"Well, that was strange," a man murmured, turning up the volume on the camera. Behind him, his boss shifted and straightened.
"It also tells us they are used to having Internet access, and lots of free time. Or, at least, the one called Michelangelo does," Bishop said to himself. "Turn up the thermostat for them. I want it to get ninety degrees Fahrenheit."
"Yes, sir." The man twisted a dial and typed in 9-0-.-0-0 on his keyboard. "Room is heating up."
"Give them more light," Bishop ordered. "I want to see Leonardo's reaction."
"Yes, sir." The man cranked another knob and the room brightened considerably. All four turtles looked up, Leonardo shielding his face. His blacked-out mask was making it impossible for Bishop to see his eyes.
"Get a large load of greens to them; I need them in top form for my tests," Bishop continued ordering. A panel in the seamless wall in the cell opened and a pile of fruits and veggies slid through into the turtle's cage.
Leonardo looked around, then back at the food. Bishop caught the glint of metal on his plastron and teeth. Donatello and Michelangelo reached forward and pulled the container forward, and Raphael sniffed a piece, trying to check for poisons.
"I think it's safe," Raph growled. "I can't smell anything on it."
"Bishop doesn't want to poison us," Leo reasoned. "He wants to keep us in peak form for tests." At this last, Leo's wings rustled as if in agreement, and he reached forward, selecting a piece of ripe watermelon to taste.
"Hmm. It's good," Don said, taking a large bite out of an apple, his favorite fruit. "I don't taste anything. Leo?"
"I think it's okay," Leo said. "I can't smell anything either. Shall we eat?"
"Is anyone else feel like it's warming up?" Raph suddenly asked. He stepped out from Leo's wing and gasped. "Guys! It's warming up!"
"That can't be good," Leo groaned, closing his wings. "But you're right. Maybe Bishop has decided to take it easy with us at first?"
"Uh huh." Don glared pointedly at Leo's metal-coated plastron. "Then what's that doing there?"
"Who knows? Maybe it reads blood pressure or something," Mikey interrupted.
"Plausible," Don concurred.
"Let's eat," Leonardo said. He grabbed an orange and handed it to Mike, who reached up and peeled it on Leo's horns.
"Hey, those work well," Mike exclaimed, picking off bits of orange peel from his "mother's" horns. Leo was kneeling so Mikey could easily bust open the ginger fruit that the youngster liked so much.
Bishop watched as Michelangelo peeled an orange on Leonardo's horns. He was impressed; by the way these two interacted, they were like dragonet and mother.
An evil grin spread across his face. If he could get that serum Stockman was making working, he could force rational thought from Leonardo and study the interactions of a highly-protective "mother dragon" and "her dragonet", Michelangelo. Also, the way Leonardo stiffened every time Raphael slapped Michelangelo bespoke a trepidation that Leo harbored about his brothers hurting his "dragonet".
It would be very interesting to see what would happen if Leonardo was convinced that Raphael or Donatello had injured Michelangelo. And what would happen if the happy pair was separated.
"Stockman, how comes the Rational Thought Serum?" Bishop asked into a mike.
Stockman's holographic face blinked onto his screen, and it was twisted in an expression of casual anger at being interrupted. "The RTS is still in progress, Bishop."
"How long until completion?" Bishop snapped, wanting a more exact answer.
Stockman complied, knowing how dangerous it was to mess with Bishop when the boss was in such a mood. "A few days, sir," he muttered.
"Hurry it up!"
"As you wish, Mr. Bishop," Stockman seethed, blinking out of the screen. Bishop turned to the camera showing the turtle's cell.
They were lounging, full after such a meal. Bishop was impressed; almost half of the container was gone. However, he knew where most of it had gone, judging by the drowsy state of the winged turtle. Leonardo was growing larger every hour, and Bishop was going to give that growth a boost mentally if he could.
"Sir! Report is in on that blood sample from the turtle," a man said, handing Bishop an envelope. Eagerly, Bishop tore it open and scanned the results, a slow smile spreading across his face.
"Stockman! Prepare the RTS for transfer to a turtle," he barked into Stockman's com link.
"What?! It's not ready, Bishop!"
"I know." Bishop turned off Stockman's holographic image and returned to looking at the results of Leonardo's blood test.
"Man, it's getting warm in here," Mike grumbled. "That food is going to rot."
"Let's try pushing it back towards the panel," Leo suggested. Raph got to his feet from his sitting in the corner and helped Leo push it up against the wall. The panel slid back and the container was whisked out of sight, then the door closed before they could even think about jumping through it. Not that Leo would fit, anyway.
"Well, that was easy." Don scratched his ankle. "Mikey, how's your leg doing?"
"Good. It doesn't hurt so much." All four turtles were getting sleepy with the heat and being full. Leonardo had the oddest sense that he needed a sunbathing rock, and Raphael was thinking longingly of a log in a cool pond.
"So, Kavara, how're we going to get out of here?" Mike asked, desperate to stay away. He rolled onto his plastron and propped his head up on his hands which were held up by elbows bracing on the floor. Raph and Don did the same, while Leo – with his uncomfortable metal coating on his chest plates – was forced to sit with crossed knees.
"I don't really know. I was able to contact Master Splinter. He, April, and Casey are okay for now. They were being left alone when I was able to get through to him. He hopes we can come up with a plan for getting out of here." Leo felt that incredible weight fall on his shoulders and grimaced mentally. Really, he had to come up with the plan.
However, Raph spoke up without a second thought. "Hey, Winged One, when Stockman grabbed you, did you see our weapons?"
"Yes… they were in the lab." Leo shuddered just barely and Mikey put a hand on his knee reassuringly.
"Can you sneak me a Sai?" Raph whispered. He didn't know if Bishop could hear them,b but he wasn't taking chances.
"If I can, I will," Leo promised near-silently. "If I can't, I'll try to get something in. Hey, wait a minute. Mikey, when you were looked at the cut on my wing, did you see any needles?"
"Not that I know of. Why?"
"When Bishop cut it, he pinned the membrane down with pins. One of those would be useful, I bet. Here." Leo extended his wing and Mike looked over it carefully, but shook his head.
"No luck." Don shrugged.
"Well, so much for that plan. It's almost a quarter mile outside, too. I counted the steps," Raph added smugly when Leo cocked an eye ridge at him. "I know the way out."
"I know the way to our weapons," Leo said carefully. "But we have to get out first."
Bishop listened as the turtles schemed. He was impressed with their resourcefulness, he had to admit. He would be careful about scanning Leonardo before putting him back in the room.
"Stockman! Is the RTS ready?" Bishop yelled across the lab. Stockman's robotic body turned to him, a vial clasped in one arm's clamp.
"Yes."
"Good. Prepare for Operation DRAGONESS," Bishop stated calmly. "Retrieve Leonardo."
A/N: Dun dun dun… scary music plays. So, how is it so far? I don't know if I'll even let them escape… this story has taken some funny turns. Up next, what happens when Leo is turned into a turtle-dragon with only instincts?n