Chapter 14

Things Change

The euphoria of their victory over the Kraang lasted for weeks.

School was canceled for awhile as the city recovered from the Technodrome's crash. Despite the incredible damage it had done, everyone knew that if they'd let the ship explode things would have been a lot worse.

There was only person who wasn't celebrating. As much as Kirby O'Neil was happy he was out of the Kraang's clutches, he still had nightmares about the months he'd spent as their prisoner. He'd been traumatized about the whole affair, and felt he couldn't seek out professional help out of fear he'd reveal too much about the Kraang and the Hamato Clan (as well as the fact he would likely be locked in the Looney Bin for his claims).

He also wasn't fully convinced the Kraang were gone for good. Because of this, he'd become stricter about letting April out at night, and didn't approve of her leaving their apartment in the day unless at least two of the Hamato teens was with her (making it very awkward whenever Donnie tried to take her on a date). As grateful as he was at Leatherhead's stopping him while he was under the Kraang's control, he was still nervous about the large mutant, and was skittish whenever he was around, much less around his daughter.

Leatherhead did his best not to spook Mr. O'Neil (though his attempts tended to backfire on him), but he did agree with the man on his view of the Kraang. The alligator was also convinced that the Kraang were not gone completely, but had simply been beaten down for the moment. As such, he insisted they not let their guard down, and be ready when the aliens came back to try again.

Despite all this, the Hamato Clan couldn't help but feel that they were on cloud nine after their victory. If they beat the Kraang once, they could do it again easy.

Which is why when the Kraang Communication Orb went off in Donnie's lab, it was a wake up call that maybe their enemies weren't as defeated as they'd initially thought.

It took Donnie a few hours to crack the encryption on message their Communication Orb picked up, and in that time they'd called in Leatherhead, and informed him what had happened.

As Donnie got close to being done he glanced at his audience and said, "The encryption's tough to crack, but it seems like the Kraang are transporting some kind of cargo." He paused to type a bit more at the computer in hops of getting a clearer picture. "Using the Stealth Ship," he said in surprise as he found the diagram of the ship.

Leo looked at them seriously. "We've gotta find out what that cargo is."

"So we gonna use your sonar things again?" Miwa asked, remembering how they tracked the ship the last time they'd had to deal with one.

Donnie nodded. "Yup, using this," he held up a device he'd made out of an old gamedude. "It'll tap into the sonar devices, and feed us the coordinates on radar."

He then turned to April with hopeful eyes. "April, could you stake out a rooftop and feed us the ship's coordinates?" he asked, handing her the tracker.

"Me?" April asked, taking it. "But I don't know anything about radar."

"What about your Dad?" Leo asked.

April frowned. "My Dad? You guys know how paranoid he's been. He'll never go for this."

Donnie clasped his hands in a pleading gesture. "Please, April. Your dad's a scientist. We really, need his help."

April still looked reluctant, but agreed to go ask.

After she left, Donnie told his family about his latest invention, a rocket made out of an old theme park ride, which was stashed at Leatherhead's place. That would allow them to catch up with the ship no matter where it went. Unfortunately, the rocket was too small to fit Leatherhead, so the gator opted to search the Kraang facilities they knew about to see if he could find clues about what they were up to.

But just as they were getting ready to go, April called them up on the phone.

"I have some bad news guys," she said when they answered and put her on speaker.

Donnie's face fell. "Your dad said he wouldn't help?" he asked.

April hesitated over the line. "No, he said he'd help…"

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming on," said Miwa.

"Y-yeah," said April reluctantly. "Dad agreed to help read the radar, but only if Raph comes and acts as our bodyguard."

Raph had been sitting off to the side feeding Spike, but when he heard that his head shot up, and he looked at the phone like it had just betrayed him. "He what?"

"I'm sorry," April insisted. "But when he heard that the Kraang were back he got really scared. I managed to convince him that we need to do this so they don't get a foothold in our world again, but he insisted we have a more experienced fighter than me there to watch our backs. And… he asked for you, Raph. I'm sorry."

