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chicchanmooshy · 2 years ago

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TMNT All 4-1, May

I finally had some ideas to write about, and made it fit with this month challenge.

Enjoy, but read at your own risk!

TW: 18+, explicite, contains bodily fluids

tags: @turtle-babe83 @thelaundrybitch @leosgirl82 @tmnt-tychou

They had been watching tv, some show about the most dirtiest jobs in the world. While many professions disgusted her with their work, she also wanted to know if her men had to do something like that.

“Have you guys ever done any gross stuff?”

“Do you ask because we live in a sewer?” asked Raphael.

“Er.. no, that’s got nothing to do with my question. I was just wondering after that tv show. And.. all boys do nasty stuff somewhere in their life.. so I thought.. what kind of stuff did you do?”

The boys looked at each other, all having memories flashing on their eyes. “Wow, where to begin, babe. Do you want the ugly, bad or really nasty stuff?”

“The ones you’re comfortable telling me.”

“Ooh, I know something I did once, both funny and nasty”, said Mickey.

“I’m sure I can handle it, Mickey. Let me hear it!”

“Er.. careful Mickey”, warned Leo. “Don’t scare her off..”

“Don’t worry Leo, our girl can take this, I’m sure of it. And I know for a fact that you haven’t explored her dark sense of humor yet.”

Ishtar giggled.

“Sorry Sensei.. anyway… too boring…”

From the other end of the lair they could hear Master Splinter call, “Michaelangelo, LANGUAGE!”

“You’re always complaining it’s boring, why do you keep repeating yourself?”

“So, many years ago we were on patrol and it was boring as FUCK..”

“Eeh, this is my story, don’t interrupt me! But since you asked, when I’m bored, the best ideas form in my head. It’s a vital part of my story.

So, at that time I had nothing to do, only keeping a lookout, usual patrol stuff and pestering small time crooks… We sometimes drop little blobs of birdshit on them, to make them leave that area.”

“Oh gross! But, wait… birds don’t fly at night..”

“Yeah, we know, but those dumbasses still don’t know that. Most of the time they leave, but not this time. So I came up with a better idea.”

“What did you do?” Ishtar was now sitting on the edge of the couch, being pulled in in Mickey’s story.

“Well, during those long hours of waiting, I sometimes go look through rubble…” seeing Leonardo raising an eyeridge, Mickey quickly added, “don’t give me that look Leo. It was always on the rooftop and I never left my post. Anyway, a few hours earlier to that moment, I had found a sieve. And.. yeah.. I really needed to go… to the little boys room. So, instead of that I grabbed the sieve, walked to the roof edge, pulled my shorts down.. and with a beautiful sieve motion I let it rain down on them..”

“More than once, but I’ll tell ya about one, this time.”

She directed the question to Raphael. “Did you do something nasty once?”

“Also during patrol and keeping a lookout. During winter, it was so cold. Freezing, raining and windy. My hands were so numb I couldn’t use our com anymore. I hadn’t something to report, but, you know, when you do have to use the com, it needs to be done immediately.

Ishtar looked at him, blinking her eyes, thinking how he could possibly come up with those ideas? And why? Maybe better to not ask. And why does the song ‘Why does it always rain on me?’ sounding in her head.

So, I did the only thing I could think of. I got a bucket out of the rubble, filled it up with my.. “ he looked sideways at Ishtar and winked, “.. my bodily fluids, quickly tucked myself in again and warmed my hands in the bucket.

My hands were so cold it hurt at first, but soon after they tingled and started to warm up..”

“And how did you get rid of the smell?”

“Aah, but have you been paying attention to the details, Ishtar?” asked Leonardo from behind the couch. “Raph said it was raining, so.. there is your answer.”

“Right.. didn’t think of that… And have you done something like that, Leo?”

“Like what?” Leo asked with a straight face.

“Have you done anything gross or nasty stuff in your life?”

“Again, be more specific, Ishtar. I’ve done many things I’m not proud of and some things were quite nasty. So…” he asked expectantly.

“Well, Michelangelo and Raphael have been telling me a story with some bodily fluids in them..”

“You mean urine?”

“Er… yea… that.”

“Okay, if that’s what you want to hear..”

“We once had a truth or dare game, I chose a dare. Raph dared me to walk around the house and do my daily activities while both my hands and arms were tied. I thought it was a nice challenge and was curious how long I could last. Two days later Raph grew impatient and added something more. Although he interfered with the original assignment, I always like the challenge.”

“What extra assignment did Raph add?”

“He wanted to see if I could get drunk. Mickey and Donnie joined in as well. And then, hours later, my bladder was full. And no, before then it wasn’t much of a problem. But now, a little more. Because, Mickey and Raph had too much to drink and were lying around the toilet for hours, constantly puking. They were sleeping now around the thing.”

“So, your challenge was to get your… member out?” asked Ishtar gently.

“No, I have my way for that. The challenge was to pee in the bowl, without spraying any urine on my brothers by accident. And of course to get close enough to the bowl.”

“Did you succeed..?”

“Almost”, he grinned. “The first drops might have landed on Mickey’s mask. The rest I thought went to the right place, until Raph shifted abruptly and made me lose balance. Let’s say.. Raph needed to wash his clothes after that.. He was so mad he ended the dare there and then.”

“What about you Donnie?” Ishtar asked while eating a poptart.

“I took a dare in that game as well. They… dared me to… cum on my favorite food and eat the whole thing..”

“You did what, now?”

“You heard. What are you gonna do about it?”

“Well, you know what they say.. you are what you eat..” and she took another bite out of a poptart while looking daringly at him…

#tmnt bayverse #tmnt adults #oc #TMNT All 4-1 Challenge

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kudosmyhero · 6 months ago

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (vol. 1) #25:River Hymn

Read Date: June 30, 2023 Cover Date: September 1989 ● Writer: Rick Veitch ● Pencils: Rick Veitch ● Inks: Rick Veitch ● Letterer: Steve Lavigne ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● new writer/artist. c’mon, Rick, don’t let me down… ● the art is great. story not bad. ok, Rick, I see you

● shotguns loaded with rocksalt decades before the Winchesters did it! ● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: The Turtles goes of to find the leech and return Raphael to his former self.

Splinter meditates on the shore of the river. The Sensei reaches out to his pupils; not with his mind, but with his heart, as the heart is the link to the infinite. The Master attempts to see the future, but all he finds are faces from the deep past…

Three inner city boys are set to go fishing in the polluted river. As one wonders if it's safe, his companion states, "As long as Officer Mannigan don't catch us it's cool!"

As the boys explore the dank river bed, they discover some ancient Native American carvings of odd faces. One boy frightens another with ghost stories, and says that the authorities are always finding new pictograms in this area. Sure enough, they find a new carving of a turtle. Just then the children hear the put-put-put of an outboard motor and see the game warden approaching in his boat. They take cover and the lawman passes. As the boys breathe a sigh of relief, the warden rises from behind them. Of course, this is no ordinary fish and game officer, but the hideous mutant monster, Bloodsucker! The creature grabs one of the boys and carries him off. Another lad grabs his fishing rod and casts, tripping up the monster and freeing his friend. The kids flee in terror, but are quickly set upon by the beast once again. As Bloodsucker laughs and announces his plans to drain them of their vital fluids, several shurikens pound into his flesh. The creature turns to see Leo, Don, and Mike, who announce their intention to take Bloodsucker back to Northampton… one way or another.

Bloodsucker tears a tree from the ground and tosses it onto the Turtles, pinning them underwater. The boys run away as the mutant parasite gloats about how it will devour each Turtle in turn and become ever more powerful.

Master Splinter still sits in meditation… he has sensed the Turtles peril and seeks out help. He arrives again at faces from the past, but they merge into the present… to a hand carving images into rock face.

Casey and April are racing down the streets. April is upset with Jones' reckless driving, but Casey assures her that he knows how to handle the local "small town cops" and brags about the hot new gear shifter that he and Raph installed. April isn't impressed and she points out that their goal is to save Raphael, who has gotten quite small and now fits comfortably on her lap. Jones announces that they'll find the slimy bug, as he speeds by a police car. The officer hits his siren and pulls out to pursue the speeding Chevy. Casey grins and prepares to shift the car into overdrive, but the gear shifter breaks off in his hand. We next see Casey pulled over, a pistol pointed at his head through the window, held by a very angry Officer Mannigan. The cop pulls Jones out of the vehicle and cuffs him after finding Casey's "Jason"-styled hockey mask. As Casey demands to know why he's being arrested, the three fishing boys arrive.

The boys tell the policeman about the monster and three giant, weapon-toting turtles, but Mannigan is dubious. April and Casey decide that they have to take action. Thinking quickly, Casey runs away and jumps off a bridge, into the water below. Jones hits hard and loses consciousness below its surface, as Mannigan pulls April from the car. The cop asks the boys if Casey has come up yet, and the children announce that he hasn't. Mannigan couldn't care less and he orders the boys to get into his squad car, so he can check out their monster story. As the police car speeds away, the squealing tires propel Raphael off of the bridge and onto the rocks below. Fortunately, Raph's shell protects him from the fall and he emerges from it mewing. As Raph spots the ancient face carvings, a figure emerges from the water carrying Casey's limp body. The man picks up Raphael, musing to himself, and then heads upriver, where he intends to speak with the "old man", who apparently knows everything.

Splinter senses that his sons have escaped their peril, and he hears a call…

Mannigan has locked up April and the boys and is calling his boss, Booder, to tell him the lads' story. Booder is not happy about the news and orders the cop to keep the boys under lock and key and to meet him pronto, with his scattergun in hand. As Officer Mannigan prepares to leave, the boys yell at him that he can't leave them alone, as it's illegal. The policeman doesn't care, as Booder's uncle is the local judge. The cop gets into his squad car and leaves his prisoners to their own devices. As April bemoans the behavior of men, one of the boys uses his fishing rod to snag the cell keys.

Casey awakens in a cavern, filled with ancient carvings. As he rises, he's met by Leo, Don, Mike, and Raph (who's being held in Leo's hand). The TMNT introduce Jones to Abanak, the last surviving member of the Algonquin Nation. We learn that it was Abanak who pulled all of our heroes to safety, and then the man tells his story.

400 years ago, this area was the home of his people, and the caves they're in now were holy land. All was well and good, until Colonel Booder showed up. Booder brought an army when he arrived, and he killed the Algonquin leaders and lead the people astray. The Colonel then opened factories on the river that polluted the land and water, growing rich and powerful as he destroyed all that the Algonquin people held sacred. Abanak is all that remains of his once prosperous nation, and he lives among the caverns as a "ghost", carving the effigies of his ancestors into the walls of the caves, who appear to him in his dreams. Abanak then states that he has had a dream that he will find his destiny with the help of warrior turtles.

Abanak leads everyone deeper into tunnels, explaining that while mostly everyone is ignorant of the land's bloody history, the living ancestor of Booder is not. After the government had passed environmental laws that would put the factories out of business, Booder had dug secret sewage pipes to deposit the poisonous waste into the hidden underground caves. The TMNT emerge into a huge cavern and see gigantic pipes pumping bilge into the water. Michaelangelo retches at the smell and Leonardo announces that this is the most disgusting cesspool that he's ever seen. Abanak states, "We used to call it the Well of Pure Souls."

Abanak says that his destiny awaits him up in Booder's "death factories." Leo suggests that Casey should utilize his plumbing skills and plug the septic system, thus causing the pollution to back up into the factories where it originates from. Then, Leonardo gives Raph to Jones to guard as the other four heroes ascend ladders attached to the pipes.

At the factory, Booder is yelling at Mannigan. Booder fears that the mutants the boys saw were created by his pollution, since he's deadly afraid that the E.P.A. will discover his secret dumping ground and ruin his business. The cop states that maybe all they saw was the Ghost, who Mannigan had shot with rock salt once. Booder states that he has also seen the Ghost, and that his family has been haunted for seven generations. The crooked businessman then declares that it's time to put an end to the Ghost. Mannigan loads his shotgun and the two set off to find the apparition that troubles them.

As the two men arrive at the main shaft, Booder's armed guard inform him that they've heard voices from below… someone is climbing up! Booder orders them to shoot to kill and takes the shotgun from Mannigan, who tries to tell his boss that it's only loaded with rock salt, but Booder is too crazed to listen.

As Abanak and the Turtles climb, the Native American thinks he hears voices from above. He and Leo move ahead to investigate. As they climb, Leonardo asks Abanak what his people would do if they were given the land back, and the man states that they would clean it up so that all could share in its bounty, as they never considered it to be just "their" land. The river and the land are not things that any man can possess, as they belong to everyone.

As Abanak finishes his statement, he is greeted by an enraged Booder, who fires the shotgun into the Native American's face. Abanak falls and Leonardo calls out to his brothers to catch him. Booder's men then open fire with automatic weapons as Booder announces a ten thousand dollar reward for "each one you bag".

Abanak is hurt, but since the gun was loaded with rock salt, his wounds aren't mortal. Gunfire rains down on the Turtles from above, though, and it is life threatening. Casey yells that he's stopped up the pipe and the waste should back up soon. Leonardo wonders what Raph would do in this situation, and determines that he would simply attack - so the Turtles do just that. The Ninja cover their approach with shurikens and make it to the top, where they whip Booder's henchmen. Booder and Mannigan attempt to flee, but the crooked businessman won't let the cop escape the fight, and he pushes him into the fray. Just then, a torrent of waste erupts out from the pipe and hits Booder square in the chest, before carrying him towards the edge of the main shaft. As the criminal falls, he is caught… by Abanak! The Algonquin pulls Booder to safety, stating that even he doesn't deserve to die in such a manner. Booder is shocked to find that the "Ghost" is an "Indian", and asks what Abanak expects him to do now that he's saved his life. "I should give you back your land, s-shouldn't I?", queries the crook.

"Let's start with a couple of acers!" growls Booder, as he knees Abanak in the groin. "Sucker!"

Booder then escapes to a waiting car, where he flees from the factory… only to find Bloodsucker waiting in the backseat to devour him shortly thereafter.

While the factory floods with toxins, the Turtles help Casey carry Abanak to safety. As they head outside, April shows up in Casey's car. Jones is astonished that the vehicle is running, and April proudly displays the gear shift that she's fixed. Everyone piles into the car and they zoom off.

Later we see the three fishing boys as they watch the E.P.A. arriving to clean up the wasted factories. As the boys lament their parents' stupidity for letting things get so bad, they spot the '57 Chevy. April pulls up and the Turtles thank the kids for helping Ms. O'Neil escape. Abanak then hands the boys his hammer and chisel, telling them that his work is done, and asking them to take his place. The boys humbly agree to try.

April then speeds off down the highway as everyone worries about how they'll find Bloodsucker. As April steers the car towards Northampton, Bloodsucker pulls up behind them in Booder's car.

Splinter still meditates - his vision follows the river, all the way to its source, in the wilds of northern Vermont. There he finds a figure, bent with age, shining with a focus all its own, returning the Master's gaze spark for spark…

(https://turtlepedia.fandom.com/wiki/River_Hymn)

Fan Art: Many faces of April O'Neil by EsuNeh

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #comics #comic books #fan art #fanart

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downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles · 4 years ago

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May I request something where Leonardo and reader are really good friends and reader gets kidnapped and turned into a mutant. Leo blames himself, but reader reassures him it’s not his fault and they end up kissing. 💙💙

I'm To Blame [Leo x Mutated!reader]

Being turned into a mutant becomes the least of your problems when your closest friend believes it to be his fault. No one could have predicted what was going to happen; no one can control everything in their life. If only Leonardo would have realized that.

It started as leverage-abduction. The Turtles confront them, or you be pumped full of mutagen. Or worse.

The bait had been set, and the boys had no choice but to take it. Hook, line, sinker. You were held in a Foot-controlled lab, bound next to a glass canister of the ooze, a line in your arm and only the clan scientist in control of the drip standing between you and a possibly grotesque fate. You struggled and squirmed, but it was no use; there was no escape on your own.

There was a crash outside the lab doors, men shouting, guns firing, but bursting through the doors were your four saviors. Your friends, allies, and family. Leo fought his way to the front, a new kind of urgency consuming him as the gravity of the situation hit him. Any closer, and you would be mutated.

"Halt!" a soldier shouted over the clamor, a team of heavily armed men forming a semicircle around you and the scientist.

A hand grabbed hold of the back of your neck, yanking you toward him. He forcefully stretched your arm out and displayed the tube, making a note of their predicament, and the boys grimaced. Raph growled that deep, rage-fuelled rumble, while Donnie felt a shudder run up his spine seeing the canister of mutagen. What DNA the concoction was infused with, they had no idea of. There could have been anything in there. If the dosage wasn't carefully monitored, she could be killed!

"Weapons down, turtles, or this girl will be transformed right in front of you," the scientist said coolly. Leo stepped forward, blade drawn and teeth bared, but a warning shot was fired into the wall next to them. Mikey yelped and ducked into Raph, who blocked him partially with his huge frame. The scientist leaned down and inspected the canister, humming, "It seems like this batch is highly unstable. Is this a game you want to play, mutants?"

"You're bluffin'," snarled Raph, and his hands gripped his sais impossibly tighter.

The scientist raised his brows, his free hand wandering to the activator to the mutagen. One tap of a button, and your humanity would be ripped away. "Perhaps. But can you really be sure?" he inquired almost casually. "Only one flex of my finger, and we'll see."

Clenching his jaw, Raph shifted, lowering his weapons a little.

Leo mentally gauged the man power that was currently present. They could take them, he knew they could!

But Leo couldn't trifle with the canister currently attached to you. Breathing heavily, he dropped his swords, which clanged loudly on the floor. His eyes met yours, solemn, and you broke into a violent fit.

"Leo!" you cried out, lunging forward as he told his brothers to stand down. "Don't do this! Please, please, get out of here!"

He only shut his eyes, and with a wave of his hand, they all let go of their weapons in succession.

"We're not going to leave you!" Donnie yelled in return, his voice shaky.

There was a deafening silence in which it felt like a standoff, the boys panting, trying to formulate a battle plan in their heads. Leo stared at the scientist with one of the most hate-filled gazes you'd ever witnessed.

One of the soldiers in the back turned halfway around and whispered something into his earpiece.

