The ride back home is tense, to say the least. Leonardo drives like a robot, arms stiff and face set like stone. Michelangelo keeps Raphael's head in his lap while Sarina uses whatever medical supplies they keep on hand to temporarily patch him. Donatello sits at his station with his head on his hand, staring at the glowing vial in his other hand. Destiny sits next to Casey and he can feel the icy cold of her skin leeching through his hoodie.

Casey glances sideways at her. Her teeth chatter, her legs pulled to her chest, eyes drooping as she starts to nod off. He shifts and tugs off his sweater, leaving him in his grey t-shirt, and he nudges her with it but she shakes her head, staring at Raphael and fighting sleep.

"You're freezing, wolfie," he says. "Just take it."

"You need it. I'll be fine," she mumbles.

He doesn't let up, refusing to take his sweater back. She sighs in defeat and takes it, pulling the material over her head and snuggling into the oversized warmth, a small sigh leaving her as her eyes flutter shut.

"Thanks, Case," she mumbles.

He nods, looking back at Raphael. After a few seconds, a gentle weight presses against his shoulder. Destiny leans against him, head on his shoulder, eyes shut and soft breaths passing her lips. Dead asleep. He smiles a little.

"How's he doing, Sarina?" Leonardo calls without looking away from the road.

"His shell saved him from the worst of it," she replies as she finishes binding Raphael's arm. "I will need to do stitches back at the lair and monitor him. It is concerning that he has remained unconscious for so long."

"We're almost there," Donatello says. "The second we're in the tunnels—"

"Step on it?" Leonardo asks. Donatello nods. "Don't have to tell me twice."

Michelangelo pats Raphael's head. "We're gonna fix you up, Raph," he murmurs. "Good as new. I promise."

The Shellraiser disappears into the subway tunnels, hiding beneath the streets once again. Casey tilts his head, listening to the rumble of the tires on the train tracks.

----------

Splinter is waiting for them when they arrive at the lair and the other turtles launch into action, hurrying Raphael into the laboratory. Casey tries to nudge Destiny awake, but she barely twitches an eyelash. He sighs, gathering her up in his arms and carrying her from the Shellraiser.

Casey hears voices in the lab and debates bringing Destiny there. She doesn't have any injuries that he can see—she's just tired, so he takes the liberty of returning her to her bedroom, tucking her in, and leaving her to rest.

"This is concerning. Sarina, what do you make of this?"

Casey pushes open the lab doors. Donatello and Sarina stand over Raphael, focusing on the wounds on his arm. Splinter, Leonardo, and Michelangelo wait nearby.

Sarina shakes her head. "Poison, perhaps? I have not seen anything like this."

"What? What is it?" Leonardo asks, coming closer to them. Splinter hangs back, ears flat as he grips his emerald staff tightly.

Sarina steps aside and Casey finds himself trailing closer, trying to get a glimpse. Under the overhead light of Donatello and Sarina's designated medical table, it's clear that Raphael's injury is anything but normal. Although the bleeding has slowed, his skin and the cuts have purpled like a bad bruise, the edges of each wound already starting to turn black.

"Actually," Sarina murmurs, her eyes flashing. "It almost seems like extremely localized frostbite."

"Like each one of these cuts was exposed to sub-zero temperatures," Donatello says, and she nods in affirmation. "Shell..."

"What caused this?" Splinter asks.

Leonardo and Michelangelo look at each other. Michelangelo shrugs, lips pursed, and Leonardo sighs as he rubs the back of his neck.

"I didn't see it, really," he admits. "Casey? Care to explain?"

Casey tears his attention from Raphael's injuries, briefly wetting his lips. "I...think it was a black lioness? Like a girl lion. Didn't have a mane, you know? Maybe a panther, actually." They nod and he shakes his head. "She got the jump on us and I held it off with a flashlight until Des showed up and attacked it. "

"Sarina and I saw it briefly before Sarina chased it off," Donatello adds. "It hated the light. Having that flashlight is probably the only reason Casey and Raph made it out alive."

"Yeah. Even when I didn't touch her with the light, she kept away from it. Like—" The word stops in Casey's throat. Like a shadow. Like Shadow. "Uh—"

"Like a shadow," Sarina says as if reading his mind. She frowns a little as she continues to work on cleaning Raphael's wounds. "It must have been some kind of mutant."

"Never seen a mutant like that before," Donatello says. Casey fidgets.

"Could it have been made by that new mutagen you found?" Michelangelo asks.

"New mutagen?" Splinter repeats. "It seems that your mission provided you with nothing but more questions."

"You would be correct. In the spirit of total honesty, Sensei, we are quite lost at this moment," Sarina states. Her brow furrows. "Donatello, I will need that mutagen sample once we've finished here. Raphael's condition will need to be monitored while we learn what we can. Oh, and Leonardo?"

"Yes?"

"Go and check on Destiny. If she has any injuries of this nature, we need to know."

Leonardo nods. "Yes, ma'am."

"She's in her bedroom," Casey says as Leonardo hurries past him, earning a grateful nod in return.

