"We need a few more supplies," Sarina reports as she adjusts her safety goggles.

Donatello nods as he taps his clipboard lightly with the tip of his pencil. "We need a some more metal alloys for the outfits and something powerful enough to jumpstart the teleporter power core. Maybe something like a Kraang power-cell, but...hmm..." He trails off, starting to mumble to himself as he starts scribbling away at his paper.

Leonardo crosses his arms over his chest. "How much metal? Assuming that all of us will be going into the cyberverse—"

"I won't be going," Sarina interrupts. "Donnie has expressed his deep concern for me entering Circa's domain, plus you'll need a base commander. That leaves you four, Destiny, and Annalise to go inside."

"Wait, me?!" Annalise blanches. "I thought I was going to be something like base commander."

"Plans change," Donatello says, casting only a brief look at his gathered family members as he keeps writing. "Your role will be suit maintenance assistant. Helping me out with repairs and such." Another brief smile in her direction, hand still writing as if with a mind of its own. "I already told Raph to adjust the diagrams."

Raphael nods, emitting a grunt. "Pink is easier to work with than white."

Annalise feels her throat go dry, but she swallows hard and manages to nod. Michelangelo, too excited to think, grins at her and mouths out, "I'm so glad you're coming." That softens her.

The doors to the lab fly open and Casey Jones struts in like he owns the place, his hand held up as if he's waiting to be called on in school. April trails behind him, already reaching to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Excuse me! Casey Jones was NOT told about this meeting thingy!" he proclaims.

Sarina blinks. "I was under the impression that you were not coming," she states. "April, does that mean you are also interested in going? Donatello and I will have to adjust our plans."

Casey huffs, eyebrows knitting together, while April dons a sweet smile and pushes her boyfriend's hand down. "No, I was just hoping to stay back and make myself useful here. That's alright, isn't it?"

"Indeed! I would appreciate the company," Sarina says. "That way, I have someone watching mine and their backs if Circa tries something again."

Donatello's eyes snap with fury and he grasps Sarina's hand, bringing her closer to him, and she reaches to grasp his arm without a second thought. Her fingertips massage his suddenly tense muscles.

"If it means anything, I want Casey to come along," Destiny says, raising her hand. "I have a feeling he'd be good at this."

Casey grins and reaches out to fist-bump her. "Thanks, wolfie. Always got my back," he says as their knuckles touch and they share a proud look.

Raphael seems to lighten a little. "Yeah, I want Casey to come too," he says with a wicked grin. Annalise stares at the sight, wondering if she's imagining it, and Raphael saunters over to Casey and slings an arm over his shoulder. He yanks the boy down and grinds his knuckles into his hair. "Glad to have you on board, meathead."

Casey snorts and bats away Raphael's hands. "Like I wouldn't be, dude."

Leonardo, a silent onlooker to the conversation happening around him, rises from his thoughts. "Is building Casey a suit going to be a problem, though?" he wonders.

"Nope," Donatello says. "Annalise and Raph already made him a design. We're all set, except for materials."

Casey pumps his fist. "Aw yeah, this thing is going to be the literal coolest."

Leonardo nods a few times. "Alright, then Des and I will go find some extra metal at the scrapyards," he says. "Raph, Mikey, Annalise, you can look around for a power source and finish up on last-minute details. Got it?"

"Got it," the trio says.

Destiny checks her nails. "Finding metal shouldn't be too hard." She frowns a little as her ears pull back. "Crap..."

The attention lands on her. "What?" Michelangelo asks.

Destiny's nostrils flare a little. "Diaval is coming to visit soon. This is totally gonna mess it up," she groans, raking her claws through her curls. She eyes the turtles, each one suddenly very intrigued by anything but her, and her eyes narrow. "Oh my word, you guys forgot, didn't you?"

"Yup," Raphael says.

"Unfortunately, yes..." Donatello mumbles.

Leonardo purses his lips. "I didn't mean to."

"We're sorry, Desti-bear," Michelangelo finishes.

"Uh...who's Diaval?" Annalise asks.

Destiny's tail flicks as her wild eyes land on the girl. "Right, every time he's brought up there's a new character in the mix," she says with a smirk. "He's my friend. He lives in Canada so visits are rare. He's a sweetie, so don't worry."

