Growing Up Fast

Part 2

"Sheesh, where is Donatello? He should've been back with the pizzas by now!" Michelangelo complained from his spot by the small TV.

Master Splinter was silently sitting in his chair, a worried expression on his face. Leonardo was pacing nervously, Michelangelo was alternating between staring at the clock, the TV and complaining, and Raphael was drumming his fingers against the couch arm. Finally, Michelangelo jumped up. He had never outgrown his impatience. "That's it, dudes! I'm looking for him."

"Not a bad idea, Michelangelo," Leonardo said as he stopped pacing.

"What about me?!" Raphael said, bouncing up from the couch.

"You stay here." And he turned to Raphael. "You wait here with Master Splinter just in case he is just slow getting back." Leo said.

Raphael let out a very long, drawn out whine at this. "What am I, a housewife?! So unfair." He mumbled as he watched his brothers strap on their weapons and walk out the door.

Two dark figures ran through the back alley. They had searched the sewers that Donatello would've taken without any sign of him. Heading to Vinnie's Pizzeria, they took the back alley from there to the nearest manhole. That is where they saw the stack of pizzas. They were scattered and a dog was already eating some of it.

Leonardo lifted the lid of one of them. It was cold when he touched it. Without a word, Leo pointed in one direction.

Michelangelo nodded and took off in that direction, all playfulness gone. Someone had messed with their pizza, and more importantly, their brother.

Leo began to search in the opposite direction, not finding anything. He was just about to retrace his steps back to the manhole and cold pizzas when Michelangelo's low surfer's drawl called out.

"Leonardo!" Michelangelo's voice shouted.

"What?! And be quiet, Michel-." He chastised his brother as he ran toward the orange masked turtle.

Michelangelo ran the rest of the way, an old worn fedora and Donatello's bo staff in his hands. He stared at the items in horror. He felt the blood drain from his face.

"Oh...no..." he breathed. "Where did you find it?" Michelangelo stumbled back and led Leonardo to the back wall, where he had found his brother's hat and bo. Leonardo looked around in the dark and then his fingers bumped against something hard and he closed his fingers around the item. It felt all too familiar. He straightened up, holding Donatello's turtle com.

"I'll... call and..." Leonardo said as he stared at the turtle com. Michelangelo let out a curious whine as he walked around the area, desperately searching for Donatello.

Meanwhile, Leonardo called and warned his other brother and Master Splinter. By the time he got off the phone, Michelangelo was staring down at Donatello's bo staff and hat that he refused to set down. Leonardo sighed and walked up to his brother.

"He's not here... whoever did-... they took him..." Michelangelo whispered.

"We'll find him," Leonardo replied gently.

XX

Donatello groaned as he came to. He tried to stretch out, but found that he couldn't move more than a few inches. His throat and chest felt like they were on fire. Donatello moved his head a little to look around. He couldn't see much, just dark walls of a large room.

There was enough light that he could tell that it had no windows. He could hear what sounded like beeping. He lifted his head again and looked down. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see that he was strapped down. He saw that he was hooked up to a heart monitor, an IV was put into his right hand.

"Ah, good you're awake." A soft voice came from behind him. It sounded a lot like a woman's, but only the deeper undertone kept it from being completely female.

Donatello squirmed, instinctively fighting the straps binding his wrists, knees, and ankles.

"You won't get loose," the voice said.

Donatello froze, a shiver running through him. Then began to fight more. A hand on his shoulder had made him flinch.

"Easy there. I'm not going to hurt you..."

Donatello stopped, his chest heaving in slight panic. Finally, his heart slowed when he made himself calm down. He then began to focus on his surroundings, trying to see if there was a way for him to get loose. He focused on that particular problem that he forgot about the man behind him. He jumped when he felt hands on his sensitive side. The hands pressed and prodded his right side. He bit his tongue to keep from laughing.

"Stop it..." He hissed.

"I'm sorry, but I needed to check the injection site. It has healed nicely." The man said as he pulled his hands away. "Thirsty, Donatello?" Asked the man. He had walked back in front of Donatello.

He tried to focused on the man's face, but the man had a contraption on his face that shone two bright lights from the side of where his temples would be. The only thing that Donatello could tell was that this man was tall and very thin. There wasn't even much of a scent to the man. As if he wasn't even there. But the light shining in Donatello's brown eyes was real enough.

He swallowed, but didn't answer. To his shock, the man lifted a cup to his mouth, tipping it so he could drink. He swallowed the water greedily, sucking in as much as he could before the cup was pulled away.

"I figured as much. I would give you more, but too much will make you sick. You're still woozy I'm sure. You're probably hungry by now as well, but you would only get sick. You'll eat later." The man turned, giving Donatello a clear view of his back. Short, blond hair was all that Donatello could tell that the man had.

The water helped the dryness in his throat, though the water set like lead in his belly, but it made him more aware. Aware enough to the fact that the man had spoken his name. "Ho-how did you know my name?" He asked, his voice stronger now.

"I know a lot about you. How you came to be, who cared and trained you in Ninjitsu and that you have three other brothers. Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael. I know more, but how I know these things is not important. Why is and why you are here will be explained shortly. Right now, it is late and I need to move you to a cell. You are going to be here a long time and I can't have you developing bed sores."

Donatello stared hard at the man. "So no dissection? Just a lab animal to study? I am not a science project!" He struggled against the straps again. "You will let me go!"

"I'm sorry, Donatello. I will let you go, but right now, you will stay here and try to make the best of it." He disappeared from view and Donatello felt himself moving forward. The man was moving the table that he was strapped to. It was a short trip as he was pushed half way into a room.

It was set up like any other room. A bed with tan blankets and a pillow. A white screen quartered off the room and there were books and even a TV encased into the wall. The three walls were painted a light green. The straps loosened and Donatello was quick to push away from the table. He turned back to see the table be pulled back out and the door slam shut.

The front of the room, he found out was much like a prison's doors. He grabbed the bars and glared at the man that had already turned and was walking away.

"Hey! Hey, wait! You can't leave me like this!" cried Don, pushing desperately against the bars. The man didn't even look back.