Chapter Text
“Alright, boys. You remember the plan?” Four mutant turtles were standing on the roof of a building across from the Grand Nexus Hotel. After the invasion, Donnie set up a system to detect and alert them of any emergencies that require the turtle's immediate attention. They didn't want a repeat of the Krang invasion, after all. And just an hour ago, they were alerted to Big Mama stirring up some trouble.
Leo was surprised when he heard Big Mama was back. After the Shredder incident, Big Mama disappeared. And after the invasion, they kind of forgot about her. And it turns out she was just biding her time.
Apparently, she didn't learn her lesson after the Shredder and has been collecting Krang materials in hopes of upgrading her Battle Nexus. Leo knows firsthand how dangerous that could be. For them and for Big Mama. So he started working on a plan as soon as they got the alert.
“You got that Anti-Krang stuff, right Donnie?” He was referring to the serum April had found prior to the invasion that seemed to work well against the Krang. Donnie had synthesized his own soon after finding that out.
“Scoff. I wouldn't forget probably the most important part of this plan, Nardo.” A metal arm extended out of Donnie's battle shell, showing off the vial of Donnie's Patented Anti-Krang Serum.
“Good. So the plan is simple. We ninja in, infect Big Mama's Krang material with Donnie's Anti-Krang solution, and ninja out.” Leo listed off the key parts of the plan to his brothers. “And remember, this is a stealth mission. We can't be seen.”
He motioned his finger over his lips to emphasize his point before pointing at Donnie.
“Donnie, you get into Big Mama's systems. Give us a direct path to her supply without the threat of cameras.” Donnie nodded his head, already focused on his wrist computer.
“Mikey. Big Mama's got mystic traps as well. So when we get to her supply, we'll be relying on your knowledge to keep us safe.” He pointed at Mikey who gave him a thumbs up.
“You got it, Leon!”
“And Raph,” Lastly, Leo pointed at Raph. “While Donnie and Mikey are focused on the Krang matter, you'll be on lookout. Make sure nothing gets past you while Mikey and Donnie work their magic!”
“If anyone tries to get past Raph, I'll clobber ‘em!”
“And I like your attitude, big guy!” Leonardo unsheathed one of his Katanas, ready to portal them into the hotel when Donnie cleared his throat.
“And what will you be doing, Leo?” Donnie was looking at Leonardo expectantly. After the invasion, Leo was really hurt and was still on the mend. While he's a lot better than he was months prior, his brothers still worry.
Leo sighed.
“I'll be making sure not to get into any dangerous situation. My one and only job is to portal us in and portal us out when we're done.” He threw his arms out. “Are you happy?”
“When you finally stick to your word, yes.”
“Look, I promise I'll be careful, Donnie. Now vámanos hermanos!”
With the declaration, Leo swung his blade in a circular motion. At the edge of the building, a blue portal appeared for them to walk through. Donny was the first to enter, followed shortly after by Mikey. A moment later, when they were sure everything was fine on the other end, Leo and Raph entered.
The portal landed the turtles in one of the many hallways of the hotel. But this hallway was different. They were in one of the hallways below the top floor, Big Mama's suite and office. Silently, the turtles hid from any cameras that could see them until Fonnie was done.
“What's our status, Donnie?” Leo whispered.
Donnie silently tapped something on his wrist for a moment before his beak curled into a smirk. “Gentlemen, we are now invisible.”
“Alright, good.” Leo got up from his position behind one of the potted plants. Now that the cameras weren't a problem, Leo looked around the hallway they were in. According to Donnie's wrist computer, they were on the side opposite the elevator. With a silent command, he sent Donnie forward to lead them.
“Alright. There are a few of Big Mama's staff in our path, but nothing we can't handle.”
Donnie led the quartet through the winding halls, making sure to alert them whenever one of Big Mama's yokai lackeys was about to appear. Since this was a stealth mission, they made sure to completely hide their presence until the yokai was gone. But with their luck, they were bound to be spotted. Leo's just glad it wasn't him that was spotted.
