Wow, this is the longest chapter I've written in a while. But guess what? Things are finally starting to get interesting.
Unsurprisingly, Donatello and Raph were the first to arrive home. Without preamble, Donatello led the way through the Lair and straight to the infirmary.
"Take a seat," Donatello told his brother. "I need get this little one cleaned up, take some measurements, and run a few tests, and then I'll do the same to the little guy you're holding."
"Why don't I just take this one with me and go check in with Master Splinter while you're doing that," Raph suggested, inexplicably uncomfortable in the medical room in a non-emergency setting.
"No need," ghost Leo said as he solidified back into visibility. "Once the rest of you started back from the ship, I headed back to check in with your sensei, and to see if the Council had gotten anything usefully out of the Faerins."
"So, what did you find out," Raph asked.
A disturbed look crossed the young ghost's face. "Some…startling information," he said. "But I think I'll wait until the others get back. They deserve to hear this first hand. Any idea how long they will be?"
Raph quickly checked on his twin through their empathic Bond, and was relieved to find he and the others relatively close to home.
"Maybe another ten minutes at most," he said. "And that's accounting for the Brats getting distracted."
He was about to add something else, when the oddest sensation came over him, like someone had brushed a feather across his mind. The sensation was neither menacing nor painful, but the sheer unexpectedness of it caused Raph to jump and slam his mental shields closed; immediately the infant in his arms once again began to wail in distress.
"Whoa, bro," Donatello said with no small amount of surprise as the baby he was currently trying to get cleaned up likewise began to cry. "What's going on?"
"I'm not sure," Raph admitted as he gently bounced the baby in his arms. "It almost felt like someone was trying to get my attention through the Bond, but I didn't recognize the touch. It was almost like…" his eyes went wide, and he looked down at the infant in his arms in wonderment.
"Almost like what," Donatello asked with a small measure of exasperation as the infant in his arms continued to scream.
"I think it was him," Raph said, gesturing toward the infant he was holding with a bob of his head.
"Well, if these two are genetically related to Leo, I guess that would make some sense," Donatello said. "It was probably an instinctive reaction to having you activate the Bond while holding him. Or her, I guess," Donatello added. "I'm still not sure the sex of either of these youngsters."
"Hold on," Raph said, "I want to try something." Focusing on the baby he was holding, he very gently reached out along the empathic pathway the existed among him and his brothers. This time, when the delicate, questioning sensation once again, though much more timidly this time, brushed his mind, he very softly reached back. The mind he found on the other end of that touch was unlike anything he'd every experienced. There were no concrete images or ideas, but rather sensations and colors. Raph could tell the little one felt secure and comfortable in his (for the baby was very definitely a "he") current caretaker's arms, but at the same time this new world was overwhelming and rather frightening. But above all, he was HUNGRY!
Pulling back just slightly from the connection with the baby, Raph said softly, "Someone hand me one of those bottles. I want to try something." Almost immediately a bottle was thrust into his hand, and Raph popped the nipple into the baby's open mouth. This time, however, he thought about the sensation of sucking, and sent that through the Bond to the open little mind he was connected to. And, miracles of miracles, it worked. The baby boy latched onto the nipple and began to greedily suck down the bottle's contents.
"How did you do that," Donatello asked in shock as he watched the baby his older brother was cuddling close take his bottle like he'd been doing it for years.
"Something you said about Leo possibly helping Lexi figure out how to take a bottle got me to thinking," Raph said. "I simply, for the want of a better explanation, conveyed what it feels like to suck to this guy through the Bond, and he took over from there."
"Hmmm," Donatello said with a considering look at his own screaming infant. "I wonder." Much like Raph did, he softly opened his connection to the Bond. Almost immediately he felt the gentlest brush of another mind against his. Keeping his touch light he followed the sensation back to its source. He couldn't define just why, but he somehow he knew he was holding his niece; this was Leo's little girl. And boy, she wasn't happy. She was sticky, and cold, and HUNGRY. Taking his cue from Raph, he tried to communicate the sensation of
what it felt like to suck to the baby girl. This time, when he stuck the bottle in her mouth, passed to him by the very helpful family ghost, she took to it like a champ.
Neither Donatello nor Raph were aware of the tears streaming down their faces, or of the awestruck looks on their faces, until the rest of their brothers came piling into the room, and Mikey exclaimed, "Hey, what's with the sob fest?" Then his voice spiked with panic. "Is something wrong? Did something happen to the babies?"
"Nothing's wrong, Brat," Raph reassured him as he wiped the tears from his cheeks. "Just a little Uncle-baby bonding time."
"Dude, if it's going to make me cry I can do without the bonding experience," Mikey said, a wary look in his eyes as he regarded the baby Raph was feeding.
"Trust me, bro, you do not want to miss out on this," Raph said with the sappiest grin anyone could ever remember seeing him wear.
"Yeah," Donatello seconded. "It's…beyond description."
"Okay, okay, enough of the mushy stuff," Raphael grumbled. "I want to know if Junior was able to learn anymore about what happened tonight." Everyone turned to look at the ghost.
"Yes and no," the younger version of the oldest turtle responded. "Nearly all the Faerins were still in a tizzy, which made getting anything comprehensible out of them next to impossible. The only useful information they were able to provide was that Leo was still alive when the Faerins left."
"Well, that was pretty much a waste of time," Raphael groused.
"Not quite," Leonardo corrected. "I said nearly all the Faerins were still in a tizzy. Turns out that the one that delivered the dream message to Raph is slightly more sturdy in constitution that his fellow Faerins. He requested permission to talk to you directly about what took place last night and this morning. Now, I'm going to warn you: it seems the Faerins have a thing for Tolkien, so please try not to laugh when Master Frodo Weathertop introduces himself."
