#as in mikey and the sliver have each wound up with something from outside their dimensions now. nano doesnt count bc he's a person

[roseverdict]

Normally this would be the part where I put the title of the fic, but for Pacing Reasons I'm not gonna yet. Yeehaw.

In the year 2012, in a universe where adult mutant ninja turtles have an impressive world-saving resume dating back to when they were just teenagers, Mikey has a scheduled patrol as his part-time hero persona, the Turtle Titan.

In the year 2018, in a universe where magic is always plucking at the edges of the world and where a supernatural library serves as both a pillar of reality and a safe place for powerful magical artifacts, the staff of that very library all look forward to what will hopefully be an uneventful day with no danger of any kind.

It sure would be a shame if an old enemy from someplace adjacent to the turtles turned up alive, well, and ready to cause multidimensional trouble.

The Turtle Titan is an official member of the Justice Force! Of course, I'm only on duty every third Wednesday of every fourth month. And February 29th... when there is one.

- Michelangelo Splinterson, TMNT 2003 S5E6 "Membership Drive"

(You can also read on AO3 if that's your thing! I do a little fiddling with work skins in that one too so it'll look a smidge different at one specific part :D)

〜

"Where is it you are going in such a hurry, my son?"

Mikey paused in the middle of his mad dash for the lair's entrance, his superhero gear halfway between "in his arms" and "in place on his body." "It's February 29th, Sensei, so the Turtle Titan is on patrol tonight."

Splinter's eyebrows rose, and his ears fell back down from an alert position. "Ah, I see. Well, don't let this old rat keep you."

Mikey quickly wrangled his gear the rest of the way on, and the Turtle Titan gave his father a quick, tight hug. "I'll kick plenty of shell, don't worry."

"That, at least, has never been a fear of mine," chuckled Splinter, patting the Turtle Titan's shell before releasing him.

There came a distant yelp of frustration from Raph, and the Turtle Titan snickered and darted off. "Be back in the morning!"

"MIKEY, WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU-!"

"Love you too, Raphy!" called the Turtle Titan over his shoulder as he sprinted away, Raph's sais stuck in his belt right where he'd stashed them next to his nunchaku.

He left Raph's annoyance behind with a spring in his step, and he took the first opportunity he could get to hop topside and take to the rooftops. The Turtle Titan didn't need to hide in the shadows, not like Michelangelo Splinterson still did; the Turtle Titan was a known member of the Justice Force and someone people would be happy to see!

After the whole Time Travel Mess Of 2005-And-Or-2105, Mikey'd had an idea, though; if the Turtle Titan could be accepted so quickly, and if he and his brothers were supposed to wind up accepted by society by the turn of the century, then maybe the Turtle Titan was at least one reason why the Splintersons were able to walk around under the sun a hundred years into the future.

Man, his life was weird.

The Turtle Titan gave himself a little shake and started his run to Meeting Point Delta-Omega- or rather, the roof of the pizza place on Laird Avenue that had opened up a few years back.

His patrol partner was already there by the time he showed up, and the Turtle Titan broke into a grin. "Nano! How's it hanging, Squirt?"

Nano turned to greet him, a grin of his own on his metallic face. "I am still seven inches taller than you, Turtle Titan."

"Six-point-nine inches, and I'm still gonna catch up to you one of these days!" The Turtle Titan wagged his finger at Nano with a smirk. "It's my prerogative as your cool older brother-ish to butt heads with you on this, remember?"

"Don't you mean 'butt your head against my armored shoulder?'" asked Nano too-innocently.

The Turtle Titan cackled and gave Nano's back a hearty smack. "You've learned well, my padawan!"

Nano chuckled with him, then gestured out towards the rest of the city with his head. "Shall we commence patrol?"

"Sure thing, Tiny!" The Turtle Titan charged over the edge of the roof with a whoop, his grappling hook whirring as it yanked him up to the neighboring rooftop.

Nano lifted off and flew after him, and the two of them spent the first ten, maybe fifteen minutes of their shift in amicable silence, save for occasionally dropping in to stop a mugging or a bank heist they happened across.

Then Nano turned to the Turtle Titan on an empty rooftop and asked, "Wasn't the Foot Clan HQ abandoned in 2010?"

The Turtle Titan blinked, and Mikey turned a grim look to Nano. "Yeah, as far as we know. After that whole thing with too many Shredders and the multiverse almost collapsing back in '09, Karai said she was gonna have the Foot 'go back to their roots' or something. Why do you ask?"

