Archive of Our Own

Donatello Hamato has always been somewhat... morally questionable. His brothers knew this; he knew this; anyone who knew him for more than five minutes knew this. However, this does not mean he doesn't care. He cares in his own way. So, after he and his brothers became the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, he decided to take precautions against the more dangerous people they fight—permanent precautions. To be fair to him, he didn't immediately jump to murder. It fell in his lap as an option after a series of unfortunate events gave him the opportunity. 

Donatello and his brothers separated during a fight with a new mutant, Meat Sweats. His intention was not to kill him, but he had to act in self-defense. As the fight with  Meat Sweats (what a dumb name) wore on, he let himself go from practiced ninjutsu to a more feral approach. Clawing, biting, he even hissed a few times. He pulled all the stops. Eventually, Meat Sweats slowed down, bleeding more and more. His movements became more sluggish. Then, he just dropped. He stopped breathing. It dawned on Donnie, then, that he had murdered someone. He had taken someone else's life and didn't feel bad about it. Donnie was only thinking of how he'd explain it to his brothers. 

Then the thought hit him: let them draw their own conclusions from minor details that he gives them. That could work. So, he stood there silently. Waiting. He deepened his breathing and knew that his brothers would show up soon. After all, he had set off the distress signal around the beginning of his fight with Meat Sweats. He heard the scuff of feet against concrete and horrified gasps. His secondary eyelids snapped into place as he twisted his head around, crouching low, hissing deep in his throat. 

"Oh god..." Mikey brought his hands up to his mouth. "Do you think- do you think this is like when Raph-" Yes, that's good. Let them think he's feral. Guide their perceptions. 

"Maybe." Leo stepped forward, and Donnie hissed slightly louder, baring his teeth threateningly. Thank great Da Vinci that he's so good at acting. "He doesn't recognize us. I know Donnie's always been on the lower end of the moral standing, but he'd never just..." He would if he needed to. 

"Y-Yeah! Donnie is a Mad Dog! Mad Dogz don't kill people!" Raph tried to sound confident, but his voice wavered. His eyes had yet to leave Meat Sweats' body. With so little sensory input, Donnie was aware of the thick layers of blood coating his arms, plastron, and feet, dripping slowly. 

"He's never done anything like this before, though," Leo continued, "What do you think would have caused it?" 

Raph looked sick. "He's never been in this much danger alone before." 

Mikey grabbed Leo's arm, looking at the rope torn to shreds next to the spitroast, the fire still crackling. "How much danger did he have to be in for him to go feral like this? How much danger did we leave him in?" No one answered, far too afraid of what the truth would be. 

"How do we snap him out of it?" Raph asked instead.

"Well, he went feral because he was in danger, right? We just gotta make him feel safe." Leo pulled his phone out. "Let's start with his calming playlist." 

"You have Donnie's calming playlist?" Raph's face scrunched up in confusion. Donnie remembered when Leo got it. Donnie had been struggling to fall asleep and would continue to go until he collapsed. So, Leo took it upon himself to help. He learned how to make tea, how to make cookies, and downloaded Donnie's calming playlist in case he needed to put Donnie to sleep quickly. 

"Yeah, got it a while ago." Leo didn't offer any explanation. 

Soon, one of Donnie's favorite songs started playing. He needed to take this slowly. He eased his lips closed to a small part, mouth still in a snarling shape. 

"Wait. Before we get him all the way back, we need to make sure that he doesn't look at all of the... that." Raph cut in. "Whenever I get all weird, I get really guilty about nearly hurting you. I can only imagine how he'd feel if he actually saw what he did. We know he didn't have control over himself, but... I just want to make it as easy as possible for him." 

"I'll tell him not to look down or behind him when he comes back to us. He listens to me." Mikey and Raph nodded. "Hold on; I'll be right back." Leo wasn't confident with his portals, but when things mattered, he seemed to be able to get where he needed to be. He pulled out one of his odachi's (and Donnie hissed again, pulling his lips back into a full snarl once more). Leo sliced a portal into the air and stepped through, leaving his phone behind. Donnie scrunched his eyebrows in "confusion." 

A few minutes of painful silence later, Leo returned with a few blankets and pillows, some tea in a thermos, and one of Donnie's backup projectors (battery-powered). He set the pillows and blankets up in the way that he knows Donnie likes and started up the projector with a copy of Donnie's favorite Jupiter Jim movie. Raph, Mikey, and Leo sat down to watch the film with their backs to Donnie.

"I hope this works," Mikey said.

"We all do," Leo replied shortly.

Not sure if/when they'd turn around to check on him, Donnie made the educated decision to continue the act. He watched their backs for a little bit, then calming down to just tense, he approached the tea. He sniffed the air, then crouched in front of it. He licked it first, laughing internally at how ridiculous this all was. He slowly worked up to grabbing it and taking a sip. That, he thought, is good tea. He made a pleased churr. 

"It's working." Mikey sighed in relief.

Leo slumped a little. "Thank fuck. I was not at all sure it would work." 

"Language." Raph didn't hold his usual heat, though. None of them did.

Donnie approached slowly from behind them. Looking over their shoulder, he saw one of Donnie's tiny cameras placed on the projector, and his brothers weren't watching the movie; they were watching the feed. Good thing he continued the act. 

He tilted his head in curiosity at the movie and edged around them, staring at the film. (Easily the best Jupiter Jim movie, no matter what his heathen brothers say). After a few moments, he blinked, releasing his secondary eyelids. Leo grabbed his face and pulled him so he wouldn't see any of the blood and would not see the body. 

"I'm sorry for touching you without your permission, but it is very important that you do not look down or behind us." Throughout all of this, guilt had been building up behind a dam, and this is when the dam broke.

"Wh- what? Why- why do I feel sticky? What happened?" 

"Promise me. Promise me you won't turn around or look down until we tell you you can." 

"Leo, what happened?" 

"Promise." Donnie flinched at Leo's intensity.

"I promise I won't look." He meant it. 

"You went feral. You- you were attacked by Meat Sweats-"

"I remember that." It's true; he did remember that. He remembered it all.

"He put you in enough danger that you must've snapped."

His eyes widened. "Oh- oh god, I'm gonna be sick." That was true as well. The ever-worsening stickiness was causing nausea to build up. 

"It's not your fault!" Raph jumped in. Leo released his face, and Donnie didn't look down or behind him. "If what Raph does when he gets all weird isn't his fault, neither is this yours." Donnie teared up at the guilt. They were giving him false platitudes that he didn't deserve. They wouldn't be false if he did, in fact, go feral. But he didn't, so it wasn't. He closed his eyes. 

