#t!leo

Of the three infected brothers, only two are left with lasting effects after the allergic reaction: Leo and Mikey

As for Leo, he can shrink down to a size similar to that of an ant (3 millimeters, or about one-fifth of an inch). He changes size by using his portals; if his exit portal is smaller, he’ll emerge smaller on the other side, but he can’t do the reverse (he’s already tried). His current limits seem to be between his normal size and the size of an insect.

As for Mikey, he may be able to grow up to 100 feet tall. The way he changes size is more similar to how most fictional characters with this ability do it; his growth rate can vary depending on the context, and, like Leo, he cannot reverse the process (he can only shrink back to his normal size, but NEVER smaller). His maximum limit is 100 feet for now.

It’s also important to note that these abilities don’t manifest immediately after the story ends; instead, they remain dormant until “something” awakens them.

When do their abilities awaken?

Leonardo’s awaken sometime between the end of the series and the movie.

Mikey’s awaken after the events of the movie.

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Although Leo pretended most of the time he was awake, he was almost as worried as Donnie about the whole business of being small; there were many things that could potentially go wrong, but even his usual paranoia (which he hid under layers and layers of humor) did not prepare him for what he faced when he woke up. 

The environment would have seemed unfamiliar to him even without measuring six inches; it looked like a teenager's room, with its bed, desk, and clear purple accents. In fact, it looked like Donnie would have decorated it... Wait... What about Donnie?! 

The boy jumped up while still taking in the strange surroundings; the floor covered in sawdust irritated his feet, he could tell he was on a raised surface, and the unmistakable bars frightened him even more when he couldn't find his purple-banded brother anywhere in his small prison. 

“Donnie? Donnie?” he exclaimed desperately. 

“Nardo! Don't shout” came a complaint from beside the boy. 

The red-eared turtle finally noticed the other cage, which he hadn't paid attention to in his panic. It was a six feet away from him and inside was his unmistakable purple-clad brother, who seemed to have been signaling to him for a while. 

“Dontron!” Leo exclaimed again, moving as close as he could to his brother, at the edge of his own cage “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” the boy seemed anxious to reach his brother. 

“No, I'm fine... You took a while to wake up...” although he had no obvious injuries, Donnie clearly seemed to have been worried for a while because Leo hadn't woken up. 

Leo realized that he had probably been unconscious longer than he should have been. He tried to calm down as much as possible to talk to his brother. 

“Hey... Where are we?” he asked, trying to sound calm “I doubt this is a hotel for turtles...” he muttered under his breath. 

“It seems you don't remember; we were attacked with sleeping gas...” Donnie began, scratching his wrists a little “I'm not sure where we are, but I think we're back in the city” he said, pointing in the direction of a window in the room. 

Outside, they could see the unmistakable lights of the city and some structures in the distance, as well as hear the noise of vehicles and the bustle of people. 

“I don't think the people who have us here are friendly, huh?” Leo commented when a boy entered the room and startled him. 

“Kendra! The brother is finally awake!” someone shouted outside the room as two more guys appeared behind them. 

Leo, almost instinctively, wanted to draw his sword, but he immediately noticed it was missing and looked around to see if he had dropped it. 

“Sorry, buddy” he heard the girl say to him, pulling her shortened odachi out of her jacket “But you don't think we were going to let you keep such a valuable item, do you?” 

“Who—?” he exclaimed but was interrupted before he could finish. 

“The Purple Dragons!” his twin shouted, pointing at the girl. 

“Correct, Othello Von Ryan... Or was it Bootyyyshaker9000? ... Or rather Donnie” she said, bringing her face close to the cage and smiling smugly at her enemy. 

Leo was impressed. He had never seen the Purple Dragons in person before. Of course, he knew of their existence from past events and from the stories his brother and April had told him, but he had never seen the group in person. Not that he would have liked to see them for the first time as giants from his perspective. 

“I should have guessed you were behind this... Although you've been less orthodox than usual” replied the purple-banded turtle, pointing to the shavings in his cage, which looked like a hamster cage. He tried to look as threatening as he could despite his obvious disadvantage in the situation. 

