Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012 Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the TMNT franchise in any way, shape, or form. No money is being made. This is just a labor of love for the series. Please don't sue me, Viacom!

Alternate Universe fic.

Warning: Violence and references to very mature themes.

A/N: And we have another long chapter ahead. Imagine how long it would have been if I'd kept it as one! ^^; Thank you to everyone who has favorited or started following my story! And to everyone who left a review. Thank you all for sticking with me. It means so much to me. I know I say all this so often that I sound like a broken record but it's the truth. It really does mean everything to me.

Chapter 12

The elevator dinged pleasantly once it reached its destination. When the doors opened, Raph casually tossed the head of the droid he was using to trick the elevator's retinal scanner over his shoulder. It clanked loudly as it landed where the rest of its body lay in a pile of scrap. April winced at the sound and gave Raph this 'Really?' expression. He ignored her. Then he pulled his sai into position, dropped into a crouch, and took point as the two crept off the elevator. "Well, this is level three," he commented while looking around their immediate area. "And looks we need to go this way. Come on!" He darted silently off to the right, only stopping once he reached the corner that led into the south corridor. There was no sign of Kraang droids so he crept into the hallway.

April shivered as she followed him. The hallway was lined with small windowed doors that made it scream prison block. She couldn't resist peering into one of the windows and had to jump back, covering her mouth to muffle her shriek when the creature inside threw itself at her with a feral snarl. All she saw was gnashing teeth and claws as the mutated beast scrabbled at the door in an effort to get at her. "I'm OK," she reassured Raphael when he protectively rushed back to her side.

Raph looked at what he could see of the enraged creature and sighed. "Guess the Kraang have been busier than we thought," he grumbled before he continued down the hall. April followed close behind; any curiosity about what else was in the hallway thoroughly done in by that little fright. "332," Raph muttered over and over again until he found the room they were looking for. He cautiously peered into the room. "Bingo," he said when he spotted Donatello lying on the floor inside. Before Raphael could even ask her to, April popped open an access panel started working on getting the door open. He smiled at her then returned his eyes to Donnie. His brother was lying so still that it scared him. Were they too late? He lightly tapped on the glass window and had to bite his lip to repress an ecstatic laugh when he saw Donnie shift. "Looks like he's just asleep," Raph informed April while he moved away from the window to quickly survey their surroundings for trouble. They were so close to getting Donnie home, he was not about to let everything fall apart now.

"That's good news," April whispered in response as she worked on the lock. When she found the set of wires she needed to make the door open, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What should have been a neat row of well-insulated wires was a patchwork mess of replacement wires and soldered copper wrapped in electrical tape. It was as though someone had ripped into this panel several times before her only to have someone else come behind them and undo everything they had done. A delighted smile spread on her face. "Donnie's been busy," she commented as she pointed out the damage to her companion. Raph smirked proudly at the evidence of his brother's resistance. "Know what the best part is? It's like he's handed me a roadmap to the best way of cracking this thing. I just disconnect these. Then attach these here…and those there…and…voila!"

Donatello jerked awake at the sound of the cell doors hissing open. He hurriedly struggled up to huddle himself into the nearest corner. He crossed his arms in front of his face, squeezed his eyes shut behind them, and trembled in terror. "I thought you were done for today. Why are you back? Oh, just go away! Leave me alone!" he thought frantically.

"Donnie?"

His breathing hitched at the familiar voice. It sounded like Raphael. But it couldn't be. It had to be Horse trying to mess with his head again. "No. No, no, no! PLEASE NO!" Donnie mental begged his captor as he shrank even more into the corner. "You've taken everything else from me! Please…PLEASE…let me keep my hope?"

"Donnie!" the voice said again, more insistently this time.

It sounded so much like his brother it made Donnie want to cry, but he was too afraid to look up. "It's possible that Horse has nothing to do with this," his sensible side tried to reason away his fear. Maybe his illness was making him hallucinate. Donnie shook his head and bit off a whimper. It didn't matter how the voice was being made. He knew that if he glanced up and saw anything other than Raph it would destroy him. The small hope that one day he would see his family again was the last thing holding him together. "But…but if I never risk it, never take a chance that it may REALLY be my brother… how can I say that I haven't already lost hope?" he told himself. The thought made him swallow down the lump in his throat.

"Raphael?" Donatello questioned. His brother's voice was so pathetically tentative that it made Raph's heart feel like it was being squeezed in a vise. He swallowed emotionally, fighting the impulse to just charge up and hold Donnie. Donnie seemed so terrified that Raph was sure his brother would lash out if he tried. He watched as Donnie slowly lowered his arms to hesitantly peer over them. The frightened brown eyes widened and instantaneously filled with tears at the sight of him standing few feet away. "RAPH!" Donnie cried out as he dropped his arms completely and this overjoyed smile lit up his face. "APRIL!"

