You better give me space, I'm protective

My adrenaline spikes when I'm threatened

And if you stay in my way, I'm aggressive

'Cause when there's no exit,

I'll kill when I'm desperate

***

Shadows descend upon a railed rooftop, dropping on the unsuspecting figures watching the streets below. One only gets a brief glimpse of a white skull before he's knocked over the head, hitting the roof as his partner takes aim. Her weapon leaves her hand with the force of the wood that slams her hands, spinning in surprise in time to catch the fist flying for her nose. She lands in a heap, unaware of the others that receive the same treatment, taken down by impossibly swift streaks of green and a small, black object that flies across the rooftops like it bears a mind of its own.

Each mark is disarmed, even the two guards had forsaken their posts to have a low-toned conversation, unaware of a warrior in blue and gray until their skulls are bashed together. Uncaring of their state after that, the Salamandrian continues onward to catch up with the group.

Leo waits until everyone is accounted for to mentally move on to the next phase.

He taps his t-phone as April begins fiddling with a vent cover, bringing it to his mouth.

"Everyone ready?"

Gruff and casual voices chime in.

"In position."

"Waiting on you slow-pokes."

Leo waits a moment and then narrows his eyes. "Donatello."

A heavy sigh from the turtle positioned back at the lair. "Yes. I have eyes inside."

"Good." He glances back at his team, and April nods confirmation from where she stands near Casey and Mikey.

Mona, who had volunteers to go with his team despite the Mutanimal's offer, adjusts her hilt impatiently, waiting for the cue to head into the facility of grey walls and a hopefully kidnapped boyfriend.

"And we're clear?"

"You're clear."

"Then we're headed in." Leo alerts Karai's team and the Mutanimals. "Dial if you see him so everyone can reign in on your positions."

"We know how this works, Leo." Shini speaks from Karai's line, a tease in her voice.

Leo ignores her and ends the call to the group line that Donnie had set up, motioning for them to enter. The humans slide in first, but Mona is not far behind. Mikey flashes his eldest brother a confident grin before diving in after, and the leader lets out a soft breath, releasing some of the pent up nerves.

He'd been hopeful in the beginning, but that naive outlook was fraying with every New York facility that comes up in the clear. There were even a few labs connected to the Mafia, funded by some unnamed donor, but those were all dead ends. No mutant turtle files, samples, or even rumors passing around those halls. None of the goons or scientists knew anything about a kidnapped turtle, or where the Fucli twins might be hiding.

They have no leads and Leo hates the uncertainty with every bone in his body.

Even a false lead would be better than knowing nothing. A false lead would lead them somewhere. Hitting mafia labs, warehouses, and other facilities at random for days straight was beginning to feel like a waste. Not that he'd stop, as long as Raph is out there somewhere...

Leo closes his eyes, taking calculated breaths. The weight in his lungs only increases, spreading from his chest and over his bones, trying to bury him under the burden of helplessness. He forces them back open, taking in the city lights in the distance, inflating his lungs with crisp air. He can't so much as crack, not yet. He needs to hold on to hope, keep his priorities straight, and bring his brother home. That's what a Sensei would do.

It's what his father would have done.

Then again, Splinter might have found him by now.

He brings his blade up, thumb brushing delicately over the hilt, studying his reflection. His voice comes out in a whisper, weaker than he would prefer. "Please, Sensei. Help me find him."

His father doesn't respond, but Leo doesn't really expect him to.

His phone rings. Leo answers on impulse.

"Leo?"

Donnie must have noticed his hesitation.

Right. The mission.

Leo places a hand on the top of the vent and sets a foot on the entrance, lifting the phone to his mouth and doing a final scan of the rooftop. "Still here. Moving out."

With that, he slides down. We're coming, brother.

The others have already begun combing the hall when he drops to the floor. He makes his way to their side, glancing at the camera near one of the doorways. It stares right back at him, and he lifts the t-phone. "Where too?"

