AN: GOOD GODDESS I'M ALIVE! Sorry for the long wait. So, just for you, a long chapter! Or... at least, I hope it's long... O.o
Chapter 8
Thickening Thunderclouds
(8 years later)
"He WHAT?!" Donatello nearly roared into the phone. After nearly five hours, the Lair felt lived in again, and he had sterilized and set up his laboratory. On the shell cell with Leo, Don heard about the incident with Leatherhead.
"Ok, ok…" Donatello grumbled as Leo exerted him to calm down.
"Listen, we're working on getting Leatherhead out of there. Raph told me that it was humans. They put the blame on Leatherhead. But the evidence is against them. We'll get him out."
"Ok. Leo, he has a flash drive that I need. If there's anyway-"
"I'm on it. Have you talked to Ariana?"
"Yeah. Her shift is almost over. Keep me informed."
"You got it, bro."
Donnie hung up, rubbing his eyes tiredly before dialing another number.
8~8~8~8~8~8
Leatherhead breathed deeply. The last thing he wanted was to lose control of the beast that still lurked in his soul. So far, he has holding down the fort within himself. He had been taken to the nearest police station, placed behind bars that were temporary… or so he hoped. He was the biggest inmate being held there, and so far, no one bothered him.
The one upside to looking like a monster... you get left alone by the smaller monsters. Was his grim thought.
Any prodding was sure to break down the walls he was putting down around the creature that snarled and writhed within him. All he could do was thank the memory of Splinter, who had coaxed him and taught him the exercises that helped him cage the animal within his mind, laying down chains on Rage and Anger both.
"Leatherhead!"
Leatherhead opened his eyes to see Leonardo. As squad leaders on the SWAT team, Leo and Raph usually worked side by side on most cases.
"Leonardo, do you know how Kataline is doing?" Leatherhead inquired tersely, ignoring those around him.
"I haven't heard anything yet. C'mon, I'm taking you to solitary."
Leatherhead felt an immediate mixture of relief and fear.
Solitary… he'd be alone in a cage. At least no one would get hurt.
Leo looked at him and made a small, short motion with his hand, that Leatherhead knew immediately. He reached into the folds of his jacket and pulled out the flash drive, which he had tucked into a secret compartment of his jacket. Smoothly, Leo took it from him as they walked to the small cage. Leo gave Leatherhead a pained look.
"LH, we know you're innocent. Don't worry, we'll get you out of here!"
"Take your time, my friend." Leatherhead responded. As the door closed and Leatherhead was left to himself, he couldn't help but reflect on his situation.
His last thought took hold of him.
Whatever happens, it was worth it. I only wish she hadn't been harmed...
8~8~8~8~8~8
"Dude, this is INSANE!"
Don winced as Mikey's voice hit his ears.
"I know, I know. Mikey-"
"Is the lizard lady alright?"
"I don't know. I do know her name's Kataline."
"Poor girl…"
"Yeah." Don sighed as he was finally allowed to get to the point. "Listen, I need all the files from your hard drive. Remember I stored them there for safe keeping?"
"I still can't believe you did that. I mean-"
"It's the last place anyone would have thought to look."
"Ah, the madness/method method." Mikey chuckled. "I got ya covered bro. I'll be there as soon as my shift at the club is over."
"Good."
Donatello hung up the phone, thinking hard as he brought up the memories of the past. Painful memories resurfaced as he sifted through them, like looking for diamonds in a pile of broken glass.
Chewing his lip, he knew, without a doubt, that there was something sinister at work. There had to be.
But who?
It couldn't be an enemy they had already defeated. No, it couldn't be.
Donatello wracked his brains, biting his lip in frustration.
"What am I missing!?"
8~8~8~8~8~8
Arnold Morez locked his office as he left work. He walked down the stairs, to the sub-levels of the parking garage. Getting into his car, he drove, sweat beading his brow, grim lips pressed together.
He knew of Leatherhead's arrest. That would make it so much easier to fire that infernal mutant, who always managed to make the small, weak human feel vulnerable in the most primordial ways. Crocodiles were not meant to have the intellects of Einstein.
He parked and headed up to his apartment. Upon entering, his hair stood on end.
