Threading a needle was difficult with only two giant fingers. Donnie grew frustrated as he tried to get get the suture thread through a tiny needle that probably shouldn't even be used for stitches, but he lacked decent medical supplies and it was the best he could do. Marian was sitting on a flat metal table. Her shirt was off but she used it to cover herself while Donnie was prepping to see her torn chest up. She stared ahead, face red from crying.
Just outside the room, Leo and Raph were standing guard as Splinter was giving a stern talk to Dahlia. Despite her tough attitude earlier, getting verbally berated for putting his sons in danger, not to mention needlessly killing a defenseless creature just to fulfill her need for revenge, made her seem like a scolded child. Mikey watched, chewing pizza. Sullivan, dressed in Mikey's old overalls, sat on the floor quietly drawing pictures of him and his sister.
"Master Splinter," Dahlia interrupted, giving him a pleading look. "I get that I was probably a bit brash in what I did. I was angry and can you blame me? I was stuck in there for a year and it was because..."
She trailed off, looking at the room where Marian was. She let out a frustrated grunt and looked back at Splinter.
"She lured me into a trap. She betrayed me when I thought we had something. I cannot forgive her for that."
"Sometimes forgiveness is not for the benefit of the person needing to be forgiven, but the one who was wronged," Splinter said.
"Whatever. I won't do it. I don't want to be near her, I don't want to talk to her. And you know what? That look on her face made up for the hell I was put through."
She stood up and stormed off. Splinter sighed and his two sons knelt before him.
"Any other news about what happened to the rest of the mutants?" He asked.
"We could not find any other survivors," Leo said. "But that may mean they just escaped."
"We got that doctor guy, though. If anyone knows anything, like of there's more land like these, we can get it out of him," Raph said.
"Should be easy," Leo said, nodding. "Even though he was injured and not all there, he seemed genuinely remorseful. Hopefully he'll prove useful."
Splinter felt his sleeve being tugged. He looked down to see Sullivan holding it in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. He almost shoved the paper into Splinter's lap before quickly running away and hiding behind Mikey. Splinter chuckled and looked at what he was given. Sullivan had crudely drawn all the turtles and Splinter beating up stick figures in black masks.
"A lovely picture, Sullivan," Splinter complimented. "Raphael, if you could get me the tape, I believe this deserves to be posted on the fridge."
Sullivan smiled slightly from behind Mikey. Raph got up in a hunt for the tape. Meanwhile, Donnie cheered at the success at threading the needle. He turned, pulling a curtain across the doorway to give them privacy.
"Okay, Marian," he said as he turned back around. "Let's get that cleaned and we can start sewing you up."
She dropped the shirt to the floor. Blood was caked around her breasts and the one that was slashed was still leaking blood. Donnie frowned and set the needle down on a nearby metal tray. He quickly grabbed a clean rag and disinfectant, wetting the cloth with it.
"This is gonna sting, I'm sorry."
He carefully pressed the cloth against her, wiping blood off her breast. She didn't even flinch as he wiped across the wound. Marian continued to stare ahead of her. Donnie finished cleaning her up and set the rag aside, picking the needle back up. He turned back and gently grabbed the folds of skin around the wound. He pressed them together, piercing the needle through her. She still didn't react.
"You are a lot better at this than Raph or Leo," he said, making the first stitch. "They can take any hit from the bad guys but as soon as I come anywhere near them with disinfectant or a needle, they are threatening to kill me as soon as I touch them."
He glanced up at her. Nothing. He sighed, continuing to slowly stitch her up.
"Marian, I'm so sorry about what happened," he said. "I don't know what it was to you, but-"
"I wish she would have just killed me," she whispered.
He paused, looking back at her.
"You don't mean that."
"I do, Donnie," she sniffled. "Instead she took any hope I had of going home."
He pierced her with the needle again.
"Go home where? How was that thing going to help you?"
Marian sighed and looked at him, looking old and weathered.
"It doesn't matter anymore, so I guess it's safe to tell you. I'm... not Marian."
Donnie stopped. He stared at her, waiting anxiously.
