#but Leo and Donnie are the go-to medical team

[forgetful-nerd]

You are not immune to my Doctor Donnie and Nurse Leo headcanons.

Not immune.

They are the Medics of the family.

[goodlucktai]

What if I said 10 & 20 as portal duo thanks so much

dialogue prompts

10. “I don’t care. I’m not leaving you.”

+ 20. “Get away! You’re hurting them!”

for my beloved meeks

x

They weren’t supposed to be here. It’s stupid, but it’s the first thing that springs to Mikey’s mind. 

Leo had only recently graduated with honors from those initial grueling physical therapy sessions that usually ended in tears (not always Leo’s) to daily exercises that got easier and easier until he was breezing through them the way he used to breeze through everything. 

If he went farther than two steps away from his arm crutches Donnie appeared out of thin air looking ready to breathe fire at him, and Raph was in the habit now of holding Leo out at arm’s length immediately after every hug in the manner of scruffing an unruly kitten to double-check he was wearing his leg brace and compression sleeve, and Mikey had learned the hard way what everyone meant when they said medics make the absolute worst patients. 

But for the most part Leo was doing really good! He was hitting all his marks and only driving everyone a tiny bit insane—well within the allotted Leo amount! 

So when he had smiled that crooked, conspiring smile at Mikey the minute the coast was clear and said, “There’s no better strengthening exercise then sneaking out with my favorite little brother for a past-due victory smoothie,” what was Mikey supposed to tell him? No??

It did occur to him, a tiny little guilty whisper. Leo was healing. He’d been so badly hurt. Even Splinter, who spoiled Leonardo rotten, hadn’t given into the slider’s constant pleas to rush the recovery process along. They were going by the book. Literally, since Donatello had stepped up as team medic in the interim. Don and Raph and April and even Casey were all very good at not bending an inch no matter how many tragic looks got sent their way. Mikey wasn’t very good at that at all. 

And anyway, joy had drowned out that whisper with a shout. He lit up with it, that newly-discovered supernova inside him curling up like a happy cat in a patch of sunshine. There’s a very big part of him that will always be what it’s always been, no matter how old he gets, or how powerful his mystic arts become—he’ll always be Michelangelo, and Michelangelo will follow Leonardo absolutely anywhere. 

So he said, “I’ll get my hoodie!” and darted out the door with zero ninja stealth, clipping his shoulder on the frame and almost crashing into the table in the hall. Leo laughed behind him, and the unrestrained sound made Mikey feel like he could float. Maybe he actually did for a second or two. 

He’ll never forget those horrible minutes after the portal closed, after Leo’s comms went dead, when he had wondered if he would ever hear his brother’s voice again. When he wondered what, exactly, his last words to Leo had been—they almost certainly weren’t I love you or please don’t leave so they didn’t count. 

To make up for it, he wanted to tell Leo everything every chance he got. He wanted to make him laugh all the time. He wanted to crowd into the little twin-size infirmary bed to watch movies or do art projects that got glitter everywhere. He wanted to sneak out for smoothies even though it would get them in big trouble, because that was literally why he helped save the world in the first place. 

And now he’s standing in a dim sidestreet, an orange streetlight buzzing dully above him, two smoothies melting in his hands. It’s their usual shortcut home, through a bunch of foreclosed apartment buildings and a dead end road. Leonardo is in front of him, shoulders stiff, ninpo humming weakly beneath his skin like a tired little beetle that shouldn’t be up from hibernation just yet. 

Across the road are half a dozen humans in what looks like riot gear labeled TCRI and a man in a black suit. The man somehow looks more dangerous than the people in police armor. 

“Leo,” Mikey says in a small voice. His brother doesn’t answer, but he does shift his weight to put Mikey more firmly behind him, which is answer enough. 

And Mikey thinks, We weren’t supposed to be here. No one knows where we are. 

The man in the suit starts talking into the bulky earpiece he’s wearing, but Mikey can’t make out what he’s saying over the buzzing of the streetlamp and the pounding of his own heart in his ears. All he hears is Leonardo murmur, “Mikey, go.”

“No,” Mikey’s mouth says automatically. It doesn’t even need any input from his brain to say it. Because no. 

“Mike,” Leo says, in his best leader voice. But his tone is urgent in a way that borders on being scared so closely it must mean he’s actually terrified, or he would never have let Mikey hear even a hint of it. “I’d go with you if I could. I’m sorry I can’t.” 

His hands tighten on his crutches. He can’t run. He’s still healing. He should be at home, doing his exercises with those little pink dumbbells in the warmth and safety of the lair, complaining the whole time in between tossing out ideas for dinner. 

Mikey should have said no to sneaking out the way Donnie and Raphie would have instantly said no. He should be better at taking care of Leo the way he needs to be taken care of, the way everyone else does so easily. 

The armored people start to shift to the side, moving around Mikey and Leo in a wide formation, hands on the guns holstered at their waists. Containing them. The man in the suit is still talking, face inscrutable behind the tinted glasses he’s wearing, but his face hasn’t twitched away from their direction even once. 

“Hey,” Leo says, bringing Mikey’s attention back. “Don’t look at them, look at me.”

He’s smiling over his shoulder like it’s any other back-alley brawl with the mutant of the week or a handful of those Foot soldiers who never know when to quit, and not a horrible high-stakes situation in which Mikey stands to lose one of the most important things in the entire world if he makes the wrong move. 

“Just get home and get the guys, okay? Then come right back for me. You can outrun these goons without breaking a sweat. You can do anything.”

Mikey drops the smoothies and the cold wet soaks through one of his sneakers instantly but he needs his hands free so he can clutch the back of Leo’s stupid hoodie. He needs to hold on tight and make sure whoever tries to take his brother away knows exactly what kind of knock-down drag-out fight they’re in for. 

“I don’t care,” Mikey says, too loud in the stillness. “I’m not leaving you.”

He wishes he were a snapper like Raphie. If he was big and strong and had a shell that was as good as bulletproof armor, he’d scoop Leonardo up and shield him from the guns and run them both away. 

If he was a genius like Donnie, he’d have one or a dozen gadgets on his person that would have saved them. 

But he’s just Mikey, who isn’t big and strong, who isn’t a genius, who isn’t one of the people Leonardo is willing to step down and be weak in front of and depend on. Just Mikey, who Leo saved all his best jokes for during painful rehab, like it mattered to him that Mikey didn’t see him struggle. Just Mikey, who Leo always lifts both arms for the second he sees him coming and squishes into the world’s best hug, even if he’s pissed off at everybody else. Just Mikey, who Leo wants to get better for, be the best for, be one of the constant things on this planet Mikey never needs to doubt, like gravity and sunrise and overpriced street food. 

Because there’s a very big part of him that will always be what it’s always been, no matter how mature he gets, or how accomplished a ninja master he becomes—he’ll always be Leonardo, and Leonardo would do anything to make sure Michelangelo keeps smiling. 

Leo is also very stupid, because he doesn’t seem to understand that Mikey will never smile again if his big brother goes away. 

When the TCRI agents explode forward at some signal Mikey missed, and grab the brothers and drag them apart, Leo stumbles and falls when his crutches are wrenched away. He’d probably be making a smart-ass comment if his jaw wasn’t clenched, the sudden fall probably radiating pain all the way up his spine, distress making his gold eyes burn neon yellow. 

Like a flip was switched, all the panic inside of Mikey evaporates into a red-tinged mist. 

The supernova inside him sleeps most of the time, because he’s not big enough to contain its multitudes yet, and it doesn’t want to cause pain. It only wants to shine light in dark places, it only wants to help. But it wakes up with a fury and fills every inch of him to the brim and the overflow spills right out of him, lifts him right off the ground, makes his voice a resounding thunderclap when he yells, “GET AWAY! You’re hurting him!” 

Staggering back and shouting in alarm, the agents begin firing, because humans in a panic are trigger-happy creatures, even well-trained ones like these guys must be. Every round fired disintegrates the second it meets the glow pouring out of Mikey, disappearing before it can do harm. 

“Holy shit,” Leo says, eyes wide. It’s the way Mikey imagines he probably looked at Leo, when everyone else feared Raphael was a lost cause but Leo put his hand on Mikey’s shoulder and told him, I’m not giving up on him. I’m not leaving him behind. A sailor lost in a storm and their first glimpse of the lighthouse in the dark, close enough to save them.

“Hold your fire!” the man in the black suit barks suddenly, his voice viciously angry. “I did not clear any of you to fire!” 

Mikey doesn’t care who the scary Men In Black guy is, or what reason he has for tracking Mikey and his brother down, or why he’s calling the dogs off now. He cares about helping Leo get back on his feet, scooping the crutches up off the ground and getting Leo’s arms in them, and staring right into Agent Sunglasses’s stupid face while the supernova burns and burns and burns inside him. 

Try it, he doesn’t say. Just try it. If the Krang couldn’t take my brother from me, what hope do you think you have?

He feels Leo’s arm slip around his, locking them together at the elbow. Leo’s ninpo, a soft breeze instead of the playful gale it’s supposed to be, weaves through Mikey’s own to lead it. 

‘Like this,’ the wind tells the sunburst, guiding it through the process it wants it to take the same way bigger hands used to guide a smaller Mikey through katas, readjusting his arms and poking him playfully on the beak when he scrunched it in frustration. The golden portal that opens beneath their feet costs him nothing, appearing as effortlessly as Leo’s spinning blue ones always do. 

The agent’s face goes slack with shock the second before the turtles disappear. 

They land on the sofa with enough force that it almost collapses, and Leo makes a pained noise, hands pressed to his plastron like he’s trying to contain a full-body ache with sheer willpower. Mikey scrambles off of him and falls off the sofa for his trouble. His clothes are prickly, like he’s covered in static electricity. A magazine left on the coffee table begins to move, pages flipping as if in a breeze. One of the beanbag chairs lifts up slightly, like gravity has gotten lighter in that specific spot. 

He feels too big for himself. There are multitudes inside him, a million different things that are all true at the same time. He’s still so angry, and he’s still so afraid, and he’s still just Mikey, who couldn’t be what Leo needed him to be until the last possible second. 

Just Mikey, who Leo saves his best smile for. Just Mikey, who Leo hugs like it’s the easiest thing in the world to bring another person that close and trust them right next to his heart. 

“You’re the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” Leo says, like it’s another truth Mikey can keep for as long as he wants. Forever, even.

There will be hell to pay when their brothers get home. There’s a brand-new danger their family needs to be made aware of. Leo tried to leave him behind again and it reopened a wound that was still raw and healing.

But for now that wild star in his heart doesn’t need to burn so bright. It can put all the furniture that began to float back down and go back to sleep. And Mikey can press his face into the cracked print of Leo’s favorite Chappell Roan hoodie and say, “Hope you enjoyed your last taste of freedom for the next hundred years.”

Leo laughs, but doesn’t let go of Mikey right away. He clings extra hard for an extra long minute.

He would have left, Mikey realizes, but he didn’t want to go. When he was alone on the Technodrome, staring down a monster and a portal and the truth of how to save everyone, he didn’t want to go. If there was any other choice, he would have taken it. He would have come home. 

Mikey isn’t Leo, who will do what he has to do no matter what it costs himself. Mikey isn't Raph or Donnie. Mikey is and always has been the spoiled baby of the family, who will do exactly what he wants to do and damn the consequences. He’ll tear a thousand holes open in the universe if that’s what it takes to keep his family together, and if the Hamato ancestors don’t like it then they can come and take their ninpo back. 

They can try, anyway. 

[jabber-wockin]

Jabber's TMNT AU/iteration ask game!