She was here.
"Have you done as the Master commanded?" The voice hissed into his ear.
He gulped, hardly daring to move.
"I have."
"Good." He could nearly feel her smirk, as it crept through the air.
"We'll be waiting for your next report. Speaking of which, where is his computer data?"
He reached into his briefcase, hardly daring to breath as her supple fingers pulled the data chip from his trembling digits.
"You will be rewarded. You'll see. Until next time, Dr. Morez."
She was gone. Morez had never seen her, only felt her presence. He would not, could not bring himself to look at her.
As if to do so would turn him into stone…
8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~
Kat tried to remain calm, as her fear was confirmed by the doctor. She held back her panic, her rising fear as she leaned back against her pillow.
"Damn. Never thought THIS would happen." She muttered.
She looked down towards her chest and gave a sad smirk.
"Knew Ah was too endowed for my own good…"
"Miss Razel, do you have health insurance?"
She snorted.
"Course not. Ah didn't need it."
"Well, I'm sure we can arrange for treatments to start as soon as possible." The doctor told her smoothly. She nodded, too distracted by her own thoughts to really listen.
As the Doctor left, the guard at the door knocked quietly.
"Come in."
Marie walked in. Kat opened her mouth to scream, but the woman held out a handgun with a silencer.
"Don't speak. If you do, I'll kill you right now."
Kat snapped her beak shut and glared at the belligerent human, who was dressed as the previous guard. With a crooked smirk, Marie stepped closer.
"You are going to be very useful to the Master."
At this moment, however, there was a tremendous cracking sound. The glass window shattered and a winged form tackled the startled Marie to the ground, tearing the gun from Marie's hand. With a hiss, the pale gargoyle knocked out the woman, turning to Kat, she held up her hands non-threateningly and spoke in a rush.
"My name is Cupid. I'm with the FBI. You're in danger and I know where you'll be safe. You have no reason to trust me, but I'm going to ask you right now; What choice do you have?"
Kat looked from the stirring form of Marie back to the winged federal agent.
"A'right then… Get me outta here. But I swear, I'll kick yer ass if ya lyin'."
"Fair enough." Cupid responded curtly as she scooped Kat from the bed and practically threw them both from the window. Kat tried not to lose her breath as Cupid's wings cupped the wind and carried them through the night.
"I've got the package. Dirty laundry cuffed to the bed. Please pick it up. Thanks. Cupid out." Cupid spoke into an ear piece, uniquely shaped to her cone-shaped ear.
They soared through Manhattan, till Cupid seemed to find what she was looking for. She spiraled down, till they were in front of an abandoned building, setting Kat carefully to the ground, she opened the door and brought Kat into the building. There was a strange sort of elevator that she stepped into, waiting patiently for Kat. The gecko woman took a breath and stepped into the elevator.
"Well?"
"Brace yourself." Cupid replied wryly. The elevator started down, moving at a steady clip.
Kat fought a moment of nausea as they stopped, before the door opened… to a literal house under the ground.
Well, more like it's own little city. The place was obviously part of the sewer, but it was clean, livable and strangely inviting.
Kat stepped into the domain, her pink eyes widening.
"Ok… Ah wan' answahs… Like, now."
Cupid smirked.
"I'll leave you with your guardian to take care of that. Oh Donateeeeeeelllloooohhhhh!"
There was a slight crash, and Kat blinked as a Mutant turtle came hurrying out.
"Oh! I didn't expect that to be so fast." he said, a little out of breath.
"Yeah, well, she was about to be shot. I decided it'd be better to just get her under a safehouse."
"Ok. Well, great! Um, hi, Kat, I'm Hamato Donatello. You can just call me Donnie. I uh, I'm a friend of Leatherhead's."
"Oh! Is 'e alright? Did they let him go?"
"They will after Marie is caught and taken in."
"Thank God…" She mumbled, putting a hand to her head.
"I'll bring you some clothes. Donnie here is undergoing an investigation of his own. He found the cure to breast cancer."
"Cupid!" Donatello scolded.
"Hold it, what?" Kat looked at him with wide eyes. "You have a cure? A real cure?"
"Yes. I haven't tested it on a real patient yet, but I'm sure that it's the real deal."