Of course, the Brats started to snicker at once, but a quick smack from Donny brought them under control. Once he was certain that everything was under control, the young spirit called out, "It's all right now. You may show yourself."
Immediately to his right, a small figure appeared. Dressed completely in shades of green, the individual was no taller than the young turtle's hip. It straight away became clear how the Faerins sparked the inspiration for the stories about faeries, for the short figure sported a pair of beautiful, caramel colored, butterfly-like wings.
"Greetings, Guardians," the small figure said in a soft voice. "I am Master Frodo Weathertop, chief scientist of the Faerins. I bring you the highest regards and deepest regrets of my people. It was not our intention to cause the disappearance of your brother, Earth's Avatar. We sought simply to pay homage to him, and give him a gift to celebrate his most honored position. Had we known the Broanins were going to interfere we would have taken greater precautions."
"So, just what did happen," Donny asked. "I mean, we had no clue anything was going on until Raph woke us up this morning."
"We approached your brother the day the human youngling was born and explained our desire to give him a gift," Master Frodo explained. "He was a little hesitant, at first, when we told just what we desired to do for him, but his heart-wish for just such a child led him to agree. We finally had everything in readiness last night, and all we needed was his genetic material to complete the process. Had things gone according to plan, we would have returned your brother
and his daughter to you later this morning. However, the arrival of the Broanins disrupted things."
"I thought Leo, the ghost one that is, said that the Broanins were just tricksters, and not really malicious," Raphael said. "Why would they interfere?"
"Tricksters they are," Master Frodo replied. "But one of their favorite tricks is to steal infants, and replace them with false children. The stolen children are then raised by parents chosen by the Broanins; usually couples with Darkside tendencies. This, we feared, was their intent for your brother's child."
"So, what happened," Donny asked. "I'm guessing that's not what they wanted this time."
"To our surprise, the Broanins who approached us offered something different. They swore by their Mother Earth that they would not touch the girl-child if we would simply leave our lab immediately for their use."
"And you believed them," Raphael asked, his eyes narrowing in disbelief.
"Tricksters they may be, but the Broanins have their own version of honor," the Faerin scientist said. "For them, there is no oath more binding than to swear by their Mother Earth. To dishonor such a vow would cause their immediate and complete destruction, for their Mother will hold with no reneging of such a vow."
"So you left," Raphael growled. "Abandoning Leo to those creatures."
"We honestly did not feel that the Avatar would have any need to fear ones such as the Broanins. But to be on the safe side, I did attempt to contact the one closest to your Leonardo's thoughts."
"My dream," Raph said.
"Yes," Master Frodo said. "Though once again I must beg your forgiveness. Unaccustomed as I am to interfacing with Earth-tied minds, I fear my message wasn't as clear as I had hoped."
"I think that was more me," Raph admitted. "It took me a while to understand that it wasn't just a dream."
"Still, you have my profoundest apologies for all that has taken place this night," the Faerin said. "And please, if there is anything I can do to help in the search for your brother, do not hesitate to call on me."
"Actually, I have a small request," Donatello said. "Being unfamiliar with your technology, I have no way of knowing if we caused any harm in pulling these two out of their incubation chambers when we did. I was hoping you might look them over to make sure all is well."
"Ah, so that was the Broanins' plan," Master Frodo said and he fluttered over to take a look at the now sleeping infants. "Not to replace the child, but to provide their own version. Odd, but then the Broanins do not think as most do. Still, there is something odd about this child." He was looking at the male infant snuggled against Raph's plastron. "I will examine him more momentarily. First, allow me to make sure your niece is as she should be."
Taking the sleeping baby from Donatello the Faerin closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them, he smiled at the turtles. "All is well with your little Gabriella."
"Wait, she already has a name," Michelangelo protested. "Who decided that?"
"Your brother chose the name for his daughter," Master Frodo said. "He said that this child was a miracle. He also said that the artist for whom he is named created a painting depicting another miraculous event, so he felt the name would be fitting."
"Huh," Mikey asked, not sure what the Faerin was talking about.
"Leonardo de Vinci did a painting of the angel Gabriel coming to the Virgin Mary," Donatello explained. "Both that, and what took place, led to the miraculous coming forth of children that, scientifically, should not have been."
"Ah, gotcha," Mikey said, understanding finally dawning. "Our little Gabby is our very own miracle baby."
"Indeed," the Faerin scientist said. "Now, allow me to clean this little one up so that you do not have to disturb her sleep any further." And with a flick of his wings all the birth material that had still been coating Gabby suddenly disappeared. "Your niece is completely healthy,
though if she were human she would be considered about five weeks premature. Still, I feel there will be no complications for her. Now, allow me to examine this other youngster."
Raph handed over his sleeping burden. Master Frodo frowned slightly as he took the male infant.
"Is there something wrong with him," Raph asked in concern.
"Not physically," the Faerin replied. "As with Gabby, he is physically healthy, though very much premature. But still, something is not wholly right with this child. Perhaps if I were to clean him up some the trouble would make itself clearer."
A second flick of those wings, and the second infant was likewise spotless. But rather than relieving the Faerin's distress, it only increased.
"What sort of treachery is this," the winged scientist exclaimed. "What sort of evil being would so mar an innocent in this manner?"
Startled, the turtles rushed to see what had their guest in such in uproar. As they huddled around the still sleeping infant, it quickly became clear what was so disturbing the gentle scientist. Marring the plastron of the sleeping infant was a horrific scar. With trembling hands, Donny reached out and gently rubbed the baby's shell. As he suspected, there was a matching scar there as well.
"Master Frodo," he said in a strangled whisper. "No one did this to a baby. You see, Leo was full grown when he got those scars. That's not just any baby you're holding. That's our brother."