That was too much for Raph. He rushed at Donnie and wrapped him up in a fierce hug, which Donnie desperately returned even as he wept against his older brother's shoulder. April followed close behind him and gripped them both in a hug of her own while pressing her cheek against Donnie's head. Once he was up close to Donatello, it took everything Raphael had to not recoil when his nose was accosted by the stench of blood, sweat, and the trace of another odor that was familiar but he couldn't pin down at the moment. Raph trembled in barely suppressed fury. What had those blobs been doing to his little brother!?

"They're here! They're really here!" was all Donnie could think while he cried in Raph and April's arms. Suddenly all the joy flew from him and his terror returned with a vengeance. Only this time, it wasn't fear for himself. "No…no they can't be here! They CAN'T be here!" He tugged himself free of their embrace but clutched at their arms. "You have to leave!" he said urgently, his voice going up with his panic while he looked between his would-be saviors. "NOW!"

"Not without you!" Raph snarled in return, grabbing Donnie's face with both hands and shaking him by it for emphasis. He blanched when he heard Donnie whimper. "We didn't come this far just to leave you behind again," he tried to reassure his hysterical brother as he pressed their foreheads together.

April gently wrapped her arms around Donnie so she could try to help Raph calm him down. "Shhhh, Donnie. Everything will be fine. We're going to get you out of here and everything will be fine," she tried to soothe her friend. She'd never seen Donnie so scared in the entire time she'd known the turtles. Her eyes wandered over him and she had to fight tears when she saw that he was covered in bruises, cuts, angry red welts, and even what looked like electrical burns. She smoothed her hand down his head as she cradled him to her.

Raph smiled while April held Donnie. Thanks to her his brother wasn't freaking out anymore but he still wasn't what Raph would call calm. Donnie's eyes stayed fixed on the door like he expected the devil himself to march into the room at any moment. Raph frowned as he realized that Donnie's fear was justified. They were smack in the middle of a Kraang base and didn't have time to screw around. He grabbed Donnie's arm and examined the large cuff he found there. All four of Donnie's limbs were clasped in them. They had to be some kind of restraint but he couldn't figure out how something with no visible connections could restrain anything. All Raph knew was that he wanted the blasted things off his little brother. He quickly found a seam, worked his fingers under the band, and pulled.

Donnie's eyes went wide in alarm. "No, Raph! DON'T!" he tried to warn his brother only to watch the band slipped from Raph's grip and slice open his forefinger. A fountain of curses spewed from Raphael while he gripped his injured finger protectively. Donatello moved as though he was on autopilot. He took the last scrap of clean wrapping he had left on his hands, grabbed Raph's hand, and bandaged the cut with an efficiency that startled Raph. "They're magnetically sealed. No way to just pull them off," Donnie quietly explained while he tied the final knot.

"Didn't seem to keep you from trying," Raph said with the barest of smiles as he brushed his fingers against one of Donnie's hands. All three of the fingers on that hand were bandaged in the same way that Donnie had just bandaged his. Donnie turned his eyes downward and said nothing, but that was the only answer Raph needed. "Think you can get these things off at your lab?"

Donnie looked back up at Raph before he regarded one of his wrist bands. "I think so. I'd certainly have a better chance of it."

"OK. Will they let you leave?"

"I don't know. I've never made it past the threshold."

Raph swallowed hard at this. "Guess we're gonna find out," he said as he and April stood up. He reached down, grabbed Donnie's arms, and pulled him to his feet. Raph frowned at the pained cry that worked its way out of his brother's throat. Donnie's knees buckled and Raph quickly put one of Donnie's arms around his shoulders so his brother could lean against him. The taller turtle panted just from the effort of getting up, making Raph's eye ridges furrowed in worry. None of the visible wounds seemed to be bad enough to cause Donnie to be so weak and in such pain. Something else was wrong but they didn't have time to figure it out. Getting Donnie home had to be the first priority.

April grabbed Donnie's other arm so that he was supported between the two of them. Raph nodded thankfully to her and together they walked Donnie to the cell door. Once there, Raph took a moment to brace himself, praying that the Kraang hadn't thought to booby-trap Donnie's shackles. The three of them stepped out of the cell. Raph couldn't stop a sigh of relief when his brother didn't suddenly crumple to the floor. "Let's get outta here!" he told April before guiding them towards the elevator. They were only half way to their goal when echoing clip-clop sounds came drifting down the hallway. "The heck is that?"

A sudden whimper from Donatello made Raphael look at him. Donnie's eyes were wide and he trembled with fear. Whatever was making that noise had his brother completely petrified. Raph looked past Donnie to April and was surprised to see her looking angrily over her shoulder. "It's him," she whispered.

