The Fifth Turtle

The Fifth Turtle

Chapter 2: Escape

“Don’t worry, Leo,” Donnie reassured him as they entered the tank. “His defeat will hurt his pride more than anything.”

He swallowed the lump of guilt in his throat and turned to Raph. “We need to get her to the lair immediately, step on it!”

Leo glanced down at the unconscious box turtle, his brow furrowed. I only hope we can get there in time.

CW: Loss of limb; not SUPER graphic, though

Leo’s blood boiled with rage. It sizzled beneath his scales, burning red hot. It had started as a small ember when he’d seen the News, then steadily heated when Donnie had started questioning his decisions. Then, seeing how fragile and weak the turtle was, the fire had flared hotter, Leo had thought that was his limit, but no. Seeing Bishop, the one that had done this, made it explode.

Even though he wanted to cut into this man with his katanas, he kept his cool composure, the fire burning beneath his skin. At his voice and the sight of him, the turtle froze, her eyes wide with wild fear. She was shaking, and Leo could tell by just the sight of her, that she hadn’t had a good meal or a cup of water in days. 

Oh how Leo wanted to punch that smirk off Bishop’s face.

“I see you’ve met my subject,” Bishop said calmly, a frown on his face. “However, unfortunately I can’t let you take it.”

Leo ground his teeth, anger burning his heart. “IT?!” He snarled, pointing a katana at Bishop. “You can’t treat her like a science experiment!” 

Raph put a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Calm down, Leo. I’m mad too, but anger won’t help her right now.”

Leo glanced at the shivering box turtle, she cowered in the corner, the chains holding her hands and feet together jingling. Even though Leo hated agreeing with his older brother, Raph was right. He turned his attention back to Bishop.

“Yes, I can,” Bishop continued, unfazed by the sider’s outburst. “I can treat it as I please. Mutants are dangerous monsters that need to be captured and contained.”

The trembling box turtle froze as the scientist turned his gaze back to her, a wicked smile on his face. “Isn’t that right, subject zero-zero-four-nine?”

“I got it!” Donnie’s triumphant yell shattered the eerie silence that followed Bishop’s question.

“Raph, grab her!” Leo called as Bishop’s face contorted with anger. He darted forward towards Bishop, fury propelling him. The scientist barely dodged his strike, anger turning into fear as one of Leo’s katana lodged into the wall where his head was. 

Bishop quickly pulled something out of his coat. Leo threw his remaining katana to the side and teleported to it as he barely missed the bullet that ripped through the place he had been standing.

Terror froze the fire running through his veins. Bishop aimed again. Leo teleported to the sword stuck in the wall, but Bishop was ready. Leo wasn’t fast enough to completely dodge, instead it grazed his shoulder, leaving a large, burning gash.

Mikey yelled his name. “Leo!” Golden chains wrapped around Bishop, causing the scientist to drop his weapon. Bishop screamed in pain as the burning chains dug into his skin.

Donnie grabbed his uninjured shoulder. “Leo, are you okay?”

The slider shook off his twin and pointed his katana at Bishop’s neck. “I’ll make sure you never hurt mutants again,” he snarled, letting Bishop feel the cold steel under his chin.

“Leo, stop!” Raph ordered, but Leo didn’t hear him, until a weak chirp cut through his murderous thoughts. He let out a chirp in response, turning towards the noise. The box turtle shivered in Raph’s arms, her eyes closed.

“S-she fainted,” Raph told Leo, his voice trembling. “We need to get her to the Med Bay.”

Leo hesitated, the overwhelming urge to protect her rising in her chest. She let out an answering click, subconsciously squirming closer to him. His heart melted.

“... Okay,” he said, a smile returning to his face. It turned to a frown as he faced Bishop again. “We’ll let you go if you promise to leave us alone.”

Bishop glared at him, a scowl on his face. Leo pressed his katana against the scientist’s neck, blood welling at the shallow cut. “Promise,” Leo hissed, a threat in his voice.

“... Fine,” Bishop relented, disgust clear in his eyes. “I’ll… leave you alone.”

