Officer Spencer scratched his head in obvious confusion. He was watching the creature through the one-sided mirror, giving his mind a minute to catch up with what it was seeing. He'd heard of them. Everyone on the Force knew the story. He had personally been supporting them secretly. But cheering on a legend is very different from cheering on true vigilantes, so no, he hadn't believed they were real, only joked around a few times with his colleaques.

But if it was true, which his eyes were telling him it was, then that meant that potential monsters were loose in the city and that was something else entirely. He was absolutely amazed they'd even caught one. He'd heard it all. They could turn invisible, be but voices in the shadows. They had the strength of ten men and they could sense crime before it happened.

But was he looking at some hero in disguise? Or a mindless monster?

Well, his boys had been quite persistent that it wasn't a costume. They'd apparently thoroughly examined it and despite his protests that it couldn't possibly be a walking turtle, they'd insisted.

And that was what he was looking at right now.

His ten-year old son would have laughed at him if he told him that he had met an almost six foot humanoid turtle. His wife would insist he quit his job.

But being the professional he was, he decided to ignore the fact that he was watching a big turtle getting comfortable in a chair, as if it was aware that it would be there for a while and that there was nothing it could do until then. He was also going to ignore the painfully obvious animal traits.

Because he had been told to interrogate the thing and he was going to do his job.

But did it even talk? According to a file he had been handed earlier, containing all sightings, which were few, and all the locations of tied up criminals, who were many, it was believed that they might be able to talk.

Other than that there was no useful information. Guess he'd have to find out himself.

"Shouldn't we let the zoo handle this one?" a voice from his left spoke. It was an old colleague of his named Officer Cooper. They'd been in the academy together. They'd worked together for years, yet he hadn't changed the slightest.

"He's not an animal," a younger man insisted. He was much newer at this, young Johnny. Fresh from the academy and thrown right into an under-cover operation. No one had believed him when he had told his tale.

"Oh yeah, he saved you, didn't he? Your first under-cover mission and you failed. Made up some story-" Copper muttered the last part, mockery not distant in his voice. Johnny ignored his tone.

"I don't know if it was him. But it was one of them. If not for them, I wouldn't be here today. I just…" he gestured helplessly towards the creature at a loss for words. "But they're not criminals."

Spencer decided not to join their discussion. He believed Johnny, simply because he had nothing to gain from telling the story. Apparently, when they'd discovered that Johnny wasn't one of the criminals, they'd gotten him out of there, effectively saving his life. But who's to say that they and that is the same thing?

He turned his attention back to the creature, trying to get an idea of what he was dealing with. Even though it appeared to be calm, it was obvious that it was very aware and that it could be up and about in no time. Its eyes had only just closed, hiding surprisingly deep, brown, much too human-like eyes. The shell caused it to sit a bit awkwardly in the chair, but it didn't seem bothered by it. It had been stripped of all its possessions, which were now locked safely away in the evidence room.

It was definitely humanoid. But he'd feel mighty stupid talking to it if it had the brain of a turtle. They had so few facts that he had no idea what to expect. What if it wasn't even one of them?

Spencer sighed. He was going to get it over with and had almost turned towards the door before he noticed. And then he froze.

How long had it been doing that?

The creature was starring right at him, through the mirror-glass. But that was impossible, the lights were out, it shouldn't be able to see him. Did it have some sort of super vision?

"Wow.." Johnny whispered, adding to the creepy atmosphere. "That is textbook enigmatic."

Spencer ignored him, taking a very silent and slow step to the right, his heart missing a beat when the creature followed his eyes flawlessly. It knew exactly where he was. A quick move back went the same. He tried to hide a violent shudder. It was watching him as if it was sizing him up. Spencer cleared his throat,

"I'm going to talk to it now. It has waited long enough."

He tried to ignore the eyes that followed him out the room and convinced himself that it wasn't watching him through the wall as he stepped out into the small hallway.

The heavy armed guards outside hesitated in letting him in and even offered to go in there with him, but despite his earlier unease, Spencer felt confident. The creature was handcuffed to a chair which was bolted to the floor, both hands and legs. It wouldn't be going anywhere.

"It'll be fine, boys. It's not getting up from that chair," he assured them.

"Yessir. Be careful though."

He was a respected officer, well-liked and good at what he did. Gaining a bit more confidence, he opened the door and walked sternly towards the table in the middle of the room. Other than some expected tension, the turtle didn't move. He had no doubt that it knew who it was watching from behind the glass before.

"I'm Officer Spencer and I'll be your interrogator today," he smiled, wanting it to feel comfortable, if it could. He was mostly the good cop, but he wasn't sure what this would require. What he didn't expect, though, was the creature giving him a small smile back, as if it got the reference. And just like that he decided to take the easy approach. He sat down in the opposite chair.

