Minutes after they escaped from the Foot, the heroes returned to the lair to rest after all they had been through.
Needless to say, Korra was stunned by the home of the turtles.
"Do you live here?" Korra asked in amazement.
"I know it doesn't exactly look like a temple, but..." began Raph.
"No. No, that's not what I meant." said Korra, interrupting the turtle before a friendly smile formed on her face. "I like it. It feels very homey."
"I thought the same thing when we first arrived." said Bolin.
"Korra!" three shouts together drew the Avatar's attention.
She turned to see Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo running toward her.
"I'm so glad you're okay." said Jinora.
"Guys? What are you doing here?" asked Korra surprised by her presence in that place.
It was one thing to see her girlfriend and her friends come to that world to rescue her, but she didn't expect them to come to that world as well.
"We were very worried about you." said Ikki.
"So, we convinced them to let us go with them to this world." explained Meelo.
"On the one hand, I'm angry with you for coming to a different world, even though you had your father's approval." began Korra by making the three brothers look depressed, but then they were surprised when Korra lured them into a hug. "But on the other hand, I'm proud of you for deciding to come here to help me despite the danger you might be in."
The three siblings smiled at the Avatar's praise before returning the hug.
"My children, my daughter, my friends." Splinter began as he entered the room. "I am glad to see that you are all safe. And you too, Avatar Korra." said Splinter.
"Thank you, master Splinter." Korra said, bowing in appreciation. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your sons and daughter." Korra turned her gaze to the Mutanimals. "Like their friends." then Korra looked at her friends and girlfriend. "And mine."
Splinter smiled at the Avatar's words and she smiled too, but that smile faded when she felt a pain in her head that made her whimper a little bit as she put her hand on her head.
"Korra, are you okay?" asked Asami.
"Yes, I just need to sit down for a moment." said Korra as she went to sit on the couch in front of the television, still with her hand on her head.
"Has something happened?" asked Splinter.
"Korra fell into a tank full of mutagen." said Raph, to the surprise of Splinter and the young airbenders.
"What? Was she exposed to the mutagen?" asked Jinora in shock.
"How come she didn't undergo a crazy transformation like Luon's?" Ikki asked.
"We don't know. We think the spirit of the Avatar must have protected her." said Leo.
"Still... I feel something strange. I don't even know how to define it, but it's like... it makes me feel exhausted." said Korra.
"There might be some effects of the mutagen that we haven't noticed yet." Donnie said before pulling out an empty injector. "But to find out, I'd need a sample of your DNA to investigate. If that's okay with you."
"Take it easy. If it helps you figure out what the mutagen did to me, go ahead." said Korra, reaching out to Donnie to continue.
Donnie inserted the needle into her arm, which made her shiver with the shooting pain. A couple of seconds later, Donnie had an injector with some of Korra's blood in it.
"If anyone needs me, I'll be in my lab. There's a lot of research to be done on this." Donnie said as he went to his lab to get started.
"Meanwhile, make yourself at home." Splinter said, earning a glimpse of the Republic City group.
"And I have the perfect welcome gift!" said Mikey with great joy when he appeared in front of everyone. He showed them a flat box and when he opened it, he revealed its contents. "Pizza!"
The New York group rolled their eyes as they smiled amusingly at Mikey's antics.
"Don't worry, she's a vegetarian." said Mikey, referring to the young airbenders.
"Well. There's no harm in trying it out, is there?" asked Bolin seeing that the others had their little doubts about it. Besides, from what Mikey said that time, it must have been something delicious.
Ikki, seeing that Bolin was right, simply shrugged her shoulders and took a slice of pizza. She looked at it for a moment before biting it. As soon as her taste buds came in contact with it, her eyes opened like plates and a big smile formed on her face.
"Guys! You have to try this! It's so good!" said Ikki euphorically.
The rest decided to follow the advice of the middle daughter and took a piece to try it. Smiles formed on them when they did.
"Wow, this is really delicious." said Korra.
"I've never tasted anything like it." said Asami.
"Now I understand why Mikey went crazy over this." said Mako.
And within minutes, the Republic City group finished a whole pizza.
