fundo under his hand, it was like looking at an empty canvas.  He knew how to throw the weapon in its basic form, like dropping dots of primary paints on a palette, but activating it made him feel like a novice again.  It took him some time, but soon he learned how to wield and color match.  Knew how much blue to add to lift heavy and how much red to mix in to produce fire.  It’s second nature now to create color at his core.  

Portals are a different thing.  At least he thinks so.  Mikey has only opened one and it was nothing like painting.  It’s closer to something confusing, like a puzzle or a Rubix cube.  A Rubix cube sounds right.  Like trying to figure out the right twist and flip to produce a finished puzzle.  It’s something he thinks would work more for Donnie than himself.  It was easier to figure out once his brothers jumped in.  As soon as they touched him the pattern became clear and easier to bare.  

It’s what saved his brother last time and it’s going to save them all again.

He stares intensely at the space between his hands and wills the puzzle to turn in the right direction.  The strain is a little harder and the level more difficult with just Raph, but he’ll force it to work if he has to.  Mikey stands there, arms shaking, and blocks out the sounds of fighting around him.  They need him to do this.  He needs to do this.  If this fight goes on any longer who knows what’ll happen to his brothers?  He knows they want to protect him.  Mikey’s the youngest.  It’s a rule older than Draxum that older brothers protect the smallest sibling.  The thing is, he wants to protect them too.  He grinds his teeth.  He doesn’t want to see them hurt either, and this thing will hurt them.  It’ll hurt everyone.  So he has to do this, has to give them the chance even if it takes everything he has.

Spin.

A warm spark runs down his arm.

Twist.

A pinprick of light opens between his hands, and Mikey grabs the edges.  He pushes the cube in his core and vows to make Donnie teach him the secrets to a Rubix cube.  What patterns to start with to get a quicker and easier win.

Click.

Mikey pulls the portal open with a shout.  The air sparks with energy and fragments of his own existence.  He releases a breath.  The hardest part is over, now it’s time for the regular hard part. 

“It’s open!” Raph shouts into his wrist.  “Donnie!  Start the countdown.”

There’s a blink from his communicator.  The turtle logo falls away and they’re left with a green number five.

“Hold on Mikey,” Raph says.

Mikey nods and keeps his attention on the portal and his focus.  The world falls away until it’s just him and the energy.  It tries to pull at him if he’s not careful.  Almost like existence wants to eat the creature that dares to break its rules.  He winces at the pain creeping down his arms.  Maybe his brothers were right about him.  He’s not strong enough for anything over five minutes.

“LEO!”

Mikey blinks and looks at Raph.  His brother’s face is fuzzy around the edges, but the look of fear is recognizable.  “Raph,” he huffs, “Go.”

“But-.”

“I got this Raph!” he smiles.  “Trust me.  Go help put that tin can back in its cage!”

Raph squeezes his shoulder, “I’ll be back.”

When Raph leaves the energy goes wild with hunger.  He feels it pull, sees chips of himself fall away but he doesn’t wavier.  Existence is going to have to find another rule breaker to snack on.  He won’t fall so easily.  They won’t fall.  What did he use to say all those years ago?

He steadies his hands and the peeling chips slow in pace.  He checks the timer.  3 minutes.  Who can save the world in three minutes?

“I remember,” he grins.  “We be we baby!”

They’ll get it done just like last time.  There’s nothing the Mad Dogz can’t do.

Casey

Casey hasn’t said it, but he’s never actually fought a Kraang that wasn’t in a suit.  That’s what they’re known for in his time.  Hulking, metal monsters with no conscious or morals. They vary in size and cruelty, and they always come out in overwhelming numbers.  So when only three stepped through that first gate, he was shocked and apprehensive.  Maybe these were the scouts?  There was so little information about what happened before Metro Tower, that there could have been scouts in his timeline.  The weakest amongst their soldiers sent to prepare the stage for the real invasion.  The big one didn’t seem weak though, even outside of its exoskeleton.  

When the gate finally opened over Metro Tower, he remembers thinking that was it.  A scourge of Kraang will come spilling from the portal and there was nothing they could do about it.  They had their chance with three and they blew it.  So when the fight finally went down, and only the injured Kraang came for them, he was shocked.

And devastated.

He knew at that moment Master Leonardo was right.  That they are in a different timeline, but it hurt to accept.  His timeline might have survived if it was just three.  They could have changed the course of the war once the Yokai got involved.  What could three do against a nation of mystic users?  So many people might have lived.  Master Leonardo might have lived.  It’s not fair. 

It’s not fair that he gets a room with April’s family.  It’s not fair that he goes to night classes and can complain about Dale and the train being late.  That he’s fallen in love with a coffee shop called Starbucks and got his first membership card at a real book store.  It’s not fair that he gets this life, and the timeline he left behind suffers.  It’s not fair, but it’s what Master Leonardo would have wanted.

So to see this alien again.  This deformed, broken pathetic Kraang trying to take all of this away from this timeline, from him?  She’s not making it through today alive.

Casey ducks under a flying car and tries not to follow the stream of blue in the air.  He needs to focus on this fight, then he could help the others.  They’re trying to get close to the alien.  It went on the defense when it saw him and April activate their weapons.  It climbed halfway up a small building and started throwing cars, chairs, and even people.  “We need to get close!”

“On it!”

April rushes from behind an overturned vehicle.  The girl is fast, dodging debris until she’s right under the alien.  She kicks up a trashcan, twists, and hits it hard with her bat.  The can goes flying, but the alien tilts and drops quickly to the ground.  Its face breaks in two and it sends a flurry of jabs April's way.  The girl deflects the first few swings, but one swipes low at her legs, knocking her off balance.

The alien rears back with a laugh.  A sharp tentacle spears forward and strikes April hard in the face.  Casey’s world slows on impact.   April screams, quick and piercing, and flies back from the Kraang in a shower of red.

“APRIL!”

She rolls, bouncing against the concrete before hitting a building hard.  The girl slumps over, unmoving and Casey sees red.  He races for the alien, dodges her next attack, and flips over a tentacle.  He gets in close and twists.  He lifts a leg and a sharp blade slides from the heel.  Casey brings his foot down hard on a limb, pinning it to the ground.  The alien screams but he’s already pivoting.  He ducks under her front arm.  Casey revs up the weapon and brings it down on a tentacle.

The thing is, when Donatello was first designing weapons for Casey and the resistance, they quickly discovered how durable the Kraang can be.  It takes a lot of effort to hurt one, let alone injure them.  That all changed one year when a scouting team stumbled across a bunker buried deep in the city.  The weapons they found gave them the edge that eventually helped Casey get here, but the bunker also provided a unique metal for Donatello to work with.  He doesn’t remember most of the logistics, but what he does remember is that it’s damn near indestructible.  So when Casey brings the spinning blades down on Kraangs flesh, it cut through like butter.  

The alien screams, black blood spilling everywhere before turning on him lightning quick.  The pinned tentacle pulls free from the cement with a crack.  The alien swipes his legs and he falls to the ground with a grunt.  He’s already flipping his weapon, bringing it up to protect himself from the sharp appendage coming down.  There’s a whine then a spinning green bat strikes the alien across the face, launching the alien into the opposite building.

Casey rolls over to see April on her feet, breathing heavily.  She has ripped a piece of her shirt and wrapped it diagonally around her left eye.  The yellow fabric drips red but it’s like she doesn’t even notice it.  The bat circles back and April catches it with a huff.

He can’t look away.  The sheer grit reminds him so much of Commander O'Neil that it hurts.  He can see it now, the powerful warrior she’ll grow into, but right now she’s all sharp edges.  Casey’s heart warms at the sight, at least in this life he gets to know her without the war.  

The Kraang gets up with a scream that shakes the building.  “You’ll pay for this!  You’ll both pay for what you’ve done to me!”  The alien jumps and lands on her four remaining appendages.  She doesn’t waste time, rushing towards them in a blur of pink.  Casey reves his weapon and April twirls her bat.

“SISTER!”

The alien pauses, debris rising from the abruptness of her stop.

“Forget those fools!” Kraang shouts.  It knocks the green giant out of the way and tries to move forward, but Thor lands in its path.  “Kill that one!” 

They all look.

No.

The alien takes off immediately and starts scaling the walls.  Casey and April are a step behind.  “It’s going after Mikey!” 

Casey looks, taking in what he can of the battle and he runs faster.  He didn’t even realize how close they were to Master Michelangelo.  Casey squints and can make out the faint swirl of gold and the plan falls into place.  He runs faster, but t hey’re stretched too thin.  

“Intercepting now.” A voice says.

“Casey go!” April pants.  “Nat’s going to need help.”

Casey nods and throws a line at the nearby lamp post.  He’s moving up the building fast and for a moment it reminds him of home.  Of death, destruction, and futile actions.  He clenches his fist and cables up another building.

It’s going to be different this time.

Natasha

Natasha knows when she’s out of her league.  She wouldn’t be a good agent if she couldn’t identify when there were better options than her.  That’s why she’s stayed close to the box turtle and why Clint hasn’t left his post.  He’s been shooting arrows when needed into the evolving melee with the metal opponent.  He’s helped keep the attention off Mikey, but it was inevitable for the enemy to pick up on their plan.  Their heavy hitters are keeping it occupied enough that it can’t go after the kid directly, but that doesn’t stop the other one.  

She huffs and jumps to the next roof.  She keeps her eye on the flash of pink heading for the boy.  She might not be able to fight hand to hand with a literal God, but she knows a thing or two about protecting an asset.  The alien climbs straight up a building, jumping over the edge and Natasha collides with it from the side.  They go tumbling, but Natasha is already repositioning herself on top of the wiggling pink mess.  She avoids gnashing teeth and jams a glowing hand into the oozing hole where its eye used to be.  

The alien withers beneath her as electric blue runs up the length of its body.  Natasha grits against the pain.  She’s insulated against the shock, but being this close means some of it bleeds through.  A tentacle twitches and Natasha is already flipping out of the way of a violent swing.  Natasha gets back to her feet.  They’re about four buildings away from Mikey’s portal, and she’ll be damned if the alien gets any closer.  

“Insolent creature!” 

An arrow zips above her but the alien is already moving out of its path.  It skitters forward, slicing the air with an impossibly sharp appendage.  Natasha moves under each strike, but just barely.  These things are fast.  Another arrow slips between the strands of Natasha’s hair and plants itself in the single intact eye.  She skips back then backflips, landing on her hands just as the bomb explodes. 

The force of the bomb blows the alien to the opposite roof.  It rolls around, tentacles contorting over each other like a dying spider.  Screaming, it gets up and turns a deformed face her way.

“I’ll kill you!!”

The thing scrambles, erratic and furious, across the roof.

“NAT!”

She looks to see April running towards her.  The girl’s a long way off, but Natasha recognizes the weapon in her hands.

“Catch!”

April takes another step, before launching herself into the air.  The girl twists, building momentum, before releasing the bat in a wild throw.  Natasha looks at the bat, the approaching Kraang, and the masked boy she can just make out heading her way.  She makes a decision.  She takes two steps, hand outstretched, and catches the bat around the handle.  She lets the force spin her back to face the charging Kraang.  She takes a breath.  “Coming your way kid.”

Remember.  She takes a step.  Plant your feet.  She lowers her hips.  And let it swing baby!

The bat connects in the middle of Kraang’s face.  Natasha’s own momentum and the magic infused in the weapon sends the creature flying.  She watches as the alien follows a direct path to the boy.  There’s a zipping sound and the mystery kid is flinging himself up and above the approaching Kraang.  The hockey stick whines a metallic sound.  The boy somersaults, masked eyes glowing a fierce green, and brings the blades straight down, cutting the Kraang down the middle.

The alien erupts in a spray of black liquid, both parts falling separately to the ground below.  The boy lands on a nearby building with a grunt.  She looks at the modified hockey stick and makes a note to ask about it.  

