A/N: It has been a while since I wrote anything. This just hit me as I rewatched the 2003 version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It is hands down my favorite version followed by the IDW comics. Either way, I wanted to continue the story after Good Genes. This is my attempt to follow the basic episode structure as I made my own 'season', so it would be more focused on action than on the day-to-day business.
A calming breath filled his lungs; the incense comforting. It soothed his soul and put his mind at ease. He could hear Raph hitting his punching bag, he didn't even have to open his eyes to know this fact. The thuds sounded in a measured beat like a resting heart. His younger brother must be in a good mood, not angry. It was a relief; the leader preferred peace. He released his breath to take another. He could hear the clicks and beeps of a game further away from the thuds. He could hear Mikey give a whoop of excitement, muffled by the paper screen door between the dojo and the living room. It brought a slight smile to his beak to hear the joyous sound. Leo knew he wouldn't hear his third brother, the typing of his computer too quiet to make it past the other noises. Leo didn't let this bother him. Don wouldn't get himself into too much trouble. The oldest brother steadied himself to go back into his meditation.
He sensed a presence coming into the dojo. It prickled at the edges of his senses. "Did you need something, Don?" he asked calmly, opening his eyes. The paper door slid open. Don gave an amused huff as he shut the door behind him. No doubt the younger was amused at the eldest's 'ninja senses'. Leo could hear Don walk to him, but he didn't turn to watch his brother. Footsteps barely audible, silent like they were trained.
"Yes," Don replied simply as he appeared in Leo's periphery. Leo raised an eye ridge, Don rarely answered with one word replies. Don sat across from him, cross-legged mirroring his older brother. Leo waited for a moment as he could see Don putting his words together. It did no good to rush his younger brother, so Leo 's brown eyes, deep in thought, searched the mats below them. "Do you remember how I was worried about Bishop collecting samples from me when I was mutated? How I said that there was no telling what sort of monstrosities he could create?" Don started, his brown eyes looked down away from Leo's steady gaze.
"Of course, I do," Leo said, with a nod. He and Master Splinter heard about the other's worries for weeks. He would be lying if the thought didn't also bother him. Bishop had no limit to his cruelty. The four had a hard enough time controlling the outbreak and that was accidental.
"I know that he is up to something," Don said, "I even know where he is doing it." His gaze grew sharp and determined.
Leo smirked, "Sounds like you have been thinking about this for a while. It also sounds like you know more than what you are saying." Don nodded, getting to his feet. Leo followed suit, his muscles a little sore from sitting in a single position for so long.
"With Leatherheads help, I hacked into the EPF's internal communications." Don jerked his head toward the doors of the dojo, indicating that he was going to show Leo something. The elder brother followed the younger out of the dojo. Leo looked over to quickly check on the last two brothers. Raph had stopped his workout and was now sitting watching Mikey play his game. His gruff voice was encouraging for the moment. "A week after I returned home, the EPF bought an abandoned factory. It is surrounded by abandoned warehouses that they also purchased," Don continued as he also passed the couch. Leo nodded, the timing was odd and the fact that it appeared that the government agency didn't want to be disturbed by civilians. He didn't see the two pairs of eyes that watched them walk to the lab. "I have intercepted a couple emails of shipping information," Don continued as the pair entered his lab. The younger turtle walked to his computer chair and sat down. Leo stood next to him and looked over at the emails that Don pulled up. "From what I gathered, they are performing some sort of genetic experiments. I have read emails speaking about living specimens and I doubt they are talking about plants." He lowered his head as he opened what appeared to be a building schematic.
The building looked complicated enough. An olive green finger pointed out a corridor of small rooms with a single door each. Cells, the leader's mind supplied. Leo narrowed his gaze, the thought of some sort of poor creature undergoing experiments made him clench his fist. The leather of Don's computer chair creaked under the pressure. "Their experiments are not going well. A large furnace has been built in the last month," Don added, his voice grim.
Leo straightened his posture, crossing his arms across his plastron. "They are trying to get rid of any evidence," he stated bitterly. His dark eyes turned darker.
