Leo looked over the streets, watching as an empty truck drove away. "They finished the delivery. Whatever the Kraang brought in there, they won't have a lot of guards protecting it." After the mutagen man-after the Timothy incident, they were more hard pressed than ever to stop the Kraang's mutation plans at every corner, particularly the two brainiacs of the group.
"Alright, we sneak in, figure out the goal, beat the stuffing out of them, steal all the equipment and notes." Donnie said with laser focused eyes.
"Right, and we have to judge the sapience of any mutants they have. If they're as animalistic as Justin we have to bring them to the lab." Spidey added, his lenses narrowed.
"Right, I'll make sure to ask them their favorite color as I'm punching them across the room, that's a smart idea." Raph snarked. "Invite even MORE mutants into our home, exposing where we live and putting our lives in danger. Like that's never happened before."
"Raph, it's tough, but we need a cure." Donnie said. "At first it was just innocent people getting mutated, now Tim did on our watch."
"Should have dragged him to Captain Stacy when I had the chance." Peter groaned."I had him right in my grasp. I should've just webbed him by his butt and told his mom what he was doing…that idiot…"
"Look, we don't like what happened to the Pulveriser anymore than you guys, but you need to keep your heads in the game." Leo pointed out. "If you feel guilty, fine, we all do…"
"I don't." Raph interrupted.
"I mean, I kind of do." Mikey raised his hand. "But you got to admit, even I would've backed away if Spidey yelled at me for like, the tenth time."
"And then he blamed us for the mutation, after we warned him over and over." Raph added. "Even mutation induced insanity can only cover so much."
"But we can't expect a cure for something even the Kraang themselves don't fully understand overnight." Leo continued.
"We have to find something." Spidey said. "The more info we have, the better chance we have at fixing Tim, even if it's long term."
"Spidey, you skipped three nights of sleep trying to make a retro mutagen." Leo said bluntly.
"I never needed much sleep before, who needs it now?" The hero shrugged. "I've been pulling all nighters long before I met you guys, a couple more aint going to knock me dead."
"Oh really?" Raph smirked, throwing a rubber ball at Peter's head, who didn't move. "You're usually more on the ball reflex wise. You're running yourself ragged."
"On the ball while throwing a ball, I'm infecting you with my quips." They retorted.
Raph seemed to take that into consideration. "...If I start making cheesy lines and bad quips on the regular, do me a favor and just put me out of my misery." Mikey nodded immediately.
"Alright Leo, you ready to jump inside?" Spidey continued, having deflected the ragged comment.
Groaning, he moved closer to the window, trying to get a layout … pausing. "Hu … I think whatever the Kraang delivered got loose." Leo said, noting the broken droids littering the lab.
"Ah man, I hate when the fun part's over before we even come." Raph snapped his fingers.
"Don't count your … I wanna say chicken before they hatch, do you guys still use that metaphor?" Spidey asked, getting a nod from Donnie. "Cool, anyway don't do that. If something went wild in there and isn't negotiable, it's probably still in there."
Leo opened the window, sneaking inside, looking at the cut up room. "Pretty low tech for a Kraang hideout …"
"Probably because they want to abandon the place easily if there's any accidents, like the one we see now." Donnie said. "Spidey, help me round up all the notes. I'm gonna take some shots to analyze."
"If there's one thing we can always count on the Kraang on for, it's to leave their fingerprints all over the place." Peter noted, looking through the drawers
"Wouldn't it be tentacle prints?" Mikey asked.
"You make a fair point, unless it's more metal prints from their robot-" Spidey paused. "Weird, my Spidey sense is going off, but I can't put the feeling into action … something new's trying to kill us apparently." He spoke, hands at the ready and looking around.
"You don't think they're trying to find a way to counter your Spider-sense?" Leo asked, getting ready for a fight. "Because between Venom and bug spray, that power alone already has some big weaknesses."
"No, this is like, really weird." He answered. "Not like 'hey, you're about to get hit', and not the 'don't touch that it's bad for you', it's … angry? Weak, something moving … breathing …" He instantly threw up a table …
BUZZ
As a GIANT WASP nearly stabbed the boy through the head, hitting the table instead. "Sorry about the shoddy gift, it was the only one I could find on such short notice!"
"BZZZZZZZZZT!" The creature buzzed loudly, shaking off the desk and flying staring towards Raph, who ducked beneath it.
"As if I needed two annoying bugs tonight!" He growled, dodging its stinger while trying to land a stab himself.
"Arachnid! You don't hear me calling you all frogs!" Spidey said, shooting out webs of his own.
"I think I know what's wrong with your Spidey Sense!" Donnie shouted as the giant bug flew around. "Spiders and Wasps are natural enemies. It's telling you that there's something the sense wants dead just as much as the thing wants you dead! … Wonder how it would react around a fly mutant-WHAH!" Their face was barely avoiding being stung as Spider-man's webs held it back.
