Leonardo is in complete and total darkness. He is standing in front of the door. He slowly raises his hand to rest on the cold surface and he pushes back against it, watching as great beams of pale pink light stream out from inside. He cocks his head, the voice inside urging him to venture further, and he obeys, dipping his hand into the rippling mass of neon pink light.

"Wake him up..." A voice orders in the distance, breaking out of the darkness like static.

A light overhead clicks on, humming lowly as it spills a blinding beam of rays over a prone figure sitting in the middle of the room, his round blue hues not giving so much as a twitch at the sudden onslaught of brightness. The small frame of the young mutant turtle is sitting straight in a metal chair, his feet dangling several inches above the stark white floor. His head is bowed forward, his chin slouching against his yellow-platted chest. His finger gives a twitch, then a tremor runs up his arm as it abruptly jerks from its spot on the chair. The tremor spreads throughout his small, prone form, until all of his limbs at vibrating with movement, when his muscles abruptly stiffen, pulling taught as he goes completely still again. The turtle slowly raises his head, the muscles in his face remain eerily lax, not giving even the slightest twitch as his eyes flash open, but his pupils remain needle-thin dots, not focusing on anything.

There's a long silence, then a voice. "Can you hear me, MT-1987?"

"Yes," Leonardo answers mechanically, his blue hues staring straight ahead at the wall and unblinking.

"Can you tell me where you are?"

The young mutant turtle replies in a quiet voice, "I am dreaming...I have been...for the longest time. And I cannot wake up."

"Yes. You are in a dream. None of this is real," The voice responds in affirmation, "But you can wake up. Would you like to?"

"I've been asleep for the longest time," Leonardo's eyes widen in the faintest fashion, showing the first signs of lucidness and his voice goes slightly higher, "I want to wake up."

The voice automatically replies, "You have another mission. You must not fail. It is time to wake up," There is a brief moment of silence and then the voice, hardly more than a whisper, continues, "Listen to my voice, let it wash over you. Do not fight it. Do not fight me. You're underwater...deep, deep underwater..."

The young mutant turtle is floating in the miasma, black and still and deep, when he feels a cold stillness settle deep in his bones. He knows this feeling. His mind is screaming.

"I'm underwater...deep, deep underwater," Leonardo repeats, his voice devoid of all emotion. His eyes go slack once more, the pupils shrinking into needle points.

"...You're drowning..."

The young mutant turtle gulps thickly, his voice giving the slightest tremor as he murmurs in response,"...I'm drowning."

"Do you want to come back up?"

"...Yes."

"Then take a deep breath and... redux."

Leonardo takes in a long, rattling breath and darkness pushes in from the corners of his vision. His hearing explodes into high-pitched ringing. The next time he blinks open his eyes the world around the mutant turtle is a pencil drawing, made up of nothing but thin lines and billowy shadows of charcoal hue. The room wasn't visible to him, beyond a shadowy blur which was tinged with a stark whiteness; a landscape of abstract shapes and swathes of non-color. He could see a fuzzy shape, a dark blur that hovered off in the side of his vision. He began to blink rapidly trying to readjust his vision. The mutant turtle could feel his nostrils shifting curiously, and he lets out a low, throaty exhale at the stank of harsh chemicals and beneath it all, the smell of the sick and the dying. The mutant turtle swiveled his eyes upward and flinched at the sudden brightness from the ginormous, overbearing light fixture that hung overhead. Clenching his eyes shut tightly, the mutant tried to get used to the harsh light as he gradually peaked open his lids.

Off to either side of the light fixture, two robotic arms are extended over Leonardo, the thin metal beams that made up their spindly limbs stained with dark red blood. One whirred softly, slowly lowering over the mutant turtle as his eyes went round and he could only release a sharp breath as the groping metal limbs descended upon his prone form. A strange sensation flowed through the mutant turtle, and his eyes flickered up to see the two robotic claws clutching what appeared to be a bloodied chunk of meat that has several minuscule, jagged pieces of metal protruding from it. The spindly metal limbs gingerly lowered the strange, pulsating chunk of meat, which made a squelching sound as it was plopped in a large metal tray on the side of the table. Thick, red gouts of blood begin to pool onto the bottom of the tray, dribbling down from the surface of the organ. It is then the young mutant turtle realizes he is staring at a very real lung that was still stubbornly fluttering with weak, spastic movements like a deflating balloon.

