Any references to TMNT or anything from popular media and culture is NOT MINE. I only own my OC's. Any references to "TMNT Out of the Shadows" DO NOT BELONG TO ME. Only my additions that I came up with myself belong to me. Anything from the films or other series ARE NOT MINE, only my OC's and my ideas that I have added onto the story FOR FUN.
Thank you.

Chapter #62

*Wednesday May 25th, 2016. About one o'clock in the morning.*
*Kraang's ship(?)*

Sam's eyes slowly began to open. She couldn't open them up right away since there were so many bright lights around her, that and she wasn't exactly resting in the most comfortable of positions.
She tried to move her wrists. That's when she realized they were tied, no, chained by metal cuffs up and outwards, as if she was frozen in the middle of completing a set of jumping jacks, her body forming a giant X.
It was difficult to pick her head up when she was in this position because it naturally wanted to hang down, but Sam knew this would hurt her neck if she continued to hang this way, so she slowly raised her head up as she looked around the strange room.

"It's about time you woke up" came a familiar aggressive and twisted tone of voice.
Sam froze. Kraang got her. That portal that suddenly captured her…captured her…from where?
Her eyes went wide as everything that had happened came flooding back to her.
She had been fighting Karai when suddenly younger versions of Brian and Chuck suddenly appeared and began to fight her, but she also remembered Karai somehow changing them to look like Leo and Raph as well.
How had she done it? Regardless, it led Sam to lose herself mentally which then caused her to lose the fight altogether as she plummeted to what she thought would be her death.
It was unknown just exactly where they were, but she assumed he had taken her back to the Technodrome, wherever it was now located since he had failed at making Earth his new home spot.
"Silent. I'm shocked" he mocked.
Sam turned with an expressionless look to see just what exactly it was that he was doing.
Kraang was using his robotic arms to type something (Sam had no idea what language was being used as he typed) on a giant computer.
As Sam continued to observe her surroundings, she realized that she was actually in the center area of the Technodrome.
"Didn't we fight here?" she mumbled.
Kraang paused. "Heh, observant as always." He turned around and walked over towards the girl. "Yes, this setting is where you and your pesky friends fought against me almost a year ago. However, that was a different ship. But I did move many of its components to this ship in the meantime."
"Ugh, there's more than one? Spoiled much?"
"Excuse me?" he grumbled.
"Well I'm sure there's evil aliens out there who only received one ridiculously huge ship for their birthday. I mean now you're just bragging" Sam mocked.
"Grrrrr life is just a joke to you isn't it?" Kraang snarled.
"Well, it's better to laugh when you're thrown into situations like this" she said, signaling to the metal cuffs around her wrists and ankles.
"Do you know why you're here Samantha?" Kraang asked with a wicked smile.
"I guess it's not for tea during gossip hour?"
"No."
"To eat some make-up?"
"What?" he growled.
"You know, since you're butt ugly on the outside, maybe you were trying to look pretty on the inside."
"Ugh, what is wrong with you?!" Kraang bellowed.
Sam shrugged. "You want a list?"
"I want you to shut up and listen!"
"You're the one who asked me a question" Sam stated, her eyes scrunched in confusion.
"Ahhhhhhh fine! You're here-"
"To be tortured?"
"STOP INTERRUPTING ME! Or else that will be the case!"