"Who's doing what now?" Raph's gruff voice asked from the doorway. He leaned against the door. His amber eyes looked at Don, trying to pick apart the expression on the brainiac's face. "Whatcha lookin' at?" he asked as walked to the pair. He leaned on Don's desk as he studied the screen.
"Schematics for a new EPF lab," Don answered, "I am pretty sure that they are performing some sort of experiments there." A sharp exhale hissed from the red-masked brother.
"So are we going to bust some heads?" Raph asked. He looked at Leo, his posture said he was ready for a fight. If it was with Leo or the EPF was up to the young leader.
Leo sighed, feeling a little conflicted, "Can we wait for Master Splinter to return from his trip? He will be back in a little over a week." Raph scoffed. "What, Raph? He asked us not to get into trouble while he is gone." The second oldest turtle opened his beak to refute the statement. It was going to spiral into an argument. Leo could feel it.
"This can't wait, Leo. Bishop has a meeting in Washington, D.C. Baxter Stockman has gone upstate to work on another project," Don answered, pulling up a couple of emails. Leo read through them briefly confirming what Don had said. "This would be the most opportune time to shut this down." It was a plea. Leo looked at his younger brothers. Don looked earnest with a hint of guilt while Raph had a stubborn look, but a slight worry furrowed in his brow. The leader knew they were right.
Leo sighed, "And we can't leave whoever is there to fend for themselves." His tone was firm and no nonsense. He looked at the confident smile from Don and the smirk from Raph. "Something tells me that you already have a plan and are just asking for my approval, Don," the leader said.
"You would be correct," Don replied with a knowing smile. "Let's get Mikey and go over it. Bishop will be back the day after tomorrow and I would rather be in and out before that happens."
Leo leaned over the driver seat, looking at the building in front of them. It was on a more abandoned side of the city, making the eldest turtle uneasy. The Battle Shell would stand out if anyone were to drive by. He was grateful for the lack of moon above. The darkness would make this task so much simpler. Raph had parked a couple of blocks away, but the Battle Shell was still the only vehicle on the side of the road. "I don't know about you guys, but I am thinking that it is too quiet," Mikey said, breaking the silence. He was also leaning forward to look over the front seats.
"That's good, Mikey. It is two in the morning," Don replied as he exited the vehicle, he shut the passenger door. Mikey hopped out as well, spinning his nunchucks. "This is when a human's biorhythm is the slowest. The guards will be a little slower," Don continued. Don pulled his duffel bag higher on his shoulders.
"Not that we will be getting into a fight," Leo stated as he too exited the armored truck. Raph padded beside him. "We are getting in, Don will download incriminating evidence on his harddrive thing, and we get out." Leo could see the disappointed looks on Mikey and Raph.
"How about the people that are in there?" Mikey asked, following his brothers as they climbed to the roof of a nearby warehouse. Leo looked down at his feet as he could feel his three younger brothers look at him. He agreed with the sentiment. He would free all the test subjects, but it was already a large risk they were taking to break in in the first place. If anything happened to his brothers when they had no backup to call, Leo didn't know what he would do.
"I can't believe I am goin' to say this, but he is right," Raph said, crossing his arms. The leader nodded, telling them non verbally that he acknowledged the two. If they noticed that he didn't respond, they didn't say so. Leo started at a run and his brothers followed. The roof was cool, the warmth from the summer sun had long disappeared. They were nothing more than four shadows in the night, hardly visible in the starlight. He could barely hear their footsteps. It calmed his nerves slightly; the humans wouldn't be able to see them coming.
"We will give the information to a newspaper, and we can shut down the entire EPF," Leo stated as he gathered his thoughts. "If we can free any of the test subjects while we are in, we will." The last statement was a promise. Leo focused on his path ahead.
There were two warehouses before they reached their destination. He caught Mikey's gaze as the two of them jumped onto the next warehouse. The orange-banded turtle didn't cheer or flip as he normally did. Leo landed softly, not breaking stride. He could hear two more barely audible thumps as Don and Raph landed behind them. Leo took a deep centering breath, readying himself for this mission. Don had assured him that the facility wasn't well fortified. That the EPF was keeping whatever was going on there under wraps. The brainy turtle had been more prepared for this mission than the leader had initially thought.
