Author's Note: I was finally able to finish that chapter. Yay!

Previously on this fic:

Instead of staying put in the Shellraiser like the clever turtle he's supposed to be, Donatello decided that a solo and secret mission inside Irma's hideout was the way to go. Now he's facing Irma, aka Kraang Subprime.

Oh, and his father knows.


Refusing to Go Down


"Don't you know it's rude to come in uninvited?" Kraang Subprime said, his tentacles pushing the levers on his mini-space ship.

Donatello was quite unsurprised when he found himself in front of a dangerous-looking cannon. He made a quick calculation to determine whether or not he could crash the Kraang against the wall before his opponent fired, and concluded that the odds were rather against him.

"You don't look so good," Kraang Subprime added with obvious happiness.

In other circumstances, Donatello could have appreciated the fact that this alien was probably the only Kraang educated enough to tell the difference between a healthy-looking mutant turtle and, well, him.

Of course, in the present circumstances he would rather have faced an uneducated good old Kraang droid.

"Donatello?" Splinter was saying through the phone. Donatello quickly muted it but didn't cut the communication - maybe it would be useful later to have a recording of the upcoming conversation. He felt sorry for his father, but refused to let the thought break his focus.

Besides, it was better if Kraang Subprime didn't pay too much attention to his phone. Donatello had just launched a nice spying program inside the alien software in the control panels, and it would have been a shame not to let it do its work.

"Nice hideout," he told his enemy, slowly turning around to show the whole room. He was, of course, hoping to make Kraang Subprime speak. It was the most obvious trick in the book, but the alien was crazy enough that it might work. And besides, it allowed him to take another look at his surroundings. Maybe the control panels had an emergency button that he might use when he would be done here?

Too bad Mikey isn't there, he mused. If such a button existed, his brother would have found it in seconds without even meaning to.

"It's not that bad," Subprime answered. Too narrow to my taste, but as you know, we're short of a Technodrome at the moment."

"Speaking of which, you never told me how you managed to come back so soon after our last battle," Donatello went on, his tone calm and relaxed as if this was a casual conversation with an old acquaintance and not buying time to save himself from a deadly enemy.

Kraang's Subprime ferocious eyes narrowed.

"It's amazing what you can do with proper science. Don't you agree?"

Donatello nodded. "Are you a scientist yourself?" he said, his eyes still scanning the room. Why did the Kraang never labelled their emergency procedures like civilized aliens? "Your Irma body is very impressive."

To Donatello's surprise, a shadow passed across Subprime's brainy face, as if he didn't consider it as a compliment.

"Not exactly," the alien answered slowly. "But scientists are useful and I know how to use their talent." He smirked again. "Although I might make an exception for you and handle your dissection myself."

Donatello grimaced at hearing Subprime's plan. The Kraang definitely had an unhealthy liking for dissecting other species. "I don't think it'll be necessary. You know, my body might be a little damaged right now, but I'm still very attached to it. I'll let it heal on it own, thank you very much."

From the corner of his eye, he saw that his program had been successful and managed to retrieve some information. He couldn't wait to read what it was, but now really wasn't the right time.

He waited for his enemy's reply, his heart beating. Was the Kraang going to laugh at him and tell him it wasn't possible? Donatello needed to learn as much as he could about the vial's purpose.

"Oh, the turtle wants to keep his body!" Subprime laughed. "Too bad it's not going to happen. But don't worry, your generous gift will help me win the war."

Donatello's eyes widened. Did he still hope to conquer Earth after everything that had happened?

"I can't say it has been a pleasure to meet you again, turtle, but at least it's over now."

Having had enough of the conversation, Kraang Subprime pushed another lever on his mini-ship. A light blue fire lit inside the cannon. Donatello wisely decided not to wait to know whether it was meant to kill or stun, and quickly retreated inside his shell. He winced as said shell hit the floor and slid on it. The shocks were reverberating on his limbs in a rather unpleasant way.

The cannon fired its blue laser at the exact place where Donatello had stood half a second before. Kraang Subprime swore. The turtle slid next to an empty Irma robot - one of Subprime's many spares - and let an arm out to grab its leg. He made it fall on the ground, sending several other robot spares with it.

Donatello was a little surprised that those robots hadn't been tied more securely to the wall, before a blue beam missed him by inches and he realized that the laser was ricocheting in the room and hitting buttons at random on the panels.

