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 very mature themes are ahead! If you aren't comfortable with the idea of reading such things, please do not continue past the line below!
A/N: WHEW! I finally finished the second half of this massive chapter. Sorry to keep everyone waiting and thank you so much for your patience with me! Even after splitting this chapter up, this part turned into a doozy! I hope you guys don't mind! I want to thank everyone that reviewed and/or favorited after the first half of the chapter. You guys REALLY made my day and I can't thank you enough! :'D This part of the chapter was hard to write...and even harder to proofread. So many feels! T_T I really do hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Again, I will not be putting an author's note at the end of the chapter. I feel like it will detract from how the chapter ends. Please do remember to review, follow, and/or favorite if you like this chapter! Thank you so much! Enjoy!
Chapter 15 (part 2)
The dojo reverberated with the kiai of five ninjas-in-training. Their sensei stood at the head of the room, scrutinizing their every move as they ran through their katas. Of particular interest to Splinter was Donatello. His son's fluid movements brought a proud smile to the ninja master's face. In the past three weeks, Donatello had gone from limping after every practice to keeping pace with his brothers, something that the slight turtle had struggled with even before his capture. It heartened Splinter to see that Donatello's perseverance with his training was paying off.
Yet that same diligence also brought Splinter much concern. He never saw the turtle resting anymore. All the time that Donatello normally spent in his lab, tinkering and crafting – things the turtle usually lived for – was spent in the dojo running through drills. The once ardent reader now barely even glanced at a comic book and TV had become a luxury that was only indulged in after much cajoling from Michelangelo and April. It was as though the young ninja had decided that he only to needed to regain his physical strength in order to heal. Splinter knew better. A healthy body was indeed a good start…but an ailing spirit could incapacitate even the strongest of bodies.
Perhaps it was time that he saw just how extensive his son's recovery truly was? "Yame!" the mutant rat barked. His pupils' response was instantaneous. They all froze in mid kata to come to attention before him. "You will now practice your hand-to-hand combat."
"Hai, sensei!" the five declared. April and Donnie moved out of line to kneel beside their sensei so that they would be out of the combatants' way.
"The first pair shall be Leonardo…and Donatello."
All of his students looked at him in shock. Donnie, who was halfway through kneeling beside April, found his voice first though it was little more than a squeak. "M-me?"
"Yes, my son," Splinter patiently answered the confused turtle.
"Are you sure about this, Sensei?" Leo asked nervously.
"Yes. Now…face each other." The two turtles moved to follow the strict order from their master and father. Once they were in the middle of the dojo, they couldn't help but share an uneasy look. The memory of what happened two weeks ago had been burned into each of their minds and neither one wanted to put the other through that again.
Leo took a steadying breath before smoothly dropping into a stance. This wasn't like the last time. Sensei was giving them the go-ahead to do this. If Splinter was telling them to spar then, surely, it was safe to do so.
Meanwhile, Donnie was the very picture of trepidation. Was he really ready for this? What if he had another flashback? It would be in front of everyone this time. What would he do if they figured out what happened? "Stop it," he scolded himself. "Haven't you been driving yourself into the ground to get to this point? Are you really going to balk at the chance to prove that you're ready to go to the surface again?" A tenacious glint colored Donnie's eyes. He crouched into his own stance before his brother.
"Hajime!"
Neither fighter moved. Raph, Mikey, and April had started to think that they hadn't heard Splinter by the time Leo lunged forward to make the first strike. Donnie twisted his body out of the way of Leo's punch while simultaneously deflecting it with a flat-palmed push. The action forced Leo to follow through with his attack. He didn't have time to react as Donnie rolled along his arm to slam an elbow into his upper carapace, sending him staggering forward.
Leo regained his footing and whipped around in time to see Donnie gracefully spin back into a stance. He stared at his little brother in surprise for a moment before a grin spread onto his face. Donnie returned the expression before charging him. They exchanged blows but neither one seemed able to breach the other's defenses. Leo finally broke the stalemate with a left cross that knocked Donnie off balance. The blue clad turtle took the opportunity to grab his purple clad brother and throw him across the room.
Donnie recovered in mid-flight and flipped so that he landed on one knee. He sat there for a moment while he tried to catch his breath. Splinter narrowed his eyes. His son's eyes had widened ever so slightly and they seemed a little out of focus. He also noted that the young ninja's breathing was faster and harsher than it should have been.
"No. Not…now," Donnie thought when he noticed a haze creeping into his vision. He risked a moment to squeeze his eyes closed and force his breathing to become measured again. "The mats have a rough, fuzzy texture that tickles if you run your hand against the grain." He pressed a hand to the rug underneath him so he could do just that. "There are five shide on the shimenawa that hangs above the dojo shrine." When he opened his eyes again, he was relieved to see that the haze was starting to pull back. Donnie stood up, took a deep breath as he strode back to where Leo waited, and assumed a stance once more. "Our baby bowl sits to the far right of the shrine. It has a pink palm tree that is approximately sixteen centimeters tall from base to top and is crowned with five leaves."
Leo grinned at Donnie's resolve before resuming the spar with a high kick that Donnie blocked. He recovered in time to deflect a right hook that made his hand sting a bit. His eyes widened as Donnie whirled with the force Leo had put in his deflection and used it to help power one heck of a spinning kick to Leo's head. The impact sent Leo to the mats, but the young ninja managed to catch himself. He twisted around to kick at the other turtle's chest. Donnie squawked as Leo's kick connected, making him reel backwards. Leo wasted no time. He surged to his feet and lashed out with a palm heel strike that caught his brother in the face. Donnie couldn't recover in time and landed on his carapace with a loud thump.
"Yame!" Splinter ordered. He'd seen enough.
Donnie sat up with a groan before rubbing his aching nose. A hand was extended to him and he looked up into its owner's smiling face. "I saw some stars with that last one. Nice job, Donnie!" Leo praised. Donnie meekly returned the smile as he accepted the hand. His eldest brother pulled him to his feet effortlessly but didn't let go. Donnie managed to keep his flinch subtle when Leo put his free arm around him for a hug.
"Indeed," their father agreed. "It would seem that you have regained your physical strength, Donatello." Splinter approached his tallest sons to smile gently at Donnie. "I am proud of you, my son." The bright, animated smile that graced Donnie's face had once been a common sight but this was the first time it had shown itself since the turtle's return. Seeing it again after all this time nearly brought the ninja master to tears.
"Thank you, Sensei!" Donnie said appreciatively as he bowed. He'd done it! He'd really done it; he almost couldn't believe it!
