1 Trap

He watched carefully the flex of the other's muscles and calculated each and every move he could possibly make and how to counter it. He heard the hand tighten on the handle of the Sais knowing that it was then the attack was decided by his opponent and he had a one in ten thousand shot to counter. The odds were not in his favor but were they truly ever? He took his Bo and pushed the offensive hand to the side barely missing his face in the process. The other let out a grunt and he didn't have to look down to see the leg coming up. He turned his body slightly allowing the appendage to make contact with his back. The other let out a hiss before drawing back. He stood there waiting for the other to make his move. His wait wasn't long as he charged forward. It was easy enough to deflect his attacks using his Bo to push the hands off to the side.

He could tell the other was frustrated at the fact that he wasn't fighting back. He was simply dodging and diverting. His Bo once nearly made contact with the other's head but he shown his mastery of his weapon and stopped it merely a centimeter or two from the other's face. It took only a split second as he was lost in calculating to not notice the leg sweep at his own, knocking him to the ground where his neck quickly became acquainted with the Twin Sais. His chocolate brown pools looked up into emerald orbs who seemed pleased with themselves. "Ya dead." Was all he had to say about it as the echo of the cane hit the tatami mat two times signaling the end of the spar.

"Very good Raphael, usingthe distraction of one's opponent to your advantage is tactful." The fatherly tone said as the rat mutant stepped forward. He placed his hand on the red clad turtle's shoulder. A silent sign of praise and approval. He then turned his keen eyes to the other. "Donatello, while it is admiral not to wish harm to your opponents bear in mind that they will not hesitate to end your life if given the chance that you have given to your brother." He picked up his son's Bo staff and handed it to him. "You had the advantage at one point, you could have won had you not hesitated and withdrew your attack."

The young terrapin bowed his head respectfully. "I did not was to hurt him Master." It was the simple truth. He never wished harm upon any but being a ninja, such was hard not to know the cries of pain you have caused another. Yet, he would suffer an eternity of screams caused by his own hands before he was willing to allow the death of one of his brothers.

The elder sighed softly. "Donatello, you are ninja. It is this skill of Ninjutsu that I teach you so you can defeat your opponents such as the Shredder. Do you think he will hesitate to kill you or your brothers?" He received a soft no in response. "No he will not. He will kill you if given the chance, he will kill your brothers if given the chance." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Will you give him that chance?" once more a quiet no. "You, Donatello, of all my sons have a gentle heart. Such is rare in ninja. It is admirable as I have said but it has also lead to the down fall of each." He could see that his son understood his words, that all four of them had. "Training is over for today."

"Awww yeah! Pizza time!" the youngest of them shouted as he ran from the Dojo and to the kitchen.

Raphael looked over to his brother who remained in his place on the floor before sighing and shaking his head. He walked over and held out his hand. "Ya did good Donnie." He said. "If ya sitck woulda hit me I'd look worse than Mikey!" he joked causing his younger brother to laugh slightly.

"Hey! I heard that!" the angered shout of the youngest was heard from the kitchen.

The eldest walked over and placed his hand on the Purple clad turtle's shoulder. "Not bad. You could improve on your stance a bit but other than that it was nearly flawless." He took the Bo Staff from his brother's hands and set it near the other weapons.

"Thanks guys. I thought Sensei was going to ream me big time for that." He smiled and took the hand of his strongest brother who helped to pull him up. "Besides, I don't want to be the reason Raph has to go get a new mirror." He was then pulled into a nuggie from said turtle.

"Oh yeah brainiac?! Think ya better look'en then me?!" he joke as he knocked him to the tatami mats below.

"Of course he is Raph. Donnie is our little princess after all!" Leo said as he headed for the door. "Come on sweetheart sing us a song!"

The purple turtle sighed contently. His brothers never treated him any differently. They didn't see him as weak like his Master had implied, they saw him as strong and worthwhile. He stood up quickly and ran to the kitchen where his brother argued about the pizza left overs.

"I was here first!" Mikey cried out as he reached for the piece Raph currently had. "Come on get your own!" he said as he began to pout. He knew none of them could resist it long, it wqas the perk of being the baby brother.

