Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Yo, Footfaces! How’s it going?” Leo shouted, pointing one of his katanas at the skinny man.

Yes, it was the foot clan again. Leo thought they had been, you know, krangified, but who knows? Maybe all the Krang victims were reverted back to their original forms after they had gone back to their prison.

Leo inwardly groaned. All he wanted to do was chill for a bit, was that really so much to ask?

It was only, like, two months after the invasion. Don’t the bad guys need rest, too?!

Reading comic books, binging Jupiter Jim movies… ANYTHING but this.

But noooo, Raph had to bring up his hero complex and get them all riled up for a new mission.

Well what if he didn’t want to, Raph? Huh?!

Yeah, yeah, for the greater good, all that shit.

They should get to live their life, too!

”Pesky turtles. Why must you always meddle in our plans?” The shorter one rasped.

”Yeah. It’s not nice! Let us live our lives!” The bulkier one grunted.

Boy, I never thought I’d relate to a Foot Soldier.

”Well, maybe if your life wasn’t committing crimes, we wouldn’t have to come here. We’ll stop if you stop.” Donnie’s dry voice sounded out from behind him, making it sound like he wasn’t interested.

Leo knew he was actually paying rapt attention.

Wait, scratch that, he was on his phone again.

”Donnie! Get off your phone!” Raph called. “Screen time limit!”

“I can easily hack that!”

”That’s why it’s verbal!”

”You can’t stop me!”

”Donnie, if you don’t stop your middle child nonsense right now-“

”Guys!” Mikey yelled. 

They turned to their youngest brother. Sometimes, Leo was envious of Mikey’s skill of getting people to listen to him.

”Bad guys to fight? Remember?” Mikey gestures with his kusari-fundo.

Oh. Right.

They looked back at the Foot Clan who were… eating popcorn?

They were watching the turtles like they were at a movie theater and it was a reality show.

Well, half of them were, and the other half was trying to get into the vault.

”Why are bad guys so obsessed with banks?” Leo asked, jumping down from the top of another vault.

”Money, duh.” Donnie replied, bonking a paper ninja on the head with his bō and then shoving it into another’s groin.

Leo winced. Yeesh, that did not look pleasant.

Leo turned his attention back to the fight just in time for him to block an attack from a recruit.

He pushed back, sparks shooting from the clash.

He lunged forward and kicked their legs, making them buckle.

He slammed the hilt into their head, knocking them unconscious.

Leo felt something wrong, a clench in his gut, an instinct.

He looked carefully at the Foot Ninja on the ground. They had something new at their belts, shiny and metal, but it didn’t look like a sword or a dagger.

Leo’s eyes widened as he realized what it was.

”Hermanos!” He yelled, parrying a dagger away from his face. “They have guns!”

”WHAT?!”

The foot lieutenant said some words that would not be good for the younger audiences, so Leo tuned it out, focusing on the 50 paper ninjas that surrounded him.

”-curse those turtles! They have figured out our master plan!” The skinny one rasped.

”We must eradicate them!” The bigger one roared.

The shorter one paused and looked at his companion.

“Have you been learning new words?” He asked.

The tall foot warrior looked proud of himself.

”Yeah, I’m glad you noticed! I’ve been trying to expand my vocabulary a bit, so I can insult our enemies in better ways.”

“Nice idea! Perhaps I should think about doing that myself, I personally feel my own have gotten less than perfect-“

”No, no, what are you talking about? Yours are as amazing as ever!”

”You really think so?”

”Yes, of course! You have all the proper deliveries, and it always sounds so cool.”

”Aw, thank you! You’re the best.”

”You too! You’re an amazing leader, you deserve it.”

Leo backflipped over their heads and shredded three soldiers at once.

“Hey! ToeHeads! You’re getting off track!” He yelled, cutting down yet another paper ninja.

”Leo! Stop reminding the bad guys about their job!” Raph grumbled, punching a hole through one.

They swiveled their heads so fast, the flames almost went out.

”Oh! Right! We shall both eradicate you!” The shorter one clinched his hand into a fist.

”Yeah? And how are you going to do that?” Mikey teased, doing several back handsprings and ending with a somersault into a middle split.

The foot ninjas behind him help up a 9, a 6 and an 8 on scoreboards.

”Aw, c’mon, a 6? Mikey’s razzmatazz is better than that!” Raph kicked them out of the way.

”Meh, I would give it a 7.56. He wobbled on the landing, and his handsprings ended with him leaning too far back.” Donnie shot a rocket construct at a couple of ninjas, knocking them off their feet and sending them to the floor.