Leo nodded. “Good. Mikey, put him down.”

Mikey flashed him a smile, a glint in his eyes. “My pleasure.” He dumped Bishop to the ground, causing the scientist to land on his head. “Ow!”

The slider cut a portal with his katana, ignoring the burning injury on his shoulder. As Raph was about to step forward, Leo saw a flash of silver out of the corner of his eye. The blue-masked turtle reacted immediately, throwing his katana and teleporting. He quickly disarmed the gun that Bishop had picked up again with his sword.

Bishop let out an agonized scream as his weapon landed on the ground next to him with a wet thump. Leo froze, horror rising up in his chest as realized what he just did.

The scientist wailed with pain and fury as he clutched his wrist, blood trickling between his fingers. “My hand!” His fierce gaze locked onto the slider. “You,” he spat, pure venom in his voice. “I swear I will never forget this.”

Leo felt like he was going to throw up. “Nardo,” Donnie whispered, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Let’s go.” 

He gently steered his twin towards his brothers and the box turtle. Leo followed blindly, shock and disgust making his limbs stop working. He knew that Bishop deserved that, and tenfold, for what he did to the small box turtle, but he still felt sick. 

“Don’t worry, Leo,” Donnie reassured him as they entered the tank. “His defeat will hurt his pride more than anything.”

He swallowed the lump of guilt in his throat and turned to Raph. “We need to get her to the lair immediately, step on it!”

Leo glanced down at the unconscious box turtle, his brow furrowed. I only hope we can get there in time.

———————————————————————

They got home as fast as they could, accidentally knocking that one guy’s groceries to the ground, and then some. Leo did all he could for her in the tank, patching up the wounds on her arms, treating the sores left by the chains on her wrists and ankles, and taking a closer look at the cracks in her shell and plastron.

The main thing that she needed was fluids, but they only had that in the Med Bay. “Will she be okay?” Mikey asked, his voice quivering. 

Leo glanced at him. “Only time will tell, but she should be fine with some food, water, and sleep.”

He didn’t want to tell his little brother that if she didn’t get some now, she could die. 

“Are we almost there?!” he called, trying to keep panic from creeping into his voice.

“We’re here!” Donnie answered, the tank screeching to a halt. Leo quickly cut a portal to the Med Bay and hurried through. 

“Raph, follow me,” the slider ordered, quickly prepping the bed. Raph gently laid her down, his mask creased with worry. The box turtle whimpered as her skin touched the unfamiliar sheets.

Leo grabbed his IV kit, feeling a bit bad that they only had two sizes of needles and catheters, one big for Raph and the other normal size for them. He noticed that they were low on supplies and made a mental note to go on a supply run soon. 

Leo quickly washed his hands and pulled on a pair of their homemade plastic gloves. He found the vein and gently swabbed the area to clean it. 

“I’m here!” Donnie yelped, skidding into the room. “What do you need?”

“Raph, go tell Dad everything,” Leo told the snapper, he then faced his twin. “Don, help me set up the IV bag. Then remove any bubbles in the IV line as I insert it.”

Time seemed to drift by as Leo focused on his task. He carefully secured the IV in place after he finished, letting out a sigh of relief. 

“Donnie, can you keep watching out for bubbles?” Leo asked, throwing his gloves away. “I just need to hook up the heart monitor so we can keep an eye on her.”

Donnie hummed in response. “Okay, fearless leader.”

“Oh, come on D,” Leo said with a smirk. “I’m not that serious yet.”

The softshell only snorted in response.

Leo rolled his eyes, opening the drawer where they kept their heart monitor and picking it up. He attached it, wincing at the sight of the metal plate and cracks on her plastron. 

He frowned as her heart rate showed up, it was lower than he would have liked. Hopefully, now that she got some fluids, she would start to get healthier. 

Leo wanted to fully examine the cracks on the back of her shell, but it would be a bad idea to move her with the IV in. Donnie’s quiet voice came from behind him. “Where do you think she got those cracks from?”