Raph looked furious that he was being asked to sit out of the action for babysitting duty, but before he could say so, Leatherhead spoke up. "I would be willing to come and protect you, April," he offered.

"Yeah, Leatherhead doesn't fit in the rocket anyway," added Mikey with a grin.

"You guys have a rocket?" April asked incredulously. "Never mind," she added a minute later. "Sorry, LH, but my Dad, he's still kinda scared of you. Don't get me wrong, he's really grateful you got that mind control thing off him, but he-"

"-Sees me as a monster," Leatherhead finished, looking away from them all.

"He just doesn't know you like we do," April quickly assured him. "Give it time, he'll come around. But we still have to stop that Kraang shipment."

"But why me?" Raph demanded.

"I don't know," said April, and they could all practically see her shrug through the phone. "But he specifically said you, and it's the only way he'll do this."

Raph growled angrily.

Leo looked at his brother apologetically. "I'm sorry, Raph," he said. "But we really need this."

For a second Raph looked like he was going to explode about being benched. But at the last moment he let out a heavy sigh. "With our luck I'll probably still get a fight anyway," he said gruffly. "Alright, I'm going."

"Great," said April brightly. "Just come to my place, and we'll go to the roof."

Raph still looked grumpy, but he turned and headed for the door without another word, pausing only to pat his pet turtle on the head before he left.

After Raph had gone, Leatherhead left to search the Kraang labs.

The other teens left at the same time so they could reach Donnie's rocket in the sewers. Once there they waited for Raph to send them a text that they were in position before piling into the rocket to take off once they were sent the coordinates.

Meanwhile, on the roof of April's apartment, Raph was stewing as both April and her father poured over the scanner to see if anything was appearing on radar.

As April wandered to one side of the roof holding up the scanner, Raph had to ask, "I know why you didn't want LH to play bodyguard, but I gotta ask, why me?"

Mr. O'Neil had the decency to look ashamed of his fear of the mutant gator, but he replied, "You just seemed like the best one for the job, Raphael. You're strong and, from what I've seen, an incredible fighter. I knew couldn't ask for Leonardo, as he's needed to lead your team. Michelangelo, well, I know he's a good ninja, but he seems too flighty for me to trust him to protect my April. I trust Donatello, but they may need his genius for this mission as well. Plus, he's dating my daughter, and I don't know if he'd be able to handle the job without getting distracted."

Raph glanced over to where April was holding the scanner up in the air, and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, when it comes to April, Donnie's big brain always turns to mush."

He then glanced at the older man questioningly. "But then what about Miwa?"

Mr. O'Neil shuffled his feet and looked embarrassed. "No offence to your sister, but, uh, she scares me worse than Leatherhead."

Raph looked up at the man then shrugged. "No offence taken, that just means you're smart. Honestly, Mi scares me too sometimes."

Mr. O'Neil couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle at that.

April then walked back over to them and handed her father the scanner. "It doesn't seem to be picking anything up, but to be honest, I can't make heads or tails of the readings," she said.

Mr. O'Neil looked the scanner over and said, "You're right. It's not picking up anything yet, but-"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off as the scanner suddenly went crazy, and the three on the roof got the sense that something big had just passed over head. As they watched, the Stealth Ship's disguise flickered momentarily, allowing them to see it.

"Got it," said Raph as he sent his siblings the coordinates.

Back down in the sewers, Donnie activated his rocket the second he received the coordinates.

The four teens were soon zipping through the tunnels at top speed before getting launched into the air at the end, and flipping out of the rocket. They then activated their gliders to stay airborne, but it was soon found to be unnecessary as they found themselves crashing into something hard and see-through.

After that it was no trouble busting into the ship. The three Kraang piloting it all looked up in surprise when they jumped in.

"It is the ones who call themselves 'the kids'," said one of the Kraang.

"Hey, you call us that, not us," snapped Mikey. None of the teenagers had liked it when the bad guys called them kids.

