Donnie sat talking to Mona Lisa trying to figure out why she was mutated. “Professor Rice said that he was given the task to stabilize it. I guess I was just an easy test subject do to my home situation. No one would really miss me.”
“Did he have you hold a lizard first?” Donnie asked.
Mona Lisa shook her head, “No. I haven’t seen a real live lizard since the last time I went to the zoo. And that was years ago.”
“I wonder if he was making the mutagen species specific then,” Donnie wondered out loud to himself. “I wish I could get my hands on his research.”
Mona shrugged, “I still have my keycard to get into the school and I know where his lab is, if he hasn’t moved it.”
Excitement ran through Donnie, “Ooh, to walk the halls of an actual college and get my hands on a professor’s notes. It would be a dream come true.”
“Alright then, let’s go,” Mona stood and started to head out of the lab.
“Oh no you don’t,” Donnie stopped her. “If the Kraang are involved it will be too dangerous to take you along with us.”
“But…,” she started to argue.
“No,” Donnie shook his head. “You’ll just have to leave us a detailed description of the school along with your keycard and code.”
Mona moaned, “Fine.”
**
That night the Turtles headed out to the school to collect Professor Rice’s research. Donatello slipped up to the door and slid the keycard and punched in the code Mona had given to him. The light on the keypad flashed red and Donnie looked over his shoulder at his brothers, “No good. I’ll have to go to plan B.” He turned to look at Raph, “DON’T kick down the door, or you might set off and alarm.”
“What?” Raph looked offended. “Like I would do that.”
Donnie pulled out a keycard lock pick and inserted it into the slot. The small device in his hand came to life and in no time the light on the keypad flashed green. “Piece of cake,” Donnie smiled and opened the door. “This way,” he waved them to follow.
“Wow!” Mikey gasped as he looked around. “This is so much cooler than high school. Let’s visit a frat house!”
Donnie face palmed, “This is a community college.”
“Yeah, and,” Mikey prompted.
“It doesn’t have one,” Donnie sighed.
“Quiet,” Leo warned. “How many times do I have to remind you that we’re ninja?”
“Here it is,” Donnie pointed to a door that had Professor Rice in big white letters on the glass window. They opened the door and slipped in. “He’s a chemist,” Donnie grinned. “Look at these books,” he practically drooled.
Raph smacked the back of his head, “Stay focused, Donnie.”
“Right, sorry,” Donnie nodded while rubbing the back of his head. Turning on the computer, Donnie plugged a USB drive in to the back of it. “I should be able to hack his system.”
Mikey continued to snoop around and decided to pick a lock on a large metal cabinet. He let the lock fall to the ground and threw the doors open, “Uh guys.”
“What?” Leo hissed at Mikey’s elevated volume.
“Look,” Mikey stepped out of the way to reveal several test tubes of mutagen. “I think I found something.”
Leo walked over to the cabinet and looked at the labels on the tubes, “They all have names of animals on them.”
Donnie pulled the USB drive from the computer, “I got what I need from the computer.” He walked over to the cabinet and carefully placed a few tubes in his bag. After he closed his bag he longingly looked at the books on the shelf.
“If you got what you need then let’s go before we get caught,” Raph tugged Donnie’s arm.
The light came on. “Too late,” Mikey needlessly pointed out.
“Four giant turtles?” Professor Rice stepped further into the room. “I am going to enjoy dissecting you.” Several Kraang bots appeared behind him. “Try not to damage them too much,” he said over his shoulder.
The Kraang opened fire and the Turtles scattered. Ever since their alliance with Shredder the Kraang’s skills have improved greatly.
A blast hit the books on the shelf, sending paper flying and Donnie moaned, “Not the books.”
“Who cares about the books,” Raph snapped. “We need to get out of here.”
“Easier said than done,” Leo had to yell to be heard over the blasts as he dodged them. “This office has no windows.”
“That’s because I need the dark for my research,” Rice sputtered. “It has nothing to do with how the school regards my work.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Donnie shot back as he swung his bo towards a Kraang knocking the blaster from its hand. Leo managed to get close enough to slice the other bot’s blaster as Raph sent his sai through another.
The four Turtles managed to escape with Donnie’s bag intact.
**
Back at the lair Donnie looked at the data on the USB drive, “Professor Rice is a genius.”
Mona looked over his shoulder, “He mutated me in to a lizard.”
“I didn’t say he was nice,” Donnie commented back. “He managed to stabilize the mutagen and make it species specific, just like I suspected.”
Mona lifted a tube, “Why would he make one with human DNA?”
Donnie shrugged, “To manage our kind of mutation. And when I say our, I mean mine and my brothers’ not yours.”
“I got that,” Mona said flatly. “I wonder what he was going to do with it.”
Donnie shrugged, “He’s not the first evil scientists to work for the Kraang. We’re still not fully sure what they have planned.”
“Do you think there’s a way to reverse it?”
Donnie looked at Mona, “For yours and Splinter’s sake, I hope so. As for me and my brothers, I fear it.”
“I would gladly stay a lizard, if it meant that you guys don’t get turned back into common turtles.”
Donnie looked at the data on his screen, “Thanks Mona, but it looks like that is something Professor Rice is working on.” He sighed, “If he succeeds….”
Mona hugged him, “He hasn’t succeeded yet. He can still be stopped.”
“I hope your right.”