Send an ask with a number corresponding to a question you want to ask about someone's AU or iteration

SETTING:

Where is your au/iteration set?

Do the turtles live in the sewers?

What is the lair like?

Do the turtles have money? If so, how do they get it?

What is the origin of the mutagen?

Is there a battle nexus? Is it a respected facility or operated by criminals?

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Are there yokai/magical beings?

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Are there utrom/kraang? PLOT:

Who is the main villain?

What is the main villain’s motivation?

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What is going on with the foot clan?

Is the Hamato clan history relevant? How did the clan originate?

Were the turtles and Splinter mutated intentionally?

Do any characters get mutated during the story?

Do any characters die during the story?

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If there is a battle nexus, who fights in it? CHARACTERS:

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Is Karai/Miwa loyal to Saki?

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Is Casey a vigilante?

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Are the turtles the same species?

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Is Donnie only knowledgeable with technology? If not, what else are they interested in?

Who is the leader of the group? How did they become the leader?

Who is the team medic?

Who is the best cook?

Who is the best fighter?

Are any characters disabled?

Are any characters neurodivergent?

Are any characters queer? CHARACTER RELATIONSHIPS:

Do Raph and Leo fight often?

What is Bebop and Rocksteady’s relationship?

What is Casey and Raph’s relationship?

Is Splinter the turtles’ dad, sensei or both?

How did Splinter meet the turtles?

Is April considered a sibling?

Does April consider Splinter a parent?

How did the turtles meet April?

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Is there a romance? If so, between which characters? SPECIFY A CHARACTER:

What hobbies does — have?

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Tell us a fun fact about —’s species! EXTRA:

Who is your favourite character?

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Tell us something you want to share about your au/iteration!

I had help making this, so shoutout to @genderfluid-envy, I had a lot of fun deciding on questions with you! And thanks to everyone else in our discord server who helped out :D

[popcat69]

Iron what?

Rottmnt boys x anaemic!reader

Notes: this can be read with gn!reader. I didn't get a request for this but i almost passed out a few days ago so i thought this would be kinda funny to write something i relate to a bit. Enjoy <3

Warnings: no warnings just the boys being sweet and caring. Leo is a bit of an ass but oh well

Raph

Before Raph knew you had a iron deficiency he would always be confused as to why you had to take a moment when you stood up from lying down. Or when you felt dizzy alot.

One time when you decided to have a movie night with him and you stood up too quickly you felt dizzy and lightheaded. You grabbed the closest thing to you or well turtle to help support you.

Poor boy was so worried

He was franting asking if you were alright

You were able to smell his fear stink 

Once you told him you had an iron deficiency he was confused so you had to explain it to him. He understood quite fast and began keeping a closer eye on you.

Feeling dizzy? He's carrying you. 

Looking paler then usual? He sitting you down to eat something.

If you take medication he will put an alarm on your phone and his to not forget.

Leo

How this turtle found was something else

Long story short you stood up too fast and basically fell to the floor

Leo being the insufferable person he is thought you tripped on something and was laughing his ass off.

But in no less then a minute hes realising you not moving and goes into full panic mode.

As you regained consciousness you realise you were on the couch next to a turtle fulls of tears.

He pulled you into a big hug as you calm him down and explaining that your anaemic.

Leo has experience with medical…stuff? Perks of being the team medic.

Soon after that whole incident he started to become more observant. Always by your side when you stand up or when you haven't eaten a lot that day.

With leo if you take medication if he will keep a bottle on him at all times incase you have forgotten yours at home

Donnie

I feel like Donnie would already kind of know as hes quite observant

“I'm anaemic btw” “i know”

You kind of stared at him with a raised brow thinking. What?

Anyway he would always ask you if you have eaten a proper meal or gotten enough sleep.

Kinda ironic if you ask me

One time he gave you a diet plan to help with your iron deficiency and you followed it for like a day or two and then kinda forgot.

You felt really guilty when he asked how was the plan going. You knew he put the time and research to make it for you specifically so you gave him a sheepish smile as you looked around the room nervously.

Since that didn't work out he made you a portable pill dispenser? And it has a checklist on the back of it.

Have you eaten at least 3 proper meals?

Are you feeling dizzy a lot today?

You get the idea

You loved and cherished donnie’s small inventions that he gifts you.

Mikey (my beloved)

When mikey realised that you are frequently dizzy or lightheaded he would immediately asked if somethings the matter 

You explained to him without any hesitation and he would just slowly nod listening to you

He would find small ideas to help remind you to take your medication and to eat meals that are rich in iron.

Also he would send you small texts as reminders

Hey to the most amazing, best person in the world. Did you remember to eat enough?

Honestly it makes your heart melt. The first time he sent a text to you like that you were almost in tears holding you phone to your chest 

He once found out that you haven't eaten all day and forgot to take your medication from overworking yourself or just when having a bad day then BOOM!

Doctor feeling has arrived

[quartergremlin]

have you made comics about leo's brumation before? I dont remember that coming up before your most recent ask! did i miss smth? (also love this most recent story, really heartbreaking. he musta compared himself to his siblings so much :( )

-@hapfish

okay so i thought that i talked about it in the notes of the last comic but apparently my stupid jank phone did not save my edit like it told me it did! So uh. sorry about that. totally did not notice. 😔

other than that i alluded to it in this post, tho the event was much fluffier at the time.

i was referring to this stretch of the comic!

At this point we're going on three years into trying for a kid with no progress, so the Hamato Medical Team smash their heads together to look for a solution! The uh *checks notes* yeah the number of eggs isnt the problem, so there's gotta be something else we can do. Enter: brumation.

Brumation is important for the reproductive health of turtles (here's an article that mentions it, but all sources that i've found are about that vague). So they crank the air conditioner in his cart and Leo spends that winter half-asleep and getting taken care of by yuichi, donnie, and shelldon. This does not work.

and thank you! It's been a long time coming, I'm happy it's been well-received.

Absolutely. Mikey with their little bundle of sunshine, and raph and cass trying and having a kid immediately. Hadt've hurt.

[dandylovesturtles]

we're stressed but we remain silly (actually this is super angsty lol)

more Sidelined + Firefight (Firelined???) propaganda for the @tmntaucompetition

Sorry I keep stealing your boys @remedyturtles

Spoilers for chapter 15 of Firefight, cw: for heavy injuries + blood, no actual recounting of how they got the injuries in this fic, though

Please consider voting for us! Thanks!

-----

In the time it takes Donnie and Leo to get medical supplies, it's been decided that they'll be teaming up with the Firefight guys.

The situation has also, somehow, managed to deteriorate.

If Leo thought these guys looked like death warmed over before, now they just look like plain old death. The other Donnie is littered with bloody injuries and his leg is bent in ways it really should not be. And the other Leo...

Leo shudders at the cracks in his shell. He's not sure he wants to know what kind of monster could do that.

The Leo is chirping periodically - help help scared - and the Donnie answers back by tapping on his shell. Leo knows enough now to recognize it as Morse code; trying to calm him, coax him into coming out. It doesn't seem to be working too well.

"...I think we should have brought more medical supplies," says his own Donnie, yanking Leo out of his reverie. "This may not be enough."

"I don't even know where to start," Leo confesses softly. Really, they need to see a doctor, but Leo has no idea where to find one. Maybe one of the older turtles here has more medical experience than they do? But he has no idea who to ask...

"We'll just... do the best we can," says Donnie, and he sounds determined. Leo finally tears his eyes away from their deathly still mirrored versions, the Leo cradled close in the Donnie's arms, to look at his own twin. He's got his jaw set and teeth clenched, like he does when he's gearing up for something particularly unpleasant, and Leo isn't going to let him face it alone.

"Alright." Leo starts laying out their supplies on the bleachers, sorting it for easy grabbing. "Let's see what we can do."

-----

When he tries to take the other Leo away, the other Donnie bites him.

Really, he should have been prepared for that.

It's only hard enough to graze the skin on his arm, but Leo still hisses when it happens. The other Donnie's eyes fly to his face, then widen and let go, which is good, because Leo knows what could have happened if he bit down harder.

He looks horribly guilty, his eyes flying between the Leo in his lap and Leo's own face. His eyes are glassy and he may not be able to fully distinguish between them. So now he thinks he bit the brother who is still chirping periodically - help help scared - and boy does Leo feel like a tool.

He holds up his hands in surrender, rushing to reassure him. "It's okay, that was my bad. I could have telegraphed that way better."

"Excellent work, Leon," chides his own twin, who looks thoroughly unimpressed. He immediately grabs Leo's arm in one hand, then reaches for the disinfectant with another. "We're supposed to be treating their injuries, not yours."

"It's fine, it's just a scrape!" he says, but doesn't actually do anything to stop Donnie from cleaning it. His immune system has been pretty much useless since the armor, and mouths are nasty.

Besides, the gentle attention Donnie is giving his wound, despite his harsh tone, seems to be doing something for the other Donnie. He doesn't loosen his grip on his twin, but something unspools in his posture as he watches, attentive, as the wound is cleansed and covered. Like it's finally clicking for him that they're here to help. That things are... well, better than they were.

Leo gives him his biggest, most reassuring grin, and says, "Yeah, see? We're gonna get you guys all patched up."

Donnie finishes his work, then pulls on a pair of gloves, thankfully already modified for three-fingered hands. He holds out a pair for Leo. "Are your hands steady?"

It's not at all an unfair question. Leo nods. "Yeah. For now, anyway."

Donnie nods back, letting the gloves fall into Leo's palms. "I'll start work with Leo, you take Donnie. Start with the lacerations on his back. I... don't think we can do much for his leg."

"Right."

Donnie steps over and settles down on the bleacher next to the pair, body angled towards them. He holds out his hands for his counterpart to see.

"Hello, Donatello," he says. "Can I start treating your Nardo? I'll keep him right here - you can maintain physical contact if you want."

The other Donnie hesitates. He hasn't spoken since they arrived, his only active communication the continuous taps against his own Leo's shell. It's not surprising - there's no way this situation isn't overwhelming. But it's making this whole process a bit difficult.

Donnie's never let difficulties slow him down, though.

"I swear," he says, clear and steady, "I'll treat him like my own Leo."

The other Donnie looks down at the bloody shell in his lap. Then he looks at Leo, who gives another smile and a little wave from his wheelchair.

Again, it seems to be clicking, and slowly, very slowly, the other Donnie unwraps from around his precious bundle, and lets him go.

His chirps get more rapid when that happens, and the other Donnie's taps get more rapid. They're close enough that he can keep a hand on his Leo's shell easily, can keep up the Morse code, keep telling him that he's safe. It means Leo's going to have an awkward angle to get to the other Donnie's own injuries, but that's alright. He's gotten good at reaching things that aren't convenient.

He wheels himself as close as he can get, then leans over the arm of his chair and gets to work.

It has to hurt, but the other Donnie stays stalwart, all his focus on reassuring his twin, barely twitching as Leo cleans and bandages the wounds. So Leo works in silence, lets him tap away. He knows enough to recognize it, but not enough to know what he's saying. Still, he can take a good guess.

Eventually, Donnie has done all he can to the other Leo, and Leo himself is flagging. His hands had been steady when he started, but this kind of work wears him out quickly - his hand muscles are cramping, and his wrists are sore. Donnie catches on, because he always does, and announces that they'll trade places without leaving room for argument.

So after a little maneuvering, Leo has his counterpart in his lap, while his twin works on cleaning the other Donnie's arms and legs as best he can. The taps are still going, and the chirps still come, here and there.

Leo can't do much to help now, so he tries to help. Tries to think of what would make him feel better, if they were switched.

He looks over at the other Donnie, battered and bruised and bloody, his leg twisted and his breaths wheezing.