"I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm sorry you still have to see it. Can we- can we just go home?" They all nodded. "And maybe hose me off before I go throw up." 

"Yeah. We can do that. Come on." Leo tried to smile, but it only came out as a faint grimace.

They headed home, and as promised, they hosed Donnie down without him looking at the blood that covered him. He bid them farewell and then rushed off, asking for some alone time. They told him they'd check up on him. He knows he should feel bad about murdering someone. He should feel guilty for how brutally he did it, as well. But, no. He searched inside himself for a while and couldn't find anything. He stared at the blood still built up underneath his nails and felt nothing he wouldn't usually feel. He didn't even feel guilty for not feeling guilty. He only feels bad for lying to his brothers, for them seeing the gore. He killed Meat Sweats for them, after all.

His brothers kept a much closer eye on him for the next few weeks after that. It took a while before he didn't have someone checking up on him every hour or so. He didn't show his frustration, though. On each of their missions, he had someone practically strapped to his side. They tag-teamed so that someone was always there to keep Donnie out of too much danger, similar to how they tag-team so that Raph is never alone for too long. Someone is always available for Raph. Donnie wasn't offended that they were tag teaming for him, too. 

He, for the most part, ignored the whole thing. Mikey did have Dr. Feelings talk with Donnie every once in a while, though. He reminded Donnie that it wasn't his fault, and then Donnie's guilt would be reignited. He apologized more often, but everyone thought it was because he felt guilty for killing Meat Sweats. He didn't tell them they were wrong. 

The next situation where he was separated from everyone was with Repo Mantis. This time, only Mikey was with him. He could hear Mikey calling for him, and he knew Mikey could hear him. Mikey kept repeating, "You're going to be okay! Everything will be fine. I won't let anything happen to you!" and similar reassurances. However, with Repo trying to stab him with his very sharp arm appendages, Donnie knew they were all just to keep him from going feral.

Repo didn't help by saying, "By the time your orange brother finds you, you'll be nothing but a pile of meat." 

"No! NononononononononONONONONONONONO!" Donnie heard Mikey's panic rise. Whether it was because Mikey knew Repo was about to die or if he thought he was about to kill Donnie, Donnie didn't know. He took it as his cue for his secondary eyelids to snap into place before he bit off one of Repo's arm appendages. His blood was black and much thicker than Meat Sweats's. Repo screamed bloody murder, and Donnie found that ironic. 

Donnie grabbed the sharp limb and stabbed it into Repo as many times as possible before it seemed like brutality, not that many times. He snarled at the thought of what the limb could have done to Mikey. When Repo finally died and stopped screaming, he could hear Mikey finally reaching where Repo and Donnie were. "Oh god, not again." Donnie snapped his head over to where Mikey stood but was calmer than the first time Mikey had seen "Feral Donnie." 

"Hey, Donnie..." Mikey kept his arms in Donnie's sight. "I'm a friend, remember? I'm your brother." Donnie softly snarled as Mikey stepped towards him, eyes locked on Mikey's nunchaku.

Projecting his movements, Mikey grabbed the nunchaku and threw it away from himself. "See? I'm not here to hurt you. You're safe now." Mikey kept his voice calm and level as if he were speaking to a wild animal. He technically was, so Donnie didn't let it get to him. He tilted his head to the side in an exaggerated form of confusion. "Yeah, see? I'm going to come forward. Is that okay?" Donnie didn't reply. "Yeah, I figured you wouldn't be able to understand me." Mikey slowly stuck his leg out, shifting his weight in the most sluggish step that Donnie had ever witnessed. Donnie followed him with his eyes but didn't react. He watched Mikey as he made each movement as stiff and deliberate as possible until he was right before Donnie. "I'm so sorry." He said, pulling Donnie into a tight hug. "You don't deserve any of this." After a moment, Donnie hugged back, shoving his face into Mikey's shoulder.

"I did it again, didn't I?" 

"It's okay, Donnie. I'll do better to make sure you're never put into this position again." Mikey pulled Donnie's bandana down, keeping him from seeing any of the blood. "Let's go home. I'll hose you off, and we can nap together while Jupiter Jim plays in the background." Donnie nodded. They did just that.

While guiding Donnie, Mikey texted Raph and Leo on the way back. 

Donnie went feral again

Buff Man

Did he

you know

?

He did

The Blue Twin

what triggered it?

we were attacked by repo mantis while trying to get something he had and we got separated

repo got really close to killing him and so he snapped

i feel really bad for putting him in that position in the first place

Buff Man

its not your fault

just get him home, alright?

I will

Mikey put his phone back in his pocket and sighed. "You doing okay, Donnie?"

"I'm doing about as well as can be expected." He paused. "Did you tell Raph and Leo?"

"Yeah." After deliberation, Mikey continued, "We don't blame you, you know. We just gotta make some safeguards so that you aren't put in a position where you feel it's your life or someone else's." 

"You think this will happen again?" 

"I think we need to be careful to make sure that it won't." 

Donnie went quiet. Guilt churned in Mikey's gut. It tore Raph up inside, knowing he would get close to hurting his brothers. He could only imagine what it was like for Donnie to go all the way to taking someone else's life without even being lucid enough for it to be an active decision. Usually, he would try to fill the silence with mindless chatter to help with the heavy mood between Donnie and himself, but he couldn't think of anything other than That's two people dead by my brother's hands, and there was nothing I could do to stop it until it was too late. 

Mikey couldn't help but be glad Repo was dead. He deserved it for saying that to Donnie. He deserved it for meaning every word of it .

He didn't want to say it out loud, but he feared what would happen if Donnie lost control in a more public place. Would he kill an innocent? Donnie had always been one to internalize everything. Mikey could only barely get him to talk about what happened with Meat Sweats, and for the most part, he just apologized over and over. That was the closest he had seen Donnie get to crying in a long time. 

Mikey thought about what they could do to keep this from happening. Mikey knew there was no way they could convince Donnie to stop going on their missions. Donnie would only feel useless if he wasn't there to have Mikey, Raph, and Leo's backs. On top of that, Splinter wouldn't let Donnie stop. Maybe Donnie could always have two people with him when he isn't in the lair. That way, if one of them separated from Donnie, the other could still be there to ensure he didn't snap. They could bring April in on it. That would mean telling April about Donnie going feral, though, and Donnie wouldn't take too kindly to them doing it without his permission. So that one would have to wait a little bit. 