Raph looked behind them just in time to see Horse stride around the corner at the other end of the hallway. The mutant had his eyes focused on a bottle he was carrying so he didn't immediately see them. However, he seemed to sense that something was off because he looked up and jerked in surprise at the sight of his prisoner not only out of his cell but with two others. The shock didn't delay him for long. He promptly scowled at the three of them and triggered a nearby alarm. "Sewer apples!" Raph snarled as the klaxon blared. "April, get Donnie out of here!" Raph ordered, shoving his brother off of him and more onto her. He spun his sai into position before lunging at their enemy.

"RAPH!" Donnie shouted after the shorter turtle. He tried to follow his brother only to have April tug him in the opposite direction with disturbing ease. They didn't get very far. Horse had enough time before Raphael reached him to pull out the remote control device and key a couple of buttons on it. April watched in horror as Donatello was yanked out of her grasp and down to the floor. He managed to catch himself so that he didn't land face first. However, on his knees with his hands flat to the floor just in front of him wasn't much better. They both sat there in stunned silence for a moment. Donnie recovered first. "No," he bemoaned. April went to her knees beside him and tried to help him back up only to realize that Donnie was stuck fast. His arms and legs may as well have been welded to the floor. She looked up to check on Raph.

The red clad turtle was locked in combat with the horse mutant. The two mercilessly hammered into each other, but April could tell that Raph's temper was making him careless. When Horse's first punch got through, Raph knew that direct attacks weren't the safest way to deal with his opponent. However, after seeing how terrified Donatello was of this creature, Raphael knew that he must be the one who tortured his brother. His rage called for blood and he intended to get it.

"April," Donnie said, bringing her attention back to him. She was shocked to see that his fear had been replaced with resignation. "You have to get out of here. Please. Go!"

"I am not leaving you!" she retorted before resuming her efforts to pull him free of whatever force held him.

"It's no good, April," he said, the bleakness in his voice made her heart hurt. "They're drawn to the nearest source of metal with enough power that I couldn't even fight against them when I was healthy. And under normal conditions, I'm a great deal stronger than you." She looked up at him. Tears started burning at her eyes when she saw the despair in his. "They need you, April. Whatever they're trying to do, they really need you to do it. You can't let that happen. Please, April. Please, don't let them get you," he begged her. A sudden cry of pain drew their attention back to the fight in time to see Horse viciously back kick Raphael, nailing him in the plastron and slamming him into the metal wall. "RAPH!" Raphael slid down the wall to the floor where he sat dazedly.

Horse snorted before turning his attention to the prisoner and his human companion. A satisfied smile spread across his lips as he made his approach. "Well, well. It seems that all we had to do was hold onto you long enough," Horse stated affably to Donatello, making the turtle whine pitifully while shaking his head. When Horse turned his attention to April, his eyes went cold even though his smile stayed in place. "Come to rescue your favorite pet, dearie? I am not so sure you should want him back. After all, do you not want to avoid contact with…hmm…what is the phrase you humans use? Ah! I remember now. 'Damaged goods,'" he sneered at her. All the tears in April's eyes vanished at this to be replaced with outrage. How dare this monster ridicule her friend! She stood up and flicked her tessen into position. "Oh, go easy on me, little human," Horse scoffed before outright laughing.

"No, no April! RUN!" Donnie cried out as April made a charge at Horse. He immediately started desperately struggling against his restraints even though he knew too well how futile it was. He had to help April and Raph. Even if he only had enough strength left in him to be a distraction so they could escape, he had to try!

April dodged around Horse's attacks and slashed at him whenever she could. She knew that one hit from the mutant and it was over. It would have been wiser to run away. But Donnie had suffered enough at this fiend's hands. She wasn't about to let that continue! Horse was clearly getting more and more aggravated with every annoying little scratch she gave him. When he'd finally reached his limit, he made a sweeping arc with his arm. It connected with April's side and she was backhanded into the wall. Before April could recover even a little bit, Horse was on her. He grabbed her by her hair, pulled her to her feet, and slammed her back into the wall pulling a yelp from her. "Kraang will be delighted to meet you, Miss O'Neil," he said with a smirk.

"NO!" Donatello wailed. He'd failed. Despite everything he had done, everything he had been through, in the end it had been…he had been…utterly useless. "I've changed my mind," he thought as he wept bitter, devastated tears. "I don't want this to be real. I will be happy to find myself back in that cell if it means Raph and April are safe. So please…PLEASE LET ME WAKE UP!"

Horse suddenly screeched as he was showered with shurikens. He dropped April and staggered a few steps back. His eyes looked around frantically, searching for his attackers and seeing nothing. An explosion of smoke erupted beside him. He whirled around to find…nothing again. "HIYAAHH!" was the only warning Horse had before something plowed into his back, sending him flying away from April. She looked up at the person before her and smiled. "Sorry we're a little late," Leo said, returning the smile while he offered her a hand up. "Had to fight our way through a bunch of Kraang bots."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're right on-time," April replied and accepted the hand. She glanced at Raphael. Her smile broadened when she saw him struggling back to his feet.

