Donatello took a swig of his water, then, placing the bottle next to him, leaned back on his hands and let his feet dangle off the edge of the building. It'd been a slow patrol night - again - and he and Raphael had decided to take a quick break. He looked up at the sky, like he often did, and tried to spy some stars.

"Penny for your thoughts," said Raphael, who was sitting cross-legged next to him at the edge. Donatello turned to face him, and held out his hand, palm up. Raphael frowned. "Well, I guess I'll have to owe you, actually."

Donatello smiled crookedly. "Don't worry. I'm not even sure they're worth the penny."

"Fork 'em over anyway."

Pulling one leg up and wrapping his arms around it, Donatello said, "Well, I was thinking about Michelangelo."

Raphael made a rude sound with his lips. "You're right. Not worth it. In fact, you may owe me now."

Donatello smiled. "Just thinking about him chatting with that clerk at the grocery store a couple days ago. You know, after we busted up the robbery there."

"Idiot," Raphael muttered.

"What's that?"

Raphael shook his head. "Mikey talks too much. He thinks he can trust every single human he comes across, and let's face it - humans can't be trusted."

"What about April?"

"See, that's what Mikey always says - 'what about April?'." Raphael's imitation of Michelangelo brought another smile to Donatello's face. "That's like saying because one lottery ticket wins you money, they all do. We got real lucky when we stumbled on her. She's cool - she understands. That ain't the way most humans are. Most humans'd rather shoot us on sight, or maybe chop us up for science."

"Raph, come on."

"No, I'm serious. Humans are bad news. And Michelangelo won't stop chatting with them, and acting like it's no big deal. I'm telling ya - that brother of ours is gonna get us into big trouble one of these days."

Donatello smirked. "You know how much you sound like Leonardo when you say that?"

Raphael gave a start. "Wow, you're right. I do." He looked worried. "Ten bucks if you don't tell the others."

"Ten bucks?" Donatello laughed. "You couldn't even afford the penny!"

"I'll owe it to ya," Raphael pleaded.

"Deal. I'll add it to your tab." Donatello got to his feet, then helped pull Raphael up. "Let's say we split up, make one more pass, then call it a night."

"Sounds like a plan."

Donatello rearranged his bo on his back. "Cool - I'll take west, you take east?" Raphael nodded, and Donatello pointed. "Buzz me if you need back-up."

Raphael smirked. "I should be saying that to you." Before Donatello could answer, Raphael had taken off running, leaping to the building next door and running at top speed towards the east.

Donatello watched him go, shaking his head and smiling. He proceeded to head west, at a somewhat more leisurely pace. Things had been fairly quiet over the last week or two, and Donatello, for one, was happy for the change. Patrols were knocking off early, and he got to spend more time with his tools and broken machinery.

A sharp cry from a neighboring alleyway brought his mind back to the present. He quickly changed course, and came to a stop at the top of small apartment building. Below, a Foot soldier had a woman cornered in the alleyway. Just one? Donatello thought idly, but he pulled out his bo, leapt down into the alley, and knocked the Foot soldier flat with one shot across the back of the head.

Ordinarily, in circumstances like this, Donatello would give a friendly wave or salute, then scurry out of sight. He had in fact started to do so, but something about the would-be victim made him stop. Maybe it was the way the streetlights reflected off of her glasses. Or perhaps it was the rather proud way she stood there - self-assured, so unlike most other attack victims he came across. She was young - maybe twenty - with her straight blonde hair pulled back into a no-nonsense sort of style that still managed to look stunning. Her face was radiant, and Donatello found himself staring at her lips - friendly, unencumbered by lipstick, and pulled into a grateful smile.

"Thanks," said the lips.

Donatello stared dumbly at her for a couple seconds. "Oh," he finally said. "Yeah. Sure. No problem. You're welcome."

Again, Donatello fell into a reverie, taking this human in. She was dressed in a grey collared shirt, not quite buttoned all the way, which enabled Donatello to see the white T-shirt underneath. It was a bit strange to see running shoes at the end of her black slacks, but considering what one might run into here on the streets, Donatello thought the choice very intelligent.

The lips spoke again. "So...do you have a name?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure. It's Donatello."

