"Man I never thought I'd see what I saw today."

" What do you mean Mike?" Leo asked pouring Mike a cup of tea, then pouring himself one and calmly sitting down in a chair.

"We ran into some armed robbers up there and Donnie kicked their butts so bad they'll be in traction for the rest of their lives. He pulverized them, I mean really ground beef pulverized them. You should have seen what he did to the guy who tried to run us down with the armored car."

Leo frowned. " That's not like Donatello, he usually goes out of his way to avoid hurting others unnecessarily."

Raph shook his head. " Where have you been Leo? Dontcha remember how he acted at that training session? And now he's even disobeyin Master Splinter. He's actin more like me than me."

Mike sighed."You should have been there. I've never seen Don move like that, he was fast. He's stronger too, and then when that punk shot him he just..blinked..that's all."

Leo's frowned deepened and he tapped the side of his cup with a finger. " I think you'd better start from the beginning Mikey, when did all of Don's strange behavior begin?"

"After he woke up from his coma." Mike shrugged.

"Then start there."

A bit later Mike had finished telling the story of what had happened up top..and Leo and Raph were trying valiantly to understand it all.

"Confusing as hell huh."Mike said with raised eye ridge.

Leo turned the now cold cup of tea around in place, lost in thought.

"I just can't believe Don would be so violent." Leo said after a time.

"Just believe it, you don't want to see it. He scared me Leo, he really truly scared me."

" He didn't try an hurt you did he Mikey?" Raph asked frowning.

"Of course not, Raph. He made me get the hostages so I would be out of danger." Mike said incredulously.

"Then why did he scare you?" Leo looked puzzled.

"Have you seen that smile of his Leo? Have you seen that look he gets in his eyes or even listened to his voice? He keeps saying that he isn't our Donatello, that he's another Donatello..and he says it like our Donatello isn't there anymore. I'm tellin you guys I'm starting to wonder if Don isn't a few pepperoni slices short of a full pizza."

"But why? What could have caused this all of a sudden?"

"It's just a wild guess but mebby gettin hit by a green energy ball, knocked offa a balcony en electrocuted?"Raph suggested with a hint of sarcasm.

Leo gave his brother a look. "Your sarcasm is not helping the situation."

"No, but it makes me feel better." Raph grinned.

"Well I'll feel better when we've figured out what's wrong with Don." Leo crossed his arms across his plastron, authoritatively.

"I thought we already knew what wuz wrong with Donnie, he's actin like a nut job."

"Yes but if we want to help him we have to know why he's acting like that. What if that accident did something to his brain? I've heard stories of people getting injured and waking up with completely different personalities." Leo said his face looking worried.

Mike sat up strait. "Really? Did any of them ever get back to normal?"

Leo grimaced. "Actually no they didn't the change is usually permanent."

"That's not good Leo."

"I know, look when he was talking about his idea for a costume did he say why he wanted it?"

"He said he's planning on going after that metal foot guy when the costume's done, or start his plan for going after the foot guy. "

" What? Alone?" Leo asked alarmed.

"Yeah and he doesn't want us helping him. He said he wants us out of harms way..and out of his way. He wants to do it himself."

"Going up against that guy alone is suicide!" Raph said angrily.

"We wanted Don to come up with a plan to defeat him, it looks like that's what he's doing." Leo said, then he stood. "Only he's doing it alone.I'm going to have talk with him, and see if I can't get him to tell me what he's up to."

He went to the door, with Raph behind him and stopped to see if Mike was following. When it was apparent that Mike wasn't going to follow Leo said. " Are you coming?"

Mike shook his head emphatically. "No way Leo. I've had enough excitement today, I need a break before I start loosing it too."

"Forget it Mike you lost it a long time ago." Raph snorted and strolled out of the room.

Leo threw Mike another glance and followed.

Mike watched them go, his face pensive. He hadn't told them but his real reason for wanting to stay away from Don was something other than too much excitement.

He had always looked up to Don, and considered his brainy brother one of his closest friends..but Don's new personality had un-nerved him. He was trying to reconcile the Donnie that he remembered with the one he had just seen beating the stuffing out of bad guys above; and it just wasn't working. He hated the creeping fear he got crawling up his spine whenever he saw his brother now, he hated the profound uneasiness Don's mere presence caused in him, and most of all he hated being afraid of his own brother. Mike shook his head and sighed. "This week sucks." He said to himself.

Don was just stalking out of Splinter's room when they came into the living room.

"You okay Donnie?"Raph asked seeing the painful looking red, rash on Don's arms, hands, and legs.

Don stopped and regarded his brothers a few seconds before continuing on towards his lab. "I'm fine." He said.

"You keep saying that but I'm not seeing anything fine about you." Leo said. "We're worried about you."

"I'm touched." Don said sarcastically as he went to the couch grabbed his bag and stalked towards his lab.

"Look if you've got a plan to take out that Foot you have to share it with us. We're a team, you can't go up against that Foot alone."

"I have the makings of a plan but it requires time, skill and research. Before I can do all of that however, I have to be ready."

" Ready for what, what are you planning?" Leo asked his voice pleading. "Please just tell us, we want to help you. I can't just accept that you're going to go out there and face that guy alone..I don't want you to get hurt!"

"You gotta let us in Donnie, we're bros remember? The four of us.." Raph added his face earnest.

Don stopped at the door to his lab and turned back to his brothers. For a moment his face softened and he placed one hand on Raph's shoulder, the other on Leo's.

"I'm sorry, I have to do this alone." He said, then he stepped into his lab and closed the door behind him leaving his frustrated brothers behind him.

Inside his lab Don stalked to a table and upended the contents of his bag onto it, then he angrily tossed the bag away. For a second he stood staring into nowhere, lost in his own mind as a calm reasonable voice inside of his head pleaded with him to tell his brothers everything and let them help. He was tempted to just open the door and tell Leo and Raph everything, but he didn't. What he had planned was far too dangerous to get his brothers involved, he knew that at first letting them help might make things go faster and easier; but afterwards it would only put them in unnecessary peril. They had already faced the Foot once and it was only a miracle that he had still let them live after he had beaten them. Don didn't have any faith the metalic maniac would be so generous second time.

He stopped, then shook his head and gave a half grin. Who was he fooling? Certainly not himself. All that rationalizing was just a weak excuse really, an excuse for his real reason for going after the Foot without his brothers at his side.. he worked alone. Pure egoism he knew but unlike the other Donatello; the peaceful, gentle wimp who was useless in a real fight; he the new Donatello was a good fighter. In fact he considered himself a better fighter than Mike, or Raph and possibly just as good as Leo. It was something in the way his muscles seemed to be directly connected to his brains, he could remember with cristal clarity every technique, every Ninjitsu move the other Donatello had ever seen or done..and pull it off himself with something near perfection. He didn't know how he did it, nor did he care, he just knew he was good. He did not want his brother's help because he didn't want them getting in his way..or taking any of his glory when the monster Foot was finally defeated. No, he decided.. it was a plan best carried out by one, and that one would be him. He worked alone, and he would find it and the Foot Soldier wearing it, and he would defeat them…alone.

He needed more time to solidify his plans, and find out more about the Foot's weakness..but he was beginning to think his brothers wouldn't give him that time. They would insist on talking to him, insist on learning his plans. If they pressed to hard he realized he would probably have to leave, it was something he didn't really want to do, but to keep them out of his buisness..to keep them safe and out of harms way..he would do it. Not now though, for now he would wait..and plan. He cast a glance over the things on the table and taking up a few spare parts went to work.