"Mikey!"
Leo shouted as he watched his little brother's eyes roll up to the ceiling, swaying on his feet and moaning in pain. His nunchucks slipped from his hands as he slumped to the ground. They hit the ground softly, but Mikey followed with a loud thump. Leonardo watched in horror.
Three more darts were shot, and Leo snapped out of his daze just in time to dodge them. He sheathed the one sword he had remaining and threw three stars at the droids, taking two Kraang out easily. He ran over to Mikey, threw him over his shoulders unceremoniously and grabbed both of his chucks in one hand. Though there was nothing more that he wanted to do than stay and fight, to take out the remaining bots and make them pay for what they did to Michelangelo, he knew it wasn't safe to do so right now. Leo and Mikey had finished their part of the mission and knew where the other Leo and Donnie (or at least one of them) were; now, all that was important was getting Mikey out safely and making sure the other teams were doing alright.
So Leo ran.
He scaled the stairs one by one, panting and trying to keep Mikey steady. He ignored the burning in his lungs and legs and pushed on. Donnie was up there, and Donnie could help Mikey. Though Leo was fairly certain whatever drug the Kraang had hit Mikey with wouldn't be fatal, he wasn't about to take any chances, and would have Donnie check him over as soon as he got up there. He just had to keep going.
For the most part, there were very few Kraang who came after them as the turtle climbed the staircase. Leo counted his luck on this and knew it was probably because of the still ringing alarms; if he had to guess, all of the droids were focusing on the controlled Raphael, and perhaps his Raph and Little Mikey. He worried for them, but at least it was providing a half decent distraction for him to get Mikey out of this awful situation. With any luck, the distraction would hold long enough for him to get to Donnie and his team, so he could bring Mikey there without anymore issues. That was all he needed.
But of course, he could never be that fortunate.
Another door slammed open and Leo winced, spinning around immediately. Six droids stood with their tranquillizers again. Leo didn't know whether to be horrified or thankful there wasn't a single blaster in this group's hands. Why weren't they trying to kill them like normal? He wanted to know, needed to know, but there was nowhere to find answers yet. He scowled.
"You really wanna do this now?!" Leo demanded, though he was mostly talking to himself. He knew the Kraang didn't care, and there was no point in trying to get them to see reason. Besides, from their point of view, this was the perfect opportunity to take down both of them. Mikey was unconscious, and Leo was trying to balance protecting him and fighting them... and the rest of his team was out of the picture. Leo almost couldn't blame them.
He took a moment to set Mikey down on the stairs, dropping his nunchucks besides him, and then turned his gaze back to the Kraang.
The Kraang stared back, and leveled their weapons. One spoke.
"The two turtles known as 'Leonardo' and 'Michelangelo' are ordered by Kraang to come with Kraang." The bot turned its eyes to the fallen turtle behind Leo, monotone voice laced with so many barely disguised threats. "Come with Kraang, or face consequences which are 'unpleasant'. Hand over the smaller mutant, and then surrender yourself to Kraang."
Leo shifted, blocking the aliens' view of his little brother with his own body, and pulled out his sword. He held it firmly, and leveled his gaze. With a steady tone, he spoke words filled with confidence and determination that could shake entire worlds to their cores.
"You are not touching him."
The Kraang fired, and Leonardo attacked.
***
"Wait, I changed my mind-"
"Have fun, boys!" New April called, grinning to herself as she heard her counterpart giggle besides her. Both of the boys behind them were horrified at their idea to leave them alone, but the two Aprils thought the whole situation was quite funny. Not to mention, it'd be good for Casey and Donnie to get some alone time; they'd have to learn to get along eventually. New April winked. "We'll let you know if we see anything. Now, get to work!"
That was the first reason the April of the now named "Dimension 18" would claim she wanted to leave them alone. However, it definitely wasn't the only one. The other reason involved not Casey and Donnie, but herself and her own counterpart getting paired up to be alone. She glanced at the April of this world besides her, frowning in thought.
She wanted them to discuss Irma.
After the three humans returned to the lair earlier that day, the turtles were up and already preparing for that night's mission. April had definitely wanted to discuss the creepy excuse of a friend her counterpart seemed to adore, and she even tried to start the conversation a few times! But the time wasn't right, and she knew they needed to focus on getting ready for the mission if she wanted any chance of getting her Raph back. That was more important than anything else, she knew. The conversation was put on the back burner.
