Secrets Revealed
On the day of the doctor's appointment, Donnie sat in the waiting room of the office with a look of embarrassment on his face. Raph noticed this and mistook it for nervousness, so he decided to comfort his brother.
"Don't worry, Donnie," said Raph, "The doctor is nothing to be nervous about. If he needs a blood sample, which I doubt he will, you can hold my hand for the pain."
"Thanks, Raph," said Donnie, "But I'm really not that nervous. It's more embarrassment about the person I'm sitting next to."
"Donatello, don't talk about your brother that way," said Yoshi, not looking away from the magazine he was reading.
"I wasn't talking about Raph, father," said Donnie.
"The only two people next to you are Raphael on your left and me on your right," said Yoshi.
That was when he realized that Donnie meant him and looked away from the magazine to shoot his son a disapproving look; though it was hard to take him seriously since he was wearing a Yankees baseball cap and ridiculous looking sunglasses. He also had chosen to wear blue a t-shirt with "#1 Dad" written on it.
"He's got a point there, father," said Raph, "I mean, you could've gone with literally anything in your closet and you chose that stuff."
"You know full well the situation our family is in," said Yoshi.
"Yeah, but still," said Raph, "You didn't have to pick the most ridiculous shirt in your closet, or those sunglasses, or that cap. What's next, one of those fake mustaches you see guys wearing in those old movies where the character is on a stakeout?"
"Enough, Raphael," said Yoshi, slightly annoyed.
As annoyed as Yoshi was by that comment, he did agree with Raphael that his shirt was quite ridiculous. Sometimes he had to wonder what Michelangelo was thinking when he gave it to him for Father's Day four years ago; probably his own humorous way of telling him how great a father he is.
As they waited, Donnie leaned towards Raph and whispered, "How can anyone be so vain?"
"What?" Raph asked, not understanding what Donnie meant.
Donnie pointed to a woman looking at a home decor magazine and said, "That woman over there in the green blouse just went on about how certain she is about her physical is going to be perfect as always; not one pound over weight or one inch of her waist wider. Some people are just so obnoxious that way."
Raph raised an eyebrow and said, "Uh, Donnie, she didn't say that."
"What are you talking about?" Donnie asked, "She just said that loud enough for the whole office to hear."
"No she didn't," said Raph, "She didn't say anything. Nobody did until you whispered to me."
"Huh? But I could've sworn-" Donnie began, and then was cut off by the doctor calling him in.
He and his father and brother got up from their seats and went inside to meet with the doctor, Dr. Vincent. When they met with him, he had Donnie sit on the examination table and had him explain what was going on.
"Alright, Donatello, tell me what's been bothering you," said the doctor.
"I've been having headaches, nausea, and I keep getting dizzy for no real reason," Donnie explained.
"I see," said the doctor. He then turned to Yoshi and said, "Mr. Kurama, I'm going to run a few tests on your son. Is that okay with you?"
Yoshi nodded and said, "If it will help us to find out what is wrong with him."
Dr. Vincent did some standard tests such as the reflex test, the eye exam, and looking inside his ear. He had expected to find something strange or unusual, however, everything looked normal.
"I don't see anything physically wrong with him," said Dr. Vincent, "Did this happen to coincide with anything?"
"He did recently get a job as Dr. Rockwell's lab assistant," said Raph.
"Could just be exhaustion or fatigue," said the doctor, "You from working too hard."
"I don't think so," said Donnie, "This feels nothing like those things."
"Is there another test you can run?" Yoshi asked.
"I could try a blood test. But it could take me a few days to get any kind of results," said the doctor.
"If it can help to understand what is going on with my son, I will do anything," said Yoshi.
"Okay," said Dr. Vincent, and then turned to his patient and added, "Donatello, this may hurt a little, so if you feel like you need to squeeze something, say so."
Donnie was about to say that was not necessary when Rah said, "Just take my hand and squeeze it, little bro."
"Okay, Raph," said Donnie.
Dr. Vincent went to the table and came back with a syringe and a piece of ribbon. The doctor tied the ribbon around Donnie's arm and Raph took his little brother's hand in his. As the doctor brought the syringe closer to Donnie's arm, Donnie closed his eyes and squeezed his older brother's hand as hard as he could. He felt a tiny pinch as the needle went into his skin and took blood, and then it was removed and a Band-Aid was placed on top of the puncture mark after the ribbon was removed.
"And that's it," said Dr. Vincent, "I'll call you when I get the results back."
"Very well," said Yoshi, as Donnie let go of Raph's hand.
Donnie then got off the table and left the room with his father and brother. As they were leaving, Yoshi, Raph, and Donnie decided to have a bit of a private conversation.
"How come you didn't tell him the last problem?" Raph asked, referring to the mind reading.
"I thought about it," said Donnie, "But then I thought that telling him I thought I was hearing people's thoughts made me sound like I was crazy."
"Good call," said Raph, after thinking over what Donnie said, "He might've just sent you to a psychiatrist or had you get a CAT scan or something like that."
"Indeed," said Yoshi, "For the time being, it is best to keep that part a secret."
As they were leaving the waiting room, they heard the name "Amelia Sanford" being called and the woman that Donnie called "vain" before going back to see the doctor. As she was passing by them, Donnie thought he heard her voice say ''Bout time. Does he think I have no plans or something? I do have a life.'
Donnie rolled his eyes and said, "She also has an attitude."
"Huh?" Raph asked.
"She just said-" Donnie started to say until he realized that he was the only one who heard her. He shook his head and said, "Never mind. It was probably nothing."
With that, Yoshi, Raph, and Donnie left the office together, got into Yoshi's car, and drove back home. Once they got home, Yoshi told Shen, Miwa, Leo, and Mikey what the doctor told them about Donnie and that he had to take some blood and that it would take time to get the results. Miwa felt mildly annoyed that they had to wait even longer to find out what was wrong with Donnie, however, she felt it might be worth it to wait for the right results.
