Something was wrong.
Mikey couldn't put his finger on it, but something had been… off about the night they had gotten Don back. He lay awake in bed the next morning, turning over his brothers' reactions in his mind, trying to figure out what had been so strange about it.
Don had been exhausted and partly paralyzed, and he had been unusually quiet as his brothers clustered around him. Mikey had tried to make him as comfortable as possible, but he got the impression that Don was in pain, though Leo hadn't mentioned any injuries. Mikey had asked him if he needed some warm washcloths for cuts or bruises, and Don had just said, "Thanks, Mikey, but no…"
Raph had been angry, which wasn't unusual. This time, Mikey could completely understand it — after all, the Purple Dragons had kidnapped their brother and spent almost two days hurting him. What wasn't to get angry about? What puzzled him about Raph's anger was how… desperate it seemed. Like he was almost frantic over what had happened to Don, even though usually kicking enemy butt was enough to settle him down.
Even Leo was acting funny. He seemed…. cautious, moving carefully and slowly around Don, speaking quietly to him as he cleaned the grime from their half-paralyzed brother's body. It wasn't how Leo normally acted around his brothers, even when they were hurt.
There had been something hovering in the air over them the night before, Mikey concluded. Something unspoken, unseen, unheard, but definitely there. And he was going to find out what it was, and what the others weren't telling him…
"Mikey," a voice said from below him. "Can we talk?"
Mikey rolled to the edge of his loft bed. Leo was standing under it, his hands on his hips. "Sure, just give me a minute."
He leaped down lightly to his brother's side, a joke already percolating on his tongue, but he stopped when he saw Leo's expression. He looked sterner than usual, as if he were about to deliver a lecture.
"What's the matter?" Mikey said, alarmed. "Is it Don? Did something happen to Don?"
"Don's still sleeping," Leo said quietly. "But I had to talk to you about something before he wakes up."
"If it's about his secret stash of candy, I already ate that."
"I'm not joking, Mikey," Leo said, irritation creeping into his voice. "This is something… very serious."
Mikey's face sobered. "Don said he wasn't hurt that bad," he said. "What's wrong?"
"Something happened to Don when he was with the Purple Dragons," Leo said quietly. "Raph, Master Splinter and I already figured it out, so I felt that you should be told, so you would know what not to do." He seemed to be struggling internally with something, but eventually he managed to choke out the words, "They raped him."
For a moment, silence settled over the room. Mikey blinked at Leo for a moment, trying to absorb the words his brother had said.
"They did what?" Mikey said.
He could tell from Leo's expression that he didn't want to say the words again. It had been hard enough for Leo to say them the first time, and now he was standing awkwardly, one hand rubbing the back of his neck while the other clenched into a fist. His eyes were staring at the pattern of stones on the floor, not meeting Mikey's.
"Are — are you sure?" Mikey said with a hint of desperation. "I mean, if Don didn't say they did—"
"There was blood between his legs, Mikey," Leo said quietly. "He bled from his cloaca. April — she told me that it happened when he tried to protect her from the Purple Dragons."
Mikey felt his heart speeding up as he thought back to when he had rescued Don. He hadn't seen anything — but then again, he had been in a rush to get his brother out of there before anything could go wrong. He only remembered heaving Don onto his back and carrying him to the Battle Shell, as quickly and gently as he could. He would have noticed if Don was bleeding, wouldn't he?
Wouldn't he? Or… had he not noticed because he wasn't looking?
"So when Raph said the guy who — who hurt Don was dead —" Mikey said slowly. "I thought — I thought he meant beating him up or somethin'."
"No, Mikey," Leo said, his brow furrowing.
Mikey clenched his fists. "But — we gotta do something! I mean — isn't there some way we can fix this?"
Uncertainty crossed Leo's face, and that was more alarming to Mikey than anything else. He sank onto a cardboard box full of comic books, as the full weight of what Leo had said sank into his mind. This just — it wasn't possible that it had happened to one of them.
He still vaguely remembered what Master Splinter had told them a few years ago, when he caught Mikey staring at a lingerie ad in a magazine. He had explained to his sons that sexual contact should be a thing of love and giving, and never ever should happen if one of the people involved didn't want it. Mikey remembered that part mainly because it had made so little sense to him — why would anybody do that if the other person wasn't willing? Not only did his father impress on him that it was profoundly wrong, but he couldn't imagine it being enjoyable if the other person didn't want him.
