- Chapter 34 -

Mikey Gets Shellacne

The sun was just rising as Yukio's plane docked at Hiroshima Airport. He looked over the city before pulling a photo out of his pocket, depicting him standing and smiling beside a girl in her early twenties wearing a black leather jacket, her short black hair covering her left eye. He smiled at the photo, before his expression steeled.

"I'm going to bring you home, imouto (1)," he swore before tucking the photo back in his haori and making his way into the city.

Back in New York, in the Foot HQ, Shredder had just called in his men to make an announcement. Dogpound was the last one in; his tail got caught in the door, and he let out a pained yelp before tripping and falling into the water tank.

"Like a bull in a China shop," Fishface remarked with a snicker.

Dogpound pulled himself out of the water, growling before shaking himself dry. "Damn this clumsy body. What I wouldn't give to be human again."

"You think you're the only one?" Tokka questioned. "I'm sick of being a turtle. I look in the mirror, and all I see are Splinter's freaky disciples. Makes me sick!"

"You think being a fish is any better?" Fishface demanded. "At least you two can breathe without an apparatus."

"If you don't shut up, I'll chop you into filet," Dogpound threatened.

"Enough!" came Shredder's commanding voice, snapping them to attention. The three mutants bowed to their Master as he lorded over them.

"What is your bidding, Master Shredder?" Dogpound asked.

"I have business to attend to," Shredder informed them. "For the time being, I must return to Japan."

"You're leaving?" Tokka questioned. "But Master, the Turtles-"

"It is because of them that I am leaving," Shredder cut her off. "The Foot needs more recruits. And I know just who to find for aid."

"And what are we to do in the meantime?" Dogpound questioned. "Who will lead while you're gone?"

As if on cue, Karai emerged from the shadows, smirking.

"Karai will be acting leader in my place," Shredder told them. "While I am gone, you will answer to her."

All three mutants were shocked and outraged, but wisely decided to keep it to themselves.

"Thank you, father," she said, bowing respectfully. "Don't worry. By the time you get back, the Turtles will be history. I won't let you down."

"See that you do not," Shredder replied, before standing up. "I must make preparations. I leave at sunrise."

And with that, he was gone, leaving Karai to sit down in the throne.

"Don't get too comfortable, Karai," Fishface scoffed. "Only Shredder is worthy of that throne."

"Remember who's in charge here, Xever," Karai warned, before getting to business. "Now, I do believe Stockman is finished with my father's request. See that it is delivered safely."

"As you command, boss," Tokka said, saying "boss" with a sarcastic bite. They left the room, and as soon as Karai was out of earshot, she scoffed.

"She may be the Master's daughter, but she's still a bossy little bitch," she spat. "To think we have to lower ourselves to taking orders from her while she's away."

"If we were our human selves, then perhaps we could put the uppity brat in her place," Dogpound remarked. "But as it stands, we'd be lucky to hold our own."

"That's one thing we can agree on," Fishface remarked.

Dogpound perked. "But there is a positive side to all this. We have a doctor on site, one I'm certain we can convince to help us."

"Of course…" Gina realized. "Stockman's a science whiz. He just might be able to change us back."

"Yeah," Fishface said eagerly. "I could look like a man. Walk like a man. Love like a man."

"I'll settle for not looking like the one thing I truly hate," Tokka remarked.

"And I'll do anything to regain my former agility," Dogpound added. "I'm a far cry from the ninja I once was like this."

"I don't know," Fishface quipped. "I'm quite fond of the idiot man-dog look you have going."

That got him a punch in the face from Dogpound's swollen arm.

"Karai's order can wait," he told them. "We're getting back our humanity, one way or another."

Within his lab, Stockman was just putting the finishing touches on several robots that bore a resemblance to Foot ninja. Behind him was a massive tank of mutagen, and seated before it was a hi-tech centrifuge. The door opened and in came Dogpound, Fishface, and Tokka.

"Hello, Stockman," Tokka greeted.

"Oh, just in time," Stockman remarked, turning to them. "The Footbots are fully operational and ready for action."

"Forget about that," Dogpound declared. "We have something else in mind."