The larger turtle smiled. "I just did." He punched him on the arm. "What are you gonna do about it?!" he wasn't going to fall for it. The eyes were hard to resist but he had to ignore him.

"This!" His eyes grew to nearly three times their size and tears pricked at his baby blues. He made a pathetic whimpering sound like that of a kicked puppy.

"Aww Damn it!" he cried. "I hate when ya get like that!" he moaned and slowly moved to give him the pizza. Just as he was about to take it… "Got ya!" he shouted as he downed it in front of his baby brother.

"DUDE! THAT WAS SO NOT COOL!" he growled out as he weakly hit his brother's arm. "That was the best piece!"

The elder chuckled. "An' it went to da best!" he cracked.

Donatello shook his head and smiled at the scene. Leave it to Raph to rile up Mikey. "Here." He said softly as he took out his own pizza. "You can have mine." He pushed the pizza to his younger brother who happily hugged him.

"Donnie did I ever tell you you are like…The best big brother ever?" he cried out. "Cuz you are dude! The best!" he devoured the slice before patting his belly. "That hit the spot big time!"

Leo finished chewing his piece. "I thought I was the best big brother yesterday when I helped you clean your room?" he asked narrowing his eyes at the light skinned turtle.

"Dude don't you know, the fastest way to a turtle's heart is through his tummy?" he said pointing an accusing finger at his brother as if it was he who had ventured upon offense.

Leo looked at the pizza box that was now empty. "Donnie, did you get anything to eat?" he asked noticing the other tinkering with one of the gadgets he was currently working on. Leo had been noticing the other's clever way of getting out of eating meals at times and it was worrying him. Not wanting to worry the others, he kept it to himself.

"No, but I'll be fine. I just phoned April a while ago to bring some food down." He moved over to the cat cookie jar on the fridge, the one with the chipped ear that Mikey had found one day in the trash and had begged his genius brother to fix for him. Lifting the lid, the cat made a quick "MEOW!" sound before he shut it. He quickly counted the cash and frowned when he turned to his brothers. "Who took from our food jar?!" his eyes moved to each brother who held guilty looks on their faces.

"Dude! New Issue!" he said waving the comic around. "I just had to know what happens to Captain Badazz!" he dove into the comic again ignoring his brother's look of disapproval.

He then turned to Raphael. "Don't give me that look! I was practically begg'en for the damn thing!" he said as he pulled out his new pair of Sais he would use on the special occasion of whipping Shredder's ass. "Ya said I could get 'em anyway…"

"That was before I knew I needed the replacement cylinder for Metalhead! Raph if he goes down so do all of our security for the lair!" he sighed heavily but blamed himself for forgetting to tell him.

Lastly he looked to his eldest brother and frowned. "I needed oils and a new sharpening stone for my Katanas." He said, believing he was in the right because he needed them to be in top shape for battle.

Donnie didn't say anything else. He shook his head and reviewed the list he was going to give to April. The money he had would barely cover half of what they needed. It was him after all who earned it. On his down days he worked as an IT consultant over the phone and had the money wired straight into April's Father's bank account where she then was able to use if for her needs as well as theirs. If he were to forgo the cylinder in place of allowing for all of the food to be bought, he may be able to scavenge for one. He decided to try that before telling Mikey that he couldn't have his favorite cereal, or that there was going to be no stake for Raph and no green tea for Leo. No, instead he would go Topside and try to find the item he needed in the local scrapyard and maybe even salvage some other treasures.

He made his way to the lab where he found Metalhead just as he had left him. His head was open and wires were sticking out in all directions. He smiled and placed his hand on the cool metal surface. "Don't worry buddy, I'll fix you." He said softly. Moving over to the part of the Lab that made up his room he grabbed his Bo Staff and slung the satchel over his shoulder.

"Look the little princess has gotten her purse!" Raph teased as he walked into the lab. He looked down at Metalhead and smiled. "Looks like ya seen better days." He remarked knowing there would be no response.

Donnie ignored him and continued to look for things he would need. A small flash light he had made just for the purpose of inspecting the treasures for flaws. His Shell Phone, in case of attack and a baggie full of quarters in case he got thirsty he could use the vending machines. He turned to his hot headed brother who was messing with the robot turtle. "Raph please don't touch him yet. Do you remember what happened last time?"