But now, both Aprils were going to be alone on lookout. That seemed as good a place as any to have a discussion, right?
They just had to be careful, and it would be fine. Dimension 18's April took a deep breath.
"So..." She said, once they were in position. The lab was at the end of a hall, to they were positioned a few yards away from the door to keep a look out for any approaching Kraang. They were far enough from the open door that they couldn't exactly make out whatever Casey and Donnie were saying, but they could still hear the general noise of angry shouts every once in a while. New April pushed that thought aside, turning to look at her counterpart, "About Irma..."
"You don't like her, do you?" The red-haired April replied bluntly, sending her a tired look of exasperation. "Listen, I get it, I really do—she's a little strange and Casey was weirded out by her too. But she's a good friend, April, I promise. You just gotta get to know her."
"Just a little strange?" Other April blinked. "Are you kidding? Did you see how much she stared at me the whole time? It was freaky! I felt watched at every second!"
"She has a staring problem, she did the same to Casey when she first met him too. She does that, but then she backs off after a while! It's her way of, I don't know... making sure you're safe, or something."
"And were you listening to the weird questions she was asking me?" New April insisted, leaning forward slightly. "She kept asking how different this place was from my home, and if I felt out of place. Tell me that's not weird given my current situation. I dare you."
April looked back and forth between nothing, as though searching the air itself for a reply. "It... It isn't! We told her you're from the country. New York is really different from there, and asking about that is just casual small talk, even if she worded it a bit weird."
"Uh uh," The New April pushed her glasses up with one finger, staring down her counterpart carefully, before crossing her arms over her chest. "I've seen weird, O'Neil, we both have, and that ain't it. Something is up with her and you know it. Aren't you psychic? You should be getting the same weird vibes I am, or even stronger ones"
"Well, I'm not getting any!"
New April watched her counterpart carefully. Though she was denying everything about her friend being weird, something about the way she was acting told her there was more to the story. This world's April was looking all around and at everything but her, avoiding her gaze like it was the plague. Her shoulders were tense, along with really every single muscle in her body, and she shifted awkwardly every few seconds as though she couldn't get comfortable. Verbal denial aside... she had to know deep down that something was wrong. Other April's dark eyes narrowed in determination; she was going to figure this out.
She took a moment to calm herself down, to force the frustration building up inside her to evaporate. Inhaling deeply and shutting her eyes, she counted to ten, and when she spoke, her tone was soft and gentle.
"Okay. Then tell me what's really going on."
This world's April blinked, and that question caught her attention enough to make her head turn. She took a moment to look at her counterpart, blue eyes meeting brown in a scrutinizing stare as though she could find all the answers just like that, without even opening her mouth. When that didn't work, this world's April frowned, "What?"
"Why are you getting so defensive of Irma?" Other April asked carefully. "It's honestly.... it doesn't seem like you. Do you owe her something? Know a crazy secret of hers? You like her? Tell me what's up."
Her counterpart scrunched up her face in confusion, before breaking into a slight chuckle. "What? Oh god, none of those, no. She's just my friend, and I don't like when people attack her like this. Is that so hard to believe?"
"Well, it wouldn't be that hard," New April replied, considering. Then she smiled, and leaned closer into her counterpart's space and jabbed a finger into her shoulder. "But I'm you. Sure, we're super different, but we're still the same stubborn crazy girl underneath it all. I know enough about us April O'Neils to tell there's always a reason behind the defensiveness. I don't care what universe we're from. We're all the same at heart." She paused, lowering her hand and leaning back to give her other self some space, and sighed.
"Come on, admit whatever it is to me. It's just us."
When she didn't get an immediate response, she nudged her counterpart with her elbow. "Come on, we're the same person. No need to hide anything from yourself, right?"
A wave of silence overtook the halls. This world's April looked down at the ground beneath her feet, studying the silver tiles as though they were the most interesting thing in existence. New April kept her eyes on her counterpart. If she was quiet long enough, this universe's April was bound to be forced to break it eventually. They had plenty of time—judging by the constant, muted sounds of arguing coming from the room behind them, it would still take a bit of time for Donnie and Casey to figure out what they needed to know. She could wait as long as was needed for her counterpart to talk.
