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tmnt-obsessed-ace · 2 years

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When The World Crumbles: Chapter 3, Second Encounter

"Two minutes away."

The text message read, making Leo's heart jump to his throat. He shut off his T-phone and went back to staring at the katana in his lap.

Like he's been doing for the past 20 minutes since he called his twin.

"I'm at an old sawmill in Queens." He had said when Donnie picked up his T-phone.

"What? What are you doing at a damn sawmill? You were supposed to pick up pizza from Señor Hueso!" Donnie yelled, beginning the argument.

"I know! I know but I think I got portal jacked and ended up here!"

"And you are calling instead of portaling back, why?"

"Because robots and weird alien brain blobby things!"

"...what?"

"I know right! But it's true-"

"Leon, did you hit your head or something? You might have a concussion."

"Come see for yourself if you don't believe me!

Donnie went quiet for a while, then groaned.

"Fine, but only because I want to tell you how incorrect you are to your dumb face."

"Love you too, asshole." And their conversation ended there.

He let his mind wander once again, all the same burning questions he had were buzzing around in his head like angry hornets.

What were those brain blob/robot things? What did they want? How did they get here? How did they get a goddamn laser cannon?

Most importantly, who are those other turtles? Why are they so similar to Leo and his family? Why use similar weapons?"

Where did they come from? Did Draxum create them and Splinter couldn't save them? Or were they created after Splinter's escape? If that's the case, who taught them how to fight?

So many questions and zero answers to any of them. It was so frustrating.

The blue clad turtle held up the katana, noting how filthy the blade was. The near silver colored metal could barely be seen under all the grime. Since Splinter had taken training the boys more seriously he had repeatedly stressed the importance of keeping the weapons clean and battle ready.

Leo learned that the hard way. You use your swords to cut pizza one time and it's suddenly the end of the world. But when some other turtle in a badass hood keeps a dirty weapon it's fine and dandy.

A thought crossed his mind, maybe that turtle didn't even have a chance to clean it, constantly in battle, never a chance to rest and clean the katana before it was filthy again.

That actually makes sense for the mystery ninja. Definitely gave off the battle hardened vibe. That vibe was reflected in the blade's handle, which was worn and faded from constant use.

"How am I supposed to return this?" The slider wondered before a familiar rumbling caught his attention.

The Turtle Tank pulled up in front of the sawmill, easing some of Leo's growing worries. He stood up, holding the katana in one hand while waving at the massive turtle tank with the other.

Mikey got out first, bounding over to his older brother, worry on his face. Before Leo even had a chance to say anything Mikey's eyes went wide and he turned to Raph and Donnie.

"He's bleeding! Leo's bleeding!" He yelled, panic in his voice. Oh right, the cut on his cheek. It had stopped bleeding a while ago, the dried crimson sticking to his face. He hadn't bothered to wipe it off.

Raph raced over, gently examining Leo's cheek with his large hands.

"Does this hurt? Where else does it hurt?" He asked, much to Leo's annoyance at the frenzied exam. The hooded turtle was much gentler.

"Raph! I'm fine, it's just a scratch!"

"What about the burn on your arm?" Donnie asked, grabbing Leo's arm to examine the dark black spot. Leo winced a little, that still really hurt.

"Burn? What burn! Show me!" Raph grabbed Leo:s arm, adding to his growing impatience. He was fine! This wasn't needed Raph! But Raph's protective older brother instincts were in overdrive and there's no stopping them now.

After several moments of his brother's examining him, Leo had enough.

"Guys stop it! I'm fine! And that's not why we're here!" He shouted, causing the trio to back off.

"Then why are we here Leo? Why are you injured at some abandoned Sawmill halfway across the city?" Raph asked in a calm voice but his tone was stern.

The slider pushed the sawmill's door open and led his family inside. Soon they were in the robot graveyard, surrounded by remains of the trashed robots.

"What the…"

"Robots? Actual robots?"

"Like from Jupiter Jim!"

"Yup, oh and Donnie," Leo pushed the soft shell over to the non busted up laser cannon. "Here's my birthday present to you, happy early birthday!" He said as Donnie looked confused at the strange contraption.

"What is it?" Leo hopped up onto the cannon with a smile.

"Only the coolest, most amazing thing you've ever seen!" He started pressing random buttons, trying to activate the cannon like one of the robots had.

After a few moments, Donnie looked unimpressed. Crap.

"Leo-" The purple clad turtle started before Leo waved his hands, shushing his brother.

"Give me a second!" Leo continued button mashing until the canon activated with a magenta glow. He grabbed the triggers and fired, sending a pink laser beam into the far wall, narrowly avoiding Raph. The beam hit the wall, leaving a gaping burning hole behind.

"Impressed?" Donnie was staring, wide eyed and mouth agape. After a minute for his brain to reboot, Donnie smiled widely, making him look almost like the cheshire cat from Alice In Wonderland. He nearly tackled Leo into a hug before shoving him off of the cannon. The slider could see all the destructive thoughts in Donnie's eyes.

Now that he knew what it could do he was completely interested. "I am SO adding this to the turtle tank!" He exclaimed while Raph and Mikey exchanged concerned looks.

"Anyways, guys come look at this." Raph called out. Leo grabbed Donnie by the arm and pulled him away from the destructive weapon, ignoring his twin's whining.

"Look." On the ground was a dark red streak drying on the dirty floor. "Blood." Raph finished, fear in his voice.

All eyes turned to Leo.

"Obviously that is not my blood!" He groaned, why had they circled back to this?

"Then who's is it?"

"Hey Leo I've been meaning to ask but where did you get the katana?" Mikey asked, pointing to the bladed weapon that Leo still had in his hand. A katana that obviously wasn't his.

"Oh right, the other part of what happened… You see, the alien robot things were all fighting mutants."

"More mutants? But I thought we got rid of all the oosequitos." Mikey interjected, looking a bit worried and confused.

"No, we got rid of most of them, there are still a crap ton all over New York City."

"So these robots got taken down by mutants. Does that mean we have more dangerous mutants running around?" Raph asked. Leo shook his head.

"Not just any mutants, mutant ninja turtles."

It's been several hours since the sawmill fight. The sky was now dark, the light coming from the city below not the sun.

The four turtles sat on a rooftop, hidden behind a huge billboard. Donatello was rummaging through his bag of medical supplies.

Well, the former bag of medical supplies, said items had all been used up before they got here. All that was left was a single strip of gauze.

This isn't good, they have many, many wounds that need to be disinfected and bandaged.

They all looked at the strip of gauze, hope draining from their faces. Low growls broke the silence, causing the four turtles to wince and hug their stomachs as the painfully clawing hunger made itself known again.

They didn't expect to end up here. They should be in Dimension X right now, fighting Kraang Prime. Not stuck in some neon version of their city.

"You sure you don't have anything else Dee? Michelangelo asked, hugging his knees to his chest, his head leaning against Raphael's shoulder.

"This is all we have left." Donatello glanced at the pitiful strip of gauze.

"We could use our wrappings as bandages." Leonardo suggested, struggling against the ringing in his ears and his blurry vision. Donatello shook his head.

"Even if our wrappings were big enough to cover the major wounds, we can't use them because they're filthy dirty. The wounds will get infected in no time." Donatello's voice was small, almost broken sounding.

Raphael groaned, rubbing his face with one hand. The other was holding Michelangelo close to him.

"We have to have the worst luck in the damn universe!" He nearly yelled. Donatello flinched at the sudden increase in volume, the wound on his forehead a reminder to be quiet, he might have a concussion.

"Sorry Don," Raphael whispered as the purple clad turtle nodded and leaned against Leonardo. "First the Kraang are planning another invasion and we end up stuck here in limbo, with no food, no medical supplies, just waiting to keel over and die while Kraang Prime mutates New York City! Again! Fuck us I guess!" Raphael angrily whispered, struggling to keep his voice down for Donatello's sake.

They can't go on like this for much longer. Someone would have to find some medical supplies and or food.

Leonardo sighed, gently moving his younger brother so he too was leaning against Raphael. He stood up, his bad knee aching from the strain. But he put on a brave face. Because that's what he's supposed to do as the leader and the eldest. Take care of the younger siblings.

"I'll go look for food and medical supplies." He said, forcing his exhaustion and pain down and smothering it. Like he does with everything.

Just as he was about to leave, a clammy hand grabbed his wrist.

"No, I'm going." Michelangelo stated, it wasn't a question. He said it like he said that the sky is blue.

Leonardo shook his head, ignoring how dizzy that made him.

"Absolutely not! You have to stay here with Raph and Donnie!" He whispered. Michelangelo stood up on his own trembling legs, eyes burning with fire.

"Why? So you can run yourself ragged?"

"I'm the oldest and your leader, it's my responsibility to look after the team."

"Even when you're about to pass out? Even when your knee is hurting real bad, and don't lie I saw you limping!"

"Mikey I won't be long, you can stay here and rest-"

"What if something happens to you? Leo please don't be stubborn this one time, my injuries are the least severe I'll go get the stuff!"

"Least severe? That crack in your shell looks pretty severe to me!"

"You can barely stand! I get it, you're the leader but that doesn't mean you have to keep hurting yourself!"

"Mikey-"

"Leo. Sit. Down." Michelangelo stated, pulling out his nunchucks. It was a threat, sit down or I'll make you. Leonardo's eyes narrowed, he knew Michelangelo wouldn't act on the threat. It was still jarring to see the normally playful jokester so serious. And that seriousness was directed at Leonardo, not at Kraang so that was even weirder.

"Just listen to him Leo, you need to rest too." Donatello mumbled, grabbing Leonardo's hand with his own.

"Yeah, fearless, sit your ass down." Raohael added, shooting a warning glare at the blue clad turtle. "You've barely slept for what? Maybe two hours total since we first heard about the invasion, not like you were sleeping much anyways. You haven't eaten anything, your leg is killing you and we left our T-phones at the lair so you have no way to contact us if something goes wrong." Raphael hissed at the worn out leader.

"What if something goes wrong while Mikey is out? At least let me go with him so he has some backup."

"Sit down!" All three younger turtles growled at their brother in perfect sync, giving the self sacrificial idiot no choice but to sit back down. They were too tired to put up with that bullshit tonight. Michelangelo gave him a hug as an apology.

"If I'm not back in two hours then you can come look for me." Michelangelo said, jumping down from the roof onto a fire escape.

"Good luck! I'll keep the martyr here so he can rest." Raphael called, ignoring the small hey from Leonardo.

Once the orange clad turtle was out of sight Donnie started whispering.

"Is this actually a good idea to send Mikey out alone in a strange city?" He asked. Just as the words left his mouth, Michelangelo fell from the fire escape. He screamed as he landed inside a dumpster, scaring away a feral cat.

The trio sat in stunned silence for a moment.

"He'll be fine…I hope."

Finding medical supplies was so much harder than finding food would be. He could just steal food from a restaurant and no one would be the wiser. But apparently it was too much to ask for all the buildings he checked to have a first aid kit lying around somewhere.

Either the orange clad turtle missed them because he was so tired, or the people of this city had super healing so fast that first aid kits were useless.

He hoped it was the second option, that sounded way more entertaining.

Speaking of the city, it was different from his own. This city was bright, thousands of colorful lights chasing away shadows even into the night. And it was busy too, with so many people crowding the streets. His version of New York was busy too but not to this scale.

All that meant that he was struggling to stay hidden and all ninja like. He looked at his next target, a convenience store. Surely there will be a first aid kit or two in there.

As he was about to search the store, a strange vehicle drove by on the street below. Michelangelo ducked down, glancing at the vehicle from the rooftop. It kinda looked like a giant turtle on wheels. And why was a Kraang cannon being pulled behind it?

"What the hell is that?" The turtle mused to himself, going silent when the vehicle stopped.

A familiar looking turtle stepped out onto the street, making gestures with his hands while he talked. Although from where Michelangelo was sitting, he couldn't hear any of the words over the buzz of the city.

That was the same turtle that had shown up at the sawmill. Probably this dimension's Leonardo, if the blue mask was anything to go by.

Michelangelo snickered, hoping that this was an alternate version of his eldest brother. Oh that would be so incredibly funny.

Two more turtles followed this "other Leo," one wearing a purple bandana over his head, along with what looked like goggles. On his head. He was absolutely covered head to toe in tech, yup definitely Donatello.

The other was sporting an orange mask so similar to his own. His alternate self. Michelangelo focused on his counterpart, noticing the hot pink and teal streaks on his shell.

The fourth turtle got out of the vehicle, making Michelangelo's blood run cold. The fourth turtle was huge with a big spiky shell on his back. The massive turtle was wearing a red bandana. Was this Raphael? He looked a thousand times more intimidating than his short angry brother could ever hope to be.

Somehow, Michelangelo was reminded of Slash, the massive mutant turtle that was once Raphael's beloved pet. He remembered when he first met Slash, when the mutant tried to tear him limb from limb. And although Slash has turned over a new leaf and is now a loyal friend, Michelangelo can't help but feel a little uneasy around the larger turtle.

And this version of Raphael is reawakening the uneasy feelings.