Elsewhere, unbeknownst to the Hamato clan, their old/new enemy was speaking with his followers in his lair. He was not at all pleased with their lack of progress in locating Yoshi, Shen, or their children. They had been searching for them ever since their arrival in the city and they have failed every time, and it was starting to make the Shredder very unhappy.
At the moment, Bradford and Xever were in the Shredder's throne room kneeling before him whilst listening to their master scold them for their failure. Four Foot ninjas stood by with spears in hand in case anything got ugly; or maybe just because Shredder thought it made him look more fearsome to have soldiers posted nearby.
Shredder looked down at his two minions and said, "Hamato Yoshi's disciples are mere children. And yet they managed to defeat you?!"
"They may have been kids, but they were also very resourceful!" Bradford defended, "But I almost had them."
"Until you led us into their trap!" Xever snapped accusingly, "I told you that plan wouldn't work! But did you listen? No!"
"You have a better way to find Hamato?!" Bradford asked.
"Silence!" the Shredder snapped.
The Shredder strode slowly, yet frighteningly, down the stairs that led to his throne and the approached Bradford. He unsheathed the claws from his gauntlets and pointed them underneath Bradford's chin, making him back away quickly. As Bradford got a feeling of dread, the Shredder voiced his disappointment in him in a dark threatening tone.
"You were such a promising student, Bradford," the Shredder said, "I expected much more from you."
"Sensei, please, give me another chance!" Bradford begged, "I will not fail you again!"
The Shredder held his claws where they were for a moment, and then he retracted them, allowing Bradford to breathe a sigh of relief. And then he spoke, "No, you won't," he turned to Xever and said, "Xever, you are in charge now."
Xever smiled with pride at being put in charge, while Bradford glared and snapped, "I won't take orders from this gutter trash!"
"Is that so?" Shredder asked in a dark tone while shooting a death glare.
Bradford shrank a little in his place as he said, "Unless you want me to, master."
"I have the purple Dragons under my full control. By now they are keeping their eyes peeled for those ninjas," said Xever, "And when I find them, I will take pleasure in eliminating them where they stand."
"No," said Shredder, "You will bring them to me alive. With luck, any one of them could have information on Tang Shen and her children."
"Very well," said Xever, "If that is what you wish."
And with that, the two turned to leave the throne room to do the job they were given. Just as they were leaving, however, they heard a young female voice laugh and looked over to see a young girl around the age of fifteen or sixteen with long black hair and hazel eyes enter the throne room. She wore traditional Foot Clan kunouichi armor and had a tanto sword attached to her belt.
"You got beat up by kids, Bradford?" the girl said, "Oh my, how embarrassing that must be for you."
Bradford glared at the girl and said, "Shut up, Kuro!"
The girl, Kuro, laughed again and strolled over as she added, "You'd think that after training under a great ninja master you'd be able to handle some kids. I mean, really, they were about my age and trained by a lesser master, but you couldn't even take one down? And here I thought you were one of the top pupils."
"I said shut up, you little brat!" Bradford snapped.
"Stand down, Bradford! You will show my daughter proper respect!" the Shredder declared, "She is my most prized pupil, one of the finest ninjas I have ever trained, and at only sixteen."
Kuro smiled proudly at her father's praise and Bradford bowed before his master and said, almost forcefully, "My apologies, master. It won't happen again."
"Be sure that it doesn't," said Shredder. He then turned back to his daughter and said, "Kuro, I am pleased that you arrived. I may need your help if I am to destroy Hamato Yoshi."
"I will not fail to do my part, father," she said with a bow. She then turned her attention to Xever and said, "So, Xever, you think you'll get any results this time? I mean, if ninjas couldn't take those guys, what makes you think street gangs will do any better?"
"Yee have little faith," said Xever, "You will see. Once the Purple Dragons find them, the Foot Clan will be victorious."
As the two men started to walk away, Kuro cleared her throat and said, "Probably should've told you this earlier, but, those guys can't help you. They were arrested a few days ago for robbing an antique store."
Xever paused in mid walk, looked back at Kuro and asked, "WHAT?!"
"Yeah," said Kuro, slightly amused at the situation, "And I don't think they'll be out for sometime."
Shredder crossed his arms across his chest and said, "It would seem as though you have failed before you could even start, Xever. I should have known better than to put my trust in you."
"Master, please, this was not my fault," Xever begged, "I had no way of knowing of this."
"And that was your mistake," said Shredder. He then turned to Kuro and told her, "You are the only one I can count on, my daughter. You will be in charge."
Kuro bowed in respect and said, "Thank you, father."
And with that, Shredder allowed his daughter and minions to leave so they could perform their respective tasks; Kuro decided to start right away on figuring out how to locate Yoshi, Shen, and their children, so she told Bradford and Xever to do as they pleased in the meantime.
Once she was gone, Xever punched the wall and roared in frustration, "The Dragons were our best chance! And now, thanks to this, I looked like a fool in front of Master Shredder and I now have to take orders from a little girl!"
"Well, not much you can do about it now," said Bradford, who was leaning against the wall, "Master Shredder isn't the type to change his mind so easily. And ever since the little snow flake became his student, she's been his favorite; he even took to calling her his daughter and has shared secrets with her that he never even shared with me."
"This is not over," Xever growled, "I will track down whoever is responsible and make them pay for this!"
"I could lend a hand with that if you'd like," said Bradford.
Xever looked suspiciously at Bradford and asked, "Why would you want to help me with anything? We've never gotten along; in fact, last I remember, we hate each other."
"True," said Bradford, "But, let's not forget that you're not the only one was made a fool of. And it just so happens that it is possible for both of us to get our revenge."
"Oh really, Bradford?" Xever asked, "How?"
"Simple, we go to the antique store that the Purple Dragons robbed and attack the owner and any employees that work there," Bradford explained, "And then when the ninjas arrive to save the day, we will trap them and then destroy the building and everyone else inside."
"And then we bring the ninjas to Master Shredder to interrogate," Xever finished, "That's brilliant. And it will show Master Shredder that we are not as useless as he thought."
