He sat in the quiet nothingness of the lab, his own labored breathing the only sound as he worked feverishly on the experiment. He held up a vial of red liquid, allowing the light to illuminate it as it bubbled and boiled. He frowned at it in concentration for a moment, before setting it down in its holder to scribble on his notepad once again.
Now the second vial. He lifted it carefully and brought it close to his eyes, staring in awe at its contents. This one was different from the first. Unlike the first vial, the liquid remained calm and unmoving, just as he’d hoped. He set the second vial next to the other and removed his lab coat, throwing it hastily on a chair.
A tear came to his eyes as he thought about his brother upstairs, struggling for life. He envisioned that dreadful night when his heart was almost torn in two by the decision he was forced to make.
Go! Get out of here! Save yourself and find the others!
"I left them.", the impact of his words hung in the air, echoing off the walls, mocking him with their painful truth. He wiped at his eyes with the back of his good hand, attempting to brush the memories away as he did the tears.
He stared at the vials again. Michaelangelo’s blood was back to normal. The activity was gone. So why won’t he wake up? Why...? He was worn out. He hadn’t slept much since they had arrived here, and he’d stayed up all night keeping a vigil on his unconscious brother, working his experiments, and blaming himself for things he knew deep down he had no control over.
Now morning had come, and with it, the sounds of voices wafting through the living room, the wonderful smell of breakfast cooking. His stomach growled with anticipation, yet he wouldn’t allow himself to eat. Not until Mike wakes up. His eyes fell to the vials again. But what if he never does?
Deciding that there were a couple more experiments that needed to be performed, Don shook the emotions from his mind and grabbed up the first container. Gotta see if my theories are correct, and then...I’ll tell the others.
______________________________________________________________________________
Splinter sat in the dimness of the bedside lamp, his palm pressed gently to Michaelangelo’s forehead. Still a slight fever. As he returned his hand to his lap, he studied the turtle’s face intently for signs of movement, but found none. Michaelangelo lay as motionless as a statue, the rising and falling of his plastron the only indication of life.
Splinter closed his eyes as the overwhelming agony flooded through him. It had been two days since their journey to the fortress, two days since the horrible explosion, two days since Michaelangelo had come face to face with death, lashing out at his brothers like a raged monster.
They had been in bad situations before, his sons had been injured and even near death, but this was different. This time he knew that if Michaelangelo died, he and his sons would never have the chance to say good bye.
It wasn't fair. Why did bad things always happen to them? Why did his sons have to suffer so, unable to go to a hospital with modern medicine just because they were different? April and Robyn had gone to the hospital as soon as they had gotten to the farmhouse and had everything settled. They had gotten treatment, and now Robyn was awake and doing well. How fair was it that Robyn could keep her life when Michaelangelo...No, I must not think such things. Splinter sighed to himself. I would never wish harm to Robyn or April. They are family, and they deserve their lives.
Unable to bare the sight of the dying turtle, the rat kept his eyes closed as the sound of footsteps crept up the stairs. He really didn’t feel like having company right now, and he hoped one of his sons wasn’t coming up to see him like this.
"Uhh...Splinter?"
The rat opened his eyes to find a tall, muscular, but very worn out and frail looking man standing before him. "Casey?"
"Uhh..." He could tell Casey was slightly uneasy as he ran his hand through his shoulder length hair. "I was just here to uh...see how Mikey’s doing."
Splinter motioned to a chair. "Please...sit."
Casey saundered over to the chair and scooted it up next to the rat. The two sat quietly for a moment, staring at their fallen comrad. Splinter broke the silence.
"He is not doing too well, I am afraid."
Casey could hear the sorrow masked in Splinter’s voice. The truth had hit far too close to home for all of them. First Robyn and then Mike. Atleast Robyn was awake now...
"It’s funny, ya know?", Casey said quietly. "You meet someone, someone you would never expect in a million years to meet, and you become the best of friends. You laugh together, worry together, bust heads together...but you never really think about what it would be like...you know, without them...until..." His voice trailed off, his hands trembling slightly as he fought back the tears that threatened to surface.