Leo slowed to a stop as he saw their target. He lowered himself to a crouch and could feel Mikey do the same on his right. Raph stopped on Leo's left and Don on Raph's left. Their breaths were still even, the short run not enough to shorten them. Leo gave each brother a brief look before turning to observe the hidden laboratory. The abandoned factory didn't look like anything special. If Leo didn't know what he was looking for, he would have thought that it was truly an abandoned building. There wasn't even a fence around it. The only evidence that something was happening was lazy remnants of smoke coming from the smokestacks.
"It smells a little like weird bacon," Mikey commented, wrinkling his nose. As the youngest said, there was a sharp scent in the air. It made Leo gag slightly.
"That's flesh burning," Raph stated with a growl. Shivering, the four grew quiet. "Now what, Fearless?" Leo looked away from the smoke to look toward his younger brother.
"We keep to the plan. We enter the vents, there," Leo pointed at the opposite corner at the two metal tubes. "Do you see any guards, Donny?" he asked. Leo leaned forward to look at Don. The purple-banded turtle had his heat vision goggles.
"I see two heat signatures on the northwest corner of the roof," Don replied, olive green finger pointing to said corner. It was faint but the leader could see two dark shapes. Leo nodded and told his brothers that they are moving forward. The four turtles leapt to the laboratory's roof, silently.
The four sunk into the darkest shadows. The blue-masked turtle pointed to Mikey and himself before unsheathing his katana. Mikey nodded as he slunk behind the leader. The two ninja focused on the two dark shapes on the roof with them. They were not facing the two brothers as they slinked toward them.
"There's only six left," one of the men said with a sniff. Leo and Mikey looked at each other. The younger mouthed 'six'. Leo nodded.
"Good riddance if you ask me. I don't like the way they scream," the second said. "I know the scientists say they aren't intelligent, but when they talk it gives me the jeepies." Leo could see Mikey narrow his white eyes. The youngest looked to him for permission. Leo nodded and with the twirling of two nunchucks, the two men collapsed. Leo looked over the two bodies. Their chest rose and fell; his brother was always careful with his weapons. More importantly, Leo reached down to unstrap the human's guns from them. With a look of disgust, the leader kicked them aside. He patted them down to remove their radios as well.
The pair jogged back to Raph and Don who were standing by the metal vents. Both looked to the returning pair with third eyelids closed, hiding the burning amber and warm brown of their eyes. Leo motioned for Don to take the lead as they approached the vents. Nothing more than shadows in the summer night.
The genius brother wiggled easily into the metal tube with barely a sound. It was a tight fit, Don's domed shell touched the top of the metal. Leo pointed to himself before pointing at Raph and lastly, Mikey. The two brothers nodded and Leo wiggled into the vent himself. The metal was chill under his scaled hands as he pulled himself through. Don shuffled forward in the metal tube, allowing Leo to fit in as well. The leader pushed on Don's shell to encourage him to move. The olive-green turtle turned and moved forward as Leo could feel more than feel Raph enter behind, followed by Mikey.
"Your feet stink, Raphie," Mikey's voice said in a soft, but nasally tone. Leo could practically see the youngest holding his nose and waving his hand. Leo looked over his shoulder in time to see Raph kick backwards. Quickly Mikey ducked and the foot missed its target.
"This is a stealth mission," Leo hissed at the two. At least they had the respect to look halfway guilty. A meter ahead Don looked over his shoulder to look for his three brothers. The goggles on his head made his expression unreadable. He must have seen them with his heat-vision goggles because he moved forward. The blue-banded turtle breathed calmly as he followed Don. He had to keep his cool to make sure they succeeded. His pace was quick until he closed the gap between them.
