I'm aliiiive! I know, it's been a VERY long time since I've updated this- just remember, if nothing else, that I NEVER abandon stories. I hate it when stories I like are left incomplete, and I wouldn't do that to you, lovely readers!
Yeah, so my cat had 9 kittens. Then I was bombarded with deadlines for colleges and plans and scholarships and essays and eugh. I am a busy, busy bee! Also, most of my time to write is spent writing with my bestie, VanillaAshes. We've got a few Avengers fics going currently, some on my account and some on hers, so feel free to check those out! Those are updated much more frequently, partly because Vanilla insists on updating in a timely manner so we write often to stay ahead of the game, and partly because with two of us it's easier to be motivated to keep going and to get out of slumps or get around writer's block. So yeah, those have been getting way more attention than my own little babies, unfortunately :P Still, once again, I won't abandon this. It'll just be longer between updates.
Anyway, here's the long-awaited (first half of the) rescue scene!
Leo listened as the older woman sucked in a breath on the other end of the line. "Oh, yes…" She sounded oddly hesitant. "Hang on." There was a good thirty seconds of rustling coming through the T-Phone before she was back. "Okay, I don't think this area is bugged. But I'm still going to talk very quietly, okay?"
"Got it," Leonardo replied. At the pleading look the others gave him, he sighed and put the phone on speaker, his pointed gaze telling his brothers and their two friends that they weren't to make a sound unless it was called for. "So, what's the plan?" Mikey got a bit fidgety in eagerness, eyes transfixed on the phone.
Maya let out a breath. "Well, Donatello and I had come up with a plan originally, but I'm not sure it'll work out as well as we'd hoped it would… I was supposed to have the police come and raid the building, and since he looks like a human that's been experimented on they would take him to the hospital, where you could more easily and safely break him out."
Raph's expression clearly indicated that this idea was not pleasing to him. Far too few skulls would be available for breakage. "And what if they're able to hold off the police long enough to take Donnie somewhere else? Or kill him?" He challenged, looking sickened at the thought.
The other four exchanged nods of agreement- after all, Shredder likely wouldn't leave his scientists defenseless, so it was highly likely they could fight off the police until the evidence had been… removed.
The older woman didn't speak for a moment, but when she did, her voice was pained. "I didn't think them capable of it when we came up with the plan… but yes, that is one reason why it won't work. I'm sure they'd be notified of the police's arrival long in advance, and then Donatello would be at too great a risk." She sighed again. "So I'm not sure what other choices we have besides the old-fashioned break-in, break-out."
Now that, that brought a grim smirk to Raphael's face as he brandished a sai and gripped it tightly.
Leo scrubbed a hand over his face as he thought it over. The first plan was safer for the rest of them, but put Donnie- weak, frail, defenseless Donnie- at greater risk. The second plan gave them the element of surprise, so nothing could be done to dispose of Donnie beforehand, but it came at great risk to the rest of them; they wouldn't be able to sneak in and steal him away under the enemy's nose in a way similar to how they'd gone to look at him- the vents were guarded with a laser grid, and without Donnie himself to help out, they had no hopes of getting in that way. The cell had no windows. The only way to actually get inside was through the door, and that meant they were guaranteed to be noticed. Meaning they would have to put up a fight and hope there weren't too many Foot soldiers on standby in the building.
Was he willing to risk his two other brothers and their two human friends for Donnie's sake?
In the end, he knew it wasn't his choice to make.
He turned to the others. "Are you all willing to put yourselves at risk for the second plan? It's riskier for us, but safer for Donnie."
Of course, that was a stupid question.
"Hell yeah!" Raph cried.
Mikey looked offended. "Of course, Dude!"
"Do you really have to ask?" April asked, cocking a hip and folding her arms, although her eyes were softer than her tone implied.
They all looked to Casey, who had yet to respond. He smirked and pulled his hockey mask down onto his face, snagging a hockey stick from the carrier on his back. "Let's do this!"
