Another update! I hope you enjoy! :)

"Come on guys," Leo motions in the direction of the shellraiser. "Let's head home." He fans his hand over his mouth to hide a yawn. A part of him tells him that they should spread out and hunt down some of the more dangerous escaped mutants, but there really is no point. The mutants are probably just happy to be freed from the Kraang right now anyway.

Donnie drops his gaze to the ground. He sighs heavily and his shoulders slump. His fingers curl tighter around the head of his poor deceased robot. He'll rebuild him. Someday. Just not tonight. It's too late, even for him. All he wants to do is go home and collapse in his bed.

Raph glances over at Donnie from the corner of his eye. He opens and closes his mouth around empty words. He can't think of anything to say that will make the braniac perk up even a little. He has his own issues anyway. Slash. His face creases. At least he knows Slash is ok.

A sharp beeping cuts through the silence and they all jump. Donnie's hand snaps to the mutagen tracker in his belt and he fumbles with it. He nearly drops metalhead and the tracker as he tries to hold both, but finally he finds a good hold on them. He smiles in embarrassment then clears his throat. He focuses his gaze on the tracker.

"What's going on Donnie?" Mikey jumps forward. He looks over his brother's shoulder and tries to understand the device in his brother's hands. "More mutagen?"

Donnie nods fervently. "The tracker is going crazy." His eyes light and he quickly moves past metalhead's unfortunate end. "Come on!" He sprints to the shellraiser. "We can't let it hurt anyone else." Or let the Kraang get it back or the Shredder. Timothy flashes before his eyes and a shudder rips through him. Never again.

The three exchange looks and shoot into a run after their brother. They hop into the shellraiser and slide into their places. "Alright," Donnie yells. He sets metalhead's head down. "Hard right." He needlessly points.

Leo follows each of Donnie's orders, even when it sends them to a dead end. He shoots irritated looks every time, but never openly complains. He just backs up and takes Donnie's revised directions. It takes them ten minutes, but eventually Donnie yells for them to stop.

"This is it." Donnie breathes. He hops out of the shellraiser and holds the tracker out. It beeps are blaring. The building before them is old and rundown. "A warehouse."

Raph leaps out next. He makes a face. "How the heck did a canister of mutagen get in a place like that? I mean, it's not like the stuff has legs." He chuckles to himself.

Leo rolls his eyes. "That means someone probably took it in there." He reaches for his swords and curls his hands around the hilts. "So be careful, alright guys?" He glances back at Mikey as the youngest leaps from the vehicle. "Mikey," Leo says his name with extra emphasis.

Mikey puffs out his lips and narrows his eyes at the eldest. "Yeah, yeah. I got it, Leo."

Leo shakes his head and turns his attention to Donnie. "So, hey, any way you can turn that thing down or off or something. If there is someone in there, it'd be nice to be able to sneak in without them hearing us."

Donnie blows out a heavy breath. "No, Leo. I can't 'turn it down'. It's not like a television." He shoots his brother an exasperated look. "It either has to be off or on." He sighs. "But, I mean, I guess I can turn it off for this. We'll just have to search harder is all." He powers it down and tucks it back into his belt.

Leo nods. "That's fine." Although he wishes he could have it both ways. "Just be careful everyone." He takes the lead and slowly pushes the door open. It creaks and groans loudly. It makes Leo cringe and stiffen.

Raph snorts. "Good job fearless." He playfully knocks at Leo's shoulder as he passes him.

Leo scowls after Raph. Still, he holds his tongue. There's no point arguing. He follows Raph after he is sure the door did not draw anyone's attention but their own.

It is dark within the warehouse. Lights hang from the ceiling, but they are all broken or burnt out. Each boy draws out their t-phones and shines it around, the closest thing to a flashlight they possess. They fan out, each going to one corner of the building. They dig around and search within crevices. Before long they are all down on their knees.

Donnie snaps up. He makes a face. What the hell are they doing? He pushes himself to his feet and swivels. He makes a beeline to Leo – the closest one. "Leo, this is stupid." He waits for his brother to twist around and look at him. "You said so yourself, someone probably brought it here." He crosses his arms and frowns deeply. "So why in the world would they toss it in a corner like this?"

