So Good To Be Bad [Donatello]

Chapter 15

Donatello returned to the lair with a sack full of his finds from the pier. Momo followed his lead in a laid-back manner, and watched him search through the scraps. For a moment, he didn't understand why the human didn't give him a hard time about taking these things. Wouldn't that make him a thief as well? Well, the turtle guessed that it wasn't stealing if the harbor was getting rid of the parts in the first place. It's not like he took items in use from ships still in operation or rigs to help with the imports and exports. It'd all just go to waste.

He was picking apart some old hardware to use the wires, when Momo interrupted him. "What's that up there?"

The mutant followed her line of sight, flicking down the goggles to see better in the darkness. "It's a copper plate," Donatello said. "That's a good find. Can be used for multiple purposes."

Especially at the hideout. Now he had to find a way to get to it since the item was out of reach. Nothing around them could support his weight to swing up.

"Give me a boost," she said. Donatello looked at her in confusion. "How else will we get it?"

That's how the turtle found the young woman standing on his shoulders. His hands gripped at Momo's ankles for further support and stayed absolutely still to not throw her off balance.

"Any luck?" he wondered, having heard her fiddle around with the copper plate for a bit.

"It's really wedged in here." She tugged even harder. "Hold on..." The object of their desire popped free. "Got it!"

The momentum made Donatello wobble underneath, not expecting the shift as he scrambled to remain balanced. The young woman struggled to hold steady too so they didn't fall to the ground in a heap. After a few seconds of floundering, the turtle breathed out in relief. Accident prevented. When Momo stood back on the ground once more, she handed over the copper plate.

"You don't want it for yourself?" She'd been the one to see the material first.

"I don't have a home to rebuild and no equipment to replace. It's all yours."

Donatello took it. "Thanks." He scavenged for another hour till they parted ways.

The two of them had a very odd... what would he call their late-night meet ups through the city? Chance encounters? A weird sort of friendship? Okay, maybe not the second one since the mutant still knew next to nothing about the human. She was always so cryptic to not give away anything. Which is probably why Momo was so good at her profession. The thief seemed to be even more cautious than they were.

"I see you were busy out there tonight, Donatello."

The turtle looked up from his collection spread out over two tables to find Splinter joined him. He had started to catalog them to determine what their uses would be.

"I found out the yard decided to decommission a rig," Donatello said. "I'll try again in a few days to see if there's anything new once they dig into the ship."

"And how did things go with the mystery thief out there?"

The turtle's head whipped around so quickly in surprise his glasses nearly fell off his face. Splinter looked at his son, brow cocked. The reaction proved the jig was up.

"How did you know...?"

"I've noticed some nights when you come back you're more distracted than normal. And sometimes I find that you return to those creations left behind by the human, trying to piece them back together."