She looks back to the flashing lights and wavering gold portal.  

Only one more to go.

Leo

Leo runs down the street and pulls a portal open to save a falling Thor.  He grunts and opens another to the right of the Kraang.  Donnie’s hammer swings powerfully from the opening.  It engulfs the suit and pushes the Kraang into the air.  Leo throws his sword and pulls himself through space.  He appears just below the alien, but the Kraang is already repositioning itself with a hand outstretched.  Leo slices the air and a shield spins into the elbow joint, turning the Kraangs aim off course.  He pulls open another portal and Hulk falls from it with a yell and a powerful hook.  The alien spins through the air towards Mikey’s portal.  He catches Hulk and opens another one.

Tony speeds out of the swirling blue.  The man straightens his arm and sends an energy blast to the center of the alien.  The Kraang turns away from the blast.  Leo’s not sure how it does it, the alien's moving too fast to track, but it’s in front of Tony.  Tony stops and tries to pivot, but the Kraang wraps a giant hand around the man.  It spins and launches Stark towards a nearby building.

Leo curses and throws a sword at Tony.  He pulls himself through space and pops towards the falling man.  A second later he's looking into the furious eyes of the Kraang.  He gasps, scales glowing, but an unforgiving grip engulfs his entire right leg.  “Flying around like a filthy insect!”

There’s a chorus of snaps.  

Leo screams, vision blacking out for a terrifying second, but he holds it together.  The pain spikes up his entire right side and he’s breathless from it.  He’s shaking and just barely able to keep a grip on his swords.  He leans against the hand and cries out as it squeezes harder.  Leo looks into the face of this beast.  Malice radiates off it in waves and there’s a dark promise of violence in its eyes.  Leo pants and holds his swords tighter.

He’s not going to make it.

There’s a glint to his left.  A growing buzz, then a spinning hockey stick cuts straight through the metal arm of the suit.

“GOONGALA!”

The grip slackens and Leo’s suddenly falling to the enraged scream of the alien.  He brings his swords up and tries to focus, but he can’t.  His leg.   There’s a flash of red then Raph slams into him.  His leg jerks, bones moving then-.

“Leo!” Raph shouts.  Leo blinks up at his bother.  Did he pass out?  “Your leg!  Ar-are you ok?” 

Leo just breathes tightly against clenched teeth.  He presses his forehead against Raph’s projection and tries to calm down.  They don’t have time for this.  He brings up a shaky arm and checks the countdown.

2 minutes.

He can’t repress a sob.  2 minutes.  What can they do in two minutes?  He’s out of commission and they’re no closer to pushing this thing into Mikey's portal.  

Wait.  

He looks at his swords and an idea forms.

“Raph,” He pants.  “Put me down.  You need to get back out there.”

“But,” Raph protests.  “Your leg!  I can’t just-.”

“We’re running out of time!  I need you to get the Kraang flying.  You’ve got to hit it with everything you’ve got.  Just get it moving.”

Raph’s eyes dance across his face before he sets his jaw.  He tries to put Leo down gently, but it still leaves Leo gasping.  Leo gets his arms under him just as Raph takes off.  He breathes hard with his head against the concrete.  “Donnie,” He gasps into the communicator.  “With me.  Now.”

“Mikey,” he says.  “When I say close the portal you close it.  Understand?”

“Got it!”

Leo hears Donnie before he sees him.  “Donnie.  I need you to build something and it needs to be fast.”  He watches as Hulk and Thor join his older brother and hope begins to grow.  “Hurry.  Once they get the Kraang flying we need to be behind it.  We’ve only got one shot at this.” 

Donnie lands and the purple glow of the softshell’s projections wrap around them both.  Leo hears the telltale clicks of Donnie’s builds, and then they’re both lifting off the ground.  Leo looks over to see the purple wings of a plane or a jet span behind him  Leo focuses forward as the piercing hum of a dozen engines comes to life above him.

There’s a roar.  Raph and Hulk deliver a devastating blow followed by an almost impossible swing of Thor's hammer.

“Donnie!  NOW!”

They take off in a cloud of dust and mystic energy.  they’re moving faster than anything Leo has ever experienced, but he keeps his eyes on the spinning alien.  Leo squints as they soar through the air, mind racing with the exact push of energy needed to pull this off.  They get closer and he pulls at the energy next to his heart.

They fly just behind the Kraang and Leo tears open a portal in his wake with a powerful shout.  The Kraang falls into it.  A corresponding portal opens just before Mikey’s, nearly touching.  The energies spark, a powerful mix of blue and gold, and the Kraang flows directly from one portal into the other in a flicker of blinding green.

“MIKEY! NOW!”

With a scream and a pull of his hands, Mikey closes the rip between dimensions.  There’s a flash of gold.  A crack of lightning.  Followed by deafening silence.

Donnie crashes into the roof of a nearby building and his projection falls away on impact.  They bounce.  Leo’s vision goes white when his broken leg makes contact with unforgiving concrete, but he wills himself to stay awake.  He didn’t crash alone.  Donnie lands a second after him and lets out a pained yell.  Leo can just make out the sickening bulge in his brother's arm. Leo spins, ignoring the agonizing pulse on his right, and sinks a sword into the roof.  He grabs the passing arm of his brother and groans against the strain.  They skid to a stop and Leo looks up.

No one breathes.

Tony lands beside Leo and Donnie.  His faceplate unfolds to show a bloody and bewildered face.  “Did we do it?”

There’s no sound.  Now snarl or taunting voice or the steady click of inhuman armor.  There’s nothing.  Leo can’t believe it.  They did it.  And this time, there’s no coming back.  A grin starts to grow but a small thump pulls his attention.  He cracks his head up and his heart turns to stone at the small form of his brother slumped in the rubble.

“Mikey!”

He pushes up, pain running up his side and leg, but he doesn’t care.  His hand tightens around his sword and he pulls another portal to life beneath him and Donnie.   

They land in a painful heap next to Mikey, but he’s crawling to his little brother in an instant.  “Mikey?” He stutters.  He flips his brother over slowly and the stone in his chest begins to crumble.  “Donnie!”  He shouts.  “He’s not breathing!”  

Donnie

Ironically, mysticism came easy to him once he finally touched the stuff.  After his hands wrapped around the bo staff, he couldn’t help but snort at his brothers and the problems they had in their earlier days.  It spoke to him in the same ways his lab did.  Like the unraveling of graphic paper or the calculations of computer programming.  He built his projections like he did all his machines.  Methodically and with just a hint of reckless abandonment.  His mind has never failed him before, both in science and mystic nonsense.

He stands here now, arm pulsing in a way that suggests a break across the radius, and experiences his first real failure.  

Leo keeps staring at him and Raph lands with a stumble next to them both.  “Donnie?  What do we do?”

“I-,” Donnie stumbles, Bo shaking.  “I-I.”  

He doesn’t know.  He always knows.  

“Somebody help!” Raph cries.

The ground shutters beneath them at the force of Hulk's landing.  The behemoth takes two steps and then Bruce is kneeling next to Leo.  The man flips Mikey on his shell.  “Hold him still.  I need to pull his neck until it’s fully extended from his shell.  Hold him.  Raph put his head in your lap.  We need to keep it straight and level.”  The man moves with sure hands, despite the green patching of his skin in some places.  Bruce pulls Mikey’s head completely out and tilts his chin up.  The scientist puts an ear to Mikey’s mouth and then presses against Mikey’s plastron.  His face doesn’t change as he listens and that’s worse somehow.

Raph sinks to his knees and sets a hand on either side of Mikey’s head.  Bruce leans over and folds his hands just under the center of his little brother's chest.  “I’m going to start compressions.  One of you call for Thor,” Bruce says.  “We’re going to need him.”  

Donnie backs up and feels his shell open.  He’s in the air a second later looking for the God.  He keeps his injured arm bent and as close to his chest as possible.  With the way the pain is pulsing across the entire forearm, the break might even extend to the ulna.  Which, isn’t bad.  It’s something he can fix.  Like Leo’s leg.  He can fix that with a little help from nurse Leo.  There’s not much he can’t fix and the things he can’t-.

“THOR!” Donnie shouts, suddenly frantic.  He spots the battered God on the roof of a small building.  He lands with a grunt but he’s already pulling at the man's arm.  “My brothers hurt!  Bruce said we’ll need you, please.”

Thor wipes the blood from his face and spins his hammer.  He takes off in the direction of his fallen brother.  Donnie’s following behind.  The flight is not far, and he stumbles next to Thor and stops at the sight.

Bruce is in the middle of compressions.  Mikey’s body convulses with each pump and Donnie feels his face scrunch.  He knew intellectually that it was a violent process.  He’s read all the literature and the notes of how common it is to break a rib when doing this, he’s just never seen it on his brothers.  He looks to Raph, but the snapper sits still as a statue and keeps Mikey’s neck level. 

“Thor!” Bruce says.  “With me.”

Thor kneels beside the doctor.  “What can I do, Dr. Banner?”

“I need you to administer a shock when I tell you.”

Thor nods and moves his hammer to hover over Mikey.  

“Raph,” Bruce says.  “You’re going to feel-.”

“Do it.”

“Thor, move your hammer just above my hands.  When I say now send a small shock.  Think shocking Tony’s reactor but 2x stronger, we need to get through the plastron.”

“Understood.”

Bruce moves his hands.  “Now!”

Electricity strikes from the hammer and Mikey’s body jolts.  

“Again.”

Raph clenches through the energy and Donnie refuses to look away.

“Again.” 

Mikey jerks with a strangled gasp of air.  He falls back down, unconscious but breathing.  Raph bends over him and his shoulders shake with sobs.  

Bruce is already standing up.  “We need to get him back to the tower.”

“What?  No!” Leo cries.  “We’re not going back with you.”

“Leo, listen,” Bruce says.  “His body shut down.  Completely.  There’s a fully functioning and stocked medical bay at the tower.  Mikey needs immediate attention, and I don’t think you’ll be able to provide it.  Do you?”

“Donnie?”

Donnie blinks.  He stares at the hard lines of Bruce's face and the desperate tears in Leo’s eyes.  He trembles, then confesses.  “He’s right Leo.  I don’t have anything at home to fix this.  He’s breathing now, but what if his heart stops again?  He needs to go to the tower.”  

It hurts to say.  The most he could do is set their broken bones and watch as they heal.  He doesn’t have the equipment or knowledge for something this serious.  His eyes sting.  Why doesn’t he have anything for this?

“We don’t have time,” Bruce pushes.  “Leo, you have to open a portal.  In front of my office if you remember the location.”

“Leo,” Raph says.  “Do it.”

Leo wipes his eyes and nods.  He grabs a discarded sword and pulls a portal into existence beneath them.

Chapter Text

Raph

He holds Mikey tight as the circle of blue swallows them whole.  He shouldn’t have left him.  Raph knew the toll this would take, and he shouldn’t have left him.  Leo needed him though.  The monster had Leo in its grip, and Raph wasn’t going to let it take his brother again.  He remembers taking off, willing himself to run faster, and that horrible realization that he wasn’t going to make it.  He had Leo’s name in his throat when the spin of metal cut through the air like the answer to a desperate prayer. 

Thank God for Casey Jones.

When Leo fell, all pain and twisted leg, it took everything for Raph to reach him in time.  To jump across the empty stretch between buildings and catch him.  Raph’s heart still beats with adrenaline.  If he hadn’t left, Leo might not be here.  If he hadn’t left, Mikey’s heart wouldn’t be stuttering in his arms.  He curls around Mikey.  Raph looks around the swirling energy and wraps a hand around Leo’s wrist against his better judgment.  Impossible choices.  Raph is so sick of impossible choices.