"We must alert Kraang," continued the Kraang as if he hadn't spoken.

Miwa snorted. "This is what we were worried about. It's just three Kraang, and they don't even have guns."

Leo nodded in agreement. "We could take these guys in our sleep."

"We could take these guys in our sleep and our eyes closed," added Mikey brightly.

Just as the four of them got ready to pound the blobs, a loud whirring sound came from behind them.

Instantly the four ninjas got on the alert, and wheeled around to face whatever had made the sound.

From behind them, a secret door in the ship opened, and a waft of fog floated out. As it began to clear, the teenagers' eyes widened as they saw what had been hiding in there.

"Aw, sewer apples," muttered Mikey, using a phrase he'd picked up from Leatherhead.

Stomping out of the fog was what looked like a blue gorilla body with circuitry wired into it.

"Where's the head?" Miwa had to ask.

As the gorilla suit passed the, it smacked each of the teenagers out of the way like they weighed nothing, and one of the Kraang floated over to where the head was supposed to be.

"Biodroid engage," the Kraang said as he settled himself onto the gorilla suits shoulders.

The Biodroid then snarled down at the teenagers and pulled a pair of buzz saws from its machinery.

"Okay, maybe we were a little cocky," admitted Donnie nervously.

"I wish Iyasa was here right now," Mikey squeaked.

The teens then had to scatter to avoid the Biodroid's massive fists.

The four of them soon found themselves in the fight of their lives. It turned out the Biodroid was just as tough as it looked, and the teens were hard pressed to avoid the saws and its fists.

Mikey ended up getting thrown against a control panel on the wall, then had to duck as one of the saws came shooting towards his head.

The saw broke through the control panel where his head used to be and made another door on the ship open, revealing what the mysterious shipment was.

"The Shipment!" shouted Leo when he saw it. "It's Mutagen-!"

But before he could say anything more, the Biodroid smacked him away.

Leo landed flat on his back on the ship's control panel, making the Kraang driving the ship squeal in surprise.

Pushing himself back up, Leo accidentally hit some buttons that made the ship fly lower and drop its camouflage.

He and Miwa tried to simultaneously kick the gorilla suit, but the Biodroid caught them by their ankles, and began swinging them around like helicopter blades. Mikey and Donnie both tried to free them, but instead were beaten back for their efforts.

"This thing's too tough!" Donnie yelled, as he rubbed his head from the most recent hit.

Mikey hopped back to his feet, and got a determined look in his eye. "I got this!" he called back. Switching his focus, the youngest ninja ran forward, and aimed a kick at one of the Kraang who were flying the ship.

The Kraang squealed like a piglet as it bounced around the ship like a pinball, eventually knocking into the control panel and making a hole in the floor of the ship open, and then smacked into the Biodroid just as the gorilla body was throwing Miwa and Leo. The now very dizzy Kraang got knocked back into its piloting position, and the two ninjas flew into the wall next to the shipment of mutagen.

The force of their impact knocked the mutagen loose from the shelves, and canisters began rolling all over the floor.

Donnie's eyes widened in horror as he saw the canisters roll towards the opening in the ship. "NO!" he yelled as he dove to catch them.

But he was too late, and the entire shipment of mutagen fell through the hole, and began raining down on the city of New York.

On the roof below, Raph, April, and Mr. O'Neil watched the ship fly by in a wobbly loop. Clearly the fighting going on inside was keeping the Kraang from flying it properly.

Mr. O'Neil watched the ship with terrified eyes, and Raph glared at it next to him, wishing he were up there helping his family.

"Come on guys, bring it down," said April softly as she watched the ship fly in crazy circles.

Then as they watched, they saw an opening appear in the bottom of the ship as it wobbled by a third time.

"What are they doing?" Raph asked as he stood at the very edge of the roof and squinted at the opening, trying to see if he could spot his family inside. He pulled out his cell phone in hopes of texting his siblings that very question.

"Winning, I hope," said Mr. O'Neil fearfully.

Then they saw a familiar green glow start to appear from the hole.

