Another new story, although ti won't be as long as some the other one is. I'm excited to write it, more so now that the new episodes have begun. I'm not sure who I want to be the second main character, so Michelangelo is tentative, but still likely.

Set in 2012 universe, after Into the Depths (so spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen it!). Some small hints of AprilxDonnie might get squeezed in here. There will likely be a bit of angst and drama. And lots of family, because I love family. More so with these turtles! I estimate this will be about five to six chapters long, depending on how I break them up.

I think that's it for now, so thank you for reading! I appreciate all the reviews, favorites, alerts, and such, and will reply to them as soon as I am able! Until then, thank you!

"...my friend, are you all right? Michelangelo?" A hand, large and rough with the distinct sewer smell, jostled him by the shoulder. Black was all he could see, his eyelids too heavy and his mind too fogged to connect any thought to action. His body thrummed with pain, straight from the back of his head and down his toes. Another shake from above forced his eyes to flutter. Blue eyes met washed out green, and Leatherhead broke into an uneasy smile.

"Good. You were unresponsive before. I was worried the blast may have hit you after all." Michelangelo blinked several times, squinting at the dripping, curved sewer tunnel until it came into proper focus. Throbbing erupted behind his eyes and he groaned, pressing a hand to his head. He hissed when he brushed a cut on his cheek, a light film of blood streaking dripping from the gash.

"Dude...what happened?" Mikey glanced around, eyes widening when he saw several Kraang bots in a heap nearby. Limbs were torn from the shells, metal shards and shavings littering the ground. "I mean, things were going all right, then these guys just come in and BAM. No manners."

Mikey missed the concerned look on Leatherhead's face, as well as the slur to his own words. Mikey's head still ached and he felt oddly tired, even as he forced himself to sit up. He reached for the memories, details of the fight swirling through his head like blurred lights on a freeway. He could see himself fighting, kicking and flipping his way through the Kraang, but how they came to find him and Leatherhead escaped his mind. Then an image of Leatherhead swam to his thoughts, surrounded by the droids as they took aim with some machine. Mikey's heart skipped, his body moved, a flash-

"But that light."

"You were not hit. I made sure of that. I feared one of them had still managed to-"

"What, no!" Mikey shook his head, his brain rattling. "They were aiming for you, dude! Did you get hit? Did you check? Did you shrink? Turn into-"

"Please look at me, Michelangelo. I'm perfectly all right." And Mikey did look at Leatherhead, the gator towering over him. Aside from the old scars and tears to his skin, Leatherhead did seem unharmed. Heart still skipping uncomfortably at the close call, Mikey stood, ignoring the way he stumbled. Leatherhead turned to the Kranng's shells, his eyes turning cold. "And I think I found what they were trying to hit me with during your visit."

Mikey tilted his head, still trying to rein in his thoughts while Leatherhead dug into the pile of metal and pulled out a small, box shaped contraption. Mikey's eyes widened and he zipped over to Leatherhead, sliding his finger along the sleek metal side. The familiar pinkish purple light of the Kraang danced in two bulbs fastened at the top, and there were several buttons along the right side, covered y a thick plastic casing. The urge to press one immediately hit him, but the casing protected both the device and Mikey.

"They seemed rather...intent on making sure we couldn't access this right away."

"I wonder what it does! And why they want to use it on you." Mikey worried his lip, glancing at Leatherhead before breaking into a grin. "But I bet Donnie can figure it out! He's great with all kinds of tech and stuff like that. And he'll have me to help him." Mikey slid the device out of Leatherhead's hands, holding it toward his chest. "So I'll take this and make sure the Kraang can't get it. And figure out what they're trying to do. Well, Donnie will, anyway."

"Donatello. He is the one I..." Leatherhead trailed off, eyes growing sad. The bouts of anger left his memory during his time with the others fuzzy, but he could recall brief flashes of the tall, lanky turtle in his grip. By the head. And the absolute fear toward the end when they have recovered the power source was fresh and clear.

Mikey saw the worry in Leatherhead's face and shook his head, waving it off. "You worried about that? Pssh, Don's made of stronger stuff. You just startled him." Leatherhead shot him a flat look and Mikey shrank a bit. "Okay, so maybe he's a little scared of you. But he'll still help. He knows you're a good guy. And he loves it when he gets to look at tech like this. So relax." Seemingly set, Michelangelo rolled his shoulders before tucking the device safely under his arm. His eyes remained lightly glazed, not quite focusing on what was around him.

