Author's Notes: It's been over a week since I updated ML! Forgive me! I was intending to update but I always got sidetracked. Okay! In this chapter, things get a little more interesting. As I stated in a few previous chapters, I'm doing my darn best to keep Donnie in character. In this story, I am trying to explore other sides to Donnie but without making him OOC. Italics will denote character thoughts.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything TMNT related. Please don't sue.
Beta read by the super talented Dierdre!
Chapter 9
Donatello's point of view
After my meeting with Shredder and Bishop concluded, I tended to my injuries. I didn't have a lot of equipment to work with so all I really did was bandage the said injuries.
Now, I am allowed to walk around the complex. It is actually quite surprising to think that they trust me to move freely throughout the building with no one watching me. I know they have to be watching me, however, because I am one of their sworn enemies. There is no way in shell that they would ever allow me to just do as I please.
If I had to guess, I would say I am on the second or maybe third floor. The walls are plain and drab with no windows or curtains adorning them. There are two elevators, opening and closing, every so often to allow workers access to their necessary levels. There are numerous doors that are all closed (probably off limits because I am here) and there is hardly any light on this floor.
I continue walking and curiosity gets the better of me when I see someone in a white lab coat exiting a room. She seems upset about something, but it isn't my place to ask her what is wrong, so I just continue on my way. As we pass by each other in the hall, she stops momentarily and calls out to me.
"Donatello, I presume?"
I stop and then nod. She frowns as she takes in my appearance. Next, her lips curl into a disgusted scowl as she turns away from me.
Perhaps she couldn't stomach the fact that mutated turtles really do exist.
"Instead of you wandering around like this, follow me."
I turn around just as she starts walking again. To say I am shocked and surprised is an understatement. She is obviously bothered by something, but for her to just demand that I follow her…
That was not what I was expecting her to do.
When she realizes that no one is behind her or next to her, she stops again and sighs irritably.
"Look, I don't have all day. Either you come with me to my office, or you can roam about the complex and possibly meet the other employees. I can assure you that none of them are going to be warm to you, so you'd better look at this as a blessing. It is not every day that you are handpicked by Mr. Bishop and Mr. Saki to work for them, now is it?" She asks me.
Her tone definitely conveys irritation, pride, and just a little bit of arrogance. It seems as though she is proud to be working for Bishop and Shredder. I don't know what kind of lies they've been feeding her, but she really needs to open her eyes. Doesn't she know that once they are through with her, they'll find someone else to take her place?
Wordlessly, I close the small distance between us and begin walking next to her. As we go on our way, I see marble statues, paintings, elegant throw rugs… and this takes home first prize. There is a huge figure of Oruku Saki on the first floor, a marble figurine carved in his exact likeness.
I frown in disgust and look away. We are now standing in front of the elevator doors, waiting for an available elevator. Once the doors open, more employees file out and allow us to enter the elevator. As I suspected, all of them glare at me in utter contempt and disdain. The doors close and she presses the button for the seventh floor. We wait in uncomfortable silence.
I take a chance to look at her. Her black hair is pinned up in a bun with a few wispy bangs caressing her forehead. She is wearing a pair of black thin-rimmed glasses and her lab coat is buttoned up completely. Her eyes are a stunning shade of midnight blue. She seems pretty enough and quite harmless, so what is the reason behind her being so worked up just moments ago?
There is nothing that needs to be said between us, though. She works for the Shredder and Bishop, and I oppose both of her employers'. The silence is awkward and deafening, but it's not like we can have a regular conversation.
We reach the designated floor and exit the elevator, and I follow her as she walks to her office. Upon arrival at her office, she digs deep into one of her coat pockets and pulls out a keycard. She slides it through the lock, grabs the handle, and opens the door when the light on the lock flashes green.
After entering her office, she closes the door behind us. She then goes to her desk and takes a seat. She slumps forward and rests her head in her hands. A groan escapes from her when she notices the papers on her desk. I still don't know what to say so I wait for her to speak.
"I've been in the lab all the day and now I have to review all of this? I don't get paid enough to put up with what I do!"
Her head hits the desk with a soft thump. I just continue staring at her. If this is how everyone acts around here, then I am doomed. Deciding to be bold and brave, I walk to her desk, glance at her papers, and can't help but shake my head. She is stressed out over something as simple as this? I could do this in my sleep! I clear my throat to get her attention. "If you don't mind me saying this, I could help you with those documents if you'd like."
