Northampton
Donatello gazed through the window of the truck. The landscape was scrolling by, only briefly lit by the headlights. It was mostly hills and forests now; they had long left the urban areas behind.
They would soon arrive at Northampton.
"Donnie?"
Donatello glanced at Leonardo. His brother was driving while the rest of the family, including April and Casey, tried to get some sleep. He doubted that they had all succeeded, but no sound was coming from the back of the Shellraiser.
"Yes?" he answered, his voice low.
"Can you check that there is nobody around? I would feel better if I was sure that no one follows us to the farmhouse."
Donatello nodded. He understood the concern, even if it was unlikely that another car would take the same road as they did. He pushed a few buttons on the dashboard and a picture appeared on the upper right corner of the windshield.
"Course is clear," he whispered.
He had rarely been more grateful for all the technology he had put inside the Shellraiser. It would take time before he had a new lab as well-equipped as his old one, even when they would have moved on. They didn't even have their T-Phones anymore; all of them had been destroyed by the "Self-destruct" command.
When he would make new phones, he would have to find a way to avoid that. Maybe by adding the name of their owner? Like 'Donnie's T-Phone, self-destruct!'
But then, if they did need to destroy all their phones, a 'Donnie's T-Phone and Raph's T-Phone and Mikey's T-Phone and Leo's T-Phone, self-destruct!' would probably be a little too long.
The truck took a narrow road inside the woods. Its familiarity was almost painful. It felt strange to come back so soon, but Northampton was the perfect place to recover and nobody protested when Donatello suggested it after he and Rockwell had designed a cure for him.
Everyone had been way too relieved to know he was going to live.
I'm rather satisfied with this, myself. Donatello smiled wryly. A few days ago, he wouldn't have bet on it. Now he felt better and better, even if he still needed a lot of rest.
His father could use the peace and quiet of the place too. Splinter's body wasn't healing as fast as it did in his younger years.
However, it also meant that Donatello would have to be very careful with his plans. When they had come back to the Shellraiser after their fight with Irma, and after celebrating their victory, Splinter had taken Donatello aside to let him know in no uncertain terms that he was grounded until his full recovery, and possibly forever after that.
It didn't help when Donatello pointed out that his interference had been, all things considered, a success.
He sighed. He still hadn't told anyone what Kraang Subprime had whispered to him before fleeing through the portal. He intended to gather more information before he opened up to the others about it.
And what better place to start that the one where everything had begun?
He really hoped that the old Kraang ship in the basement of April's house, the very one that had sheltered April's false mother for years, would give him some answers.
As the truck stopped in front of the farmhouse and they all yawned and got out, Raphael tried to hide his mixed feelings about being in Northampton again. He had good memories here - bathing in the sun without fear to be discovered by a human, playing in the forest, getting a taste of human's life - but it was also the place where he had feared for his brother's and father's lives, where he had watched the unconscious body of Leonardo for hours and hours, every day of three endless months…
But if this was what Donatello needed, he would give it to him.
Next to him, Casey sighed. "I miss New York."
Raphael couldn't help smirking. "We've been here for three seconds."
"That's three seconds too many."
"You didn't have to come, you know." Raphael didn't add that he was grateful Casey did.
Casey huffed. "Sure, and next think I know you'll be caught in an intergalactic war or something. Somebody needs to watch over you."
Raphael nudged him. "And that somebody has to be you?"
"You get it." Casey grinned. "Besides, April will need a gentleman's company."
Raphael rolled his eyes. "I should have known you had a superior motive."
"What are you two scheming?" April passed by them, carrying her bags.
Casey laughed nervously. "Nothing! Nothing at all. I would never do scheming, and even if I did, I wouldn't do it behind your back, of course not."
April answered something that Raphael didn't listen to. He was too busy wondering why Donatello was suddenly blushing and hurrying inside the house.
Next morning, Michelangelo was up early to feed the chicken. He knew they didn't really need it. Dr. Cluckingsworth, the mutated super clever chicken, was reigning over the barnyard and took good care of them. Still, it gave him something to do and allowed him to enjoy the sun.
Considering that they had arrived at the farmhouse five hours earlier and taken some time to settle, he didn't expect the others to wake up soon, but he had been unable to wait. It made such a difference to live during the day like humans did. It was one of the things he had really loved about Northampton.
No, he couldn't have waited another day to get used to the time difference, even if it meant that he would be napping all afternoon.
