Disclaimer - Go talk to Mirage about copyrights. I don't own them.

As an addendum to my A/N in chapter 8, I inadvertently forgot to name Ame Musashi for contributing her idea of World of War Craft to Leo's list of hobbies. My apologies, Ame. I have since made the correction. :0)

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Chapter 10 - The Comeuppance

"So how many does that one make?"

Snorting irritably, Don pulled the micro cam and its remote wiring from the small crack in the ceiling. He did a quick meditation to control his annoyance, though, trying to get past his disgruntled mood. Then, as he glanced down from his perch on the ladder, he saw Mike's earnest face looking up at him, and wearing the biggest grin he could muster.

Finally, Donatello answered, his voice flat and dispassionate, "Five."

Chuckling, his brother folded his arms in front of him and shook his head, "Man, you really went all out in this room, didn't you?"

"We needed a lot of angles, Mikey," Don explained dryly, "it was necessary…well at least I thought so at the time."

"Yeah and it's only the first room." Raph chuckled, swaggering into the dojo. "Seriously, dude, yer gonna be busy for the next week uninstalling these."

"Actually, Raph," Don corrected, "I'm going to be busy for the next two weeks."

"An' ya know I don't think I've ever heard Splinter as mad at you as he was last night," Mike grinned, "Explain to us again what Splinter said you have t'do, Donnie?"

"Mike, what is it about my punishment that intrigues you?" Don asked nonchalantly as he inspected the spy cam, making sure he hadn't damaged it during its removal.

"Cuz, Donnie, I'm always the one in trouble and you aren't. It's kinda nice to see the table's turned!" Mike laughed with Raphael joining him.

Placing the tiny camera in the box with the other four and with said box in hand, Don stepped down off the ladder. Once on ground, again, he pointed an accusing finger at both Raph and Mike, "And it's a punishment the three of us should be sharing and you both know it."

Patting Don's shoulder, "I appreciate the sacrifice, bro…" Raph grinned, apparently quite amused with himself. "Ya always were the nice guy. Anyway, what is it again you have t'do?"

Don let out a long frustrated breath and recited his reparation, "I have to wash every wall and every floor in the lair, and I can't use the computer for two weeks, and I have to meditate more, and…."

"Yeah, yeah," Mike waved the comment away, as if it was unimportant, "we know all that, but how're ya supposed to clean 'em?" He smiled wider this time.

Don rolled his eyes, "With a toothbrush," and then snorted, "and if you both keep harassing me about it, I'll use yours!" He turned hastily to exit the dojo

"Hey, ya can't do that!" Raph protested, raising one finger in objection, as he quickly followed Don into the hallway.

"I can do anything I want," Don shot back, "Sensei didn't say what toothbrush to use."

"But…but he meant an unused toothbrush, a new one, Donnie!" Mike scrunched his face in disgust; thinking about his toothbrush getting used the way Don threatened to use it. He then quickly caught up with his two brothers, "Seriously, bro, that's just…rude!"

Smiling back at them, "Gotta love the loopholes, Mikey!" Don continued to his workroom, the next stop on his list,

"Fine, if that's the way your going to be, I won't keep my toothbrush in the bathroom, then, I'll…I'll HIDE it!" Mike stuck his tongue out.

"Yeah, me, too!" Raph grumbled, equally disgusted with the prospect.

"I'm ninja, like you." Don turned and gave his brothers an evil grin, "I'll find it, don't you worry." He chuckled to himself and walked into his workroom, "Believe me, you'll never know if I use them!" and he laughed some more.

"That's just - just - wrong!" Raphael, complained.

"And on so many levels, dude!" Mike agreed, now standing with Raphael at the threshold of Donatello's lab, both brothers sour faced.

With his back to them, "You're right, it is…" and Don turned around, folding his arms across his chest. He quirked an accusing brow, "but it's also wrong that I should take all the blame, too. However, I'm not going to tell Sensei, since I think honor demands it that you guys do."

"Hey," Mike challenged, straightening up as best he could, "I didn't have anything to do with this, and you know it. I was just…"

Don took a quick step towards Mike and pointed, "The fact you knew enough to sabotage breakfast and raid Leo's candy stash already makes you an accomplice."

"Minor details, dude, but it…it's your fingerprints on the goods, not mine, or even Raphie's!" Mike stuck his tongue out, "Nnya, so there!"

While the three stood there staring each other down, a voice came from behind Raphael and Mikey, "So, it seems the spying was a joint effort."

All three brothers jumped with two turning to see Leonardo standing in the hallway, partially concealed by the shadows there. As he stepped further into the light spilling from Don's room, Leo grinned, but no one said a word. They just stood there speechless and watched as their brother in blue casually walked up to them.

