I wanted to tank everyone for the feedback on the last question I asked! I decided to go ahead and post the first half of what I had so I can get it out of my head and crank out the last chapter of the "New Girl In Town" arc.

Hope y'all enjoy!

April 16, 2012

Splinter lowered himself to sit on the couch closest to Donnie's desk. "So, how was the rest of your trip?" Mikey scooted closer to him, still in the chair.

"It was awesome! We made a new mutant friend!"

"WHAT? What do you mean, 'new mutant friend', Michelangelo?"

Donnie circled areas on his map of New York where a giant plant mutant might hole up. "Technically… the 'made' part is a bit more accurate than 'the new friend' part."

Splinter turned back to his youngest who rightfully shrunk a bit into his shell. "Explain."

Mikey sighed. "Well…"

xXx

"Remind me why we're out here freezing our shells off, Dee?" Raph grumbled, burying himself further into his Red Angel of Preventing Harm sweatshirt. Even though it was technically spring, the nights in New York could still dip below freezing. He leaned back against the triangle shaped skylight protruding from the rooftop they had set up at.

"I need to see how the Kraang ooze reacts to different stimulants, especially cool fresh air." Donnie adjusted the hood on his 'Don't Be So [Na] [Cl] [Y]' hoodie. "Hey… do you guys think we need a better name for this stuff than just 'Kraang ooze'?"

"I still like 'Kraang goop.'"

"That's not very scientific, Raph." Donnie sighed.

Leo shifted from his vantage point as the lookout on the edge of the rooftop. "What about 'mutagen'? Because it makes mutants?"

"I like that!" Donnie dipped one of his machine probes into the beaker full of mutagen. He jotted down the results.

Mikey tossed a ball up into the air, catching it as gravity brought it back down. He sat up from his perch atop the skylight. "Hey! Here's a thought… What if we drink some?" All three of his brothers turned incredulous eyes to him.

"What? The mutagen?" Donnie sputtered.

"Yeah!" Mikey nodded, getting more excited at the idea.

"Why. WHY would you want to do that?" Raph pinched the bridge of his beak.

Mikey flipped over on his belly so his head was closer to the side Raph was leaning against. "'Cause if you mutate a mutant, you get a SUPER-mutant, right?"

"That or a pile of goo on the sidewalk," Donnie muttered, returning to his work.

"Either way, it's an improvement." Raph smirked.

Mikey frowned. "That was mean, Raph." He giggled as he poked his brother's head. He giggled again when Raph knocked his hand away.

"Hey Leo, can you bring me the rest of the mutagen canister? I put it in your bag since mine was full." Donnie didn't look up from his calculations.

"Sure. Just wish you would tell me these kinds of things before I flip over rooftops." Leo retrieved said canister from his bag as he heard a yelp from behind him.

"Dang it Mikey! STOP PRODDING ME! Am I gonna havta put you in another headlock?"

"LEO, SAVE ME!" Mikey screeched, running to his eldest brother. Raph dashed across the roof, colliding with the two turtles near the ledge. The sudden motion caused Leo to lose his grip on the slick canister. All three watched in silence as the canister full of mutagen fell in slow motion, landing on a passerby. They winced as he screamed, mutating before their eyes.

"Donnie…" Leo called. "I think we have a problem…"

xXx

As Mikey wrapped up his story, Splinter heard the gentle thump of feet land near the turnstiles. His enhanced sense of smell indicated that it was Leo, home safe. Splinter's ear twitched as Leo's footsteps slipped towards the dojo. He was grateful his son was home safe, but understood if he needed another moment to himself after everything that transpired between him and his brothers this evening. Speaking of which…

"Raphael… Tell me more about what happened between you and Leonardo." Raph sighed as me moved to sit next to his father on the couch.

Donnie continued muttering to himself, not noticing Mikey sidling up to him.

"Hey," Mikey whispered. Donnie started.

"Geez, Mike. Warn a guy."

"Sorry. Do you think April really couldn't come out with us tonight because of cramps? I didn't think it was time yet…"

Donnie dropped his marker, holding his head in his hands. He took a deep breath. "No, I don't think she has cramps. But I'm trying to give her some space…"

Mikey tilted his head, his eyes full of questions. "Why do you two need space? What happened?"

