Helping Donatello sift through tools in the Lab was doing nothing for Michelangelo's nerves. The more time he spent in the disturbed presence of his normally reassuring older brother, the more concerned Mike became. He knew the loss of equipment had to be devastating to Donatello, but the purple-masked turtle didn't appear to be pining over any of it. Instead, Donny was moving quickly without making conversation, with a cold efficiency that left Michelangelo convinced of his brother's true level of anxiety.
Donatello never slowed down until he got to the fridge, where he was now pondering the homemade formulas. The drugs that Donatello and Luke had specifically designed to suit the turtles' physiology weren't something he could easily leave behind.
"Mike." Donatello's voice finally broke the heavy silence. "I need a cooler."
"Big or small, bro?"
"Gonna have to be smaller, like maybe the one with the shoulder strap. We're going to have to travel light, but we can't go completely unprepared," Don said bleakly.
"Okay, Donny. I'm on it."
The orange-masked turtle gratefully left the uncomfortable atmosphere of the Lab and headed for the kitchen. Everyone else was already gathered in the living area, with the exception of Raphael, who was coming down the steps.
"Hey, has anybody seen Tiger?" the red-masked turtle called.
Leonardo pointed to the pet carrier on the floor, and Raphael shook his head.
"It's not gonna work, Leo. No one needs to be hauling that carrier around. I've told you guys a hundred times - Tiger won't bolt. She knows how good she has it."
Leonardo hesitated from opening the crate. "I'm just trying to keep her safe."
"I know that, Fearless, but our hands are gonna be full as it is."
The blue-masked turtle shrugged. "If you say so, Raph. She's your cat..."
Michelangelo didn't bother to listen to any more of the conversation. He went straight to the pantry in the kitchen to find the cooler Donatello had requested. He was shocked by how quiet the others had gotten in the living area as he passed through a second time. Rebecca returned his questioning gaze, but her expression was impossible to read in the low light of the lanterns. He gave her arm a light squeeze as he stopped for a moment behind her.
"Is your hand okay?"
"It's fine, Mikey. It feels irrelevant right now."
"Donny should take a look at it."
"It can wait."
Michelangelo made a face, but it was pointless to argue with her.
Donatello was waiting beside another bag he'd packed in the Lab, and he motioned for Mike to drop the cooler beside the fridge. Donny hurriedly loaded formulas he'd already picked out, while Mike picked up his other bag. He waited for Donatello to finish packing the cooler, then led the way out of the Lab. Michelangelo looked over his shoulder as he sensed Donatello hesitating, and saw the purple-masked turtle casting a long look around the room.
When Donny felt his gaze, he instantly threw his shoulders back.
"Don...I'm sorry."
"I didn't lose everything," he said quietly. "My files, plans, medical journal, everything is backed up. I have a surviving laptop, and the scanner...well, I'm pretty sure I can fix it."
Mike's eyes went wide. "What happened? Is it busted?"
"It'll be all right," Donny reassured. "I've fixed it before, and I'll do it again. It wasn't destroyed; I doubt I'll have to start from scratch."
Michelangelo was comforted by the certainty in his voice, but it couldn't stop the lump from forming in his throat as he took his own last look at the Lab. Despite not knowing the first thing about how Donatello's inventions worked, Mike had spent countless hours in this room with him. He knew what the Lab represented to his brother, and it broke Mike's heart to see it like this. It was Donatello who had to urge him to leave the room.
"Let's go, Mikey. They're waiting on us."
Leonardo looked up expectantly as they joined them in the living area. "I think we should get dressed before we leave, so we don't have to rush to get clothes on later. And while we're at it, we need to figure out where we're going."
"Doc and Kat's building would be the closest, but I don't know if..." Donatello trailed off.
Mike gave him an anxious glance. "You don't know what, Don?"
"Nothing, there's no reason to worry yet."
"Genius, you may as well tell us what you're thinking," Raphael said gruffly.
Donatello couldn't shake the troubled look out of his brown eyes. "Going up in the daylight is dangerous enough for us, but with Olivia in our hands, it makes it even more difficult. There are probably going to be a lot of scared people up there, and most of them will be outdoors. The disguises will help, but it's still an awful risk. We don't have the van, so we're stuck on foot...At least until we get a hold of someone else."
"What about the Park?" Raphael suggested. "There's gotta be plenty of places we could hole up."
Leonardo nodded. "That's a really good idea, Raph."
"You don't have to sound shocked," the red-masked turtle returned. "Do you have some better plan?"
"I wasn't being sarcastic," Leonardo said reproachfully.
Raphael immediately looked away from Leo's gaze. "Sorry, I'm...a little wound up."
Leonardo gripped his shoulder briefly. "We're getting out of here...and we'll find some way to reconnect with the others."
Leo gazed around the circle of faces, and Michelangelo felt stronger at the sight of his oldest brother's confidence. The moment Leonardo broke eye contact, Michelangelo glanced around the Den as if he'd been drawn in by a magnet.
Shell, why does it feel like I'm not gonna see this place again? Mike hung his head, then shook it violently to dispel the unwanted thought. Gotta stop assuming stuff like that. Donny never said we wouldn't be back. He hasn't said anything...and maybe that's why I'm so nervous.
The group divided themselves and their luggage between two Sliders with Donatello and Leonardo in the lead with Jenna, and Mike and Raphael bringing up the rear with Becky and Olivia. The little turtle was still clinging to Raphael's leg, unwilling to let go of him though she had finally let him put her down. Michelangelo slid behind the control panel of the Slider, and kept a sharp eye out for the other vessel ahead of them.