"Oh no," Raph said as he recognized the glow.

The three of them watched in horror as canisters of mutagen started falling from the hole, and began raining down all over the city like glowing green stars.

While skateboarding on a homemade halfpipe with his pet gecko, a boy looked up to see spots of glowing green falling from the sky. Awed by the sight, he didn't notice one of the spots was falling directly towards him until it crashed onto his head.

His pet gecko was the only witness to the screams as the boy writhed in agony from the ooze, and the change took effect.

On a rooftop a few blocks away, another boy was feeding a flock of sparrows when the green lights fell.

Mesmerized, and hoping it was some sort of magical item like the ones in his games, the boy ran towards where he saw one of the lights falling.

The flock of sparrows took to the air as the sound of the canister breaking hit their ears.

Deep in the sewers, one of the canisters had managed to fall through a drain and became cracked as it hit the ground. The mutagen dripped out onto a mushroom growing in the nearby, and the fungus immediately started to grow larger and a large eye opened at the top of its head.

At Antonio's Pizza, the main chef of the restaurant was working late, trying to come up with a new type of pizza to please his customers.

As he worked he heard a loud crash outside, and went to investigate.

The source of the noise seemed to be a glowing canister sitting among the garbage that he knew hadn't been there when he took the trash out earlier.

Wondering if he'd perhaps found his new secret ingredient, the chef opened the canister, and sampled the substance inside, headless of the consequences until he felt his skin start to melt.

In a different trash strewn alley, a curious squirrel wandered over to a cracked canister, and licked at the substance dripping out.

The bum who lived in the alley awoke from his sleep, and looked over at the small creature. He couldn't help but scream as the squirrel looked back with glowing green eyes.

On the roof of the O'Neils' apartment, the three stood frozen as they watched the canisters rain down around them.

As they watched, April became aware that the green light was getting stronger where she was standing. Looking up, her eyes widened as she saw one of the canisters flying directly towards her head.

Raph and her father also noticed the incoming canister, and both darted towards the girl, Raph dropping his phone in the process, making it fall from the roof and shatter on the sidewalk below.

"April!" yelled Mr. O'Neil, reaching her first. He wrapped himself around his daughter protectively, and braced himself.

"MOVE!" shouted Raph, and he rammed the two out of the way.

The O'Neils were sent sprawling across the rooftop, and out of harms way. Raph had just enough time to feel relieved he'd managed to protect them before he felt the canister smash over his head.

April looked up in time to see the glowing green liquid spread over her friend's body, and could only watch as he started to scream in pain.

"NO, RAPH!" she yelled, jumping to her feet, and trying to run over to him, but her father caught her arm, and held her back.

"Don't!" he yelled, hugging her to his chest. "There's nothing you can do!"

As the O'Neils watched Raph collapsed on all fours, green scales began spreading across his skin, his head became larger and his features began to shift. His clothes started to rip off as his chest and limbs became broader, and his mask tore free of his face as his head became too large to wear it.

April's eyes widened as Raph's new features became more recognizable to her. "A-A Turtle?!" she gasped as she saw the shell begin to grow out of Raph's spine and ribs.

After what felt like an eternity, the mutation finally stopped, and Raph was left laying in a huddled mess, gasping for breath with a shell-shocked expression on his face.

Then ever so slowly he sat up and stared down at his now large, scaly, green, three-fingered hands in horror.

April pulled herself free of her father and slowly approached the new mutant.

"Raph?" she asked as she got closer, taking care in case his mutation had messed with his sanity like it had done for other mutants.

Raph's head snapped up, and familiar green eyes stared up at her. But April quickly stepped back when she saw no recognition on his face, only pure unadulterated terror.

Keeping a safe distance, she tried again, "Raph, it's me, April."

Raph's expression didn't change, but he made no move to attack her or her father.

Cautiously, April tried approaching him again, but kept her tessen hidden behind her back should he try to attack. "Raphael?" she said softly, holding her other hand out to him in what she hoped was a calming manner.

