A/N: Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!
IIIIIIIIII
Chapter 5
He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. His fingers brushed across the foreign devise stuck there.
When Virgil had awoken, he discovered this…thing was attached to the base of his skull. It reminded him of those devises that the people in the Matrix movies sported that allowed them to re-enter the Matrix.
He had tried to pry it off, but found out that it wouldn't be that simple. Just like the characters in the movies, it continued down beneath the surface of his skin, piercing muscle and tendons and tangling with nerves. Whatever 'it' was or what it was for, he didn't know.
Virgil sat leaning up against the wall of his plastic prison, thinking. After all, it was the only thing the teen could do. Left to his own devises, Virgil let his mind wander. He thought about a lot of things. How long has it been since he was nabbed? Did anyone know he was missing? His family was sure to be freaking out by now and if he made it out of this, his Pops surely wasn't going to let him go with Batman again.
If he made it out? Of course he was going to make it out! Richie was bound to figure out what had happened and rescue him. He was a genius after all! Thinking of Richie brought more…pleasant thoughts to mind.
Virgil was lost in daydreams of what brazen activities he and Richie would do after this ordeal was over, when the sound of the door opening brought those delightful dreams to an abrupt and unwelcome end. Virgil let out a frustrated sigh, 'Man can't a guy enjoy his daydreaming in peace? It was just getting to the good part.'
He looked to see who had so rudely chased away his lustful fantasies and gave a groan when he identified the so-called-doctor Stockman. 'If he's a doctor, then Hotstreak's an outstanding member of society.'
Stockman hasn't spoken to him much since their first conversation. He was still reeling from the fact that a mere child could comprehend the complicated nuances of electromagnetic theory. He was a genius. No one could match his intellect, no one!
Virgil stood and grinned as the man totally ignored him. He reveled in the fact that he had gotten under the man's skin. He had nothing better to do so why not entertain himself on behalf of his captor? Plus, it was his only way of fighting back. Virgil just couldn't give up without a fight, it was against his nature. It was so easy too. All Virgil had to do was play off the man's over confident ego and, bingo! Instant gratification for Virgil and flustered exasperation for the doc.
Unfortunately for Virgil, Stockman quickly became aware of the teens game and learned to ignore the taunting. This caused Virgil to forgo that tactic and try something else.
"What's up doc?" Vigil sarcastically greeted, purposefully using the nickname that he knew Stockman despised. His reward was a wince from the scientist, which caused a smirk to flicker on his lips.
Stockman didn't even look up from his task when he answered, "Enjoy yourself while you can, you little upstart. Soon you'll no longer find your situation so amusing." Stockman started to chuckle slightly after he gave that not so cryptic statement.
"Wanna let me in on the gag?" Virgil asked.
"Oh it's nothing really, just that you'd be lucky to live to tell the tale when I'm finished."
Virgil's smile immediately vanished.
Silence dominated the next few minutes.
Virgil watched as Stockman was apparently gathering medical supplies. He needed to find out exactly what his role was in this big scheme. From what he knew so far, he seemed to be the major player.
"So let me get this straight, I'm supposed to give the power to make this weapon work, right?" He asked breaking the silence. Stockman looked at him with slight confusion and indecision in his eyes. "Yes." was his terse reply.
"How exactly am I supposed to perform this, obviously important and dangerous feat when I have no power to speak of?" He had to play his cards just right or he wouldn't get the intel he was after.
Stockman smiled. Virgil didn't like the look, not one bit.
"It just so happens that is why I am here. I need to run some tests before the power integration and upload."
"What kind of tests?" Virgil was starting to get nervous. Correction, he was already nervous, he was starting to get scared. Really scared.
"We need to know exactly how much energy you are able to absorb, how much you can expel, and how long you can keep up a steady discharge of any given magnitude."
"Again, how am I supposed to carry out your tests with no power?"
"I will give you the necessary power." Stockman answered, clearly irritated from all the pointless questions.
Virgil was feeling audacious, "If you give me power, what's to stop me from using it on you and escaping?"
"That little devise I implanted," Virgils hand shot up to the devise on his neck,
"is designed to block the impulses of your brain, effectively jamming the signals it sends to the rest of your body. It won't kill you, unfortunately we need you alive, but it would stop your ability to use your powers against us. You will only be able to use them when and how I want you to." Stockman smugly replied.
He then pushed a button on a console by the door, "Send them in." The door opened and several men in heavy duty SWAT-like gear, filed into the room. They were armed with what Virgil identified as tranquilizer guns with plenty of extra ammo. Once the men had positioned themselves around the room, Stockman went to the computer and imputed a command. Immediately Virgil's cell began to recede down into the floor.
Virgil remained where he was and desperately tried to find a means of escape.
"Come here" Stockman insisted, gesturing to a chair which looked to Virgil to be like that found in a dentist office, except this chair came with complimentary restraints.
