When Leo Met Mona

Chapter Fifteen: Rest and Repeat

Leonardo woke later than his usual. His body was still recovering and his limbs felt heavy as he tried to heave himself out of bed. His sore shoulder reminded him with a dull ache that it too was still healing from Mona's bite. And he was still mad at himself that it happened, mostly because Mona was so heart-sick about it. He could handle the bite. He could handle the pangs and fever that came with it. He couldn't handle seeing her so heart-broken because she accidentally hurt him.

For now, she slept hard and heavy ever since she showed up in his room a few hours earlier. Leonardo had half a mind to stay in bed with her. He very much disliked her attempt to sleep without him. Even though, before her mutation, he spent most of his nights alone in bed. Now that she lived in the lair, she had no business sleeping anywhere else but with him as far as he was concerned.

But as much as he wanted to continue to remain in bed with her, there was the urge to check in with his family. He had been out of commission for an entire day while Raphael and Michelangelo had been left to their own-mutant hunting devices. He was proud of them and grateful they were able to pick up the slack when everyone else was struggling. Even after only a day of rest, Leonardo felt guilty he had left them to handle it alone. He was determined to help as best he could.

He expected his two uninjured brothers to be in the dojo finishing their training, but the room was dark and empty. It seemed training took a day off for the whole family. However, as he turned to look for them elsewhere, Michelangelo and Raphael were there in front of him.

"Hey, Leo, glad you're up and about, bro." Michelangelo gave him a soft fist bump in his uninjured shoulder. But he also looked a little uneasy. Like he had a secret he was trying to keep.

"How do you feel?" Raphael asked.

"Better." Leonardo's voice was scratchy, but mostly back to itself. "Thanks for picking up the slack while I was out. I'm sorry I couldn't help yesterday."

"Yeah...about yesterday..." Now Raphael was acting sketchy. "Something happened and...Mike and I...we've got something to show ya."

.

Leonardo blinked at the much smaller mutant as it practically climbed up Michelangelo's body and settled its top half on his shoulder. Michelangelo held it like the little lizard mutant was a child while he explained what had happened the day before. Leonardo was struggling to take it all in.

"Please say I can take him home, Leo," his brother begged. "Please, please, please. He's small and he doesn't want to hurt anybody. We left him here overnight and he waited for us. Kenny needs protection, too, from all the bigger mutants out there."

Raphael snorted, "That's what you named him?"

"What? He looks like a Kenny to me."

"Can you not say it like Cartman from South Park?"

Michelangelo thought about it. "Probably not."

Leonardo continued to watch the wide-eyed mutant lizard. It made soft little reptilian noises as it looked back with curiosity. No fear, no aggression. He carefully extended a hand. The little mutant harmlessly bit at his finger, as if he was used to being hand-fed. At finding nothing to eat, it looked at him again.

"He's hungry," Michelangelo said. "He needs someone to take care of him. He's not going to last out here, Leo. He's practically snack size. Can we take him home?"

"We didn't want to bring him to the lair without talking to you," Raphael added. "We were worried how Mona would react. Donnie, too. After that first mutant we dragged in, we didn't want another incident."

Leonardo's heart went out to the creature. Like his Mona Lisa who been lost in the sewers, trying to defend herself from far more aggressive mutants while desperately needing help. He couldn't stand the thought of inflicting the same on any other soft-hearted creatures.

"Trust me. I think she'll be okay with this."

.

And now it was Mona Lisa's turn to stare at the yellow lizard mutant in Michelangelo's arms. Donatello, who had been helped to the couch, now also had a chance to see the new mutant, as did Splinter.

At his very first look at Mona, Kenny the leopard gecko was extremely interested. He sniffed at her excitedly and then insisted on climbing into her arms. There, he clung to her with all four limbs like a front-facing backpack and made happy lizard noises.

"Aw, he likes you," Michelangelo said. "He feels safe with you. I'm a little jealous."

"He's not has heavy as I thought he would be," she said.

"He probably is, but you've got mutant strength now," Raphael said.

"So uh...what am I supposed to do with him?"

"He could probably use a bath. He smells like sewer water," Michelangelo offered. "And I think he's hungry. See if he likes pizza."

She put her arms under the lizard's tail and hefted him up. "So just treat him like he's a kid, huh? And what are you guys going to do?"