Never had Casey ever considered loosing someone close to him in this manner. Of course his father had died, but that had been of old age. His aunt and uncle had died rather unexpectedly, but even that had had a sense of closure, some sort of explanation behind it, but Mike...
"And all those nasty things I said to Raph.", he said to himself. "God, we almost lost him too, and I would’ve never had the chance..."
"Casey.", the rat’s voice startled him, and he realized he had been saying these things out loud. Slightly embarrassed, he tried to muster up his tough guy image and cleared his throat.
"We have all been through a lot of pain and grief these past few days. I do not believe that there is one of us who can not be forgiving."
"Yeah, well...", defeated again by his emotions, Casey let down his guard once more. This guy knows me inside and out by now. And he has this annoying knack of being able to read me like a book. "I’m not so sure Megan’s forgiven me."
Splinter wasn’t quite sure what Casey was referring to. He hadn’t been there during their previous discussions. He stared at Casey questioningly for a moment.
"I..uhh...well, let’s just say that Raph and I have had our differences over her.", he scratched his head nervously and stared at the floor.
Splinter understood now. "Casey, it is not my place to interfere, but if I may--"
"Sure, go ahead." He needed the wise rat's advice more so than he cared to admit.
"From what I have seen of Megan, she is a very strong young woman. She is brave, intelligent, and most of all, she knows what she wants out of life. I understand your concern for her, your feelings of protection.", he stared at Michaelangelo for a moment, a tear streaming down his cheek as he continued. "But she is an adult, as are my sons. I think maybe we both need to learn to let go a little."
____________________________________________________________________________
Megan stood at the stove, flipping the pancakes over on the grittle as April poured the orange juice. Neither of them spoke as they hurried about their tasks. April silently prayed that Donatello would be joining them this morning. He had been so out of touch lately, cooping himself up in that make-shift laboratory of his. He only came out to use the bathroom and get an occasional drink of water. God, he hasn’t eaten anything in days!
Megan sensed April’s concern and watched her for a moment as she set the table, noticing how her hands shook as she laid forks and knives next to the plates. She wasn’t sure if now was a good time to discuss their feelings. They had all been through so much, and it was taking a long time for them to heal. Deciding it was best to remain quiet, she returned her attention to the food, allowing the aroma of the cooking batter to waft up her nose and soothe her troubled mind.
April finished setting the table and rinsed her hands in the sink. "It’s about time to go play nurse again.", she smiled weakly.
Megan returned the smile and nodded, watching as April slipped quietly from the room. A moment later, she could hear angered voices arguing out in the living room. Yep, she told herself, Raphael’s getting new bandages again.
_____________________________________________________________________________
"Gaaahhh! Watch it with that shit, will ya? It hurts!", Raphael complained as April brought the medicated cloth to his plastron.
"Just a couple more.", she promised, slightly irritated. Why does he always have to fight me over this? She laid the gauze over the burn and taped it in place. "There. How's that feel?"
Raphael was cranky. "Like my skin was seered off and stinging acid was poured all over it! How do you think it feels!?"
April ignored his tantrum and turned her attention to Leonardo.
"Don't mind him April, he's just a big baby.", Leo whispered.
"Hey! I heard that!", Raphael yelled. "If I wasn't all cooped up here on the couch, I'd come show you who's the baby!"
Leo and April giggled a little amongst themselves, and she began rebandaging his injuries.
"Hey. what's going on in here?", a quiet, sleepy voice asked. The three of them turned to find Robyn and Shadow in the doorway.
"Robyn.", April dropped the cloth for a moment and hurried to give her sister a hug. "How are you feeling?"
Robyn smiled weakly. "My head hurts, but I'll be fine."
April lifted Shadow into her arms. "You hungry?"
"Yeah mommy, I'm starved!"
April kissed the little girl on the cheek and set her back down. "Go into the kitchen and help Megan finish breakfast."
As Shadow disappeared out of sight, April flashed them all a concerned look. "I'm worried about Donatello."
"Aren't we all?", Raph muttered, still grimmacing from the stinging.
"He hasn't eaten in days, and he refuses to come out of that room."
"We all just need to give Don some time, April.", Leo said softly. "He's been through a lot. He just needs some space."