Soon pink lights and a screeching alarm told Donatello that there had been an emergency button after all. When cracks appeared on the walls and water began to pour through them, Donatello dared to come out of his shell. Kraang Subprime was hurrying inside the closest Irma robot to take cover. Donatello clutched the new Irma's waist and held his breath.

He ignored Irma's protests and clang for dear life as she swam through the water. The adrenaline was doing him wonders, but it wasn't going to last. He wondered idly how he was going to escape her once they would be on land again. And more importantly, what was he going to tell the others?

Considering the circumstances, he had very little hope that they wouldn't notice his presence.


As Donatello and a very mad and very soaked Irma burst out of the pool and flew upwards, four baffled figures immediately stopped in their fight to watch them.

Donatello looked at them anxiously. A few lasers were firing at random, but his family had obviously done a good job destroying most of them. Neither Leonardo, nor Raphael, nor Michelangelo, nor Casey seemed hurt, which was an appreciated change.

Then he frowned. Where was April?

His high position gave him a good view over the pumping stating, and he quickly took in the unconscious shape lying behind a pipe.

"What did you do to her?" he shouted, forgetting that he didn't want to attract Irma's attention more than was strictly necessary.

"She was interfering again," Irma shouted back. "My new anti-April defenses are working like a charm, don't you think?"

She set foot on the ground and spun, forcing Donatello to let go. The turtle winced and retreated in his shell once more. His body was responding way too slowly to allow him to do anything else before he hit a pipe or the wall.

The shock never came, though, and Donatello realized that somebody had caught him.

"Donnie!" a very well-known voice shouted. "What the shell are you doing here?"

"Hi, Raph," Donatello answered with deep relief, coming out of his shell once more. "I found Irma, see?"

His brother didn't seem as happy about this as he could have been, if you asked Donatello.

"Donnie, are you crazy? You were supposed to stay in the Shellraiser! With Splinter!"

"Donnie, Raph, behind you!" Leonardo's voice shouted, interrupting Raphael's rant.

Both turtles moved to take cover behind the pipes, Raphael's hand firmly around Donatello's arm. A pink laser beam missed them by inches. They ran until they were next to the unconscious April.

"Donnie, I'm so glad to see you!" Michelangelo jumped in front of them and hugged his brother while Raphael was hurrying to Irma, a dangerous expression on his face. "But weren't you supposed to stay out of this one?"

"He was." Leonardo, who had just joined them, glared at Donatello.

"How is April?" Donatello asked him anxiously, blatantly ignoring the glare.

"She's not injured as far as I can tell." Leonardo shook his head. "Stay with her while we handle Irma."

Donatello nodded and obediently sat down next to his friend, doing his best to show that he had no intent to try anything dangerous. Michelangelo and Leonardo, after a last warning look sent his way, hurried to join Raphael and Casey.

Left to his own devices, Donatello checked April's pulse. She was breathing with regularity; Leonardo was right; she wasn't injured.

With a sigh of relief, he leaned as comfortably as he could against the pipe and watched the fight unfold. The adrenaline was wearing off and he was exhausted; he had no intention to go past Leonardo's orders and join the others.

Of course, he still kept his bō staff ready. You never knew what could happen.

The confrontation with Irma was ferocious, no doubt. Donatello felt grateful that Raphael's shoulder had finally healed and he could be at his best. The four fighters were preventing Irma from coming too close to Donatello and April, and Donatello decided to use the respite to check what his spying program had discovered.

He took his T-Phone and immediately realized that the phone call with his father was still going on. He had completely forgotten about it. He unmuted the phone and spoke a quick "Everything is fine, Sensei" before hanging up, not daring to imagine how his father must feel.

He didn't look forward to facing him, that was for sure.

Donatello watched the screen as it displayed what it had copied from Kraang's Subprime hideout, and he barely stifled a triumphant shout.

The formula of the mysterious mixture that kept hurting him so much was there, ready to be deciphered. It already gave him new ideas for experiments; with Rockwell's help and the rest of the vial, he was confident that he could find a cure for himself.

"Guys! I've got it!" he shouted.

"You got what?" Leonardo asked while the others kept fighting.

Irma was in a tight spot. Apparently she had no more reinforcements, and her opponents were more than willing to take her down once and for all. Which was a rather soothing sight.

"A way to find a cure!" Donatello shouted back as he backed up the files to the Shellraiser's software system.

At his words, Irma let out a furious yell and her robotic head popped up, running towards him on its tiny spider legs. Kraang Subprime left Irma's chest, flying towards Donatello. The alien pushed a button on his mini-ship and a portal appeared behind them, its light blue giving April's body a surreal look.

