By AppropriateNature13 (me)

Casey stood, staring at the figure in the alley. They had slumped against the wall and were holding their chest, clearly in pain. Rain was beating down, making the figure look all the more pathetic. Carefully, Casey put his golf club into its caddy, and he started moving towards the figure. It was hard to tell in the dim light, but they looked weirdly familiar.

Once he had gotten up close, Casey realized why he thought they were familiar. The figure was, without a doubt, Shredder. Casey was about to pull out a baseball bat and prepare for a fight, but he hesitated. Shredder didn’t look as imposing or threatening as he normally did. He lacked his usual cocky demeanor too. In fact, he had practically curled in on himself, and was taking in shaky breaths. It looked like he was holding something…a small tree?

Casey was about a foot away now, and was still dead silent. He reached forward, and put a hand on Shredder’s shoulder, causing the man to look up and scream, eyes wide in terror and launching himself backwards a few feet. 

“GET AWAY!!”, he shouted, pressing himself as close to the wall as he could. “GET BACK!!” Casey noticed that Shredder’s eyes were glazed over, and it was pretty clear he didn’t know who just grabbed his shoulder. Shredder moved to grab his weapons in his fear, but quickly realized he didn’t have them. He was shaking violently, and was no longer holding the injury on his chest, letting Casey see it in full. It was a huge, bloody gash that went across his whole chest, tearing through his blue tunic. It looked like, if it wasn’t dealt with soon, it could probably get badly infected.

Even in the dim lighting, Casey could tell that Shredder was covered in nasty bruises as well, especially on his face. They looked incredibly painful, and the ones on his neck almost looked like someone had tried to strangle him. His breathing was shallow and labored, probably not aided by the gash on his chest. Slowly, Casey lowered his own weapons and tossed them aside, creeping closer to Shredder. He put out both hands so Shredder could see he was unarmed. He noticed Shredder had dropped a small pot in his panic.

“Hey,” Casey said softly, “What the hell happened to you?”

“I’m not here to fight I promise. I don’t want to fight. Is this your alley? I’ll leave. I promise I’ll leave.” He pushed himself closer to the wall, shaking more than he already was. Normally, Casey would’ve tried attacking him. Right now though? He was too confused about what was wrong with Shredder to come off as a threat. He reached out again and gently grabbed Shredder’s arm, feeling the other man go stiff in terror.

“M’ not gonna hurt ‘cha. Not right now at least. What happened to ya lawbreaker?”, he started guiding Shredder to the ground. The man looked like he was about to pass out, at least this way if he did it would be a shorter fall. To Casey’s continually mounting surprise and confusion, Shredder started crying. He was crying? He started to curl in on himself and winced in pain. He was soaked, his tunic and cape were torn up, and there was…something… in his hair. It looked like drool of some kind. He was also covered in his own blood, which might’ve been the scariest thing.

Casey looked around, there wasn’t anyone outside at this time of night, it would be easy to move him out of the alley without getting caught by the police. Shredder let out a shaky sob, shuddering violently. Casey returned his attention to the injured man, and started trying to calm him down. He began rubbing his hands up and down Shredder’s arms, maybe a little rougher than he meant to. He wasn’t used to comforting people, so being gentle wasn’t exactly his forte. Shredder’s eyes were still glazed over, and he clearly was exhausted, emotionally and physically.

“Can ya’ walk?” Shredder’s head snapped up at the question, eyes filling with confusion. He nodded hesitantly, tensing again, expecting a fight if he was well enough to walk. “Alright then, ya’ think ya’ can make it a good ten minutes?” After another nod, Casey started to help Shredder to his feet. He motioned for Shredder to hold onto his arm, and with his free hand, he picked up the potted tree Shredder had dropped. Casey started walking, guiding Shredder out of the alley and starting down the street.

Shredder cast several distrustful glances to Casey as they walked, clearly still anticipating a fight. He tripped on the curb briefly, stumbling into Casey, and tensed. Casey paused in walking to check on him. He noticed the gash on Shredder’s chest had started bleeding again, dripping blood onto his arm and it running down and mingling with the rain. He sped up his pace, and Shredder continued to look confused.

After a few more minutes of walking, the two arrived in front of a ground floor apartment. To Shredder’s surprise, it looked a lot nicer than he thought it would. He glanced at Casey and raised an eyebrow.

“It’s my place”, he shrugged, “Not much, but s’ home.” Casey elbowed the door open, leading Shredder inside. He set the pot on a counter, and continued to lead Shredder through the apartment into the bathroom. 