"I can see these floors. There are several lower down that don't have cameras. Or if they do, they aren't connected to the security server." Donnie reports as typing filters through. "Wha- ACCESS DENIED?! COME ON!"

Leo winces as Casey facepalms. "...Don?"

"Oh. Sorry. No dice." Donnie sounds distracted, but he's not complaining anymore, so Leo doesn't call him out on it. He waves for the team to head to the elevator. "You find a way in. I'm going to see if I can break this firewall."

"Find a way in, how?" Leo questions before his brainy brother can get distracted with the new intellectual challenge.

"Code. Mmmm." He hums and then gets lost in silence.

Leo has no idea if that means that he needs a code or if he's lost in a world of 1s and 0s. He rolls his eyes and joins his team in the elevator as April helps Casey through the snatch on the roof. He waits for the doors to close and then taps a button for the next floor under ground level. He hoists himself after them, slipping the cover back in place.

There's muffled speech from his t-phone, so Leo quickly lifts it. "Repeat?"

"8-4-3-6-3-2-6." Donnie announces confidently. Leo waits for some kind of instruction or explanation to go along with this random string of numbers, but it doesn't come.

"And that means something to me becaaauuuse..?"

"It's the code for the rooms. I saw two guys use it on separate floors. I can't believe they actually use the same code for each room! Lame, right?"

"I'd go more with convenient. For both sides." Leo smirks and then realizes that he doesn't have a clue what numbers Donnie'd listed anymore. "Hey, Mikey!"

Mikey glances over and he tosses the t-phone. "Ask him to give you the code."

"Code?" Mikey repeats blankly as he puts the phone to his ear. Donnie must assume the question is for him, because the youngest's face suddenly lights up in understanding, "Eightfourthreesixthreetwosix- got it!"

He sings it out with a random tune and then tosses the phone back. Leo catches it as the elevator comes to a stop, relieved that there were no interruptions to their ride. Mona removes the hatch lid, and the others slip through as Donnie asks, "Hey, you have the EMPs?"

"I handed them off to Mikey."

"You handed Mikey EMPs."

"All he has to do is push a button." Leo huffs dryly as he hops down. "Even he can manage that."

"I wish I could see those babies in action." Donnie sighs wistfully and Leo fondly shakes his head. "You hack those camera feeds yet?"

"Uh- working on it!"

Leo follows his team down the hall. A few guards are knocked out and relieved of weapons and walkie-talkies. As Leo chucks the latest security duo into one of the rooms, April announces, "This door has a keypad!"

"Mikey?"

His little brother reaches around her, humming the random tune from the elevator and punching in the numbers. It beeps happily and opens. April heads in, and Leo decides, "Casey, with her. Come for Mikey when you're done. Mona?" He glances at her. "With me. Full stealth, people."

They begin the usual routine and comb the floors, but the minutes tick by like hours and Leo can see Mona's patience wearing just as thin as his. Empty, empty, empty, empty- everything is always empty- come on, Raph-

He watches her slice through a line of weapons with a frustrated cry and says nothing, nodding towards the door when she looks up at him, fury dancing behind the facade of control. He can understand the desperation under the fury, but he doesn't allow himself to lash out the same way.

Leo steps over the threshold and into the hall, removing himself from her sight.

He gives her a moment, leaning his carapace against the wall, arms loose at his side. Where are you?

"Leo?"

He puts away his weapons at the urgency in Donnie's tone, raising the phone. "What is it?"

"The Fulci twins are here. Bottom most floor." Donnie reports. "I can't get through those firewalls. Whoever set these up really knows their tech."

Mona exits the room and moves over to another elevator, staring him down. She looks calmer than she had before, so Leo gestures her down the hall.

"Then we regroup." Mona nods and takes off in a stride to collect the rest of their team. Leo follows after. "The Twins have to know where Raph is being kept, right? Whether or not he's here, they'd be able to tell us. And considering how freaked they get around mutants, a little well-placed threats and we'll get the information in no time."