But as she got closer Raph only seemed to get even more terrified. April froze when she saw him twitch like he was about to move, but instead of attacking her like she feared, his head and limbs vanished inside his new shell.

It was all too much for Mr. O'Neil, and he fainted on the spot.

April blinked as she realized what she had just seen, and after making sure her father was alright, she hurried over to crouch next to the shell. "Raph!" she yelled, and placed her hand on the shell.

Beneath her fingers she could feel the whole shell shaking in fear. But she got no response from her friend inside.

"Oh, Raph," she said sadly. What was she supposed to do now?

Meanwhile on the Stealth Ship, the four ninjas were still having a difficult time fighting the Biodroid, made even harder when Donnie whacked it on the back and discovered that it had butt cannons.

Thinking quickly on how to possibly salvage this situation, Donnie noticed the other two Kraang on the ship were trying to repair the damage done to the control panel.

"Mikey! Drop those Kraang!" he yelled, pointing at them.

"Done and done! Throwing star time!" Mikey yelled as he did a backflip and releasing two shuriken at the same time.

The shuriken hit the Kraang's hover machines, and they were sent spinning away from the control panel.

Donnie ran over to their former position and released the hidden blade in his bō, and stabbed it into the controls. He used his staff to steer the ship through the buildings before making it shoot up into the sky. "How about we set a new course!" he yelled. "LIKE THE MOON!"

The other three finally managed to get the upper hand on the Biodroid. While Mikey and Miwa kept it pinned, Leo ran forward and stabbed the gorilla suit's controls, making it useless.

As the ship kept flying higher and higher the ninjas dove back out of it, and used grappling hooks to swing their way back to the roof tops, and land a few buildings away from April's apartment.

"We need to find those mutagen canisters before someone gets hurt!" said Leo to the rest of them.

The others nodded, but before they could go, they heard a yell of, "Wait!" behind them.

They turned to see April running across the rooftops towards them. "Guys!" she yelled, "Guys! It's Raph! He's-! He's-!"

Leo turned to her to ask what happened, but he paled when he saw what she had clutched in her hands.

It was the torn remains of Raph's red mask.

Instantly the four of them were at the redhead's side, shouting over each other to ask her what happened.

April floundered in the middle of them, trying to answer the questions while still trying to wrap her own head around what had happened.

Seeing that this was getting them nowhere, Donnie shouted at his siblings to be quiet before turning his attention to his girlfriend.

"April, what happened to Raph?" he asked worriedly.

April opened and closed her mouth a few times, trying to find the words. "He- I- he's this way, you gotta- just-just come on!" she stammered, leading them back towards her roof.

They arrived to see Mr. O'Neil passed out near to the giant turtle shell.

April bit her lip worriedly, and hurried over to the shell. "He still hasn't come out," she said looking lost, but the other four stared at the shell uncomprehendingly.

"Uh, April, what's with the big turtle shell?" Leo asked.

"Why is your Dad sleeping on the roof?" added Mikey.

"And where's Raph?" Miwa demanded.

Donnie glanced down, and saw the tattered remains of Raph's clothes, along with the shattered mutagen canister and its spilled contents on the roof next to the shell.

He felt his stomach plunge as it hit him what had happened. Looking at the large turtle shell, he slowly moved to stand next to it, and looked down upon it.

"This-this is Raph, isn't it…?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"WHAT?!" Leo, Mikey and Miwa shouted in shock.

"He was feeding Spike before he left, so he had turtle DNA on him," Donnie continued as if in a daze. He hoped more than anything he was mistaken. That for once he was wrong, and April would call him an idiot for suggesting such a thing.

Despite all the mutagen that went flying around them, none of them had ever really thought they would get doused with it themselves. Such a thing always seemed reserved for the bad guys, or innocent bystanders. The thought that one of them may have lost their humanity was a very rude wake up call in that regard.

