A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed thus far.
"Raphie! No!"
Michelangelo bolted up in bed, his breath coming in deep, quick gasps. Cold sweat clung to his skin. The youngest turtle pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. His body trembled and a small whimper escaped through his parched lips. His bedroom door opened. Michelangelo looked up to see Leonardo standing in the doorway. He rubbed his eyes and did a double take. There was no way that was his big brother. Leonardo looked so beaten and worn. Michelangelo hadn't seen his brother that broken since the night he had been ambushed.
"Leo?" Michelangelo spoke.
Leonardo's eyes drifted to the floor and his head hung. His shoulders dropped, collapsing under an invisible weight. Michelangelo swallowed. He had thought he had been dreaming when he was in the astral realm. However, the look on Leonardo's face told him otherwise.
"Leo."
"What do we do, Mikey?" Leonardo whispered. "For the first time in my life...I don't know what to do."
Michelangelo threw back the blankets and jumped out of bed. He rushed over to his brother, grabbed his shoulders and gave him a quick, but hard, shake.
"Don't do that," the orange masked ninja snapped. "Raph and Don don't need that."
"What do we do?" Leonardo repeated, looking up to lock gazes with his brother's blazing blue eyes.
"We kick Shred-head's butt and get our bros back," Michelangelo answered. "That's what we've always done."
Leonardo reached up and lifted Michelangelo's hands off his shoulders. "You were there, Mike. You heard what Raph said. This time is different."
He didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to admit that there was a good chance that Shredder actually won this time. Michelangelo shook his head, banishing the thought. He was the cheerful one, the optimistic thinker. If he began to believe that Shredder had finally claimed victory over him and his brothers, then the world was going to come to an end. Michelangelo looked back up at Leonardo.
"Where's Master Splinter?"
"In his room," Leonardo answered.
"How is he?" Michelangelo asked.
Leonardo shrugged. "How were you when you woke up?"
Michelangelo rubbed the back of his neck. "That bad, huh?"
The eldest turned and headed for the stairs. Michelangelo hurried after him. The brothers made their way downstairs and over to Splinter's bedroom door. Carefully, Leonardo knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter. A heavy atmosphere cloaked the lair. Michelangelo noticed Leonardo tug at the strap that rested against his chest. The sheaths of his katanas were pulled slightly upward. Finally, Splinter told them to enter. Before opening the door, Leonardo once again tugged on the strap.
Leo's really nervous. I've never seen him show any kind of emotion openly. He's like Raph in that sense. Sure, he can laugh and smile, but it's rare.
"Michelangelo? Are you all right, my son?" Splinter asked.
Michelangelo blinked and snapped his head up to look at his father. He bowed. "Yes, sensei," he answered.
The brothers knelt in front of Splinter. Michelangelo thought he was going to choke on the tension. He gave Leonardo a sideways glance, catching the leader pulling at the sword strap again. The silence was broken when Splinter sighed. The brothers looked up.
"Have you been able to make contact with Raph again?" Leonardo asked, sounding almost too hopeful.
Splinter shook his head. "I have not," the rat replied. "Your brother's words have been troubling me greatly."
"You mean, how he said that when he was gone there was no going back?" Michelangelo guessed. He clenched his fists on his knees. "How can Raph and Don think that we're their enemies? How is this different than last time?"
"And what did he mean by reprogrammed?" Leonardo interjected.
Michelangelo drummed his fingers against his knees. "Did anyone else see that weird cord that formed on the back of Raph's neck?" he asked quietly.
Leonardo and Splinter looked at him. By their expressions, Michelangelo determined that they hadn't seen it. He looked down at the floor and gulped.
"What did this cord look like, my son?" Splinter asked.
Michelangelo tensed. "It kinda looked like...the cords that connected to the helmets in the Utrom oracle pods," he explained. "And Raph's mask looked weird, too."
"His mask looked weird?" Leonardo echoed.
"His mask tails were normal...cloth, I mean. But, the part that went around his eyes looked...metal. Like a visor."
Leonardo turned to face Splinter. The ninja master's ears were pressed back against his skull. Out of the corner of his eye, Leonardo could see Michelangelo shift so that he was sitting cross legged. There was a clang of metal against stone. Michelangelo looked over to see that Leonardo had taken off his katanas. He blinked in surprise. Leonardo only took off his swords when he was taking a shower or going to bed. The leader closed his eyes and hung his head.
"Why do you remove your weapons, Leonardo?" Splinter asked.
"I can't do it, Master Splinter," Leonardo whispered.
"You cannot do what?"
Leonardo squeezed his eyes tighter. "I can't fight against my own brothers. I can't raise my swords against them. I can't."
Is that why he kept tugging on the strap? Michelangelo asked himself. He looked down at his nunchucks. Can I bring myself to raise my weapons against my bros? In sparring matches, sure...but in a real battle?