Leo swore that his twin could read his mind sometimes. “I don’t know,” he admitted, leaning over to get a closer look at her cracked plastron. “They look old. It also looks a bit messed up, like it healed naturally.”

“That makes sense,” Donnie agreed, his eyebrows furrowed. “Mutants can’t really get help unless they go to the Hidden City. That must mean that she’s not a yokai.”

Leo nodded. “Look at that metal plate,” the slider said, pointing to it. “W-we already know that she was probably experimented on, and you saw how cruel Bishop looked. So, there are a few possibilities, but I have a good guess at what happened…”

His voice trailed off, leaving a tense silence. 

“Yes?” Donnie asked, his foot tapping impatiently. 

“... Vivisection,” Leo admitted, ignoring the horrified expression on his twin’s face. “Or a surgery of some kind, you never know.”

A noise caught his attention. A yelp and a crashing sound came from outside the door. 

Leo sighed. “Mikey, come on in. We know you’re there.” The box turtle’s round face peeked around the corner, a nervous look in his eyes. 

His eyes immediately went to Leo’s shoulder. “You should patch that up,” the orange-masked turtle commented, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. “I can help.”

Leo glanced at the wound, feeling surprised. “I actually forgot about that,” he admitted, picking up the leftover bandages and alcohol.

“Let’s go,” Mikey chirped, grabbing his hand and starting to lead him to the door. 

“Uh, can’t I just do it here?” Leo suggested, dodging his little brother’s attempts. 

“Nope!” Mikey replied, an authoritative look in his eyes. “I want to help! Also, I need to have a little talk with you.”

Oh no.

“I-I think I’m alright!” Leo said nervously, adding a chipper tone to his voice. “No need to talk! Everything’s alright! Why would anything be wrong? There’s nothing wrong here…” He stopped when he realized that he had been babbling. 

Mikey’s smile grew even wider. “Just come with me. You’ll never escape Doctor Feelings.”

“Fine,” the slider grumbled, allowing his little brother to drag him out of the Med Bay. “Keep an eye on her!” Leo threw over his shoulder as they left.

Mikey led him through the living room and down the hallway, Raph giving him a confused look as they passed. They entered the box turtle’s room and sat on his hammock. Leo sat down on an orange bean bag and started to bandage his shoulder. 

The orange-masked turtle whipped out a pair of round glasses and put them on. He then sat cross-legged and interlaced his fingers, leaning forward. “We need to talk,” Mikey said, putting on a serious face.

Leo finished and set the medical supplies aside, turning to his little brother and raising an eye ridge. “About what?” 

“You know what,” Mikey hissed. “You shouldn’t feel bad about Bishop!”

Leo froze, turning his head to the side and breaking eye contact. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he lied. 

Mikey glared at him. “Stop ignoring it!” His face softened a bit as he relaxed his posture. “Leo, it’s not your fault. It was an accident. He would’ve shot one of us if you hadn’t disarmed him.”

The slider stared down at his lap. “Mikey, I cut off his hand for Pizza Supreme’s sake!!! How is that an accident?!” he spat, squeezing his eyes shut.

Mikey sighed. “It. Was. An. Accident. You didn’t mean it. Even though he did deserve it…” he muttered. “But that’s not the point! The point is you saved us and you saved her.”

Leo still couldn’t meet his brother’s eyes. “I guess…”

“I know you still feel bad,” the box turtle continued. “Heck, I would too! But right now, we need to focus on that poor, sick turtle. So I’ll say this once more, it was an accident, and you did not mean it.”

Leo took a deep breath, before lifting his head and facing his brother. “… Okay.”

Mikey smiled, hopping down and pulling the slider to his feet. “Okay, now repeat after me: It was an accident, I didn't mean it.”

“It was an accident, I didn't mean it,” Leo repeated, a grin returning to his face. “It was an accident, I didn't mean it.”

Mikey gave him an excited hug, his eyes bright. “Yes!” he whooped. “Now, let’s get back to our new sister!”

They pulled apart and Leo walked back to the Med Bay with a new spring in his step. “… Bishop did deserve it,” he whispered just before they stepped in. 

