Alternate Allure

CHAPTER 30: DUALITY [Part IV]

"Ugh..." Donnie groans as he pushes himself up from the ground, a dull ringing in his ears and a metallic taste on his tongue. He rubs his head, still coughing faintly from the poison gas, his gaze immediately searching.

"MC...?"

The others, also starting to wake up, follow his line of sight. Their eyes land on the restrained figure below—MC. Their head is tilted to the side, still unconscious. Unmoving. Surrounded by Kraang.

They're strapped to a metal table just a few yards from the portal. Wrists and ankles are bound by thick metallic restraints, with cables that run from nearby machines into ports beside their head. A second glass dome covers the table—clear, filled with clean air, unlike the toxic green haze that swirls around the rest of the Kraang facility. Three Kraang droids hover around 'em, monitoring screens.

"MC!" Donnie rushes to the edge of the glass, slamming his palms against it. "Damn it!"

Raph stirs behind him. He's groggy and disoriented at first, until he follows Donnie's panicked gaze—and his stomach drops. He's at Donnie's side in seconds.

"What the hell did they do to them?!"

"If they're still unconscious it means--" Donnie's voice falters. "--they hit them with something. Some kind of sedative. Or... worse"

"Donnie" Leo says firmly.

He doesn't respond.

"Donnie!" Leo grips his shoulder, hard enough to ground him. "You're not helping like this!"

"I-I know but—"

"Hey! Hey, guys!" Mikey steps in, pointing towards where MC is. "They're still breathing. Look!"

Donnie stares, noticing the subtle rise and fall of their chest. His fists slowly unclench. Raph's frown softens.

"I know you're dying to get to them" Leo says, casting a look around the room. "But first, we get ourselves out. There's gotta be at least a hundred Kraang out there"

"Yeah, Don!" Mikey says, stepping up beside him with uncharacteristic seriousness. "You gotta breathe, MC's tougher than they look. We're gonna get them out, but you gotta stay sharp, or we're all toast"

Donnie breathes in through his nose. His hands shake, but he nods. "Okay. Okay. You're right. I've just... got to think clearly"

"Good" Leo looks around the dome. "Then, we start with figuring out how to get out of here"

They turn to assess the room—an enormous Kraang-controlled chamber bustling with life. Droids float and hover over machinery, moving between data terminals and alien control panels. The ominous green gas outside their dome hangs heavy across the entire room. Giant screens flicker with coordinates and scans of Earth's surface, and strange tools of unknown origin line the walls. All of it centers on a towering, ring-shaped structure in the middle of the room—a portal, humming with a warped energy that flickers in and out like a glitchy heartbeat.

"Is that...?" Leo starts.

"The portal" Donnie confirms. "It's... beautiful. Scientifically speaking"

Raph rolls his eyes. "Well, if you love it so much, why don't you marry it?"

"Do you, Donatello, take this portal to be your—?".

"Knock it off, all of you" Leo cuts Mikey off with a glare. "We need to figure out how we're gonna destroy Donnie's bride over there"

"Even if we could reach it, we've got no weapons. They're over there--" Raph jerks his head toward a pair of Kraang that are goofing around with Mikey's nunchucks. "--in a room that's filled with, in case you forgot, poisoned gas"