And the next time the other Leo chirps, he says, "It's okay. Donnie's safe."

And he says it again, and again, and again, each time he hears the chirp, until-

"You're safe, too, Leo."

He looks up, at his twin, whose hands have stalled in their ministrations. He's looking at the shell in Leo's lap, but for a brief moment his eyes flick up, and they lock, and there's something meaningful there that Leo has to rush to catch.

"You're safe, too."

Leo watches Donnie, for the first time he notices the shake in his twin's hands. And it occurs to him, if it hurts him to see a Donnie in this state, like he's never seen before, then for his twin to see a Leo in this state, when he has-

He takes a shaky breath. The chirp comes again, and this time he says, "Yeah. You're safe. Donnie's safe. It's okay. No monsters here."

They keep it up until Raph and Mikey come back with the chairs and the food and blankets, the ones Leo drapes over his legs to keep them warm. By that point, they've done about all they can, and with some maneuvering they get the other Donnie in the transport chair, and pass his twin back to him, safe in his lap.

He still hasn't made any move to come out, but no one tries to force him.

"Let's ask the staff if there's anywhere these guys can lay down," suggests Raph, and they all nod in agreement to that. The bleachers are not comfortable enough for naps, especially not in the state these guys are in.

"Do you need me to push you, Nardo?" asks Donnie. "You said your wrists were hurting."

"They're fine," he protests, giving his hands a shake. "Don't..."

The word "worry" dies when his counterpart chirps again, and he catches Donnie's flinch when it happens.

"...Well," Leo says, "I guess I could stand to take a break."

His twin looks relieved. Leo's glad one Donnie does, at least.

Donnie grabs the handles of his chair; Raph takes the handles of their teammates'. And with that, they're off.

[craftypeaceturtle]

TMNT 2003 Fic Recs

These are mostly going to be hurt/comfort, with a lot of Don fics.

.

Homecoming by Technodawn

Donnie is kidnapped by someone and held captive for four years.

Posted on fanfiction.net, this fic is brilliant! One of those fanfics that I read entirely one sitting because I couldn't stop. Lots of brotherly moments and the time Don is held captive is emotional and visceral. This whole fic is so grounded and well thought out.

.

Turning the Blade by Pebr

All of the brothers start experiencing the same intense nightmares and all need to come together to face those fears. Only Leo spirals from these nightmares and falls further from his brothers.

Not for the faint of heart with its vivid descriptions and gore. Fantastic exploration of the characters and Leo in particular. A super creative idea with a unique threat. The exhaustion and injuries make the fic feel real and intense.

.

Blood-Stained Tiles by RealityBreakGirl

Donnie panics after having to stitch up his father.

I'd recommend anything by RealityBreakGirl in all honesty but this fic has a special place in my heart. It's so sweet and explores the idea of Donnie as the team medic and the pressure that puts him under.

.

The Gauntlant by T33la

Donnie has been working on a gauntlant that can negate gravity- but it's highly experimental and glitchy. But soon Mikey and Donnie have to bet their lives on this tech.

Again, would recommend you read through everything T33la has ever written, this fic in particular is my favourite. Reads as an episode of the show. The characters are so vibrant and in-character. Some fantastic action and character moments that won't leave my head.

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Find the Road by SillySocks

A series of oneshots exploring how everyone is dealing after Leo is sent to the Ancient One.

Such a great exploration of family and what these characters mean to each other. Kind of blows my mind that this idea isn't in a bunch of fanfics. A slow almost grieving look after Leo leaves as everyone finds a new normal and tries to keep going as well.

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It Takes a Village by GreenGoddessSmoothie

April is stressed out to the max with dealing with her baby. Thankfully Donnie and Leo come to the rescue.

You won't find a better April hurt/comfort fic. It's so sweet and an amazing fic which explores how these three all see each other. It's one of those fics which is great to read while trying to sleep, very fluffy and a great read.

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Can You Break What You Can't See? by lunaless

Donnie struggling after the mind probe.

One of my favourite post-mind probe fics. The struggle Donnie facing to keep his mind in tact and also everyone struggling to get out of the ship is great! It feels intense and the growing realisation that Donnie isn't okay makes for a great read!

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The Afterward by halogalopaghost

Donnie after his secondary mutation slowly recovering and being nursed back to health. The cure didn't work instantly and everyone is on edge trying to coax him back to health.

Yes. YES! A great fanfic with a lot of medical speculation and the helplessness of watching a family member fall sick. Leatherhead's exhaustion, everyone's desperation. A fantastic read! Also please check out halogalopaghost, another fantastic fic writer that I could recommend every single work they've done.

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Midnight Comforts by mattyj

Raph comforting Don after he had a nightmare about SAINW.

OH! If you want a great character based conversation which completes destroys my heart, you'll find it here. Such a sweet fluffy fanfiction. A fantastic look into Don and Raph's relationship. A must read if you're a sucker for that dynamic.

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Matchmaker Matchmaker (Make Me a Match) by LilliputianDuckling

Donnie is in love with Usagi but mistakes that interest in seeing how great Usagi would be in a relationship and so setting him up with Leo.

Okay I usually avoid shipping stuff since it doesn't really interest me but this was so cute and put an interesting spin on Donnie and Usagi. A great little read and the moment when Raph realises what's actually going on is great. The fic that makes me prefer Don x Usagi rather than Leo.

[percyaugod]

Unnamed Rise AU Part 2: Eternal Prison

Edit: It has now been named The Prisoner and the Pretender AU. : D

Leo was bored asking how long has he been stuck there anyway. The technodrome says forty-three seconds. Leo is unamused and gives a flat "Ha Ha. No really."

The technodrome doesn't say anything and Leo is left reeling. "What, how!?"

"Time dilation. Time moves faster here than back in your dimension. If it makes you feel any better you aren't aging. This place was designed to be an eternal prison. Not very eternal if the Krang die of old age."

Leo crossed his arms muttering bitterly about how well that worked out.

The technodrome holds Donnie above all others, and it is partially because of being connected, but it's mostly because Donnie is just Donnie. Donnie is the first to look at the technodrome and see something truly amazing. It holds him in such high regard because he holds it so high. Which is why it doesn't want to disappoint him and lose that.

Not to mention how much of himself he was willing to give to it so it could think for itself for the first time. No more just sitting around waiting for commands. Being used like a tool by those that don't appreciate it, don't deserve it.

Leo keeps the technodrome talking so he can hear his brother's voice, though he'd never admit it to even himself. He's just gathering data, nothing else. Yet he's probably just doing stuff to aggravate the technodrome like messing with the stuff it uses to make nutrients so Leo doesn't wither away.

It tastes awful, he's just trying to make it pizza-flavoured. Or preferably anything other than what he imagines Dad's chair tastes like. He knows chemistry, he can do this!

The technodrome begs to differ. He knows Earth chemistry. These chemicals are literally alien to him.

The technodrome keeps moving so it's harder for Krang One to find them. Which is extra difficult while trying to look like just a piece of nonfunctional rubble floating there.

Leo would definitely try to sneak outside. If nothing else he's bored and wouldn't completely trust the Krang spaceship. He still hasn't decided whether it sounding and acting like Donnie is worse or better. At least it'll be harder to forget the egghead.

The technodrome only lets him out to get supplies because even broken it's still far too big to enter. Supplies are hard to come by though, and who knows how long Leo will be in here until his brothers can save him. It keeps watch of all exits in case he tries something.

Leo is definitely curious about the technodrome, especially its connection to Donnie. How exactly did it get a copy of his brother on its systems, and what is it going to do to the original?

He wouldn't just ask it directly though. Donnie can't lie, but who knows about the technodrome. He asked in roundabout ways about other tech and functions to gather more info before making his way slowly to how piloting it works.

Leo tells stories to the technodrome who listens since at least he isn't trying anything. It's when he tries to exaggerate something and the technodrome corrects him that he realizes the technodrome remembers this stuff too because Donnie remembered it. So now Leo has the technodrome tell him stories to help him remember. It's odd hearing some of the same events but from Donnie's point of view.

Leo has a lot of trouble sleeping, especially in a prison dimension. He says something completely wrong and falls asleep to a "Donnie" rant.

Leo asks the technodrome what it knows about neuroscience since it could help him take care of his brothers in the future as team medic (you can rip medic Leo out of my cold dead hands) and he's pretty sure the ship mentioned tapping into someone's brain or nerves to receive instructions.

He's really going to have to look Donnie over when he gets back because that can't be good.

The technodrome constantly brings up Leo having the portal closed on it. Is this what Draxum feels like dealing with him? Good.

[cupcakeslushie]

am IN LOVE with your feral leo au

the story just keeps getting interesting every time!

i love the art so much! i just wanna- AGEUGAUEGUAEGA * insert more gremlin noises *

-{ by someone who should probably study for their exam }

Thank you! Also *softly bops you on the head* I hope you studied and did well on your exam!

IT’S FERAL LEO HOURS!!!

@renmiel Honestly Donnie hasn’t really had time to process properly. After Leo, he’s the one on the team with the most medical knowledge so he’s stuck in a sort of, assess what we can fix immediately mode, hence why he’s the only one with bites, and then when Leo’s all cleaned up, Donnie moves into a denial stage and thinks with enough prodding he can sort of snap Leo out of it. Raph tries to tell him that Leo might never be the same, but for being so smart, sometimes Donnie refuses to see what’s right in front of him if he doesn’t like the reality of it. It takes him a few days to realize this won’t be a quick fix.

@imadino @blankiss2204000 @aron-has-ocs

The plan at first is really just to make him as comfortable as possible so they don’t get attacked lol. Just because they’re his family doesn’t mean Leo wont pounce and lash out if startled. So he stays with Mikey in the infirmary for a few days, listening to his little brother’s stories about when they were young, and looking at the pictures on his phone, up until Mikey’s recovered and can move around. By then the rest of the family has “Feral Proofed” the lair (i.e closed off all the places Leo could escape to and get lost, hidden all the sharp objects things like that). Then they make sure someone’s with him at all times. They make him a nest in the corner of the living room, but he’ll prowl around at night and check to make sure the lair is secure, and by the morning he can be found at the foot of someone’s bed—usually Mikey.

Once Leo’s more at ease with them, Donnie can get to work on patching Leo’s shell. He does try to make turtle noises back at Leo, but Leo just huffs and wheeze laughs at the sad attempt, and pokes Donnie in that big forehead of his. Still Donnie keeps trying and gets better. Now that he’s fully accepted the situation as it is, he’ll do anything if it helps, even if it is a bit embarrassing.

Yes that “churp” is a turtle noise. I’ve found it’s a pretty common staple of TMNT fanfic that I’m obsessed with lol.

Leo’s recovery is LONG He gets nightmares pretty regularly and it’s months before he’s even able to let his guard down, despite only ever remaining in the lair where it’s always quiet and safe. I’d say it takes Leo at least a year before he starts to resemble himself and speak in fuller sentences (though the chirps and hissing never go away). Then maybe two years before he’s able to make cheesy jokes and fight without reverting to his more savage way of fighting. Even starting off slow—bringing him only on what they think will be easy missions, can sometimes end with them having to pull Leo off of the bad guys before he causes them serious harm.

Leo isn’t embarrassed so much—he realizes he did what he had to in order to survive and make it back to his family. He’s more serious and actually shockingly calmer now, but at the same time, in no uncertain terms, he makes it clear that he thinks Raph should take the reigns back, Leo knows he’s in no proper state to lead.

@asleepyb0i one word. Klunk!!!! Mikey finds him one day a few months into sneaking out to help with Invasion clean up, but he let’s Leo hold him so much that he’s Mikey and Leo’s little fluff ball.