Mikey nodded, giving the blue-masked turtle a high five. “I totally agree.”

Next Chapter

Previous Chapter

LSoH Saga

@phoebepheebsphibs & @boots-with-the-fur-club There’s still more to come >:]

Featuring:

@sugarpasteltmnt | @hitwiththetmnt | @shiveagit Lore? (This is my way of saying I LOVE YOUR IDEA SO MUCH AND I NEED MORE but no pressure :) ) | @kaysdenofchaos | @cupcakeslushie | @tangledinink | @fireheartfan | @dianagj-art | @intotheelliwoods (Sorry, I just realized how distorted he looks 😭 Oops) | @sharkfinn | Who ever is in that big-ass fight | @tmntaucompetition

Hi love the art but can you make a comic of the art you made in 2 April

I don’t know which art piece you’re talking. Could you please tell me more?

Just finished binge watching Voltron: Legendary Defender…

I’m going to go hide under a blanket and read some Klance fics

The Fifth Turtle

Chapter 1: I’ve Got You

As she held it up, the turtle, Leo, pressed his hand against hers. Their three fingers matched perfectly, albeit 49’s hand was a bit smaller than his. 

“You’re like me,” 49 dared to say, her voice raspy and barely a whisper. 

His eyes widened. “Y-yeah.” He reached through the bars and squeezed her hand reassuringly, a tender smile spreading across his beak. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

At first Donnie had been skeptical, after a day or two of thinking about it, he had pointed out that this was probably a coincidentally accurate publicity stunt. However, Leo had pulled the leader card and insisted that they check it out. Donnie had wanted to argue, even though Raph and Mikey agreed to it, but the softshell had never seen his twin this serious. That was what convinced him. 

After some online research from the totally reliable internet, Donnie had narrowed down their search to a laboratory near Staten Island. It must be Bishop’s personal lab. That was where their mysterious turtle would be. 

“I can’t believe we are risking exposing our existence to this guy,” Donnie hissed as they drove there in the Turtle Tank. “And to a scientist no less!”

“We at least need to check it out,” Leo snapped, his eyes narrowed. “Remember, I’m the leader and I say we go.” 

Donnie returned his glower, his arms crossed. “I’m just saying, even if there was a mutant in there, there is no possible way they could be our sibling.”

Raph glared at him. “We’re not saving them because they’re a turtle! We’re saving them because we’re heroes, and heroes don’t leave a mutant behind.”

Donnie growled under breath as he turned off the auto-pilot. “We’re almost there. I just need to park the tank.”

As Donnie pulled the tank to a stop, Mikey suddenly grabbed the purple-masked turtle’s shoulder. “Hey D, I need an update.”

Donnie glanced at him. “For your phone again?”

The box turtle shook his head. “No, for the plan this time.”

“Sigh,” Donnie said, leaning back in his seat. “Okay, first we’ll sneak in there and get a look at the situation. Then, we’ll get out and devise a plan to come back later. Any questions?”

“Nope!” Mikey chirped, bouncing out the now opened door. “Thanks, Donnie.”

With Leo leading the way, they went outside, and disappeared into the shadows.

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

The door slammed behind 49, making her jump. Usually the two goons that Bishop had hired would have brought her to testing, where Bishop was usually waiting. This time they brought her to a room.

It was pure white, no seams or cracks in the walls, everything was just a smooth, unbreaking white. However, there was a table in the middle of the room. It was a fold up table and had some books and pencils on top of it. After 49 scrabbled uselessly at the door for a bit, she turned her attention to the items sitting there. 

There was a book about crosswords and games, some blank sheets of paper, and a math workbook. The only thing that stopped 49 from bolting towards the table and reading was the fact that she knew someone was watching her. The lingering feeling on her shell told her that. She looked around. There were no cameras, but the itchy feeling remained. All 49 had to go by were her instincts and they were telling her someone was watching.