The orange clad turtle watched the three smaller turtles a little bit nervously now. It looks like other Leonardo and other Donatello were talking about something, while their version of Michelangelo went over to talk to the very big Raphael.

"Ugh what are they saying?" He whispered. He had to get closer. He carefully climbed down from the roof, sticking to the few shadows he could find until he ended up in a dark alleyway close by. Michelangelo ducked behind some trashed furniture and listened in. Technically it was rude to eavesdrop but Leonardo isn't here to tell him no.

"-could check the Hidden City Library, see if they got anything on alien brain creatures." Other Donatello said, tone almost dripping with sarcasm at the last few words. Other Leonardo scoffed and crossed his arms.

"If I didn't know any better Donald I would think that you don't believe me. Me! Your own twin!" The blue clad turtle stated, fake offense in his voice. Leonardo and Donatello were twins in this dimension?

"Well Nardo you do have a track record for "exaggerating" The genius said, air quotes around exaggerating.

"And you have a track record for being a dick."

"Real mature, when you don't have a comeback you resort to petty name calling."

"Yeah but it works and you know it…Dee Dee." Other Donatello's eye twitched. It was at that point that Michelangelo stopped listening, eyes zeroing in on the blue clad turtle.

There was a clean white bandage on his cheek and another wrapped around his arm.

That meant that these alternate turtles had medical supplies! Fucking finally! Then he just has to rob the nearest restaurant and get back to his brothers!

If the turtle had to guess, the supplies were most likely inside of the turtles' ride. However there were four well rested, clean, non injured and not starving turtles between Michelangelo and the medical supplies.

'Maybe I should've let Leo come.' He thought before quickly shaking it away. Leonardo, despite how much he'll deny it, needed to rest just as much as the rest of them. He can do this alone.

Right as the thought crossed his mind, as if the universe decided to screw with him for even thinking that, he bumped into a nearby chair, causing it and the several boxes stacked on top of it to topple over with a loud crash. The four turtles looked over at his alley hiding spot, making Michelangelo gulp nervously.

Apparently, no, he cannot do this alone.

"Is something there Don?" Other Raphael asked, voice a low whisper. Other Donatello lowered his goggles, were they x-ray goggles?

"What the? This is weird…" The purple clad turtle said, genuine confusion in his voice.

"What is it?" Other Michelangelo piped up " A g-ghost."

"No but it's just a black, shapeless, shadow. Can't even tell what it is." The four looked stunned. Even Michelangelo was stunned. X-ray goggles aren't supposed to do that.

"Well whatever it is, it's about to get its ass kicked all the way to New Jersey!" Michelangelo started to panic, he didn't want to go to New Jersey! New Jersey sucks!

The four alternate turtles drew their weapons, closing in on poor Michelangelo. He was going to get pummeled and no one was going to know because he doesn't have his T-phone! Leonardo was right!

'Calm down Mikey!' He thought to himself, nunchucks in his hands. 'Just come up with a plan to not get dead and you'll be fine!'

He shut his eyes for a moment, thoughts swirling. After a few seconds an idea came to mind.

A very stupid idea, that would probably get shot down by his brothers. But they aren't here to tell him no.

That is not a good thing.

He crept underneath a fire escape, staying cloaked in darkness. Moving silently he climbed up the fire escape and sat on the ledge.

His plan was simple: run for your goddamn life!

His eyes went white and he jumped off the fire escape, landing behind the turtles. The orange clad turtle broke off into a full sprint, making a beeline for the turtle shaped vehicle. He could hear the four turtles yelling at him but he didn't care. The vehicle and medical supplies inside grew closer and closer.

Suddenly a burning hot chain wrapped around his stomach, yanking him backwards and flinging the poor turtle into a set of concrete stairs. Michelangelo winced, that fucking hurt!

He got up, ignoring how his side was throbbing in white pain. His nunchucks were spinning as fire burned in his eyes.

A flash of red and a yell caught his attention, giving him a second's notice to duck. He started running, that's all he can do.

Blue light glowed to his left, nunchucks deflecting the sharp blades of twin katanas as he climbed onto one of the rooftops again while he kept screaming, avoiding the glowing attacks while also trying to circle back to the desperately needed medical supplies. His family needs them, and surely these turtles can afford to go without for a bit.

A red fist collided with his head, knocking him down. The orange clad turtle's vision started to blur.

Suddenly a bright purple drill formed above him, other Donatello bearing a frenzied smirk as he brought the drill down. All poor Michelangelo could do was raise his arms to protect his face.

The drill slammed into him, violet sparks of electricity dancing all over his body while he screamed in pain and fear before he was knocked off the rooftop. He landed on an old car, making the alarm go off. He tried to move his limbs but they felt heavy and numb, static buzzing off him.

Michelangelo just lay there, whimpering as he tried to move. His brothers were depending on him! He had to get up and get going!

Cold metal nudged his cheek, his blurry baby blue eyes drifting upwards and locking with that of this alternate version of Leonardo.

"You're one of the turtles from the sawmill." He said, waiting for Michelangelo to either confirm or deny it. He nodded a bit, still trying to get feeling back in his limbs.

"Dude what the hell? I thought you were cool and then you turn around and tried to steal the Turtle Tank!" The slider yelled, as his own family were starting to catch up.

Michelangelo whimpered harder, wanting to curl inside his shell and hide.

"Mhm sorry Leo." He slurred, "Just needed med stuff…" The turtle in front of him lowered the blade, eyes wide.

"How do you know my name?" He asked.

Suddenly, something struck the blue clad turtle in the neck. He yanked the offending object out and stared at it.

Both turtle's faces went pale. It was a blow dart.

Other Leonardo staggered, the fast acting drugs taking effect. And Michelangelo lay helpless on the roof of the car, trying harder to get feeling back in his limbs so he could help the other turtle.

"Leo no!" He shrieked, watching as the blue clad turtle face planted on the ground.

A large silhouette appeared and scooped the unconscious turtle into its arms. It slung other Leonardo over its shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Yes, this will do nicely." The voice said before turning to leave.

"Let him go!" Michelangelo shouted, one arm finally cooperating enough to throw a shuriken at the silhouette. It screamed in pain before turning to him. It looked him over, making his empty stomach churn.

"You look absolutely pathetic, not even worthy of being prepared in my kitchen." The voice stated, filled with disgust. It turned to leave again while Michelangelo squirmed.

"Come back and fight me, you coward!" He yelled, struggling to stay awake.

"Why should I bother?" The voice asked. "I only use the freshest, highest quality ingredients and you are anything but." Ingredients…Oh no, oh god no.

"NO! NO! NO! LET HIM GO!" The turtle cried as the silhouette left him behind and his desperate pleas ignored, taking other Leonardo with him.

The turtle was loaded into a truck, where other Leonardo's three brothers were also unconscious. The silhouette drove off, leaving Michelangelo to scream, hot tears pouring from his eyes.

What had he done?

#tmnt crossover #tmnt 2012 #rottmnt #crossover #teeange mutant ninaj turtles #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles

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remmushound · 3 years

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Curse of the Clan chapter 65 FINALE!!

Tags: @scentedcandlecryptid @selfindulgenz

“LEOOOO!” Michelangelo ran over to Leonardo out of breath, colliding with his brother before he could stop himself. “Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo Leo—“

“Woah woah woah!” Leonardo laughed and put both hands against Michelangelo’s shoulders to keep the excited turtle at bay, “Where’s the fire?”

Michelangelo took a long, deep breath. “I traded face painting for a snail and traded the snail fir a painted rock and I traded the painted rock for a cane and I traded the cane for a ball and I traded the ball for a basket of muffins and I traded the basket of muffins for a kitten and I named him Klunk!”

Michelangelo shoved a tiny orange and white kitten in Leonardo’s face; Klunk gave a tiny mew and batted curiously at Leonardo’s nose before quickly being pulled back against Michelangelo.

“That’s great, Mikey—“

But Michelangelo was already running away again on the trail of a bright butterfly, which left Leonardo once more wandering in search of something to do. Everywhere he looked was something new— young yokai playing games or families swimming in the river or flying flips through the air either on wings or paragliders. Everywhere they all seemed to be having the time of their lives. None of the activities caught and kept his attention though until he happened to look over to an ice cream cart manned by a slime yokai. The current customers were a calico nekomata and an old rat.

“Dad?” Confusion came first, and then came a sneaky, mischievous grin. He rubbed his hands together not unlike a supervillain, “Ohhh this is good~”

Slowly, like he was walking across a cloud, Leonardo glided behind a tree. He pulled himself onto a higher branch to get a vantage point, watching as Splinter and the strange woman passed under; he caught a snippet of conversation.

“I can barely handle my four boys; I don’t know how you manage so many!”

“It’s not all fun and laughter that’s for sure, but most of them get adopted really quickly…”

Leonardo jumped the next tree over, silently cursing himself as a falling leaf made Splinter stop and look up. His nose twitched, eyes narrowing just the slightest bit as he stared directly at Leonardo, but perhaps not seeing him; Leonardo remained like a statue.

“Splinter, what’s the matter?” The woman came to up wrap her arms around Splinter’s arm, looking up and trying to see what he saw.

“Nothing.” Splinter said quickly, “Just thought I saw something.”

Slowly, with Splinter dragging his feet, they moved on. Leonardo saw no point in hiding anymore. Before they could get far, Leonardo dropped down in front of them.

“So do I get to be the flowergirl?”

“AH!” Both rat and cat screamed, but Splinter quickly fell to grabbing his sandal and repeatedly slapping Leonardo with it. “YOU! DUMB! DIRTY! YARO! Scared me half to death!”

Leonardo bunched himself at the assault, laughing harder with each slap as he did his best to protect his face. “I’m - sorry! It was too good to resist! Besides, flower girl is more for Mikey, I wanna be ring bearer!”

“You get to be NOTHING!”

“Now That’s just unfair!”

Splinter swung his arm around the cat to guide her quickly around Leonardo, trying his best to ignore his son's taunting presence.

“Was that your son?” The cat asked, trying to look back and steal another glimpse of Leonardo.

“Don’t look at him and maybe he’ll go away.”

***

“RENET!”

Renet stopped long enough to look around, giving a curious hum at the familiar voice. “Michael?”

“ME!”

Renet gave a startled yelp that was quick to turn into giggles when she recognized Michelangelo had come up from behind and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

“HUG! Hi Renet!” Michelangelo skirted around to her front, smiling brightly, “I traded face painting for a snail and traded the snail for a painted rock and I traded the painted rock for a cane and I traded the cane for a ball and I traded the ball for a basket of muffins and I traded the basket of muffins for a kitten and I named him Klunk!” Klunk gave a soft meow. “Also! I caught a butterfly and traded it for a balloon and traded the ballon for an ice cream cone do you want it?”

Michelangelo offered a strawberry ice cream to Renet, who accepted it with a confused but excited smile. “Uh… thanks. I’ve never had ice cream before!”

She looked over the frozen treat for a curious moment, then took a big bite out of it before Michelangelo could stop her. The cold immediately seized her body and she brought a hand up to cover her mouth against the drool that tried to escape from the shock.

“Mm… cold.” She shivered, wiping her mouth once more before she let herself giggle.

“You’re supposed to lick it, not bite it.” Michelangelo encouraged.

Renet did as asked, swiping her tongue across the length of the dripping ice cream, “Mm! It’s good.”

“It’s ice cream, of course it’s good!” Michelangelo beamed, “What are you doing out here? I didn't think you left your mansion all that often.”

“Yeah I uh… I don’t.” Renet said with a giddy laugh, “Today’s actually the first day. I’ve never seen the sun before.. It’s just as beautiful as I imagined. But hot…”

Renet swiped a few beads of sweat off of her forehead. Michelangelo gasped and, out of an innocent want to help, went to grab the back of her wheelchair to push her. Renet pulled away from the attempt, rolling back around to face him while Michelangelo looked confused, and then startled at Renet’s uncomfortable expression.

“Actually I can roll myself.” She said slowly.

“OH! I— I’m sorry!” Michelangelo squeaked, head shrinking, “I was just going to bring you into the shade…”

Michelangelo motioned to the shade of a nearby tree and Renet started to roll herself over to it while Michelangelo trailed behind.

“I’m sorry.” He repeated again, “Was the hug bad too?”

“O-oh, no, you’re fine just… don’t grab my chair unless I ask you, okay?”

Michelangelo nodded quickly. “Yes Ma’am! And thanks again for, you know, making sure we don’t burn a fiery death in TCRI.”

“Oh yeah, no biggie.” She nodded; the ice cream in her hand was quickly disappearing. “I really enjoy being out here with all the sun and the grass and the bugs! Maaaan I love the bugs!”

“I didn't get out much as a child either.” Michelangelo related, “It was so fun when I got to learn about all the critters and— and watching the stars and the sun rise! And it never gets old because it’s always so different!”

“Well I’m glad to finally experience it.” Renet finished off her cone and then rolled a little further so her front was in the sun; she closed her eyes against the warmth, the light bouncing off her scales in a flashy display, like sunbeams on water. Her skin seemed to glow radiant like light amber, the baby blue headscarf catching the breeze. “The wind is like the sweetest honeydew on my skin… and it’s like I can taste the colors of the world!”