"So. What's your name?"

The turtle looked a bit torn, but remained silent. And just like that, Spencer was certain. It certainly understood and it certainly could think.

"A silent one, ey?"

No answer. He wasn't going to get far with this and his own curiosity was quickly winning. Well, it looked like it wanted to talk, but that it felt it shouldn't. He'd seen that before, in young boys not wanting to hurt their friends or family by saying the wrong thing. Perhaps it would defend itself.

"Yeah, I wouldn't say anything either if I'd killed, tortured and murdered innocent people."

Finally a prober reaction and one he could work with. A widening of the eyes and a brief look around the room before it settled back with him. An unusual reaction, though.

"We have proof to put you away for a long time."

Spencer almost laughed in delight when the creature raised an invisible eyebrow at him, pulling of a very human, very skeptical look. It knew perfectly well that they had no evidence. Actually, he wouldn't be surprised if it would suddenly turn invisible and disappear on him. He already knew it wouldn't tell him anything of importance. So instead, he decided to focus on getting it to say something. He just needed to find the right tricker.

"Maybe you can't talk." An insult to its intelligence. Normally, he'd at least get a raised finger for that one. But then the look in its eyes went a bit distant and once again Spencer wanted to laugh. Apparently, if he took that approach, he didn't deserve its full attention. Cute. But he saw it bothered it. Intelligence was important to it.

"The officer that found you was pretty shocked. If I was him, I'd have-"

"If I were he."

Spencer stopped dead in his tracks, having totally forgotten what he was saying. Had he imagined that?

"Come again?"

It sighed as if annoyed.

"It's a common expression but there are two mistakes; that of the verb implying a condition and that of the objective case of the pronoun. It should be if I were he."

All right then. It didn't enjoy the stab at its intelligence, yet it didn't want to say something potentially harmful. Correcting his speech was a way to say something that wasn't revealing.

His glanced to the mirror before turning back, wondering if they'd caught that. He had no idea if the turtle was right but he'd learned a whole lot from the single sentence. It was a he. He was young. He was tired.

"I see. Sorry. What's your name? It can't hurt, I doubt you're in the system and I gave you mine."

Another hesitation, but finally a small nod.

"Don."

He was momentarily taken aback. It was such a common name, nothing special about it.

"And how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

Though happy that Don was talking to him, Spencer frowned. Sixteen was a very young age to play hero, especially by human standards. But who knew how long this creature could live.

"Any chance you'll tell me your story?" Spencer asked. How did someone like him exist? Did he come from some lab? Was he part of some unknown species? Alien? Apparently his face revealed his thoughts because Don glared at him annoyed and he had to fight a chuckle. It made him look his age. Exactly like a teenager glaring at an adult.

"I'm a mutant. It was an accident."

He didn't want to push the subject.

"And where've you been living all this time?"

"Come now, let's not insult my intelligence again, shall we?"

He was beginning to like this young fellow.

"Fair enough. What were you doing in that alley?"

This boy-creature was fairly trained in casting dirty looks. He wasn't going to get much out of him. The key was to find something he didn't deem dangerous to talk about. Make it evolve from there.

"Well, what about your friends? Family?"

Later, Spencer swore that someone had turned the room down a couple of degrees. It was a completely different glare he was on the receiving end of now and he didn't dare move. This one was clearly a threat and Spencer received it loud and clear. He found himself checking if the restraints were still firmly in place. The turtle hadn't moved.

"Sorry. You'll want to protect them. I get that. But we won't hurt you. You've helped us too many times to worry about that."

Another skeptical look. Spencer knew what he was thinking.

"Only the five guys that brought you here know. This is above top secret. I don't want any know-it-alls in my department before I get some answers myself. They tend to wanna take charge, you see."

Don smirked as if he knew exactly what he meant.

"What about the two in there?" he asked, casually motioning towards the mirror.

Spencer leaned forwards, placing his elbows on the table and his head on his folded hands.

"How did you-? Never mind. I didn't think about them. But yes, them too."

Don nodded so Spencer continued. Ignoring that he knew how many was behind the mirror, he asked the second question that came to him.

"How'd you know those two weren't the ones brining you in?"

"Not something you need to know. And it's hard to explain. I can sense them," he warily answered, not seeming sure how much was safe to tell.

"An animal thing?"

"No, not really. I'm... very thoroughly trained."

"So you can't turn invisible?"

Don actually laughed in surprise. If Spencer hadn't been watching a turtle, he'd have thought it was a young man laughing.

"No," he choked out.

"Oh. No super strength?"

"No," he kept smiling.

"No crime-sensing abilities?"

"No, we're just good at being at the right place at the right time."

"Huh."

"Yeah… Is that acrylic?"

Spencer turned to look at the mirror as Don was doing. What did he-?

