Okay…so this is my first fanfic…ever. It's also my first full blown story. I usually write one shots, but I thought that I would try something new! Expand my horizons! :D It was pretty challenging for me to get it started because I'm used to moving quickly through the story not giving to much detail, but it was also a lot of fun! By the way, this story was inspired by the song Madness by Muse. (I know it's my title too…I'm just not good at naming things *sigh*) It's such an amazing song! Anyways, this story is my idea of how I think the Turtles would react to the breakdown of their leader, Leonardo. Hopefully this first chapter will make you want to read more…it's pretty short though. *face palm* Next time I'll do better! Pinky promise! Now please read and enjoy.

Madness

Chapter One: Normality

Madness.

The entire entity of what I once knew. The ironic thing was that it wasn't true madness. All of it made sense, it was normal. It was.

Madness.

This feeling of what I knew but didn't know. This darkness, consuming my mind and being. I must search for the light in this never ending darkness.

Madness.

I feel as though I am being clawed out from this familiar insanity. Not knowing what is ahead or behind me.

Madness.

The feeling of security when there is, in fact, none.

Donnie woke up suddenly from his nightmare clutching wads of paper. What the shell, he thought to himself, what was that all about? It felt so real…so…true, but it sounded like someone else was talking. If it wasn't me…who was it? Donnie rest his head in his hands. Ugh…I can't think about this right now. I have more important things to deal with. However, I can agree that my life may be a little mad… Donnie chuckled to himself, but in a good way. As if right on queue Mikey stormed into Donnie's lab hurling a water balloon at his brother, hitting Donnie right in the face. The satisfying splash put a huge grin on Mikey's face. "Doctor Prankenstine strikes again!" and as quickly as he came, Mikey sprinted away. Normally Donnie would chase after Mikey getting his revenge, but he was just too mentally drained to care. Donnie looked around to make sure that his experiments were going smoothly. His latest project was to fully understand the mutagen and its power. It would make him one step closer to fully understanding himself, his brothers, and the other mutants running around New York…and how to save them. Donnie walked over to Timothy. The proof of his failure. "Don't worry Timothy, I'm close to figuring out how to change you back." Donnie placed a hand on the glass containing his poor student, doomed to be a gelatinous mess unless he figured something out. "I promise."

Leo saw his brother sprinting down the hall. There was no doubt in his mind that his brother pulled yet another one of his pranks. It amazes him that no matter how many beatings he gets from all of them, he still continues to do it. That's Mikey for ya. Always doing whatever it took to put a smile on your face. Leo chuckled and thought to himself, He's probably going after Raph now… "HAHA! Doctor Prankenstine strikes!" "MIIIKEEEY!" A small smile formed on Leo's face. Called it. "I'm gonna beat you so far into your shell you'll never see the light of day again!" Leo laughed as he poured some coffee for himself and Donnie. Eventually, the Lair grew silent. Okay…Mikey's gonna make his move on me in about three…two…one. Leo slid to the left expertly dodging his brother's water balloon causing it to splash against the fridge. "DUDE! How do you always know?!" Mikey's face was so shocked. Leo couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry Mikey," Leo taunted "but Dr. Prankenstine has to do way better than a water balloon to get me!" "Oh don't you worry bro…Dr. Prankenstine is always ready." Mikey playfully punched his brother's arm. "Ok whatever you say…how 'bout you start breakfast? We all know that I don't need to do it." "Ain't that the truth." Raph, always with a pleasant greeting. "Mornin' Raph!" Mikey beamed "Don't push your luck Mikey." Mikey just smiled and continued to make scrambled eggs. Leo walked over to Raph and put his arm on Raph's shoulder "I wouldn't get rid of him just yet, Raph. He is the only one here who can really cook." Raph shrugged, "Doesn't mean that he's not a pain in my ass." Leo just smiled and shook his head. "I'm gonna take some coffee to Donnie." Mikey slowly lifted his attention from his scrambled eggs and to his brother. "Leo?" "Yeah Mikey?" "Is…is Donnie ok?" Leo paused. Donnie has been in his lab longer than usual. For about a week he has been in there, only to come out for food and water. It's normal for him to retreat into his lab for a day or so, but this prolonged absence is making everyone worry. "He's fine Mikey. You know how he gets. He has to finish one thing before he can think to do anything else." "Okay…here, take this." Mikey handed Leo a plate of eggs and some toast. "Thanks Mikey, Donnie will appreciate it."

