Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Casey had insisted over and over again to Raphael that he was practically a ninja himself at this point. That he could handle a simple mission in his own. What a shame that Raph had listened to him- Casey was more of a bonehead than your average skeleton.

So, Casey was walking the New York City streets. The sidewalks he crossed were mostly empty, a few people walking onhome or journeying somewhere to call home for the night. He held his hoodie closer to him as the midnight chill embraced him.

News had been going around the city- something about a ton of animals
and pets going missing all around the area. Casey didn’t think about it at first, yet it became personal when his little sister’s pet kitten went missing. And of course, Casey planned to get him back. On his own.

Casey already had a prickling suspicion on who the pet thief was… The Kraang. I mean, who else would need animals but a bunch of creepazoids who use green goo to turn people into animals and animals into humans! Well- sorta human, anyway.

So he kept wandering around, on high alert for anyone looking a smidge too suspicious. Casey eventually turned a corner and saw a Kraang droid with a few others- his heart leapt and he immediately pressed himself back up against the wall to try and overhear these creep’s conversation.

“Kraang has successfully captured enough specimens for Kranng to test the new formula on.”

Yeah- that was all Casey needed to hear. He revealed himself from the shadows. Where 10 Kraang in poor disguise stood infront of a Box-Truck. Which was totally perfect for harboring the hostage animals of New York.

“Alright you jelly-filled creepazoids! You made the mistake of stealing something that didn’t belong to you! And I’m here to return the favor…”

The alien piloted androids turned around to face the vigilante as he jumped out from the shadows to shout at them.
"Halt, human. You have no business in Kraangs buisiness, that is known as 'kidnapping'."

“Real subtle, dude..”

“Kraang, apprehend the human."

Casey withdrew his Hockey Stick and held it tightly as he saw the droids pull out their blasters.
“You guys are gonna find out the meaning of pain from your less than friendly, neighborhood Casey Jones! Goongala!”

The Kraang started firing rounds of scintillating pink lasers as the human boy guarded himself against the rosy rays with his hockey stick, before whacking a few of the aliens around like piñatas.

“Hah! You guys are no sweat, Raph didn’t know what he was talking about!”
His beloved- as in beloved freind, had no reason to split his shell over this! Casey’s victorious grin vanished faster than a dust bunny in a vacuum factory as he felt the seizing grip of a robocreep loop under his arms and arrest all further movement.

Casey shivered as the ice cold robot held him too close for comfort- which was anything closer than 15 feet!
“Hey! Let loose, you creeps look like the wads I would find under my desk-!”
His squirming was quickly zapped out of him as one of the Kraang hit him with one of those taser on a stick things!
Shocking, I know.

Casey was extremely sure that killed him- he felt every muscle seize and go still as a statue, including his heart. His veins felt like the all spontaneously combusted, and his hair stood on end from being absolutely fried. The sensation almost made him feel bad for all the goons he had electrified in the past with his taze-glove.

“Kraang, take the human to what is known as the laboratory for Kraang. Kraang will use the human for what is known as experimentation.”
The beeping and booping robots threw the now limp vigilante into the back of the truck, making Casey groan as he collapsed onto the cold metal floorboard.

“H-hey! I didn’t sign up to be a lab-rat!”
Casey shivered as the words left his mouth, but that could have been from getting tazed. He couldn’t imagine himself as a gross little rat with beady bloodshot eyes and a weird fleshy rope for a tail. All that and being tortured by the Kraang? Count him out.

His argument was quickly gone as he was once again shocked by the Kraang’s stun spear. So- Casey limply thunked back onto the floor. He could feel his blood turn to lava underneath his skin- everything burned. Getting electrocuted was definitely getting added to his list of ‘least favorite things.’

The back doors of the van were slammed shut and the Kraang began to drive off, human and animal test subjects in tow. The true lament of his situation hit Casey harder than those Kraang.. Maybe Raphael had been right after-all…

That hot- uh, hot headed turtle, must have had some brain cells left in his cranium that somehow hadn’t been totally streamed into oblivion by his temper. It was surprising, actually!

The human pile of Mush known as Casey Jones was tossed around the back of the truck like an unlucky bag of groceries, the only thing keeping him halfway conscious was the constant shriek of animals and his phone that had recently started to ring and buzz nonstop. It gave him a headache.

The truck skidded to a stop by an old factory surrounded by warehouse buildings, severely dilapidated compared to the abandoned factory they circled. The Kraang began unloading the petrified pets from the vehicle, uncaring for the animals suffering as if the creatures were unfeeling cargo.

It made Casey feel sick to his stomach as he finally came to, what awful monster didn’t care about hurting innocent animals? The Kraang, obviously. As soon as Casey gained his grain of sand sized consciousness back, he slid out the back of the truck. Yelping and jumping out the way of lazers shooting past him.

The old factory was bright despite the lack of bulbs or even natural light- the green luminous glow that lit up the place was difficult to pinpoint until Casey’s attention was pulled to where these brain bots were taking the cages of animals.

A large conveyer belt that led to a large hanger of mutagen near the ceiling. Uh oh. With the underdeveloped pea Casey had in his skull, his focus was quickly stolen by a familiar meow.

“Lucifer!”
Angel’s ironically named kitten cried as he was thrown onto the conveyor belt. The black cat clawed at the bars helplessly, ruby red eyes scrunching up as it bit the bars of the cage.

If only Casey had the time to actually have a plan.. for now the plan was to dodge Kraang and snatch Lucifer back!
“Thank the Saints these guys take after stormtroopers..”
The hockey player muttered under his breath as he grabbed the carrier holding the frightened feline captive and opened it, cradling Lucifer in his arms.

As he did the conveyor behind him started to move- moving towards the area where mutagen would be splashed all over them. And there’s no way Casey would let that happen! But could he free all these critters with glittery bullets flying at him? Probably not.

Before Casey had a chance to verbally complain- he yelped. Getting shot in the arm by a lazer. Shortly after that- he heard a shout from above as glass shattered. The human watched in surprise as glimmering glass rained down from the sky, the green hued shards hitting against the floor and splintering into shimmery dust.

Casey watched Raphael fall from the sky shortly after, looking close to angelic while the broken window pieces reflected him from all angles before smashing against the floor. It was a miracle the ninjas feet weren’t sliced open. Raph crossed his sai infront of himself to deflect the oncoming blasts as he stood in-front of Casey like a shield.

“What the shell are you even doing here!?”
Raphael asked through gritted teeth, blooming bullets coruscating against his forked blades- small sparks burning against his knuckles before dissolving into darkness.
“Like I can’t ask the same thing? Were you stalking me or whatever? Cause you coulda came in to save me ages ago, shining armor! Or- shining shell..”

Raphael growled.
“Wha- would you shut up? I started worrying about your dumbass when you went off on your own for hours and couldn’t be bothered to answer your phone, moron!”
Sounds of glitching circuits and metal scraping and breaking rang through the air as Raphael sliced into the Kraang droids.

“My bad! Anyways- these creepo’s stole my sister’s cat and a bunch of other animals to try and mutate them! So I obviously came to save the day- wouldn’t want a zoo of pets looking as busted as you!”

Raphael may have laughed at Casey’s words under different circumstances, even give him an earful of insults that made the hockey players remarks sound like heartfelt compliments. But these were not those circumstances.
“Just make yourself useful then, free the rest of the animals. I’ll take care of the Kraang!”
Raphael deactivated a robot and snatched its lazar gun, going on a rampage with the blaster.

Casey gave a curt nod, stowing the devilishly named ball of fluff in his hood to keep him close as he dashed over and hopped onto the conveyor belt, un-caging the captured animals. Crate after crate was handled, and Casey Jones watched the animals run off to safety.

Raphael was simmering as he cut through the robots like butter, the fire of wrath consumed every precise movement he made. The only thing that hadn’t angered him this whole night was the fact that Casey was alive, and that he had found the boy before that fact changed.

He was angry, of course he was. These freaks invaded earth uninvited and then hurt Casey! It didn’t matter how tough that guy was, these kraang had no right to lay harm on him, nobody did…
Raphael felt the need to protect Casey Jones, even though he knew Casey wasn’t some damsel who always needed saving.

As Raphael tore through the last of the Kraang he heard something creak behind him- the turtle turned around and screamed as horror grew within him like a million tiny thorns in his heart, before spearing through his chest as titanic blades.

“Casey!”

Chapter Text

Casey Jones grinned as he released the last of the animals kidnapped by the Kraang. It was an accomplishment to spare any soul from the yucky aliens… He was a bit weary to free the last animal- as it was a snake. But the reptile meant no harm as it flicked its tongue out and slithered away.

Lucifer meowed and jumped out of Casey’s paint-stained hood to chase after the scaly thing as it made its escape.

Before Casey could stop his sister’s cat from eating the coral snake, Casey felt his veins burn. One of the animals he had saved ran into a few switches and buttons it shouldn’t have. And the hanger of mutagen released, dousing the hockey player in a thick coating of cyan slime.

He looked down at his trembling hands- body twitching and jerking as he watched a terrifyingly familiar goopy liquid drip down his fingertips. From Casey erupted a scream so blood-curdling that the dairy aisle would be jealous- a horrific sound created by a mixture of agony and panic.

Casey’s body violently began metamorphosis from the horrible chrysalis of mutagen. Every cell shimmered and burned as it was infected by the radiant sludge. It felt like he had taken a swim in a tsunami of acid and drowned in it.

He could feel every bone in his body snap, inexpressible anguish penetrating through his shuddering skeleton as it melted into primordial jelly, ready to take on a new form. A new bone structure tore through Casey’s flesh faster than his growing skin or muscle was able to keep up with.

His skull stretched, spears of torture turning his insides into outsides, before back again as his flesh melted and molded around his newly carved chassis.

Everything around him was thick and heavy with vicious excruciation, his lungs sucked down mutagen instead of air, festering and distorting him from the inside- snuffing out his humanity.

He was ready to black out, from the sheer suffering of his body deteriorating itself and building back up again into something inhuman.

The Throes calmed as the Luciferous ooze finished absorbing into his skin, veins pumping mutagen infected blood through his entire body, changing every piece of him.

The last thing he touched had been Lucifer- and a snake. Could a man mutate into a mix of two different animals? Apparently the answer was yes.

Casey’s body was different. His new skin was a mixture of scruffy fur and sleek scales- visible from his paw pads, inner ears, and any thinning patches of the fur. The jewelry he had worn simply became apart of his body- sharp metallic scales of what used to be earrings frilled off his pointy auditory apparatus. Even the claws sheathed inside his paws were metal- dewclaws included.

His teeth became sharp and pointy inside the aching jaw of his new snout. His tongue was forked in two. The entire way his body was configured had changed. Longer neck along with innately slender, stretched, and bent legs- digitigrade in nature.

He was fluffy and black furred, speckles and stripes of yellow,red, and white patterning him. Whiskers sprouted from his freckled muzzle- and Casey’s entire physiognomy was twisted and scrunched up in pain. His new form twitched and writhed in place, unable to do much else than squirm like an eel in salt from the hurt running through him.

“Casey! Oh no, no no no…”
Raphael’s gruff voice pierced Casey’s burning senses like nails on a chalkboard, his ears swiveling back like an antenna in a storm. Even the most simple action felt strange- after all, he never could swerve his ears before. They just kinda- stayed in place. Like human ears are supposed to do.

Every twitch of his body felt like it was tearing through his prickling skin.

Raphael felt awful watching Casey mutate and change into something- different. He wasn’t able to stop it, he hated the helpless feeling. It felt suffocating. Like Choking on smoke in the smoldering remains of a car crash stuck in the snow.

But what felt worse was seeing Casey in pain- Raphael never remembered getting mutated as a baby, he had no way to know what it felt like- but he had seen other mutations happen. And it never seemed anything less than undiluted suffering.

He shakily approached the slumped form of his best friend- the boy he loved. He looked different, that’s for sure. But that’s all- different. Raph would never see him as monstrous or ugly, he loved Casey no matter what form he took. Nothing could make Casey unlovable, too freaky to harbor Raphael’s heart. It was simply impossible.

“Case-“
Raphael hesitated, a gentle hand landing on Casey’s shoulder. He remembered Spi-Slash. when he was first mutated he was out of his mind. He didn’t know if Casey still had all his wits about him.
“Are you ok?”

Never mind, that was a stupid question.
“Can ya understand me?”
That was better.

Casey opened his eyes as Raph gently gripped onto his shoulder- his eyes seemed the same deep umber color that they always were. His iris just took up a wider portion of the eye- making the sclera nearly unperceivable. His slit pupils slowly dilated into big round pools as they flickered over to Raphael.

“Raph-“
Casey croaked in a raspy hiss. The gap in his teeth fenced by sharp, venomous fangs. The former human slung his arms Raph, legs trembling as he tripped over his own feet.

“Woah- careful man..”
Raph held Casey close, helping him stand on his own two feet.
“You don’t need to go breaking your feet- you already went through hell…”
Casey felt immediately unbalanced, briars and needles piercing through his legs as he walked on his tippy toes, unable to move otherwise. If only he had taken ballet class, he may have moved easier now compared to the mess of shaky limbs he currently controlled.

Casey’s fur bristled as he quickly noticed that he looked very different. He could see his feet end in paws. Uh oh. One thought occurred to him as he saw that he had been changed.

“Oh Fuck- what am I gonna tell my sister!? Angel’s not even gonna recognize me!”

Chapter Text

Raphael held Casey close, rubbing his back in a nugatory attempt to calm the boy down. That just made Casey freak out more- touches from the ninja made hockey player feel like a bottle of soda that was filled with mentos and thrown into a tornado. Sometimes it was almost in a good way- but right now it just felt awful. His mind and cells swarming and churning painfully was too much to find comfort in.