"Try and figure out who the new leader is." Donnie offers as the keypad clicks in the background. "If he's kidnapping mutants and targeting our family, a name would be a good start to figuring him out."

"Good call."

Leo catches up to his team and April asks, "What's going on?"

"Just head straight down. I'll alert you when you reach the door."

Leo doesn't bother muting Donnie as he replies, "The Fulci twins are here. Donnie caught them on the camera, so we're heading after."

"And we're certain they know the location of Raphael?" Mona asks skeptically, clearly hesitant to open herself to this hope, but willing to follow his lead. "Would it not be more prudent to continue the search?"

"We can't know anything for certain." Leo admits reluctantly. "But they're the best lead we got."

"Works for me." April smiles as Mikey flashes an encouraging thumbs up.

Casey grins, "Let's go knock some heads!"

Leo takes off and they accept it as their cue to follow. He directs them to the elevator, but doesn't wait for it to come back to take them down, grabbing the cable and dropping. He reaches the bottom a few paces before them, but Mikey lands next to him as he shoves against the door. It groans in argument before it gives way to the added strength of both brothers.

They stop in the hall as Donnie warns, "Mutant hunters, directly ahead."

A blast rings out and Leo pulls out his katanas, but Mikey beats him to it, leapfrogging over his carapace to tackle the two men.

Arms catch necks before they hit the ground, and Mikey snags the weapons, using one to bunt the face of the hunter that fails to sneak up from behind and tossing the other to Leo. The leader catches it and breaks it over his knee, stopping by his younger brother and raising an eye ridge expectantly, motioning for him to hand it over.

"But I could do some serious damage!" Mikey pleads earnestly, hugging the weapon and unknowingly pointing the muzzle under his skull.

"Yeah, to more than the bad guys." Leo scolds as he swipes it.

Mikey pouts as Leo puts it out of commission. The others catch up as their leader questions, "Where too, Don?"

"I'd say four doors on the other side."

Leo turns and counts the doors, standing in front of the estimated doorway and receiving an approving, "That's it."

"You're sure?"

"One hundred percent."

"A'right, here's the plan." Leo makes eye contact with each of them before announcing, "Donnie can't break that firewall-"

"I'm bypassiiing."

"-not a dig; just a statement." Leo corrects himself and waits to see if Donnie'll chime in again. When he only hears a faint grumble, he continues, "So we don't know what's waiting over there. Casey, Mikey, Mona, draw their fire; take out the goons. April and I'll lock down the twins."

"Aw, man!" Casey whines. "But I wanted to knock the information out of those dweebs who took Raph! And maybe some stuffing too!"

Leo can tell by the fire in Mona's gaze that she feels the same. His decision only hardens.

"Exactly why I'm leaving Mikey in charge." Mikey's eyes light up and the rest of the group stares at him like he's lost his mind. He shrugs unapologetically. It's not like he has any other brothers here. "I only have so many options. Besides, distraction is his specialty."

"Yeah boi!" Mikey proclaims to the world with a distinct lack of self-awareness, proving how natural drawing attention to himself is. "Best on the field!"

"That bites!" Casey huffs, more out of jealousy than actual anger. Mikey flashes him a smug grin as he props himself on his older brother's shoulder. Mona surveys Leo with uncertainty. "Are you sure this is the right call?"

"I'm sure." Their gazes lock for a long moment, and then Mona looks away. April takes advantage of the silence, "I'm still not getting a good feeling about this."

Leo nods, "Acknowledged. But if you have nothing more to go on, then I'm not leaving here without a lead to Raphael. Mikey?"

April frowns but doesn't offer anything else, so Mikey straightens and taps in the code. Leo turns down the volume on his t-phone, leaving it on vibrate in case the other group gets in touch, and steps back. The door beeps, and the leader and psychic step back.

"Go."

"RAKA-RAKA!" "GOONGALAAA!" "BOOYAKASHA!"

Mikey pulls out his chucks and kicks the door open, dashing in as Mona and Casey follow his lead. The two give them a second, and when a long stretch of silence follows, exchange puzzled looks and peek in.

