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Chapter Text

It had been two weeks since Petra became part of the Hamato family.

While living with a bunch of turtles and a giant rat had taken some getting used to, she thought she was starting to get the hang of things. 

That is, until she learned that her new brothers didn't always act like humans...

- - - -

"You sure you want to go much further?" Leonardo asked, sounding uncomfortable.

Petra thought he was just getting scared.

They were out exploring the tunnels again so she could learn to navigate them from memory. While she knew the tunnels immediately around their home, some of the further tunnels left her disoriented.

"Yeah, just a little more," the four-year-old answered, marching forward.

"...Fine," Leo allowed.

The next tunnel they entered ended in a storm grate. A breeze came through. While it left Petra a bit uncomfortable (it was only March and still a little chilly) she didn't mind it.

Leonardo, on the other hand, was shivering like crazy.

"This tunnel's worse than the last one!" He blew on his hands and rubbed them together, trying to warm up. "Can we go?"

"It's not that cold..." she said, confused.

"Not to you," he responded. "Turtles get really cold really easy."

Petra remembered hearing that reptiles didn't like the cold, and immediately felt guilty.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

She took off her red jacket and put it over Leo's shell. It didn't fit him, but she hoped it would warm him a little. 

It seemed to work, as Leo didn't shiver as hard.

"Thanks." He smiled at her. "Home?"

"Okay."

When they got back, she asked Splinter about what Leo had said. He confirmed it: her brothers didn't like the cold at all, and liked anything that would help keep them warm.

Petra realized that was probably why the guys fought over who got to sit next to her when they sat on the couch... and why they always insisted on her being part of their turtle piles.

- - - -

"Remember," Raph told her as he held up the plastic bat. "Follow through!"

"Got it." She prepared to pitch the tennis ball.

Her second-oldest brother had been shocked when he learned that no one had ever taught Petra how to play ball, a skill he considered absolutely necessary. So, after lunch, he'd grabbed his plastic bat and the first ball he could find before taking Petra out into one of the tunnels.

She wasn't very good at it yet; the ball was already wet and dirty from falling into puddles of rain water or rolling off into other tunnels. Raph wasn't a very patient teacher, but he was a persistent one.

"Okay," she prepared to throw, "ready?"

"Just do it already!"

She threw it. It was easily the best pitch she'd thrown yet, and went sailing right for the bat. Raphael was grinning as he swung, and there was a satisfying thunk as the ball collided with the bat.

Their smiles disappeared when the ball went sailing into the river of rainwater at the center of the tunnel.

It had been raining a lot in the last few days (no thunder, thankfully), and the water in the storm sewers was well over the kids' heads.

"Great," the five-year-old turtle mumbled. He peered into the water. Because the tennis ball was bright yellow, they could kind of see it from where it had landed at the bottom of the river.

"Maybe we can find another ball..." Petra began, guilt already eating at her.

She didn't finish; without a word, Raph dove headfirst into the water.

She waited for him to come back up.

And waited.

And waited.

After fifteen or so minutes, she started freaking out. Was he stuck? Was he hurt?! Had he drowned?!?

"Sensei!" She was about to run back home and get their father when Raphael surfaced, sucking in a huge breath.

"Got it!" He smirked as he tossed the soaked ball at Pet's feet and started to climb out.

"It got caught between two rocks so I really had to pull to get it out--"

Petra, her face red, ran forward and shoved him. He fell backwards into the water, surfacing a second later. 

"What the heck?!?" He angrily responded as he crawled out of the water again.

"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!?" She yelled at him, tears running down her face. "I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

"What? No!" He yelled back, scowling. "Didn't you know turtles can hold their breath for a really long time?"

"No, I didn't! I thought you were dead!"

The fight went out of Raphael, and he finally noticed that she was crying.

"I... You were really scared, huh?"

"Yes!" She wiped the tears from her eyes, sniffed, and started marching away. "I'm going home."

"Pet..." Raph, still dripping wet, caught her by the shoulder. "I didn't know you didn't know. I'm sorry."

She wanted to stay mad... but she knew Raphael only ever apologized if he really meant it.

She sighed.

"I forgive you," she replied.

She stayed pretty close to Raph for most of the afternoon, silently reassuring herself that he was alright.

He looked a little annoyed at it, but he didn't tell her to go away.

- - - -

They had almost finished building their tower when Pet heard a low rumbling noise.

"I'm so hungry!" Mikey complained. "Hey, Sensei! When do we eat?"

"Soon, Michelangelo," Sensei called from the kitchen. "Be patient."

"I'm so hungry I could eat this block," the orange clad turtle grumbled, holding up one of the wooden blocks he and Pet had been playing with.

The five-year-old pretended to start eating the block, earning giggles from his sister.

Just then, they noticed a worm slithering by. Pet had learned that, while not common, it wasn't unusual for bugs and worms to come into their home. This didn't bother her too much because Splinter or one of her brothers was always happy to kill the really scary-looking bugs...

"Great, a snack!" Mikey cheered when he saw the worm. 

Pet giggled again, thinking he was still messing around... only to gasp in disgust when he grabbed the worm, popped it in his mouth and swallowed it whole.

"Eww!"

"What?" He shrugged. "It doesn't taste bad."

"But it's a worm." She shuddered. "Worms aren't food."

"Not to you," he replied. "But sensei said that, since we're turtles, some things might taste good to us that don't taste good to humans."

He counted off fingers as he talked. "I like worms, algae, cookies, cheese, Sensei's noodle soup, vegetables..."

"You like vegetables? Even broccoli?" She made a face.

Aunt May had fought Petra countless times to get her to eat broccoli.

"Yeah, we all do! Real turtles like vegetables, so we do too!"

Pet realized that was probably why her brothers were always happy when she gave them her broccoli whenever Splinter made it...

- - - -

"Okay..." Donnie said, grinning. "According to the book, we just need to add the vinegar to the bottle and put the balloon over it."

"Ready!" His four-year-old sister beamed.

"Go!" 

She poured the vinegar into the empty two-liter bottle they'd found in the tunnels. The second she was done, Donatello slipped the old nitrite glove they'd found over the bottle, securing it with some string.

As they watched, the glove began to inflate like a balloon. In seconds it was as full as it could be.

"It worked!" Donnie cheered.

"We did it!" Pet laughed as they high-fived.

Suddenly, the glove got too full. It exploded, knocking the bottle over and spilling the mixture all over the table.

Pet looked at Donatello... and only saw his shell.

"Donnie?" She asked, worried.

In a second, his arms, legs, and head reappeared from within his shell.

"Sorry," he apologized. "The noise scared me..."

He realized she was staring at him in awe.

"You went in your shell?"

"Yeah... Have you not seen us do that before?"

"No... Do you do it all the time?"

"Yes and no. We only really do it when we get scared by something... but Mikey does it to mess around sometimes. Turtles instinctively go in their shells when frightened as a form of protection."

"Cool." She grinned.

They both grimaced when the smell of vinegar hit their noses, and realized they'd better clean up their experiment before they stank up the rest of the home.

- - - -

While Splinter constantly scavenged to make sure they always had something to eat, it was rare that he found fresh fruit. So when came home with a bag of fresh apples he'd snatched from a produce truck, Pet and the turtles had been ecstatic. 

It was when Petra was finishing her apple that she first noticed that one of her teeth felt... weird.

"Guys, I think something's wrong with my mouth."

"Let me see," Leo offered. She opened her mouth wide, absentmindedly pushing against one of her teeth with her tongue.

Leonardo jumped back.

"Pet, one of your teeth is loose!"

"What?" She got wide-eyed.

"Is her mouth broken?" Mikey looked terrified.

With no further words exchanged, the five of them got up in sync and ran for Splinter.

They all talked over each other when they finally found him, and he needed to ask three times why they were panicking before he finally learned what was going on.

To their shock, he let out a little laugh.

"There is nothing to fear, Petra."

He went on to explain that human children lost their teeth when they were little, and that new adult teeth grew in their place.

"And that's normal?" Donnie looked shocked.

"Yes. It happened to me when I was Petra's age."

"Cool." Mikey beamed. "Will we lose our teeth?"

"Technically, you already did."

The kids were confused, and Splinter led them to his room.

"When turtles are born, they possess something called an egg tooth. This helps them break out of their eggs when they hatch. The four of you still had your egg teeth when you mutated. You lost them when you were a year or so old."

He pulled a little box down from a shelf and opened it. 

"Wow, we were little," Raph commented as they looked at their old egg teeth.

Petra nodded. If she hadn't known any better, she'd have thought they were tiny rocks.

"Sensei," she asked, "when my baby tooth comes out, will you put it in the box?"

"If you wish." He nodded.

Feeling better about the loose tooth, the five siblings ran off to play.

An hour later, Splinter caught them tying a string to Petra's loose tooth, then tying the other end to Mikey's skateboard. He stopped them before anything bad could happen.

Needless to say, they lost dessert privileges that night.

Chapter Text

"So, what did you think of your first official SHIELD meeting?" Coulson asked as he stopped at a red light.

"It was cool." Petra admitted as she took off her fake glasses. "But I don't think Agent Hand likes me."

Fury and Coulson had decided that the Hamatos would need to learn more about how SHIELD came up with contingency plans and procedures. Hence, Petra had been brought along to one of SHIELD's offices in New Jersey to attend a meeting Fury was holding. It was low-risk as far as the Hamatos' secret went, as Agents Hill and Coulson would make sure no one asked any threatening questions.

The meeting itself had been interesting (they were reworking prison riot procedures in case anyone tried to pull what the Goblin did), but she'd felt Agent Victoria Hand staring at her for most of it.

Of the four agents who'd been present for the meeting, Agent Hand was the only one unaware of who "Sofie Hamato" was. Coulson had cooked up a story about how she was the daughter of a SHIELD agent who wanted to join the family business one day. From the look in her eyes, it was obvious Hand didn't believe him. But with both Fury and Hill vouching for him, Hand couldn't do much more than scowl.

"She doesn't like being left out of the loop," Coulson replied, pulling Petra out of her thoughts. "Though my story was technically true. Your birth parents were some of the finest agents SHIELD ever saw."

"Did you know them?" Pet was surprised she'd never thought to ask him before.

"Not very well," he admitted as the light turned green. "Richard and I ran a recon mission in Latveria once, and I think your mother and I took a weapons training class together... But I wasn't close with them."

Petra nodded, understanding.

Coulson shot a glance at the car's gas gauge and frowned. 

"Keep an eye out for a gas station; we'll need to make a stop."

The meeting had been in the outskirts of Jersey City, and clearly a longer drive than the agent had expected.

Pet looked out the window, and spotted a station up ahead.

Once they'd pulled up to a fuel pump, Agent Coulson set pump to automatic feed before leading Petra into the station's convenience store.

"Remember," he whispered to her, "anyone asks, I'm your uncle."

She nodded. 

"You want to grab a snack?" He said out loud. 

They made their way towards the back of the store, where the candy was kept.

Petra instantly decided on a bag of sour gummy worms. Agent Coulson had found a rack of miniature donuts. He knelt down, staring at them.

The spider-girl joined him, and gave him a raised eyebrow.

"Are you trying to make a choice," she asked, "or trying to intimidate them?"

"Hey," he said defensively, "it's a big choice. They're both good."

He held up one sleeve of miniature chocolate doughnuts and one sleeve of miniature powdered doughnuts.

Before Pet could respond, her spider sense went off.

Recognizing the look in her eyes, Coulson grew serious, slipping the doughnut sleeves into his pockets.

The reason for her tingling senses appeared seconds later.

They heard the gasp of the cashier as a gun clicked.

"Hands up! Don't move!" A man yelled. 

"Don't move or I'll blow your head off," another man threatened.

The sound of the guns made Petra freeze, and she forced herself to take a deep breath.

Coulson grabbed her arm, his eyes serious. 

"No matter what," he whispered at her, "stay down. I'll handle this."

He took a breath and developed a casual demeanor as he stood.

"Who else is here?!" The first robber demanded. "Who owns that car outside?"

"I do."

The men whirled around to see Coulson standing in the aisle.

"But it's really more like a lease," he continued, almost conversationally.

"Toss the keys over here," the first robber ordered. "Come on!"

"Okay, okay." Calmly, the agent took the keys from his suit pocket and tossed them to the robber.

No longer considering him a threat, the two robbers turned back to the terrified cashier. One of them slapped a bag on the counter.

"Empty the cash register, start filling this bag with cigarettes--"

"Excuse me?" Coulson spoke up. "I also have this gun, you'll probably be needing that."

The two men spun around, aiming their guns at the agent. He was calmly holding his gun in a non-threatening manner, practically dangling it with two fingers.

"Put it down!" One of the robbers yelled. 

"Right now!" The other demanded.

"Okay. Don't want any trouble." Coulson raised a hand and looked intimidated (though Pet had known him long enough to tell it was an act).

"Toss the piece over here then," the second robber spoke.

Coulson winced. "I'd prefer not throw it and risk the gun accidentally going off. Maybe I could slide it over?"

The men exchanged looks before the second robber gave a small nod.

"Yeah, slide it over to my feet. Don't try anything funny."

"Okay." Still pretending to look intimidated, Coulson began to take a side step. "I'm just gonna move over to this aisle. And I'm gonna slide it over to you."

He did as he said he would. Petra, who was hiding behind a display of beef jerky, watched with wide eyes. 

She and she alone noticed when his eyes went from big and innocent-looking to cold and focused.

The second the robber bent down to pick up the surrendered gun, Coulson sprung into action. 

He grabbed two bags of flour off of the shelf and threw them at the first robber's head. With him distracted, Coulson used the shelf to lift himself into the air. As he began to descend, he kicked the second robber's gun just as he was about to shoot. The gun went off while pointed at the man's shoe. He let out a pained scream as Coulson landed. The agent took the screaming man's rifle and used it to whack the first robber (who had recovered from the flour) across the face. He then whirled back around and did the same to the second robber.

In the span of maybe ten seconds, both criminals were unconscious on the floor. Minus a dusting of flour on his sleeve, Coulson was completely fine.

The agent calmly bent down to get his keys from the first robber's pocket, then picked up all three guns.

"Sofie," he called, using Pet's alias. "You can come out now."

She stood up, not bothering to hide her impressed grin.

"You have got to show me how to do that."

"Maybe some day," he replied before turning to the cashier.

She still had her hands up, her wide eyes going from Coulson to Petra to the men on the floor.

"Sorry for the mess," Coulson politely said.

He pulled both sleeves of doughnuts from his pockets as Petra put her pack of gummy worms down.

"Couldn't decide, could you?" She joked.

"They're both tasty," he commented as he pulled a five-dollar bill from his wallet.

The woman was still terrified, making no move to take the money. 

"Keep the change," the agent decided. He grabbed his doughnuts and motioned for Pet to grab her candy.

"Wait. What should I tell the police?" The cashier finally spoke.

"Tell them those online tae bo classes really paid off," Petra replied.

The woman stared at them incredulously as the agent and teenager left the gas station.

"Seriously," Pet laughed as they got back in the car. "That was awesome, Agent Coulson."

"That was nothing," he responded as he started the car (though he was still grinning at the praise).

"You call that nothing?"

"Next time you see Agent May, ask her to tell you about that time she busted up a pickpocket ring in one hour with nothing but a Nerf gun..."

Chapter Text

"...As you can see here," Natasha pointed at a spot on her tablet's screen, "this is when the bomb went off, shutting down the locking mechanism on the door. That's when Bebop, Rocksteady, and Kraven escaped."

"So those three dudes are running around New York again?" Mikey said, worriedly.

"Perfect," Raph grunted, holding his sandwich in a death grip.

"Hey, take it easy," Leo told his brothers. "The Shredder and Goblin are still locked up. Those three can't do a lot of damage on their own."

The blue-clad turtle knew that Bebop and Rocksteady were basically muscles for hire, and had been so even before they got their powers. Kraven was pretty dangerous, sure, but he was still shell-bent on hunting down the turtles. It was doubtful that he'd change his goals after escaping.

"Unfortunately," Clint agreed with Leonardo, "sometimes the best strategy for catching a villain is waiting until they make a mistake or reveal themselves. You'll run yourself ragged otherwise."

The turtle nodded, wincing a little as he remembered what happened when he tried to hunt down Shredder by himself.

The Hamato teens had been invited to Avengers Tower for lunch/a strategy meeting. Splinter and Petra had declined due to needing to meet with Fury, but the turtles had happily accepted.

"Since your family has the most experience fighting them," Steve spoke up, "we'll need whatever tips you can give us on their strengths and weaknesses."

"The Hulk could probably just smack them down, no problem," Michelangelo replied as he took another bite from his sandwich.

"Mikey!" Raphael smacked him in the shoulder.

Bruce looked uncomfortable. "Yeah, the other guy can take out most enemies... But he doesn't usually go away without help, and he can be pretty uncontrollable."

"That's an understatement." Tony nodded, unusually seriously.

To his credit, Mikey looked pretty guilty.

"Anyway," the Iron Man went back to his easygoing demeanor, "let's talk about something else. Like this amazing armor I'm making..."

He was cut off by the elevator door opening. 

A strawberry blond woman in high heels and a business suit walked into the room. She was holding a Stark tablet and reading off of it as she walked, her heels clicking on the floor. Her business suit had been modified to accommodate a baby bump, but that didn't take away from her professional image.

Tony and Natasha weren't phased, but Steve, Clint, and Bruce all looked a bit alarmed... until they realized with confusion that the Turtles were completely calm.

"Tony," Pepper Potts (soon to be Stark) spoke without looking up from her tablet. "We have a lunch meeting at the Guggenheim tomorrow at noon. They want to discuss Stark Industries housing some of their pieces in case New York comes under attack again."

"Can we just say we'll do it and skip the meeting?" Tony moaned as he started pulling out the bread to make Pepper a sandwich.

"Art's important, Tony!" Mikey said indignantly.

"Yeah, some of those pieces have historical value," Donatello agreed before turning to Pepper. "Nice to see you again, ma'am."

"Oh, hello boys." Pepper finally looked up from her tablet. "And yes, Tony, you have to go."

He grumbled under his breath. "Fine. What do you want on your sandwich?"

She thought for a moment, her hand on her bump. "Ham, pickles, feta cheese, mustard, olives... Do we have any kimchi left?"

"Kimchi and pickles?" Raph made a face.

"I can't with these cravings," Tony rolled his eyes lovingly as he checked the fridge. 

The other Avengers looked very confused, but Hawkeye was the first to speak up.

"I'm sorry, did we miss something? I thought Pepper didn't have clearance to know about you guys."

"Officially, I don't," Pepper admitted, rubbing her stomach. "But I learned by accident."

"How'd that happen?" Steve asked.

"Yeah." Leo crossed his arms while looking at Donatello and Raphael. "Why don't you tell them how it happened?"

Mikey gleefully took a bite from his sandwich as he watched his brothers flinch.

"Easy, killer." Tony glanced at Leo before turning to the other Avengers. "So, I had Raph and Don at the Tower..."

- - - -

"Why is that robot wearing a dunce cap?" Donnie asked, eyeing the machine in question.

"Oh, Dum-E?" Tony answered absentmindedly. "He knows what he did."

"Now I have more questions..." The purple-clad turtle muttered.

"Save 'em for later." Raph nudged his brother as Tony led them into the hall of armors.

"Here we are." The billionaire grinned as the sixteen-year-olds stared in awe. "Okay, boys, pick your favorites. Then get ready to rumble."

Raph picked the Mark VI armor while Donnie picked Mark III (claiming that the suit had more durability than some of the later models, something Tony thought he should look into). Once J.A.R.V.I.S. helped transfer the suits' motor function controls to two hand-held game controllers, the game began with Tony as the M.C.

"Alright, everyone, welcome to Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots, Iron Man edition! Ready, and... FIGHT!"

Tony was impressed at how the two managed to make his suits pull off what he suspected were ninja fighting moves, and started wondering if he could make a suit that could do martial arts.

They lost track of time, and were on round three of the fight when Tony heard the lab doors open.

Pepper walked in, and froze at the sight of two mutant turtles controlling two of Tony's suits, who were locked in combat. Raph and Don still hadn't noticed her, completely devoted to the game.

She gave Tony one of those looks that demanded an answer.

"Let's be honest," he began as he walked over to her (barely dodging a random robot fist). "This isn't the weirdest thing you've walked in on me doing..."

- - - -

Clint and Bruce were on the floor, laughing.

Steve and Nat were more controlled, but the former was still grinning from ear to ear.

"In his defense," Pepper remarked between bites of sandwich, "he's right in that it isn't the worst thing I've seen him doing in his lab..."

Tony's eyes went wide and he put a finger over his lips, urging her not to say more.

Leonardo snorted. "Anyway, once Mrs. Stark knew, she agreed to keep our secret. Raph and Don told Splinter that she knew, while Tony told SHIELD."

"I'm not Missus Stark yet, Leo," she corrected. "And how could I not keep a secret when you offered me a free babysitter?"

"What?" Steve and Bruce looked confused.

"Mikey's great with kids," Raph explained, shrugging.

"I promised I'd babysit Tony Junior whenever they needed," Michelangelo proudly told the Avengers. "I said I'd do it for a pizza and a new video game."

"For the last time," Pepper rolled her eyes, "the Ultrasound said the baby will be a girl. And even if she wasn't, I'm not calling our baby Tony Junior."

Tony looked like he'd been slapped. "I beg to differ..."

"Here we go again," Natasha grumbled as the argument began anew. 

Chapter Text

"Raph," Leonardo sat up from the couch, looking concerned, "what's wrong with your shell?"

Petra, who'd been reading a book on the other couch, looked up.

"What do you mean?" Raphael didn't seem concerned, but tried to look at the back of his shell.

Pet immediately saw what was wrong. His shell was... peeling.

"Ugh, Leo, is something stuck to my shell?" Mikey came in, scratching at his shell. "It feels like there's paper or something on there..."

He turned around, and his shell was in the same condition as Raph's.

Leonardo absentmindedly scratched at his shell as he looked at his brothers, concerned. His eyes then went wide and he looked at his shell. Pet came and saw that his shell was in the same state as his brothers'.

"Um, guys?" 

Donnie came in from his lab, scratching at his shell. "I think we need to get Master Splinter..."

Fortunately, their sensei knew what was going on.

"Boys," he said as he examined their shells, "remember when I told you that you may experience... changes as you grow older?"

"Yes, please don't remind us," Raph grumbled, blushing.

Petra blushed, too. April had given her an equally awkward conversation...

"Well, this is one of those changes. As you grow, your shells lose some of their old scutes to grow new ones. I have expected this to happen for a while, and I know what to do."

Petra was tasked with making strong sencha tea and salads for the boys while Splinter got them set up in front of the TV with blankets. He also made them all wrap up in blankets and put on oven mitts so they couldn't scratch at their shells. Every hour, he had one of them go and soak in the tub, as this would help alleviate the itching.

"The old scutes will fall off when they are ready," Splinter told the boys as he turned on a movie channel. "Until then, do not scratch... Michelangelo, what did I just say?!?"

Needless to say, it wasn't a fun day for the guys. Soaking in the tub every few hours helped with the itching, but then they had to spend another few hours trying not to scratch at their shells. 

Pet... wasn't quite sure what to say to them. Sure, she knew that they were in pain and miserable, but other than apologizing for the itching she didn't really know what to tell them.

She decided to follow Splinter's lead and simply bring them what they needed or asked for. She spent most of the afternoon prepping fruits and salads for the guys, making sure they drank water, and grabbing towels for whenever they got done in the bath.

To the relief of her brothers, the old scutes had all fallen off by the end of the day. The new scutes were a little sensitive and tender, but Splinter promised that would fade in a day or two.

"Woo-hoo!" Mikey cheered when the itching finally stopped. "We don't ever have to go through that again!"

Splinter sighed. "Unfortunately, Michelangelo, this will likely happen once or twice every year."

Mikey gasped in horror and hugged Petra to him like a teddy bear (to her surprise and annoyance).

"Every year?"

The other three turtles exchanged horrified glances before Leo sighed.

"Let's just go to bed."

- - - -

Growing up sucked.

Pet took a deep breath and hugged her plushie to her stomach.

She was glad that it had happened when she was at April's. She'd been a little panicked (sure she'd known it would happen eventually but still), but April had managed to calm her down. Once she was feeling slightly better about the whole thing, her surrogate older sister texted Splinter about what was going on, told him that she'd handle everything, then had taken her out to grab what she'd need.

Splinter had been understanding when she came home, and was more than happy to give her some space.

Petra had erroneously thought she'd be able to handle it on her own and keep the whole thing a secret from her brothers.

And then, as she'd climbed the ladder to go to her room, the bag of supplies in hand, Donnie had come out of his room, spooking her.

And she'd dropped the bag.

Everything she and April had bought had spilled out.

And he saw it all.

Her face red, Petra had grabbed it all in one go and ran for her room, locking the door. She hadn't even been able to look at Don.

She'd cried into her pillow for an hour. This was it. She could never face her family again. She'd just live in her room forever, and sneak out at night to use the bathroom and steal food from the kitchen. If she even looked at her family again, she'd die of embarrassment. 

She'd been in her room for two hours at that point, wishing she could disappear.

Pain went through her abdomen again, and she hugged the stuffed turtle April had given her for her eleventh birthday.

She started when there was a knock at her door.

"Go away!" She shouted, preparing to throw her stuffie at the invader.

"I brought you something," Donnie spoke through the door.

She smelled chocolate... and her stomach rumbled.

Pet sighed. Her "hide in her room" plan was stupid; she'd have to face her family sooner or later...

Taking her silence as an invitation, Donatello opened the door. One of his hands held a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

"You... feeling okay?"

She shot him a glare. He flinched.

"Yeah, bad choice of words."

He handed her the mug. She subtly kicked the bag of supplies further under her bed as she took her first sip of the drink. It was thick and loaded with marshmallow fluff, which meant that Mikey had made it.

"I just told the others that you're feeling sick," Don told her as he sat next to her on the bed. "I said it was a girl thing."

"Oh," Pet responded. 

"Mikey didn't get it." He admitted. "I think Leo and Raph did, though."

"Great," She replied sarcastically before taking another sip of her drink.

"Hey..." He soothed. He bit his lip, like he was trying to think of what to say, before he sighed.

"I'll be honest, I don't know what's going on. But I know that it's a really crappy thing to go through."

She looked at him in surprise. Raph swore whenever he thought he could get away with it, but Donnie hated saying things even slightly profane.

"Just because we don't understand what's wrong," he continued, "doesn't mean we don't care. You didn't really understand what was wrong with us the first time we shed, but you stayed with us the whole time."

"You were hurting. It was the least I could do," she responded.

"Exactly. That's what we want to do for you. If you want to tell us what's wrong, that's fine. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, too. Just tell us what we can do to help, and we'll do it. Okay?"

It felt like a weight had disappeared from her shoulders. "Okay."

She pulled him into a side hug. He hugged back, and she could hear him let out a little sigh of relief.

He spoke again when she let him out of the hug.

"There's a monster movie marathon playing downstairs. All really cheesy ones. You want in?"

"Let's go."

Mikey nearly tackled her in a hug when she came into the living room, eyes full of concern, but Leo held him back. She just smiled as she sat between Raphael and Donatello.

They didn't exactly coddle or crowd her (which she was happy about), but they were all oddly attentive. When she shivered, Raph put a blanket around her without a word. When the pain caused her to grimace, Leonardo brought her a glass of water and an ibuprofen, staring at her until she took it. When she off-handedly mentioned being hungry, Mikey brought out a bag of tortilla chips and massive bowl of salsa.

Petra, as the first cheesy movie ended and another began, looked lovingly at her brothers (who were too busy telling dumb jokes about the movie to notice).

If this had to happen every month, at least she always had someone to support her.

Chapter Text

"Donnie, it's okay," Petra reassured him.

"Just take deep breaths," Steve added, eyes locked on the turtle.

Ever since he'd seen Tony have one, the captain had read up on panic attacks. If Tony, or anyone else, ended up having one in front of him, Steve didn't want to simply be a bystander again.

The trembling Donatello was taking deep breaths, as instructed, and it seemed like he was starting to calm down. The fact that Rogers was in full Captain America gear, shield and all, probably made him seem more authoritative than usual.

Steve couldn't help feeling a little guilty; Barton had mentioned that Don was afraid of flying (though he hadn't said how he knew that). He'd done fine during the flight... until they hit that turbulence while in the process of landing...

Seeing that Donnie was starting to calm down (and that Spider-Ninja was better suited to help him), Steve's mind went back to the mission. 

Now that HYDRA and their most active subdivision were gone (Coulson had been VERY happy to see Grant Ward behind bars), SHIELD was focusing on targeting any remaining HYDRA bases. There was a chance that the Nazi-founded organization had a few sleeper cells, and Fury wanted those taken out as soon as possible.

Steve did, too. He could never forgive the organization for what they'd try to do to his country... and what they'd done to his best friend.

The bar's music (and singing/laughing patrons) drowned out most other conversations. At their table, the newly-formed Howling Commandos joked over their second (or third) round of drinks. Steve stepped away from his newly-recruited men, and went to find his best friend/brother.

"See," Bucky said as soon as Steve joined him. "I told you. They're all idiots."

He took a sip of his drink as the captain sat.

"How 'bout you?" Steve asked. "You ready to follow 'Captain America' into the jaws of death?"

"Hell no." Bucky responded. Then flashed him a winning smile. "That kid from Brooklyn that was too dumb not to run away from a fight. I'm following him."

Steve smiled as the bartender brought his drink over.

"You're keeping the old outfit, right?" Bucky asked as the two of them glanced at the poster on the wall of Steve in his new uniform.

"You know what?" The captain replied. "It's kinda growing on me."

"Cap?"

Startled, Steve turned around. Donatello was back on his feet, and both teenagers were looking at him with concern.

"Sorry, lost in thought," he apologized. "You alright, Don?"

"Much better," he nodded. 

"Just say the word," Spider-Ninja slung her duffel bag over her shoulder. "We're following you."

"Let's go."

They'd landed their jet in an abandoned field roughly miles outside of Stuttgart. Agents from SHIELD's German division had located an old HYDRA base. They hadn't gone too far past the entrance, but from what they could tell the underground base had been abandoned for a few decades. Fury decided to send in Steve, and let him pick who he brought with him. 

Seeing as how he hadn't seen the Hamatos in action, yet, Captain America had requested Spider-Ninja and Donatello.

"I'll admit," the spider girl said as they finished their trek towards the base, "this isn't how I thought my first trip to Europe would go."

"Same." Donnie nodded. He smirked. "You probably wanted to take MJ to Paris, right? City of love?"

Petra blushed. "Shut up."

Steve snorted. He'd teased Bucky about his seemingly endless stream of girlfriends when they were teenagers...

The German agents had marked off the area with flags, yellow tape, and a sign.

"Vorsicht," Cap read aloud. "Sinkloch voraus."

"What does that mean?" Spider-Ninja asked.

"It's German," Steve explained. "'Danger: sinkhole ahead.' Fury said they needed to make sure no passersby saw the base entrance and got curious."

Petra looked around at the empty field. "Somehow I don't think they needed to worry..."

"Focus, Pet." Donnie got her attention and motioned for the duffel.

She handed it over, and he began to dig through it. He pulled out SHIELD standard issue communicators, a tablet, and three flashlights.

Once the gear was distributed, Rogers took charge.

"From what the agents could tell, there's no one down there. But I've underestimated HYDRA before, and we need to be ready for anything. Spider-Ninja, since you can sense danger, I want you up front. If your senses go off, or if you see something suspicious, tell me immediately."

She nodded.

"Donatello, you'll be right behind her. Do you still have that perimeter scanner Tony gave you?"

The turtle held up his wrist. The device in question looked a lot like a watch, only it had what appeared to be a small SONAR dish rather than a clock.

"Good." Rogers nodded. "You'll be right behind Petra. Keep your bo staff at the ready, and alert me if anything grabs your attention. I'm guessing neither of you speak German?"

"No," Don admitted. "But we downloaded this app that translates foreign text into English."

He opened the app on his tablet and showed him.

Steve wasted a few seconds simply staring (this new world's technology never ceased to amaze him) before he came back to himself.

"Good, that'll be useful." He took his shield off of his back. "I'll take up the rear. While we're down there, I want you both to listen to me like you'd listen to your father. It's my job to keep you safe. Got it?"

"Yes, sir." They both nodded.

He nodded back. "Alright, let's go."

- - - -

Pet's senses were on high alert as they made their way through the abandoned base.

It looked like the German agents were right; the owners of the base hadn't been by in a long time.

Judging by the sheer amount of dust and spider webs, neither had a cleaning crew.

It was a good thing she'd been upfront; with her spider instincts, she didn't mind a few webs here and there. She knocked down any webs in their path (angering a few of her fellow arachnids) as she went forward, keeping them from her brother and Steve.

Due to relying on flashlight beams, their walk through was slow-going, made slower by Steve and Donnie stopping now and then so the app could translate something in German.

Most of what they'd found thus far were old Nazi World War Two propaganda posters, ancient devices, and empty cigarette boxes.

While historians would lose their minds at most of what was there, the group hadn't found anything of incredible interest yet. After an hour, they still hadn't found anything.

Plus, Petra's heightened sense of smell did not appreciate how much dust was in the air. She'd sneezed at least four times since they entered the base.

After her fifth sneeze, she was about to suggest that they head topside for a lunch break... and then her spider-sense went off.

She'd learned that her senses, while primarily there to detect danger, would also sometimes go off just to let her know that there was something nearby she needed to see.

At that moment, spider-sense was telling her to look left.

For a moment, all she saw was an old wooden door. But her heightened sense of hearing detected the hum of technology. Not modern technology (not by any means), but still working technology.

"Guys," she spoke up, "I think there's something behind that door."

It was locked, but Steve's military training and serum-enhanced strength let him easily kick it down.

As the three of them entered the room, they all froze.

It was a lab, with the walls covered in ancient (but still running) computers. Light flooded the room as soon as they walked in.

"This tech looks like it's from the seventies," Donatello noted. "Early eighties at the latest."

"No one's been here for a while," Petra noted a fine layer of dust on a tabletop. "Maybe they used the old base as a cover? Make people think it's a useless old building so they don't think to look for the real lab?"

"Maybe..." Steve nodded, though his gaze was elsewhere.

Petra looked in the same direction as him, and noticed something in the center of the room.

It was a tall cylinder covered by a black tarp.

"Maybe that's a control center," Donnie speculated. "Here, let me see if I can translate some of these signs on the walls..."

As he got to work, Captain America started walking towards the cylinder.

"Cap?" She asked. "Hey, Steve? You okay?"

"Fine..." He mumbled before he turned to look at her. "Did you know that HYDRA used prisoners of war for some of their experiments?"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head.

"I saw some of the results myself..." He continued, his voice sounding haunted. "We lost some good men to their scientists... What if this lab was for those experiments?"

"Guys, you're not going to believe this!" Donnie sounded both excited and horrified. "This lab was dedicated to early cryogenic experiments!"

"Are you serious?" Pet's eyes widened.

"What's cryogenics?" Steve replied, eyes deadly serious.

Petra knew that look; it was the "I think I know what you're talking about but I want you to say it" look. Splinter had used it on them a few times when they were trying to get out of trouble...

"Cryogenics," Donnie explained, "is the science of extremely cold temperatures. For the longest time, cryogenisists have been trying to find a way to safely freeze organisms in suspended animation for long periods of time... kind of like..."

The turtle paused when he realized that he might have touched on a sensitive topic.

Cap looked alarmed, and turned to the tall cylinder.

"What if HYDRA was trying to freeze people?" He wondered out loud. 

Pet couldn't tell what he was thinking, but she wasn't at all surprised when he ripped the tarp off of the cylinder. 

The cylinder was a glass capsule, frozen completely solid. Wires and tubes of various sizes connected the capsule to the numerous computers around the room, and a series of lights flickered across a control panel on the bottom.

The most jarring sight, however, was the fact that a man was trapped inside.

The glass was frosted over, so it was hard to make out his face. He looked as though he were asleep.

Don and Pet were motionless for all of five seconds before they both started moving.

"Spider-Ninja, take the other tablet out of the bag and start translating the computers!" Donnie snapped into action. "We need to find out if that guy's alive, and how we can get him out of there!"

"On it!" Pet did as he said.

For a few minutes, they both scrambled with the ancient tech, the language barrier only slightly slowing them down.

When Petra found what she was looking for, she let out a sigh of relief.

"He's still alive! But we need to be really careful getting him out; one wrong step in the reanimation process could kill him."

"Copy that," her brother responded. "I think I found the instructions for what to do. Hold on, I'm sending the translated instructions to your tablet... We're only going to get one shot at this..."

The two began speaking fluent technobabble as they began the process of bringing the frozen soldier back to life.

- - - -

Steve was as frozen as the man in front of him.

He was so shocked that the sounds of the chattering teens and beeping computers faded away.

In his mind, the memory of that fateful mission kept replaying. Other memories followed it: his mother's funeral, fights in alleys and behind movie theaters, the Stark Expo, the rescue mission, the night at the bar, so many successful missions...