"Well, I guess I am. It's hard to tell, it's been so long," she said. "I came here before. I loved this little place in the galaxy. It was green and blue, and the people were curious but unafraid. I could share with them what I knew and they wouldn't judge me."
She ran a hand through her hair.
"I came back and found myself captured. They wouldn't listen like before, and the only one who did was too young to do anything. That's when... That's how Marian and I became one. She was only seven, Donnie, and they gave her up like a sheep to slaughter. Now I can't tell us apart. I don't know if I erased her completely, if we coexist, or if we've blended together to form one person."
"Does that mean you are..."
"Not human? Yes. I've made Marian not human either. Her aging has slowed, she has powers now-"
"Wait, how old are you?"
"I lost count, but in this body, we're actually almost sixty."
Donnie tried to process the fact that in three days, the girl he liked jumped out of a computer, turned out to have powers over technology and electricity, was inhabited by an alien, and was sixty years old. He shook his head, grimacing.
"This is a lot to take in," he said quietly. "So the creature in the tank... That was you?"
Marian or whoever she was started to tear up.
"She destroyed my body. If I ever did find my ship, I can't pilot it without my body," she said mournfully. "They promised they would give it back if I was good and did what I was told. I had no concept of lying. Funny how I'm older than this planet yet I didn't even know how to lie."
"What are you?"
"We have no name. We just are and always will be."
"That is extremely cryptic."
"When I first came here, I found humans just as cryptic," she said. "Traditions made no sense, nothing was practical, and the rituals I observed seemed silly to me. Especially this whole male and female thing. My race has no biological sex."
"No sex? Do you just undergo mitosis or something to breed?"
"No. When we see another of our kind, we would touch minds and use our combined energy to create a youngling. Then we would create a ship for them and send them off to search the stars. That's when we would part. In my entire time in the galaxy, I've only created three younglings, and I haven't seen them since."
Donnie had a headache now. He went back to stitching her up. Marian sighed and watched him work.
"I'm sorry I lied."
"I feel like you had good enough reason to do so," he said, smiling up at her. "I wasn't exactly honest either."
"I guess we both have reasons to lie... I hate this planet. I never had to lie, I just drifted the stars and explored. I wasn't having to hurt anyone or get hurt. I just absorbed everything I could."
"Maybe after you get better, you can tell me all the things you've seen," he said.
Marian smiled slightly. "I'd be happy to."
Donnie smiled back and finished up her stitches.
"Donnie... I didn't want any of this to happen," she said quietly. "I remember all their faces, the people who got kidnapped because of me. I don't know if it matters anymore but... I'm so sorry. Please tell Dahlia that, if she would listen. And Sullivan. He hardly knows what's happening except that I lied to him and his sister. Now he's alone."
"I think it would be best if you did that yourself, Marian. But I also think you should wait till you're healed."
She nodded and looked away, feeling the guilt eat away at what was left of her.
Just like he screamed before he passed out, the good doctor screamed again when he woke up abruptly. It didn't help that Sullivan had hopped on top of broken ribs. Mikey plucked the boy off of him, apologizing profusely.
"So, so, so sorry man! Little dude was just worried about you," he said. "Didn't think he'd be using you as a trampoline."
"Dr. Parks!" Sullivan said happily, waving his arms at him. "Dr. Parks, you're awake! I knew you'd be okay!"
"S-Sullivan?" Parks said, clutching his side and looking up at the boy and giant turtle. "And... A giant... Wow."
"He's a turtle, Dr. Parks! Don't you remember what a turtle looks like?"
Mikey never heard the kid talk so much. He set him down and the boy ran to the man's side. He seemed genuinely happy he was okay. Parks put a hand on Sullivan's head and looked up at Mikey.
"Where am I?"
"Our home," Mikey said. "You've been out for a few days. Nasty head wound but considering the circumstances, we didn't think you'd want to go to a hospital where you could be tracked."
"You probably want to talk to me too, don't you?" Parks sighed. "Did... Did you save anyone else?"
"Just two others. Everyone else was... Well, either killed or captured."
Parks frowned and carefully pulled Sullivan onto his bed. He smiled slightly, giving him a side hug.
"At least you're okay, Sull," he said.
"So doc, I'm gonna get our own resident smart guy and he'll check up on you."
