A/N: Austin to the rescue!... Well, sort of.


Chapter 11 -Stockman-
~~~

Leonardo was half-kneeling, resting on the balls of his feet, with his legs bent. He couldn't quite sit down on the floor, but standing was tiring after a while, and this position at least relieved some of the pressure on his wrists and arms. He heard the footsteps approaching, but didn't bother to move or stand up. Why make things easier for the soldiers? If they wanted to take him from this cell, they'd have to carry him.

"You will rise in my presence." The imperious voice made Leonardo jerk in the chains. He lifted his head, slowly, and favored Karai with a glare, but didn't stand.

I may be your prisoner, but that doesn't mean I'm going to obey you.

She motioned with her hand, and two of the soldiers came forward, somewhat cautiously, though Leo wasn't going anywhere with his hands chained to the wall behind him and his feet shackled and attached to the floor. Grasping him roughly under the arms, they hauled him to his feet. He stood ignoring her, staring at a point somewhere over her left shoulder.

"Was it worth it, Leonardo? Was your brother's pitiful life worth yours?" Karai asked.

For the first time, Leo looked into her dark eyes. He regarded her calmly. "Yes."

"He will die anyway." She spoke as calmly as if they were discussing the weather. "You know those brothers of yours will try to retrieve you. They will die in the attempt."

"They will not."

"They will not come?" Her eyebrows rose.

"They will not die."

"You believe they will succeed?"

Leonardo let his silence answer for him.

Karai smiled, a slow, cold smirk. "They are nothing without you, you know. Fool! The three of you, yourself and the other two, might have gotten Donatello out. With your leadership, and their fighting skills… perhaps you might have succeeded with the loss of but one, or some injuries. But without you, Leonardo, your brothers are not as strong a team. My elite soldiers will take them. They will all die."

Leonardo stood silent as a statue, letting her words wash over him, meaningless.

They'll come. They'll get me out. They always do.

"We will wait. We will see. In the meantime, Leonardo, I have preparations to make. I would not wish for your brothers to come to my home and feel unwelcome. And you and Doctor Stockman have so much to catch up on." Karai allowed herself another small, cold smile as she saw the tiniest of involuntary shivers shake the turtle. "Yes, I think he will be very gratified to see you again."

"What do you want, Karai?" His voice was quiet, almost tired. "Will my death bring Saki back? Will that satisfy you?"

"No, Leonardo, but your death will serve as the beginning of the destruction of your little clan, something my father never managed to do. I will sleep well at night, knowing you are all dead, you and your brothers, and the freak you call a father. Honor will be restored to my clan, and I will build an empire over the bodies of all those who have dared to stand in my way."

"An empire built on a foundation of death is an empire without honor, Karai." Leonardo locked eyes with the woman.

Karai scowled. "What do you know of honor, Turtle? Enough of this. Take him."

Leonardo tensed as the soldiers grabbed his arms again, unlocking the shackles. Two more soldiers came forward and unlocked those around his ankles. He struggled, but he was no match for six Foot soldiers clinging on to his arms. They marched him down the hall, struggling all the way. Leo's eyes widened as he saw the laboratory he was being hauled into. It took four more Foot soldiers to lift him onto the examination table, and to strap his limbs down. They left Leonardo, panting and struggling against the straps, growls of anger and anguish escaping him.

He didn't have to wait long. The cyborg that had once been a man strolled into the room. "Ah, Leonardo. Such a pleasure to see you once again. I have waited for this opportunity for a long time. Yes, a very long time."

As far as I'm concerned, you could've waited longer. A lot longer.

"Shall we begin?"

No, I think not.

"I'll need samples of your DNA of course. And I'll want to perform stress tests on that marvelous shell of yours. And then there are so many questions… Yes, Leonardo, I have questions. Such as how your mutated body will respond to certain chemical… cocktails I've been studying. Oh, we will be spending a great deal of time together, you and I. Oh yes, a great deal of time." He approached the table.

