Disclaimer: If I owned them, I wouldn't have a disclaimer.
(Note: The Shredder is not an utrom. He's still the Shredder from 2k3 series but he's human.)
Two Weeks Later
Shredder woke in a bed; he was no longer in his armor but in regular clothing. He opened his eyes and immediately narrowed them in suspicion. He quickly stood up from the bed and immediately fell forward, lacking his usual grace and balance. He caught himself before he hit the wooden floor. He observed his surroundings. He was in a simple room with just a bed, dresser, nightstand, and was decorated with traditional Japanese paintings on the walls.
His eyes widened and he glanced down to inspect his body. He gasped as he stared. "No, this is impossible!"
Donatello came out of Leo's room with a tired expression. "Leo's stable now, but he probably won't be up for a few more days at least." Don said stepping down from the stairs. The other two turtles sat on the couch and Master Splinter sat in his armchair.
"Can I go see him again?" Mikey asked. Don nodded and Mikey moved past him, up the stairs. "How bad was it Don?" Raph asked with worry. "They put him through some intense stuff Raph. His whole plastron is burned and it looks like some of his joints have been dislocated more than once. He's got puncture wounds everywhere. His left leg is hamstrung and that burn on his face is permanent. It looks like the Shredder got him good with the Sword of Tengu; he's been electrocuted pretty badly. His arms are still a little jumpy. On the plus side, he'll live and the tortures were just meant to cause pain, not maim." Don said.
Master Splinter sighed. "Leonardo should not have gone through something like this at his age." Master Splinter said sadly. Don and Raph nodded solemnly in agreement. "Guys! I think he's waking up!" Mikey called. Don's eye ridges shot up. "That shouldn't be possible…" He whispered but was glad at the news. The other family members moved up the stairs to Leonardo's room.
Sure enough Leo was sitting up on his futon and he was studying everything in the room. He noticed his family standing at the door and stared at them coldly. "Leo, you feeling okay," Don asked, moving closer to his oldest brother. The older turtle glared at him. "What do you think?" Leo snapped.
Mikey immediately knelt next to Leo and hugged him. Leonardo shoved him off quickly. Mikey stared at him with surprise. "What'd I do?" Mikey asked, hurt by Leo's response. Leo just folded his arms across his plastron. "Keep away from me." Leo said. Mikey stared in confusion and walked out of the room.
Raph glared at Leo. "Ya' know you don't have t'be such a jerk just 'cause ya' got uncomfortable. Mikey was worried 'bout ya'." Raph snapped. Don looked uncomfortable. "Raphael, Donatello, go spend your time with Michelangelo. I must speak with Leonardo in private." Master Splinter said. Leo looked more so irritated by Master Splinter wanting to talk to him.
Mikey was in the dojo beating the punching bag harder than Raph will on a bad day. Raphael and Donatello moved into the dojo, watching Mikey. The chains holding the bag up snapped and the punching bag hit the ground. Mikey sat on the ground and hugged his knees close to his plastron, rocking. He shook with sobs. Don walked over and sat next to Mikey, hugging him. Raph followed Don's example soon. "Why does he hate me?" Mikey asked between sobs. "Leo doesn't hate you, Mikey. Leo's just been through a lot. He was tortured by the Shredder, I'm sure he'll be back to normal in a little while." Don assured Mikey. "Yeah, everything's going to be fine, bro'." Raph said.
Master Splinter closed the door to the bedroom and studied his eldest son. "Yes?" Leo asked. "My son, what did the Shredder do to you?" The aged Sensei asked. "Why the hell would it matter to you?" Leo asked. Master Splinter arched an eyebrow, surprised. "You answer a question with a question." Master Splinter said. "I do not answer those who are inferior to me." Leo retorted.
Master Splinter stared at his son, stopping himself from punishing his child. "What has happened to you? It is as though you are an entirely different person."