The room is empty.

Void of life, filled to the brim with all kinds of junk, ranging from cheapo-looking toys to expensive-appearing tech. They creep forward warily, but there aren't many places for grown men to duck. Everything seems to line the walls or to have gotten chucked in a pile.

"Are we sure it's this room?" Casey voices what they're all thinking and Leo takes a moment to sort through the number of possibilities. Donnie being wrong isn't top ten. "April, can you feel anyone else nearby?"

April closes her eyes, drawing a hand to her forehead. "Mmmm.. I feel a bunch of people, but..." She crouches down, blindly reaching and then laying her palm against the floor. A beat of silence. "I sense something underneath us... Angry. Scared." She looks up decidedly. "They know we're here."

"But there are no more floors." Mona points out. "Is that not what the blueprints showed?"

Leo cups his chin. "When me and Don were in the restaurant, Visioso gassed the place and escaped through a secret door. This may be more of a bunker than an exit if they're sticking around. Look for a button or a crack in the wallpaper."

He walks over to the other end of the room and pushes some paintings to the side, feeling the back of the wall. The others begin searching, and he can hear things getting shoved and shuffled behind him.

Casey scrutinizes a necklace. "You think these diamonds are real?"

"I bet everything is a forgery or stolen." April warns as she pulls experimentally on some books. "Anything you pocket would make you just as much a thief as the Mafia."

"Kidnappers. Counterfeiters. Liars. Cowards. Thieves." Mona feels along a bare wall. "Your people sink lower and lower the more I hear of your race. How does one single-handedly manage to commit every dishonorable act in the known universe?"

"There has to be something humans haven't done." Casey defends. "We're not all bad."

"Yet the bad seems to outweigh the good."

"Does not!"

Leo and Mikey exchange looks. There's skepticism in Leo's gaze so Mikey grins and taps the vein in his wrist. Leo deadpans as his younger brother mimics building a block tower. Their leader rolls his eyes in consent and looks away, so Mikey takes it as his cue to keep working.

None of the others notice, as April had taken the floor and meaningfully offered, "Some humans do the wrong thing for the right reasons. And other humans are misunderstood or desperate."

"No amount of desperation would cause me to stoop to such levels. I would rather die than break my honor." The Salamandrian knocks a fist against her suit over her heart

April regards her thoughtfully. "Some things are more important than honor."

She earns an affronted look, and fills in, "Like the lives of people we love?"

Mona's mouth opens and shuts, a tight frown forming as they lock gazes, but they snap to reality when a cry cuts through the air.

Leo whirls and finds Mikey practically drooling over a section of VHS tapes, voice as high as it can go as he waves one. "I KNEW THERE HAD TO BE ANOTHER MOVIE! HA!"

The puzzled leader is obviously being addressed so he heads over and states, "Mikey, we've been over this one too many-"

"LOOK!" The tape is waggled in his face, and annoyance becomes apparent as Leo swipes it from his hand, momentarily catching the cover. "We're not here to look at movi- wait, what's The Acidic Alien Aftereffect?"

"A movie we haven't seen yet!" Mikey gushes. "Told ya one was out there!"

"You're kidding!" Leo scans the back cover as Casey looks over his shoulder. "Aw, wicked!"

Leo's mouth falls open. "After getting swallowed into the belly of the beast... This has to be it, right? That makes so much more sense! I can't believe I actually thought-"

"Leo." April asks with a slight air of impatience. "The mission?"

"Hmm?" Leo looks up and spots the exasperated girls. Understands slowly dawns as he lowers the tape. "Oh. Oh! Heh- right. Yes." He clears his throat into his fist. "Focus. I'm focused."

He starts to head back to his area and Mona interrupts. "Leonardo. The tape?"

"The tape-" Leo cuts himself off and shrinks a bit, stepping back to the shelf. "Right."

He sets it back down delicately, lingering next to his younger brother and then resigning himself to continuing the search. The females turn away, and Mikey looks between them and the tape, silently at war.

