(comes in with head bowed) I know. Smack me if you need to- two months is inexcusable. (cries)

Okay, I'm gonna try real hard to get back to work on this one. You'll probably have to suffer one more long hiatus at some point, but after that, I'll be back on the ball! But no worries, that won't be for a while.

So… I better get to work than, huh? I apologize in advance that this will be short- but please enjoy!

Beta read by the superb scribe- Sewer Slider herself! Go check out her fics!

Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT- though I'm surely their biggest fan in the state of Idaho, at the very least.

&&&&&

Titans Tower

"Are you sure that wasn't a scratch?" Cyborg asked for the hundredth time since they had come back last night. As he came outside of the Tower, Don forced back his snicker. The robotic teen walked with him, his concern for the T-Car overflowing like a dam that had burst. "Because it didn't look like my work; I don't think it was there before." He raised a finger. "And you came pretty close to that stop sign on that one turn."

The turtle stopped by the water, which reflected the light yellows and deep blue of the early morning sky across its shifting surface. "I didn't hit the sign," He assured the Titan; "Though it might've been that mailbox…"

"You crashed my baby into a mailbox?" Cyborg shrieked. "When did that happen? Was it when we picked up the milkshakes?" He shook his head. "Oh, I knew I shouldn't have let you take that detour, but my-"

Now Don couldn't hold his laughter back any longer. "Cyborg, relax! It was a joke;

I promise that she's just as spotless as the day you assembled her," The turtle swore.

Staring at him, the older teen took a few deep breaths before letting out a long one. "Man, that wasn't even funny. Didn't I condemn you to slave labor if the T-Car got damaged? I was about to bring out the ball and chain!"

Don laughed again before paling. "Wait… you don't really have leg irons, do you?"

Now it was Cy's turn to grin. "You can ask me that question again the next time you take my baby out for a ride."

"Can I drive it?" Mikey asked, suddenly coming out from behind the titan's metal frame. In the distance behind him Don could see his other two brothers and three of the other Titans coming along.

"Ah, hell no," Cy replied, turning halfway to see him. "Are you even old enough to drive?"

"I'm the same age as Don- you let him drive," Mike pointed out, raising his hands as if to say 'you've-dug-your-own-grave'.

"Hey, I wouldn't even let the Queen of England drive my car if I got the feeling that she might crash my baby into a wall," Cyborg clarified. "And who was the one who wrecked her sound system?" Mike's hand shot up proudly in the air. "That's what I thought. And who was the guy who helped me fix her up and clean her inside and out?"

"Oh, that was… Don," Mikey responded, realizing that he too had dug his own grave. And of course sealed himself in his coffin. Donny grinned at him.

Cy nodded. "That's right. I don't loan her out to the first guy I see- the T-Car is a finely tuned instrument of precision and speed and the most impressive weapons you'll see in a vehicle." He folded his arms and smiled. "She ain't a toy- she's my baby."

Overhead, a green crow cawed as it flew towards them. Reaching Michelangelo, its shape began to transform until the appearance of Beast Boy was clear. The Titan's two feet hit the ground and he yawned. "Sorry- bird talk. What I said was: If you love it so much, why don't you marry it, dude?"

The other superhero rolled his organic eye. "Please- even you could come up with something better than that."

Behind them, the others had arrived. Raven's hood was drawn up over her head. "That's giving Beast Boy a lot of credit, don't you think?" She spoke in her monotonous voice as Don's brothers laughed and moved over to the sub.

"Hey!" The green teen shouted.

Any more words from him were quickly lost. Flying two feet off of the ground, Starfire zoomed past him and hovered in front of the turtles. In her long arms, she was carrying various packages; and the smile that lit her face was so wide that Don feared it would break it in half. "I have ascertained that it is often customary to bestow gifts concealed in decorated paper upon one's friends when they depart." She happily put one package in each of their hands before letting her feet touch the ground. "Enjoy!"

Mikey's eyes widened considerably as he ran his fingers over the fine green wrapping paper. "Awesome!" He shouted, sitting down with the gift in his hands, set to open it up. "But we didn't get you anything."

"Yeah we did," Raph joked. "We decided to take you home with us after all and give these guys a break."