Sam was actually surprised to hear that. She remained silent, now curious as to why she had been captured just to not be physically or mentally tortured in some way.
"How much do you care about the turtles?" Kraang asked in a snide way.
"They're alright" Sam answered in a monotone voice.
"Oh cut the crap! You love them!"
"You don't know what I love" she replied as she rolled her eyes.
"Cut the teenage girl act!"
"Cut the old fart act!"
"YOU'RE HERE SO I CAN HURT THEM!" Kraang shouted, his tentacle arms flying everywhere in his rage.
"Wh…what?" Sam asked.
"Heh, that got your attention" Kraang huffed. "I've learned over my time observing you all that you and those turtles are very close. It seems each of them has a personal connection to you in one way or another. So I realized something. Why fight them, when I can just use you?"
"What does that mean?" Sam asked, the first time she actually sounded serious since she had awoken.
"Fighting them is too difficult, unfortunately I found that out the hard way. But after my defeat, I remembered how you seemed as if you were about to lose control of your powers when I was trying to crush the orange one" Kraang stated, his voice growing more and more furious as he spoke.
"That's when the blue one called out to you, and somehow you seemed to calm down. You had even gained better control of your powers than I could have ever imagined. The mutagen in your veins is an extremely rare concoction, and you're the first person it has ever paired with, so the fact that you were able to prevent me from moving my own machine-based body was truly outstanding. But it wasn't just you and your powers that allowed you to do that, it was also your connection to those four annoying brothers. So that's when I decided, I needed to separate you in a way that would bring them harm."

"So you captured me to upset them…but you're not going to torture me?" Sam asked curiously.
"See, that's the thing Samantha, I have numerous tricks up my sleeve that you all will never see coming" the alien stated in devious glee, "including the way that I got you here in the first place."
Sam puckered her lips together, trying her best to remain calm as she now remembered her brothers.
"So how'd you do it? Since you're so damn fancy" Sam teased.
"I allowed Karai to use some toys of mine." He slapped the back of the robots head so that holograms were now being displayed by lasers projecting from its eyes. "The first thing I gave her was the laser dimension blade. It looks similar to what you might call a light saber from the Star Wars series. I know that's a popular movie franchise from your planet, so I'm sure you're familiar with it."
"Wait, so you're telling me you have a light saber that creates portals?"
"It's not literally a light saber you fool, it just looks like one."
"So she didn't use the force to open a portal?"
"NO! Just-ugh! It allows the user to create a portal, but it is a rather small one. That's why I rarely use it since I can't get this gigantic body through it. The user can open the portal, but you must know where you want to go or else it will send you to a random location, even outer space is a possibility of where it could send you if you don't have a specific place in mind."
"But, how does it know what you're thinking?"
"There are sensors on the handle. They connect to the nerves in your fingers so that your brain can actually connect with the device as an alternative to needing to wear any head gear. "

"So, you're still my enemy and all…but that actually sounds really cool" Sam admitted.
"But that doesn't explain why I was fighting my brothers" she stated in a slightly more forceful tone.
"Ahhhh THAT was because I also gave Karai the turnstone." An image then appeared of a small blue and white orb that would fit in someone's hand. "This gem allows the user to think of anything that already exists. It will then appear before the beholder and anyone else around them. As long as it's nothing imaginary and it's something the user has actually seen, then that image will appear. It connects to the users mind in the same way that the laser dimension blade does."
For the first time since she had waken up, Sam was silent.
"So that's why they looked so young, because in my dimension no one had ever seen them age since they had passed away at such young ages."
"Yes, it was a clever trick. I assumed that she was going to trick you into thinking that the turtles were going to turn against you by attacking you out of nowhere, but she pulled the dead sibling card instead. She is clever, very clever. There could be more use to keeping her around then I thought. She may be even more useful than Shredder ever was" he cackled.
"What's wrong with you?" Sam asked bluntly.
"Me? But Samantha, it's YOU that keeps jumping into dangerous situations without thinking. So I don't quite know what you mean by asking me what is wrong with me" he said, belittling her.

