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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.”

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