***
Shredder gasped but didn't have the power to move yet.
His most hated enemy looked down at him with tear filled eyes that were as wide as dinner plates. He got up and backed away quickly, fear apparent on his inhuman features.
Shredder moved slowly, closing his eyes against the pain until he was standing. He opened his eyes and glared at the turtle.
Wait, something was wrong. He should have towered over the turtle, but there was barely a difference in their heights. He shifted into attack position and felt odd.
When the freak stayed where it was, Shredder took the time to check himself. The last thing he remembered was the dock, right after he'd taken the mutagen.
His eyes widened as he looked down at a gray silk shirt tucked into black jeans that ended in sneakers. He felt his chest and peeked under the collar before pressing the cool cloth back against his skin.
He felt his face turn red, with anger or embarrassment he wasn't sure. Maybe both.
"What happened to me!?!"
***
The turtles watched the girls board the bus to leave. After convincing the girls that they would take care of the situation, the girls decided to stay out of it, reluctantly, for now.
Leonardo looked to his two brothers. "Split up. We have to find Raphael as soon as possible."
"Do you believe them?" Donatello asked. Even with all they'd been through, their story was a little hard to swallow.
Leo considered for a moment. "We can't dismiss it. Even if it's not true, or didn't work, we still need to find Raphael."
"We should have translated it to them," Mike said. "At least then they'd know their friend…"
Don cut him off. "And have them worry more? No, I agree with Leo, they'd just get in the way right now. Maybe after we find out what really happened."
"Look," Leo said, "they gave us their numbers, and we will fill them in as soon as we know what's going on."
Mike nodded. Don cleared his throat. "Look, we have got to find Raphael fast."
His brothers gave him identical looks.
"Well, if it is true…and she wakes up…"
Leo and Mike's eyes widened and they sprinted off in different directions.
***
"Indigo?"
Raphael could hardly believe his eyes. A minute ago she had been dead. Deceased. No longer living. Now, she was standing before him, blushing madly, with a look of complete confusion on her face.
"Indigo…" he repeated, stepping forward.
She took a step back. "Stay back, freak."
Raphael paused from shock. Did she just call him a freak? His head started spinning. This was so wrong. "Indigo, what's wrong? It's me, Raphael."
The dark blue eyes looked him over. "Indigo?" she asked. Who was that?
Raphael frowned. "That's your name. Don't you remember? Did you hit your head?"
The eyes narrowed. "I remember. I must have hit my head when that dock fell."
Raphael opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out for a long moment. "That was…" he stopped as it all sunk in. The Foot…the guards…the body…
"Shredder!"
***
Leo started to feel that this was hopeless. His brother could be anywhere in the city, although he was carrying a dead body with him. But Raphael had no idea what had happened, and that's what scared Leo. The soul of his worst enemy was now in the body of his best friend and he had no idea.
"Okay," he whispered to himself. "If I was Raphael and my girl…my friend had just been killed, where would I take her body?" Leo rolled his eyes at his own question. He felt like he was in one of Mike's old B-movies.
He grinned as he caught sight of a sign hanging off a fence.
***
Shredder watched the turtle's features twist in horror, then anger. She remembered him, with the red mask. He was the one she had captured.
She quickly turned and ran into the woods, not wanting to risk a confrontation at the moment. There were several reasons for this. The most important one being that he had no idea what this body was capable of, if it was trained to fight. Also, he had to find out what happened, and how this had come to be. The angry turtle, which was armed, while she was sure she was not, also was a factor.
She was pleased that the longer legs on this body moved faster, and the lean frame helped weave through the trees. She could still hear the turtle behind her, making no effort to be silent, but the sounds were drifting away.
"Get back here!" the turtle, Raphael, yelled.
Raphael? How did she know his name?
He told me.
Just now.
No, after he gave my book back.
What?
***
Raphael drew on his anger as Indigo, Shredder, put more and more distance between them. No matter how much he pushed himself he never seemed to gain on her.
Damn, him. Why can't he just stay dead!
He saw another blur approaching and identified it as Leo.
"Raph!" Leo exclaimed.
Raph took his eyes from the figure before him for a second, to acknowledge Leo, but when he turned back, Shredder had disappeared into the shadows and mists.
Raph fell to his hands and knees gasping for air. Leo stopped beside him, also breathing hard. Raph pounded his fist on the ground.
"That bastard! Why? Why her, Leo?"
"I don't know, Raph," Leo said calmly. It upset him deeply to see his brother like this. "Maybe we can fix it."
Raphael laughed. Not a scornful, or even a sarcastic laugh. He just threw his head back and laughed as the fog rolled in around them.
***
It was nearly dawn by the time Leo dragged Raph back to the lair. Don and Mike were both there, having thought Raphael might have brought Indigo to their home.
"What happened?" Mike blurted out.
Raphael looked at him without really looking at him. Then he took a shuttering breath and sat down in the nearest chair. There was an awkward silence as they all stared at their brother.
"What happened?" Mike repeated, softly this time.
"Where's Master Splinter?" Leo asked.
"I am here, my son." Splinter left the subway car, using his cane for support. He looked at Raphael for a long moment before turning to his other sons. "The Shredder has returned."
Leo nodded.
Splinter glanced at Raphael again. "I think you should tell me everything that has happened."
Leo took a deep breath and began to tell him about their patrol. Donatello continued, saying how they found the Foot's new headquarters and went in to see what they were up to. Mike described the fight and how they found the girls.
Splinter twitched his whiskers. "Indigo. That is the name of Raphael's friend."
Mike nodded, then looked at Leo, knowing that he couldn't continue. Leo bit his lip. "She was dead when we found her."
Splinter frowned.
"But she didn't stay that way."
"You saved her then," Splinter said. If they had saved her, why was Raphael so distraught?
Don shook his head. "No. We couldn't save her. Leo tried CPR, but…. After the fight, Raphael took off with her body and we found out what really happened."
"They were trying to resurrect Shredder," Leo said. "And they did it by putting his soul into Indigo's body."
Splinter understood now. This was worse than he had expected. Leo continued, "As far as I know, she… he…awoke with Raphael. I found him chasing her, but she got away. Raphael totally lost it."
Raphael leapt up from the chair and got in Leo's face. "You have no idea what I'm going through!"
Splinter put a calming hand on Raphael's arm. "No, my son, we do not. I know you cared for her, and that this is far worse than losing her, but we cannot lose our heads, or she will truly be lost."
Raphael lowered his head and hurried to his room, slamming the door behind him.
Splinter turned back to his sons. "We must stop Shredder and the Foot clan."
Mike raised his eyes from the floor. "But, what about Indigo? We just can't leave her like that."
Splinter sighed. "We may not be able to do anything, Michaelangelo. Our first priority is to stop the Shredder."
Donatello and Leonardo both looked over to Raphael's room but couldn't see through the boarded up windows. They both knew what they might have to do, and both hoped they wouldn't have to.
***