"It may even take Kuro down a few pegs," Bradford added, "That'll show that little snow princess who's the real top pupil around here."
"What is with and winter puns when it comes to you taunting that girl?" Xever asked, "Is that supposed to reference her coldness?"
Bradford simply laughed and said, "It's actually a reference to her real name."
"Her real name?" Xever asked.
"I'll explain later," said Bradford, "Right now, we have more pressing matters to attend to. And we have to act quickly, before Kuro finds out. If she finds out that we're about to do this, she might try to take control."
Xever nodded in agreement and the two left to exact their revenge. The two were aware that once this was over, one would definitely try to outdo the other, but, none of that mattered at the moment, because their real problems were the ninjas, Hamato Yoshi, and Kuro.
However, they failed to notice the ninja hiding in the shadows listening to their conversation; looks like Kuro would not be in the dark for much longer.
Meanwhile, the Hamato teens had decided to get out of the house for something besides ninja stuff and invited April to join them; they felt she could use a night out to get her mind off of the Kraang. They even had the perfect place in mind.
"So, you guys wanna let me in on where we're going?" April asked.
"It's our favorite noodle place; Murakami's," said Miwa, "We think you're gonna love it."
"Yeah," said Mikey, "The food there's awesome! It's real Japanese cooking!"
"And the owner, Mr. Murakami, is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet," Leo explained, "And his cooking style is just amazing."
"He's like a ninja, but for food!" Mikey added, "That's especially awesome considering he can't even see what he's doing."
"I'm sorry?" April said in confusion.
"Oh yeah, we probably should've opened with this," said Raph, "Murakami's blind."
"Really?" April asked, "That's so sad."
"We thought so too at first," said Miwa, "But he told us that it really wasn't that bad. He said that even though he was blinded when he young, he never had any problem seeing; his other senses are heightened to the point where he doesn't need his eyes. In a lot of ways, he actually sees a lot better than us."
"Cool," said April.
One more block and they finally arrived at the restaurant, a skinny red building with kanji on the sign, the group went inside and met with an old man with gray hair and darkened; April guessed that this must be Murakami.
"Hey, Murakami-san," Miwa said.
"Ah, Miwa-chan," Murakami greeted, "You brought your brothers as well, I can tell."
"How'd you know that we were all here, Mr. Murakami,?" Mikey asked, "We didn't even say 'hi' yet,"
"Raphael-san put on a lot of that body spray he uses again," said Murakami, "I could smell it from over here. And when Miwa-chan brings one of you, she usually brings all of you."
"Hey, I play on the school hockey team and don't always have time to take a shower before I leave the house," said Raph.
"Relax, Raphael-san," said Murakami, "The smell does not bother anyone, I was merely making an observation. I am happy that you and your family could make it. It is always nice to have you here."
"Oh," said Raph, "Well, it's nice to see you too, Murakami-san."
"Oh, almost forgot," said Leo, "We brought a friend with us to try the food."
Leo allowed April to pass by him, and she extended her hand to the owner and said, "Hi, I'm April O'Neil."
"Kounichiwa, April-chan," said Murakami, shaking April's hand, "Always nice to meet a friend of the Kurama children."
"Likewise," said April.
Murakami then released April's hand and asked, "How about I fix you all something to eat? Take your pick of anything on the menu; I will give you a discount."
April looked at the menu that Murakami gave her. It was hard to choose because everything looked delicious, but she finally made her decision. She looked up at Murakami and told him, "I'd like the Yakisoba, please."
"Excellent choice," said Murakami, taking the menu from April. He then turned to Miwa and the boys and asked them, "And you?"
The siblings all nodded at each other and Leo said, "We'll have our favorite, please."
"Of course, Leonardo-san," said Murakami, "Pizza Gyoza."
After Murakami walked away to prepare their dishes April looked curiously at the siblings and asked, "Pizza Gyoza?"
"It's Gyoza made with Pizza ingredients," Mikey explained.
"Okay," April said, "But what's a gyoza?"
"It's a Japanese style dumpling," said Miwa, "You can try one of ours if you'd like."
"And if you like 'em, you can order some to go," said Raph.
"No thanks," said April, not liking the idea of tasting a pizza flavored dumplings.
Murakami returned later with their orders; a bowl of noodles for April and trays of dumplings for the Hamato teens. As they all ate their food, April realized that her friends spoke the truth about how delicious the food is. She also wondered how they could eat pizza dumplings.
"You know, there are other things to eat here, right?" April said.
"We know," said Raph, "We've tried most of them. But these are our favorite."
"You don't say," said April, not really understanding the appeal of the dumplings. It was then that Miwa chose to tell everyone about her latest discovery.
"You guys aren't gonna believe what I found out today," said Miwa.
"What?" Leo asked, popping another gyoza into his mouth.
"Remember when Bradford and his pal, Xever, took Donnie and Mikey hostage?" Miwa asked.
"How could we forget?" Raph asked in tone that implied that he would rather forget, "Why are you bringing that up now?"
"Well, after the fight, I got this feeling that I had heard the name before," Miwa explained, "It was bugging me for a long time until today when I remembered this one time when we jumped the Purple Dragons in their old hideout. Fong was on the phone with a man that he called Xever."
This got everyone's attention. They all stopped eating abruptly and gave Miwa their full attention.
"Sis, are you saying that Xever is in league with the Purple Dragons?" Leo asked.
"Actually, I'm saying that Xever is in charge of them," said Miwa, "I only heard one side of the conversation, but the way Fong was talking sounded like he was trying to make sure Xever was pleased."
"But that means that the Shredder controls them, too," Raph realized.
"But, I thought Fong was the leader of the Purple Dragons," said Mikey.
"He is," Miwa explained, "But he answers to Xever, who in turn answers to the Shredder."
"It's like in the army," Leo explained, "Shredder is the commander, Xever is the platoon leader, Fong is the squad leader, and the Purple Dragons are the squad."
"Oh, I get it now," said Mikey.