Leo and Draxum never really liked one another, but awkward Dad #2 does try to help when he can. Leo manages to sneak out of the lair a few times, and gives his family heart attacks every time, but they always manage to track him down, or he finds his way back, his sense of direction is one thing that was sharpened in the Prison Dimension.

GOLLUM??!! GOLLUM????! I don’t think he looks that bad off does he???? 😱

A. You’re so right. Galaxy brained!

B. @snipersiniora That’s a good way to lose a finger! No, he keeps the nails for a long while until he’s a bit calmer.

C. @snipersiniora He’ll eat anything at this point, but pizza will always be a fav!

D. You know what’s funny? While I was googling the spelling on Pepino like forever ago, just to make sure I was spelling it right, I read that there’s actually a common Spanish phrase (and please native speakers correct me if I’m wrong!) something translated like “I care a cucumber.” When you don’t care about something or want the convo to end, and I think that’s hilarious and maybe I’m reading too much into it, but if the writers knew about that phrase and having Heuso use it cause of course Leo’s green like a cucumber, BUT ALSO because Hueso didn’t much like Leo at first and always seemed to want him to go away—that’s gotta be the funniest thing ever.

E. Well…they are in a sewer….with lots of…………….rats.

F. The crack’s pretty large but not too deep. Donnie patches it before shell rot sets in (it never set in before because the prison dimension kept Leo in like a sort of stasis where his wounds healed and scarred over in a few days). He’s gotta be very careful for a few weeks, while it heals, which is a bit of a re-learning curve. Leo’s not used to his wounds actually slowing him down for so long.

G. I will say…..no. Just for possibly any future angst I might want to cause lol

H. Leo was in the prison dimension three years so he’d be 19!

I. Re-introducing Leo to Cass and Sunita, yes all good 👍. Re-introducing Leo to Big Mama, no very much bad, all out hissing and clawing!

@hapfrog @snowblossim @zowise2912 aw thanks!!

Music is a very common calming technique Donnie reads about, and then puts into practice when they need to. It works like a charm at relaxing Leo. The prison dimension was so quiet, unless it was filled with Leo’s cries or Kraang Prime cursing and screaming at him. So music allows Leo the audio proof that he’s not there anymore.

Leo’s reaction to his bale crying would be to curl up around them and protect! If there was no threat to scare off he’d focus on providing physical warmth and comfort.

Leo’s knees are probably the least of his worries, that boy’s body is so torn up it’s one big ball of pain, which he’s gotten so used to, it hardly registers. But he does have to do a lot of physical therapy with Donnie and Raph (alongside Mikey who needs it for his own hands).

Leo didn’t have to eat or sleep in the prison dimension. His body was kept in a sort of stasis—the only wear and tear was from the Kraang. He didn’t even physically age. I wouldn’t think about it too much (I know I haven’t lol) So re-eating syndrome wasn’t a challenge for him, but mentally he does have to get used to the idea of being hungry and eating. He kinda fights them the first time they try and get food in him, but after remembering how good food is—even the simple bland soup Splinter makes him, he’s a nightmare at meal time (his table manners are non-existent).

[teenage-mutant-ninja-freak]

I just love your Mob turtles and their headcanons! I was wondering how each turtle would act with a medic crush. Maybe someone that works for the Mob as a lower leveled nurse that catches their eye after they need to be treated by them. How would they meet again? Who would move their crushes position up in the Mob to get closer? And who would just bash their head in again to see their crush to get treated? Love the headcanons your write and keep up the amazing work! ✨

This is really interesting, thank you for this!

DISCLAIMER!!! Because they're all evil pieces of shit, this will not be cute. it's gonna be scary and abusive (esp Donnie's one) so viewer discretion is advised

Mob! Leo

you first treat him for a stab wound, it was a bad night at one of his clubs. Some guy got too handsy with one of the dancers, Leo intervened, the guy smashed a bottle....

he got stabbed just beneath the ribs, although the other guy was put in a medically induced coma when Leo was done with him sooo... A small stab was nothing by comparison

He's sat, slumped down, in the doorway of the living room, enter: you

his body guards (as useless as they normally are) called you straight away. the pay is pretty damn good if you say so yourself, being on the mob boys retainer has its perks.

you're got your kit with you, all your medical supplies.

"sir" you start "We need to head to the kitchen, I need a flat surface to examine you" you were polite, but clear.

Leo stands without so much as a grunt even though it's got to hurt

lies down on the kitchen table

you talk him through every step you need to take, starting with "I'm going to need to cut the shirt off, I'm sorry"

he doesn't care, it's ruined anyway

when you're done, he's surprised "I didn't even feel the stitches"

"I have a gentle touch" you wink and then instantly regret winking at your boss, it shows because you're blushing

he smiles too. 'He's got such a handsome face' you think and then you can't make eye contact

you almost shove the painkillers at him in your efforts to leave

the next time there's an incident, it's your day off, but he asked for you specifically and you can't exactly say no...

after that, it's you every time and the "incidents" are getting more frequent and less severe

you're at the house almost every 2 days

it gets to the point where a band-aid would suffice for the injury

but he's started sending you home with gifts, now

fancy chocolates, a bottle of wine, gift cards to high end shops ect

it's getting obvious why it's always you he calls

until, one night, it all comes to a head

he accidentally sliced his finger cooking and it will need stitches, but there are 2 place settings at the table and he asks you to stay for dinner after you patch him up

a hour in, and a little wine drunk, you blurt out "You know you could've just asked me out, there was no need to maim yourself to get my attention" you instantly regret this

he just chuckles

"Wish you'd told me sooner, I was deciding which one of my fingers I needed the least"

Mob! Raph

Oh he's so accident prone

will never admit it, but he really is

you're one of his newest hires and were excited at the chance to get some hands on experience since leaving med school

boy does he give you some

his first call is because he was shot right in the thigh

it almost hit a major artery

even you were panicked

you kept asking "is this ok? It doesn't hurt too much right?"

but he had to to keep face and even when he'd wince he'd command "Keep going!"

you weren't exactly dressed for the occasion, you were wearing what was once a baby blue crop top (now red) and and shorts and your mid-drift was showing

Raph seemed to notice this a lot

and when the bleeding had stopped you'd got him stitched up, he put an arm around your waist and told you how great of a job you did

it got you a little flustered

eventually, at some team meeting (you did not know there would be team meetings and neither did the other medics but Raph treated this like it's always happened) he announces you as head medic

this comes with more pay, but more responsibility

you're on call 24/7 basically

you get his personal phone number and a "don't be araif to call if you need anything, the phone works both ways"

this kind of earns you the cold shoulder from Donatello who was usually the one who fixed up Raph

everything was going great as was pretty professional until-

one night the phone rings, it's Raph, and he's clearly drunk

words slurring, talking real slow and basically humming down the line

he asks you to come over and if you "have a nurses outfit"

you ask who's hurt

"It's me, I'm so *fake cough* ill... I could use a little TLC..."

you're a medic, not a call girl so you hang up

the next time you see him he's a weird mix or embarrassed and pissed off

like he knows he shouldn't have done it but he's angry you wouldn't fuck him

it's one of his guys who's been beat up, needs a few eyebrow stitches

Raph is too close, really in your personal space as you're trying to work

when you're done he walks you to the door and, through gritted teeth, says "I'm glad my little.... Indiscretion the other night hasn't made you unprofessional"

"That's a weird way of saying sorry" you reply in the sweetest tone you can muster

he glares

"...I'm....I'm sorry"

you smile until he pulls you in by the wrist

"Don't get cocky now!" he hisses "Remember who pays your bills"

you lean in and whisper "It's funny that you asked, because I do have a nurse outfit. Only men who respect me and my boundaries get to see it" you say that last part more forcefully as you pull away from his grip

after that it's a pretty clear game of cat and mouse between you two

Mob! Mikey

It's been crystal clear since day 1 that he wants you

stroking your hair while you're trying to assess him, rubbing up close to you, giving you pay rise after pay rise...

you try not to be alone with him

but one day, and you're surprised because it's only like 1pm, you get a call

Mikey had a chunk bitten out of his neck and needs urgent attention

you're pretty used to all the weird and wonderful injuries he acquires and when you're done seeing to him, you realise it's now only you two in the room

he gets up and clicks his neck

"That's one thing I love about you, you know" he had a habit of starting sentences like you'd been talking this entire time even when you hadn't "You don't ask questions. It's a lovely quality in a girl" the space between you is getting smaller

"it's not my job to ask questions" you say timidly

he's closing in still "I like that attitude"

your back is to a set of drawers now

he's right in front of you

I think the lidocaine is wearing off, this is starting to hurt" he gestures at his neck "Can you kiss it better?"

your heart is racing and you're not sure if it's because this is threatening or because he's shirtless and you haven't taken you eyes off his abs for too long now

He laughs and puts his hands up

"Hey, just joking!" he begins to back away

you turn to leave and right as you grab the door handle he calls

"But, sweetheart, you ever feel like having a crazy night. You know who to call, no strings attached" and winks

after that, and extra 2k is put in your account under the reference "for your discretion"

lingerie is sent to your apartment as well as flowers

the next time you need to go see him, he asks if you're wearing it

you blush and look away, he just grins at you

eventually he throws a huge party that you're invited to, he never leaves your side

you drink a little too much to cope with the circumstance and before you know it you wake up from a black out in the back of his car just as it pulls up to your apartment

he walks you in, you're still unsteady on your feet, and kisses you at the door

"angel, you should be more careful" he does not elaborate before leaving

you hand in your notice which is only mailed back to you with "nice try" written on it

Mikey always gets his way, one way or another

Mob! Donnie

He's a very hot and cold man

he'll smile and talk to you one day, then you don't exist the next

you can't get a feel for him at all

he's never been inappropriate or rude just... cold and distant

it's normally you he calls, you know this because the other medics are pissed off that they don't have an "in" with him

you did ask why, once

he just said you give the neatest stitches

it had been a while since you'd seen him

his brothers and he just had a big court case so they were laying pretty low

it had been nice, something about him made you feel things

a mix of unsettled and like you had to prove yourself as worthy

you needed a drink

hat night you come home, your phone died at the bar and you're a little tipsy

only to find your door broken in

you walk in

was that a wise move? no.

waiting inside, leaning against a doorway, is Donnie

you can smell blood but can;t see it in the half light

the he grabs you

you freeze, his arms are around you and his face is in your hair, gently smelling it

something trickles onto your face and you wipe it away to find it's blood

"If- if you're hurt... J-just let me grab my supplies"

he lets go

you turn on every light you pass, something about being in the dark with him just isn't right

when you come back he's gone

the next time he needs you, you do get a call

he got into a fight with Mikey, bottled straight over the head

you found out because Raph is still laughing about it when you get there

Donnie is seething

when his brothers leave, all of them including Donnie a little drunk, he pushes you against a wall and gets in close

you can feel his breath on your neck

"You know, Mikey hired on of those topless maids last week. Cleaned his car, tits fully out. How much would it cost me for you to take this off" he pings your bra strap

you're so insulted

he was a man of medicine too and he was treating you like you're something who can be bought

as if he reads your mind he says "Everyone has a price"

"I don't know" you try to sound less scared than you are, let the anger shine through "how much does a new set of balls cost? Because if you don't back off you're gonna need them"

he laughs harshly

then his hand is around your throat

"Was that a threat?"

his thumb strokes your cheek

he leans in, his nose pressed against yours "I like a woman with guts but, if you're not very careful, I'll take them out and keep them in a jar"

"Was that a threat?" you retort

"No, I'm flirting with you"

sooner or later, you know he'll have you

Him and his brothers aren't the type to back down from anything

so the next time you treat him, when he pulls you onto his lap, you kiss him, make it your choice to go through with it

[milkytheholy1]

Day 4: Kunoichi

You had been training for so long, perfecting every movement, every swing of your fist, every high kick. Months had passed with you still not being allowed out on a mission, it was beginning to drive you insane and the others had started to notice.