The portal opens mere inches above the ground, but Leo still cries out when his mangled leg makes contact.  Strong hands touch his forearms and he looks into the serious face of Bruce.  The doctor doesn’t say a word, just pulls Mikey out of Raph’s arms and motions to Leo.  Heat rushes to his face and his eyes sting as Bruce helps with the load.  He turns and bundles Leo in his arms, moving carefully, and stands up.  He shoots Donnie a worried look, catalogs the unnatural bump in the softshell arm, and his unusual silence.  Raph swallows his questions and forces himself to prioritize.  He follows Bruce down the hall and they turn quickly into a small medical room.

Bruce sets Mikey on an open bed and the box turtle lays there unmoving.  Raph’s throat tightens at the sight.

Leo pushes up against his arm.  “He’s going to be ok, right?”

Bruce moves without a word and pulls over a cart.  The man moves methodically around Mikey’s still form until the boy is hooked up to all sorts of equipment.  “Is he allergic to any medicine?”

Raph turns to Donnie.

“No,” Donnie says.  “None of us are.”

Bruce nods.  “His heartbeat is still irregular.  I can only assume it’s due to the strain of the portal.”

“But he’s going to be ok,” Leo says.  “Just tell us he’s going to be ok.” 

Bruce feels around Mikey’s elbow.  “We’ll have to monitor his condition,” he lines the needle up, “see how he does over the next 24 hours.”  Bruce tapes the needle down and plugs in the medicine.  “That’s all I can give you guys right now.”  

“He’s going to be ok,” Raph finds himself saying.  “It’s Mikey.  He’s going to be ok.”

The doctor walks toward them and snags another bed on the way.  “Alright, let’s take a look at that leg.”

“What? No,” Leo shouts.  “You need to finish helping my little brother.”

Bruce taps the wall and a panel opens up.  “Leo we have to wait.  There’s nothing I can do right now, but monitor his condition and administer aid when he needs it.”  The man types the screen quickly and something lowers from the ceiling.  “I can do something for you though.  We need to check the severity of the break and make sure you haven’t pierced anything from all the jostling around.”

Raph doesn’t need to hear anymore.  He sets Leo down and the slider hisses.  Bruce reaches for the device and pulls it down fully.  The doctor adjusts it until it hovers over the entire length of Leo’s leg.  The device lights up and a small skeletal image of Leo’s leg hovers in the space between.  Raph turns his head at the broken pieces.

Donnie steps forward, eyes never leaving the image.  The softshell is quiet for a long moment before his shoulders drop, “Thank goodness.” 

“What is it?”

Bruce hums.  “You’ve definitely broken the entire leg.  There’s a clean break of the tibia, fibula, and femur.  That’s probably where most of the pain is coming from.  Luckily, your knee is intact.”

Raph sighs in relief.  At least there's some good news.  He doesn’t know much about medicine, but even he knows that knee injuries are hard to come back from.  A thought hits him.  “I’ve gotta call dad.” 

“Tell him to bring Draxum,” Donnie says.  “We might need him.” 

Raph nods.  He takes a step and hesitates.  He looks at Leo and Mikey.  He doesn’t want to leave.  

Donnie grabs Leo’s hand, “I’ll be here with them Raph.  Make the call.” 

Of course, Donnie’s got this.  The Kraang are gone.  For good this time, there’s nothing to worry about.  Raph swallows against the knot in his throat and walks out of the room, phone in his hand.  That’s what they thought last time.  

It answers on the first ring.

“Red!  Thank goodness, are you ok?”

Raph pulls in a breath and the next second he’s sobbing.  He digs the base of his hand into his eye but the tears don’t stop.  He needs to get it together.  He’s not hurt.  It’s not about him.

“Raphael,” dad says and he stops.  “Where are you?”

“We’re at the tower,” he says.  He wipes his eyes, “Can you come with Draxum?  Mikey’s hurt.”

“We are already here, my son.”

“What?”

“We came as soon as we heard.  We’re outside the building now.”

Raph leans against the wall.  Dad’s already here.  “Call April.  She and Casey should be heading this way with the rest of the Avengers she’ll get you in.”  He hesitates.  “I would do it, but- I can’t leave them right now dad.”

“I understand Red.  I will call April.”

“Thanks, dad.” 

“Of course.  Remind me to talk to your brother about that new lockdown protocol.  Draxum and I…may have destroyed it on our way out.”

Raph gives a watery laugh.  “I’ll remind you.”

“It will be ok, my son,” dad says.  “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Raph hangs up and lets his head hit the wall.  It’s going to be ok.  Mikey’s going to be ok.  He rubs his face and heads back into the room.  “Dad and Draxum are already here.”

“That was quick.”

Donnie stands next to Leo.  The softshell is still holding Leo’s shaking hand.  Bruce pulls firmly on the leg and Leo smothers a sound in his elbow.  Raph frowns, “can’t you give him something?”

“He did,” Donnie answers.  “He’s burning through it pretty quickly though.”

“I was only gone for a few minutes.” 

“Probably an effect of the mutation,” Donnie says, but it’s lifeless.  More lifeless than usual.

Raph takes in the blank expression and the stiff way Donnie’s holding his left arm.  “How’s the arm?”

“Fine.”    

Leo lets out a shout.  Bruce looks at the projection.  “Ok, everything's aligned,” Bruce leans over and pulls out two stiff boards and a cloth.  “I’m going to splint it now.  I would give you some more morphine, but I don’t want to cause an accidental overdose.”

“You’re fine doc,” Leo grits.  “This isn’t the worst pain I’ve ever felt.”

“That’s not really reassuring kid.”

Bruce is finishing up the splint when the door bursts open.  The room floods with sound and color and it takes a second for Raph to piece together what is happening.  He sees April first.  She zooms through the door to throw herself at Donnie.

“Guys!  Is everyone ok?”

Donnie lets out a shout and April lets him go.  “Donnie, your arm!  Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” Donnie hisses.  Donnie opens his eyes and his face drops.  “April!  Your face.”

What?  Raph places a hand on her shoulder and turns her around.  His heart stops.  She has a piece of cloth wrapped tightly around her left eye.  The once yellow fabric is a dark red and still looks wet to the touch.  Raph lifts a hand but doesn’t know what to do.  “Bruce!”

“Guys,” she says, “I’m -.”

“Don’t say fine,” Donnie says.  “You’re bleeding!”

“And your arm is broken!” 

“Whose arm is broken?!”

Raph feels the weight of the world fall from his shoulders at Splinter's voice.  Splinter rushes into the room.  “Purple, your arm!  And Blue!”  dad turns to Bruce.  “Are they going to be ok?”

Bruce looks at Splinter with eyes that almost sparkle.  “You’re their father?  I’ve heard so much about you from Mikey.”

Dad stops.  “Y-you have?”

“Yes,” Bruce smiles.  “But we’ll talk about that later.  Leo’s leg is going to be ok.  It just needs time to heal.  I haven’t had a chance to look at Donnie’s arm though.”

“It’s fine.  Check April first.”

“Donnie.”

“It’s fine Raph,” Donnie says.  “It feels like a clean break across the radius and a fractured ulna.”

“But-,”

Donnie pulls his hand from Leo’s and pushes April forward with a firm set to his jaw.  “Her eye, please.  Before we lose it.”

Bruce pulls out a chair and motions for April to sit.  He unwraps the crude bandaid and Raph has to look away.  He watches as the rest of the Avengers filter in and he can’t help for his shoulders to draw back up.  April hisses and Raph focuses on her.  Bruce is looking into her eyes and there’s blood.  A lot of it.  He can’t even see the white of her eye.  What if she loses her vision? His hands begin to shake.

Bruce leans back.  “Well, the good news?  You’re not going to lose the eye.” 

Donnie nearly collapses and Raph thinks he is right there with him.  She’s not going to lose it.  She’s not going to lose it.

April sags.  “You promise?”

Bruce grabs some gauze and starts to wipe away the blood.  “I promise.  It got you pretty good across the socket and brow, so you are going to need stitches, but it missed the pupil.  There is a small scratch on the sclera, but that’ll heal.  I can’t promise you that it won’t scar though.”

April chuckles but her good eye is wet.  “I’ll take a scar over a missing eye any day.  I don’t know how I’d explain that to my parents.”

Dad wrings his hands.  “What about Michelangelo?”

Bruce sighs and pulls off his glasses.  “He’s over there.  His….heart stopped after the fight.  We were able to resuscitate him.  He's stable for now.”

Dad’s tail falls flat and April covers her mouth.  Raph works his jaw and puts a hand on his father's shoulder.  “It was the portal dad.  It was the only way.” 

Dad's whiskers twitch before he twists to look at the door.  “Draxum, please.  Is there anything you can do for my son?”

The entire room turns to the cloaked man.  Draxum pushes his hood off with a sigh and the energy shifts.  Natasha tenses, hand traveling to her wrist, and Tony’s jaw literally drops.  For one, breathless moment, Raph is blinded by true rage.  They cause this mess and have the nerve to doubt them and their guest?  Red lightning sparks across his arms and he forces himself to smother the flame.

Draxum notes the reactions and rolls his eyes.  “Please.”

The Yokai walks through the room towards Mikey and the rest follow.  Bruce grabs the edge of Leo’s bed and rolls it before the slider can do something stupid like try and stand up.  Raph sends the doctor another grateful smile.  Draxum stops at Mikey’s side and lifts a clawed hand to hover over his chest.  Draxum speaks in a language that hurts to hear and his hand starts to glow.  An image of orange sparks dancing with red appears over Mikey.  Raph looks before it hits him that it’s his baby brother's heart.

Bruce steps forward, glasses unfolding.  “Fascinating.  Is this, orange pulse? Mystic-.”

“Mystic energy,” Draxum finishes.  “Which shouldn’t be there.  His body’s not equipped yet to handle the power of the spell he’s casting.  That’s why it’s leaking into his organs.”

“Is-is it dangerous?” Leo says.

“Very,” Draxum answers.  “I’m surprised you even managed to stabilize him.  What did you use?”

“Thor helped,” Bruce said.  “His hammer generates electricity.”

Draxum turns and immediately scoffs.  “An Asgardian?  Typical.”

“Wait,” Tony says.  “You know of Thor and his merry band of cosplayers?”

Raph can’t believe it either.

“Of course, I do,” Draxum answers.  “His father came down here not too long ago.  Trapezing around the place like he owned it.” 

“But,” Thore says.  “My father hasn’t been here in over a millennium.”

“I remember,” Draxum sneers.  “He practically destroyed most of Northern Europe with that war he dragged here.”

“Jeez Barry,” Leo calls.  “How old are you?”

Draxum smirks.  “Old enough.  Everyone stand back.  Thor's magic was able to alleviate some of the pressure, but I’ll need to release the rest.”

“It’s not going to hurt him will it?”

“It doesn’t matter if it does,” Draxum says.  “We need to relieve it or his heart could stop again.  Now step back.”  

Raph takes a few steps back and pulls dad with him.  Draxum pulls up both hands and starts to chant.  An eerie purple covers Draxum up to his elbows and a small circle forms over Mikey’s chest.  The circle twists and fluctuates, shifting from orange to gold in a rolling motion.  Draxum lifts both hands up and out and the circle condenses to a pinprick.  A sudden flash of gold devours the room and Raph lifts an arm reflexively.  Gold sparks around the room before dissipating.  Raph looks at Mikey but the boy doesn’t wake up.  “What happened?  Did something go wrong?”

“Nothing went wrong.  He just needs to rest, and practice.” 

“No,” Leo’s voice cuts in, “he doesn’t.”

“This will keep happening if he’s forced to open another door.  He got lucky this time.” 

“There’s not going to be a next time,” Leo says.

Draxum scowls.  “That’s almost exactly what you said last time.  Yet here we are.”

“Where only here because of them!” Donnie shouts.  “They stole the key!”

April jumps up.  “Say what!” 

“What do you mean, Purple?”