"But if Xever controls the Purple Dragons, then he might not be very happy that they got arrested," Leo realized, "He's gonna want revenge."
"Yes," said Miwa, "And seeing as we're the ones who put the Purple Dragons in jail, we are most likely his prime targets."
"That means he's gonna be up to something big," said Leo, "We need to figure out his next move, before any innocent people get hurt."
During the conversation, April noticed that Donnie was unusually quiet and he had barely touched his gyoza; in fact, it looked like he was not even paying that much attention.
"Donnie, are you feeling alright?" April asked.
At the sound of his name being called, Donnie came back to reality and said, "Yes. I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you've been awfully quiet since before we got, you don't seem to be paying much attention," said April, "And you've barely touched your food."
"Oh, sorry," said Donnie, breaking his chopsticks apart, "It's just that I can't stop thinking about today."
"You mean the doctor's appointment?" Mikey asked.
"Yeah," said Donnie as he popped a gyoza into his mouth. He chewed it and swallowed and then added, "Something's bothering me. The doctor said he couldn't find anything wrong with me and Raph said that it coincided with my employment with Dr. Rockwell."
"What about it?" Raph asked.
"Well, I can't help but wonder if maybe you were onto something," Donnie explained, "Maybe while I was working there I got exposed to some type experimental chemical or something."
"Or maybe Rockwell experimented on you in secret," Mikey said in a dramatic tone, "Maybe he wanted to create a psychic formula and needed a human test subject."
In response, Donnie slammed his hands on the counter, stood up abruptly, and snapped, "No! Dr. Rockwell would never do that!"
"Whoa, take it easy, Donnie," said Raph, "Granted I kinda like the angry look on you."
Miwa glared at Raph and said, "Don't encourage him."
April put her hand on Donnie's shoulder and said, "I'm sure Mikey wasn't being serious, Donnie."
Donnie took a deep breath and regained his composure before telling the others, "I'm sorry, guys. I'm sorry for yelling. It's just that Dr. Rockwell is a good man and can't imagine him doing something as horrible as using young kids as test subjects."
Leo then got up from his seat put his hand on his second youngest brother's shoulder and said, "We understand, Donnie. And I'm sure there's a logical explanation."
"Sure there is," said Raph, "We just have to wait for the test results."
"In the meantime, I believe you're scheduled to work tonight," said Miwa.
"Oh! Right! Almost forgot!" Donnie said, "Excuse me, Murakami-san, can I get the rest of my order to go?"
"Of course, Donatello-san," said Murakami, taking Donnie's plate to pack his gyoza into a to-go bag.
"I can with you if you'd like," said April, "Maybe I can see if this Rockwell guy nows anything about the Kraang or my dad."
"That might not be a bad idea," said Donnie, "You guys try to figure out Xever's next move."
"Okay," said Leo, "We'll call you if we find out anything."
Murakami came to Donnie and handed him a bag of gyoza. He smiled as he said, "I put extra in the bag for you to share with April-chan."
"Thanks, Murakami-san," said April, still unsure about the pizza dumplings.
After saying their goodbyes, Donnie and April left the restaurant together for Rockwell's lab.
Upon arrival, Donnie introduced April to Dr. Rockwell and showed her around the lab. After the tour, April decided ask Dr. Rockwell some questions and find if he knows anything about the Kraang, leaving Donnie to his job.
As Donnie was examining some DNA samples that Dr. Rockwell told him to look at, he almost did not hear the door open and someone's footsteps entering the room. Donnie looked up from where he was and saw Dr. Falco standing next to him.
Dr. Falco smiled at Donnie and said, "Hello, Donatello. How are you this evening?"
"Hi, Dr. Falco," said Donnie, "I'm doing okay, thanks for asking."
"Are you sure?" Falco asked, "I ran into that friend of yours on the way in; April, I think her name was. She told me you had to go to the doctor today."
"Oh, yeah," said Donnie, "I've been sick a lot lately."
"Oh, really?" Falco asked, "What kind of sick?"
"Well, I've been having headaches and I've been getting dizzy. And just recently, I got nauseous and dizzy and I threw up," Donnie explained, "But right now I feel okay enough to work."
"Well, if you're sure," said Falco. He then held out a to-go cup of hot chocolate and said, "Here. I got you this."
"Again? You didn't have to do that," said Donnie, taking the cup from the doctor.
"I know," said Falco, "I just wanted to do something nice for you."
"Thanks," sad Donnie, "I thinking I'll share this one with April; she loves chocolate."
"No!" Falco screamed, surprising Donnie. He then cleared his throat and regained his composure as he said, "That's yours. You should get another one later to give to April."
"I don't see why I can't just share mine with her," said Donnie.
Dr. Falco thought for a few seconds and then said, "Well, what if whatever you have is contagious? You wouldn't want her to start throwing too, would you?"
"I see your point, doctor," said Donnie, "Nothing's happened so far, but why take a chance? Right?"
"Right," said Dr. Falco.
In truth, Donnie was starting to find Dr. Falco's actions quite questionable; mostly because he knew for a fact that his type of condition could not be contagious; if it was, his family would already have it too. Donnie was just about to make up an excuse to get away from when he heard April calling him.
"Donnie," she said, poking her head into the room, "Can you come with me for a second? Dr. Rockwell says he's having trouble with his computer."
"Sure, April," said Donnie, standing up from his chair.
"Now hold on," said Dr. Falco, blocking Donnie, "Don't you have work to do."
"It can wait a little bit," said Donnie, pushing past the doctor, "April and Dr. Rockwell need help now."
Donnie started heading for the door to follow April when suddenly, he started getting another headache. He hissed in pain as he clutched his head. As he struggled to keep standing, April rushed to his side to help him and even though he did not see her lips moving, Donnie was sure he could hear her voice.
'Oh no, of all the times for this to happen,' he heard April say, 'I have to get Donnie away from this man. He can't be trusted.'
