It was supposed to be the war to end all wars. And the Allies was supposed to win. In 1941, though, the world was at a standstill that could easily tip to either side. Dr. Abraham Erskine, a German scientist, had an idea for a serum that change the tide of the war, and every man with an army under their command wanted it.

As an experiment, four young turtles were chosen to be injected with the serum. It was supposed to be merely a trial, a prelude to human subjects, but once injected with the Super Soldier serum, the four terrapins, within weeks, began to resemble human toddlers. Some of Dr. Erskine's colleagues, fearing their growth and unpredictable nature, demanded that the turtles be terminated, but he refused. He saw something pure in them. He looked at them as they played and laughed, and realized that though the turtles might not have been the soldiers the Allies were hoping for, they had the potential to be the unstoppable force that ended the war.

On a whim, he named them after Renaissance artists, and as they reached physical adolescence, placed them in the care of an agent of the S.S.R. (Strategic Scientific Reserve) who went by the name, Karai Hamato.

Despite their desire to join the war effort, the turtles were sidelined after Dr. Erskine's assassination, relegated to raising morale, with the most mature of the team, Leonardo, dubbed Captain America and sent out across the country to encourage recruitment and sell bonds, all while wearing a ridiculous red, white, and blue costume with a quickly cobbled together shield made out of cheap metal.

"They're making a fool out of ya, Leo," Raphael complained once Leo's latest performance was done and the dancing girls were out of earshot. The sound of booing could still be heard from the soldiers out front, each of them wet, tired, and angered by what they perceived as a joke, a lie that said the war would be won and they could all go home soon, when the war was never ending and more of them died every day. "We're turtles, Leo. And we're supposed to be soldiers, like those guys out there throwing tomatoes at you, not dancing monkeys in fancy costumes."

Leo rubbed his neck, wondering if it would be treason to admit that he was a little tired of the song-and-dance routine, too. He looked up to see Donatello and Michelangelo hanging by their feet from the stage's support beams, and knew somehow that they agreed with Raph.

Heels clicked on wood, a confident gait alerting them to their supervisor and professional babysitter. As Karai approached them, Mikey detached himself from the beam, landing soundlessly on the ground with Donatello following his lead. Karai looked impressed, smiling warmly in their direction before focusing on Leo. "Those soldiers out there lost half their platoon the other day. General Philips is writing condolence letters as we speak."

General Philips had always dismissed them as circus freaks, he set Raph's teeth on edge with his mockery and dismissive attitude, but under all those layers of surly condescension was a good man.

"What can we do to help?" Leo asked, knowing his brothers were chomping at the bit to see some action. "We're trained, we're ready-"

Karai cut in, "But you're not tested."

Exasperated, Raph exclaimed, "And we're never going to be if you don't let us out there!"

They may not have known anyone in the 107th Regiment, but they understood that the soldiers who went missing were someone's son, someone's brother, and losing the closest thing they'd ever had to a father had been bad enough. If there was a possibility that the enhanced bodies the serum gave them could save one man, then they deserved to be given the chance to try.

"This has to be a unanimous decision." Karai said, her eyes now locked on Donatello and Michelangelo. "Are you two in?"

It was all the invitation they needed. Giving each other a high-three, the two brothers nodded. "We're with ya 'til the end of the line, bros. Let's get this party started!"

Tilting his head fondly towards his little brother, Donnie simply added, "What he said."

Satisfied with their answers, a slow, almost proud smile stretched across Karai's face. Her boys were growing up so fast. "Then I guess I better get you guys a helicopter."

/

Baxter Stockman signed up to pilot a helicopter. What he did not sign up for was transporting four mutated turtles and their babysitter behind enemy lines. "I have a very bad feeling, Agent Hamato, that you are trying to get me killed!" A stray bullet clipped the helicopter's side, resulting in him frantically jerking the controls so they shot twenty feet higher, hopefully out of the range of fire.

Gaze focused on the turtles as they stared with innocent excitement out the window, Karai rolled her eyes. "I asked you to drive a helicopter and you said yes. Where's the deception in that?"

"I thought you wanted me to help deserters!"

"Well, that was your mistake. And - if I remember correctly - aiding deserters is treason."

"And this isn't?!"

Eventually, Stockman settled down into resentful grumbling, but he made no move to turn the plane around. While they had time, Karai made sure each of the turtles had their backpacks on, made absolutely certain that they knew how and when to pull their parachutes, and fixed Leo's mask. The blue leather was sliding over his eyes.

"When you come back," she said, the words meant only for him, "I'll teach you how to dance, okay? We'll have time, then."

