Chapter 8:
"Well, today was just anti-climatic. You would think that they would have some kind of experts tracking me down by now."
A tall figure stretched out his back and neck muscles as he made his way down stairs to his newly modified lab. A smaller figure sat in the corner and mumbled a little from the noise made by another person in the room.
"Well, hello lovely," he walked over to the woman in the chair and kissed the side of her cheek, "I hope you weren't too bored in here. I know it's a change of scenery, but you'll get used to it."
He slipped off his heavy jacket and put it over a hook by the small desk piled with paper work. He ruffled the hairs that stood on the back of his neck and almost growled in slight euphoric feeling that it gave him. Having a slight primal side did have its advantages.
He hopped on the small table and turned the sitting occupant toward him, "So what did you do today? Clean the house? Make us a romantic dinner for two?"
He carefully pulled down the strap of material from the woman's mouth and she licked her lips a little before she tried to talk.
"Come now, it wasn't that stagnant in here was it?" he asked with a quick smile as if they were discussing some trivial matter over brunch. He took a quick look around the plain walls and significant empty space, "Although, I have to say it seems a bit lonely in here. Not to mention quiet."
"Please…" the woman tried her voice and it came out weak and soft from the lack of both food and drink. It gained his attention and he focused his eyes on her, "Please, all I want is to go home."
"Aw, sweetie," he patted the side of her cheek, "You are home."
"Just take me back where you found me, I won't tell anyone, please!" she leaned forward in her chair as he leaned away from her slightly.
"I know what it is," he snapped his fingers and smiled brightly, "It's a new place and it is rather stuffy and boring with only yourself in here. I bet it can be a bit intimidating, too. And I'm gone at work all day and sometimes all night dependant on what I have planned for the evening."
"No, no. I just- I just need to go home."
He picked up a few vials that sat on a long table with a few dozen more test tubes of glowing substances, "Maybe you just need some company. I need to perfect this formula still before it's ready for you. Sacrifices do need to be made for science."
"Ready…?" she asked as fear gripped her lower stomach. He walked over to her and squeezed her cheeks between his thumb and forefinger before he kissed her. She tried to pull away, but he was too strong for her. In her struggles, she only managed to make his fingers leave marks on both sides of her face which would eventually turn to bruises.
"I will be home in about an hour and a half for dinner and then we can spend some quality time together," he smiled and placed the gag back over her mouth. Her eyes widened and she shook her head slightly. He chuckled, "Don't try to play coy. You know how perfect it will be. Just like you will be."
She began to plead against the gag over her mouth, but he had already turned away from her. He stretched out his arms and felt something almost grow from within him. He felt his muscles tense and shift under his skin. It was itching for the hunt.
"Many tests still need to be done. I need a new subject," he thought out loud to himself as he looked over the woman still tied to the chair, "You probably wouldn't like all the scientific talk, so I will put you into the bedroom to fix yourself up until you can talk with our new guest. Hun?"
A large figure walked from the next room, "You called?"
"Sudden flash back to the Addams Family there, Hun," he snickered a little and felt his neck pop a little against the strain of new growth, "You wouldn't make a good Lurch."
"What is your command?"
"Take my girl to the bedroom. Get her dressed up nice," he smiled as he looked over at the petite woman in the chair, "And then I want you to get your group together for a new distraction. I need to keep the cops off of my tail tonight."
"What about the turtles?"
"Those things that attacked me last night?" he growled louder and his voice began to shift as jaws replaced his once human teeth, "I won't see them if you and your boys do your job. But on the off chance that I do… I could always do with some more experimental subjects."
Hun smiled at the thought of the reptiles finally being dissected.
"I thought you'd like that," he growled and shook himself to get used to the line of fur that now covered his body, "They're now keeping an eye out for that sedan. Get rid of that too."
"Anything else?" Hun crossed his arms over his large chest.
"No, I can take care of the rest. It's about time to test out my new strengths and hunt on foot."
The now large animal ran up the back stairs and to the surface streets to find his new prey. Cherise Velmont screamed into the gag after she saw the full mutation of her kidnapper. Hun came closer to her and pulled her roughly from the chair and broke the binds from around her.
"Now you know the true danger you're in," he chuckled darkly as he took in her fear. He shoved her over one shoulder as she tried faintly to fight against him, "Be grateful that you aren't being subjected to that stuff in the tubes yet. Feel pity for the next one he brings back. For it will be the last days of her life."