"Watch where you're aiming that dagger! You could poke someone's eye out!"
"BBBZZZZZ!" The thing screamed as it flew right back into stabbing Peter's head.
"That wasn't a dare to go for my eyes!" He began running on the ceiling. "Look, you're an athropod, I'm an arthropod! Let's not let species or leg count get in the way of friendship!"
"Don't worry Spidey, I got your back!" Mikey wrapped his weapon around the giant bug…which began flying around in circles, bumping into the walls and cabinets trying to shake his little brother off. "Though I want someone to start watching mine while I'm at it!"
Leo timed the pattern, waited, and jumped forward, managing to strike the creature in the chest. "Take that-GAHH!" He shouted, as the creature seemed to clench around his blades in order to land a sting on Leo's arm. "AHH! IT got me!"
"Enough!" Raph charged in, taking out his sai's and stabbing the giant bug through the wings, tearing them off. "Let's see how tough you are when you can't fly!"
The beast pulled itself off of Leo's blades, crawling on the ground … before slumping down. "Is … is it dead?" Donnie asked.
"Yeah … guess I hit an organ." Leo muttered, looking down at his swords. They looked covered in whatever this thing had for blood, but not very flesh covered …
"Aww." Mikey pouted. "I didn't even get to name it."
"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to find one once we bring the corpse back to the lab." Spidey said, picking it up. "Not as good as a live specimen, but the more we can understand mutation, the better."
"I'll download the data drives." Donnie said. "Mikey, get Leo on the van and look over the sting. Raph, start up the engine on the Shellraiser."
"On it." Mikey walked over to him. "You good bro?"
"Yeah, just gotta walk it off." It was still stinging, but not as much. "A little peroxide will probably…" He paused for a second, feeling weird, like he was forgetting something…but he just got here. "Spidey, check that closet over here." He pointed to a nearby door.
"Why, forget your clorox and broomstick?" Peter snickered, but walked over anyway. "Alright Kraang, what kind of supplies did you-" He paused. "Um … Donnie?"
"Kinda busy Spidey." The turtle commented, working on the computers.
"Are we sure that the wasp died from a stab to an organ?"
"What, did you think it was your humor?" Raph asked.
"Not even my sickest burns are that skathing. I was thinking more … childbirth." The pointed into the closet…where a giant egg was planted, covered in green moss.
"Aww, mama wasp." Mikey cooed, moving to the corpse. "You were just trying to protect your kids, weren't you?"
"Fascinating, a naturally born mutant." Donnie observed with awe in a way that gave Leo a bit of unease for some reason. "The DNA of a normal mutant is unstable, but with the genetic diversity of a lineage that could probably cause it to settle into its own species … of giant wasps of course, but still."
"You mean any second that thing could pop out a giant wasp?" Raph asked, holding out his sai. "Not gonna happen."
Every single inch of Leo's body was telling him that was a bad idea. Because … because … "No … we can study it. Right Donnie?" He asked. "You know, for your research."
"Yeah, of course we can." The turtle nodded. "Bring it back to the lair, I'll cut it open there."
"NO!" He hugged it, getting weird stares for everyone. "..I mean, you shouldn't… waste specimen's so quickly." Why was he saying this? He didn't want this giant egg around…but he also did for some reason. "A few x-rays should suffice for the moment, and you still have to study the wasp corpse… you know… for… variables… is that right?"
"… Dude, are you alright?" Mikey asked. "You're acting weird."
"Not any weirder than you owning undies even though we don't wear clothes." Leo shot back in defense.
"He does make a solid point." Raph nodded. "Come on fearless leader, let's head out." He watched as they grabbed the corpse, walking away as Leo carried the egg … the egg he needed to protect? Weird.
April looked down at her stomach. "If the turtles don't start ordering things other than pizza, I think I'm gonna gain weight." For the past week she's been down in the lair, mostly training with Master Splinter and trying to acclimate to the smell in her sleep. She couldn't say anything to her Aunt, and she definitely couldn't say anything to Gwen or Irma about her situation, so for all intents and purposes, she was essentially dead to the upside world.
"Come on, don't think negative thoughts." April shook her head, pulling out the remote. "Maybe the news will help get my mind off the situation."
"No news yet from the Fantastic Four, who were caught up in a cosmic storm. We have no idea on their health, or if anyone died in that mission." The reporter said.
"...Not exactly what I had in mind." Wasn't that a mood killer? Although she had a feeling Donnie and Peter would've had more of a reaction to this.
Speaking of, she was replying that moment in the alley over and over in her head on loop. Karai was on her tail, chasing her down like she was a deer being hunted. The ninja bitch had her cornered, and for one second she had an opening to fight back….April failed. She got her butt whooped, and she had to be rescued… again.
