***
Donatello woke up in chains. Everything was still foggy, but he could remember how he got here. Bonesteel.
He sat up but the chains kept him from standing. He didn't even know how long he'd been here. Or why he was still alive.
A movement caught his eye. He saw a large tank at the other end of the room. It had something big inside and he squinted to get a better look. The drug must be messing with me. There's no way that can be what I think it is.
But it was. A mermaid. She spotted him and pressed her hands against the glass. She had green hair and skin so pale it looked white. The lower half of her body was a fishtail with blue-green scales. She stared at him with large violet eyes, her thin lips curved downwards.
She's beautiful.
The moment was spoiled when Bonesteel kicked the door open. "Good morning!" he called cheerfully. The mermaid splashed around in her small tank. He tapped on the glass and she gave him the finger.
He made his way over to Donatello. "And how are you this morning?" Don glared at him and wished that he had a middle finger so that he could repeat the mermaid's gesture. He just glared at the hunter.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, you won't be staying here long. You're going to California. This lady's willing to pay a lot for one of you boys alive. That's why you're not dead."
Donatello leapt forward but came up about a foot short.
***
Aura was awakened by a knock on her chamber door. Beside her, Raphael didn't ever stir. She got up and shrugged into her robe.
"Yes." She tried not to sound as annoyed as she felt.
"The Shinobi is here. She says that it's important."
Aura pushed Raphael's shoulder. "Venus is here."
"Tell her to go see Mike," Raph mumbled.
Aura unlocked the door and Venus pushed her way in. "Come on in," Aura greeted her dryly.
"I am sorry to disturb you but we cannot find Donatello."
Raphael felt around for his bandanna. "Did you try the tracking system?"
Venus sighed. "It…" she paused, trying to remember the word Mike had used, "…crashed."
Raphael slapped his hand over his face. "That idiot! I told him something like this would happen but does he listen? Noooooooooooo."
Venus turned to Aura, realizing that addressing Raphael at this moment was pointless. "We found the Hummer parked in a warehouse, but there was no sign of Donatello."
Raphael pulled on his pads. "Was the engine hot?"
Venus paused and shook her head. "Mike said it was cold."
Aura went to her closet. "That means he's been gone awhile. He could be in trouble."
"It's nothin'," Raph said. "He prob'ly just got sidetracked. You know how he is. You stay and I'll tell ya when we find him."
"Are you sure?" Aura asked.
"Yeah, babe, we can handle it."
***
Donatello stretched out and reached for the thin strip of metal that was on the floor. If he could get it, he'd be able to pick the lock on his chains. No matter how hard he tried it was still beyond his reach.
The mermaid was curled up on the bottom of her tank. Don picked up a stray pebble and threw it at the glass. She looked up at him.
"Can you help me?" he asked, pointing to the strip. He wasn't sure if she could hear him, much less understand. And he had no idea how she could help from her tank, but he still needed to try. She looked from him to the metal and got as close as the tank allowed. Don couldn't tell what she was doing, but something was happening.
The metal strip moved towards him slowly. He reached out and grabbed it as soon as it was within reach. He stuck it in the lock and was free.
He removed his chains and looked around. There were no windows in the room and only one door. He headed towards it.
The mermaid pounded on the glass. She pleaded with her pupil-less eyes. Don paused. He couldn't just leave her here, but how would they escape if he had to carry an overgrown fish? He finally decided to at least unlock the tank.
When he was close enough he finally saw how small the tank was. Four feet by four feet, six feet high. The mermaid was about six feet from head to tail, making it a tight squeeze. There was no way he was going to leave her in there. He climbed up the ladder propped up against the side and found the lock. The lid was heavy.
He gestured for the mermaid to help him push. Together they easily pushed it open enough for her to surface.
She flung her arms around his neck. "Thank you!"
Don nearly fell off the ladder. "You can speak! English!"
"Of course, silly!" she giggled.
Don tried very hard to keep his gaze above her bare chest. "Look, we have to get out of here, but I'm not sure how far I can carry you."
"Don't worry about me, I can manage." She pulled herself out of the water and sat on the edge of the tank. She took a deep breath and started to change. Her fins became legs and she even wore clothes now.
Donatello stepped back onto the ground so she could climb down. "Umm, can all mermaids do that?"
The girl, because she was a girl now, even if she still had green hair, gave him an odd look. "Oh, I'm not a mermaid, I'm just a plain old shapeshifter."
"Oh," Don said. At least she could walk now. "Let's get out of here."
"Sounds good."
She watched him jimmy open the door. He peeked out and motioned for her to follow him.
***
Four turtles stood around their Hummer, looking for clues as to their brother's disappearance. But Donatello was nowhere to be found and they saw no sign of where he'd gone.
Leonardo looked up from under the front seat. "Venus, can you use your magick to find him?"
"I'll try." While it was true that Venus had improved her skills as a Shinobi, she still had a lot to learn. She had to think about which spell she should use. She finally decided on an aura-tracking spell.
As she finished, light purple footprints appeared on the ground. The same shape and size as the turtle's feet. They headed from the Hummer to the door.
"Let's go," Leo said, following the footprints. They followed the glowing trail out into the alley. At the edge, they looked out for humans on the streets. It looked like Don had left the alley, then returned, running. The question was what was he running for…or from.
Mike stopped beside a trashcan. "Looks like he stopped here." He looked inside and quickly pulled his head back. "So did his last meal. And look." He pointed to the ground.
Venus looked to where he was pointing. Two lines led away from the garbage can. "It looks like he was dragged."
"Uh, oh." Raphael came from around the corner holding a crossbow with 'Rebecca' written on the side. "Bonesteel."
***
"Geez, how big is this place?"
Donatello rounded yet another corner. "I don't believe this."
"Where's one of those 'You Are Here' signs when you need one?" the girl mumbled.
"You said it," Don replied. "I think it's this way." He opened the door in front of them. There was a set of stairs that led upward. He looked to the girl, who shrugged.
Don took her hand and they went up. Along the way, Don talked. "Now that I think of it, we were probably in a basement. That could explain there being no windows. There might have been a way to get access to the sewers."
"You think of this now?" the girl hissed.
Don stopped halfway up. "Maybe we should go back."
"And you call yourself a hero."
Don let go and turned to the girl. "I didn't have to rescue you, you know. I'm sure you could have shapeshifted your way out of there."
"I couldn't, if you must know. I need air to change."
Don let out a heavy breath. "Thank you for that information. I don't think I caught your name."
"Dextra."
"Donatello." He pushed past her. "I think we should go back and look for a sewer exit. Then I can navigate better."
Dextra turned her back to him. "Well, I'm going up. There's no guarantee of a way out down there, and this place has to have a roof. I'll just fly out of here."
Don continued down. "Then I guess this is where we part."
He looked back and saw Dextra open the door at the top. She waved before closing it behind her.
Don sighed and went down.