Chapter 7

Movie night had been Splinter's idea. The family had used to get together for movies and snacks every so often before, but since Leo's disappearance, it had been difficult to fall back into routine even after more than five months. But tonight even Raph had to admit the little bit of normalcy felt good.

Of course, he'd be hard pressed to hold on to his tension and directionless anger with his niece curled up against him. She was sandwiched between him and Mikey, wrapped in a blanket and wearing the hat he'd finished knitting for her - sky blue with orange cat ears - even though it was probably too warm for hats.

Shadow's movie pick had been Disney's animated Robin Hood. She often picked that movie, but it was a favorite with everyone so nobody minded. Tonight was only slightly unusual because she hadn't assigned everybody roles to act along as the movie played. It hadn't stopped Mikey from whistling along with Alan-a-Dale during the opening song, but a well-aimed sofa pillow from Raph had put a temporary (if indignant) end to Mikey's musical stylings.

A pair of feet wearing zombie unicorn socks plopped into Raph's lap. He glanced down at the far end of the couch. Angel had wedged herself in on the far side of Mikey, sitting sideways with her legs stretching across Mikey's lap and in front of Shadow.

"Got enough room there?" Raph asked dryly.

"Yeah, I think I'm good for now." Angel's grin widened at Shadow's laughter. Casey and April were sitting on the other couch with Splinter. Don slouched in his beanbag chair, positioned between the two sofas. He was multitasking as usual, glancing between his tablet and the TV. As Raph watched, Splinter reached down to lightly rest his hand on Don's shoulder, and Don lifted his head long enough to give their father a little smile.

Raph didn't look over at the empty recliner, but he felt it at the edge of his vision all the same, and he breathed carefully around the hollow feeling under his shell. Despite his promise to Splinter, the thoughts still came when he was least expecting them: he was always going to feel incomplete, always going to turn and look for someone who wasn't there. There would always be an aching emptiness, the feeling of a half-finished sentence that would never be completed. Always reaching out and grasping nothing but empty air.

"Uncle Raphie, you're squishing me," Shadow whispered, poking him in the side.

Raph startled, relaxing his arm around the blanket-covered bundle that was his niece. "Sorry, kiddo. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

In spite of his despondency, Raph was able to smile down at her as she snuggled against him. He'd just managed to turn his attention back to the movie when the low chime of the proximity alarm drifted over from Don's desk. Don raised his brow ridges a little before tapping his tablet screen and letting out a little "Hm."

"Everything good, Donny?" Raph asked quietly.

Don's brow furrowed. "I think so. Motion and heat sensors are picking up something kind of big outside."

"Human big?" Mikey asked.

"Bigger."

The brothers and Splinter exchanged a brief glance. Don had spent a significant amount of time tweaking the sensors so the proximity alarm wouldn't ring every time a raccoon waddled past. It would pick up a human, but humans rarely wandered near the lair's hidden spot.

"I'll check it out," Raph said, pushing himself to his feet.

Shadow flopped to the side when he moved away. "Awww, no, stay."

"I'll be right back. Keep my spot warm, willya?" Raph tugged the hat down over her eyes to make her laugh, then headed for the door, picking up his sai on the way out.

He left the lights off as he paced silently toward one of the side exits to the lair and slipped outside. It wasn't quite dusk - the turtles had become less strictly nocturnal in the years since Shadow had been born - but shadows were beginning to gather beneath the trees. Raph crouched, motionless as a gargoyle, watching and listening.

For a minute or two, he heard nothing, but then he tensed as a slow but heavy step crunched foliage underfoot. He silently spun his weapons into a ready grip in his hands. Attacking wasn't Plan A, but it was definitely somewhere between Plan A and Plan B. Plan A-and-a-half?

The footsteps moved closer, a subtle rustling or dragging sound filling the silence between footfalls. Raph frowned, uncertain what could cause that kind of noise. He could hear two sets of footsteps, now, one considerably lighter than the first, and he melted further into the shadows. He shifted slightly, to see if he could get a better look, then froze as a towering silhouette hove into view. Taller even than Hun, with massive shoulders and a wide frill behind a horned head -

"Traximus?!"

Raph's voice wasn't loud, but the Triceraton halted immediately, looking unerringly in his direction. "Raphael." His deep voice was slightly muffled behind his breathing mask, but he sounded pleased. "I am glad to see you safe."

