Driving down what was once a familiar street, the feelings of uneasiness grew. Each of them kept their eyes peeled, taking in every detail of their surroundings. Clenching his jaw, Donnie tried to calculate every single detail in his mind. It was a difficult task, since the road was harsh.
"Man, my shell is getting hit the wrong way." Mikey commented, breaking the silence.
His brothers, including himself grunted out in agreement. Not in the mood for chit-chat, Donnie refocused himself. He could tell Leo was struggling to keep the vehicle from hitting anything. After all, there were many objects cluttering the street, as well as civilian mutants. "It's a disaster" holding a grave look in his eyes, he thought to himself.
As Leonardo swerved the vehicle out of the way of a Kraang droid, Donnie's arm slammed into the side of the vehicle. Wincing, he dryly called out "ow" as he rubbed the tender skin.
Grunting as his shell slammed into his seat, Raph became annoyed. "Leo, watch your driving will ya!"
"Guys, I think we should go around the next corner and pull over. The Shellraiser made some noise back there." Still rubbing his arm, Donnie pointed out.
Following his younger brother's suggestion, Leo made a tight turn into a dark alleyway that was condensed with the smog. Right on mark, Donnie's call was needed. In no time, Kraang droids and the mutants crowded the road where the vehicle had made a ruckus.
"That was a close one." Heaving a breath of relief, Leonardo leaned back in his seat.
Throwing his arms in the air, Mikey exclaimed. "Geeze, this whole city is messed up!"
Under his breath, Casey muttered. "No kidding. It's Kraang utopia out there."
Within no time, the contents of the vehicle fidgeted and were buzzing. Donnie stayed quiet as he pinched between his eyes, contemplating. "I need to see more of the city, but we can't move right now. Also, I need to adjust the Shellraiser tires and flexibility when we get back to the lair. Not only that, but I also need to come up with a solution to gather test subjects…" going a mile a second, his thought process went into overdrive.
Feeling his blood pumping through his veins, Don chewed at his bottom lip. His muscles tensed as he was starting to lose concentration from all the noise around him. Not being able to take it any longer, he twisted his face in frustration.
"Everyone, be quiet! I'm trying to think here!" with harsh voice, he spat out.
Realizing what he had done, he became flushed in the face. Gulping, he rubbed the back of his head and met each of their eyes. He was known for having a short fuse, but the sudden outburst was a little much. None of them said anything, partly from shock.
Letting out a slight awkward laugh, Donnie lifted his hands apologetically. "Oops…um…anyways, since the small mob cleared out…maybe, we can explore a bit more before heading back to the lair?"
Staring at Leo who was in the driver's seat, he squirmed awkwardly from the eyes on him. The seconds seemed to edge on slowly, making him feel like the awkward silence was grating against him. Suddenly, Leo snapped back into focus and dipped his head.
"Right! I'll try to be more careful about driving this around. It'll be good if we can see some more before calling it a day." With an affirming voice, Leo replied as he turned back to the wheel.
Once the tension was broken, everyone settled back in their stations. Leaning over towards April, Mikey whispered in her ear "Dude, don't you think that him and Raph switched places? He sounded just like him!"
Catching Mikey's statement, Raph snapped his head around. "Hey, shut it!"
Snickering, Mikey returned back to his seat to avoid Raph's wrath. Sighing, Donnie heard it too and shrugged it off. "Stupid." He muttered to himself. Crossing his arms, he stared back at the alienated world around them. Recalling his previous calculations, he decided to expand on them. Darting his gaze towards different things such as buildings and machinery, one particular thing caught his eye.
Standing behind crumbling buildings in the distance stood alien made structures surrounding TCRI. "Of course!" As his reddish-brown eyes grew wide in realization, he began muttering to himself. "TCRI is where the brain is. All the new buildings are huddled up to it, as if it's the life force."
Using quick thinking, Donnie looked back up towards the front. "Leo, see if you can move closer to the TCRI building." he requested with an eager voice.
Perking his voice upwards, Leo's face held confusion "TCRI? But-"
Cutting Leo off, Donnie said "Please just do it, don't question it."
Scowling, Leo didn't appreciate the attitude the other turtle displayed. "Listen Donnie, I know you mean well. But, don't forget that I'm the leader and as leader I need to know exactly what you are trying to get us into." Using a stern tone, Leo firmly explained.
Burying his face into his hands, Donnie realized how he was acting. "Great, I'm doing it again." Grudgingly, he thought to himself. Wiping his face, he shrugged off the self-loathing. If they were going to do this, he needed to avoid doing what he had done months ago.
"Alright, well I think we should get a closer look at the building. It's the main center of the newer buildings. So think of it as a queen in a beehive. If we spot its weakness, then we have a chance of coming up with a plan to cripple the Kraang." Trying to be a simple as possible, Donnie explained.
Showing some concern on his face, Leo replied. "Don't you think that's a little risky Don? Going right up to the main center of the enemy's territory, sounds like a bad idea. Will I be able to get the Shellraiser through that?
"Yes, it'll be fine. The cloaking is on and there's nothing in here for them to pick up signal on. So we are practically air to them." Reassuring his brother, he was eager to get his way.
