A/N: Thanks, guys! I love reading your reviews.
MidnightMoonWarrior: Here's your update! LOL. Keep up the enthusiasm.
Pig: Hahaha, keeping people in suspense is SO much fun… I'm really getting a kick out of this. =D
Sait4soreyes: Thanks! I did try really hard to keep them in character. Leo is such a great big brother… I want one. Heehee.
Well, I know you all would probably like to know what happens next with Leo and Donny, but I'm afraid that will have to wait. We have a timeline jump here… we're going back an hour in time so that we can see Donny's POV instead. Isn't this exciting??? I'm excited!!!! LOL
Beverage warning: Mikell, put your tea/coffee/cocoa down! I invested in humor for this one and I don't want you spitting it everywhere! Bishop's gonna get just a little bit of what's coming to him. Heh heh heh…
One hour earlier
Bishop had gotten inventive. The technology in this Tower was incredible… almost TOO advanced in some ways, come to think of it… and it had been the simplest of tasks to update his program even further. Now, with the new equipment, he could link a lightweight body suit to his computer. The suit was little more than a second layer of clothing, with sensors in it to pick up his motion, enabling him to actually MOVE the way he wanted his prisoner to.
It would be much easier to get him to fight this way, acting out his commands instead of trying to talk him through it. A second trial had been needed, of course. That had been an adventure…
"Commencing motion sensor command system… now," Bishop said. They were standing in one of the Tower's largest rooms, to fit in all the ninja at Saki's command – they had all shown up to witness the defeat of one of their hated enemies. Bishop wasn't sure how much time he had before the other turtles showed up with some fruitless rescue attempt, and he knew he was rushing through important preliminary steps. Oh well… sometimes, it was necessary to jump right in.
"Here goes," he muttered under his breath when the computer beeped once to indicate the program was ready. Slowly, he took a step forward. In the center of the room, the helmeted Donatello mimicked his movements exactly. Bishop smiled before getting right into some basic fighting moves… simple punches and kicks that the turtle could easily copy. It worked like a dream.
"Excellent..." Time to move up to the next step. Putting a high-tech visor on over his eyes, Bishop activated the networking system between the visor and the computer. Now he could see everything through Donatello's eyes, thanks to a miniscule camera mounted on the helmet. A small screen in the corner of his vision showed him obstacles that might impede his own actual course.
"If you don't mind, Mr. Saki?"
Saki nodded once to a Foot guard, who immediately leapt forward to attack the turtle. Donatello moved a little unstably under Bishop's control at first, but as Bishop got a feel for the system, the fighting became more fluid and adept. One good swing to the Foot ninja and the fight was already over.
"So much for open-hand combat," Bishop grunted triumphantly. He gestured for a nearby soldier to hand him a set of nunchucks, to match the ones they had found on Donatello. "But if you want to take down the other turtles, that will never be enough." And if I want to take down the entire government, he added in his head.
And if I want to take over the entire world, Saki thought to himself.
In the middle of the room, Donatello stood, unmoving as a statue without a command to tell him what to do. Another ninja approached, wary of the turtle even while he was immobile, and pressed Mikey's captured nunchucks into his hands. As Agent Bishop raised his weapons, so did the turtle.
Bishop took a few practice swings, feeling them to be rather unwieldy. Funny, the orange turtle had always made these look so simple to use…
"Have you ever even used these weapons before?" Saki asked in mild curiosity as he watched the agent. Granted, he was doing better than many, but he seemed uncomfortable with the nunchucks. Bishop shot a half-glare his way, trying to keep his full concentration on the spinning weapons.
"Michelangelo uses these, so they can't be too difficult," Bishop snapped. No sooner had the words left his mouth when a rather unskillful wayward swing sent one wooden end of the nunchuck slamming full force into his own elbow.
Bishop only barely managed to bite back an agonized bellow. That… HURT! As he doubled over, grasping the injured joint and doing a pain-filled dance, he could dimly hear the Foot clan laughing raucously, also doubled over in their hilarity.
Next time, he'd have to use body armor, instead of just a sensor suit. His only comfort was that the turtle was mimicking him completely, so at least he wouldn't be the only one with a nasty, egg-sized bruise. Maybe he'd just give the damn turtle a gun. That, he knew he could use with lethal precision.
"Would you prefer for us to find you some weapons that require less… ability?" Saki asked mockingly, only just able to keep a huge grin from his ceremoniously dour face. His only answer was some very un-ceremonious words from the government agent.
"Again!" Bishop seethed, straightening back up and moving Donatello into a ready fighting stance. Saki shrugged elegantly and nodded to another Foot ninja. It never occurred to Bishop that there was a reason that such weapons were better left to people who had taken the time to be instructed properly in their use.
Two seconds later, he'd knocked himself out.
oOo oOo oOo
Donatello was not a happy turtle.
The night had started off so peacefully… going on a recon mission with the bro's. What could have been simpler? Then Leo had made the startling discovery that Shredder was after him – Donny, who had never done anything to stand out as a threat to the Shredder as far as he knew.
Then had come the running across town, worried sick about his brothers (still unaccounted for), and, just to add some more fun, the Battle Shell that he had sweat and labored over to build had blown up practically in his face.
