Family and some nice bubbly Apriltello in this chapter. An interlude of sorts.

As always, huge HUGE thanks to our beta readers Queequegg and Theherocomplex. You have no idea how much we're improving thanks to you guys.


After that uncomfortable lunch, April felt an awkward shift between herself and her father, she spent all afternoon in her bedroom, spaghetti sitting like a rock in her stomach, trying to make good use of her time—emphasis on "trying".

That night, she went to bed early with nothing more than a downhearted "good night" and a routine peck on the cheek. So she hadn't expected to find her father in the kitchen that morning, presenting her with a smile and a small tray of fresh pastries from the bakery down the street. The delicious fumes wafted across the kitchen and into her nose and her belly growled fiercely, reminding her that she had barely eaten last night.

April went up to her dad, cautiously optimistic, and asked, "What's this?"

Her father smiled ruefully when he answered.

"You've been so helpful lately, I just wanted your Sunday to start off with a bang." He reached out and tucked the purple strand of hair behind her ear. "I want you to take the day off, go see the turtles. Have fun."

April knew that this probably was nothing but a little respite, probably him just trying to compensate for last night's argument. Things between them were not all solved. But she didn't want to worry about that now because, at least for today, she could look forward to a guilt-free hangout session at the lair.

She felt as though her dad had just pulled her free from a cave-in after days in the dark—she just felt immensely grateful for that new lungful of fresh air. When she walked out the front door, her backpack full of books was the only weight she felt on her shoulders.


Raph was not a morning person. Couple that with a very short, very bad night's sleep, and Raph could hardly qualify as a living person that morning. And on top of that, he had gone to bed without first taking off his gear. Not the first time that had happened, and his joints resented him now, leg propped up in an awkward angle against the bulk of his kneepad. His body felt several dozen pounds heavier than usual, and his carapace might as well have turned into solid iron.

He would have gone straight for the half-empty can of Wake Up on the nightstand, but the call of nature was too loud to ignore, like the friggin' drums of Jumanji. Raph scrambled through the hallway and across the common room towards the bathroom, only to find it locked from the inside, the sound of rushing water telling him someone was using the shower. Fan-fucking-tastic.

"Who the hell's in there?" he said in an angry, hoarse slur. His tongue was still half-asleep too. "I'm in no mood for this, and nobody fucking dare mention the bathroom schedule unless they want it stuffed where the sun don't shine!"

To his surprise and absolute disgrace, this time it was Splinter's voice resonating through the door.

"Raphael! What kind of language is that? Learn some manners and practice the virtue of patience!" Splinter yelled, his voice partly distorted by the sound of running water.

Raph's stomach did a flip. "I'm-I'm sorry, sensei, I didn't know you were in there…"

"It shouldn't matter who is in here! You must learn to respect other people's time! The bathroom is not your property!"

"Hai, sensei!"

"Now, would it be too much to ask that you leave me to carry out my personal hygiene in peace?"

"Hai, sensei! I mean no! No, sensei, go ahead," he stammered. Man, he must have really slept in if he had just managed to catch Splinter in his bathroom time.

Ignoring the snickers coming from the couch as well as the throbbing pain in his bladder, he turned away from the bathroom door. Splinter's scoldings were like three cans of Wake Up: they were an excellent motivator, but man did they make you want to pee.

Intent on avoiding any accidents, Raph waddled down to the living area like a duck with a rash and very delicately sat himself on the cushioned bench to wait next to Mikey, who was currently watching a weekend rerun of Crognard the Barbarian.

"Hi, Raph," Mikey said cheerfully, and Raph replied with a simple grunt.

There was something nagging him, something he was supposed to do. But he shrugged it off for later, as he couldn't be the least bit bothered right now. It took him a few moments to register something jabbing into his side. He twisted on the spot, reaching into the space between his side and his belt, and pulled out the offending object to glare at it. The kitten with the oversized head waved at him from the front side of the purse, the words "Hola Gato" embroidered next to it. Something sticky was jutting from the top, and it took him another moment to recognize one of the mochis from the Purple Dragon warehouse, completely smooshed into the purse's zipper, one Chee-Z ball partly absorbed into the confines of its dough like a grotesque representation of a feeding amoeba.

