Annalise stands, hands shaking as a tiny trail of smoke escapes the barrel of the gun in her hand. Stockman drops like a stone and she flinches when he lands, her heart pounding.

Crap. Crap, crap, crap.

Far below, she sees Donatello and Sarina racing to the crash site, Taylor on their heels. Stockman isn't moving. He isn't even twitching.

She throws the gun down like it's suddenly too hot to handle, nausea sweeping over her, and she drops to her knees, trembling. The rebar platform is too small, too unstable, and her muscles lock as she takes big, gulping breaths.

She didn't mean to, she just...she just reacted. It all happened so fast, too fast to think.

When the gun landed next to her, knocked out of Stockman's grip by Michelangelo, she picked it up with only the intention of keeping it away from Stockman, so that it couldn't be used against the turtles, against Mikey. But then Stockman was in the crane, destroying the ground beneath their feet. She could hear the turtles, Karai, April, Casey, all shouting, trying their best to stop the crazed bug but too overwhelmed by ants to do anything.

Annalise had a view of the crane. She could see Stockman.

The rebar hit Michelangelo in the shell and a rain of sparks flew from the motor strapped to him. Michelangelo dropped, just able to grab the rebar in time to stop his fall, but not soon enough to do anything more than brace for it as it smashed into another section of the tower.

"Mikey!" she screamed.

He was still on the rebar when Stockman wound up for another blow, but he wasn't moving. He didn't respond.

"Take thizzzzz, turtlezzz!" Stockman crowed.

Annalise let her finger clench on the trigger. The shot echoed in her ears, rattled her brain, and Stockman fell.

----------

"Mikey!"

Raphael drops onto the rebar next to Michelangelo, gripping his shoulder and shaking him. Michelangelo groans and Raphael pulls his Turflytle goggles off just as his eyes open. He's covered in dust, bruised in more than one place, and his arm definitely shouldn't be bending that way, but he's alive.

"What..." Michelangelo starts, blinking. "What happened?"

Raphael looks up at where Annalise still clings to the rebar platform, trembling, and his jaw clenches.

"The fight's over," he says. "We won."

"Don't think my harness is working, bro," Michelangelo admits. He lets out a weak cough, blinking a few times. "Turflytle's grounded."

Raphael purses his lips, then sighs. "Maggot Boy's got you."

Raphael hauls Michelangelo into his arms and brings him back to the ground, where Destiny already has April, Casey and Karai delivered safe and sound. He sets Michelangelo down, letting him rest. Leonardo drops down using his grappling hook, moving to his brothers the second his feet touch the earth.

"Mikey, you okay?" he asks, lightly touching his shoulder.

"Head kinda hurts, bro," Michelangelo says. "And I can't feel my arm, so..."

Leonardo purses his lips. "We'll get you fixed up." He looks up as footsteps sound from behind, harkening Sarina and Taylor's arrival. His eyes narrow. "Stockman?"

Sarina shakes her head. "He is gone." She glances at the rebar pile in the centre of the construction zone and her eyes flash. "Scumbug, however..."

April lightly touches her forehead. "I...can sense life over there. Should we do something?"

"Perhaps a retromutagen is in need," Sarina says, eyes flashing.

Taylor runs to Raphael, ignoring the conversation happening near her as she throws her arms around his neck in a tight hug. He blinks a few times before he returns it, exhaling heavily.

"I'm sorry," he whispers.

She shakes her head and squeezes tighter. "Don't be."

"Mikey!"

They part. Donatello touches down, cables retracting as he sets Annalise on the ground. Her voice is cracked, choked with emotion, and she rushes to Michelangelo's side. Tears flow freely down her face.

"Oh, god, Mikey—"

"Heyyy cupcake," Michelangelo says, giving her a wave with his unbroken arm. She sniffles and he winces. "I'd hug you but, uh—"

"I'm so sorry," she weeps, hunching over as she buries her face in his chest. "I...I-I'm..."

She dissolves into crying, shoulders trembling.

"What happened?" April asks, looking around in search of answers. "The shot—"

"Annalise took care of it," Raphael says, crossing his arms over his chest.

For a second, things are silent save for Annalise's continued weeping. Every eye slowly pans to her; small and blonde and unassuming as she clings to her boyfriend.

"Holy shit," Taylor whistles. She grins. "That's badass!"

Annalise sobs harder. Leonardo shoots her a glare and she holds her hands up defensively, her smile dropping.

"Let's get everyone home, okay? We need to take care of Mikey," Leonardo says. "We can...discuss everything later. The minions too."

No one argues.

----------

Annalise sits next to Michelangelo in the lab while Donatello and Sarina administer first aid. They've talked over the extent of the injuries to them both but she wasn't paying the best attention, just focused on sitting and holding his hand and she trying to forget what's happened.

"Lisey?" Michelangelo asks. "Do...you wanna talk?"

She hunches her shoulders a little. She's afraid if she talks, she'll cry again. His hand shifts, squeezing gently.

"We aren't mad at you," he says. "You helped us."

She glances at where Sarina and Donatello are a good distance away, looking at their computer screen. X-rays, maybe.