Don nodded.
Cupid looked at kat.
"Just one more thing before I leave… Did that woman tell you anything before I showed up?"
Kat thought carefully.
"She… she told me not to speak, or she'd kill me right away. An' den… she said somethin' about how useful I'd be to "The master." Kat hung her head. "Ah don' know what any of that means."
Cupid's reptilian eyes blinked and she said curtly, "Don't worry about it. I have to go. I'll be back though. Be careful, Donnie."
"I will. You too." Don told her.
Cupid nodded before taking off.
8~8~8~8~8~8
Leatherhead was finally released. He tried to keep from bolting, as he was taken from Solitary. Raphael was leading him, grumbling under his breath.
"Well, we caught the bitch that brought the heat down on ya head. She's in questioning right now."
"Thank you, Raphael."
"Ah… It was… it was Cupid. She caught the bitch."
Leatherhead glanced down at Raphael.
"You still love her, don't you?"
"Not up for discussion."
Leatherhead snapped his jaws shut, wanting to speak, but understanding how Raphael felt.
There had been… a very brief time when he himself had been infatuated with a female… a human. She had worked in the office as an intern.
Sally…
Eventually, she was relocated, and he had to forget her. It wasn't long before he heard that she was married, to a doctor, with a child on the way.
Leatherhead briefly considered what he had felt for the human, and subconsciously thought of Kataline. The street dancer.
She was almost everything that Sally had not been. Bold, impudent, even a little arrogant.
"Kataline?"
Raph just shrugged. Leatherhead knew that move. It meant Later.
As Leatherhead was released, Raphael tucked a piece of paper into his jacket pocket.
"Donnie's gonna need ya. Good luck." He muttered.
Leatherhead took hold of the paper as he started walking. It had one word. One jumbled word.
Rali
Leatherhead's grin became crooked. He loved a good word puzzle. This one was a simple, yet affective one.
Lair.
8~8~8~8~8~8
(8 years ago)
Cupid groggily opened her eyes. She blinked.
Her wrists were cuffed and held above her head. Her wings were strapped to her body, and her tail and feet were also binder.
She felt like she was in a strait jacket.
"Ok, somebody better talk to me and tell me what the hell is going on! I am going to kick someone's ass through their ears if I get out of here!"
"No offense, but you have the worst bargaining tactics I have ever heard." A mechanized voice told her in a mild scolding tone.
"Who the hell are you?" She growled.
"A scientist. Simply a scientist." The voice replied evenly.
Cupid hissed.
"Wait, I know you… you're that NERD! That nerd that replaced Baxter Stockman! Dr. What's-his-face Chaplin!"
"No need to be insulting, Cupid. Yeah, I remember you now. What were you thinking, helping out those people? I mean, seriously, since when would it be a good idea for someone like you to expose yourself like that?"
"Pfft, I dunno. They were an elderly couple… I just felt that they didn't deserve what they were getting. Are you telling me that good deeds are always repaid in evil?"
Dr. Chaplin chuckled nervously.
"N-no. Not, not always."
"So what's the game plan? Am I getting crowned queen of the damned?"
"No, we're going to be running some tests on your blood."
"Oh yes, I would so rather give my blood to you VAMPIRES then be awarded Citizenship and equal rights!" Cupid snarked, rolling her eyes
Chaplain sighed.
"Look, you're going to be helping a lot of people by giving us what we need. Isn't that better then playing a thankless role as a vigilante?"
"No, cause now I'm playing a thankless role as a GUINEA PIG." Cupid deadpanned. "Speaking of which, Ariana's going to be pissed that you guys took me away. I was supposed to pick up more cocoa for her."
"Ah, I miss Arianna. she was so nice." Chaplain remarked, remembering the bat girl with a small amount of fondness.
"Yeah, don't hurt her computer. She bit me when I accidentally smacked it with my tail one time." Cupid smirked.
Dr. Chaplin stared at the Gargess through the monitor.
"What is wrong with you?"
"Not human. That's what." Cupid grumped. "But then agin, humans are full of problems, aren't they? I mean, that whole fear of things they don't understand and all…"
"CHAPLIN! What the HELL are you doing?!"
"Karai!"