Wonderful.
Ah, but then it had gotten even better when he'd woken up, chained down in some dark cell of Shredder's only to realize that he was facing some bizarre team-up between Shredder and Agent Bishop, which made just about as much sense as an insect exterminator joining forces with a colony of angry fire-ants to rid the world of butterflies.
Then Bishop had come to see him holding a Triceraton helmet – a device that made Donny break out into a cold sweat when he saw it, remembering how agonizing it had been the last time it was used on him.
Add on to that the fact that he seemed to have blacked out for a good five minutes following Bishop's visit, he had a nasty cut on his palm that he didn't remember ever getting, and then he had blacked out again at some point after Bishop's second trip to see him. And to top it all off, he STILL didn't know why Shredder had wanted him so badly that he felt the need to sic the Elite on him. Oh yeah. It was just one of those days.
Donatello was starting to get fed up.
He had just woken up again. As they were prone to do, the questions raced through Donny's mind: where were Bishop and Shredder? How had he gotten out of the chains? Who was doing all that laughing in the background, and what were they laughing at? Why couldn't he see anything? Why was he laying on the floor, holding what he was pretty sure were Mikey's nunchucks?
And why the shell was his elbow throbbing so badly?!
Oh well. Time for questions later. Donny became suddenly aware of a heavy weight on his head and realized that he had at least one of his answers: he couldn't see because he was still wearing the helmet. Disgustedly, he pulled it off and got slowly to his feet, glad at least to not be chained anymore.
"Master! The turtle!"
Donny turned around and froze in his tracks, gulping. So, there was the answer to another one of his questions… the ones laughing had been what looked like the entire complement of Foot ninja. But they couldn't have been laughing at him because they all seemed as shocked to see him as he was to see them.
Odd.
He rather thought that his being a prisoner in their building ought to have taken the edge off their surprise.
"Get him!" Shredder thundered.
"Whoops," Donny muttered, bringing up the nunchucks – how had he gotten weapons?! – and backing away from the massive oncoming horde of Foot soldiers. If only he had his bo, this would be slightly less intimidating. Don glanced frantically around for a door or any way out. Instead, he caught a glimpse of the unconscious Bishop on the ground, in a full body suit complete with some odd visor and… nunhcucks?
"Glad I'm not the only one having a weird day," Donny mentioned vaguely, his mind turning back to the more pressing problem.
The first few ninja were already upon him and he struck out with the nunchucks, silently thanking Leo for his nagging insistence that they all learn other weapons than their own. He was able to take down at least a score of ninja who came too close, but he was backed into a corner facing an entire army of his enemies (on top of the mysterious headache, no less). The fight was destined to be short-lived.
"Bring him here," Shredder commanded as Donny groaned, frustrated to be caught again. "And someone wake that idiot up!"
Donny craned his neck to watch as one of the ninja knelt down by Bishop, shaking him roughly to rouse him. Don wasn't sure why the agent had opted for such a peculiar location in which to take a nap, but apparently he was a light sleeper.
"What is he doing without the helmet on?" were Bishop's first words upon springing to his feet, kicking the offending nunchucks away from him in furious embarrassment. "Why did you take it off? Removing the helmet without disengaging the program could kill-"
"I did not remove it," Saki interrupted impatiently. "And you disengaged it yourself, when you lost consciousness."
"What program?" Donny demanded. "What've you been doing?"
Bishop shot a glare in the turtle's direction before crossing the room in three angry steps to reach his computer. He typed heatedly for a few seconds, checking the readouts and statistics to make sure nothing had gone wrong with the program itself. To his relief, everything seemed to be in working order.
It must have been some loophole in the programming then. Donatello, of course, had been wearing a helmet, and thus hadn't been knocked out. When Bishop lost consciousness and stopped sending stimuli commands, the helmet had simply shut itself off, freeing Donatello from its control.
As soon as Bishop had a chance, he would have to remedy that.
"Master," a ninja announced himself as he entered. "The perimeter's silent alarms were tripped two minutes ago."
"That will be your rescue party, I imagine," Shredder sneered at Donatello, who paled and sent out a silent, earnest plea for his brothers to be careful. "Which entrance did they come through?"
"The sewer, Master."
Saki smiled predatorily and turned back to the turtle. He motioned for the helmet to be picked up and brought to him. "You," he announced to Donny, "are going to stop them for us."
Don just stared at his enemy, fear threatening to cloud his mind. Shredder was vicious, but not stupid. He wouldn't say something as ridiculous as that without a plan in mind. The blackouts, the nunchucks, Bishop passing out at the same time that he had woken up… the helmet… Don's quick mind had no trouble putting two and two together.
Fear, greater than he had ever known, took over completely. They were controlling him. Dear God, they were actually controlling him. And if he blacked out… he wouldn't be able to stop himself. He wouldn't know it was happening. He wouldn't even remember it later if he hurt his brothers… if he killed his brothers.
"No," he whispered as the ninja approached with the helmet. "You can't… you can't make me."
Shredder laughed mirthlessly. The last thing Donny saw before his vision was covered again was his enemy picking up two sets of swords.
"Of course we can. And just to be sure there are no mistakes, I'm going to help you fight this time."
Oh dear… review!