Hey, guys. Me again. Man, it's been a while since I've written anything up here, huh? Well, I just wanted to fill you guys in with a little warning.

I do not own TMNT, nor do I own the show 'Impractical Jokers.' The only things in the fanfic that I own are my OC's.

Just wanted to make sure that you got that. Okay, read on…

Ch. 7
Monkey Brains

"Afternoon, boys," I said as I entered the kitchen.

The only 'boys' in question where Leo and Raph. The latter was rummaging through the fridge, and the other was sitting by the table eating a sandwich.

"Sup?" Raph pointed into the fridge. "Juice?"

"Sure," I said as I took a seat across Leo.

"Where've you been?" Leo asked when his mouth wasn't full. "You disappeared when we finished training."

"Just listening to the T-pod in my room. Wanted a little peace after training."

"So, basically, you ditched us," Raph said bluntly as he set a cup of juice in front of me.

I snorted. "You said it, not me."

I sipped on my juice as Raph sat next to me. I looked around and noticed we were two turtles short.

"Where's Mikey and Donnie?" I asked.

"In the dojo," said Leo. "Donnie wanted to try some defenses."

"And he wouldn't let Mikey leave," Raph added.

"Hm… I think I'll go check on 'em."

I slipped out of my seat, still holding my juice, and walked out of the kitchen. I looked around the living room and the pit to make sure that the other two weren't there, and I made my way to the dojo. As I got closer I could hear the sounds of the two sparring. I went through the entrance, and walked into the dojo just in time to see Mikey doing a backflip over Donnie's head. The younger turtle landed on the floor and slide back more, giggling with glee.

"Nice back flip, dude," I called as I walked into the dojo more.

"Thank yah, sis!"

I giggled. Donnie, however, didn't look impressed.

"Dude, what are yah doing?" he asked his younger brother. "You don't defend against Seoi Nage with backflips!"

"Why not?" Mikey stood up, a grin on his face. "Backflips are where it's at!"

"The best defense is to roll along my back, then take me to the ground and put me in an arm-lock. Unless, of course, I counter with a-"

"Hey man!" Mikey cut across him. "You can't take the fire out of… Hi-yaah! Dr. Flip-enstein!"

Donnie frowned. "I don't even know what that means."

"You don't have to know," I stated simply. "Know why? 'Cause this is just Mikey being Mikey."

Donnie sighed, face palming. At that moment, Sensei walked out of his room. As he was crossing the dojo, Donnie ran up to him.

"Master Splinter, what would you do if someone tried to throw you with Seoi Nage?"

"I don't know."

I blinked. Huh?

"C'mon, you must've planned a response for every attack," Donnie insisted.

"If you think too much about what is coming, you lose sight of what is," Splinter said wisely. "You must be fully in the moment so you can fight without thinking."

"Why would I wanna fight without thinking?" Donnie asked, his tone suggesting that Sensei had suggested something completely absurd.

"Allow me to demonstrate…"

Uh-oh…

"Prepare to defend against Seoi Nage!"

Bam! Flip! Crash!

Within seconds Splinter had Donnie laying with his plastron against the floor, holding the turtles arms up to keep him pinned.

"Ow!" Donnie cried. "That wasn't Seoi Nage!"

Sensei chuckled. "No, but you thought it would be," he released his son, who sat up. "Now, would you like to prepare to defend against a spinning back kick?"

"No, I'm good!" Donnie groaned quickly.

Sensei stood straight and began to walk away. He stopped when he came by me, no doubt because I was covering my mouth to keep myself from bursting into laughter. But he could see it in my eyes, and gave me a warm smile before walking off.

I turned my head to see Mikey walking up to Donnie, who was still sitting on the floor.

"Heheh! Know what woulda worked there?" Mikey jumped closer, getting into his brother's face. "Backflip!"

Donnie rolled his eyes, groaning.

"He's still at it, isn't he?" I whispered.

Raph nodded. "Yup."

"Any idea what he's doing, dude?" asked Mikey.

"Nope," said Leo.

We were all looking over the corner, looking into Donnie's lab. Donnie was at his desk, apparently drawing some kind of map or list or something. I couldn't tell what it was from this distance. Then I straightened up and started to walk into the lab.

"Stealth, boys," I whispered to the others.

They grinned and followed me. We all slowly and stealthily walked towards Donnie, who appeared oblivious to our approach, still drawing away. It wasn't until I was standing in front of his desk that I could see what he was tracing. It appeared to be a very big, very complicated flowchart. Then, when the others were all standing around him, Leo took it upon himself to make our presence known.

"Whatcha up to, Donnie?"

Donnie gasped and looked up. He stared at all of us, surprised to see us there.

"Whatcha sketching?" I asked as I sat on the corner of his desk.

"I'm not sketching," he said.

