Raph cursed as Leo's fist traveled swiftly towards his head. The smaller turtle dodged him and rushed at Bishop, figuring that he could knock the scientist out and maybe calm Leo down a little.
"Ah, ah, ah," Bishop tisked, jerking his finger slightly. Leo stomped up behind Raph and reached down clumsily. Had he been himself, Leo would have been disgusted with the way he was moving, like a badly-controlled puppet.
Leo's eyes bored into Raph as the lithe turtle jumped away. The same soul-less eyes that had been on his big brother since he'd given up his soul to the Ninja God. It pained Raph to see those eyes again.
"Raph!" Mikey's voice called. The orange-banded turtle jumped in and surveyed the scene. Don ran in a moment later, puffing and out of breath.
"Well, looks like we found Leo," Mikey joked.
"Raph, get the remote. We'll handle Leo," Don ordered. Though he was supposed to be in charge, Raph did as he was told without hesitation. He jumped at Bishop while Don and Mikey tried to get a clear shot in to tranquilize Leo.
"You stinking coward!" Raph roared as a flood of Foot ninja entered the lab, attack him and Donnie, who covered for Mikey as the hyper turtle tried to get close enough to Leo to stick a needle in a vein somewhere.
Raph and Don bumped into each other in a corner, and were knocked down by Mikey, who was thrown by Leo. Bishop grinned evilly as he held up his hand, halting the attacks of the turtle and the Foot.
Leo stood behind Bishop as the scientists stared at the turtles. He spoke calmly. "Since you've obviously escaped the laughable excuse for a holding cell in the zoo, we'll have to keep you here for a while. I see you've come to understand how… fragile and breakable the brotherly bond is. At least, how fragile Leonardo's is."
"You're controlling him through neural implants," Don spat. "His bond with us is out of play!"
"And let me tell you, when we rescue him, you're gonna pay!" Raph snarled. Leo shifted behind Bishop, whose hand twitched again. "Ah, so it ain't as flawless as ya think, eh, Bish?"
"Nonsense. I have full control."
Leo stirred again and Bishop's eye twitched.
"R-Raph," Leo whispered, his hand drifting towards his face. Bishop snarled again and clenched a fist. The large turtle straightened and grinned maliciously.
"Leo, bro, fight it! Fight him!" Raph called, twirling his Sai. "Ready, bros?" he asked his brothers behind him.
"Cowabunga!" Mikey cried, signaling for an attack. Bishop twitched his hand and Leo met the attack easily, backed by a hundred Foot soldiers.
"Mikey, tranq him!" Raph called, kicking a Foot in the face. Don swung his Bo into the stomach of another.
Mikey clambered up Leo's side, getting the needle ready. Leo was busy trying to deflect ruthless attacks from Raph, and Mikey reached his neck quickly.
"Look out below!" he called playfully as he jabbed the needle into his brother's heaving neck. Leo stiffened and Raph backed off, fighting a few of the Foot. Weaving drunkenly, Leo shook his head and growled.
"Tim-BER!" Mikey cried as Leo's knees buckled. He jumped off and warned Raph away from the twitching body. The three turtles continued to fight the Foot, a seemingly endless horde of bodies that rushed at them.
"Well, ain't this cute," Raph spat, punching another Foot in the side. "Bishop can't fight anymore, Leo's down and out, and we're just gonna hafta fight our way outta this buildin' while carrying a thousand-pound turtle."
"No, we're not," Don huffed, his shell blocking a Foot's nunchuck. He retaliated quickly and continued fighting as he spoke. "There's a portable containment tube that'll carry him and follow us over there. Probably salvaged from one of the Triceraton ships. If we can get it near him, I can make it carry Leo for us. It'll drive itself, too."
"Great. Uh! Now all we gotta do is get the shell outta here!"
"I'm working on it," Don growled, turning his shell to a Foot with a Bo. The wood cracked against his shell and he swung out behind him, knocking the man down. "Ha! That's for not having a shell!"
Bishop was crossing to a computer console, probably to call in more guards. Raph cursed and leapt over the Foot to jump on his arch enemy, who ducked just in time.
"What's the matter? Scared now that you don't have big bad Leo to help you?"
"Inferior beast," Bishop hissed. "You will never defeat me."