"I'm sorry." Donnie broke the silence as the sewer grate slid into place over them. 

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Mikey reassured him. 

"Yes, I do." He didn't explain any further. Mikey got the sense he wanted it dropped, so he didn't say anything after that. When arriving back, Mikey once again hosed him down. He decided to scrub underneath Donnie's nails, too, before Donnie was allowed to see again. When they went to the living room to watch the movie, Leo and Raph had set up a turtle pile nest and gotten Pizza. 

"I don't deserve you guys," Donnie said before flopping beside Raph. Usually, he'd sit next to Leo, but Mikey could understand why he chose Raph. They had a sort of kinship that they didn't before. Raph drew the same conclusions that Mikey did and smiled sadly. 

"You deserve the world, bud, and don't you forget it." Raph didn't leave any room for argument. 

If only Donnie could see how much he truly deserved in life.

The first time Donnie went feral without killing anyone surprised everyone. Mikey, Raph, and Leo had debated on the best way to help Donnie. While with Raph, they just needed to ensure he wasn't alone for too long. This was harder. Donnie responded to not feeling safe, but their entire job was to put themselves in danger. They struggled to come up with a concrete solution. So far, they got, "Don't let him be alone when outside of the lair," He was alone both times he snapped, but only when feeling unsafe. There was also, "Make sure he can't kill anyone if he does go feral." It wasn't a thing that they knew they could enforce, but it was the best they could do. As terrible as it was, they needed Donnie to snap again before they could find anything that counted as proof. 

Raph felt that if someone did make Donnie snap, they earned whatever sick punishment Donnie had to dole out. If someone dares to put Donnie's life in danger, then they deserve it.

So, when Mrs. Cuddles turned out to be a being that feeds on fear and grows ever larger, Raph's first thoughts weren't that they could see Donnie snap and create a solution; it was more, "DONTDIEDONTDIEDONTDIE." So, when he was on one side of the room and Donnie was on the other, and Mrs. Cuddles was between them, and he saw Donnie stumble back, shaking violently before suddenly stopping, Raph just knew. Donnie didn't kill Mrs. Cuddles that day, but not for lack of trying. That being said, Mrs. Cuddles ended up becoming terrified of Donnie and went back into the case, begging to be taken back to the studio. 

After everything calmed down and Donnie fell asleep, Raph rushed out of his room to the impromptu RLM (Raph, Leo, Mikey) meeting. "He snapped again, and he didn't kill anyone!" He said optimistically. How messed up do their lives have to be for him to be this calm about Donnie going feral in only three Weirdness Episodes (Raph's title for his own episodes)? 

"You said you saw him snap this time. Can you describe it to us? Maybe there's something in the snap itself that we can use." Leo spoke first, officially beginning the meeting. 

"Raph can try. Donnie was all shaky-like before he went all still. He tried to kill Mrs. Cuddles, but she's made of cotton, so it didn't work. That being said, she's terrified of him now." 

"He must've been terrified. How big had she gotten?" Mikey asked.

"Big." 

"So this giant rabbit with crazy eyes looms over Donnie and speaks the way she speaks. He was probably imagining the hell she'd put him through and realized he was facing the possibility of being consumed whole." Mikey and Raph nodded. "How can we get to where he doesn't, you know, get to that point? It's not like we can make him stop feeling fear." A pause. "I mean, we could, but it's very frowned upon." 

Raph glared at Leo with no real heat.

"I'm just worried about Donnie." Mikey picked at his nails. "He's not doing too great. I hugged him, and he just asked me if he had 'done it again'. He sounded so... defeated. I'm worried he'll do something rash to stop himself from hurting someone else again. I don't want to jump to any conclusions, but I've seen him acting jumpier than normal. He's staring off into space more, and he's been avoiding any more meetings with Dr. Feelings." 

Raph knit his non-existent eyebrows together. "You're saying he might-"

"That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying we should be careful to make sure he doesn't."

Leo nodded. "Prepare for the worst, hope for the best, right?" 

"Prepare for the worst, hope for the best," Raph echoed. 

Thoughts of Donnie dying by his own hand filled Raph's mind. He didn't get much sleep that night.

Leo knew his twin. He knew the guy he lived with, the purple to his blue. The Disaster Twins, the Bruise Duo. They have been inseparable since birth. They shared a bedroom for years because they didn't want to depart from each other any more than they had to. So, seeing his brother hurting killed him. Seeing Donnie work away over machine after machine to make up for his unwilling murder of two people. That's why it hurt him so much when that two turned into an uncountable number as quickly as it did. 

Their plan was simple: Get the foot clan outside the foot shack before blowing it to kingdom come. It was a simple plan for a simple task. Donnie didn't even have to leave the Turtle Tank. Leo was the distraction, contact constant between him, Donnie, Mikey, and Raph. Mikey and Raph's jobs were to place the bomb and get out. So, when the call cut off abruptly, the last thing Leo heard was a strangled cry before he turned and created a portal to the turtle tank to save Donnie before he did anything he would later regret. He didn't realize that the foot clan would still be in the building because he didn't do the distracting.

When he got back, no one was there. 

"FUCK!" Leo punched a nearby tree as hard as he could, breaking skin at his knuckles. Then the foot shack blew, shaking the ground, and it all caught up to Leo. They were all still inside. They were all now dead. He watched in abject horror from a distance as the building went down, creating a crater in its wake. They could lie to Donnie about this. He knew he had killed someone, but they didn't have to say who. They could just tell him he killed the lieutenant or the brute. They did not have to say to him the whole story.

Raph spoke over the intercom first. "What happened?" 

"I think someone in the foot clan took Donnie from the turtle tank, and in his panic, it triggered the emergency release. You know, the one we thought wouldn't be needed?" From the very beginning, there was an emergency release switch that reacted to high-stress levels. It wouldn't set off the bomb if one of the Mad Dogz were within blowing distance, but if they were all a safe distance away, the bomb would go off. That meant something went royally wrong. Again. 

"We gotta find Donnie before he hurts himself or anyone else." Leo agreed silently to Mikey. 

He typed a few things into the turtle tank monitor and saw, thank god, Donnie had a tracker as well, and they could follow him that way. He informed Mikey and Raph of where to go and listened closely for when they found him. They didn't say anything, but Leo could imagine how they found him: covered in blood, standing over a mutilated body, with his secondary eyelids closed. 

"We're friends. This is your brother, too," Mikey said. Donnie didn't hiss. That's good. Maybe Feral Donnie and Regular Donnie have separate memories, so they could get him to a calm state easier the more they meet Feral Donnie. Because, at this point, Leo knew they'd be meeting him frequently.