“Well, if you wanna enjoy even more of the world…” Michelangelo started, rubbing his head, “Maybe you want to come eat with me and my family?”

Renet opened her eyes and looked to Michelangelo. “I’d love to!

***

While his brothers were exploring, Donatello was content to stay at the table near the girls. He had been away for so long that there was a seemingly endless amount of social media he needed to catch up with, so he took the opportunity to get a head start on it. Occasionally April or Sunita would throw a shrimp or a burger his way to use him as a taste tester, but he didn't mind. Scrolling was certainly working up an appetite.

Something hit him in the face. Donatello groaned and reached up, having to swipe a few times before he was able to pull it off, and when he did he was hit with a wave wave of confusion. It was a cherry blossom flower— not just a petal, but a full, blooming flower! Even as Donatello held the stemless thing in his hand, it seemed to open a little wider, the dew drops on its petals dripping down and dampening his palm.

Donatello looked around and saw no tree, nor anyone carrying such flowers that could have been lost. Carefully, his fingers traced along the pink curves, soft as melted butter. He stood up, and when he did, he looked down. In the grass just ahead of him was a trail of flowers, blooming before his very eyes and stretching toward the warmth of the sun. The trail was expanding closer to him until the flowers came to him, gentle stems tickling his ankles as he lifted his feet to see the spectacle better. The blooming flowers led to a golden rift at the end of the trail, similar to Draxum’s except with flowers instead of vines. A rift identical to the one that had rescued Donatello and his brothers from The Sea of Trees.

“I told you your brothers would come.” Said a familiar voice— the kirins voice!

And then the flowers were gone, and so was the rift, and so was the voice.

“Don, food’s done.” April called, then put a hand on her hip and gave a frustrated huff when it seemed Donatello wasn’t listening to her.

“Y-yeah, be there in a second.” The hand that once held the cherry blossom felt empty now in its absence, and it took Donatello several long heartbeats to turn back to his meal. “Thanks April… it looks great.”

“It better!” April laughed, “Then again I’d bet anything looks great to you given the past two weeks you spent alone.”

“Yeah…” And Donatello looked to the table and saw a basket of berries sitting there for him, shining with a heavenly glow, “Alone.”

#the End #Leo lives to bother #and Mikey lives for his new kitten #Kirin makes a reappearance #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #tmnt au

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eternalglitch · 4 years

Text

Like Father Like Son: Chapter 3

Prologue Arc 1: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Mikey let out a small sound in the back of his throat, bending down to pick up the odachi by its hilt, hands shaking slightly. His reflection stared back at him, eyes wide and face a paler shade of green than was normal, pale enough that he could actually see his yellow freckles that oh so rarely showed up. “Guys?” he whispered. “Has Leo ever gone out without his weapon?”

Read it HERE on ao3.

Chapter Specific Warnings: no specific ones (please see the general ones listed in the prologue)

Chapter Three: All Green and Blue

“He’s not picking up. Why isn’t he picking up?!” Mikey demanded, looking up from his phone. The youngest couldn’t help but shift from foot to foot, a sort of buzzing energy from his anxiety making him want to move. Why couldn’t his brothers walk faster?

“Yeah, it is odd he wouldn’t answer either of us…” Donnie agreed, squinting at his wrist tech. “I can’t locate his phone’s location, either. It’s either out of battery or broken.”

Finally, Mikey thought with relief, Raph’s pace noticeably quickened, his brothers right on his heels. “Okay… okay. First, we’re gonna backtrack the possible routes to the pizza place, and then we’re going to check any place he could have ended up. Donnie?” The leader of the group glanced at the purple turtle, gaze expectant.

“On it, I’ll hack any nearby cameras and run a scanner through social media looking for buzzwords,” the technological prodigy replied, typing quickly. “I’ll compile a list of people that might’ve gone after him as well.”

“People that went after him?” Mikey asked, now even more nervous, his voice rising a pitch or two until it cracked completely. “You think the foot clan or Big Mama is behind this? What if they’ve hurt him?” Mikey reached out and clung to Donnie’s elbow, staring over at Donnie’s screen as stats whizzed by. The other turtle tolerated it, but didn’t stop typing to pat his shell or head. That was a sign things really were serious. “What if he’s all alone and scared or… or I don’t know! I can’t even begin to picture him being scared!”

“Again, Michael, I’m sure it’s really nothing, we’re just being thorough—“ Donnie finally started to reassure him, but his eyes never moved from the screen until a loud clatter rang out. Donnie froze, Mikey almost stumbling as he was also pulled to a sudden stop. They looked down.

Leo’s sword was lying, innocently forgotten, all alone on the sewer floor.

Mikey let out a small sound in the back of his throat, bending down to pick up the Odachi by its hilt, hands shaking slightly. His reflection stared back at him, eyes wide and face a paler shade of green than was normal, pale enough that he could actually see his yellow freckles that oh so rarely showed up. “Guys?” he whispered. “Has Leo ever gone out without his weapon?”

“I’m sure there’s a reason… or… or an explanation,” Donnie grasped at, but after he glanced at Raph, who shot him a panicked look, Donnie bowed his head, his eyes flicking back and forth as he thought.

It was Raph who spoke next, his voice low and urgent. “If something did go down– someone must’ve been inside of the sewers– I’m not sure Leo even made it outside for the pizzas in the first place.” The eldest scratched his head, his expression slowly darkening.

“So they came here purposefully looking for us and somehow we didn't even notice them brothernap Leo from right here?” Mikey looked around at the ground, eyes flicking up and down the sewer walls like the name of the culprit would be left behind with a clean, neat note. He needed someone to tell him flat out that it was going to be okay, he realized weakly, hugging the sword close. Someone to crack a bad joke about the situation, or know what to say. He needed… he needed his brother.

“I’ll call April,” Raph said, phone already out. He already had her number pulled up as well, finger hovering over the green button to call. “We’ll need eyes in every possible place, including checking to see if this was on Leo’s way to or from the pizza place.”

“I now have generated the list of most likely suspects,” Donnie added, pulling up a screen that had a numbered list of the names of their many yokai nemeses. At the top of the list were the various yokai that constantly fought with them on the regular, and the list continued down until it ended with a Warren Stone, although Donnie must have added him just to be safe; in reality, Mikey barely remembered the guy. “It looks like the first name my algorithm came up with is those mutant crabmen we came across recently- apparently they sometimes linger in this area.”

Raph nodded, pulling his phone away from his tympanum and giving them a thumbs up. “April’s in,” he confirmed. The way he said it was heavy; the air shifted, and the panic is forced down until Mikey only has to concentrate on being efficient and focused. “Now, Mad Dogs; let’s move.”

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The floor framed between Leo’s hands was swimming; sweat dripped down and splattered onto the negative space that the floor was made up of, and he was dimly aware that his arms shook under the pressure of holding himself up. Get up, he told himself. Get up, you have to do something. Anything. Just get up, Leonardo.

“Get up,” Draxum echoed his sentiment, voice expectant.

The repeat was like a slap to the face; Leo could only lift his chin to stare at him, a bitter laugh being swallowed before it escaped his lips. Sure, he knew he needed to do that, but it seemed a bit ridiculous for the guy with the metaphorical big red button to ask him to as well. He had a concussion and had just been fried; what did Draxum expect him to do-

The collar let out a shrill buzzer sound, and Leo only had a split second to think what? before the collar lit up for a third time. His arms gave out and he hit the ground hard, and even though he knew what would happen if he screamed, he couldn’t help but do so anyways. The result was exactly as expected. His mouth felt dry.

“Don’t you think the shock’s intensity is too high, Boss?” one of the gargoyles asked from above him. Leo couldn’t see which one; stars danced in front of his hazy vision. “He looks kinda dead after just four zaps.”

“Yeah. And it’s probably going to take a lot of these shocks for it to sink in,” the other agreed. “He keeps making it worse.”

Draxum scoffed, and Leo flinched slightly at the sound, hands weakly rising to shield his head from any more attacks. “Well. I just set it to what he should be strong enough to take. It’s his own fault for being weak. He’s lucky; I don’t have the advanced setting on yet.”

Leo felt Draxum’s nails dig into his bicep as the yokai reached down and hauled him up to his feet, Leo swaying as he tried to lean away from the yokai. “Stay still,” Draxum ordered, and Leo bit down hard enough on his inner cheek he tasted copper, barely accomplishing the feat.

Draxum circled him, hands clasped behind his back. Leo’s head felt foggy, and he didn’t even bother watching Draxum; his head kept drooping forwards, like when he was watching Donnie’s favorite Jupiter Jim movie without Raph around to liven things up. Everything hurt so badly. His hands wrapped around himself and Leo shrunk a bit under Draxum’s assessment.

“You’re slower to catch on than I would have thought,” Draxum said after a moment. “But let me spell it out now, just for the sake of ‘fairness,’” he added with his fingers punctuating the last word with air quotes. “The collar has three things that you will be shocked for. Any vocalizations, or any failure to follow my exact orders as well as… well. I could always just order it to go off.” Leo flinched, his fists tightening. Was Draxum enjoying this? April had taught them the meaning of the word sadistic at one point, after their first prank day on her where no one had told her it was coming. And that was the only word Leo could think of at the moment when he glanced up and into Draxum’s eyes.

This was sadistic.

“It was quite the impressive invention, really,” he continued. “Somehow a simple shock collar had a complicated A.I. that understood the situation at hand enough to correct situational humor. Not to mention it didn’t even need to feel the vocal chords vibrating; it could be programmed to listen for a certain individual’s voice and go off regardless of if it was being worn or not. A bit overkill, if you ask me, but who am I to judge?” A smug smile crossed his lips. “Your brother must have felt quite strongly about this to have put so much work into fixing your flaws.”

He didn’t know anything, Leo told himself. Donnie was just like that, he had made his dorky and kind of insensitive gifts for everyone, he hadn’t been trying to single Leo out or anything. Of course not. Even if Mikey and Raph’s inventions hadn’t caused them any harm at all when they used them, just tried to prematurely stop them from doing it. Even if Leo and Donnie were the main two that squabbled, he never would have… Leo shook his head, one hand slowly rising to press against his forehead.

He couldn’t think like this, he needed to bounce his ideas off of someone for it to be useful. Had Dad ever taught him what to do in a situation like this? A quick scan through memories of Splinter handing him his first pair of swords, of noodle fights and throwing stars, and the only thing Leo could come up with was the advice “stay with your brothers. You will protect all of them, and they in turn will all protect you. And if you get separated, stay in one spot until we can find you.”

Yeah, great, but that advice had been from when Leo was seven. When Splinter had first let them wander a bit farther into the sewers to explore with just the four of them. This wasn’t getting lost in the sewers, this was- this was something more. He was starting to have to face the knowledge that this was something serious, even.

“Pay attention when I am speaking!” Draxum suddenly snapped, and Leo went rigid when the collar let out a low, almost inaudible chirp, his eyes darting down to where he could see the blue rim of the machine before back up to Draxum. The collar didn’t otherwise react, though, but Leo kept still, wondering when the proverbial shoe would drop. “How will I teach you anything if you keep zoning out?”

“It miiiiiight be the concussion,” Muninn offered, one hand on his chin. “We’ve seen a few guys get hit before, Boss, and they also had that spacey look to them.”

Draxum threw up his hands. “Well, he should learn to deal with that. Injuries are something to be powered through.” The yokai took a deep breath, and the two gargoyles dipped as his shoulders slowly became less tense. “But. Very well. Before I forget, a few rules,” he said, voice suddenly back to the flavor of ‘calm with an undertone of smugness.’ AKA the most punchable tone of voice Leo had ever heard. “No trying to escape from me.” The collar let out a soft beep and Leo winced. “No trying to take the collar off.” Another wince. “And, other than attacking, absolutely no contact with any other turtles.” What? That wasn’t- he couldn’t just do that. Leo opened his mouth, keen to argue, but Draxum just raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and waiting.

On second thought, Leo had nothing to say. His hands curled into tight fists.

“Excellent. And now that I have…” Draxum trailed off, pausing. He fixed Leonardo with a puzzled gaze. He leaned closer to Muninn, holding up one hand to loudly whisper to the gargoyle. “What was this one called, again?”

Muninn blinked, turning and glancing at Huginn, who shrugged back at him. “Uh… ha, wow, Boss, wait, you don’t know?” The gargoyle asked, chuckling nervously. “Didn’t you hand pick him, though?”

Draxum’s eyes widened, slightly flustered. “No! Well, yes. But…” All three villains turned and stared at Leo, who crossed his arms as he stared back at them, lifting his chin slightly in a challenge. This guy had been after them long enough to at least know their nicknames, he thought, somehow still finding it within him to be annoyed.

“Wasn’t it… Larry or… Lawrence?” Huginn weakly offered up, but Draxum rested his chin in one hand, thinking.

“No, it wasn’t that. What was it again…” Draxum trailed off, frowning.

Muninn suddenly perked up. “Hey, wait, why don't we ask him? Hey, turtle! What’s your name?” he yelled, and Leo felt one of his eyes twitch. He glanced down at his shock collar, and both gargoyles made little ‘oooooh’ sounds of understanding.

