Chapter Text
They hadn't been back in the lair thirty seconds before Donatello dragged the (still shocked) Elsa into his lab.
Leonardo and Raphael were right behind them; Michelangelo told April what happened, then ran off to tell Splinter.
April made a bee line for Donnie's lab, both to ask more questions and to stop Dee from going full mad scientist.
She walked in just as the twelve-year-old was made to sit on a bench. Without a word (which was probably for the best, as Elsa wasn't feeling too chatty), Donnie started attaching sensors to Elsa's temples and wrists.
"April, please put these on her chest," he offhandedly asked as he handed a set of wires to the sixteen-year-old upon realizing she was there.
"Are you trying to experiment on her?" Leo asked incredulously.
"Donnie, what did we say about turnin' people into experiments without their permission?" Raph groaned, his hand on his forehead.
"I am not experimenting on her," the softshelled turtle insisted. "I'm taking readings. We need answers on what just happened, plus it'll give me a good opportunity to check for any medical issues we might need to be aware of for future missions... Might be the proper time to implant a subdermal tracker as well..."
"Tracker?" Leo gave his brother a look. "Don't stalk her, Donald!"
"Scoff. It is not stalking, it is a highly efficient means of knowing when one of us is in danger. It's the same one I put on everyone else."
"The same what?" Raphael gave his brother a look.
"Okay, can we get back to the elephant in the room?" April asked as she finished putting the sensors on Elsa's chest. "In a way, Donnie's right. His tech might be able to figure out why Elsa suddenly has magic. Plus, could someone tell me exactly what just happened? All Mikey said was 'Elsa has ice magic and Donnie's about to experiment on her.'"
"I did not say 'experiment', I said 'analyze'," Donnie insisted. "The two terms couldn't be more different, not to mention having completely separate roles within the scientific method--"
From there (while infodumping about the scientific method), Donatello continued running scans of Elsa's muscular, cardiovascular, skeletal, and neural systems to check for any abnormalities. During that time, Leo and Raph filled April in on what had happened with Tanuki Man.
The tests were just coming to an end (Donnie was tempted to do a blood test but Raph shut him down) when Mikey and Splinter came into the lab.
"Is everyone alright?" Splinter asked, eyes landing on each teenager in the room before settling on Elsa.
"None of us were hurt," Leo reported, his eyes unusually serious. "And that gravity spell he put on Raph and Mikey didn't last long or leave any injuries."
"Felt scary, though," the snapping turtle admitted. "Felt like Raph couldn't move..."
"Test results are in, Donnie!" S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N., who Don had rebuilt after they moved into the new lair, announced. "Sending the results to your phone now!"
"Thank you, S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.," the scientist acknowledged as he pulled out his phone. He silently read through the results for a minute, his drawn-on eyebrows becoming closer and closer knit.
"Is something wrong with me?" Elsa asked, finally coming out of her stupor.
"There's nothing wrong with you," he replied. "And that's exactly the problem! My tech-- which is working flawlessly, I might add-- says there are no abnormalities. According to the tests, you're a perfectly normal human girl... SO WHY IN FLEISCHMANN'S NAME DO YOU HAVE ICE POWERS?!"
She flinched at his sudden shouting, with Raph immediately coming over to offer support.
Mikey gave his brother an odd look. "Dude, isn't it obvious?"
Everyone turned to the youngest turtle, who pointed at Elsa's necklace.
"Elsa said that Todd and Hueso said that the necklace has magic powers, even though they couldn't tell what those powers were. I saw her necklace glow before she shot the ice and saved me. So the necklace obviously gives whoever wears it ice magic!"
"...That's a sound theory, he said with reluctance," Donnie admitted. "But it doesn't explain why the necklace didn't activate until now..."
"She got super angry when Miguel was caught," Leo volunteered. "I don't mean 'Someone ate the last piece of pizza' angry, I mean 'How Dad looks whenever someone tries to kill one of us' angry. Maybe she has to want to protect someone or herself for it to work?"
"Great, so we're dealing with magic and feelings?" Donatello groaned. "Why can't we ever deal with a problem that could be so easily alleviated with technology?"
"Because then your life would be too easy," April teased him before getting back to the topic at hand.
"...I think Leo's right," Elsa spoke, Raphael's hand on her shoulders. "When I saw the Tanuki Man standing over Mikey... First I got scared, then I felt this urge to do something, anything to set things right. Then... I shot a blast of ice at him."
"You didn't hesitate?" Leo asked... Then gave a small smirk. "I'd have thought suddenly having magic powers would give you... cold feet."
"Not the time, Blue, " Splinter retorted.
"That's the weirdest thing," Elsa admitted. "It didn't feel strange... I thought of what I wanted to happen, and it happened. I didn't have to think about how I needed to act or anything. I just... knew."
There was a moment of silence before the rat spoke.
"Can you still do the magic?" Splinter asked.
Elsa's necklace glowed a bit as she looked at her hand. She closed her fingers into a fist, then opened it. Light blue light shot from her palm, moving in an upward spiral and sending snowflakes into the air. As she relaxed her hand and the glow of her pendant faded, the snow fell to the floor.