Heartened by the selflessness of those he was proud to call his family, Leo smiled just a little, nodded resolutely and addressed their spy. "Maya, when should we make our entrance?"
She didn't hesitate. "Now."
He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. Donatello gasped and sat upright on the bed, a mangled scream erupting from his mouth, both of terror and of pain- his back exploded with agony at the sudden sharp movement. His tears spilled over and fell down his face, and he let out another sob, frantically searching the room for Maya. God, God, his eye! The needle, the pain, the pain! And… no, his eye was so damaged! He could hardly see!
"Maya!" He cried. "Maya!"
The door was flung open and the woman came bustling in, eyes alight with something he couldn't determine. She said nothing until she was right beside him and leaned over, whispering in his ear, "They're coming! Right now! They're coming!"
His heart seemed to stop beating for a minute and his eyes widened. He stared at her, mouth hanging open and fresh tears welling up. "But… that wasn't…!"
"I know," she interrupted, silencing him and looking around warily. "Change of plans. This is safer, trust me."
Donnie shook his head vehemently, whining a little when it pulled at his upper back. "No, it's too dangerous! They could get hurt!" After all, he'd carefully chosen the hospital plan specifically to make sure there were no risks to his family. He couldn't bear to see one of them hurt on top of dealing with his own pain. "Please, tell them to-" he jumped when a large slam reverberated throughout the building, followed by a piercing alarm splitting the air, effectively cutting him off. His heart hammered even harder than before and by now his face was absolutely coated with blood-mingled tears.
Maya seemed excited by the sound. "They're here- it's too late to send them back," she insisted, pulling the comforter off of his lap and maneuvering him to sit on the edge of the bed. Her movements quick and frantic, she took a hairtie from her wrist, carefully turned his head a little, and deftly pulled his hair out of the way and into a ponytail at the base of his skull, careful to avoid tugging on the shorter hairs starting to grow back in the shaved patch.
Donnie didn't fight her, tempted as he was, but he continued to voice his protests. "Maya, please! Just breaking in is dangerous! There are so many Foot here!"
She pulled her own sweater over his head and carefully worked his arms through the sleeves. "There are less than usual this week- your brothers took out most of their ranks last week." She slipped a pair of soft socks over his feet, a very odd sensation- he'd never worn socks before in his life. They were a bit big on his scrawny little feet, and he wasn't a big fan of how his toenails caught the fabric every once in awhile, but they provided extra warmth and he was glad for it.
Then Maya pulled out a roll of plaster cast material and shrugged at his confused look. "Your feet need to be protected, and we don't have shoes for you." After the hasty explanation, she began wrapping the plaster liberally around one foot, then moved on to the next, with sounds of destruction and battle getting closer and louder each passing second. Donnie's gut was taut with anxiety and he locked his gaze on the door, wanting to keep protesting but also daring to hope that he would finally be going home, finally be able to see his family again. He knew his brothers wouldn't leave this place without him now that they'd gotten so close- they were just down the hallway, he estimated, although his ears didn't work in a way he was used to (having exterior ears really made a difference in how he processed sounds- it was like adding a satellite dish to each side of his head, bouncing the sounds around and distorting distance and location. He still wasn't used to it, not even after months of experience).
Once she was done with his feet, Maya adjusted the drawstring on his loose hospital pants to make it just a little tighter- because wouldn't that be awkward, reuniting with his family and having his pants fall down- and then she reached over and grabbed the white beanie from the end of the bed, positioning it on his head to cover his scalp to keep it warm and semi-protected. "There we go, Baby."
Maya smiled at him, cupping his cheek in her hand lovingly, and placed a kiss on his forehead before standing and going cautiously to the door, peering through the thick window and out into the hallway. She tensed in preparation and stayed absolutely still, hand on the access button, and Donnie felt the urge to hold his breath in anticipation. He could see several Foot soldiers run past the door, only to go flying backwards seconds later.
His breath caught in his throat as he blurrily saw her arm tense further, about ready to push the button. Three… two… one. She pressed it and jumped back just in time to avoid being trampled by three mutant turtles as they swiftly sprinted inside, followed immediately by at least ten Foot soldiers.