The face trapped in the ice capsule... even with inches of ice separating them, Steve could never... would never... forget it.

It was impossible, he was dead...

But the recovery team had never found a body...

And Steve had been thought dead, too...

It was impossible.

And yet it was staring him in the face...

"Bucky?" 

Chapter Text

"Wait, Bucky?" Donatello turned away from the computers. "As in Sergeant James Buchanon Barnes?"

"Yes," Steve mumbled, in a daze.

"But I thought he was KIA," Spider-Ninja added. "Unless... Wait a sec."

She typed away at the computer, using the translator app to make more progress.

"Holy shell... Cap, you said that you rescued Bucky from a POW camp, right?"

He nodded, his attention finally being taken away from the capsule.

"When you found him, did it look like he'd been experimented on? Maybe he was in a lab, looked drugged...?"

Steve remembered finding Bucky in Schmidt's camp. He'd been strapped down, dazed, repeating his name, rank, and serial number...

"Yes," he nodded again.

"It looks like he was the first test subject for their version of Doctor Erskine's super soldier serum," she finished as she read the data. 

"They cracked it, too?" Donnie responded with shock.

"Yes and no," she responded. "Their version of the serum was burned up when the camp exploded. It looks like Bucky was their first successful subject... Hang on, there's more..."

She read over the rest of the medical files. Steve watched as her face turned paler and paler.

"Spider-Ninja?" The captain tried to bring her back.

"Pet?" Donatello spoke up.

The girl took a step away from the computer, taking deep breaths. For moment it looked like she'd be sick, but she powered through.

"They've had him here for years," she explained, eyes wide in horror. "They were using him as a soldier... and when they weren't doing that they were keeping him frozen or... experimenting on him."

She looked Steve in the eyes.

"Captain, there's a chance he may not remember you..."

He paused as he thought about what that would mean... then shook it off.

"Getting Bucky out of here is the best thing we can do for him. I want you two to figure out how to get him out of the capsule as quickly and safely as possible. I'm not losing my best friend again, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," they both agreed.

"I'll contact Fury and let him know what we've found," he told them.

He didn't know how the director would take the news, but he would definitely need to know about this...

- - - -

All told, Fury took it better than he thought he would.

There were only a few curse words spoken, though they were the kind that Steve's mother would have washed his mouth out for saying.

"And Hamato is confident he can get him out safely?" Fury finished.

"He and his assistant are studying it as we speak, sir," the captain confirmed. "It's a slow-going process due to the amount of translating they need to do, but they're confident they can get him out... There is something else, sir."

"What?"

"Hamato's assistant said that HYDRA conducted numerous experiments on him... and that he may have brain damage as a result. I'm requesting a medical team be sent to our location along with a science team."

"Granted. And before you ask, yes, you'll have permission to visit Barnes as soon as the doctors approve."

Steve felt a weight lift off of his shoulders.

"Let me know the second Barnes is out of that damn thing, alright?"

"Yes sir."

"Fury out."

He hung up.

"Cap?" Donatello's voice called to him. "I think we're ready."

Steve practically ran over.

- - - -

"Once we finish defrosting him," Petra finished, "we can't say how he'll respond. He may be groggy, or violent, or... well, we can't say for sure."

"I understand." Steve nodded.

No matter what, Bucky, he promised in his head, I'm bringing you home.

"Pet, I'm beginning the unlocking sequence. Once that's done, you need to start adding the chemical mixture."

"Got it. I'm already telling the computer to add the sodium chloride mixed with..."

The technobabble went over Steve's head, but even if it hadn't he wouldn't have been listening.

First, the tubes surrounding the capsule began to tremble, pumping in strange liquids. Then the panels along the top and bottom of the capsule began flashing wildly. Before Steve's eyes, the ice began to melt. After the longest five minutes of Steve's life, the ice had gone.

"His life signs are holding steady!" Petra announced, sounding like she was ready to start cheering.

"Okay," Donatello responded, "I'm going to start slowly bringing up the temperature in the capsule... We don't want to shock his system.."

After ten minutes, the capsule had warmed to the temperature of the lab.

"Pet? How's he looking?" Donnie asked.

"Still stable!" She seemed to be seconds from cheering.

Beaming, Donatello pushed a final button.

The door to the capsule swung open.

Steve stared at his best friend.

The man he hadn't seen in decades.

"Bucky?" He whispered as he walked into the capsule.

They'd chained him to a gurney that forced him to sleep standing up. With brute strength, Steve forced the cuffs open and put his hands on his friend's shoulders.

"Bucky, can you hear me?"

Steve's heart rate tripled, this time in joy, when Bucky let out a murmur.

Oh thank you merciful God! Steve prayed as he picked up his friend and carried him out of the capsule.

It was then he noticed that one of Bucky's arms was made of metal.

What did they do to you? Steve wondered in horror.

He laid him on the floor. He had enough presence of mind to make the call to Fury (albeit the shortest call he'd ever made), but most of his concentration was on Bucky.

Slowly, the man began to wake up, his eyes slowly opening.

"Bucky?" Steve spoke, hoping against hope. "Do you know who I am?"

For a moment, there was no recognition in the soldier's eyes.

Then, they focused.

"Steve?"

His voice was raspy from disuse.

A tear rolled down Steve's cheek as he smiled.

"Yeah... Yes, Bucky. It's me."

"Here." 

Spider-Ninja handed the captain a bottle of water.

Steve helped his friend sit up and drink, making sure he took slow sips. 

"We'd better go back to the jet," Donatello told his sister. "We don't want to be here when the rest of SHIELD shows up."

"Good thinking," Spider-Ninja agreed. "Cap, if you need us, call us. 'Kay?"

"Okay." 

The teenagers grabbed their gear and left the lab. Seeing as how SHIELD was an hour from arriving and it was a thirty minute walk to the jet, he knew they'd be fine.

"Steve?" Bucky asked.

"Yes?" 

It felt so good to talk to him again.

"Am I crazy?" 

"No, I don't think so..."

Then again, he didn't know what HYDRA had done to his friend's body or mind. Fury was probably going to have their scientists give Barnes the works...

"Then..." Bucky continued. "Then why did I just see a talking turtle?"

"That's... That's a long story." Steve admitted.

- - - -

It had been three days since Bucky had been pulled out of that capsule.

As Steve had predicted, Fury had ordered that Barnes receive around the clock care.

Fortunately, Bruce had been approved as one of the doctors allowed to see him, and he reported back what he'd seen to Steve.

"The capsule kept him alive," Bruce admitted. "Honestly, minus some malnourishment and dehydration, he's fine. The real damage is..."

He paused, but Steve urged him to continue.

"HYDRA apparently did something to his brain. They hit him with some kind of tool, multiple times, right in the prefrontal cortex. That's the part that controls short term memory."

Steve nearly fell over. No wonder Spider-Ninja had gotten so pale...

"And his arm?" He dared to ask.

"The prosthetic is old, but it works. It doesn't seem to be causing him any pain, so Dr. Cho wants to leave it."

Bruce sighed. "She's planned an MRI and a CT scan for tomorrow to take a better look at what HYDRA did to his brain."

Steve let out a sigh of his own as he slumped into one of Tony's living room chairs.

He'd saved his best friend.

So why did it feel like he'd failed him?

Chapter Text

Nick Fury would describe the last six hours as nothing short of a crap fire.

While investigating the HYDRA base (with VERY special attention being paid to the lab that Cap and the Hamatos had found), one of SHIELD's scientists had found a small book full of Russian phrases.

Behind Fury's back, a agents had decided to see how Barnes would react to hearing the phrases. They had stupidly thought that having a gun or two on hand would be enough to stop him if he got violent. 

No sooner had the words "longing", "rusted", "seventeen", "daybreak", "furnace", "nine", "benign", "homecoming", "one", and "freight car" passed the agent's lips that Barnes had sprung from his hospital bed and gone on a rampage. The shocked agents' guns had gone off twice, not hitting him even once or even slowing him down as he started charging through the med bay.

Fury didn't know how many people might have been killed if Doctors Connors and Octavius hadn't been in one of the medical labs at the time. The former changed into Leatherhead and pinned down the rampaging soldier while Doctor Octavius used a Knockout Cannon to sedate Barnes.

While they'd caught him before he could severely injure anyone (and the idiots responsible for the whole mess were severely punished), a lot of damage had been done.

When Barnes awoke (finding himself in bed restraints with two armed soldiers staring at him), he had no memory of the incident.

Romanoff, when briefed on what happened, had looked disturbed.

"Something similar happened in the Red Room." She admitted. "It was experimental; girls who had the skills to be assassins but lacked the discipline to follow orders were brainwashed into becoming mindless soldiers when they heard a collection of phrases. I guess my... teachers learned it from HYDRA."

She paused for a moment. They were alone in a briefing room, thus he knew she felt safe enough to drop her guard a bit. He gave her a minute or two to recompose herself; he and Clint were some of the few people to know just how effected she was by the Red Room. Once she looked more like herself, the meeting continued.

"Is there any way to reverse it?" Fury asked, deadly serious.

"To my knowledge, no. But I know it involves a lot of psychological conditioning. Therapy might be able to help him open up and feel safer, but he'd have to remember exactly what they did to him in order for us to help find a way to reverse it."

They were silent before Fury recalled something a certain mutant had told him.

"I think I know someone who could help..."

- - - -

Steve hadn't wanted to put off seeing Bucky for so long.

He'd intended to give the doctors a few days, five at most, to get Bucky as stable and calm as possible.

But then the rampage had happened...

It had been a week since Bucky had thawed out, and Steve hadn't seen him since.

He needed to do this. Bucky needed to know he had a friend here.

But...

He'd failed him.

He hadn't saved him on the train in the first place, he hadn't looked harder after he'd gotten out of the iceberg, he hadn't destroyed HYDRA and prevented him from being captured in the first place...

Everything Bucky had gone through was all Steve's fault.

He couldn't look him in the eyes knowing that he'd caused his best friend so much pain.

But he still wanted to see him.

His dilemma left him leaning against the wall just outside of Bucky's room. Tony had offered to put Bucky up in Avengers Tower's med bay to give him more privacy, while also allowing for doctors, nurses, and agents to visit whenever they needed. Now that Bucky was stable, the medical staff (minus Bruce) came only every other day. Coulson, Hill, or May dropped in for a status update every few hours, but that was the extent of Bucky's visitors...

"Cap?"

Steve was pulled from his thoughts by a teenage voice. He looked up to see Leonardo, Master Splinter, and a wheelchair-bound man that the captain didn't recognize.

"Hey, sorry..." He apologized, flustered. "Good to see you, Leo, Master Splinter..." He turned to the man in the chair. "I'm sorry, I don't think we've been introduced..."

"It is alright, Captain Rogers." Splinter calmed him. "This is a friend of the Hamato Clan, Professor Charles Xavier."

Realization dawned on Steve. "The leader of the X-Men? I've read about you in some field reports... Your powers are very impressive."

"Thank you." The professor smiled. "However, I must admit this is not a social meeting."

"Leonardo." Splinter turned to his son. "Go and see Sergeant Barnes."

Steve looked between them, numerous questions piling up as the blue-clad turtle made his way to Bucky's room.

"Director Fury and Splinter both gave permission for Bucky to know about the Hamatos." Professor Xavier told the soldier. "And he will keep your friend entertained while the three of us discuss our plan."

"What plan?" Steve couldn't help but ask.

"The plan," Splinter explained, "to rebuild the mind of Sergeant Barnes."

- - - -

Seventy years.

It felt like just weeks ago that he and Steve had been reminiscing in a bar about the banana incident from when they were twelve.

To him, it had been a few weeks ago.

But according to the tests they'd done on him and the history book he'd been loaned, he'd been turned into a weapon by the enemy.

They forced him to do who knew what to strangers, then broke his brain so he wouldn't remember.

What's worse, they'd done something so that if he heard Russian, he'd go crazy.

And then they'd frozen him in ice and forgotten about him. 

Like he was a toy soldier they stole from another kid and buried in the yard when they grew bored of it.

Apparently, though, he hadn't been hallucinating when he'd come out of that tube... So why did he remember a giant talking turtle there?

The curtain separating his room from the rest of the building (wherever the heck he was) moved aside.

To Bucky's shock/surprise, there was a bipedal turtle the size of a man standing in his room.

"Bucky Barnes, right?" He asked, sounding like he was in his mid-late teens.

Bucky didn't know what surprised him more: that the turtle was there at all, that he could speak and knew his name, or that he was wearing two katanas on his shell.

"Yeah..." He eyed the IV bag next to his bed. "They must have put me on the really good drugs..."

"No drugs, that's just saline." The turtle responded, pulling up a chair. "You're completely sane right now. Don't worry, I get that reaction a lot. I'm Leonardo Hamato."

"...Nice to meet you... What are you?"

"Mutant turtle. It's kind of a long story, but basically I was covered in experimental goo as a baby and now I can act, talk, and think like a human. Steve knows the full story, he can tell you later."

"...Oh."

Bucky wanted to say that all sounded ridiculous. But considering the fact that his best friend had been turned from a wimp to an American hero overnight and the two of them had been frozen in ice for seventy years (not to mention the fact that he'd missed an alien invasion), he decided that he should just roll with any crazy things he heard. For now, at least.

"Hard to swallow, I know." The turtle nodded. "Anyway, I actually came in here to talk about you. How much do you remember?"

"About my time with HYDRA?" He sighed. "Like I've told everyone else, I don't remember anything about that."

"Actually, I meant your past. Before World War Two."

Oh... that was unexpected.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, anything... What was your family like?"

"...Well, I was the oldest of four kids."

Leonardo laughed. "I'm the oldest of five!"

"You have siblings?"

"Yeah. You met two of them already; my brother Donatello and sister Petra were the ones to thaw you out."

Bucky searched his memory, and realized that he'd seen a teenage girl alongside the purple-clad turtle.

"Wait, are your siblings turtles too, or...?"

"Well, yes and no. My brothers and I are all turtles. My sister was born a human, and still looks like one, but she got mutated by modified spider venom over a year ago. She was adopted when she was four."

Bucky nodded with understanding.

They continued to talk until three new figures entered the room.

One he knew instantly, and he gave his first genuine smile in days.

"Steve."

"Hi, Bucky." His best friend gave a small smile back.

It took a moment for Bucky to realize that the other two to enter the room were a man in a wheelchair and a giant rat.

"Good afternoon, Sergeant Barnes." The rat greeted with a thick Japanese accent before turning to the turtle. "You may go, my son."

"Nice to meet you, Bucky." Leonardo gave a brief wave before he ducked out of the room.

"Son?" The soldier was so confused.

"Long story." Steve offered.

"For now," the wheelchair-bound man spoke up, "there is something we must discuss."

- - - -

Steve hadn't liked their idea at all at first.

After everything Bucky'd already been through, having someone enter his brain was going way too far.

But after the two had explained, Steve had calmed.

It could work, if Bucky was willing to try it.

All it took was the mere suggestion that he could shake HYDRA's programming forever for Bucky to agree. 

The rat sat in a chair immediately across from the hospital bed, setting his walking stick aside and tucking his legs under him. He sat completely still, even his tail remained motionless.

"First," Splinter instructed, "close your eyes. Breathe deeply."

Bucky did so.

"As difficult as it may be, I want you to focus on the day you fell from the train."

Steve nearly stopped everything right there. That was the last thing Bucky needed to think about!

A telepathic message from the professor stopped him.

Eyes closed, Bucky's face was pinched in concentration.

"I fell, and I was... hurt." He mumbled. "My arm... I couldn't feel my arm... Soviet soldiers found me... then I..."

"You are doing well." The rat told him, his voice reassuring. His eyes were still closed. "Now, the professor will help you with remembering what came next."

At the rat's word, the Professor rolled his chair forward until he was sitting next to Bucky's bedside. He gently placed a hand on the man's forehead (earning a brief flinch in response), and seemed to stare into the middle distance.

Bucky's hands, real and metal, twitched. He mumbled various words under his breath.

"...no... I can't... hurts... stop... hurts so much... don't want... innocent... James Buchanon Bucky Barnes... Sergeant... Serial number... not who I am... hurts... innocent... follow orders, can't follow these... stop... hurts... hurts... someone help... help... Steve... Steve help..."

At that last word, his eyes popped open and he shouted.

"Steve!"

The captain rushed forward, making a beeline for his friend.

"Bucky, it's alright. I'm here."

Steve froze when he saw Bucky's face.

He hadn't seen his best friend cry since they were little.

"They took away everything." Bucky murmured, staring at the wall while tears dripped down his face. "My arm, my uniform, my self-control... I couldn't even remember my name. They made me... They turned me into a monster."

Steve pulled Bucky into a hug, as tight as he could without hurting Bucky worse. His friend sobbed into his shoulder, years of pain and isolation pouring out.

Out of the corner of his eye, the captain saw the professor roll out of the room, saying something about talking to Leonardo.

When Bucky stopped sobbing, they looked up to see Splinter standing near, his eyes full of sadness and sympathy.

"What you went through was tragic," he began, "and you did not deserve it. I will not lie, it takes time to recover from such pain. Much time. But I know of ways to help one work through trauma. I would like to help you, Mister Barnes, if you will let me."

There was a brief pause.

"I don't want them to have control of me anymore." Bucky answered. 

Steve saw a flicker of his friend's stubborn determination flash through his eyes.

"Good." Splinter nodded. "I will return tomorrow. We will begin with meditations and practices that can strengthen the mind. They will help you recognize and eventually overcome what happened to you."

"Thank you, sir." Bucky nodded.

"Call me Master Splinter." The rat nodded back. "And before you ask, Steven, yes, you may join the lessons as well."

"How'd you know?" Steve asked.

"Professor Xavier overheard your thoughts." He stood, his walking stick in hand, and excused himself.

Bucky laid back in his hospital bed as Steve pulled a chair up.

For a moment, all they could do was sit in silence.

Finally, Bucky broke it.

"So... the twenty-first century, huh?"

"Yeah, it's still hard to believe sometimes..." Rogers muttered.

He could only guess at what his friend was ask about next: technology, history, politics, who from their unit was still alive...

"So... what are the dames like here?"

Steve let out a belly laugh. "Of course that's the first thing you ask me..."

"Hey, it's an important question!" Bucky was laughing along with him.

"Well, to start," Steve began when he could speak again, "they don't like it when you call them dames..."

He was interrupted by Leonardo sticking his head in.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt... I can come back later..."

"You're fine, Leo." The captain gestured for him to come in. "What did you want to ask?"

"Well," the turtle entered and sat in one of the chairs, "when he overheard your thoughts, the Professor heard about something called the Banana Incident..."

The two veterans burst out laughing, startling the teen.

"Okay, okay." Steve managed to get out. "What we're about to tell you, you can't tell anyone. Got it?"

Leo nodded eagerly.

Bucky spoke up, grinning like old times.

"It all started when Steve and I pooled our allowance to buy a banana split..."

Chapter Text

"Okay, let's go again." The red-clad turtle commanded.

Petra glared at the basket of ping pong balls. She turned that glare at Raphael. He gave her a look that, while not as icy as Splinter's, forced her to sigh and do as he asked.

She and Donatello had been working on discovering all of her new powers. Some, like the wall-crawling and danger-detecting ability, were easy to discover. Others presented themselves on accident. 

Like her super strength.

Donnie had been struggling to open a jar at breakfast, and Pet had offered to help. Next thing they knew, the jar was glass shards and there were strawberry preserves everywhere. They were extremely lucky no one got cut.

"Focus." Raph brought her back to the task at hand. "Remember, everythin's an egg."

She picked up the latest ping pong ball. Her older brother had given her the task of carrying around the ping pong ball while making her way through an obstacle course he and Leonardo had set up. The goal was to successfully make her way through without crushing the ping pong ball or breaking anything in the obstacle course (which was constructed out of cardboard).

This was the tenth try.

She did pretty good at first, vaulting over the cardboard wall (which was easy when you could jump to superhuman heights) and running across the balance beam. Then she got to her least favorite part.

Her senses let her know that Raph was about to fire, and she managed to dodge the first few toy arrows.

"Remember the ping pong ball!" Raphael shouted as he loaded another toy arrow onto his bow.

"I've got it, okay?" She retorted.

As the next arrow flew at her, she caught it in mid air, inches from her face.

Unfortunately, she forgot about her charge, and heard a plastic crunch.

Flinching, she looked at her hand. She'd involuntarily made a fist in her other hand while catching the arrow, and the ping pong ball was now several plastic shards.

Out of patience, Pet threw the arrow and the ruined ball across the room.

"THIS IS HOPELESS!" She yelled in frustration.

"You just need to keep practicin' until it comes naturally." Raphael walked over. "Trust me, I hated it when Splinter made me start doin' this."

"What do you mean?" She looked up.

"When he learned how strong I really am," Raph looked at his arms before returning his gaze to her, "he made me start trainin' to control my strength. If you don't keep it under control, you'll hurt someone you care about... Trust me on that."

He briefly looked ashamed.

Pet remembered all the times he'd lost his temper and snapped at their brothers. He was way better at controlling his temper than he was as a kid, although that anger was always simmering below the surface. 

If he can learn to control his strength, then so can I.

"Okay." She sighed and stood up. "Let's go again."

It took ten more tries and a break for lunch. But finally, finally, she got it.

Chapter Text

The mutant super soldier glared at his opponent with steely eyes. His lip was curled in a snarl, attempting to intimidate his opponent.

The fourteen-year-old in the green mask stared back, completely unfazed.

"No offense, Logan, but Master Splinter's glare is way worse than yours."

"Enemies come at you with more than dirty looks, kid." He responded. "You've gotta be ready for anything in a fight. Never know when someone's gonna pull a dirty trick and stab you in the back."

"Do you speak from experience?"

"Painful experience."

He'd been stabbed in the back, literally and figuratively, more times than he could ever remember... although that was partially due to many of his memories missing.

"Sensei's taught us that fighting isn't just blocking an enemy's weapon," Petra recited, "but predicting when they'll strike."

"Wise words." He nodded. "Now..."

He gave her a look that had sent many opponents running.

"Are you ready?"

Eyes focused, she nodded.

"E7."

He looked at his board. "Miss. A3."

She scowled. "Hit."

The game went on.

Logan could tell Petra had inherited her mother's competitiveness; she played the board game like she was in a life or death scenario.

In order to make the students feel less intimidated by him, the Professor had suggested Logan play board games with some of his students. While it often led to students asking him about their history homework, it did help the kids (especially those who knew about his reputation) feel safer around him.

Because of how long he'd been alive and how many chess/checkers/poker strategies he'd seen, he was usually pretty confident in his ability to play board games. He almost always won, and surely he couldn't be defeated in a little guessing game...

"C4."

He growled. "Hit."

They continued... unaware that they had an audience.

"D8."

"Miss." She smugly responded. "A9."

He growled again, then sighed.

"You sank my battleship."

There was a sound of applause. The grizzled soldier and young ninja turned in surprise.

Cyclops, Storm, and Jean Grey were all standing in the doorway, applauding.

"Well done, Spider-Ninja." Ororo congratulated in her thick accent.

The kid blushed. "Thanks, Storm."

"Looks like you're losing your touch, Logan." Cyclops smirked.

The blades popped out of his hands.

"Wanna bet?"

"Boys." A cloud appeared over Storm's head as she glared at them. "No."

The two men, one smirking and one scowling, left the room.

- - - -

"Well handled." Jean told Storm.

"Thank you." The white-haired woman responded before she sat in Logan's chair and started resetting his board.

"I always play the winner." She told Petra.

"Okay!" Pet started resetting her own board.

Chapter Text

"Why didn't you tell Splinter?" Mikey admonished when he saw the long cut on Leo's arm.

"Michelangelo, quiet!" Leonardo whispered as he looked around to make sure no one else had heard.

They'd just gotten back from a patrol, which had led to a particularly nasty fight with some escaped convicts. The criminals had all carried shivs and knives, but Mikey had thought they'd all gotten away unscathed. 

Leo's bloody arm, which he'd seen while coming into the kitchen for a snack before bed, said otherwise.

The orange clad turtle said nothing, per his brother's request, but got the first aid kit.

"Why didn't you at least tell Donnie? Or Doc Connors?" Mikey whispered as he got out the antibiotics and gauze.

Leo looked like he wanted to protest, realized it was pointless, then sat at the kitchen table with a huff.

"I didn't notice it until after I showered. I guess the water made it start bleeding again."

"Dude, even I would have noticed a cut that big. Do you think it needs stitches?"

"No, I checked, it's not that deep."

Relieved, Mikey did what Don and Pet had showed him as he dressed the injury.

"Okay," he said as he closed the first aid kit, "I won't tell Splinter. This time. But if this happens again, I'm telling."

"Mikey, it wasn't a big deal..."

"Yes it was." He fired back. "What if it had been something worse, like if you busted your leg again? You can't not tell people when you're hurt. And don't fight me on this, you know you'd totally do the same thing to me if I'd been hiding that I was hurt."

Leo had actually given him the same lecture when they were seven and he found Mikey hiding that he had a skinned knee.

The oldest turtle held out for all of two minutes before he finally sighed.

"Alright, fine."

"Good."

With that, Mikey grabbed the miniature bag of pretzels he'd come for in the first place and went up to his room.

If Leonardo noticed that Michelangelo kept an unusually close eye on him during missions for a while, he said nothing.

- - - -

"Hey."

"What?" Raphael growled.

Mikey, who was far too used to his brother snapping angrily, just gave one of his usual smiles and handed over the glass.

Raph was about to snap at him again, then noticed that the glass held a vanilla milkshake topped with whipped cream. 

Over the years, seeing Raphael go off to brood when he got upset over something had become a usual sight. He had a lot of places where he went to cool off, most of them places in the storm sewers. The spot he went to most often was a drainage pipe that let out over the Hudson. On clearer nights, you could see the stars from there.

Along with learning Raph's cool-off spots, Mikey had also learned the best ways to get Raph to come home when he got like this.

For one, his brother would always be more willing to open up if given his favorite dessert.

He held out for about five seconds before he took the offered treat.

"Thanks." He mumbled before he started sipping the shake.

"No problem... Did something happen?"

There were a few minutes of silence. Mikey wasn't known for his patience, but he also knew that asking Raph too many questions when he was already ticked would just make him explode.

Finally, when half of the milkshake was gone, Raph sighed. He handed over the glass (saying nothing as Mikey started to drink the rest).

"Casey and I were fightin' a bunch of Purple Dragons outside this movie theater. We won and had them all tied up for SHIELD. As we were leavin' though, one little kid saw us... saw me. And... he called me a monster."

Oh. Mikey bit his lip.

Raphael would smack anyone who mentioned it, but the fact that humans were usually afraid of them... It bothered him a lot more than he let on. Shell, it bothered Mikey, too. 

"We're not monsters." Michelangelo started. "SHIELD knows that. So do April, Casey, MJ, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Stacys, the Bartons... Even the Foot Clan knew we weren't monsters, even if they were caling us freaks."

"Hmm." Raph grunted in response, not looking at Mikey.

He could tell his words had somewhat helped Raphael, but he also knew that his brother wasn't easily brought out of a bad mood.

Sometimes, the best he could do was just sit with him until Raphael decided he was ready to go home.

So that's what he did.

- - - -

"Hey, Brainiacs." Michelangelo said as he started to walk into the lab. "It's getting late, how much longer are you... Oh, shell, not again."

Donatello was at one of his computers, slumped over in his desk chair and completely dead to the world.

Petra had been working on a notebook full of equations and had passed out in the middle of writing something, her head and arms resting on the desk.

Mikey sighed. This was at least the fourth time that year.

He could Pet to her room easily enough, but he'd need help to move Donnie.

Splinter would help if asked, but the rat had been kept up super late the other night waiting for them to come home from a mission, and he didn't want to cost their father any more sleep. Raph could easily lift Don by himself, but waking Raphael was as dangerous as poking a hungry lion.

That left only one option. Luckily, Leo was a light sleeper.

"Leo?" Mikey went into his brother's room and started nudging him.

"Ez?" He muttered. "Did I fall asleep on the bench again?"

Mikey smirked (he was definitely teasing Leo about that later) then refocused on the task at hand.

"Leonardo, wake up."

Leo finally woke. He blinked at Mikey, looked at his clock, then sighed.

"Why are you waking me at one in the morning?"

"The Brainiacs did it again."

He didn't need to say anymore. Leo sighed again and started to get up.

Michelangelo went back downstairs, knowing his brother would follow.

Petra was easy; she'd left her weapons and web shooters on the work table. All he had to do was pick her up, take her to her room, pull off her shoes, and lay her on her bed.

By the time he got back to the lab, Leo was waiting. While it was one thing to get their sister upstairs, getting their unconscious brother up the ladder was something neither of them wanted to attempt. They decided to just put him on the couch.

"I'll let Splinter know in the morning." Leo whispered, yawning as he started heading back to bed. "Those two know better than to try and pull on all-nighter."

"It's not gonna stop 'em from trying again." Mikey shook his head.

The Brainiacs never knew when to quit. It was as awesome as it was worrying.

"Wait," Leo asked before the two went into their rooms, "what were you doing up so late?"

Mikey blushed. "Texting Bobby. He said there was something he wanted to talk about next time we went to the Manor."

Leonardo was too tired to give a response, so he just nodded and went to his room.

Despite his exhaustion (and sympathy for the Brainiacs; Splinter's lectures were never fun), Mikey couldn't help his rising excitement for their visit to Xavier's in a few days.

What did his boyfriend need to tell him?

- - - -

He should have known.

Usually when they got to Xavier's, Bobby was so happy to see him. They'd hang out, skateboard, watch movies, play video games, hold hands, prank the other students...

But that day... Bobby had looked scared and uncertain.

And... sad.

Mikey should have noticed. But he shrugged it off. 

They spent the day as they usually did... though Bobby had seemed uncomfortable the whole time. The teen ninja tried to get his ice-powered boyfriend to tell him what was wrong, but he kept shrugging him off, saying it was nothing.

The real clue was when the Professor rolled by and gave the couple a sad look. He probably knew what Bobby was going to do.

At the end of the visit, Bobby had pulled Michelangelo aside.

"Look, Mikey... I have a ton of fun with you, and I've loved being with you. But... I don't think this is working out..."

He'd spaced out. 

Bobby was... Bobby was breaking up with him?

He was in shock. He nodded when Bobby asked if they could still be friends, nodded when his family asked if he was okay (they didn't believe him) and was silent the whole way home.

The second they were back, he went up to his room.

No one loved him, no one would ever love him. He just wanted to be alone...

Unfortunately, that was the same night that he learned telepaths are snitches.

Barely ten minutes after he'd holed up in his room, there was a pounding at the door.

"Go away." He said, trying not to sound like he'd been crying. "I don't wanna talk."

The door opened. "Too bad."

Without another word, Raphael stomped over to the bed, pulled the protesting Mikey off of it, and started to carry him downstairs.

"Don't fight me or I'll drop ya." He warned.

"What are you doing?" Mikey demanded, still struggling slightly.

"Taking you downstairs. 'Cause if I don't, I'm gonna go back to Xavier's and beat Bobby's face in."

"... The Professor told, didn't he?"

"Five minutes ago."

With that, he forced Mikey to climb down the ladder. From there, the rest of the family forced him into the living room.

"What's going on?" He asked, still trying to act like he hadn't been crying.

"Turtle pile." Petra answered as she sat on the floor and gestured for him to do the same.

He wanted to say he wasn't in the mood... but he never could resist a turtle pile.

Sighing, he gave in. The next thing he knew, he had Klunk in his lap and his siblings on all sides of him. They stayed near him as Splinter finally got him to admit what Bobby had said.

"I thought everything was going well... I really thought he liked me." He finished, tears starting to freely fall. "He said we could still be friends, but..."

He felt at least three sets of arms wrap around him while Splinter put a hand on his son's shoulder.

"It just really hurts..." Mikey sobbed.

"I know." His father soothed. "But it will get better in time. Believe me. Until then, we will be here for you."

"That's a promise." Petra whispered.

"And we'll punch anyone who breaks your heart again." Raph stood up.

"Raph..." Leo warned.

"Hey, Bobby deserves it--!"

"Raphael." Splinter gave him a look.

Seeing that no one agreed with him, Raph huffed and sat back down.

"So... how about a movie?" Donnie said, trying to change the subject. "You can pick, Mikey."

"...Something with no romance."

They ended up spending most of the evening watching Labyrinth and eating snacks (with Mikey requesting ice cream).

Purring in Mikey's lap, Klunk quickly fell asleep. He wasn't the only one: having seen it a few times, most of the family drifted off before the end credits. 

"Are you awake?" Petra whispered to Mikey by the movie's end.

"Yeah."

"...How are you feeling?"

"Still hurts," he admits, "but not as much."

She hugged him. "It's going to be okay."

He hugged her back. "Thanks, Pet."

Chapter Text

Fortunately, there was a manhole cover one alley away from MJ's school. After she put the cover back in place, she shot off two texts (one to Leo, letting him know she made it, and one to MJ so he knew she was coming) and set off.

Midtown High probably looked like a hundred other high schools in the city, but it was the first one Pet had ever seen. She wasted a second or two staring before a familiar voice got her attention.

"Hey, Pet!"

"MJ!" She called out, smiling. She was in her usual civilian disguise (green hoodie, green sneakers, fake glasses), looking completely ordinary. She ran down the sidewalk and into his arms.

"How was school?" She asked.

"Same as any day." He answered before kissing her on the cheek.

"Get a room!" One random kid said as he passed.

The both blushed, and Marcus James started leading her to the front of the building.

"Was that the kid?" She whispered.

"No, I don't even know him." He answered. "You know, you don't have to do this..."

"Yes I do. I promised I'd protect you however I could. Even if it's just some baka who thinks he's better than everyone else... Besides, who would you rather have handle it? Me or Raph?"

"Point made." He nodded.

MJ and Pet had been having a study date (he studied, she helped him with anything he didn't understand) when one of his friends from school (someone named Ned) had sent him a text. Apparently, some jerk on the football team had spilled the news that both of MJ's parents were in jail. While far more students were sympathetic towards MJ than mean (and most of them were calling the jerk out for revealing such a thing), MJ was ticked that his bully was dragging his family into this.

"Remind me again why this will be the more effective way of getting him to stop?" She asked as they climbed the stairs.

"While I didn't tell them... certain stuff about you..."

In other words, nothing about mutants, sewers, SHEILD, villains, or superheroics. 

"...I did say that I had a girlfriend named Pet who's homeschooled and studied martial arts. Flash thought I was lying for attention and told everyone I was pathetic. Maybe if he sees I was telling the truth about you, he'll stop for a bit."

"...I'm kinda new to dealing with bullies, but that's a pretty big if. Why didn't you tell your teachers or principal?"

"I tried. Several times. They just... don't do anything."

Petra felt her blood pressure rising... then replaced her scowl with a pleasant smile.

"So, where is this guy?"

"Hey, if isn't Mucus Jeans!"

A snotty voice called out. Pet's attention was called to a tall blonde teenage boy in a varsity jacket. He sneered at MJ as he walked over, but paused when he saw Petra.

"Who's the chick?" He asked, staring at her.

"I'm Marcus James' girlfriend." She told him before MJ could answer.

The bully, Flash Thompson, paused as though that was the last thing he'd expected to hear. Then he smirked.

"Alright, honey, how much did he pay you to say that? Probably not much, since he's broke and stuck in foster care--"

"Flash!" A girl in a cheerleader's uniform scowled at him. "That's not funny!"

"Calm down, Liz, I'm sorry!" He held his hands up slightly (though Pet could tell he didn't feel sorry at all).

"For the record," Petra continued as she scowled at Flash, "he didn't pay me anything. I asked him out, and I consider myself a lucky girl."

MJ blushed a little, but she felt his hand slip into hers.

Flash seemed startled, then tried to start again.

"Yeah? Well... I know he was making stuff up about you! Like, you can't be into karate, right?"

"Karate? No. But I am a martial artist."

"Yeah, right." He scoffed.

"You know martial arts?" Another girl asked. According to the drama club jacket she was wearing, her name was Glory Grant.

"Yep. I've been learning it since I was little."

Her spider sense went off.

"Quit lying, you weirdo!" Flash grabbed Petra from behind and put her in a headlock.

"Petra!" MJ yelled, scared.

"Flash, what are you doing?" Liz yelled, horrified.

"Someone get help!" Glory yelled.

"Admit you're lying!" Flash demanded of Pet. "Admit your not his girlfriend!"

Unfortunately for the bully, she knew all too well how to get out of a headlock. She used a fraction of her spider strength to loosen his grip on her and twist out of his arms. Then, without using spider speed, she kicked him between the legs and slapped him across the face.

Flash's eyes went wide in shock and pain as he sank to his knees, holding the place where he'd been kicked. 

Everyone was dead silent, staring, before a couple kids (likely other victims of Flash) started laughing.

Pet, who wasn't even winded, crossed her arms and gave Flash a look.

"I AM MJ's girlfriend."

MJ looked at the crowd of students and shrugged.

"I said she knew martial arts!"

Luckily, classes had let out for the day and Marcus James was free to go.