Leonardo's eyes slowly swivel forward, landing on his chest and he emits a soft barely audible gasp that is muffled beneath his stiff, unmoving lips, for the young mutant turtle's plastron is split wide open. He is being dissected. The realization made his blood run cold, but he cannot even part his lips to scream, and his eyes widen almost imperceptibly, a single tear trickling down the side of his blood-stained cheek. He finds an impossible strength to slowly move his ravaged body and he turns his head to the side. His lean, muscular limbs have been cleanly sliced open, the folds of the leaf green skin pinned back with small metal bonds that pierce his skin, but he can feel his disconnected muscles work despite the damage. The table is slick with the thick, coursing surges of claret so when he, at last, manages to twist his head off to the side, his cheek lays in a pool of the cooling fluid. One eye is closed, damp with blood. His other eye is round and open, and it lands on the figure laying on another metal table to the opposite of him. Another mutant turtle.

'No,' he thought desperately, pleading internally as his breathing began to come out in harsh, gasping rasps as he tried to move further, 'Please, please, no. They promised. They promised me they wouldn't hurt them. My brothers...Mikey, Don, Raph... Which one is it?! Which one did they...?'

The other mutant turtle laying on the table is dead, Leonardo can tell that much. The turtle was laid on the back of his shell, not three feet away from him, in a similar pool of blood that was almost dried. His green skin is drained of nearly all color, a luminescent milky white with the faintest hint of green and his lips are dry and cracked, creased into a slightly parted, bloodless line. His blue eyes were wide open, but the irises held a sudden sadness. The simple white gown that is tied around his neck is crusted with blood. His eyes skimmed over the corpse and relief visibly washes over him at the realization that this wasn't one of his brothers, but as his eyes continued to scrutinize the face of the turtle — Stiff and unmoving as his stomach heaved, his vomit splashed over the side of the table, and his nostrils filled with the thick, overpowering smell of bile and that same faint tinge of disinfectant. For when he stares at the torn and bloodied body of the mutant turtle at his side, he is staring helplessly at his own pale and lifeless face. He screams —

Leonardo woke up in a cold sweat, loudly gasping for breath as his hands frantically scrabbled up and down his platted chest, clawing at the ridges. There were two sheets on him, but he was freezing. Deliberately slowing his harsh, frantic breaths, the blue cladded turtle pushed himself up on his elbows in his bed. His blue hues darted down to his plastron and he feels bile rise in his throat, which he quickly gulps down with a muffled groan as he slaps his hand over his mouth, fully sitting upright. He flinched, clenching his eyes shut, as a foreign pain throbbed in his skull, like a toothache in his brain, and his free fingers clutched at the side of his head. Teeth grit tightly, he let out a muffled moan of relief as the pain slowly began to subside, and he dared to blink open his eyes.

Leonardo first notes that he is still wearing almost all of his gear, except for a missing knee pad, and his wrappings are crumpled and misaligned on his legs and arms. His signature blue mask hangs loosely from his neck, the long tails grazing down the back of his shell. They feel damp against his neck. The blue cladded turtle had been sloppy while changing back into his normal attire after his late-night excursion to the surface, and abruptly, like getting struck by a train, all of last night's events slammed into him. The mutant turtle had all but been initiated last night as the newest addition to the rapidly growing collection of freaks in the Foot Clan. Leonardo was in the Foot Clan, a willing servant of the Shredder, and it was hardly more than a blip on his radar. But the more he thought of just what he had gotten himself into, the more an all too familiar guilt for what he had done began to slowly, eat him alive. He was the eldest, the leader of the team and he felt he had betrayed his brothers and master. The mutant turtle felt he should have done something besides agree to a half-witted plan that involved him bearing the symbol of the enemy. When had his humble life as a mutant turtle trained in ninjitsu, that happened to be a teenager turn into some kind of fruit-bat fever dream?

'But what happened after—after I went to Foot Headquarters,' The thought bothered him. He did not remember coming home.

Leonardo turned to his nightstand but found the alarm clock had been knocked over. Leaning over the bed with a groan to lift it, he was shocked to find that it was nearly noon. Shaking his head, the mutant turtle quickly got out of bed and sped out of his room, immediately darting into the bathroom. The blue cladded turtle hurriedly shoves the door shut behind himself, twisting the small lock on the knob into place, before he goes to the stand in front of the sink. Stark white bandages are tightly raveled around the mutant turtle's head, his attempt at keeping up the pretense he had a serious injury from his one-sided fight with the crumbling structure of a chimney. His greatly exaggerated injury had been enough to excuse his absence from the fray going down in the laboratory, which in turn made his late-night solo trip to the surface last night go unnoticed. The blue cladded turtle's head began to throb again. Squeezing his eyes shut, he willed the pain to go away. The rest of the world became detached, all he could concentrate on was the pain rooted deep in his head. A sharp, wrenching pain deep in his skull that is joined by flashing colorful spots in his dark vision makes him cry out, and the fingers clutching his forehead begin digging small crescent moon indentions into the leaf green flesh there.