She stood frozen for a few moments, thinking. 49 remembered the people that had come to see her a few days ago. Bishop had shown her off like a rare, exotic animal. Then, he had let them get a chance to poke and prod at her in the testing room. They must have agreed to sponsor his research, she realized, glancing around. They must have paid for this room or something. They must be watching.

She quickly curled up in the corner, her heart racing. Gotta hide, GOTTA HIDE! She wished she could pop into her shell, she knew that box turtles were supposed to do that, but she couldn’t. In fact, she’d heard Bishop musing about it while he had been examining her. He had been saying that something must be wrong with the structure of her shell, something about an old injury.

Right now, all she wanted to do was curl up and let the darkness take her… and it did just that. 

49 woke up from the dream memory, gasping for breath. She remembered that she had spent days in that soulless white room. She rubbed her dry eyes, wincing in pain. 49’s throat burned. It felt like she’d swallowed the sun, but she hadn’t drank anything today, or yesterday for that matter. Her tongue felt like sandpaper against the roof of her mouth. Her stomach hurt too. Bishop had to feed her today, he had to. 

She glanced down at her chained hands. Though I could just break out if I wanted to…

Thanks to the Ghost Lady, Karai or her “Gram-Gram,” 49 learned that she had magic. Gram-Gram had called it mystics but they sounded like the same thing. 

She had taught 49 how to summon her mystic weapon, a bow and arrows. The scrawny box turtle was so, so desperate to escape, but she was too weak.

49 remembered the other thing the spirit had told her. Gram-Gram told her that she had brothers. Other turtles, mutants, like her. Gram-Gram told her that they were coming to save her. The box turtle was still doubtful of course. It could have been a hallucination or one of Bishop’s sick mental tricks. 

Bishop wouldn’t do that, things like that weren’t his style. Hope was one of the only things she had, although she was losing it rapidly. I can wait, 49 decided, scratching her arms. After all, I’ve been waiting for a long time, what’s a few more weeks? I can wait. My brothers are coming. Brothers are coming. I have brothers, they are coming. I can wait. Brothers coming… 

Her thoughts trailed off as hours passed. She kept repeating those words in her head, until a feeling stopped her whirlwind of thoughts. A noise, accompanied with that lingering feeling, told her someone was here and watching. 49’s hands felt warm and her arms hurt. She barely registered the blood caked under her fingernails and the wounds that she had reopened. 

Her head whipped around, her muscles shivering with fear. Someone’s here, GOTTA HIDE!

She curled up in the corner trying to steady her breathing. Every puff of air scraped at her throat. 

“LEO!” 49 heard someone whisper shout. Leo? That doesn’t sound like one of the scientists.

She tensed as a figure stepped out of the shadows. It was a turtle, like her. A mutant, like her. Hope soared through her. Brothers are here!

His skin was lime green with bright yellow stripes along his arms and red stripes near his eyes. The other thing that stood out was the blue bandanna over his face. The long tails swayed as he darted up to her cell.  

She practically felt giddy with happiness as he grabbed the bars, his three fingered hands wrapping around the cool metal. Three fingers, like her. “Are you okay?” He whispered, a worried look on his face. 

… Worried for me? Why?

Instead of replying, she cautiously crept up to him. Her limbs shaking with nerves and the effort of moving. She held her hand up to the bars, trembling. 

As she held it up, the turtle, Leo, pressed his hand against hers. Their three fingers matched perfectly, albeit 49’s hand was a bit smaller than his. 

“You’re like me,” 49 dared to say, her voice raspy and barely a whisper. 

His eyes widened. “Y-yeah.” He reached through the bars and squeezed her hand reassuringly, a tender smile spreading across his beak. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you.”

A small, happy grin found its way to her face as she stared at their matching hands. Her mind-numbing joy was interrupted as a hulking figure emerged from the darkness. 49 scrambled backwards, shock and fear seizing her heart.

“Leo,” the giant, spiky turtle growled, a beam of moonlight lighting up his red mask. “I thought we agreed this was supposed to be a stealth mission! You can’t just run off like that.”

Leo glared at the turtle, his brow furrowed. “I know, but I couldn’t just leave her!” His worried gaze flicked back to her. “Aw man, look Raph, you scared her. Just chill out, okay?”

