"What the shell was that?" Raph asked, helping Leo stand.
"I… don't know. His name is Darkwing, though. He says that he has possessed me because I am half-reptilian."
"Whoa, slow down, Leo," Don suggested, getting the man-hole cover off the sewer opening and helping his brother down the ladder. "Tell us at the lair."
"I only have a few hours before Darkwing wakes up and takes over my mind again," Leo warned, stepping around a pipe he could not have possibly seen. Noticing his brother's stares, he chuckled. "There is some good to this. I can see in the dark as if the lights were on, and I can hear a hundred times better. Also, I can have scales at will."
"Tell us later," Don insisted firmly, punching in the code for the first doorway into the lair.
"Bro, I think you've still got Darkwing's tail," Mikey said suddenly, putting a hand on Leo's black, scaly tail that jutted from beneath his shell.
"Yes, I retain some of Darkwing every time I go back to myself. It is getting worse, though. Last time, it was only my red eyes."
"I was wondering why you were insisting on wearing that blind mask. Said it was an exercise," Raph commented bitterly.
"Hold up," Leo suddenly ordered, sniffing the air around him. "There's a Foot ninja ahead."
"Aw, shell. Where?" Raph asked, drawing his Sai. However, Leo was already gone, and a muffled yell tore from an invisible ninja's throat as Leo's tail wrapped around him and pulled him back to the group.
"Got him," Leo whispered, squeezing tighter on the ninja. "Don, can you give us a light?"
"Huh? Sure." Don pulled out a break-and-glow stick that he cracked and shook. Soon, a sickly yellow illumination cast a light on Leo, who was holding the ninja in his tail next to him.
"You could beat Splinter in a tail-wrestling contest!" Mikey burst out humorously. "Seriously, dude. Look at that thing!"
"Can we get on with it? Why are you here?" Leo asked the ninja, taking the tip of his tail from the Foot's mouth. "Answer me!"
"Freak," the ninja hissed, rewarded by a tightening of the tail. He gasped as his ribs began to break. "I was sent to destroy you!"
"A one-man force for us four? Shredder must think highly of you to do that. Or he wants you killed. Either way, you're going to answer my questions, or I'll set Darkwing on you, got it?" Raph asked, pointing to Leo, who growled quite like a dragon. The ninja couldn't keep his fear from showing.
"So, who sent you? How'd you find this tunnel?"
The ninja was silent.
"Fine. Darkwing, if you would…"
Leo grinned maliciously and let his scales grow over him, starting in the chest and keeping the transformation slow so he could back out at any time. The ninja looked at him fearfully as Leo's pupils split into slits and his irises turned red.
"I recommend you tell us something," Don said casually, waving a hand to Leo, who stopped the transformation. "He's not trained to keep his bites non-lethal."
Leo smiled, showing off pointed teeth. His chest was covered with scales now, and they were spreading down his sides.
"Alright, alright! Just get this freaky freak off me!" the ninja cried, struggling fiercely.
"Can I bite him?" Leo asked. "He called me a freak."
"No, Darkwing. Let him go. He won't go anywhere. If he does, you can hunt him down. And, Foot, I mean that quite literally."
"I was sent to find you four and plant a tracking device on one. I alone was chosen because of my… special talent." Suddenly, he roared and launched himself at Leo, whose scales – now covering his entire torso – just barely protected him from the claws sprouting from the ninja's hands. Before Raph, Don, or Mikey could move, Leo had roared back and engaged in battle, tail and claws whirling against his opponent.
"Darkwing! You should have smelled me on this pathetic human!" the ninja's dragon side screamed. Its voice was feminine. "I am here to destroy you once and for all!"
"Ah! Shikeera!" Leo's voice called, but more animal. Darkwing must have awoken. "I thought I smelled your treachery around here. How's the family?"
"Great, now that they're about to be avenged!"