The hefty metal doors right behind them flung open, a line of large men clad in black carrying what looked like modified cattle prods. The rods popped with electric currents as they closed in on the boys, who were only able to whirl around quick enough to meet the electrified weapons, and were instantly stunned. Currents no human could withstand brought them to their knees, Mikey shouting shrilly as he fell forward.

Groaning, Leo kneeled. He turned to the scientist at your side, his eyes darting between you and him. "You got us. Now let her go," he said. His voice was low and raspy.

Hand hovering over the button, the scientist spoke while he looked you in the eye, "You know, we were short of a healthy test subject."

Mikey gasped and planted his palms on the floor, "You can't do that, man!"

The scientist sighed and looked down at you, who was wildly struggling against your restraints. He muttered in a matter-of-fact tone, "But I can." It seemed that after a moment of contemplation, eyes going out of focus as they fell on your face and the tears running down it, he let out a reluctant groan, and motioned to one of the men behind him. "Take her elsewhere. We'll figure out what to do with her once we get these," he glanced back at the turtles, "squared away. Clear?"

"That wasn't the deal!" roared Leo, rapidly surging toward the scientist. Another electric shock was sent through him, but he kept on, and the brothers all followed suit.

You winced as the clamor rose and all hell broke loose, the boys ripping their weapons away from the men, guns being fired—your ears rang and a bullet even whizzed by your head.

Leo came at the scientist with his blade, the cowardly man trying to duck away in time. Two soldiers came up on their flank, one with a semi-automatic, and the other brandishing the electric rod. Except before they could get close to even shock him, Mikey's nunchucks landed a heavy blow on one of their heads, causing him to stumble toward you.

And fell right onto the button.

"No!" you heard both Donnie and Leo scream as the drip was activated, Mutagen flowing through the tube and into your body.

Everything became a blur. Within minutes you mutated, firstly writhing on the floor in agony as the burning liquid coarsest through you. Bones shifted, tissue changed, muscles spasmed. Your senses were temporarily blinded.

"Idiots!" snarled the scientist, backing away from you as you transformed. Raph was occupied holding off the soldiers. Mikey couldn't bear to watch. Donnie didn't know what to do, and Leo was...devastated.

Your strength grew. You broke free from your restraints. The firefight continued, this time aimed at you rather than just the Turtles. But the boys wouldn't let them hurt you. In your panic, you'd almost attacked them—your family. Leo hollered at Donnie and Mikey to get you out of there while they covered you, and seconds later, you were all barrelling out of the facility, alarms blaring, guns sounding, men shouting.

Yes, the Mutagen was highly unstable. You couldn't control yourself. And your body, it wasn't done reacting to the ooze.

You didn't know what happened next. You fell unconscious just after escaping. The last thing you can remember is Leo catching you in his arms. Him helping to carry you back home, to the lair. Your new home. You were one of them, now.

Breathing labored, you sat up on the metal table you had been laid on by Donnie. He'd checked your vitals already. Needless to say, so early in your mutation, things were not looking the best. But you would pull through; he was sure of it.

The first face you sas upon waking up was Leo's, worried. His eyes flitted all over you. You hadn't yet seen yourself.

"Y/N," he whispered, hands bracing against the edge of the table. "This...this is my fault," he said.

Donnie scuttled by holding a light and examined your eyes, then asked you to move a bit to see if there were any anomalies such as paralysis. You had some trouble adjusting to your new form, but so far, it wasn't dire.

Everyone came and went, hugging you, saying their piece about how happy they were that you were okay—as okay as you could have been—until Splinter noticed Leo's distress. He told the boys to let you two have a minute alone. Splinter left himself, as well.

The two of you now alone, Leo had a hard time speaking. He couldn't quite find the words to say how sorry he was.

"This isn't your fault," you drawled, still feeling a little loopy from the whole ordeal.

He leaned in, as you couldn't do much beside sit up. "If you hadn't ever gotten involved with us, this would have never happened," he said, lowering his head. "And now you're…"

He paused, and you finished for him, "I'm what? A mutant?" you asked softly. "Leo, I am so lucky to be alive. And it's all thanks to you." He sighed, not believing your words. "They would have killed me, Leo," you added, and took his hands in yours. He looked up at you, blue eyes meeting your own. Had your eye color changed?

"You didn't deserve this," he swallowed.

"Does anyone?"

He stood up. "This happened because I failed, y/n! As a leader, as a friend—"

Not caring about your current state, you slid off the table, landing on your feet with a thud. Your body ached, but you payed it no mind. Leo went rigid as you closed the gap between you two.

Still holding his hands, you told him slowly, "It is not your fault."

Your faces were only a few inches from each other. Unknowing, he gripped your hands. You swore that you could almost hear his heartbeat picking up as you leaned in, lips hovering over his. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but you stopped that thought. "You understand? Not...your...fault…"

His breath hitched when you gently pressed your mouth to his, at first going completely still. But then he closed his eyes, and his arms found their ways around your torso. The kiss was short and gentle, but he was stricken—only when you parted did he whisper a moment later, a new kind of hope inside, "You can live here, with us. You don't have to worry. You shouldn't ever have to worry, y/n."

"I won't worry, Leo," you muttered, letting your head rest on his chest. "Not when you're here with me."

He held you until eventually, everyone filed back in, Splinter smiling warmly at the sight.

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt leonardo x reader #tmnt leo x reader #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #tmnt x reader #tmnt bayverse #tmnt leonardo #tmnt leo

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remmushound · 4 years ago

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@brightlotusmoon Part 2 of the Bay/Rise crossover!!

The memory just kept replaying in Donatello’s mind. He tried dismissing it, but it would return and dominate his mind like a storm over the city. Running. Running, and April was in the lead— Splinter was pulling her along. Michelangelo in his shell. He did that when he got scared, it couldn’t help it. It was biological. Leonardo was there with him…

Donatello’s legs ached. His back ached, and his arms, and his stomach. Everything burned from the strain. He kept going.

Everyone was running. Everyone was ahead of him— he couldn’t keep up. He was falling behind and he was—falling! Tripping. Splinter looked back and cried out to his son, and then Leonardo looked back. But Leonardo couldn’t leave Michelangelo…

Donatello noticed the camera in his exhausted stupor. He disabled it just as quickly. His spider arms couldn’t take much more of this. He needed a break. He felt warm dripping down his arms. He kept going.

There was a weight on his back. A comforting weight that covered him like a mutant shield, hugging him from behind and securing a wall between him and the Shredder. Raphael…

Donatello felt one of his metal arms give way. It echoed painfully and the additional weight made him stop. He could feel those eyes staring at him...

Donatello told him to get off, but Raphael held those seconds steadfast. Raphael held him.

Now he held Raphael. Donatello forced himself to backtrack in his desperation for rest.

The shredder was upon them. Claws of titanium slicing through hard keratin like it was butter. The scream. The blood. The portal…

A sword made him stop a moment. A katana, pointed at him. A clear threat. He tried to call out, but found the words stopped at his throat. He tried to step out into the light…

The rift was unstable. Something was pulling them away from their desired destination. Donatello clinging to Raphael. Leonardo clinging to Michelangelo. Splinter clinging to April. Everyone trying to reach out for the others…

Instead, the light came to him in a blinding flash that made him unsteady on his feet.

Then falling. Freefalling through the sky. The hovers on his battle shell the only thing keeping him and Raphael from hitting the ground too hard.

Donatello had to say something, and he tried to make it something distinguished and peaceful. A plea for salvation. All his mind could think to say was,

“Help…”

*****

At first nobody moved. The shock was too great and the confusion strong between them. When someone did move it wasn’t at Leo’s command. Donnie moved forward on his own, grabbing one of the spiked monster’s massive arms and trying to yank him up.

“You gonna help me or what?” Donnie snapped, looking back at his brothers for help.

“Donnie, we don’t know what they are!” Leo finally broke the shock to argue.

“I know I’m not willing to let this one bleed out, so stop standing there trying to catch flies and help me!”

“Raph.” Leo shook his head and motioned for Raph to help, “Help Donnie! Mikey with me.”

Raph hurried forward and grabbed the massive mutants other side, heaving him up together and supporting the hundreds of pounds of muscle between them.

“Shit!” Donnie eyed the damage to the turtle’s carapace, “Looks like he went ten rounds with a semi!”

“He looks kinda like Raph!” Mikey said, voicing the thoughts that filled his brothers minds.

Leo, Raph, and Donnie all exchanged looks. Leo heaved the smaller turtle onto his back, still muscular and a decent weight despite the smaller size, and Mikey was there to help him.

“Let’s get these guys home and have Don patch em up.” He held up a hand when Donnie tried to speak, “We’ll talk later. Let’s go.”

*****

No one said a word on the way back. Mikey tried a few times but when no one, not even Raph, reacted to his attempts at a joke, he eventually went quiet. They hustled at Donnie’s impatient prompting, and the whole way the box turtle was muttering equations and percentages under his breath that none of his brothers could quite make out. When they came through the tunnels, Splinter was there to greet them. His watery eyes went wide and ears back when he smelled the metal of blood clinging to his sons.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

“It’s not our blood, sensei.” Leo answered.

Splinter’s eyes searched up and found the sight of the wounded young mutants supported by his sons.

“Oh my…”

“They’re really hurt, dad.” Leo shook his head.

“Here, here— lay them on their stomachs. Be careful!” Donnie guided his brothers to lay the wounded on a table after swiping everything off of it.

“I’m sorry dad, I—“ Leo tried to say.

“Don’t apologize, go!” Splinter urged, and Leo obeyed.

“They gonna be okay, Don?” Leo said as he laid the soft-skinned mutant on the table alongside the giant.

Donnie pulled his goggles down to get a better read on their vitals. “Leo, I need you to go get my mutant aid kit from my lab— the green one with a turtle on it, not the cross.”

“Okay, Don.”

“What can we do?” Raph offered.

“You can give me space.” Donnie growled, “Nothing you can do here, just try to stay quiet so I can focus…”

Donnie pulled himself onto the table, turning his attention to the struggling snapper— for that’s what he recognized the species as almost as once. He lifted the massive head in both hands, taking a quick look at the nostrils in search for blood. Then he came to the mouth and heistated.

“Actually, Raph.” Donnie called back to Raph before the turtle could get far, “Could you give me a hand here? Just— just open his mouth so I can make sure he’s not aspirating?”

“Sure.” Raph hurried over and pried the massive jaws open without a care as to losing a finger or two should the mutant wake.

“Mm. No blood.” Donnie sighed, “Help me take his gear off.”

Raph obliged Donnie’s command and helped him to remove the armor, tossing in a pile to the side. Leo hurried back with the kit Donnie needed and Donnie was quick to take it. Donnie took a flashlight from his belt and shined it into the massive blue eyes of the wounded beast, giving a grin of confidence as the eyes contracted and reacted to the light.

Donnie pulled on his rubber gloves before he started to examine the obvious source of damage.

“What could’ve caused this?” Leo asked, peeking over the bloody carapace.

Donnie hummed and hovered a finger across the cracks. “The cracks don’t follow the suture borders like any normal crack would. This wasn’t an accident, this was very deliberate. Something… some type of three-bladed weapon. Whatever it was, it got him good.”

Donnie opened the turtle care kit and pulled out a drill.

“Can it be fixed?” Leo asked.

Donnie was hesitant to give any answer other than, “We’ll see.”

*****

While he worked, Donnie made sure to keep a close eye on both the snapper and the smaller companion. A softshell, he suspected due to the face shape. His vitals were stable enough and if they did start to drop than Donnie would know. Fixing the shell without the bone sutures to guide him proved difficult, but not impossible. It just involved drilling a lot more screws in than he usually would, and a much slower, tedious process. Drilling the holes parallel to each other and connecting them with tightened wire to pull the cracks together. The more he worked, the more he realized why the slashes were as awkward as they were. Whatever had attacked him had attacked not only the shield of his carapace, but taken off a few of the many spikes that covered his shell. Two of the dorsal ridges had been taken off at their middle, and a third was slashed off completely. Several more were chipped and slashed at the top, but not enough to warrant repair— not deep enough to bleed. After near two hours of intense focus, Donnie finally backed off the snapper and started to remove his bloody gloves.

“How is he?” Leo was on Donnie in an instant, “Is he okay?”

“He’s… stable.” Donnie said, discarding his gloves safely in the bio hazard bin.

“So are we gonna talk about what the fuck is happening here?” Raph appeared just as sudden and quick as Leo.

“He was hurt.” Donnie said calmly, going to his sink and washing up to his forearms before placing fresh gloves. “Something attacked him.”

“Yeah, we understand that, but… why does he look like Raph?”

Donnie didn't have an answer to give, even if he wanted to.

“Mikey, leave him alone.” Donnie pushed past his brothers, holding his gloved hands out in front of him and avoiding contact with everything that might contaminate the rubber. Mikey had taken the opening of Donnie’s absence to jump on the table and start to poke at the subject that Donnie now turned his attention to. Donnie ushered Mikey off of the table and away from his patients. “If you wanna help, see if you can figure out how to take that shell peice off of him.”

Donnie started to give the other mutant the same mouth and nose exam he had given to the snapper. Mikey obliged Donnie’s request, if only to give him more time to be in contact with the new mutant. Mikey picked up the mutants hand and dropped it, laughing as it dropped hard.

“Dude! This guys out cold!” Mikey stood over the mutant and leaned down to stick his face in the softshell’s.

“Out of the way, Mikey.” Donnie huffed and nudged Mikey away with his shoulder.

“What? Come on dude, I’m helping— I’m helping! Hey, what’s this button do?”

“Mikey, do not—“

Mikey pressed the botton on the mutants belt, and the belt snapped undone.

“Oh.” Donnie blinked, “Guess that could’ve been worse. Might’ve helped, actually.”

“See? Told ya I was helpful!” Mikey picked the armor off of the mutants carapace and tossed it haphazardly to the side. “Yoooo! He looks like a burnt pancake!”

“Mikey!” Leo scolded, “That’s not nice!”

“Why’s his back like that?” Mikey gawked.

“Yeah. It’s more like a moldy tortilla than a shell.” Raph commented.

“Cut it out, both of you!” Leo snarled.

“Why’s he look like that?” Mikey laughed and poked the shell, “ewww! It’s all squishy! And flexible!” Mikey bended the bridge of the shell and made the unconscious mutant groan and wince.

“Stop That!” Donnie nudged Mikey away. “He’s a softshell.”

“A what?”

“A softshell. Judging by these ridges, I’d guess Apalone Spinerifa—“

“In non-geek speak, please.”

“Spiny softshell.” Donnie sighed, “Anyway, his vitals seem stable, and there’s no obvious signs of damage. I’m guessing he just exhausted himself trying to carry that snapper for god knows how long— hell, I was breaking a sweat just carrying him home, and that was with Raphael’s help!”

“But he’s gonna be okay?”

“Mm.” Donnie hummed and started to examine the fleshy parts of the mutant. “He has some minor scratching and abrasions— nothing a little rest TLC can’t fix. They’re both cold, though— I’ll need to hook up a heat lamp to try and keep their body heat from dipping too low.”

“When will they wake?” Splinter asked suddenly, the brothers parting as he approached to let him get a better view of the young mutants.

“Hard to tell— the softshell will probably be up before the snapper, so anywhere from a few hours to a day I’d say.”

“And their ages?” Splinter traced a careful paw between the two wounded creatures, his eyes soft with worry.

“Um. Can’t really get specifics, but still in their teens— no older than sixteen I’d say.”

“Just boys… younger than you four.” He took the softshell’s head in his hands to look at his features more closely.

“What should we do, father?” Leo asked, appealing to the old rat.

“Mm. Make them comfortable. They are our guests.”

“But—“ Leo went to argue.

Splinter held up a paw. “They asked for our help, and we will give it to them. For now, all we can do is wait for one or both of them to wake up…”

#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt au #rise raphael #rise donnie #bayverse turtles

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limeblood-exe · 4 years ago

Text

A Singular, Bloody Mattress (part 2)

So much fluff, you guys, it’s tooth-rutting. And a lil bit of Raph angst, too because why not. Ok, but it’s also mainly fluff. Enjoy!

He can’t sleep. It’s three in the morning, and Raph lies completely awake, staring at the cracks in his bedroom ceiling.

Out of all of his brothers, Raph has no problem sleeping. Mikey might have the occasional bad dream or he might stay awake playing video games or doing art, but for the most part Mikey has taken to heart Raph’s lectures about needing to get a good amount of sleep each night. “It’s important for a growing, young turtle,” he had explained. However, he wishes that his other younger brothers would have taken that advice.

Donnie and Leo are Raph’s headaches when it comes to making sure all of his brothers are taking care of themselves. Donnie has an even worse habit of staying up too late, but it’s mostly because he gets so absorbed with a new project that time passes without his knowing. It’s common for Raph to find Donnie either passed out on his worktable in his lab, or stumbling into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. But while his younger brother does stay up late occasionally, he enjoys sleep probably the most out of any of them, so it’s easy for Raph to convince his brother to sleep (convincing, as in Raph mentions the time to Donnie, who replies with “Wow, would you look at that,” and then promptly sleeps for the next twelve hours).

And Leo just doesn’t sleep sometimes. Honestly, just even knowing the fact that Leo has insomnia was actually discovered from pure luck. Raph didn’t even know his brother was having problems with sleep until he accidentally came across him on his way to the bathroom just hanging out in the family room, binging some Jupiter Jim films.

He tried to talk to Leo about it, but every instance he brought it up his brother had an annoying ability of dodging the topic. Finally, with Raph having to resort to the “I’m gonna tell Splinter” card, he had admitted that sometimes he has issues falling asleep, but that it wasn’t anything to worry about, and he would let them know if it got worse. So Raph had agreed to let it go with that promise in mind. That didn’t stop him from staying up a couple of nights spying on his brother just to make sure the problem didn’t, in fact, get worse. He never saw Leo leave his room those nights, so he either must have gotten through his sleep drought or knew Raph was watching him and used his portals to secretly escape his big brother’s view.

He doesn’t know which one it was, to be honest.

And he feels he should have done more, Raph comes to realize, because this whole “not being able to sleep” thing is just awful. The stinging sensation in his eyes, the restlessness of both mind and body. He can’t understand how Leo would try to hide this instead of just asking them for help. He has no idea how long Leo might have been suffering from insomnia, but one night and already Raph feels like splitting his bed in half, despairing that sleep has slipped from his clutches.

