For the longest time, while the turtles had been busy with taking care of the mutant animals in the sewers and on the streets, Yogami wanted something special. He wanted control of the Foot Mystics. He still had some garb from Karai's ninjas.
He had some of his own ninjas put on that gear and sneaked in and doing some hidden work, Yogami now had come to have the crystal that prevented the Mystics from escaping.
Karai later on discovered this and she was pissed. She knew the Mystics were a force to be reckoned with. She would talk to them harshly, as that was what they respected more. But at least she wasn't trying to make enemies with the turtles, unlike how her father had. She had a feeling who had taken the crystal: Yogami!
Karai knew that Yogami had to be stopped before he destroyed something important. But if he destroyed the crystal, the Mystics would be free to do something truly evil. She had to get it back. She began to check on the Mystics periodically.
In his own headquarters, Yogami had created his own special sanctuary for the Mystics. He summoned their power and they had no choice but to transfer to him. To them, he was just as much a fraud to be playing the role of the Shredder as Karai was, as well as her Utrom father.
….
In Japan, the Ancient One had made his way to a special building. He went to talk to some individuals. Powerful ones.
"I have come to vouch for the turtles." Ancient One said. "You must not carry out your designs."
"You are too late, Ancient One." A male with blue eyes said. He had a real deep voice.
"We have decided." A female with green eyes said.
"We will judge the turtles' fate. We will determine whether they will live…" Another male with white glowing eyes said.
"Or how they will meet their end." Blue eyes stated.
The Ancient One bowed respectively to these masters. He knew he had to get to New York to warn Master Splinter and the turtles, and real soon that trouble could be heading their way.
….
It was on the verge of being spring now.
In the lair, now that they were back, the turtles all rested for a day, but then, got back to what they had always done. They were still getting work done on this new lair. It had been much more trashed when moving in than their other lair had been when Splinter had first found it. But, even when it was done, of course, the lair would always need to be cleaned and need upgrades no matter what.
On this night, Mikey was the only one who was wanting to use the TV. Raph was vacuuming. Leo was wielding a pipe together. He had started taking an interest in helping Don more. Randall wasn't down here tonight. He was just wanting to be in his own home.
Don was trying to work on a circuit that was associated with the entertainment system, to make sure that it was going to function normally, when all of sudden, the lights all crashed.
"Donatello, are you alright?" Leo asked in concern.
"I thought I was grounding that terminal, but instead, I shorted it out." Don replied. "Sorry, Mikey, but I'm afraid the entertainment system isn't going operational tonight." he apologized.
Splinter began lighting candles to give some light when it had gone out.
"No! I need my TV time!" Mikey cried out. He ran and hugged the TV like it was his best friend. "I… I can't go on without it. Somebody put me out of my misery!" Mikey leaned back, as if expecting it to kill him.
"You mean our miseries, Mikey." Raph stepped forward gladly, rubbing a fist into his other hand. "Don't mind if I do." Then he heard Splinter clear his throat and he tucked his hands behind his back, giving a nervous face. He knew he was busted.
"That is enough work for today, my sons." Splinter stated. He was proud of his sons for working so hard to make this lair their home.
"But Master, what are going to do? No TV, no video games. How did people survive in such a nightmare world?" Mikey asked loudly.
"Before TV and video games, people survived quite well, Michelangelo. Perhaps even better." Splinter replied. "They told stories. I think we should do just that; tell stories." he suggested.
Mikey fell backward in complaint, groaning.
"Who wants to begin?" Splinter asked.
Don quickly thought of an idea he had been wanting to hear for so long. "Hey, maybe Leo could tell us all about his time with the Ancient One?" Don suggested.
"Yeah, Leo, let's hear that." Raph agreed. "I wanna hear all the new ways ya learned to kick butt!"
Leo was glad his family wanted to hear it, but he had been taught so much in so little time, but then, he thought of something else. "I wouldn't know where to begin, but the Ancient One told me a story that I think you guys would want to hear. About our master's master, Hamato Yoshi."
"Well, let's hear it." Don encouraged Leo.