A full minute passed, and finally, this world's April sighed.
"Look, don't get me wrong," She said softly, "I love the turtles and Casey. They're amazing and practically my family at this point, and I trust them all with my life. But..." she hesitated, then turned to look at her counterpart, "But it's nice to have one normal friend. Someone to go study with and not worry about ninjas jumping through the windows to kill us at every second—just someone to hang out with normally. My life has been a wild train wreck that doesn't seem real to me sometimes. Irma is my one connection to some kind of semblance of a normal life, and I... I can't lose that."
The red-haired girl trailed off, sighing, and looking at her counterpart with a sad smile. "She's more than just my friend. She's my last connection to a regular life, and I, well... I just need that sometimes, you know?"
The new April froze. Recognition of the same desires she once had flooded over her, and she saw the same emotions she once shared still present in her counterpart's eyes. The tenseness in her shoulders washed away as she visibly relaxed. After all of this, the problem was even Irma; it was a desire that Dimension 18's April knew all too well. She smiled in sympathy.
"Hey," She said, putting one hand on April's shoulder, "I know what that's like too, you know. Weird is cool and all but... there was a time I tried to escape it for a while too."
This world's April frowned, "Really?"
"Mhm," She nodded. "It was a whole thing, probably more dramatic than it should be. Weird is great but I got tired of it every single day, and just wanted one break! I tried to meet a new, perfectly normal girl at school, and kept having to yell at Leo and Donnie to go home and stop fighting ninjas outside of wherever we were hanging out—Side topic but do you know how awkward it is when your two mutant friends keep followin' you around dressed as old ladies when you're trying to hang out with a friend? Because that ain't fun, at all."
"Wait, they did what-"
"Anyways!" April cut her off, "It didn't work out, and that friend ended up being a yokai herself, and she's one of my greatest friends to this day. We can't escape the weirdness. Meeting you has confirmed something for me that I figured out that day: we are just weirdo magnets, and our lives won't ever be normal, no matter what the dimension."
April blew her bangs out of her eyes as she let out a sigh, shaking her head. "Is it too much to ask for for just one normal part of your life?"
"Yeah, yeah it is. And you know why?" Other April asked, "Because we're April O'Neil! We get to go on crazy adventures every day of our lives, see amazing things most people only hear about in storybooks! We get to fight ninjas and aliens and mutants and yokai and save the world, and we get to be friends with the greatest clan in all of history while we do it. We get to be part of it!" She elbowed her counterpart playfully, grinning. "Sure, it's rough sometimes, but how many people can say they've met themselves from another dimension? Or that they have psychic powers or mystic weapons? Or that they get to take part in saving their entire city and world?"
After a split second of hesitation, this dimension's April chuckled, finally letting the hints of a smile onto her face. "Not many," She admitted
"Barely any!" New April agreed, beaming, "To be April O'Neil is to have a crazy life, and you know what? I'm thankful for that! Even when it gets hard... I still think we're the luckiest person in all the dimensions. It took me a while to realize it, but... I wouldn't wanna trade my life for anything. Would you?"
The April of this world paused, but not from hesitation this time. Memories of her nights spent with the turtles, her patrols with Casey, her training with Master Splinter... they all flashed through her mind—the good and the bad. This past year had been like nothing she'd ever expected for herself. She was kidnapped and experimented on by aliens, her father mutated into a giant bat, and her life was endangered more times than she could count. Every day was a battle for her very life.
But despite it all, she had gained a family unlike she'd ever imagined having. She did amazing things, got to partake in the greatest adventure ever, and had earned her place in history. Her childhood had been lonely and quiet, but now, her life was constantly filled with family and friends to die for. After only one year, she couldn't imagine life without Donnie's excited science rants, or Mikey's barely edible cooking, or Raph's loud roughhousing, or Leo's dorky Space Heroes imitations. It wouldn't be the same without training every night with Master Splinter, or keeping Casey from taking on every bad guy in the city alone. April smiled softly, shaking her head slightly to herself before she turned back to her counterpart, and spoke the truest sentence she'd ever said in her life.
"No, I wouldn't trade it ever. Not for anything."
Dimension 18's April grinned, and she held up one fist. Her counterpart chuckled, and answered her fist bump with one of her own. This world's April sighed, still smiling.
