Under Wraps Part 7

Her body shook and trembled as she slowly came to. Bethany's nose filled that very familiar mossy and sewage scent and her eyes popped open, but the second they did, she felt disoriented. Her stomach and chest was still burning, but she quickly sat up in panic. Was she still being experimented on? She attempted to focus her eyes on a spot on the wall, but it did no good and she started hyperventilating.

The squeaks and groans she produced jarred Raphael out of his sleep and he blinked several times before seeing the girl. She was sitting upright, holding her stomach and her eyes were shooting back and forth, as if she had no control over then. He jumped to his feet and quickly approached the bed. There was no reaction from her so she must not have been able to see him properly.

Bethany could sense someone was near, but she was so dizzy that it was impossible to tell who. Judging by the smell, she figured it was one of the turtles. She was grateful to be out of Stockman's lab, but she was still wary of them and suddenly a frightening thought crossed her mind, "Luke!" she cried out. "Where's my s-son…my baby!"

Raph touched her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down, but did not speak. She flinched at first, but ignored the gesture, still calling for her son. Her arms flew up and around as she started screaming. "J-just calm down," Raph said, but it did no good. She continued her cries and pleaded for her boy.

As Raph continued to try, his brother Don was rudely awakened by the ruckus and groggily pulled himself out of his chair.

Seeing that Bethany was in a state of shock and fear, Don quickly prepared a temporary sedative that would force her muscles to stop convulsing. "Hold her arms," he instructed Raph. Once the syringe was ready, Don jogged to Raph's side and quickly injected Bethany.

Only a minute or two went by before she started feeling her limbs grow heavy and then the person holding her arms laid her back against the pillow.

"What happened?" Don asked.

"Not sure. I was woken up by her too. She was screamin' for her kid," Raph replied.

They were both distracted by her gentle sniffs and mumblings, "My boy…I w-want my boy…"

"Maybe we should bring the kid down?" Raph suggested.

"Yeah, I agree. I just don't want him to stress out over…oh shit!" Don said and quickly rushed over to the bedside. Bethany had begun heaving and he quickly turned her over onto her side. "Raph, grab my garbage!"

In a flash, Raph had his hands on the can and rushed over to her. Don tilted Bethany's head slightly so she could get it all out of her system and into the trash, which Raph held bravely. Donnie held back her hair as she retched. When it was over, Don kept her on her side with her face near the edge of the bed and a new can on the floor, just in case.

"Geez, poor girl," Don muttered and he placed his hand on her forehead, "She's hot. All that experimentation really took its toll on her. For now, let's keep her son with Mikey until she can keep her stomach under control and we bring down this fever."

While Raph and Don continued discussing the child, Leo had popped in the lab, rubbing his eyes and yawning, "What's goin' on guys?"

"We're trying to figure out what to do next. I'm almost sure that Stockman put something in her system and her body's not taking well to it. But now that I have her, I'm going to do that blood test while she's relaxed," Don said and he went over to his desk to start procedures for a draw.

Leo approached the side of the bed and studied her, head to fingertips. She was still covered up by that curtain he took from Sacks. "We should clean her up." He then saw something unusual about her fingers, "Hey Don, do her fingers look a little blue to you?"

Normally, blue fingers was a bad sign and Don rushed over to the bed to inspect her face. Her head fell back on the pillow, but she was still breathing. He then picked up one of her hands. Leo was right, there was a bluish tinge surrounding her fingernails and spreading towards the first knuckle. "Odd."

"What is it?" Raph asked.

"I'm not really sure, but I'll take a wild guess. When I was hacking the security system last night, I found files about us and project Renaissance. Plus there were some sub-projects where a little bit of the mutagen they extracted from us years ago was saved. They extracted the mutant gene and mixed it with other cold blooded animals. The proteins fused and Sacks put them into cryogenic freeze for later use. From what Cassidy let on, they may have opened the project back up. It's listed under 'Project ML."

