A/N: Well, I've been in hiding because of the cliffy in Finding Mikey's last chapter... Hmm I think I may stay in the safehouse a bit longer, after posting this chap.
Leo, I am so, so sorry.

Read and review, please! Unless you're green, have a shell, and are wearing weapons designed to chop obnoxious authors into pizza topping.

Chapter 6 -Exercise-
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Leonardo reveled in staring about the cage, noticing the rich brown of the peat under his feet, the steel-grey of the bars, and the crimson of the wall that made up the back of the cage. He pressed his palms against it, feeling the wall for weak spots, but it was some sort of plated metal, unyielding.

A thorough examination of the room outside the cage told him this enclosure had been added into an already secure room. The walls were all made of the same metal plating. A door had Leonardo staring, longingly, wishing he could get out of the cage. A door he could knock down, take off its hinges with a solid body-block with his shell. Iron cage bars were far less forgiving. Leo examined every corner, staring as hard as he could, but to his great relief he saw no surveillance cameras.

He worked through his katas confidently now, knowing Keagan wasn't secretly watching. It felt good to stretch his muscles, but the size of the cage limited his ability to exercise. Leonardo came to a halt at the front wall of the cage, and grasped the bars. He leaned his sweating forehead against the bars and shook them in frustration. They were as solid, as unmoving, as ever.

Click. Leonardo let go of the bars and backed away as the door swung open. Justin entered, followed by another man. Leo caught sight of a short hall, which seemed to end in a solid wall, before Keagan closed the door behind them.

The man smiled, walking toward the cage. "It's good to see you up and about," he said, using that same, soothing tone. The second man stood gaping.

"This is him?"

"Of course."

"His condition's already improved."

Leonardo tensed, wondering what was going on. Was Justin showing him off? Was this another potential buyer? Well, they wouldn't take him without a fight. He wasn't going to be moved again, lessening the chances of Donnie using his computer to track him down, finding him by some miracle of technology.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes. I'll go in first. He's beginning to trust me. You can hand the things to me when I'm ready." Keagan opened the door, making soothing motions with his hands. The other man stood outside the cage, watching Leonardo warily.

Leo noticed he was holding a pouch of some sort. What the shell do you want now? he thought, wary. He kept an eye on Keagan, but didn't see a syringe or weapon in the man's hands. He backed away as Keagan approached.

"It's ok, big guy. We're just going to take you out of here for a little while. Give you a chance to stretch your legs. Doctor Johansson wants to test your physical endurance…"

Leo backed away. Test my endurance? You mean she wants to stick needles in me and see how much I can take before I start screaming. No, thanks very much. I think I like this cage after all…

"Easy, now, easy," soothed Justin, watching Leonardo's expression. "We're just going to put you on the treadmill. You need exercise. You can't sit in this cage all the time, now can you?"

Leonardo relaxed slightly. Oh, a treadmill. I can go along with that. As long as she doesn't think she's sticking needles in me. Anything to get out of this cage. Maybe I'll get a chance to get away...

He let Justin approach, keeping a wary eye on the other man. Justin took hold of Leo's wrist, and led him toward the door.

"Ok, John, give me the straps," he said, keeping his tone gentle and non-threatening. Leonardo jerked away as if he'd been hit with an electric shock.

Oh, shell no! You can take your treadmill and shove it up your…

"Easy, now, easy…"

"Do you need the syringe?"

"No, not yet… Give me a minute. He'll calm down. He's just nervous about leaving the enclosure, that's all. He's been safe in here."

"Justin…"

Needle? Crud. If I fight him, he'll just use that muscle relaxant. Maybe I can play keep-away. Leonardo backed away, evading Justin's grasp. Justin eased toward him, a half-smile on his face. Leo saw the man's eyes flicker, and he dodged just as he lunged to grab his wrist, landing lightly on the other side of the cage.

"Justin, did that turtle just jump?" Leo spared John a glance. The man's voice was familiar… Densin! Leonardo growled low in his throat. The buyer's agent from the warehouse. "Maybe I'd better call one of the boys in. We can subdue him."

"Not yet, John. I don't want him to feel attacked."