"Uh-Oh. Queen Bite-Me herself." Cupid muttered.
"I was merely trying to get her to cooperate-"
"You will not SPEAK to her. She has nothing to say that would be of interest to us!"
"Oh YEAH? WELL YOU HAVE A STICK UP YOUR ASS! SO KISS MY-" Cupid shrieked as loudly as she could.
Fortunately for Chaplin, he turned off the speakers just in time to cut off Cupid's voice as it blasted through the speakers.
Karai's face turned a brilliant shade of pink as Chaplin gulped nervously.
"Uh, got it. No more talking to her."
"She's no more then a common animal, Chaplin. You would do well to remember that." Karai turned on her heel and left.
Cupid paused as she heard Karai's voice. She knew Chaplin wasn't evil. Mostly, he was just in over his head with the wrong people.
Well, it was that plus the infatuation he had with Queen Bite-me…
Cupid shook her head…
"Star-crossed. Completely and utterly hopeless…"
8~8~8~8~8~8~8
"Take a left here." Ariana instructed, as Bishop's men drove steadily.
"You sure, Ariana?" Donatello asked her softly.
Ariana flashed him an annoyed look.
"Just cause I'm blind doesn't mean I can't see."
Bishop looked over his shoulder.
"Remember our deal. I'm sure your friend values your opinion, Miss Ariana."
"Oh, I remember our deal alrigh-THAT'S IT!" She shrieked as she thrust a hand out and pointed. The car squealed to a stop, the driver extremely disgruntled by the female passenger.
Pointing innocently, she nodded in a sure manner.
"It's that building. There's a lever, that opens a panel with a gate code. The code… um, actually, they've probably changed it."
"That won't be a problem." Donatello replied with a grin, cracking his knuckles as he gripped his bag of tools tighter.
"I will contact your brothers and make sure they get here to help you. My men and I will be on standby. Don't disappoint me." Bishop said softly.
"Ok, mom." Ariana grumbled as she got ready to follow Donnie.
He looked at her, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"You sure you're ready for this?"
"Hun, I was born ready." She grinned with her fangs flashing in the moonlight.
Donatello nodded and they jumped out of the car. Ariana followed close behind Don, her sightless eyes twinkling as she followed her nose and her ears, which peeked out from her hair like a strange tiara.
Donatello paused in the shadows, feeling Ariana halt behind him. The building looked deserted enough… but then, he heard the faintest of snarls from Ariana. He turned to look at her. Her nose wrinkled, there was a feral glint in the crooked grimace of her lips.
"Hurry, Donnie… I don't like this place."
"Don't worry, Ariana… I'll protect you." He promised her softly as he turned his attention back to the building. Taking a breath, he took out a gadget from his bag, one of his favorites. It disrupted security cameras for all of five minutes… enough time for him to hack into the code that would unlock the door. Of course, that was just a decoy. His real object was the ventilation system. And if his calculations were correct, his brothers would be getting her just in time for their usual game of life-and-death-blind-man's-bluff with the Foot.
8~8~8~8~8~8
(inside the building)
Karai raced to the security room, which held the security cameras. Her eyes narrowed.
"What is going on?!"
"Mistress, we… we lost the feed to our front gate!"
"You fools!" she hissed. "Send in reinforcements! Find the intruders!"
8~8~8~8~8~8
Cupid heard the alarms going off. She growled low in her throat, her eyes narrowing. It was time. She felt it in her bones. Tensing, she stood up on her clawed feet. Her wings spread out, her tail lashing behind her.
"C'mon… bring it on, bitches." She hissed venomously.
8~8~8~8~8~8
Donatello and Ariana both crawled through the ventilation system. Ariana, oddly, found the enclosed space very comforting, and she was dead silent. Donatello grumbled to himself as he overhead Leo's terse growl.
"Donnie, I don't know about this-"
"Leo, trust me, we got this!" Don snapped.
Ariana grabbed his heel. Don managed to look over his shoulder at her. She murmured very quietly, "I think we're getting close. I can hear Cupid yelling. And.. I know this sounds crazy, but don't listen to your brother. Of course we've got this!"