Donnie then heard another voice, Dr. Falco, saying, ' This is perfect. With him in this state, I can take him with little to no resistance and then I can take him to someplace where I can monitor the progress more closely with no interuptions; and I didn't even need to drug him like I usually do. I need to grab him quickly. If that girl gets away with him, then I'll lose the psychic chemical! I refuse to lose my test subject when I've finally come this far!'
The next thing Donnie saw in his head was images. Dr. Falco and Dr. Rockwell receiving mutagen from the Kraang. Dr. Falco and Dr. Rockwell fighting about the psychic neuro chemical and testing it on humans. The day they met, Dr. Falco getting an idea. Dr. Falco was pouring something into the hot chocolate and later giving it to Donnie to drink. Donnie drinks the drink and then passes out and, while he is unconscious, Dr. Flaco sticks a syringe into his neck and injects the contents into Donnie. Donnie's eyes widened in shock as he took in all of the new information. He regained his balance and stood in front of April as he confronted Dr. Falco.
"You did this to me?" Donnie asked, "I trusted you! And all this time you've just been using me as a Guinea pig for your experiment."
"What?" Dr. Falco asked, trying to sound innocent, "Why, Donatello, what would make you think such a thing?"
"Save it, Dr. Falco," said Donnie, "I know everything. I know you got the mutagen from that man and were paid to modify it. I know that you've been drugging my hot chocolate and then injecting me with that psychic neuro chemical you've been working on while I was unconscious. I even know that you did all of that without Dr. Rockwell knowing."
Dr. Falco's eyes widened in shock at what Donnie had just said to him. "How did you know what I was doing with the serum? How did you even know that it existed?" Dr. Falco asked.
"I could see into your mind," Donnie explained, "I saw everything you remembered and heard everything you were thinking."
Dr. Falco was shocked at first, but then his face turned to an evil grin and he started chuckling darkly. The mere sound was starting to creep both Donnie and April out.
"It's finally ready!" he declared, "I told Tyler that experimenting on ape DNA samples alone would only take it so far, and I was right! It appears I was also right in testing it on you."
"What are you talking about?" April asked, "What's going on? What have you been doing to Donnie?"
"I'm glad you asked, young lady," said Dr. Falco, "You see, my good friend, Tyler, and myself were paid by a man calling himself Kraang to modify a substance called mutagen. We were working on creating a neuro chemical to give humans psychic powers. Unfortunately, Tyler was unwilling to test it on living subjects; he only wanted to experiment on samples of monkey and ape DNA.
I thought we would never get anywhere with Tyler's method, but then, one day, young Donatello came in to start his first day as Tyler's lab assistant. I knew that a young healthy person like him would be the perfect specimen. Tyler forbade me from inviting him to help with the project, naturally, but that did not stop me from testing it on him anyway."
"You monster!" April snapped, "Testing on a kid?! It's because of you that Donnie keeps getting sick! What kind of sick person are you?!"
"I'm a scientist," Dr. Falco simply said, not an ounce of guilt in his voice, "And now, I would like my final result, if you please. Just a little blood should do that trick."
"Stay away from me!" said Donnie, backing away and taking a fighting stance, "I'm not letting you stick anymore needles into me ever again!"
April reached behind her for the door knob and turned it so that she and Donnie could escape. Unfortunately, Dr. Falco was not about to let his experiment get away so easily.
"I was hoping that you would make this easier and just give me what I asked for," said Dr. Falco, as he made his way closer to the teens, "But now, you've both forced me to take extreme measures."
April opened the door as quickly as she could and shouted, "Run, Donnie! Run!"
Both of them turned and dashed for the door, unfortunately, Dr. Falco quickly grabbed Donnie's arm and pulled him back. April stopped when she realized Donnie was not behind her and turned around to see him resisting as Dr. Falco pulled him back and tried to force him to go with him. She gasped and ran back for him. Dr. Rockwell heard the noise and looked to see what was going on; his eyes widened in fear when he saw what was going on and rushed to help.
"Get your hands off me!" Donnie snapped, "I already told you I'm not giving you my blood!"
"I will have my serum even if I have to use force!" Dr. Falco yelled, he then started pulling Donnie's arm as he said, "You are coming with me!"
"No I'm not!" Donnie shouted. And then he grabbed Dr. Falco's forearm and flipped him over his head right into the wall. The impact was so great that it seemed to knock him unconscious.
As Donnie was catching his breath, he looked to the doorway and saw both April and Dr. Rockwell standing there and staring in shock. Seeing the both of them made him nervous. He knew that April would understand his actions since she was there when Dr. Falco revealed his true colors, but he had no way of knowing how Dr. Rockwell would react. He had not seen what happened earlier.
"Doctor, I can explain," said Donnie, "You might not believe me, but Dr. Falco-"
"Has been experimenting on you behind my back," said Dr. Rockwell.
April looked at Dr. Rockwell in surprise and asked, "You knew?"
"Not for sure until that monster attack," said Dr. Rockwell, "However, I did have some suspicions that my colleague was up to no good. It was during the monster attack that I realized exactly what he was up to. I'm so sorry, I never thought that Victor would go this far."
"It's okay, doctor," said Donnie, "All that matters is that everyone's okay."
"Yeah, and now, I think we better get out of here before Dr. Sleeping Beauty wakes up," said April, "I don't want Donnie around him when that happens."
"Nor I," said Dr. Rockwell, "But more for Victor's sake than Donatello's from what I saw before."
Donnie laughed and said, "Good point. And you may want to think about calling the police."
"Agreed," said Dr. Rockwell, "Let's get him into the closet."
They turned to do just that but found Dr. Falco missing. They looked and saw and open window. April went over to the window and looked outside to see where he might've gone. Unfortunately, she saw nothing, not even any sign of a car.
"He got away," said April, "He must've fled while we weren't looking."
"We better get home and tell the others what happened," said Donnie, "And see if we can get those ninjas to track Dr. Falco down."
"Not a bad idea," said Dr. Rockwell, "But before you go, I have something that I want you to give to them."