“That’s right, it was Green!” Draxum suddenly said, hitting his fist into the palm of his other hand. He smiled, brushing some of his hair over his shoulder. “I remember now, how silly of me to have forgotten.”

“What? But- but he’s the one wearing blue.” Huginn darted around Leo, pulling at the bandana tails behind his head. It was a light touch, but even just that made Leo sway, his arms having to slightly go forwards as he forced himself to stay standing. He didn’t know if he would be shocked again if he fell, but from the way black dots swam in Leo’s vision, he couldn’t afford to risk it. “I don’t know, Boss, I think his name would be Blue if he’s named after a color.”

“Nonsense, I’m sure of it,” Draxum declared as Leo weakly shooed the gargoyle away from him with one hand. “It was definitely Green. Besides, that’s but a small detail. I could call him whatever I wanted, really. More importantly, we need to decide how to go about making him my ideal warrior before any of the others show up.”

Leo flinched, one hand absently reaching up to rub at the collar. The skin underneath it already felt raw and uncomfortable; he wondered if it was going to leave scars.

He then wondered if he’d ever be able to even see if it had.

“Ooh, why don’t we inject him with some more ooze?” Muninn suggested, clasping both hands together excitedly, wings fluttering as he hopped slightly into the air. “That seems to make everything better! Think of the possibilities: spikes, a tail, and our personal favorite—”

“Fire-breathing!” The two gargoyles sung at the exact same moment.

“A tempting idea, but no,” Draxum said, shaking his head. “Physically speaking, his body is as good as I had hoped for, it’s the rest of it that’s the issue. Respect and obedience should come naturally with the aid of that collar, but as for training techniques…” Draxum circled Leo yet again; was he trying to make him dizzy enough to fall over? “With the level of sheer incompetence that I’ve witnessed, it would take far too long for me to train him myself from scratch. And I don't trust you two to be in charge of it, either…”

“Ouch, Boss,” Muninn said, one hand over his heart. “That really hurts.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Huginn flapped harder, shooting over to Draxum. “We actually know exactly how to do this! I mean, not to flex or anything, but Muninn and I did do our fair share of training in school.”

“Uh,” Muninn stammered, looking lost, but a quick elbow from Huginn and he blinked and also smiled at Draxum. “Yeah, absolutely. So…” he trailed off, shooting his friend a nervous glance.

“What faster way to train someone than to just give them a bunch of experience! You know, the good ole ‘learn as you do’ method!” Huginn finished with a flourish.

“Hmm, you do have a point,” Draxum considered. He stopped walking. “Surprisingly.”

“Why thank you,” Huginn trilled, bowing.

Draxum’s gaze went back onto Leo, who couldn’t help but shrink away, hands nervously reaching up to hold onto the top of his plastron. “And that gives me the perfect idea…”

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

“Draxum!” Raph bellowed, kicking open the door, Mikey and Donnie flanking him on either side. The turtle huffed, glancing around the lab as he searched for his target.

The third name on Donnie’s list had to be it, right? Surely. It had taken them far too long to hunt down the Sando Brothers and force them to tell them anything, and the next yokai they had tried had had similar results. April hadn’t found anything, either, but the pizzas had been paid for so… so…

Ugh! Raph couldn’t put these pieces together right now. He just needed to find his younger brother and save him from whatever mess he had found himself in this time.

There was the sound of slow clapping, and the sheep yokai appeared from around the column of ooze, one gargoyle perched on his right shoulder. “Well, well,” he greeted them, a smile on his face. “It’s quite rare for you turtles to come and seek me out. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Cut the cr—“ Donnie started to say, but Mikey beat him to it, bounding in front of his brothers. Raph almost reached out to pull him back, but he stopped himself; he understood Mikey’s point of view enough that he had also barged in, weapons ready to go.

“Where’s our brother, you creep?” Mikey demanded, his weapon already spinning in his hands.

“Ah,” the yokai replied, blinking at them. The gargoyle snickered softly, and Draxum glanced at it, some message passing between the two of them. “I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The way he said it- it was casual. Too casual. That was suspicious, right? Raph couldn’t possibly be the only one to think so. “You’re lying,” he snarled. “What did you do with Leo?”

The gargoyle perked up, about to say something, but Draxum covered it with one of his hands. “Really,” he said, sounding exasperated. “Whatever you silly children are accusing me of, I don’t have any involvement. Search my lab, if you must, but I’m in the middle of some very important experiments. I’d really rather not fight today; but I will, if you insist. That is,” and the yokai sneered at them, eyes flashing. “If you have that kind of time to waste. Whatever you’re up to, it sounds very... urgent.”

(Chapter Four –>)

#glitch writes #lfls #rottmnt lfls #like father like son #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #angst #rottmnt fanfic #my writing #yes i remember to update on tumblr sometimes #jazz hands

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imagine-pleasantnonsense · 4 years

Text

Of Late Nights and French Movies

Summary:

After Donnie is woken by a nightmare following Many Unhappy Returns, Donnie and Leo take comfort in each other's presence, and a few shared words.

Ao3: [link]

Pairing: none

Words: 1304

A/N: I wrote this very early in the morning when I definitely should have been sleeping, not proof read or beta'd, but fuck it, I'm posting it because if I don't post it now I never will.

based on a post i saw by @boficionado

He can’t breathe.

Metal arms around his throat.

No- they were purple vines.

Metal.

Vines.

Metal.

Vines.

He can’t breathe¬

Donnie eyes shot open and he gasped for air, still unable to get any oxygen to his lungs as his heart pumped too fast in his chest. He furiously untangled himself from his bed sheets and threw his feet over the side of the bed once he was free. The cold of the floor helped ground him if only a little, but his throat still felt constricted.

He reached up and tried to pull away whatever was restricting his airflow, but he only found his pyjama shirt’s collar. He undid at least half of the buttons of the shirt, ignoring the sound of a button hitting the floor as he was a bit too rough with the fabric. It was fine, he could fix it later, all that mattered right now was that he could breathe.

He yanked the shirt down to sit loosely around his upper arms, too distraught to bother with actually taking it off. He sucked in a lungful of air, desperate to be rid of the burning in his chest. He sat quietly, the only sound in his room his ragged breathing.

His voice was course as he tried to reassure himself.

“It was just a dream…”

But it wasn’t. Just months ago, he had felt the same desperation for air as one of Draxum’s vines had closed off his throat. And just before that, the feeling of his own tech constricting his airways by Kendra’s hand still haunted him.

Clearly, it still haunted him.

His head felt clearer with the oxygen now returning to his lungs, he finished unbuttoning his shirt, letting it to sit open over his shoulders.

His head was pounding, and his throat felt raw despite it only being a dream, this time anyway, and with the memories of the not actually just dreams still fresh in his mind he felt that his chances of getting back to sleep that night were slim to none.

Donnie grabbed his phone, noting the time only enough to recall that it was very early morning, before he left his room.

The halls leading to the main atrium were dark, his family having gone to bed even before he had earlier that night.

Though, he wasn’t as surprised as he should be to see lights shining into the hall when he finally got to the atrium doorway. They flashed in that way only late-night TV in a dark house could, and when Donnie rounded the corner, he saw Leo curled up in front of the TV with a hot drink and a blanket wrapped around his legs. The TV was set to what seemed to be a foreign film, with the volume down low and subtitles flashing across the screen.

They made brief eye contact as Donnie made his way across the atrium and into the kitchen.

He made quick work of getting a glass of water, which he downed immediately following a painkiller, and then used the water left in the electric kettle to make his own mug of tea. For once he made the healthy decision to forgo coffee late at night.

Once his own tea was steeped, he disposed of the bag and went back to the living room to see that Leo had readjusted his position so that there was room for Donnie on the couch.

He said nothing as he set his mug on the coffee table and laid down beside his brother, resting his head on Leo’s lap and pulling the blanket from off the back of the couch over his body. It was only a moment before Leo’s hand was rubbing Donnie’s head, massaging gentle circles over his temple. They stayed like that for a while, only the dull sounds from the TV breaking the silence as neither of them followed the movie. Donnie had deduced the film was in French after realizing he understood the what the quiet voices of the characters were saying as a dying man’s son spoke about monetary affairs to a group of doctors.

Donnie would occasionally move to take a sip of his tea, and every time he’d curl back up with his head in Leo’s lap. Leo’s idle ministrations a continuous reminder of where Donnie was whenever his mind would wander back to his dream.

As the main character was escorted from a hospital to a cabin by a lake, Donnie spoke up.

“Insomnia?” He asked. His voice was nonchalant, tired, but Leo knew him well enough to catch the amount of care behind the single-worded question.

“She’s a bitch.” Leo replied just as simply. “Nightmares?” He added afterwards.

Donnie felt a tightness in his throat as his mind flashed back to the moments from his dreams, but he was quickly brought back by the feel of Leo’s hand on his forehead.

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” Donnie’s voice was barely above a whisper, and he moved from the topic. “Is the tea I got for you helping at all?”

“Not really.”

And then it was quiet again.

The two brothers laid together, cast in the gentle glow of the TV, and watching as a man died surrounded by his friends and family.

Donnie finished off the last bit of his tea, feeling little to no affect from something that was supposed to help induce drowsiness and he made a mental note to try a new brand.

On screen the main character finally passed away, and the quiet, melancholy tone of the film's current scene offset the comfortable silence between the two brothers. Each took the moment of reprieve in their usually very loud home.

They were so used to the rooms being full of sounds and life, if not music, or movies then laughter or yelling, and the quiet of the night with the more rambunctious brothers soundly sleeping was enjoyable. But the middle brothers would both be lying if they said the lack of sleep wasn’t starting to get to them.

“Maybe we should consider therapy.” Leo broke the silence as the credits begun to roll over the screen. “You can do it online and they don’t even have to see your face anymore.”

“I think the lies we would have to come up with to justify your intense fear of the lair getting broken into and the events leading to me being strangled twice would be a bit hard to explain to a psychiatrist. Not to mention our daddy issues.” Donnie was only half joking about the last part.

“As long as our nights get a bit shorter is that really such a heavy price to pay?” Leo’s voice was humorous, but Donnie could hear a note of desperation behind it.

The ease at which they had fallen into this routine was from countless nights of similar outcomes. Donnie falling asleep only to be woken up mere hours later to find Leo hadn’t been able to sleep at all. While the nightmares about being strangled were new, they were only the newest in a long list of nightmares he had suffered from for years. And Leo had suffered from insomnia for about the same period of time.

“Maybe I’ll look into it.” Donnie eventually said. “Or maybe there’s some Yokai group therapy session that we can sign up for.” He joked.

“I do know at least one portal into the mystic city now, though your germ-hating butt will not appreciate it.”

“I’d swim in garbage if it meant getting a few more hours of sleep every night.”

“Noted.” Leo replied as he begun looking scrolling through the lists of movies for something new to watch.

“Wait- you chose that movie?” Donnie asked.

“I was in a French mood.”

#Rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt #rottmnt fic #donatello #leonardo #tmnt #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt fic #my writing

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rottmntquotes · 4 years

Text

Petition Episode (Joke Script Part 2)

(The screen opens up and shows Draxum, Splinter, Raph, and Mikey wandering around a Hidden City flea market separately. They are asking to see if anyone knows where the studio is, as Draxum is unfamiliar with this part of the city. They are all carrying walkie talkies, and check in with each other every five seconds.)

Raph: Has anyone found any information?

Draxum: Not since the last time you asked... FIVE SECONDS AGO!

Mikey: Barry! Raph! Stop fighting! We aren’t going to find Donnie and Leo by arguing!

Splinter: Michelangelo is right! We need to keep this communication line clear until we find some useful information!

Raph: No offense, dad, but... it’s been really weird hearing you say our whole names lately.

Splinter: Now is not the time, Raphael. Keep the line clear!

(Draxum, Raph, and Mikey go quiet, asking around for a minute more until Mikey finds some information. He alerts the others.)

Mikey: Apparently, they’re down near the Battle Nexus. All we have to do is pass through without getting caught by Big Mama, and then we-

Raph: Hold on! This show is filmed near the Battle Nexus? Does that not strike anyone else as, oh, I dunno, CONCERNING?!

Splinter: Very much so. But we cannot let that hinder us. (He Strokes His Beard Thoughtfully) We must find a way to get through without being caught.

Raph: What if we send Draxum in there to fend her off? I bet that would give us enough time.

Mikey: RAPH!

Raph: It was a suggestion!

Splinter: Boys! Please!

Draxum: Way to keep your kids in line, Jitsu.

Splinter: Oh, you are so lucky that I am not next to you!

Raph: Hey pops? What was that about this “Not Being The Time” again?

(Splinter groans loudly, facepalming as he listens to everyone bicker with and taunt each other. The screen shifts back to the twins, where they are being told the rules.)

Fox Yokai: This is a fairly simple game. You will all be trapped inside this building for 24 hours, or at least until there are five contestants left standing. Those who are eliminated will be released from the house by forceful ejection.

Rabbit Yokai: (Slowly Losing His Will To Be Present) Inside this building you will all be forced to go through a series of challenges. These challenges are broken into levels, and you will be watched by both us, and the viewers at home- andintheBattleNexus -so that we can easily determine who has both lost a challenge, and who is wanted to be seen more by our watchers.