Leo and the Foot ninja stepped back suddenly, and changed. Leo's black dragon sprang forth with such intensity that his tail cracked the walls. The Foot ninja's dragon form was bright blue and shone with light.
They battled, scales and claws scraping on each other until both wore down, though Leo seemed to be in better shape than Shikeera.
"I'll be back, Darkwing! And this time, I will not fail!" Shikeera said something and popped out of existence; Darkwing tensed as the three turtle brothers came forward again, Don's hand holding the light.
"Do I have to shoot you again, Leo?"
"I am not Leonardo, I am Darkwing. For now. Please, I did not understand we were on the same side. My host has been… unwilling to share information about you five."
"Why'd you take over Leo?" Raph ordered. "Why aren't you letting him go?"
"It's a difficult thing to understand, but since you asked… I am too cold here. Let us retire to your lair. I will subside to Leonardo for now, but when I tell my tale, I will not tell it through him. He has a way of… changing perspectives."
Raph laughed. "Ain't that the truth."
I can hear you, you know, Leo's voice sighed. Darkwing, let me out.
"As you command, Fearless Leader." Darkwing laughed and shrunk into Leo's form, who sneered at the claws on his hands.
"You do that on purpose," he accused his dragon self.
Not guilty. I told you, until you complete the task I set, I will have dominance over you.
"Care to be tranquilized again?" Leo asked, letting scales shift over his body.
You do that and I'll-
"Guys! Come on. Let's get to the lair. Leo, stop ticking off the dragon who just happens to be able to turn you into him. Don, cover our backs. Mikey, stay with Leo. If Darkwing starts comin' out-"
I promised I wouldn't.
"And a dragon's word is law," Leo said as if finishing a quote. "You have to promise not to eat anyone, okay, Darkwing?"
I only eat meat, Leonardo. You know that.
"Boy do I," Leo muttered, licking his lips. "That stuff is the nastiest I've ever tasted."
"Waitwaitwaitwait. You've eaten meat, Leo?! Dude, are you cannibal now?"
"No," Leo assured Mikey. "Someone can't live off veggies and grains like we do. No, Darkwing's gotta have live meat. Preferably deer or elk. But the taste is ungodly. Not to mention, we have to fly all the way to the frickin' country to find some."
It's not my fault you humans don't have eating reserves in your cities. Besides, you loved flying. And don't lie about that, either. You loved it.
"Sure, I did, but the taste of meat? Ugh…"
"Here we are. Darkwing, uh, can you promise not to scare Master Splinter? He's kind of old and his heart's not really in a good condition right now," Don explained.
I shan't, I give you my word. Leonardo has told me much of bushido and honor. There was a despairing voice in Darkwing's sigh. It seems I am the only one to listen to him.
"We've given up long ago," Mikey cried cheerfully. "Check this out!" He pulled out a pair of ear buds and stuck them in his ear. "Totally awesome. It drowns out Leo's lectures. We all carry some know."
"I was wondering why you always touched your ears when I talked to you," Leo murmured, walking into the lair's dojo. "I think this would be the best place for now. I will get the book I found with Darkwing." He returned to his room and picked up the book. It was old and dusty, but the writing was clear. It was a diary of past hosts for Darkwing, and it had explained everything to him from the host's view. That was why he wasn't worried about the coughing fits. They were just a result from Darkwing's influence.
"So, this is the diary of Darkwing's past hosts. I have been writing in it even as I have read it. It has helped me through many phases of this thing," Leo told his brother, sitting down with the book before him. "I am the only one who can read it, and I can't read it to you because of ancient grudges, but I can tell you the gist of it."
"Wait. How about this? We ask questions, you answer us. Or if you can't, Darkwing will. But Darkwing, please don't turn into yourself. If Master Splinter saw-"
"Saw what?" an old voice asked from the doorway. Leo leapt to his feet and bowed the instant he heard it. Darkwing's silent chuckle made him blush slightly. Don, Raph, and Mikey weren't far behind, Don swallowing the rest of his suggestion.