A/N: Here's the next chapter, folks! You will love to hate this one ;) I promise you that one.


"Are you sure, Leatherhead?"

"Donatello told me some unsettling things. I do not believe I am mistaken."

Don rolled awake to voices once again. He frowned even before his consciousness could process what made him uneasy. His intellectual mind was always something he took pride in. It was strange that he, once again, had to struggle to remember the events prior to ending up in another shabby cot. His mind was fading.

"He is not acting himself. It worries me greatly. I do not feel it is my place to gain the answers I need."

"So you called me."

"That is but one reason. May I inquire on Raphael's health?"

Don froze as the voices continued. They were unaware he was awake, that much was evident. His eyes scanned the subway car around him for a better view of the speakers.

"He's... It's not good. We just don't have access to the supplies we need for him. I couldn't tell Mikey."

"Hope may not be lost yet, Leonardo. I will do all I can to help your brother. You have done more for me already."

Donatello stared out at Leatherhead and Leonardo as they moved about the station lair of the former. Tears threatened to fall and he squeezed his eyes shut against them. Raph...

"So, where is Don right now?"

"He is resting in my sleeping quarters. I have a cot set up for him there."

Don ducked before LH finished his sentence. He wasn't ready for company just yet. He knew Leo wanted his questions answered. Questions Donny didn't even know if he had an answer to right now. He had too many questions of his own swimming around in his head.

You question too much. It would be simpler to just give in.

"Don, you're up?"

Don jumped in surprise as his eyes focused on his brother standing in the doorway. He didn't respond. Instead, he slowly got to his feet and averted his eyes.

"Can you answer some questions for me, bro?" This time Leo's voice sounded calmer. "Please don't run off again. I just want to know what happened. That's it." Leo raised his hands with open palms towards Don. He was talking like he thought his brother could blow up any minute. Didn't he understand? Maybe Leo wasn't ready to hear the truth.

"I killed Raphael." Don blinked at his own words. "Is that what you wanted?"

"Raph isn't dead."

"Yet."

"Donny..."

"No." Don's face darkened before he shoved the cot into Leo as hard as he was able. He didn't linger long enough to see Leonardo double over with a gasp. An old window where the glass had long ago fallen out was the perfect escape.

"Wait, Don!" Leo yelled after him, hoarsely.

"Wrong again. I am not Donatello. Your pathetic pea-brain can't even tell the difference between your brother and an interloper?" The purple-masked turtle grinned.

"Then who am I speaking to?" Leo demanded. He leaped the few yards between what appeared to be his brother and the train car. One hand twitched for the touch of his katana, but he didn't reach for it yet.

"Ah, ah, ah. That's a secret between me and your brother. Or what's left of his free thoughts anyway. There's not many of those remaining. It's beginning to get annoying how often he complains about that. I would feel better if he shut up all together. Permanently."

With a roar, Leonardo jumped into battle. His katana sliced through the air. He couldn't have expected Don's hand to catch the deadly sharp blade. Brown eyes briefly flashed pain behind the purple mask as Leo's own eyes widened in horror at the blood dripping down his choice weapon.

"Look what you've done," the imposter spoke in a mockery of Don's voice. "That's your own brother's blood. Go ahead and strike him again. Save us all the trouble."

Leatherhead roared as he watched the exchange from his open lab. His golden eyes turned cat-like as he bared his teeth at his enemy.

"Stand down, LH," Leo said; his voice unfaltering. His grip on his katana loosened, but Don's didn't.

"Relinquish your sword." Donatello's voice grew harsh as his grip tightened around the sharp blade.

Leo cringed as more of his brother's blood spilled over onto his hand. "You'll slice your hand in half if you keep that up!"

"That's the point. If you don't let go, he will be one hand short."

Leo didn't waste another second. He released the weapon like it was a snake.

"Pity. I was hoping you would go ahead and kill him anyway." Don's face twisted into a smirk before slamming the katana's sharp edge into the brick wall behind him. The steel bent back by the force before it snapped near the tsuba.

Leo glared at the destruction of his favored weapon. "Leatherhead, contain him but don't hurt him."

"Of course, Leonardo." The crocodilian beast surged forward. Before he got too close, a sharp shard of the broken katana slid along Don's bare neck. His own hand applied enough pressure to allow his blood to drip down his front.

"Stop!" Leo yelled, stepping forward with his eyes wide. Leatherhead froze in his charge in his own worry for his friend.

"You would not believe how simple it would be to slice his neck open right here. Just give me a reason." Don's voice showed no pain but his eyes told a different tale.

"What do you want with Donatello?" Leo asked. "Stop being a coward and using my brother as a shield!"

"Only if you come with me. Just you."

"To where?"

