Raphael, Donatello, and Destiny watch from the entrance to the dojo as Leonardo and Master Splinter duel. The spectating mutants don't dare make a sound, lest they be discovered and chastised for eavesdropping on their brother's private session.

Leonardo knocks Splinter back and raises his sword above his head for a downward strike, but then hesitates when he sees his Sensei's exhausted face. The turtle's countenance softens and he lowers his weapon back to his side.

"You had me at a disadvantage, but did not attack," Splinter says as he lifts himself up from his knees. "Why?"

"No reason, Sensei," Leonardo says. His voice is rushed.

"Then stop holding back and attack."

They rush at one another and begin their duel with more gusto than before. On the other end of things, Donatello, Raphael, and Destiny are still watching and their concern is growing with every blow that Leonardo and Splinter give.

"'Sup, my ninjas?" Michelangelo greets as he pops up behind the trio. There's a goblin mask hiding his face from view. "Any of you guys seen my stuffed iguana?"

"Ssh!"

Michelangelo takes off his mask and blinks once as he readjusts to the light. "The one with the top hat?" he asks, still unperturbed by his ignorant siblings.

"Ssh!"

The orange-masked turtle ducks down and slips between the space between Donatello and Raphael's legs. He pops up directly in front of them, his entire face blank but not without annoyance.

"Hmm," he murmurs. "My ninja senses are saying you want me to be quiet."

Raphael slaps him across the face and Destiny immediately smacks Raphael's arm, shooting him an ice cold glare. The fight that never quite started in the first place ends and Michelangelo bounces away before it gets more heated.

"Man, they're really going at it," Donatello says as Raphael and Destiny look back at the sparring match. The intelligent turtle's forehead wrinkles as he strokes his chin. "Sensei still hasn't fully recovered."

"Slash messed him up pretty bad," Raphael mumbles. "It's gonna take a while before he gets all his strength back." Destiny nods as her hand drifts to the bandage around her neck, her fingers rubbing along the creases as the hairs on her scarred arms prickle.

There's an earsplitting squeal of glee from behind them as Michelangelo reappears, a badly-sewn stuffed iguana held aloft in his hand. "Found him!" he cries. "Go ninja, go ninja, go!"

"SSH!" Their synchronized brown and green glares are enough to send the younger turtle shrinking backwards into a terrified lump.

Inside the dojo, Leonardo spins and kicks Splinter hard enough to send him skidding backwards. The rat grunts as his leg freezes up, but no mercy comes from his eldest turtle as he lands a solid kick to his Sensei's chest and Splinter collapses. He stares down the shaft of Leonardo's practice katana, Leonardo's gaze latched on his as their heavy breaths stir the still air.

"You succeeded," Splinter says.

Leonardo lowers his sword and shrugs. "Only because you're still recovering, Sensei."

"Very...true." Splinter lets out a small grunt as he settles into a crisscrossed position, his movements stiff. He shuts his eyes and breathes evenly as he starts murmuring under his breath and making hand signals. "Rin. Pyo. Toh. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen."

His hands glow with a white aura as he speaks and he places his hands on his injured knee. Leonardo's eyes widen and his lips part as he nearly drops the sword in his hand.

"Master Splinter?" he asks. "What did you just do? And how did you do it?"

"It is an ancient technique known as the healing hands," Splinter says. "Would you like to know its secrets?" Leonardo nods as he kneels before his father, setting the wooden sword at his side. "Together with me. Rin. Pyo. Toh. Sha."

Leonardo observes until he's more confident in the motions. Only then does he join in, his low tenor voice mingling with the bass of his father's.

"Rin. Pyo. Toh..."

Donatello nudges Raphael and Destiny, jerking his head to the side as he purses his lips. They slip away from the door in search of something new to do.

----------

"I thought a night out would be good for me," April admits. She pushes open the movie theatre door and heads onto the sidewalk, Casey following close behind. He kicks and punches at the air, his imagination infested with images of the villains from the action movie that they just watched together. "But...I still can't shake everything that's happened. At least dad's back. I just want a little normalcy in my life."

She stops talking once she becomes aware that there's nobody near her and, more importantly, nobody is listening to her. She places a hand on her hip and turns around, finding nothing but empty sidewalk behind her. Casey jumps out from behind a pillar when her back is turned, hands held up like claws, and he shouts out, "HA!"

April shrieks and jumps, making Casey burst out laughing. "Casey!" she groans.

