Donatello stood awkwardly at the door to his quarters. Bishop had explained that Don would be kept under guard, and housed in the apartment he originally woke up in, both for his own protection and because Bishop couldn't simply set him loose in the base. It seemed that neither of them completely trusted the other, despite their tentative alliance. While it made him suspicious, Donatello didn't have much choice in the matter. It was either agree to Bishop's terms or leave. After pitting himself against his family in order to stay, he couldn't leave now.
When the guards didn't appear of their own volition, Don knocked on the door. "Uh… Good morning? I'm ready to get started," he called.
The guards unlocked the door and greeted the turtle. After determining that he hadn't eaten any of the food stocked in the pantry, they escorted Donatello to the cafeteria.
Like a heat-seeking missile, Donatello marched straight to the coffee machine. He felt so groggy, and his headache was only making matters worse. He hoped that a caffeine boost would be the solution to some of his more minor problems. Don grabbed a cup and randomly began hitting buttons. He didn't even bother to see what type he had selected. As long as it wasn't decaf, it didn't matter. Don cocked his head when nothing happened.
"It wants you to scan your security badge."
Donatello spun on his heels, alarmed that this feminine voice clearly didn't belong to one of his guards. Don was a ninja. Normally, no one could sneak up on him. Was he really that out of sorts?
Don found that a young woman was standing next to him. She was about the same height as him, with a somewhat plump build, caramel-colored skin, and warm, chocolate-colored eyes. She had a mane of curly, brown hair, and Don couldn't help but notice a purple-streak tucked away behind one of her ears.
"Uh, thanks," Don said shyly. He suddenly realized that everyone in the cafeteria was watching him. Feeling exposed and intimidated, he turned back to the only friendly face in the room. "They haven't given me a card yet," he quietly responded.
"That's strange. We can use mine, though," the woman kindly offered. She looked at the lights that were lit on the machine. "You were after cinnamon and blueberry flavored with a quadruple shot of cream?"
"No," Don coughed. "Just black is fine."
"No need to be embarrassed. Everyone has different taste," she warmly responded.
"I hit the wrong buttons, really," Don sputtered. "I prefer my coffee black, the more caffeine the better."
The young woman smiled brightly. "Well if it's caffeine you're after, we can put some espresso shots in there."
"Yes please," Donatello swooned. The two guards standing off to the side looked at each other and shrugged as the kind stranger handed Don a steaming cup. He thanked her profusely and then realized something. "Was that free or did you have to pay?"
"Nothing is free around here. Our security badges are tied into debit accounts. That's why the machine wouldn't work for you."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't have any money on me, but I can pay you back as soon as my account is set up," Don offered.
She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It's only a coffee."
"Donatello, I see that you've met Valeria," a familiar voice called. "How fortuitous."
Bishop approached the small crowd that had formed around the coffee station and cringed. "Valeria, I thought that I told you to take care of that."
Bishop was pointing to the purple streak in her hair, distaste written all across his face.
"Sorry, sir. I was going to have it dyed out last night, but I ended up working late. I think you'll be pleased to see how much progress I made, though," Valeria semi-apologized.
"I hope so," Bishop said as he turned his back and sought out an empty table. Donatello hazarded a glance at Valeria, who rolled her eyes upwards and gave a discreet shake of her head. Don couldn't help but smile at her minor act of defiance.
"Over here," Bishop waved. People sitting at the nearby tables found an excuse to scatter, apparently not wanting to be anywhere near their boss and his mutant companion. Don felt a little better with fewer people in the room. He was used to hiding in the shadows, and if his queasiness was any indication, he was suffering from a slight case of agoraphobia.
"I'm told you haven't eaten," Bishop stated. "Please grab some food and take a seat."
"Coffee is all I need," Don claimed. "Besides, I don't have a security badge, so I have no way of paying."
"Nonsense," Bishop dismissed. "I can't have your brothers accusing me of neglecting your health. Get whatever you like and tell the servers to put it on my expense account."
Don reluctantly rose. He was halfway across the room when he heard Valeria issue a whooping noise. Don swung around to see his precious coffee dripping over the side of the table, apparently having been knocked over by a large binder that Bishop had set down. Don's heart sank. He hadn't even managed a sip yet.
"My apologies," Bishop waved. "I'll get you another cup." Valeria offered a shrug and began wiping up the mess. It struck Donatello as rather odd. Bishop was hardly the clumsy type. As desperately as he wanted it, Donatello vowed not to touch the replacement cup of coffee that Bishop provided. Instead, he made a show of pushing sliced fruit around his plate.