Leo turned and headed to Donnie's lab. Slowly, Leo opened the door. He knows how his little brother doesn't like to be disturbed while he's working. "Donnie?" Donnie remained motionless, completely absorbed in his work. The sound of spinning vials and smell of chemicals filled the air. Leo still can't believe how his brother can stand all these fumes. It was enough to make anyone's head spin. "Donnie?" He continued to type on his computer lost in the charts and data, completely oblivious. At this point, Leo was done being gentle. "DONNIE!" Donnie jumped out of his chair, making it fly half way across the room. "LEO! You know I don't li- is that eggs and toast?" "Yeah, Mikey made it for you." Donnie smiled sheepishly, gratefully took the plate and coffee cup from Leo, and sat down to eat. "Thanks." He immediately started to shovel eggs into his mouth. After his brother was able to get a few good sized bites of egg, Leo broke the silence. "So…what have you been up to Donnie? The guys and I haven't seen you for days." Donnie paused and looked up from his plate. "Oh yeah, sorry about that. I just get so lost in my experiments…there is so much data for me to explore and new things to find and-" "Donnie..." "Sorry...I have been trying to understand the mutagen so that I can find a cure for Timothy," Donnie motioned over to his blob of a student "to no avail." Leo noticed the pile of empty mutagen cylinders. They had managed to get some from the Kraang a few weeks ago, at Donnie's request. "So that's why it smells so bad in here. That mutagen has a strong smell Donnie." "Really?" Donnie shrugged, "I haven't noticed." Leo rolled his eyes. "You need some fresh air, or at least come out of your lab. Mikey's getting worried." Donnie sprung up from his seat. "But I can't just abandon Timothy! He needs me! I have to fix my wrong. Master Splinter said that he's my responsibility and-" "You also have a responsibility to yourself, Donnie." Leo said calmly, "You need to take care of yourself. Staying in this lab for days on end is not good for you. If you go topside with us tonight, your mind will become more clear and alert. I'm sure once your head clears from all these harsh fumes," Leo waved the pungent smell from his nose "you'll be able to focus more on the task at hand." Donnie sighed. "You're right Leo...I need to take a break. I'll go tonight." "Good." A wave of relief flooded over Leo, but it was quickly replaced with suspicion. When Donnie gets like this, Leo thought to himself it's usually a lot harder to convince him to stop. "Why don't you bring your breakfast and eat it in the kitchen with the rest of us?" Donnie just sighed and looked over at Timothy. Okay, I really need to get him out of this lab. Concerned, Leo walked over to his little brother and placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "Don't worry, bro. You'll figure this out. I know you can." Donnie looked at his brother and smiled. "Thanks Leo." Smiling back, Leo put his hand on Donnie's shell and walked toward the kitchen. "No problem, now let's go." Finally.

"Donnie!" Mikey ran up to his big brother and gave him the tightest hug possible. "Hey Mikey." Donnie hugged back and looked over his brother's shoulder. "Hey Raph." "…sup." Raph looked up from his plate. "So brainiack, what cha been up to?" Donnie wiggled out of Mikey's hug. "I've been trying to figure out how to change Timothy back to normal." Raph laughed. "Him? The Pulverizeor?" Raph rolled his eyes. "That idiot got himself, and us, into so much shit. When you fix him Donnie, he will probably just go off and try to do it again. He's convinced that stuff will turn him into some sort of superhero." Leo glared at his brother. "Raph. Have some faith in your brother and Timothy." Raph…faith? Man, those fumes must have gotten to my head. "I'm not taking it back, dude. We all know it's the truth." Raph walked off to the pit and turned his attention to the TV.