Donatello wondered if the alien intended to push him through the portal with him. He took his bō staff, determined to defend himself, but a well-known kusarigama was already coiling around his enemy.

"Booyakasha!" Michelangelo shouted.

Soon the slimy brain was surrounded by a threatening collection of weapons, held by very angry teenagers.

"Are you sure, Donnie?" Leonardo asked, his eyes never leaving Kraang Subprime.

"I'm positive. It's going to work, Leo." Donatello felt lighter than he had in ages, and it wasn't only out of exhaustion.

Kraang Subprime narrowed his little eyes. "There is no cure!"

Raphael kicked him and nobody scolded the turtle for hitting an enemy on the ground.

Donatello watched the being that had made him and his family suffer so much. The one who had blackmailed him, almost blown his brother up and definitely blown their lair up, injuring his father and leaving them without a home. Not to mention everything he had done against the other inhabitants of the Earth.

The others were waiting, silently agreeing to let him decide Kraang Subprime's fate.

Donatello glanced at the open portal behind him, then at his T-Phone. Could he tweak his spying program a little to take control of it?

A wide grin spread on his face as he realized that he could.

"I suggest we send him somewhere far, far away from there. A place where he won't be able to hurt us or anybody else ever again."

"And how are you going to do that?" Raphael tilted his head, curious to know what his brother had in mind.

"Well, it turns out that I can hack the portal's OS," Donatello began.

"Its OS?" Michelangelo interrupted him, looking confused.

"Its Operating System." Donatello thought about the best way to explain what he was doing to his brother. "There. Now it's as if I'm inside its control room. I can push all the buttons I want!"

"I'm glad OS exist, then," Michelangelo said with a grin. "It sounds fun. You're the best, Donnie!"

Donatello chuckled and chose a destination many, many lightyears away from Earth, somewhere in outer space with no neighborhood planets. The portal's light blinked once.

"Sorry, you're not wanted here anymore," he said fiercely to the captive alien. He raised his bō staff to kick him out of the Solar System.

"Let me go!" Kraang Subprime shouted.

"I don't think you would have let me go," Donatello replied coldly. "The more I think about it and the more I believe that I should destroy you here and now."

He had no intent to follow through with this threat; he wasn't a cold-blooded killer. However, it felt good to see Kraang Subprime's eyes widen in fear.

"You can't," he moaned, trying to shake his tentacles.

Donatello leaned forward to whisper in the alien's ears. "And why not?"

Kraang Subprime stopped moving and smirked evilly, causing Donatello some concern.

"Because if you do, my dear friend April will never learn the truth," he whispered back, so low that only Donatello could hear him. "And she wants to, she told me so. Many times."

Donatello frowned. "The truth about what?"

"The truth about her mother."

Donatello froze, a thousand thoughts running through his mind. Was Subprime trying to trick him once more, or did he really know something about the fate of April's mother? It was believable. He was, after all, high-ranked amongst the Kraang. Maybe he had even been responsible for the experimentations on April's family, who knew?

He was about to demand a more detailed explanation when Kraang Subprime broke free of his chains. From the smell around them, Donatello immediately understood that he had used something to melt them while they were talking. His mini-ship was unusable, so he crawled with his tentacles until he could grab Donatello's T-Phone and change the portal's destination. He made a very nimble brain and the whole action didn't take more than a second.

"T-Phone, self destruct!" somebody shouted behind him, but it was already too late.

Donatello stayed stunned as Kraang Subprime launched himself through the blue aperture, which disappeared as soon as he had crossed it.

Then he heard a feminine moan next to him. It managed to snap him out of his stupor and he knelt as April sat up, massaging her temples.

"What happened?" she said. Then her eyes widened. "Guys! Donnie is here!"

"Yes, I'm here, April." Donatello took her shaking hand - unless he was the one shaking?

"What just happened? What did he tell you?" Casey asked as he knelt to take April's other hand.

Donatello hesitated. He didn't want to upset April over nothing. He needed more time to think about the recent events.

"He… He talked about a war." This wasn't lying, Kraang Subprime had mentioned a war that the dissection of Donatello's body was supposed to help winning.

As April finally registered his presence and hugged him, Donatello absent-mindedly answered his brothers' questions - no, he didn't know where Kraang Subprime had disappeared, yes, he really thought he could make a cure, could they please go back to the Shellraiser now? He was feeling a little tired - all the while wondering whether Kraang Subprime had told the truth.

He was already making plans to find answers for the girl he more than liked.