The best possible hand in poker, including the ace, king, queen, jack, and ten all in the same suit. A royal flush is exceptionally rare and is, therefore, the most coveted hand in poker.

♔♕

Pain. Terror. Confusion. Exhaustion. Raphael can't figure anything out, even once he opens his eyes. He groans, his body feeling like it's been weighted down with lead. He's faintly aware of chains surrounding his biceps and holding him in place, but the high-pitched drone in his head makes it hard for him to focus. His surroundings are dark, only a sliver of light crossing his vision somewhere ahead of him, but he's too disoriented to work out anything else.

Taylor, my brothers, Splinter, he thinks. He remembers Taylor's scream and the sounds of her struggle. If the Purple Dragons did something to her—

A bright square of light opens ahead of him and he lets out a breathless groan as his eyes squeeze shut and he flinches away. For a split second, he thinks that it's one of those time travel windows that Renet could open. The thought of the Assistant Time Master in Training showing up now makes him feel nauseous, but when he finally focuses, the truth is a whole lot worse. He'd take Renet in a heartbeat.

A tall man wearing a white lab coat walks in accompanied by Hun. He flicks a light switch on with his pointer finger and stares at Raphael with cold, grey eyes filled to the brim with excitement that Raphael recognizes in Sarina and Donatello whenever they get the chance to learn something new. This guy merits an entirely different feeling.

His jaw is lined with stubble of the same grey colour as his hair, which is combed so perfectly that not even a single strand is out of place. He looks like the kind of guy who applies sanitizer to his hands because everything is impure and dirty or because he can. He gives Raphael the creeps.

"Finally...real mutants, the final piece," he murmurs.

He sweeps towards Raphael's cage, his thin lips joining his eyes in their celebration. He walks with his head high, his chin tilted upwards and his back ramrod straight—as if even the spine itself has no curve to it. He presses his hand against the glass separating him from the red-masked turtle and Raphael glares, fingers clenching against his palms. He tries to bring his arms down but they don't budge.

"I hope you are pleased, Dr. Sabrian," Hun says, flashing the phoniest smile that Raphael has ever seen. He never pegged Hun as that much of a suck-up.

"I'm far more than pleased. I am ecstatic!" Dr. Sabrian exclaims. He drags his hand down the glass and despite the space between them, Raphael feels violated. "My my...wonderful specimens, just wonderful..." He grins and turns to face Hun. "We didn't even expect the rat, but life has the best way of rewarding you, hm?"

"What did you do to Taylor?" Raphael demands.

Sabrian slowly turns around, slim face painted with shock. "And you talk...even better," he continues. "Please, speak again. Let me hear that voice of yours."

"Where. Is. Taylor?" the turtle repeats, teeth gritted. "What did you do to her?"

"Taylor...Taylor..." Sabrian hums, tapping his skinny, knobby fingertips together. "I'm not sure I know a Taylor, but she sounds lovely. Is she..." His eyes spark and he exhales for a second longer than he needs to. "Oh...Taylor, yes. I know her. Taylor, Taylor—"

"Stop saying her name and tell me where she is!" Raphael shouts. He swings his leg as hard as he can, but all he does is shake his containment unit with the effort.

"Amazing," Sabrian purrs. He looks at Hun with a smug smile. "You finally paid off. Well done."

Hun bows his head. "Thank you. Perhaps I can be of more assistance soon."

Raphael ignores their conversation, turning his head to take notice of his surroundings. There are other cages beside him and his stomach drops. Master Splinter and Leonardo hang from their bindings, heads drooped, while Michelangelo and Donatello are just starting to stir.

"Up up up!" Sabrian snaps as he walks along the wall of cages, slamming his fist against the glass as he goes. "I want you to see this!"

Donatello and Michelangelo jolt awake with a start, panic flooding their faces as they squint and blink, searching around them. Leonardo blinks wearily as he drags his head up, but he becomes more awake the second he sees what's going on. Splinter doesn't move.

"Ah, they drugged him a little too much," Sabrian sighs, tapping on Splinter's cage. "I said he'd need more since he's so much bigger, but they really did outdo themselves. Hopefully, that doesn't harm him too much." Michelangelo squeaks and yanks against his bindings as Sabrian's manic grin falls on him. "Oh well, that'll do. Hun, please, bring her in."

Hun nods and spins around. He snaps his fingers sharply and the doors slide open. A girl enters, shuffling her feet, unable to keep her head held high. Raphael feels his heart shatter into pieces and his breath leaves him.

"No...no..." he whispers.

"Taylor," Hun greets, beckoning to her. "Come, don't be shy."

She doesn't say a word. Raphael just stares at her. Nearly every injury from her beating is gone. Her lips are smooth and unmarked, her limp is gone, and she seems to have no trouble breathing. The only indication that she was ever hurt is the bruising on her arms, eye, and some newer ones on her nose.

