Donatello and Michelangelo had been holed up in the lab for hours, chattering away and exchanging theories. Donnie was currently standing over his microscope, peering into the scope with captivated interest. Clamped in place where a specimen slide would normally be was a small blue stone, which shimmered with unseen facets and glowed with a mysterious energy. It's geometry seemed impossible, the surface was both rough as sandpaper and smooth as glass all at the same time. The longer one stared at it, the harder it became to discern exactly what it really looked liked.

"Fascinating... This is absolutely astounding!" he thought aloud, his excitement showing clearly in his voice. He then removed the stone from the microscope, grabbing something that looked like a metal food thermometer connected to a computer cord, touching the metal tip lightly against the strange crystal's surface. The moment he did, all manner of readings began streaming across his monitor screen. This only seemed to widen the grin on Donatello's face.

"I've never seen anything like this! The energy this thing is putting out is absolutely unheard of for something so small! And you say you used this to power your machines?"

"The core of it, yes." Michelangelo began, taking the tiny pearl-sized stone and replacing it in it's setting at the end of his tie tack. The stone sat almost unnoticeable at the center of his orange cravat. For something so powerful to look so innocuous when worn like that... It almost seemed a waste.

"This is but a small shard of the Orb at the heart of my machine. It is an amazingly powerful relic. Without it, my experiments would have been impossible to complete. One cannot travel between dimensions on pure steam power alone, I assure you."

"Are you two egg-heads still geeking out in here? It's been hours."

The two glanced over towards the entrance of the lab, where Raphael stood leaning against the archway with his arms folded across his chest. They'd both been so busy that neither seemed to have noticed him watching them. Donatello merely rolled his eyes at his brother's comment.

"Well, excuse us 'eggheads' for boring you. We happen to be working out a plan for getting Mikey back home!"

"Kindly refrain from calling me that. I don't much care for nicknames…" Michelangelo interjected, earning a suspicious glare from the red-masked turtle. Before he could retort with another snide remark, Leonardo came in to check up on their progress.

"So? Did you come up with anything? Can we switch them back?"

"Yeah, in theory. Mikey… I mean, Michelangelo and I should be able to rebuild the unit that slipped him through the dimensional barrier into our world. The only problem is we don't have the empower/em to run it." Donatello replied, unrolling the large piece of paper he'd copied Michelangelo's plans onto. It was the only page of that leather journal of his that the shorter turtle had allowed him to look at, an old habit, he'd claimed, not wanting rival inventors to steal his designs. Donnie had understood the sentiment and respected his wishes, sticking solely to the blueprint of his dimensional teleportation unit.

"So, what? Double-A batteries ain't gonna cut it?" Raph commented, earning a sharp glare from the bespectacled terrapin.

"The Orb is not a product of this dimension, nor even mine for that matter. It is a pure, crystalline energy unlike anything humans are capable of creating." he snapped back matter-of-factly.

"Wait… a crystal power source? Do you think one of the Kraang power crystals would work?" Leonardo offered. Donnie's face lit up at that.

"Leo, you're a genius! If we can get a big enough power crystal, it should be able to work!" Donnie cheered, feeling like their plan actually had a chance to work. After staring at the lot of them for a moment, Michelangelo stepped forward with a question.

"Pardon my ignorance, chaps, but… 'Kraang'? What the devil are you on about?"

"The Kraang are a species of highly evolved aliens from Dimension X. Much of their technology is powered by crystalline power sources similar to your Orb. In fact, and this is just a speculation, but it's entirely possible the Orb could be of Kraang origin as well." Donatello explained. Michelangelo hummed thoughtfully at that, the gears clearly turning in his head, calculating.

"I see… Another extra-dimensional power crystal… Yes, that should suffice, so long as it can be tuned to match the harmonics of the Orb. That should create the link to my dimension and allow me to switch back to the proper world, bringing your brother home as well rather than some other Michelangelo from a different, random dimension."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Donatello replied. Raphael grinned, unsheathing his sais and spinning them around this fingers.

"Yes! Finally, some action! Let's go bust some brains!" he cheered. His brothers both let out a cheer of agreement. Their other-dimensional visitor, however...

"Oh dear… You intend to take it by means of violence? What barbarous methods you have…" Michelangelo scoffed, cringing at the very thought of getting his hands dirty. The other three could only stare at him.

"You don't mean..." Leonardo trailed off, awestruck.

"Yer kiddin' me… Ya don't even know how to fight?" Raphael finished for his older brother.

"Heavens no! I'm a scientist, not some uncivilized brute! If that's the way you lot do things, then feel free to go without me. I shall remain here and begin work on the device." he replied, straightening the collar of his coat as he returned to Donatello's worktable, taking up the plans for his device and looking them over once more.

