- Everclear, "Father of Mine"
Don pulled the coat up higher around his neck and gazed out at the old, worn down buildings, the deserted streets, the broken car windows. "Geeze, we better be careful touring around in this neighborhood. We're likely to find a fight on our hands."
"Let them come." Raph said boldly. "Not like we can't hold our own."
"That's not the point, Raph." Leo interjected. "We're here to get the kid without any trouble, not to draw unnessesary attention to ourselves."
"Guys, I think we're here..."
The others stopped their conversation and glanced up in the direction Mike was pointing. An old, rickety house stood before them, the wood rotted, the paint all but peeled away. Even the porch looked unstable. Raph couldn't help but think it looked like something out of Psycho.
Don glanced down at the scrap of paper in his hands. 413, this had to be the place...but he could hardly imagine Robyn's child living in such a dump. Collin had said his old, senile mother lived here. Maybe she had a hard time keeping the place up...
Mike was the first one to the stairs. If there was a kid being held in a place like this, he wasn't about to waste any time getting him out. But before he could go any further, Leo laid a hand on his shoulder, a subtle hint to wait while his brother figured this out.
Leo turned back to Don and Raph. "Are you sure he's in there?"
"No." Don admitted. "The guy's a liar. He's lied about a lot of things. But he said this is where the kid is, so we have to at least look."
Leo returned his attention to the house. "Could be a trap." he mumbled.
"Oh, I hope it is."
Leo just shook his head. Raphael could be so damn demented at times.
"So how is she? Is she gonna make it?"
The doctor sat down slowly, sipping the coffee from the mug in his hands. He just sat there for a moment, allowing the warm steam to engulf him, as if it would help him with the dreadful task at hand.
"It's been a very long night, Mr. Jones."
"Yeah..." I know, I know. Can we get on with it please? He was dreading this more and more as the clock ticked by. There had to be bad news coming, the way they were drawing this out.
"She is in stable condition now, but I will be honest with you...she experienced heart failure twice last night while we were working on her."
He felt himself take in a deep breath, felt his lungs almost explode as he held it there.
"We seem to have gotten her heart rate under control now. She is breathing normally, and that is a good sign."
Casey let out the breath. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to his next question, yet he forced it out. "But will she make it?"
"Only time will tell." the doctor answered honestly. "But our outlook is hopeful...."
He could feel his heart begin to pound harder, the lump form in his throat. There was more. He could tell by the tone of voice, that look in the doctor's eyes. "What is it?"
Doctor Brown lowered his head for a moment, then quickly rose his eyes to meet Casey's again. "Her heart had stopped beating last night for close to four minutes. The paramedics got it going again as quickly as possible, but...the lack of oxygen to her brain--"
"Oh god..." Casey could feel his heart begin to pound steadily now. His mind raced, reaching out for anything stable it could hold onto. "She has brain damage, doesn't she?"
"The doctor looked into his eyes, and nodded honestly. "There's a good possibility. Though we won't be able to know to what extent until she's awake."
If she ever does wake up... Casey took in another breath and ran a hand through his long hair. "I understand. Thanks doctor."
The man rose and nodded, laying a hand on Casey's shoulder. "If there's anything we can do to help..."
"I'll let you know, thanks."
As the doctor left, Casey lowered his head into his hands. What would he tell April? And more importantly, how would he break the news to Donatello?
Tubes...tubes everywhere. He could feel them digging into his head, penetrating his brain. His brain...his own, yet not his thoughts...someone else's. The pain, the horror...
A monitor beeping nearby. A hospital? No, something told him that this was a place far more deadly. An experimentation lab! He was going to be dissected! He was...
"Yoo-hoo! Leeeoooo..."
He blinked, noticed Mike's hand waving in front of his face.
"Hey, you okay? You seemed to black out there for a minute."
He closed his eyes briefly, pushing the remainder of the disturbing vision away before nodding. "Yeah, yeah Mike, I'm fine. I was just...thinking."
But the look on Mike's face told him that he knew something more was going on. Mike's intelligence almost made Leo smile. Behind that innocent front and little boy charm, he knew things. Sometimes, it even seemed he knew too much...
As they spread out to search the house, an eery feeling crept over Leo. Something was wrong, he knew it. And something in the back of his mind told him that it was about time they got home.
