Hello, everyone! Surprised to see me? I must first apologize for the long hiatus. My work schedule and a few other factors were preventing me from focusing on my writing, and it's taken me some time to make some necessary life changes so that I could return to the keyboard and do one of the things I love best! I want to thank those of you who have shown support and concern during this time, it has really meant a lot. I am going to hopefully try to update my fanfictions more often and within a decent time frame. In the meantime, if you need to go back and refresh where you last left off, I completely understand! I do hope you enjoy the next update!
Casey made his way into the cool night, slowing down once at a safe distance from the building. He crouched down and hung his head, running a hand down his face. As it began to lightly drizzle, April's face appeared in his mind. "Damn it, Red. I was the one who was right this time. I like it better when you win the argument." He muttered to himself. As he got to his feet, he heard quick footsteps approaching, turning to see the rest of the turtle squad.
"Casey!" Mikey cried. "Don't tell me it's true, bro! Don't tell me April's gone!"
He blew out a breath. "Sorry, Mikey. I don't have good news to tell you." As Mikey hung his head, Leo took a step closer.
"Get Donnie and come back to the lair with us. She may not have her communicator, but maybe she still has something on her that he can track." Leo said.
Casey shook his head. "He took one for the team. Cops swarmed the place, it was a setup. Everyone in that building is dead, but no sign of Grayson. He had something to do with this, he-"
"What did you say?!" Raph shouted then, moving past Leo. "You let him get taken into custody?! Do you know what they'll do to him there?!" He shoved at Casey, Leo having to intervene.
"Let him finish, Raph." Leo said.
"No. I'm not going to stand here while they take away my brother. I'm going after him."
"Raph, I am telling you that you are not going to do anything of the sort." Leo said. "He obviously felt that Casey had to get away. He's the only one now who can defeat Pennywise. He's the key to ending this."
"Really?! So what good have his fancy mind powers done, huh?! April's gone, Donnie's being hauled off to prison, and we're just standing around here with our thumbs up our asses! You think Donnie's going to last five minutes with those goons?! He's a mutant, Leo! That bastard Grayson is behind this and HE-" Raph pointed at Casey. "-just gave our brother a one way ticket to his death sentence!"
"He is not going to die, Raphael. We are going to get him out of there, we are going to find April, and we will conquer this." Leo said.
"You just love to hear yourself talk, don't you? You talk, talk talk, about how we're going to magically save the day in huddles, in little meetings! You call yourself a leader?! An adult?! Wake the hell up, Leo!" Raph shouted as the rain began to come down harder. "You watch. They'll come after us next, and then dad. This was their plan all along. But no, no. You keep dreaming your dreams and planning your plans. Keep talking to some quack on the phone about voo doo shit or sit in front of the TV and watch the news. Maybe their next headline will be how they kill Donnie. You sit there and watch how happy everyone will be that they exterminated one of us, how little he means to the people he saves because he's just a monster to them." Raph's voice shook. "And I'll sit there and remember how little I told him how much he did mean to me."
"Raph... you don't mean that, do you? They can't kill Donnie. He hasn't done anything wrong." Mikey asked worriedly.
"You wake up too, Mikey. What Donnie is or isn't won't change how they see him or what they'll do." Raph said before turning to shuffle away from the group.
Leo exhaled slowly, closing his eyes for a moment as he shook his head lightly. Mikey frowned deeply, slowly turning to follow Raph. Casey approached Leo, silent for a moment. "I'm sorry." He said. "I should have done more to stop her."
"You didn't cause this, Casey. But now... I have a difficult choice to make." Leo replied.
"That being?" Casey rose a brow.
"Should I use our resources to search for April, not knowing where she is, or go after Donnie, where I do know where he is, but it will be nearly impossible to get to?" He glanced over at Casey. "Every time I think I'm doing the right thing... so much wrong comes from it." He finally moved his feet, following the direction his brothers had gone. Casey stared after him, never having felt so defeated. He shook his head, glancing at the ground for a moment. When he looked back up, there was an angry expression in his eyes.
He wasn't going to go after April, or Donnie.
He was going to go after Grayson. He was going to get to the bottom of this.
When they returned to the lair, Splinter was pacing about worriedly. His ears perked up when the group approached. "Leonardo, where is Donatello? His name is all over the police scanners, what's going on up there?"
"Grayson's whole building was wiped out. Every evening employee was slaughtered, and April was abducted." Leo replied.