"I'm not going to just... stop talking to Irma. Like it or not, she is still my friend, but... I promise to keep an eye on her, and be careful around her. Okay?"
The new April grinned. "That's all I'm asking for."
The two Aprils were very different. But in that moment, the smiles they had on their faces mirrored the other perfectly. In that moment, they were one and the same, and the shared feeling inside both of them felt as warm as ever.
They really were the same at heart.
"April!! Red!!"
The two girls spun around, Casey's shout startling both from their trance. Casey's usual carefree expression had morphed into one of fear and confusion, and both Aprils froze as they tried to figure out why. It was an odd look on the boy's face. Something had scared him, and something had scared him good.
The April he knew better spoke first, "Casey? What's wrong?"
"I don't know," He admitted, stopping right in front of them, "But Donnie like, panicked and stuff and told me to get you guys immediately. I think he found something bad. Like, super bad news."
"He did?" New April frowned, scrunching up her brow, eyes shifting back and forth worriedly. Casey nodded, not saying another word and simply waving them forward, and all three ran back into the lab.
Questions plagued New April's mind, the same worrying thoughts of the two running beside her. Donnie found a lot of crazy things, and though she hadn't known them that long, she knew already that Casey had a habit of acting like anything surprising they found was more awesome than worrying. He was more likely to shout for joy at horrible news than anything else. If Donnie's reaction had been enough to frighten even him, well...
It had to be dire news indeed.
They arrived in the lab only seconds later, jogging up to Donnie where he stood near the Kraang computers. The turtle glanced over to them, smiling ever so slightly in relief to see them, but there was no denying to stress in his eyes. Dimension 18's April spoke first.
"What did you find?" She asked hurriedly, "Can you open the portal back to my world?"
"I..." Donnie shook his head, looking down, "I can, hypothetically. I have the portal device with me, I know how to change the destination, and now I know the location of your universe now. But..."
"But?" His April encouraged. Donnie turned around from the screen to face the three humans behind him.
"First, I need to explain how the portals work in the first place, it's something I just found out from here," He explained, gesturing with his hands. "Unlike what I first assumed, the portals aren't just making a new connection between dimensions every time they're opened. Instead, they're opening up to one connection that already exists.
"The Kraang build a, for lack of better words, 'bridge' connecting Dimension X to about two dozen other dimensions out there. When one portal opens up to another universe, the portal is just connecting sections of that bridge to each other. It's kind of like one long hallway, with dozens of doors on each side. The portals just access that bridge or hallway in order to transport the Kraang across dimensions."
"Okay," New April considered, "But we never went to a third location when we jumped through. We never went to a bridge, so, is it like a physical thing, or..."
Donnie shook his head, "It's not a literal bridge at all—in fact, it's not even a completely physical thing or location, it's kind of in between... It's hard to explain. It's sort of a physical item, but it's also not. It's more of an extremely advanced piece of Kraang technology connecting all dimensions to each other, and calling it a bridge is a simplifying metaphor for it. Just so I can better explain what it is—not to mention the Kraang literally nicknamed it 'the Bridge' anyways."
"But what's wrong with it?" Casey asked, "Why would that make you not be able to open up the portal?"
Donnie met him dead in the eyes. "Because there's a bomb strapped to it, triggered to go off at any point of use."
"What?!"
"A bomb?!"
"Uh, Donnie, elaborate, NOW!"
"It's not attached to other April's dimension itself," Donnie quickly clarified, "It's attached to the section of the 'bridge' connecting Dimension 18—her world—to all of the other dimensions in the system. So it wouldn't actually hurt her dimension, but it would sever the connection between our world and hers. And the bomb isn't complete either... They're still building it, but it's created enough that if I try and access that piece of the bridge, it will be extremely damaged."
"So is that what all those explosives the Kraang were gathering is for?" This world's April asked. Donnie nodded.
"That pile of explosives they were unloading wasn't just one uniform group of chemicals. It was a huge variety of different kinds. My guess is they were trying to figure out what kinds would work and what wouldn't, and were still in the experimenting stages at that time."
"So we can't go home at all?!" New April exclaimed, eyes going wide. "We're stuck here forever?!"