But any hope that he was wrong was dashed when April nodded, looking distraught. "One of the canisters was coming at me, he-he pushed me away and got hit himself…" she sent a worried look at the shell. "I don't think he recognized me after he… He just went into his shell, and-and now he won't come out." April then buried her face in her hands. "This is all my fault."

Donnie reached up and put a comforting hand on April's shoulder, but he and the other non-mutant Hamato siblings were too busy trying to wrap their heads around the fact their brother now actually had a shell to say anything.

Mikey managed to snap out of first. He walked over and sat himself down next to Raph's shell.

"Raph, bro!" he called at the shell. "It's me, Mikey! Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!." He rapped his knuckles on the shell for good measure.

Donnie frowned down at his little brother. "I don't think that's helping Mikey. Turtles are skittish creatures by nature, and it's an instinctive response for them to hide-"

Miwa walked up and smacked Donnie on the back of the head to shut him up. "That's not helping," she hissed scathingly.

Mikey didn't pay them any attention, and kept his focus on Raph. "Come on, bro," he said comfortingly. "You're not scared of us are you? Donnie's just being too brainy for his own good again."

"What do you mean, 'again?'" Donnie protested, but shut up after another glare from his sister.

Seeing what the youngest was doing, Leo went and kneeled down next to him and placed his hand on the shell. "Since when is Hamato Raphael afraid of anything?" he asked in an attempt at a teasing tone while rubbing the shell comfortingly. "You know, aside from cockroaches."

The two of them kept talking in comforting voices, and were soon joined by the others doing the same. Finally there was some movement from the shell. It wobbled on the roof as Raph struggled to find his way back out. The five other teens tensed at the sight in case of an attack, but remained where they were.

As they watched, they saw a pair of round, green, three-toed feet came out of the shell, followed by equally green arms and hands. Then finally a large, bald, green head appeared on the shoulders.

"Raph?" asked Miwa when she saw her brother's new face. "Are you still with us?"

Raph slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, giving his siblings chance to get a good look at his new appearance. If they hadn't known it was him, they would have never guessed that this was their hotheaded brother in front of them. Almost all of his features had been changed to that of a scaly turtle creature. The only things he still had in common with his human self was his short stocky build, and his vivid green eyes.

"I…" he said, trying to answer Miwa's question, as well as form words with his newly shaped mouth. "I'm not sure… Did what I think happen… really… happen?"

His sister gave him a sympathetic wince. "I'm afraid so," she said.

Raph looked at his hands again, but didn't really seem to be seeing them. "I-I was hoping if I stayed in there long enough it would just be a nightmare," he said softly, looking extremely freaked out.

Leo placed his hand on the turtle's shoulder, and asked, "You okay, Raph?"

That broke Raph out of his stupor, as he turned and glared at his older brother with an expression that clearly said 'What do you think, Fearless?!'

Leo drew his hand back and looked sheepish.

Ever one to break the tension, Mikey chose that moment to lean right into Raph's personal bubble and get a closer look at his brother's new appearance. "Whoa," he said in delight. "Raph, you look awesome." He reached out and poked Raph's arm. He giggled at the texture he felt. "You're all green and scaly."

The others held their breath as they watched Mikey continue to poke him, but Raph's face just took on a familiar expression of irritation, but did nothing aside from that as he endured his brother's prodding.

Seeing that his brother still seemed to be somewhat sane despite his new appearance was a relief for Leo, but he knew it didn't mean it would stay that way. Standing and turning his attention over to Donnie, the leader asked, "Do you think you can make a cure, Donnie?"

Hearing that, Raph shoved Mikey's hand away and looked expectantly up at his genius brother.

Donnie stood as well and looked Raph over with a critical eye. "I can try," he said worriedly. "In fact, since Timothy was, well, you know, I've been trying to develop one. But mutagen is like nothing I've ever seen before, and there is still so much I don't know about it. If there is a cure, it'll take some time to make."

Raph started looking panicked. "How much time?" he demanded, jumping to his feet. He immediately wobbled from the change in balance his body was experiencing.

Mikey quickly jumped up, and he and Miwa caught Raph to help him steady himself, and were nearly knocked over themselves before they managed to right him.