"And the whole thing's being pinned on Donnie. Police got to him so Mr. Jones over here wouldn't become Mr. Juvie." Raph spat. After Casey shot him a look, he sighed.
"Look. Donnie and I were waiting outside the building for April. Suddenly, the alarms sounded from inside, we saw lights flashing. When we got in there, everyone was butchered. April was ambushed, and Grayson's MIA. This was a setup, and he has something to do with it. I tried to tell April this wasn't a good idea, I tried to tell Donnie that taking the fall for me wasn't a good idea, but neither one of them listened." Casey said.
"Oh my goodness..." Splinter breathed worriedly, bowing his head for a moment. "The doctor is on hold in the other room. He wished to speak with you urgently." He said then.
"Great. I have a few things to say to him-" Raph was cut off by Leo, who proceeded to the phone. Raph paced around tensely as a result, and Mikey sat down quietly.
"Dad...?" He asked. "They won't hurt Donnie, will they? He didn't do anything wrong. People only get punished if they committed a crime, right?"
"Michelangelo, as you have seen in the past, some treat us as lesser beings because they are small-minded. We can only hope that justice will take your brother's side now." Splinter said, patting his shoulder. He put on a brave face for his son, but inside, his heart sank. "He did what he felt was right for the task at hand. We must continue to work toward a solution in his stead."
"This is what that thing would have wanted. What Grayson would have wanted. Donnie was the brains of the team, he was the one who figured out all this stuff and had all this tracking shit. Now he's not here. Now April's not here. You saw those computer scans. Her mind control- brain waves- whatever was hitting high levels. This is a game to them, and they're winning." Raph said.
Meanwhile, Leo sighed as he spoke to Doctor Sleep. "They're both in their hands now. April, and Donnie. They're not just close to us, doc. They were two of our strongest players."
"I am well aware of this, Leo. And I know you have a difficult decision. But April must be found and retrieved before it's too late. If they kill her, Pennywise will absorb her shine, her power. It will tip the scales further against your favor."
"I know that. At the same time, they're going to give my brother the electric chair if we don't intervene there either." Leo said.
"I'm sorry I cannot be of more assistance. All we can do now is develop Casey's shine, he is the last leg we have to stand on."
"Understood. We'll do what we can over here. Thank you for trying to help us." Leo said before the call was disconnected. As he slowly hung up the phone, he glanced over to gaze at Donnie's lab area. He shut his eyes after a few moments, unable to imagine what he was enduring right now.
He couldn't let his sacrifice be for nothing.
April groaned, slowly getting to her feet as her eyes adjusted to the low light. She could tell that she was underground, having been brought to one of several abandoned subway lines in the city. She shuffled around for a few moments before checking what possessions she had on her person. She tried to find her communicator, but it was not in her jacket. She tried to locate her phone, but that was missing as well. Left with no means of outside communication, she scrambled for ideas, her eyes scanning for a possible way out. As she was doing this, a sudden thought came to her. She closed her eyes in concentration, biting her lip. She tried to reach out to someone with her mind, mentally projecting the appearance of her surroundings.
She was interrupted when suddenly, she felt her feet separating from the ground, gasping as she was hoisted against the wall. She was met with the face of Donnie, who smirked darkly. April clenched her teeth, spitting at its face as she tried to kick at it. It emitted a dark chuckle, slowly reverting back to Pennywise.
"Well, look what the cat dragged in!" Pennywise piped, chuckling mockingly. "A nice, tasty treat for its master."
"I know what you are... and I'm not afraid of you." April said with clenched teeth, shutting her eyes tightly. At this, it burst into laughter.
"You think I'll go away if you keep your eyes shut long enough? I'm going to drag your slimy reptilian friends down here one by one and hollow them out. How does that sound, hm?" Pennywise smirked.
"You'll never get to them. They're going to find me and it's going to be the end of you." April said, to which it burst out in a fit of giggles.
"You seem to be pretty confident about that, huh? Uplifted even! Let me give you a sight for sore eyes." Pennywise said.
Just as it began to unhinge its jaw, opening its mouth wide, something came to April's mind, remembering the boy she had seen in the tunnels.
"Don't follow the bad lights."
April gasped, clamping her eyes shut. Pennywise growled, its throat undulating in order to speak as its jaw continued to unhinge.