"My friend, perhaps it would be wise to wait a few more moments. You did hit the ground rather hard."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm fine! My head's pretty thick. I mean-wait a sec." Mikey scrunched his face. "Well, you know what I mean. I'm okay. I'll be back soon, so just lay low. Maybe find a new tunnel to stay in for a while in case these guys decide to make a second visit." With a final wave Mikey disappeared into the shadows, his laughter still echoing down several tunnel lines.

Leatherhead waited until the faint sound stopped before nodding to himself, shoulders relaxing slightly. A small smile flitted across his face, eyes calming. "Michelangelo...thank you."

He stood a little straighter and started down the tunnel, the idea of a new hiding spot sounding better by the second. High-pitched chattering caught his attention and he looked down, spotting a small, baby rat squirming with some loose newspaper. Kneeling down, Leatherhead scooped the young rat up in his hand, watching the beady eyes widen. "Now where is your mother, young one?" Leatherhead cradled it to his chest and started walking again, finding it odd that there was only one baby rat nearby.

Donatello held his breath, holding the tweezers mere centimeters from the wiring of the his personal T-phone. His heart drummed against his rib cage the closer the tweezers came to the familiar red wire that triggered the self-destruct, imagined or not. One mistake in modification could trigger the explosion and he would have to start from scratch.

Again.

And the blue wire was in his sights. All he had to do was pull it closer to the front and he could splice it open. Just do it. Just reach in there...that's it. Just grab it with the tweezers and pull-

"Donnie! Donnie!" Don's hands shook violently as Mikey threw the door to the lab open, and the tweezers tangled with the wires within. Don winced at the click he heard within the phone and ducked behind his desk, covering his head. Several long seconds passed and Mikey eventually said. "Um, what are you doing?"

Feeling a twitch forming behind his right eye, Don sighed and whipped around at Mikey. "Do you realize what you almost did?"

"Almost did? Doesn't that mean I didn't do it?" But Donatello wasn't listening anymore. As the shock of nearly having his phone blow up in his face faded, he stood and got a good look at his brother. His brother who currently had several scrapes and cuts on his arms, a slowly darkening bruise on his head, and a strange mist to his eyes.

"Dude, quit looking at me like that. It's freaking me out."

"Sit, Mikey." Donatello grabbed Michelangelo by the arm and thrust him to the nearest chair, ignoring Mikey's protests as he reached for the nearest first-aid kit. "What happened? Did you get attacked? And why are you running around with a concussion?"

"Aw, c'mon. Don't go all doctor on me, bro. I need you to look at something." Mikey jutted out his lower lip and made his bright blue eyes shine, but Donatello just shushed him.

"Mikey, the only thing I need to be looking at is that bruise on your head. Where are the others? They should have said something."

"They went out scavenging before I even left, Don. See, this is why you need to leave your lab more. You sit here cooped up all day and the world just-ow! Not so hard, it's tender there." Donatello didn't respond, but he was more gentle as he poked around the bruise on Mikey's skull. Donnie grabbed some peroxide and bandages for the cuts, but his eyes stayed on Mikey's head.

"Any memory loss?"

Mikey tilted his head. "Um...no?"

"I'm asking the wrong person about this."

"Wh-what? But who else would you ask?"

Again, Donatello didn't respond, moving back in front of Michelangelo and shining a flashlight in his eyes. Mikey sat in silent awe at how quickly his brother managed to pull out the supplies he needed, and in seconds a few tablets of aspirin were being pushed in his hands. "I'll get some water. Hold on."

"I really need you to look at something-" Donatello disappeared without a second glance. Mikey huffed, kicking his legs and glaring down at the contraption sitting in his lap. "Normally he'd be all over you."

Michelangelo jumped when Donnie appeared in front of him, glancing at the device and swiftly removing it from his hands, placing it on a nearby workbench and forcing the cup of water into Mikey's hands instead. Mikey opened his mouth to argue, but quickly snapped his jaw shut at the harsh and withering look Donatello gave him. He took the medicine without another word, the headache that he had previously forgotten slowly making a throbbing comeback.

"Man, Donnie. You're scary in doctor mode."