In the early days she said she could handle herself, but even with all that training she wasn't even close to what the turtles and Peter had to handle on the regular. She was just the victim. Sure she could help Peter somewhat manage his double life … but to not even be able to escape one bad girl without any powers? How pathetic was that?! What if Peter wasn't available like the turtles were that day? What if she wasn't friends with a group of vigilantes? She'd be dead ten times over.
"Sadly, in more depressing news, local midtown student April O'neil is still reported missing for now over a week. This is especially disheartening in the light of her missing father, Kirby O'neil, for the past five months. Whether these kidnappings are related is unknown at the time." And that was a sign to shut off the tv for the night. Who knows, maybe the guys would have something better to say?
She could hear the roaring of an engine as the Shellraiser came driving right next to the lair. Think of the devil apparently. She stood up and walked up as they began walking out of the vehicle. "A pet for the held up lady." Peter joked, carrying a giant dead wasp. "Unfortunately we forgot to put holes in the box."
"Ew, gross!" She scooted away from the creepy thing. "I don't know if that's your friend or your lunch, but keep me away from it!"
"Don't worry, just something to study." Donnie said, opening up the lab as Peter carried it in. "We just gotta cut it open and scan the organs." He turned to Leo, who was holding a mossy orb. "Leo, bring the egg here, I'll hook it up to an X ray."
"You're NOT going to cut it up just yet, right?" Leo said, holding what looked like an oversized egg possessively like he was the one who laid it.
"No no, I'll keep it in one piece." The turtle rolled his eyes. "I will be locking it up in containment though, we don't want a giant wasp on the loose."
"Giant mutant wasps." April noted. "So any other arthropods we need to worry about. Another Spider, or a scorpion?"
"I do not need to worry about New York stealing my stick yet again." Spidey grumbled. "Spider-Bytes is a giant mutant spider and Venom had my logo and webs. I should seriously look into that shell company thing Donnie mentioned. Get my trademark down."
"Oh really, and then you're gonna sell Spider-man themed lunch boxes in stores?" She smirked at the idea.
"Lunch boxes would be sweet….but…eh, I don't know." He shrugged. "I try to take the hero thing seriously in spite of what my wonderful sense of humor suggests."
"Oh, is that what you call it?" Raph snorted.
"Quiet you." Peter said. "Just…well, Spider-man is who I am, not a toy or a franchise. I'd feel weird trying to make money off my name. Just doesn't feel right." Well … yeah, she could see it. Probably the lingering guilt from what happened with the wrestling thing.
"Alright, running X ray now …" Donnie muttered, locking the egg into a box. "And … well, looks like our mama here was carrying triplets."
"And they all fit into one tiny egg?" Peter asked. "Must be some weird mutant thing where single moms get lots of kids." He muttered jokingly as he joined the turtle on the screen. "Wait, are they skipping the larval state?"
"Accelerated development into a form that can wistanding their own structure … would be fragile though." Donnie muttered. "I'm gonna deliver a shock to the system and observe their reaction."
"Weirdest way to fry an egg, but I'm done for it." Mikey smiled.
"We can't do that!" Everyone turned to Leo with questioning looks.
"Leo, it sounds like you want this thing to hatch." April accused.
"We'll, maybe that's not such a bad idea." Leo said.
"….Did you hit your head on the way over here when we weren't looking?" Peter asked with one of his eyes raised. "Or did that sting take more out of you than we thought?"
"You're the one that wanted to cure Tim right?" Leo asked. "Isn't a full live mutant to study better than just an egg?"
"Yeah, we want to help Tim and we've both been skipping sleep because of it, but even then we're not out of it or desperate enough to risk three giant mutant wasps running around the city." Donnie replied, before yawning.
"And it's just as much of a risk to be experimenting when you can't keep your eyes awake." Leo noted. "If you're going to cut it up, at least wait until you've gotten two-three hours of sleep."
"Alright, leader has a point." Raph said. "Me and Mikey will keep watch, you three sleep."
"Why am I being benched?" Leo asked with a glare.
"Because you got stung by a giant mutant wasp, you clearly need to rest your arm man."
"Mutant wasp sting?" April asked. "You sure that isn't something we shouldn't look into. This could be another venom situation."
"You're the one with psychic mind powers." Mikey said. "Wouldn't you be able to tell if we had voices in our heads? Wait, unless they sound just like us!" He grabbed his brother. "Leo, is there a voice that sounds just like you telling yourself to wear black and be a villain!?"
"I'm not being mind controlled by a parasite. Otherwise I'd probably kill you all right now, and obviously I'm not doing that."
"…You know saying it like that is only going to make you more suspicious." Peter pointed out.
"I'm not under mind control!" Leo shouted, slightly fidgety. "April, are you sensing anything wrong with my head?" He asked her.