"Your timing couldn't be better, Donnie," Leo said elatedly. "That Kraang flash drive Mikey found awhile back has been great, but it's completely out of date now. Not to mention it has absolutely nothing on what the Kraang/Foot alliance is planning. We need intel and, with a little luck, the Kraang facility we stumbled on last night will have exactly that. Think you're up to a little recon mission?"
"BRING IT!" Donnie declared with an eager smirk. At long last, he could do something to help and he was raring to go! April, Mikey, and Raph ran over to join Donnie and Leo in celebration. Donnie's enthusiasm was infectious and they freely let themselves be caught up in it. It had been far too long since they'd seen such joy on his face.
"No." The simple but stern statement was like a slap in the face and everyone looked at Splinter in disbelief. "I'm sorry, my son, but you will have to conduct the mission without Donatello. He is not yet ready to return to the surface."
"W-What?!" Donnie gasped harshly. "But…but Sensei, you said that I could go when I had recovered!" His voice was a palpable jumble of confusion, distress, and anger.
Splinter moved past his sons and towards the exit. "Raphael, Michelangelo. It is your turn. Leonardo, you will monitor them," he ordered without looking at the young ninjas. "Donatello…" the ninja master briefly glanced back, "…come with me." The four turtles stared after their father before they all soberly moved to do as he directed.
April clutched one of her hands in the other, squeezing it until it hurt as she watched Donnie follow Splinter out of the dojo. She could tell that Donnie was trying to pull himself back together with limited success. Though it was clear from Donnie's posture that one emotion was becoming stronger that the others. Anger. April couldn't blame Donnie for being angry. She'd seen what he'd been putting himself through. With all hours he had spent in the dojo and obstacle course, you would think that Donnie was trying to take Leo's place as the most dedicated student. To finally have Splinter say that all his hard work had paid off just before telling him that he still wasn't ready to go to the surface had to be infuriating. But no matter how much she could sympathize with Donnie's frustration, she understood why Master Splinter told him no.
"I don't understand! You told me that once I'd recovered I'd be allowed to go to the surface again!" Donatello cried out indignantly once he and his sensei had left the dojo. "I've done exactly that! You just said so yourself!"
Splinter sighed somberly before coming to a stop. "My son, I said that you have regained your physical strength. Not that you have recovered." He turned to face the turtle. "You started having a flashback during your spar." Astonishment that his father had noticed his lapse forced the anger from Donatello's eyes. "It is admirable that you were able to drive it back but…what if such a thing happened during a life or death situation? What if you were unable to recover in time? That is a danger to you and your brothers that I will not risk."
The ninja master watched mournfully as his son's entire bearing wilted. He approached the young ninja to gently rest a hand on the turtle's lowered head. "I know how discouraging it must be for you. But you must heal here," he moved his hand to press it against the center of his son's upper plastron, "and here for you to have truly recovered from your experience. That is something that will take time. You must be patient with yourself until then."
Donnie slowly lifted his face and Splinter swallowed at the unshed tears wavering in his son's brown eyes. "And what happens if I never heal, Otousan?" The young ninja squeezed his eyes shut to force the tears back before choking out, "What if I'm never normal again?"
Splinter's heart clenched painfully at these woeful and desperate questions. He moved his hand to Donatello's shoulder and firmly gripped it. "You are far stronger than you realize, my son. The fact that you survived tells me this. I have no doubt that you will heal and neither should you. As for being 'normal', if you are referring to how you were before your capture…I fear that is beyond your reach." He felt the turtle quiver beneath his hand but did not let it deter him. "Too much has happened for you to ever be quite the same again. You must strive to find your new normal instead of fighting so hard to seek out the old."
There was a long, excruciating pause before his son responded with a weak, "Hai, Sensei."
"You need rest. Go and do something you enjoy. I do not want to see you in the dojo for the rest of today. Understood?"
"Hai, Sensei," Donnie repeated faintly as he watched his father turn to head back to the dojo. Do something he enjoyed? What exactly was that? Everything he used to do for fun only seemed to frustrate him now. He sighed quietly before rubbing at his eyes to drive away the moisture in them. His attention flicked to the TV briefly and he ran through a mental listing of what was normally on at this time before shaking his head. The evening news was the only thing running right now. He was depressed enough without watching that.
Donatello thought about reading a book, but he really wanted to do something. He wanted to see progress unfolding before his eyes and to feel that wonderful sense of accomplishment that always made him feel so alive. "Guess that only leaves one thing," he thought as he headed to his lab. Once inside, he moved over to his workbench where he stared at the inventions that patiently waited for him to give them his attention. He plucked one up and looked it over only to put it back in line.
The process was repeated three more times with three different contraptions before he growled at himself. He felt nothing. No desire to work. Not even a trace of motivation driving him to focus on any of the multitude of unfinished projects. His eyes shifted to the small pile of broken electronics next to his inventions. Even though he knew that he should leave them be so that Leo could have something to work on during their next tech lesson, Donnie pulled one of the devices over and began to fiddle with it. It took a little longer than normal, but he still managed to get through the pile within an hour. "Well, that's that," he sighed as he set the final finished repair job with the rest. He folded his arms on the table and rested his cheek against them while absentmindedly staring across the lab.
His gaze settled on his pegboard tool rack. At first glance, everything seemed to be in its proper place but he ran his eyes over it more carefully anyways. It couldn't hurt. He never knew when Leo would try his hand at fixing something on his own. Though, when that did happen, a few volumes of his journals tended to be missing in action as well. He snorted in a chastising manner. Leo wasn't the only one to blame for such disappearances. Donnie had been so scatterbrained lately that missing tools and journals were more likely his own fault than anyone else's. As though to confirm that fact, he noticed that his box-end wrench was missing only to realize that it was sitting right next to him.
Another small, annoyed growl slipped out as he snatched up the tool so he could put it away. If only he could focus! Maybe then he'd be able to do something worthwhile and finally get himself back on track. After he'd put tool where it belonged, his eyes settled on a set of three tapered brushes. Each one hung from its own peg and, to most people, looked totally out of place among the wrenches, screwdrivers, and ratchets that kept them company. However, to Donatello, the goat and horse hair brushes were perfectly at home right where they were. The proper way to dry calligraphy brushes was to hang them, after all.
