Outside Chance

by WhyIsThisHappeningToMe

(set post s4 of TMNT 2012) Leo has to make a lifechanging decision when the rebel-foot clan destroys their home. In a desperate attempt to escape, the turtles use the strange substance 'purple ooze' to temporarily become human as a means to an end. But when the brothers are sepperated during the seige, how will they be able to find each other again before their enemies does?

8. If we only had the time (Part I)

3 months earlier…

When he first came to, it was his heartbeat that gave it away. That pressured stillness over his chest he was so accustomed to, all of a sudden giving way to a small ache inside that he no longer felt his heart safely secured underneath. It was bouncing up and down, faster and faster, giving life to his unconscious body shivering and unusually cold. Blinking at first, the sun that reached his face hit him like a laser-beam, making the act of shielding his face unusually harder than he thought it would be. Feeling as though he'd taken a massive beating from the day before, rendering every nerve in his arm a knotted mess of bruises and fractured muscles. It shivered over the sun, once again reminding him that something very unusual was occurring inside him, a much softer pressure replacing his shielding chest-plate as he tried to sit up. He breathed heavily, trying to calm his exasperated nerves when he felt the soft fabric of a T-shirt over his shoulders. And not alone that, once he managed to straighten his back, (with surprising difficulty at that), he also came to notice a blanket draped over his shoulders, layers of what he was usually unfit to wear draped over him like a cocoon.

Squinting with his eyes, a wave of pain knocked on the thin layer of skin by the skull, Donnie grabbing the side of his head in a desperate attempt to calm it. But just as he did, what he felt instead, wasn't the long fabric of his mask, but a whirlwind of hair surrounding his bruised head…

Hair. Spurring in all directions.

"He's awake… He's awake! Call the medic!" someone yelled, but he didn't listen. Too preoccupied with running his hands through the black streaks falling over his face, and once he did, he realized that his hands too were unusually small. Slimmer, all too… eratic. Holding them over his regaining vision, for a second, he thought they'd either shrunk, or he was seeing double, but neither proved to be the case. He moved each finger one after the other, testing their response as his mind struggled to wrap itself around the fact that there was now ten of them instead of six. Don't panic… don't panic, this is- good. No, it's brilliant. It's… it's extraordinary! Donnie tried to sit up, but just as he did, a bright light shone into his face followed by doctors and nurses crowding gim and he realized he was sitting in an ambulance. "Can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up? Sir? Sir, can you understand what I am saying?"

He could, but that wasn't important. Donnie was still starring at his non-green limbs. Still feeling the tightness around his chest loosen once he got to his feet, nearly tumbling over himself in the process. He tried to stand, laughing to himself but also scared out of his wits. He needed a mirror. No- he needed his bo. He needed to get out. Luckily the truck wasn't driving, he could tell from the sunlight streaming in through the back, making it considerably easier for him to regain his balance- before slipping chin-first onto the ground almost immediately.

"Sir, I'm going to need you to sit down"

"I'm fi-" Donnie tried to speak, but this quickly proved to be fruitless as his throat was too parched, the attempt itself throwing him into a coughing fit. Perhps from all the screamig or was this another side effect? he thought, reminding himself to document it as soon as he got the chance. He fumbled after his staff, searching frantically around the vehicle as medics struggled to contain him. Despite his new body and severely wounded, well- everything he somehow persevered. Pushing the doctors aside until he locked eyes with the wooden staff strapped to a higher shelf on the other end of the truck. While reaching for it, he also noticed how his height remained slightly taller than the average human, making him gleefully ponder how annoyed Raph would be once he rubs it in his face. Grabbing his shoulder, Donnie (nearly tripping in the endeavor by the way) shook off his blanket and tumbled out of the truck and out onto the busy New York City Square. They were apparently somewhere in central it seemed, around noon judging by the cluster of people around every corner and walking axiety inducingly close, exposing himself to the surface in a terrifying revelation.

He was out in the open.

His first instinct was to panic, frantically searching for somewhere to hide but there was no time. Trying to get used to the human clothing they'd draped him in and running with a whole new set of DNA to boot- he had to use the bo to maneuver himself through the crowd. Some people starred baffled at the teenager stumbling his way across the road towards the buildings, while others didn't pay him any mind. And after fifteen years of living by the rule never to be seen it understandably took the usually bright Donnie a moment to come to the epiphany that it was no longer necessary. The medics were still following him, and on any other day escaping them would've been an easy feat, but right now every single cell in his body was on a bender, and it didn't help that he had no idea where to go in the first place. He tried following his instincts, not wasting a second tracing himself to the corner of what appeared to be a barber shop of some kind. He went inside, not bearing the lady behind the register any mind as he crunched down underneath the window, where four medics ran past them on high alert until finally out of sight. Phew. He tried to stand, an employee approaching him slightly bothered, asking if he'd made an appointment. She eyed his clothes, the stick he carried, probably the fact that he'd been stuck trying to lift his knees from the ground in little over a minute, the woozing feeling of dizziness charging his view and keeping him from looking anything but buzzed.

And that's when he noticed the mirror on the other side, ignoring the increasingly frustrated employee and tumbling over to the chair occupied by a client with a half-cut mustache. "Hey, waddya think ya doing!?" he complained, as Donnie kept encaptivatingly starring, their voices fading away behind him. Because all that he could process in the entire shop was the gangly human boy in the mirror starring back at him.

He lifted a finger towards his cheek, the reflection complying at once, stunned by the motion as if he just invented magic by the sheer act of feeling his cheek. Still clinging to his bo, he saw a smile creep over the boy's face relishing at the notion, because this just proved it... It worked. I did it… I actually did it! And before he knew it that smile, (revealing his ever-present gap tooth) turned into a ridiculous laughter nearly making him faint, thinking it was a dream. Sure, the pain from the night before was still very much there, exemplified by his ribcage feeling broken in more than five different places just by trying to talk. But the reflection was all evidence he needed to know this was real. He wasn't dreaming. Donnie had just revolutionised mutagen, and there was no one around to see it. He felt his lips with his index finger, brushing it gently from a side to side inspecting himself, but it was all there: A full head of hair, a nose, a crooked mask hanging around his neck… He barely noticed the manager (a smaller lady barely reaching his shoulders) rushing him out of the shop, before he out of sheer joy jolted his hands into the air and cried out: "I DID IT! I ACTUALLY DID IT! I TOLD THEM IT WOULD WORK! YES! Eat thy words Leo! I TOLD you! HAhahha- Oh, sorry hehe…" before shrinking at the realization that everyone was staring at him, resulting in Donnie quickly rushing out of the shop as fast as he could, red in the face but he didn't care.

He nearly abandoned his support, just the sheer fact that his experiment had worked alone, almost enough to give him back his strength. Using his knew human legs to carry him, feeling the wind in his hair blow all over his face like curtains, and feeling just like he thought it would after dreaming about it for so long. He made it two blocks, when his adrenaline started to run out, and though Donnie was beyond ecstatic at this point, like a shock he realized that he was celebrating alone. Suddenly he saw the images, echoes from last night resurface, the fragments of memories so crucial that he was wondering how in the heck he managed to block it out at all.

"Wait a minute…"

And just like that it was like all that joy turned to ice, Donnie pacing around the square like a lost kid thinking they'd be lost forever. He did the only rational thing he could think of, firstly calming his mind and retracing his steps back to the night before. While the memory itself was thankfully intact, the information wouldn't exactly aide him the pursuit of his brothers now, and he knew this. We should've done this when we still had time to plan it out, he angrily murmured, nearly dragging himself by force over to the nearest bench for a rest, trying to the best of his ability to visualize the incoming injury that would surely arride from him trying to climb the buildings. No longer a mutant… right. Probably not a good idea to be traversing the rooftops in broad daylight either. What would a human do? He pondered this for a while, his gaze drifting over to the nearest subway tempted to go down, if it wasn't for the fact that the underground was a no-go abiding by his own rule, despite his curiosity nearly getting the better of him. That's also when the worries began to pile struggling to think becase, Did they all make it out in time? Are they still down there? He knew Mikey would've surely made it to the surface despite his injuries. After all he'd seen to it himself, but as for the others… I have no idea.

At least, that was his thought process for a good ten minutes of sitting around wasting time, until his brain came to the same conclusion that any other newly-mutated teenager with a walking stick would reach: he needed to go back to the beginning. No way of finding them by sitting around here all day, that's for sure, he thought, for the first time in his life riding a train back to what he hoped he'd correctly calculated to take him downtown a good ten blocks from the original entrée cover. Seeing New York from above however, was slightly disorienting. He sat like a little kid in the seat, human hands on the glass and starred in wonderment at the city passing by, a mother and her kid subtly moving two seats away from him before he reached his destination too excited to notice. He nearly forgot to leave at all for this, the feeling of irrational emotions taking over his usually sharply focused mind. Perhaps another symptom? So much data he needed to collect- it was almost too much for Donnie to bear.