Leo went on to tell them the story that they had never known about, and how Splinter had come to meet Hamato Yoshi, the Ancient One, a former best friend of Yoshi's, and the love of Yoshi's life. And how Yoshi had met the Guardians and the Utroms.
They all found the story to be really fascinating. It had been good. Now they all knew more about Master Yoshi's past that even their own father may not have known. There would be much more to tell.
Over time though, Mikey got bored with it and went to go see Randall. He wished he had been there to hear Yoshi's story at least.
At least Randall had cable this night. Mikey even told him what Leo had told. Randall found it fascinating too. He was sure there were be more to learn from Leo. The story had had its purpose, to say that if Master Yoshi hadn't found the Utroms, then there would have been no mutated turtles, Splinter, or Leatherhead.
…..
Out west, Agent Bishop and some associates had a metal body of sorts strapped down to a table. They had fished this out of New York's East River. Now they had all the components together and were ready to bring it to life. The switch was pulled. Bishop was overseeing this personally.
Electricity jolted forth for a moment and then it was turned off. The eye of the robot opened and looked around. A hand moved as well. The table was then lifted upwards to where it was almost standing face to face with Bishop.
"Welcome back to the living, Dr. Stockman." Bishop growled at Stockman's body.
"Where?… Dr. Stockman?" The robot asked, not knowing who he was.
…
The turtles still went out mutant hunting, and were pretty good at it. But lately, Don's cold had been starting to get much worse than what it used to be, even in the dino world.
Don began to feel more feverish and nauseated these days. He did fix their electricity before going to bed again.
Don found himself resting in his bed a lot more because he just didn't feel good. He was constantly sneezing and blowing his nose.
The others were amazed that they hadn't found themselves getting sick yet. It was at the point now where even Randall didn't want to be around him because he feared he would get the cold too. It was warmer outside, in the 50s now during the day, but still a little chilly at night, in the 40s. And with the ending of winter, Randall's birthday was coming up shortly too.
Don had finally found a place for Stockman's helicopter in the lair. He had been working on modifications to it before his cold had gotten as nasty as it had. Randall had been helping with it too.
April told Randall she was going on a date with Casey tonight. If he stayed, he had to stay in the basement, or he could go to the lair.
Randall really didn't want to be around Don, but he would go and see about hanging out with one of the other turtles, maybe for a patrol or something. Ever since he had gotten back from the dino time travel, he hadn't wanted to leave his home much. He had just wanted to stay there, but perhaps it was time he got out again.
When Randall got to the lair, it almost seemed like everyone else was out of the lair. "Hello? Is anyone home?" he called out.
"I am here, Randall. What brings you by?" Splinter came out of his room. He was getting ready to go watch his soaps.
"Oh, just coming to see my friends. How's Donatello doing?"
"He's not doing very well, Randall. His illness is really bad. He should be in bed resting, but he insisted on going out with his brothers tonight." Splinter said.
"Let me guess: monster hunting?" Randall assumed.
"Yes. I wonder how this issue can be fixed?" Splinter said.
"I know Don has been working on something that could possibly cure it. He and I have been working with Leatherhead on it too." Randall stated. "I'm gonna go through his notes to see if there are any updates."
"If you want to, you can watch TV with me." Splinter invited.
"Maybe later." Randall said as he headed to Don's lab. He knew Don could trust him not to ruin something in his lab like Mikey would, if not intentionally.
Randall didn't really see anything in the notes that seemed changed. He understood science sure, but human science wasn't the same as monster science. He was still learning about the human world's technology, and Don had introduced a good majority of it to him. Leatherhead understood more than he did.
When he got tired of that, he went to work on the helicopter a little bit himself.
…..
At the apartment, April had just finished getting dressed for her date with Casey. Then she heard a knock at the door. "Coming." she said. She was dressed like a biker girl, assuming they were going to biker clubs.
When she answered the door, it was Casey, but what she saw was… different. "Whoa, Casey, look at you." He had his hair pulled back in a ponytail, and he had a tux on.
"Goon-gala." he said in gooey cute way, then handed her the flowers he had bought for her.
April giggled. "I'll take that as a compliment." She took the flowers, with him following her inside and shutting the door.