"Good to see you, too, big guy. But what the shell're you doin' here?" Raph returned his sai to his belt and slipped down from his perch.

"We came to offer our help," Traximus replied. "Or, rather, we came to enlist yours."

"Who's 'we'?" Raph glanced around Traximus' shoulder at the tall, cloaked figure that had followed him.

The woman pulled back her hood slightly, revealing blue skin and dark blue dreadlocked hair. "I do not know if you remember me," she said. "It has been several years. My name is Jhanna. You and your brothers helped me when my ship was sabotaged."

Raph stared. "Uh…yeah. Yeah, I remember. Wait, how - how do you guys know each other? What's goin' on?"

"One of your brothers is missing, yes?" she asked.

Raph went still. "How do you know about that?"

"I have seen him." She gave him an apologetic look. "I confess I do not remember all of your names and I did not know which of you I was speaking to, but I know it is him."

"You've seen him?" Raph said hoarsely, heart pounding. "You've seen Leo? Where is he? Is he okay?"

"He was when I last saw him, but he is being held prisoner and is likely to be in danger very soon if he is not already." Jhanna glanced around as the distant sound of a car horn blared over the faint noise of traffic. "Where is your family? We should all talk together."

"Uh…yeah - yeah, come on," Raph finally managed to say, shaking off his surprise. "Come on, follow me." He gestured for them to follow, head reeling with a dizzying combination of shock and hope. It was a tight squeeze for Traximus, but he made it through the door, and Raph jogged on ahead of them back to the main room. "Yo, Don! Mikey! Master Splinter! We've got company and they know where Leo is!"

Everyone in the room jolted at the news.

"What? Trax and Jhanna? No way!" Mikey slipped out from under Angel's legs without jostling her and vaulted over the back of the couch. Angel and Shadow watched, wide-eyed, as the two aliens entered the lair. April and Casey stood, but stayed back while Don and Splinter moved to join Raph and Mikey.

Raph quickly made introductions where necessary before Splinter glanced between Traximus and Jhanna and asked, "You said you have seen Leonardo?"

"I have," Jhanna volunteered. "He is being held by an individual known as the Collector. Xyr species is from a remote part of the galaxy and is not widely known because all of them stay mostly to themselves. As far as is known, they live for thousands of years, so they don't consider other species as 'Significant', or worth paying attention to. If a civilization is around long enough or is large enough and sufficiently technologically advanced, the species grants them Significance and basic rights." She made a face. "We are fortunate that they keep to their part of the galaxy, for the most part."

"So why is this Collector running around turtlenapping our bro?" Mikey asked.

"The species sends scouts and researchers out to explore the galaxy," she replied. "I do not know how many there are, though I believe there are only a few of them. The Collector is the one that has come to our part of the galaxy. Xe has a museum on xyr ship - fossils, artifacts, and a large menagerie. Xe doesn't come around often, but the museum is rather well known and garners a lot of attention when xyr ship docks. That is where I saw your brother."

Raph's simmering anger had been building while Jhanna spoke. By the time she was done, he was perilously close to boiling over, and he growled, "You're tellin' us that Leo is in a zoo?" Mikey shifted a step closer to unobtrusively rest his hand on Raph's shell.

"It appears so," Traximus confirmed.

"Is he all right?" Splinter asked. His voice was calm, but his sons heard his effort to control his worry and tension.

"I believe so," Jhanna replied, but there was an uncertainty in her expression that sent an anxious thrill down Raph's spine. "I tried to speak with him but he was wearing a device around his neck that prevented him from speaking. And…" She looked uneasy. "...he appeared to be safe, but I could tell that he had been fighting and had some untreated wounds."

"Where is this Collector now?" Don asked.

"I do not know where xe is now, but I know where xe will be," she answered. "The Collector has been advertising that xe will enter your brother in a battle competition held on Kryos 8 called the Galactic Frenzy. When I saw Leonardo I could not do anything that day to have him released. I went on ahead to speak to the competition administrators, but…" She made a wry face. "I was told that all entrants are 'volunteers', and since your brother does not come from a planet with a galactic council, they have no reason to investigate or disqualify him to prevent him from being entered."

"That is where we met," Traximus said. "I overheard her arguing with the clerk."

"What were you doing there?" Mikey asked.