"Don't panic," Leonardo whispered. His eyes kept flickering up to the image of himself in the mirror, and then back again. Then his eyes go round as his vision is overtaken by a series of jumbled images.

"...you're deep, deep underwater..."

The screaming had stopped so very suddenly. One minute the blue-haired man with all of the piercings was right in Leonardo's face, more alive than he had ever been, and the next he was meat on the concrete flooring of the warehouse. The katana blade was sharp enough to cut flesh as if it were tissue paper. At once a fountain of red came from the wound, the ebb and flow in time with a terrified heart, killing the man all the faster as he gurgled weakly on the floor. His hands scrabbled over the deep tear in his throat, but no matter the pressure he applied the blood had still gushed between his tattooed fingers and oozed under his hands. The blue cladded turtle cocked his head to the side, blinking once as a frown tugged at his thin lips.

"Gah," The blue cladded turtle grunts out gutturally, "W-what's h...happening t-to m-m-me...?"

As the brief vision fades away, the pain subsides with it. Leonardo takes a deep, choking breath and stumbles forward, his hands flying forward to clumsily grasp the sides of the sink to steady himself. He ducked his head forward, resting his forehead on the cool glass of the mirror. A thin sheen of mist sullied the mirror as he brought his head upright and a frown twitched across his lips. He brought a single finger up and pressed it against the glass, smudging two dots that lined up with his eyes in the reflection and a single, long curve that matched his own deep-seated frown. Gulping thickly, he ducked his head down, settling it against the mirror again as he brought one fist to his side and slammed it into the side of the sink.

"It's okay," Leonardo said. He did that a lot, muttering to himself as though saying the words out loud would actually make it true, "It's going to be fine."

"Leo," Raphael barks out, banging a fist on the door, making the latter jolt, "You shavin' your legs in there or somethin'? Move your shell!"

The blue cladded turtle frantically turns on the faucet and splashes cold water over his face, before wrenching open the door and comes snout to snout with his red cladded brother. He takes a step back, stuttering out with pink laced cheeks as his eyes dart away, "What do you want?"

"Don found something," The red cladded turtle says, shoving his way past him, ignoring the latter's pained burst of air, and into the bathroom, "Something that's actually pretty helpful. So it looks we've caught a break for once. He's been tracking those micro-quakes or whatever and the egghead managed to find an epicenter."

Leonardo inquires of the latter as he scoops his mask up from around his neck, fitting the eyeholes over his blue hues, "To where?"

"Here. Well, in our area, and that ain't good news for us. Oh, yeah," Raphael informs his older brother as he shoves his brother's missing knee pad into his fumbling hands," Found this on the floor by the way. And by found it, I mean I tripped on it -"

Leonardo cuts the latter off, demanding contemptibly, "Yeah, I would think not! Why didn't you guys wake me up earlier," He secures his knee pad over his newly raveled wrappings and then he straightens to hurriedly fasten the series of straps that held his katana sheathes in place, "I could've used a bit of an earlier notice!"

The red cladded turtle's green eyes seem to be nearly consumed with the black inkiness of his pupils in the dim light of the bathroom and he utters in a low, uncharacteristically calm voice, "Look, we didn't wanna bother you. You've got that nice-sized goose egg on your head, so we figured you needed to get some shut-eye," He continues after a short beat, leaning against the sink with his armed crossed over his yellow platted chest. His dark emerald eyes seemingly darting everywhere in the room, rather than settle on his brother, "And I hate to tell ya, Leo, but you haven't exactly been up to snuff lately, okay?"

The blue cladded turtle shifts in place uncomfortably, daring to question his younger brother further, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Raphael cocked an eyebrow at the latter, finally bringing his eyes up to meet his older brother's. He scoffs out in response, "You're kiddin' me, right? Jeez, Leo, just take a look in the damn mirror and you'll see exactly what I mean - Look at yourself! You're a damn skeleton... you don't eat, you barely sleep and you spend most of your free time mutterin' to yourself or fuckin' training. Something ain't right with you. Something in there," He stares at his older brother incredulously and juts a finger against the latter's forehead in emphasis, pressing it down hard as he goes on to growl in annoyance, "Now, Don and Mikey are already headin' off to do their own thing, so that means I'm stuck with you watchin' my six, which sure as hell ain't reassuring in the slightest. But we've gotta get a move on!"