"Sheesh, April, that's a good look for ya and all, but, aren't ya going to get ready?" Casey asked.
"I've been getting ready all afternoon. My hair took me two hours." April replied.
"And it's an awesome look for ya, but I got us reservations at that swag joint you're always talking about, Shas Bond." Casey said.
"I- I thought you wanted to go on romantic motorcycle ride and maybe hit a few biker clubs." April stated. Then they had a little rambling going on, not sure what to say, which got them both laughing.
"So, where's Randall tonight?" Casey wanted to know.
"I think he went to the lair." April replied. Then there was a knock at the door. "Now who could that be?" she asked as went to get the door. She opened the door and three of the turtles stood there in their monster hunting gear.
"Guys. Hey, this is… unexpected." April greeted them.
"Sorry, April. But we're on our way to a possible outbreak at the power plant and…" Leo stated and stepped aside, letting a sick Donatello step forward. He sneezed, then put his right hand on the doorway, letting out a little whimper.
"Whoa, Don. You look… greener than usual. A lot greener than usual." April said. Don looked up at her and started to walk in, "I know." His nose was really stuffed up, making his voice sound different. He held his stomach for a moment, indicating he was nauseated, then he blew his nose. "I picked up this little bug, and I haven't been able to shake it." He blew his nose again. "I was feeling alright, but I just can't handle mutants right now." Don explained.
Mikey started patting him on head, "Did you figure that out before or after you barfed in the Battle Shell?" he asked sarcastically.
"Mikey!" Raph hit Mikey upside the head. "Ow!" Mikey cried out. "Adults are talking. April, can you keep an eye on Donny for us?" Raph asked.
Don sneezed some more and blew his nose again.
"Of course, Don can stay here. We weren't going anywhere anyway." April said, putting her hands on his shell. Don smiled.
Casey frowned. Once again, another date night ruined. "Bro, you are seriously cramping my lifestyle here." he said to Don as April guided him to the couch.
"Sorry." Don replied. He didn't feel good at all.
"You guys have been on monster patrol for weeks. What's the plan? Clean up all the mutants in Manhattan?" April asked.
"Well, no. This outbreak is a lot more serious than four turtles can handle. We're just trying to keep it from spreading." Leo explained.
"Well, go get 'em, guys. We'll watch Don." April complimented.
"Donny, take it easy, bro." Leo smiled on his way out. Raph and Mikey went ahead.
"Good luck." Don managed to say before he started sneezing again.
Casey and April looked at each other and April looked down at Don. Casey put a hand on his forehead in frustration. Another date ruined. Don whimpered up at them.
"Come on, sickly mutant ninja turtle." Casey said, picking up Don's legs, making Don lie back on the couch. "Ya betta lie down before ya fall down." He picked up a blanket and laid it over him. "There, comfy?" he asked. He still did care for Don and his turtle bros, but why did it have to be this night?
Don nodded. He tried to get some sleep.
The two humans walked away a few steps. "Why can't Randall take care of him? We could still have our date if we get him back here." Casey asked.
"Casey, Don needs our help. Randall's probably busy at the lair." April said.
"Call him. See if he can come back." Casey urged.
"Alright, if I can get him to come back. Only then will we go." April said. She got out her shell cell and dialed Randall's phone.
Randall had left his phone on Don's work table in the lab. He was welding on a new part on the copter at the moment and didn't hear it.
"He's not answering." April said.
"Great." Casey admitted.
Don knew these two wanted to have a date, considering the way Casey was dressed. But they could be there for him in his time of need, like he was for them. It wasn't too much to ask for. Most of the time, it was his family taking care of him. They could use a break too.
…..
The Battle Shell pulled up to the power plant. Leo, Raph, and Mikey got out and were ready to do battle with the mutant bugs that were there. Human guards and workers were fleeing the scene, so it would make it easier to work.
"Mikey, you cover me on the left. Don, you cover me on the-" Leo began, but was interrupted by Mikey.
"Uh, Don's home sick from school today, Leo." Mikey reminded him.
"Right. Raph, you cover me on the right." Leo corrected himself. "And remember guys, just contain them. Do NOT splatter them." he ordered.