"My powers aren't that precise. I think I've only heard the symbiote's thoughts because they were so loud." April said.
"So obviously the fact there isn't a second voice ringing in my head means I'm not under mind control."
"Sure." Donnie said, patting Leo's arm. "Why don't you take the egg to the kitchen then? More natural light and room there."
"Yes!" Leo shouted a little too excitedly. "I mean, of course. We can't let something so precious be treated so carelessly after all."
They watched as the turtle cradled the egg and walked away. "Are you seriously just gonna let that go?" Raph asked.
Donnie held up his hand, a small blade in between his fingers. "Blood sample. Raph, lock up the room. Mikey, get Master Splinter on the cheese phone. Peter, help me get the heavy duty stuff in place."
"..It's scary how you were able to do that without him noticing." April noted.
"Oh don't worry, I totally wouldn't do anything without your permission." Donnie said with a bit of fluster.
That was him trying to be smooth… and it only made it all the more creepy.
Peter looked through the scope. "... Hmm …"
"Interesting …" Donnie noted.
"Look at that."
"And there." The benefit of having another nerd in the group was knowing what the other was going to say without saying anything.
"Are either of you two gonna start talking to us!?" Raph shouted, bringing them out of their study session. Right, it was so weird to have an audience constantly looking for an answer for Leo he almost forgot the situation at hand.
"Well … on the first look there's nothing wrong with the blood." Peter started. "No poison or toxin, nothing."
"But the balance is all strange." Donnie continued. "High amounts of estradiol, progesterone, prolactin, oxytocin, vasopressin and opioids."
"Ah, the opioids, they truly are the best stuff for us." Mikey nodded, pretending that he understood what they were saying.
"In 'english'." Peter air quoted. "They're all chemicals that go off and affect maternal instinct."
"...So Leo has a bunch of chemicals in his brain telling him he's a mom." Raph stated….and laughed. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAHAH!" He caught his chest as he fell to the ground.
"Not funny." April said with a glare.
"No, no … it's HILARIOUS!" The turtle laughed even harder as Mikey joined in. "Come one, you can't say the sentence 'Leo is a mom' without chuckling a little!"
"Hey, now that's not very nice …" Peter chuckled. "He's already the team mom."
"...PFFFTTHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHA!" Raphael laughed even harder. "Oh man, I can't get the image out of my head now!"
"Unbelievably chuckle worthy." The youngest turtle laughed, before sighing in giddiness. "...He's totally under mind control, isn't he?" Mikey asked.
"No doubt about it." Donnie nodded. After the symbiote, it was a lot easier to notice when one of them was going off the rails. "Wonder what's causing this?"
Peter thought it over. "Donnie, you still have pictures from the lab?"
"Yeah, give me a second to upload the data." The brainiac turtle plugged in one of the drives on his computer.
The teenager overlooked it. "Hmm … looks like they were studying parasitism."
"Indigestion?" Mikey asked.
"No, it's a relationship between species where it's all give or take." Peter explained. "Sort of like how Raph beats you up and you get nothing out of it."
"Not true. Every beatdown enforces the lesson to not say something stupid. Not my fault they don't stick in his head." Raph shrugged.
"Anyways, it's the exact opposite of a symbiote in a way." The brainiac turtle kept searching. "Give and take … hormones …" Donnie snapped his fingers. "That's it! The Kraang were experimenting with Parasitism to work with mind control!"
Peter caught on. "We already suspected they might have moles in a government or law based office. If they can control, or even influence people to act a certain way, with their memories intact …"
"All the world's secrets and military might at the push of a button." Donnie finished.
"And not to mention news coverage, control of wardens in jail, supervillains-"
"Guys." Mikey said. "Not that I don't like mind controlling superpowers, cause that would be rad … but WHAT ABOUT LEO!?"
"Hold on, we're getting to it." Donnie turned back to the computer. "Looks like they were experimenting with a species of Parasitoid Wasps. They normally lay the eggs inside of the hosts of other species …" He muttered, looking at the corpse. "I guess that's where the mutation starts."
"So what?" April asked. "Leo gets protective, the egg hatches, and he's back to normal?"
Peter and Donnie both winced. "Not … exactly." Donnie said weakly.
"There's the teansy issue of baby nutrition." Peter decided to just say outright. "And what's the closest body already being influenced?"
It took a bit for the others to connect the dots. "...LEO'S GOING TO BE WASP FOOD!?" Mikey shouted.
"Nature is a cruel and unforgiving mistress." Donnie nodded. "I can whip up an antidote with his blood and the wasp venom from the corpse … but that's gonna take an hour, and we have the issue of actually injecting it into a chemically enraged and paternal powered Leo."
"Don't worry, I-" Peter paused to yawn. "Can restrain him. Raph, you take out the egg."
"Good, I was hoping to scramble one." The temperamental turtle pounded his fists.
