It was later, almost sunrise, when Will found Leo on the rooftop as he quietly looked out. The injured teens had all been cared for and were now sleeping, Ty and Lavi with the help of some painkillers. Even now Leo wasn't far from them, standing on the roof right over the room they were being watched by Donnie and Tony.

"Hey, sorry to intrude on your solitude." Will said as he walked up.

"It's fine." Leo turned to face him. "Wasn't really doing anything anyway besides watching."

"Something you always seem do do." Will chuckled.

"Someone has to watch over this wild bunch." Leo grinned. "They tend to get out of control if you don't...even at this age." He wryly remembered the destroyed new training room.

"I can only imagine. They going to be ok?"

"Donnie assures me they are. With time and rest."

Will shook his head. "Three walls, your boy went through three fucking walls. And he walks away from it."

"Because he has a carapace Will. And he still ended up with plenty of injuries to show for it." Leo chuckled. "That's not even the record. Raph once went through five during a fight."

Will just stared at him. "I don't even want to know."

"Probably best you didn't." Leo grinned at him. "Walking turtles are bad enough to handle. Not sure how you would feel about rhinos and warthogs."

"Anyway." Will changed the subject then. "Blaster managed to find something I think you should see."

Leo looked at him curiously and Will handed over the piece of paper he had been holding. Except it wasn't a piece of paper, it was a picture.

"This was taken earlier tonight by one of our satellites a few hundred miles north of here, and they seem to be heading towards the mainland."

The image on that paper held Leo's attention. It might have totally gone unnoticed, if it wasn't for the line of fire flaring up in the darkened sky. And he also knew it wasn't him or his brothers out there blowing it around. His eyes narrowed as he made out the four figures barely captured in the light of the fire. "I had feared as much."

"You think it's them?"

"Almost has to be. Unless we were out sleepflying. Any idea where they are heading?"

Will shook his head. "All I can tell you is that they are heading for the California coast. Where they will go from there...I don't know."

"I don't suppose there is anyway to track them either."

"Not really. That image was a lucky shot as it was. If it hadn't been dark out, they would have never been noticed."

Leo sighed as he lowered the picture again and looked out. "And I can't even follow them. Not now. If we go that leaves the rest of my family defenseless against this...thing Jeff has become. Something strongly tells me we haven't seen the last of it."

"I'm guessing that's the reason for the late night vigil?"

"You guess correctly. I can't leave them. Especially not with those three in the shape they are in. But I may have too if we are supposed to face them."

"Yeah...about that..." Will tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I think there might be a way to get ahead of them...and get the Dinobots off of the island without having to haul them on ships or tie them to fifty freakin Chanooks."

Leo looked back at him curiously.

Will thought a moment, still tapping away. "We've been working on something for a long time now, but never could get it together with the stuff we have available here. But we think we've managed to finally figure it out, just haven't tested it yet."

"Oh? And what are we talking about?"

"It's a nifty lil thing...if it works. You ever hear of a ground bridge?

"Can't say that I have."

"Well...lucky you. You get to try it out first. Already got Wheeljack, Blaster and Ratchet fine tuning it. Should be ready in a few hours... If Wheeljack doesn't blow it up."

"How convenient." Leo muttered. "Almost too convenient that you get that working right when we need it the most."

"I know...freaked me out too. Been trying since before we even met you to get that damn thing to work...then just overnight Blaster sends a message saying 'Hey...we got it. It was really something so stupid and minor we were over looking'. I'm thinking some divine fingers might still be pulling some strings honestly for that to happen."

Leo shifted his gaze from the horizon to the stars. For a moment, one shone very brightly as if acknowledging the conclusion Will had come up with. Leo felt a small smile form on his lips. "Somehow Will...I don't doubt that."

.

.

I watched as the small blue glow happened in front of us, then flared to open into a wide portal. "This is pretty neat." I grinned. "Never thought I would get to see a real life ground bridge."

Cris gave me that 'are you kidding me' look. "Vicky, nothing should surprise you anymore...but yet it continuously does."

I shrugged as I grinned at her. "Blame it on my inner child."

"I blame it on your inner idiot."

It was a bright sunny morning. A cheerful kind of morning... Yes...I know... A contradictory in terms coming from me. A morning that made what happened last night seem like a bad dream, right up to the point Leo and Mikey were helping two obviously stiff and sore twins outside to where we were. Thane right behind them with Jessica holding his good hand. That actually shocked me a bit. Raph wouldn't be caught dead doing that...but Thane didn't seem to mind. Maybe he wasn't quite as uptight as his Dad afterall.