"We know the drill. We can't have their cream feeling getting out and infecting other creatures. The last thing we need is more genetic rejects. I mean, we already got Mikey." Raph stated.
Mikey spit at him playfully. At least Mikey wasn't one of these alien mixed freaked mutants.
Leo went up against the first roach bug. It tried to pound him, while Leo kept dodging its claws.
Raph threw some cuffs on a second one's legs, tripping it up. Making it mad, it cut one of its legs off. Raph was too close and it grabbed him. It was ready to eat him. Raph struggled.
"Don't eat Raph! You don't know where he's been." Mikey shouted, running up and kicking it in the face. It cried out and it backed up, releasing Raph.
The roach backed into a power outlet. It exploded, sending the two turtles onto their shells. Raph pushed himself up, but the lights then went out.
Mikey nervously laughed, "Heh, heh. Oops."
Raph realized what he had done, "Mikey, you blacked out the city!"
Lights all over the city went out. Even at April's. The guys had to keep on fighting the bugs.
At April's, April and Casey looked around at what was happening. What now?
"Casey, grab the flashlight. In my room, on the dresser." April said.
Casey went to go get it.
Don had noticed his leg had started hurting, the one that was and had been injured for several months now. His temperature started shooting up too. He let out a scream of pain.
"AHH!" Don screamed.
April felt Don's forehead. "Donny, you're burning up."
"The cut on my leg, it hurts- AH! Like shell all of sudden. Burning and-" Don tried to say, but there was a crash from the bedroom.
"Oops! My bad!" Casey called out. He had knocked a lamp off the dresser, as he couldn't see real good at the moment.
"Sit tight, Don. I'll be right back." April said and went to help Casey.
Don tried to, but then, the area where the cut was started changing, bulging out. It affected his other leg too, and it made him sit up more, placing his feet on the floor. His whole body started bulging out, changing. It was very painful. Don couldn't help but voice his discomfort. His eyes also changed to glowing red. All of his gear was torn off of him. He shot up off the couch in a panic.
In the bedroom, April now had the flashlight and they were looking at the lamp. "Sorry, April." Casey said.
"Casey. April." They both heard Don saying their names. They went back out to check on him. His voice had sounded strained, like worse than before.
There, in the living room, close to the table, was a different looking turtle, with red glowing eyes.
"Help me." he said.
"Don?" April asked in concern. She had also aimed the flashlight on the torn gear on her couch. She and Casey gasped. "Don? Is that- you?" she asked, getting nervous.
"Stay- stay away from me!" Don pushed past them and ran for the door, pulling it off its hinges. He headed for the basement, hoping to keep his friends from finding him and not putting them at risk for whatever was happening to him. He quickly realized that what was happening to him was what had affected all those other creatures. Now he was one of them! He should have tried to find a cure sooner.
April and Casey stopped at the door for a moment, wondering if they should follow. "What's happening to Don?" April asked.
"Are you sure that Randall's gone?" Casey asked.
"If he was in his room, he would have answered his phone."
"Try again." Casey suggested.
April tried again, and there was no answer. She hoped Randall wasn't in trouble. Then she tried Splinter's phone. He picked up.
"Hello." Splinter said.
"Master Splinter, is Randall there at the lair with you?" April asked.
"Yes, he's working in Donatello's lab." Splinter said.
"Has your electricity been affected?" she asked.
"No. Donatello made sure our home's electricity is on a different generator this time." Splinter said.
"Good. Master Splinter, we have something going on with Don. We'll get back to you. Whatever happens, keep Randall there until we know for sure." April ordered.
"Yes, Ms. O'Neil. What's going on?" Splinter asked.
"We'll find out." April said. "We're going to find Don." Then she hung up.
Splinter knew this was trouble. Donatello could be in real danger, given his current state of health. He went to alert Randall.
He found the lizard working on the copter, doing what Don would have wanted him to do. Machines were his specialty. Splinter went over to Randall.
"Randall?" Splinter said, getting a little startle from the lizard. He turned around and pulled the face helmet off his face.
"What?! Oh, it's you. What?" Randall snapped, then calmed down when he saw it was Splinter.