"So," Pet asked when they were away from the school. "What are you thinking? I know it's a school night, so you want to just hang out at April's or Casey's?"

"Either's fine... Tiger?"

"Yeah?"

"You are the coolest person alive."

"I still think April and Splinter are cooler, but thanks!"

- - - -

The very next day, Petra found herself sitting in a principal's office for the first time ever. April, pretending to be her aunt, sat next to her. Casey and MJ were in the seats next to them. The last two seats were occupied by Flash (who kept shooting the other teens snotty looks) and a very loud blond woman wearing enough makeup and perfume to clog Pet's super senses. 

"I can't believe you let hoodlums like that thing--" She pointed at Petra. "--come to this school! My poor little Eugene was unfairly assaulted for no reason! And whats more, he told me that freak with the dyed hair--" She pointed at MJ. "--has been tormenting him all year long! I am absolutely appalled that you're allowing such a thing to happen! My husband and I have spent so much time on the PTA trying to make this the best environment for our baby, and its incidents like this that could threaten Flash's chances at becoming president some day!"

"Heaven help America if he does." Casey muttered.

Mrs. Thompson ignored him. "I want those two delinquents expelled! And I want my little Eugene to get all the time off he needs to recover from this awful trauma!"

Principal Morita, to his credit, looked thoroughly unimpressed.

"Excuse me?" April stood up. She was dressed in the suit and heels she often wore when on TV, and looked very professional (especially compared to the gaudy pink sweater Mrs. Thompson was wearing). "If I may say something?"

"Please, go ahead, Miss O'Neil."

"Thank you." She turned to the loud woman. "First of all, Mrs. Thompson, my niece has never been enrolled in this school. She's been homeschooled all her life."

"Oh." Mrs. Thompson seemed to deflate a bit.

"Second, are you aware that Pet only hurt Eugene because he attacked her first?"

"My baby wouldn't lie to me!"

"Well," April handed over her phone, which she'd opened to YouTube. "A picture's worth a thousand words."

Petra already knew what the video would show; Mikey had found it last night and showed the family. Apparently, a few kids at the school had caught Flash attacking her on their phones, and posted it. The video all too clearly showed Flash grabbing Pet in a headlock and trying to choke her, followed by her reacting in self-defense.

"Well... I..."

Mrs. Thompson was turning pale, and shot a look at Flash (who cowered).

"If Pet was a student here, Principal Morita," April asked, "then what would the punishment for such an act be?"

"Since it seemed he was trying to choke her," the principal answered, "expulsion would usually be appropriate. However, given that your niece isn't a student here, there's no need to do such a thing. Whether you and Pet choose to press charges for assault, however, is another story."

Mrs. Thompson looked at April and the teen girl with wide eyes.

"Nah, I'm good." Pet responded.

Fury had already warned her that her lack of legal identification would make things difficult if she tried to press charges against anyone. Besides, she knew what was coming next.

"Well, then..." Mrs. Thompson said, relieved. "If that's all, then--"

"Hold on." Casey stood up, glaring at both blondes. "We're not done here. You said that Flash told you that MJ's been pickin' on him all year, right?"

"Yes." Mrs. Thompson nodded, shooting a stink eye at MJ.

"And your precious little Eugene doesn't lie to you, right?"

She was about to say 'yes' again, but caught herself.

"Because he told me," Casey continued, "that Flash has been makin' his life hell since school started. And that no one was doin' anything about it."

"That's not true." Principal Morita spoke up. "Marcus James reported to me about the bullying when it began. I acted accordingly and had Flash start meeting with the school guidance counselor."

"And?"

"Well, I never heard any further reports." The principal started going a bit pale under Casey's glare.

"The bullying didn't stop," the vigilante replied, "Flash just got smarter about when and where he picked on people."

At that, he turned and glared at Flash.

"Let me tell ya somethin', Eugene. I've met guys like you, who think that pickin' on people, especially girls, makes ya look tough. It doesn't, it just makes ya scum."

"When Casey told me what MJ told him," April jumped back in as she held up a folder she'd brought in, "I did some research and made some calls to other parents of children at this school. Are either of you aware just how many children Flash has harassed or assaulted in the two years he's been here?"

As she listed off the stories she'd collected from the parents of other students, Mrs. Thompson, Flash, and Principal Morita all went incredibly pale.

When she finished, she gave the other two adults in the room glares that only Master Splinter could top.

"In other words, Mrs. Thompson, Principal Morita, Eugene has a LONG record of bullying other children at this school and committed an act of assault. My niece acted in self-defense, which is perfectly legal, and Marcus James had no involvement besides asking her to meet him here. For that last reason alone, Eugene could be expelled... But seeing as how football season is coming up and the school will need its quarterback, perhaps we can reach an agreement?"

Petra and Casey were the only ones whose jaws weren't on the floor.

"Um... Yes." Principal Morita was the first to recover. "Mrs. Thompson? Would you agree to a compromise?"

She nodded, still a bit stupefied.

"I want Flash to moved to different classes," April continued. "He can't have any class with MJ, not even the same lunch period. And I don't want him coming within ten feet of Marcus James. He isn't supposed to touch or speak to him. Is that clear?"

The adults nodded. Flash was scowling at his shoes, but he quickly nodded when he saw April, his mother, and Petra glaring at him.

"And I don't want you saying crap about him on social media either." Casey added. 

"Fine." Flash muttered.

No one in the room expected Flash to follow that command, but Pet and Donnie were already planning on watching Flash's accounts. MJ didn't deserve to go through any more torment.

"Well, now that this is settled." April put on a cheery face as she tucked the folder back under her arm. "With your permission, Principal Morita, Casey and I were going to take these two out to lunch. Permission to take MJ out of school for the afternoon?"

The principal, still clearly intimidated by her, nodded.

Mrs. Thompson, red-faced and embarrassed, grabbed Flash by the hand and dragged him out of the office.

"You okay, bud?" Casey asked MJ once the four of them were walking down the school's steps.

"Now I see why you said April's so cool." He breathed.

"You have no idea." Casey nodded.

Chapter Text

"You're serious about this?" Leonardo asked, locking eyes with Tony.

"Trust me, he's deadly serious." Clint nodded.

"Seems a little pointless..." Donatello sounded uncertain.

"I'm okay with it." Raphael shrugged.

"It's true." Natasha nodded. "We've all done it."

"What about Bucky?" Petra gestured towards Sergeant Barnes.

"I did it yesterday." He responded.

The recently-thawed soldier had physically recovered from what happened. However was meeting with Sam Wilson (someone who didn't have clearance to know about the Hamatos) every few days for therapy sessions, and Splinter visited him once a week.

According to what Tony had told the teens, Steve and Bucky spent practically every minute of every day together.

"Come on." Stark goaded. "If you want to keep hanging out with us, you've gotta do it."

"It's not a requirement," Bruce rolled his eyes, "it's just one of Tony's weird obsessions."

"I'm not obsessed with it, Banner."

"Then why do you force everyone we spend time with to do it?" Natasha asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Uh, because it's good?"

"Because he wants to see if he can make them do it." Steve supplied.

"Hey, I'm cool with it." Michelangelo beamed.

"That's because you eat everything remotely edible." Donnie reminded his younger brother.

Sitting on the table in front of the five teens were five plates, each one holding a piece of pita bread top in brown, spicy-smelling meat.

Tony had called it "shawarma."

"What the shell?" Mikey shrugged and grabbed for the plate closest to him.

His siblings watched as he bit into the foreign food, trying to gauge his reaction.

He grew thoughtful as he chewed, then swallowed.

"Pizza's way better," he admitted, "but other than that--"

He took another, larger bite.

Raph shrugged, grab his own plate, and dug in.

Petra, whose super-senses gave her a more detailed sense of taste than her brothers, was the last to try it. She finally took an experimental bite.

It was spicy, but not overly so, and had a slightly sweet taste. Whoever had made the sandwich (Tony had ordered it from some restaurant) had covered it in garlic sauce and sweet pickles.

Like Mikey, she preferred pizza, but on the whole the dish wasn't bad.

Leo and Don seemed to have similar opinions to her, although Donnie didn't finish his.

Raph seemed to like it the most, and ate the rest of Donnie's.

"I can't believe they actually did it..." Pet's super hearing picked up Bucky whispering to Steve. "I didn't have the guts..."

"Wait, you didn't actually do it? Liar!" She accused.

Tony (who'd been smirking at the turtles enjoying the meal) looked at the two thawed out veterans with betrayal.

Bucky looked at Pet with wide eyes. "How'd you...?"

"I forgot." Steve winced. "She has super-hearing. Sorry, Tony. I ate the shawarma you gave him when you were on the phone."

"Et tu, Spangles?" He glared.

"Don't get mad, I asked him to." Bucky surrendered, holding his real and metal arms in the air.

"Is now a bad time to ask if there's any more of those?" Raph asked, pointing at the empty plates.

"No, it is not." Tony grabbed his hoodie from where he'd left it on a table. "Red Dead Redemption--" He pointed at Raph. "Go grab that hoodie and jeans I loaned you. You, me, and Del Spooner are going out and he is eating a shawarma!"

"Don't start a fight." Leonardo warned his brother.

"That goes for all of you." Cap agreed.

Chapter Text

"...'There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.'"

Leonardo relaxed as he sat on the bench next to his girlfriend. Esmeralda kept reading, a smile on her face.

He'd been surprised to learn that she liked the Harry Potter books as much as he did (though it was a secret he kept from his siblings). Upon learning that Esmeralda wasn't reading at her grade level (as her education had taken a backseat when she'd been outed as a mutant), they started doing this. She'd read to him from their shared favorite book series, and he'd have an excuse to hear one of his favorite stories in public. Plus, sometimes she needed help with bigger words, which he was happy to help with.

Unfortunately, due to all of the missions and training they went on (there were still plenty of threats in New York even with Goblin and Shredder behind bars), he had a tendency to fall asleep while she was reading. Especially on days when the sun was really warm...

"Leo?"

He jolted up, blinking. "Sorry, Ez. I did it again, didn't I?"

"Don't worry about it." She smiled. "You look cute when you're sleeping."

- - - -

"Uno!" Raph yelled as he threw down his red card.

Gambit smirked, and put down a draw four card.

Raphael growled and crushed his soda can in his grip.

"Don't you all usually play poker?" Rogue asked as she passed, eyeing the game of Uno.

"The Professor said I couldn't play that anymore, cher." Remy replied, grimacing. "Not after what happened when Logan beat me..."

"Hey, his hair grew back seconds later." Raph said in his defense as he drew more cards. "You still think he cheated?"

"I know he does, mon ammi. One of these days, I'll figure out how!"

Raphael decided not to tell him about how, during said poker game, he'd seen Kitty Pride stick her hand through the table and steal Gambit's cards when he wasn't looking.

- - - -

"...and you have to make sure that the stuff is concentrated." Petra further explained.

Doctors Grey and McCoy both nodded, writing that down. Pet turned back to her work and completed the last step of the web fluid-making process.

"The launching mechanism for the shooters is equally challenging." Donatello held up the shooter he'd been building (with the doctors as spectators). "It's important that you reinforce the button so that only someone with spider strength, or equal strength, can push it. Otherwise, the kickback from the shooter could rip their arm off."

"Understood." Doctor McCoy nodded. Then he turned. "Miss Parker? Are you ready?"

Miwa, formerly Karai, walked forward. She eyed the newly-constructed shooters with interest and anxiety.

"You're sure these are safe?" She asked Petra as she put them on.

"No need for trepidation, my dear pupil." Beast spoke up. "I've thoroughly examined this magnificent creation, and it is indubitably an excellent example of engineering. Completely safe, and ready for testing."

With that reassurance, Miwa put the web shooters on.

"It's easy once you build some muscle memory." Pet reassured her as she set a red plastic cup on the counter top. "Tap once to shoot, twice to release. Just fire at the cup when you're ready."

Miwa took a breath, and shot a web.

It was a perfect shot, and the cup was pinned by a web to the lab's back wall.

"YES!" Donnie and Petra high-fived.

"Good job." Doctor Grey complimented as she telekinetically removed the cup from the wall.

- - - -

"We were thrilled when you asked for permission to stay the weekend." The Professor told Splinter as he poured him a cup of hot sencha. 

"After everything they have encountered in the last few months," the rat replied. "I thought my children needed a break."

He thanked him for the tea and took a sip before frowning.

"You're worried about how Michelangelo and Bobby will react to each other." Professor Xavier sighed. "I will admit, the two still have a bit of... tension when it comes to the other."

"Michelangelo is very sensitive." Master Splinter sighed. "I worry that something will happen between them."

"Fortunately, most of the student body knows that they've ended their relationship. No one wants an altercation, and will likely do what they can to keep the two from each other until further notice."

The Professor smiled. "At the moment, though, Michelangelo is a bit preoccupied."

- - - -

"Mikey," Kitty Pryde giggled, "your cat is so cute!"

"He's a little purr machine!" Jubilee gushed.

"Yeah, he's pretty cute!" Mikey grinned, watching his cat get loved on by several girls at once. It was clear that Klunk didn't mind all the attention.

He squirmed a little, and winced. "Sorry, did I mess it up?"

"No, you're good!" Everbee, a mutant girl with teleportation powers, gave him a thumbs up before she continued to watch her pupil. "Remember, Sunny, even strokes..."

Sunny, a young mutant with fire powers, stuck his tongue out a little as he tried to put an even coating on.

No one had expected Mikey to agree to be a test dummy for manicure practice... especially since most nail polishes were toxic to turtles. Luckily, the paint that most mutant girls used was one specially made by the more chemistry-inclined at school. It was perfectly safe for all lifeforms, so there was no chance of anyone having an allergic reaction to it.

"Okay, I think it's done!" Sunny sat back, sweeping his platinum blond hair from his eyes as he grinned. "What do you think?"

His nails were all different colors, with two colors on each nail: blue and red, purple and green, and so on across his fingers.

"I love them!" He grinned, making Sunny cheer and Everbee beam.

- - - -

Sunny left the dining hall just as the last few mutants were entering. While trying to remain nonchalant, he walked out of the building, and finally he walked off of Xavier's property all together.

As soon as he was out of range of eyes and ears, Sunny transformed from a blond teenage boy to a tall, blue woman with red hair and golden eyes.

Mystique pulled out a communicator.

"They're there?" An elderly but intelligent voice spoke through.

"Yes." She responded. "They're exactly as you said they'd be."

"Xavier will convince them that humans and mutants can live in harmony." Magneto huffed. "We will have to force them to our point of view. I know they will make a fine addition to the Brotherhood."

Chapter Text

Shortly after breakfast, the Hamato teens, their sort-of clone cousin, and a bunch of other students were in the middle of a video game tournament when the Professor sent out a telepathic call.

All X-Men and Hamatos to my office, immediately!

Leonardo had been the first to react, thrusting his controller into Nightcrawler's hands as he shot off of the couch. Mikey paused long enough to ask Kitty and Miwa to watch Klunk before he raced from the room.

By the time they got there, they found Master Splinter, Professor X, Logan, Cyclops, Storm, Jean Grey, and numerous other X-Men waiting.

"I received a distress call a few minutes ago," The Professor began to explain, activating his desk. "A few miles from here is a homeless shelter that Stark and I co-founded. While not primarily for mutants, it has several programs meant to help them find jobs or permanent lodgings, which is why it's built away from any large towns. It's currently under attack by a Sentinel."

Gasps and furious looks went across the room. Petra grit her teeth in anger, and she felt Donnie tense up next to her. Mikey, however, was confused.

"What's a Sentinel?"

"It's something that a bastard named Trask invented," Wolverine growled. "It's only purpose is to kill mutants."

"What are we standin' around talkin' for, then?" Raph looked just as angry as Logan. "Let's go turn that thing into scrap metal!"

"An excellent suggestion," The Professor agreed. "Everbee?"

The pink-haired mutant nodded. "Okay, everyone, heads up if you haven't teleported before. It feels a little like you're suddenly falling."

She then closed her eyes and snapped her fingers. 

Pink sparkles filled Pet's vision, and she felt the sensation of falling. She was used to that feeling, courtesy of web-swinging, but it was a bit jarring all the same.

She nearly fell over when, barely a second later, her boot soles collided with solid ground. She heard groans next to her as the pink sparkles disappeared, and turned to see her brothers all on their plastrons or carapaces. 

"That sucked," Raph groaned. 

"It takes some getting used to," Jean agreed as she helped Leo to his feet.

Pet did a double-take and realized that the rest of the X-Men had been teleported there as well.

"Focus!" Cyclops yelled. "We to take that thing down before it hurts anyone!"

Spider-Ninja turned and nearly jumped back.

Standing less than one hundred feet away was a thirty-foot-tall robot. The majority of its body was black and blue, but the bottom half of its face was a pinkish-beige. It had disturbing orange eyes. And, right then, it was trying to pull the roof off of a building (obviously the homeless shelter).

Her enhanced hearing picked up the screams of the people inside.

"Can't you use your heat vision to chop up that thing?" Wolverine yelled.

"No, it's too close to the building. We can't risk debris falling on it!"

Leo spoke up. "Raph, Donnie! Get inside the shelter and get everyone out! Spidey, Mikey, we need to distract it until everyone's out!"

"Good thinking!" Storm agreed. 

Wind surged around her as she lifted into the air, her white hair swirling.

The next few minutes were nothing short of chaos. Storm's lighting, Wolverine's claws, Jean and Beast throwing rocks (one physically, the other telekinetically), Gambit's explosions, Spidey's webs... NOTHING seemed to have an effect on it. Meanwhile it kept trying to stomp on or grab the X-Men and Hamatos (though thankfully it kept missing). 

Just as things were looking hopeless, Pet's spider-sense directed her to look right. 

Hiding just behind a tree, she saw a man with black hair and a short black beard dressed in an ugly gray robe and cloak. He was staring at the Sentinel, and seemed to be grinning.

Trying not to attract the man's attention, Petra shot another web at the Sentinel before landing next to Cyclops.

"There's someone hiding behind that tree over there," she whispered. "I think he had something to do with the Sentinel."

"Describe him," Cyclops whispered, looking deadly serious.

The second she mentioned the ugly robe, he grimaced.

"Mastermind, I should've known... Gambit! Poker Maneuver!"

Remy looked up, and saw Pet subtly point to the tree with Mastermind behind it.

He picked up a rock, charged it with his powers, and made like he was going to throw it at the Sentinel... then turned and flung it at the tree.

There was an explosion of fire and wood, leaving behind a smoking stump and a trembling man.

The Sentinel disappeared into thin air.

"...What?" Leonardo looked around. "I... I don't understand... I'm so confused..."

"Don't feel bad," Michelangelo comforted. "That's how I feel every day."

They followed the rest of the X-Men to Mastermind. Logan got their first and punched the daylights out of the man before Beast slapped some kind of bracelet on him.

"A power dampener," he explained before Leo could open his mouth.

"It was invented for dangerous mutants so they couldn't use their powers," Petra whispered to her brothers.

"Jason Wyngarde," Cyclops all but growled. "You want to tell us why you lured us out here with an illusion?"

Mastermind, having gotten over the shock of the explosion, grinned.

"The Brotherhood is looking for new recruits, and there are a few of your little friends Magneto has his eyes on."

He was staring at Leonardo and Michelangelo.

"We'll never join you," Mikey sneered at him.

"You will if you have no choice," Mastermind grinned.

"Guys!"

Donatello ran up, panting. He shot a confused look at Mastermind before focusing on the task at hand.

"We got everyone out of the building and hid them in a grove of trees nearby. Don't worry, Leo, they thought I was from Xavier's. Raph went in for a final sweep in case we missed anyone."

Mastermind clicked his tongue and shook his head in disappointment.

"For shame... Blue Turtle. Don't you know better than to leave one of your brothers on his own? After all, there are some rather unsavory people in the world..."

No. Pet's eyes widened and her pulse skyrocketed. 

Her brothers had similar reactions, and Leo pulled out his cell, switching it to walky-talky mode.

"Raph? Raphael, come in!"

Nothing, just static.

Wolverine, growling, looked like he was about to smack the evil mutant. Pet beat him to it; she picked Mastermind up and shoved him against a tree (terrifying him with her sudden show of strength).

"WHAT DID YOU DO?"

- - - -

Raph had just finished a final sweep of the third (and last) floor. That floor was full of services for children, so he'd made sure to be extra thorough (he hated the thought of a kid getting hurt). Now that he was sure no one was here (and the sounds of battle had all stopped), he started to climb downstairs.

"Raph?"

He paused, hearing Petra's voice.

"Spidey?" He called out. "What are you doin' in here?"

"Raphael, quick! I need your help! First floor!"

The thought of his sister getting hurt filled him with rage and worry.

"Hang on, I'm comin'!"

He took the stairs three at a time as he charged down, ready to help his sister and punch out anyone who'd dared to hurt her...

"Raph, thank goodness!"

He saw his sister at he bottom, looking relieved.

"Are you okay?" He dropped his guard as he went over to her.

"Better now that you're here."

She smiled... Why did that smile seem sort of... predatory?

"Yeah, okay." Uneasy, he looked around. "Let's get out of here and go meet with the others..."

"Couldn't agree more."

That was not Pet's voice.

He whirled around, hands going for his sais, when something was spritzed in his face.

He coughed, accidentally breathing some in. It tasted horrible... and everything was going blurry...

She'd drugged him with something... and it must have been strong.

The last thing he saw before passing out was his sister transforming into a tall, blue woman with orange eyes...

Chapter Text

"Of course," Professor Xavier frowned at his desk. "Mastermind's illusions are incredibly powerful. If the Brotherhood's real plan was to abduct one of the Hamatos, then they needed us to be distracted."

"Will he harm my son?" Splinter asked. He appeared stoic, but the way he kept twitching his tail back and forth betrayed his worry.

"I know Erik," the telepath reassured. "He prefers to lure people to his side and instill actual loyalty, rather than control them out of fear. If he wants Raphael to join the Brotherhood that badly, then he won't harm him. But, knowing Raphael, he'll attempt escape. That may anger Erik enough to hurt him. Thus, we must act quickly."

Splinter, Petra, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo all sat in the professor's office, trying to support one another while thinking up a plan.

Jean Grey, Beast, and several students had investigated the homeless shelter for clues. The security cameras had still been running during the attack, and showed a blue woman (who, startlingly, turned into Petra for a few minutes) drug Raph before seemingly disappearing.

"The teleportation is likely courtesy of Telford Porter, another Brotherhood member," the professor explained as he showed the family the footage. 

"Who's the blue woman?" Leo asked.

"Magento's right-hand woman, Mystique. She's a very powerful mutant with the ability to change her voice and appearance to mimic that of anyone on Earth."

"Any idea where she might've taken him?" Donnie spoke up. "I'm trying to track his cell, but it looks like it was moved to some place with a spotty signal... Or they messed with the phone."

"Either's plausible," the professor allowed.

Just then, Mikey's phone rang.

They all drew a breath when the caller ID showed that the call was coming from Raph's cell.

"Put it on speaker," Pet whispered to her orange clad brother.

Mikey did so, and shouted into the phone.

"Raph! Where are you? Please tell me you're okay!"

"Relax, Michelangelo, I'm fine!"

That was Raph's voice, but... it was off. Even on his best days, Raphael never sounded that perky.

Leo took the phone. "We couldn't find you after the X-Men caught Mastermind. Did you get taken by the Brotherhood?"

"Yeah, but I got out of my cell. I can send you the coordinates to come pick me up, but you need to come alone! I don't want to look bad in front of the X-Men."

The Hamatos all shared a suspicious glance before Leonardo spoke again.

"You want us to come alone? Then you must have a Code 87."

There was a pause before Raph spoke again.

"Oh, yeah, it's definitely that!"

"Got it. Don't worry, we'll be there as soon as we can."

"Great, see you soon!"

He hung up.

"That wasn't Raph." Michelangelo was the first to speak. The other family members nodded.

"How do you know?" The professor asked.

"Code 87 means 'Someone gave Mikey coffee,'" Pet explained. "And it's not so much an emergency code as it is a family joke."

"That was not the only hint," Splinter agreed. "Raphael has never been good with coordinates; he prefers to describe locations, or leave navigation to Donatello. And while he can be prideful, he would never put his pride over his or anyone else's safety."

"Then that was Mystique." Professor X frowned. 

Just then, the door opened. A smirking Wolverine came in, rubbing his knuckles in his palm.

"I got the location of the Brotherhood stronghold," he announced. 

Cyclops followed after him, looking at Logan with annoyance.

"Did you really need to knock out his tooth?"

- - - -

Raphael let out a small, involuntary groan as he came to.

Why... Why was he sleeping on the floor?

Slowly, still feeling a little disoriented, he started to get up and opened his eyes.

He was in a cell.

Instantly waking up, he grabbed for his sais... and let out an angered grunt when he found them missing. Along with his phone.

Right, he'd been kidnapped. He knew his kidnapper had to be the mutant that pretended to be his sister, but he had no idea who she was or why she'd abducted him.

He walked around the cell. He and his siblings had gone through a phase where they'd watched a lot of prison escape movies, so he knew how to look for weaknesses.

His cell was made of stone, with only one window/door. Said door was a perfect circle cut into the stone, with metal bars as thick as his arm keeping him imprisoned inside.

Trying to think, he started pacing... and then he heard footsteps.

Raphael instinctively slid into a defensive stance as he saw his captors approach.

He blinked in surprise when the bars on the door bent seemingly on their own. A tall, older man wearing a cape walked through. He was followed by a gigantic man with orange hair, wearing a fur-lined jacket.

"You must be Raphael," the older man said. He had an English accent, and his voice sounded as polite as it was condescending.

"Where am I?" He growled. "Why did you kidnap me?"

"You're in my stronghold. I am Magneto, leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants. And you're here as my guest."

Raph scoffed. "Most guests aren't kept in cages."

"I simply had to make sure you wouldn't try to leave before we could talk."

From under the man's cape, Raph's sais floated out.

"These are quite interesting... and beautifully forged, I might add," Magneto commented, eyeing the vibranium weapons. "Where did you acquire them?"

"Your mama," the turtle growled.

Magneto gave him a stern look and the sais went back under his cape.

"If you refuse to speak civilly," the villain continued, "then I won't answer your questions. And if you threaten me, I can assure you that Sabretooth here won't take it lightly."

The large man, Sabretooth, gave an animalistic growl. Raphael wasn't too intimidated (shell, he'd grown up surrounded by human/animal hybrids), but he'd learned the hard way to pick his battles.

Reluctantly (and with a hint of self-disgust), he dropped his stance. His guard was still up, though.

"That's better," Magneto approved (earning a snarl from Raph). "As you no doubt know, you and your family are a very rare breed. Normal creatures that evolved... became better than humans. And yet all humans have ever done is despise you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come now. Look at yourself, Raphael. You are a thinking, sapient being. Your skills and strength could be a marvelous asset to society... and yet you live in hiding because humanity rejects you. Sees you as a monster."

There was a tiny piece of truth in Magneto's words. There were times when Raph was a kid that he hated how his family had to live underground, away from humans.

But then he thought of Petra. April, Casey, MJ, Coulson, Fury, Hill, Connors, Doc Ock, the Avengers, the Bartons, George Stacy, Gwen Stacy... There were plenty of humans who'd fully accepted them as they were. 

"Not all humans," Raph growled, his hands tightening into fists.

"A select few," he allowed (although Raph could see he was annoyed). "But the rest? They imprison us, take our powers, experiment on us, kill us... While all the while we grow stronger. We are the master race, and humans must be made to see that. If you joined me, we'd be able to use what mutated you to make all of humanity like us. Truly evolved."

"Go kiss a bus," the turtle retorted. 

Magneto's face turned firm.

"I see you need more time to think on things. Relax, enjoy your solitude... for now. Your family will be joining you shortly."

Raph's patience went out the window.

"If you go anywhere near them, you bastard, I'll--"

He took one step towards Magento. Sabretooth grabbed the sixteen-year-old by the arm and flung him across the cell. Raph's instincts had him retreat into his shell before he hit the wall, letting his carapace take the impact.

Raphael stayed in his shell for a moment, not wanting Magneto to see how scared he was for his siblings.

"Like I said," the English supervillain repeated. "I'll give you more time to think on a few things."

He heard the bars bend, followed by footsteps leaving the cell and the bars bending again.

Raph popped out of his shell, a memory appearing.

"The cool thing is," nine-year-old Donnie showed his siblings, "that even the strongest metal, if put under enough pressure or heat, can be bent!"

He showed them a video he'd found online of someone super-heating a piece of steel, then using a machine to bend it like paper.

"Plus," Pet added, "if it's been bent a bunch of times, then the metal is weakened, to the point where someone with enough strength can bend it with their bare hands!"

How often did Magneto bend those bars?

Raph wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but it was better than nothing.

He walked over to the cell door, listening carefully to make sure no one was nearby. Once he was confident he was alone, he put his palms against the center bars of the cage.

He'd really need to let go to do this, use all of his strength.

Raphael clenched his teeth and pushed.

The bars gave with barely a sound. It took a moment (and a lot of strength), but he managed to bend the bars far enough apart for him to slip through.

He practically leapt through the opening. After giving his arms a moment to recover, he took off down the hall.

If Magento was planning on capturing his family, then Raph needed to act fast.

Chapter Text

Raphael had no idea where he was going. But he knew that he'd have a better vantage point if he got outside of... whatever kind of building he'd been trapped in.

Fortunately, one of the rooms he'd blindly run into happened to be Magneto's office (which was mercifully empty). Raph's phone was sitting on the desk.

A quick investigation revealed that the GPS tracker chip Donnie made had been removed, but other than that the phone looked fine.

He ducked into the hall, finding what looked like an unused broom closet, then shot off a text to Leo.

RedPepper: Can't talk, trying to hide. Just text. You getting this?

A response came almost immediately.

Blue One:  Do you have a Code 87?

"What?" Raphael whispered, thoroughly confused.

RedPepper: Mikey's not even here! And even if I had coffee with me right now, I sure as shell wouldn't give him any!

Once again, a response came instantly... followed by three more.

Blue One:  Oh, shell, it's you! Are you okay?

PurplePlutonium: Someone used your phone to call us and pretend to be you. We didn't fall for it... They copied your voice but they didn't know you at all.

PizzaSupreme: Are you hurt? Are you hungry? Did they try to turn you evil? Does Magento sound like that evil guy from James Bond?!?

WhateverASpiderCan:  Bigger issues, Mikey. Seriously, Raph, please tell us you're okay.

RedPepper: They drugged me, but they didn't hurt me. Magento wants us to join his evil cult or whatever to find out how we mutated and use it to turn the human population into mutants. He mentioned bringing the rest of you here... I guess that explains the fake phone call. Did fake me give a location?

PurplePlutonium:  Affirmative. We're on our way to you right now in the Blackbird. We've got Wolverine, Dr. Grey, Cyclops, and Gambit with us.

RedPepper: BE CAREFUL. Magento knows you're coming, and he's got this giant guy called Sabretooth with him. That guy threw me across a room like it was nothing.

WhateverASpiderCan:  MAGNETO BROKE THAT BASTARD OUT OF PRISON I SWEAR IM GONNA GRAB THAT BUB AND STAB HIM RIGHT IN HIS

WhateverASpiderCan: Sorry, Logan took my phone for a sec. Looks like he'll keep Sabretooth busy. SHIELD's been notified, and they'll be here soon to arrest Magneto. Sit tight, Raph, we're coming!

Nodding at his phone, Raph tucked it into his belt.

Now to find a way outside...

He started stealthily making his way through the halls again. He really needed to be careful; Magneto or one of his mooks had probably realized he'd escaped by then. 

After a few more minutes of searching, he heard a familiar voice.

"Raphael?"

His sister was in the hallway, looking for him.

Unlike last time, he knew this was the blue lady... Mystique. 

But... it had been a while since the text conversation. Maybe they'd gotten here since then?

Only one way to find out...

"Spidey?" He whispered, leaving his hiding place.

There was Petra(?), in full Spider-Ninja gear. She turned to see him, and smiled in relief.

"Oh, Raphael!" She ran over, acting like she was about to hug him.

"Careful, don't touch me!" He took a step back. "I think Sabretooth hurt my shoulder."

"Oh, alright." She stopped. "Come on, everyone's so worried! They're downstairs, waiting for us!"

She started walking away. Raph began following, growing more suspicious.

"Yeah... Did Shredder come? He's probably really worried..."

"Oh, he's SO worried. He's the one who sent me to come find you..."

She didn't finish, Raph punched her in the back as hard as he could.

She went flying across the room, hitting a wall. She slumped to the floor, unconscious.

He watched with disgust and fascination as the body transformed from his sisters to the blue lady.

"Nice try." He sneered at her before he resumed his escape.

Unfortunately, he realized too late that knocking her out might have been a mistake. He still had no idea where he was going, and now Magneto was going to be pissed that he'd knocked out one of his people.

He just hoped he didn't run into any more of them before he found a way out...

- - - -

Sabretooth sniffed the air. The scent of turtle was still fresh, the escaped prisoner had been here. 

He tracked the scent, getting closer and closer, preparing his claws... His senses told him that the prisoner was hiding just around the corner...

Roaring, he charged around the bend... and his claws met a force field.

"'Sup, dude?" A turtle in an orange mask, somehow projecting a force field, greeted.

Before he could respond to such a casual greeting (or ask how he was making those shields), a familiar set of claws gashed Sabretooth across the face.

"Miss me, bub?" Wolverine growled as he came from behind the force field, his claws out.

The evil mutant sprung to his feet as his face finished healing.

"I'll tear you apart!" Sabretooth roared.

He began fighting the Wolverine again. They were so focused on each other that neither noticed the three mutant turtles, and human-spider girl running past them.

- - - -

Raph had found a wooden crate as he searched the building, and ripped two boards from it. While no substitute for his sais, the sharp edges of the splintered wood would help him should he need to fight.

Even better, a wooden weapon couldn't be controlled by Magneto...

After a little more searching, he found himself on the roof.

He realized he was in trouble when he heard slow clapping.

"Well done, Raphael." 

Magneto, now wearing a helmet, emerged from behind a pillar, levitating Raph's sais next to him.

Raph, his wooden weapons at the ready, fell into a stance.

"You're very brave," Magento complimented, noting his stance. "Foolish, but brave."

"My family will never side with you. If you wanna go near them, you're gonna have to go through me."

"That sounds easy enough."

With no warning, Raph's sais flew at him. 

Moving on instinct, the turtle dodged one sai and caught the other with a piece of wood. 

He saw a fist-sized rock by his foot, and flung it at Magneto.

It bounced harmlessly off of his head.

"Adorable." He commented as he telepathically pulled Raph's sais back to him, readying for another strike.

Raphael knew he had no chance against this guy.

But if it meant it bought his brothers and sister more time...

"I'm not backin' down." He growled, readying himself for another attack.

One of his sais flew past him. He narrowly dodged it, but he felt the burning pain as the sai gashed his upper arm. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out.

"Then you'll die here." Magento prepared for a final, likely deadly, strike.

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind knocked the supervillain over, causing him to drop Raph's sais... though the air around the turtle didn't move.

A barrage of hail stones, followed by more wind, attacked Magneto.

Raph turned, and saw Storm, the wind whipping through her cape and hair, descending from the sky. Power lit her eyes as she sent three lightning bolts at Magneto. All three missed, but everyone there knew they were warning shots.

"You know full well," she called to the villain in her thick accent, "that I have no mercy for those who attack children!"

Raphael wanted to point out that he was sixteen, but even he wasn't brave enough to correct Storm. Not when she was this mad.

She landed on the roof. She was shorter than the Brotherhood's leader and only a few inches taller than Raph, but the power and wrath radiating from her made her feel like a giantess.

Lightning flashed behind her eyes as she growled at Magneto.

"If you value your life, you will back down. NOW!"

There was a thunderclap as she spoke the last word.

On the surface, the evil mutant seemed unfazed. But he backed down.

"It seems my plans will have to be put on hold." He reluctantly admitted.

The metal ground beneath him ripped apart, and formed a dome around him. Storm blew gently on the metal, turning it frosty cold. Raph ran over and punched the frozen metal as hard as he could, shattering it like glass.

There was a hole in the floor, and Magneto was long gone.

The turtle punched the metal again, this time out of frustration.

"We've captured him before," Storm reassured him, "and we'll do it again... You're bleeding."

He looked at his arm, and noted the gash. It wasn't too deep, but it hurt.

She reached into her pocket and handed him a few tissues. 

"I'll be alright." He told her as he pressed the tissues to his wound. "Knowing Leo and Donnie, they probably brought a first aid kit... Are they here?"

"Downstairs. The X-Men engaged the Brotherhood while your siblings and I looked for you. I'm surprised they haven't come up yet..."

The door to the rooftop flung open.

"RAPH!"

Petra and Michelangelo reached him first, but Donatello and Leonardo weren't far behind. Knowing it was inevitable, Raphael braced himself for the incoming group hug... and the barrage of questions that followed.

Storm allowed them a moment or two before stepping in.

"Careful, all of you, he's bleeding."

"Oh, shell..."

