Chapter Text
He didn’t remember anything between the mutants trying their experiment on him, to him suddenly running through a random street in Manhattan.
Maybe that should have concerned him. But, that was just what the device did to him sometimes. It was chill. No biggie. For the greater good and stuff. Helped him escape. Gave him the strength to prevail.
Now he… Was standing in front of some random alley wall with graffiti. And he didn’t want to leave.
But it wasn’t about what he wanted. It was time to return to base. Give a mission report.
Running back, 86 tried to figure out how he could spin this in a positive light. Yes, he had been captured by the enemy. But! He hadn’t broken! Even under their weird not-torture techniques! And he knew where their base was!
And he told all of this to Bishop and the guards who had their weapons pointed at him. They didn’t care. And even though he was only kinda sorta feeling The Cold, it was time for the Chair.
“Why did it take you so long to escape? Because the only reason why you could be late is because you were captured. So why?” Bishop demanded, probably staring down at him through his black sunglasses, “Were you collaborating with the mutants?”
“No!” 86 repeated for what felt like the eighty-seventh time, “I would never! I promise I came back as fast as I could!”
They were tightening the restraints while Bishop continued to speak, “Why did you not use your cyanide tooth? Why is it missing?”
“I tried! They took it from me!”
“Or… Did it not work? Should we redo the tests to see your resistance to poisons?”
Now 86 agreed that he needed the chair with how cold that question made him feel.
The magnets locked his arm into place. And his last-minute objection was stopped as the mouth guard was inserted.
It hurt. It hurt it hurt it hurt.
And it got rid of the cold that had been growing in his mind. Cleared his head in a way he hadn’t realized he had been missing.
It hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt.
“Kraangification has increased again. The visual signs aren’t prominent yet, but his ligaments show more signs of--”
“Couldn’t that also be a result of the training?”
“Not like this, and, take a look at a slide of his most recent blood sample next to one of Kraang Two.”
Blood sample? Again? When had they…
A nerd removed his mouthpiece before Bishop demanded.
“Mission report.”
“Humans are with the mutants of their own free will.”
“Very well.”
That might as well have been a “whatever” coming from Bishop.
86 was wheeled backward into the freezer. This was the actual worst part.
The slow cold creeped around him and through him. Like it had literal hands and claws pinning him to the chair. Squeezing him until he passed out.
Every time he asked for an explanation for why he had to eventually always go back to the freezer, he got one of two answers.
“You’re a volatile new weapon. The ice helps us track your progress and also seems to help the Kraang serum take to your body better. And this way we only have to call on you when you have a mission.”
Or.
“It’s because you’re bad.”
That’s what he wondered in the freezer most nights.
The next few days were…
They were like how training had first been with the EPF, but worse. Now, even the nerds treated him with contempt. Training went on longer. He never got another hot MRE. Never got to sleep outside of the freezer.
Worst of all, Bishop openly hated him. The man who he was doing all of this for.
Granted, it wasn’t like Bishop had ever shown any sign of liking 86, but. But he had been perfect. Had done everything that Bishop had wanted. Never hesitated with an order or command.
Until… now.
Was that--Was that
Did that seriously undo all of his progress? Or had there ever been any progress at all?
No… Because Bishop was the one throwing him his MREs now. Before he would have the nerds do it. But now, he got to see Bishop again. That had to have meant something. It had to.
“Hey…” 86 whispered when Bishop threw him an MRE one day. And, the man stopped and listened.
“You know why--why agents like us always like to sleep in? It’s cause we’re always undercovers!”
“You’re such a fucking disappointment,” Bishop sneered immediately before slamming the door.
The words were said with such visceral disgust that 86 felt physically dirty. Had to force himself to touch and eat the MRE, because that was his job. He had orders.
Even if he was a disappointment.
It was colder in NYC during his next mission. To bring back a yokai dead or alive. But this hippo dude was weird. Kept insisting he wasn’t a yokai.
“Uh huh,” 86 mumbled, rolling his eyes as he caught up to the fleeing yokai, “And I’m a movie star.”
A simple grab of the wrist with a twist and the big guy was pinned. Finally, a mission was going his way again.
“It’s true!” The creature begged, “I’m a mutant, just like you are!”
What.
86 blinked before he said, “Awwww, shit. Wait, for real?”