You could use the bo staff as strategically as Donnie and throw a si through the air with power like Raph. Skirting nunchucks around your body almost became second nature to you just like Mikey, and as for your preferred weapon, the Katana, you were considered by Casey to be nearly a master.

And yet the new sensei in town, Leonardo, wouldn't let you step a foot out of the sewer if it didn't mean he couldn't be there to protect you. It drove you to aggravation, knowing you were good enough but not getting a chance to prove it.

That was until one night.

"Leo, we can't keep doing this! We're outnumbered, and it pains me to say this, but we're outmatched. We need help!" Raph shouted, bursting through the lair's entrance with an injured Mikey. Leo and Donnie immediately bolted to the two brothers while you stayed behind and surveyed the scene. Donnie's eyes were frantic as he checked over Mikey's battered and bruised body, "W-what happened?"

"The Foot, that's what happened. We did the patrol like YOU said-" he turned his head to Leo, who at this point was looking very guilty, "-And they sprang on us from nowhere, it's like they'd been watching us for hours or somethin'."

"You didn't know you were being followed?" Leo questioned, no concern in his tone. A gruff hum bled through Raph's lips, his expression souring at his so-called brother's apathy. Relinquishing his hold on Mikey to the medic on the team, Raph was quick to find his way to Leonardo.

"I was busy, besides, it's your fault for telling us to split up!" he jabbed his finger into Leo's chest. Leo opened his mouth to respond but a lighter, more feminine voice came out instead, "Alright you two, enough." Two blank expressions turned to you.

"Raph, were you followed to the lair?" You asked calmly, he nodded his head 'yes', "I took a different route, but those dipsticks ain't stupid, they'll find the lair."

You hummed "Then the only option we have is to fight them, let's make sure they don't leave this place, no one can report back to Shredder." Leo immediately objected, "We? What we? There is no we? You are going home and we'll be dealing with this."

"But I'm ready, I'm never gonna become a real Kunoichi if I don't fight an opponent that isn't my sensei. Leo, I'm not fragile, I can handle i-"

"Enough! I gave you an order, as your sensei and as your friend!" His eyes were stern, he had never been so sure of a decision in his life. You fought back the urge to cry, not out of sadness but out of anger. Who the hell is he to tell you that you're not ready, that you can't fight like the big boys? Like hell you were just gonna head home and wait by your phone for a message to say: We're okay, maybe dying, jk lol. See you tomorrow.

Walking up to the turtle in blue, you stared into his ever-heroic eyes with a fire in your heart, "I'm staying and there's nothing you can do to stop me, and I'm telling you that as your pupil and your friend. Trust me, Leonardo. Trust me like how I trust you."

He was awestruck, completely at a loss for words, even Raph had noticed his lack of response and smirked. Stuttering for a moment, Leo finally came back to his reality, "O-ok."

You waited for what felt like years, an eternity even. But it was all worth it. After that day everything changed, you completely decimated the invading Foot, showing to Leo once and for all that you could handle yourself. He slowly started letting you on more and more missions, so many that now you go out on your own.

"I'm sorry I was such an ass back then," he later whispered to you, it was a few years later but was still happily accepted nevertheless. You had spent an evening under the stars, crime-free for the night and up for a chat with your best friend.

"It's okay, I'm just happy I proved you wrong." You beamed, jabbing him in his arm. He chuckled, his mask creasing around his eyes, "Yeah..." he hummed out, voice trailing off, "You really did prove me wrong."

"Don't say it like it was impossible to do!" you cried out, Leo burst out laughing, "I didn't say that-"

"You implied it!" you jumped to your feet, pretending to be very offended by this revelation. Making a show of it, Leo promptly begged for your forgiveness, "What will it take to make it up to you?" he pleaded. You rubbed your chin in deep thought, a crooked smile presenting itself on your lips, "Say I'm the best Kunoichi that has ever existed."

Leo sighed, a small smile hidden behind his facade, "You-" he started, resting on his knees and taking your hands into his, "-Are the best Kunoichi that has ever-" the moonlight danced shadows around his face, "-Existed."

[butterflyscribbles]

So I haven’t talked nearly enough about Mutant Mayhem yet but I saw it for the second time a few days ago and they have consumed all my thoughts have some random headcanons I’m dying I have to talk about them more:

⚠️(Spoiler warning for MM as well)⚠️

April

- Lives with her mom and grandfather on her mother’s side. Raised by a single mom who’s a veterinarian and her grandpa, a retired tailor and clothing retail manager, moved in after her grandma passed away a few years ago.

- Listens to way too many murder mystery podcasts and thrillers are her favorite movie genre

- Practices doodling a lot in the sides of her journal or class notes. She’s inspired by courtroom sketch artists and old biology journals.

- Swears like a sailor. Even more than Raph. Tries to censor herself around them but it only gets worse the closer they become as friends

- Becomes a sort of ambassador for the turtles and other mutants in the city. Anyone who doesn’t approve of them, goes through her…

- Favorite subject is biology, outside of working on the school newspaper of course

Leo

- Big time book worm. Has read a lot of the classics like The Great Gatsby, Catcher in the Rye, etc. which gives him an advantage heading into high school. His favorite subject is literature naturally as a result.

- Autistic, practically canon but just putting it out there

- Like April, he’s got a sensitive stomach under pressure. Nausea flares up all the time, especially at the sight or smell of blood. They bond over it. Nothing brings two people together like commiserating that your tummy hurts all the time🤝

- Hopeless romantic. Had fallen head over heels for a few other girls he spotted up top even before April came along. She was just…different. He watches a lot of sappy romance movies too they make him feel all warm and fuzzy.

- Love language is words of affirmation big time. He’s always about hyping up the people he loves and will defend them through anything.

Raph

- He’s the team medic in this iteration. He’s no professional but growing up he had so many injuries from being a scrappy lil dude that he picked up on how to take care of ‘em on his own and of course shares that knowledge with his bros and April later. He’s surprisingly gentle when he needs to be.

- He’s the most prone to nightmares/night terrors. The fact that Raph was the one to go seek comfort from Splinter in the tots scene is so important to me.

- He and Donnie are the anime enthusiasts. Hasn’t seen as many as Donnie but it’s close.

- Scratching his shell gently, especially up by the shoulder blades, is like an automatic snooze button. He passes out within minutes.

- Second biggest crybaby to Mikey. It happens when he feels any emotion too strongly whether it’s happiness, anger, sadness, etc. and he hates it. Makes him feel weak, which is why there usually is a lot of punching involved too.

Donnie

- Can’t swim and is the only one who actively dislikes getting into the water.

- He and Leo have been studying how to speak and write Japanese together for years. Don has picked up a lot from all the anime he watches.

- Is the most emotionally open version of Donnie to date. He’s always telling his family how much he loves them without restraint and is the first to ask what’s wrong if he picks up on someone acting weird or trying to hide something.

- To compliment the above hc, he’s insanely observational, like Sherlock level. They don’t know how he’s able to do it but his attention to detail and his ability to take that and create plans and get a read on people is baffling. If Donnie doesn’t get a good vibe off someone, believe him and run the other way. (Makes him really good at those spot the different puzzles too lol.)

- Loves to dance just like his previous incarnation before him:’) Bootyyyshaker9001

Mikey

- Is actually afraid of cats…growing up with Splinter, who would freak out at the sight of them, only taught him to freak out along with him. They are sharp and unpredictable.

- Other than that however he’s an animal lover. Had a few pet fish through the years that he saved after being flushed.

- Practically canon but the most physically affectionate by leagues. Constantly seeking a brother, adopted mutant family member, or an April to cling to.

- Super into musicals and is a actually a decent singer

- Can take a punch like nothing you’ve ever seen and can still be standing….but gets sick constantly his immune system is wack

[thatrandomlemononyourcounter1]

headcannons req for Leo :D

Girlllll

hang on lemme just

lock IN

Raging insomniac (canon in my head)

When he can't sleep he likes to go on reddit and post the craziest AITAH posts ever just to see how people react

When he does sleep, it’s in the most obscure positions known to human (turtle?) kind. Like...genuinely don't think his shell should be able to bend like that

Once he mastered his portalling, he took advantage of it and travelled for awhile, exploring different places. 

He took a little trinket from everywhere he went (Fitz Vacker Core)

Even though he comes off as the friendliest, he’s the most suspicious of people and prides himself on his intuition. 

Will light the entire kitchen on fire attempting to make a piece of toast. he is BANNED from the kitchen

Sometimes he goes to Central Park, and tries to find turtles in the ponds and lakes

Really loves magic tricks and hates when people (cough Donnie cough) ruin them for him

A RAGING mean girls fan

But he claims he's not a theater kid

Loves weighted blankets with a passion, but if he falls asleep under one he'll wake up not knowing what year it is

Allergic to strawberries (loser /affectionate)

The type of guy to have a rock collection (canon in my brain)

Struggled learning how to read when he was younger

Is the medic on the team, yet has the worst bedside manner out of all four of the guys

Cries every time he watches The Land Before Time or any dog movie (twin)

I headcanon him to have adhd (twin)

Spinny chairs are both his blessing and his curse (He crashes into walls)

Is a dog person over a cat person but he still ends up with a pet cat instead

He lets Mikey paint on his shell sometimes when he's stressed

THE END :D

[blitzxiiru]

What happened to Raph's OG shell for him to get an upgrade?

during a really vicious battle, mikey was blindsided and thrown off a tall ass building — raph was fortunately there and tossed himself off the roof after mikey to save him. he grabbed mikey and shielded him by using his shell to take the brunt of the fall, and his shell CRACKED.

it took literal months for raph’s shell to knit itself back together (according to my research it would could take years to heal if the crack is severe, but since they’re mutants they have a faster healing process) and if donnie didn’t make that weird medication ointment mixed with mutagen to help speed up the process, the healing would have taken over a year.

of course, they couldn’t wait a year for raph’s shell to heal, they have a city to patrol after all — not to mention how awfully impatient raph would be after leo banned him from going on missions — so after 6 months of nursing and careful treatment, raph’s shell was more or less healed and the rest of the cracks were filled in by fiberglass patches. honestly, what would the team do without donnie?

during those 6 agonising months, donnie invented an upgraded battleshell for raph to help protect his now fragile-ish natural shell. obviously despite the incident, raph didn’t back down from his role as team protector, and now he wears the battleshell to every patrol they go on, and the only time he ever takes it off is at their lair. honestly it was pretty comfy anyway, the inner padding of the battleshell helped for comfort. once again, what would the team do without donnie? #donnieistheteamcarry fr

(lets not talk about the amount of guilt mikey feels for raph’s cracked shell. even years later, when he’s able to look at raph’s fiberglass-filled shell without crying, he still feels a nasty twist in his stomach. of course, the brothers don’t let him wallow in his guilt, and soon in a matter of minutes they’re coddling mikey in a turtle pile.)

[kittynumyum]

So I don't really make a lot of posts for my tmnt iteration where it's just only text, since I mostly prefer to show my iteration through my drawings. But, I figured I might as well do this so you guys get to know a bit about the main characters that are going to be part of my story, so here we go!

Character Summary List:

The Boiz:

Leonardo: Leader in Blue. Centered arc is the first arc.