"Mutant?"

"Sorta. He's a wizard," Michelangelo answers instead, wiggling his fingers. "But yeah, he's human."

"Anyway," Leonardo says, raising his voice. "We should get going. The night is young. Casey, April." The humans perk up. "You two good with helping Don and Sarina?"

Casey salutes and April gives him a thumbs up. "Sure thing, Leo," she says.

"Cool. Des?"

"Coming!"

The two of them disappear from the lab. While April and Casey hurry over to Donatello and Sarina, Raphael wanders over to Michelangelo and Annalise. Any trace of happiness that he had at Casey's arrival has disappeared.

"So, we going?" he asks.

"Totally, Raph!" Michelangelo says. "Let's go!"

He grabs Annalise's hand and they go dashing away. Raphael sighs heavily, an emotional exhaustion sagging his shoulders as he grabs the bag with the sketchpad. He's tired of always being the third wheel. He's tired of seeing Michelangelo and Annalise flirting. He's tired of being alone and sad. Even so, he doesn't say a word. Donatello has been happy for a year or so now, Leonardo and Destiny are comfortable enough together even with the breakup, and now...well, Raphael isn't about to take away Michelangelo's shot at happiness.

He follows after them at a much slower pace. If he had pockets, he would've buried his hands in them by now.

----------

"Nothing! Zip! Zilch! Nada!" Michelangelo complains, scuffling his feet on the rooftop. "How are we supposed to defeat Circa without the power thingy to get Don and Sari's machine working?"

"Maybe Destiny and Leo were more successful," Annalise suggests.

Raphael snorts. "Yeah, if they weren't too busy shoving their tongues into each other's mouths."

Annalise's eyes widen and she looks to Michelangelo for clarification, although the turtle is busy trying to see his own tongue. "Why...would they be doing that?" she whispers.

Michelangelo stops examining his tongue and looks up. "Uh...they used to date?"

"Woah, what?! They...what?!"

Raphael rolls his eyes. "Des and Leo were a thing for a few weeks. She broke up with him. There's your story for the day."

He starts walking away, but Annalise stays rooted in place. She imagines that she looks a lot like that one meme where the woman stares at formulas and numbers with confusion in her eyes. Annalise does that look a lot.

"I...didn't expect that," she admits. "I mean, they're so...normal to each other. And she lives with you. And they..." More blinking. "Woah."

Michelangelo shrugs. "Love is complex, dudette." He stretches his hands above his head. "Anyway! Raph!" The turtle stops walking, an irritable noise sounding from his throat as he turns around. "Wanna go home? We can finish drawing there, right?"

He stomps back to them. "Yeah, whatever."

Annalise adjusts her purse. "Wanna get Mexican?" They stare at her, Raphael's eye-ridges knitting together, and she flushes a little. "Have...you ever had Mexican?"

"We've had Mexican pizza," Michelangelo says. "And Raph had a different kind of Mexican."

Raphael cuffs Michelangelo over the head, storming away yet again while the hapless turtle rubs the sore spot on his head. Annalise imitates her confused meme for the second time that night.

Her voice is strained. "Is that a yes or a no on the takeout?"

"Yes," Michelangelo states, shooting a glare at his brother's shell. "He's just salty."

"Same," she says with a nod. Before he can speak, she says, "Okay, so I'll order some food for you guys and hopefully, you like it! What sort of stuff do you want to try?"

"Just get a little bit of everything. We'll figure it out later," he says. "Let's go!"

He bounces on ahead, dancing to whatever music his mind is playing right now. Raphael doesn't yet follow, trying to get his feet to move when he glances down at the street and he feels his blood turn to lead. Annalise reaches him and stops, following his gaze to where a young Hispanic girl is walking down the street next to a brunet boy, hand-in-hand.

"Hey, I know her," Annalise says. "She's a year ahead of me in school, but she's dealing with all this legal stuff because she used to be...a...Purple...oh."

Raphael doesn't say a word, his body speaking when his mouth doesn't. His muscles are taut and rigid, his eyes growing moist and his hands clenched into tight fists. His stare is almost angry, but, Annalise can't put her finger on it, there's something dulling it.

Annalise knows that look. It's the same look that her mother has whenever she sees the portrait of her late husband, Annalise's father, in their hallway.