“I mean they stole it!” Donnie hisses.  “They took it while they buddied up to us and replaced it with some cheap replica!  Lady Brainface only got it because they stole it!”  Donnie kicks a chair.  “I should have known this would happen!  No one compliments my work without ulterior motives.  I should use it as an indicator for evil adults at this point!” 

“That's not true,” Tony says.  “I really do think you're a ge-.”

“Save it Stark!” Donnie interrupts.  “I don’t wanna hear it.”

“I knew humans would make it worse.” 

“We came to you for help!” Splinter says.  “My boys risked exposure to be here and you betray them like this!”

“Just say the word, Lou.  I have something that could swallow this entire city block.”

Steve puts his hands up.  “We don’t want to fight.  We didn’t intend for anything to-.”

“Of course, you didn’t intend to, but yet it happened!” Splinter cuts in.  “You promised nothing would happen to my boys!  They look pretty hurt to me!”

“Look,” Tony cuts in.  “Paper Cut, was it?  We-.” 

“Really Stark?” Donnie explodes forward.  Raph doesn’t react quickly enough, and Tony’s on the floor in the next second.  “Is this some sort of joke to you?  You betrayed us!  My little brother's heart stopped.  He’s fifteen remember?”  Donnie glares at all of them, “since you care so much about how old we are.  Leo’s lucky his leg wasn’t completely shattered!”

“And he called me Blue!”

“Shut up Leo,” Donnie says, eyes never leaving Tony.  “You think joking about our dad is an appropriate thing to do right now?” 

Bruce steps in front of Tony.  “Let’s try to calm down.  He didn’t-.”

“He never means it!”

Raph looks at Donnie and his still injured arm and makes a decision.  “You guys should leave.  Like now.”

“Aye,” Thor says.  “I believe that is for the best.”

“Raph,” Clint asks.

Raph doesn’t even look at him.  “Now please.”

“Donnie,” Bruce pleads.  “Let me at least set your arm-.”

“Draxum will do it.” 

Bruce nods and offers a hand to Tony.  Whatever was going on between them seems to dissipate with that one overture.  Tony takes the hand and Bruce pulls him up.  “There’s another infirmary one floor below.  I’ll be down there with the rest of the team.”  Bruce indicates to the open panel.  “Call if you need me.”

Draxum crosses his arms.  “We won’t.” 

Donnie

The door shuts behind them but Donnie can’t stop shaking.  Who tries to joke in the middle of a terrible situation they caused?  He pivots and drops into an open chair.  He scoots himself until he’s situated in front of Draxum.  He lifts up his broken arm.

Draxum just raises an eyebrow.

“Well?” Donnie says.  “Get on with it.”

Draxum snorts.  The yokai's hands are suddenly on his arm and there’s a pull.  Pain radiates from his wrist to his shoulder.  Donnie shouts and doubles over.  

“What the heck Barry!”

“Donnie are you ok?”

“Relax,” Draxum says.  The scientist grabs a board and tape left on Leo’s bed.  “He’s fine.  I just needed to set the bone and I couldn’t do it with all the inevitable whining.”

“Maybe I should have let Bruce do it,” He mutters through clenched teeth.  “At least he gave Leo morphine.”

“Wouldn’t do any good,” Draxum says.  “It must have lasted for what, four minutes?  Your mutation would have burned it off before it was even effective.”

“I thought so,” Donnie winces, “it would have been nice though.”

Draxum pulls the tape tight.  “Don’t worry, your bones won’t be broken for long.  You wouldn’t have made good soldiers if a broken bone kept you out of the war for long.”

“You know,” Leo says.  “When I forget that you used to be legitimately evil, you say things like that.” 

“Difference of opinion,” Draxum corrects, he looks to April.  “You might want to get that human doctor to stitch you up.  Human eyes are a little too fragile for my taste.”

“So Mikey should be waking up soon?”

The room falls silent and all eyes turn to Draxum.  The yokai’s ears drop.  “I don’t know.  I’m not familiar with dimensional magic.  It’s usually contained to powerful scrolls, artifacts or multiple mystics are needed to perform it.”  Draxum looks at Mikey.  “I know you don’t want to hear it, but he needs to practice.  Next time might be the last.  Jones, what could Mikey do in your future?”

“Master Michelangelo could do a ton of stuff,” the boy says. “He didn’t even need his nunchucks.  The chains just came out of his wrist!  He didn’t walk much either.  He’d levitate-.”

“That's it,” Draxum interrupts.  “Have him start with that.  That’s fairly low-level mystic control.  You all should practice it really.” 

Donnie unfurls.  “Why are you mentioning this now?”

“It didn’t cross my mind,” Draxum answers with a shrug.  “You all center your power around your weapons anyway.  It’s a hard habit to break, so I didn’t think it was that important.  Who knows though what you could do if you expand your mind past your weapons?  We already know what Mikey is capable of, I’d be interested in what you all could do.”

He straightens, maybe he’d be able to learn what Draxum did.  He’d be able to check the internal status of his brothers if they were ever seriously hurt.  Donnie could learn to relieve this mystic pressure.  He could have relieved it if he knew about it sooner.  It never even occurred to him to see what magic could do to the body or the organs.  He looks back at Mikey and he sets his shoulders.  “We’ll start practicing when we get home.”

“I’m sorry," April says.  "Donnie wants to practice magic?!”

He squeezes his good hand.  “I was useless out there!  I didn’t have an idea of what to do or where to start.  If Bruce or Thor hadn’t been there-,” he swallows, “If I can prevent that from happening again, then I’ll learn everything I need to.”

No one says anything and Donnie continues.  “Also, I hate to say it, but I think we should stay.  Just until Mikey wakes up.”

“What!”

“Why?!”

“Stay with these traitors!”

Draxum lifts a hand.  “I agree.  I hate to admit it, but they have a wider variety of medical equipment in case anything goes wrong.  I can relieve all the mystic pressure I can, but I’m not exactly a doctor.”

“Me neither,” Donnie adds.  “I’d rather go a few days of uncomfortable silence than anything happening to Mikey because we’re angry.”

All the protests seem to die at that statement.  Donnie looks around the room, at all the equipment he hasn’t thought to build.  They get hurt sure, but never like this.  He’ll scan all of it, and start working on it as soon as they get home.  They won’t be left at the mercy of others like this ever again.

Tony

Two days.  It’s been two days and Donnie hasn’t even peaked in the lab.  He sees the boy skulking around the tower, hell he sees all of them, but never for long periods of time.  It’s always a hint of purple leaving the kitchen, a flash of blue on the helicopter landing, and red in the hallways.  Always whispers of the turtles but never full interactions.  He hasn’t even seen a hint of the parents or their mysterious masked guest.  It’s all been very cloak and dagger.  April doesn’t hide though.  She’s been the most direct.  Meeting all their gazes with glares and a passive-aggressiveness that veers too close to just aggressive.  He’d slipped her a badge the first night she came out to grab dinner for the boys.  A peace offering if you will.  She’d taken it with a snort and a wicked kick to the shin that left him limping.    

The door opens behind him.  “Are you still hiding in here?”

“I’m not hiding.” 

Bruce pulls out a chair.  “Sort of seems like you are.” 

Tony sets his tools down with a sigh.  It’s not like he’s getting any work done anyway.  He swivels fully in Bruce's direction.  Things are better between them.  Tony even started to find real coffee instead of impressively disguised tea.  “How are they doing?”

“Better,” Bruce says.  “Leo and Donnie are healing incredibly well, and fast.  I’d guess at the rate they’re going they’ll be as good as new in a few weeks.  Even Leo’s tibia.”

Tony whistles.  “That is fast.”

Bruce flips through a few papers.  “I talked to Draxum about it.  It seems to be a feature of their mutation.  Too long healing times aren’t really conducive for human annihilation.  I wonder what he used for that though?  It’s definitely not a human or turtle trait.” 

“What did you say?”

“Maybe something in the actual mutagen?" Bruce mumbles, "I’d love to get an actual sample.”

“Bruce,” Tony says.  “Are you hinting that Draxum made them?”

“Not exactly hinting, Tony,” Bruce rolls his eyes.  “I mean, the guy was practically bragging about it while he belittled my intelligence and my science.  He’s a bit of a dick.” 

Tony leans back against the chair, mind racing.  Not world domination, but human annihilation.  He created the boys.  He mutated their father, but he walked in with them as if he were a part of the family.  It doesn’t make sense.  It shouldn’t make sense.  

“Despite the implication,” Tony says after a while.  “That’s….good right?  If they can forgive that guy then maybe?”

Bruce pulls his glasses off with a sigh.  “I don’t know Tony.  I think that any ‘forgiveness’ hinges on Mikey and if he wakes up.”

“When,” he corrects.

“If,” Bruce says.  “We’re creeping close to 72 hours, which is worrying.  I’d feel a lot better about his prognosis if he woke up before morning.” 

Tony doesn’t even want to think about this kid not waking up.  What it means about his decisions and the fallout affecting this small, hidden family.  All they have is each other, and to possibly take a piece of that away from the whole?  He pushes the thought out of his mind.  Mikey will wake up.  He's surrounded by some of the best equipment in the world.

“Either way,” Bruce continues.  “I think it’s going to be a long time for them to forgive this one, Tony.  Especially Leo.” 

“Blue’s not my favorite color anyway.”  

“I think they’re a package deal,” Bruce laughs.  “Besides, I get the feeling that Donnie’s got a bit of a vindictive streak.  I’d prepare myself for that if I were you.”

“Oh I am,” Tony says.  He turns back to his work but doesn’t pick it up.  “Do you think I should go see them?”

“I would wait for Mikey,” Bruce answers.  “You have a tendency to put your foot in your mouth, and I don’t think they’ll be receptive to that until he’s up.”

He can understand that.  He didn’t exactly make the greatest first impression with the parents after the battle.  He glances across the table and takes in Donnie’s workstation.  It remains untouched, frozen in the space before the switch.  Tony flexes his jaw and leans back over his project.  It’s going to be ok.  It’ll be different.  He’s not naive enough to believe everything will be the same, not after this, but it will be ok.

It has to be.

Thor

He finds himself outside more often than not when he visits the tower.  The open-air is familiar to him.  Asgard has so many open arches and windows that breathe fresh air into every room.  Very rarely is a room completely closed off to nature.  Things are different here, which he’s accepted, but he’ll take open air over the forced flow of most Midgard buildings any day.  Thor takes in the dented skyline and lets the battle come back to him in flashes.  It was hard.  Harder than any battle he’s ever fought.  He thanks the heavens that the Kraang were so little in number.  It will be a battle for the ages that’s for sure.  He wishes he could tell his brother.  

There’s a creak and Raphael settles next to him.  Thor takes in the young warrior.  He hasn’t talked to any of them over the past two days.  He’s seen flashes of them of course, but he doesn’t initiate conversation.  The boys will do that when they are ready.  He has seen sir Barton trying to pin this one down.  The man is on a mission and it’s been…interesting to see them dance around each other.  Raphael is quite sneaky and light on his feet for his size.

Thor nods his head in acknowledgment but doesn’t start the conversation.  The turtle will speak when he’s ready.

“You know,” Raph starts, “I wasn’t planning on speaking with any of you until Mikey woke up.”

Thor hums.  He can understand that.  “What brings you out today?”

“You, actually,” the boy says.  “I wanted to thank you for what you did.  Mikey…he might not have even made it back without you.”

“No thanks are needed friend,” Thor says.  “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Raph smiles and leans fully against the railing with him.  “So,” Raph says.  “Did you really go to Asgard or was that all part of the act?”

“No,” Thor sighs.  “I really did go home.  I was not in favor of this decoy idea.  I did not think it was wise to take the artifact from the warriors protecting it.”

The snapper stands in silence and Thor doesn’t push it.  He cannot force the warrior to believe him after such damage to his family.  His father would be proud of his diplomacy.  

“What did your dad say?”