April and Donnie waited as Dr. Rockwell left the room and came back with a canister full of mutagen. He hand said Canister to Donnie and explained to him that it was safer with the ninjas than him. Donnie agreed with him and took the canister and left the lab with April. Their hope was that that was the last they would ever see of Dr. Victor Falco. However, April and Donnie were both a getting the feeling that they would see him again in the near future.
After leaving the lab, Donnie and April made a bee line for the antique shop. When they arrived, they both told Yoshi and Shen what happened. This was quite a shock to the both of them; Dr. Falco helped save their son's life during the Carnotaur attack after all, and it turns out that all he was trying to save was his formula. Donnie then asked about his siblings' whereabouts and Yoshi told him that they went to Chinatown to try to track down Xever and fins out his next move. With the new information, Donnie left the mutagen with his parents and April and rushed to go gear up and join his siblings, knowing that they would need his help. He also called them to get their coordinates.
Leo Miwa, Raph, and Mikey stood a rooftop and watched Xever like a hawk. He seemed to be waiting for someone or something, but who or what? They did not know. Suddenly, Miwa heard someone behind her and immediately whipped out her tanto and jumped the person who dared to sneak up on her. She held the tanto to the stalker's throat only to realize that she had just tackled... Donnie.
"Please don't slit my throat!" Donnie choked out.
"Donnie?" Miwa asked, and then put her blade away and got off of him. She held her hand out to her brother and said, "Don't sneak up on me like that."
"Sorry," said Donnie accepting her hand and standing back up again, "If I didn't, I might've blown your cover. So, what's going on?"
"Xever's waiting for someone or something, but we don't know who or what," said Leo, "But we have to stay silent if we wanna find out anything."
Raph rolled his eyes and asked, "Leo, do you really need to say that every time?"
"It tends to become necessary," says Leo.
Before anymore could be said, a van pulled up and Bradford stepped out in his red ninja garb. Xever walked over to him and the ninjas listened as they talked.
"I got the weapons you told me," said Bradford, "Are you sure these things will be the ideal equipment?"
"Of course," said Xever, opening the back of the van, "I've used them myself on many occasions. Trust me; they are the perfect weapons for this task."
"I'm just saying this seems like over kill," said Bradford, "And not very ninja-like."
As Bradford said his piece, Xever reached inside the van and pulled out what looked to be a giant flame thrower. He grinned evilly as he admired the weapon he was holding.
"You forget, Bradford, I am not a ninja," said Xever.
As Xever put the weapon back inside the van and closed it, the Hamato ninjas were curious about what he planned to do with it and whatever else was in there.
"Once their inside the van, I'm gonna hitch a ride and see where they go," Leo whispered, "I'll call you guys when I know."
Before Leo could do anything, Donnie focused on Xever and started getting a strange sensation in his head and heard Xever's voice.
'With these, I will have my revenge,' said Xever, 'Once we get that antique shop, we'll capture those ninjas for the Shredder and then the shop and its owner will feel the full power as their shop turns to ashes and them themselves with it.'
Donnie gasped and told his oldest brother, "You don't have to tail them! They're going to our house!"
"What?" Leo asked.
"I read his mind!" said Donnie, "They're going to attack the shop and then capture us when we go to save it! And then, after they have us, he's going to use those big flamethrowers to burn the place down!"
"Are you serious?!" Miwa asked in shock.
"But, I thought Shredder was in love with mother," said Mikey, "Why would they want to kill the woman Shredder loves?"
"They don't know that the shop is hers and fathers," said Donnie, "But if they find them both there, then they try to take them both to the Shredder; if there's one thing I understand from the stories, Shredder will want to deal with father himself."
"And if he finds out that mother and father are there, it won't take him long to realize who we really are," Raph realized.
"We can't let that happen!" Leo declared, "Come on guys! We have to keep them from getting to the shop!"
Not needing to be told twice, the ninja teens leaped into action. Just as Bradford was starting the engine, Raph jumped on to the hood, startling the two. He then punched their wind shield, with his hands covered of course, and grabbed them by their shirts. He then pulled them out of the van and then threw them onto the ground. Bradford and Xever sat up and found themselves surrounded by the entire ninja team.
As the ninja teens glared at their enemies, they both smirked and Bradford and said, "Well, this is unexpected; in a good way."
"Oh yeah?" Miwa asked, "Why's that?"
"We were going to draw you out, but here you are," Bradford explained, "All five of you in fact."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but you're not destroying anything or killing anyone tonight," said Leo.
Bradford's eyes widened in shock as he asked, "What? How did you know about that?"
"Oh, we have our ways," said Raph, secretly referring to Donnie, "Not that we're gonna tell you what they are."
"It doesn't matter how they know!" said Xever, "Let's grab these brats and take them to Master Shredder!"
Raph only laughed at Xever and said, "You're free to try."
"Catch us if you can!" said Mikey.
Right after Mikey said that, Bradford and Xever charged to attack; Bradford went for Mikey and Leo, while Xever went for Raph, Miwa, and Donnie. During the battle, Donnie started to get a headache and saw images in his head. Once he realized what was going on with his head, Donnie focused and saw images of how Bradford and Xever planned to attack them.
He managed to place himself near Miwa long enough to tell her, "Better cover Naoto; Bradford's planning to take him hostage and force us to surrender."
Miwa turned to Donnie and asked, "You sure?"
"Yup," said Donnie, "And Xever got the idea to focus on Kurogane. He seems to think that if he keeps Kurogane busy, then Bradford can find a way to capture the rest of us."
"But, you still haven't told any of us how you know?" Miwa asked.
"I Don't have time to explain right now," said Donnie, "Just go help Naoto and Ryu; I've got Kurogane's back."
Miwa was about to protest, but Donnie charged ahead and started swinging his staff at Xever. Raph joined in and used his brute force against Xever. Miwa still wanted to help the two, however, she knew that Donnie was right that Mikey might need to be covered since Bradford was stronger and possibly faster than him and Leo. So, she rushed over to her other two brothers.
