Chapter 6

-Pursuit-

"Um, so, April, where are we going?" Donatello asked, they'd been walking for some time, all the while winding and twisting through the sewer system. They were so tangled in the maze of tunnels that Donatello wasn't sure he could find his way back, even if he were able to do so.

April poked her folded tessen at his shell to urge him to keep walking. "I'm amazed that you know your way through here so well." He said. "And the way you read my mind back at the dojo, pretty cool stuff." He paused, "Well not really cool, per se, I mean you did strap a bomb to my father. But…"

"Stop talking." She said. "We're here." She said then nudged him a few more steps until he could see a ladder leading up to an exit. "Up there." She said.

"Wait." He said. "I've gone on with this long enough and my brothers won't find us this deep in the tunnels so turn off the switch." He said. "Or I'm not taking another step." He knew this was a gamble but he had to hope that April's heart was still there. She'd never kill Splinter.

"Not until we are out of the city." She said. "Don't worry, it won't be long."

"April…"

"Don't say my name like that. Like I'm some scared little girl who needs rescuing." She said. "Now, get up there or I will drop the switch." She ordered and for emphasis shoved him hard into the ladder. He let out a sigh and started climbing. Reaching the top, he lifted the manhole cover only to find himself in an abandoned auto shop. He didn't recognize where he was or see anything that could help him escape.

Donatello pulled himself up and out of the sewer then watched April, she looked up at him, tessen in her mouth, climbing with one arm. She kept and even pressure on the switch and the fact that she was so careful with the switch expressed that she didn't want to kill the others.

Donatello extended a hand to April but she looked at him like he was crazy, she had no free hands to offer him. He reached down and grabbed her by the elbow, scooping her up out of the sewer. "This place is nice, I've been in a few prisons, and this one isn't too bad." He said.

"We're not staying here." April crossed the room and stopped in front of a huge tarp, giving it a tug, it fell away to reveal an unmarked van. She then opened the driver's side door and gestured for Donatello to get in.

"You're letting me drive? Are you serious?" he asked.

"I need to make sure you don't try anything and I can't focus on you If I'm driving." She fanned out her tessen in a threatening manner and tilted her hips toward him, reach in my back pocket." He blushed, was she serious? "Relax, I have zip ties in there, again I have no free hands. Get them and tie your hands to the wheel."

Once Donatello was secure, April got into the passenger's seat and deactivated the switch. Donatello was shocked, they weren't out of the city yet, so why? Was she finally coming around?

"Don't read too much into this, I'm just tired of focusing on the switch and we are far enough away that your brothers couldn't possibly catch up." She said then reached over and started the van. "Let's go."

"Go where? A destination would be helpful."

"Yeah, I'm sure it would, I'll let you know as we go, I'm not giving you a chance to think up a plan." She paused, "By the way, your T-phone, where is it?" she asked. "I can't have your brothers tracking us."

"Side pocket." He said, "Where it always is." April nodded and grabbed for it and noticed an unsent text message addressed to her. She read it.

How'd calculus go? Not that I'm worried or anything… I believe in you. You got this.

April erased the message and tossed the phone in front of one of the wheels. "Drive." Donatello took a breath and pulled the car forward crushing his phone in the process. "Turn left and stay on that road." She said.

When Donatello exited the auto shop he was discouraged to learn that he'd never seen this part of New York before, he'd have to rely on his fail-safe. "April, you don't have to do this." He said.

"You don't know what I have to do or why I have to do it." She said.

"Why are you doing this? I know you've been going through some things but you never tried talking to any of us about it."

"Because I'm fine." She said. "And now that I have my powers back, I'm perfect."

"Incidentally, how did you get them back?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." April said as she curled her hands into tight fists in her lap.

The conversation dropped there and April stared out at the city she loved so much, would it look the same when she returned? Probably not, the ties she was severing now could never be put back together. The city could only become a place of hollow emptiness.

After a few miles they crossed the city limits and as they kept driving the street lamps became trees. There wasn't a car for miles and so April let herself sink in her seat, the sound of Donatello's gentle breathing was making her sleepy.

Suddenly a familiar honk cut through April's feeling of comfort. April jerked up in her seat and looked at the passenger's side window. As she feared the honk had belonged to the Shellraiser. It was coming at them. And fast.

"How did they catch up to us?" April gasped and looked at Donatello. "What did you do? How did you contact them? I was watching you the whole time."

"That wasn't my doing." he paused, "Although, I might've forgotten to mention that I upgraded the T-phones, they now emit an emergency signal to the other T-phones when destroyed. The idea came to me when I realized that sometimes our phones are too damaged to be useful, it's a fail-safe."

The Shellraiser let out another signature honk and gained more speed. April looked in the mirror again, was Leonardo crazy? Was he willing to ram into them doing eighty while they themselves were only going forty-five?

Though if they were to crash, Donatello would probably survive, his mutant strength being what it was. April came to the realization that Leonardo didn't care if she lived through a high-speed accident. The Shellraiser pulled up alongside the van, Leonardo's cold stare bore into April and she trembled in spite of herself.

Leonardo made a couple of hand gestures that signified they should pull over or he'd go on the offensive. April opened the glove box and pulled out a small handgun and rolled down the window before firing at Leonardo. Leonardo hit the breaks to avoid the bullets so the Shellraiser fell behind significantly.

"Faster! Donnie!" April said.

"Or what? You have no leverage now." He said. "And if they hit us you won't survive the crash. We should surrender."

"I'm not going to surrender." She said, "You think I didn't plan for something like this?" April got out of her seat and hurried to the back of the van. "Okay Overkill, here's your chance for revenge."

"Overkill? The robot with the rocket launcher from the chemical plant?" After taking a moment to let that sink in he said, "You're working with them, April?"

