Chapter Text
Donnie trusted his brothers.
Pacing the concrete, he kept reminding himself of that.
He'd never needed to question his faith in them, no matter what they said or did, or how stupidly insane they proved themselves to be. It was a trust that fractured every now and then, but never broke, and always healed in time. It was a trust that was rotted into his very soul, by a deity that wanted to see how far it could push him. Just like he'd always had their back, he knew that they would always have his.
This trust was the only thing that he could depend on. It was an unspoken truth that kept his world turning.
So when Leo called his t-phone half an hour earlier and told him to head to Murakami's noodle shop before abruptly hanging up, Donnie hadn't given a second thought to abandoning his experiments, hopping in the stealth bike, and doing as he asked.
After hanging around the inside of the restaurant and making small talk with their blind human friend, Donnie opted to wait outside the shop. Now here he was. Waiting.
Even as the minutes ticked by and he began to grow increasingly impatient, he stayed in the alley next to his bike and paced, unwilling to call the leader back if doing so could risk putting any or all his brothers in danger.
Leo said he would meet him there. So he had to stay.
Other than the call, Donnie hadn't seen or heard from any of them since they'd left to finish patrol and graciously left him behind so he could continue with his retromutagen studies to find a cure for Karai. Then again, bites of pain remind him that it wasn’t exactly out of the kindness of their hearts.
After their lastest run-in with the Foot had left him with a thin wound up his forearm, they decided that they would rather that he be irritating it at home surrounded by meds than up on the surface getting beat up by mutants.
At that exact moment, he wished that he had fought to join them.
At least then he would know what was going down.
The wound was more of a bother than a crippling injury. Though, he really should have taken something for it before he left. He hadn’t because Leo didn't give any inclination that there was time for that.
Where was all that overbearing concern now?
Donnie glanced up to the rooftops, growing more and more irritable with his brothers' lack of appearance, trying to smother the fear that threatened to overwhelm his annoyance.
A loud thud from further up the alleyway.
Like any respectable ninja, he immediately moved to track the sound, making two turns down the length before he spotted a decently large dent on a dumpster lid.
And the source of the noise…?
Scanning his vacant surroundings and then examining the dent with a curious frown, he almost didn't notice when his t-phone rang.
Glancing at Raph's caller ID and then swiftly answering, he didn't give him a chance to speak before he demanded, "Raph! What's going on? Are you guys okay?"
"Donnie, you need to stop your yapping and listen to me. Go to Chinatown and make sure you don't stop moving. Stay out of sight and don't do anything stupid, got me?"
"Chinatown? Raph, what's-"
A click.
He'd hung up!
Donnie let out a frustrated breath at the audacity before he glanced around the empty alleyway and then back to the dumpster. He’d like to know what that’s about.
But Raph said move.
Against his better judgment, he left it behind.
Slipping his t-phone into his belt, he backtracked his way through the alleyway. The genius grabbed his helmet back out of the bike and jumped in, racing thoughts almost as deafening as the engine when he switched it on.
Rising trepidation filled his being and he tried to shove it back as he contemplated the idea that this was some weird prank cooked up by his brothers. The urgency in both Leo and Raph's voices when they'd called still rang in Donnie's head. They sounded alarmed. They sounded worried. He had a hard time convincing himself that they would fake that.
Despite the slight twinge of pain up his arm with each fairly aggressive turn down the street, the vibrations of wheels on concrete and the speed were oddly calming for his nerves.
Upon passing under the overhead entrance to Chinatown, Donnie finally slowed the stealth bike enough that he was once again within the speed limit and knocked his fist into the button that opened the roof of his bike, scanning his surroundings for any signs of his brothers.
Raph had said not to stop moving, but he couldn't be certain that his older brother knew he brought the stealth bike.
Was he expecting him to be traveling on foot?
Donnie'd driven through the extent of Chinatown four times, wasting fuel and building heavy anxiety, before he saw a flash of movement from one of the rooftops to his left.
