Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Waking up was instantaneous.

No half-awake blinking, no invisible weight pressing against sleep-weary limbs, no vague recollections of dreams fading into the unknown.

Leo knew exactly what had happened.

And he knew exactly who was missing.

What he did not anticipate, however, was the glass dome encasing his sleeping pod. He slammed face-first against the barrier as he attempted to jump from bed and into action, dropping back down like a rock ricocheting off a windshield. A groan bubbled up past his beak, hands shooting up to rub at his snout to dispel the shock.

Smooth move. A great start to a shitty day. Ugh.

The glass shifted with a hiss of air, warmth seeping into the refrigerator-cold pod as the door whirred open. Leo sat up again, his heart rate spiking at how the scene eerily reminded him of the Donnie pods a few months before. Leo, trapped in a metal and glass box, separated from his captured, injured brother. And yet again- this was all his fault.

Oh, Donnie.

Leo’s core twisted at the thought of his brother. Before leaving the Lair, Donnie had gotten alerts for Krang tech surfacing on his radar. They’d already found and destroyed a great deal in the aftermath of the invasion, not wanting it to fall into corrupt hands. Presently, they were only dealing with the final crumbs. Anything still tucked away in odd corners and crannies around the blast zone. Nothing operational. Nothing dangerous.

It was supposed to be quick. A run-of-the-mill chore completed on the way to the Run of the Mill. So simple that Raph and Mikey could go ahead and order. They’d be right behind them.

The attack was too clean. It was expertly calculated, driving them into a corner with brutal efficiency. This was something that took planning, intel, and stealth. And being that he and Donnie weren’t due a surprise party for another month at least, Leo’s fears could only run rampant regarding the why of their abduction.

Leo did have a few solid guesses, right off the bat. This had to be a facility of some sort. Government, maybe? Someone with money at the very least. And from the atrocious orange jumpsuit he was wearing in place of his gear, he could gather that this wasn't a social visit or allyship attempt. The two spring-like braces affixed to his calves were a mystery. They looked nothing like any knee or leg brace he'd ever seen... perhaps a form of impact-absorption technology? 

He was shut in a small cell with four floor-to-ceiling clear glass walls, placed dead center within a larger room. The larger room was awash in unnerving sterile white- from walls to floors to lighting. Too perfect. Too pristine. It just screamed sci-fi bullshit or alien horror movie. Beyond the sleeping pod, his cell had a toilet and a small table holding a radio, coffee cup, and clipboard. Outside, he could see at least two video cameras pointed his way.

Whoever these abductors were, they were watching him.

Two electric countdown clocks flickered to life moments after Leo spotted the cameras. One outside the room and the other on the wall above his sleeping pod. Not ominous. Not at all. They simultaneously began to filter down from one minute, with microseconds and nanoseconds cycling faster than the numbers could switch. Before Leo could make a move, speakers crackled from the ceiling.

“Hello and again, welcome to the EPF Science computer-aided enrichment center.”

Leo’s head snapped up, frantically looking for the source of the sound once Donnie’s voice bounced off the walls. Did his brother have eyes on him? Leave it to Donnie to already be in their systems. He hated to admit, he owed his brother a few slices at least for the hustle. Maybe a whole pie.

“We hope your brief detention in the relaxation vault has been a pleasant one. Your specimen has been processed and we are now ready to begin the test proper.”

“Donnie? DONNIE!” Leo called, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. The cameras followed his movement. “Where are-”

“Before we start, however, keep in mind that although fun and learning are the primary goals of the enrichment center activities, serious injuries may occur. For your own safety, and the safety of others, p̸̩̃̏͊ḽ̶̇͊è̵̦â̸̰̗̥̿͘s̴̙̲͋̏e̷͍̮̣̒̽͝ ŗ̷̘̥̩̭̗̺̆̊e̵̬̝̼̽f̷̡̡̧͉̪͔̯̌̌̔̚r̵̡͔̰̬̫͕̘͚̉̉̈́͒̾a̷̰͗̔ḭ̷̡̟̖̗͒̋͐͐̎̄̂ṅ̴̟͚̮̤̮̂̒͋̉͝͠ f̸̛̜̄̊͂̓́̽̌͗͠r̴̛͍͔̉͗̅͋̚o̵̧̙͎̙̼̫̞͍͚̖̔͂̇̉̊̃̌̎̂m̶̧̰̈́̂̄͌̈̇-”

Before Leo could comment on Donnie’s rude interruption and question what he was going on about, static crackled over the speakers- loud, warbled, and unintelligible. Other than a few words.

Ṅ̷̡̛̝͈̳̰̠̲̣̬͕̮̳̝̾̈͒́̊̌̒͊͒̕͝͠ã̸̢͕̝͉͇̙͚̜͔̰̫͚̥̳̋̀̌̄̔̈͗̑͑̈́̀̕̕͜ͅr̶̡̡̘̖̦̝̺̯̪̦̞̞̪̠̍̊͌̽͂͗̓͒̈́̿̍̓̋̚͘̕d̴͓̀̕̕͜õ̴̡̧̧͈̗̘̪̻͚̹̦̖͎̫͍̲͗.

“Donnie, I don’t under-”

Ơ̸̢̡̧͎͚͕͓̩̥͇̰͌̈́̓̑̽̀̅̌̚͝͝ú̶̡͇̪͓̻̲̺̫͈̮̒̇̂̈̇̑̀͗͛͗ť̵̢̲͚͍̱̤̰̩̘̆́͂͗̀̎̆́̂.̵̢̢̭̭̱̹͕̬̙̞̥̳̉ͅ

“Can you even hea-”

P̸̰̞͓̰̪̂̋̈́̋́̈́͂̚l̴̮̰̓̇̄͐͝è̸͎͔͇͎̬̳͛͌a̴͕̗̦̮̬̺̬͐͌̽̇̚͝͝s̸̨̛̠̄̊͐̓̈́̔̅̚ḛ̷̢̡̗̼̻́̂̐̿!̵̢͙̩̦͍̜͗͋̋̃̌͠͝

The lighting flickered a pale violet during the static, rapid and frantic. A shiver ran down Leo’s spine, terror overtaking the fear rattling around in his head and lighting a fire of anger in his chest. He’d gotten ahead of himself. Classic Leo. Of course, it would never be this easy! Something was going on here, and if anyone had put a hand on his brother-

The static cuts out. Donnie’s voice rings out again, steady and clear. No emotion. “Stand back. The portal will open in three, two, one.”

Leo’s eyes snap to the wall at the end of his sleeping pod, seeing an orange portal flourish to life as the timer reaches zero.

A portal, huh? Not one of his. Nor one of Mikey’s either, despite the color. It didn’t have the energy of anybody in the family. Or the energy of any portal that he’d seen before. It just felt empty. Dead.

But it was a way out. Leo wasn’t getting any more new information from this place and he needed to find Dee. That had been his brother over the intercom. But Donnie didn’t seem to have freedom over what he was saying. So, Leo had to operate on the idea that at this point, he and his brother were both still trapped. Both still pieces in their captors' grand design. However, sometimes to learn the game, you had to play the game.

Bring it on.

Leo stepped through the portal, the back of his neck prickling in discomfort by how little sensation he felt upon entry and exit. It was like stepping through a doorway. No tingle of power dancing over his scales, no delay from one portal to the other. Like the rest of this place, the portal was sterile and lifeless. It somehow took the joy out of defying physics. Boiled it down to utility. Simply a way to travel from one location to another.

Shaking the unease, Leo surveyed his surroundings. He was now outside the glass cell and inside the room proper. From his new viewpoint, he could see a round doorway that had been out of his range before. It was open and unguarded. Purposefully so, if Leo had to guess. They wanted him to continue going forward. And he had to. Staying was a lose situation. Going through was a lose situation, but at least it revealed more of the game board to him.

“Alright, for Donnie’s honor.” He mused, mostly to himself. He had no idea if Donnie could hear him. Or if anyone could hear him for that matter. It was more than likely. If these were government or sci-fi scientist types, they’d be gathering as much data as possible. Especially if they were anything like Donnie.

What was he thinking? These assholes got the drop on them. Of course, they were like Donnie. Too smart. But that came with a cost. They had to overthink something in this setup. Leo just had to play along long enough to find it.

Or- maybe they weren’t overthinking anything. Haha. The next room only held a giant red button that Leo one hundred percent, totally definitely, absolutely did not want to press. At all. That, and a large metal cube that reached just above his hips. It had a logo pressed onto each side- a seal of an eagle atop a triangle that enclosed the earth. Text was embossed above and below the image- EARTH PROTECTION FORCE and E.P.F.

Huh. Leo always thought their first encounter with the government would be when the IRS finally came after Donnie. Still, this was not the worst-case scenario. Disaster Duo vs the US Government? Leo liked their odds. They’d fought their way out of worse.

Regarding the task at hand: a button and a cube. Kind of an insulting puzzle, even if they were only trying to establish a baseline. He and Tello had put up a fight before their capture- these jerks had an idea of what he was capable of. This was just disrespectful! Grumbling under his breath, he picked up the cube and dropped it onto the button unceremoniously. A dotted path of blue lights spanning across the ceiling from the button to the door switched to an orange hue. Upon completion, the metal doors split down the center and slid open.

