Eight days later
The evening has rolled by outside New York City. And it is at the beginning of December when the weather's getting cold, and people are putting up their holiday decorations. While down in the lair, things are just starting to get worse. Starting with Splinter sitting in his chair as he watches a news report on the T.V. A reporter is shown while behind her are the girl's pictures as humans.
"It had been a full three months since the disappearance of the five teens from TCRI, and the police said they failed to find any trace or clues to where they are." The reporter spoke while holding her microphone. "Many believed they were now dead, some believed they had run away to another country, and some thought they were in hiding." She frowned sadly. "If you girls are still alive, we hope you are safe."
Unknown to them, Ginny was laughing joyfully. She played on the pinball machine, hitting the ball as her score increased. Behind her, Julian is watching her playing and cheering for her. It seems true to the reporter's word; they are very safe, and they are completely happy, too.
"You got this!! Keep it up!!" Julian cheered, watching the score go up.
"Almost!! And…" Ginny hit the button, watching the ball reach the top, and the machine let out a musical chime. "Yes!!" The machine lifts, with the results of her score. Ginny jumped on her feet. "Woo-hoo!! I did it!!" She high-fived Julian, who was smiling at her victory.
Standing by the wall, Leo was watching everything from the two. His face has a warm smile without him noticing while his arms are crossed, too. He has seen her growing as her own person, and seeing her so happy and smiling has implanted in his memory core. He let out a sigh but in a merry way. She has somehow brought light in his dark days, and all he cares about is making her happy and giving her a reason to be alive.
The moment was suddenly ruined when a ball hit Leo on the head. He let out a yelp and almost fell to the floor, using the wall edge to catch himself and pull himself up. He glared at the direction of the ball. "Hey!!"
To who kicked the ball was Judi, who was playing soccer with Mikey. She frowned with a sweat drop on her brow. "Sorry." She apologized.
Leo picked up the ball with his hands. "Think you two can play soccer anywhere else without causing brain damage?" Then he kicked the ball to the two.
Mikey catches it using his head and pulls it up till it hits the floor. "Right." He faced Judi. "Let's go, Judi!" He kicked the ball away from the gaming room and into an open area.
"Coming!" Judi followed him there.
Mikey kicked the ball to Judi, who caught it with her feet. She then kicked it to Mikey as he caught the ball with his own feet. He looked at her, seeing her smiling face, a smile that made Mikey's heart feel so warm and beating fast.
"Hey Judi! Check these moves out!" He kicked the ball up into the air, used his knees to dabble the ball between, and used his head to kick it up. This was all a way for him to show off to her, wanting to impress her like the love-struck teen he is when trying to impress a girl with an extraordinary act.
Judi giggled while bouncing on her feet. "That's awesome, Mikey!!" She cheered, clapping.
"Now check this out!" He then kicked the ball, causing it to bounce through the walls and furniture. Mikey rushed in the way to kick it back, but it bounced past him and crashed through a window.
Mikey froze in fear, realizing where the ball had entered. Nina's room. "Oh no!" Mikey panicked. This is bad; Nina will get mad when she finds out they destroyed her window and entered her territory.
"I'll get it!" Judi called out, walking to her room and opening it. She enters inside, not hearing the protest from Mikey.
Judi looked around inside. She never was inside here, unlike hers, Julian, Ginny, and the turtles. It just has a bed, a mirror, a dirty shelf, a broken art box, and an ancient gaming console that is collecting dust. It has no life in here, and she can smell the scent of sweat and body odor. "Geez." She covered her nose, blocking the smell. "Hey. Can I have the ball back, please?" She called out in the darkness.
Then Nina came into the light, ball in her hand. But she was glaring at Judi in pure rage with only one eye, her hair blocking her other eye still.
"Hi there!" Judi smiled innocently. "So sorry if we crashed your window with our ball; we can have it fixed if you like." She placed her hands behind her back. "So, can I have it back, please?"
Instead of handing it over to her, Nina just threw the ball straight in Judi's face.
Judi dodged the ball, but the ball just bounced from the wall and headed straight to Judi. She gasped in fright and closed her eyes.
