Summary: While investigating some mysterious Foot activity the guys are caught. The captured turtles are handed over to Stockman who believes that Don is female!

.::He greedily prodded his finger at me again. "A female of your kind…"/ I gaped, dumbstruck. I knew for a fact I was not female. The simple thought almost made me laugh out loud::.

A Dangerous Misunderstanding

I knew it was a bad idea. But no, Leonardo had to make the executive decision to investigate. He of course didn't count on us getting caught. He never does.

We had been on our nightly run. Michelangelo and Raphael were making bets about who would win the race back to the lair. Leo was listening to the argument, smiling at my brother antics. I, on the other hand, was thinking about the energy converter that I left half completed on my desk in the lab back in the lair. My fingers itched to pick up my discarded tools and set to work. I was mentally analyzing the parts of the machine in my head, mentally mapping out the procedure that had been rudely interrupted for training…

…when my thoughts were cut short as Leo suddenly tensed.

I noticed his shoulders stiffen and a small frown appear on his face. "What is it, Leo?" I asked, concerned.

Raph and Mikey grew quiet at my question. They turned to face Leo, whose frown deepened.

"Something's not right."

We froze; sensing the air, tying to feel what Leo felt. A cool breeze whistled across the roof on which we stood. The rustle of our masks broke the sacred silence that was held in the imperturbable autumn night. Raph, out of habit, placed his hands onto the hilts of his sai, he gripped them tightly. Mikey shuffled from foot to foot, whipping his head nervously from side to side as if trying to spot an unseen enemy. I simply stared intently at Leo, who hadn't moved, trying to interpret the body language and facial expressions.

Then, without warning, Leo whipped around and gazed intently at the far end of the rooftop. He raised his left hand and, with one finger up, twirled it in a circular motion. My eyes widened slightly at the signal. This particular action, I reminded myself, signified for us to instantly disappear.

My brothers quickly vanished, leaving me alone on the rooftop. Following suit, I melted into the shadows of the structure covering the stairwell that allowed people to enter and exit the top of the building.

And I wasn't a second too late. Just as I hid myself a half dozen Foot Ninja landed onto the roof after jumping from an adjacent edifice. The group continued to run until one stopped. His comrades noted his movement; they also stopped. The first ninja who had stopped was scanning the roof, searching for something. His faceless mask turned to the dark, heavily shadowed corner in which I was hiding. I froze and sunk further into the darkness around me. My shell gently scrapped the wall behind me. I stiffened at the noise. After a few seconds – what seemed like hours to me – the ninja moved his gaze to another corner of the roof. Content, the lone ninja signaled to his companions and they silently jumped to the next building and ran to an unknown destination.

I released a breath I didn't remember holding as I exited the shadow. Leo, Mikey, and Raph emerged from their hiding spots and joined me at the center of the roof.

"What do you think they were doing here?" Mikey inquired.

I nodded, silently agreeing with my younger brother's question. I too was confused. We never see Foot this far from Saki Tower, which was on the other side of the city. There must have been some reason these six had been so far from their usual prowling province.

"I don't know," Leo responded. "Maybe we should find out."

"Finally," Raph exclaimed. "I was wantin' ta rumble wit some Foot scum."

"No, Raph. Just some simple reconnaissance," Leo assured him.

I glowered. My gut twisted and a sudden dread overcame me. The same feeling I had when a storm was approaching. I took a fast glance at the sky, not a cloud in sight. The feeling remained; it dug into my gut, trying to be voiced. And it was: "Uhhh, guys. I don't think we should."

"Awwwww, come on, Donnie. Don't be such a party pooper!" Mikey complained, draping an arm around my anxious shoulders.

I sighed. I knew I would be out voted; I always was. Raph already started to run in the direction the Foot Ninja disappeared in. Leo soon followed and Mikey, taking one fleeting look back at me, he took off too. Alone on the rooftop I shook my head and whispered, "This is such a bad idea."

I pursued my brothers as they leaped from structure to structure. Trailing further behind I brought up the rear of our party. We tracked the ninja to a warehouse near the docks. On a building across the ally from the warehouse, we perched ourselves and watched the ninja enter a doorway partially hidden in shadows on the side of the building. Leo had a thoughtful look on his face; I knew he was deciding what to do next. I didn't have to wait long of a decision.