"Perfect, now everyone's here," Sabrian says, rubbing his hands together and taking a blissful breath. "It feels like I've been waiting forever for this moment."

"Who are you?" Leonardo demands, his voice shaking.

The man arches a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Oh, forgive me, I forgot only the red one was awake when my name was mentioned. I am Dr. Adolf Sabrian, lead scientist and founder of Mutacorp Enterprises."

The name makes every mutant tense up. Leonardo narrows his eyes further, struggling to keep his voice level. "Why are we here? What is this?" he asks. "How do you know about us?"

"Oh my, you're curious creatures. You four get more interesting by the second," Sabrian chuckles. "My company truly blossomed after the first Kraang invasion. Until then, we focused on mutagen, studying its properties, but we were getting nowhere with our research. When the Kraang invasion came, I became curious about the strange circumstances surrounding them and the unknown heroes that saved us all. We got to work and found so much more than we bargained for; you four and your lovely allies."

The turtles don't say a word. Hun chuckles to himself and Taylor keeps her eyes on the floor.

"I...I don't understand," Donatello whispers.

"Of course you don't. To understand, I must bring you up to speed on our mission," Sabrian says breezily. "We began our search at TCRI, investigating the uppermost reaches of the building where no regular employee could venture. We found security clips, but the one that caught my attention was a segmentation mutation that went awry. I believe that wolf of yours earned her wings that day."

Leonardo's hands become fists, muscles bulging against the restraints, and Donatello's breath hitches. The memories of Sarina's rescue run through their heads.

"Ah, but...we noticed something," he continues. "Destiny had a hurt shoulder, a rather terrible bullet wound if I remember correctly. However, once she was mutated, that shoulder was not only covered in feathers, but her wound was healed."

"So what?" Raphael snaps.

Sabrian's eyes flicker with amusement. "So what? Why, this changed everything, Raphael. We started a new goal; study the mutagenic properties not only for the way they warp and mutate DNA, but how they reconstruct the body. We believe that we may have discovered something that will change the face of the world and everyone in it." He pauses, as if trying to create a more dramatic effect. "The secret to immunity."

Donatello's mouth falls open. "That's...that's impossible."

"Nothing is impossible, Donatello. You're the smart one, you should know that," Sabrian says. "We finally had a minor breakthrough just a few nights ago. We took the DNA from salamanders and starfish that allows them to regrow lost limbs, DNA from flatworms that helps them regenerate their bodies from a single cell, and DNA from a spiny mouse that helps them regrow skin cells at an abnormal speed..." He takes a breath, still grinning. "We mixed them with mutagen and we created a small amount of serum that could very well heal any human injury and cure any disease."

"Whoa," Michelangelo breathes.

"Certainly...Michelangelo? Yes, you're Michelangelo. I do hope I'm remembering these names right..."

"Does it work?" Donatello inquires, eyes starting to sparkle.

"See for yourself," Sabrian says, gesturing to Taylor.

Raphael's eyes widen. "You used that serum on her? It could've hurt her!"

"Oh pish posh." Sabrian rolls his eyes. "I granted her healing! I was so eager to test it out, especially once Hun told me about all the hard work they did getting her ready. It worked out perfectly, what with her running away and bringing you right back to me."

Raphael growls. "You're twisted."

"Me? I am her saviour!" Sabrian retorts. "It's a shame that Hun couldn't let her go unpunished, even once she obeyed her orders. She got very involved in her work, far too involved, and that's...well, that's just a no-no." His gaze shoots through Raphael like a lightning bolt. "Those cracked ribs, broken nose? Fixed. I believe after that last beating she had, she also may have fractured her skull and damaged some internal organs, but no biggie." He laughs and drags his hand along Taylor's hair, threading the strands between his fingers. Raphael can see that there's a scar on her forehead where there wasn't one before. "She is better now. The serum doesn't work as well with healing bruises or erasing scars, but we will fix that in time."

Raphael slumps further, his heart so heavy that he can no longer hold himself up. Taylor tugs at her fingers, still unable to look up at them, and Hun crosses his arms over his chest and dons a proud smirk.

"The serum will become better in time," Sabrian says, voice dropping to a mere whisper, a promise to his future self. "This serum doesn't heal bruises and Taylor's DNA got too warped for our liking. She got lucky, the only side-effect is that she will heal 0.05% faster than she used to. Perhaps the mutation was a win, right, my dear?" He pets her hair yet again and she visibly cringes.

"This sort of thing would change the world for the better!" Donatello says. "Why do you need us if you're already so close to perfecting it?"