Leo: (Whispering Ecstatically) Did you hear that Donnie?! We’re gonna be on Tv! The entire Hidden City is going to know our names and faces!

Donnie: (Whispering nervously) Part of me is saying that’s a bad thing.

Fox Yokai: You will now be split up into pairs! Here on our roster, we have paired you up with contestants who will prove to be great opponents!

(The Fox Yokai names off the pairs on the roster. There are 12 pairs, made from 24 contestants. Donnie is paired with a giant alligator Yokai, and Leo is paired with a large triceratops Yokai. The twins look at each other with slight sadness. Leo mouths “Good Luck” to Donnie, who responds with a tight hug.)

Donnie: (Whispering) Don’t die.

Leo: (Whispering) I should be telling you that.

(Donnie pulls away and the twins bump foreheads for three seconds before the contestants are instructed to enter the building. The twins are allowed to look at each other one last time before large walls separate the 12 pairs. Leo turns to face his opponent, gulping and smiling fearfully.)

Triceratops Yokai: Do not worry young one. If you promise to play fair, I may just allow you to leave with your life...

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

*Tee-hee! Can you guess the names of the Alligator and Triceratops? Do you think you know where I’m going with this? Have you realized that if this happened it would be 30 minutes long? I hope so!

**Also, I would like to thank you all for the support you’re giving me! It’s great to know that an idea like this would be so accepted! :D

#RotTMNT #Rise of the TMNT #Petition Episode #Script #Excerpt #Whoo!#I Love Your Support!#Thank You So Much!

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fanfic-inator795 · 5 years

Text

RotTMNT/Baron Jitsu fanfiction: Dating... With Children - Chapter Three

(Also on AO3 if you want to leave a comment or kudos)

Plot: Benjamin Draxum hardly considered himself a man of high social standing. Not because he was uncouth or unworthy of it, mind you, but simply because he didn’t have much of a social life. Hard to have one when he usually spent his days at work, cooped up in a lab for so long that he often had his lunches in there, and his nights at home reading or doing research for more personal projects. But perhaps meeting handsome semi-retired movie star - as well as his four young sons - could change all that…

((CHAPTER THREEEEEE!! Here we go~! ^v^))

To the few people who knew Draxum well, they could say with ease that the man was definitely a perfectionist. Not just in his work and scientific process, but in everything. From presenting himself to others (despite how anti-social he tended to be), to the daily chores he did, to the food he made for himself. Anything less than perfect was an annoyance, an aggravation. Perfection was control, and Draxum could only seem to let himself feel relaxed and satisfied (or at least, as close to those things as he could get) when he felt like he was in total control.

Naturally, his perfectionism had began to slip into his dating life, as well.

Despite already having a recipe in mind when he invited Lou over to his place, Draxum had still ended up spending a good chunk of his work days that week going through various online recipes, just in case there was something better. He did however hold himself back from texting Lou if he had any preferences or allergies, figuring that he would have told him that from the beginning if there was anything to worry about. Besides, Lou had cooked him a good meal without any assistance, and Draxum felt obligated to do the same. To show that he could… and to just make Lou smile that cheesy, over-confident grin of his.

Draxum groaned, shaking his head a bit at his own eagerness. What was he, a head-over-heels teenager? Pushing the feelings down for what was at least the dozenth time that day, Draxum exited out his current tab and went back to his actual work.

“Um, Dr. Draxum?” a voice said from over his shoulder, “I have those test results you needed.” Draxum turned his chair slightly to look at one of his interns. A college graduate, short and lanky with a head of pitch black hair that stuck up slightly, who was eager to both please and learn. A bit too eager, if Draxum was being honest, but at least the kid paid attention and was fairly competent.

“Good,” he said, taking the paperwork, “Now, have either you finished-?”

“Reading those new reports and picking out relevant info?” another voice from his other side finished for him, “Yep! Got ‘em right here, boss!”

“Doctor,” Draxum corrected, narrowing his eyes a bit. His other intern was about on the same level of competence and eagerness as his partner - they even looked similar, with this one being a bit rounder and having more neatly combed black hair - though a bit of an airhead at times. Draxum would often catch him (sometimes both of them, if whatever they were doing was entertaining enough) on his phone, and if it weren’t for the fact that their field of study at the research lab was already understaffed and he didn’t have any other choices for interns, he would’ve kicked them out within their first week.

“Ah, right, sorry,” the other intern nodded, handing over the papers. Draxum took them and glanced over both it and the lab results. Once he determined that there weren’t any obvious errors and that they were indeed what he had asked for, he dismissed them with a silent nod and went back to his own data.

As they walked back to their own desks, the two interns shared a look. “...So, hey, you wanna know something weird? Just before I went over there, I saw him looking at recipes! Again! Something is up.”

“Man, nothing has to be ‘up’. Maybe this is just a new hobby he's trying out. With all the cooking shows out there, lots of people are getting into cooking! Or hey, maybe he's planning on leaving science and becoming a chef or whatever.”

“Whaaat? No way! He loves science stuff, he's not going to just walk away from it! ...You know what I think? I think he's looking all this stuff up because he's getting ready for a da-”

“Huginn. Muninn.”

Hugh Huginn and Matthew Muninn both froze, wincing. “...Huh. So he does know our names,” Muninn whispered in awe. Huginn elbowed him sharply.

“If you two want to waste your time gossiping, you can take it back to the university you came from,” Draxum told them, arms crossed and eyes narrowed, “But if you wish to still work here, then I'd suggest you both get started on your next assignments. Now.”

“O-Of course, sir- er, Doctor!” Huginn grabbed his partner’s arm and quickly led the way back to their separate desks.

Draxum held back a sigh, still scowling as he turned back to his papers. “Fools,” he muttered under his breath.

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

When Friday finally came around, Draxum once again left an hour earlier than usual, making sure he had plenty of time to both prepare for their meal as well as make up for any interruptions or issues he could possibly run into while cooking (as well as New York traffic).

Thankfully, luck seemed to be on his side that day, and he made it home within the hour. Upon entering his home, Draxum glanced around his apartment, just to make sure that there was nothing he needed to tidy up. A bit of a pointless task, given that he always kept his apartment spotless, but a thoughtful one nonetheless.

His two bedroom apartment (one room for his home gym and the other to sleep in) was one of the higher end ones in Manhattan, being just a few blocks away from Times Square. It wasn't a penthouse, but it still felt spacious enough to feel comfortable. His home had hardwood floors all throughout the living room and small kitchen, and the walls were painted a pale blue, free of any sort of paintings or decorations with the exception of Draxum’s framed doctorate. Near his already dusted and organized bookcase was a large window, teal curtains closed like always. A dark blue couch, a black coffee table, and a decent-sized television brought the minimalist room together, adding just a bit of comfort to the space.

Satisfied with how his place looked, Draxum then walked over to his kitchen, the recipe he had chosen saved on his phone and the ingredients he needed already in his home. Granted, he already knew the recipe well, but he still didn't want to leave any room for error. In a way, second dates (or was it third? Did the art gallery count?) were even more important than the first, given that now there were even more concrete expectations of the other person, as well as certain goals they both wanted to meet...

“Focus,” he told himself, once again pulling his mind away from thoughts of the other man (and just how close they had been the last time they saw each other, how they had almost-). Taking a moment to clear his mind and tighten his ponytail, he began preparing his perfect date night dish: Steaks with potato gratin and a white wine sauce, certainly a meal that was both delicious and impressive. Yes, he could just see the look on Lou’s face when he- no, no, damn it Draxum, focus!

First the potatoes, which Draxum made quick work of, peeling them with ease. Slicing them and mixing up the butter and creme didn't take too much time either. He watched the flames of the stove carefully, and knew just when to turn down the heat to avoid burning them. Really, while ‘chef’ certainly wasn't one of the first words Draxum would ever use to describe himself, he was pretty proud of his cooking skills. Cooking was just simple chemistry, in a way.

After several minutes on the stovetop, Draxum transferred the potatoes from the pot to a baking pan, placing it in the oven. The potatoes would need to bake for about half an hour, and he wouldn't start the steaks until they were halfway done, wanting both the main and the side dish to be finished at the same time. So, with a bit of time to kill, he wandered back over to his living room and turned on the tv.

Being more of a literature fan than a television fan, Draxum usually kept it on either one of the science channels for an interesting documentary or two, or on the local news for current events or to just act as white noise in his otherwise silent apartment. But he wasn't in the mood to listen to his city's annoying blonde anchorman and all the documentaries currently playing were ones he'd already seen, so he decided to browse the guide a bit. As he did, he realized that he hadn't really planned anything for the two of them to do after their meal.

Draxum hummed, narrowing his eyes a bit as he continued scrolling through shows. They hadn't had anything planned last time either, and had ended up just talking for a while. It had been enjoyable enough, but would Lou find that boring this time, especially after they had already shared two fairly long conversations over the phone throughout the week? “I suppose we could watch a movie or something…”

Whether or not there was anything good on though, that was the question. But hey, that was what streaming was fo-

Draxum stopped, a familiar title catching his eye: Fist of Jitsu-Fury. One of the very first films in one Yoshi ‘Lou Jitsu’ Hamato’s career, back when he was gaining a following but wasn't quite a superstar yet. He doubted that the film held up very well at all but… “Oh what the hell.” Draxum clicked on it.

He had come in at the middle of the film, just as a fight scene started. He chuckled at his date, much younger (and clearly inexperienced, given how slightly wooden his line delivery was) his date was on screen, as well as the ridiculous jumpsuit he was wearing. ...Still, the low neckline while garish wasn't exactly a hindrance…

“-And I say that your reign of terror shall end now, evil one!” Lou boasted. The villain of the film, some yakuza boss with mystic powers, cackled.

“That's what you think, foolish boy! Face the wrath of my gang and perish with dishonor!” Draxum snorted. Good lord, who was writing these scripts?! Honestly, there was only one reason this series had so many sequels, and the Lou on screen seemed to know that too, judging by his genuine smirk. The funky Kung-fu action instrumentals came in just as the yakuza began to charge the hero, but Lou refused to look worried. Instead he stood his ground, prepared a punch, and gave his infamous battle cry.

“HOT SOUUUUUUP!”

“I still don't know how that of all things became a catchphrase,” Draxum muttered, eyes still glued to the screen. Perhaps he’d ask the Lou in the present for the story later… As he watched, he truly remembered why the fight scenes in these films were so popular. With Lou having been the only one on set with such a high level of training, Draxum wondered if he had just been paid to actually beat up stuntmen, given how realistic it all looked and how well the fight flowed, the edits being practically non-existent.

He could see the calculation and focus on Lou’s face perfectly, even through the fuzzy low-definition of the movie. Each move was a mix of both effective and showy, perfectly timed and presented with style. Every kick and punch, every duck and roll, the jumps and flips, the blocks and counters-! One of the opponents managed to get a lucky hit in, punching Lou’s shoulder and grabbing his sleeve in an attempt to pull him down to the ground. A severe underestimation. Before the poor movie extra could even realize what was happening, Lou grabbed his arm and threw him up and over, tossing him completely offscreen, losing the top of his jumpsuit in the process.

“...These movies are still cheesy,” Draxum mumbled, though his smile never fell. Cheesy, yes, but admittedly still pretty amazing, in their own way. And… Wow, now he was also remembering Lou’s former title as ‘the Tightest Abs in Hollywood’.

With the yakuza grunts all down for the count, it was time for the final boss battle. Lou was sweating a bit, but was nowhere near too exhausted to fight, and grinned at his enemy. The boss sneered back at him, standing up from his seat. The two opponents stared each other down, and-!

...What was that sound? Yanked back to the present, Draxum realized that the sound he was hearing was his timer! He had completely forgotten what he was doing! With an annoyed growl, he turned off the tv and went back into the kitchen. Thankfully, the potatoes were not yet burned, but they had been close, and they were definitely overdone now. “Great…” And the steaks. He hadn't even cooked the steaks yet!

So Draxum took the pan out, setting it on the stovetop to hopefully help keep it from getting cold, and grabbed a skillet as well as the already thawed steaks from the fridge. Feeling like he had no time to wait for it to heat up, Draxum just turned the stove up to high, tossed the steaks in and started seasoning them. Unfortunately, because of the skipped step, he underestimated just how long it would take for the steaks to cook.

So when he moved to flip the meat, he was greeted with a nearly blackened burnt side, mocking him as the other side started to sizzle. And as he turned the heat down to avoid any further burning, Draxum could feel his own temper start to rise… “Okay, maybe the sauce will help cover it up?” He wondered, still trying to keep some hope. But it didn't amount to much, given that the recipe called for making the sauce in the same pan as the steaks, which meant it would most likely taste slightly burnt as well.

Not that it really mattered, when the main and side dishes had already been screwed up. But that's fine, it's fine, he could still fix this! He had plenty of things in his fridge, surely he could make something else before-!

*knock knock knock* “...” Slowly, Draxum looked at his phone, wondering if he could play the ‘I didn't realize you would be early’ card. The bold numbers on screen said otherwise. 6:38. Lou was fashionably late, and Draxum had officially ran out of time.

