Chapter 18: Pieces of a Puzzle

Donetello tapped away at his computer, his eyes racing over the limited information provided. The genius really wished that Bebop would have copied more information onto his own personal flash drive or better yet provided the original flash drive. The one, that this 'Peter' had, of the information from Stockman's computer. He didn't know how Bebop's friend came across this information in the first place but the more he read the more worried he became.

From the limited information the mutant Pig had copied before parting ways with the young man who'd aided him and Rocksteady in the fight with Stockman, Donnie was able to deduce that this young individual was more involved in this web of mischief than originally speculated. When Bebop had arrived at the lair, out of sorts, rambling and emotional it hadn't taken long to figure out that the purely stealth mission Bebop and Rocksteady had originally agreed to had not gone as planned. Donnie and his brothers were shocked to hear of the power this new weapon held. Knowing that Stockman was not only alive, but had regrouped and created such a devastating weapon was terrifying to say the least. They had already seen the weapon's capabilities. They had all been to the zoo to check on Rocksteady and seen the look of pure anxiety that Bebop wore. They all knew that look. The brothers were no stranger to grief and understood the pain of losing a brother. Don only hoped he would be able to find a cure to this 'reverse retromutagen' and turn Rocksteady back into a mutant again. Because unlike them, Bebop's loss didn't have to be permanent. Rocksteady wasn't..dead, he was only mutated.

Donetello let out a sigh as he pushed himself away from the desk running a shaky hand down his face as the dots connected and it was not a pretty picture.

"We need to call Bebop" he said with a steely urgency, swiveling around in his office chair to face his two other brothers.

Raph frowned. "You know he went back to the zoo."

"Yeah man" Mikey frowned. "Give him some alone time, he's gonna see if he can get through to Rocksteady. There has to be some part of him that remembers well something"

Donnie shook his head "no Mikey, the amnesiac aspect is ingrained in the mutagen's design, it is a staple part of the process."

The younger turtle just blinked, exchanging a glance with an equally confused Rapheal.

Donnie sighed. "The mutagen makes whoever is infected forget," he explained.

Raph let out a huff as he crossed his arms. "That's stupid"

"That's cruel" April interjected as she and Cassey entered the lab and therefore the conversation.

"Why would Stickman want whoever he mutates to forget everything?" Cassey asked.

"My speculation would be that this mutagen was intended for Shredder's old hunchman, Stockman wanted to mutate his old enemies to guarantee that he was never bothered again. The amnesastic aspect would guarantee the ultimate protection. One can not enact revenge if one does not remember anything or anyone from their past. Because most of the targets would turn into animals, there wasn't much Stockman would have to worry about after administering the mutagen."

Raph frowned "What do you mean most?"

Donnie let out a breath, letting his hand run down his tired face once more as he cast a glance at the screen that seemed to hold only parts of the puzzle. "Rocksteady wasn't Stockman's first victim"

"WHAT!"

Donnie held up a hand trying to calm the worried ruckus of curses, comments and questions that bombarded him.

"What da ya mean, not the first victim?! You mean all this time we thought the creep was dead, he's been out there mutating people?!"

Donnie felt a twinge of sympathy for his brother "No Raph" he let out a sigh.

Donnie slumped back into his chair suddenly feeling very very tired. Stockman was already a touchy subject and this whole situation with Rocksteady had already dragged up some hard emotions and memories for the brothers. The information Donnie had gathered about Peter only complicated things more. Even worse the genius had a gut feeling that he was only getting part of the story and that he was missing something, something big.

"Remember when we first learned of the 'reverse Retromutagen' and you asked me how Stockman even got the mutagen to begin with?" Donnie stated after a moment.

"Yeah" Raph said with a frown, taking a seat on a nearby cot with his younger brother. "After Shredder, we cleaned up the city. I thought we didn't leave a single trace of the stuff. I don't know where Stockman found enough mutagen to create this 'reverse retro-whatever' but there should be nothing left!"

"Your right Raph, there shouldn't have been enough mutagen left for Stockman's plan." A tired smile spread across the genius face. "And the information from Stockman's notes verifies that."

"What are you saying Donnie?" April frowned.