But he's no fool, he knows the cause of why he is not currently sleeping.

It's because of the fact that his aforementioned brother is currently holed up in their infirmary.

No matter what he tries, Raph can’t stop thinking about what had happened just a couple days prior. They had come so close, too close, to losing their brother. Not just when they were cornered by their enemies; as soon as they got back home, it was a fight to keep their brother alive, restoring his lost blood with blood donations from Mikey, who argued that he wanted to do it, he wanted to feel helpful, and stitching together torn skin and shell.

He was fine, though. Damned lucky, their father had said, but he managed to pull through.

And yeah, they cried when he opened his eyes for the first time since they got back home, but that doesn’t matter. What mattered was that their team had not been reduced to three.

Leo is gonna be fine, things are heading back to normal; so how come Raph can't stop thinking about how useless he felt during the entire ordeal?

Sitting up abruptly, Raph decides that staring at the ceiling isn't gonna help him get any sleep.

He leaves his room quietly so as to not disturb any of his brothers, who desperately need the rest just as much as he does, and departs for the kitchen. He's thirsty, so it seems like a reasonable first destination.

He walks mindlessly, his mind swallowed by too many thoughts.

Water sounds nice, maybe that’s what I need. A glass of cool water, and I’ll head back to bed, Raph thought to himself.

Entering the room, he turns on the light, looking for the fridge hoping to find-

This is not the kitchen. An easy discovery, what with the lack of kitchen essentials and instead he sees humming machines, a curtain, an occupied bed-

Ah, he’s in the infirmary. Without thinking, his feet had unconsciously brought him here.

He immediately slaps the light switch off, worried he woke his brother from his needed rest. He hadn’t meant to come in here; he didn't want to be in here. Not right now. He’s supposed to be trying to keep his mind off things.

He can just go back, he didn’t hear his brother wake up; didn’t hear a groan or even a peep, so there would be no harm in him just walking away.

But he might as well check that Leo is asleep as he’s already here and all; he does have a track record of hiding any of his sleep issues.

Raph pads to the side of the bed, spotting his brother cocooned in a hill of blankets. The only parts of him he clearly can see are his head and his arm that sticks out, dangling over the edge of the bed. Raph lays his hand on Leo’s chest, feeling the rise and fall of his steady and constant breathing. Raph can't see them right now, but he's painfully aware of the large swath of bandages that cover his middle.

Content that his brother is indeed asleep, he grasps Leo's dangling arm (noting he has one of Donnie’s techy bracelets strapped to his wrist, most likely monitoring his vitals) in his gentle hold, and positions it back in his warm bundle. Tucking his brother in, he smiles softly before he makes his way to the kitchen to grab something to drink.

"Raph?" a soft voice mumbles before he even takes a single step, and he definitely did not give a little yell of surprise, no matter what Leo says.

"Leo! Sorry," Raph u-turns instantly and puts a hand on his brother's head, patting it gently like a parent would to a kid. "I didn’t wake you, did I?"

"You did," Leo gives a jaw-cracking yawn before he continues, talking into his pillow, Raph straining his ears to hear him, "but it’s fine. I feel like I’ve been asleep for too long anyway."

"That’s pretty normal, and you’re gonna have to get used to it. It’s going to be awhile before you’re back to normal, buddy," And the events of that night once again rush to the forefront of Raph's mind. He looks to the ground, unable to look his brother in the eye, afraid that Leo will see through his eyes and read his thoughts.

"Huh? What is it?" Leo looks more alert due to the seriousness his face had suddenly morphed to, struggling weakly in his blankets to lean up against his pillow.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

Leo squints up at him with a disapproving look. Like he’s gonna believe that for a second.

“Now, why don’t I believe that? Are you lying to me, bro?”

"No-it’s just-I’m not lying to you,” Deflating under Leo’s sharp glare, Raph nervously rubs his hand together, gathering the courage to speak.

“…Back then, I couldn't do anything. I'm supposed to be the leader, Leo, and I did nothing." His face scrunches, and his hands clenching together in a show of anger. "And I'm… I'm sorry, Leo. I’m sorry that I couldn't protect you."

Raph would expect his brother to do many things after his revelation; make a joke to lighten the mood, ignore the apology altogether, saying something along the lines of “please don’t embarrass yourself by talking any longer”, etc. He did not expect for his brother to grab his wrist suddenly and pull him close to the edge of the bed, and with one large motion, wraps his arms around Raph’s neck. If he wasn’t too shocked, he would have admonished Leo for moving around so much, since he just got mortally wounded, but the hug feels so good at the moment that all he can do, all he wants to do, is hug his brother back.

“I don’t blame you Raph, you don’t have to ever apologize for something like this,” Leo comforts. His voice is gentle and kind and so unlike Leo’s usual carefree tone that Raph lays one of his hands on the back of Leo’s head checking for a fever.

Not finding one, he buries his face in his younger brother’s shoulder, and Raph has to choke down the sudden lump in his throat to softly mutter, “But I should’ve done, you know, more. I’m the eldest, it’s my job to protect you guys. And at that moment, I failed. And it’s not just that, I couldn’t come up with a plan. My mind felt so gooey and slow and I just-because of that I put you at serious risk, Leo. If you couldn’t-if you didn’t-”

“But I did. And stop putting all the blame on yourself,” Leo adds. “If you wanna play the blame-game, then I think I gotchu beat.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. We wouldn’t have even been in that situation in the first place had I never gotten hurt. I let my guard down, Raph, and I paid the price for it. And so did all of you.”

“That’s not fair, Leo. You couldn’t have known that those paper guys would have been any more dangerous than the ones we’ve already fought before,” Raph pulls apart their hug, going into his lecturing mode. “You can’t blame yourself for everything that happened.”

“But that’s what I’m saying. It was a sucky situation, so you can’t blame yourself as our leader when things go bad, because it’s not just on you. We’re a team, and we’ll fail together as a team.”

While bleak sounding, it sparks an understanding in Raph.

We’ll fail together as a team.

He understands where Leo is coming from. He always thought that the pressure of failing would be on his shoulders alone; he’s the leader, and a good leader takes responsibility. A good leader would know better than to lead their team to their deaths.

But a good leader would also know that you can’t win every fight. Raph doesn’t want to accept that as a possibility, he might never be able to, but he can know where he stands when it does.

He’s lost this argument, so Raph just slowly nods. He still feels like he could’ve done better, and he knows it might take awhile before he accepts what Leo had to say, but he feels relieved, the burden of feeling so alone lifted from his shoulders.

Raph, thickly says, "Thank you, Leo."

"Anytime, brother." Leo replies. As Raph rubs at his eyes, clearing away beading tears, Leo adds, "Now, pay up."

"What? What do you mean?" Raph asks, confused. Leo sticks out his quivering lips, his eyes pouting upwards. Leo raises his arms towards Raph, his hands making a grabby motion in the air.

"Carry me."

"What? No! Why would I do that?"

“Because I’m bored! I’ve been lying here for, what has it been, three days?”

“Just two, actually.”

“My point being! I need a change of scenery.”

“Uhh, but you’ve been sleeping for the past couple of days? How can the scenery bother you when you're not awake to see it. Besides, you’re still recovering.”

"Oh, come on! That's not fair, and you know it. I'm healing just fine," Leo doesn't give up and increases his efforts to be held, mimicking a petulant child demanding attention. "Please, Raphie, I don't like the infirmary."

"No."

"Pleaaaase-"

"Alright, fine!"

Leo laughs victoriously as Raph leans down to pick up his brother. Leo wraps his arms around Raph's broad neck, and his big brother puts his arms behind Leo's back and beneath his knees, making sure to do so around his blanket as well. He doesn’t want his brother getting cold, after all.

Straightening his back, Raph glares disapprovingly at Leo, who just smiles happily in return, snuggling his cheek against the dip between Raph's plastron and his neck.

"Where am I going exactly?"

"Anywhere is fine."

"Uh-huh."

Raph is convinced that Leo made a big fuss just to be held, but who is he to deny his brothers want they want. After all, it wasn’t just Raph that went through a tough ordeal. If Leo wants to be held, it's the least Raph can do.

With the choice being left to Raph, he decides that the family room is the perfect spot and makes his way there.

Leo begins to doze in his hold, snuggling close to the heat of his brother.

Why would he need a change of scenery if he was just gonna fall asleep anyway.

Raph doesn't have it in him to wake him back up, so he sits cross-legged on the floor as soon as he arrives and holds his breathing brother close.

This was not how Raph thought his night was gonna go, with Leo asleep in his lap and the night continuing to tick by. Content regardless, Raph rests his chin on top Leo's head, appreciating the living movements of his brother: his breaths, his sleepy snorts, his leg twitches, they're all proof that he's alive.

Being up so late and having the comfort of his younger sibling close, Raph feels himself starting to doze off as well, imagining the swell of sleep that would finally overcome him. Ready for the bliss of sleep to take him, the thundering of distant footsteps startles him to full alert mode. With the frantic, but familiar, steps coming closer Raph looks to see none other than Donnie rounding the doorway, whipping his head around in search of something. Spotting the two of them on the floor, Donnie rushes forward.

"Is Leo ok?!" Donnie asks.

Taken aback by the urgency in Donnie’s voice, he says, "Uhh, yeah. He’s fine.” Looking down at his dozing brother as if to confirm his own statement, he looks back to Donnie as Leo sleepily mutters into his chest. “He's sleeping right now, so if you could be quiet, Donald." Raph slightly scolds Donnie for his loud shout.

"Wha-excuse me!" Donnie, offended by his brother's admonishment, stares incredulously at his only older brother. "I just thought, you know, that something must've happened, Raphael, with my tech informing me that one of Leo's stats changed. I had gone to check on him when, to my surprise, he is nowhere to be found."

Oh. That would explain Donnie’s panic. The tech bracelet on Leo’s wrist was meant to monitor his well-being, so of course Donnie would have had any sort of change being directly messaged to his own wrist-band, alerting him if anything were to happen. That must have included his sleep cycle, and with Leo awake long enough to have a conversation with Raph, he was awake long enough for Donnie to be alerted.

"Oh, my bad... Sorry, Donnie, I didn't know."

Donnie breathes a deep sigh, the act calming himself and he regains a more collected composure.

"It's fine, I was just worried that he did something stupid again, like trying to use the bathroom on his own when he can't even stand properly." He takes in the sight of his two brothers cuddling on the floor together, fully registering what's before him. "Um, but might I ask what you two are doing?"

"I couldn't sleep, and I think Leo was getting bored of the infirmary." He slightly shrugs his shoulders. "So, here we are."

"Bored of the infirmary? Does he not understand the whole concept of 'I nearly died and I should take it easy?'" Donnie crosses his arms, "I swear, sometimes I wonder where his head can be. He be just as bad as Mikey sometimes-"

Donnie pauses, leering suspiciously at Raph.

"Wait, what did you mean you couldn't sleep?"

"It means that I couldn't sleep, Donnie." That was before his talk with Leo, and as much as he loves his heart-to-hearts with his brothers, he doesn't feel it in him to do one more for tonight. "And besides, that was way earlier. I'm better now."

His brother just mm-hm's to himself. Donnie then joins Raph on the floor, sitting next to his side with his legs sprawled out in front of him. A moment passes as Raph waits patiently for Donnie to speak first.

"Do you still want to talk about it? I'm up now, you might as well take advantage of having me all to yourself. Not many get the privilege of that, dear Raphael."

Raph gives a good natured eye-roll, but before he can give his own snarky response, someone beats him to the chase.

"Wow, conceited much?"

"Shut up. Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" Donnie asks at the same time Raph mumbles to himself, "Are you ever asleep?"

Leo slowly morphs his face into a smirk, then replies simply with a cheery "Nope."

He continues to say, "And how can I? You guys keep waking me up. For once I have the chance to get a full night's rest, and you guys are ruining it."

His brothers have no argument to counter him with, so Leo counts that as a small victory.

“Well, speaking of sleep, I’m gonna go back to bed now that I know Leo's not gonna crack his head open on the toilet or something,” Donnie stands, stretching his arms above his head. “What are you gonna do?”

“Me and Leo are good here,” Raph says.

“You’re gonna stay like that? On the floor? Call me crazy, but that doesn't sound very comfortable, Raph.”

“Yeah, I know. But we’re already here, sooo.”

Donnie gives a thoughtful hmm, hand to his chin in a contemplating manner. After sometime, he raises a pointed finger to the ceiling, eyes bright with newfound determination.

“You know what, I actually have a brilliant idea. Hang tight, I’ll be right back.”

Curious as to what Donnie has planned, Raph complies with Donnie's order. He watches the descending back of his brother and wonders just what he has gotten himself into tonight. He grows impatient when minutes tick by, and even Leo starts to huff in annoyance, the waiting anticipation keeping him up.

Ten minutes later, Donnie reappears with a sleepy Mikey in tow, both loaded with pillows and blankets, which are so stacked it's nearly blocking their view.

"You didn't have to wake him up, Donnie."

Mikey just shakes his head, setting down his load by Raph’s feet.

"It's fine, Raph, no biggie. Dee told me we were gonna have a sleepover in the family room," Mikey smiles through an obnoxious yawn, laying out the blankets (some, Raph notices, are from his own room) to form a giant pile on the floor. "And I thought, ‘Oh, man! We haven’t had one in so long!’ It sounded nice, especially after everything that’s happened."

Now that Mikey mentioned it, they haven’t done this for a long time. They’ve been so busy dealing with the whole mutant outbreak that sleepovers kind of took a back-burner to their list of priorities.

Raph, with Leo in his arms, mumbling something he can't quite make out, moves to stand a distance away, making space for Donnie and Mikey as they prepare the rest of the room.

Donnie and Mikey make quick work, busying themselves with preparing a blanket fort by using nearby objects to hold up the blankets, ranging from Splinter's recliner to using the projector as a tether for the fort's ceiling. And since this just so happens to be the genius and artist of the family, the fort they create is a mix of both their technical and artistic skills.

The fort, while not only being huge, would put most other blanket forts to shame in just style alone.

Mikey suspends numerous low-lit strings of light on the ceiling, giving the fort a warm glow while Donnie works to construct the cushions and blankets on the floor to maximize their comfort. Throwing in a couple of stuffed animals along with some glow sticks they found in Raph's room, their blanket fort is complete.

Donnie grabs one end of a blanket, acting as a curtain for the entryway, while Mikey grabs the other and simultaneously they pull them back to reveal the inside of their new masterpiece with a bow. Raph “aah’s” at their display, entranced with the sight.

Raph lays Leo in the middle of the fort, who sinks delightfully into the cottony bliss, exhaustion overtaking his body which has reached its limits for staying awake for so long. Mikey leaps into the fort and lands next to Leo, giving a mirthful shout as he immediately grabs one of the blankets covering his sleeping brother and bundles himself next to Leo, snuggling into his shoulder and wrapping his arms around one of his big brother’s.

“Be careful, Mikey,” Raph warns. Mikey would never intentionally hurt one of them, but Raph thinks it safe to at least warn his brother that Leo is still recovering from an injury.

“I know!"

Leo gives a little huff, turning his face towards Mikey and blowing a quick gust of air into his face. Mikey makes a face, grunting, "Ew, your breath stinks," while Leo replies with, "Some of us are trying to sleep, Miguel."

Mikey giggles into Leo's shoulder as he says, "Sorry," but he doesn't sound all that reproachful.

Raph is next to settle down, laying on Leo's other side, grabbing Donnie's wrist, who was distracted admiring his and Mikey’s handiwork, and pulling him down with him. Having lost his own snuggle buddy to Mikey, Donnie has become his next victim, squashed between Raph's massive arms. But he only gives minor complaints, so Raph doesn't feel all that bad.

The combination of soothing lights from the ceiling and the glow sticks and the cushions beneath them lull the turtles into a comfortable daze. Next to him, Raph can hear the sleeping forms of his youngest brothers, cuddled together with their limbs entangled.

"You know, next time you have problems with sleeping, you can always come to one of us. You always help us when we can't sleep; of course, we'd want to do the same for you," Donnie gently mentions. Patting Raph on the arm, he adds for good measure, "You're our big brother, but we can still help you."

We're a team.

Surrounded by the warmth of his family, knowing that everything has finally gone back to normal, Raph smiles.

"Yeah, I know, Donnie."

Donnie hums, accepting his answer, and in a couple of minutes his own breathes become slow and even, deep in sleep.

His brothers, all of them, are right here, safe and sound. Raph still might have self-doubts as a leader and as a brother, but for now, he'll let go of his troubles and join his brothers in the blissful land of slumber.

In no time at all, Raph feels the dregs of sleep consume his mind, falling asleep with a peaceful smiling gracing his lips.

#rottmnt #rottmnt fanfiction #rottmnt fanfic #rottmnt leo #rottmnt raph #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt mikey #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #so much fluff #some angst #my writing

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rottmntquotes · 5 years ago

Text

Out Of Commission

"Ooooohhhh yeeeeeaaaahhh! I can't believe Hueso allowed us to be the first ones to try his new pizza!"

A symphony of agreements was let out in response to Leo's cheer, followed by excited chanting as Hueso approached the table. Despite the cacophony the boys were creating, Hueso managed to fight back an annoyed sigh, setting his new pizza down on the table and watching as his best customers prepared to dig in. Before this could happen, however, Donnie got a call from April, who alerted them to a battle that was going on between two mutants in Central Park. Much to their dismay, the team was unable to gather the pizza to go, but Leo decided to take a slice and swallow it whole as they stood to leave.

"Can't let your kindness go to waste!" Leo shouted, stopping mid-run and turning around to swallow another slice. And another. And another. "Hueso, this pizza is super fucking good!"

"LEO! GET OVER HERE!" Raph ordered, huffing as Leo complained loudly. No more words were said afterwards, and the boys were gone in no time. Once they were finally gone, Hueso chuckled, gathering the remaining slices of pizza- which meant the two slices Leo was forced to leave -and taking them to the back to throw them away. Knowing that the pizza was good enough to feed any of the turtles was enough reassurance to Hueso that it would be good enough to feed everyone else.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I swear to bob, if we have to deal with those ferret mutants one more time, I'm going to use my Ōdachi to dig my own grave."