"You're clever, that's for sure... all the more irritating for me!" It shouted as it began to shake her, April whimpering as she kept her eyes closed. She gasped as she was flung like a rag doll, landing on the concrete ground. She scrambled to her feet, taking in a sharp breath when she caught sight of an exit. She bolted for it, but halted when Pennywise quickly blocked her path. She was about to run from it when its jaw unhinged once again, April's expression becoming blank as her eyes rolled up. Her feet began to separate from the ground, her body levitating as her head slowly fell back. As this happened, Pennywise closed its mouth, smirking darkly as it watched.
"Now the fun part begins." It growled lowly, its teeth glistening in the low light.
The next morning, Leo rose from sleep, getting on his feet. He took some time to train before having breakfast, eventually wandering into the den area. He sighed, shaking his head when he saw Mikey and Raph plastered to the TV. "Really, you guys? You can play video games later. We really need to be focusing on more important-" When he approached close enough to hear the TV, his voice cut off when he saw they were watching news coverage of the gruesome scene from the prior night.
"... dozens of the corporate building employees were found slaughtered, as police found upon responding to the security alarm that was activated at about eight in the evening. Only one individual was found alive within the premises, labeled as mutant Donatello. The mutant has no surname, and has now been deemed a prime suspect. Interrogations are underway to determine likability that Donatello committed the crime, uncovering information and its- his testimony, as well as any possible motives or accomplices. Donatello is known as one of four brothers who were responsible for salvaging New Yorkers from a potential toxin exposure several years ago, as well as a high threat unidentified weapons attack some time after that. They are classified as moderate biospecies mutants, but have not had any reports of murderous tendencies before this time."
"Look at this." Raph motioned to the TV. "They're making a damn spectacle out of him."
"They took a mug shot of him and everything... he doesn't belong in prison, dude..." Mikey frowned deeply.
"Mutant activist groups are taking to the streets today, offering their words of support for the incarcerated mutant. Speaking of, mutant activist leader and channel seven news reporter April O'Neil, as well as New York Governor candidate Grayson Roberts was reported missing last night after camera footage retrieved showed the pair entering the lobby through camera footage that detectives were able to retrieve. Their bodies were not among the dozens found at the grizzly scene."
"That's because he's the one who kidnapped her, you morons!" Raph shouted, Leo waving his hand at him to quiet down.
"... this, according to investigators, gives reason to believe there may be accomplices in these string of crimes, and gives rise to believe that there may be a greater, but more sinister plan at play here."
"Great. I knew it. They're going to come after us next." Raph hissed.
"What? Why?! We didn't do anything!" Mikey exclaimed.
"Didn't you hear a word they just said? They're going to look at us as accomplices!" Raph responded.
"Raph. I'm going to go down to the police station today and explain everything. Casey was with Donnie, so he can be his alibi. We can give enough testimony to clear Donnie and-"
"You think they're going to take the word of a mutant and a guy with a record? You think what you say has any chance against what that bastard Grayson is going to come up with? He's got money, Leo, he could even pay people to talk shit against us!" Raph snapped.
Leo was about to snap back at him, but he held his tongue, exhaling slowly. Could he just as easily argue with him? Of course. But this was not going to do anything for the people who were in dire need of help. "You're not wrong about any of these things, Raph. There are people out there who choose to do the wrong thing. But we can't just hide and be silent because of that. April and Donnie are depending on us, now. We have to at least try something." At this, Raph quieted, but stared at the floor as he shook his head. "We've been in hairy situations before, Raph. April has come to our aid. She saved us from the fire, she saved us from Shredder. She's taken the fall for us more times than any of us can count."
"I'm sure Donnie would be able to count it all right now..." Mikey said sadly.
"Now we need to save her. And in order to do that, we need Donnie by our side. We're not a team, we're not a family, if even one of us are missing." Leo said.
Just then, Casey entered the lair, shrugging off his back pack. "The doc already contacted me this morning." He said upon approaching them. "April is still alive, but she's closed off."
"Closed off? What does that mean?" Leo asked.
"Like... Pennywise did something so she can't reach anyone and we can't reach her. He thinks that it's keeping her alive to save as bait. It wants to lure us." Casey said.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Raph cracked his knuckles.
"Look, I have no idea how to do a battle of the brains against this thing. I mean, I'm getting the hang of this shine thing, but... actually fighting with it? I have no idea how that works." He replied.
"Well, you better figure it out fast." Raph nudged his shoulder, jabbing his finger at him. "Donnie put himself in the slammer so you could keep playing these mind games."
"Woah, you guys, look at this!" Mikey waved them over. "April's alive! She and that weird dude!"