"Allow me to formally introduce the two of you. Valeria - this is our newest asset, Donatello. He's a well-rounded genius, a mechanics and engineering prodigy, and something of an expert in physics and intergalactic travel. He's going to help us make sense of the Triceraton situation."
Donatello cringed inwardly at being referred to as an asset. He hardly expected sensitivity from Bishop, but still. It was just creepy. He pushed his displeasure aside and offered Valeria a polite nod.
"Donatello - This is Valeria, one of our newest recruits and finest young minds. It was her who first picked up on the aberrations coming from Triceraton space, and the two of you will be working together."
Valeria smiled warmly and extended her hand. "You can call me Val."
It took Donatello a moment to understand that she wanted to shake his hand. Normally humans were repulsed by him. Fortunately, he caught on before it was too late. He smiled back and shook her hand. "You can call me Don."
The rest of the day passed in typical first-day-on-the-job fashion, which was, of course, completely atypical for Don. He was given a security badge, which was tied to a debit account that had been set up for him. Apparently, he was getting paid for this job. He was provided with a small office and computer credentials. Bishop and Valeria briefed him on their findings and theories. Bishop showed him around the facility, at least to some extent. It was a lot to take in, and the day flew by. Before he knew it, the time had come to call his brothers.
Donatello was tempted to call Michelangelo, since he had appeared to be the least upset that Don had chosen to stay at Area 51. But, he didn't want to go over Leo's head, so he hit the button for the leader in blue. Much to Don's surprise the phone rang for a while, then Michelangelo answered.
"Mikey?" Donatello spouted. "Didn't I call Leo?"
"Yeah, but he's… kinda busy."
"Okay, well can you just tell him that I'm safe, and that I haven't found anything to make me doubt Bishop's sincerity?" Donatello requested.
"Can do, buckaroo. Anything else?" Michelangelo snapped. It was clear from his voice that he was annoyed.
Don hesitated. "Um, no. Is everything okay, Mikey?"
"Oh, so now you care?" Michelangelo bitterly replied.
"What do you mean? Of course, I care!" Donatello defended.
"Yeah right," Mikey dismissed. "You know how much things have sucked around here, but instead of sticking it out you abandon us the first chance you get, even if it means teaming up with one of our worst enemies!"
Donatello gulped. "Abandon you?! I didn't abandon you. I was kidnapped."
"And then chose to stay." Michelangelo was practically growling. It was so unlike him.
"It's not like that, Mikey," Donatello soothed. "I'll be back home as soon as my work here is done."
"Oh, your work?" Michelangelo parroted. "So that's what this is about. Brilliant Donnie finally gets a little recognition, so he's willing to sign a deal with the devil!"
Donatello was shocked. "Come on, Mikey," he cried. "You know me better than that. That's not what this is about at all. Now tell me what's really wrong. What's got you so worked up?"
"Must be something wrong with me, huh? Can't be you doing anything wrong!" Mikey spat.
Donatello took a calming breath. "You're mad at me?"
"Of course, I'm mad at you, dude," Michelangelo yelled. "You gave Leo and Raph even more reason to fight, and now I'm stuck here all alone with them. I'd ask if you have any idea what I'm going through, but I'm sure you do, and I'm equally sure that you don't care!"
"How could you say that?! You know that I care!" Donatello defended.
"Really?! It didn't strike you as a little suspicious that I answered instead of Leo?"
Donatello rolled his eyes but tried to make his voice sound patient. "Now you're just being silly. That's the first thing I asked."
"You didn't ask where he was," Michelangelo pointed out. "If you did, I would've told you that he and Raph beat the stuffing out of each other this morning, then Leo took off."
Donatello was horrified. "He even left his phone?"
"Yup," Michelangelo replied, popping the p for emphasis. "And, I think he might've broken his hand on Raph's face, so there's that too."
A shiver ran down Don's spine. "Where's Raph?"
"Stormed off in the opposite direction of Leo. At least he texted that he's staying at Casey's tonight. So, I know that he's not dead."
All Don could think to say was "Good grief."
"That the best you can do?" Michelangelo mocked. "It's you that they were fighting over, you know."
"Me?" Donatello blathered.
"Oh, don't act so surprised. Raph wanted to come after you, and Leo said that if you wanted to leave, we couldn't stop you. Things only got worse from there."