Donnie's eyes lit up. "Of course!" he thought as he plucked up the trio. Why hadn't he thought of this before? Soothing, relaxing, focusing…calligraphy was EXACTLY what he needed right now! He quickly went over to his computer desk and rifled through the drawers until he found the right kind of paper, his underlay, and the box that held the rest of his calligraphy kit.
The Shellraiser was parked outside so he had plenty of room to work. Once he found a spot that had a minimum of oil stains he began to set up. He set the underlay out in front of him, rested a piece of paper on top of it, and used a weighted bar that he'd pulled from his kit to smooth the paper out before settling it at the top of the sheet. Next to be removed from the kit was his brush rest, ink stone, and ink stick. The three items, along with his brushes, were placed in the appropriate configuration to the right of his paper.
He took a moment to double check that he had everything he needed. Almost. He returned to his kit to pull out a small, clean beaker. His eyes briefly landed on the beaker's ink-stained twin and the bottle of readymade ink beside it. It would be easier and he'd be able to get to work faster if he used them, but speed wasn't the point today. He got up so that he could fetch some water from the lab's sink. Once he returned, he knelt down before the paper, pulled his ink stone closer, and poured a small amount of water onto the raised part of the stone. He then began the time-consuming yet calming process of grinding his ink stick into what he needed.
Leonardo smirked when Michelangelo took advantage of an obvious opening in Raphael's guard to deliver a blow to the larger turtle's side. Even though he was really enjoying watching Mikey irritate Raph, Leo found that he could only stay focused on the spar for a few moments at a time before his thoughts wandered. He just couldn't stop playing his own spar over and over again in his mind. What had he missed? Clearly, Splinter had seen SOMETHING in Donnie's behavior that was cause for concern. The only thing Leo had noticed that seemed a little off was the pause after he'd thrown his brother. Donnie had definitely been breathing too hard for what they had done but Leo wasn't sure what it meant.
The blue clad turtle sighed heavily at the whole situation. Splinter's refusal to let Donnie go to the surface was devastating. They were getting their shells waxed up there. Unless they could get their hands on more information it was only going to get worse. Leo didn't want to admit it, but without Donnie to hack into the Kraang systems they screwed six ways to Sunday.
A sharp yelp jerked Leo out of his thoughts. He returned his attention to the spar in time to see Raph roughly twist one of Mikey's arms behind his back before planting their little brother's face into the mats. "HEY! Raph, that's enough!" he barked irritably. Raph looked at Leo and seemed to be considering ignoring him until Splinter calmly returned to the dojo. Instead, the muscle-bound turtle gave his opponent a noogie before releasing him. Mikey pulled himself off the floor so that he could rub his head and arm. After he was sure everything was fine, he blew a raspberry at Raph.
Fortunately, Splinter's presence kept things from dissolving into a brawl. "Yame," he ordered and the four young ninjas lined up before him for inspection. He walked over to his newest pupil to stand before her. "Not everything you need to learn about being a kunoichi can be taught in the dojo, April. I believe that you are ready for some of these more advanced training exercises. Are you up to it?"
April grinned. "You bet I am! I-I mean…Hai Sensei."
Splinter smiled at her enthusiasm. "Then we leave early tomorrow morning, so do not stay up too late tonight. We will be gone for a week but during that time we will need to remain mobile. So, make sure you pack accordingly."
"Hai, Sensei," she repeated with a bow.
The ninja master looked to his sons. "In our absence, you four will continue your training. No slacking off. Understood?"
"Hai, Sensei!"
"Good. Now, I believe that is enough practice for today," he said, dismissing them as he moved over to the shrine and began replacing the candles that burned there with fresh ones. His students bowed respectfully to him before three of them filed out of the dojo. "What troubles you, my son?" he asked his remaining student without turning to look at him.
"Sensei," Leo began as he moved to stand behind his father. "Won't you reconsider letting Donnie come with us? Even if he's rough around the edges, we could really use his help out there."
"I know you could. However, your brother needs more time to find his way. Until then, going into combat is too dangerous for him…and for you." Splinter turned around in time to see Leo look down with a discouraged sigh. He closed the gap between them, causing Leo to lift his eyes from the floor. "You must continue to be patient with him, Leonardo. No matter how difficult that may be."
Leo swallowed hard before he inclined his head in a bow, "Hai sensei." The young ninja watched his master retreat into his room. "It would be easier to do that if he would talk to us," Leo thought in irritation. "I just don't understand what Donnie's thinking! We already know he went through hell while he was captured. That much was obvious by how beat up he was! So what, exactly, is he trying to hide from us?"
He shook his head to drive away the exasperation he felt before turning to leave the dojo. Such feelings wouldn't do any good and he really didn't want Donnie to pick up on them. He didn't need to make his little brother feel worse than he already did. A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth when he walked into the kitchen to find Raph, Mikey, and April waiting for him. "So, what do we do now, Leo?" Mikey asked while he stirred dinner.
"We're still taking that place out, right?"
"Right," Leo answered Raph. "The plan hasn't changed. We get in, find out what we can about what the Kraang are up to, and trash the place. It would have been nice to have Donnie come with to hack their computers, but since that's not happening we'll make do. Got it?" Mikey and Raph nodded their agreement. "We leave in forty minutes."
"Forty minutes AFTER we eat, right?" Mikey asked as he pulled some ramen noodles from the pot with a set of chopsticks.
Leo rolled his eyes but smiled amusedly at his youngest brother. "Yes, Mikey, after we eat. Did you tell Donnie that supper was ready?"
"I did, but he said he wasn't hungry," Mikey replied softly and with more than a hint of worry.
April comfortingly rubbed her hand against Mikey's carapace. "Just leave the pot on low for now. I'll make sure he eats while you're out."
Donatello smiled approvingly at the two lines he'd just drawn. "Perfect. Just the right consistency." He pulled the paper out from the weight holding it steady so he could set it aside. Once he'd gotten a clean sheet in place, he sat back on his heels, crossed his arms, and stared at it with a thoughtful expression. "What shall I write? 'Jikishin Kore Dojo'? Or maybe 'Kouin Ya no gotoshi'?" He shook his head. "No. Not really feeling any of the typical phrases. Maybe…maybe I should focus solely on technique today?" He snapped his fingers as he nodded. "Yes. This isn't about making something. It's about centering myself and calming my mind. The words don't matter; only HOW they are done."
He closed his eyes for a brief moment before he picked up his medium sized brush, dipped it into the freshly made ink, and began to work. "Relax and let your mind write what it wants. Focus only on your strokes and maintaining your form." He could feel the tension leaving him as the characters began their slow march down his paper. It helped his smile gain more strength. "That's it. The kanji before don't matter. Neither do the ones to come. Only the one you're making right now deserved your attention."