And of course, as soon as Mikey saw it, he let out a squeal of delight and yanked the entire composite from his brother's hands.

Mikey gasped. "Ooh, that's pretty! And it comes with a prize!" He plucked the soft mochi with attached cheese ball and happily tossed it into his mouth.

"Oh, yeah," Raph said with his empty hand still held up in the air. At this point in their lives, he was only mildly disgusted and not all that surprised. "I guess I got this for you."

"Thanks, Raph!" Mikey said, chewing happily, and turned his attention back to the show, purse cradled tenderly in his lap like a treasure. Raph stared blankly at the TV, feeling his stomach twist, because his brain had suddenly kicked into gear, and he finally remembered that part of yesterday that was so important. He would have facepalmed if both his hands weren't busy clutching at his lower abdomen. He had all but forgotten about the whole mutagen thing, right up until he saw Mikey's gift. The need to pee was still extremely distracting, but he had enough brain cells running now to worry that he might not have warned his brothers in time. That mutagen was bound to be long gone now.

Dammit… The guys are gonna kill me.

"And where did you get that?"

Raph jumped at the voice, and turned around to see Leo standing right behind them, teacup in hand. When did he get here?

"Jeez, Leo, don't just sneak up on a desperate turtle like that!" Raph squeaked, helplessly pressing his thighs together.

"And what the heck happened to you?" Leo asked, leaning closer.

Raph looked down at himself. His dark skin was mottled with several types of stains, and there were pieces of food and mochi paste stuck into the crevices of his plastron.

"I thought something smelled weirder than usual," Mikey said, apparently only now noticing.

Raph had the fleeting urge to swing at them both, but he just couldn't keep his mind on more than one thing at that time—and that one thing was his throbbing bladder. Turning his attention in the direction of the bathroom, Raph confirmed that the shower was still going. Disaster approached if he didn't do something quick.

"Um, well… I was planning on telling you guys last night, but I kinda… fell asleep." Raph said casually, hedging. Leo just waited. "So here's the thing," Raph continued, voice coming out strained from all the contracting he was doing. "We followed some Purple Dragons to this warehouse and it turns out they have mutagen..."

"What?" Leo exclaimed, and Raph shrunk deeper into himself.

"Just… a few crates…"

"You found mutagen and you just went to bed?"

"I didn't go to bed, not on purpose!" Raph said, wishing he could yell. But in his current state it was just too risky. But he did manage a very angry-sounding groan. "I just kind of… unintentionally… I was exhausted, okay?"

"Why couldn't you just call before, when you found it?" Leo demanded.

"We were running away, and my phone got busted and I really gotta go before my bladder suffers the same fate!" Raph almost begged, sounding like a pinched balloon.

Leo sighed. "Okay, go—" Raph was on his feet before his brother was done talking, "—but make it quick. We'll cover this in the meeting."

"Aw, man, there's a meeting today?" Mikey's voice whined.

"Hey, where are you going?" Raph heard Leo call after him when he didn't head for the bathroom.

"In the sewers," he replied with resignation, hurrying towards the turnstiles in little hopping steps.

"Hey, Raph," another voice said in front of him, and he only barely lifted his head to reply without stopping before rushing down the tunnel.

"Hey, April."

The girl followed him with her gaze until he was out of sight, then turned towards the entrance shrugging the weight of her backpack to a more comfortable position.

"Hi, guys. What's with Raph?" she asked, turnstiles ticking as she passed through.

"Morning, April! Nothing serious. Raph is just dealing with a little schedule conflict," Leo said through a lopsided grin while Mikey laughed.

"Bathroom's occupied, huh?" April said, and Leo nodded. "Donnie still sleeping?"

"Probably."