Sam paused for a moment. She needed to choose her words wisely since it seemed more and more likely that Kraang was now up to something as the aura of the conversation changed.
"At least when I rush into things it's because I want to protect the people I care about. You just enjoy bringing harm to people."
"Heh" Kraang scoffed, "I have no need to protect people. No one ever protected me, so why should I care about others? Other beings are cruel and do nothing but turn against you so there's no need to help or protect them. If they can't defend themselves even against mental abuse then they don't deserve to live on" he said.
A shiver ran down Sam's spine. The way he spoke, the drastic change in his look, it made him seem bloodthirsty as if all he wanted was world domination and destruction.
"What happened to you?" Sam asked softly.
He turned towards her with an alarming look, his eyes widened to the point they looked as if they were about to pop out of his head.
He stormed over towards her and shoved a robotic finger at her face.
"THAT is a story for another day! You don't need to know about that for now!" he shouted.
"Okay, okay" she said rapidly as she leaned as far back as she could in the position she was in, trying to back away from the finger being shoved at her. "So then why even bring me here if it's not for an epic reveal?"

"Weren't you listening earlier? I said I brought you here so that I could hurt the turtles!"
"Ahhh right, you brought me here just to do nothing to me, right" she said with a nod.
"See, the thing is Samantha, I said I wouldn't hurt or torture you. I never said you would walk away without anything happening to you" he smirked.
'I knew it' Sam thought with a gulp.
Suddenly on the far side of the room a gigantic portal opened. Sam looked over as Kraang grew a wicked smile on his face and walked over towards what seemed like two rock like creatures standing in the entry. There seemed to be a control pad outside the portal where the two beings were standing. Sam wondered if there were secret portal locations set up on whatever planet they had come from that had allowed them to instantly open a portal that lead them to the ship.

"Ahh General Traag, Granitor, welcome back. Good news I assume?"
"Kraang sir, we've been testing the mutagen on the species of amphibian men. So far it hasn't tested well and is just resulting in casualties. However, we have been studying their physique and believe that with the right amount of training that we could use them as soldiers against their own species, maybe even against others" the shorter creature spoke.
This creature seemed to be built of a red-brown colored stone. In fact, his entire body was made of stone. He was shorter than his companion but was rather huge. He wore army green pants and a helmet of the same color, and the gun he was holding was larger than that of his companion. Sam assumed this was General Traag.
"I'll take it" Kraang groaned. "As long as we still have control over them then I want you to continue our trials. If it continues to do nothing but kill them off then stop once there's only about 20 of them left. Make sure to keep a few of both gender and of different age groups and builds so we can further study them after we capture them" Kraang instructed. "Granitor, have your men located any new species worth our time?"

The taller gray colored being nodded.
"Yes and no sir. We've identified a planet far out past the ends of the solar system. We're not sure just yet if there are any inhabitants, but we plan to further examine the planet."
This being was quite tall and wore navy blue boots and a matching colored helmet. He carried a smaller gun that seemed for his size to be that of an extra-large handgun.
Kraang nodded towards the taller gray-stoned being.
"Is your team already there?"
"They are sir. They just recently sent me a message saying that we don't need any special breathing equipment, so they are setting up the portal posts as we speak with your aides."
"Excellent. Join them and report your findings back to me within the next couple of minutes."
"Yessir" Granitor nodded before walking over towards the large portal device against the wall.
Sam pretended to look down towards her feet as she secretly glanced up towards the computer screen as Granitor typed on the portals keyboard.
He used the letters and keys buttons to type in symbols that resembled the letters and numbers B2AXX, then he turned small black dial all the way to the right until it wouldn't turn anymore, then pushed a small green button right under the dial, and then finally pressed a large red button. Sparks flew from the two posts before they shot out a giant puff of smoke. A few seconds after the smoke cleared, a portal appeared that allowed the people on both sides to see into the other side of the portal.

