Cheat Sheets
Later, as he fed his brothers a supper of small fish and crickets, I heard Michelangelo talking to them.
"It's like you demutated. I know Donny, that's not a real word. The point is, it's like they created some kinda… anti-ooze. I may not be Leo with a plan or Raphie out for revenge, and I know we could really use Donny's smarts right now, but don't worry little dudes, I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get you back to- OUCH! Hey! Raph! Don't bite me! Guess you still don't like crickets."
Over the next couple of days Michelangelo spent much time pouring over Donatello's computer programs, old experiments, and notes as he finished recovering from his injuries.
At times I found him sitting there with a frustrated look on his face and the small Donatello turtle on the pile of papers. "C'mon Donny. Nibble on it, walk on it, poop on it. I don't care how you do it just show me what I need to know from this." He'd mutter. "Please?"
April came by every now and then to check on the situation as well as the tiny turtles in the aquarium. "They're actually kinda cute all tiny like this- don't tell them I said that!"
She brought books and information on the best way to care for my sons under these circumstances. She also brought coffee for Michelangelo who refused to sleep until his brothers were back, though a few times he passed out on a pile of Donatello's formulas.
"If I could just figure out what I needed." He kept saying, "I know I need ooze or whatever to mutate them back to normal but how do I get it?"
One day I was cleaning the aquarium when Michelangelo shouted triumphantly. "WOOHOO!"
I wandered away from my oldest sons to see what Michelangelo was so excited about. As I entered the lab I heard him chattering away.
"Donny you shell head! All these notes and graphs and charts that make no sense and you had a stinkin' cheat sheet halfway through!" he spun around clutching some dog-eared pages.
"Has there been a breakthrough?" I asked.
"Donny has a list of the ingredients he thinks are in the ooze. It's just sittin' here all written up. All that technical mumbo-jumbo I had to go through and he just had it written up like a stinkin' grocery list!" he was laughing hysterically. Perhaps he needed more sleep. Or less coffee.
"Sensei, call April, I think some of this stuff is sold in stores. Maybe science stores or something. The rest I'm gonna have to get somewhere else…"
"If it is not sold in stores where would you expect to get it?"
"I don't know." he sat down to consider everything while I called April and read her the items from the list that she could bring us. When I hung up the phone Michelangelo was behind me with a cup of tea. I did not like the look in his eyes.
He handed me the tea. "Sensei, father," he bit his lip for a moment then sighed and continued, "I'm gonna hafta go back to that warehouse."