Yes, the other story is not yet complete, but had this idea and ran with it. Let me know what you think! Dedicated to a Friend.
STORY
"About one hour, Don." Those were the first words Leo said to Donnie, as soon as the purple turtle entered the kitchen.
Leo was wearing Raph's chef apron and Mikey's oven mitts, and looked rather pleased as he placed a large plate of scrambled eggs onto the kitchen table.
"What?" Donnie asked.
"Had time to make cookies," Leo said, opening the oven and taking out a large cookie sheet full of perfectly round cookies. He placed them on the counter to cool and in the same motion he swiftly turned off the oven. "Oh, and help yourselves to breakfast."
"Whoa!" Mikey said, walking into the kitchen and immediately sitting down at the table, "Leo, you shouldn't have!"
"What brought this on?" Donnie asked, taking a seat of his own.
"Just felt like it." Leo said, then began humming as he took out several mugs and started filling them with drinks.
Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast-the kitchen table was set for four, but Raph wasn't there yet. And Leo might have already eaten, since he didn't attempt to wrestle any of the food from Mikey.
"Leo, do you mind? I just got that song out of my head." Donnie said.
"Sorry." Leo grinned, but he stopped humming anyway.
"What's your problem, Donnie?" Mikey asked, piling bacon onto his plate, "That is like, the greatest song ever."
"Debatable, and you were playing it all last week, Mikey. Some of us are tired of it."
"How's your project coming along, Donnie?" Leo changed the subject as he handed Donnie a coffee and Mikey a hot chocolate.
He left one coffee mug for himself.
"Still on track," Donnie answered, gratefully drinking his coffee. "Nothing's changed since we spoke last night."
"What project are you talking about?" Mikey asked, mouth full of scrambled eggs.
"You'll see when I unveil it today." Donnie grinned. "But you won't have long to wait, I'll do the unveiling after we're done eating."
"Oooh, cryptic." Mikey said.
Leo looked up to check the time on the kitchen clock. Then, as if he had somewhere to be other than the sewers, he stood up.
"Well, see you soon." Leo said, "Remember to save a plate for Raph. Oh and Donnie, be sure to check your math."
"What? Where?" Donnie asked, looking up. "Leo, I don't have any work with me right now."
But Leo didn't reply, he just walked out the kitchen humming that same ridiculous song. He took his coffee mug with him.
"Man, Leo sure can cook now. Those lessons sure paid off." Mikey said, digging into his plate and stuffing his face with hot chocolate.
"Alright, are we all here?" Donnie asked, standing in front of sheet-covered invention.
"Yes." A trio of voices answered him.
"Donnie, this better be good." Raph added, "I was in the middle of a good sparring session." That must be why he missed breakfast.
"Attention, Gentlemen." Donnie said, choosing to ignore Raph, "I give you my newest invention: The Memory Extrapolator!"
With a dramatic swing of his arms, the sheet came off so they could all see the the latest device. It looked like a standing cryogenic tube with a massive amount of electronics on top of it.
"It extrapolates memories!" Donnie said proudly, "All you have to do is stand in here, push this button inside the tube when you're ready, and it'll show your memories onto my laboratory computer." He gestured towards his nearby desk with all its various screens.
"Cool!" Mikey said, "Can I try?"
"Donnie, are you sure this thing is safe?" Raph asked.
"On paper it all works perfectly," Donnie replied, "I'm going to give it a test run today."
"Test run?" Leo asked, "Donnie, you haven't tested it yet?"
"Come on Leo, we talked about this." Donnie said, "Animal memories just aren't the same, and it's not like we can try this on inanimate objects. It's all perfectly safe, you'll see after I test it."
"You talked with him about this?" Raph asked, turning to Leo.
"No," Leo answered him, then, "Donnie, what are the risks?"
"There aren't any." Donnie said, "It's designed purely to show you your memories."
"You mean mess with yer head." Raph said.
"Raph, knock it off." Mikey said, "Donnie, I think it's really cool. Can I try?"
"Neither of you get to try." Leo said, walking up to the machine. "Donnie, are you absolutely sure this is safe?"
"Positive."
"Then I'm testing it." Leo said, stepping into the machine.
"Leo, wait!" Raph said.
"Come on, Leo. Let the inventor try." Donnie said.
"Aw, I wanted to be the first!" Mikey complained.
"Tough." Leo said to all of them, and then pushed the button on the inside of the machine.
They all stared at Donnie's computer monitors, but nothing happened.
"Are you sure it's plugged in?" Mikey finally asked, breaking the silence.
"It doesn't feel any diff-" Leo said, and then his voice disappeared.
In fact, Leo disappeared.
He simply wasn't there anymore.
"Leo?" Donnie asked.
"Leo!" Raph asked, jumping up to the machine. He waved his arms inside the capsule in case Leo had, you know, turned invisible, but there was nothing in there.
"Donnie, where is Leo." Mikey asked seriously.