It was dark in the duct, the only light came from the device in Don's hand. Leo didn't mind, there wasn't much to see in the vents. Just his brothers and he didn't need to see them to know that they were there. Don stopped suddenly, holding up his hand. Leo copied the same motion for Raph to see in the dim light. The leader could hear a little oomph as Mikey bumped into his older brother. Leo rolled his eyes at the grumbles behind him. At least they were being quiet this time; he couldn't tell what words were being shared. He focused on the brother in front of him. The genius looked at the small device, his head looked to the left and right before pointing to the left. Leo pointed left as well as he followed his younger brother. The four were so quiet as they crawled through the roof. Nearly silently metallic groans were the only sound as the vent bent under their weight. As Don led them through the maze, he would pause before each turn. In the faint light that was not from Don's device, Leo could see Don frown. That dim light started to grow brighter as they traveled. Don turned right once more.
This vent was brighter as light came from below at the far end. Leo followed Don as he crawled past the beam of light without looking down. Leo kept his gaze away from the light, not wanting to ruin his night vision. Don was looking at his device with an intensity that Leo rarely saw; the leader knew that his brother must be really determined to shut down this lab.
"Psst," Mikey's voice hissed out, loud enough to grab Don's attention. The purple banded-turtle looked over his shoulder to glare at the youngest. Leo looked over as well, hoping that Mikey could see the lecture in his eyes about stealth.
That lecture was forgotten as Raph and Mikey both pointed down into the room that the leading pair passed over. Raph was pushed into the bottom of the duct as Mikey leaned over the red-banded turtle. The leader knew that whatever caught their attention was important if Raph was willing to let Mikey climb on him. Leo tucked himself as small as possible to turn around. It was difficult with his bulk, but he managed. He stopped on the opposite side of the grate. He felt Don approach and mirrored Raph's position, allowing Don to also look in the room.
Leo could see a single computer terminal and white tile floors, but nothing from his angle to know what had his brothers so concerned. "We're going down there, now," Raph growled. Before Leo could refute that, Mikey backed away, letting Raph push down through the grate. The grate fell down, clattering to the floor. Raph followed after the grate. He flipped once before landing in a crouch. His green shape was stark against the white tile.
"Raph," he hissed after his reckless brother. Leo could hear a surprised gasp and a solid punch before Mikey followed Raph. Leo sighed, but fell into the room himself. The leader moved out of the way to allow Don to come after him as he blinked rapidly to have his eyes adjust to the light.
As the room came into view, Leo looked to his younger brothers to reprimand them. The words died on his beak as he saw them. Mikey was pulling away a man dressed in a lab coat away from a metal examination table. The human's head was hanging forward, only his brown hair was visible. Raph, however, was standing over a being on the table. "Hey, Hey, don't worry. We ain't gonna hurt ya," he said in a less angry growl as he worked on the leather straps holding a thin white scaly wrist. The small being on the table was tiny, dwarfed by the table they laid on. It was a turtle, a mutant turtle.
Leo was startled for a moment before going into leader mode. He looked around the small room to assess the situation. Besides the computer terminal and the examination table, there were glass door cabinets. Vials of clear liquid were lined behind them. Counter spaces were filled with jars. Floating in the green liquid were body parts. His stomach did a disgusted flip. Leo looked away from that quickly.
Two doors on opposite sides of the room were the only entrances; this drew his attention right away. The four of them needed to buy time for Don. "Raph, you and I will barricade and lock the doors. Mikey, help them," Leo pointed to the turtle on the table. They hadn't moved an inch, not even to look at their would be rescuers. They laid on their shell, their white three-finger hands limp on the metal table.
"Sure thing, Fearless," Raph replied, leaving the lab table to run to the far side of the room. His amber eyes looked at the figure on the table for just a moment. Mikey replaced Raph at the table with an almost bounce. His blue eyes now exposed as he approached the small turtle.
"Hey there, dude. Don't worry we'll get you out of here in no time," the youngest brother said with a grin. His sea-green fingers were already undoing the straps on the turtle's ankles. The youngest brother was speaking calming words.
