A/N: Hey, everybody! Me again. I want to apologize for the moody A/N I put in my last chapter. I was having a really emotional day and feeling discouraged about other things, and I just sort of took it out on all of you, and I'm sorry. :( You guys are really awesome, and I really really appreciate all the faves, follows, and reviews you have given me already. I'm so glad so many of you love this story. So, to make it up to you all, I'm posting another chapter already! Yay! I hope you enjoy it and thanks again for all your support.

April glanced up from her unfinished history essay glowing from the screen of Donnie's laptop in front of her. She had been so focused on it a moment ago that she had only half listened to the boys' conversation as they were leaving the lair. Now she had become suddenly aware that she was alone in the kitchen with a blushing Donatello.

Choosing her usual method of dealing with Donnie's awkwardness around her, she pretended not to notice his painfully obvious crush. "Hey, Donnie," she said casually. "Why didn't you go with your brothers? I thought it was really important that you find the Kraang tonight."

"Yeah, uh, it is," said Donnie, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "but I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something first."

April stiffened slightly. She was afraid she knew exactly what direction this conversation was going to take, but she couldn't think of anything to say to stop it.

Donnie, his extreme nervousness apparent in the painful way he was twisting his fingers in his lap and the way he avoided looking in her eyes, said, "Uh, April, I was thinking, I mean. . . I was wondering, could you, um, I mean. . . would you like to go out, like, to a restaurant, you know, to eat. . . food. . . with me?"

The poor boy's face was flushed a deep pink and April knew that sentence had not come out the way he had planned.

"You mean, like, on a date?" she asked. Of course she knew that was what he meant, but to be honest, she was stalling. She knew her answer wouldn't be well received.

Donnie nodded. "Yes," he said, his eyes brightening. "Yes, like a date." He finally glanced at her face and the color of his own deepened.

Now it was April's turn to feel nervous. Donnie was her friend, and she didn't want to hurt him. How could she tell him that going out with him would just be too. . . weird? Grasping for an excuse, she remembered her plans for that evening.

"I'm sorry, Donnie," she said, "but I can't. My grandma is coming over for dinner tonight and my aunt said I have to be home by six. Besides, aren't you supposed to be meeting your brothers to find the Kraang?" This last sentence was a desperate attempt to cast his attention onto a different topic.

"Oh," her friend answered, less nervously this time. "Well, I didn't actually mean tonight. I was thinking, maybe, are you free tomorrow evening?"

April sighed. He hadn't fallen for it. She would have to be more honest with him. "Look, Donnie, I'm sorry, but this whole thing," she gestured to his new form, "is just too weird for me. I'm going to need some time to get used to it, OK?"

"Oh, OK." Donnie's countenance fell, and he looked at her with bewildered disappointment in his warm brown eyes. Oh, it was so uncanny to look at the face of a stranger and see her best friend looking out through those familiar eyes!

April felt a twinge of guilt at being the cause of pain for her friend, so she said, with an attempt at brightness in her voice, "Would you mind walking me home, though? I'd appreciate the company, especially since the Kraang are crawling all over the city."

Donatello's face instantly perked up. Latching on to this glimmer of hope, he flashed her a gap-toothed grin and said, "Of course! Just let me grab my bo!"

As April gathered her school books, Donnie rushed to his room and snatched his staff from its place beside his bed, slinging it into the sheath on his back. After Mikey's near capture, he wasn't about to go into the city unarmed again.

The two met by the turnstiles and Donnie spread his hands, gesturing for April to lead the way.

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As he reached the end of a street, Leo ducked into an alley way, followed by Mikey and Raph. Keeping in the shadows, which were not very concealing in the daylight, they stood still for a few minutes, watching the direction they had just come, scanning the many passersby for the form of their brother.

"What's takin' him so long?" growled Raph. The three boys had been making their way toward the location marked Number Three on Donnie's map, and had intentionally moved slower than their usual pace in order to allow their lovestruck brother to catch up to them. They were now about halfway to their destination, and had paused like this several times, hoping to see him chasing after them, but there was still no sign of him.

"Don't worry, Raph, he'll show up," said Mikey confidently.

Standing still as a statue, Leo impatiently watched the street behind them. "Well, he better hurry up. We don't have time to stand around waiting for him all night." There was a strong strain of annoyance in Leo's voice.

"Come on, guys, let's keep moving," grunted Raph, then added angrily, "Man, I can't believe the dork ditched us just to spend time with his girlfriend!"

Mikey came to Donnie's defense as they continued down the street. "Dude, he just wanted to ask her out quick. It shouldn't take too long. He'll catch up to us soon."

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The sun had not yet set, but had dipped below the line of buildings so that the city was bathed in a diffused evening light. People walked quickly along the sidewalk, hurrying home after a long day's work.