"Donnie, bring him back!" Raph shouted.
"I don't know where he is, this shouldn't be happening!" Donnie said, typing furiously into his computer, "I checked all the math, and I double and triple checked it. I even checked just before the unveiling because of what Leo said during breakfast. Everything should add up, and there's no way he could have just disappeared!"
"Whoa whoa, hold the phone." Raph said. "What did you just say about breakfast?"
"Leo told Donnie to check his math, I think." Mikey said. "During breakfast."
"That's impossible. Leo wasn't at breakfast." Raph spoke even as he walked around the capsule, as if Leo could be hiding behind it.
"Of course he was, he made it!" Mikey said, "And he baked cookies, too."
"Mikey." Raph said, speaking Very Seriously, "Are you sure you mean today? Because Leo wasn't at breakfast."
"Yes he was," Donnie said, "He told us to leave you a plate."
"Leo skipped breakfast." Raph said, speaking very slowly, "Just like I did. We were sparring together."
The three of them were silent.
"What?" Donnie said.
"But if he was with us and with you..." Mikey said.
"Okay, let's stop and think!" Donnie said, "Raph, are you sure you were with Leo?"
"Well I sure wasn't sparring alone."
"And we're certain that we were with Leo." Donnie said.
"So if there are two Leos, could Donnie's machine have made, like, clones?"
"But there were two of him before we turned on the machine." Donnie said.
"Wait a minute!" Mikey said, "Donnie, when we were in the kitchen Leo asked about your project. Right?"
"Yes, we've been talking about it for the past few weeks." Donnie said.
"But," Mikey said, "Just now, Leo acted like he had never heard of it before."
"That's right," Raph said.
"That one was fifteen seconds." Leo said, suddenly standing next to Mikey.
"LEO!" The brothers shouted, surrounding him.
"Leo you just, like disappeared!" Mikey said, giving Leo a hug.
"Are you alright?" Raph asked.
"What happened?" Donnie asked.
"Sorry guys, no tagalongs!" Leo said, pushing them all away even as he jumped backwards, "The last thing we tried didn't work out Don, the zips just got closer. Hurry!"
Then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
"Leo?" Mikey said, "Donnie, what just happened?"
"I-I don't know," Donnie said, head in his hands.
"And what's up with the counting?" Raph asked.
"That's not new, he's been doing it for a few weeks now." Mikey said. "But not, like, all the time."
"GUYS! Am I glad to see you!" Leo shouted, suddenly running into the room.
"LEO!" The three brothers ran up to him.
"Okay, what the shell is going on." Raph said, grabbing Leo's shoulder.
"I-I don't know!" Leo said, "I was in the machine one minute, and the next thing thing I knew it was gone. When I went to ask you about it Donnie, no one was in the lair."
"What?" Raph asked. "But we didn't go anywhere."
"But it gets weirder," Leo said, "All of a sudden the world just, zipped, and I found myself in our old lair without a working shellcell. Took me a few hours to run over here."
"A few hours?" Mikey asked, "Wait, that means there were three Leos at once! Kitchen Leo, Raph Leo, and this Leo."
"Come again?" Leo asked.
"It's a time machine!" Donnie exclaimed, "Leo, I'm working on how, but I think the machine is sending you through time. Zipping you, I guess."
"That's a little far-fetched, don't you think?" Leo asked.
"Agreed." Raph said.
"It would be, but Leo, we just spoke to you." Donnie said. Then he took a deep breath, as if to center himself. "Okay Leo, let's do this. Start keeping track of how long it takes until you, um, zip. And tell us each time so we can track how long it takes."
"Wait, how many times do you think it'll happen? I really don't want this to happen again." Leo said.
And right in front of their eyes, Leo was gone.
"Donnie," Mikey said apprehensively, "He's been randomly giving times for the past few weeks."
"Shell," Raph said, "Didn't that other Leo count to fifteen and say that we've got to hurry?"
"We have to get him back here!" Mikey said.
"Donnie..." Raph said, as if that would make Donnie move faster.
"I'm working on it," Donnie said, typing furiously. "Clues! Maybe he knows something and left us a clue! Does anyone remember anything important from a conversation with Leo recently?"
"Check your math?" Mikey said, "Um, he's been asking me how to cook? He's been doing more chores lately?"
"Donnie, what questions has he been askin' you about the machine?" Raph asked.
"How it works, if I can test it with something other than me, that kind of thing." Donnie said, without letting up on typing.
"Forty-five minutes." Leo said, suddenly appearing. "Here you go Don, just like you asked. Don't drink it, Mikey." And so saying, Leo set down his coffee cup in front of Donnie.
It was the same coffee cup he had carried out of the kitchen with him that morning, still steaming.
"Leo, this is getting weird." Mikey said.
"Like, really weird." Raph added.
"Sorry." Leo said, sounding very calm as he leaned against Donnie's rather large desk.