I raised my eyebrow and glanced down at the chart. "Dude, there's pictures on there. You have definitely sketched."

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Okay, yes, I did."

"So, what are yah doing?" Raph asked.

"Just putting the finishing touches on my master plan."

Raph raised his brow. "Master plan?"

Donnie added another line to the chart. "Yeah, to get April to hang out with me."

Me and the guys instantly went into a fit of chuckles. Donnie frowned at us and went back to his chart.

"Try this," Leo suggested, smirking. ""April, do you want to hang out with me?""

"Sounds good to me," I said.

"Yeah, it's not that simple," Donnie told us as he continued to examine his chart. "I have to prepare for every possible response to maximize my chances of success."

"Aww… that's so romantic," Mikey sighed.

I shook my head. "Not exactly, Mikey."

"What do you mean?" Donnie asked, sounding a little worried.

I sighed. "Donnie, this whole chart idea is very sweet. And I think its amazing that you put so much work into asking out April…"

Donnie beamed at me.

"But, it's unnecessary," I told him, and his smile fell. "You don't have to beat yourself up with something as simple as asking a girl out."

"Why not?" Mikey asked. "How would you know?"

"Well…" I messed with my bangs. "I mean… if a guy was asking me to hang out, I'd want him to just ask without stressing himself over it."

"So," Raph folded his arms. "You'd want a guy to just be straight up with you about it?"

"Well… yeah."

"Hm."

Raph glanced at the ground, apparently deep in thought. But the look fell as he turned his shell to me.

"Take it from a girl's point of view, bro," I told Donnie as I turned to face him again. "You don't have to put yourself under so much stress for this."

"As always, I appreciate your advise, Nia," Donnie picked up his chart. "But I'm positive that this chart is gonna work."

I sighed. I looked over at Leo and shrugged, giving an 'I tried' sort of look. Donnie pinned his chart to his white board and rolled the thing over so it stood in front of us. I crossed one leg over the other and folded my arms as Donnie pulled out a long stick.

"Ahem… Yeah, for instance, if April says she can't because she has homework," Donnie pointed to a particular thread. "Then I will suggest an informal study session and offer healthy, brain stimulating snacks."

I raised my brow. "Yum."

"Well, what if she says she can't because you're a total nerd?" Raph asked gruffly.

"Ah! That's this thread, here!" Donnie pointed to said thread. "I will list my many non-nerdy qualities, and suggest activities that will highlight my coolness. Such as skateboarding or shark wrestling."

"That's romantic," I smiled, then mimicked Donnie's voice. "Hey, April! Wanna see me wrangle up a couple of sharks? It'll be fun!"

Raph and Mikey burst into laughter and Leo chuckled. Donnie frowned.

"I don't sound like that!"

"Aw Don, I'm sorry," I hopped off the desk. "But, c'mon. I was just busting your shell."

Donnie's frown fell, and he shrugged in a 'I know you are' sort of way. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by another voice.

"Guys!"

"April!" I said happily as we saw said redhead running in, holding her laptop.

Donnie gave a panicked yelp and flipped the board many times, trying to cover his flowchart. He grabbed it, and it finally stopped on the other side, where there was a movie poster that read "Space Heroes III: The Search for Mindstrong."

"H-hey… h-hey Ap- Hey, April," Donnie stuttered, smiling awkwardly.

April paid him no mind, and sat down at the desk, setting her laptop down and opening it.

"You guys gotta check this out!"

She typed away at the keys for a moment before a site came up. She clicked on a video, and it played.

"Renowned neurochemistry, Dr. Tyler Rockwell has been reported missing. I spoke with Rockwell's colleague, Dr. Victor Falco."

Then the image of a man, who appeared to be in his early 50s, with graying hair and wearing a lab coat came up.

"I hadn't heard from him in days, so I stopped by his lab. The place was a mess, and he was gone. I fear the worst…"

"Police say that they have-"

But April stopped the video and shut her laptop.

"So?" Raph asked.

"So, the Kraang have been kidnapping scientist from all over the city!" April explained. "Including my dad… Maybe that's what happened to this Rockwell guy."

"Or, they may not be connected at all," Leo said simply.

"There's only one way to find out," April stood up. "We should go to that lab and look around."

"April's right!" Donnie piped up. "We should go check it out! …What's that? You guys are busy?" he placed a hand on April's shoulder. "Guess it's just the two of us, April."

With that, Donnie began to lead her away. When she wasn't looking, Donnie turned back to us, giving us a thumbs up as he winked. I smiled, returned the thumbs up, and muttered, "way to go." Donnie grinned at me, and left the lab with April.

Once they were gone, Leo snorted as he walked up to the board.

"I bet that wasn't on his flowchart…"

He turned the board so he could look at the chart, and he stared.

"Wow… it is!"

"What?"

I walked over to him and looked at the board. There, at the bottom corner, was a cut little drawing of Donnie and April leaving the lair, and Nia and the others being left behind.