So, Leo was a rat in a maze, was he? Then what role were they forcing Donnie to-

“Excellent. Please proceed into the chamber-lock after completing each test.”

Ah, there he was. Still too calm. Too monotone, even for Donnie. He must be reading off a script of some type. Which meant that his brother wasn’t going to be sharing with the class. Fantastic. How was he going to organize a grand rescue if he didn’t have a handle on all the details? The last thing he needed was to make a move that hurt Donnie somehow.

At least if Donnie was talking, he was alive. Leo could work with that. And if his brother was near any of this tech, then the EFP only had a matter of time before Donnie turned everything around. Then they’d be in trouble. Hah.

“First, however, note the incandescent particle field across the exit. This EPF Science Material Emancipation Grille will vaporize any unauthorized equipment that passes through it. For instance, the EPF Science Weighted Storage Cube.”

Leo stepped partway through the new doorway, seeing a thin, near-invisible barrier spanning from wall to wall. It was like looking at the horizon on a hot day, the space in front of him wavering and marginally distorting the walkway ahead of him.

Yeah, Leo wasn’t going to walk through that without a test of his own. The portals were one thing. But he’d seen enough lab explosions to know that sometimes things did not work as intended. And being that there wasn’t a reliable way to reverse vaporization, Leo didn’t want to roll those dice.

He stepped back into the button room, lifting the cube and frowning as the door swished shut again. Pointless. Why bring something up if he couldn’t test the theory for himself? Joke’s on them! He wouldn’t be deterred so easily.

Leo stalked back into the first room, passing through the portal and stepping past his sleeping pod. Bingo! He quickly collected the radio, coffee mug, and clipboard in his arms and returned to the button room. As he walked, he gave the clipboard a once over. An information sheet with the EPF logo at the top. Hazard symbols, all of which did not look pleasant. Drowning, being crushed, being shot at… yikes. The cake at the end was promising at least. Right?

The radio crackled to life as he approached the exit door, stealing Leo’s attention. The first few seconds of the Jupiter Jim theme song echoed in the silent space, almost stealing a surprised laugh from Leo. His ninpo sparked to life in his chest unprompted, warming his senses and chasing away the lingering cold hiding in his bones. It flourished stronger once he felt traces of Donnie’s ninpo buzzing against the scales in contact with the radio. Faint but present. It still surprised him sometimes, what his genius brother was capable of. A localized mystic disruptor… disrupter. Hidden in plain sight. Donnie was still trying to help, even if indirectly. But how did he even have a chance to hide this, let alone build it?

The theme song tapered into a few seconds of static, stabilizing moments after.

"- Ö̵̡̺͔̤́͑̆̕b̸̛̤͈͚̠̠̾s̸̼͖̓̀͒̍̒͘ͅè̴̈̾͜r̷̢̢̟̦͕̍̾̓̈́v̴̬̽ḁ̷͉̙͐̇̓́̆̇t̶͉̫̱̘̬̊̍͑̏̔̌̈͜ḭ̴̢̡̱̫̘̓̈́o̷̡͇̘͇͚͐͗͋͛̚n̶͓̞̱̘̍̄̎̾ ̸̂͜L̷̛̟̓̎̔̕͝ǫ̴̭͇̽͜g̵͖̮̦̊͆̀ ̴͎̙̗̹̂̈́̌͆̓ ̷̞̎ ̸̘͉̆̇̚ͅ ̷͈̜̈́ ̸̱͑ ̷͉̣̍͒͝ ̸̛̥̲̎̓̉ ̷̯̼̥̾̊ ̴͍̈̀ ̷̧̬̥̃̂̀͊ ̶̜̖͇̳̀̈̿̆ ̶͎͖͎̈́͝.
If anyone is listening, I've hidden this well enough." A badly suppressed sniffle interrupted the flow, pulling the corners of Leo's mouth down into a concerned frown. "First, I need to say I am sorry. For everything ahead, I am deeply, deeply sorry. Stay strong. Persevere. Don't trust anything. And if you survive, I only ask one thing..."

"...B̷̨̬̤͔̥̥͉̱͍͍̜̜̦̲̣̓̆͊͋͝u̴̧̦̳̪̤͕͓̪͓̱̓͝ŗ̶̖̯̗̼̈́͆͝͝ͅn̶̻̖̦̼̰͇̙͍̙̬͙̋̿̄͊͛̿̇̉̂̀̅̈́͗̕̚ͅ ̸̖͉͕̿̈́̓̆̆́͒͊̎̑̈́̈́̊̕t̶̗̘͔̤̙̲̱̳͚͖̠͐̇̾̆̏̋̒͒̕͘̚͜͝͝h̵̻͒̎͊̉̐i̴̪̳̤̭̜̝͆̈́s̵̡̰̞̯͇̪̙̽̎̽͠ ̷̢͖̠̺̜͚̫͎̝̠̜͍̟͆̋̍̇̀̇̔̎̀̈́̚͜p̸͖̙̫̳͈̻̳̍͠ͅl̶̝͐̀̃̔̈͊̈́ả̸͇̆̈́̀c̵̤̥̗̼̮͇͎̟̣͚̮͈͈̑̊̄́̔́̀̑̌̔͂̑̒͝͝ȩ̴͙̤̦͕̪̻̩̳̩͇͕̖͊͌͑͑̑͊͋̂͋̂͑̌̏̿ͅ ̶̨̩̼̇̊̏̐̑̉͂̅͂͋̍̓̍͝͝t̴̨̛͓̦͔̝͐̀̕ͅǫ̴͎͍̳̝̱̗͆͠͝ ̸͖̫̠̜͓̺̘̩̼͈̾̋́͗̀̕͝ţ̷̞̱͕̰̳͙̅̆̓̑͋̔̆͊͊͆̒̚͠ḫ̴͈̳͋́͆̐̆̎ė̶̡̢̡̬̰͙̮̬̤̹͕͖̥͉̾͛̐͐ͅ ̴͖͓̐̔͜g̷̖̗̣̪̘̬̳̉̈̋̑̇͑̍̄̓̾̌̂̕͜͠͝ͅr̷̢͚̳̮͎̤̣̜̣̙̭͍̤͂͌̌͐͒́̕ͅơ̶̡͕̟͇̞̼̽̎̽̑̀̎͌͛̄͘͝u̶͖͓̟̖̤͓͈͖͇̝̽̉̆̈n̸̡̺̼͉̯̞̳̬͕͙̈͆̍̿̇̀͝͠ḑ̸̼͕͎̤̙̺̳̲̀̏͌̿̒̂͑̄̈̎͠."

Leo remained frozen in horror, staring at the radio as it shut down and fell silent. Donnie sounded so resigned. And not in a 'protecting his bad boy image' emotionless passion way. Donnie only sounded like that when he was past the stage of a major freakout, having burned through all his energy. But that couldn't be right. They hadn't even been trapped for a day! And Donnie knew that nothing would stop their family from finding them. Nothing on this Earth could stop Leonardo from finding Donnie- hopefully also giving him the location of whoever had driven the softshell to this emotional state. He had a few words for them. Not funny ones. This wasn't even close to funny. 

Leo stood before the next doorway, narrowing his eyes at the energy field with a renewed focus. He tossed the clipboard through, wincing as it disintegrated into black ash and dispersed into a cloud of dust.

“This EPF Science Material Emancipation Grille will vaporize any unauthorized equipment that passes through it.”

Leo tossed the coffee mug, unfazed as it too vaporized into nothing.

“This EPF Science Material Emancipation Grille will vaporize any unauthorized equipment that passes through it. Y̸͍̒o̷͎̐u̶͈͠ ̶̼̈́s̸͕̊h̵̻́ö̸̩u̴̬͐l̶̩̇d̵͈͆ ̷̘̎k̵̫̋ņ̵̂o̵̡͑w̷̓͜ ̸̪̄t̴̹̿h̵̬͑a̴̼͛t̴̤̚ ̴̼͂b̵̞̏y̵̌͜ ̴̘̈n̷̞̿o̶̪̽w̵̱͋.̸̯̑”

“Hey, I don’t appreciate the snark, you dweeb. Am I not supposed to be suspicious of an energy field that turns anything to dust? Just trust that it has my well-being accounted for? No, sir, not a chance!” Leo crossed his arms into an X, sticking his tongue out at the nearest camera.

“You are not unauthorized equipment. Please proceed into the chamber-lock after completing each test.”

So, they did have audio. And Donnie could hear him. Nice. That simplified things. But what about the radio? Why hide it here, when it would be destroyed by the particle field once he left the room? Couldn’t there have been a better spot?

Perhaps it served its purpose. Donnie wanted to warn him. He had been warned. Cryptically, sure. But that was just him being nit-picky.

“Fine, but if I get vaporized, you have to be the one that tells Mikey. Don't put that on Raph.”

Leo stepped through the field, energy vibrating over his scales but ultimately leaving him unharmed. The radio disintegrated in his arms, letting purple static code escape and disperse around him. Bye Donnie. His ninpo also extinguished, once again lying dormant and out of reach. The air around him felt more fridged in its absence.