Leonardo, a bit unsure, looked back at the other two for input. They only offered him a shrug of their shoulders. Leo sighed and looked back at Michelangelo, who was somehow more alien to him now than he had seemed just a moment ago.

"Alright, if you say so…"

The three of them left their guest to his work, going off to take care of some business as only they could. They emerged like shadows from the sewers, flying unseen up the nearest fire escape like specters in the night, and proceeded along rooftops towards their intended target. The Kraang invasion may have been pushed back, but they knew all too well that their enemy was still present and active in the city. More importantly, they knew where some of their remaining operational outposts were located. With any luck, in one of them they would find a crystal large enough to match the power of that miraculous little stone that powered the original machine.

Raphael brought up the rear of the group, unconsciously following his brothers while he let half his mind wander. They'd invaded Kraang bases before, but somehow this time felt different. It felt wrong. It felt like they were directing their energy towards the wrong target.

It felt like they'd left the Devil himself in their home.

Raphael stopped abruptly, the others following suit once they noticed he'd stopped.

"I don't like leavin' that guy alone in the lair…" Raph announced before the others had a chance to ask what was the matter. Leonardo furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Why not? It's just Mikey." he assured. Raphael shook his head in reply.

"No, he ain't! He's like some bizarro backwards version of Mikey! I don't trust him!"

"Riiight. Just because he happens to be extremely intelligent, you suddenly don't trust him. I see how it is." Donatello replied, clearly not liking the implications of such a statement. Raphael gave a frustrated growl.

"It ain't that, dammit! He just… gives me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, y'know?" he explained, looking down at his feet. How could he make the others understand if they didn't feel it themselves? This was wrong. All of it was wrong. He just couldn't put his finger on why.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, his gaze meeting a pair of light blue eyes. Leonardo gave him a reassuring smile.

"It's probably just because you aren't used to seeing Mikey like that. Either way, it should be good incentive for us to hurry up and get that power crystal." Leo assured. Raphael wanted to believe him, he truly did, but... He only had to remember that icy glare Michelangelo had given him as he threatened to cut off his hands and he felt that sense of dread rising up in him once more. He closed his eyes, shuddering.

He felt something press against his forehead. He didn't have to open his eyes to know what it was, and it calmed him all the same. He heard his older brother whispering to him a mere inch from his face.

"We'll have our baby brother back soon. Our real baby brother. I promise..."

Raphael let out a sigh, trying to let all of the tension, all of the negative thoughts, all of the fear go. It would all be okay. They just had to get this power crystal and everything would fall back into place. Same as it ever was... right?

"You'd better be right, bro..." he whispered back. He could practically feel the smile on Leo's face before he backed off. Raph opened his eyes in time to see Leo and Donnie continue off across the rooftops. He let out one last sigh before following after them.

They arrived soon enough. It was a previously scouted weapons cache tucked away in some abandoned buildings out in the Bronx. The Kraang were still recovering from their thwarted invasion of New York, but that didn't mean they were short-handed when it came to security. No, this outpost out of all of them would be heavily defended, given the volatile contents. Not the easiest place to break into, but it was the only one that would have what they needed.

The three moved quickly and silently. The Kraang were nothing if not logical, almost robotic in their every activity. It made them somewhat easy to predict. A few minutes of observation revealed their patrol pattern. They slipped past and from there made their way into the vents. Their base layout was more or less logical as well. Their most guarded materials would be kept in the lowest level underground. That's where they needed to head.

"Woah, hold up a sec', guys." Leo ordered as they came to a halt in front of what could only be the heavy door of a vault. Mounted into the wall next to the door was one of the few things about the Kraang that didn't seem to use an ounce of logic; their technology. Donnie let out a groan.

"Uuugh, I hate Kraang computers... They make no sense at all!" he grumbled, reluctantly stepping forward to try to figure out the access panel. It was more complicated than their usual ones, this one seeming like the equivalent of one of their full computers.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish Mikey was here. He's practically a savant when it comes to Kraang tech..."

"Well... WWMD?"

Donnie turned to look at Raph, utterly confused.

"Y'know... 'What Would Mikey Do'? He's the freak genius with this crap. Just do what he'd do."

Donnie sighed. Just do what Mikey does? Yeah, that was easier said than done. He wasn't insane enough for this. The longer he stared at the console, the less it made sense. It was like trying to visually examine Michelangelo's Orb shard...