"No, of course not!" Donnie shook his head. "The explosion hasn't happened yet, and I don't know why they're building it but it's not finished yet anyways... And even if it did, there's probably a way to repair the Bridge, I think." Donnie shook his head, shaking his hands back and forth in an added negative gesture, "Considering we haven't even gotten your Raph, Donnie, or Leo back yet, we can deal with this issue afterwards, since maybe they'll have more information on this part of the Kraang's plan anyways. Your Donnie might be able to help especially. The main point is... I'm not going to be able to open the portal for you to bring reinforcements over to help..."
"But what about the bomb?" This world's April asked again, "You said it's not complete, but it's still triggered to go off? What do you mean?"
"The bomb isn't done, but it's hooked up to just self destruct anyone accesses the portal from either side. Their controlled explosion isn't ready yet, but an accidental explosion is always a possibility... It could be even more damaging to the Bridge than the controlled one they're planning, I'm not sure."
"So even you might not be able to repair it if it's uncontrolled then," The red haired April muttered. Donnie didn't answer, turning to New April with a sad look on his face.
"I'm sorry, April."
The other April looked down, air all but knocked out of her from that mental impact. Here she was, stuck in a world not her own, and now she was hearing that there was a chance she wouldn't even be able to get back home at all. The Kraang were, what, trying to destroy their only way back why? Was it to discourage them from getting her boys back? To keep them from bringing over reinforcements like they had planned? To spite her? Why would they do that?
She felt a hand grasp comfortingly onto her shoulder, and she escaped her thoughts just long enough to see her counterpart stare at her worriedly. She squeezed Other April's shoulder once.
"We're going to get you all home," She promised. "We will."
"Yeah!" Casey agreed, swinging his own arm around both the April's shoulders. He grinned his signature gap tooth smile, "The Kraang are stupid anyways, don't worry Second Red! We'll beat 'em easy, get your guys back, and send you all home. The portal can't be destroyed yet anyways; I gotta run over there and find other me. No way they're stopping me from doing that, I won't let 'em!"
New April laughed, still worried, but feeling some of the worry ease from her shoulders from the awkward embrace. She reached out her arms and wrapped them around both her counterpart and Casey on either side of her, grinning, before she looked over to Donnie. He stood there awkwardly. Dimension 18's April smiled softly to herself; looks like this Donnie was unsure of physical contact too sometimes.
"Come on D, you gotta join the hug too," She said, tone teasing yet inviting. Donnie hesitated, but both Casey and his world's April just grinned back at him, opening their arms encouragingly.
"Yeah Donnie, get your butt over here."
"There's room for one more!"
Donnie sighed and rolled his eyes, feigning annoyance as he joined the makeshift hug, yet embracing them tightly anyways. They all laughed. Of course, the worry and stress was still there, but this helped ever so slightly. Other April squeezed them tighter.
Maybe it would be okay.
Then the alarms started blaring.
The sound and flashing red light shocked them all into jumping back, sirens ringing from every direction. The Kraang's emergency call was set off. They looked at each other in panic.
"What's going on?!" Casey exclaimed, Donnie shook his head; he had no idea. Their April stammered.
"You- neither of you guys set something off, right?" She asked quickly, and New April shook her head.
"They didn't and neither did we. It has to be something with the other team, right?" She asked, "With your Leo, Raph, and both Mikeys. You think they're okay?!"
"Donnie!"
Leo's voice shouted at them, and they all gasped when they spun around to seehim limping in the lab door, an unconscious Michelangelo slumped over his shoulders and a bleeding leg. Donnie dropped everything and ran over to them, taking Mikey from his older brother without hesitation. Leo let out a breath in relief, and nearly collapsed to the floor before Casey and New April caught him by each arm. This world's April set a worried hand on Mikey's arm.
"What happened?" She asked. "Did Raph and Little Mikey get captured? Where are they?"
Leo shook his head. The flashing of the alarm still flickered on and off, the noise ringing in their ears and the lights turning their faces red. Leo spoke urgently.
"We had to separate—me and Mikey went to try to find Other April's Leo and Donnie, and they went for the other Raphael... The Kraang stopped shooting at us with their normal lasers and started using tranqs... they hit Mikey. Is he okay?"
Donnie nodded. He was kneeling on the floor now, testing Mikey's pulse and quickly checking him over, "He's just unconscious. They got him good, but he should just be knocked out for a few hours. He'll be fine."
Leo sighed in relief again, and New April frowned.