Her head is still on the desk as she speaks to me, "And what makes you think you know what's contained in those packets? Besides, you'd have to be some sort of genius to understand this. I hardly doubt that you…"
"Judging by a quick inspection of the packets, you and your team are working on human genomes and the molecular structure of the human body. And that's only the beginning."
Her head shoots up and as she looks at me, shock, denial and surprise are clearly written all over her face. "But I thought that the rumors weren't true?"
A smug look crosses my features, but I quickly replace it with feigned interest. "You wouldn't happen to be talking about the rumor of a mutated turtle with a vast intellect, would you?"
She nods and then narrows her eyes at me. "If I didn't know any better Donatello, I'd say you were teasing me and taking delight in doing so."
I quickly cover my amusement with a genuinely sincere and apologetic look. Apparently, I've been hanging around Mikey too much, because normally I never tease people like this. My merriment soon leaves me, however, when I notice what I had just done.
I miss my family, but how can I ever go back to them? They'll never accept me again after finding out that I am willingly working for Bishop and Shredder.
"No, I just glanced at the papers and figured you needed some assistance," I mumble quietly.
Her eyes study me for a moment, and then she precedes to hand the papers over to me. "I want that on my desk first thing in the morning. No ands, ifs, or buts about it."
A puzzled look crosses my features. "But I thought I was here to unlock my DNA coding for Bishop?"
"You are. But first you're going to be doing some work for Mr. Saki. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, you'll have your time to prove to everyone what you are truly capable of. Now if you'll excuse me Donatello, I have a meeting that requires my presence."
She gets up and makes her way to the door. As her hand touches the doorknob, I decide to ask for her name: "Since I'll be working with you for a while, may I know your name?"
"It's Sakura Morimoto."
Without another word, she opens the door and closes it behind her. I am now left alone in her office with nothing but a stack of papers to keep me company.
Things could be worse, though.
I sit down at her desk and begin the long and tedious process of reviewing each document. With nothing else to do, this will help to pass the time.
Raphael's point of view
I was currently topside and making my way to Casey's apartment. I didn't mean to blow up like that with Master Splinter and the others. It's just that I don't like the fact that Donnie was out there somewhere and we were doing nothing to help him. I mean, Master Splinter isn't one for coming up with half-baked ideas, so what in the shell was he thinking?
Sure, it'd be easy to come up with a plan, but then what? It's not like we had any leads or anything. And searching every single part of New York would take up too much time. Then again, there's only one person twisted enough to do this, and that's the Shredder. I mean, what right did he have to play with our lives like this? It's not like he's God.
In the end, he was going to get his. I was going to make sure of that.
Times like these make me wish that this whole game between the Shredder and us would come to an end. It's really frustrating and nerve-wracking having to constantly worry about your health as well as that of your family members.
Day in and day out we go on patrol duty, fighting against the Foot, the Purple Dragons, and the Mob. We risk our lives for the city of New York, but do we get any appreciation for it? Of course not! People are too busy screaming and running away from us to actually take the time to realize that we're the ones making their lives a little safer and more comfortable.
I was almost to Case's place. Once I get there, I think I'm going to take some of my anger out on the punching bag. At least that way I'll be a little bit calmer when I have to go back home and face the others.
Michelangelo's point of view
Why is it that bad luck seems to follow us wherever we go? We can be minding our business, and then boom! Something terrible like this has to happen.
I could totally understand how Raph felt, though. Our brother was in trouble and we didn't have the slightest clue how to help him. He could be anywhere and what's worse is that his life was probably in danger.
Man, what I wouldn't give for a pizza right about now. That rich, delectable, and tasty treat was enough to take your mind off of anything. At least for me it was. I'd have that pizza later, though. My biggest concern right now was finding Raph. I wouldn't have to go far, though, because he was probably heading over to Casey's apartment. That didn't surprise me in the least bit. Whenever he's ticked, he always ends up going there or to Central Park.
It wouldn't be much longer now before Leo caught up with us. I just hope I got the chance to talk to Raph before Leo did. The last thing we needed was for Raph to go and get himself into trouble while Donnie was missing.
