Author's Notes: I'm so sorry! Loads of things got in the way of me uploading this chapter :( Anyway, that out of the way, I hope you all enjoy it :D

Disclaimer: I own Violet and the plot and...no wait, that's it :P

Chapter 12: Unstable

Don tried to insist that I rest while they get in contact with President Bishop, but I managed to bluff my way out of that!

I argued it was my problem so I should see him, and eventually won. I also convinced them to let me make the call on my own somehow.

"Bishop…" I gulp as I speak into my gauntlet, watching the screen that appeared carefully.

"Ah, Violet. It's good to see you're alright"

I sigh, I just can't get used to this whole 'he's the president and is now on the same side as us' thing of this future, but I have to try to overcome it.

"Well…I don't think I am, and I'm hoping you know why," I try to keep calm as I speak. "Can I meet with you…as soon as possible?"

He smiles, "But of course, it couldn't do any harm."

We arrange to meet at his end rather than here. I'm to meet him in a couple of hours, so I'll have to get myself ready to go by then.

I go to move from where I am but find I fall over, my leg muscles cramping and complaining about the weight of me on them. I stretch them out, rubbing the worst spots with my hands before attempting to get up again. After about three tries, I manage to stand; soon, I'm stumbling back to where my family waits.

Before I'm bombarded with questions, I quickly tell them the arrangements. I then find Mikey supporting me, obviously sensing I wasn't entirely steady on my feet.

"You're in no state to leave," Don protests.

I give him a stern look, "I'm going!"

"But…"

"Dude, she said she's going," Mikey defends me this time.

He looks unsatisfied but gives up on the argument.

We enter President Bishop's office in the Pan-Galactic Alliance Headquarters, Mikey staying close to me once more in case my legs go weak again.

"So how can I help you Violet?" he asks me; I still find it hard to talk to him when he sounds…kind.

I gulp slightly, "Well, we need to know what you found out about how I was mutated"

"It's degenerating, isn't it?" he looks to Donatello for an answer.

Don simply nods.

"Alright, listen carefully," Bishop instructs us. "Almost a hundred years ago when the Foot went after Violet, the Shredder had other plans besides her and that portal. After encountering you four brothers, he wanted to try making an army like you, but needed them fast.

"Stockman created such a formula for him but was unaware of its instability. Shredder, eager to test it, decided since you were to die by his hands anyway, that you could be the first to test the formula. In order to do this, he made sure all the darts his soldiers took contained a dose of the formula mixed with the tranquilizers.

"When he found out it worked, he got Stockman to test how stable the mutation was. The injections, the blood tests, all the things they put you through were a test. He wanted you to join him when it began to look like it was a success, as all he needed you for was to open the portal, nothing else. When you refused, he decided to carry out his original plans, but that still failed.

"The papers Michelangelo obtained from Stockman's lab were some of the early tests he had conducted to see how the formula had affected you. But what your brothers didn't find out and never did, was after the whole incident, it was uncovered that the formula wasn't stable. Stockman did accelerated tests on your cells and found they degenerated after a while. He couldn't calculate exactly when, but it wasn't long if they were stressed too much like the Shredder had originally wanted.

"The project never worked, which is why Shredder never got an army of turtle warriors like he had planned. The only reason your mutation lasted as long as it did Violet is because your lifestyle was fairly healthy for your body. The pregnancy you had which you miscarried was because of this instability, your body couldn't cope so had to save itself. After that, it was only a matter of time; everything that's happened here probably hasn't helped and now it's started."

I shake my head in disbelief, I knew he'd know why, but I didn't realize he'd know this much!

Don finally speaks after a brief silence. "So, is there a way to cure it?"

"Possibly, perhaps Baxter Stockman can help you as it was his formula"

He summons Stockman, I still shiver when I see him, and even if he isn't evil, he still causes me to remember bad things. His appearance is slightly different to how I remember seeing him previously, he now seems to actually have a human body; I've been told it's like Bishops and been modified though.

