It's short; I'm sorry! At least I got something up? Love you all!

Disclaimer: don't own anything.

~TMNT~

Leonardo huffed and attempted to work out the kinks in his neck from his odd, slouched over position he found himself holding way too often for way too long. After the scientists had finished their humiliating samples, they'd left him alone on the table for a few hours, before coming back with food. They tried out many things. He had thought they'd start out with a "rabbit diet", as Raph liked to say, of greens and other vegetables, but these scientists weren't stupid. They'd seen and felt his muscles and were very excited and chatty about his "excellent vitals". It wasn't pizza, or Chinese, or Mike's home cooked spaghetti, but bits and pieces of ham thrown in with a few vegetables. Not his first choice and he was still a bit offended over it, but he'd eaten it happily. He needed to keep up his energy.

They kept up the routine of checking his vitals and taking a few more samples and feeding him a few different things (all while he was strapped down, humiliatingly enough forced to eat out of their hands) and all in all he felt very complacent. He impatiently waited for them to move on to their next step. This routine was all very boring. He felt out of shape and disconnected from everyone he cared about. A change of pace might at least help keep him distracted.

Finally, they decided they had fed him well enough and kept him from physical exercise for long enough. Dr. Forlaux had barely been able to contain his glee at getting to further study his interesting specimen, his homo testudines, and work towards his Nobel Prize. Forlaux often let interesting tidbits like that about himself slip out when it was just him and Leo, and Leo desperately filed away all the information he could for his future escape.

Dr. Forlaux came with his usual crew of five, plus several soldier-looking types holding leash-type instruments Leo recognized and did his best not to roll his eyes at. He'd kept silent so far, no need to ruin that now for no reason. The soldiers were tense and eyeing Leo suspiciously. He couldn't help a little involuntary twitch when the first circle of leash was thrown around his neck, the second following only a moment afterwards.

"Careful now, fellas," Dr. Forlaux cheerfully exclaimed, drawing out the word 'fellas'. "We don't want to hurt him." Forlaux was excited, it was easy to tell. Leo was excited about being able to move again, but he hadn't really anticipated this kind of control. "Go on, unhook him," Forlaux nodded towards Leo's restraints. Then he pulled out that damned recorder. Leo blocked out that mindless dribble, beginning to get a little offended over how the doctor treated him.

Tim approached Leo, as tense as the soldiers. His hands were still as he undid the restraints, though he backed away quickly. The soldiers tugged Leo forward a bit at Dr. Forlaux's nod. Leo wasn't prepared for how weak he would be. He'd been moved strictly while unconscious, drugged each time so far. Forlaux had taken good care of him, making sure he was turned and every part of his body wasn't constantly falling asleep, but it wasn't the same as really walking. He sagged as the soldiers pulled him forward and dropped to his knees.

The soldiers grunted and pulled the leashes taught. "Are you sure this thing doesn't walk on all fours?" the deep angry voice of one of the soldiers' asked.

"Of course, of course," Forlaux dismissed. "His build is completely bipedal. His crawl would be more of a human's if he used all four legs. He is definitely bipedal." Forlaux didn't even try to keep the excitement out of his voice. "He hasn't walked in a while. Loosen up on his neck, will you? He will regain his strength in a moment, yes!" Leo noticed nobody but Forlaux looked excited about letting him walk.

Well, even if he couldn't look it, Leo was excited, too. He clenched his teeth and stood again. His legs were shaky, but he was up. Forlaux clapped, one of his many annoying habits when he got excited over Leo and thoughts of his Nobel Prize.

"Come, fellas! He should be able to make it down the hall to our testing room," Forlaux beckoned, then started down the hall. His students quickly followed him, glancing back worriedly at Leo. Two more soldiers took point and two took rear. They had guns out, though they kept them pointed at the ground. The walk down the hall was otherwise unexciting. It was the most enjoyment Leo had gotten in this place.

He fought the urge to bolt when they entered the test room. Leo let the students strap him back in, relieved when the soldiers finally removed the leashes from his neck. Forlaux had just started to speak into his recorder again, using his hands to motion to his students of the tests he wanted (looked like taking Leo's heart rate and blood pressure for starters), when the door burst open and Leo's heart dropped.

Looking the same as ever – tailored black suit, long and slim tie, tall and lithe body, sharp sunglasses – Bishop made quite the dramatic entrance. His men milled in behind him, hands on their guns, but keeping them holstered. Dr. Forlaux looked flustered for the first time in front of Leo.

"What the hell is this?" he sputtered, as the soldiers in the room looked around, wondering if they should raise their guns.

"Dr. Forlaux," Bishop smoothly greeting, a small smirk on his face, "it's an honor to meet you." Leo shuddered slightly. "Thank you for getting started on this specimen, but that's actually my line of work. You see –"

"Excuse me," Forlaux said, his voice cold and hard, slightly surprising Leo, "but if this is your line of work, why was I not contacted about it?"

"My line of work is very secretive, Dr. I'm not surprised you and everyone else in this sector don't have clearance for that. I've been waiting for security clearances to pass, but I'm here to take my property." Leo wanted to knock that narcissistic smile off Bishop's face, but forced himself to play the unassuming animal.

Forlaux was fuming. His students were practically gaping at each other, probably happy to see some excitement. "I want to hear that from the proper authorities, Mr. Bishop. Excuse me if I don't believe you, storming in here with your army. What do you even think you know about this species?"

"Actually, Dr., I'm glad you asked. You see, I've actually worked with this exact specimen before. He may be playing tame with you, but I assure you, he is anything but." Bishop glanced in Leo's direction, that damned smirk ripping right into Leo's soul. Leo ground his teeth.

Forlaux smirked back. "So he escaped? Perhaps the proper authorities deemed you the wrong choice this time."

Bishop's smirk fell slightly, turned into more of a grimace, then he motioned his boys forward. They started shouting, pushing their guns in everyone's faces. Forlaux's five students screamed. The soldiers' lifted their guns, shouting back at Bishop's goons to lower theirs. Forlaux tried to make his way to his precious specimen, but three of Bishop's men pointing guns in his face stopped him. Bishop himself slithered through the crowd to stand before Leo.

Leo grit his teeth so hard, he swore one of them must have cracked. Bishop peered over his glasses. "Of all the turtles I expected to be caught in such a fashion, none of them was you, I must admit." Leo willed lasers to come out of his eyes or for the restraints to suddenly break so he could throttle Bishop. "Oh, I see, not going to speak? Don't worry, Leonardo, I've made some changes since I last hosted you and your brothers. For your convenience, our staff is fluent in monosyllabic grunts. It was actually specifically for Raphael, but I remember you having your fair share of mindlessness." Then Bishop actually had the nerve to stroke Leo's face. Leo shook his head back and forth and growled. Bishop merely laughed.

Bishop easily made his way through the crowd. With a simple wave of his hand, his army quit yelling, put their guns down, and marched out of the room. Bishop nodded to the shaken Forlaux. "Don't worry, Dr. I'll be back with the proper authority quite soon."

The student Kathy fainted as the others stayed frozen in shock. One of the soldiers went to help her as another asked Forlaux if he was okay. Forlaux slowly sank down, shaking his head no. His fingers played with the recorders buttons, but he didn't speak into it. Another solider was barking a report into his radio. Rage boiled through Leo so much so that he actually physically shook. He was in some deep shit.