Author's Note: This story gets the mature rating because it includes violence (nothing truly gruesome however), and very mature themes. It takes place before "Vengeance Is Mine", and is AU as a result. It follows cannon up through "The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman".

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Chapter One: Kidnapped

"I seem to recall you being in this situation once before, turtle." Rahzar smirked, although the effect was mostly lost on his grotesquely skeletal face.

Donnie just stared back, eyes half closed, stomach roiling, as he tried to mask his fear. He didn't have a witty comeback; maybe if the circumstances had been different, sure. But he'd just woken up with a throbbing pain lancing through his right temple, to find himself dangling a foot above the ground, suspended by manacles attached to his wrists. And unlike the previous time Rahzar, née Dogpound, née Chris Bradford had just referred to, Mikey wasn't with him, and he doubted that backup was on the way.

By habit, Donatello had already assessed the space they occupied, and had concluded two things. He was in a secure facility; this was no warehouse used by the Purple Dragons. It was, instead, a well lit, controlled environment filled with stainless steel surfaces, and no sounds from the outside filtered in. It was a proper chemist's laboratory, within a building likely controlled entirely by the Foot.

But it wasn't the Foot's headquarters, because the architecture was wrong. That meant Donnie was being kept in another building entirely. It also meant that the likelihood of his brothers quickly finding him had dropped exponentially.

Donnie's arms were already aching, the muscles trembling slightly. He wondered how long he had been dangling here, unconscious.

Rahzar leaned in slightly, eyes narrowing, and Donnie leaned his head back, trying to move away, wincing as he only made his head throb more.

"Donatello. The smart one. You know why you're here, don't you? Of course you do." Rahzar crossed his arms, and Donnie's increasingly panicked mind pondered how Rahzar didn't injure himself doing so, given all the sharp edges to his second mutation.

"I want to be human again. And maybe, once you make that happen, I'll let you see the light of day again. Master Shredder is willing to supply you this facility, the tools, any materials you need. But..."

Donatello followed Rahzar's eyes, suddenly on edge as the mutant's gaze dropped down. In a quick motion, Rahzar lunged, and any thought of reasoning with him flew from Donnie's brain as a lightning bolt of agony stabbed into his left leg.

"AAAHHGRAAAH!"

Rahzar's needle point fingers were embedded in his shin. He pulled, in a dragging, downward motion, making the stab wounds elongate, until, with a yank, he pulled his claws free again.

Donnie temporarily saw white, his entire self focused on the agony in his shin. Somewhere, the logical part of his mind was assessing the damage. The protective plait of bone under his skin had been impaled, and a few deeper muscles, along with potentially a few tendons and ligaments, had been sliced apart as Rahzar had dragged his fingertips downward.

As if watching himself from a distance, Donnie was aware that he was still screaming.

In a swift motion, Rahzar straightened up and, using that same hand, swiped above Donnie's head, cutting his restraints. Donnie fell, entirely incapable of breaking his fall, to land in a heap on the floor. His head spun from the pain, to the point that up and down temporarily lost their meaning, and the only thing anchoring him was the cold floor under his palms. His breath came in harsh gasps. The barely coherent thought that at least he wasn't screaming anymore, which was somehow comical, flashed across his horrified mind.

A moment later – or a minute; Donnie's senses were addled - he felt Rahzar's hand rest in a peculiarly gentle gesture on the back of his head.

"If it's any consolation, I consider this a necessity. You're a ninja, a formidable foe. I'd be a fool not to incapacitate you." Rahzar's hand pushed down slightly, and any hint of pity in his voice disappeared, replaced by detached amusement.

"Now...you'll be guarded 24/7, but if you want, try to escape on that wounded leg, Donatello. I dare you. Just keep in mind, you don't need your legs to make me retro-mutagen. I can always get you a nice wheelchair. Are we clear?

Donatello, covered in a sheen of sweat and trembling all over, bowed his head in a nod, the movement traveling up through Rahzar's arm. It was a moment of submission. He knew it, Rahzar knew it. Tears, from pain, but also from humiliation, fell to the floor as Donnie kept his head down, jaw clenched in fear and agony.

The most terrifying thing was that Donatello already knew things would only get worse, because there was no way in hell he would, or even could, make retro-mutagen. Not when one of the key ingredients was April's blood. But that wouldn't stop Rahzar from trying to force him.

As a few ninja who had been standing in the background stepped in, one with what looked like a medical kit, and Donnie found his grasp on consciousness slipping as he went into shock, he prayed that his brothers had a way to find him, and quickly.

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AN: What do you think so far? I've got a few more chapters already written, and a plot outline in place. I'm keeping chapters short so that I can get them out; if you like my story please let me know. I find following through to the end of things *incredibly* difficult sometimes. But I really, really want to change that. As always, thanks for reading.