Hello everyone! The last chapter was pretty dark, so I thought I'd break it up with a bonus story before writing the next chapter of Ensnared.
Enjoy!
Donatello sighed. This was not proving to be a very good night.
"Lookee what we got here,"
The brainiac twisted his beak in disgust, leaning away from the rank breath of the obviously inebriated gang banger. The man in question merely laughed at Don's revulsion, stumbling back to look at their catch. "Man these freaks're ugly," the human slurred.
"We're prettier than you," Mikey scoffed.
The gang member squinted his eyes at the orange ninja, puzzling through the insult, before shrugging his shoulders and giving up, "Whatever you say, green dude."
Another human poked his into the room, glancing around until he spotted his fellow member, "What are you doing?" He growled, "The chief doesn't want us in here. We're supposed to be guarding the door!"
"I'm just havin' a little fun," the drunk answered, his feet shuffling unsteadily, "it's boring out there. I bet they could be fun, if we just tried, ya know?"
"Leave 'em alone, and get back out here," the other Purple Dragon sighed, "the chief will take care of them."
"I don't wanna!" The inebriated human whined petulantly, "I wanna have fun with these guys, the orange one said something rude ta me, and I wanna show him that," the man swayed on his feet, a hiccup mixed with a belch bubbling past his lips before he could finish his sentence, "I wanna show him not ta mess wit' me."
Leonardo and Raphael sent the man menacing snarling looks, determined to keep the purple dragon's attention on them, and away from the younger brothers. Not that it did them much good. All four brothers were chained to a wall in a room of an abandoned warehouse somewhere near the docks, and escape was looking tenuous at best. However, they didn't have to worry. The Purple Dragon stumbled to the side before his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he promptly passed out. Don gave a silent sigh of relief, watching the other gang member drag the unconscious man out by the arms.
One down, God knew how many more to go. The turtle hung his head, brown eyes darkening as he considered the events that led up to their capture.
Their evening had started innocently enough. They were out on patrol. The night was serene, accompanied by the usual cacophony of noise that New York was known for. The quadruplets were playing a round of ninja tag, Leonardo gleefully chasing them across the rooftops, allowing them space to run as he wasn't in a rush to end the game too quickly. The moon was out, and a refreshing breeze lifted the tails of their masks as they cavorted, whooping and yelling any time their leader got too close and almost tagged any of them out.
Unfortunately, as it so often did for them, that's when things took a turn for the worst.
A scream sounded down in a particularly dark and cramped alley, and being the ninja they were, the team decided unanimously to go to the woman's aid. None expected her to merely be bait. They were immediately ambushed by purple dragons as soon as they approached the woman. Which normally shouldn't be an issue, as the purple dragons were hardly ever considered dangerous. They were punk kids that ran the streets armed with baseball bats, crowbars and chains. Certainly nothing as lethal as the Foot.
They shouldn't have been so cocky.
With an onslaught made up a veritable tsunami wave of people that was nothing short of shocking, the group managed to bring down the ninja. Granted, they still lost quite a few members, as the team went down swinging. However, that didn't change the fact that they were now chained up. Donatello found himself whispering a short prayer of gratitude that he was able to press the S.O.S. On their shell cells without anyone noticing. They would send their coordinates to their father, Casey and April. Don knew they could easily mount a rescue, heck, they'd taken on Bishop and won. So, surely the purple dragons hideout shouldn't be an issue. At least, the intellectual hoped not.
Glancing over to his brothers, Donnie did a quick field scan of their injuries. Mikey was none the worse for wear, as he had been the first one tripped up, despite the orange ninja's superior agility. While his nunchucks had found their mark on many bodies, that didn't stop the veritable dog pile that squashed him into the filthy ground of the cramped alleyway. The group quickly had him tied up and unable to move. Don was ashamed to say he had been the next victim to be taken out.
While his bo staff certainly gave him superior reach, he couldn't say that it was a very good weapon when dealing with that large of a group. Either that, or he had been skimping on his training to focus on his latest project. Regardless, he knew Leo was going to have their shells when they gathered for their next rooftop run. The purple ninja shuddered at the whupping they were going to get, no doubt the training session of their lives. He, too, wasn't badly off as he quickly found himself tied right next to Mikey. Raphael was the next to be taken out, but mostly because of his temper.
Seeing his younger brothers pinned down, the bombastic turtle gave his finest impression of a bull loose in a china shop. Bodies were literally flying as the red ninja charged his way through the alleyway towards his siblings. If the situation had been less dire, Donatello would have ranked their air time as purple dragons soared through the air. Not the Mikey didn't miss the chance to make a witty quip about Raph needing to be drafted as a quarterback for the New York Giants. Raphael put up a fight, earning him many bruises, and a shallow cut on the side of his head, thanks to a well timed hit with a bat.
Eventually though, even their toughest turtle was taken down and held against his will.
Leaving their fearless leader against a veritable army of mentally unstable individuals, hellbent on taking him down. The blue ninja put up an impressive offense, his brothers merely able to watch in admiration from the sidelines. Leonardo kicked, spit, bit and cursed the entire group of purple dragons, his katana merely silver smears glinting in the moonlight as he wielded them with deadly precision. Eventually though, someone got the bright idea to cock a gun at Michelangelo's head, forcing Leo to surrender his swords, not wishing to cause harm to his siblings. Hands raising to fold behind his head, the narrowed sapphire eyes promised murder on anyone who even breathed wrong on his baby brothers. Their leader walked away with only scrapes and bruises, as his twin katana stopped anyone getting close enough to deal any real damage.
