Within the lab Donatello sat at his desk with various instruments at hand; a beaker filled with the familiar glowing turquoise solution known as mutagen; a conical flask containing no more than 10 ml of transparent liquid, and a pipette in his grasp of three fingers. He squeezed the pipette adding a drop of mutagen into the conical flask and breathed a heavy sigh as the liquid continued to glow that pretty turquoise hue.

Donatello sank to the back of his chair with disappointment. "I'm never going to get this to work" sighed Donatello, who returned to his computer monitor and typed an entry – "NEG''. He had run so many tests that he was too lazy to even type negative anymore. He wasn't really in the mood for the surprising outburst from the familiar face with an orange mask that suddenly disturbed the silence of the lab.

"Yo Dee, I made pizza'' said Mikey, almost singing the last word. Despite the seemingly unhealthy diet consisting of pizza, all four turtles carried a good figure. Although Mikey was the youngest of the four (and his enthusiasm for training not as strong as others), it did not affect his muscular frame and speed. He was the fastest of the brothers and managed perfectly well during training and in battle. Donatello was the tallest of the brothers, 5ft 10 to be precise, and would normally have a bow staff strapped to his back, but not today. He was aiming to progress in science, not in physique like his brothers who were probably beating up Kraang droids on their scouting mission. Donatello was more slender and looked rather different compared to the most aggressive of the four turtles, Raphael, who was more muscle built and much stronger.

Donatello shrugged off Michelangelo's announcement of food. 'Not now, Mikey. I am busy trying to create this retro-mutagen I've been working on.'

'Dude, you've been at that for weeks now,' complained Mikey. Donatello almost felt like scolding at Mikey for his inaccuracy. It had been months not weeks!

'Urgh, I'm running out of mutagen again. Have Leo and Raph come back yet? I'm hoping they've found some more so that I can continue my work.'

'Sorry Dee, don't think so. They would've come running if they knew I was cooking' he said with that cheeky grin of his. Donatello almost felt jealous at his brother for being so cheerful but brushed that thought aside. It wasn't Mikey's fault. He delved into the thought that it was his own fault that the mutagen canisters fell out of the Kraang ship, distributing themselves all over New York. It was his fault he asked April and her father to help scout out the ship in the first place, leading to Mr O'Neill being a subject of alien science and transforming into the bat/pig…not monster…creature that he was (is). The team had tried to catch him but to no avail. In fact, neither April nor the turtles had heard from him for a while – and Donatello was getting desperate.

'Come on Dee.' It was that gentle voice that brought Donatello back to the present, and back to Mikey's concerned look that supported his tilting head.

'I think too much' muttered Donatello.

'Some food might make you feel better' said Mikey. Donatello gave a weak smile for he knew his brother was trying his best to cheer him up.

'Oh alright, maybe just one slice' Donatello submitted. He thought it did smell good. A cheerful cry erupted from the door of the laboratory.

'Aww yeah son!' and he tiptoed quickly to Donatello's desk with a 10 inch pizza box in hand. 'It's my own special recipe' he whispered.

'Mikey, I know you like to experiment. What did you use?' Donatello tried to peer into the box, full of curiosity, only for Mikey to slam the box lid down before he could sneak a peek. Certainly smelled good…'Ah ah ah!' Mikey interrupted and held up his hand.

'You have to try it with your eyes closed. You get the full taste and flavour and texture doing that. It's awesome!' There goes the flash of the perfect white grin again... Donatello reluctantly closed his eyes, grabbed a slice from within the box and took a bite. It was just as well his eyes were closed for he could feel them well up, or maybe swell up, he wasn't sure. His tongue was confused with the blend of bitter and sour tastes mixed with a soggy texture that spirted as he bit down. He chewed in a haste to get it down his throat faster and tried hard not to let a mournful noise slip from his mouth. 'It's good, right?' It was that concerned voice again. He could feel those bright blue puppy eyes staring down at him. All Donatello could do was frantically nod and hope even Mikey wouldn't notice his face screwing up. He was pretty sure his brownish green shade of skin had changed colour due to the nausea. 'Dude, you can open your eyes now' Mikey shouted.

'Wha…what did you use?' His words were rather muffled in an effort not to spew whatever it was in his mouth.

'Pepperoni, fish eggs, jalapeno aaaaaaand…oranges!' Donatello scoffed, unsure of how to respond without hurting Mikey's feelings. He tentatively responded, and quietly. 'Why?'

'Well Leo said we needed more fruit, and I thought what would be the best way to eat fruit? And I thought, pizza of course'. Whilst Mikey explained his weird Spock logic (not) Donatello had managed to open his eyes and swallow, although he now regretted taking a bite even more. 'I wish Leo had never told him to make his own…' thought Donatello. Suddenly he had a ploy. 'You know Mikey', he said confidently, 'I think if Leo wanted you to have more fruit, then you should eat it' and handed over the greasy orange and white slime that was in his hand. 'I can grab something from the freezer.' Mikey recognised Donatello had gone a little sheepish.

'Hey, he's not just moaning at me. He agrees you need to get out more also. You hardly go out on patrol with the guys. Come with me - you need to eat' and Mikey almost skipped to the sitting room. Donatello looked back at his desk and sighed once more. 'Maybe I do need a break' he thought, and turned his back on his failures.