"Oh, Mikey," Donatello groaned. "I'm so sorry that I left you alone with all that."
Mikey gave a bitter laugh. "I hope you are. I can't hold things together here on my own. It's not fair of you to expect me to. It's not fair of you to leave me alone in this. You and I were supposed to be a team!"
Donatello's voice broke with barely restrained tears. It was true. He was abandoning his brothers at the worst possible time. "I know. It's not fair. Life's not fair. But the safety of this planet is my first priority."
Mikey twisted the knife. "Don't you mean your only priority?"
Don bit his lip to prevent himself from crying outright. He hated himself for what he was doing to his family. He ran a hand down his face. "I'll fix it. When I'm done here, I swear I'll help you fix everything. Just hold it all together as best you can until I can come home. I'm working as fast as I can. I promise."
Michelangelo sighed. "Donatello, I can't make any promises. You need to keep that in mind. I don't know what you'll be coming home to, if you can even call this place a home at all anymore."
"I get it, Mikey. I really do, and I really am sorry. I'll call same time tomorrow. I love you."
Michelangelo took a deep breath. "I love you too, bro, but love only gets you so far."
I know that I said I wasn't going to leave a lot of author's notes; However, I wanted to respond to a couple of comments on the last chapter. First off, and most importantly, all comments are appreciated, so thank you very much for leaving them!
Dondena - I'm sure you are correct about human pelvic structure. However, a turtle's skeletal frame is wider than a human's. The 2003 turtles are depicted as having wider torsos than humans do. Who knows what could've happened during their mutations? This is how the story came to me, so I went with it. I'm really glad that you are enjoying it so far.
Guest - That was a very detailed comment! Thank you for taking the time to write it all out. I'm no biologist or turtle expert by any means. That being said, I do have the tendency to get swept up in details, and I researched enough to have a working idea of how I wanted this to play out. I didn't think that anyone would care about details, but apparently, some people do. So, here is a little more background about how this went down in my specific story.
During their mutations, the turtles' organs were retained to some extent, but made to be more human. The way I picture this happening is that Don retained his cloaca, or at least some portion of it, but it was pulled to a more central location in his body. I picture him having a tail at the base of his spine, which connects to his cloaca. In turn, his reproductive organs are in the front like a human's, rather than in his tail, like a turtle's. The cloaca is right there in the middle, between the tail and the more 'private' parts of him.
Bishop implanted the embryos within the cloaca. Cloacas are vascular, even used in respiration at times. Therefore, there ought to be plenty of blood supply there. Human ectopic pregnancies can survive for months outside of the womb. They do self-terminate when the blood supply becomes inadequate, but due to Don's mutations, the cloaca is an ideal spot.
The main problem with what I state above is that the cloaca is open to Don's tail, and also possibly to his reproductive organs. Depending upon his mutation, it could even be open to his digestive tract. That is why I had Bishop's team perform arthroscopic surgery. In my mind, that was so that they could close out those unneeded connections, and form a safer, more isolated space for the babies to grow. They also might have needed to create something like an artificial liner for the embryos to implant within, or even some form of stand-in cervix to keep the connection to the tail closed off until just the right time. I was vague on purpose, because I'm sure there are other things that would need to be done as well.
I hope that explains what was going through my head, as inaccurate/implausible as it may be. Would it work? - perhaps not, but this is just fiction. Like I said leading into the last chapter, some suspension of disbelief is always a requirement in turtle fics! Bishop was somehow able to create upgraded bodies for himself and transfer his consciousness to them, so he can essentially do whatever he wants in this universe. He wants Donatello to feel dependent upon him. He also wants Donatello to bond to his children. One of the reasons that I went with embryos instead of eggs is that I felt it would make the process more personal for Don.
The part about Don only leaving a note - I agree that it's a little out of character. However, you need to keep in mind that Don is already emotionally exhausted heading into this. He was helpless to save his father, who died only months ago. He's the family peacekeeper, and everyone is mourning, cranky, depressed, and cooped up in the sewers after a long winter. Don didn't feel like breaking up yet another fight to drag Raph away, so he left a note instead. He was just looking for a moment of peace, and a small break from the tension that was permeating the Lair. It may have been stupid and out of character, but he was fed up and committed a thoughtless, impulsive action. He'll be stuck dealing with the fallout for a very long time.
I was going to say more, but this author's note was threatening to grow longer than the chapter. So, I'll just leave you all with a 'thanks for reading!'