"BOOYAKASHA!" Michelangelo hollered while he charged past them all to push the attack on Horse. The joyful battle cry almost sounded bloodthirsty. He and Leonardo had shown up just in time to see Donatello's breakdown. Seeing his genius brother huddled in on himself, crying as though his last trace of hope had just been crushed enraged the lighthearted turtle. No one was allowed to hurt Donnie like that! NO ONE!

Raph quickly followed Mikey and they both leapt upon Horse. "April, you figure out how to free Donnie! We'll keep this guy off of you," Leo ordered while drawing his swords.

"Right!" April said as they both charged to do their assigned tasks.

"M-Mikey? Leo?" Donnie asked bewilderedly.

"We're getting you out of here, Donnie! I swear it! So, hang in there, OK?" Leonardo vowed as he ran past Donatello to join the others in battle. Now that it was three on one the odds were tilted in the turtles' favor. This didn't mean that Horse was going to make it easy for them.

"H-Hai!" Donnie yelled after Leo while he trembled with emotion as well as from exertion. He shook his head to drive away a sudden feeling of lightheadedness. Everything was starting to get wavy looking and he could tell that it wasn't just from being teary-eyed. "Not now," he thought.

April fell to her knees in front of Donnie so she could hug him around his neck. He leaned his head against hers in the best approximation of a hug he could manage at the moment. "Do you have any ideas on how to get these things off? Or at least how to turn them off?" she asked after she'd pulled away from him.

He didn't even have to think about it. "There's a remote control that activates and deactivates the magnetic properties that are holding me down. I can only assume that it can completely remove the restraints too."

She stared at him for a moment. "Why didn't you tell me that before!?" He cringed from her and she immediately felt bad for snapping.

"I-It didn't occur to me until you asked about it," he replied pathetically. "I-I was more concerned that…that you…got out of here." April's expression became alarmed when she saw Donnie's eyes glaze over mid-sentence and he shivered violently. He shook his head again to force clarity back into his thoughts. "Sorry. Suddenly hard...to focus."

April quickly rested her hand on his forehead. When she and Raphael first found Donatello, she'd noticed that he seemed warmer than normal. Now he felt like he was burning up. She pushed aside this new concern. One problem at a time! "Do you know where I can find the remote control?"

"Horse…has one. Keeps it…in pockets."

"GUYS!" April hollered to the others. "We need a remote control from his pockets! Empty them!" Leonardo nodded in acknowledgment before racing around Horse, slashing at the pockets of his shorts until the bottoms were ripped out from every one of them and their contents spilled to the floor. Raph spotted what April was talking about and kicked it to her. He squawked when Horse nearly smashed his foot with a hoof stomp that had been intended for the remote. Horse pinned his ears back and growled ominously at Raph. Raph returned the hostility with a right cross.

April scooped up the remote and looked at it. None of the buttons were labeled in any language she understood. There was nothing to lose so she started pushing buttons. After several frustrating seconds, Donnie jerked in surprise when the metal bands around his wrist released their hold on him. He lifted his arms and stared at them as though he'd forgotten what they looked like without the restraints. Two clanging sounds rang out soon after as April hit the right button to make the leg bands pop open.

She surged to her feet and glanced at how the fight was going. The others were doing a good job of keeping Horse at bay but they just couldn't get him to go down. They had to incapacitate him somehow or he was going to make it impossible for them to escape. And the longer they stayed here, the more likely it was that they were going to be overrun by the Kraang. "There has to be a way to bring him to a stand-"

"Still?" Donatello finished for her. April turned to where Donnie had pulled himself into a sitting position. Her friend had an anemic smile on his face as he held up the pair of leg restraints they had just gotten off of him. She returned the smile as she realized what he was suggesting. Her smile vanished and her eyes filled with concern when Donnie tried to struggle to his feet.

There was no way he could carry out the plan himself like he clearly intended to. "No, Donnie," she said sympathetically while she pushed him back to sitting. He looked at her with this wounded expression and she had to swallow down her tears. "You need to save your strength." She then took the restraints from him and exchanged them with the remote. "I'll do it. You push this button when I tell you to," she told him.

"April, it's too dan-" Donnie didn't get to finish because April took off like a shot straight towards the fray. He started to call out to her but stopped himself. His grip tightened on the controller. She was right. As much as he wanted to do more than just sit there and push a button, his current condition wouldn't allow it. The most useful thing he could do was stay out of the way and that knowledge cut deep.

April charged towards the mutant. Once she was close enough, she leapt at Horse's feet and quickly snapped the restraints around his legs while dancing around the heavy, stomping hooves. "NOW DONNIE!" she shouted and hastily dodged away from Horse's attempts to grab her.

Horse managed one step towards April before he suddenly couldn't move another inch. He looked down and seemed shocked to see that he was trapped. His ears pinned back before he started struggling against the shackles. "Accursed human!" he snarled even as he continued to reach for April. He yelped in pain and nearly fell to the floor after being smacked across his face by the little orange clad turtle.

