Ch 12 Fighting the Beast.

Leo winced as Stockman jabbed his arm again and continued to extract his blood. He watched in curiosity as he placed it under a microscope. After a few minutes of silence, Leo looked up at his father. "Tell me what you did to me and why?" He demanded.

Saki looked down at him and smiled tauntingly. "I suppose you do have the right to know." He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "Several years ago, I started trying to find a way to make soldiers stronger and more immune to diseases." Saki explained. "At one point it dawned on me that you mutants." He spat the word out like it was poison. "Have an endurance that no normal human had. So I began experimenting on mutant DNA." He walked over to him. "But I quickly realized that mutant DNA from older mutants were not as durable as those who were younger. But because your blood is different from humans, it was illegal to experiment with your kind. So I decided I needed to get my own." He sneered down at the turtle. "Mixing your blood with these chemicals I will create a vaccine to sell to the military. It will make soldiers stronger, faster and able to go without sleep longer." He let out a cold laugh. "And I will be rich."

"How did you manipulate my mother?" He demanded struggling in his bindings.

"It wasn't hard to warm that cold-blooded heart of hers." He laughed smoothing his finger down along Leo's cheek. Leo shook his head to get the hand off him. "She worked with me and I courted her. All I wanted was one night with her to get you, but after she laid your egg, she decided she had to leave." He clenched his fist and his face twisted in a look of disgust. "I had to marry her so she wouldn't take you away from me." He shook his head. "It was the only way I could keep you near so I could continue with the experiment. Moving to Los Angeles was another way to make sure she was kept under my control."

"And when I ran away to New York." Leo shook his head in disgust. "You used my aunt to keep tabs on me." He surmised.

"Of course." He sneered. "It was necessary to make sure you didn't run away again."

As Leo listened to the sordid details, an idea suddenly occurred to him. "You were blackmailing her." He declared, remembering parts of the phone call he had overheard. "What info did you have on her that you could do that to her?"

Saki let out another laugh. "She killed her husband." He told him.

"No." Leo whispered. "That's not possible."

"Isn't it?" He asked. "She claimed it was an accident, but there is evidence to show other wise." He walked over to Leo and brought his face close to his. "It's amazing what people can do when they feel their lives are in danger." He shook his head. "Her husband was abusive, she felt it was necessary to do away with him."

Leo looked away from him in confusion and disbelief. "He abused her and you used that against her?"

Saki nodded. "I will do whatever it takes to get what I want." He turned and started to walk toward Stockman. "No matter who I have to destroy...OR...get rid of." He watched as Stockman peered through the microscope. "Do you have the information yet?" He asked.

"A few more moments." Stockman said as he took out a slide from the microscope and placed another in.

"I grow tired of waiting Stockman." Saki stood tall over him. "What have you determined?"

Stockman stood and turned to him. "His blood still has the enhancing genes that we placed in him, some are not as viable and they are beginning to break down so we'll have to add to it and up the dosage." He went over to a centrifuge and placed eight small vials into it. He and Saki stood and watched the machine turn. "It will take a bit of time but we'll be able to continue with what we started so many years ago." He rubbed his hands in anticipation as his eyes lit up at the thought.

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Raph, Don and Mike quietly and cautiously made their way to the door. Voices could be heard on the other side and Don noted one sounded like that of Stockman. They very slowly opened the door and peered in. They first saw Leo strapped down to an exam table, it was everything Raph could do to hold himself back and not rush inside. To the side with their backs to the door was Stockman and a tall bald man whose head was scarred and burned. Stockman wore a lab coat while the other was in a business suit and tie.

By Leo were two other men, one Raph recognized as Xever and the other, a tall man with brown hair and beard. They were also turned away from the door and watching Stockman and the taller one work at a bench with test tubes, beakers and the centrifuge. No one had heard the door open but Leo, laying down and looking up at the ceiling with tears in his eyes happened to notice the door move slightly.

He looked over and startled at the sight of the three of them slowly opening the door. He shook his head vigorously and with his left hand motioned for them to go back, but the three ignored him and continued into the room.

"There it's all set to go." Stockman said. He began to fill several needles with the liquid he had from the vials. "Now we just need to start injecting the chemicals into his bloodstream and we can begin to collect the serum ..."All four humans turned toward Leo, as they did they saw the other three turtles coming into the room.

"What!" The tall bald man exclaimed. He looked at Xever. "How were they able to sneak in here!" He yelled.

Xever sneered at the three turtles and pulled out his knife. "I had the three idiots keep watch. Apparently they did not do a very good job."

"You'll find them on the steps beaten and down." Raph told them. "I suggest you look into hiring better help and leave the losers in jail where they belong."