"I'm saying that Stockman is more twisted than we originally thought."

A chill swept over the lab at Donnie's words.

"Stockman must have scrowned and found just enough mutagen for one batch of the reverse retromutagen."

"So that was his only batch?" Casey asked "the one he used on rocksteady? Then we don't need to worry about Stockman anymore if he already used the last of his mutagen."

"Well yes and no."

"Donnie you're not making any sense" April shook her head. "You said Rocksteady wasn't the first victim but if he only created enough for one dose how did he mutate Rocksteady as well?"

Donnie closed his eyes for a split second gathering his strength. "Yes, Rocksteady was not his first victim, he mutated one individual before that. Using his only source of the 'reverse retromutagen' to do so" Donetello took another breath. "But that is not the end of Stockman's plans. He must have known he wouldn't have had enough mutagen to create enough reverse retromutagen for all of his enemies. So instead he has devised a way of harnessing the reverse retromutagen for the original mutaged individual."

A horrified expression spread across April's face as understanding hit, her hands flying to cover her mouth as tears started to gather. "Donnie you don't mean…"

Brown eyes softened in tired understanding and sympathy. "I'm afraid I do, April."

"What ?!" a worried Mikey asked.

"The reverse retromutagen is special, Mikey, it was created for mutants. Therefore it acts upon the mutagen already existing in the bloodstream of the individual. Because of this unique quality, the reverse retromutagen can be syphoned from the blood of an individual who has already been mutated."

Gasps of shock and horror filled the lab as the pieces started connecting.

"We need to send a guard to the zoo," Raph stated, jumping to his feat. "Two of us should be guarding Rocksteady at all times, if Stockman gets his hands off any more of that reverse retromutagen…"

Donnie put a hand on his brother's shoulder pushing him back down, interrupting his older brother. "Rocksteady will be fine." The genius took a deep breath not sure how to explain everything he had discovered. "Stockman tends to ramble, but I was able to decipher from his notes that he can only syphon the reverse retromutagen from the original mutant; otherwise the strand of the mutagen will be too far removed and therefore not effective, he needs the original derivative to make any more mutagen."

Electric green eyes dart back and forth as Raph tries to process all this, before the leader's eyes harden. "Don, are you saying Stockman is using someone to create this..this reverse whatever"

"Reverse Retromutagen, and sadly yes" the genius lets out a sigh before he pulls up another file on his computer to show his brother. "From what I could gather from Stockmans notes it would be safe to assume that minimal to possibly no contact has occurred between the mutated individual and Stockman. It seems as though he's only harnessed a few doses of the mutagen so far, and that had come from stealing the individual's blood donation from the Red Cross." The brothers frowned at the thought. They all hated stealing, and the notion of what Stockman was doing appalled them all. But still, considering everything the situation could be a whole lot worse.

"Wait" Suddenly a thought occurred to Casey. "Only humans donate blood to the Red Cross, Donnie"

"Your right Casey, it seems as though the individual who Stockman mutated was originally an animal before he was mutated so the reverse retromutagen had an obverse effect on him. He turned human."

"Wait. Really?" Mikey asked, eyes wide.

"Yes Mikey"

"Wow"

"Poor guy" Cassey shook his head, a frown on his face. "I mean out of all the things you could be mutated into, a human isn't so bad, but still. Dude's been mutated, got a crazy scientist stocking him, and wanting his blood and oh and you said this mutagen causes people to have amnesia so he probably doesn't remember anything either on top of all that!"

April hugged herself in sympathy. "He must feel so alone and confused."

"So who is he?" Raph asked, frowning. He was just as unhappy with the situation as the rest of his family. The new leader may not understand all the science behind all of this, but one thing Raph was cerian of was that the sooner they found this guy the better. If he was the key to the reverse retromutagen, then stockman would be after him and Raph for one was sure as hell not going to let anymore harm come to this poor guy. Not if he had anything to do about it. The hothead already felt guilty enough for all this person had lost under their watch.