Leo stands and brushes himself off. "Yeah, you're right." He can't believe how stupid they are sometimes. "You go get Mikey and I'll grab Raph."

Donnie snorts and snickers at Leo's choice of words. Although they probably aren't far from the truth. Getting Raph to change course is always a struggle, even when he wants to. "Mikey," Donnie calls softly to him. "Come on." He motions to himself. "We're going to go up a floor."

Mikey pops up and walks with a bounce over to Donnie. "Ok." He grins.

Leo and Raph appear at his side in the next instant. "Alright," Donnie shines the light of the t-phone around until it falls on a stairway. "We're going up that." He points and creeps carefully to the stairs. Just as carefully he moves up the stairs. He keeps a hand placed in preparation on his bo staff.

The stairway opens up to another wide space with no light and overturned furniture. Dust is thick here and Leo feels his nose itch. He slaps his hand over his mouth to suppress it. That would ruin everything.

Everyone whirls and stares with wide eyes at him. For a moment they all hold their breaths and then it passes. Leo relaxes and lowers his hand, smiling weakly at each of them in turn.

Donnie hesitates. He glances from the room to Leo. He shines his light within and there are no obvious signs of life. Still, they should do a quick sweep for hidden doors or something. How and broken and falling down warehouse could hide such a thing is beyond him, but they can't take any chances, not with his mutagen tracker shut off. "Leo, you should hang back, ok?"

Leo glares, but he does not protest.

Raph snickers. "Yeah, fox boy."

Leo growls and leans in toward Raph. He raises a fist and silently warns Raph.

"Guys," Mikey says with hushed urgency. He clenches his hands into fists and bites down on his lip. The others turn slowly to him, exasperation written over their expressions until they see their little brother's face. His eyes are wide and a certain fear lurks just below the surface. "You hear that?" He glances up.

They all follow his gaze. They bait their breaths and wait for whatever it is Mikey heard.

For the longest moment there is nothing. Raph is about to round on Mikey when the noise pierces the silence. It's low, subdued, yet somehow sharp at the same time. It sounds like moaning. The brothers snap to attention and draw out their weapons. "Let's go." Leo orders and they rush up the stairs.

"Oh my God!" Baxter does a face palm. "Can you not shut her up?" He sends a furious look Harold's way.

Harold flinches against Baxter's sudden outburst. "I-I'm trying." Harold types away at the machine. "But…she's already on heavy sedatives. She should be comatose. I-I…don't know what else to do." He wrings his hands and suppresses a whine as he makes the mistake of glancing over at his daughter.

Liz leans heavily against the glass of her container. Her breathing is shallow as she shakes violently. Her eyes remain shut and her mind is blank. Still, every few seconds she lets out a terrible moan. Faint words float out on her lips, but it's a jumble of syllables that are incomprehensible.

"Damn it Harold!" Baxter slams his fist into the wall and gasps. He hisses at the pain it elicits. "Do something more." He narrows his eyes. "Or I will." He doesn't need the girl alive for his work. Using her lifeless body to experiment with a retro-mutagen will work just as well as her living body. Not that it will matter much longer anyway. The girl isn't looking well.

The door bursts open and Harold and Baxter whirl. Harold's eyes bulge and his mouth gapes as he sees four man sized turtles standing before them. No way. It's not so different from this. Much more human than mutant.

Baxter sucks in a sharp breath, "Turtles?" He scrambles to the opposite side of the room. He dives for his remote.

"Dexter Spackmen?" Leo makes a face. He tilts his head. "What are you-"

Baxter nabs his remote and slams the button. A dozen sets of red eyes light up the darkness and many sharp screeches pierce the air as the mousers open their jaws and yell. They surge forward.

The turtles rush to meet the robots. Metal clashes with metal and heads fly.

Harold sits in stunned silence. He watches as the masterpieces of science slay the multitude of robots. Such fighting skills. He wonders if Liz might be so gifted. If it's natural or learned.