"I just got a call from April. There is something wrong with Donatello. She said that you need to stay here with me until they find him." Splinter said.
"If he's in trouble, they'll need me." Randall said. "Give me your phone."
Splinter gave him his phone. Randall dialed April's number real quick.
They were on the store floor and couldn't find Don; there was one more place to look: the basement. Then the shell cell rang.
"Hello?" April asked.
"April, what's going on?" Randall asked.
"Don started changing, and he ran out of my apartment. Casey and I are trying to find him right now. It was scary. Randall, please stay there. I'll tell his brothers when we find him. It's better you stay there until you hear from us, okay?" April ordered.
"Alright." Randall agreed reluctantly. Then he hung up.
"What's going on?" Splinter asked.
"She said he started changing? But she ordered me to stay here." Randall replied.
"She wouldn't have asked you to without a good reason. Best do what she says this time." the rat suggested.
"I could be of more help over there."
"You could also be of help if they bring him home injured. Stay here, Randall. The electricity is out all over the city as it is." Splinter explained. "You wouldn't have none at April's anyway."
"Great." Randall mumbled. Now he knew he needed to stay here.
…..
April and Casey proceeded down to the basement when they couldn't find Don on the ground floor. He might be more likely down here or headed for the sewers. They proceeded with caution.
"Don, are you down here? Don?" April asked. "Donatello?"
"Donny." Casey added.
"Don, are you alright?" April.
"We just want to help ya, bro." Casey.
April saw the door to Randall's apartment was open and she opened it. She pointed the light around the room. Lucky that Randall wasn't here, because when she got to the far corner, there was a huge, giant monster!
It looked nothing like Don. It was a darker green, with glowing red eyes and sharp teeth. It growled at them. It shielded its eyes for moment.
They couldn't believe this could be their friend. "Don." Casey said.
The monster turtle roared at them and began to charge at them.
"Whoa." Casey admitted. April ran out of the room, and Casey was right behind her, closing the door shut.
Monster Don broke right through the door, sending it into the wall.
"Go on, April! Run!" Casey ordered. He didn't need to tell her twice.
She was up the stairs. Monster Don roared and made a grab for one of Casey's ankles.
"He's got me!" Casey yelled to April.
April ran to her cleaning stuff and grabbed a broom. She ran back to help Casey. Casey was trying hard to keep a hold of the stairs. Then, April appeared. "Let him go!" she ordered and hit the monster turtle in the head with the broom.
It made Monster Don let go of Casey. He laid there, shaking his head.
April and Casey ran to the top of the staircase. "This is crazy!" April shouted.
"What do we do?!" Casey asked, scared.
"It's Don, right? Try talking to him!" April suggested.
"Talk to him, are you nuts? He's a snarling, savage monster and you just whacked him in the face with a broom!" Casey scolded. He wasn't sure what else to do either.
"I'll call the guys! They'll know what to do!" April said in a scared tone. "I hope." she ran ahead and gave Casey the broom.
They both ran back upstairs. Don was right on Casey's back. Casey blocked Don's way. "Okay, Donny. Easy, pal. We're still buds, right?" Casey asked, trying to negotiate.
The monster seemed to be trying to think for a moment. That was the Don they knew, one who analyzed his thoughts. But he started advancing again.
April got on her shell cell as quickly as possible.
Don picked up the broom and threw Casey across the room, making land on and break the dining room table.
Casey knew this wasn't the Donny that he knew. He was charging again at him. "Alright, Goongala!" He went to face the monster.
…
At the power plant, the mutant bugs had Leo, Raph, and Mikey all cornered back to back. Now they were going to start bringing out the heavy artillary.
Raph took out his pincher weapon.
Leo started slicing one with his katana; on the second slice, it molted and got out of the old skin. Leo hated this. Then his phone started ringing. "This is not the time for a phone call." he admitted.
The roach then jumped at him, Leo placing his gun in its grip, making him go down. He reluctantly answered his phone. He saw it was April. "I kinda got my hands full here, April! Make it fast!" he ordered.
"Leo! Help! A monster! Don!" April shouted into the phone, scared for her life as Monster Don was coming at her now. He had knocked Casey aside.
