I think that it's a joke.

I mean, it has to be. How else can I explain a giant crocodile in a lab coat examining blood samples through a microscope… that isn't Doc Connors' evil alter ego, the Lizard? Guys who look like this aren't typically the good guys. Then again, I'm standing between a ninja turtle and a demonic mutant, so who am I to judge?

"Fascinating," the creature that Leonardo had introduced as Leatherhead finally says. "Your strange scribble, Spider-Man, wasn't too far off from what this sample actually looks like." I jokingly tell him that I've always had an eye for art.

"So what does it mean?" Leonardo asks, his arms crossed over his chest as he steps in besides Leatherhead. "Is there someone else involved in whatever happened on that roof? That creepy store owner, for instance?"

"I don't believe so," Leatherhead explains, finally tearing his eyes away from the microscope. "I don't doubt that the store owner probably does have a good deal to do with the odd happenings, but as Spider-Man managed to make out, this sample does indeed come from one of your brothers. However, judging from the samples I have from the follow-up of that secondary mutation of Donatello's, there appears to have been a definite mutagenic modification that could not have stemmed from him. I don't quite understand it, as it's like nothing I have ever seen. There is one cell in particular that… wait… Mr. Nightcrawler, was it?"

"Ja?" Nightcrawler answers.

"You told me that this X-Men group that you belong to is a team of 'human-mutants,' didn't you?" Leatherhead asks, looking at Nightcrawler curiously. "What precisely does that mean?"

"Human-mutants," Nightcrawler clarifies, "are normal humans who are…." He trails off, realizing why Leatherhead found this fact interesting. "…who are born with a different gene. It has been coined the X-gene, and tends to appear in select humans during puberty. Recently, scientists have found a way to isolate it, in an effort to do away with my kind."

"And in isolating this X-gene," Leatherhead continues, "can it not also be used in other experiments? Such as introducing it into the body rather than extracting it?"

"I suppose," Nightcrawler replies hesitantly. "But I am afraid that my knowledge of the subject is limited. Perhaps my friend Dr. McCoy could be of some assistance, as he is the leading authority on mutant genetics. What little I do know, however, leads me to believe that what you are insinuating is an impossibility. Human science has not evolved to the point where any researcher would feel confident enough to willingly inject a creature with the X-gene. There is still so little known about it that the results may be potentially catastrophic."

"Who said anything about human science?" Leonardo asks.

No one says anything for a moment. Having been silent long enough, I bring up, "Okay, whoa. Are you trying to say that there's a mad human-mutant scientist out there conducting experiments on your brothers? Because… uh…." I pause, then admit, "Actually, I can swing with that."

Not liking my concession, Leonardo appears visibly distressed as he begins pacing the subterranean laboratory. "So what have we got so far? Mike and Raph have been frequenting that store, and then Donatello gives you a call for help. Why you? Why not me?"

"He was probably scared," I tell him. "I mean, if Mike and/or Raphael turned against him, he couldn't be sure that you wouldn't either. Since he knew that I was aware that something was up, calling me probably seemed like the logical thing to do."

"Okay," Leonardo agrees. "That's fine. I can accept that. So that would mean that Donatello was still, presumably, not under anyone's influence at the time he called you. The spilled blood, according to Leatherhead, doesn't belong to Don. If something is messing with my brothers' DNA, then that means that this blood is either Raphael's or Mike's, and Donatello found that he was forced to defend himself."

"Sorry to burst your theoretical bubble," I say, "but that's not very likely. When Wolverine found the staff, there was no blood on it; only on the ground. Unless Donatello had taken the pains to take a knife or some shuriken with him, it isn't likely that he inflicted any harm."

"Now that you mention it," Leonardo contemplates, "drawing blood was never Don's style. And the only one of those three with a weapon that could readily draw blood is… Raphael. So maybe Raphael isn't involved, especially since he seems as confused as I do. It's possible that he was trying to protect Don instead… but from Mikey?"

We fall silent once again, trying to wrap our brains around this. My spider-sense suddenly alerts me to another presence approaching. We had been expecting Splinter… but from what I can tell, he's not alone.

I look up at the others and put a finger to my mouth, signaling for them to be quiet. Leatherhead looks confused, but Leonardo gives him a shake of the head as he soundlessly unsheathes his swords. I jump just above the doorway, crouching on the wall in anticipation of the new arrivals, and Nightcrawler teleports himself off to a distant corner of the room.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I cringe, recognizing Donatello's voice just before he and Splinter enter the lab. "I encountered Sensei on his way out, and he said something about paying Leatherhead a visit. Anything wrong?"