Which all led to now… arms and legs chained to the wall of a small room, somewhere inside a giant warehouse, awaiting rescue.
Leonardo cast his eyes to his younger genius brother, raising in eyebrow ridge and asking in smooth Japanese, "Did you hit the S.O.S.?"
Mikey and Raph turned to Donnie, faces open and hopeful, the purple ninja nodded his affirmative prompting soft exhales of relief. "I hit the button right when things started going south, and hid my cell in the hollow of my shell," Don replied, "as long as they aren't doing any in depth searches besides taking our gear, April will be able to locate our coordinates."
"Dad and Casey will come too, you think?" Raphael's japanese was halting, hesitant, not as fluid as his brothers. Leo and Mikey's conversation sounded the most natural, while Don's japanese was heavy in formality and succinct. Raph struggled as he wasn't as interested in learning the language as they had been, nevertheless, learn it he did. Enough at least to converse with his family, complete with Brooklyn accent. It made for an amusing amalgamation.
"Please," Michelangelo chuckled, "can you imagine April staging a rescue without them? Dad would be furious."
"He's going to be furious regardless, we walked right into their ambush like a bunch of cocky amateurs," Leonardo sighed, "I'm sorry guys, I should have been more aware of my surroundings."
"It's not your fault," Raphael shook his head, the force of his disagreement making his chains jingle and sway, "we all should have been more aware of our surroundings."
Donatello pursed his lips, "It's been so quiet recently, I did not expect an attack from the Purple Dragons. They have been quiet for several weeks."
"They have," Leo agreed, before blue eyes brightened in revelation, "you think they've been planning this?"
Raphael's liquid gold gaze fell to the floor, gears turning in his brain as he considered the hypothesis, "They could have, but why?"
"I agree, what would they gain in grabbing us like this?" Donatello echoed, elaborating Raphael's question.
"The Shredder is gone, and so is Hun," Mikey stated, his own features thoughtful, "so they have no reason to keep us for either of them. Keeping prisoners isn't really their style unless they're being paid to do it. Maybe Bishop is paying them?"
"That's a decent theory," Leonardo nodded, "either way, it's playing to our favor. All we need to do is buy some time, give Father, April and Casey the opportunity to gear up and get to our location."
"Buy time, how?" Raphael's tone dripped with sarcasm, "Last I checked, Fearless, we're hung up on a wall. What do we have going for us that we can use to buy time?"
"I don't know!" Leo bit back, though without malice towards his younger brother, "We're just going to have to play it by ear!"
"Improvise, huh?" Mikey grinned, "That explains why you're so stressed."
The young leader blinked at his baby brother, then let out a small laugh. Shaking his head at the orange ninja's remark, "I'm not stressed, I'm just thinking."
"Same difference, bro."
Leonardo rolled his eyes at the guffaw that came out of Raphael, and exchanged amused smiles with the bombastic turtle. Mikey truly had a gift for diffusing tension, when he wasn't being annoying. "Don't worry, Fearless," Raph stated, casting a confident gaze on his leader, "whatever happens, I got your back. Now, we just need to know what they got planned for us."
"Looks like we're about to find out,"
Leonardo's quiet murmur brought the brothers back to the situation at hand, all pinning their attention on the gang banger approaching their area. "What's with all the Chinese, eh?"
…..
The blue ninja assessed the man in front of him, debating on if he was a threat.
From his buzz cut with a neon purple Mohawk, to his over the top leather jacket and heavy boots, the guy probably thought he looked pretty tough. It was likely that with the advent of Hun, the role of leader of the Purple Dragons was open. This was probably the guy wanting to fill that vacuum. No doubt, he had caught them as a way to cement his claim, do what no one else had done before, show the neighborhood just how tough he was. Leo couldn't help a small smirk, though. He'd seen tougher than him, and they'd been in similar situations like this and come out on top. This was no different, whoever this guy was, he was definitely no Hun, much less the Shredder.
At seeing his smile, the gang banger snarled, obviously taking it as a challenge. Not something Leonardo intended to happen, but maintaining a strong façade was always useful when they're being held captive by raving lunatics.
"Hey, Fearless, I think you made him mad," Raphael stated, frame shaking as he gave a dark chuckle.
"It was an accident," Leo replied cooly, never breaking eye contact with the human, "not that I mind. I think I got it figured out. This guy wants the top spot in the gang, captured us to show everyone he's the man for the job. It won't work though."
"You're right, it won't," Raph face split with a bloodthirsty grin, liquid gold eyes hungry as they watched the gang member.
"I don't know what yer all sayin'," the human growled, trying in vain to hide the quiver in his shoulders, "but since ya are all feelin' so chatty, why don't we have a little talk?"
No one spoke, the team taking a cue from their leader kept their mouths shut, while Leo straightened himself to his full height. Despite being on the shorter side at fifteen and sixteen, after his latest growth spurt, the young leader could now boast to appearing very intimidating when he wanted to be. Though not quite six foot, he was still tall enough to tower over this particular punk, and the man fidgeted in discomfort as he was pinned by twin sapphire flames burning in the turtle's gaze.