Leonardo's forehead creased as he rose one hand to smack his brother's away from him, and his narrowed eyes scrutinized the latter. "Don't you do that, Raph. Don't you dare treat me like...like I've flown over the damn cuckoo's nest when this is me trying to keep up that stupid 'fearless leader' act," A rough bark of laughter rips from his throat before he can stop it, "Let's just say that if I was being completely honest with you..."

"...you'll forget all of this... I can take it away —"

A dark grin passed across his thin lips as Leonardo heard the thunder fall of a dozen other footsteps. He swayed as if drunk, inclining his head towards the gaggle of men as he whipped out his second katana, flashing them his teeth that are aligned in a manic grin.

Leonardo's head gave a lengthy throb as the images flashed violently in his vision. He gulps, trying to compress the tight knot in his throat and he barely manages to grit out,"...you guys really would have me in a looney bin - straight jacket and all!"

"Oh, so you've got more of the crazy than we initially thought, huh? That's comfortin', Fearless. Real comfortin' when we gotta move and I need back-up and that means you!"

"Raphael," Leonardo growls, irritated. He runs a hand over his eyes, catching the bridge of his snout with his fingers as he exhales noisily. He tries to speak his next words with authority, but his voice wavers with a tremble of weariness and he knows his blue hues betray him as well, "You know what - no. We're not doing this right now. I can't do this right now. But keep this in mind; I'm the leader, not you. You don't get to try and bench me, not unless I am physically or mentally incapable of leading this team -"

"And are you?"

"...am I what?"

Raphael retorts coldly as he cocks his head at the latter, his emerald eyes taking on a vicious glint, "Are you in control? Or are you finally gonna lose your stinkin' marbles and leave us to pick 'em up?"

Leonardo does not verbally acknowledge the cruel comment but his eyes bore holes into the wall as the hands at his sides ball into tight, pale-knuckles fists. Anger and hurt almost blurred his sight but he tightened his jaw and lifted his head to glare at his younger brother. "Come on. I thought we were in a hurry," He utters in a stiff voice, shouldering past him with his katanas clinking softly in their sheathes against his shell as he begins to make his way through the pit of the lair, "You can fill me in on the rest of the details on the way. I'm guessing you'll be driving?"

"Ain't no drivin' to be done. I told you it was close. And I meant damn close," The red cladded turtle says, trailing after his brother, "Which means we'll just have to hoof it. Do you wanna hold hands so you don't try and wander off? Don't want you gettin' lost or takin' a tumble down a drainage pipe, eh?"

Leonardo hisses, his brows snapping together in unison with a faint curl of his lip, "Oh, it's nice to know you trust me sooo much..."

Raphael throws his hands up in a defensive gesture as he jogs forward to match the latter's gait, then he begins to walk backward with his hands folded behind his neck, a shit-eating grin pulled tight across his lips. Leonardo gives a lengthy roll of his eyes, not sparing a glance towards the open door that led into his purple cladded brother's laboratory. The chattering of his other three brothers, including his red cladded brother, and their two human allies echoed from within. The blue cladded turtle pushes past the turnstiles and follows what he assumes to be his red cladded brother into the depths of the winding sewer tunnels.

———

April hands over the small device to the purple cladded turtle, going on to say, "But yeah, then you press this button. And portable, er, portal."

"Wow. The Kraang are always one step ahead. I wonder if this is what's behind the earthquakes," Donatello hums in thought, cupping his hands around the device as he brings it to his work table for further inspection.

Raphael's green gaze assesses the room and he states gruffly, "Guess we'll need to recap everything for Leo later. Where is our Fearless Leader anyway? Don't tell me he's still in the land of nod!"

"I tried to like give him a good shake to get him awake, dude, but he wouldn't budge. Sensei said to just let him sleep in for a while since we didn't really have any leads," Michelangelo informs the group.

Donatello clicks the button and stumbles back, using a cupped hand to shield his eyes as the portal springs to life, spilling bright pink light into the sun laboratory. He blows air out through his lips as he cautiously walks the length of the portal, his reddish-brown eyes comically round as they goggle at the shimmering form of the triangular space.