Leo turned to Don who was setting up at the computer console. The olive turtle gave the turtle on the table. "Can you get what you need here?" Leo asked him. Brown eyes met his as Donny plugged in what appeared to be a metal box into the computer. Lines of code filled the monitor.
"I will see what I can do, but I am positive that I can," Don looked up at Leo. "Even if I don't find what I need, I can set their experiments back years." An almost vicious grin was on his brother's face. Don turned his attention back to the computer. Satisfied with the answer, Leo hurried to the other door. He looked over the door quickly. The pair of handles could be blocked with a pole of some sort. He looked over the room, his eyes catching a glimpse of an IV stand. Leo unsheathed one of his katana and sliced through the base. He quickly slid the metal through both handles. Satisfied enough with the doors he returned back to his brothers who gathered again around the examination table.
"Look, up you go," Mikey said, putting a hand behind the white shell of the pale turtle. He pushed the turtle upright into a sitting position. Limply, the turtle allowed themselves to be manhandled. They brought their knees to their plastron while wrapping their arms around their shins. Leo watched as the smaller turtle made themselves as small as possible, like they were trying to retract into their shell. It wasn't successful.
"Hi there, We haven't introduced ourselves, have we?" Mikey began animatedly. "See that is my brother, Leonardo. We just all call him Leo. The one by the computer is Donatello, or Don." Mikey pointed to each brother as he said their name, but the pale turtle didn't move their pink eyes to look at either. They continued to stare straight ahead. Face was still with no emotion. Mikey continued not noticing, "The ugly one there is Rapheal. And I am Mikey, I'm the cute one." Leo could hear Raph growl.
"Who ya callin' ugly," Raph replied with a humph. Mikey grinned as if he came up with a perfect response when the moment was cut as the sound of a radio starting.
"Dr. Nance, subject J50 is acting aggressively again. If you can come to the kennels, it would be appreciated," a woman's voice sounded from the unconscious scientist's radio at his waist. The three brothers looked at the slumped figure. The man didn't move and they relaxed slightly.
Leo narrowed his gaze and turned to speak with Don. "Is there anything we can do for the other test subjects here?" he asked. The screen the other turtle was working on had multiple windows open.
Don sighed," I'm thinking. Our presence here will be discovered soon, but that doesn't mean we can't help the others escape. " Leo nodded, he didn't like not helping every test subject escape personally, but he knew that they were taking a big risk as it was.
"I trust you, Don," Leo replied, looking over his shoulder to see his younger brothers trying to speak with the turtle on the table. Well, Mikey tried to speak while Raph just had a grumpy expression on his face. His emerald fingers were dangerously close to his sais as his amber eyes drifted to the scientist on the floor.
"I got it," Don said, "I could kill the light and set off the fire alarm. With all the chaos, when I open the cells, they should be able to escape. Especially if we draw the guards attention." Leo nodded, it was the best that they were going to be able to do. A loud crashing sound broke the silence. Don looked around the ceilings and scowled at a camera in the corner of the room. "Shell, they know we are here," Don grumbled as he continued typing. The crashing sound returned.
Leo looked over to the source to see the doors he barricaded. "We have company," he called to all his brothers.
"Good, I was itching for a fight," Raph said, taking out his sais. He spun them around before crossing them in front of him.
"We can't risk a fire fight," Leo said motioning to the smaller turtle on the table. The doors bulged again from someone ramming into it. Leo could practically hear the metal of the IV stand creak. "Don, we need to leave now."
"Almost got it," the other replied, before the lights shut off and the most ear bleeding beep sounded overhead. A bright white light flashed periodically as the sprinklers above started spraying. The water was cool on Leo's scales. "Now to open the cells," Donatello thought out loud as his fingers glided on the keys.
"Dr. Nance, report in," the voice over the radio called again. Raph stomped over to the unconscious man. Leo looked worriedly at his brother, but the hot-head's hands were not on his weapons.
Raph leaned over and pulled the radio out of the man's lab coat. "He ain't able to take your call, lady." Leo rolled his eyes, but didn't reprimand him. He knew that the hot-head was drawing attention to them so the others could escape. The creaking of the IV stand drove Leo to look for an exit. He could see the door he barricaded slowly being forced open and the second door had flashlight beams shining under the cracks. He looked up at the duct that they came from. They wouldn't be able to climb back up.