Casey snatches it from the shelf, and he decides.

He goes to grab it back and Casey stumbles back in surprise, motioning for him to very clearly knock it off.

Mikey ignores this and lunges for it, but Casey palms his face and shoves him back, stubbornly holding it just out of reach. The ninja struggles before coming to his senses, and he does what he's done a million times over in the dojo, pulling away to slip behind him and then grab the outstretched arm. In the time it takes for the vigilante to realize that he'd moved, Mikey'd taken the tape and flipped him over his shoulder, straightening triumphantly once he'd gone.

He hears Casey hit the shelf, but doesn't bother turning until a very frustrated "Mikey!" is broadcast in his direction. He faces the brother with hands on his hips as a dizzy Casey rubs his head, realizing he doesn't look very happy. "What? He was gonna take the tape!"

Now all gazes shift to the vigilante. April scowls, "Casey, it's probably pirated!"

"I know, but-!" Casey grabs some of the junk from the floor, shoving it into the shelving as he readies to argue his case.

His hand knocks against a rock-like statue of a five-pointed star. It falls over, and at the same moment, the wall cracks open to his left, revealing a long stairway. He peeks inside and then over at the team, finding wide eyes more interested in his discovery than his deeds.

He jumps the change in discussion. "Tada!"

"Finally!" A blur of Leo flies past him and down with Mikey at his heels, neither ninja seeming to touch the stairs.

Leo reaches the end of the stairway with swords in hand, and is introduced to a long room dotted with Mafia. There's a table in the middle of it, but no signs of a hot tempered turtle. His heart sinks a bit, but he doesn't dwell on the misplaced hope, scanning the crowd. Mikey stops by his side, tensing as the goons take aim.

Among the grays and blacks, he locks onto his targets.

"You're up." Leo mutters under his breath, barely conscious of the rest of the group behind them.

Mikey smirks, "Like a turtle do."

Leo readies his stance. "Let's move."

"BOOYAKASHA!"

In a flurry of motion, the brothers separate.

Mikey charges directly for the crowd and Leo darts for the edge of the room, letting the others take the blunt of the attention. He expects a few of the Mafia members to take notice of him, but he relieves them of their weapons and knocks them out without breaking stride, fully aware of the tesson that bounces like a pin-ball around him, lending appreciated assistance.

There's a flash of panic shared before the twins compose themselves and steady their guns, apparently taking his family as a serious enough threat to use more than butcher knives.

Leo already knows that they have a deep-seated hatred driven by fear, but Donnie's past actions must have made their threat levels all the more apparent. His team's recent invasion of multiple facilities should be driving home the fact that they have nowhere to hide.

Good. Maybe I can convince them that it'll be easier for everyone if they give us Raph.

Laser blasts seer through the air and Leo borrows a chair, flinging it between the twins. They cry out and duck to the side, allowing him the opening to tackle one, grabbing a handful of suit and hoisting him up, knocking him into the wall.

Blade poised over throat, Leo lets his third eyelid flick down, offering a low growl to get his message across. "What did you do with my brother?"

"Nothin'! I didn't do nothin'!"

Once upon a time, the fear in his eyes might have made Leo let up, but all he can imagine is that exact same terror in his little brother's gaze. His chest squeezes in worry, liquid fury pumping from his racing heart and through his veins. The mafia threw away any chance for pity the moment they put targets on their backs. The moment they took his brother.

He brings the blade closer to rest against skin, "Where is he?"

"You kill me and that freak'll pay for it!"

It's clearly a frantic gamble for freedom, but Leo only sees red.

"Who says I'm going to kill you?" He releases his prisoner and knees him hard in the gut as he goes down, grasping his arm and slamming him into the wall. His prey doubles over, and Leo throws him into his earlier position, adjusting the blade so it rests on his shoulder, icy glare unforgiving. "I want my brother."

"I don't-!"

The blade bypasses the suit, and the enemy gasps when it slices skin. It's barely deeper than a papercut, but it gets the point across. "I'm not going to ask you again-"

"Vic!"