As Donnie worked on the last character, a sense of anticipation began to build within him. He wanted to see what he'd created, to see how well he'd formed each kanji, to read what he'd given his mind the liberty to say. The excitement made him want to rush through the last character, but he pushed it down. If even one line was sloppy the whole piece would be ruined. Once he finished the last methodical stroke, he deliberately ignored the piece to set his brush down. Then he closed his eyes as he sat back on his heels again, forcing himself to be patient.
It was only after waiting a good five minutes that he allowed his eyes to slide open so that he could gaze upon his creation. His eye ridges furrowed. It took a few moments for the meaning of what he'd written to sink in, but once it had he gasped as though someone had just poured ice water over his shell. His satisfied smile was wiped clean from his face and his hands tremblingly went to rest on either side of his paper. "No," he breathed, tears beginning to burn in his eyes.
Outrage soon overwhelmed despair. "NO!" He snatched up the results of his hard work, viciously ripped it in half, and crumpled the two halves into a ball before chucking it at the trash can near his workbench. It bounced off the rim as though to mock him and came to rest a few feet away from the can. He squeezed his eyes shut to stubbornly hold the turmoil inside him at bay along with his tears as his hands fisted against his thighs. It wasn't true. It COULDN'T be true!
The telltale ding-dong of the Shellraiser's door pulled his attention to the tunnel beyond his lab's garage door. The sound announced that his brothers' were about to leave the lair. His face and eyes hardened with grim resolve. "I'm sorry, Sensei. But you don't understand. I have to DO something." He marched over to the garage door and shoved it up in time to see the Shellraiser roll down the tracks. "I know you think I'm not ready, but I'm stronger now than I've ever been. Surely that can compensate for what I'm lacking!" Donnie bolted after the repurposed subway car. If he hauled shell, he could catch it before it got up to speed. He had only just managed to get alongside it when the vehicle started to pull away. With a shout, he made a desperate leap at the Shellraiser. He landed on its roof with a loud thump.
Mikey and Raph both looked at the ceiling at the unexpected sound. Raph was just about to dismiss the noise as a brick finally loosening enough to fall when movement on his roof monitor caught his attention. "What the!?" he squawked.
"What? What is it?"
Raph didn't answer Mikey. Instead, he went over to the roof hatch and popped it open. "What the heck do you think you're doing?" he shouted up it.
Donnie dropped into the Shellraiser. "Coming with you."
The moment Leo heard Donnie's voice he hit the brakes. After the Shellraiser came to a slow, screeching halt, he surged out of his seat. "What are you doing here?! Splinter said that-"
"I know what Splinter said," Donnie interrupted before Leo could go on a rant. "But I can't keep sitting in the lair, waiting to get better." Leo continued to look unyielding. "Come on, Leo. It's just a recon mission."
"The mission we lost you on was 'just a recon mission' too. Remember?" Raph pointed out gruffly.
"Trust me, Raph. I couldn't forget if I tried." Raph winced at Donnie's subdued tone and the hurt in his eyes. The stout turtle shifted uncomfortably before he looked at Leo, hoping that the eldest of the group would be able to stay strong against those eyes.
"Splinter says it's too risky for you to come with us."
"I know…" Donnie said, continuing his quiet tone for a moment. Then he stepped closer to Leo while narrowing his eyes. "…but I saw how you looked when Sensei said that I couldn't go top side. You guys are running blind out there, aren't you?" Donnie countered as his voice became stern. A hard swallow from Leo along with the uneasy look Mikey and Raph exchanged was the only answer he needed. "You need information. And for that you need me." His eldest brother turned his head away. "Please, Leo…let me try?"
Leo sighed as he closed his eyes to mentally kick himself. One facial slip and Donnie had picked up on the very thing Leo didn't want him knowing. His little brother didn't need to know just how bad things were getting. That kind of pressure was the last thing his recovery needed!
But maybe…just maybe…a mission was exactly what it did need. Ever since his capture and torture at the hands of Nightmare and the Kraang, the purple clad turtle's self-confidence had been shattered. It was obvious in nearly everything Donnie did, from his inability to focus on his work to his timid body posture. Perhaps going on this mission would help Donnie rebuild that lost confidence…and from there give him what he needed to overcome what had happened to him. Besides, a nagging little voice in the back of Leo's mind warned him that sending Donnie home without even letting him try had the potential to do far more damage than letting him come.
He returned his blue eyes to Donnie's brown ones and the two of them stared unwaveringly at each other for several minutes. In the end, Leo was the one to lower his eyes. This was probably the most determined he'd seen Donnie in what felt like forever and he wasn't about to be the one to quash that. "Alright, Donnie." His little brother seemed startled that Leo had actually caved in before an elated smile spread on his face. "But this mission is now infiltration only. We get in, find a computer for Donnie to access, and get out. No confrontation if it can be helped."
"AWWW!"
"Sorry, Raph. Crushing Kraang will have to wait for next time," Leo apologized even as he smirked at his aggressive brother's disappointment.
"YEAH!" Mikey crowed joyously as he offered Donnie a fist bump on his way to his station. "B team is back in action, baby!"
"Mikey!" Donnie fussed, making Leo and Raph snicker. He hated how Mikey so casually used that demeaning nickname of Raph's. Even AFTER Raph had changed it to the 'A- team'. However, one look at his little brother's bright face made him sighed in resignation. What did it matter anyway? He returned the cheerful smile with a mild one as he tapped his fist to Mikey's.
The four ninjas silently observed their target from the rooftop of another building. Everything about the warehouse was unassuming enough. Just like the others around it, it seemed to be an unremarkable derelict. Only the cutting-edge security panels that sat at every entrance gave hint to its darker purpose.
Leonardo had chosen to leave the Shellraiser in the subway about a block from where they were. He didn't want its presence to give them away. Donatello understood his brother's concern. As proud as Donnie was of the Shellraiser there were times, especially in recent months, where he wished he'd made it a little less…conspicuous. His thoughts had just started drifting to trying to figure out how he could correct for that when he was startled out of them by Leo.
"Let's go!" the eldest of the four ordered. His brothers followed his lead as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop until they reached their target. Leo wasted no time once he landed. He immediately went over to the door and pulled out a few small tools so he could get to work on the security panel.