The man huffed, taking a step back and clearing his throat to regather his wits, "Yeah, I figured ya'd be like that."
The man began to pace in front of them, his face desperately trying to hold on to the mask of self-confidence, "Thing is, you freaks have been a pain for years, and I figure now that Hun is gone, there's an opportunity that we both could benefit from." He turned, giving Leo what he probably thought was an intimidating stare, "We could go inta business together, so to speak."
Leo lifted an eyebrow, feeling a tad smug that the guy had proven his hypothesis correct. "You have a strange way of giving a business proposition." He rumbled, allowing the rolling baritone of his voice give his answer a more threatening resonance.
"Shut and and listen!" The gang member scoffed, "Look, I'm ready ta give ya peace and quiet in exchange for a favor or two. Ya want us off your back, fine, we'll leave ya alone, but in exchange we get all the alien tech ya've been hoggin'. Give us the goods, any of those Triceraton blasters and stuff, and ya get ta live without us on yer shells all the time. But! If ya work for me, and do the occasional job, I'll even give ya your own territory. Provided ya stay inside it, and join up every once in a while with my boys on the street. Do that, and we won't mess with ya. So, what ya think?"
What….?
Leonardo was honestly gobsmacked. He was reduced to merely blinking in sheer bafflement at this gang banger, who was currently grinning at him like the cat that ate the proverbial canary. What did he think? Was this guy nuts? He starts a fight, successfully uses sheer numbers to grab them, and was now standing there offering the worst terms in the history of partnerships. The confidant way he offered it, it was as if he truly believed that they would be dumb enough to accept.
Not only that, the way this guy was thinking, he had completely misunderstood who and what they were.
They were ninja, not some petty gang, it wasn't their ambition to run the streets like the Purple Dragons. They protected the helpless and defended the innocent. Having their own territory wasn't an enticement for them, not to mention his ludicrous assumption that they'd stay within it for the rest of their lives. The whole of New York was their territory, and they would defend it with their lives, and would go wherever they pleased whenever they pleased. The idea that he could 'give them their own territory', was laughable at best.
Plus, who told this guy that they had access to that kind of alien tech? Granted, they had more than a few fun toys, but those were thanks to to Donnie and his ability to cobble together junk and turn it into something cool. Not all of their stuff was alien. Not to mention, did this idiot seriously expect them to agree to work for him? Is he really this ignorant, or has he been living under a rock? They've been at war with the Purple Dragons for almost three years. On what planet would they ever agree to do jobs for the gang they almost destroyed by defeating their former leader?!
Leo couldn't hold back the derisive snort, no wonder Mr. Mohawk wasn't able to rise up in the ranks until now. He obviously wasn't a big picture kind of guy. If he thought he could take Hun's place as alpha dog, then he had another thing coming. Even Hun couldn't keep them under control, and he was a genuine threat, this guy was nowhere near that level. The snort bubbled into a chuckle, which grew into a laugh. This whole situation was ridiculous, beyond ridiculous, it was stupid to the point of being funny! They had been captured by, what was assuredly, the world's worst future kingpin, in his bid to grab power on the streets of New York. Not only that, he had the gall to stand in front of them and offer what he thought was a great deal to broker a kind of partnership?! The laughter built until the turtle was literally shaking in his chains, his mirth echoing among the beams and rafters of the room. This was all just too much!
The gang member's face bled away to a whiter shade of pale, eyes bugged out even as a ghost of fear started to howl behind his eyes, "Stop that!" He bellowed, spittle flying as he shouted at the still laughing mutant, "I said stop! You're freakin' me out, ya…ya freak!"
The man's lack of eloquence just made Leo laugh harder. After years of being subjected to the Shredder's seemingly limitless repertoire of insults, not to mention the countless tyrants, warlords and terrorists they'd fought through the years; Leonardo found the human's spluttering utterly hilarious. The blue ninja could feel the angry gaze of their captor, he acknowledged the incredulous stares of his brothers, no doubt they were probably worried about his sanity or if he'd gotten a hit to the head he hadn't mentioned. He understood why they were concerned, heck, he was concerned! But for some reason, this whole situation just seemed funny!
As the laughter finally petered out, Leo could only shake his head, "You're really not very smart, are you?" He murmured softly, then intense sapphire eyes narrowed on the human as the turtle sobered, "We're not making any kind of deal with you. We won't sit idly by and watch you destroy our city with your corruption, selling black market weapons and dealing drugs. I'm not giving you a thing, you're not getting our technology, and you're not getting us. You're just a pathetic punk trying to make a name for yourself. So, go ahead and try to be the next big crime boss, I have better things to do than deal with the likes of you."
With that, Leonardo closed his eyes, effectively dismissing the man as the bug he was. To say the human took it badly would be an understatement. "Ya piece of crap!" The gang member snarled, "Ya think your better than me! Huh, do ya?!"
Blue eyes opened, and Leo merely smiled, his confident strength, even while captured, overshadowing the man's attitude. This lack of response only incensed the gang banger further. "That's it!" He practically shrieked, voice pitching into a higher octave with the force of his fury, "I'm done playing nice with ya losers! You wanna see how tough I can be?! Huh?! I'll show ya!"
The human turned on his heel, stomping away and through the door into the warehouse. Leonardo watched him go, somehow not feeling concerned at all. His brothers on the other hand….