“That’s the ironic part,” Thor chuckles.  “I did not get a chance to speak with him.  He has been hard to pin down since my mother's passing.  Although I’m not sure if he would have been much help in the end.”

Raph snorts.  “I’ll say.”

Thor looks at the city below.  At the smoke and the early attempts to rebuild.  “I almost went into my brother's room.  He was a powerful sorcerer, you know.”

“Loki?”

Thor nods.  “I thought that maybe I could find something amongst his belongings.  Maybe read his notes on magic.  I made it all the to his hall, yet I could not bring myself to go in.”

Raph fidgets.  “How did he, you know?”

“He sacrificed himself trying to stop Malekith, a Dark Elf, from merging with the Aether in a bid to destroy the nine realms.”

The boy takes the information in grace.  Thor knows it is hard to hear of such threats going on without your notice.  There was nothing the boy could have done anyway.

“....Ok,” Raph says.  “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I am too,” he admits.  “Loki and I weren’t on the best of terms near the end, but he was my brother.  He’s been in my life for thousands of years, it’s…hard to think about the next thousand without him.”

“He was your younger brother, right?”

“Aye,” Thor smiles, “And quite mischievous!  Why he used to transform into all manner of things to trick me!  Once when we were boys, he turned into a snake….”  He spins the tale like always, grinning at the memory.  He remembers running after the laughing trickster and the roughhousing that ensued.  He misses it.  Misses him.  Thor wishes again that they hadn’t grown so apart in recent centuries.

“He sounds like a lot of fun,” Raph laughs.

“He was,” Thor says.  He reaches over and places a hand on the boy's shoulder.  “Your brother will wake up soon, Raphael.  Do not worry.”

“I’m trying not to,” Raph says.  “I’m really trying not to.”

Steve

Steve decides to speak to Leo on the second day.  He’s given them and their floor a wide berth and impressed upon the rest of the team to do the same.  The only one they let in is Bruce, and that’s purely for medical treatment and follow-up on the young girl's eye.  He knows that things are in a delicate state, especially since there hasn’t been any improvement in Mikey’s condition.  So Steve was willing to watch from afar as the slider let himself out for fresh air every evening.  Steve didn’t think it was a good idea himself, but Bruce assures him that Leo is healing just fine.  He kept his distance and finally decides to go for it after witnessing Raph seek Thor out.  It might not mean they’re all ready to talk, but Steve needs to try.  

He finds Leo sitting along the edge of the helicopter landing area.  He’s sitting really close to the edge.  In fact, if the boy's leg was broken practically up to his hip, Steve fully believes his legs would be kicking over the edge.  It shouldn’t bother him, the kid can teleport.  Heights probably don't even phase him as they should.  Steve pushes down the worry and settles beside him.  Leo cuts him a look but doesn’t say anything.  No yelling, that has to count for something.  Steve tries not to fidget.  He doesn’t know where to start.

“So,” he starts.  “That was some battle.”

Leo hums but remains silent. 

“You did amazing out there,” Steve tries.  “The way you utilize your portals is amazing.”  Steve’s not lying either.  The spatial awareness needed to get everyone where they need to be, and to do it without a ton of communication is something he’s rarely seen.  A mark of a true tactical mind and leader.

“Hmm.”

Steve looks at Leo and sighs.  “Leo look-”

“What exactly are you trying to do here?”

Leo’s face is hard and unforgiving.  “Leo,” Steve says.  “I just want to explain-.”

“Explain what,” Leo asks.  “How you guys went beyond our backs, and in DOING so, nearly caused the destruction of the city and-oh, I don’t know-possibly the world!”

“You’re right,” Steve says.  “We made a bad call.  I made a bad call.  We should have trusted that you had the situation under control.  Its just-portals are a thing for some of the team and with your age-,”

Leo snorts.

“I’m not trying to make excuses,” Steve adjusts.  “We messed up and you have every right to be mad with us.  I just want to say I’m-.”

“You let Thor leave with his portal thing,” Leo interrupts.

“Well,” Steve stumbles.  “Yes, but that was because we didn’t want a war with Asgard.”

“But a war with us is ok?”

Steve doesn’t say anything to that.  Can’t say anything that would be a satisfying answer for Leo.  Because the answer is, yes.  They were prepared for a fight.  No one wanted to fight them, but they were ready for it when the decoy would inevitably be discovered.  The reward of having the key outweighed the risk of the inevitable fight.  It was different with Thor and Loki.  No one wanted to let Loki or the Tesseract go, but what could you do against literal alien royalty?  It took a lot out of them to detain just Loki, and he’s not even an Asgardian.  Who knows what would happen if they didn’t return either of them and Odin decided to retaliate.  They couldn’t risk it, but they could roll the dice with the boys.  “I’m sorry Leo.”  

“You don’t get to come out here and-and apologize like that’s going to fix everything.”  Leo glares at the city below.  “My brother died Steve,” Leo’s voice breaks.  “His heart stopped and he died.  Because of you guys.  And the only reason he’s still alive is because of Thor's magic hammer.  Not you.”

Leo turns his back to Steve.  “So as far as I’m concerned?  Whatever this was or could have been?  It’s done.  There are no second chances on this one.  Not when it comes to my family.”  Leo wipes his face.  “Can you go, please?  I can’t really storm out right now.”

Steve stares at Leo’s shell with a growing sense of sadness.  Leo’s voice had been hard and resolute.  There really is no coming back from this.  No talks, reasons, or apologies could fix what failed between them.  Steve looks over the city one last time before standing up.  “I am sorry Leo,” he says, and he means it.  Leo might not believe it or take it, but he is incredibly sorry for how this played out.

The door opens behind them and April runs onto the platform.  “Leo, it’s Mikey!  He’s up!"

Chapter Text

Leo

Leo doesn’t hear April the first time.  Too busy waiting for Steve to leave him to brood in peace.  He saw this little ambush coming though.  He’s hobbled to this ledge every day to the growing exasperation of his family.  They don’t get why he sits so close to the edge, but heights have never bothered him, even before the portals. It was the first fear he conquered, and it helps to be reminded of that first death-defying jump.  He remembers parts of it clearly whenever he needs to.  The thin air that stole his breath, the rough concrete beneath his feet, and the forward dive he took with a shout.  He remembers the fall like a bird destroying its cage.  Remembers twistings, whooping and crying.  Remembers a flash of metal, a silver rope, and the hard scrape of scales pealing away on an uncoordinated landing.  

He remembered pulling himself off the roof of a smaller building, cowering in the shadow of the skyscraper.  He’d nearly blown his cover that night.  Shouting and howling to the sky in triumph in all his thirteen-year-old glory at the beast he just conquered.  He'd walked home on shaky legs and a chest full of trembling lungs and a thundering heart, but he’d done it. Jumped and left his fear for the birds that dare to roost on such elevated ledges.  Even now, he chases heights when he needs to reclaim some of that bravery.  To capture that same fearlessness in the face of this terrible situation.

“-o!  Did you hear me?  Mikey’s awake!!”

Leo jumps to his feet and falls to the ground with a hiss.  Right.  His leg.  He curls around the cast for a quick moment before rolling to his knees.  Strong hands reach under his arm, lifting him up and he jerks away.  He shoots Steve a glare, “Could you not?  April and I got this.”

He sends the girl a desperate look and she’s at his side in the next breath.  “Yeah,” she says.  April slips under his arm and helps takes the weight off his throbbing leg.  “I’ve got this.”  Her voice changes to a whisper, “why are you walking around without your crutches?”

“I don’t need them,” he hisses.  “Just take me to the hospital room.” 

They hobble towards the door with Captain Sorry at their heels.  Leo tries not to focus on the man.  He just wants to check on his brother.  April is leading him down the hallway and the next moment he’s pushing the door open.  The room is full, but Leo only has eyes on the small figure on the bed.

“What’s wrong?” he frowns.  “I thought you said he was awake!”

“He is Leon,” Donnie says.  The softshell is moving around Mikey and the machines like he went to medical school.  Leo wouldn’t doubt it.  Donnie’s been hard to pin down these last few days.  Spending all his time either with Bruce, Draxum, or on the computer.  The turtle’s obsessed.  

A groan rises from the bed and Leo stumbles next to it.  He looks into the groggy face of his little brother and musters a small smile.  “Hey, buddy.  How’re feeling?”

Mikey turns to him with unfocused eyes.  “Ugh…’eo?”

“Yeah, bud?”

“D-did we win?”

Leo’s throat works and his vision gets blurry.  They won but at what cost?  They still don’t know what long-term damage this portal will have on him.  If Mikey will ever razmataz like he used to.  

Raph pulls up next to him and grabs Mikey’s hand.  “Yeah.  We won, little man.”

Mikey frowns, “Little….man?”

There’s a snort, then they’re all laughing.  Leo finds himself leaning over and gently gathers Mikey in his arms.  He buries his face against Mikey’s shoulder and lets the tears fall.  He’s ok.  He’s going to be ok.  A warmth envelopes him, then another, and another until they’re one big turtle mutant human pile on the bed.  They stay like this for a moment, before a deep voice clears its throat.

“Not that this isn’t touching,” Draxum says.  “But Banner needs to finish his little check-up.”

The warmth moves and then they’re all pulling away reluctantly.  Leo lowers himself to the chair next to Mikey’s bed, and Bruce lifts the bed until Mikey’s in a reclined position.  The man moves around Mikey, stethoscope settling on his plastron.  Donnie follows closely on the doctor's heels, making his own notes and pulling out his own purple stethoscope.  Leo wrings Mikey’s sheets.  He doesn’t like this new attitude from Donnie.  The softshell scans his leg at least three times a day.  They’ll have to talk to him before it gets out of hand.

Bruce finishes his checkup with a nod and steps back and allows Donnie to finish his.  Donnie listens to Mikey’s heart a minute longer than Bruce before pulling back.  The doctor touches Donnie’s good elbow and they compare notes.  Only when Donnie’s shoulders drop does Bruce step forward with a smile.  Leo watches the exchange with a hard stare.

“Everything looks good,” Bruce says and the room sighs in relief.  “All his physical readings match what he came in with.  I would suggest-.”

There’s a loud, obnoxious cough and Bruce closes his eyes with a deep, slow inhale.  Leo looks to see Draxum pushing through the Avengers.  The yokai stops before a blinking Mikey and waves a glowing hand over the small turtle.  Purple light wraps around Mikey for a minute before Draxum nods.

“I hope you understand,” Draxum says.  The spell fizzles out with a shake of a hand.  “It’s just, your people did crawl out of the mud a few short years ago.”  Draxum turns to the rest of the room, “Michelangelo is fine, he just needs some rest.”

“Is this guy serious?” Tony laughs.    

A tail rises and swings for Draxum with a snap.  The yokai dips under the blow.  “Excuse me for caring enough to double-check!”

“Do not worry about Draxum, Bruce.” Splinter says.  “He is an acquired taste.  Like pineapples on pizza, or poison!”

Bruce just breathes.  “Anyway, like Drax-.”

“- Baron Draxum.”

“Like Draxum,” Bruce emphasizes, “said.  Mikey needs to rest for the next few days, then he can start doing some light exercising.  I have no doubt that with your accelerated healing that he’ll be up and running in half that time, but I wouldn’t suggest it.  There was a lot of strain on his heart, so it’s better to be cautious.”

Mikey sways toward Bruce.  “My heart?”

“Yeah,” Leo swallows.  “But don’t worry!  You’re all better-.”

“Your heart stopped from the mystic energy leaking into your organs.”

“Draxum!” 

“-you serious!”

“He needs to know,” Draxum says.  The yokai steps forward and grabs Mikey by the chin.  Draxum crouches until he’s staring directly into Mikey's wobbly gaze.  “Your heart stopped because you couldn’t keep the energy contained in your veins.  You would have died if you held that door open any longer.  You will die if you open it again without practice.”  Draxum's fingers flex against Mikey's jaw.  “This can’t be your little team's ace in the hole without proper practice.”