Raphael: Big and red and always ready for a fight. Centered arc is Yokai Uprising Arc

Michaelangelo: Orange and one of a kind. Centered arc is City at War Arc

Donatello: Purple and rocks machines. Centered arc is Galactic Frontier Arc

Other Main Characters:

Splinter: The turtles' rat sensei/father. Is Hamato Yoshi and has a tragic family backstory.

April O'Neil: The turtles' first best friend since they were kids. Currently a college student. Is besties with Donnie.

Casey Jones: The turtles' second best friend (Raph meets them first when they were younger, then the others during the present). Hockey player and vigilante. Has a dorky crush on April. Is besties with Raph.

Keno: The turtles' third best friend. High school student who works part time at his family owned pizza place and is badass at martial arts. Is besties with Mikey.

Metalhead: A turtle robot created by Donnie to assist the turtles through medical needs. Eventually, with Donnie's programming, they gain some sentient and becomes more willing to help out the team in any way they can.

The Mighty Mutanimals:

Old Hob: A mutant cat from TCRI, who originally started the gang. Once had a thing against humans due to being experimented on by them, but now wants to help protect the city and his friends.

Slash: A giant mutant spiked sea turtle from TCRI, who was overmutated from an ooze explosion. He started as a frenzied monster, but is soon healed by Dr. Rockwell. He leads the Mighty Mutanimals.

Leatherhead: A mutant alligator from TCRI

Mondo Gecko: A mutant gecko from TCRI

Dr. Rockwell: A mutant monkey. Was originally a human scientist who worked alongside Stockman at TCRI, but experiments went wrong in where he got turned into a monkey, (but he seems unphased with that situation ig lmao)

(And in short, they are all very close friends with Mikey)

Foot Clan:

Shredder: Leader of the Foot. Is responsible for the death of Yoshi's family. Main antagonist of the first arc.

Karai: Shredder's adoptive daughter. One of the members of the Foot Elite (Is viewed as the weakest Foot Elite, even Shredder views this). Is frenemies with Leo.

Tatsu (AKA: Tiger Claw): A mutant tiger who was originally human. Leader of the Foot Elite and is second-in-command of the Foot

Chris Bradford (AKA: Rahzar): A mutant wolf who was originally human. Member of the Foot Elite and is in charge of taking care of the new and upcoming recruits. He also becomes a better father figure for Karai.

Bebop: A mutant warthog who was originally human. Besties with Rocksteady.

Rocksteady: A mutant rhino who was originally human. Besties with Bebop.

Jennika: A mutant turtle who was originally human. She was the youngest member of the Foot Elite (is actually better than Karai).

Outer Space:

Fugitoid: A robot who was once a scientist but got his mind transfered to a robot. Is the one who originally formed the rebellion against the Triceraton Empire.

Mona Lisa: An alien salamander who is a gladiator fighter in the Triceraton Arena. She helps Donnie with his survival and skills in fighting in the arena.

Tokka: An alien turtle who decides to tag along the turtles' adventure.

Traximus: A triceraton guard who is secretly working with Fugitoid in the fight against the Triceraton Empire. He helps Donnie in finding a way to escape, as well as a way to take down the Triceratons' planet buster weapon that they have abused its power with.

Emperor Zanramon: Leader of the Triceraton Empire. Main antagonist of Galactic Frontier Arc.

Captain Mozar: Second-in-command of the Triceraton Empire.

Hidden City:

Baron Draxum: A goat yokai who is the leader of the Hidden City. Main antagonist of the Yokai Uprising Arc.

Huginn and Muninn: Baron Draxum's loyal pets.

Koya: A falcon yokai who is the general of the yokai army.

Miyamoto Usagi: A rabbit yokai who was formerly a warrior for Baron Draxum. He then helps the turtles in taking down Baron Draxum.

Alopex: A fox yokai who is the leader of the yokai rebellion.

Venus: A mutant turtle. Was created by Baron Draxum as a weapon against the turtles.

The Pantheon:

Kitsune: A fox yokai who is the eldest of the Pantheon. She is known for her variety of mystic powers and tricks. She is first seen in the Shredder Arc, where she is Shredder's right hand other than Tatsu. She is then seen again in the Yokai Uprising Arc, where she is Draxum's right hand.

Tengu: An eagle yokai who is the second eldest of the Pantheon. He is known for his mystic powers in weather-like abilities (thunder, earthquakes, etc.). He takes his duties more seriously.

Bakeneko: A cat yokai who is the youngest of the Pantheon. They are known for shapeshifting and playing with fire. They are very mischievous.

Nure-onna: A snake yokai who is the second youngest of the Pantheon. She is known for her deadly poison and cataclysmic powers yes this is based off of Cat Noir, shut up. She is very scary.

Sarugami: A monkey yokai who is the middle sibling of the Pantheon. He is known for his immense strength. He does not speak at all.

Ryujin: An all powerful and evil dragon who was banished to the Twilight Realm. He wishes to destroy the entire world and recreate it in his own image. Main antagonist of Dawn of the Pantheon Arc

Other Villains:

Krang: A powerful alien race who was banished to Dimension X. They wish to conquer the entire universe and remake it in their image. Main antagonist of Zero Hour Arc.

Baxter Stockman: A mad scientist who works at the TCRI.

Bishop: A special agent of the US government and head of the EPF. Main antagonist of City at War Arc.

Hun: A crime boss who is the leader of the Purple Dragons.

Rat King: A mad man who can not only control the rats, BUT ALSO MUTANTS! Main antagonist of Mutant Madness Arc.

[side-shuffling-hyperfixations]

TMNT - Some Say The World Will End in Fire (Some Say In Ice)

Summary: One wrong move leads to a deadly domino effect, which Leo and Raph have to endure firsthand.

We’ll be right behind you. That was what Leo had said, had sworn with such earnest ferocity just to convince Donnie to get moving already. Mikey was the first domino to fall without getting back up and whenever that happened, all the rest in the row ought to know their roles by now. As front man it was Leo’s job to make a push, bait and lure as many enemies as he could handle at once, to buy time for Raph. As the tank Raph’s job was to find or brute force an opening for their vulnerable or injured to escape. As the closest thing they had to a medic, Donnie’s job was to utilize it, grab Mikey and get him through, get him out of the field no matter the cost.

As with all other areas of battle, each of them moved as part of a unit. If any of the cogs in the machine stopped or stuttered anywhere along the course of that process, anything and everything could go wrong.

Raph should have known it would all go south as soon as Donnie got Mikey in a fireman’s carry over his shoulders and then—he stopped up short, staring at the battle like his brain had frozen while buffering. It was sudden, uncharacteristic, but Raph compensated for the unexpected loss of time by letting Hun’s fist do some of the demolition for him. With his weighty punches creating spidery cracks in the nearest tunnel wall, all Raph needed to add was one good heave of his shell and shoulder to plow a healthy opening, sheath his sai and start manhandling Don and his limp passenger through.

“Go, go!” he urged.

“I thought—Raph, in my bag—” Donnie stammered at the same time, wide eyes darting searchingly past him, only for Leo’s call to cut him off.

“We got it, Don! We’ll be right behind you!”

It only occurred to Raph after he shoved Don to the other side and lost sight of him that he might have needed that bag and its supplies to treat Mike. Hun didn’t intend to give him a chance to toss it through after them. The blow that clipped Raph’s brow was only a glancing one but from someone of Hun’s size, it still had the power to send Raph reeling back, tripping over the very bag Don had left behind. What was this, amateur hour? His stumble at least served as an unintentional dodge; the next swing was a miss that connected with a pipe in the compromised wall.

Now they were both momentarily blinded, Hun by an ice cold burst of water and Raph seeing stars. Twinsies! a Mikey-like voice crowed somewhere in his head before he shook it off. Snatching Donnie’s duffel, he lunged up over the new roaring leak to land on the big guy’s shoulders and beat him over the head with it. Not the most elegant weapon but you work with whatever you got, right? If little brother wasn’t here to pick up his own toys, big brother was gonna confiscate ’em.

From that higher vantage point he could make out how Leo was doing now. Peachy, picture perfect as always; he had adapted to move through the surprise river coming in with greater ease than some of the not-so-aquatic Foot soldiers, who found themselves quickly dispatched. In all of their rather pathetic falling and floundering, Raph almost missed the stray splashes nearby for which there were no clear visible sources. Almost.

The cloaked Foot Tech ninja, he realized. Was that what Donnie thought he had spotted? It would be his keen eye to notice a discrepancy like them in a split second and if so, he would have wanted Raph to know his bag had what they needed. Bashing it against Hun’s head once more, Raph split open the zipper track (sorry, Don) and rooted blindly through disorganized heaps of gadgets until something sharp caught on his fingers. Pay dirt! The electric counter shock shuriken soared with a flick of his wrist, ready to destabilize their cloaking technology on contact.

Maybe it was the part of his attention that had fled with the compromised half of their team, distracting him. Maybe it was the punch to his head, affecting his depth perception. Maybe it was Hun’s disoriented twisting and turning beneath him, shifting his center of gravity. Maybe it was just his reckless, stupid surety of himself, short of any of Don’s careful calculations, short of Leo’s grace or Mikey’s luck. Maybe this really was amateur hour.

As soon as the sparking shuriken made contact with the water, every one of them cried out in chorus but to Raph’s ears no one screamed louder than his brother.

__________

When Raph gradually clawed his way back to consciousness, the world was dark, ringing and stinging and tingling. In a thrumming flare of alarm he wondered for a split second if he had been blinded somehow but upon trying to blink, it felt like his eyelids had been seared shut. He hissed a sharp inhale at the resistance, which caught and burned fiercely in his lungs before coming out as a groan.

Cold droplets spattered his face and plastron, earning a flinch which in turn set off a full-body twitching. His fingers caught at sharp, wet edges of the debris underneath him, each new little spark of pain nudging him closer to unfortunate awareness.  

“Still alive, freak?” a low voice sneered, followed by a solid, blunt point pressing into the hollow of his throat to wring another ragged breath out of him. “Let me fix that for you; I think it’s high time you joined the other one in hell.”

The other one. Leo.

Realization, dread and adrenaline hit Raph like another shock to the system. Upon ripping his eyes open (burning, burning) he could only see spots but instinct could take the lead, take control of haphazard reflex. Battered fingers closed around a hefty chunk of stone, swinging with whatever panicked strength he had to connect with the face of the Foot soldier bending over him. It shattered the left eye piece in his mask, shards filling his vision as Raph displaced the bō staff he had jammed against his throat and promptly twisted it against him to shatter the right for good measure before knocking him aside.

Even that brief maneuver had every nerve singing a symphony of stop, stay still, please but if there was anyone who could push through the pain, it would be him—and if there was anyone he would push through the pain for, without a shadow of a doubt it would be—

“L-hhgh—” What a pleasant surprise, another searing spasm of his throat and lungs as he tried to hoist himself up and call out. Pick one. One step at a time. Sitting up first. Can’t stay down.

It took a couple tries, loose stone skidding precariously under trembling, aching arms but eventually he was propped up and panting like a dog for his trouble. There were those spots floating back into his vision. Awkwardly hugging his sides, Raph braced himself through a chain of sputtering coughs—revs of a rattled engine to get his voice going again.

“Ugh…Leo?”

When his gaze cleared back up, he almost wished it hadn’t. He had received a secondary shock through Hun as the conduit before tumbling backward off his shoulders to roll narrowly past the arc of the water and hit the lip right before the tunnel’s short decline. Hun had dropped like a bag of bricks right where Raph left him but wondering if he was unconscious or dead was at the bottom of Raph’s list right now. Leo had corralled the rest of the Foot forces down the slope, giving Don and Mikey a wide berth for their retreat. The water was still flowing downhill to collect in the dead end. Burnt figures bobbed and clustered with disturbing gentleness in the rising pool, ripples reflecting black and…yes, blue.