"Hold up, Leo," Donnie called, making Leo looked over his shoulder. The purple clad turtle reached into his belt and presented a small device that brought a smile of recognition to Leo's face. He moved to the side to let Donnie have access to the panel. Leo watched as the tech-savvy turtle seated his digital lock-pick into the card reader. In mere seconds, the panel chimed pleasantly and released its hold on the door.
Leo shook his head. "We could've had you out in hours instead of weeks if we'd had that thing."
Regret colored Leo's voice so completely that Donnie had to swallow down a lump that tried to build in his throat. "Do you want me to make another one?" he quietly asked as Leo pushed open the door.
Leo instantly snapped his attention back to Donnie. "You can do that?"
Donnie shrugged sheepishly at the surprise on his brother's face. "None of the parts are particularly hard to get. And with the schematic, it shouldn't be that difficult to duplicate. Come to think of it, there really is no logical reason for me to have the only one." He lowered his eyes and made a bitter snort. "I should have realized that ages ago," he continued softly as he followed the others into the warehouse.
A hand lightly touched Donnie's shoulder and his eyes lifted to meet Mikey's. "Don't beat yourself up about it, bro. After all, foresight is twenty-twenty!"
Donnie blinked a couple times before making a soft chuckle. "That's hindsight, Mikey. 'Hindsight is twenty-twenty.'"
"Pipe down, you two!" Raph chastised from just a little ahead of them. "Kraang approaching at two o'clock." Donnie and Mikey immediately fell quiet and vanished with their older brothers. Two Kraang droids came marching around the corner a minute later. They were completely unaware that the shadows along their patrol path had eyes until it was too late. The four turtle ninjas descended upon them before they even had the chance to get off a single shot. Once the droids were destroyed and their Kraang occupants were unconscious, Raph tugged Donnie in front of him. "I want you where I can see you," he hissed out at his brother's puzzled look. There was no way he was going to risk losing Donnie to these disgusting brain blobs again.
Donnie's eye ridges forked down sharply. "I can take care of myself."
Raph growled, returning Donnie's exasperation in kind. "I'm not saying you can't! I just want to make sure that you'll be fine." His brother opened his mouth to protest further, but Raph headed him off, "Dang it, Donnie. Just…just give me this!" The taller turtle continued to look sour.
"Whoa! Check this out!" Mikey's awestruck call squelched his older brothers' bickering. The two of them glared at each other for a moment before each stowed their tempers so they could catch up to Leo and Mikey. They found their brothers perched at the edge of a catwalk. The other two turtles were peering down at an automated assembly line that was busily constructing robots. "Look at all the Kraang droids!"
"There's gotta be dozens of them," Raph said.
"Those aren't Kraang droids." The others looked at Donnie at his whispered assertion. "There's no place to house a Kraang."
Leo's eyes widened as a disconcerting thought ran through his mind. "You don't think they're making more of Miss Rocket Arms, do you?"
"Hey, no fair! I'm in charge of naming stuff!"
Donnie shook his head, ignoring Mikey's fussing to answer. "The configuration is wrong for that model too. In order to accommodate the rocket launchers, they would need solidly built tube-like upper arms. The upper arms on these are skeletal."
"Then these are…"
"…An entirely new model of robot," Donnie finished for his eldest brother.
"Peachy," Raph said drily.
"It looks like the finishing touches are put on in that tunnel down there. Let's go see what comes out the other side. It will give us a better idea of what we have to look forward to," Leo suggested. Once his brothers nodded in agreement, he vaulted over the catwalk's railing. He and the others landed almost soundlessly beside the conveyor belt and broke into a swift run as soon as their feet touch the floor. They hurried around the corner only to come to a skidding halt. "FOOT NINJAS!" Their weapons practically flew into their hands as they all assumed defensive postures.
But nothing happened. Not one of the enemy ninjas took advantage of their unpreparedness to attack. Leo dared a glance back at his brothers to see the same confusion that had to be on his face on theirs. He carefully crept closer to one of the ninjas and tapped the side of its head with the flat of one of his swords. No reaction what-so-ever. "What is going on here?"
"Leo!" The blue clad turtle whirled around at Donnie's yelp. His eyes widened when he saw more Foot ninjas leaving the tunnel via the conveyor belt to be picked up by an automated claw and set in a neat row with the others. "They aren't Foot ninjas at all." The taller turtle walked up the one Leo had poked and pulled off the black mask to revel a metallic face similar to those of the Kraang droids. "They're Foot BOTS!"
"Helloooo! Dr. Naminstien here!"
"Robotic ninjas?" Raphael sneered after rolling his eyes at Michelangelo's continued protests. "You've got to be kidding me. Do they really think that these tin cans will be a problem for us?"
"You don't get it, Raph," Donatello replied fretfully. "Even if these guys are programed with the most rudimentary of ninja skills and techniques, they'll be faster and stronger than any human could possibly be. And knowing the Kraang, I doubt that the minimum is all they will have. Not to mention they can be built and immediately put into action. No training required."
"So much for the Shredder's recruitment woes," Leonardo growled. "At this rate, he won't need to have soldiers more skilled than us. He'll be able to overwhelm us with sheer numbers." Mikey made a soft whine while he looked around the room as it rapidly filled with wall-to-wall Foot bots. His little brother's worry sound made Leo bare his teeth determinedly. "Getting information will have to wait. We've got to take this place out before these things go on-line."
"Hey, you know I'm all for it. But exactly how are we going to do that? I kinda left my explosives in my other shell," Raph said drily.
"Any ideas, Donnie?"
Leo watched the genius turtle rub his forefinger under his chin thoughtfully. "If I can access their programming, I should be able to trigger an overload or maybe even a self-destruct protocol. Whichever happens, once enough of them go up, so will this whole place."
"Great! Do it!"
Donnie nodded, ran to the nearest computer console, and immediately began trying to hack into the system. As he worked, a concern ran through his mind. What if the bots' programming couldn't be accessed remotely? His hands hovered over the keyboard. If that was the case, the computer would do nothing. "Why would a race as advanced as the Kraang waste time programing every robot individually?" he argued with himself, trying to force the uncertainty out of his mind. "It's stupid! The computer has to be the answer!"
Once he'd gotten over his little mental hiccup, it was remarkably easy to find the remote access point. A delighted smile spread onto his face at his luck and without any hesitation, he opened the program. That smile vanished instantly when instead of loading the bots' code, the machine gave him a sixty-second countdown. "Oh, crud."
"What?" Leo asked in alarm.
"I triggered a security protocol. If I don't key in the right sequence before the end of the countdown, it will sound the alarm."