"Well, someone has to take this seriously. Do you know how bad it is to end up with multiple concussions in a short span of time while the brain is still developing?" Don sighed, raising an eye ridge. "I mean, I know there's not much hope for you, but I don't want to make it any worse."

"Aw, thanks, bro. I knew you cared about me! I-hey! Wait!" Donnie chuckled, pulling some band-aids and disinfectant from the kit and cleaning a few of the deeper cuts on Mikey's face. Donnie's eyes met Mikey's, watching his face twist from the sting of the chemical. Donnie shook his head while he pulled away and said, "All right, tell me what happened."

Rolling his eyes, Mikey sighed explosively. "I went to visit Leatherhead." Mikey watched the muscles in Donatello's arms tighten, but said nothing. "And when we were talking, some Kraang jumped us. I fought them off, of course. No one can stop the fastest turtle around. Moved over there and they were all like, 'wha?' Well, they looked as confused as a Kraang bot could. And..." He trailed off when Donnie coughed, switching tracks in his story. "But there was so many of them. And Leatherhead was sort of freaking out, and then trying to stop himself from freaking out, so it was sort of hard to fight them off. I mean seriously, waves of them."

"Then, when it seems like we're finally getting somewhere, two of these guys take out that thing." Mikey pointed to the device on Donnie's workbench, and Don's eyes lit up when he saw it. Mikey smirked, glad his brother finally noticed the tech. "And they tried to use it on Leatherhead. I wasn't having none of that and pushed him out of the way. And a few of them jumped me from the side, 'cause they knew it was the only way they'd be able to get a hit in."

Donnie snorted and Mikey glared at his brother. "Please, you know I can take those guys on. So, they don't fight fair. And I hit the ground pretty hard. Knocked me out for a second. Next thing I know, Leatherhead's waking me up and there's a steaming pile of Kraang on the side."

Donatello nodded, leaning on the wall. His eyes drifted to the device, a sort of hunger in his eyes as he studied the tech. Mikey hummed a bit, watching his brother. "I told Leatherhead you'd take a look at it. They were trying to hit him, and just him, with it. They spent a while trying to aim it right. And I figured if anyone would be able to figure it out, it'd be you."

Mikey grinned when he saw Donnie's cheeks darken, pushing himself from the chair. Donatello's eyes snapped to him and he almost pushed Mikey back into the chair, but Mikey side-stepped him, rushing away before Donatello could argue. "Anyway, think you can take a look at it?"

"Of course." Donnie grabbed the chair that Mikey had vacated and rolled it over to the workbench, plopping into it and hovering over the device. Mikey hovered next to him, still humming under his breath as he watched Don take the device in his hands.

Donatello turned it around in his hands, being careful of the casings and bulbs. His eyes narrowed in concentration and he focused on the the bottom, reaching for a screwdriver and popping it open. Strange wires riddled with neon pink light glowed within, and Donnie's eyes widened. Mikey started bouncing where he stood, getting excited at the way his brother looked at the device. But Donatello soon replaced the wire's covering and moved onto separating the casing, sliding a finger over the plastic.

Michelangelo wilted as the minutes ticked by and nothing exciting happened. His eyes roved the other contraptions and inventions in his brother's lab, his hands starting to itch.

"Don't even think about it." Mikey froze in place, eyes sliding to Donatello.

"How do you do that?"

"Years of knowing how you work. I need to get the casing open too. Maybe I can see which wires go where, I can find the one that'll release it. I may just have to force it open though. It'll be too dangerous to screw with the wires without knowing what it does. And look at this."

Donatello flipped the device over, tilting the bottom corner up. A small panel was fastened to the bottom, also covered by plastic. It reminded Mikey of a weight scale, complete with red line going over the numbers. But instead there were strange symbols he didn't recognize. "These are probably the settings."

"And what do they mean?"

"I'm not sure." Donatello said it more to himself than Mikey. He stood from the chair and started toward his room, Michelangelo hot on his trail. Donnie put the device on his desk and started to dig under his bed, pulling out a small and beat up notebook and placing it on the desk. He opened it to a random page, pulling out a pencil and sketching the device out at several angles. Mikey watched him for a bit, but he soon started looking around Donatello's room. His eyes shifted to broken electronics waiting for Donnie to repair them, then to the small beginnings of new projects.

"Please don't touch anything in here either," Donatello said, smiling at the groan he heard from Mikey. He paused in his sketching, looking over at Mikey and biting his lip. "Leatherhead's being attacked a lot down here."