"We're going back out," Leonardo told her. "There's still more mutants out there. We can't stop until we get them all."

Mona glanced at Donatello. "Are you bringing more back here?"

"Only the ones that feel safe. But the others, we still need to mutate them to a more reasonable size. Then...I don't know. Then we'll figure out what to do with them."

"Shouldn't you stay here and rest?"

Leonardo straightened. He didn't like being weak in front of her; receiving any inference that he couldn't handle what needed to be done. "It's fine. I'll be just fine. I can't leave Mikey and Raph to do everything by themselves."

"Who says we can't do it without you," Raphael insisted. "We've been doing fine so far. If you need another day to recover—"

"I don't," Leonardo cut him off with a tone that brooked no room for argument. "Let's just focus on the mutants. The faster we can mutate them, the sooner everyone in this city will be safe."

Mona touched his arm. "Do you think you could do something for me later after you're done with that?"

It was clear on his face that Leonardo felt overwhelmed by her request. He already had so many things on his plate. "I'm not sure. We're probably going to be out most of the day. But when I get back, we can talk, okay?"

"You know what? Don't worry about it. It's something that can wait. You take care of those things first. Good luck, guys."

He squeezed her hand. Then, after taking a moment to consider, kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

.

When the three turtle brothers left, Mona found herself in another day of taking care of mutants. Splinter was in better shape, but ultimately no help. She had a feeling he was used to his sons doing all the cooking and cleaning. And now it was expected of her. Which she made the decision she wouldn't mind. They had come to rescue her. They gave her a place to live and food to eat and she had no way to pay them back. Of course she would help with the chores and in taking care of those who needed care.

Since helping Donatello to the couch, he seemed fine watching TV and eating cereal. So she spent some time getting Kenny clean. She put him in their giant soaking tub with just a little water at the bottom. The little gecko was not happy about it at first, but eventually settled and allowed himself to be washed. Since Mona practically had to be in the tub with him to make him stay, she was soaked by the time the bath was over.

She dried him and put both of them in clean shirts, then took him to the kitchen to see what he would eat, which was also its own process. In the end, it turned out Kenny was partial to raw chicken over cooked and he also liked a little bit of fruit. At least she got him to eat something.

Any time she tried to leave him, however, he would protest and climb onto her back. So Mona surrendered and allowed the lizard to be worn like a backpack as she moved about the lair.

"Still doing okay?" Mona asked as she came in to get Donatello's dishes. "Would you prefer if we try to move you back into your bedroom so you can sleep in your own bed tonight?"

"Nah," Donatello shook his head. "My room is clear in the back. If I stayed there, I'd never know what's going on and I'll get left out. I'll go back there when I'm more mobile."

"Fair enough." Mona paused as she looked him over. "Those bandages are starting to look a little grungy. Should we change them?"

Donatello glanced down at himself. "Probably."

"Do you want me to ask your dad or would you be okay if I did it?"

He seemed to flush a little, though with turtles, it was hard to tell. "Uh, yeah. I guess you could do it."

"Okay, I'll be right back then."

She left with the dishes and returned with a full first aid kit. Though the first order of business was to set down the living gecko backpack she carried. Kenny was not happy about it, but eventually sat on the couch next to Donatello and sulked.

"He's so clingy," Mona mumbled as she gave the little mutant a look. "He's going right back to Michelangelo when he gets back."

"It's feeling like a joint custody arrangement already," Donatello joked.

"I did not sign up for parental responsibility," Mona replied with humor. She carefully peeled back the old bandages on his side. "These aren't looking too bad." She then removed the larger bandage from his thigh. "This one's still a hot mess, but we'll get there. You just need to make sure someone is helping you change these regularly."

He only nodded. Then swallowed. She was already touching him so much. With his wounds, he hadn't bothered with any clothes. Of course, his shell covered all the important stuff, but her fingers at the exposed skin along his sides and thigh sent a pleasant current skipping up his spine. This was intimate. More intimate than he had ever felt with her.

He watched her gently try to clean the wounds before packing on new gauze.

"Hey uh...about yesterday. I was trying to be supportive, but I don't think I was doing a good job. I wanted to make sure you were handling everything okay. You've been through a lot and we're all still trying to juggle so much. Have you had any time to yourself to process all this?"