It had been nice while it lasted at least. Having the small comfort of his ninpo being pulled away again allowed for hypervigilance to take root in his mind. Normally their opponents just told them what they wanted. Power. Liberation. Conquest. These people were craftier. They didn’t say the quiet part out loud.

And that’s what scared him the most about this place. It weighed on him as he strolled down the walkway and into the waiting elevator. The doors hissed shut behind him and the ground shook as they ascended to the next floor. 

Was he being tested?

Or was Donnie?

Chapter Text

Leo crossed his arms and tapped his foot while the lift was in motion, eyes set on the EPF logo displayed above the elevator door. It was strangely familiar, now that he’d had a moment to digest the situation he and Donnie were trapped in. He just couldn’t place where he’d either seen or heard about the organization. It was like an itch at the back of his mind, right where it couldn’t be scratched. Close enough to be infuriating, but still out of reach.

The chrome doors swished open soon after the lift rumbled to a stop, pulling Leo’s attention away from his circular musings. He stepped out, cautious and on edge as he padded down a short hallway. A large vertical screen set into the wall ahead flickered to life without preamble once he grew close, causing him to jump back two paces in surprise.

Geez… that really blended into the paneling… Haha. Eugh.

This place shouldn’t be getting to him this badly. Not right off the bat. Leonardo Hamato was not a naturally skittish turtle. He’d seen worse. He’d been through hell! But like everyone in his family, being alone set him off his game. Maybe not as bad as Raph, but it was still evident. He and his brothers fought as a team! It was typical to have at least one other set of eyes scoping out their environment. So, sue him for being a little jumpy.

He didn’t have his tech guy around to look for dangers Leo wouldn’t even know to consider. Not only that. There was no smashy guy to force any surprise threat away. No ‘eats peanut butter with his mystic fingers’ guy to the power of family them out of this prison.

Their absence amplified Leo’s stress and paranoia. But he had to manage. There wasn’t a path forward that would be easy. Nonetheless, if his family was at the end, what other motive did he need to endure a little discomfort and genre-typical peril?

Straightening up, he looked over the screen, noting a variety of new details. Most notably, a big “01” took up half the screen. This was the first actual test then.

Below, in smaller text- “01/19.” Okay, nineteen tests in total. He could survive that. There was still the matter of what happened after he completed the mystery gauntlet, but it was at least comforting to know that he wasn’t being thrown into an endless number of chambers with no end in sight.

Blank room after blank room, going on forever.

Yikes… maybe don’t linger on that thought. It was a bit too defeatist for Leo’s taste.

Finally, the icons he’d seen on the clipboard in the first chamber were displayed at the bottom of the screen. Ten in total. They were all greyed out, barely visible against the white backdrop. Good to know he wasn’t encountering anything too harmful yet. Again, a little insulting though. He’d been in death mazes before! This would be getting a zero out of five stars on the intimidation front, if not for the fact they had Donnie holed off somewhere else.

Leo continued on down the remaining length of the hall, which came to an abrupt drop into the next chamber. From his birds-eye view, he could observe that the room was portioned into four by more ceiling-to-floor glass panes. The area he had access to was empty, with a section holding another cube to his left, a section with a button to his right, and a section containing the exit dead ahead. Still simple enough, just some added barriers.

Just before Leo could take an eight-foot drop into the new room, soft music brushed against his tympanum. Soft, like late-night television lowered to a murmur while surrounded by sleeping loved ones. The ambiance of Jupiter Jim was one of nostalgic safety. Of reassurance that everyone was accounted for and safe and home. It was so ingrained into his subconscious that the barest whisper would still turn his head.

Leo swiveled and stood face-to-lens with one of the few cameras mounted to the wall, quirking up a brow ridge at the sight of it wearing a radio like a hat. The exact model as the one from his cell. Out of sight of the camera itself, but right within his reach.

“Yoink.” He chirped aloud, snatching the device before spinning on one heel and dropping into the room. The radio didn’t react to his ninpo right away, continuing to sing its tune without pause.

“Please place the weighted storage cube on the 1500 megawatt EPF Science Heavy Duty Super-colliding Super-button.” Donnie’s voice echoed in the larger space.

“So, a button. It’s just a button. You can’t just call something super without a reason for it.” Leo deadpanned under his breath, casting a look over his shoulder as he heard a portal open on the wall behind him. He stepped through without preamble, moving into the room section containing the cube. Stuffing his radio into one of his jumpsuit’s baggy pockets, he grabbed the cube and spun on his heels to trot back through the portal. Except he didn’t go through the portal. Moments after the cube crossed the threshold, the portal blinked closed. Momentum didn’t get the memo however, so Leo crashed face-first into the now very solid and now very concrete wall with a breathy oof.

Leo pulled back with a huff, giving a scathing glare at one of the cameras. “What the hell was that? You can’t just go around shutting portals without warning.” He snipped, planting a hand on one hip as he gestured at the wall with the other. “If I’m getting portal chopped, it’s going to be one of mine, not a Prada knockoff you can find on Canal Street, thank you very much.”

The portal blipped back open as Leo tapped his foot, grumbling as he stalked through and retrieved the cube once more. He waited this time, watching the portal until it flickered closed again, only to pulse open immediately after. Seeing that the destination changed sections, granting him access to the button section, Leo hurried through and dropped the cube on the button, watching the door swipe open in the adjacent room segment.

“Perfect. Please move quickly to the chamber-lock, as the effects of prolonged exposure to the button are not part of this test.”

“Wh- Wh- Excuse me?” Leo squeaked, throwing his hands up. “What- are they made of uranium or plutonium or I dunno, geekium? Actually, don’t answer that. Buttons should not need disclaimers.” He continued, pinching the skin between his eyes as he returned to the song and dance of waiting for the portal to reappear and then again waiting for it to open into the exit room.

Leo pulled the radio out, worrying his beak between his teeth. It hadn’t changed yet. It had to though, right? There was nowhere left to go. Nothing left to do. Only the radio-destroying force field lay ahead. He shuffled forward with slow-paced steps, dread clotting thick over his nerves as he covered the short distance between the portal and the open door.

It was only once his toes started to brush against the sizzling energy field that the radio erupted into brief, beautiful static before stabilizing. With it returned the warmth of his ninpo, which eagerly reacted to the weak pinpricks of purple light seeping through the radio’s speakers.

“T̸̃̂ͅẹ̸̘́͜s̴̗̓̊ͅt̴͓͎́͜i̸̡̥̒̒͊n̵͈̮͆g̸͍͍̾.̷̟̜͉͂͠ ̵̮̈́Ṭ̷̪̬̎e̵͇͝s̷͚͋t̵͙̫̍t̷̲̞̘̑̍̒t̶͓͇̄̋͠t̸̟̐̇i̵̙̹̅̆n̶̻͐̆̈g̷̮̘̃͠ ̴̭̄̓̀-̷̢͎̍-̶̹̪̹̎̉͑

Ah- Eureka!” Donnie’s voice was soft, yet enthusiastic. The cadences of elation he would default to after completing a project or discovering the fix to a problem. One that Leo knew would invariably lead into nerd talk. One he’d made light of for years. But now- it made him choke up. How could he have ever rolled his eyes at those moments? He’d never anticipated that he wouldn’t be around to even pretend to be annoyed by them.

“Observation Log #1- the ‘Message in a Bottle’ protocol appears to be a success. I can’t guarantee that they won’t discover my… disobedience, but I can’t just do nothing. If they aim to keep me isolated, I hope that these will at least provide context regarding whatever I can uncover here. I can’t record for too long, not now at least. So currently these will have to be short. I’ll have to resort to q̷̨̢̲͠ů̴̗̈́̃ä̸̛̛̜͖́n̴̮̪͓͋t̵̛͙̱̽i̸̝̯̻̔̀ṫ̵̻̃͜ͅÿ̸̩́…̷̝̰̳͐”̵̬̪̰̌͝ ̷̟̩̼̿̍͘ ̷̢̠̦̊

A shuttered breath rattled through Leo’s body as the radio faded out, leaving only melancholy to fill the silence. He trudged forward through the murk clouding his thoughts, attempting to reign in the countless paths they were sprinting down, frantic and directionless. Each chasing after one word that stuck in Leo’s head, the one word that Donnie had choked on in his report.

Disobedience.

Had they threatened his brother? What manner of punishment did they promise? How did they plan to keep Donnie in line for the long term? If they knew enough to capture them, they absolutely knew enough to contain them through blackmail or… otherwise.

Donnie obviously had access to resources, the radios promised that much. So, if he was using them to communicate, rather than to escape outright- their kidnappers had him pinned somehow. They had something on him that he couldn’t genius his way out of.

And that reason was, without a single doubt, Leonardo himself.

It was smart. Effective. Infuriating.

He and Donnie faced a crippling disadvantage here, sure. Being held as leverage toward a loved one sucked hardcore, no way around that. But if these jerks needed leverage, there was something they needed from Donnie. Something they needed enough to capture not only one but two teenage mutant ninja turtles.

If Donnie was being allowed to build, to the point that creating the radios was not a tip toward his disobedience, then they were forcing him to build something.

That was not promising, not at all.