The other rolled his eyes. "Yeah, Yeah the pin popped out 'n it took ya weeks ta find a new one." God he wished his brother would get over it already. He didn't know the pin was gone until Donnie mumbled and grumbled about it.

"Months, Raph, it took me Months to find a new one." He sighed and walked toward the door of the lab with his Bo staff secured on the back of his shell for safe keeping.

"We're worried 'bout ya." The elder said suddenly and off topic. Donnie froze and looked toward his brother. "Ya barely eat, ya shut ya self in da lab staying up all hours of the damn night doing god knows what." He sighed and looked up at his younger brother. "Take it easy Donnie boy." He said softly.

Donatello nodded. "I'm fine. Like I said I'm working on Metalhead. If his systems go down…" he didn't want to think of the possibility that Shredder or the Kraang found their Lair. Although it was a one in a million chance he wasn't about to gamble their lives, he didn't want to risk the loss of one of his family members.

"Then da whole security system goes with 'em. I know Donnie, just be careful alright?" he asked. He trusted Donnie the most out of all of them. Donnie never let him down, ever. If he hadn't promised Casey an ass whipping he most likely would have gone along with him just to be sure. "Ya got your Shell Phone?"

The other pulled it out and waved it in the air. "I'll be fine, never been caught yet." He said proudly. He knew the other was worried due to the increase of Kraang sightings and Foot activity. Not to mention the recent attack by Slash that nearly took them out. They were all on edge. "I'm going to grab the cylinder Raph and be back in time for dinner." He promised.

Raphael was not totally convinced but he said nothing about it. Donnie was always the sensible one, the silent one, the one all others turned to, and he was the glue that held the family together. After all, it was Donnie that convinced Raphael to stay at home when he and Leo had that big fight. Donnie knew just what to say and how to say it. "Just be careful."

With a nod he slipped out of the door and through the lair before disappearing down the sewer. The eldest brother moved to him and sighed. "He's going to be late." He said softly. "He'll sneak in and skip dinner like last time."

"Then we'll stay up and make 'em eat." He said cracking his knuckles. He was worried, Donnie has gotten thinner and it can clearly be seen. Hell, his shell seemed almost too big on him. Donnie was going to eat something, even if he had to hold him down and shove it down his throat.

~LRDM~

It had been three hours since Donnie left that April came running into the lair with Casey hot on her tail. They were panting from their run causing the other's alarm to rise. Their first thoughts were that something happened to Donnie, that he was discover and is severely hurt. "April, Casey what's wrong?!" Leo ran to them hoping for a quick answer.

"It's…Kraang…Warehouse…Mutagen…Lots of it!" She said between panted breaths. They had run all the way from the warehouse to the lair.

Leo turned to his team of brothers, noting quickly the lack of their genius they severely needed when facing the technologically advanced aliens. They were at a huge disadvantage.

"Mikey…" he turned to his orange clad brother who had the shell phone to his ear.

"No Donnie, dude it's the Kraang…Like Shell! We don't know dottily squat when it comes to octobrains." He said and noted Leo's look of disapproval. "Dude I so beat you to the punch." He boasted able to think of a solution to their missing techy turtle before the others had. "He says he's in route and heading there now."

"Good, tell him to wait for us and not to engage unless necessary." He patted April's back. "Think you can take us there?" he asked her now that her breathing was normal.

She nodded. "I saw a few people there. I'm sure they are conducting experiments! I just hope they're not too late…" she said softly recalling what happened to her father. The last thing she wanted was for anyone else to become mutated.

"Listen Red, that place is stocked full of that stuff. All we gotta do is swipe it and Gaptooth can have a field day." Casey said, hopping to cheer her up even slightly. Donnie was having trouble creating a cure because he never had much to work with. "If we get that warehouse maybe he can find a cure."

Hope flared in her eyes. "Yeah, come one let's go!" A cure meant so much, not just to her but to everyone. A cure meant that Splinter could finally be with Karai and live as a family. That hope fueled them all. Perhaps, she wondered. Perhaps the cure could turn the Turtles human, could give them a life that the sewers never could.