"We're going in."

My gut bent and twisted at those words. Opened my mouth to protest once more but, for the third time that night, I was once again left alone on a rooftop. Sighing for a second time I followed Leo, Raph and Mikey as the leapt towards the mysterious warehouse. We easily found a vent on the roof that we could enter the building from. And, in no time, we were dropping into a gloomy intersection of a hallway. Leo looked both left and right before motioning for us to follow the empty corridor to the right of us. Weapons out, we stealthily made our way down the passageway. Coming to a corner we tensed, unsure of what was around the bend. Katana in front of him, Leo turned the corner.

Nothing.

Temporarily breaking the silence of the hallway, Mikey asked, "Dude, where is everyone?"

Ignoring the question Leo reached out towards a door, the first we had come across. The shiny knob turned without difficulty. The door opened inward and revealed to us a sort of security room. It was empty.

I pushed passed my elder brother and glided into the room. I slipped my bo back into its place on my shell and, selecting a chair, I seated myself in front of one of the many moderators and pulled a keyboard towards me. I heard the shuffle of feet and the click of a door closing; my brothers had joined me in the room. Leo placed a cold hand on my shoulder and queried, "Do you think you can figure out what the Foot are using this facility for, Don?"

I smirked as I cracked my knuckles. "No problem," I smugly responded. Soon my fingers were flying across the keyboard. The network was poorly protected and effortlessly I broke thought the firewall into the main server. After rapping the keys a few times more I accessed the information database. Leaning slightly closer to the screen I read the small print and relayed to the other occupants of the room what I had found. "It seems to be an experimental laboratory sight for the study of…" I tapped the keys twice more. "…mutations!"

Startled, I looked at Leo who was hovering over my shoulder. His face darkened, "We need to go." He turned to Mikey and Raph. "Now!" I stood up quickly and, in my haste, the chair fell and knocked over the one next to it. I flung myself forward and attempted to catch the chairs but they proceeded to fall into the wall. The banging of wood on wood interrupted the stillness of the warehouse. I froze in silent prayer for something to happen. Seconds ticked by. I relaxed…

Then an alarm began to sound: "INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

I winced and stared horrified up at my brothers. We were all frozen as the alarm rang around us. Collectively, we got over our shock when we heard the sound of people rushing to answer the alarm.

"Let's get the shell outta here!" Raph yelled over the shrill sound above us.

Running into the hallway we continued towards the way in which we entered the warehouse. I had taken all but five steps before Foot Ninjas blocked us. Before us they had emerged from around the corner. I spun in the opposite direction, with the intention to go that way, but I found it also obstructed by faceless ninja. Growing desperate I took out my bo and swung at the closest ninja. My bo met its target; a muffled yelp emitted from the felled ninja at my feet. Flipping over the prone form I focused on the next ninja before me.

Behind me I could hear the sounds of battle. I heard the taunts from Raph, the obnoxious laughter from Mikey, and the clang of metal against metal from Leo. Concentrating on the hordes ahead of me. I closed my mind to all sounds around me and focused on my breathing and the glorious arc of my wooden staff as it soared through the air with exact precision to block weapons and connect with soft flesh.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a katana sliced through the air. I was unable to fully avoid the deadly weapon but I ducked to the side and the tip of the blade only nicked my bicep. I hissed as the cool metal tore my flesh. I twirled my bo and blocked the second attempt to decapitate me. I raised my foot and lashed out at the nameless ninja, flinging him backwards into two ninja behind him. They crumpled into a heap.

When I was focusing on the katana wielding ninja I failed to notice another sneaking up behind my back. Raph let out a warning yell but I didn't heed it in time. The handle of a kama collided with the dome of my head. I stumbled, slightly dazed. I gyrated clumsily. A fist rushed at me. I couldn't block it in time. I blacked out.

I drifted towards consciousness. Pain clouded all my senses.

Whispering voices met my ears, moving blurs passed before my eyes.