Luckily, Mikey uses his nunchucks to wrap around the ball and pull it away. Causing it to land on the broken pinball machine as it crashed in and fell apart. Once he was sure the danger was taken care of, he marched to Nina, no longer scared of her when she was about to hurt the turtle of his dreams. "What were you thinking!? You could have hurt her!!" He shouted at her.
Nina's eyes widen at this; her eyes have a sense of fear. Till the fear slowly turned into anger, her hands tightened in a tight fist. She punched Mikey in the face, making him back away from her as he fixed his jaw. Then she grabbed the staff, left her room, and hit Mikey with it.
Mikey fell to the floor, yelling in pain while getting hit by Nina. He pulled out his nunchucks and used his mythical weapon to wrap around her ankle, causing her to fall and drop the staff. He got up. "Nina! Will you stop attacking and listen to me!!" He shouted.
Nina flips herself up and grabs the staff. Then she hit Mikey on the stomach, causing him to retreat. Before she can beat him again, the staff have broken into pieces. She gasped, her eyes having the same fear again, seeing her source of defense gone.
"Enough!!" Leo's voice is heard. He put his katana back behind his shell, meaning he was the one who cut her staff into pieces. After he heard Mikey yell in pain, he rushed in and saw the whole scene. He managed to stop the fight before things got nasty. "Nina, have you gone crazy!?" He yelled at her. "You gotta stop this before things get out of control!"
Nina faced Leo; she was panting. Her fists had tightened and were shaking in pure rage. Her mind wasn't focusing on his words, not when it was filled with pain and anger that was too dangerous to control. Then she ran to Leo and just straight punched him in the face, hard.
Leo got hit in the face, causing him to fall and land on the floor. He screamed in pain, holding his head. "I think she cracked my shell.."
Mikey and Judi ran to Leo, placing his arms over their shoulders. "Hang on, Leo!" Mikey cried, and they ran to the medbay.
Judi looks behind her, watching Nina return to her room and shut it close like always. Judi doesn't understand why she must be so angry and mean to them. They are trying to help her, and all she does is push them away. She wishes Nina could be more open to them.
Inside the medbay, Donnie has replaced a tank of air while checking up on Primrose. The heart mentor is still beating slowly, still beating alive. He threw the empty air tank in a huge dumpster, along with the open tanks used. He just hoped that Primrose could get up from her coma or she would be declared dead.
"Donnie!! Leo got hurt!!" He heard Mikey yelling, coming to the medbay. He turned around and saw Mikey and Judi carrying Leo.
"My head.." Leo groaned in pain.
Donnie rushed to the two, and grabbed Leo's right arm as he placed it over his shoulder. "Hang on, brother, I got you." He led him to one of the beds, gently placing Leo on the mattress. He placed a hand on Leo's head, checking for any cuts. He found no trace of damaged skin, sighing in relief. "You're going to be okay. Just rest." He confirmed. "How did this happen?" He asked him.
Leo groaned in pain. He answered with one word. "Nina.."
"WHAT!!!?" Donnie thundered. Nina has fought them away from her, but she has barely hurt one of them, and her punch has almost hurt Leo. He grabbed a pillow and placed Leo's head on it, helping reduce the pain. He grabbed a bottle of painkillers from the desk and handed it to Leo. "Take these after you wake up." He instructed him. "Now, if you excuse me." He stood up and left the medbay.
He gripped his fist tightly and had a very stern expression. What Nina did was the last straw, and she is about to get on their nerves, mostly on Donnie's last nerves. He can't take it anymore. She better shape her attitude, or she will make herself their enemy with her now violent action. They try to be very nice to her, try to be very patient with her, and try to give her the comfort she needs. But she still refuses any of those. Donnie marched past the turtles who were watching him from the entrance.
As soon as he was face to face with Nina's closed door, he activated his robo spider arms and ripped them off their hinges, causing everyone to flinch when they tossed it away with a thunderous crash noise.
Donnie's voice exploded with anger he had held back for three months. "Arianina Luck!!! We need to talk!!"