"Well, what are you waiting for?! Key in the code!" Raph demanded.
"I've only seen this set-up a couple of times before! It was pure luck that I got the code last time. There is no way I can be sure that the same code will work here!" Donnie snapped. "And…e-e-even if it is the same code, I'm not sure I remember it all." He squeezed his eyes shut in humiliated frustration as he wracked his brain. Oh, why hadn't he questioned how easy it was to get in? It was NEVER that easy to access a Kraang computer! The seconds ticked by and Donnie felt a weight settling deeper into his chest with every one. In a panic to do something, he quickly typed in what he could remember of the code from last time and hoped that his subconscious would fill-in the rest. Once the last button was keyed, the countdown thankfully stopped. All four of the young ninjas heaved a sigh.
The room began to fill with the sounds of machines whirring to life. Donnie's breath caught in his throat as he slowly turned from the workstation to look behind him. His brothers followed his dread-filled gaze. Glowing red eyes cast eerie shadows all over as the head of every Foot bot in the room snapped towards them. Mikey summed up everyone's thoughts just before all hell broke loose. "Aw, sewer apples."
Three of the four turtles drew their weapons to meet the onslaught. Instead of joining his brothers in the fight, Donnie whirled back to the computer. He could fix this! If he could just get into the bots' coding, he could fix this. He slammed his fist against the computer when he realized that he'd been locked out of the program. The black surface that was the workstation's keypad turned into a shimmering purple-pink light show as he desperately searched for another way in. He yelped when he was shoved into the machine by something hitting his carapace. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that at least two of the bots had broken through his brothers' line and gotten to him. He pushed away from the computer and tried to put some distance between him and the bots so he could use his bo staff.
Donnie smacked one in the chin with an upward strike, then swung the other end of his bo up and over in a downward strike to the top of the bot's head that sent it straight to the floor. He pivoted around just in time to defend against the second one. This bot was as easy to handle as the first, but by the time he was done with it, the first one had returned to its feet. He did a quick side-to-side strike before fluidly moving into the upward-downward strike combo he'd used before. This time the bot avoided the upward strike before grabbing his bo, snatching it out of his grasp, and using it to catch him in the side. The impact slammed him into a wall. Donnie struggled up with a groan only to squawk and duck his head into his shell as the bot threw his own weapon at him like a javelin. "By Darwin's beard, they're adaptive!"
"Yeah!" Mikey agreed as he just barely managed to snag the business end of a sickle with his nunchuck and redirect it away from his throat. "And they're learning our moves too!"
Leo made a quick assessment of their situation as he strained against the three bots he was fighting. For every one of them, there were twenty of these blasted Foot bots. The conveyor belt spewed out more of them every few seconds. As soon as the new bots came within range of the computer, they activated to join the battle. Plus it was only a matter of time before the Kraang heard the commotion and showed up, guns blazing. Their simple recon mission had gone straight down the tubes. "EVERYONE, FALL BACK!"
"WAIT!" Donnie shouted after he used his naginata blade to stab the bot he was fighting right between the eyes. He planted a foot against the bot's chest, kicked the sparking pile of scrap metal off his blade, and raced back to the computer. "I CAN FIX THIS! JUST GIVE ME TIME!"
"Time is something we don't have!" Raph returned while he chucked the body of the bot he'd just beaten into the ones Leo was fighting. Leo took the opportunity to relieve those bots of their heads. Their eyes met briefly before Raph flicked his gaze to Donnie then back to Leo questioningly. Leo risked his own glance at their little brother. He swallowed hard and nodded once. The red clad turtle returned the nod before he quickly made his way over to Donnie so he could give the other turtle the protection he needed to do his thing.
"This isn't getting me anywhere," Donne thought angrily. The workstation had completely locked him out now. He was going to have to circumvent the security system by rewiring the computer. Donnie dropped to his knees in front of the machine, used a kunai to rip its front panel off, and disconnected several wires from within the machine. "Maybe I can use my T-phone to override the lockout." His hand went to his belt where he got the sickening reminder that he hadn't made himself a new one yet. "Raph!"
"What?"
"Give me your T-phone!"
"What?!"
"Don't 'what' me! Just do it!" Raph grumbled something unintelligible before he kicked away the bot he was fighting so he could chuck the requested item to Donnie. The purple clad turtle snatched the phone out of the air and began hooking it up to the Kraang computer. "OK, this wire here. And that wire there," Donnie muttered to himself. "…or should it be that wire here and this wire there? Or even, these wires here and those wires there?" Donnie could feel panic starting to choke off his breath as he stared at the tangled mess in front of him. This was his element! He should know this! WHY COULDN'T HE FIGURE THIS OUT!?
Raph growled irritably while he watched his brother's actions grind to a frazzled standstill. He was just about to snap out something when he spotted a couple of Kraang droids on the catwalk high above them. They were leveling their blasters at Donnie. A gasp escaped Raph and his eyes widen before he charged straight at his little brother. He got to the taller turtle in time to shove him out of the way. The blast hit the open computer panel instead. "No," Donnie cried out in dismay as sparks showered forth from it, bathing the two ninjas in bits of fire.
"Come on, Donnie! We've gotta get out of here!" Raph insisted as he pulled Donnie to his feet and dragged the other turtle behind him.
Something compelled Donnie to look back and when he did he gasped at the sight of the panel becoming less like a spark fountain and more like a super nova. "HIT THE DECK!" he shouted to his brothers as he plowed himself into Raph, sending them both to the floor. Mikey and Leo barely had enough time to do the same before the workstation exploded with enough force to send everything that was still upright flying.
Mikey shoved a Foot bot off of his shell and got back to his feet with a cough. A roaring fire stood where the computer had once been. "LEO! DONNIE! RAPH! WHERE ARE YOU!?" His brothers' silence lasted long enough to make the youngest of the four worried. He was about rummage through the downed Foot bots when the other three turtles popped out of the clutter. "Don't do that to me, bros!" he scolded as he ran over to Leo and helped the blue clad turtle to his feet so he could hug him.
"Well, I suppose that's one way to take them out," Raph grumbled as he brushed off Donnie's attempt to help him to his feet. The taller turtle had enough time to look hurt at the rebuff before he yelped in pain and gripped his arm as something sliced into him on its way by. Raph looked behind them to find that a shuriken had embedded itself in the wall. He noticed Donnie staring at where the shuriken had to come from and followed his brother's gaze. His eyes widened when he spotted the Foot bot culprit. A red glow began to surround them as the still intact Foot bots started to reset and rise to fight again. "Or…not."