"We want to become human again, and you're just the guy to make our wish come true." Fishface added. "You're going to help us, or else."

Stockman gulped. "Or else what?"

In response, Tokka pulled out a collar lined with multiple tubes of mutagen and clamped it around Stockman's neck.

"This is insurance," she informed him, holding up a button. "Fail us, and you get to join the club, and we get to see what you turn into."

"Some kinda lowly bug, I bet," Dogpound remarked.

"Wait a second!" Stockman cried. "I'm a roboticist, not a geneticist! I don't know the first thing about mutations!"

"Then what do you call that?" Tokka demanded, pointing at the mutagen tank.

"...Okay, so I dabble in other fields," Stockman amended. "But robotics is my primary expertise."

"Well, now's a good time to get expertise in others," Fishface said matter-of-factly.

Stockman tugged at the collar, but knew there was no way he was getting out of this. With a whine, he sagged into his chair. "I'll see what I can do."

"Good," Dogpound smirked. "I'm glad we understand each other."

-X-

Several hours passed as they waited impatiently. Eventually, Stockman held out a tube of mutagen, colored pink rather than green.

"About time!" Tokka reached for it, but Stockman jerked his hand back.

"NO!" he exclaimed. "I haven't tested it yet, and given my own humanity is on the line, I'd rather not run the risk of incurring your wrath by making your mutation worse."

Tokka slowly pulled her hand away.

"We need a test subject," Stockman went on. "Someone or something you don't mind leaving to turn into sludge if this goes wrong."

Dogpound slowly smirked. "I know just the one."

Out in the city, Mikey was hopping across the rooftops, riding on a skateboard while balancing a few pizzas on his hand. He hummed a little tune (2) as he went… but as he cleared one alley, a chain wrapped around his ankle and yanked him down to ground level. He landed hard on several trash bags, the pizzas splattering across the ground. He gasped, looking over the fallen pizzas and hyperventilating before scowling.

"Those were perfect XL pepperonis with extra cheese!" he leapt to his feet. "Whoever you are, you just made the mistake of your life, buddy!"

There was a dark chuckle as Dogpound, Tokka, and Fishface all stepped out of the shadows.

"Aw no, not you again…" Mikey sighed.

"It's your lucky day, Michelangelo," Dogpound gloated. "You get to be the first test subject of Stockman's new retro-mutagen."

"Say wha-?" Before he could react, Fishface yanked off the lid of the tube, throwing it in Mikey's face. He screamed, falling back into the trash.

"I can feel it! It's burning! It's back to the pet shop for me!" Mikey choked, spasming and twitching for a good thirty seconds before stopping, realizing nothing was actually happening.

"Wait a minute…" He poked himself. "Huh… guess it was a dud. Anyhoo…" He backflipped, readying his weapons. "You guys owe me pizza money!"

Instead, he found himself facing an empty alley.

"Hey! Don't just douse and run!" He groaned, putting his weapons away. "Great… now I gotta go back empty handed."

Returning to the lair, Mikey vented angrily to his siblings over the mess.

"This sucks…" he grumbled. "I was just coming home, minding my own business, then Fishface, Dogpound, and Tokka jumped me outta nowhere! They threw some kinda retro-mutagen Stockman whipped up on me, and I dropped the pizzas! Perfectly good pepperonis with extra cheese, gone to waste…"

"Wait a sec. Back up," Leo cut in. "They threw what on you?"

"Chillax, dude. It didn't even work." As Mikey said that, a strange lump formed on his cheek. It almost looked like some sort of green zit. The others went wide-eyed.

"Um… Mikey?" Leo let out.

"What?" Mikey asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

Three more popped up.

"Uh, Don?" Kagome asked.

Donnie immediately went into his lab.

"Will someone tell me what's going on?!" Mikey demanded.

"Well…" Kagome pulled a compact mirror out of her purse, popping it open to show Mikey his reflection. He gasped in horror, seeing the bumps on his face.

"Oh, God…" he gasped. "I'm a mutant!"

"Uh, he's just realizing that now?" Raph deadpanned.

"But now I'm hideous! Look at me!"

"It almost looks like acne…" Hisako mused.

