Yoshi, Shen and Nagi sat in a room with several Jones family members and were discussing what they should do when Billy came into the room and walked right up to Nagi. “How long have you known Doctor Mathews?”
Nagi looked at the young doctor, “Almost ten years, why?” The moment the words passed his lips his heart sank, “What did you find?” Ten years ago Saki took over the Purple Dragons after Nagi turned him down as a replacement for Yoshi as second. Has he really been plotting revenge ever since?
Billy nodded his head, “The blood that we took from Mikey, when he was sick, I ran tests on.” He looked from Yoshi to Shen then Nagi again, “He’s not sick.”
“What do you mean,” Shen asked. “His immune system is weak.”
Billy shook his head, “Your doctor has been keeping him sick. He has his own defense system.”
“But the ear infection,” Yoshi pointed out. “It happened while he was away.”
“From what I gathered, it was something that was set to happen anyway.” Billy looked at Shen, “I’m guessing that Mikey would occasionally get sick? Mathews would say that it was the result of his weak immune system?”
Shen nodded, “Yes.”
“Did he give you the drugs to inject in to Mikey?”
Shen nodded.
Nagi sighed, “I hope Doctor Mathews is the only traitor in my organization. I never would have imagined my brother to come at me in such a way.”
“We must get back to New York,” Yoshi stated, “and find out what Mathews knows.”
“Some of us are coming with you, you know,” Casey pointed out. “I’m not going to sit by while my best friend is in trouble.”
Nagi nodded, “We’ll head back now.”
**
Donatello woke up with his mind in a fog. The sensation was nothing new for him and he just waited for his mind to come back online. He first noticed that the surface he was on was hard and cold then he noticed that his hands here bound behind him. He tested the restraints to discover that the cold metal held firm.
The memory of the attack flooded back into his mind followed by panic. He jerked to full awareness, forcing his eyes to focus he looked around his cell. With some difficulty he managed to pull himself up to sit on his knees. He was in the cell furthest to the right with Leo to his immediate left, followed by Raph then Mikey in the one furthest to the left. Thick bars separated each cell and heavy chains were bolted to the wall and attached to the shackles binding their arms. He next tested the limits of the chain to find it too short to reach the bars shared with Leo’s cell. They’re not even going to be able to touch each other. There were no windows and only one door, leading Donnie to believe that the room was in the middle of the building or underground. Either way was not good. A few computers and an exam table were the only things in the room with them.
Donnie watched as Raph woke up. Leo and Mikey were still both out cold. Raph was a little more violent in the testing of his restraints. “Mikey!” he screamed, trying his best to reach the bars between them. “Mikey, please wake up.”
“You and I both woke up,” Donnie pointed out calmly. “They will eventually wake too.”
“How can you be so calm?” Raph continued to struggle against the shackles.
Donnie watched as Raph strained in his feeble attempts to break them, “You are only going to hurt yourself. We need to stay calm so we can think.”
“That’s not a surprising statement coming from you, Donatello,” the familiar voice had Donnie’s head snap up in disbelief.
“Doctor Mathews?”
The doctor walked up to the bars and held up a pill, “I have your medicine.” Donnie just sat there and looked at him. Mathews smiled, “The Shredder wants you alive, for now.” He held it out, “Don’t you want to continue to function?”
An over whelming since of dread filled Donnie as he stretched forward and opened his mouth. The doctor dropped the pill in and Donnie dry swallowed it. He couldn’t stop the tears as the fell down his cheeks, “You work for Saki?”
“Always the smart one,” Mathews smiled and stood up to leave.
“How could you betray us like this?” Donnie hollered after him.
Mathews turned and looked at him from the door, “I have always held an allegiance to the Shredder. I came to the Foot as a spy for the Shredder, so I have betrayed no one.” With that he left.
It wasn’t long before Leo started to wake, displaying the same dazed confusion before snapping awake and testing his restraints. He looked around, “Donnie, are you okay?”
Donnie nodded, “Yes. Leo I have some bad news.”
“Worse than being in a cage, with my hands bound behind my back and chained to a wall?”
Donnie nodded, “Mathews is a Dragon.”
Leo’s face dropped, “For how long?”
“The whole time.”
They sat in silence the only noise came from the occasional shifting in the attempt to get more comfortable. Mikey’s grunt had Raph come back to life, “Mikey?” There was a sound of worry in his voice, “Are you okay?”