Cyborg laughed. "I like that one."

Sticking his tongue out at them, Mike turned his attention back to his gift. In seconds the paper had dissolved and the present was visible. "Sweet!" His brother yelled and as he held it up, Don could make out the video game. Something about monkeys. The orange-clad turtle's fingers vibrated as if he were itching to put it into a gaming system and play it this very second. He leapt to his feet and hugged Starfire. "Thank you!"

She giggled. "You are most welcome, friend," She replied, returning the hug.

Aware now that it was intended for them to open the packages before they left, the others began to open their gifts. Raph was near as messy as Mike and thus had his opened the fastest. He grinned broadly at the model of the motorcycle and thanked her- without the hug of course.

With his open, Don found a book on quantum physics and was relieved that this was a subject he had yet to read. He'd wanted to, of course, but between calculus and string theory, he hadn't had much time. Smiling, he thanked the Titan.

Leo's gift was a painting and he seemed pleased with it. Standing at his feet, he bowed in gratitude. "Thank you," He said, standing straight again. "For everything. Really, you guys have done more than you needed to."

Cyborg waved a metal hand, serious now. "Not a problem, man."

But the look on his brother's face made it clear just how much he appreciated what they had done. And though maybe Leo wasn't entirely aware of it, Don could see that the Teen Titans knew this.

Robin took out something. "One more thing before you go." In his hand were four yellow devices. Donny had seen them earlier; Cy had told the that they were Titan Communicators.

As he held them there, it soon became apparent that they were supposed to take them.

With each one of them holding one of the devices, Robin put his hand down and folded his arms over his chest. "I've seen the way the four of you fight and after talking about it with the team, we've come to a decision. Consider yourselves Honorary Teen Titans."

Mikey's eyes nearly bugged out. "Serious?"

His brother clutched at the Communicator and Don feared he would break it. "Take deep breaths, Michelangelo," He told him.

Beast Boy laughed. "Welcome to the jungle!"

Her face placid, Raven looked at them. "We'll need to be in contact with you regarding the weapons and your search over Gotham. The Communicators are fairly simple to use." Taking out her own, she showed them the functions.

Soon enough, it was time to go. One by one, they loaded into the sub, Donatello filing in last. He hesitated going in and looked at Cyborg. "You know… being declared a Teen Titan is a big honor," He stated.

Cy nodded. "Biggest one I've gotten."

Don wiggled his toes. "I think it'd be worthy of another go at the wheel behind the T-Car."

The Titan shoved him gently into the sub. "It won't be if I find a scratch on her," He grinned as he closed the hatch.

&&&&&

TMNT Lair

Dashing ahead, his two youngest brothers disappeared into the walls and the safety of their home. It seemed like an eternity since Leonardo had seen the lair. Sure, it had had merely been a matter of days but considering how much time he spent here, each hour apart from his home had felt like a year and every minute from his family a decade. As he entered into the confines of the sewer-bound sanctuary, the turtle understood that those figures didn't quite add up correctly as far as mathematics went, but he wasn't a genius like Donatello so what did it matter?

His feet lovingly caressed the stone floor without a single movement and everything, in that single moment, started to feel right again. Leo looked upon his home and grinned. Funny- though he couldn't tell for sure, nothing looked out of place. Not Mikey's skateboard on the counter in the kitchen, nor the strewn papers amongst the empty boxes of pizza in Don's lab; everything from the spotless dojo and Raph's punching bag to the den with its rescued-from-the-dumpsters-and-fixed-up furniture was absolutely perfect. He couldn't help but grin as he took it all in.

He was broken out of his spell by a light slap on the shell. He turned to look at Raphael, who smirked at him. "Admiring our housekeeping skills?"

Leo wrinkled his beak. "If you call that a skill I suggest you keep your day job," He joked. "No, I was just thinking that nothing's changed. It's… nice," He finished.

His brother looked at him seriously. "You were gone, bro, but it wasn't for a lifetime. Not that much can change in so many days."

"You sure about that?" Leo asked him.