"Because there seems to be a massive influx of energy at the top of the building," said Nano, pointing over Mikey's shoulder.

Mikey whirled around, his Turtle Titan cape swishing behind him, and he immediately caught sight of the ball of sickly energy crackling right where Nano said it would be.

"Oooooh, Mikey no likey," said he with a grimace.

The two of them shot off for the allegedly-abandoned skyscraper without another word.

There was no motion at the base- at least, not outside the usual late-night NYC traffic- and there were no lights on inside or silhouettes in the windows.

The only light came from the crackling ball of energy on what had once been the helipad.

And right as he and Nano landed on the outermost part of the roof, even the crackling ball of energy fell dim.

And

Mikey

froze.

The person standing in the middle of the array of machinery that decidedly did not belong there wasn't human, turtle, AI, or even space alien.

The person standing in the middle of the array of machinery that decidedly did not belong there was a rat that he'd last seen either less than an hour prior or the better part of a decade ago, depending on one's point of view.

The Sliver looked somehow more unkempt than the last time Mikey had seen him, with his warlord getup hanging on by a thread and his overachieving mane of fur matted in places that Splinter had never allowed to go unwashed on his own body, even in Mikey's earliest memories. Mikey would even dare to say he looked mangy.

The Sliver hadn't seemed to have noticed Mikey or Nano yet, preoccupied with taking stock of himself as he was.

At the edges of his vision, using the prototype messaging system Donny had put together as a favor for the Justice Force that Mikey kept in his Turtle Titan hood, Nano asked, You know him?

Mikey nodded grimly and subtly reached for his left glove, typing back a response: the whole Thing back in 09 wasnt my first or only brush with the multiverse. meet an evil version of my dad from a universe where my bros and me fill the role of the justice force- the Sliver. last i saw him, he was supposed to be dead, and good riddance tbqfh.

Nano's jaw hardened.

The Sliver brought a hand to his head with a groan as he pushed himself to his feet, lit brightly enough by the machinery around him that it was child's play for Mikey (in his dark Turtle Titan gear) and Nano (quickly camouflaging to the dim hues of the city below) to sneak around and get a good look at the main screen of the hodgepodge of metal the Sliver had brought with him.

At its center, there sat an oldsy-timesy compass-looking thing with a generic plane shape in place of a needle, and as the duo watched, the outer rim slowed from a wild whirling to something more easily legible, showing…a completely normal compass rim thingy.

Mikey really wished Donny was there to help identify whatever the thingy was. Heck, Leo knew enough about solo navigation that he might have had an idea.

Honestly, any of his brothers would have been a blessing right then.

He'd needed his brothers' alternates and his own to even pull the wool over the Sliver's eyes last time, and while he was several years wiser nowadays, so was the Sliver.

"Yes…yes! I am close!" the Sliver chuckled darkly as he interpreted the display. "I am finally in the correct great dimensional tree!"

What is he talking about?

well, given how he was trying to bring his sons to the dark side or kill them for refusing when we presumedly ended up killing him last time, id bet he's trying to get back for revenge reasons or something

*Presumably.

Mikey let his lips twitch into a little grin at Nano's correction before flattening them out again.

he had a machine that would eradicate all life except those lives within a specific area when i first fought him, it was a last-ditch effort to force me and my bros' counterparts to join him. we reversed it to keep the rest of the dimension from being killed, but if he was able to build it once, he could proabbly build it again

*Probably.

And if he gets back to his home dimension, he most likely will.

exactamundo. quick rundown: the alt turtles each had specific powers, but the sliver has all of them- electricity, super strength/size-changing, the ability to turn to goop/shapeshift, and grav manip. ntm he's like. THE Expert on the things. it took all five turtles including me to beat him- we're GONNA want backup.

Mikey and Nano shared a nod, and as Nano sounded the alarm back with the rest of the Force, Mikey let himself fall back into the Turtle Titan and streak forward, actually landing a hit on the Sliver's jaw.

"GAH-!" The Sliver stumbled back, but swatted the Turtle Titan away before he could attack a second time. Only once he seemingly realized what he'd done did he whirl on the Turtle Titan with a snarl. "It cannot be!"

"Can be and is!" The Turtle Titan ground out, matching the Sliver's snarl with a mirthless smirk. "Didja miss me, Slivvy? Admit it, you missed me."