"That's crazy!" Vee objected. "You and Kagome are the only ones of us who've ever had zits!"

"It had to have been the retro-mutagen that Mikey was doused with," Leo realized.

"My thoughts exactly, Leo," said Donnie, "but instead of eliminating his mutagen, it's made it unstable. Creating these... mutagenic pustules."

"So basically, puberty's hitting him like a ton of bricks?" Raph questioned.

Donnie shook his head. "I don't think so, and I'm praying I'm wrong. C'mon. I need to run some tests."

-X-

In the lab, Mikey was strapped down as Donnie scanned him up and down. He drew some blood, running a test on the computer. Eventually, he went pale at the sight.

"Oh, no…" he let out.

"I hate it when you use the Baymax 'Oh no…'" Mikey sighed. "That usually means it's not gonna end well."

"What are we looking at, D?" Leo asked.

Donnie turned to them. "The mutagen in his system is unstable. Judging by the tests and simulations I've run, those zits are going to spread all over his body. In about three hours, he'll-" He trailed off, much to his siblings' collective discomfort.

"He'll what?" Vee demanded.

"Basically, he's gonna mutate into one, single, huge, giant, gargantuan zit, and when that happens…" Donnie clapped his hands together for emphasis. "BOOM!"

Everyone gasped in horror at that.

"I'm gonna explode?!" Mikey screamed.

Donnie nodded. "Like a massive zit."

All of them shuddered in disgust as Hisako looked at Mikey with concern. "You can fix him though… right?"

"Yeah. If I can get a sample of whatever Stockman whipped up, I can engineer an antidote. I'm just missing one key instrument though. A molecular centrifuge to mix the solution." Donnie crossed his arms. "The only place I can think of that would have one is TCRI."

"Here's hoping Mortu has a spare then," Vee let out.

They quickly went to TCRI, meeting with Mortu in his office. One look at Mikey, and the Utrom immediately got to business.

"Baxter Stockman apparently made a half-assed batch of retro-mutagen for Shredder's lieutenants, and they decided to use Mikey as a test monkey," Raph explained.

"We only have a few hours before he pops, but in order for me to make a cure, I need a centrifuge. Please tell me you have one."

"I did have one, and I'd be more than happy to lend it to you," Mortu informed them before sighing. "But it was stolen from the labs last night."

Vee pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "Always something..."

"We don't know who or what did it, but we do have security camera footage." Mortu hit a few keys on his laptop as the three kunoichi gathered around, playing the camera footage. The screen showed a hole being chewed through the floor, and multiple small robots emerging to grab the centrifuge. Kagome squinted at the screen in recognition.

"Hang on," she pointed out. "Aren't those the robots that attacked my house?"

"The ones that had the StockGen logo?" Vee asked.

"Of course..." Donnie realized. "Stockman must have stolen the centrifuge to mix mutagen, as well as that reject cure."

"Then we need to get it back," Hisako insisted. "And fast."

"D also said we need a sample of Stockman's reject batch," Leo recalled. "We can kill two birds with one stone."

At the apartments, they explained the situation to the rest of the clan. Erika was looking over Mikey's condition, his zits having gotten bigger, before getting a tongue depressor.

"Okay, open your mouth and say 'Ah.'"

Mikey did so. Erika jumped, nearly dropping the depressor at the sight; Mikey's tongue had begun to sprout similar bumps.

"My God…"

"This is what you guys have to deal with here?" Jade let out. "This is... insane."

"We're gonna storm StockGen and steal back that centrifuge," Leo cut in. "If Dogpound, Tokka, and Fishface are there-"

"Uh, who?" Mizuki interrupted.

"Chris Bradford, Gina Phillips, and Xever Montes, three of Shredder's elite," Vee explained. "They were exposed to mutagen a while back, and Mikey named them himself."

"Anyway, if all three of them are there, we're gonna need backup," Leo cut in.

"Of course we're there," Tai declared. "No way these guys are gonna get away with doing this to one of our own."

"Stockman's the cause of all this…" Raph growled, drawing a sai. "I'm gonna jab him in the throat."