Traximus' mask fogged as he let out a heavy breath through his nostrils. "Kryos 8 is a disreputable planet, and many entrants in the Frenzy are enslaved gladiators. A few of my fellow gladiators from the Prime Leader's fighting pits occasionally join me and we liberate them when we can. That is what I propose we do for Leonardo."

"How?" Raph asked, having finally quelled his fury to trust himself to speak again.

"This is not like the Battle Nexus," Traximus said. "Most fights are to the death, unless the entrant's sponsor intervenes. They usually don't, unless the fighter is particularly popular or valuable. But they can. And sometimes, sponsors intervene on the behalf of another entrant. It is not well-received but the administrators won't interfere. As long as you can convince the other sponsor to back off, you can take their fighter." He smirked behind his mask. "I am quite convincing."

Don glanced at his brothers. "How long until the competition?"

"A little over two weeks," Traximus said. "We can get there on time if we leave today."

"Then we leave today," Raph said firmly.

Angel's voice came from behind them. "I'm going, too." The turtles turned to look at their human family members, who had been standing silent and half-forgotten as they processed what Jhanna had told them. Angel stood with her arms crossed and a determined look on her face. She tilted her head towards April and Casey. "We've been talking, and it's decided. More of us means more help, right?"

Jhanna gave her an approving look. "Anything may tip the balance in our favor. I will gladly welcome another warrior." She turned to Don. "I have no diplomatic authority on Kryos 8, but there still may be something I can do. Is there anything you can tell me about Leonardo's disappearance?"

"We don't know how it happened, exactly," Don said. "We know Leo was hit with a tranquilizer dart, but not much more than that."

Her eyes sharpened. "Do you still have the dart?" Seeing Don's nod, she asked, "May I see it?"

"Sure, come on." Don led her over to his desk and pulled a sealed container out of one of the drawers. "We know someone with experience in genetics and biotech. He could tell us that the trace amount of liquid left in the needle hub was a fast-acting tranquilizer, and Leo's DNA was on the needle, but we don't have much more info." He gestured at the feathered end of the dart. "These came from an unknown species but he was pretty sure it was avian. Uh, of a sort."

Jhanna gave the dart a long look. "Bring it with you," she said finally. "I have an idea of how this may help us."

Angel slapped Mikey's hand in a high-five as she jogged out of the lair, promising to be back in an hour with her bag packed. Mikey crossed over to Casey and April. "I guess we kinda left you guys out of that little discussion, huh?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and giving them an apologetic smile.

"Nah." Casey waved him off. "We could hear just fine. You guys were askin' everything we wanted to say, anyway."

"We wish we could go with you," April said quietly. "We talked about it. But…" She glanced over at Shadow. Raph had returned to his seat beside her on the couch. He was speaking too quietly to be overheard, but the low rumble of his voice resonated in their ears all the same.

"Hey, it's all good," Mikey said, giving an encouraging smile. "You can come the next time we go to space. Maybe we'll go somewhere fun and tropical." He opened his arms when April reached to hug him.

She held him tightly. "Bring our guy home."

He shut his eyes and leaned into the warmth of her hug, speaking around the knot in his throat and managing to keep his voice as cheerful as always. "Easier done than said."

Raph sighed as he sank back onto the sofa cushions. Hope and fury and the desperate urge to do something clashed within his chest, but Shadow had been watching everyone with wide eyes, unusually quiet, and before going to gather his things, he'd walked back over to join her. She'd shrugged off her blanket as she'd listened, but she picked it up again and bundled herself up as she tucked under his arm. Raph gave her a gentle squeeze. "So. What d'you think, kiddo? You hear all that?"

She nodded. "You're gonna go get Uncle Leo?"

"Sure am." One side of his mouth lifted in a smile. "You scared?"

"Nahhh," she drawled, and Raph's smile grew at the way she echoed her father. "You're gonna go kick alien butts."

He chuckled softly. "You bet I am."

"Mommy and Daddy said we can't go," she said with a little pout.

"Not this time. Sorry."

"They said it was dangerous."

Raph sighed. "Well, they ain't wrong."

"But you're gonna be okay, right?" Worry was in her bright blue eyes, and Raph felt a pang of guilt. He'd hoped to never see that look on her face - had even more fervently hoped that he and his brothers would never cause her distress - but it was happening anyway.