Leo snaps towards the voice and finds April restraining Vinnie against the wall nearby, her hand outstretched and his body stalk-still.

The kunoichi notices, "They're outnumbered, Leo!"

He looks over his shoulder and his eyes dart to his brother as Mikey barely dodges a knife to the skull, stumbling a bit when a mafia goon shoves against his shell. Casey had a goon on top of him in some impromptu wrestling match and Mona seems to be holding her own fairly well, but if an intervention doesn't happen soon, they were sure to leave a mix of momentarily and permanently unconscious bodies.

Breathe, Leo. Focus on your team, not your anger. Concentrate.

The anger doesn't quite drain, but he feels some control return. He faces his captive, keeping his face unreadable. "Call off your men or I take your arm."

Leo really doesn't want to learn what it feels like to slice through bone, so he's relieved when the panicked man shouts, "Stop! Lower your guns! Lower the guns!"

"Vic-!"

His frantic twin will not hear it, "Shut up!"

With a set of uncertain looks to the mutants, humans, and alien, the weapons are lowered. The guy on Casey doesn't drop the blade, but Casey knees him in the crotch, and he goes down swiftly. The vigilante makes quick work of him and then kicks away the knife, turning to survey the room.

Now, all eyes are on the twins and their captors.

"Team players. Good for you." Leo remarks as he faces Vinnie. "I want my brother's location."

"What makes you think we know?" Vinnie demands with an admirable but weak brave front.

"Rumor has it you're trying to claim the mafia in Visioso's absense." Leo narrows his gaze. "Which means your goons took our brother."

"We don't have him!"

"They're telling the truth." Leo glances at their human lie detector. April frowns, studying her captive. "But they're also keeping something from us."

"I don't need both of you to finish this interrogation." Leo challenges as he let his blade nip into a little more skin.

"Wait- wait- wait-!" Vic pleads as his voice goes tight. "If you promise not to kill us, we'll tell you!"

"We don't make deals with muties!" Vinnie argues furiously, but Vic glares right back, appearing beyond tired of his attitude. "Do you want them to eat us?"

"Eat you?" Mikey spawns at Leo's side. "Dude, we're strictly pizza-terrians."

"You should be more worried about where we'll chuck the body when we're finished with you." Leo growls in a low tone, trying to reclaim some of the intimidation factor that his little brother is unknowingly spoiling. Mikey whistles. "Ominous."

The leader in blue can't help the small smirk. "Thanks."

Vic looks between them, growing paler by the second. Ha! He's killing at this interrogation thing.

Metaphorically, obviously.

"Now..." He tilts the tanto to emphasize it's continued life-threatening existence. "What was that about a deal?"

"You want information. We stay alive." Vic breathes. "That's it."

"Hmmm." Leo pretends to consider it. "Mikey?"

His younger brother crosses his arms, tone more serious. "Works for me."

"Perfect." Leo releases him and steps back. "Tell us what you know."

"Vinnie first." Vic states hesitantly. "Then the information."

"Deals a deal."

April sets him to the ground and he immediately heads over to his twin. Vic brushes off his suit, steadying his shaky hands. "You're not going to like what I have to say."

Leo senses Mikey stiffen beside him. "Tell me anyway."

"We didn't take him. Another guy did. Specilizes in mutants." Vic is obviously trying to keep the information vague, which is pointless considering Leo's going to have a few personal words with this mutant specialist about targeting any kind of mutant, much less his brothers. "We didn't know his plans. Doc's like a freelancer. Does what he wants. When we went to check up on him, we found him with the muty."

"Where?" Leo snaps impatiently. "Where was he?"

"Was Raph okay?" Mikey asks at the same time.

"Doesn't matter." Vinnie states simply, pushing his brother and taking the spotlight. "He's dead."

Leo's breath catches.

The room explodes in a flurry of cries, all tumbling over one another. The whirlwind of denial festering in his chest takes form in the voices of his companions as a wave of shouts rises around him. The very edge of his gaze catches the red that moves through his peripheral, but when he looks, it's gone.

