100 Theme Challenge
10. Breathe Again

It was only after they parked the Shellraiser and took to the roof tops that Donatello began to feel like he could breathe again.

The last few minutes of their ride had been stifling. Don was used to Mikey draping himself over his brothers and invading their personal space – and business – in his quest for entertainment, but it was obvious that Casey didn't have the same motivation. Nor was Casey behaving in the same touchy-feely fashion with anyone but him; Casey's interactions with Raph were all shoving, punching, and lewd jokes.

Don had no frame of reference for interactions with humans other than the time he spent with April. For that reason, Don felt that he didn't have enough data to form a reasonable hypothesis as to why Casey had begun touching him in a manner that could only be deemed as slightly inappropriate.

Perhaps the human boy was simply curious about his new friends and felt that acquiring information from Don was more viable and less potentially harmful than attempting the same maneuver with Raph. Don had to admit to a similar desire to touch April's skin when they'd first met and it wasn't all because of his attraction to her.

Maybe that was what Mikey had been trying to tell him when he'd told Don not to lock himself away. It was possible that Casey felt a need to familiarize himself with their structure so they wouldn't seem so foreign to him and had chosen Don to be his teacher, albeit unbeknownst to the purple banded turtle.

That would sort of make sense considering Casey's distrust of anything mutated by the Kraang. Mikey hadn't seemed to take Casey's odd behavior very seriously and Don wondered if that was because he figured as soon as Casey's curiosity was satisfied, he'd leave Don alone.

Leaping from roof top to roof top gave Don breathing room but also allowed him to think more clearly. Don wasn't sure he bought into Mikey's theory, but Casey did appear determined to be close to Don, maybe as close as he was with Raph. There could be a number of reasons for that; Don's ability with machines certainly offered Casey an opportunity to further trick out his mutant fighting arsenal.

Of course, Casey's actions could have a more insidious and subtle meaning than Don would attribute to the youth's mental abilities, but it was possible Casey was more intelligent than they'd given him credit for. As Casey's greatest competition for April's affections, it was possible that Casey wanted to get close to Don in order to understand the turtle better. 'Keep your friends close but your enemy's closer' was a great tactic to employ when two factions had their eye on the same prize.

Or it could be that Casey knew if he pretended that Don was usurping his time then Raph would think Don was trying to steal his new human friend. Introducing that type of discord between the brothers would surely lead to arguments and even possible physical altercations meant to show Don in a bad light to April.

The latter theory seemed the most feasible at the moment because Casey's actions were certainly getting Don into hot water with Raph. When this night was over, Don decided he would be the one to initiate a conversation with Raphael rather than wait for the hot head to choose the time and place.

It was a strategically sound plan, giving Don the benefit of being prepared and also ensuring that April was nowhere within hearing distance.

Don had just reached his decision when Leo signaled for the team to stop. Crouching down so that they'd remain unseen, the group surveyed the abandoned chemical warehouse, noting that there were a couple of lights shining through windows on the lowest floor as well as a couple of dimly lit upper floor windows.

"Other than the lights it looks like no one's home," Leo said, his voice low.

"We aren't going to know for sure if we keep standing around up here," Raph told him a trifle impatiently.

"The Kraang have never needed help from humans to do anything," Don said. "Why would they suddenly feel the need to hire a bunch of guys now?"

"Let's get closer and find out," Leo said, drawing the first smile of the night from his brother Raph. "We'll split up and go inside the warehouse through the upper windows. Raph can come with me into the front part of the building; Don, Mikey, and Casey in through the back."

Don started to protest that arrangement but Raph and Casey drowned him out.

"Sounds good to me," Casey said enthusiastically, practically gluing himself to Don's side.

"Me and Case stick together," Raph growled, glaring at Leo. "He doesn't know how Don and Mikey operate yet."

Leo stared hard at his brother but the obstinate look on Raph's face made it obvious that Leo would get no cooperation with his first plan.

"Fine, you go with Casey and Don while Mikey comes with me," Leo said.

Raph nodded grudgingly and walked over to where Casey was standing, mumbling something under his breath.

"Maybe I should go with you and Mikey," Don said quickly, not liking the stink eye Raph was giving him. "These two obviously work better alone."

"I don't want them working alone," Leo said with a tiny self-satisfied smile on his face. "You're going with them to remind them this is a team operation."

With that said, Leo tapped Mikey on the shoulder and took off. Don could only watch them go as a distinct feeling of dread settled over him.