"Leo, what were you thinking?!" Don was so flabbergasted he didn't even try speaking in Japanese.
"I was gonna ask the same thing!" Raphael growled, "I thought ya always said that we ain't supposed ta provoke the people holding us captive? Isn't that what ya always told me? Now look at ya, yer doin' exactly that!"
"Seriously!" Mikey scoffed, "First you laugh in his face like some kind of maniac, and then you insult the guy? You're the one always telling us to not make waves when we're in situations like this, to keep a cool level head and all that. What's with you, bro?"
Leonardo grinned, giving apologetic looks to his siblings, "In my defense, I did not mean to laugh, that was an accident. After that, I was so flabbergasted about his offer, I guess I went a little overboard turning him down."
"What were ya even tryin' ta do?" Raph asked, one eyebrow ridge raised in skepticism. "What on earth possessed ya ta laugh yer head off like that?"
"At first I was just trying to figure out what he wanted," the blue ninja exclaimed, defending his innocence, "I promise, I wasn't trying to provoke him! But then he came out with that ridiculous offer, and he was just so proud of himself! Like he actually thought we'd work for him! Plus, his sheer stupidity coupled with the fact that after everything we've been through he's not even slightly a threat. I mean, he's no Hun, and he's definitely not Shredder, but he certainly seems to think he is. I couldn't wrap my mind around it, and it just….seemed funny?"
The three younger turtles blinked at Leo, much in the same way he had only a few moments ago, and apparently quickly reached the same conclusions he had. Snorts and sniggers burst into outright guffaws, and soon all four turtles were laughing hard enough to make their shells clack against the brick walls they were chained to.
Donnie shook his head, shoulders still shaking from his giggles, "Well, when you put it that way!" He hiccuped.
"I can definitely see why you lost it, bro," Mikey finished, grinning his head off.
Raphael sighed, his laughter dying as he regarded his leader, "In all seriousness, though, he's definitely some kinda threat. I mean, ya don't get captured by someone who's completely inept?"
"You're right, Raph," Leonardo nodded, his mirth coming to an end, "to be honest, the guy came up with a decent enough plan to catch us off guard. Even if he is laughable, I'll keep my eyes on him in the future, and we'll all need to watch our backs."
His team nodded in agreement, and the young leader sighed, then turned determined eyes on his brothers, "Now that we know that the Purple Dragons are still in play, we can't let our guard down again on the streets. I'll take responsibility for tonight with father, no doubt we'll all get quite the lecture, but the quiet the past few weeks gave me a false sense of security. I should have investigated, instead of shrugging it off."
Donnie shook his head, "It's not your fault," he stated, tone firm with conviction, "I remember a couple weeks ago we were talking, and you asked me to look into why the Purple Dragons seemed to disappear all of a sudden. I didn't put much effort into it because I told you to enjoy the peace and quiet. Part of it falls on my shoulders, I didn't follow up the way I should have."
"Don't leave me out," Raphael sighed, "Leo asked me ta check in with our contacts on the streets when I was out with Casey. I asked a few, but got the same answer, nobody knew where the Purple Dragons went. So I shrugged it off and didn't keep askin'."
Silence stretched for a moment, the brothers each considering what they could have done better to avoid their capture that night. All, except for Michelangelo, he looked between his three older brothers with a growing smile. The good mood was slipping away, and the last thing they needed was to get into funk. Time for a little Mikey magic to pop the depression bubble.
"Well, I didn't do anything wrong,"
The orange ninja's plan worked like a charm. The self recrimination stopped, and huffs and giggles bubbled up again among the older turtles. "No, you did just fine, Mikey." Leo smirked at his baby brother, fully aware of Mikey's scheme.
"Even though ya did get captured first tonight," Raph stated with a wicked grin.
"Dude, a big fat guy did a Superman dive onto my head!" Mikey shot back, his face an indignant pout, "how would you like it if a human the size of a sumo wrestler fell on top of you?"
"He wasn't that big," Donnie scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"You weren't even there!" Mikey protested.
Donnie gave a short guffaw, "Mikey, I was definitely there. I'm here, hence, I was there."
The orange ninja gave his own roll of his eyes, "Duh, dude," he shrugged, "but you were fighting near Leo when it happened. You didn't see."
"I turned around, and I see a fat dude practically sitting on your head," Don nodded his head.
"See, he was fat!"
"But not sumo wrestler big!"
Mikey shook his head, refusing Donatello's side of the story, "My head, my story, dude."
"That's no excuse for inaccuracies, you-!"
"So, where did our business partner go?" Raphael broke in, interrupting Don's comeback.
Leo shrugged at the question, chuckling as Donnie and Mikey blew raspberries at each other, "He said he was going to show me how tough he really is, I'm assuming he's probably getting a blade of some kind to wave in my face, try to intimidate me."
"Ten bucks and a pizza says his plan backfires," Mikey sniggered.
"Literally or figuratively?" Donnie asked.
"Huh?" Raph cocked his head, unable to smother the amused grin spreading on his features.
"Will his plan physically backfire, like he accidentally cuts himself or the blade falls off the handle," Don elaborated, "or figuratively falls apart with his threat falling flat? I need to know what Mikey means before I get in on the action."
Michelangelo pursed his lips, barely stifling his giggles as Leo and Raph guffawed, summoning all his concentration to consider his answer before chirping, "Literally!"
