Leonardo entered the lab when he got the all-clear signal from the other cyborg in the building. He entered with a grin on his face, at which Stockman started and backed up a few steps.
"What do you want?" Stockman asked warily.
"Is it possible to restore the right side of my face?" Leonardo demanded, picking up various tools and examining them.
"It should be," Stockman muttered. "It may not be, though. Why?"
"Never mind that, Stockman. Can you do it?"
"Yes, General Leonardo."
"You had better not mess this up," Leonardo growled, lying down on the table Stockman indicated. He removed the joints holding the metal mask in place, which Stockman removed.
"I'll do my best, General Leonardo. Do you want to be awake or asleep?"
"Shut me down, Stockman. I want some rest anyway." Stockman nodded and tapped in a command on a keyboard. He came over with a small needle and injected the liquid inside into Leonardo's neck. The cyborg fell asleep instantly.
Elsewhere…
"Raph, we've got a plan," Don announced, coming back into the main living room. "You, Mikey and Casey will be our first line. You will be the distraction. Professor Honeycutt and I will head in through the garage. We will look for a Foot to take us to General Leonardo. April and Leatherhead will follow us, but split off to find the Tank and blow it up if possible. If not, they will try to destroy the wiring so it can't be used as an exo-suit."
"Sounds like a plan," Raph grunted, standing up from the seat at the table he was in. "I'll get ready."
They all donned their battle gear and Donnie handed out powerful bombs, things he held on to in a locked safe, wrapped in very thick insulation to keep them from jouncing. They could blow out the whole lair, if allowed to detonate.
Mikey put Klunk in Leo's room, just so the kitten wouldn't pee in his. He wanted a joke to be played on Leo when he came back to them. It would help, he surmised.
"Ready?" Raph asked when everyone was assembled before him in groups.
"Ready," everyone responded.
"Let's go," Raph ordered, keying in the code. They moved into the elevator, barely fitting but unwilling to separate quite yet.
Later, elsewhere…
Stockman muttered to himself, applying another touch of nanobot-created flesh to General Leonardo's chin. He used computers to make sure it was perfectly symmetrical, making the smallest adjustments no human hands could manage.
He looked at his work and finally nodded, pleased. One would never know he lost it, Stockman prided himself.
He had used the general mold from the metal plate to create the face. Stockman left the red eye in, so when General Leonardo opened his eyes he would be greeted by the same vision, one normal from the left and the other cybernetic on the right.
He keyed in a code and General Leonardo stirred. His eyes snapped open and he looked at Stockman with a flicker of confusion. It was soon gone, though, as he raised his fingers and touched the right side of his face.
"Good job," he awarded, standing up and accepting the mirror Stockman handed him. He examined the work critically and smiled. "Perfectly symmetrical. And it has nerves. Very good."
"I live to do perfect work," Stockman said. "Will that be all?"
"Yes. Thank you." It was rare for General Leonardo to praise anyone. Stockman felt his pride swell as General Leonardo walked out, heading for the garage.
When he got there, he didn't notice the shadows watching him. He headed over to the recruit area and watched them train for a while, barking an order here and there. Then he called the Elite over and told him to dismiss the trainees and bring the Elites to the practice ring.
Elsewhere in the room…
Don watched with amazement as Leo walked among the Foot soldiers. The right side of his face had been restored. He didn't even move cautiously. Everyone else, did, though, and stayed out of his direct line of sight.
Back to General Leonardo…
"Very good," General Leonardo applauded. The two sparring Elites stood down and tapped their weapons together in an end-of-match ritual. "You, Elite Komain, face me."
The Elite who had won the latest bout face Leonardo and put his weapons up carefully. Leonardo drew his own swords and tapped them agains the Elite's katanas.
They stood still for a moment before General Leonardo attacked. The Elite was hard-pressed to stand against his attacks, much less attack the general himself.
"Come on," General Leonardo hissed. "Attack!" He stepped back, allowing the Elite to get time to execute an attack. It was very sloppy, though, and Leonardo disarmed the Elite easily. "Pathetic, Komain. Keep practicing. When we take over, you will need to lead the Foot as much as any other Elite."