I keep flexing, my muscles feeling stiff. Whenever I sit, my knees go and my ankles hurt, and when I stand, my neck and shoulders feel heavy and ache.

As I stretch my right leg out, moving my ankle, it cracks. I see Mikey grimace slightly; he hates it when people crack their joints.

I look between Don and Stockman, watching them talk, but I don't take in what they're saying. I may understand some science, but I know I wouldn't get most of what these two would discuss, so I just stare.

I feel Mikey grab me as I wobble slightly, starting to feel light headed. I close my eyes tight to try and make the feeling subside, only just about coping with it. I shake my head and push him away lightly, showing him I'm fine. He frowns but says nothing.

After a long discussion between the scientists, I find us leaving once more for the penthouse. I guess Don found out what he wanted to since we aren't taking Stockman (although I'm kind of glad of that).

As we sit in the ship, I feel a heavy feeling in my chest, one I don't think I've ever felt before. I start to worry though as I add up my problems. A crushing feeling chest pain, fatigue, clammy sweating, dizziness…

You know what that points to?

"Donny…" I try to remain calm.

"What?" he asks from the front of the ship as he's driving.

I gulp, "Well…I kind of think I may be in the early warning signs of a heart attack"

I see Mikey immediately tense up in his seat; worry flooding into him.

Leo takes over control of the ship and Don comes over to me.

"Are you sure?" he asks quietly.

I explain the symptoms quickly, still attempting to stay cool about it. He goes to the back of the ship and comes back with a syringe.

He sighs, "You're lucky I came prepared"

"Wait! That's not going to make me high as a kite again, is it?" I ask skeptically.

"It shouldn't" he moves closer, feeling for the right point on my arm. "May I?" he looks at me questioningly. I nod slowly. "There we go; you should be fine"

I feel as relieved, as does Mikey now. I just hope…

I open my eyes suddenly, not remembering blacking out. As I become more aware of my surroundings, I find I'm looking at the lab's ceiling from a bed and there appears to be a quiet beeping in the background. I trace my gaze to the side where I come into eye contact with Mikey.

He's filled with panic. "Do you know where you are?" he asks me.

I smirk, thinking it's a joke, but when I go to speak, I find I can't. My muscles refuse to work for me, so all I end up giving him is a quiet croak. I instead nod slowly, trying to understand what happened.

"You'll be okay, I promise!"

I close my eyes and try to focus on speech. I need to know what's happening. "Tell…me what's…going…on" I force it out painfully, opening my eyes once I'm done.

He looks awestruck, as if he thought I couldn't speak at all. I give him a small glare to show him I don't want to ask him again.

He quickly regains himself. "Well…um…" he still doesn't say much.

I sigh and my eyes scan away from him, not in the mood for 'secrets' or anything like that.

He tries to get my attention again. "Look, I'm sorry Violet…but I don't really know"

Figures. He probably totally ignored everything Don said to him.

"Donny…" my voice comes out in a near whisper. It actually feels like it's getting harder to speak. Either that or I'm just getting tired.

He understands what I'm asking and runs off to fetch my smarter brother. When Don arrives, I give him a similar questioning look I gave Mikey.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine" he says nervously to me.

I frown at him before attempting speech. "What's…going…on?"

He looks intrigued by the fact I'm forcing myself to talk.

"Well, that medicine I gave you stopped the heart attack…"

Good to hear!

"…But the instability of your mutation caused you to have a stroke instead."

Not so good to hear…

"We feared it had given you permanent brain damage"

Is that why I'm having trouble speaking? Is he saying I could be like this for a while? I want to question him but don't have the energy to keep forcing broken sentences out at him.

Instead I try to ask something else. "How…will you…cu-" I cough suddenly as I get halfway through my sentence, losing it entirely.

"Cure you?"

I nod, thankful he understood the meaning so I didn't have to go through more pain.