"You said it brother."

"I hear that."

"Don't have to say that again..."

Calming silence followed the brief conversation, and the boys sat on the floor in the main atrium before deciding to break apart and go to their rooms. For the moment, none of the boys had enough energy to take showers, so they collectively decided that they would take care of those necessities in the morning. As bedtime came, everyone seemed fairly relaxed, and the night went by without a hitch.

At least, for everyone but Leo.

"Ugh... stupid stomach... why are you so upset?" Leo whined softly, curling in on himself and shuddering. Teeth chattered rapidly and low growling echoed through Leo's room, accompanied by soft whispers that made Leo's eyes shift constantly in search of the sources. At one point, Leo swore that he saw a small child run past his room, and it aroused a side of him that he didn't even know existed. Low growls turned into loud hissing, and Leo crawled onto the ground, stalking towards his room's archway on all fours. With every step, Leo became more and more tense, his body instinctively preparing itself for a scuffle. Once he was finally at the archway, Leo crouched down, going silent and waiting exactly six seconds before racing out of his room, screeching loudly and yelping as he fell off the ledge of the sewer.

"WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHO'S THERE?!" Raph roared, shooting out of his room with a pillow in his hand. Donnie and Mikey ran out of their rooms as well, holding a paint brush and a snow globe respectively. No sight of an intruder was found, and Raph started to think that they had all dreamed the same thing.

That is, until Leo let out a loud cry of pain.

"Leo!" Raph, Donnie, and Mikey shouted in unison, hopping down and circling around their blue loving brother to see what had happened. At close range, it could easily be seen that Leo had broken his left arm, and twisted his right ankle, explaining his pained cry. Donnie went to work effective immediately, helping Leo up and handing the Slider to Raph, following his brothers back onto the ledge and leading them to the lab. Leo was then sat down on Donnie's resident cot, being distracted by Raph and Mikey while Donnie got to work on setting and slinging Leo's injuries. Granted, Leo did attempt to bite and scratch Donnie with every bout of pain that appeared, but other than that everything turned out fine. After being patched up, Leo was left alone in the lab, having been given a few pain pills to keep him stable throughout the night. Unfortunately, Leo's insomnia chose to strike that night, leaving him unable to get a good night's sleep.

The next morning, Donnie walked into the lab to check on Leo, raising a brow as he caught his twin sitting in front of a wall and mumbling. Nonchalantly, Donnie walked up to Leo, crouching down and trying to decipher what Leo was saying. Despite the close range, Donnie was unable to understand his brother's words. With a hum, Donnie gasped with revelation, snapping and focusing his attention on attempting to use their ever-popular twin telepathy. It took a good while, but Donnie was finally able to enter his brother's psyche, humming in surprise at the strange sights he was met with.

Unlike the normal bright and beautiful landscape that his twin's mind usually harbored, Donnie found himself in the middle of a foggy and dark swamp. The sounds of bubbling sent shivers down Donnie's spine, and he groaned in distaste as he realized that he was standing in some sort of dark sludge. The vegetation around Donatello was rotten and crumbling, the sky was smothered in heavy clouds, and any sort of wildlife present let out terrifying screeches in place of their normal chirps, squeaks, and sweet sounds.

"Brother... what has happened to you...?" Donnie whispered, forcing himself through the thick sludge and using his limited sense of smell to try and search for his brother's scent. The task proved to be difficult thanks to the messed up atmosphere, but Donnie soon caught sight of Leo. Smiling, Donnie moved faster, eventually managing to get next to Leo. "Hey, what's going on here? Why is everything so messed up?"

Leo whimpered, turning to face Donnie with a deep frown. The sight alone was enough to make Donnie sick, and the feeling got worse as Leo opened his mouth to say something, only to fall forward and begin hurling violently. This was all it took to drive Donnie out of Leo's psyche, and the Softshell backed away from his twin with the trademark speed of his species. Loud panting seemed to be all Leo needed to stop his staring, and he groaned pathetically, falling forward and shaking. Donnie- being the scientist he was -went into doctor mode immediately, checking all of Leo's vitals and cursing under his breath as every one of the tests proved to be spiking aggressively.

"Leo? Leo, can you hear me? Leo!" Donnie shouted, drawing Leo close and cradling Leo until he stopped shaking. "Leo...? Are you okay?"

An eerie silence was what Donnie received, and he held back a concerned huff, lightly gripping Leo's jaw to turn his face forward. As soon as the duo made eye contact, Leo hissed, moving like a viper despite his injuries and biting down on Donnie's shoulder, clamping down hard enough to make sure that he stayed attached to Donnie's shoulder. Screams and cries of pain and terror rang through the lair, drawing in the rest of the family. Raph went into action as soon as he saw what was happening, using one of his claws to loosen Leo's grip.

"Mikey! I need you and dad to pull Leo back! And do it fast because I have no idea how long I can keep Leo's bite loose enough!" Mikey and Splinter nodded, racing forwards and tackling Leo back, holding him down and doing their best to ignore the bits of skin and scales that were caught between Leo's teeth. "Keep him down! I'll wrap Donnie up!"

"No! We will not be able to hold him down for that long! Raphael, I need you to go into my room and look under my bed! There is a box labeled with a dragon's tooth, and I need you to grab it and bring it!"

"But dad-"

"DO IT NOW!" Raph squeaked, racing off to do as told. In the meantime, Mikey was following Donnie's instructions on how to patch up the large injury, and Splinter was using every bit of strength in his tiny rat body to hold his son down. As much as it hurt Splinter to watch his son suffer like this, he knew that feeling sorry for Leonardo and trying to talk about things was not going to work. Thankfully, before Splinter could drift farther into his thoughts, Raph returned with the box, sliding it next to Splinter and panting. "Good. Now hold your brother down."

"Master Splinter, what's going on with him?" Raph asked, his heart nearly stopping as he finally took notice of Leo's rapid heartbeat. Splinter shook his head, admitting that he did not know, much to his dismay. Two more seconds passed, though they felt like two hours, and Splinter was not surprised by the gasps of shock that he earned when the boys saw what was harbored in the box.

"This muzzle and these bindings should be strong enough to keep Leonardo stable. They are made of the strongest and finest material known in the Hidden City, and I have been saving them for a time like this." Splinter explained, scooting close to Leo and using a finger to press down on a pressure point to put Leo to sleep. "I never wanted this to happen, but I knew that it was destined to. You boys are growing up, and your animal instincts mixed with the ooze in your blood was bound to become a normal part of your lives."

"Wait, are you saying that this is because of us growing up?" Mikey asked, watching with slight disgust as the muzzle was placed on Leo.

"I am saying that it is likely. But we cannot know that for sure. I learned many of the things about raising you as children from books, movies, and TV shows. But there is only one person who is able to tell us more about the ooze and how it affects the composition of those it mutates..."

"Ugh... are we going to go to Draxum's apartment?" Raph asked, catching the beaker that Mikey threw at him; much to Donnie's horror.

"Yes." Splinter confirmed with annoyance. "We are going to Draxum's apartment."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So you are saying that he simply started to attack the purple one out of nowhere?"

"Yes, Barry. That's what we're saying."

Baron Draxum snorted, putting a fist up to his mouth and snickering softly. Splinter and Raph sneered at Draxum's reaction, holding back choice words and leaving Donnie and Mikey to themselves. At the moment, Donnie was instructed to sit down on Draxum's refurnished couch, resting and trying to keep himself calm despite the blood that was still beginning to pour out in generous amounts. Next to Donnie sat Mikey, who was attempting to cheer Donnie up by regaling tales that happened between him and Todd. On the floor lay Leo. No sounds came from Leo, even as his eyes stayed wide open. His pupils were dilated, breathing unsteady, and though he would make eye contact with his family regularly, they each swore that it was like he wasn't even looking at them; rather that he was looking through them.

"Draxum, when you are done with your childish behaviors, we would appreciate it very much if you helped us understand what is going on here." Splinter hissed through clenched teeth, throwing his ears back to convey his anger. Draxum chuckled one last time before clearing his throat, looking down at Leo and humming.

"I hate to disappoint you, Lou Jitsu, but I must admit that this is something I am unable to help you with." Draxum admitted, feeling an odd sense of... something at the sight of one of his creations being in such a state. "Unlike what you might want to believe, the things you have described to me are in no way, shape, or form related to my ooze. And do be reminded that I spent years studying both the ooze and turtle species before combining them."

"Well then what are we supposed to do?! Who could we possibly go to that knows enough about the mystic types to help us?!" Raph groaned, letting a tense quiet befall the group before a loud gasp resounded between them. "No..."

"Raphael, we must."

"But father, she has done so many awful things to us! How can we trust her to help?!"

"We cannot, Donatello, but unfortunately she is the only other one we can go to..."

"If that's the case, then I would like to go as well! Let me say hello to an old enemy." Draxum rubbed his hands together, smiling darkly as he did so. "Let us go and try to bargain with Big Mama..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright, you know what to do boys. Look for Big Mama, and when you see her, do not engage. Keep her in your sight and keep us updated on where she is so we can join you."

"Yes, father."

"Got it pops."

"We'll find her, dad."

Splinter frowned and watched his healthy sons fan out through the Hidden City, his ears swiveling to better pick up the sound of Leo's labored breathing. A mustard coloured plastron rose and fell with each of Leo's breaths, and quiet wheezing drove spikes of pain and sadness through Splinter's heart. A heavy hand fell on Splinter's shoulder, and he turned to look up at Draxum.

"Do not worry, Jitsu." Draxum started, sitting down and staring at Leo's stiff body. "While your children may be stubborn, and reckless, and irresponsible, and make stupid decisions, and-"

"Are you trying to make me feel better, or insult my sons for the next half hour?" Splinter interjected, glaring at Draxum sharply.

"Right, my apologies." Draxum then moved his hand from Splinter's shoulder to Leo's neck, showing a rare display of affection. "While they do have all of those things, they have many other positives that outweigh the negatives. They are each intelligent in their own ways, strong in their own ways, perseverant, caring, sympathetic, energetic, and so many other things! They are all of these things, and not because of themselves. They are all of these things because of you, Jitsu. You have done a wonderful job taking care of these boys, and there is no one else who could have possibly-"

"DAD! DRAXUM! YOU HAVE TO TAKE LEO HOME!" Raph's frantic screaming startled Splinter and Draxum out of their conversation, and they stood up abruptly. In one swift movement, Draxum picked Leo up, holding the young turtle close and keeping a tight grip on the blue clad mutant. The duo stood still, looking around for any movements that would signify that Big Mama or her goons were nearby. The atmosphere was tense, and it took only one mistimed step for Splinter to throw a kunai at a nearby alleyway, smirking at the sound of the blade hitting even the smallest bit of skin.

"Draxum! Take Leonardo to the Candy Store!" Splinter ordered, knowing that Draxum was aware of what the order meant. In a split second, Draxum raced away, not turning to watch Splinter take down Big Mama's goons with little to no effort.

"Do not worry, blue one. We will find some way to fix you." Draxum assured, stopping and hiding behind a thick buildup of brush. More wheezing came from Leo, leading Draxum to believe that Splinter may have fastened the muzzle too tight. Out of an unexpected bout of pity, Draxum loosened the muzzle without second thought, doing the same with the rest of Leo's bindings. As soon as Draxum loosed the bindings surrounding Leo's legs, the mutant turtle screeched, easily sliding out of his binds and pinning Draxum onto the ground. The action was enough to shock Draxum into fighting back, and he used a vine to throw Leo out of the brush, his ears falling flat against his face as he watched Leo race off into the Hidden City. "This is not going to end well..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Where am I? What am I doing here? How did I get here?

Leo panted and whimpered with every step as he raced through the Hidden City, shocking each citizen with the sight of seeing a teenaged turtle running past them on all fours.

I have to find my family! Where are they?! Why aren't they with me?!

Blurry vision and terrible coordination accompanied Leo in his frantic search for his brothers and/or father(s), leading him to believe that he had been injected with some sort of virus or poison. Part of him didn't want to believe that he had been poisoned, as the last time he was poisoned he had caught on fire.

Why is everything so weird?! I can't see anything right! Raph! Donnie! Mikey! Splinter! Draxum! Where are you?!

All of a sudden, Leo felt two hands wrap around his waist, and he screamed at the top of his lungs, taking the time that his enemy was shocked to attack. With a bite to his assailant's arm, Leo kicked the enemy back, returning to his search for familiar faces.

Where are they?! Where is my family?! Where. Is. My-

"Well, lookie-lookie what we have here! My little champion turtley-boo!" Leo knew that voice, those words, that tone. It was Big Mama, but he couldn't see her! He could smell her, he could hear her, he could sense her presence, but all he saw was a blurry blob of lavender.

Big Mama... oh-ho-ho, wait until I'm done with you! When I get my claws on you, I'm gonna-

"Gunna eat... dump the... and keep... you see the... GOT YA!" Leo fell forward, coughing and whining as he attempted to even out his breathing. "Brothers... eat... keep at... don't you... hope..."

"Oh, you poor thing! You seem to be more woozy-frazzled than normal!" Big Mama chimed, leaning over to boop Leo's nose. A weak bite was sent in Big Mama's way, followed by a wheezy hiss. "And here I thought you were smarter and stronger than this."

I am! You awful Yokai! I'm not so weak that I can't fight you!

Leo gave another weak hiss, trying his best to push himself up. When he failed, Leo started to sob, taking notice of how weak his body had truly become. He didn't feel anything, he couldn't see anything, and his body was beginning to give up on him. Whatever this was, it was attacking Leo with a vengeance, and wasn't looking to give up until Leo was dead.

"Hmm, I must say that I am beginning to feel a bit of pity for you." Big Mama admitted, patting a finger on her chin as if thinking intensely. "Hey! I have an idea! What if I were to help you? I could help nurse you back to help, and in turn-"

"NO! No... don't... coin... flip..." Leo spat through his tears. Big Mama shook her head in disapproval, booping Leo's nose once more.

"Let Big Mama finish." The disguised Yokai then smirked deviously. "Now, I will help you, and in turn... you will fight in my Battle Nexus for the next year. You will be in my debt, and you will not be allowed to have your family help, or see your family without permission."

"Would... die..." Leo ground out, high pitched whimpers becoming more and more audible. "Rather... would... death..."

"I'm sure you would, young one." Big Mama giggled. "But I don't think your family would enjoy that very much."

No... don't do this...

"Just think, how would your brothers feel?" Big Mama hummed, putting her hands on her hips. "And your father, and your close friends? I'm sure none of them would be very pleased. Now, of course, none of them would be jumping up and diddly-down when they find out about the deal, but at least you'd be alive! To make it sweeter, I may just make it so that you can see your family twice a month for 12 hours each time! How does that sound?"

...

"Don't... can't..." Leo stopped, thinking over Big Mama's words and grimacing at how awful the truth was. "...Okay..."

"Good boy! Now, let us go and get you fixed up! Can't have a weak champion now, can we?" On any other day, the word Champion would have made Leo's heart soar, but now it just seemed like a mockery. The sound of grunting was followed by Leo feeling his body being lifted up. He had no strength to fight back, so he did nothing more than let himself be carried to Big Mama's Battle Nexus.

And, dear Pizza Supreme...

A nap really sounded good right now.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, yeah; I realize that I left out the others after the second third of the fic, but I couldn't really think of anything to use them for that wouldn't end with the whole "Family getting back together and learning a lesson about love and acceptance" trope. That would have completely ruined the original intention of ambiguity for the ending, so I shall leave it up to you to determine how they react/respond to learning about this deal.

*It took me a while to realize that I didn’t make it clear what was affecting Leo. In short, he has Belladonna (Nightshade) poisoning, and it was contracted by a new ingredient in Hueso’s pizza that was mixed in with the pizza sauce. The side effects were displayed throughout the fic, and trust me when I say that it took some time to think of how it would effect him - what with him being a mutant turtle with human DNA and all.

#RotTMNT #Rise of the TMNT #Fanfic #This Is An Experimental Fic #Sorry If It's Confusing #I Got Sleepy Halfway Through

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thecomicsnexus · 5 years ago

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TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #24-26 AUGUST - OCTOBER 1989 BY RICK VEITCH

SYNOPSIS (FROM TURTLEPEDIA)

As the story begins, Master Splinter is training the Turtles. The Sensei is attempting to broaden their spiritual scope, but their warrior's hearts are still too strong to grasp the subtleties of their lessons. The Sensei probes each Turtle, to discern their strengths, weaknesses and phobias. Splinter senses that there is a weak link in their chain, and as he releases them from their training, each student bows before the master... save for Raphael, who has bound off to go swimming. Leonardo apologizes to Splinter for Raphael's behavior, and the Sensei states that perhaps they are not mature enough to grasp the next stage of ninjutsu training. Upon hearing this, the other three Turtles angrily take off in pursuit of Raph. The Master is pleased, as group pressure is one of the lessons of ninjutsu.

Leo, Don and Mike dive into the murky waters and find an underwater cave. As they emerge into the chamber, clubs in hand, they find Raphael bent over something. The three brothers approach their sibling with ill intent when Raph points out that he's found some recently hatched turtle eggs. Everyone's mood lightens as they find dozens of baby turtles swimming around their feet. The guys muse briefly about what it would be like had they remained normal turtles. As Raph investigates the shells, he finds one baby turtle stuck in the sand. When he examines it, he finds that a large leech has attached itself to the young terrapin. Raph is grossed out by the bloodsucking creature and uses a stick to remove it from the baby turtle. The other guys are amused that Raph is afraid of the leech and they attach it to his foot. Raph freaks out and yells at them to get it off of him. Leo, Don and Mike laugh and toss Raph back into the water. The three brothers run off, psyched that they finally "got Raph good!" Raphael emerges from the water and pulls the leech off of his foot. As he's about to squish the parasite, Raph decides that it's not the worm's fault for being what it is and he tosses it back to the ground, telling it to stop picking on poor, defenseless turtles. The discontented Turtle than heads off after his mirthful brothers, warning them that they'll be laughing out of the other side of their faces once he catches them.

The next day the Turtles have resumed their practice with Splinter, but they still fail to grasp the inticracies of his lesson. As the Sensei mentally scans the region, he looks for a sign that the Turtles are opening their minds... but none are able. Raphael, more than any other, struggles. As Splinter views the surroundings, he is alerted to something in the water... a large leech. It is hungry... and has a malignantly cruel and evil presence!