The purple cladded turtle utters dubiously, "We're gonna have to test it."

April frowns, her eyes squinting under the harsh bright light, and she abruptly thinks, 'Why didn't I see it before? That light... the door...'

Neon pink light ebbs out from the space beyond the door, illuminating the blue cladded turtle's features as his eyes are blown wide.

"Sweet. 'Bout time we just did something instead of trying to map out every single damn step," Raphael declares as a wicked, toothy grin stretches across his lips.

Michelangelo asks curiously, leaning forward on the tips of his toes to glance at the portal from above his older brother's shoulder, "So, who's going first? Should we like draw straws?"

Casey exclaims cockily as he points a finger to himself, "If you turtles are gonna be slow about it, I'm going!"

"Hey! Watch it with the turtle jokes," The purple cladded turtle snaps defensively.

"You're crazy! Nuts! Out of your gourd," The red cladded turtle barks out angrily before his brows scrunch together and his lips curl into a snarl as he shouts, "I'm going first!"

The orange cladded turtle abruptly calls out to his friends and brothers, reminding them, "Dudes, wait! What about Leo?"

Donatello gives a conceding tilt of his head, stating aloud, "You know, guys... I hate to say it - I mean, I really, really hate to say it. In fact, I don't know if I can say it without throwing the world out of rotation, but, maybe, Mikey is right," The purple cladded turtle admits, the bright pink glow pouring over his worried expression of tight lines in his skin and narrowed reddish-brown eyes, "I've checked over his head—twice—and he barely has a lump. It's certainly not an injury to be laid up in bed for."

"So, what? Do you think Leo is playing possum just so we'll leave him alone? Dude, this whole thing with him just keeps getting weirder and weirder," Michelangelo cuts in.

Raphael hesitates for a second, some emotion resembling concern flickering across his features before he gives a rough toss of his head. "Okay, go get him up then. Tell him nap time is over and be quick about it!"

Donatello slowly makes his way across the lab to stand beside his older brother with his arms crossed over his chest, silently watching the youngest of the mutant turtles, until he is out of their very sensitive earshot. "If I had hair all of it would have fallen out by now. I don't know how much longer we can be expected to act like nothing is happening - like he isn't...isn't starting to lose himself..." He hunches his back and turns it to the humans, turning to his brother and uttering, "I can't stand it!"

"Yeah, well, neither can I, Don. But there ain't nothin' either of us can do about it," The red cladded turtle hisses back, "Even if Master Splinter didn't keep insistin' that we leave him to figure out whatever it is he's going through on his own, we both know that he wouldn't tell us squat! Hell, the dude has always had some kind of wacked out inferiority complex - He ain't gonna talk to us, or anyone for that matter because knowin' him he'll see it as some form of failure, for his own screwed up reasons."

Donatello's brows creased as his face tensed and he let out a barely audible grunt of acknowledgment. Leonardo had always been seen as a closed book, tight-lipped, a mask of brooding care, by their makeshift family for as long as he could remember.

"You know him better than any of us, Raph, and I would say even more than Master Splinter. If any of us could get him to open up, it would be -"

Michelangelo suddenly comes bursting back into the room, shouting, "Guys, he's not in the lair! And he left his t-phone in the bathroom!"

"Sounds like he's tryin' to ditch us - Oh, he is tryin' to get his tailed kicked, ain't he," The red cladded turtle declares as his right eye begins to twitch with annoyance and his teeth grit tightly into a toothy grimace, "Alright, hold off on the portal hoppin' for now. I've gotta go find our esteemed leader so I can wring his stinkin' neck until he is the blue turtle!"

"Raph, easy, bro," The orange cladded turtle urges in a soft voice, "Heel."

Raphael lets out a long, slow hiss from his nostrils that resembles a tea kettle, then he grits out, "Alright, Don - Any other way to find him?"

The purple cladded turtle asks in a dry tone, "What? Do you think I have him microchipped or something - ?"

"Dudes, seriously? We ain't got time for this, yo. We've got some ugly alien freaks to take care of! Remember," Casey groans aloud and he curls his hand around the human girl's bicep, then he begins to tug her in the direction of the portal, "C'mon, Red!"

April is snapped from her troubling thoughts as she begins to move from her spot unwillingly, and she exclaims, startled, "Hold on, Casey! Maybe we should listen. Leo is usually the one to - Ahhhh!"

Donatello immediately darts towards the flickering triangular form of the portal, yelling frantically as he waves his arms, "April, wait for me!"