Slamming the brakes and bringing the bike to such an abrupt stop that he practically knocked his head into the dashboard, he straightened and adjusted his titled helmet, turning his attention upward.
Whoever or whatever he had seen had disappeared from view.
He squinted to see if there were any figures moving across the nearby rooftops.
Frustrated, he realized he was too far to get a proper view.
Reeving up the bike and swerving into the nearest alleyway, he leapt out and tossed his helmet into the seat, flipping onto the nearest fire escape and making his way to the roof. He ignored the sharp spikes of pain as he pulled himself up. Straightening, he absentmindedly rubbed the throbbing limb as he scanned his surroundings.
He was hoping for even a glimpse of a turtle-shaped shadow sneaking around.
Nothing appeared. The rooftops were empty and the disappointed genius let out a low growl.
He felt as though it would be easier to understand what his brothers expected from him if they were to clue him in on what he was supposed to do, but he assumed that they would have told him if it was really important. If they weren't telling him, then no matter how inconvenient it seemed to be, there must have been a reason.
At this point, it had better be a seriously good one.
He stayed standing on the rooftop for a couple minutes before Raph's command to stay moving popped into his head.
Rightas he'd reluctantly turned away and was preparing to do a one-handed slide down a gutter pipe, a distant cry of surprise caught his attention.
He knew that shout. Panic set in.
"Mikey!"
His staff left his sheath and entered his hand. He charged across the roofs, glancing in all directions as he tried to pinpoint exactly where his brother's cry had come from. His heart pounded as his mind clouded over with every bad scenario that could have befallen his baby brother.
What had happened? Was he in imminent danger? Was he injured? Being injured? Were Leo and Raph with him? Would he arrived too late? Why wasn't he being kept in the loop? What was going on?!
He slid to a sudden halt when he realized that he didn't even know where he was going. He could have already passed Mikey, or Mikey could have been in one of the surrounding warehouses, and he'd have no way to get to him because he had no idea where his brothers were or what they were planning and these impossibly unhelpful calls weren't-
Calls! That's right, they had their t-phones on them! Duh!
Slinging his staff as his left hand reached for his belt, he winced at the spike of pain that traveled through his lightly throbbing limb at the movement before he turned his attention to his t-phone.
It didn't take long to get Mikey's location and then he didn't hesitate to dash across the rooftops, reaching the youngest's dot when his t-phone rang.
For the barest second, he was tempted to ignore the call because he was about to be with them anyway, but he hit the receiving button as he moved over to one of the skylights and peeked inside to see if he could spot them. Upon viewing a dusty, brother-less room, he decided they must have been on a lower floor as he brought the t-phone to the side of his head.
He flexed the hand of his cut arm. Sewer apples, this was a bad time for it to burn like that.
"Donnie, I don't know what exactly you think you're doing, but I need you to stop doing it."
After sneaking a peek around his desolate surroundings, Donnie pressed the t-phone between his shoulder and head to free up his hands.
"I heard Mikey shout, and I came to help." His tone was stubborn and firm as he grasped his bo and gave it a quick twirl. He proceeded to slam it into the glass to shatter it, giving him a nice mutant turtle-sized hole to slip through.
"No! Donnie, listen to me! Mikey's fine! Stay where you are!"
"You guys are in trouble! I just know it!" Donnie interrupted furiously, though he obediently placed his inward venture on pause. "So either give me a really good reason to stay away or at the very least tell me what's going on because I'm not going to-"
The sudden clattering told Donnie that Leo must have dropped the t-phone.
"Leo? Leo!"
That's it!
He took a step, completely prepared to dive into the warehouse when his baby brother's relievingly cheerful voice came through the speaker.
"Sorry to interrupt this very important call, but Leo suddenly became very busy, so now you get the honor of talking to your favorite bro!"
"Mikey! Are you okay?" He demanded, cupping the t-phone, preferring the answers from his blatantly honest brother instead of the ones who were very insistent on getting rid of him.