Baxter shivers noticeably. He backs up, jumping as he feels the wall behind him. Cornered. He looks desperately about himself. He can't let this one get away. It's the only way to find a retro-mutagen to keep Xever from ending him and as a backup for himself, just in case. Still…

Donnie drives another mouser through and slings it across the room. He jerks his head up and sees Baxter edging his way to the other side of the room, to the window. Donnie narrows his eyes and leaps over the remains of a dozen mousers. He slams his bo staff against Baxter, jamming him between the weapon and the wall. "Where's the mutagen? We know you have some."

Mikey swivels and stops dead. For a moment all he can do is stare. Then he shakes his head and dispels the shock. "Leo!" He doesn't wait for recognition. He scampers toward the containment unit and what lies within. "Look," He presses his hands against the glass and peers within. "It's a girl." He breathes.

Liz whimpers and moans loudly.

Everyone looks up and over in the direction of the sound. Whoa. That's different. The container she's in glows softly and makes it easier to see her. What the heck is she? Not human, not anymore. A chill races up their spines. And she doesn't look too great. Not even from this distance.

"Get away from her!" A savage voice tears through Mikey's trance. "Don't you dare touch my daughter." He leaps from his chair and rears his fist back.

Mikey starts and jerks around. "Huh?"

Harold smashes his fist into Mikey's jaw.

Mikey falls back and over some stray equipment. His head slams against the floor and his head spins. He groans. "Oh man…"

Raph jerks to attention. "What?" He grinds his teeth together and his eyes flash dangerously. "Daughter?" He grips his sais with more intensity and turns hard. He barrels toward Harold. "You piece of shit!" He jams a sai into Harold's arm.

Harold screams. He wrenches at his sai, trying to free himself but only making it worse.

Raph tears his weapon from Harold's arm with terrible force. He delivers a swift kick immediately after, sending Harold flying across the room. "You don't treat family like dogs." He stalks toward Harold. His eyes blaze. "You don't lock them up you piece of-"

"Raph!" Leo barks. "Leave him." He sends a sharp look at Raph. "He's not worth it."

Harold trembles fiercely. He grasps at his bleeding arm as he gasps for air. His eyes are wild with fear and his mind is reeling.

Raph sneers down at the pitiful man before him. "I better not see you again." He says through clenched teeth. He turns hard on his heel and moves to Mikey. "You ok?"

Mikey nods. "Yeah, fine." He offers a tiny smile. It quickly fades as he turns his attention back to the girl within the confines of the glass. "But what about her?" He kneels down to get a better look at her. Her throat constricts and he says with an obvious edge, "She doesn't look too good."

Raph kneels down next to him. He cringes. Her cheeks are flushed and her face is contorted in what he can only imagine is pain. Countless wires feed into her arms for God knows what. Convulsions wrack her and he can only tell she's breathing by the faint rise and fall of her chest. "Donnie!" He leaps up and whirls. "Get over here and open this thing up."

"No!" Harold cries in alarm.

Raph pivots and growls deep in his throat.

Harold shrinks backward. He cowers. "D-Don't hurt me…"

Raph scoffs. "Pathetic."

Donnie sighs. "I'm kind of busy over here Raph." He slides his bo staff up to Baxter's neck and pushes harder. "Hand it over." Donnie demands. "Or we'll use it on you." Like he could ever get himself to do that. Luckily, Raph would gladly go through with the threat.

"Are you kidding me?" Raph snaps. He scowls over at Donnie. "This is a human being we're talking about! Not some stupid can of mutagen. This is a life at stake."

Donnie groans. "So is this!" Donnie glares back at Raph. "With these lunatics having ahold of it, who knows whose life they might ruin with it." Timothy flashes through his mind once more. He grimaces. "This is just as important."

"Yeah," Raph stomps over to the machine by the containment unit. "Well this life is going to end far sooner than your hypothetical one over there." He twists his hands in a fluttery mocking motion.

Mikey feels around the glass for some kind of knob or button or anything. His hands slide effortlessly. The glass is as smooth as silk.