Donatello and April walked side by side toward April's apartment in awkward silence. Donnie honestly didn't know what to say to her. He had been so certain she would accept his offer! He hadn't contemplated what to do if she said no. Well, she hadn't exactly said no, Donnie reminded himself. She had just said she needed some time. He desperately hoped he'd be able to give her that time. It all depended on how their mission went tonight.

Suddenly he became aware of April staring at him. He turned to look at her, and she glanced hastily away, but not before he had caught the expression on her face. He knew that look. It was a mixture of curiosity and aversion and wonder. He had seen that look on the faces of many strangers, when they had unexpectedly caught a glimpse of him, but seeing it in the blue eyes of his beloved April was like a knife stroke in his heart. She was looking at him like he was a freak! He had never, never seen her look at him that way. . . before.

Hurt and confusion filled his heart as April quickly began talking to try and cover up the awkward moment.

"So, Donnie, are you guys close to finding the Kraang's headquarters? Do you think you'll manage to get some more of that Blue Goo tonight?"

Donnie answered her, but he felt disengaged, as if it was someone else speaking. "Yeah, there are only three more possible locations, so it shouldn't be too hard to find. I'm sure we'll accomplish the mission tonight."

"And if you do find the Goo? Have you guys decided if you're going to use it or not?" They had reached the front of April's apartment building and she stepped up on the first step, turning to face him. She looked searchingly into his eyes as she waited for the answer to her sincere question.

Donnie gazed back at her, and despite the hurt he was feeling, his heart couldn't help skipping a beat at the vision before him. He was always so easily distracted by her brilliant red hair and shining blue eyes. An hour ago he had known exactly what he wanted, but now it seemed not so easily attainable and he wasn't sure how to answer her question. "Well, we had a discussion about it earlier," he replied at last, "and, yes, I think we will use it." He watched her carefully, wondering what her reaction would be to that idea. Did he detect a hint of disappointment? It was too fleeting to tell.

With an encouraging smile, April said warmly, "Well, just know that whatever you guys choose, I will always be your friend." Giving Donnie an affectionate hug, she turned and ran up the stairs, pausing to wave to him before she disappeared through the door.

Donatello turned and began walking slowly back down the street. He knew he was supposed to be meeting his brothers at the next possible Kraang location, but he felt he needed to take a minute to sort out his conflicting thoughts before he called them.

His heart was a whirl of disappointment. All this time he had thought that the fact that he was a mutant turtle was the only thing keeping April from returning his affections. But the way she had looked at him! He didn't understand. He was finally normal! He was finally just like her, so why did she look at him like he was from another planet? Didn't she want him and his brothers to be regular people, too?

A horrible thought struck him. How did she view her relationship with them, really? Were he and his brothers simply her special mutant friends that no one knew about, who lived in a secret lair that no one but she could find? Were they just her own personal fantasy that she could use to escape the reality of her difficult life? Would she be disappointed if they remained human and obtained a normal life for themselves? What if they moved to a normal apartment, and started going to school, or got jobs, or made other friends? Would their friendship lose its novelty appeal for her?

Grabbing his head in both hands, he tried to block out such painful ideas. In his logical mind, Donnie knew he was being unfair to April. After all, she had proven the depth of her friendship to them on several occasions, and she had only moments ago declared she would be their friend no matter what. Unfortunately, the lovestruck turtle had recently discovered that no matter how brilliant the brain may be, the heart seldom listens to it, and right now his wounded heart would not let the bitter thoughts be so logically dismissed.

As he turned into a shadowy alley, however, Donnie's musings of self misery were suddenly banished from his mind as three Kraang droids stepped silently out in front of him.

In an instant, Donnie's bo was off his back and in his hands, poised for battle. The ninja looked his enemies over. One droid was holding a tracking device, another a laser gun, and a third a short rod, glowing pink, that Donnie recognized as the new weapon Mikey had described earlier. Setting his face in a challenging grimace, Donnie slid his finger over the depression in his staff's handle, converting it to a naginata with the swift emergence of a blade from one end.

Not waiting for his enemies to attack, the young ninja made the first move. With a shout he swung his naginata at the middle droid, which was holding the gun, and sliced it in half. With the backstroke of the same attack he cracked the third droid in the head, causing it to crumple to the ground, dropping its crackling baton. Not pausing to watch the agitated brains emerge from their broken bodies, he turned to face the first robot, who, apart from the tracking device, appeared to be unarmed. This robot was dispatched as easily as the others.

Smiling, Donatello stood straight, surveying his handiwork. He felt better, having released some of his emotion into the fight. Now he was ready to meet his brothers.

As he turned, however, he suddenly found himself face to face with three more Kraang, who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. These were all armed, two with guns, and one with the new weapon. Donnie crouched into a battle stance, but before he could make a move, he heard a sound behind him and turned to see another trio of robots landing on the ground, having leapt from the roof behind him. Tensing, Donnie tried to keep all six in his sights. After their fight with the Purple Dragons the night before, he was keenly aware of his new weaknesses and did not want to allow any enemies to attack him from behind.