"Yes, I can," she answered, sounding a bit shocked... but now she was smiling.
"Elsa has magic!" Mikey cheered as he ran over and gave her a hug.
"Congratulations," Donnie said in a monotone. "Do not ever do that in my lab again."
"Okay, now that we know why Elsa can make ice and why Tanuki Man wants the necklace," Raph spoke up, "maybe we should try and calm down for a while?"
"Red is right," Splinter spoke up. "This has been a day of surprises for all of us. The six of you need to rest... Come into the kitchen. I am almost done with the pot stickers--"
"Oh me gosh, we forgot about that!" Mikey started towing the amused Elsa out of the lab. "Dad, Elsa's never had pot stickers! She's gonna need a whole plate to herself, and I need to have my phone ready to catch the look on her face when she takes her first bite--"
He prattled on as Raph and April followed him out. Leo was about to follow when one of Donatello's robotic claws caught his arm.
"'Nardo? I need a word with you."
"Can that word be 'pot stickers'? I'm hungry."
"Leo."
"Okay, okay. What is it?"
The lab doors shut as Donnie rubbed his chin.
"First of all, you know that I will never admit that magic is superior to tech."
"No one's saying that, Dee."
"Good. However, I will admit there are those who know far more about the mystic arts than I ever will. 'Angelo, for example, seems to be particularly gifted."
"Yeah, I still don't know how he managed to pull off the rabbit-out-of-a-hat trick--"
"That was not a spell, that was a prank he had me help with. The rabbit was a puppet operated by S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N."
"Wait, what?"
"Happy belated April Fool's. Getting back to the point, of the magic users we know, Draxum is easily the most knowledgeable."
"Yeah...?" Leo asked, wondering where this was going.
The purple clad turtle looked more than a little reluctant to say what he was about to.
"Exasperated sigh. You know I wouldn't recommend this if I did not think it was the absolute best slash only option--"
Leonardo's eyes widened, and he started shaking his head.
"We are not calling Draxum. I know he's on good terms with Mikey, April, Raph, and even Splinter, but that doesn't make him trustworthy--"
"I'm not suggesting doing anything drastic, 'Nardo! Besides, he already knows where we live and there is a low probability of him causing any of us harm. I am suggesting filling him in on the situation to see if he knows anything about Elsa's necklace, the Tanuki Man, or Tanuki Man's employer--"
"Employer? What do you mean 'employer'?"
"As we were leaving, the Tanuki Man shouted something about how his employer would not be happy with him. If he was hired to get the necklace, it could mean he's working for another yokai who knows about the necklace and is desperate enough to kidnap a human to get it."
A chill went through Leo. It was bad enough they hadn't known who the Tanuki Man was or what he was capable of, but how did they know this mysterious employer wouldn't hire other bounty hunters to come after Elsa? How did they know those other bounty hunters wouldn't succeed?
"Our chances of protecting Elsa," Donnie continued, "even if she doesn't know everything about her powers yet, are a solid seven-to-ten. However, if we want ten-out-of-ten odds, then our best option is to contact Draxum and see what he says."
Leo still didn't like the thought of Draxum meeting Elsa, especially not when she didn't know what he was capable of. But... if there was a chance at keeping her safe from Tanuki Man...
"Alright, we'll give Draxum a call. But we'll ask Mikey to do it."
"Agreed. He's the only one who actually sounds happy to talk to Draxum."
With that, they left the lab. The smell of freshly made pot stickers brought them to the kitchen. Elsa was enjoying a plate of the dumplings, nearly inhaling one while Splinter put the rest of the batch on the table.
"Don't choke yourself, Snow," he chided before putting a few dumplings on Mikey's plate.
The box turtle was grinning, but it wasn't just because of the food.
"Hey, guys! Barry just texted me, he's on his way over! He says he needs to tell us something!"
The twins exchanged looks of shock.
Did he already know?
- - - -
"I swear, I-- A-CHOO!-- I had the necklace in my grasp! But the human girl figured out how to activate it, and then those dumb yokai boys helping her got her out while I was still fro- froze--A-CHOO!-- frozen to the wall! Next thing I know, I've got nothing but empty hands and the mother of all colds! If I ever see that dumb human again, I'll beat her skinny little-- A-CHOO!"
"Take it easy, dear," his employer replied, her sickly sweet, condescending voice filling the room. "The sneezy-wheezies aren't very becoming of a bounty hunter."
"I promise, though, I'm not done!" He insisted. "Once I pick up my healing potion from Witch Town, I'll get back to finding that dumb human, ice powers or no... Hey, you didn't tell me the necklace had ice powers."
"I just heard it was powerful. That's enough for me."
"Yeah, well, I'll still get that necklace if I have to throw that little snot at your feet. Even if I have to gut those dumb kids protecting her."
"Let's not get carried away, my dimbly dear. The less of a scene you make getting that necklace for me, the better. But if a few dipsticks I dislike get killed in the process... Well, that'd be just scrambulent."