"We have a few options that we're testing, but only one seems to be doable at the moment" I want to ask him about it but can't. "At the moment you're stable; try to get some rest, it's the best thing for you at the moment"

He leaves before I can argue against his point. I'm left alone in the lab, staring at the same spot on the ceiling. Eventually, I force myself into a sitting position, which essentially takes all my effort, so I can see the rest of the lab.

It's only then I notice my pink mask is gone. I guess Mikey took it…again! I know he doesn't like seeing me like this; he's unsure what to do or say about it, so he avoids me as much as he can. I look down to my hand where there are a couple of different things attached to check my heartbeat and various other levels.

I'm unaware of how much time passes, but later Cody enters.

"You okay?"

I nod slightly.

"Don't worry…"

WHY DOES EVERYONE SAY THAT WHEN THEY SEE ME?!

"…Donny's working overtime to try cure you"

I bite my lip, before forcing out a single word painfully. "How?"

He smiles, "I'm sure he'll explain it to you if…when he knows it will work" he corrects himself mid-sentence as if to try keep a positive outlook for me.

I lay back down, fatigued suddenly. I don't say anything; I just let myself drift back into an uneasy sleep awaiting the answers I require.

Thankfully, when I next awoke I didn't have as many problems as before. My speech is now back to normal, and I don't feel so tired.

Don stands before me finally telling me what he plans to do, making it sound more complex than it really is.

"So what you're telling me is you're going to filter out the mutagen from my system, then replace it by giving me a blood transfusion from one of you guys?" I raise an eyebrow, thinking it all sounds too simple, if not anti-climactic.

"Basically…yes" he smiles at me. "The difficult part is going to be removing it, I don't know what it will do to you, it could make you de-mutate…although you can't go back to being human, and your genetic structure is far too altered already…"

I sigh, "Any other problems?"

"Kind of…only one of the four of us is a compatible blood type to yours…"

"How is that a problem?" I look at him skeptically.

His smile fades slightly. "Well…"

I think for a moment. "It's Raph, isn't it?"

"He doesn't like needles…I've always had problems when I've needed to inject him or test him…I often have to trick him or get samples from his wounds, but the amount I'll need to take this time, I can't do that"

"I can talk to him," I give him an understanding look.

"You'll have to do it soon then, we really need to start the treatment now! Your system is on the verge of shutting itself down!"

I remain cool. "Don't worry, I'll sort it"

"NO WAY! Nuh-uh, I ain't gonna do it!" Raph stands and moves away from me. "Why don't you get fearless or shell-fer-brains to help ya, cause I won't"

I sigh. "You're the only one who can do it…"

"Why the fuck should I?" he's panicking, I can feel that clearly.

I don't answer, becoming suddenly woozy. I stagger over to him and make eye contact. "It's me or the needle Raph," I hiss at him, "Think about it."

I feel myself collapse to the floor; Raph starts to worry more. "Vi! Are ya okay?" he demands as he kneels next to me.

I'm on the verge of blacking out; the shadows ready to take me once more. I manage to whisper one more thing to him though before I'm gone for good. "I love you bro"

…Where am I?

I look around myself; I'm standing in a small room on my own. The room is basic; the floor is tiled in a black and white checkered pattern, the walls are white with some red curtains lacing one wall. There is a single door in front of me, but when I go to look at what is beyond it, I find it is locked.

Why am I here?

I don't know…is this limbo? Am I dead?

There's a shimmer in front of me. I back off a bit, unsure what to do. It soon goes though and I'm left wondering what the hell that was.

I turn around and look behind me, only to find a mirror. Useful…At least I won't forget who I am! As I gaze into the mirror, I find I'm wearing a white gown as well.

I have no idea how long I wasn't aware of anything; it's like I was lost in blackness for only a few seconds, but shadows can trick you. Time is often distorted in them so you could have been out a few seconds, or you could have been out a few weeks!

The door suddenly opens, a figure slipping in quickly as if running from something…or to someone!

Next thing I know, I'm in the strong arms of my mate, Michelangelo.

"I found you!" He hugs tighter.

I look at him strangely. "Huh?"