Rebecca had been gradually inching closer to Mike, and he sensed her tension mounting with the passing minutes. He flashed the young woman what he hoped was an encouraging smile.
"Guess we're gearing up for another camping trip, huh, Beck? I promise not to lose us in Central Park."
Rebecca couldn't stifle a giggle, in spite of everything.
"Yeah, we're with ya this time, so you really don't have to worry about the Chucklehead getting you lost," Raphael added.
The red-masked turtle laid a hand on top of Olivia's head comfortingly, as the little one appeared to be trying to climb up his leg. After another beat, Raphael pulled her up onto his lap.
"It's all right, Kouen," he said soothingly. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, kid. We're gonna find your Mama, and everything will be okay."
Olivia rested her head against his plastron, as her fingers tightly grasped the fabric of his clothing. Raphael nuzzled the top of her head again, and Michelangelo caught himself smiling.
And I thought getting together with Karina turned Raph into a softie. Having a little girl pushed him over the top.
A creaking sound that echoed loudly through the tunnel had the effect of wiping the grin off his face, and caused Rebecca's hand to clench down on his arm. Raphael's eyes flicked over to meet Michelangelo's, even as he rubbed his palm lightly over Olivia's shell. Mike was so distracted that he almost didn't notice the other Slider slowing down. He had to make a couple of quick corrections to prevent their vessel from running into the other, and it didn't escape Leonardo's notice.
The blue-masked turtle's eyes narrowed slightly. "You've got to pay attention, Mike."
"Sorry, Fearless," he squeaked sheepishly. "What's going on?"
"We need to batten down the hatches," Donatello answered.
Michelangelo thought he was kidding, but Donny's expression was grim.
"Was that the pipes we heard, Don?" Raphael asked.
"Yes," he replied. "The pipes aren't flexible, and they're probably under building pressure. I'm sure there have already been a few breaks in the sewer lines, and it's all going to add up. That means there could be some serious flooding."
"What are we doing down here then?" the red-masked turtle demanded. "Shouldn't we get to the surface?"
"We'll be in danger there too," Leonardo pointed out. "We'll be exposed the minute we set foot on the streets. I think we need to try and make the Park before we go topside."
"What's more likely to kill us, Leo?" Raphael's pitch rose, and the anxiety in his voice made Michelangelo wince.
Mike wasn't used to hearing that kind of open fear from his older brother, even though he knew it was influenced by Olivia.
Leonardo looked like he was bristling, but then he exhaled softly. "Let's make a decision then. I won't try to choose our path without hearing from all of you. I know where you stand, Raph-"
"Now hang on," Raphael interrupted. "I didn't say I vote that we go right up. I'm only pointing out that we could be putting ourselves in worse trouble by staying down here."
Leonardo looked annoyed, and Donny quickly spoke up before he could.
"Either way is a risk. We shouldn't hesitate here. Whatever we're going to do, we need to do it."
"How do we batten down the hatches?" Mike asked, hoping to get back on the original track.
"We need to strap the luggage down so that it's more secure, but we also have to be prepared to bail quickly," Donatello told him.
"How much warning are we talking about in the case of a flood?" Rebecca asked.
Donatello held up his arms uncertainly. "It's impossible to say."
"But you two think we ought to stay down here," Raphael filled in.
"For the time being," Donny said. "We're thinking of Olivia, Raph. We don't want to risk exposing her out in the open any more than we have to."
The red-masked turtle growled in irritation. "Why does it seem like we're losing either way, Genius? You know more than you're saying. It feels like you're holding out on us."
"I'm not trying to hold out on you!" Donatello's anxiety made him sound more curt than he probably meant to. The purple-masked turtle rubbed his forehead as he held his silence for a couple of seconds. "I know possibilities of what could happen, but I don't know which scenario is the most likely to play out. "
"And you can't tell us what we might be coming up against?"
"I could - I just don't see a point in harping on everything that could go wrong in the next few minutes."
"Then let's stop talking," Jenna suggested. "Maybe we could make a little more progress instead of sitting here like a bump on a log."
Michelangelo watched the way his brothers began tying down luggage on the other Slider, so that he could follow suit with their belongings. Rebecca moved to help the orange-masked turtle with the knots, waving off Raphael.
"You've got your hands full already, Raph. Mike and I can handle this."
Tiger weaved out from behind Raphael's legs, poking her head out further as Mike knelt in the Slider. Michelangelo reached to stroke her head as pity rose in his mind for the animal. He knew that a lot of cats didn't like water, but Raphael's pet had less of a reason to than most. She'd nearly drowned as an overgrown kitten, and it was the red-masked turtle's compassion that had rescued her from the sewer, and had given her a home that night. The amusement he felt at seeing Raphael so taken with the feline was a good memory, and a nice distraction from their current circumstances.
"Mikey!" Leonardo's voice shattered his line of thought, and made the orange-masked turtle's head jerk up.
"How's it coming over there?" Leonardo continued.
"I think we're set, Leo. Becky's double-checking my work."
The curly-haired woman straightened up from the bottom of the Slider. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak there was another loud creaking from the pipes, and a reverberating sensation seemed to shake the entire tunnel. Everyone was dead silent, and Mike felt his body tensing, as he waited for something to happen. The silence purveyed for a few more seconds after the rumbling stopped.
"Now can we go?" Raphael growled as he switched Olivia off his plastron and onto his side.
"We'd better," Donatello said. "Watch your distance with us, Mike, and keep an ear out behind you! If you hear anything weird-"
"I'll sing ya a song about it if you want, Genius - let's GO!" Raphael called back.