"Paws off, jerk!" Mikey barked while he tucked away his nunchucks. He really wanted to do more, but he wasn't sure it was right now that the horse man had been stopped. A mollified smile spread across Mikey's face when Raph showed he had no such qualms by gut-punching the mutant hard enough to make him collapse to the floor. Mikey started to move away when his foot brushed against something. His eyes fell on a plastic bottle. It must have fallen out of the horse mutant's pockets along with the remote. Even though he could almost hear Raph chewing him out about picking up trash again, Mikey tucked the bottle into his belt. He wasn't sure what it was but it felt REALLY important that he take it.

Once that was done, he sped by Raph, beating him to where Donnie was sitting and enveloped his long-lost brother in the tightest bear hug ever. His eyes watered and he grinned when he felt Donnie's arms wrap around him in return. Then he tried to rub away the tear stains that marred Donnie's face. He almost lost it as he watched more tears start to spill from Donnie's eyes. At least these tears seemed to be happy ones. "Come on, bro. We're outta here," Mikey said as he grabbed one of Donnie's arms, threw it over his shoulder, and tried to haul Donnie to his feet while getting to his own. He winced when he heard Donnie try and fail to bite off a cry of pain. "Sorry, Donnie," he said worriedly while Raph came up on Donnie's other side to help.

"Way to go, April," Leo praised, patting her on the shoulder and smiling.

"Thank Donnie. It was his idea," she told him.

"I'll make sure to," Leo said as his smile got bigger and he guided her towards the others.

"Enjoy your victory, turtle," Horse growled irritably at Leo's back, making him look over his shoulder. Horse's frown twisted into a sneer. "It shall be a fleeting one."

Leo narrowed his eyes at Horse. "I don't think so," he growled back before he ran to catch up with his brothers and April. He resisted the longing to hug Donnie. The horse mutant had him nervous now. He'd save his happy reunion with his brother for when they were out of here.

They had almost reached the cell with the creature that had tried to attack April when they all heard the sound they'd hoped they wouldn't. Kraang droids, dozens of them, came rushing into the hallway from both ends, trapping them. "Keep them away from Donnie and April!" Leonardo ordered. Raphael and Michelangelo quickly passed Donatello over to April and pulled their weapons. The three turtles charged at the droids desperate to keep their brother and friend safe.

Meanwhile, April stood there, propping Donnie up and trying to think of what to do. Her eyes landed on the cell door of her 'friend' and suddenly an idea hit her. It was crazy, but right now, they kind of needed crazy. She dragged Donnie over to the cell door, eased him to the floor, and knelt in front of the door's access panel. It didn't take long for her to have the panel open. "Guys!" she called back to her friends. "When I tell you to, get over here as fast as you can!"

"What are you…thinking, April?" Donnie questioned weakly.

"I'm gonna try to call in the cavalry," she replied while working with the wires as quickly as she could but a door with fresh wiring wasn't nearly as easy to work with as Donnie's cell door had been. She briefly glanced at her friend as he struggled for breath beside her. "I really wish I was half as good as you are at this stuff, Donnie. You'd have this open in no time."

Donnie looked at her and swallowed hard. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shove away the haze pulling at his awareness. "First sequence:…blue to green…green to red…red to yellow…yellow to blue," he gasped out.

April stopped what she was doing to stare at him for a moment before she grinned and followed his instructions. He led her through two more sequences before the final one. "OK…now all I have to do is connect these two and the door will open, right?" He nodded. "You're the best, Donnie," April declared, taking a moment to hug him again. "GUYS! NOW!" she shouted. As soon as the turtles raced over and made a protective half-circle around them, April connected the final two wires.

The door slid open and this gigantic reptilian beast heaved itself out of the cell. Its tongue flicked out as it tasted the air. The massive head swayed in their direction and suddenly the boys huddled even closer to her and Donnie. "What the heck is that?!" Michelangelo cried out while clutching Donatello to him.

"Komodo dragon," Donnie answered, managing to distinguish the creature's classic features despite its mutated form.

"They mutated a komodo!?" Leonardo said, horrified just by the idea of such a creature existing.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Raphael snapped. April wasn't too sure if that was directed at the Kraang for creating the beast or her for letting it out.

The dragon snarled at them making all of them yelp in fright. It was just about to lunge forward when one of the Kraang droids shot at it. Even though the blast caught the beast squarely in its side, it seemed unaffected. Except now something else had gotten its attention. It slowly turned its tooth-filled muzzle towards the droids. April wasn't sure how intelligent the creature was, but it was clearly smart enough to recognize the Kraang. And it did NOT like them. A roar of what sounded like pure wrath poured forth from the creature before it stormed the Kraang. Within seconds, the Kraang were much more concerned about containing their monster than capturing April and the turtles.