"I'm not sure Raph, Stockman doesn't mention it in his notes. Actually he's almost cryptic about everything pertaining to this guy, like he's afraid of mentioning his identity." Donnie continued to pull up notes and documents from the flashdrive Bebop had provided as he spoke. "But I have my speculations." Donnie swiveled around to face his brothers. "Bebop got all this information from Peter, who was more than happy to share this information, and for that I'm grateful, but he insisted on keeping the original copy of this info for himself that's why Bebop gave me this flashdrive." Donnie waved said device as he spoke. He had already downloaded what little information the mutant pig had found relevant, to copy onto his own computer.

"But how did he come across this information in the first place? And why was he so insistent on keeping a copy of it for himself?" The genius asked, not pausing long enough for a response. "I'll tell you why, because I'm pretty sure he's the original mutant Stockman has been manipulating " Taking in the shocked faces of his family the genius continued. "I'm pretty sure Peter is the individual Stockman mutated. They lived in the same town, the time frame matches up and although I'm not sure how Peter found out Stockman's secret it would explain why he was so desperate to leave town. Why he was willing to help Bebop, and why he wanted to keep this information for himself."

Worry coiled around Raph's gut as he pondered everything his genius little brother had said. "Then we need to find him."

Everyone nodded in consensus, their faces portraying the worry they all carried.

"We have to get to him before Stockman does," Mikey stated, his blue eyes wide.

"Do you think Bebop will know where to find him?" April asked.

Don shrugged. "It's worth a try, maybe they exchanged contact information before they parted ways they did travel together, and from what Bebop told me it sounds like Peter saved his life."

"The poor guy," Casey shook his head. "Do you think he knows how much danger he's in?"

"He's here Casey, ain't he." Raph growled lowly, his arms crossed. "He left his hometown. The guy probably had a job, a life back there. He saw a seven foot tall mutant turn into a raging rhino. He knows. Or at least he has an idea."

"Peter? Do you think it's Pigeon Pete? He was a pigeon first so it would make sense he'd mutate into a human. Haven't seen him with the Mutant animals lately and the name fits" Mikey commented.

"I hate to say it but it might help if he is, I mean maybe the mutant animals can get through to him" April added.

"I'm sorry April, but even if Peter is Pigeon Pete, which I highly doubt. He has amnesia and thus wouldn't remember anything or anyone from his past. I have no guarantee that I can reverse it, just as I have no guarantee that I can make Rockstead 'normal' again."

April placed a reassuring hand on Donnies shoulder "I have faith in you Donnie, I know you can do this."

Donnie smiled, his brown eyes bright. "Thanks April"

"Anything else we should know D?" Cassey asked, the bawler rocking on his feet, his hockey stick resting over his shoulders.

"Well, I don't have much information. I will feel a lot better once we can find Peter. The priority right now is making sure he's safe" the team nodded in agreement.

"He can stay with me or April." Cassey suggested. "Once we find him of course"

"Thanks Casey, that would make the most sense. I would say he could stay in the lair, but considering that despite his past he probably just learned of mutants recently, and the shock of knowing a superweapon runs in his veins is enough of a shock for the time being without adding mutant turtles to the list."

"Sure thing Dee"

"Bebop didn't copy everything from the original flash drive; there are a few pieces of the puzzle missing. I'm pretty sure Peter will be willing to work with us and having the rest of Stockmans' notes should help me determine if I even have a fighting chance at creating some kind of antidote or cure to this at all." The genius let out another sigh as he searched for one file he hadn't opened yet, having purposely waited for his brothers till now to do so. "One major point of good news is that Stockman created a map of his intended targets." The group exchanged glances unsure how to take particular information. "I haven't looked at it yet. I wanted to wait for you guys. I've calculated that without Peter's DNA handy, and having already mutated Rocksteady, Stockman currently only has one dose of mutagen left."

"So he's main goal will be finding Peter" Mikey's eyes widened.

"All the more reason for us to find him first" Raph growled protectively.