"Hold up, guys," Erika cut in. "Before we go in guns blazing, there's something you need to know. Looking at these zits, they are insanely delicate. Extreme movement and pressure… it could cause a premature explosion."

They looked, seeing they were spreading more.

"She's right," Donnie said. "His zits are getting more unstable. If any of them get popped, they could cause a chain reaction, ala my zit-popping diagram here."

He pulled out a notepad, revealing several drawings of Mikey at various stages of breakout. Stage two matched up with his current state, with the others getting progressively grossed out as more pictures showed Mikey being covered in more pimples until he was more zit than turtle, which was replaced with horror at the final stage, which depicted Mikey exploding into goo with the word "BOOM!" written in green underneath.

"You... you seriously went to the trouble of drawing all of this?" Hana asked incredulously.

"I had to know what was gonna happen while I was running tests, okay?!" Donnie defended sharply.

"Easy," Leo soothed. "Erika, can you keep an eye on Mikey for us?"

"But I wanna help!" Mikey objected. "I mean, these guys doused me! This is personal, dudes!"

"We get that," Leo replied. "But we can't put your life at risk."

"Leo's right, Mike," Makoto agreed. "Your life is more important."

"I'll stay with him," Erika assured. "Do what I can to keep him stable and buy you time."

Vee smiled. "Thanks, Erika. He's an idiot, but he's our idiot."

"Hey, it's not like I did this to myself!" Mikey shot back. "And I'm not an idiot! I'm just the party dude!"

"If you wouldn't explode, I'd whack ya," Raph deadpanned.

"Let's move," Leo cut in.

They hurried to StockGen. Tai's cell phone vibrated, and he pulled it out, revealing a text from Erika as well as a picture of Mikey; his zits had grown bigger and begun to spread to his eyelids and grow out of his shell.

"Ooooh…" he cringed. "That's not pretty."

"These bastards are gonna pay for doing this to our brother," Vee swore.

"Focus on getting the centrifuge and sample so we can save him first," Leo cut in.

Just as they were about to sneak in, a lone Foot soldier suddenly jumped down, blocking their path.

"Ugh!" Vee cursed, throwing up her hands. "We don't have time for this!"

Barking, Miko charged at the soldier, latching onto his leg with his teeth. It shook him off, and then punted him aside. Tai saw the dog hit the ground with a yelp, then whirled on the soldier, seeing red.

"You fucker!" he shouted in a rage. "I'LL TEAR YOU APART!"

Blinded by his anger, Tai drew his sword and swung at the soldier, cleaving his head off in one quick slash. The severed head bounced along the ground, and everyone gaped in horror at how quickly Tai had resorted to such brutality.

"Tai, what have you done?!" Hana shrieked.

"Wait!" Hisako held up a hand. "I didn't feel it dying. And look!"

There were wires coming from the open neck of the head, the body sparking before falling down.

"By Darwin's beard…" Donnie gasped. "It's a robot!"

"So Shredder's jumping on the mecha-mook bandwagon now?" Donnie asked.

Hisako picked up the head and went pale. She turned to them, removing the mask to reveal the head of a Krangdroid.

"Utrom tech…" Vee realized. "He must've gotten it from Krang."

Hisako chucked the head into a nearby dumpster.

"Foot robot…" Kagome snapped her fingers. "Footbot!"

At their looks, she shrugged. "Well, Mikey's not here. Someone had to name it."

"Well, let's keep an eye out for more Footbots," Donnie said.

At the apartments, Mikey paced around nervously. His zits had continued to spread, and were now beginning to break out of his shell.

"Mikey, you really need to sit down," Erika urged. "You could aggravate them!"

"I can't help it!" Mikey replied. "I'm seriously stressing here!"

"The others will get what they need," Erika assured. "You'll be fine. I promise."

Mikey turned to her. "I can't just sit here and do nothing, Erika. I gotta go out and help!"

"But the zits!" Erika insisted. "If they pop, you're done for!"

"I don't care," Mikey snapped. "I'm a member of this clan too. I'm in this mess because of Dogpound and his pals, so I have a right to a little payback. Either back me up or stay here, but I'm going."

Erika sighed, adjusting her glasses. "If you're serious, I'll go with you. Someone has to keep you stable."