Mikey and April wasted no time. They sandwiched Donnie between them and pulled him to his feet yet again. Raph and Leo took point, clearing a path for everyone to make a beeline for the elevator. "Are you sure the elevator's a good idea, Leo?" Raph questioned while weaving and stabbing his way through the straggling droids.

Leo considered their options for a moment but one quick look at how Donnie was limping and seemed close to passing out settled it for him. "Donnie's too weak. If he passes out in the ventilation system, there's no way we'll be able to drag him through it without the Kraang hearing us. All we can do is hope that most of the droids came here. Let's go!" he replied. As soon as the elevator doors opened, everyone bustled inside. Leo quickly selected the top level. One of the droids broke from the pack to try and make a charge for them. Fortunately, Raph saw it coming and quickly threw a spread of shurikens at it. The droid fell just short of the elevator with all five projectiles embedded in its chest. "Once the elevator stops, we're gonna have to move fast," Leo said as the elevator began its ascent.

"Um, Leo. Hate to be a downer, but fast is not going to happen," April said while she adjusted her hold on Donnie.

"Leave me." Everyone's heart stopped at those quiet words and they turned to look at the person who dared to utter them. Donnie swallowed hard at their horrified expressions. "I'm…I'm just…slowing you down. I'm a liability. You have to…to get out of here. Have to…keep April away from the Kraang. That's all that matters," he panted out.

Leonardo's eyes instantly hardened. "No. Not happening, Donnie. Put that idea out of your head RIGHT NOW!" Donnie flinched at how sharply Leo spoke. He quickly lowered his eyes to the floor, unable to hold Leo intense gaze and too used to bracing for the beating that accompanied being snapped at. The bewildered, cowed look on Donnie's face ate at Leo's heart enough that he couldn't wait for a better time. He came over and clutched Donatello to him. "There's no way we can just leave you behind. Not after getting this far. And definitely not after seeing you like this. We're getting you home. No matter what," he promised fervently, just barely managing to keep a tremor out of his voice. "So don't you DARE give up now! Hear me?"

Donnie's eyes shimmered before he squeezed them closed, pushing the tears out. "I hear you…'Niisan," he whispered as he pressed his face into the crook of Leo's neck. Leo's eyes widened but he smiled and squeezed Donnie tighter. His little brother hadn't called him that for a long time. "But that doesn't solve the problem," Donnie pressed, pulling back to look Leo in the eyes. "How are you going to move quickly with someone who just…can't?"

"Leave that one to me, Donnie," Raphael said confidently. Leonardo and Donatello both watched the shorter turtle approach. "It's been a long time since I gave you a turtle-back ride, but you're so scrawny that I bet I can still do it."

Leo grinned at Raph. "Perfect! Mikey, it'll be up to you and me to cover Raph, Donnie, and April."

"You got it, Leo!" Michelangelo replied exuberantly. He was just thankful that Leo refused to leave Donnie again. Although, if Leo had made that awful call, Mikey had already decided that he wasn't going to listen. He was never abandoning any of his brothers ever again.

"You guys worry about Donnie and Raph! I can take care of myself against a few Kraang bots," April assured them.

"Fine, April. Just remember what I said back at the lair," Leo warned.

"Stick you guys like glue. Roger that!" she replied.

Leonardo smiled before looking at the elevator level. "Everyone into positions! We're almost there!" he announced as he took over supporting Donnie so he could help Raph with him.

Raphael grabbed Donatello's wrists and smiled reassuringly at Donnie's uneasy expression. He pulled on them, dragging Donnie closer until he felt his brother's plastron lightly clack against his carapace. His smile got a touch mischievous when he abruptly bent forward, essentially snatching Donnie off his feet. The maneuver pulled a surprised squeak from the taller turtle and he instinctively wrapped his arms around Raph's neck. Raph's smile got bigger at the squeak but it died soon after when he hooked Donnie's legs and heard his brother whimper in pain as he pulled them forward to straddle him. He straightened back up so that they were ready to go before he looked over his shoulder. His brother's eyes were squeezed closed and he was already panting again. "Seriously, what did that horse freak do to you?" Raph thought while he watched Donnie concernedly.

Leo and Mikey were off like a shot the moment the elevator doors slid open. The two unfortunate Kraang droids that were guarding the elevator didn't stand a chance. One swift decisive swing and Leo's droid was cut clean in half. By the time Mikey was done with his droid, it wasn't even good for scrap. April quickly darted in and knocked out each of the Kraang before they made too much of a fuss. It was only once they were sure the immediate area was clear that they signaled for Raph to come out.

Even then Raph was uncharacteristically careful. He was the one with the precious cargo after all. The others ran ahead of him, making sure that the path was clear. Luckily it seemed that Leo's gamble worked out. Most of the Kraang droids had responded to the alarm and were currently dealing with the pissed off Komodo dragon. Just as they were about to turn a corner, Raph heard the elevator make a loud ding. He glanced behind him to see that the elevator was obediently responding to a summons. "Leo! Kraang bots on the way!"