"Peter, is it really wise to try to fight someone under mind control when your brain's not at a hundred percent?" April raised an eyebrow.
"Well we could just tell Splinter to do it." He suggested. "Mikey, you called him about the situation right?"
"You know, I was TOTALLY about to do that, but then all the talk about eggs made me hungry, so I went to the fridge and whipped myself up a P-shake, felt queasy for some reason, barfed in the bathroom, and then came back to the lab to here all the mama pheraomone stuff." Mikey said chipperly.
"… So not only did you not call him, you went into the kitchen where an unstable Leo is." Donnie stated with disappointment palpable in every word.
"… It was a very good shake."
Donnie sighed. "I'll call him." He pulled out his t phone and dialed. "Damn it, reception's not getting through. That shouldn't be possible, I check on the roster every morning."
"...So if Leo's under mind control to protect the egg… wouldn't he do everything he can to-" April began to ask.
BZZZZT
The lights in the lab, as well as the rest of the lair went out. "… Please, please tell me Splinter is in the lair, and would notice that." Peter asked desperately. "Because we are slowly shifting from 'off day Leo' to 'intelligent zombie Leo'."
"No matter what we're dealing with, it's still Leo, and I'm more than capable of kicking his butt." Raph smirked. "Come on, we just need to smash the egg and it'll all be over." Please let that be the case.
Raph hid in the shadows, slowly moving through the dark but silent lair. It was rarely silent when they weren't training, so that was already a bad sign. The plan was simple. Donnie and April worked on that cure, while he and Spidey worked on crushing the egg and restraining Leo. And as usual to any plan … "Why am I the bait again?" Mikey asked.
"We need Leo to think nothing is wrong." Spidey whispered. "And you're the nicest turtle here. Just get him to walk into the living room and I'll web him up from there."
"And I'll land a few hits on him, just to be safe." Raph grinned. Of course that probably meant using Mikey as a living shield for a second, but that was a sacrifice Raph was willing to make for the greater good.
"One day we're picking straws." Mikey grumbled, before clearing his throat. "Oooh, lookie here, a warm spot for an egg!" He motioned to a random spot. "It's so nice and cozy, and completely safe from any turtle and spider that may want to smash it!"
There was a moment of silence, before they could see Leo's shadowy figure appear, but didn't leave the kitchen. "Mikey … we're family right?" … That tone was too kind, too sweet, it wasn't Leo. That wasn't his brother.
"...I…I want to say yes…" Mikey slowly backed away.
"And family should stick together no matter what, right?" They continued.
"Y-yeah, they should." He continued, visibly nervous.
"Then I wanna allow you to experience something amazing …" Leo stepped out … swords in hand … mouth leaking a sickly yellow liquid … and eyes pitch black. "THE JOY OF GIVING YOUR LIFE FOR A GREATER BEING!"
"Leo, I had no idea you were a christian!" Spidey jumped on the ceiling and webbed Leo out of the way before he could do anything to their little brother. "Personally I'm agnostic, but I'd love to discuss the rich history of your religion!"
"Stay away Spider!" They shouted, trashing out with their blades to cut the web line. "The egg won't be harmed by vial filth like yourself!"
"Hey, you're the one living in the sewers. If you're gonna insult me don't be a hypocrite." Spidey shouted, shooting out webs and flipping around. "So what's your favorite breakfast meal? Omelet? Scrambled? Boiled? We should get to know the new you and all the crazy new thoughts in that head of yours."
"How about Spider-sush?i!" Leo shouted, using his swords to slice through the webbing and charging ahead, looking like he was trying to bite Peter's neck. "I do love my meat fresh!"
"So do I pal, but that's no excuse for ignoring hygiene. Your breath is almost as bad as Rhino's." Spidey said, kicking Leo back as the turtle was sent flying across the room. "Raph, Mikey, I believe this is your cue to go after the thing?"
"Dude, you sure you can handle this?" Mikey asked.
"He's laser focused on me anyway, the Spider Wasp thing. I can hold him off until you're done." He said. "On one hand, you guys have a clear shot to the real target." Spidey noted as Leo came charging back in. "On the other … not the face, not the face!" He shouted, dodging the blades trying to cut him open.
At least Leo was distracted. That meant Raph had a clear line of sight for destroying that pesky little egg. He ran into the kitchen, looking around for the pesky little thing. Leo wouldn't just lock it up in a small space, it needed 'room to hatch' or something. "Come one, it looks like one giant yellow lima bean, it can't be that hard to find."
"Beans, beans….oh, right, I remember what happened when I went into the kitchen!" Mikey recalled. "I was looking through the fridge because I wanted to make pizza tuna casserole, but I saw the ice cream and opened up the freezer, Leo yelled at me for making the room too cold, so I said why don't you go in the training room, the sun's always shining on the tree."