"Hi, Donnie." Raph sounded nervous, which made sense. He'd never been good with blood. All of Raph's freak-outs are internal, but they're freak-outs nonetheless. 

"We're going to walk towards you." The crunching of leaves reached the coms. "I don't know if you should hug him. You're a bit big; it might seem like a threat of violence to him. No offense." 

"None taken."

Silence. It took a while, then Leo heard crying. He thought Mikey had started crying for a second, but then he realized it was Donnie. Donatello Hamoto was crying. Leo felt like crying as well. "I can't keep doing this. I can't- I can't keep losing control. If- if this happens again, I need you to- you have to stop me." 

"No." Raph's voice was firm.

"You can't possibly be considering- It's- You can't-" Mikey seemed to be at a loss for words. 

"I can't be the reason someone else dies. I can't do it." Leo flinched at the bluntness. There was no way in hell they'd tell Donnie what he had done. If he was already considering his own death after his body count reached three, how would he react to his actual body count? They would be restricting any and all information that he receives when it comes to the foot clan. Leo could not lose his twin, his other half, the purple to his blue. Hell could freeze over, and the ocean could be set on fire, and they would STILL not consider the possibility of taking a permanent solution to Donnie's problem.

"Nonono, look at me. Don't look behind you."

"How many people are dead because of me, now? Did I kill more than one this time?"

"No. No, just the one," Mikey reassured him. Raph stayed silent, too worried about how bad he was at lying. 

"I supposed that's good. Minimize the damage I can cause." Donnie's voice returned to the same monotone neutral he usually wore. 

"Come on. We'll take you back to the turtle tank. You can tell us all about the new upgrades you made last night." 

Donnie's voice got excited but wasn't nearly as upbeat as usual when talking about his tech. When Donnie, Raph, and Mikey returned, Leo's eyes immediately got stuck on how little blood there was compared to the last time. That was good, he supposed, a quicker death. A quiet voice in the back of his head said that Meat Sweats deserved what he got. He put his brother in danger. He was going to kill Donnie. No one is allowed to KILL HIS BROTHERS.

"Hey, Dontron!" He waved, presenting the bucket of water he had prepared. Donnie closed his eyes and dipped his hands in, scrubbing thoroughly. Leo dumped the bucket into the grass before Donnie could see the red. It's better this way, Leo thought. If he doesn't see, he may be less guilty. They didn't talk about it all the way home.

Donnie stared at the list of villains in front of him. Thick black lines crossed through some of the names. Donnie nodded to himself, thinking of how he would ensure the deaths of the others. Baron Draxum, Hugin and Munin, and Big Mama would be difficult. Donnie knew if he just waited, an opportunity would present itself with the others. He hoped the Purple Dragons would die first. He hated those guys with a passion. He might brutalize them more as payback. 

He would have to think about it some more. Plans like these would take longer and have to be more complex. That's okay. Donnie liked making complex plans. It would take even more planning for his brothers to be none the wiser. That's okay, too. Donatello Hamato was nothing, if not patient, when the situation called for it. After a few hours of it, Donnie shoved the papers into the incinerator. Better to be safe than sorry. 

Patrolling existed somewhere between calm and stress. Raph found it the most therapeutic time of his day. Maybe that was his downfall. When Hypno and Warren attacked, he didn't see any problem with it. They had already attacked a few times and they were able to deal with it pretty well. So, when things started to hit the fan, they hit the fan hard. Raph only felt bad for the guilt Donnie felt. He didn't feel bad for what caused the guilt.

"How can you defend each other if you're not even there to do so?" Hypno asked, throwing his arms out. Raph felt the ground fall out from beneath him and the world disappeared in a puff of smoke. 

"FUCK! Donnie, where are you?" Leo asked, panic filling his voice. 

Raph didn't bother telling Leo to watch his language. He was too busy panicking. 

"Donnie, you'll be okay." Raph minorly became aware of Dr. Feelings making an appearance. 

"I- I can't see. I can't see anything." Donnie's words punched Raph in the gut. "I- I don't- I can't-" He took a shaky breath. 

"Donnie I need you to breathe with me, okay? Can you do that?" Mikey spoke calmly. 

Donnie didn't reply. Raph didn't want to think of why he wouldn't. Mikey started walking through the breathing exercises. In for five, hold for seven, out for eight, repeat. Raph sighed in relief when he saw Hypno chose to attack him first. They had a chance. A chance was all they needed to make sure there wouldn't be more blood on Donnie's hands. At least, not more blood that Donnie didn't consciously put there.

The fight went about as well as it could have. It wasn't exactly easy, but it wasn't that difficult, either. In fact, it seemed almost too easy. He didn't want to overthink. He could just accept a win. This once, they could have an easy win. He wasn't that surprised when Hypno's unconscious form disappeared in a puff of smoke. Yeah, it was too good to be true. 

Mikey, Leo, and Raph all seemed to come to the same conclusion at the same time. This dumbass was targeting Donnie. Why would Donnie be completely blind if not? Raph couldn't even feel bad for Hypno. He heard as Donnie's thought-out responses got shorter and shorter. He heard as Mikey's and Donnie's panic rose to the point of no return. He heard Donnie's snarling, and he heard Donnie tear Hypno to pieces. 

Raph numbly followed where he remembered the Turtle Tank was. He drove to where the trackers said his brothers were, picking each of them up. He watched, unseeing, as Mikey and Leo pulled him into a hug and held his quivering form long after he came back to them. Another tally was added to the uncountable collection on the wall. Raph watched Donnie sponge himself down, then they headed home for a turtle pile and some well-needed rest. 

Leo and Mikey sat on the kitchen floor, and a tub of ice cream sat between them. 

"Can I admit something if you promise not to judge?" Leo asked. 

Mikey hummed in the affirmative. 

"I don't care that Donnie is killing people. I care that it's hurting him. He could have knowingly become a serial killer, and I would have accepted it. Does that make me a bad person?" 

Mikey stayed silent for a moment. "I think that we put too much weight on descriptors like 'good' and 'bad'." 

"That's not an answer."

"If that makes you a bad person, then I would be a bad person, too." Mikey shoved another spoonful into his beak. Leo looked at him, surprised. "I just want him to be okay, you know? I know I'm not the victim in this, but it hurts me to see him like this. It hurts me to know we had to implement more safety measures to make sure Donnie's safe. Safe from himself and safe from others." 

Leo hummed in a way that could be translated to "I'll drink to that." 