"OK. That's it. We're outta here!" Leo announced as he pushed Mikey into making a run for it. They had no chance of winning this fight now and there was no way he was going to risk losing any of his brothers to a hopeless cause. "LET'S GO!"
Raph was all set to follow after his eldest and youngest brothers' until he glanced at his fellow middle brother. Donnie gripped at his injury and stood stock still as he watched the regrouping line of Foot bots. His breathing was ragged and Raph immediately recognized the vacant, terrified stare that had taken over his brother's eyes. The short turtle roughly grabbed at tall one's injured arm. Donnie screeched in pain before looking at Raph in frightened confusion. "Stay with us, Donnie!" Raph barked at him while giving him an insistent shake. Donnie squeezed his eyes shut to try and drive away the haze that had started clouding his mind before he nodded at Raph. "Come on! Let's get the heck outta here!"
April's eyes were filled with consternation she as stepped out of Donnie's room. He wasn't there either. She'd been looking for him ever since she'd gone to try and convince him to eat supper. When she discovered that he wasn't in his lab, she'd thought that he'd stubbornly gone to the obstacle course. It was only after checking there and dojo and coming up empty handed with both that she started getting worried. Now that she'd nearly torn apart the entire lair twice, she was positively rattled.
She was just about to extend her search to the surrounding sewers when she heard the Shellraiser rumble to a stop outside. April took the turnstile stairs two at a time as she raced to meet her friends. The words tumbled from her mouth the moment the vehicle's door opened. "Thank goodness you guys came back early! I can't find Donnie any-" she paused mid-word when Donatello followed his brothers out of the Shellraiser.
Leonardo winced. "Sorry about that, April. I should have called you," he said sheepishly.
"Yes, you should have," she flat out told him, making him wince again. "But I'll save being angry for later. I'm just glad that Donnie was with you." It was then that she noticed the cloth Donnie was pressing to his arm and that a line of red was making a slow, steady spread over it. "What happened?!" She rushed to Donnie's side so she could see how badly he was hurt.
"Indeed," a severe voice came from the turnstiles, making all four turtles flinch. The young ninjas turned towards the stern face of their sensei as he scowled at them. "Tell us what has happened."
"…once we'd gotten out of the warehouse, we used smoke bombs to conceal our escape and made a break for the Shellraiser," Leo finished as he and his brothers knelt on the dojo floor before Splinter. April knelt beside Donnie where she was treating his wound.
"I see. As relieved as I am that you got home safely, I am still highly disappointed in you all. I told you that Donatello was not ready to go to the surface and yet you chose to ignore me."
"I didn't see the harm in letting Donnie come, Sensei," Leo protested weakly. "It was just supposed to be a recon mission. I wanted it to be infiltration only to make it as safe as possible. I just didn't foresee-"
"I would have thought that Donatello's capture would have made it abundantly clear how quickly even the simplest of missions can become deadly." Leo looked taken aback at their father's harshness before he hung his head and squeezed his eyes shut in shame. Splinter closed his own eyes as he took in a cleansing breath so he could continue more calmly, "I believe I understand what you were trying to accomplish, Leonardo. Unfortunately, it is too soon for that. I hope you now understand why."
"Hai, sensei."
"You, Michelangelo, and Raphael are dismissed." The three turtles bowed lowly before they retreated in silence. "April." The redhead looked up from her work. "If you are finished with your ministrations, I would speak with Donatello alone."
She was surprised at the request before she worriedly glanced at Donnie. She hoped that he wouldn't get the same dressing down that Leo received. "Hai, Sensei. I just finished," she told the ninja master while tying her friend's bandage in place. "Don't worry about the others, Donnie. I'll take care of them."
"Thank you, April," Donnie said quietly without lifting his head to look at her. She rested her hand on Donnie's shoulder and squeezed it soothingly before getting up to leave.
"Remember not to stay up too late. Our training trip still starts first thing tomorrow morning."
"Hai, Sensei."
Once April had left, father and son sat in silence for several long minutes until Splinter broke it. "I warned you of the dangers of going on missions before you were fully healed."
"Hai, Sensei."
"I also told you to be patient with yourself." The turtle repeated his feeble response. "Then why, Donatello? If you understand what I have told you, why did you insist on going?"
Splinter saw a fine tremor run through Donatello before the turtle finally lifted his head to meet his gaze. He could see the storm brewing in his son's eyes and he braced himself against it. "Because I'm tired of watching my brothers come home with more scars than they left with!" Donatello whimpered. The imploring tone in his son's voice was not what Splinter had expected and it made his heart hurt. He watched Donnie squeeze his eyes shut to push back any moisture that wanted to build there. "I only…I needed to do something to help."
The ninja master sighed quietly before he knelt down in front of his student. "I understand that desire to help your brothers," he tried to reassure his son. "However, such recklessness will not do that."
Donnie hung his head. "I was so convinced that everything would go back to how it's supposed to be if I could go on missions again. Now…I don't know what to do."
Splinter looked thoughtful for a moment. "I believe that concentrating on your training was a step in the right direction, but you did not take it far enough. Reestablish your routine. It will help to bring back your sense of control. Once you have a better grasp on that, I believe things will become easier."
"But, Sensei, I feel like I'm just going through the motions," Donnie murmured weakly.
"Sometimes merely going through a routine is enough to regain some stability." Splinter gently placed his hand behind his son's head. "The road to recovery is never an easy one. Allow yourself the time you need to heal. Pay attention to your progress, not only your set-backs and be patient with yourself when set-backs do occur. But, most important of all, never forget that you are not alone. Your brothers, April, and I - we are all here and willing to help with your burden…as much or as little as you want us to."
Donnie sniffled before he quietly admitted, "Mikey said something similar to that last one about a week ago."
The mutant rat made a soft chuckle. "Michelangelo's wisdom rarely shows itself, but when it does, it is compelling," Splinter said with a smile. Donnie briefly managed to return the smile before returning his gaze to the floor. Splinter gently pulled his son closer so that he could rest the side of his muzzle against the young ninja's temple. "Do not give up hope, my son." After he felt his son swallow then nod quietly, he soothingly caressed his son's head before getting back to his feet. "It is getting late. Perhaps you should go to bed. Put this evening behind you and start tomorrow with a fresh perspective."
"Hai, Sensei."
"Oyasumi."