~LRDM~

Donnie was forced to abandon his search in favor of helping the others. It didn't bother him any, his brothers over a cylinder. Across the rooftops, he ignored the streets below in favor of focusing and calculating his best route, their best chance for survival, the chance of securing the mutagen and curing April's father. It was his fault after all. If he had been more precise and not have rounded the chance up…It was his fault. He kicked up off the cold rooftop and silently slid to a halt.

A woman was hanging her laundry out to dry. He sighed as she moved to grab the last garment only for it to be grabbed by a small child who happily gave it to her. She pet his head and took the skirt. His eyes looking on in wonder that the light in the child's eyes, eyes so innocent that he had no idea of the cruelty in the world.

Sighing, he waited for them to leave before he continued on his way to the warehouse. It didn't take him long to find the palace crawling with the cliché look of the disguised Kraang Droids. He took one glance, counting seven in total, two to the left, three in front and two to the right. He crouched silently, waiting, watching. From his place he could see a through a few of the windows. There were six people inside, all caged, one being a child clutched tightly in her mother's arms.

He watched as the Kraang as they moved to the cage, pushing past the adults and to the small girl. He heard the mother's screams as she lowered her body, wrapping herself protectively around her child. It took no time for the Kraang to rip them apart and take the child toward the chair under the mutagen.

Leo had forbid him to engage without cause, this was a cause he could not ignore. No child was going to become a mutant, not while he had a chance to help. Silently, with the stealth taught by his master, he was able to slip past the guards and make his way in through the window. He landed silently onto the metal beam above them and looked around. The place seemed almost unguarded, nearly too easy for him to attack the six Kraang in the warehouse. Thirteen Kraang in total, far smaller than their normal accumulation perhaps to keep a low profile? He shrugged as they began to snap the child, no older than ten, into the chair despite her cries as well as those of her mother. The other adults shook at the cage, hoping for it to somehow fall but they held fast despite their efforts.

He scanned the area quickly trying to find the object of his desire. Once his eyes made contact with the small box mark with red and yellow stripes reading danger he smiled. With the flick of his wrist the star hit its mark blackening the entire building.

"Kraang, is this the thing that is known as, Blackout?" one asked another.

There was a crash followed by the screaming of one of their own. "Kraang, has Kraang slipped?" another crash, followed by another and another. Something was going on and he readied his weapon. "The one who is hidden, show yourself so you may be defeated by Kraang." There were shots fired, lighting the room briefly with each blast before another crash was heard.

~LRDM~

Leo threw his hands in the air as they watched Donnie slip into the warehouse. "Damn it!" he heard the strongest of them growl out. They had spotted him waiting on the rooftop and was about to regroup with him when he started to move in on his own. It wasn't like him to act without a reason and each knew that there had to be something that drew him in.

"What do we do now?" April asked just as the place went dark. They moved closer, listening to the commotion inside. The guards outside didn't seem phased in the lightest, they just stood there. Shots fired and the adrenaline began to pump through them all. Donnie was in there...alone.

April let out a grunt of pain as she held her head. Images flashed through her mind too fast to truly comprehend. Voices filled her, surrounded her and she tried to focus. An image appeared before her, lasting more than all the others. An image of someone she knew dearly. "Donnie!" she cried out. "We have to get him out of there! It's a trap!" The others looked at her curiously. She rolled her eyes. "I don't know why but they are after Donnie!" That's all it took before the brothers ran in, attacking the seven guards who held strong.

These were Kraang elites, the explanation why there had been so few of them. They had studied each of the Turtles moves, mastering in their each individual style. More shots fired inside as they fought hard to get in, to get to their brother before the Kraang could do him harm. "DONNIE!"

~LRDM~

He watched as the last Kraang fell. Giving a satisfied smirk he then moved to the cage and picked the lock. Once opened he made his way to the little girl. With ease he allowed the hidden blade to be made visible and he cut the thick leather straps before turning around. He had to remain unseen after all. "DONNIE!" he turned his head in the direction of the cry and felt a sudden pain in the back of his neck.

His vision began to blur as he fell to his hands and knees. He was growing weaker, fighting was out for the question as he looked up at the little girl whose finger was pointed at him, the tip open like the barrel of a gun.

"Kraang has secured the one known as Donatello."

It was the last thing he heard as darkness took him.