A/N: Wow! Ten reviews in a single night. Leo Oneal, you outdid yourself. Thanks for the specific comments so I know what works and what doesn't. Well, here it is, as promised; that last chapter. BTW, I've already started working in the sequel, and as soon as I get this posted, I'll have four chapters of The Vampire Comes Out at Night to post. Read it for more action with our favorite turtles, winged or no!
Raph sighed, opening the door to his room. Man, it's good to be home. Memories of Bishop's cell swirled through his head, making him shake it angrily and punch the wall next to him.
He looked up, examining his room. Nothing was changed. Everything was perfect, just like he'd left it. The hammock he slept in – beds were so overrated – was messy, blankets and pillows scattered all over the large thing. His weight lifting set was set up neatly, his bench tucked against one wall. The small Sai collection glittered, a little dusty but okay other wise. His posters lined the walls, fading and torn like he remembered. The only bookshelf – filled mostly with CDs or books about learning how to play guitar – was standing near the hammock.
Raph sighed, sliding the door shut and taking a deep breath. Yep, still smelled like sweat and coffee, like Raph did. Well, unless he had a shower, then he smelled like the red bar of soap he used.
Color coding is a wonderful thing, Raph thought. He had seen Mikey's soap bar; it was not pretty. He was glad to have his own. And, though they never needed it, their bathroom was even stocked with colored shampoos. Mainly, they used those to wash when they ran out of soap, or Mikey used his on Klunk sometimes. Master Splinter had his own bathroom and shampoo, since he actually had hair. A lot of it.
"Raph!" Leo's deep voice called. "Time for dinner!" Mikey could be heard squeaking in excitement as he petted Klunk, his orange tabby kitty. Don was rummaging through his room, which was the biggest because of the need for room for his experiments and monitors. No one complained; it was that, or let him store stuff in their rooms, and Raph, for one, didn't like that idea!
"I'm coming, O Winged One, keep your shell on!" Raph called back. He recalled, too late, that Leo's real shell was removed, and his new "shell" was metal. Very strong stuff, too, and self-healing. Donatello was planning a major overhaul of Leo's shell with April later.
"Like I can take it off!" Leo called back happily. Now, that still freaked Raph out a bit. Ever since Leo's soul had been returned, his moods had been as fickle as the wind. One moment, he was pranking them and blaming it on Mikey. The next, he was trashing Bishop's guards and practically gutting them. Then he'd get all emotional and protective of his Kalian, his dragonet, A.K.A Michelangelo.
Mike somehow won the spot of Kalian to Kavara, Leonardo's new nickname. Kalian meant "dragonet" in Elvish. Kavara was "Mother Dragon". And Leo acted like a Kavara, always making sure Mikey was not hurt. In fact, if Raph slapped Mike – for a bad joke, etc. – Leo would stiffen and start to growl before regaining control. When he panicked like that, something in his system made him forget rational thought. Don said it was the lasting effects of the RTS in his system, the Rational Thought Serum. It created something called TAS, or Transformation into Animal Syndrome.
Raph nimbly jumped down to the floor below, landing in a three-point position. Mikey snickered from somewhere in the kitchen, followed by a full-out laugh from Leo. Don was no where to be heard or seen.
As Raph rose from his crouch, he found that his feet were glued to the floor. He could see the white ooze hardening and tried to free himself, but it must have been some of Donnie's special heat-glue, that only "melted" when it wasn't in contact with heat. Though Raph was cold blooded, he still produces enough heat to make this glue harden instantly.
"Leo!" he growled. "Mikey! Get your shells in here." Just as Raphael said it, he knew he was in for it as Leo's old shell, now a thing of jokes and not of bad memories, slid to a stop in front of him. "That's not funny!"
"Sure it is," Leonardo argued, entering the dining room with a hot plate and pan in his hands. Raph wasn't startled by his appearance anymore, though April had screamed when she first caught sight of their leader.
You see, Leo was changed, both physically and mentally. To make a long story short, he now had wings, a tail, horns sprouting from the top of his head, thick, scaly skin, and a metal shell and plastron. Said metal shell displayed his vitals on the back, which was convenient for anyone approaching him. If he was ready to jump at them – and with his new personality, that was a big possibility – his heart rate would be quick, and the panel on the back of his "shell" would display it clearly. Also, it somehow "read" his mind, and could tell you what kind of mood he was in at the time. That was extremely helpful, since Leo still wasn't being open with his emotions.
As Leo turned his back on Raph, the hothead scanned the display, just barely seeing the flashing blue icon that meant his brother was sad.
"What's wrong, Leo?" Mikey asked, probably noticing the same thing as Raph did. The glued-to-the-floor turtle harrumphed and tried to free himself again, pulling at the glue holding him.