"Yeah.", April answered, "but look at him! I mean, he's still blaming himself for Michaelangelo, and it's not even his fault! And he's gonna wither down into nothing if he doesn't eat something!"
Raphael's face went grim. The agony he felt for Michaelangelo was overwhelming. His "little brother", the one who knew no anger, no wrath. The other side of his coin. He wished desperately that he could do something for him; donate his blood, give him an organ, even let Mike have his body...anything just to have him alive again. But he's not dead. He had to keep reminding himself of that fact.
"Guys?", all eyes turned to Robyn as she spoke. "Do you think it would help if I talked to him?"
"You?", Raph asked confused, "What good's that gonna do?"
"Raph...!", Leo scolded.
"Well", Robyn continued, "We did seem to form a special friendship over the last few days."
"Sure, Robyn.", Leo forced a smile. "Give it a try. Just remember, don't push him."
____________________________________________________________________________
"Wow, no way!", Don gasped, wide-eyed at his new discovery. "It's unbeleivable! I was right all along!"
He stared into the microscope again, his heart pounding as he studied the molecules. He stared at the DNA strands, his mind racing.
"They match up! Holy sh--"
"What matches up?"
Don whirled around to find Robyn standing before him "Robyn? H...how are you feeling?"
"I'm better, thanks.", she smiled. "Mind if I sit down for a second?"
Don really did want to get back to his discovery, but he didn't want to be rude. "Sure."
She took a seat next to him and studied his face for a moment before speaking. "So...what are you working on?"
"Well...", he said hesitantly, "I was trying to find out what happened to Michaelangelo, but I think I may have it figured out now."
"Hmmm...so, do you think he'll be okay?"
"Uhhh...I don't know yet.", he lowered his head and stared at the floor as thoughts of the fortress flashed through his mind. He saw himself running through the ancient halls, Robyn in his arms, his heart racing, telling himself he had to go back...
"Don?", Robyn's voice broke his chain of thought and brought him back to reality. And as if she were reading his thoughts, she said, "You saved my life that night."
He stared at her for a moment, as if he couldn't comprehend her words. "But, I didn't save Mikey..."
"Don, listen to me, it wasn't your fault. No one blames you. You weren't the one who poisoned him, you obeyed Leo's orders, you did what you had to do." She scooted her chair closer to his and took his good hand in hers. "Everyone's worried about you. We miss you."
She could feel the tension building as they sat there in silence. "It wasn't poison.", Don said suddenly.
"Huh?"
"That stuff the Foot gave Mikey. It wasn't poison...it was mutagen."
"Mutagen?", Robyn was confused.
"Yeah, I'll explain in a while, but first I have to figure all of this out.", he turned his chair around and began to fiddle with the microscope again.
"Okay.", Robyn said softly as she rose to her feet to leave. "But I hope you'll figure it out soon so you can come eat breakfast with us."
Don mumbled something inaudible, keeping his back toward her as she left the room.
____________________________________________________________________________
It was time to eat. Casey lifted Shadow into the chair and went to help Megan with Raphael.
"Ouch! Be careful.", Raph moaned as Megan wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"Sorry.", she said softly, a slight smile playing at the edges of her lips.
Casey joined them and took Raph's other arm as Robyn and April assisted Leo. A slight warm feeling filled April as they all took their places at the table. They were having breakfast together for the first time since the horrible events had taken place. They were almost like a family again. Almost...
"Where's Splinter?", Raphael asked Casey as he lowered himself carefully into the chair.
"I think he's gonna stay up in the attic with Mike for a while. He'll probably be down later."
"What about Don?", April asked her sister.
"I don't think he's coming.", she said solemnly.
_____________________________________________________________________________
He dipped the washcloth into the water and rung it out before running it gently over Mike's cheeks and forehead. The fever remained, refusing to go away despite Splinter's best efforts. His ice pack was now melted, for all the good it did, and he realized he was just going to have to wait it out.
Some of the color had begun to return to Mike's skin, changing from a sickly pea green to a healthier olive. He knew the worst was far from over, however, the way Donatello stayed cooped up in the basement working his experiments, searching desperately for an answer to all of this.