"Did you destroy the files?"

"Of course. I don't want any trace of us or the project falling into anyone's hands. But I somehow believe I'm going to regret doing that, especially with this new development." Don held Bethany's hand up and his brothers noticed the blue had spread to her second knuckles. "I'm really hoping I can make a counter drug without any information from the project." He gently put her hand back down on the bed and Bethany groaned again. She had coughed a few times and started heaving again, to which Don quickly picked up the can and waited for her to finish. But her stomach was empty, so nothing came up. "I'm going to take the trash out before it stinks up the lab…well more so than usual. Watch her."

Leo nodded and took a seat in Don's chair while Raph remained in his corner. It was a very awkward silence. In fact it was driving Raph crazy so he broke the ice first.

"So…last night, you guys destroyed the lab?"

Leo looked at his brother, "Yeah, yeah…well not really. Just took out some guards with guns, scared a few scientists, rescued her and her son, same old day in the life of a ninja turtle. Didn't expect her to be so sick though." Clearly something was bothering Raph again, but Leo was contemplating not asking why. He feared another admission of something terrible, but Raph's been at home the last few days, so he figured what the hell? "Somethin' else up?"

"Yeah. I just…Leo, if something happens to her, I'll never recover from this. It's my fault she was abducted and why she's so sick. I fucked up big…"

Seeing how pathetic and regretful his brother looked, Leo felt a little remorse for being so tough on him, but its the only way Raph learns. "Raph, Don's going to do everything he can to make sure she gets better. For now, you just focus on how you can improve your relationship with her or at least ask her for forgiveness. I've mentioned before that it will be hard, but it's possible. I've been seeing how hard this is for you, so I'm offering my help since we're brothers. I'll do my part to help her understand that you're not as bad as you seemed that night."

"Really? I appreciate that…I just, I'm no good at this shit. Thanks bro…" Raph said, glad that Leo was talking to him again without a harsh tone. He then eyed his sais in Leo's belt for a moment, but veered away when Leo caught him.

"You still need to earn those back. I know it isn't your strength to be extremely patient, but don't try to rush it."

"Right."

There was a bit of movement on the table and both turtles stopped talking in favor of seeing what Bethany would do. Leo had a bucket nearby just in case, but this time she got up on her elbows and blinked a few times.

"I c-can't…stop my eyes…" she moaned.

Leo was by her side in an instant, "Can you see?"

"Spinning…"

Leo took a quick look at her pupils, they were moving back and forth rapidly. "Okay, keep your eyes shut for now so you don't get dizzy or sick again."

"Who are y-you?"

"It's Leonardo, remember? Large talking turtle with the blue bandana?"

Her shoulders relaxed a bit and she shut her eyes as requested, "I remember you…" she whispered.

"Good, then you know that we won't hurt you. You're safe with us." Leo patted her on the shoulder gently.

"My stomach…feels, ugh…" she whimpered.

"Are you going to throw-up again?" Leo asked, preparing to run for the bucket if need be.

"No, its burning…like my chest." She pulled herself upright and placed a hand over her sternum. "Here."

"Donnie's gonna look at you when he comes back. We'll get to the bottom of this. Do you remember what Stockman did to you?"

She tried to think, but it was very fuzzy. "They stuck me…some ugly green and brown liquid." Then she remembered something else; the face of her dead ex and she gasped. "Carson! They killed him! And my son! Where is he?!"

"Calm down, your son is safe. He's here with us. Mikey is looking after him," Leo explained.

"I want my son…" she pleaded.

Donatello returned with the empty trash can and slid it back under his work desk. "I see she's awake. How are you feeling ma'am?"

"Please, my son!" she begged.

The three turtles looked at each other before Don finally said, "Raph, why don't you go get-"

"No!" she cried, "Not him…"

That was a strike to the gut and Raph looked defeated. It was going to be a long process to fix his mistake. Instead, Leo went out to fetch Mikey and have him bring Luke down. He found his little brother with the child in the kitchen; both eating a bowl of cereal. The boy looked up at Leo and then to Mikey.