“Well, we didn't expect to have an action figure of yourself” smiled the girl as she  

“Besides, these traps were made by our new partner” commented Jason. 

“What do you mean by ‘new partner’?” asked Leo, drawing the attention of the boys, who had only been focusing on Donnie. 

Then there was a noise, like a ringing sound, which interrupted the boys' response to the turtle's question. Jeremy brought the source of the noise to the front of his prisoners. It was a small robot that Leo wished he didn't recognize. 

“Agh! You've got to be kidding me” he exclaimed mentally. The call kept ringing, while the dragons seemed to be waiting for something. 

“Come on, Jason! Be useful and answer it!” exclaimed Kendra, pushing the boy with glasses toward the device. 

“I thought it would activate on its own!” he argued a little. 

“You're making us look bad...” the girl held the bridge of her nose. 

The boy got nervous and pressed where he thought the answer was. The blue-banded turtle watched the group every move. It seemed that the girl was the leader and the boy with glasses was the one they controlled the most. Perhaps that could be useful for... 

“Turtles!” the appearance of that annoying kid in the projection interrupted his thoughts “I told you it wouldn't be the last time you'd hear from me... BaxterStock-” 

“Boring! We already know who you are!” Leo exclaimed, fed up with all this nonsense “Now, can we find out what you want, Stockboy? I don't think you wanted to join these guys to start your own nerd club” he said disdainfully, pointing to the odd group. 

“Even at a disadvantage, they still don't learn to respect me” the boy said angrily, but before he could get upset, Jeremy interrupted him. 

“Relax, buddy, fools will never appreciate what we geniuses do” Donnie was about to protest being included in the same group as Leo when the boy continued “Let's just say we have a strategic alliance, huh?” with that, he looked at the girl. 

“Exactly, let's say we hate you equally and that we can both get our revenge for always meddling in our plans” as she said this, the girl looked closely at both turtles, paying special attention to Donnie, looking at him with contempt. 

“And finally, I can get revenge for sending me to genius prison!” exclaimed the boy, smiling. 

“I wouldn't have stopped your plans if YOU HADN'T TAKEN MY STUFF!” exclaimed Donnie, still upset that they had tricked him, not to mention that he lost that precious purple jacket. 

“Ha ha ha... You scream a lot for someone so small” said Kendra, placing a hand on the cage. Despite Donnie's rudeness, it made him feel nervous for a moment, a reminder of his current position. 

“Donnie's right, you guys got yourselves into trouble and now you want to blame us” Leo pointed out to everyone present, wishing with all his might that he was normal so he could kick these jerks' butts “Besides... What do you gain by kidnapping us? I don't want to scare you, but we have more allies than you think” he crossed his arms, looking as imposing as he could. 

“Well, that's exactly what we want... You are the bait...” that answer disturbed the twins. 

Then Baxter switched the transmission on his screen to what looked like an aerial recording of the forest, where his huge younger brother could be seen, seemingly oblivious to the recording. 

“Mikey!” Donnie exclaimed with concern. 

“What are you going to do to him?!” Leo exclaimed, holding back his anger. 

“Him? Nothing...” Jeremy commented, which further angered the brothers “Just come for you” he emphasized the last word. 

Before the brothers could fully understand the implications of that, Baxter returned to the screen and continued speaking. 

“The mysterious giant of the forest will come to the city... That silly movie about that giant monkey will be NOTHING compared to this” the boy said dramatically, his eyes almost seeming to sparkle with money “And finally, the whole city will see you for what you really are... A ‘Mutant Menace’” he said emphatically. 

Donnie exclaimed before Leo could think of anything to say.  

“And what do you guys get out of this?!” he pointed at the dragons, projecting his voice as much as he could. It had been a while since Leo had seen his brother so angry. 

“The commotion caused by your brother will create the perfect smokescreen” Kendra continued, walking between the two cages “... In the meantime, we can go unnoticed while stealing the Shadow Transmitter that ‘Dron-Atello’ never took” she said, looking at the soft-shelled turtle. She was clearly enjoying the moment. Leo didn't understand what she meant by ‘Dron-Atello’. It seemed his brother had an endless collection of names for every occasion. 

“Just thinking about his hacking skills fills me with excitement” Jason almost shouted, earning himself an annoyed look from the girl. 