Maybe it wasn’t as professional as he had been trained to be, but he was in a bad mood. He had wanted a quick win so went after the first mystic looking being and it turns out he just picked another mutant?
“Well, okay,” 86 said, hearing a sigh of relief from his captive before, “I’m sure the nerds can find something else to do with you--
Giant red hands had grabbed around his entire being. Six fingers pinned all of his limbs together, leaving his head just barely free like he was some sort of captured bird. 86 didn’t even have time to yell at the fleeing hippo man before he sprinted out of earshot. But that didn’t stop him from trying.
“You know--!” 86 bitched while trying to break free of the all-encompassing hold, “I feel like this has officially crossed some sort of line! Don’t you have anything better to do?!”
The arm was stupidly long and even more stupidly strong. Probably extended down a block or so, but was becoming shorter as the big red turtle came closer. Retracting his dumb mystic power thing to reel 86 in like he was some sort of fish. These guys could be annoyingly ninja-like when they wanted to be.
To add insult to injury, Big Guy was talking into some sort of communicator. Saying stuff like, “I got him, I promise I got him. He’s not getting away this time.”
“You guys have issues!” 86 hissed once he knew he would be heard by the mutant, “Is it really that hard for you to believe that your brother is
“You’re gonna be okay,” Big Guy said and then kept saying, voice pathetically desperate, “You’re gonna be okay, Leo. I got you this time. I got you. You’re gonna be okay.”
The dude jumped down a manhole and started walking. Never stopping his repeating mantra. And what made it even creepier was that he clearly wasn’t doing okay. Like, yeah he was wearing a red mask of some kind (and why that was 86 couldn’t fathom a guess) but that didn’t do anything to hide the eye bags that he was sporting. Especially with his right eye clearly being messed up in some sort of major way.
On top of that, the dude was sporting way more injuries than the last time they had seen one another. There were way more bruises and bandages covering who knows what. His captor was walking with a limp, and with how hard he was shaking it was a miracle that his grip was this strong. And
“Are you eating enough?” 86 asked.
The question got the Big Guy to stop walking. He looked at 86 with the most pathetic, desperate, hopeful smile.
“You worried about me?” He asked back.
Ha, as if.
“Confused. I thought you guys didn’t do stuff like starvation techniques. Especially considering how awful you were with torture the last time I was here.”
His words made the mutant’s face fall like he’d been pushed off a roof.
“We’re not… gonna torture you, Leo.”
“Right,” 86 sighed through gritted teeth as the walking resumed, “Cause I’m Leo. How could I forget? Then why am I gonna get the royal Leo treatment while you look like shit?”
He never got an answer for that one. The other two mutants had met them halfway.
Or, almost. The purple guy stopped after a few steps and kinda sorta fell? It sounded like he might have been crying.
They upgraded the dead guy’s room. The place had been through an upgrade with reinforced locks and walls and all that jazz. Apparently, that is how he had broken out before. It was usually hard to remember things when he got a big dosage of juice from the device, so he really couldn’t say one way or another.
“And you won’t be able to break out again,” Purple Guy finished explaining with a stuffy nose, “So don’t even try.”
“Uh huh…” 86 responded, studying the mutants and their human companions with an unimpressed look before declaring, “Man, all you guys look like shit.”
Purple Guy barked a wet laugh, “HA! It’s good to see you too, dum dum.”
Wow, these dudes had issues. Like, needed to see a professional kind of issue. The EPF probably had the kind of pros to help them if they would come.
But, no. Instead, he was stuck in this cramped little train car full of others watching him. This place was so messy, like, it was clear that they were trying to do the “leave it just as it was left” kind of deal.
They just forgot the step where that meant they accepted the fact that the dude was dead.
Ugh. Out of all the recurring problems to have, this was not one he expected. During his training, he thought about stuff like having a recurring rival or something. Not crazy mutants who kept kidnapping him and then not torturing him because they thought he was their long-lost brother.
If he didn’t break out of here soon, he was gonna get the chair again.
The other thing that sucked was that they really had upgraded their restraints. Now he was on a comfy bed with specially made cuffs that chained him to the subway pole behind him. The cuffs were not linked to one another, instead, each one was linked individually from his hands to the poll.