“Psst-“
Raphael called out, learning from Michelangelo just about every sound you could call out to lure a kitty cat your way.
“Luci, c’mere boy.. pst pst.”

The little black kitten sauntered out the stormy sea of panicked pets, seemingly unphased as he rubbed his head against both mutant’s legs. Annoyance hit Casey like a train as he picked up Lucifer and the kitten started purring. How was he so chill? Probably because he didn’t get slimed two minutes ago.

“Atleast he still recognizes me.. I dunno if Angel will.”
Casey frowned and hugged the purring pet close to his chest, who promptly started to sink his claws into his hoodie and knead into him. The new mutant winced in a mixture of pain and at the sound of his voice.

He sounded like how his uncle used to, with a few extra cigarettes. Sid Jones never strayed too far away from a pack a day. It was no surprise that when he died his lungs were the color of charcoal. His throat made hissing sounds- wet and gravelly hissing with an awful high pitched edge.

Raphael snatched the cat away when he noticed his friend’s face scrunch up with discomfort. He placed the furball on his shoulder like it was muscle memory, no second thoughts on where to let the cat perch.
“Quit beatin’ him up more, Luci. He’s already had his fill of punches for one night..”

Casey was busy feeling like an alien.
“Dude- am I a total freak in the face?”
Raphael let his eyes roam the boy’s face- truly taking in his new appearance for the first time. Casey was never a freak- and he would never be ugly to Raphael. Not even when he was old and wrinkly- not even now, as a mutant.

“Nah, ya only look as bad as I do. And I’m pretty handsome for a turtle.”
Raphael’s hand shook- twitching back and forth, hesitating before grabbing ahold of Casey’s hand. And Casey intertwined their paws together without complaint.

His insides felt wobbly, at being inadvertently described as handsome by the prettiest turtle he knew.
“I’m handsome as you? Well don’t let me look into a mirror, I’ll turn totally into Narcissus.“
Deep down- his brain did uncomfortably wiggle at the thought of what his next look into a reflective surface would entail. But for now, he enjoyed the cooling touch of his boyfriend- friend who was a boy, whatever..

“Man I feel rough- too bad I won’t even get to snooze and lose in my own bed…”
The essence of a growl laced Casey’s words, yet Raphael’s presence eased his chagrin enough to keep him from having a meltdown at the fact he was a mutant who would never feel the sunlight on his skin ever again, get a job, nor play hockey ever again or see his friends that didn’t consist of April or sewer dwellers.. actually he didn’t really have any other friends. So atleast there was that.

“Dude- what am I gonna do about my sister? She’s gonna think I up and abandoned her forever! I can’t leave her alone- especially not with my pops..”
If Casey could currently pace the floor, he would wear a hole through it.

Raphael winced- Angel was just a kid. Explaining to her that her brother was a mutant seemed difficult to even think about… so he didn’t even bother trying to think of how his brothers would react. Donnie would probably just Love to try and dissect him.

But anyways, Raph knew Casey was right about Angel. With all the ranting Casey had done about his home life, it seemed cruel to let him disappear without his sister in tow.
“We won’t leave her there- we can.. We can think of something. Sit down.”

Raphael gently pushed the vigilante to sit down on a stray box before plopping down beside him, letting Casey lean on him.
“Are ya still hurting?”

“Sorta- I mean, I’m burning like a witch in Salem… But you could always kiss it better!”
Casey batted his lashes, trying to lighten his misfortune with a joke. If you could call it a joke- a smooch from Raph would probably cure him of all ailments. Because a kiss from him would probably give him a heart attack, and you can’t really be ill when you’re dead.

Or maybe you could- Casey wouldn’t know. He only died once. But he was resuscitated, so it didn’t really count. Raphael frayed at Casey’s teasing, blinking as if his lids were the wings of a hummingbird.
“Only cause it’s you.”

Mwah, Raphael planted a chaste peck to Casey’s forehead- and he didn’t die, oh so surprisingly. But he did start to feel better- face warming as his ears leaned forwards, smile wobbling around his shiny fangs. But he was probably just warm inside from all the new fluff insulating his body heat.

“We can head to your place and get Angel, but I gotta make a call first..”
Casey hummed at Raphael’s words. Going to his apartment seemed like a risk. If Angel saw him- she would probably scream from coming face to face with a disgusting monster she didn’t recognize. And when she screamed, Casey’s brain would have its first kiss with a round from his father’s shotgun- and Casey doubted that the nine lives carried over after his mutation. Or would it be plus ten cause of the snake? Who knows.

Raphael pulled out his T-phone and clicked the contact lovingly named,
‘Lame-onardo.💙’

Leonardo was awake, checking his brother’s rooms to make sure they were fine. Donatello had been dragged to his bed by Michelangelo, who was currently cuddled up to the genius turtle, and Leo knew from experience that escaping a Mikey snuggle was near impossible- so Donnie and the youngest were conked out for the night.

Leonardo closed the door- yet he didn’t even get the chance to make it to Raphael’s room before his T-Phone rang. And speak of the devil it was Raph calling him. Sigh- it was probably to inform the leader that he was out and wouldn’t be coming home for who knows how long!

With a small click, he answered. Leonardo had never been the type to put his phone on silent. There could be an emergency- anyone at anytime could be in danger, feet dangling at the edge of their own grave. He slept with his T-phone right next to his head. Just incase the ringer went off while he slept.

“Raph, what’s up? Are you alright?”

the answer he received was in a hushed whisper.
“I’m in some deep trouble… Me and Casey- there was an accident with some mutagen and Casey got splashed-“

“You let Casey get mutated!? Raphael, how could you let something like that happen-?”
The leader’s yelling nearly blew out Raphael’s eardrums.
“You can lecture me later! Just listen for a damn second! His sister-“

“What about his sister? Is she in danger? I can get the guys and get there stat.”
Raphael scoffed.
“She could be… Casey was worried about her. And I don’t think she knows about us-“
The hothead turned to Casey.
“Does she?”

Casey shook his head.
“No- I tell her stories about our adventures sometimes when she can’t sleep, but she thinks it’s all pretend… She doesn’t actually believe I chill with mutant turtles.”

Raphael shrugged as he spoke back into the phone.
“Whatever you do- just be careful, Fearless. Casey’s dad is a maniac..”
A shaky breath of panic made Leo frown.
“I- I need to get Casey down to the lair- but we need to get Angel- and I dunno what to do- or how to fix this-“

“Raphael-“
Leo interrupted, trying to put his brother’s freakout on pause.

“Listen to me, it’s gonna be fine. You can take Casey to the lair- Donnie and Mikey are asleep, they won’t even notice.. I can go and get Angel, she’ll probably see me and think she’s dreaming. It’ll be ok, I can handle it..”
Leonardo’s voice was soft and firm in an attempt to soothe his panicking brother.

“And we might be able to fix it! There’s always a chance with retromutagen..”
Retromutagen was difficult and took a long time to make. And sometimes- it didn’t even work. But he just needed to calm Raph down.

“Yeah- yeah. I’ll get Casey to the lair and you nab the kid. I owe ya big time.”

“Of course.. I’ll see you when I get back. Don’t run into any more trouble, please. Love you.”
Leo hung up the phone before Raphael could say ‘I love you’ back.

Raphael felt his stomach twist up like tangled Christmas lights left in the attic for too long as he put his cell away and looked over to Casey. It was obvious on his face that he was freaked out. But who wouldn’t be in this situation?

Raphael gingerly picked up Casey like a princess in order to carry him.
“Leo’s not happy, but what else is new? He’s great with kids, so he’s gonna handle Angel, and I’m gonna take care of you..”

“I know you will…”
Casey leaned his head ontop of Raphael’s shoulder as the turtle started to carry him away. It felt weird being in a strangely moving and pain riddled body that didn’t quite listen to you, and not even fully knowing what exactly you looked like.

He felt warmer than ever- and all soupy inside and crunchy on the outside with soggy patches. Ew, he didn’t like that.

His mind felt clear enough though, atleast that thing would never change. Casey grinned as he relaxed, and started to think of how to fill the saccharine silence.
“Oh gosh- Mikey is gonna bother me even more now. You know how he is with cats.”

“Yeah- but I’ll keep him in check for the most part. Don’t worry.. you’re still scrawny as an alley cat, I feel like I’m carrying air.”
Raphael snickered as Casey narrowed his eyes at his remark.

“Nah man- I’m one hundred pounds of pure muscle! You just wouldn’t know cause every muscle but your brain totally ripped. Well- it is ripped, in a way that would make a doctor cry and sign your death certificate.”
Casey yowled as he was slightly jostled in Raphael’s arms as they exited the abandoned factory and turned to traverse a labyrinthine of alleyways.

“Oh shut up- what does that even mean? You’re the one with no brain… You can keep calling me muscular though, it’s cute.”
Raphael grinned, and Casey rolled his eyes- feeling as if soft little flowers were growing in his chest and tickling his heart.
“You want me to shout from the rooftops how rugged you are? Aren’t ninja supposed to be humble or something?”

Raphael carried Casey down to the lair and layed him in bed while fetching his dying husband some medicine and snacks, until he heard two entities enter the lair.

Were Angel and Leo already back? God, he was not ready to get chewed out on one of Leo’s lectures. He was tired and already felt shitty letting his best friend get mutated.

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.••.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

Click! As soon as Leonardo hung up, he went to leave the lair. He had trouble remembering exactly where Casey’s apartment was- he had to cycle through his wishy washy memory to remember
Room 512.

Leonardo scaled the building via fire escape, circling around room 512 until he saw a room through the window that looked like it belonged to a little girl.

A small snoring lump burrowed under a bundle of blankets, bed surrounded by Care Bear Plushies, and a butterfly shaped nightlight glowing softly on a shelf in the corner. Leonardo knocked on the window until the girl in bed stirred from her snoozing and sat up.

She looked towards her bedroom door- before quickly realizing the tapping was coming from her window. Her eyes widened at the sight of a green being staring at her from outside.

Leonardo put a finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet and tapped at the windowsill. She covered her mouth to not yelp for help and slowly climbed out of bed. Angel hesitated for a moment and opened her window just a crack.

“Who are you-? Are you real?”
She whispered quietly, tilting her head as she attempted to get a good look at the reptile from all angles. Trying to see if this strange creature was some kind of joke or reverie.

Leo looked her over, it was hard to tell she was Casey’s sister. With her darker skin and curly, purple dyed hair. Only a few features were reminiscent of her older brother.

“I like to think I’m pretty real… My name is Leonardo, I’m friends with your brother Casey! He got into some trouble and sent me to come get you, he was worried about leaving you alone.”
Leo watched as Angel’s eyes widened- but she didn’t look surprised. Just worried.

“Casey got into trouble? Is he ok?”
She tilted her head- before her dark eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“Hey- you’re a stranger! How do I know if you’re a good or bad stranger? You could be lying to take me away in your van! That’s what our teachers say. To not trust bad strangers!”

Leo nodded, it was good to be cautious. For a moment, Leo wondered how old Angel was…
“You’re right- you Shouldn’t trust strangers. Anyone could be dangerous! But I have pictures of your big brother and I hanging out together, that should prove I’m a friend and not some bad guy out to hurt you..”

“Oh! I wanna see! Casey always tells me stories of fighting bad guys at night with his friends! Is it true-? Do you fight bad guys with him?”
Leonardo nodded at Angel’s questions.
“Yeah! Casey is like a real life super hero. We’re always fighting evil people.”

The turtle pulled out his phone and scrolled through his gallery, handing it over through the small opening in the window. Stars swam around Angel’s eyes at the pictures. It was definitely her brother hanging with this turtle.

So she opened her window all the way, and let Leonardo lead the way to the lair. The sewer was gross but she had to go see her brother! Plus, going with this friendly turtle meant she wouldn’t have to deal with her dad. “And Casey might look a little different.. But he’s still Casey. My brother should be taking care of him now..”

Leo’s words came to a stop as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen, staring at Raph who was gathering snacks and medicine. Angel waved at the new stranger. Raphael gave a nod in acknowledgment.

“I’ll go tell Casey that his sister is here..”

Chapter Text

“Casey-“
Raphael’s sentence was cut off as a pair of jeans slapped against his face. Casey’s fur uncomfortably rubbed against his jeans- and his tail felt trapped. So he simply kicked them off, right in Raphael’s face.

The turtle grumbled as the clothing item hit the floor- while Casey gave an innocent grin. As innocent as Casey could possibly be…

“Casey, your sister’s here..”
Raphael’s words were laced with an oddly somber tone as he dropped the snacks and meds on the nightstand. Casey’s heart immediately leaped, clawing at his ribs like a caged dog seeing a steak right outside his kennel.

“Angel?”
Hope lifted Casey high for a moment, before reality clipped his wings and let him plummet into the icy sea of trepidation.
“I gotta see her, but..”
Casey looked downwards at his fluffy striped legs.
“She could freak..”

A meow broke Casey’s sentence, as Lucifer crawled out from under the bed. Casey picked up the kitten who purred upon contact.
“Maybe she’ll freak less if she gets her cat back first..”

“Maybe.. I mean, she was doing fine with Leo. But no matter what your sister thinks or whatever happens, We’ll make sure she understands.”

Casey held Lucifer in one arm, while Raphael tightly gripped his hand on the opposing extremity. Casey still struggled to stand, and the earthquake of nerves shaking up his knees didn’t make walking an easy task, despite his usual ease he always had in his feet. Skating, running, jumping.. he would need to learn how to properly walk to do any of that once more.

But his pace was steadier than before, even with knobby wobbly knees- so that was far from a bad sign. As they neared the threshold to the kitchen, they paused. Raphael stroked Casey’s knuckles as they stood at a halt, a silent act of reassurance.
“You got this.”

“Yeah..”
Casey squeezed Raphael’s hand, raising it to his snout and giving his hand a quick peck without much thought to the action. It just felt like the right thing to do. He didn’t notice the turtle stiffen and turn red as Casey left him standing in the doorway so he could tend to his sister.

