Author's Note: I know I said that I would write out the whole story first, but I would like to road test the beginning chapters first just in case there's something major that needs to be changed in the plot. Currently it's looking like a big story and I've nearly finished chapter 5. The good news is that I'm finally on school holidays for about 6 weeks so hopefully I'll be able to post quite frequently despite the homework that I've been given.
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except for Joseph Fiffer. Rated PG-13 for mild swearing, adult and supernatural themes, and … character death.
The Concrete Prison.
Chapter 1: Waiting.
London, England. 2 ½ months after captivity.
Beads of sweat emerged on Venus' forehead. Her breath quickened as her muscles painfully contracted. She gritted her teeth, trying not to cry out in agony, as the world above would clearly hear her groans. Trying to block out the pain, she focused her weary mind on the calming voice that spoke to her.
"Just push Venus. C'mon you can do it," Mike coaxed, waiting for the baby to emerge. He watched as a rather large object started to move along an extended tube-like structure, which in turn was attached to her rather small tail. 'Must be a turtle thing…' Mike assumed to himself. He had no idea what he was looking at or what he was doing.
"I can't breathe," Venus wheezed as she tried to push again.
"Yes you can. Just take deep breaths," Mike encouraged, trying to hide his concern. Michelangelo glanced worriedly over to Leonardo, who was currently pacing like a madman in nervousness. In a couple of minutes Raphael's child would be born. Leo was scared; he didn't know what to expect. Venus' pregnancy was barely in common with that of a human. Over the past two and a half months, Venus' body only slightly changed, where she developed a gradual lump where the baby would be. Her plastron had softened, as though it wasn't as thick as the rest of the shell. No one knew what to make of it.
Everyone expected Venus' pregnancy to last for nine months, like a human's, but yet again the turtles were wrong. They were all worried about what was going to happen, and none of them could deny their feelings about needing Donatello. Leonardo sighed when he thought about his brother in purple who was still in captivity. They had all agreed to travel to Washington DC next week in order to try and find out where Don was being held, but now it looked like things would have to be postponed. The last thing they wanted was to have Raphael's newborn child being raised in the hands of scientists.
So many unanswered questions raced through Leo's head. Was it a boy or a girl? What would it eat? How will the baby grow up without ever knowing it's true father? Would the child even be a mutant? The last question had Leonardo stumped. Does their mutation effect their reproduction system and offspring? Will Venus' child be a normal turtle? Leonardo shook his head and sighed. A lot of things would be solved very soon. He cast a look over towards Venus. Leo could tell that she was in a lot of pain and that she was trying her best not to make a lot of noise. He looked at her nervously, knowing that if there were any complications with the delivery then Venus would be in deep trouble, as cesarean sections didn't exist when it came to turtles.
Venus stopped pushing momentarily and panted, trying to get as much air into her lungs as possible, as she kept forgetting to breathe when things became more painful. She could tell that the whole ordeal was almost over. Venus' fingernails scraped over the concrete floor in desperation as she initiated her final and most painful push. This time she let out a cry of agony, arching her head back in the process. A sense of relief swept over Venus when she felt Michelangelo pull the rest of it out. The male turtle was quiet for a second. Venus' brow furrowed with worry when she realised that there weren't any cries coming from the baby. Her heart skipped a beat when she began to fear the worst.
"Mikey?" Venus asked softly when she observed his solemnly confused expression. In an instant, Mike gave her a great big smile.
"Congratulations! It's… an egg!" he announced, showing her the large white object he held in his sticky hands.
*****
Just outside of Washington DC, USA.
Donatello watched intently as the last worker left the high-tech room to go home, leaving him alone in his metal cage. The last couple of months had been both heaven and hell. Don enjoyed the intelligent company he was surrounded by every day. In fact, if he were human, Don could easily see himself working in the place he observed from behind the cold, steel bars; wherever this place may be. But it pained him to be away from his family. He wished he could have the best of both worlds, but that was one dream that could never come true.
Although he was highly approved of by his caretaker, Joseph Fiffer, he simply wasn't trusted, proven by the fact that he was still behind bars like a prisoner; like a wild animal. He was just the Government's secret weapon, and the humans that he 'worked' with didn't hide that fact. Day after day Don would be given supposedly impossible codes that he would crack with extreme ease a few hours later. If he solved the problems the mathematicians gave him, then he would be fed. However if he didn't do what he was told, then he would be deprived of food until the task was completed. It was as simple and as harsh as that. He didn't know what the codes were for or whom they were from. He only had to crack them, and that was as far as it went.
Out of everyone, Joseph was the only person who treated him fairly. Often when the turtle couldn't break the symbolically jumbled mumbo-jumbo, Joseph was always there by his side, offering encouragement. Was it friendship or was it simply beneficial to him? Donatello didn't know how sincere Joseph's companionship was. But one thing was for sure, no matter how many people actually spoke to him for comfort, none of them could compare to the family he was taken away from.
He sighed and stared at the newspaper article Joseph had given him the day Leo, Mike and Venus had escaped from the zoo in New York, which was now currently sticky taped on to one of the many metal bars that surrounded him. It was the only memento he had of them, obviously making it extremely sentimental to the purple-wearing turtle. Deep down Donatello knew that they'd rescue him, but it was the when and how that bothered him. The turtle couldn't help but wonder what was taking so long. He knew that they were free in the wide world, so what was holding them back? Did they learn of Don's location? Have they come up with a plan and only need to wait for a certain date to execute it? Or was there some other problem that was preventing their rescue mission?