Leonardo and Leatherhead look at one another out of the corner of their eyes. Slowly putting his weapons away, Leonardo says, "We're not sure. I'm still investigating that whole thing that Spidey and Nightcrawler were telling us about."

"Spider-Man?" Splinter asks, alarmed. "I was not aware that you have had recent dealings with him, my sons. What is the situation?"

"It's nothing, Sensei," Donatello nearly laughs. "Spider-Man apparently thinks that I've been turtle-napped… despite the fact that Leonardo could vouch for me never having left the lair yesterday."

"I never said that," Leonardo interrupts. "I only said that you had built your hydraulic system so quickly that I doubted you would have had the time to be abducted." Looking at Splinter, Leonardo asks, "Sensei, have you noticed anything strange going on lately?"

Splinter's quiet for a moment before stating, "I have noticed the company of two individuals who would wish to make themselves invisible to one who is a master of invisibility." He glances behind his shoulder, catching sight of me clinging to the wall.

"Uh, hi," I wave as I jump down. "Just thought I'd drop in. How's it hanging, Splinter? And ignore the puns." After a moment, Nightcrawler bamfs besides me, his hands folded behind his back as though in a gesture of timidity.

"Um, guys?" Donatello murmurs as he looks back at us and then towards Leonardo and Leatherhead. "I've got the impression that I've just been conned. Someone tell me that I'm losing it." Splinter tells us that he assumes that there is a reasonable explanation for all of this.

The four of us look at one another. When Leo had called Splinter, he had asked if he was alone. When Splinter affirmed that he was, all Leonardo said was to meet him at Leatherhead's as quickly as possible. There was no way Splinter could've known that Donatello was one of the last people we wanted to see before we formulated a plan.

"Please, permit me to explain," Nightcrawler finally says, stepping towards Splinter. He smiles kindly and glances at Donatello. "Donatello, there is a chair over there. Sit down as I try to go over everything, yes?"

Donatello tries to object, clearly not liking how it seems as though we're all suddenly ganged up against him. "Do as he asks, Donatello," Splinter says, never taking his eyes off of Nightcrawler. "I suspect that there is much to be learned from Nightcrawler." Leonardo gently takes Donatello's arm and leads him towards the chair. Though he's obviously on edge, Donatello allows himself to be sat down, though I notice that his hands are nervously clenching the arms of the chair.

"Your pupils seem to have fallen into a habit of temporarily disappearing," Nightcrawler explains. "They always have alibis, but Spider-Man and I have reason to believe that these alibis are less than trustworthy. That is not to say that it is them that we do not trust. I, for one, believe that the answers we seek may very well lie within Donatello's head. It is actually rather fortuitous that you would bring him here, then, as we were going to ask your advice on how to glean these answers."

"Whoa, hold on," Donatello jumps in. He tries to rise, but is discouraged and more than a little frightened when Leonardo keeps a firm hand on his shoulder to make sure he stays seated. "What are you talking about? I told you, everything I remember is real."

"What is this?" Splinter asks, looking at Donatello sternly. "You have been accused of something by two that you consider allies, yet did not even inform me of your meeting with Spider-Man and Nightcrawler? That seems rather unlike you both, to leave me in the dark."

"In my own defense, Master," Leonardo brings up, "I was simply afraid that saying anything about this in front of the others would spark some sort of argument. With Raphael being ill, I didn't want to-"

"Raphael is ill?" Splinter interrupts, surprised. "How long has this been so? I do not recall him missing training." Donatello seems confused as he tells Splinter that Raphael's been sick for days. Surely he knew? Splinter shakes his head, though. "He appeared well enough during yesterday evening's training session," Splinter tells Donatello.

The seated turtle looks down, thoroughly perplexed. Leonardo squeezes his brother's shoulder. "Now are you convinced that there's something weird going on? As far I know, Raphael was in top shape up until today. And yet, he could hardly even walk when we dragged him up to the Halloween shop tonight."

Donatello quickly snapped his gaze back up towards Leo. "Halloween shop? You went to the Halloween shop today?" Leonardo quickly looks up at the rest of us before telling Don that they had all gone to the shop, and it had been his and Mike's idea. Donatello looks down once again, finally realizing that there probably is something wrong with him.