Don smiled at her ruefully. Then, he went back to crawling. Ariana followed swiftly behind him. Suddenly jerking on his heel again.
"She's above us!"
8~8~8~8~8~8~8
Cupid tensed. She could have sworn that… that she smelled Ariana. She took another sharp inhale, then, she growled.
"bastards… if you've hurt her-"
There was an explosion.
A big explosion. It rocked cupid off the ground and against the wall. She coughed and sputtered in the dust, hissing. Then, she was tackled by a small, cute bat-girl.
"Cupid! You're alive!"
"Ariana! What the hell are you doing here!?"
Saving your sorry feathers! Now let's get out of here!"
"Who is-"
"Later!"
"But-"
"-I SAID LATER!"
Cupid winced. She forgot how shrill Ariana's voice could get. "Ok! Ok! Well, what are we waiting for?!"
Donatello had set an explosive at the door, his expression tensed as he backed up.
"Brace yourself!"
The door flew off its hinges and dust flew into the air.
"Alright, everyone ok?" Came a voice from the hall. Don shouted back, "What do YOU think Raph?!"
"Gee, I dunno, Genius, you DID just use an explosive!"
"BOYS! NOW IS not THE TIME!" Ariana's voice rang out as she and Cupid booked it through the dust, dragging Donatello along. Cupid hissed as a Chinese star nearly embedded itself into her cheek. She turned, grabbing the star as she flung it into the Foot soldier that had tried to kill her. She turned again-
-And collided into a vaguely familiar face.
But before any remarks could be made, Ariana had them halfway down the hall, dodging bullets and weapons as they fought their way out.
"THIS was your great escape idea?" Cupid muttered as she sunk her talons into someone's facial structure.
"You had a better?" Raphael snapped at her as he tripped a quartet of ninjas and leap-frogged over a another, throwing his foot out in a kick as he did so.
Ariana rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, Cupid? You're picking THIS time to flirt?"
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Cupid shrieked, "I am not flirting!"
8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~
Bishop stared as the whole building seemed to light up like the fourth of July without actually exploding. From the fourth floor, a window and part of the wall shattered, and four mutant turtles plus two other non-humans barreled out, the two females lending their wings as they kept the four from dying from the fall. Bishop snarled as he barked to the driver, "START THE CAR!"
8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8
Cupid was quiet, as she listened to Ariana's story about how she met the turtles and about Bishop and his offer.
Cupid remained silent throughout the narrative, her eyes unfocused. Her emotions were unreadable, but her tail twitched occasionally, and Ariana knew that wasn't exactly a good sign.
Bishop watched the winged predator's expression and titled his head as she finally looked up.
"So… either I'm either a guinea pig for the Foot… or a guinea pig for you and your faceless government organization."
Bishop just looked at her.
Cupid stared back. "Tell me… how do I know you won't lock me up? Treat me like an animal? Because if that's the case-"
"Do equal rights mean anything to you?" Bishop interrupted quietly.
Cupid and Ariana glanced at each other.
"Would this extend to… ALL non-human sentient beings?" Ariana asked matter-of-factly.
Bishop looked over at his old arch enemies. They were listening intently as well. Even Mikey was quiet.
Bishop turned his gaze back to the two females.
"Yes."
Cupid bit her lip, then nodded.
"Ok. Agreed."
8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8
8 years later
Ariana smiled at her class as they were dismissed. She couldn't see them, not in the traditional way, but as they exited, she fare-welled them by name.
"Bye Miss Ariana!"
One small girl waved cheerfully as she was wheeled out of the class.
"Bye Gerda! See you tomorrow!" Ariana smiled brightly.
As the class emptied, she sighed, her smile dropping for a second as she found herself alone once again.
"Oh Donnie…" she murmured as she gathered her things, getting ready to go. He had called her, during recess, thank goodness, and told her, in curt, clear tones, that there was trouble. She could tell by the sound of his voice that it wasn't anything that he could discuss over the phone with her. So, she planned to meet with him as soon as possible, because the suspense was killing her.
She grabbed her purse and flew out the window. She couldn't drive, but that didn't bother her. Flying was much more fun anyways…
8~8~8~8~8~8~8~
Leatherhead growled over his shoulder as he checked again to make sure he wasn't being followed. He had gone by his old haunts, and now made his way to his old lair. He knew that it would be wiser to take the long way to the turtle's old lair, just in case.