"So this is your homeworld, puny ninja," mused the Sliver. "Perhaps I might stay long enough to teach you a lesson that evaded my own sons!"

He lunged, and the Turtle Titan brought his shield up to bear, catching most of the Sliver's assault against its surface and deflecting the rest to one side. As the Sliver stumbled, the Turtle Titan rushed him, intent on trying to knock him out or something-

-and a goopy green arm slammed squarely into the Turtle Titan's chest, even seeping slightly through his supersuit and reaching the plates of his plastron with a deathly chill.

The Turtle Titan squawked as he was knocked away, barely managing to remember to grab the edge of the rooftop before he flew clean over.

"TURTLE TITAN!"

Nano's panicked shout preceded a heavy thwack and a pained snarl from the Sliver, and the Turtle Titan hauled himself back onto the roof with minimal leg-kicking just in time to watch the Sliver smirk viciously at Nano. "Ah, so the weak little ninja brought a friend to play, did he?"

"If you want to call us apprehending you 'playing,' then yes!" Nano feinted as if to go for a quick kick to the Sliver's side, then hurled himself the opposite direction and slapped his hand against the side of the control panel.

Nothing visibly happened, but the Turtle Titan bit back a knowing smirk as he charged the Sliver again. He couldn't very well let the supervillain have enough time to figure out what Nano was doing, after all. "Usually we're supposed to schedule a playdate, Slivvy, and you're supposed to get my dad's permission!"

His shield-slam went wide as the Sliver leapt up into the air, hovering there for a moment before shooting back down, foot-first.

If asked later, Mikey would truthfully say that he wasn't entirely sure how he'd gotten from a worm's-eye view of the Sliver's heel to caught up in some sort of goopy cocoon. However, he'd be willing to wager a guess that the Sliver had kicked him in the head hard enough to knock him out for a few crucial seconds.

He'd just call it a hunch.

The Sliver was in the middle of saying something by the time Mikey- no, no, he was still on the job- by the time the Turtle Titan realized he was trapped. "-not allow you to interfere!"

Some of the metal behind the Sliver started to move, and the Turtle Titan cracked a vicious grin. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're a bit late for that."

A haphazard metal fist with fingers twice as long as the Turtle Titan was tall came slamming down onto the platform, only missing the Sliver by the teensiest fraction of a second as he dodged.

"I would like to offer you a word of advice," called Nano from his place next to the control panel, a shimmer of silvery-yellow nanobots flowing from where his hand touched the panel and into the Sliver's machine. "Do not build weapons of mass destruction out of the same kind of thing your enemies are made of."

The metal fist lifted and came down again, this time splattering the goopy arm holding the Turtle Titan in place. The Turtle Titan quickly began flinging the goo off of himself while the Sliver recoiled and reconstituted his fur-covered arm out of what goop he had left.

(Something in the back of the Turtle Titan's mind snapped to attention: the Sliver hadn't had any issues with separated goop when last they'd met.)

"ENOUGH!" thundered the Sliver, lightning crackling from his opposite hand as he slapped it to the floor-

"NANO, PULL BACK-!" The Turtle Titan screamed, already running for his patrol partner-

-and Nano shrieked as the electricity overloaded his systems, the metal fist creaking to a halt halfway above the ground and Nano's main body convulsing by the control panel, sparks flying from every seam, joint, and outward-facing component-thingy.

The Turtle Titan bodily tackled Nano off the Sliver's platform, the two of them tumbling a short ways to the edge of the roof before coming to a stop, Nano still twitching but blessedly not shrieking in bloodcurdling agony.

"I have more important business to attend than dealing with a ninja playing dress-up!" growled the Sliver, rushing to the control panel and flipping switches along its sides.

There came the whine of power building up at the edges of the Turtle Titan's hearing, and he felt his heart stop.

"Nano, Nano, Nano, c'mon, wake up, dude-!"

"I-I am aw-wake," mumbled Nano with a shake of his head, his voice skipping and starting ever-so-slightly as he sat up. After a second or so, though, his eyes widened and he scrambled to his feet. "The Sliver-! He's-!"

"Yeah," said the Turtle Titan grimly, getting to his own feet. "Somebody needs to take him down, but we can't just disappear without any explanation."