"That… is spooky," Leo muttered.

I backed away from the board, muttering the theme song from, "The Twilight Zone."

I don't know how I managed to get Leo to give me the remote while he was watching 'Space Heroes', but I did. Don't get me wrong, 'Space Heroes' is a pretty okay show, but it can't top 'Impractical Jokers,' which me, Mikey, and Raph were currently watching.

"Walk forward," Murr told Q through the mic. "Right a little bit…"

"Little left, walk straight," said Joe.

Q, who was currently wearing blacked out sunglasses so he couldn't see, continues walking closer towards an unsuspecting couple, who are currently embracing.

"Slow down- Stop!"

"Turn right…"

Q does as Joe tells him.

"Say, "Can I get some of that action?""

Me and Raph started chuckling at that.

"He ain't gonna say it," I told him, still giggling.

"I bet he does!" said Raph.

Mikey didn't say anything, but continued to watch with anticipation.

The couple starts to make out. Q pauses…

"Say it! Say it! Say it right now!" Joe persists.

"Can I get some of that action?" Q asks.

I hollered with excitement as Raph and Mikey burst into laughter.

"I knew it!" he pointed at the screen. "I knew he'd say it!"

"I can't believe he said it!" I shrieked.

"Dudes! That is awesome!"

Just as we settled down from our fit of laughter, I heard the coin eaters turn. Still smiling, I turned my head, expecting to see Donnie and April to walk in looking successful. What I didn't expect was to see April supporting Donnie, who appeared to be limping.

"Donnie!"

I jumped up from the couch and ran up to them. Donnie was covered from head to foot in black and blue bruises and quite a few scratches. He had a pained expression on his face as he rubbed his head gingerly.

"Donnie, are you okay?" I asked.

But his only response was a painful groan.

"Whoa, what happened?" Raph asked.

"Donnie got beat up by a lab monkey," said April.

I stared. Is she serious? The others didn't seemed phased by this though. Leo and I went forward at the same time; he put Donnie's arm around his own neck, and I held Donnie's other arm.

"April, can you get an icepack?"

April nodded, and ran for the kitchen. Leo and I slowly and carefully lead Donnie to the pit.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow…"

We gently placed Donnie on the couch, and he laid back on his shell. I went over and sat by his feet.

"You alright, D?" I asked as I patted his kneepad.

"Yeah…" he groaned. "I think so…"

"Donnie, you gonna be okay?" Leo asked.

"Yeah… yeah, I'll be fine…"

Leo nodded. "In that case…"

Suddenly, Leo, Raph, and Mikey burst into incredible fits of laughter. I started at them. I knew perfectly well why they were laughing. I'll admit, it is kind of funny, but that didn't mean I approved of their current attitude towards this.

"You got beaten up by a monkey?" Raph exclaimed, still laughing. "In front of your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend!" Donnie snapped. "And that monkey was a vicious mutant!"

"A mutant?" I asked.

"Yes! And he went crazy on me!"

"Yeah!" Leo laughed. "I'm sure he went bananas!"

The boys burst into more laughter. Leo shook his head.

"No! No, no, no! He went ape!"

By now the 3 turtles were all wiping tears of laughter from their eyes. I frowned at them, feeling irritated.

"Guys, knock it off. This isn't funny."

"Yes, it is!" Mikey bellowed.

I shook my head. Oh, brother… I glanced up, and I saw April coming over, and icepack in her hands. She didn't look too pleased, either.

Raph was the next one t notice April, and when he did, he gave his bros a 'shut up now' motion with his hands.

"No more monkey puns," he said.

At once, all the boys had instant poker faces on, not even looking as though they had just laughed their heads off. April frowned at them all before sitting down on the couch, and she placed Donnie's head in her lap. He giggled quietly, smiling as she put the icepack on his head. I couldn't help but grin. Nice one, Don.

"Are you laughing at him because he's hurt?" April asked irritably.

"No," said Mikey. "We were laughing at him 'cause he got hurt by a… monkey!"

Mikey reared his head back and fell onto his shell, laughing his head off once more.

It's been a full day since the monkey incident, and the guys were still laughing about it. Donnie had healed up just fine, but he was still upset about it. And I understood why. Mutant or not, he still got his shell kicked by a monkey.

Donnie was currently kneeling in front of the water pit, completely still. I sighed. I bent over and slipped out of my dark blue sneakers. I took off my socks and set them down before walking over to him.

"Hey, Donnie," I sat down next to him and stuck my feet into the water. "What's up?"

Donnie glanced over at me, and shrugged. "Eh…"

I sighed. "Look, Don… The others are just acting kinda jerky right now. There's no need to feel bad."

Donnie sighed. "I know, know. It's just… I just don't get it. I'm a highly trained martial artist. How could I lose to something so… mindless!"