"All good here, D! Showing baddies who's boss and-" There was a pause as he heard Mikey give an abrupt war cry before he added, "Oh, yeah, and Raph says if you come down here, he's gonna smack the green off of ya. Gotta head off bro."
"But why can't I come down there? At least give me a reason!"
"The reason is you just gotta!"
The frantic energy hardened into something sour. Et tu, Mikey?
Giving up, he grumbled, "If you guys don't want my help then I'm better off back at the lair-"
"No!" Mikey's sudden burst of panic had Donnie's brows furrowed. He hurriedly added, "Look, D, broski, go back to the Stealth Bike and do some more reckless driving, kay? Leo says that's the best way not to get caught."
"Caught? Caught by who? And how did you know-?"
A click announced that Mikey had hung up on him and Donnie had the powerful urge to chuck his t-phone against the ground and watch it shatter. Instead, he managed to keep his composure and placed it safely into his belt, turning away from his entry hole.
For one reason or another, his brothers wanted him to stay out of the way so someone didn't catch him, possibly the same someone chasing them, but he wasn't sure why staying on his own was safer than staying with the team. Plus, if someone was after them, why would the wise choice not be to go to the secret and secluded lair?
As much as he wanted to ignore their pleas and join them, maybe even try to figure out more pieces on his own, he had no choice but to trust them. He'd never had any reason to doubt one of Leo's plans before, so if they thought it was safer to stay away, then at least for now, he'd stay away.
It wasn't until he'd put a few feet between him and the warehouse that held his brothers that he realized that the aching of his arm was subsiding again. His mind had been so wrapped up in his current, confusing predicament that he'd barely noticed the fluctuation of pain.
Now he definitely did, though he was relieved that he'd noticed it as it began disappearing. Anxiously rubbing his arm as he hoped it would leave him alone for the time being, he slowed his pace and continued towards the bike, the pain all but gone by the time he had dropped next to his creation.
Donnie'd lifted his black helmet from the seat when all of his sense flared with one command.
He ducked instantly, the sound of something whizzing over his head drawing his attention to the rooftop that he'd left.
Brown eyes widened upon spotting the bulky figure hidden in shadow and preparing to fire at him a second time. He quickly shoved the helmet over his head and jumped into the driver's seat. Ignoring the flash of hot pain that erupted when his arm knocked the side, he gritted his teeth and slammed the button for the roof, flinching when he heard something land on it directly after it shut.
Wasting no time in starting the engine and reeling backward, he knocked whatever or whoever it was off and was speeding down the road before it occurred to him that the shadow was familiar.
Narrowing his eyes as he tried to process it further, he felt a scowl form when he couldn't decipher which of their many, many enemies it could have been. For all he knew, this was actuallly a completely new danger, though what this new assailant might want with him was beyond the genius.
After respectfully pausing at the red light he came across, he did a u-turn in the thankfully empty street and then sped back the way he'd come, wanting to stay in the near vicinity of his brothers. If he couldn’t be a direct part of the battle, he could at least be nearby to them. And if he happened to spot them again, and they needed his help, he couldn’t exactly stay away in good conscience then.
He was taken by surprise when a white van drove out in front of him and sharply veered to the right to avoid a collision, barely managing to keep his vehicle from flipping.
After slamming the gas the moment he'd glanced through the rear-view mirror and saw the prominent Bebop & Rocksteady doodled boldly, he realized that the mutants were following him, the hot pain along his arm and his adrenaline-filled thoughts forcing him to move all his focus from his brothers and to his current situation.
As the stealth bike didn't have any sort of weaponry, something Donnie decided would definitely be fixed in near the future; the genius knew his only choice would be to keep his distance and do whatever he could to lose them.
Deciding that staying on the street wasn't going to help, he quickly shifted gears and swerved to enter the parking garage to his left. His mutant stalkers followed his lead.