But the worst part was that they didn’t just restrain him around the wrist. Purple Guy had made these almost like metal oven mitts. The metal casing covered each hand. This should have been unbearably uncomfortable, but the inside was plush and soft.
On top of that, this was basically a free bludgeoning weapon they had given him to use once he broke free. Which, again, needed to be soon before Bishop found out he got captured again.
Even though there was no way that Bishop didn’t already know this somehow.
In the meantime, everyone else was talking about their plans to help him like he hadn’t also been paying attention to everything they’d been saying. Plans were tossed around to try more tech, try more stuff with questioning, and association, and there was even a hot box of pizza in the room that was also talked about as a possibility to use.
Did it smell amazing? Sure. Did he also know for a fact that it was laced with something? Of course. This wasn’t his first or second interrogation by a long shot. But it was probably the worst one he’d ever had to suffer through out of boredom alone.
And its presence also raised more questions.
So when Purple Guy checked on his restraints while everyone else talked, 86 took the moment to whisper, “So, what’s with you guys and food?”
The reaction was immediate, “Do you want some? Is that--”
“No! No, gah—!” He groaned, grateful that the conversation was still quiet enough that they hadn’t attracted any attention, “It’s like. If you guys have that food, why haven’t you eaten it? Or let the Big Guy? ‘Cause, like. I get you guys aren’t good at torture. But you know that you can only do starvation techniques for so long, yeah? And with him being so big, you can’t do it as long as you could for you and me.”
This time, there was no reaction. Just getting stared at by the Purple Guy like someone pressed his pause button.
“Besides,” 86 rolled his eyes, “Why no torture for me, but you do torture for him? I thought you liked the dude.”
“We do.”
“Then why—”
“Were you starved?”
The question was asked in the same hushed tone as before, but something about it sucked all the sound out of the room. Something about how desperately it was asked. Everyone was looking at them now.
Made him feel weirdly embarrassed. Like right before they’d put him under for more tests and the last thing he’d see would be that big spotlight.
“Yeeeaah,” He responded, not liking how he couldn’t read what was happening, “That’s why I was all, like, your torture won’t work on me. Or, wouldn’t work if you guys were any good. The EPF has already tested my limits so that they can know yours. So anything you can take, so can I.”
There were some hushed whispers and fallen faces. Which. Like. Is this normal? All the training he had in the EPF was for this. Surely, they had also been preparing, right?
But they all just looked heartbroken. None of them expressed it more openly than the Purple Guy. Dude was crying so hard that 86 was genuinely worried he was gonna pass out.
Or, not worried. Just cause like, that would mean that the dude would probably fall on him. And that would be annoying.
The Big Guy gently walked the Purple Guy outta the room, just as 86 was starting to understand what he was saying under all those sobs.
“I’m so sorry… I should have--I should have been faster… I should have been smarter…”
Yeeeeeeee-ikes these dudes had issues.
O’Neil also rushed out the door, Jones chasing after her.
That just left him with the Rat and the Little Dude. Perfect.
Made sure his face was just a hint of cockiness as the orange one sat across from him before saying, “Wow, talk about dramatic am I right?”
Little Dude’s face was serious with stubborn tears that refused to fall. All the focus was up top, and not on how he began to dislocate his hands and wrists. It was harder with each hand being encased separately, but he’d practiced for this very moment.
“I’m sorry,” Little Dude began, “Donnie hasn’t really slept since… you were last here. Has been worried out of his mind about where you’ve been. Talking about how fragile your heart would still be, or how the EPF might punish you for being captured. A million different things. He thought he killed the last chance we had to bring you back. So hearing that... He's particularly fragile right now.”
86 let out a quick laugh, “Ha! Yeah, I was punished. It made me stronger.”
The words got a single one of those tears to fall from the Little Dude. The Rat tried to step in, but he kept talking.
“Raph hasn’t stopped looking for you since the last time. I don’t know if or when he’s eaten. Or even slept. He would just send us updates now and then on where he’d looked or who he’d spoken to. Just like he did when you first went missing… But, he wouldn't come home this time, no matter how much I begged.”
86 used the speech to cover up the sound of his dislocating joints in his left hand. Dislocating his prosthetic was going to be a different matter, but he knew what to do. Even if it was gonna make the nerds pissed. Now he just needed to wait for one last good moment.