"Is that your final answer, Mikey?" Don teased.
"Yep!"
Donnie opened his mouth to answer, but was once again cut off, though not by Raphael this time. Their captor had returned.
"Think you're tough, do ya?" The man cackled, a flunky close behind him armed with a handgun, "then try this on for size!"
Leo tensed, he hated guns, they were hardly what he considered an honorable weapon. While Hun and the Shredder certainly weren't adverse to violence, even they rarely used firearms. Guns didn't normally require much skill. Any idiot can pull a trigger, and with a captive audience, it was hard to miss. The turtle felt the mirth leave his body in a chilling wave. Sapphire eyes narrowed, and the ninja prepared himself for possible pain. The only upside was, they had bought plenty of time, they could expect a rescue any moment now, but the skeptical side of Leonardo still asked 'would it be soon enough?'.
Mr. Mohawk jerked his head in Mikey's direction, "Do it," he ordered.
The flunky cocked the gun and pointed it at Michelangelo's head, Leonardo jumped in his chains, pulling at them with all his strength, "Hey!" He roared, "You get that gun out of his face, NOW!"
Raphael backed him up, bellowing and snarling, but their captor just answered with a delirious laugh drunk with power, "Don't get your panties in a twist," he sneered, "that's just an insurance policy so you don't try anything."
The man brandished what Leonardo identified as a syringe, a clear liquid already filling the chamber, "Now this, this is what you should really be worried about."
Donnie's eyes were wide with concern, however, he (like his brothers) didn't want to give the punk the satisfaction of his fear, "What is that?" The genius asked in a low growl.
Mr. Mohawk grinned, "In the good old days, I was Hun's right hand man. He needed something done, I'd do it. This stuff is something I've seen him use plenty of times, whenever he wanted someone to talk. I figured, ya may not want to play nice with me, but at the very least I can get ya to talk. Tell me where ya keep your stash of alien goods."
"So, that's like a truth serum?" Mikey asked incredulously.
The man shrugged, "I don't really know what it is, to be honest, Hun never explained it. He just said it makes people talk. I will say that they scream first though, a lot, and then they talk while beggin' Hun to make it stop."
Leo's eyes narrowed at the implication that this was a drug meant to cause pain. In the words of Wesley from the movie Princess Bride, he could handle torture. Pain was just an alarm bell in the brain, it could be turned off with enough focus. Lifting his chin in defiance, the ninja watched as the man walked over and prepared to inject him in the neck with the chemical concoction. Mr. Mohawk leaned in, a rumbling growl from Raphael as the needle pierced the leader's green skin setting the man on edge. Leo merely glared, his navy eyes ice cold as they drilled into the human, as if they could see into his very soul.
The human hurried with his task, scrambling away from Leonardo. Clearing his throat, and straightening his jacket, Mr. Mohawk tried to keep his façade of cool collectedness, although he was failing miserably, "Now let's see how cooperative ya are," he snarled.
Leo felt his head spin, his vision going wobbly. He was expecting a tidal wave of agony to hit him any second, he took deep breaths to prepare for the onslaught…but it never came.
…..
Donnie leaned as far as he could towards Leonardo, keen eyes watching for any changes.
His oldest brother had gone very quiet, and his head was unsteady, swaying from side to side. The scientist was concerned about the effects of the drug, not only because it could allegedly cause pain, but Donatello had long learned that not all drugs effected them the same way they did humans. Due to their mutation and inherent animal DNA, they had to follow different rules. Some pain medications made the turtles very sick, while others did nothing at all. The, somewhat reluctant, family medic had learned through years of trial and error which medications worked, and which ones to avoid.
For all he knew, Leo could go into convulsions and his heart give out. Donnie bit his lip, praying that his brother wouldn't suffer any adverse side effects.
At the moment, however, Leo was just standing there, blue eyes wide as dish plates.
Mr. Mohawk stood, hands on hips, waiting for the turtle to begin screaming, but nothing happened. "Hey….HEY!" The man snapped his fingers in front of Leonardo, making the turtle startled at the sound, "Why aren't you screamin'?"
"Donnie," Michelangelo said in Japanese, "I don't think the drug is working."
"Stop talkin' in freakin' Chinese!" Mr. Mohawk screamed, turning to cast bared teeth at the orange ninja before turning back to Leo.
Don rolled his eyes, before answering his baby brother, "I think you're right, assuming he even got the correct stuff Hun used, it may be reacting to Leo's biology differently."
"So what's that mean for us?" Raphael asked.
The genius sighed, "Unfortunately, we have no choice but to wait it out."
"Hey, freak! I asked why ya ain't screamin'?!"
Sapphire eyes slowly wandered up to the man, traveling from the floor up to his face, all before widening even further, "Your head…..!" He gasped, voice barely above a whisper.
Mr. Mohawk cocked his head, features dripping with confusion, "Yeah, what about it?"
"It's….on fire!" Leo spluttered, before blinking hard and looking to his left towards his brother, "Raphie!" He exclaimed, tone ringing in delight, "You're here too? This guy has a fiery head, I mean he has a fed on hire, or a head on fire? I don't know… I can't remember…what was I saying?….. Oh well….everything is so….wobbly…wibbly wobbly.…That's a fun word…wobbly….wah-bull-lee….wobbly!"
