Chapter 45: Connections


"Are you sure about this? Like absolutely one hundred percent sure? Like ultra extra positive?!" Beebops asks as he hovers worriedly around Donnie.

"Yes, Bebop for the hundredth time, I am positive" Donetello answers patiently, as he rubs his tied eyes irritability with his free hand the other tightening a screw.

"Cause Mr. Steranko's already been mutated twice already, both without his consent, and I honestly didn't think things could get any weirder than mutant Rhino but here we are so..I just need to be sure"

"Bebop!" Donnie snapped, swirling around to glare at the mutant Pig. "How many times do I need to say this! It's going to be fine! For the love of logic just drop it!"

Leaning casually against a fencepost, Raph shook his head, his signature grin spreading across his face as he decided to finally intervene. "Donnie's right Bebop, there's no need to worry. I mean sure it turned Leo into a terrifying mutant Turtle but eehh" Raph shrugged, turning to grin at me. "His memory and lecturing abilities all interact so I can't really complain."

I smiled at the tease, my heart full at the familiarity of it all. As the fully returned leader of the team, I took a deep breath. I couldn't believe that only a few days ago, I was wondering if I'd ever get more than fleeting memories and wisps of familiarity back and here I am, memory fully intact, re-mutated and fully reunited with my brothers.

"I understand your apprehension Bebop" I intervened, approaching the pacing mutant with a calm authority. "Looking at Raph, I'd be worried too." I smirked at my brother.

"Hey" Raph retorted, lightly punching me in the shoulder at the returned comment.

I smiled, giving Raph a friendly shoulder nudge before returning my attention to the conversation at hand.

"I have full faith in my brothers' abilities, this technology is reliable, safe and trustworthy. I trust them with my life. Rocksteady is in the safe hands of the injunity of two geniuses." A smile stretched across my face as I remembered how the two geniuses were able to look beyond their differences and work together for the greater good. It was an amazing feeling knowing that good had overcome.

"With everything that has happened it's natural to be..concerned about your friend, but look I tested it out first and look '' I held out my arms as if to prove a point. "I am unharmed and I have all my memories of the past as well as the memories of this past year fully restored and intact." I smiled. "It's been one full week to the day and no side effects, if I were you I would be feeling confident and unconcerned."

"And he's being honest when he says all his memories' ' Raph added, his foot absentmindedly dragging the ground.

"Oh yeah," Mikey piped up, "full scientific intervention completed there!"

I rolled my eyes half heartedly. "'Full scientific intervention' is the translation for 'asked several questions for days on end to ensure I remembered everything'" despite the comment I could help smiling. Turning to Mikey I gave the little trouble maker a found noogie, knowing full well the embarrassment that came from this 'scientific intervention'.

"Hey" Mikey laughed fighting to evade the brotherly batter, pulling free from my loose headlock Mikey backflipped to hide behind Donnie, the genius finishing up the final touches on the Counterpart RM (name still in progress) mechanism, and turned to send Bebop a winning smile. "Oh yeah, and he passed. Like he even remembered that prank I played on Raph when we were seven, when I convinced him that a full scale cockroach invasion was coming and the only way to stop it was to dump all Splinter's hidden candy in the sewers!"

"Mikey!" Raph growled before launching himself at Mikey

"Ahh!" Mikey yelped before fleeing the charging hothead.

"Mikey spent weeks collecting both alive and dead cockroaches which he brought into the lair. To the unappreciation of the already existing inhabitants there. After crockrockes are slowly taking over the liar, he convinces Raph to steal the candy Splinter had set aside for Christmas" I continue the story. "But when Raph goes to drop the candy off at the 'cockrock secret hideout' he finds Mikey there dressed like some kind of bug, claiming to be the cockroach king ready to take the peace offering of candy."

"Took us weeks to get rid of the cockroaches all over the lair!" Donnie finished the story with his tongue hanging out of his mouth in concentration.

"Haha" Mikey laughed. "That's not even the funniest or most embarrassing childhood memory we made sure Leo still remembered."

"No" sighing I went over to break up the sibling squabble between Raph and Mikey. "Turns out there were a lot of crazy pranks, shenanigans and embarrassing stories about all my brothers that I had been missing out on this last year."

Raph rolled his eyes, "some of which did not need to be brought up again!"

I snickered at the comment, fully agreeing on that. Although I was the least pranked by Mikey there were a few choice memories that did not need to be shared.

"It was for science!" Mikey insisted from his hiding spot as my baby brother used me as a turtle shield, now free from Raph's gripp.

"I do get Raph's point," Donnie said, standing up and whipping off his hands to complete his task, "we were confident that all Leo's memories were intact before you brought up the ketchup catastrophe of 2010."

Mikey snickered. "Well not 100% sure"

"I was clearing ketchup out of my scrutes for weeks Mikey, weeks!" Donnie turned brick brown eyes on the present prankster.

"Oh, I didn't remember how much I missed the sound of mindless bickering," I let out a fond sigh. "But the point is, that I have all my memories intact. A fact that as Mikey communicated was adequately tested..in the form of retelling many stories, some of which were embarrassing and or silly."

"All in the name of Science" Mikey pointed out from his safe hiding spot behind me. "and fun!"

I shook my head at my brothers' shenanigans before pulling up my responsible leader-face for the task ahead. "Point well made Mikey, now Donnie, are we ready?"

"All set Leo"

"Alright" I nodded, turning toward Bebop. "Should we get Rocksteady?"