The sight of his brothers brought fresh tears to his constantly watery eyes. They were exactly how they always were, strong, imposing, safe. But they were also what he used to be, and suddenly he felt like a stranger amongst his own brothers. They looked so big now! Thankfully the relief at seeing them here, alive and well and taking him home, was much more powerful than his grief. A watery smile pulled at his lips and he let out a mixture of sob and laughter, unable to quite believe that finally, he was with his family again.
Leo, Raph, and Mikey stood with their shells facing him, forming a barrier between the Foot- he noted that these ones bore the marks of being machinery, which was probably why they were still standing; they were hardier than their human counterparts- and the rest of the room. He wanted to call out to his brothers, hug them, but he knew any distractions could be fatal. So he clamped down on the cry rising in his throat and slowly stood, thankful that he didn't lose his balance in the process. Once standing, he carefully went to stand against the far wall, maintaining a pretty good distance from the battle.
Leo and Mikey took on six of the soldiers, with Raph attacking the remaining five, and Donnie watched anxiously as Maya ran back to the door and closed it before more Foot could swarm inside, holding the button down to prevent them opening it from the outside with the key code.
But something was off. Donnie didn't like the way the Foot kept sending him looks as they battled his brothers. Like they were planning something.
Because he noticed this in time, he was able to detect the fact that a handful of throwing stars were now soaring at him- of course, they were trying to get rid of him before he could be taken back.
His completeness as a human could be proven through an autopsy, after all- while he was sure they wanted to show how his mind was still intact, he knew the Shredder would accept whatever results they could give him so long as there was a subject there to corroborate.
With a strained cry, Donnie did the only thing he could to evade while still staying upright- something he hadn't done in almost a year. He ran.
He only ran a few feet, along the wall until he was at the opposite corner, but by the time he had stopped, the shuriken embedded in the wall several feet away, his lungs were on fire and his already blurred vision was swimming. He coughed between breaths, clenching his eyes shut for a few seconds before forcing them open again. He was a target- he couldn't let himself be hurt.
Leo and Mikey were close to dispatching all of their opponents, with Raph practically tearing his apart in his anger.
Then one of Raph's targets broke free from the fight and ran at the former turtle. Donnie barely had time to dive to the ground as the last soldier launched a stun grenade his way, his ribs immediately screaming in protest at the sharp impact with the tiles and his head aching from where his forehead had made contact as well. The breath was wrenched from his lungs and suddenly he was fighting unconsciousness. Pathetic, weak! One movement was enough to have him struggling to stay awake. How could he possibly be useful to his family anymore when he could contribute nothing and would only slow them down?
He saw the soldier trying to come after him manually, sword drawn and ready to slice into his vulnerable flesh, but Donnie wasn't worried- and his confidence was rightly placed. Mikey full-on tackled the Foot soldier to the ground, aiming punches and kicks at every body part he could access.
"Stay! Away! From! My! Brother!" The youngest turtle was shouting between delivering blows, uncharacteristically furious. Not two seconds later the soldier was officially down for the count.
Donnie tried to get to his feet, trying to brace his arms beneath him, to get up and be able to at the very least walk out of this prison with some semblance of dignity, but his arms shook and quickly gave out, the breath leaving his lungs again. Maybe that dive had caused more damage than he'd thought… He laid there on the ground, trying to breathe and keep his fluttering eyelids open.
"Donatello!" Maya ran over to his side, her footsteps joined by several others, and rolled him onto his back, eliciting another cry from him as his back was set ablaze. "Honey, come on, get up!" She sounded desperate.
Donnie coughed and tried to focus on her face, but his head was ringing and he couldn't quite… process. The lights were too bright, the air was too thin.
He heard an achingly familiar voice come from behind her somewhere. "Donnie?"
Then another person approached, leaning over him and filling his vision with green and orange. "DONNIE!" He couldn't tell if his brother was excited, scared, or both. He only knew that the loud voice was hurting his head, bouncing around his stupid new ears before assaulting his brain.
