Chapter 44: The Video
Donatello sat on the couch, absentmindedly fiddling with the toaster, slowly putting it back together. A flash of pain crossed his mind as some memory, untouchable, flew by, something about fixing the toaster or taking it apart. These flashes came much more frequently these days and he didn't want to worry his family more than they were already.
Donnie had finally been able to get some answers from that weird feeling that something was wrong. Master Splinter had finally told him, after a particular meltdown after practice a few days ago, that something horrible had happened to him. Some mutant monkey named Dr. Rockwell had come over to try to explain things to him. Unfortunately, the answers he got led to more questions and he was not getting those answers.
Apparently, he was captured by this person called the Shredder and got really sick because of him. Somehow, his family managed to save him but by the time they learned what the Shredder had done, it was too late to find a cure. Rockwell had come up with a solution to heal him but he had to deage for that to happen. Donnie could barely believe what he was being told but Rockwell had been patient and showed the formulas and the science behind it. But Donnie knew they were leaving out something, something big.
Donnie nearly cursed in frustration as he placed the toaster on the table. All this thinking was giving him a headache. "Maybe some mindless TV will help," He mumbled to himself, reaching over to the remote. He lifted it up and paused at the touch. It felt…. Like it had been chewed on. The hard plastic had a line of indents on both sides, like something had grabbed at it.
A flash crossed his mind. A taste of plastic in his mouth and the soft scolding of one of his brothers. He couldn't place it but this flash had been the most clear out of all of them that had happened in the past few days. His teeth were….. sharper… and why would he want to bite the remote. That didn't make sense. If he wanted it, he would just grab it.
"TV is not going to work," Donnie said to himself, putting the remote down. "Why not the internet?" He stood up to grab his laptop or what he was told was his laptop. He somehow knew what it was and where everything in it was but something was different. His hand stilled as he looked at the flash drive. "That's not mine."
Donnie opened the laptop open and clicked over to its folder. In it was a series of documents and a video. Donnie glanced over at the clock, noting that his brothers and sister would be returning soon. "Not enough time to really read the documents." He clicked on the video.
It looked like a security feed showing a large laboratory looking down at a large workspace and a vat of glowing green goo. A strange man fly hybrid flew over a humanoid turtle. Donnie gasped, realizing it was himself, but older, the same age as his brothers and he looked awful. He was covered in bruises and cuts and there was a crack down his shell. Another figure walked into the room clad in armor from head to toe and walked right up to the desk.
"Donatello," The figure spoke, waving his hand to someone off screen. In a flash a mutant tiger and what could only be the bones of wolf jumped on himself and tied him up in chains, hooking him onto a chain. A fish on robot legs walked on screen and pressed a button, lifting him in the air and above the vat of goo.
"Ummmmm, I don't think I can do my work from up here," He heard himself say.
"I'm done waiting. This worked with Stockman to get him to work harder. I'm hoping to see the same results." Who was Stockman? Could it be one of the mutants in the picture? What was going on?
"Stockman…. You shouldn't do this! There is no solid evidence that mutagen will give you the desired results! It is highly unpredictable and who knows what will happen if you dump me in there!" That green stuff was mutagen!
The man's laugh ripped through the air as he walked over to the controls. "Then, we will see what happens."
"DON'T DO THIS!" Donnie flinched at his own voice, a cry of terror. He didn't want to find out what happened but he couldn't look away.
The man pushed down on the red button, a horrifying click, and Donnie saw himself fall. A tight scream was the last sound he heard as he splashed into the vat of mutagen. Donnie watched as his body grew, muffled cries escaping as the chains broke and he changed.
After the longest minutes in his life, the tank released, letting a large mutated turtle fall to the floor. The large turtle moaned before getting his feet under him. The turtle roared and attacked the group of mutants, slowly being herded back to a cage. The cage shut and Donnie watched as the large mutant threw himself at the glass, a mindless animal. The video cut to black, leaving Donnie's own reflection staring back at him.
Author's Note: Yeah, I kinda figured Donnie would find the video at some point. And I updated at a decent time! And to answer a question, yes, I'll be finishing the other fic as well. I kind of want to finish this before the other. Special thanks to Rhodesincolumbus, Fever To Write, StarBlade loves DonnieBoy, Pilyarquitect, Juanita27, Heather, and BigTimeFangirl for the wonderful reviews!