He realized that with no possible way of going back under, he'd have to stick to his original plan with or without the others. Of cause, I just HAD to pass out. This would be so much easier if those medics hadn't moved me too… I've lost too much time. He tried to take a breath, shivering this time, and as he made his way towards the right building, he realized that he had to pull the good ol' maintenance routine trying to remember how April had done it the first time she helped them on a mission. Donnie then had another realization.

Wait, this is my first interaction with another human- AS a human! Ha! One little step for man a GIANT step for mutantkind! Take that Neil Armstrong...!

Gleefully knocking on the door, he kept this thought in mind, as another one- this one less idiotically excited- reminded him of the fact that he was still wearing the (now raggedy) hospital attire- wait how am I supposed to convince him looking like... like this?! WHat was it April said? Confidence is the key...?- and just like that, he reverted back to his usual awkward self but it was too late, door swinging open before he could change his mind.

"What do you want?" the stranger asked, a slightly roundish fellow with a beer in his hand and an un-tugged shirt stained in the bottom. Donnie tried to smile, albeit not very convincingly and cleared his throat. "Sir, I am…"

what are you doing- this is a terrible idea- get away while you still can you idiot-

"…here… for… maintenance. Sorry for the interruption sir, but it's urgent. We just got word of a possible leak-

"A leak?"

Donnie gulped. Confidence is the key, confidence is the key-

"Nothing to worry about, mind you! But if you'll just excuse me, sir, and I can assure you I got this covered" Donnie was amazed at his own ability to not choke on his words, guessing that the new-found disguise possibly added to his boost of confidence as well. The man, however, didn't seem convinced, giving him the renowned elevator-look as he swayed upon his feet from side to side, slightly off kilter. "Where did you say you were from again?"

"Maintenance. I eh… I'm new" he smiled, shortly that is, before panic convinced him that despite his generous height of cause, it would be his gap of all things that surely would give way to suspicion, closing it immediately afterwards- however unnecessary. Even though the man seemed too busy not to fall over, Donnie noticed, he conducting that based on the stench alone he was too drunk to question it more than the average person would. "Sir…?" he asked, cautiously waving his hand over the man's face as a loud snoring nearly and without warning errupted, sending Donnie stumbling backwards. Took him a moment to realize it came from the man himself, eyes half-closed in the doorway. He tried poking the man's belly to double check, but received nothing but an even louder growl crawling out of his neck, drool spilling on the steps to Donnie's slight disgust. Sleeping standing up… impressive. He thought, using his years of training to successfully, maneuvering passed the drunk, and into the building. He hurried up the stairs, managed to get to the roof and outside as the dizziness from overexcertion, now of all times started to swell in his mind.

He knew where he had to go. Knew that on any other day climbing it would've been easy as pie, but given that every bone in his body was bouncing up and down like a trampoline that never ceased to recoil, he figured that the best way to reach it was by first going through the building, reach the roof and enevtiable jumping it. Easy, right? But now, looking down at his, granted admiring pair of semi-functioning limbs, Donnie was also smart enough to realize that jumping this, would not be as easy. He reminded himself that he didn't know this body like his own. It wasn't the same limbs, the same muscles he'd spend years upon years to build up endurance under intense pressure. He was weak and fragile now, with only a stick to show for it and only one shot to make it. But even so, this was his family at stake. He made them a promise when he gave them those canisters, and he intended to keep. So, despite the uncertainty giving way to fear overcloding his better judgement, he began counting to 3 in his mind, viewed the building ahead analysing the distance, jumped up and down for a couple of seconds and feeling his own weight, before eventually... he took the leap.

Hesitance caused him to yell out in a pubescent screech, for a moment making him think that he'd share the same fate as Leo after not paying attention to his surroundings and plummeting to (what he assumed without his shell to protect him) be a certain death. But then he actually caught on to the ledge, celebrating as usual, too soon, because just as he was about to swing the other leg over, his hands lost their grip causing him slip. He didn't scream this time however, somehow for a brief moment rediscovering some of his old reflexes to help break the fall, fittingly via his trusty bo. It balanced through one of the cracks in the wall, making him cling onto the sweet, sweet bricks like a monkey and eraching over the edge. Thank god for New York architecture.

Without further ado, Donnie finally found it. Praising his own intuition, he crawled up the latter he'd usually navigated with ease, this time ever so slowly, checking for any signs of movement in the area before approaching it.

The water tower.

In other words, a nightly escape to the surface gone very wrong, at a time when Donnie's curiosity about the human world nearly got him killed, but that was a long time ago and he rarely ever even talked about it. Cementing it as his first and last time disobeying their father's orders, leading to the discovery of their very first home as a result. Well, if you could even call it that- it was more of a hideout really. A really shabby one to boot. Though he hadn't realized it at the time of course, fragments of memories still remained in his mind. The purple lights, the creeping sound of machinery lurring nearby, and the cries of a parent desperate to protect his family... Of cause, he didn't exactly remember their time there, only the stories told by Splinter probably only to entertain and not to allure the young turtles. To this day, Donnie hadn't shared this with anyone, not his brothers, not even Casey or April. He didn't know why he felt that way, it didn't hold a lot of secrets to keep as of yet, but for some reason… it had sort of just become his own thing. His hideout away from the lab. His own updated to solution to the running away when it was too much to handle- problem that seemed to run in the family. Maybe even a reminder of where they came from, in the broad sense, fleeing from humans and Kraang drones alike, it also just so happened to be a genius place to store technological gear and resources where no one would bother looking for it. Donnie had already prepared in advance, turning on a small lightbulb he'd installed himself via a running battery and fiddling after his package stored away weeks before their enemies turned their home to dust. In there, he found a fresh set of clothes, heating sensors, two containers of freshly stored mutagen, a five-hundred meter radius scanner, and of course the most important part: the watch.

After he'd spend little over an hour fumbling after the sleeves with his human hands and turning it the wrong way, he found the calender- circling November 18th with a red marker, before activating it. Not an extraordinary thing by any accounts, but a viable one at that. He'd not so graciously managed to scrape it together from his spare parts down at the lab, clicking it onto his wrist that he now realized was way too small. Biting his lib, and fiddling with the bolts however, he managed to mobilize the magnetized part of the plate and tightening it with a screwdriver. It was still working when he tabbed on the glass.

"Okay, relax. Relax. You have time. All the time in the world in fact… I mean how hard can it be…? Just gotta- find the others…" he glared at the city view of skyscrabers, suddenly feeling a whole lot taller than they'd usually seem, the noises of cars and sirens and people in the distance not helping him come to terms with the overwhelming scale of ground that he'd now have to navigate all by himself, "... somewhere, out there. Stop the foot, stop the probably non-threatening symptoms before…" as he muttered this, his glare shifted to the broken picture he'd unceremoniously stagged on a set of books about bio-mechaniccs and whatnot, the image of his brothers gleaming back at him happily. Smiles on their faces, unaware about the danger he'd now put them in. The danger he was now obligated to fix one way or the other. But then again, oh god… What if my calculations off? What then?

Donnie gulped, a worried plea in his throat echoing those of last night after the explosions started, flashing in his mind as his thoughts compelled him to sink onto his knees- and he started the timer: counting down to the day he feared his theory would be proven true, like that spasm in his chest from earlier today, unrelentingly bouncing up and down in his ears, louder and louder.

Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock-

---

Tick tock tick tock tick tock-

The alarm clock was still ticking away over the bedside table. It had done so for little over an hour now without pause, filling the silence of the bedroom. It was still dark outside, as viewed from the little apartment window, and Leo had yet to actually bother going over and shutting it off. The noise was straining, unberable yes, but for some reason he'd hoped it would be enough to drown out his thoughts, so that he could finally get some sleep. A plan that safe to say wasn't exactly working out very well. Though if it was due to his own fears of what he might remember if he did get any sleep, or simply his unfair accusations of the alarm clock that frankly was only doing its job, he didn't want to think too much about.

Hopkins had checked in on him a few times over the phone, ever since last week, making every incoming call seem less and less like it was the detective showing genuine concern, and more a way to keep Leo under lock and key so that he wouldn't get into trouble with his superiors. Somehow the cop had managed to object to the idea that the NYCPD needed someone to keep and eye on him- at least from the inside, a whole lot of police folk still convinced that he was part of the DP's ploy- whatever that may be. And as a result there had now been set up a patrol car outside of the house, the same pair of officers stationed to make sure he didn't leave the house unattended. They'd been up and about more and more lately, citizens worried for their wellbeing in the poorer areas of the city, as the murderers kept snatching civilians, killing them through whatever twisted experiments involved burning someone's atoms to a crisp. He really couldn't blame them for being cautious.