Donnie raised his fist and punched the water. I flinched slightly as a few flecks hit my face.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Look, it doesn't matter if you got beaten by that thing," I put a hand on his shoulder. "Your still the smartest out of all of us, aren't you?"

He didn't answer, but stared into the water.

"Lavinia is right, Donatello," Sensei's voice said. "You are very intelligent."

We both turned to look up at the rat.

"But in a fight, you cannot be… up here."

Sensei pointed to his own head. Donnie stood up.

"But I just don't understand how you can fight without thinking," he said.

At that moment we saw Mikey starting to walk up. He had his eyes closed, and a smile on his face. He was doing a little dance, and we could hear music coming out of the T-Pod. Yes, I know Donnie made the T-pod for me. But, me being the sweet sister I am, I agreed to let Mikey use it from time to time.

"Observe…" said Sensei.

Mikey continued dancing along, oblivious as to where he was heading. Then, when he was right in front of Sensei, the ran advanced. Splinter aimed a punch, but Mikey bent backward and went under the arm. Splinter aimed another, and Mikey backflipped out of the way. Sensei aimed for a final punch, and Mikey simply blocked it with his arm.

Did I mention that he didn't even open his eyes? Because he didn't, not even once. And he was still humming and dancing to whatever music he was playing.

"Wow," I said, staring at Mikey.

Donnie was staring, too, his jaw hanging open and his eyes wide.

"You see?" said Sensei. "Mikey does not think."

Mikey, who had pulled out one of the earbuds, grinned.

"Thank you," he said.

"Your welcome."

But as Mikey started to dance away, Sensei moved his tail in front of the young turtle's feet. Mikey tripped, and yelled as he went flying. I winced, but when I realized he was okay, I grinned.

"And he sticks the landing," I said nonchalantly.

"You must find the space between your thoughts and learn to live there," Sensei told Donnie. "That's what Michelangelo does."

"True, but…" Donnie looked at his younger brother. "Mikey's got a lot more space between his thoughts than I do."

Mikey sniffed the air. He reached back behind his shell and pulled out something small.

"Pepperoni!"

And he ate it. I scrunched my nose. Eh...

"Yes, well…" Sensei paused. "Michelangelo has his challenges, too."

We were all sitting in the living room a little while later. Raph was sitting on the edge of the pit while reading a magazine, me and Donnie were sitting in front of the TV, and Leo and Mikey appeared to be sparring. April was sitting on the couch, looking at her laptop. Apparently, she was looking at the files that were in the flash drive Donnie had swiped off of Rockwell's desk.

"Guys, I think I found something," April said after a while.

Feeling curious, I stood up and hurried over and looked at the screen, and so did the others.

"These notes are hard to follow… but it looks like Rockwell was able to modify the mutagen."

"Why would he do that?" Leo asked.

"He thought he could use it to create a neuro-chemical that would temporarily give someone psychic abilities," April explained.

"You mean that monkey was psychic?" Raph asked.

April shook her head. "It's more like he was reading our emotions. After all, he was only hostile when Donnie was hostile."

"Yeah, well next time I'll be sure to think friendly thoughts while I'm beatin' a little sunshine into him," Donnie said, smacking a fist into his palm.

"Okay, we need to track him down before he attacks someone else," said Leo. "Let's go up to the surface, spread out, and search."

Raph frowned. "How're we gonna stay in contact?"

"I have a little something that might help," said Donnie.

He stood up, a proud look on his face. He walked over to stand in front of us, hands on his sides.

"Gentlemen! And ladies…"

I grinned.

"I give you… the T-Phone!"

Donnie lifted his arm up to reveal a hand-sized cell phone that was shaped to look like a turtle shell, and a cute, little retro ringtone was coming from the speakers. (A/N: aka; the '87 turtles theme song J )

"Cool!" I said, staring at the thing.

"Dude, I'm in charge of naming' stuff," Mikey stood up. "I would've called it… the T-Phone."

Donnie raised his brow. "I did call it the T-Phone…"

"Yeah, but I would've called it the T-Phone…" Mikey said, sounding upset.

Raph then took it upon himself to smack his younger brother's head with his comic.

"And, April," Donnie held out the T-Phone to her. "If you give me your cell number I can patch you into our network."

"Sweet!"

April took the phone and started typing in her number. Donnie beamed, doing a little fist pump.

"See that?" he whispered so that only me and Raph could hear. "I got her number!"

"Her number's on the fridge, yah dork."

Donnie scowled, and I patted his shell.

"Better luck next time, Donnie," I whispered to him.

"Guys! Someone just spotted the monkey on Bleaker!" I heard April's voice through my T-Phone.

"I think me and Nia are on his trail," Raph said into his phone.

We ran and leaped over a couple of rooftops before we spotted the creature.

"There he is!" I said, pointing.