Yeah, John. Just keep your goons out of here. I'd hate to have to damage them.

"Now, turtle," Keagan was saying reasonably. "You need exercise. We're going to take you out of here one way or another. John, get the straps out. Maybe if he sees them he'll see that we're not going to hurt him."

"I think you're giving him too much credit, Justin," grumbled John. "He's impressive, yes, but he's just an animal."

"I believe he's more intelligent than anything I've collected before," said Justin quietly. "Never underestimate animal intelligence, John. They're quite often much smarter than we give them credit for." Densin grumbled something unintelligible, and dug around in the pouch, pulling out a mass of leather straps. Leonardo kept a wary eye on him while edging away from Keagan.

And just what do you think you're going to do with that?

"See, we're not going to hurt you, big guy," Keagan said soothingly.

You've got that right. You're not going to touch me.

"Justin…"

Keagan walked over to the door and leaned close to Densin. Densin's eyes never left Leonardo. Leo crouched in the back of the cage, as far from the men as he could get. He watched them through narrowed eyes. He didn't see Densin slip something into Keagan's hand. Keagan straightened, sighing.

"All right, big guy, just take it easy," he said softly. Densin followed him into the cage, closing the door behind him. Leonardo crouched, preparing himself to spring as the men approached, hemming him into the corner. With his attention divided, Leo took his eyes off Keagan for a split second. That was all it took. Keagan lunged forward, and Leonardo felt a sharp jab in his upper thigh. He glanced down, growling low in his throat, as Keagan emptied a small syringe into the muscle. Leonardo took one step forward and fell heavily onto his knees. Densin caught his shell, turning him as he fell so at least he didn't land face-first.

Leonardo lay, furious and helpless, swearing mentally, and waited for darkness to claim him. Keagan stood over him, shaking his head sorrowfully.

What the shell? thought Leo. Why isn't this stuff knocking me out? And why can't I move?

"I hated to do that."

"Doctor Johansson said it won't have any lasting effect."

"I know. But I hate injecting him with any drugs. We don't know enough about his physiology yet."

"How long before it wears off?"

"Only a few minutes. Let's get the harness on."

The men worked quickly, buckling padded leather cuffs around Leonardo's wrists, elbows and ankles. Short lengths of chain connected the straps around his wrists and elbows, running across his plastron and shell in a circle, keeping his arms pinned to his sides. The cuffs around his ankles were connected together with another short chain, leaving only about a foot-and-a-half slack between them.

"That should do it," said Justin.

Leonardo willed himself to move. As Justin buckled the last strap into place, he felt a twitch in his hand.

Not that it does me any good now, he thought bitterly. Slowly, movement returned to his fingers and toes. He wriggled, willing his legs and arms to respond.

"Good, it's wearing off already." Justin sounded relieved.

It's good to know you care.

"Come on. Let's get him up." Keagan grasped the side of Leo's shell. After a glance at Leo's scowl, Densin leaned down and caught the other side. Together, they lifted, setting Leo on his feet. He swayed for a moment, feeling the strength return to his limbs. He twisted, trying to break free of the men's grasp, but the attempt was half-hearted. He still didn't have full coordination.

The two men frog-marched him toward the door. Leo started to struggle as the relaxant wore off, but with his arms pinned and his leg movement limited, he couldn't do much. He growled with frustration.

"Easy, now," said Justin. Leonardo wanted to stuff the straps down the man's throat. "We're just going down the hall a bit…" They half-led, half carried him through the door. Justin pushed a button on the wall, and the wall seemed to separate and slide away. Leo was dragged through the door and into a plush hallway. His eyes widened.

Glass-fronted enclosures lined the hall. Some were enormous, stretching from floor to ceiling. Others were smaller. All were occupied by the most striking variety of snakes and lizards Leonardo had ever seen. A blood python struck at the glass as they passed. Justin smiled.

"It's not feeding time yet," he said. Down the hall, and through another door. Leonardo recoiled at the scent of disinfectant.

A lab… Oh shell…

Justin's grip tightened on his shell. The men forced the newly-struggling turtle through the door, not without some difficulty.