"No way man!" Virgil exclaimed as he backed up, away from the chair waving his arms in front of him and shaking his head profusely. He stopped when he bumped into something, or rather someone. He looked up into the face hidden under a tinted visor. Virgil gulped. The man raised a stick with a forked end and pressed it into Virgils' ribs. Virgil felt a powerful shock and the pain that went with it, but the electricity the coursed its way through his body felt weird, off somehow. It was the same as before when he had tried to power up. He couldn't absorb it. It felt like it wasn't from here, from Earth. Then, everything clicked, 'That's it', he thought.
He looked at Stockman, "This tech, none of this," he waved his arm to include the entire room, "is from Earth, is it? That's why I can't absorb it." Partly he was stalling, he didn't want to get in that chair, but the other part of him was curious, too much so for his own good.
"You are a bright one aren't you?" Stockman said, "Yes all the technology in this room was acquired from a race called the Utroms. The walls shield the room from the rest of the building and the outside world, but we cannot delay any longer, COME HERE!" He demanded more fervently than the last time.
Virgil's hesitation to comply earned him another, more powerful shock. With a final, nasty look at the guard, Virgil reluctantly walked over to the chair, closely followed by the guard. He paused for a moment at the chairs side, but climbed in when the guard issued a silent threat by activating his weapon, showing the current of the alien energy between the two prongs.
His wrists and ankles were secured with the restraints, which were made of the same plastic as the walls of his cell were. All he could do was lay there as Stockman ripped his shirt off and hooked him up to all sorts of wires and machines.
IIIIIIIIII
Back at the lair, the turtles stood with looks of total disbelief at Richie as he talked to the Dark Knight himself. Mikey was the first to break the silence,
"Dudes, he actually knows Batman? Seriously? That is so totally awesome!"
"Isn't that the vigilante who operates in Gotham City?" Leo asked, ignoring his younger brothers enthusiasm.
"That must be who Richie was talking about earlier." Donnie mumbled, not hearing his brothers' conversation taking place around him, but no one seemed to pay any attention to his comment either.
"He's so much more than that Leo," Mikey exclaimed, clearly getting very excited, "he protects the citizens of Gotham, always working from the shadows, just like us."
"Yeah, an' from I've heard, he makes me look like a push-over." Raph commented. Mikey snickered and that earned him a glare from the red banded turtle.
"How so?" Donnie asked, joining in on the conversation.
"Jus' that he uses fear an' intimidation that can make the most hardened criminal spill 'is guts." Raph replied.
"Doesn't sound like he's very honorable and I'm not sure we want that kind of help." Leo stated.
"You know," Mikey said, his eagerness fallen a couple of notches at his brothers opinions of one of his favorite heroes, "witnesses have always reported that the things he does are impossible for any ordinary human. D'you think it's possible that he isn't?" No one had a chance to answer his question however,
"Oh he's defiantly human."
They all turned their attention back to Richie who had taken off his helmet, visibly done with his chat, and putting his glasses back on. "He is just very good at what he does."
"So what's the plan?" Donnie asked.
"Well, Batman is on his way to New York with Robin and he wants me to meet with him so I can fill him in with what I've learned so far about Static's disappearance." Richie supplied.
"What 'bout us Leo? We can't jus' leave it up ta them, not with the Shredder involved, this is our city."
"I agree with you Raph, but I'm more than a little concerned with reveling ourselves to so many people." Leo replied. He was clearly at odds with himself and what he should do. He was responsible for this family and the more people who knew of their existence, the bigger the chance of them being discovered by the wrong people. On the other hand, a lot of lives were at stake and the Shredder needed to be stopped.
Richie spoke up, trying to placate the situation, "Batman may be a sketchy character but he has never crossed the line and he is very trustworthy to those who truly deserve it. I'm confident he'll keep your secret. No one can get information from Batman if he doesn't want them to have it."
"How about it Leo?" Donnie asked.
"I guess we'll just have to meet him and find out. Where are you supposed to meet him?" Leo inquired.
"At 97th and Lexington in 20 minutes." Richie replied.
"That's clear across town!" Raph exclaimed, "We'll hafta haul shell ta get there in time."
"Then we better get going. I just have to fill sensei in." They all watched as Leo headed towards Splinters room and waited for him to return.
Less than 5 minutes later, the turtles were jumping across the rooftops of the city with Gear flying in the air beside them.
IIIIIIIIII
Robin guided the Batwing through the tunnels to the Batcave. The canopy of the aircraft opened and he was about to jump out when he spotted a shadow making its way towards him.
"Don't bother getting out. We're leaving." Batman announced.
"Where're we going?" Robin asked as he buckled himself back in.
Batman jumped effortlessly into the cockpit and started the engines. As the canopy closed he answered, "New York."
They made record time in reaching the Big Apple. When Robin could see the city's skyline he opened his mouth to ask what the plan was, but the Caped Crusader seemed to read his mind, "We're meeting Gear at the New York branch of Wayne Enterprises. He has a theory about what happened to Static."
"Right, of course he does, but why's he in New York?" Robin asked not receiving an answer, but not really expecting one either.