"Damn it! It's startin' to close - C'mon, Mikey! We can't let them go in there without any decent fighters to back them up," Raphael barks out as he takes off in a sprint towards the blinking image of the portal, "Ain't no tellin' what's gonna be in there!"

Michelangelo puffs out his cheeks as he grumbles, "Even when I'm right I get the deaf ear. But he's right... can't let them go alone, I guess," Then his baby blue hues flicker towards the doorway leading out of the lab and he whispers to himself, "We'll find him later. He'll be fine. Shell, what am I worried for? Leo is the one turtle we almost never have to worry about..." He takes a deep inhale, slapping his hands together, and dives through the center of the portal.

"Okay. So maybe we should have hung back for a little while," Casey vocalizes as his eyes revolve around the wide-open space.

Stormy grey clouds fill the plane with the same luminous pink triangular portals lined up in two single-file rows on their left and right sides. Thunder rumbles in the distance and the portals warble in unison.

"Oh, and is that your expert opinion," Donatello demands incredulously," We just willingly threw ourselves into what is the equivalent of the Grand Central Station of dimensional travel without a ticket to ride-"

"Or depart - The door just closed," April shrieks in alarm.

Michelangelo cuts in as he slings an arm around his purple cladded brother's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile," Don't worry, dude. We'll just poke our heads through each portal until we see our sewer, sweet sewer!"

"Oh, oof! My bad, Mikey. You're right," The purple cladded turtle utters, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he shoots his brother a tight-lipped grin in return," All we have to do is search for the doorway back to our dimension amongst an infinite amount of other doorways, all of which almost certainly lead to simultaneously horrifying and humorous deaths-"

Casey abruptly jumps in as he motions a gloved hand towards one of the many portals in the seemingly endless space," Uh, guys - Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

April's eyes dart towards the portal the human boy is pointing at and her brows nearly shoot off of her forehead. "What in the -"

The three turtles and their two human friends huddle close together and peer curiously into the portal watching the scene unfold. Four stocky but muscular mutant turtles are sitting around in a dusty old shop filled to the brim with miscellaneous junk. A pizza box is situated on the counter, the top precariously balanced on the ancient cash register with a slender red-haired woman reaching into the box and gingerly peeling the melted cheese stuck to the cardboard as she grabbed a slice. She scowls and smacks at the fingerless gloved hand belonging to a gargantuan man with shoulder-length raven hair who curls his meaty hand into a fist, holding it to his chest as he glares at the much smaller human. The four turtles throw their heads back laugh in unison.

The red cladded turtle jabs his elbow into the blue cladded turtle's shoulder blade, making him fumble for his small slice of cheese pizza on a paper towel in his hands. The red cladded turtle leans over and whispers something to him, making the blue cladded turtle dart his gaze to the orange cladded turtle and he lets out a loud snort, giving a long, dramatic roll of his eyes as he mutters a critiquing remark underneath his breath. Then he leans over to whisper something back, cupping his hand around the latter's ear, then he sends him a wink as a small smile pulls at his lips.

The red cladded turtle let out a wry chuckle at whatever his older brother had said, turning to his younger purple cladded brother and asking him," Yo, Don? Ain't reptiles supposed to be all scale?"

The purple cladded turtle glances up from the book balanced on his knee, dipping down his own nibbled on slice of pizza onto his paper plate as he questions his younger brother in a derailed manner," Pardon?"

"It seems Mikey has hit that awkward age and grown a little fuzz," The red cladded turtle proclaims as he thumps the orange cladded turtle on the nostrils, making him snap his head upwards and away from
his sixth slice of pizza with a grunt. His upper lip is covered in a thin layer of bright red tomato sauce with little pieces of mozzarella cheese sticking from the drying substance.

"Ah," The purple cladded turtle utters with a small amused smile as he reaches a hand forward and gently pats his younger brother's face, careful to avoid the mess of pizza remains," Mozel tov, Mike. You're a man now!"

The bumbling orange cladded turtle stammers as he clumsily rubs his greasy hand over his face, spreading the sauce of over his chin. "Wha...?"

"Is...is that us," Raphael barks out in surprise, the pink glow of the portal splaying over this green features as he stares at his two-dimensional counterpart.

"It is us! But we look like totally -"

"Two dimensional," Donatello concludes, tapping his chin in thought," And practically quintuplets if it wasn't for the slightly different skin tones and mask colors."