His thoughts were awhirl, though he remained calm on the outside.
The future… it never was certain, was it? Just the other day, he had stood in the subway, waiting for his ride, and watching the dancers. Kataline had been there… He had never had the courage to try to say hi. But he had added generously to their pay.
Now… everything was different. He probably wouldn't even be at his job much longer.
Reaching to his pocket, Leatherhead pulled out the flashdrive that held all of the information that Donatello had stored on his computer. It was more precious than gold to the terrapin and Leatherhead quickened his pace.
8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8
Donatello stared at Kat for a moment.
"I'm very sorry." He told her. "I… If you would be willing, I will give you the cure. I am very sure that it works… I just haven't been able to-"
"Yes. Please. Ah didn' know what Ah was gonna do, honestly… But Ah don' know if Ah be able ta pay y aba-"
"Don't even think about that!" Donatello replied, a bit sharply. "I know what it's like to be viewed as just an experiment to someone else. I don't want to impose that on anyone."
Kat just shrugged.
"Desperate times." was all she'd say. In the back of her mind, she knew it wasn't rational to trust someone that she had just met. But in view of the last 16 hours… well, to hell with common sense.
"Ah'm grateful that Ah'm alive…" she murmured as Donatello disappeared into his lab.
At this moment, there was the sound of a door closing.
She turned to look… and paused. Her eyes widened.
Though she still had the bruises from her attackers, she looked much better then when he had last seen her.
Leatherhead had walked into the room. His eyes closed in on her as he stared at her.
"Kataline?"
"Leatherhead! Ya alright!" Kat cried out, her pink eyes lighting up as a grin made her wide mouth even wider.
Leatherhead tried to compose himself as he strode towards her, asking immediately in a professional tone, "How are you?"
"Ah'm fine… Well, Ah will be… eventually." Kataline replied slowly. She looked up at him with a rueful grin.
"Ahm glad yer alright, Leatherhead."
"Oh… think nothing of it. I… I just wish I had been there sooner."
"If ya were, then you'd a' probly gotten on da subway… and den Ah would be dead." She drawled with a chuckle. "Ya came at the right time. So don' blame yerself."
Leatherhead smiled ruefully at her.
"Are you comfortable?"
"Ah'm fine-"
"You were attacked, twice, in the same day. Please, give me something to do." Leatherhead replied with an intense look.
Kat raised her eye-ridges at him before chuckling.
"A'right then…Can Ah have some water?"
Leatherhead nodded as he tried not to dash off to the kitchen. Kat couldn't help herself… her eyes stayed glued to his backside as she admired him. Donatello came in, and noticed. A grin split his face, but he wisely didn't comment.
"Leatherhead's here?"
"Yeah…" Kat murmured, before snapping out of her stare. She turned a peculiar shade as she blushed… it was interesting to say the least. Who knew geckoes turned purple when they were embarrassed?
"Ah… yeah, he's in da kitchen…"
"Thanks, Kat. Don't worry… everything's going to be ok." Don added with a kind smile as he turned and went back into his lab.
Kat tried to not feel awkward. As she sat on the couch, she closed her eyes, willed herself to calm down. Her heart had beat so hard when Leatherhead had come into view. What could it mean?
"Stop it, Kataline Razel. Jus' stop." She murmured.
A few minutes later, Leatherhead came back into the room.
"Kat? Here's your water."
"Thanks." Kat took the water gratefully. "Ah appreciate it."
"Don't mention it." He replied.
"Oh, Donatello's in the lab."
"Thank you. Yes, I… I need to go talk to him. I'll be back."
Kat nodded as he left. At this moment, there was the sound of the door opening and closing and a sweet, soprano voice called out cheerily, "Hello? Donnie?"
"He's in da lab!" Kat called out with a chuckle. A young woman walked into the Lair, looking around, she put her hands on her hips.
"Alright… who forgot to order the pizza?"
Kat raised a brow.
"Pizza?"
"Oh, hi! My name is Ariana. Are you Kataline?"
"Yeah. Are you… ya know Donatello?"
