Hello! Another TMNT story, although this one will be a multi-chapter, worked on as a I can (like now, with me on a small break from the horror of college). This is is set in the 2k12 universe, after "The Gauntlet and probably before...I'd say "Mousers Attack" Will be AU from there, since I'm diverting a bit from the episodes. It's sort of a what-if story, focused around my favorite turtle. But the other turtles will all have their moments, trust me! And there may be some surprise appearances.

One last note. I debated using plastron through the story, but honestly, I need to make the distinction between stomach and chest, which is far easier to do with those terms. I hope that's all right with those who are reading. I look forward to seeing how this unfolds, and reader reactions to it. I hope you readers will take the time to favorite, alert, and review the story! Thank you in advance!

Edit: Changed the summary a bit. Might still tweak it later.

Edit Two: Oh my goodness, I accidentally added this as a second chapter. I'm so sorry. I removed it, but it may still be messed up for a few hours. I'm so sorry! I feel so silly now...

Edit Three: And now it's bolding everything. I'll try to fix it.

Donatello sighed, watching the New York lights glow and flicker from the top of one of the many apartment buildings. The sky was never clear enough to see the stars, with so many artificial ones taking their places. A cloud of smoke hung over the city, casting it into grayer shades and reminding him too much of his current mood.

His eyes soon darted to the streets below, traveling along the stretches of road as he searched for the strange and out of place. Excluding my brothers, of course. But no shadowy figure or shiny, robotic Kraang appeared, and Donatello quickly wandered back into his own head.

Immediately, the fight with the Shredder bubbled to the surface of his mind. Absently clenching his hands, he ran the encounter over again, trying to find ways it could have gone better. What could have gone worse. What they did wrong and what prevented them from winning. But every scenario he conjured pointed to inexperience: lack of power, lack of speed, lack of anything he could think of.

Even when he took out Bradford and Xever -Maybe if we were fighting at full strength- the fights came out with Shredder on top. Shredder was more than a match for them, and Donatello still had the bruises to prove it.

"How are we going to beat him?" His whispered question went unanswered. He already knew the right responses. More training. More focus. More balance. More experience. But do we have time for all of that? The Shredder is always out there, looking for a chance to wipe us all out. And then there's the Kraang, the Purple Dragons, and who knows what else. Everything seems to be converging on us. Like we're some sort of magnet for evil.

Donatello jumped when his T-phone began to vibrate, fumbling for the phone and bringing it to his ear. "Hello?" he asked, still pulling himself from the grip of his mind.

"Anything on your end?" Leo's voice crackled through, but the static was heavy. Donatello sighed. I'll have to try and up the radius on these things we when get back. But first...

"No, Leo, nothing." Like the last eight times you called since I moved here.

"All right. Head further south and I'll call back in an hour."

The phone clicked off before Donatello could respond. He rolled his eyes. "Doesn't he think I'd call him if something weird happened?"

But Leo had been like this since their defeat. Always checking up on them, making sure things were safe. And he'd bother them more when nothing was going on. An idle Leo was a worried one, and Raphael had already snapped several times with his constant checks on their progress.

Shrugging it off, Donatello jumped along the buildings, running south to one of the smaller business districts. He did flips and somersaults in an effort to liven up a rather dull patrol, taking deep breaths of the rushing air as it flew around him. He glanced down the road every now and again, waiting for one of the Kraang to show up from the shadows.

Mid-jump, he spotted a burglar instead.

Skidding onto a cement roof, Donatello ran to the edge of the building, eyes widening when he saw a dark figure cutting at a glass window of a store front. He pushed down a snarl when he saw it was one of the more high-end computer stores, and a personal favorite: Quantum Electronics.

Oh, you don't think you'll be getting in there, do you? Feeling as if he'd been insulted, he took a deep breath and leaped down, breaking into a tumble when he landed. He ducked into the nearest alley, darkness swallowing him in one fluid motion.

The would-be thief hardly seemed aware of anything but their task, adjusting their mask and carefully moving the sharpened cutter in a circle. More burglary tools were hitched to their belt and stuffed in a bag, from screwdrivers to a small taser, but Don could only see so much from the alley. The burglar paused only when a shadow loomed over them, whipping around and pulling out a switchblade. Donatello met blue eyes before he sidestepped the knife.

Donatello pulled out his Bo staff and charged, swinging at their legs as they ran to the right. One foot snagged on the end of the staff and sent them flying to the ground, but the perp just grunted and rolled away.