"Alright, for the sake of finding a weakness, I'll go along with this. But if I deem it too dangerous, I'm pulling out. Got it?" Making himself clear, he said it as a statement and not a question.
Nodding, Donnie was content with the compromise and went back to absorbing details. As they weaved their way down the road, it increasingly became harsher on the vehicle. Everyone had to grit their teeth, from all the rattling. Turning a corner, Leo slammed on the brakes as they entered the next street. The sudden stop caused everyone to fling forward in their seats, but before they complained the sight before them took their speech.
The buildings ahead were complex and intricate looking. Silvers and purples melded together in a bizarre fashion. Each building looked different from each other, obviously to show that the complexes served different purposes. In fact, the only building they were familiar with was TCRI. Unchanged, it towered over the rest of them.
However, the buildings weren't what came as a shock, but the horde of mutants and Kraang huddled around the area. He had wondered where the large number the citizens of the city had gathered. From behind the crumbling buildings, he wasn't able to see the sea of mutants earlier, but now he had his answer. Donnie's reddish-brown eyes soaked everything in, as his mind went into super computer mode. His mouth hung open, showing his gap tooth.
"Holy cow!" April gasped down in disbelief.
Everyone else was speechless except for Leo. He whipped his head around and focused on Donnie. "I'm not getting any closer than this. If you want your looksee, you're gonna have to do it here." Making himself clear, Leo's eyes burned with authority.
"Uh huh." Was all Donnie let out, as he scanned the scene.
With each second, Donnie felt himself tensing up with pressure. He held a knot in his stomach, as he clenched his hands. "Weak spot, weak spot. Man, how am I going to fix all this? There's just so much…ugh, get it together, you can do this." Fumbling with his thoughts, Don tried to keep his cool as his eyes darted side to side. "Okay, that building looks like a warehouse. Probably where they keep the mutagen. That one looks like a holding block of some sort." His thoughts were interrupted by a sight that caught his eye.
Two heavy set Kraang droids were leading a Kraathatrogon into another complex. The ground shook as the humongous, alien worm inched as it followed. "That one is ginormous. They must be leading it to the mutagen farm. Okay, I've got all the info I need." Holding himself steady in his chair, he made a quick glance at everyone. Casey and April looked horrified, as they focused on the mutants.
He couldn't blame them. Masses of mutants swarmed around the complexes, like mindless drones. The sickening sight of the forms swaying as they walked mindlessly made their stomachs churn. Their families could be in there. Darting their eyes to the different views, the droids and mutants marched passed them in waves. Also, Donnie considered the fact that they were stalled in the middle of a road; it was only a matter of time before they were discovered.
Meeting Leo's eyes, he affirmed he had all he needed. Leo turned back to the wheel and shifted the gears. "Alright, time to head out. Let's go home and think things over." With a somber voice, he said.
Donnie agreed and closed his eyes. Lightly groaning, he knew he had his work cut out for him. However, he was happy his Shellraiser rebuild was a success. There was some tweaking and adjustments needed, but he was satisfied in that department. Underneath it all, he felt turmoil bubble below the surface, eating at him. "At least I know what we are up against." Quietly, he mumbled to himself.
Leo drove the vehicle down the familiar route and made it back to the ally where they had come from. Entering the dark tunnels, Donnie switched off the cloaking device and made some calibrations to his station. Silence filled the air, as no one was in the mood to talk. Not even Mikey. In fact he sat there with an odd contemplated look on his face, which was weird. However, Donnie was thankful he was silent at least.
Once the vehicle was parked, they exited and walked up to the door of the lair. Noticing April's disheartened face, Donnie grasped her shoulder. Not knowing what to say, he just gave her a comforting look, meeting her blue eyes. Appreciating the sentiment, April replied with a weak smile and gripped his hand.
She then had to let go because he needed to activate the protocol to cleanse the chamber. After the task was finished, they entered his lab and stood around awkwardly. Feeling fatigue crashing down on them, Leo told them all that they should sleep and that he would go report to Master Splinter. Without complaints, they followed his word except for Donnie. Standing there in the center of his lab, he stared at the floor, lost in his thoughts.
Being left alone his lab, Donnie felt like he could relax. Taking off the respirator, he huffed out and glanced around the lab. His eyes settled on the open door and he decided he wanted some privacy. The silence was filled with the sound of his heavy steps as he made it to the door. Slowly, it creaked as he softly closed it.
"There's no way I'm going to bed. I need to go chart down all my observations and calculations." He muttered to himself harshly.
Turning his attention to the main table, he brought out his writing utensils and large sheets of paper. Furrowing his brow, he concentrated his eyes on every detail that he etched. The feelings of wanting to make it perfect and concise consumed him, as the night went on.
"This is only the beginning." In a cold voice, he bit out.
Hey everyone! I'm sorry for the delay for this release. I was just feeling down and stuck in a rut with the plot. But, I managed to get through it and I've been re-inspired. Thank you for continuing to follow this story. I want to also thank my readers and friends for keeping me motivated and wanting me to continue. Also, I want to give special thanks to John Smith for looking over this chapter for me and for being an awesome friend. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!