Leo blinks, shaking his head, refocusing on the present.

"No way!"

"DECEPTIVE COWARDLY HUMANS-!"

"Just tell us where he is!"

Leo looks at April when her voice doesn't join the static of screams. Her face is stricken with a slow-sinking horror and their eyes lock. He's lying. He's lying. Not again, not now. He has to be. Right? It's all lies and they're gonna find him.

She looks back at them. Leo copies methodically.

"Oh, yeah?" Vinnie responds to someone's shout, seeming to grow more confident. He flips a pocket knife from his pocket. Leo knows that he should react at the revelation of a blade, but he only watches as he grabs Vic's sliced sleeve. He slices it and tears at the fabric.

There are bandages underneath, pealing apart from the wounds Leo's made, and Vinnie does away with the medical shield as well. There are sharp punctures along Vic's arm, two on one side and a third on the other, positioned exactly like a mutant three-fingered hand.

"That thing clawed away at my brother. Hissing and growling- probably was going to eat him." Vinnie spins the knife. "Tried to escape. Almost made it out, so Doc ended the experiment."

No.

Leo's mouth opens, but no sound escapes.

A smug grin forms as their horror grows. Vinnie places a hand in his pocket and it comes out in a fist. "Doc's not a fan of his projects getting out of hand, and that one was already trouble. We tried to warn him. Freaks don't make good pets."

"Stop it!"

"Liars!"

"I outta-!"

"Don't believe him?" Vic chimes in as Vinnie tosses something small and tan. "We got a little souvenir for our troubles. Have at it."

A blade hits the ground as Leo's hand comes up on its own accord.

He knows what it is- sees it- recognizes it- fears it- before it hits his palm.

His fingers close, bringing it down as Mikey leans closer.

He opens his fist.

Leo can't believe it. He doesn't understand it. It can't be real, yet it's tangible.

It hard, tan, and fits snugly in his palm. The edges are smooth until they reach the jagged crack of half an electric bolt. It cuts into him when he closes his fist again. His chest burns. His eyes sting. He wants to throw up.

There's another explanation. There has to be. They're lying. They have to be. He's okay. I can get him. I can save him.

"April?" Mikey's upset, squeezing his arm.

There's shouting again. Shouting- yelling- reaching-

He swallows thickly, focusing past the static and on April. His eyes widen, watery gaze locked on the figure that stands inches behind, and solemn brown eyes stare back. Leo starts to move, to go to him, but his little brother holds tight. He wants to call out, but all that leaves open mouth is the little air that he has left.

His father faces April. Leo does the same.

She inhales. Glossy eyes dart about the room before she steels her shoulders.

April, please.

"They're telling the truth."

Her voice shakes, like his hands. Shouting- yelling- reaching- falling- falling-

He's been released. Mikey's upset and scared, so scared, he's terrified- help him- they have to get there. He has to get there in time- has to be there in time wasn't there in time isn't there in time nothing he can do-

His grip tightens over the blade that isn't his, will never truly be his, and the piece of shell that he holds close to his heart. He looks at his father and finds that he's closed the distance. Splinter removes a hand from behind his back, red fabric sitting innocently in his open palm.

Leo stares, uncomprehending, as voices filter around him. He studies the red mask that sits without a bearer, and the blade slips from his hand. There's a muffled clatter, present but oh-so far away. He reaches out, but his father retracts it.

Splinter brings it up, mimicking Leo's placement over his chest.

Leo's hand freezes in it's motions, scanning the sympathetic expression until it hits him what he'd asked not so long ago.

His eyes widen, horror demolishing any trace of hope.

No! That's not what I- I was going to find him! ME!

He reaches out to grasp the fabric, desperate to get his father to understand his true meaning, to return his brother to the mortal plane, to them where he belongs- but his hand passes right through air.

There's contact on the back of his shell and he whirls, smacking it away to begin his search, stumbling back to get a better view of the room.