"We are going through those doors," he announced, pointing to the door Raph barricaded. Leo kept his eyes on the second set of doors. They shifted uncomfortably. He watched as Don unplugged his hard drive and plug in what looked like a thumb drive. The purple-masked turtle tapped on the desk nervously as he watched the screen.
" How many ya think there are?" Raph asked, "Gotta make sure there's enough for all of us."
"I say you can have mine," Mikey added before Raph smacked him. Leo walked to the examination table. The turtle hadn't moved an inch since being propped up. The water from the sprinklers above just ran like little rivers down their limbs. The brothers had to get them out of here. Raph was easily strong enough to carry them, all of his brothers could. The group may need Raph's hands free to fight their way out. Don may need to unlock doors for them.
"Mikey, you are in charge of them," Leo ordered, pointing to the smaller turtle. The orange-banded turtle was on it. Leo knew that Mikey was agile enough to dodge any blow. With gentle words, the youngest was trying to coax the turtle off the table. "Don, you take point. I want you to lead us away from the cells and toward an exit. Raph guard Don. Mikey take the rear"
"Whatcha doin', Fearless?" Raph asked.
"I will stop whoever comes through that door," Leo said, pointing to the opposite set of doors. He unsheathed his swords. Raph huffed, but didn't argue.
Don ran across the dark room, the flashing light above providing the only illumination. "Come on, dude just hop on the shell. I am giving ya a once in a lifetime turtle back ride," Mikey coaxed the smaller turtle. Said turtle didn't move. "I got some snacks in Donny's bag for ya."
"What did you put in my bag?" Don's voice asked, turning to face his brother. "It better not be chocolate. I don't want to clean chocolate out of my things."
"It's a couple of granola bars," Mikey clarified, "with chocolate chips."
"Donny, Mikey. Talk about it outside," Raph growled. "Toss 'em over your shoulder and get a move on, shell-for-brains." The two older brothers put their shells toward the younger turtles, watching the door that was still budging under pressure.
Mikey grumbled a little, but lifted the small turtle awkwardly into his arms. One arm around their knees and the other across their shell. "You aren't making this very easy are you, little dude," he complained as he hurried to the door with Don. Raph followed slowly walking backwards. "Can you see how many are behind the door?" Raph asked.
Don looked with his goggles, "I am counting four warm bodies." With that the red-banded turtle pulled the doors open. Don struck the human closest to him; the thud from the bo staff was overshadowed by a loud snap. The IV stand holding the door shut finally gave way. The doors swung open, revealing five soldiers in the doorway. "Time to go," Donatello called before charging forward. He swung his bo staff low, knocking the humans off their feet. Raph jumped up, tackling one man before throwing a sai at a second.
"Head down, little dude," Michelangelo shouted as he rushed past the fighting. He curled himself around the small turtle in his arms.
At the other door, Leonardo threw three shurikens, aiming for the flashlights in the soldiers hands. The beams of light swung wildly, keeping the brothers in the shadows as they exited the room. Leo narrowed his gaze at the shadowy shapes in front of him. Five soldiers were aiming for his brothers.
Leo rammed one with the hilt of his blade. He could hear the air leave the human's lungs. With a quick turn, his second sword was striking a second man. It sliced through his arm, causing him to drop his weapon. A fist struck the turtle across the face. Leo stumbled for a second before slashing the man across the chest. He shouldered the next man, sending him to the ground. With flashes of his katanas, Leo cut down the five men. He could see his fallen enemies twitch slightly.
Breathing heavily, Leo turned on his heel to follow his brothers. Groans came from the humans that were slumped on the ground. The turtle ran by the shifting bodies. His eyes were on the orange tails of Mikey's mask. The space between the brothers closed as Leo sprinted as fast as he could.
His brothers took a sharp right and Leo followed. Leo reached out to touch Mikey's shell. The youngest looked over his shoulder and gave his older brother a grin. "Where is Don leading us?" Leo asked.
