*Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.
*Author's Notes: Chapter 12 of 'Lost in the Fight' is here and this one is rather dramatic.
Thank you so much to all of my readers. Also, a huge thanks to my followers and to everyone that has voted on and commented on 'LITF.' I truly appreciate your kindness and encouragement. I'm so happy that you like this story.
As always, please continue to read/vote on/comment on this story if you are enjoying it. I would love to know if you like it. Thank you very much for reading. ;) CJ
--------------------------
Chapter 12 - Separation Anxiety
Coming to again seemed much more painful than the last time that Donatello had woken up. His mutilated shoulder felt as though someone was holding a red hot fire poker to it while simultaneously trying to twist his arm right out of its socket . . . or maybe even rip it clean off. It was not a pleasant combination of sensations by any means. His throat felt like he had gargled with a cup of shattered glass, and then, swallowed every last shard. His murky lungs felt as if they couldn't take in enough air and it hurt just to breathe. He felt icy cold and he was shivering so violently that his teeth were chattering, but yet, at the same time, he was sweating profusely and he could feel that his skin was scalding hot, which told him that his abused body was still raging with fever. On top of all that, his aching arm, head, leg, face, chest, and ribs were all relentlessly throbbing in rhythm with his heart, making it difficult to concentrate on anything but his misery.
Slowly prying his eyelids halfway open, Donnie soon realized that he was still in the same abandoned warehouse, only now, he was chained up and suspended about a foot above the cracked concrete floor. He had been strung up by his wrists, forcing his arms to support all of his weight, which was putting an unbearable amount of strain on his grievously wounded shoulder. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that the stab wound had already torn open and blood was steadily seeping out of the mangled-looking hole. This was definitely going to be a major setback to the healing process.
There were heavy shackles locked around his wrists and the metal of the manacles was digging and cutting into his skin even worse than the ropes had. His new restraints were far more uncomfortable than the previous ones, effectively cutting off the majority of the circulation to his upper and lower extremities. His fingers and toes were already numb from the minimal blood flow and he felt an unpleasant tingling sensation in his arms and legs, as though someone was pricking him with thousands of pins. Of course, this unpleasant sensation was being significantly lessened by the excruciating pain of his now countless injuries.
In his weakened condition, Donnie was barely able to move, but he did somehow manage to tilt his head back so that he could look above him and study the chains that he was hanging from. His eyes followed the thick, iron links all the way up to the steel roof trusses. The chains looked to be solid enough. Chances were he wasn't going to be able to break them, dashing the first escape plan that had occurred to him.
Letting his head slump forward, Donnie then got a good look at his leg for the first time since Tiger Claw had injured it. The brainy turtle immediately found himself wishing that he hadn't looked down, for he had been much better off not knowing what the wounded limb looked like. He grimaced at the ugly sight, but did not turn his eyes away from it. The doctor part of him felt a morbid need to assess the damage.
Though he had not suffered from a compound fracture, his leg was visibly broken. Judging by the swelling and bruising over the area where Tiger Claw had struck him with his elbow and the odd angle that his leg was hanging, both the tibia and fibula had been fractured from the violent blow. He was actually surprised that the busted limb didn't hurt more than it did.
Well, I guess that's one thing to be thankful for . . . Donnie thought bitterly while trying his best to ignore the know-it-all voice now sounding off inside of his head. That voice was not so helpfully reminding him of the many detrimental consequences of untreated broken bones, including permanent nerve damage, which very well could have explained the lack of pain. Then, there was the potential of muscle and ligament damage, physical deformities, avascular necrosis, severe arthritis, loss of mobility in the limb, loss of the limb altogether –
Okay, okay! You seriously need to stop thinking so much! Donnie mentally chewed himself out. He certainly didn't need any more voices filling his head with negative thoughts. He already had enough problems with voices in his head as it was.
Squeezing his eyes as tightly shut as he could, he cursed his bad luck.
Even if he somehow managed to get himself unchained, his chances of getting away were pretty slim. Unless he came up with some sort of miraculous way to completely incapacitate his captors, it was not very likely that he was going to successfully escape on a broken leg . . .
Might as well scratch escape plans two through twenty off the list . . .
Overwhelmed by the sheer hopelessness of the situation, Donnie let a low, wheezy-sounding groan slip out, which inadvertently drew his nearby enemies' attention.
Upon hearing and seeing that the turtle had regained consciousness, the two hairy behemoths quickly made their way over to him.