"But father, I don't--"
"Look Amber, this is for your own good. Don't you understand that?"
She turned her head away to glance out the window. She hated when he did this to her, hated when he looked her in the eye with those bright, penetrating pools. Those eyes of his were almost surreal, almost too painful to look at when she remembered...
"You can't do this to me! You can't! You can't make me!"
"You're right, I can't. But he can make me, Amber. He can make me do things--"
"Stop." She closed her eyes, breathing in as the terror of that moment overtook her again. She could see the body laying there, the lifeless eyes staring back up at her. She shook her head, as if doing so would rid her of the terrible memories. "Please, stop it." she said quietly.
"Then you'll help me?"
She fought back the tears that threatened to escape, the warm wetness already welling up in her eyes. "I can't." she whispered.
She could see the anger spread across his face. "After all I've done for you-- We need your help. You will help us, Amber. That is not a request!"
She watched with frightened anger as he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Then she burried her face in her hands and wept.
The world was a blur of color and sound. Distorted voices popped in and out of her head, distant, yet close. She blinked her eyes slowly, straining to focus on something...anything.
"April! April, it's me, honey. It's Casey."
She could feel something clamp down on her hand, could make out a sort of dark blob right in front of her. As she blinked more rapidly now, a tired, muscular man with long, shoulder lenth dark hair came into view.
"Casey?"
The sound of her weak voice made his heart rejoice. He gripped her hand tighter, bringing his face close to kiss her forehead. "Yeah, it's me. How do you feel?"
"Where am I?"
"You're in a hospital. You've been asleep for seventeen hours. But you're okay. You're gonna be just fine."
April lifted her head a little off the pillow, trying to sit up, but she quickly lowered herself again as a dizzying pain spread through her chest and head. "Hurts."
"Yeah, I know. The doctors said you have a couple of bruised ribs, a minor concussion. But you'll be fine. You really kicked the hell out of those mousers. You're my little trooper..."
"Oh god...the mousers!" She had almost forgotten all about last night. Baxter was still out there somewhere, and something told her he'd be returning to find her.
"Hey, it's okay, April. Relax. You're okay now."
"What about Robyn? Where is she?" In an instant the memories flooded her; the mess in the apartment, her sister laying bloody and silent on the floor... "Oh god, Casey, what happened to her?"
The panic on her face, the harsh reality of what he was about to tell her almost made him want to cry, but he pushed it aside. She was going to find out one way or another. He figured it would be best coming from him.
"Now, I'm going to take a blood sample. This won't hurt."
Megan scowled up at Dr. Hudson as he prepared the syringe. What were they planning on doing to her here? And where exactly was here? All she could really remember from last night was being taken away in the hellicopter, waking up here, and talking with the doctor. But something about their conversation had disturbed her. What was it he had said? "...Doctor Stockman isn't going to be happy about this at all...
Doctor Stockman! That was it! Suddenly, sheer panic rose into her throat as she realized the danger she was in. Baxter Stockman had her brought to this place. He was probably close by. And by now, she was sure he had been informed that this was not April he had captured.
Swallowing hard, she struggled to look callous, tried to hide her fear as she stared into the doctor's icy blue eyes. He noticed her steady gaze, and flashed her a quick, meaningless smile before lowering the syringe to her arm.
"Now don't squirm, or this'll hurt."
Not like she was really able to move much at all anyway.
She watched as the needle sunk into her skin, as the red liquid filled the tube. But why did they need a sample of her blood? What were they planning to do with it? It was clear to her now that their intent was not a medical one. At least not one she could benefit from.
Oh god... She knew that Baxter must have found out about the baby by now. There was no real way of hiding the fact that she was pregnant. But what would they do to her child? Suddenly, she felt totally and utterly alone. No one could have possibly had the slightest idea where she was. April, Casey and Robyn had all been in the apartment building. She wondered about them. Had they made it out okay? Were they even still alive? Had Baxter done something to them?
Doctor Hudson removed the needle, and laid a peice of cotton over the puncture, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Megan closed her eyes, unable to deal with the haunting thoughts that continued to plague her. What would happen when Baxter found out that this child inside her was a mutant? Would he kill it when he found out it belonged to one of the turtles?
The doctor laid a peice of tape over the cotton and left without saying a word, totally oblivious to the inner turmoil Megan was experiencing. She watched him go, breathing heavily as she tried to force the tears back. But she was too late. She could already feel the warmth on her cheeks.