Hun took a moment to look at the tubes on the table and frowned, "All these mutants are freaks… even the ones that make themselves."
Donatello picked up a test tube and poured a clear substance into it over one of the longer pieces of fur that he picked up from their fight the night before. April had taken the afternoon and evening off to get out from her home and left Casey with Shadow for a while. They needed some daddy and baby bonding time and she had the itch for some snooping with the turtles. She helped Donatello with a few of the lab set ups to try and figure out what the animal that attacked the girls were. On top of that she was curious about the two girls that had grabbed the turtle's attention.
"April, could you pass me a new slide and cover please?" Donatello held out his hand toward her while he watched the reaction from the clear concoction and fur.
"Sure thing, here you go," she handed it over and then went back to the screen where she was inputting the data they had up to that point. Her eyes wandered over the top of the computer monitor and looked toward the hallway that had the bathroom. One of the girls was in the shower and had to be near the end of it. She had already been in there past the twenty minute mark.
"So when are you going to ask?" Donatello spoke up as he put the test tube down and put another piece of fur on the empty slide and under the microscope.
"About what?" April asked innocently and began to type once more.
"About the two new people in the lair," Donatello smiled a little bit as he was still over the sample in the microscope. He turned from it finally after some adjustments on the focus and toward April, "You are like an older sister that we never had. I know you have to be curious from what Casey undoubtedly told you."
"Okay, you got me," she shrugged, "Who's who?"
"The one in the shower is Analise," Donatello went back to his study of the fur sample as he talked.
"The museum manager, right?" April looked back at the hallway.
"Yup," he hesitated a little as he moved the slide a little more, "… Mikey's really taking a liking to her. Almost single handedly cleaned out a room for her today so she and Deidra could have separate rooms."
"Mikey? Cleaning?" April's eyes widened a little, "Wow, she must have some kind of hold over him."
"And him over her," Donatello chuckled a little, "While he was training with Leo after lunch I spotted her trying to learn how to ride his board. I don't think she's ever tried it before."
"That's kind of adorable," April admitted, "She does know you guys are all turtles, right?"
"I don't think we hide that fact all that much from them," Donatello said dryly.
"What about the other one… Deidra?" April asked and saw Donatello nod, "Casey was saying that Leo is showing some interest and Raph is just plain jealous."
"Don't tell him that," Donatello leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands over the front of his plastron, "He is trying to convince not only himself, but the rest of us that he thinks she's just an annoyance."
"What does she think?"
"I don't really know. She's a hard one to read," he thought to himself for a moment and then began to laugh lightly, "But you should have seen what they did when they met Splinter."
"Did they faint?" April asked as if it was a no brainer.
"No," Donatello shook his head, "Deidra called Splinter 'puppy' and ran up to him to pet him. Analise took it in stride and apologized as she got her friend off of him. They both then took his arms so he could lead them into the living area."
"Wow…"
"I guess after meeting four giant turtles, a giant rat doesn't seem too surprising."
"Interesting pair," April mused about the girls and looked as the bathroom door opened and Analise stepped out in a pair of jeans and an orange tank top, still drying her hair with a long towel.
"You have no idea," Donatello went back to work. April took a look at him, "What about you?"
"What about me?"
"You don't find them… interesting?" she tried to find a word to convey the appropriate kind of meaning without sounding too forward.
"I'm perfectly happy being the impartial observer," Donatello smiled genuinely, "Besides I have the opportunity to watch each one of my brothers make complete fools out of themselves."
Analise smiled at the new face and decided not to worry on it too much since Donatello looked comfortable around her. As she neared the table she pushed her hand not holding the towel out toward the new woman, "Hi, I'm Analise. You must be April. Casey told us about you last night."
"Nice to meet you," she smiled, "I have heard about you, too."
"I bet."
"Where's your friend?"
"Deidra?" she asked and April nodded her head, "She's still at work. Should be getting off soon. Although now that this is a personal case she may put in some overtime."
Analise rested the towel around her shoulders and looked at the set up that Donatello had over just the few pieces of fur that he collected.
"Wow, impressive, Donatello," she smiled at the different chemicals and identification materials that he had collected so far. He looked focused on whatever he had under the microscope, "What are you looking at?"
"Biological samples from your apartment," he leaned back from the microscope and held out the slide that he had just finished looking over. She held it close to her face and then up to the light. He smirked a little and crossed his arms, "I don't know if you'd be interested in this stuff… or even understand most of it."