Raphael demands in a rough tone, snapping his head towards the two humans, "Are we really that hard to tell apart?"

"No. Not at all," April quickly denies.

The red cladded turtle motions a hand towards his counterpart, groaning , "And what is with that guy's voice? He sounds like a damn chain smoker!"

"Who cares about you guys?! Look at me! I'm buff," Casey exclaims as he clutches his toned bicep, grinning cheekily at the redhead.

The purple cladded turtle points a shaky finger towards the red-headed woman in the portal, muttering with a small droplet of drool cascading down the side of his mouth," So I guess that makes h-her April, huh? Whoa...she's wearing a-a..." His green skin turns a violent shade of scarlet as he chokes out,"...c-crop top."

Consciously, April glances down over her own body with an embarrassed flush washing over her face and ears. Then with a grimace, she swipes her hand through the air, silencing the rambunctious group as she declares," Hold up, ninjas! We're not alone."

"D-did she just...?" Michelangelo utters slapping his hands over his mouth to muffle his snigger as his baby blue hues goggle at the human girl.

Raphael frowns deeply as he crosses his muscular arms over his plastron and states," Yeah, she did. And, boy, was it creepy."

"I think you just did some kind of weird impression of, uh, Leo," Donatello tells her with one brow cocked and his mouth twisted as if he just bit into a lemon.

April squeaks out, "Well someone needed to," Then she shakes her head while turning it away from the group to try and hide the visible blush painting her cheeks," It...it doesn't matter! Look!"

The group follows her pointed fingers to one of the portals a few feet away from where they're all standing in a semicircle. Pink lightning bursts from within, striking randomly around the misty plane. Two Kraang in hovering robotic shells breach from the portal with a burst of light and a low warbling sound.

"Oh, shit," The red cladded turtle curses as he draws out his sais.

"Not good," The purple cladded turtle yells in alarm, quickly yanking out his bo staff from its sheath.

The orange cladded turtle twirls his nunchaku around himself as he bounces from foot to foot and squawks out," Looks like we're fighting our way out! Any plans, guys?"

"Wha - No! Leonard - Oh...." Raphael trails off in realization as more Kraang in their various robotic forms steadily stream out from the portal," Leo ain't here!"

"Brilliant! Just brilliant! Any actual ideas?! No...? Fine," Donatello grits out as he glances back and forth amongst the group as they all begin to back away from the growing wave of the multi-tentacled, brain creatures," Looks like we're improvising!"

A burst from a pink laser splits the group apart with simultaneous yells of shock and pain. Then they're abruptly thrown into battle with their respective foes as the aliens try and overwhelm the group of mutants and humans. The ear-shattering noise of metal against metal, the harsh panting of exertion, and the nonsensical beeping and warbling of the aliens is the only noise that echoes across the limitless expanse. The red cladded cries out as he's thrown backward by one of the bioroids and sent stumbling against his younger brother, who yelps loudly, and sends both of them plummeting through one of the many portals. With a flash of brilliant pink light, the portal collapses in on itself, the screams of the two mutant turtles still resounding through the space as the two humans and the purple cladded turtle stare at the empty space in shock.

———

"Isn't this just fantastic?! First, we lost our leader, and now we've lost our smart guy," Raphael barks out in anger, slamming his fist on the inside of the dumpster in the alley they'd landed in.

"Hey! We've still got each other, dude. We can be like the ultimate dream team!"

Raphael replies in a mockingly cheerful tone, "Oh, yeah! The hothead and the bonehead - What a team we'll be," He gives a lengthy roll of his eyes, then he tenses, curling his fingers around his brother's bicep as he utters, "Can it, Mikey! We're not alone..."

There's the faint scuffle of unsteady footsteps coming down the alleyway, and a beer bottle clinks softly as it rolls across the concrete and bumps against the dumpster.

"Raph," Michelangelo yelps when a hand snaps forward and seizes his belt, hoisting him upwards as another hand rests a blade against the base of his throat.

"What the - Mikey," Leonardo yelps in surprise as he peers into the dumpster, quickly releasing his crushing hold on his brother, the latter giving a shrill shriek as he crashes back down onto his bottom. Then when he sees an all too familiar flash of red as another mutant turtle stumbles upwards in the dumpster, sliding over great swathes of browning banana peels, crumpled cans, and other articles of trash, then the blue cladded turtle goes on to exclaim," Raph? Wha...what the - H-how are y-you...? How did you get here?"

Raphael bursts from the depths of the dumpster and he growls, "Leo? Where the shell have you been - !"