The thief ran down the same alley Don had hidden, abandoning their bag of tools by the store. Donatello easily matched their pace, turning down the filth crusted alley. He narrowed his eyes at the black-clad back, swallowing as his mind whirred. Why didn't they just freak out when they saw me? Are they part of the Purple Dragons? Or one of Shredder's? The Kraang? Which is more likely?

Donatello's heart skipped at the thought of the Kraang. His promise to April rang fresh in his mind, his stomach tightening at the memory. How much she had cried when they were forced to leave her father behind again. His whispered reassurance as she hid her tearing eyes in his chest.

Gritting his teeth, he ran faster, pulling ahead of the thief and knocking the wind out of their stomach with his staff. They gasped, coughing and spluttering as they dropped to the ground.

I'll find him, April.

He pushed his staff to their chest, pinning them to the ground. His eyes burned bright in the darkness of the alley, face taut with anger.

I promise.

For a few moments, only the thief's heavy breathing could be heard in the alley. Their chest shot up and down, their hands clawing the gravel. Their eyes glared at the sky above, searching for escape but seeing none.

"Who are you?" Donatello increased the pressure on their chest, watching the staff sink into the thief's shirt. They groaned, eyes snapping to Donatello instead.

The eyes studied him, moving from his face to his chest, then the wrappings on his hands, and finally to the staff that held them in place. Narrowing their eyes until they were almost slits, they answered, "Probably who you're thinking I am, turtle." The voice was high-pitched and their words clipped. A woman, more than angry about her capture.

"Purple Dragons? Kraang-"

She hissed, digging her heel into the ground in a futile attempt at escape. "Just Kraang." Another breath, more like a sigh. "Just Kraang." A few more breaths and she added in a disgusted tone, "Like I'd be part of that pathetic excuse of a street gang."

Donatello bit his lip, kneeling beside his hostage and pulling her mask off. He made sure to keep the staff in place and she glared at him and his weapon in response, trying to swing at him, only to be stopped by his free hand.

"I'm pretty good at hand-to-hand combat too. Wood tends to break, so even if-"

"Oh, whoop de doo." But she deflated all the same, throwing her head back so her blonde bangs would get out of her eyes. Her short hair barely reached her chin and Donatello made sure to memorize the long face, blue eyes, and the slight scar creeping up her neck. Just in case...

"What were you about to steal?"

"Does it matter?" I didn't get a chance to, now did I?" Her glare intensified. "You know what happens to my pay when you do things like this?" She started to push herself up and Donatello shook his head, standing up and readjusting his grip. She gasped when her back hit the ground again, kicking her feet. Narrowing his eyes, Donatello pulled out his T-phone, watching as her eyes widened.

"Who are you calling?"

"First, my brothers, so we can interrogate you. Then, the cops, so they can throw you in jail."

She paled at this, trying to sit up despite the staff. She stared at Donatello, shaking her head and saying, "Look at me, turtle!" until he met her eyes. "C'mon now, no need to call the cops. Don't want them to know about you guys, do-"

"Yes, I'm sure they'll believe you when you say you were stopped by a mutated, sentient turtle."

She huffed. "Fair enough." A pause stretched between them until she finally said, "But I bet I still have something you want."

Donatello remained silent but the back of his neck burned. His hand tightened once more around the staff, and he took a half-step forward. "The location of the Kraang?"

She didn't answer him right away, gaze drifting toward his headband as it blew in a soft breeze. Don narrowed his eyes as the woman broke into a smile. "So, you're the purple one. They only know you by colors, you know. Considering their speech pattern, I guess that's as good as it gets."

Don bristled, taking a deep breath and adding a bit more pressure. "I'm not here for small talk. If you have nothing useful-"

Her eyes flashed, lips twitching up. "I was just making an observation. No need to get so...touchy. And I can give you better than a few random locations. That one scientist you guys tried to break out? Kirby?" Donatello's eyes widened further and she could barely keep herself from grinning.

"Yeah, that was him, wasn't it? Kirby O'Neil. Hasn't been doing so well himself since that incident, to tell the truth." She paused, holding back a grunt when Don jabbed her with the staff. She raised an eyebrow but Donatello hardly noticed. His face had paled, betraying his worry.

The woman narrowed her eyes and beamed, drawling out the words. "I have a way to get him to you, safe and sound."