Retrospective - A TMNT Oneshot

Oneshot

"Ok guys, we're gonna head home," April announced as she slung a backpack over her shoulder and began to walk toward the row of subway turnstiles at the entrance of the turtle's lair. Casey strode next to her and stretched his back as he yawned. It had been a long day and he was glad to be going home. Hanging out with his mutant friends was fun, but he couldn't wait to get out of the sewer and crawl into his nice, comfy bed in his urban NYC apartment.

"You, umm, got any plans for tomorrow?" Donatello asked the freckled girl with nervous anticipation.

She jumped the turnstiles and looked back at him. "I have a test to be cramming for so I probably won't be able to hang out tomorrow."

"Oh," the purple masked boy tried to hide his disappointment.

"But, hey," April smiled, trying to cheer him up, "We can stop by on Friday!" She elbowed Casey in the arm, but he just scowled at her.

"No can do, Red," he rubbed his arm and shook his scruffy, black hair in protest. "My dad is taking me and my little sister on a fishing trip this weekend. Looks like it's just gonna be you and the guys."

Donatello's face lit up, "Sounds great!"

"Riiight," she swiftly turned the corner and began the walk home.

Donatello stood in the entranceway and waited until he could no longer hear their footsteps before he made his way to the lab. How he longed to be able to go with them. If he were a human, he'd get to hang out with April so much more. He sat down at his desk and stared at his large hands on his lap, in thought.

He behaved like a human, felt emotions like a human, and was more intelligent than most humans. "If only I weren't trapped in this revolting body," he whispered, clenching his hands into fists.

He sighed hopelessly and turned his focus to his desk, looking for a distraction from reality. The long, cylindrical canister of glowing mutagen caught his eye and he stared at it. This was the substance that transformed himself and his brothers from ordinary turtles into the humanoid mutants they were today. It also took their father from a human and turned him into a rat.

"Hmmm." The wheels in his mind began to turn as he picked up the canister and held it in his hands. "When a specimen is crossed with the DNA of another, this mutagen merges their molecular structure into a new species. The reto-mutagen that I created focuses on removing the DNA of the second source, which reverses the effect of the mutation and returns the specimen to it's original state."

He paused for a moment. "But I wonder ..." Removing the lid, he slowly poured a small amount into a Petri dish. "Could it be possible to remove the DNA that was present in the original host without causing any damage to it's genetic structure?"

Donatello slid the dish aside, grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and furiously began scratching out algorithms and equations as fast as he could. If this type of reverse mutation were possible, then in theory someone like Baxter Stockman could be changed into a mere housefly ... or he could transform himself totally into a human and finally be able to live the life he'd always wanted!

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"Hey, Donnie," April poked her head into the large doorway of her friend's lab, "I tried calling you but you never answered! Is your T-phone working?"

"Hmm?" he didn't look up, but continued to write at his desk.

Michelangelo walked up to the girl and draped his arm across her shoulders. "You're wasting your breath. He won't talk to any of us. He hasn't even come out of there in three days!"

April's blue eyes widened, "Really? Not even to eat or use the restroom?"

He shook his head emphatically, "Nope! I tried staying up the other night to see if I could catch him leaving but he never did!"