"Yes, milord," the Elite answered softly. General Leonardo nodded and the Elite bowed deeply, walking away.
Did you enjoy the show, brothers? Leonardo asked, chuckling slightly. Really. I trained with you for so long you are pathetically predictable. Not to mention, Donnie, that your bombs are fused with so much energy I can't not see them.
He headed for his own quarters for a bite to eat and to clean his katanas. Karai met him in the hallway, on her way to the hot-tub for some relaxing soaking. Leonardo declined to join her and entered his rooms instead.
The large bed dominated the bedroom. A couple dressers – filled with clothing and his chest plate hologram transmitter – and a desk and chair completed the room. The walls and ceiling were black, the carpet a deep red.
He entered the bathroom to clean his face a bit. It was black all around, the silver in the shower and other handles glinting eerily. The sink was surrounded in pure gold and silver dust, stuck to the counter. It glittered in the light cast by the single lamp.
His study, which he rarely entered, was barely used and had only two desks and a few chairs in it, plus a couple bookshelves with past records of Foot reports from other Generals.
Leonardo went back into the bedroom and strapped on his chest plate. He wanted to go out with his squad tonight, scout the area. Activating the hologram, he hummed to himself as he dressed and checked his appearance.
A snick alerted him to more followers. He turned around slowly, surveying the room. He spotted them and shrugged. Four of his former friends. No problem. He headed out for the pool to tell Karai he was leaving. She was out, getting dried off.
He was aware of the watchers and so came forward, wrapping one arm around her waist and placing his lips on hers. Karai placed both hands on his shoulders, fingering the two small metal spikes Stockman had made because Shredder liked the idea. They were useless as anything but to signify his rank, as if he needed that.
"I'm going to go out with a squad tonight, Karai," he whispered, placing his forehead on hers. "Wanna come?"
"I have things to do here, Leo, but don't let me stop you. Go ahead. I'll be waiting for you."
"As always."
He moved away and felt the anger and pain of his brothers wash over him. He snorted softly and headed next for Hun's lair. He wanted to take some Purple Dragons, maybe find something to high-jack just for the fun of it. Maybe some nice jewelry for Karai…
"Hun," Leonardo barked, seeing the giant walking in another direction. The large man turned his head and smirked.
"Ah, General Leonardo," he greeted in his deep voice. "What brings you to my quarters?"
"I will be taking a squad out tonight. Assemble a contingent of Purple Dragons. We're heading back to the warehouse. And, Hun, put together a good crew this time. Those sissies last time were terrible."
"I would if I were you," Karai added, walking up and placing her hand on Leonardo's shoulder. "Or else we might be taking over the Purple Dragons."
"Ha!" Hun laughed. "You couldn't command their respect if you bit them, Karai."
"Maybe not, Hun, but I think you will find they would obey us both."
"Get a squad together, Hun. I want faster people this time."
"Alright, alright, keep your circuits on, metal boy," Hun growled, walked smoothly away.
"Well, see you tomorrow," Karai said. "Master Shredder has something for me to do. I think he wants something. Ah, go and have some fun." She exited as well, and Leonardo looked around, running a hand through his illusion-hair.
"Well, my brothers, what do you think?" he asked, smiling. Four startled heartbeats made themselves even more pronounced. "Come, come, now, I won't turn you in quite yet. Feel free to explore. But remember, if my Elite catch you, you're dead meat." The four heartbeats faded away, signaling that the turtles had left. Leonardo snorted in contempt.
"Since when did you threaten your brothers?" a chilling voice asked. Leonardo turned his head to gaze at Shredder and bowed.
"We have followers, Master," he said humbly. "My brothers and some friends have infiltrated the base."
"Very good. Begin Phase One. Alert Stockman and have him restore the floors. Then go strap in," Shredder ordered.
"Yes, milord." Leonardo watched his master retreat before opening the communication to Stockman, robot to robot. "Stockman, reinforce the floors. Phase One begins."
"Roger." The robot's voice was complacent. "Meet me in the garage in five minutes. Tank will be up and ready by then."
"See you there."
Leonardo cut the communication and slapped his chest, deactivating the hologram around him. "And now, the fun begins."