"… The room where Splinter usually is?" He asked. Raph felt like the old man would have noticed Leo acting off. "Is he just not here or-"
"AAAAHHHHH!" Peter screamed out.
"Spidey!" Mikey ran off into the living room.
"Mikey, don't go off on your own, you don't know what's…" Raph ran up to him, noticing something very…. very off about Peter… something other than an alien trying to take him over.
They saw him rolling over the ground, coughing and twitching erratically. "I showed him the truth …" Leo grinned. "Either the Spider will reject it and die, or Peter will accept it and join us in glory."
"...Look, I'm all in for babies coming into the world, but do we really have to be food. I can make us a mean stuffed turkey pizza, that's gotta be more filling." Mikey gulped.
"Oh … but being eaten will be the BEST PART!" Leo shouted maniacally, jumping at them.
Leo blocked the swords with his sai. "Mikey, crush the egg!"
"But-"
"Don't argue, there's no time!" He shouted, shoving his eldest brother onto the couch. "You're not yourself Leo! You need to snap out of this!"
"Maybe you need to snap in!" Leo jumped off, flipping on top of Raph's shell. "Join me brother! Become part of the hive, become a part of something greater than this pathetic life in the sewers, better than being a ninja!"
"The Leo I know would never say that!" He pushed what was supposed to be his brother off. "My brother's entire life revolves around being the best ninja he can be, when he's not being a total fanboy over Spaceheroes! That's who Leonardo is!"
"Space heroes can suck it!"
"TAKE THOSE WORDS OUT OF HIS MOUTH!" Raph landed multiple blows on the turtle's stomach. He pushed him to a wall, ready to strike the knockout blow … only for a web to land on his elbow. "Spidey, wrong target!"
He watched Leo smirk. "It looked like the internal fight made him accept the gift quicker." Leo cackled like he was some kind of comic book villain. "The spider has lost, and Peter has embraced his new gift!
"Peter, shut this guy-" His words died in His throat as Peter approached, mouth leaking … eyes black. "No …"
"Brrrbbrrr…." Peter growled incoherently, leaping forward. Raph barely had time to dodge as Peter smashed the ground he landed on into rubble. "Grrrggigughg!"
"Peter, no!" Mikey shouted, trying to get close, only to jump back as Spidey took a swing at him. "You've been able to fight off mind control once, don't let it happen again!"
"Something's wrong!" This wasn't right, Leo was stung, how was-
Chomp
He was too focused on Peter, he ignored Leo, who took a bite out of his shoulder ...a bite that's ooozing yellow, and had his brain racing like it was on a speedway.
"Mikey, zombie rules!" He shouted to the turtle. "They turn people with bites! We need-" His mind was scratching. "Get away! Lock yourselves away!"
"Gggrrr!" A web shot out to Mikey's foot. "Jooooiinnn."
"NO!" Raph shouted as he rushed as Spidey, pinning him as hard as he could against the floor and cutting the webline. "If I'm going down, I'm making sure my brother's have a shot at fixing this!"
"Raph-"
"LEAVE MIKEY!" He could already feel the poison pricking at his brain. "WHILE I STILL WANNA HELP!"
"Hand me the vials over there, the blue ones." Donne said, looking over the formula.
"On it." April went over and grabbed the containers. "How's it going?"
"So far so good … could do without all the shouting though." Beggars couldn't be choosers though. "The venom is definitely complex, but it's still a naturally sourced bio compound, so it is fixable. Just need the right combination of antigens …" As long as they had no further interruptions-
SMASH
CRASH
BASH
"DONNIE! ZOMBIE RULES! LET ME IN LET ME IN!" Mikey shouted, repeatedly pounding on the door.
April ran to the door, opening it up as Mikey rushed in, quickly closing it behind him and locking the hatch while breathing heavy. "Mikey, what happened?"
"Leo bit Peter." He said. "Peter went ballistic, crazy, then Leo bit Raph and now HE'S crazy!" The turtle screamed. "Zombie rules!"
"This thing's infectious?" Donnie asked with surprise. On one hand the ability to jump from host to host like that would quickly limit the venom's ability to resist cures and make his job easier, on the other …
"Wait, go back… this thing's not only mind controlling people, it's part zombie virus… and it's got two ninja turtles…. AND Spider-man!?" April freaked. "Aka, a super powered zombie!?"
"Donnieweneedaplanprettyplease!" Mikey begged. "IDON'TWANNABEBITANDFEDTOABABYBUG!
"I'm working as fast as I can!" He shouted, mixing chemicals. "This door can hold them off long enough for-."
CRUNCH
They watched as a red hand burst through the door. "... What about a mind controlled Spidey with no restraint?" Mikey asked.
"… Hey April?" He asked. "How do you feel about 'we're all gonna die, any last request is a go' situations?" Donnie questioned.