Upon seeing Angel, Lucifer leaped from Casey’s hold and ran up to the little girl. Angel turned and gasped in surprise, squealing in delight as she picked up the kitten. She looked in the direction of where Lucifer had come from to see some strange fluffy being standing there. Was it big foot? And if it was, why was big foot wearing her big brother’s clothes?

Was he dating big foot? Did big foot eat her older brother? Was he gonna eat her next? She should have never followed this turtle to the nasty sewers! Now she was going to be eaten. The tall fluffy creature began to speak.

“Uh- hey Angel! How’s my favorite lil sister doing?”
Leonardo’s eyes widened as he looked Casey up and down. Casey had mutated into a.. what exactly was he? Some sort of weird looking cat? That was unexpected for a punk like Casey Jones.. Leo would expect Casey to transform into something more.. more Casey! Not some fluffy feline.

The leader in blue looked down at Angel to see how she was taking the current situation.

Angel Jones screamed. Casey was a human like her- not whatever that was. She held Lucifer close and ran behind the kitchen counter to hide. Casey’s fur bristled as he heard his sister’s shriek of fear.
“Wait, Angel-!”

Casey walked up close to the counter, stopping in front of it- not wanting to corner his sister and further terrify her.
“Angel calm down- it’s me! I know I look different but I’m the same Casey.”

Angel shook her head.
“You ate my brother! I wont let you eat me too!”
Casey had to think- what would calm down his sister and prove to her that he was himself..?

“I didn’t! I just got into an accident while saving Lucifer..”
Casey leaned against the counter, thinking of something only he and his sister would know. That was easy enough.

“Here- your favorite Care Bear is Share Bear and mines Grumpy! And I know you dyed your hair with grape Koolaid and had your face purple for weeks! Who else would know that but Casey Jones, best brother and hockey player of all time!”

Angel peeked from behind the counter, letting Lucifer go and run off wherever he pleased.
“Yeah- you would..”
She smiled a little.
“But why are you all hairy? Did Luci bite you and turn you into a were-cat? Are you still gonna eat me?”

“Nah- only monsters eat little sisters! Guys grow lots of hair when they grow up, it’s totally gross.”
Angel crossed her arms at the claim.
“Not that much hair.. unless you’re bigfoot. And you’re not! Did growing all that hair hurt?”

She stepped away from the counter, twiddling her thumbs- not as scared as before knowing the new fluffy Casey really was her brother.

“Nah it didn’t hurt- I’m too tough! And it was all to save Luci from these robot aliens!”
Casey picked up his sister in a hug and spun her around as they laughed and talked.

Leonardo let out a sigh of relief from the sidelines, before his gaze caught sight of Raphael watching from the doorway. He approached the volatile turtle, who promptly dragged him into the hallway, already awaiting the lecture that Leo would undoubtedly give him. He was not in the mood.

“Raphael- what happened?”

“Casey- he went off on his own and got caught in the crossfire with some Kraang while saving a bunch of petnapped animals.. He got mutated. I should have gone with him, we could have had a great night together- busting crime and knocking around goons. But I was dumb enough to let him go off alone! And now he’s stuck as a mutant..”

Leo placed a hand on Raphael’s shoulder as his brother raved on in agitated whispers. He frowned, hearing the guilt infesting Raphael’s tone.

“It is awful that Casey got mutated, but be glad he’s still alive. It’s not your fault- the Kraang are awful and unpredictable. Don’t let this guilt eat you alive Raph, that’s a path towards self destruction… And hey- knowing Casey, he probably doesn’t blame you even a little bit.”

Leo’s words didn’t alleviate Raphael’s negative feelings, but the gesture helped.
“He can blame me all he wants- that’s not what I care about! I just care about..”
Raphael trailed off with a sigh, taking a peek at Angel And Casey bickering in the kitchen.

“I just want him to be ok.. he seems- ‘fine’ right now, but I think he’s just putting on a brave face for the kid..”
A frown rested on Raphael’s face- not annoyed or aloof as it usually was though. It was a deep engraving of contrition and compunction, carved from the sculptor’s of grief.

“He is ok Raph.. Let’s be grateful for that.”
Leonardo paused at his brother’s pained expression, pulling closer towards him.
“It’s been a rough night and I’m sure we’ll all be feeling better in the morning after some rest. Goodnight Raph.”

“Thanks, you’re probably right. Night Leo.. I’ll deal with the Jones’s.”
Leonardo nodded and waved as he left towards his room- ready to fall into sleep. As soon as Leonardo shut his door Raphael deflated with a sigh and muttered.
“Sweet dreams.”

The ninja walked back into the kitchen, where Casey and Angel were measuring themselves for some reason. Who knows how their conversation led to the height comparison.
“If I start turning into an animal like you- I hope it’s a bird so we can race!”

Casey laughed at Angel’s declaration.
“Well you’d definitely have to run from a cat like me of you sprouted feathers!”
Casey was interrupted from his banter as Raphael cleared his throat to get his attention.

“Not to interrupt the reunion- but it’s way past midnight. It’s time to cal it a night.”
Casey nodded.
“I am tired- but where is Angel gonna sleep?”

“The couch has a futon inside one of those cushions- I’ll set it up with some Pillows and blankets and she can sleep there.”

So Raphael went to set up a place for Angel to sleep while Casey reassured his sister and gave her plenty of love goodnight, before making his way to Raphael’s room and collapsing onto the mattress like his drunken father.

Casey sighed, his brain felt fuzzy and disconnected. He didn’t feel like himself. Nothing that had happened in the past hours had felt close to real. He felt distant from everything around him, like he was halfway lucid through a dream that didn’t make enough sense for him to remember in the morning.

He felt isolated from his own body, like his past human form was a different person and he was some tumor that grew and left the body in an attempt to be its own person yet it wasn’t quite working out. He felt yucky. He felt like he was falling asleep watching himself star in a sci fi movie.
He felt fake.

And most of all, he just felt exhausted. It didn’t take but a few minutes for Raphael to come into his room. Casey’s ear twitched as he heard the door creak open, and he turned over to face Raphael once the bed dipped beside him.

“Hey.”
Casey said simply, hiding his face against Raphael’s bicep. The turtle’s presence seemed to ease his anguish from a bullet wound into a splinter, even if briefly.

Raph snuggled up against Casey, rubbing his back gently. It was a strange feeling. Warm and soft fur coating a silky and almost squishy texture that wrapped around every tough muscle. Perhaps the best way he could describe it is velvet wrapped leather.

He wishes he could swap places- take away whatever pain the boy he loved was currently going through. Raphael kissed the top of Casey’s head as he pet him. Casey smiled, closing his eyes. A soft purr sung through his chest that caught Raphael off guard. He always thought that Casey was pretty cat-like before the mutation. And now he was purring. Raph didn’t mind it though, it was cute and made him feel like he was probably making Casey feel somewhat tranquil.

“Hey.. Go to sleep, I’m not going anywhere.”
Raphael assured as he pulled the mutant into a closer huddle.
“You’d better not..”
Casey closed his eyes, enjoying Raph’s touch. This seemed like the most gentle Raph had ever been with him. The two had their moments- treating eachother like delicate treasure. But those moments always seemed too few and far between for Casey’s liking- yet he had never expected anything else from Raph.

He was glad Raph even touched him at all in the first place.. even looked at him the way he did… no-one had ever really stared at him with Such genuine affection and admiration until he had met Raphael.

Nobody had ever kissed his bruised knuckles after socking him in the ribs until he had met Raphael. He had never felt so dumb and weak in the knees until he had met Raphael.. and he couldn’t have been more grateful to meet him.

They never discussed what they were- how deep their affection lay, They just felt it- knew on a deeper level than words what they felt towards one another.

Casey Just knew that his heart filled with fireflies whenever he was around Raph- the only person he met who was just like him in so many ways.. the only person he would even consider opening up to.

Casey was a rock and Raph opened him up like a blooming bud. And the vigilante couldn’t have been happier that it was him who had done it. Raph felt like his one and only…

“Goodnight Raph.. I love you.”
And with that, Casey conked out. A gargly mixture of snores and purrs leaving his sleeping form.

"Night, Case-"
That was quick, Raphael sighed.

This stupid boy... The only person he'd ever met who'd made his heart throb unlike anyone else. He was the only one in the world who knew him. Who truly understood and knew him. Knew his insecurities, his weaknesses. And still, they could smile at each other like it was normal.

It was normal. It was their normal. No one else had to be involved. The two of them could live in their own little heavenly world when Raph felt understood and heard and loved even if he didn't always realize it. In a world with the only person on earth who saw him for who he was and not as an expectation or a monster. Just as Raphael. As a friend, an equal.

They could punch each other with enough force to drive the fire out of hell, and then talk over dinner, wrapping each other up like the couples did on TV. They could get into a screaming match at three in the morning and then cuddle in one bed, murmuring 'I love you's that never quite reached the other’s ears. Like they were doing now..

Raphael didn’t care. He wanted Casey. It didn’t matter if he was a human or a mutant or- whatever. Hell, Raph would probably still kiss Casey of that idiot was a cockroach. And ew- just the thought of those greasy disease ridden bugs made Raph shiver and get queasy. Gave to illusion of prickly roach legs scampering across his shell.
But he ignored it, enjoying his proximity with Casey. It didn’t matter to Raphael.

Casey was Casey, and that’s who Raphael loved. He was sure of it, as he fell into the alluring darkness of sleep.

Chapter Text

A night filled with awful dreams. The feeling of mutagen was a fresh agony- Casey could still felt his body squish, expand, and take shape as if he were Pizza Dough for one of Mikey’s disgusting pizza’s.

But he eventually woke up.

Casey awoke to the awful smell of smoke. And not the normal smog smell of New York where you walk outside and get lung cancer by taking a deep breath- no cigs required. It was the scent of something burning.

If only Casey could walk outside on the surface for some fresh air. But not only was he confined to the underground as a mutant, the air was never really fresh in the City. It was a thick pollution that clung to your throat.

The city was always a storm of dirt and filth, no matter where you roamed. Casey sighed and nuzzled into Raphael. A whiff of the turtle would probably put any normal person into a coma, dwelling in the sewers and all that. But it was comforting enough to Casey. Better than smoke itching his airway.

“Raph..”
Casey hated the involuntary inflection of his voice- a snippy hiss as he sleepily spoke to his reptilian cuddle buddy. Said reptile had been in and out of consciousness, never fully asleep. He wanted to stay awake. Awake enough to hold Casey close. To hear his heartbeat. Raphael had been stuck in a half lucid state void of dreams.

Yet the sound of his name quickly brought him to full consciousness.
“I’m right here..”
He mumbled sleepily, eyes closed as he held Casey close, the hockey loving lunatic gently stroking his shell.

“I know- I still got eyes.”
Casey murmured as his paws traced nonsense patterns into Raphael’s carapace. Could turtles even feel their shells? Casey didn’t know. Casey clenched his teeth together as the scent of burning breakfast grew harder for his olfactory senses to ignore. A sudden jolt of anxiety forced the feeling of standing in quicksand.

“Mi Cielo- I don’t want anyone to see me like this…”
The fact that the only ones who would see him would be mutants themselves, did not ease Casey’s discomfort. It may have seemed irrational, but these mutants had always known Casey as- a human being. If they were to see him in a different combobulation, would they still see him as the same Casey? Or as someone different. A new mutant they had never met before?

He didn’t want to be perceived differently just because his body had changed. Because his mind had not. Under all the scales and fluff, he was still the boy he had been as a human… His body had went against him and been forcefully changed, and he didn’t want people to see his body and define him from that.

Casey didn’t want people to think of him differently because his corporeal vessel holding all his feelings and experiences had transformed. Every simple performance could be seen differently.

Casey never looked and Raph and defined him as a mutant or thought of him differently than any other human being. He saw Raph and thought of him as a brutal hothead of a ninja who was always brimming with passion, just a guy who made him feel really happy to be around. He didn’t even notice the guy was green half of the time.. because it didn’t matter what was ascribed to Raphael’s outside, he was too busy focusing on who Raph became on the inside. Outside of any bodily vessel.

But not everyone was the same as Casey… and he himself knew that. He knew this new appearance would cause trouble. If it didn’t, he wouldn’t be in the sewers right now. Angel wouldn’t have screamed at the sight of him. If nobody cared about appearances, the guy he loved more than anything would have known what the sun felt like on his skin before aliens invaded the earth!

He wouldn’t have cared about the mutation that much in a world like that… But this body felt like a trap, a one way ticket for anyone to look at him with disgust and ship him off to a science lab for dissection. His sense of self was shattered in a matter of seconds.

He wish he was in a world where he wouldn’t have to care. But that world never existed. He longed for something that had never been or ever would be. Being a mutant didn’t come naturally like it did to Raphael who had always been that way… he was a stranger taking over some poor creature’s body. That’s what it was like, and he didn’t want anyone to know he had invaded someone and stolen their body that way. He felt disgusting. Not with how he looked- he didn’t even fully know what he looked like yet.. he was sick at the thought of his appearance affecting the way people looked at him.

That’s is what he hated about his body.

Raphael had noticed the shakiness in Casey’s voice, his sleepiness fading into a comprehensive sorrow.
“One step at a time handsome.. I can just grab you something from the kitchen- nobody has to see you if you don’t want them to.”

Raphael sat up in bed, pulling Casey upright with him. He looked up at the fretful boy with a frown, rubbing a hand up and down his shoulders to soothe him.
“But you know the others don’t give a damn about what you look like.. especially when Angel didn’t freak out that much, I’m sure another mutant seeing you would be even more lackluster.”