Mikey pulled out a list, passing it to Leo. 

"What's this?"

"Read it."

1. Baron Draxum

2. Hugin and Munin

3. Big Mama

4. The Foot Clan

5. Meat Sweats

6. Repo

7. The Purple Dragons

8. Hypno

"If this keeps going, we'll be out of villains to fight," Mikey explained. "I don't know how to feel about that." 

"We'd be mostly safe, but at what cost? My little brother's innocence is not worth knowing we won't be challenged in a while."

"I keep fantasizing about the idea of this all being so he can get away with it. The idea that he's lying about it so we don't get upset at him, even throw him out, because he killed someone." Mikey paused. "My luck has never been good enough for that to come true."

"It's a nice thought, though. I'd love for Donnie to tell us that he lied about it all." 

Mikey nodded. They cleaned up and went to bed without exchanging any more words. 

Ever since the kitchen floor conversation Leo and Mikey had, they seemed to come to an understanding of each other. Nods to each other in the hall as Dr. Feelings headed to another meeting with Donnie. Quick glances as Raph talked about how to help Donnie with them. Small looks between each other as Donnie apologized, again. They don't accept any of the apologies, telling him that he doesn't have anything to apologize for. He just tells them he does and leaves it at that. Everyone, though, was concerned about everyone else. It was clear in the way they hugged each other like it might be their last. They expressed love for one another more often and had movie nights with each other more often.

Raph had told them that Donnie had approached him for help on how to cope with the lost patch of memories. Mikey forced down any jealousy at that. He didn't have the same experiences that Raph had, and therefore Raph would be a better resource for Donnie. Dr. Feelings was there to make sure that Donnie talked about it, instead of holding it all in. Donnie and Raph had gotten much closer since it all started, though. Late at night, Mikey would see Donnie leaving his lab and going straight to Raph's room. Raph admitted he was happy about their improved relationship, even if he's sad about the cause of it. 

Mikey called an RLM meeting when he started to notice some things about Raph. He doesn't regret calling that meeting.

"Raph, I have a few questions for you, and I want you to know that this is a judgment-free zone and no matter what you answer, we will accept it. You are supported no matter what." Mikey smiled. Raph nodded, obviously suspicious. 

"Do you care that Donnie is now a mass murderer?" Leo asked.

"Obviously I care! It's tearing him up-" Raph started.

"We're not asking if you care about how it's affecting Donnie. We all care about that. No, we're asking if you care that he has taken lives. Do you care that he's now a mass murderer?" Mikey explained. 

Raph went quiet for a moment. "Not really. I know I should. I know I should be upset at the thought of people dying when it could have been helped, but I'm not. I'm upset that it's hurting him." Mikey nodded. 

"Do you guys think that this is something we should tell Donnie? That he could have become a mass murderer consciously and we wouldn't have cared?" Mikey pulled at the fidget tangle in his hands. 

Leo considered it. "Probably not. He seems to care a lot, and we don't need to add confusion to that." Raph and Mikey agreed. "We'll just provide support where we can and make sure as little goes wrong as possible." 

"Should we warn the other villains to not pull stupid crap like Hypno did?" Silence followed Mikey's question.

"Is it bad that I want to say no?" Raph was the first to break the silence. "Like, I know we should try to minimize the death count, but it feels like whatever happens is on them. The bad guys, I mean." 

"I just don't know how much more of this Donnie can take before it causes irreparable damage to his psyche. Heck, I don't know if irreparable damage has already been done. I don't want to take advantage of his episodes because the villains deserve to get their just desserts, you know what I'm saying?" Mikey's face scrunched up in thought. Raph and Leo nodded. It'd be easier, though, if they could convince Donnie that what he's doing is okay. It's okay that he's a murderer. It's okay that he loses himself and when he wakes up he's covered in the blood of someone who dared try to hurt him. They could even praise him for taking permanent precautions against the bad guys. They could convince him that it was more than okay that he was a mass murderer. If they could make it to where Donnie didn't feel so much guilt, then maybe everything would be okay.

"Our main goal is to keep Donnie from being hurt. We need to prioritize his physical health over his mental health, though. If he is put into a position where his life is on the line, then it's a no-brainer. We will do everything in our power to keep it from getting to that point, but once it reaches that point, there's very little we can do," explained Leo. 

"I mean- we could- I'm not suggesting- but at the same time-" Mikey tried to start several sentences. He took a deep breath and started over. "What if we came up with an excuse, ourselves, to kill them so Donnie doesn't have to?" Raph and Leo considered. 

"If worst comes to worst, and Donnie goes feral, we can do it, and blame it on something else. If- if we do it correctly, then we can remove the weight off of his shoulders, and the blood from his hands. Literally and figuratively." Leo agreed after a moment. 

"If that's what we need to do to keep Donnie from spiraling any more than he already has, then I'm on board." A pause. "I'm not happy about it, mind you, but I'm in." 

"Would you be upset at either Mikey or me for killing someone?" 

"No."

"Are you upset at Donnie for killing people?"

"Does the idea of you possibly killing people make you uncomfortable?" 

"A little bit."

"Then you don't have to. In fact, it's probably better that way. As morbid as it is to say, there'd be more cleanup required for you, so that Donnie would be none the wiser."

Mikey cute in, "I mean, we are talking about committing murder. I don't think you can get much more morbid than that. " 

"True." 

Raph gave them both a tighter hug than normal before sending them off to bed. He made sure to remind them of how loved they were. Mikey hoped they were doing the right thing for Donnie's mental health. He hoped things were looking up, if only marginally.

He didn't know what Donnie would do if they weren't.

The first of the 'problem targets' as Donnie had dubbed them in his head provided an opportunity in the form of her kidnapping him for his technology. Really just dropped it in his lap on a silver platter. Donnie and his brothers were on patrol when they got jumped by way too many people to be considered plausible. They put up a good fight, but it was hard for his brothers to fight and stay at his side at the same time, so they got a little separated. That's when he was drugged and knocked out. Luckily his battle shell has a built-in mechanism so they couldn't remove it from him. 

Donnie knew what was next. He's strapped against a wall (with a special hole in it so that his metal arms can't get to him), medical tools are strewn about, and a tarp is laid down below him. He knew, alright? He's too busy planning how he'll kill Big Mama now that he's had a change in what he originally thought he would do. He didn't expect Big Mama to be the one to be doing the threatening. "Bimbly blood is too much for this spindly spider," he can imagine her saying. 

