Chapter Text
Donatello reached a breaking point today and told Master Splinter he is unable to cure the brain worm. I was angry he so easily accepted the outcome and snapped at Donnie to try harder because of how much it would mean to Sensei.
He replied that I was the leader and I could find the answer myself. Then for some reason he turned on Raphael who just wrote her off as a lost cause which, surprisingly, upset Michelangelo. All of us arguing earned us a lecture on unity and how we should think as one, but then Donnie stated he was leaving to meet April and ignored my calls for him to stay.
Some leader I am, my team still doesn’t listen to me.
I vowed to not give up and asked Sensei if the Healing Hands mantra or any of the ancient scrolls would help, but he was uncertain of his ability to do so. If he can’t do it, then who can? Deciding to call a meeting in the dojo to discuss further, Mikey brushed me off saying he had ‘stuff to do, bruh.’
Sometimes being leader is completely meaningless.
My bad day got worse when April arrived stating she hadn’t spoken to Donnie all day and I got a suspicious call from ‘Mikey’ which we expected might be a trap…
Raph and I found our younger brothers tied up in an old warehouse only to realize too late they were holograms which Karai had staged to capture us. Worse became worst when she was joined by Bebop, Rocksteady, Rahzar, Xever, and Tiger Claw. I ordered April to go warn Master Splinter, but we were all knocked unconscious.
Then I woke up to Karai explaining through a speaker that my brothers and I were each placed in a room with a unique trap. Xever designed Raphael’s room that they called ‘The Hot Head’ while they taunted him to find a way out. Donatello’s was ‘The Brain Boggler’ which gave him an electric zap every time he made a mistake solving a puzzle. Michelangelo was forced to wait as a tank filled before dousing him with mutagen, named ‘Flush-O-Matic’ by Bebop and Rocksteady.
I knew she designed mine when she called it ‘The Courage Slayer’ and, just like Raph’s, I could tell she was mocking our personal nicknames. Then she taunted me hitting below the belt saying my skills weren’t all that formidable in order to save my brothers…
I begged for her to talk to me but, even better, I heard Raph’s voice! We realized that he was below me, Donnie could hear us through the vents, and somewhere we could hear Mikey calling to us too.
But with Raph desperately asking me what do we do, Donnie crying out in pain while being zapped and Mikey screaming in fear about being double mutated… I started to doubt if we would be able to work together and help each other out.
Until my genius brother with his logical solutions was able to suggest perhaps the mechanical and electronic circuits of the traps were connected! It was just enough to help me plan what to do… I was just able to barely dodge the blades which destroyed the floor, giving me access to Raphael who was nearly passed out from heat stroke. Using one of the katana to dislodge bricks, I quickly cut the electrical cords to shut off the heat and grant my brother reprieve from the flames. Without a moment to spare, we cut Mikey loose. Donnie’s proved more challenging since he was connected to so many wires giving him electrical shocks; cutting them would fry him rather than free him.
But then my awesome brother with his creative ideas hugged Donnie tightly, redirecting voltage away in order to free him. Despite the pain he was obviously in while being electrocuted, he just grit his teeth and joked about being born with ‘naturally rare awesomeness’ before he collapsed.
I would have to agree, yes… yes he is. All three of my brothers are.
We stopped Tiger Claw just before he attacked Sensei and April, but not in time for Miwa.
And maybe in the adrenaline rush of nearly being sliced, burned, re-mutated, and electrocuted I was just so relieved that the rest of us were okay, so grateful my three younger brothers were safe because I didn’t fail at saving the lives of those I’ve lived with my entire life… That, for the moment, I just couldn’t be bothered to worry too much about the sister I didn’t grow up with and was so relieved when we left to go home.
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Now that it’s over, we’ve been hearing how lame his room name was and that instead Mikey named it Flush of Fear or Toilet of Terror or Dump of Doom. Donnie is taking a break from anything that requires electricity other than watching television with us and I’ve never seen Raph eat so much ice cream before. I actually caught him with his head shoved in the freezer, standing there for a full minute before I decided to let him know I was walking into the kitchen—which he insisted he was just grabbing some ice cream.
I’m not sure how many nights we’ll be having sleepovers in the pit, but I’m not ready for us to be in separate rooms again right now.