"It is clear, then, that something most peculiar has been going on," Splinter concludes. He turns back to look at Nightcrawler. "Tell me, my friend, how exactly do you propose to use Donatello to find your answers if he is not even able to identify fact from fiction?"

Nightcrawler responds, "It was my hope, sir, that you would be able to tell me. During our last meeting, the turtles told me about your wisdom and your great mental strength. I believe that most of your sons have been placed under a form of hypnosis. If such is the case, there is a very real chance that the answers we seek may still dwell within Donatello's subconscious."

Donatello makes another scared sound. "Hypnosis? You mean you want to try and hypnotize me? Oh, but I hate being hypnotized. It makes me feel so… so… helpless."

"I know what you mean, Donnie," Leonardo tells him, "but if it wasn't for Nightcrawler, I would've been put under someone's mind games, too. If we don't figure out who or what is causing this, then we can bet that we're all in for a heap of trouble." Lowering his voice, I hardly hear him plead, "Please, Don. We need that brain of yours."

With a worried sigh, Donatello finally slumps his shoulders. "Fine. Do what you've got to do. Lay it on me, Sensei. Let's hope you don't find anything."

As Splinter moves towards Donatello to begin the hypnosis, I stand besides Nightcrawler. "Hey, are you sure that this is going to work? I mean, If we're dealing with evil demons, won't their methods of hypnotism be a little more advanced than what Splinter can counteract?"

"All hypnosis is based on the same principles," Nightcrawler answers. "Besides, they are demons. I would gather that their methods are actually more archaic than what Splinter has dealt with before." His eyes narrow slightly as he throws in, "Also, I imagine that hearing the voice of one that he considers his father may help to bring back any of Donatello's lost memories." I consider this and close my eyes, asking the Man Upstairs to make sure that his loyal blue servant is right about this.

"Donatello, can you hear me?" I open my eyes to see Splinter gazing down at Donatello. Don looks thoroughly dazed, so I figured that my prayers made it impossible for me to watch the hypnotizing process. Darn, and I was so hoping to use it on my students so they'd all turn in their papers on time.

"Yes," Donatello responds, sounding just as spaced out as he looks. Splinter asks him what he remembers from the night before, and Donatello mechanically tells us the story about working on his hydraulic whatchamacallit. Splinter and Leonardo exchange glances before Splinter returns his attention to his seated student.

"My son," Splinter says patiently. "These recollected events do not seem to ring true. Someone has placed a wall around your mind, and these memories are but murals painted upon it. Concentrate hard, Donatello. Do you see the wall?"

I tilt my head. My knowledge of hypnotism is right up there with Nightcrawler's know-how concerning quantum physics, but I manage to make out that Splinter's attempting to create a tangible picture within Donatello's mind. That'll at least give him something to work with. "Yes," Donatello says again. "I see it."

"Good," Splinter replies. "Now listen to me. I need to you to approach this wall and destroy it. I need you to see what lies behind it and tell us what really happened yesterday. Do you understand?"

"I… I can't," Donatello murmurs, suddenly frightened. "My bo… I can't break through something like that. It's too big, too powerful."

"It is not your bo that must break through," Splinter tells him urgently. "You must use the sheer force of your mind to make sure that not a single shred of the wall is left. You must do this, Donatello. Michelangelo and Raphael depend upon you to see the truth and relay it before it is too late. Surely, your fear of whatever may lie behind this wall is not greater than the fear of what may befall your brothers, is it?"

"It is." Splinter and Leonardo both appear shocked by Donatello's answer. "It is. God help me, but it is. Because if that wall goes down, I can hear. I can hear him screaming. His screams ringing in my head, following me everywhere. Oh God, his screaming!"

Splinter has to hold Donatello in place as he begins thrashing. Leonardo takes a step back and asks what he can do. Splinter merely shakes his head, his entire concentration on Donatello. "Listen to me, Donatello! Focus on the sound of my voice. I have been there for you since you first gained sentience, and I will not abandon you now. Do you understand? Donatello, do you understand?"

He needs to raise his voice because of the shrill whimpering coming from Donatello's mouth. Leonardo and Leatherhead both look equally pained, and I can't help but cringe. I've never seen any of the turtles act that way, and I would have never thought that I'd see the one that is bound to logic and reason behave like a small, frightened child. "Mein Gott," Nightcrawler whispers besides me. "What in the Lord's name has been done to him?"