Casey sighed- shoulders shrugging up to the sides of his head. Making him look like a kicked puppy- or well, kicked kitten.
“Well I’m her brother, Raph! She’s kinda obligated to atleast tolerate me, that’s what family does. Plus she’s a real sweet and understanding kid, but even she screamed the first time she saw me!”

This- insecurity Casey felt was different from any other feelings he had ever experienced before, it was totally messing with his head. Was it even insecurity? I mean, he didn’t have any other word for it, he didn’t read a thesaurus for fun like Donnie did.

“I don’t wanna see how the guys will look at me now- because I know it will be different! Even you look at me differently now, Raph…”
Casey had noticed it. The way Raphael looked at him. It wasn’t horror- but a deep glimmering sadness and guilt that glazed his gaze. It made Casey feel like a glass princess, twirling and plummeting from the highest shelf.

“What-? Casey, no- that’s not..”
Raphael couldn’t Deny his claim- he hadn’t been able to hide the way he had been looking at his newly mutated ally. The guy he loved and cherished and been painfully morphed in a matter of seconds. That wasn’t an easy thing to toss under the bed and forget about.

Raphael cupped Casey’s cheek, thumb gliding over the freckled fur with an uncanny gentleness.
“It’s not because you’re a mutant or a freak or whatever you’re thinking, ok? It’s just.. different, and I’m worried about you. That’s all… you’re not any less than the Casey Jones I know and- knew…”
He coughed out the last part, stopping himself from saying the word originally meant for Casey to hear.

Casey leaned into Raphael’s delicate touch, absorbing the fleeting wave of comfort.
“You don’t think I’m scary?”
Raphael immediately shook his head at Casey’s question, something painful twisting through his heart that he couldn’t flinch away from.

“No.. I’ve seen some horrific, terrifying things, Case. And you’re anything but scary. I don’t get afraid when I look at you, I think you’re crazy, sure. But we both are.. I think you’re brave and funny- but never scary.”
How could a boy as beautiful as Casey think be was scary? It was a perplexing concept to Raphael.

Casey’s pupils flickered across Raphael’s face, not finding any sign of a lie in his visage.
“I said I wasn’t gonna leave ya Casey… We’re gonna face my boneheaded brothers together, and if they say anything stupid- Mikey… I’ll knock em upside the head for ya, yeah? You’re with me..”

“Yeah- together forever and all that sappy junk..”
Casey smiled, paw resting on the hand Raphael had on his cheek. The two mutants leaned forwards and kissed. Mwah.

Casey pulled away, his face would have been red if it was visible through the scales and fur.

“Ynow what- I am pretty hungry! Let’s bounce.”

Chapter Text

Unfortunately, Casey and Raph did have to get out of bed instead of cuddling together all day. So they rose up and headed towards the kitchen- with little to no vigor. It was a slow shuffle, going any faster would be panic inducing.

“It’ll be fine- nothing can get any worse.”
Raphael offered, holding Casey’s hand as they walked.
“Don’t jinx it, every time they say that in cartoons, a rain cloud appears, and I don’t feel like getting wet.”
Casey pointed up to the ceiling above his head, luckily no cloud hovered above him.

“Why w- oh, whatever…”
Raphael rolled his eyes.
“It’s quiet- that’s a bad sign..”

“I think it’s a good sign that we’re not hearing anyone gag up chunks, man.”
Casey’s eyes dilated as Raph grabbed his hand as they finally stepped inside the kitchen, where Mikey was cooking breakfast.

Fire spewed out of the oven burner, causing the tiniest turtle to jump back from the oven. Smoke swirled out of the pan and collected in thick storm clouds on the ceiling. So that’s where Casey’s bad luck cloud went..

With smog and flames gushing from the oven, Donatello rushed into the kitchen and spray down the place with a fire extinguisher. Michelangelo giggled nervously and turned down the heat, now covered in white foam.

“Morning dude- made some PB&Pickle pancakes! Hungry?”
Michelangelo’s pan was melting- pancake batter and iron dripping down onto a foam covered plate.

“No! Why are you setting the lair on fire!?”
Donatello started shaking Michelangelo by the shoulders, the maraca treatment surely killing off the few neurons he had left.
“It’s breakfast!”
Michelangelo squealed, burnt goop splattering everywhere as Donnie tried and failed to shake some sense into him.

Casey wrinkled his snout and looked over to Raph who beared a similar expression as he spoke.
“Eurgh- That is fucking foul..”
Raphael’s complaint drew the attention of the two skirmishing turtles.

“Morn- woahh! Who the shell is that!?”
Michelangelo yelped in surprise, melting pan fumbling out his hands and becoming one with the floor. Raphael squeezed Casey’s hand a bit tighter.

“I’m Casey, dude! I got in the splash zone of some mutagen!”
Casey’s ears swiveled back, pressing back against his head. He could already feel his annoyance growing. Maybe he should have stayed in Raph’s bed and make the turtle serve him breakfast in bed like a king.

Raphael took a step infront of Casey.
“Don’t make a big deal out of it, He’s still the same Casey..”
Michelangelo popped his lips and rolled his eyes, waving a hand dismissively.

“The same? He looks totally diff! Like a janked up alley cat! Oh em gee- do you always land on your feet now? do you have six nipples!? Can I pet you?”
Mikey ran circles around the two before jumping up in an attempt to stick his grubby fingers in Casey’s fur. The hockey player jumped backwards, and Raph knocked his brother to the floor.

“Back off man, I’m not part of the damn petting zoo!”
Casey’s tail puffed and started swishing back and forth. It was uncomfortable to be asked about his body after basically being insulted, and then have Mikey trying to rake his sticky fingers through his fur.

Casey didn’t even want to think about his possible appearance at the moment. So all the unwelcome questioning about his body- the leering at him like an exhibit, it was making Casey feel sick to his stomach.

Raphael growled as he wailed on his younger sibling.
“Janked up? Are you asking to get clobbered!? Mind your damn manners, Michelangelo!”
Casey’s bared teeth and Raphael screaming his full name after a few whammies made Mikey back off with a nervous grin- before quickly running away. Practically leaving a trail of dust behind him.

Donatello approached more cautiously. He was quite intrigued by Casey’s mutation. It wasn’t like any transformation he had ever seen before.
“Fascinating.. it’s almost like multiple animals hybridized into one…”
Casey nodded, looking away as he attempted to mutter an explanation that would get Donnie to stop looking at him like- that..”
“Yeah I was cuddling up to a kitten and a snake when I got slimed.”

“A feline and a serpent? the properties of the mutagen must have made the chromosomal and genetic incompatibility obsolete- as usual… and mutated Casey into an organism with impressively equally spliced traits from both the reptilian and ma-“

As Donatello spoke while squinting at Casey, Raphael promptly gave him a concussion.
“Mind your business! Can’t you like- make retromutagen for him instead of yammering!?”

“Oh, right!”
Donatello avoided Raphael trying to turn him into a game of whack-a-mole.
“Well maybe- but I’ve never seen this type of mutation before.. But I’ll see what I can do. And uh.. sorry Casey.”

Casey shrugged and Donatello snagged some fur off him for DNA samples before darting away to his lab. Casey didn’t feel like being gawked at, nor did he want to eat- whatever Mikey had made. So he went to go wake up his sister while Raph tried to find something edible left in the kitchen.

Casey sat on the couch next to his snoozing sibling and shook her shoulder. Angel yawned and slowly awoke, rubbing her sleepy eyes clear of rheum. She was in a strange place she didn’t recognize at first in her delirium. But her eyes quickly lit up at the sight of her brother- the memories of last night proving themselves to not be of a dream.

“Casey!”
Angel hopped onto her brother for a hug, who didn’t hesitate to squeeze her right back. He combed through her hair with his fingers, trying to tame her wild bed head- Angel practically breakdanced in her sleep. It was a miracle she still got invited to sleepovers.

“Hey Angel! How was your trip with the sandman?”
Angel stuck her tongue out as her frizzled curls were pushed flat to her scalp.
“It was good! I had a dream that you were gone but then I woke up and you were still here. Hey, your friend is really nice! Why is he a turtle?”

“Because he was born as a turtle. But they walk and talk like they do now cause of alien ooze.”

“Oh.. so they weren’t a people before, like you..”
Angel tilted her head and scratched her scalp in a habit of thought.
“Last night the turtle who came to get me said he was your friend, but the one who put me to bed also looked like your friend too! Even though they bothed looked the same.. are they twins? are there more turtles? Which one is your bestest friend!?”
She let out her questions in a rapid fire, not giving a second for her brother to comprehend or answer a single word uttered.

“uhh- there are four of em! They’re all siblings, like me and you.”
He shook her by the shoulders gently.
“And stick to one question at a time, my head isn’t as big as yours- I Can’t remember all of them!”
Angel grinned, trying to imagine four big turtle people and what they would look like.
"Four? Four-tuplets?? That's so cool..."

“Super cool…”
He look up for a moment- pretending to think.
“And my bestest friend here is Raph, the one wearing red-“
He explained, pointing to his face to refer to the turtle’s masks.
“I love him alot…”

Angel let out the most dramatic gasp known to man and mutant kind alike, hands flying over her mouth.
“You LOVE him?? Ohh you got a crush on him! That means you have cooties! Gross!”
She laughed and shoved herself out of Casey’s lap, falling flat on the couch.

“I do not have cooties! If I did, you would be crawling with them!”
Casey laughed, wriggling his fingers menacingly. Threatening to infect his sister with LoveBugs.

“Nuh uh you wouldn’t! I’m immune to cooties cause I don’t have a boyfriend!”
Angel defended, sticking her tongue out in a gesture of disgust as she put her hands on her hips as she stood on the couch.
“Good- you’re way too young. Plus, all boys are dorks, don’t even talk to em! And Raph isn’t my crush..”

He did like Raph- but crush didn’t feel like the right word for it.
“He’s my boyfriend- I think… Probably.”
Casey shrugged, as Angel jumped on the couch cushions.
“Anyways- Raph is gonna get is some food, since his brother Mikey cooked up something awful… I’m pretty sure this time he was actually trying to poison us all.”

“Is your boyfriend a better cook than dad?”
Angel bounced from heel to toe, trying to balance on one foot while destroying whatever was left of the springs inside the old furniture.
“Who isn’t? Considering our pop can’t microwave a TV Dinner, I’m sure that his cooking will automatically be gourmet in comparison.”

“Hmm.. do they eat monster food or people food? In school I read this boom where monsters ate babies! I don’t think I could stomach eating a baby.”
Angel gagged and Casey laughed.
“Why not? Babies got the softest meat, man. Like eating cotton candy- but baby flavor.”

“Eww! That’s gross! Baby eater!”
Casey cackled more like a hyena than a snake kitty, almost falling off the couch.
“I’m joking! Most of these guys eat human food.. Only Mikey chows down on monster food, and that mushy guy is way too wimpy to eat babies.”

“Hey Casey… will we ever leave the sewers? Or are we gonna be down here forever!?”
Angel plopped down to sit.
“I dunno… You could leave whenever- but I could be stuck down here forever, who knows.”
His voice was nonchalant- but he’d rather tear away his skin and emerge as a human being. Any human being.
“What? Why do you have to be down here forever if I don’t? You’re my brother!”

“Yeah but if normal people saw me I would probably get sold to a science lab- that or pops would put my head on a mantle..”
Angel pouted as her brother explained the situation. It didn’t make any sense to her. Casey looked different but he was still the same boy.
“But that’s stupid! You’re still so nice, even when you’re all fluffy!”

“I know- I wish it were different, Angel.”
Casey hugged onto his sister when she hit her head against his chest.
“Then I’ll stay here as long as you are- even if it is forever… Dad won’t ever find us!”

“Yeah, I bet he doesn’t even notice that we’re gone yet! He’s probably still on the couch snoring like a boar!”
Casey made an obnoxiously loud and congested sounding snore to mock their father, making Angel laugh and shake away her feelings of frustration.
“You sound more like dad than dad does!”

“Course I do! I’m a expert at snoozing and snoring, Ive slept any and everywhere! One time I fell asleep standing up while vacuuming, and when I woke up I fell between the bars of my head board.. my head got stuck and pops had to cut me out with a saw! I thought he was gonna guillotine me.”

Casey cackled at the memory, rubbing his neck.
“So that’s why I never tried to clean up my room again.

“I thought you were dirty on purpose cause you could always tell your teachers that your roaches ate your homework.”

Good idea, the thought made Casey grin. Anyhow, Raphael walked into the living room with a plate of sandwiches.
“Hey.. It took forever to find anything, that moron basically destroyed everything.”
Raphael sat down, and the three of them started eating.

“Hey, maybe you could be a chef if the whole ninja thing doesn’t work out.. use those sai the chop up some veggies! They look like one of those garden forks anyways.. it’s totally your destiny.”
Casey said between the noms of his breakfast, Raphael simply rolled his eyes and bumped shoulders with the new mutant.

One of the remaining sandwiches vanished as Lucifer appeared, making Casey jump. He had almost forgotten they had taken Angel’s pet cat with them to the lair. As they ate, Angel watched the turtle that had joined them to eat closely. He discreetly placed his hand over her brother’s, leaning close to him.

“Is that one your boyfriend?”
Raphael instantly started choking on his food, coughing as Casey whacked him on the carapace. He spat out the food he had hacked on, it hit Lucifer, making the cat yowl and run away with his sandwich.

Casey shook with laughter as Raphael caught his breath, embarrassment Singeing his cheeks red.
“Totally. He didn’t give me cooties- just salmonella from smooching me so much.”
Casey clasped his paws together, pursing his lips and making kissy sounds as he leaned onto Raph, the vigilante was promptly shoved away- falling off of the couch with a thud.

“Salmonella? Is that boy cooties?”
Angel asked, as Casey sat himself back up, leaning on the couch cushions and looking up at the two.
“Yah, but cooties only big hunky sewer turtles can give ya!”