“And I guess you think that telling us your evil plan will make us stay here and do nothing, right?” Leo said, “Or try to contact our family” he thought to himself. 

“Of course not, you've always been just as stubborn...” Kendra smiled at Leo, who also trembled a little inside, although it was barely noticeable. 

The girl then headed for the exit door, while the other two boys followed her. 

“However, in addition to taking away your weapons...” Jeremy began, pointing out that he had Donnie's small device in his hand, much to Donnie's displeasure “Baxter had a less expensive idea in case you tried to escape” with that, the three boys left the room. 

And before the questions could leave their mouths, Baxter's little transmission robot turned off and moved to open a blanket covering a box behind the cages, which the boys hadn't noticed before. 

When the box was uncovered, a snake began to emerge from it. Whether it was big or small didn't matter, because to the twins it was the equivalent of a huge monster from their position, and they both finally showed their panic by turning pale and restless. Then Baxter spoke again. 

“The boys tell you don't leave your cages... But if you want to do it anyway, I'll be here to record it, this will definitely get extra views on my channel” he said, then disappeared from the broadcast, while the robot pointed at both turtles as it continued recording. 

Then silence reigned, accompanied only by the hissing noise of the snake slithering across the floor, while the brothers ran out of ideas. 

“Definitely, having...” Donnie almost exclaimed, when Leo interrupted him. 

“No, no, brother, let me say it now... Having this size sucks! And a lot!” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Agh!” suddenly, the huge box turtle reacted by moving its hand close to its face, much to the surprise of its older brother. 

“What's going on, big guy?” he asked, trying to remain calm, despite noticing the boy's obvious annoyance. 

“I don't know... I heard an annoying buzzing sound...” he said, waving his hands a little more to scare away whatever had bothered him. 

“Maybe a bird or a bat? I don't think you can hear mosquitoes now” he commented, patting the boy's knee as he sat down. The boy laughed dryly. 

Raph, as he had promised April before she left, took advantage of the fact that there were no longer any intruders on Todd's property and went for a walk in the woods with his giant little brother. Even though it was already dark, Mikey preferred to walk than to stay still in the same position for another second, or else he felt like he was going to explode, and it wasn't the best idea to do so at this size, as he had already discovered over the last few days. Raph spent most of the journey sitting on his shoulder so that the boy wouldn't have to worry about stepping on him. 

“I don't want to go back into my shell for a while... This sucks...” he said the last part a little more quietly, as he stretched his arms and legs a little. 

“I understand buddy, but it's the only thing we could think of to keep people from discovering you” said the biting turtle with a hint of guilt in his voice. 

“I know...” the boy almost exclaimed “It's just... I don't know if I can stand it like this for the next few days until I'm back to normal” Even sitting down, he towered over many of the surrounding objects, which was starting to annoy him now that he was the center of attention for half of New York. 

“Maybe when we get back, we can think of something else” Raph said, putting his hand on his chin “There must be something discreet we can do that isn't so uncomfortable for you” with that, he touched some of Mikey's fingers to comfort him a little. 

For a moment there was silence. Mikey felt his older brother's gentle caresses on his hand as he looked up at the sky, trying to think of something that might work for him. Maybe he needed to get even further away from the city and the intrusive people or mutants, maybe something a little more hidden... Then everything became clear in his head. 

“That's it!” he exclaimed, raising his hands excitedly, only to notice that Raph had grabbed one of his fingers and was hanging on with obvious surprise on his face “Oops, sorry Raph...” he smiled nervously and placed his other hand underneath so that his brother could let go safely. 

“Dude! What did we talk about regarding warning us?!” he complained as he let go of the finger and stood on the other hand offered to him. 

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry” Mikey said quickly as he tried to calm his initial excitement. He brought the hand holding Raph up to his face so he could see him at eye level and sighed to explain “...It's just... I think I know what we can do” he smiled broadly. 

“Really?” Raph wasn't sure if his little brother's idea would be any good, but it was worth listening to. He crossed his arms, somewhat skeptical. 