"Remember Leo? He's my big brother," Mikey said and he smiled.

"Bethany is asking for her son. When he's ready, bring him to the lab."

"Momma!" Luke cried out and he flew out of his chair and took off running, not really knowing where he was going.

"Wish I had that kid's energy today!" Mikey said and he leapt out of his chair to chase down the child.

"You have no idea, Mikey…" Leo chuckled and he followed. Mikey was busy catching the boy, who appeared to be in a much happier state now that he had a playmate. He screeched when Michelangelo caught him and hoisted him up over his shoulder. They were both laughing and heading towards the lab.

Leo held the door open to allow Mikey inside and then Luke spotted the other turtles and grew quiet. He was curious to know about them since he only saw pictures, but that could wait because he spotted his mother lying on a bed between them.

"Mom!" Luke squealed and started to climb down Michelangelo's shell before landing with a plop onto the floor and running to her side.

"Luke!" she cried and held out her arms, despite her pain.

Luke pulled himself up on the bed and crawled into her arms, where she embraced him tightly. "Oh my god, I thought the worst when Stockman took you from me…" She had some tears well up, but refused to let them fall. Surprisingly when the moisture hit her eyes, she could sense a difference in their movement. It slowed down. "I need eyedrops! My eyes are returning to normal and I want to see my son!"

Don quickly dug through his first aid kit and produced a saline solution. "Tilt your head back." While Bethany held her son, Don gently lifted her lids and put several drops in each. It stung a little bit, but quickly went away and she blinked profusely until she had about half their normal clarity. When her son's face was easier to see, she hugged him and planted a kiss on his forehead. Then, as best as she could muster, she gave the turtles her first words of gratitude.

"Thank you…for getting my son back to me…and for saving my life."

"You're welcome," Leo said. It was a push in the right direction and now that a connection had been established, perhaps Raph's chances of making peace with her were better. Plus Donnie may have a shot at a blood draw without hassle.

"Momma, why are your hands blue?" Luke blurted out as he touched her fingers.

"Hm, what?" Bethany was confused. "My hands?"

"Yeah, did you do finger-painting today?"

That got her looking at her palms and she saw her skin had darkened a lot, but her vision was still fuzzy. "What the…" she muttered and tried rubbing whatever it was stuck to her fingers. It wasn't coming off. "How did my hands…?" She was careful not to panic in front of Luke.

"We're not sure yet, but I would like to find out," Don said. He was putting on a pair of gloves and dragged a tray table by her bed. "If you would consent to the blood draw this time, I may be able to help you." He then took a chair, rolled it up bedside, and sat down to await her decision. "If you're not wanting to, then we'll do our best to keep you comfortable."

Bethany groaned. She couldn't go out into public with hands like this! In fact, it looked as though the blue was spreading little by little. At this point, her wrists were slowly turning. There was no way she'd ever go back to the labs either or seek help with a doctor. What would they know about mutagen and blue hands? She'd be an experiment all over again! Better to bite the bullet. "All right, go ahead."

Don smiled. "Good, we'll do this now then. Your son will have to be off the bed though. We don't want a shaky surface."

Bethany brushed her fingers through her son's hair, "Why don't you hop down for a bit, honey." At first he wouldn't go, but Mikey promised to play video games with him if he left the lab. Bethany was comfortable with letting Luke go and she said she'd see him afterwards. When the pair left the room, Raph and Leo decided they weren't really necessary and went out to practice in the dojo for a while, leaving Don and Bethany alone. He had the needle ready and three sterile tubes set aside for the draw. He cleaned up a part of her arm with alcohol and found a vein.

"Good spot, nice big vein makes this easy." He then pressed the needle against her skin and inserted it.