Casey was so lucky Raph found him and his ear splitting chortling cute, or he would be the sheath for his sai by now.
“Shut the f- s-You! I hate you..”
The ninja stuttered out, mask blending in perfectly with his flushed face.

“Dawhh- is it opposite day? Cause then I totally hate you too honey bunny wunny baby!”
Casey clasped his hands together and batted his lashes as he dragged his teasing on and on before snorting loudly and falling back onto the floor- howling with laughter.

If there wasn’t a child present, Raph would have already tried to chop Casey into itty bitty pieces. Yet- all good things must wait, so Raph grabbed another sandwich instead.
“I’m gonna ignore you now.”

Casey sat up, wiping a tear from his eye
“Wow- you’re seriously gonna ghost me on our first date? I’ll get my lil sister to beat you up for that!”
Angel seemed to light up at Casey’s threat.
“Can I really?”

“No, I’d- it wouldn’t be a fair fight..”
Raphael said and crossed his arms as Angel held up her fists with a determined grin.
“Hah- look Angel! He’s scared to scrap with ya cause he knows he’ll lose!”

“Yeah- terrified. I’m shaking.”
Raphael said sarcastically- turning his attention to Casey who turned on the television. The screen flickered on, and the channel opened on had been the morning news.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘈𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘑𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴.”
The name said on screen had Casey decide to not surf to another channel, and Angel turned her head.
“Dad?”

Casey’s father was on screen, the sight made Raphael more angry than anything. He hated that stupid drunk more than Casey seemed to. The man was big and broad with neat black hair and oddly chilling blue eyes.

The man went on to say how his two children went missing, both gone without a single trace but his youngest daughter’s open window. He went on about how Angel had never ran away before, unlike his son. A picture of a very human Casey was on screen along with a photo of his sister.
“𝘐𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴.”

The report went on to cover the weather, and Casey decided to turn off the television, claws digging into the buttons as his appetite for cable was spoiled. He felt a little sick from seeing a picture of himself, and turned away from the blank screen before he would be able to see his new face. Angel tensed up, staring at the tv long after it was shut off.
“Are we in big trouble..?”
Casey shook his head.
“Not yet.”

Raphael grumbled like a caveman, off all times, now that bastard was worried about his kids. What great timing- not.
“Need me and the guys to sort it out for ya?”
Casey immediately narrowed his eyes at Raphael’s offer. It wasn’t a surprise to Raph, since Casey had to convince him one too many times to not murder his father.

“What are you gonna do about it, genius?”
Raphael opened his mouth, before he quickly shut it, looking between Angel and Casey.
“Nothing..”

Casey rolled his eyes, what would Raph genuinely be able to do? He couldn’t make them un-missing. Maybe he was just looking for an excuse to be violent and beat up his old man, probably landing the guy in the loony bin if he told anybody a giant reptile jumped him.

Maybe Raph would help him fake his death, and halt any search out for him. But if Casey really gets un-mutated with some retromutagen, that would be difficult to explain. Besides, this was fine. Casey had gone missing so many times he had his own missing posters in his room as decoration.

“Well- you guys have fun doing whatever, I got stuff to do.”
Raphael said, getting up off the couch so he could go train in the dojo.
“Fine, go have a blast with your daily six hours of brooding!”
Casey called out, hearing a scoff as Raphael walked off.

Casey turned to his sister after his boyfriend disappeared. He wasn’t feeling great. This was going to fast- just last night he got painfully mutated into this uncomfortable body. Then he was bombarded with the stress of dealing with Michelangelo, and now his dad was on the news and he was reported missing.

He wondered if people were asking April if she knew where the hell he had gone. She definitely didn’t… Maybe everyone thought he and Angel had gotten kidnapped… Casey sighed, wanting the constant suffocation of resounding disgust and ambient hopelessness would leave his chest. Yet his heart kept pumping those prickly feelings.

Whatever, he had to take care of his sister at the moment.
“Wanna go do something?”

“Are we allowed? Or will your boyfriend get mad? He’s angry… kinda like dad.”
Casey immediately shook his head, looking completely bewildered.
“Nonono- he’s a loose cannon but he’s nothing like dad! He’s nicer than he looks..”

Casey felt a lump in his throat. His father was an absolute lunatic, Raphael was the furthest thing from his father. He was so protective and funny and nice when he wanted to be. But Angel didn’t know that, she had only seen the surface of the very large iceberg that was Raphael. She didn’t know there was more than the brash personality that masked the turtle so well.

“Plus, red ain’t my keeper! We don’t need his permission to do anything.”
Angel nodded, a bit skeptical of the claim that the red turtle was nice. She only knew the nice blue turtle, and the mean red turtle. And why would Casey like the angry mean one? Why didn’t he like the nice blue turtle she had met? She would much rather have her brother marry someone nice like him, and not someone like Raphael.

“If you say so…”
She pouted a bit, crossing her arms.
“So, what can we do?”

“Whatever we want! We’re free men, we can explore the grimy sewers, play video games, talk to the other turtles, cause mayhem- whatever! Everything is on the table, girl!

Woah! So many opportunities, it was totally endless.
“Oh, I know! Let’s wrestle!”

Casey laughed, they could do anything and she wanted to beat down on him. Alright, how could he refuse? He’d do just about anything for Angel. Working at Sunnyside road repair, smelling like oil for months just to afford her a big cake at her Birthday party. Driving her to school so she wasn’t late from the bus. Threatening some punks that made her cry. It didn’t matter, it was for his sister.

“Alright! Let’s see if you can beat me, world famous fighter, Casey Jones!”
The two started to tussle, Casey going easy on his sister- pretending a few hits totally rocked him. Casey picked her up, slamming her into the couch cushions. She laughed and jumped behind the couch to prepare her next attack.

She saw something old and forgotten, a simple plastic bottle filled with some kind of green juice. Probably some green apple flavored drink that someone forgot to throw away. She picked it up and threw it as her brother was about to jump over the couch and catch her.

Casey yelped at the sudden attack, no time to dodge as it smacked him in the face, and he fell backwards, tumbling to the floor. It didn’t hurt at all- Casey had gotten hurt way worse. But it wasn’t about the level of pain.

It was about falling back into a puddle of sticky green juice, watching it soak into his clothes and weigh him down, seeing it drip down his fur before landing in the rippling emerald pool he layed in.

“Casey! Are you ok? I didn’t mean to hit you in the face..”
Angel ran up to her brother with a hint of guilt in her expression.

As Angel approached, Casey felt something snap in his mind- but after he felt that initial break, he didn’t feel anything else at all. The entire world went blank around him, compulsive instinct clouding his once human judgement. His fur bristled as his ears twisted to land flat against the back of his head. His pupils restricted into slits no bigger than a thread, before blowing out so wide that his eyes resembled black holes.
No longer windows to the soul, just inky pools of meaningless reflections of the world he was blind to.

His claws dug into the ground like chains holding back a rabid dog, ready to snap at any moment. He looked like nothing more than an animal and it took nothing but an instant. He didn’t truly hear or see anything- a total blackout morphing his brain as he let out a deep hiss that rumbled down to a sharp snarl. Casey’s fangs glistened as he bared and snapped his teeth, greenish venom leaking from his fangs as he lurched forward with intent- barely missing his target. His sister.

Angel.

Chapter Text

Before Angel could even guess what had happened, Casey’s eyes went all crazy- shrinking and growing Ike wax stretching and colliding in a lava lamp- only scarier. She barely had a chance to back up before Casey snapped his jaws in her face. Venom tinted saliva foaming from his maw, and even dripping out his nostrils.

She was confused, why was Casey trying to bite her? Did she hurt him? She didn’t mean to…
“Casey-?”
Angel didn’t get to say anything before her brother lurched towards her on all fours. Unhinged and animalistic in his mindless movements.

She screamed and ran away- her brother behind her. Chasing with the desperate speed of a starving stray chasing a mouse. Of course with Angel screaming in unbridled terror, the two turtles training in the dojo became very aware something was wrong.

Raphael burst out the dojo, Leo pushing him out the door to try and exit with him. Angel got scooped up by Leonardo- and Raphael pushed the both of them into to dojo and slid the door shut as soon as he saw Casey running out on all fours.
“Take care of the kid-!”

Raphael shouted to a very concerned Leo, cradling a crying Angel and trying to comfort her. The little girl was more shaken than ever, seeing her big brother suddenly get so- angry. Try to hurt her. He had never ever hurt her, not on purpose and out of anger. It was scary.

“Angel- what happened? What’s going on?”
Angel sniveled and sobbed, voice thick and wet with buildup of mucus from her intense crying.
“H-He got so mad at me! I didn’t mean to hurt him- we were just play fighting and I threw a bottle at him and then he tried to bite me!”

Leo spoke gently to try and console Angel- though he had very little idea of what happened.
“Hey-hey.. it’s ok! Maybe he’s playing too- and just being mean and trying to scare you because you were beating him..”

Angel shook her head as Leo held her in a firm and protective embrace as the sound of growling and thumping waged on from behind the dojo’s door.
“No! He wasn’t playing pretend at all- he hates me!”

“No- he doesn’t hate you..”
Leo said as he moved away from the loud sounds of struggle.
“Alot of the time,it can seem like your sibling hates you, but they’re just angry… Casey only ever talks about how much he loves you, he would never ever hate you.”
Leonardo mostly spoke from his own experience with his own volatile brother.

Angel nodded meekly, the nice turtle must be right.. but Angel still shook in fear. She had never seen Casey be so violent. Not even her dad had ever looked so vicious or petrifying.

…

“Casey??”
Raphael questioned, quickly getting floored as Casey pounced ontop of him. The visceral animosity that darkened his lover’s eyes was more terrifying than the actual fact that Casey was attempting to attack him at the moment..

Raphael crossed his sai together, shielding himself as Casey’s teeth crashed and tangled with his blades instead of his flesh.
“Casey! Snap out of it- ain’t nobody tryna hurt you!”
He tried to reason with Casey- the boy was obviously not in his right mind for whatever reason. His arms shook with effort as he held Casey’s weight away from him.

Casey hissed and growled, claws swiping- using Raphael’s plastron as a scratching post while viscous green drops of toxin and saliva drooled from Casey’s maw and burned as it hit Raphael’s skin. Each strike to his shell dug into his scutes, leaving scratches along his shell that stung. They would heal- but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt, Casey was literally scratching at a part of his skeleton, since turtle shells are composed from bones.

Raphael winced and growled himself with every boiling speck of venom that hit his skin, with every attack that Casey attempted to lay on him. It all stung, stung like a hoard of angry wasps injecting pure acid and hellfire into his veins. The pain suddenly made him very grateful that Casey hadn’t bitten him and got that poison into his bloodstream.

“Damn it- listen to me Casey! Think! Do you wanna kill me? Kill your sister!? Cause that’s what’s gonna happen if you don’t- snap out of it!”
Raphael grunted, kicking Casey in the chest and flipping him over- grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and pinning him down to the floor, grip shaky but firm as he gasped for every breath.

Casey squirmed and snarled at first, but he quickly ceased his struggle as his consciousness slowly seeped back into his brain. Raphael slowly and cautiously loosened his grip on Casey as the boy went slack.
“Finally chilled out..?”

Instead of responding- Casey began to hack and choke on the buildup of venom and spit in his throat, and Raphael released him, letting him sit upright and swallow down his toxic saliva so he wouldn’t suffocate. Raphael stayed high alert as Casey rubbed his neck, breathing heavily as if he had just been released from a nightmare.. Letting his guard down seemed like a bad idea at the moment.

Raphael turned his head as he saw Leo crack the dojo door open. The hothead gave a simple nod, signaling everything- for now… was fine.

Casey shook as he sat in place, lungs aching with every ragged breath that pierced his airway. He thought he was the same person- that he had the same mind he always had. But apparently not. Whatever had just snapped in his mind proved that. That a part of himself just wasn’t him. That he really was the freak that the world around would perceive him as. He felt like a puppet in a string, helpless as be watched himself be swung around as a marionette- every string twisting and splitting his porcelain body into pieces.

He had just proven that he wasn’t in control of himself. That he wasn’t even himself. There’s just no way. Because there’s no way that Casey Jones would ever try and harm his own sister. No way that this arrogant boy would feel so disgusted and helpless with himself. No way that he would feel locked in a body that wasn’t his. No way he would become a monster, losing all sense of control he had within himself.

He had a small sense of self left. A small spark of Casey Jones that reassured him that despite everything, he was still the same person he was 24 hours before. That spark felt snuffed out, it’s hollowing smoke clouding his mind- until he wasn’t sure he was fully Casey anymore. Not only had his body morphed into a confused and ugly bumbling mess, apparently his mind was going down the same path.

The hand that Raph placed on his shoulder offered no solace as he heard the muffled voices of Raphael and Leo. Raph and looked him in the eyes to ask something- but Casey didn’t hear it. His brain was too loud. His stupid disfigured mind that didn’t belong to him echoed loudly throughout his skull. So loudly he was sure his cranium would shatter again and again.

“Get offa me!”
Casey shoved Raphael’s hand away from himself. This hostility was from fear- a fear that even the smallest and warmest touch would make him snap into some psycho again. Casey didn’t want to hurt anyone. So he ran off- adrenaline carrying every step faster and faster as he dashed away.

“Casey!”
Raphael reached out his hand for him, but it was far too late. He gritted his teeth as his gaze travelled to the side- Angel hiding behind Leonardo’s legs, a rattled look on her face as she peeked from behind him. Her voice warbled as she spoke.
“Is he gonna come back..?”

“Damnit- I’ll go get him. Just stay here..”
Raphael quickly ran off after Casey as soon as the words leaked from his lips.

Chapter Text

Casey didn’t know exactly where he was running- the sewer system was like an endless labyrinth. And every wall and tunnel looked identical.