"We got eyes on him," Raph said. "He's heading south on Delancy!"

"That's affirmative!" I added into my phone.

"I'm on Houston!" said Donnie. "I'll cut him off!"

Keeping a tight grip on my phone, I followed Raph as we ran across the rooftops. From way far ahead, I saw Donnie's figure suddenly stop.

"Donnie, you still see him?" I asked through my phone.

"No, I lost him!"

"He changed direction!" Leo said. "Mikey, the monkey is heading your way!"

"I'm on it!"

Me and Raph changed courses, and began running towards Mikey's location. Not long after that though, we spotted the monkey running in the street. Mikey must've lost him.

"He's getting away!" I shouted.

"Oh no, he's not!"

Raph flipped off the edge of the roof, slide down the fire escape, and landed in the street. I quickly did the same and landed on the ground just as Raph was charging at the monkey into an alley. I followed close enough to see Raph jump over the large wall. I quickly jumped up, leaped off the side of the building, and jumped over the wall. I could see Raph up ahead, but I couldn't see the monkey.

Me and Raph were running around the corner just as Leo appeared, jumping down and landing next to us. We all continued running, trying to catch up to the animal. But, after a few more minutes of running, we got to the open end of an alley, and ran right into April, Donnie, and Mikey.

"Did you guys see wehre he went?" Leo asked.

"I thought he went off in that direction," Donnie said, pointing to the right.

"I thought it was that way," Raph said, pointing to the left.

Next thing I knew all the boys were arguing about which way the monkey could've gone. I sighed. At this rate we'll never find him. I glanced over to look at April, and was surprised to see her walking into the alley.

"April?"

"Shh…"

I raised my brow, and slowly followed her. When she started to head for a dumpster I was going to ask her what she was doing, when I heard it. A soft, whimpering sound seemed to be coming from the inside of the dumpster. April and I exchanged glanced before walking forward. April grabbed the lid and slowly lifted it up. The monkey was inside, trying to hide. The second he saw us he backed up, trying to keep away. He looked so… frightened.

"Hey, it's okay," I said gently. "We're not gonna hurt you."

The monkey stared up at me, eyes wide. He looked over at April, who smiled and held her hand out. The monkey hesitated, then slowly grabbed her hand. He looked over at me, as though waiting for something. I grinned and held my hand out for him. He grabbed it, and me and April helped him out of the dumpster. The monkey stood there, staring at us for a moment.

Suddenly, a kusariagama chain shot out and wrapped around the monkey, pinning his arms to his sides. The creature roared, barring his sharp teeth.

"Ah-ha! Got yah that time!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Great, we got the monkey," said Raph. "But we're not any closer to finding Dr. Rockwell."

The monkey roared in April's face, making her back up. When he calmed down she walked up to him, examining his face. Then she blinked.

"Actually…" she turned to face us. "We're a lot closer than you think."

"What? How?" Donnie asked.

April gestured to the monkey. "I think this is Dr. Rockwell."

We all turned to stare at the calming monkey.

Dr. Falco was surprisingly calm when me and all of my bros came into his lab. He had already met Donnie and April the other night when they went to search in Rockwell's lab, so I suppose most of the shock had worn off by now.

The second we came in we explained to him that the monkey actually was Dr. Rockwell. He instructed us to get Rockwell into a large chair, where he was strapped in. The second this happened, Rockwell started thrashing and hooting, trying to get out. Falco quickly took out a syringe and stuck it into Rockwell's arm. The mutant stopped hooting, his breathing slowed down, and his eyes finally closed.

"There, that should calm him down a little," Falco walked closer to the monkey. "Poor Rockwell…"

"Is there any way to get him back to normal?" April asked.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin," Falco said sadly, and he placed a hand on Rockwell's head. "But I'll see if there's a way to give him some supplants of a normal life."

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that the sad look on his older face was genuine. But something about the look in his eyes didn't sit well with me. It was that feeling I got whenever I felt that someone was lying. I've never been wrong about these things, but, at the same time, I didn't want to say anything right now incase it stirred up something bad.

Besides, what if this is the one time that my senses wrong?

We were all now sitting in the kitchen, waiting for our dinner to arrive. I was listening to some music on my new T-Phone so I could hear how well it worked, and Mikey was playing a game on his.

"Man, this asteriod field is tough!" Mikey grumbled irritably. "I just can't beat it!"

"Pizza's here!" Raph called out as he entered the kitchen.

"Sweet!" I exclaimed, setting down my phone and clapping my hands together.

Raph set the box down on the table, and he, Leo and I each grabbed a piece. The steam issued out of the box and wafted over towards Mikey. His head snapped up, and his sniffed the air. Here it comes…

"Must eat pizza… but can't stop playing…" Mikey leaned over to the box. "But must eat pizza! But can't stop playing! But must eat pizza! AAHHH…!"