"He went in his lab last night and he hasn't come out since!" Mikey said in the same dramatic tone of voice that was expected of a horror movie show host—the kind they run late at night.

April played along. "I'll go see what unholy experiments he's concocting, then."

"Oh, and see if you can jump-start him, we're having a meeting in ten minutes," Leo said.

A surprise meeting; something important was going on. "I'll try," she said with a knowing smile.

"Try luring him out with some coffee," Leo suggested, and she gave him a thumb's-up as she made her way towards the kitchen. She was way ahead of him, and after that gratifying breakfast with her dad, she definitely felt up to the challenge. However she had a hunch that just coffee wouldn't cut it today, so she would also add an extra. Once the mug was full with the the murky, indeed almost black elixir, she grabbed a couple of pop-tart baggies and marched towards the lab with the food to the sound of Mikey ominous singing.

"There is gloom and doom while things go boom, in Donnie's la-a-a-ab!"

But she reached the metal doors and signalled for silence, so Mikey shrank into himself, chin beneath the plastron with a naughty smile crinkling his freckled snout.

And when she finally went inside the lab, her first impression was of having found what looked like a beaten up, half plucked giant chicken taking Donnie's place in his chair. Upon a second look, she discovered they weren't feathers at all, but a whole coat of yellow sticky notes, stuck onto Donnie's shell, head and shoulders.

Mikey.

She stifled a guffaw, not wanting to wake him yet, as she approached the desk.

Donnie must have fallen asleep last night right in front of his computer as per usual, one hand over the mouse while the other forearm served as a pillow. Not for the first time April wondered how he could sleep with his neck all twisted like that and still have a functioning spinal cord in the morning. It had to be some kind of mutant super-human ability.

He was snoring softly inside the crook of his arm, his breath ruffling the sticky notes around his brow. She could've stayed like that for hours, watching him sleep so peacefully, mumbling gibberish into his keyboard —or was it… French? Was he mumbling in French?

Even the times they had all lived together, it had been a rare thing to catch him sleeping. It seemed his brain was always in top gear, conjuring equations, categorizing his surroundings, like every idle moment was a moment wasted. He always went to bed last, if at all.

She took a seat on the stool next to him, setting the tray on the table and her backpack on the floor, and gently shook his arm, one of the few manageable places she could reach that was not covered in sticky notes.

"Donnie," she sang.

He moaned reluctantly, and then she heard him sniff and his head sprung upwards out of its hiding place. The pieces of bright yellow paper dangled from the movement.

"I smell coffee," he muttered, sniffing the air like a little blind mole.

"Good morning, Don."

He blinked a couple of times, heavy-lidded, and finally seemed to catch sight of her, a smile rapidly spreading his features.

"Mm-ning, April!" he mumbled hoarsely, stretching, and for a split second April was a little taken aback by the stranger's voice coming out of Donnie's mouth. She had almost forgotten about their little accident in the dojo the day before. Even half asleep he sounded like an action hero. But a couple dozen sticky notes framed his sleepy visage, counteracting any heroic effects of his hoarse throat, and she was unable to contain her laughter.

"That's a good look on ya," she said, plucking one of the papers from his forehead and showing it to him.

"What?" He looked at it with narrowed eyes, then up at his own brow, and when he reached up to the papers stuck there he caught sight of his arm and gave himself a once-over. He whined throatily, "Aww, Mikey! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find blank sticky note packs in the trash?!" he groused towards the lab doors, and his words were met with Mikey's boisterous laughter.

April laughed too, helping him pick papers off his shell. "I can get you dozens, Donnie. They're like a dollar a pound."

"I knew I should've locked the door," he said, trying to recover as many as he could, neatly stacking one on top of the other.

"Do you ever sleep in your bed, Donnie?"

"Hey, I do that more often than anyone thinks." His voice was rough and it caught a bit, and April felt the already familiar pang of guilt.

"How's your voice?" she asked.