She let out a long, weighted breath. "Honestly, I don't even know how to answer that. There's so much to do and all of us are spread so thin right now as it is. I'm just taking things one day at a time."

Donatello didn't look too convinced. "That's more of a non-answer than an answer."

"It's the only answer I've got for you right now."

Now it was his turn to sigh as she set about wrapping up his gaping thigh wound. "I feel so useless. I wish I could be more help to my family. And especially to you."

She softened, waiting for him to look at her. "Donnie, every time I've called needing help, you've always been the one on the other end and you've helped me."

"Except the last time," he reminded.

"Did you or did you not immediately start looking for me when I called you?"

"It wasn't good enough," he whispered.

"You did everything you possibly could and that's what matters."

"Is it? With all you had to go through before we found you?"

She took his hand in hers. "That all of you looked. That you tried means so much to me. It really does."

"Someone come get this...creature," Splinter's voice called from his room. "He is chewing up my bonsai."

Mona glanced to the couch. Kenny had slipped away without either of them noticing. One last look at Donatello and she ran towards Splinter's room.

"Coming!"

.

Leonardo followed as his brothers led him to their mutant-baiting spot. As they had the day before, they came with expired meat stolen from various places around town to once again entice whatever creatures slithered around in the dark.

As they walked, there was an argument as to whether they should continue to watch the same spot from yesterday or if they should try a new location.

"What if we do both?" Michelangelo said. "We can stake out this place and also find a new one."

"And which one of us is going to do that solo?" Raphael challenged. "If we had Donnie, we could split up with everyone having someone watching their backs. I don't feel good with any one of us going out alone."

When Michelangelo opened his mouth to offer options, Leonardo raised his hand for silence. "You hear that?"

Breaths were held. Deep in the sewer catacombs they heard it. Heavy growls and a high-pitched shriek. The sounds of two very large creatures fighting.

"Shit, more giant mutants," Michelangelo hissed. "I hate those."

"We're giant mutants, dingus," Raphael replied.

"It's different, RAPH!"

Leonardo quickly hushed them as he crouched and stealthily made his way toward the animal sounds. Creeping slowly through the tunnel, he paused to peer carefully around the corner. Not two, but three mutants were fighting over what remained of the rotten meat from the day before. Two large lizard forms and one absolutely hulking mass of turtle. It seemed to be the lizards versus the terrapin, but the turtle was holding his own against both with his much larger mass, his protective shell, and the absolute voracity in the way he attacked the others. The lizards were bleeding and backing off while the turtle was nearly claiming his prize.

Leonardo seemed transfixed by the savage fight, but Raphael and Michelangelo were becoming veterans at this. Wordlessly, Raphael loaded the crossbow with a canister of mutagen and handed it to his brother. Michelangelo aimed and shot one of the lizards. The nearly instant scream from the creature startled both of the other mutants as it began to convulse and writhe on the ground.

"He's getting away!" Leonardo hissed as the other lizard turned to flee, but Raphael already had the other bow aimed and hit it in the hind flank.

Now, two massive lizards were screaming in pain. Yet, that didn't seem to deter the turtle. He lumbered up to the closest one and pinned it down with a large, meaty foot, blunt teeth bared.

"It's going to kill the other one!" Raphael barked. "Mikey!"

"I'm trying!" Michelangelo was shakily attempting to load his crossbow again. "Damnit, stupid clumsy turtle fingers!"

He managed to get the crossbow right and fired. The canister bounced off the shell. Raphael immediately made a second attempt that also did not find flesh, though the turtle had paused in curiosity as to who was throwing canisters at him.

"We can't get past that shell," Leonardo said as he grabbed another canister from the bag. "We need to get in close."

"Leo!" Raphael barked as the blue-clad turtle stubbornly lunged from their hiding spot. He jumped over the canal that separated them and ran silently in a wide arc around the much larger mutant turtle. Sneaking up on the mutant from behind, Leonardo almost made it to the exposed back leg when the giant turtle suddenly whipped around. A long alligator-like tail slipped from its spiky shell and sliced at him.

Leonardo stumbled back as the turtle then whipped around, jaws out. Raphael was there, slamming his whole body into the mutant to throw it off balance. But the larger turtle still had more tricks. Raphael wasn't prepared for the snake-like long neck that extended, enabling the turtle to whip his head around and clamp his jaws over Raphael's shoulder.