Leonardo heard April's absolute scream of terror on the line, then it went dead. "April? Are you there? April?!" Leo tried to get her to answer. "Now the line's gone dead!" The roach knocked his phone away.
"We've got to get back to April's! There's trouble!" Leo ordered his brothers. He kept the bug from smashing his head in, then he kicked it in the head and got his gun out of its grip, firing two tranquilizer darts into its underside. Then it fell to the ground, asleep.
"Guys! Their undersides are weaker. Hit them there!" Leo shouted to his bros.
Mikey charged his bug and slid underneath it, and he sent six darts into his bug's belly. "Say goodnight, Scrubby!"
The roach started to vomit and it fell asleep in its own vomit.
The third roach headed for Raph. He used the pincher arms to keep the roach at bay and knocked it over. Then he jumped on it with three darts ready. He jabbed them into the roach's body.
That was over now. They stood there, panting for a moment.
"Let's move! We've got to get back to April's to save Donny and April!" Mikey called out.
"And Casey." Leo added.
"Oh, right. Casey too." Mikey corrected himself.
At April's, April whimpered as Don came toward her. Casey got up and rubbed his head.
"Casey!" April cried out in fear.
Casey saw it and he ran for the vacuum cleaner. "Dude, that my girlfriend! And you can't have her!" He ran with it over to Monster Don and smashed it over his shell.
The dust was blinding, but it stopped Don for the moment. Just long enough for Casey to grab April and pull her out of the room and downstairs again. They couldn't let him get to the streets.
Don followed them back down to the basement.
…
The turtles got the Battle Shell back to the sewers and were on their way to April's.
Raph drove this time. Leo called up Randall. He hoped he wasn't in trouble.
Randall picked up his phone this time. "Yes?"
"Randall, where are you?" Leo asked.
"At the lair. April said to stay here until I hear from her. Why?" Randall asked. "What's going on?"
"There's a monster at April's, one of those mutants. Yes, stay there, Randall." Leo ordered. "We're almost to April's now. Leo out!"
They all wanted to know what the shell was going on.
….
April and Casey had made it back to the basement and Monster Don was walking on four legs at them. Then he stood up on his hind legs and roared at them.
"April, stand behind me." Casey ordered. She got behind him. "When he goes for me, run! Run and don't look back!" he ordered her.
Casey got a hold of Don's hands, trying to keep him at bay. "Now, April! Run!" he ordered.
April wasn't sure she should run, or stay.
….
At Bishop's lab, Stockman was finally sitting up. "I don't understand. What's happening? What have you done to me?" Stockman asked.
"I had your brain recovered from the bottom of New York's East River, due to your misguided symbaticle." Bishop explained furiously. "While I could do without your personality, I do need your brain. The outbreak is getting worse by the minute, and I'm gonna expect you to use that powerful mind of yours to clean it up."
Stockman tried to stand up, but fell down. "I can't believe you brought me back like this. Why couldn't you finally allow me to rest in peace? Whyyyyyy?!" he yelled angrily.
…..
April still couldn't move. Her only other way out was the sewers at the moment. Don's size was humongous.
"April, I told ya to go!" Casey shouted to her. Then Don picked him up by the shirt. "Donny, no!"
April wasn't going to let Casey get hurt if she could help it. She saw Don slam Casey into the wall. She ran up to try to pull Casey free. "Donatello! Let him go!"
Out in the sewers, Don's brothers had gotten there and Raph got in first. "Whoa! More freaky monsters?! Didn't you hear what the lady said?" He mocked the monster before hitting it square in the head, knocking it back.
Leo and Mikey ran up behind Raph, ready to fight. "You guys alright?" Mikey asked.
The monster roared at Raph.
"What the shell is that?" Raph asked, never seeing one like this before.
Monster Don then pounced on Raph. He held him down until Leo leaped onto him, knocking him off enough just so Raph could get loose.
Don looked at the enemies around himself, or that he had deemed because of what he was now. He turned and ran into the sewers, having had enough fighting.
The guys ran after him, but stopped at the basement wall. They heard a roar at the end. "What was that thing?" Leo demanded.
