Back at the lair, Master Splinter happily greeted Ashton as she came in.
"Welcome back Ashton." he said with a smile.
"Hi Splinter!" she said happily as she gave him a hug. "Its soo good to be back." Ashton then went straight for the fridge in the kitchen.
"Heh, she's becoming just like Mikey." chuckled Raph.
"I learned from the master." Ashton smiled towards Mikey as she munched on some lunchmeat.
Donny sat down at his invention desk with a big grin on his face. "I, am, a, genius." He sighed, looking at his cage-opening device.
"Now I may finally relax, knowing that Ashton is safe and sound." said Venus.
"I wonder what Bonesteel is gonna say when he finds out that his 'package' never reached its destination." Ashton wondered aloud.
She, Mikey, and Raph looked at each other for a moment, then busted out laughing.
At Bonesteel's hideout, the phone rang. He sleepily picked it up.
"What?"
Yelling was heard on the other end.
Bonesteel sat up quickly from his bed. "What do you mean she never reached you?!"
"Just what I said you idiot! I never got her, just an empty cage!" yelled the other person. He then rambled on and on, continuing to yell.
"Yes sir, I know sir. The money? What?"
The yelling momentarily got louder.
Bonesteel sighed deeply. "Yes sir, I know. Okay. Yes, I'll be here tomorrow mornin' so he can, pick up, the money. Yes, good—" The man hung up before Bonesteel could finish saying 'goodbye'.
Bonesteel slammed down the phone, and shook slightly as his face became flushed with anger. "TURTLES!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled angrily.
That night, Ashton went to sleep on her favorite napping spot; the ledge right above Raph's traincar/room. She had two blankets and an old pillow up there. She never felt completely safe sleeping at ground level.
At the dragon fortress, Dr. Quease was looking through his file cabinets, and noticed that most of Ashton's files were missing.
"Darn Turtles." he mumbled. Then he stood in the middle of his room and thought. "If I could just get that girl back here . . ." He could finish his thought; the possibilities were endless. He could study her, and finally write a conclusion on the theory of hybridization.
Just then, he heard Dragon Lord's voice over the fortress' intercom.
"Quease, bring that stomach tonic you made last week. Wick has an upset stomach."
"Yes sir Dragon Lord." said Dr. Quease. He then picked up a vial of steaming yellow liquid, and went to D.L.'s throne room.
In there, he handed the vial to Dragon Lord. "Here you are sir."
Dragon Lord took the vial, and poured its contents into a bowl right next to the ailing Wick. "Drink that."
Wick groaned, and leaned over to begin drinking out of the bowl.
Dragon Lord gave the vial back to Dr. Quease. "You may go now."
"Yes sir." said Dr. Quease, but as he turned to leave, a thought struck him, and he turned back around. "Dragon Lord? May I ask a question?"
"What is it?" asked Dragon Lord impatiently.
"Um, its about, well, that hybrid girl I was telling you about the other day." said Dr. Quease.
"The one that slayed four of my rank in one day? What about her?" asked Dragon Lord.
"Well, as you know, she's an experiment of mine from a long time ago, and well, I want to be able to, well, get her into a laboratory setting again, for some tests." said Dr. Quease.
"Surely you don't expect me to send my rank out to capture some feline for you to toy with." said Dragon Lord flatly.
"No, I just, well what I'm trying to say is, whenever we plan an attack on the Turtles, since she's with them, I'd like the rank to try and capture her." explained Dr. Quease.
Dragon Lord appeared to be thinking for a moment. "You have caught me in one of my better moods Quease, lucky for you. I will indulge your wish, but after you are done testing on her and what not, you are to give her to me."
"For what purpose may I ask, Dragon Lord?" asked Dr. Quease.
"Why else? To be eaten. Certainly a mutagen of some sort courses through her veins, and what better compliment to a mutant meal, than a hybrid dessert?" Dragon Lord explained.
"Why yes, of course." said Dr. Quease, wishing that Ashton would remain his, ever after testing was complete.
Just then, Wick let out a large belch.
Dragon Lord and Dr. Quease looked at him.
"Ooo my, that did it." said Wick, obviously looking quite relieved. "Not bad, human."
Dr. Quease smiled grimly. He then turned to Dragon Lord, bowed slightly, then left. As he walked to his lab, he grinned, thinking of how wonderful it would be to capture Ashton, and how close his goal was.