"You think you know someone and then," Leo snapped his finger, "they turn on you." He worked his way up to Raph and Mikey and then moved around them to join Don in his room. As he looked back at each brother, Leo sighed, "Seriously, I never thought you three would betray me like you did."

"Look, Leo," Don placed a friendly hand on his brother's shoulder, only to have it shrugged off. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry…" he held his hands up in surrender, "but it was only a joke, Leo, nothing more."

"Nothing more?" his brother raised an eye ridge, "Don, you were spying on me and recording everything I did…and you apparently hooked our two brothers into your scheme, as well!"

"I DIDN'T HOOK ANYONE, LEO!" Don was wide-eyed and beginning to hyperventilate, now. He was getting mighty tired of catching all the heat, "They were willing assistants, and…and anyway," he pointed, "it was Raph's idea in the first place. He's at least as guilty as I am." Don's peripheral vision caught Raph shooting a warning glance at him, but the purple-masked turtle was to irritated to care, so he conveniently ignored it.

"Hmm…" Leo murmured, "maybe, but Sensei doesn't think so."

As Michelangelo grinned, Don threw his hands up in frustration, "Only because of a technicality, Leo!"

"More like technology, if you ask me!" Mike sniggered.

"Oh, shut up, Michelangelo!"

"Make me, Don-A-tello!" his brother stuck his tongue out.

"Tooth. Brush?"

"Ah, yeah…heh…never mind." Mike grinned sheepishly and stepped behind Raphael a little, looking more uncomfortable than before.

"In any event, regardless of how many of you were involved…" Leo gave an accusing glance at Don, "You, of all people, should have been smart enough to avoid participating."

"It only started as a thought, Leo…Raph's thought, in fact!" Don still ignored his brother's growing ire with the repeated implication.

"And what thought would that be, Don?" Leo quirked his head, one eyeridge raised curiously.

Sighing, Donatello replied, "Okay, we were wondering what you did when no one's around…but…I have a question for you."

"Yeah?"

"How did you record your DVD without augmenting the clock?" Don waited, as Mike and Raph's interest piqued all of a sudden.

"Who said I recorded a DVD?" Leo went serious, now, folding his arms in front of him, all humor gone from his face.

Laughing derisively, Raphael walked into the room, his hands up in the air in frustration, "Oh, com'on, bro, you HAD to be the one responsible for that DVD at Casey's. Ya would have had t'know we recorded ya doing some pretty zany stuff, we saw th' DVD's ourselves."

"Yeah, on Don's computer. It was hilarious!" Mike chuckled.

"Hilarious…me, sitting in front of the television for hours on end is - funny?" Leo shook his head and smiled, "You guys are too easy to entertain, that's for sure!"

"Ya weren't just watchin' TV, LEO!" Raph challenged, glaring in frustration, "Ya were doin' otheh things, too!"

"And what exactly would that be, because." Leo quirked his head, "so far, you haven't provided any evidence to challenge otherwise."

Mike and Raph seemed struck mute with surprise, so they stood there, as if choking on their words.

However, Don managed well enough.

"Leo, get real, we know you did it and why, but I want to know how you did it," he demanded, "and how did you know where to find my DVD's?"

"What DVD's, Don?" Leo replied innocently, "Seriously, I only watch television when you guys are out…oh, and I practice my katas, read, and sometimes meditate." He snickered, "But I guess you only concentrated on recording me in the living room, since that's all the DVD showed."

Finding his voice again, Mike stammered, "But, but, we recorded you in the dojo dancing, doing ballet, and in the kitchen making eggsBENEdict!"

"Mike, you know me, I'm a disaster waiting to happen in the kitchen."

"I saw you make eggs BENEDICT!" Mike was wide-eyed insistent, unable to believe what he was hearing.

Leo just smiled and shrugged, "I really don't know what you're talking about, Mike." He looked at his other two brothers, "All of you keep saying that I'm this - eccentric - member of the clan, a contradiction to how I normally present myself, but I am who I am…just as you saw on the video at Casey's. If you can't believe it," he shrugged again and gave a small smile, "don't go blaming me."

As Leo made to leave the room, Mike grabbed his arm, stopping him, nearly huffing, "What about 2Hot2Handle?"

With a pinched eyeridge, Leo shook his head, "Two hot…what?"

"That's your name on WarCraft, 2Hot2Handle!"

"I hate PC games, Mike, it's a waste of my time, you know this."

"But I saw you on one of the DVD's Don recorded, you were playing the game, and you logged in as 2Hot2Handle, and you've been beating me in points for the past four months!" Mike growled, still frustrated over the fact.