This was confirmed when it wasn't Big Mama who walked in, but an unknown Yokai with a cloaking brooch on. "You will do what we tell you to do, or you will face the consequences." The Yokai wasted no time in grabbing a sharp object off of the tray. Donnie's heart jumped up to his throat, but he didn't let it show. No, he would not let them get the satisfaction of knowing he was afraid. 

"It really depends on what you ask of me." He said. 

The Yokai looked at him with poorly masked disdain. "You will do anything we tell you to do, or you will face pain worse than anything you could possibly imagine." He pressed the scalpel just below Donnie's collarbone. "Are you ready to comply?"

Donnie took a breath. "Just get it over with, I don't know why you feel the need to drag this-" He grunted as the scalpel was pressed into him. Blood bubbled up from the wound quickly, dripping down his front. Small droplets of red landed on the white plastic of the tarp below him. Pain, at that moment, was a 5/10. Bad, but not nearly as bad as it could be. That would probably change. 

"Whatever Big Mama wants me to do, I'm not-" Once again, Donnie was cut off by his own sounds of pain. Another line was drawn in his flesh, this time his upper arm, and he felt more blood sprout from inside him. More plans formulated in his head, in the meanwhile. It is quite hard, to reach ropes you can't see with limbs you can't feel (specifically ones made of metal). 

"You will obey." 

"You will shut up." Time stretched into an endless expanse while seemingly passing in a blur. The back and forth between the two of them, all while Donnie focused as much of his attention as he could spare on cutting the ropes that they foolishly threaded through the wall that his battle shell was in. At some point, he stopped being able to suppress his screams. Later, his screams turned from clear to hoarse. He became more purple and red than green. Then, finally, he cut all the rope attaching him to the wall, and he closed his secondary eyelids. 

Donnie took satisfaction in biting out the Yokai's trachea. What followed was a rampage. Donnie had always been partial to what the internet has dubbed as "Russian Stealth" as opposed to regular stealth. Regular stealth is defined as, 'no bodies left for the guards to see' while Russian Stealth is defined as, 'no guards left to see the bodies'. He started off with regular stealth, but then killed each and every guard that he saw. Soon, they were all gone, and the only person left was Big Mama. He'd take feral pleasure in killing her. 

He climbed into her office through the vents. Conveniently, she was standing right below the vent cover. He pulled it into the vent with him. He wasted no time in dropping from the vent, landing on Big Mama, then dragging his claws across her throat, feeling himself scratch at her spinal cord. He knew he shouldn't enjoy the feeling but he did. While he would have loved to go to one of the hotel rooms in the Hotel Nexus and take a much-needed shower, he couldn't. He still needed to play the role of Feral Donnie and Feral Donnie does not take showers. This was going to suck. 

Raph wasn't sure what he would find when he got to the Hotel Nexus, but what he didn't expect to find was a complete massacre of Yokai. Dead bodies littered every floor they came across. There was, however, no sign of Donnie anywhere. That is until they made it to Big Mama's office. Curled up in the corner was their brother. They had to take a step outside to process for a second. 

"Hey- uh- guys?" Leo asked, significantly paler than he was before they entered the Hotel Nexus. "Do you- uh- did you see Big Mama seemed to be missing chunks of herself in concerningly bite-like shapes?" Raph did see. He didn't want to think about what it could mean but knew he had to. 

Mikey sighed shakily. "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it. For now, let's see how Donnie is doing. I doubt he's doing that well based on all of the everything." Raph and Leo agreed. 

They walked back into his office and looked closer at Donnie, and Raph nearly vomited. Cuts covered Donnie's body. Cuts way too precise and straight for them to be self-defense injuries. No, something much worse had happened. "Donnie?" Mikey called. Donnie hissed loudly, pressing himself further into the corner he had curled up in. "Donnie, it's just me. Mikey, remember?" Mikey placed his nunchaku onto the floor, and Leo and Raph followed suit, placing their individual weapons down. "We're here to help you." They all three raised their arms to show they weren't holding onto anything else. 

Donnie didn't calm down. 

Raph realized something he wished he didn't. "Wait. Raph has a bad idea." 

"Bad ideas are all we have right now." Leo gestured for him to go on.

"What if we blamed all of the dead bodies on me?" Leo gestured again, for more explanation. "We could say Raph got all weird because he lost one of his brothers, and then say when he found Donnie he killed everyone who got in his way." 

"That would give Donnie someone to relate to, as well as remove any guilt he may feel about all the death." Mikey thought for a moment. "He wouldn't blame you, and then we could use that as reasoning for why he shouldn't blame himself, either." 

Leo nodded. "I'm in. We'll have you leave, say that Mikey is trying to get you to snap out of it, while I'm getting Donnie to snap out of it. That'd also have him feel less cornered if there's only one other person in the room with him while he's feral."

"I'm in," Mikey said.

"I am too." Leo agreed. 

Mikey and Raph left. Outside of Big Mama's office, Raph and Mikey discussed how to better keep up the ruse. "I could- ugh- cover myself in blood so it looks more realistic." Raph offered. 

"Only if you're comfortable with it. I'm sure we could come up with some way to explain around it like after you came back, we took you to the fountain in the lobby and washed you off." 

"It might give him a sense of companionship, to see that someone else went through what he went through, waking up covered in blood and knowing that he killed someone." Raph insisted. 

A little while and a lot of blood later, they heard Leo call out to them. "Raph, Mikey! You can come back, Donnie fainted!" 

They ran back into the office.  

"So you're saying I covered myself in blood for no reason?" 

Leo snorted, not replying. He sliced a portal into the air and picked Donnie up. "Come on, guys. I need to patch Donnie up. He isn't looking too hot." They all walked through the portal, a small amount of weight taken off of their shoulders. They hoped things would go according to plan.

Hmmm. This took a turn that Donnie didn't predict. He may have laid it on a bit thick. Welp, nothing that he can do about it now. Just gotta face and listen to the music. There is no ignoring the music, you will always hear it. You can just choose to not react. So, bandaged up with Raph, Leo, and Mikey all sleeping nearby Donnie reformed his plans again. He kept is expression schooled, watching their chests rise and fall with their breaths. 

Raph planned on taking the fall for the massacre. They planned to lie to him to save his mental health as much as they could. Strange. Realistic. He shouldn't be shocked, but it just came out of nowhere. At least, from Donnie's perspective, it did. He knew that they had started having meetings about his mental health and how to best help him, but he didn't think they would take it this far. He'd have to check the camera footage to see what they talked about. 