"Turtle Titan, you stay," Nano decided. "I have a backup at HQ-"

"And it won't change the fact that you'll be lost to the multiverse if you can't get back!" The Turtle Titan tugged him back and started trudging for the Sliver's machine. "My family and me at least have the whole chi-meditation thing going for us-!"

"But what if it does not function as interdimensional communication, Turtle Titan?!" demanded Nano, yanking him away and leaping back onto the platform.

The Turtle Titan scowled and jumped after him, grabbing his arm and spinning to chuck him to safety. "Don't make me exercise my rights as the older brother-ish-!"

-and Nano screamed as the nanobots of his arm were forcefully disconnected from the main mass of his systems, which went tumbling to the corner of the helipad before finally coming to a stop.

The dimensional travel machine, the Sliver, and the Turtle Titan were nowhere to be found.

Nano felt dread pool in his processors. "This is not going to end well, is it?"

〜

In a place that was everywhere and nowhere at once, the Turtle Titan screamed as a wall of light severed Nano's arm and sent both him and the arm tumbling back into the "safe zone" of the machine.

"NO! You'll throw off the calculations, you FOOL!" the Sliver howled, already going to swipe at the Turtle Titan with an elongated, goopy arm.

The Turtle Titan dodged away from the attack, and as Nano's arm started reassembling into- what was that, a gauntlet?- around his non-shield hand, he flung the shield into one of the important-looking bits of tech, sending sparks flying. "All according to plan, you walking offense to dads everywhere!"

The Sliver roared and charged him again, and he nearly bowled the Turtle Titan over entirely. It was all the Turtle Titan could do to grab onto a piece of metal sticking out at an odd angle and hang on for dear life as-

-"Now the eye's back! Now the hand! THE EEEYYYEEE!"-

-all he could see was an ever-growing mass of turtles-

-"I thought he said 'squirrel' formation!"-

-they extended out to infinity in every direction in blues and reds and purples and oranges-

-"Doctor Delicate Touch feels nothing."-

-they extended out forever-!

-and a metal something-or-other slammed into the back of the Turtle Titan's throat, making him flinch and lurch back to relatively solid ground, coughing and hacking to get the whatever-it-was out of him.

The onslaught of voices went slightly quieter around him, with one of the voices yelling about somebody being "super fly" before fading into the masses.

"You…" hissed the Sliver. "You are lucky you do not send us careening out of the great terrapin dimensional tree!"

The Turtle Titan finally managed to hork up the thingy- some kind of jewelry, for reasons beyond him- and stowed it in his utility belt for the time being. "Me? Lucky? Perish the thought!"

"Indeed! Look around you, foolish ninja!" The Sliver broke into a downright dastardly smirk, holding his hands out to gesture grandly at their surroundings.

Surroundings which, as the Turtle Titan watched, were slowly becoming more and more solid and more and more like the Shell of Justice that he'd visited all those years prior.

"Oh, shell!" he breathed.

"Shell, indeed! Shell of Justice, indeed!" The Sliver began cackling louder and louder.

An alarm sounded in the Shell of Justice, but the Turtle Titan just turned to the Sliver and lunged.

The Sliver's head met the control panel of his device at the same moment that the superturtles came running into view, and the Turtle Titan could only manage a brief wave of greeting before the world around them erupted back into a whirlwind of color and light.

He shoved the Sliver along the control panel, setting off buttons and bells and whistles he hadn't even known were there, and the blues and reds and purples and oranges all flared into minty green with a deafening shriek before being replaced by an unfamiliar star-like pale yellow.

The Sliver shrieked in rage, and he probably said something as he did, but the Turtle Titan couldn't make it out over the worrying creaking of the dimension-jumping machine, the two arches crossed over their heads beginning to visibly warp.

The Turtle Titan's footing slipped, and he had to grab onto a metal outcropping one more time or risk being lost to the-

-"Welcome to endless wonder."-

-there weren't any turtles-

-"Let's go steal a-"

-why weren't there any turtles-

"-the Serpent Brotherhood from-"

-he'd thought the multiverse would collapse without any turtles-

-and the whirlwind vanished from all around him, leaving him with only the natural laws of physics spinning him, the machine, and the Sliver in circles as they plummeted from a clear blue sky.

"YOU IMBECILE!" the Sliver shrieked as they fell. "We are further now than I have ever been!"

The Turtle Titan hauled himself back onto the platform, pulling against the spinny force threatening to chuck him clear across the sky if he slipped. "Sucks to be you then, huh?"