"Leo, your leg."
Donnie looked down, and saw a thin scrape on the side of Leo's thigh. It was thin, and was barely even bleeding, but Leo was struggling to put any weight on it at all. His eyes were glazed over, and Donnie narrowed his eyes, before he gasped in realization.
"A dart grazed you, didn't it?"
"A little," Leo admitted, "I uh, might've gotten a little drugged... But I'm fine..."
"Dude, are you crazy?" Casey exclaimed, gesturing with his free hand to Mikey, "It knocked him out completely, and that tiny graze is already turning you into a zombie! That drug must be insane!"
Donnie nodded, leaving Mikey with their world's April and approaching Leo, inspecting his injury carefully, "We gotta get back. You look ready to collapse where you are, Leo."
Leonardo shook his head quickly, eyes half lidded, "No! We... we gotta go help Raph and... lil' Mikey... That alarm is 'cause of the Raph... not ours though..."
New April shook her head, "How are we supposed to help them with you two like this? Guys, we can't take them into battle!"
"And how are we going to get the other Raphael back to the lair when we have to carry these two back already?" This world's April added, sighing, "I don't know how we're going to lift him to carry him all the way back, let along if we're down so many people."
Donnie grinned, lighting up in that way of his he always did when he got a new idea. "I brought the portal device with me! I can't use it for your universe, but I can still change the location to the lair. We can use that to transport the other Raphael back home, regardless of how our Raph and their Little Mikey are doing."
"And this Leo and Mikey?" Casey asked, as Leo's head slumped against his shoulder. Leo's eyes kept closing and then snapping open, the effort he was taking to try to stay awake overly obvious. Donnie sighed.
"I'll use the portal to get them back home to the lair first," He said, "But first... Leo, do you know which floor Raph and Little Mikey are on?"
"Mhmmm..."
Donnie raised a brow, "Uh huh? You gonna tell us where?"
"Tell you where..." Leo frowned, mumbling his response with an unfocused gaze on the floor. "Where what is?"
"Where Raph and Little Mikey are."
"Oh! Uh.... I don't know... we left them on like, the ground floor or something though, I think...." Leo's eyes were closed now, weight completely slumped against Casey and Other April, "Yeah...They're down I think."
"Wait, you said you guys separated for your plan," New April suddenly remembered, "Did you guys find out where my Donnie and Leo are?"
"Yeah, we... yeah, we did... They're...."
Leo trailed off, and this time he didn't start up again. He was out.
New April groaned. "Hopefully he remembers when he wakes up..."
The alarms kept flashing and ringing, and Donnie shook his head. "We can worry about that later. We better get going, we need to-"
The windows behind them shattered, glass pieces raining down across the entire floor, as shadowy figures jumped in through the smashed holes they created. The group gasped. Previously empty of all but themselves, the six found themselves surrounded by shadowy figures in seconds. Red lights lit up the room every other section, bathing the unknown entities in scarlet and making their weapons seem to glow, illusions of blood.
When they came into focus, the group realized who it was.
"The Foot?!" Casey exclaimed, "What are they doing here?!"
"They're working with the Kraang!" Donnie exclaimed, grabbing Mikey and throwing him over his shoulders. Casey and New April adjusted their grip on Leo, and this world's April pulled out her tessen. "They must have called them as backup!"
The Foot bots stood confidently, weapons drawn, and the four of them knew they didn't have long. With Mikey and Leo unconscious, there was no way they could take all of the bots out on their own; they had to get down to Raph and Little Mikey and get home, and quick. There wasn't much time.
The Foot bots parted slightly as their apparent leader stepped forward, and Donnie frowned; was that the new ninja who had fought him and Leo a few nights ago? What was she doing here
Other April's voice caught him off guard. "Is that the Foot Recruit?!"
"You know her?" Donnie asked, confused. Dimension 18's April looked at him in shock.
"Know her?! Donnie, she's from my dimension!"
"What?!"
"Foot bots!" The Foot Recruit called, a devious smile in her words, even as her mask covered her smirk, "We shall wipe the floor with these enemies... Attack!!"
The Foot bots did.
"Uh, let's have a reunion later then!" This world's April said worriedly, slashing two Foot bots with her tessen before turning around to shove Donnie forward, "Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!"
And so, they ran.
The Foot followed right behind.