“April and CJ have been helping me train my ninpo.”
“The fuck is ninpo? Some sort of weirdo mutant ability?”
But his jab was annoyingly ignored.
“April would have helped me non-stop, has been trying to really! But, I think--I know, she’s been blaming herself as bad as Donnie. She just sometimes does a better job at it. I think she’s been talking to Raph and CJ about it, but--”
“April will be fine, I have been talking to her,” Rat reassured, before looking at him, “And you will be fine as well Blue, my son.”
The information made him sputter, taking the moment to make a fist with his prosthetic and break off his thumb, “Son--Blue? Was that a nickname? I like blue, but that name sucks--And hold up, wait a minute, rewind back to the son thing! How does that happen?! What, did you marry a lizard or something? Lizard plus reptile equals a bunch of turtles? Or--”
“I’m going to bring you back,” Little Dude finished with a laughably firm tone, “And, when you remember all this, more than anything remember that this wasn’t your fault.”
86 couldn’t help but let out a laugh, “Aww, is that
And the Little Dude put his hands on his shoulders and began to glow. All 86 had done was blink. Shut his eyes for one moment, and now it was like he was in a totally different world. Like he wasn’t even on Earth anymore. Like something had invaded his mind and stolen him away.
It felt like
Fire
Like an invasion of fire burned in his mind.
So much worse than the ice, even though the feeling was the same. The source of the heat was this streak of golden orange flame. Even though it was small, barely bigger than the flame of a match, it made him feel like he was being melted.
Like he was being stepped on and crushed by some giant monster while also flying through space.
He had to get away. Tried to. Like he was running for his life. Had to get out of here. He wanted to live. Please, it wasn’t supposed to be about him anymore
“Leo?”
The hands were removed and 86 could finally breathe again. Was doing so the same way he had after the underwater tests back at headquarters. If he did it too quickly, he’d pass out again. And he needed to--
To--
“Why did you stop me?!”
“It was beginning to be too much for you. And--”
“I could have done it! I’m going to try again. He was--He was there! Leo! I felt him! A clone wouldn’t have ninpo! He’s--”
Something happened after that. Probably. The Little Dude might have passed out. 86 didn’t, but
The word was just so
blank
Floating through an icy abyss, with all the colors and sounds smeared together. He couldn’t make anything out. This was how he had imagined what it would be like if he didn’t fall asleep in the freezer. The world passed him by while he stayed frozen.
That was how it looked. Then why did he feel like he was being re-iced? Like he had been melting before?
There were no windows down here. It was impossible to tell how much time had passed.
But when he could find his balance on the ice once more, the room was dark. There was a movie playing on a screen with a projector. It seemed like it was an old kung fu movie.
Everyone else was also back in the room. Well, he shouldn’t make that assumption. The mutants had been seen with other allies in the past. Who knows how many others they had patrolling their lair. He needed to be ready. Escape would be doubly hard now with everyone seated so close to him, practically cuddling him but restraints made that pretty impossible.
This was the perfect time to plan his escape while everyone was distracted by the film. Like, how were they this awful at not only torture but keeping guard?! Now all he had to do was
“Hoooot Sooooup!” The man with the pompadour cried out, breaking down the door to the warehouse in front of him with a flying jump kick.
Inside the standard-looking storage room, there were multiple hostages tied up in the center alongside more than a dozen men.
“Give it up!” A man who was clearly the leader and not dressed for combat shouted as he stood on the balcony above them all, “You’re outnumbered! Now nothing will stop me from achieving my ultimate plan!”
While a lot of what he was seeing didn’t make a lot of sense, that’s probably what he got for jumping into what appeared to be the climax of the movie.
But, the suited man was right. The man with the much better outfit was horrifically outnumbered, and there was no way to approach without risking the hostages.
“Heh,” The cool-looking man chuckled confidently before awesomely pointing at the boss, “That is where you are wrong! For you see, I have already won!”
“Whaaaaat?!” The suited man yelled, looking horrified and angry in equal measure.
Meanwhile, 86 had to stop himself from asking the same question aloud. How could this guy possibly have a plan?
The answer was nothing short of amazing and pure awesomeness.
Instantly, the super cool dude was moving around the warehouse so insanely fast and light. Like--Like a really really fast feather or something! It was crazy!