"Man, Raph you're heavy," Mikey complained as Raph clung to him and their sister while he figured out how to put weight on his new feet.

"It's probably his shell," said Donnie thoughtfully. "The shell of a turtle is-"

"I will smack you again," Miwa threatened, not having any patience for Donnie's accuracy nitpicks right now.

Donnie glared back at her. "Well sorry," he said sarcastically, "but it's how I deal with stress!"

"A cure, Donnie?" Leo said, getting them back on track.

Donnie frowned, and did some calculations in his head. "Like I said, I've been working on one already, but so far I haven't made much progress due to lack of mutagen to study and work with." Then his eyes lit up with realization. "Like the mutagen that's been scattered all over the city!" he exclaimed.

Raph looked dubious, "So if we find some of it, you could turn me back?" he asked.

"It could only help," said Donnie. "Plus, getting that stuff of the streets should be a priority either way."

"Then lets go get some," Raph said, starting forward. But it was clear his sense of balance was currently shot, and Miwa and Mikey had to grab him again before he face planted on the roof.

Leo's expression turned stern. "We will, but not tonight," he said.

Raph looked over at him enraged. "What?!"

"Raph, you can barely walk," Leo said. "If you try to jump rooftops with us like this you'll only get yourself killed."

"But-!" Raph started to protest.

"We'll get it, Raph," Donnie assured him gently. "And when we do, I'll get started on a cure."

April stepped up and looked up at Donnie in determination. "And I'll you help in anyway I can," she insisted. "He got mutated protecting me, it's the least I could do."

Suddenly Donnie looked a lot more eager. "Don't sweat it, Raph, I'll get you back to normal in two shakes of a turtle's tail," he said confidently.

Mikey, who had still been examining Raph's new appearance, looked down at that remark. "Huh, he really does have a tail."

Raph turned scarlet, and jerked away from Mikey and his scrutiny. In doing so he started to fall over again, and Miwa had to brace herself against him to keep him upright.

Unfortunately, this did nothing to curb Mikey's enthusiasm. "Don't worry Raph," he said cheerfully. "I'll come up with a great mutant name for you."

The rest of them glared at Mikey for that.

"Mikey, you are not giving our brother one of your silly names," said Leo in exasperation.

Mikey ignored him, and waved his hands eagerly. "No, no, trust me. I've got some great ones lined up. How about the Terrorpin?"

His suggestion was met with deadpan glares.

"No," he said. "Then what about Shellshocker? No? Slash then? Turtle Titan? Tokka? Nightwatcher? Franklin? Griddex? Snapper McTortoise?"

Raph quickly got fed up with Mikey's suggestions. Using his new weight, he tackled his little brother to the ground and pulled into a headlock. "My name is Raphael," he growled as he rubbed a noogie into Mikey's head. "You either call me Raphael, Raph, or Iyasa when on missions. Get it?"

"Got it," Mikey wheezed.

"Good."

A wave of relief washed over the others as they watched the scene. More than anything else this was definite proof that their brother's mind was still his own.

"Well, at least it seems that Raph's still Raph underneath that green shell," said Donnie in amusement.

"You say that like it's a good thing," said Miwa with a small, relieved smirk.

Leo on the other hand still looked concerned. "Yeah, but… how are we going to tell this to Mother and Father?"

Just like that there was complete silence on the rooftop as they all realized what Leo had just said.

Miwa summed up what they were all thinking in one sentence. "We are so grounded."

A/N And the moment you've all been waiting for has arrived. Or at least those of you who read Turtle Loops before coming here. This is the part of the story that inspired me to write this fic in the first place, and trust me, I'm gonna have a lot more fun from here on out. I added the parts where Raph's currently pretty clumsy in his new body, because I thought that would make sense. He's suddenly in a completely new form, and the difference in weight he has and the shape of his feet are probably throwing him off.

Don't forget to check out the new chapter of Turtle Loops.

Disclaimer: I own nothing