With a great deal more effort than the others Mikey managed to work past the limited rotation of his leg and sit up. He looked over at the others, “What are we gonna do?”
“We’ll thank of something,” Raph tried to reassure him. “Our families aren’t going to let us stay here either. I’m sure they are planning on a way to free us.”
“I wouldn’t count on it, terrapin,” Stockman said entering the room.
“What did you call me?” Raph growled in response.
Stockman rolled his eyes, “Simpleton.” He stood in front of a computer and began to study the screen.
Raph glared at him, “I know you.”
Stockman’s turned to look at Raph, “I doubt that.”
“You used to come to the club,” Raph continued. “It was about a month ago that you got a little too handsie with one of the girls.” He chuckled, “You’ve been banned.”
“You’re the thug that beat me up,” Stockman growled. “And, here I was thinking that I had nothing against you. This changes that and helps me with a decision I have to make.” Stockman walked over to the cages, “The Shredder wants me to acquire some incentive for your families to comply with his demands.”
“Incentive?” Mikey asked nervously. “Like what?”
A wicked smile spread across Stockman’s face, “A pound of flesh.” He walked over to an intercom system and pushed a button, “I’ve made my decision.”
The door to the room slid open and Donnie’s breath hitched when he saw a mutant boar walk in followed by a mutant rhino. Stockman looked at the Turtles, “What, you thought you were the only ones?” He laughed, “We’ve got plenty of the mutagen thanks to our spies. Unlike you, these two were human once.” He turned to the mutant henchmen, “The one with the tattoo.”
The boar pulled a dart gun from his pocket and aimed it a Raph, “Lucky you.”
The boar pulled the trigger sending a dart into Raph’s arm. The emerald turtle slumped forward held up by his chains. Stockman unlocked the cell door and, with the boar’s help, lifted the still conscious Raph up and on to the exam table.
They kept his arms in the shackles and placed him plastron down. His legs were spread and strapped down and a strap went over his neck to secure him to the table. The drug didn’t leave much fight in him, but he was still awake.
Stockman looked Raph over, “What to remove?”
“Please!” Mikey screamed. “Don’t” He fought against his chains in a desperate need to save Raph.
Stockman shushed Mikey, “He’ll live.” He looked at the rhino, “Grab his tail and secure it down.”
The rhino pulled Raph’s tail down and secured it by tying a thin rope around the tip then down under the table. Raph grunted as he tried to pull his tail back up, but the rope held tight.
Stockman looked at another computer and scanned the information on the screen, “I don’t have any medical records for this one.” He turned to the two henchmen, “Bring him,” then headed for the door. The rhino and boar wheeled the table following Stockman out the door.
“No!” Mikey cried. “Raph!” He struggled against his chains.
“Mikey, you’re only going to hurt yourself,” Leo called over to him. “Remain calm.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Mikey hollered back. “Would you be so calm if they had Donnie?” Mikey cried and continued to pull against his restraints. Leo could only look down at the floor in response.
All three looked up when the door slid open and Karai stepped through. Donatello remembered Karai from when he was little. They had sent her in eight years ago to spy on the Purple Dragons and hadn’t heard from her since. It was a very hushed operation, only Nagi and Yoshi knew about it. Donatello only knew about it because they talked about it in front of him during one of his ‘fits’, not knowing he could hear them. He of course told Leo after that.
She walked up to Leo, “Are you alright?” When she was with the Foot she was Leo’s mentor and advanced training partner. They were close and he idolized her.
“Karai?” Leo was shocked to see her. “We thought you were dead. Did you betray us too?” there was pain in those words.
She shook her head, “I could not contact Master Nagi for fear of being discovered. You have no idea what I have had to endure to maintain my cover. I cannot escape.”
“What does Saki want?” Leo asked.
Karai looked over her shoulder at the door then back at Leo, “Revenge, power. He’s insane. His spies have been a part of the Foot for nearly a decade. He has managed to get his hands on mutagen and the blueprints for the transmat device.”
“To what end?”
“He has delusions of grandeur.” Karai explained. “He will either hold the city hostage with what the transmat devise could do or use it to steal or sell it for profit. There’s no way to know where is mind will go.”
“Can you help us escape?” Donnie pleaded.
“I risk too much being here now,” Karai whispered.
“Can you at least tell us where in the building we are?” Leo requested.