Leo moved numbly through the particle field, feeling the radio disintegrate in his hands and its ash passing through his fingers. Like before, purple pixels swirled in the air as he moved into the next elevator lift. Once inside, he couldn’t sit still, pacing back and forth without removing his eyes from the lift door.

You would think a high-tech facility would have faster elevators.

Speed was already a factor that Leo had been concerned about, but if Donnie was building something for the EPF there were greater consequences in play. Mikey, Leo, and Raph were powerhouses in their own right- they were battle-ready and adept at what they specialized in.

But if any of them fell into the wrong hands, their skills were not transferable. Only Raph could become a superpowered giant, only Mikey could harness a badass amount of mystic energy, only Leo could portal behind enemy lines to find the best course of action.

Donnie’s tech was replicable. A weapon or machine that his brother designed could be used by anybody.

The world could only handle one Donnie and he was morally ambiguous enough.

Leo was out the door the second he could physically pass through, traveling at a run. He blew past the second chamber monitor lighting up, almost skidding into a closed door as he took a sharp turn around the next corner. A camera above the door blinked to life, lifting up to follow Leonardo’s movement.

"You're doing very well. Please be advised that a noticeable taste of blood is not part of any test protocol-"

“Que?”

“-but is an unintended side effect of the EPF Science Material Emancipation Grille, which may, in semi-rare cases, emancipate dental fillings, crowns, tooth enamel, and teeth."

Leo laughed as the doors opened on their own once the speakers crackled off, tracing over his teeth with his tongue at the comment. “I thought you said I wasn’t unauthorized equipment, huh? My teeth happen to be a part of me.” Leo hissed, relieved to find nothing out of order. “If this is revenge for taking one of yours that one time, I have apologized soooooooo much, what more can I do?” He teased half-heartedly, jogging past the door as it slid open and down two short flights of stairs.

The descent took him to a dead end, which Leo took note of, but it was overshadowed by something he hadn’t encountered yet.

A window.

It was warped glass, translucent enough to make out shapes- a desk, computer monitor… maybe two chairs. But any further detail was impossible to discern- the inches thick glass providing too strong of a blur. Leo didn’t see any movement. Nobody was watching him. For now…

But they had the ability to. The room was designed for direct observation, which made sense. Blah Blah Blah something about collecting primary data Blah Blah Blah, as Donnie might say. Even being empty, the window gave off the steady, stifling feeling of being watched.

There was a square hole in the opposite wall, out of which a blue blur of energy shot. It collided with the other wall, blooming into a portal upon contact. Leo moved to look through the new portal, eyes wide as his gaze surveyed the next room before him. It was empty, bar a simple metal stand holding a single katana.

His eyes never left the sword as he passed through the portal, cocking his head to the side and whistling lowly. The katana's hilt was a slick white metal, gleaming in the bright fluorescent lighting. From it extended the blade, neon blue energy buzzing inside a thin frame of the same white metal. Enamored, Leo reached out to lift it, a watery smile cracking at the corner of his mouth.

Even without the ‘Genius Built’ logo stamped anywhere on the device, it was obvious who made it. And who it was made for. Even the weight in his hand was familiar, indistinguishable from his own blades.

"Very good. You are now in possession of the EPF Science Handheld Portal Device. With it, you can create your own portals-“

“-Technically not my own portals-”

“These inter-dimensional gates have proven to be completely safe. The device, however, has not. Do not touch the operational end of the device-“

Leo slowly drew a curious finger back from the exposed, crackling energy radiating inside the blade’s open frame.

“Do not look directly at the operational end of the device. Do not submerge the device in liquid, even partially. Most importantly,u̶̗͈͙̳͚͛̈́̏͆n̸̘̮̒͒̃d̴̜̺̔̃ê̵̲̒̚r̶̡̨̪͕̄ ̶͓͈͔̽̒n̶̢̟͎̝͚̿̿ǫ̴͔̯̲̀̔̿̃ ̷̭̼̎̆̿͝c̴̢̙̞͂͛̇͋͝ͅī̶̘͈̞͔̉ȑ̶̯̟̬̻͓̎͝c̴͕͓̀̽̀u̶̦̟̜̲̒̍͜m̴̞̝̜̿s̶̭̿̒t̶̻̖̘̪̊̉̋ͅa̵̤̚͝n̷̨̮͕̔͗̑͂c̷̛̣̘̩̈́̎͜ę̷̹̣̀s̶̭̈ ̶͙̔̿̿s̸͎̗̻̏ĥ̷͇̭͙̈́̓ͅō̵̧̰̊͠ù̶̢̲̭͔̉̀͜l̷͇̞̠̈́̚d̵͙̥̞̿̔ ̷̛͈y̷̲͍͍͛o̷̬̦̤͌̋̌ŭ̷̥̞̐́̉̍-̷̼̠̺̃͂"̷̢̉̾̌͜

Leo cringed as the static cut off his brother’s voice, holding his breath as the lights pulsed a light purple.

Donnie’s voice crackled under the static, a single word repeated over and over.

B̸̛̙̖̗̭̦́í̸̡ş̶͔̰̤̐͑̄̀͝ͅh̷̡͆̽o̷̰̟̍͐̓̾p̸͚͛B̴͎̊̈́͊̀̃ȋ̶̺s̶͍̭̠͆̏̌̽̂h̷̢̳̰̀͠o̸̮̺̘̪̗͗̈́̌̐̅p̵̨̏̑̉͂͜B̸̦̤̥̣̜̂í̵̪̭͎͉̀s̷͙̖̺̾́̓̓h̵̹͖̲̺̾̓̀̀ȯ̶̡̲͇̬̬͗͝p̴̦͌̇B̸̛̮̹́̽̍͌ͅí̸̭̽̇̃̂̓̎̚͠s̴̞̹̤͕̭̱̖̘͂̓ͅh̶̢̐͂͑̈́ó̶̙͚͓̥̙p̶̨̧̛͈̝̀̏̽͋͌B̸̞̜͒i̶̗͓̝̥̰̭̩̾͌͒͒̀͛̾͠s̸̟̖̓̐̎͗́̈́̄̇͝h̶̝̬̲͎̤͖̅ŏ̵̠̇̓̓͂̽͝ṗ̶̜̘̬̰͉̦̅́͛̿́̊͋B̴̥̠̓͗͝i̸̛͇̭͖̝̱͖̰̱̟̓̀͂͐̃̐̈́s̶̳̝̀̋̾͝͝h̴̜̥͇̹̲̪́̓͆̽̕̚͠o̴̢̼͚̖͎̥̪̼̦̽̆͊́̾p̵̩͈͖͍͕̂̀͆͝͝B̵̧̨̛̟̜͕̹̙̻͖͕͍̳̽̏̾̑̇͛́̇̀́̃̀̕͠i̸̛͇̻̙͎̺͔̩̟̩̣͐̃͝s̴̡̰̮̗͈̦̗̻̟̙͚̻̥̒͛̈́̆͒̓̄̚͜͠͝͝ͅh̶͍̜̳̞̹̺̻̹̜̭̖͇̫̹̦̾̅̒̈́̊͋͌͂͒́̀̚̕ͅo̵̞̓͐̈̈́̇͐̚p̷̛̭̦̺̈́̌̄̔̑̊̋̽͂͠

The noise cut off abruptly, rather than droning to a halt. The lights reacted similarly, snapping back to disorienting white at the same time. Leo’s new sword shook in his hand. Hah, he didn’t even realize his grip had tightened that hard, that fast. Between the beats of his heart thrumming in his head, his hearing homed in on soft music clicking to life. His eyes cast upward, noting a radio hidden on a high ledge. It was nestled even out of Raph’s reach, barely noticeable from down below.

Leo’s eyes narrowed before turning to pass over the other corners of the room. He caught sight of one of the cameras following his movement, giving the offending gadget a shoo-shoo motion with his sword. The energy inside the blade pulsed, pulling a startled yell, not a yelp, from the slider. Shock almost let the weapon slip from his fingers once a blast of blue power shot at the camera.

A portal popped into place behind the camera, severing it from the wall. It came crashing down to the floor, broken and inoperable.

"At the Enrichment Center, we promise never to value your safety above your unique ideas and creativity. However, do not destroy Vital Testing Apparatus." Donnie’s voice droned above, back to being clear. Almost sarcastic. The most Donnie he’d sounded so far. It felt like Leo was at home in Donnie’s lab, being chastised for touching something he had no business touching. And wasn’t that funny?

It had to be- otherwise why couldn’t Leo keep himself from laughing at the statement? He wiped at moisture collecting in the corners of his eyes as he giggled to himself, trying to control his breathing enough to stop. It hurt. His stomach hurt, his lungs hurt, his heart hurt, everything about this hurt.

Donnie’s craftsmanship was amazing. That was indisputable. Leo’d be damned. His ‘laughs in the face of impossible’ brother had finally done it. He’d found a way to replace mystics with tech.

This wasn’t a bomb or laser Donnie could throw together in an hour or two, delivered in a timely fashion to guarantee the release of Leonardo.

This would have taken time.

Time they hadn’t spent here.

Time they didn’t spend here.

Time they couldn’t have spent here.