We had decided to try this outside. For two reasons. If something went wrong it wouldn't take out the base and the Dinobots didn't have to squeeze their frames inside the base that was too small. That's how big they were.

"Whoa. That's pretty cool." Mikey noted as they drew closer, then he handed Lavi off to Leo and stood right in front of it. "You sure it's safe though? As old as Ratchet is...it might be good to double check."

A wrench came flying through and Mikey squealed as he scrambled out of the way of it's flight path.

"That answer your question?" Raph smirked at his little brother.

"Wait..he can hear us?" Mikey looked a little confused over that fact.

"He can if I let him listen in on the conversation over the comm." Sides grinned at him.

Mikey glared up at him. "You... You better double check your oil. Never know when vegetable oil will replace motor oil in that next oil change."

Caitlin came over then, and to my complete and utter shock...smacked him in the back of the head. "One prank war is bad enough! Don't you start another!"

Sides, Ari and Adam all lost it when they saw the expression on Mikey's face. He was even more shocked than I was.

"I think we just found Caitlin's patience limit." Leo said with a straight face...though he was trying hard not to laugh.

"I'm surprised she hasn't killed him by now myself." Raph said amused as he crossed his arms.

Hide let out an irritated vent over it all, then looked at the ground bridge. "It's so nice to know his wrench throwing distance has been expanded."

The next wrench that came through actually hit it's target that time and nailed Hide upside the head.

"Sideswipe! Stop feeding him the conversation!" Hide bellowed and Sides' laughed even harder.

"Oh, for the love of Primus..." Jolt sighed and stepped through.

Somehow we all made it through without any further wrench damage and walked into the large open area outside the first base we arrive at. It felt strange being back here after being on the road for so long.

"Hey! You made it!" Blaster grinned at us as we began to file through with our gear, looking like we were coming back from a damn ruck march actually.

"Barely." I replied. "Had a few close calls a time or two."

"That's what keeps life interesting."

"I'll be happy with boring for a bit honestly."

Ratchet immediately made his way to the twins and Thane, scanning away. Donnie rolled his eyes a little at that as he walked by. "He's acting like I haven't been patching up this family by myself for the last thirty years or so."

"Stop being a patient hog." Marina replied, giving him a slight push. "He's just concerned is all."

Apparently satisfied that they indeed were healing properly, Ratchet finally turned away from his scans. "I recommend that you two take it easy."

Donnie mimicked the med bot from behind. Then got a straight face when Ratchet turned to look at him suspiciously.

Ratchet narrowed his eyes then turned to Thane. "And you, try not to use that arm."

Yup...Donnie did it again...and got caught. His feet moved very quickly to avoid that wrench too.

"War of the medics!" Mikey grinned.

Leo and I exchanged a long look and rolled our eyes. "I know what you two need." I quickly changed the subject as I moved over to Lavi. "You'd be surprised what a long, hot bath will do for sore muscles. And I do believe we have the facilities to accommodate for that here." My mind wandered to that bathtub in our room. To be honest...I was wanting a bath too.

Lavi eyed her two overbearing doctors, then quickly agreed. "Yeah...I'd like a bath."

"Fine." I smiled sweetly at Ratchet and Donnie, knowing this was going to set them off. "And you can have it in my bathroom, where your Father and I can make sure you will be left alone."

Ratchet glared at me. "She should be resting in my med bay. And that's where she will be going."

I kept that smile...but answered through clenched teeth. "You want to take a bet on that? I'll wager you one wrench whack against one dragon tail swipe that she'll take a bath in my bathroom. And when she's done, Ty will. And then they will sleep...also in our room. If they need something, we will come and get someone but I'm not going to make them stay in med bay where they won't even be allowed to go to the bathroom in peace!"

To back me up...Leo's eyes were already glowing that blue color, and it was slowly spreading.

"Did I also mention that Leo is pretty good with slapping bots around with that tail?"

Ratchet's eyes narrowed angrily, but he did turn away and stomped off. Muttering to himself the whole time.

I was actually a bit surprised by that. First time I managed to bully the biggest bully. With help anyway, but I was going to take any win I could with Ratchet.

Leo let his glow fade and calmly turned to help Ty along again.

Mikey was laughing, hard. "Teach him to come in between turtle parents and their kids!"

He was laughing so hard that he wasn't paying attention...and the wrench that came in hit him, knocking him into the trees and bushes behind us. "I'm ok!" Came from his unseen body.

Tony walked over to him, shaking his head. "Michelangelo, ol' buddy, one of these days that mouth is going to get you into a jam you can't get out of."

Mikey's head popped up from behind some bushes. "Pfft. The day that happens...I'll give up pranking."