With a sigh, he turned off the stove, and went to answer the door. Had he been in a better mood, he would've smiled at the fact that Lou had dressed up a bit, wearing black slacks, a white collared shirt and a fashionable blue jacket along with his usual yellow tinted glasses.

“Hey, you,” Lou greeted, tilting his head a bit, “You look like you don't want me to be here, what's up?”

“In a way, I don't,” Draxum admitted. Lou was a pretty blunt and direct guy, and so was he. “The meal I prepared for us ended up not being to my standards, and I'm very annoyed about it…”

“Ah.” He stood on his toes slightly, looking over Draxum’s shoulder as he sniffed the air. “Doesn't seem that bad to me.”

“It is, trust me.” Stepping aside, Draxum allowed Lou to walk into his apartment. “Just sit down and I’ll just cook something else or, you know what, I’ll just order in. We don't have all night.” With a scowl still on his face, Draxum went into the kitchen to grab his phone, and rather than taking a seat on the couch, Lou followed. He looked curiously at the steaks, and then the potatoes.

“You sure we can't just eat these?”

“Yes,” Draxum all but growled, “The steaks are partially burnt, and the potatoes-”

Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lou take a fork and stick it right into the pan. Draxum sputtered a bit, but was ultimately too shocked to stop him from taking a bite. “Mm,” Lou nodded, chewing for a moment before swallowing, “A bit overdone, yeah, but still good!”

“...” Draxum narrowed his eyes a bit. “You don't have to force yourself to eat it, you know. It's not like I'm incapable of cooking things that aren't overdone and burnt-”

“I know,” Lou said, “Just like you should know that you don't have to go ‘above and beyond’ just to impress me or whatever. You're a smart, muscle-bound scientist who has great hair, is pretty good with kids and fun to hang out with, so you're already pretty up there. Now come on, let's eat before this stuff gets cold.”

Draxum said nothing, and just watched as Lou opened up three different cabinets before finally finding the plates. “...We don't have any sauce to go with the steaks.”

“We can use ketchup.”

Draxum scoffed, finally cracking a smile. “Seriously?”

“What?” Lou smirked back at him, “You got something against ketchup?” Draxum just sighed, this one not nearly as heavy as the last one. Not wanting to waste it, he then opened the fridge and grabbed the white wine along with the ketchup.

When he sat down and tried the food for himself, Draxum had to admit, Lou was right. It definitely wasn't perfect, and it was nowhere near his usual quality, but even so… It wasn't half bad.

“You know, in terms of so-called ‘kitchen disasters’, it could have been a lot worse,” Lou told him as he put a small glob of ketchup on his plate, “Have I told you about the time I accidentally murdered my new blender when I tried to make a smoothie?”

“Impossible.”

“I thought so too, but let me tell you: NEVER try to blend avocados.”

Sometime between their second helping of food and raising Draxum’s pantry for whatever resemblance of dessert they could find, the two ended up moving from the table to the couch. Lou let himself lean on Draxum’s shoulder, and Draxum in turn didn't try to push him away. Their conversation slowed and soon enough they fell into a comfortable silence.

“...So,” Lou said after a while, “Do you want this to be a thing? I mean… Do you want us to be a thing?”

“...Do you?”

“I think that's pretty obvious. But I still wanted to ask, both to avoid pushing you into anything you might not want yet - or at all - and because you just seem like a guy that likes things to be clear.”

Draxum hummed, leaning back as he allowed himself to think about it, his arm still hung loosely around the smaller man’s shoulders. He really did enjoy both (all three?) of these dates, but did he want it to be official?

...Honestly, even with all the changes, obligations and risks that came with it that he could think of and acknowledge, Draxum could still only come up with one solid answer.

“I think… That I do.”

For a moment, Lou did nothing. Then, suddenly, he sat up and turned so he could look at his date - his boyfriend - properly, a bright grin on his face. Chuckling a little, Draxum smiled back at him.

“Okay okay, I already have an idea for our next date! Are you ready?” He asked, pausing for effect, “...Dancing!”

Draxum stared back at him, his expression flattening, even if he was still a bit amused. “Absolutely not.”

“Oh come on, it'll be fun! And I know this one place in Queens-”

“I don't dance.”

“You don't dance at all, or you don't dance around other people?” Draxum didn't reply, instead mustering up a glare that Lou could still only grin back at. “Because, I have a pretty good solution for the latter.” Standing up, he fished his phone out of his pocket, and tapped on the screen a couple times. After a few seconds, an old eighties dance song began playing from the small speakers.

“You know, I'm already starting to regret this decision.”

“You are only saying that because you're not dancing yet~” The ex-action star shimmied his hips a bit, dancing from side to side and doing a bit of a spin before gesturing for his date to get up as well.

Draxum rolled his eyes as he gave in, standing from his comfortable seat. “You are incorrigible.”

“And you, are lighter on your feet than you think you are, I'm sure.” He moved to pull Draxum into the groove, and on instinct Draxum shifted his arm, almost as if he was blocking an attack. Though, once he noticed this action, he quickly put his arm down, slightly embarrassed.

Lou however, was the exact opposite. “...Ohhh, so it's going to be like that, eh?” Smirking, he shifted into a fighting pose, though still swayed a bit as the music continued to play. Draxum raised an eyebrow at this, but slowly moved to do the same, their eyes locked on one another’s. Lou moved to strike, and Draxum once again blocked it. As they began to circle each other, Draxum then attacked Lou, who in turn blocked with both grace and flair.

Every step, every move - whether it was in attack, defense, or simply a ‘normal’ dance move - was done to the beat of the music. Their bodies flowed with the melody and with each other, never faltering and complimenting the other perfectly. After grabbing one of his punches, Draxum pulled Lou into a twirl, making him chuckle. When Draxum tried to kick him, Lou ducked and slid around his partner’s body, back brushing up against his chest and causing his face to heat up a bit. On one occasion, they both moved to a attack and grabbed each other's hands, pulling themselves in close and pushing against each other before pushing away.

When the song finally ended, they found themselves in a position that felt like a mix between a hold and a dip. “...Told you you could dance,” Lou spoke up, his smirk softening a bit.

“Hmph, I said I didn't, I never said I couldn't.” Draxum slowly brought his dance-spar partner back onto his feet, but didn't let him go completely. Lou’s phone had started playing a slightly slower song, but neither one of them were really listening.

“...I was wondering,” Lou started to say, “I said what I liked about you earlier… What do you like about me?”

Draxum thought for a moment. “...You're less annoying than other people.” It was so blunt and so probably the least romantic thing ever that Lou just had to laugh. Not in a mocking way, of course, but still he laughed - and despite everything, it made Draxum smile. He made Draxum smile.

Lou, who was over the top and absolutely ridiculous and (if this week alone had proved to be any indication) distracting to the point of being aggravating. ...But he was also caring and loving, fun and free-spirited, strong and handsome… Yes, DEFINITELY handsome.

Even after only knowing him a short while, Draxum could tell that Lou loved fully, lived life in the moment, and rolled with the punches - both figuratively and literally. Simply put, Lou was bright. Like a candle, warm and inviting, rather than like a blinding and all-consuming spotlight. He'd invited him in with that damn smile of his, his family practically claiming him as one of their own before he'd even had time to stop it, and now…

Now, Draxum was willing to jump headfirst into the unknown. For them, for him, for all of this.

Laughter finally calming, Lou noticed just how much closer Draxum was getting. His eyes widened a bit before closing, and as another beat passed, the distance between them finally closed. Lou put his arms around Draxum’s shoulders as they kissed while Draxum moved his hands from his date’s back to near his waist.

Deepening the kiss, Lou began to let himself lean back, leading the way back to the couch. He chuckled as their lips broke apart, both of them a bit breathless. “Heh, I’ve uh, I’ve probably got about half an hour before I have to go relieve the babysitter…” He ran his fingers through his new boyfriend’s auburn hair, loosening his ponytail a bit. “Want to make the most of it~?”

Draxum smirked back at him, not minding the warmth in his face. “I suppose I don’t mind,” he replied, cupping Lou’s face as he gave him another quick kiss. “And, tomorrow maybe we could meet for brunch or, or something? I know this one diner that I believe has a half-price children’s menu-”

Lou barely gave himself enough time to nod before pulling Draxum in for another deep kiss, letting that action be the rest of his answer. Draxum hummed, closing his eyes and moving even closer, being more than happy to continue their little make-out session for as long as they could.

Yes, this was definitely what he wanted…

The following Monday, Huginn and Muninn couldn’t help but stare as the doctor walked into their lab. Frankly, they weren’t sure what was stranger: The fact that Draxum was wearing a turtleneck despite it barely being below seventy outside, or the fact that he had walked into work without a scowl!

It wasn’t until Draxum moved to go get some more coffee that he finally noticed his interns staring at him. He met their eyes… and gave them a small nod. “Good morning, you two,” he said simply, leaving the room.

Huginn and Muninn stared at the spot where their boss had been, mouths agape, before turning to look at each other.

“...Oh yeah, he TOTALLY had a date last weekend.”

“I hope he has a date every weekend.”

Aaaand with that little arc completed and these two officially together, I'm sorry to announce that this story will be going on hiatus for a little while. As much fun as I have writing fanfiction, I really need to focus on my original stories for a while. So, I'm going to take a break to work on those outlines and hopefully get at least one of the original stories I have in mind started.

HOWEVER, barring any complications (or if Canon!Draxum does something that makes me just despise his character, heh), I should return to this story eventually. I have plenty of ideas for it, and I definitely want to get at least a few of them out. I also want to make the people who have supported this story so far happy. So yeah, it may be a few months, but I WILL return to this story eventually. Thank you all again for your support, and I'll see you next time!

#rottmnt #baron jitsu #rise of the tmnt #lou jitsu #baron draxum #human au #fanfiction #my writing

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turtlestanfirst · 5 years

Text

When they first met, it was apparently night. Artemis has a hard time with, well, time. She can't see the sun or moon, the changing of the sky as the day wears on into night. Her favorite way to guess the time is to just listen. As night comes on the house becomes much quieter than during the day. And the house really can get busy. He was called Baron Draxum, after all. He's got status, and status means people come in and out of your house all day, talking about the affairs of Mystic City. Artemis is old enough to handle some of these things when her father isn't around. And he'd been gone for most of that day, so she'd been fairly busy.

Finally the telltale sound of evening had settled in and she'd settled in the kitchen, sipping on multiple mugs of tea until her nose picked up on the scent of Draxum's cologne. His footsteps reached her ears moments after- two pairs of footsteps. The other person had a smell too, one considerably less appealing than her father's. Her first guess was an enemy, someone he would likely take down into the dungeon.

But they weren't headed to the dungeon. Artemis turned her head towards the kitchen entrance as the pair approached, an easy smile on her face despite her curiosity about the person next to him. "I was starting to worry I'd have to sleep without saying goodnight to you." The smile grew as Draxum approached and planted a kiss on her head.

"Busy day, my little munchkin," he explained. Artemis nodded.

"Who's with you?" The girl couldn't see it, but she heard something like pride in the yokai's voice as he replied.

"This is Donatello, he'll be staying with us from now on." Her face moved towards where she'd last heard his footsteps and waved.

"Welcome, Donatello," she hummed, and grinned once again when she heard his quiet reply. The familiar clop of Draxum's hooves moved away from her now.

"He has had a long day as well," her father explained. "I am going to show him to his room. Will you put the kettle on for me, dear?" Artemis nodded quickly and slid out of her seat to do as she was asked.

"Shall I send a cup up for you, Donatello?" she asked over her shoulder.

"I- yes, please," he replied after a pause. Artemis nodded once more and picked the kettle up, listening as their footsteps retreated down the hall and moved up the stairs on her left side. By the time Draxum returned, she was perched on the counter, the water slowly working its way to a boil on the stove.

"How'd you get one of them to come with you?" she asked, almost as soon as he entered the room. Clip clop, clip clop, she heard him settle on the chair she'd occupied earlier. He didn't answer right away, and the weight of his temporary silence told her there was a lot on his mind.

"He was alone," Draxum offered. Artemis sat forward, fingertips clinging to the counter beneath her. "He says he feels like his... his family doesn't value him as highly as he would like."

"And you've offered to show him his worth?"

"Yes. He is incredibly talented, he deserves to know this. If he needs someone to tell him that I have no problem doing so." Her brow furrowed slightly. It sounded like the turtle hadn't been happy with his family. Draxum had told her about the turtles and Lou before. Why would the man take them only to mistreat one enough to convince him to leave?

Donnie had a question for her too, one that popped into his head immediately after laying eyes on her. It burned and burned and burned until the door to the room he'd been given opened up and a head of brown curls appeared. Her smile was oddly comforting, and the turtle relaxed on the bed.

"I got mint tea, hope that's alright," she hummed as she set the mug down on the nightstand. Donnie shook his head.

"Perfectly fine." The mug was warm, soothing to his whole body. "Thank you."

"No problem! I'm the resident tea maker around here, so if you ever need some just holler." She offered a smile and almost stepped away, but Donnie's question tumbled out of his mouth and stopped her.

"You're his daughter?"