Ah, shit.

Frustration and anger bubbled beneath his scales, taking control of his senses as he sent another blast of energy at the other camera in the room, already stepping into another portal before it hit the ground.

"To ensure the safe performance of all authorized activities, do not destroy Vital Testing Apparatus."

The sword controlled one half of the portal pair, only throwing blue portals. The orange portal remained stationary, set on the wall near the now open exit. Despite this limitation, Leo focused his newfound ability on destroying every camera he had access to, double-backing his way to the closed elevator lift. Donnie’s voice crackled over the intercom each time, without fail.

It was only after the last camera had been decommissioned that Leo opened a portal beside the radio, reaching through the interdimensional window to grab the device.

It crackled to life as Leo returned to where his sword had been displayed. A guilty spike of disappointment lanced through him as his ninpo tried to connect with the katana, but it didn’t respond in turn. Like the portals, there was no life to the device in his hand. Even before Donnie had awoken his ninpo, his creations all managed to have some level of character to them. Hell, Shelldon was a prime example of Donnie’s work taking on a life of its own. Yet the gossamer wisps of Donnie’s ninpo also didn’t spark brighter in the presence of the device either. 

“Ò̴̘̻̮͓̹̋́͝b̸̲̣͂ș̷͙̭̾́̕e̴̳̓̉̈́̉r̵̡̤̱̰͊͜v̴̢̲̺̚ä̸̛̰̫͔͖͚́̈́̉̚t̷̬͚̞̝͕̐̑i̵͔̺͉̓ò̷͖̻͇̩̙n̴͈̙̮͛͒̄̊ ̸͓̳̈́̽̓̃L̵̰̓ŏ̸̝̙͌̀ͅģ̴̫̆̈́̏͜ 29-“

Leo’s chest constricted, forcing his breathing to grow rapid and shallow.

“It’s early for gifts, I know. At least I know this will be going directly to you. Leo.” The wobble of his tone was unmistakable, even through the low-quality speakers. “I hope you don’t mind me being the third of us to unlock portals. I did it. Yay.” A morose laugh. “It isn’t even… a good feeling. You think I’d be proud. This should be one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.”

Each moment of silence had haze gathering around the edges of Leo’s vision. He couldn't breathe. The sounds around him warped into a high-pitched ring, drowning out all but Donnie's voice. 

"I hope you are okay."

A sob almost slipped past the emotional barrier he was forcing up. Even with the cameras down, there was no way he wasn't being watched. He didn't want them to see him rattled. They didn't deserve to. 

"I miss you." 

Leo didn't remember creating a portal. He didn't remember rushing through the particle field and losing his radio. 

One moment he was listening to the vulnerable, broken words of his reserved brother. Of his partner in crime. His twin.

The next he was sitting on the moving elevator floor, clutching his sword to his chest and hiding his head between his knees. 

How was he going to manage another seventeen chambers of this?

Chapter Text

Leonardo was back on his feet before the elevator doors opened into the next chamber. Despite the burn behind his eyes and the lingering panic headache, the rest of his body was buzzing with purpose- alert and running on overdrive.

With smooth strides, the slider entered, surprise surprise, another isolated blank hallway. He slung his sword over one shoulder, perking up as speakers hissed awake alongside the chamber’s monitor flickering to life.

"Please proceed to the chamber-lock. Mind the gap."

The gap in question was in the upcoming hall to Leo’s right, where a few rows of floor panels were sunk at a lower position than the rest. It was a modest drop, barely more than double his height. The sunken area only spanned about half of the hallway, with the floor returning to normal at the next corner turn. Even without his portal sword, Leo could clear the gap with little more than a few simple ninja-isms. Springing off the wall, vaulting over the edge, hell- even a well-timed back handspring would do the trick if he wanted to show off.

This was not the time to show off.

Leo really, really couldn’t get over the lack of physical difficulty at play inside the test center up until this point. The EPF wouldn’t have crafted this entire space for such basic experiments. They weren’t an organization that dealt with small potatoes, based on what Leo could gather. They wouldn’t need Donnie for anything less than achieving the impossible either. So why did this only seem like a game on the EPF’s front?

They were toying with him. Trying to throw him off his rhythm and keep him from thinking clearly.  

Was he meant to blast through these first tests? Was he meant to be looking for more clues like the radios? There was far too much to consider. With the EPF controlling everything in the center, there were a million and one paths that Leo could take, without enough reliable intel to help weed out the wrong ones.

And boy, the number of wrong paths overwhelmed positive outcomes ten to one.

A hundred to one.

Probably more.

He didn’t want to think about it. But it was all he could think about.

Leonardo could have already messed this run up and he wouldn’t even know until too late. Game over, no redos or takebacks.

Shaking the thoughts away like skin-chilling rain, Leo dropped into the gap, zeroing in on the space between the upper and lower floor levels. Finally, something beyond blinding white in every direction without reprieve of color.

Beyond a thick black grate with tight mesh, he could see hydraulic lifts and other machinery. A glance downward revealed the lifts extending lower and lower and lower still… disappearing past the range of his vision and straight into dizzying vertigo. The only light came from a sourceless red glow emanating around the facility’s exposed inner workings. It was the exact shade that backlit every single one of Leo’s nightmares spanning over the past few months. Their frequency had diminished, but the helpless terror that readily fueled his subconscious still held firm upon each visit.  

This isn’t a dream.

Stay cool.

There are very real dangers to focus on in the present. Leave the past in the past Donnie!

Gritting his teeth provided enough harsh sensation to ground Leo in his body. It enabled him to rip his attention away from the impossible drop and refocus it on the two video cameras trained on his position. Narrowing his eyes, he offered each a rude gesture modified for three fingers before deploying two portals to destroy one after the other.

Not being able to have multiple blue portals open at one time was limiting. It slowed Leo down to a level he thought he’d surpassed. Like operating on half-time. Off-beat and a note behind. No offense to Donnie’s work- it was beyond imagination, truly- but he would be relieved to return to his own weapons as soon as possible.

Satisfied with his petty and only method of rebellion, Leo opened a portal on the wall next to him, stepping through a stationary orange portal facing the adjacent hallway. It was near identical to the first, with the only difference being the exit door open on the far wall, lit from within by the shimmering blue vaporization field. That and a lone camera. A camera that so happened to be wearing a radio hat. Score!

This hall’s floor gap displayed the same peek behind the curtain as the prior- telescoping hydraulic lifts supporting the floor panels from below.

Just how massive was this place? Leo had already been perplexed while under the presumption that the walls and floors were solid and stationary. The EPF would be hard-pressed to find a place in New York City big enough to hide a space like this effectively. Especially from their family. But taking into account moving floors and the hidden machinery that made it all possible? Nobody could afford the vast amount of New York real estate an operation of this size would entail.

He’d say they weren’t in Kansas anymore, but for all Leo knew they were in Kansas.

If he was Dorothy, would that make Tello Toto?

With a flick of his wrist, Leo severed the last camera from its perch with a burst of blue, swooping in to snatch up the radio before it hit the ground. The device crackled to life in an instant, almost shocking Leonardo at the sudden reconnection with his ninpo. It caused him to fumble the radio for a few beats until he regained his grip and pulled it close.

Donnie’s ninpo, faint but persistent, tingled against Leo’s chest, evoking a sense of calm and security. One that Leo knew wouldn’t last for long. He also knew that it was selfish to bask in the moment he was permitted. Especially with the real Donnie still out there somewhere with only the enemy as company.

Despite understanding this, Leo couldn’t help himself from curling tight around the radio as Donnie’s voice began to buzz into his plastron.

“Ơ̷̡̗͖͑͋̌̍b̶͕͋s̵̛̥̤̳̬̟̓͐̏͠e̷̻̜̥̙͓͌r̴̹̮̓͋̅͠v̶̔́͑͊͜ą̴̗͎̩̋͐̒̈́͜ͅt̷̢̤͠i̴̲͖̳̰͆͋̊̑ͅö̴̡̘̙̠̫̱ņ̶̤͕̘́̍̾̇ ̵͖̖͉̒̄͜l̸̨̢̧̪̮̼̂͑̊ö̸̦̙́͛g̴̢̧͕͔̯͎͐̀̕̚͝ ̸̼͙̯͛̀̔number…whatever. My tally is functionally obsolete at this point.” Donnie’s voice was clipped and tight, punctuated by vexed resentment.

“If there is one irrefutable truth within these walls, it is that a promise from the EPF is worth less than a SplinterBuck.” Donnie spat. One corner of Leo’s beak quirked up at the reference; their father rewarded chores and good behavior with pretend cash throughout childhood. It was supposedly transferable for favorable snacks, TV time, or other perks- but redemption was seldom. Especially as they grew older. In time, goods or services that once cost one SplinterBuck required twenty. The inflation sparked an elaborate heist and Raph’s eat the evidence panic response forced the ‘Bank of Splinter’ to disband.

