Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT…I'm just writing this for fun.
A/N: I hope this story is ok. I haven't written any fan fiction since I was a kid and just recently decided I wanted to delve into it myself. Hopefully this is a good read. I would love some feedback so I know how I am doing!
Patience was never one of Raphael's strong points. His brothers sometimes would joke that if it were an Olympic sport, he would be in dead last place.
"Is it ready yet?" Raph called impatiently from the table to Michelangelo who was busy cooking.
Mike donned brightly covered oven mitts and pulled the pizza out of the oven, pausing to admire his master piece as he placed it on the stove top.
"You cannot rush a glorious delicacy such as this, Raph," Mike admonished jokingly.
Raph laughed mockingly, "Mike, I would be reluctant to believe the words 'glorious delicacy' coming from your mouth."
Mike grinned slyly, "I dunno, dude, I think the ladies would beg to differ."
This caused Raph's irritation to slip and he burst out laughing. "Yah, let's push the crowd back and ask them all to take a number!"
Mike's grin grew even wider, happy to play along. "There's plenty of me to go around!"
Leonardo glanced up from the book he was reading, watching the banter between his brothers with a bemused glint in his eyes. Such conversations were normal for the two of them, and it never ceased to amaze Leo with what they came up with. His mind definitely didn't work that way.
"Speaking of plenty to go around," Leo spoke up. Mike lifted an amused eyebrow ridge and Leo's comment. Leo caught it and continued, "Meaning the pizza and not you, Mike! Where's Donatello? I'm sure he would want some dinner too."
Mike began to slice the pizza. "Where he always is, dude, his lab."
"Yep," Raph chimed in, "He's been holed up in there so long now I wouldn't be surprised if he started communicating in beeps like one of his crazy computers!"
Leonardo closed his book and rose from his seat. "I'll go check. Sometimes I swear he gets so engrossed in his projects he'd forget to eat if we didn't remind him."
"And then Michelangelo eats enough for himself and Don!" Raph quipped as Leo left the kitchen.
He heard Mike protesting as he made his way to Donatello's lab. As he drew closer he heard the familiar sounds of Don's pounding and mumbling his techno-geek babble to himself.
He stepped inside and noted that Don was hunched over some device on his desk, his mutterings noticeably frustrated. A long forgotten coffee cup sat to the left of him, and a pile of various tools and machine parts were to the right. Leo could tell by Don's hunched shoulders that the bo wielding brother of his was exhausted.
Leo leaned against the wall and spoke, "When was the last time you took a break, Donatello?"
Donatello jolted in surprise, dropping his wrench to the ground with a clatter. He turned around quickly, his eyes narrowed in vexation at the disturbance.
"By Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Leonardo, give a turtle a heart attack, why don't you?" he said, his voice laced with displeasure.
Leonardo held his hands up. "Sorry, Don, just wanted to let you know that pizza's ready, and you need to eat. You haven't eaten all day." He lifted up Don's coffee cup. "Turtle cannot live by coffee alone."
Don snatched the cup from his older brother and took a sip to spite him, making a face at the bitter coldness of it. "So says the mighty Leonardo..."
Leo crossed his arms, his expression stern. Don noted it was his "I'm-the-leader-so-you-have-to-listen-to-me-no-arg uments" face, but the genius was flustered with his device, and not in the mood for Leo's older brother act right now.
"No can do, Leonardo," Don stated matter-of-factly. "I have to get this interdimensional communicator functioning properly. Someone has been trying to get through to us for days, but something is interfering with the signal. I have yet to determine if it's my device, or if something is purposely jamming the frequency. So, I either have to get this working properly...or find a way to get around a block if that is the case. I've never had this much trouble pinpointing the source of the problem before!"
"Don," Leo chided, "you will think better on a full stomach. That big brain of yours needs fuel."
The blue banded turtle gently grabbed Don's arm in an attempt to guide him out of the lab and to the kitchen. Don forcefully yanked himself out of Leo's grasp and turned his shell to him.
"I'm fine Leo...now please leave, I have work to do."
Leo sighed, "Fine, Don, have it your way. I'll have Mike save some of the pizza for you in the fridge."
Don waved a dismissive hand. "Don't hold your breath, Leo. The day Mike leaves left over pizza is the day I tear up my college degree and give up inventing all together."
Leo shook his head and left. That genius could be so stubborn and obsessive sometimes...
Donatello half-listened to Leo leave and let out a breath of relief. Leo could be quite insistent sometimes, so thankfully this time he gave up without too much argument.
Don grabbed his pencil and thoughtfully glanced over his notes again for what felt like the umpteenth time. He went over his calculations, meticulously checking for any error. He was aware of his fatigue and knew it was affecting his mental capacity...but he had been over his work so many times, so if there was an error, he should have caught it a while ago.
"What am I missing?" he rubbed his temples in an attempt to hold off his mounting headache. "Something must be blocking the transmission. I have gone over this device dozens of times, and as far as calculations and mechanics go, it should be functioning perfectly. So...there must be a block on a wavelength I have never encountered before. So the million dollar questions are: how do I break the block, and who is trying to reach us?"
He stood up and began pacing his lab, arms behind his shell. He stared at the ground, deep in thought. His frustration with the predicament was growing. Don was typically patient by nature, but his lack of progress, mixed with hunger and fatigue were proving to make him quite irritable. It also did nothing to lighten his mood when he heard a boisterous knock on his lab opening. Don's head snapped up and noted it was Michelangelo with a plate of pizza in his hands.
"Hey, Donnie," Mike gave a small wave. "Leo said you didn't want to be bothered, but I thought you might like some pizza, dude...and then I couldn't help but hear you mention wavelengths...are you going surfing without me?"
That earned a small amused grin from Don. He was also a little touched that Mike was offering some of his beloved pizza to him, and actually smelling it made him realize just how hungry he was.
Donatello took the offered pizza and sat down at his desk.
"No Mike," Don said between bites. "I'm just baffled with a problem...someone has been trying to get through to us on my interdimensional communicator, but something is blocking it. I cannot even find the correct wavelength to get through."
Most of the time, Don's explanations hurt Mike's head, and now was no different. "Well, bro, I really have no idea what you are talking about, but I do know that when I see a totally tubular wave, I cannot go through it on my surfboard. I'd have a major wipeout! I have to ride the wave, dude."
Donatello's eyes widened in epiphany. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that sooner? Mike, you're a genius!"
Mike was taken aback. "I am? I mean...of course I am, dude! I've always known that."
Donatello picked up his pencil and began writing more notes with renewed vigor. "I've been so focused on trying to break through the block, when I should just pinpoint the block and run my signal along it instead of though it!"
"Glad I could help, dude," Mike said as he turned to leave. "Surfing solves all wrongs."