Mikey slammed his face into the pizza bot, letting out a loud, "nom." He sat back up, a pizza shoved halfway into his mouth, and started playing his game again. I wonder if that's what all gamers do, I asked myself.

"Sorry we didn't get any closer to finding your dad, April," said Leo.

"Yeah," I added. "I feel kinda suckish because of it."

"It's okay," she said gently. "Everything we learned about the Kraang is another piece of the puzzle."

"Yeah, but… psychic research?" Leo shook his head. "This is one weird puzzle."

At that moment Sensei walked up, holding a plate with a single slice of pizza.

"I am curious, April," he said. "How did you know the monkey was really a human?"

April paused. "…I don't know. Sometimes I just… get a feeling about things."

"A feeling? Hmm… interesting."

With that, Sensei walked away to enjoy his dinner. We all did the same, instantly chowing down on our own slices. It was when I was down to the crust of my own piece that I noticed Donnie wasn't eating, but was looking at his laptop.

"Hey Donnie, how come you're not eating?" Leo asked.

"There's only once slice left, dude," grabbed the box and shifted it closer to him. "Don't you want it?"

"Wha…? Oh, I'm not hungry…"

I frowned and let go of the box. Since when do any of my bros turn away a good slice of pizza? Especially the last slice?

"Something's been bothering me… Falco said that Rockwell was experimenting on a monkey…"

Leo raised his brow. "And…?"

"Well, according to these notes… he never had a monkey in his lab. He was just using samples monkey DNA."

Leo shook his head. "We're still not following you."

I sat up straight. "I think I know where this is going…"

"If he never had a monkey…" Donnie looked at us. "What broke out of that cage?"

We all paused, thinking it over…

"It must've been Rockwell!" piped up Raph.

Donnie scowled. "Which means Falco put him there, and he's been lying this whole time!"

I groaned, silently cursing myself. You knew he was lying, Nia! You knew!

It was bad enough that we had to go stop Falco, not it was raining and lightening as well? Could the situation get anymore cliché?

We quickly got back to the building where Falco was. When we entered the room we could see Rockwell still strapped to the chair, apparently unconscious. Falco was standing in the middle of the room, holding a syringe that was filled with bright liquid. He brought the needle to his neck, and I cringed as he injected himself. He retracted the needle, and when he opened his eyes they were bloodshot and crazy. Just like a mad scientist.

"Alright, Falco!" Leo pointed to the scientist. "We've had enough of your-"

"Do not say monkeying around," Raph cut across him.

"I wasn't going to…"

"Yes, you were," said Falco.

He dropped the syringe and walked up to us, a smirk on his face.

"It's over, Falco!" Donnie declared. "We know it was you who mutated Rockwell!"

Falco's smirk widened. "I used him as a guinea pig…"

"Well, it didn't work!" said Mikey. "You turned him into a monkey."

I sighed. "Oh, boy…"

"The psychic neuro-chemical I extracted from his mutant brain is changing me," said Falco. "Your minds are opening up to me."

"You stuck that needle in his brain?!" I exclaimed, and when his smirk widened even more I yelled, "Jesus Christ, you're crazy!"

"So, this was your plan all along," said Donnie.

"Of course! No man can defeat you when you know his every thought."

"Oh really?" Raph growled. "Then you must know I'm gonna smack-"

"Smack the white off my lab coat?" Falco chuckled. "How humorous."

"Lucky guess!"

Raph yelled and charged forward at Falco, who didn't move. Raph spun around and made to kick the man in the head. But, Falco simply ducked, and backed away. Raph stared.

"What?" he snapped.

Falco grinned evilly. Then he lifted his hand and made a 'come hither' motion with his finger. Raph yelled and charged forward again. He tried to kick once more, and Falco dodged it. Raph tried to punch him, but Falco moved again. The scientist chuckled, making a soft "tsk, tsk, tsk," sound.

"Oh God…" I muttered.

Raph ran forward and made to punch him again, but Falco still dodged. This time, he spun around and grabbed one of Raph's sai's. He reared his arm back and used the end of the weapon to knock Raph down. Raph hit the floor, and Falco kicked him. Raph shot back, knocking over Donnie and Mikey.

"Guys!"

I ran over and kneeled next to them, making sure they were alright. They all groaned as they got off of one another. Raph stayed on the ground, but Mikey and Donnie both stood up. I turned, and saw that Leo had advanced on Falco. But no matter how many times Leo swung, the Falco would always doge every blow.

"Wow… it's like he's psychic!" said Mikey.

"He is psychic, shell brain!" Donnie said exasperatingly. "That's what he just said."

"Oh, yeah… I kinda tuned out when he did his whole 'I'm evil, blah blah blah' thing."