“Wait here.” Shredder did as instructed and sat on the edge of the bathtub, not sure where else he was supposed to be. He looked around, wincing a little at the overhead light. He sighed, looking over at the mirror, eyes widening in concern. Aside from his mask still looking ok, he looked so much worse than he thought he did. His stomach turned slightly when he saw how heavily the wound on his chest was bleeding, and he started to feel lightheaded. He felt like he was going to be sick, he was in an enemy’s territory, and was vulnerable. What if Casey was just planning to kill him? What if his plan was to lure him in and just end him now while it was easy?

Casey re-entered the room and Shredder nearly jumped out of his skin. He was carrying a couple towels, bandages, and a first aid kit. He also seemed to be carrying a tshirt? He sat down on the floor opposite Shredder, setting everything down and opening the kit. He reached over to take Shredder’s mask off, and Shredder flinched and clamped his hands over the clasp of the mask. Casey raised an eyebrow, giving Shredder a look of concern, and he backed off. 

“Hey, could you take off your shirt? I need to take care of your injury. I need to check your face too, but I take it you don’t want me to see your face.” Shredder slowly nodded, looking Casey up and down. 

“K, so, if it’s about your identity…” Casey paused, and took off his hockey mask, and Shredder looked shocked to see Casey’s actual face. Casey chuckled slightly, “Yeah, betcha weren’t expecting blue eyes huh?” Shredder simply blinked at him in confusion. 

“Well, ya know what I look like now. Could I see what you look like?” Shredder looked down, thinking for a moment, before removing his hand from the clasp of his mask, unhooking it and slowly taking it off. Casey took in a sharp breath and winced; Shredder’s face was as beat up as the rest of him. With the mask on, he only could see Shredder had a black eye. With it off, his face was littered with bruises of varying size and severity, some of them dark purple and black. He had a split lip and small gash on his cheek that were bleeding as well, the blood dripping down his face. Shredder turned away from the mirror on the wall, not wanting to see the damage after seeing Casey’s reaction.

“Ohh, ok ok… Uh, I’ll start on that second ok? Could you take your tunic off so I can deal with the biggest injury?” 

“Is this really necessary, Jones?”, Shredder shakily said, surprising Casey. It was the first time he’d said anything in a while, and Casey wasn’t sure he was going to say anything. He sighed.

“Sorry, can’t bandage it if ya have a shirt on.” Shredder winced as he struggled to get his tunic off, his wound aching. Once he finally got it off, he looked at Casey and raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to do with the bloody and torn up shirt. Casey held out his hand and took it from him, tossing it off to the side. He picked up a small hand towel and started pouring peroxide on it.

“M’ really sorry about this, it’s gonna sting.” Shredder tensed, gripping the side of the tub as Casey put a hand on his shoulder, pressing the towel to his chest. He let out a hiss of pain, tears pricking at his eyes, and Casey gave him an apologetic look. Shredder gritted his teeth, continuing making pained noises, clearly doing his best not to tear away. After a few minutes of dabbing at the wound, most of the blood was cleaned up and the towel was stained red. Casey tossed the towel at a trash can, reaching for gauze. He gave Shredder another apologetic look and pressed the gauze to the wound. Casey flinched when he heard a pained whine from the other man, as that was the last sound he ever expected to come out of him.

“Can ya’ hold this for a moment? I gotta get the bandages ready.” Shredder nodded, his eyes screwed shut. He held a hand to the gauze as Casey quickly grabbed the bandages, unraveling them and moving to wrap them around Shredder’s chest, before pausing. Casey noticed that Shredder was tensing up anytime he moved to touch him, and he was clearly uncomfortable with being touched for some reason. “Hey Shredder, I’m about to have to wrap my arms around you to make sure the bandages are on right, are you ok with that?” To his surprise, Shredder visibly relaxed slightly, and he nodded. 

Casey started wrapping the bandages tightly around Shredder’s chest, and he realized that it was the first time Shredder didn’t tense from the contact. He made a mental note of that, and decided to be as clear about what he was going to do as he could. As he was securing the bandages, Shredder gave an exhausted sigh, and Casey glanced at him. He saw dark circles under his eyes, which previously were confused as part of the black eye. There was no way Casey’d ever attack someone in this state, he looked too injured and tired to even have been a threat in the first place. 

He picked up another towel and poured more peroxide on it. 