Leo on the other hand, was just plain tired. Too tired to fall asleep, but not tired enough that he could simply just ignore the facts still keeping him awake at night. He was told explicitly to stay in his room until further investigation, a tracker placed somewhere in his phone just in case, security cams set up everywhere in the living room. And while normally Leo would highly object to the idea of being surveyed 24/7, he had to admit that he was partially grateful about the arrangement- at least to a certain degree. With his mind in a ruckus and his worldview slowly driveling into plain chaos, he'd come to the conclusion that the only one who could give him the answers he was looking for was Karai. The strange girl that snuck into his room on a school day, before vanishing without a trace. The same girl who told him to meditate, coincidentally by the time he also found himself caught in a gang fight. And she'd been right. It bothered him that she hadn't told him anymore beyond her advice and her vague accusations, granted most proved true. But while Leo couldn't quite explain it, something told him that she was one of the few people he could actually trust, and he wanted to return the favor.

He wasn't really sure what he thought was going to happen. That maybe if he just waited long enough she would somehow come back? That if he just told Hopkins the truth about her, he could provide intel on who she was on his own? It was obivous that Karai didn't like Hopkins very much, making Leo doubt his own allegiences. Whether or not he was supposed to seek the truth or leave it behind and just... move on. Because as it stood, Leo saw himself starting to dig himself deeper and deeper into a hole that he feared he wouldn't be able to get out of, and with no one to tell him what was the right thing to do… all that he could know for sure was this: Karai knew something, Leo didn't know what was real anymore- what was memories or illusions created by his mind to trick him. He remembered his vision... or was it a dream? Of the hooded figure claiming that he was a "leader" or whatever that means, that people needed him, that he was walking on thin eyes unable to turn back. His old geezer of a ward Hopkins was growing too close after Layton's disappearance, still somehow connected to the PD, and then there was the strangest one of all: The boys in the alley, claiming that he was their brother.

Brother. That was the word he'd used, the one with the red mask. It wasn't just a phrasing or a juvenile nickname- not going by the look on their faces when he'd introduced himself. He knew that look. It was the same look Karai had given him too after she heard his name. They knew me, Leo thought, utterly convinced. Somehow… but it still didn't make any sense! For all Leo knew, they could be lying to him, it was just the motive behind why that puzzled him. Also, not to mention the fact that until he revealed his name, they were complete and total strangers to each other. As if they truly had never seen each other before, so why would they react like they did? Why were they fighting? Not to mention HOW had they learned to fight life that. And while Leo hadn't joined much of society since his discharge, he was still fairly certain that it wasn't a normal reaction to seeing someone you'd known all your life return from the grave. So either they really did know him, or they had all collectively mistaken him for someone else, which needless to say wasn't the most likely outcome. Leo supposed the only good thing coming out of this, was the fact that he might've been right all along. Maybe the vigilantes really were on their side. And if that was true, then Leo wasn't in league with the PD after all. Surely not after they'd relentlessly tried to choke him to death just for trespassing. But that wasn't to say that his rescuers, whoever they were, wasn't criminals either.

He remembered one of the boys using a throw star to deflect two of the attackers, matching the one identical to the throw star Hopkins had showed him previously. And going by their appearance alone, it seemed very likely that they could have been of Hamato descent- that somehow Hopkins intel was wrong and he really did survive the fire. And so far the boys checked of on everything Leo could think of matching that of a ninja: Fighting like masters of martial-arts, their weaponry, using it to protect him, its just… and this had baffled Leo for a while now ever since their encounter- they were just kids. Just like him. In what world did kids take down a whole band of gangsters in an alley, without even using guns? They'd done this before, that much was clear. So, why… and how did any of them fit into all of this? Himself included? It was just… too crazy for him to comprehend any of the reoccurring events. To believe that after all this time showing no signs to ever even exist they'd suddenly without warning enter his life. Everything that's happened too absurd that he was wondering if maybe his mind was pulling tricks on him. If maybe he should've told Hopkins the truth instead of keeping information from him in the fear that maybe he was on the wrong side… that maybe his family was closer than he thought.

And as fate would have it, suddenly the sound of glass breaking could be heard from downstairs, sending Leo into immediate defensive mode. He silently stepped out of his bed; body growing stiff. Hopkins, as usual, was fast asleep catching up on severeal weeks worth of sleep deprication. He'd called himself to inform of every possible lock in the partment, instructing Leo to lock all doors and windows which he'd made sure was secured twice. He made his way over to the door, as quietly as he could opening it by the slim crack- his other hand folding around the holster of one of the katanas, though he couldn't see what it was at the time.

As the noises grew smaller, the sound of steps creaking somewhere in the living room made Leo nearly loose his own footing. He held his breath, moved two steps at a time in the dark, navigating the hallway into the kitchen and finally over to the dinner table, where a strangely familiar set of whispers reached his ears.

"Careful! Do you want to wake up the whole building!?"

"I'm still more quiet than you"
"Shhh!" another one hushed, as Leo made his way to the switch.

"We couldn't just have knocked on the damn door…"

"Wait, wait, wait, guys! I think there's someone here!"

"Wow! Good job Mikey! And here I thought we just came here to steal his furniture!"
"Oh, fortheloveof- be QUI-ET!"

'CLICK'

They all froze as the light came on and Leo was met with the busted glares of three boys, standing flustered behind his couch. He lowered his weapon, though still tightening his grip around the handle to the point of whitening his knuckles. He recognized the first two immediately as the vigilantes who fought off the PD three days ago. They were even wearing the same clothes as that night, granted a little more tidied up this time. But then there was also another kid there, seemingly younger than the first two, wearing an orange mask over his messy curly hair tightened into a shorter knot. He shared a lot of the same characteristics as the other two, though a tad less serious in his demeanor and a lot more exaggerative when it came to his vibrant colored attire. He starred at Leo in what he guessed to be wonderment, for some reason, his mouth making a silent 'O' if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. While all of them stood in bended knees and raised eyebrows, probably surprised by the sudden "intrusion" if you could call it that, the red one simply stood there, hands in his pockets as if he didn't care or pretended not to. Leo honestly couldn't tell if he'd somehow provoked him by simply being in the room, or if it was just his general attitude... being a jerk.

"Psst, guys. I think we've been spotted" the orange one whispered, to which the others replied (understandably) by shaking their heads and sighing heavily into the abyss.

Leo tried not to raise his voice too much, remembering the severely irritated cop sleeping with a gun under his pillow upstairs and not wishing to see what would happen if you woke him up before his shift, "How did you even get in? All the doors are locked. There's alarms set up!"

"Well actually, dismantling the automatic sensor set up in the one-way frequency was quite easy, given that you only really need to shut one of the powered windows down to be able to access-

"Raph broke the window"

They all (once again) starred at the small one, who did not possess a lot of situational awareness, Leo noticed.

"What? You did!"

"Look, we're not here to hurt you, we just want to talk"

"Honest" the tall one clarified, sounding just about as sincere as he could muster. Leo sighed, lowering the holster in his hands, though not exactly letting it go given his unexpected visitors were carrying weapons as well. However, intruders or not, he figured that the chances of them finding a better time to talk, now with the house in lockdown and all, would probably not come as easy.

"Fine. But I want to talk to you too" he said, the red one scoffing, almost immediately following- arms crossed and the gesture seemed so much like something straight out of a rom-com to the point that Leo struggled not to scoff as well.

"Fine by us"

"Good"

"Great"

"Perfect"

Though both of them initially had seemed capable in a fight side by side, it was clear now that the boy was still very angry at him for the thing- that is to say, the thing that he still didn't know what was. And something told Leo, that he wouldn't get a straight answer out of him simply by asking. But it irked him all the same, being blamed for something he didn't even remember. Not to mention by a person he didn't even remember… as if it was that patently obvious who was in the wrog here.

The silence that filled the room, least to say, was very awkward.

"Family reunions am I right? Hehehe…"

"Mikey" The tall one smacked orange over the shoulder.

Leo took a deep breath, ears on the door just in case. So far, the interrogations weren't exactly going smoothly so he decided, albeit begrudgingly to be the one to break the ice.

"Okay, what happened that night… I realize that I should probably thank you, for saving me. But you still haven't told me how-

"Wow, dudes! Just look at this place! It's HUGE!"
"Mikey, don't touch that!" Donnie yelled, exhaustingly going over to Mikey, practically dragging him away from the magnets on the kitchen fridge and looking anything but enthused. Leo was starting to see why 'Mikey' hadn't accompanied them on their last infamous trip to what he figured was a criminal background in the making.

"Sorry, sorry it's just wild- I mean just look at him! All humany and stuff. Just look at that T-shirt! Aweeesomeee. I almost wouldn't have believed it was you if it wasn't for the katanas. Wait, is human Leo more nerd than regular Leo…?" to emphasize his point the orange one tried to poke him in the cheek, his eyes glowing up in awe.

"Humany...? "

"You're right! I almost didn't notice they were still here- eh do you mind?" he asked, reaching for the katana that Leo just decided he was determined to keep as far away from them as possible.

"Ignore him-

"Shouldn't we tell him though? I mean isn't that what we came here for?"

"Tell me what?"

"Yeah, tell him what?" Mikey repeated somewhere in the background, but honestly at this point it seemed all the boys had given up on keeping track of him.