Splinter was exhausted. He had stayed up most of the night, keeping vigil over his son; checking his vital signs, watching him breath, attempting to lower his fever. He closed his eyes and laid his head back on the chair. Just resting my eyes. Moments later, he drifted off to sleep.
When he woke up, he realized that he'd been asleep for hours. He turned his attention hastily toward the bed to find it empty! In a panick, he jumped up and ran down the stairs, his heart beating wildly as he searched for Michaelangelo.
But when he got downstairs, his worry changed to delight. His sons; all of them, were sitting around the table, laughing and talking as if nothing had ever happened. April, Casey, Megan and Robyn were also there. Their wounds had been healed, and their spirits were high. He glanced down at his leg, realizing for the first time that it too was healed. The delight spread through him as he stared at them all.
"Master Splinter?", Mike stared at him, a curious look on his face. "Master?"
Something jarred him awake, and he was startled to discover that he was still in the attic. It had all been a dream.
"Master Splinter?", someone was talking to him. It sounded like...but it couldn't be...
"Master...are you okay?"
He stared down at Michaelangelo with tears in his eyes, the sorrow replaced by overwhelming relief and joy. Thank God, he's awake! "Yes, Michaelangelo. Everything will be okay now."
____________________________________________________________________________
"Hey, will one of you chumps shut up and pass me the butter?", Raph said jokingly as Leo and Casey continued to rattle on about why hockey sticks were or were not an effective weapon. Robyn grabbed the butter dish and slid it across the table.
"Thanks.", he said, catching the dish. "Atleast someone can shut up long enough to hear someone else speak."
"Hey", Leo joked, "We're having a very important discussion over here!"
"Oh yeah? And just what would you know about using a hockey stick?"
"Well..." Leo thought for a moment. "I've watched hockey games on tv."
Raphael rolled his eyes and glanced toward Megan who was grinning at him evily. Sensing her thoughts, Raph scooped up a big chunk of butter on the knife and hurled it in Leo's direction. They all began to laugh as peices of yellow grease slid down Leo's face and plastron.
"Raph!"
"Ha ha ha! He got you good.", Casey chuckled, pointing at him. "You look like a peice of moldy toast."
"Oh yeah?", Leo grabbed the syrup bottle and aimed it at Casey.
"Uhh...", Casey held up his hands in defense. "Did I say moldy toast? I meant buttered broccoli..."
Leo squeezed the container, shooting syrup all over Casey, while getting some on April and Megan in the process.
"Ewww! Leo!", April jumped up and grabbed a towel from off the counter as Shadow giggled hysterically.
"Hey.", suddenly a voice drew all of their attentions and they turned to find Donatello standing before them. "Save some syrup for me!", he smiled.
"Don!", April grinned. "I knew you’d have to eat some time."
"Well, I am kinda hungry, but that’s not really what I came here for."
The others stared at Don curiously as he wheeled a small cart toward the table. "I’m here to explain something."
_____________________________________________________________________________
"How do you feel?", Splinter brought his face close to Mike's, examining him carefully.
"I’m kinda...hungry.", Michaelangelo coughed.
Splinter jumped up from his chair. "Then I will get you something to eat."
He grabbed his crutches and flew down the stairs as fast as his good leg would carry him. He was so excited, he almost lost his balance a couple of times, nearly tumbling down the rest of the way. He could hear excited laughing coming from the kitchen, causing his anxiety to grow. Wait until I tell them about Michaelangelo.
_____________________________________________________________________________
"Master Splinter!?", Leo forced himself up from the chair to stand on shaky legs. The concern in his face grew as his sensei rushed toward them.
"Master Splinter, what is it?", Raph too, forced his body up, gripping the table for support. "Is it Mikey?"
Splinter took a brief moment to catch his breath as April led him to a chair. All eyes were on the rat as he spoke. "Yes."
"Oh my god!", Raph moved away from the table quickly, forcing his sore legs to move his body forward as he hurried to the stairs. "Mikey! Oh god, he can’t be..."
"Raphael.", Splinter’s tone was abrupt, yet comforting, causing Raph to stop in his tracks and whirl around to face him. "Sit."