She exhales. "I didn't mean to...kill him," she whispers. "I...I just wanted him to stop."

She wanted him to stop before he hurt Michelangelo. He's this beat up from one unfortunate trip through rebar, what would a second blow have done? If he didn't have his shell, would it have been too late?

"I know," he says.

She sniffles a bit and swallows back the lump growing in her throat. "You...you guys don't kill. You don't."

He averts his eyes. "I mean...we try not to."

She doesn't like the sound of that, but Michelangelo's expression is solemn and she hates how it hardens his gentle face. She starts to speak when Sarina returns, holding a tablet, and she quickly shuts her mouth again.

"So, good news, we should be able to reset the bone," Sarina says. "Donatello's preparing a cast. We should have you patched up in no time. As for your head, we'll keep you on concussion watch for the next day or two."

"Oh, awesome," Michelangelo sighs. "Thanks, Sari."

"Annalise, if you'd like to stay—"

"No, I'll...I should probably get going soon anyway," she says, getting to her feet. She hesitates for a second, then leans over and presses a kiss to Michelangelo's forehead. "I'll see you soon?"

His face is still far too sad, but he nods and does his best to smile. "Sure thing!"

She hurries from the lab. Leonardo stands in the living room with Raphael and Taylor, his words low and serious, and she hunches a bit as if making herself look smaller will keep her from being detected.

"The spider guy—" Leonardo is saying.

"Scumbug," Taylor says.

He frowns a bit. "Yeah, Scumbug—it looks like he survived. Destiny, Casey, and April are out with the retromutagen. Whatever they were, we'll turn them back and hope for the best." He crosses his arms over his chest. "That just leaves—"

His eyes shift up, an involuntary movement, but lock on Annalise. She backs up a step, bowing her head.

"Annalise," he says. "How's Mikey?"

"Fine," she mumbles. She refuses to look at any of them. She can't handle the weight of the guilt in their eyes, the anger. "I'll...I'll be going home now, so—"

"Wait."

She hears footsteps coming closer, then a hand on her shoulder. She squeezes her eyes shut, trembling, but the touch is gentle. Calming.

"Do you have time to talk?" Leonardo asks. She swallows. "I promise, it'll be quick."

She looks up, briefly, to find that Taylor and Raphael are watching her from behind Leonardo's back. She steals a glance at Leonardo's face and it's kind, sympathetic. She sucks in a deep breath, then nods.

She follows him to the dojo, where he motions for her to sit with him beneath the dojo tree. She does so and, for a few long, weirdly peaceful seconds, they just breathe.

"I'm sorry you had to do that," he says finally, hands resting on his knees. She bites her lip as it quivers. "But...thank you, for saving Mikey's life. A shell can only shield so much."

She blinks hard. "I...I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry. I know you don't kill." She bows forward, knuckles white as she clenches her hands. "I promise, I'll...I'll do whatever it takes to make it right."

"We don't kill," he repeats, but it isn't the statement she's expecting. More of a whisper, like he's mulling over the words. When she looks back up at him, he's solemn, mature in the wrong ways. "We try not to, Annalise, but sometimes..."

Her blood runs cold. "Sometimes?"

He takes a deep breath. "We told you about the Shredder, right?"

She frowns a little. The most she heard was when they were in Minecraft, sharing war stories around the fire. She tries to remember what they said about Shredder, and all she can recall is that he's an evil man, someone who stopped at nothing to hurt the turtles and Splinter.

"We defeated him," Leonardo continues when she doesn't answer. "But...only because I had to make a choice." His eyes are deep, weighted. "I had to kill him."

Her stomach twists in knots. She imagines Leonardo, a little younger, a little brighter, and she tries to picture the Shredder—an intimidating shadow of a man, tall and strong and deadly. He must've been pushed to the brink. He must have made a snap decision too.

"I knew...going into that battle, that he had to die," Leonardo continues, and her image shatters. "Part of me hoped it wouldn't have to be me, that...Splinter would handle it, but it didn't go that way." He looks at his hands, clenching them along with his jaw. "I couldn't even get myself to really strike him, to use my swords, but I...I knocked him off a building, let gravity do the rest."

She stays mute, still half in denial. Maybe the Shredder tripped. She wonders if she'd feel better if Stockman had fallen on his own, however improbable that would've been.

"I haven't..." He pauses, swallowing hard. "I haven't told anyone this. Not Destiny, my dad...no one, so can I trust you to keep it to yourself?"

She blinks a few times. "O-Okay."

His lips purse. Another long breath leaves him. "I have this fear that the Shredder survived. Even though I saw his body, I worry that one day he's going to show up again and destroy everything we've worked to protect," he says. His hands are still clenching and unclenching nervously, and Annalise reaches over to grip one of them. She squeezes gently. "He was just a man, at the end of the day, and I know that there's no way he could have survived, but I worry."

"I'm...I'm sorry you had to do that," she whispers.

His lip twitches a little, the ghost of a smile. "All this is to say, you were brave today. Thanks to you, we won't have to worry about Stockman mutating any other innocent people, and his knowledge can't help our enemies, wherever they are." He reaches out to grip her shoulder. "I'm glad you made the hard decision, as much as I'm sorry that you had to do it, and I want you to know that I understand. I'm here to talk if you need it."