"Ha! Watch me!" Raph laughed, jumping up again and spinning, his feet lashing at Bishop's midsection. The scientist avoided it easily, grabbing a katana from a downed warrior.
Bishop faced off again, holding the katana easily.
"You're goin' down!" Raph shouted, attacking again. Bishop continued to be on defense. Raph risked a glance at Don and Mikey and found them doing well. Almost all of the Foot were down, and Don was actually looking at the tank they could put Leo in, typing commands into the panel on the side.
Raph snorted lovingly. The brainiac knew what he was doing, and Raph would make sure he was safe to do it. He blocked another strike, and Bishop charged abruptly for him. Raph was forced to return most of his attention back to the scientist.
"Take that!" Mikey laughed as he knocked the last Foot down, the crack of wood on a skull making Don wince slightly.
Mikey bounced away to help Raph, who seemed to be holding his own against Bishop. He distracted the man and Raph was able to score a hard punch that knocked Bishop's head against a metal table and knock him out thoroughly.
"Al-right!" Mikey cheered, slipping his nunchucks away and grinning foolishly at Raph who smacked him gently.
"Let's get outta here," he ordered. "Donnie, what can we do?" he asked, turning to the brainiac.
"I've got it. It'll grab Leo and fall in with us; it can go silent and invisible. Let's head out; we have just enough time with Leo's metabolism to get to the lair before he wakes up." Don typed in a command on the keyboard and the tank moved to Leo's side, seemingly measuring him before straps shot out and grabbed the large turtle's arms, wings, tail, and legs. It pulled him into the tube, strapped him down quickly, and shut the door tightly.
"That's it," Don nodded, smiling a little. "Let's get out of here!"
"I agree with ya there, Don," Raph chuckled, looking out into the corridor and signing for them to follow quickly.
About an hour later…
"Alright, we're home," Don sighed, giving the tank a little push out of the elevator. It had been a little bit of a squeeze, but at least Leo wasn't awake yet. "Raph, Mikey, help me clear out Leo's room so we can put him in there. Then I'll get to work on these implants."
Raph shoved Mikey ahead of him, telling the young turtle that he could have a snack later. Don followed slowly with the holder, knowing that it would take very little time to clear a space in Leo's small room.
Raphael smirked when he noticed that Don was nervous as they pushed Leo's futon – almost the only piece of furniture other than sword stands and weapon racks – against the wall and stood it up carefully. Then they put the tank in the middle of the room.
Don brought in a whole bunch of equipment with Raph's help while a ravenous Mikey destroyed a large pizza he'd warmed in the oven. Klunk was sitting next to him at the table, getting little mouthfuls of cheese from Mikey's pizza when the youngster felt inclined to spoil his kitty.
Just as Raph was bringing in a large machine that had several buttons on it, Leo awoke. Don watched carefully as Leo looked around his tank, seeming confused. Then his eyes alighted on Donnie and he smiled happily.
"Oh, hey, Don," Leo greeted casually. "Uh, what's going on?"
"Hey, Leo," Raph grunted, putting the machine down with a small moan. "Are ya sure you need that, brainiac?"
"Leo, are you in control of yourself?" Don asked, ignoring his temperamental brother.
"Um, yeah," Leo scoffed, trying to get up but finding himself strapped down to the table in the tank. "What's going on?"
"I'm sending you to sleep, Leo, so I can destroy what Bishop did. He's able to control you, so I'm not taking any chances. Sorry. Just relax; it'll be all over in a few minutes, to you."
Don pushed a button and sleeping gas entered the chamber. Leo nodded, his eyes showing full trust in his brother as they closed sleepily, the red irises glowing for a moment before the eyelids shut all the way with a gentle breath from Leo.
Don prepared himself for the operation and told Raph to scrub up thoroughly. A brain scan had revealed several little receivers, and Don needed someone to hand him tools while he opened Leo's head up and took out the devices.
Don kept his stomach down with a gulp. He'd never operated like this before. Sure, he'd done a few little things, like straightening a broken finger, but never such a delicate procedure.
"Well, here goes nothing… And if I screw up, everything," Don muttered to himself, opening the tank door and rolling Leo onto his plastron after untying the secure belts.
He administered a pain medication just in case and then put the scalpel on Leo's scaly head. Raph looked away.