Splinter's crouching in front of Donatello now, pinning his arms to his sides. Donatello's eyes are squeezed shut and he's arching away, as though putting space between him and Splinter would put more space between him and this wall. "Donatello, I am allowing you to step away from the wall. Just turn around and take ten steps back. Go ahead and do so, and breathe deeply. It will make you feel better to turn your back on it for a moment as I speak to you."

Panting, Donatello nods his head. I gather that he's following his sensei's orders in his mind, and I can see his chest erratically rise and fall as he tries to steady his breathing. "I assure you," Splinter continues, "whatever lies beyond this barrier is not worse than the pain you will feel should something happen to your brothers. I know you well enough to know that you will suffer greatly should something happen to either one of them, and so it is for your sake as well as theirs that I beseech you to find the courage that you have often shown throughout your life. Feel my hands here, upon your hands. Know that I am with you here in the physical realm, as are several of your friends. No harm will come to your body, no matter how terrifying the sight before you may be. If you do not consider yourself strong enough to break the wall, then at least allow yourself to scale it and report what you see. Please, Donatello. We will not let you come to harm, and you will be helping to quell a grave danger."

Donatello says nothing for a long time. He just sits there, shuddering in the chair. I can see tears streaming from his eyes, and I wonder how they could have possibly fallen, considering how tightly shut he has them. I'm going to fight this, I resolve. Even if I have to let my spider-sense burn away at my skull, I'm going to track down those stupid little demons that made Donnie this scared, and I'm going to send them back to wherever they came from. No one messes with my reptilian counterpart. No way!

"Spider-Man." I blink, hearing Donatello murmur my name. Oh no. Don't tell me that I'm involved with this and someone's been messing with my memory, too?! I calm down considerably when he continues. "I saw him on the security cam after training. Raph said that he'd go and see what he wanted, and before I could turn around… he was gone." He stops, suddenly groaning and putting an arm around his stomach, as though he's going to be sick. His sensei gently tells him to go on.

After a moment, he obliges. "When I caught up to him, Spider-Man told me that something weird was going on in the Halloween store. I wanted to go check it out, but Raph convinced me that we'd be better off doing it later, after we went over everything with the others. But he… I… forgot to bring it up. Forgot until later that night.

"I was at my computer, and I realized that we never mentioned it and everyone was already asleep. And like he read my mind, Raphael was suddenly right besides me, telling me that we might as well go scope things out, since we were the only two up. But I could have sworn that… when I shut my computer, the reflection on the monitor… it wasn't Raph. It was, but… but it wasn't.

"I figured I was just tired, so I went ahead with him. I felt like we were being followed, but Raph said that I was just paranoid. Every time I stopped and turned around, I knew we were being shadowed, but I couldn't see anyone. When we got to the Halloween store, Raphael tried the front door. Even though it was past three o'clock in the morning… it was open. We just walked right in. And Raphael headed straight for the back.

"I couldn't move, though. Something was definitely off about this entire thing, and I called to Raph to come back. He didn't listen, but he never does. I turned around and moved to leave, but a heavy hand fell on my shoulder, spinning me around. It… I think it was a man. He was huge, and he had a gray face and this… this awful grin." Donatello shudders again, seeming to need a moment to regroup. Splinter grasps his hand comfortingly, silently encouraging him to continue.

"He told me that I couldn't leave. He had two, and he needed four, but before he could have four, he'd need a third, and that was me. I lived in my machines, I depended on them rather than on people, and so I'd be the famine. It was so perfect the way we all fit into the molds. I had no idea what he was talking about, and I realized that he was dragging me to the back of the room. Raph… Raph was there but… he was gone. He was there and gone at the same time and…. Oh God."

"Donatello," Splinter says insistently. "Please, go on."

It breaks my heart to see Donatello suddenly let out a sob before he continues. "It was something else. Something in him. And there were shadows on the wall and they tried. They tried to bring me towards them. But I broke out of the man's grip and ran. I headed towards a door, and it led me up. I could feel the shadows on the wall reaching for me, brushing past me as I ran. I went up and up, until I finally broke out onto the roof. It was cold. So cold, even though there was sweat pouring down my face. I tried to figure out what I should do, and then… something came up. It went right through the roof without disturbing the concrete at all. And… oh God. And it was Raph."