His eyebrows quirked as if he hadn't thought about it until she mentioned it, taking one hand to his throat and clearing it.

"Hmm, a little better," he said quickly, and April could practically see him fumbling for a way to reassure her. She smiled, not wanting to worry him.

"Good," she said, and was rewarded by Donnie's own smile. "I brought you breakfast."

April turned on her stool and produced a steaming coffee mug. He made a sound of pure bliss.

"Oh, April… you're an angel," he said, eagerly accepting the mug before taking the first sip and she gave him an ironic chuckle in response. Just the kind of thing Donnie said to her that she usually had a hard time believing, no matter how often or how convincingly he said it, whether it was intentional or something that would occasionally slip. At least he wasn't calling her his "sweet chinchilla" anymore. Not within her earshot, at least...

April let him take a few more avid gulps of his coffee in silence, waiting for it to take effect. Finally he set the mug down with a content sigh, eyes closed. When he opened them, he was a whole different person, straightening on his chair and stretching his numb muscles to wakefulness, all ready for another day's work.

"Let's see," he said, and as he woke up his computer, April took both pop-tart baggies, keeping one to herself and handing the other one out to Donnie, who didn't waste any time unwrapping it. April inwardly sniggered as she saw him go straight for the icing, which he attacked with licks and nibbles before actually sinking his teeth in the pastry.

If she hadn't known the turtles—and Donnie—she would've thought they'd never eaten a bite in their entire lives, judging by the way they sometimes gobbled down food when they were hungry. And Donnie must have been pretty hungry, even with his throat sore like that. April knew he would often forget to eat or drink or take bathroom breaks once he got absorbed into something truly interesting. By the time she was done unwrapping her own piece, he was already half-way through his.

After three bites, April realized she had only grabbed a pop-tart for herself out of gluttony, a subject of social eating. Donnie, on the other hand, was picking up the crumbs from his piece, which was all but gone. He looked like he could eat about four more of them.

"Wanna eat my pop-tart?" she said, and nearly choked. The words had left her mouth before she could get a proper hold of them to stop them from reaching Donnie's ears.

Oh, God. That sounded so wrong.

But luckily Donnie seemed to take it a hundred percent literally as he gladly accepted her offering.

"Thanks!"

Inadvertently, April found herself staring. Donnie's thick tongue slid over the icing, ravenous, passionate. Her brow twitched with confusing emotions, and for the first time seeing him do that, she felt the need to look away, heat rising to her cheeks.

"You're welcome," April replied finally with laughter that came out a little nervous, pretending to inspect her nails, or that lose thread dangling from the hem of her shirt, waiting for Donnie to be done. Finally she turned to file through some of the papers that lay scattered around the keyboard, all full of Donnie's scribbles. "So what's this you're working on?"

He took a second to swallow a piece of pop-tart in his mouth —how was most of the pop-tart gone so quickly?—, wincing just a little bit as the lump made its way down, and started saying, "Oh, it's…" but then he gasped, as if he'd just remembered something, and hit himself on the forehead. "Oh! Oh my gosh, April! You're not gonna believe this! I've been dying to tell you!"

But April didn't get to hear it, because Leo had just poked half of his body through the opening in the lab doors.

"Donnie, you up already? It's time," he said, tapping his wrist even though April had never seen him wear a watch—maybe because he couldn't just get one that would fit his wrist.

Oh, right. April had all but forgotten about that mysterious meeting and her mission to retrieve Donnie.

"Oh, uh- coming," Donnie agreed, albeit a little deflated, and Leo nodded before stepping out again.

"So what's this amazing thing you were gonna tell me?" April said when she saw Donnie getting up, hating to miss whatever was making him so excited.

His mouth quirked as though he was debating something in his head.

"I really, really wanted to tell you as soon as I saw you, but I am already explaining it at the meeting. So at the risk of you hearing it twice, I'll just give you a teaser." He paused for two seconds, and shook with contained ardour. Then he said simply, "Time travel."

April's brow creased, honestly a little worried.