I slowly stirred and lifted my head up from its location on the cold metallic floor. Looking around I realized that I was now in a room I didn't recognize. I shifted slightly and a stab of pain that originated from the back of my head reminded me of the events that took place before I blacked out.

A comforting hand squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. I opened my eyes and found myself surrounded by my brothers. Mikey, whose hand was on my shoulder, looked at me with immense concern. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

I was wedged into a corner of the room. Cold shackles chaffed my wrists and jingled as I moved to a slightly more comfortable position. Finally I nodded and, finding my voice, said, "Where are we? What happened?"

"We're in some lab," Leo responded to my first question. He didn't answer my second but I didn't notice. I was busy looking at my new surroundings. Though dimly lit, the whiteness of the laboratory struck me as sanitary yet oddly malicious. Expensive looking machines littered the counters and a sinister exanimation table stood proudly in the center of the room. Sharp, steel instruments glittered on a tray next to the pale table.

I gulped. The feeling in my gut returned and twisted uncontrollably making me nauseous. Before I could ask another question or scold my brothers about how I told them it was a bad idea to follow the ninja in the first place, the door on the far wall banged open. A light was on in the hallway and its light temporarily blinded me. I raised my hands to try and block the light from hitting my sensitive eyes. I heard the click of shoes against the metallic floor. I moved my hand so I could squint against the light to see the silhouette of Doctor Baxter Stockman facing us.

He grinned, looking at us greedily. We had met Stockman only a few times before. But he was different this time. Insanity gripped at the edge of his eyes and a mechanical hand replaced a previously human one. He was the epitome of an evil scientist, a mad doctor, a crazy surgeon.

Doctor Stockman began to babble about genetics, animalia mutations, and other ridiculous things that were meaningless gibberish and became intelligible at the speed in which he was talking in his excitement. He paced before us helpless turtles, rubbing his hands together ruthlessly. Stockman, however, continued to eye me with an avaricious expression. He seemed fixated on me. Completely obsessed!

Each time his eyes bore into mine my ninja instincts skyrocketed, screaming at me that the man before me was dangerous and meant me serious harm. My gut coiled and twirled with each look. The others seemed to notice Stockman's glances too. Leo inched closer to me, attempting to block me from Stockman's view. Mikey mocked and teased the doctor in a defiant, juvenile manner. And Raph squared his shoulders aggressively and retorted more boisterous than before trying to divert Stockman's attention for me. But all fell on blind eyes and deaf ears.

Finally Stockman stopped his long, drawn out rant. There was a hungry glint in his eyes as he gazed upon me with more power, and an oily smile creped onto the scientist's face. It frightened me and my gut twisted violently for the hundredth time that night. "You…" he breathed. His eyes boring into mine as he approached our crouching forms. "You…" he said again with more fervor, viciously jabbing a finger at my cowering figure. "What a pleasure, what a great honor, what a great opportunity for me, Baxter Stockman, the world's most prominent expert scientist, to study you! You of all people…" He greedily prodded his finger at me again. "A female of your kind…"

I gaped, dumbstruck. I knew for a fact I was not female. The simple thought almost made me laugh out loud.

Almost.

But this was no laughing matter; Stockman seemed to be convinced that I was female. He cackled. "And to think, I would have dissect you four without a moment's hesitation," Stockman mused out loud before he chuckled to himself again, rubbing his hands eagerly. He reminded me of a gluttonous child on his birthday that had just received more presents than those that were first presented to him. "Shame on me. I should have inspected your terrapin species more closely. The possibilities! Think of them! Breeding for one. I can imagine the opportunities right now. Nothing in history has been done like this and I shall be the first…!"

I could listen to no more! I knew I was the smallest out of the four of us and I knew I didn't have as much muscle as Leo or Raph but that did not make me female! "I am afraid to tell you but you are quite mistaken," I clarified, my voice ringing surprisingly clear in the still laboratory. "There is much evidence that proves I am not female. I implore you to take a sample and expel this preposterous notion out of your – "

A hand shot out, snatching my throat, jerking my body forward passed my brothers. Shouts of protest rose behind me. Metallic fingers clamped down, cutting off my air supply. I gasped, ineffectively, for air. Stockman's head snaked out and hissed into my ear, "Freak, I am the one it charge here!" His hand tightened and his speech grew darker, "Not you. I am the one with the power and the control. You obey me!"