Meanwhile, in Shredder's lair, the three evil mutants and the general who had gone after the heroes knelt before the leader of the Foot (except Hakan who bowed).
"Master, the turtles have escaped with the Avatar." said Tiger Claw.
"This is unacceptable." shouted Shredder, not happy with the news.
"If I may. Let's just say we were... distracted." said Hakan.
"Distracted? Why?" Shredder asked.
"The Avatar fell into a tank full of mutagen and when she came out, she was still normal, nothing had changed in her." said Fishface.
"Is that so?" asked Shredder.
"It is, master. We saw it with our own eyes." said Rahzar.
"That makes her even more valuable to me." Shredder said a little calmly before he returned to his angry state. "But first. Steranko! Zeck! Explain to me how the turtles were able to get in here!"
"It wasn't our fault boss!" said Rocksteady in fear.
"They had those benders with them! We tried to stop them!" said Bebop with equal fear.
"I don't want any excuses!" Shredder shouted.
Just then, Stockman entered the room, looking very nervous.
"Master, I have good newzzzz and bad newzzzz." Stockman said, a little nervous.
"What's wrong?!" Shredder shouted, not being in the mood for more nonsense and disappointment.
"When the turtlezzzz interrupted the bazzzze and came into my lab... it zzzzeemzzzz they... erazzzzed all my... data." Stockman said.
"Everything you had about the Avatar has been erased?" Shredder asked.
"Not juzzzzt that data. Everything related to mutagen, brain wormzzzz... All our filezzzz... have been... wiped out." said Stockman before he was grabbed by the shirt by Shredder, who placed his claws an inch from the face of the mutant fly.
"You better hope the good news is that or there will be one less insect in the world." Shredder said threateningly.
"T-That wazzzz to come. When I heard that the Kraang were being attacked, I had a feeling that zzzzomething bad wazzzz going to happen, zzzzo I decided to back up the filezzzz." Stockman explained.
That was enough for Shredder to release him.
"A backup?" Shredder said.
"Does that mean you haven't lost everything?" Tiger Claw asked.
"Only the newezzzzt zzzztuff, but I can get it back in a few zzzzecondzzzz. When you're azzzz zzzzmart azzzz I am, you have to be careful." said Stockman.
"Well? What did you find out about the Avatar's blood sample?" asked Shredder, calming himself after hearing Stockman's good news.
"You won't believe thizzzz, mazzzzter, but her DNA izzzz abzzzzolutely amazing. In fact, if I do enough rezzzzearch, I could accomplizzzzh zzzzomething that would make us invincible." Stockman said happily.
"And what would that be?" Shredder asked, very interested.
"It could turn uzzzz into benderzzzz." Stockman revealed to the surprise of all present, even Shredder, though he didn't show it.
"Are you saying that we could become benders like those brats who accompany the turtles." asked Rahzar, impressed by the information.
"That's impossible! As far as I know, only the Avatar was capable of taking bending from the benders and there were no cases that showed otherwise." said Hakan clearly surprised by what Stockman said.
"That juzzzzt zzzzhowzzzz how advanced we are in termzzzz of you." Stockman said smugly.
"But could you or couldn't you?" asked Fishface.
"And if it is possible to choose, I would like to be able to bend the earth. Then I could create mountains and use them to crush our enemies." said Rocksteady.
"I'm interested in bending fire. Then I wouldn't lie about having a burning personality." said Bebop, laughing slightly at his own pun.
"Yezzzz, but I would need rezzzzultzzzz and it would take a while to get them." Stockman said, focusing on Fishface's question rather than the mutant duo's childish requests.
"Do whatever it takes, Stockman, but I want those results AS SOON AS POSSIBLE." Shredder said.
"Yezzzz, mazzzzter." Stockman said before flying quickly back to his laboratory.
"As for the rest. Go find them! Search the entire city! Leave no stone unturned and no crack unturned! Capture the Avatar and bring her to me! Don't return until you have done so!" Shredder ordered.
"Yes, sir!" said the mutants and the general before they ran out of the room to fulfill their mission.
It had been a couple of hours since the heroes returned to the lair. The turtles (except Donnie) decided to show team Avatar their home, as the first time they arrived they didn't see much because the important thing at that time was to rescue Korra. Besides, the young airbenders had already seen enough of the lair because they were left behind with Splinter.