Smiling to himself, Michelangelo emptied his bag of seeds. Now he was going to make a grocery list for April and Casey, and after that he would…
His train of thoughts was cut short when he noticed a shadow disappearing inside the barn. Why wasn't Donatello sleeping? His brother needed to take good care of himself. Frowning, he followed him on light feet.
"Donnie!"
His brother jumped. "Mikey!"
"What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't wait," Donatello told him, his tone apologetic. "I have a lot of work to do." He began clearing the workbench, not looking at his brother.
Michelangelo crossed his arms. "You're not supposed to work, you're supposed to relax."
"This is relaxing to me."
Michelangelo pondered this. It was possible that Donatello was saying the truth - it wouldn't be the first time his brother dealt with stress by working.
"Donnie, my bro, know that I love you no matter how weird you are."
Donatello raised an eye ridge, unimpressed by this grand declaration. Michelangelo could almost hear his thoughts. Something like "look at who's talking". He smiled.
"So, do you need help or is this top-secret?"
Donatello almost let go of the rope he was putting in a corner so it didn't get in his way. Michelangelo winced. Maybe he shouldn't have joked about this. Maybe it was still too soon…
Donatello cleared his throat. "I would welcome your help, Mikey."
Michelangelo didn't need to be told twice, and as he focused on Donatello's instructions, he quickly forgot about the incident.
Leonardo poured the tea inside the three teacups. It was early afternoon. Through the window, he could see the sun shining on the yard where Michelangelo was napping with a straw hat covering his face, curious chickens clucking above him.
"Michelangelo seems to have made some close friends."
Leonardo handed one teacup to his father and another to April, keeping the last for himself. "Mikey could befriend anyone. Or anything," he said fondly.
"This is one of his gifts." Splinter took a sip of his tea. "What is troubling you, my son?"
Leonardo watched him, surprised by the sudden change of topic. He glanced at April, who was pretending to mind her own business, and shrugged. He was worried about a lot of things lately, and none of them would be a surprise to her.
He tinkered with his teacup for a while. He hadn't expected to find himself back at Northampton so soon, and the feeling was bittersweet. Drinking tea with his father in the very kitchen where he had almost drowned in self-doubt not so long ago felt like a blessing. He had held on to the hope that his father was alive, then; like he had held on to the hope that Donatello would find a way to save himself.
Choosing his words carefully, he decided to broach another topic.
"I don't want to stay away from New York for too long. I don't understand why Kraang Subprime told Donnie about a war, but I don't like it."
April rested her chin on her hand, elbow on the table. "He won't give up. I don't know what he'll come up with next, but he won't give up."
"I wish there was more I could do," Leonardo whispered.
Splinter put his hand on his shoulder. "You all did everything you could, and I couldn't be more proud of you."
"Yes, Sensei, but how can we make sure that something like this won't happen again? Raph has no idea how Irma got him in the first place."
"I'm sure that…" Splinter abruptly stopped.
Both he and Leonardo turned their heads towards the kitchen entrance, eyes narrowed. April watched them, frowning, as they came closer to the entrance.
"What are you doing?"
Leonardo put a finger on his lips and tilted his head, indicating that she should follow them. He hadn't heard as much as felt something in the living room, and he had learned to listen to his instinct.
Somebody was up to something in this house.
Donatello didn't know how to begin his investigations. The ship was in the basement, which could be accessed from a hatch in the entrance of the farmhouse. However, there was a lot of traffic in said entrance. His brothers, Splinter, April and Casey came in and out at every hour of the day, and at night there would be people sleeping on the couch.
In the end, he decided to try his luck. With Raphael and Casey on an errand, Michelangelo sleeping and Leonardo, Splinter and April having a tea party in the kitchen, he had a reasonable chance to slip by unnoticed.
He had already oiled the hatch and built a remote-controlled toy car to put the carpet back into place, so nobody would notice his passage. He was supposed to take a nap upstairs, and he had maybe half an hour of tranquility before someone checked on him. He would have to be fast, but it was feasible.
He opened the hatch and slid inside. He went down the stairs in silent steps, using a headlamp to light the way. Soon he saw the Kraang ship, as impressive as the first time they had discovered it. He shivered. And to think that April herself had ignored its presence underneath her house…
His hand came closer to the outside control panel. He had already studied the ship once, but maybe something had escaped his notice. He would be more thorough this time.
"Donatello?"
The turtle froze in his tracks. Slowly, carefully, he turned around.