Nina gets up from her bed, seeing her door ripped away and Donnie standing at her entrance. Instead of getting scared, she was angry that her source of safety was gone. "Why did you take my door off!?" She yelled at him.
"Why did you almost kill my brother!?" He barked back.
She glared at him. "Hey, if they didn't walk into my property, they would have never gotten involved." She snarled. "Like you should right now!"
"In case you have forgotten, this is our property too!" He scolded her. "And you don't own this area!"
"If you want me to live here, I suggest you leave me alone!" She yelled at him.
Donnie blinked, his anger reaching a breaking point. "Leave you alone!? Are you that stupid?! Me and the others had been treating you like you are part of us!" He explains to her. "But ever since we brought you here, you have only drifted far apart from us!"
"I never asked to be brought here!!" She shouted.
"So you'd rather have the scientist at TCRI experiment on you!!?" He asked her with an angry voice."Cause in their eyes, you are a strange creature to them!!"
"Rather than living in this dump with monsters like you!!" She snapped.
Suddenly, a slap noise echoed inside the lair. Nina held her cheek while Donnie was panting with his hand up. He had just slapped her. He knew he shouldn't have done that, but she was going out of line and insulted him and his family, calling them monsters. He stared down at her, still holding her cheek.
Nina's eyes widened, staring down at the floor. Her hands were shaking, and her breath was gasping. In her mind, she sees her mother and Henry slapping her for stepping out of line. It brought fear in her. Then her hands were gripping in a tight fist; her fear turned into deep rage. She is done, done with everything around her.
Then, out of thought, she tackled Donnie, sending them both to the floor as she punched him with brute force. But Donnie just kicked her off him and pulled out his bo staff. He doesn't want to hurt her; that slap is enough, and he will not be responsible for hurting her.
But Nina got back up, and then she kicked him in the chest. But her kick was blocked by Donnie as he used his ninpo power to create a shield. Nina keeps kicking the shield, trying to break it. She looked down on his legs, getting down and kicking his legs, causing him to fall and land on the ground, causing him to lose his shield and drop his staff.
Donnie looked up, seeing Nina was about to punch him. He quickly grabbed his staff and hit her, making her land a foot away from him.
Mikey and Judi were standing behind Raph, gasping at the scene. They hide behind him, not wanting to see what happens next. Raph got terrified of the scene.
Nina stood up quickly; she then ran to him and headbutted him on the head. Donnie backed away, placing his hand on his forehead. The headbutt gave him a headache from the impact. But he had no time to recover as Nina grabbed his other arm and flipped him over her to the ground. She then grabbed his staff and brutally hit his battle shell.
Donnie froze, the memories of the technodrome played back in his brain, and he was starting to panic. But now was not the time to start a panic attack. He grabbed the staff and, with his strength and a battle cry, flipped Nina over his shoulder, making her fall on her back. He quickly pinned her down with his staff, blocking her arms from attacking again.
"Enough!!!" He shouted, not wanting to fight her again.
Nina didn't stop. She headbutted him again, causing him to back away from her. She quickly ran back to her room and ran in the shadows. She glared back at him with hate.
Donnie rubbed his forehead, having a bad migraine. He faced the open door of her room. He huffed in anger. What she did had gone too far; she reacted like a wild animal in the form of a child. He is done being nice to her and trying to help her. He let out a growl of frustration and threw his staff on the ground.
He faced her through the shadows. "Maybe things would have gone better if you never went on that stupid field trip in the first place!!" He shouted at her. "Maybe in an asylum, more like it!!"
"Donnie.." Raph spoke softly.
Donnie turned his head, glaring at him. "Not now, Raph!!!" He yelled at him.
His yell caused Raph to flinch and back away from him. He had never seen him this mad before, nor had Mikey, as he held Judi close to him and covered her ears.
Donnie grabbed his staff, placed it behind his battle shell, and walked away from them. He needed to get away from here, away from Nina and the stress here. He can't think with a frustrated mind, and being around more than one was too much for him to calm down. He left the lair through the secret entrance, heading to the surface.