Once Granitor walked over towards the other side, he pushed some buttons that Sam could not see while he was on the other side of the portal before walking away to join others who looked just like him.
"Ugh, he always forgets to turn both sides off. I can still see him" Kraang huffed as he walked over and pressed some buttons so that now the two-way passageway vanished.
"Orders sir?" General Traag asked.
"Report any specifics of your report to my men downstairs. See if they have any additional requests for when you go back to test on the amphibians."
"As you wish" the general said with a slight bow before exiting the room.
"Where were we?" Kraang asked with a mischievous smile.
"You find me boring so you're letting me go" Sam said with a straight face.
"Heh, not yet. First, you need this." As Kraang spoke, a needle had been sent into the room from an electronic lift located on the far side of the room. He opened the small door and removed the needle that contained some type of gray murky colored liquid.
"What's that?" Sam asked with a voice that matched her poker face.
"This Samantha is what will bring harm and devastation to your precious turtles" he said with a wicked smile.
"…okay…so what is it?" Sam asked, learning forward as if egging him on to continue.
"Ha! You think I would tell you?" he cackled. "Now where's the fun in that?"
Sam's fight or flight instincts kicked in as her eyes went black and blue. She forcefully yanked her wrists towards her chest so that she could break the chains, but the chains were wrapped tightly around her wrists and by the time she finally got them to snap Kraang had already stormed over and injected the needle into her neck.
At that moment she regretted not being more in control of her powers. There had been moments where she could stand still and somehow throw large gusts forward or move air without actually aiming her hands towards where she wanted the air to move (like when she helped pull Kraang's hands apart so that he couldn't crush Mikey when they fought about a year ago) but she needed seconds of concentration in order to do things like that, and in this situation she didn't have that type of time, hence focusing on breaking the chains which ultimately failed.

With the chains broken, Sam fell to the floor in an awkward position since her ankles were still chained up.
She felt a painful tingling sensation pulsing throughout her body and within seconds her arms and hands were shaking uncontrollably.
"What did you do?" she snarled.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Kraang scoffed as he kicked her to the side.
Sam violently coughed as she grabbed onto the left side of her body where she had landed. Normally this wouldn't have been too bad (she had received much more painful beatings) but this tingling made everything hurt and feel sore to tremendous levels.
Suddenly the portal opened once again as Granitor entered the room once more.
"Master Kraang, we believe that this planet is a waste of time. At most there are some new plants we could collect and study to see if their elements could be mixed with our mutagens, but there are no living and breathing organisms."
Kraang shrugged. "Collect what you can and ditch the place. Find me a new location that's worth my time."
"Of course sir." Granitor then peeked over and was confused as he observed the girl lying in pain.
"Sir, the captive is lying on the floor out of her arm restraints."
"Leave her. She'll pass out soon enough. I just gave her the new concoction my team created just for her. We'll be sending her home very soon. For now just go downstairs and join General Traag in your report of the amphibians."

That was the last thing Sam heard as her hearing began to fade away. The last thing she remembered was Kraang walking over and kneeling down in front of her as he scooped her up in one hand before tossing her onto a medical bed. She thought, as she fought to remain awake and read his lips, that he said 'time for tests to make sure everything worked out' but she had no idea what that meant, if that's even what he said. Sam then lost her sense of sight as everything transitioned from a fuzzy blur to nothing, and she didn't wake back up until she sensed movement and leaped up from her spot, only to see the turtles in front of her. She stayed on alert in case this was a trick that Kraang had set up, but calmed down once Mikey stated their safety password. She didn't regain conscious until a few hours later after she had been returned to the lair.

*Back to Wednesday May 25th, now about 6 in the afternoon/evning in the lair*

Sam and S2 were holding a long awaited training session. Sam was impressed with how quickly her alternate was picking up on the skills that she had taught her, well, somewhat. She knew that she had learned rather quickly herself, so it only made sense that her alternate picked things up just as quickly.
S2 planted her left foot down, only allowing it to move with a slight pivot as she swung her right leg up towards Sam's head.
"Ah, nice! But remember what I taught you" Sam stated as she grasped the girls ankle, "you have to be much swifter in an actual battle or else the enemy can easily do this" Sam said as she gently bent her arm and touched her elbow to the girls shin.
S2 nodded. "Understood."
That fast she pulled her leg back and spun around, throwing a punch towards Sam's right cheek as the two faced each other.
Sam countered this attack as she slipped her head under the girls arm, swinging her own arm over and pushing her alternates head downwards so that she was forced to face the ground, the grip on her neck preventing her from moving any further.
"Ugh, you're too damn fast" S2 grumbled.
"I thought the same of those who trained me until months later I was able to match their pace" Sam replied with a smirk.
She released her grip as they both slowly rose and stood up straight again.
"Break time?" Sam asked.
"Yes please" S2 huffed with wide eyes and she stretched her arms behind her head.