Raphael grunted in pain as he heard the snap of teeth digging into sinew. He held fast, now grabbing the monster's head. "Someone get this guy!"

Michelangelo appeared on the other side and slammed a mutagen canister into the turtle's exposed neck. The turtle growled and clenched his jaws deeper. It slapped a thick arm at Michelangelo, sending him flying.

Then, the second mutation began. The turtle shuddered as if having a seizure, then it began frothing at the mouth. But it stubbornly held onto its prey.

"Jesus Christ! It won't let go!" Raphael panicked.

Leonardo was instantly at his side, a kunai in hand to pry at the monster's jaws. The teeth crunched tighter. Red froth bubbled from its mouth. Leonardo's shoulder screamed in pain as he wrenched as hard as he could. Something popped somewhere and the monster let go.

The lizards were gone now, fled to the canals. The massive turtle...the three brothers didn't wait to see what it would do. Michelangelo and Leonardo flanked a heavily bleeding Raphael and fled the area.

.

Donatello looked up from his tablet when he heard the urgent voices of all three of his brothers entering the lair. Leonardo's body was in the way, but then he caught sight of Raphael, absolutely drenched from shoulder to foot in blood.

He sat up despite the pain that shot up one side of his body. "What happened?"

"Like, the biggest turtle I've ever seen bit Raph!" Michelangelo declared. "We barely made it out with our lives!"

"It's not as bad as it looks," Raphael insisted, blood oozing through his fingers. "It's just a bite. All we need to do is stop the bleeding." He looked at Donatello, a smirk cutting through his wince of pain. "See? I told you I saw a giant turtle on that video."

"What video?" Leonardo asked.

Raphael paused, suddenly realizing what he just revealed. "Uh...Donnie and I were watching some videos from the lab."

Leonardo's eyes widened slightly. "Was Mona on those?"

"Ho~Ly Shit!" Mona's voice rang out through the lair. "What the hell happened? Wait, hold on." She disappeared down the hall and then just as quickly came back with towels. They were pressed to the bloody wound and she said again, "What the hell happened?"

"Giant turtle bit him," Michelangelo said.

"One of them is a turtle?"

"You didn't know that?" Raphael said.

"I don't remember a lot of what happened. And I don't think I was ever able to see the whole layout of the lab and what was in there." When Raphael didn't have any follow up questions, she said, "Come on, I guess it's your turn to go into the first aid room."

"I'm going to get Dad to help," Michelangelo announced. "Raph's probably gonna need stitches."

"Before you go, can you take him?" Mona asked, turning around to show the lizard hanging from her shoulders like a backpack. "He's been my monkey all morning. My back is killing me."

"Kenny! Come to Daddy!" Michelangelo said happily, gathering up the little lizard. Kenny seemed more than happy to see him again and climbed all over him eagerly. "Let's go get Grandpa."
Raphael frowned after him. "If he calls me Uncle Raph, I'm going to stab him."

"Let's worry about that later and stop you from leaking," Mona said, gently guiding him.

Leonardo was a little more insistent as he tugged Raphael forward to get him to the medical room. More blood dribbled everywhere as he sat, looking very put out.

"Here's some antiseptic." Mona handed a white bottle to Leonardo. "Make sure it gets cleaned out good. Those mutant bites get infected easy." He looked at her and she have a weird laugh. "I meant about Donnie's wounds not..." She trailed off, gazing at his shoulder.

Splinter came in then and immediately took charge of the situation, fussing over the newest son to be wounded while Raphael loudly protested to being babied. Mona slipped out of the room and came back with a bucket of warm water to help clean the massive bite on Raphael's shoulder. The teeth marks went all the way around. Most were clean punctures, but a chunk of skin was torn, yet still attached. Splinter went to work stitching what he could with nimble fingers.

On the nightstand next to the bed, a phone buzzed. Leonardo frowned at it.

"Whose phone is that?"

"That's yours, dude," Raphael snorted, then winced.

Leonardo frowned some more. He did not like it when his phone rang. Plus, his family was here. Who was calling him? Maybe April?

He answered it and Chief Vincent's sharp voice immediately responded. "I'm calling for an update. We're still receiving eye-witness reports. They've been on the goddamn news. There's been bodies! PIECES of bodies! All over town! What have you been doing about it?"