He only skidded to a stop when he came to a shaky railing that overlooked a cavern of murky water, water that flowed out of the tunnels below- blocked off my some sort of dam to keep the water flowing where it needed to be.

The stone was cracked and stained, and it felt more claustrophobic than any place so large should feel. He had just went full instinct, no thought behind his actions as his brain panicked in a faulty attempt to protect itself. Perceiving everything as a threat when it was the opposite. But it didn’t feel that way. It felt like he was losing the last pieces of himself he had fought so hard to find and keep together, as they were strewn across a void that devoured all that touched it. Making it gone gone gone.

Raphael was sprinting, running as fast as his legs could physically move. He needed to find Casey before he got hurt- or worse. Knowing Casey, worse was always a possibility. Especially when he was in such a seemingly unstable state.

“Casey!? Casey, where are you? Please- come out, it’s ok!”
Raphael’s anxiety spiked as he wandered aimlessly, unable to track where Casey could have gone. And it was worse that they were in a dangerous area. Raphael and the others never traveled so far- because it was unsafe! And now his reckless boyfriend was lost somewhere in such a place? Bad news all around.

Casey didn’t move as he heard Raphael call out for him. No. it wasn’t ok. Nothing about what was going on was ok. Going psycho on your little sister and scaring her half to death was not ok.

Clawing at your boyfriend and trying to kill him isn’t ok.

Casey had already lost way too much to lose those guys too- especially by his own hands. That would be awful.

Casey was awful. No apology was enough- he didn’t even have a reason for what happened. It just happened. Like something else took control. Something else crawled into his body and attacked everyone in sight. As if he were possessed.

Casey choked out a crackly sob. He wasn’t sure what to do. His legs started to shake like Jello in an earthquake.

“No- no… I’m afraid of my own body… it’s not supposed to be like this.”

He looked down at his inhuman paws. This body wasn’t his. It wasn’t him. He would never do the things this body was doing.

Raphael followed the sound of Casey’s voice, if he kept him talking- he could find him quicker. If anything happened to Casey, Raphael would likely spontaneously combust on the spot.
“Hey man, we can talk it out! Angel will understand.. We’ll do something, we’ll make sure it never happens again!”

Raphael skidded to a halt as he made it to where Casey was.
“Case- listen… I know how it feels to lose control of yourself and hurt the people you care about. You’re not alone in this- there ain’t nobody who’s blaming you for what happened. I promise.”

Raphael slowly stepped forwards as he tried to sympathize with, and soothe his boyfriend who was uncomfortably close to the rickety railing by the ledge.
“Raph I hurt you. And I almost hurt my sister- bad! This isn’t some little fluke, this is a major problem! And I don’t wanna risk hurting you guys again-!”

Casey’s words echoed endlessly as he stressed every sound of worry that invaded his thoughts. He started to step backwards- wanting to distance himself. Because all he had become was an empty vessel of peril, trying to live in the facade of being a sensible entity.

As he backed away, he hit the creaky rods of rust behind him. The railing snapped and fell, being pulled into the twisting waters below. Casey, the ever weak on his feet, fell with it. He hadn’t exactly expected to fall- so his lungs were empty as the frigid water clung to his clothes and fur as the damned stream kept him from breaching the surface. Raphael froze for a moment, heart leaping to his throat in a suffocating sucker punch to his windpipe. The icy horror in his veins quickly boiled over the volcano of panic, and he jumped in after Casey. Due to being a turtle- he could swim much better than Casey, who had never had a proper swim in his life.

Raphael squinted- nictitating membrane whiting out his eyes as his gaze searched for his man. He paddled towards Casey, grabbing the struggling mutant and dragging him to the surface and getting them onto a stone crest where the water wouldn’t be able to sweep them away.

Raphael layed onto the stone in exhaustion as Casey hacked up his lungs, every desperate breath felt like snorting a line of broken glass. As the two collected themselves, Casey’s drenched body and threads added weight to his sinking heart, like his chest harbored an anchor of misery.

He was feeling awfully guilty- he had almost gotten his boyfriend killed a second time. He didn’t need a third time to actually seal the deal of a death certificate. Raphael wasn’t feeling great either, he was happy Casey hadn’t drowned- but an anger blanketed his feverish temper as he sat up and glared at his gasping compeer.

“Are you a fucking moron!?”
Raphael growled, eyes going back to normal, besides the welling tears.
“You just had to go and rush off into danger- again! you could have gotten yourself killed! If I didn’t go after you-“

“I know! I’m not stupid, I know what woulda happened. So you don’t gotta make me feel like an idiot about it! I wish you didn’t go after me Raph, I wish I’d drowned. I deserve that- that way I couldn’t hurt anyone again.”
Casey’s claws dug into his hoodie as he hugged his arms around himself.

“I got mutated like an idiot- and dragged Angel down to the sewers with me! But she doesn’t deserve that- She wants to go have a life and actually be somebody! She talked about being a vet or- an artist, there was a million things she wanted to be and I don’t doubt she coulda scored all of em no issue! She should be in school, not getting dragged down by her failure of a brother who coulda hurt her! And you- I tried to kill you! You and Angel are the only people on the planet who I actually give a damn about, and I beasted out on you guys! No amount of apologies can make up for that… You shoulda let me drown, Raph.”

Casey’s voice broke, and Raphael’s eyes softened at his conviction.
“Casey..”
Raphael was scared. Scared for Casey’s safety. He was talking like he had a
death wish, and it was sending a squirming feeling of panic through Raphael.

“Case, I woulda never let you drown… You can’t just abandon us like that, you got things you gotta stick around for. You got people to stick around for. I care about you Casey, I don’t want you running off and getting yourself killed. You don’t deserve that. No matter what your crazy brain is telling ya, you can’t give up. Especially not on yourself.”

Raph gently grabbed Casey’s paw, and the fluffy boy started to tear up.
“I don’t wanna abandon you guys or nothing, I just don’t know what to do. I don’t feel like myself, like Casey Jones is completely lost.. I haven’t ever been this scared- especially of myself.. And I couldn’t take it if I had really messed you guys up. I’m just afraid- cause I love you so much…scared I could hurt you, which is crazy- cause you’re the toughest guy I know.”

“So what if ya hurt me? You barely scratched me up- we’ve done way worse to eachother..”
Raphael scooted closer, pulling Casey into a hug. The vigilante shivered at the sudden warmth that cut through the chill of cold water soaked into him. Which was weird, because he thought reptiles were cold blooded.
“…I love you too, Casey. That’s why I’m not letting you go through this alone.”
Raphael whispered, snuggling Casey as close as he could.

“It’s not like you need any more chips in your shell. I can’t help but feel a little bad, even if you like getting knocked around.”
Casey purred at the snuggle, a small smile breaking through his teary expression. His sensitive paw pads could feel every little scrape he left in Raphael’s shell as he traced the scutes of his plastron. Casey planted a kiss to the top of Raphael’s head.
“Thanks for staying with me, Raph.”

The red masked ninja sunk a smooch onto Casey’s collarbone.
“I’m glad to…”
Raphael let his mind wander. His biggest concern was Casey- but his brain did ponder how Leo and Angel were doing. More specifically- how Angel would react when he and Casey made it back to the lair. Casey scared the hell out of her, after all.

“We gotta head back home. I’ll carry ya.”

Chapter Text

Raphael carried Casey away from his near watery grave and back towards the lair.
“Look on the bright side, Raphie boy. You got a free shower outta this! Bout time you broke your 15 year long sobriety from soap and water!”
Casey playfully chastised, as if were any better with his personal hygiene.

“Didn’t your last trip to the dentist cause a city wide quarantine? Shut up so I don’t gotta smell your breath.”
Raphael rolled his eyes, while Casey kicked his feet in lax motions.
“Telling me to shush? Well now you’re just asking for the impossible… I totally got the voice of a siren! The mermaid kind.”
“Really? Coulda fooled me…”

…

Meanwhile at the lair, Leonardo had been trying to console Angel. Assuring her that her brother was safe and would come back soon un-freaked out. Even though he wasn’t so sure of his own claims, he tried to appear confident of his words.
“I’m sure he’ll be back before you can count to ten!”

“But I can count to ten really fast…”
Angel had calmed down significantly, but she was still shaken up about her brother almost biting her face off. It didn’t take too long for Raphael to come into the lair, bearing his precious cargo, Casey Jones.
Casey leapt from his boyfriend’s arms, and went to hug his sister despite being soaking wet, like a rat in a hurricane.

Angel tensed up at the embrace, of course she did. What if Casey tried to bite her again? What if this wasn’t her real brother, and her real family was looking for her- while this was just some scheme for a monster to eat her? He acted like Casey- sounded a bit like him too underneath all the roughness. But Casey had never hurt her, she had only ever seen Casey and her dad hurt each other. But Casey always stood up for her. Not try and rip her apart.
“Angel! I’m so sorry.. I dunno what happened. I’ll make up for it however I can- I’m so sorry.”

Casey pulled back ever so slightly to check his sister over- not wanting her to be hurt. Angel pushed her brother away.
“Get off me..”
Angel mumbled, and Casey instantly retracted his arms away from his sister, letting her loose without hesitation. Angel winced as she looked at her now wet pajamas. Casey would have to go get her some of her actual clothes at some point… or get April to do it.

“You promise you won’t try and eat me again?”
Angel asked, looking up at the mutant with a studious stare. Her gaze inspected him- he seemed to be genuinely sorry… He had that same mushy look in his eye Casey always got when he apologized.. Of course, he really was her brother. She sighed.

“I swear on my life, promise.”
Casey held out his pinkie, and Angel quickly intertwined their fingers together.
“Sorry about going totally zombie on ya- I didn’t know I was that brainless..”
Angel shrugged, her trust trying to burrow out of its hesitant shell.
“Just don’t let it happen again! Fart-face.”

Casey gasped in mock offense at his sister’s insult, a paw clasping at his chest.
“It won’t! You ninny-head!”
Angel pouted.
“I’m not a ninny-head!”
“Yeah- you’re right. You got a pretty head, I’m just jealous cause I look like I live in the dump.”
Casey ruffled up his sister’s dyed curls.
“I’m the real ninny-head.”

Angel finally smiled, a laugh erupting from her.
“I know you are.”
She attempted the ruffle up Casey’s fur-hair- whatever fluff stuck out from his head. The action made Casey stick his tongue out, the feeling of his fur being pushed out of its natural position was uncomfortable. But he withstood it for his sister.

“Atleast I’m not the one who dyed my hair with koolaid packets!”
Casey teased with a snicker, making his sister fume.
“Well you stink-“
She stuck her tongue out and ran off to find her cat while Leo and Raphael exchanged a stare. Not needing to speak for them to understand eachother. Mikey always said it was twin telepathy powers, and tried to get them to stand on the television because of the ‘sibling satellites’ in their brains…

Raphael walked up to his darling husband, a hand landing on his shoulder.
“We should go dry off, dontcha think? I don’t need you getting sick and smearing snot all over me.”

Casey nodded, eyes widening like a surprised owl as he suddenly became aware of the frigid liquid weighing him down.
“Oh yeah- almost forgot about that.”
Casey stretched, trying to strain the ache out of his malformed bones.
“You got a towel? Or are ta just gonna throw me into the dryer machine and hope for the best? Cause I don’t think all the spinning would be great for my brain!”

Casey chuckled and wrapped an arm around Raphael’s shoulders.
“But hey, maybe we should try it! Then I could blame all my bad grades on you!”

Raphael scoffed, pushing Casey off of him.
“I’ll go get ya a damn towel, scram.”
His voice was tense and oddly apathetic. His guts spoiled with a sick feeling, he was worried that something deeper could be wrong with Casey. That maybe his freakout or accidental attempted suicide wouldn’t be a one time thing…

He watched Casey run off to his room before going to get some towels.

Casey took off his bandanna, and then his hoodie and sweatshirt. The wet clothes hit the desk he sat them on with a squishy sounding splat. Casey had a moment alone to look down at his fully unclothed body for the first time since his mutation. He ran his red and white paws through the wet fur on his chest. A band of vibrant colors fading off into a darker than night blackness.

Usually, running your fingers through something so soft would feel nice. But it sent a shiver of disgust throughout Casey. His claws poked from their sheaths and dug into his sensitive scales, dots of blood staining his nails. It reminded him of the time April and Mikey gave him a forceful princess makeover, coating his fingernails in an ugly ruby color.

His tail bristled at the pricks, the alien limb lashing out in its own instinct made Casey nauseous. Reminded him of the lack of control that seemed to proliferate by the second. It hurt, digging his talons through his skin burned, he couldn’t imagine the type of damage he inflicted onto Raphael… the stinging in his chest was no fair comparison to how he must have hurt his boyfriend. Casey pulled his claws out his flesh as he heard the door squeal as it opened. He should really lend his boyfriend some oil for his squeaky door hinges.

The turtle tossed him one of the multitude of towels stacked in his arms, Casey easily caught it and started trying to scrub his head dry. Raphael took off his mask and sat it next to Casey’s heap of wet clothes, he would get them dried later…
Raphael wrapped a towel around his head as he watched Casey dry himself.

“Need any help?”
Raphael offered, Making Casey slow his current task with confusion.
“With drying off..? You serious?”
Raphael bristled at Casey’s reply.
“I’m just offering, ya can just say no- stead’ of sneering at me!”

Casey’s muzzle scrunched up, whiskers twitching as he squinted his eyes. Now he was really confused, be wasn’t even trying to poke at Raphael’s temper.
“Don’t get pissed at me! I was just asking, I ain’t had someone else dry me off since I was a baby!”

“I’m not tryna treat you like a baby- I just know fur is gonna be harder to dry off than.. shells. It’s not rocket science.”
Casey shrugged, ignoring his man’s previous fierceness over nothing.
“Go ahead and dry me off if ya want. I truly live a life of luxury! A cute turtle at my every beck and call. I’m practically a king!”