The blue cladded turtle takes a step back and his throat bobs as he gulps loudly. "I-I was with y-you..." He gasps out, his grip on the shuriken in his hand unsteady as his hand begins to tremble, "B-but...I-I don't know how I got here... I remember l-leaving the l-lair with you, b-but I don't remember w-walking... a-after that..." He is cut off as a fresh sharp burst of pain explodes in the middle of his forehead and colorful dots dance in his vision. He let out a strained moan.

Leonardo gasps as Tiger Claw slams him into the alleyway wall, digging his sinewy arm into his windpipe as he leans down to whisper, "You're drowning..."

"No," Leonardo denies aloud, fingers raking the side of his head.

Scarlet blooms in his vision. His katana blade clatters onto the concrete below, falling from his loose, fumbling fingers.

Raphael yaps out, "Whoa, whoa, don't you think about tryin' to drag me into your screwy crap! I've just about had enough of that lately, bro!"

"No, no, no," The blue cladded turtle denies pitifully, slowly shaking his head side to side. He grits his teeth together as another sharp burst of pain explodes in his head and with his voice strained he yells, "No! I was with you, Raph! You led me to...t-t-t...t-to... I-I don't remember how I got h-here. I d-don't even remember b-before that..."

The red cladded turtle's accusing green eyes abruptly soften, and his brows scrunch together as he takes in the sight of his brother,"...Leo? Dude, are you okay," With a raised eye ridge he set a palm against his older brother's forehead. The latter had a fever that made him imagine his green reptilian skin an unsightly shade of lobster red. He swallows, and slowly removes his palm from his brother's head, and turns to his younger brother, informing him, "Shit, he's burning up. Shell, Leo - Something ain't right with him! I told you guys - I fuckin' - When we get back to the lair we ain't doing no more of that beatin' around the bush nonsense, alright?"

"No, no, Raph - Raphael! I'm fine. It's just...it's just... I-I was with you..." Tension built its way up through Leonardo, roiling in his gut and mixing with the panic that was tightening within his chest.

Raphael concedes as his mouth straightens into a thin line, "O-okay, well I'm here now, big brother. That's what matters, right," He grips the side of the latter's face, giving it a light shake and his eyes widen at the sight of the blue cladded turtle. His cheeks have a feverish red flush to them, and a sheen of sweat was gathering just above his brow line and the tremors ran through his body, "Hey, look at me! Put the damn shuriken down before you poke someone's stinkin' eye out and just look at me! You see this, you see me - I'm real, okay," Then he clenches two fingers down on his older brother's cheek, pinching it in a tight grip, eliciting a pained hiss from him, "You see? Whatever the hell is goin' through your whacked out green gourd, it's got nothin' to do with me 'cause I'm here... I'm here with you, you see? So just simmer down so I can try and sort this whole damn mess out, then I'm gonna take care of you, okay?"

"He's right, dude. It's gonna be fine. Just take a step back and let us get a handle on this, okay, big bro," Michelangelo gently urges, settling his fingers on the edge of his older brother's shoulder blade.

Leonardo abruptly twists away from his younger brother, weakly snapping, "No. N-no, I don't, I... I-I don't -  I can't know that!"

"I'll deal with you later, Fearless," The red cladded turtle grunts out impatiently, "But first I've gotta figure out how the shell to get Don, Casey, and April out of that crap-hole of a dimension!"

The blue cladded turtle inquires, glancing up with squinted eyes, "The others are trapped in another dimension?"

Raphael snorts out as he throws his hands into the air in frustration, "Oh, great. I thought it was gonna take you a little longer to figure out, so the marching band won't be here until this evening! Yes, another dimension!"

"A-another dimension," Leonardo repeats dumbly, his mouth falling slack and he pushes the pain into the back of his mind. He hurriedly shoves the shuriken into his wrappings as he goes on to ask, "How in the shell...?!"

Raphael interjects, "Yeah, and the smart member of the team is trapped with them. So next time you plan to pull a disappearing act do us a favor and leave a note -"

"Stop it. Stop. Just...just be quiet, okay," The blue cladded turtle chokes out as his fingers come to rest on his temples and he begins to knead circles against them. He stumbles sideways leaning against the brick wall of the alleyway as his heart thumps rapidly in his chest and darkness begins to push in from the corners of the vision, "R-Raph...Something is...is w-wrong... I-I don't...I don't feel -"

"...Leo?"

"Leo?"

"Leonardo?"