He shifted, pain shooting throughout his body. He made a mental note to ask for pain meds when Leo woke up. He knew his brothers would be unhappy if he were to get it himself. Plus, as his injuries healed, it would be very painful trying to move by himself. It was best to just let his brothers do what he needed to. While waiting, he decided to plan new inventions. That always passed the time well. Additions to add to the drill, additions to add to his techbo, ways to improve his current living conditions, and so on and so forth. By the time the first brother woke up, he had a lot more ideas.

"Donnie!" Leo shouted. "You're awake." Raph and Mikey stirred as well. 

Suddenly, there were three very stressed turtles crowding around Donnie. "Are you okay? No, wait, dumb question. On a scale from one to ten, how not okay are you right now?" Raph asked. 

Mikey stared at him like he was waiting for Donnie to vanish into dust, and Leo looked ready to either cry or crack a joke to help ease the tension. Raph was crying, just a bit. 

"I'm as okay as I can be expected to be. I- I remember more than I would've liked to. What- what happened?" Donnie asked, after a moment. 

"I- uh- we, well, we want you to-" 

Leo cut Raph off. "It wasn't you this time. We want you to know that it isn't your fault. Raph, after you got taken, panicked and got all weird. He rushed over to the Hotel Nexus and killed everyone in sight."

Guilt painted Raph's features. If Donnie didn't know any better, he'd have believed it was because Raph and killed people. However, Donnie knew that it was because he felt bad for lying to Donnie. "I'm real sorry about that, guys." 

"Hey- It's not your fault," Donnie said. It wasn't Raph's fault. Raph didn't kill anyone. 

"But it's your fault?" Leo asked Donnie, and he had a point. Well, he would have a point, if Donnie were going feral.

"I-" Donnie started.

Leo cut off what Donnie was about to say, "Nuh-uh-uh. No ifs, ands, or buts. None of what's been happening is your fault. You cannot keep blaming yourself. Especially if you believe that what happened at the Hotel Nexus isn't Raph's fault." Mikey and Raph nodded. 

Mikey stood up. "It is now breakfast time, I have decided. I'll be back with our food." He briskly left the room, the conversation with it. 

Raph and Leo took a step back from Donnie's cot. Donnie didn't note the breakneck 180 they did in conversation, talking about what they hoped Mikey was making, then talking about when Mikey first started watching Rupert Swaggart on TV. Then, the TV shows they used to watch (Donnie ranting for a little bit about Bill Nye the Science Guy and how much of an inspiration he was to Donnie). They stayed on light topics, pointedly ignoring the fact that Rupert Swaggart was dead. 

When Mikey returned, Donnie was happy to notice that Mikey had made him plain oatmeal. Raph got eggs with sausage and cheese, Leo got french toast, and Mikey made himself crepes. All in all a good breakfast.

Healing was... difficult. He was injured enough that for the first few days, he was completely unable to get out of bed without help. It was a slow recovery. Changing bandages every day, taking antibiotics, and cleaning the injuries were tedious at best. It was difficult, seeing the pity in his brothers' eyes and knowing it wasn't even misplaced pity. Donnie really was kidnapped and tortured. These injuries were real. 

So, with every painfully pitiful look, Donnie would be reminded of that which he didn't want to be reminded of. He would think of the pain, the fear. He had more flashbacks than he would have liked. To be fair, he would have liked to have no flashbacks, but that's not the point. Mikey taught him coping mechanisms to help with panic attacks and to prevent himself from getting lost in flashbacks. They only worked sometimes. 

Leo's clinginess was so much worse. Donnie couldn't complain. Leo filled the silence and kept his mind off things. Leo would talk about anything and everything. It was nice, having a distraction that followed Donnie around. Once Donnie was finally able to go back to working on his inventions, Leo would sit in his room with him and play DJ. He took into consideration Donnie's taste in music. After all, Leo was in Donnie's lab. 

Raph was a bit... much. He checked in with Donnie every fifteen minutes. Donnie could understand why, but it was getting annoying. He felt like a psychiatric patient (based on how members of the discord servers he was in described mental hospitals). Raph gave Donnie more gifts during and after the healing process than at any other point in Donnie's life. His bed was becoming more of a nest than a bed. Donnie wasn't complaining about that. The softness helped with his sensory issues. 

Mikey had two Dr. Feelings meetings. He hated those. Mikey would spend an hour trying to get Donnie to talk about what was going on in his head, and Donnie would spend an hour avoiding eye contact with him. He didn't want to talk about it. It was too much. He didn't even understand it all, himself. He's too afraid to tell Mikey this, though. Mikey wants him to talk about his problems, but Donnie doesn't even know how to do that. 

Overall it wasn't fun. At best, it was uncomfortable. At worst, it was panic attacks, hiding underneath his bed, hyperventilating, and not being able to pull himself from memories of that room. He had started to go on walks with Leo and the Hotel Nexus came into view and Donnie got launched into his memories again. Any time they went on a walk after that, Leo kept them from being anywhere near the Hotel Nexus. Donnie was eternally grateful. 

Donnie couldn't wait for this all to be over. Four more targets, that's all it takes. Four more targets. 

When Warren Stone died, it was quite anti-climactic. He had talked a big game and then didn't deliver. Leo supposed he should have expected that. Warren Stone was a worm with a magical gauntlet. He could cause a lot of damage, but it wasn't directed. In fact, it wasn't Donnie who killed him, but Warren Stone, himself. He lost control of the gauntlet, it ripped off his arm, went flying in circular motions, and then completely obliterated any remnant of Warren that could have regenerated. 

It was so anti-climactic that the four turtles sat there for a second, glancing around in confusion. 

"We all okay?" Raph asked. 

Donnie, Leo, and Mikey agreed. "Nothing broke nothing bruised?" Raph pushed. 

"No, I'm- uh- I'm alright," Donnie said. 

What happened after Warren Stone's death was less so anti-climactic. The Purple Dragons, the tech club at April's school, were back with a vengeance. Based on Donnie's expression, he was pretty upset as well. Leo just wanted to make sure the Purple Dragons wouldn't do anything that they wouldn't have time to regret. 

"You ruined everything!" The girl shouted. Leo would ask for their names, but he didn't care enough. "I'll kill you!" She pulled out a missile launcher. Where she got it, no one had any idea. 

"No!" Raph tackled Donnie to the ground. Meanwhile, Mikey wrapped her up in his Nunchucku. 

"You really don't want to do that," Mikey said. "I cannot express to you in words how much you do not want to do that." One of the other Purple Dragons went to attack Mikey, but he was right on top of things and dodged, pulling whoever the guy was to the ground. 