Leonardo had her on speaker phone, his jaw set. "We've been handling it the best we can. We've been able to locate some of the mutants and dose them with the mutagen. We've seen with our own eyes that it works. They get smaller."

"Did you capture or kill any of them?" Vincent demanded.

Leonardo looked at Michelangelo, who stood in the doorway. He hugged Kenny to him and wildly shook his head. "Uh, no. We weren't able to catch any of them. I think they're all still alive."

"Then they're still a threat! Unless that mutagen shrinks them to lizard size, they can still do serious damage and lives are in danger!"

Leonardo was sweating, his heart pounding. They had been trying their best. "We're doing what we can," he insisted, trying to keep his voice steady and firm. "It's only been a few days and we've been coming up with ways to—"

"That isn't good enough! People are dying! You need to eradicate them all before they hurt anyone else!"

"Leo, give me the phone," Raphael growled.

"I've got this," Leonardo insisted, offended. "I can handle it."

Raphael stretched out his good arm, his voice low but allowing no room for argument. "Give me the fucking phone. I have something I want to say."

Though he didn't look happy, Leonardo handed it over. Raphael put it to his ear.

"You better check your tone," he said in a calm, but dangerous voice. "You don't get to yell at us because you're scared. We've been bleeding all over these sewers trying to clean up this mess. A mess that we did not start, though it feels like you're blaming us for it. One of my brothers nearly got eaten alive and all but one of us are wounded and in no shape to fight." He looked pointedly at Leonardo, as if daring him to argue. Leonard did not.

"We willingly put our lives on the line for this city," Raphael continued, self-impressed with his own control. "But how about your guys also do their goddamn jobs? I don't hear anything about your team looking for mutants. Or even getting people off the streets if these things are making the news. How about you help instead of bitching at us?"

There was silence on the other end, then Vincent's voice was a little calmer, but still very irritated. "You're suggesting I send my men to try to fight these giant mutants when you can't even handle them?"

"I'm suggesting you figure something out because my family needs to rest and heal. We'll call you back in a few days."

Raphael ended the call and turned off the phone. He tossed it on the bed with a look of disdain.

Leonardo just stared at it for a while. He could feel Raphael watching him, daring him to challenge what was said to the chief.

But all Leonardo said was, "You're covered in blood. You need to rinse that off in the tub."

Splinter agreed. When he had stitched everything he could, the bite was covered and Raphael was escorted by Leonardo to the tub room. Though he insisted he could clean himself, Leonardo climbed into the tub with him to help. For the most part, he sat on the lip of the tub and just kept an eye on his brother.

Mona poked her head in and Leonardo handed her Raphael's wet, blood-stained clothes. She said she would try to salvage them if she could before leaving. The two turtles remained, sitting silently with the red tinted water between them.

Raphael regarded his brother with measured looks. Leonardo was off. Even with his wound and his blood loss, Raphael could see that. Leonardo should have been lecturing him for getting caught by that turtle's jaws. He should have ripped into Vincent over the phone because no one tells Leo how to run his team. Even his breathing was weird. It would be shallow for a while, then he would take in a large breath, as if he wasn't getting in enough oxygen.

"You okay, Leo?"

The blue-clad turtle looked annoyed at the question. He looked more like himself. "I'm fine. Do you need help getting cleaned up?"
"No. Don't you even think of trying to give me a sponge bath."
"Fine. Then clean up."

"Don't watch me, you fucking weirdo."

Leonardo huffed and turned around, dangling his legs off the side of the tub. "I'm just here to make sure you make it out without passing out and cracking your head open."

Raphael smirked and began rinsing all the blood out of the crevasses in his plastron. "Thanks, Mom."

.

As soon as Raphael was out of the medical room, Mona went to work. She gathered up all the bloody towels and sheets and began treating them so they wouldn't stain. She then wiped up all the blood that had been spilled in the room and across the lair. When she finished, she looked up at the long turtle that was on the couch with his leg propped up and asked him if he needed anything.

Donatello looked sheepish, as he had been watching her work while he couldn't do anything to help. Shyly, he asked for a sandwich as it was now after lunch time. Mona left and came back a few minutes later with a full plate and a glass of water. She set it down on the TV tray next to him and turned to walk away.