But that was it, wasn't it? Don't think, don't study. Just do. Mikey, their Mikey, lived by intuition alone. He just had to let go of his scientist's urge to over-analyze everything and just go with his gut.

It felt rather ridiculous, hitting random points on the console pad, simply letting his hands go wherever they wanted. This continued for quite a bit longer than he felt it should, but he didn't stop.

Suddenly, he simply lifted his hands off the keypad. He didn't know what told him it was enough, but he just... knew. There was a long moment where nothing happened. Then another. And another. Finally, Leonardo opened his mouth to ask if he'd done it right, when...

"Hah! Got it!" Donnie cheered as the massive door split open, the two halves sliding apart and disappearing into the walls. The three rushed in. Oh, they had the right room alright. The walls were lined with weapons; blasters and transport platforms, heavily armored robot suits and hover units, and, most importantly... Power crystals. They were kept suspended in a massive containment unit, hundreds of them ranging in size from those that would fit in the palm of your hand to ones that easily towered over the average human.

"Alright, Don. Ball's in your court." Leo said, stepping aside to let their resident expert have a look. Donatello opened up the containment unit and climbed in, pulling out a portable version of the energy sampler he had back at his lab. He tested several crystals, but none seemed to have the power they needed. He moved to the truly humongous ones, and few of them even approached the level of energy that Michelangelo's tiny shard could put out. Finally, he found one that was perfect.

"Got it! It's this one!" Donnie announced from deep inside the large container. Raph and Leo climbed in and stared in awe at the crystal Donnie had chosen. It was easily a foot taller than the lanky turtle, and had to weigh at least twice as much.

"You gotta be kiddin' me! It's huge! Does it really have to be that one?!" Raph shouted. How in the hell were they supposed to sneak something like that out?! Leo shook his head in disbelief.

"Can't we use a bunch of smaller crystals together instead of one big one?"

"Nope. It has to be one solid piece. Trying to harmonize the frequencies of more than one of these things is near-impossible. The shards of the Orb are quantum linked with the core back in Michelangelo's world. We have to trick it into thinking that this is one of those shards or we won't be able to dial into the right universe."

"Okay, okay, 'science', I get it... But how the hell are we going to get it out of here?" Raph asked. It was a rather good question, one Donatello had been trying to figure out himself. He glanced to Leo, as if asking for ideas. Leo nodded over towards one of the hover transports by the vault wall. Ahh, of course. How else would the Kraang move the crystals themselves?

"Hey, Raph. You were a Kraang once." Donnie began with a smirk. Raphael gave a shudder.

"Ughh, don't remind me..."

"Do you happen to remember how to drive Kraang vehicles?"

Slowly, a smirk spread across his face. Oh, of course he did. That just left one question...

"But... How are we supposed to sneak it past the Kraang? They're gonna notice, and that hover thing isn't exactly a Ferrari." Leo pointed out. Donnie merely smiled.

"Simple. We give them something bigger to worry about."

"Like what?"

In answer to Raphael's question, Donatello held up a second, much smaller crystal.

"You didn't think we were gonna leave these Dalek wannabe's with this much firepower, did you?" he replied with a smirk. Raphael couldn't hide the excitement on his face. Oh yeah! Time to blow some brains in tin cans sky high!

"Donnie, have I ever told you you're a fuckin' genius? 'Cause yer a fuckin' genius!"

Casey Jones was currently lounging on the couch in the turtle's underground lair, his feet propped up against the edge of the coffee table as he flipped through the channels on the television. Or tried to, at least. It was rather hard when April kept pacing back and forth in front of him. Eventually he gave up, tossing the remote aside.

"C'mon, Red. Relax. These are the Turtles we're talkin' 'bout. Whatever's goin' on, you know they got it taken care of. Why stress out over it?"

"'Why stress out over it?'" April repeated, stopping her pacing to glare at Casey. "Did you not see Mikey when we got here?! Didn't you hear him?! That wasn't Mikey! Something's seriously wrong here!"

"Yeah, well... maybe it's all one big joke?" Casey offered with a shrug of his shoulders. April shook her head.

"Mikey doesn't joke like that... It's not his style. Casey, I just... What if the other three are like that, too? I don't think I can handle four of my friends turning into pompous douche-bags..."

Suddenly, there was a loud metallic bang outside in one of the tunnels leading to the lair, followed by some shouting.

"Dammit, Raph! Are you trying to blow us all up?!"

"Gimmie a break, would ya? This thing's supposed ta be steered with tentacles! I think I did a pretty damn good job getting this far without crashing, don't you?!"

"Enough. Let's just get this thing inside."

April gave a mild sigh of relief. Well, they sounded normal at least. That didn't mean there was a lack of questions she had for them, mind you, just that she might actually get some answers.