Master Splinter is shocked by his discovery, and involuntarily he jerks away from the vision. The violence of the Sensei's recoil shocks his pupils and sends Raphael into unconsciousness.

The next day the Turtles are lounging around the river without their Master. Leo, Don and Mike are trying to make peace with Raphael, who is angry with them for how they treated him in the cave. The boys spot a large snapping turtle swimming across the creek and are shocked when they see something attack her. The brothers dive into the water and see a very big leech. The parasite seems oddly familiar to the Turtles, and they chase it. The worm takes refuge in a small cave. Raph decides to trap the leech in the hole by blocking the entrance with his shell. Raphael then sends his brothers off to fetch their weapons, so they can dispatch the leech.

Shortly the Turtles return with Splinter. Raphael is unconscious once again, and as his family wonders what's happened now, Raph slumps forward into the water, revealing the much larger leech attached to his back, sucking fluid from the Mutant Turtle. The creature has now grown arms and legs and it rises to meet its attackers. Master Splinter tells his students to stand their ground as he focuses his mind, in attempt to connect with the beast that had disturbed his visions two days earlier... but before the Sensei can make contact, Leonardo chops it into pieces. Raph groggily awakens and Leonardo apologizes to Splinter for reacting. The Sensei tells his student that their current lessons are designed to teach them how to protect themselves with other means than blades, but hopefully the threat has passed.

The next morning the Turtles are once again practicing with Master Splinter. Yet again, Raphael is having trouble focusing his mind on the lessons. The Sensei tries to reach into Raphael's mind, but his own fear and doubt prevent him. Suddenly, Raph breaks ranks and pursues a dragonfly with childish glee. Splinter ends the lesson and Michelangelo asks why all of them must suffer when Raph acts coo-coo... the Master does not answer.

Back at the farm, April and Casey join the Turtles and Splinter for dinner. All eyes are on Raphael as his food is placed before him. Raph smiles innocently and then smashes his hand down on the plate, splattering the room, and everyone in it, with goulash. Raph bursts out laughing as the others glare at him.

As time passes, everyone is dismayed as Raph reverts more and more into a normal turtle. Splinter tells Leo, Don and Mike that the leech is responsible for Raph's condition - that it must have sucked the Mutagen out of Raph's system, and so he's returning to his original form. The Turtles will have to find the leech to save Raph, so the group head down to the river. As the TMNT search the waters, they find nothing. April asks Splinter if they can simply recontaminate Raph with Mutagen, but the Sensei points out that the canister that contained the ooze is empty and there is no way to contact the aliens from the T.C.R.I., so there is no Mutagen to be had.

As the skies darken, Casey announces that they should call it a night. The Turtles argue against it when they're interrupted by a ranger, who thinks our heroes are fishing illegally. Casey nervously points out that they're merely swimming and that his friends are trying out their new "turtle costumes." Raphael then escapes from April's grasp and swims towards the lawman's boat. As Raphael reaches the craft, the ranger reaches down and grabs the Turtle's hand.

"I just need to get ahold of you one last time, heee heee!" the game warden cackles as Raph mews in anguish.

The ranger lets Raph drop back into the water as he stands, revealing his face - it's the leech, now mutated into a bipedal monster!

The Turtles are incredulous and try to reach the creature's vessel, but it starts an outboard motor and zooms upriver, escaping their wrath. April pulls Raph's limp form from the water as Casey discovers the real Fish and Game Warden, every drop of blood sucked from his dead body. Splinter decrees that the beast stole Raphael's Mutagen to grow, but it feeds on human blood. The Sensei then names the creature "Bloodsucker."

With heavy hearts, Leo, Don and Mike recall how they had tortured Raph with the leech mere days ago. The brothers then gear up in grim determination and prepare to hunt down Bloodsucker.

"Bring it back alive and in one piece, Leonardo," Splinter advises, "It is Raphael's only hope."

Leonardo bows before his master and states, "We shall not fail, Sensei."

Casey says that he'll load up the car with "toys" and meet them upriver. As the Turtles prepare to leave, Raph mews helplessly at their feet. Each brother hugs Raphael goodbye, and the TMNT, only three in strength, set off after their enemy. April picks up the tormented Raphael and tells him that he cannot go with his brothers. Raph desperately grasps for his siblings as April kisses him, "Not this time, baby."

Three inner city boys are set to go fishing in the polluted river. As one wonders if it's safe, his companion states, "As long as Officer Mannigan don't catch us it's cool!"

As the boys explore the dank river bed, they discover some ancient Native American carvings of odd faces. One boy frightens another with ghost stories, and says that the authorities are always finding new pictograms in this area. Sure enough, they find a new carving of a turtle. Just then the children hear the put-put-put of an outboard motor and see the game warden approaching in his boat. They take cover and the lawman passes. As the boys breathe a sigh of relief, the warden rises from behind them. Of course, this is no ordinary fish and game officer, but the hideous mutant monster, Bloodsucker! The creature grabs one of the boys and carries him off. Another lad grabs his fishing rod and casts, tripping up the monster and freeing his friend. The kids flee in terror but are quickly set upon by the beast once again. As Bloodsucker laughs and announces his plans to drain them of their vital fluids, several shurikens pound into his flesh. The creature turns to see Leo, Don and Mike, who announce their intention to take Bloodsucker back to Northampton... one way or another.

Master Splinter still sits in meditation... he has sensed the Turtles peril and seeks out help. He arrives again at faces from the past, but they merge into the present... to a hand carving images into rock face.

The boys tell the policeman about the monster and three giant, weapon-toting turtles, but Mannigan is dubious. April and Casey decide that they have to take action, and Casey runs away and jumps off a bridge, into the water below. Jones hits hard and loses consciousness below its surface, as Mannigan pulls April from the car. The cop asks the boys if Casey has come up yet, and the children announce that he hasn't. Mannigan couldn't care less and he orders the boys to get into his squad car, so he can check out their monster story. As the police car speeds away, the squealing tires propel Raphael off of the bridge onto the rocks below. Fortunately, Raph's shell protects him from the fall and he emerges from it mewing. As Raph spots the ancient face carvings, a figure emerges from the water carrying Casey's limp body. The man picks up Raphael, musing to himself, and then heads upriver, where he intends to speak with the "old man," who apparently knows everything.

Splinter senses that his sons have escaped their peril, and he hears a call...

Casey awakes in a cavern, filled with ancient carvings. As he rises, he's met by Leo, Don, Mike and Raph (who's being held in Leo's hand). The TMNT introduce Jones to Abanak, the last surviving member of the Algonquin Nation. We learn that it was Abanak who pulled all of our heroes to safety, and then the man tells his story.

400 years ago, this area was the home of his people, and the caves they're in now were holy land. All was well and good, until Colonel Booder showed up. Booder brought an army when he arrived, and he killed the Algonquin leaders and lead the people astray. The Colonel then opened factories on the river and polluted the land and water, growing rich and powerful as he destroyed all that the Algonquin people held sacred. Abanak is all that remains of his once prosperous nation, and he lives among the caverns as a "ghost," carving the effigies of his ancestors into the walls of the caves, who appear to him in his dreams. Abanak then states that he has had a dream that he will find his destiny with the help of warrior turtles.

Abanak leads everyone deeper into tunnels, explaining that while most everyone is ignorant of the land's bloody history, the living ancestor of Booder is not. After the government had passed environmental laws that would put the factories out of business, Booder had dug secret sewage pipes to deposit the poisonous waste into the hidden underground caves. The TMNT emerge into a huge cavern and see gigantic pipes pumping bilge into the water. Michaelangelo retches at the smell and Leonardo announces that this is the most disgusting cesspool that he's ever seen. Abanak states, "We used to call it the Well of Pure Souls."

Abanak says that his destiny awaits him up in Booder's "death factories." Leo suggests that Casey should utilize his plumbing skills and plug the septic system, thus causing the pollution to back up into the factories where it originates from. Then Leonardo gives Raph to Jones to guard as the other four heroes ascend ladders attached to the pipes.

At the factory, Booder is yelling at Mannigan. Booder fears that the mutants the boys saw were created by his pollution, and he's deadly afraid that the E.P.A. will discover his secret dumping ground and ruin his business. The cop states that maybe all they saw was the Ghost, who Mannigan had shot with rock salt once. Booder states that he has also seen the Ghost, and that his family has been haunted for seven generations. The crooked businessman than declares that it's time to put an end to the Ghost. Mannigan loads his shotgun and the two set off to find the apparition that troubles them.

As the two men arrive at the main shaft, Booder's armed guard inform him that they've heard voices from below... someone is climbing up! Booder orders them to shoot to kill and takes the shotgun from Mannigan, who tries to tell his boss that it's only loaded with rock salt, but Booder is too crazed to listen.

As Abanak and the Turtles climb, the Native American thinks he hears voices from above. He and Leo move ahead to investigate. As they climb, Leonardo asks Abanak what his people would do if they were given the land back, and the man states that they would clean it up so that all could share in its bounty, as they never considered it to be just "their" land... the river and the land are not things that any man can possess, as they belong to everyone.

Abanak is hurt, but since the gun was loaded with rock salt, his wounds aren't mortal. Gunfire rains down on the Turtles from above, though, and it is life threatening. Casey yells that he's stopped up the pipe and the waste should back up soon. Leonardo wonders what Raph would do in this situation, and determines that he would simply attack - so the Turtles do just that. The Ninja cover their approach with shurikens and make it to the top, where they whip Booder's henchmen. Booder and Mannigan attempt to flee, but the crooked businessman won't let the cop escape the fight, and he pushes him into the fray. Just then the waste erupts out of the pipe and it hits Booder square in the chest and carries him towards the edge of the main shaft. As the criminal falls, he is caught... by Abanak! The Algonquin pulls Booder to safety, stating that even he doesn't deserve to die in such a manner. Booder is shocked to find that the "Ghost" is an "Indian," and asks what Abanak expects him to do now that he's saved his life, "I should give you back your land, s-shouldn't I?" the crook queries.

"Let's start with a couple of acers!" growls Booder, as he knees Abanak in the groin, "Sucker!"

Booder than escapes to a waiting car, where he flees the factory... only to find Bloodsucker waiting in the backseat to devour him shortly thereafter.

As the factory floods with toxins, the Turtles help Casey carry Abanak to safety. As they get outside, April shows up in Casey's car. Jones is astonished that the vehicle is running, and April proudly displays the gear shift that she's fixed. Everyone piles into the car and they zoom off.

April then speeds off down the highway as everyone worries about how they'll find Bloodsucker. As April steers the car towards Northampton, Bloodsucker pulls up behind them in Booder's car...

Splinter meditates, and tracks down Bloodsucker, who is working his way ever further upstream. Splinter is then carried through the swamps and wilderness to where the river is born, where he finds the aged form of The One Who Waits.

Casey and April are working on the Chevy, which has broken down again. Mike announces that they're stuck and Don informs him that Abanak has found a canoe under the brush of the nearby river. The coincidence is hard to grasp, but Abanak says that it's a sign that the Old Man is helping them, and that he saw it in a dream. The boat only carries four, so April and Casey are forced to stay with the car. The pair say that they'll get the vehicle fixed and wait for the Turtles to return. Suddenly everyone notices that Raph is missing, and a frantic search begins. Leonardo spots Raph, who is facing a weasel. Don exclaims that they have to help Raphael, but Leo refuses... for although Raph has been reverted to a pet shop turtle, he's still Raphael. Sure enough, Raph bites the weasel on the neck and the animal flees in pain.

The Turtles and Abanak head up river in the canoe. Abanak tells the boys about the Old Man, who has always been here and knows all. Abanak has seen the Old Man in his dreams and knows that he exists, and that he can help. As our heroes head upstream, Bloodsucker stalks them from the trees above. Suddenly, the canoe overturns and everyone is surprised to find thousands of fish in the stream. As Don rises to his feet, he's amazed to find that the fish have lifted him out of the water and he's riding on their backs!

"I think we're about to go for the ride of our lives!" the brainy terrapin announces.

No sooner has Donatello made his remarks than everyone is hauled upriver on the backs of the fish, water skiing without boat or line. The fish even carry the group up a waterfall! The crew is dropped off by a large, flat stone. Abanak states that this is as far as his dreams have revealed the land to him. He believes that the rock is called the Wisdom Stone, and that they should stand upon it. The Turtles are uneasy, feeling like they could be walking into a trap. Mike spots ornaments in the pine trees, and as he muses whether or not the Old Man celebrates Christmas, the stones speak to him, telling him that they were placed here by druids, long before Christianity existed. Alarmed by the talking ornaments, the TMNT back into defensive position, which places them onto the Wisdom Stone... which bursts brightly with energy.

Splinter's meditation is going badly... countless entities are assaulting him, and the Master senses a trap. As the Sensei tries to focus, all that emerges is a clear image of the Old Man...

The Old Man has appeared on the Wisdom Stone, and he explains that he has lived so long that he is now the river, and it is he. He tells the tale of an ancient, technologically advanced civilization that thrived but destroyed itself during the age of dinosaurs, and how the few that survived swore off technology and embraced the Earth, soon unlocking her deepest secrets. They learned that the rivers were conduits of planetary energy, power lines that helped them gain all knowledge of the physical world. Eventually, the survivors transcended flesh and merged with the rivers, so that there is one for each of the world's waterways... and they're still searching for knowledge, still hungry to learn all that is new.

The Turtles ask the Old Man if he can help Raphael change back, and the ancient one states that he probably could, as he's the one responsible for the regression in the first place, since he is the river and all its creatures. Just then Bloodsucker arrives. The Turtles are upset that the Old Man sent this abomination after Raphael, while the river master muses what is more of an abomination, a mutant leech, or a mutant turtle? Leonardo demands to know why the Old Man orchestrated these events, and the archaic being explains that back when the Turtles first reached his waters and longed to know what their lives would be had they remained normal turtles, he too felt their pangs, as well as his own, to know what they were... for the Turtles were the first mutants that he had ever encountered. The Old Man states that the Turtles were something new to the river, and that he must study them very thoroughly.

Donatello says that they aren't the type who like to be studied and tells the river master to change Raph back and they'll be on their way. The Old Man says that he believes Raphael is happier as he is, and that he thinks all four would be happier if they would return to their natural form. The Turtles get angry and brandish their weapons, which angers the river god... who unleashes great power throughout the entire waterway. The burst of energy also snaps Master Splinter's mind, thus giving control of the Sensei to the Old Man, who uses his newfound ability to mesmerize the Turtles.

While the TMNT stand frozen, Bloodsucker grabs them and prepares to feed on them. Abanak argues for their lives, which only angers the Old Man more. As the ancient one berates Abanak, Raphael bites him on the finger. Bemused, the Old Man tosses Raph into the river.

As Bloodsucker savors the Turtles, Raph swims over and bites him on the toe. The monster raises its leg in bewilderment, causing it to lose its balance, whereby it tumbles over the falls with all four Turtles in tow.

Abanak grows angry and tells the Old Man that he is petty and greedy, just like all the men who have sought control of the river. He lifts Leo's katana and attacks the ancient being, only to be blasted into the trees with a bolt of energy. As the Old Man is distracted by Abanak, Splinter is able to break free of the river master's psychic grasp. Splinter realizes that the power that the river holds is the power of life itself, and then he braces to make his attack.

Cut to the caverns near the city, where we see the fishing boys dutifully carving effigies in the stone. We discover that Officer Mannigan was sentenced to 20 years hard labor, and that it will take that long to clean up the river. The boys sense something and look up, to see a bolt of energy zooming up the river.

Casey and April are still working on the car. As their frustrating task nears completion, Casey feels the ground shake and they rise to see the bolt of lightning careening overhead.

Back at the base of the river, the Old Man catches the full force of Splinter's attack. The river master realizes too late that he'd forgotten about the rat... and Splinter was able to utilize the power of the river to cut off the ancient one's life-giving supply of atoms. The Old Man crawls to the shore.

Leonardo is sitting in the waterfall... he's groggy and having trouble remembering why he's here, when suddenly he's attacked by Bloodsucker. As Leo fights for his life, Michaelangelo arrives to assist him. Donatello joins the fray, but all three are overpowered and tossed aside. However... Raphael clings to the monsters face, and when the beast shakes its head to free itself from Raph's grasp, a portion of its mouth is torn free.

The Old Man struggles on shore to regain control over his failing body. Abanak emerges from the woods, and the ancient river master begs for his assistance. When Abanak states that he's no sorcerer, the Old Man tells him that he has the power, but he was never informed because the ancient one feared that Abanak would use his abilities to usurp the river master. The Old Man reverts to the form of an infant and pleads with Abanak to stop Splinter's attack. Abanak stands silently as he watches the Old Man shrink into nothingness.

Bloodsucker is holding the Turtles' heads underwater, trying to drown them. Leonardo manages to flip the behemoth and free his brothers. As Bloodsucker rises from the depths, he is attacked by a large turtle... Raphael?

Bloodsucker flees behind the falls, the giant turtle biting into his neck. As Mike and Don suggest that they should go in and help Raph, Leonardo refuses.

"This is the way he'd want it." the leader states.

From behind the falls we hear mewing... as a shadowy form begins to emerge from behind the curtain of water. Finally, Raphael bursts into sight, "Mew my arse." he growls.

The brothers embrace in glee, and they ask Raph how he did it. Raphael explains that each time that he bit into the mutant leech's hide, he felt a little better... so he continued to chow down until he'd regained all of his vital fluid back. Leonardo asks what happened to Bloodsucker, and Raph produces a normal leech... now that Bloodsucker himself had been drained, he turned back into his former self. Raph then pretends that he's going to attach the leech to one of his brothers, who all freak out. "Kill it! It's dangerous!" they scream.

Raph explains that it's harmless now and just wants to get back to its normal business, so the Mutant Turtle drops it back into the river. Just then they're confronted by a robed figure they mistake for the Old Man.

However, it turns out to be Abanak, who has assumed the role of river master. Abanak states that both of their quests have come to an end, but the Turtles demand to know who's side he's on, since he lead them into the trap. Abanak replies, "The river's." and then he conjures the fish, which carry the TMNT back to where April and Casey are. The car is finally repaired, but the fish ride isn't stopping! As they pass, the Turtles call out to their friends that they'll see them back in Northampton.