Because the place was a warehouse, he was able to use the environment to his advantage. Like spinning the ladders around as if they were the ultimate weapon. And with the way he used them, 86 might have to agree. The rungs of the ladders were expertly used to pull away multiple bad guys at once, and then easily immobilize them.
That must have been what the superhero had been talking about earlier when he said he had already won. This place had assured his win. That, and the man’s ultra cool and advanced kung fu.
The suited man could only watch in horror. Tried to point a gun, but was shaking too hard to get a good aim on the impossibly fast man.
He screamed in rage and annoyance, “Lou Jitsu!!! I won’t let you get away with this!”
And then pointed his weapon at the hostages who were still tied up below.
The weapon fired.
86 held his breath in shock.
“Heh,” Lou Jitsu laughed only once, the glint of his sunglasses obscuring his eyes, before
SPIN KICKING ALL THE BULLETS AWAY WHILE HOLDING A LADDER
“Whaaaaaat?!” 86 and the villain both shouted in awe.
In one fluid motion, Lou Jitsu then repositioned the ladder and climbed to the second floor, all while still in mid air!
When he lept off, he came down on the man with another epic cry of,
“HOOOOT!!! SOOOOOOOUUUUUUP!!!”
It was like the punch that would never end. As if Lou Jitsu was punching with the force of every man who had ever had or would fight for justice. The villain bounced off the ground and went spinning out the back wall. There, police were waiting with handcuffs which the defeated man immediately fell into.
If it weren’t for the restraints that were still on him, 86 would have probably jumped out of the bed in amazement. He almost did with how much the cuff had loosened around his broken hands.
It was good that he hadn’t broken free yet, because it turns out that he was being closely watched. Probably had been for some time.
But, whatever! He needed answers!
“How did he do all that?!” 86 asked the softly smiling faces, “That was--! What! There’s no way he’s human.”
“Oh, he’s human,” The Rat softly chuckled, like that wasn’t the craziest thing 86 had ever heard in his life.
“No way that can’t be real--but I couldn’t see any wires!” He responded without meaning to. There was a part that was screaming how he needed to stop attracting attention. That he needed to be escaping. That he was such a disappointment.
The Rat laughed, “I’m impressed that you were able to catch that! You’re right! Lou Jitsu rarely used wires, and never stunt doubles or special effects!”
He wanted to argue against how that was impossible. But
I’m impressed
You’re right
The words kept bouncing around his brain at Mach speed. They caused a warm feeling to spread throughout his whole being, and a smile to break out on his face. Not the smile he would give to try and win over Bishop and the others. A different kind that 86 could never remember doing before that moment.
This felt better than anything. He felt warmer than that one time he had jerry rigged some hot cocoa, and happier than that time he had been told a good job by the nurse for not flinching during checkups.
It was… so nice.
Another movie was put on. Everyone around him seemed different. Couldn’t quite figure out how.
They were lighter? Maybe. They were definitely smiling more. But it wasn’t just that. It was something deeper. Like, they would ask him questions, but they weren’t the torture interrogation kind.
It’d be stuff like
“What’d ya think about that one?” The Big Guy asked him after the end of “Teriyaki Showdown”. And because this wasn’t anything to do with work, he could be honest.
“That was incredible! What a twist that the government agent was the bad guy! And to throw those guys with one hand into the soup?! Holy shit yes!”
And they would all go marshmallow-soft again. Like… it was weird. But, that observation was on the back burner.
The main thing that was happening was that 86 had endless questions about these movies. How were they made? What was the inspiration? Who was Lou Jitsu and why was he so incredibly awesome?
Rat had laughed long and hard at that one. Gave 86 a hug.
He froze. Had been stupid. Let them lull him into a false sense of security. Now that he was close enough, he was--
The hug ended. Rat softly gave his cheek a pat with watery eyes before returning to his spot away from him.
It took everything 86 had not to chase after the hug. Not to call out for the Rat to return.
Even though each movie had to have been an hour or two, they felt like minutes. 86 was absolutely entranced by what he was seeing. There was no way anyone had been or ever would be cooler or greater than Lou Jitsu.