Mikey’s shoulders shake and Leo has an unforgiving grip on Draxums wrist a second later.  He glares at the man.  “Back off, Drax.  I get that you’re scared but this isn’t helping.”

“Scared?” Draxum scoffs.

Leo just tightens his grip and the yokai’s hold on Mikey drops. Leo places a hand on Mikey’s trembling shoulder but doesn’t say anything.  He hates to admit it, but Draxum’s right.  This can’t happen again.

Splinter climbs into the opposite chair and pulls himself fully onto the bed.  He walks the length of the mattress with open arms and tears in his eyes.  He pulls Mikey into a tight hug.  “I’m so glad you’re awake, my son.”

Mikey falls into the hug and in the next minute, he’s snoring softly against dads shoulder.  Donnie moves forward.  “I talked it over with Bruce and he’s likely to fall in and out of sleep for the next 24 hours.”

“Ok,” Leo nods.  “So we should prepare to leave tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow night at the latest,” Donnie says.  “We’ll see how Mikey’s feeling and go from there.”

“You guys are moving fast,” Natasha comments.

Leo narrows his eyes at the woman.  She hasn’t said much to them in the last few days.  Leo’s not sure if he’s ever really spoken to her before this now that he’s thinking about it.  She sticks so close to the shadows and moves almost soundlessly for a human that it puts his teeth on edge.  He has no doubt that she’d take the key a second time if the Kraang hadn’t destroyed it themselves.  “Well, you know teenagers,” he bites, “we can’t wait to be home.”

The woman just hums and pivots for the door.  “Let’s give them some privacy.”

Leo leans back a bit at the grace.  He’s not the only one.  The rest of the room seems to freeze.

“That’s a good idea,” Clint says.  “I was just hoping to speak with Raph for a moment?”

Leo can practically feel Raph shut down and that’s all he needs.  “No can do amigo,” he says.  “Maybe next time?  Or never?  We haven’t voted on it yet.”

That seems to take the wind out of their sails.  Even Tony doesn’t open his mouth to say something witty or annoying.  Bruce clears his throat and starts to herd the team out of the room.  The man is whispering with Tony, but Leo just turns away from them.  He’ll always be thankful that Bruce saved Mikey’s life, but that doesn’t excuse that he was a part of what put Mikey here in the first.  Bruce can plead his case all he wants.  Leo’s done with all of them.

There’s a shuffle and Casey settles next to him with a sigh.  The boy rubs his face, but that just pulls the rest of the color away from the already darkening circles around his eyes.  Casey hasn’t slept much since Mikey went down, and Leo’s ashamed to say that he hasn’t checked on him.  Leo adjusts his bad leg to stretch beneath Mikey’s bed and fiddles with his fingers.  He doesn’t know what to say.  He’s never lost his brothers.  Not really.  Even during the first horrible invasion he always believed they would get Raph back, but Casey?  He’s lost all of them, grieved all of them.  It must be hard to feel like you’ll never get away from that awful future.  At least the kid was able to kill one in this timeline.  Gosh, he wishes he could have seen it.

A memory surfaces and Leo feels a smile tug on his lips.  “So,” he starts, “Goongala, huh?”

Casey whips around, his pale skin flushes with color and Leo grins.  The boy sinks deep into the chair and covers his face, but he can’t hide the spectacular blush crawling down his neck.

“Hey,” Leo laughs.  “No need to be embarrassed, it was almost cool.  Not as cool as that wicked throw, but close enough.  But what is a 'Goongala' exactly?”

The room erupts in giggles and if Casey sinks any further he’ll be sitting on the floor.  “It’s nothing,” Casey mumbles.  “It’s just, you guys have Hot Soup and April has April O'Neil.  I needed my own thing.”

“And you chose Goongala?” Donnie deadpans.

“Yeah,” Casey answers.  “I was just throwing out ideas with Master Miche-, Mikey, and he thought this one was perfect,” he sits back up.  “He actually told me I needed to wait for the perfect moment to use it.  He said I’d just know when.”

Of course, Mr. Razzmataz said that.  

“Well you still should have asked our opinion,” Donnie responds.  “We could have helped you pick something better.”

“Says Mister Sohcahtoa,” April smirks.

“Hey!” Donne frowns.  “It’s a lot better than Goongala.”

“Goongala’s fine,” Mikey mumbles.  “It fits Casey perfectly.”

The room compresses around Mikey in an instant.  The box turtle seems more aware than earlier, which is a good sign in Leo’s book.  Donnie runs some scans and checks the turtle’s heartbeat again before his shoulders drop.  Leo feels his own shoulders loosen as the tension seems to drain from Donnie's form.  

Mikey unfolds into a deep stretch and yawns before looking around the room.  “Are we back at the tower?”

“Yeah,” Raph says.  “We wanted to wait for you to wake up before going home.”

Mike frowns.  “Was it that bad?”

Leo clicks his jaw shut.  They don’t need to rehash this.  Not now.  “It was buddy,” he finds himself saying.  “But you’re getting better.  That’s all that matters.” 

Mikey tries to smile.  He looks around the room and the color drains from his face.  “Donnie, you’re arm!  And April!”  Mikey tries to get up, but Raph stops him with a firm hand.  “What happened?”

“Mikey,” Donnie says.  “I need you to calm down.  The portal put a lot of stress on your internal organs.”

“But you guys are hurt!”

The machines pick up in pace and so does Leo’s heart.  “We’re ok Mikey, but you need to relax.”

“But!”

“Mikey,” Raph says.  “Please, just breathe.”

Mikey looks at all of them before closing his eyes and inhaling deep and slow.  Mikey holds it at the top of his breath before releasing it just as slowly.  He does this a few times and the machines ease to a reasonable pace.  Mikey leans back into the bed and in the next breath, he’s snoring softly against the pillows.

Leo leans back.  “We’ll fill him in slowly.  We don’t need him falling into a panic attack.”

“Agreed,” Raph says.  “I’m just glad he’s awake.”

“I am too,” Donnie says.  “Two days is a long time to be out.”

The room settles at that and Leo lets his head hit the wall.  It over.  It’s finally over.  He lets his eyes fall shut as a sudden wave of exhaustion hits him.  The only thing left to do is to go home and unwind in the safety of the sewers.  Maybe he’ll bust out the wheelchair they use for racing and force Raph to push him around.  Really milk this bum leg thing until they’ve all forgotten the circumstances behind it.  Then they’ll train, go on patrols, and kick bad-guy butt like always.  It’ll be like none of this ever happened.  Leo lets his fall to left, aiming for Casey’s shoulder but he’s met with air.  He jerks awake and nearly falls out of Raph's arms.

“What?  What’s going on?”

“Nothing Leo,” Raph says.  The snapper sets him down on an adjacent bed, “You passed out dude, and that chair did not look comfortable.”

“Says you,” Leo yawns.  “I could’ve slept in that thing all day.”

“Sure.  Get some sleep.  I think we all need it.”

Leo nods and rolls to face the rest of the room.  He takes in his family and pulls up the covers.  They’ll start preparing to leave tomorrow.  There’s nothing Bruce can do that Donnie can’t figure out at this point.  He lets his eyes drift close one more time with the thought of home on the horizon.

Raph

Breakfast the next morning is a much happier affair.  Mikey even manages to stay up for most of the morning.  He’s a menace though.  Trying to pry out all the details and injuries from that day.  The families had a time hiding Leo’s leg from the box turtle.  Mikey knows something's up, you can tell by his face, but they don’t want to overwhelm him so soon after he woke up.  Raph puts the last of his dishes in the sink and takes in the seemingly empty kitchen.  There’s no one around that he can see or hear, so it’s time to make a break for it.

Raph decides to take the stairs back to Mikey’s floor.  It gives him a chance to shake off the last whispers of sleep and be on the lookout for possible ambushes.  Raph doesn’t know what the man really wants to talk about, but he’s relentless.  If Raph didn’t know any better he would think Clink was a ninja and not just a really good spy.  He definitely pops up around every corner like a ninja.  It’s times like this that Raph wishes he could teleport.  

Raph peaks around the door and narrows his eyes at the empty hallway.  He takes in the opposite door, but the lock looks to be in the same position from what he can see.  There’s no hint of the man, which is odd.  He’s been on Raphs heels from sunrise to sunset.  There’s a click, barely noticeable, but Raph zeros in on it.  He follows the sound up and drops his head with a groan.  The ceiling, really?  

“I’m going back to the room,” Raph calls to the empty hallway, “and I DON’T want to be bothered.”

There’s no response and Raph takes that as an affirmative.  He walks quickly to the room and closes the door behind him with a sigh.  He turns to find the room almost empty, which isn’t really a surprise.  Donnie left to pack the last of his stuff in the lab and Leo's made it his mission to clear out their temporary rooms.  There’s not a ton of stuff in them, but Leo doesn’t want to leave any reason for them to come back.

“Morning!”

“Morning,” Raph smiles.  “What are you doing?”

Mikey’s up and fiddling on his phone and it’s like nothing ever happened.  “I’m helping Casey with his homework.”

Raph raises an eye ridge.  “ You’re helping Casey with his what now?”

Casey grins at the book in his lap and Mikey squawks in indignation.  “What’s that supposed to mean!”

“We didn’t exactly go to school, Mikey.”

“We went to Donnie’s School for Gifted Mutants.”

“I remember,” Raph frowns.  “And it was terrible.  You and Leo set the ENTIRE lair on fire!”

“Math is hard,” Mikey protests.  “Anyway.  I’m not teaching Casey anything.  I’m researching.”

There’s a snort from Casey and Raph loosens up.  It doesn’t look like an issue yet, besides it's nice to see Casey having fun.  Who is he to ruin it?

Mikey leans forward, eyes dancing around Raph’s form.  “Where’s my breakfast?”

Raph slaps a palm against his forehead.  “I knew I forgot something!  Sorry, Mikey, I bolted when the coast was clear.  I’ll ask Donnie to grab you something on the way back.”

“Bolted?”

“Yeah,” Raph says.  “Clint’s been trying to talk to me since we got back to the tower.  He’s everywhere I turn, the man’s gotta screw lose! 

“Is that why Clint is hiding in the vents?”

Raph rolls his eyes.  “Yeah.  It’s like a game of never-ending ninja tag.”

Mikey doesn’t smile.  “You have to talk to him Raph.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I’m not saying you have to forgive him,” Mikey amends.  “Clearly you opened up to him in a way you haven’t been able to with us-Raph.” Mikey holds up a hand and the denial stalls in his throat.  “Raph, it’s ok.  We’d never be upset that you talked to someone else.  I’m not mad.  I just think you owe it to yourself to have this conversation.  No matter which way it goes.”  Mikey pats his arm, “don’t bottle it up Raph.”

He stares at the small hand on his arm.  Jagged, lightning scars run up the length of Mikey’s arm to claim the skin just under the deltoid muscle.  The scars aren’t new either, just extensions of what was already there.  It’s like the magic followed the paths from before and just... demanded more of his brother.  It shouldn’t have happened.  If the Avengers hadn’t taken the key.  If Raph hadn't decided-.

His jaw works and a familiar hurt crawls under his skin at the thought of the team.  Of the archer.  Maybe Mikey’s right.  He shouldn’t bring this feeling home.  “You’re right.”

“Of course I am!” Mikey grins.  “Now, let me talk to him first.”

Raph raises an eye ridge.

“Relax,” Mikey sings.  “I’ll be Dr. Delicate Touch.”

Raph opens his mouth but stops.  Dr. Delicate Touch might not be such a bad idea.  That side of Mikey isn’t known for being ‘nice’ or delicate.  Maybe this would be good for Mikey too.  He’s trying to hide it, but Raph can see that Mikey is just as upset as they are.