Next thing Raph knew, Donnie had pulled a first aid kit seemingly out of mid-air and was patching up the gash while Leo filled him in on what happened (with Storm, Pet, and Mikey filling in the gaps).

"Wait," the red-clad turtle interrupted, "what happened to Sabretooth?"

As if on cue, Wolverine came onto the roof. He had blood splattered on him from head to toe, staining his yellow costume.

"SHIELD arrested Sabretooth." He announced. "Glad you're alright, Raph."

"Thanks..." 

Logan noticed that they were all staring at him, and decided to reassure them.

"Don't worry, it's not my blood."

Unsurprisingly, no one was reassured.

- - - -

"...and then Storm came and went all out on him." Raph finished telling the story to the other students.

"Oh, she didn't go all out." Jubilee corrected.

"If she'd gone all out," Kitty agreed, "then Magneto would be history."

Petra snorted at seeing her brother's reaction to being corrected, then returned her focus to the movie.

After everything that happened with the Brotherhood, Splinter and the Professor had been relieved to see everyone get back to the Manor safely. So much so that Mikey had managed to convince everyone to have a pizza-and-Star Wars night... though that wasn't really a hard sell.

After Jubilee and Kitty started talking with Everbee, Raphael slumped back on the couch. Pet brought over two plates of pizza and sat next to him.

"Hey," she said as she handed him a plate, "I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks." He replied as he bit into his pizza.

"...I'm also kinda jealous you got rescued by Storm... What was it like?"

Raph got a haunted look in his eyes. 

"Never make that lady mad..."

Chapter Text

"It's beautiful... Why are you so nervous?"

"It's kinda hard not to be nervous when you're asking the woman you love to marry you."

Casey closed the ring box and stuffed it back in his jeans pocket. MJ gave him a skeptical look as they waited for the elevator down to the lair.

"I'm actually surprised you haven't asked her yet. Everyone knows how much April loves you."

"I've tried, but things kept getting in the way."

"Like?"

"Well, two weeks ago I tried to ask her at Avengers Tower... but we got an unexpected arrival..."

- - - -

Two Weeks Ago...

"Hey, April?" 

"Yeah?"

She walked over, and he felt his heart rate rising.

After Tony and Pepper's wedding a few weeks before, Casey had decided that he was going to finally propose to April.

This was the time: the kids and Avengers were all talking to each other, no eyes were on them... He slid his hand into his pocket to get the ring...

"Tony?"

Everyone looked up as Pepper came in. Her hand was on her baby bump. She was breathing heavily and sweating.

Tony dropped his half-eaten sandwich and stood up, panic on his face.

She looked him in the eyes.

"My water broke."

"Hey, don't worry!" Mikey chirped from the couch. "Tony's rich, he can just buy you a new one!"

Raph flicked him in the head. "She means the baby's comin', idiot!"

"Oh!" Mikey's eyes went wide.

That set everyone in motion; Bruce, Tony, and Steve were wheeling Pepper off to the Tower's med bay while Nat and Clint tried to calm the teens down.

Casey, knowing that the baby had stolen the moment, slipped the ring box back into his pocket.

Two hours later, little Morgan Stark came into the world.

No one was sure who gushed over the newborn baby more: her parents or Michelangelo.

- - - -

"Okay, yeah, I can see why you put it on hold for that." MJ allowed as they stepped into the elevator. "But that was weeks ago. Why didn't you ask later?"

"I tried the next time we were at the Tower... and then we had a visitor..."

- - - -

One Week Ago...

"She's so cute!" Petra gushed over the newborn. "Aw, she has her dad's eyes!"

Tony beamed.

"And her mom's looks, thank goodness." Raph commented.

Tony gave the turtle a glare as Pepper laughed.

Casey, knowing everyone was distracted by the baby, decided now was the time...

"Hey, April?"

There was a clap of thunder, followed by a large smashing noise from the balcony.

The door to the balcony was flung open, revealing a muscular man with long blond hair. He was dressed in gray armor with a long red cape, and he wielded a war hammer. Despite his appearance, he was beaming with a friendly smile.

"Greetings, Avengers... ah, and you have guests! Greetings, Girl of Spiders! Greetings, Turtle Men!"

He paused in front of April and Casey. 

"I do not believe we have met. I am Thor, son of Odin!"

"I'm April O'Neil, and this is my boyfriend, Casey Jones. Nice to finally meet you."

"The same, Lady O'Neil, Jones. Greetings to you both!"

Morgan let out a little cry, redirecting Thor's attention.

"Friend Stark! I'd heard word that you had a child!"

He rushed over, and grinned when he saw the baby.

"Isn't she cute?" Mikey asked.

"Verily." Thor bent down, probably so he wouldn't intimidate the baby, and whispered at her. "Greetings, child of Stark."

He stood again, beaming widely. "This calls for celebration!"

He went into the kitchen, and came back with his arms loaded with beer cans.

"'Tis not mead, but this will suffice! Come, let us celebrate!"

"Works for me!" Clint agreed as he grabbed a can from Thor.

"Enjoy yourself, Raphael!" Thor put a beer in the turtle's hand.

"Thor, he's sixteen." Tony reprimanded.

The Asgardian's eyes went wide. "Oh!"

He then handed Raph a second beer.

"You are still growing! Drink heartily, my friend!"

"Thor, no."

- - - -

"... Remind me to invite Thor to my birthday when I turn twenty-one." MJ joked.

Casey let out a little laugh, then put his game face on.

"Anyway, that's why I decided to just ask at the lair. No babies, no visiting aliens... I just want to ask her."

"Good." MJ grinned. 

The elevator door opened. 

"Hey, Casey!" Mikey called. "I have an important question for you!"

He froze. Did... Did they know?!?!?

"...Yeah?" He asked.

The orange-clad turtle gave him a funny look.

"I was just gonna ask what kind of pizza you wanted. I'm ordering."

"Oh... Anything's fine."

"Same with me!" MJ chimed in (and gave Casey a smirk).

Nodding, Mikey walked away, tapping at his phone.

"Um... anyone seen April?" Casey asked anyone nearby.

"She is in the restroom at the moment." Splinter said as he walked up. "Good to see you both. Marcus James, Petra is in the lab with Donatello. Would you please go and get them? They have been in there since three."

It was almost seven.

"Sure, Master Splinter." The teen nodded as he jogged towards the lab.

"Oh, Casey!"

April walked over. 

"Hey, April... um, can I ask you something?"

"You just did." She smiled. "But you can ask another one."

Casey took a breath and reached into his pocket...

"For the third time, Donnie, the answer's no. I don't think Coulson would let us have uranium, and even if he would, Master Splinter wouldn't let us bring it into the lair."

"But if we want the launch mechanism to work right, then we need an ample power source!"

"We're friends with Tony Flipping Stark. We can just ask for arc reactor schematics and use that as a power source."

Donnie slapped his head as he, Pet, and MJ came out of the lab.

Now that the argument was over, Casey tried to speak again...

"No anchovies, okay?" Mikey said over the phone. "You put anchovies on that, we're not eating it... Oh, you're out of them anyway? Okay, then don't worry about that... Alright, no problem. Just come to the address I gave you and we'll pay the delivery guy... Yeah it's to a storm drain again. Trust me, you don't wanna know... Alright, thanks!" He hung up.

Casey took a deep breath and tried to start again...

"Hey, Leo, do you know what time the game's on?"

"Which game?

"The Jets are playin' the Giants tonight."

"Oh, I think it starts in an hour... and the Jets are going down."

Raph stood up from the couch, looking like he was about to start a fight.

"You take that back..."

"SHUT UP!"

Casey lost it and yelled at his surrogate family.

"CAN'T YOUSE GUYS BE QUIET FOR THIRTY SECONDS? I'M TRYING TO ASK HER TO MARRY ME AND I COULD USE SOME QUIET!"

The lair was dead silent. Casey's face turned bright red as he realized what he'd just said.

"Talk about subtle." MJ snarked.

"Um, Casey?"

Wincing at the sound of April's voice, he turned around.

She was on one knee, tears in her eyes, offering him a ring.

"I... I was actually trying to ask you..."

His eyes went wide, and he pulled the ring box out of his pocket.

"Yes." They said at the same time.

"Pay up." Raph whispered to Donnie.

"Hey, I said he'd propose before April." The purple clad turtle argued. "Technically, he did!"

"But April was the one who got down on one knee first!" Raph fired back.

The two fiances ignored the arguing turtles as they put the engagement rings on each other and kissed.

Chapter Text

Her talk with Donnie had helped some, but she still couldn't resist the shaky feeling in her gut. 

If her brother had noticed that she'd practically been limp when he hugged her (because what if she lost control and cracked his shell?), he'd been kind enough not to say anything. 

How could she touch her brothers again? Her father? Her boyfriend? How could she touch anyone again without worrying about hurting them?

These thoughts raced through Petra's head as she tossed and turned, hugging her plush turtle.

She glanced at her alarm clock. It was eleven p.m.

Sighing, she sat up. She'd been trying to sleep for the last hour, and she doubted she'd be able to sleep on her own.

Maybe she could make a cup of tea... Or take one of those melatonin gummies April had brought over once.

Petra left her room and jumped down to the first floor, her enhanced strength catching her easily, and quietly made her way into the kitchen.

She was surprised to find Master Splinter in there, making his own cup of tea.

They locked eyes for a moment before he glanced at the tea kettle, which had just started whistling.

"I believe," he broke the silence, "that there is enough in the kettle for two."

She nodded and grabbed two cups. A minute later, they were both sitting at the table, each with a cup of tea in hand. 

"Couldn't sleep either?" Pet offered.

"What happened with Karai was startling," He admitted. He paused to take a sip of his tea before he continued speaking. "Are you having trouble sleeping for the same reason?"

"...Maybe?" She shrugged. "I mean..." She trailed off.

"Facing a new enemy is always scary." Splinter replied. "And Karai possesses your strength and skills--"

"It's not that." She interrupted. 

Sure, facing someone who could actually handle her spider-speed and -strength was... shocking, to say the least. But...

"Then will you tell me what is wrong?" He gently asked.

"...I almost killed her."

The floodgates opened, and words fell out of her mouth.

"I saw Donnie in danger, and I just snapped. I didn't hold back any of my strength, and I beat her down in seconds. If she wasn't as strong as me, she'd be dead right now. How can I ever get into a fight again knowing what I could do to my opponent?"

She set down her tea and looked at her palms. She washed her hands and gloves several times, but in her mind she could still see Karai's blood all over them.

"I'm strong enough that I can kill someone with my bare hands, just by touching them in the wrong place at the wrong time. And that... That terrifies me."

She wrapped her arms around herself, staring into her cup of tea.

Splinter was quiet for a moment before he spoke.

"You have made your opinions on killing clear many times in the past, my daughter. I hate to do so, but I must remind you that there are times when a ninja must kill their opponent."

"I won't kill." She mumbled. "I can't. Sensei... How can you look into someone's eyes, knowing they may a family or friends, knowing they have people who love them, and take their life? I've been mad enough to want to kill before, like when Sandman hurt you... But I can't ever do it. I see the fear in their eyes and... I freeze."

She shuddered. "I know being so merciful makes me a bad ninja, but I don't care."

"Empathy and mercy are strengths, my daughter," The rat reprimanded, "not weaknesses. And you are not a bad ninja... Though your dislike of killing my cause you more trouble in the future."

She pushed away her tea and looked at her toes, saying nothing.

He let out a small sigh.

"I have killed, before."

Startled, she looked up. There was a deep sadness in Splinter's eyes.

"I have told you about the night I fled Japan, but I chose to spare you parts of the story. Oroku Saki's one true target that night was me, even though the first one killed that night was the grandmaster. I knew that he wanted to take over the clan and convert it to the Foot. I rallied several of my friends, and together we attempted to escape. We encountered Shredder's forces as we ran, and were forced to fight."

He looked at the table, sighing.

"None of my friends made it out alive. In the end, I had to do everything in my power to escape. That meant killing the Foot soldiers in my path."

"...You said that a lot of Foot Soldiers were former Hamato Clan members. Did you...?"

"Yes, I knew them. I had even considered a few of them friends."

The kitchen was silent before he spoke again.

"I feel no pride for what I did. If there had been another way, I would have taken it. If I hadn't attacked them as I did, then you and your brothers would not be here, and Saki would have won."

He sighed and drank some tea before speaking again.

"Every ninja eventually develops the power to kill with their bare hands; you are not the first to struggle with this fear. But remember: when one studies and trains to develop a skill, they also gain the discipline to use said skill wisely. You have remarkable powers, my daughter, but you also have a strong sense of morality. I will not lie to you; there may come a time when you are forced to kill an enemy, such as the Shredder. When that time comes, remember that you tried everything else, and that you will save more lives in the process."

He put a hand over hers. "With that said, your empathy is one of your greatest strengths. We have gained several valuable allies due to you and your brothers showing mercy to enemies, and it would break my heart to see you lose that part of yourself."

She let her father's words sink in as she drank her own (rapidly cooling) tea. Finally, she spoke.

"I know I can't save everyone." Petra whispered.

She then looked up with determination.

"But I will never stop trying."

He looked at her with pride.

"Good."

He stood and pulled her into a hug. She hugged back, unafraid.

After cleaning up from their midnight tea, Pet trudged up to bed. She was asleep the second her face hit the pillow.

Chapter Text

Michelangelo had gotten there unnoticed, showing far more stealth than most people would think possible for someone who was usually so loud.

His mission was to locate a stolen shipment of tech supplies. AIM (some evil nerd organization that kept giving SHIELD trouble) had been trying to ship a bunch of stuff to their hideout, only for someone to steal it right off of the ship it had been coming in on.

If not for the shuriken left behind with the Foot Clan's emblem on it, SHIELD wouldn't have had any clues as to who the thieves were.

Despite the possible involvement of the Foot, the mission was deemed safe enough for the teen turtle to pull off alone. All he had to do was wait and see if the buyer showed up, record their conversation, snap a few pics, grab a pizza and head home.

Okay, he might've added the pizza part...

He was hiding in the ceiling of the warehouse Coulson and May believed was the most likely meeting place. He'd been waiting for ten minutes now, and was starting to hope that SOMEONE would come along...

An elevator set into the wall of the warehouse dinged, and the door opened.

"My dream come true: stuck in an elevator with five guys on a high protein diet."

The comment came from a man dressed all in red and black leather, with two katanas (not unlike Leo's) strapped to his back. He was being held on both sides by Foot Ninjas, with two Purple Dragons behind them. Taking up the rear was the scowling Hun.

Remembering what the warrior was capable of, Mikey felt himself tensing up as he watched the scene.

"Do you ever shut up?" Hun growled.

"No. Not when I'm awake," he fired back. "They call me the Merc With A Mouth. They don't call me 'Silent Stevie, the French Kiss Queen of Saskatoon--"

He got punched in the mouth by Hun.

"Now what do you have to say, Mouth?" He mocked.

Instead of speaking, the man began singing.

"Hit me, baby, one more time..."

"Oh for... Just tie him up!"

The Ninjas and Dragons forced the man into a chair and tied him to it. Hun stood in front of the bound man, sneering. Mikey realized he was watching an interrogation.

"Do you know why we brought you here?" Hun growled at the man.

"Because you wanted me to shake my ass in your face again?"

The turtle had to plaster his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing.

"QUIET!" Hun had actually gone a little red in the face at that one... and went redder when he realized that the Purple Dragons were laughing at the comment.

"Do you think you're funny?!?" The leader of the Purple Dragons growled.

"My dedicated fan base thinks so."

"Well, laugh at this!"

He pulled his sword from off of his back and was about to cleave the tied-down man in half.

"Oh, shell..."

He leapt from the ceiling, his Stark-improved nunchucks already whirling. 

The element of surprise gave him a huge advantage (as did the force fields). By acting fast, he was able to deliver strategic blows to Hun's neck and face before he'd even pointed his sword at the turtle. The massive man fell over, out cold.

He turned to face the Foot soldier's back up... only to find the man in red and black had freed himself and taken the other four out.

"Thanks for the save, but I coulda handled it."

"Um, dude? He was about to cut you in half with a... Oh my gosh!"

One of the downed enemies had managed to jam a kunai into the man's back.

"Oh, ew," the man commented. "Don't worry, happens to me all the time."

He pulled the knife out and tossed it across the room. 

Mikey was trying to process what he was seeing.

"No, seriously dude, do you need a doctor or something?"

"Nah, I've got a healing factor. That gash'll be gone soon."

"Oh," Michelangelo started relaxing. "Cool! My sister's got one of those... I'm Mikey, by the way."

"Yeah, I know." He nodded. "I break into Avengers Tower and read their files when I'm bored sometimes. I also remember you from 1987... and 2003... and 2012... and 2018... and I'm not even going to bring up all of the movies. Still, kudos on always outselling Shredder in action figures."

"...What?"

"Just ignore it. The writer wanted to include that stupid joke and thought I was the only one who could get away with it. Pretend like you didn't hear it."

Deciding that he had no hope of understanding, Michelangelo just shook his head and moved on.

"So, wait, who are you? Do you work for SHIELD?"

"I'm Deadpool. And no. I'm a gun for hire, and the people who hire me are usually desperate, have their heads up their asses, or both. I've worked with villains, heroes... the X-Men all know me, but I'm not allowed in their house anymore after I tried to turn the Professor's wheel chair into a one-man party bus... So, anyway, what brings you here?"

"Oh, right! I'm on a mission; I'm supposed to find whoever stole AIM's shipment and report what I find back to Fury."

"Look no further, it was Honey Bun and his harem."

Deadpool pointed with his thumb at the slumped over Hun and his taken-out soldiers.

"Don't know what they wanted the tech crap for, but AIM hired me to figure out who stole it."

"Looks like we've both completed our missions then..." Mikey thought out loud.

He'd heard stories about Deadpool, and had a few questions he wanted to ask.

"So... You wanna get a pizza?" He asked.

"You can have pizza, I'm getting a chimichanga."

- - - -

"Wait, so you're the reason why SHIELD found the Foot's last base?" Mikey couldn't believe it.

"I actually went in thinking it was one of Kingpin's hideouts; he owes me money. When I found out it wasn't, the Foot soldiers were already fighting me. So, naturally, I beat them all up, raided the kitchen, and vandalized the bathroom before I left. I ended up calling SHIELD about them because of the unspeakable evil they committed..."

Mikey nervously swallowed his pizza as he waited for the story to continue. They were sitting on the roof of an apartment building, and had been swapping stories as they ate takeout.

"...What did they do?"

"I made hundreds of pancakes, and they didn't have a drop of maple syrup anywhere in that kitchen!"

Michelangelo laughed, partially from relief.

"And, admittedly," Deadpool added, "I'd heard that Shredder was using humans as test subjects to create mutant soldiers."

He absentmindedly brushed at his arm as his voice grew more serious.

"I hate anyone who experiments on people..."

"Well, hey, we stopped the Foot tonight!" Mikey tried to cheer the mercenary up. "And the night's still young! What do you want to do now?"

That was a very dangerous question to ask someone like Deadpool.

- - - -

The duo's escapades that night would never be fully remembered by either of them, mostly due to Mikey drinking too much orange soda and Deadpool being... Deadpool.

However, it resulted in a hot air balloon in Central Park getting filled with pizza, a graffiti tag claiming chimmichangas as the best food ever invented, two wrecked cars, three wrecked bicycle, a car that was wrecked because of a bicycle thrown through the windshield, four lower-ranking supervillains with mustaches (and other things) drawn on their faces waking up in a police station, and a homemade banner with the phrase "FRANCIS SUX" strung over Fifth Avenue.

According to what Coulson told the family later, Fury's cursing over the mountain of paperwork their escapades caused was allegedly heard all over the Helicarrier. Needless to say, Mikey was grounded and Deadpool was put on SHIELD's wanted list... again.

Chapter Text

She hadn't thought she'd ever go back there.

While she was grateful to the little girl and the turtle boys for saving her life, she wasn't exactly sure what to make of what she'd seen.

As she'd gone to bed the night after the ordeal, she'd decided she'd simply pretend it never happened.

But thoughts kept invading. Splinter was raising five kids alone, with no income and no help. When she'd asked, they'd admitted that they were hunting through the tunnels for spare change when they'd heard her. And that was the ONLY source of money they had coming in.

After what they'd done for her, it only seemed fair that she try and make their lives a little easier.

It started out simply; dropping by the storm sewer home (or the lair, as she later took to calling it) with things like soap, batteries, food... Anything she thought they might need. 

Then she'd started bringing over meals, and staying to eat with the odd mutant family. Then she'd started bringing over toys and movies for the kids (and clothes for Petra, since the girl clearly hadn't had a new set of clothes in years). 

In only a few weeks, April couldn't believe she'd ever wanted to forget about her family the odd family she'd found. Splinter was always polite and courteous, to the point that it was easy to forget he was a giant rat. Leonardo was surprisingly mature for his age, and was a born peacekeeper. Raphael could be pretty aggressive (and picked fights at the drop of a hat) but it was clear he was a sweet kid once you got to know him. Michelangelo smiled so often that it was easy to believe that was his default expression, and he loved nothing more than to make someone laugh. Donatello was smarter than any child or adult April had ever met, with Petra falling right behind him. April would never forget the day the eleven- and ten-year-old had tried to drag her into a debate about the Pythagorean Theorum... and then chased Raph around with rolled up newspapers when he called them nerds.

The night that truly earned her a spot in the family was when she brought over pizzas for dinner.

The kids had never seen the food before. While they were enticed by the smell, they kept looking at the slices on their plates like they were about to bite them. Mikey had been the first to risk a bite... and his eyes bugged out before he tried to stuff the whole slice in his mouth. His siblings quickly followed his lead.

From then on, all five of the kids were the biggest pizza fans April had ever seen. She'd kept trying to bring them new foods whenever she could, but pizza was undeniably their favorite.

That day, though, she'd made a big mistake. 

She'd brought along some drinks for the kids to try out. She'd thought nothing of it, all of the drinks were kid food, perfectly safe. Splinter hadn't objected when she started offering the bottles of juice, chocolate milk, and soda to the kids.

It was after the orange-clad turtle had finished a bottle of Pepsi that April realized her mistake.

None of the kids had ever had caffeine before.

- - - -

Whatever was in the soda, Petra would always remember the wild look in Michelangelo's eyes before he screamed for joy at the top of his lungs and ran full speed into the tunnels.

Everyone had stared in shock for a moment before Splinter sighed.

"It seems Michelangelo is extremely sensitive to the effects of caffeine. We will need to find him before he hurts himself."

Leo had then said that Mikey would be more willing to let them find him if he thought they were playing a game. 

That was how Pet and the three remaining turtles ended up searching the tunnels, each armed with a walky-talky and bows with toy arrows. 

Splinter and April had stayed at the lair, in case Mikey came back on his own.

"Okay, status check!" Leo said over the walky-talkies. "Anyone finding anything?"

"Negative." Donatello replied.

"Just a whole lotta nothin'." Raphael responded.

Pet was about to say she hadn't seen anything either when she heard a giggle from ahead.

"I might have found him," she whispered into her walky-talky. "Stand by."

Putting the talky into her pocket, she spoke up in a sing-song voice.

"Oh, Mikey! Guess what? We're playing ninja tag, and you're the target! If you can make it back to the lair without any of us hitting you with an arrow, you win! And the prize is..."

She paused, thinking of a prize Mikey would like before it hit her.

"You get to pick what movie we watch tonight!"

There was an excited gasp. Then an orange blur shot past her.

"IGETTOPICKTONIGHTSMOVIEOHMYGOSHTHISISTHEBESTDAYEVER!"

She never even had a chance to load a toy arrow; it looked like the caffeine had given Mikey a speed boost. Considering how fast he already was...

"Raph, he's heading your way!" Pet warned. "Have an arrow ready, he's moving really fast!"

In the end, Mikey got to the lair before anyone else, and not one arrow managed to hit him.

They ended up watching My Neighbor Totoro after dinner that night.

- - - -

"I'm so sorry." April apologized again.

The kids had dropped off one by one as the Studio Ghibli film played. Mikey, despite the movie being one of his favorites, had been the first to pass out; his caffeine-enhanced energy had finally been spent.

"You did not know," Splinter replied. "I should have realized that Michelangelo would not respond well to soda, considering how energetic he already is..."

"Still, what if it had been something worse than that? What if I'd accidentally triggered someone's food allergy? Or gotten them all sick because there was some ingredient they couldn't handle?" She bit her lip. "I understand if you don't want me around your kids anymore--"

"April, please stop."

She looked at the rat with surprise.

"First of all," he began, "none of them have food allergies. I have spent years finding whatever I could for them to eat, and nothing has ever made any of them sick. I believe they have stronger immune systems than most humans. Second, if they had gotten sick, it would have been an honest mistake, and I would forgive it like I have forgiven the events of today."

"I just... I want to do right by them. They're good kids, and they deserve everything I can give them. I can't help feeling like it's my fault if they get sick or hurt, or worrying about them when I don't know where they are--"

"It is not easy being a parent, is it?"

"No, it's not--"

She realized what Splinter had said, and froze. Then she sighed.

"I guess I have become something of a mother hen."

"You have nothing to be ashamed of. April, I am incredibly grateful for everything you have done and brought for us. Your visits are the best part of their day, and our family is better because you have joined it. I can never thank you enough."

April couldn't fight the blush, or the smile, that appeared on her face.

"Thank you, Master Splinter."

She was a little young to be the mother of four eleven-year-olds and a ten-year-old. But she'd always wondered what it would be like to be an older sister...

Chapter Text

Petra had to admit that her life could be... really strange.

One moment she was sitting at home, playing video games with her adopted turtle brothers, and the next she was webbing across the city towards the home of Wilson Fisk. 

Fisk (or Kingpin, as the guy was actually a huge crime boss) had been experimenting with crossing dimensions. If the tip SHIELD had received was any indication, then Fisk was apparently trying to bring alternate versions of himself to his dimension to try and boost his criminal empire.

In other words, there were a LOT of reasons to shut down his plan.

All in all, though, Fisk's forces weren't that hard to take out. He'd originally planned to hire some bigger muscle (possibly even supervillains) to help him out, but with most of them in jail, he had to resort to hiring thugs off the street. Some of them were even Purple Dragons.

Even though she was the only Hamato there (both Fury and Splinter agreed that it would be too big of a risk to let Kingpin see the Turtles), Spider-Ninja was able to effectively take out her opponents. And anyone she didn't take down was quickly subdued by the SHIELD agents who'd also come to the scene.

Before long, the thugs were all knocked out and Kingpin was being held at gun point by Coulson, Melinda May, and Fury. Pet was perched on the ceiling, ready to fire a web grenade if things went south.

"Wilson Fisk," Director Fury called out, "you're under arrest for multiple crimes against the city of New York. You have the right to--"

"You're not taking me down, Fury!" Kingpin called out. His enormous fist slammed down on a big red button, activating the machine behind him.

Pet's spider sense went nuts; something was about to go very wrong.

Once again, her senses were right.

The portal machine began sucking everything in, sending it to who-knew-where. With horror, she saw the three leading agents starting to slide towards the portal.

She used her webs to secure them to the floor, using what was left in her right shooter. Then, seeing the terrified Kingpin was about to go in, she used her left shooter to make a web grenade and tossed it. The goo cemented him to the floor.

She reached into her boot to replace her web fluid... and then realized far too late that she'd lost her footing.

Pet was flying backwards, into the portal machine. In vain, she tried to shoot a web and save herself, but both shooters were dry.

"SPIDER-NINJA!" Fury shouted as she went sailing into the portal machine.

- - - -

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She didn't know where the portal machine had sent her, but she was flying down what appeared to be some kind of tube. Or vent. For all she knew, it was a wormhole.

What she did know, however, was that she was flying down it at a speed no human should be able to travel. If not for her superhuman durability, the speed probably would have hurt her.

Panicked thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to think of what to do... and then she was face to face with a man.

He was incredibly tall (she'd estimate around nine feet) with orange skin, blue hair, pupil-less eyes, and an all white outfit. He was standing still, yet flying right next to her as she sped through the wormhole.

"Hello, I don't think we've been introduced?" He said in a voice that was far too calm for the situation. "No need to tell me your name, Spider-Ninja. But I am the Beyonder."

"Um, okay, hi!" She shouted as she struggled to understand what was going on.

Splinter's training was thorough, but he'd never covered what to do when you meet a strange orange man while shooting at high speed down a wormhole.

"Ooh, polite! Well, tell you what, little Spider. It's far too dangerous for humans to travel through a place like this. How about I take you somewhere safe, and you help me prank this stick-in-the-mud I know?"

She didn't know what he was talking about, but if it meant she had a chance of getting home, she was all for it.

"Okay, sure! Deal!" She yelled.

He gave an inhumanly wide smile.

"Good!"

He grabbed her hand and snapped his finger.

Next thing she knew, she was in the center of a red room.

At least, she thought it was a room...

It was some sort of wide open space with screens here and there, hovering above the floor. The whole thing had a sci-fi feel to it.

"Uh, Beyonder?" She gave a tentative call. 

No response.

"Great." She sighed. "Note to self: when making a deal with a strange orange man, make sure you set the terms of your deal before he disappears into thin air... When did my life get this weird?"

Her spider-sense went off.

"Who's there?" A deep voice called out.

From somewhere above, a man dropped to the floor. He landed ten feet away from her, landing with enough force to slightly shake the ground. He was dressed from head to toe in a skintight suit. It was mostly black (or was that dark blue?) with red markings criss-crossing the upper body. The wrists each bore massive red spikes.

Heart pounding, Pet's hands went to her kama (she was still out of web fluid). 

"Hey, I don't want any trouble," she started. "Can you tell me where I am?"

"Who are you?" The man growled. He made no move to touch her, but his tone of voice suggested she wouldn't be happy if she didn't answer him.

"My name's Petra. Petra Parker-Hamato."

He paused, and actually took a step back.

"Spider-Ninja?"

"...How did you know that?"

"...How did you get here?"

She was getting a little annoyed at the fact that he kept asking questions before he answered hers... But he clearly knew what was going on more than she did, so she decided to play nice.

She told of Wilson Fisk's portal machine, her getting sucked in, and flying through the wormhole.

"Then this guy appears out of nowhere and says he'll get me to safety if I help him mess with someone--"

"Stop." The man held up a hand. "Did this person have orange skin, blue hair, and no pupils?"

She blinked. "...Actually, yes."

He let out a long groan.

"Well that explains it. The Beyonder never passes up a chance to aggravate me..."

"...Um, sorry, but who are you again? I hate to interrupt, but I have no idea what's going on... And how did you know I was Spider-Ninja?"

"First of all..."

The man's mask seemed to disappear, revealing a very serious looking man. He looked like he was around Casey's age... and he had long claws and fangs.

"I'm Miguel O'Hara. And you've been brought to the headquarters of the Spider Society."

"...Okay. What's the Spider Society?"

- - - -

"So, the multiverse theory is correct?"

"Yes."

"And you've been bringing Spider-People from every universe here to serve as a type of Spider Force in case something comes up one of us can't handle?"

"Yes."

"...Wow, okay..."

Petra was sitting on the floor, trying to process everything. Her head was filled with an odd mixture of excitement, confusion, worry, and a touch of existential dread...

"Miguel!"

She looked up to see a woman with an afro, glasses with gold lenses, a black-and-red suit, and a baby bump. As she stood up, Pet felt her spider-sense go off... but not in a negative way. It felt more like it was telling her this woman was a friend.

"This her?" The woman asked, eyeing Petra with a curious expression.

"Yes." Miguel nodded as he turned back to Petra. "Petra, this is Jessica Drew. She's also a Spider."

"You're like me." Petra pointed at her, eyes going wide.

"I am." Jessica nodded.

"Nice to meet you." She nodded politely at the other Spider before turning back to Miguel.

"If you've been reaching out to Spiders all over the multiverse, then why hadn't I been contacted yet? I've been my New York's Spider for over a year now."

"It's... complicated." Miguel answered.

Spider-Ninja just kept staring at him. She didn't have Splinter's death glare mastered yet, but she'd perfected April's "don't even think about it, young man" stare.

Finally, he sighed.

"Fine. Many of the Spiders we've reached out to are those whose universe follows a series of events. We call these events the canon. Some events in the canon are good... most aren't. But in some way, each universe follows them."

He gave Petra a look. "Not every universe fully follows it. For example, in every universe a Spider loses a valued member of their family. But Earth-8762 is the only one where the Spider lost their family and was raised by a ninja rat."

"How do you know about Master Splinter?" She reacted with surprise.

"We spy on everyone, sweetie!" An electronic voice spoke up.

Pet jumped ten feet in the air, landed in a back flip, then spun with her kama in front of her, ready to fight.

She dropped her stance when she saw she'd just threatened a cute anime-esque hologram. Her face flushed with embarrassment as her kama went back into her belt.

"This is my assistant, L.Y.L.A." Miguel explained before turning back to Spider-Ninja. "And, yes, we keep an eye on the Spiders of each dimension we know about. We've known about you for a while... Which is how we know you're unfit for the Spider Society."

"Unfit?" She tried not to sound insulted. "What makes me unfit?"

"Because you're happy!" L.Y.L.A. chirped.

"...What?"

"The truth is, sweetie," Jessica Drew spoke up. "A lot of Spiders have to sacrifice things to continue their hero work. Family, friends, careers... We've all made a lot of tough choices. But you... You have a healthy support system, good friends, and more self-discipline than most spiders can imagine."

"Well, the discipline is from ninja training..." Pet shrugged.

"Nor do any other Spiders have years of training in martial arts, weapons, and discipline." Miguel added. "The members of the Spider Society know what it's like to have to make tough choices."

"You think I haven't made tough choices?" She crossed her arms.

"He's just saying that... You're still fairly new to being a Spider. And there are some events in the canon you haven't been forced to face yet."

"I've faced plenty of horrors already. If you've been spying on me, then I know you know about the Shredder."

"Oroku Saki was a dangerous threat, yes." Miguel admitted. "But we're referring to... Well, you'll find out."

Petra didn't like the tone in his voice, but did a brief breathing exercise to calm herself.

"If you don't want me in your club, fine. But do you have any way to send me back to my dimension? I need to get home before my family freaks out."

"We can send you home." Miguel nodded. "Follow us."

- - - -

To get to the "Go Home Machine" (a title that Pet thought was a bit on the nose even if it was accurate), they needed to walk through the heart of the Spider Society's HQ.

Petra was pretty sure her jaw hit her feet at least once. Not only was the place huge, but spider-themed people were everywhere: walking or webbing around, wall-crawling, sitting and talking, standing around some kind of station...

"What's that?" She asked Jessica. 

"Web fluid refilling station."

"...Can I use it real quick? I drained my shooters before I got here."

Jessica looked at Miguel, who rolled his eyes but nodded.

Once her shooters were filled (she NEEDED to tell Donnie about this; it would save so much time), she rejoined her guides. Before they got to the Go Home Machine, they passed what looked like a movie theater. She heard cheering coming from inside.

"What's in there?"

Jessica snorted. "I forgot; April O'Neil's from your dimension, right?"

"Sure, she's kind of my big sister... Though it'll be O'Neil-Jones soon."

"Well, do you remember when April roasted J. Jonah Jameson on live TV?"

She snorted. "How could I forget?"

"Well, L.Y.L.A. hijacked the feed and showed it in the middle of HQ. Everyone loved it so much that we ended up building a place that played it 24/7 so everyone had a chance to see it. It's surprisingly therapeutic."

Petra felt rising annoyance at what that implied.

"Are you telling me there's a Jameson in every dimension, too?"

"Yes." Miguel didn't bother to hide his distaste. "Some of them have more integrity than others, but they all hate Spiders and they all want the multiverse to know it."

"He's personally watched the footage twenty times." Jessica whispered to Pet.

Finally, they made it to the Go Home Machine. It was being operated by a girl with a purple aura around her.

"Spider-Byte." Miguel said as they entered. "We need to send Spider-Ninja home. Dimension Earth-8762."

"Oh, you're Spider-Ninja?" Spider-Byte asked as she came over. Pet once again felt her spider-sense tingle in that odd, benign way.

"Yep. It's cool to meet so many other Spiders." She gave a small wave.

"I know the feeling, kid." She grinned. "Alright, I'm guessing you've never used this before?"

The fifteen-year-old shook her head.

"Alright, just tap this screen with your finger... Good. The computer found your dimension. Now, just go stand on that glowing part of the floor, and I'll do the rest."

"Um, okay."

She did as she was asked. Seconds later, the machine started spinning what looked like webbing around her.

"Uh, is this supposed to happen?" Pet shouted.

"Yes." Jessica Drew answered. "In a few moments it'll open a portal and send you back!"

"Okay! Well, thanks for everything!"

She was still a bit bitter over being called "unfit", but Splinter hadn't raised an ingrate. 

Within seconds, what seemed like a doorway made of light and color appeared under her feet. She felt herself falling (it reminded her of being teleported by Everbee). Then, without warning, her feet landed on concrete.

She needed to look around for a few seconds before she got her bearings. She was on top of the Baxter Building, overlooking Fisk's place. The sheer amount of SHIELD vehicles in front of it told her that she hadn't been gone too long.