The blue ninja erupted into manic giggles.
Raphael's jaw dropped, amber eyes losing the fear and concern as sheer amusement crept into the corners, "…He's high…."
Silence reigned among the three turtles and two humans for a solid ten seconds, the only noise in the room being Leo babbling to himself. Mikey broke first, a snort exploding from his lips, which bubbled into a quiet snicker. The snicker quickly grew into a giggle which erupted into loud guffaws. Raphael wasn't far behind, his shoulders shaking in quiet laughter that increased in volume with every chuckle. Donnie was staring uncomprehendingly at his leader, jaw hanging in shock. They had all seen Leo's goofy side, but this? This was something else entirely.
"Leo?" Donnie asked, voice sounding slightly strangled due to the smothered laughter he was trying to control, "You ok?"
"I'm awesome!" Leonardo grinned, "at first everything was all wobbly, but now everything is floaty…am I floaty? I feel floaty…"
"Oh yeah, yer floaty alright," Raph cackled, "yer head has floated clean off yer shoulders!"
Sapphire eyes widened to comic proportions, "I lost my head?!" He sounded utterly appalled, "But I need it! Raphie…y-you need to get it back!"
"Don't worry, bro, I'll catch it fer ya." The red ninja chuckled.
"And I'll help!" Mikey threw in, barely controlling his own laughter, as he jerked his chin at Don, "I think it's safe to say I win the bet!"
"That's good," Leo smiled, "Mikey and Raphie can catch my head," terror suddenly filled his gaze and he turned back to Donatello, his instability making him wobble like a bobble head, "Donnie…will you…be able to put it back on?!"
That's when Donatello lost it…
The genius cackled, laughter accentuated by rolling snorts that made the turtle almost double over in half if not for his restraints. "Leo….don't look at me like that! I ca-I ca-an't brea-hee-hee-the!"
"It's not funny!" Leo whined, "I need my head…to think with…and if I don't have it, I can't think…then I can't lead…this is bad!"
"Don't worry Leo," Mikey guffawed, "Donnie can absolutely put your head back on!"
"Promise?"
"Pinky promise!"
Leonardo nodded happily, then gave another gasp, "But I don't have a pinky!" He moaned, "I'm missing my pinky! We gotta find it, Mikey!"
Tears were rolling down Raph's face, he was laughing so hard, "Ha-ha! We gotta-ha-ha-ha! Find hee-hee-his pinky, Mike! Bahahahaha!"
"Uh, boss?" The flunky stammered, looking slightly disturbed by the scene of a high mutant ninja turtle and his giggling team, "I don't think the drug is working."
"Ya think?!" Mr. Mohawk practically shrieked, stamping his foot.
That's when a large explosion rocked the building, and bellowing cries echoed through the closed door of the room. Donatello's head snapped up and he grinned, their rescue had arrived.
Their captor and the flunky rushed out, but were met by the furious fists and tail of a large rat who promptly knocked them out. The door burst open and Master Splinter scurried inside with April right on his heels. Leonardo gave a dramatic gasp, face brightening till it practically glowed, "DAD! Oneesan!"
The duo froze, each looking at Leo with wary eyes, "Is he ok?" The human woman asked, running over to start unlocking Michelangelo and Don, while Splinter got to work on Raphael.
"Uh," Donatello hesitated, before shaking his head in amusement, "yeah, they were trying to torture information out of Leo, but the drug they used had the opposite effect."
"It was supposed ta hurt him," Raphael supplied, rubbing sore wrists as the manacles were released from his arms and legs, "but instead it made him high as a kite."
"….let's go fly a kite…up to the highest height…" Leonardo sung softly, swaying in his restraints.
April broke into giggles, "Well, if that's the worst thing we have to deal with tonight, I'll count that as a victory."
Splinter merely shook his head, casting a bemused look at his normally serious eldest son, "Oh, Leonardo," he sighed, smothering a chuckle, "you always seem to attract the strangest kind of trouble."
The rat quickly freed the blue ninja, Don helping to catch Leo so he wouldn't fall on the floor, "Dad," Leonardo mumbled, "my head feels funny…it floated away and I can't catch it."
"I said I'd catch it for ya, remember?" Raphael grinned, taking Leo's arm and draping it around his broad shoulders.
"Oh, yeah," the leader paused, before looking up at April, "Oneesan, will you help Donnie…put it back?"
April melted at the young leader calling her the Japanese term of endearment for big sister, but she still couldn't hold back the giggles at Leo also being very concerned about his head floating away, "I'll do what I can to help," she snickered.
"Thanks, Oneesan,"
Slowly the group made their way out the door, and through the warehouse. Casey and Leatherhead were making quick work of the Purple Dragon's on the main floor, with the battle shell idling behind them. "Hey, what took you guys so long?" Casey demanded, baseball bat swings sending multiple bodies flying, "Are the guys all right?"
"They're fine!" April called back, "We just had one small hiccup, hurry and get in the truck!"
"Go, I'll hold them back until you get away," Leatherhead snapped, sending a feral snarl towards the remaining crowd.
"Are ya sure?" Casey asked, brows furrowed in concern.
The large alligator nodded, "I'll be fine, you need to leave, now!"