Before he could answer, there was a tapping of a cane. Looking away from his sibling, the ninja turned to find his master and father, a sight far more familiar and comfortable than home. The old rat smiled gently upon seeing him before hurrying over, Leo helping by closing the distance. His Sensei wrapped his arms around him. "My son."

The young ninja opened his mouth to respond but found no words would come. Closing it, he simply returned his father's embrace.

"It is good to have you back home, Leonardo," Master Splinter told him.

Leo chuckled. "I was just telling Raph the same thing, Master," He told him, silently grateful that the old rat did not ask any questions about what had happened. It was not all-together horrible, but it was not something he wished to speak about just yet. Besides, he knew all too well that those inquiries would come sooner than he wished them to.

He was surprised to feel another pair of arms join the hug- Michelangelo's, no doubt. Craning his neck gently, Leo confirmed his suspicions upon seeing the color of his youngest brother's arms. An olive shade soon joined them as Donatello couldn't resist. Mikey sniffed playfully. "Come on, Raphy- before you hurt Leo's feelings."

"Yeah right," Leo laughed.

Raph's voice was as gruff as ever behind him. "Don't call me 'Raphy'."

But it wasn't even sixty seconds later that the ninja in blue felt the remaining brother's arms wind around his shell and then Splinter's left arm, his other hand stopping on Don's shoulder, every piece of him avoiding Mikey for the time-being. And though, as they'd gotten older and refrained from such displays of affection among each other in years past, Leo decided that this too was right.

If anything, it was the most natural feeling of them all.

&&&&&

Somewhere in Jump City

"Agent Bishop," Slade addressed his new partner as the man walked into the room. The man kept his back turned as he spoke but he was well aware of the movements of the government agent behind him. "You're early. If I could find nothing to respect about you, I'd still have to admire your timeliness."

Bishop did not respond to the compliment. "It has been a month now. Have you set the plan into motion?"

Slade exhaled quietly. "Of course I have. You saw so for yourself before you left here."

"You merely planted the seeds, Mister Slade," Bishop said, adjusting the sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"And seeds need time to sprout," Slade reprimanded him, turning his head. "But rest assured- we're now starting to yield some green."

"My sources tell me that the Titans have remained in Jump City and there have been no plans thus far to visit New York," The man informed him.

"Have you ever considered going to catch your prey instead of waiting for them to come to you?" Slade asked him. He was a hunter by nature- a hunter of men with a refined sense of taste.

Bishop straightened his tie. "An unwise policy when the prey is very familiar with the hunting grounds. I prefer to have the upper hand at all times. How soon do you figure it until the Titans react to the information they've gotten hold of?"

"Oh, they already have. But Robin is smart enough to recognize danger when he sees it. They're waiting for a threat and their guard is down now- it's the perfect time to strike," The one-eyed man spoke.

A dark grin cut open the lower half of the other's face. "I'll give the word."

&&&&&

New York City

It'd been a good month since they had left Titans Tower, but Mikey kept in communication with Beast Boy at least twice a week. Typically the conversations started out with updates on crime activity in both cities before moving on to casual conversation which consisted of anything from video games to cooking… but which usually ended in plans for The Ultimate Prank.

Lying upside-down on his bed, Mike spoke into his Communicator. He loved the thing- it made him feel like a real superhero… only equipped with a cell phone that he'd never get a bill for. Not that he'd get billed for the Shell Cell- but who wanted to talk to Raph?

The thing was great. Each Communicator had its own separate frequency and to talk to someone, all you needed to do was call that frequency in. It was like a phone number.

"I don't know," The turtle said. "Do we have to use Silly Putty? I mean, can't we find something different?"

The voice on the other end paused for a while. "Well what would you use?" Beast Boy asked.

"Tricky question," Mike would give him that. "How about that tofu junk you use? That has potential."

"Dude! I eat that! I'm not wasting food!"

"Duh- I never said it was food," He joked.

There was a scream on the other end. "As soon as I see your stinking face I'm gonna T-Rex slam it into the next country!"

"I was kidding!" Mike defended himself. "It's better than Starfire's cooking," He offered.

Beast Boy laughed. "My food's worthy of five-star appraisal, but I think sludge might be better than some of the stuff she makes us eat."

"Ouch. That's harsh."