Then during what might have been the middle of the fifth movie, a noise began. For the most part, he was able to ignore it and continue watching. It mostly didn’t ruin the experience. But when the credits were rolling, he looked around to find
The sound was snoring. Everyone around him was asleep. Except for the Little Dude. He was walking out the door--
Training took over.
Almost silently, 86 ripped his broken hands out of the restraints and sprinted through the door. He threw the shocked mutant as far as he could in the other direction while making a break for the exit.
He went flying a lot farther than expected. Screaming the whole time. Some sort of weapon with chains immediately came flying out after him as the others woke up.
But he was too fast. Faster than normal. As 86 ran, his limbs stretched longer, and his heart beat harder. This wasn’t normal. It must be something to do with the Kraang device.
And that thought made him want to throw up. So the official reason was going to be that most of the hand of his prosthetic hadn’t made it out with him. That’s why he was faster. Had to be the only reason. Because if he Kept thinking about the device--
So he didn’t. Instead, he ran. And when nets and chains were thrown at him once more, 86 broke them with strength he didn’t know he had. But he wasn’t thinking about that.. He continued to run.
Almost just like before, he didn’t really remember getting back to the base. The Cold was back with the ice that was burning through his skin. It felt like it was building up to what the Little Dude had done to him.
It was making him think and feel like he wasn’t really there. Like he was experiencing things he had never felt before.
Falling through the air in space. Being pinned by a monster. Being so scared that he was going to die, and even more than that. This overwhelming sense of relief.
That scared 86. He didn’t like those two feelings getting mixed. Didn’t want to die. Why would he be relieved of getting crushed by a giant monster? Even if it was for a good reason.
What? What reason could be good enough to
“AAAAAAAAH!!!”
The Chair. That was fixing it. Even if it hurt in a way that set every nerve aflame, it helped it did. Had to endure it. To become better. This was helping.
Because Bishop
“Mission report,” He demanded.
But 86’s teeth were chattering too hard to respond. It wasn’t like it had been with the mutants when Mikey had
The machine went again. It used to be that he would only need two rounds on rare occasions. This wasn’t good.
“The hippo!” 86 tried, almost spitting out the mouthpiece he hadn’t registered before, “Not a--Yokai! A mutant!”
“Why didn’t you capture or kill it?”
What?
86’s vision was doing that fuzzy thing that happened when he was gonna pass out. But he couldn’t let that happen. Not here. Not now. Not in front of Bishop.
“Was outside mission--”
“And was being captured by the mutants again a part of the mission?” Bishop sneered, “The only good thing you have ever been able to do was leave behind the bomb that we had implanted in your hand. With any luck, they’ll all be dead by now.”
Wh
What? But that. It
Something about the information. It. Hurt. What had. No.
He was put back into the freezer while he was still trying to understand the information. Or, well, he had always suspected that his arm was more advanced than just a super futuristic prosthetic. The EPF was smart like that.
It was more trying to understand his reaction to the fact that he might have finally gotten his first couple of mutant kills. That was a good thing. But he didn’t feel good about it. Why?
What would Lou Jitsu do?
“Killing is not very honorable,” He imagined the hero in the freezer, leaning against the door in front of him, “It is understandable that you would detest such methods.”
“But… they’re a threat to humanity,” 86 mumbled a reply.
Lou Jitsu nodded, “As true as that may be, you know that I believe there is good in all living beings. And even if it was to try to get you to lower your guard they were kind to you. It is only natural that you would want to see them turn to the side of good.”
The statement almost got him to laugh before he responded, “But, Bishop doesn’t think that mutants can be good.”
“That is correct!” Lou Jitsu said, voice and body proud and loud, “However, heroes like him can have their hearts hardened by years of torment. Maybe it is you who can show both him and the mutants a new way! Just like I did for the Commissioner in ‘Jitsu for Justice’! Remember?”
He did. That was his favorite part of all the movies he had seen.
The hero put a hand on his shoulder.
“You are a creation that has combined two major threats to humanity. Maybe, you were destined for this. To bring peace to the world. Not by killing the mutants, but by showing them that there is a better way than the destruction of humanity. Once you have achieved that. I know that both Bishop and myself will be very proud of you.”
“Yeah?” 86 responded or maybe thought. He was so tired, and so so happy.
He fell back into cryosleep with the biggest smile on his face.
“You could be a hero.”