"You… invented a time machine?"

"Not exactly," he replied cryptically, downing the rest of the coffee in one loud gulp before getting up, inviting her to follow.


Donnie exited the lab feeling very content with how the morning was turning out so far. Nothing started off his day like waking up to April's smiling face, and now finally he was going to dazzle her and everybody else with his announcement.

"So," Donnie said with a loud clap as he and April arrived at the group, and he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "When do we begin?"

"We're just waiting for Splinter now," Leo said. Everybody was there except sensei, but according to Donnie's calculations and the bathroom schedule, he should be out any minute.

Karai was the first to ask, hands on hips. She was already wearing her training outfit, ready to roll. "So what's this about?"

"Yeah, you guys are being all mysterious, it's freaking me out," Mikey asked, suspicious eyes flickering between his brothers.

"Leo says you got this super exciting news," Raph added, arms crossed in a show of skepticism.

Donnie looked at his brother and blinked. He was just now seeing the state of him: not just sleepy and a little dishevelled, but also as though he'd been rolling around in cookie dough. He had smudges of some mysterious paste all over his body, and Donnie could smell the colorful mixture of sweat and cheese and a myriad of other things clinging to his skin as well. He looked like he needed a shower—or a pressure washer.

"Well, it's difficult to summarize. What happened to you?" he asked, giving Raph a curious look.

Raph shot him the look of a war veteran. "Pull up a chair…"

"Ha-ha, looks like he and Casey had a little too much fun last night, and Casey's still sleeping it off." Mikey elbowed Raph teasingly, earning a glower.

Donnie was grateful that he would know what had really happened in a few minutes so that he didn't have to dwell on the mental images that Mikey's comment provoked.

There was a distant click and the creaking of hinges, and Splinter finally emerged from the bathroom—fresh out of the shower and dressed in his bathrobe, towel hanging from his arm and a soft hairbrush in his claw with a bit of fur between its bristles. Donnie heard Raph give a grunting sigh for some reason.

Splinter halted and looked their way, fur wet and ears straight in suprise. He probably wasn't expecting them there at training hour.

Donnie couldn't help noting—with a hint of hilarity—how even the wet-rat look he was currently sporting did not detract from his elegant, dignified posture—even if it did make him look quite skinnier, and frankly, much less imposing. Donnie made a mental note to check if they were well stocked on Drano.

"What is this?" Splinter asked, looking from face to face. A drop of water fell from one of his whiskers.

"Master Splinter, we have important news," Leo announced, bearing an expression of utmost consequence.

Meanwhile all Donnie could do, eager to tell his tale, was smile as wide as his face would stretch.

"We were just waiting for you, father. These dorks wouldn't say anything until you were here," Karai said cockily.

"Yeah, and I'm dying!" Mikey whined.

In all his impatience, Donnie couldn't deny the satisfaction of building up the tension and witnessing the effects on the others.

April listened patiently by Donnie's side, looking up at him with intrigued eyes, and Splinter lifted his bushy eyebrows in a show of gauged interest.

"Then let us proceed," he said with a gentle wave of his hand, and went to sit on one of the benches.

Most of the others did the same. Only Donnie and Leo remained standing, because Leo liked a good view of things, and because Donnie was eager to begin, already taking a deep breath to start on his discourse.

But then Leo said "Raph goes first," and Donnie's words caught in his throat. He tried not to look disappointed as he stepped aside to wait his turn. He heard a faint snicker at his side and caught April pretending to hide her grin. He shot her a look of mock-annoyance.

Raph came forward, rumbling under Leo's reproachful glare like he was taking the stand in a court of law. Donnie knew that glare, Leo had certainly learned it from Splinter.

Over the next couple of minutes, Raph narrated his escapade with Casey the previous night, and how they had found a little more than they bargained for in that warehouse when they came across a whole new batch of mutagen canisters. Donnie understood the looks Leo had been giving Raph now. The news was met with clamours of shock and dread —as well as a fair amount of foul-mouthed protests.