Sabrian sighs. "I would have thought that you, of all mutants, would understand the conditions surrounding such tedious work," he says. "We need mutagenic cells, samples, and we need to test the serum once we create a new batch. Human testing is a very touchy subject, so we need the most humanlike creatures that we could possibly find without angering the public." His eyes glint. "Why not use the unknown heroes of the city, the ninja turtles? Nobody knows that you exist, you are in perfect physical condition, and you are sentient enough to be the perfect test subjects. You can understand my language and respond, you can express what is happening to you...it is perfect."

"Animal testing is, like, super cruel, dude," Michelangelo says.

"Animal testing is cruel, human testing is basically outlawed, but there are no laws in place for the creatures that walk the line between the two." Sabrian pouts a little. "I am slightly disappointed that we could not get our hands on those two girls. Having both male and female to work with—"

"Touch them and you will pay," Leonardo utters through his teeth, eyes blazing.

Sabrian stares at him, amused. "My, you're almost adorable when you get angry like that. Like...like a pet, in a pet store."

"You son of a—"

"Sir, I must ask, but is this really necessary? You're creating medicine!" Donatello says, trying his best to smile. "We could help you without any testing on us. I...I could show you my research! I have extensive notes on the biological makeup of me, my brothers, and...and Destiny and Sarina! There's no need to be like this."

Sabrian's amusement grows. "You seem to think that I consider you equal to me. That is not the case." Shivers roll down the turtles' spines. "You are freaks of nature, animals blessed with above-average intelligence, while I..." He gestures to himself. "I am human. I am the perfect outcome of evolution while you are nothing more than unfortunate accidents."

Raphael growls. "I oughta—"

"Furthermore, our end goal is not to create a medicine. Medicine sells, yes, but it would only help the rich, those who could afford it. Mutacorp wants to help all of New York." He clasps his hands together. "We want to create immunity, to further the evolution of humans, and the only way to do that is to mutate all of New York. Once everyone has a dose of our serum, we will be immune to disease, heal every injury in seconds! We...will be the ultimate species."

"No, no, you can't do that!" Donatello pleads. "Mutagen is incredibly unstable in this dimension! Trying to mutate an entire city could cause drastic and irreversible effects—"

"The actual margin of risk is very little," Sabrian states. "Worst case scenario, we end up with creatures like you and we will do what we must to...eliminate them." He sighs, expression saddened as he clicks his tongue. "Tragic, but it is what we must do to become the best. Weed out the weak and the ugly."

"Ugly?" Michelangelo echoes. "I'll have you know, I'm known as 'super cute' in many circles."

Sabrian claps his hands once, clasping them tightly as he raises onto his tiptoes and rolls back down again. "This is excellent. We have the perfect specimens and with you, we will save the entire human race from the most dangerous enemy of all. We will be healed."

"You're endangering everyone! Please, listen to me!" Donatello begs, yanking against his restraints. "I've worked with mutagen, I know the effects firsthand! We can help you create something safe, something good, if you would just—"

"I need nothing from you!" Sabrian's expression turns sour for the first time and he narrows his eyes. He takes a breath and smooths his hair. "All I need are your bodies, and once I am done with those bodies, I will sell them to the highest bidder and gain more money. I'm sure that there are people out there just dying to get their hands on such a coveted prize." He moistens his lips. "You are not human. I don't expect you to understand."

Donatello keeps struggling. "You can't play God like this! If you would listen to us, you could find out so much more! Please—"

Sabrian ignores him as he keeps ranting, lifting a small pager to his lips as he presses a button. "Hanovitz, please come in and sedate Donatello. He seems very upset."

Within seconds, a blonde woman enters the room with several other scientists, all wearing masks. The woman, Hanovitz, moves to Donatello's cage as he keeps screaming, begging and pleading with everything he has, and she presses a button. Liquid flows through cuffs attached to his arms and he goes limp within seconds.

"Donnie!" the remaining brothers cry.

"Take these four to their separate rooms. I want to begin testing immediately," Sabrian orders, pointing to everyone but Raphael. He folds his hands behind his back as his men and women get to work. "Keep Raphael here. Chop chop!" The scientists slip the cages onto rolling carts and Sabrian sighs. "It is really too bad that you aren't human. You can never hope to understand what it is that I am doing."

He turns and exits the room, followed closely by Hun, and the scientists start rolling the cages away. Raphael can do nothing but watch as his family is shuttled away, his eyes wide as he tries to force himself against the glass. He's helpless.

Leonardo cranes his neck around, trying to see Raphael one last time as he mouths something, but Raphael can't catch it. He's gone too soon. The door slams shut, tension sets in, and all Raphael can think about is how he didn't apologize to Leonardo for what he said to him.

After all, he was right about everything.

Taylor finally looks up at Raphael only to find him already staring at her.

"I don't know how you're going to spin this," he growls. "Shell, I don't even know if I'll believe you."