"Of course I'm serious," Mikey grabbed his weapons. "I may be the party dude, but even I know when it's time to stop playing."

Meanwhile, the others had entered the lab, and were looking down from the rafters as the mutant Foot ninja were criticizing Stockman.

"It didn't do a damn thing to the turtle!" Dogpound barked. "What is Master Shredder paying you for?!"

"I told you I'm no expert in mutagenetics!" Stockman snapped. "I did what I could with what I had!"

"Well, get it right this time!" Tokka ordered.

"Science can't be rushed! I need time! Trial and error!"

"Then get to it, Stinkman!" Fishface roared. "Or else!"

Donnie spied the centrifuge on the table before the mutagen tank. He pointed to it. "There it is. So, we gonna do this quietly, or-"

A kunai nearly hit his hand. Donnie withdrew, the group seeing Tokka looking up at them.

"Sorry, but the doctor still needs that."

"They know we're here," Jade scowled. "No time for subtlety!"

The group jumped down at that. Dogpound smirked.

"Nice try, kids. But there's no sneaking by my nose." He noticed someone was missing. "No wonder it's so quiet. Michelangelo's not here."

Hisako's eyes darted over to him, and her eyes widened. "You… it was your idea! You're the one who doused him!"

"What's the big deal?" Fishface questioned. "Stockman's little cure didn't work. All he did was flop around on the ground like an idiot until he found out it was a dud."

Mist was swirling around Hisako menacingly. Her hands were shaking.

"It did work," Leo scowled. "Just not in the way you planned. Our brother is dying because of you, Bradford!"

"Is that so?" Tokka smirked cruelly. "Then nothing of value will be lost."

She promptly yelped as she took an arrow to the knee, a furious Mizuki lowering her bow.

"Oh you're gonna suffer for that, bitch!" she shouted.

The others promptly jumped the trio at that. Hisako whirled on Stockman, stalking toward him.

"N-now now, let's be reasonable," he stammered. "It wasn't personal. They made me do i-"

Hisako just backhanded him across the lab, the scientist slamming into his computer.

"You poisoned my brother…" she growled.

"Please! I'm rigged!" Stockman showed his mutagen collar. "They put this on me! If I didn't do what they said-!"

Hisako raised her hand. Stockman began choking and gasping for air, tugging at his collar as a green glow surrounded his neck and lifted him off the ground.

"You poisoned my brother… " she growled, her voice echoing.

"P-please…" Stockman wheezed out.

"My family is literally the only good thing in my life, and one of my brothers is gonna die because of you, Stockman!" Hisako screamed. "I'm gonna snap your fucking NECK! "

"I- I didn't want- please..." Stockman managed. "I'll... do anything... just please... Have mercy!"

"The reject retro-mutagen. Where is it?!"

Stockman shakily pointed with one hand to another tube containing the same pink sample. Hisako released her hold, dropping him like a sack of potatoes.

"Thank you," she said before grabbing the vial. "Guys! I got the mutagen!"

As this was going on, nobody had noticed Erika and Mikey sneak in from above, with Mikey currently in the process of using his kusarigama to fish for it. The kusarigama lowered, accidentally poking Dogpound in the back a few times. Eventually, he caught on, whirled around, grabbed onto the chain, and pulled, sending Erika and Mikey tumbling down to ground level. Everyone spun around at the thud. Leo gaped before scowling.

"Damn it, Mikey!" he shouted. "I told you not to-!"

"I know!" Mikey snapped, getting up. "But I couldn't just sit there and do nothing!"

He stood up, his acne now making him resemble a blob monster more than a turtle. Seeing this, Hisako's eyes lit up with rage as Mikey turned to Dogpound.

"Damn," Dogpound mused. "And people think I'm ugly."

"Don't touch me! I'm highly contagious," Mikey coughed for emphasis. "See? So how about I take that gadget and get out of your fur?"

He reached for the centrifuge, only to flinch when Dogpound slammed his fist on the table.

"I'd much rather you say so I can pop you like the giant zit you are."

That was when a green halo surrounded the mutant dog.

"Oh yeah," Hisako growled. "Thanks for reminding me."