She bows her head. "I didn't think, Leo. All that went through my head was...it was all Mikey. I didn't want to imagine life without him." She flushes a little and her voice gets quieter, embarrassed. "I...I know that's silly, but..."

"It's not. There's nothing silly about protecting those you love."

She sighs. "I...I guess I'm just reeling from it all," she admits, wrapping her arms around herself. "There's no way I can tell my therapist about this." She cringes at the mere idea of doing so. Not that she'd be taken seriously anyway.

Leonardo's brow furrows. "Like I said...I'm here to talk. Let us know if you need anything, alright?"

"Yeah. I—"

She stops as the sound of footsteps comes from outside and both she and Leonardo turn to the door as Destiny appears. She looks a little tired but otherwise no worse for wear.

"All taken care of," she says as she comes in. "Looks like Anthrax were just ants to begin with. Scumbug's a man again. We dropped him off at the hospital so...hopefully, he'll turn out okay. Casey and April went home." She rests her hands on her hips, tilting her head. "Everything okay here?"

"Seems like it," Leonardo says, getting to his feet.

Annalise follows. "I should probably be getting home too," she says. "I don't work tomorrow, so I'll come by when I can. Check on Mikey."

"Of course," Leonardo says, offering another smile. "See you later."

She heads out without another word.

Destiny turns back to Leonardo once she's gone. "How's she holding up?"

He exhales. "I think she's putting on a brave face for us," he says. "I'm worried about her."

"Is there anything we can do?"

He pauses, lifting one hand to his chin in thought. "You don't happen to know any mutant-friendly therapists, do you?"

Destiny flashes a wolf-like grin. "I might know a gal."

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

Taylor leaves the kitchen with a mug of coffee just in time to see Annalise rush from the lair, bolting past the turnstiles with her head down and knuckles white around her bag strap.

She starts to call out to her, the start of her name on her lips, but she's gone in an instant. Taylor's shoulders slump and she exhales, gripping the coffee a little closer. She should probably be heading home too, but...

She enters Raphael's bedroom. He's rummaging through his weapon's closet, frowning, and she clears her throat as she nudges the door shut behind her.

"Figured out the coffee machine?" Raphael asks.

"Splinter helped me out," she says. She waits for a second as he tosses a few tanto onto the bed. "So...you reorganizing or something?"

"Sorta," he says. He glances up at her, lips pursing. "I was wondering if I had something that'd be sturdier than a baseball bat."

She raises an eyebrow as she settles onto the bed, lifting the coffee mug to her lips. "Who's the lucky girl?"

He huffs out his nose. "Come on, Tay. I'm serious," he says. She sips her drink and he turns to her, arms crossed over his chest as he exhales again. "I'm just...thinking, that maybe we—I..." He purses his lips briefly. "I could train you more. Make sure that next time, things will be different."

She looks away, reaching to place her mug on his milk-crate bedside table. "I'd be up for that," she says.

When she looks back, he's staring at his cabinet again. She rubs her arm, at the sleeve covering her tattoo, and swallows. Her throat feels clogged, her stomach churning, and she distracts herself by moving to Maddalena's cage. She takes the tiny turtle out and sits back down, watching her crawl around on the bed. She steals a glance at Raphael and he's still distant, strangely pensive.

"Raph, I..." She closes her eyes, taking a breath. She can do this. "You know I'm sorry for everything that happened today, right?"

His head bows a little and she watches his jaw clench. "It's not your fault."

"Well, with the bugs, yeah," she says, waving her hand a bit. "But...I meant with..." God, why do apologies have to be so hard? "I meant with arguing with Leo, and insisting that I knew better than you when it came to fighting, and...all that. And telling Annalise she was badass. I really thought she was just upset over Mikey and not—"

"It'll be fine," he says. He closes the closet, hands pressed against the doors as he sighs. "Next time will be different. I'll make sure of it."

She runs her finger over Maddalena's shell, pursing her lips. "This...was a really long evening, huh?"

"Very," he agrees.

"I probably need to get home."

"I'll take you."

"I'd like that."

----------

Raphael sets Taylor down on her fire escape. She cracks open the window, throwing her bag through, then turns back to him. He perches on the railing, the wind blowing his tattered mask tails over his shoulder.

"I'll text you," she promises. "Let me know how Mikey's doing."

"He'll be fine. He's tougher than he looks," Raphael says.

It feels like there's a chasm between them, like he's far away even though she could reach out and touch him. She winces at the tight feeling in her throat and steps closer, reaching up to cup his cheek in her hand. His brilliant green eyes finally lock on hers.

"You okay, mi amore?"

He lets his feet touch the fire escape and, with a heavy sigh, he pulls her into a tight hug. She tucks her face against his shoulder, revelling in how his hand rests on the back of her head, holding her so tightly, like he'll never let her go.

"Just...I'm sorry," he mumbles. "I feel like I failed today."

She shakes her head. "You made it right."

Another squeeze. "I'm gonna keep getting stronger, Tay. I promise."

She believes him with everything she has.