She glances at Michelangelo, still skipping and singing, oblivious to the fact that there's nobody following him. Annalise reaches into her bag and pulls out her pen, spinning it on her fingers before turning around and throwing it into the nearest alley.

"Oh, dang it!" she exclaims, starting to rustle through her bag. "My pen!"

Michelangelo spins around and races back to her. "What? What's up?"

She sighs, tugging her hands from her bag and sighing in defeat. "My pen is gone. I think I dropped it when we were crossing that last jump," she says, pointing to the alleyway. She tucks her hair behind her ear. "I hate to ask, but could you...?"

Raphael glances sideways at her, frowning, and Michelangelo holds his hands up. "No sweat, dudette! I'm a great finder of things. Total Hufflepuff," he says with a wink. "Back in a few!"

He hops away, leaving Raphael and Annalise alone. Annalise turns back to face him but he's already focused back on the street, one hand perched on his belt.

"He hasn't even read Harry Potter. He only knows that 'cause of your videos," he says.

She murmurs a thoughtful hum and buries her hands in the pockets of Michelangelo's hoodie. Yes, she kept it. It's oversized, warm as heck, and Michelangelo gave it to her. It's three times the special of a regular hoodie.

She glances down at the couple just as they disappear into a coffee shop. "So...who is she?" she asks.

"Who?" he mutters.

"That girl," she confirms. "I mean, I've seen her around, heard some rumours, but...that's it."

"She's...someone that I used to know," he answers vaguely. "Why do you think I had anything to do with her? She's human."

"Well...for one, I know that heartbroken, lost look. My mom gets it a lot," she admits, looking at her feet. Raphael feels a stab of pity and she smiles weakly at him. "And, two, Mikey mentioned you had someone before. I put two and two together." He sighs, closing his eyes, and she leans forward a little. "Was she your girlfriend?"

He shrugs, his body sagging a little. "I never asked...it ended badly. You don't need to worry about it, shrimp."

"Did you love her?"

His face flickers with immense pain again as he turns away, crossing his arms over his plastron. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Oh...you did." She steps closer to him and he grunts a little, throat tight. "Did you ever tell her?"

He shakes his head, eyes squeezing shut and his teeth gritting. "N...n-no."

"Maybe you should. Or...I don't know, you should at least go see her."

Her eyes are sweet and innocent, so vibrant, and Raphael thinks it's crazy that someone can be so filled with hope at fifteen. He was hopeful at fifteen. He thought the surface world was an adventure waiting to happen, new things to see and feel and experience. He thought tasting that first pizza was the greatest thing that ever happened to him. Now, he wants to warn younger Raphael about what's to come. Two years and he's already been hardened by the world, broken and rebuilt, stronger and weaker in different ways because of it.

He misses being fifteen.

"GOT IT!"

Michelangelo appears on the rooftop again with his arm aimed at the sky, pen held aloft like a noble sword. He skips to Annalise's side and extends the pen to her with a bright smile.

"Thanks, Mikey," Annalise says. "You're the best!"

His cheeks turn pink and he rubs the back of his neck. "Heh...no problem."

She tucks the pen away and eyes the road. "Uh, so...if you guys head home, I'll go get the Mexican food and meet you back at the lair. That's okay?"

"Totally. I'll come find you if you get lost," Michelangelo says.

She hesitates, covering her shy smile with her fingertips. "Okay, thank you..." She leans over and pecks his cheek. "Always looking out for me," she adds.

Face red, she dashes away to the nearest fire escape and scrambles down it. Michelangelo giggles and touches his cheek, bouncing in place. Raphael wonders if he'll have to anchor him to the ground.

"Wow...and I thought Renet's was nice," he sighs.

Raphael rolls his eyes. "First you like the girl who's your biggest fan, then you like a girl that you're the biggest fan of. I sense a preference."

Michelangelo shrugs. "I have a preference for cute girls. That's it."

He hops away, swinging and skipping again. He hears him saying words like "enchilada", "amore", and "taquito", only making Raphael roll his eyes harder. He glances back down at the street, staring at the coffee shop that Taylor and her boyfriend went into. He swallows hard.

"Yeah...soon," he whispers. "Do it soon, Raphael."