Mikey left. Sullivan tapped Parks on the leg.
"Dr. Parks, Dahlia is here too. You know her right? And so it the eclectic... electric lady."
Parks eyes went wide and he was about to question the boy when Mikey came back with Donnie. Donnie immediately went into medic mode, handing off Sullivan to Mikey to give the doctor some space.
"Hey, Dr. Parks! I'm happy to see you're not dead," he said as he shined lights in his eyes. "And not concussed. Even better. Guess stress got to you. Oh, I'm Donnie and that's Mikey."
"How many of you are there?" Parks gasped. "Wait, never mind. Sullivan said Marian was here. Where is she?"
"I can bring her to you, but first we gotta talk. Let me go grab Sensei," Donnie said then left.
Parks went into sensory overload when the giant rat came in with two more turtles peeking through the curtain that surrounded his bed. He rubbed his temples, curling himself into a ball.
"This is too much," he muttered. "I can't believe I was saved by… Well, you guys. We only heard rumors, but we didn't know you were real. Sacks wasn't a lunatic after all."
"Dr. Parks, I understand, but we have important questions to ask," Splinter said. "We can give you more time to rest, but we cannot put it off for long."
"Just… Give me till tomorrow. I'll answer anything you ask. Just promise me one thing."
"Yes?"
"You kill those sons of bitches who shot my patients."
Splinter hesitated.
"We cannot promise that," he said.
"These men and women are menaces to society," Parks spat, his face growing dark with fury. "I watched them kill the children I worked with, that I tried so hard to make comfortable in the worst circumstances, innocents that had no memory of any other life. They slaughtered then like pigs and you expect me to tell you everything without a promise you will get rid of them once and for all? No."
Parks laid down and rolled away. Splinter sighed and stood, walking out and passed his sons, who stared at Park before giving glances towards each other.
"Why are we debating this? You saw what they did to those people!"
"I agree we have to do something but we can't just go around killing people we assume are responsible! We can find out what we need without the doctor's assistance."
"He is the fastest way to get to those monsters. We don't have time to deal with whatever moral dilemma you're having!"
Leo tried to block out Donnie and Raph's arguing so he could think while Mikey stood quietly in a corner, arms crossed and deep in thought. He spoke up.
"I'm going with Raph on this one."
"You can't be serious, Mikey!" Donnie said in exasperation. "I saw what they did too, but I'm not going to go chopping their limbs off in retaliation!"
"They killed Sullivan's sister and kidnapped who knows how many people, including Dahlia," Mikey pointed out. "They even had your chick in captivity for years, bro! Who knows what they did to her that she ain't telling you."
Donnie went quiet and he got in Mikey's face, his own contorted in a snarl.
"Don't use Marian against me, Mikey. I'm warning you."
"Don't get all angry at me, dude, get angry at the ones who had her! They need to pay and you're trying to come up with excuses on why it's okay that they get away with torturing your girlfriend."
Donnie shoved Mikey, who stumbled back into Raph. He pushed off his brother and shoved Donnie back. Leo quickly intervened, holding them back with his arms.
"We are not fighting each other!" He snapped. "Quit acting like children and start acting like adults! Regardless of how we go about this, let me make one thing clear."
He slowly looked to his brothers, a stern expression on his face. "We are not savage monsters. We do not kill for revenge. We do not kill meaninglessly. We are honorable ninja and we protect and defend the people of the city. If that means blood must be shed, then so be it, but that does not constitute us causing a massacre."
He looked at Mikey, who flinched under his gaze and slinked back. Raph grunted, crossing his arms and looking away.
"You two will need to hold back whatever grudge you have. We cannot have you rampaging around. And Donnie," he said and turned to him. "You need to come to terms with the possibility of personally ending someone's life. Not by accident nor coincidence, but with your own two hands. You have to know you'll be able to do it if others depend upon you."
Leo turned and started to walk to Splinter's room.
"I'll discuss this with Sensei. You are free to join me if you don't strangle each other."
The three looked at each other. Raph was the first to follow. Mikey sighed and gently patted Donnie on the arm, mumbling a sorry. Donnie slapped his hand on Mikey's shell in response and both walked to talk with Splinter.