Just the thought made him sick. There was no way he could do such a thing, not to his brothers. Michelangelo slipped out his nunchucks and held them in his hands. They suddenly looked menacing and foreboding, a combination he didn't like. The youngest hung his head. The weapons rolled out of his hands and fell to the floor with a *clink*. He suddenly hated being a ninja.
The steady rhythm of the heart monitor was the first thing that drew him out of unconsciousness. Voices buzzed all around him. A sharp pain stabbed his left shoulder. He brought a hand up, but all that met his touch was cold metal. He groaned and clenched his teeth in pain. Prying his eyes open, Raphael held his right hand up to eye level. Slick black covered his hand. Letting his arm fall to his side, the turtle looked around. The pod covering had been pulled back. Two humans and what looked like a brain in a floating tank stood off to the left side, each of them absorbed in something on a computer screen. A flash of purple caught his eye and Raphael turned his head to the right.
Another turtle was practicing katas with what looked like a suped up bo staff. It was metal instead of wood and it looked like it was able to retract into a smaller rod. Raphael frowned. The turtle looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him before. The purple was important for the identification, as was the staff. His mask looked odd. The bandanna tails were cloth, however the part around his eyes was a thin sheet of metal. The turtle looked over at him.
"So, the Shredder's new pet has finally woken up."
The scientists turned around at the sound of the turtle's voice. One of them, a young man with red hair, hurried over to the bed. Raphael moaned and squeezed his eyes shut.
"How are you feeling?" the man asked.
Raphael opened his eyes. "Where...where am I?" He turned to face the other turtle. "And who's he?"
The man looked up. "That's Donatello. He's your brother."
"Brother?" Raphael whispered.
Two other turtles flashed in his mind's eye. One wore a blue mask while the other wore an orange mask. Raphael put a hand over his eyes. What was wrong with him? Something told him he knew those faces.
"You may feel disoriented for a while," a woman explained as she walked up. "But, that will wear off."
Donatello huffed and turned to walk away. Raphael put his hand down and turned to look at his brother.
"Are there four of us?" he asked.
Donatello stopped in his tracks and swung around. The scientists looked horrified. Raphael looked from Donatello to the humans and back again. Did he say something wrong? The brain in the tank hovered over so that it was within Raphael's eyesight.
"Do you know who I am?"
Raphael blinked. "It talks?"
"I'll take that as a no." The brain cleared its non-existant throat. "I am Doctor Baxter Stockman. The head scientist of your Master Saki's research lab." The brain turned to the young man and woman. "And these are my associates. Doctor Chaplin and Doctor Finn."
"Okay, great," Raphael said. "But, why did everyone look at me like I had ten heads when I asked about..."
"No," Donatello abruptly cut in. "There are only two of us. Yes, there are two more mutant turtles hiding somewhere in the city, but they are not related to you and me."
Raphael held his hands up in a defensive motion. "Okay. That's all I wanted to know." He pushed himself up into a sitting position. Something on the back of his neck pulled. "What the?" He reached back, his fingers brushing against a cold cord.
"Here, let me get that for you," Dr. Finn said.
She detached the cord and placed it behind the pod. Raphael swung his legs over the side of the pod and got to his feet. He stretched and grunted when his sore muscles pulled. Chaplin walked over with a laptop balanced on his left forearm.
"I'm just going to test a couple of your reflexes," he explained. He picked up a needle-like object. "Can you hold out your hands?"
Raphael lifted his hands, palms up. Chaplin proceeded to poke his hands. His fingers twitched whenever a nerve was struck. Chaplin nodded his pleasure and typed something into the laptop. He then moved on to Raphael's arms, neck and shoulders. There was no nerve damage, so Chaplin moved on to Raphael's legs. Donatello couldn't help but laugh when Raphael sent Chaplin toppling back after the scientist hit Raphael's knee too hard.
"Is that all, doc?" he asked.
"That's all," Chaplin replied, getting to his feet.
Just then, the lab doors opened and Saki walked in. Everyone bolted to attention and the brothers bowed.
"What would you have us do, Master Saki?" Donatello asked, as he and Raphael straightened.
Saki walked up to the brothers and glanced at each of them. "It is time to put those suits to proper use," he said. "Leonardo and Michelangelo are searching the city for you."
"How shall we present them to you, Master Saki?" Raphael asked.
"Bring them to me alive," Saki instructed.
The brothers bowed again before heading out of the lab. Stockman's tank hovered over to the Foot leader.
"With all due respect, sir, wouldn't it be less time consuming if Leonardo and Michelangelo were disposed of right where they stood?" he asked.
"Perhaps," Saki answered. "However, I want to be present when the life finally drains from Leonardo's eyes. I want to see the look on his face when it will be his own brother who takes his life."
Another run away chapter. Let me know what you think. No flames, please.