"Not really- I swear that's what we had last night." The Titan joked good-naturedly.

There was a yell from downstairs. "Mikey, let's go!" Raph said.

"Okay! Coming!" He shouted back. "Sorry, dude. Gotta go."

"All right. Me too," The green shape-shifter explained. "Later," The screen cleared. Quickly flipping back around, Mike stuffed the Communicator besides his Shell Cell in his belt.

Soon, he was alongside his brothers outside of the sewers, up across the rooftops of the city. It was a fact that never ceased to amaze the ninja in orange; they lived in the lowest parts of their world but when they came out, they traveled along its tallest buildings.

Don reached the end of one rooftop. "So where will be looking today?" He asked. "I thought we might want to check out the warehouse district; does anyone else have any ideas?"

"Sounds good to me," Leo said.

Raph folded his arms and stood on the edge of the building, alley side. "I don't see why we have to look anywhere. We've been out patrollin' this town for a month and seen nothin' out of the ordinary. Why are we still doing this?"

"Because, Raph," Leo spoke, "It's still a very real threat. And we promised- we owe it to the Titans." When no one spoke, he continued. "So let's go- warehouse district it is. And everything else on the way."

"Leo," Raph tried to reason with him in that way of his; "We've been there before. We check out that place more than any other."

"It doesn't hurt to be thorough," Leo told him, already setting off.

With a growl, Raph followed, the others close after him. Mikey leaped and landed soundly on the next roof. "It sure hurts my feet some. Why'd you have to pick a place that's so far out, Don?"

"There's a lot of criminal activity down there," The purple-banded ninja reasoned. "And… it's rather close to the junkyard."

Raph glared at him. "Remind me to tackle you when we get home."

They all came to a sudden halt when Leo stuck his hand out, his pause so sudden that no one had noticed it. If it weren't for that motion, they all probably would've collided into him.

"What is it?" Don asked.

Leo pointed at an area in the darkness with his chin. They weren't quite yet at the warehouse district yet but there were some abandoned apartments across the street. In one empty and disfigured room a tower of red lights glowed through the glass. So soft was its radiance that it took Mike several seconds to notice it.

"Just some kids playing with flashlights?" Raph took a wild guess.

Leo watched the tower closely. "I think we should check it out," He was already stepping over the safe borders of their rooftop and traveling on its edge. "Raph, Don- you stay here. Mikey, I want you to come with me," He said, hopping across the thin street to the other side, giving the youngest sibling no time for complaints.

Mike dropped his hands to his sides. "That's so unfair." Rubbing his palms together, he began to mimic his elder brother's moves and soon he too was on the other side. Leo grinned at him and together they climbed up, their fingers groping at the once decorative features of the apartments that now served as their hand-holds.

They peeked their heads up, allowing their eyes to view the interior of the room through the filthy glass. In the murk, shadowy figures could be seen. Hopefully, if they too could be seen, that was how they would appear.

Unlike sight, hearing was not impaired. Mike listened to a voice speak. "I want the device set to minimum power. The slightest mistake could prove fatal."

The turtle blinked and looked at his brother. "Is that Stockman?"

Leo hushed him and watched the shadows. It was funny, the glowing tower looked vaguely familiar. But it wasn't until it began to turn onto its side and take the form of a cannon did Mike recognize it to be one of the weapons in the pictures from Titans Tower.

Something large was set in front of the cannon. It had the shape of a human but in the glow of the light appeared to have metallic qualities. A robot? A fancy statue? Whatever it was, it was completely still. As soon as it was stable, the man who had carried it backed away and behind the cannon. Stockman gave the word to fire.

A beam of red light, no thicker than the width of a piece of pencil led, shot at the statue. The light was so bright that Mikey could barely stand it. When he was able to open his eyes, the entire figure was bright red and pulsating.

And in a flash, it and the small section of wooden floor it had been standing on had completely dissipated.

&&&&&

Not as short as I feared. Cool. (grins widely)

So… I hope you enjoyed the chappie! I won't have many updates for a while- I'm going on vacation for about two weeks now. For any of you who enjoy my other works, hopefully when I return I will have an update for both Infection and Cork.

So please review! Thanks for reading!