A Misshaped Mutant

Ep 14 - Questions

The ride back to the lair was painfully silent. Donnie rubbed his neck, trying to comfort himself from the dreadful atmosphere.

Mikey twiddled with his thumbs, opening his mouth then closing it afterwards, unsure of what to say.

Raph sat on his chair, his brows still furrowed. He lightly tapped on the armrest, filling in the silence.

Leo glanced at the turtles, unaffected by the silence.

Well, this was a first. They were usually busting in the turtle tank, always having something to say.

Leo sighed, turning to Donnie. Donnie had his back faced to Leo and the rest, tapping onto the console.

"Soooo..." Leo started.

The turtles flinched from the sudden sound.

"What happened out there Donnie?" Leo questioned. Donnie flinched. Ever since the invasion, Raph's been more sensitive about our family's safety so if he were to tell them the truth, Raph would flip out and put them on house arrest. Donnie didn't want that. He had plans. Trying to avoid the topic Donnie replied, trying to conceal the straining voice. "Nothing happened. I simply got too exhausted and collapsed. But now that we all know I'm perfectly all in one piece," Donnie gestured his hand to the turtles. "No need to worry."

Raph frowned at his response. No one was buying it.

Leaning forwards on his seat, Raph pointed at the soft shell turtle. "We know you are lying to us Donnie. No point in trying to hide it." Raph demanded. Donnie glanced to his console.

Just two more minutes and 23 seconds...

Donnie returned his gaze back at Raph, crossing his arms. "And why should I tell you?" Donnie stubbornly replied, rolling his eyes.

Raph gripped onto the armrest violently, startling the turtles. Donnie widened his eyes, stepping back at Raph's reaction. His grip had crushed the armrest. Raph snapped back as soon as he saw his brother's faces. Sliding into the chair, Raph groaned, rubbing his left eye.

The feeling of Krang's flesh tickled at his left eye. Raph hated the feeling. Pulling his hand away, Raph collected himself and sighed.

"Just please, don't go out alone or at least let all of us know." Raph calmly said, holding his head. "I can't loose you guys again."

The tension was heavy. The turtles shifted uncomfortably in their spots. "Alright alright, no more of that sad, moody talk." Leo waved. Mikey looked up at Leo then to Donnie. Donnie seemed a little spaced out, troubled by something.

"Donnie, do you have something to tell us?" Mikey squeaked. Donnie flinched at the mention of his name, snapping out of his thoughts. They were staring at the soft shell turtle. Donnie looked away. Interrupted, a voice called out.

"Destination Arrived."

Donnie quickly looked back at the console, trying to avoid talking. Raph let out a huff, offended by Donnie's attempt. He shook his head, reeling himself back in. He'll have Donnie talk to them later.

Donnie paced around in his lab. He was muttering and rubbing the back of his hands, clearly troubled by something.

It didn't make sense.

Donnie roughly guessed his attackers were from the government. But he had no evidence. And why was a rhino yokai teaming with them? He knew something was up between them.

Growling, Donnie irritatedly scratched his head.

Donnie paused, his eyes widened. The soft shell turtle walked towards his desk, reaching over his battle shell. With a click, the battle shell hissed, releasing. Donnie placed the battle shell along with his other shell inventions, continuing to walk to his desk. Stopping besides a large moveable whiteboard, Donnie snatched a notepad with a pen.

Scribbling onto his notepad, Donnie ripped it off, placing the note onto the whiteboard. Stepping back, Donnie placed his hands on his hips, staring at the sticky note.

Holding his chin, Donnie muttered his thoughts out loud.

"First of all, that feral yokai from the other day appeared suddenly. And there's the strange appearance of the suited and armored men along with the rhino yokai."

Donnie nodded slightly, rethinking to the past events.

Remembering a flashback, when Leo had mentioned he was going to send the feral yokai back to where he came from, he completely lost it. He seemed to really hate his old place.

Donnie flipped out his notepad and a pen, scribbling as he continued to mutter. "The government people seemed like they were looking for yokais. Why would they have a rhino yokai if they were just searching for people?"

Donnie clicked his pen, tearing the note off and placing it on the whiteboard. It seemed like the feral yokai and the government were somehow connected but he couldn't confirm it. Turning back to the desk, Donnie sat down on his chair, rubbing between his brows.

Who saved him?

Donnie sighed, glancing at the displayed blueprints. Hit with exhaustion, Donnie leaned into the chair.

He was going to deal with it later.

. . .

Glancing into Donnie's lab, Mikey spotted the soft shell turtle in his chair. He wasn't moving. Smiling, Mikey assumed Donnie was finally sleeping. Not wanting to interrupt Donnie's sleep, Mikey turned around, receding from Donnie's lab.

"Donnie!!" Raph called out. Mikey looked up at the striped turtle at the entrance. Leo hopped down to the center, chuckling. "Yo, I got us some pizza!"

Mikey perked up at the sight of the pizza boxes, bouncing across the lair to Leo. Raph turned to Leo, sighing. "Leo. Remember we're here to discuss with Donnie, not have a pizza party."

Leo munched on the cheese that was stringing from the slice. "Oh I know. But some pizza wouldn't hurt, would it?" Leo replied, muffled. The spiky turtle rolled his eyes at Leo. Hearing a clang from Donnie's room direction, Raph looked up.

There stood a sleepy turtle in the entrance. His mask was pushed up and his goggles was messily positioned. The exposed eyebags made Raph frown with concern.

Donnie mumbled 'hello' to the turtles, sleepily walking towards the kitchen. Raph crossed his arms.

"Donnie? Did you sleep?"

"Sure did, big brother." Donnie mumbled, raising his hand to show Raph he was busy at the moment. Raph raised his brow.

Mikey leaned towards Raph, whispering something into his ear. Raph widened his eyes in surprise. Clearing his throat, Raph asked, "I called you out here because we have something to discuss about last night." Donnie halted, his sleepy expression changed into an annoyed one.

"Oh Raph-a-la. You can clearly see I'm fine. So let's not fret too much over an accidental thing." Donnie frowned, turning to Raph.

"Yeah? Then explain why you were unconscious when Mikey found you?!" Raph raised his voice, trying to push Donnie into confessing. He didn't want to pressure his brothers but if he wanted to know why Donnie collapsed, he had to do whatever it took to get him to admit it.

Groaning with annoyance and rolling his eyes, Donnie turned back to the kitchen. Ignored, Raph walked over to Donnie.

Leo continued to munch onto his slice, watching the drama. Mikey hesitatingly reached out for Raph, trying to keep Raph from doing things he would regret. Raph loved his brothers and would criticize himself for years if he were at fault for hurting his brothers.

Raph reached out for Donnie's shoulder, forcing him to turn to Raph. Donnie blinked in surprise, staggering. "Donnie. Whether you like it or not, your going to tell us what happened." Raph scowled. Donnie narrowed his eyes, attempting to push off his arm off. "We can't help you if you keep pushing us out!" Raph's tone softened.

Donnie made eye contact with Raph in surprise. Stabbed with guilt, Donnie glanced away. "I can't..." Donnie muttered under his breath. "What?" Raph asked, trying to hear what Donnie had said. Donnie pushed Raph's arm off, walking back to the kitchen.

"I'll tell you guys later. Just not right now." Donnie lied, glancing back at Raph and the others. Noticing that comment had made Raph's expression soften a bit, Donnie left.