"Seriously? Again?" April squalled, standing up and throwing her hands in the air.

But for Donnie, the word 'mutagen' wasn't just dire news; it was full of promise, of potential.

"No, you don't understand!" he interceded excitedly, stepping forward, dodging April's flailing arms to address the whole of the group. "This isn't all bad news! If I can retrieve some of that mutagen, I'll finally be able to engineer Timothy's retromutagen, among other things! All the mutants in New York, I could change them back!"

"Yeah, and maybe they have more of these!" Mikey held up the Hola Gato purse, which he'd been wearing on his arm this whole time.

"Actually, I've been trying to ask. How did you get that?" Leo said, pointing at the purse.

"Raph got it for me," Mikey said with bright eyes, leaning to hug his aforementioned brother, something Donnie wouldn't have risked in Raph's present condition. But Raph dodged Mikey's arms looking annoyed.

"I took it from the warehouse. The place was full of crap like this," he said.

Leo crossed his arms, and Raph once again boiled under the heat of his judgemental gaze.

"What? It was just one shitty plastic purse! It's like stealing can rings! I barely even realized I'd taken it!" he protested.

Donnie wasn't paying the purse much mind, really; he had something else to be angry about.

"Wait, so you had time to grab this stupid Gato bag, but you couldn't think to get me some mutagen?" he said, raising his voice right up to where it started to hurt his aching vocal chords. Raph knew how important this was!

"Well, where was I supposed to stash the canister, Donnie? I was running away from Hun and his gang while carrying Casey on my back!" Raph cried angrily in Donnie's direction and pointed a thumb at his own shell. "This ain't a knapsack!"

And of course it was too much to ask that they'd make it a top priority to get the loot back intact, no matter how badly Donnie needed it.

"First things first, Donnie," Leo told him when he'd suggested it. "As long as that mutagen is in the hands of Hun, it's bad news only. If it comes down to it, we will destroy it before letting them use it. Once it's safe, you can have your fill of it."

Splinter stepped up from the sidelines to speak up. Leo had been leading the meetings lately, Donnie supposed as a form of training. During meetings, Splinter only listened and would occasionaly speak when needed—or to express his disagreement.

"Leonardo is right, my son. We cannot take any risks," he told Donnie, calm but firm. There would no more arguing on the matter. And despite his persistence, Donnie knew deep down that it was the right call. He ended up agreeing like the rest of them, if only a little disgruntled. If he'd learned something, it was that when dealing with mutagen, any slip-up could be disastrous, and it was crucial that it didn't remain in the wrong hands—even if this could be their last chance to get some themselves. And who knew if they would still find it in that warehouse. The ideal thing would have been to have gone as soon as Raph and Casey saw it, before the Purple Dragons even had time to move it somewhere else.

But no use crying over spilt milk...

After a short discussion, it was agreed that they would go find it as soon as they were done here, search the entire city if they had to, starting with the warehouse. And with that matter closed, it was Donnie's turn to shine, finally.

Already in a much better mood, Donnie gave them the summed-up version, doing his best to use short terms and lots of analogies. There were two people he was minding especially for their reactions; April—because obviously, and because he loved seeing her blue eyes sparkle in awe like that—, and Karai.

Donnie and Leo had both agreed beforehand to omit future Donatello's comment on Karai. Tell Karai not to go anywhere, he had said, which hardly counted as a warning. They couldn't know if it really was important or not, and if the only thing they'd have to watch out for was that Karai was there when the future turtles arrived, then so far there were no signs of a problem. She hadn't said much—unlike April, whose excitement had Donnie's core bubbling—, but then that was Karai's thing; during meetings she would sit quietly while her peers argued, observing, and she would rarely give an opinion. Donnie often wondered if maybe she didn't think it was her place. After all, she had only been with them for a few months.