The Sliver snapped his teeth furiously at the Turtle Titan, but then his eyes widened and he leapt from the platform entirely.

The Turtle Titan only managed to see the approaching sea, process that it was getting scary close, scary fast, and take the deepest breath he'd ever taken in his life before he and the Sliver's machine crash-landed into the ocean in a splash big enough that it would probably make for breaking news in a few minutes.

If this dimension even had the concept of breaking news, anyway.

As the Turtle Titan made sure what little he had of Nano hadn't shorted out in the water, and as he pushed away from the machine and started swimming for a promising-looking sewer-like tunnel in the distance, he wondered idly in the back of his mind-

-where exactly might the news of their crash-landing break first?

〜

In the annex of a library accessible from a bridge in Portland, Oregon, a book began to glow an almost panicked pale yellow, and the caretaker of the annex couldn't quite shove down the grimace that rose to his face.

"And here I thought we might, just possibly, have a quiet day."

[skyephilosopher]

Understood

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 DeviantArt Archive of Our Own expect html marks left over by my tired mind  ___________________________________________ It was more of a snarl than any English Donnie had ever heard. He felt his face contort as he forced it through the barrier clogging his throat, and he hated it. He loathed the manner with which he “spoke” and the way it made his little brother freeze and forget to breathe. All the anger only made the turmoil in his mind rage worse as the instincts fought to regain authority. Donnie clenched his teeth and shook his head madly, stumbling back and crashing into the wall. He voluntarily rammed his cranium into the stone, hoping far beyond reason that it would prompt momentary relief, but it instead nearly sent him over the edge. Donnie snapped his head up and released a howl of raw anguish.

“Oh, god, Donnie, stop!” Mikey cried, rushing over. “Donnie,” he said, softer, “stop it. Please calm down.” Mikey’s arms shot up, fighting to still Donnie’s thrashing head.  “Calm down.” At last, he got some hold when he abandoned the prospect of being gentle. He held his head firmly, forcing him to meet his gaze. Despite being so much stronger than Mikey, he didn’t yank himself free like it seemed his brother anticipated. Something in Donnie just melted when he stared into Mikey’s eyes and saw his reflection and wondered briefly how Mikey could stare so evenly at something so ugly.

“Donnie,” Mikey went on, his voice strained with all the strength he was putting into holding Donnie’s head, “calm down. I really doubt all that moving’s helping. Just lay down, take a deep breath, and relax.” His voice rose in a question, breaking eye contact to look at the battle raging beside them.  

“Everything will be just fine,” he said, bringing his gaze back to Donnie. “Just calm down.”

Donnie wanted so badly to comply and find a way to anchor himself. But he never gained enough mental footing, and he could hardly comprehend Mikey's words as everything in his head clashed. 

“Take a deep breath—” He couldn't relax. The animal, growing steadily more domineering, told him to do the opposite: rip himself away and ignore Mikey to jump back into the fight. It wasn't as though Mikey's fear scent was helping.

But he looked so determined…

Donnie shoved back the beast, asserting himself as well as he was able. If he let it win, then it would shatter Mikey's heart— all of their hearts. They would be disappointed in him for being so weak and hate him—

What? No!

The jolt of confusion allowed the animal to slither back in first with Donnie about to lose.

“Donnie, no!” Mikey clenched his teeth too.“Don't leave me— us.”  He jerked Donnie's head so he was once more staring directly at Mikey. “I've looked into confused animal eyes for too long. I'm not gonna let go of you without a fight.”

It's not your battle, Donnie's present sliver of conscious thought.

Suddenly, the animal made him wrench away with a growl, and Donnie almost slipped away completely.

“No, don't!” Mikey exclaimed, incapacitating the Footbot before Donnie could lash out. “Donnie, please. You're stronger than it. You can fight it!” He clung to Donnie’s forelimb and gritted his teeth, glaring up at him. “You’re better than it.” His face then fell, and his grip strengthened. “Please,” he said for the umpteenth time, “we’ve missed you.”

Donnie wanted to scream his frustrations, that he was trying, trying his hardest, as if that would help, but all that came out was a wordless roar.

“God.” Mikey's grip tightened to a point where it nearly hurt. Donnie whimpered, mustering enough willpower to relax in his touch despite the current roughness.

“Are you okay?” After a pause, Mikey led him away from the fight, into a corner. “Here.”