”Stop wasting our time!” The foot lieutenant spat. He unsheathed his gun.

The motion rang out in the enclosed space. It was almost soundless, but the implications were huge.

They were prepared to kill.

Leo leapt into action, vaulting over a block of- was that gold? -and swinging down on the gun.

The brute blocked with his forearm and pushed back.

”Guys! Get out of here!” He cried, twisting his katanas and jabbing at the warrior’s arm.

”What? No! Leo!” Mikey screamed. He tried to run forward, but a foot ninja caught his mid-stomach and threw him at Raph, who was also trying to get to their brother. Mikey managed to pop into his shell at the last minute, where Raph managed to land him safely in his arms.

Donnie catapulted himself with his bō staff, flipping over dozens of ninjas and reaching for his twin. “No! I can’t lose you again!”

A gunshot rang out in the fray, causing the loud, crazy room to dive into pin-drop silence.

Leo’s eyes widened just a tiny bit.

“Oh,” he said, showing off his incredible medical knowledge. “That’s not good.”

He collapsed, a pool of red blooming beneath him.

Chapter Text

“LEO!”

Donnie watched in horror as his twin- not that he’d ever say it out loud -collapsed face first onto the tile floor and remained motionless.

No no no no, that’s not how it’s supposed to go, no no no no-

Donnie felt his stomach lurch, his eyes widened, his nose picked up the scent of iron, of blood, Of his own brother’s blood-

The sounds, the color, the texture, the silky soft liquid trailing over his skin, the Krang’s spaceship covering his shell, the tentacles digging in, each and every pore, slimy and gooey and icky and disgusting and dripping and wet and sticky and-

“-Donnie! Donnie, it’s okay. Donnie, calm down. Shh, shh, it’s okay.”

Donnie blinked. Wasn’t he just…

”I moved us on the roof after you started shaking.” Raph explained, drawing him closer to his plastron. “I couldn’t risk any-“ his voice cracked. Raph gathered himself and cleared his throat. “Anyone else getting hurt.”

Why did Raph sound so calm? How could he sound so calm after they just watched their brother get shot, a tiny hole leaking blood, more coming out each second, pooling around him, encircling him, covering him like a blanket, the blanket of death-

“No, Donnie. Leo isn’t dead. See, your bracer. You can see his heart rate. Look, put your fingers on it, feel the heart beat, breathe with it. In, out. In, out.” Mikey backed away slowly, knowing his brother’s tendency to lash out when overstimulated.

Donnie put his other hand on the contraption and took a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

Donnie turned his head, meeting his brothers’ worried eyes hovering over him.

”Y-you got overstimulated, little bro.” Raph chuckled weakly. “Raph isn’t feeling too good either.”

Oh. He did it again. Donnie thought distantly, his thoughts a mile away.

Ever since the Kraang, he had gotten overstimulated much easier, averaging to about 2 per day.

The spaceship had really ruined him, hadn’t it?

His thoughts reminded him of his brothers, still anxiously waiting for him to respond.

”I mean, if you’ve gone non-verbal-“ Mikey hastily tried to back off, subtly positioning himself out of Donnie’s mouth reach.

”No, little brother. I am able to speak currently.” He sighed and rubbed his temples. “I apologize. I realize I have gotten more susceptible to the overstimulation than before. I will work harder to stop them.”

”What? No, Don-“

”After all, what use am I to the team if I can’t build tech or use it when no one else can. If I am overstimulated, I am incapable of handling the situation. I would be a hinderance, and for that, I apologize.” Donnie continued, not realizing he interrupted his brother. “You all are so amazing at fighting, yet all I can do is build some contraptions that only I can use, and if I am otherwise occupied, they are of no use to the Mad Dogs, just like me.”

His brothers’ horror had been slowly growing during his entire speech. They knew about Leo’s inferiority complex (and tried their hardest to prevent it) but Donnie? Their genius, arrogant, stolen-stuff-from-famous-rich-people-and-said-it-was-for-the-sake-of-the-people-of-the-earth brother?

”Don, no… is this really how you think of yourself?” Mikey whispered.

Donnie looked away, unable to meet his younger brother’s eyes.

Raph reached out, his hand lingering in the air, but never touching his brother’s skin.

Donnie turned around and hugged himself like it was the only thing keeping him together.

”Hey! You turtles done having a sob fest?” A raspy voice cut through.

Raph sent a blistering glare at the foot lieutenant, who recoiled.

”We are having a family moment. Shut the fuck up, and-”

”No.”

Raph and Mikey turned, confused, to their brother.