Careful to avoid the cars that were parked throughout, Donnie traveled up the different levels, aware of the shrinking height limitations as they went.
Apparently, his stalkers weren't smart enough to realize this and were forced to stop up the ramp when their van couldn't fit. A smug grin crossed his expression as he turned to miss the ramp that led farther upwards and served onto the downward ramp, leaving the stuck mutants in his dust.
"Ha! And Leo said my designs left it too close to the ground! Shows him what he knows."
He jumped slightly upon realizing that his t-phone was ringing and removed it from his belt, checking the ID to find that Leo was calling him again. Did his brothers' sudden ability to know where he was also include hearing whatever he said?
Donnie scrambled to answer it, "I didn't mean it like that! I swear!"
"Didn't mean what?"
His brother sounded confused and out of breath, but not as annoyed as Donnie had expected him to be. A sudden sheepishness washed over him. A coincidence then.
"Nothing, nevermind. Are you okay? Mikey? Raph?"
"We're all fine."
"Good!" Though he was sincere about his relief, he couldn't help the mocking edge that crept into his tone, "So maybe you can tell me why I had Bebop and Rocksteady stalking me through the city and- if assumptions prove correct- Tiger Claw’s shooting at me?"
"Ugh, I knew it!" Leo's tone was beyond annoyed and Donnie could tell by the decrease in volume that he hadn't meant the statement for him. "I told you guys those two weren't chickening out!"
Muffled, "Hey, Tiger Claw was your problem!"
"I was trying to make sure Razhar didn't chomp Mikey!"
High and whiney, "I had it under control!"
"Didn't look like it to me!"
"Leo, what is going on?" Donnie demanded in the hopes of regaining his older brother's attention.
"A lot, Donnie. A lot is going on." There was a pause and Donnie wanted to slam his forehead against the steering. This had to be the least helpful response his older brother could have possibly given him. He was completely prepared to chew him out for it when Leo asked, "Remember that back-up lab of Stockman's that we're not supposed to know about?"
Donnie didn't really have to consider it. It wasn't like the minor evil scientist had that many supposedly secret laboratories in the city. "The one I borrowed parts from a while back?"
"That's the one."
"What about it?"
There was a distinct pause on the other end of the line and a murmur of voices before Leo's finally returned. "We need you to meet us there."
"What?" Donnie questioned blankly. "Why there?"
"Because it might be the only way we can go home."
"What? Stop speaking cryptically and tell me what's going on!" Donnie practically begged as he tried to figure out the quickest route to the mutant bug's not-so-secret workplace.
"Look, Donnie, I need you to trust me on this."
"Of course, I trust you! I'd just like to know what is going on!"
"And I'd like to tell you, but not yet. Meet us at the lab-"
"Don't you dare hang up on me!" Jerking the stealth bike around a corner with enough pressure that he heard the squealing of the wheels across the smooth concrete, he snapped, "I'm tired of being left in the dark and having to figure things out on my own. Why is the Foot after me and what could possibly possess you three to keep it a secret?"
"Donnie, I promise you'll get all the answers you need as soon as-"
Donnie heard a loud thud in the background and then Mikey shouted something inaudible. The leader giving a muffled reply before his voice came clearly again, "You're going to hate what I'm about to do, but I'll explain everything at the lab. Trust us, okay?"
"Leo-!"
His plea fell on deaf ears and Leo hung up, once again leaving Donnie to fight the urge to bang his head against the steering to take out his fears and frustrations. His brothers were clearly in some kind of danger, which involved getting him away from the Foot, which likely meant if anything happened to them, it would be his fault!
So why weren't they letting him help?
He forced himself to take a deep breath and relax his grip, trying to remind himself that he was currently on his way to meet them. Leo promised to explain everything, and he had no reason to doubt his word under the circumstances.
It’s Leo. If he could be there, then he would be there.
All he had to do was make it to the flyman's lab in one piece, and then everything could calm down and begin making sense.
Maybe if he told himself this enough times, he would begin to believe it.