"What is this?!" Dogpound screamed as he was bodily lifted off the ground, Hisako looking at the vat of mutagen.

"Tell me something, Dogpound. Are you familiar with the term 'double mutation'?"

"What?!" Dogpound yelped.

"It's when a specimen is exposed to mutagen after their first mutation has set in. It also tends to reduce the victim's entire psyche, regressing them to a more primitive state. And the worst part... even if you did find a cure... your fate would be sealed."

Dogpound gasped. "No! You wouldn't!"

"Watch me!"

She slammed Dogpound right into the mutagen vat, like dunking a basketball. From within the vat, they could see Dogpound spasming, screaming in agony as he mutated a second time. Hamato and Foot Clan alike all cringed and gaped in horror, while Hisako's expression was stone cold, having no sympathy or pity for the mutant who dared harm her brother.

"You…" Tokka let out. "What have you done?!"

Hisako looked right in Tokka's eyes. "Whatever happens to him, nothing of value will be lost."

A few moments passed before the mutagen began to bubble, and Dogpound leapt out. The others slowly backed away at his new form; rather than a buff Akita Inu with asymmetrical limbs, he was a properly proportioned skeletal werewolf with dark brown fur. He looked down at himself, flexing his bony claws.

"Uh…" Mikey began nervously, "maybe you need a day or two to get to know the new you, Dogpound."

Dogpound just chuckled. "I feel the mutagen coursing through me. I'm faster, stronger, more powerful than ever. I feel like a ninja again."

"Plus you don't have zits, which is a bonus," Mikey replied. "No need to thank us. It was our pleasure. So we'll just take the centrifuge and be on our way."

"Oh no, I need to properly thank you all," Dogpound insisted as Hisako backed away in horror.

"Oh no…" she managed. "What have I done?"

They narrowly managed to dodge a fast leap from Dogpound. Jade scowled, spinning on Hisako.

"You just made the bad guy even badder!" she snapped. "Nice going, Hisako!"

Hisako cringed, sucking in air through her teeth as she realized just how badly she had done goofed.

"And that, Hisako, is why we don't dabble in vengeance," Tai chimed in. "Because it always, always, comes back to bite you."

Dogpound charged at Mikey with a roar, slashing at him; Mikey quickly ducked.

"Rawr to you too, you razor-faced dog!" Mikey shouted, before thinking. "Rawr… razor… that's it! Rahzar! That's your new mutant name!"

"Seriously?!" Erika demanded. "We've got a super-mutant out for our blood, you're gonna explode any minute, and that's your priority?!"

"This is how I cope with high stress situations, alright?!"

Jade jumped in, clashing with Rahzar. ""Buddy, you really need to cut back on the ugly pills!"

"Ugly?!" Rahzar repeated, scowling. "That does it!"

He grabbed Jade by the throat and tossed her across the room; she skidded across the table, knocking the centrifuge to the ground. Tokka turned to Stockman, holding up the button for the collar threateningly.

"If I were you, I'd get your Mousers out here NOW !" she ordered.

Stockman nodded and pressed a button, sending the Mousers out.

"Mousers?" Donnie asked. "That's what you call them?"

"Yes! Mousers!" Stockman replied. "Minefield Ordnance Unarming System Enhanced Robots! Or Mobile Offensive Underground Search Excavation and Retrieval Sentries, if you want to add the 'S'."

"Yeesh, you really wanted your acronym to spell Mouser," Leo deadpanned.

The Mousers began firing lasers, which Leo and Tai deflected with their swords before slicing them to pieces. Rahzar furiously chased after Mikey, who was doing his best to stay ahead of him. Erika looked at them, then at one of the electrical wires leading to the mutagen vat.

"Hey, Rahzar!" she called out, getting his attention. Erika turned around, mockingly slapping her butt at the dog mutant. "C'mon, boy! I'm right here! Come and get me!"

"Why, you little…" Rahzar growled before charging at her, his claws extended. Erika dove out of the way, leading to Rahzar jamming his claws into the wires behind her. He screamed in agony as the electricity coursed through him, and was then shot through the air toward Fishface and Tokka, knocking them all flat.

