Praying for the people in Boston.
CHAPTER NINE
"Donatello! A little help over here would be nice!"
"Jump in any day now, bro!"
"Donnie, snap out of it!"
Donnie snapped back to attention at the sound of Raph's voice. His brothers were fighting…Raph…and he was now holding what seemed to be some very advanced technological equipment. At least, that's what he concluded from a single glance.
Wait, Raph? He picked up the shellcell, which he had nearly forgotten in his mad grab for the flying piece of technology.
"Raph, wha-" he began, speaking into the shellcell.
"Don't. Talk about it." Raph said, sounding deadly serious, "Don't even tell them. Just freeze the sss…the armo…this stupid thing like ya did a short while ago, and get outta here!"
Donnie took a deep breath and closed his eyes, allowing himself a few seconds to digest information and formulate a plan.
"Hurry up, I can't hold it off much longer!" Raph insisted.
Donnie opened his eyes, swung his bo staff, and attacked the exo-suit. Leo saw him coming and pulled away, yanking Mikey with him. Within seconds, Don had disabled the suit just as he had done shortly before he rescued two of his brothers. Raphael made no attempt to block his attacks.
"What was that?" Leo asked, panting as he stared at their now-harmless opponent.
"I…kinda inhibited his movement by blocking the flow of the suit's biomechanical neurons," Donnie said.
"So you froze him," Leo said.
"Good work Don," Mikey said, pausing for breath, "Only next time, do it sooner, alright?"
Donnie didn't answer, but instead turned towards the suit.
"Um, no," Leo said, placing a hand on Donnie's shoulder, "Play with the nice technology some other time, Don. That paralysis is only temporary, right? So that thing is going to wake up any minute, and so we shouldbe getting out of here."
Leo and Mikey turned to jump out of the blown-out window, but Don didn't join them. In fact, he took a step backwards towards his frozen brother.
"Wait guys," said Donnie, "We can't leave-ow! Since when are there mosquitoes here?"
"Leo, is he okay?" Mikey asked, running back to intrude into Donnie's personal space, "He looks kinda pale."
"He'll be fine, he's just dazed," Leo said, "Donnie, it's over. You got him. Now let's get out of here, alright?"
"Hang on," said Donnie, pointing towards the cyborg with the hand containing the shellcell, "We have to take him with us."
"What?" Leo asked, genuinely confused.
"Dude, did you hit your head or something?" Mikey asked, "That's the guard, Donnie."
"Um, guys," Donnie said, rubbing nervously at his new mosquito bite, "You see…"
"What's that sound?" Leo asked.
The other ninjas quieted immediately, until they realized that the small noise was coming out of the shellcell in Donnie's hand.
It was a very faint voice. Vaguely, it seemed to ask for Leo. So of course, Leo took the phone out of Donnie's hand and answered it.
"Raph?" he asked, "Where are you?"
"Leo, Raph is-" Donnie began.
"What?" Leo asked, looking up with surprise towards the suit behind Donnie. There were several more seconds of silence where Raph must have been speaking before he spoke again.
"Thanks for letting me know, Raph. How stable is your shellcell connection?...Great. We'll call you as soon as we're safe."
"Leo, what did he say?" Mikey said as Leo put the shellcell back in his own belt, forgetting that it belonged to Donnie.
"We have to get out of here fast," Leo said absentmindedly, as if he had never heard Mikey's question, "Mikey, head on out."
"Leo, how are we going to carry him?" Donnie asked, gesturing towards the suit behind him.
"We're not," Leo said, grabbing Donnie's hand, "Come with me right now, we're getting out of here."
"Wait, what?" Donnie asked, resisting the pull.
Leo looked at Donnie with concern. Without taking his eyes off Donnie, he addressed his other brother. "Mikey, move it! We'll be right behind you."
Mikey nodded and disappeared out the window.
Suddenly, Leo bent down and…picked up Donnie. He threw him over his shoulder, hightailed it to the window, jumped out the building, and then…continued running. He overtook Mikey and began to lead the way, apparently sure of where he was going.
"Leo, wait!" Donnie said, "You're leaving Raph behind!"
"He knows we'll come back for him," Leo said, "Once we find out where he's being held."
Suddenly it all made sense. Raph hadn't told Leo where he was. When he thought Leo was looking towards Raph, he was actually looking…at Donnie.
Why hadn't Raph told Leo where he was?
"Leo," Donnie said, slightly fighting against his brother's grasp.
"Don't you even dare," Leo said darkly, "Hang tight until we get to the hotel. Raph told me which one, and I'm guessing you left the window open. We'll get you there, Don, just relax."
"I can walk just fine, Leo," Donnie said.
"Not in your condition." Leo said.
"What condition?" Donnie asked.