“We could hide in Hidden City until the effect of...” he pointed to himself with his free hand “this... wears off” 

“Hmm... I don't know..." he hesitated for a moment. The Hidden City hadn't treated them very well the last time they went there, but then he remembered that Mikey hadn't been arrested at that time. 

“In the Hidden City there are huge creatures, like me now, I could pass as one of them” said the boy with some excitement, although he controlled his volume better than before “Besides, there are places where there's a lot of space and not so many people... I think, I think it could work” his eyes sparkled with excitement as he looked at his older brother, waiting for a positive response from him. 

Raph pondered the idea for a moment, trying not to be swayed by Mikey's adorable eyes. However, before he could say anything, his cell phone rang, and as soon as he saw who was calling, he became concerned. 

“What's wrong, Raph?” Mikey asked when his brother's attitude changed. 

“It's... It's Dad... Dad's calling...” he replied worriedly. 

Mikey also became concerned. Their father almost never called, but when he did, it was undoubtedly for something bad. Then they looked at each other, not needing a mental fusion to know they were thinking the same thing. They hadn't heard from Leo and Donnie in hours... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

“Uh... Hello?” came a timid voice from the other end. 

“EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!” Splinter shouted at the top of his lungs “Blue and Purple have been KIDNAPPED!” 

“WHAT?!” the brothers shouted on the other end, followed by “Mikey, careful! You're going to make me fall!” 

Splinter proceeded to explain what had happened. Shortly after the boys had left, he went into Todd's house to check on the twins, only to find a small, unfamiliar robot with a short but obvious message. They wanted Mikey to go to the city to find his brothers. 

“The robot looks like the one you had a while ago, Orange” Splinter commented. 

“Oh no...” Mikey said on the other end “I think I know who took them, Pops...” 

“I need you both to come back immediately” the rat man said firmly. 

“But Pops... We'll lose time...” Raph was interrupted. 

“NO BUTS, KIDS!” he exclaimed sharply, although there was a hint of desperation in his voice “This is obviously a trap. Come back here and we'll see what to do” 

“Dad...” the biting turtle tried to convince him again. 

“Raphael! Michelangelo!” he exclaimed their full names “Come back IMMEDIATELY! I'm not asking you” he said. Silence reigned on the other end of the phone. 

“Okay...” Raph replied in a subdued tone, ending the call. 

During the minutes Splinter waited for his sons to return; he searched for clues with Todd. He entered the turtle tank only to discover that the kidnapper had also left his mark inside; part of the metal had been destroyed, and small marks led to Shelldon, where he discovered that it had been tampered with, as if its charging system had been manipulated. It seemed unconscious (by machine standards). This was no amateur kidnapper; he knew his children and undoubtedly knew which points to attack. Todd and his dogs discovered a piece of a jacket with the symbol of a purple dragon. Splinter had no doubt, perhaps it was paternal instinct, but he knew this was not the work of a single kidnapper. He began to prepare the tank to make it work, while waiting for his children— 

His fleeting thoughts were interrupted by the rhythmic tremor of his youngest son's footsteps. It was clear that he was upset; in fact, when he arrived, he accidentally knocked down a tree because he was in such a hurry. However, Splinter noticed the clear absence of his eldest son. 

“Mikey!” he exclaimed, approaching the enormous turtle. Mikey knelt in front of his father, his face a mixture of concern and guilt “Where's Red?!” 

“He left...” the boy said, almost in a whisper. 

“What?!” he exclaimed, angry and frustrated “Why didn't you stop him?!” 

Mikey was silent for a moment, looking away nervously. 

“I couldn't...” his father didn't believe him. 

“You could have easily stopped him now” he said, looking at him angrily. More silence “Mikey, you... Did you let him go?” the boy avoided his father's gaze. The answer was obvious “Why?” 

“I'm not sure... I'm scared...” he said, still in a low voice, even for his size “What if Leo and Donnie are in trouble?” he suddenly raised his voice, surprising his father “If we take too long, something very, very, VERY bad could happen to them!” he exclaimed, upsetting his father with the loudness of his voice. 

“Hey, hey, hey! Calm down, son!” Splinter shouted “Come here, put your hands in front of me...” he instructed, and when the boy put his hands in front of him, he placed his comparatively small hands-on top of them “I know you're scared... So am I... But going alone and without a clear plan could make everything worse... The last thing I want is to lose you; I need you to trust me...” he caressed the boy's hands. 