Mikey looked ahead, "He just said we wouldn't like it." Leo didn't say anything, but was afraid of what his genius brother came up with. The brothers followed the purple masked turtle as he ran through the halls. Raph attacked any human they ran across.
Don stopped suddenly at a random wall. "What's this Don?" Raph asked. Leo tried to look over his brothers' shoulders. On the wall was a metal door with a handle on it.
"This is the chute that leads to the furnace," Don answered. The three brothers looked at their brother with a disbelieving look.
"We're not going to become toasted turtles if we slide down there, are we Donny?" Mikey asked, rubbing the shell in his hands. He pulled the small turtle closer to his plastron.
Don opened the chute and looked down with his goggles, "the temperatures appear to be normal. The smoke we saw was probably the very last of it." With that, the older turtle pushed his weight down on the chute flap. It bent out of shape with a loud snap. Leo looked around quickly for any soldiers. "Uh, I guess I will go first," Don said as he swung into the opening and disappeared. The sound of his shell scraping against the metal made Leo's teeth ache.
"Cowabunga, dudes," Michelangelo shouted as he too went down the chute. Raph rolled his eyes, grumbling.
"Well, here goes nothing," Raph said before he disappeared. Leo took a breath before following after. His stomach hopped to his throat as gravity took control. The sound of shells grating on metal set Leo's teeth on edge. It was the only thing he could hear as it echoed around him. The chute was pitch black, he couldn't see his brothers in front of him.
He braced himself to land. The ground appeared suddenly under his feet causing him to stumble. He looked around to see the light from Don's shell cell swing toward him. "Are you okay, Leo?" he asked. The leader nodded as he tried to observe his surroundings. The light from the phone barely illuminated the room. It appeared to be empty.
"Just don't look down, bro," Mikey's voice said beside him. He was holding the small white turtle far tighter, pushing their head into his shoulder. The jokester looked a little more green than normal. The leader ignoring the advice glanced down. He was standing in gray powder. It was gritty under his feet. It pooled between his toes.
"Just don't think about it, Leo," Raph's voice grumbled. Leo looked up to see that the gruff turtle was pointedly not looking any lower than chest level. "You got us a way out, Donny," Raph called. The room was flooded with star light as the genius turtle opened a small door. It was rounded and could barely fit the turtles. The group was left in the dark as Don wiggled through.
"Let's get to the Battle Shell and out of here," Leo commanded, taking the lead. He ignored the texture under his feet as he squeezed through the small porthole.
"Don't have to tell me twice," Rapheal said, urging Mikey to hurry ahead. Leo turned around as Mikey held the white turtle through the porthole opening. Leo took the albino into his arms. Their body was chill against his arms and plastron. Leo backed away and Mikey squeezed through. "Seriously, Mike. Ya got to lay off the pizza," Raph grumbled.
"Did you just call me fat?" Mikey squawked in false offense. He slipped through.
"I didn't say the word," Raph said as he struggled to push his shoulders through the porthole.
"To be honest, all of our diets could be better," Don said as he looked around the four. With Raph finally through, Leo handed the turtle in his arms back to Mikey. Leo took point and started to run.
The four turtles didn't say anything as they ran as fast as they dared away from the building. Leo kept his eyes peeled from his position in the front. Mikey took a position in the middle of his brothers as they passed the empty warehouses.
Leo stopped running as he came to the alley that the Battle Shell was parked in. He waved his brothers ahead. Raph pulled open the driver side door and sat at the steering wheel. Don opened the back while Mikey hopped in with the turtle still in his arms. Leo joined Don as both piled into the Battle Shell. They released the breath they didn't know they were holding when they entered the car. Rapheal started the engine before the others were seated. The brothers and newcomer were huddled in the back. Leo tried not to think of the ashy footprints they were leaving in the Battle Shell.
Raph put the car into gear and peeled away. Leo stumbled slightly but righted himself. Don was croached so he barely moved. Mikey with his arms full of turtle almost fell, but was caught by the arm by Leo.