"Too bad we don't know who he is, or was, I'm sure his family is worried sick about him" Mikey frowned. The youngest of the brothers couldn't help but feel a pain of sympathy for their new unknown ally, he couldn't imagine what it would be like to be alone out there in the world without a clue of who you are. He must have felt so alone, and then to find out that he was being used by Stockman… Mikey shook his head pushing the thought away. They would all feel better once they found him. They might not know Peter, but Mikey knew his brothers felt the same way about the situation as he did. Mikey also couldn't help but feel like there was something bigger at work here, he had a gut feeling that there was more to the story than they currently know. His brothers may laugh but Mikey had learned long ago to trust his gut feelings, after all it had been Leo who had taught him the power of intuition.

"Ah here it is" Donnie's voice pulled Mikey out of his thoughts and the younger turtle crowded around with Raph, April and Cassey to look at the map on Donnie's screen.

"What's the red pins for?" Mikey asked.

"Their mutants," Donnie answered, clicking on each pin, to show pictures of familiar faces. "See: tiger claw, fish face, Bebop..well it looks like my suspicions were correct Stockman is mainly targeting Shredder's old henchman."

"What's the blue pin?" Mikey asked climbing on top of Raph's shell to poke the screen. Donnie batted his brother's hand away to see what he was pointing at.

"Isn't that the town Bebop and Rocksteady followed Stockman too?" April asked, leaning forward.

"It is. The blue pin must represent Peter."

They all leaned in closer.

"Ohh, click on it" Mikey cried, climbing onto his genius brother's shell to grab the mouse.

Don hesitated, feeling as though it was a bit of an invasion of privacy.

Raph shrugged "might make it easier to find him if we at least know what he looks like."

Don nodded and clicked the blue pin.

Staring back at them from the screen was a young man in his early twenties, if that, he was clearly of Japanese descent. He had long black hair that hung just above his bushy eyebrows and if they were honest, looked a lot like a certain Hamato Yoshi when he was younger. He wore a cobalt blue sweater, his arms crossed over his chest in a relaxed stance. The figure was looking at the camera with a shy yet confident look that was all so familiar. His deep sapphire blue eyes seemingly sparkling as just a hint of a smile was cast at the person holding the camera. It was a smile they had all seen hundreds of times on the face of a certain blue masked turtle. A smile they all feared they'd never see again.

For a whole moment. No one dared speak, no one dared to breathe, no one dared to look away. Entranced by those deep sapphire eyes. Eyes that were all so familiar.

"Is..is that..Peter?" Casey's voice squeaked.

"..I think so." Donnie breathed.

"..but those eyes..Donnie could it be..could it be possible..I mean Leo ment missing the same time Baxter did.." April asked, tears building behind her crumbling composure.

"I mean the time line lines up..but it couldn't be..could it?!" Donnie rambled his eyes darting back and forth between the notes on his desk and the picture on the screen as the most intelligent among them fought to make sense of what he was seeing.

"I knew it. I knew it." Mikey whispered to himself quietly, almost reverently as tears started falling from baby blue eyes. "I knew Leo was still alive, I could feel it!"

"The timeline lines up...and it's possible...they disappeared at the same time...we never did..never did find a body...but that would mean..that would mean" Donnie rambled

Electric green eyes widened.

"Leo's still alive!"


Insert [Excited Squeal] here!

Leo is alive! And his brothers know! (well sort of. They're in shock but they will come to terms in their own time.)

This chapter ended up much longer and with more emotional angst than intended.

I was originally intending to have the next section of this story be much more straightforward: Peter has an emotional breakdown, enter Bebop and Rocksteady, have Beop bring Peter along to meet up with April and have things fall into place, accompanied of course by much brotherly fluff. But when I sat down to write, my muse had other ideas. Instead this story is turning out to be much more emotionally climatic.

I decided to give the brothers a bit of a heads up. There's enough surprises in this story, without needing to surprise a closely knit family who have been grieving over a beloved brother and leader for a year and without any warning, spring the news 'surprise Leo is not dead, but has no memories and is human. Have fun!'

So yeah. I wasn't sure how to write that whole revelation while simultaneously weaving Peter's apprehension, possible denial as well as longing to find out his past into the mix.

For those who love angst, and are looking forward to more of that in this story. Don't worry there is much more of that ahead.

This story is just going to be a bit more drawn out than originally intended.

Comments, questions, and suggestions are always appreciated and encouraged.

Until next time.

Stay safe, and God bless

-windofmysoul