The turtle, who 49 could assume was Raph, turned to her, an anxious look on his face. “Raph’s sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, we’re here to help.”

Oh, right. Gram-Gram had said brothers, as in plural. Are they both my brothers?

In 49’s distraction, two other turtles had revealed themselves. One sported a purple bandanna with drawn on eyebrows and a hunk of metal on his back, and the other wore an orange mask and had bright orange spots. 

“Donnie, can you get this open?” Leo whispered, turning to the purple-masked turtle.

“Scoff, of course,” he responded in a flat tone, leaning down and inspecting the tricky lock. 49 had seen it enough times to know that it required an intricate code to open. Then the turtle, Donnie, pulled out a bo staff and made something out of thin air, the marking on his shoulders lighting up with a violet light.

49 watched with awe as bright purple light, mystics she would realize, ran up his staff. 

Multiple long, spiky things appeared at the end of the wooden staff. Letting out a hum of approval, he started tweaking with the lock. 

“Hi!” Someone whispered, catching her attention. She turned her head to see the smallest turtle pressing his face against the cage, his eyes wide. “I’m Mikey!” 49 locked gazes with him. He had baby blue eyes, just like hers. “Hey, you’re a box turtle like me,” he yelped happily. 

Like me? Like me! Another smile crept up to her face. 

Mikey gave her a toothy grin back, eyes sparkling. It was weird, but 49 felt something in her soul, like something had clicked back into place. She suddenly felt connected to Mikey, feeling the need to protect him and be by him. She let out a small chirp, walking up and touching noses with him. 

He stared at her in surprise, the shock being replaced by wonder. Mikey clicked in response, nuzzling her face. 49 squeaked gleefully, returning the soft nudge with a purr. 

Now that the joy and happiness spreading through her muscles resided, she felt weak. Pulling away, Mikey gave her a troubled look. “Are you okay? You look pale.”

49’s legs couldn’t hold her up anymore. She sat on the ground, a harsh wheeze escaping her throat. Her vision grew blurry.

“Donnie, get this thing open, now!” Leo suddenly snapped, turning to the purple-masked turtle. 49 flinched at his harsh tone, her body starting to tremble with exhaustion. Her head was pounding.

“I’m almost done!” Donnie hissed back, still working on the lock. “Just give me a second, Leo.”

They started arguing, their voices raising. “Guys,” Raph snarled. “Be quiet! This was supposed to be a stealth only mission.”

All 49 wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep, weariness dragging at her eyelids, but slow clapping snapped her awake. Her brothers froze, turning towards the sound. A man stepped out of the shadows, a sly smile on his face.

“Well, well, well,” Bishop said in a teasing voice. “What have we here? More mutant turtles?” His smile turned eerily wide, his hands falling down to his sides. “So nice of you to join us.”

Next Chapter:

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I went to a TMNT 40th anniversary event at Time Blaster Toys and it was a blast!!! I got all kinds of goodies and got to see Michelle Ivey and her sister again :))))))))

There was this giant 2003 Mikey cutout that I was fighting the urge to steal 😭

They also had this kiddie ride that I really wanted to squeeze myself into

I got this pizza box thing with surprises inside. Kind of like a blind bag. IT WAS TOTALLY WORTH IT LOOK AT THIS WEIRD KRANG HAT I GOT I LOVE HIM SO MUCH 🩷🩷🩷

I also got a 2003 Donnie figure and Hot Wheels Monster Truck thing that I can’t stop looking lovingly at.

I also got this Last Ronin figure :D

And I got this pack of SUPER OLD cards. I don’t know why it was only four dollars because I think this came out a bit after the movie. There was a stick of gum stuck to the front card so it got damaged when I pulled it off 😭 My favorite is the Subway Assault card!

Thank you for listening to me talk about my new stuff! It was so fun and cool!!! I brought $60 in cash and it still wasn’t enough 😅

Edit: THERE WAS A RAFFLE BUT I DIDN’T WIN 😭