A wolf yokai had just passed them, completely unaware. But when they got out of their hiding spots, Raph had knocked over a vase sitting on one of the tables lining the halls. While the sound of the vase hitting the carpeted floor was light, the wolf was able to pick it up with his heightened hearing.
Their only warning was the wolf's ear perking up before he turned around to face them.
“Intruders! It's the turtles!” The wolf yokai rushed at Leo with his arms out, claws extended. He was planning on swiping them against Leo's plastron but was unable to. Last minute, Leo ducked out of the way causing the wolf to stumble towards Raph.
With the wolf off balance, Raph was able to hit him. The force sent him flying across the hallway, knocked out. Donnie spoke up after the wolf was dealt with.
“Hate to break it to you guys, but we need to hurry. I was able to stop them from alerting the entire building, but the staff on this floor know we're here!”
“Alright people, move it!” Leo took the lead as soon as Donnie made the statement, running past his brothers toward the elevator. His brothers were quick behind him. With everyone on the floor alerted to their presence, they had to be quick.
“Freeze!” More Yokai attempted to block their path. Raph ran ahead, using his ninpo to barrel through Big Mama's lackeys.
“Donnie!” Leo shouted.
“The elevator should be just ahead!” Donnie's head was buried in his wrist computer trying to find the most optimal route. “Right!”
The turtles scrambled to follow his instruction. It was now a straight shot to the lift, but with a dozen yokai in between them and the lift, it wasn't gonna be easy. Or it wouldn't be if they didn't have a badass mystic warrior in training.
“You're up, Mikey!” Leo stopped in his place to give his baby brother the floor.
“Oh yeah! Time to razz my tazz!” Mikey threw his arms forward. The scars on his arms lit up as he summoned his chains, letting them run wild against the yokai in their way. The chains yanked, smashed, and threw all the yokai in their way, giving them a clear path to the elevator. “Next stop, Big Mama's office!”
As the doors shut, the turtles could see some of the remaining henchmen desperately trying to catch up. And in a show of good sportsmanship, the turtles waved them goodbye before the doors shut.
“Alright, we don't need to worry about them anymore. I've blocked all communications and elevator access on that floor.” Donnie smiled smugly as the elevator activated, transporting them to the top floor of the hotel. “The only way in or out is through stairs, so even if they do contact someone, we should be looong gone.”
“Ahaha-lright! I don't mean to toot our own horns, but I think this mission is in the bag!” Leo rested one katana over his shoulder as he leaned over the other. “What say you all to some Run of the Mill afterward? Do you guys think our Saved The World card still has some points in it?”
“Didn't you use the last of those points a month ago?” Raph asked.
“Yeah, and yet we still don't have to pay for any pizza, thanks to Moi.” Leo guilt-tripped Señor Hueso into giving them more free pizza. If he played his cards right, he could get another two weeks of free pizza. He was interrupted by Donnie earing his throat.
“As riveting as this conversation is, we're here.” The turtles all fell into an unsettling silence as the elevator opened to Big Mama's office. Leo was the first to step into the office.
The office was just as cold as he remembered it being when he first came there over a year ago. Leo carefully stepped through the office until he reached the center of it. He motioned for Raph to come in next to have him look through the window on the wall opposite the elevator. With her ego, Leo could easily imagine Big Mama standing at the window, looking across the vast city.
‘Alert us if you see anything.’ Leo signed as Raph positioned himself by the window. They usually don't rely on signing during missions, but they were too deep in enemy territory to do anything but. With Raph in position, Leo moved to the large golden vault door Donnie and Mikey were already at.
With his job complete, Donnie hung back to give Mikey and Leo room to work. Leo was ready to insert the code but waited for Mikey to prepare his spell. It would neutralize any mystic trap or security in the vault. As the mystic expert, this was Mikey's job. Leo held up his hand to count down as soon as Mikey was prepared.
Three.
They had to get this correct. If Mikey cast the spell a moment too soon or a moment too late, it'd be rendered useless and alert the entire building. They made sure to agree on the timing before starting the mission.
Two.