The human nodded his head, then sprinted towards the truck, jumping in as April stomped on the gas. Within moments the small family was driving down the dark back streets of New York. Leonardo sat on a bench in the back, squeezed between Donatello and Raphael. The leader was busy watching the blinking lights of the various buttons that Don had installed with the wonder of a child. Jaw hanging open, and eyes wide. Casey watched the blue ninja and then opened his mouth.
"Is he ok?"
"In a sense," Donnie sighed, mouth curved upward in amusement, "he'll be fine once the drug wears off."
"Donnie…" Leo gasped, turning a pouty face on his brother, "we don't do drugs…ever….got it?"
"You're right, Leo," the scientist chuckled, giving his brother's arm a pat, "we don't do drugs."
"They're bad for you," the leader continued, "they mess up your head…we need your head, ok?"
Don nodded compliantly, allowing the eldest to continue his rant. "If you take drugs, then…then…you lose your head! Like I lost my head….it's not comfortable!"
Mikey burst into giggles, "Oh man, I wish we were recording this!"
Raph nodded, but wasn't able to answer as Leo had turned back around and was leaning into his space. The two sat quietly for a moment, their oldest brother looking deeply into the red ninja's eyes before he sighed, "I forgot what I was gonna say," he groaned, "that's what happens when you're missing your head…I need it back…." The blue ninja flopped back over to Don's side, "Don-nie! I need my head back on!"
The three brothers chuckled, as Donatello patted Leo's cheek, "Once Raphie and Mikey catch it, I'll put it back on right away."
Leo nodded, sighing sadly that they still hadn't located his head, "Ok,"
"How on earth does weird stuff like this always happen ta Leo?" Casey asked, a wide grin on his face.
"I've been asking myself the same thing for years," Splinter supplied dryly.
"It coulda been worse, though," Raph rumbled, "at least he's not hurt like he was with the Foot."
All those riding in the truck, sans Leonardo, nodded in agreement. The blue ninja brightened however, and he happily turned to his bombastic brother, "Raphie, you wanna know a secret!?" He said in a loud whisper.
"Tell me," Raphael encouraged, exchanging a smile with Mikey.
The truck hit a pothole making Leo wobble dangerously, Don caught him before he fell off the bench, but the eldest determinedly pushed on, "I know," he giggled, "I know the Foot clan theme song,"
The red ninja snorted, but managed to school his expression back into a serious one, "Oh yeah?" Raph shrugged when Don gave him a questioning glance, no he did not know where Leo was going with this.
Considering his current state of mind, it could be anywhere.
"What's the Foot clan theme song?" Raphael asked, liquid gold eyes dancing with mirth.
Leo snickered, laughing at his own joke before singing softly, "…Mahna mahna, doo, doo, doo-doo-doo, mahna mahna, doo, doo-doo, doo,"
The eldest melted into a round of giggles, finding himself hilarious, the brothers couldn't help but join in. "The foot clan anthem is that song from the Muppets?" Mikey asked incredulously through his chuckles, "Why?"
"B-Because," Leo snorted, his laughter making him slide sideways into Raphael, "they're all puppets! They can't think 'cuz the Shredder had his hand up their butts!"
The blue masked head slid down, resting his forehead on his brother's shoulder, frame shaking with giggles. The entire truck laughed right alongside him, even Master Splinter found himself chuckling. "Ok then, smart guy," Donatello guffawed, "what's the Purple Dragons theme song?"
Leo's laughter died down a bit as he considered the question. Pursing his lips in careful thought, the leader puzzled through until he landed on an answer. Sapphire eyes sparkling he sang, "Barney is a dinosaur from our imagination!"
That one made Raphael and Casey crack up into wild cackles. April kept having to wipe tears from her eyes as she drove, due to laughing so hard. It was a good thing the route they were taking was mostly empty, as she was certain she would have hit something. Mikey watched Leo giggle, a warm glow on his face that he shared with his brothers. This night definitely could have gone a lot worse, but as it was, they were grateful this was all they had to deal with.
Leonardo suddenly stopped laughing, eyes wide and horrified, wrenching himself from Raph's side, he cast his gaze to look at Michelangelo, "We don't have a theme song!" He gasped, looking utterly heartbroken, "We need one!"
The orange ninja shook his head, if he smiled any harder he was going to crack a bone in his face, but he couldn't help replying, "What do you think our theme song should be, bro?"
Leo paused, face screwed in determined concentration, his only focus being the perfect theme song for his team, "I got it!" He cried exultantly.
The truck waited on pins and needles, and Leonardo started singing a song they'd never heard before.
"Teenage mutant ninja turtles, Teenage mutant ninja turtles, Teenage mutant ninja turtles, heroes in a half shell, turtle power!"
Raphael, Donatello and Mikey all melted into another round of helpless giggles, rubbing sore ribs as they cracked up. Leo, on the other hand, was utterly committed to his song, sapphire eyes dancing as he sang happily.
"Splinter taught them to be ninja teens, Leonardo leads, Donatello does machines, Raphael is cool but rude, Michelangelo is party dude!"
Going back into the newly invented chorus, Leo repeated the lines until at the end he threw up his hands and exclaimed, "Heroes in a half shell, turtle power!"
…..
"How is your brother?"
Donatello winced, as the brother in question gave another heartbreaking heave into the bucket by his bed, "The drug is working its way out of his system, but it's definitely not a pleasant ride."