They first passed through the kitchen, where Korra had her first encounter with Ice Cream Kitty and needless to say she was surprised by a creature that was part ice cream and part cat. Then they passed by the dojo where everyone was left with their mouths open in front of the majestic tree there. She didn't know why, but being around it gave the Avatar peace and quiet.
After reviewing the rest of the rooms and explaining some things they didn't understand, everyone went off to hang out.
Donnie was still in his lab researching the effects of the mutagen on Korra and Asami, with approval and little advice from Donnie, she spent time analyzing the Shellraiser, as she was very interested in the many facets of the vehicle.
Raph was training with a punching bag that had a picture of Shredder's face attached to it and Mako was training without using fire control.
Bolin, Mikey, and the young airbenders were more focused on enjoying the entertainment of the turtle world, such as comics, action figures and television. Some even commented that there should be such things in their world.
Leo, Karai, April and Casey were with the Mutanimals talking to each other about the latest missions and adventures they had. Splinter was meditating in the dojo.
Korra was in a separate room, meditating, trying to figure out for herself what was happening to her in relation to the exposure to the mutagen, but although it was relaxing, she didn't get anywhere and couldn't enter the spirit world because of the issue that she was in another world.
Soon after, she and the others in Republic City began to be interested in the Mutanimals. They knew about the origin of the turtles, Karai, Splinter, and even April and Casey, but they didn't know the history of the Mighty Mutanimals.
So, they approached them and asked if they could talk to them about how they became mutants and so on. They were a little surprised that they were asked such a question, but they accepted it when they saw that there was no harm in it.
"Let me guess, you used to be a turtle, right?" Mako asked.
"What gave it away?" Slash asked smiling, causing Jinora and Ikki to laugh a little.
"But why Slash? He doesn't look like the other turtles." said Bolin.
"I like him. It sounds harder and cooler." said Meelo.
"That was the goal, kid." said Slash before addressing the earthbender. "And as for your question, I'm a different kind of turtle. Before I mutated I was Raphael's pet turtle." Slash said.
"Pet turtle?" Korra asked.
"Yes." said Mikey as he approached them and showed them a picture of Slash being a normal turtle on his T-Phone. "This was what he looked like and his name was Spike."
"Aw, that's nice." said Ikki.
"Who knew Raph's tough guy would be so soft." said Meelo, giving Raph a mischievous smile.
"Shut up." Raph responded quickly, generating small laughs among the young airbenders.
"Where was I?" Slash wondered, seeing that he could continue. "Ah, yes. One day, I took some mutagen and now I'm like this." said Slash, pointing to himself.
"And then you joined the turtles, right?" asked Asami, having an idea of what might have happened.
"Well..." began Slash getting nervous and rubbing the top of his head. "The truth is... when I mutated... I... attacked them and... tried to kill them."
"WHAT?!" asked the Republic City group as a whole.
"You tried to kill them? Why?" asked Mako in shock at the information received.
"Weren't they your friends?" asked Bolin in the same state.
"I wasn't in my right mind at the time because of the mutagen. Besides, at that time, Raphael had had an argument with his brothers and I got carried away." explained Slash.
"It's true. The mutagen doesn't just affect the body, it also affects the mind. The effects can be different depending on the person affected and the issues that happen in relation to that person." Leo said.
"It's like what happened with Luon." Korra said, recalling how crazy Luon got after he became Lemearth.
"After that, I started to sort things out in my head. I made up with the turtles and then I met these guys." Slash said, pointing to the other members of his group. "Now I'm willing to fight for my brothers and beat up anyone to help them." Slash said, slapping his fist in his palm.
"Yes! If someone messes with my family, I'll teach them a lesson they won't forget." Meelo said, looking proud.
"Of course. Because you can handle anything." Jinora said sarcastically.
"Oh, Meelo, you are our hero." Ikki said dramatically before both sisters burst out laughing.
"Hey! I mean it!" said Meelo complaining before he felt a pat on the head from Slash.