"We don't even know if it's really him" the red one, 'Raph', suddenly said, breaking the pause as if his voice alone was enough to command the others to listen. If Leo were to guess, he was probably the oldest out of the three, though his general attitude certainly exuded anything but maturity. Donnie was the first to express his disbelief at the statement, and with good reason. Last time they'd met, if anyone was persuaded that they'd found the guy they were looking for it was him, so why was he suddenly not convinced? What changed?

"I can't believe those words actually just came out of your mouth… Three days and you haven't shut up about the fact that he's been right in front of our noses this whole time. What- you think the foot brainwashed him to sound, fight and act likeLeo to fool us?"

"I'm just saying- wouldn't put it passed them. We have to be prepared for anything"

"Hey guys! Look at all this Space stuff!" Mikey called out, to Leos eminent horror. Oh god, he found the Space Heroes collection. "Hey don't touch that! Those are rare!"

"Ups, sorry, Leo!"

"Okay, it's him"

Now it was Leo's turn to drag Mikey away from the TV set, the motion of doing so feeling oddly like he'd done it before, but he chose not to think too much about it.

And it was at this point Leo just about lost his composure entirely, turning to all three of them as their gazes were glued onto his, "Okay, can someone please explain to me what you're doing in my home?! Who are you people?! How did you even find me?! I mean I can't be the only one who thinks this deserves some explanation right?"

"Wow… Human Leo is uptight. Maybe I should slap him-

"Don't" Raph said, holding out his arm towards the freckled one like a stop sign, before cracking his knuckles and deviously approaching himself, "If anyone's going to slap him, it should be me. Might bring him back to his senses-

"No one is slapping anyone" Donnie concluded, luckily sharing the same mutual need to get to the point as Leo.
"Leo, what do you remember?"

Leo looked at the boys one after the other one more time. For once it seemed they all were genuinely curious about that too, signs of concern even showing on Raph's gruntled face, granted he wouldn't dare admit it.

"About what, exactly?"

The boy stopped, as if he just realized how vague his question must've sounded to a stranger in his pajamas after his home had just been broken into by his supposed 'rescuers'. Tumbling over his words he tried to calrify. "Uh, well... us?"

"Yeah, come on dude it's us! The gang, you know. Mi amigos. The homies"
"And the award for being captain obvious goes to…" Raph sighed, as Donnie struggled to word it properly. Leo appreciated his efforts, nonetheless.

"Okay let me rephrase that; anything you remember prior to Oktober the 10th?"

"No. I mean I guess- I" He paused. While he didn't see how that date should mean anything in particular, a voice in his head also reminded him that if he kept silent, chances that they would open up to him in return would probably be very slim. Took trust to gain trust, he remembered Hopkins once mentioned, and if it didn't apply here, what did he have to lose? One word to the NYCPD and they'd be out of his world regardless. But, that wasn't what was going to happen. He rubbed his temples, prepared to regret everything on the spot, but proceeded trusting his heart more than his head because he was too desperate to argue, "Okay, fine. I'll tell you. All I remember is… a tunnel. I think its somewhere underground, but that's pretty much it. Next thing I know I wake up in the hospital. Been there since Hopkins found me-

"Wha- the cop? You live with one of those bastards?!"

"Huh, that certainly might explain why we haven't heard from you in three months…"

"You think?!" Raph exclaimed, Donnie gesturing with his hand under his chin.

"Matches up with the chain of events."

"But that still doesn't mean we can trust him. He's working for that cop, and need I remind you, those aren't exactly our friends"

Mikey jumped up from his seat, "But it's Leonardo! He's family! Of cause, we can trust him, right bro?" he turned to him, almost pleadingly, and Leo hated to admit it but… he couldn't help but feel sorry in some capacity. Or maybe that was just the effect of having the equivalent of a hyperactive burglar look at him like a kicked puppy.

"It's not that simple Mikey. Just look at him. He doesn't remember us"

"Unless he's just pretending not to remember"

Took everyone by surprise to say the least. It was like a bomb just went off, sending Raph's remark at Leo at him like a cannonball that deafened the living room for a good two minutes of processing. Is that why he was so angry?

"No way! Leo would never do that!"

"Raph, I think you're taking this a little too far…" Donnie added, panic on his brow as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, methodically trying to hold him back from doing anything he'd surely regret. Raph however, was having none of it.

"Am I now? Because last thing I know, you were the one who got us into this mess in the first place. And you." He pointed at Leo. "Who's to say this wasn't his grand plan? To take off once he finally got the chance"

"And what about you?! How do I know you're not responsible for my injury in the first place?!" The others gasped, Mikey both hands over his mouth in exaggeration. Leo knew he should probably tread carefully here, but honestly, Leo was too curious to know what he meant to be scared. He could already tell Raph was the type of person to let his emotions get the better of him in the blink of an eye, whereas Leo would much rather take a step back and look at the situation. And observing him now, it was almost like they were reading each other's thoughts. The stare alone enough to power a building's worth of electricity through the tension.

"What?! We would never!- Uhhhh…. Well, I guess… technically, maybe… we're a little bit responsible…?" Mikey muttered, to which Donnie desperately tried to salvage the situation,

"It's not like that!"
"Who's to say he isn't?!"

"Everyone but you, apparently!" they all yelled, a cluster of voices all calling over the other as their fighting reminded him of siblings arguing about the last cookie.

Then-

"Leo? That you?" a voice called down, Leo turning frantically to gaze at the stairs, eyes wide with panic. "Oh no... Quick! You have to hideeeeee... what?" As soon as he turned back towards the boys however, they were gone. Leaving Leo puzzled thinking if maybe he'd simply dreamed them there, sleep walking into the living room somehow. He looked under the couch, in the kitchen, through the broken window, but it was like they'd sunken into the floorboards.

Steps sounded, the floorboards creaking, and there came Hopkins hurrying down with a gun in his hand and bedhead nearly making it appear as if he was wearing an octopus in the dark. "Leo? What are you doing up? It's late. Go to bed..."

"Yeah, of cause. Sorry I just... " he looked around, simultaniously coming up with a good excuse while also being stuck on where the hell they'd went. "I thought I heard something"
"You okay? Because ya know, with this whole... surveilance thing, can't blame ya for being a little tense"

"I'm not tense"

Hopkins eyes travelled to the katana in Leo's hands.

"Right..." he muttered, rubbing his temples. "Look I gotta get up early tomorrow- I don't know for how long, higher ups don't seem to tell me anything these days. But just so you know, I still got your back on this."

"I know, I know... I trust you"

Leo nodded, solemnly. They sharred an off-kilter starring contest in the dark before the geezer relented, waltzing back up the stairs looking over his shoulder. "All right, just... get some sleep, kid"

The door closed, Leo turning his attention back towards the living room, where shockingly the three intruders proved to not be just a part of his imagination. Raph crawled out from having, apaprently hidden underneath the couch, Donnie balancing himself in the corner using his stick and the third one swinging down quietly from the chandeller in the roof, almost as if they were entirely muted. What the heck are these guys?

"Wow... that guy has some serious trigger issues" the orange one said, and just as they were about to break out into yet another argument, Leo managed to this time have enough sense to intterrupt them early-

"Answer me something" he broke in. Apparently, he wasn't the only one with a voice capable of commanding the others attention. Wished it was that easy with Hopkins too sometimes. He let out a sigh, the memory still fresh in his mind and he turned to look at Raph while he said it, "In the alley, what you said… is it true?"

"What? That you're a self-centered jackass? Definitely"
"No!" he sighed, unable to say the word aloud in fear of what the answer might be. Truthfully, he didn't know if he hoped it was the truth or wished to god, that it was anything but. Though something told him that they weren't lying to him about this one and he couldn't for the life of him understand why having nothing but a gut feeling to go on. "You know what I mean"

Raph didn't answer. Whether he choose not to or just simply… couldn't, was up to interpretation, but that didn't make the pit in Leo's stomach go away. He turned to the others, seemingly having the same problem until Donnie jumped in, trying hard to be the only one out of the four to keep a level head.

"We know it's a lot to take in. I mean, it's no wonder you don't recognize us even if you did have your memories back. But we really are family. Your true family. Trust us, we only want to help you"

For some reason those three words echoed in his brain, but it still wasn't enough to convince him entirely. Why couldn't anyone just give him a clear answer?

"All right. Fine. I've seen a lot of crazy things lately, so I'm sorry but I'm gonna need some proof here. Prove to me that you're telling the truth. Tell me what happened."

"Eh, that might be a little difficult hehe" Mikey scratched the back of his head, nervous laughter and shoes tapping anxiously against the floor clicking beneath him.

"It's kind of complicated…" Donnie said.
"Complicated how?"

