A/N: Warning! Shinta will break your heart in this chapter! Get your tissue ready.
Donnie cracked open his eyes. The room around him was bright, intensifying the pounding headache he already had. Spotting the heavy metal door with a control panel beside it, it wasn't hard to guess they had been captured. His wrists and ankles each had a manacle on them, effectively pinning him to the wall and immobilizing him. For a moment his emotions ran rampant. He quickly shut them down, but the damage had been done. His instant of fear was answered with a wave of worry, which in turn was quickly put in check on Sarah's end. Neither wanted to alert their daughter apparently.
Still a bit groggy from the tranquilizer, he tried to assess his surroundings. He was in a small room by himself. Most of his gear was missing, except his mask. A camera was mounted in one corner. If he could get loose, he had several options for escaping the room. Based on what he was able to see, this room was not originally meant as any kind of cell. The scent of chemicals along with the bright lights, meant it was most likely some type of laboratory. That was bad, because it meant they'd been captured by scientists. Megalomaniacs with prospects of world domination were one thing, but scientists were a whole other league. They weren't simply going to kill them to get them out of the way.
All of Splinter's warnings from their childhood came rushing back to him. Would they try to dissect them? Would they experiment on them? Would they try to keep them locked away like lab rats? The possibilities were endless.
We need to get out of here! Now! Don realized that his brothers, wherever they were, were probably still out cold. He was likely the first to wake as his and Sarah's bodies metabolized the sedative quicker. Which meant he had no backup at the moment and no way to get three unconscious turtles out by himself. He only hoped that they hadn't already done something to one of them.
Frowning, he tugged at the manacles testing their strength. They didn't budge. He had no choice but to wait and see who was watching him through that camera. He'd bide his time and gather as much information in the meantime. When the opportunity came to escape, he'd be ready.
Shinta knocked at the door of the old brown stone he'd dropped Amber off at the night before. A wave of nervousness washed over him. In public he could easily withdraw from a situation if he needed to. But in the confines of a private home that was going to be more difficult. He'd just have to remember to keep his distance as much as possible. The door opened and he shoved his hands in his pockets.
Amber grinned up at him. "Hey, you made it!"
He couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah, they think I'm pouting in my room."
She giggled and waved him inside. "Come on."
Stepping through the door, he took in his surroundings. The place seemed pretty average, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. Photos adorned a table in the hall. To the right looked like a dinning room and to his left was the living area. But there was one thing that seemed off. "Are we here alone?"
Amber continued to smile as she led the way into the living room. "Yeah, my parents took my little brother to his soccer game. They'll be gone for several hours. So, we've got the place to ourselves." She sat on one end of the couch.
So, they really were alone. He wasn't certain if that was a good thing or a bad. It meant they could get to know each other better, but it also meant there was more likelihood of physical contact. And then he'd have some explaining to do. Well, he'd just have to see how things went. He smiled settling down on the couch as well. "What's this?" He pointed at the TV.
She blinked. "Guitar Hero. Wait, you've never heard of Guitar Hero?"
"I've heard of it, but I've never played it."
"What kind of games do you play?"
"Zelda and Final Fantasy mostly, when I get downtime."
Amber frowned. "What do you mean 'downtime'?"
"Well, between training and working, I don't usually have a lot of personal time. And when I do, Yoshi and Kaz are usually hogging the video games."
"What kind of training?"
Shinta flinched. Oh, crud. Did I say training! "Uh, martial arts." Vague, yet accurate.
"Really! That's cool!"
She smiled and he relaxed a little more. "So, are you gonna show me how to play this?"
"Sure!"
It didn't take long for him to learn the game and in true Hamato style he was winning. Amber stared at him after he'd won the third game. "Are you sure you've never played this before?"
He chuckled. "Yep, but to be honest I do have an advantage."
She raised a brow in curiosity. "What's that?"
"My step-mother teaches music. I've been playing the guitar for the last three years."
Her mouth hung open for a moment, then she bopped him playfully on the shoulder with a pillow while laughing. "That is so cheating!"
He laughed as well. "No, it's not! I really didn't know how to play this!"
She snorted. "If you say so, cheater." She teased before standing up. "I'm thirsty, do you want anything?"
"Sure, what do you have?" He stood and followed her into the kitchen.
Amber opened the fridge and frowned at it's content. "Not much apparently. Mom must not have gone shopping recently. Hey, I've got an idea! What if we made smoothies?"
It was his turn to raise an eye-ridge in curiosity. "Smoothies?"