"Hi, Donatello. I'm Mary. Mary Sue." She held out her hand with absolutely no trace of discomfort. Donatello, however, looked extremely uncomfortable as he took the hand and awkwardly shook it. He quickly pulled his hand away, even though what he really wanted to do was shake the hand awkwardly all night.

Mary Sue picked up the purse that she had dropped, and reached inside it. "So, Donatello," said Mary Sue. "You live around here?" Donatello just nodded dumbly, and Mary Sue smiled again. "Would you like to show me?"

Donatello's nods suddenly became head shakes. "Uh, no. No, I couldn't. I mean, it's...far off, and it's...a mess, and...my brothers..."

Apparently giving up on finding what she was looking for, Mary Sue slung the purse over her shoulder. "That's OK," she said, giving a knowing smile. "I understand. After all, we just met." The smile turned a bit slyer. "But maybe later?"

"Uh...maybe..." Donatello couldn't get his brain to function. Why was this woman being so nice to him? Actually, he was pretty sure he was getting hit on, although his experience in this area was somewhat limited.

"Would you like to take a walk?" Mary Sue suggested.

"Well, actually, I...gotta go meet my brother...now..."

Mary Sue put her hand on Donatello's shoulder, and he felt himself go soft all over. Well, not quite all over. "Can I walk with you?"

"Uh, sure. I guess. If you want."

Donatello began walking, and Mary Sue put her arm around his, causing Donatello to stumble a bit. Mary Sue, smiling, helped him regain his footing, and they walked out of the alley together.

"Thanks again for saving me, Donatello. I was just coming home from a study session, and I lost all track of time."

She's a student? thought Donatello, feeling himself melt a bit more. "What are you studying?"

"I've been working on my thesis on the endochronic properties of resublimated thiotimoline."

Donatello looked over her in shock. "Are you kidding?"

"No - why?"

Tapping himself on the chest with his free hand, Donatello said earnestly, "I've been working with resublimated thiotimoline for over a year. I keep hitting a brick wall on it, though - I can't get the dissolution rate to increase, no matter what I try."

Mary Sue gave him a thoughtful look. "What have you tried?"

"Almost everything. I even tried suspending the powder in a pure phlogiston bath - it didn't alter a thing."

"Well, you sound really smart, Donatello. I'm sure you'll come up with something." She smiled. "Maybe we can get together and...compare notes sometime?"

Donatello nodded and smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like fun. But we probably should pick some other time to do it. And probably some other place. You know, actually, you probably shouldn't be out in this part of town this late at night. It can get awfully dangerous."

Mary Sue smiled. "Don't worry about that," she said. She pulled her arm free of Donatello and, bringing her hands up quickly, crouched down briefly into an attack pose. "I can take care of myself."

Donatello grinned back. Wow, she not only was an advanced chemistry student, but she knew martial arts, as well! This Mary Sue certainly was quite a woman! But something began nagging at the back of his head. Something didn't make sense. What was it? His brain felt all foggy. Why couldn't he figure it out? Voices from an upcoming alley caused him to come back to the here and now.

"...shoulda seen us. We were plowing through them Foot soldiers one by one..."

"Wow, wish I was there with my katana. I woulda loved to taken out some of them myself."

Donatello turned the corner and was shocked to see Raphael laughing along with a woman. She was rather short, with short dark hair, dressed in a black leather outfit that didn't leave much to the imagination. Not that Donatello's imagination didn't immediately kick in, anyway.

Spying his brother and his newfound friend, Raphael's laughter died away, and he was left looking somewhat embarrassed. The woman next to him turned to the newcomers with a questioning look.

"Uh...who's this?" asked Donatello.

Waving his hand a bit, Raphael said, "Ah, she was getting attacked by a Foot soldier..."

The thing that had been nagging at Donatello suddenly leapt front and center, and he felt himself start going cold. "And Raphael came to your rescue?" he said, trying to keep his voice level.

The woman looked at Raphael and flashed a smile that even Donatello felt, even though he was still almost ten feet away. "Yes." She put her hand on his shoulder, and Donatello could see his brother react to her touch. "Thank you."

Raphael gave her a crooked smile back. "No problem, Mary Sue. Anytime."