Just as Donnie had told her, Bradford was preparing to make a grab for Mikey. Thinking quickly, Miwa whipped out her tessen and threw it at Bradford, hitting him in the arm. As he was crying out in agony, Miwa charged at him and kicked him away from Mikey.
Mikey and Leo saw that and Mikey smiled at Miwa and said, "Thanks, Karai."
"Anytime," said Miwa, with a smile, "But you should really be thanking Tetsuo; he's the one who gave me the heads up that you were Bradford's primary target."
Mikey and Leo raised an eyebrow at that and Bradford heard her and asked, "What?! How did he know? Is he the one who figured out our other plan, too?"
"I'm not answering that," said Miwa, "Besides, the knowledge isn't going to save you from getting your butt kicked."
With that said, Miwa, Leo, and Mikey got out their weapons and charged at Bradford. Bradford blocked and dodged their attacks as best he could, but it was difficult. Meanwhile, Xever was occupied with his two opponents. Xever smirked as Raph blocked a punch to his face and prepared to sneak a kick. It might have worked if Raph was alone, which he was not, Donnie saw that and struck Xever first. Seeing now way to take one down while the other was there to help, Xever decided that his best move was to split them up.
As they prepared for the next attack, Donnie got headache for a split second and saw into Xever's mind again. He saw Xever rushing at them and then knocking Donnie out so he could fight Raph alone.
'Nice try,' said Donnie.
Xever got ready to deliver a kick to Donnie's head to knock him out. Fortunately, Donnie blocked the kicked and delivered his own to Xever's stomach, sending him flying into a pile of garbage cans. The impact so strong that Xever lost consciousness right there. Raph lat out a laugh when he saw that and rushed over to the van.
While the others kept Bradford busy, Raph broke into the van and used his sai to destroy the weapons that Xever had brought so that they could not be used again. By the time he was finished, his siblings had Bradford outnumbered.
"I'd surrender if I were you," said Leo, "We have numbers on our side."
"And you have nothing," said Miwa, grinning under his mask.
Bradford only glared at them as he maneuvered his way to the van hoping to make his escape. He then noticed Raph climb out and that he was not looking in his direction. He figured that this could be the perfect chance to capture at least one of the ninjas, so he swiftly moved to grab the purple clad ninja. He made a move to grab Raph, only for said ninja to punch him in the stomach before rejoining his siblings.
"That was dirty!" Bradford declared.
"You're one to talk," said Raph, "Oh, by the way, were those weapons covered by a warranty?"
"No," Xever said they were custom made. Why would they be covered by warranty? We would we need to-" Bradford asked, and stopped when he realized what Raph was implying. He opened the van doors and found the weapons completely destroyed.
Bradford was so enraged by this he turned to attack the ninja teens. However, that proved to be a mistake as he found himself surrounded and beaten to the ground. Leo then grabbed him by his collar and brought him up to his face, glaring daggers at him.
"Let's get one thing straight," said Leo, "Second time around is off limits. Got it?"
Seeing that the boy was serious, Bradford nodded his head and said, "Yes."
"Good," said Leo, "Now grab your friend and get out of here."
With that, Bradford got up off the ground and ran to Xever. He picked up the fallen man and tossed him over his shoulder. Just before he left, Bradford turned to the ninjas and said, "This isn't over." With that, Bradford took off into the night carrying Xever on his shoulder.
After he was gone, Mikey smiled and said, "Well, guess that takes care of them."
"Sure does," said Miwa, and then she shot Raph a confused look and asked, "Warranty?"
Raph simply shrugged and said, "It was my way of hinting at the fact that he no longer had his weapons. I thought it might sound better to say it like that than to just tell him flat out or show him."
Leo decided to ignore Raph and Miwa and chose to get some answers from Donnie. He turned his attention to his genius brother and asked him, "Donnie, what did you mean when you said you read Xever's mind before?"
"I meant exactly that," Donnie answered, "When I looked at Xever before the fight, I could see and hear his thoughts. All because of Dr. Falco's serum."
"What are you talking about?" Miwa asked.
"I think it would be best to talk about this at home," said Donnie.
After the teens returned home, Donnie told them everything that happened with Dr. Falco and about his powers. By the time he was finished, his siblings all had mixed reactions. Leo's jaw dropped, Mikey's eyes went wide and he shrieked, Miwa was speechless, and Raph was barely keeping his anger under control.
"That son of a-!" Raph snapped, "Using our brother as a human Guinea pig! Next time I see him, he's dead!"
"Leave some for me!" Miwa added.
Leo turned his attention to Donnie and asked him, "Do you think there's a way to cure this?"
Donnie shook his head and said, "I wouldn't know where to begin."
"Why would you want to?" Mikey asked. His family looked at him as though he had just grown an extra head and he added, "I'm just saying it was a big help tonight; he should learn to control it and use it. Right?"
"Use it?" Miwa asked, "Are you serious? This made Donnie sick!"
"I'm not so sure," said Donnie, "It's possible that my getting sick was my body trying to reject the serum. I felt better during the fight when I stopped fighting the serum."
"Exactly," said Mikey, "A regular ninja is tough, but a psychic ninja could really add something extra to the team."
Yoshi contemplated his youngest son's idea and then said, "You make a very good point, Michelangelo." Mikey's older siblings all looked at their father in confusion and Yoshi himself merely said, "Donatello's new ability can be a valuable asset to your future missions, it must be honed. I trust you will figure out the proper method."
Leo looked back at his siblings and said, "Father's right. Donnie, get some rest because tomorrow, you've got some new training to do."
"Cool," said Donnie.
"There is one more thing that bugs me, though," said Miwa, "How did April know not trust Falco alone with Donnie?"
"Your father and I asked her about that," Shen explained, "She told us that she sometimes gets feelings about people and things."
"A feeling?" Raph asked skeptically, "That's it?"
"Don't you see, Raphael?" Yoshi asked, "Your friend has a rare gift; a sensitivity I have trained my entire life to perfect."
"Don't worry, father," said Mikey, "You'll get it."