"I don't know how long I've been looking Babe, but it seemed like forever! You playing hide and seek?"

I smirk, "Yeah, by locking myself in a room! How do I come up with these things?"

He smiles. "It doesn't matter, at least we're together now"

I continue to hug him closely, not wanting to let go; I don't want to be alone again!

"Don said he's going to keep you under until you're fully stable just in case," he tells me slowly.

I frown, "So everything has been done? He's given me the cure?"

Mikey nods happily. I sigh in relief and lift my head up to kiss him. As we move away, his grin widens.

"So why are you in here? Were you waiting for yours truly to rescue you?"

I give him a solemn glance. "Well, that's the thing…I don't know. I'm not even sure how long I've been out"

A funny feeling overcomes me, one I've felt before, that time I lost my memory and awoke. I feel myself fading from Mikey quickly; I scream out but hear nothing in return. The room is now gone, I'm back in the darkness. But something else is happening…

I feel myself coughing violently as I become aware of everything around me. There's a really irritating sensation in my throat causing it.

Someone near me reacts and moves closer to try solve the problem, I can tell by the emotional reaction it's Donny.

Before he does anything though, it subsides, allowing me to breathe once more. I gasp for air, working out what's happening as I regain myself. Mikey said Don was going to keep me asleep, yet I'm awake…and Don seems as clueless as me as to why, I can feel that without asking him.

I lay there, unsure what to do. My body feels kind of numb, so I don't know if I'm in any pain for the drugs cloud most of my nervous system's responses.

I decide to try moving something small to make sure I'm okay. I glance to my hand and twitch the fingers lightly. A stabbing sensation is felt in the back of my hand oddly, but when I turn it I find there's a needle stuck in it.

I sigh and pull myself up slightly. Before Don can shower me with questions, I raise a hand up and signal for him to stop. "I am a very unusual one," I put on a sophisticated voice as I quote what the Utroms always said to me.

He smiles as realization creeps in then he begins to laugh with me. We both savour the moment while we can, the feeling in the room lightening drastically as we do so.

It remains that way until Mikey comes bursting in. "What happened?" he asked desperately.

"Oh the usual, I just woke up when I shouldn't…again" I grin to him, surprising him as it is me who answers.

Don half-smirks, "Well, you're pretty stable now…" He starts to unhook me from all the monitors. "I'll let you go, but you must rest and tell me immediately if anything feels out of the ordinary"

"Deal!" I beam at him as he removes the needle from the back of my hand. "I've gotta go thank someone as it is"

Mikey is curious as to what I mean, but I wave away his concern as I stretch my muscles. As I flex each of them to rid them of the stiffness that invades, I can't help but notice how much better I feel already.

After a while, I finally stand up, surprisingly balanced on my feet unlike before. I go out of the lab, stopping and turning shortly after as I know Mikey is right behind me. He jumps, as he didn't expect me to do so.

"You scared me when you just disappeared from our world…" he has a fairly neutral expression right now, emotions kind of clashing within him.

"I kind of scared me too!" I grin, but I don't keep it for long. "How do I know all this is real though?"

He smirks, "You know it is"

"Maybe…" I sigh, and then look back to him. "Look, I've got to go thank Raph for going through with this, can I have a bit of time?"

"Sure babe" he gives a sort of understanding look then goes off slowly. I can feel he wants to stay by my side right now, but I have to do this, then I can let Mikey smother me as much as he wants.

I go to Raph's room, entering slowly. "R-Raph?" I stutter slightly, suddenly nervous.

It's pitch black in here, I think he might be asleep; I go to leave when…

"Violet!" someone grabs me in the darkness, hugging me closely.

"Hey big bro…" I hug him back, knowing I owe him more than anything else. "I…just wanted to say…thank you"

Even in the low level of light, I can see his small smile.

"You…I…" a light blush invades my cheeks, as I am lost for words.

"Don't worry Vi, I understand how you feel"

I give him a mock frown. "Hey! That's my job!"