"I'm sorry you're losing at your game, Mikey, but are you sure it was me and not someone else?" Leo smiled, "Did you really see me log in, Mike, or maybe…the game was already in progress? Maybe someone was - impersonating me?"

"But…I…I saw you at the computer and the game was on and you were playing and…and..."

Leo looked at Mike and affectionately patted his face a little, "Maybe you think you saw me, Mike; but maybe it was one of them?" Leo gave a casual wave of his hand towards Don and Raph. "Nevertheless, none of you have provided anything to prove otherwise." and with that, Leonardo gave a small, quick laugh and left the room, leaving his three brothers staring after him.

Once his brother disappeared out the door and down the hallway and after hearing Leo's bedroom door close, Don murmured quietly to Mike and Raph, "Despite his assurances to the contrary, I believe our brother knows enough about computers to pull his own brand of chicanery."

"Chicanery? What th'hell's that?"

"It means 'to fool', Raphael, to pull the wool over one's eyes," Don explained, "and we can't prove anything, not without the real DVD's." Don then admitted, "And I've checked the dojo thoroughly, too, just in case he hid them in there, but I know Leo has them, he has to and how in blazes did he know about the false bottom in my desk drawer?" The purple-masked turtle huffed and shook his head as he stared at his desk, grumbling something about the inconvenience of living in a ninja clan.

Suddenly, Don looked over at Mike and narrowed his expression, "You didn't tell him…did you?"

Quick as cobra spit, Mike had his hands up in defense, "Hey and get my shell ripped off by you and psycho brother? No way, dude!"

Don glanced accusingly at Raph, who shook his head vehemently, too, "Don't even go there, bro, unless ya have a death wish - and who's a psycho brother, Mike?"

While Mike skittered around Don and out of reach of Raphael's grasp, Don grumped suspiciously, "Still doesn't seem possible." He stared past his doorway and wondered how in blazes Leo could have fooled them all.

Chicanery, indeed! he grumbled to himself.

Four doors down from where his three brothers argued and in the bedroom closest to the living area a turtle in blue flipped open the cover of his laptop computer.

Leonardo smiled.

Months earlier, the portable computer had been a gift to him from April for helping to clean out her cellar. Although it was second hand merchandise and not working, she had replaced the necessary components to get the computer running again and, now, it seemed to hum like brand new.

Although he was appreciative of her gift, Leonardo made April promise not to say anything to his family. At the time, he didn't want any interference from his genius brother, as Leo was determined to learn how to use it on his own. He knew that if Don found out, he would overwhelm him with all kinds of technobabble and if Mike found out, Leo would never hear the end of it about having his own personal PC.

Yet, little did Leonardo know how useful his new toy would become.

Nevertheless, after a few quick pointers from April, within a couple of weeks Leo found himself to be quite proficient with the device. It surprised him, in fact, with how fast he learned to use it. Then, over the next month and with the way Mike carried on about the 'most awesome game ever!' curiously, Leo joined an on-line, roll playing, subscription community. Leo smiled, remembering Mike's frustration with his denial with playing WarCraft.

2Hot2Handle? Give me a break; I can do better than that… Leo shook his head, "I wonder if Mike will ever find out who the mystery player really is?"

While Leo sat there and waited for his computer to warm up, he thought back to when it all began.

It was a week after the quiet and strange encounter with his brothers in the kitchen. That was when he noticed something different about the wall clock. One day it worked fine as it always had and then the next day, the hands would pause occasionally. It was slight and subtle, but it was enough for Leo to notice and then wonder about it.

Rather than saying anything, though, he waited until he was alone in the lair and then didn't waste any time inspecting the clock. It was then when he discovered something very strange.

Where the screw would have normally been, he found a tiny camera cleverly imbedded in the middle. A little trip to Don's workroom and exploring his brother's computer had Leo discovering a recording program. Once he activated the play feature, Leo found himself shocked even more to find a video of himself.

Initially, the recording showed him coming into the kitchen after his family left for Casey's apartment. It was obvious that Don had started the recording shortly before leaving the lair.

Then, as the video played, it showed Leonardo using a chair to reach the clock in order to remove it from its place on the wall. The clock moved as he moved as he brought it over to the table, showcasing his curious expression. Then, as he peered closely at the hands to inspect them, Leo's face suddenly overwhelmed the screen.

To say he was surprise to see such a blatant act of spying, and in his own home, no less, was an understatement. It was then when Leonardo put into action a way to upend his brother's rather intrusive act.