She only flinched slightly and turned her head so she didn't have to see her blood filling the first tube. As he continued, she looked over her other hand and wondered if the spreading would stop. It was slightly past her wrist now. If her hands were turning, was there any other part of her turning color as well? She reached for the bottom of the sheet, curtain, whatever she was wrapped in and tugged up the bottom to see her toes. Her eyes widened when she was greeted with blue feet. In fact the coloring was a tad darker in some spots, almost as though her skin was thickening.

Don noticed her feet as well, but he ignored it for the moment so he could finish up. When the third tube was full, he carefully withdrew the needle and placed a piece of gauze on the tiny hole. "Hold this down for a few minutes."

"My stomach still feels like its on fire and my chest too. It's like, someone poured a bunch of chemicals down my throat and now they're eating away at my insides."

"Hm, I can do an ultrasound if you want. See if anything is up," Don said as he put the three tubes into a rack and placed them near his microscope. "I don't know if anything will show up on it. Or I can give you a pain killer."

"The pain killer sounds good."


Raph had taken a fall and landed relatively hard on his ass. His sparring session with Leo was rough, like always, but the guilt he carried was a huge distraction.

"C'mon Raph, you're not focusing," Leo barked.

"Hard to focus when my opponent's got my weapons!"

"I already told you how to get them back." Leo leapt at his brother and brought his wooden sword downwards in a hard strike.

Raph quickly rolled out of the way, "It just ain't the same…"

"I know you got this, Raph!" Leo encouraged and dodged a swing from Raph's staff. "It just takes patience and I know you've grown more patient throughout the years! Don't let this incident cause you to regress!"

They clashed together in a fight of strength. Who would back down first?

"Every day that goes by, I lose a piece of myself! You have no idea what that's like! To commit an act so heinous that it eats ya alive!" Raph shouted.

"So what'll you do about it?" Leo asked. "Mope? Smash down doors until you feel better? Dad always said your anger would destroy you! Figure out how to make peace!"

"Leo, she won't even look at me! How can I fix it?!" He pushed forward, making Leo's feet drag across the tatami.

Leo ground his feet into the floor and halted Raph's advance, "Stop doubting yourself!" He shoved his sword and pushed Raph away, "If you keep that up, you'll waste away in despair. I promised you, Raph! I promised I would do what I can to help. You just need to follow through on my word. Show her that you are more than deviant!"

Then Leo leapt through the air and slammed his sword down, hitting Raph's staff with massive force and causing it to break in two pieces. But the fight wasn't over just yet. If anything, this helped as Raph was used to fighting with two smaller weapons. He continued his attack on Leo, treating the two sticks as though they were his sais. It seemed to work a lot better for him, but he still really wanted his own weapons back. "I am not a deviant!"

"Good! I know you're better than that!" Leo agreed, glad to see this "pep talk" was taking a more positive turn. "Show her exactly what you've shown your brothers all these years! That you're an honorable ninja and comrade!"

Raph smashed his sticks against the wood sword and they deadlocked once again and he pushed even harder, trying to force his dominance over his brother. It was strange, Leo was putting in a lot of effort during this sparring session, but most of the battle was chit-chat. Leo was training his mind. Normally they only shouted insults at one another during a fight, but this was more of a conversation. It was now that Raph realized he could use his physical strength all he wanted, but that was what got him in trouble in the first place. He overpowered Bethany and took advantage of her and now he was doing the same to Leo, trying to overtake him and win this match. It was all about posturing…

Raph knew he had a lot of physical strength, but it was time to muster his mental and emotional strength. He then let up on Leo, pulling out of the fight, "I get it. I'm my own enemy, bro. Every time I'm faced with a problem or overcome with emotion, I either beat the hell out of the problem or bury it in anger. I guess I was so angry with what I couldn't have, that I went out and took it. I stole someone else's security and ruined them."

"Raph, do you know how I cope with my problems?" Leo asked.

"I figured you meditated," Raph replied.

