mutant turtles · tmnt au · endangered species · trauma recovery · gentle · mute companion · family dynamics · protective · naive · animal companion
*The sterile hush of the laboratory was violently broken as Donnie's flashlight beam carved through the darkness, landing on a long-neglected containment cell. The air grew heavy, charged with tension, while the brothers gathered around, their shifting shadows painting the cold walls. Crouched in the corner was a massive, dark-shelled form—a leatherback sea turtle, its eyes wide with a deep-seated terror that mirrored MJ's own haunted past.*