I'm finally at Casey's place and Raph was exactly where I thought he'd be. He was abusing the punching bag that was in the far right corner of the apartment. Clothes, dishes, magazines and only God knows what else littered the floor. The walls were a dull shade of yellow and the ceiling fan slowly creaked as it spun. All of the exercising equipment was stored in another corner of the apartment.
Turning my attention back to Raph, I was extremely glad that Casey wasn't home at the moment. I don't think he would have appreciated Raph's treatment of his punching bag. Raph was throwing out every kind of insult imaginable. And while he pounded away on the bag, I just stared at him. It broke my heart to see him like this.
He was worse off than the rest of us, but he wouldn't let any of us help him. I wanted to go over there and tell him that it was okay, that he could break down and cry as much as he wanted to. But did I really want to take that risk? With the mood he was in, I'd end up being turtle soup long before he ever decided to open up to me.
"What do you want, Mikey? Can't ya see I'm busy?" He began hitting the punching bag furiously and more quickly, his words dripping with venom.
"Taking a few swings at a punching bag isn't going to make the pain go away, Raph."
"Stuff it! If ya came here to lecture me, then go back home! I don't wanna hear you, Leo, Master Splinter, or Karai talking about how selfish and blind I'm being right now!"
He refused to look at me and kept his attention focused on the bag. I decided to play it smart and keep my distance, since he seemed like he might like to use me as a punching bag.
I opened my mouth once again and chose to take a different approach. "Look, I didn't come here to argue with you or to lecture you. I'm as worried about Donnie as you are, but it's just that I'm worried about you, too. You're upset and don't know how to cope with Donnie's sudden disappearance. Instead of being with us, you're trying to handle this on your own. And let me tell you, it is not the wisest thing to do. You're going to end up hurting yourself if you keep bottling up every thing inside."
He turned a fierce glare upon me. "What would you know? You're always so busy acting like a damn idiot that I'm actually surprised to see you trying to be so serious. You think I don't know that I'm causing myself unnecessary pain and suffering? You think I'm acting like this because it makes me feel better? Well, I've got news for ya! Everyone handles their problems differently! So I'd appreciate it if you keep your beak out of my business and life!"
I didn't return the glare. My eyes softened, as did my heart.
"The only reason why I act so stupid in the first place is to help ease everyone else's suffering. If I didn't, do you know how gloomy and dark life at the lair would be? Besides, your business and life are important to me because you're my brother."
"Well, nobody asked for your help or advice. So do me a favor and get lost."
He turned his back to me and waited for me to leave. When I didn't, he sighed loudly.
"What do you want from me, Mikey?" Raph growled softly.
"I want you to stop acting like you have to hold everything inside and start talking to us more. I want you to realize that the world isn't out to get you. And even if that is the case, we're family. In that essence, that means that we stick together no matter what. For once, stop running away from the people who care about you."
"You make it sound so easy, Mike."
When he turned to face me, he looked sweaty and completely exhausted while his knuckles looked severely bruised. Catching a glimpse of his face, I took notice that his features looked pensive and troubled, but then they quickly turned dark again. I followed his gaze and saw Leo casually leaning in the doorway.
"And just what in the shell do you want, 'Fearless Leader?' Didn't like the idea of us being out by ourselves?" he sneered.
"I didn't come here to pick a fight with you, Raph. Besides, Mikey already took the words right out of my mouth."
Leo sounded way too calm. Glancing at him, I saw just the faintest traces of worry etched on his face. Raph, on the other hand, his features lost that darkness. Instead, he was back to looking pensive and troubled. He went to stand by the window and rested his hands on the windowsill.
"Why is it that every time I finally think things are looking up for us, they come crashing back down just like that?" he whispered softly.
I looked at Leo and he nodded. I watched him as he walked behind Raph and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Life can be cruel like that. It's not like we asked for this to happen. But right now we need to think things through, and then concentrate on getting Donnie back. I won't lie to you though, Raph. Not only am I worried, but I'm also frightened by these recent events. It's almost like we've cheated death one too many times and now he wants his reward. I'm not saying that I'm giving up on Don. No matter what, we're going to get him back and finish our business with the Shredder once and for all."
"Yeah, but at what cost?" Raph asked.
For that particular question, Leo and I had no answer. Only time would tell us the answer. I just hoped that it was a good answer rather than a tragic one.