The mechanical hand loosened and I collapsed, coughing. My brothers shackled hands snatched me and pulled me close to them. Sucking in air I stared at the crazed man above me. His face contorted in anger. Then, suddenly, the anger dissipated and a gleeful expression replaced it. Stockman snapped his human fingers and guards appeared in the doorway. "Enough talk. Let's get to work shall we?"

Two guards wrenched me from my brothers' grip, dragging me to the doorway. I struggled but to no avail. Raph growled at the other guards, Leo lashed out trying to reach me, Mikey pleaded and cried for me to be released. But all was ignored. I pivoted slightly in an attempt to catch my brothers' eyes. Fear, concern, anger, distress, frustration and a full range of emotions emitted from my brothers as they watched helplessly as I was taken from them. This I only saw in a split second before the door to the laboratory snapped closed behind me.

I was immediately brought to another laboratory. Here Stockman told the guards to deposit me onto an examination table. Seeing an opportunity I broke free from the suffocating hands and made a dash for the door. Three guards grabbed me. A fourth guard caught my raised fist that was aimed at one of the first guards. These four guards began to haul my resisting figure to the examination table. I started to struggle like a wild animal, biting and thrashing about. I elbowed one guard in the face; his hands loosened and fell away but another replaced his hold on me. Fear overtook me.

"No!" I screamed and lashed out again at a guard. Then suddenly pain blossomed on the back of my head, where I had been hit before. Stars appeared before my eyes and, momentarily dazed, I fell into the eager hands of my captors.

"Get her onto the table," Stockman ordered the guards. I was grabbed at from all sides and lifted onto the table. Before I could react properly I was strapped onto the table securely. The guards stayed behind Stockman, waiting for further orders. After checking that I was completely helpless he dismissed the guards. Once they had all left the room and closed the door tightly behind them, Stockman turned his full attention towards me.

"You should be flattered. Not many deserve my attention. Usually I hand unimportant matters to my subordinates. But you are so special," he reached out and stroked my cheek, almost in a passionate manner. Stockman then proceeded to do an external examination of my prone form while he said, "If only I had more time. But," he added wistfully, almost to himself. "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

Time. That was something I wished I wished to reverse. If only I could go back and stand more firmly against my brothers when the decision of trailing the ninja had arisen. But that was impossible. I knew it was only a matter of time until my brothers would come to rescue me so I did what Mikey did best with time: waste it. I began to stall. "You are not egotistical like so many other people, you are egotistical in a completely different and far worse way," I mocked.

Stockman briefly froze. I couldn't tell if it was from surprise or because I had hit a nerve. But I discovered it must have been the former because he proceeded to comment, "Hmmmm, I knew you were very humanoid with particular advanced brain capacity but…" he paused, thinking. "An acute attitude and emotional response is interesting. I shall observe the others on this development." Stockman then began to prepare various instruments.

Growing slightly desperate I continued my taunting. "I've seen people like you before, but I had to pay admission! They were crazy, real fruit loops, off the rocker, mad, looney, insane! I heard you were smart but so ignorant and obtuse. I don't know what makes you so stupid, but it really works!"

At this Stockman became enraged. He disregarded any gracious conduct. And, in an act of pure rage, gripped my neck again – the second time in the last few minutes – and successfully cut off my air supply. "One should not scoff at what one does not understand, freak," Stockman growled in my ear. Then he, after becoming aware that I was about to pass out due to lack of oxygen, released me. And he, while I tired to regain my breath, snarled at me, "Do. Not. Mock. ME!" Jabbing his finger with each over-pronounced word.

It was then I knew I had crossed the line.

Reaching above my line of vision, Stockman revealed a gas mask that he fixed tightly over my beak. The sickly sweet odor overwhelmed my sense of smell. I gagged slightly but began to grow drowsy.

Gathering up a scalpel Stockman sneered, "I would tell you this wouldn't hurt, but I would be lying."