With a swift whirl of his staff, he knocked down one of the robots, while dodging the laser fire of another. This second task was not particularly difficult, because the Kraang, as Donnie had expected, were shooting wide, intending to harm, and not to kill him. After all, he knew their primary objective was to capture him alive.

Another droid fell victim to Donnie's naginata but two more appeared to fill its place. He was quickly becoming surrounded and it was becoming more difficult to avoid blows. One laser beam managed to graze his shoulder, and he grunted in pain but did not slow the pace of his fighting. He and his brothers had improved much in the mastery of their new bodies during their training session that morning, and he was now putting all his skills to use defending himself against the increasing number of his foes.

There were about a dozen Kraang now, approaching Donnie from all sides, cutting off any means of escape. As the circle closed tighter around him, the ninja had less room to swing his weapon. He managed to fell two more robots before he felt his bo caught mid swing in the strong grip of a Kraang behind him. He tried to yank it back, but the droid was stronger and jerked it from his grasp, splintering the weapon in two.

Donatello tried not to let his panic show as he watched his bo being thus dismantled, but a second later he threw his arms up to protect his face as he found himself in the humiliating position of being the victim of his own weapon. The droid was raining repeated blows on his back and shoulders with the broken pieces of his staff, and Donnie cried out as welts began to form.

The ninja refused to remain helpless, however, and began to strike out with arms and legs, punching and kicking his way through a well-practiced kata. Though his strikes on the robots' metal bodies hurt himself more than his enemies, he succeeded in knocking the wooden pieces from the Kraang's hands. But another droid was upon him in the same instant, wielding the dangerous new weapon Mikey had taught him to fear.

A touch of metal at the back of his neck, and a surge of intense pain wracked his body. It was every bit as horrible as Mikey had described. With a shriek, Donnie jerked away, breaking the connection. Fire smoldered in his eyes as he turned to face his attacker, and with a strength fueled by fear, he wrenched the rod from the surprised alien's grasp and turned the weapon on its owner.

Disappointment washed over Donnie when he saw that the glowing rod had no effect whatever on the robot. The curious and calculating part of Donnie's brain instantly set to work trying to figure out what sort of weapon this was, that could effectively attack the nervous system of a carbon based life form, but brought no harm to the power cells of the alien droids. The practical part of his mind, however, was assessing the situation and, determining that the rod was more a danger to him than an asset, he threw it with all his might, far outside the group of robots encircling him, where it landed, harmless, in a dumpster.

Donatello then focused his attention once more on attacking the aliens, attempting to hold them at bay while keeping his eyes open for any chance of escape. He knew his options were few, but he tried hard not to let them perceive his fear. With a loud shout, meant to encourage himself as much as intimidate his enemies, he swung his left leg around, delivering a heavy kick to the chest of the nearest Kraang.

At least, that had been his intention. In actuality, the kick was blocked as the targeted robot grabbed his ankle in a fiercely powerful grip. With one swift motion, the robot twisted his leg. Hard. Donatello heard the sickening snap of the bone as a stab of pain raced up his leg. He gave a sharp cry, and the Kraang let go, causing Donnie to stumble to the ground where he sat, unable to rise on his throbbing ankle.

In that moment Donnie knew there would be no escape. That crippling injury had rendered running impossible. His only chance would be to contact his brothers. As the robots closed their circle around him, he fished his T-phone out of his pocket, but his attackers were too quick for him. Just as one of the Kraang had done to Mikey earlier that day, a robot kicked the phone out of his hand before he had a chance to press anything.

The purple-banded ninja watched in horror as his last hope went skidding away across the pavement, hopelessly out of reach. Then, to his surprise, the phone began to ring. All of the Kraang, who had been reaching out to grab him, paused and turned toward the device jingling merrily away.

Donnie could hardly bear it. His brothers were calling him. He was one touch of a button away from being rescued, and he was helpless to make it happen. After several tantalizing seconds, the ringtone ended and the phone fell silent. One of the Kraang walked over to the T-phone, picked it up and slipped it into the pocket of its human suit. Donnie felt his heart sink as his near connection with his brothers was snatched from him.

The seven remaining Kraang droids then simultaneously turned their attention back to their helpless victim. Donnie felt the fear consume him as they purposefully approached him. He tried desperately to stand, only to fall to the ground again with a cry of pain at the slightest pressure to his broken ankle. He knew there was nothing to he could do to stop them from capturing him now, but he was a Hamato, and he would not give the Kraang the satisfaction of seeing him give in to despair. With one last desperate snatch at his honor, he reached into the sock of his uninjured foot. Taking a page out of Raph's book, he withdrew a throwing star and sent it hurling directly into the head of the nearest Kraang.

Seeing their companion fall, the remaining robots moved instantly toward Donatello, who struggled vainly against their grasping hands closing around his arms and legs. The next instant, he felt a painful crack to the back of his head and the world went black.