"Goodnight, Sensei," Donnie returned weakly. Even after his father disappeared into his room, Donnie continued to kneel where he was. Sensei still didn't understand. It wasn't that Donnie simply wanted to help his brothers…he NEEDED to help them. Everything was falling apart around him and he couldn't take sitting around and watching it happen while hoping that one day he'd be able to do something about it.
He lifted his eyes to the ceiling with an exhausted sigh. What Splinter said did make some sense. Getting back into his old routine, no matter how unmotivated he was to do it, might help. It might even manage to dredge his inspiration out from wherever it was hiding. And with it, he could do something worthwhile to help his brothers without going on missions. He nodded to himself quietly. It was worth a try.
Donnie got to his feet and headed for the dojo's exit with intention of finding his brothers so he could apologize for screwing up so badly. He got to the threshold in time to see April walk past on her way to her room. A pang of guilt touched him. Leo wasn't the only one that owed her an apology for making her worry. He started to call out to her but stopped himself. Splinter had mentioned that she had an early morning tomorrow. He didn't want to hurt her chances in whatever exercises Splinter was planning by keeping her up too late. His apology could wait for now.
Instead, he headed to where she'd just come from. April had said that she would tend to his brothers' injuries for him. Since she had just left the kitchen, he felt it was a fair to assume that was where she'd patched them up. It was possible that his brothers were still there. Their voices coming from beyond the entrance confirmed his suspicions. "Well, that mission was a complete waste of time," Raph growled bitterly. Donnie stopped his approach to wince and hang his head miserably. He faltered for only a moment before he settled himself just outside the doorway.
"I know, Raph. Calm down," Leo answered evenly before he sighed in frustrated disappointment. "I was hoping that if he had a chance to get back in the game, then maybe…maybe he'd be able to overcome whatever is wrong with him." Another, more dejected sigh. "I should have listened to Splinter. It's just too dangerous to bring him with us."
"Well, you'd be pretty rusty too if you'd been out of it for a couple months," Mikey defended, bringing a small, thankful smile to Donnie's face. "I don't like saying it, but I really think Sensei's wrong on this one."
"What do you mean?" Leo asked.
"You know how Donnie is. He's always busy doing stuff, but lately, he been so upset that he hasn't been doing anything at all! He needs to be doing something if he's gonna get better." Mikey paused at though to let what he said sink in. "I think we should keep bringing him with us."
Raph snorted loudly. "Why? So he can unlock doors?"
"DUDE!" Mikey cried out with a mixture of hurt and anger. "That is beyond not cool!"
"Face it, Mikey, it's all he's good for right now!" Raph snapped. "Until Donnie gets his head on straight, it's useless to take him anywhere!"
Donnie looked shocked before his shoulders slumped and his entire demeanor filled with anguish. Tears stung at his eyes as his hands clenched into fists tight enough to dig his fingernails into his palms. He squeezed his eyes shut then turned away to retreat into his lab. Once the doors clanged closed behind him, he trudged over to his workbench. He collapsed into his chair and folded his arms on the bench top so that he could hide his face in them. A shudder ran through him, but he stubbornly refused to break down.
Why did Raph always know just how to set him off? He sucked in a shaky breath as he forced himself to sit back up. He needed to get his mind on something else. When his eyes settled on his project pile, he decided that resuming his old routine didn't need to wait until morning. Staying up late was part of that routine, anyway. So Donnie grabbed one of the many, many inventions that waited for him. He gave it a cursory glance to remind himself of what he intended it to be before he tried to get down to business.
As he worked, his mind drifted back to the fiasco that barely passed for a mission. The more he thought about it, the faster his misery twisted into anger. "I can do more than open doors," he grumbled irritably. "It's not my fault that the Kraang are getting better at encrypting their computers. And what does Raph know anyway!? It's not like he would EVER have clue one of how to work a Kraang computer terminal! He'd probably set off an alarm just by looking at it cross-eyed! And…and…and what's that smell?" He refocused his attention on the device he was working on in time to watch it spark, igniting a brilliant fireball. He let out a shrill squawk and fell backward in his chair, just managing to keep his head from catching fire.
He stared at the mini inferno that had engulfed his contraption before he snapped out of it and rushed over to where he kept a fire extinguisher. Thanks to a blast of oxygen-depriving cloud, the fire died as quickly as it flared up. Donnie carefully approached the bench again with the extinguisher still in hand in case the fire wasn't as gone as it seemed. He sighed in relief when it was clear that it was safe. Then he put away the fire extinguisher so that he could inspect the damage. Relief swiftly faded into irritation and, like a fire feeding on fuel, it fed on his frustrations until it became fury. He snatched up the burnt casing of his invention and hurled it at the nearest wall with an enraged roar, "USELESS PIECE OF SHIT!"
Instead of the satisfying clatter of metal connecting with brick, his ears met the sound of metal clashing against glass. He looked and his stomach dropped as realized that he'd inadvertently chucked the device at Timothy's jar. The transparent mutant gaped at him in obvious alarm. Donnie gasped and rushed over to his friend. He searchingly ran his hands over the mutagen containment barrel, desperate to make sure that the glass hadn't been cracked and that he hadn't hurt the other mutant. A heavy sigh passed his lips once he was certain that the barrel had managed to remain intact. "Sorry about that, Timothy," he said softly.
"Donnie…mad," Timothy stated in the crackling voice of the translator, making Donnie huff bitterly. "Mad at me?"
Donnie stared at Timothy in disbelief before he quickly shook his head. "No! No, I'm not mad at you!" he reassured his friend, resting his hands on the barrier between them. Timothy licked soothingly at Donnie's hands from his side of the glass. The action coaxed another soft, more amused sounding huff from the turtle. Donnie's eyes drifted to where his impromptu projectile had come to rest. Somehow it was still mostly in one piece. It was sturdier than he'd expected. "I'm mad at this," he clarified as he scooped up the device.
Now that his temper had cooled, Donnie gave the device a more thorough look over to see if he could find the cause of the malfunction. It didn't take him long to figure out what happened. Once he had, he trembled as he sank to his knees. Timothy's eyes moved to the bottom of his jar so that he could fretfully watch Donatello as he sat there shaking. Three months of scrounging in dumpsters and junkyards for components; of planning, tinkering, and fine-tuning…undone in two seconds by one set of carelessly crossed wires. "Who am I trying to fool?" The tears built in Donnie's eyes until they tumbled out. "The only 'useless piece of shit' around here..." He caught sight of his reflection in the mutagen barrel's metal supports before he screwed his eyes shut and turned away. "…is me."