"What's wrong with him?" gasped out Denisen as Leo twisted, bashing him into the wall with the edge of his shell.

"Karen examined him when I got him here. He's probably remembering being strapped down." Justin caught Leonardo's shell with both hands from behind, and pulled backward, unbalancing him. Leo tried to bend his knees, to get his center of gravity back, but his feet slipped on the smooth tile, and he was tipped backward. The muscle relaxant had mostly worn off, but Leo's vision blurred, and the room seemed to spin.

The man shoved him forward, through another set of doors, away from the exam table, much to Leonardo's relief. The next room had a thin carpet, and looked like a modified weight room. A large treadmill stood in one corner, and various weights and straps adorned the shelves. Justin pushed Leonardo toward the treadmill.

Leo, seeing the treadmill, relaxed slightly. It's not a table. I'm not being strapped down. Nobody's got needles or scalpels… I can run on a treadmill, if that's all he wants. Shell, it'll be good to stretch my legs.

He stepped willingly up onto the belt. Justin's eyebrows rose in surprise, and he quickly fastened the wrist-cuffs to the sides of the machine before pushing a button to turn it on. He held a hand on Leo's shell, and looked surprised when Leonardo started walking without losing his balance.

"Well I'll be. It's almost as if he's used one before," he said.

"I thought Hun collected him from the wild."

"So did I. I'd like to talk to Hun again when he calls you with the next specimen."

"Do you think he'll deliver?"

"He claims there are three more. I told him they are to arrive undamaged."

"Do you trust him?"

"No, but he's greedy and he was able to capture this one with minimal damage."

Leonardo's heart froze in his chest. Hun was after the guys? He imagined Raph, locked in a cage, being fed chopped bits of fruit. Leonardo almost smiled at the thought of what Raphael would do if offered a bowl of fruit.

Mikey… Mikey'd go nuts. And Don… without electronics to tinker with, he'd surely go out of his mind. I can't let this happen. I can't let him collect us like we're some sort of… items to be coveted and locked away. I've got to do something. But what?

"Can you handle him from here, Justin? I've got an appointment this afternoon…"

"Sure, John, I've got it under control now."

"All right. I'll let you know if Hun contacts me, or if I find out anymore about these turtles."

"Good, good. If we can cut out the middle man, the damage to the specimens can be reduced."

"I'll let you know." Densin left the room, leaving Leo alone with Justin Keagan.

All right, enough of these games. I can't let him just "collect" the others.

Leonardo gave a little jump, landing with both feet balanced on the edge of the treadmill. The belt moved on, but he was able to stand still, balanced. The chain between his legs didn't allow him enough space to straddle the moving belt. He turned his head expectantly toward Keagan.

Keagan stood, his mouth gaping open. "How'd you do that?"

"It's not that difficult."

If Keagan's jaw dropped any lower, it would have landed squarely on the floor.

He'll pass out if he doesn't remember to breathe soon.

"D… did… did you…"

"Yeah. I can talk, Keagan. Now, shut this thing off. I'm getting tired of standing here."

Keagan stared. "Doctor Johansson insists you get at least an hour of exercise. This is for your own good."

"Listen, I don't give a flip what that woman wants. Shut. This. Damn. Thing. Off. I need to talk to you."

Keagan watched Leonardo for a long moment before crossing the room and touching the switch that stopped the belt. Leo sighed, straightening, and stretching his muscles.

"Listen, Keagan. You've been ripped off. I'm not an animal. I'm a mutant. Hun's jerking you around."

"What?"

"Keagan, you were cheated. I'm sorry about that, but you knew you were dealing with a crook when you met Hun. Now, get these straps off of me."

"No."

"What? Leonardo leveled his best glare on the man. Keagan's eyes were hard.

"No. You were expensive. And you're completely unique. Do you think just because you can imitate human speech that I'm going to let you go?"

Leonardo felt a chill. "Imitate?"

Keagan reached out, flicking the treadmill switch back on. Leonardo was so stunned, he nearly fell, but his instinctive balance saved him and he started walking again, keeping pace with the machine.

"You're insane," he spat at the man.

"Relax, turtle," said Keagan calmly. "I'll take good care of you."