He wants to call out for him- to beg him to return. His father always came when he called, allowing him to be dependent until Leo grew to prideful to request it.

He wants to scream, but the breaths won't come.

Once again, Leo is silent when he shouldn't have been, and just like in his nightmares, he's too late.

He's gone he's gone again again he's gone too late too late always too late-

The room is a buzzing cascade of everything and he can't breathe under it all.

All he knows is that he needs to find his father and he can't do that if he can't function. The ache that had descended into a dull throb pounds against him, threatening to knock him off his feet, or drag him to his knees where he belongs, weak and useless every time he tries.

Stop him stop him save him too late fix this fix this-

"It was his FATE! HIS DESTINY!"

Leo's head snaps like a whip, eyes training on the only thing of clarity; the monster across from him.

Shredder just stands there, huge and looming and smug and impossibly strong and everything floods down on him at once, a familiar hatred taking flame because he took him- He did this he took him took him took him killed him kill him-

A hiss cuts from his throat and then he's moving.

He's moving and he's running and he's raising his sword and someone's screaming and he's going to end this he isn't going to lose anyone else he'll fix this he's not scared he's not he's not no one else no one else no one no one no-

His blade slams the wall where the veined chest should be, barely missing the skull of the real man that would have been splattered into the remains of brain and bone. An unfamiliar scream splits the air as he staggers back, ignoring the way that his gut clenches at the wrongness of something, certain that he knows what the wrong is.

His pathetic arms tremble from the force of his blow on concrete, tears blurring his vision. Leo uses his wraps to push them away, scanning the perimeter for the murderer in their mists, unable to locate the monster of a mutant.

He roars out his frustration, blade slicing through the air. He was right there- right there- he was just there just there where did he go-

"FIRE! FIRE FIRE FIRE!"

"LEO!"

He's thrown to the ground and held in place, panic clawing at his throat. He moves to strike but his hand is caught, a hiss clawing free until he realizes that it's Mikey and he's scared.

His eyes are watery but impossibly hard, staring down at him as if he's a stranger.

He's talking but the words have no meaning behind the static.

Leo feel horrible. He wants to say something- wants to reassure him or hold him close to seal the aching hole in his chest, but he can't think past the static and the pressure on his throat is relentless. He can't afford to be this weak- there's still danger out there and everything is wrong and they need to stop Shredder.

He heaves in breaths to remind himself that he can breathe and it's all in his head as he looks around, finding April near their side and dots of red bouncing off nothing and deflecting the opposite direction.

Subtle movement and Leo's gaze darts back to the new threat- oh, Mikey's still over him.

He doesn't register that he's been released or that his body is sitting up. Mikey disappears and then appears before Leo can acknowledge him as missing, slipping the blade from his hands. He has two now, reaching around him to put their father's tantos where they belong, safely tucked away.

His hand is taken and he's jerked to his feet.

Leo takes the first step and the static breaks.

"-gotta go!"

Go go go- go where? Where? Where's- where- where's- sensei- father- Shredder- Raph- RAPH-

"Raph." He whispers, clinging to the name, to the shell in his hand. "Raph."

I didn't mean too. I didn't mean-

I'm so sorry.

He looks up as Mikey flings several ninja stars into the distance.

Casey's screaming. April's tesson is moving faster than he's ever seen it.

There's blood on Mona's scales as she throws a body.

Oh. The mission.

They're in the mafia bunker and they need to get out. They're surrounded at all sides and they need an exit before they end up captives too. His youngest brother doesn't know what to do. There's something in the hand that isn't tightly grasping his, and Leo realizes that it's the best out that they're gonna get.

He tightens his hold possessively because he'll die before someone else takes away the brothers that he has left.

His mouth moves and his throat works in tandem. "Do it."

Mikey glances back at him, scanning his face, and then hits the button.

Everything goes black, their t-phones pop, and the silence is deafening.

The room erupts into chaos.

Mikey tugs him forward.

"RETREAT!"