Just then Mikey and Raph had entered the far side of the room. They were passing by as they headed towards a workout room of their own since both of them were growing impatient of the process of watching and searching through scanners and cameras feeds and what not in order to track down Karai and Tatsu.
"Wow, done already?" Raph scoffed.
"You must hear that a lot" Sam said quickly before drinking from her water bottle.
"I'm better than you'd think" Raph teased with a grin.
"In bed? Oh I know, your lazy ass could sleep all day long."
"Wow this is so fun" Mikey said with the fakest smile ever.
"Is this normal?" S2 asked.
"Unfortunately yes!" Mikey announced. "Well, later ladies. Keep up the hard work, you're doing fantastic" Mikey stated with a flirty smile and pointing at them as he simultaneously continued to push his brother out of the room.

Sam couldn't help but laugh once they left.
"Did you see red's face? He was so annoyed by that last comment. Ahhh men get so upset when you make fun of their ability to 'perform'" she said, using her fingers to make air quotes.
"You…you're something" S2 said with a smile as she shook her head.
Sam let out a long sigh.
"How were they? All four of them?" she asked nervously.
S2 pursed her lips as she looked down at her feet. "They were all pretty shaken up. Leo and Donnie were at least able to remain calm. Raph was a bit bitter but he was within reason. Mikey, well, it was the first time I've ever really heard him shout. And not in a playful way."
She peeked up and was shocked to see the look of dismay displayed on her alternates face.
"I messed up big time. This may have been the worst thing I've done to them yet…or maybe it's equally as bad as some of the others things I've done" she said shyly as she crossed her arms and sat down on the floor, pulling her knees up to her chest.
S2 walked over and sat across from Sam.
"What's on your mind?"
Sam now sat criss cross with her hands in her lap. She looked down at her hands while she spoke.
"It's just, I know I've hurt them so much. I hurt them when they thought I worked for the Foot, then when I died, then when they thought I died when they found me in the river after getting chased down be Bebop and Rocksteady, I had to fight against them when Kraang had control of me, they saw me get attacked by a group of guys on my college campus, and now they've once again experienced a situation where they didn't know if I was dead or not. I just…I keep putting them through Hell."
Sam looked up towards her alternate to see her displaying a small grin.
"So what are you going to do about it?" she asked gently.
"I guess you have an idea" Sam said with a playful but agitated tone.
"I was talking to the guys when you were gone. It was clear that each of them was worried about you, but Mikey's words stood out the most."
Sam waved for the girl to 'go on' and continue talking.
"He told me how he didn't want you to come back tougher from all this because then you'll just want to fight more and more, leading you towards more chances of putting yourself in danger. He made it clear that he's not sure how many more times he can see things like this happen to you. Now before you get all mad-"
"I know" Sam mumbled, interrupting her friend. "You don't have to rant on and on about how he's right and how fighting against this won't solve anything. I already know that. Can you keep a secret?" she said faintly.
"Always."
Sam sighed. "My powers are gone."
Sam couldn't help but give a light chuckle at S2's jaw dropped reaction.
"What? But how?!"
"Shhhh keep your voice down. Secret, remember?" Sam stated with wide eyes, waving her hand for her friend to lower her voice.
"But the way you were fighting me just now, how could you do that without your powers?"
Sam looked confused.
"My powers aided my strength, but the way I was fighting now is all on me honey. I learned a lot about self-defense and martial arts before I gained my powers. My powers did, however, give me the ability to use gusts of wind as a tool and as a weapon, that's how I was able to fly around like Iron Man and stuff."
A disheartened look appeared on her face.
"But now they're gone. I can just sense it. I've tried to practice some basic moves and nothing works. I'm useless. But, maybe I deserve this."
"Sam-"
"I've done enough harm to my brothers, so maybe this is what I get for being so reckless and stupid and-"
"STOP" S2 demanded.
Sam froze in shock at the way she was spoken to.
"Sam, the reason those four were so worried about you is because you're such a loving and incredible person. They have so many memories created from the past two years they've spent with you. They all had nothing but good things to say about you, so how do you think your brothers would feel to know that you're talking about yourself like this?" she stated in a quick paced and stern tone.
Sam sat there silently, knowing the girl was right but not wanting to admit it.
"I know they care about me, and because of that they're going to bench me every time they have a mission."
"And what's so wrong with that?" S2 bit back. "What's so wrong with not putting yourself in danger for once?"
"Because fighting with them is everything to me" Sam whispered. She looked back up at her friend and faced her as she spoke. "I know they care about my safety, but I'm not a damsel who sits on the sidelines and waits to know that her loved ones are okay. That's not me and it never has been. I stand with them, not behind them. What if they need help and I can do something-"
"But you're hurting them by standing with them."

