(In my research for the last and next chapter I learned more about in vetro fertilization and sperm harvesting than I ever cared to know. however it was all really interesting. I didn't go into detail on the procedures for harvesting in the chapters simply because I felt I was torturing my characters enough. If you strongly feel I should have included the information than by all means let me know and I will go back and add it.)

Chapter 12

"furtalization"

Leonardo burst into the layer with Mikey on his heels calling to Donatello.

"What is the going on?" Splinter demanded as Don hobbled into the room from his lab.

"It's Raph." Mike started. "And the hot vet. Their gone."

"Gone?" Splinter asked eyes widening. "Where?"

Leo shook his head as he swallowed in an attempt to wet his parched throat. They had run the whole way from Arayah's and it was a good distance to go without stopping. "We don't know. Her place was torn apart, and there was crime scene tape on the door and window. Like there was a struggle and the police were called or something."

"You don't think Raph and Arayah would have gotten in that big of a fight do you?" Don asked.

Leo shook his head. "There was blood in the broken glass by the window. Raph can be ass and might break stuff but He wouldn't hurt her. Besides the door looked like it had been broken from the outside."

Mikey dropped Arayah's bag of stuff on the floor. "They were trying to get away from something."

"Or someone." Leo finished.

Splinter frowned. "Bishop?"

"Unless we have acquired a new enemy who uses military tactics and access to military weaponry and has a reason to be attacking us and our friends, I think it is a strong possibility, sensei." Leo agreed before looking at Don. "We need to track Raph."

Don nodded and hobbled his way back to his lab, followed and partly pushed by his brothers and sensei. Sitting in front of his computer his fingers flew over the key board as he opened the necessary program.

Leo watched the screen as a "scanning" icon came across the screen. "Why is it taking so long Don."

"I don't know Leo. Give it a second." Don answered, obviously agitated by the pressure and worry for his brother.

Load… load…load…then finally a new window popped up reading "target not found."

"Run it again, man." Mikey pushed.

Don's fingers flew over the key board again.

Load… load… "Target not found."

"Damn." Leo cursed as he leaned on Don's desk, trying to think of what to do now.

"He could have found the new one and removed it." Don offered.

Leo frowned. He shouldn't have left Raph to come home alone. It was a stupid decision, but he had honestly thought with the rain and how quiet the city had been last night that Raph would be fine.

"What do we do, Leo?" Michelangelo looked to Leo hoping he would somehow come up with the answer to where Raph was.

"Keep trying." Leo instructed. "Mikey come on we're going to go look. We'll check every place we know he likes to hide out. Maybe they got away and are just laying low."

Mikey nodded his agreement. "Ok. You want to take the north side?"

Leo shook his head. "No. If this is Bishop we need to stick together."

Everyone nodded their agreement.

Leo looked at his sensei brow was furrowed in worry. They all knew if Raphael had been taken by Bishop finding him may be near impossible, if they weren't already too late.

"We'll find him sensei." Leo tried to reassure his father.

Mikey gave his sensei a hug. "We'll bring him back."

Quickly the two headed for the city intent on finding some trace of their brother.

*scene change*

Bishop stood in the center of the large lab watching the scientists and lab techs bustling about with petri dishes, specimen dishes, high powered microscopes, and so on. They had been working on breaking down the DNA of both of their unwilling guests. Splicing it and trying to combine it and fill in the gaps.

To Bishop's dismay the project was proving unfruitful. The scientists kept telling him that such things took time. But he wanted results now. He needed something to show for his work. A highbred had been requested. Since they had no luck using DNA from extraterrestrial beings, who were kept in cells or in cryostasis, he had hoped that the turtles unique mutation would open a door.

Arm's crossed he watched a computer screen that showed a blown up view of one of the ovum taken from Arayah. Cybrids, where human DNA is injected into an animal ovum, had been made in UK labs and been allowed to develop up to 14 days before being destroyed. Bishop was doing the opposite and planned on taking these to term with the use of Arayah's uterus.

A fine needle came into view on the screen and carefully pressed into the ovum. The DNA was injected. This one, if it developed and made it to term, would be male as it was Raphael's direct DNA, with a few specific additions of human genetics, that was put into the egg. Much like cloning… but not quite.

The ovum reacted as hoped and was taken to incubate where it would stay for the next two days before implantation would take place.

Another ovum was placed under the microscope. This egg was to be a fertilized with a single sperm chosen based on the fact that it had been a strong swimmer, so to speak. Bishop wasn't expecting much from this egg. But was still curious on whether or not it would develop. In most cases, with non-mutant animals, the eggs would only reach a certain stage before the zygote would die on its own. It would be interesting if Raphael's mutation would make a difference in this case.

The needle was pressed into the ovum and the sperm was pushed in. The egg reacted accordingly and was taken to incubation.

Too soon to tell if the project had any hope, Bishop simply nodded his approval of the start and exited the lab. He walked through several levels of high security before he came to the cell he was looking for. He looked at the screen that showed the large turtle that lay with in.

"He refuses to eat." The guard informed Bishop.

"He did that last time too."

"Should I put an order in to have him floated?" The guard asked. The term "floated" meaning that Raphael would be sedated, placed in a large Plexiglas container with feeding and oxygen tubes and other necessary tubing. The container would then be filled with a fluid similar to amniotic fluid and kept there until he was needed again.

Bishop considered this for a moment before making his decision. "No. I have no further use for him at this time. Have him released near the Hudson."

The guard gave Bishop a surprised look. "You want him released sir?"

"Yes." Bishop looked at the guard and grinned. "I enjoy hunting him down."