Slash's Revenge

Chapter 22 - No Hope In Shell

*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.

*Author's Notes: At long last, here is chapter 22 of 'Slash's Revenge.' I sure hope everyone's still with me.

Thank you so much to my readers, followers, and friends. I adore ALL of you!

CJ

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Chapter 22 – No Hope in Shell

Body arched forward and fists tightly clamped behind him, Leonardo continued to sprint across the rooftops at breakneck speed. Every so often, he would check his T-phone to confirm he was still heading in the right direction, but he never let this slow his stride. All the while, Michelangelo and Master Splinter maintained the same fervent pace as the eldest turtle, not wanting to fall behind. They were both reasonably certain Leonardo would leave them in the dust if they failed to keep up with him. He hadn't even bothered to look back to see if they were following.    

Entirely caught up in his thoughts, the turtle in blue had barely spoken a word since taking to the rooftops. Of course, his refusal to talk may have also had something to do with Mikey repeatedly – and annoyingly – asking what Raphael had said...

"So, what'd Raph tell you, Leo?"

"Just that he'd found Donnie and they're on a rooftop by a Channel 6 News billboard."

"Well, he must have said something about Donnie's condition. Is he okay?"

"Raph said he's unconscious."

"Unconscious! Dude! Why's he unconscious? What happened to him?"

"I don't know, Mikey. That's why we need to find them. Now, let's go!"

"But you still didn't tell us what Raph actually said about Donnie, Leo! Are you trying to hide something?"

Leonardo knew his baby brother was just concerned about Donatello, but due to the extremely stressful circumstances, the broken-record approach had been grating on the eldest turtle's nerves, big time. Fortunately, Master Splinter must have noticed this. His astute intervention had succeeded in putting a swift end to Mikey's exasperating interrogation...

"My son, your concern for your brother is understandable, but for the time being, I believe it would be best to do as Leonardo says without further question."

It had been the nicest way to tell someone to 'shut up' Leo had ever heard. And, as an added bonus, it had worked like a charm. Michelangelo had been unusually quiet ever since. While, at first, this had seemed like a blessing, the oldest turtle was now starting to worry about the youngest one. It wasn't like Mikey to go more than a minute or two without making some kind of noise. The silence was most likely a cry for help, indicating just how much he was hurting inside.

We all are, Mikey...

The sound of his T-phone ringing out mercifully interrupted Leo from his troubled thoughts. Without missing a beat, he snatched up the phone and held it up to his ear slit. "Yeah?"

"Yo, Leo. I got the Shellraiser, just like you said. This baby is super sweet! How come you never – "

Forgoing manners in the interest of time, Leo's uncharacteristically gruff voice stopped the caller's sentence short.

"Okay, now I need you to head towards Raph's GPS location. We'll explain more when you get there. In the meantime, try not to get pulled over or hit anything along the way."