"Don't touch me," growled Leo.

Stockman just laughed. "You're hardly in a position to stop me. Don't worry, Leonardo. Karai wants you intact for questioning. By the time she's through with you, I'm sure you'll be wishing I'd been given free reign to dissect you."

"You'll regret this, Stockman," grated Leonardo.

Stockman held up a hypodermic, tapping it lightly to remove the air bubbles. The substance inside was a sickly orange color. Leo's eyes widened slightly as the cyborg leaned toward him. "I doubt it, Turtle."

***

Austin walked slowly, picking her way through the tunnels.

There must be a manhole around here someplace, she thought… There must be a way out.

She froze, hearing footsteps, voices, moving through the tunnel not far ahead. She hurried down a side tunnel, pressing herself back against the wall, disappearing in the darkness.

"I'll stitch that leg when we get back, Raph. You really shouldn't be on it."

Donatello is with them! They have freed him, saved their brother from Karai. But where is Leonardo? Where is the fourth brother?

"We ain't got time, Donny. We gotta talk ta dat girl, an' we gotta go get Leo back from Karai!"

Oh no. Leonardo has been taken.

"She ain't just a girl, Raph. She's Austin." Michelangelo's voice made her breath catch in her chest.

"She's Foot, Mikey. You're gonna hafta get over her."

Austin's heart sank at the words. Raphael still mistrusted her. And worse, he was right. She'd betrayed Michelangelo's trust and now Leonardo was paying a steep price.

"Raph…"

"Mike. She was usin' ya."

"You don't know her, Raph."

"I know what she is, Mike."

You are wrong, Raphael, thought Austin, fighting down a sharp pain. You are wrong, and I will prove it. I will do what I can to help Leonardo.

She waited until she could no longer hear them before slipping out of the tunnel she was hiding in. The tunnels were confusing, musty and dank, with little light and no landmarks. Before long, Austin was hopelessly lost. All the tunnels looked the same. Her shoulder ached abominably, and she was beginning to regret leaving the safe, warm bed in the Lair. With a sigh, she decided that she would simply have to go through the next manhole she found, and hope it led her some place familiar.

This was not as easy as it sounded. When she found a manhole cover, it took all her strength to hold onto the ladder while she pushed and heaved at the impossibly heavy metal disk. She grunted, pushing harder.

I cannot return to the Lair in defeat, she thought. I must prove to Michelangelo that I truly have left the Foot clan behind. I must succeed.

She felt the stitches in her shoulder give way as she strained against the cover, but still she heaved and struggled until she managed to lift it a few inches and slide it to one side. After that, the task became even more difficult. She had to shove the heavy cover over, and the angle and weight meant she had to use both her arms to move it at all. It was slow, painful going, but finally she'd opened the manhole far enough to slip through and climb out onto the street above.

She left the cover ajar, unable to even contemplate moving it again. She felt hot, sticky blood leaking from her shoulder, soaking the bandage Donatello had wrapped so neatly. She ignored it, dashing for the nearest alley and the cover of shadow and darkness instinctively. She crouched against a brick wall, swallowing back the bile that rose in her throat. She glanced at the street sign, and groaned. She was almost a mile from the Foot tower.

It will take forever to walk so far, with my shoulder bleeding. Oh, Michelangelo, I wish you were here. I really need to feel your strong arms around my body, to hear your gentle voice tell me everything will be all right. I want to wake up from this nightmare and find myself safe at home, with you by my side, chasing my fears away. But it is not to be. Your brother is in the hands of your enemy, and it is my fault. This nightmare is real.

Grimly, she forced herself to stand, and began the long, painful trek. Her walk was made slower by the fact that she had to stick to the darkened alleyways, but she knew her route through the city so well, she soon reached the Foot tower.