But until there was a sign of trouble, right now, telling everybody what Future Donatello had said would mean putting Karai on the spotlight for no real reason. It would mean everybody would get nervous and want to know more, and neither he nor Leo would have an answer. So for now they would keep a close eye on her, just in case, and save her the unwanted attention.

Everything else —the wormhole, the future turtles coming over, that Chinese pendant they would have to watch out for and that no one seemed to know anything about—Donnie included in his exposition.

"This has got to be some kind of a prank, right?" Raph said even after all of Donnie's explanations. He'd been annoying the hell out of Donnie all throughout with his noises of skepticism.

"It's not a prank! I've talked to him. I know," Donnie insisted.

"How do you know? It could be Rockwell messing with you or something, or someone worse."

"It's not Rockwell, and it can't be anyone else! Donatello—the other Donatello—sent me the blueprints for a portal, and they definitely have my hallmarks. They're in my lab, I can show you!"

Raph scoffed. "I don't know blueprints."

"You don't have to believe me, Raph," Donnie said, pointedly turning his shell to him. "You just have to wait and see."

"Guys, I think this might be the real deal," Leo added seriously, which seemed to be exactly what this conversation needed. And all it took was Leo's good word for it—and maybe Splinter's silence meaning he agreed. It worked for Donnie, and he offered Leo a glance as thanks.

Now that their audience was caught up, and that they were past the first wave of suspicion and huffs of incredulity, Raph's mutagen news quickly became the smallest of potatoes.

"So you're telling me… that we are going to meet ourselves… from the future?" Mikey squeaked. "Uh, won't that mess with time, or whatever?"

"There's a movie on that, right?" Karai laughed ironically. First words she had said since they started.

"No, see, it's a lot more complex than that," Donnie began to explain. "It ultimately proves the multiverse—or meta-universe—hypothesis, something which scientists and philosophers alike have theorized. It stipulates that there's an infinite number of possible—"

"Whoa, whoa, with the science!" Mikey cut him off. "All I need to know is that the universe won't explode or something. It won't, right?"

Donnie sighed. "No."

"You're positive."

"Yes."

"Awesome! When are they coming?" Mikey cried.

"Actually, I don't know," Donnie admitted with a shrug. "Soon, I think."

"What do they want?" April asked.

"I don't know, they weren't all that specific. I don't even know how many of them will come."

"There sure is a lot you don't know," Raph said haughtily.

"I'm certain they have their reasons," Donnie protested defensively. "And besides, we haven't had more than a few minutes to talk anyway."

"I can't be the only one that's a little freaked out by this, right?" Raph continued. "Like there's gotta be a catch. This has got to have some kind of… karmic consequence of some kind."

Speaking of consequences and things they didn't know, Donnie shot Karai a sideways glance. She was sitting, lounging, one leg crossed over the other. She seemed… fine. Perfectly at ease with everything. Whether it was because she didn't believe a word or she thought herself above seeing anything special about the whole ordeal, Donnie couldn't tell. But at least she didn't seem about to run off like future Donatello's comment had almost made them believe.

"What do you think, Karai?" he asked her in a casual tone, a nudge.

Donnie caught Leo turning to stare quite conspicuously, and Karai's eyebrows shot up, apparently surprised by the sudden attention. She pursed her lips and said squarely, "I think karma's bullshit."

"I agree," Donnie said happily, while Splinter gave the tactless remark a very slow blink.

"I must say this troubles me, Donatello," their sensei said suddenly, and Donnie went mute.

Ooh, here we go, he thought, already trying to come up with a better way of selling his project to his father.

Splinter went on calmly, "It is as Raphael said—more or less. It might not be wise to tinker with the natural order of the universe."

Donnie inwardly shrugged off the idea. He knew for a fact that the universe could take a lot more punishment than people gave it credit for. However he was afraid Splinter would forbid him from pursuing this further. His father had maintained an interested but cautious attitude on his part up until now.

But even if Splinter ordered him to let it go and forget about it, he would not be able to simply obey and sit still while the most incredible thing he had undertaken slipped from his fingers. He couldn't! There was a line of how far Donnie would go to honor his father's opinions, and it was drawn right here.