"I messed up, Mikey," The boy sighed. "I messed up, but it's not my place to say. I'm not sure how much of it April wants shared. If you want to know, you would have to ask her."

"Fine. I will. Also, don't forget that one part of the sewer near 47th. It gets really dank. A giant plant might like it." Mikey pointed to another spot on the map before heading to the dojo. A few minutes later, Leo walked in rubbing his eyes. Ice Cream Kitty followed close behind. Raph leapt up from where he had been sitting.

"Leonardo, are you alright my son? What happened to your eyes?" Splinter also stood, moving to check on his boy. Leo waved him off.

"I'm fine, Sensei. Just… ran across something that irritated my eyes." Splinter raised an eyebrow, but let the answer slide for now. He glanced down as Raph came to join them.

The red clad turtle cleared his throat awkwardly. "Hey, Leo… Can we talk?"

"Uh… sure…" Leo led him over to a secluded corner of the lab. He sighed as Mikey's cat sat on his foot, purring. "So? What do you want to talk about?"

Raph rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm… imsrry…" He murmured.

Leo frowned. "What was that, Raph?"

The boy grit his teeth. "I said I was… s-sorry. AGH! Why is it so hard to say out loud?!" He yanked on his bandana tails. "I shouldn't have said what I did about you not being a leader with what happened with April. That was a cheap card to play. Sorry, bro."

"Thanks, Raph." Leo clapped a hand on his brother's shoulder. "I just gotta ask… Why were you ragging on my choices when we were trying to capture that plant guy?"

"Snakeweed."

"Huh?"

"Mikey named him Snakeweed."

Leo shrugged. "Fair enough. Question still stands. Why?"

Raph shook his head. "It's stupid…" He muttered.

"Just tell me!"

"Why did you assume you would be the best one to lead us?"

The blue clad turtle blinked in surprise. "Wha- We needed to go rescue April… Everyone kinda looked to me for a plan because I'm the oldest… I didn't assume anything. It's like I told you earlier. I stepped up. I'm not gonna lie and say it's always easy," Leo slid down the wall until he was seated, pulling Ice Cream Kitty into his lap. Raph folded up to sit with him. "I know it's only been a month, but being the leader can be stressful. As the leader, everything's my fault. Every plan that fails, every scrape on my team, every person that doesn't come home…" Leo blinked away several tears that had begun to form. "I know everyone tells me not to think about it, but what happened with April was my fault. I could have grabbed her, called off the mission and gotten us home before any of it happened..." His breath shook. Kitty meowed, rubbing herself against his stomach.

"Dude… when have any of us been able to stop April from doing anything?" Raph nudged his brother's shoulder, trying to draw him away from his darker thoughts. "I guess I never thought of it that way. I have no problem risking myself… I mean, you saw me. I was ready to square up with a six foot weed." Both boys chuckled. "But risking my brothers…" He sighed. "I'll try and stop being such a pain in your butt. But I'm here to help if you need me to. Think of me… kinda like your right hand turtle."

"Sounds good to me," Leo smiled. The two shared a complicated handshake they'd created back in their childhood. They hadn't used it a lot recently, but both of them remembered it perfectly.

"Guys!" Everyone turned to where Donnie was standing next to his desk. "I think I have a couple areas we can check for Snakeweed."

"I thought we were just going to leave an anonymous tip for the police-" Raph began, but Donnie cut him off.

"No. We made this mess. We need to clean it up. Even if I have to go alone, I gotta help undo what we did."

Leo pushed himself to standing. "Not by yourself. We're coming with you." He looked around. "Where's Mikey?"

Donnie rolled up his map. "He's probably still in the dojo with April." His eyes lit up with hope. "Maybe if I ask her, she'll come with us!" Donnie finished rolling up his map before speed walking to the dojo.

"Boy, does he got it bad…" Raph smirked. He playfully shoved Leo's shell. "Com'on. Let's go suit up."

Also, thanks to Anon (Guest) for all of the kind words and analysis in your reviews! Sad that guest reviews don't show up in the review tab, but I'll keep those email notifications forever! (Also also, may have started posting this over on AO3 as well ;) Thanks for the advice!)