She didn't head for the front doors. Instead she made her way around to the back, slipping in through a special, hidden entrance, the very one Donatello had been shoved out of just a few hours earlier. Slipping inside, Austin made her way down the hall to the cells where the prisoners were kept, careful to move casually, as if she belonged.

The first cell was unguarded and empty. The second and third were the same. At the end of the hall, however, in the highest security area, Austin saw a door guarded by two black-clad soldiers. She approached cautiously, thinking fast.

"The Mistress wishes that the turtle be brought to her quarters," she intoned in perfect Japanese. One of the soldiers stiffened, peering suspiciously at her through the mask.

"It is with Doctor Stockman," he answered in the same language.

"What? No, Mistress Karai has ordered that it not be harmed yet. She wishes to interrogate it herself. Fools! Incompetents! That butcher Stockman will destroy it! Karai will be furious! Retrieve it at once, and prepare it for Mistress Karai, fool, before Stockman does any more damage!" Austin let every bit of the fear and fury she was feeling color her tone.

The soldier hesitated for a moment. Austin leaned forward, close to the man's face. "What is your name?" she demanded. "So that I may report to Karai who is responsible for allowing Stockman to have access to the prisoner?"

The man was visibly trembling now.

"We… we will retrieve the turtle." He rushed off down the hall.

The second soldier stood tense, alert, and full attention, barely daring to breathe, let alone move. Austin smirked under her black mask. Karai's stern discipline was paying dividends. When the price for disobedience was death, no one dared question orders. Faintly, from several rooms away, Austin heard shouts of protest.

"Come." She motioned to the second soldier.

He followed as she made her way toward the noise, determined to forestall any plans Stockman had for contacting Karai himself to verify the orders she'd given. She entered the lab, and had to repress a gasp of horror. Leonardo was strapped down on one of Stockman's examining tables. He was writhing in obvious pain, his body trembling in reaction to whatever Stockman had been doing to him.

"The experiment has only just begun!" Stockman was shouting. "I can't give him up now, the serum won't take full effect for another hour! You must not interfere!"

"Stockman." Austin put every ounce of intimidation she could into the one word. "Mistress Karai wishes to interrogate the prisoner. You were given specific orders that he was not to be damaged. Do you wish to defy the Mistress?"

Stockman turned to face her. "Who are you?" He stalked across the room toward Austin. "What foolishness is this? I am a scientist! I cannot be bothered with these constant interruptions! You tell Karai…"

Austin's snap kick caught him in the metal chest-plates, and he staggered back, trying desperately to regain his balance.

"I will tell Mistress Karai nothing, Doctor Stockman. I will return the turtle to his cell to recover from whatever foolish experiments you have been performing, and then I will take him to her, as she has ordered. If you wish to have access to the prisoner, you will have to speak with her yourself."

She strode across the room, and grabbed the strap holding Leo's wrist, yanking it loose. The turtle struggled wildly to avoid her touch, his dark eyes staring into hers with rage, fear and pain. She removed the remaining straps with no more gentleness than the first, ignoring Stockman's cries of protest.

The guard from the cell was so cowed by her imperious attitude he helped lift Leonardo to his feet. The turtle swayed, hardly able to keep his balance. He attempted a palm-strike, but his coordination was badly compromised, and Austin blocked the punch, grabbing his wrist and twisting it behind his shell with her own uninjured hand.

"Try that again, Turtle, and I'll break your arm," she hissed in his ear. Leonardo struggled, and she jerked his arm up, twisting his wrist painfully behind his back. He stopped fighting her, and stood still, every muscle in his body tense and ready to fight. He waited, obviously accepting the fact that he could not escape but ready to jump at any opportunity should she allow her guard to drop for even a moment. Despite the burning pain radiating from her damaged shoulder, Austin smiled behind the black mask.

Your brother is a true warrior, Michelangelo. I only hope I can save him. She motioned to the guards, and together, they marched Leonardo back down the hall toward his cell.

I have stopped Stockman from harming you. Now, how am I to get you out of here?