But Master Splinter stroked his beard, and Donnie was surprised to see mischief twinkling in his eyes as he said, "However I will admit, I am… curious. If it is true this might be a most enlightening experience. When are you going to know more?"

Donnie stared for a couple of seconds at his sensei's keen face before replying, "Uh, well, they're going to contact me again in a couple of days. You guys can all watch."

"Woah, will it be a videochat?"

"I doubt it, Mikey."

Several bodies deflated around them with a simultaneous "aw".

"So we're just gonna watch you type? Forget that," Mikey said.

"That's like saying you won't read a book because it doesn't have any pictures!"

"What's your point?"

"What's- you know what? Nevermind. I've had this conversation with you before and I've always regretted it," Donnie said cooly. Mikey pouted, but didn't retort. "Anyway! I for one can't wait to get started on the portal!"

"Ooh, need some help?" April offered, enthusiastic.

"Sure! I can always use the extra set of hands." Needless to say, Donnie was ecstatic. It wasn't just the portal now that was waiting for him; April would be there too.

However, as exciting as Donnie's news was for everybody—and as much as they all wanted to know everything there was to know about their future counterparts—Splinter once again rained on their parade by playing the voice of their collective conscience. He stood, looking ready to take charge once again, and that was enough to immerse the group into an attentive silence.

"My children, I know this is all very exciting, but there is still another more pressing matter at hand that should not be put aside even for this. That mutagen needs our immediate attention." And in his commanding voice he said, "No training today. Do what you must to find that mutagen. But be cautious."

"Hai, sensei," they all said in unison.

So it was settled. They were heading out right away even if it was the middle of the day. Once they got Casey to pick up his phone, they asked him to chauffeur the team in the van to the warehouse, to have a look.

"You know the docks are probably going to be too busy at this hour, right?" Donnie said, still a little frustrated about not being able to get to work on his project right away.

Leo hung up his T-phone and shrugged. "We have to try."

"And what about the portal?" Donnie insisted. " I need to make sure it's finished by Tuesday!"

Leo gave it a moment's thought.

"Alright, you two can stay here then," he said, and Donnie smiled when he saw him point at April too, performing a little fist bump of victory in his head. He felt a special kind of gratitude towards Leo for taking April's expressed interest in working on the portal into account.

"Can I stay and help Donnie too?" Mikey exclaimed hopefully.

Thankfully Leo also knew as well as Donnie the dangers of letting Mikey near his experiments. "No," he said curtly. "The rest of us are going to check out that warehouse. If that doesn't work, we'll try again tonight."

Another scavenger hunt for mutagen, Donnie thought, flashes of hideous mutant atrocities coming back to him. Just like old times.

Donnie sighed to himself, making a note to dust off his old mutagen tracker, already certain this first expedition would turn fruitless. Even the Purple Dragons weren't stupid enough to leave such precious cargo where they knew someone would come looking again. There was no way this was going to be that easy.

Everyone seemed just as disappointed they had to go in such a hurry that they couldn't bury Donnie in an avalanche of inquiries—which partly was a good thing, considering Donnie didn't really know all that much.

"So, April. Shall we get started?" he said, waving a tentative hand towards the lab.

"Yes!" she agreed with a little hop and they both got moving.

Even in the midst of terrible danger, Donnie's heart was buzzing like a hummingbird, because if it wasn't thrilling enough that he got to unravel the blueprints of an interdimensional portal sent to him by his future self, on top of that he would be doing it with April. He'd been crossing his fingers all morning that she'd have time to stay a while, so when she confirmed that she would be there all day, he had to repress the urge to dance his way to the lab, reminding himself that April was looking.

Behind them, everybody else was shuffling about getting ready to head out, Leo issuing out instructions as the rest set out to follow them. "Gear up, guys. We're meeting Casey in half an hour. And Raph? You are not setting foot in the van until you take a shower."


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