"You haven't figured it out yet? I suppose you do tend to make yourself a lot of enemies. Who else could have the intellectual know-how to create something of this magnitude? Though, if I had a choice, I wouldn't have wasted my brilliance on such a despicable creature."

Leo's eyes narrowed at the slight on his brother before he recognized the speech pattern. "…Stockman?"

"That's better. Now you'll come with me or the 'smart one' will be no more."

"Leonardo…?" Leatherhead turned to Leo.

"…I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Leo turned to LH, "Tell Master Splinter and Mikey everything. I can take care of myself in the meantime."

"That's what you think," Donatello's harsh voice chided. "Now hurry. I don't have all day with this meat suit. I would advise you to refrain from trying anything. I've honed in on your brother's instincts. I think he would know you better than anyone."

Leonardo nodded before handing over his remaining katana to Leatherhead. "Lead the way."

"First, let me collect a few things for the journey." He slowly moved about the room, grabbing the items he believed necessary for what he had planned.

LH growled as he touched his stuff. "You're still working for Bishop."

"He is my financial backer. It was his grand idea to use my technical genius on this atrocity of a genetic mistake." Donatello's voice sounded disgruntled.

"For how long?" Leo asked him.

"Too long. You imbeciles are too easy to fool. Even the so-called 'smart one' thought he was just sick." Don walked over to the exit. "We're leaving now."

Leo nodded again, his piercing eyes narrowed. Donny knew that look. Leo's mind was working overtime for the one plan that could help him.

"Remember, Leo. I know you too well for you to pull one over on me so easily." The quote was reminiscent to Donatello's own way of speaking. The mind behind the controls hoped to prove his power.

Leonardo preceded him out of Leatherhead's lair. Donatello's practiced eye watched his body signals closely.

The longer this control lasted, the more often Don's own thoughts intruded in the shared mind. The purple-masked turtle paused yards from the threshold of the lair and looked back.

I don't want to hurt anyone…

"Donny?" Leo called as he turned back.

Donatello's fingers fiddled with an electronic device longer than the controller would have liked. "The beast won't feel a thing," he said aloud to the thought. He caught Leo's rushed approach as he pressed the button. Leatherhead's lair rumbled in explosive power. The front door blew out into the sewers. The force of the catastrophe sent both turtles flying back.

Before Donatello could attempt movement, Leonardo was on him. "That's the end of your joy-ride!"

"Leo?" Don blinked up at his brother. "What's going on?" He groaned, "My head's killing me…" He squeezed his eyes shut as his head pounded against his skull.

"Donny?" Leo didn't loosen his piercing grip just yet. "Listen to me: Stockman is using you. You have to fight his control."

"Ahh!" Don twisted beneath Leo's grip. His fisted hands shook as he tried to pull them near his head. "Make it stop!" His knees pulled inward, feet scraping against the rough concrete. "I can't… Leo, help me!"

"I'm trying. You need to concentrate. You can do this, Don. I know you can." Leo's grip was loosening. It was hard enough containing a squirming figure. The fact that it was his brother in agony only made it harder.

Without any warning, Don's knee jabbed into Leo's vulnerable side. The blue-masked turtle tumbled off his brother. Don flipped to his feet with nary a sign of a struggle left in his features. "Typical," his voice returned to its harsh state. "I knew you couldn't resist falling for your brother's distress. Did you enjoy the show?"

"Bastard," Leo grounded out. He slowly got to his own feet, his hand glancing against his sore side. "You will pay for this."

"You said it yourself: you 'have no choice'. Let's proceed, now that it has been straightened out."

Leo's fists clenched in defiance. "No. This time, you can't use my weapons against me."

"I still have the advantage." Don pulled out a vial from his belt and shook it a little. "I wouldn't advice attacking again with this in play. I won't bore you with the details. You couldn't comprehend them anyway. Just know that if what's in this vial touches the wet surface of the ground, you and your brother will go up in flames. It's highly combustible in the presence of H2O. I would only be too glad to teach you a lesson in chemistry." He allowed the vial to slip a few inches from his grip.

"Your boss wouldn't approve. I know Bishop. He'd rather have us alive. Why else would he go through all this trouble with Donatello if he could have killed him just as easily?"

"The way I see this? You might survive." The vial shot through the air at Leo's feet. The blue-masked turtle moved quickly, but it wasn't fast enough. The chemical reaction was instantaneous. The alkali metal reacted violently in contact with the water, causing a fireball. The fire caught Leo's leg and traveled wherever his body was in contact with the sewer channel.

Donatello threatened to break free of the control at Leo's startled scream. His vision blurred as his brother fell. His head pounded in a fury as he echoed his brother's scream…


A/N: Feed the comment box to hear what happens to Leo ;)