Vacation was over now, and there was so much work to catch up on at home. The build team had sent Donatello some feedback on his latest designs for the EDS. The computer software that Don had written had finished testing and analyzing Hun's antenna. After overhearing Raphael say that he wasn't preparing enough for fatherhood, Don figured he should begin work on the nursery. He wanted everyone to have a visible reminder that he was fully committed to parenting the triplets.
Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo headed to the surface for patrol, so Donatello decided to give Valeria a call to catch up before setting about rearranging furniture.
"Don! It's been a little while," Valeria greeted. "I just heard back from my doctor and it turns out that a genetic anomaly makes my hair impervious to dying."
Don smiled. "Sorry to hear that. So, how have you been otherwise?"
"Super busy," Valeria answered. "The Triceraton have been very talkative lately."
"Any chatter about Earth, or my antenna-related heroics?" Don asked. He had told her about stealing the antenna and breaking Hun's jaw before he left for vacation. She'd been pretty impressed, and it had made him feel… things. Despite their distance, she still had effects on him.
"Nothing direct," Valeria told him. Her voice became very serious. "But Don, I'm worried. They've been talking about another invasion. Earth hasn't been mentioned yet, but it's clear that they're headed somewhere. My guess is that it's here."
Don's stomach churned. "Well, I guess all we can do is forge ahead with the EDS. This antenna should help. If I can figure out how it transmits precise messages to deep space, then I can use that knowledge to drastically increase the range and accuracy of the EDS."
"When do you think you'll be done with your prototype?" Valeria wondered.
Don put a hand on his belly. He wished that he could tell her about the babies. He really did want to prioritize them, to start work on the nursery and begin planning for their births in earnest. But, how could he do that when the safety of earth was at stake? Even though he had told his brothers that EPF could handle things, he knew that he was the best person for the job. The turtles had decided to stay on earth, so of course, that meant that Donatello would do everything in his power to protect it.
He'd just have to balance everything. That's what parents do, after all. "Within the next few months, I hope," he answered.
The design of the Earth Defense System was genius, really. Donatello had created it to essentially hide the location of the planet from unwanted visitors. The universe is vast, and it's easy to forget that everything is in constant motion. Planets orbit, galaxies spiral, everything is always expanding, an ongoing consequence of the Big Bang.
Don didn't know all that much about how interplanetary navigation worked. Given the size of the universe, he doubted that the Triceraton had a working model of each and every one of the countless numbers of solar systems. Most likely, they had a general idea of where things were at any given time, but they refined the coordinates by looking for electromagnetic signals and gravimetric pull.
Obviously, the Triceraton had been to earth before, which meant that they could probably get here again with relative ease. Don couldn't completely stop them, but he could send them on a wild goose chase, at least for a little while.
Don had designed EDS to trick incoming alien spacecraft into thinking that Earth was at the diametric opposite point in its current orbit around the sun. There were several different components to the system, all equally important.
SETI, earth's pre-existing satellite system, which was controlled by Bishop and the Earth Protection Force, and had previously been enhanced by Donatello, was constantly scanning for alien activity. If an alien ship was detected, it would send a signal to Area 51, and the first part of EDS would be activated. A deep-space probe that Donatello had designed would move between earth and the incoming spacecraft. This probe would analyze whatever electromagnetic signals earth was giving off at the time, perform a mathematical calculation, then use a series of independently deployed micro-reflectors to deflect them away from the incoming spacecraft. It would create the illusion that Earth was not there.
The second part of EDS would remain in permanent orbit around the sun, in the exact opposite point of earth's current location in its orbit. This part of EDS would communicate with the probe. It would then reproduce the electromagnetic waves that earth was giving off from its own location. It could even create the illusion of gravimetric pull. Any spacecraft looking for earth would be drawn to that spot.
Of course, this would only buy time. Once the spacecraft arrived at the location that Don had tricked it into going to, the extraterrestrials would see that nothing was there. That was when things would get scary.
Don wanted to give the enemy a chance to run. He hated killing. He really did. But, if it was absolutely necessary, EDS could be turned into a weapon. It would send out a series of warnings in every language that Don knew. He still had his Triceraton communicator, so he had access to millions of dialects. If the spacecraft ignored the warning and persisted in advancing towards earth, and there was absolutely no other recourse, EDS would tear the spaceship apart. Using the same technology that it used to simulate gravitational pull, it would blast out a concentrated wave of energy powerful enough to destroy the spaceship in an instant. It would be the equivalent of throwing a planet at it.
Don was still working on all of this. The preliminary designs were complete, but the final designs were a work in progress. In the days after returning from the Farm, Don finished his study of the alien tech he had stolen from Hun and shipped it to Area 51 for Valeria to study. In turn, Bishop hired more staff to speed up production of the EDS. The build team was sending Donatello bug reports faster than he could read them.
Don holed himself up in the lab for two weeks straight after vacation. Despite his earlier insistence upon training, he didn't join his brothers in their sessions anymore. His family was worried that he was working himself to death. He didn't look good at all.
Leonardo didn't bother to knock when he strode into Don's lab, Raphael and Michelangelo were hot on his heels. Don never seemed to hear them knock anyway. His mind was always busy with a million other things. "Don!" Leo's voice boomed.