"Yeah, sure," he said. It wasn't an empty platitude. Anything he'd ever said to Shadow, he'd considered a promise. And it was a promise to Leo, and to the rest of his family, too; they were going to bring him home. He couldn't bear to consider any other option. "Gonna miss you while we're gone, though," he said, giving her a nudge. "You gonna help take care of Klunk?"

Her worry disappeared as she gave him an enthusiastic smile. "Yeah!"

"Atta girl." He gently pinched her nose. "We'll come home as soon as we can." Shadow threw her arms around his neck. Raph hugged her warmly in return and let her hold onto him as long as she wanted.

Two days into the journey aboard Jhanna's ship, the turtles and their allies sat down together to plan out the specifics of how to rescue Leo.

"Most entrants are kept in holding cells on the Frenzy grounds," Traximus told them. "But with the museum on xyr ship, it's possible the Collector will keep Leonardo there. From what I've seen, we'll have two opportunities to retrieve him. First - " He held up a large, clawed finger, "we break him out of his holding cell. If it's on the grounds, it may be relatively simple. The holding cells are guarded, but only at either end of the hallway. With Donatello's expertise, getting through security will probably not be difficult."

"There is the collar to consider," Jhanna reminded them. "We do not know what it does. Donatello, do you believe you can deactivate it?"

"I'm not sure," Don said slowly. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to complicated locks, but as of now I'm just guessing. A mini EMP device might work, but again, I'd have to see it."

"When you say we don't know what this collar does, do you mean it could harm him if it is not removed correctly?" Splinter asked.

She shrugged. "There is no way to know for sure, but possibly. And Traximus has mentioned the possibility that the Collector will keep Leonardo on xyr ship. If that is the case, it will be harder to retrieve him. It will mean breaking through xyr security system - both to get into the ship and to open the enclosure where he is being held."

"Don can do that, no problem," Raph said. Don rolled his eyes a little at being volunteered, but he was smiling a little and didn't deny it.

"Yeah, Donny's hacked through a bunch of security stuff before," Mikey added with a grin. He nudged his brother. "Did you remember to pack the pigeon puppet?"

"Somehow I don't think that will help us this time," Don said dryly. "I do have a few things that can help, though. I've been working on ways to hide from security cameras." He pulled up a file on his laptop to display a picture of a small piece of tech about the size of a cell phone, attached to a belt. "This will emit a signal that interferes with video and infrared cameras. It should help block our images and our heat signatures. It's still in beta but I've tested it a few times and it seems promising."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "Did you do that just in the past few days?"

Don smiled. "No, this has been in the works for a while. Never know when we'll need something like this, you know? It's just lucky I had it mostly finished, ready to bring. I've got four of them in the works - which means three of us can try to get to Leo, and we've got an extra to put on him."

Mikey nodded. "Okay, so plan number one is to do a jailbreak. What's the second plan?"

"Do you remember how I told you sponsors can intervene for entrants that do not belong to them?" Traximus paused long enough for them to nod in acknowledgment. "One of you could be entered to fight. If you are paired with Leonardo, we would have the opportunity to take him directly from the fighting ring. There is less threat from security but would be more risk to whoever was entered to fight. I would sponsor you and intervene to prevent your opponent from killing you, but it is still dangerous."

The three brothers exchanged a silent glance before Raph looked back to Traximus and said, "I'll do it."

"Right. Okay," Angel said, giving a decisive nod. "So I'll stick with Mikey and Don."

Splinter's ears flattened against his head but he voiced no objection. He simply rested a hand on Raphael's forearm and turned to Jhanna. "It is probably for the best that we separate into three groups. If the Collector becomes suspicious of one of us, it will not compromise the rest. How can I help you?"

Jhanna looked thoughtful. "I should keep a low profile while we are there since I have already objected to Leonardo's entry, but I have already begun making some calls. There is not much that I can do on-planet, but you and I can be another set of eyes watching for gaps in security. Perhaps we will see another way to retrieve him that we have not yet anticipated."

Don started sifting through his archive of hacking programs. "Okay, then. We've got another week to make plans before we get there."

"Plans that will immediately go all to shell the minute we actually step off the ship?" Mikey asked.

Raph smirked. "Wouldn't be us if they didn't."