"Crud," Leo grumbled. "We'll have to try and stay ahead of them! Hurry!" He spotted a small flight of stairs that lead the door to the roof and charged up it. They didn't have time for subtlety so he kicked the door off its hinges. He was just about to race onto the roof when he spotted half a dozen Kraang droid waiting on the other side. "LOOK OUT!" he shouted as he dove to avoid a blast. Mikey and April yelped while they flattened themselves to the side. Raph was low enough on the stairs that he only had to drop to one knee for him and Donnie to avoid it. Leo quickly surged back to his feet, thrusting out his swords to stab them deep into a droid's chest. A deft twist and his blades carved the droid like a turkey. The remaining droids opened fire on him. Leo danced out of the way while using his swords as shields whenever a blast came too close for comfort. At least one droid went down thanks to deflected friendly fire.

The droids were so distracted by the enemy in front of him that they forgot they had three more behind them. Mikey took complete advantage of that oversight. His kusarigama chain flicked out, wrapping around the arms of one of the bots. With a perfectly timed yank, Mikey made the trapped bot blast one of its buddies instead of Leo. April's tessen sailed out to snick the ensnared droid's head off its thin neck. Mikey grinned at her assist before swinging the decapitated droid around, using it to bludgeon yet another droid into scrap metal. The final droid turned to face them, giving Leo the perfect opening. Two slashes and another droid found itself without its lower half. Leo did a quick check to make sure they had gotten all of them before he signaled the all clear to Raph.

"All aboard the Turtle Express, April!" Mikey called out as he holstered his nunchucks and dropped to one knee.

Raph was watching April and Mikey get ready to roof hop when he felt Donnie's grip around his neck begin to loosen. A quick glance back confirmed Raph's suspicions. Now that Donnie wasn't being forced to move, he was starting to teeter on the edge of blacking out. "Hey! Donnie! Snap out of it!" he said, bouncing on the balls of his feet and jolting his exhausted brother back to awareness. "I need you to stay with me, Donnie. We're at the home stretch and I don't want to drop you!"

Donatello swallowed hard at this before nodding and securing his grip. "S-Sorry," he stuttered. Raphael just offered him an encouraging smile.

"Let's go!" Leo said and gestured for Raph and Mikey to go first. Just as they made their first jump, Kraang droids crowded onto the roof.

"WOOHOO! See ya' later, Kraang chumps!" Mikey crowed as they quickly left the droids in the dust. The group finally felt confident enough to allow some triumphant shouts. Within minutes, they'd reached where they'd parked the Shellraiser. Mikey put April back onto her feet and immediately offered her and Leo a fist bump. "Aw yeah!" he cheered when Leo accepted.

"Guys!" Raph barked at them. The celebration immediately stopped as they all looked at him. Raph glanced over his shoulder at Donnie who was shivering in the night air. He was shaking so badly that his teeth chattered. "Think we can do this IN the Shellraiser?" Leo's eyes widened and he quickly helped Raph get Donnie inside. They sat him at his station, figuring it was the best place for him. April quickly pulled out the blanket they'd brought and bundled Donnie up in it. She gently rested her hand on his forehead. He still felt hot to her, but apparently, the slight coolness of the outside air had been enough to send his fevered body into fits. She then went looking for the first aid kit.

Mikey was just about to climb into the Shellraiser when a laser blast whizzed by his head. "WOAH!" He looked up to see eight winged Kraang droids circling in the air above them. "Dude! NOT COOL!" he fussed and leapt into the vehicle. "Floor it, Leo!" Mikey barely had time to get to his seat before Leo did so.

Raph armed the garbage cannon and started taking shots at the droids. Unfortunately, they were too agile for the cannon to take out many of them. It was up to Leo to lose the enemy in the labyrinth of the city but every time it seemed like they were safe, the droids would find them and the chase would begin anew. "How are they doing this!?" Leo growled in exasperation. "It's like they're tracking us somehow!"

Donnie was just about to succumb to unconsciousness when Leo's words dragged him back. "Tracking us? Tracking us... How would they be tracking us?" He felt like he should know this but pulling his thoughts together right now was like trying to ride a bicycle through quicksand…getting him nowhere fast. Maybe…maybe if he closed his eyes for a bit, the answer would come to him. "NO! I can't! THINK, Donatello! If you can't even do that, then WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GOOD FOR?!" he mentally snarled at himself, tears of frustration beginning to make his already hazy vision swim.

His eyes suddenly went wide. "Wait a minute. THAT'S IT!" Donnie forced himself to sit upright while untangling his arms from the blanket. His hands went to the back of his head and slowly, searchingly slid them down his neck all the way to his shoulders. Nothing. He repeated the process with his right arm…then his left. Just as he touched the side of his bicep, he froze, his eye ridges furrowing downward sharply. "Mikey! Give me a shuriken!"