And she understood exactly why he would ask. Draxum didn't like humans. He was actively looking for a way to get rid of them all. And yet his child was human? It was confusing, she could acknowledge that. Turning towards the bed, Artemis gave a nod.

"I am. He adopted me when I was very young," she explained. There was silence for a few moments.

"You know he's... trying to kill off all humans, right?" Her smile was still genuine, but it carried a hint of something different as she replied.

"Never met a human I liked anyway. Goodnight, Donatello."

___________________________________

To Donnie, Artemis was an enigma. She was impossible to figure out. She used his full name for a long time and acted with all the polite civility in the world. Her guard was present at all times and he didn't know how to get over it.

To Artemis, Donnie was an open book. She read and reread him, studying the turtle as well as possible. Upon learning he was a softshell, she came to the decision that he could be more than an ally. Whether they liked it or not, both had an undeniable... hindrance in their lives. She had learned to accept it. He had not. She would help him, but to do so she would likely have to make herself vulnerable as well. Once the choice was made, she informed him calmly that because they technically shared a father they were now siblings.

Donnie had scoffed. "We're not even in the same phylum." She had grinned.

"The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. I'm choosing you to be my baby brother." Which was ridiculous because he was seventeen and she was sixteen. But she had repeated herself and Donnie hadn't felt like fighting.

That had been the night before, and the turtle had stayed up all night thinking about it. Growing up with siblings meant that their absence was hard on him. Accepting the girl as his new sister wouldn't be replacing them, right? Because even if he had left, they were brothers. Right? Of course, he was sure none of them were pleased with him. He couldn't blame them for that. He shook his head. It didn't matter; just like with Artemis, they weren't biologically related- not real siblings. He could choose anyone in the world to fill that spot, he didn't have to stay loyal to the three boys.

Right?

It was morning now and Donnie realized sleep wasn't coming for him, so he forced himself out of bed and tugged his mask on before going for his battle shell. Then again, he'd worn it nearly all day the day before and his shoulders were still a little sore from the heavy object, so he opted instead for clothes. He vaguely noted that one of his hoodies had been removed from its hanger but pushed that thought away to deal with later. The purple hoodie was chosen and moments later he meandered down the steps.

"Mornin' Donabon!" She was already in the kitchen, cooking away. "Coffee's already in the machine."

"You are a goddess." The turtle made a beeline for the referenced machine while Artemis chuckled.

"I know, consider it a thank you present."

A 'thanks for letting me steal your hoodie’ present, he realized. The dark blue material absolutely enfulged her, but she looked rather pleased about having it on and he didn't see a point in arguing.

"I was awake all night!"

"You were occupied all night, and I'm good at being sneaky." She sounded so smug. Almost like Leo. For a moment he wondered if she'd like him, what kind of chaos the two could cause if they joined forces. He didn't like that though so much and instead reached around and stole a piece of sausage from the pan she was cooking with, hissing at the burn of the hot food and chuckling at her complaints.

He spent most of the day in the makeshift lab he'd claimed as his own. He missed his old one, it had been decked out just the way he wanted, but he could work with this. He could make it his own. Artemis wandered in and out, but at some point came in with a book and a giant blanket and settled in the corner, not too far off from the softshell.

She was good company. Never asked too many questions, showed just enough interest in his work to get a thorough description of what exactly it was. Praised his talent, never pushed questionable buttons or tried drinking anything in his beakers. She sat and read, mostly quietly. He loved that.

After a few weeks of that comfortable silence, Donnie began rambling. Emotions were difficult for him to relate, he hadn't been able to talk about them with his brothers and he couldn't do so with Artemis. But he'd ramble about his projects and his general thoughts on things and even though her eyes didn't work they stayed facing his direction the whole time he talked. Her little hums and occasional interjections told him she really was listening, and that made him feel even better. Draxum was still someone he remained cautious about, but Artemis? He was forever bound to this girl.

A sister was different from brothers in many ways. Brothers got into wrestling matches and taught you how to fight hard. A sister came at you with a broom and taught you improvised weaponry and fighting smart. His brothers had always been obnoxious with affection; she was more subtle. Perhaps the biggest difference though was the way Artemis treated his shell.

For once, Donnie could say he understood why they'd been so worried. Maybe it was because he now had a disabled sister. Any time he saw her stumble, or bump her hip against the counter on the way out of the kitchen, or trip up the stairs, his heart fluttered anxiously. Watching her train made him worry because those weapons were sharp and she couldn't see and if she miscalculated even the tiniest bit...

"Let's make a deal," she panted one day. They'd been sparring and she'd tripped over his foot in close combat. He'd felt bad and ended up checking her for injury twice. Now Donnie's head tilted in her direction, brow furrowed curiously.

"A deal?"

"That's right. We're a team of hindered warriors, we've gotta look out for each other. But we aren't disabled so we won't check too much, get it? We're both capable of a lot, just... we need help sometimes. Everyone needs a little help sometimes."

Which was a weird thought. The logical part of his brain wanted to argue that blindness and a weak shell both definitely counted as disabilities, hers especially. And she might have known he wanted to argue because she spoke again. "Disability is a state of mind, Don. That's all." So he kept the argument to himself. But his mind didn’t change.

And she couldn’t blame him. Artemis had heard him ramble before about how his brothers had been so careful with him, like a fragile doll. Their intentions were clearly good to her, but they had allowed Donnie to grow up believing he was disabled. As his new sister, she made it her job to prove it wasn’t true. Choosing how to do so was more difficult than she’d anticipated, and the idea that stuck most in her mind did come with a little bit of worry, but a week after that conversation when the two met up for training, she decided to just go for it.

Training with actual blades had been frowned upon when she was younger, and Draxum’s mind hadn’t been changed still. So she trained with several fake kunai and throwing stars hidden on her person and worn down kakute on her fingers. Her trusty tachi was the only metal she had on her. To keep it fair, Donnie refrained from using the technological advancements he’d made to his bo. Artemis was glad, because it allowed her to gauge how good he was at fighting. And he was good. He was impressive. The turtle could defend himself- and this was what comforted her when she began to really fight, not just spar.

“Artie, what the hell?” the turtle grunted after receiving a fairly harsh blow to his plastron. The kunoichi set her jaw and focused. Donnie narrowly missed taking a foot to the face, but froze momentarily when the tachi hit his battle shell. His frown deepened. “Artemis...”

Ignoring his confusion (and perhaps annoyance, she was fairly sure that was the other emotion she was sensing), she continued. She’d learned to fight by feeling the situation; the vibrations of her enemy’s feet on the ground, the sound of their voice and the whistling a weapon makes as it slices through the air. She let herself fall into her rhythm, dodging Donnie’s attacks and going for his weakness again and again.

It was working, she knew, because his normally precise moves were becoming sloppy. He was angry, she heard it in his growl. Artemis began pushing the envelope.

“Come on, Donatello,” she chided. “I know you can do better than that.” The bo was coming on her left. The hit was deflected and she landed a kick on his shell.

“Stop it.”

“You can take it, Don.”

She tumbled out of the way of a hit and jabs her tachi hard against his shell.

“Artemis, stop.”

“Make me.”

She maybe should have anticipated his lunge. A squeak escaped her as the full force of the turtle’s body collided into hers and the two began tussling on the ground, weapons forgotten completely. It scared Donnie, how easily she’d actually managed to unlatch the battle shell. His body tensed and he waited- for what, he wasn’t sure.

Nothing happened.

Donnie slowly looked up at his sister. Her face was more serious than he’d ever seen. For a moment, neither spoke. The turtle struggled to catch his breath and calm his nerves. Then he sat up slowly and tucked his legs beneath his body.

“You better have a really good explanation as to why that just happened.” The girl’s lips turned into a deep frown.

“You’re better than that, Donnie.”

“Than what?”

“That!” Her arm gestured around to nothing in particular. “You’re a ninja, a damn good one. And when we spar I know you can take me without a problem. I know if I fought you with everything I got you’ve got the talent to compete. And I think you know that too. So why does that change when I go for your shell?” Donnie didn’t answer her question, and Artemis let out a soft sigh. “I have never been able to see. My whole world’s been this darkness. I don’t what stars are like or what color my own hair is- and don’t try and tell me, I don’t know what colors look like anyway.” The turtle, who’d been about to do exactly that, shut his mouth.

“I’ve got a problem, okay? And I had to accept it. I’m blind and that’s fine. I don’t like it, but I’m not letting it stop me from doing anything. I can use a damn sword, I can steal your clothes from under your nose, I can cook. I can live, Don. Even if there’s something different about me. And so can you. So what your shell’s soft? You’ve got the brain to create those incredible shell cover thingies! And they do more than protect you, they help you do all sorts of things! That’s fucking amazing!”

“Yeah, and you managed to get it off of me without me knowing,” Donnie grumbled. His sister’s face softened.

“You can make a fix for that, genius,” she huffed. Her hand reached out and moved against his plastron to find his chin. Then she tilted his face to look towards her own (she didn’t get the calculation quite right, but Donnie knew what she was going for and stared into her face anyway). “And you can get over the shell thing too, okay? If I did it, so can you.”

“It took you how long?” Artemis furrowed her brow.

“...A while. But you’re a faster learner than me. And you’ve got the added benefit of having me around to help! I can bring you into the dojo and whack you around a few times if you need it.” She could hear the smile in his voice now.

“Give me warning next time, okay?” he huffed. “I thought you had finally snapped for a minute there.” He chuckled as she whacked his arm lightly.

“What do you mean, finally?”

“You’re a crazy girl, Art.” Her grin was bright.

“Ah, but you love it!” His was much softer as he shook his head.

“That, I do.”

#uuhhhhh 98% of this was written at three in the morning so it's hella messy but!!#i wanted to do a thing about donnie and his new sister?#they love each other but she's a hoodie thief and he's gonna have to find a way to get her back #rottmnt #rottmnt au #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise of the tmnt #tmnt #tmnt au

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eternalglitch · 4 years

Text

Like Father Like Son: Chapter 2

Prologue Arc 1: Chapter 1, Chapter 2

“And yet you…. You aren’t filling your role at all, are you? You were meant to be the leader…” Draxum trailed off, rubbing his chin. “So I’m curious how you screwed up so miserably,” he finished.

Read it HERE on ao3.

Chapter Specific Warnings: no specific ones (please see the general ones listed in the prologue)

Chapter Two: Draxum’s Gift

Splinter rummaged through the fridge, searching diligently for his tub of sour cream. He hummed to himself, tail waving as he clutched the bag of potato chips in one hand and tried to grab at the half-empty tub in the way back of the fridge. His arms were too short, though, as with every attempt he made, the sour cream slid away from his nails and became that much harder to reach. Ah, well. He supposed this is what having four taller kids was all about.

“Boys!” he called, wandering back into the television room from the kitchen. He spotted them easily enough; they were all clustered around his chair, armed with a dozen different blankets and pillows. Or, wait: one, two, three… where was Blue? Splinter turned to look at the clock, and he frowned, puzzled. It was 8:30 pm, and yet there was no tell-tale smell of pizza or dirty boxes lying scattered around.

“Boys,” he repeated again, softer. “Weren’t you supposed to order pizza?”

There was another moment of silence from them, Splinter only answered by the distant chatter of television superstars and loud sound effects backed by upbeat music. Then Purple blinked, his gaze darting to meet Splinter’s own before he turned back to the television. “Yeah, yeah,” Purple answered, eyes glued to the screen. “Leo’s on it.”

Orange blinked, the first to shake himself from his movie stupor. “Wait,” the youngest said, frowning. He got up, looking around for something... or someone. Did he also feel like something was wrong? “Wasn’t that like, an entire hour ago? We’re on the fifth movie of this arc, we started on the fourth.”

“Eh, hard to tell with autoplay,” Purple commented, waving a hand dismissively. “They all seem to blend together.”

“An hour,” Splinter repeated. He pushed down his fear, keeping his expression calm. Young and experienced as they may be, his sons were large, powerful mutants. They had gone largely unknown to anyone except their little human friend, and Splinter couldn’t think of any enemies out to get them. Two faces flashed in his mind, and Splinter shook his head slightly. No, any of his own enemies thought he was dead. Blue probably just got lost or distracted, and the others could go get him, easy. An hour wasn't that long, just twenty minutes longer than usual... but still...

“Maybe it just took Leo a while to get back while carrying the pizzas,” Red suggested, unknowingly following Splinter’s same line of thought, but the eldest had also stood up, his brow furrowed. "Or the deal for cheap pizza made the place so busy that the pizzas are taking forever? That happens sometimes, right?"

“Ugh, you’re making a big deal out of nothing, I’m sure,” Purple groused. “He’s done this hundreds of times.” The soft-shelled turtle, however, still hit pause on the movie, and joined his brothers in standing. “If I had known this would happen, I would’ve just sent a drone or something. You’d think that with a teleporting sword he’d be a bit quicker about it.”

“Not now, Donnie,” Red said, shifting uncertainly from foot to foot. “Pop’s right; it’s been a suspicious amount of time. It wouldn’t have taken him forty minutes just to get back here. We need to go and search for him.”

“You- you think something bad happened to him?” Orange asked, his voice small.