Suddenly, our attention was brought back to the fight when Falco blocked an oncoming blow using Raph's sai. He pushed them over, and knocked the katanas out of Leo's grip. The weapons spun out of control and we leaped out of the way to avoid being hit. I looked up in time to see Leo fall to the ground. Falco had knocked him out.

"That's it!" I yelled.

I reached down and withdrew my tessen, opening it up and running towards Falco. He smirked, holding his arms at his sides. I was right in front of him when I swung my tessen up towards his face. But he dodged it. I groaned with annoyance as I swung my fan to the left, then to the right, and both times Falco dodged.

"Amazing!" he said suddenly as he dodged a kick I had aimed for his head. "The increased level of your protective instincts are incredible!"

I yelled as I threw my tessen at him, and he ducked under it.

"My my… I dare say your instincts are at a 97.5, and that's the very least!" he chuckled darkly. "Too bad that I can see every instinctive move you throw at me."

I ran up to him and aimed a punch at his face, then another at his chest. Both blows he managed to dodge and black. I spun around and aimed a kick that should've hit the side of his face, but he grabbed my ankle with his hand. Then he raised his other elbow, and brought it down onto my thy. Hard.

"Ah!"

I yelled in pain as I stumbled to the ground. I barley glanced up before Falco reared his leg up and kicked me in the chest. I grunted as I was pushed back towards Donnie and Mikey, tumbling to a stop.

"Nia!"

Donnie kneeled down beside me, placing a hand on my back.

"You okay?"

"Ugh… been better…"

I groaned, clutching at my painful chest. Donnie rubbed my back softly, then glared over at Falco.

"How are we gonna defeat him if he can read our minds?" I heard Donnie asked.

"No problem," said Mikey. "I'm good at this. I just have to fight without thinkin'."

Never thought I'd say this, but thank God Mikey never thinks!

"Wait a minute… How do I find without thinkin'? Oh no! Now I'm thinkin' about not thinkin'!"

Bang! I looked up in time to see Mikey fall to the floor, unconscious. Falco stood over him, Raph's sai still held tightly in his hand. Donnie stood up and started to back away as Falco started to walk towards him.

"A man who can read minds is unstoppable," Falco stepped over me. "Once I dispose of you, no one will be able to stand in my way!"

"We'll see about that!"

Donnie withdrew his Bo staff and charged at Falco. He swung his staff once, twice, three times, and Falco managed to dodge every one of them. He threw Raph's sai at Donnie, who used his staff to dodge it. He lunged his staff forward, trying to hit Falco's torso. But the scientist simply grabbed the staff, spun around, and threw Donnie to the side. The turtle hit the wall and fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

"I really must admire that complex brain of yours!" said Falco. "You come up with so many ideas! Too bad I can see them all coming. By the way… do you really think you have a chance with April?"

I gasped. Oh hell no! a voice yelled in my head. That was way below the belt! From here I could see that Donnie looked angry, but he closed his eyes.

"I can do this…" he whispered. "I just have to fight without thinking. No thinking…"

Falco laughed evilly. C'mon, Donnie…

"Don't think… Just do…"

Donnie opened his eyes, and smirked at Falco. Then, without hesitation, he charged forward. For the first time since arriving, Falco looked surprised.

Donnie spun around twice, and each turn ended with a kick; one to Falco's face, and one to his chest. And this time, they weren't dodged. Falco growled and charged forward, but Donnie put his leg out and tripped the man. Then he raised his fist high, punching Falco in the process. Then he took a step forward and kicked his foot out, kicking Falco in the back. Falco turned and went for once more punch, but just as he swung, Donnie jumped up… and backflipped over Falco. I grinned. Way to backflip, Donnie.

Donnie landed on the side of the wall, and pushed himself out. He did a corkscrew motion in the air, all while punching Falco in the torso several times before hitting him with such force, that the man was pushed back into the large cage in the wall.

Donnie grabbed his Bo staff and sheathed it. I groaned slightly as I stood up, and I looked around to see that the other had come to, as well. We all walked towards our purple-banded brother.

"Wow, Donnie! Nice work!" said Raph, looking genuinely impressed.

"Ha! What'd I tell yah about those backflips, huh?" Mikey smirked as he picked up the canister of mutagen. "Pretty cool…"

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Now that we have the ooze, let's see what Falco knows about the Kraang."

We all turned towards the cage, but gasped when we saw it was empty.

"Falco's gone!" said Donnie.

Suddenly, there were strangled grunts coming from the room. Rockwell had woken up.

"What do we do about him?" Mikey asked.

Nobody answered. Then Donnie went up and unlocked the braces that kept Rockwell strapped into the chair. The monkey jumped out of the chair and leaped towards the window. He opened it up, paused, then looked over at us.

"I'm no psychic," said Donnie. "But I think he's trying to thank us."

I smiled. "I think so, too."

The monkey stared at us for a few moments before finally jumping out of the window.