Mikey held up his hand, as if he just realized he possessed the extraordinary ability to talk. And talk he did, to the other's horror nonetheless, but it was already too late once he kept going:

"You see we're actually mutated turtles from the sewers that are also trained in ninjitsu- no big deal just fyi we're pretty awesome dude- and now we're trying to stop this anti-ninja clan that's trying to kill us but we don't really know why yet? Which is weird cause we kind of were supposed to have stopped them already if it wasn't for the whole mutation-situation, ha that rhymes- so that's kinda why we needed to come here, since you're the leader and we don't really have a plan how to stop them yet also you're our brother so that's probably also important to mention. What else…? Oh! And we're freshwater turtles. Nearly forgot that part"

When he finally finished, the first sound to fill the apartment came in the shape of two brothers not knowing how to deal with their little brother when he didn't understand the simple meaning behind a lot to take in.

"MIKEY" they both yelled out, towering over their brother flames practically seething out of their ears.

"What did I do now?!"

"We're supposed to help him not scare him, dummy!" Donnie hissed to which Mikey shrank several inches into the ground and Leo… well, he didn't know what to think. "Great... You're crazy"

"You're the one who wanted the truth" Raph muttered, Donnie dashing him over the shoulder.
"Of cause he's not gonna believe us now!" he whispered, as Leo silently wondered if now would be a good time to call Mr. Hopkins about the situation, but he didn't do that, sticking to his promise. Instead, he simply said it as it is,
"He's right. I don't... So, if you're not going to make sense, then why don't you just go back to wherever you came from." He sighed, not letting his disappointment show. "I'll solve this myself…"

All of them looked as he ventured away, unsure whether or not they should stop him or let him go.
"Huh. And I thought you were the loner…" he could hear the tall one mutter, as Leo made his way up the stairs prepared to stay awake all night thinking of a good excuse to tell Hopkins as to why the window was broken down by the TV. Not to mention the fortune worth of security set up around the apartment, probably going to be blamed on him in some way or another for property damage. Serves them right I suppose...

"A wise man once said that, what you know is dangerous to your enemy, what you think you know is dangerous to you. Sound familiar?"

Leo stopped. It came from Raph- at the moment the only one who followed him to the bottom of the stairs, having proceeded to take the katana in his hands studying it somberly. Leo wasn't sure if Raph was going to intentionally break it out of spite, panicking for a second until the relic was instead tossed back to him safe and sound almost immediately.

"Is that supposed to mean anything?" he asked, to which a shadow manifested over the boy's eyes, turning his brief optimism straight back into anger and resentment. Maybe even a little bit of regret too, if he weren't mistaken.

"Forget it"

"Wait, Leo!" the tall one- Donnie ran over to him, a small walkie-talkie looking devicew with a botton on the front and a scanner on the small screen, in his hands that Leo hesitantly accepted. "If you change your mind, here's how you find us. Just consider it, okay? We're not giving up on you that easily"

"Yeah dude! Who's going to tell me to remember not to over butter the popcorn if you're not there?!" the third one yelled, nearly tumbling into the others.
"That's what you're worried about?"

"What?! I have a delicate tummy"

Leo couldn't help but smile, dissapointed yes and not feeling quite right, the pit in his stomach also subsequently having grown tenfold in the span of the last fifteen minutes. They all seemed so familiar to him, but it was all so vague he almost couldn't tell if he just wanted to believe it enough to convince himself, or if by some strange twist of fate, he'd found what he was looking for… and all he had to do was believe it. Go with them, help take down the PD outside of the law like the old geezer preffered to hand things. Without honor. But I'm not that stupid…

"I won't tell Hopkins that you were here. So, now we're even" Leo concluded silently, before exiting upstairs and closing the door behind him, but he could still hear their voices downstairs as clear as day.

"Man… this sucks!"

"Give it some time Mikey. He'll come around… eventually"

Leo slipped onto his bed, arms stretched out holding the katana firmly, as his reflection was mirrored back to him in the (probably) fake blade.

"As our fearless leader used to say, him being a dick is just 'temporary'"

"Raph,"
"Come on- we're wasting our time here. Let's go back to the bridge, figure out what to do next"

But then just for a moment, a brief moment of sleep-deprivation and illusions of vigilantes in Halloween costumes appearing in his home, he could've sworn he saw that blue raggedy mask over his eyes flash for just one strange second of doubt clouding his mind because it fit all too well.

And the resemblance more than uncanney.

---

He called out, not moving his lips, focusing his energy.

As of now, it had been a good hour and a half into his trance. Raph was careful not to move out of his spot, the only thing in his mind that kept him afloat being his own breathing. It was strange but- for the first time in months he felt almost… calm. Completely at peace in his mind. Granted, he'd silently tried to summon enough courage to reach out, he figured that forcing it wouldn't get him very far, and he tired of his old methods. He needed guidance… advice, with everything being a record year of catastrophes. He needed him, but he knew that he couldn't make him come by himself. He just had to be patient. To just wait until the opportune moment, where he could finally get some answers. Finally see him again, no matter how bonkers the concept sounded. Needless to say, he had no idea what they were supposed to do now. With no leader to guide them, he felt the weight of being the oldest even more than he'd ever had to. It was always Leo who took that mantle. To be the 'responsible' one, calling the shots, taking on the task of navigating the waters when the others were too independent to do it. He wanted to do the right thing. To fix this entire mess as fast as he could, get his team back together, get his body back together, and most importantly, get their life back together. That was Raph's job now.
And he didn't have the faintest idea how to make that happen. Where would they even start? What chance did three kids lost on New York city have against an army?

He needed help. He needed Sensei. Or just- someone to give him advice, since it was obvious that their so called "fearless leader" wasn't up to the task, injury or not. Leo'd changed, they could feel it. He wasn't going to get them out of this without his memories, so with that in mind, Raph tried to let his thoughts empty. Let them come to him eventually, like a true ninja or whatever the heck it was father used to say. Instead of channeling his anger, Raph tried the opposite. He focused. Breathed in, breathed out… listened to the silence. And after being at complete zen for nearly an hour, finally, Raph felt like he was able to control his turmoil. Letting the dark take him and in its sweet embrace, and never coming back. Like for the first time in his life, he was finally, finally at complete peac-

"RAPH! HEY! Wake up! Pssssssst! Quickly there's a- a- a cockroach on ya! Yeah! Right there on your back, dude, better get up before its too late, right?! Raph? Raph! Come on, rise and shine"

A deep grizzly growl, probably efficient enough to send little kids screaming, escaped Raph's throat as he was zapped back to the tent. Someone as creative as him couldn't have found a way to knock?! Raph sighed. "What is it, Mikey?"

"Dude, were you… meditating?"

Raph went red, eager to change the subject, "I was- look I- shut up! What do you want? And if it's about the spreadsheets, I told you its them or its nothing. As soon as we get back to the lair, you can have your Mr. cuddles back, alright?"

"It's not that- well, actually… No, no, it's not that." Mikey seemed to do a double take, inviting himself inside the tent.

They'd spend the good portion of the last three days tracking down Leo's location, whilst struggling to figure out what their next move should be. Their enemies was sure moving, and so far they had no idea what they were even up to. What role did the purple mutagen play, and why had it become so crucial to their schemes that they'd even kill someone over it? While Donnie had gone back to the lab for parts, Mikey had been going on patrols for what had become a regular pattern each day between four and six, granted Raph had no idea where he actually went. Mikey kept changing the subject whenever he asked, and both had decided that it would probably be better not to push him on the subject if he didn't want to. Raph had seen the life he'd led on the surface. The life he'd left behind to go back to saving the city, and though he tried to hide it, Raph could see that something bothered him. And it had been for a while now.

"Then what is it?"

It was kind of scary how easily it had been to adjust to the reality that the human kid in front of him was his brother. Mikey fumbled with his hands, pulling on the tips, turning them over, folding them in and out in and out over and over again. Not exactly subtle for their brother, he noticed, every little mannersim matching everything about him to a T (no pun intended), everyhting except for his face.

"So, funny, I was just thinking, since Leo's not here at the moment, does that technically make you our leader now?"

"What? No."
"Okay, so you're not in charge?"

Raph struggled, as usual, to read him, "Why? You want me to be?"

A loud chuckle burst out from the tent, probably loud enough to wake up the entire community while turning Raph gradually more annoyed, "No! No, no, no, no, no! Of course not, you're awful at the leader stuff! Uh- no offence"

"Okay I'm about two seconds away from shoving this pen up your nose"

"Hehe, sorry" he muttered, pulling his hair around his fingers. "But... if you're not in charge, and I'm not in charge and Donnie's definitely not in charge, then that means that Leo will come back, right?"

So that's what this is about. He let out a sigh, already feeling guilty about what he said last night, though he wasn't exactly wrong for saying it (at least according to himself). If this whole ordeal had taught Raph anything, it was that they'd be getting no where without trust. Only problem was, that right now there wasn't exactly much of a team to proof that sentiment, and no leader to argue with anymore.