"And where's Don?" Raph asked.
"Did that monster get Don?!" Mikey asked fearfully.
"That monster is Don!" April declared.
"Say WHAT?!" Mikey exclaimed.
"That thing you just fought is Don." April said it again.
The others couldn't believe it! Mike and Raph gasped in shock. Leo didn't like this either.
April and Casey took them upstairs to see Don's gear around the couch, all torn up. They picked it up.
Leo knew they would need help with this. Leatherhead was their next best hope. Leo drove the Battle Shell to Leatherhead's home, where April then took the wheel. She would track down Don's movements.
…
Leatherhead was shocked that his friend, Donatello had been changed into one of these savage monsters. He took the bandage sample that Don had been wearing and examined the DNA under his microscope in his lab area.
LH wore a white lab coat when he was in scientist mode in his own home. His three turtle friends were waiting anxiously for results. What caused this?
"So, anything you can tell us, Leatherhead?" Leo asked.
"Fascinating. The tissue sample from Donatello's bandage contains the same DNA that's found in the same alien creatures that you have been battling of late." Leatherhead explained what he was seeing.
"You mean, Don's been affected by the outbreak mutagen?!" Leo exclaimed.
"Yes." LH replied. He looked back at the turtles, "In Donatello's case, it's caused a secondary mutation in his already mutated DNA. What I don't understand is, how this agent was introduced into Donatello's bloodstream?"
"I think I know." Leo replied. "Remember when we fought those cockroaches when the outbreak first began? That's it! Don got a nasty gash when were fighting those roaches."
They did remember that part.
Leatherhead turned to them. "I regret to say, I… I cannot cure him."
"WHAT?!" Mikey exclaimed. "NO!"
"I am going to take Bishop and ram my foot so far down his-" Raph growled angrily.
"Easy, Raph. We'll find a cure. But first, we've got to capture Don, before he hurts himself, or anyone else for that matter." Leo said.
"And just how are we going to capture a 300 pound killer turtle?" Raph demanded.
Leatherhead walked around them to something that was covered with a brown sheet. He pulled the sheet off, revealing a surprise. "As you know, Donatello, Randall, and I have been working together; developing ways to neutralize Bishop's mutant threat. We engineered this containment unit to incarcerate and study larger mutations." Then he laid a hand on it. "I made this with Randall and Donatello. I never imagined we would be using it on Donatello." LH explained.
Right now, this containment unit was their best hope of capturing Don before he did anymore harm.
Leatherhead was going to be in on their help now. He attached a harness to it and carried it while following Don's brothers.
Leo's phone started ringing and he picked up. "Leo, it's April. The motion tracker is picking up an underground signal. It's the right size to be Donatello." April declared. "It looks like it's heading for Central Park. It looks like he's making his way to your new home!"
Leo knew Splinter and Randall were at risk of being under attack if they didn't get Don caught soon. "Don's headed for the lair. Come on!" He and his bros and LH ran to catch up. It was slower for the big croc with the cage on his back.
April also called Splinter and Randall to give them a heads up that Don was getting closer to the lair.
Randall knew he could seek higher places, but could Splinter? He would make sure that he did if it came to it.
Soon, they got closer to the lair. Leo was using his motion tracker now. "We're coming up on the lair. And Don's close. Really close." Leo declared. "Someone will need to lure him to us while we set up the containment unit."
LH, Raph, and Leo instantly looked at Mikey. Mikey's face instantly changed to a fearful one. He gulped. 'Why does everyone automatically look at me?' he asked himself.
Mikey went on ahead to do what was required of him. He had his weapon ready just in case. The others got the unit set up.
He got further away and called out, "Oh, ugly version of my beloved brother, Donatello, where are you?" He heard a roar down the tunnel. "Donny?"
Then, the monster turtle came around the corner and saw Mikey up ahead. He gave chase, and Mikey ran for all he had. He jumped through a hole in the floor. He didn't see Don for the moment. It made him investigate.
But then, Monster Don burst up through the hole too! Mikey screamed and ran toward the unit.