“Below ground,” Karai answered. “I warn you. Shredder brought the Elite with him from Japan. They are superior fighters.”
Leo locked eyes with her, “Where does he keep the transmat device?”
“Down the hall to the right four doors down,” Karai answered. “It is still incomplete. If it were he would not need you.”
Leo bowed his head, “Thank you. Now leave before you get caught.” Then he added, “If you can make it to us when we make our break for it, you are welcome to join us,”
She bowed again and headed out of the room leaving the three Turtles alone.
They sat in silence with the only sound being Mikey’s sobs. Time seemed to drag on forever though it had only been about half an hour. Suddenly Raph’s scream echoed from down the hall sending Mikey in to a fit of tears and his struggles to get free began anew. Donnie’s heart pounded as he fought to keep his calm. Raph’s screams were hard to hear, there was so much pain in them. There were occasional breaks in the screaming and each time they all hoped that whatever they were doing to Raph was done, only to have them start up again.
Donnie figured that it was about two hours from the time they took Raph out to the time the mutant henchmen brought him back. The emerald Turtle was greatly palled and covered in sweat, but their view on him was limited and it wasn’t evident right away what was done to him. The rhino and boar unstrapped Raph from the table and chained him back up in the cell. He looked to be in shock and kept his eyes on the ground. Their job done, they left the four Turtles alone again.
The three of them scanned Raph trying to find what was done to him with Mikey scooting as close as he could to him. “Raph?”
Raph’s body shook as he tried to steady his breathing, “I’m okay.”
“What did they do to you?” Mikey whimpered.
“They got their pound of flesh,” he answered, “without using any painkillers. I passed out a few times and they woke me up again before continuing. ”
A small whimper escaped Mikey’s throat.
Raph looked over at him, “Don’t worry. It’ll take more than cutting off my tail to break me.” He grunted and shifted his position, “I’m gonna make that fucker pay.” He turned to Leo, “How’re we getting out of here?”
Leo scooted towards Raph, “Can you pick a lock?”
Raph nodded.
“Good,” Leo smiled. “I think we can reach each other. They only seem to want to keep us from our… loves.” Raph scooted close to Leo and turned his back to him. From that angle Donnie could see the bandage covering where his tail used to be. Leo brought his head down in his shell a little and using his teeth, grabbed a small lock pick that he had hidden inside of his plastron. He dropped it on the floor then collected it with his fingers then started to work on the lock on Raph shackles.
A blind lock pick was difficult. Doing it in shackles behind the back took a great deal of skill. A metallic click and a sigh from Leo let them know that he was successful.
Raph pulled his hands free from his restraints and, taking the pick from Leo, worked on the lock holding his wrists together. Once Leo was free he pulled another pick out from behind his upper plastron. Raph looked at him while he worked on the door lock, “How many things do you have tucked up in there?”
A smile spread across Leo’s beak, “More than you will ever know. A ninja is always prepared.”
Leo freed Donnie and Raph freed Mikey, who immediately wrapped his arms around Raph, “Are you really okay?”
“I can push past the pain,” Raph soothed.
“Let’s go before we get caught again,” Leo urged.
They slipped out the door into the hall, only to be met by the rhino and the boar along with several well-armed Dragon thugs.
“We’re fucked.”
In the short time Donatello has known him he has found that Raphael’s lack of diction to be a bit crude. However, this one time, he found himself agreeing with the hothead’s assessment of the situation.
**
Nagi, Yoshi, Shen and several members of the Jones family, including Parker and Raphael’s parents stood in the dojo. They had arrived at Foot headquarters about three hours ago and were discussing their options when Mako entered the room carrying a box.
He knelt down in front of Nagi, “This has been delivered for you, Master.”
Nagi took the box, opened it, only to close it again quickly. Shen let out a sob, “What is it?”
Nagi handed the box to Aaron, “Find out whose it is. You will find what you need here in the lab, including the boys’ medical records.” Aaron accepted the box and was led to the lab by a Foot soldier.
Shen couldn’t contain her crying, “What is it?”
Nagi opened the envelope that came with the box, “It’s one of their tails,” he answered trying to keep his voice steady as Shen broke down. “It’s too big to be Leonardo’s,” he added trying to offer her a little comfort.
Steve held a crying Carla, “What does Shredder want?”