"Give him some space, will ya? He's been through a lot. We all have" he said, realizing that may not have been the most comforting way to get that across. He could see it on Mikey's frown clear as day, until finally-
"You didn't really mean that stuff about him just pretending to not remember us, right?" -there it was. The silence in the tent lingered, Mikey with the expectation that Raph would reassure him he was wrong, and Raph waiting for Mikey to accept the fact that he wasn't going to apologize for voicing his suspicions.

"Oh. You did" he then said, to which Raph's guiltiness fell pray to his little brother's overwhelming ability to do the "puppy dog googly eyes".

"I don't know what I think, Mikey… Everything's really messy right now. But hey, we got you back, didn't we?" he said, watching the smile creep back over his little brother's face.

"Yeah, guess I do kinda have that sweet magnetic awesomeness attraction still intact. Passed down from the great samurais of the buritto mountain for centuries... "

Raph sighed, "How could I forget" he muttered, very deadpanned and not to mention tired. He slowly starting to remember how it was living next to Mikey for over fifteen years. Juvinile randomness and all. Regardless, he patted him on the back, to which Mikey for once didn't flinch over the gesture, surprising both of them since this rarely used to be the case, making Raph contemplate if maybe an apology was in order. But alas, his stubborness won again, his overprotective big brother attitude chipping in as well. "Don't worry, little brother. We'll figure it out. With or without Leo"

"You really think so? I dunno, it just doesn't feel right…"

"Definitely! And hey, once we've saved the city, we're gonna kick those bug-phased freaks all the way to New jersey. After all, I still owe them an ass-kicking for what they did to you"

Mikey smiled, blinking, then confused, "I thought we were in New York…?"

"Never mind… do me a favor and try to get some sleep" Once again, the exasperated weight of trying not to bang his head against a pole, made Raph start reaching for his bag and folding his mask over his head. He looked at the time. Midnight. Well, guess it's go-time.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to go out for a bit. Shouldn't be long though, there's just someone I have to see about something" he said, remembering to pull his hood over his hair in case he'd receive any company in the meantime. But he was sure now, not wasting another minute sitting around doing nothing, and taking some action despite three months of stalling. Mikey and Donnie had their stuff to take care of, and this just happened to be something Raph had to do by himself.

"Uuuuuh…. isn't it a bit late for grocery shopping? I mean I know you're bumped over the whole no-kitchen no-breakfast thing, my 'eggs on boxes' are a work in process okay?!- but just saying. You really think that's a good idea? Wai-wai-wait can you get me a soda? It's on my human list of things to try, but Mrs. R don't want me to drink them. Said it would only heighten my mikey-ness to a dangerous level which, I guess means that the foot better watch out for the Mikey-"

"I won't go too far" Raph said, shoving the curtains aside and stepping out into the winter air as Micky watched in bewilderment, probably pondering if he should object or not, but realizing that him saying so probably wouldn't do anything.

"Use the tracker if I'm not back by noon, okay?"

"Be careful" he said, as Raph leaped down onto the frozen concrete.

He started running, silently thanking Ernie for letting them use the place as a temporary base until they'd get the lair back. Because as it stood, it was only getting colder sleeping in tents with no liable equipment to show for it, and time was running out. Donnie said that they only had less than a week before the AF would probably make their final move, and honestly, he trusted his calculations way more than he trusted his own intuition.

They were running out of time as it stood, and the thought of losing anyone else to their enemies was an idea Raph didn't respond very well to. But… still that wasn't the entire reason behind why he left, if Raph had to be honest. Sure, their friends would now be in danger, given their cover had officially been blown, but in all honestly, Raph needed someone to talk to more than anything else. He needed someone to see his side of things, reckless enough to take them at face value. And the only person who matched that description, he hadn't seen in months now, if he was even still in New York City. The skull wearing, hockey stick slinging vigilante himself: Casey Jones. Missing in action.

…

Raph started at the ice-skating ring, probably the most obvious place to start, and now that he was at full liberty to let his friend in on the details, he decided not to waste any time busting through the front door. It was the same time of day he'd usually be found practicing, that is to say night, but once he entered, he found that… there was no one there. And no one had been there, for as long as they'd gone missing apparently, according to the receptionist.

Not surprising, that is to say, Raph had already tried there several times already, but with nothing to show for it. As if their friend had simply sunken into the ground. And If Casey wasn't in the ice-skating ring, it probably wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume he was in some sort of trouble as they'd feared. Sticking to his usual quota of searching for it when it was least convenient, it still irked Raph that he'd been gone for so long without warning. Knew I should've kicked that masked freak's nose in when I had the chance, he grunted, the thought of the Oni-man to have taken him fueling the fire.

Next stop he went to Roosevelt, having a rather humorous reunion with the three bullies he smacked against the locker last week. He didn't have to take more than a few steps, before they were ready to tell him just about anything, too frightened of the small angry red guy to take anymore of their teeth. It worked a little too well perhaps, but while Casey was never the most popular kid, he was still partially hard to miss amongst the... well, normal humans on the school. And apparently, someone matching his description had been seen walking around the school every now and then, but he never attended his classes and rarely stayed longer than an hour or two, claiming that "school was overrated" before leaving abruptly. So, all in all, probably him.

"Where can I find him?"

"I- uh" the bullies halted, mouth trembling as one of them pointed their shaky fingerless gloved hand over towards a poster by the board.

You gotta be kidding me…

…

Now, Raph had found himself in a lot of strange places over the years, that much was very apparent: Dimension X, alien spaceships, underground Dexter Stickman traps, Queens… but where Raph never imagined finding himself standing in a thousand years, would be the front yard of a house party littered with drunk teenagers and pop music from decades old techno-hits. He just starred straight ahead, eyes agape with a mix of confusion and severe discomfort. This had to be the wrong place, right? There was no way this could be the place. Why in the hell would Casey wanna go here? Well, whatever the reason, Raph entered the jungle.

The smell of teenagers rubbing up and down each other to the tinnitus-inducing music beat that wouldn't shut up, was already enough to make him miss the sewers. He shoved passed the crowd, the flickering lights, the smell of alcohol and felt like he'd somehow entered one of Mikey's old rom-com flicks from when they were younger. He remembered Splinter showing them clips of movies like this to remind them how not to turn out in the future, whenever they'd inevitably reach that age. And honestly, while Raph hadn't understood exactly what his point was back then, walking through it now, he was starting to. He tried to focus his vision, but with so many people stumbling over each other and sticking their tongue down each other's throats, it was hard to fully grasp the scenery. He asked around, yelling Casey's name aloud in the vague hope that someone would give a damn, but could honestly not be sure if they even heard him in the cluster. After half an hour had passed, Raph was ready to leave the party entirely, thinking that the bullies had lied to him, or was too afraid to tell him that Casey hadn't been seen at all, making up a cockabull story about where someone matching his description would most likely show up. Perhaps going alone wasn't such a good idea, he thought, thinking if he'd just gone to Donnie, maybe they would've found him already. But he was already piled up in work as it stood, and this was only concerning his friend- who was not exactly the highest on the priority list at the moment, and Donnie would be inclined to agree, he figured. Raph made for the door, went up the stairs and into the bathroom where he successfully managed to splash some water on his face.

He looked into his own gaze, trying hard to remember what it was like before all of this happened. In his old body, that is, but it already started to feel like a million years ago. Because if it came down to it, and Donnie somehow couldn't make them a cure, was this the reality they'd have to settle on? Was this the life Raph had to get used to? To go to parties, go to school like normal people, not worrying about saving the city every night? Not having to live up to the expectations build upon years and years' worth of training? What kind of life would that even look like? Raph had no idea.

He let out a sigh, feeling the skin on his face with his index finger, and finding the uncanny likeness to Hamato Yoshi in his features hauntingly real… like the mutagen had somehow copy pasted him straight out of the picture in the dojo. He could see it in all of them, really, perhaps Leo more than anyone. As if they'd all (at least to some digree) become the living image of the person their father used to be, long dead before Splinter took them in due to circumstances, and how it had ruined his life. How would he react if he could see us now? Like this. 'Normal'… getting to do all the things he was robbed off in his life. All the things Raph struggled to accept as 'okay' or even just 'acceptable'. But how could he? How the hell could he even allow himself to think that way? To accept the fact that, somewhere bottled up inside, and suppressed by all forms of reasoning, there was still a tiny, microscoping not at all relavent part of him, that actually wanted to enjoy this. To admit that he felt a little twitch of relief every time someone looked at him without blinking, or worse, screaming, sticking out their phone to take a good picture. Going to the store for the first time, sitting in a bar ordering a drink, taking the public transportation, or just plain walking on the street like it was nobody's bussiness. Wouldn't it be wrong to enjoy the things their father never got the chance to do? The things that he'd told his family his entire life was okay that they weren't a part of? To love themselves for who they were. How could he be proud of himself, if they just abandoned their mission. Everything they'd done, just throwing in the towel… he just… couldn't. And it was that envy in turn, that compelled him to argue against these three months ever meaning anything, other than another world ending threat that needed to be stopped. And that was exactly what he was going to do. One way or the other…

He leaned back on the edge of the tub, curtains pulled over, when suddenly-

A mild groan could be heard from somewhere behind it and he stood up. In the tub, behind the curtain, Raph realized he wasn't alone in there, slowly (and very prepared for anything particularly murderous to jump out and get him), so he reached for his sai. But alas, once he pulled it back, he honestly didn't know if a killer robot could ever match the true horror of what he actually found stored there instead.