"So have you found anything Donnie?" Leo asked "Well…sort of." Donnie slumped into his seat. "I have been able to see strands of Timothy's normal and mutated DNA during the blood tests. They are both coexisting with each other instead of fusing together. It has changed the way I've always looked at mutated DNA." Donnie noticed his brother's confused faces. "I always thought that the original DNA was changed into something new leaving behind barley any traces of the DNA's original form. That's what I found while looking at our blood tests. However, Timothy's case is different. Since he wasn't in contact with any organic specimen before his mutation, his DNA didn't have anything to merge with; but he still mutated." Raph's attention shifted from the TV to his brothers. "Well that's obvious, genius. He's a giant pile of goo." "Exactly." said Donnie. This just made his brother's even more confused. "Because he had nothing to merge with, there was nothing the mutagen could do besides melt him into a shapeless blob. That's what always confused me until now." Leo could sense where this was heading. "There was no bridge to connect the gap. Knowing this, I have formed a theory. The mutagen needs three parts in order for it to work properly. One," Donnie raised his finger. "the original DNA. Two," next finger "the DNA of another species which acts as the bridge between the two forms of DNA. Three," final finger "the mutagen DNA. Without these three components, the mutagen will not work leaving the victim shapeless. Since his human DNA is still intact, the mutated DNA is just influencing his human DNA telling it to be something but has nothing to use to tell it what to be. Therefore, Timothy is just a-" "Pile of goop!" Mikey's goofy grin spread across his face. "Yes, Mikey," Donnie smiled, "a pile of goop. If I could get some higher technology, maybe I could figure out a way to separate Timothy from the influence of the mutagen DNA." Great, Leo thought, he wants us to go to Kraang headquarters and steal more tech… "So we need to go to-" "No." Donnie was shocked. "But you didn't even hear what I was about to say, Leo." Crossing his arms, Leo prepared to stop his brother's plan. "I don't have to. You want to go and get more Kraang tech. We can't do that right now. They almost caught us last time, and we don't need any more trouble with them than what we already have. Plus they are working with Shedder. If they see us, there is no doubt in my mind that his men will show up too." Donnie couldn't believe what his brother was saying. Didn't he just support my research a few minutes ago? "But Leo! I'm so close to saving him! We are going topside tonight any way!" Leo stood his ground. "Yeah, to do our normal patrol, not to go looking for trouble." Donnie just stopped trying. Leo's so stubborn. Fighting with him will solve nothing. I'll just go later tonight. Maybe I'll bring Raph along…he always likes going against Leo's orders. "Fine." Donnie stormed off to his room. "Donnie! Dude, wait up!" Mikey sprinted after Donnie to go try and calm him down. "Man, Leo…I haven't seen you get like that with Donnie in a while…that's usually our thing." Raph playfully punched Leo's arm, a little too hard. Leo rubbed his arm "haha…yeah." Nothing good will come from this, Leo thought to himself, an angry Donnie is a dangerous...and distracted Donnie.

LATER THAT NIGHT

"Alright guys, let's go!" Time for another patrol. Usually Leo looks forward to going topside. It's a chance for him to clear his head and get some adrenaline pumping, especially if they get to beat down on some Purple Dragons but not tonight. Leo knows that something is going to go down. He just hopes that everything will end up alright.

Everyone was in check and ready to go, except Donnie. "Donnie! Let's go! We're burning moonlight!" Donnie poked his head out from the entry to his lab. "I'm sorry Leo, but I'm not going tonight. I'm so close to an answer. I can feel it." Leo's expression turned hard. Before he could say anything, Mikey decided to speak up. "Come on Donnie! You need to come with us, bro. We are a team." Mikey pleaded, "Like Leo said, it'll do ya good." "No. Sorry guys. I'll try to catch up with you later." Leo was too frustrated to try and convince his brother. Mikey can try, but Donnie will just end up staying. As they were fixing to leave, Donnie came out from his lab. "Hey Raph?" Raph whipped around, just as frustrated at Donnie as Leo. "What." "Could you stay and help me lift a few pieces of equipment around?" Raph just stood there and crossed his arms. "What's a matter soft shell? Too weak to do it yourself?" "Could you for once just help me out without insulting me?" Raph assumed an exaggerated thinking pose. "Hmmm…no." Donnie sighed "So will you do it or not?!" "Woah! Hold on there brainiack!" Raph walked over to his brother taking on an air of sarcastic sympathy "No need to pop a gasket." He said while waving his finger like a parent getting onto a small child. "You need all of those you can get." Donnie shoved his brother's finger away. "So you're staying?" Raph rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I'll stay soft shell." Donnie just shook his head and motioned to Leo and Mikey "We will be done here in about two hours. We will catch up to you then. If we don't, that means that we are still here." Leo knew there was more going on than moving equipment, but he decided not to deal with it right now. He needed to get this patrol started otherwise they wouldn't cover enough ground. "Sure. Alright Mikey, let's go." As soon as Mikey and Leo were out of sight and well into the sewers, Donnie and Raph started to move equipment.

"Alright, so which one are we movin' Donnie?" Donnie waved his hand "We are not moving equipment Raph." "What!? You mean I'm missin out on a Purple Dragon beat down for nothing?!" "Raph," Donnie said calmly, "we are doing something so much better than beating Purple Dragons." That caught Raph's attention. "Hmm…ok. So, what are we doing exactly?" "We are going into Kraang headquarters." Raph was surprised. It's not like Donnie to go against Leo like this. Raph thought to himself, This whole Timothy thing really has gotten to him…I kinda like it. It's about time he started standing up for himself. Raph gave Donnie one of his half smiles. "This…is gonna be fun."

Soooo? How'd I do? I think I did ok but not the best. I know it's short but I just felt like that was a good place to stop. Ugh…I'm still getting the hang of things… :/ All reviews are welcomed! Please give me some constructive criticism. That would help sooo much! :D