That was when her footsteps slowed to a stop. She stood there for a moment. Then a moment more.

"Mona?" Donatello asked.

"I just need a minute." She didn't turn to look at him.

"Are you okay?"

"In a minute. I'll be fine."

"Mona. I'm going to get up if you don't tell me what's wrong."

She let out a long breath. "I think all my reserves are gone. I don't have the energy to move. I just need a moment to get it back."

"Ramona," came Leonardo's admonishing voice. He stood in the entrance way from the back hall. "Why didn't you say something if you needed to rest?"

She still didn't move as Leonardo stood before her. "There's a lot going on and everyone's doing their best. I should be doing my best, too."

Her arms were dead weight at her sides as he took her wrists. "You should be resting. You've been through so much, you shouldn't— I shouldn't have been letting you do all of this. I should have been able to figure out how to..." And then he trailed off, suddenly looking overwhelmed. He had to take care of Mona. He had to neutralize the threat of the other mutants. He had to work harder to pick up the slack left by his wounded brothers. He had to figure out how to keep fighting so no one else would get hurt. He had to...

Michelangelo walked into the room from the kitchen and the first thing he saw was Leonardo breaking down. He was doing that thing again. That thing he had done once before when they followed Mona's trail to a serial killer's house and she wasn't there. And Leonardo had collasped, wild-eyed and panting in some rando's backyard.

The color drained from his face. He was pale, fighting for breath as he pressed a hand to his chest. It scared Michelangelo when he saw it then and it scared him now. He felt so helpless on what to do. On reflex, he looked to Donatello for help. His taller brother was also watching with alarm, looking like he was going to get up.

But Mona found the energy first, and his condition didn't intimidate her.

"Hey," she whispered softly. "I know. It feels like there's so much to do right now and no time to do it, but we'll get there. I need you to breathe in slow. Breathe until your chest is full and then hold it. Then breathe out slow and do it again."

And Leonardo listened. The other two brothers watched in awe as he offered no fight, no argument about who was in charge. He just did.

Mona cupped his face, making her everything in his panic-induced tunnel vision. "I need you to not think about all that needs to be done. Only think about what is happening right now. You and I are here and we're safe. Mikey's home safe, Splinter's here. Donnie's mending just fine. Raphael made it home okay. He's grouchy as hell, but he's going to walk it off, right?"

Leonardo let out a breathy chuckle and put his hands on hers.

"The important stuff right now is done," Mona continued. "You need rest. Did you even sleep last night?"

"Did you?" he countered. "Have you eaten at all today?"

"I haven't been hungry," she admitted. "My body hasn't wanted food. I thought maybe I didn't need it. Like it's a mutant thing?"

Leonardo said nothing, just pulled her into a big hug. Michelangelo was still silently watching, eyes wide with wonder. Mona knew exactly what to do; what to say to help him. And it was exactly what his brother needed. It was like magic.

"No more," he heard Leonardo mutter. Then he raised his head, looking at both his brothers. "No more today, or tomorrow. We all need a break. We're going to take it easy for a while." He bent down and picked Mona up by her thighs with a grunt of effort.

"Am I heavy now?" she asked.

"No," he insisted stubbornly as he started for the hall.

"Where are we going?"

"To take a nap," Leonardo was heard saying as he disappeared down the hall.

Almost as soon as he disappeared, Raphael came in wearing fresh clothes and his shoulder newly bandaged. He plopped down on the couch next to Donatello.

"So what's the plan now?"

"Leo says we're taking a few days off. And thank God," Michelangelo said. "Now I can finally get the hell out of here and see Kala. Will you guys watch Kenny while I'm gone? He doesn't do much, he just clings." He showed his brothers his shell where, just like Mona, Kenny was hanging off him like a backpack, just chilling and being a lizard in an over-sized t-shirt.

"Mikey, look at us," Raphael protested, motioning to himself and Donatello. "We can't baby-sit your pet."

"I'll watch him," Donatello offered. "He's not too active. And when he does wander away, he just ends up in Splinter's room."

Raphael snorted. "I bet Dad loves that."

Donatello grinned. "He, in fact, does not."

"Great! Thanks so much guys!" Michelangelo quickly shoved the wide-eyed gecko at them before they could change their minds. "I owe you one. Later, skaters!"