"Yeah! It'll be fun!" Amber went to a cabinet and pulled out a blender. "My banana chocolate is to die for!"
He chuckled. "Smoothies it is then."
Soon the kitchen was covered in ingredients from bananas to spinach. Shinta took a sip of a green colored smoothie. "Hey, that's not bad!"
Amber made a face. "Ew! Yogurt, cucumber and apples!"
"Aw, just taste it!" He teased, offering his cup.
She put up her hands. "I think I'll pass." She turned back to the one she was making. Whipped cream, blue berries, and chocolate sauce. She didn't put the top on well this time and when she turned it on, it threw the concoction everywhere. Amber let out a squeal and Shinta ducked, managing to miss most of the mess. Slipping in, he turned off the machine. He couldn't help but laugh as she wore whipped cream in her hair. She pouted a little, but the expression quickly changed to amusement. "You have whipped cream on your head."
"I do?" He lifted a hand to wipe it away.
"Here, let me help you." She reached out to touch him and instinctively he caught her hand. "What's," she looked at her hand, "wrong…?" She stared at his hand wrapped around hers and he quickly released her.
He thought maybe he could talk his way out of this. He could tell her-. A loud beep came from the holo-projector on his belt. Glancing down, he gasped. It was the thirty second warning! He'd never charged it the night before! "I-I have to go!" He backed away from her, preparing to make a run for it before the box completely died.
She caught his arm. "Wait! You're not gonna actually leave me to clean up this mess alone, are you!"
"I'm sorry, Amber. But I really have to go!"
Anger flared in her eyes. "No way! You made this mess with me! We have to clean up before my parents get back!"
"Please, I have to go! Now!" He tried to pull away, but he'd hesitated a beat too long.
Amber's eyes grew wide and she backed away from him. He realized his holo-image was gone as she let out a blood curtly scream.
He winced. This was not how things were supposed to go! He put up his hands. "Amber, let me explain."
"What are you!" She backed into the counter on the far side of the room.
He took a step towards her, keeping his voice low. "Calm down. It's still me."
"Stay away from me!" The brown eyes that had once been playful and kind were now filled with fear and horror.
He had to try to make her understand. He took another step forward. "Listen-."
"I said stay away!" She scrambled around the counter into the hall beyond. "You're some kind of monster!" She ran into the bathroom and locked the door.
His chest tightened with every word. Slowly he followed after her, standing outside the door. "If you'd just-"
"No! Go away! Go away and never come back!" Amber's voice was choked with sobs.
He frowned. "Okay… Okay, I'm leaving. But please don't…don't tell anyone about me. Please."
"Fine! Just go away!"
Not knowing what else to do, he slipped out the back of the house into an alley. Checking the street to be sure it was empty, he darted across to another alleyway. He forlornly climbed the fire-escape. When he reached the roof, he leaned against a wall and sank down to the rooftop. He buried his face in his hands, heartbroken and lost.
Jamie jumped when Sarah suddenly sat bolt upright. "You're awake! We were so worried!" She rushed over to sit beside her. "Are you okay?"
Cat and April hurried in from the other room. Cat grabbed her shoulders with a wide grin, which faded as she looked at her sister-in-law. "Sarah?"
The petite brunette wore an expression of fear for a moment followed quickly by worry. Then just like that the expression was gone. It was like she'd flipped a switch, locking whatever had just happened away.
April frowned. "What is it?"
But before Sarah could answer her cell rang. She pulled it out and took a deep breath before answering. "It's alright. No, everything is fine, sweetheart. Are you all doing okay? Good, good. Let me talk to K-three for a minute. I just need to ask him something." She paused as the phone exchanged hands. "K-three, I need you to do something for me. I need you to keep Mira distracted for a while. Can you do that?" She let out a breath. "Thank you. Everything's fine. We'll talk later, okay? Bye." Hanging up, she dropped the phone in her lap and rubbed her face.
The three other women were staring at her in astonishment. "Everything is not fine. Why didn't you tell them what happened?" April asked.
Sarah shook her head. "I won't get them involved."
"Involved? Involved in what?" Jamie asked.
Cat gripped her sister's shoulders. "What exactly happened? Why did you pass out?"
Brown met green as Sarah took her hands from her shoulders and squeezed them tightly. "It was a tranquilizer."
Cat's eyes widened in horror. "No!" She stood, shaking her head. Jamie and April exchanged a look, simultaneously putting the pieces together.
Sarah didn't meet their eyes. "They're alive or at least Donnie is."