Donnie felt about as clear-headed as he did when he abruptly blasted back into the present. Better than very recently, perhaps, with Mikey so dogged next to him and the clamor of battle just a little quieter.

Now, Mikey wasn't helping the best, staring into Donnie's eyes. The animal wanted to purr and nuzzle him and show extreme, out-of-place affection. So Donnie broke away and gritted his teeth, hiding his face behind his massive hands and finally trying Mikey's advice, taking in deep inhales and releasing rather loud exhales that began to drone out the metallic, inhuman screeches.

Abruptly, Donnie shot up, disregarding the twinges of pain from everywhere on all limbs. His own panic flared, causing his heart to pound once more with the rush of anxious excitement. The claws that he had tucked in with much trouble now itched to unsheathe.

“Donnie?”

Donnie wanted to try to warn him, but he couldn't get his jaw to move correctly. The words died in his throat as the fresh wave surged in. A sea of ebony and a tangle of lethal instruments.

“Uh!” Mikey's head whipped back and forth, at last falling on his single super mutant brother. “Donnie, stay here.” As he whirled around, Donnie howled and lunged forward. 

“It's okay!” Mikey gave him a quick push. “Just hold on. Hang in there. Don't fight, whatever you do.” He screwed up his face, alternating in between left and right as he jumped in place. He rephrased, “Don't fight if you don't have to.” With that, he vanished in the swarm.

Donnie swallowed another wail and huddled in the corner, one hand outstretched with his talons glinting, his teeth bared. His lip curled back farther when one oblivious Bot staggered close with its back to him. He arm impulsively reached out, but he drew it back just as quickly, much to the animal’s displeasure. 

Donnie's head felt so jumbled, like five separate entities were bellowing orders over each other. A headache began throbbing behind his temple. Donnie pressed himself against the wall, unable to stop the deep growl from rumbling in his throat

I can't just sit here, Donnie thought, his gaze flickering rapidly over the wave. Why did he ever think he could let them fight such a futile battle alone?

He took a step forward before he properly tensed his muscles and measured his leap— though it took longer than it should have— and pushed up.

Hissing at the jolt of the impact, his paws— or could they be considered hands?— slammed down squarely onto one Bot, and it was sparking and inactive before it cracked its robotic head on the concrete. Too hastily Donnie tried to yank away with a claw snagged in its fabric, and agony ripped through his limb. Roaring, he twisted and slashed into the torso of a Bot he assumed had scored a wound across the small area of his exposed flank. He snarled and lunged without so much as a pause. Another Footbot connected with the concrete with a muffled clang.

Don't leave us. You're stronger than it. You can fight it. You're better than it. Hang in there!

In Donnie's head, Mikey's voice rose in a wail.

We've missed you.

Painfully, Donnie managed to make himself back off, just for a moment. Long enough to recapture his wits and look at his claw. It was his center digit, and the talon had completely wrenched free. Awkwardly, he bowed his head to lap at it, but he winced and stopped once the pain flared. Black flickered in his peripheral vision. Instantly, his arm flashed out to swipe at the Footbot. He missed by a lot in his alarm, and an instrument sliced his wrist.

Donnie was losing again. He struggled through the haze, getting some gears in his head to spin. Fight he would, despite Mikey's pleas. But he would fight with intelligence and put calculations into his moves for the best possible outcome, ruled only a minimum by instincts. As much as he could, at least.

And, it seemed to be working. The beast yet persisted, and it did begin again to worm its way back to the top. But it was eventual— slow. Donnie was still well half in control as he swiped and avoided the best he could manage. Perhaps, though, he did get carried away…

His lips were twisted into a snarl as his gaze raked over the room. All were dead, as he saw. Good. Donnie allowed himself to begin panting, though it did little to relieve the uncomfortable warmth.

“How did we ever get them all?” Donnie could indistinctly, faintly understand.

“Donnie.”

“No!”

Donnie blinked down at Mikey in surprise as he howled. Why was he upset? Donnie didn’t do anything wrong, did he? 

“What—”

“He was there.” Mikey looked close to tears. “Donnie was there and he <talked to me and—I-I told him not to fight—”

A short silence followed after  Mikey’s jumbled words broke off as he fiercely rubbed his face. After another moment, Raph looked up at him and hoarsely echoed, “Talked?”

I talked?

The pain that swelled in his chest as they stared at him with so much distress could not compare to every wound he bore outside. A wail rose in Donnie’s throat. Why were they looking at him like that? 