"Hey!" Raphael called after him. "When will you be back? Mikey! When are you coming back?"

"Don't wait up, bros!" was all that was heard as Michelangelo left.

.

Kala unlocked the apartment door and then looked around. No other human witnesses. She motioned to the metal stairway leading from the roof and Michelangelo hurried down. They both slipped into the apartment before anyone noticed the lurking mutant turtle.

"Woah, this is where your brother's girlfriend lives?" Kala said as she looked around the tiny studio apartment. "This place is a dive."

"I dunno, I think it's kinda cozy," Michelangelo said as he started nosing through the apartment.

Kala looked at him with suspicion. "How many times have you been here?"

"Just that one time when I picked her up to come see you." Michelangelo was already rooting through the closet, pulling out items. "Can you check the bathroom? Pull out all the stuff that girls need."

She left and came back a few moments later with an arm full of toiletries and dropped them on the mattress. "Why can't she get these herself?"

Michelangelo stiffened. He hadn't told Kala much at all about what was going on. "She uh...it's hard to get into. Something bad happened to her and she can't go home. It's not safe."

"What does that mean? She disappears for like a week and now she can't go back home? That doesn't make sense."

Michelangelo ignored the question and said, "Can you also look in the underwear drawer?"

She frowned at being ignored, but then smirked. "Oh, so now you're shy around panties and bras?"

He tossed a few more articles of clothing on the bed. "No, but Leo's very...particular and protective about her. I think he would prefer if it was another girl touching the girly things over me."

Kala huffed as she walked over to the tiny dresser that was only two drawers tall. "Not that I would know with the whole five minutes I saw of your family."

"Just bad timing, Babe. We'll make up for it on a better day. I promise you'll have quality turtle family time with my bros."

"Why not today?"

"It's not a good time. We've got a lot going on. But when things calm down, we'll have a proper do-over. I promise."

Kala was about ready to blow with frustration. "What is going on? You won't tell me anything! Why are you keeping all of this from me? Why don't you want to talk to me? If we're together, you're supposed to tell me about what's going on with you."

Michelangelo pulled his head out of the closet and walked over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"I know, Baby Cakes, this sucks right now. For me, I'm an open book for you. I'll tell you anything about me. Anything you want. But what's going on right now isn't about me and it isn't for me to tell. No doubt you'll find out eventually because you most definitely are coming down to meet my family again. But it's a total shit-show right now for everybody. And on top of that, the sewers are not safe for you. They're not even safe to us."

"You mean those stories about people getting attacked by...gators or something in the sewers?"

Michelangelo glanced away. "Uh yeah..definitely something."

"Are all these things connected? Mikey, tell me! You're pissing me off!"

Never good with confrontation, Michelangelo went back to rooting around in the closet. "I told you, I can't right now. But you'll find out eventually. When things settle down."

"And when will that be?"

"Not sure. But we're working on it. I'll get you more details as soon as I can. Promise, Babe."

"Ugh! Fine!" she huffed, though she still didn't look happy.

.

Michelangelo returned to the lair with an armload of full trash bags filled with clothes and other daily items. Raphael and Donatello were still on the couch, pretty much where he had left them. Kenny was on the back of said couch, sleeping. Mona stood before them in mid conversation.

"I can't make it do the thing," she was saying, hands on her hips. "It just hangs there. It's like my brain can't figure out how to get those muscles to work." She swung her hips back and forth, looking at the heavy tail that hung from her body and dragged on the floor.

Raphael laughed. "I don't think shaking your ass is going to make it work."

"Give it time," Donatello said. "Your brain will figure it out and it will kick in like instinct. Don't think about it so hard."

She stretched from side to side. "This stupid tail also hurts my back. It's really heavy." She paused when she noticed Michelangelo. "Oh hey, Mikey."

"I thought you'd be staying the night with whatsherface," Raphael said.

"Yeah...Kala's a little mad at me that I'm not telling her what's going on," Michelangelo admitted. "She wasn't down to fool around tonight."

"You told her to stay off the streets and out of the sewer though, right? Let her know it's not safe?"

"Yeah, I did. She's still mad though." Michelangelo held up the bags hanging off his arms. "Plus I had to come back and deliver these."

"That's all my stuff?" Mona brightened. "Thanks so much! Can you leave it in Leo's room and I'll sort through it in a bit. I'm currently otherwise entertaining these two invalids with my tail tricks." She motioned to said tail that was still positively motionless.