“I’m gonna wash off your other bruises now, the ones on your arms and hands. I’ll do your face after that ok? I just wanna give ya’ a few minutes to prepare yourself for it.” Shredder tiredly nodded, watching as Casey started on his arms. He winced when Casey got a little rough on one bruise. 

“Ya were pretty messed up…I know I asked earlier, but what happened to ya?” Shredder immediately went tense, and Casey wondered if he had said the wrong thing.

“… krang …” He said, voice barely above a whisper.

“What was that?” 

“Krang…” Shredder had started shaking, and he started taking in rapid breaths. Casey stopped what he was doing, and looked to the man, seeing he was about to start crying.

“What…did he do to ya?” Casey hesitantly asked, unsure if pressing the matter was a good idea.

“He…he became me for a while… he possessed me… he put himself over my head and was controlling my body. It hurt so much. It hurt so so much. I don’t even know how long he was doing it, I- I don’t even know what day it is!!” Shredder had tears running down his face.

“It was so VIOLATING… I didn’t have any control over my own body. He- He didn’t even care if my body died, he couldn’t feel it… BUT I COULD!! I COULD JONES, AND IT HURT SO MUCH!” Shredder was openly sobbing now. 

“It felt so very violating!! He almost tricked the turtles into KILLING ME JONES! He planned on abandoning my corpse and taking over one of them. He was willing to leave me to die. I trusted him Jones… I trusted him and- and- and-“ Shredder continued sobbing, unable to finish his sentence. He was shaking, and gripping the side of the tub so hard his knuckles were almost white. Casey gently set the towel on the side of the tub, opening his arms for a hug. Before he moved to comfort the other man, he stopped, thinking for a moment.

“Is it ok if I put my arms around ya’ right now?” Shredder shakily nodded, continuing to break down. Casey wrapped his arms around Shredder, pulling him into a tight hug. Shredder buried his face in Casey’s shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably and struggling to take a deep breath.

“Ya’ have every right to feel violated, because that’s exactly what he did to ya. I, well, I am so sorry about what happened to ya. Ya’ have every right to be angry. It’s disgusting what he did.” Shredder shuddered for a moment, pulling back and running his hands over his face, desperately trying to wipe away his tears. Unfortunately, because his lip and cheek were still bleeding, he also succeeded in getting blood all over his hands, and he ended up crying harder. Casey grumbled pensively for a moment, unsure how to continue. So he grabbed the towel again and gently started wiping away the blood on Shredder’s hands.

“There, that’s better isn’t it?” Shredder shakily tried to laugh, nodding. “Is it ok if I deal with the cuts on your face now?” Shredder calmed his breathing, and through his hitching breathes, nodded again. Casey started dabbing at the wounds on his face, feeling a slight pang of guilt when Shredder winced. After applying antibiotics and some smaller bandages to the rest of his injuries, Casey pulled back. Man, Shredder looked like a train wreck. What the hell had Krang put him through exactly?

He shook himself from the thought, no time to dwell on it right now, later would be fine. He picked up the tshirt he brought in earlier, it was already too big on him, so it should fit Shredder without too much worry. He delicately helped Shredder get it on. Casey was surprised at how it fit him, and it kind of made him look more sad than he already was. Though, were this any other situation, he would’ve chuckled at the fact a villain was currently wearing a Filthy Harry tshirt. 

He grabbed a third towel, and handed it to Shredder so he could dry the rest of the way off from the rain. He must’ve been freezing by now. Shredder accepted the towel with no hesitation, and immediately wrapped it around himself. It was strange seeing Shredder like this, maskless and without his cape and tunic. His eyes looked distant and tired, and Casey could only assume that Krang was finally removed from him just today. How long had he been stuck like that? Hours? Days? Weeks? He wet another towel in the sink as he mused, this one to get what he was now assuming to be Krang drool out of Shredder’s hair.

After confirming Shredder was ok with being touched, Casey started to run the damp towel through his hair. Much to Casey’s surprise, Shredder leaned into the touch, sighing and continuing to stare off at the wall. He looked as though he’d fall asleep right there. When he finished, Shredder’s medium length hair may have looked a sight, but at least it was drool free. He nudged Shredder’s arm as gently as he could, trying not to irritate any of the injuries. Shredder stirred, shaken from his stupor, and turned to look at Casey.

Casey stood up, and gestured for Shredder to follow him. After a few moments, Shredder pulled himself up and started after the other man. Casey led him to a bedroom, turning on a bedside lamp and tossing some pillows onto the bed. Shredder looked at him in confusion.

