DISCLAIMER: I don't own TMNT! I only own anyone NOT in the TMNT franchise.
"The Journey Begins/Ghost Turtle"
That night, after Donnie had hurriedly escaped to the cafeteria, met his brothers, and eaten dinner with them, all three turtles were back in their cell, eagerly telling one another about the day's events.
"And then, I built... this!" Donatello pulled out another one of his many inventions, resulting in a loud groan from his brothers.
"Geez, Don, how many things did ya make!?" cried Raph.
Donnie scratched his head. "I have no idea... I sorta lost count."
"Lost count!" Mikey and Raph echoed, eyes wide.
"Well while Mr. Techno over here built an army of inventions, I broke a guy's arms." announced Raph.
"That's nice, Raph," said an absent-minded Donatello as he showed off more of his inventions. "Anyway, I also built this-oh, and this-as well as this-"
Mikey groaned and tuned his older brother out. "So, what happened again?" he asked, turning to Raph.
Raph tuned Donnie out as well and began telling his youngest brother of how he had learned to try and control his strength.
"And then, I attacked 'em, and then, his arms snapped!"
"No way!" breathed Michelangelo, eyes wide with wonder. "What happened next? What happened next?" He bounced up and down eagerly.
"His arms just... healed themselves! Said it was somethin' called 'regeneration'."
Mikey pouted. "Aw, why can't I have that power?"
"Don't ask me," Raph said. "Anyway, what'd you get up to?"
Mikey blinked. "You really want to know?"
Raph shook his head. "Nah, I just need something to distract me from Donnie," he said with a jerk of his thumb in the direction of their rambling brother.
"Of course." Mikey said, but nevertheless told Raph about his experience that day.
"You got cussed at... by a cat!?" Raph fell over backwards, laughing.
"Hey!" Mikey cried. "It's not funny!"
By now, Donatello had finished rambling on and on about his inventions and had noticed Mikey and Raph. "Wha?"
Mikey crossed his arms and glared at Raph. "He's laughing because a cat cussed at me!"
"I'm laughin' because it's ridiculous!" Raph argued.
Donnie just gave a weary sigh. One thing was certain: Tonight was going to be a long night. Especially with what Ms. Adams had said earlier bouncing around in his head. He shuddered as he imagined what it would be like if the Gifted did enslave them all. He hoped it wouldn't be like the time he had been sent 30 years into the future, where the Shredder was in charge. Yawning, he pushed all thoughts of distant futures out of his mind and went to sleep.
A rough hand shook Donnie's shoulder; confused, he blinked open his eyes to see a painfully familiar figure standing in front of him.
"L-Leo?" He rubbed his eyes, but his brother was still there. "LEO!" Ecstatic, he launched himself at his older brother and gave him a huge hug. "Oh, I can't believe it! You're alive! Wait- you're alive?! B-but how?"
Leo growled. "I'm not! There's no time to explain what's happening! Just get out of here and follow me!"
Donnie blinked. "F-follow you? But how?"
But by now, his brother and the cell were fading away.
"Leo? LEO! No! Don't go! LEO!" Donnie shrieked.
"Don! Don! Wake up, will ya!?"
Donnie's eyes popped open as Raphael shook his shoulder. "Don!"
"R-Raph?" Donnie gasped, still horrified by his dream.
"Ya okay? I heard ya screaming in your sleep." Raph looked his younger brother in the eyes.
"I-I'm fine, Raph. Just... a really weird dream," Donnie replied.
"About what?"
Donnie hesitated. "About Leo," he finally admitted. "He... He told me to get out of here and to follow him."
Pain flashed in Raphael's eyes as he remembered his dead brother before hardening into fury. "It's probably just someone usin' their powers and messin' with ya." he said.
Donnie shook his head. "I don't think it was. But, how would I get out of here?" He glanced towards the door. "I mean, it's most likely locked, guarded, and being monitored by security cameras."
Use the bug... Leo's voice whispered in his ear, so quiet that for a moment, Donnie was sure he'd imagined it.
Use the bug? What bug? Wait a second- of course! Excited, he shoved his hand into the bag and dug out a tiny, metal spider, with a minuscule camera and a pair of antennae attached. "I can't believe I forgot my Spyder (combination of 'spy' and 'spider', hence the term 'SPYder')!"
"Your what?!"
"My Spyder. It's a robotic spider with a camera attached to it. I can use it to see if there's anything out there." He took out a remote control and a tablet and flipped a switch on both them and the Spyder; instantly the Spyder's antennae stood straight up, and its eyes glowed a bright green.
Cautiously, Donnie used the controller to navigate the Spyder under the crack between the door and the ground.
"See anythin'?" asked Raph as Donnie used a joystick to move the Spyder around.
"Not a thing," Donatello said as he glanced at the tablet's screen. "The only defense is a passcode, which should be easy to crack." He pressed a button, and the Spyder began to climb up the side of the wall, arriving at the lock.
"Let's see... Look for the buttons that are smudged and dirty..." Donnie muttered to himself, and within a minute, the door swung open.
"Holy shell, Don!" Raph cried. "That thing of yours ain't half bad."
"Thanks," Donatello replied as he turned off his equipment and put it away. "I'm going to go," he said. "Are you coming?"
Raphael hesitated. "Alright, but I still think it's a trap!" He then glanced over at Mikey, who was fast asleep, mumbling in his sleep. "Should we take him?"
Donnie nodded and watched as Raph shook Mikey awake.
"Wha? No ma'am, I didn't shove the Easter Bunny down the rabbit hole," Mikey said sleepily as he blinked open his eyes. "Wait, you're not Wanda Sykes!"