Splinter smiled, patting his youngest on the shoulder. “No need to worry, Orange, I’m sure Blue would have called if anything was seriously wrong. Why don't you three go out and find your brother, I’ll stay here and call if he shows up.”

“Good idea, Dad,” Red agreed. “C’mon guys, let’s go.”

Splinter watched his sons all walk off, the three chattering quietly amongst themselves. Orange was clearly anxious already, but Purple and Red were doing a decent job of keeping their cool, their only giveaways Red’s constant checking that his other two siblings were still there and Purple refusing to look up from his wrist tech, probably already trying Blue's cell phone. Splinter stood there, watching his sons until they were all out of sight, before he climbed into his reclining chair and popped open the bag of chips.

Nothing to do but wait, he supposed.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Being captured was, in one word, boring.

Sure, there were the constant pressing worries of what next and will the others notice I’m gone soon? that plagued one’s mind, but really, Leo just felt kind of nauseous. Draxum’s lab was stupidly bright to him at the moment, and all he really had the energy to do was lay on the ground and stare up at the green vines that formed the bars of his tiny cell.

It wasn’t exactly comforting to be stuck against the thing that exploded but a few weeks ago, but Leo had initially expected that he’d be out of here within an hour or two. But it had been more than four hours, it was late, and oh yeah, not only did he have a concussion, it wasn’t like there was a way for him to see a doctor (or just Dad or Donnie) in the current situation he was all wrapped up in. Like one giant turtle-shaped present.

There was a creaking sound as the door opened again, followed by footsteps- Draxum’s from the sound of it, or someone wearing tap shoes. There was a snarky retort to be made somewhere in there, Leo was sure, but he had the worst headache to deal with right now.

A shadow fell over Leo’s face and he scowled, forcing his aching body into a sitting position despite everything. He hunched over, keeping his shell facing Draxum, and glared at the wall. “Well aren’t you behaving now,” Draxum said, too close for Leo’s comfort. “I had almost thought I had grabbed the wrong turtle, from how you bit me earlier.”

“I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not,” Leo muttered, turning his head just enough to give Draxum the stink eye. He noticed that the two gargoyles had made it back; they each perched on a shoulder, snickering to themselves. “You learn to fight dirty sometimes when you have three brothers. And, speaking of which, my brothers are sure to have already have noticed my absence; I bet they’re coming here right now and are going to be kicking your sorry butt in no time,” he said. “So I’d let me go now if I were you.”

“Oho, what fire,” Draxum said, chuckling slightly. He crossed his arms, giving Leo a patronizingly fake look of understanding. “I’m sure they will. I’m sure they noticed you were gone and immediately realized that was a bad thing for them.”

There’s something in Draxum’s voice that Leo didn’t like, a feeling that sent something cold down his spine. Don’t fall for it, Leo, he thought furiously, determined not to show any weakness to his captor. But it was too late; his shoulders had tensed ever so slightly, and when he met Draxum’s gaze, he knew the warrior scientist hadn’t missed it. Draxum didn’t move, his smirk only widening.

“What,” Leo managed to say. “Do you mean by that?”

What a stupid comment. Of course his brothers had noticed he was missing! Leo had been getting pizza, they would’ve been on high alert at all times. And, much as they fought, his brothers cared about him. A lot. What did this jerk know, anyways?

Draxum shrugged, straightening up to his full height. He sneered down at his captive audience. “Maybe your “brothers” will notice you’re gone and be glad for it. Maybe they’ll think, ‘ah, the extra weight is gone-’”

“They wouldn’t!” Leo shot back, getting to his feet. He swayed, dizzy, before he regained his balance. He couldn’t stand at his full height, so he had to awkwardly remain bent forwards as Draxum loomed over him. “What do you know, anyways? You’ve met us, what, three times?”

“And yet I created you.” Draxum’s eyes narrowed, his face tilting so it was mostly covered by shadows. “I know so much more about you then you would ever dream of; I’m practically your parent.”

“Wow, you are messed up,” Leo said, raising his brow as he let out a short bark of amusement. “Like, do you hear yourself, dude? You owe Dad like thirteen years of child support before you can even begin to make that claim.”

The green vines suddenly shuddered and Leo flinched away, leaning back as the bars of his cage slid back into the ground, leaving the space between him and Draxum open. The yokai didn’t move towards him, however, instead tilting his head to look up at the pillar that contained more mutagen behind Leo. “A father, you say?” Draxum mused. “I wondered what kind of yokai or human took you in. Clearly he didn’t know what he was doing, though; you’ve been trained all wrong.”

“Yeah?” Leo asked. He hesitantly straightened up, stepping gingerly over where the vines had been. Was this a trap? He kept sneaking glances at Draxum, waiting for the yokai to suddenly attack him. But there wasn’t anything, so Leo awkwardly stood there, eyes flitting over the nearby walls as he kept an eye out for every available exit. It would be hard to move too quickly with the concussion, but he would just have to do it. He just had to wait for an opening. “But oh, I don’t know, I’d say I turned out great,” he added, hoping to prompt the villain into a long, distracting spiel. “You’ve seen what I can do with my Odachi.”

“That is little more than buffoonery and luck half of the time,” Draxum snapped, turning his head to track Leo’s movements. “I’m talking about being more that just that.” The two gargoyles were both watching Leo with their bright red eyes, and the turtle shifted uncomfortably. “You know I designed you specially,” Draxum suddenly said, looking back at the ooze, oblivious as to how Leo was inching his way backwards around Draxum and creeping towards the exit doors. “Unlike the current generation of mutants, my ooze didn’t transform based on existing character traits; it was meant to do the opposite and give you specific ones. It’s why I used simple-minded animals, rather than the other way around,” he revealed. “Lou Jitsu with a bit of snapping turtle DNA would have been formidable, of course, but that wouldn’t have made him perfect. And you, you four were meant to be perfect.”

“Uh… okay?” Leo asked. He took another step backwards when the yokai's head snapped towards him and stared him down, cold anger flickering in his eyes. Leo froze where he was standing, trying in vain to act like he hadn’t been trying to move across the room. He cast a discreet glance behind him, swallowing. Just a bit more. “Let me take a wild guess; things didn't go according to plan.”

“It was a disaster! I mean, really?” Draxum gestured at Leo, who shifted, trying to keep the door behind him from Draxum’s view so the yokai wouldn’t think too hard about what he was up to. “Not only did it take all four of you turtles thirteen years to get to the optimal size, just look at you in particular. The biggest failure of the lot.”

Leo’s mouth fell open. He blinked at Draxum, confused. Him? A failure? That was ridiculous. He and his brothers were all awesome, and they had a father that loved them and a best friend that didn't care what they looked like. He shouldn’t listen. He knew he really shouldn’t listen, but… “What do you mean by that?” he demanded, his voice tight. How did that old saying go? Curiosity killed the cat? Well, make it a turtle, because Leo was officially an idiot.

“Were you not listening? I gave you all roles, advantages for the battlefield,” Draxum mused. “And yet you…. You aren’t filling your role at all, are you? You were meant to be the leader…” Draxum trailed off, rubbing his chin. “So I’m curious how you screwed up so miserably,” he finished.

Leo felt cold.

“You- you’re bluffing,” he stammered, for once unable to think of a quick retort. “Me? Leader? That’s a joke. I’m not leadership material, no part of me is leadership material! I’ve never wanted that! There’s no way I was intended to be—“

“Well.” Draxum cut him off, and with a gesture of his hand the doors behind Leo suddenly slammed shut with a loud crack. He jumped, whirling to look at his exit. Muninn and Huginn grinned back at him, giving each other a high five. “What are you even good for, then?” Draxum finished, now right behind him.

Leo spun back around to keep an eye on him, his eyes shooting to the large pipe on the second story area. Since they had entered the lab that way the last time, Leo was pretty sure that meant he could get out that way as well. His eyes drifted back to the imposing figure right before him, and Leo gave him an uneasy smile. “I’m- I’m plenty useful! I’m the- y’know, the, the face man!”

“The face man,” Draxum repeated, looking entirely unimpressed. “I should’ve known to take one of the others; it’s not like you’d be of any use to me. You’re the weakest of the bunch, after all.”

That first part of the comment was enough to make any thoughts of escape slip away from Leo in one go. The red-eared slider shrank back, breath stuttering in his throat. “What? No. No, stay away from my brothers!” Leo demanded. His eyes narrowed. “If you dare hurt one of them, I’ll show you how I’m—“

“Useful?” Orange eyes met his own, and Leo tried and failed to nervously swallow. His throat felt uncomfortably dry. “Why don’t you prove it, then? I’ll give you one final chance. Join me. We can put a stop to the human threat, and you’ll see the true potential you can achieve.”

“Uh. Wait. What?” Leo asked dumbly. Draxum just watched him, expression expectant. “Dude. I should’ve guessed! This was all just another villain pitch! But again. Roof,” Leo stressed. “Now multiple roofs.” He shook his head, trying to clear his head of Draxum’s words. “Wait, I know this game. You’re… you’re manipulating me! Like Donnie, when he wants me to get extra juices for him and goads me into going!” Leo gave Draxum the most unimpressed look he could manage. “This was all just to get under my shell, wasn’t it? You really have the worst approach to making friends that I’ve ever seen, and I’ve watched Donnie try and socialize before.”

“So is that a no?” Draxum clarified.

Leo chuckled. “Uh yeah, no duh it’s a no. I’m not getting in on an evil villain membership card anytime soon, thank you very much.” His head throbbed and Leo suppressed a wince. “Now, it has been a very long day, and much as I’d love to stay for tea…” It was now or never; Leo tensed his muscles, ready to bolt for it.

“Hm, a pity,” was all the warrior scientist said, suddenly stepping back. In actuality, he didn’t look all that disappointed. “For you, that is.”

“What—“ Leo managed to say before he yelped, thick purple vines bursting up from the ground and lithely wrapping around each of his limbs and his torso. He hadn’t even seen Draxum move to do that, and he struggled in vain to free himself. “Hey! This is so not cool!”

“Huginn,” Draxum said, turning away from Leo. “Bring that to me.”

“Right away, Boss!” the gargoyle chirped, shooting off into the distant corner of the lab.

Well, that wasn’t worrisome at all. Leo gave up struggling, his futile efforts making him feel nauseous and dizzy all over again. “For the record, I was only caught because I have a concussion,” he insisted. “If I had my sword and was in top shape, you’d be regretting this right now!”

“I’m sure,” Draxum dryly replied. “And what happened when you had all of that earlier today?”

“Uh,” Leo said. He averted his eyes. “Well…”

“That’s what I thought. But don’t worry,” Draxum said, sharing a knowing glance and chuckle with Muninn. “I’ll fix all of that soon enough.”

“Here, Boss!” Huginn darted back across the room, wings straining, as he carried a very… familiar…

“Uh, wait up, no,” Leo said, eyeing the blue object as Huginn dropped it into Draxum’s waiting hand. “Do you even know where that thing’s been? Have you properly washed it at least?”

Draxum’s roots suddenly shift, dragging Leo upright until he’s forced to stand on his tip-toes to have any sort of purchase. “I happened to have had it offered to me by the mutant that you call Meat Sweats,” Draxum said, admiring the collar (for that’s what it actually was, even if Leo had never called it that when it was just a gift from his brother) in the light. “He was quite helpful once I mentioned what I wanted to use it for.” Draxum started to approach, the collar held aloft.

“So, what,” Leo bit out. “You’re gonna stop me from saying my one-liners? Big whoop.”

“I think you’ll find,” Draxum coolly said. “That this has been modified to do so much more than that.” Leo was yanked closer, and Draxum pulled the collar down over Leo’s head. Leo struggled, glancing down at it for a moment in panic and then back up at Draxum’s grin as the collar let out a soft beeping sound and suddenly tightened, becoming two sizes smaller so that it was pressed smug against Leo’s skin. Well, that was new.

“What—“ Leo started to demand, but the collar suddenly crackled to life. A shock five times worse than anything Donnie had ever tried traveled through Leo’s body and hit him in the chest like a sledgehammer, the vines releasing him so he collapsed on the floor in a twitching ball of pain. He whimpered, and the shock occurred again, somehow worse this time. He choked down yet another gasp of pain as his body instinctively curled in on itself, his hands uselessly clawing at his throat as he desperately wheezed for breath. There was nothing but white static for a moment, and when Leo came to, he was on his knees, head bowed before Draxum. He gagged, wiping spit from his mouth. The pain receded, but Leo’s body remained locked up, his mind muddled.

“Careful,” Draxum said, the tip of his hoof prodding Leo in the side. The turtle slowly looked up, shoulders shaking slightly. The look on Draxum’s face was not unlike looking up at a predator that knew its prey was all out of stamina. “If you make any noise while being shocked,” Draxum continued, the two gargoyles settling back on his shoulders and openly laughing at Leo. “It’ll go off again.”

The collar was tight.

But Leo’s throat was now too dry for him to be able to swallow, anyways, as Draxum started to laugh.

(Chapter Three -->)

#lfls #like father like son #rottmnt lfls #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt fanfiction #glitch writes #I NEVER REMEMBER THIS SCHEDULE WHOOPS

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