The Glass Prison.
Disclaimer: The turtles are owned by two lucky guys. I don't own them but I wish I did. Venus has been disowned, so I have no idea if anyone owns her. If no one claims her, then she's all mine! ;o)
Note: This fic is rated for language, adult scenes and character death. Please take note of the genre so that you don't expect everything to be fine and dandy for our green friends. I'm surprised that I haven't found a fic like this yet where the turtles are completely exposed, cause it seems to be a very likely scenario. So that's why I'm writing this. The story is set in the TNM universe.
Chapter 1: Free No More.
"RAPH! Why do you have to be so stubborn?!" Leonardo protested. Once again a small problem such as what show to watch on television, had been blown out of proportion, creating an escalating violent argument.
"Well why do you have to be so bloody PUSHY! Just because you're the leader doesn't mean that you can rule every fucking moment of my fucking life!" Raphael yelled back, eyes burning with anger. Leonardo glared back at his brother, fists curling up as he struggled to keep his arms down by his sides. His patience was as thin as a piece of paper.
Michelangelo, Donatello and Venus all sat on the couch, trying to drown out the angry exchanges being held in front of them. Things had been like this ever since Splinter had passed away six months ago. The elderly Ninja Master had caught a cold that later led to his demise. Everyone in the lair was devastated. Leo especially, as he had to deal with his own feelings along with taking care of the rest of his mourning family. The turtles had been coping with the loss alright at first, thanks to the help of April and Casey. But after a horrific car accident resulting in the death of their human friends, things began to go rapidly downhill.
Raphael was affected the most emotionally and grew more and more frustrated as each day passed. Leo tried his best to comfort Raph, but his brother refused his help. Friction slowly built up between the two turtles, painstakingly breaking the clan apart. The other three turtles always found these fights painful to watch. At first they attempted to stop the bickering between Leo and Raph, but now they had given up and left them to resolve it by themselves.
"I'm not pushy Raph! I just… I just want us to be a family again," Leonardo admitted using a slightly softer tone. Raphael paused angrily, contemplating on what to say next.
"Leo, we haven't been a family since Splinter died," Raph said almost inaudibly.
"I know Raph, I know," Leo whispered, feeling exhausted from arguing. Mike put aside the television remote control he was hogging after realising that they weren't going to watch much tonight anyway.
"Let's go to the park," Mike suggested, sounding cheery compared to the scene that lay before him. "You know, as a family. Like old times."
"You know what? You're right Mike. Let's go to Central Park," Leonardo announced. Little did he know that this would be the last time all five of them would be together.
*****
"Hey, remember the time when Dr Quease made a clone of Donny, and we couldn't figure out who was who?" Mike reminisced while chewing on a slice of pizza. It had been a habit of the turtles to make fun of their defeated enemies; retelling stories of their past adventures. Currently, they didn't have many adversaries. Dragon Lord and Shredder had been destroyed, thanks to Venus' Shinobi powers, while Silver's gang members had been arrested by the cops, leaving the talking ape helpless to commit any form of crime. Dr Quease had chased after the turtles for a while, but eventually gave up and went back to doing scientific research from the safety of his own home. It was weird, having time to spare; but they all had to admit that it was a welcomed change of lifestyle.
Raphael gave a smirk, remembering the battle Mike was talking about. "Yeah. We didn't bother finding out who was the clone, so we just shoved Donny in to fight, to figure it out for himself," Raph chuckled before grabbing another pizza slice out of the box.
Leonardo sighed. It was so good to get out of the lair. The grass was fresh and springy beneath his resting body. The slight breeze caused the leaves of the tree that they were sitting under, to rustle peacefully. He sighed once again. "This was a good idea Mikey," Leo admitted. Mike smiled in response.
"It's such a lovely night tonight," Venus commented, looking upwards towards the cloudless dark sky.
"I'm surprised that it's so clear. Especially after all of the rain we had around lunch time," Donatello noted. The others agreed while admiring sky. Suddenly, Raphael felt a hard prick on his neck. He quickly placed his hand on the area where he was hit, and pulled out the tranquilizer dart. The others stared at the object his hand before Raph slipped into a sleep.
Alert, the others jumped up and looked around for the enemy. 'Bonesteel,' Leonardo thought as he guarded his sleeping brother. The turtle in blue felt a prick on his arm and soon after fell to the same fate as Raphael.
Mike, Don and Venus began to panic, as they still hadn't found the whereabouts of the hunter. Bonesteel was one of the last remaining enemies the turtles had. Unlike other foes, Bonesteel had the stamina of a true psycho, never backing down and never giving up until he won his prize. He was cunning; knowing just about everything you would need to know about the turtles that he'd hunted for so long.
"Alright Bonehead! Show yourself!" Donatello called out, taking charge of the situation. The three reptiles stood in a fighting stance, preparing for anything. "Ow!" Don yelped as he was shot with a tranquil on his right thigh. He collapsed heavily on the ground, leaving Mike and Venus on their own.
Bonesteel chuckled to himself and stepped out from the bushes he was camouflaged in. He raised his tranquilizer gun for protection. Angered, Mike and Venus ran to attack. Mike was shot at before he could reach the hunter, but Venus made it and kicked Bonesteel to the floor. She grabbed his weapon to disarm him before she could suffer the same fate. It was then when Venus felt an awful prick in the back of her neck. Before she fell asleep, she turned to look at Bonesteel's surprise accomplice armed with another tranquilizer dart gun.
Bonesteel and Leeroy glanced at the five fallen turtles. "I have to say that I didn't believe you at first, Bonesteel," Leeroy admitted.