Back in the city, the boys have finished their carvings... of their own faces! They feel that this shows the world that they're serious about their duties, and they plan to protect the river from now on. Suddenly the Turtles go zooming by, and they send Abanak's greetings to the lads and tell them that they'll be contacted by the new river master soon... via their dreams.

Back in Northampton, the Turtles meet Master Splinter. They're jubilant over their victory and excited to celebrate, but the Sensei greets them with cold silence. The four quiet down nervously, and bow to their Master. Master Splinter bows back.

Perhaps they are maturing...

Meanwhile, far upstream, a glowing human embryo is caught in the current. As it struggles to escape its fate, it is swallowed by a common leech... one that possesses a distinct scar on its throat... and a half-remembered taste for the blood of the Mutant Turtle.

REVIEW

Imagine mixing Stephen King with Alan Moore. This story is a clear descendant of both (more about Swamp Thing than Moore himself). Of course, Rick Veitch was no stranger to Swamp Thing at the time, so it is an obvious comparison.

TMNT stories are usually creative and weird, and that’s their strongest feature. But this story feels like a real tale, that while still has a level of weirdness, it is indeed a full-fleshed tale.

As such, this may be the first TMNT story I have read (up to 1989) that feels different. Like a real pro actually driving the ship. It’s an interesting experiment.

I feel like this is one of the best TMNT stories I have ever read, and its place in canon is actually debatable (the guest era stories are usually non-canon, but Eastman himself said that this story fits well in canon).

Veitch’s turtles also look amazing. I am not a big fan of his humans, but here his style fits perfectly.

I understand if the similarities to famous Stephen King stories take you out of the story, but it works for me.

I give this story a score of 10.

#rick veitch #tmnt #indie #teenage mutant ninja turtles #mirage studios #comics #review #modern age #1989 #stephen king #swamp thing #bloodsucker

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rubystmntoc · 5 years ago

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visitor from another world One-shot (TMNT)

So before I start I just wanna say happy new year to all of chu people >∆< also this is my first post on Tumblr so pls be nice constructive criticism is welcome thank u and with that being said enjoy 💞

~Disclimer I don't own the tmnt 2k3 series or any other version bc if I did the turtles 2k12 series would have a 6 and 7 season just saying 😐(I only own my oc)

Rose jekins just got home from a late night shift from her job working at the cafe 'if those last 5 customer's werent such pains in my ass then maybe I would have been home by 10:00 and not 12:00' she thought bitterly she hated her job the only reason why she still works there u ask?

Bc she has bills she needs to pay

She tiredly threw her appron and unbuttoned shirt on her couch before trudgeing into her room

'i wonder what it would be like to live with the tmnt' she thought

"who am I kidding? That can't happen it would be to sweet to come true"

'right?'

She kicked off her shoes and grabbed her laptop she smiled widely as episodes came up

Ever since she could remember she loved the turtles she would rewatch the old series over and over again as she grew older she fell in love with the oldest two turtles and would blush when they would wink or smirk as if they where looking at her

Getting comfortable on top of her bedsheets and covers she clicked one of her favorite episodes and hummed along to the theme song

She loved the opening scenes they where the best and kept her on her two cents as the plot was introduced to her

Suddenly her computer screen went static

"dammit" she she said getting up thinking that her computer was dead grabbed the charger in plugged it in

Still static

She was about to turn off the computer when a hand reached in and grabbed her she tryed to get the hand off her but it was to late she was sucked into her computer screen

. . . . . .

She crash landed in a ally way "ouch" she said picking herself up only to feel different

Her vision was a bit blurry but was she

Seeing green?

she screeched having no Idea what was going she backed herself into the ally wall not noticing her kidnappers

A knife was pointed toward her neck in a instant and another was put in front of her mouth to keep her from screaming

"Am only gonna go over this one time and one time only girl-(hatred laced in the voice) my mistress needs you for experimental purposes you are gonna come with me and my friends and if u don't comply am gonna rip ur vital cords from ur throat and watch u bleed out "

"A simple nod of your head is all I ask and will be on our way"

She did not believe it ,she soon recognized her kidnappers as the foot clan from the colors and the symbols scared she nodded her head

'i can't be in New York City! And these foot clan can't be real can they?!.......but this place looks like the NY from the show..wait a minute...AM IN THE F**KING SHOW!?!'

Suddenly feeling a burst of energy in her veins she tryed to wiggle out of the foot soldiers hands ,they catching on to what she was doing was about to knock her out when something hit the back of the foot soldiers head knocking them out

"I don't think she wants to come with cha fellas"

"yeah let the damsel go or face my nunchuck fury!" Two strong and child like voices rang out into the ally

"Raphael and Michelangelo hamato?" She said quitely*

"ITS THE TURTLES!" A foot soldier yelled out another following behinde screaming " KILL THEM!"

"Mikey you free the girl while raph, Donnie and I keep the foot busy"

'Leo!?!" She thought again

Soon she was face to face with the playful brother of the bunch

"don't worry me and my Bros will get you to safety"

Rose nodded her and soon felt herself out of the foots hands Happy she stood hugging mikey

"thank you Mikey" she said sincerely

"you welco- how do u know my name?"he asked questioning

"well let's just say am not from here and 2 your brother Leo just said it" she said with a knowing smirk

Accepting the answer they turned to witness the end of the fight

"that's the last of em" raph said

The brothers 4 high fiveing/threeing before turning there attention to the turtle mutant

"thank you so much Leo,Donnie and raph"

"your welcome hey uhh not to be rude but how do u know our names" a curious Donnie asked

"like a told ur little brother am not from here and this- she motioned her 3 fingerd hand down her body happend when I got here am not a mutant turtle where I come from also can we talk about this somewhere else I don't like talking out in the open" she said*

"we can take her to the lair!" Shouted a excited Mikey*

"absolutely not!" Shouted Leo in a protective manner

"I don't see why not fearless I mean she couldn't harm a fly" argued donnie

He secreatly wanted to take you to the layer to run test and find out more about where u cam from

Raph and Mikey nodding there head in agreement sighing then looking over you once leo agreed

Mikey jumping up for joy led u to the manwhole cover and chatted along with u the whole

U enjoyed his company and grew found of him this was gonna be one long adventure to getting back home!

I hope u like this One-shot sorry it was so long anyways Happy New year stay safe happy 2020 love ya bye!✊💓

#tmnt oc #tmnt 2003 #leonardo #michelangelo #mikey #donnie #Raphael #raph #tmnt #fanfiction #2020

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another-tmnt-writer · 7 years ago

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Look At Me

Leo x Reader

Look At Me

Author: Morgan

Prompt: Hi! I'm new to Tumblr so Idk how this works exactly.. But can you do a Leo fic? You know how he doesn't really care that he's a mutant and all that stuff? He just sort of pushes it aside? Well do you think maybe he could just pour out all of his feelings/break down in front of the reader? Maybe angsty and fluffy??

Note: Aaaaaaah Leo my babe <3

Warnings: None??

Word Count: 1097

You had always admired Leo. He was always calm, collected, ready for whatever was coming his way. He stood tall and looked death in the face, challenging it to take another step. His blue eyes sent a chill up your spine, and one of his smiles was enough to send a flurry of butterflies through your stomach.

Sure, you had been hesitant of Leo and his brothers when you had first met them, but now you couldn’t imagine your life without them. They were such a vital part of your happiness that it was impossible for you to go even a day without thinking about them.

Leo had a special spot in your heart. You looked out for him, silently restocking his tea bags when he was running low, sneaking books you finished reading into the bottom of his stack, sketching him when he wasn’t looking. It didn’t take long at all for your friendship with him to evolve into a crush. A big one.

You found yourself questioning if he felt the same way about you. If his glances at you when he thought you weren’t looking meant anything.

It was a chilly fall day when you came down to the lair with a drink holder full of Pumpkin Spice Lattes. You were cozy in the blue sweater you found yourself wearing more and more often lately. As soon as you set them on the counter, Mikey’s disappeared as he zoomed off towards his gaming spot. You dropped Donnie’s off in his lab, and then headed to the dojo where you expected to find the blue-clad turtle, but only found Raph. So, after giving Raph his latte, you set out to search the rest of the lair.

Your search led you to Leo’s room where you could swear you heard sniffling. Well, it was cold season, after all, you figured. Good thing you had tissues in your bag. You knocked on the door to his room.

“Leo? I brought Pumpkin Spice and Hocus Pocus,” you called. You heard a little bit of movement and the sniffling stopped. You raised an eyebrow, confused. Something was not right here. “Leo? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just give me a second.” his voice was muffled by the door. Finally, you were face to face with him. He was wearing that warm sort of smile that made your heart flutter. It almost hid the tears threatening to spill from his blue, blue eyes. Almost.

“Is something wrong?” You asked, handing over the drink. He started to shake his head and then stopped and motioned for you to come in. Once you were inside the room, he closed the door behind you.

“I’m sorry, I just…” he reached up to wipe away fresh tears. And it hit you then that you had never seen Leonardo cry. Not calm Leonardo. Not brave Leonardo. Not the fearless leader in blue. He was always so collected, so ready for anything. “I’ve been thinking too much lately. But I’m okay, I promise.”

“You are obviously not okay.” Your voice was soft. You spoke to him as though he was made of glass and you were afraid a misplaced word would shatter him.

He sat down on the bed all at once, causing it to groan under his weight. You stood in front of him, looking down on his slouched figure. For once he was shorter than you, but not by much. Tentatively, you reached out to wipe away his tears. He let you, leaning into your careful touch.

“You can tell me anything.”

“I know.” he nodded, taking a shaky breath. “I’ve just been thinking about...you know, what I am...lately. And I know it’s not good for me, and I know I shouldn’t, but I just…”

“Leo…”

More tears slipped down his cheeks. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”

“Do what, Leo?”

“Do this! Pretend I’m content with being a giant mutant freak!” He took a deep breath, recentering himself.

You were quiet for a long time, looking at him, trying to decide what you could do to make it better. Eventually, you ended up wrapping your arms around him, resting your chin on his shoulder.

“I know it’s hard. I know you struggle with it. You all do. I see it in your eyes whenever I come here. I know.” you whispered. With every word, Leo slowly began to embrace you, holding you tight. You could feel his chest shaking, arms trembling as they held you. “But you’re not freaks. I don’t care what you think about yourselves or where you came from or how you came to be. You’re not freaks.”

He took a shaky breath before speaking again.

“No one is ever going to love me. Us. Not like the people up there love each other.”

It took you a second to unjumble his whispered words in your mind. He sounded particularly broken when admitting this part.

“Look at me, Leo.” You pulled yourself out of his shoulder and guided his face to look at yours. His eyes slowly found yours, a sad, dejected look on his face. Your expression softened. “Someone already loves you. More than anyone she knows. More than anyone she’s ever loved.”

“Really?” his voice broke, and through his sadness shined just a little ray of hope.

“Yes. So, so much.” Your heart was racing, and his arms tightened around you again.

“I love you too,” Leo wiped away the last of his tears, a smile finally returning to his handsome face. “I just didn’t think you could...this would have been a lot easier if I had just talked to you, huh?” he sort of chuckled.

“Yeah, I bet.” You ran your small fingers along his green face, admiring every facet of him. He watched you with wonder in his eyes. How someone so beautiful could find something worth admiring in him was beyond him, but you couldn’t help but admire the handsome terrapin. “How about I grab a blanket and we can go pop in the movie?”

“Movie?”

“Hocus Pocus.” you held up the case. “You said you hadn’t ever seen it, so I brought it over.”

“Thoughtful. As always.” He smiled warmly and stood up from the bed, resuming his spot towering tall above you. You basically had to look straight up to make eye contact. He chuckled at that too. At how small you were compared to him.

“I need to invest in a step-stool.” you laughed. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your forehead.

“We’ll figure it out.”

#leo #leo x reader #leo imagine #leonardo #leonardo x reader #leonardo imagine #tmnt #tmnt imagine #tmnt 2016

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masters-house · 7 years ago

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Strange Girl

Donatello’s hands flew across the keyboard. His eyes darted back and forth as the code scrolled up. Ten more lines. Nine. Eight-

Beep beep.

Donatello jumped and swiveled towards his latest machine. It was a bulky steel rectangle about the size of a fifties computer. It's front had several dials and few buttons. In the center was a large radar screen. In the lower right corner of it a large, misshapen blob lit up every time the line swept over it.

“Hey guys? We’ve got a visitor.” Donatello called. He grabbed his staff.

“Someone triggered the outer alarm?” Leo asked. Donatello emerged from his cove in time to see Leo knock Rapheal back.

“The interdimensional one. Central Park.”

“Aw come on, another alien?” Raph caught one of Leo’s swords on his Sci and twisted.

“Well hopefully they come in peace this time.” Leo got under Raph's guard with his other sword. They held the position for a few seconds before putting away their weapons.

Leo made a beeline for the elevator. Rapheal was following him when he noticed Michealangalo was too engrossed in his game to follow.

“No time for games Mikey.” He grabbed him by the back of his shell and dragged him off the couch.

“But I just beat my high score-!” Mikey cried as the controller pulled out of his hands.

“We have another alien invasion. You can beat your high score when we get back.”

Rapheal let him go with a shove when they reached the elevator. Once they were all in position the doors closed.

-.thirty minutes later.-

Marina stumbled out of the portal and fell on a patch of grass. She pushed up and wiped the water from her face. She blinked, then scrunched her nose as a horrible, gritty smell scratched it’s inside. It smelled like smoke, but… different. More acrid. She could smell flowers and trees, but also… Metal?

Marina pushed up onto her knees and looked around. She no longer saw the moss covered roots and massive trees that made up the forest kingdom. Instead she saw what probably belonged to the plains region. She was on top of a hill, and down its sides she could see small trees. They were still taller than her of course, but were not the behemoths that covered the sky with their branches. Most were completely covered with scruffy branches, or were half covered and looked kind of fluffy.

In the distance she could see a black stip cutting through the grass. Beyond that was a flat part, and then-

Lights, in several squares set within stone squares as tall as the trees. No, they were a bit shorter. Somewhere in the distance a high sound came and went. Some kind of metal plated animal with lights on the front came and went in front of the buildings.

Marina stood. She didn’t feel any different here. This wasn’t her home dimension. Marina turned to look behind her. She could see the waterfall- floating… in midair? The flow cut off and the water dropped. It didn’t leave a drop on the grass.

Annnd I’m stuck here. Marina thought. Looking at the short grove beyond where the portal had been. How do I find the… Myuncher? Was it? She turned back to the black strip and- Another metal plated animal, a bigger one, was sitting in front of the buildings.

She frowned. It didn’t move its head or anything. In fact, it didn’t she couldn’t tell if it could notice...anything. Marina moved towards it. Short, slow steps so as not to scare it.

There was nothing. Not even a twitch. As she got closer she saw that there didn’t seem to be an animal under plates… There wasn’t any plates. The metal was mostly fused together, and some kind of black wheels for legs. There were several green patches on the top, windows for viewing, and seams that looked like doors. Marina stopped, realizing she had been walking at a normal pace for the past minute.

It’s a contraption. She thought, remembering the hand crank- cart device she saw at the festival last year. Is this a more advanced version of that? Are there people inside? Can I ask to see it?

She returned to a normal pace. Act normal. Don’t scare them. Pretend you belong. She reached the larger side door and knocked. Two Figures shifted in the windows. Marina took a step back and almost fell into resting stance. Instead of clasping her hands behind her back she let them rest by her sides.

The figures seemed to look at each other. Then at her.

Please, Marina thought as the figures shifted more. please please-

The door popped out. She stepped back as it slid to the side with a low rumble. Revealing a powerful man with dark green scaled skin. He was wearing brown armor that covered his vulnerable and vital parts, ending at his collarbone. A leather belt wrapped around his waist. It held a pair of red handled Sci that matched the red mask that covered his eyes.

The man glowered down at her. “What do you want kid?”

“Kataff?” Marina’s mouth suddenly went dry. How do I phrase this? “Ma see- nakta contrapti?”

The man stared at her. “Uh… Leo? I don't think she understands English.”

“Raph, we shouldn't assume gender on an alien-” a purple masked man poked his head into the doorway. “Uh… Never mind.” He waved a three fingered hand and smiled. “Hi,” He said slowly.

Marina waved back. Her ears stung…

“We need to find a translator, maybe Dr. [robot] can help.” The purple masked man said as two others, wearing an orange mask and a blue mask, also looked at her.

Help… The amulet burned against her chest. Marina pulled it out from under her shirt and kissed the carved stone. Her lips burned. Her mouth warmed like she drank hot liquid.

#fanfic #TMNT

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remmushound · 4 years ago

Note

as a request, what about Rise! Donnie talking to Bayverse Donnie about glasses? idk what headcannon you have or just enjoy for why Rise! Donnie doesn't wear glasses anymore, but I think the interaction could be interesting no matter what??

Part 8 of my Rise/bay crossover! Special thanks to @brightlotusmoon for the help with this chapter!!

Donatello made a vague motion that Donnie took as an ‘ask away’ motion.

“Ah— okay— uh— what— well for starters how on earth did you get contacts?”

“April and I have the same eye difficulties, so she provides me and Leonardo with the contacts on a monthly basis and gives us her old glasses every time she upgrades.”

“Wait— your April wears glasses? And your Leo?”

“Affirmative.” Donatello’s spider claw reached into his battle shell and pulled out two Dr.Pepper’s, opening both and offering one to Mikey. Mikey made a noise not unlike an excited toddler as he grabbed the beverage and slurped it down happily.

“Well— how did you meet your April?”

“It was a dark and stormy autumn night, thunder echoing down the alleyways just l ike the barking beasts that pursued me through the shadows!” Donatello switched the lights off and flicked on a flashlight to illuminate his features in shadowed detail. “There must have been eight, nine of them on my shell, all trying to take me down. But not I! Son of Splinter! There was a battle fought— turtle on beast— until they were fleeing back down the alley with their tails tucked between their legs.”

Donatello turned off the flashlight as the story ended abruptly, letting the darkness linger a moment before flicking the lights back on and piping rather cheerfully.

“Then April found me and we’ve been best friends ever since, the end.”