"Don't go there Donnie, just….don't." April shook her head. "You still got the chemicals for the cure, we just need to hold them off for a second…"
"Fifteen minutes." Donnie corrected.
"...Fifteen minutes for you to get done." April gulped, now the panic was starting to show on her face.
"Just a couple minutes…" Mikey chuckled nervously. "We can do that … right?" He asked … before the lab door was ripped of its fucking hinges, held in the arms of Spider-Man, who tossed it away.
"Joooooooinnnnn…." Spidey growled in a low voice and black eyes. "Joooooiiiiiinnnnn!"
"This is giving me WAY too many Venom flashbacks!" April gulped as she took out her tetsuo. "Peter, you've been through this before! Fight it, I know it's within you!"
"The Spider cannot hear you, Peter has embraced a new gift!" Leo shouted with the same black eyes as he, Peter, and Raph began moving in closer.
"Join us brothers!" Raph shouted with a way too wide smile. "Embrace the hive, become one and let us bring life into the world!"
Donnie looked over all his equipment, if they were really intent on just protecting the egg … he threw down a smoke bomb, opening the garage door. "Mikey, April, Shellraiser now!" He shouted, shoving his antidotes into the centrifuge and starting the timer. Please focus on hitting the escaping turtles and ignore the lab equipment.
"There is no escape!" Leo shouted, nearly taking off his head as they ran past him. "There is nothing forbidden for the children!"
"Is this what Master Splinter feels when we don't listen to him!?" Mikey shouted as he barely adovided Raph's shurikens. "Because I'm starting to feel terrified AND guilty at the same time!"
"No! Splinter at least has the option to kick our buts!" Donnie shouted as they all jumped in the Shellraiser. He bolted the door shut. "Pedal to the metal!"
Mikey began driving … and they weren't moving. In front of them Peter stood, grabbing the front of the Shellraiser and holding it in place, before he began lifting the vehicle off the ground. "Okay, seriously, Spider strength is such bullshit!" April exclaimed. "I read about ant's lifting ten times their strength, but not Spider's!"
"Well actually in the bug world, that's not necessarily an impressive feat of strength, and most of what ants can do is mostly due to collective teamwork-" Donnie began rambling.
"NOT HELPING!" Mikey shouted.
Leo and Raph began banging on the doors. "Let us in!" Raph shouted. "Embrace the hive, brothers!"
"They're gonna keep going at us until they've ripped this thing apart!" Donnie shook his head, looking at his brother and April. If they could get to the Lab, he could finish the cure…but there was a chance one of them was going to be bitten….given that April was the least combat experienced….there was only ONE option Donnie make at the moment.
"Listen, the lab is abandoned at the moment, I'm gonna take the Spider-Cycle and draw them away." He said quietly.
"Donnie no-"
"Mikey, for once, I need you to listen and understand exactly what I say, alright?" He asked desperately as they started carving at the doors. "I need you to take the hyperdomic culture and incubate it for five minutes, and then put that into the centrifuge for another five!"
"...You're saying a lot of words I'm not sure make sense!" Mikey panicked.
"In simple words, put the glass circle in the mini microwave, and then pour it into the mini spinning ride!" He dumbed it down as much as he could, getting below deck. "I trust you!" With a shout, he detached the cycle, driving it into Spidey hard enough for him to let go of the Shellraiser.
"Joooooiiinnn!" They screamed, bitting his arm.
With a grimace, he spun around, sending him flying as he pressed the web launcher against Raph and Leo's shells. "Come and get me you terrible excuses of wasp mothers!"
"JOOOOOIIIIIINNN!" Spidey jumped up, grabbing the cycle by the back, and flinging it into wall, smashing it to pieces.
"Oh come on, do you know how long it took me to retrofit wheel's sturdy enough to drive on a webline!? And after you already crashed it once!" He screamed as he began running. He just had to ignore the stinging sensation in his brain while drawing his brothers away … please remember Mikey. Please, for the love of all things pure and April….please remember.
Mikey and April walked into the nesting room, staring at the turtles, who turned back to him. "Dudes … I see the beauty now." He grinned.
"Me too … he found me after and showed me." April spoke with gleeful black eyes.
"Did you bite him?" Leo asked.
"Must have been Peter … his Spider still struggles." Raph replied.
"Jooooooin." Peter growled out, still sounding more animal-like than the others. Freaky. Made him glad he didn't have radioactive spider powers.
"It matters not, it's almost time." Donnie grinned, watching as the egg wiggled. They all stood around in a circle. "It will rise, and it will feast."
"Don't you feel it brothers?" Leo asked. "The glory of-" He instantly jammed a needle in Leo and Peter at the same time, while April did the same for Raph and Donnie. "GAH! What is this!?"
"It's a cure!" Mikey shouted. "Booyakasha!"
"Impossible!" Donnie shouted as he lost one of his black eyes. "You're not smart enough to follow instructions!"