"Oh, but we really, really do." The girl said. She ran and jumped on Mikey, who yelped in surprise at her weight and went crashing to the ground. Leo went after the two other guys and wasn't at all surprised that they couldn't hold their own. It seemed the girl was the head of the operations. The less a threat they posed, the less likely Donnie would snap. At least, that's what Leo thought until the girl was able to get out of her bindings and pull a gun on Donnie. 

Donnie's eyes widened for a second before, surprise, surprise, he snapped. His secondary eyelids closed, turning his eyes pure white. Leo didn't even bother feeling bad. The girl took this upon herself. They did warn her. Donnie tackled the girl to the ground. Leo didn't bother watching. He got the full picture already, listening to the tear of flesh and the other Purple Dragons screaming out in terror. Leo did have a theory that Feral Donnie felt the echoes of the feelings Regular Donnie felt. For example, Meat Sweats (who was about to eat Donnie) was more brutally killed than Repo who was just going to kill Donnie. This was partially confirmed by the fact that Donnie seemed to take more of his time with them.

By the end, Donnie was drenched in blood and appeared to be quite satisfied with himself. 

"Maybe we should lure Feral Donnie back to the lair and hose him off first," Raph recommended. 

"Agreed." Leo and Mikey chimed in. Mikey sent Leo off to get some of Donnie's favorite things to lure him with. Before they headed back to the lair, Leo sent the mangled corpses of the Purple Dragons into a portal.

In the end, it was a lot easier to lure Donnie than they thought it would be. They hosed Donnie down, then wrapped him up in soft blankets. Music played in the background when Donnie came back. 

"This is new," Donnie commented. 

"Feral Donnie seems to have different memories than you do. We've been able to get closer faster. He followed after us and we were able to get him all comfortable. We're hoping it means we can help you easier," Mikey said.

"It was nice waking up wrapped in soft blankets and not..." Donnie trailed off, implying the "covered in blood". 

"I'm glad." Mikey smiled, all teeth and dimples. "We want to make sure you're as comfortable as possible." As possible, because it'd be too much to ask for him to just be comfortable. Donnie didn't mention the phrasing. 

"What happened this time?" Donnie asked.

"You went feral..." Raph began.

"And you injured the girl, Kendra, bad enough that they all went running. Leo sent them through a portal so that you wouldn't be able to chase after them." Mikey cut in. 

Donnie nodded. "I'm glad Leo was able to send them away." 

Donnie wondered where Leo sent the bodies. The ocean? Tahiti? Haiti? Does it really matter? Donnie told himself it did. He didn't believe it.

Ghostbear wasn't that much of a surprise, compared to the others. Ghostbear attacked them while they were enjoying a snow day. Before they went out, Donnie said he wanted to warn April of his episodes. She took it really well. Mikey was very grateful for her calmness when told about his murderous escapades. Donnie looked grateful as well. 

"If I wasn't so entranced by our replica Jupiter Jim statue I would say something like 'Look over there!' Push!" Donnie pushed Leo into the snowbank. They had their argument as to what Jupiter Jim movie was the greatest, then a giant white bear attacked them. A giant white bear with a strong accent, and the ability to turn into a ghost. It was pretty telling as to who it was. 

Things were going okay until he had Donnie in his grip opening his maw to bite him. Yeah, that would not slide. Mikey wrapped his nunchaku around Ghostbear's neck and pulled. His grip on Donnie loosened, and Donnie jumped at Ghostbear. Mikey became aware of April turning around, closing her eyes tightly, and clamping her hands over her ears. She flinched a full-body flinch at Ghostbear's screams. 

Ghostbear was dead before he hit the ground. There's probably something to be said about that, droplets of red blood contrasting the pure white snow. Cold snow meeting hot blood. It seemed almost poetic. The ghost is dead at the hands of his victim. 

April stayed coiled like a snake about to strike long after Ghostbear stopped screaming, long after Leo sent Ghostbear's body away. It wasn't until Donnie, Raph, and Leo were gone, and Mikey softly placed his hand on her shoulder that she uncoiled. It was as if all of her muscles gave out at once. She shook with sobs, pressing her face into Mikey's shoulder. "He's dead. Donnie went feral and killed him!" Her voice cracked.

Mikey stroked her back. "I know. I know." He spoke softly, stroking her back. "He doesn't have control over it. It's not his fault."

"I know it's not his fault. That's why I'm so upset. If he just killed Ghostbear, I'd want it to be because he wanted to, not because of some weird instinct thing." Mikey froze. 

"We agree. Leo, Raph, and I. We hate how it's tearing him apart," he told her. 

April and Mikey went home, understanding each other just a little better that day.

Baron Draxum knew quite a few things. He was a genius alchemist after all. He created intelligent life. Of course, he knows a lot. That being said, he was not above admitting that he didn't know some things. So, when the villains of New York City started to show up dead, brutally murdered in one way or another, he became confused and curious. The level of brutality in each of their deaths really depended. Meat Sweats was cut to ribbons, Repo Mantis stabbed with his own wing, the Foot Clan was blown to smithereens, and the list goes on. 

It wasn't until Big Mama (and everyone else in her hotel) was killed that Draxum started to worry that they would come after him, too. Obviously, this killer was a force to be reckoned with. Massacre after massacre commit for reasons Draxum still didn't know. It was irritating. It was worrying. 

On top of that, with fewer villains to take up the turtles' time, Baron Draxum had become more of their focus. He had found out they broke into several of his warehouses and stolen some of his supplies. As time when on they became more and more of a thorn in his side. He decided, once and for all, to snuff the turtle problem. He brought them into this world, and he would take them out. They had squandered his gift and this disrespect would not go unpunished.

It wasn't too difficult to find where the Lou Jitsu and the turtles had set up shop. So, one meaningless afternoon Baron Draxum attacked. Things went off the rails pretty quickly. He barged in, fighting with them. H got quite a few good hits in, and Hugin and Munin quipped back and forth. Then, as he was about to finish the first of the four, the red one, he felt a weight on his back. Claws and teeth tore at his shoulders and he felt chunks of him go. That was new. 

Hugin and Munin tried feebly to tear the purple one off Draxum's back. He even batted at the purple one with his vines, but he held strong. As more and more of him fell away, the pain became too much. Blinded by it, he screamed. Falling to the ground, he felt the blood loss become too much. Purple didn't let up. It wasn't until he felt his life slipping from his grasp that he put the pieces together. Oh. 

He died, but he died satisfied that he had seen a piece of himself in one of his creations.