Don was standing stooped over his workbench. Some unnameable device was in his hands. He was wearing his mask around his neck, making the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes all the more evident. He swung around to face his brothers, wincing as his back pain flared.
"When is the last time you slept?" Leonardo questioned harshly. He was in no mood to soften the conversation with pleasantries.
Truthfully, Don didn't know the answer to that specific question. He still attempted to sleep at regular intervals, but actually achieving his goal of falling asleep was a different matter entirely. "I'll go to bed once I finish this test," he promised, turning back to his work.
"I'm sure that can wait," Leonardo insisted. "Take a break."
"I'm busy," Don dismissed. "I said that I would go to bed once I'm done."
"This isn't about you going to bed," Leonardo clarified. "It's about the babies."
"They're fine," Don replied, defensively. "I ran an ultrasound a couple of days ago. They're all kicking up a storm at the moment, so no need to worry about them."
"That's good, but it's not what I meant." Leonardo paused to collect himself. "We need to start planning. You can't keep putting this off."
Don raised his voice. "No, I can't keep putting this off!" He gestured to his work. "The safety of our whole planet is at stake."
"Maybe," Michelangelo said, his voice infuriatingly calm. "Maybe not. But I think you can spare five minutes to discuss where the babies will be sleeping."
Don smacked a tool that he was holding onto his workbench and swung around. "They'll sleep in my room with me. I'm their Dad, so I'll handle it. There's no need for you guys to stress."
Donatello failed to notice the look of shock and disappointment that crossed Leonardo's face. Leo quickly covered it up.
"We're not stressed," Raphael soothed. "We just want to help. You're the one who's stressed."
Leonardo couldn't help but let his eyes drift downwards to take in the size of his brother's very distended abdomen. Don's facial features were gaunt, as though he hadn't been getting nearly enough to eat, but his belly had practically doubled in size since they had gotten home. Clearly, the triplets were quickly depleting their father's bodily resources. Leonardo didn't know how poor Donnie was still standing, nevermind building all of these super-complex models. Leo hated watching Donatello overwhelm himself like this, but it seemed that all he could do was support whatever decisions his brother had made. To do anything else would simply be piling more stress onto the already struggling genius.
"If they're staying in your room, we should start moving your extra furniture and old experiments into the lab. You won't be on your feet much longer, and we should do a deep clean in there before you go on bed rest," the leader proclaimed, pushing all of his personal concerns and desires aside yet again.
"My feet are doing fine, thanks," Don snapped. "And who said anything about bedrest? Now if you'll let me get back to work, I'll be done that much sooner." After getting that out of his system, Don crashed down into his task chair, as though all his energy had been drained. He rubbed his eyes. "And, once this is done, I'll get started on the babies' sleeping area."
Leonardo grabbed the chair and swung it around so that Don was facing them again. "You keep saying that, but it never happens. Just let us help you, Don!"
"Let you help me?" Don sputtered. "When have I ever told you not to help me?"
"Every time we try to help you, you turn us away!" Leonardo cried.
"Since when?" Don demanded.
"Since forever!" Leonardo yelled. "Right now, we are offering to clean and move furniture for you, and you're blowing us off! You continually avoid teaching Raph vehicle maintenance. You won't let Mikey help you learn to cook. You insist on doing everything alone, and you keep shutting us out. You promised us that you would stop this. You swore that you would try to do better!"
"I'm not blowing you guys off; I'm just busy," Don claimed. "I'll make time for all of that."
"You don't need to make time! We have time to do this right now, so you don't have to! Now, tell us what you need moved so that we can begin to prepare the nursery," Raphael suggested. "That's all we're asking."
Donatello didn't respond. His big brown eyes opened wider. His hands moved to cradle his belly in a motion that he rarely used outside the confines of his room.
Leonardo furrowed his brow. "What? Is something wrong?"
"No. I… I can feel them moving," Don whispered.
"I thought you said you already could?" Michelangelo replied.
"Only on the inside. I've never been able to feel them through my plastron before." Donatello gently grasped Leo's wrist and began to guide it towards him. "See-" Don cut the sentence off, startled as Leonardo snatched his hand away.
Leonardo hadn't really meant to do it. He was operating on instinct. Now he found three sets of surprised eyes looking at him, and the expression on Don's face was nothing short of shattered. Leonardo really wanted to reach back out. These were his babies too, after all. He struggled with that more than anyone knew. But, if he couldn't parent them, he at least had to protect them, and protecting them meant looking out for Don, even when Don made that difficult.
"Stop trying to distract us from the conversation at hand, Donatello!" Leonardo hissed. "You're working yourself to death, and it needs to be discussed before the situation becomes critical."
Don stammered, helplessly. "But I wasn't. It's just that I never… It's the first time that I thought someone else might be able to feel them too, and I wanted…"
The moment could've been saved if Raphael or Michelangelo reached out, or if Leonardo relented. Leo couldn't do that. This discussion was too important to be sidetracked, and if he was allowed to feel those babies, his babies, he was going to fall apart in front of everyone. Raphael was too afraid of disrupting the conversation and incurring Leo's wrath himself. And Mikey, he was shell shocked by this entire turn of events, and frankly, he was tired of constantly being stuck in the middle and playing peacekeeper. And just like that, it was too late. Don pushed himself to his feet, hobbled off to his bedroom and locked the door.