"Probably not, but I have a photographic memory. I remembered what you said, even if I didn't understand." Mikey grinned. "That's how I beat Raph at that go kart game we found!"
"But … the eyes …" Raph said as his eyes began to turn normal.
"I just needed to get us close. So I colored some contacts." April smiled, taking out the black thing that stung his eyes a bit. "And it's pretty easy to pretend to be a brain dead moron, so it's not like we needed Hollywood acting to fool you guys."
"You guys … rule." Peter said, coughing a bit of mucus up. "Ooohh gonna be scrubbing my mouth tonight."
"Oh yeah!" Mikey cheered. "Anyway, you guys are going to experience drowsiness for the next five minutes or so. Apparently I got bit by Peter when you guys walked back in and I passed out."
"Wait wha-" The group all fell to the ground.
"… You know, this is probably the most sleep Peter and Donnie have gotten all week." April noted.
"Yep, being a nerd does that to people." Mikey nodded. This was why he stuck to comics and video games. "But why do I feel like we're forgetting something?"
Crack
… They turned to see the egg start to open up. "… Right, giant mutant wasp. Think we would have remembered that."
"Pretty sure the brainwashed friends was a better priority." April said as the bugs emerged. "… Advanced Ninja training have anything on this?"
"I'll have to ask Master Splinter." Mikey gulped as three mutant wasp rose from the egg. "Hey babies, welcome to the world. I know you're hungry, so how about we go to the surface and grab a pizza and not my bro's and friend?"
"Bbbbttt." They buzzed, looking at his brothers, crawling over with exposed mouths.
"They won't take that as an answer!" April shouted, grabbing her tetsu and swinging it at the giant bugs. "Back off, back off! I've been training with this for a week and I know how to mostly use it!" Their response was to fly in the air, coming at April with their stingers. "Please don't make me a kabob!" She shouted, rolling out of the way.
Mikey started wacking one on the face, before another jumped in and tried to sting him. Definitely couldn't let that happen, or it would be another zombie situation. "Hey, no zombie uprising tonight!" He kicked one into the tv. "Aw man, Donnie just fixed it!" How many times was one TV going to break!?
"BZZZZZT!" Two of the wasps turned to Peter on the ground, their nasty mouths oozing with yellow gunk.
"NOOO!" April screamed, only to be forced to move as the third wasp tried to get her. Mikey went to defend Peter's unconscious body … until it dodged.
Confused, he, April, and the wasps stared at it, before they tried to bite him again, as Peter dodged in his sleep again and again, only for the last one to result in Peter kicking the thing by what looked like reflex into the ceiling. "Apparently Spider Sense is better when you're unconscious … weird."
"Even asleep, Peter is still better than everyone put together." April noted as the now dead wasp fell to the ground. "...I don't know whether that's impressive, sad, or scary."
"Bbbtzzz!" The two wasps shouted as they tried stinging Mikey.
"Worry about it later!" He screamed, running around the lair as he tried to avoid the things. "April, in my room, bottom cabinet! I got a can of bug spray for a prank on Peter! If it worked on Roachanator, it can work here!"
"Bug mutants, they're WAY too convoluted and complicated at the same time!" She shouted, going into his room. "Uggh! Mikey! Learn to clean your room! It's filthy!"
"I'll think about it later!" He shouted back. "Oh waspy wasps! Fresh meat, come and get me!" Mikey threw some ninja stars which they dodged easily. "Oh do NOT tell me you have a wasp sense! That is WAY too unfair by our standards!"
"Bzzzzzzzt!" They aimed for his head.
"Come on, don't go for the face! That's the best part of me!" He whacked the stingers away as they kept coming. "Go for the pinky toe or something!"
"I got it!" April shouted, running forward. "Eat chemicals you bastards!" She screamed, spraying it.
"Bbbtzzz!" As the two creatures fell to the ground, twitching and defenseless with sad big eyes, Mikey reflected on life, on love, on honor, and on showing mercy to his enemies, and kindness to wounded animals who simply needed guidance …
"KICK EM WHILE THEY'RE DOWN!" This was a fine exception. "STOMP ON THEIR UGLY HEADS!
"YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME TWICE!" April yelled as she joined him in mashing the bugs into goo. "I HATE WASPS! I HATE YOU AND I HOPE YOU GO EXTINCT!"
They continued to break them into a gooey mess, the two of them breathing heavily as they waited to see if anything else went wrong.
"I'm back." Splinter announced as he walked into the lair. "With new steel for … weapons …" He looked around, noticing his unconscious brothers and Spidey on the ground, and looked to the two of them. "...Do I want to know what happened tonight?"
"No." They answered.
"Very well. Clean up this mess, or you're grounded for a month." … Maybe this is what Peter felt like when he went to his normal life after dealing with monsters.