“I know that everything Agent B̴͚͊̋́̋͝ǐ̵̢̨̯̩̹̝̝̞͍t̵͍̙̮̄͋̎̈̏̌c̸̮͍̖̖̪̯̹̻̥͗̍̈́h̷̺̩̹̤̬̯̖͎͑͐͑̍̐͠ͅ-̵̧̜̫̻̭̟͎̣̦͗͂͑́̽̂̂͌̚ȍ̴͖̠̹͉͕̑͝p̷̲̤̠̺̖̒͑͗͗͗̾̐͘͝ promises is a lie. No matter how hard I work, or how fast- they are never going to give me a single glimpse of Leo.” Donnie let out a short series of angry clicks, which Leo reflexively answered with a wistful churr. “They have no issue with other requests, beyond freedom or access to classified information. Rations have improved, I have access to materials that I used to salivate over, and my sheets have a thread count that no longer grates at my shell. But I don’t give an iota about any of that.”

Donnie’s voice wobbled, shaking the foundation of Leo’s heart like an earthquake. “The crazy thing is, despite knowing there are data points upon data points of evidence that denote unyielding disappointment, I can’t keep myself from hoping.” Donnie laughed, breathless and void of care. “Maybe someday… something I make will be good enough to convince them I deserve what I’ve been promised. If I make something that matters enough, that has to make a difference. Right?”

The radio went near silent, dead air broken by a pensive sigh after several heavy seconds. Donnie’s voice was resolute as he spoke again. “I just have to try harder. Find a way to earn it. What other option do I have left? There is no other way. Otherwise, shouldn’t I have figured it out by now?”

Donnie’s closing words were so weak it was a wonder that the radio managed to record them.

_{“Some genius. What a j̷̛̪̲͓̟̣̩̩̜͚̼͗́̿͋̍̓͘͠͠͝o̸̢̙̦͔͍̪̞̗͙͚͔̬̽͂̐̌̇̓̈́̃̚͝k̸̢̩̙̦̗̪͛͌͗́̉̈̀́͒̿̇̋̈̄̿͐̈͐̽͝e̴̲̹̮̊̓̇̇̒̔̓̌̃͑̓̚͝͝.”}

Leo waited for the static to drift to a close before widening his stance and pointing a stern finger toward the ceiling. He sniffled sharply to keep any hint of watery emotion from polluting his speech.

“Oh, you are soooooo in trouble now Donnie! You aren’t allowed to talk like that and you know it. I don’t care how long ago this was but- You. are. not. allowed. to. TALK. LIKE. THAT! ” He shouted, pouring every ounce of excess anxiety-fed energy into the words. They were too little, too late. But Leo would hate himself if he said nothing. His brother deserved this much.

“You don’t owe these clowns anything! They don’t get to decide what your work is worth when they could never make it themselves in a million years.” Leo swallowed, trying to clear the thick pressure festering at the base of his throat. “You are good enough. Okay? The best! You are going to get what you deserve, and so will they!” He promised, turning his back on the room and passing through the exit door.

He still had so much he needed to say. That he was proud of Donnie for staying strong and fighting through his own trials. That Imposter-tello didn’t exist and everything the softshell did had worth.

That he loved Donnie. That he missed him.

That he was sorry.

Donnie’s voice sounded in the lift as the doors slid closed, amplified by the smaller enclosed space. "Well done. Remember, the EPF Science 'Bring your family to work' day is the perfect time to have them tested."

Family. Not brother.

Family.

Nausea burned up from Leo’s chest to the back of his throat, tainting the inside of his mouth with bitter acid. “You able to clarify there, Don? I don’t think I ever saw an invite for that on the fridge.” Leo croaked. His head groaned in protest as blood rushed through it, quickening staccato beats slamming pressure against his skull.

Leo shut out the idea of any other member of his family being tested this way. Being tested in the way that Donnie was.

What if there was something worse?

The rest of the elevator ride passed without an answer.

"Welcome to Test Chamber 04. You're doing quite well."

Guilt prickled over Leo’s shoulders at how hearing the affirmation through Donnie’s voice was like waking up on their birthday. A warmth curled up in his core, settling within as if it were returning home from a long, arduous trip.

If only the words were real.

Donnie wasn’t saying any of this. Not really. He was just a mouthpiece for the EPF.

Nothing would be real until he had Donnie, a solid and breathing Donnie, in his arms and trapped in an unbreakable hug.

In haste, Leo almost shot by the test chamber’s introductory monitor- but a minuscule change from its predecessors caught his eye. Two hazard icons were active, lit up alongside their greyed-out counterparts.

Oh? Interesting.

His fingertips twitched with anticipatory unrest at the promise of a challenge.

Leonardo had to commend the EPF on their selection for Donnie’s fellow kidnappee. With planning done at this scale, not even the decision of which brother to use as collateral would have been left to chance. And it wasn’t like any of them were ever subtle about their likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses.

Mikey was heavily influenced by his emotions, both positive and negative. Raph relied on direct action and seldom considered the larger picture. Donnie took attacks on his inventions as an attack on his intellect and sense of self.

And Leo…

Leo was competitive.

Leo hated to lose. He would bend any rule or talk any opponent in circles if he knew it would result in a win. It was the ultimate instant gratification. Serotonin so fresh off the press that it burned on the way down, delivering an electric euphoria and bone-heavy satisfaction.

It didn’t help that chasing that rush was a game in its own right.

Leo would lead them all to ruin if left unchecked. That was tested and true. Because the games he and his brothers were playing now were nothing like what came before. The stakes changed. A loss didn’t just mean hardworking paper salespeople needing to order new stock because the original was turned into sentient origami.

It meant a newly beloved grand-parental figure dying at the hands of an evil she gave everything to contain. Or an alien warship successfully trapped for centuries unleased upon the world like a promise of devastation.

So of course, when playing with lives on the line, the only option is to win. Right?

Regardless of cost?

 That philosophy did not prove popular with Leo’s brothers.

The EPF would have seen Leo’s propensity toward commandeering control of the gameboard. His entire power revolved around spatial recognition. As such, slamming Leo’s overactive brain into an environment of numb aching stillness would leave him without an outlet for the tension thrumming throughout his being.

No escape routes, no cavalry, and no contingencies.

It wasn’t unreasonable to theorize that the EPF was weaponizing lack of control as an intimidation tactic. It plainly said:

You are a pawn in this game, and you will play the way we want you to. You only have one move and that is by design.

That’s how they played Tello at least. Servitude wrapped in the illusion of choice.

Test(Build) and you can see your brother again.

Too bad the EPF underestimated the reigning Lair Games champion.

Donnie’s hidden messages, as depressing and cryptic as they were, did expand the scope of what Leo knew. It was hard to lay traps for prey wise to a hunter’s intention.

Not to be outdone by Donnie’s secret rebellion (again- competitive), Leo casually severed another camera from the wall as he ventured into the chamber’s open space.

"Certain objects may be vital to your success. Do not destroy Vital Testing Apparatus."

"Certain objects may be vital to your success. Do not destroy Vital Testing Apparatus."

Leo matched Donnie’s spoken disclaimer word-for-word in a sing-song tone as he stepped over a button placed next to the chamber’s orange portal. He continued forward to stand at the edge of an empty square pit in the room’s right corner, leaning over to take a better look at the bottom. It was the largest drop so far, but still nothing impressive for a turtle who was accustomed to speeding over New York rooftops on the daily.

There was a discrete shifting of metal plating from the ceiling above, unnoteworthy to all but Leo’s prank war trained sixth sense. Without active thought, Leo lurched out of the path of an incoming falling cube. He didn’t have a chance to linger on how close he’d come to having the back of his skull eviscerated, as jolting away from the danger left him unbalanced and reeling too close to the pit’s edge. Had he not been wearing the rather annoying leg braces around his calves, correcting his momentum would have been a matter of fluid muscle memory (admittedly alongside a few panicked moments of whirling arms).    

But he was.

So, it wasn’t.

With how often Leo found himself falling, would it hurt for his stomach to get with the program instead of contorting itself into a tight pit while in free fall? Especially considering how many of his falls were from much steeper and more perilous heights? In the few seconds it would have taken to hit solid ground, Leo righted himself in the air and swung his sword. A portal swirled to life on the approaching floor in time for the slider to barrel through, being spit out of its orange twin.

The exit door swished open once he crashed into the chamber’s button, remaining so until Leo pulled his sprawled limbs back into working order and returned to his feet. “That was a cheap move.” Leo muttered aloud, chagrined heat blooming over his cheeks while he made a show of brushing nonexistent dust from his jumpsuit. He jogged back over to the pit, keeping a wide berth from its threshold. Eyes cast upward; Leo scowled upon spying a transparent glass vent protruding from the high ceiling. Its opening was shut tight with a metal valve airlock, but there was no way that the cube had originated from anywhere else.

Odd choice of delivery system, but okay. Leo would give the concept a solid three stars if it had not almost humiliated him via death by support item.

But it did. 1 star.

Being that the vent was too high to observe up close and personal, Leo turned his attention from the delivery tube far sooner than he liked. If he could find a way to shimmy his way through the hatch door, it could be a viable path away from the test course and EPF eyes. He reasoned that there had to be more ahead. Hopefully, ones he had better access to.