The borrowed bō was the only reason Raph’s juddering legs didn’t go right out from underneath him as he scrambled upright, charging with a mighty splash into the tangle of bodies. No hesitation, not a thought to spare for the sting of the water or the chance that he could have easily been electrocuted again, were the counter shock shuriken still active. The Foot scout who had come upon the scene must have used his nonconductive staff to swipe it out and end his comrades’ horrid flailing. Of course he hadn’t cared enough to fish them out before moving on to threaten Raph, but small mercies were still mercies and it would still work in Raph’s favor now as he wrenched his brother free of the others. Under the surface Leo’s hands were still locked up around his swords, unguided blades drifting like the shadows of long silver fish as Raph kicked the both of them arduously back to the top.

“Leo! Leo, c-can you hear me?!” Shaking with the cold now as well as the aftershock, Raph had to grab at the edge of Leo’s shell just to steady himself enough that his other hand could paw around for a pulse. Blistered scales shed from his throat under Raph’s panicked, probing fingers. “C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, bro, where are ya? N-Not like this, it ain’t gonna happen like this, I-I swear to—I swear—Leo?”

Oh, shell. He lunged for his wrist, then his neck again.

“No. Hey, no. Don’t, y-you’re—you’re not doin’ this to me. Where are you?!” Wrist. Neck. Clammy, flaking stillness. Nothingness. Oh, holy—“Leo!”

How long already? How long had Leo been trapped with the current running through him? How long had he been lying face down in the frigid water? How long since his heart stopped? Precious seconds were racing by, out of control; Raph was terrifyingly aware of them ticking relentlessly out of his grasp while Leo’s ticker wasn’t. He should be counting the seconds. Don would be counting already, Don would be doing compressions—

(Don would have calculated the trajectory! Donnie never would have let this happen!)

One, two, three, four—“C-C’mon, not like this, Leo. Not you! Y-You’re goin’ out with honor, not like this!” Not face down dead in the water, not because of me! Six, seven, eight, nine. “You don’t get to—Don’t you dare!” He was wasting his breath on pleas and curses, breaths he could be giving to his brother as he bore down on his chest. Focus! Ten, eleven, twelve.

How long? Was it already too—

No. No matter what proud, detached, independent impression Leo was under as leader, Raph’s role didn’t start or end with just Don and Mikey. He would brute force a different route for him too, no matter what it took. The escape Leo’s body tried for was strictly off limits.

Eighteen, nineteen, twenty. Get back here, you stubborn—

A rib, maybe two buckled under Raph’s bulk.

Sorry, I’m sorry! Twenty-two, twenty-three—Why don’t you just wake up and breathe already before I keep makin’ it worse? Will I ever stop hurtin’ you?! Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight—Can’t stop, won’t stop. Thirty. Breathe!

He poured every unspoken regret and apology into the span of two breaths and it still wasn’t enough.

Can’t stop, won’t stop. Not givin’ up on you so don’t you dare give up on me! One, two, three, four…

After another round a medic might tell him to call it, tell him it was futile by now, but that’s why Raph was the tank. Staunch, unswerving, relentless, even as his lungs hitched viciously in the emptiness.

Can’t stop.

Even as the spots prickled hotly to blot out most of his vision. They might have been tears.

We’ll be right behind you, Leo had said. Raph was not about to make a liar out of him, not out of a promise to their brothers. Don would never forgive himself for trusting it. Mikey hadn’t even been awake to hear. If those were his last words…

At that thought Raph lost count, his next gasp strangled by a raw sob.

No. Can’t, won’t, can’t, can’t, please—

Leo’s gasp was much uglier when garbled through upcoming water but Raph would swear up and down it was one of the most blessed sounds he’d ever heard.

“Leo?!” Prying the swords free of Leo’s singed, rigid fingers, barely noting the blood on one edge, Raph swept them safely out of the way and rolled him onto his side. A rambling sequence of “There you are”, “Thank you, thank you” and “You’re okay, you’re gonna be okay, brother, just breathe, there we go, that’s it, shh-shh-shhh” streamed out of him, desperately relieved, probably going entirely unheard as Leo violently retched.

The wet heaving seemed to last a whole new eternity before swinging low into a wheeze, then high into a thin, reedy, warbling wail of distress so unlike Leo that Raph was dangerously close to throwing up himself.

“I know, bud, shhh, I know…” He didn’t know. He didn’t want to know. All he knew for sure was that he had to make it stop, he had to fix it.

Work with whatever you got.

Raph would never scorn Donnie’s choice of weapon again; in another more merciful world he might have even thanked the Foot scout for gifting him one in this time of need. Snagging the bō staff on the strap of the nearby duffel, Raph hauled it over, praying to Donnie himself, Master Splinter, Master Yoshi, anyone who would listen that the bag of tricks would have something actually useful, something that wouldn’t kill Leo again in Raph’s well-intentioned, dirty, stupid, careless, damaging, dangerous hands.

A rebreather, stowed in case of any exploratory ventures into the sewer tunnels known for flood risks. This was already a moment of weakness; it shouldn’t have been a surprise when the tears resurged at the miraculous sight of it.

“This’ll help, Leo, okay? I g—Donnie’s gotcha covered. Here we go. Big breaths into the mask, follow me. In…and out. You’re okay. Y-You’re still here. You’re safe.” Leaning an aching head and a shaking hand into Leo’s shell, Raph couldn’t help but repeat it on his spent exhale, just to impress the reality of it upon everyone here. “Safe.”

Here. Help. Safe.

He couldn’t even remember the last time he had chirped, period, much less to soothe any of his brothers, much less Leo, but more primal methods of communication seemed to seep through the cracks of semiconsciousness better than words. Honestly that suited Raph just fine right now. There were no right words to put toward what had just happened.

(Guilt could work. Loathing. Fault. So sorry. What if—)

Safe, safe, safe. He had to convince himself just as much as his brother. Leo’s wheezing only eased a fraction under his mask but at least the trills of terror were much fewer and farther between as Raph braced him, churring low, rusty, meaningless comfort noises.

Mikey might have had the right idea with that early checkout from the happenings of today. It would be easy to follow his lead and give in to exhaustion right here, curled into Leo’s back for support, but the voice of the guardian angel Donatello scratched at the better part of Raph’s brain. They weren’t out of the woods yet, nowhere near. He could feel it. They both had electrical burns riddling their exposed skin and though Raph’s frantic dive and Leo’s all-too-long soak may have done some good in numbing the pain, they were also left chilled to the coldblooded core.

Precious seconds were still passing, Leo’s heartbeat with them this time. Their brothers were waiting for them. The sooner they got moving, the sooner they could put this near miss behind them like all the ones that had come before.

(It wasn’t like all the others. This was all Raph’s doing. That knowledge was haunting, just as relentless as he was.)

Break about it later. Push through, pull yourself together, do what you have to. Deep breaths.

Upon inhaling to steel himself, Raph finally registered the cloying metallic tinge in the air, somewhere beyond the sour of Leo’s prior bile. Where had that come from? Oh, right, the blood clinging to one of the nearby katana. The Foot soldiers’ blood, perhaps, he wondered as he cast an assessing glance around, or possibly—oh. Just a singular foot. His own foot, to be precise, as well as four or five inches of his calf. His leg must have grazed the blade while paddling Leo to safety. Great. That was just the extra cherry on top, still oozing maraschino juice.

Shimmying his kneepad further down his leg, he cinched it as tightly as he dared over the gouge and pushed it back out of his mind. He would deal with that further once he actually started feeling it. Later, along with Leo’s inevitable irritation that Raph didn’t bother to clean the dirtied blade before pushing it back into the sheath with its twin. They both had more important things to worry about now.

“S-Sorry ’bout this, bro. Just try to keep breathin’. Slow and steady,” Raph murmured, taking care for the ribs he had cracked as he lifted Leo little by little over his shoulders. It jarred a hoarse cough out of him but nothing more.

It was probably a blessing that Leo was mostly unconscious for the ordeal that was finagling through the hole in the wall. He was heavier and slipperier to keep ahold of when waterlogged and Raph’s movements were clumsy with the cold; they bumped and caught and scraped unpleasantly more than once before eventually tumbling to the other side. Raph thudded to the ground first, knocking the wind out of him as he pillowed his brother’s fall, and he couldn’t help but wish Don had packed more than one rebreather. He probably could have checked more thoroughly if he had the time or energy but the duffel was serving a more important purpose as a counterweight on one arm so Leo wouldn’t tip him over.

Bag, belongings, bō staff turned walking stick, brother…All the essentials for an easy breezy hike home, except Mikey’s presence to quip as much. Raph really must be out of it if he was already missing some of that inane chatter but it wasn’t coming anytime soon. If the shock hadn’t fried their communications from the start, the dip in the water would have. Present company was their only company.

(Raph should have broken typical protocol and taken Mikey. Leo would have been so much safer in Don’s hands.)

Shut that up. Stuff it down. Walk it off.

He had no idea how many minutes he’d been stumbling along, lost in thought, before registering the weak, crackly chirps muffled between the mask and Raph’s shoulder.

…Moving? Leo slurred. Where? Why? Hurts.

That was the most tangible, coherent string of sounds so far. Raph hadn’t really earned the amount of relief he felt but he would take it, pulling against the duffel’s weight to give Leo’s nearest arm a brief, reassuring squeeze.

“I know it hurts but I’m gettin’ you outta here. We’re goin’ home.”

Okay? Safe?

“Yeah. You’re gonna be okay.”

…Okay? Safe?

“I don’t think Donnie’ll let ya not be, once he gets his hands on you. Not to mention Master Splinter; he’ll be pullin’ his hair out tryin’ to keep you on bedrest. On the bright side, Mikey won’t let you be bored. He’ll spoil you rotten to make it easier for you to stay put.”

Leo didn’t seem to absorb what he was saying; that or he opted to ignore it for some reason. His dangling fingers jittered, drumming without rhythm into Raph’s plastron with increasing urgency but unable to fully grasp at him. Okay? he repeated, faint but pleading. Okay? Okay?

As soon as his real question clicked, the world swerved around him. Raph had to fight back a roiling shudder of nausea, as well as a storm of wildly incredulous retorts: “Are you serious right now? Really? I can’t believe you. You’re such an idiot. Just shut up, save your breath.”

It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. The guy who got shocked senseless, left to drown, as good as dead, ribs cracked, lugged along like a sack of potatoes while delirious on oxygen deprivation…There was no reasonable world in which that guy was supposed to be worried about him.

And yet.

“Yeah. M’okay, Fearless,” he muttered, raspy, toneless and just…so very numb and sick and tired of everything all of a sudden. “M’just fine.” He couldn’t afford not to be.

Leo’s chirping quieted but his fingertips still needled at him, as if not entirely pacified—or maybe that was nerve damage flaring up.

These tunnels were unfamiliar; Raph hadn’t paid much attention to the timing or direction of their initial route over, too antsy for the fight ahead. To think he’d actually been looking forward to it, like it would be any other workout.

Don had left no trace of his escape, like a good ninja. (So much more mindful, so much more careful, even in haste, even—no, especially with a brother’s safety on his shoulders. If only—) Nothing for the Foot to follow but it wasn’t exactly helping the friendlies now either. Raph felt like his legs had taken up a mind of their own, wandering aimlessly just to keep the blood flowing. It must be effective, given how his bad leg just kept bunching and throbbing, the sensation consistent yet distant.