Mike's face darkened and he nodded. "Tell me about it. They know he's done here, and it's hard for a guy that size to hide, you know?"

Donatello nodded, swallowing. Mikey tilted his head to the side as Donatello tapped the notebook with his pencil. "I guess," Donnie said eventually, "we need to find him a safer place to hide. And I know that the two hundred and twenty-third tunnel is really hard to get to with the partially collapsed wall. Hard to see too, because of a mistake when it was constructed. It led to tunnels two-ten and two-eleven instead of two-twenty-four, and it was too late to change it by the time they discovered the mistake. So...that might be a good place to go."

Mikey's face broke into a grin and he hugged his brother from behind, making Donnie splutter. "Mi-Mikey!"

"That's perfect! Thanks, Donnie." Mikey couldn't stop smiling, even when he released his brother. "I knew he'd grow on you."

"As long as he doesn't grab my face again."

Mikey snorted, waving his hand. "Water under the bridge."

Donnie just shook his head, turning once more to the device. "So, when they fired it, did it hit anything?"

"Um...I'm not sure. I didn't see it hit anything." Mikey walked over to the machine and picked it up, making Don squawk.

"What are you doing? We don't even know what it does yet!"

"But that's the point! Maybe if we use it, we'll figure out what it does." Mikey smiled at the the plan forming in his mind, and Donatello felt a sense of dread form in his stomach. "It'll be a lot faster than just making a bunch of sketches."

"Those sketches are to help see its design from all angle To try and add changes without applying them right away, It avoids a lot of potential errors. I'll be doing it for the inside too. And we're not going to use it. What if it's supposed to kill someone instantly?"

Mikey raised an eye ridge. "But wouldn't they just aim it at all of us?"

Donatello mumbled to himself, "And then there's the matter of the power cell. They wouldn't want to kill the only ones who know where it is."

"See? So what's the problem?"

"It's still not safe, Mikey, that's the problem. Now put it down and let me take a look at it." Michelangelo puffed out his cheeks but handed Donatello the device all the same. Donnie turned the machine on its side so the buttons faced him and reached in the desk drawer for a small needle. He dug it underneath the plastic and pulled until the casing popped open.

"Cool," Mikey whispered, eyes zeroing in on the buttons.

"Just because you can touch them doesn't mean you should." Donatello turned the device over, eyes switching between the buttons and the wiring as he opened the bottom again. "Not all of them lead to the switches. Some are probably for the settings, but I still can't find where to adjust them."

"I still think we should use it. We can skip a bunch of this."

"And what if something bad happens? Just because it can't kill us doesn't mean it won't do something bad," Donnie snapped.

"You're such a worrier. I promise, it'll be fine." Mikey reached over Donnie's shoulder, trying to pry the device from his fingers. Donnie's grip only increased, and he glared at Mikey.

"Don't start, Mikey. This is a very delicate process. You can't just go around and start pressing a bunch of random buttons, hoping it'll turn out all right."

Mikey huffed, putting his weight on Donnie's shoulders. "That's why it worked when we went to hack into the Kraang's computers, and why I was right about which wire to cut on the bomb."

"Dumb luck doesn't replace skill, Michelangelo!"

"I've got plenty of skill!" Mikey took a deep breath and shoved himself forward, knocking the machine from Donatello's hands but failing to catch it in his own. They both yelped, Donnie catching the device in his hands, careful of the bulbs that nearly broke against his chest. Michelangelo took a breath and reached over now that Donnie was distracted, pressing the closest button.

The light bulbs flickered on, the neon pink light dancing inside the glass and creating a current between the two. Donnie shouted, roaring at Mikey but shoving his brother out of the way. The bulbs generated heat against Donnie's chest and he glanced at the panel, watching the dial shake in its place.

Mikey started apologizing, fearing he'd broken the thing before a flash of light blinded both turtles. A blazing wave of heat filled the room and Mikey groaned at the white in his vision, closing his eyes and willing the burning to stop. There was a thud and yelp and Mikey forced his eyes open, vision blurring as he tried to focus.

The device now laid on the floor, the bulbs miraculously in place but several wires hanging out of the bottom. Mikey whipped around to face Donnie in his chair, his heart falling into his stomach.

A tot-sized Donatello stared up at him, rounded face full of fear.