"Hehe. Take it easy, kid. You've got spirit and that's good for a start." said Slash, earning a smile from younger brother.
"I'm glad things worked out between you." Korra said.
"Thank you, Avatar." said Slash.
Asami turned to the mutant monkey that was picking fleas off his arm.
"So, Dr. Rockwell, what's your story?" asked Asami, interested in the other mutant scientist.
Rockwell realized that they were headed for him and stopped what he was doing.
"Well, my story is quite interesting. You see, I used to be a great scientist, one of the best in town. I used to work with my colleague, Dr. Falco." said Rockwell.
"And how did you end up like that?" Jinora asked.
"It all started when Falco and I got a visit from the Kraang. They offered us a lot of money in exchange for experimenting with the mutagen. I refused, but Falco went behind my back and accepted the offer." said Rockwell.
"So, your friend lied to you?" asked Bolin.
"We were more co-workers than friends." explained Rockwell.
"I know how you feel. I had to work with someone who only saw for himself." said Asami, recalling Varrick's actions when they became partners.
"I didn't know about it until it was too late. While I was experimenting with monkey samples..." Rockwell began.
"Monkeys?" Mako asked before understanding reached him and his eyes widened. "You mean...?"
"That's right. He used me as a guinea pig for his experiments with mutagen." said Rockwell.
The Republic City group gasped as they discovered the truth about the mutant monkey.
"That's horrible. I understand you weren't friends, but why did he do that to you?" asked Korra.
"Falco wanted to create a special psychic neurological compound. I managed to escape and, like Karai when she mutated, I acted like a wild animal. Later I was captured by the Kraang." Rockwell began, drawing everyone's attention. "I was forced to be their test subject, but, in one of those experiments, they accidentally restored my mind and gave me psychic powers in the process."
To show this, Rockwell used his powers to lift some furniture from the living room, astounding the Republic City group.
"Unbelievable!" said Ikki.
"It's like a mixture of air and earthbending." said Jinora.
"After I escaped again, I met Slash and joined his group." said Rockwell.
"Just out of curiosity, what happened to Falco?" Asami asked.
That question made the turtles angry, which everyone noticed.
"What's wrong, guys? Did something bad happen to him?" Korra asked.
"Not exactly," said Mikey.
"When Rockwell escaped Falco's control, he continued his experiments with the mutagen, but on rats." explained Raph.
"And in one of those experiments, there was an accident that mutated him in a different way than the others." said Leo.
"In what way?" Mako asked.
"He became a man with the ability to telepathically control rats." said Leo.
"Are you saying that there is a man capable of controlling the rats with his mind?" asked Asami, surprised that there was a man with such capabilities.
"Yes, and since then he calls himself the Rat King." said Raph.
"But if he can control the rats, then..." began Bolin by looking at the dojo where Splinter meditated.
"Don't worry, Splinter is too tough to be controlled by that guy." said Mikey knowing what his friend was worried about.
"Although he may have fallen under his control once, he managed to develop a resistance to his influence and we haven't heard from him in a while." said Leo.
"Good thing we have enough on Shredder to have to deal with a Rat King." Mako said.
Seeing that they were deviating from the previous conversation, Korra turned to Pete to return to the main topic.
"What about you, Pete?" Korra asked.
"Well, in my case I was 'invited' by the Kraang, they threw a mutagen on me and I became this." said Pete.
"It must be horrible going from man to pigeon." said Bolin with some sympathy.
"I used to be a pigeon." Pete explained, making Bolin's sympathy go away.
"One question, do pigeons eat bread out of hunger or craving?" asked Meelo.
Suddenly, he was grabbed on the shoulders by Pete.
"Bread? Do you have bread?" asked Pete, looking at Meelo all over for bread.
"Take it easy, buddy. I still have some left." Slash said as he pulled out a piece of bread, which Pete quickly picked up and began pecking at it.
The Republic City group was a little surprised at the behavior and history of the mutant dove.
"Is that all?" asked Korra.
"That's all." said the turtles, Karai, April, and Casey together.
"Honestly, that was a very simple story." said Asami.
"And what's your story, Leatherhead?" asked Bolin to the mutant crocodile. "Were you also mutated by the K...?"