“Stop it!” he wanted to cry, but nothing articulate resulted. Were they lying? Mikey claimed he had spoken. When? When he had spoken? He had no memory of it. No hold on any of the moments Mikey had described.

Hold on. That sounded familiar—

Just hold on.

Donnie clenched his eyes shut and grimaced, baring his teeth. His wounds seemed to burst to life suddenly with new, biting, stinging fury. His limbs buckled, and he crashed to the ground. He buried his face in his arms.

How?

How could he?

How could he have slipped so easily? Let it win so quietly without him even noticing?

Without Donnie's consent, a low, mournful noise escaped his throat.

Their concerned murmurs came into focus as Donnie struggled enough out of the guilt to take note of his surroundings. He lifted his head to peer at them. With another sharp pang of regret, he realized they were speaking as though he was some dull animal.

But Donnie was more than that.

Donnie hauled himself to his haunches laboriously, grunting with the effort. Everything burned or ached.

“Lay down, Donnie,” Leo muttered. “You're hurt.” Donnie wanted so badly to reply, to say something remotely intelligible, but his jaw refused to move properly, and his tongue felt thick, and the blockade in his throat would not yield. The resulting noise was a strange, guttural one that distorted his already deformed face. Hastily, Donnie slid down and hid his head under his arms before he could see their bewildered reactions.

He trembled. Why can't I talk now? He grimaced and braced himself for a sob, but it never came.

Now it was anger that clouded his mind. The mutagen had robbed him of the ability to shed tears in response to emotional stimulation. One of the few things that was absolutely human about him and his brothers— and it had been stolen from him. He was nothing more than an animal.

Donnie swallowed the rising cry of distress and shifted his head to gaze at them forlornly, at least trying to express some intelligence in his eyes.

“See?” Mikey's excited voice startled him. He fell onto his hands-and-knees, beaming. “I told you he talked!”

“We never said he didn't.” April's voice, in comparison, was soft and thoughtful. She reached out but paused, glancing at him. She seemed to be asking for permission to touch him. A twinge of distrust and fear from the animal confused him further. 

After a moment, she hesitantly continued and brushed his arm while Raph said, “All he did was move his mouth weird.” Despite his tone, Donnie knew Raph wanted to believe that he was still in there and was present.

“Yeah,” said Mikey, “that was him trying.” He turned to him. “Right, Donnie?” With nothing else he could think to do, Donnie nodded, averting their gaze and examining his wrenched claw. It stung like fury.

“Wait,” Leo muttered. “Wait, wait, wait, wait…” He furrowed his brows. “Donnie,” he said slowly, articulating distinctly every syllable, “do you understand?” Yes. Again, he nodded.

Leo froze, his eyes momentarily clouding as though he were presently recalling some event. “Donnie.” His voice was little more than a weak whisper. He reached out, but he sharply drew his arm back before Donnie could react. “You're there,” he breathed. “Y-You’re Donnie.” Donnie's frown grew, and he tilted his head as he looked over Leo. He wished he understood what his brother was thinking, or had the strength to even begin trying to think beyond “he's not okay.”

The awkward embraces and overjoyed cries came after the immediate shock. Donnie soaked it up, drinking in their warm, familiar scents. Now, he couldn't help the purrs. As long he kept himself rooted and dominant, it was okay, he decided.

When he felt he was too vulnerable, Donnie heaved himself into a crouch, panting. Casey yet pressed himself against his right forelimb, and Mikey kneeled by his other.

“Why... arrre… we… herrre?” His voice was thick and guttural and utterly unable to be understood, as far as he was concerned. The last word trailed off and devolved into an inarticulate growl. But, he had managed. It distorted his face and sent painful spikes stabbing his throat. It probably wasn't worth it. Judging by their faces, they had no idea what he had tried to ask. Casey's grip on his lower arm tightened.

After a long moment, April quietly repeated, “‘Why are we here?’” and, when Donnie's face lit up, she smiled and said it again, louder.

“For you,” Raph said promptly. Leo elaborated.

“Do you remember why we came here the first time?” To prevent mutagen trafficking. But he did not dare try to say it aloud.

Leo nodded slightly, his gaze intense and his eyes gleaming. Donnie bit back a growl when he saw his reflection once more and forced himself to continue meeting his eyes evenly.