Of course, Mikey was chosen for his ways of making noise. Don caught up to him and punched him down. But he got up and grabbed a hold of the unit.
Don started to throw punches towards Mikey's middle and the youngest turtle kept swinging his body to avoid the blows. "Now I know how a pinata feels!" he declared. "And I don't like it! Don, come on, quit it!" Leo and Raph were behind the cage. "A little help here, guys?" Mikey asked of them.
"Whoa, Mama! Don's been taking his vitamins!" Raph exclaimed.
Don finally struck Mikey's stomach, knocking him off the cage and past his brothers.
Raph took him on next with his pincher weapon. "I'm really sorry about this, Donny." He took some swipes at him.
Leo jumped in front of the cage. "Remember, this is Don. Do not hurt him!" he ordered.
Raph dodged Don as he tried to bite his head off, "That's not gonna be a problem, Leo!" he yelled at Leo.
Leo jumped in and gave a side kick, then Raph jumped up and kicked him on the back of the shell, making him go down. Leo tripped his feet out from under him.
"Leatherhead, you're on!" Leo announced to the croc.
LH jumped up another hole and ran to get a hold of the mutated Donatello. He was nearly his size now. He roared as he got a hold of him. Don tried to bite at him, but he pushed on Don's shell and eventually, into the cage. Mike and Leo shut the door real fast behind him, the unit making a sound that it was now locked in place.
Monster Don immediately started pounding on the wall of the cage, trying to break out.
The three turtles and Leatherhead were beside themselves with grief. This never should have happened to their brother.
Leatherhead's place was closer. They took him back to the croc's home. Now that Don was captured, Splinter and Randall were called, telling them it was safe now. If they wanted to see Don, what had become of him, they could come to Leatherhead's.
They did just that. When they saw him, they couldn't believe what they were seeing. This couldn't be Donatello!
"Are you sure that's him?" Randall asked.
"Yes, we are." April replied. "Casey and I saw him start to change ourselves."
Splinter went up to the cage and laid his hand on it. "My son." He looked down sadly.
Randall kept his distance. He saw that this Don was almost twice the size of Leatherhead even. Would the croc even be able to hold him should he get out again? But Randall was sure this cage would hold him, since it had been designed by all three of them. Most of their experimental projects had always been successes. If only now, there was a cure.
"I can sympathize." Leatherhead said. "I know what's it's like, to be a monster."
"So do I." Randall added. He rubbed his arms together. He feared what he would find at home at the apartment, the mess that would no doubt be there. But he also feared for Don.
Don was the smartest one of them all. He came up with the most brilliant ways to fix problems, and especially to something like this. But Don had been training him well. Now it was up to him and Leatherhead.
"Poor Donny." Raph came up and placed a hand on Splinter's shoulder.
"What are we going to do, Leo?" Mikey asked in desperation, hoping his eldest brother, as leader, had an answer.
"Do? This is Donatello. This is our brother." Leo walked up to the cage next, placing a hand on it too. "We're going to hunt down a cure. No matter what it takes. No matter what it takes!" Leo proclaimed.
"We want Don back to himself too." Casey said.
Randall then walked up to the cage. "I'll help in any way I can, Don. You're like a brother to me too. One of the four I never had."
None of them wanted to face the fact that Donatello could be lost to them. Or that he would die. They would be lost without him. There was a part of him that held them all together.
To April, Don was her best friend, aside from Casey, but Don was the one that understood her more. They could use scientific language and understand one another. Randall understood a little of it, as did Leatherhead. But none of the others could understand quite as much since their minds weren't science whizs, so to speak.
Master Splinter and Leo wanted Don in their home. That was where all of Don's supplies were. If there was a cure or supplies there, it would be likely there.
Leatherhead hauled the cage with Don to the turtles' lair. Randall stayed this time to offer his support and to get what was needed. LH would stay too. The two of them would be looking for a cure.
April and Casey went back to the apartment to start cleaning it up, electricity, or no electricity. But they would be on call when their friends needed them.
I hope everyone is enjoying this. Tomorrow, I'm having surgery, so it might be quite a few days before I'm ready to upgrade again. Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers. It's a serious surgery. I'll try to be back as soon as possible.