Raph stares down at the buttons and dials of the machine for one whole second before growling and smashing his fist into the wall. "Forget this."

Leo blinks over at Raph. His eyes widen as recognition washes over him. He knows that look overtaking his brother. "Raph," He barks. Too late.

Raph slams his fist into the glass. It shatters into a million pieces and digs deep into his skin. Flesh tears and blood stains his skin, but Raph only hisses and bites back the throbbing pain. He drops down catches the girl before she falls over.

Raph draws her gently toward him and looks more closely at her. He lays his hand over her forehead to see how warm she feels. Blazing. And clammy. Shit. He strokes her cheek to perhaps bring her some degree of comfort and he starts. He touches something wet. Tears? A fury surges within him. He doesn't care that he doesn't know her. No one deserves this.

Liz moans and leans into Raph. "Daddy," She whimpers.

Raph cringes. Even now, even after that monster did all this to her she still associates her father with gentleness and comfort. He starts to scoop her up, but remembers. Those wires. He growls. How the hell is he supposed to fix that?

"You moron!" Raph hears Donnie's cajoling. "Now you're bleeding!" He doesn't have to look at Raph to see it. It's only logical.

"Put her down!" Harold insists. He staggers to his feet and towers over Raph. The reptile's piercing green eyes meet his and Harold's heart leaps into his throat. Still, he doesn't back down. "She's my daughter." His eyes suddenly grow cold. "And," He moves toward the machine. "If I can't have her. Then no one will!"

Raph's eyes bulge and he panics. He doesn't think. He tears the needles from Liz's arm before Harold can hit the button. Hopefully whatever is keeping her out cold will eliminate any pain from his foolish reaction.

Harold's jaw drops. No. "She isn't yours to take!"

Raph scoops Liz up in his arms and jumps to his feet. He whirls and turns his fiery eyes on the monster of a man. "She isn't yours to have either." He seethes. "Monster."

"Raph," Mikey pipes up. He looks around Raph at the girl in his arms. His heart clenches and fear snakes its way up his spin. "She looks pale." Paler than before.

Raph snaps his eyes down to peer at her. "Leo," He jerks his head around toward his other two brothers. "We've got to get out of her. Now." He looks hard at Leo.

Leo opens his mouth to argue, but stops dead as he notices that faint glint in Raph's piercing eyes. His brother is terribly on edge. A deep fear is gripping him. So Leo nods. "Donnie," Leo snaps. "Forget Baxter and the mutagen. Raph's right. We don't have time for this."

Donnie makes a face. He catches that desperate look about Raph, but he isn't like Leo. Still, arguing will only stall the inevitable. He blows out a heavy breath. "Fine." He shoves Baxter to the side. He looks hard down at Baxter. "You better run as fast as you can, because we will be back." He turns and hurries to his brothers.

Raph doesn't wait. He surges down the stairs and out to the shellraiser. He takes his position, but does not pay attention to it. He focuses solely on the girl in his arms. "You'll be ok." He caresses her head. "Just breathe. Just a little longer." Then Donnie can help her.

The other three pile in moments later. The shellraiser jolts forward and Raph nearly falls out of his seat, barely catching himself. The rest of the trip he remains firmly planted. As they delve back underground Donnie makes his way to where Raph sits. "She still breathing?" He has completely shifted. Battle mode has clicked over to doctor mode.

Raph starts and stares wide eyed at his brother for a fraction of a second. Then realization settles. "Uh, y-yeah." Raph looks back at her. Barely. "She…she looks pretty bad though."

Donnie bends down to get a closer look. "Yeah." Not just physically either. The pain in her face screams of mental damage as well. "She's probably dehydrated and who knows what else. They probably had her hopped up on a million different things. I'll have to…"

Raph stops listening. He doesn't want to hear the technicalities of it or even hear it at all. He can see for himself how bad it is. The shellraiser stops suddenly and instinctively Raph jolts upright and leaps to his feet. "Where do you want me to put her?" He looks intently at Donnie.

