「ABSENCE」 TMNT 2012

16; Location

"This doesn't make any sense. Why would his tracking signal be on, but we can't find his location?" Donnie slammed his fists down on his desk. Papers jumped, and his coffee rippled in it's ceramic mug. He ran a hand over his bald head frustratedly.

"Calm down, Donnie. We'll find him," assured Leo. "Just give it time."

"We may not have time!"

Ah, there it was. The infamous line of desperation, and panicked thoughts. The whole family was on edge, waiting anxiously for Donatello to inform them when they could move out. But the pressure was beginning to get to the genius, and he was slowly crumpling.

    Leo patted his brother's shoulder. "Casey will be fine."

    "But he might not."

    "But he might. He can take care of himself."

"It just . . . it doesn't make sense," Don repeated. He returned to his computer and glared at the screen. "Do you see this? His signal's on, but there's nothing around it. No buildings, no roads, no location. There's nothing!"

Leo nodded. "I see that. But we won't get anywhere by freaking out. Take a deep breath." Donnie did so. Stressedly. If that were a word. "Now, let's think this through. What could be causing this to happen? Is the program acting up?"

Slightly calmer, he shook his head. "I've checked it multiple times and nothing seems out of the ordinary. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to look again." He slid out of his chair and dropped to the floor, ducking under the desk.

    Leo waited while Donnie fiddled around with the wires and buttons, muttering incoherent sentences every now and then. Just as Leo was contemplating grabbing a sandwich, Don popped back up.

    "I don't think anything's wrong with the computer itself. I'll check the program now." He sat down and began clicking away at his computer mouse.

    "Don't test me, Mikey!" Raph shouted from somewhere in the Lair.

    "Don't test me, Mikey!" Came the mock response.

    "That's it!"

    Screaming was heard next. Overly dramatic, high-pitched screaming that made one's eardrums feel like they were about to burst. All through the underground home it echoed, fading out, then growing closer again.

    Donnie's left eye twitched in annoyance as he attempted to focus. Leo sighed at his brothers' immaturity. Master Splinter stood silently in the dojo, abandoned by his two students who were currently headed toward the laboratory.

    Finally, Don had had enough. "Mikey! Raph! Stop being so loud!" Shouted he.

    Suddenly, a flash of orange and green blazed into the lab. Red and green skidded to a halt at the doorway. Mikey yelped. There was a crash. Leo and Raph flinched. Donatello watched in horror as Mikey rammed into his PC, which sat innocently on the floor under the desk.

Mikey - completely unharmed, for the most part - sat up and rubbed his head. "I'm okay!" He informed everyone.

The other three crouched around the computer, ignoring their younger brother who was, at this point, very confused. Then he followed their gazes to the PC, where the atrocity was displayed for all to see. A huge dent, caused by the impact of Michaelangelo's shell, was pressed into the side of the steel box. It was a deep wound that looked rather unnatural on the modern silver.

    Donnie's mouth had been hanging open, and just now decided to clamp shut. He crawled closer to get a better look, face void of any emotion. But after checking to ascertain the damage, he sent Mikey an accusing glare before standing up.

    No one dared speak for fear of awakening the simmering beast that is Donatello's anger. So the three of them backed up near the door, watching as he sat down.

    The monitor had gone black, but the gentle hum of the PC was still vibrating. This gave Don hope. He pressed the power button and watched the screen come back to life, relief flooding through him. Nothing serious had been broken. All that was left from the incident was the large dent in his computer.

    Leo decided to chance a question, seeing that Donnie hadn't started crying yet. "Is it salvageable?"

    Don nodded. "No real harm done. It'll be okay."

    They all let out a breath, patting each other's shoulders.

    But after a moment, Donnie gasped. Leo, Raph, and Mikey all snapped to attention, ready to run if need be. He must've discovered a missing file or something of the like.

    "Good going, Mikey," Raph muttered through his teeth. Mikey held his hands up defensively.

    A grin spread across Don's face. "The tracking program works!" He exclaimed. He spun in his seat to face them. "I know where Casey is."

    They blinked, unsure of how to react. Raph crossed his arms over his plastron. "Good job, Mikey. I always believed in you."

    Mikey snorted. "No you didn't."

"Where is he?" Leo asked, trying to stay on track.

"You'll never guess."

"Knowing Casey, I probably will."

Mikey scurried over and peered at the monitor. "He's at Shredder's place."

Raph rolled his eyes. "Great."

    "We shouldn't be surprised," Leo told them. "Jeff was the one who delivered the message, after all."

    "What I still don't get is why he would give it to Elly. He told her to let April know, but why wouldn't he just go to April himself?"

    Don stood up and grabbed miscellaneous items from around the lab, stuffing them into his bag. "Think about it, Raph. If he randomly appeared to April, she would attack him immediately. And so would any of us. Obviously he chose Elly because he knew she wouldn't know who he was, and since she's a civilian, there was a good chance she wouldn't know what to do when he popped in."

    Raph nodded, putting the pieces together in his head. "That makes sense."

    As a group, they exited the Lair and made their way to the surface. They'd been to Shredder's headquarters countless times in the past, and one more was no big deal. But this time it was different. This time they were on a rescue mission to bring back a close friend who had disappeared long ago. None of them knew what to expect. But they all knew that if things worked out, Casey Jones would be with them again, completing their ragtag team of friends. Friends who were also family. Friends who made them whole.