Gear was already there waiting for them on the roof. The Dynamic Duo grappled down from the Batwing.
Gear was just about to speak when Batman spoke first, "Why don't your friends join us?" He asked in his trademark, dark-and-serious Batman voice.
From within the shadows, the three heroes heard low voices cursing.
"Dude how'd he know we were here?"
"Prob'ly 'cause 'a yer loud breathin'."
"He's very observant that's for sure."
"Knock it off you guys. He knows we're here, we might as well introduce ourselves properly."
Gear chuckled at the reaction of the turtles. He had tried to tell them that Batman would be able to tell that they were there, but they had insisted on hiding in the shadows anyways.
As the four emerged from the shadows to stand beside Gear, Robin let out an exclamation of surprise, "Whoa…great costumes. Where'd you get 'em?"
His comment got Raph all riled up, "These ain't costumes kid."
"Oh…so you're really giant, walking, talking turtles. Cool." He shrugged as if he saw this sort of thing everyday. "One thing though,"
"What?" asked Raph.
"Do you always run around naked?"
"Why you little.." Raph started toward the young hero but Leo blocked his way.
In response to his comment Robin received a stern, censorious look form Batman. He immediately wiped the smile form his face and took a supportive stance beside his mentor. After Batman was satisfied that his young ward would make no more undue comments, he looked back at the four individuals before him.
Gear decided to make the introductions so they could get on with business, "Batman, Robin, let me introduce you to Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael." He gestured to each turtle respectively.
"It is a great honor to meet you." Leo said as all four bowed.
"Like wise." Batman answered as he remained standing tall.
Mikey, to the relief of his brothers, did not make a fool of himself or them like he usually does when he meets one of his idols, (meaning he didn't get overly excited and ask a million dumb, pointless questions and driving everyone insane). Instead he just stood there in a relaxed stance, acting his age for once.
"I'm sure your story is very…interesting, but we should get to the situation at hand." Batman said. "Gear, you said you knew what happened to Static."
'Always to the point Bats' Richie thought. "Yeah, back in Dakota I tracked down Hotstreak who gave me a description of a man and woman. He said that they were very interested in Static and his abilities. I ran a search of an unusual tattoo the man had and that led me here, where I ran into these guys." Gear indicated the turtles, "Then Leo and his brothers helped me to identify them."
Here Robin cut in, "How'd they do that?"
"We've dealt with them before." Leo answered.
"They work for a big time crime lord known as the Shredder," Donnie supplied, "but only a few people know that he masquerades as a well-to-do entrepreneur named…"
"Oroku Saki. The self proclaimed leader of the Foot clan, an ancient clan with its origins in Japan. He's also an alien." Batman interrupted.
"How'd ya know all that?" Raph asked. He was dumbfounded that a total stranger, who lived far away in Gotham, could possibly know the truth about Saki and his underground organization.
"I make it my business to know." Was all Batman would say. Only Robin knew the truth, that Batmans' alter ego, Bruce Wayne, had investigated Saki when he came to the multi billionaire, seeking partnership in a new computer development endeavor. Batman's, discoveries of Saki's extra curricular activities caused him to cut all business ties, but Batman could never gather enough evidence to shut him down.
Richie turned to his new friends, "I told you that he was good." A small smile played on his lips at their obvious astonishment.
Gear once again took up the narrative and told Batman all about the weapon and its destructive capabilities, with Donatello giving his insights every now and then, and Static's role in the whole scheme.
"We have to stop this maniac before he harms innocent people." Robin stated, "Not to mention sending us back to the Stone Age, which is bad enough and we have to rescue Static."
"We need to get Static out before they use him to power the weapon." Gear jumped in.
"Why?" Robin asked.
Donatello noticed how uncomfortable Richie had gotten at the mention of Static so he gave the two heroes the bad news, "There's a 97 probability that he won't survive the power extraction process."
The group was silent for a few minutes, then Mikey spoke up for the first time, "So what's the plan? We don't even know where they're keepin' Static."
"That's where I come in." Batman stated, "Meet me back here tomorrow night, sunset." With that said, Batman pulled a small remote out of one of the compartments of his utility belt. He pressed a button, calling the Batwing and replaced the remote in his belt and pulled out his grappling gun. Robin silently followed suit. Batman fired his gun and disappeared up into the night.
"See ya." Robin said as he too fired his gin and followed Batman, waving down to them as he ascended above the clouds.
"Well he was…nice." Leo commented.
"Yeah, he was yer regular prince charmin', the squirt wasn't too bad either." Raph added.
"He was awesome." Mikey said in an awed, dreamy voice. The others burst out laughing at his star-struck mentality.
They decided to call it a night…er, day, as the horizon was beginning to show the pinks and oranges of pre dawn. Richie was invited to hang his helmet at the lair and he gratefully accepted. So they made their way back to the lair to get some shut-eye, it was going to be a long day.
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A/N: I've alreayd started writng the next chapter, but I will update my other story first. No worries, hopefully it will only be a week maybe a week and a half when I post the next chapter. Please review!