"The mirror?" he clarified. Don nodded.

"Those are pretty useful. Too bad it has to be so bright in here," he muttered, looking around the small room.

Spencer nodded absently, adding a few more characteristics to his growing list. Don was calm. Intelligent. Educated. Loyal. Protective. Dangerous. Curious.

And he could imagine a mutant turtle feeling more comfortable in the shadows.

"You don't really believe we did those things, do you?"

Spencer smiled reassuringly. If he hadn't been convinced of this creatures humanity before, he certainly was now.

"No, I don't think you'd do anything wrong. But tell me, what do you mean you're thoroughly trained?"

"Sorry. No can do."

Well, what did he have left to ask about that the creature would answer?

"Why do you do it?" Spencer finally asked, getting up from his chair and pacing the room.

"Do what?"

"Fight crime. Why do you care?" More importantly, why risk your life for someone who obviously would reject you on sight? That's what he wanted to know.

"Why do you do it?" Don countered.

"My dad was a police officer. I always knew I'd follow in his footsteps." He was getting personal and he wasn't suppose to do that. Keep the focus on the criminal. But he didn't care, it felt more like a conversation than an interrogation anyway. Besides, Don wasn't a criminal, he was convinced of that.

"We… follow a certain code," he said cautiously. "All life is precious."

"Kinda like, the way of the warrior?" he joked. When Don didn't answer, his eyes grew wide. "Really?" he asked in disbelief. "As in courage, honesty, loyalty and and uh-"

"Rectitude, benevolence, respect and honor," he recited, nodding impressed. "Honor is a pretty big thing in my world."

Spencer really liked this kid. He felt himself looking past his appearance and straight at the true sixteen year old sitting across from him. A kid that helps out because he can.

How the world needed more people like him.

He wanted somehow to encourage him, but before he had the chance, an eager tapping interrupted him. He glanced towards the mirror, furrowing his brow.

"Could you by any chance tell me who tapped the window?"

"The youngest," he answered promptly.

"You can sense his age?"

"It's a different kind of… vibe he sends out. He's pretty excited, I think. The other one seems… " he searched for the right word, "-grumpy?"

Spencer couldn't help it. He laughed and laughed harder when he realized that old Cooper would have heard him.

"So true. Is it all right if I let the young one inside? He's dying to meet you. Thinks you're pretty cool."

Don shrugged.

"You're asking me?"

Spencer was strongly reminded of the situation they were in. He'd almost forgotten.

"I still gotta know what you were doing in that alley," Spencer reminded him. Don sighed again. Spencer briefly wondered if Don sighed a lot.

"Well, what do we normally do in alleys? A young lady was in trouble."

"I see. What was the problem?" he prompted.

A flash of controlled anger appeared in Don's eyes before he answered.

"The usual, unfortunately." He refused to elaborate. Spencer had a pretty good idea about what the usual was, though.

"But we've never caught you before. Never even gotten a good look at you. What happened?"

"I guess you could say I took one for the team. And failed badly," he smiled grimly.

"Why'd you need to do that?"

"Look, I'm gonna be out of here pretty soon and then I'll find out if it worked."

Spencer took a calming breath. He didn't like the sound of that. It seemed they were about to get visitors and potentially dangerous ones at that.

"Should I be worried?"

"Nah. They won't hurt you for the same reasons I didn't."

"And why didn't you?"

Don gave of the air of someone that really didn't want to lie but found it rude not to answer. Once again, he weighed the outcome in his head and apparently he decided it was worth the risk.

"I guess there is a bit more to it than a woman. We tried to save her from the PDs, but we got interrupted."

Finally getting closer to what happened, Spencer felt more frustrated than he had in a long time when Don once again paused.

"By who?" he prompted.

"Whom," Donnie corrected absently. "That's not important," he shrugged, clearly having decided, much to Spencer's chagrin, that it was classified information. "Anyway, my… associate took a bad hit and the police arrived. I was going to distract them so the others would have a chance to get away. But unfortunately, our attackers got me with a tranq. dart. Not enough to take me out, but I got pretty sluggish."

"They said you didn't struggle much?" Spencer said, trying to make sense of it all.

"You need to understand that we are highly trained and that we have complete control of every move we make. We know exactly what kind of damage we cause. Exactly how much force that is needed to kill. Now imagine, trying to fight with a foggy brain. I could have hurt one of you by accident. If you were an enemy and we were talking about survival, then I'd have fought back."

"But you didn't want to hurt the police, so you chose not to fight," Spencer muttered. "Amazing."

"Not really. I'm thinking stupidity right now."

They watched each other in silence, contemplating if more needed to be said. Spencer had plenty of other questions but they'd have to wait. He wasn't about to give Don up to crazy government scientists nor was he about to let anyone else get a hold of him. He was just a kid for goodness sake.