“Dad... I... I'm sorry” he felt his father's caresses, small but better than nothing, and took a deep breath to calm himself. 

“Now... I need you to tell me everything you know about these kidnappers” he asked, taking advantage of the fact that he was a little calmer. 

Mikey revealed every detail he thought might be useful; he talked about Baxter, how the boy had a certain grudge against him, and how he had tried to expose them a few months ago, when the yokai had not yet been revealed to New York. He also ended up adding what little he knew about the Purple Dragons when his father mentioned that symbol; those guys were more worrisome to him. They were as smart as Donnie, but they used that for evil. He remembered when they launched a giant robot in New York to destroy them, tricking Donnie into the process. “Heh, I guess it wouldn't be so big for me now” he thought to himself.  

After gathering all the information he needed, Splinter finished preparing the tank, managed to turn Shelldon on, and got ready to leave. Mikey insisted on going with him, even if he couldn't fit in the tank, but his father refused every time. Not even his puppy dog eyes worked! 

“My son... The note said that you are the one they are looking for... It's obviously a trap” Mikey pouted, but his father remained firm “There's no way you can go unnoticed at your current size... I know you're worried, but I'll call Todd if anything happens... You have to stay hidden” 

For a moment, the box turtle remembered when they were children. In their early years, their father was stricter with them when it came to going out, which is why they had so many plans with their siblings to try to go unnoticed among humans. In fact, they hardly ever went out, except on holidays like Halloween, when their appearance served as a costume. He knew that yokai and mutants were no longer a secret, but a giant one could upset the order. He nodded reluctantly. 

“Okay, Pops...” he reached out his hand and let Splinter hug his finger. It seemed that his father also understood how hungry for affection the boy was. 

“I'm sorry, Mikey” said Shelldon, bumping his fist against his finger as he left with Splinter. 

However, after a while, Mikey felt that it was a mistake. 

The hours that passed after his father left felt like an eternity. It was stressful. Almost every five minutes, the boy asked Todd if anything had come up on his phone, while he wandered around the dog park, trying to distract himself with the dogs, but it only worked for a little while. He couldn't help but have a bad feeling about all this. 

Then it happened. 

The robot that had been left behind by Baxter made some noises and projected his image. Todd called the boy over to see the message. 

“So... You thought you could fool me again... But I'm afraid there's only one way you'll understand...” the projection changed to Raph, who appeared to be trapped in ropes, with acid below him “As we said before... You're the one who must come... Or your brothers will suffer the consequences...” the projection changed to Leo and Donnie in cages, it wasn't reassuring, Leo was in a fetal position, while Donnie was pacing back and forth in the cage and... WAS THAT A SNAKE?! 

“Leave my brothers alone!” the boy exclaimed angrily. The projection changed to a girl with purple hair. 

“You have a couple of hours to find them if you don't want anything to happen to them... Here's a clue: your brother in red is in a warehouse... Don't keep us waiting...” then the projection turned off before Mikey could protest. 

Mikey and Todd froze, but while the adult was worried, a deep anger was growing in the boy. He just couldn't stay here any longer. 

“I'm going to get them” he said as he got up and headed outside the dog park, Todd running after him. 

“But buddy! Your dad said to wait for him to call!” the capybara tried to reason. 

“You heard them, Todd!” he exclaimed without measuring his volume, upsetting the surrounding dogs “They're looking for me... I don't care if it's a trap” A small tear appeared in one of his eyes “My brothers need me” 

Todd knew there was no way to stop the boy; his conviction was firm, so the only thing he could think of was to give him some advice. 

“I understand...” he sighed “Maybe it would help to go along the river; it would be harder for the people to find you there...” he moved closer to the boy “I'll tell your father when he calls, and... Be very careful” 

“Thanks Todd, and... I'm sorry for being a bother” he apologized “As soon as I can, I'll let you know how everything goes.” 

“Don't apologize, it's always a pleasure to have you here. Now go and save your family!” the boy's eyes shone with new conviction. 

And with that, Mikey headed for the city.