Ariana smiled brightly.
"Oh do I!"
8~8~8~8~8~8~8
Leatherhead's eyes watered. He stared down at Donatello as he processed the thought. "She… she has… cancer."
"Yes, but I can cure her! I just need to manufacture the cure!"
Leatherhead shook his head.
"Why… why didn't she say anything?"
"I think she doesn't want to think about it. After all… if the cure works, restores her cells and kills the cancer, then she won't need to think about it again."
Leatherhead looked over his shoulder, as sounds of Ariana and Kat talking with each other reached his ears. Kat's throaty laugh, along with Ariana's sweet giggle blended in a general sound of happiness.
"We have to hurry." Don added, "I've already prepared the machine… but I'm going to need these elements." He held out a list, which Leatherhead took and examined.
"Alright… I'll take care of it-"
"Take care of what?"
Ariana walked in with a smile. "Hi Donnie!"
"Hello, Ariana." Donnie smiled at her, his eyes lighting up. She walked across the space between them and hugged him tightly.
"Good to see you." He told her gently.
"You, too! Or… well, you know what I mean." Ariana chuckled.
Don nodded. "I know. Kat has breast cancer. She just found out today."
Ariana put a hand to her mouth in surprise.
"This just keeps getting better and better. So what do we do now?"
"Well, I'm going to give her the cure I discovered. After that…" Donatello sighed.
"Cupid went back to apprehend the woman that got Leatherhead arrested. She's also going to be present at the questioning. We need to find out what the hell's going on. I… I really don't think these are two separate events."
Leatherhead involuntarily peered out of the room to check on Kat, making sure she was comfortable.
Arianna smiled when she noticed and murmured, "Leatherhead, could you give me and Donnie a few moments alone, please?"
"Of course." Leatherhead nodded.
As the big croc left them alone, Ariana turned and hugged Donnie, burying her face in his neck and breathing in his scent. He always managed to smell deliciously of coffee beans and burnt metal. Donatello hugged her back, sighing as some of his stress melted away with her touch.
"I'm so glad you're here. I'm… I'm going to need all the help I can get."
"I guess this will postpone our date for tonight." Ariana smiled.
Don's eyes widened and he slapped his forehead with a resounding smack!
"I forgot! I-I-"
Her finger on his beak silenced him and Ariana shook her head.
"Don't worry about it. Saving the world has priority over one date. I mean c'mon! I can't date if there's no free earth to date in, right?"
"Impeccable logic as always, my dear Ariana." Donatello sighed. He looked at her closely, considering how long he had known her against how long he had loved her.
It seemed forever.
When Splinter had passed away… Ariana had been the one to comfort all of them. She had provided copious amounts of tissues and hot chocolate, and not only that… she had somehow helped to keep them together.
And that had been the deciding factor for Donatello. The moment when he realized he truly loved her.
There was just something about her…
8~8~8~8~8~8~8~8~
Leatherhead looked sideways at Kat as she flicked through the channels on the dusty tvs.
"Gawd, I hate reality tv." she groaned.
Leatherhead chuckled.
"It's not much like reality, hmm?"
"No… it's too MUCH like reality." She snarled as she threw the remote to the other couch in frustration.
"If you don't mind me asking… what is your story?" Leatherhead finally drew up the courage to ask.
Kat smiled softly.
"It's no' much different from yers, I imagine. Where'd YOU come from?"
Leatherhead chuckled.
"My story is similar to that of my friends. I came into contact with an alien mutagen when I was but an infant. It… well, it changed me and made me sentient."
Kat was quiet for a moment.
"So, you was never human?"
"No." Leatherhead shook his head.
She was quiet. He looked sideways at her, and saw how tired she looked.
"I'll get you a blanket and pillow. You look like you could use some rest." He commented as she stood up, before she could protest. Smiling weakly, Kat thanked him.
In no time at all, she had curled on the couch, her breath light as she slept deeply. Leatherhead left her side, once he was sure she was asleep; Reluctant though he was to leave her side, he had work to do. If her life was to be saved, then he had to help Donatello create the cure.
Hey guys! Again, sorry for the long wait! Hope you enjoy this chapter! I'll try not to be so late next time!