Donnie watched in anticipation as Leo brought down his first finger. He knew, logically, that Mikey was perfect for this job, but he couldn't help but worry. Mikey's only just been allowed to use mystic arts during missions by Draxum. But sadly, there wasn't much Donnie could do mystic-wise, being a firm believer of science, except give Mikey his support.
One.
Mikey tensed as the second finger dropped. Behind him, he could feel Donnie's presence. He didn't move from his position, but he could feel Donnie's worry. And his reassurance. It helped ground Mikey to the moment and keep his attention on the spell. He gave Leo a nod, ready.
As Leo entered the one-digit code, Raph noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A large figure was rapidly approaching from above and heading towards the window. His eyes widened.
“Guy-” The window shattered as a large owl yokai crashed into Raph. The shout caused the others to look away and for Mikey to lose concentration. But it was too late. As the vault opened, dozens of Big Mama's yokai staff poured out.
Within seconds they were overwhelmed. Raph was already pinned down and bound by the owl yokai. Mikey went down next. A bear yokai got behind him and grabbed him while another yokai wrapped him in a rope. Then it was Donnie. After Mikey, Leo desperately looked around for his twin, only to find him tied up in the same rope.
Leo was barely even aware of what was going on. One moment, they were nearly done with their mission, and the next, his brothers were all hogtied, and Leo was being grabbed from both sides. He was forced to drop his swords as his arms were forced to his sides. He tried to get out of their grip until, eventually, he, too, was bound by the red rope.
“Oh, you turtley-boos got here earlier than I expected!” Big Mama's overly cheerful voice echoed from inside the vault. With the ego of someone who just bested the turtles, she walked out of her vault in her spider yokai form. “I really had to scramble to get everything set up!”
Leo's mind was scrambling for anything. A plan, an idea, heck, he'd even take a mere thought. He already tried using his ninpo, but whenever he tried, it was absorbed by the rope. There was nothing he could do. So he did what he always does in situations like this. He bluffed.
“H-haha…” Leo winced. He did not want to show any sign of nervousness. “Come on, Big Mama. You don't want to do this, right?”
“Leo, what are you doing!” Raph whispered from his position by the window. He was ignored as Big Mama looked at Leo.
“Why, of course, I want to do this, turtley-boo. Why else would I set up this entire trappy-doo?”
The mask Leo's been wearing nearly his entire life fell into place. It was time to let the face man shine. His beak curled up into a smug grin.
“Well, I might be mistaken, but haven't you trapped us before and we still got out and beat you? I mean, you've put us in impossible tasks and we still won.”
Her mouth shifted into a frown as Big Mama took on a thoughtful expression. “Hm. You do have a point. No matter how many times I put you all in a fizzy-winkle, you turtley-boos always manage to best me.”
“Exactly! So you might as well give up now and-Woah!” Leo was interrupted as Big Mama grabbed the rope tied around him, lifting him up. She was bringing him to the window. “W-what, uh…what are you doing?”
“Well, it's simple! I'm going to take care of you before you become a tissle-tassle for me!” She held Leo over the edge of the broken window to drop.
“H-Heh.” Leo didn't really understand why, but he could feel his face man mask slipping. “If I had a nickel for everything I was held over an edge in your hotel to drop to my doom, I'd have two nickels. Not a lot, but it's strange that it's happened twice.”
“No…no, Leo. Stop! Stop talking right now!” He could hear Donnie start to shout. Well, they all were, but Donnie was the loudest. “You're not doing this again!”
“Oh, you always do have a joke ready. But try as you might…you cannot escape death.”
Memories flashed in his mind of a dimension so dark and cold. Of a decision he made months ago that would've, no, should've cost his life. Of drifting through that dimension, waiting for the end, only for the impossible to happen.
Leo smiled. Not the face man. Leo. He smiled because he knew that whatever Big Mama threw at him, he'd survived much, much worse. This was the smile of someone who believed he would cheat death a second time.
“Watch me.”
The last thing he heard before being dropped was the shouts of his brothers.
“Leo!”