At least it didn’t ache as much as the endless shivering. He couldn’t make it stop. That was a good thing when fighting the potential of hypothermia, wasn’t it? Something about creating friction? Leo probably didn’t appreciate the jostling, though. His breaths faltered with Raph’s unsure footing every time, until at last…

“…M-Mask.”

It took Raph a double take to perk up and process something that wasn’t base language, especially when Leo sounded like he’d swallowed a scoopful of coal. “What?”

In his peripheral vision Leo’s legs started pedaling as if he were an overturned bug. “Mask,” he choked out again. “G-Get it—Think m’gonna—”

Raph wished he could say it was a quick and seamless crouch on his part to lower Leo onto the ground but it was more like his legs gave out to let Leo roll off of him, yanking the rebreather off just as a bonus round of gagging started. The amount of water that came up wasn’t zero but it was a lot less than the first time. It must have only lasted a minute or so before Leo collected himself enough for hazy eyes to find Raph’s.

“…Raph? We were…The Foot. The fight. What…What happened?” he croaked, fully conscious at last and looking utterly miserable for it.

Nothin’ much. I just killed you earlier with one dumb move and then brought you back to suffer the consequences. No big deal.

Rather than cracking open that horrifying can of worms, Raph fumbled the rebreather from Leo’s hand for a quick turn, selfish and stalling. Now that they were on the ground, his body was in no hurry to get back up.

“Don and Mikey got away jus’ fine,” he mumbled. Good news first to ease him in. “And then we got tased, sorta. You got the worst of it with the water leak—well, you and the shell cells. Extra crispy. Your ribs’re busted, it’s freezin’ in here and to be honest I have no idea where ‘here’ is.”

“…Okay.”

Habits being what they were and Leo being, well, Leo, Raph had half expected him to draw from the near bottomless well of innate calm and determination that only he seemed to have, shake off the damage somehow and assemble the framework of a plan as soon as he had all the facts of the situation. If he had, Raph might have been able to convince himself it wasn’t so bad. Instead they sat. After another few moments Raph pushed the rebreather back at him without really looking up. Leo accepted it without any protest, breathing a little deeper now but still unsteady as his teeth started to chatter.

“I t-told Donnie we’d…be along right after him, didn’t I? You think if he’s got Mikey stabilized and it’s b-been too long, he’d…double back for us? Come looking?”

Yet another reason Raph wasn’t the leader. If he had thought of that, he would have hesitated to stray so far from where Don had last left them. Idiot. Racking up a whole rap sheet of terrible decisions today, aren’tcha? Can’t stop, won’t stop. You got him into this mess and now you’re actively preventing the competent ones from gettin’ him out of it. Relentless, alright. One mistake after another, ya sack of stupid scum. What’re you gonna do to fix it? How’re you gonna screw it up again?

Sit there uselessly and take whatever barbs his own mind would throw at him, apparently. He didn’t have anything to deflect if it was true and at the end of the day…it was like that one movie. The only thing strong enough to penetrate the tank’s armor was itself.

That, and the utterly undeserved concern in Leo’s voice. “…Raph? Raph.” Stiff fingers probed at him again, this time on his arm, squeezing the same way Raph had squeezed his before. “…Hey. C-Can you look at me?”

Don’t you dare make him start feelin’ sorry for you. Don’t.

“Raphael?”

Aw, shell. Too late now, he’s full-naming.

When Raph obliged and glanced back at him with a bare attempt at a glare, Leo inexplicably softened further.

“…T-Thank you. For acting fast and getting us out of there to regroup. W-Who knows what could have happened if you hadn’t?”

The question had never felt like such a slap to the face, made even worse by Leo’s real hand moving with such tired kindness, shuffling as best it could up and down across Raph’s forearm as if to coax warmth back into it. It burned.

And now you’re even more upset that he’s tryin’ to be here for you? Make up your mind! Would you rather he wasn’t? Would you rather he was back there in the water?

He recoiled instantly from that thought, as well as Leo’s touch. Leo only had a split second to look startled and hurt before Raph checked himself, choked back the self-loathing, recovered the distance and pulled his brother into a hug.

“M’sorry. I’m sorry.”

“F-For what?”

“Hurtin’ you.” Continuing to hurt him even now, as his arms put pressure on Leo’s injuries and a new strain on both of their breathing, but he didn’t struggle. He relaxed into it as much as the tremors would allow, actively nestled into it, even, and Raph selfishly, selfishly tightened his grip. “Doin’ everything wrong today. It was my fault, Leo; I was so stupid, I threw Don’s shock shuriken without thinkin’ first and it—you were just—” He shook his head helplessly, echoing Leo’s rhetoric. “Who knows what could’ve happened. I-I got a real clear idea.”

He could practically hear the “…Oh” that went off in Leo’s head, could feel it in the way he tensed, swallowed with great difficulty and then slumped nonsensically closer to him.

“…Thank you,” he whispered again, tremulous but all the more sincere.

Just when Raph thought his blood couldn’t run any colder. “Wh—What? What d’you mean, ‘thank you’? How can you say that?!”

“Hh…How can you say you did everything wrong when I’m still here t-thanks to you? What could’ve…would’ve happened…y-you made sure it didn’t.”

“I’m the reason it happened in the first place!”

“It was an accident.”

Raph’s head spun, his heart hammering a lump into his traitorous throat; it was the only reason he couldn’t form another protest before Leo continued.

“When my…my plan would’ve g-gotten you all killed on The Shredder’s ship…none of you blamed me. But I s-still blamed myself and it just…poisoned me.” The mask fogged up as he let out a shuddery huff, barely approximate to a laugh. “Now I know how it feels on the other side. Raph, you and I…we really are t-two sides of the same coin. So…learn my lesson. We all make mistakes. You were doing the best you could. Okay?”

Every word was becoming fainter than the last, not only because of the drain so much talk had on Leo’s air and energy but because Raph was now abruptly, acutely aware that his head wouldn’t stop swimming. Pounding. His leg pounded with it. When he dragged bleary eyes over to check on it, he couldn’t say he was surprised to see his kneepad (calf pad?) nearly soaked through, thin rivulets of red seeping free.

Leo must have felt him shift, as he hummed questioningly and followed his gaze, only to go rigid once more. “Wait, what happened to…A-Are you hurt?”

Had he forgotten to mention that earlier? To be fair he was a little more preoccupied with his brother’s condition than his own at the time and—huh. The irony could almost make it funny. Almost.

“Raph…?”

Leo was right about one thing, he mused absently. They really were too much alike.

“Raph, when did that happen? Why didn’t you…Wait, no, no, h-hey! …’ve lasted this long…can’t pass out on me now…!”

Can’t stop. Blinding, spiraling white lights loomed, eating away at the rest of the world.

“…need you…strong till…no!…Don! Donnie…!”

__________

When Raph clawed his way back toward consciousness again, it didn’t ring like it had the first time. The heaviness of his eyelids was much more comfortable now; nothing felt like it was on fire. That had to be a good sign.

Someone else must have thought so too, as he felt a flurry of movement in the air above him and caught a snippet somewhere along the lines of “…think he’s coming around! Raphie? Are you in there?”

He only knew one turtle whose hope could be so audibly tangible in so few words. He wasn’t about to disappoint him.

“…Mhmm. Think m’ already wishin’ I stayed in there,” he grumbled, not meaning a word of it, not when he’d get to see Mikey light up at his return.

His little brother was well aware of that. The pity laugh he offered at Raph’s characteristic response was full of warmth and relief and release, like shaken pressure bubbling free from a bottle. “And miss out on my pretty face? You’d never!”

Sure enough he was hovering right overhead, beaming away despite the gauze pad secured to his temple. Raph’s brow furrowed at the sight of it, recalling the moment that the first domino fell to start this mess, but Mikey was just as quick to notice him noticing and brush it off.

“Oh, this? This is barely a booboo. You should see the other guy—the other guy being you, obviously, ’cause you look like shell, bro.”

“…Still. Probably better than I was.”

“Much better,” Donnie concurred. Under his current medications Raph merely twitched in lieu of a jump; he hadn’t even noticed him sitting on his other side. “I found you and Leo right as you passed out. Something had nicked your posterior tibial artery.”

“Yeah, I…might’ve had a little run-in with a katana.”

Don and Mikey shared a sharp look at that, with Mikey starting, “Oh, was that why Master Splinter—?” before something else in Don’s face warned him against finishing.

Raph had a feeling he wouldn’t get anywhere inquiring after that either. Table it for now. “How did you know where to find us?” he asked instead.

“Well, at first I was piggybacking off a ping from a Foot scout weapon—a tracker stored in the body of the bō staff that other scouts could trace to find out where they would rendezvous. I figured it was one of them on the hunt and if I could follow, they would lead me right to you. But once I got close enough, I could just…well. Follow your blood trail.”

“Oh.” How long had it taken him, wondering what sort of grisly picture he would find at the end of that road? Raph swallowed. “Sorry for…y’know, wanderin’ off.”

“No, I’m glad you did. If you hadn’t kept moving, the other Foot scouts would have pinpointed the position right away and found you much sooner than I could have. As it was, they got there a few minutes after me and I was more than ready for some payback.”

Mikey squirmed a little. Raph’s expression must have given something middling between skeptical and taken aback at the concept.

“It’s been a bad day for all of us, Raph.” Don’s smile was a wry, twisted thing that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “But on the bright side, I got to dual wield.”

“Annnd you and Leo are safe now! That’s what’s most important!” Mikey concluded, his chipper tone allowing no room for argument. “You’ll be back on your feet in…however long it takes for Dr. Donnie and the, uh, postal Tibetan artery to come to a compromise!”

It really was a bad day if the pseudo-medic didn’t bother to correct him but Raph knew as much already. “Speaking of Leo…”

“Stable.” And hard-won stability at that, judging by how firmly Don said it. “He’s still asleep.” There was a second cot set up on the other wall of the lab, a purposeful distance so they could talk with one patient at a level volume without disturbing the other.

The good intentions didn’t make it any more comforting…He looked too still. Raph’s leg jerked under the blankets at an abortive urge to get up and check more closely.

“Aw, you miss him already, don’t you?” Mikey read him like a book, though the teasing lilt was gentle enough that it didn’t call for a legitimate glare. “We can make it a cozy little sleepover for ’em, can’t we, Donnie? As long as Raph doesn’t snore in his usual key of Chainsaw Major?”

“I don’t—ugh, forget you. Last thing I remember, Leo was freakin’ out over me and my leg. I don’t want him fallin’ outta bed in some big hurry to get over here and brother-hen me. That’s all,” Raph grumped.

Don couldn’t argue with the validity of that concern. Mikey was more than eager to serve as support for Raph as he slipped gingerly to the floor on one foot, allowing Donnie to scoot his bed over next to Leo’s. As they stood waiting, Mikey’s smile gradually waned and the palm he rested on Raph’s shell was slightly sweaty.

“Hey, Raph?” His voice was small. “This’ll be the last sleepover you and Leo are gonna have in here for…like, a while, right? As in a long, long, long, long time?”

Raph couldn’t meet his eyes, couldn’t make any promises, but he leaned further into his arm. “That’s what I’m hopin’.”

“Okay. Yeah. All of us are on the same page there, that’s good.”

Settling back under the blankets on this side of the room was good too. All three brothers were in his line of sight: Don at the sink, cleaning up remnants of the aftermath, Mikey occupying himself by poking through the gadgets and gizmos on the desk, and Leo at his side—bandaged, cared for, face up on dry land.

Raph watched until he could be sure it would sink in, that he could still make them out in his mind after he closed his eyes and waited for sleep to reclaim him.

Until then, he would just listen to Leo breathe.