"Just lay her on the couch. I'll bring everything I need." The pair rush out and into the lair. They leave Leo and Mikey in the dust. Waiting as they burst in is Master Splinter. Of course he would wait up despite what they said.

"Boys?" Splinter's brows knit together. "What are you-" He glimpses the large green mass in Raph's arms. It looks almost…human? Alarm springs to life in his expression.

"Not now Sensei!" Donnie yells over his shoulder, cutting Splinter off.

Raph comes to an abrupt stop before the couch. He lays her down gently and for a moment all he can do is stare. Every whimper and moan she makes causes him to flinch. As Donnie's voice breaks through the fog he tell himself to step back, to get out of the way and let Donnie fix things. It's what he's best at after all.

"Raphael." Splinter's voice is sharp.

Raph jumps and whirls. His breath catches in his throat and he stiffens like a board. Then he relaxes, but only slightly. "Oh, sensei…" He rubs the back of his neck and sighs. "Look, there was a mutagen alert and we went to find it and then-then, there was this girl." He motions toward her. "And things…they just got crazy. She…she's hurt. So we have to fix her!" He clenches his fists. "She has to stay here! Don't make us get rid of her!" he looks desperately at his father.

Splinter scrutinizes Raph. He lets every word sink in and then a small smile curls his lips. "Do you really think I would make you get rid of someone who needs our help?"

Raph smiles weakly. "No…"

Splinter's ear flickers thoughtfully. "But, my son, why so desperate?" He raises a brow and tilts his head slightly. "I understand your desire to help those who need it, but this seems different."

Raph averts his eyes. "She…" He bites his lip and when he looks at Splinter again his eyes flash with fury. "Her father did this to her!" His clenched fists tremble. "Her own father! Family." He takes deep, deliberate breaths in and out. "No one deserves that."

Slinter nods knowingly. "I see." He lays a hand on Raph's shoulder. "But do not let it tear you apart, Raphael. The world is cruel sometimes. Family can't always be the cure."

Raph scoffs. He scowls at the ground. "It should be." It's my only cure.

Splinter sees his son's thoughts in his bitter eyes, but does not have the chance to say anything about it. He is distracted as he glances down and glimpses his son's bloodied hand. "You too are hurt, it seems." Splinter notes.

Raph blinks. He draws his hand up and sees the red running down it. Oh. Right. He cringes and hisses, the pain coming back to him and hitting him hard. Still, he struggles to hide it. He shoves his hand back down and coughs. "It's…nothing. I'm fine."

Splinter frowns and shoots Raph a disapproving look.

"Splinter," Leo gasps. He grimaces and his steps become much more tentative as he makes his way to his father's front. "Um, hi." He smiles sheepishly. He half laughs. "Look…"

"I know." Splinter stops Leo short.

Leo starts. "You…you do?" His brows knit together as he leans around to look incredulously at Raph. He is amazed that Raph would say anything. When he gets emotional he likes to keep it all in or punch things.

Raph rolls his eyes. Not that he can blame Leo for his surprise. It isn't like him to tell the tale of their latest adventure. Leo generally gets that honor.

Splinter nods. "Yes, Raphael told me. And it is alright. She may stay here until her life is no longer in jeopardy." While Raph is wild with emotion at the moment Splinter does not see the underlying connection that speaks of a desire to be around this person. He doubt's Raph will have a problem with letting her go.

Raph nods. "Yeah. Just until she's ok…" A tiny frown curls his lips and he can't help but avert his eyes. But where could she possibly go then? No family means no one ever. And there isn't a human being alive who wants to be that earth shatteringly alone.

At least he knows he could never make it like that.

If you got the reference to PaSDaS, then you get a cookie. lol If not then it probably made you go 'what?' In PaSDaS Leo is allergic to foxes so Raph calling him fox boy was a reference to that. The two stories are mostly different timelines, but there are tiny moments like that where they cross.

Finally the introduction of the tmnt! How did you like it? If you didn't notice it is set just after 'Metalhead Rewired.' I like to place my stories in canon a little bit. Hopefully you got that without me saying though. And so the RaphxMona begins...please review!