With her refilled shooters, she webbed over to the scene... and internally winced at the amount of explaining she was going to have to do.

Chapter Text

Petra wasn't sure what was more painful: the hour-long debriefing or the crushing hug.

As soon as she'd reappeared at the sight of the fight with Kingpin (who'd been shuttled off to Riker's Island by then), she'd been taken to the Helicarrier to give a full report of what she'd seen. Thankfully, despite traveling across dimensions, she'd only been gone for about forty-five minutes. 

Fury had been stone-faced throughout the meeting, but dismissed her once she'd told him everything. As Coulson and May escorted her out, she heard the director telling Hill to contact someone named Doctor Strange.

Coulson had driven her home, explaining that he'd told her family about her disappearance (and had called them during her debriefing to tell them she was okay). 

Which was why, the second she and the agent entered the lair, Michelangelo tackled her in one of his suffocation-inducing hugs.

Thank goodness she had super-human durability, otherwise Mikey's plastron would have broken her ribs.

Coulson told the rest of the family what had happened while Petra tried to regain the ability to breathe normally.

They all had different things to say.

"There's an entire multiverse of people like you?" Leonardo gaped.

"And they said you weren't good enough?" Raphael growled.

"I can't believe you traveled dimensions... and that web fluid refilling station sounds like a good idea..." Donatello mused.

"Aww, the Spider-Guys all like April!" Michelangelo gushed.

Splinter was mostly silent throughout the story, finally speaking when he thanked Agent Coulson and saw him out.

Petra was concerned about the rat's silence; had she done something wrong?

She didn't get an answer until after dinner. She caught him after everyone started heading to bed.

"Sensei? Can I talk to you?"

"Of course, my daughter."

He led her into his room. She shut the shoji door and got on her knees in front of him.

"What is troubling you?" Master Splinter asked.

"Actually, sensei, I was going to ask you the same thing."

"...What do you mean?"

"You've been... really quiet all night. Ever since Agent Coulson brought me home. Are you mad because I got put in danger? I came out of it fine..."

"It was not that."

She stopped talking, listening.

The rat sighed.

"I am relieved that you safely returned from the multiverse, and I am not mad at you for your actions. You completed the mission SHIELD gave you, and you managed to return home."

"Then... What is it?"

"This... Miguel O'Hara. It concerns me that he says you are unfit for the Society simply because you are emotionally stable."

He looked at his clasped hands, eyes full of concern.

"I do not like what that implies about the lives of the many other Spiders in the multiverse..."

Petra's eyes widened.

If having a happy life was an automatic disqualification for the Society, then what the shell had the others been through?

"...Maybe if a Spider ever ends up here, we could try and find a way to help them? Teach them meditation, or help them take down a villain... I don't know, just something to help."

"I promise, Petra, if a Spider comes here and is in need of our help, then I will allow you and your brothers to do what you must to help them... so long as you do not risk life, limb, or exposure to the public in the process."

"Deal." She grinned as she bowed before her sensei.

Splinter bowed back.

- - - -

"Come on, tell it again!"

"Mikey, I've told it seven times in the last two weeks. Do you really need to hear it again?"

"Uh, yes! You went to another dimension... totally not cool went without me, by the way. That's on my bucket list."

Spider-Ninja rolled her eyes before jumping to the next roof. Mikey followed a second later, looking at her expectantly.

"Alright, how about this: next time I go to another dimension, I will do everything I can to make sure you come with me. Deal?"

"Deal!" He beamed. "So... Are you going to tell it again?"

"No."

"Ah, come on, Spidey!"

"Spider-Ninja! Come in!" The director's voice came through their coms.

Fury, bless your beautiful bald head, Petra thought as she grabbed for her com. "What is it, sir?"

"Our sensors are picking up strong EMPs from a warehouse in the Bronx. It's giving off the same readings as Fisk's pet project did."

The implications hit Petra like a truck. 

There was another portal opening in New York.

"Send me the coordinates. We'll investigate and report whatever we see."

She hung up.

"Wait, what were you two talking about?" Mikey asked as Pet grabbed him and prepared to start web-swinging.

"Looks like you might get your wish after all. Hang on!"

- - - -

The warehouse had once belonged to a steel manufacturer, but had been abandoned when the company's HQ moved to Pennsylvania. It had gone twenty years without any upkeep... and it really showed.

"What a dump," Michelangelo commented as they landed.

"Agreed," Spider-Ninja replied as she started inside. "But whoever our interdimensional visitor is, they're in there. If things go south, you ready to fight?"

"Only always!"

She nodded at him. Together, they scaled the wall and climbed in a window (the glass of which had long since disappeared). 

Moving on silent feet, they began to search the warehouse as a pair. 

They were only a few minutes into the search when Pet's spider sense went off. But it wasn't telling her about danger. It was going off in that strange, benign way.

"Mikey, wait." She grabbed his arm as she whispered.

The turtle paused and turned to her.

"Whoever's here, they're a friend."

"How do you know?" He whispered back.

She shrugged and tapped at her temple.

He nodded and put his nunchucks back into his belt.

"Hello?" She called out as she put her kama away. "Who's there? We don't want to fight, we just want to talk."

"Good. I thought you looked like reasonable blokes."

A voice came from above. It was a man's voice, and he spoke with a noticeable Cockney accent.

He dropped down from where he'd been on the ceiling. Petra recognized his mask and the base layer of his costume: it looked similar to the masks and red suits she'd seen on a lot of Spiders in the Society. However, over it he'd layered leather pants, a leather vest, spike-studded boots, an assortment of spike-studded bracelets, and an electric guitar that he wore slung across his back. The most attention-grabbing part of the costume was the mohawk that sat on top of his mask (causing Pet to wonder if the mohawk was part of the mask, or if the mask had been specifically designed so the mohawk could poke through). 

"I'm Spider-Punk." He introduced himself as he straightened up. "And you must be the Spider-Ninja... and who're you?"

He looked at Michelangelo, who wouldn't stop staring.

"Oh, I'm Angelo Micheal... I mean Michelangelo! But, c-call me Mikey!"

He gave a smile, but it looked nervous. Pet looked at him suspiciously. Why was he acting like this?

Spider-Punk snorted (was it just her or had his costume changed color?). 

"Don't get all gobsmacked. I can't be here long. No one else in the Society knows I'm here."

"Wait," Pet cut in, "Miguel didn't send you?"

"That git?" Spider-Punk snorted as he pulled off his mask. "Don't listen to a thing he says."

Without his mask, he was an older teenager (she'd guess seventeen or eighteen) with a large, dark brown afro. He had piercings in his lip, nose, and ears. 

"How are you cooler without the mask?" Mikey gaped... then covered his mouth. "Was that out loud?"

"Yes." Spider-Punk nodded, smirking. "Don't worry about it, mate, I was cool this whole time. And call me Hobie."

"As long as you call me Petra." Spider-Ninja nodded as she looked at him seriously. "If Miguel didn't send you, then why did you come?"

"I came for a chin wag."

Pet and Mikey shared a confused look.

"In other words," Hobie explained, "I need to tell you something you can't tell another Spider."

"You and I are the only Spiders here, so I doubt that'll be hard." Petra commented.

"Alright, fair." Hobie allowed. "Any road, you know how that berk told you that you weren't fit for the Society?"

She nodded, frowning at the memory.

"You're not the only one. Miguel has specific ideas about what makes someone a good Spider."

"Don't you just have to be a hero to be a good Spider?" Mikey asked.

"I'm not a hero, because calling yourself a hero makes you a self-mythologizing, narcissistic autocrat." Hobie readily replied.

"Oh... then what are you?" The turtle responded.

"I hate labels." 

"...Okay then."

Mikey still had that strange look in his eyes, though Pet couldn't place it...

Hobie got her attention as he stepped forward, deadly serious (and his costume seemed to change color again).

"It might not seem like it, but his rejecting you was a good thing. Don't enlist until you know what war you're fighting in."

He handed her a device.

"One of Miguel's rejects may be showing up at HQ soon. The Great Git has a plan for what's going to go down in that bloke's dimension, and if I'm right then there's going to be chaos... and not my kind of chaos. This reject will need a place to lie low until it's safe for him to go back home. Earth-8762 is one of the last places they'll look. Can I trust you to let him stay here until then?"

Her and Master Splinter's conversation raced through her mind. She wrapped her fingers around Hobie's device.

"Yes, we'll keep him safe."

"I knew you'd say that."

He pointed at the device. "Any Spider who's outside their dimension for too long gets... sick. When the reject gets here, give him this. It'll keep him healthy until I can get back here."

"Got it. When do you think you'll bring him?"

"I hate schedules, I hate plans."

"...Didn't you just tell me about your big plan?"

"I also hate consistency."

With that, he pointed one of his bracelets at the wall. It exploded in light and color, forming a type of doorway.

Wordlessly, he put his mask back on and walked through.

"That was... something." Pet finally managed to say after a few minutes.

"Yeah, he was..." Mikey was still staring at where Hobie'd vanished.

Chapter Text

"You're sure?" 

It wasn't like Pet to question authority, but it had been only three days since Hobie's visit to her dimension. It seemed a little soon... then again, she'd be lying if she said she knew anything about how dimensional travel worked.

"Octavius, Connors, and Selvig are positive," Fury confirmed through her cell. "The readings coming from that building are exactly the same as last time. You're sure this... Spider-Punk is trustworthy?"

"Spider-sense would have told me if he wasn't." 

She spun one last web before doing a triple front flip and landing on the roof of an apartment building.

"I'm at the sight," she reported into her phone, "but I don't see anything."

"Stay there," the director ordered. "Report to me if and when something dangerous appears... I still can't believe you didn't want the rest of your team in on this."

"They're on standby," she responded.

Truth be told, she'd wanted to take this assignment alone. If Hobie planned to bring another Spider to her dimension, then she wanted to meet them alone, first. Introducing her entire family at once would probably just overwhelm them...

The air five feet away from her seemed to ripple. Tiny stones and pebbles on the rooftop began to float in mid-air. Then, the spot directly in front of her exploded in flashing light and color.

Her ninja instincts took control, and she jumped behind a rooftop shed. 

"Something's happening," she reported to Fury. 

Suddenly, someone dressed all in black and red ran through the colorful spot. The second they were through, the lights and colors stopped, vanishing like they'd never been there.

Pet's eyes were locked on the stranger. If the sound of their panting was any indication, then they were a boy... probably a teenager. He was dressed in a suit that greatly resembled what many of the Spiders in the Society had been wearing, only the colors were inverted: the suit was black where red usually was and vice-versa.

As she watched, she realized that he wasn't a threat. Her senses would have told her.

"Spider-Ninja! Report!"

Realizing that she'd forgotten to tell Fury more, she quickly explained what had just happened.

"Is he a threat?" The director pressed.

"No, I don't think so... I think he's hurt... Do I have permission to take charge here? I'm the only one in this dimension who's been to the Society, and I promise I'll call you if something happens you should know about."

There was a small grunt, like Fury didn't like the idea. But he relented.

"Fine. But if we end up with a disaster on our hands, it's on your head. Got it?"

"Got it. Thank you."

She hung up just as the stranger started standing. Before she could leave her hiding place, her spider-sense went off in that strange, benign way.

The stranger started looking around, like he sensed her.

"Hello?" He called out in a Brooklyn accent (albeit one not as thick as Casey's). "Is someone there?"

Deciding to pretend like she hadn't been hiding, Petra emerged from the shadows. She didn't have to fake the look of surprise on her face when she saw his costume up close.

"I was about to ask the same thing."

The lenses on his mask widened as the two Spiders pointed at each other. They spoke at the same time.

"You're like me!"

"Wow." Pet let out. "Hobie said he might bring someone here, but I didn't expect to see anyone this soon..."

"You know Hobie?" The newcomer visibly relaxed. Just a bit.

"Not well, but yes. He showed up here about three days ago to ask me to help out a friend he was planning on bringing. I guess that's you."

"Yeah, I guess..." He nodded slowly. "Uh, who are you?"

"Oh, right! I'm Spider-Ninja. You?"

"Spider-Man. But my real name's Miles Morales."

"Nice to meet you, Miles. I'm Petra Parker-Hamato."

"...Hamato?"

"I was adopted, long story. Anyways, Hobie said you'd need to lie low for a while."

"...Sounds good," Miles nodded. He sounded a little... shaken.

She'd been around traumatized teenagers before, and she could tell her new friend had just gone through something bad.

But she also knew that forcing him to talk about it would do more harm than good.

"How about I take you to my home? You'll be safe there, and we can talk."

He looked up. "Wait, what about your family? How're you gonna hide me from them?"

"Hide you?" It was her turn to be confused. "Why would I hide you?"

"Uh, so you don't reveal to them that you're Spider-Ninja?"

"...They already know. Shell, they've known all along."

"Seriously? You never thought to hide it?"

"Well, I kind of discovered my powers right in front of them, so it would be kind of pointless..."

She'd learned during her brief tour of the Society that she was one of the few Spiders who didn't keep their hero identities a secret from their family. It didn't surprise her to learn Miles apparently kept his hero life a secret.

He followed her down the side of the building, but paused when she pushed aside a manhole cover.

"Um, Petra? That's a sewer."

"Yep. Don't worry, it's a storm sewer, not a sanitation sewer. No bad smells here... Hey, random question. Are you afraid of rats or reptiles?"

"...No?"

"Okay, just checking!"

It took a few more minutes of convincing, but finally Miles followed her into the sewer.

- - - -

She sent a quick text to her family to let them know what was happening. One of them (hopefully Leo, most likely Mikey) would meet them halfway to the lair. Pet was hoping that she'd be able to ease Miles into the fact that her family was made up of mutant animals.

He was silent most of the way to the lair, but he did pull up his mask. He was an African-American teenager around her age... and his eyes looked haunted. 

"So..." Petra tried to start a conversation.

"Spidey?" Raph's voice called through the tunnel. "You there?"

"Right here, Raphael!" She called ahead. 

She turned to tell Miles that it was okay... but she couldn't find him.

"Miles?" She asked quietly. "It's okay, it's just my brother..."

"Who're you talkin' to?" Raph asked as he approached.

"Miles. He's a Spider, like me. He was just here..."

Spider-Man reappeared out of thin air, staring at Raphael with a bug-eyed expression. Raph wore the same expression, as shocked as Petra at the teen's reappearance.

"What the hell?" The two teen boys said at once.

Then, as if enough strange things hadn't happened in the last five minutes, Miles' body underwent some kind of change.

His body distorted, becoming almost nothing but colored squares as he fell to the ground, writhing and screaming.

"Miles!" Pet shouted before locking eyes with her brother. "We need to get him to the lair, now!"

Raph waited until the odd seizure had stopped before he grabbed Miles and started running, the teen in his arms. Pet led the way to the lair, throwing glances back at the duo every now and then.

- - - -

Miles' life hadn't been anything resembling normal in the last sixteen months. But this had easily been the weirdest... and possibly worst... day of his life.

In one afternoon, he let Spot get away, ruined his dad's party, went to another dimension where he helped defeat the Spot (while also somehow breaking Pavitr's dimension by saving a cop), went to ANOTHER dimension where he was told his father had to die, got betrayed by people he was sure he could trust, was told he wasn't a good Spider-Man, and probably would have gotten locked up if Hobie hadn't managed to send him through a portal to... whatever dimension this was.

Apparently, this was a dimension where the Spider was a girl raised by ninjas... and who apparently had a giant turtle-man for a brother.

Said turtle man had picked him up when he finished glitching and was now following Spider-Ninja through the tunnels. 

After a minute of running, lights hit his eyes. Evidently, Petra and her brother (wasn't his name Raphael or something?) had brought him to their home.

Voices, all of them male (and one with a thick Japanese accent) started talking all at once.

"Who's that?"

"Is that the guy Hobie told us about?"

"Is he alright?"

"We'll introduce you in a second." Petra promised. "Raph, we need to get him to the lab."

Still moving, they went into a room that felt a little colder. His enhanced sense of smell picked up various chemicals, including antiseptic.

"You didn't have to carry me, you know." Miles finally found something to say.

The turtle (who he now realized was wearing a red mask) gave a smirk.

"Wish granted."

He dropped Miles, who fell exactly one inch before he landed on a cot. He looked up to see that, yes, he was in some kind of lab.

Petra appeared in front of him. Right behind her was a second turtle, this one wearing a purple mask. He looked much kinder than Raph had.

"Okay, Miles, this is my brother, Donatello. Donnie, this is Miles. He's a Spider... and I think he just had a seizure."

"It's not a seizure." He corrected. "It was a glitch. The longer someone stays outside their home universe, the more they glitch. If they never go back, then they die of cellular degradation."

He recited all of this like a homework assignment. Petra and Donatello looked horrified.

"Is there anything we can do to help you?" The purple-wearing turtle asked.

"Only if you have one of those bracelets the rest of the Society wears. They help you cross dimensions and keep you from dying of glitching."

Petra perked up and pulled something off a table.

"Something like this?"

She held up a bracelet exactly like one the Society would give... albeit covered in graffitti-like symbols.

Grinning, Miles took it and put it on. He instantly felt better... well, physically anyway.

"Hobie gave that to me when we met. He thought you might need it," Petra explained before offering a hand.

"Come on, I think we owe the rest of my family an explanation."

- - - -

Once he got past the shock of meeting five talking ninja animals, Miles found himself liking the Hamato family. It was obvious that they were really close; sure, they teased each other a lot (especially Raph), but he could also see how much love they really had for one another.

He'd listened intently to Petra's origin story, as well as that of the Hamato Clan in general. It was pretty impressive...

Once they finished their story, he'd been forced to share his. He'd tried to avoid it... only to accidentally lock eyes with Master Splinter. 

Splinter, Pet's sensei and adoptive father, had been giving him a look he knew all too well: Miles had gotten it from Mami way too many times before. It was the "you're going to tell me everything whether you want to or not" look.

Next thing he knew, he'd spilled his guts about everything that had happened that day.

"He told me that I'd broken the canon, put everyone in danger," he started to come to the story's end. "And then... He told me that one of my canon events was for my dad to die. And that I'm not supposed to save him. I told him I couldn't do that, so he tried to lock me up so my dad would die--"

"WHAT?!?"

He flinched as every Hamato teen shouted in horror, anger, or both.

Raph pulled his sais from his belt and snarled.

"That's it! Miles, I need to borrow your portal bracelet. I'm gonna go find Miguel and shove a sai up his--"

"Raphael!" Master Splinter admonished. 

"What a jerk!" Pet was fuming.

Donnie wore a stormy look, agreeing with his sister. "His reasoning is completely faulty; he has little to no evidence and is going more off a theory than genuine facts!"

Leonardo, the oldest of the turtles, looked like he wanted to follow Raphael's example. 

"I'm so sorry, Miles!" Michelangelo, the youngest of the turtles, came over to where Miles was sitting on the couch. With no warning, he grabbed Miles and wrapped him in a spine-snapping hug.

"Thanks, man," he managed, barely able to breathe.

"Release him, Michelangelo," Splinter ordered. "Suffocating him will do little to help him."

"Oh, sorry dude!"

Miles was released, and managed to finish the story.

"Hobie helped me escape the Society and sent me here. Now I have three days to figure out how to get home or... my dad..."

He couldn't finish.

"If Hobie's planning to help you," Leonardo spoke up, "then he won't leave you stranded here... Wait, couldn't you go home now if you wanted? That bracelet lets you travel dimensions, right?"

"Yeah, but you have to know where to go. I don't even know how to get back to the Society... Not that I want to."

"Well, then he'll definitely be back," Mikey spoke up. "So you can just relax until he gets here."

"Relax?" Miles stood up. "I can't. My dad might die in a few days if I don't get home. I need to get back, I need to figure out how to keep Miguel and the Society off my back, I need to..."

"Breathe, Miles," Splinter interrupted, putting a hand (paw?) on Spider-Man's shoulder.

He took a deep breath on the rat's orders.

Splinter pushed his shoulder until Miles was sitting on the couch again, then continued speaking.

"At this moment, the best you can do to help your father is to trust in your friend. Putting yourself under unnecessary stress will not help anyone."

Miles wanted to argue... but Splinter had a point.

As much as he wanted to just go home and try to solve all of this... He'd been running, webbing, fighting, and dealing with revelations/betrayals all day. 

He was hungry. He was sore. And more than anything, he was tired.

His stomach growled loudly. Miles blushed, but he knew that everyone in the room had heard it.

"Perhaps," Splinter suggested, smiling, "you could start by having a meal?"

"I'm on it, sensei!" Mikey grinned as he held up his phone. "Hope you like pepperoni, dude!"

Twenty minutes later, he found himself wrapped in a weighted blanket while sitting on the couch, a plate of pizza in his hands as some old kung fu movie played on TV.

As he inhaled his food (he was hungrier than he'd thought), he listened to the various comments made by Petra and her brothers about the movie... namely a heated debate on whether Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan was the best action star ever.

He hadn't known what to think when he ended up in this dimension... but it was nice to be able to just sit among those who accepted him.

- - - -

They'd given Spider-Man the couch to sleep on, with Don letting him keep the weighted blanket for the night. Miles quickly realized there was a second reason why Splinter had insisted he just sit, eat, and watch movies with them all evening: being forced to eat and rest had let him notice how tired his body actually was. He'd had enough energy to peel off his mask and boots before he passed out on the couch. 

He slept like a dead man, only waking up when Pet stuck a cup of coffee under his nose hours later.

After breakfast and halfway through Mikey's "Turtles Versus Spiders Ultimate Video Game Marathon" (patent pending), the leader of SHIELD had called. The odd readings had appeared again, this time in the same spot where Hobie had appeared before.

It took Miles a moment (he was still processing that this Spider evidently worked with the government) before he realized what this meant.

After saying goodbye (and a heartfelt thank you) to the rest of the Hamato clan, Spider-Man followed Spider-Ninja across the city.

"Nice web-slinging!" She'd complimented as she led the way.

"Yeah, I've learned a few tricks!" He'd grinned behind his mask as he shot between two billboards.

His smile disappeared when he remembered he'd learned some of his newest tricks from Gwen...

Don't think about that right now. First, save Dad. Then deal with... everything else.

Finally, they landed in front of the warehouse and walked inside.

Sure enough, the mohawked British Spider was waiting for them.

"Alright, mate?" Hobie asked as he unmasked. "What'd I say? Got you out of the Great Git's clutches, and found you some decent blokes to stay with until I threw the others off your trail."

He threw back his head in a short laugh. "The arse still thinks you're hiding out somewhere in his dimension. The idea of me coming up with a plan is so absurd to him that he can't Adam and Eve it."

Miles only understood a part of the slang Hobie'd said, and it looked like Pet was in the same boat.

"Alright then, Miles." Hobie opened a portal. "Time to get you home. If I can keep throwing them off, then the git's forces won't think to look in your dimension until tomorrow. You've got until then to figure out how to save your dad."

He took a breath. It was time.

Miles turned to Petra, who was wearing a sad smile.

"Good luck saving your dad. For what it's worth, I think you're an amazing Spider."

A smile crossed his face. It was nice to know there were still Spiders on his side.

"Thank you. For everything."

He started walking backwards towards the portal.

"See you around, Spider-Ninja."

"You too, Spider-Man."

He grinned, pulled down his mask, and stepped through.

Chapter Text

Tony hung up his phone call as the elevator doors closed. He let out a loud yawn and rubbed at his eyes.

"J.A.R.V.I.S., have you scheduled Morgan's doctor's appointment?"

"The appointment was this morning, sir. According to her updated medical records, she is perfectly healthy. However, her recent bouts of crying are the result of her lateral incisors coming in. I have already sent the pediatrician's recommendations for treatment to your tablet."

"Thank you."

He yawned again. Morgan had started crying at midnight, hadn't stopped until two a.m., then woke up screaming at five a.m. Pepper'd had an important meeting, so he'd done his best to comfort the baby. While she'd gone to work somewhat rested (it's hard to sleep through a screaming baby), he'd gotten maybe four hours of sleep. 

Pepper had suggested hiring a nanny to cover the nights, but Tony had refused. Besides, with how many Avengers (aka Morgan's honorary aunt and uncles) were at the Tower at any given time, the baby always had someone watching her. Especially a certain turtle.

He walked onto the main floor to find Thor, Bucky, and Michelangelo standing in the main living room. Mike was holding a babbling Morgan in his arms while he gave the Asgardian and former Winter Soldier a look of death.

"Gentlemen, are you ready to learn one of the most important skills in existence?"

"Is it really that big of a challenge?" Bucky looked confused.

"Verily, Michelangelo!" Thor shouted. Morgan gave a small cry at the volume, and Thor instantly lowered his voice. 

"Apologies, young Lady Stark." He whispered to the baby.

Mike took a second to calm the baby down before he grinned at his audience.

"Then I officially welcome you dudes to... Mario Kart!"

At that cue, J.A.R.V.I.S. turned on the TV, revealing the game.

"Let us begin the digital chariot race!" Thor declared with excitement (although this time he was careful not to scare Morgan).

Tony watched for few moments, trying not to laugh. Mikey abstained from the game so he could better watch the baby and give the two tips. Bucky ended up playing as Mario while Thor chose Luigi (mentioning that his green clothes and dark hair reminded him of Loki).

As the two started playing (Thor did surprisingly well for someone who'd never even driven a car), Tony went over to the bar. Donatello and Steve were already there, both nursing cups of coffee while watching the game.

"Bucky mentioned earlier that he'd never played a video game," Steve mentioned as he passed an empty mug to the billionaire.

"And Mikey thought that was a crime against humanity," Donnie added as he inhaled half of his mug.

They watched the players for a moment. Given that the two competitors were both warriors with little experience when it came to gaming, things got interesting pretty fast.

"You will taste my lightning, Kong of the Donkeys!" The Son of Odin screamed.

"Why does that car look like a baby carriage?" Bucky wondered as Baby Peach sped past his character. He then practically fell forward as his character narrowly missed running over a banana peel.

"For Asgard!" Thor yelled as he threw a blue tortoiseshell.

"Damn it!" Bucky nearly threw his controller when the shell hit his character.

"Language," Steve gently chided.

"No swearing near the baby!" Mikey gave Bucky a look.

"Victory is mine!" Thor cheered as he stood up and lifted his controller.

"Don't even think about it, Stormy." Tony warned.

The Asgardian, who'd been about to spike his controller, looked a bit sheepish. Earth customs were still a bit new to him, and he'd needed time to learn that people didn't like it when guests destroyed stuff.

"Apologies, Stark. Michelangelo, thank you for the lesson in this Midgardian custom. I must show this to the rest of Asgard... Where can I get one?"

"You'll need a copy of the game and a gaming set up," Tony answered as he stood up from the bar. "Just look around downtown until you find a gaming store."

Due to how tired he'd been lately, some of his usual snark had been abandoned on the count of he was too sleep-deprived to think of witty comebacks. He'd overheard Fury telling Hill that it was a nice change.

"Thank you, Man of Iron! Mjolnir!"

The hammer came flying from wherever it had been sitting, it's handle landing right in Thor's waiting hand.

He went out onto the balcony and spun the hammer until he took off.

"How is it that he's better than me at this?" Bucky griped as he walked over to the bar and filled his own mug with coffee. "At least I know how to drive a real car."

"Hey, no one learns about new tech instantly!" Donnie tried to reassure the veteran.

"You just need more time," Steve agreed.

"Yeah..." Tony got a smirk as he took Morgan from Mikey's arms. "Take your platoon mate, here. Spangles, you remember when you tried to work a Stark laptop for the first time?"

Both Captain America and Donatello got equally flustered looks.

"We don't need to tell that story..." Cap tried to interrupt.

"If I remember right..." Tony continued as he rocked Morgan a little, "you got so upset trying to turn it on that you ended up calling tech support..."

"Yeah, and it was right after Donnie got a job as a remote IT support worker." Mike grinned as he joined the story.

Bucky was smirking. "Do tell."

"Don't tell." Steve and Donnie said in sync.

Naturally, Tony and Mikey told the whole story. Bucky ended up laughing harder than he had in weeks while Donnie and Steve looked mortified.

Chapter Text

"You ready?" Leonardo whispered to his girlfriend, his weapon in his arms.

"Born ready," she whispered back, grinning.

"Okay, in three, two..."

As one, they sprang out and utterly soaked Mikey and Jubilee.

"Hey, I thought we agreed to no ambushes!" The firework-shooting mutant complained.

"That's laser tag!" The smirking Esperanza reminded them, holding her super soaker high.

Mikey groaned and took the drenched spotted arm band off. A frowning Jubilee followed suit.

"Raph, come in!" Leo said into the walky talky as he adjusted his striped arm band. "We've taken out Mikey and Jubilee! Anyone left in the game?"

"Team Spots has been hittin' us hard," Raphael responded. "Gambit and I are still in, but Pet and Logan took out Donnie and Beast. Then Cyclops and Jean took them out. Score's dead even right now."

"Who do we still need to take out?"

"Here's a hint, darlin'."

Leo and Esmeralda, eyes widening, whirled around, holding up their weapons. They were too late.

A cold stream of water caught the turtle right in the plastron. Es took a hit directly to the face, shrieking in surprise.

"Gotcha!" Rogue and Kitty cheered.

"Revenge!" Mikey and Jubilee raised their fists.

Leo and Ez got their revenge when they watched Raph and Gambit pull a sneak attack on the girls. The final duel was a very brutal, very wet battle, but in the end, the boys got thoroughly soaked. The girls cheered, victorious.

Thus, Xavier's Tenth Annual Water War came to an end. For the third year in a row, Team Spots had one.

"That was humiliating," Donnie grumbled as he handed in his super soaker and drenched striped arm band.

"At least you don't have wet fur to brush out," Beast commented, eyeing his soaked blue fur with contempt.

- - - -

"Honestly, I still can't believe those two ended up together," Esmeralda giggled.

"Well, Mikey loves to surprise people," the turtle admitted.

The sun was starting to set, and Leo knew his family would be heading home soon. Everbee, now that she'd mastered long-distance teleportation, had offered to bring the family to and from the Manor whenever they wanted to visit so they wouldn't need to use the Blackbird all the time. It was a win for everyone: Everbee got to practice, the Blackbird was available if the X-Men needed it, and it was a less stressful ordeal for everyone.

Before leaving, Leo had asked Esmeralda to take a walk with him.

"Still," Ez continued, "while she's nice enough, I can't believe he asked out Jubilee..."

"Raph and Donnie don't think it'll last long." Leonardo admitted. "Don thinks their personalities are too different, and Raph thinks they'll get on each others' nerves."

She gave a small laugh before taking off her jacket and tying it around her waist. He noticed a darker patch on her arm, a blemish in otherwise flawless green skin. A scar.

"How'd that happen?" He asked quietly, gesturing at the scar.

Esmeralda's golden eyes widened and filled with sadness. She quickly wrapped her arms around herself, hiding the mark.

"It's nothing..."

"...Esmeralda?" He was growing more concerned.

She seemed to fight herself for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"The only people I've told are the Professor and Jean. Can you please keep it a secret?"

"Of course."

"...You know how I ran away from home when I learned I was a mutant?"

He nodded.

"...That's not exactly what happened. Back when I was still Julie, I woke up one morning with green skin. I was scared, and ran to my mother. She screamed at me, thinking I was a monster. When I told her the truth, she... She took the frying pan she'd been cooking breakfast with and threw it at me, yelling at me to get out."

Her eyes were wide, haunted. "The pan was still hot... It hit me right in the arm as I ran out the door.

"In the weeks that followed, I sneaked back into the house and got whatever of my belongings I could. A month later, I tried to sneak back... and saw that my parents had sold off the rest of my things. They were telling the neighbors they'd never had a daughter. After that... I just turned around and kept walking until I found the cave. Then I stayed there until the X-Men found me. I never wanted to see them again... And I haven't."

Leonardo's eyes were wide with horror. He couldn't imagine anything so horrible.

"Ez, may I touch you?"

She sniffed and nodded.

He wrapped her in a hug before he pulled her close and used his thumb to brush away her tears.

"That's... That's why I never talk about my family." She whispered after a few minutes. "Because the day I became a mutant, I lost them."

"...I'm so sorry."

"It's one of the reasons why I love being with you. You have everything I've ever wanted: family and friends who love you as you are."

Leo sucked in a breath. He'd been meaning to ask this for a while; he knew he'd have to wait to actually go through with it, and he'd only told Master Splinter about his idea. But it would only be a year's wait, and Splinter had given Leonardo his support.

"...What if you could be a part of it?"

She looked up, confused.

"Before I say anything else, remember, this is as much your choice as it is mine. If you say no, if you want to decide later... I'll accept whatever answer you give me. But..."

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out the gift.

He'd saved up whatever money he could get his hands on for weeks to pay for it, and he'd waited another few weeks for it to be delivered, but he finally had it.

A golden ring, with small emerald stones embedded all around it.

"I know that we're still young; I'd want to wait until we're both eighteen. But I know that I love you, and I want you to be a part of my family. Forever."

Her golden eyes were as wide as they could be, and her hands were over her mouth.

His heart in his throat, Leo swallowed. He summoned up every ounce of courage he had, and spoke.

"Will you marry me?"

She threw her arms around him, tears falling down her face.

But this time, he could tell they were tears of joy.

"Yes." She whispered to him.

Suddenly, the whole world seemed brighter.

"You will?" He barely dared to believe it.

"I want to wait til we're eighteen, same as you, but... Yes, I'll marry you."

Suddenly Leo couldn't stop smiling.

They spent a few moments celebrating: laughing and dancing to no music.

"Hang on," he finally got her to pause, laughing a little. "We'll need to keep it a secret for a while. Splinter already knows, and I'm guessing the Professor does, too. Mikey definitely can't know; he can't keep a secret to save his shell."

"So, how do we hide the ring?"

Luckily, Esmeralda had been wearing a necklace with a simple chain and removable pendant. All they had to do was swap the pendant out for the ring, and no one would be the wiser.

Grinning, the two decided to start heading back towards the mansion.

Just before they came in view of the manor, Esmeralda whispered one last thing to Leo.

"I can't wait to marry you."

He was beaming for the rest of the night. His siblings all thought this was strange.

Splinter, however, just gave his son a knowing look. And a very big smile.

Chapter Text

Fury glared at the dossier.

While he was going to keep his promise to Master Splinter/Hamato Yoshi, he needed to have some way to collect the data he, Coulson, and Romanoff had compiled on the Hamato Clan. It was never a good idea to bring in a superhuman without having some idea of what they're capable of.

On the whole, however, it seemed like the Hamatos were all they'd claimed to be. The teenagers only went after criminals (often leaving them for the police to find as they had before), and followed the rules Fury had set about reporting in any crimes they stopped. With each meeting he had with them, he started to come to see them as less like assets and more like the kids they were.

He didn't see too much of Master Splinter (the former human, according to his foster daughter, wasn't fond of leaving their home any more than necessary). However, the director admitted to himself that the mutant had his respect: he'd raised five kids (none of which were his own) by himself, keeping them fed, healthy, educated, and happy despite having no true income. Plus, he'd managed to protect the daughter of the Agents Parker... a task Nick had failed to complete.

Speaking of, the young spider mutant was fairly easy to get along with. True, she was energetic, opinionated, and seemed a bit too fond of telling jokes during fights. But she also had the strength and skill to take down a man twice her size, not to mention the intelligence to figure out how to take him down with a single punch.

Of the five kids, he'd warmed up to Leonardo the fastest. Along with being surprisingly mature for a fifteen-year-old, Leonardo was disciplined, calm, respectful of authority... After dealing with people like Tony Stark, talking with the turtle was a breath of fresh air.

Donatello was a bit skittish around him at first, but (much like Petra) he'd lit up when he was given a SHIELD lab to use as his own on the carrier. Not only was the kid a good fighter (he'd seen him take out a gun-wielding mugger with one swipe from his staff), but he had an IQ on par with Stark's... maybe even past it.

Michelangelo was... a trip. He was the most hyperactive of his siblings, not to mention impatient, immature, and surprisingly talkative for a ninja. But, as much as his behavior could grate on Fury's nerves, the kid had a heart the size of a planet. He hated seeing anyone sad or in pain, and would do whatever he could to make them smile. 

The one Hamato Clan member Fury hadn't begun to trust was Raphael.

The red-clad turtle was the most aggressive of his family. He was brash, impulsive, and was ready at a moments notice to snap at someone or pick a fight. To make matters worse, the turtle had anger issues that he struggled to keep under control.

The director sighed as he locked the dossier up and left his office. He'd missed dinner; he wanted to see if he could grab a snack from the mess hall before wrapping up some paperwork...

"OW!"

Fury froze. Though he'd only known him a week, he could easily identify Michelangelo's voice.

He realized the voice had come from Connors' lab, and started race walking towards it. As he approached, he heard other voices.

"How long ago did this happen?"

That was Connors' voice. 

"About an hour ago." That was Raphael. "I wrapped it up to keep him from losing too much blood."

"Good, very good... Alright, now that it's cleaned, I can get to work dressing it. Unfortunately, Michelangelo, you're going to need stitches."