"Geeze...no sign of the old lady..." Raphael crept out of the master bedroom quietly. "In fact, this place looks like it hasn't been lived in in months!"
Leo ran his fingers lightly over a shelf, coming away with a hand full of dust. "You got that right."
"I knew it!" Don spat. "I knew that bastard was lying to us! Trevor's not here!"
A thumping sound silenced them all. Mike glanced up toward the ceiling and pointed silently. Leo nodded and without a word, led them around the house in a search, until they came to a spot where a little door was fixed into the plaster above their heads.
"What the hell do you think it is?" Raph whispered.
Don frowned up at the door. "I dunno, but we're gonna find out."
Casey laid the baby in April's arms. A look of relief spread across her face when she realized that nothing had been broken or injured. There was a minor scrape on his cheek, and a couple cuts on his arm, but other than that, Christian was healthy and happy. She wiped a tear from her eye and glanced at Casey.
"So, they think she'll be okay?"
Casey nodded. He'd had to lighten the whole ordeal with Robyn, or he knew she'd go nuts. It was pointless to tell her the severity of her sister's condition at this point. It would only upset her and complicate matters further. He had been honest about the possibility of brain damage. He knew he had to prepare her for that. But the heart failure, the all nighter with the doctors, the severity of the coma...those were things he just simply couldn't bring himself to explain. Not now.
April forced a smile, and then grew serious. "It's my fault you know..."
He took her hand. "No, April, don't talk like that."
She lowered her eyes. "It is. Baxter was coming for me. I'm the one he should have--"
Casey touched a finger to her lips. "Shhh...come on, you know that's not true."
"But Casey, Megan's missing! He probably got her! She's probably--"
He moved his hand down to grip her arm, a little more firmly now. "Listen to me, April. It's not your fault. It's that asshole Baxter. And don't you worry, I'm not gonna let anything happen to Megan. I'm going out myself to look for her."
She stared at him for a moment in wide-eyed silence. "Casey, you can't--"
"Don't worry." he said seriously. "Everything's gonna be okay. I will find her." He just wished he could believe that himself.
Finally he had gone. Amber took in a ragged breath and rose swiftly and silently from behind the medical cart. She had to see if what her father had told her was true. Was there really a pregnant woman here, or had that been another one of his tricks to lure her into the organization? Something told her that he had been telling the truth this time, but something also nagged at the back of her mind - a warning of some kind that danger was ahead.
Still, she knew she'd regret it somehow if she didn't at least find out. Afterall, she hadn't taken five years of college toward a medical degree for nothing. She knew about this stuff, and even if their intentions were for evil, she would at least be able to assure it would be a healthy pregnancy.
Megan lifted her head as Amber entered the room. The girl's face seemed to travel across her vision for a moment, and her head pounded.
Amber stared at her in shocked silence. What the hell had they done to her? The hem of her dress was torn, the fabric stained with dirt and blood. Her face...the face that she could tell was really very beautiful, was covered in dirt and filth, and a nasty dark bruise spread across her forehead. Her long hair was disheveled and also crusted with the crimson liquid. Yet, her belly was rounded and full. She figured her to be about eight months along.
Megan laid her head back, wondering what would be done to her now. Maybe this girl had been sent here to try to get information out of her. She looked around the same age. But Megan had promised herself that no matter what they did to her, she would do her darndest not to cooperate. That bastard Baxter would never find April or any of the others if she had anything to do with it.
"Hello." Amber spoke softly, unsure what to really say under the circumstances.
The girl just laid there in silence, staring up at the ceiling.
"My name's Amber. I...I'm here to help you."
Still, Megan did not speak. In her heart, something told her this girl spoke the truth, yet in her mind, she couldn't bring herself to trust her.
Amber decided on a different approach. "How far along are you? When's it due?"
"Leave me alone." Megan said dryly.
So, she can speak...
"Please, I just want to help." Amber approached her, noticed the binds on her hands and feet, felt a pang of disgust travel up her spine. "God...what the hell..."
Megan made eye contact, stared into the bright blue eyes, almost as icy as...
"What's your last name?"
"What?" That had caught her off guard.
"Your last name. You're related to him, aren't you?"