"Mary Sue?" echoed Donatello. He turned to the blonde standing next to him. "That's your name, right?"

Mary Sue - the blonde - nodded and smiled. "Yep. That's sort of a coincidence, isn't it?"

Donatello leapt forward and grabbed his brother's wrist. "Come on," he said.

"What?" Raphael looked peeved, and the two women didn't seem too pleased, either.

Placing himself about an inch from Raphael's face, Donatello said, "Please, Raph. Please trust me. We've got to get out of here. Fast." Raphael turned to look at Mary Sue - the dark-haired one - but Donatello's hand came up and forced his brother to face him. "No. Don't look at her. Just follow me. Please." He turned and started walking out of the alley, dragging Raphael behind him.

"Wait - where we goin'?" asked a perplexed Raphael.

"Anywhere. Just away from here."

"Hey, wait for us," said one of the Mary Sues, and, as Donatello feared, he heard footsteps following.

"That's it," said Donatello. "Run for it!" He let go of Raphael's wrist and made a break for it, running at full speed down the street before scooting down another alley.

Raphael was just as confused as before, but figured, hey, Don was the smart one. If he said run, he'd best run. He took off, a few steps behind his brother. Upon entering the alleyway, he saw Donatello climbing a fire escape as fast as he could. He leapt up, grabbed the bottom of the ladder and began climbing up behind his brother. From below, he heard a clattering sound as someone else jumped on the fire escape. The girls were following.

Uh-oh, he thought.

Raphael decided that since Donatello had led him out of this potentially dangerous situation, he'd best continue following him. He still had no idea what was going on, and he didn't want to screw up the escape by deviating from whatever plan Donatello might have. He followed him from rooftop to rooftop, finally bounding back down to street level by leaping back and forth between two closely aligned fire escapes. Donatello then led him back to the street, where he threw himself down onto the asphalt and slid into the sewers at a spot where the sidewalk had opened up. Raphael followed, dropping himself back into the familiar sewers. Donatello didn't stop, but continued down the sluice in complete darkness until they had run another two blocks. Then, finally, Donatello pulled up short. Raphael, not seeing this, smacked into him fairly hard with a loud "oof".

For about thirty seconds, neither of them spoke. They just leaned against the wall of the sewers and panted, trying to get their breath back. Finally, Raphael looked over at his brother in the almost complete darkness, and said, "OK, genius. What the heck was all that?"

Donatello straightened up, swallowed hard, and held out his hands. "Don't ask me," he said. "I don't have any idea. But it wasn't right."

"So what made you wanna cut 'n' run?"

Donatello found the small flashlight he kept on his belt. Turning it on, he began leading the way down the sluice. "Well, I had this feeling that something was wrong, but I didn't figure it out until I heard your Mary Sue tell me what happened."

"How so?" asked Raphael, who had fallen in step behind him.

"She said you saved her from a Foot soldier?"

"Yeah, so what? I did."

"Actually, I'm not so sure you did."

"What are you talking about? Of course I did."

"How'd you take him out?"

"Roundhouse sidekick."

"Just one?"

"Yeah, it was a good one."

"You're telling me you took a Foot soldier completely out of commission with just one roundhouse sidekick?"

There was a pause before Raphael answered, very defensively, "Donatello, it was a really really good roundhouse sidekick."

"When I walked up, wasn't your Mary Sue talking about wishing she could take a katana to some Foot soldiers?"

"Yeah, so? She can do it - she's a martial arts expert."

"I know - so was mine. So how come they were crying for help when they were attacked by only one Foot soldier?" Raphael didn't answer, so Donatello pressed on. "I can't speak for yours, but mine was just sitting there looking helpless when I showed up. But the pose she struck for me later sure looked like she knew what she was doing. She should've been able to give your average Foot soldier a run for his money."

"So...what? You think we got set up?"

"That's my guess. When's the last time you saw a Foot soldier working alone?"

"Hm. But what were the setting us up for? Were these girls tryin' to...seduce us?" Raphael's voice sounded embarrassed as he finished the sentence.

"Actually, yeah. Something like."

"Oh, come on, brainiac."