"Shut up and go faster or I'll unleash him on your brothers. And after its fight with Michelangelo it's been hungry for revenge, I'd imagine he'll start by filling your baby brother with holes."

Donatello gritted his teeth, finally coming to a decision, the April he knew was too far gone to be saved. On top of that NO ONE threatened Michelangelo.

He saw April's tessen on the ground fanned open, sharp and deadly, it must've fallen there when she was startled by the appearance of the Shellraiser. He quickly formulized a plan in his head, if he timed it right it he could free himself and avoid killing April in the process.

"I'm sorry it has to end this way, April." Donatello said, and floored the accelerator, "you really shouldn't have left your seat."

"What are you talking about?" She tried to read his mind but it was going a million miles an hour, she then looked into his eyes and was shocked to see the sad expression on his face.

"I don't want to do this, April, but you've given me no choice." Donatello jerked the wheel hard to the left. April screamed and for an instant was suspended in the air by the centripetal force, apparently Donatello was willing to kill her too. She quickly activated Overkill before accepting her fate.

The van flipped once, twice, a third time and as it did the tessen hit each intended spot of the interior. Donatello's calculations were spot on and suddenly the tessen was heading straight for its intended mark.

Donatello arched his face away from the windshield and held his hands very still, the tessen cut through both zip ties, severing them at the closure, missing his skin by a hairs width.

When the glass of the windshield rained down around him he opted for grabbing April instead of shielding his eyes. He reached back and grabbed April's unconscious body, pulling her against him and curling up as best he could, knowing that his shell would protect them both.

They were thrown from the car and landed in the grass, the van was still sliding away but stopped when it hit a tree. Donatello unraveled his body from April's, her head was resting on his plastron now. He could feel her breathing, which was good, but she was covered in cuts and her skin sparkled with glass.

He mustered up enough strength to wrap his arms around her, he closed his eyes as her wonderful smell filled his senses. He opened his eyes again and looked up at the night sky. Why couldn't he be holding her, here underneath a million stars, as they proclaimed their love for each other? Why did it have to be this way?

Then darkness swallowed him.

At the same time, unprepared for the sudden and spectacular stop of the van the Shellraiser drove for a few more feet before pulling a U-turn. Then something massive landed on the hood. The vehicle let out a cry of pain when the weight of the intruder caused it stop.

"Revenge." Said Overkill.

Leonardo looked up just in time to see the roof of the van being ripped open like a sardine can. Overkill tossed the roof of the Shellraiser into the night and reached a giant arm inside before grabbing Michelangelo by the face. Overkill pulled Michelangelo out of the Shellraiser and watched as the orange clad turtle struggled for freedom and air.

"MIKEY!" Raphael cried, pulling his Sai and stabbing them into Overkills leg, this act enabled Raphael follow as the robot flew away with his little brother. Raphael jumped away just as Overkill landed and faced him, twirling his Sai in anticipation.

Michelangelo was screaming incoherently, presumably about the fact that his face was the first thing enemies tended to grab. Raphael wasn't too worried, that is until Michelangelo's body went limp. Anger, raw and acidic, ran through his veins, it manifested itself in a low menacing snarl.

"Put my brother down, you bastard!" Raphael ran for Overkill and the robot lifted its free arm to reveal, what looked to Raphael to be, a revolving gun. But when the bullets started to fly he cursed himself for being right. Dodging the bullets, some with ease, some with the twirling of his Sai, Raphael advanced.

Overkill ran out of bullets and switched to something else, its back flipped open and out folded a rocket launcher, Raphael was too close to evade it. Michelangelo's body swung around like a soggy noodle. "This is it, I'm sorry little bro." Raphael whispered and closed his eyes, at least he'd get to see the little twerp in the next life.

Just as Overkill was about to release the rocket, a battle cry rang through the night air. Leonardo flipped and jumped through the air with grace and speed, bringing his katana down to slice Overkill through the eye sensor.

Leonardo jumped up onto Overkill's shoulders and began stabbing him over and over through the head. Sparks and metal parts flew while oil rained down like blood. It covered Leonardo's face, the hatred in his eyes was savage. Raphael had to wonder if he himself looked like that when he was on one of his tirades.

His normally cool and kept together brother was now feral and dangerous. The frustration of the past few hours must've gotten the better of him. For the first time Raphael began to wonder if Leonardo was more aggressive than himself.

Raphael tore his gaze away from Leonardo for a moment when Michelangelo's body was flung from Overkill's unresponsive arm. Raphael caught his little brother with ease and held him in a tight hug before returning his attention to Leonardo.

Leonardo screamed, Overkill was now a pile of metal and grease, yet Leonardo kept stabbing, over and over. One for his brother, Stab. One for Donatello, Stab. For his father and sensei, Stab. Stab. For April. Stab. Stab. Stab. Stab.

Raphael set Michelangelo on the ground and grabbed Leonardo around the stomach and hugged him tightly. "Hey, Bro, Chill. It's over." Raphael said, "It's okay." Leonardo struggled for a moment before pausing, his breathing was ragged and shallow against Raphael's plastron. "Let's get Donnie." Leonardo nodded and Raphael released him and picked up Michelangelo again.

Leonardo and Raphael made their way over to the flaming van, they had to believe that Donatello was alright. They followed the tail of carnage until they found a patch of grass that was covered in blood, it was obvious that Donatello had landed there but there was no sign of either Donatello or April.

"Where did they go?" Leonardo asked and exasperatedly hurried for the Shellraiser, the fact that it was a convertible now only made it easier for him to spot Donatello and April.

"Leo! Wait!" Raphael's frantic voice cut through to his heart and he knew he wasn't ready to hear what Raphael was about to say. "Mickey stopped breathing."