"You gotta be kidding me" he heard himself mutter, blinking a couple of times to justify what he was seeing.

The first thing to notice, was the cluster of empty beer cans hobbled into the tub in every corner where there was room. Second, was of course, maybe a bit more obvious, the passed out teenager in a crinkled black shirt and poorly folded tie lying half asleep over said cans. His chin bore the slight hint of a stub indicating some sense of maturity, though his messy black hair sprinkled all over his face begged to differ. He lay there blinking, only now realizing the guy starring down at him jaw agape and severely lacking the context as to what had led to him sleeping in there. But there was no doubt about it. He'd found him. Right in front of his nose this whole time, nonetheless.

The boy in the tub rubbed his eyes, only now figuring out that he wasn't alone in the bathroom, and so. he did the only natural thing that came to mind...

He held out a can…

"Want one…?"
Raph took a breath, cracked his knuckles and prepared to grab his friend by the sleeve of his shirt, "Okay, that's it. Come on buddy"
"Wo-wo-woa hey! I was just asking! Hey- let go of me- ouch" he only managed to get about three feet out of the tub, before he banged his head against the wall, his balance already staggering. Raph struggled, never actually having to take care of a drunk person before, unless you count that one time Mikey fell into a sugar-coma, as Donnie so elegantly had put it, and they all collectively had to hall him into the lab to subdue him. But he did manage to swing Casey's arm over his shoulder, to which he, somehow for a moment as going by the look in his eyes, seemed to almost recognize the person in front of him. At least, that's what Raph naively hoped, saving him the trouble of having to explain it himself without his little brother there- and especially in his friend's current condition. He turned his head curiously toward Raph, staggering for a moment. "What- y-you supposed to be some sort of punker or what?"

Raph kept moving, trying hard to fight the urge not to slap him awake.

"Yep… this is my life now"

They somehow made it outside- actually that was putting it mildly. Casey was bumbling and staggering to every wall they passed the entire way. But once they finally got outside, Raph was thankful to see the sun starting to come up over the city, lighting their path and Casey seemed too wasted to really argue with the guy dragging his ass outside against his will. Though that certainly didn't stop the ever-relentless Casey Jones from trying. "Let go of me freak! Wh-what are you doing dude?! Party's that way, have you lost your- WOAH-

His sentence was cut short however, as Raph (admittedly feeling very happy with himself) dropped his hold on the arm, to which he plummeted into the concrete. "Hey! What's the big idea?!"

Raph chuckled, though upon further inspection he slowly started to also notice how unusally messy his friend looked. And Casey was very much a messy person- he almost never looked put together in any way shape or form, so much so that it was almost becoming his thing. But looking at him now, Raph couldn't help but notice just how tired he seemed… stains of what he guessed to be liquor of some kind over his pants, his stick-like figure seeming almost fatigued, like he hadn't eaten in a while. His face had gone paler, bags under his eyes and a surprising number of bruises around his face and arms. His hair was all over the place, unkept and slightly longer too than last time they'd seen him, giving Raph the feeling that something was slightly off about him. What the heck happened to you?

As Casey foolheartedly leaned against the wall in an attempt not to puke, Raph starred at his friend, lost for words. "I don't know what's sadder: that you're puking behind a convenience store, or the fact that you actually tried to tie that"

"Did I ask for your opinion red? You're the one sabotaging my nap thank you very much!"

"My pleasure" Raph said, leaning unconsciously more into his usual demeanor. Arms crossed, he waited patiently for his friend to finish, enjoying the rare moment Casey's guard was let down and instead left right open for anyone who wasn't a passerby to see. Once he turned around again, however, that's where the patterns he was so used to started to show, as if to reassure him that he was really there and not dead in a ditch somewhere. That his friend was okay. Alive. Casey lifted his chin, for a moment seemingly at his senses, before he stumbled back, learning against the wall behind him but keeping his sunken eyes fixed stubbornly on the guy watching him.

"Look if you're from one of those Canadian guys, you're wasting your time here. So, look I'm sorry if I broke your nose or rib, or spleen or just somethin' in the past- but you're not gonna get a rematch any time soon- It's your fault for not having insurance, buddy"

Raph didn't say anything, simply enjoying the display at hand. This seemed to irritate Casey for a moment, the gears turning in his head probably not very satisfied by the non-response so he continued,

"Oh, I see… you're a fan aren't you? I should've known. One of many struggles from living like Casey Jones- bounty hunter by day, killer vigilante by night" he then said, using up a little too much energy for his legs to handle.

"How original" Raph just said, wondering how in the world Casey hadn't gotten himself arrested yet by sheer bragging, or plainly just annoying a cop to death. But alas, he continued,
"or maybe you're a stickler? How old were you again? Like- fifteen?"

"Casey"

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'm a reasonable guy. So look, whatever they paid you, I'm not interested. Those days are behind me. So, as the cool kids say: I'm clean and been- or was it the other way around..?"

"Casey"

"No! I'm not going back to juvy! Not this time. I don't care how much you want to, I ain't fighting you- nuh-uh, not gonna happen so get over it. Not that I wouldn't be able to take you-

The last word still hung in the air after the abruption. Casey had to blink a couple of times to realize that he was now on the ground, starring up at the red-masked teenager clutching a sai in his fist, smiling smugly down at his defeat. Using it on his friend was probably the most fun Raph had had the entire week.

"Did I… get hit in the head or something?" he muttered, most likely seeing double.

"Huh. I guess the mask really does have some benefits" Raph held out his hand, to which left Casey a gigantic question mark. He probably wasn't very used to his attackers helping him back to his feet immediately, but as he did, something in his eyes lit up. Like he just had a very important realization, which to be fair, not even Raph would've seen coming.

"No way… " Casey whispered, as he began walking circles around Raph like he was on display at a museum. He leaned over a bit, starring eye to eye, following first the bandana around his face to the sai in his hand. But something told Raph that it wasn't a simple concussion that gave it away. Casey knew Raph better than anyone, so perhaps it wouldn't be too farfetched to assume that their mutal understanding of each other had something to do with it. "Hold up a second- you've gotta be playing with me here, there's no way that's really you right? I'm not actually seeing what I'm seeing right now- I'm just hallucinating"

Raph smiled, relief filling him because by some peculiar miracle his friend was actually capable of paying attention, "Nice to see you too, Casey"

His eyes dilated, mouth turning into an even bigger 'O' than Mikey's and for a solid second Raph was convinced that he was about to puke again. Luckily that wasn't the case.

"Raph…? But how… and what…" he started, blinking rapidly, shock and confusion, going on a rollercoaster of doubt, gradually turning into awe, turning into disbelief until finally:

"What the HECK happened to your HEAD?!"

Raph cursed the day he decided to dye his hair, but decided that maybe throwing around the guy soaked up in beer twice in one day, wasn't such a good idea. No, instead he told him everything. Well, everything important. He explained about Donnie's plan, Leo's decision, the relentless pursuit of the anti-foot clan that had inevitably led to them fleeing to the surface. And he made sure to emphasize his own opinion on the subject, underlining the fact that he did not agree to this suicide-mission, while Casey made fun of his- in his own words- (wannabe rockstar look). He explained about these last three months, how none of them were safe to contact him or April, his encounters with the PD in the pursuit of his family just a week ago, and most importantly the situation with Leo.

When he was finally done, Casey let out an understandable "Woah, that's... that's a lot", taking another sip from the coffee that someone definitelyhad not conveniently left on the counter in the shop for Raph to steal.

"So, that's why you didn't call me back that night"

Raph leaned forward, angry with himself by what happened, granted there wasn't much he could do about it now, "Trust me, we would've let you in on it, but there wasn't exactly a lot of time to make a house-call. They would've just come after you too"
"What, and you didn't think Casey Jones would be up to the task?! After everything we've been through bro?! Seriously?"
"Hey, not my idea to keep it a secret. And you weren't exactly easy to find either! Mind explaining when you decided to hang up your mask and hockey stick and become a- a… I dunno a college dropout?"

"Hey! High-school drop-out" Casey protested, hand on his heart as if to emphasize the correction, "And you're one to talk. You think this has been easy? I go up to the lair find it completely destroyed, no trace of you guys, you won't answer your phones and I'm left to think you guys died or something! First April, then you… I was by myself, Raph. Believe me, Casey Jones weren't exactly singing kumbaya on the beach" he explained, voice growing heavy for a moment before steadying himself, "So, what changed?"

Besides the not at all dangerous ooze turning us from trained warriors into walking teen disasters? Not much, he wanted to answer but managed to hold back from stating the obvious.