But he knew those two voices, he knew them better than his own, and he knew that everything would be okay as long as his brothers were there. He tried to say something reassuring, but all that emerged was a mixture of a gasp and a choking noise.
"Donnie, bro, come on! You'll be okay, just stay awake!" Donnie's eyes were sliding shut, and he promptly forced them back open, trying to focus and regain control of his own body. His lungs were nearly spasming with desperation to take in as much oxygen as possible, which was making him light-headed, and he couldn't seem to slow them down. His chest kept jumping uncontrollably, as though he had horrible hiccups in rapid succession.
Familiar calloused hands levered themselves under his head as gently as they could before moving on to his back, making him gasp in pain as those bulky fingers brushed a particularly bad spot. "Sorry, Donnie," the owner of the hands apologized, before he was carefully lifted into a seated position, one of the hands going to his chest to keep him from falling forwards. He willed his traitorous muscles to obey as he turned his head to peer up at his brother.
As screwy as his head currently was, he still recognized Leo immediately, and his lips curled into a smile- pained as it was- to see his brother so near. Wow; up close his oldest brother was now a giant. "Hi," he said breathlessly, pleased to note that his lungs were gradually being loosed from the clutches of muscle spasms. Finally, his head cleared just a little, and he could think somewhat clearly again.
Leonardo blinked in slight surprise- whether at the rather simple, anticlimactic greeting or at the fact that Donnie was still fairly cognizant, Donnie wasn't quite sure- before he returned the smile, eyes looking dangerously close to watery. "Hey, little brother," the older turtle replied, hundreds of emotions bubbling up in his inflection that made Donnie's own heart seize a little.
The turtle-turned-human stayed silent for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts and taking a few larger breaths, the expansion of his ribcage pushing painfully against the various healing wounds on his back, before he steeled himself, putting his arms on the floor on either side and waiting until he was steady to gently lean out of Leo's supporting grip. The older boy made a sound of protest and moved to support him again, but Donnie shook his head, carefully keeping his breathing under control. His vision was spinning a bit, yes, but he was fairly certain he could handle sitting up.
"'M okay," he assured Leo. Now he could see just a bit better as well, and now he could see that Mikey had gone to help Raph dispatch the rest of his opponents while Maya went back to hold the door shut. Quite a few more Foot managed to slip in while the door wasn't manned, so the other two turtles had their hands full keeping them from reaching their weakest brother. Donnie tried not to think on how he was a hinderance now, instead focusing on keeping himself as cognizant as possible so he could help as much as he could.
Thankfully, it seemed the blow to his head wasn't as bad as he'd feared- he'd been afraid of a concussion, but it seemed what had nearly stolen his consciousness was pain and temporary lack of oxygen. Now that he was recovered from the shock of the fall he'd taken, his head was pretty much cleared. Although his muscles were still not quite obeying his brain's commands as fast he'd like.
"Don't worry, we'll getcha out of here," Leo assured him, reminding Donnie of his hovering presence. Donnie gave a small nod, eyes not leaving the fight off to their right. Raph delivered a quick jab to the Foot's abdomen, crushing some of its internal workings visibly getting damaged. If Raph kept landing hits there, the machine would be down shortly; only a few of the many wires connecting its 'brain' to the lower half of its body needed to be disconnected for function to be cut off.
True to Donnie's prediction, the droid was down after two more blows to its stomach, although Donnie had to wonder if Raph had known that would happen or if his hotheaded brother was just hitting whatever he could.
A hand nudged his upper arm carefully, and he tore his eyes from the combat and tilted his head to look over at Leo. He noted his oldest brother's oddly relieved expression. "What?"
Leo had a gentle smile on his lips. "Got some ideas?" He asked, voice a little cautious in a way Donnie recognized as assuring him that there was no pressure on him to do anything he wasn't ready for.
The smaller teen furrowed his brows, absently noting how Leo's attention was drawn to them in slight wonderment before returning to making eye contact, and he frowned a little. "Uh… what?"