His mind traveled towards the baby that Venus was going to have. Don had no idea on how that would affect Leo's decision on when to save him from captivity. Donatello sighed once again. He glanced around the room he had spent over two months in. A few seconds later, Donatello finalised his decision; he wasn't going to wait any longer.
He glanced worriedly at the video camera pinned on his cage. Don knew that he would have to do this as fast as possible. Whirling like a tornado, Donatello smashed the computer located in the corner of his barred cell. Immediately Donatello frantically fished through the many electronic pieces in hopes of finding something useful. He was in luck. Don ran to the padlock guarding his metal prison and picked at it with a strand of copper wire. He expertly twirled the golden metal in his fingers and grinned widely in success when the solid lock sprung open.
Not wasting even a second, Donatello stepped out of his cage for the first time. Taking the copper wire with him, Don swiftly moved over to the heavy wooden door which enclosed the dark computer graphed filled room. Another delighted click was heard soon after. Slightly relieved that his plan was going well so far, Donatello anxiously jumped out of the room and landed into a white corridor. The turtle was surprised to see that his disappearance hadn't been reported yet due to the cameras focused on his cage, as the hallway was as quiet as the death of night.
The corridor was rather lengthy with many doors attached to its smooth walls, none of which were open. Don observed a metal door towards the end, making it stand out amongst the rest. That's where Don hurriedly headed to next.
A severe feeling of defeat and loss latched on to him when he reached the all-important metal door to unknown freedom. Unlike the others, this door wasn't key locked, but rather it was guarded by an eight-digit combination. No matter how good he was at cracking things, Don knew through his entire body that he had failed. Startled voices were heard behind him, but Don didn't turn. Sadness had entrapped his mind. The feeling of hopelessness only sunk in more when he read the words 'The Pentagon' underneath the numbered electronic digits. He had always wondered whereabouts he was being held, and now he unfortunately found the truth to his location. The horribly familiar sting of a tranquil dart appeared on the back of his neck, but the reptile didn't flinch or move. Before he lost consciousness, Donatello knew that escaping the Pentagon was impossible and that the odds of being rescued by his family were slim to nothing. Depression and anger swamped his mind before he silently slipped to the cold floor in unconsciousness.
*****
London, England.
"So… now what?" Mike asked, staring at the single human baby-sized egg that was placed in front of them. There was no answer to his question. After they had cleaned Venus up, Leo and Mike gathered as many thick blankets as they could to keep the egg warm. When they observed that their solution was unsatisfactory, Leonardo immersed himself into the darkened streets of London, thankfully finding an incubator at a specialty pet shop one hour later. Luckily again for the turtles, the reptile and bird egg shelter was powered by batteries, solving their problem of finding an electric source in the cold brick walls that made up London's ancient sewer system.
The three adult turtles had traveled to England when they realised that there were no immediate flights to either Los Angeles or Sydney from New York. Sneaking around airports had been tough especially when they tried to board planes without the baggage boys seeing them. Life hadn't become any easier when they arrived in England.
The turtles were completely thrown out of their comfort zone. Nothing was familiar. The sewers were large and confusing; every tunnel looked the same. The weather was unpredictable, with one week consisting drenching rain while the next was as sunny as a Summer's day. By far, food was the hardest adjustment. The turtles didn't know where to get fed, as their usual feasting spots no longer existed in this unknown country. Most of the time they had to fish through the left over garbage alongside the alley cats. Money was scarce so they saved every penny, not like they would ever spend it.
Life would never be the same again. Everyone in the world knew of their existence. It wasn't like New York where people would shrug off seeing anything unusual. After escaping from captivity, humans wouldn't stop to think twice about reporting the mutant's location. The life they had could no longer be achieved. Helping humans was completely out of the question. If they were spotted even once, then everything could be over, and they'd be back to square one. This obviously made it even harder to get food, or to do anything really. Knowing this, the turtles had to be wary of their voices echoing along the tunnels, as the place the reptiles took residence in was only a floor below the concrete surface.
"I think you set a new world record," Mike commented, still disbelieving the size of the egg. There was silence between Leonardo and Venus.
"When's it going to hatch?" Leo questioned the thought that had everyone going insane. He was slightly annoyed that Venus laid an egg, because if it had been a live birth then it would be over; no more waiting. It scared him slightly that the unrevealed creature could hatch without them knowing, and no doubt that thought scared Venus too.
"I don't know," Venus whispered in response.
"Doesn't temperature determine whether it's going to be a boy or a girl?" Mike questioned.
"I thought that was with alligators and crocodiles?" Leo answered, unsure of himself.
"I thought it was just with turtles?" Mike said, equally confused.
"Donatello would have known," Venus said softly. A regretful reflection descended upon them. "I don't know what to do," Venus whispered almost fearfully. The two males looked at her with sorrow.
"What do you mean?" Leo questioned softly.
"I don't feel that maternal instinct. It's… it's an egg. Before, when I thought it was going to be a live birth, I felt for sure that I would feel something for it. But… I don't. I have no idea of how I'm going to take care of this baby… I don't feel anything," Venus admitted, eyes glued to the large, warm egg.
"You will," Leo said affirmatively.
"How do you know?" She whispered.
"When this baby hatches and wraps it's little hand around your finger, you'll know what to do," Leonardo explained with a comforting tone. Mike nodded as encouragement.
"But what if it's like a normal turtle and doesn't need to depend on me? It might not even be a mutant…" Venus worried.
"Whatever ends up happening, we'll always be here to help you. You're not alone in this," Mike assured her. The female turtle sighed wearily, gladly accepting a supportive hug from Mikey.
"Thank you," she whispered when she took in everything that the two males had told her. No matter what happens, she knew that she would never be left alone.