Mikey dropped his can in favor of clapping excitedly and Donnie gave a golf-clap out of politeness.

“What about you?” Donatello prompted.

“Dude, our April was totally the Hogoshaaaaaa.”

Donnie opened his mouth to explain further, but Donatello didn't need it. “In which way?”

Mikey simply blinked.

“Hogosha can mean guardian, protector, patron, parent, watcher— I need context.”

“Oh then the first two.” Mikey nodded, “Can I have another Dr.Pepper?”

“Oh yeah fo sho.” Donatello provided another can. “Hey, you should totally make some of those tattoo designs for me and my brothers! My Mikey’s art is very ~bright and happy sunshines~ but the simplistic design is sooooo awesome! Maybe like an Omou for me, Oni for Raph—“

“How often do you get the urge to bite?”

The enjoyment immediately drained from Donatello’s face.

“I mean, softshell’s are known for having a pretty nasty attitude and tend to bite a lot. They’re not really social creatures.” Donnie explained further.

“Don’t you think I would be aware of such things because I am one?” Donatello almost growled.

Donatello’s irritation came to Donnie’s joy. “Oh! There’s that softshell agitation!”

“IT’S NOT—” Donatello started to hiss, then forced himself back down.

“Sorry.” Donnie threw his hands up in surrender.

Donatello tried not to care. “Maybe Ongaku for Leon—“

“Do you like to bury yourself?”

Donatello flinched, and looked slowly back over at Donnie with rage bubbling in his mind.

“What’s your preferred texture? Do you prefer mud or sand?”

“I prefer your head on a pike.” Donatello muttered too low for Donnie to hear but enough for Mikey to choke on his soda.

“What was that?” Donnie tilted his head.

“Nothing.” Donatello huffed, fun thoughts of tattoos completely gone from his mind. “Have you found Leon and Angelo yet? I don’t trust those two idiots to keep out of trouble for very long.”

“Yeah— I’m uh— working on it.” Donnie quickly brushed past the answer to try and ask his final question, “What does it feel like when something presses against your shell? Or bends the bridge?”

Donatello dropped his half-full can of soda to the floor. Before either Donnie could say a thing, Mikey got between the both of them.

“Okay brain-boy, slow it down a little!” He put his finger up to Donnie and tisked his tongue, “Don’t be too hard on yourself!”

“Ha.” Donatello’s face was blank, any scrap of emotion once in it replaced with sheer, aggravated boredom.

The tension in the air was so thick it could be cut with a knife. But instead of a knife, it was cut by a short alarm.

“Ah— um.” Donnie cleared his throat, “Uh. The tracker is ready so… I… I should…” Donnie didn't finish the statement before sulking out of the kitchen with his head low.

“How’d it go?” Leo immediately regretted his words, but it was too late.

Donnie plopped himself down in the swivel chair and started to jump between the different signatures. Blue for Leo, red for Raph, purple for himself, and orange for Mikey— all, of course, in the lair. A white mark for Splinter. Black for all unknown signatures.

“Okay, so… seven down here, like expected… seems like Bebop and Rocksteady are still in place…” He jumped to the next unknown signature. “There! This one is alone— but not moving…”

“Are they…?” Leo started slowly.

“No— their vitals are stable, they’re just hiding.” He jumped to the next signature, “Here—these two are together! And on the move… that’s not good.”

“What’s not good?”

“Well, they’re on— or, above— Santon Street— that’s only two blocks from April’s apartment… they seem to be heading that direction.”

“Then so are we.” Leo immediately strutted off toward the weapons keep.

“Wait— now? But— it’s day!”

“This is a special case. Special case.” He drew his katana from their shelf, “Special circumstance…”

#Donnie didnt mean it #he’s a good boy just oblivious #Mikey and Donatello friendship ftw!#tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #donatello #donnie #Mikey #michelangelo

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themakebelievediaries · 7 years ago

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Catfished : Episode 14

To a certain group of mutant turtles who always had a strategy to everything, nothing prepared them for this. No amount of training or meditation could help their emotions, even Splinter is on his last straw but unlike the young turtles, he is strong.

It’s been a little over 24 hours since the fight, Splinter has been checking in on a dangerously still Leo who has since turned a very pale sort of green, his breathing irregular and his body shaking with fever, Splinter soaks his head with a cool wet rag and each time he walks out he’s confronted with Mikey’s sulking concerned eyes,

He gently pats Mikey on his shoulder “just think of how strong he truly is” he whispers in a calm and careful way like he always has handled Mikey and walks off.

There is no doubt that Splinter is worried about his sons, they aren’t themselves, Donnie is overworking, Raph is angrier and Mikey hasn’t said a joke or laughed in 3 days.

Pacing. That’s all Raph does, back and forth, back and forth then he’ll switch it around, stopping only for a moment to glance up at Leo’s door, when nothing happens, it’s back to pacing.

Donnie, kept busy and distracted himself, running various tests, working on his inventions, running a quick diagnostic on Leo’s heart.

“How is he?” Raph asks Donnie just as he emerges out of Leo’s room, “His heart rate is too low” Donnie’s head hung low, hovering over his tablet screen, for a moment he could hear Raph mumble “Come on Leo”.

“It’s been hours!” Raph raises his voice, not particularly yelling at Donnie even though it would seem that way, “I know.” Donnie sighs swiping up and down his tablet, “And what are you doing about it?! Can’t you work some potions or something!” “I’m trying Raph” Donnie maintains his calm composure, “Try harder!!” he yells still pacing back and forth,

Donnie looks up at Raph, he wouldn’t have to say it out loud because his eyes showed the hurt, Raphael’s features soften and his shoulders slump in frustration “I’m sorry Donnie” Donnie nods.

“Hey, what’s with all the yelling?” April strolls into the room, vibrant and energetic, a little tanned. Casey not far behind her with a little suitcase in hand,

The turtles eyes lift up to meet her in surprise,

“April, You guys are back.” Donnie almost says it like a question, his eyes wide.

“Yeah…” April trails of in her thoughts, examining her surroundings, Mikey is seated hunched over a step, his head hung low, Raph is spinning his knife, leaning against a wall, and Donnie turns his gaze to his tablet, it would seem they are avoiding eye contact with her, Casey is just as clueless as she is,

“What’s going on guys?” her eyes bounce from turtle to turtle expecting one of them to speak up “Where’s Leo?” she turns to Mikey, as his head turns to Leo’s room, she walks over and lifts the curtain in front of the entrance,

“Would somebody like to tell me what is going on?” April’s voice dropped and her eyes stayed glued to Leo,

…………..

April leaned forward in her chair her elbows resting on her knees, as Donnie filled her in on everything.

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“You guys were on vacation”

“Leo is hurt Donnie!” April stands up to face Donnie, she places a hand on his arm “I could help”

“I know.” Donnie looks to the ground, it seems like everything is on him and April felt his burden “tell me what I can do.”

Donnie leads April and Casey to his computer and wide screens, Raph lingering in the background,

“I’ve run every possible test, it’s practically a maze” his fingers resting over the keys of the keyboard, “Y/N’s vitals seem normal, in fact it shows all the signs of a person asleep”

“Yet she isn’t waking up.” April studies the charts Donnie opened up,

“And Leo?” Casey asks,

Donnie punches in a few keys and up comes Leo’s chart, “Like I told Raph, his cardiorespiratory system is over-working yet his heart is too slow”

April shakes her head trying to make sense of it all,

“Hold on” Casey steps up closer to the screens “you said she used her power on him”

“Yeah”

“Well, it could be something in her powers that is going against your …..” Casey tries to think of the right word but couldn’t “mutation.”

“Kind of like kryptonite to superman” Raph speaks up from behind them, Casey gives him a nod,

Donnie and April think of the possibility.

April turns to Donnie “so the real question here is what’s powering her ability?”

“From what we gathered” says Donnie typing once again bringing up pictures of all sorts “Baxter created this new drug called edixfin which we think is what created her mutation, we didn’t see it in his lab but I found similar components in the white ooze they used to jog her memory and bring out her powers”

“We need to go back to that lab” April says “find out what we can with what’s left”

“How about tonight?” Raph raises an eyebrow “Mikey made a pretty large hole in the building”

“Okay, tonight. For Leo.” April nods,

“I’ll come too” says Casey confidently

“Actually we need you to stay here with Mikey and Raph and let us know of any changes”

“What?! No way, I’m coming with you guys, I’m no babysitter” Raph protests,

“Raph, what if she is not herself?” April places a hand on his arm, “what if Leo wakes up? Mikey isn’t exactly in the right state of mind to handle any of this” sympathy etched on her face, “Donnie and I will go and check out the paper work and anything else that didn’t burn”

Raph nods reluctantly and without wasting another minute, Donnie and April were on their way.

......................................................

Deep within a cell, hand wielded with metal rods fastened to the ground and bolts holding it secure, enough to fit just one person, you lay on a soft blanket and a pillow under your head,

Feeling like you drank an entire bar, the hangover is real. Your head is about to burst in the darkness with voices, getting louder and louder like you’re in a crowd, you began to cringe at the increasing headache, your temples ready to explode, all you want is to make the voices stop, “just calm down” you found yourself saying out loud and they did.

In the darkness your holding onto Leo, you’re looking into his eyes within his blue mask, his light is fading and you want to grab onto him so he doesn’t fade away “don’t go” you whisper tears flowing down your cheeks, he reaches out his hand and wipes them, smiling as his blue eyes shut and he disappears…

Your eyes spring open and you awake with a scream “Leo!”.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note : Hey my lovelies c: hope you enjoyed this episode, I am half happy and half sad to announce that the finale for catfished is near. Happy that we have come so far with a great series and that I got all this love ad support from you guys <3 Sad that it’s reached it’s end .

Episode 16 will be the last episode for the series so that’s two more episodes and Catfished will be completed.. I have a new series coming up called “Hunted” it will be out 24th of Oct

Much love to all of you. Jo :)

#tmnt 2016 #tmnt 2012 #tmnt 2014 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #leo #tmnt raph #tmnt leo #tmnt donnie #tmnt mikey #raph #donnie #mikey

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spectrumscribe · 7 years ago

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Silent.

finally getting around to making another short drabble sequel fic to Mute, since i’m still very stuck that one scene in the elevator, and just shitty canon in general. also somewhat a prequel to These Days.

still salty. so very salty.

—————————————————————-

Mikey’s skull aches still, even a few hours later. His neck, too. From the whiplash.

And it’s not just because of the table, or the thrashing, or the army guys who’d held him down and put him in restraints.

Nah. This smarts like something homemade.

Raph always did have the best right hook.

The bruises on his arms and legs aren’t so bad. Those he can handle, they’re practically normal these days. One thing or another is going to give him a few bumps, and he’s been dealing with those for years. A little bit of ache to his gait is normal, what with the life he and his family lead.

It’s just… head injuries, right? They get to him, sometimes.

At least Raph got to keep his pet. The fact that Chompy gets to stay on earth should keep him in a good mood for at least a few nights. And Raph in a good mood is harder to piss off. Mostly. Mikey just needs to play his cards right; enjoy the mood while it lasted.

Leo, too. He’s in a good mood, another successful mission under his belt and getting praise for it from their father. Mikey’s two older brothers are with Splinter, sitting on the couch and recounting the feats they’d achieved that evening. Both Raph and Leo are smiling, and their father is returning the expression.

Mikey considers for a moment, going to join them, see if he can possibly insert himself in the conversation without getting annoyed looks or talked over completely.

He decides it’s not worth the effort. He’s tired. Near death from something they’ve all had nightmares about, once or twice, is a little draining on a turtle.

He vaguely wonders if either of his brothers know, or if his father does. The debriefing was chaotic, before everyone separated to go home or wandered off into their lab (Casey, April; Donnie). He can’t remember if he actually got around to saying hey, guess who nearly got vivisected tonight?

Mikey honestly can’t tell. He’s not entirely sure if he would have gotten much reaction either way.

Better to just leave it. He’s alive and that’s all that really matters.

His temples throb, the dark bruise there getting darker.

Ice. He needs ice and a pick me up.

Mikey slips around the edge of the room, quiet and invisible as he heads for the kitchen. He doesn’t feel like attracting attention right now. Too tired to keep any real bounce to his step. He’ll just get some ice, maybe snatch a few band-aids from the medical kit, and hit the sack.

The bruises should be gone within a few days. Even the ones Raph gave him.

Not like that’ll matter.

They’ll be back. Or rather, replaced soon enough.

Mikey keeps a lot of ice in stock, inside the freezer and behind his private pizza pops stash. Kitty is an excellent guard cat, keeping people away from both of those things.

“Heeeeeey, pretty girl,” Mikey whispers, opening the freezer. “Guess who made it back in one piece?”

Kitty covers his cheeks with cold ice cream residue, licking and rubbing. Her kitty kisses soothe some of the ache to his head, the coolness sinking into a few smaller bruises he’s nursing on his cheeks. Mikey gives her gentle pets to the head and back, minding he doesn’t squish her soft little body.

Kitty is, without a doubt, Mikey’s favorite person. She’s always in her freezer, no matter what time of day or night it is, and she’s always, always happy to see him. No strings attached, no insults or shoves to give.

Even if he’s gone and messed up that evening, or not feeling like smiling too brightly, she’s always happy to see him.

He really does love Kitty for that.

Mikey gets his ice cubes, already inside a baggie and ready to go, and gives Kitty one last kiss to the forehead before he shuts the door. He’d stay longer, maybe even until the sun rose, but he’s already risking it being out this long.

Even if it’s unlikely they would ask, Mikey’s decided he would prefer not to have to recount his part in the adventure tonight. He feels like his brothers would get on his case for being caught so quickly; Leo especially, since he’d specifically left Mikey to guard the rear while they went for the ships. He messed that up, and with something so important to Raph at that- he’s pretty sure at least one of them would be mad.

He’s not sure what Splinter would do. Maybe frown a little, and then remind him to work harder at training. Or maybe do nothing at all.

Mikey leaves the kitchen, and skirts the center of the room again. Next stop: a very, very swift visit to the lab’s medical kit.

He’s got cuts on his arms and legs, where the edges of the restraints cut into his scales while he struggled. They’ve all crusted over, barely even hurting as he walks, but it’s better to clean and bandage them anyways. He lives in a filthy tunnel system, and an infection could happen so easily. His brothers would be upset too, if he couldn’t go on missions for a few days. And if he did anyways, and messed up at a vital point because he was too sick to focus right…

Yeah, better to just not get sick at all.

Mikey’s nimble fingers open the medical kit with practice ease. It’s close to the door, thank god, and he’s gotten good at being in and out before anyone even knows he’s been in the room. Donnie gets pissed if he comes into the lab without permission or invite, and Mikey is just. Too wound up and exhausted to navigate a fight like that. Not right now.

He fumbles with the box of larger band-aids, the box slipping from his hand as he takes it out. It falls on the floor with a hollow tunk, and he grabs for it immediately.

“Mikey?”

He freezes, halfway upright and curled around the box.

Donnie had been sitting at one of the tables, and Mikey hadn’t noticed since his head was down. Mikey had thought his brother had gone to his room to get something, maybe take a shower while the washroom was still free.

Donnie’s mask is off, and he’s got bags under his eyes as he looks Mikey over. He seems a little confused as to why Mikey is in his lab.

“Uh,” Mikey mumbles. He doesn’t want a fight right now, with anyone. “Sorry. ‘m leaving right away.”

Donnie’s eyes slide to the rest of Mikey. To the cuts, and the bruises.

He looks at the big one on the side of Mikey’s face, from where Raph decked him. Mikey can feel him do it.

Donnie’s shoulders rise, and then fall as he sighs.

“…come here. I’ll… I’ll help. It’ll go faster.”

Donnie’s about as gentle as Kitty was, putting a cool disinfectant wipe against his cuts and wiping away the dirt. They sit in silence, Mikey letting his brother efficiently clean and bandage each small injury.

Mikey kind of still feels the sharp tools looming over him, primed to pry open his plastron and take him apart. He thinks of the bruises and cuts as a small price to pay, considering how bad it really could’ve been.

He wonders if Casey told Donnie about what happened. That Mikey nearly died.

He wonders if Donnie would care enough to be worried, or upset.

…Mikey’s fine, so he kind of doubts it. If it’s not something big and life-threatening, there’s not much worth in anyone causing a fuss. All his organs and blood is where it’s supposed to be, so it’s whatever. He’s fine.

Donnie turns Mikey’s head to the side, examining the spot Raph punch him. It hurts the muscles of Mikey’s neck, tender as they are, but he doesn’t make a sound.

Donnie stares at the bruise for a long, long moment. Then he takes a wipe, and cleans it so gently Mikey barely feels any pain.

“I’m sorry,” Donnie whispers when he’s done, wadding up the used wipe. “That must’ve hurt.”

Mikey shrugs. It’s not the worst he’s ever gotten. He’ll survive just fine. “It’s nothing.”

Donnie doesn’t frown, or even grimace. He just looks tired.

Mikey kind of wonders what Donnie got up to tonight, while he and Casey were strapped to those tables. But he’s too tired to really ask. It was probably less stupid than his misadventure, that much he can guess.

“…thanks,” Mikey says, standing up from his stool. He presses the packet of ice to his temple, relief coming immediately, and he sees Donnie’s eyes follow the motion. He doesn’t say anything about that or the bruise. He just says, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Dee.”

“…okay, goodnight,” Donnie says softly, and Mikey feels him watching as he leaves.

His father and brothers are gone from the couches, so Mikey only has to sneak a little bit as he heads for his room. There’s light coming from under Raph’s door, which he tiptoes past, and the sound of water coming from the washroom. Both his brothers are occupied, and his father is nowhere in sight. It’s a hollow sense of relief.

His temple aches less, for the ice and care. The bruises on his arms and legs, along with the cuts there, hurt only a little now that they’ve been cleaned and bandaged.

It’s enough, but also… not.

Not much he can do about that.

Mikey opens his bedroom door silently, and shuts it just as.

#michelangelo #Donatello #tmnt #tmnt 2012 #tokka vs the world #fuuuuuuck this episode #fuck canon in general #b-team babes #except.... not really bc this is a sad fic #:(#i had to okay #this has been bouncing around my head lately and i didn't have enough energy for another TD update so soon #so #instead angst #tw: abuse #My writing #god i'm so sorry boys #you deserve better

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brokaw22 · 7 years ago

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Fic: Wasting Away Chapter 6

ff.net

Story Snyopsis: Leo knows there's something going on with Raph. He just never suspected that it would be something of this magnitude.