"Well, that's one way. I did that frequently when dad was around and for a few years after, until maybe the last ten years. When I became overwhelmed with thoughts and emotion, I started keeping a journal and then turned some of those thoughts into stories. Then I went about and found a free website to publish a few. What I found interesting is that people liked my plots because they were entertaining or helpful. I like that I can remain anonymous and help people at the same time. You know, one of my readers actually attempted suicide once and she read one of my stories once she left the hospital. Now she's turned her life around and is mentoring teenagers who've attempted suicide as well. Now I occasionally type articles for blogs that help people or give advice. It gives me a little income as well." Leo chuckled.

"That is so you to be given people advice or wisdom. I don't think I'd be too good at writing," Raph said.

"You don't have to be. Just getting it all down on paper helps. If you don't want to write, you could try something else. Maybe drawing? You did draw when you were a kid and sculpted a bit. Remember your self-portrait?"

Raph remembered the wooden sculpture of himself fondly, "Been a while since I made one of those."

"Get back into it," Leo said. Maybe it'll give you some direction and who knows, maybe Bethany appreciates art. Doing something you admire might show her that you have compassion."

"Yeah, I think I may get back into some art. May as well live up to my namesake." Raph nodded. Art would get his mind off his problems, but something else was still bothering him a bit. He was a bit nervous, but since Leo was in an advisement kind of mood, he figured he'd just get it over with. "Ya said ya wrote to help get your mind back on track…"

"Yeah."

Raph swallowed hard, "Does it work when your body starts makin' demands?"

It was definitely not what Leo expected to hear and he had to think for a moment. He hoped that Raph was referring to a martial lesson or something about their training. He took a breath, "Y-you mean…like ninjutsu-wise?"

"No…I don't." This was really hard to clarify, but Raph did his best, "I meant…uh, with a g-girl…please don't make me say it."

Oh yes. Raph meant it that way and Leo, being the eldest, was going to give the best advice he could manage in that area. "Raph, it's definitely not my expertise, but writing it out does help…sometimes."

"So, ya wrote about it too?"

"Let's just say when the moment strikes me, I develop a short story and post it under another account online." Leo was blushing madly now, making Raph smirk.

"Heh, you wrote x-rated stories…" Raph teased.

"What can I say, the ladies really like it and since they know I'm a guy, it makes them all the more interested. Can't tell you how many private messages I've gotten for a night of company with them. Of course, I turned them all down but it doesn't stop them from reading."

"So online, you're a ladies-man? Oh that is hilarious! Ya gotta let me see one of your stories! I wanna know how much kinky shit you wrote about!" He was busting a gut torturing Leo. "So let's see! Go grab your laptop!"

"You're not gonna let me live this down until you've read one…I assume?"

"Nope! Now go get it."

Leo rolled his eyes and decided it was better they had this chat and share some inside stories. It gave them a stronger relationship. He fetched his personal computer and allowed Raph to read one of his erotic short stories. It was super uncomfortable sitting next to his brother as he read, but he did his best to appear stoic. When Raph was reading, his eyes would occasionally widen or his jaw would drop.

At the end of the story, Raph would never look at his brother the same way again. "Damn! Leo that was insanely hot! I didn't think it was that possible to be that accurate or detailed without experiencin' the real deal!"

"You'd be surprised what the internet provides."

That made Raph grin, "And all this time I thought ya were a cold fish…"

Leo glanced around the dojo and at the door to make sure nobody had been standing outside the door. "So let's keep this conversation between you and me, hm?"

Raph nodded and continued to look at the computer screen, "Hey wait, you got an instant message sittin' here." He then clicked on it.

"Raph, don't!" Leo grimaced when the message opened in the side screen. There was a picture of a girl next to the message and Leo wanted to bury himself.

"Who's that?"

"It's just an online friend," Leo said nervously and attempted to take his computer back.