After voiding the initial recording and temporarily turning the program off, Leo returned the clock to its rightful place on the wall in the kitchen. Then, he scoped out the rest of the lair. He had to laugh to himself at how easy it was to find all the cameras, too, but it puzzled him as to why Don felt a need to use them in the first place. Then, remembering how silent everyone had been in the kitchen the week before, Leonardo quickly reasoned that he must have been the topic of conversation. It could only explain his brother's unusual quiet and excuse to leave the lair. Why, he didn't know, but the cameras were a definite clue.

Then, once he had mentally placed where all the mini cams were in the lair - and quite relieved that he found none in the bathroom, Leonardo went about recording the first of his more outlandish antics. Of course, he also made a more sedate recording and one he switched with Don's DVD, before they went over to Casey's the night before. He also made sure to have the computer clock calibrated to show the correct time for each recording, too, effectively covering his tracks when he made his version. That was the hardest and more technical part, but a feat that Leo felt especially proud to have accomplished.

Finally, over the next six days, Leonardo had the time of his life providing enough rope with which to hang his genius brother. The toughest act, though, and a testament to his training, was in keeping a straight face, especially with the ballet, his air guitar act, and most definitely after Mike had raided his stash of hidden candy.

"GAH, it was priceless", he chuckled softly to himself as he waited for his computer to boot up, "Mike was so miserable, I'm glad I didn't put any more junk in that hole, otherwise he might of od'ed". Suddenly, Leonardo clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing too loudly, just thinking about how his poor brother had to drink Sensei's horrible tea to offset his tummy ache. "Poor Mikey!"

As his PC screen came to life, Leo thought about Raph and Mike and knew that they were somehow involved, but he also figured that without Don, it wouldn't have happened at all. That, alone, justified his brother taking all the heat from Splinter.

As Leonardo tapped a series of keys and fingered the mouse pad, the picture on his laptop changed from his screen saver to a video. The moment it came into focus, it showed the three brothers still in Don's workroom.

Leonardo smiled.

Initially, it wasn't hard to get April to buy another spy-cam program and another micro camera, too, not after admitting to him about helping his brothers.

That's the nice thing about April; she has a 'heart of gold', Leo mused happily, and a sensitive 'guilty' conscience.

He had surprised her with an unexpected visit the morning following his discovery of the cameras, knowing that she had to have had a hand in their purchase. Much to his delight, Leo found April more than willing to cooperate.

"It just bothers me that your brothers would even want to spy on their family, let alone you!" she had told him. "Makes me wonder if he would spy on me - or even Casey?"

Leo obliged April, then, and checked her apartment, soon declaring it 'clean' of such intrusive electronics. She was quite relieved, of course, and it seemed to be enough to further gain her help to even the playing field.

As he watched his three brothers on the screen, now, the blue-banded turtle wondered if Donatello would ever find the extra spy cam. His brother hadn't dismantled his own yet, not where he seemed too busy for the moment discussing something with Mike and Raph. In fact, it appeared to Leo that the three of them were arguing, with various hands thrown about, fingers pointing, and with Don finally having enough from both, gesturing for them to leave his room. Raph protested the eviction, of course, while Mike shrank back towards the door, unsure and seemingly surprised by Don's forcefulness. Don seemed to grow bigger, then, rising on his toes as he pointed infactically towards the door. His mouth gaped open and his face seemed to pinch together, as if forcing his words out.

"Don's yelling?" Leo quirked his head a bit and overhead familiar voices raised in anger filtering into his room from the hallway through his closed door. He smiled, "Don sounds royally pissed." Smiling, Leo watched the screen again as his genius brother literally shoved Raph out of the room, with Mike scrambling through the doorway ahead of him. When they were clear of the threshold, Don slammed the door shut and then turned, grabbing up his chair. Raising it above his head, he made as if to throw it, but at the last minute, the purple-masked turtle suddenly slumped in defeat. He gently sat the chair back down again in its rightful place in front of the computer and slowly eased into it. With head in hand, Don rested his elbows on the desk in front of him and sighed.

"Hmm…it seems that Don does have a temper after all! Interesting." Leo smiled.

Just the same, with his camera in a less conspicuous location, Leo was confident that even if his brother did find it and complain, there wasn't any way to prove to Splinter that it wasn't his. Obviously, Don would figure out that Leo had found one of the cameras and reinstalled it, but it would be impossible to prove.

It was a priceless and near perfect plan and Leo smiled again.

As he continued observing his brothers, unaware, Leonardo eased back against the bed headrest and squirmed around a bit to get comfortable. before sighing, "Ah, the wonders of remote recording. Certainly helps to have friends in technologically high places."

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A/N - One more chapter (the Epilogue), then I 'be done'. :0)