Leo glared at his Master. "Nothing has occurred, and I am still myself, rat."
"No, my son, you are not yourself. Meditate upon this." Master Splinter said, turning towards the door. "You are not my Father, stop acting like one." Leo snapped.
Master Splinter froze and stared at his son before opening the door to his room and leaving the turtle to himself.
Shredder shook his head and stared at his hand again. "This can't be happening…" He muttered, rising onto his feet. Oroku Saki kept his balance this time. He turned towards a mirror and stared at the face looking back at him. He held his head in his hands and sat down on the bed again. "I'm having a really bad nightmare…Yeah, that's it." Shredder said, but knew it wasn't true. He turned back to the mirror and wanted to break it. "No, seven years of bad luck…I've already got twice that amount now." He muttered.
"How is this even possible?" He asked himself.
"Master Saki, are you awake?" A voice asked behind a screen. Shredder looked around the room and nearly slapped himself at his stupidity. "Yes, but I require time alone." Shredder answered. "I wonder if I'll lose all my memory. I'll think of myself as…this…" Shredder thought. He shook his head and moved in front of the mirror, glaring at the reflection.
"I can't believe this…" Shredder said, shaking his head in denial.
Master Splinter moved down the stairs and met the stares of his three sons. "Did Leo just say what I heard him say, Sensei?" Raph asked angrily. Master Splinter held up a hand. "Raphael, control your anger. Leonardo is not himself; I fear something grave has happened to him. He will need all of your help if he is to recover from whatever the Shredder has afflicted him with." Master Splinter said.
Michelangelo moved forward and hugged Master Splinter. The elderly rat returned the embrace. Raph and Don smiled and joined them.
"Master Splinter, despite what Leo has said, I know for a fact you're our father." Don said. "Not just our father, but our dad." Raph added. Mikey chuckled, returning to his former happy self. "Raphie boy, a father is the same thing as a dad. I think you should read the thesaurus." Mikey chuckled.
Raph reached over to smack the younger turtle, who neatly dodged the hit and ran off laughing. "Hey! Come ova' here, Chuckle head!" Raph shouted, chasing after his baby brother.
Don and Master Splinter stood watching the carnage unfold. "Well, Sensei, I'd say there's a ninety nine point nine percent chance that something is going to break."
Don sighed. "There's also an eighty seven percent chance that Leo may have been traumatized by whatever the Shredder did, and this is a feed back response."
The Sensei smirked. "Yes, Donatello, but the remaining chance always remains." The sound of something shattering reached them. "That does not mean the remaining chance will always be correct. And that, my son, is why you must always have a Plan B."
Shredder cursed the mirror and sat down on the bed once more. He sighed and cradled his chin in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees. "Why does everything bad have to happen to us?" He asked himself.
"Master Saki, are you still in need of privacy?" A voice asked. "Yes!" Shredder snapped and immediately felt bad for being so rude. He turned back to the mirror and glared at the face trapped in the silver glass.
"Why can't you just stay out of my life?" He asked the face in the mirror. It stared back at him coldly, mocking him.
Shredder pounded the heels of his palms against his forehead, cursing himself. He finally stood up and glared at the mirror. "Damn you. Damn you." He whispered at the mirror. "I'm not you. My name is not Shredder. I am Hamato Leonardo." He breathed.
Dun! Dun! Dun! I bet all of ya' already saw it coming…uh…if you totally didn't see this coming, could ya' tell me? I'd just like to know if I could hold this secret till the end of this chappy. Not much of a chapter…though I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to the reviewers! Every review motivates me, so keep on reviewing and I'll keep writing. I smile veeeeerrrrry big every time I read a review (Just ask my friends, I do).
I know a certain reviewer already mentioned the "mind swap setup". Well you were right, and I must say I can not keep any good secrets in writing stories...
Thanks to my good friend Miguel for getting me to move along and for listening to my irritating conversations, so yeah…um…I think I'll write some more…