Raphael sighed softly, approaching Casey and using his towel to dry off his back, bushing the fur back into place once he finished with a spot. He continued to
Scrub Casey’s back gently, and Casey let him- it felt nice…
“…Are you ok? And I’m asking ya to be serious, not for you to just shrug it off and say you’re fine… Tell me what’s going on in that brilliant mind of yours.”

‘Brilliant’ was said with less sarcasm than Casey had expected. Casey hummed in indecision as he tried to gather his mental state into a comprehensive sentence.
“As a whole? I feel pretty shit, believe it or not.”
Casey stated with an eye roll, before searching his underdeveloped mind for something less equivocal to say.

“I mean- it sucks to think about how I might never get to hit another puck across the ice, or just walk around during the day time… I don’t feel like myself. I feel all gross and dangerous.”
Feeling not yourself was something Raphael could only try to sympathize with. He was used to being a mutant, he was used to living the way he did, even when he hated it. He had lost his temper, but he hadn’t ever lost control in the way Casey did.

Raphael was used to being a mutant, Casey wasn’t.

Casey sat down on the bed, and Raphael followed suit.
“If you want to, we could go sneak off to your hockey rink tonight. Play around as much as ya want to.”
Raphael suggested, placing a kiss to Casey’s now dried shoulder blades. The kiss made Casey felt like he ate a beehive with how it made his stomach feel all fuzzy and buzzy. It made sense- Raph’s live was sweet as honey to him.

“Yeah? That sounds nice. Maybe I can actually teach you to skate around!”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Raphael shrugged, hoping his lover’s newfound excitement was authentic. Casey purred, bumping his head against Raphael’s.
“Man, I bet you don’t get too many back rubs with that shell of yours! That’s too bad, cause this feels great.”
Raphael paused his superfluous scrubbing, a skeptical look on his flustered face.
“I don’t need a backrub- you sound stupid.”

“Can’t sound too stupid… Can you guys even feel your shell? Or is it like- nothing..?”
Casey put two fingers along the spine Of Raphael’s shell, pretending the twin digits were little legs walking up the rough carapace, causing the turtle to shove his hand away with a shiver.
“I can feel it- it’s sensitive, bonehead. Lay off…”

“sensitive? It’s like- built in armor, but it’s sensitive? You are so full of it, hothead.”
Mwah, Casey gave the marginal scutes near Raphael’s neck a smooch. The turtle scoffed and carefully pushed his away.
“It’s not armor- you see how chipped it is?? It’s made of bone, so obviously I can feel it.”

“Lame… Bone? Thats kinda freaky to have your bones on the outside, like a bug.”
Speaking of bugs, Casey wrapped his towel around himself like a cocooning caterpillar, lying down. Raphael gagged at the suggestion. He was nothing like those disgusting creepy crawlies. He hated those prickly, disease ridden insects.
“Now you’re just tryna piss me off!”

He put a blanket over Casey’s already cocooned form and stood, marching over to his dresser, gathering up their wet clothes.
“I’m gonna go dry these- I’ll be back when I’m done.”
Raphael left the room, leaving Casey alone.

Casey took the alone time to further painfully poke and prod into his inhuman flesh until he fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Time had passed, Casey was finally awake and in his dried clothes- while Raph was looking much more handsome with his mask back on. Casey was currently hanging halfway off of the mattress, inspecting whatever was hiding under Raphael’s bed.

“Ew man, there’s like a millennium of gunk and junk under here! Pretty sure this Surge is from the triassic.. no wonder you have total trash-o-saurus breath..”
He grabbed the unopened and expired soda, tossing it over to his boyfriend- who easily caught it.

“If you like going through my stuff so much just to complain about it, how bout ya clean it? Since ya care about my cleanliness so very much..”
Raphael quipped sarcastically, throwing the can near his overflowing trashcan- as he lazed in bed while watching his boyfriend do whatever the hell he was up to.

“Pretty sure that I’d actually die tryna be your janitor. Like- half the garbage in here is literally rotting. Hey- I should sign you up on that hoarders show! Then they can clean this mess up for you, before you start getting bugs.”

Casey yammered on and on about the filth of Raphael’s room while the red clad turtle idly listened. He liked hearing him talk, it was hard to stay sick of his voice for too long. Casey threw himself off the bed, laughing mischievously as he came up with a scheme. He grabbed a wrapped off the floor and threw it at Raphael while mock gagging.
“Total yuck, a roach!”

Raphael yelped, jumping to his feet and throwing his sai at the ‘roach’, killing the poor candy wrapper where it helplessly lay.
“Where!? Where the shell is it!?”
He said, noticing he had stabbed something that was not a roach.

Casey snorted, holding back a laugh.
“What are you laughing about!? Go and kill the damn thing!”
Raphael was practically begging Casey to eradicate the bug.
“There is no cockroach, chill! I was joking around..

Casey grinned, slightly wary at his boyfriend drawing his weapons. Raphael slowly put his sai back in place, staring down the worst guy on earth. Aka his hubby- before promptly tackling him to the floor. And the two began to fight.

Raphael punched Casey’s chest, stealing the air from his lungs with the swift force, before Casey elbowed him in the face- a dark mist of blood spraying across his face from busting up his boyfriends snout.
“You want me to put some rats on you!? Huh, is that what ya want!?”

He gripped onto Casey’s shoulders, slamming him against the floor.
“Ew! You’re getting your bloody boogers all over me! And hell no- rats are freaky!”
Casey’s visage twisted into a snarl as he involuntarily hissed, before kicking Raphael in the gut to get him off.

“They’re so gross! With their beady little eyes always staring at you, and their weird fleshy rope tails! They’re plain nasty..”
“Then don’t say there’s a roach in my room unless you’re asking for a bruising!”

Casey scoffed. Bugs were so tiny, Raph could squash a thousand of them with one of his giant elephant feet.
“You’re such a drama queen.. Hey I got a great idea, maybe we should try exposure therapy! We can cover you in creepy crawlies until you’re not scared anymore.”

Raphael’s entire body shivered as he gagged at the thought.
“I would rather fucking die.”
He punched Casey in the shoulder, starting up their tussle again. Throwing punches while discussing their phobias- not too out of the ordinary for them.

“Maybe we should do the same for you, but with rats!”
“I’d rather eat a cheese grater than even looking at those nasty rodents! Ugh- they would probably eat me alive if you gave them the chance..”

Raphael uppercut Casey, knocking a few teeth loose. The fresh flavor of warm and salty iron built up in his mouth. Yuck. He head butted Raph- giving the both of them a headache that sent them sprawling on the floor. Raphael stared at the ceiling.
“You’re such a jackass.”

“You look totally hot when you’re mad.”
Was Casey’s rebuttal, as he scooted up the lay beside his boyfriend who looked at Casey like an asylum patient, which was a fair presumption.
“Ew- what?”
The turtle blushed at the statement, and Casey poked his red face.

“Ha! You’re turning red like a lady bug, you’re totally into it.”
Casey gave Raphael a smooch, and the two covered eachother’s faces in bloody kiss marks, it looked like they attacked each other with the lipstick samples in a makeup store. The sickening taste of blood pooling in eachother’s mouth as they kissed didn’t make the throbbing pain in their skull any better- the nausea gained from it caused their cracked skulls to feel more concussed than ever before.

Raphael pulled Casey off of him, and spit a wad of crimson mucus onto the floor.
“Let’s go do that dumb hockey thing you wanted to do..”
Casey pumped his fist.
“Yeah! Hey- maybe that ice will do
You some good and finally chill you out..”
“Just get a move on!”

•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•

“You’re not exactly helping with the stereotype that turtles are slow, babe!”
Casey called out as he and Raph raced each other to Midtown Ice-rink in the dead of night, if any time in the City could considered dead- that is…

Anyway, Raph was so distracted by Casey calling him babe that he hit a light-pole at mach speeds, making a loud gong sound as he hit the sidewalk. Saying stupid stuff like that had to count as an illegal move, Casey didn’t even know what saying stuff like that did to his stupid mushy heart he didn’t know that he had.

Raphael grumbled and stood up, trying to catch up with the arrogant hockey player who was mocking him the whole race towards the Ice-Rink. It was infuriating, if Raph had hair, he’d rip it out. Well- he did have eyelashes… Maybe he should start there.

Casey skidded to a stop as he made it to his desired destination, Raphael following closely behind him.
“Ain’t it great that they don’t lock things up around here?”
Casey opened the doors to the Ice-Rink, heading inside with his boyfriend so they could skate.

“You know- a bunch of guys leave some of their supplies in the locker rooms, like skates and stuff. But I dunno if your fat feet would be able to fit in any of em..”
Casey made way into the locker room, the disgusting stale waft of body odor didn’t faze him nor Raph- as it wasn’t nearly as bad as sewer stench.
“I’m not a delicate flower like you, I can glide barefooted.”

“Oh yeah- I’m so delicate! Like a glass princess, That’s why I let you pummel me every day. Lay off it..”
Casey stole some poor suckers skates- he would return them, but who wants mutant fur shed into their soles?
“I used to leave my hockey stuff here before I started leaving it at home after some opposing team came in here and wrecked all the Viking’s stuff before a huge game! It was so unfair, damn Harlem Vipers..”
Casey lamented his tragic tale, tying the skates as he shoved his paws inside.

“Guess if ya can’t beat em, join em. You’re a real viper yourself at the moment.”
Raphael said, leaning against a locker as Casey scoffed, licking against his fangs. The sharp shanks in his jaw made him really want to get a pair of pliers and play dental malpractice on himself. He suddenly perked up as he remembered something.

“I don’t have any of my hockey stuff here, but I did leave a ton of clothes here. Jersey’s and-“
Casey walked to his own locker, awkwardly waving his hands to keep balance as he walked on the blades of his skates.
“-This!”

Casey pulled a letterman jacket out his locker.
“I smelled like oil for weeks trying to save up enough for this thing! You wouldn’t believe how much a damn coat rattled my pockets!”

The wool jacket was a deep carmine red with maroon sleeves. The neck and bottom hem were accented by an orange color that similarly embroidered the rest of the coat with Casey’s name, jersey number, and a stupid quote the school made up to sound smart. It was a pretty classic design all-in-all, too formal for Casey’s eccentric style.

“But it totally covered me in a ocean of chicks!”
Raphael rolled his eyes at the claim.
“I bet..”
The turtle was surprised as Casey flung the jacket around him, buttoning him up in the insulated fabric.

“There! Since you’re cold blooded and all- that should keep the hypothermia at bay! If just a little… Ain’t I so thoughtful and gentlemanly? I’m just epic like that..”
Raphael pursed his beak, but he did think the gesture was halfway sweet. He was just perplexed that the thing actually for him quite comfortably. He was a lot bulkier than Casey, so the height difference shouldn’t have caused too much of a difference. But Raphael didn’t care to dwell on it.

“Thanks..”
Raph ducked his head slightly into his shell, so the collar of the jacket hid his blushy face.
“Let’s hit the ice!”
Casey grabbed some Rando’s hockey stick and dragged his boyfriend to the actual rink.

“You’re gonna have to gimme a few pointer’s, Case… Just cause Mikey can skate doesn’t mean I know how.”
Raphael watched Casey step onto the ice, before he sheathed the hockey stick to the strap on his back.
“Sure! It’s all in the knees..”

Casey grabbed Raphael’s hand, pulling him onto the ice. The ninja yelped, feet slipping and sliding onto the cold surface.
“Bend your knees dude! You’re off balance!”
“Because you yanked me over here! Ever hear of a warning?”

Raphael followed Casey’s instructions so he wouldn’t fall over and crack his head open on the ice. The vigilante helped Raphael keep his balance, holding onto him from under his arms.
“Every time you glide forwards, keep your feet apart. And be smooth and speedy!”

Raphael nodded, letting Casey lead him along the ice as they slowly floated across the frigid surface. It was a miracle Casey didn’t crash into anything with how focused he was with looking into his boyfriend’s eyes. He let go of Raphael and pushed himself backwards, a shimmering mist of verglas being kicked up from the swift movement.

“Look! In my last game I totally juked all the guys.”
Casey took the hockey stick of his back, skating around the rink to mimic what he did in his last game.
“And then bam! He whacked me over the head with his stick, but I elbowed him right into the goalie and got the puck in! I was so awesome!”

Raphael listened, skating across the slippery frost a bit himself. He could move and direct himself halfway, but he wasn’t even going the attempt whatever tricks Casey was pulling- going backwards and spinning in flawless circles.
“Sounds like it- glad to know there’s atleast one sport out there for ya, one that doesn’t hand out fouls for beating guys you don’t like over the head.”

“Duh! I mean- how else would I get my weekly concussion without hockey!? I’m too metal for any street goons to get me down, so I gotta get scars from somewhere. Chicks dig a guy who looks tough! And I hear turtles do to!”
Casey cackled, grabbing Raphael’s hands and spinning him around. It was nice to have Casey so close- he was a warm contrast to the glassy track beneath the both of them.

Everything about Casey was warm- not just his body heat. He had the warmest brown eyes, like droplets of honey glistening in the sun… god that was sickly sweet, Raphael was ready to die- embarrassed with himself that he actually liked his boyfriend.
“Yeah Bambi, you’re real well versed on what turtles are into.”

“Bambi? Where did that come from!? Is it cause of my beautiful eyes?”
Casey batted his eyelashes, showing off his pretty eyes. Raphael tried and failed to hide his grin.
“Nah, it’s because I want to hunt your dad down and shoot him with a rifle.”

Casey skated around with Raph, trying to get him to be his goalie. But he wasn’t very keen on getting a hockey puck to the eye- so Casey was left to shoot goals and run tricks on his own while Raphael practiced his newfound skating skills. Gliding around with a grin as Casey yelled in excitement every now and then until his phone rang.