He found himself facing Splinter, April and Leonardo, and stifled a deep sigh.
"Sensei!" He cleared his throat. "How was your tea?"
"What is this place?" Splinter asked, frowning.
"Did you want to see the Kraang ship?" April asked at the same time. "Donnie, why the mystery? We all know it's there."
"A Kraang ship?" Splinter's ears straightened up.
Donatello realized that they had never talked to their father about it.
"It has been abandoned by the Kraang, Sensei," Leonardo quickly explained. "We found it last time."
"I thought that maybe I could learn something useful there," Donatello answered April. "It's of the utmost importance that I understand what Irma told me."
He couldn't help feeling ashamed for not telling her the whole truth. She was directly affected. On the other end, he remembered vividly how painful the false mother episode had been for her, and he didn't want a repetition of that.
April narrowed her eyes. Could she tell that he was hiding something this important from her?
"It doesn't explain why you sneaked here instead of talking to us about your plans."
Donatello laughed nervously. "I… I… You're all saying that I should rest. I thought you wouldn't approve."
"Hmm." Splinter stroked his beard.
Donatello knew that they knew something was off, and they probably knew that he knew that they knew, but he hoped that they wouldn't push him.
"Alright, my son. You may investigate, but I would rather you didn't work here alone."
Donatello nodded sheepishly. "Hai, Sensei."
April smiled at him. "I'll help you," she offered. "And if you don't mind, I'll begin with switching on the lights."
"This sounds like a great idea, April." Splinter watched the teenage girl and his blushing son with amusement. "In the meantime, Leonardo and I will go back to the kitchen. Our tea is cooling down."
Donatello wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead. He was walking on eggshells. Talking to April about what he was doing without talking to her about what he was truly doing had exhausted him. She had just left to fetch drinks, and he had a few minutes to act before she came back.
He tapped at the control panel of the ship. He was looking for a logbook, something that would tell him in more detail what experiments had happened here and why. It was an old model and the spying program he had used in Irma's hideout didn't work. However, Donatello was confident it would with the appropriate changes.
Sticking his tongue out, he began his reprogramming on the computer that April had lent him, checking his progress on the ship's screens.
He was focusing so much that he didn't hear the light buzz of a portal opening until a gun was pressed against his head.
"What a nice surprise!" Irma's voice sang in his ear. "It took me some time to find my way back here - it has been a while - but it's absolutely worth it."
"What are you doing here?" Donatello uttered slowly, careful not to move. The Kraang didn't find them in Northampton during the invasion of New York. Why now?
"I'm here for the ship." Irma stroked the control panel lovingly. "You sink them faster than we build them, and we need each and every one of them for the Big Battle to come."
"When are you going to understand that Earth isn't a planet for you?" Donatello asked. April would be back every second now. Maybe she could repel Irma with her psychic powers, giving him time to grab his weapon and fight back.
"You inhabitants of Earth are so self-centered. It's not always about you, you know?" Irma sighed, as if she was deeply disappointed.
Donatello bit back a scathing remark. If somebody was self-centered here, it wasn't him.
He was intrigued, though. Maybe it was his chance to learn more about the Kraang's plans.
"Are you-"
He never got to finish his sentence. He barely felt the syringe pushing through his skin before everything went black.
April ran into Casey on her way back from the kitchen, which had been empty – Leonardo and Splinter must have joined the others outside. From the look of him, Casey was heading for the bathroom.
"Hey, April! What are you up to?" Casey picked up a drink on her plate and she snatched it back before he could take a sip.
"These aren't for you, Casey. I'm helping Donnie. He wants to explore the Kraang ship in the basement again. What have you been doing?" She waved at the mud, leaves and twigs covering him. It left a trail behind him.
Casey grinned. "Raph showed me a trick or two about stealth." He stroke a pose. "Now Casey Jones knows everything about the art of not being seen!"
"Sure, Casey." April rolled her eyes. "I'm not noticing you at all." She walked past him, grinning, and headed for the basement's stairs.
"Well, you should!" Casey called her back, apparently not bothered by the contradiction. He hurried to place himself in front of her and carry on with the conversation.
In his haste, he slipped on the mud and leaves on the floor and fell down the stairs.
"Casey!" April put down her plate and ran after him, careful not to slip like he had. "Casey, are you alright? Did you hurt yours- No!"
April's reflexes were quick, but there was nothing she could do as the Kraang stealth ship that had been abandoned for years disappeared, Casey clinging on to it.