"What's wrong, Leo?" Mikey asked. Leo smirked to himself; that shell display was starting to rub him the wrong way. It was hard enough to keep himself in the position of calm, collected, unfeeling leader, but this infernal device made it almost impossible.
"Nothing," Leo answered, his wing brushing his Kalian reassuringly.
"Yeah, right," Mikey grinned. "I'm going to free Raph."
"No!" Leo said in mock horror. "He'd tear us both apart."
Mikey raised his voice and made sure Raph could hear him. "It was your idea, and you were the one who stole the glue from Donnie's work shop!"
"WHO STOLE WHAT FROM MY WORKSHOP!?" Donnie's voice boomed. Leo's display started flashing, indicating that his pulse had skyrocketed.
Mikey, meanwhile, was calmly putting ice cubes around the glue on Raph's feet, with the promise from the hothead that Mike would be exempt from pummeling. Leo, however, was in for it.
In fact, here came Leo now. Donnie was chasing after him, trying to pin him down for some serious tickling. With a wing beat, Leo was out of reach and hovering above them all.
"Oh, no you don't," Don shouted. "Get down here!" Raph was finally free and joined Donnie below Leo's flying form. Mike watched, an amused smile on his face.
Master Splinter came from his room to find Leonardo clinging to a pipe near the ceiling, Raphael and Donatello circling like wolves below. Michelangelo was grinning as he watched.
"Uh hum," Master Splinter cleared his throat. "What has Leonardo done now?"
Ever since he had regained his soul, Leonardo had shown a lighter side that rivaled Mikey's creativity in pranks. However, he also had a temper that was worse than Raph's on a bad day, but thankfully had the patience of Donatello.
"He glued me to the floor!" Raphael cried, outraged.
"With glue he stole from me," Donatello added menacingly. "Sensei, you and Mikey can go ahead and eat. I think we want to stay here and wait for Kavara to descend." Don looked up at Leo, who was very big now. In fact, if he got much bigger, he wouldn't fit on that pipe.
"What makes you think I will?" Leo yelled from his perch, wing claws holding him in place. He was actually standing upside down, his arms folded. Raph snickered and sat down, willing to wait patiently.
"Because you're still growing and hungry," Don answered matter-of-factly. He joined Raph on the floor, and Master Splinter and Mikey headed for the dining table. Soon, they were eating.
Leo was still waiting for his brothers to get bored and leave. He was hungry! Besides, if he wanted to, he could have snatched something save for the fact that Mike had rallied against him now.
"You guys aren't going to give up, huh?" Leo asked, glancing down at his brothers. He was lying on the pipe, his wings dangling down below him.
"Nope," three voice answered in unison. Mike had brought Don and Raph food, the little traitor, and they had made many noises of content while eating, smacking their lips and so on.
"Well, then I suppose I'll just sleep up here." Leo shifted to get more comfortable and pretended to fall asleep.
Don watched his winged brother. He wasn't worried about Leo falling off; his wings had a mind of their own, and if he so much as shifted, they'd latch onto the pipe with an unmovable grip.
"Mikey, Raph," he whispered lowly, hoping Leo, with his enhanced hearing, wouldn't hear them. He looked up, but Leo hadn't moved. His wings were vibrating slightly, which meant he was not troubled but content. It was amazing what the three younger brothers could tell just from Leo's new appendages. The display helped a lot, but Leo didn't turn his shell on them often. Not after finding out about the display, which he didn't know about when Bishop changed his shell.
"I've got a plan," Don continued, pressing his beak to Raph's ear and then Mikey's, repeating his announcement.
After telling them what he wanted to do, Raph nodded, and gleeful gleam in his chocolate eyes. Mikey nodded and then yawned loudly. Above, Leo's wings latched onto the pipe, indicating that he had woken and shifted in response.
"Well, since I'm not out for revenge, I think I'll head to bed," Mikey said in his normal voice. He smiled to Don and Raph, knowing Leo wouldn't see it, and trundled off to his medium-sized clutter box he laughingly called a room. To be honest, no one had actually seen the floor of that place in a year.
Don and Raph waited for Phase Two, in which Mikey would scream and pretend there was a monster under his bed. As per usual, Don would sigh and get up to check on it, then decide he was tired and would resume chasing Leo in the morning.
Mike's scream made Leo above shift again, this time in agitation. Don wondered if, with his new instincts for Mikey being his Kalian, Leo would go to his rescue, but the winged turtle just sat up and looked down at them.
"Well, I'll go check it out," Don said casually, stretching as he stood. Raph nodded but kept his eyes locked on their renegade brother. "Be back in a few."
Don and Mikey sat in Mikey's room, waiting for Raph to tromp past muttering about Leo. That would be the signal that Leo was calmed down and would soon descend to floor height. Then, it was just a matter of catching him… which would prove difficult.