Then the surgical knife dug into my side, smoothly cutting between my plastron and shell. Pain shot up my side and I gave one strangled scream before I lost consciousness.

I don't know how long I was unconscious. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. It could have been days.

However, I did know that I was no longer in the laboratory. The distant rumble of a subway could be heard and the muted noises of the TV from another room. I was encased in warm blankets. The smell of freshly made coffee slowly encouraged me to open my eyes.

I was in my own lab. Clutter and the warm colors of wood starkly contrasted with the pale, sterile atmosphere of Stockman's laboratory. On my desk rested the half completed energy converter that I have been working on before called to our nightly practice run.

The smell of coffee was stronger now. I turned my head to find the source of the heavenly aroma. I barely rotated my head a half-inch before a sharp, burning pain shot from my neck down to my side. The pain surprised me and caused me to groan in displeasure before I could contain myself.

Movement sounded to my right. Raphael suddenly appeared above me, in his hand a cup of coffee. "Donnie," he asked quietly.

I blinked. I tired to move but my body didn't comply and more pain erupted, originating from my side. I groaned for a second time.

"Oh, Don. Don't move. Yer injuries are goin' ta bother ya fer a while."

I slowly and carefully bobbled my head up and down. I attempted to form words but my mouth was too dry. I smacked lips, trying to moisten them.

Obviously excited to see me awake, Raph grinned down at me. But, at the sound of my smacking lips, his grinned died. He then told me, "Sit tight, I'll get ya some water an' tell the others yer up." Raph then disappeared from view.

I began to grow tired so I closed my eyes momentarily to rest them. Memories of past events floated through my mind. The chilling conviction of being called female astounded me even still. My thoughts grew sluggish and I almost fell asleep but the sound of Raph returning with visitors aroused me a little.

"Donnie," Raph whispered, gently shaking my shoulder. "Ya awake still?"

I hummed in compliance and groggily opened my eyes again. Raph stood with a very drained Michelangelo and exhausted Leonardo. But at the sight of me awake seemed to make Mikey and Leo forget their tiredness. Raph reached forward, trying to avoid touching my heavily bandaged side, and slowly helped me into a sitting position before allowing me to sip the water he had returned with.

After my thirst was satisfied I finally greeted my brothers. "Hey guys."

"'Bout time you got up, dude!" Mikey beamed. "For awhile I thought we would be one pineapple shy of a luau!"

Had I been at full functioning capacity I would have easily interpreted what Mikey was saying, but I wasn't. Leo, however, came to my rescue. "We're just glad to have you back," he explained.

"Glad to be back."

"Yeah, it just wouldn't have been the same without you…Donatella!" Mikey cackled.

I was caught by surprise. Donatella?! I didn't react properly when Raph and Leo laughed along with Mikey at his joke. I frowned and grumbled about idiot brothers, mad scientists, and unfair circumstances. This tale though would be one for the books.

I waited for their laughter to abide before complaining about the name I was called. I only got more laughter as a response. A playful banter then in sued, all of which was at my expense. Finally I grew extremely tired and yawned. Catching on quickly my brothers exited the room to leave me in peace while I slept. But not before saying, "Good-night Donna!"

I knew I would never live with the humiliation of being called female. The whole thing was just one giant misunderstanding that would hopefully blow over and never happen again.

A dangerous misunderstanding.

Hi guys! Thanks for reading my short story.

I noticed that Donatello is the smallest of the four turtles and that not many villains recognized this about Don. So I thought, "What would be the logical conclusion and reaction to Don's small figure? …Duh, that he was a female turtle."… and the writing in sued.

After writing my story I scanned for similar stories to see if anyone had a similar idea… and someone did! In chapter two of the Four Times Donnie Got Hurt, by Tatsumaki-sama, Donatello was also assumed to be female my Doctor Stockman. I was over-joyed that someone had had a similar idea. But, faithful reader, please note that I had no intention of copying someone else's idea or story. I simply wished to write a fanfiction about one of my favorite turtles: Donatello. (I did, however, adopt the title of the chapter into the title of my story because it fit so well. Tatsumaki-sama receives credit for the title name!)

I hoped you enjoyed the story! Please review this story and my others! Thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or any of its characters.