Before he could continue, Mikey covered his mouth with his hand. His eyes, like the other mutants, were wide open with fear.
"Guys, better not say that K-word in front of him." said Mikey, releasing the mouth of the earthbender.
"Why?" asked Mako.
"Trust us, you don't want to know." said Raph.
"But what if we say Kraang?" asked Meelo curiously. Then he was greeted by scolding looks from his sisters, realizing his mistake. "Oops." said Meelo with a nervous smile.
The eyes of the mutants opened in horror as the mutant crocodile's eyes turned gray when it heard the forbidden word.
"Uh-oh." said Karai knowing what was coming.
"KRAAAANG!" shouted Leatherhead.
Leatherhead started running around the room, hitting everything in his path. He stopped for a moment to let out a loud roar.
The others soon ran beside him.
"Easy, Leatherhead!" said Mikey trying to calm him down.
Leatherhead began to growl at the mutants who were approaching him.
"Leatherhead, be quiet. It's all right." said Karai softly.
"You are among friends. It's all right." said Leo softly.
Leatherhead began to breathe slowly and softly.
"Let's go, brother. Take a deep breath. Deep breaths." Slash said, reassuring his teammate.
"Calm your mind, buddy. Calm your mind." said Rockwell calmly.
"The Kraang aren't here. Just your friends." said Raph.
"F… Friends." said Leatherhead.
Mikey managed to get close to him and rub his belly gently.
"That's it, buddy. That's it." said Mikey.
Leatherhead's eyes turned white again as he took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry." said Leatherhead.
Before anyone could say anything about it, Donnie opened the door to his lab and peeked out a little, frowning.
"Excuse me, but I'm working and I need some PEACE AND QUIET." Donnie said before slamming the door.
"Okay, what was that about just now?" Mako asked the mutant crocodile who had an embarrassed expression.
"Leatherhead, what happened to you?" asked Korra worried about the mutant.
"I'm sorry you saw that. There are times when I lose control of my actions. It was the Kraang who made me this way. When I was a normal baby crocodile I was raised by a human child, but his parents discovered me and threw me into the sewers. I was found by the Kraang and taken to their dimension where I was mutated and subjected to horrible experiments." said Leatherhead.
Asami covered her mouth with her hands while the others looked on sympathetically.
"But though they could break my body, they couldn't break my spirit. I managed to escape through a portal to Earth. Soon after I met the turtles and swore to help them fight their war, to protect the Earth from evil beings like the Kraang or the Foot, even at the risk of my own life." said Leatherhead.
The Republic City group was impressed by the mutant crocodile's determination.
"For a long time, I considered myself a monster, unable to be with others or even have friends, but the turtles saw beyond my appearance and helped me in ways I could never repay." Leatherhead said.
Suddenly, he felt something around his waist. He looked down and was surprised when he saw Ikki hugging him.
"You're not a monster, Leatherhead. You are someone good." said Ikki looking at the mutant crocodile.
"Thank you, friend." said Leatherhead patting the young airbender's back gently.
"She is right. You may not look it, but you are the most noble being I have ever seen." said Korra.
"Don't let people judge you by what you are, but by who you are." said Asami, linking her hand with her girlfriend's.
"You know? I was always told that monsters were evil creatures, but you are the furthest thing from that." said Bolin.
"The real monsters are the ones that behave like one and not the ones that look like one." said Jinora wisely.
Those words brought smiles to all mutants.
"Ha. I wish there were more humans like you." said Karai.
"Seeing it that way. We are all monsters." said Slash.
"And we 'monsters' must stick together." said Raph, pushing Slash a little.
Korra smiled as she saw the strong bonds the New York group showed with each other.
"You are definitely a great family." Korra said.
"We are a great family. And you're all a part of it." said Leo.
The Republic City group was a little surprised by this, but then they smiled at the sight of all the people around them smiling, the people who became their friends in such a short time.
"I don't know about you, but this is definitely the weirdest family I've ever seen." said Mikey.
Soon, the whole group burst out laughing.
There was no doubt in anyone's mind. Despite being humans, benders, and mutants; despite being from different worlds, strong bonds had formed between them all, bonds that made them all one family.