Inside her room, Nina roared and punched the mirror, shattering it. Bello hides inside the art box. In all his years of being with Nina and watching her parents hurt her and punish her brutely, she has finally reached the point where she was starting to lose what was left of her humanity; the abuse of her past clouded her mind and her judgment.
Nina stares at the mirror, panting from all the anger built up in her. Her reflection stared back at her, only through broken pieces, mirroring her broken soul. She knew the turtles could never be trusted; they were just like her parents. All of them are just like them. She knelt to her knees, looking back at her reflection. Her pants of anger turned into pants of sadness. She let out a sob. All the rage built up in her let out in cries. She cried alone in her room.
As the sun began to set down and the lights began to turn on, everyone was in their homes for the night. Even Baron Draxum after a day in the school cafeteria. He was ready to relax and catch up on his notes for his lazuli cloaks. He has his laptop open while typing.
Then, his moment of silence was ruined by a slamming door shut loudly; it got his attention. He closed his laptop and left his lab. He enters the living room and finds Donnie pacing around, grumbling angrily.
"Donatello? What's wrong?" Draxum asked him, clearly seeing him distressed.
"Nina!!!" Donnie answered with a fuming voice. "I tried being nice to her, I tried being patient with her, and I tried making sure she gets fed and clean!!! But what does she do in return?!! She behaved like a two-year-old throwing a temper tantrum!!" He vented. "I asked her many times what caused her bruises. I begged her to leave her room, but she shut me out and won't tell me!!! I don't even know what is up with this girl!!!" He kicked the coffee table, causing it to flip to the floor.
Draxum takes off his glasses. With what Donnie has vented, it seems that he got into a massive fight with her, and he said things and did things he was not proud of. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Wow." He let out a smile. His creations have finally snapped and reacted the way Nina expected. "Never thought I would see the day you would have girl problems."
Donnie faced him with a deadpan expression. "Please tell me you are joking." He was not in the mood for any humorous acts.
Draxum put his glasses back on. "Look. I don't know what is causing her so much hate and aggressive action, but I can see that she is struggling with something she doesn't want to discuss." He shared his theory. "All I can tell is just be a bit more patient, and she will open up. Don't react with aggressive behavior; she needs to know that you are someone she can trust."
Donnie let out a sigh. "I'll try Draxum."
"Good boy. If you need any more help, my door is always open to you." He smiled at him.
"Thank you." Donnie then gave him a hug, to which Draxum hugged back. After five seconds, Donnie let him go. He headed to the window, jumped through the open window, and left.
Once he was sure he was alone, Draxum returned to his lab. He still needs to record his notes. He sat back down on his chair, opened his laptop, and put his camera on record. When he noticed something in the background, he leaned close and saw a figure standing behind him. He turned around and saw the one person he never wanted to see again.
Bishop was standing in his lab, staring at him.
Draxum can feel his skin crawling in fear. "You!!" He roared. "How did you get inside!?"
"Now, is that a proper way to greet an old friend?" Bishop smirked at him.
"Old friend?" Draxum stood up from his chair. "The last time we met, you threatened to arrest me!" He mentioned their last encounter.
"You wanted to mutate the human population, and it would cause a global panic." Bishop snarled. "Have you forgotten the last time your experiments almost harmed humanity?" He walked close to Draxum.
"It was an accident! How was I to know it would get out of control!?" Draxum yelled at him.
Bishop sighed and shook his head. "You still haven't changed. But I am not here to talk about the old days." He faced Draxum. "What do you know of that turtle?"
Draxum froze. How does he know about Donnie? Unless.. Draxum hissed at Bishop; his protective instinct skyrocketed. Bishop was watching them and listened to their conversation. "Leave him be! He is not your concern!"
"Oh? I heard him talk about someone named 'Nina." Bishop clarified. "I wonder who that is?"
"You think this has something to do with those missing teens?" Draxum questioned about it. He can't let Bishop get to the girls; not even they are happy with the turtles and their new lives. "I know him; he would never harm a living being."