Nagi read the letter, “It appears that he is lacking a few elements needed to finish a transmat devise and he would like me to bring him the components he needs to a neutral location.”
“What’s a transmat?” Casey asked.
“A teleportation platform,” Nagi answered. “We assisted in helping an alien race complete theirs so that they could go home, the same alien race responsible for the mutagen that mutated the boys.” Nagi looked up at the Jones family members, “Before you ask, they have already gone home, so they will be no help.”
“What would Shredder want with a teleportation platform?” Carla sobbed.
“Power,” Nagi answered flatly. “It appears that my brother is a bit unstable.”
Aaron soon returned and with a heavy sigh rubbed his hands together, “It’s Raph’s. I didn’t have to run any tests. I could tell.”
Casey stood right in front of Nagi, “I’ll be damned if I lose another family member to this guy. What are we going to do to take him down?”
**
“Oh, nunchakus!” Mikey exclaimed as he darted for the closest nunchakus welding thug. The smallest Turtle demonstrated his speed and agility disarming the thug and laying him out in one fluid motion then taking out another before anyone could react. He collected the second thug’s weapons and was back at Raph’s side in a heartbeat. “Here,” he said holding up the weapons.
Raph took them, “What the hell are these?”
“Sai,” Mikey replied. “Just stick the pointy end in the bad guys for now.”
Raph chuckled and held the sai, the wrong way, and charged the boar in an attack. During their exchange, Leo and Don managed to steal weapons of their own. Donnie sighed, “A wooden bo staff. Primitive.”
Leo had managed to steal a couple of katana. “It’ll have to do for now, Donnie,” Leo stated as he fought with the rhino.
“Master Shredder’s right, Bebop,” the rhino said throwing a punch Leo just barely managed to avoid, “these Turtles are skilled.”
“Well, Rocksteady, I don’t know how they managed to escape, but I’m sure it’s your fault,” Bebop managed to land a blow on Donnie’s plastron.
“Bebop and Rocksteady?” Raph snickered. “You’ve got to be joking.”
“Break his shell, Rocky,” Bebop yelled.
“On it, Be,” Rocksteady said lunging for Raph.
Mikey came to Raph’s rescue landing a blow on the rhino’s snout staggering him as Donnie recovered and managed to land a blow on the boar’s head. The other thugs were all down writhing in pain or unconscious. “Let’s go,” Leo yelled darting down the hall.
“We have no idea where to go,” Raph pointed out.
“Down the hall to the right and four doors down,” Leo stated.
“Where does that lead?”
As soon as they reached the door, Leo kicked it in. Scientists in the room looked up with a start as the four Turtles swarmed in. “We need to destroy the transmat,” Leo ordered sending his katana through a man’s belly.
Mikey looked at the dying man, “What if he was innocent?”
Leo looked at his little brother, “If they are working for the Dragons, they are not innocent. Kill any who get in your way.”
Mikey nodded then dove head first in to the melee.
“So what do we need to break?” Raph asked.
“The transmat,” Donnie replied.
“What the fuck is that?”
During the fight Karai entered the room and headed straight for Leonardo, “What are you doing?”
“We can’t let the Shredder have something like this,” Leo answered.
“Yeah, we’re breaking his toy,” Mikey added twirling his nunchakus.
Bebop and Rocksteady charge into the room. “We’ll be breaking you, squirt,” Rocksteady said pointing to Mikey.
“Like hell you are,” Raph yelled charging the rhino. The two fought, each managing to land a few blows before Rocksteady knocked Raph onto the platform as Leo was pushed into the controls by Bebop. The machine whirled to life and the platform lit up.
“I thought you said it wasn’t functioning,” Donnie yelled at Karai.
“I said it was incomplete,” she corrected. “It is lacking the components needed to control where it goes.”
Raph struggled to get to his feet and Mikey ran over to help him.
The machine was making a lot of noise. Leo turned to Raph and Mikey, “Get off the platform.” But Raph was in too much pain and Mikey wasn’t strong enough to pick him up on his own. So Leo rushed up to help.
Donnie saw what was happening and didn’t want to be left behind so joined them on the platform. Karai, seeing it as her only way out, jumped on the platform in desperation.
“Later, suckers,” Bebop sneered and pressed a button.
The four Turtles and Karai vanished in a bright flash of light.
Rocksteady laughed, “You are going be in so much trouble, Be.”
The boar shrugged, “It was an accident.”