Instead of dropping back into the pit directly to collect the cube now settled at its bottom, Leo returned back to the upright orange portal and hopped through. He spun to right himself as gravity shifted on a dime, landing comfortably on his feet. At least that sensation didn’t change. Invisible forces revolving him around like the needle of a compass, always pointing true. Weightless exhilaration thrumming through his chest, bursting past capacity.

This chamber’s radio lay a few feet away from the box, face-side down. Must have been dropped with the cube. Rad. Seeing the device quelled the embers of dread at the edge of his subconscious from a sear to a smolder. The longer he was in a chamber without spotting his one true connection with Donnie in this hellhole, the brighter they burned.

With care, Leo slid the radio into his pocket before hip-checking the cube to topple it through his portal. It hit its target dead on, activating the exit button with a click. Leo followed suit, dropping into the portal to land on the metal box. Once through, the simultaneous fizzle of static and ninpo prompted him to pause. He sat, legs swaying back and forth as he listened, devoted eyes trained on the radio despite the lack of visuals.

“O̴̰̲͒̃͘b̸̫̩̓servation Log #3. I am taking a play out of my brothers’ book and am choosing to remain optimistic. _{Is that the right phrasing for this analogy? Ş̸͖̤͌͌̓̄p̶̡̱͊͛͝ő̸͔̞̳̖̹̃r̶̭͙̫͆͝t̷̨͇̜̂̂s̸̤̟̝̦̓!”}

While there was concern laced in the steady timbre of Donnie’s musings, it wasn’t as wary or absolute as the last few recordings. “Even if Leo and I are incapacitated, someone on the outside has to find the file I have on the EPF. If not Mikey or Raph, April. April will know what to look for.”

Record scratch

Hol’up. Hol’up. Hold up.

Donnie KNEW about the EPF?

Leo’s eyelid twitched at the revelation. He held off trying to wrack his mind for any time he could even consider Donnie bringing something like this up. Because SURELY he would remember someone mentioning a sketchy human agency that had eyes on them. But he had to remain focused. These things didn’t repeat or rewind.

“It won’t tell them much. If I had known these assholes were this large of a threat to our family, I would have put more effort into my findings.” The sounds of a ceramic mug clanking against metal and papers rustling covered up Donnie’s next words. Damnit! Leo knew the softshell was a chronic multitasker but come on! “-shouldn’t have let something like this slip throuġ̴͍͙̩̪̈́̋̂͘h̷̛̛̠̙̰̱͒̀͗͑͜—̷̭́̚—̷̞̭̩̲̖̐̌̒̈́̕͠ͅ“̵̫̺̞̹̪̖̂̇͑̑̆̃

“No- come on! Don’t just end there!” Leo groaned, shaking the radio with agitated vigor as the audio cut to nothingness. This information would actually be useful Donathan! Anything would be better than the big fat zip Leo had on their captors. He was starved for context, so having these few precious crumbs slip through his fingers only made the demands of his hunger roar louder.

Huffing in disappointment, Leo trudged through the exit, through the radio-dissolving particle field, and inside the next chamber-lock.

"Once again, excellent work.” The praise fell flat under Leo’s discontent. “As part of a required test protocol, we will not monitor the next test chamber. You will be entirely on your own. Good luck."

Ha.

Hahahahaha.

Now that was the funniest thing Leo heard since waking up.

They could keep his brother out of sight and recite words that weren’t his own, but not even the EPF could mask that Donnie was an awful liar.

Chapter Text

The test chamber was notably quiet as Leo entered within range of the room’s first camera, situated above a doorway that immediately flowed into a larger space. No instructions, no running commentary containing thinly veiled insults, no nothing. It was a heavy sort of silence- one that funneled a sour tension throughout his nerves that Leo attributed to being watched or followed. The resulting sharp awareness tingled over his shoulders and sent pinpricks of static across the surface of his shell.

Despite every speck of evidence he’d sourced pointing toward his complete solitude within this pristine, pretentious hellscape, Leo’s instincts were screaming at him to whip around and discover who was setting off alarm bells at the edge of his subconscious. The true drawback of razor-sharp ninja senses was that the smallest trigger could jolt them to life. What use was anticipating hidden threats when everything felt like danger? The crescendoing soundtrack of wrongwrongwrongwrong bouncing around the inside of his head lacked a mute button. He’d take anything else. The Nyan cat song. The ol’ Roll of Rick. Splinter’s painfully literal soap operas in the shower.

Eh- scratch that one.

(For now.)

Leo hid his unease under a practiced neutral expression, whistling idly before severing the camera with a portal, skipping over the fallen device on his way into the main chamber. It was hard to maintain any level of illusion that the EPF wasn’t observing his performance, especially with literal evidence of the contrary staring him in the face. Even pretending to hide their surveillance tools in a supposedly unmonitored chamber was the least they could do. Leo could only suspend so much disbelief.

At the very least, it helped that the lack of stealth did lend some weight to a theory brewing at the fringes of Leo’s mind. The concept of being surrounded by large, obvious cameras in direct sight didn’t seem abnormal for the setting he was caught in.

But they were completely out of place when factoring in Donnie.

While a strong percentage of Donnie’s tech was flashy and memorable, the softshell had an exception. Security. Ever the ninja, Donnie’s main focus surrounding any aspect of his lair defense network was striving to be as close to invisible as possible. Undetectable, indiscernible, and outwardly unremarkable. 

“You can’t hide from what you can’t see, so always know where to look.”

Leo had been playing against his brother’s defense protocols his entire life. He knew where to look. If Donnie wanted to keep him out of something, Leo’d crack his way inside on smug principle alone. If Donnie had cameras, Leo would map out every blind spot. If Donnie refined his permission algorithms, Leo would toe for the absolute limit of their boundaries. Spy vs. Spy may as well be a full-fledged Lair Game by this point. Move meeting countermove, over and over again, each more challenging than the last.

These were games of teasing oneupmanship Leo saw playing out for the rest of their lives, because while neither of them would outright admit it- they both found the challenge fun. It also provided a secure fallback for normality, acting as a constant through everything. Thick, thin. Good, bad. Life, death.

Come to think of it… one of the first relaxed moments he’d shared with Raph post-invasion had been the last night all four of them slept together in the med bay. Mikey had already been cleared for well over a week but didn’t appear to be going anywhere in a hurry.

Donnie was up next for release.

Anyone who knew the softshell could predict he was wrestling against the itch to bunker inside his lab the moment he was permitted for some much-needed solitary reflection. Donnie was still Donnie after all, despite how their collective near-death experience still made even short-term separation difficult to endure. He clearly needed space to catalogue his experiences into carefully curated folders before attempting to process everything in entirety. But guilt was still etched in his twin’s demeanor.

“Come on Don-Bon. Don’t act like you aren’t able to check on where we are at any time with your handy, dandy, ‘Big Brother’ certified subcutaneous trackers.”

“I approved what now? I didn’t certify nothin’… TRACKERS?”

A laugh. “How’d you think we found you, big guy? For once- Donnie’s paranoia being twenty steps ahead actually worked out for us.”

His laugh was returned. “Don- mind explain’?”

“Trade secret, my dear Raph-a-la.”

Nobody slept that night. Whispered conversation never halted, only pausing for irruptions of badly restrained laughter. The room grew lighter with the knowledge that they were all okay, enough to joke and just be brothers for a while- instead of heroes.

When they all inevitably crashed around noon the next day, Donnie humored them with a parting group hug before retreating to his lab.

Finding Donnie passed out at his desk the next evening with one monitor playing live CCTV footage of the med bay’s interior was the first promise this new normal could still be familiar.

If his brother was truly putting in his best work toward the idea of seeing Leo, there was no way this system was his creation. Leo could almost guarantee Donnie would go for the jugular if anyone even suggested he had a hand in creating or maintaining these clunker cameras. At one point, they could have been considered high-end. But up close, the hardware was notably old, despite their shiny, white chrome exterior.

Out of touch. Out of date. But not out of order.

These cameras were stationed ages before their arrival… by years. A decade at least, but likely more. Which was an indicator the EPF had been around… for a while. These chambers had not been made just for mutant turtle use. Leo wasn’t the first to run headfirst down these halls. Yet the EPF was still operating unseen, working in the shadows without recourse. Which didn’t have sinister implications. None at all.

Upon first observation, the new room didn’t offer any surprises. Two lifted platforms, another lowered pit in the corner… and two buttons connected to the closed exit door with dotted lines of inlaid lights. Leo spied the orange portal stationed level with one of the platforms. The second platform was parallel to the first, stationed against the furthest wall and displaying a cube far out of reach.

Ah. So that was the bit. An order of operations that further limited his choices. In this situation, he couldn’t get from A to C without stopping at B. The actual task still wasn’t difficult to execute- but it certainly made it more annoying. They wanted him to perform tricks in a specific order, otherwise, he wouldn’t advance. Testing just how many steps one could put between a rat and a button. Ugh- these guys were such assholes.

They better hope he found Donnie before he found one of them.

A blue portal opened way to orange, only to be repositioned beside the cube once he’d cleared its threshold. Leo backtracked through the stationary portal to stand on the new platform, shoving the cube from its heights. It crashed to the floor without significant impact beyond a heavy thud.