Sam froze. She wanted to yell at her alternate for being so blunt, but she couldn't because she knew she was right. She was absolutely correct. How many times now had she gone out with the guys to help them with their missions, just for her to be the one that got the worst beating? It was usually she who faced the worst outcomes and put her friends or herself at a greater risk compared to if she hadn't gone on the mission at all. Had she even been that great of a help? She thought back to her past missions and past battles with the turtles and began to question how helpful she had ever really been.
"Sam, listen" S2 stated gently. "You know how there are people in the military and they have to leave their spouses at home every day? Wanna know what makes those spouses so strong, just like those in the military?"
Sam's response was to stare and blink with glassy eyes at the girl in front of her, which S2 took as a yes.
"They're strong because even though the worst case scenarios are always playing out in their heads, they fight it. They don't let those thoughts consume them and they prepare for when their loved ones return home. They distract their minds and hide how scared they really are. Now it's your turn to do the same. Find something to distract your mind and let them focus on the mission while knowing you're safe and sound someplace else. Do you think you're strong enough to do that? Do you think you can be strong in a different way than what you're used to?"

Before Sam could answer, Donatello entered the room.
"Sorry to interrupt, but Sam I need you for a few minutes."
She nodded, stood up, and followed him into one of the smaller rooms (man this place was filled with extra rooms all over the place).
"I've been analyzing the blood samples from when you got back earlier and I've begun to notice some changes from past samples I've taken back home. It may be hard for you to hear this but-"
"They're gone."
Donnie froze, his brows rose at the unexpected interruption.
"I already know. I've been able to sense it for a while now. I tried some simple stuff and couldn't do it" Sam replied, refusing to face her friend.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
Sam nodded without saying a word.
"Do you want to tell them, or me?" he asked.
That got her attention as her head shot back up, worried features covering her face.
"Donnie-"
"Sam I care about you too much to hide this from everyone" he said, suddenly changing to a much stricter tone.
"Do we have to tell them now?"
"Does the timing matter?"
"You know everyone in that room is going to have something to say about it, I don't want to deal with that now. I'm already trying to wrap my head around how much things are going to change now" she stated glumly.
Donatello was quite confused with what his friend was getting at.
"Wait, what do you mean that things are going to ch-"
"DONNAY!" Leo shouted, his voice echoing down the hallway towards their room.
The two deadpanned and faced the direction from where the call was made.
"WE THINK WE GOT SOMETHING!"
Donnie turned towards Sam before exiting this room.
"I'll keep this between us for now, but this isn't staying a secret forever. And that's for your safety whether you like it or not."
"Understood" she replied in a low tone as she followed him down the hallway and into the larger room that was filled with all types of computer and scanners among other types of technology.
At this time everyone had congregated into the same room to receive the updates.