Michelangelo was startled at the sudden command from his purple clad brother. He'd seemed pretty out of it a few minutes ago. "Huh?! Oh, sure thing, Donnie." He quickly handed Donnie what he'd asked for. "What'cha need it f-" was all he had time to say before Donnie stabbed himself in the arm with it. "WHAT THE HECK BRO!" Mikey shrieked. He surged up and tried to get the weapon away from his brother. Donnie fought back as best he could, desperate to do what he knew he had to. Mikey was shocked when he realized that Donnie was actually managing to give him a hard time. Where did he suddenly find the strength? "RAPH! APRIL!"

Raphael and April immediately looked and were shocked to see the two younger brothers struggling for a weapon: one with the apparent intention of hurting himself and the other trying to stop the first. Raph rushed over and grabbed Donnie's hand that held the shuriken. He too was surprised when he felt Donnie's muscles lock, trying to resist. But Raph was stronger than Donnie, always had been, and soon he'd managed to extract the projectile-turned-stabbing weapon from his brother's grasp. He tossed the blood-covered thing as far away from them as he could. A yelp slipped out when Donnie tried to yank his arm free of his grasp. Raph moved quickly and between him and Mikey, they managed to restrain Donnie. "NO! No, you…you don't under… Kraang…must be… Have to…get…" Donnie frantically wheezed out. He tried to fight against his brothers but the adrenaline that had powered his struggles was already starting to lose it potency. His efforts had sapped the last of his strength to the point that he couldn't even string together a coherent sentence. He knew that he sounded like a babbling idiot but he had to make them understand!

Once Raph and Mikey had managed to restrain Donnie, April moved in with the med kit. She could feel herself shaking. The fact that her friend had just tried to hurt himself shocked and frightened her. Why would Donnie do such a thing? Donnie whined as he still feebly struggled against his brothers, disjointed phrases tumbling out of his mouth. She caressed his cheek to try and soothe him. He stopped talking to look at her with this pleading expression. What was he trying to tell them?

She quickly pulled out an antiseptic cloth and began cleaning the self-inflicted wound. It was deep, but thankfully not as deep as it could have been. She wiped away the blood in preparation to bandage the cut. Suddenly she caught a glint of something metallic in his wound just before fresh blood obscured it. Her eyes widened and she quickly wiped away the blood again. This time she moved slowly, paying attention to the feel of his flesh under her fingers. She stopped when she felt a hard lump just beneath his skin…right near where he'd stabbed himself. What on Earth was that?!

"What's going on back there?" Leo questioned agitatedly. He really wanted to go back there and find out what the commotion was, but he had to focus on staying ahead of the Kraang. It was times like this that he really hated being the driver.

"One second!" April shouted back before the others could reply. Raph and Mikey looked at each other from over April's head. She grabbed Donnie's arm so that she could put her thumbs on either side of the cut. Ever so gently she pressed against it until a metal object poked out of Donnie's wound.

"What is that thing?" Michelangelo asked, his eyes huge as he watched April pull this multivitamin sized thing out of his brother.

"Subdermal…GPS…locator," Donatello barely managed to pull together.

April gasped, finally understanding what Donnie had been trying to do. She threw the object to the floor and crushed it beneath the med kit. "Try to lose them now, Leo!"

"Kind of BEEN trying to do that, April!" Leonardo shot back as he sped the Shellraiser around a turn so fast it pitched onto two wheels. They all squawked in surprise. Michelangelo and Raphael quickly braced themselves and grabbed at April and Donatello to keep them from being flung around the cabin like a pair of rag dolls. As soon as they were back on four wheels, Raph raced back to his station to resuming firing on the droids.

Mikey was more hesitant. "You…you aren't gonna do that again…are you, Donnie?" he questioned, his blue eyes more concerned about his brother than the Kraang at this moment. Donnie managed to give Mikey a very small, very tired smile.

"I'll watch him, Mikey," April calmed him. "You go help your brothers get us out of this mess." Mikey grinned at this before he darted over to his station where he began to prove to everyone that Donnie had made the right choice by putting him in navigation. As long as Mikey has his focus, he knew exactly what he was doing. April barely had enough time to bandage Donnie's arm before they'd successfully lost their Kraang tail. Three of the four turtles cheered in triumph. Finally, after far too long, they'd managed to free their brother. April grinned happily and hugged Donnie to her. "How did you figure out that the Kraang had tagged you?" she couldn't help but asked him.

Donnie let out this very weak, humorless chuckle that made all the happiness leave her face. "It was…what I was good for," he replied quietly. His eyes glazed over and this time…he welcomed the darkness oblivion brought.

"Donnie? DONNIE!"

A/N: YAY! They got Donnie out of the base! But, we're they too late? You'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out! :D I do hope that you enjoyed this one. If you did, please let me know! I love hearing from you! :D Thank you all so much for being here!