AN: It's about to get real up in here, folks.
"And…there we go!" Donnie declared, as he filled the last syringe. Three doses were neatly lined up in a row on his desk. He took two of them, just in case, and loaded them into the first aid kit.
"I can't believe it, Donnie," April cried, her eyes shining. "You did it!"
"Well done, my son," Splinter said.
Donnie couldn't help but beam with pride. In less than an hour, Mr. O'Neil would be a human again. "All right, I guess all we need to do now is go administer the serum, and we'll be back here with your dad in a little while."
"Wait, can't I come with you?" April asked, her face falling.
Donnie cringed. He was afraid she was going to ask that. "Well, no. Sorry, April. It's just, you need to rest as much as possible. Your blood pressure is still a little lower than I'd like it to be."
"Come on, Donnie! Please? I haven't talked to my dad in ages!"
"Er...the process is not pretty. Trust me."
"I can handle it. It can't be any grosser than watching Mikey eat pizza."
"You should wait here," Splinter said. "You only awoke eight hours ago, and you need to rest."
April deflated. "Fine."
"Don't worry, April," Donnie said, in what he hoped was a reassuring voice.
As he left the lab, Splinter came with him. "I sense that you are omitting something, my son."
Donnie stopped. "The retro-mutation process is excruciating, Sensei. You should have heard Xever screaming. It worked, but I thought that the pain was going to kill him. I can't let April see that."
Splinter nodded. "A wise decision. Do you still wish for your aunt to accompany you?"
"Oh, definitely. I need her to be handy with the first aid kit in case something goes wrong. You know her company gives free Red Cross training?"
"I believe she is in the dojo. I will get her for you."
"Wait, Sensei." Donnie's stomach started twisting up in knots.
Splinter looked at him curiously.
"Well, it's just...I mean, I have enough retro-mutagen to help three mutants right now. I was wondering, well, if you...if you..."
"If I want to be human once more?"
"Yeah," Donnie said lamely.
"It has crossed my mind," Splinter said. "But we must put others first. I am in no danger in my present state."
"But you do want to be human, right? I can always make more, as long as I can get my hands on enough mutagen."
A look of longing filled Splinter's eyes, but then he frowned. "Others must be given priority. Shall I let Mei know that you are ready?"
Donnie nodded, feeling somewhat sick to his stomach. As Splinter walked away, he reviewed his plan. It should be easy enough. Mr. O'Neil trusted him enough to let him get close with the syringe, which would make delivering the serum much less traumatizing that with the syringe launcher. He had already set up some blankets and pillows to make the whole situation more comfortable, and he planned to administer some sodium naproxen first to help ease the pain. With any luck, Mei would just be a bystander. But Mr. O'Neil was big, and the possibility that he would injure himself during the transition was likely.
He had also laid out some clothes for Mr. O'Neil to put on as soon as he was conscious. There was no need to add further indignity to the situation.
This was going to work. Finally, April would get the help that she needed. As well as the another victim of Shredder's, who was still in danger. Donnie wondered who Splinter was talking about. It couldn't have been Aunt Mei, though she might benefit from a psychologist's help.
I don't have time to think about that, Donnie thought.
Mei exhaled deeply as she stretched into child's pose; once she had fully extended her arms, she slowly began to draw a deep, steady breath. She was startled by the sound of gentle footsteps. Looking up, she saw Splinter entering the dojo.
"Is Donatello ready?" she asked.
Splinter nodded, avoiding eye contact.
Trying to ignore the sudden increase in her heart rate, Mei clambered up off the floor. "Hopefully this won't be too messy."
Finally, Splinter met her gaze. "Donatello made it sound as though it might be. But I know you are strong enough to manage it."
As her hands started shaking, Mei stepped a little closer to Splinter. "I am not my sister, Yoshi."
Splinter closed his eyes and hung his head in shame. "I know this. I must apologize for my behavior. You—surely you must know how much you resemble her. I cannot see you without thinking of her."
Mei swallowed back an unexpected sense of hurt. In a way, she understood what he meant. Since being reunited with her sister's husband, she had found herself thinking about her past life more frequently than ever. Nearly every time she thought of how strong Yoshi's love for Shen was, it took her back to a time in her life when she and Kenshin had been lost in the glow of love and family. Nevertheless, the thought that Splinter could only see Shen when he looked at Mei was strangely disappointing.
"I understand," Mei said. "I have missed Kenshin more than ever since I found my long-lost family."
She wondered if she imagined the glint of disappointment that flashed through Splinter's eyes. "The past is a source of untold comfort as well as grief." Then he shook his head. "Donatello is waiting for you."
"Of course," Mei said. She bowed in parting and hurried through the lair to find her nephew, trying not to think about what had just happened.
"Ready, Obasan?" piped Donatello. He cocked his head slightly. "Are you all right?"
Mei silently cursed Donatello's observational skills. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm quite excited to meet Kirby—in a manner not involving fangs and sai."
"Yes, well, shall we?"
The two of them made their way to the makeshift cave where Mr. O'Neil resided. He looked up excitedly upon seeing them, presumably expecting them to have food.
"All right, Aunt Mei," Donatello said. He removed a syringe from the first aid kit and then handed the kit to her. "Once the serum is administered, he's going to start reacting like he's having a seizure. I mostly need you to help me keep him from injuring himself."
Mei nodded, privately wishing she had not agreed to aid in this particular endeavor. There was a reason she had studied computer sciences instead of biology.
"Hey, Mr. O'Neil. We're here to make you better," said Donatello, slowly approaching the giant bat. Kirby came up with interest. "Just a little closer—" He poked two tablets of naproxen into Kirby's mouth; the creature responded with distaste, but looked around curiously as if to see whether they had brought him anything good to eat.
When Donatello presented the syringe, the mutant responded like a spooked horse. "No! It's all right!" he cried. With a swipe of his massive wing, Kirby knocked Donatello to the ground. The syringe went flying and smashed into pieces on the ground.
"All right," Donatello muttered, rubbing his shoulder. "That could have gone better. Give me that second syringe."
"Donatello, are you sure we shouldn't tranquilize him first?"
"No—it could make his blood pressure too low. I'm not willing to risk that."
"Well, what about your projectile system?"
"Obasan," Donatello said, folding his arms, "that's going to cause massive bruising. I don't want this to be any worse than it needs to. Just distract him, and it won't be a problem."
Hesitantly, Mei handed him the second syringe, then turned to face the mutant bat. "Kirby! Look over here!"
With narrowed, mistrustful eyes, Kirby growled at her.
"Come here, Kirby. I have something for you!"
As she continued talking to him, Donatello slowly came up behind Kirby and gently pressed the needle tip against one of the veins in the wing-arm. Before he could even depress the plunger, the bat reacted with violence.
Mei ran to help; she tried to restrain Kirby's forearms while Donatello tried once again to press the needle into the vein. He was too strong. His wing-arms tore free of her grip, and with a vicious swipe, he threw both her and Donatello back again.
The strike deflected Donatello's hand up to his own shoulder.
In horror, Mei watched helplessly as the needle made contact and disappeared into his flesh; the force of the blow depressed the plunger and the entire contents of the syringe spewed into his system.
She couldn't even hear herself scream over the sounds of his cries of pain.