The questions just kept piling up as the three turtles made their way inside. They were covered in soot and dust, the tail ends of their masks singed as though they'd just been in some sort of explosion. On top of that, they were carrying the single largest Kraang power crystal she'd ever seen in her life.

"Guys! What the hell is going on?!" Yeah, that summed it up pretty well. Leonardo gave the others a nod of his head and, very carefully, they set the heavy crystal on the ground. Donnie straightened up, turning to flash April a nervous grin.

"I, uhh... I take it you've 'met' Michelangelo?"

"You're damn right I did! What the hell happened to him? He's a complete dick!"

"I dunno, he coulda been ruder 'bout it." Casey commented from the couch, earning him another icy glare from April.

"You're not helping!"

"Oh dear... What'd he do?" Donnie sighed. A common question when referring to Mikey, though this time seemed quite different from the norm. At that point Casey rose up from his spot on the couch. He cleared his throat, straightened his back and held the collar of a non-existent coat, his nose turned up as though it was below him to look the lot of them in the eye. Oh, this would be a good show...

"'My dear girl, what are you wearing? It's quite improper for a lady to dress like a man, and wearing a young boy's trousers at that! Showing your legs like that, your face painted up like a cheap harlot... I shudder to think why my dear brothers would allow such an unsavory character into their home!'"

The turtles stared at Casey as he gave them his best British accent, clearly mocking one of Michelangelo's little outbursts when they'd first met him. April gave a light huff, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm not even wearing that much make-up!"

"Actually, in the Victorian era, natural beauty was prized over wearing make-up. In fact, the only women who really wore make-up at all back then were either actresses or whor-..." Donnie halted his explanation when he caught the look April was giving him. He bit his lip, wanting to pull his head down into his shell and hide.

"I-I mean... Y-you look very lovely, as always!"

"So, where is the li'l Scrooge? We damn near got our tails toasted getting this crystal for his stupid machine." Raph interjected before Donnie could dig himself deeper into a hole. Casey prepared his impression once more.

"'What utter filth! Really, that my own brothers would willingly reside in a sewer of all places! I shan't stay here a moment longer!'"

"Wait, he left?!" Leonardo asked. Oh no... This was bad. Somewhere out there in the vastness of modern New York City was a mutant turtle from an era that still thought skyscrapers were the objects of engineers' fantasies. Hell, their state alone was larger than Michelangelo's entire home country. He'd surely be lost in an instant.

"Please tell me he mentioned where he was going..."

It actually took longer to hunt Michelangelo down than it had taken them to infiltrate the Kraang outpost. He'd somehow made his way all the way down near the docks. The three found him in an old abandoned warehouse that looked like it was once used to build small boats. He'd already made himself quite at home, having set up some dusty old tables in the middle of the workshop floor, his impromptu lab already coming together with some old equipment he'd scrounged up.

"Uhh... Michelangelo?" Donnie called out as the three of them made their way inside. The bespectacled turtle looked up from some large pile of old boat engine parts, looking not surprised at all to see his brothers.

"Ah, there you lot are! I've been wondering when you'd show up. Had some difficulties with your extraterrestrial friends, I take it?"

"Hey, it woulda helped if ya'd told someone where ya were goin'! Ya can't just take off like that!" Raphael growled defensively.

"Michelangelo, I'm not sure what it's like for you in London, but it's very dangerous for us to be seen by normal humans. We've got a lot of enemies in this city." Leo added, trying to defuse the argument between the two before it began.

"Oh, I assure you, I am quite experienced in keeping my identity hidden from the human populace. I can't just lurk in the shadows like you lot, by the by. I happen to run a business, I have a certain reputation to uphold, appearances I can't avoid making. I know how to hide my true identity from a person whilst simultaneously engaging in conversation with them. Trust me, you needn't waste time worrying about me. Now that that's out of the way, please, tell me you've been successful in finding the power source I need."

"Yeah, we got it, but it's back at the lair. We can go get it for you now if you want." Leo offered, sparking a small chorus of groans from the other two. Michelangelo gave a pleased smile.

"Oh yes, please do! I'm eager to get started as soon as possible."

With that, the other three took off somewhat reluctantly to go retrieve the power crystal once more. Once they were gone, Michelangelo returned to where he was working before he'd been interrupted. He took a quick glance over his shoulder, making sure his 'brothers' were truly gone before pulling out a small glass canister from under his coat, clearly something he'd 'borrowed' from Donatello's lab before he left. He examined the glowing green liquid inside, a small smirk spreading across his lips.

Yes, he would get to work right away...