"But Master, you said--"
"Sit down Raphael and I will explain. I have something very important to tell you all, but first it would appear that Donatello has something he would like to say."
Glancing up at the stairs, Raphael reluctantly made his way back to the chair and sat down. Megan laid her hand on his reassuringly as Splinter continued to speak. Raph didn’t say anything, but she could tell by the way he curled his fingers around hers that he was thankful for the gesture.
"It is good to see you out and about Donatello.", Splinter began. Don said nothing, but nodded in respect for his sensei as the guilt continued to rush through him. Is Mikey...dead? He gulped down the lump in his throat as April handed the rat a plate.
"You hungry, Splinter?"
He accepted the plate gracefully. "No, but I will take this anyway." The others frowned at him in wonder for a moment as Donatello spoke.
"Master, I...", taking a deep breath, he forced the fear and uncertainty from his mind. It was time to tell them all what he knew. "I came here to explain what happened...to Mike." All eyes were on him now, their fear, uncertainty and curiosity penetrating deep into his burdened soul.
"Here." He picked up a vial of red liquid and handed it to Splinter. "This is Michaelangelo’s blood. I took this sample two days ago."
Splinter held the vial up for all to see. "Oh my god!" Robyn gasped. "What did you do, boil it?"
Don shook his head. "No. It’s bubbling like that because it’s under the influence of a foreign substance."
Robyn gasped. "The mutagen you told me about?"
Leo looked at Don with wonder. "So Karai was telling the truth. That really is mutagen. Mutagen from...from my blood."
The others stared from Don to Leo for a moment as they tried to peice everything together. What mutagen? What were they talking about?
"Yes.", Don lowered his eyes for a moment, unmoving.
"So what does this mean?", Raphael asked. "The mutagen boiled his blood or something?"
"Sort of..."
"Sort of? What do you mean, sort of!?", Raphael was getting frustrated. "Dammit! Get to the point Donnie!"
Leo flashed him an angered glance, but said nothing as Donatello continued his explanation.
"Let me start by explaining a few things first." Don cleared his throat and ignored his brother’s glare. "As you all know, the five of us have had mutagen flowing through our veins for the past twenty two years. This mutagen makes us who we are, has enabled us to do things we would have never dreamed of before our transformation. This mutagen...", he allowed his eyes to meet each of theirs in turn. "makes us special."
Megan smiled at the comment and glanced over at Raphael. It was true. She was sitting here among walking, talking, ninja fighting animals. And the most peculiar part is that she had feelings for one of them. The thought made her chuckle to herself, yet at the same time, she realized how awesome it was to be sitting here among these "people", special in the world because they alone were unique, to care about a creature so complex and so different, yet so much like her.
"This is a sample of Mikes’ blood. The way it looks when it’s normal." He held up a new vial and handed it to Raphael. He took the container carefully, holding it close to his eyes.
"Looks fine to me.", he said.
"Just as this sample indicates, the mutagen is not visible in our blood. It never has been. You can’t see it when we bleed." The others agreed as they passed the vial from one to the other, examining its contents. "But...", he continued nervously "This is a new type of mutagen."
"New type? What are you sayin’ man?", Raph grew impatient. "What did this crap do to him?"
"Patience Raphael.", Splinter said gently. "Allow him to finish."
"Well, apparently back when Leo was captured by Karai and the Foot, before we made that treaty of peace, she secretly obtained a sample of his blood." He looked to Leo, who nodded guiltily. "She planned to use the sample to copy the mutagen’s DNA. Their plan was to devise their own, the same mutagen that turned us into what we are today."
"Wait a minute!", Casey interrupted. "So you mean this wacked out babe wanted to turn the Foot into Super Feet or something?"
"No one really knows what her intent was, except that she planned to control people with it. She had dreams of overpowering the world.
"Sounds like a psycho bitch from hell if you ask me.", Casey shook his head.
"Whatever her true motives were, they failed. The mutagen they created was slightly...imperfect."
"Imperfect?", Leo questioned. The word sent shivers up his spine. "You mean my DNA is imperfect?"