"Well, it's been fun, guys," Donnie remarked, snatching up the centrifuge. "But we gotta get going. A. B. See ya!"

With that, he threw down a smoke bomb, and the group slipped away, leaving the dazed villains alone in the lab.

Sometime later, everyone regrouped in Donnie's lab. Donnie quickly finished whipping up the cure and dropped it onto multiple Clearasil pads, which he handed over to Mikey. Mikey wasted no time rubbing them all over his body.

"Was putting the antidote on those acne pads really necessary?" Kagome questioned.

"Of course not," Donnie replied with a smile. "But it is hilarious. Thankfully Hisako had some on standby."

"Speaking of Hisako…" Leo began.

She was seated off to the side with Splinter, ashamed that she had made Dogpound even stronger in a fit of rage.

"I was just so angry," she told her father. "I wasn't thinking straight and I… even if I hadn't boosted him like I did, what I did was…"

She buried her face in her hands.

"Anger is a poison," Splinter noted. "One that consumes you and drives you to act irrationally. I have been there myself, Hisako."

"I'm so sorry, Dad…"

Splinter put an arm around her. "You recognized your mistake, that what you did was wrong. There is no changing the past, child. All we can do is learn from it and be better."

"Yes!" Mikey cheered, the last of the acne fading away. "I'm super cute again!"

"Wait a sec…" Raph squinted at him before gasping. "Oh no! Mikey, you've got a zit forming on the end of your nose!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Mikey felt his face, feeling nothing, then gave Raph a dirty look as he cracked up laughing. "Oh, ha-ha. Very funny, Raph."

"I'm just glad I finished it in time," Donnie said.

"Then we best return the centrifuge where it belongs," Kasumi decided.

"Would you mind doing so, Kasumi?" Splinter requested. "The children are all exhausted after their ordeal."

Kasumi nodded. "Yes, of course."

At TCRI, Kasumi met with Mortu in his office, giving him the centrifuge.

"I assume Michelangelo's mutation has been stabilized, then?" Mortu asked.

"Thankfully, yes," Kasumi bowed to him. "We're grateful for your help."

She turned to go, but Mortu held up a hand.

"Wait," he said. "Now that things have finally calmed down, I have something to give you, Kasumi."

Kasumi blinked. "Me?"

"Yes, it finally arrived from Japan."

Mortu reached under his desk, pulling out a circular orb similar to the one Hisako had received from Samson and Zephyr. Kasumi froze at the sight.

"Is... is that-?"

Mortu nodded. "Kohaku's memory orb. I felt you deserved something of your husband's. I intended to give it to you sooner, but then Hamato Yoshi and the Turtles were mutated, and Krang attacked in short order... I simply couldn't find the time."

Kasumi slowly took the orb, tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Mortu. Truly… thank you."

Later, at the Lee mansion, Kasumi and Kagome sat around the table, where the orb rested.

"So, Kagome... are you ready to meet your father?" Kasumi asked.

Kagome let out a breath. "I am…"

They reached out, touching the orb at the same time. Everything went white, and when the light cleared, they were in a cloudy landscape. Standing before them, his back to them, was none other than Kohaku, wearing the Guardian uniform.

"D… Dad?" Kagome let out.

Kohaku perked, then slowly turned. "Kasumi... Is that our little girl with you?"

Kagome made his way toward him, slowly picking up the pace and throwing her arms around him. "Daddy!"

Kohaku smiled, returning the hug. "Look at you. You've gotten so big."

Mere seconds passed before Kasumi approached, tears in her eyes, and hugged the two herself.

"My love…" she let out, sniffling. "Kohaku, I've missed you so much..."

Together, the three Lees all just held one another, reunited, at least for a moment.

Author's Note:

(1): Japanese for "little sister."

(2): "Pizza Power" from the Coming Out of Our Shells tour.

So... yeah. Author of the Insane and I decided to revamp this chapter from the original episode, since our Mikey is nowhere near stupid enough to do something like that to himself. The entire episode just came off as a Michelangelo torture porn; I see quite enough of those with Squidward in most post-first movie SpongeBob episodes, thank you.

Please R&R. Until next time!