"The Six Deadly Poisons was cool, but I would have smashed that scorpion dude in one hit!" he boasts, still punching invisible enemies.

She watches as he keeps hopping around in circles around her, punching and kicking and grunting. She purses her lips. "And then yesterday, my head fell off my neck, and now I can't find my head, so I have to walk around with...no head," she says, rolling her head from shoulder to shoulder in her boredom. He shows no sign of interest. She sighs and keeps walking. "Not listening to a single word."

The pair keeps going. Casey never stops his antics, pounding his feet against a lamppost as if the tall structure is his next opponent. As they round the corner, just across the street from April's apartment, Mr. O'Neil parts his curtain and peers outside. There's a disapproving glare on his aging face.

April heads up the steps to her home and Casey lingers below, unhitching his bike from the nearest post. "You wanna know what my favourite part of the movie was?" he asks, smiling up at her with a childish joy in his dark eyes.

"I don't know, Casey, the...non-stop violence?" she suggests. Her sarcastic tone lingers from her previous rambling.

"It was the way the hero never gave up, even against all odds." He flashes an even bigger grin. April blinks a few times in surprise as he turns away, lifting himself onto his bike. "Good luck finding your missing head. I'm sure it'll turn up."

He clicks his tongue, winks, and takes off. April's cheeks turn pink and she giggles, a small smile lingering on her face even when she disappears into her house and heads up to her room to sleep.

----------

The turtles and Destiny watch TV together, scattered around the living room in varied spots, all comfortable in different ways.

"Help! Turtles!" Kirby O'Neil's voice sounds from the lair entrance.

"Kirby?" Leonardo asks as he shuts off the TV.

Kirby nearly collapses as he pushes past the turnstiles. He holds April in his arms, her skin pale and her entire body limp. She's still wearing her pyjamas. The other turtles hurry to him and Destiny hops off the spiralling platform dangling above the living room, her tail stiff and unmoving as she sniffs the air.

"Guys..." she warns, reaching her hand out to April. "I...I smell—" Her throat tightens and she closes her mouth, reaching over to grip her arm.

"Snake bite," Kirby says as he kneels, laying April on the ground as if she's a porcelain doll that could break at any second. "Please, help me."

"Guys, quick, give her some space," Donatello orders, pushing Raphael and Michelangelo away from the redheads as he drops to his knees. He reaches out and brushes her bangs from her eyes as he presses his hand to her damp forehead.

Michelangelo gulps. "She's gonna be okay, right, Donnie?" he asks.

Donatello lifts April's arm, revealing two puncture wounds jutting through the pale fabric of her shirt. "Oh no," he whispers.

----------

A monitor beeps rhythmically as Donatello examines April inside his laboratory. There's a large jumble of TV screens set up next to her, making up an entire image of the inner workings of April's body and the poison flooding her veins. The others linger nearby.

"Her condition's getting worse," Donatello utters. "The poison's not showing any signs of stopping."

"Bitten by a poisonous snake in her bedroom? It doesn't make any sense," Leonardo says as he scratches his chin.

Destiny hovers near April, her nostrils flaring as her fluffy tail sways to and fro stiffly. Her ears twitch at every sound, including when Raphael enters the lab with his t-phone in hand, already talking.

"Guys, we got an S.O.S. from Casey's bike," he says. "I'm gonna check it out."

He turns back around, fully prepared to leave, when Leonardo calls, "Take Mikey and Des with you."

"Why?"

"Because you might need backup or a tracker and I'm busy helping Donnie."

Michelangelo does a little dance behind his brothers, hips swaying to the music that plays endlessly in his head. Destiny purses her lips as she keeps staring at April.

"Fine," Raphael sighs. He points at Michelangelo as he starts out of the lab. "No Turflytle."

"Mikey, Raph, and Desti-bear: the new A-Team!" Michelangelo whoops as he shimmies after Raphael. "Let's do this, boy!" He turns and points at Destiny's back. "And girl!"

Raphael groans and mutters something incoherent to himself. Leonardo looks up at Destiny and clears his throat. When she doesn't budge, he reaches over and nudges her shoulder. She jumps and blinks a few times. The turtle arches an eye-ridge at her.

"Mikey? Raph? Casey's S.O.S? Ringing any bells?" he asks.

She exhales. "Yeah, I know," she mutters. She takes a few steps toward the door before stopping and grabbing his arm. She leans close to his ear. "Leo, whatever this is, it's foul play. Keep your guard up."