Raph leaves the room and looks up with a frown.  “Alright!  I’ll talk to you!”

It’s quiet before a panel lifts to the left of the door.  Clint drops from the ceiling and pushes smoothly to his feet.  Raph feels a rumble in his chest but he pushes it down.  He throws a thumb over his shoulder.  “Mikey wants to talk to you first.”

“OK,” Clint says.  “Are you coming?”

“Nope,” Rapha answers.  He heads for the elevators.  “I’ll be in the training room when you’re done.”

There’s a soft click behind him and he steps onto the elevator.  He’s not sure what he wants to come from this conversation.  Part of him still doesn’t want to have it, but there’s no turning back now.  Raph peaks into the training room and sighs in relief at the emptiness. He makes his way to the center of the room.  He sinks slowly to the ground and folds himself into a meditative state.  He breathes and tries to pinpoint the source of his anger.  It’s not like he even knew Clint for long anyway.  Not enough to justify this simmering pit of rage in his center.  He releases a breath but calm and clarity remain elusive, in fact, it’s doing the opposite.  He feels a shock of electricity run up his arm and he falls back in surprise. 

Why is he so angry?

The door opens behind him and Raph settles back into his original position.  Guess he’s about to find out.

Clint

Clint waits for the elevator to close on Raph before releasing a breath.  At least the kid spoke to him, that’s a start.  The boy’s been hard to pin down over the last few days, even for Clint.  He’s surprisingly stealthy for his size and Clint hasn’t had to utilize his knowledge of the towers vent system till now.  He hesitates to call it fun, but it’s been an interesting challenge tracking this kid down.  Clint pushes the door open and takes in the sleeping forms of their father and the glaring attention of the still nameless boy.  He doesn’t doubt that they’ll get this kid's identity sooner or later, but it’s better not to push it when relations are so frail.

Mikey sits up in the middle of the room.  Clint feels some of the tension leave him at the sight.  It’s never easy to see a child hurt, so he breathes better seeing the kid moving.  He stops beside the bed and takes in this kid who practically saved the world.  They’re so much stronger than he originally thought.

Clint coughs and takes the chair closest to the bed.  “Mikey.”

“Clint!” Mikey beams.  “You didn’t have to hide in the ceiling if you wanted to talk to Raph.  Although, I do appreciate the 80's callback.”

Clint smiles.  “Thanks, but your brother’s been a little hard to get alone.”

“Yeah,” Mikey laughs.  “Betrayal will do that to you.”

Clint feels his smile fall and the temperature drops.  There’s a flash of green and Clint redirects the grab on reflex.  He leans back but the other hand slips over his arm and snakes around his neck.  An incredible pressure wraps around the back of his nape and pulls.  He falls forward with a grunt and catches himself against the firmness of the mattress.  He hisses as the fingers squeeze and Clint resists the urge to go for his blade.  He looks into the hard face of the smallest turtle. 

“You have one chance,” Mikey says.  “One chance at this conversation.  One.”  Gold dances across the turtle's pupils.  “Or I’ll drag you from the ceilings myself.”

They stare at each other for what seems like hours before Clint nods.  He knows a threat of violence when he hears one.  The turtle’s grip goes crushing against his neck and white hot pain dances down his shoulders before the boy releases him.

“Great!” Mikey grins.  His hand slips to pat Clint on the shoulder.  “Don’t be so nervous, you’re going to do fine, I know it!”

Clint stands and backs away from the boy.  He rubs his neck and can’t help but chuckle at the sensitivity.  He looks back at Mikey and the nameless teenager and something shifts.  Like a curtain raising or wrapping paper falling away.  He can’t believe he ever saw them as anything other than warriors.  

He walks out of the room towards the elevators, with a roll of the neck and a wince.  That’s definitely going to leave a bruise, a deep one, but it puts things in perspective.  He pushes the button and leans against the wall as the elevator starts to move.  The funny thing is, he’s not sure what he’s going to say.  He just knows he has to say something.  It’s not often you bond over aiding in world domination through inexplicable mind control.  

The door opens and he straightens out.  No time like the present.  Clint pushes open the training room doors and doesn’t stop until he’s in front of Raph.  He takes in the meditative position and the hard lines on the kid's face and drops to the floor.  He doesn’t beat around the bush, “Raph, I am so sorry.”  

The turtle snorts.  “You’re sorry because it backfired.” 

“Fair,” Clint gives.  “I’m sorry how everything played out.”

“I just don’t get it,” Raph says.  “I mean why talk to us, talk to me if you were going to backstab us on the same day?”

Clint leans back.  Time for the hard part.  “I can’t speak for the others, but I didn’t see it as backstabbing.”

“What would you call it?”

“I thought we were prote-.”

A crash shakes the room.  Clint sits up to find Raph's wrist deep in the titanium flooring.  Red dances up his arms.  “Don’t say you were trying to protect us!  We’re not your kids!  I’m so sick of that excuse!”  Raph takes a deep breath.  “You made it a point to speak to me that day, why?”

Clint blinks at the shift.  “There was no reason behind that, Raph.  I have good eyes and I noticed you favoring your left side.  That’s it.”

Raph pulls his fist from the metal.  The snapper shakes out his fist but there’s no blood or injury.  The boy studies his hand before lifting his gaze to stare at Clint.  “I haven’t talked about the invasion to anyone.”

Clint swallows.  “Me neither.”

“Don’t,” Raph sighs.  “Just don’t.”  The boy inhales, “I’m so angry.  About you, about the switch, but I think I’m just angry at myself.”

“What?”

“Leo was right,” Raph continues.  “We shouldn’t have come here, but I pushed for it.  I was the one that thought this could be a good idea.  I was the one who thought talking to you was a good idea.”  Raph looks at his hands.  “Dad was right to pick Leo.”

“Ok, stop,” Clint says.  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you weren’t wrong to come here.”

“Not wrong,” Raph scoffs.  “That one decision lead to this whole stupid mess!  All three of my brothers are hurt!  April could’ve lost an eye.  We should have never come to this stupid tower!”

Clint takes in this child before him and tries not to let that image overtake him.  Kid gloves aren’t going to work in this situation.  “Raph.  Don’t get upset, but I’m just going to say it.  You need to let it go.”

Raph rears back like he’s been hit.  “What did you just say?”

“I said let it go.  You didn’t know what we had planned, and I can promise you Leo only has paranoia on his side.  Look, your team made a decision based on the information you had available and that’s it.  You can’t take every setback and unfavorable event as some …flaw in your decision-making.  You need to be able to look back on missions, assess what went wrong or right and move on.”  Clint leans back again, “I can tell you that all this second-guessing will lead to poor decision-making when it happens again.”

“It’s not going to-.”

“It will,” Clint interrupts.  “And I’m not talking about the Kraang.  There will be a hitch in the plan, snakes in the grass, or just plain outright mission failure.  It’s inevitable in this business, especially at this level.  You need to learn not to internalize it.”

The boy continues to glare and Clint sighs.  “I don’t know your leader situation, but you guys seem to operate in a solid team structure.  I don’t see any reason for that to change.”

“This whole situation says otherwise,” Raph mutters.

“I don’t think so,” Clint says, “this was just two teams with the same goal, just different approaches.  Don’t use this incident as an excuse.”

Red runs up his entire form.  “An excuse!”

“Be mad at me,” he pushes, “at the team, and the Kraang, but don’t use this to be mad at yourself.”

Raph seems to puff at this, his chest expanding before deflating with a powerful sigh.  “This is a horrible apology.”

“I’m not really an apology guy so I’m a little rusty,” Clint grins.  “I am sorry how everything went down Raph.”

“But not for the plan.”  It’s not a question.

“No,” he answers honestly.  “Not for the plan.”

The thing is, he and Nat are the only ones who really know about making difficult choices.  The type of choice that turns allies into enemies or gravestones to protect the greater good.  That didn’t change just because they’re looked at as superheroes now instead of spies.  The truth is, the idol would be buried in an unnamed plot of SHIELD property if the alien hadn’t escaped.  So he’s not sorry for the initial plan, he’s just sorry it failed so spectacularly.  Well, like he told Raph, he can only go forward from him.  He knows how to deal with the turtles now, and there’s the little matter of Draxum’s origins and his magic that needs investigating.  

He needs to check in with Fury, but the man has been buried in clean-up and explanations.  His jaw twitches at the thought of their last communication.  He and Nat didn’t even need to discuss it when the encrypted message came through.  The truth behind the tunnel incident will forever remain with them.  

Cint falls backward, pulls his legs up and over his shoulders, and pops back to his feet.  There’s nothing more to be said, and he’s afraid his mouth will lead them to blows.  “I think this is a good place to end, don’t you think?”

Raph pushes to his feet, “I might never forgive you guys.”

“I know.” 

Raph studies his face before nodding.  “Mikey was right.  This wasn’t exactly good, but it helped.  I think.” 

“Speaking of your brother,” Clint rolls his shoulders with a wince.  “He’s got one hell of a grip.”

Raph laughs for the first time.  “Yeah.  That’s Dr. Delicate Touch.”

“Nothing really delicate about it.”

“I think that’s the joke.”

Clint follows Raph out of the training room and turns right while the boy continues left.  They don’t speak.  There’s no need to ask where the other is going or try to force politeness.  Clint grabs the handle leading to the staircase and pauses.  This might be the last time he talks to Raph.  Now that Mikey is up and moving they’re bound to leave within the next 24 hours.  He thinks back on the conversation and turns the handle.  There’s nothing more he can say or do.  He pushes open the door and doesn’t look back. 

Hopefully the next time they run into each other, it’ll be on better terms.

Natasha

Natasha doesn’t plan on apologizing.  Everything she’s seen in the last 72 hours strengthens her initial reasoning for switching the key.  Despite the unexpected abilities the mutants possess, it did not change the fact that their base was still vulnerable to outside forces.  While she can admit that those powers could protect the magical vault better than she initially thought, Tony would still be right.  All it takes is one hostage.  One turtle or parental figure grabbed, and she has no doubt they would open the scroll.  It’s the nature of families, and she’s seen enough to know that they’re a solid one.  So no, Natasha will not apologize.  She doesn’t feel guilty like Steve and Stark, nor is she compelled to clear the air like Clint.  The only thing she regrets is the severe deterioration in relations with another team.  There was a certain level of damage control she expected from the switch, something that they could come back from once everything was said and done.  But the unforeseen events that followed, and the subsequent hospitalization of their youngest member killed any thought of rebuilding she had.

She cuts into her eggs and watches as the slider stumbles down the hallway without throwing her a second glance.  The boy's unmovable she’ll give him that.  Even if the other turtles come around to some of her teammates, she’s certain he won't.  Natasha doesn’t get the rejection of the crutches though.  She chews on her breakfast and watches as the girl enters the room.  April O’Neil, 18, and current freshman at Eastlaird University.  Natasha’s read up on the girls' background and it reads like she’s been intertwined with the turtles for a long time.  What teenager gets a crane license if you aren’t operating in un-ordinary spaces?  She wonders vaguely at how she got involved with mutants residing in the sewers.

April doesn’t follow Leo, instead, the girl walks straight into the kitchen and sits across from her.  Natasha swallows her eggs.  “April.”

“Natasha,” the girl says, “I haven’t really seen you down in the infirmary.”

“No,” she answers, “you haven’t.”

April studies her as best she can with one uncovered eye.  “I’m just curious.  Everyone else has at least tried to apologize.  Clint’s practically stalking Raph to do so.  Why haven’t you?”

She puts her fork down.  “Because I’m not sorry.  Not for the switch at least.”

April hums.  “But everything after the switch wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t take the key.”

“It wouldn’t have,” Natasha allows.  “But the Kraang was still alive and here on earth.  There’s nothing to say it wouldn’t escape sometime in the future.”

“We would know where the key was though if it did escape.”

“And it still would know where to find you.  It did once already.”