There was a yelp, undoubtedly from the youngest turtle.

"Can't I just bleed out instead?"

"We both know you'll need that arm, Mikey."

At this point, Fury was standing in the hall, listening. 

"I'll give you a local anesthetic to dull the pain," the doctor reassured as a cabinet door shut. "You'll barely feel it... Is he alright?"

"He's scared of needles," Raphael explained. "Always has been."

"Ah. Well, I'm sorry, Michelangelo, but we need to stitch that cut before you develop an infection. Or worse."

"...O-Okay." 

There was another yelp from the orange clad turtle, undoubtedly as Connors gave him the anesthetic. Then, as the sound of the doctor gathering his tools echoed into the hall, there were several terrified sniffs, like someone was trying not to cry.

"It's okay, Mikey." Raphael was speaking again. "I'll sit here with you."

There was a gentleness in the older turtle's voice that the director never would have expected.

After a few moments of silence, he left his spot and actually entered Connors' lab.

The doctor was stitching up a long gash on Michelangelo's left fore arm, so focused on his work that he didn't notice/acknowledge the director.

Michelangelo was hugging his brother tightly with his good arm, his forehead pressed against his brother's plastron. He occasionally let out a barely audible whimper, and silent tears rolled down his cheeks. Raphael was using one arm to keep Michelangelo's injured limb steady, and his other arm to hug his youngest brother. The red-clad turtle had set his chin on top of the younger turtle's head, providing him extra comfort. He watched the doctor's progress the whole time, as if daring the scientist to hurt his brother.

"Thirty stitches." Connors shook his head when the procedure was done. "Alright, Michelanelo, you did fine. For the next week or two, make sure you always have a bandage on your arm. I'll check in a week to see if they're ready to be removed yet... Director Fury!"

The doctor's startled exclamation got the attention of the other two turtles, who turned nearly in sync towards Director Fury.

Michelangelo wiped at his face (clearly trying to pretend he hadn't been crying) and flashed the director his usual smile.

"Oh, hi Fury! Sorry we didn't see you. Raph and I were fighting these dudes who were trying to steal from an ATM. We were doing okay, but one of them had a knife and got me in the arm."

Connors had finished bandaging the turtle's forearm as he spoke. As soon as his arm was free, he held up the limb to show off his injury.

"Anyway, Raph got ticked at that and punched the guy with the knife out. One of them got away, but the rest were knocked out. After Raph tied off my arm, we called the cops and made our way here."

Fury nodded, and shot a look at the red-clad turtle. The kid was fuming, but this time Nick could see why.

"I should've been payin' more attention," he grumbled. "Mikey wouldn't have gotten hurt if I'd--"

"You were fighting off two dudes at once, Raph." The younger turtle gave his brother a smile. "It's okay, and it wasn't your fault. Besides, Doc here says my arm will be better before long. Right?"

"If you keep it clean and don't overuse it, then yes," Connors agreed.

"We good to go, then?" Raphael looked questioningly to the director.

"You just gave me the information I needed for my report," Fury nodded. "As soon as Connors clears you, you can go home."

He was about to leave, then paused and turned to the turtles.

"I'm glad you're alright," he said to Michelangelo before turning to Raphael.

The red-clad turtle crossed his arms and glared at the director, silently challenging him.

"Good work protecting your younger brother." Fury told him with a respectful nod. "It's good to know you've got your siblings' backs."

The teenager blinked in surprise, a bit flustered.

"Uh, no problem."

"Raph, are you blushing?!?" Michelangelo started laughing.

"No!" Raphael looked away, embarrassed.

Fury took that as his cue to leave. 

As he finally made his way to the mess hall, however, he couldn't help but admit he'd misjudged the red-clad turtle.

Chapter Text

Morgan giggled as a baby-sized birthday cake was placed in front of her. Then, to everyone's amusement, she did a nosedive into her dessert.

Thor approved.

"The child knows how to dine like an Asgardian!" He yelled with a wide smile.

Tony gave him a side eye. "Remind me to never invite you to a fancy dinner."

"He'd still be better at one of those than Mikey," Raphael remarked, watching his younger brother coo at the one-year-old as her father cleaned frosting off of her.

"Alright," Pepper spoke up as she took the top off of a chocolate, much larger cake. "Time for the rest of us to have some dessert... Thor, use a fork."

The Thunderer frowned with disappointment, but resumed grinning when he got a piece with extra frosting.

"April?" Pepper asked as she kept dishing out pieces. "How big of a slice do you want?"

"Big as you can give me." She responded, her hand on her baby bump. She got a funny look and whispered to Casey, who blanched.

"Babe, why would you want to put pickles on cake?"

Marcus James gave a small snort. "Come on, Casey, that's not even close to the weirdest craving she's had."

Pepper laughed. "I've been there. Tony, would get the pickle slices?"

The billionaire genius playboy philanthropist nodded and walked over to the fridge, shooting Casey a sympathetic look.

Petra tried not to chuckle. It was still hard to believe that April was six months pregnant. She's only told them she was expecting about two months in...

Four Months Earlier...

"April, are you okay?"

Donnie helped the reporter sit down. The family had been talking while eating takeout Chinese when April had suddenly set her food down and leaned back.

"Hmm? Yeah, Don, I'm fine. Just got tired all of the sudden."

"Are you sick or something?" Leonardo asked, concerned.

"No, I'm okay. I've heard that's pretty normal for pregnant women."

MJ, who'd clearly known already, just grinned at the Hamatos.

Pet, Splinter, and Donnie were the first ones to grasp what she meant, with Leo and Raph right behind them. Mikey needed someone to explain it before he understood.

By the time they all knew what she'd meant, there was a LOT of excited shouting.

Present Day

Splinter had noticed that Casey had been unusually quiet throughout the party. True, he talked to Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Anthony when they talked to him, but he seemed distracted.

Finally, when his children seemed to have the rest of the party guests distracted, the ninja master went over to talk to the vigilante.

"Are you alright, Casey?" He sat in the chair across from him.

"...Yeah, I guess." 

"That is not an answer. I can tell something is troubling you. Would you please tell me?"

There was only a moment's pause before Casey sighed.

"I shouldn't be worried about this. I mean, I've taken care of MJ for almost two years now and he's doin' fine, but... It's different when it's a baby. A teenager can feed himself and go to the bathroom and stuff. A baby, though... I don't know if I'm ready."

Splinter smirked. "At least you have had several months to prepare. And you have only one."

Casey blanched. "Sorry..."

"Do not apologize. I am only trying to say that no one is ever ready. In truth, I was terrified when I first took in my sons. I was only one man... well, one mutant. I had a place to live, but no money and no reliable source of food or money."

He sighed, then gave the younger man a reassuring smile.

"The skills I needed to help us all survive are the same ones each parent needs: creativity, determination, and above all, patience. Besides, I did not raise my children completely alone..."

They both looked to April, who was eating her cake with pickles in front of the Avengers. Natasha and Pepper looked amused while Petra, Marcus James, Steve, Leonardo, Tony, Raphael, Bruce, Donatello, and Clint were disgusted. Thor, Michelangelo, and Bucky Barnes, however, looked intrigued.

"April was a great help after meeting the family," Splinter continued. "She brought food, helped teach the children what I had forgotten about the human world... and she was willing to help Petra with things that pertained to being a woman."

The rat mutant shuddered. He loved his daughter deeply, but he was VERY grateful that April had taken the lead when it came to dealing with times-of-the-month. 

Casey nodded, following along. 

"Besides," Splinter smirked again, "you are forgetting that you will have no shortage of potential babysitters."

At that exact moment, Michelangelo was making silly faces at Morgan, who was howling with laughter... and laughed harder when Raphael got annoyed at Michelangelo and dumped a cup of soda on his head.

The rat shook his head as Tony started cackling and Leonardo reprimanded Raphael.

Casey beamed at the sight, looking a lot more at ease.

"Thanks, Splinter."

"It is now time to give gifts, yes?" Thor asked as he stood, holding a gift bag. It was clear he'd just grabbed the first gift bag he'd seen at the store, because his was decorated with a drawing of a wine bottle and the caption "Over the Hump". 

"Thor?" Natasha gave him a look. "Did you bring a weapon for the baby?"

Suddenly looking sheepish, the Asgardian set the bag back down.

"No weapons until Morgan's fifteen," Tony said to everyone present... though he gave Natasha and Clint especially pointed looks.

"What?" Donatello looked confused. "We got our weapons when we were ten."

"Ten?" Bruce asked in horror.

"I was nine," Petra added.

"I received my first sword when I was seven!" Thor volunteered.

Natasha smirked. "I got my first knife when I was two."

Everyone looked at her in shock.

Pepper sighed. "Anyone want more cake?"

Chapter Text

His interactions with the Hamato family (and hearing how Wolverine had helped kick the Shredder's butt) had gotten Tony Stark more interested in the plight of mutants.

Petra remembered how Tony had gripped his bottle of beer tight enough to turn his knuckles white as she told him what the Professor had told her: how a lot of mutants were thrown out of their homes when their powers first showed, how a lot of them were forced to go without jobs or even a proper education, how many were homeless...

She should have predicted what happened next. After all, if Tony couldn't uni-beam a problem away, then he usually resorted to throwing money at it.

A week after Morgan's first birthday, Tony's latest pet project was announced to the world.

Due to how few public facilities available to mutants, Stark Industries had created a charity to help mutants and enhanced individuals, though humans were more than welcome. The charity, simply titled "Care For All", consisted of a homeless shelter and a hospital. The homeless shelter consisted of men's and women's dorms (along with a family ward for those with children), a food pantry and cafeteria, and classes for those who'd been denied a traditional education. The hospital was ten floors and state-of-the-art, containing anything a doctor or nurse might need to treat a patient. Tony'd had his people reach out to some of the best hospitals and medical schools, spreading the word to get the hospital fully staffed. The homeless shelter (minus a few administrative positions) was run by unpaid volunteers... however, Tony had dropped plenty of hints that anyone who volunteered at the shelter for a minimum of a month had a VERY good chance at being invited to work for Stark Industries. 

In order to keep any mutants who didn't want to be seen out of the spotlight, both buildings were constructed in a forest on the outskirts of NYC.

Professor X had been thrilled by the development... although he had a few concerns about the opening day. Which was why he'd insisted on several members of the X-Men and the Hamatos coming. 

"I don't understand why the Professor's so worried," Michelangelo commented as the Blackbird flew the Hamatos to the new shelter. "Does he think Magneto will show up or something?"

Raph growled at the mention of the Brotherhood's leader.

"I doubt it," Leonardo replied. "Magneto wants to help mutants, even if he goes about it all wrong. I don't think he'd want to destroy mutant charities."

"It's not Magneto the Professor's afraid of," Donatello spoke up from where he'd been typing at his tablet (and inhaling ginger ale so he stayed calm during the flight).

"It's Trask," Petra scowled.

"Remind me, who's that guy again?" Raphael questioned.

"He's the one who invented the Sentinels," Donnie grimaced. "I've looked into why there aren't many mutant charities. The biggest reasons why are Bolivar Trask and Senator Robert Kelly.

"Trask doesn't have a ton of political power on his own, but he's got a lot of friends in high places, including the government. Whenever a motion to give mutants help or more rights comes up, Trask bribes, begs, or blackmails his 'friends' into voting against it. A lot of bills that could've helped mutants got vetoed thanks to him. Senator Kelly doesn't have as much money or as many friends, but he is a powerful political figure... especially after Magneto tried to kidnap him a few years ago. Even the X-Men saving him didn't change his mind about mutants."

"That's why the creation of the shelter is so important," Pet spoke up. "Because Stark Industries is a private company, neither Kelly nor Trask could do anything to stop it."

"And that is why Professor Xavier is so concerned," Splinter added, his tail twitching. "While I would like for you five to enjoy the opening celebration, I also want you to be vigilant."

"Don't worry, sensei." Petra gave him a smile as she tapped her temple. "With our training and my senses, I'm sure nothing will go wrong."

Hours later, she would deeply regret her words.

- - - -

To the anger/dismay of many mutants, Senator Kelly was at the charity's opening ceremony. He seemed uncomfortable (to the pleasure of many of the attendees), but he looked like he was attempting to play nice.

Petra and Leonardo had chosen to spy on the senator, and soon realized why he was there at all (which they quickly told the X-Men).

"Turns out," Leo told a group of X-Men, a worried Esmeralda clutching his arm. "Senator Kelly's niece is pro-mutant. She's a teacher who volunteered to teach a few classes at the shelter. He came to try and talk her out of it... but he doesn't want to get caught on camera yelling at a family member, so he's playing nice."

While no press had been allowed to attend the opening event (in case someone tried to manipulate footage and make the mutants look bad to the public), Stark Industries' head of PR had hired a few photographers for the occasion, and would pass their pictures on to the news later. Tony had texted Leo ahead of time to let him know, so none of the Hamatos ended up on TV. 

Tony and Pepper had planned to attend. Unfortunately, the Avengers were needed to assist in an AIM attack in London and Pepper had chosen to stay with Morgan, who had a cough.

Despite the missing founder and the... unwelcome guest, the celebration started off pretty well. A catering company had been hired and laid out an impressive buffet of sandwiches, salads, chips, french fries, fruits, sodas, juices, and several tubs of ice cream. According to the Professor, Tony had tried to arrange for the event to have an open bar as well, but stopped when Pepper reminded him how many kids would be there.

After the Professor had cut the ribbon opening the shelter, the party had begun. Several couples, including Cyclops and Jean and Leonardo and Esmeralda had been dancing to the music from someone's Bluetooth speaker. Raphael and Gambit had gotten into a debate on whether or not Remy's powers could set a fire extinguisher on fire (something that the Professor and Splinter refused to let them try). Donatello and Doctor McCoy were discussing the possibility of modifying a refrigerator to reach absolute zero. Michelangelo (to try and keep his mind off of his recent break up with Jubilee) started challenging people to see who could finish their sandwich the fastest (he won three challenges before a kid with super-speed ate four sandwiches in six seconds). Petra, Logan, and Miwa chatted over sodas. Storm, the Professor, and Master Splinter made small talk while also watching the crowd to make sure everyone was on their best behavior... namely Senator Kelly's people. 

All in all, it was a good party.

But all good things must come to an end.

"Hey, Professor?" Michelangelo was the first one to notice something. "Are there any students at the school that can create earthquakes?"

"...Not at the moment. Why?"

"Because it feels like the ground is shaking."

Just then, Petra's spider sense went off. She looked up just in time to see a massive energy blast heading for the party.

"INCOMING!"

She gave enough warning for the X-Men to get everyone out of the way before the energy blast hit the food table. It was completely incinerated (with the smell of burnt food hitting everyone's nostrils).

As the shocked party-goers looked up, they saw a three-story-tall robot looming over them. 

This time, it wasn't Mastermind's illusion. This was the real deal.

"Sentinel," Wolverine growled.

"X-Men!" Cyclops called out as he started running forward. "We need to get these people out of here! Wolverine, Storm, we'll distract it!"

A rain shower (courtesy of Ororo) began pouring down on the party, putting out the fire. Nightcrawler and Everbee began teleporting people in groups of five to an area away from the main fight.

If the Sentinel had just focused on the three X-Men in front of it, then all would have been well.

But it had other plans.

"Mission: destroy mutant hive." It toned as it aimed a weapon at the homeless shelter.

"No!" Scott yelled.

He managed to use his eye beams to slice off the Sentinel's weapon, but not before the robot had fired a shot.

The energy blast was a glancing blow, but it still caused the top floors of the building to catch fire. With the fire quickly spreading.

Pet's heightened hearing picked up screaming.

"There are people inside!" She shouted with alarm.

"Come on!" Esmeralda ran into the burning building without a thought.

"Ez, wait!" Leonardo ran after her.

Spider-Ninja, Miwa, Raphael, Logan, Donatello, Jean, Beast, and Michelangelo followed.

- - - -

For the first fifteen years of his life, most of Mikey's knowledge about the world came from Splinter or TV.

He, Donnie, Raph, and Leo had all gone through a phase where they liked to watch firefighter and cop shows. In the shows, the firefighters almost always managed to get people out before the building dramatically collapsed. He'd always wondered what it would be like to actually be in that situation.

Now he knew. And it was totally not like on TV.

The air was full of smoke and ash, making it hurt whenever he had to breathe. 

"Can anyone hear me?" He called out before coughing.

He was rewarded by a group of small voices reaching his ears.

Putting his discomforts aside, he used his nunchucks to make force shields and plow through the burning debris. He found a lady and her kids, all of them staring at him wide-eyed.

"Come on, I'll get you out!" He told them.

The lady seemed unsure at first, but all it took was one creak from the unstable ceiling before she and the kids were following the mutant turtle out.

His shields were good, but they couldn't keep the ceiling from falling in. Just as Mikey and his group were about to reach the door, a pile of flaming debris fell in front of it.

The kids started crying as Michelangelo struggled with what to do next. Then, with no warning, the flaming debris levitated away from the door.

"Don't just stand there!" Jean Grey yelled as she telepathically moved the debris. "Run!"

Needing no further prompting, the two mutants and three humans ran from the burning building.

- - - -

"Is there a fire suppression system?" Donnie coughed.

"Yes, but it seems it wasn't fully installed yet," Beast responded. 

While the others had gone to try and round up as many trapped people as they could, the two scientists had made for the maintenance room.

Beast pulled the panel off of main fuse box and growled.

"I don't know what troglodyte put this together, but he was hired either due to nepotism or a sheer lack of foresight.

"What's wrong?"

"The building's plans included a sprinkler system, but none of the wires are connected in their correct inserts. I have never seen such negligence..."

From above, a man started screaming for help, his voice laced with pain.

"We'll worry about that later!" Donnie started breathing into his forearm. "We need to get these people out!"

They ran from the maintenance room. Beast found the man (one of the photographers hired for the event), threw him over his shoulder, and charged out of the building. 

Donnie was about to follow, but a pile of burning wood fell right in front of him, sending smoke and ashes right into his face.

He started coughing uncontrollably, and fell to his knees. He knew he needed to get up and get out, but he could barely draw a breath. His eyes stung and filled with tears. He struggled to stand as his body was wracked with awful coughing fits.

"Donatello!" Doctor McCoy called out. It sounded like he was on the other side of the floor. "Where are you?"

"H--" He tried to speak, only for more coughs to send him back down. His throat was burning...

An ominous creak from above had Don looking up. The ceiling was about to give...

Just before the burning wood from the ceiling could fall on him, two enormous blue arms grabbed him and pulled him to safety.

"Just hold on!" Beast reassured him as he dashed out of the smoke.

- - - -

Miwa and Raphael's incredible combined strength made busting through walls easy. With her enhanced hearing, the former Foot Ninja could easily detect any and all distressed cries.

"Is that everyone?" The turtle asked as he held a crying five-year-old to his plastron.

"...I think there's one more on this floor. I'll get them, you go!"

He hesitated for only a minute before nodding and running off with the child.

"Can anyone hear me?" Miwa yelled before briefly coughing. 

"Help!" A woman's scream cut through the air.

It sounded like she was in one of the classrooms. Wasting no time, the cloned spider mutant bust through a door (not caring that part of it was on fire). She found a woman in her mid-twenties staring at her with terror.

"Y-You're a mutant, right?" She asked, sounding hopeful.

"I am."

"Do you have any powers that can get us out of here?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Great."

She turned to the wall, knowing it made up part of the building's exterior. She performed a dragon kick, put all of her strength into it. A chuck of wall twice the size of her was disintegrated. 

"Come on!"

She pulled the stunned woman into a hug and jumped.

They were ten stories in the air, but Miwa's enhanced strength caught her easily. While the clone got sore feet from the landing, the woman was completely unharmed.

- - - -

The fire was making the building more unstable by the minute. Spider-Ninja and Wolverine tried to hear/smell out anyone still in trouble, but the increasing smoke and groans of the building made that difficult.

"Kid, you need to get out of here!" Logan yelled as she pulled him away from more falling wreckage.

"I'm not leaving you!" 

"I can come back from burns and smoke inhalation, it's nothing for me! But I'm not letting you die here!"

"And I can't leave anyone behind!"

"Damn it, will you listen to me--!"

There was a loud groan that neither of them liked the sound of. As they watched, the wall supports gave way, and an entire piece of the building's wall fell away, revealing the outside.

And a man hanging to a scorched beam for dear life. It looked like he was one of the catering staff.

"HELP!!!" He screamed.

"Hang on!" She didn't even think, leaping into action.

The man nearly let go, but she caught him. With one arm on the beam (which was far hotter to the touch than she would have liked) and one hand holding the man, she started to pull him up.

That's when another piece of rubble fell from the roof. A hot pipe or piece from a desk came flying towards them, hitting Pet right in the forearm.

"AHH!" She cried out in pain.

The hit caused her to start losing her grip...

And then Logan was there, grabbing her by the bicep.

"I told you to get out while you could, kid!" He griped. "I swear, you're just like your mother..."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Petra gave a grin despite the situation.

Once the two mutants and (terrified) man were sitting on the beam, Pet fired two webs at it. Hoping she measured the distance right, she grabbed the man.

"Logan, I don't have two good hands right now, so--"

"Don't worry about it."

He jumped from the beam. Knowing his healing factor would protect him, Pet used a web to get herself and the caterer to safety.

- - - -

"Esmeralda!"

Leonardo kept his mouth covered with the wet rag as he pushed to the top floor. After they'd pulled a dozen people from the building, Esmeralda had run back in when she heard someone cry out. Leo had grabbed one of the party tablecloths (now soaked in rainwater thanks to Storm) and held it over his beak as he charged after her.

He'd searched all the other floors, so he knew she had to be on this one.

As he searched, the turtle couldn't believe his fiance's bravery. He knew how much she hated fire; she'd been chased from her childhood home by a hot frying pan. And yet she was willing to face her fear to save strangers.

He couldn't wait to marry her. 

"Es!" He called out. "Esmeralda! JULIE!"

"Here! I'm here!"

He turned and saw her stumble out from behind a flaming bookshelf. There was smoke and ash all over her, and it looked like some of her long black hair had been singed off. But at that moment, she was a beautiful as ever. He ran over and caught her in a hug.

"Are you okay?"

"You remember how they were planning to have a bonfire to celebrate the end of the school year?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not going, now."

He chuckled. "I'm with you. Let's get out of here."

"But I thought I heard someone downstairs..."

"Okay, then we'll check on the way."

They'd made it back down to the third floor when the entire building shuddered.

The lovers looked up to see the ceiling practically disintegrating.

"Quick, the window!"

He started pulling her toward it, wanting her to get out first. Then, as he turned to force her in front of him, he felt her shove him in the plastron with all of her strength. 

They locked eyes for a moment. He saw the fear, the sadness, the selflessness, the love in her golden eyes.

And then he was falling out the window, and she was taken from his line of sight. 

He heard the sound of flaming wood colliding with something.

"NO!" He cried out once.

And then his shell hit the ground.

Chapter Text

While the homeless shelter had become an inferno (which Storm and Iceman were putting out), the hospital had been untouched. 

The building was soon filled with anyone who'd suffered injuries in the Sentinel attack. Due to the X-Men getting everyone away from the scene as soon as possible, most people got away with scrapes or bruises. Those who had been hurt mainly had sprained or broken bones, concussions, smoke inhalation, or burns of varying severity. 

Petra, her left arm in a green sling, paced anxiously in the hospital waiting room. She, Donatello, Leonardo, and Esmeralda had gotten the only injuries in the family. Splinter, Raph, and Mikey were all upstairs, but Pet had wanted to wait for MJ and Casey. 

April had wanted to come, but had to stay behind due to the baby making her nauseous again.

"Tiger!"

Marcus James ran through the hospital doors, with Casey right behind them. Petra ran forward and (with her one good arm) pulled her boyfriend in for a hug.

"Are you okay?" The seventeen-year-old looked at her with anxious eyes. He looked ready to start panicking when he saw her sling.

"I just sprained my arm, nothing worse," she assured him. "With my healing factor, Jean thinks I'll be better by morning."

"What about everyone else?" Casey asked.

She gestured for them to follow her, and she talked as they walked to the elevator.

"Splinter, Mikey, and Raph are all okay, nothing worse than bruises. Donnie got caught in the fire and suffered from mild smoke inhalation. Leo..."

She took a breath, and managed to continue when MJ put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Leonardo fell three stories out of a window. He was knocked out when he hit the ground, but Doctor McCoy says there's no concussion."

She and Donatello had learned a year and a half before that the turtles' skeletons were slightly more durable than humans. This not only meant that they could take more hits than the average human, but explained why none of them had ever gotten a serious concussion...

"The most damage was inflicted on his shell." Pet led the way out of the elevator, down a hospital hall. She struggled to talk past the lump in her throat. "I was already at the hospital when he and Ez were brought in, but Raph told me he had one big crack and a few smaller ones. Doctor McCoy's looking at him now."

"What about Esmeralda?" MJ asked, worriedly. He'd only met the green-skinned mutant a handful of times, but they'd become fast friends.

Petra physically paused before she resumed both the conversation and her walk.

"Ez... She took a bunch of flaming wood to the upper body. She's in surgery right now."

Casey and Marcus James shared horrified looks. Petra put on a smile that probably looked as forced as it felt.

"But the doctors said the surgery's going well so far! And there's a lot of hope! Sure, she'll need physical therapy and--"

She started prattling on about how physical therapy benefited those recovering from surgical procedures. She hoped they didn't realize she was trying to distract herself as much as them.

Finally, the door to a hospital room was opened by Michelangelo. He had a Band-Aid on his cheek (due to the one tiny burn he'd sustained) but he was grinning widely when he saw them.

"Guys, get in here! Donnie sounds like Darth Vader!"

Pet let out a tiny sigh of relief as she followed Casey and her boyfriend into the hospital room. 

There were two beds set up, one for Leo and one for Don. Raph was sitting on the edge of Leo's bed (Leonardo himself was still out cold) while Splinter sat on Donnie's. Other than a tiny nightstand wedged between the beds, the only other furniture in the room was a collection of chairs. There were just enough left for Pet, Casey, and MJ to have a seat.

The reason for Mikey's out-of-pocket statement became clear the second Petra saw her purple-clad brother. While he'd suffered only mild smoke inhalation, Donatello was wearing an oxygen mask that, as Mikey claimed, made him sound like a cyborg each time he drew a breath. Despite the oxygen machine, Beast had done a chest X-ray and claimed that Donnie wouldn't suffer any long-term effects from the smoke. After a night on oxygen (and on observation), he'd be good to go. Because he couldn't eat or drink while wearing the oxygen mask, he was hooked up to an IV bag along with a heart monitor.

Leonardo was also on an IV. According to Splinter, the blue-clad turtle was on painkillers so Beast could work on his shell (hence why Leo was still out cold). While there were several cracks in his shell, all but one of them were tiny and would be healed in a few days. The biggest one was ugly-looking, but it wasn't as severe as it looked (it wasn't even as deep as the crack he'd gotten from Shredder). Hank McCoy had simply said to keep the cracks clean and covered until they healed... and had barely hid a smile when the entire family sighed in relief. 

They'd asked about Esmeralda, but all the doctor could say was that he hadn't seen her. Nor could he spare any time to: a lot of people (human and mutant) had gotten hurt in the attack, and Beast had a lot more patients to see to.

"No reason for trepidation, however," he promised them before leaving. "Doctor Grey is an excellent surgeon, and I can say with certainty that Miss Martez will be given all the medical assistance she requires."

Once the debate on whether or not Donnie sounded like Anakin Skywalker got old, Raph turned on the TV. 

The first channel to come up was the news. To their surprise, the attack on the homeless shelter was that evening's top news story. 

To every mutant's sheer delight, Bolivar Trask was under arrest.

The anchor, Betty Brant, gave the story with barely concealed anger and disgust. Trask had been frustrated that despite all of his efforts, an easily-accessible safe haven for mutants had been constructed. In a fit of anger, he'd sicced a Sentinel on the shelter, believing that only mutants would be in attendance.

He'd been shocked and horrified to learn that not only were there humans in attendance, but numerous children (human and mutant alike).

"I swear," he'd yelled to the crowd of reporters as the police dragged him to a cruiser. "Had I known there were kids there I wouldn't have sent it! I swear, I'm just protecting humanity! I'm a protector--!"

The rest of his speech was cut short by the car door slamming shut. 

Brant said Trask was still awaiting trial, but his chances at avoiding prison weren't good.

There was another politician with something to say on the matter. The speaker, when the TV showed him on the floor of the U.S. Senate, shocked everyone.

No one had ever thought they'd see the day when Senator Robert Kelly spoke in favor of mutants.

"What happened at the Care For All homeless shelter was a tragedy," he began. "I was there, at ground zero, when it happened. I'd come to attend because my niece, an incredible young teacher, had volunteered to teach classes for some of the homeless mutants. I'd tried to talk her out of it, to tell her what I've been telling the public for years about mutants. She wouldn't listen. 

"Then, when the Sentinel attacked... I expected the X-Men to just grab their own and go. But instead, they defended everyone, human and mutant. When the shelter was set on fire, my niece was trapped inside. A mutant saved her life."

He took a deep breath from his place on the podium, and continued.

"If not for that brave mutant, my niece would be dead. I may be prideful, but I'll admit when I'm wrong. Mutants are not the enemy; they're just people."

His expression turned angry. "And today, Bolivar Trask caused an attack that injured twenty mutants, thirty humans, left one mutant girl in critical condition, and..."

The senator's voice caught, but he managed to push through.

"...and caused the confirmed deaths of six children."

Everyone in the Hamato Clan (honorary or otherwise) stared at the TV in horror.

Senator Kelly straightened up, steely resolve in his eyes. 

"In light of this tragedy, I am officially proposing a vote to kill any and all standing bills that oppress or inhibit the rights of mutants. All those in favor?"

There were a few nay-sayers, but the vote was almost unanimous. 

"Guy has a heart," Raphael commented, giving the senator on TV a respectful nod. "Who knew?"

- - - -

He was sleeping on his plastron. 

That was weird, he never slept on his plastron. It always left his neck feeling weird in the morning... And where was his bandanna?

Voices. People were talking. Familiar people...

"...get why he needs the oxygen, I just don't understand why he needs to wear the dumb mask."

That was Raphael.

"Um, because it totally makes him sound like Darth Vader?" 

Mikey.

"It's because the hospital only has nose tubes designed for human nostrils. Donatello's beak was the wrong shape for it, so they had to use the mask."

Petra. Wait... Donnie was wearing a mask?

"Let us simply be glad that the hospital was able to give everyone what they needed, and that Donatello is well enough to communicate through the pen and notepad."

Master Splinter.

He expected Donnie to speak next, but all he heard was the scratch of pen on paper.

Leonardo sensed that something was wrong, so he opened his eyes and started trying to get up.

"Leo?" Raph spoke up, sounding surprised yet hopeful.

Whoever had placed him face down on the hospital bed had also positioned him so he was facing his family. After blinking a bit to clear his vision (his eyelids were sluggish... had he been drugged?), he saw the beaming faces of his sensei, his brothers, his sister, Casey, and MJ.

"You're awake!" Pet (who was holding his bandanna in the hand that wasn't in a sling) ran to his side and knelt down so she could look him in the eyes.

"I know you probably want to move around, but you need to be careful. Don't pull out your IV," she warned him. "Do you remember what happened?"

It all came rushing back in a flash. The homeless shelter's grand opening. The Sentinel. The fire. Falling out the window. Watching as Esmeralda... Esmeralda!

"Where's Esm'rlda?" 

There was a long pause as everyone exchanged glances.

A lump of ice formed in Leo's stomach.

"Wha happen to her?" He slurred, the drugs making speech difficult.

"She got... She got really hurt," Michelangelo managed to get out. He had the world's worst poker face, and it was easy to see the fear in his eyes.

"Last I heard," Petra cut in, "Jean was operating on her. But Beast said that there was a lot of hope. And she's tough, we know that she's got a great chance, right?"

She looked around at the others as she finished. Splinter, MJ, Casey, and Donatello (who was wearing an oxygen mask over the bottom of his face) all nodded. Raph gave a tiny nod but was glaring at his feet. Mikey tried to smile, but tears were starting to well up.

Leo let out a long breath, trying to calm himself. The very thought of Esmeralda in surgery filled him with terror, but he had to believe she'd be okay. Until he knew for sure that she'd be okay, he needed to distract himself. Fortunately, he had no idea what everyone else had done during the fire... nor what had caused the fire in the first place.

"Kesh me up," he slurred. "Wha happen?"

Several stories came out, namely how Pet had hurt her arm and Donnie got smoke inhalation (though the doctors said they'd both be fine by morning). He'd been especially impressed to hear how Miwa had single-handedly gotten Senator Kelly to change his mind about mutants.

While he was out, it seemed an investigation had been launched into the cause of the Sentinel attack. Even after Bolivar Trask was thrown in jail, the private investigators Tony had hired found that Trask had been trying to sabotage the homeless shelter from the start. The fire had spread so quickly (and the sprinkler system hadn't been correctly installed) because Trask had paid several construction workers to do shoddy work. Add that onto the fact that he was responsible for the deaths of six children (four human, two mutant), and it wasn't hard to see why Trask was currently the most hated criminal in America. 

They'd just started talking about what they'd do when they got home (Mikey was suggesting a pizza party, to no one's shock) when there was a knock at the door.

Without waiting for an answer, Jean Grey came in. She was still dressed in scrubs, though she'd removed the other operating gear. 

There were tears in her eyes.

The toes of her white nurse's shoes were stained with blood. 

"We did everything we could for Esmeralda," she told the shocked family, "but she received severe damage to her spine, rib cage, and lungs. I'm sorry, but... She's gone."

Everything froze.

Leonardo felt... numb. Like he wasn't a part of what was happening. 

"...Did she say anything before...?" He heard himself speaking.

"...She wanted you to have this."

One of his hands was gently pried open, and a piece of jewelry was placed in his palm.

It was Esmeralda's engagement ring, still on the necklace chain.

"...She can't be gone." He started trying to get up, clutching the necklace. "There must've been a mistake..."

Pain shot through his shell, causing him to grit his teeth as he kept trying to stand. 

"Leo, no!" Donnie's eyes grew in concern, the mask muffling his words.

"You need to stay down!" Petra gently pushed him back on the bed, despite the tears running down her face. "Don't pull out your IV!"

Splinter said nothing but went straight to Leonardo. He pinched a collection of nerves on his son's shoulder. A pressure point.

"Rest, my son, please. You do yourself no favors by panicking."

"No... No..."

Leo was still trying to tell everyone that Jean was wrong, it had to be a mistake!

And then his father's nerve strike took effect...

- - - -

He didn't know how long he'd slept, but it was dark outside the window when he finally came to.

While MJ and Casey were gone (likely having gone home for the night), the rest of his family was strewn around the room. Donatello (still with the oxygen mask on) was out cold on his hospital bed, a blanket pulled up to his plastron. Petra was perched on the ceiling, her braided ponytail and the tails of her bandanna hanging down. The chairs had been replaced with three cots. Raphael and Michelangelo were asleep on two of them while Master Splinter sat meditating on the third.

As he started wondering why Splinter'd resorted to a nerve attack to get him to sleep, it all came roaring back. He saw that someone had put Esmeralda's necklace on him while he'd slept. He gripped the pendant, the engagement ring, in his palm. Wracked with fresh grief, he let out an involuntary sob.

"Leonardo?" Splinter turned around, worry in his eyes as he climbed off of the cot and hurried to his son.

"Dad..." he struggled to speak rather than sob, "... how can she be gone? We have so much to do..."

A surge of anger hit him out of nowhere. He suddenly had a very good idea of what it felt like to be Raphael.

"How could Trask do that?" He growled as a stray tear snaked down his cheek. "I swear, I'll make him pay for taking her--"

"Revenge will not help you." Splinter gave him a look. "Would hurting Bolivar Trask bring back Esmeralda?"

"I--" Leonardo couldn't respond, the anger leaving him as quickly as it had appeared. "I just... She can't be gone."

Splinter helped his son move into a seated position (careful not to pull out the IV), then hugged him.

Leo felt like he was five years old again, feeling like his father could hug all of his pain away.

"Dad. We..." He struggled to speak while fighting back sobs. "She said yes. We were going to get married..."

"I know," The rat muttered. "There is no shame in grieving a loved one, Leonardo. I am here, you are safe, and we all know how much she meant to you. It is alright. Let go."

Splinter hadn't even finished his sentence before Leo was sobbing into his father's kimono.

Chapter Text

"Hey, Leo?"

The blue clad turtle didn't answer from where he was packing up his gear.

Without waiting for an answer, Michelangelo opened the bedroom door and gave a smile (albeit one that wasn't as cheerful as his usual grins).

He was holding a plate of toast, bacon, and eggs.

"Thought I'd bring you breakfast! Maybe while you eat we could... talk?"

"Thanks, I'm... I'm not hungry."

"...You sure, dude? I haven't seen you eat a lot lately--"

"I eat when I'm hungry. Look, I'm late for a meeting with Agent Coulson. We'll talk later, okay?"

"...That's what you said yesterday. You know, you might feel better if you--"

"I'm late, Mikey. We'll talk later."