She couldn't see his cheeks, but she imagined they had a hint of flush as he whispered, not wanting his brothers to hear and tease him, "Do you really mean it, Karai?" And she did. If he came back safe, she'd even go to the military ball with him and all three of his brothers as her escort. Let the other soldiers gawk if they wanted to; her boys had the hearts of heroes.

And now the world was going to know.

The guy looked like he'd been stuck inside a washer machine, pounded and nearly drowned. Raph shook him tentatively while Mikey worked on cutting through the leather straps around his arms and legs with a nearby scalpel. And Raph didn't even want to think about what that was for. "Hey, buddy, you okay?"

The guy, a soldier from the 107th Infantry Regiment according to his tags, tried to focus on their faces, then croaked with a thick Brooklyn accent, "This is the weirdest hallucination I've had yet."

The last strap broke and the turtles helped him off the gurney. "We're not hallucinations, man." Mikey said with a hint of desperation, as the man seemed to nod off again. "We're soldiers. We're here to save the day."

With a small snort of disbelief, the soldier replied, "Sure, why not? I was started to get bored of sanity, anyway." His knees buckled, forcing Mikey and Raphael to take on more of his weight as they dragged him out into the hallway. "Ow," he complained. "The name's Bucky Barnes. I'm a delicate flower, so do you think you two could handle me with a little more care?"

"We could always drop you, you know. That's still an option." Raph pointed out as he checked the hallway for any HYDRA lurking in the shadows as he spoke.

"And miss my devilishly handsome good looks and wicked sense of humor? How would the world go on?" Mikey snickered and Bucky shot him an appreciative smile. "You see? This guy gets me."

There didn't seem to be anyone in the hallways, which was great. It probably meant that HYDRA hadn't been alerted yet.

Alert to all HYDRA personel: The prisoners are escaping. I repeat, the prisoners are escaping.

Follwing the announcement, an alarm sounded, followed by red lights blinking obnoxiously on every corner.

"Well, this is just super." Barnes muttered under his breath. "Why don't you guys just strap me back on the gurney? Save HYDRA the trouble."

And Raph had had just about enough of his attitude when he noticed two soldiers armed with flamethrowers not twenty paces ahead of them. They hadn't been alerted to the stumbling trio's presence yet, but it was only a matter of time. He turned to see Mikey staring ahead, his mouth turned down in a grim line. "It's okay, Raph," he assured him, "I got this."

Detaching himself from Bucky, Michelangelo crept ahead. Something approaching fear crept into the soldier's eyes as he watched him go, and he turned on the only remaining turtle at his side, furiously whispering, "I don't care anymore if you two are real or not. You're not seriously gonna let that little guy take on two trained HYDRA by himself?"

"Mikey's fast," Raph replied. "And he's stronger than he looks. But if he needs me," the two HYDRA fell to the ground, unconscious before they even had time to scream. Raph grinned, "I've got his back."

Bucky watched incredulously as the smaller turtle skipped back to join them, slipping back under his arm like he'd never left. "Okay," he muttered, thinking of the scrappy, bully hating, heart-of-gold, nothing but skin and bones and sheer guts best friend he'd left in Brooklyn. "I think I get where you're coming from."

They managed to get outside before the entire base exploded and meet up with their brothers. Thanks to all the rescued POWs that followed them back to camp, the turtles were welcomed back as heroes. Captain America and his three green friends.

Raphael grumbled about that for days.

"Yeah," Mikey agreed when he brought it up yet again at the debriefing for their second mission, "who knew Leo's dorky nickname would end up being cool?"

Karai shrugged, lips quirking in amusement. "Your names are a bit of a mouthful for the men to remember."

On this next mission, they were heading back into enemy territory to stop a man called the Shredder from dropping bombs across the country. When Bucky found out, he wanted to go with them. Especially after he discovered they were collectively less than five years old.

Slamming his beer on the counter, he said firmly, "You four are not going back into that hell without me."

The bar went quiet. One man with a large and bushy wheat-colored mustache and a bowler hat stood up from his table, saying, "What're you taking about, Barnes? Those freaky kids planning on going back?"

Ignoring Leo's frantic hushing motions, Bucky nodded, a sly smirk on his face. "Apparently, they think we're gonna let them go on their own."

Four more grizzled men set their drinks down and stood up. "Well, ain't that just the dumbest thing you fella's ever heard?"

Well, this is one way to go. Not the way I was hoping for, but it'll get the job done. Bucky Barnes was holding onto the edge of the train for dear life, but the freezing winds buffeting his hair and clothes was quickly eating away at his strength. With a loud groan, he thought, Steve's gonna be so pissed when he finds out I died. But, shit, Steve, it's not like I'm gonna do it on purpose.

He'd taken a hit for their little green Captain America and it'd launched him right off the train. Now, he was just waiting for his body to figure out that he wasn't getting out of this one and let him drop.

