A while later, Donatello finally reemerges from the lab holding a slightly transparent purple helmet. The TV plays one of Destiny's favourite anime, everyone except Splinter is gathered in the pit and watching the show with varying degrees of interest. Donatello marches right up to the pit and clears his throat, a smug grin on his face. The others look up at him, waiting for him to say something, then at each other when they get nothing.
Raphael lets out a long sigh and shifts in his seat. "What did you make, Donnie?" he asks, making sure that the fake enthusiasm in his voice is painfully obvious.
"I may have solved our problem," he replies. He walks to Sarina and when she goes to turn around, he stops her. "No, stay right there."
He lifts the helmet and carefully lowers it onto Sarina's head. Thanks to her having no hair, it slips on easily. It covers her entire forehead as well as everything on her skull save for her ears. Sarina tries to look at her new headgear, but just ends up straining her eyeballs and making herself go cross-eyed, lips puckered.
"What is this contraption? I can't see it," she complains.
"This contraption..." Donatello says, pausing briefly, "is a helmet made of some leftover lead casing. I melded the pieces together into a headpiece for Sarina that should block out any energy signal that the Kraang can track. This way, we can sneak into TCRI completely unnoticed."
"Woah..." Casey says, standing and looking over the helmet.
Sarina ignores Casey, even as he starts tapping lightly at her head. "How did you come up with such a plan?" she asks Donatello.
"Mikey actually gave me the idea," he answers, smiling at his little brother. "Thank you, by the way."
"No problem, bro," Michelangelo says, flashing a thumbs up. "So, are we good to go to TCRI?"
"Yes, and the sooner, the better," Leonardo says, getting to his feet. "This is a stealth mission. We stay hidden for as long as possible, Sarina gets the medicine, and then we ditch. Simple."
Raphael grins and mutters something about "finally getting some action" as he stands and goes to retrieve his sais. Michelangelo hurries off after him to get his own weapon while Casey finally stops tapping on Sarina's head. They start to gather near the exit, Sarina still fiddling with her helmet and prompting Donatello to pull her hands away and bring them back to her sides.
"I'm c-coming with y-you," Destiny says, trying to get up from her spot as she shivers a little.
Leonardo reaches over and gently pushes her back down into her nest of pillows and blankets, shaking his head. "No, you can't," he says.
"But—"
"Do you honestly think you're in any condition to fight?" he asks. When she frowns at him, he leans down and brushes his fingertips along her chin. "We'll be back before you know it. Nothing's gonna happen."
Her jaw clenches slightly. "I believe the first part, not the second."
He presses his lips to her forehead and her eyes fall shut. He pulls away and gazes at her yet again, a calm, confident look on his face. "We will be fine," he repeats. "Splinter's making you tea, you can watch TV...all the good stuff."
She sighs and slumps back against the blankets. Leonardo climbs out of the living room pit and rejoins his family, where they're discussing the plan one last time.
"That's it. Home free," Donatello says.
"Alright, let's get this done," Raphael says, cracking his knuckles.
Leonardo lifts his hand. "I think there's one more thing," he says. "April?" She perks up. "You should stay here."
Her eyes widen. "What?"
"This mission has a high risk of Kraang involved and we already had a brush with that yesterday," he continues. "I want you to stay here and watch out for Destiny."
"You're benching me," she states.
"I'm b-benched too," Destiny calls from the literal bench, her voice laced with sleepiness. "I w-wouldn't mind the c-company."
April opens her mouth, ready to argue, then she meets Sarina's eyes. The cyborg nods once before looking away. The redhead sighs, pocketing her tessen and crossing her arms over her chest.
"Fine, but the next mission, I'm in," she says.
"Of course," Michelangelo says with a grin.
"Time is of the essence," Sarina comments as April walks back to the living room and seats herself down.
"Right," Leonardo says. "Let's go."
----------
They drive the Shellraiser to TCRI, parking it in a secluded spot before going the rest of the way on foot. They sneak into the building and go right into the elevators without any interference, proving that the helmet has worked.
"How are we supposed to get to the Kraang-only floors?" Raphael asks. "We don't have a droid head or a card or anything."
"Leave that to me," Sarina says.
The doors slide shut as she moves to the keypad. She stares into the scanner directly above the numbers and there's a small beep before the elevator starts to climb.
"Welcome, Kraang Subject 60184," a feminine voice recites from the speakers above them.
"Cool," Casey says with a grin.
Sarina says nothing, her mouth twisted into a hateful grimace. Donatello inches to her side and gently brushes her hand with his own, making her eyes flash as she looks up at him.
"So far, so good," he murmurs.
She snakes her fingers between his and tightens the grip, looking back to the climbing numbers as they slow to a stop. The doors slide open into familiar metal hallways and her eyes flash. Leonardo readies his katanas and steps into the hallway, Raphael directly behind him with sais drawn. The two scan the immediate area before turning to the other three boys and Sarina, already shuffling from the elevator.
"Coast is clear," Leonardo says. "Keep moving."
They set off into the depths of TCRI, leaving no corner unchecked.
YOU ARE READING
Emotionless Mutation (Book Three)
Fanfiction"However, you say I am human in a sense, that my body is simply fused with the robot that I have been raised to believe I am. Could you teach me...emotion?" The Kraang tried to take over the city of New York twice, and only once did they succeed. Th...