With that, he darted around his brother and made a beeline for the lair exit.

"Leonardo?" Splinter called after him, voice thick with concern. "Are you leaving again? You just got back from a patrol."

"I need to talk to Agent Coulson. I'll be back soon."

It had been two weeks since Esmeralda's funeral, and one week since Leonardo's shell had healed. Since then, all Leo wanted to do was work.

If he worked hard enough, then he wouldn't have time to think about what happened.

If he didn't have time to think about what happened, then it wouldn't hurt as much.

For the last fourteen days, he'd been running around the city almost non-stop, doing patrol after patrol and practically demanding that Coulson and Fury send him on assignments (he was still too young for sanctioned missions). He'd come back to the lair only to eat, sleep, and refill his canteen. Even then, he only got what his body needed to stay functioning before he went back out.

He knew his family was worried, but he couldn't spend too much time around them. If he did, they'd try and get him to talk about what happened. 

Thus defeating the reason for all his hard work.

He didn't actually need to talk to Agent Coulson. Other than to ask for assignments, he'd been avoiding talking to SHIELD and the Avengers as well. Every adult he knew was concerned and were trying to get him to talk.

The Professor had tried to reach out to him (both through the phone and a telepathic call or two), but Leo had ignored him. Anything to do with the X-Men was just... too painful a reminder.

He couldn't deny that he felt a little guilty for making them all worry, but...

Leo swallowed that guilt as he used his shuko spikes to scale a building. He needed a task, a REAL mission, not more patrolling. 

Doing something worthwhile might help take his mind off of the hole in his heart.

- - - -

Even though Coulson was as concerned about him as everyone else (Fury had recently been dropping hints that they bring someone named Agent Wilson in on their secret so Leo could talk to him), he'd given the turtle an assignment. This one had just come up, and it was pretty serious.

A group home in upstate New York had recently been through a fire. While the building was undamaged enough that they wouldn't need to move, a lot of kids had run into the nearby woods when the fire started. Of the fifteen children living there, six were still missing. The land had once been owned by AIM, and SHIELD was worried a rogue agent might be nearby.

Leo had decked himself out in SHIELD gear (an oversized leather jacket to cover his shell, an opaque SHIELD battle helmet, gloves, leather pants, and thick boots) to hide that he was a mutant before he and Coulson drove to the scene.

A pair of lower-ranking agents had already questioned the leader of the group home. She claimed that the fire had started due to a curtain blowing over the radiator in one of the bedrooms (something that the agents could confirm due to finding the burnt remains of cheap curtains next to an ancient radiator).

What was odd was that, despite government records stating that fifteen children resided in the group home, the home's leader kept insisting that only fourteen children lived there.

Leo's job was to both find the remaining missing children and try and figure out why the leader's count was off. By the time he'd arrived, two of the missing children had returned, leaving Leonardo with four to find.

He tried to keep his mind on his task as he trekked through the woods. He'd never been in a forest before, and it was a continuous struggle not to stop and stare at plant or wildlife as he searched for children.

He'd been looking for about an hour before his communicator crackled to life.

"Leonardo, come in." Coulson's voice came through.

"I'm here. What is it?"

"We've found three of the missing children. Turns out they'd been hiding in the tool shed. However, when we tried to ask the group home director about the location of the last child, she kept insisting that there aren't any more."

"Was there a miscount or something?"

"Definitely not. Records show that there's one more child here. SHIELD couldn't get a name, but he's approximately four years old and has been here for two years."

"Did you tell the director that?"

"Yes." The turtle could hear the venom in the agent's voice. "She still insists that she has all of the children."

The group home owner's behavior set off multiple red flags. 

"I'll keep looking and let you know what I find."

"Good."

Leonardo had been hiking for another twenty minutes (a task made more difficult with the SHIELD gear covering him head to toe) when he saw a small cave. He glanced at it, and was about to pass by when he heard something echo inside it.

A small sob.

He froze, and turned back to the cave entrance.

"Hello?" He called inside.

He heard a tiny yelp. The kid was in there.

Giving a small sigh of relief, Leo started slowly walking into the cave.

"It's okay, I'm with SHIELD. A lot of people were worried about you and your friends, and they sent us to help find all of you. The rest of them are back at the group home; they're probably really worried about you."

The cave was dark (he internally yelled at himself for not bringing a flashlight) but he could make out the sound of a child's voice.

"...They're not."

It sounded like a little boy.

"Why do you think they aren't worried?"

He needed to keep the kid talking, let him know Leo wasn't a threat.

"Because they don't like me. The lady called me a freak."

The turtle paused. He was used to being called a freak. He didn't enjoy it, but he'd heard it so many times it didn't hurt. 

But this boy was so little...

"Why'd she call you that?" He asked as he kept slowly making his way towards the little boy.

"...Can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because then you'll hate me too."

He finally saw the little boy. He was tiny, even for a four-year-old; Leo could see the kid's ribs through his shirt. He had dark eyes, curly dark hair that fell to his chin, and had dark brown skin. He looked at Leo with wide eyes... especially when he saw the katanas he wore over his jacket.

"Hey, it's okay." The disguised turtle got down on his knees. "I'm not going to hurt you. What's your name?"

"...Jaime Freedman."

"Okay, Jaime. Can you tell me why... 'the lady' called you a freak?"

"...Promise you won't hate me?"

Leonardo had an idea. It might not be a smart one; he may end up scaring Jaime worse. But... if it let the kid know that he wouldn't judge him...

Slowly, so as not to startle the little boy, Leo took off his helmet. 

Jaime paused as he saw the turtle's face (and looked a bit confused at the blue bandanna).

"I'm weird, too." Leonardo gestured to himself. "So I promise I won't hate you, no matter what you can do."

"...Are you a mutant?"

"...Yes. I'm a mutant turtle."

"That's cooler than what I can do."

"What can you do?"

Instead of answering, the boy's skin, hair, and eyes all turned stony gray. In seconds, a rock statue was sitting where Jaime'd been. After a short minute, he changed back into a boy.

"I can turn myself into a rock."

Leo felt himself staring, then grinned. The ninja side of him kept thinking about how incredible such a skill could be on stealth missions or in combat...

"That's amazing, Jaime."

"...You really like it?" The boy looked shocked and... hopeful.

"I do."

He remembered his mission, put his helmet back on, and offered Jaime a hand.

"Come on, let's..."

The ground started shaking. 

"Watch out, earthquake!" Jaime sprang from his place on the floor and started hugging Leo's leg. "It's happening again!"

The cavern's ceiling gave an ominous noise, and pebbles began falling from the ceiling. 

Without stopping to think, Leonardo scooped the little boy into his arms and began running for the cave entrance.

"I've got you, you're okay!" He reassured his charge as he ran.

Seconds before he got out of the cave, a watermelon-sized rock fell from the ceiling and hit Leo right in the left ankle. He gave out a pained cry as he stumbled out of the cave. 

When the earthquake stopped, they both turned to see a pile of smashed rock where the cave entrance had been.

"Did you get hurt?" Jaime asked the turtle, eyes wide.

Moving slowly, he checked on his injured leg. Blood was already soaking through the pant leg, and moving his foot even an inch made him want to scream in pain.

He used his communicator to call Coulson.

- - - -

"...and the ankle was damaged enough to require surgery." Coulson explained as he led Master Splinter, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Petra through the carrier.

"Fortunately," the agent continued, "Doctor Octavius said the operation went well. Leonardo will need a few days of bed rest, and a few weeks of recovery. But, Octavius is confident he'll have full use of his foot again by the end of the month."

The family gave a collective sigh of relief.

"He's in here." Coulson led them to one of the med bay's recovery rooms. The door had a sign on it that read "Under Maintenance: Do Not Enter".

Leonardo was unconscious on the bed, still under the effects of anesthesia. His mask and katanas were laying on the bedside table. His ankle was wrapped from his toes almost to his knee, and elevated on a few pillows. A few sensors were stuck to the skin above his plastron, allowing the heart monitor to broadcast his stable condition.

The real surprise was the fact that a small boy, dressed in an oversized SHIELD t-shirt and sweatpants, was cuddled up against Leo's plastron, out cold.

"Uh, who's that?" Raphael was the first to ask.

"Jaime Freedman," the agent answered. "Leonardo saved him from an earthquake."

At the family's blank/surprised looks, Coulson sighed.

"You might want to sit down, this is a bit of a story..."

- - - -

He didn't know where he was when he opened his eyes, but he instantly recognized the green-skinned girl standing in front of him.

"Esmeralda?" He couldn't believe it.

"Hi, Leo." She gave a sad smile.

They were both in a place surrounded by white mist. She was dressed in a solid white kimono, her long black hair moving slightly in the breeze.

"This can't... I thought you were dead..."

She gave another sad smile. "I am, sweetheart."

"...Oh."

He didn't know how to respond.

"I just..." She held out a hand. "I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye."

He took her hand and pulled her in for a hug. He felt a few tears snake down his cheek.

"I'm so sorry, I should have saved you... If I'd just moved faster..."

"What happened to me was not your fault." She pulled away from him slightly, but kept her hands on his shoulders. 

"But it still shouldn't have happened." He shook his head, trying not to cry again. "You were so young, there was so much I wanted for you, for both of us... I wanted to give you a good life--"

"You already did."

He paused. She gave him a happier smile.

"Leonardo, I spent the last half of my life thinking I was a freak. That no one would ever love me. You proved me wrong. You made me feel seen and loved for the first time in years... You made me happy again. I can never thank you enough for that."

"...You made me happy, too."

"You can find happiness, again. You still have your family, your friends... and that little boy you saved."

"Jaime?"

"He needs someone right now, Leo. Be his mentor, help him learn there's still good in the world."

He remembered the way Jaime had looked at him when he took off his helmet. How it had made him feel... Was that how Splinter felt the first time Petra saw him?

...Maybe it was time for him to become someone's sensei.

"I will, Ez. I promise."

She gave one more smile and pecked him on the cheek.

"I love you, Leo. And I'll miss you."

Before his eyes, she faded away.

"Goodbye, Ez." He whispered.

He started feeling fuzzy, and saw that his body was becoming see-through.

"Don't worry about that, son. That just means you're waking up."

Surprised, Leonardo turned to see an older man standing near him. He seemed friendly... and Leo thought that something about him was oddly familiar.

"And you don't need to worry about her," The old man gestured to where Esmeralda had stood. "Not much to worry about in a place like this, but I promise I'll keep an eye on her."

"T-Thank you." He didn't know what to say. 

"Oh, it's the least I can do. After all, you've spent the last twelve years looking after my niece."

Before Leo could react in shock, his eyes opened.

He blinked at the bright fluorescent lights illuminating the room. His head felt fuzzy, and he noted the IV needle in his arm. He must have been on pain killers, and realized that his bandaged, elevated ankle was probably the reason why.

He heard a tiny sigh, and noted Jaime snuggled up against him. As he looked around, he saw the rest of his family sitting around the room (which he belatedly realized was a room in SHIELD's med bay). Donnie, Pet, and Splinter were quietly talking while Raph and Mikey were passed out in chairs.

"How lung was I out?" He slurred, unsure of how loud he was talking.

Apparently, loud enough, because his three awake family members perked up at the sound of his voice.

"Leo, thank goodness!" Petra reached him first.

Evidently, Coulson had told his family all that had happened on his mission, including a few things Leo hadn't known about (which Splinter, Don, and Pet filled him in on).

Jaime Freedman had been officially removed from the group home, with the director under investigation for potential child abuse. The agent's search had unyielded evidence that AIM had returned to the area. Their experiments had caused minor tremors throughout the territory (one of which had caused the cave to collapse).

"Whas gonna happen to Jaime?" Leo looked worriedly at the little boy (who was still slumped against him, out cold).

"Coulson says the kid wouldn't leave your side from the moment you got out of surgery," Donatello answered, looking at the little boy fondly. 

"I told Agent Coulson," Splinter spoke up, "that if you two had already become so close, then it would be best for everyone if he came to stay with us."

Relief flowed through Leo, and he gave a small sigh.

It might've been the drugs, but Leo could've sworn that Splinter muttered something about always wanting to be a grandfather.

Speaking of the drugs, they were starting to lull the turtle back to sleep. Before he passed out though, he got Petra's attention.

"Tell Fury somfin fur me."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe I could talk to Agen Wilson..."

She smiled. "I'll let him know. Now get some sleep."

He was out in a second.

Chapter Text

Jaime had been given a bed (just a mattress, pillow, and blankets until they could find something better) and a room of his own (Raphael had said it was lucky the lair still had a few unused rooms).

But his first night there, he still ended up sleeping in Leo's room. The turtle had woken up when Jaime had climbed into his bed, but had quickly adjusted the blankets so the little boy had room. This wasn't easy because of the bulky cast Leonardo still had on his leg, but he'd made it work. Since the cast basically forced Leo to sleep in one position all night, there was no risk of the teenager rolling over onto the boy.

His fath-... His sensei... Leo was still asleep when Jaime woke up. He looked at the digital clock on the bedside table. He couldn't tell time yet, but he knew that the seven and two zeros meant seven o'clock. As he debated getting up, his stomach gave a growl. He shot a glance at Leo, but it didn't look like he'd be getting up soon.

He jumped to the floor in his bare feet, still wearing the baggy t-shirt and sweatpants he'd gotten from Agent Coulson. Leo's dad, who'd told Jaime to call him Ojiichan, had promised that someone named Casey would come by later with clothes and other things for the little boy.

After climbing down the ladder to the first floor and using the bathroom, he debated getting food from the kitchen.

At the group home, the lady never listened when everyone said they were still hungry. He always wondered why she always said there wasn't enough money: at least once, he'd seen her come back from cashing a donation check and put half of the cash in her purse. It sure looked like she had enough money for food... 

He'd gotten even less than the other kids, though. Whenever he asked for more, she'd smack his hand with a wooden spoon.

As he debated sneaking in to try and get something from the pantry, he smelled something really, really good coming from the kitchen. His nose leading the way, he saw a turtle standing at the stove. The orange bandanna and off-key humming let him know who it was.

While he still struggled with what to call some of the other turtles, he had no problem calling this turtle "Uncle Mikey."

As he adjusted the setting on the stove, the turtle caught sight of him and grinned.

"Morning, Jaime! Hope you like pancakes!"

"What are pancakes?"

Mikey stared at him in shock. "You don't know what pancakes are?"

Oh, no, he'd made him mad!

"Sorry!" Jaime's eyes went to his bare feet. He debated turning into stone: while that would protect him from any way the turtle might hit him, the lady had gotten really mad whenever he did that...

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Mikey spoke to him gently. "I'm just surprised, that's all. Hey, how about you help me make breakfast? That way, you can pick which pancake you want. Cool?"

Jaime looked up, surprised. Then smiled.

"Cool."

He wasn't allowed to touch the stove or knives, but Mikey let him wash the strawberries and blueberries ("Don't use soap, though! I learned that the hard way!"). When the rest of the family came down, Jaime got the first pancake. Mikey had made him one the size of the plate, loaded with berries and a dollop of whipped cream.

The four-year-old, after his first bite of the breakfast treat, felt his eyes widen. He didn't pay attention to the rest of the Hamatos after that, all he could focus on was eating every last crumb of his breakfast.

The family's smiles at the boy's newfound love of pancakes disappeared when Mikey whispered to them about how Jaime had acted earlier.

"So, Jaime..." Petra asked nonchalantly as she finished her fourth pancake, "have you ever had a pancake that big?"

"I've never had a breakfast this big!" He grinned as he took a gulp of orange juice.

"Oh, really?" She replied, barely hiding the concern in her eyes. "You got small breakfasts before?"

"Yeah," he replied between bites of pancake, "sometimes she didn't give me breakfast at all. She said 'good food is for normal kids'."

He took another large gulp of juice, and missed the alarmed/angry/disgusted looks the others shared.

As soon as his large pancake was gone, Mikey handed him a plate with three plain pancakes.

"You want to run Leo's breakfast up to him, Jay?"

"Okay, Uncle Mikey!"

As he ran out of the room, making sure to keep the cover on the plate so the pancakes wouldn't fall off, he failed to notice the sound of a very serious discussion.

- - - -

Casey Jones, a friend of the family, came by for a short visit an hour after breakfast. He'd swung by a store and bought a few things for Jaime. Most of them were clothes (four outfits, a sky blue fleece jacket, a pair of black sneakers, a toothbrush and toothpaste, etc). For some reason, the family had been amused when he said his favorite color was light blue.

After changing into a light blue t-shirt and white jeans, he'd taken one of the comic books Uncle Mikey had given him and tried to find a place to sit with it. He couldn't read yet, but he liked the pictures... Maybe he could go ask Leo to read it to him...?

As he passed one of the biggest rooms in the lair, he heard grunting. It sounded like...

He peered into the room, which Ojiichan had called the dojo. Inside, Raphael was pounding away at a large, heavy-looking bag.

Jaime hesitated in the doorway. He'd learned a long time ago that it was never a good thing when an adult got that mad...

Raphael paused, and noticed the boy in the doorway. The four-year-old froze, worried he was going to get punched...

"Sorry, Jaime, didn't see you there," Raph nodded at him. He seemed to notice that the boy seemed scared, and gestured for him to come closer.

"Come on, I won't bite."

"Are... Are you mad at me?"

The turtle paused, then took a deep breath. 

"I'm mad about somethin', but I'm not mad at you. Got that?"

Jaime nodded, feeling relieved. "Why were you punching the bag?"

"Whenever I get mad, this helps me get it all out."

"Get what out?"

"My feelings." He made a fist and punched the bag, letting out a grunt as he did so.

"...Can I try?"

Raph looked up, surprised, but nodded. Leaving the comic book on the floor, Jaime listened as Raph showed him how to make a proper fist.

"Leo'll show you later how to throw a punch in a fight, but for somethin' like this, you just need to worry about not breakin' your fingers. Thumbs on the outside, got that?"

"Got it." The boy faced the punching bag.

"Now, think of something that makes you mad..."

"Can I try this?"

He turned to stone as he punched, adding extra strength to his strike. The punching bag broke open, spilling sand onto the floor.

Frightened at what he'd just done, Jaime turned human again. This was bad; he'd always gotten yelled at if he turned to stone or broke something... How much trouble would he get in for doing both?!?

That was when he realized that Raphael was laughing.

"Holy shi-- shell, kid! I couldn't do that 'til I was twelve!"

"I'm sorry I broke the bag--"

"That happens once a week around here, it's fine. I'll sweep this up and we'll work on punching more later. Okay?"

A smile spread across Jaime's face. "Okay, Uncle Raph."

- - - -

He'd been told he was only allowed to go in the lab if someone was with him, and even then he couldn't touch anything. Since Petra was in there, though, Jaime didn't feel worried about asking to explore.

After he got bored, Spider-Ninja had given him a box full of toy cars to play with. He'd brightened up a lot when told that his dad his sensei had played with them when he was little...

"Auntie Petra?"

"Yeah, Jaime?" He heard the smile on her voice as she spoke.

"Um, why aren't you a turtle?"

She set down the beaker she'd been looking at and walked over to where he'd spread out the cars. 

"Well, I was adopted when I was your age. Master Splinter took me in like Leo did for you."

"Master Splinter saved you from a cave, too?"

"No, it wasn't quite like that..."

She sat down in front of him. 

"A long time ago, I had a human family. But one day they died. And now I'm here."

"You're like me." 

She smiled. "That's right."

"...Do you ever miss them?"

She gave a nod. "Every day. But just because I miss my old family doesn't mean I don't love Master Splinter and my brothers."

"D-... Do you love me?"

He asked the lady once if she loved him. She'd laughed in his face. 

He didn't know what he'd do if Petra did the same...

She got a bright smile. "Jaime, it's hard not to love you."

He got a grin that perfectly matched hers.

- - - -

He'd never seen a TV before. He'd heard one in use (the lady had liked to send all the kids to bed early so she could watch her TV), but he'd never actually watched one.

When Donatello turned it on after lunch to check the weather, Jaime had instantly been entranced. When the little boy asked questions about the device, the purple-clad turtle had lit up.

Ojiichan, sensing what was about to happen, put Jaime in his lap as Donatello began to talk all about how televisions worked. Pretty much all of it went over Jaime's head, but he was able to understand that the TV was basically a bunch of pictures moving really, really fast.

After that, Donnie asked Jaime what he wanted to watch. The boy drew a blank... and then got an idea.

"What does Leo like to watch?"

Donnie chuckled. "I can think of one thing he likes that's kid-friendly, but it might be a little boring..."

"I wanna try it!" He grinned... then recoiled.

"Sorry for shouting..." He whispered.

"Mago," Ojiichan consoled, "you do not need to apologize. While I prefer you not yell, you do not need to fear punishment for it."

Relaxing a little, he turned to the screen. To their luck, the first episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series were playing on TV. Jaime asked so many questions that Splinter eventually transferred the boy onto Donnie's lap instead of his. Neither of them minded.

"Are you guys hogging Jay?" Mikey asked an hour later when he found the three of them in the living room.

"We're watching Star Trek!" Jaime announced. "Uncle Donnie showed me!"

"Oh no..." Michelangelo said with mock horror, "Donnie's converting you into a nerd! Quick, the remote!"

He saw it on the arm rest, grabbed it, and changed the channel until he found what he was looking for.

"Jay-Jay, let me introduce you to the flawless perfection of Star Wars!"

"The Star Wars movies aren't flawless, Mikey," Donatello rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah? Name one thing they did wrong!"

"Three words: Jar Jar Binks."

Mikey suddenly looked sheepish. "Okay, fair."

"Who's Jar Jar Binks?" Jaime asked his orange-clad uncle.

"Someone I hope you never see."

- - - -

Jaime had given himself the job of bringing Leo all of his meals. They all made sure to look in on him whenever they could, but Jaime was the one who came in the most and stayed the longest.

When the boy brought up Leo's dinner, Donatello came with him so he could check how Leo's leg was healing.

"Okay, the swelling's gone down a lot, no discoloration..." Donnie mumbled to himself as he checked on the limb. "The experimental healing salve Beast and Forge made looks like it's doing its job. In one more week, you should be cleared for physical therapy."

"Aw, Don..."

"Two weeks physical therapy, and don't fight me on it," Donatello warned. "And if I catch you trying to train before you've completed it, then I'll add another week of bed rest. Got it?"

Leonardo looked indignant. "I wouldn't--"

"Do I need to remind you of the chicken pox incident?"

"I really thought they were just pimples--"

"We don't get pimples, and pimples don't itch..."

The purple clad turtle took a deep breath before speaking again.

"I can reach out to Doctor McCoy and see what he says. But until further notice, you're not getting back on patrol for three weeks. Got it?"

"Fine," Leonardo sighed. 

"Jaime," Donnie turned to the four-year-old, "I want you to keep your sensei in bed for the next week. Unless he has to go to the bathroom, he's staying here. Think you can do that?"

"Okay, Uncle Donnie!"

Grinning at his recently-acquired title, Donatello left. 

Before crawling onto the bed with Leo, Jaime grabbed a book that he'd seen hidden under the bed and held it up.

"Can you read to me?"

Leo looked... sad as he saw the book cover, but shrugged it off.

"Okay."

For a while, Jaime listened with rapt attention as Leo read to him about the adventures of Harry Potter. However, eventually Jaime's attention was drawn to something else. Just before Harry got his first wand, the little boy spoke up.

"D-- Sensei?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you wearing that necklace?"

It was a simple chain with a ring as the pendant. The ring was golden, with tiny green stones all around it. 

Leonardo froze, and put his hand on the necklace. 

"It... It belonged to my fiance." 

"What's a fiance?"

"A fiance is... someone you want to marry."

"Oh. Why do you have her necklace?"

"We were going to get married, but... But something bad happened and... she's gone."

"Oh... What was her name?"

"Esmeralda."

Leo looked sad. Jaime knew how that felt.

"I had a mommy."

"Oh?" The turtle looked at him, surprised.

"Before I was at the group home, I lived with her. I don't really remember it. But someone said she got really sick, and didn't come home from the hospital. They said she's in heaven now."

"I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay... Why do you call Ojiichan 'sensei' if he's your dad?"

"Because he's my dad and my teacher. I still call him 'dad' sometimes, though."

"...Do I call you sensei, or..."

He wanted to call Leo his dad. He already looked up to him and wanted to be like him. But he was cautious calling anyone his mom or dad, especially after what happened after he called the lady "mom". His wrist had hurt for days...

"You call me what you're comfortable with," Leonardo replied. "Sensei, Leo, or... whatever you want. But I promise, you're going to stay with me. Okay?"

Jaime smiled, and decided to take a risk.

"Okay... Dad."

He laid his head on Leonardo's plastron and looked at the book, silently urging the turtle to keep reading.

After a moment, he did. 

He sounded much happier than he had when he'd started the book.

Chapter Text

He loved his family; there was no doubt about that.

But with all the drama they'd been through in the chaos of the fire rescue, Leo getting a cracked shell AND losing his wife-to-be, Jaime becoming Leo's kid, Casey's increasing panic as April approached the end of her third trimester.... Donatello was desperate for a little time outside the lair.

Bo staff in hand, he'd gone to the Helicarrier to do a little research in the labs, hoping for something to take his mind off of the family's recent changes.

He got his wish... unfortunately.

"Donatello!"

The turtle's head jerked up from his tablet as Agent May stuck her head in the doorway.

"Are your brothers or sister here?"

"No, it's just me here. What's wrong?"

"Come with me. Stockman's back."

That got Donnie out of his chair and racing after the Cavalry.

- - - -

"Someone's been busy," the purple clad turtle commented to himself.

The former fly mutant had taken over the top floor of an apartment building, and had flooded every floor below it with tear gas to keep anyone from trying to get to him. On the bright side, this had cleared out any civilians within the building. A few people were still crying from exposure to the gas, but Agent Simmons had analyzed a sample and declared the gas non-toxic. Irritating, but non-toxic.

From what Agent Fitz's surveillance drones could make out, Stockman had set up a chemistry lab on the floor he'd taken as his own, with enough food, water, lab equipment, and weapons to hold his ground for weeks. 

And based on the insane threats he was yelling out his window, Baxter intended to stay there for weeks.

Because of the heavy police and SHIELD presence inside the building, Donatello and Agent May were in a van across the street, awaiting more information from Coulson or Hill.

"Do you want to call your siblings?" May asked him, her eyes never leaving the crime scene.

"Nah, it's just Stockman. Besides, they've been through a lot lately... They need a break."

"And you don't?"

"I'm not the one who cracked his shell, lost his fiancee, and got a kid."

"True. But you are the one who suffered smoke inhalation."

" Minor smoke inhalation. And I'm fine now. I just... I can handle this."

He absent-mindedly brushed his bo staff (which, by some miracle, hadn't been burned in the fire). 

He didn't want to admit that he thought this might be a good chance to redeem himself. Everyone else had managed to help in the fire; shell, Leo had run back in after saving several volunteers. Meanwhile, Donnie'd been forced to take a backseat due to inhaling smoke. Nor had he been able to help the injured due to being hooked up to an oxygen tank all night.

The Cavalry was giving him a look, but anything she might have said was interrupted by Agent Maria Hill opening the van door.

The second the door was closed, she faced the two.

"FitzSimmons can't figure out anything else about Stockman's plan without getting closer. Donatello, we need you to get into Stockman's lab without being seen and get as much footage as you possibly can. Try to avoid Stockman as much as possible; we don't want you getting hurt. But, if you happen to take him down, all the better."

The turtle nodded as she handed him a SHIELD watch.

"May," the higher-ranking agent turned, "you and I are his backup. If anyone asks, just say we're testing out a new form of spyware invented by Doctor Hamato."

May nodded. Hill turned to see if Donatello had any further questions.

All she saw was an empty seat and an open van door.

- - - -

Fortunately, the noise and chaos immediately surrounding the building was such that Donnie probably wouldn't have been noticed even if he hadn't been moving with ninja stealth.

Using his shuko spikes and the shadow of the neighboring building, the purple clad turtle scaled the wall without being seen. He made for a window on the top floor. When he reached the window and found it locked shut, he pulled is naginata from his belt and used it to quickly but quietly break the lock off. 

He eased the window open and maneuvered himself inside on silent feet. Don looked at his naginata, debating attaching it to his bo before he put it back in his belt. Crazy as Stockman was, he didn't want to kill the guy; everyone would be better off if he stood trial for what he'd done.

Besides, he grimaced, the images from his and Pet's medical textbooks had proven that death by naginata was a bad way to go...

Still, he internally cursed at himself for not thinking to grab a Knockout Cannon before he left the carrier.

Remembering his mission, he activated the watch and started recording footage. He didn't dare speak (while his voice had gotten deeper in the last year, he still sounded fairly young) but he made sure the camera got a good long look at every piece of technology in the room.

Stockman had been busy: he saw chalkboards covered in equations (most of them pertaining to biochemistry), a chemistry table, a beaker tray containing four beakers (two full, two empty), lab tables littered with mysterious substances that the turtle didn't want to think about...

"I WON'T GO BACK IN YOUR CAGE!" 

Stockman's yelling came from another room, briefly startling Donatello. Deciding he was done in there, he stealthily made his way out of the room. Fortunately, the mad scientist kept yelling down to the SHIELD agents and cops, letting the turtle know exactly where he was.

"NO ONE HAS EVER UNDERSTOOD MY VISION! YOU ALL REJECTED ME, CALLED ME INSANE!"

Donnie rolled his eyes as he continued to take footage. The rooms right next to the first were a bathroom and a kitchen. The third room had looked much like the first, albeit with an outdated (and likely untraceable) computer in place of a chemistry set. The fourth room had nothing but broken chalkboards, all of them seemingly thrown to the floor and stomped on. Donnie got footage of the more legible writing on the chalkboards, and realized they were biochem equations... just like the ones on the first chalkboard he'd seen...

In the quiet, he tried to ponder what that meant... and then he froze.

It was quiet... Why wasn't Stockman yelling anymore?

"Ah, a test subject!"

Donnie narrowly dodged the crowbar Stockman had swung at his head. In one swift move, he grabbed his bo from his belt and swung it at the mad scientist.

"Why did SHIELD send you here, freak?!" Baxter growled. 

Donatello quickly turned off his watch (cutting off the footage) before speaking.

"They sent me here to make sure you wouldn't hurt anyone else!"

They fought for a minute, Donnie dodging every swing the villain took with his crowbar.

Finally, he pulled his vibranium naginata from his belt. Without attaching it to his bo, he instead held it like a dagger and took a wide swipe.

Baxter looked briefly startled as the blade came near his face, then cackled.

"You missed!"

Donnie smirked. "Did I?"

Stockman looked again, and noticed that the top part of his crowbar was missing.

Growling, he glared at the turtle. Donatello put his naginata back in his belt and entered a stance with his bo, giving the doctor a glare of his own.

"I've seen the chalkboards, and your equipment. What are you you planning here, Stockman?"

"You'll never know, freak... But you of all creatures should know why I'm acting as I am!"

"...What?"

"You and I are both frightfully intelligent, capable of thoughts and creations that inferior minds couldn't comprehend. But they'll never accept us, they you a freak, call me insane..."

Not without reason, the turtle thought.

The mad scientist gave the turtle a sickening grin.

"You and I could do groundbreaking things if we were to work with one another. Join me, Donatello, and we could be great!"

Donnie knew a carrot on a stick when he saw it.

"Damare, baka. Anata wa kurutte iru."

"...I'm going to assume that was insulting," Stockman muttered. "I don't know why you're so willing to defend the human race! All they've ever done is force you into hiding! Feared you!"

Thoughts and memories of his family and friends filled his mind.

"Not all of them," the turtle retorted. "And I'll defend them from monsters like you for as long as I live!"

"Which won't be much longer!" Stockman roared as he charged at Donatello.

To call it a fight would have been an understatement. Stockman no longer possessed his mutant strength or his abilities from his time as a fly. Thus (as he seemed to realize halfway through), he was a normal out-of-shape human going against a mutant turtle with years of training. 

For one moment during the fight, Donnie thought he felt a small pain in his arm when he put the man in a head lock. But he forgot about that when Baxter tried to bite him. He threw the man to the floor, and tried not to wince at the snapping sound his ankle made as he landed.

"Alright, alright!" Stockman begged from where he lay.

Donnie gave him a look, letting him know not to move. The human had a black eye, a badly turned ankle, and enough bumps and bruises to keep him sore for days. In truth, the turtle had been going easy on him.

"What are you planning here, Stockman?" He growled.

"You..." He slowly sat up, giving an exaggerated wince. "You've got me."

He buried his face in the crook of his arm, letting out what might have been a sob.

"The truth is..."

He threw down several small spheres, which exploded on contact with the ground. A thick gas filled the air. Donnie instantly started to hold his breath and rushed at where Stockman was laying, only to be forced to gasp for air when something hit him in the plastron and made him fall backwards.

While he was more surprised than hurt, he started tearing up as the gas stung his throat. He realized it was the same tear gas the mad scientist had flooded the building with.

Knowing he had no chance of getting Stockman in his current state, Donnie ran back to the room he'd entered through.

The window was still open, allowing fresh air in. He stuck his head out, taking several deep breaths  and wiping the tears from his eyes. Once his vision had slightly improved, he took his shuko spikes back out and descended down the building.

- - - -

"You were right," Hill nodded as she finished shining the pen light in the turtle's eyes. "It's the same tear gas, you've got the same symptoms as everyone else exposed to it. According to Simmons, the effects should wear off on their own after a while."

Exhaling, Donnie nodded his thanks.

"Now that we've confirmed that," Hill continued, "good work on the footage. We've already sent it to Fitz-Simmons. According to them, the biochemistry calculations are unlike anything they've seen. Whatever Stockman's trying to do, it's not like anything we've seen before."

"Keep me posted?" Don asked. "Whatever he's planning, I can try to create a countermeasure. I can't do much with the information I have now, but--"

"The second we know something, you'll know it," Hill promised. She glanced out the window at where Coulson, Agent Johnson, and FitzSimmons were talking.

"We can take it from here, Donatello," Agent May spoke up from where she was reviewing the footage. "Go home."

"Sounds good," he nodded, grateful.

After the chaos the evening had brought, a little family craziness was just what he needed.

Chapter Text

"...and we can expect a little bit of rain this Thursday and Friday, but it should clear up in time for the weekend. And now here's April O'Neil-Jones with our latest story."

The screen changed to show April. Because of her pregnancy, she'd swapped out her usual business suit for a yellow maternity jumpsuit. 

"Not gonna lie," Casey commented as he sat down, giving April the bowl of ice cream she'd asked for, "you look hot in that thing."

"Thanks," she replied, smiling. "The stations actually received a bunch of letters asking me to start wearing that on TV more often. I might actually do it; the suits were a little stuffy, anyway."

When April's segment (which covered the arrest of a highly incompetent group home owner) came to an end, Casey changed the station to a hockey game.

"You mind?" He asked.

"If the Rangers don't win, I'll mind." She grinned as she started eating the ice cream.

MJ walked in from his room. He'd been doing homework for the last hour, and let out a sigh.

"If I never do another algebra question again, it'll be too soon."

Just then, both of their phones buzzed, giving off an alert.

Said alert warned all New Yorkers to stay away from the Guggenheim; a psycho in a bird costume was terrorizing the museum and threatening to burn the art.

This was followed by a reassurance from SHIELD and the Avengers that Falcon had NOTHING to do with it.

April felt a twinge of panic, knowing that the kids were about to go and fight him.

Then she felt a twinge of something else, and put her ice cream down.

"Honey, you packed my suitcase, right?"

- - - -

"Do you have to go?" Jaime asked Leo, his eyes huge. "What if you get hurt?"

"If we don't go, other people will get hurt," Leonardo told him. "You won't be alone, you'll be with your Ojiichan."

"We'll come back, Jaime, I promise," Spider-Ninja gave him a smile as she finished filling her shooters.

The little boy still looked unsure. Then Leo got an idea.

"Here..." He took off his necklace and held it out to the little boy. "Remember what I told you about this?"

"It's special."

"Right. You know how much this means to me. I want you to hold it for me and keep it safe. That way, you'll know I'm coming back. Okay?"

Jamie held the necklace with reverence, and gave the turtle a small smile.

"Okay, Leo."

The boy still alternated between calling Leo his name, 'sensei', and 'dad'. Leonardo didn't mind; the kid was adjusting, and it wasn't like Leo called his father 'dad' regularly either.

That settled, the five of them darted out of the lair. If they used the tunnels, they could be at the Guggenheim in five minutes.

- - - -

"New York, what a town!" Mikey griped as he used his nunchuck shields to block some falling debris.

"Focus, guys," Leonardo ordered. They were in the utility room directly under the museum. They'd been debating how to get to the main floor from there when a chunk of the room's ceiling gave out. Michelangelo's shields kept them from being pelted by debris, and the hole helped end the debate.

"What's the plan?" Donnie asked.

"Punch out the psycho," Raphael responded, sais already in his hands. "Easy."

"Not easy," Leo corrected, giving his brother a look. "We don't know who we're dealing with, and we still need to avoid being seen. Spider-Ninja, you first. We'll stick to shadows and try to see what we're up against."