The hair on the back of my neck stands up on end as Leonardo gently puts his hands on his brother's shoulders, trying to still him as he begins to flail again. "He said he didn't want to hurt me. He needed me. He called me his brother, and said he needed me intact. But whatever was in him… I could see that it was squirming. Like it wasn't comfortable in his skin yet. I told him to fight it. I begged him to. I've never been more scared in my life, and I think he saw that. And he stayed still. For a long time, he didn't do anything, like he was waging a war inside of himself rather than doing anything to me.

"And then… oh God, God, he started the screaming. And I knew it was him, it was really Raph, but it didn't sound anything like him. I felt like my head was splitting, but I knew that no one else would hear, because it was a commercial area and everything was closed. He took out his sai, and I fell back, thinking that he was going to attack me. But then… he stabbed himself. Hard, right in his sides. He kept yelling, 'Cut it outta me! Somebody just cut it outta me!' And I couldn't do anything but feel sick as I watched him bleed himself, hoping that whatever was inside would just leave.

"He screamed again as he turned and jumped off the rooftop. I should have gone, I should have seen if he was okay, but I knew that somebody needed to know that something was wrong, in case something happened to both of us. So I called Spider-Man. I kept dropping my shell cell, but I managed to yell something at him. But it didn't work. I was cut off. Because it was too late. So very late."

The familiar buzzing in the back of my head starts going off as Donatello's tone of voice changes. Instead of the terrified quiver that he had been using for most of his story, he started sounding just a little… amused. Oh crap. Oh, this can't be good. I pull Nightcrawler back, trying to motion the others away as Donatello continues speaking. They're too engrossed in what he has to say to look up at me, even though it's clear that they know that something's wrong.

"It doesn't take long for me to get used to the situation," says whatever's talking through Donatello's mouth. "I had hoped to be in control of War, but Famine has its benefits. The intelligence that courses through me is quite a refreshing change. When I went to check in on my former charge, I saw him stumbling through the streets. He soon encountered Pestilence, who did his job quite well."

I whirl around, hearing something approaching Leatherhead's laboratory. The shadows along the wall look frighteningly familiar. Nightcrawler breaks away from me and breathes out something in German, and I don't exactly take that as a good sign.

"We need but one more," says the thing that used to be Donatello. My head hurts as I turn around to look at it. Though I can't explain it, I now know what Donatello meant when he said that Raphael had been him but not. He sneaks a sly glance up at Leonardo, who had backed away from him. "Brother, your throne awaits."

"Spider-Man, grab Splinter!" Nightcrawler yells. He teleports away as Splinter suddenly gets kicked away, straight towards me. Donatello lurches up from his chair, throwing it at Leatherhead as the crocodile attempts to intercede. Leonardo cries out and unsheathes a sword, but doesn't get the chance to use it before Nightcrawler appears behind him and takes hold of both him and Leatherhead, getting them out of there in a puff of smoke.

Knowing that it might take a while before Nightcrawler finds some place safe enough to stash Leo and Leatherhead, I take Splinter and web-zip towards a corner of the room as Donatello attempts to throw a table at us. I tell Splinter to hang on to me as I begin to climb the wall. The lab is more-or-less a ruined sewer tunnel anyway, so I'm hoping that there might be someplace to go up above. Finding a ceiling not too high up, I discover that I'm wrong.

Splinter and I look down. Donatello's walking towards Michelangelo and Raphael, who are staring up at us grimly. Again, it's obvious that they are not your average teenage mutant ninja turtles. The three of them look at one another, and I realize that they're upset over losing Leonardo.

I shudder as they look up at Splinter and me in unison. Raphael steps in front of his brothers, and I ask, "Uh, guys? Is story time over?" My spider-sense is flaring, but there's nowhere I can go. They're blocking the only exit, and sneaking past ninjas is pretty hard. Especially when they're staring straight up at you while you're clinging to a wall.

Raphael lifts his hands and mutters, "Pests," just before clapping them together. From that single clap, a bright yellow light shines. Splinter and I both make alarmed sounds as we realize that it's a large explosive fireball, and it's headed straight for us. I flip off the wall onto a nearby bookshelf, hoping that the trajectory wouldn't get us at this new spot. I don't get the chance to see if that move would've saved our lives, though.

I hear a bamf, feel a hand grab my shoulder, and Splinter and I get teleported out of there.