Michelangelo snorted with humor. "Good luck with that."

He continued down the hall and kicked open the door to Leonardo's room and flipped on the light. Leonardo, who was in bed, stirred at the sudden intrusion and blinked at him blearily.

"Oh, my bad, Bro," Michelangelo said. "Didn't know you were sleeping."

Leonardo rubbed his eyes and sat up. "What's all of that?"

"Mona's stuff. She asked me to go pick up some things from her apartment."

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Leonardo frowned. "Why did she ask you and not me?"

"Uh...pretty sure she tried this morning, but you weren't hearing it. While you were taking care of Raph, I asked if there was something I could do for her. And I was already going out to see Kala anyway. This was just an extra errand. No big."

Leonardo frowned a cranky, sleepy frown.

Michelangelo smirked. "You look like you slept good, bro. You've got the sleep marks all over your face. You also look cranky as hell."

Leonardo tiredly rubbed his face.

"You doing okay, Leo?" Michelangelo then asked. "Earlier, you were kinda freaking out."

He immediately looked uncomfortable about that question, but said, "Yeah, I'm okay. We've all been burning the candle at both ends for a while. It can catch up with you."

"Seeing you like that earlier, it scared me. I don't like seeing you that way. You can tell me when things are 'catching up with you' and I'll help. You don't have to do everything by yourself."

Leonardo was guarded for a moment, then carefully smiled. "Thanks, Mike. You have really been stepping up already lately. I appreciate it."

"I do what I can, bro. And that Mona Lisa, man, she is so good for you. You guys are totally relationship goals for me and Kala."

Leonardo smiled a little wider as Mona Lisa herself walked in.

"Sorry, guys. I told Mikey to put my stuff in here. I completely forgot you were sleeping."

"It's fine. I was awake anyway," Leonardo lied, giving his brother a conspiratorial look.

Michelangelo grinned back. He left the two alone as Leonardo offered a hand. Mona stepped closer and let him put an arm around her waist for a brief hug. Then she hauled the bags onto the bed and started going through them.

The first shirt she pulled out sent her through feelings of relief and then disappointment. She pulled out shirt after shirt.

"I'm too big for these now. I'm not...I didn't really put it together than I'm not back to my human size." She held up what looked to be a very tiny shirt to her chest. "Look how tiny I was. Well, crap. I can't wear any of this."

"We'll figure it out," Leonardo replied. "Tomorrow we've got a whole day free. We can look into buying you some new clothes online or asking April for help."

She sighed, trying to quell the disappointment. "I'd kill for a bra. I've been feeling very unsupported lately. Uh...not emotionally, I mean in the chest area."

"I'll hold them for you," Leonardo offered pleasantly.

"Pft! I'm sure you will. Oh!" She paused when she found a certain item in one of the bags. "He did get it. I bought this for you a while back." She plopped a little white plastic rabbit in Leonardo's questioning hands.

"Oh...this is cute. What...why?"

Mona reached over and bopped the rabbit on the head. It glowed a pleasant blue glow. "A nightlight for your pitch-dark room."

"Sounds like this is more for you than me."

"Don't be proud. I've heard you trip in here."

He laughed, and it felt good to have any reason for laughter. He put an arm around her and pulled her in so he could kiss her forehead. "Thank you, Sweetheart."

.

That night, the denizens of the lair slept deeply, soundly. They rested and recovered. They slept the sleep of those who had been stretched thin and were now given reprieve. And no one noticed when the sleek, dark figure crept into the lair. Once used to crawling on all fours, belly dragging on the ground, he was fast learning his new bipedal form.

The lair was dark and dormant, but light and sound came from the TV. On the couch, Donatello slept with glasses askew, a few notes and scribbles scattered around him. The mutant regarded him with reptilian eyes. He breathed in and tasted the air with a long, thin tongue. His long tail twitched as he stared at the sleeping turtle. So easy to attack. So easy to make this one his prey, especially since he was already wounded.

Instinct told him that one should never pass up a meal because one never knew when the next one would be found. His eyes reflected the flickering lights of the TV, his mouth salivated.

But his brain had changed. Instinct was no longer the only driving force. He was here for something else and he slipped silently deeper into the lair.