"Now let Leo go!" Mikey pulled out his nun-chucks and started twirling them above his head while Donnie and Raph took out their weapons.

"Guys I told you not to interfere!" Leo yelled at them. He began to wiggle his left wrist and pulled a small blade out of his bindings. In record time, he was out of his bindings and off the table. "I was still trying to get information out of him."

The three turtles and four humans stared at him in shock. "You wanted to come here and get captured?" Raph yelled at him, surprised as Leo made his way over to them, his eyes on Saki in an angry scowl.

"I wanted him to confess!" Leo told him. "I wanted to hear everything, to know the truth." He panted hard and held his small blade out toward his father. "I wanted to bring him down myself and get closure."

"I told you we would deal with your father together!" Raph roared angrily. "Besides." He pulled out twin katanas from off his back under his jacket. "We thought you might need these."

Saki laughed and shook his head. "I should have known." He walked over to a small desk in the corner and opened a large drawer on the bottom. He pulled out two iron gloves and put them on. They watched him make a fist and gasped as long blades slid out the top. "In Japan I am know as the Shredder." He told them smugly then looked at Leo. "Had I been proud to have you for a son, you would have been an heir to my legacy."

"I wouldn't want that legacy." Leo sneered at him, pointing a katana blade at him. "It's bad enough to know I'm the son of a murdering coward!" He let out a loud yell and the two rushed toward each other. "How many others have you killed just to get what you want?!" He demanded, blocking a swing of Saki's blade at this head.

Their weapons locked and they stared angrily at each other. "More than enough." He told him. They pushed each other away and continued their battle.

Donnie looked over at Stockman, who was quickly and nervously gathering up the needles and placing them in a small silver briefcase in an attempt to take them out of the lab. His movements were clumsy and as he grabbed up the needles, one fell off the table and rolled underneath. "Oh no you don't Stockman." Donnie yelled and ran over to him."

Raph and Mikey leered over at the last two who were scowling back at them." I'll take the green-eyed one." Xever said as he readied his switchblade. "I have a score to settle with him."

"Fine, I'll take the little one with the freckles."

"Names Michelangelo." Mikey yelled. "Remember that when you're running away with your tail between your legs you son-of-a-bitch."

The man laughed at Mikey. "Well, Michelangelo." He sneered. "You keep the name Chris Bradford in mind as I slice into you." He rushed toward Mikey while Xever rushed toward Raph. "Because that's my name."

"Leo's stepfather?" Raph asked dodging a swing by Xever.

"Yes!" Leo cried out as he swung his blade toward Saki's head. "And he's a martial artist himself so watch yourself Mike!"

Donnie wrestled with Stockman over the briefcase that held the chemicals. "You don't want to do this Donatello." Stockman told him. "We could do so much with these chemicals, so many soldiers could be helped." He looked at Donnie hopefully. "Think of all the money we could make. We'd be rich!"

Donnie looked at him in surprise. "Do you really think I'd go along with you trying to sell out my own kind?"

"It was worth a shot." Stockman confessed sheepishly.

"When we're through with you and the rest of Saki's goons, the CEO of TCRI as well as the head of your department is going to want to speak with you Stockman." He pushed Stockman away and grabbed the case. "And you know Mr. Leatherhead and Dr. Rockwell aren't going to be too please with what they hear." He jumped up and with a loud yell, kicked Stockman in the face. Stockman reeled backward and hit his head on the table knocking him out. "Huh, not even a challenge." Donnie said smiling.

"Donnie!' Leo called over to him, he pushed Saki away from him and quickly took something out of his plastron and tossed it over to him. "Get this and those chemicals to the police!"

Donnie caught what Leo tossed and stared down in surprise. "My handheld tape recorder?" He looked back toward Leo. "How did you get this?"

"Really!" Leo yelled at him as dodge another punch by Saki. "You...you're going to ask this now?!" he asked increduosly

"I borrowed it when I started college." Raph yelled out, using the butt of his sai he punched Xever's in the stomach and watched him go down. "Nice work babe!" He complimented Leo. "Now get going Don!"

Donnie nodded and ran toward the door. "I'll be back with help!"

"Don't let that mutant get away!" Saki called out. He swept his leg under Leo's feet causing Leo to fall onto his shell, he ran toward the door to chase after Don but was immediately blocked by Raph who flipped himself in front of Saki and kicked his foot out, smacking him in the chest.

"No one goes anywhere!" He yelled.

A loud yell from behind had him turning around. Leo's foot hit his face and he fell backwards toward Raph who immediately twirled around and kicked him in his back causing the large man to reel forward and hit the wall. Leo got next to Raphael and leered down at Saki. "Besides dad." He said sarcastically, leering down at the human attempting to get up. "We're not done with our little 'father/son' talk yet." He let out another roar and charged.