"Set her down," Done said, "you're going to crack both of your skulls." He set his bag aside as Mikey did as he said. The small turtle didn't move an inch as she was placed on the floor of the Battle Shell. The youngest brother was sneakingly crawling to Don's bag.
"Her," Leo said. Donatello nodded as he reached out to hold her pale hand. She just let him to so. Pink eyes were distant. Don flipped her palm up and held her arm straight. He ran a thumb over her forearm and up her upper arm. By her shoulder was a dark string of letters and numbers, reading "H13".
"Sorry dudette, I have been calling you dude this whole time," Mikey apologized. "How do you know, she's a girl, Donny?" He elbowed the older turtle as he repeated the same procedure with the other arm.
Don sighed, "Her plastron is flatter than ours for one, her carapace as well." Leo looked at what his brother had stated. The smaller turtle's plastron looked a little different than him and his brothers. Her shell wasn't as dome-like either. Don's hands moved from her arms to her head and neck.
"What are you doing, Donny?" Leo asked as the purple banded turtle looked over the white turtle. She hadn't resisted at all, letting the older turtle manipulate her without a reaction. It was unsettling, like a doll more than a living being.
"I am looking for any tracker," Don replied, turning her around to examine her carapace. "So far I haven't seen anything." His olive hands ran over the white shutes.
"Can we keep her?" Mikey asked, excitedly. The older turtles sighed. It was a question they heard so many times. Leo thought it over and he could see that Donatello was thinking too. Raph didn't give a sarcastic remark to the question. She wasn't a human or a lost pet with a life to get to like so many before.
"I- I guess we can, Mikey," Leo stated in disbelief. The younger turtle cheered, pushing Don away to hug the smaller turtle. She didn't react just, allowing herself to be smothered.
"I always wanted a younger sister," he stated. "But you need a name. Hmm, what do you guys think?"
"Maybe you should ask her first?" Raph said, "Maybe they called her something before. "
Mikey beamed as he revealed what he had taken from Don's bag. It was the pigeon puppet that Don had in his bag. "Hi, My name is Pigeon Pete. What's yours?" Mikey asked in a squawking voice as he flapped the puppet's wings. The turtle didn't even look at the puppet. She didn't even react.
"The scientist wouldn't have given her a name, just a specimen number," Don said, his voice a grumble. Raph snarled from his spot in the driver seat.
"What if we call her an artist name or a name of a painting," Mikey suggested. He became quiet as he lowered the puppet in his hand.
"Like Mona Lisa," Leonardo suggested. It sounded like a nice enough name.
"Aww, Papa Leo that is almost sweet," Raph teased.
The elder turtle could feel his face grow warm as he realized that he said the painting of his namesake. "It was the first name I thought of." He could hear Don and Mikey chuckling.
"How about Venus de Milo?" Mikey suggested. He waved the puppet at the girl, trying to gauge a reaction.
"A naked statue of a woman," Don clarified, "I don't know if I would call our 'younger sister' that." A smirk was on the purple-masked turtle's beak.
"Oh, you got a better idea," Mikey pouted. He crossed his arms with a huff.
"Yes, Shelly. As in Mary Shelly," Don said matter-of-factly. Mikey laughed at the pun.
"I like it. I change my vote," he said excitedly.
"The author of Frankenstein," Leo stated, clarifying.
"Sounds perfect for a lab subject," Raph added unhelpfully. The two younger brothers became quiet. Don's face looked almost guilty. "How about Lita? She is some rocker chick," Raph suggested.
"Lita, Lita," Mikey repeated, looking at the small turtle. He tilted his head to one side. Donatello was doing the same. Leo bounced the name in his head. It didn't match theirs, but neither did the little albino turtle it would belong to. "I can see it," the youngest brother stated with Don nodding beside him. "Welcome to the family, Lita."
A/N: So, Lita is not an Oc, she was introduced in IDW's issue 101 (an issue I haven't read yet.) Any feedback it welcomed. A question to anyone who reviews: What is your favorite version of the turtles?