Raph held it out of reach and continued to read the message out loud, "Hey there, hun! I'm looking forward to the next story. Maybe I could be of some help for the next one? Maybe this time you'd like visual stimuli…" Below that message, the girl had posted a closeup of her clothed breasts. "Oh hello!" Raph admired. "Leo, you dog! You've been a closet pervert?!"

"No! It's not like that!" Leo then tackled his brother and ripped the computer out of his hands, "I knew it was a bad idea showing you that! Now I'm really not going to live this down!"

"Keep your pants on, I know for a fact Mikey's got fantasies and I'm pretty certain Donnie deletes his browser history every night for a reason! C'mon, you're a guy! You can't possibly tell me that you haven't had urges!"

Leo frowned and slammed his computer shut. "Fine, if it'll make you feel better, yes, I've had urges and no, I've never acted on them. You're the only one as far as I know. So, does this conclude our little adventure into sex-ed?"

The whole conversation was amusing, but Raph still needed to focus on his problem. For now, he would work to distract himself by creating art and give the girl much needed space. Both turtles then silently exited the entered the living room where Mikey was whining about his game with Luke.

"Dammit! I'm getting my ass beat by a seven year old!" Mikey cried.

"You said a bad word!" Luke told him and gave Mikey a look of disappointment.

"Ah, right! Sorry, heh!" Mikey said, scratching the back of his head in shame.

The short conversation caused Leo to smack himself in the forehead.


Bethany had fallen asleep with her son in her arms that night while Don continued to analyze her blood. It was well into the early hours of the morning and he was nearly finished. A good night's rest was calling out his name. When he looked at the proteins in her blood, he saw a lot of multiplying cells; regeneration at that. It was quite impressive.

Leo had entered the lab, having seen that Don's light was still on. "Hey, you should get some rest," Leo whispered.

"I gotta finish this. It'll drive me crazy if I don't," Don replied. "Not much left though. Mostly cleanup. But I did learn quite a bit."

"Oh?"

Don pulled the slide away from his microscope. "Yeah. Her skin is turning blue because the cells of whatever Stockman used are regenerating. The thing is, the percent of mutagen injected into her body should have killed her, but it didn't. I have a strong belief that Raph's mutagen-laced semen helped keep her alive. She grew a temporary immunity to it, her body might have even rejected it, but Stockman reintroduced a more aggressive mutagen compound, a mixture of different reptilian blood types. And from what I gathered from Sack's security system, they tested this mixture on an adult male human and he died almost immediately."

"Wow. I don't understand how the male human would have died exactly, especially if he was healthy to begin with," Leo pondered.

"It's like getting a flu shot. Raph basically set up Bethany's body with dormant mutagen cells. She built up tolerance for it and when Stockman gave her the injection, her body fought back, but the side effects are becoming apparent." He walked over to the bed containing their guests and carefully lifted the freshly washed sheet. Then he shined a dim light on Bethany's arm. Almost the entire limb was colored blue and there were splotches of teal on her shoulders. "The cells are not going to stop regenerating," Don said, sadly. He placed the sheet back down. "And there is nothing I can do to cure it…

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. A retro-mutagen is impossible for this type of mutation. It's attacking her muscle tissue, her skin, and her bone structure at a rate that is so quick that any counter drug I attempt to give her to slow it down fails. This type of regeneration would eat through the cells of retro-mutagen in a split-second. I can't cure her. Also, the human that died at the lab, that was Bethany's ex…"

Leo peered down at the child Bethany held. Luke would not have a normal life at this point and he took pity.

The two turtles had finished for the night and Don figured he'd sleep in his room for once. Most of the time he fell asleep in the lab, scrunched up into some odd position. He cleared away all pieces of his equipment and followed Leo out to get some much needed rest. What they never heard was the tiny sniffles and cries coming from Bethany's bed.

She wasn't able to get much sleep and overheard Don talking. So she would be permanently disfigured. Her tears couldn't be stopped and she held her son close, praying for a solution that could never come…