‘The Brains💜’
Is calling. Raphael smiled as he slid out the rink, reminded of how he and Donnie had matching contact names for eachother, being the brains and the brawn.
“Hey Don, what’s up little brother?”

“Raphael! Where are you and Jones? I think ive just perfected a batch of retromutagen!”

Chapter Text

“Retromutagen?”
Raphael lowered his voice, walking behind the bleachers.
“And you’re serious? No jokes?”

“Raphael, why on earth would I joke about that? I’m not so callous… Like I was saying, get Casey over here so I can cure him!”
Raphael nodded- despite the fact Donnie definitely couldn’t hear his neck swivel over the phone.
“Yeah, sure.”

Raphael hung up his T-Phone and rushed back out to the ice rink.
“Case!”
Casey turned after he finished whacking a puck into a goal, intrigued crinkling his visage as he faced Raphael.
“What’s going on? Police show up to pause the party?”

“No- something good actually popped up. Don said he just finished up your retromutagen.”

Casey’s eyes widened, before he suddenly broke out into a smile. It hadn’t been too long, but it felt like he had been stuck as a freak for a millennia. He was forced into a body that wasn’t his, a form that made him feel like a stranger, a dangerous unknown force. Especially to himself. And now- he could just be switched back?

“Seriously!?”
He stumbled over on his ice skates, kicking them off his feet and stepping outside of the frigid circle. He was teary eyed- but only because he was overcome with an immense sense of euphoria. He couldn’t wait to be released from his corporeal prison of a vessel.

“Then let’s beat it!”
Casey threw down the borrowed hockey stick and grabbed Raphael’s arm, pulling him along to the lair.

………••••…….••••……….••••…….••••……….

At the lair, Raphael was busy glaring at his genius brother as Donnie blushed while Casey hugged onto him in gratitude.
“Thanks Don, you’re sooo awesome!”
Donatello stood stiffly, wobbly smile on his face as Casey nuzzled into him.
“Y-Yeah! No problem, Jones. What else are friends for?”

The purple clad ninja pulled away from casey, and picked up the mist bottle filled with the vital orange liquid that would hopefully turn him human once again.
“But don’t get your hopes up just yet- I’ve never seen a person mutate with two animals like you have… your mutation is unique, Karai’s was also unique, and retromutagen didn’t work on her.”

Donatello explained as his smile fell. Casey was anxious- paw pads sweaty as he swayed in place to fidget his nerves away. This could all go terribly wrong! But- it could also revert his life back to normalcy. So of course, he wanted this- who wouldn’t? He thought about making a quip about how Karai kissed him- but he wasn’t in the mood.
“Hey, whatever happens, It’s at least worth a shot… “

Donnie stepped back, holding the bottle far away from himself in fear of turning into a normal turtle. He sprayed Casey in retromutagen, watching with Raph from the sidelines, agog to see what would happen.
Casey looked down at himself.
“So- am I supposed to feel something or-?”

His question was cut short as he suddenly did feel something- pain. Unbridled agony as he felt the flesh upon his skin shrink before his skull had the chance to follow suit. A skeletal maw bursting from his face, splitting it apart. He took a pained breath, blood and chunks of torn flesh splattering to the floor with a gory, wet, squish.

Raphael and Donatello screamed at the sight, before Donnie gagged and had to turn away. Retching his guts across the floor as the squash and popping of bones snapping overpowered his senses.

Raphael was frozen in terror, watching Casey writhe as he slumped onto the floor.
“Casey!”
He screamed, voice crackling like a dying fire. The sheer volume of it had his throat hoarse after one screech. He wanted to hold Casey- take away the torture that was being foist upon him. But he couldn’t. His feet anchored him in place. And even of he couldn’t move- he was scared that touching Casey would dilapidate further in his arms, like a rose wilting to dust.

Casey’s claws dug into the floor, gripping tightly at anything in an attempt to ground himself, to not further fall into the hellish pit he was thrust into. His claws cracked, and were ripped from his nail bed itself from the pressure of digging into the metal ground. The scales of his started shedding- but not like a normal snake. Slippery Strips of fur and scales peeling off along with his skin. Leaving nothing but a gushing cavern of ichor from every cell of flesh tearing itself away from his body.

His body was flaying itself. Every recalcitrant quiver his body went through sent ricochets of excruciating stabs like needles through his raw fat and muscle. The air his exposed veins, it felt like his blood was composed of lava and razor blades. Everything burned so awfully, the suffering was too inscrutable to truly process. Every nerve was so overloaded that Casey’s mind went blank. Void and desolate, it was almost as if he felt nothing at all in the moment. Maybe adrenaline had finally come to save him. Or maybe he had died. He would be grateful for either outcome.

His bones snapped with a sickening symphony of moist crunching and mushing as organs and osseous crawled under his abraded body. Bones Breaking and remolding, raw flesh disgustingly twisting back into its original shape. His skeletal snout shrunk back into his burst face, squashing as it crushed the cartilage left behind in his gaping wound. His venomous fangs fell right out of his gums, while his regular canines pierced through the empty sockets.

Casey lay in a heap of vast torment. His skin grew back onto his body- meshing into the floor in the areas his body had collapsed onto the floor. A more extreme version of a scab sticking onto clothes. Or flesh growing over a forgotten thorn. As Casey’s shaky form stood up, a squelching sound came as his epidermis was torn off the back of his legs and neck. Like his skin was slime melting off of him. The now human promptly vomited from the pain.

He was somehow standing. His hoodie was soaked with blood and puke. The hoodie was thankfully long enough to cover his naked lower body. He didn’t need the added humiliation of being naked in-front of his friend and boyfriend on top of the incomprehensible torture.

“Fucking ow-“
Casey Jones uttered, before unconsciousness finally decided to give him a break, and he fell towards the floor, Raphael sweeping him up in his arms right before Casey could kiss the ground. The turtle winced as the gooey wet feeling of hot ichor and puke seeped deep into his scales. It was disgusting, he was on the keck of nausea himself- yet kept himself from blowing chunks.

Underneath all the sickness he felt, worry brewed along with it deep into his gut. Casey was human now, sure. But he had never seen a de-mutation be so… painful. He sighed as he saw that Casey was still breathing. He didn’t know what sinister god would keep someone alive through that kind of pain. It was traumatizing to watch, he couldn’t begin to imagine how actually feeling it happening to oneself would impact a person.

Raphael’s eye twitched as he turned to look at Donatello. He wanted to protect Casey. He had already watched helplessly as Casey was brutally mutated, and he had to helplessly watch once more as it was violently undone. He wanted to cry. But he didn’t- he screamed at his brother instead.
“What the hell was that!?”

Donatello backed away- almost slipping on a puddle of his own stomach acid. He shivered- forever eradicating the thick scent of sick from his lab would take centuries. And turtles didn’t live that long…

“I-I dunno! I didn’t know that would happen! Mutagen and its effects on a person’s biology is completely unpredictable! I-I had no idea the retromutagen would cause such a painful reaction!”
Donatello stuttered out his explanation, as he cautiously stepped towards his growling sibling to look over Casey.

“Darwin’s beard- We need to get him in a clean space immediately before he gets an infection!”
Donatello said, noting how patches Of Casey’s skin was now stuck onto his floor and not on Casey.

“I’ll go give him a bath… You can clean up this.”
Donatello gagged at the thought of scrubbing flesh, blood, and puke off of his floor.
“Ok.. Don’t forget to disinfect his wounds and bandage him up! I’ll check on you guys later..”

Donnie went to get cleaning supplies, and attempt to block out the image of Casey de-mutating from behind every blink of his eyelids. And Raphael took his torpid lover into the bathroom.
“God this is gross- sorry Case.”
Raphael muttered apologetically to the insensible boy he placed in the tub. He cringed as he remembered Leonardo unconscious in the bathtub at the farmhouse.

He prayed that Casey would be out for so long. Leo was able to survive it- Donnie said because it was some kind of brumation. Humans didn’t hibernate, Casey wouldn’t survive passed out for months without proper medical attention. They would have to leave him somewhere on the surface and call an ambulance for him if he didn’t wake up. But Casey had to wake up.

Raphael tried not to look at his boyfriend as he removed his yuck-ified clothing. Raphael then took off the jacket Casey gave him to wear- the sleeves and front of the fabric soaked in filth. He would have to wash them later. Raph took the shower head off the wall, not wanting to fill the tub and have Casey marinate in all the gunk he would have to wash off. It seemed counterproductive…

The ninja started scrubbing Casey clean- who woke up mid bath time. It was an awakening to pain- a lesser pain than he was in before, but it still hurt. The underside of his legs stung as soap and water pooled under the tiled tub beneath him, before swirling down the drain in a washed out wine color- the shimmery suds of soap were stained bloody as the tub’s rusty outlet swallowed them up.

His legs ached down to the bone, hurt crawling up his spine and smashing its fist into his face. every cell of his skin burned, fire spewing from every pore. A high pitched squeal left him, and Raph would have burst out laughing if it were under different circumstances.
“Hey… You’re gonna be alright, darlin’. Just gotta patch ya up.”

Raphael shut the shower off, and handed Casey a towel, who blanketed it over himself immediately. He sat in a silent daze, letting consciousness seep back into his mind. Something cohesive behind the shroud of sensory overload.
“Jesus- I feel like hell. Did I die when Don splashed me with that orange ooze..?”

“No, But I thought you might. You were falling apart in front of me… Is there something I can do to help you feel better?”
Raphael picked Casey up out of the tub and sat him down on the counter, pulling out a first aid kit from under the sink.
“Drugs.”

Casey looked into the mirror behind him, taking a good look at himself. He looked normal- aside from the weird scarring on his face. He could only assume thats why his face hurt so much. He couldn’t see his skull split out from his face and turn his visage into mashed potatoes before the flesh awkwardly reconstructed itself- So he could only guess why he was so scarred up. After all- his brain was attempting to block out such painful memories.

But even in all his pain, he grinned. Happy to be human once more! Raphael spoke.
“Sure- the mirror is a medicine cabinet.”
Raphael disinfected the cuts on his boyfriend’s legs, nearly getting kicked in the nose as Casey flinched.
“Don’t knock me out when I’m tryna help, dimwit!”

The turtle growled, bandaging up Casey as the boy grabbed a bottle- struggling to open the child-proof cap. He eventually opened it, popping the pills and grimacing at the taste.
“C’mere.”
Casey yelped as Raphael swung him around, patching up the back of his neck.
“Thanks… Can I have my clothes back now? I dunno if you noticed, but unlike you guys, I don’t usually walk around naked. After all- nobody could withstand the sight of Casey Jones’s majestic bod!”

“Dude- your clothes are soaked in blood and puke. You could ask Mikey for some threads, but he only wears girl clothes.”
Raphael smirked as Casey gritted his teeth at the suggestion.
“I’ll pass…”
“Donnie wanted to see you. Go deal with that while I wash your stuff, you left your pants in my room if you want those.”

Raphael picked up the bundle of revolting fabrics, leaving Casey to find the clothes he left in Raphael’s room. He put on his socks and boxer briefs, jeans were way too uncomfy to wear at the moment- Considering he felt like he was just kicked into an active volcano.
“Hey-“
Casey’s greeting was cut short as he saw Donnie scrubbing flayed flesh off the floor. He gagged.
“Ugh- that’s fucking gnarly dude!”
“It’s your skin! You should be glad I don’t make you clean this mess!”

Donatello huffed, dropping his brush in a pail of diluted bleach and bubbles. He approached Casey, checking him over.
“You’ll probably be fine… You look fine- uh, better than fine!”
The nerdy ninja awkwardly babbled, looking away from Casey.

“Uh… Thanks! Plus- I am super thankful or whatever that you turned me back, even if it did hurt like a bitch. But hey- pain is beauty, or whatever they say!”
Casey shrugged, rolling his eyes before bumping shoulders with Donatello.
“But for reals! Thanks a ton, your work is totally metal.”

Donnie blushed and waved a hand dismissively.
“Dawh- you flatter me, Jones!”
“I mean it!”
The vigilante clapped his hand onto the ruffled reptile’s shoulder.

“Has your sister seen you yet?”
Donatello asked, switching up the subject.
“Nah- I’m gonna show her once Raphie boy finishes with my clothes.”
Casey explained, towel still wrapped around his shoulders.
“Right.”

Casey waved goodbye as he left Donatello’s lab, waiting in Raphael’s room for his clothes to be washed and dried.

Chapter Text

Casey Jones finally got to put all of his clothes back on, hooray. He was lying on his boyfriend’s chest, getting his hair combed through and spoiled with kisses to his head- lazing around until his pain dulled into numbness.

“What are ya gonna tell yer dad?”
Raphael asked quietly, scratching at his boyfriend’s scalp as he stroked his scruffy, greasy, hair. Good question- Casey and his sister went unexplainably missing, and he was covered in awful injuries…
“I’ll tell him me and Angel were kidnapped- and the lunatic totally tortured me for funsies, before I escaped. I’ll get Angel in on it, too.”

Casey yawned, a puddle of lovey dovey goo in Raphael’s affectionate cuddle.
“That sounds insane, ya Basket-Case.”
Casey scoffed, sitting up with his arms crossed. Looking down at Raphael with a smug grin.
“My life stays insane! It’s the Jones’s curse, man. You won’t believe the trouble my ma and pops got into when they were my age!”

“I sure believe they were in trouble when they had you…”
Casey gave Raphael a smooch on the cheek and shoved him off the bed.
“Man, shut it!”
Casey gnashed, before running off to get his sister- leaving Raph to growl like a dinosaur as he landed on his shell.

Casey was glad. Despite all the scars covering him, it didn’t diminish the teeming bliss he felt, he had never before been so overjoyed to just- be human…

To just be Casey Jones.