"They came after our masks first, Leo, then Mikey. Turns out, some freak in an Oni-mask held Mikey hostage underground. We think it's their leader, but, they wouldn't even have come after us in the first place, if someone hadn't told them that we're still alive. Meaning, whatever they're after we're a definite target now. "

"And you think I did it?"

Raph nearly snorted at the suggestion, "Heck no! I'm sorry Casey, but you don't exactly seem like the typical guy with enough brain capacity to double cross us"
"And you don't seem like the typical ninja to go around punching thugs in broad daylight" he argued back, in an attempt to dash him on the shoulder that failed so miserably it was almost laughable. But then he stopped, glaring back to the mask 'round his head, his eyes flailing like he just spotted a million dollar bill somewhere in the snow. "Wait a minute- You're the red bandit everyone's talking about?! You?! Man, I've ALWAYS wanted to one-up that guy! He totally stole my thunder- Are you kidding me!?"

Raph would normally be proud of this, his reputation proceeding him even though it wasn't exactly 'the way of the ninja' as father would say. It was kinda funny how the only time anyone paid him any attention from cleaning up the streets, was when he became a human with weakened abilities. While something like, I dunno, saving the world over and over went right over people's heads. He blinked, still not sure why exactly Casey had ended up here of all places instead of bashing skulls in like he'd usually spend his free-time. Didn't seem like him at all, and it begged the question:

"Why didn't you?"

Casey didn't answer, instead tossing the coffe cup into the nearest dumpster and springing back to his feet. He started waltzing around the corner with a rather smug look on his face that told Raph that whatever it was his friend had in mind, he would probably regret asking.

"Follow me" he said, and not understanding, but somewhat trusting, Raph complied, turning the corner towards the nearest subway station as his friend grabbed him by the collar of his coat.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Uh, to the station?"

Realization hit the tall vigilante, "Oh, right! I forgot- you can do that now. But never fear, because Casey Jones got the perfect ride… right here" he said, gesturing to a… oh no. Raph felt his heart sink. Casey was already enjoying this immensely seeing the color leave his face.

"What's the matter? Never rode a bike before?"

Not answering, the only sound that could be heard was the silent prayer and a gulp forming in Raph's throat, starring at whatever contraption it was Casey called a "ride".

---

"Transferred?!"

Hopkins couldn't believe what he was hearing, slamming both hands over the desk of his boss' office.

"We just think it might be better for you, to take a less, well, overwhelming faction of this particular case-

"We are days away from solving this and you want to give up my position?! I am the only one here who's even come close to getting a real suspect! Shouldn't we prioritize finding the real culprit, instead of blindly letting the purple dragons run circles around us?"
"We know the culprits, Mr. Hopkins, but it seems you're the one incapable of bringing them to justice!" his boss yelled firmly, hands folded over the table.

Hopkins wasn't very good at staying composed for too long, which surely was no secret to his employers. It wasn't a practice that he'd had the opportunity to exercise very often, and it showed. However, he still made the attempt, despite his best efforts, to get his point across without breaking another penholder or ruining another door after slamming it.

But even so, it was pretty clear that his boss had already made up his mind, matching the detective's level of stubbornness to a frustrating degree, "Sir, I understand that, but if we only focus on the criminals already behind bars, we won't be able to stop them before its too late! How many more people will have to die before we can solve this case?!"

"Mr. Hopkins"

"No! I'm onto something here, I know it. I can prove it, there's someone else behind the scenes and its all connected to the Hamato's, I know it is! Sir-"

"If you're referring to the girl who passed away, seventeen years ago, then you surely don't need me to explain to you why that's not a reliable lead"

Hopkins was darted back and forth in the room, going over the files as memorized but finding next to nothing of value other than the lead given to him when he was too wasted to think rationally, "Witnesses are still withholding information, and they're going to keep doing that until the real killer is caught"
"You're dismissed"
"But sir-

"Mr. Hopkins"

He'd been here before… not much had changed really since back then. Once his boss got the final word, all of a sudden Hopkins had to accept the reality that tomorrow he'd be without his desk. He'd have to go back to solving the cat cases, or lost belongings cases like he'd suffered through for the last five years and with absolutely nothing to show for it. Idiots, we're so close and they're already giving up on me. Who's the one letting their own personal bias getting in the way of the mission again? Hopkins refused to accept this, not until the killer was caught and Leo could go free again. Not until the murderers stopped once and for all.

And it was with this thought in mind, that he marched down towards his office, not to clean it out, but to gather whatever remaining evidence was left before anyone from staff got the chance to confiscate it.

"You're that cop… the one with the boy- the-the-the blue one"

He passed the holding cells, nearly having forgotten completely where he was going, when a voice reached him somewhere behind the bars. He recognized this man from a few nights ago, when the Purple Dragons got apprehended for the second time, leaving the police embarrassed to say the least that they hadn't managed to get there first. As a result, they'd decided to file most of the evidence away from the public, taking in only those who were still unconscious at scene. It just so happened that this guy was the first person to reach authorities, apparently on look-out duty and entirely i'nnocent' as he'd stated several times doing interrogations. Otherwise, nothing came out of this buffoon that provided them with anything but luring headaches, not even intel wanting to deal with him. But Hopkins was having a bad day already, so he figured, with a heavy urge to dismiss himself already, to humor him, pulling out a cigarette.

"Aa… Davey, right? I think I remember you too, your brother was… uh, what was it again… Tommy Hudson? Broken spine, fractures from collar to left shoulder? Something like that?"

He nodded impatiently; head stuck against the two bars as if he was struggling to squeeze it through the cracks. In the process also revealing his rather poor dental hygiene. "I can help you… I-I'll tell you who you're looking for"

Knowing this, Hopkins figured that on any other day he wouldn't have taken the guys' word to mean anything other than a desperate attempt to get out of prison. But today wasn't one of those days. He reached down into his breast pocket and folded out the picture received anonymously a few days ago and held it up to the thug's worn-down face.
"Tell me something, whoever did this to you, did they look something like this?"

Davie's glare flickered in all directions, as if he was afraid of getting it wrong, "Maybe, I-I I'm not sure…" he muttered, scratching his chin as Hopkins already started to lose his patience. So… she is important, he thought starring at the inmate currently pulling his hairs. Of cause, he's not allowed to say… just like the rest of his pals in holding they're too afraid to speak up about her. Meaning, they did know who she was, either too loyal to snitch or too afraid of what might happen to them outside of the police station if they were set loose.

Figuring he'd reached his limit, Hudson refolded the picture and started walking, "Good day, Mr. Hudson"

"No wait-wait-wait-wait Wait! Wait a minute! I can help you! I CAN!"

Hopkins found himself three feet away from the door, trusting that whatever this goon was after, it was probably not out of the goodness of his heart. But still, he listened. Whether a waste of time or not, if the police force had taught him anything, it was that whatever information however improbable, always held some variation of truth.

"Tell me, why in the world would you wanna help me?"

Davey smiled shortly, still twitchy and severely unhinged, but fairly more relaxed to find the detective actually listening to what he had to say, "Same reason as you, detective. Justice. I heard what happened to dear Officer Layton. Tragic really. He didn't seem like a bad man. Quite fond of him I was"
"Tread lightly there, Davey. I'm not a patient guy and I've had a bad day, now what the hell are you talking about?" Hopkins demanded, approaching the cell. He was taller than the inmate, particularly wider too. Enough to burry the man's face in shadow as he made it very clear that he wasn't in the mood for jokes.

Davey gulped, a shivery finger held out in the air to underline his words. "You're looking for a kid. About this tall… funny hair, wears a red mask. You can't miss him. A-a-and I know it sounds nuts-

"You're telling me a kid did this to you?"
"I'm telling the truth, detective. Swear it on my brother's life. They cornered us, beat us up and left us to rot like the maniacs they are. They want that purple thingy majig they got trapped in that warehouse. The one they use"

Now we're getting somewhere. "Which one?"

"Hard to say, they're all over the city by now"

"And the kid? Why would he want that stuff?" Hopkins asked, to which Davey sealed his lips shut, distancing himself slightly from the bars as if he was afraid that the detective would hit him if he wasn't too careful.
"Fine…" he sighed, taking a step back. At least he seems to have a motive for telling the truth, lunatic or not. Hell, sounds more sensible than anything coming from the idiots in office.

And with that in mind, Hopkins made for the door, the information still fresh on his tongue though the only thing he couldn't make sense of, was the supposed attacker himself being a kid. And a few months ago he probably wouldn't have taken this to heart, weren't it for the living proof sundering about in his apartment right in that moment, that someone else might've fit that descripton too. And as he was walking away, he heard Davey again.

"He's called the Red Bandit. He's the one you want- their leader. Find him, you'll solve the case, detective. You got my word on that one" he called out, the last sentence nothing more than a diabolical snicker. Crazy son of a bitch and now of cause, we have vigilantes running around the city to boot. What is this world coming to?

"Solve it my ass" he muttered, ready to raise some hell.

Part 1/2