"Oh?" Bishop raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses; then they narrowed down. "But he is your creation; you made him with the DNA of Lou Jistu, aka Hamato Yoshio, and your mutagen." He noted Draxum's attempt to create a mutant army with Splinter's DNA. "So that makes him an enemy of EDF."
"He's different. He is nothing like me." Draxum told him.
"Is that so?" Bishop asked. "Why?"
"He has the power of Ninpo. His ancestors' abilities." Draxum shared it with Bishop. "That makes him a true Hamato."
Bishop nodded. "True, true. But..I need to make sure." Bishop stated. "Those teens are missing, and that turtle is the connection of it. And you got the answer I need."
Draxum's eyes were wide in fear, fearing the worst for him and the turtles. Then, before anyone can blink, he and Bishop are gone, and the apartment is empty. Gone without a single trace. His laptop was still open; his camera was flashing red. It has been recording the whole scene.
Later that night, the turtles and Splinter are fast asleep. The lair was filled with snores, luckily not loud enough to wake everyone. Yet, as all are sleeping peacefully, one was not.
Donnie was tossing and turning in his bed as sweat formed on his forehead, and he was whimpering; he was having another nightmare again. He gripped his cover close, his face twitching and curling up in a ball. He whimpered and gasped.
Donnie was running up the stairs of the metro Subway, almost like he was being chased by his panting. He looks behind him and sees the Krang chasing after him. He put up his pace and kept running. He almost tripped on the stairs from going too fast, but he kept going till he reached the top.
He Grabs his Bo staff, but his mythical powers are gone, meaning he has no defense against the Krang. They walked close to him, and to his horror, he saw his brothers, his father, April, and Casey, all possessed by the Krang. He backed away, Fearing they could possess him, too. "Mikey! Leo! Raph!" He cried out. "Brothers, you have to fight this!" Yet his words are silent to them as they get close to him. With no other choice, he runs again.
Donnie's way was leading him to a door on the far end. And in the far end, standing was a figure with long hair and a thin appearance. He stopped in his tracks, not expecting this. But he walked close enough to see who it was. She had long brown hair and green skin with a brown shade on her shoulder, thigh, and calf with brown spots on them. "Nina?" He gasped, wondering what she was doing here.
Nina turned her body around, facing him. She was scolding down upon him; only her iris eyes were glowing purple. They glow brightly while everything around them is dark. Then she entered inside, running away from him.
"Nina! No!" Donnie ran after her. He stopped his track, seeing he was back in the Technodrome. He spots Nina standing in the middle of the room, as overhead her is the Subprime Krang in his body suit. But his eyes were focused on Nina only.
Nina glared at Donnie with a disapproving expression. Then her arms formed bruises that looked beyond healing, and her eyes let out bloody tears rolling down her cheeks. "I'd rather die than be a monster like you!" She yelled at him.
"Nina, I'm sorry!" Donnie tried apologizing for their fight, but his voice couldn't reach her. Then tentacles emerged from the platform and trapped him. They ripped his battle shell off, and he let out a hurtful scream. He struggled to break free, but the ooze on the tentacles was trapping him.
Nina was approaching him; the bloody tears never stopped flowing out of her eyes. She stares down at him with a look that has implanted in his mind till his days are ended. "I'd rather die than live!!" She shouted at him.
"Nina! I am sorry for what I said!" Donnie begged for her forgiveness, but she didn't respond to him. Just watched him suffer. The tentacles wrapped around him and entered inside his mouth. Donnie screamed.
Donnie jolted awake from his bed, panting heavily and body covered in sweat. Then he covers his mouth, feeling the urge to throw up. He quickly throws his covers off and climbs off the bed while running to the nearest bathroom.
He opens the toilet lid and vomits inside the toilet. As soon he had stopped, he closed the lid to not look at it and flush it out. "Oh god…" Of all the nightmares he had over a year, this one really took the cake. He can still feel the feeling of tentacles trapping him and the pain of his battle shell being ripped apart from his shell. He placed his head against the lid, trying to control his breathing. He was still shaking.
Suddenly, he heard a slightly faint sound of footsteps. He lifted his head, turning his head at the bathroom entrance. Who can it be but him up at this hour?