Jamie bolted off the couch, anger in her voice. "Then you should have said something! Get the others up here, so they can-!"
"No!" Sarah set her jaw firmly with resolve. "I will not put our children in danger!"
"Danger? They're trained ninjas! All very capable of rescuing the guys!" Jamie protested.
Cat suddenly spoke up. "No, she's right."
"What?" April gasped.
"Think about it. If it had been the Foot or some other enemy, they wouldn't have bothered to tranq them. They would have tried to kill them out right." She shook her head, meeting Sarah's gaze again. "No, they wanted to capture them alive."
Jamie frowned. "You mean because of what they are." Cat nodded, a mixture of anger and worry marring her face. Jamie's frown only deepened. "Then what do we do?"
"We find them." Sarah stood from the couch, starting for the door.
April stopped her. "Wait! You want us to rescue them?"
Determination flared behind her brown eyes. "Yes."
Cat stepped up beside her. "I'm with Sarah. I'm not going to leave Raph somewhere they might be trying to dissect him. And I won't call Yoshi and put him in the same danger of being captured by these people."
"You can't be serious! Jamie, try to talk some sense into them."
Jamie had been thinking things over, finally she looked up. "I'm in."
"What!" April just couldn't wrap her head around it. They weren't trained ninjas like the rest of the family. What chance did they have of actually succeeding?
Sarah's expression softened a bit. "We could use your help, April. But if you don't want to come, we'll understand. All I ask is that you don't call home. Give us a fighting chance."
April released a heavy sigh. "Alright, let's go." She grumbled as she turned to leave. "I'm way too old for this."
"How are we going to find them? Their cells probably self-destructed the minute someone tried to access them." Cat dug the van keys out of her pocket as they climbed in.
"There is nowhere on this planet that I cannot find my mate." Sarah bit her lip. "He is trying to keep his emotions in check, but he can't hide his location from me." She knew Donnie was trying not to draw her to him, but that didn't matter. She would find him and bring him home.
A very similar thought was crossing Cat's mind. Wherever Raph was, she was going to get him back. And she pitied any fool crazy enough to get in her way. "Which way?"
"Head northwest. I'll tell you when to turn." Sarah sat at the computer console, bringing up a map of the local area.
Jamie wasn't sure what they were doing or how they were going to do it. But if Leonardo needed her, she was going to be there come hail or high water. She eyed the spare bow and arrows on the wall of the van. It had been a while, but she could use them.
April sat in the passenger seat even more uncertain than Jamie. She still didn't know what four women at their age could do. It wasn't like they could take on anyone physically. And she had a feeling getting the guys back was not going to be a walk in the park.
Mikey rolled his head to the side and tried to stretch, but he found he couldn't move. He was laid on a table, his arms and legs securely fastened to the tabletop and a strap across his chest. He groaned, blinking into the bright light above him. What happened?
An unfamiliar voice spoke nearby. "Doctor, this one is waking up. Should I sedate it again?"
"That shouldn't be necessary." An older man came into Mikey's line of vision. "My associate here says that you can speak. And that he heard two of the others speak. Can you speak turtle? Do you understand me?"
Mikey sighed. "Yeah, dude. I understand you just fine. Now would you let me go?"
"Fascinating." The man paused, considering Mikey's question as an afterthought. "Oh, I am sorry, but I cannot let such wonderful specimens get away. You are far too valuable."
"Specimens? Dude, I'm a turtle not a specimen." Mikey tugged at the leather cuffs around his wrists, while trying to see around the room. "What is this place? Where are my brothers?"
"Brothers? I didn't realize there was a familial relationship between you and the other three. Fascinating indeed." The man began scribbling on a clipboard. "Now, I'm going to ask you some questions and if you would answer them to the best of your ability, it would be very helpful."
Mikey glared. "No way, I asked first! I'm not telling you anything, until you answer my questions. What is this place? And why'd you attack us?"
"This facility is run by the environmental branch of the government. Our operations are usually in the arena of cleaning up after all the other branches of government. And as for how you came to be here. I apologize if you were mistreated. But that is not really any concern of mine." The man barely looked up while speaking.
Mikey wasn't sure what to make of all that, but he had a feeling it wasn't good. "I want to see my brothers!"
The man tisked. "I'm afraid I can't do that. I've been informed about your rather unusual capabilities. They will ensure your continued cooperation. Now, about those questions…"
A/N: Alright, you can throw your rotten tomatoes at me now. I deserve them... Review!