The creature had not removed Leo from his cell for several days, and he'd spent the time wavering between relief that he was being left alone and worry as to what the creature was up to. Some of his injuries were beginning to worry him, too. The wounds left by the spiked club from his last fight weren't deep, but they weren't healing. The tissue around the punctures was painful and swollen, warm to the touch and occasionally seeping blood-tinged fluid. Leo did his best to clean them with his drinking water but he had nothing to cover them with. He'd had infected wounds before, and these looked minor, but he knew how lack of proper care could send simple things spiraling out of control.

He resented the idea of asking his captor for anything, but when the creature finally appeared after four days, he made himself say, "I need wound disinfectant and bandaging material. Will you give them to me?"

The creature simply opened the forcefield and waved him out. "It will kindly follow us."

Leo sighed, bowing his head in frustration, but not really surprised. He followed behind his captor, once more wondering if he could take it down before it incapacitated him. Alarm began to grow as the creature passed the door heading for the white battle chamber and headed for the lab. Fear, fury, and rebellion bloomed in his chest, and he stopped in the doorway and refused to enter. "I'm not going to let you experiment on me any longer," he said coldly.

The creature let out an infuriating huff of laughter. "We do not need its permission," it said condescendingly.

Leo tensed, walking into the room slowly, keeping his eyes on the control rod in the creature's hands. "I say you do. This has gone on long enough."

"It is incapable of learning," the creature said impatiently. "We do not have time for its obstinacy. It will kindly - "

Leo sprang forward. The creature gasped and flailed as it backpedaled, too slow to evade. It shrieked as Leo's fist smashed into its face. Leo landed in a crouch and swept his leg to smash a kick into the creature's knee. Its long body fell into a lab table, knocking over equipment and shattering a set of beakers onto the floor. Leo caught up a broken beaker in his hand, lunging after his captor with deadly intent. Its panicked scrabbling wasn't enough for it to get away -

- the collar sent a stunning jolt into the back of his neck and he collapsed down in a limp heap on top of the creature. The broken beaker in his hand fell to the floor with a tinkling crash. Hissing in fury, his captor shoved him off and staggered to its feet. Senses reeling, Leo only had a faint impression of greenish blood trickling from its slit nostrils and needle-teeth bared in rage. It seized his collar in a long-fingered hand and dragged him across the floor, leaving him sprawled next to the lab table.

Leo couldn't see what it was doing. He was only vaguely aware of the sound of broken glass and metal being shoved around until a forcefield snapped around him and lifted him into the air. Even half-numbed from the stun, dread coursed through him as he was deposited on the table again and the restraints snaked into place. The overhead lights dazzled his eyes but he could still see the creature as it moved around him. He felt the familiar sting of a needle sinking into his thigh, and the dizzying swirl of drugs as they sucked him into the dark.

The worst part, he thought as he slipped into unconsciousness, was the way the creature ignored him. It didn't speak to him, didn't threaten revenge for the attack; it just moved on as if he didn't matter at all.

Part of Leo had wondered if he would ever wake again. But he did. He surfaced slowly, painfully, still restrained on the lab table. The light still blazed down, and he cringed away from it.

"Ah. It has awakened. Excellent." The creature's smooth voice echoed in his ears. It leaned over him, silhouetted against the light. "It has come through surgery very well. We do not expect any complications."

Leo felt cold. What surgery? he tried to say - but when he opened his mouth to speak, no sound came out. The creature didn't seem to notice. Aside from swelling around two of its eyes, and the conspicuously empty workstation behind it, there was no evidence that Leo had attacked it. Humming to itself, it activated a forcefield around the lab table and stepped back, releasing the restraints.

Leo sat up shakily. His throat was searingly dry but he swallowed carefully and tried again to ask, What did you do to me? No sound - nothing, and when he tried again to speak, something moved in the roof of his mouth, behind his teeth. He gasped and clutched his throat, but his hands were yanked away, wrists snapping together in his lap with a clang. Bewildered, he looked down to see a pair of magnetic metal cuffs around his wrists, holding his hands together.

His breath came in panicked gasps and he turned to stare at his captor. It watched him, coolly smug, and said, "While it is a skilled warrior, it has no natural defenses. But it will need them for the upcoming battle tournament. We have helped it." It smiled, barbed and malicious. "We trust that it will not give us any difficulty again."