His brother's expression evened out just a little, still rather happy although not as hopeful. "Sorry, you just had that look- you know, when you're strategizing?" He shrugged sheepishly, turning his gaze to their other two brothers while Donnie stared up at Leo, surprised.
Where did he begin? He was stunned that Leo was asking him for help even though even Donnie himself had assumed he'd be written off as an objective instead of an asset. He was in poor physical shape and had almost lost consciousness just minutes ago, and still Leo trusted his judgment? A warm fuzzy feeling sprouted in his stomach at the thought. Maybe he could still be useful. Maybe he could still be part of the team.
Then there was the fact that Leo knew his expressions, especially one that he rarely had on his face outside of battle, where surely Leo would be too busy to truly study his face. He hadn't realized how much his brothers noticed and knew about him. Had they always been able to read him so easily? Why was it only coming up now?
And then there was the fact that, even with his face being virtually nothing like what it had been for their entire lives together, Leo could still recognize his unique expressions. Could he truly not be as completely different as he'd thought? Something was similar in his face, clearly.
Overall, Donnie found his confidence, so decimated for the past few months, being built back up slowly but surely. Leo wanted to hear his ideas. He had faith that, even in this state, Donnie could be everything he always was. While Donnie knew, deep down, that that certainly wasn't completely true, it allowed him to hope again. He still had his brain, which had always been his biggest advantage in fights. He could do something.
New determination borne from those few lines of dialogue, Donnie turned his gaze once more to the scene and returned to what he'd been unknowingly doing before- analyzing. Blinking a little to clear his vision as best he could, he scanned his eyes over his brothers, engaged in combat, then Maya, struggling to keep out of the way of the fight while still keeping the door held shut, and then the layout of this room that had served as his personal hell for nearly nine months.
Leo drew his katana, deflecting a throwing star that had been aimed for his little brother. Damn it, they were still trying to kill Donnie! He'd hoped the others would keep the 'bots busy, but one had managed to slip some shuriken from its belt and fling them between exchanging blows with Mikey.
More alert than before, Leo positioned himself to block Donnie from the machines to better protect him. It was only after a minute and there was only one more left that he spared a glance at his now smallest sibling, making sure he was still okay and not about to pass out again.
The sight that met him had his smile returning. The little semi-human was scanning huge eyes over everything around them, mismatched orbs darting back and forth, face blank as he put all of his focus into studying the environment. He could almost see the wheels turning behind those giant eyes, calculating, analyzing, strategizing. This was the Donnie he knew and loved; some things could never be changed. Physically, Donnie was a completely different person, but his personality and intellect couldn't be taken from him. It was heartening.
A spark of excitement appeared in those studying eyes, and then they locked onto Leo's with surprising intensity. Donnie's small face pulled into a confident smile, eyebrows pulling down slightly in determination. The expression was one he'd seen on Donnie many times, but now the smile seemed somewhat foreign, all fleshy lips and sharp canines and distinct teeth. Still, that didn't make the smile any less welcome, and Leo liked it on Donnie now just as much as he did when his brother was still a turtle. It suited him, expressing the confidence he rarely let others see.
Donnie's voice, so familiar and yet so strange all the same, was stronger than Leo had heard it since they'd arrived. "I have an idea."
Oooh, Donnie's so cute :) I know he may sound like he's a little kid by how I describe his body, but he basically is one, just, you know, he's a teenager. He's a really tiny teenager, because he's so cute and I can't help but channel my fangirling over his cuteness. He's sassy, but he's such a child sometimes.
I hope this chapter doesn't seem disjointed with the rest of this fic- it's been a while since I've written for it and it's hard to get back into the groove.
Have I mentioned, (off topic now), that I haven't seen anything of the show past maybe halfway through season 2? We don't have cable anymore and I can't find any sites to watch it for free, so this is basically an AU of everything, since I'm sure lots has happened on the show during the same time period as this fic is taking place. Sorry for any inaccuracies!
Thanks for sticking with me, beautiful readers!
Have a great day!
-Violet