“Like Raph said,” he went on softly, “we came for you. Rockwell and Mr. O’Neil say they might be able to get farther with mutagen.” His eyes then narrowed.

“A blood sample too. But you wouldn't let anyone get close with that needle,” Mikey added. Casey's grip tightened more.

“Oh,” Donnie wanted to murmur, but not enough effort went into it, and it was instead a hoarse croak. He didn't quite know what they meant, but it was safe to assume Rockwell and Mr. O’Neil were collaborating to create some retro-mutagen. Faintly, faintly, Donnie recalled some burning malodor and an expression of disgust.

“But,” Raph then began, “you're hurt—”

“We're all hurt,” Mikey interrupted.

“—and we probably just need to go home.”

Donnie looked them over more thoroughly and narrowed his eyes. He very strongly desired to go on, but their injuries were concerning. Sure, they may not suffer exsanguination, but those wounds could easily get infected. Infections and fevers were not something they really needed— ever needed.  While lost in thought, Donnie absently began lapping at his toe.

“Donnie—” Leo had been approaching, but he froze at the sight of blood. “Oh, god…” Donnie flinched and lowered his arm, grimacing at the sight of the more clear, exposed quick. Unless they all wanted infections, they'd need to go home promptly.

“We need to go back to the lair,” April voiced his thoughts. “Now.”

Leo released a sigh through his nostrils. “We were so close.” His voice was soft.

“How about we go with stealth next time?”April replied.

“We would've, but Donnie…”

He couldn't help a snort, and he twisted to give the quick a few more licks before turning to Casey. He was too quiet, Donnie figured.

His lips were pressed into a thin scowl, and he stared unhappily into the distance. Then, suddenly, he bared his teeth and tilted his head downward. Sharp concern pulsed through Donnie, and he angled his head and pressed his nose to the small slice of Casey's exposed neck.

The boy jerked at the contact, drawing his lips back. He searched Donnie's eyes for a long moment. Then, he blinked and softened his features. He proceeded to lie his cheek on Donnie's arm for a few seconds before pulling away and resuming his glare, now fixed on Leo. “Where else are we gonna get mutagen?” He leaned forward. “They have to move their supply now after two attacks.”

Leo shook his head. “We'll find somewhere.”

“We have to!” Mikey insisted.

Donnie raised his arm once more but halted. He couldn't shake the feeling that this mission's failure was his fault. We're all injured, he thought. But had he influenced the decision more? Would Leo have opted to keep on going if Donnie weren't here? When he met Leo's eyes, all he saw was overwhelming pity and disappointment.  “It'll be okay,” Leo muttered

Donnie blinked and turned his gaze away. After a moment of shoving away his frustration and the urge to growl, which failed, he heaved himself to his feet and staggered forward, curling the tip of his tail as a way to beckon them.

“Okay.” Leo's voice was soft and soothing. But more anger swept over Donnie. Leo was talking to him as though Donnie was an incompetent animal!

B-But that was okay. He had gotten accustomed to talking to an animal. He’d start regarding him normally soon.

He pressed the furious surge down, flinching at the twinge of animalistic instinct as the beast was tempted out by the distracting, strong emotion. The inclinations were like a case of tinnitus, constant and grating.

Leo had trotted up to him, but now he seemed shocked and wary at the anger he must've sensed or seen in Donnie's eyes.

Donnie took in a deep breath and blinked, mustering some of the last dregs of his willpower to crush the unpleasant emotion. It was <em>not </em>Leo’s fault, and he had no right to be upset. He struggled to convince himself as he lowered his head and emitted a soft noise.

Now that every last motivating flare of adrenaline had gone out, his entire body ached, and his muscles shrieked with every moment and every laceration bit with near-impossible rage. He was tired of his slow mind and the persisting war in his head. He was… tired. All he wanted was to sleep.

Donnie's eyes flashed open, and he released a similar moan as he properly comprehended the upcoming trudge home.

“Hey, are you gonna be okay?” Raph muttered as someone brushed up against one of his forelimbs. He reached out, pressing his palm to his arm. Raph's brows were furrowed— all of their faces were creased. Donnie shook his head softly but then halted. He raised his head, butted Raph's hand as some way of reassuring him that Donnie would make it home alive, and took some more steps forward.

“All right,” Mikey said, “we're coming.”

Leo lead the way out. Donnie paused momentarily and let out an apologetic trill, directed at him, but, if he understood, he showed no signs.