Raphael rubbed the shuddering carapace as Leo vomited up their pre-patrol meal, amber eyes dark with empathy, "He's gonna be fine, though," the red ninja stated, "he's got us and we'll be here until he feels better."
"Very good," the rat nodded, giving a fond look at his sons, "I'll be downstairs meditating if you need me."
The ninja master turned, and walked down the stairs, leaving his eldest to be nursed by his brothers. Giving one last dry heave, Leonardo calmed enough for Raph and Mikey to gently push him back against his pillows. Broad shoulders shivered, and the youngest was quick to wrap his leader in a plush blanket. "You need anything, Leo?" Mikey asked gently.
The blue ninja shook his head at the question, but quickly regretted that action with a harsh grimace, "I'm ok,"
Raph raised an eyebrow, "Try again,"
Leo pouted, "I'm fine, just tired and…" the eldest trailed off, battling between being honest with his brothers, and not worrying them further.
It had only been a couple weeks since they got back from Japan, and the cave. He was still pretty new to being vulnerable in front of them without being forced into it. Donatello sensed his brother's predicament, and gave a warm smile, "Aniki, we're already worried enough to camp out in your room for the night. I need to know so I can make sure it doesn't turn into anything worse. So, what hurts?"
Their leader sighed, clenching his eyes shut as his stomach gave another painful twist. Donnie waited patiently, until finally, "My head," Leonardo mumbled from his bed, "it feels like it got stomped on by the Shredder, in full armor."
"Yeah," Don sighed sympathetically, "I'm sorry, aniki. I can't give you anything until the drug is completely out of your system. How about your stomach?"
"I don't even want to talk about my stomach, but let's just say it's doing a decent impression of a spastic volcano." The blue ninja groused.
"Mt. St Helen's?" Donny asked, amused that Leo still had his dry sense of humor, even while puking up his toenails.
The eldest shook his head, turning his face into his pillow as he desperately tried to curb another bout of emesis, "More like Mt. Doom," he gagged and then lunged again for the bucket.
"Ouch," Mikey grimaced, "the volcano from Lord of the Rings, harsh."
Raphael pulled the tails of Leo's mask away from where he was retching, then made a last minute decision to just remove it completely. Untying the knot, the red clad turtle massaged the back of his leader's neck and head, offering silent comfort as he heaved. "How long is he goin' ta be like this, Donnie?"
"Probably through the night," the scientist murmured, fluffing the pillows and then helping the eldest to lay back against them as his stomach calmed, "we need to get some fluids into him though, with how much he's thrown up, he's already going to be dealing with dehydration."
Mikey brightened, an idea striking his brain like lightning, "I'll go make some ginger tea!" The orange ninja announced, "The ginger will help with the queasiness!"
"Good idea, Mike," Raphael nodded, watching Michelangelo leave before turning back to Leo and Don.
The genius turtle draped a cold compress over his brother's forehead and eyes, thumb caressing the pained face. "We got you, aniki."
Leo leaned into the touch, enjoying the attentions of his siblings. Raphael watched his older brother for a moment, before cracking a small grin, "So, how much do ya remember?"
The young leader hesitated, thinking through his answer before replying, "I remember getting injected, then everything went…."
"Wobbly?" Donnie snickered as Leo paused trying to find the right word.
"Yeah," the blue ninja frowned, "why do I have this horrible feeling that I probably don't want to know what happened?"
Donatello shared a bemused look with Raphael, both trying in vain to stifle their laughter, "Well," the genius said, unsure of how to proceed, "you weren't too bad."
"Other than the fact the stuff had you trippin' out," Raph finished, face wreathed in a wicked grin.
"What do you mean by tripping out?" Sapphire eyes filled with dread turned to Donnie, begging the genius to reassure him that he had not embarrassed himself.
The scientist chuckled, hanging his head, before giving it a shake and once again meeting the gaze of his big brother, "Aniki, you lost your head."
"That's what Raph said," Leo nodded, "but what did I do?"
"That's what you did, you lost your head, looked everywhere for it too," Donatello grinned, "under the couch, in the sink, you even walked all over lair calling for it."
"Ya kept comin' up ta us askin' if we'd seen it," Raph cackled, "then you'd go back ta Donnie and make sure he'd be able ta put it back on for ya."
Leonardo wilted where he lay in the bed. Well, that was certainly embarrassing, but not too bad. He could live with being teased about losing his head. That's what he thought, until Michelangelo rejoined the conversation. Laden with tea cups, and a pot, the orange ninja grinned mischievously at his oldest brother, "I don't know, my favorite part was when he got super fixated on giving everyone a theme song."
"True," Donatello nodded, noting that Leo had paled in horror, "I especially like the one he made up for us."
Leonardo choked, he did what?!
"I did what?!"
"You sang it over and over in the battle shell," Mikey elaborated, "it was pretty catchy too!"
The orange ninja proceeded to hum the song, and Leo groaned, blushing in embarrassment down to his toes. Raphael chuckled, giving his leader's shell a consolatory pat, "Don't worry, Fearless, we'll let this go eventually."
"Yeah, in like, fifty years!" Donnie guffawed.
Mikey only continued to hum before doing his impression of Leo by throwing his arms up in the air, "Heroes in a half shell, turtle power!"
So, what do you think?
I was going for comedy, nothing too serious with some family fluff thrown in for good measure. I hope you enjoyed it, and please, REVIEW!