"Breaking news this morning as the grizzly story from last night continues. The newest development is that both missing persons reported last night have been found alive and are now in safe hands. No interviews are being done as of yet until both parties recover, but a statement was taken from each. From governor candidate Grayson Roberts, he expressed, quote; 'his deepest and solemn condolences to those who lost their lives last night and their families. He [and Ms. O'Neil] are grateful to have their lives, and are already planning a fundraiser for the families of those who tragically perished.' Ms. O'Neil stated only that she is, quote; 'still in utter shock and trying to rationally collect her thoughts.' More to come as this story develops-"
"That's not April." Casey was the first to speak, shaking his head slowly. "I'm telling you right now, that's not her. It's that thing. I'd be able to reach her if it was."
"Why would it want to plaster itself all over the news?" Raphael asked.
"Because it isn't. It's got something planned. Raph was right about one thing. You're going to have to work fast, Casey. This thing isn't waiting around." Leo said.
"Wait... so is this another clone? What if I'm a clone and I don't know it?! Guys, what's my favorite thing to eat? My favorite band? My favorite comic book?" Mikey exclaimed.
"Mikey, will you knock it off? You've seen how Pennywise works. It impersonates people, it doesn't clone them." Leo said, rolling his eyes. "Hang in there, Donnie..." He said to himself.
Donnie groaned in pain, slowly glancing up at the prosecutor who had been trying to beat answers out of him for hours. "Your shell may be tough to crack, inmate, but your mind isn't. You can't even boast possessing the same capabilities as man. You're going to tell me why you killed those people. And you're going to tell me what hand your other disgusting brood had in it."
"I didn't kill any of those people. They were dead when I got there. Pull up the camera footage." Donnie said hoarsely.
The prosecutor scoffed, rearing his fist back to send another blow to Donnie's face. "You have the audacity to tell me how to do my job-"
"That's enough." A stern, feminine voice spoke as the door closed behind her. "You've done quite enough. I'll take it from here."
"You better be careful, Ms. Vincent. I may decide to escalate this to the feds." The man spat.
"I'm sorry, don't you have three other cases to work on that are well behind schedule? Don't think I haven't done my homework. I'm current with every person in this room except for the suspect, and that's quickly going to change. Now, unless you want to talk over tea, I suggest you move out." She replied. The man curled his lip, moving past her as he and his team exited the room briskly. Upon the door closing, Rebecca glanced over at Donnie for a moment, sighing as she took a seat across from him. "Let me call in a nurse to clean you up-"
"No." Donnie muttered. "Don't waste your time on me. You need to use your resources, your people, to find April. You have to find April."
"You mean, April O'Neil, correct? What happened to her, Donnie?" Rebecca asked.
"She was taken. Roberts is in on it." Donnie said.
"Grayson Roberts? Donnie, what exactly is going on here? You and your brothers have always kept your noses clean- more figuratively than anything- despite your uptake in this city. How did you get in this mess?" Rebecca asked.
"There's something out there. It's killing people. Children. It's becoming more powerful. It has to be stopped. But it knows we're onto it. That's why it took her."
"It? Is a mutant responsible for this?" She pressed.
"No. This is no mutant." Donnie replied.
"So what exactly are we dealing with, here?"
"I don't fully understand it myself." Donnie responded.
Rebecca sighed, leaning forward a bit in her chair. "Donnie. I've seen many faces on the other side of this chair. I've seen killers, goons, delinquents, the worst kind of people. I've seen the look in their eyes. I've learned a lot by looking at someone's face. I thought I knew all there was to know until you and your brothers came into the picture. I learned to look deeper. Donnie..." She shook her head. "I know you didn't murder those people. But the DA and the public are not going to take a gut feeling as an answer. I need you to help me, to help you." She leaned back a bit. "April and Grayson were both found alive this morning and they're both in safe hands."
At this, Donnie slowly looked up, his hairless brows furrowing. He rested his head in his large hands, hissing in a breath. "That's not her..."
"I'm sorry?" Rebecca tilted her head.
"That is not April O'Neil you found. That's what It wants you to think." As he said this, Rebecca drew back in confusion.
Well then, this is becoming a nail biter! So, will the other turtles be able to get Donnie out of prison and save April? Will they find a way to take down Grayson, and ultimately Pennywise? More to come everyone, so keep an eye out! Again, thank you for bearing with me and being so patient after such a long hiatus. See you next time!