Analise quirked up her eyebrow and smirked herself, "Well that depends."
"On what?"
"Are you doing follicle analysis on the hair fibers, or blood species analysis?" she asked and looked back at a slightly shocked April and an even more shocked Donatello, "I know you mostly collected hair samples, but with as much fighting that was going on last night, I would think that someone's weapon had some kind of blood on it."
"Might be a good idea to check," he nodded and smiled at the young woman.
"Might be. Don't want all this equipment to go to waste," she smiled back and patted him on the shoulder. She handed the slide back to him, "Nice try to throw me off, Don."
"How do you know about this kind of stuff?" April asked, "I thought your specialty is Art."
"It is, but when I first started applying for college I was a Biology major," she shrugged, "I changed it as soon as I started my first semester to Criminology. I guess the call of scientific exploration wore off, but it still intrigues me. And it has to do with Criminology so it follows."
"And your Art came into play…?"
"My Masters," she explained, "I'm kind of all over the place. It took me a while to figure out what I really wanted for myself and not what others expected of me. It was a rocky road for a while."
"I can relate," April nodded, "When I started college I wanted to go into journalism. Imagine what kind of stories I would get knowing these guys?"
They both laughed together while Donatello rolled his eyes.
"I stuck with my passion in science and robotics," April explained, "Met the guys when the professor I was working with went a bit evil- not to mention nuts."
"Sounds like fun," Analise agreed and heard someone coming into the lair. Deidra let out a breath of frustration as she shifted a couple of new files under her arm. Analise tilted her head to the side, "Hey Deidra. Welcome home."
"Hey," she smiled and then walked up to April, "A new face. I'm Deidra."
"I've heard," April shook her hand, "April Jones. I'm Casey's wife."
"Thought so, nice to meet you. You have to forgive me, but I have to steal your companions here," Deidra looked at Donatello and Analise, "We need to get everyone together. We got to talk about this Black Death guy. I got some new information and he has a victim that probably won't survive the next couple of days."
"I'll see if I can pull Mikey and Raph out of sparring and Leonardo from his talk with Splinter," Donatello pried himself away from the table and headed toward the dojo.
Deidra looked straight at Analise, "Not to mention your old flame, Alfred."
"Speaking of which," Analise pulled out her phone and opened her text messages, "He asked another question."
Deidra looked at the phone and read off the screen, "How's the new accommodations?"
"Creeptastic, right?" Analise folded her arms over her chest.
"Do you think he knows where we are?"
"Doubtful," Analise shook her head and took back her phone, "But he must know about our apartment."
"If he didn't cause it," Deidra frowned and looked back at April, "You want to stay for the fun?"
"Wouldn't miss it," she shook her head.
"You seem distracted in your meditation today, my son," Splinter said as he heard Leonardo's breath become uneven.
Leonardo frowned and opened his eyes to see that his master hadn't even opened his, "I think too many things are on my mind."
"Things or questions?" Splinter questioned and looked at his son from the corner of his eye.
"You read me too well, father," Leonardo smiled.
"You forget that not only did I train you, but raised you," Splinter relaxed a little more and looked at what he considered his eldest son, "What is troubling you?"
"With your permission, I would like Deidra and Analise to start training with us in the art of ninjitsu," Leonardo said a little rushed.
"Do you truly believe that they have a skill set to take up the responsibility?" Splinter asked calmly.
"I do," he nodded, "I believe that they will be a great addition against those we cannot fight during the day or in areas we cannot reach and they can."
"What do they think?"
"They have both expressed interest in the art."
Splinter paused for a moment and then closed his eyes to think about it quietly. Leonardo sat still in patience until his father opened his eyes once more, "I will talk with the girls about their choices. It is a long road if they wish to follow it."
"Thank you, father."
"What else troubles you?"
Leonardo struggled within himself and tried to find the right words to describe how he felt, "I feel like I may have too much admiration toward Deidra."
"Admiration?" Splinter lifted one of his large eyebrows.
"I don't know how else to explain it," Leonardo shook his head, "I think my question is… should I act on these feelings even though it hasn't been that much time?"
"They are there for a reason, my son," Splinter took a deep breath, "Act on them. They may surprise you."
"Leo?" Raphael knocked on the outer door of Splinter's room, "Sorry, sensei. Donnie says that Deidra's back from work and says she's got some new information on the killer."
"I'll be right there," Leonardo nodded toward him.