It’s been two weeks since Raph de-mutated, and two things are abundantly clear. One, after an incident where Mikey lost the non-mutant turtle and he ended up nearly chomping down on an electrical cord, Mikey is never allowed to watch the de-mutated turtle and cook at the same time again. Two, Leo misses his little brother immeasurably.

In a mere two weeks, Leo has learned that without Raph’s constant challenges, training isn’t nearly as engaging or fun. The lack of his sarcastic brother’s snarky comments during movies and TV shows leaves an uncomfortable silence that even Mikey has trouble filling, but the worst part of it all is the empty spaces where his brother used to dwell. Leo knew Raph’s bedroom was going to be an obvious painful reminder that his brother is no longer his brother, but there are other vacant spots throughout the lair that Leo wasn’t prepared for, like his spot in the dojo, or the beanbag chair in front of the TV. It seems as though no matter what Leo does he can’t escape the fact that his brother isn’t really around anymore.

He sighs heavily as he grabs Red’s lunch and heads to his room. He can’t refer to the de-mutated turtle sitting on his bed by his brother’s name. It doesn’t feel right, and besides, the non-mutant turtle isn’t his brother, no matter what the other two say.

The little turtle stares up at him with beady little black eyes, void of any knowledge of who’s feeding him, as he chews on a spinach leaf. The eyes are unnerving, both due to how blank they are as well as the color. Leo never really thought much about Raph’s eyes before, but now he misses the expressive vibrant green that used to glare at him during their arguments.

Suddenly, a bug goes skittering by, but before Leo can catch it and release it outside of the lair, Red snaps his beak around it and swallows it. Leo shudders as he hands Red a strawberry. How the other two could possibly see Red as their brother is beyond him. Leo can’t imagine Raph ever getting that close to a bug without sweating and screaming…not to mention, eating one, no matter his form.

Leo sighs again as he watches the little non-mutant turtle eat. He may not be his brother anymore, but Leo still owes him an apology. “I know I promised that I wouldn’t let this happen and I’m sorry I failed, but this is temporary. I promise.” Leo scoffs at himself. “Yeah, I’m sure a promise from me really means a lot to you right now, huh? I did try, though. I hope you know that, and I’m still trying.” They all are, even if it feels like they’re all on opposite sides right now.

Leo pets Red’s shell as the non-mutant turtle continues eating the bits of fruit, spinach leaves, and worms Leo placed in a bowl for him. If this was truly still his brother, there’s no way that he would be able to get this close without one of them being injured. Raph never did like physical contact, but Red seems to soak it up. In fact, Red has been known to nudge their hands in order to encourage petting and shell scrubs. Every time Red does it, Leo obliges, even though it makes his chest constrict and assures him that their brother is gone.

Suddenly, there’s a knock on his door. Leo doesn’t feel comfortable leaving Red on his own, even if he’s distracted by food, so he gathers him into his arms, ignoring the repeated attempts to escape and return to the food, as he goes to answer the door. He opens it to see Donnie standing there, looking rather impatient. As soon as he notices Leo, Donnie smiles and gestures for him to hand over Red, but Leo isn’t entirely certain that he should do so. “I figured it out! I can reverse it.”

Leo just blinks owlishly as Donnie grabs Red out of his arms and takes off in the direction of his lab. “Wait, what do you mean you figured it out?”

Donnie sets Red down on his desk as he practically flies around the lab looking for various pieces of equipment. Leo stands beside the de-mutated turtle and places his hand on the desk to keep Red from wandering off of the edge.

“I told you, at first it acted like a virus, but then it mutated, so all I had to do was figure out how to stop the mutating cells from multiplying.” Donnie holds up a vial with a yellow liquid in it before continuing, “Which this serum will do, and then I can pump Raph full of some of his own blood that I have stored, and that should reverse the effects.”

Leo pets Red’s shell as Donnie starts hooking him up to a machine. “Do you even have any of Raph’s blood that isn’t tainted?”

Donnie nods as he continues setting everything up. “I have some reserves I kept while we were still at the farmhouse, before The Creep incident. I’ve already checked. It’s still good, and this should work.”

Red keeps trying to gnaw on the various wires and tubes around him. Leo has to move them out of the way more than once, so he decides to distract the turtle with his finger, making sure to keep it a safe distance from Red’s mouth. “So, how long will this take?”

Donnie shrugs. “I’m going to give him the first dose of the serum, and then take a blood sample. I’ll know almost immediately if it’s working. From there, however, it could be a matter of hours or it could be weeks with repeated doses before I can inject Raph with his blood.”

Leo nods as he watches Donnie inject the serum he created. “So, what are the other machines for?”

Donnie keeps his focus on the syringe in his hand and the turtle in front of him, who desperately keeps trying to hide in his shell. “Oh, they’re just monitoring his vitals, temperature, and all of that. He’s so tiny that our normal equipment wouldn’t work. I had to cobble this stuff together.”

Leo watches as Donnie takes out another syringe and starts extracting a blood sample. Once he’s finished, Red pulls all of his limbs and his head into his shell. Leo grabs the toothbrush they use to clean Red’s shell and starts gently scrubbing it over every part of Red’s shell that he can reach, hoping to calm him down. Red loves shell scrubs and it seems to work, given that Red’s head is starting to reemerge. It doesn’t take long before he’s staring up at Leo again, and Leo can’t help but smile. At least, the little guy is feeling better.

It feels like forever before Donnie sighs behind him. Leo doesn’t know if he’s just tired or if something good has finally happened. He refuses to hold out hope. After all, lately it seems nothing good happens to them. “What is it?”

Donnie is suddenly beside him with an arm around his shoulder. “It’s working. I won’t know how fast it’s working until I take another blood sample in a few hours, but this is a start, Leo. We can get Raph back.”

Leo nods as he continues running the toothbrush over Red’s shell. They may have found a way to reverse the physical effects, but Leo refuses to believe that they can get their brother back until he’s standing here in front of him. He just doesn’t have it in him anymore to have that kind of blind faith in the universe. Too much has happened, and he refuses to mourn his brother twice. “Do you need him here, or can I take him back to my room? He didn’t exactly get to finish his lunch.”

Donnie looks over his monitor quickly before nodding. “Just keep an eye on him. If he starts acting strange, or his color or temperature changes bring him back.”

Leo disconnects Red from all the monitors and heads out of the lab. When he gets back to his room and sets Red down on his bed in front of the food bowl, Red doesn’t hesitate to start eating again. “You didn’t seem very comfortable in the lab. It’s probably the only thing that you have in common with Raph.”

It’s the first time that he’s spoken his brother’s name out loud since his fight with the other two about what they should do with the de-mutated turtle, and it makes his chest tighten. Leo has to swallow a couple of times as he tries to work the lump out of his throat. Red is staring at him now and all Leo can do is turn away and cry. “I miss my brother.”

He gives himself a couple of minutes to merely grieve, and then Leo composes himself again. He can’t fall apart, even here. Red needs someone to watch out for him. After all, Leo’s room may not be as hazardous as certain areas of the lair, but, even in his nearly spotless room, there are still dangers for a de-mutated turtle.

He returns to petting Red’s shell once again. Leo honestly doesn’t know if it’s an attempt to calm himself or the turtle eating in front of him. “I don’t know if we can get back what we’ve lost, but they’re right we’ve gotta try, and…and I hope that you understand that.”

For his part, Red seems to ignore him as he continues eating. Leo doesn’t want to think about what will happen if this goes wrong. He doesn’t want to consider how this will all end if this doesn’t work. After all, he thinks it’s a safe bet that they will have no choice but to follow through with Raph’s wishes.

However, Leo isn’t entirely certain that Donnie and Mikey will be on board with that. He can’t blame them, of course, but it hurts and he hates this. Leo hates feeling like he’s on the opposite side of them. He can’t stand the idea of fighting against his own family, but Leo can’t help but think that he’s been doing exactly that since before Raph de-mutated.

After all, he’s the one who pointed out that something was wrong with Raph in the first place. A part of him is furious with Donnie for not noticing that there was something wrong sooner, especially since Leo went to him and Don merely shrugged off his concerns. Hell, Donnie basically admitted that he didn’t even notice a single one of Raph’s symptoms until Leo had mentioned them.

However, another part of him -- a much larger part, in fact -- is far more infuriated with himself. Leo knew there was something wrong with Raph long before he addressed his concerns. He let his fear still his tongue and now they are all paying the price for it, but none as much as Raph.

Not to mention, he wasn’t even able to fulfill his promise to his brother. There are times when Leo considers just grabbing Red and leaving. He doesn’t think he would even make it out of the city before the others noticed, but he can’t stop thinking that it’s what both Red and Raph would want. Still, every time that the thought crosses his mind, Leo stops himself from running to the farm, because he made a promise to the rest of his family, too. He just wishes that that promise wasn’t in direct conflict with the promise he made Raph.

Leo wonders if this is why he had so many disagreements with Raph. He’s always seen himself as a fair and just guy. He didn’t think that he ever put one family member before another, but as Leo sits on his bed, petting Red, he wonders if maybe that’s not true. He wonders if perhaps sacrificing Raph’s wishes for the wishes of the rest of his family isn’t a new behavior.

Raph used to always complain that they didn’t understand him…that they…no, that Leo didn’t treat him the same way that he treated the other two. Leo always wrote it off as Raph being dramatic, but maybe he wasn’t. Maybe Leo has always subconsciously put Raph last. After all, Raph never seemed to need Leo the way that the other two always have. He doesn’t want to think that he had anything to do with Raph’s decision to be released at the farm, but he can’t ignore the twisting of his guts as he considers it.

Leo sighs as he watches Red turn away from the small amount of remaining food. He moves the bowl to his nightstand with a mental reminder to return it to the kitchen later. Leo can’t help but smile as Red snuggles into the crook of his arm, enjoying what little heat he gives off.

Leo’s sure that, if they somehow get Raph back and he remembers his time as a normal turtle, then his little brother will vehemently deny this. Then again, if they do manage to get Raph back and he does remember all of this, then Leo is sure he’ll be too busy dealing with a livid Raph. After all, Raph always did have issues with broken promises…not that Leo can blame him.

Leo shakes his head. He refuses to think about the possibility of getting Raph back. After all, if something goes wrong, and it usually does, that’ll just lead to more heartbreak and Leo doesn’t think that he can take any more of that right now. He grabs Red and decides it’s time for some meditation time. He hopes that Mikey isn’t already cooking. He could use a break from watching Red.

However, Leo doesn’t even manage to get his door open all of the way before a body practically slams into him. “Oh, man, Leo, I’m sorry. I was just really excited. Donnie said that he’s worked out a way to get Raphie back. By the way, he needs Raphie. He said that it’s time for another blood test. Oh, man, I hope we can get him back soon. I know Donnie said it could take weeks, but we’ve already waited forever. I don’t think I can take anymore waiting.”

Leo blinks rapidly at Mikey’s rambling. It takes him a second to decipher why Mikey barreled into his room, and when he does, he merely nods. “Okay, sure, I’ll take him to Donnie.” Leo holds Red up so Mikey can see him.

“Good, I’ll come, too.”

It takes all of Leo’s self-control not to sigh out loud. Instead, he just nods again as he makes his way to the lab. When Leo enters the lab, he doesn’t hesitate to hand Red over to Donnie. This time Donnie has the syringe ready, and it only takes a few moments for him to examine the blood sample.

Leo sits on the metal exam table beside Mikey, who is surprisingly quiet the entire time that the two of them wait for the results. Mikey’s leg is bouncing obnoxiously beside him, but Leo doesn’t mention it. After all, he’s fairly certain that they are all equally nervous.

After what feels like an eternity, Donnie turns to them with a bright smile on his face. “It’s working surprisingly fast. I’ll be able to give him a dose of his own blood in a few more hours. We could all wait in here or watch a movie or something, if you want.”

Leo grabs Red out of Donnie’s hands, so the other can go wash his hands and put everything away. “Yeah, let’s go watch a movie. You can pick, Donnie.”

Donnie shakes his head. “Nah, I’ve got a few more things to clean up first. Why don’t you or Mikey pick?”

“Dibs!” Mikey yells as he races out of the room. Leo can’t help but laugh as he follows his little brother.

Mikey has already picked out a movie and has moved onto making popcorn when Leo settles down with Red in his lap. “Well, so much for meditation, huh?” He pets Red’s shell as he shifts to get more comfortable.

It doesn’t take long before both Donnie and Mikey join him in front of the TV. Mikey hits play, and Leo doesn’t know how to feel when the title screen of Raph’s favorite movie starts playing. A part of him thinks it’s rather fitting, given what they’re waiting for, but another part of him just aches and misses Raph that much more.

They watch in silence for a few moments before Mikey starts rambling. It takes Leo a moment to realize that Mikey is commenting on certain scenes the way that Raph would. It hurts but it also makes Leo smile.

He shuts his eyes and remembers the last time that they watched this…back when it was truly the four of them. Leo remembers leaving early, reminding his brothers not to stay up too late. He wishes that he hadn’t left. Leo so desperately wants to go back in time and stay until the ending credits. He wishes that he had talk to Raph more, and asked him why this was his favorite movie. He wishes he had sat down with his brother late at night and listened as Raph told him something silly like explosions are beautiful.

There’s a lot that Leo wishes he had done or said to Raph, but he knows that regrets are useless. They’re here now, and all he can do is move on. He wants to believe in Donnie and believe he can have a second chance, but there’s something holding him back…something stopping him from hoping for the best. Before Leo can examine that further, there’s a hand on his shoulder. He turns and stares up at Donnie, who’s grinning brightly. “Come on, Leo, it’s time.”

Leo heaves a large sigh and finds himself preparing for the worst, even as the other two race to the lab. When he walks into the lab, Donnie takes Red off of him once again. “I’m going to give him one more blood test, just to make sure there are no more mutating cells producing, and then I’ll inject him with the blood.” Donnie has already started withdrawing blood.

Leo nods as he watches the whole process. Mikey is practically vibrating with anticipation. “How long will it take him to change?”

Donnie shrugs as he examines the blood sample. “I honestly have no idea. Since his de-mutation process took some time right up until the end when he fully mutated, I can only guess. It could take a matter of moments or it could be a slow progression. I’m thinking no longer than a week or two.”

Donnie injects Red with Raph’s blood, and they all watch with bated breath. They all just stare in utter silence, unmoving, waiting for something…anything to happen. It’s the longest minute of their lives with seemingly no change, and yet none of them dare to move. After an hour, Mikey decides to leave. He does ask them to call him if anything changes, though, so Leo can’t fault him for getting bored and leaving. Leo, on the other hand, can’t seem to move. He’s transfixed on the spot, just watching Red as he lies on the cold medal table.

Another hour has passed and Donnie has returned to working on some other project. Leo doesn’t mind. He’s got an eye on Red in case anything happens, and it’s not as if he had any other plans for the evening. He starts absently petting Red’s shell when Donnie abruptly stands and stretches. He turns and stares at Leo as if he forgot he was there. “You know, I did say that it could potentially take a couple of weeks. You two don’t need to stay in here.”

Leo merely shrugs as he continues petting Red. “I know. I just…I want to wait a little while longer.”

Donnie nods. “Okay, well, I’m gonna go get some coffee.”

Donnie leaves and returns with a steaming cup of coffee, and there is still no change in Red. Leo still doesn’t know how to feel. He didn’t actually believe that this was going to work anyway, but he feels lost and doesn’t know what to do with himself. He knows that if he leaves and goes back to his room, he’ll do nothing but sit there and think of this failure. He doesn’t want to train. All it does is remind him of his missing sparring partner, so instead he stays and waits…for what? Leo doesn’t know.

It’s three and a half hours after they injected Raph, when Mikey returns with dinner for all of them. They eat in silence, and then Mikey returns the dishes to the kitchen. He’s back and sitting beside Leo once again when there’s a sudden scratching sound. Immediately, they all turn to stare at Red, who seems rather agitated as he scrapes his shell against the table. It takes a second for them to realize what’s happening, but it’s pretty obvious that he’s changing.

His body shifts first, growing and altering, but his eyes are squeezed tightly shut as he shakes and whimpers. None of them know what to do, so they simply stand back and watch as it happens. They’re afraid to crowd him and make the process even more uncomfortable.

It feels like a lifetime has passed before the form before them truly resembles their beloved brother. Raph slowly opens his eyes, and Leo watches as they begin to shift. The endless emotionless black beads slowly swirl and transform into the familiar vibrant chartreuse that Leo knows and loves.

The suddenly verdigris colored eyes are wide with palpable pain, which causes Leo both anguish and excitement. Raph’s vision clears, and he seems to be in less pain. He tries to sit up, but all three of them move as one to push him back down, afraid that moving too much too quickly will harm him after that ordeal.

He stares at all of them for a long moment, seemingly memorizing all of their faces, and Leo breathes out a relieved sigh. It’s the first spark of hope that he’s felt since this whole nightmare began, but it’s immediately dashed the moment that Raph speaks. “Where am I? And who are you?” It’s then that Leo realizes that there is no sign of recognition in Raph’s bright jade colored eyes.

Leo’s chest tightens as his legs give out. He hears the sound of something clattering to the floor, but he doesn’t know what it is. His vision blurs with tears as his breath hitches. They’ve lost their brother for a second time, but he doesn’t know what’s worse…having Raph beside him with no memory of being their brother or the de-mutated turtle he once was. After all, it’s fairly obvious that they’re both equally not his brother.

The promise that he made to Raph suddenly rings in his ears, and Leo knows now that he should have fought harder. He should have listened to Raph and fulfilled his wishes, because now he doesn’t even have a chance to do so. He’s lost Raph all over again and there’s nothing that Leo can do about it except beg for forgiveness from someone who doesn’t even remember why he needs to ask for it. In fact, the turtle lying on the medical table no longer knows enough to know that Leo doesn’t deserve his forgiveness, and probably never will…not after this…not after what Raph has become.

The End (for now)

#leonardo #raphael #donatello #michelangelo #fanfic #teenage mutant ninja turtles #TMNT 2012 #tmnt

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