"What did you find?" Donatello asked.
Leo faced the screen, pointing at different parts as he talked.
"The police scanner finally went off. The officers were talking about an alarm going off at a place called the Chem-Performance building."
"What's that?" Raph questioned.
J2 stepped in to answer. "It's a place where all tested matters and materials are stored, like a safe place before and after testing occurs rather than just letting it sit at the testing centers for weeks and weeks. It's supposed to be heavily guarded, but it seems your 'friends' got in without breaking a sweat."
"Wait, so why weren't we focused on this place the entire time?" Mikey asked.
"Because the gems we were after before were in the process of being tested, so they was no need to come here yet. This place could be filled with unique materials with incredible capabilities, but if it wasn't something that could help with the portal then it wasn't worth breaking into. But now Karai and Tatsu could be so desperate that they'll take whatever they can get."
"So where are they?" Raph cut in.
"There" April stated as she pointed towards a hallway in the corner of the screen. "They set off a smoke bomb and hid in whatever room is on the other side of that door. From what we've seen they've yet to leave that room. We keep checking surveillance from other rooms as well, but they haven't been spotted yet."

"So what do we do?" Mikey asked.
Leo paused. He was ready to start assigning roles and giving orders, but he knew Sam would want a crucial role. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew Donnie had just spoken to Sam privately, and he knew that his brother would have already made it clear that Sam was ready for battle if that were the truth. That and the fact that Sam wasn't exclaiming anything and was actually silent for once also signaled to him that something wasn't right.
"It's about 6:30 now. At 7 on the dot Raph, Donnie, Mikey and I will travel underground towards that building. Donnie, you talk to J2 and A2 about determining the quickest way to get us there without being detected while also finding a way to eliminate any alarms or cameras that will get us caught. Mikey, Raph, and April I need you guys to help me in continuing to analyze this footage and see is Karai and Tatsu do anything within the next half hour to chance our plans.
Sam I really need you-"
"To come with me" S2 cut in.
Everyone completed the same motion of scrunching their faces and turning towards the girl who made the sudden outburst.
"Um, why?" Leo gently questioned.
"Because I'm supposed to be meeting my family later, and I think Sam should go in my place."
"WAIT WE CAN DO THAT?!" Sam bellowed, rapidly turning her head towards Donnie and Jay since neither had stated whether or not this could drastically affect things.
While Sam was acting whacko, S2 shot Leo a glance, slowly nodding her head to signal that it would be wise to agree with her.
"Would…that work?" Leo asked, turning towards his intelligent brother.
"I mean, this isn't time travel. As long as Sam looks and plays the part then it shouldn't harm anyone" Donnie said with a shrug.
"I'll go to, that way she's not alone. Is that cool?" Jay asked as he turned towards his alternate.
"Fine by me. We should probably get you both to our place soon so that we can make sure you look more like us. Just a few things to adjust, you know?"
"I've been to this building before so I can help with determining a route and with getting in" A2 added.
"And I've snuck into enough buildings at this point that I can probably help her" she said with a grin, fist bumping her read-headed alternate who was smiling back at her.
"Then I guess we all know what we need to do then" Leo proclaimed.

J2 walked over and whispered to S2 "what are you talking about? We didn't have anything planned for tonight."
The girl looked up at him and smiled. "I'll explain as we go, but let's just say my alternate is in a bit of a sticky situation and could benefit from a distraction like this. When everyone first started talking I sent out a mass text about a game night and everyone is in" she said with a gleeful smile.