April's fingers dance across the table.  “You don’t know how it found us before.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Natasha says.  “The ‘how’ doesn’t change that it has access to your location.  Unless the boys have relocated?”

The girl's silence is answer enough.  Natasha picks up her fork.  They can sit here and talk about what-ifs and should haves, but that doesn’t change the fact that it already happened.  

“How come you never talked to them?”

“What?”

“The guys,” April says.  “You never spoke to them directly, even when we were sparing.  Why?”

“I didn’t see the need to.”

“So you never saw them as possible allies?”  

Natasha looks up.  “That’s not what I said.”

“But that’s what you’re implying,” the girl pushes.  “You didn’t feel the need to speak or build up some type of rapport because you didn’t see them as equals.”  her fingers stop, “or you rely on your team to form the personal connections.”

Natasha takes another bite.  This girl is good.

“So which is it?” April demands.

“A bit of both,” she answers.  Natasha’s not drawing people to their side because of her personality.  She’s been in this game too long to form personal attachments just because people appear good.  She’s lost too much to gamble her trust on just anyone.  Look where it got the team.  Wallowing in guilt over a sound decision made with the information they had.  

April gets up, “Nat, you have serious trust issues.  Aren’t you a part of a team?”

She smiles and takes another bite.  “I’m working on it.” 

“You do that,” April smiles.  “But you’ve pretty much burned all the bridges here.  So, good luck with the next super-powered team you run into.”

“You too.” 

Natasha watches April walk down the hallway Leo just disappeared into.  April’s a good kid.  It would be best for her to get out before all of this took over her life.  Natasha knows she won’t though.  She can tell the bond April has with the mutants go deeper than blood.  Natasha had that once.

She swallows the last of her eggs and takes a bite of the bacon.  

It’s cold.

Bishop

The call disconnects and he turns around with a slight smirk.  That went better than expected.  Bishop was prepared for just the specimen to escape, but to open a gateway for another Kraang was unanticipated.  For a moment, Bishop thought they would need to deploy their prototype suit.  He was hesitant to do so.  They weren’t even out of the testing phase when it came to this latest venture in planetary defense.  His team has worked on this bastardization of human and Kraang technology for months, so it would have been a waste to deploy it before it was ready.  They still haven’t managed to separate the suit from a test subject without killing the host.  It’s unfortunate, but their lives are serving to better strengthen Earth's defenses.

Bishop pulls out his phone and sends a quick email to the intake team to be ready for an influx of forfeited material.  Fury and SHIELD will be lucky to see another alien artifact in the next decade.  Never mind their dwindling support amongst world leaders.  He thinks idly if he could absorb the bulk of SHIED into the E.P.F.  He would have to dismiss a lot of the personnel. They’re too idealistic and he wouldn’t be surprised if some tried to sabotage him from within, but the tech SHIELD has is something he wouldn’t mind having in his own possession.  

He checks the updates on the citywide cleanup and walks into the loading bay.  It all worked out for the best with a menial loss of life.  It’s disheartening that they couldn’t procure a live sample of the bigger alien.  Bishop watches as the truck is unloaded.  The metal forearm lays unmoving on the cart, its metal claws spread slightly.  At least they were able to salvage something from the monstrosity.  A smaller box is carried off the truck and Bishop can make out the broken pieces of the idol.  They won’t know if they’ve collected all the pieces until they’ve put it together, but Bishop is not concerned.  He’s more focused on finding out if there's any more of that magic residing in the pieces.     

Another cart floats past him into the facility and Dr. Chapman stops just by his side.  “We were able to recover both pieces of alien sir.”

“Good.”  Maybe now they can get a better understanding of its biology.  “Do we know what it was cut it?”

“No sir,” Dr. Chapman says.  “I can’t be certain until I actually study the hockey stick.” 

Bishop frowns.  So much information was gathered during this little incident and the masked boy is still a mystery.  No matter, he won’t stay one for long.

“But we’ve finished looking through all the footage sir.  Look at this.”

Bishop takes the tablet and watches the video.  He knows about the mutant's mystic abilities, but it’s something else to watch them work in tandem.  He needs to check the cohesion of his mystical units.  The video comes to an end and Bishop stops.  He replays the footage.

“Interesting.” 

He pauses the video on the small orange-clad turtle and the portal flickering before its outstretched hands.  “Very interesting.”

Tony

Tony’s happy that the kid is up, but he wishes the turtles would stay just a little longer.  Maybe wait another day or two before packing up, but that’s not the case.  It feels like Mikey just opened his eyes before the boys started collecting their stuff.  He hadn’t even gotten the chance to speak to Donnie.  The kid's either sleeping or stuck to Bruce’s hip and he tries not to let it get to him.  He just doesn’t want to lose such a great engineer to something as boring as medicine.  He knows where the kid is though, and he walks into the lab to find it already half empty.  Well, his side isn’t.  All his projects are covering at least three work tables and starting to encroach on Bruce’s desk, but there’s a definite lack of purple in the overall space.  The bold choice of color was something else he appreciated from the softshell.  He doesn’t hide behind drabs of grey and black but stands tall and bold in every changing hue of purple.  The said turtle stands off to the side, while his machinery packs itself.  

“Hey,” Tony starts.

“Stark.”

It’s not a good start but at least it’s something.  They haven’t been in the same room since the shove, which, Tony will admit wasn’t his finest moment.  “Look,” he says, “I want to apologize about the whole paper cut thing-.”

“Stop while you’re ahead Stark.  I’m not in the mood to fight with you.”

Tony puts his hands up and moves for his desk.  He pulls up a project, and fiddles with the calculations but can’t focus.  It doesn’t feel right to end things like this.  The kid's an artist.  The way he mixes his genius with creativity is unlike anything he’s ever seen.  The things this kid has come up with.  Tony doesn’t want him to leave.  He at least wants to keep the doors of communication open somehow.  He has a hard time letting go of talent, Pepper will tell you that, but he’s a good kid too.  Witty, with a confidence to rival even his own.  Tony watches as the last of the tech loads itself and he opens his mouth.  He can’t let it end like this.  His mind flashes to the crack of bones and the terrifying sound of a silent heart. 

He turns back to his project.

There’s nothing he can say when the outcome of his actions is horrific.  He’s not that much of an asshole. 

There’s a grunt and Donnie picks up a small box.  The larger one at his feet gets up and starts walking for the door.  Tony watches him leave out of the corner of his eye, but the softshell stops.  “Look, I’m pissed at you.  Probably more so than anyone in my life, but I’m also pragmatic.”

Tony looks up.

“There’s a high probability that we’ll run into each other or be forced to work together in the future.”  

Tony nods.  He’s done the math and he has eyes.  The world-saving circle is pretty small.  They’re bound to be put in the position to work together again.  Maybe not all of them, but probability doesn't lie.  

“I’m not saying we’ll be close,” Donnie continues.  “But I can be cordial, I might even crack a smile your way in the future.”  The boy turns to him with a sharp glare.  “Just know this.  One of your business ventures will be destroyed, decimated even, and only then will you know the rage has settled.”

His mouth twitches.  “Which one?”

Donnie raises an eyebrow and Tony chuckles.  Right.  It wouldn’t be a punishment if he could plan for it.  Donnie turns for the door with the last of his belongings.  “You’re going to lose a lot.  So I would prepare for that if I were you.”

“What’s a lot?!” Tony calls after the turtle.  “Millions?  Billions!”

Donnie doesn’t even look back.  “We’re not bantering Stark!”

They aren’t, but he has hope that they will be in the future.  He can wait though, and who knows, the kid might be leagues ahead of him by the time they do run into each other.  It’ll be better next time.  They both know what to expect now.  Tony turns back to his project with a grin and a buzz of energy under his skin.  It’s been a long time since anyone’s been able to challenge him like this.  He wonders which industry Donnie will go for.  Tony has his hands in everything from children's toys to military defense after all.  Well, whatever he chooses, it’ll be good for the shareholders.  A little panic and fighting over a market are good for a company. 

Steve

The morning passes quicking by the time Bruce places a hand on his shoulder.  He looks up at the doctor, takes in his tight features, and knows that the turtles are preparing to leave.  Once Mikey stayed up for the majority of the morning, it was like a flip was switched.  The boys didn’t even hesitate, just started moving around the tower and collecting their belongings.  Leo moves through all the rooms like a man on a mission and Steve hadn’t dared to approach him.  

Steve stands with a sigh, “Where are they?”

“The infirmary.” 

Steve frowns.  “Don’t they need a ride to the docks?”

Bruce shakes his head.  “Steve.  They’re going to portal home.  It will take them literal seconds.”

“Right,” Steve says.  “You’re right.”

Steve looks at the hallway but doesn’t move.  He tries to, tries to place a foot in front of another but he can’t.

“Steve,” Bruce says.  “What’s with this indecisiveness?  I’ve never known you to be scared.”

Steve sets his shoulders.  Bruce is right.  There’s no reason to hesitate and no reason to tiptoe around them.  “You’re right.  Let’s go.”

They walk down the hall and catch the elevator to the correct floor.  The infirmary door is open and the sounds of multiple voices fill the hallway.  Steve walks into the room to find both teams standing in the center, even Natasha.  He smiles at the sight, at least the boys will get a full send-off.

“-look through my brother's books,” Thor is saying.  “he was an expert on portals and doorways.”

“This is the villain right?”

Raph hits Leo hard in the stomach and turns to Thor with a smile.  “Thank you.”

“Excellent!” Thor booms.  “I shall send a raven once I have it.”

“A real raven?” Mikey asks.

“I think we’ll take an email,” Donnie says.  “No offense.”

“None taken,” Thor says.  “I’ll have Stark send you an electronic letter!”

Donnie rolls his eyes and turns to the rest of the room.  “So, this was fun until it wasn’t, but I’m sure we’ll see you again.”

“And we’re not looking forward to it.”

“Leo,” Raph says.  “I guess this is goodbye.”

The room goes quiet.  It feels wrong to end it like this.  On this bad note and with thinly veiled tension, but there’s nothing they can do about it.  At least not now, there’s always the future.  With that thought, Steve steps forward with an outstretched hand.

Raph stares at it for a long moment and Steve flashes back to the first meeting on that hidden roof.  The snapper clasps his hand and the moment comes full circle.  He shakes it and a hope for a better future grows in his chest.  It won’t be the same, but nothing ever is after the ice.  

Leo flips the sword in his hand and pulls a sizable portal to life in the space behind them.  The purple boxes move first then Draxum is disappearing into a swirl of blue.  “Well, it’s been awful!” Leo says.  “Let’s not do this again.”

Mikey moves and wraps around Bruce in a quick hug before pulling back.  “Thank you, Bruce,” Mikey says.  The boy turns to the rest of them, “Despite what happened it was….cool to meet you guys.”  The box turtle gives them a wave and jumps into the portal.  The rest follow in quick succession until it’s just them standing in a suddenly empty room.   

“We’ll see them again.”

“I know Tony,” Steve says.  “We have a lot of time to fix it.”

“I think time will do that for us,” Thor adds.

“Thank you, Shakespeare,” Tony says.  “It’ll be alright.  Donnie promised to bankrupt me as a message that their rage has subsided.”

Steve laughs, “and you’re ok with that?”

“Yeah,” Tony grins.  “All bets are off on blue though.”

“That bridge is burned,” Natasha says.  “The others not so much.”

“I can go 50/50 on Mikey,” Clint laughs.  “The kids got a dark side.”

Bruce snorts.  “Let's not get ridiculous.” 

Bruce leaves and Clint follows with an argument at the ready.  Spinning some story about delicate doctors and bruised necks.  They follow Bruce out and Steve stops in the mouth of the room.  His eyes take in the empty beds and crooked chairs.  Maybe It doesn’t feel like an ending because it isn’t one.  Just a chapter closing and making space for a new one to begin.

He turns off the lights