“Well, wouldn’t want cha sleeping on the couch, now would we?” Shredder looked very surprised, and Casey chuckled a little.

“I’m perfectly fine with sleepin out in the living room.” He patted the bed and motioned for Shredder to stay put, darting out of the room for a moment. Suddenly, for the first time in a few hours, Shredder was alone. Frankly, he didn’t like it too much. A single sound made him jump, and he looked around frantically, not sure if Krang had come back to finish the job. What if he got in? Casey didn’t seem to be a threat, but there was no guarantee that Krang wouldn’t return and try to do…that…to him again. He shuddered and pulled his feet up onto the bed. He pressed his back against the wall so he could see every inch of the room, eyes darting around the room in suspicion. His knees were pulled up to his chest, and he sat perfectly motionless.

When Casey reopened the door, he never thought he’d be so relieved to see the vigilante he hated so much. He relaxed slightly, and saw that Casey was carrying a glass of water and some pain medication. Shredder was all too happy to accept it, the wound on his chest felt awful. However, after Casey handed it over and was preparing to leave, something in him turned to panic. Against his better judgment and most of his common sense, he reached out and grabbed Casey’s arm. Oh god he hoped that Casey didn’t take that as a challenge or a threat or something.

“Please…I don’t fancy being alone right now.” Casey stopped feeling tense after hearing that, gently removing the hand grasping tightly at his wrist. Shredder seemed embarrassed about his sudden clinginess, looking away and starting to fool with one of the bandages on his hand.

“Are ya ok with being alone long enough for me to change? It won’t be long.” Shredder nodded, still clearly embarrassed, but also on edge. Casey darted out, leaving him alone once again. The corners of the room seemed darker than before, and he couldn’t be sure someone wasn’t going to get in through the window. He felt so tense, he just wanted to be positive no one was there. He started staring at one of the corners of the room, zoning out slightly.

When Casey came back in, he followed Shredder’s gaze to the corner.

“Whatcha lookin at?” Shredder yelped slightly and jumped, as he hadn’t registered Casey’s presence just yet. Casey chuckled and sat down on the edge of the bed. Shredder looked away from him, embarrassed he had been startled again. He seemed to be calming down, sort of, if his sass was starting to return.

“So…how are we doing this?” Casey gestured broadly at the bed. Shredder scooted over to the side, wincing slightly as he jostled his wounded chest.

“Well, I suppose like that.” Shredder mumbled, unsure how to proceed.

“Alright then.” Casey climbed into the bed next to him, pulling the covers up over both of them. “Ya alright if I turn the light off?” Shredder nodded before turning over looking blankly at the wall. Casey laid back, sighing and casting a glance over at the exhausted villain next to him. He watched the rise and fall of his chest, a little worried about how it seemed labored. Now would be a good time to dwell on what Krang had done to Shredder. 

It was fucking gross. The man next to him was exhausted, it could’ve been ages since he was in control of himself, and he ended up injured within an inch of his life. On top of that, Shredder was, or at least used to be, Krang’s second in command, and he used Shredder like he was some weapon… or a machine. Something to be used and then discarded. Casey shuddered, it was so gross, just thinking about it made him feel sick. Why hadn’t the turtles helped Shredder after getting Krang off of him? Why didn’t Shredder’s cronies Bebop and Rocksteady do anything?

To be fair, with the fear he saw on Shredder’s face when he saw him in the alley, he probably ran away soon after being freed. If Casey was being honest, he would’ve run away too. He sighed, and glanced at the ceiling, counting the ticking of the clock next to the bed. After a few minutes, he heard Shredder’s breath hitch.

He snapped his head to the left, checking on the sleeping figure next to him. Shredder had turned over and was facing him now, crying in his sleep, visibly distressed. Casey scooted closer, and Shredder seemed to acknowledge it. He grabbed onto Casey and pulled himself closer, burying his face in Casey’s shoulder. Not sure what else to do, Casey put an arm behind his head and wrapped his free arm around Shredder, mostly to keep him from falling off the bed. Shredder, for lack of better term, snuggled closer to his chest, calming down slightly.

Casey once again watched his chest rise and fall, Shredder’s breathing finally evening out. How the hell was this guy the Turtles main enemy? It just seemed unreal, especially with how peaceful he seemed while he was sleeping. He’d never seen Shredder this calm before. Eventually, Casey dozed off himself.