Chains wrapped around his arms, the metal so cold it burned. "Don't worry, man, I gotcha. I'm gonna get you out of this." He squinted through the harsh wind to see smallest turtle clinging to the window above him, the other end of the chain wrapped around his own arm.

"Mikey!" Called the bad-tempered green-eyed one from inside. "Get your butt back in here."

"Give me a second, Raph!" Bucky felt the railing under his fingers begin to bend, heard it screech, and gave a shout. The train was giving up on him before his body could. The only thing keeping him from falling into a snowy abyss he couldn't see the bottom of and it was about to send him screaming into it.

One more turtle decided to step put on the edge, staring at the two of them in tortured indecision, and Bucky knew that look. Cap was trying to decide if saving him was a lost cause.

And, ow, that stung a little, but that same conflict was actually pretty plain in his own mind. If he was going to go, he wanted to go on his own terms, not taking anyone with him.

Unfortunately, the chains around his skin meant he literally could not let go without dragging the kid above him down, too.

Cap rose his voice over the wind. "Mike, get back inside! I can handle it from here."

It looked like he'd made his decision. Bucky looked hard at him and saw regret tinged with guilt but all he felt was relief. Hope was the thing that kept him holding on. Deep down, he knew there wasn't any saving him.

The little guy above him shook, muscles straining to carry him. And while torture and captivity had slimmed him down quite a bit, it wasn't going to stop the kid's arm from popping out of his socket if he tried putting all his weight on it.

Bucky wanted to tell him to let go, that it's okay, but he opened his mouth and the frigid gale rushed in, nearly freezing his tongue solid.

The train tipped to one side as they careened past a curve, the wheels practically lifting off the tracks, and the blue-eyed turtle above him shot his brother a pleading look as he screamed, "Trust me, Leo!

And Bucky had a brother that sometimes looked at him like that, like he was looking to prove himself in a world that wanted to strip away everything he was and tell him he was nothing, and he knew what the captain was going to say before he said it.

Then the train broke under Bucky's fingers and he was falling, back and back, until a vicious jerk on his arm pulled him out of the free fall and launched him towards open door where Leonardo was standing with open arms. He barreled into him, sending them both crashing into the back of the train car, and the chain snapped taut around his arm for one, breathless second. Then it went slack.

The turtle under him shoved him off, running back to the gaping hole to find what he hoped to be his brother dangling off the edge so he could reach down, haul him up, and tell him what a moron he was for being so reckless.

But he looked over the edge and saw only rickety tracks and empty air. Dread pooling in his stomach, he slowly reentered the train car to see Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes holding a broken, twisted, snapped chain link in his hand.

If Bucky had lost a brother, the last thing he'd want to hear was 'he was a good soldier' or 'you have my condolences' so he said nothing. He watched without comment as the kid in front of him crumbled under the weight of a loss that never should have happened in a war he never should have been in, and listened as the war raged on around them.

"Looks like I'm going to have to ask for a rain check on those dancing lessons, Karai." The plane was filled with bombs marked with every populated city in the Allies and it was heading straight for New York. Even if Stockman could somehow calculate a way for them to bring the plane down, there was no way they could chance it falling back into the wrong hands. The only option was to fly it into the ice, deep in the ocean where no one would ever find it, and the three turtles all agreed that they were going down with it.

Despite their best efforts, Zola managed to escape, but not before setting a rampaging mutant insect on Donatello that nearly ripped his plastron in two. And standing in the cockpit, he had three lacerations to show for it. Though repeated observations suggested it was healing at an accelerated rate, he hadn't found the time between taking down the Shredder and hijacking the plane to tell his brothers, and now it seemed it wouldn't matter.

They heard Karai laugh over the radio. "Ugh," One arm slung around Leo's shoulders and the other holding onto Donnie, Raph stared out the windshield and dramatically rolled his eyes, "I can't believe the last thing I get to hear is you two flirting."

The radio crackled, like Karai had set it down for a moment, then her voice filtered through the speakers again, a slight tremor permeating her words that they pretended not to notice. "You boys don't have to do this. You know that, don't you? You can come back. You've already done more than enough for your country."

"It's alright, Karai," Donnie said. "No one forced us into this. We're saving the world because we want to." Bulbous, pink clouds parted under the plane's tip as Leo steepened their descent. Morning sunlight glittered off the snowy white surfaces of untouched sheets of ice.

Leo nodded his agreement. "This is our choice. We don't want anyone to die so we can live."

There was a small pause, and then a quiet, "I know." It was one of the many things she loved about them.

The ice was getting closer, pretty soon they'd be making impact. "It's just as well, I guess," Raph remarked, seconds before they submerged. "I was starting to miss my little brother."