Leonardo's lips purse as he nods. "Yeah, don't worry."

----------

The Party Wagon pulls to a stop near one of New York's many alleyways. Destiny, Raphael, and Michelangelo climb out and do a quick visual scan of the immediate area as fast as possible.

"This is the place where Casey's bike was sending out the signal," Raphael says as he triple-checks his phone.

"Maybe we should split up," Michelangelo offers.

Destiny tilts her head back and sniffs the air. Her ears perk and at the same time, her nose wrinkles. "I've got him," she says.

"Already?" Raphael arches an eye-ridge as he crosses his arms.

"Casey always smells like wood, old leather, hockey equipment, and cologne. And—" She jerks her thumb over her shoulder. "I can hear him groaning from behind those dumpsters."

They say nothing more as they make a beeline for the said dumpsters. Raphael and Michelangelo shove the heavy bins aside to find Casey sprawled out on the ground. His complexion is pale and his only movements come from the pained moving of his lips, just like April.

"Casey! What happened?" Raphael demands.

Destiny moves to help Casey up, ears flattening against her head as the similar scent that she caught on to before wafts from his skin and clothes. The boy grips her shoulder and his head lolls up to face her, his pupils dilated. His entire demeanour sends off vibes of utter confusion.

"A...a...attack...Foot...kiss."

He points to his lips with a stupefied smile before he collapses, slumping onto Destiny's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She adjusts her grip on him and does her best to hold him up, his hair tickling her neck and making her squirm.

"He's not making any sense," Raphael mutters.

"I think he's asking you to kiss his foot," Michelangelo says, placing one hand on Raphael's shoulder. "You better do what he says."

"Or, maybe a Foot kissed him," Destiny suggests. She stares down at Casey, frowning. "It couldn't be a Foot bot—"

"Ew!" Michelangelo sticks his tongue out and shakes his head. "That's gross! Robots shouldn't kiss people!"

Raphael smacks his little brother over the head. "Make yourself useful and grab his legs," he snaps.

The mutants get Casey into the Party Wagon with little conversation between them. Destiny stops outside the passenger door as Michelangelo closes up the back and Raphael climbs into the driver's side.

"Des? You coming?" he asks.

The wolf girl stares out at the road behind them, utterly still. "That smell is still around," she says. "It's familiar."

"Is it pizza smell or, like...sewer smell?" Michelangelo asks.

She shakes her head. "Nope, something else." She turns her head so that she can see Raphael through the window. "Go on ahead. I'll scout behind and catch up later."

"Alright, but don't take too long," he replies. His eyes are wary, his lips pressed in a line that he only does when he's trying to shove his emotions aside and keep his cool.

He turns the key in the ignition, gives a short wave to her, and takes off down the street. Destiny watches until they turn the corner and only once they're gone does she morph into her wolf form. She ducks her nose to the sidewalk and starts sniffing, plodding down the street as she latches on a trail. If she could just remember where she's smelled this before, that would be great.

From far off, she hears a loud crash and the squealing of tires. Her stomach plunges like a diver into cold water, her body freezing as the loud blaring of a horn shatters the silent night. She turns and races after the sound, her panting breaths getting closer and closer together as scenarios run through her head ranging from small accident that doesn't involve anyone she knows to the Party Wagon and her friends in life-threatening danger.

She rounds the corner and stops in her tracks. The Party Wagon is tipped over, the horn still blowing continuously, and one of the back doors is dangling open. Destiny returns to her human form as she races toward the wreck.

"Raph? Mikey?" she calls.

She shoves open the second of the back doors to find nothing but emptiness greeting her. Breaths ragged, she sprints to the front of the van and peers in through the windshield. There's no blood, no shattered glass, and no Raphael. Their scents are still prevalent, letting her know that until recently, they were here and they were still alive. She hopes that that is still the case.

She turns to vacant streets all around her, cupping her hands around her mouth. "RAPH! MIKEY!" she cries, but nothing answers. "CASEY!"

There's a soft hissing from behind her and she tenses, her next round of shouts dying on her lips. She slowly rotates back around to see a few white snakes racing away from the scene of the accident. Destiny's breath hitches and her memory jogs.

"Oh no," she croaks. "Oh no..."

She sprints for the nearest manhole cover, not a second more to waste. She needs to get back to the lair, and fast.