"Most people don't," the hunter answered back. Leeroy reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. After a quick conversation, Leeroy returned the phone back into his jeans.
"They'll be here to pick them up in ten minutes," Leeroy informed Bonesteel. "I'm glad you didn't kill these guys like you had intended to a month ago. These turtles are worth a heck of a lot more alive than dead. You're going to be a very rich man, after you get paid for this hunt," said Leeroy.
Bonesteel couldn't help but grin at his accomplishment. "They're your responsibility after tonight. It's not my fault if they escape. Just watch out for Leonardo and Raphael," Bonesteel commented.
"Who?"
"The blue turtle and the red one. They're the stronger and the more dominant ones," Bonesteel explained.
"Oh. What else do you know about them?" Leeroy questioned.
"Just about everything. I could tell you, but my knowledge comes at a price," the hunter enticed.
"Well like I said before, you're going to be a very rich man. Name your price Bonesteel, and let's talk," Leeroy said while getting out his wallet.
*****
Mike shivered where he lay. The ground was hard and cold, making him wonder why he was sleeping on the lair's floor and not on the couch. Suddenly Mike remembered the events that occurred in the park. His eyes shot open and jumped in surprise when he saw his brothers above him, staring back down. "You're finally awake Mikey," Donatello said softly, helping him to stand up.
Mike wobbled a bit before maintaining his balance. After his eyes adjusted, Mike observed his surroundings. They were in what seemed to be a prison. There were four walls that caged them; three of them were made of glass while the last one was made of steel. The steel wall had a metallic door built into it and seemed to be the only way both in and out of their cell. At the moment, both Leo and Don were trying to force open the door to freedom, but it looked too strong and tightly shut to be moved that easily.
Raphael, meanwhile, was trying to break the glass. Mike watched as the angered turtle bashed and banged the clear wall repeatedly. The glass seemed to effortlessly bounce back after each hit, making Raphael's attempts futile.
Mike continued to look around the cell. A simple toilet stood in the corner along with a roll of toilet paper. Mike shuddered at the thought of having no privacy whatsoever. He noticed a small metal grate built into the steel wall, above the door. Obviously their source of air supply, and not an option for an escape route due to its size. The last thing he noticed was a metal tray containing food that was built into the glass wall opposite to the steel one. It reminded Mike of the tray seen in Hannibal Lector's cell in the 'Silence of the Lambs' saga.
It was then when Mike looked further than the room that they were in. The steel wall continued past the turtle's confinement and was used as the perimeter for a larger room. The three glass walls seemed to have been built on from the steel perimeter, causing the prison they were in to jut out into the bigger room. Four other glass cells similar to their own was also built along the metal wall. One of them contained Venus.
"Venus…" Mike whispered as he stared at the lonely female turtle. By now the others had given up trying to escape for now, and had joined Mike in staring at Venus. She sat on the concrete grey floor of her cell, her arms hugging her cold legs. She looked lonely and slightly frightened as she sat there shivering. Venus quickly noticed the stares from the boys and looked up to acknowledge them. Leo put his hand on the glass as an attempt to comfort her. He wanted to reach out and hold her, tell her that everything would be ok; but it wasn't and he couldn't get any closer towards Venus. She put her hand on the glass wall as well, wanting to be with them. She said something, but the boys couldn't hear.
"Venus, we can't hear you!" Leo called out. Don placed a hand on his leader's shoulder.
"It's useless Leo. If we can't hear her, then she can't hear us. The glass is soundproof. That's why it doesn't break easily," Don said.
"But it's glass!" Raph said, getting frustrated. He punched the glass again.
"I know it is. But think of it as if it was a plastic," Don said.
"Why isn't Venus here with us?" Mike wondered out loud.
"Because she's female," Leo said gloomily.
"They obviously don't want us together. Not yet anyway. They want to study us, otherwise we would have been dissected by now," Donatello said sadly.
Three humans entered the outside room through a door labeled 'Staff only'. They each held clipboards and wore white lab coats. They stared at their specimens in their glass prisons. A control panel stood beside them, which the turtles assumed activated and controlled the steel doors to their cells. Raphael growled menacingly as the doctors said things about them that they couldn't hear.
*****
"Wow. They're magnificent. And they came from right here, in New York," the female doctor said, staring at the furious turtle in red. "What's with the bandannas?"
"I don't know. But the hunter that caught them said that the bandannas were important to them. So I kept them on. Besides, it helps us to tell them apart," Dr Welner explained. "I want those blood samples that we collected from them earlier to be studied. Give me a map of their DNA structure. Now remember, we have to keep them healthy if we ever want to release them to the public. Already the media is all over them. So as a rule, there is to be no experiments done to the specimens themselves. They are not to be harmed. So for now we'll study their byproducts. Is that clear Dr Yesmal and Dr Aquel?" Welner asked with his authority. The other two doctors nodded in agreement.
Dr Yesmal looked curiously at the talking turtles. "I wish I could know what they're saying," he said.
"It's best not to know," Welner said simply. "The soundproof glass is to protect us. I've been told that they talk like humans. It's best not become attached to our specimens. They're animals; scientific anomalies and should be treated as such. If we could hear them, then they'll try to get us to help them to escape," Welner added.
"Several members of the public have come forward claiming that they know where the mutant's lair is. Apparently they used to be in some sort of gang called the Foot, and were old enemies of the turtles. Of course, they won't show us without some sort of payment," Dr Aquel informed Welner.
"We'll have to pay them then. I'm interested to know what their habitat looked like," Welner said before jotting something down on his clipboard. "Come. Let's go and find their lair." The three doctors quietly left the room, leaving the turtles alone once again.