"I did," said Yoshi, "It just took me a while."
"That's nothing to be ashamed of," said Mikey, still not getting what his father was saying.
"I never said I was," said Yoshi, nearly losing his patience. He breathed to calm himself and then said, "What I meant was that I offered April a chance to train under me to be a kunouichi like your sister, and she accepted."
The teens took a moment to take in the new information and then Donnie cheered, "This is great! We can train together!"
"Awesome!" Miwa cheered, "I'm not the only girl student anymore!"
Leo quieted his siblings and asked his father, "You explained the risks, right?"
"Of course," said Yoshi, "Did you think I was insane or something?"
"No," said Leo, "I just meant that ninjutsu isn't for the faint of heart. I could drain someone physically, mentally, and spiritually."
"I am aware of that and told April," said Yoshi. And then he shrugged and added, "She simply said that it could not be worse than high school."
Raph laughed and said, "Boy is she in for a surprise."
Meanwhile, in the Foot Clan lair, Kuro was at her computer doing some research on possible places to find Hamato Yoshi while waiting on her informant. She had just finished adding a place to list of places to search when she heard a knock on her door.
"Cast in the name of God," she called.
"Ye not guilty," a female voice replied.
"State your name and purpose," said Kuro.
"Scarlet," the same female voice called back, "I have a possible clue to location of our target: Hamato Yoshi."
"Come in," Kuro said.
The door opened to reveal a woman with hair tied up in a high ponytail dressed all in black ninja gear, complete with twin blades attached to her belt and a black mask over her eyes. If one were to look closely at her, they would see that she is the woman from the doctor's office. She walked inside, closing the door behind her and walked over to Kuro.
"Must you do that every time?" Scarlet asked, "Only those who work for you or your father come here."
"I couldn't risk it being someone under the control of Bradford or Xever," said Kuro, "I was informed by Coral earlier that Bradford and Xever are seeking to remove me as an obstacle. If I'm not careful, they could decide to get drastic and try to stage an accident. You know how they feel about me; especially after today."
"Good point," Scarlet said, "Anyway, I was at the doctor's office to getting a physical today, figuring that it might be the best place to look for info on Hamato."
"Hmm, interesting," said Kuro, "Did you find out anything useful?"
"Well, at first I had a few doubts, but then I saw someone in the waiting room that looked familiar," Scarlet explained, and then she showed Kuro a picture on her phone and asked, "Presto."
Kuro looked at the picture and was surprised to see it was a man who looked very much like the man they were searching for, only dressed up in clothes she would have never pictured him wearing.
"Hamato Yoshi?" she asked, curiously. She laughed a little and said, "Okay, I have to admit that is quit the disguise."
"I thought so too," said Scarlet, she pulled her phone back and scrolled to another picture as she said, "He was there with his sons. The doctor called the name of the one that was his patient. The boy's name is Donatello Kurama."
She held up a picture she had taken of Donnie, clearly without his knowledge. Looking at it, Kuro could clearly see the resemblance between him and his father. Scarlet than took the phone back and scrolled to another one.
"The other son, on the other hand did not look that much like him, if at all," Scarlet explained, "I heard Yoshi call him Raphael."
Kuro examined the picture and was surprised by Raph's appearance. Raph looked remarkably like the older pictures she had seen of her father. He was also about the age that his son, Sousuke, would be now. But this could not possibly be him, he died when he was small; right?
Kuro pushed that thought aside for the time being and asked, Scarlet, "And you're positive that this man is Hamato Yoshi?"
"I have to admit, I had my doubts," Scarlet said, "But the resemblance is uncanny. We can't just ignore that. I think we should look into it before making any decisions."
Kuro nodded and said, "Yes. We should investigate his sons as well. And let's keep this information on a need to know basis until we confirm our suspicions."
"Of course," said Scarlet.
"I do have one question, though," said Kuro, "Is there a reason that this took until now to get here?"
"There is," said Scarlet. She then got over dramatic as she explained, "I had to head to the gym after my physical because when I was weighed, the scale read five pounds overweight!"
Kuro shot Scarlet an annoyed look and asked, "Are you serious?"
Scarlet got over dramatic again as she said, "I am model in civilian mode, you know. I can't have my weight getting out of hand."
"I see," said Kuro, whilst secretly wondering if her father might've been right about letting Americans into the Foot Clan, "Well, take care of yourself and I'll get some others to investigate these Kurama's as well; the more people we have on this the better our chances will be of getting results."
"Good idea," said Scarlet, taking her leave.
"Have a good night then, Amelia," said Kuro, using her underlings' real name.
"You too, Yukiko," said Scarlet/Amelia. And with that, she left the room, leaving Kuro alone with her thoughts.
As she sat at her computer, Kuro kept on thinking about the picture she was shown of Raph and how much he resembled the Shredder.
'I can't believe how much he looks like father,' she thought, 'Almost like they are father and son. No. That's impossible. Father only had one son, Sousuke, and father said he died sixteen years ago.'
She then remembered the photo she had seen of Sousuke. She could not deny that if that baby had grown up, he would be about her age and Raph had many of Sousuke's features, except for the lightning bolt birthmark. And then it hit her. The place where the birthmark would be was covered by Raph's shirt, so she had no way of knowing if he had it or not.
'That's it! The birthmark!' she thought, 'That's how I can know for sure! If he is Sousuke, then he will have the same mark in the same spot. If he's not Sousuke, then he will not have it there. But if he truly is Sousuke, then he is the rightful heir to the Foot Clan.
This was quite the dilemma for Kuro. If Raph is the Shredder's son and she reveals him, he will have his original heir back. Then what will that mean for her. Part of her would love to see her father happy to have his son back in his life, but another part was scared that he might forget about her. What would she do? What could she do?
Author's Note: Well, what did you folks think? It took me a while to get it right, I hope it turned out well enough. In case anyone is wondering, Kuro's passcode is taken from the anime series "Big O". Please leave your honest opinions in the comment section. No flames, please.