"Now, Donatello and I have work to be done. The rest of you, please, leave us."

"That's the most polite 'get the hell out' I've ever heard," Casey mutters, but he takes his leave with the others.

----------

Only a short while later, Donatello emerges from the lab to enlist his brothers in bringing Raphael to his bedroom. He states that he'll be far more comfortable there than on a metal table in the lab.

Afterwards, the remaining turtles and Casey linger in the living room, each of them acting like they're not focused on the lab doors blocking them out. Donatello paces, muttering under his breath.

"Are you sure Sari doesn't need you in there?" Michelangelo asks.

Donatello shakes his head, sighing as he runs his hands over his eyes. "No. Trust me, when she says she needs to be alone, she means it. I'd only ruin her focus."

"Aren't two heads better than one?"

"Not in this case. When she's like this, it's like she's alone with her thoughts."

Leonardo frowns. "But...she clearly has some idea of what's going on, then."

"If she does, she hasn't told me!" Donatello retorts, throwing his arms into the air in exasperation. He exhales, dropping his hands back to his sides. "I'm sorry, guys, I just...really hate when she doesn't tell me what's going on."

"It's been a stressful day, Don," Michelangelo says. "It's okay. If it makes you feel better, I probably wouldn't understand her even if she did tell us what's going on."

Donatello sighs and finally sits down, dropping his head into his hands. "I thought we were gonna get some mutagen today, but no. New mutants and new mutagen and—"

Casey looks up. "Has anyone told Taylor that Raph's hurt?"

The three brothers look at each other, eyes wide, and Donatello and Michelangelo immediately shout, "Not it!"

"You're up, Leo," Casey says.

Leonardo sputters. "What? Why me?! I'm the worst person who could tell her!"

"Just do it," Donatello sighs.

"Casey, you're her friend. You do it!"

Casey's stomach flips at the idea. "I would...except I've had a bad day. Wait, no, scratch that. I've had a bad couple of months...?"

"Ooo, playing the sympathy card," Michelangelo whispers.

Leonardo sighs and gives in, digging out his phone. He puts it on speaker as it rings, once, twice, three times. On the fourth ring, it clicks as Taylor picks up.

"Leo?" she asks slowly. "Why are you calling me?"

"Hi, Taylor," Leonardo says, wincing at his awkward tone. "Just...checking in. How's it going?"

"I'm going to hang up if you don't stop being weird, azul."

"Okay, okay, don't hang up. I swear I have a reason for calling!" he insists. She doesn't reply and the spectators lean in, waiting. "So...there was a bit of an accident. Sort of."

Casey isn't used to seeing Leonardo so nervous. It's almost funny.

Another beat of silence. "What sort of accident?" she enunciates, each word slow.

"Well, uh...Raph got mauled by a mutant lion," he says, squinting one eye as he leans away from the phone.

"WHAT?! HAMATO LEONARDO, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THE SECOND I PICKED UP THE DAMN PHONE?!" she screams. Rapidfire Spanish pours out, mostly curses, and Leonardo just scrunches up his entire face in a pained cringe as he lets her rant. "PUT ME ON SPEAKERPHONE AND LET ME TALK TO DONNIE OR SARINA RIGHT THIS DAMN SECOND OR SO HELP ME, PUTO—"

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! Please calm down," Leonardo begs, handing the phone over to Donatello.

"How is he? Is he breathing?" Taylor demands, her voice stricken with panic. "How bad is it? Can I talk to him?"

"He's alive," Donatello says, "but he's been unconscious since the attack and his injuries are...unique. I'll be honest, we aren't quite sure why it's happened. The mutant that attacked him was abnormal and Sarina's currently sending her circuits into a frenzy trying to figure out why."

They all hold their breath, listening to the silence on the other end of the phone.

"I'm coming home," she mutters.

"Don't do that, Tay," Michelangelo cuts in. "Raph's alive and Sarina's on it! You've gotta focus on school!"

"If he's hurt, then I need to be with him, Mikey!" she insists, voice choked.

"We can send you updates every couple hours. I could even take pictures," he says. "It'd take you a long time to get home anyway and you can't miss your classes. He wouldn't want you to do that for him. Please just trust that we've got him, okay?"

Another beat of silence before a soft cry breaks through, tiny sniffles as she tries to keep it together. Leonardo and Donatello cringe in sympathy while Michelangelo stares hopefully at the phone. Casey sighs as he runs his hands over his face.

"O-Okay...just...t-take care of him," Taylor says thickly. "I'll talk to you soon. Adios."

The line goes dead and Leonardo hangs up, letting out a long sigh. "That could've gone worse. Good work, Mikey."

"That's what I do," Michelangelo says. "Bringing sanity since...uh, what year were we born?"

Donatello laughs softly. "1997."

"Since 1997," Michelangelo says, crossing his arms over his chest and nodding.

Leonardo shakes his head in faint amusement. Casey slumps back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling. The exhaustion hits him all at once, eyes heavy.

"Can I stay here tonight, guys?" he asks.

"Of course," Leonardo replies.

Casey shuts his eyes and hopes for an easy sleep.