Leo dropped down right after, suppressing a grimace at how the leg braces dug into his calves and prodded sharply at his heels. Instead, he focused on his next ABC series. Blue portal to orange portal. Revisiting the platform’s vantage, Leo could see another cube at the pit’s bottom. He aimed his sword at the floor panel beneath it and swung. The cube tumbled through the orange portal once the floor gave way, coming to a rest beside him. It faced the same treatment as its twin, being pushed to the unforgiving ground and positioned on the second button.

Swishing open, the doors revealed a small secondary room that contained only a radio, set dead in its center.

Clearing these tests felt more natural now that he’d found a flow to follow. The rhythm of the game. Puzzle. Cameras. Radio. Repeat.

Following a pattern was efficient, with each step contributing to various goals.

Survival. Escape. Rescue.

But it pulled focus away from anticipating curveballs.

Despite the cubes remaining on their respective buttons, the chamber doors slammed shut the moment Leo passed through. He jolted away from the unexpected movement, snatching the radio and trapping it between his chest and crossed arms.

"As part of a required test protocol, our previous statement suggesting that we would not monitor this chamber was an outright fabrication.” Donnie’s voice droned.

“Am I meant to be surprised? I expected better from the Men in Black. Let me guess. Budget cuts?” Leo barked. He cast his eyes up, noting the ceiling was actually a reinforced window. Beyond- a new orange portal was placed directly above his position, set in the next room’s ceiling.

Oof. Leo doubted he was still connected to the prior room’s portal. They’d used the rude ass doors to cut him off. Not like he had a desire to backtrack- but the deliberate severance was suspicious.

“Good job. As part of a required test protocol, we will stop enhancing the truth in three, two, ǒ̵̩͆̈́-̶̡͉̳̞̈́͊-̶͓̟̒̆̓"̸̛̰̳̎̾"

Leo stuck his tongue out as the feed cut to static. His heart rate tapered down; door slam induced adrenaline leveling to a lesser degree. The only step left was to cut a portal into one of the room’s walls and walk through, dropping to land on the other side of the window he’d been trapped beneath moments before.

The radio cradled in Leo’s arms remained silent throughout the short journey, even as the distance between it and the vaporization barrier edged on dangerous.

Every radio he’d found before sparked to life on its own once he was in hearing range. Was there a detail in the other room he failed to catch? It wasn’t like he could check now. And even if Leo knew how the devices worked, he doubted he had time to diagnose and fix the issue.

A rat that only focused on its reward was blind to the reality around it. Why was that a lesson he just couldn’t seem to learn? Every time Leo set his sights on something- everything else melted away and left behind half-thawed consequences.

There was just something about how he thought. Because how else could he still be making all the wrong calls? (And losing brothers?)

“I’m sorry,” Leo whispered under his breath to the radio, hugging it tighter and advancing forward. Whatever Captain’s log laid hidden within the device was lost to ash, filtering through Leo’s fingers like flecks of disappointment. There was only a brief connection of ninpo, soft and fleeting as it faded away.

A stubborn part of Leo wanted to shut out whatever message Donnie was about to regurgitate on the EPF’s behalf over the lift’s speakers. The buzzing around his senses felt heavier after missing a dose of his brother’s actual words. But he couldn’t. It wasn’t Donnie’s fault he was a messenger of lies on top of having to bear witness to Leo’s subpar performance. And it gave a struggling faceman at least one friend in the audience, wanting him to succeed both within and without the experiment’s parameters.

"While safety is one of many Enrichment Center goals, the EPF Science High-Energy Pellets seen to the left of the chamber can and have caused permanent disabilities, such as vaporization. Please be careful."

“Oh- promising. I was just thinking this place needed more than one way to get immediately turned to dust. It’s about the variety.” Leo scoffed, trying not to focus too hard on the glaring one-sided nature of these conversations. Banter was banter. It kept him grounded in the present rather than the next ten steps ahead.

The elevator doors opened directly into a smaller chamber, and the triumphant waves of Jupiter Jim’s theme, amplified by the tighter space, filtered through the automatic doors and massaged Leo’s subconscious with grounding reassurance. New chamber, new start. He couldn’t get tripped up by one bad FM fumble. Especially with the goal of his rescue watching in real time.

Holding onto that was holding onto hope.

Out of budding habit, Leo’s gaze scanned over the walls (oh? new hazard icon drop? Donnie must not be fucking around about those pellets…) only to still and narrow moments later. Of all the chambers to exclude cameras, the EPF went with the one immediately after he’d “learned” they were straight up lying to him in the last test?

(And badly… intentionally badly? Badly that just looked intentional? Bad at being intentional? Yeesh. This is why overthink was just not consistent with his brand. Purple was not Leo’s color.)

The security theatre had dropped its curtains. This charade wasn’t a matter of whether Leo was being watched. And both parties were aware of that without the need for blatant evidence.

This was about how watched they wanted Leo to feel.

His reactions were just variables in one giant, messed-up experiment to these jerks. The taste in his mouth grew metallic, inner cheek catching between his teeth as they worried together.

Turning his focus to the actual chamber, Leo’s eyes followed a glowing ball of bright energy that pulsed from a device affixed to the ceiling. It hit the floor and bounced straight back, managing a few volleys before fizzling out into nothing. Moving closer, Leo could see the orange portal’s spawn point on the floor directly below. Only a few yards to the right, another glowing port pulsed in waiting.

It didn’t sit right with him... that this chamber could be solved in one move. It felt like a backward step in terms of difficulty- despite the exposure to a new and blatantly dangerous technology. No surprise that shadow organizations must not follow strict workplace safety standards. Shady business through and through.

Yet all it took was using a single blue portal on the ceiling to activate its orange partner. The next energy pellet’s path was redirected into the port’s awaiting receptor with predictable ease.

Lights flickered as the resulting power surge activated a lift to the exit, ready to guide Leo to the next chamber.

He’d let it wait for now. Leo had a radio to find first.

Donnie’s message was somewhere within reach. The source of the siren song could hold vital information for success… for survival. His and Donnie’s. And it was literally begging to be found.

The elusive device restarted the theme from the top, running it from start to finish. Again. And again. Repeating without pause. It demanded to be acknowledged in the immediate moment, spinning each passing second into frantic energy.   

So where?

Where ?

It had to be coming from somewhere!

Disregarding the two portals, the glowy ball pitcher and catcher, and the lift to the exit- there was absolutely nothing left in the 20-foot by 20-foot square box of a room to consider.

Was it in the walls or something? Did he just not have the right tools to find it at present?

Was Leo not paying enough attention? …paying too much attention?

It wouldn’t matter if not for the fact he couldn’t come back here. Each chamber was a one-hit wonder if taking account the physical structure of segregated chambers and Leo’s current inability to find a crack in this messed up system.

Every elevator he’d stepped into since waking was one-way. Not to mention he’d just learned that even doors weren’t trustworthy... walking into a new room could result in an unexpected cutoff. Anything left behind now would be out of reach at best, fully abandoned at worst.

And who knew how many messages there were in the tests ahead? In an optimistic world, each chamber would hold a radio. But that wasn’t a guarantee. And there was a chance more could be damaged or unresponsive, with secrets lost to time. With the level of risk Donnie must have taken to smuggle him this information, how could he even think of letting any slip away unfound? There were a million and one reasons he should stay and tear the floorboards apart to locate the hidden device.

But the real Donnie was still waiting for him.

Shame prickled electric hot under Leo’s jumpsuit as he force-tuned out the mocking music and stepped on the platform to the exit.

"Unbelievable! You, {SUBJECT NAME HERE}…”

The floor beneath Leo’s feet began to rise, but in an instant, he was falling… falling… falling…

 “… must be the pride of {SUBJECT HOMETOWN HERE}.”

Heh… the EPF certainly wasn’t afraid to play dirty.

Dread-fueled fury was acrid at the back of his mouth. Even if reading from a script, Donnie would have said some variation of Leo’s name instead of the placeholder. A hidden promise that despite being trapped in different rings of hell, neither of them were alone. Proof that they were together in the moment, separated only by distance.

The familiar voice over the speakers wasn’t his companion for these tests. No benevolent eyes were witnessing his progress.

Instead, Leo had been chatting up voicemail, blissfully unaware of the second shoe soon to drop with a Haha- Gotcha! You are NOT conversing with Donatello! Leave a message after the beep!

Donnie’s work with AI was second to none. Still, he had to give it to these vultures. This was a trick he should have caught on to sooner. Leo’d been too idealistic, trusting a direct communication channel, albeit monitored. Donnie hadn’t been granted that luxury, so why would Leo be treated any differently?

This wasn’t about him.

Leo was falling, alone and right back in the prison dimension. But for some reason, instead of floating through vast dark expanses, acting as a very movable object against an unstoppable force- everything was white and enclosed, and there was nobody nobody-

 nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody nobody-

-Right.

Not the prison dimension. His enemy there at least had the courtesy to put him through hell in person, face-to-face and fist-to-face. Being thrown through massive rock chunks right about now would almost be a welcome change of pace.

Scratch that.

(For now.)

Cut off from his ninpo, city, family, and allies, Leonardo was, for the first time in his life, one hundred percent absolutely alone.

A face man without an audience was only a joke. And nobody was laughing in the background.