A split second before the second tap came; Don turned his head towards the mirror as if expecting it. He figured it couldn't hurt to let Johnny meet Don and motioned for him to enter. If anyone was going to help him make this disappearance act happen, it would be him.

A young man entered eagerly and without fear. Having encountered the turtles before and being one of the rare few that got a good look at them, his soul mission at that moment was to thank this strange creature for saving his life. It was unusual for one so young to understand what had been granted him – a second chance at life. He knew for all intended purposes that he should be dead by now.

Without hesitation or doubt, he held out his hand for Don to shake. In surprise, Don looked pointedly at his shackled hands.

"Why haven't you released him?" Johnny cried in outrage.

"Technically, he's still under arrest."

"But you heard him," Johnny argued. "He's done nothing wrong!"

"I give you my word that I won't hurt you," Don piped up.

Spencer shrugged. He knew he should be feeling mistrust and disbelief. Most criminals would lie through their teeth if such a chance was presented to them. Maybe he was getting soft in his old days, but he just had that feeling you get when encountering a young man that had gotten caught up with the wrong crowd. It was that kid you wanted to help. The kid you pulled old favors for to give a second chance.

Because he was a good kid.

"Fine. Let him go, Johnny."

Oddly enough he didn't even feel threatened when Don stood, rubbing his sore wrists.

"Thanks," he said quietly, in slight disbelief that they'd actually released him. "Any chance you'll let me go too?"

Spencer certainly would like to and he probably could. Only seven people even knew he was here and all of them were street cops. They had quite a different code than the higher ups. They stood together. Had each other's backs.

"I'd like to talk to you a bit more first."

Donnie fidgeted a bit, looking much too old and weary suddenly.

"What do you want to know?" he asked carefully.

"How many-"

Spencer caught himself short when the light went out without warning. Luckily it came back almost immediately after and Spencer was relieved to see Don still there.

"I'd ask quickly," Don prompted, flipping his hand impatiently.

And just like that, Spencer's mind turned up blank. Thousand of questions fought for dominance in his mind and he knew he couldn't possible gather his thoughts before it was too late.

Johnny, on the other hand, quickly took advantage of his silence.

"It was really nice meeting you, Don. I'd just like to say thank you for saving me a few months ago."

Once again, Donnie was taken by surprise and he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at Johnny. Then a smile slowly showed itself.

"Yeah, I remember. You were the undercover police officer," he seemed almost excited meeting someone a second time. "How are you? You took some pretty nasty hits."

"I'm doing great. You really saved me back there."

"Nah, we just pushed you out the door," Don shyly averted his gaze, shrugging off his gratitude. Spencer silently added modest to his list along with a side note: should get thanked more often.

"I owe you so much," Johnny went on.

"No no, please don't. You owe us nothing," the turtle protested.

Then suddenly the light went out again and both Spencer and Johnny tensed, thinking this was it. Barely a few seconds went by before he was certain someone had entered the room. But he hadn't heard nor seen the door open.

"Who's there?" he asked, feeling mighty stupid suddenly. Who's there? Really? He knew perfectly well who was there.

"No, Raph!" what he recognized as Don's voice suddenly hissed. "It's okay."

Spencer nearly jumped out of his skin when the answer came from right next to him, in a gruff voice that reminded him of those buff guys from Brooklyn,

"Whaddya mean, Donnie?"

"There's no need to knock him out, they'll let me go," Don answered in a rational voice.

Johnny let out an embarrassing squeak when the next voice came from right behind him. He could feel warm breath on his neck and he immediately closed his eyes and tensed his entire body in an attempt to not react violently.

"Why'd they do that? Good behavior?" followed by a snicker.

"We need to get out of here. We're going to talk about this when we get home, Donatello! I can't believe you did that!"

Spencer really had no idea where the last voice came from.

"Ohhh, the power of the full name, Donnie! You're in trooouuble!"

"Shuddup, Mikey. It's his own fault. Did ya shut your brain off for a moment there, brainiac?"

"I got hit by a dart."

Spencer almost peed himself as a result of the growl that followed. He was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable. Better not draw any attention.

"Those-"

"Raphael, not now! We are not having this discussion here!"

"Let's go."

"You got my weapons?"

"Here, Donnie-boy."

"Thanks. See you later, Spencer. Bye, Johnny."

Spencer dared not breathe and even though the room felt strangely empty, he didn't dare assume they were gone. Johnny did,

"Are they gone?"

The silence that followed was answer enough.

"I guess so."

"How'd they…?"

"I don't think I want to know," Spencer found himself grasping the table in relief when the lights came back on. Nothing had changed, except they were a turtle short.

"Go get the recordings of this interrogation. Destroy them. Bring me Cooper and the officers that arrested Donatello. We need to have a little talk."