"Um… if he reacts to angry thoughts, is New York City really the best place for him?" Raph asked, sounding skeptical.

I froze. We didn't think about that part. Suddenly, there was the sound of a car horn outside.

"Hey, monkey! Get out-!"

But the yelling was cut off by a loud crashing sound, followed by a monkey hooting and a man screaming. There was the sound of a car crashing, and we all flinched.

"I'm sure he'll be okay…" Leo said, but he didn't sound too sure of himself.

Once again, everything was as normal as could be in the lair. I didn't know where Mikey and Leo were, but I knew Raph was in the living room reading a comic, and Donnie was up to something in his lab. Feeling a little bored, I decided to go see what Sensei was up to. I went over to the entrance of the dojo, and I could see Sensei and April sitting inside, evidently talking.

"April, it seems you have a rare gift," said Sensei. "A sensitivity I have trained my entire life to develop."

"Don't worry, you'll get it," April said sweetly.

"I did! It just took me a long time."

"That's nothing to be ashamed of."

I snorted, but quickly covered my mouth.

"What I am trying to say," Sensei continued. "Is that I would like to train you to be a kunoichi; a female ninja."

I gasped, my heart bursting with excitement. April as a kunoichi? That would be awesome! April must've been thinking the same thing, because she had a huge smile on her face.

"You mean, like Nia?"

Splinter nodded, smiling. "Yes. Just like Lavinia."

"Wow… that's quite an honor!" said April. "If I do this… does that mean I can kick everybody's butt?"

I shook my head. Tsk, tsk… That's a rookie comment, April.

"We don't believe in using our abilities that way," Sensei said seriously.

"Oh! Oh, yeah! Me neither…" April paused. "…But I could, right?"

Sensei chuckled. "Yes… but I warn you, it will not be easy," he said more seriously. "You will be trained just as Lavinia has been, and I will give you the same warning I gave her seven years ago when I agreed to train her. Training to be a kunoichi will be the hardest thing you've ever done. It will drain mentally, physically, and spiritually…"

"Well, can't be worse than high school."

I keeled over and let out a laugh that I simply couldn't hold in anymore. Oh, man! April is gonna love training.

"Eavesdropping again, Lavinia?"

That shut me up. I straightened up and turned. Sensei and April where both looking at me, but neither looked upset.

"Erm… my bad," I said sheepishly as I took a few steps in. "I was just, um… bored."

"I can help with that," April stood up. "Let's got see if Raph's done beating on the pinball game."

I chuckled, and nodded. April came over and walked out of the dojo.

"See yah, Sensei," I called.

Splinter nodded his head, and I walked out.

"So," I said. "Pretty cool, Sensei offering to teach you to be a kunoichi."

"Yeah, totally!" April looked at me. "Hey, um… I hope you don't think I'm trying to step on anyone's toes or anything, but…"

I let out a loud laugh that startled her.

"Honey, listen," I said. "I love my bros to death. They're my best friends and my family. But It's been so nice having another girl to talk to, even if I'm a little more tomboyish than you. The fact that you're gonna be a kunoichi is even better."

April's face went blank with shock. Then a wide smile grew on her face.

Me and her went through the living room, past Raph, who was still reading his comic.

"Hey, April…"

We both turned, and Donnie stood in the doorway of his lab. He had a confident grin on his face as he leaned against the doorframe coolly.

"You, ah… wanna hang out, tonight?"

I blinked in surprise, then grinned slyly at my brother. Finally.

"That sounds great, Donnie," said April. "But, I can't. I'm training with Splinter to be a kunoichi."

Donnie's jaw fell, and he looked disappointed. When he heard the part about the kunoichi though, his face brightened.

"Oh…"

Then he poked his head back into his lab. I could hear him muttering to himself, and I had a positive feeling that he was examining his flowchart. The thought made me smirk. When Donnie poked his head back out, he had a smooth smirk on his nerdy face.

"Well, then… maybe we can train together sometime…"

"Sounds great!" April said, smiling.

She turned, started to walk away.

"Coming, Nia?"

"In a sec."

April continued on. I waited until she was out of earshot before running up to Donnie.

"Dude, that was awesome!" I exclaimed, giving him a high three.

"I know!" he beamed. "Yah see? Haha! My flowchart is awesome! Oww!"

"You guys both dorks," Raph said, not looking up from his comic.

But Donnie wasn't even paying attention, and I was too happy for him to care.

Well, I hope you liked that. I'm gonna try to get these chapters in as quick as possible so I can at least try to catch up to the current episodes. Hell, I'm probably still gonna be in the middle of Season 2 by the time I get to college next year. Aw well… it a writer's life for me, eh?

As always, please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter. And, if you happen to have any ideas I am more than willing to listen to them. I have already taken up several ideas from a fellow writer of mine(You know who you are ;) ). I'll see y'all later then!