Just like how these two were talking, Leo quickly pulled all four of his brothers aside (luckily Jay and Sam were discussing some things by themselves closer towards the entry way).
"Okay something is up with Sam and we need to know. There's no way she would gladly deny a chance to fight against Kraang, even if it was to see her family. She would want to see them afterwards when everything was safe."
"Plus it was clear from J2 that this was a very sudden change to his schedule which means this family event wasn't planned" Raph added.
"What's going on?" Mikey asked nervously.
Donnie sighed, squeezing his eyes shut since he didn't want to hurt Sam, but he also didn't want to scare his brothers.
"Look, I can't tell you everything because it's not my place to do so. However, I will say this…the mutagen within Sam, it's changing-"
"Changing!?"
Raph and Leo both swung arms around their baby brother's head, covering his mouth in order to get him to shut up.
Donnie peeked over and saw that Sam was no longer in the room, in fact, they were the only four still in the room at all.
"It's not harming her don't worry!" Donnie stated in a panicked whisper. "But it's not my place to go into detail. It's probably why S2 made the sudden suggestion. This keeps Sam out of danger while we take care of Kraang. Sam's not hurt, she's not dying, but going into battle to fight isn't safe for her now either. Got it?"
All three brothers nodded.

They were happy to know that for once Sam wouldn't be in harm's way, and they were grateful that she wasn't fighting this. In the past Sam would have gone crazy and done everything she could to argue with them as to why she should be allowed to join them in battle, so it was nice for her to take the high road and go along with the choice that would keep her the safest. It would definitely be weird not to have her along with them, but they all knew that this would be for the best.
"Heyyyyy guys" Sam said awkwardly as she re-entered the room.
The four brothers turned around to face her.
"What's up?" Leo asked.
"I just…wait, I can tell by your faces you know something." She paused before sending a glare towards Donnie.
"I told them the mutagen was changing. After what just happened they deserved to at least know that, but I didn't tell them how it changed."
"Mmm" Sam nodded. "I guess it's only fair now. Uh, the mutagen in my veins, it's gone."
"Gone? Forever?" Mikey asked in shock.
"It's fine" Sam blurted towards Raph who had just raised his hand to smack the back of his baby brother's head for asking such a dumb question. "I'm in shock to. I wasn't going to say anything because I didn't need a lecture, but its fine now. I'm going to stay strong and I'm going to tackle a different battle of its own. But I still wanted to wish you guys luck before you left. Usually I'm always with you during this type of stuff, so it's going to be hard not knowing what's going on…" her voice began to trail off.
She looked back up when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I know it's not easy" Leo began, "but this is a smart and safe choice. We're proud of you for being the one to make it" he said with a smile.
"Besides," Mikey added, "it's not like you'll never fight with us again. I mean you and I used to sneak out together way before you had powers, remember?"
Sam couldn't help but chuckle at that. For a second she caught a glimpse of the days when the two had just become friends and they would sneak around and stop bad guys together behind the others backs.
"Thanks guys, and be safe. Okay?"
"Funny hearing you say it" Raph teased.
"We'll see you later, safe and sound" Donnie stated with a smile.

And with that, each of the five went back and joined who they were supposed to be working with in order to begin the next phase in their plan.

Hello. I'm finally back with another chapter. This chapter is a little longer than I intended which hopefully somewhat makes up for me not updating in so long.
But I hope you're still enjoying the twists and turns of this series, and the introduction to some oldie but goodie faces of characters from the 80's :)

I know a lot is going on in the world right now. Please make sure you're staying inside as much as you can and are doing the best you can to stay safe! I still can't believe all that's happening :(
I was supposed to begin a teaching job which sadly never started and I haven't seen my fiancé in weeks. Don't worry, I'm not complaining, just sharing how this is affecting my personal world during all this.
I know there are people who are facing much worse circumstances, so please everyone do your part in helping to stop this, even if it's something as simple as staying home and quarantining.
I wish you all good health and hope to see you soon in chapter 63 3
Stay safe everyone!