Thank you. Chapter 10 Shade gazed at Splinter's closed door for a very long time. As soon as he had entered the lair he had looked around, seeing no one. Maybe no one was home. He shrugs to himself. That was ok. He's in no hurry. No hurry at all. But Splinter's door did intrigue him. He didn't know why. It just did. And it bugs him. It bugs him bad. So much that he almost doesn't hear the low growl to his right. His eyes slowly drift from Splinter's door to the hard glare of the red banded turtle standing just outside of what looks like a large room. Shade stares at the turtle without emotion or movement, which seemed to infuriate the turtle.
“What are you doing here?!” Raph demanded, appearing to have a death grip on his sai.
Shade remains silent, his hands limp at his sides. He cocked his head slightly to the right, calmly eyeing the Raphael.
“Just forget that! How did you even get in here?” Raph tryes again, more anger behind his words.
Shade shrugs. He didn’t really know how he got in. He just did. He didn't question it. It wasn't important. What was important right now was getting to Splinter. How this turtle managed to get away from Shredder he didn't know or care. He was interested in the fact that he had gotten here before Shade. Probably had taken a different tunnel than Shade had thus would explain why he would be here already.
Raph’s eyes harden even more. He growls again and darts forward, lashing out with a right hook punch.
Shade ducks at the last second, moving out of the way of the punch.
Raph jumps over him, swiping his leg in a half circle towards Shade's feet.
Shade dives forward, tumbling three feet before standing. He brushes himself off and clasps his hands behind his back. He cocks his head to the other side and watches Raph, waiting patiently.
Raph growls a third time, low and deadly, throwing his sai at high speed for Shade's head.
The black trench coated stranger smiles to himself and jumps out of the way. He kicks of the closest wall and flips through the air, landing back at the center of the lair.
“Hey! it’s that guy!” a voice shouted loudly.
Shade spins, searching for the source of the voice. Michelangelo was standing in front of the room that Raph had been earlier and was pointing at him. Donatello and Splinter stood beside the orange banded turtle. Shade hadn't expected them to be here. It seemed too quiet.
“But how did he get in here?” Don asks, clearly shocked. He rubs he his head just staring at Shade with his mouth half open.
Shade blinks, still staring at them when he feels a hard impact of someone's foot. Raphael's foot. His attention is jerked from the two turtles and rat as he flies through the air across the lair until he collides with a hard brick wall. His head smacks it first followed by the rest of his body. Shade slips to the ground, his vision darkening, brightening, then darkening until his body slumps limply forward.
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Don watched Shade flew across the lair and slammed against the wall. The stranger's big black hat fell from his head as Shade slumped to the floor. A blue bandanna was wrapped around his head, the blue ribbons laying on the shoulder of Shade's black trench coat. Don double blinked and gasped, hearing the others gasp just after he did. Don opened his mouth, but no words came out. He just shut his mouth and stared. He seemed to be rooted to where he stood. This wasn't real. It couldn't be what he thought.
“Leo?” Raph whispered, the first one to find his voice. He too seemed too shocked to move. Everyone had believed Leo had been dead for the last year. There was no way anyone could get out of a building burning that fast or intense. The building had come down too fast.
Shade lay unconscious on the ground, crumpled against the lair wall.
“My son?” Splinter asked in a whisper, barely heard by his two sons standing right next to him.
Raph found his feet and ran over to Shade, kneeling down next to him. He pushed his hand out to touch the still form, but hesitated and drew it back.
Don jolted and rushed over to the two. “Be careful Raph. We don’t know that that’s really Leo.” He didn't want to believe that the still form was there long lost dead brother.
“I thought he was dead,” Mikey said reaching out to touch him.
Don stopped him, hand latched tightly onto Mikey's wrist. “That can’t be him. It’s got to be a hologram, some sort of robotic experiment, or something else.”
Raph touched the unmoving form. “Come on Leo. Wake up. Don't you dare just lie here now!” he growled.
“Why do you want him to wake up?” Mikey squeaked, pulling his wrist from Don. “Maybe it’s not Leo. Shade’s just pulling a trick on us. Or the Shredder. He's the one pulling this sick trick on us...”
“It has to be,” Don said, agreeing with Mikey. “Leo would never do to me what Shade did. He just wouldn't...”
“Is there a way to know?” Splinter asked softly, standing just to Don's left.
Don thought for a moment. There was only one way to confirm just what they were dealing with. “A DNA test.”
“Then let’s do it,” Raph said, firmly pulling his hand back to himself.
Don looked at Shade, or Leo, or whoever it was. He swallowed then turned his gaze to Splinter and Raph. “Ok. But we have to do this quick.”
Raph nodded and started to pick Shade up, pulling one arm over his shoulders.
Mikey pulled Shade's other arm over his own shoulders, helping Raph carry him to the lab.
Don didn’t want to touch him if it wasn’t Leo. It couldn’t be Leo. Leo would never attack his family. He wouldn't disappear on them for a year. And Leo certainly wouldn't just leave them thinking he was dead. Even to protect them... Leo wouldn't do that. Don was sure of that. He bit his lip and followed his family back to the lab.
Once in the lab Raph and Mikey laid Shade on a cot and started pulling off Shade’s coat, gloves, and boots. It still looked like Leo. But Mikey cringed.
Don came closer as he saw Mikey's cringe, everything he needed for the DNA test in his hands. He was almost afraid to come closer, but did anyway. He nearly gasped, seeing scars all across Shade's legs. Those were some serious burns. Burns that had never healed quite properly. Don suddenly found himself pitting Shade, whether this was Leo or not. Don came even closer and drew a blood sample, starting the DNA test. It didn’t take long to get results. And when it came, he just stared at it.
“Well?” Raph asked impatiently.
“Just a sec.” Don ran to his computer and compared it with the DNA sample he had of Leo's. He still stared at it, unmoving.
“Tell us!” Mikey yelled in a high pitched almost scared tone.
Don plopped down in his chair and swiveled it around. “It's Leo. It's really Leo,” he couldn't help repeating.
Splinter stared at Leo, tears forming in his eyes.
Raph was speechless. He stared at Don, Leo, then back at Don again. “But… but… How come he almost tried to kill you then? Leo wouldn't do that!”
“I don’t know,” Don said softly.
“Could he be controlled by the Foot? He was working for them as Shade,” Mikey said in a whisper.
Don thought that through. But it didn’t add up. The fight just before Raph knocked Leo into the wall didn't support that theory. “I don’t think so. If that was the case, then he would have tried to take Raph out during that little fight in the main room.”
“Thanks,” Raph grunted, crossing his arms.
“But he didn’t even attack once,” Don added. “And it sounded like Shredder really believed he had killed Leo in that fire that took place a year ago.”
Mikey nodded. “But Shredder could fake that though. Right?”
“Yeah…” Don said slowly. “I suppose it's possible.” He stared at Leo for a long time, then blinked as if returning to his senses. “Well Raph you keep an eye on him. I’m going to finish finding this cure. We don't have a lot of time left and I really need to get going on it.”
Raph nodded. “Can do. Just concentrate on that cure.”
Don turned back to his work, his attention half divided between finding the cure and actually trying to believe that Leo was back. Alive. Safe. And home.
To be continued…