"Leo, are you losing time at a consistent rate?" Donnie asked, still typing.
"I haven't figured out the pattern yet," Leo said, "But yes, the time between zips keeps counting down. This time it was forty-five minutes and the time before was about an hour."
"Um, Leo?" Mikey asked, "Are you really going into both the past and the future?"
"Not really?" Leo said, "I've been zipping around in the past, but so far I haven't gone past this day."
"Hopefully that's not a bad sign," Donnie said, still typing. "Leo, I'm going to try something. Because you were in the capsule when it happened I can log onto your particular signature, so I think I can stabilize your zips. This should bring you back into the present time stream and keep you here."
"And you're sure this will work." Raph asked.
"It's worth a shot." Leo said.
"Aaaaand now!" Donnie said, pressing a button.
Leo promptly disappeared. The others looked towards the capsule as if expecting them to appear there-
Nothing.
"Donnie." Raph said dangerously. "What did you just do."
"Is Leo..." Mikey began.
"Donnie." Raph said, grabbing the purple masked turtle's shoulder. He was threatening to cry.
"Lay off him, Raph." Leo said, walking into the room.
The three brothers turned around, and were just about to give a giant sigh of relief when-"One hour and a half." Leo announced.
"Ugh," Mikey said, "That means you're an earlier Leo than the last one!"
"Earlier? Donnie, please tell me you have a plan." Leo said, "This is really messing with my brain."
"Tell me about it." Raph said.
"Working on it," Donnie said. "Leo, how long have you been in this time?"
"An hour and thirteen minutes," Leo said. "I would have come here sooner, but I zipped to the old lair again."
"Donnie," Mikey said, "Are you going to try the same thing again? With the stablizi-thingy?"
"Close," Donnie said, "Leo, the next time you zip try to bring something back with you. If you can bring me something that wasn't in the capsule with you, I think I'll be able to analyze it's signature."
"Sure thing Don," Leo said, "Whatever you-" Aaaaand he was gone again.
"Great, so how long do we have ta wait until we get a Leo in the right order ta bring you something?" Raph asked.
"He already did." Donnie said, grabbing the coffee cup that Leo had left behind. He quickly put it inside one of his do-hickeys and started typing even more furiously into his computer.
"Whoa." Mikey said, "I think I have a headache."
"Here," Leo said, handing him some painkillers and a bottle of water.
"Thanks Leo...um, huh?" Mikey said.
"Ya know, your ability ta walk quietly is getting really annoyin' right about now." Raph grumbled.
"Leo, how far are the zips coming?" Donnie asked, focused on his screens.
"Sorry Donnie, I forgot to tell you. Still new to this whole zipping thing." Leo said, "The last one was about an hour and forty minutes. I was in the middle of last week for a while and when I zipped here I kinda didn't realize the date, so I've been practicing in Master Splinter's room. You know, since he's on his trip."
"URGH!" Mikey said, throwing up his arms. "Seriously, just HOW. MANY. LEOS. have been in the lair at the exact same time today?"
"What?" Leo asked.
"Mikey, focus." Raph said. "Leo, how long've you got?"
"Well, it's been an hour and twenty minutes so-" Whoops, he was gone again.
Mikey quickly took the painkillers and offered them to Raph, who took them right away.
"Okay, I think I've got it!" Donnie said, "I've analyzed the frequency and I'm creating a program. It should pull Leo out from wherever he is in time and bring him entirely back to us."
"Okay, so how long is this gonna take?" Raph asked.
"Give me a moment-"
"Down to twelve seconds," said a new Leo, appearing next to Don.
"Working on it!" Donnie shouted, "Get in the machine, Leo!"
Leo nodded and ran for the machine even as Donnie finished talking, "We may need you in there for the big finale!"
Quick as lightning, Leo jumped inside the capsule as Donnie furiously attacked his keyboard. Then with a final tap he pressed his final button, and the capsule lit up-
And when the noises stopped, Leo was still standing. Even though it had certainly been more than twelve seconds.
"Do you think it's over?" Mikey asked.
There was a tense moment as Donnie typed in his computer and worked some of his machinery to scan their brother.
"My readings indicate you're back to normal, Leo." Donnie said.
With a sigh of relief, all four turtles relaxed. Mikey and Raph sat directly on the floor while Leo walked over to Donnie.
"Great work," he said, patting his brother on the shoulder, "But in my opinion, I don't think your invention is exactly ready yet."
"Please Donnie, just destroy that thing." Raph asked weakly.
"For once, I agree with you Raph." Donnie said.
"Anyone up for food?" Mikey asked, "That took all the energy right out of me."
"There's still cookies in the kitchen." Leo said.
"Say no more!" Mikey said, regaining all his energy, "Last one to the kitchen is a rotten egg!"
Donnie and Raph were still muttering about how their brains hurt, so Mikey was very delighted when Leo started racing him towards the kitchen.
THE END