Amber could feel a tinge of guilt travel through her, a ball of disgust for who and what she was, gather at the pit of her stomach. "Hudson. I'm Amber Hudson. He's my...father."
"Mike!"
Leonardo glanced down at Michaelangelo, casting him a warning glare as he bellowed out another series of coughs.
"Sorry! Just...so...dusty...."
Raph glared down at Mike, then up to Leo and Don, nodding that they were ready to continue.
There was barely any light in the attic, and obviously it hadn't been used for many years. A thick layer of dirt covered the floor, and as Don laid his hand on it to brace himself, he suddenly pulled it away, shaking it violently to remove the sticky strings of spiderweb. He glanced down at Leo in apprehension. This place had to be deserted. Yet, he'd heard a noise from up here. They all had.
Sighing, he pushed himself up the rest of the way, feeling along the walls, hoping that nothing in this place would bite. Leo came up shortly behind him, followed by Raph, who was currently mumbling something about how clean this place made the sewers seem, and finally Mike, complete with a sneeze.
"Mike, can it, will ya?"
"Hey, can I help it if I got allergies?"
"Shhh!" Leo tried to remind them once again why they were all here.
Suddenly, Don froze as he caught sight of something moving in the shadows. The others sensed his rigidness and let their eyes trail off into the darkness.
"What is it?" Mike whispered.
Don took a cautious step forward.
"Damn them stupid idiotic cops. Think they know every fucking thing in the world, and they can't even keep a helpless girl from getting snatched out from under them..."
He had been drinking, but worse yet, he had been drinking while watching one of his vigilante tapes on tv.
"I'm gonna find those sons a' bitches and when I'm done, there ain't gonna be anything left..."
He grabbed up two of his best bats and laid them in the duffle bag, right next to his trusty hockey stick, and a golf club for good measure. Then, grabbing up his car keys and another beer, he headed out the door.
"Three months!?!? Are you kidding me? That sucker's huge!"
"Yeah, I know..." After thirty minutes of discussion, Megan had begun to trust her a little more, but she knew it would be foolish to let her guard down. She knew nothing about this girl, except that her father worked for Baxter Stockman, and for some reason, that thought wasn't very comforting. She just couldn't bring herself to tell her about the mutant inside of her. It was too soon. How could she know that the girl wouldn't run off and tell her father or Baxter the news?
"Wow! No wonder Dr. Stockman had you brought here! I'm sure he'd love to make his millions off of this!"
Megan swallowed. "Exactly why does he have me here? What's he planning to do to me?"
Amber really didn't want to answer that question. It pained her to think about Baxter's motives. "I don't know exactly. All my father told me was that you were here, and that they were going to run some tests..."
"Tests?" She didn't like the sound of that. And something in Amber's eyes seemed...ominous.
"Yeah, I think he's going to try to use--" Her eyes grew wide suddenly. "Shit, they're coming! I have to go."
"Wait!" Megan gasped. "Please, I--"
But it was too late. Amber had already sank back into the shadows and disappeared down the hall.
The rage built up inside of him like never before. He thought he could actually feel his blood start to boil. No way. Collin couldn't have done this. It's just unfathomable! But he had. He glanced back at the others, the look of pure anger and disgust clear on their faces as well.
Donatello kept his eyes toward the shadows, toward the frightened image, barely visible in the darkness. From what he could tell, the clothes were torn, almost rags. The face, even in the dim light appeared too thin, almost ghastly, and caked with dirt. Damn Collin! He's going to pay for this... The boy flinched as he approached. He could see him trying to scamper further back against the wall, could hear his ragged breaths, could almost feel the fear emanating from him... He crouched down very slowly, lowering himself on one knee, and froze for a moment.
They studied one another for a while; the boy in the darkened corner, only his eyes barely visible in the light from the open doorway, and the turtle man, stooped down into a humble position, his mind racing, but his face and body calm and collected.
Mike could feel the tears well up in his eyes as he stared at the frightened child before him. How could anyone do this? How long had he been up here? When was the last time he'd eaten? He thought about how lucky he was just then. At least he'd gotten to see the sun today, a rarity, sure, but considering what this kid must have been through...
On instinct, he began to walk toward the child. He needed to be sure he was alright. A sudden urge gripped him to take the kid into his arms and tell him everything would be okay. Just grab the kid and go. Ask questions later. But a hand reached out, pulling him back.