"Listen, Raph. You told me...what? Not an hour ago that humans couldn't be trusted. You were giving Mikey a hard time just for talking with a friendly grocery clerk. And yet there you are, chatting it up with some woman you just met."

Again, Raphael's voice took on a defensive tone. "She was interesting."

"I know. So was mine. Too interesting. I couldn't stop staring at her. I couldn't think straight. I don't know what it is, but she was messing with my mind somehow."

They reached the entrance of the lair, and entered to find Michelangelo sitting on the couch pouting. He gave his brothers a glance as they entered. "Oh, look who finally came home," he huffed.

"We...got sidetracked," said Donatello lamely. "What's the matter?"

"Leonardo's being a Splinter's boy, that's what."

"How so?" asked Raphael.

"Oh, I saved this girl up in an alleyway, and Leo got all on my case just 'cause I was talkin' with her..."

Donatello interrupted him. "Mary Sue?"

Michelangelo brightened up. "Yeah - you know her?" Donatello and Raphael shared a look, then immediately headed back further into the lair. "Hey, where you going?" asked Michelangelo, but neither of them answered.

Donatello stopped in the doorway of Splinter's room. Splinter and Leonardo were sitting in lotus position, meditating. Donatello paused, but decided this couldn't wait. "Sensei, Leo?" he said quietly. Leonardo snapped his eyes open and threw some visual daggers at his brother, whereas Splinter just opened his right eye and looked at Donatello questioningly. This one-eyed look always freaked Donatello out, but not today - he had other things on his mind. "Sorry to interrupt your nothingness, Sensei, but I think we've got a big problem."

Splinter opened both his eyes, then rearranged himself on his cushion somewhat. "What is the problem, my son?"

Nodding at Leonardo, Donatello asked, "You know that girl that Michelangelo was talking to in the alley?"

Leonardo now looked utterly peeved. "Yeah?"

"Raph and I each met one, too."

"Met one what?"

"A girl. Being attacked by a Foot soldier. Named Mary Sue."

Splinter looked puzzled. "Mary Sue? That is a peculiar name for a Foot soldier."

Donatello groaned. "No, Sensei, the girls. All three of them were named Mary Sue."

Leonardo stretched his legs out. "That sounds fishy."

"That's not the half of it. I can't speak for Mikey's girl, but ours were..."

Donatello's voice trailed off, but Splinter hazarded a guess based on his expression. "...intriguing?"

Nodding, Donatello said, "Extremely."

Splinter turned his head and looked out at his son from the corner of his eyes. "Indeed?"

"It was weird. We couldn't keep our eyes off them. They were fascinating. Mine said she had been doing research on resublimated thiotimoline..."

Interrupting, Leonardo said, "Wait a minute - I thought you said that was an extremely obscure chemical."

"I know! But she said she was doing research on the same stuff. Plus she knew martial arts, and...what the shell is that sound?"

"I was going to ask you that," said Leonardo, getting to his feet.

Over the last minute or so, a bizarre buzzing or grinding noise had been getting louder. It seemed to be coming from the front of the lair, so everyone headed out in that direction. Michelangelo was still sitting on the couch, arms crossed, but even he looked confused.

"What's that noise?"

"That's what we're gonna find out," said Leonardo. "Come on."

Leonardo led the way into the sluice, with his three brothers in tow. After taking a second to figure out the direction of the noise, they headed further down into the sewers. The further they went, the louder it got until it seemed to be almost on top of them. Leonardo finally stopped and looked at the others in confusion, not knowing what to do or say. As it ended up, he didn't need to do or say anything, as suddenly the ground began breaking beneath them.

"Scatter!" Leonardo yelled. Although his voice couldn't be heard over the din, it didn't matter - their training kicked in even without hearing his command. The turtles took off, heading back up the sluice, then leaping up to grab on to nearby ladders. The ground continued to crumble, until suddenly a small cone of metal poked through the rubble. The cone grew taller and wider, and finally the entire transport module broke through and came to a halt in the middle of the sluice.

One by one, the turtles dropped down next to the module and drew their weapons, preparing for battle. After a pregnant pause, the module door opened and revealed a figure to the waiting mutants. It wasn't a Foot Soldier, or Bebop, or Rocksteady, or the Shredder, or even Krang.

It was a girl.