"Raphael said he has access to a master computer," Leo explained, "Remember how the guard was seeking you out? Apparently, the computer registered that you've been shot."
"Donnie was shot?" Mikey asked, running alongside the both of them.
"No, Mikey. I haven't been shot." Donnie said, "Now put me down, Leo!"
"Not that kind," Leo said, "The kind that only knocks you out."
"Gee, I sure don't feel unconscious," Donnie said sarcastically, "And I think I'd notice if I was hit, Leo."
"It could take a while, Donnie," Leo said, "And it could be something as small as a mosquito bite."
"Put me down, Leo! I'm fine," Donnie said. He used his bo staff to grab something as Leo ran past it, and yanked himself out of his brother's grasp. He found himself standing on his own two feet, with an irritated older brother a few feet away. Mikey stopped running as well, glancing from one brother to the other in anticipation of what would happen next.
"See, Leo?" Donnie said. He took a step forward, and the world reeled just slightly. He threw up a hand to his head to stop the motion. "Whoa…"
"See, Don?" Leo asked, smiling as he once more grabbed his brother and threw him over his shoulder.
Suddenly, the world began to become tipsy.
"Leo," Donnie said, grabbing onto the rim of his brother's shell.
"Almost there, Donnie," Leo said, sounding sympathetic, "Then you can rest. He'll be fine, Mikey."
Don would have said something else, but he forgot what it was. He decided to be content watching the buildings and streets that he could see retreating away from him. At some point, the lines of reality blurred, and he the next thing he knew, he was waking up on his hotel bed with a giant headache-and Mikey was for some unknown reason doing a backflip over the bed.
Bishop answered the phone.
"Talk to me, Raphael." He said.
Several minutes passed. As he listened, Bishop's fists tightened. Nonetheless, he did not interrupt once. He waited until the full report had been given.
"So your brothers somehow escaped my impenetrable prison, without so much as a single alarm?" Bishop said, "I'm not stupid, Raphael. Don't think I can't see what you've done. My technicians will review the suit and remove every loophole. They will also add your other two brothers to the suit's database. And here is just a little warning, Raphael: your new assignment will be to track them down and bring them back, dead or alive. I will continue searching for Donatello here, and as soon as I find him…you know what will happen next."
Calmly, Bishop hung up the phone and walked out the door.
"Oh, hi Donnie! Leo, look who's awake!" Mikey smiled, looking at his semi-conscious brother.
"Were you just…was that a backflip? Over my bed?" Donnie asked, rubbing his headache.
"Um, yeah. This room is kinda small, so I needed to train somehow, right? It was either that or run around town screaming about how glad I am to be free from Bishop, but Leo suggested a movie instead."
"And where is the movie?" Donnie asked, really confused.
"We were waiting for you to wake up first," Mikey said, then he rapidly switched gears. "Isn't this cool? It's our first time staying at a hotel! Raph is awesome! Although he won't tell Leo how he paid for it."
"At last, you're awake, Donnie." Leo said, walking up to them with Don's shellcell in his hand, "How do you feel?"
"Uh…"
"Good." Leo said, sitting on the edge of the bed and handing Don the cell, "Listen, I've been on the phone with Raph. He says he has something really important to tell you, Donnie. And he says it can't wait."
Donnie took the phone and got up out of bed.
"Raph?" he said.
"Donnie," Raph said, "Sorry I had ta knock you out like that, bro. Listen, ya can't tell them where I am."
"Why not?" Donnie asked.
"It won't let me tell ya, but trust me on this. It's important, alright?"
"Raph-"
"Listen, I already told this to Leo, but the search for you guys is back on, big time. Stay hidden."
"And what about-"
"I'll be fine, Donnie." Raph said, sounding resigned.
"What can I do?" Donnie asked.
"Not much," Raph said, "If anyone finds out you know where I am, we'll all be in trouble. But ya can find out more by examining that thing I gave ya."
"Got it," Donnie said. He suddenly realized that the piece of technology Raph threw to him might be the key to unlocking the exo-suit.
"And another thing," Raph said, "Tonight from midnight until one am the ssss-the thing's computer will be out for...repairs. Meet me then on the roof of the building on the corner of Eastman and Laird."
"Will do," Donnie said.
"And don't tell anyone. Not even Leo."
There was a small click, and Donnie realized that Raph had hung up the phone.
"What did he say?" Leo asked as Donnie closed his phone.
"He wants us to stay hidden," Donnie said, meeting Leo's eyes, "Bishop's after us big time."
Leo raised an eyebrow. He could tell that Donnie wasn't telling him everything.
"Alright," Leo said, "What did he ask you to do?"
Donnie reached into his belt and pulled out the strange piece of machinery.
"For starters, he wants me to examine this." Donatello said, holding the strange device up to the light.