"Got it."

She jumped through the hole, shooting a web as she went to get higher before she landed on a wall.

She saw the man before he saw her. He was an older looking guy wearing an odd helmet with a type of aviator jacket. The most attention-grabbing part of his appearance, however, were the giant cybernetic wings he was using to fly around the room.

Agent Wilson should sue for copyright issues, Pet thought. At least he knows he has the cooler costume...

She decided to announce her presence in the best way possible: a snarky quip.

"I've always known New York had a pigeon problem, but yikes!"

Turning in mid-air, the winged man glared at her.

"Who are you supposed to be?"

"Just a friendly neighborhood ninja. What about you?"

"I'm the Vulture!" He yelled. "If OsCorp and Stark Industries rejected my suit designs, then I'll prove they work! I'll start by stealing and destroying every beautiful thing in this city!"

Well, this guy's nuts, Spider-Ninja noted. She used a good chunk of her self-control to keep from looking for her brothers; she knew they were just waiting for the right moment. 

"Oh, that's your plan?" She commented, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. "Weird..."

"What's weird, little girl?" He growled, looking like he was ready to charge her. She noted sounds like spinning propellers coming from his wings.

She shrugged. "I just never saw Big Bird as a supervillain."

He snapped and flew straight at her. She jumped, avoiding his razor-sharp wing tips as he crashed headfirst into the column she'd been perched on. 

He turned (unhurt thanks to his suit) and roared.

"I'll make you pay for that!"

"What're you gonna do? Poop on my car?"

Enraged, he charged again... only this time, he was distracted by all of the lights shutting off.

Using the darkness as she'd been taught (and her spider-given night vision), she jumped down to the floor on silent feet. She sensed one of her brothers next to her, but she didn't know who it was until he whispered to her.

"Leo's got a plan," Donnie whispered to her. "I saw lenses on his suit; any second now he'll activate the built-in lights. As soon as he does, we Attack the Candle."

"Got it," she whispered back. "He can fly because of propellers in his wings. I heard them when I got a close look."

"WHERE DID YOU GO?!?" The Vulture roared.

As Donnie had predicted, Vulture activated the lights in his suit. He didn't realize how big of a mistake this was; not only were the lights not bright enough to reveal where the teens were, but he'd told them exactly where he was.

With no warning, all five of them attacked. Donatello knocked him off his feet with a swipe of his staff. Petra tossed her brother one of her kama, and they destroyed both of the wings' propeller blades at once. They'd scarcely darted out of the way before Vulture got back up. His body language showed how terrified he was at losing his ability to fly. He seemed to perk up when he saw his razor-sharp wings could still move.

That's when Leo and Mikey attacked. Mikey used his shields (which glowed slightly but didn't reveal his face) to distract Vulture and block each of his blows. When he was good and distracted, Leonardo used his vibranium katanas to slice off both wings: first one, then the other.

Having lost his primary weapons and his means of escape, Vulture seemed briefly panicked before he entered what was meant to be a fighting stance. 

To anyone who'd actually trained in martial arts, it just looked silly.

"You can't beat me!" He yelled. "This suit grants heightened strength and durability! One hit from me could kill a man, no matter what! And you are just a little girl! You can't fight me, you can't outlast me..."

Just then, his suit powered down, and the lights on it went dead.

"But I can take out your batteries!" Spider-Ninja quipped before jumping onto a wall, her prize in hand.

The suit had actually been powered by some sort of pocket-sized generator he had strapped to his back, but the joke still worked.

"No!" He swung wildly at the air, evidently trying to grab her.

That's when a ticked-off turtle punched him in the back. He fell face down on the floor, and hadn't even tried to get up before the same turtle pinned him by stepping on his back.

"What are you?" He growled as he tried to stand and throw the turtle off.

"I'm the wrong guy to piss off!" Raph growled back. "Now shut up before you get a shave!"

He took off Vulture's helmet and pressed a sai against the man's neck for emphasis.

In seconds, the criminal went from big bad supervillain to sniveling coward.

"Don't kill me, please! PLEASE!"

"I guess he's a baby bird, huh?" Mikey quipped as Spider-Ninja webbed the thief down.

By the time the lights were back on, Vulture was thrust up and the teens were nowhere in sight.

- - - -

"I think that's one of the easiest supervillain fights we've had!" Mikey commented as he jumped into the sewer after his siblings and put the cover back in place.

"It's up there," Donatello nodded. 

"Let's just be glad no one ended up in the Helicarrier's med bay this time," Leonardo commented.

Just then, Petra's phone crackled to life. She brightened when she saw it was her boyfriend.

"Hey, MJ, what's--"

"Oh, man, I was getting worried. Why weren't you picking up?"

"What?" Her brothers were all looking at her as she grew confused. They all looked at their phones, and saw they all had missed calls from Splinter, Casey, and MJ. 

"It's coming, Pet! Get to the carrier!"

"What... Another alien invasion?" She asked with alarm.

"No, the baby!"

Somehow, that was scarier than an alien invasion. As one, they all started running down the tunnels, heading for where the carrier was docked.

- - - -

Luckily, Fury had already ordered that area of the med bay cleared of all non-essential personnel. So other than a random nurse or two, the teens didn't need to worry about being seen.

MJ was waiting for them in a chair just outside a door. He sprang up when he saw Petra, and she ran into his arms. Splinter and Jaime were there, too. The little boy jumped from his seat and ran to Leo as soon as he saw him. Donnie started filling Splinter in on what happened.

"I'm so sorry I missed the calls," Pet spoke into her boyfriend's shoulder. "We were fighting Vulture, and--"

"No, no, I'm sorry I scared you," he reassured her.

"How's she lookin'?" Raphael asked, impatient as always.

"Are she and the baby okay?" Mikey asked, worry in his eyes.

As if to answer his question, the door to the room opened. Casey peered out. 

None of them had ever seen him that happy.

"Glad youse guys are here... There's someone I want you to meet."

The one human and seven mutants all filed into the room. It was a bit of a tight fit, but no one cared.

April looked exhausted, but she was smiling. There was a blanket-wrapped bundle in her arms.

"Oh my gosh..." Mikey whispered, his eyes as wide as his grin. Leo picked up Jaime so he could see. 

"Everyone," April told her found family, "Meet our daughter: Shadow Jones."

Chapter Text

"Say cheese," the wall computer ordered.

Agents Coulson and May scanned their badges, and the door opened. With the kids sandwiched between them, the agents led Marcus James and Petra into the carrier's brig.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Pet asked her boyfriend. To throw off suspicion, she was wearing her green hoodie and fake glasses.

"...I can't really explain it, but..." MJ sighed. "I just want to see him."

He'd expressed a desire to talk to his father only a few days after Casey had taken him in. Despite Casey having a few struggles as a first-time parental figure (he was calling Splinter for advice practically every day), the spider teen knew that the two were getting along great. Marcus James was happier and calmer than he'd been in a long while... but he was still a bit haunted from living with his father. He'd finally made the request to Agent May that he be able to speak with his father. SHIELD had managed to arrange for Mr. Watanabe to be brought from Riker's Island to the carrier. Because Marcus James' mother was in prison in Pennsylvania (and wasn't allowed visitors due to her actions during a recent prison riot), she was not extended the same courtesy.

"I know it's not the same," Coulson spoke up as he led the group of four through the brig's passages, "but I've seen something similar happen to a lot of agents. They'll spend weeks, months, even years chasing down a target. When they finally find them and lock them away... even though they know they've done it, they still need to come to the brig and make sure they're there."

"It's called seeking closure," Melinda May added. "You're father's in the interrogation cell, Marcus James. There'll be a wall of glass separating you and Petra from him. You can talk to him through the phones on either side."

"Like in prison movies?" Pet asked.

"Exactly," Coulson nodded as he used his security key to open the door to the cell. "You'll have twenty minutes. If you need us, Agent May and I will be right out here."

Agent May looked into the cell, glaring. Due to MJ's close ties to the Hamato Clan, Nick Fury had decided he'd be placed under SHIELD's protection, same as the Hamatos, April, and Casey. Melinda May had been given the task of keeping tabs on the teen. To better do so, she'd read up on Child Protective Services' records/interviews on the Watanabe family.

To say that May was upset with MJ's father would a serious understatement. 

Petra took Marcus James' hand in hers, looking him in the eyes. He squeezed her hand, took a deep breath, then walked into the room. Pet saw him give a tiny flinch as the door shut.

The two turned towards the glass wall. On the other side, dressed in a bright orange prison jumpsuit, was Mr. Watanabe.

The man was in his late forties, with balding salt-and-pepper hair, a five o'clock shadow, and steely eyes. If not for the fact that he and Marcus James had the same color eyes and same shape of nose, Petra never would have believed that they were related.

He eyeballed both of them as they sat in the two chairs in front of the glass. He seemed... confused about Pet, and thus gave her a lot less attention than he did his son. 

Finally, they both picked up the phones. Petra's enhanced hearing allowed her to hear both sides of the conversation perfectly. 

"Hi, Dad," the teenage boy began.

"You just had to do it, didn't you?" The man growled into the phone. "You couldn't just be a man and take your punishment? You had to go crying to someone because you couldn't take a hit."

MJ deflated a bit, not looking at his father. Petra was still holding his hand, and gave it a squeeze. Her touch restored his resolve.

"I had to tell someone because I couldn't keep living like that. Dad, you put me in the hospital twice, and that was before Mom got arrested."

"I told you that you fell down the stairs..." Mr. Watanabe growled.

"We lived in a ground floor apartment. I might have been six, but I couldn't hurt myself on stairs that aren't there!"

Mr. Watanabe growled. "How could I have raised such an ungrateful, disrespectful son? I fed you, kept a roof over your head, sent you to school, paid your hospital bills when you were stupid enough to get hurt..."

" You hurt me--"

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!"

The shouting caused both teens to flinch back: Petra out of surprise, MJ out of habitual compliance.

The man seemed pleased by the show of submission, and continued his tirade.

"You'll never appreciate what I've done for you. Your grandmother smacked me around when I was your age, and it made me tougher. I was trying to do the same for you, but clearly I failed since you turned into such a disrespectful, ungrateful, worthless little prick--"

Petra's rage hit its breaking point. She planted a reassuring kiss on MJ's cheek as she grabbed the phone from his hands. She gave the (surprised) Mr. Watanabe a glare that could melt steel before she began speaking into the phone.

Years of living with Splinter had taught her how to call someone out without ever raising her voice.

"That's enough. You don't know your son at all. Marcus James is kind, sweet, selfless, honest, gives great hugs, is an amazing kisser, an amazing guitar player, and I know he'd do anything for me... he's already done so much for me and my family. He's a good man, and I know he didn't learn that from you. All you ever taught him is how not to be. So don't you DARE say anything else to him, unless it's to apologize for making his life a living hell for the last four years."

He looked shocked by her words. But instead of responding to her, he looked at his son and tried to intimidate him again.

"Are you really going to sit there and let a girl defend you?"

But his power over MJ had been lost. Pet's words had strengthened him. He gently took the phone from his girlfriend's hands (placing a kiss on her cheek as he did so) and spoke into it while looking down his nose at the prisoner.

"Why not? She's doing a great job of it."

Mr. Watanabe was doing an incredible impression of a gasping fish as he tried to think of a retort. 

At that moment, Agent May walked into the cell.

"Time's up."

Pet glanced at her phone and saw they'd only been in the cell for about seven minutes. Still, she wasn't upset; she and MJ had said everything they'd needed to.

MJ threw one more glance at his father as he stood and spoke.

"Have a nice life, Mr. Watanabe."

He put the phone back in its cradle and followed Agent May out, Petra right behind him.

As soon as the door closed, Marcus James drew a huge breath as he leaned against the wall, sinking to the floor. Melinda May looked at him with concern while Pet all but ran to his side.

"Are you okay?" She asked, blue eyes wide.

He nodded, a tear or two snaking down his cheeks.

"That... That was hard," He admitted. "I know I had to do it, but..."

"Hey."

She gave him a small kiss on the lips before pulling him into her arms.

"No matter what happens, you know you're not alone. Me, Agent May, Casey, April, my whole family... We're all here for you. Okay?"

He managed a smile. "Okay."

MJ stood up, and seemed a little embarrassed at breaking down (though both the agent and the spider-girl made it clear it was no big deal). 

Just then, Agent Coulson returned.

"I called your father," he said to Petra. "I told him I'll send you both to Mr. Jones' apartment in a cab within the hour. Before that, though..."

He and Agent May had a silent conversation. She gave a rare, small smile before he turned back to the spider-girl.

"Petra, I think there's something you should see."

- - - -

"I've read about this..." She mumbled as she stood in front of the monument.

The SHIELD Helicarrier, being one of the biggest and most important tools used by the organization, held one of the tributes to its agents. 

"What is it?" MJ asked.

"The Wall of Valor," Agent Coulson answered, staring at the monument with as much reverence as Petra. "Every name on this wall belongs to an agent who was lost in the line of duty. It goes from today all the way back to World War II."

He pointed to one of the first names on the wall. A small bronze plaque with the name Bucky Barnes sat in the first row.

It hadn't taken much for Pet to realize why the agents had brought her there. She looked down the wall for the year she was born, then looked at the agents who'd died after that. It took a moment, but she found them. Their names were written on the same plaque, bearing the day they died.

Agents Richard and Mary Parker.

"What are you looking at?" Marcus James asked as he walked up to her.

She took his hand in hers and pointed at the plaque.

"Meet my parents," she whispered.

- - - -

"Glad you dudes are back!" Mikey cheered as soon as the teen couple came into the lair.

After the afternoon they'd had, MJ and Petra had both just wanted to go to their respective homes. But Casey had told MJ that he needed to work late at the garage, and that he should go with Pet to the lair.

As soon as the two had entered, the smell of pancakes hit their noses. MJ was confused, while Pet had instantly brightened.

"Are we having pancakes for dinner?" She grinned.

"Took some convincin'," Raphael grinned as he motioned for the two to come into the kitchen, "but Sensei finally agreed. Come on, the first cakes are already done."

And thus Marcus James was introduced to the chaos that was a Hamato family pancake dinner. Syrup and whipped cream were passed around and fought over as Mikey kept adding pancake plates to the table. As soon as he'd used up the last of his batter making what he called a "party pancake" (which was covered in more toppings than was probably wise), he joined the others at the table. Now that everyone had their food, they all started acting a bit more civilized.

So, naturally, they did what they always did when they had a guest over: they told stories to embarrass each other.

"Wait, wait..." MJ tried not to choke on pancake as he laughed. "You got a tech support call from Captain America?"

Donatello's head was in his hands. "Why do you tell everyone that story, Raphael?"

"Because it's funny," he smirked as he chugged more coffee.

Pet grinned. "Okay, you want a funny story?"

She turned to MJ. "So, when I first got my spider powers, I learned I could fit into the vents pretty easily..."

Raph blanched while Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo all perked up (and stuffed pancake into their mouths to keep from laughing).

"Once I figured that out," Pet continued, "I started doing it to get out of chores or get the drop on my brothers and scare them. When they caught on, Donnie figured out that making a lot of noise against the vent grate would get me out."

"How?" Marcus James asked as he added more strawberries to his pancake stack.

"I have heightened hearing and the vents echo back any noise. The sound of someone drumming their fingers against the grate usually got me out pretty fast... But Raph took it one step further and started yelling into the vents to get me out. So I decided to get revenge..."

"We don't need to tell the next part," Raph growled.

"We really, really do," Mikey grinned. He narrowly dodged the pad of butter Raphael threw at him.

"So, anyway," the grinning Petra continued. "I got into the vents when I knew Raph was watching. This happened a few days after we teamed up with SHIELD, so Splinter, Leo, Donnie, and Mikey were at the Helicarrier. Before he'd left, Splinter said that one of us needed to wash the dishes. Raphael thought I was trying to get out of it, and he wanted to scare me out. What he didn't know was that I just crawled to the first grate I saw and jumped out of the vents..."

"Oh my gosh..." MJ was already giggling.

"Everyone came back to find Raph screaming into the vent for no reason!"

The entire family (minus Raphael) started cracking up. The red-clad turtle growled and stabbed a fork into his last pancake.

"We both ended up doing the dishes for that one," she chortled. "So worth it."

"Says you," grumbled Raph... who then smirked.

"Hey, MJ? Did Pet ever tell you about what happened when she discovered her super-strength?"

It was Pet's turn to blush. Grinning, Marcus James silently urged Raph to tell the story.

Chapter Text

"Five sheep... Six sheep... Seven sheep..."

Mikey had wrapped himself in his orange blanket from his feet to his chin, slowly rocking as he counted and watched diligently to make sure no monsters appeared when he wasn't looking.

Sensei said that nightmares weren't real and were nothing to be afraid of... But they were still so scary! Leo had told him that he should try counting sheep whenever he woke up from a nightmare. Michelangelo was trying, but it wasn't making him any calmer.

"...Ten sheep... Eleven sheep... Twelve sheep... Twelve sheep..."

He paused, trying to remember what came after twelve. As he struggled, he could have sworn he felt something looking at him from somewhere in the shadows...

"Sensei?" He let out a terrified whisper as he got up, still wrapped in a blanket, and ran from his bedroom.

That was it; he wouldn't be able to sleep on his own tonight. He'd need to try and find someone to bunk with...

His first choice was Splinter... but Mikey tried not to do that too often. While Splinter was fine with letting them stay in his room whenever they were scared (especially when there was thunder), Mikey knew that their father usually ended up staying awake too late when they did that. He always looked so tired the morning after... No, he didn't want to make Splinter tired.

His second choice was Leo or Donnie. Both knew that Mikey usually needed to be near someone when he had a nightmare, and both were willing to let him stay. But while Leonardo and Don were both happy to help their little brother, neither was very good at it. Leonardo was a heavy sleeper, and it usually took a while to wake him up (not to mention that he was a blanket hog). Donnie would try to dissect Mikey's nightmare and figure out what caused it. While this was good at lulling Mikey back to sleep, Donnie would usually try to keep him awake so he could finish interpreting Mikey's dream. 

Yeah, he probably shouldn't go to either of them.

Raphael was... okay with nightmares. If a scared Mikey woke him in the middle of the night, he'd let him stay... But he usually made some comment about how Mikey was being a baby and should just go to sleep. If he was in a REALLY bad mood, he'd just pick him up, drag him into Leo's room, and dump him on top of his brother.

Mikey looked at the last door on the top floor, remembering he now had a fifth option. He hesitated... How would Petra react if he woke her up? Hopefully she wouldn't think he was a big baby for having a nightmare...

"No, no please..." The sounds of weeping came from Pet's room.

Forgetting his own worries, Mikey ran into his sister's room. She was thrashing around, tears streaming down her face.

"Pet, Pet wake up!"

Mikey grabbed her shoulders and gave her a weak shake. It took a moment, but she stopped thrashing and woke up. It seemed to take her a second to realize where she was.

"M-Mikey?" She asked, rubbing the tears from her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you have a bad dream?"

"...Yeah." She drew her knees to her chest. "It was bad."

"...Do you want me to stay with you?"

"...Yeah." She gave a small smile and moved over in the bed.

Spreading out his orange blanket (which clashed a little with Petra's green one), Mikey climbed into bed next to his sister.

"I had a bad dream, too," he admitted as he pulled the covers up to his chin. 

"A scary one?" She asked.

"Really scary... What about your dream?"

"...It's not a good one..."

"Tell me anyway."

"...A bad man with a gun killed someone I love."

Mikey sucked in a breath. He remembered Leo telling the others a few days ago that Petra's human family was gone.

Michelangelo wasn't the smartest turtle, but he could put two and two together.

"Sorry," he muttered. "That sounds scary."

"It was," she mumbled.

"...I dreamed that cookies were ruling the world."

"What?" Petra asked, staring at him.

"Yeah, they took over the White House and said no one could eat cookies any more. All anyone was allowed to eat was cold oatmeal."

"Yuck," Pet grimaced. "But couldn't you eat things that aren't cookies or oatmeal?"

"That's what I said! And they threw me in cookie jail!" He shuddered. "That's when I woke up."

"That's... a weird dream," she admitted. "But if it scared you, I'm sorry."

"Thanks... I get nightmares a lot."

"Yeah... Me too."

"You know... I wouldn't mind if you stayed in my room if you have a bad dream."

She paused, then smiled.

"I'd like that. And you can stay in my room if you have a bad dream."

"Thanks..."

He beamed when he saw a pillow nearby. 

"But you know," he started as he slowly reached for the pillow, "you have to pay a price first..."

"Price?" She sat up... and a pillow smacked her in the face.

The fight began, with their laughter waking Raph, then Donnie, then Leo. Instead of trying to stop them, they grabbed their own pillows and joined in.

Despite Mikey trying not to, Splinter was still woken up that night. They needed him to end the biggest pillow fight in lair history.

Chapter Text

"Dude? Hey, Case!"

With a jolt, Casey woke up. Raph was sitting next to him on the couch, looking concerned. A hockey game was playing on TV.

"You good? You've fallen asleep three times and the game hasn't even gotten to intermission yet."

"Yeah, yeah..." He rubbed his face. "Shadow's been... fussy at night. April and me have been up and down all night for the last week."

Casey had thought that taking care of a newborn baby wouldn't be that hard. After all, she was at the stage where all she cared about was eating and sleeping. He'd been proven wrong when Shadow woke up every few hours due to a dirty diaper, or because she was hungry, or because she was bored... Casey'd given up trying to list all the reasons why Shadow cried. He loved his daughter so much, but he'd give anything just for a good six hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Raphael snickered. "Shadow's not even a month old and she's already kickin' your... butt."

He'd swapped words at the last second. Casey looked up and saw why.

Across the room, Leo and Jaime were going through katas. The kid was still beaming from when, earlier that day, his dad/sensei had given him a light blue bandanna. He'd tied it on as soon as Mikey had pulled the four-year-old's mass of curly hair into a ponytail, and had spent the entire morning following Leo around like a puppy. Leonardo didn't seem annoyed at all; he'd been showing Jaime all of the easy stuff about being a ninja (which was mainly katas and games of hide-and-seek). 

Casey had to admit, it was good to see Leo smiling again...

"You gonna be okay?" Raph was still concerned.

"Yeah," the vigilante nodded. "April and Shadow are spendin' the next two days in Philadelphia so she can introduce the baby to my sister-in-law."

"Why didn't you go?" Donnie asked, looking up from some equations he was writing on the coffee table.

"Because her sister hates me," Casey rolled his eyes. "The first thing she said when we met was that April could've done better."

"Yikes," Raph flinched.

"I know, right? This from a lady who got arrested for tryin' to break into Avengers Tower while dressed in a cheap Iron Man costume."

"I thought you said she lived in Philadelphia?" Donnie asked.

"She moved to Philly because of that," Casey answered.

Raph snorted and clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Go home and sleep, Case. If somethin' happens, we'll give you a call."

"What? I'm fine. I got three hours last night, if a call comes up I'm sure I can--"

He was interrupted by a foam bat hitting him on the shoulder.

"What the--?" He barely kept himself from using R-rated words.

Jaime gave a nervous laugh and ran back towards Leo, the bat still in his hands.

"I'm teaching him to attack enemies when they least expect it," the blue-clad turtle explained. "Sorry, Casey, but sleep-deprived targets are the easiest."

Casey gave Leo a look, but was forced to admit Raphael had a point.

Especially since he needed Petra to help him remember how to get home...

- - - -

After a long nap, Casey felt much better.

This was good, because SHIELD had called him and Raph in for an assignment.

Baxter Stockman (who was now in the running for craziest scientist in the U.S.) had reappeared. In the weeks since the gas incident with Donnie, Stockman had pulled his "flood the place with gas until someone comes to stop me" trick three more times. However, unlike last time, every time someone came after him, he just growled in disgust and took off. No fight, no threats. It was almost like he wanted someone specific to come after him...

"Unfortunately, we don't have the manpower to keep chasing after some crazy-ass AIM dropout," Fury had said when briefing Casey and Raphael on their assignment. "We're moving a dangerous prisoner from the Helicarrier to one of our top security prisons tonight. I need every sanctioned agent I can spare for potential backup. That's where you two come in."

"If you need someone to get info," Raph replied, crossing his arms, "then you shoulda called Donnie."

"It's possible Stockman's been expecting Donatello. The last time they faced each other, he said some concerning things; we think he may be trying to recruit your brother..."

"Then he's crazier than he looks," the turtle replied.

"...Which means we have no idea what he'll do if he sees your brother again," Fury's single eye was dead serious. "He may try to abduct your brother to get his help on whatever he wants."

Raph grit his teeth at the thought.

"So," Casey spoke up, "youse guys just want us to go in, beat Stockboy up, and bring him back?"

Fury nodded. "Short answer: yes."

"Works for me," Raph stood up, ready for a fight. "Where's he at?"

"This time he's taken over a hotel in the Bronx. Spraying tear gas, shouting about his superiority... Nothing he hasn't done before."

Casey stood up, pulling his trusty hockey mask down. "Let's go."

- - - -

Just as Director Fury had said, Stockman had flooded the place with tear gas. Local police and fire fighters had evacuated the hotel, but there wasn't much they could do about the crazy man who'd caused it. He'd isolated himself in the hotel's attic. The building was twelve stories tall, and he was too high up for anyone below to hear what he was screaming... though Raph doubted the scientist would be making much sense even if they could hear him. 

Casey got some info from a cop by pretending to be a concerned citizen. According to Officer DeWolff, no one had died. But seven people were en route to the hospital due to bad allergic reactions from the gas, and a lot more were still weeping and coughing. Luckily, with so many scared/crying/complaining people, no one noticed the hockey mask wearing man and mutant turtle behind the hotel.

"Doc Connors said these are the strongest masks SHIELD has," Raph promised as he handed a gas mask to Casey. "Might wanna trade your hockey mask for this... unless you LIKE cryin' your heart out."

Casey scoffed. "Come on, man, I'm tougher than that."

Raph smirked. "April told me about when she showed you Marley and Me."

"...I hate you."

The turtle cackled as he and the man put on their masks. Once they were secure, Raphael took out his shuko spikes and began to scale the building.

"Why can't you just use the fire escape?" Casey called to the turtle once he was at the second floor.

"Too noisy!"

Casey took a deep sigh, walked into the building, and waited for the elevator.

- - - -

Fury had been right about one thing, and wrong about the other.

He'd been right about Stockman specifically wanting a turtle to come after him, but he'd been wrong about which turtle.

Seconds after Raph climbed in a window and removed his gas mask, he saw the crazed, beaming scientist.

"Another subject!" He'd screamed as he ran at Raph with a steel chair.

The turtle sprung into action. "Not today, Cena!"

He used his vibranium sais to slice the chair apart before it touched him, then kicked Stockman in the chest.

The man wasn't a skilled fighter, but he wasn't about to give up. At one point, when Raph had pinned the man to the wall, he thought he felt a sharp prick in his arm. But he forgot about that when Baxter nearly bit him. Raphael let go just in time and back-slapped the scientist before he could try that again.

"You think you're winning?" Baxter grinned as he stood up, bleeding from his nose and mouth. "SHIELD still hasn't even figured out my true plan!"

"Then tell me, Stenchman," Raphael growled, already prepared to rush the guy.

"Remember how I got into the warehouse the first time we met?" He was grinning a little too widely for the turtle's liking. "That little fireworks show I used to get through the floor?"

The turtle's eyes widened slightly.

He held up a small black remote. "The second I push this button, seven different apartment buildings across New York City will go up in flames. And everyone will see the excellent mind of Baxter Stockman!"

"I won't let that happen!" Raphael growled.

"I've fought you many times, freak," the scientist sneered. "I know your tricks, and I know you don't have your freakish brothers or that arachnid who calls herself your sister. You have no way out of this, no way to save those people."

He grinned as Raph's glare grew more scathing.

"I've predicted every--"

He was cut off when the bell for the elevator went off, and Casey (still wearing his gas mask) ran in hockey stick first while screaming like a wild man.

Caught off guard, Baxter screamed like a girl and dropped the remote as he dodged the swing of the hockey stick. Raph dove and caught it before it hit the ground.

And then got kicked in the shoulder as he tried to stand.

"Hey! It's me!"

Pausing, Casey lifted his gas mask. "Sorry, dude, I can't see much with this on."

"Then put on your hockey mask and lets go punch the bastard!"

They ran after the scientist, with Casey swapping out his masks on the way.

Unfortunately, Stockman had a get away plan: in the chaos of the hotel getting gassed, no one had noticed the helicopter on the roof.

They were just in time to see the scientist, a suitcase in hand, climb in before it took off.

The helicopter blades drowned out the incredibly vulgar words Raphael shouted after it.

- - - -

"After tonight," Casey muttered as he and Raph waited in Fury's office to be debriefed, "changing diapers doesn't seem so bad."

They'd handed over the remote to Doc Connors and Doc Ock. Fortunately, they'd been able to tell right away that Stockman was bluffing: he'd been holding a normal TV remote, which didn't even have batteries. It had been spray-painted black to look a bit more menacing.

"You thought that was tough?" Raph replied, equally tired. "You must be goin' soft."

"Oh, shut up. Let's see you try'n stay energetic while raisin' a kid."

Before that conversation could go any further, Coulson walked in. He had a few butterfly stitches on his forehead, and a bandaged hand.

"Coulson?" Raphael stood, concerned.

"I'm fine," he reassured the turtle. 

"Where's Fury?" Casey asked.

"...Tonight's assignment didn't go as planned. We were attacked while moving the prisoner, and he managed to escape. A lot of our agents got hurt, some of them badly, but thankfully no one was killed."

"Who was the prisoner?" Raphael growled, concern bubbling in his gut.

Coulson looked him in the eyes.

"The Shredder."

Chapter Text

Fury led Coulson, Hill, Romanoff, and Barton into a private meeting room.

While they'd all suffered some injuries, none of them were severe enough for them to be benched. Still, there were enough broken bones and concussions to keep Doctor Cho busy for the next few days.

"Listen up," he ordered as soon as the door was shut, "I had Fitz-Simmons and several of our top scientists, including Stark and Richards, analyzing the surveillance footage. Everyone agrees that the Shredder's escape was planned. Coulson, I want Agent Johnson looking at our communique records for the last week; see if this was an inside job."

He nodded, allowing Fury to return to the matter at hand.

"A copy of the footage was already sent to the Hamato family. They believe he had an accomplice; even Oroku couldn't have pulled a breakout like that on his own."

Nick Fury looked to Black Widow and Hawkeye. "While we all know Team Renaissance can protect themselves, I want the Avengers to keep an eye on them. I doubt Shredder will attack them so soon, but I'm not taking any risks."

The two agents exchanged a glance, then nodded in sync.

"Do they have any advice on what Oroku's next move might be?" Agent Hill asked.

"Fortunately," the director responded, "Splinter believes that Saki'll go underground for a while. After what he pulled, he knows that all of SHIELD will be coming after him. Fortunately, due to the technology used by his accomplice, we have a theory about where he might be."

He scowled. "Unfortunately, it's no where the U.S. government can legally go en masse..."

- - - -

The Shredder grinned as he finished putting on his armor, including his rebuilt razor gauntlets.

He'd believed his armor lost forever when it was sent to that museum, but his new partner had been courteous enough to steal it back for him. Including, to his relief, his kabuto. 

Saki placed the helmet on his head, feeling whole once more.

The Foot Clan's leader (although it seemed there wasn't much of a Foot Clan any more... that would need amending) hadn't known if the stolen SHIELD com he'd modified would be able to send out messages. After all, his expertise was in martial arts and warfare, not technology. However, after manipulating a guard into bringing him science textbooks (and "accidentally" breaking the small handheld radio he was allowed), he'd managed to tinker with the communicator until it could send out a message. He couldn't believe his luck when he learned who had received it...

Knowing he soon needed to meet his benefactor to discuss the details of their partnership, he left his (admittedly luxurious) guest quarters.

Latveria was hardly the Shredder's ideal location for a safe house, but he was very impressed with his lodgings. After all, he'd never stayed in a castle before.

It seemed there were limitless benefits to partnering with the country's sovereign ruler...

"Finally, you emerge."

The Shredder turned to see his benefactor.

He was a tall, powerfully built man covered from head to toe in metal armor that left only his eyes exposed. Over the suit he wore an emerald green tunic with a matching hooded cloak.

"I was simply making myself presentable," Oroku Saki returned. "Thank you again for liberating me from SHIELD... though your methods were a bit extreme. Couldn't your drones have simply used the door rather than blowing a hole in the wall?"

He'd been told via the secret communication link that a group of robots would be the ones to break him out... he hadn't expected so many. Or for them to be so delightfully destructive...

"The door? Like peasants? Surely you jest." The ruler made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Never mind that, now. The fact is that now we can begin discussing business. You are certain that Latveria will benefit from the destruction of this... Hamato clan?"

"Yes," Shredder growled. "My sworn enemy changed his own genetic makeup and trained a team of mutants to defeat me. The most powerful of them is the Spider: she possesses strength and speed I've seen in no other warrior. They have been working with SHIELD; it is only a matter of time before Fury sics them on you. If they beat you, then your country will suffer. I alone have come closest to defeating their leader in a fight. Give me time to rebuild my clan, as well as your support, and I will remove this threat to your country."

The man's face was nigh impossible to read (courtesy of his mask), but he seemed to be contemplating Shredder's words. Finally, he nodded.

"I will not risk the safety of Latveria... If they prove to be the threat you say they are, then I will assist you in defeating this Hamato Clan. In return, you will assist me in finally ridding the world of the Fantastic Four."

He took a step towards the ninja master, a scowl behind his mask.

"But if this is a trick, or a petty attempt to take advantage of my generosity and power, then I will strike you down with no mercy."

Under his kabuto, Saki smirked. From what he'd seen of this man so far, he relied heavily on his robots and technology, much like one of Shredder's previous lackeys. 

He doubted this man was any more of a threat than Baxter Stockman. He could easily take him if he proved to be a nuisance.

"Please, there's no need for such theatrics, Victor ."

"It is Doom. Doctor Doom."

Chapter Text

Lightning forked through the sky as the woman in the low-cut tank top screamed her head off.

A very tall monster with a very cheap-looking rubber mask began walking towards her... very slowly.

"Come on, lady! Seriously!" Michelangelo rolled his eyes as he threw a piece of popcorn at the TV screen.

"Just take off your ridiculous high heels and power-walk away!" Petra agreed. Unlike her brother, though, she actually ate her popcorn.

The two were lying on their stomachs on the carpet, an assortment of junk foods surrounding them as they watched the movie.

A real bolt of lightning flashed across the sky outside the tower's windows, followed by a roll of thunder.

Both Hamato teens stared at the sky in wonder for a moment before returning their gaze to the movie.

"You two really haven't seen a storm before?" Bruce asked from where he sat on the couch, a cup of herbal tea in his hand.

"Well, yes and no," Pet answered. "We've been outside when it's raining before, but that was usually when we were on patrols or missions. We didn't really have time to look at the sky."

"And we can hear whenever it storms in the lair," Mikey added. He paused to take a chug of his orange soda before he continued. "We were all scared of thunder as kids, so hearing the storm echo down to the lair totally sucked. Splinter was really glad when we all stopped being afraid of storms."

Bruce gave a small laugh and sipped his tea. "Speaking of your father, I'm surprised he let you two come here... after what happened with Oroku."

The Shredder's escape had been shocking/startling for everyone, especially the news that he was apparently in Latveria (which gave a big hint as to who he was working with). Luckily, Splinter doubted their enemy would lash out so soon after escaping. Add that to the fact that all of SHIELD was looking for him, and the rat wasn't as overly protective as he'd usually be about the Shredder... although he'd recently added extra drills to their daily training and made everyone do hourly check-ins via text.

The human and turtle shrugged as one. 

"Avengers Tower is probably one of the safest places in the city," Spider-Ninja commented as she tossed another sour gummy worm into her mouth. "Splinter didn't need much convincing to let us sleep over here."

In fact, the rat wanted them all to try and take their minds off of Shredder... though Pet had a feeling it had to do with what Leo did when he tried to take down Shredder via a two-day solo patrol. That night, Splinter, Donnie, Leo, and Jaime were staying at the lair while Raph was at April and Casey's to watch an all-night hockey marathon (the two sports enthusiasts were still trying to convert MJ).

Mikey and Pet had expected the other Avengers to be at the Tower, but an emergency in Miami was keeping them busy until later that night. Thus, only Bruce was there to spend time with them.

The cheesy horror movie ended, and a recently-made kung fu movie began to play.

They both recognized the lead actor, and gave equally-annoyed groans.

"Don't like that actor?" Bruce asked with a smirk.

"He's the worst!" Petra complained. "The moves he uses in his films are totally unfit for the combat his character's supposed to be doing, his performance is completely wooden, he's known as one of the worst actors to work with due to his selfish personality..."

"Plus the dude has a dumb haircut," Mikey added, throwing another piece of popcorn at the screen.

"Lot of reasons why we aren't fans of Chris Bradford," the spider mutant grumbled as she took the remote and changed it to some nature show.