"No.", Don smiled slightly. "I mean Karai and the Foot messed up. They either didn’t have the proper resources or they didn’t really know what they were doing, but either way, I looked at both samples under the microscope today, and compared them to my own, and theirs is missing some vital DNA strands. It isn’t quite right."
"So what does all of this mean, Donatello?", Splinter asked.
"From the information I’ve gathered from what Karai told Leonardo, and my experimentation, I have come to the conclusion that this substance attacks its host’s organs from the inside. It doesn’t mutate the whole body, only the parts it first comes in contact with, which in Michaelangelo’s case were his bloodstream and vital organs.", he took the active vial from Splinter and set it back down nervously as he felt their eyes penetrating him. "This mutagen is unstable. It causes normal bodily functions to fail or go into overdrive. Mike had a hard time seeing, he was in excrutiating pain, he...", his voice trailed off as the grief crept up on him again. He turned his back toward the others, trying to get a handle on his emotions. He didn’t want them to see him cry. But that’s over now. His pain is over...
The others glanced at one another in concern. Donatello had been taking this whole thing very hard. But he knew answers they still didn’t. They needed him to continue.
"Donatello.", Splinter said softly.
"I don’t understand it master.", he sobbed lightly, "He should be awake. He should be okay!"
Splinter opened his mouth to speak, to tell them that Michaelangelo indeed was alive and awake, but Raphael interrupted him.
"Why are you saying that? What haven’t you told us?"
Don wiped at his tears and turned around slowly to face them. "Because.", he said, pointing at the inactive vial in April’s hands. "I took that sample this morning."
The others stared at the vial in amazement for a moment. "But I still don’t get it.", Raph rubbed his head in confusion. What does this mean? That his blood’s back to normal?"
Donatello nodded. "It seems his body built up an immunity to the mutagen."
"An immunity to mutagen?", Splinter said in awe, "But how is that possible?"
"It’s kinda like the chicken pocs. Once you have them, your body builds up an immunity to it, and you don’t get it again. Mike already had almost the exact same substance in his body for the past twenty two years, so his body began to fight back."
"Wow! So...he should be okay.", Megan said anxiously.
"Well, in theory, yes.", Don said softly, "But in reality..."
"In reality it is time for breakfast.", Splinter picked up the plate and asked Casey to get his crutches for him. They all stared at him dumfounded for a moment.
"Aren’t you gonna eat that down here, master?", Raph asked.
"Ah, this is not for me, Raphael. I must get upstairs. I have a hungry turtle to feed."
"Master?", Leo jumped up and rushed to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Does this mean what I think it means?"
Splinter’s smile lit up his face, telling Leo the answer before he even said it. "Yes Leonardo, Michaelangelo is awake."
The nine of them ran up the stairs quickly as the adrenaline rushed through them. Michaelangelo’s awake! He’s going to be okay!
"Master, why didn’t you tell us? You just let us sit there thinking he was dying, and--"
"I was allowing Donatello to speak.", the rat grinned, "And besides, it was more fun that way."
Raphael stared wide-eyed at the rat. Damn, he’s getting cocky in his old age!
Don was the first through the door, followed by Leo, Shadow, April, Megan, Casey, Robyn, Raph and Splinter. Michaelangelo sat on the bed wide-eyed as the group poured into the room.
"Mikey!", Don wrapped his arms around his brother, gripping him tightly for a moment as the tears escaped and ran down his cheeks.
Mike, slightly confused, returned the hug. "Uhh...Donnie? I can’t breath."
Don let go and smiled at his brother. "Sorry."
"Uncle Mikey!", Shadow jumped up on his bed and wrapped her tiny arms around him. "Are you all better now?"
Mike smiled and stroked her hair, a warm feeling spreading through him. Shadow was okay. He vowed to himself never to let something like this happen to her again. "I’ll be fine."
"We brought you some breakfast.", April smiled, handing him the plate."
Mike took a deep breath as the smell of the food wafted through the air. "Mmmm! Pancakes!"
"Yeah.", Raph said. "He’s got his appetite back. He’s gonna be just fine. Welcome back, bro.", he grabbed his hand and held it for a moment.
Casey glanced at Splinter, a smile spread across his face as they exchanged looks of understanding. Things were going to be okay. They were a family again.