Mike and Leo exchanged glances, and without a word being spoken, he knew what Leo was thinking. This was Don's mission, and it was important that they let him complete it.
She stared up at the figure looming above her, the long black hair, which was tied back in a ponytail, and those deep green eyes almost entrancing. He leaned over her and smiled, his grin revealing two rows of perfect white teeth.
She closed her eyes for a moment, deciding that she must be having some sort of weird dream, or perhaps a hallucination induced by some sort of drug they'd introduced into her system without her knowing.
But when she opened them again, he was still there, writing busily on his clipboard, barely acknowledging her presence anymore as he walked around, taking her blood pressure and temperature and checking her eyes for dialation.
"Who are you?" she heard herself say quietly.
The man didn't answer, but instead went about, pressing his hand on her abdomen. She flinched a little, and he stopped to flash her a look before returning to the clipboard.
"Hmmm...a little tender, are we?"
She had to close her eyes again for a moment to fight off the mesmerizing look of him. When she opened them again, she realized he was staring at her, waiting for an answer.
"Umm...yeah, I guess..."
He nodded and wrote some more.
"Look, could you at least tell me your name? What I'm doing here?"
He ignored her again, and continued about his agenda, scribbling notes here and there and running tests. He checked her throat, looked in her ears, tested her reflexes, every test she could possibly imagine. She was starting to feel like a guinea pig in a research lab.
"What did you say your name was again?" He didn't look up from his clipboard.
She eyed him warily. "Megan....Megan Hamato."
"Hamato...?" Where had he heard that name before?
"What do you want from me? Why am I being held here?"
He dismissed her question without even so much as a wave of his hand. "And what relation might you be to April O'Neil?"
She frowned at him. This was getting weirder by the second. Who were all these strange people, and where was Baxter? Most importantly, why was everyone so obsessed with April?
"She married my cousin." she heard herself say. Dammit! Something told her she shouldn't provide them with any information, but yet, some unknown force was willing it out of her as easily and quickly as a blink of an eye.
"Hmmm...interesting." He was staring at her again with those deep penetrating green eyes. They reminded her of the forest, of the tall pine trees looming in the sky, blocking the light of the sun...
"So that would make her name...Hamato now?"
Don't answer... she reminded herself over and over. Don't tell them any more information...don't help them...don't... But as she looked into those eyes again, she couldn't help but give in.
"No, it's Jones."
Something in his eyes lit up. "Ahhh...yes, Casey Jones...so he is your cousin?"
She didn't answer. She knew she didn't have to.
"And as for the child...who, may I ask, is the father?"
She could feel the fear grip her as she struggled with her thoughts. I can't tell him...can't tell him who...he'll kill it...I can't-- The next thing she felt was a great pressure at her temples, and the world grew black.
"Hey, it's okay..." He lifted his arm very slowly, reaching out toward the frightened kid.
The boy just stared in shock at the three fingered hand, at the trace of the long scar he could barely make out in the darkness.
Raphael had to battle with himself to remain calm, and it seemed as though he was losing. Damit all! What if that had been my kid? I woud tear that fucking bastard apart! He thought about Megan, how he'd been away from her for only a week and a half, and yet it seemed like so long. He wondered how she was doing, if she and the baby were safe, and for the first time in his life, he was ready to leave all this action and go home.
"I'm a friend of your mother's." he heard Don say.
The boy continued to stare at him soundlessly.
"She wants you back, Trevor, she wants me to bring you home to her."
Mike could feel the tears slide down his own cheeks as he watched the small hand slowly reach out and take Donatello's. The fingers looked so frail, he hoped Don wouldn't squeeze too hard and break them off.
Leo glanced at the others, instructing them to stay back as Donatello carefully rose to his feet. It seemed like an eternity before the two stood before them, fully visible. Mike felt the heat flare up on his cheeks again as he stared at the thin, sickly vision before him. Raph could barely look at the kid, thinking about his own, and a shiver trailed down his spine.
"These are my brothers. We're going to help you." Don nodded toward them.
Leo bowed gracefully to the boy. "Hello, Trevor. I'm Leonardo, and this is Raphael and Michaelangelo."
Trevor looked to Mike first, then to Raphael, and then back to Mike, and as their eyes met, for the first time, a little smile broke out on the child's lips.
Chapter Eight Coming Soon!