Mikey couldn't stop bouncing his leg as Raph moved to the window for the third time in the past half hour; his brother was trying not to show it, but he was clearly worried, and that was making Mikey worried too.

"Will you relax, Raph? If there was any trouble, he'd have called."

Donnie sounded annoyed, but Mikey knew him well enough to tell he was concerned too.

"I know," Raph muttered as he gazed out the window with a frown, arms crossed. "But his run doesn't usually take this long. I just have this feeling something's wrong."

That made Mikey even more anxious… when Raph's 'overprotective brother sense' started tingling, there was always a reason for it. Casey spoke up, a frown of concern on his own face.

"Don't you have that tracker on him? We can at least see where he is."

Donnie began typing on his wrist tech; it was common knowledge by now that he'd put trackers on everyone, but nobody ever brought it up. It was just one of his subtle ways of showing he cared. The device pinged as the tracking screen came up.

"Got him," Donnie said, then Mikey saw his brow furrow just a little. "Hmm… that's weird."

Raph immediately crossed the room with large, quick strides, not even making any effort to hide his worry now.

"What? What's weird?"

Donnie glanced at his eldest brother with unease before clearing his throat, assuming his usual passive expression.

"It looks like he's about midway on his usual route… moving fast enough to be running, but not straight back here."

Mikey immediately felt a twinge of unease; if he had hair on the back of his neck, he was pretty sure it would be standing on end.

"Maybe he's just… mixin' it up?" he asked, but the suggestion sounded about as weak as it felt. Leo was no stranger to being impulsive… even the defeated Krang invasion hadn't changed that completely. But now he only did that sort of thing with at least one of the others with him. After scarring his entire family for life with his self-sacrificing move, he knew better than to worry them by diverting from the usual routine.

Before anyone could say another word a loud, wailing siren suddenly split the silence, making everyone jump almost two inches. Mikey's unease immediately changed to alarm, his heart pounding as he recognized the emergency signal. Raph's eyes went wide, and his voice was full of undisguised panic.

"Leo's in trouble!"

Within minutes, with practiced efficiency, everyone was racing to the Turtle Tank. Mikey knew they would be drawing attention, speeding down the street in the open, but he didn't really care, and he knew the others didn't either. Donnie revved it up, then brought up the larger tracking screen as the tank zoomed down the street.

"He's moving again," he said, his voice brusque and tense. "The other way… fast."

Raph let out an anxious growl.

"He wouldn't be goin' the other way without tellin' us."

Donnie nodded, his jaw tense.

"Whoever attacked him must have him. But judging from their speed, they're most likely on foot. They have a head start, but we should catch up if we keep this speed."

A scowl came to the genius' face as he took a corner so fast the tires screeched.

"I swear, if the dum-dum jumped into a fight without calling us…"

Raph reached out to pat Donnie's shoulder, his voice still fearful but as reassuring as he could manage.

"Then Raph'll give him a good talking-to once we've got him home safe."

If we get him home safe.

The thought came unbidden to Mikey, and he shook his head angrily to try and banish it.

No! We will get him back! He'll be fine, he always is! As long as we're all here for each other, we'll be okay!

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Casey looking at him with a gentle, understanding look.

"We'll get him back," he said. "He got through worse in the future, and Leo's strong… I know that was always true. As long as he's alive, he'll fight, and we'll get him back."

Looking into the human teen's eyes, Mikey could see an unshakable determination and the kind of faith that could only be built up by years. The thought came to him that even though they'd only known him for a few months, Casey had been fighting alongside Leo for years. The human teen understood now that their Leo wasn't his Leo, but Mikey could still see a kind of recognition in Casey's eyes when he looked at this younger version of his sensei.

There wasn't the same hero worship as before, but still admiration. Not just for who Leo was now, but who Casey believed he could be. And Mikey believed it too. Master or not, his blue banded brother was always strong, always brave, and had never given up on Mikey or any of the others. Taking a deep breath, the youngest turtle managed a slight smile and nodded. He'd taken every risk to save Leo in the invasion… Mikey wasn't about to let anyone take him away from them again. None of them were.

Mikey's eyes moved back to the front of the tank, fixing on the moving blip of his brother's face.

Hang on, Leo. We're coming for ya, bro.

He wasn't sure how long they'd been driving before the blip came to a sudden halt.

"They've stopped moving," Donnie said, his voice unnecessarily loud. "We're coming up to the location now… here!"

The tank jerked to a halt, nearly throwing everyone forward. Donnie immediately reverted the tracking screen back to his wrist tech, jumping up and moving for the door.

"Where?" Raph demanded as the others scrambled after. "Where's the signal comin' from?"

Donnie didn't even take his eyes of the screen, racing toward a completely dark building that was apparently abandoned.

"In that building. Now move!" Donnie snapped. "The signal's not moving at all, and the best I'm hoping for is that Leo's knocked out."

Mikey felt a sickening lurch in his stomach, but clenched his teeth and ran after his purple banded brother.

"I can jet up…"

"No," Raph said right away. "We don't know what's up there, an' we might need everyone."

Donnie let out a soft growl but didn't protest, and Mikey felt his fear growing at the sound of his oldest brother's voice. Raph was as desperate as them to get to Leo now, but just as scared of losing anyone else.

Why?

The thought came unbidden to Mikey. Why was this happening now? It wasn't even a year since they stopped the apocalypse… since Leo nearly died for them. Was he hurt again now? Was he…?

The youngest brother let out a quiet growl as he forced that thought out. He had to focus… they all had to. Whatever had their brother, they had to kick its butt and get him back okay. Once they got up the worn stairs, Donnie tried the door, then gave a frustrated groan. He yanked out his bo, which began glowing purple as he activated his ninpo.

"Donnie, wait a…"

That was all the further Raph got before his genius brother's mystic energy formed a huge sledgehammer, which Donnie then swung with all his might. The sharp sound of wood smashing split the air as the door splintered, loud enough that Mikey knew any cover they had was blown.

"Don…!" Raph started, then groaned. "Ah, forget it. Nice goin'… everyone, move!"

Mikey didn't need telling twice. He raced into the run-down building alongside his brothers.

"Is the signal still up?" Casey asked, his voice tense yet strangely calm. Of course, Mikey knew the teen was likely in the survival mode he went into in serious situations.

"Next floor up," Donnie muttered, staring at the tracking screen on his wrist tech. Raph tightened his grip on his sais, his eyes narrowing.

"Stay sharp, we don' know what's up there."

Mikey set his jaw, but his stomach did a nervous flip. Images of the Krang invasion flashed in front of him, of those cruel yellow eyes glaring at him with hatred and insatiable desire for pain. Racing up the last set of stairs, they charged into a wide room. Mikey scanned the room, feeling his fear grow. No one was in sight.

Mikey was just about to turn and ask Donnie where the signal was when a metallic flash caught his eye. His heart sank.

"Guys!"

He raced over, not even hearing the others follow. His hands began trembling, his heart pounding.

There, on the rough wooden floor, lay both of Leo's katanas.