Donnie face palmed, wondered how Mikey knew about Wanda Sykes, and said, "Just get up. We don't have all night!"
Mikey gave him a confused look as he stood up. "What's going on?" he asked Raph.
"I'll explain later!" hissed Donnie. "But we need to go now!"
His brothers exchanged curious glances, shrugged, and followed him out into the hallway.
"Now what, brainiac?" complained Raph. "You said you were supposed to follow him."
Donnie opened his mouth to respond when a faint, see-through figure materialized in front of them.
"Leo..." Donnie breathed, his heart aching at the obvious reminder that his brother was dead.
"Shh!" Leo held a finger to his lips. "Follow me,"
Donnie nodded and hurried after his older brother, Mikey and Raph following suit.
After what seemed like forever, the turtles were lead down the hallway that Ms. Adams had told them to never go to.
"Hey, this is the hallway that Leo was trying to take me to!" cried Mikey.
Donnie spun around to face Mikey. "What?! What do you mean?!" he demanded.
"I mean that Leo tried to get me to come in here earlier today," explained Mikey.
"The same place that I kept you away from!" Donnie cried. "God, I'm an idiot!" He turned towards Leo. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't know!"
Leo gave Donnie a grim nod. "It's alright," he said. "But I'm afraid I have to leave," Leo said. "Be careful."
Donnie nodded. "I will."
Leo smiled and vanished, leaving his three younger brothers alone outside a door marked TOP SECRET. AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
"Well?" Raph demanded. "Are ya just gonna stand there or what?"
Donnie held up a finger to shush his brother as he rummaged through his bag and pulled out another controller. Hang on; I'm disabling the security systems."
He pressed a series of buttons before announcing, "Alrighty. We should be..." -he swung open the door- "...good!"
The room they were in was small and dark, with dozens of file cabinets everywhere. Empty vials and stray papers lay atop desks.
"And we're supposed to find what we need, how exactly?" Mikey commented.
As if answering him, a pale blue light shone on one of the filing cabinets before vanishing.
"Like that?" Raph asked.
Donnie shushed his brothers and crept over to the filing cabinet. "Keep an eye out," he instructed them as he pulled one of the drawers open and began rummaging through the files.
"Ooh, ooh! Can I say some sort of code phrase if I see someone?!" Mikey cried eagerly.
A loud smack followed by an "ow!" told Donnie that Raphael had just slapped Mikey upside the head.
"Whatever, Mikey. Just be quiet!" Donnie snapped. He angrily closed the drawer and moved on the the one below it. "Way to be specific, Leo," he grumbled under his breath as he closed that drawer and opened the next one. "What are we even looking for, anyway?"
He stopped short when a file with the words TOP SECRET: For her eyes only! written on it in blue ink caught his eye. Amazed, he pulled it out. It was thick, with dozens and dozens of papers in it.
"Guys? I think I've found-"
"Mayday, mayday! The pizza man is coming!" yelped Mikey.
"Damn it!" snarled Raph, glancing around them. "We're trapped in here!"
Donnie glanced upward and spotted a large vent near the ceiling. "Not entirely." In a flash, he was atop a file cabinet, using a screwdriver he had picked up in the labs to unscrew the bolts.
By now, all three brothers could hear footsteps rapidly approaching.
"Hurry it up, will you?!" hissed Mikey.
Donnie unscrewed the last bolt and removed the vent. "Got it!" He jumped down and waited as his brothers slipped in.
By now, the footsteps were closer, and Donnie knew that they didn't have much time left.
"Donnie!" whispered Raph. Donnie immediately climbed into the vent, holding the vent.
"I've just gotta put this back," he said, beginning to fix the vent. One bolt done, then two, then three, and then...
The fourth bolt dropped onto the filing cabinet.
Raphael swore so badly that Mikey had to cover his ears with his hands.
Donnie scooped up the bolt and was finished screwing it back in just as a tall, black-haired man appeared in the doorway, clutching a flashlight.
"Hmph," the man muttered before turning to leave.
The next morning, Raph shook Donnie awake. "Don?"
"Huh? What is it, Raph?" Donnie sat up, confused.
"We need to go." Raphael said. "Mikey, Alex and Ms. Adams are already waitin' for us." He extended a hand and helped Donnie to his feet.
"Thanks, Raph." Donnie said. His brother nodded and the two walked over to the cell door, where a guard was waiting for them. He beckoned for them to follow and led them towards the very same balcony that they had arrived at.
"Hey guys!" Mikey grinned, bounding over to them. "Ready to go?"
Both brothers nodded and together, the three of them headed over to stand by Alex, who was wearing the necklace around his neck.
"Remember that Alex is in charge of using the necklace, and that you are not to alter the past except to prevent your brother from dying." Ms. Adams told them. "Understand?"
"Yes," the four of them said in unison.
Ms. Adams smiled. "Good luck," she said.
Alex looked at the turtles and nodded.
"Ready guys?" he asked.
"Shell yeah!" cried Mikey.
"Ready," agreed Donnie.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," muttered Raph.
Alex placed his thumb on the edge of the spiral. "Hold on tight then," he instructed. All three turtle brothers grabbed hold of Alex's arms and legs while the young boy's thumb reached the diamond in the center. "Here we go!"
"Wait, you don't even know the day that Leo died!" cried Mikey, touching the necklace.
"Mikey- NO!" Donnie cried, trying to stop his brother. Then, there was a flash of bright light, and then the four were gone.
A/N: DUN DUN DUUUN! XD Cliffy, much? Lol, I had to do that. But the question remains: Where will they end up?
A major thanks to everyone who has either read, followed, favorited, or reviewed this story! :') You all are so awesome! See you guys next chapter!
~KTNT