And now… Leo was saying it had happened to Don. That Don had been raped while the Purple Dragons had him paralyzed and helpless. Mikey flinched as his mind tried to imagine what Don must be feeling right now — how much the Dragons must have hurt him. And he still didn't know what he could do to make it better.
"Why?" he said at last.
"Why what?"
"Why would someone do that to Don?" Mikey said mournfully.
"I — don't know either, Mikey," Leo said softly, crossing his arms across his chest. "I don't understand it either. But we have to all be here for Don right now — and we have to be very careful with him. He's been badly hurt, and we don't know how it's going to affect him psychologically."
"What can I do?" Mikey asked.
Leo sighed, his shoulders slumping. Mikey searched his brother's face for some sign that Leo had an answer to give him. But there seemed to be none.
Hot water blasted from above April, streaming over her skin and hair. She gasped at the heat, but began scrubbing furiously with a bar of soap, creating suds on her skin as fast as they could be washed down the drain. The Turtles' bathroom lacked privacy — it didn't even have a door — but it definitely didn't lack for water pressure.
"April!" a familiar gravelly voice called. "I'm leavin' some clothes out here. They ain't gonna fit, but they're clean."
"Thanks, Raph," she called back, her hands automatically coming up to cover her breasts.
She went back to washing off the caked layers of filth that had accumulated on her during her captivity. Dust, particles of concrete, plenty of sweat, and Don's earthy, musky scent still clung to her. It was amazing that none of his brothers had noticed that April smelled like their brother, but perhaps they thought it was just from supporting him… and not from coupling with him. She wondered how long it would be before Don told his brothers what had happened, and if any of them would blame her for what she had done.
The thoughts clung to her mind as she toweled herself off, and examined the clothes Raph had left her. The only clothes the Turtles owned were the disguises they used when they were out in public, and all four of them were much broader physically than she was, even without their shells. Fortunately Raph had chosen a pair of pants with a stretchy waist, which clung to her hips just enough to not simply fall down.
As she made her way out into the lair, she heard voices coming from Mikey's bedroom — Mikey's voice, sounding upset, and Leo's lower, steadier voice. So Leo was telling him what had happened.
Don was sitting up against the pillows, the blanket folded up at his side. He still looked fragile — weary — as if a gentle push could throw him off-balance. But he looked up at April as she came toward him, and gestured for her to come closer.
"Are you able to move?" April said quietly.
"Mostly. Raph doesn't want me to get up until we're sure the paralytic has worn off," Don said, smiling wanly.
As feeble as it was, the smile made her heart clench. The fragility in his eyes reminded her that for all his outward maturity — for all his genius — and despite being a full-fledged ninja, he was still only seventeen years old. He wasn't much more than a child.
"I have to go," she said quietly.
His smile died, and she saw fear flash through his eyes. "Go where?" he asked.
"The police. I have to tell them that I escaped the Purple Dragons, and that I'm still alive." April sat down beside him, trying to look as reassuring as she could. "And then I have to start putting my store and apartment back together."
"Don't go alone," he said quietly, clasping his hand tightly around hers. "Have Raph take you there. Some of the Purple Dragons who kidnapped us might still be out there, and they might be looking for you."
April wanted to say that he was worrying too much about her, that the Dragons probably wouldn't be watching for someone whom they had only kidnapped because she had been near him. But Don was leaning closer to her, his dark, deep eyes fixed on hers, his hand clenching around hers. He looked almost desperate for her not to go alone.
"Don't worry about me, Don. I'll ask him to take me there," she said quietly.
Much to her relief, that seemed to reassure Don. He settled back against the pillows, wincing as he moved. April didn't want to think about what was causing him pain, didn't want to think about what had been done to him — what she had done to him. Even if he forgave her for forcing herself on him, she wasn't sure she could forgive herself.
On impulse, she leaned closer and pressed her lips against his cheek, winding one arm around his broad shoulders. "I'll be okay," she whispered, her breath brushing his face.
"Don't stay away," he said softly. "Come back soon."
"If you want me to," April said, trying to smile.
His hand loosened and released hers as she rose from the couch, and April found herself wishing that he hadn't — at least, not yet. As she walked to the garage — she could hear Raph rattling around in there already — she felt Don's eyes following her.