Donnie stood in an offensive stance that sharply contrasted his previous position.

His eyes still looked sad, but his grin was downright terrifying.

His brothers watched apprehensively as he strutted confidently to the roofs edge and peered down.

He glanced back at them.

”They want a fight?” He asked, already taking his  bō staff out. The metal gleamed menacingly in the faint moonlight.

”Then we’ll give them one.”

With those parting words, he leaped down from the rooftop and began to walk, taking his time, to the Foot Clan and his brother.

His eyes caught the faded light in a way that was not human, making them look almost… white?

”Foot Clan! You, you, you, you and you! Attack!” The brute pointed his soldiers at Donnie.

He just grinned.

The soldiers rushed at the turtle, all lunging for him at once.

He ducked and stabbed straight upwards.

It pierced the heart of every single one at once.

He shook the blood off his staff like it was nothing and continued nonchalantly.

Raph and Mikey shared a look.

They knew what their brother was doing wasn’t good, but… was it bad that they wanted to join in?

The Red Angel of Preventing Harm wouldn’t do this… He thought, watching Donnie skewer more than seven of those paper ones with an extension of his bō. But then, his thoughts turned to Leo. But I’m Raph.

He grabbed Mikey and jumped down, his feet landing on a pavement with a huge boom.

He let go of his squirming younger brother and straightened his back.

He gripped his sais in a defensive stance, even though the thoughts running through his head were anything but.

Beside him, Mikey set fire on his kusari-fundo without an extra thought.

He glowered at the foot clan and swung it around in a slow circle.

”Let’s burn some shit.”

They leaped into action.

Raph grabbed a charging foot ninja’s arm and squeezed.

They cried out in pain, trying to wrench their limb from the buff turtle grasp, but the red one’s face remained unchanging.

The bone splintered, the sound ringing out like a piece of wood cut in half by an axe.

Mikey showed no sign of acknowledgement other than a slight shiver, which quickly disappeared after another one ran at him.

He swung his fiery weapon at the ninja’s leg.

The room filled with the scent of burning, like a fucked up barbecue.

Donnie breathed in scent and let it out with a terrifying smile and a sigh.

He twirled his bō staff casually, walking towards the leaders like he had all the time in the world.

He ignored the sight of his motionless brother in his peripheral vision.

”So,” he drawled, dragging out the vowel. The brute flinched at his tone, but the shorter one stood straight. “You use guns now.”

The tiny one scoffed. “Yeah, so? What’s it to you?”

Donnie had to restrain himself from lunging right there and then. What was it to him? It was his fucking twin, goddammit!

He took a subtle deep breath and let it out. Cool, cool, cool… cool, cool, cool. Don’t let your mask slip.

”Oh, nothing. Just… a big turnaround from your typical ninja weapons. That most of your team doesn’t even know how to use, by the way. Would you like a few lessons? I’m sure we could schedule something with your former foot recruit. She was, frankly, your only good soldier.”

”Do not speak of that- that- that traitor!” The lieutenant snapped, his hands curling into fists.

Donnie smirked. “Oops, it seems I have hit a sore spot. How does it feel, to lose one of your best allies because of your own mistakes?” He leaned on his staff like a cane and inspected his fingernails.

The foot lieutenant looked taken aback, but then something seemed to have clicked in his mind. He grinned, an expression that appeared to be all teeth.

”You’re about to find out.”

Donnie’s carefree expression melted into horror as the smaller man turned to his unmoving brother and raised his sword directly over his heart.

”NO!” A cry was ripped out of his throat as he dived for the blade that seemed to be moving slowly, just slow enough that each second felt like an eternity that he couldn’t help.

Glowing golden chains merged with red constructs and purple machine guns.

The sword skittered across the room, leaving both the men defenseless and vulnerable while facing three positively furious brothers.

Donnie summoned his bō staff and let out the giant drill extension.

Raph and Mikey wrapped their ninpo around the leaders and held them down, struggling but never able to be let free.

Donnie lowered it painstakingly, making them feel every single second of that pain.

Finally, the purple turtle swung it down heavily, straight at their necks…

only for it to extinguish the fire on their heads.

Donnie let the titanium staff stay there, stuck in the cement as he leaned forward so he was a hairsbreadth away from their faces.

He whispered something in their ears, something that made them shiver.

He straightened and gestured towards Raph.

”Grab our stupid brother.” He ordered. “The next sewer door is three blocks away.”

He strode out of the doors of the bank, not checking whether his brothers were following him or not.

Raph and Mikey traded glances and trailed after their brothers.

Ooh, they’re gonna have a talk…