"Go on, my son," Splinter bowed his head to Leonardo, "I will be here should you need an ear."
"Thank you, father."
Raphael turned from the door and toward the group before Leonardo got up. Raphael wasn't too close to the door when Splinter talked with Leonardo, but he had heard enough. The next few days are going to be Hell and he knew it.
"Is everyone here?" Leonardo asked as he entered the area around the numerous screens.
"Just waiting on you, fearless leader," Raphael leaned against one of the pillars surrounding the area.
"Don't start, you just got here, too," Donatello looked at Raphael.
"Because you told me to get him for you."
Michelangelo stood across from Raphael by another duplicate pillar. Analise stood in front of him and behind Deidra who was shuffling a few of her files around on the screens. Donatello and April stood on either side of her to show her which buttons to hit to access her jump drive and present the information to the others.
"What have you got for us, Deidra?" Leonardo asked.
"A couple of suspects… and one that definitely stands out," she pulled up the last files and let the two pictures pop on the screens. Deidra looked at the picture of Alfred and then at Analise, "We know one of them. Well- at least Analise does."
"You guys think that it may be Alfred?" Analise asked and looked quickly between Deidra and the screen, "Seriously?"
"Your ex?" Michelangelo asked.
"His is one that we're looking at very seriously," Deidra nodded and gave her friend a sympathetic look, "If we could find him."
"What do you mean?" Analise asked and pulled out her phone, "He isn't missing. I've been getting texts up the wahzoo from him lately."
"Which is much more than anyone else has heard from him in over two years," Deidra confessed, "He's not only been missing- I mean, he has completely dropped off the map. He also purchased a black sedan right before he went missing, after you had broken it off with him- you already know about his medical background."
"He was talking about it nearly constantly. How long have you been looking at him?"
"The department dug this stuff up and told the team this morning."
"Well, sheisse," Analise groaned.
Michelangelo looked at Donatello for a translation and Donatello rolled his eyes, "She said 'shit' in German."
"Ah," he nodded and looked at Analise, "You're German?"
"Dad's side of the family is," she explained quickly and rubbed her hand over her damp and still somewhat tangled hair, "And I thought that you had the psycho ex's."
"What's with the kid?" Raphael asked as he looked at the other picture.
"Another suspect, but it's doubtful that it's him," Deidra smirked, "I re-interviewed him before I left today. He nearly wet himself. He's just a dumb kid."
"Now what?" Michelangelo looked at the picture of Alfred.
"It gives us a good start, but I can't do anything without some kind of interview with the guy," Deidra motioned toward the screen.
"Where was he last seen?"
"Actually at the museum," she said a little shocked as she read from her file, "He was spotted by some acquaintances. They talked to him and he left rather abruptly. That was almost a year after Analise dumped him. Good thing, too."
"Tell me about it. I dodged the bullet," Analise shook her head, "I wonder why he was around the museum. He hated going there with me when we were together, but never wanted me too far away either."
"Fits the profile," Deidra nodded, "Very needy."
"Let's do some detective work of our own," Leonardo looked at his brothers, "Looks like we're patrolling tonight."
"And I am doing some research," April smiled and looked at the two girls, "Would you mind some help?"
"The more the merrier," Analise smiled back and got two more chairs for them. She quickly put her hair up in a sloppy ponytail and got to work.
"So, let's start off with his old apartment," Leonardo began to think up a plan when he saw Splinter come out from his room with a communicator in his hand, "Splinter?"
"It seems Casey has picked up a police scanner call about the dragons," Splinter pointed to the contraption, "He is coming down with Shadow and hoping for some, as he said, 'back up'."
"Then he's going to get it," Raphael smiled and spun his sais, "I got some venting to do."
"Let's get ready, turtles," Leonardo nodded and watched as his brothers went their own ways. Michelangelo turned toward Analise and told her something about holding off on sewer boarding while April went to help Donatello pack up his bag of tricks. Leonardo turned toward Deidra who was clicking though the files.
"Um, Deidra," he stepped closer to her, "I had one other question."
"Whatcha' need?" she asked and then turned from the screen.
"You don't really need to answer now," he shrugged a little bit, "But I was wondering if maybe tomorrow night you may want to join me for dinner?"
Deidra blinked a few times in a bit of surprise. Before she could even think of answering they both heard the sound of metal clashing against stone. They both looked to the side and found a sai embedded deep in one of the pillars.