Smooth move, Genius . . . Donnie silently berated himself over his own stupidity. Then, his brothers' voices just had to chime in as well . . .
"You're supposed to be the smart one."
"Here I thought Mikey was the bonehead of the family."
The haunting words spoken by Leo and Raph the night of Donnie's fall from the fire escape had the genius turtle suddenly wishing that the know-it-all voice inside of his head would come back to drown them out. He much preferred that voice over the sound of his two older brothers' voices criticizing him. At least with the know-it-all voice, he only had to –
Another voice inside of his head stopped him from finishing that last thought. The voice of reason.
Okay, you're about to get your shell cracked by two bloodthirsty monsters and you're busy thinking about which voice in your head you like better? What is wrong with you? You really are the bonehead of the family!
"Well, look who finally decided to open his eyes." Tiger Claw's deep, intimidating voice echoed throughout the spacious warehouse, or maybe it was just echoing inside of Donnie's pounding head. It was difficult for the purple-clad turtle to tell due to his debilitated state.
Weakly lifting his head up, Donnie was instantly struck by a temporary case of acute vertigo that plagued his vision and made everything around him look lopsided. The injured turtle let his head fall back down again and closed his bleary eyes, hoping that a moment of rest might help him to regain his sight and the ability to think straight. What he really could use right about now was a reset button so that he could start the whole day – or maybe even the whole month – over again . . .
In the meantime, Tiger Claw continued to edge closer and closer to the turtle. Donnie was vaguely aware that the feline mutant was now standing only a few feet away from where he was hanging. Grizzgore remained a couple more feet behind his superior, but the massive bear was still disconcertingly close.
"You have caused us far more trouble than you are worth, young one. Because of your injuries, we were forced to enter this filthy warehouse or else you would have bled to death before we reached Master Shredder's lair. Then, we had to wait around for you to wake up from your little nap. I do not appreciate you delaying our mission," Tiger Claw rasped resentfully as if he truly believed that the turtle was the one at fault for the horrific injuries that the two inhumane beasts had inflicted upon him.
Donatello half-opened his eyes once more, but he did not raise them up to look at either of his enemies. Partly, because he didn't want them to see that he was scared, and partly, because it would have been way too much effort to lift his head up again.
Still trying to recover from his bout of vertigo, Donnie's brain had to take a few extra moments to process what Tiger Claw had just said. When his mind was finally able to make sense of the words, Donnie was immediately filled with both anger and disbelief. After what Tiger Claw had done to him, the heartless mutant had actually had the gall to complain about the inconvenience that Donnie had caused him. After everything that had transpired, the coldblooded monster was actually disgusted that Donnie had nearly bled to death and been unconscious longer than his liking.
Are you kidding me?
A hundred and one snide remarks came to mind, but in an attempt to save his shell, the genius turtle decided to just snort disdainfully in response to Tiger Claw's absurd comments.
Unfortunately, Donatello's reaction had still managed to enrage the mutant tiger.
The cold metal of a blade being pushed up against the side of his neck caused Donnie to jerk his head up in a panic.
"You will look at me when I address you, turtle," Tiger Clawed snarled out and he pulled his lips back into a sneer to reveal his fangs. He then pressed the razor-sharp edge of his giant sword even harder into the sensitive flesh where Donnie's chin and neck met, forcing the turtle to hold his head up and look him in the eye.
Seeing the malice in Tiger Claw's features, Donnie attempted to gulp down his fear while he nervously stared at his captor. He was barely able to see through his blackened eye, but he focused it on the bigger mutant as best he could. He didn't feel a need to agitate the tiger any further.
"I have grown tired of your insolence, little cub. I will have you know, if not for my orders, I would have gladly killed you by now." Tiger Claw had spoken as though he felt he deserved a thank you for the admirable restraint and mercy that he had shown thus far.
The unyielding pain that continued to rip through Donatello's entire body was hardly making him feel all that appreciative of the way that the mutant cat had been treating him, but the genius turtle chose to keep his feelings to himself. The sword being pushed up against his neck was doing a fine job of keeping his sarcastic tongue in check. He figured that one ill-timed, spiteful remark could get his throat slit.
"Master Shredder wants me to keep you alive, but he did not say you had to be unharmed. That means I have permission to beat you within an inch of your life if I so desire, and believe me, I desire to. As long as you are still breathing, I can do anything I want to you." As soon as Tiger Claw had finished his last sentence, he pressed his sword so forcefully against the turtle's neck, the blade cut into the flesh.
The sting of the sword's edge slicing through his top layer of skin made Donnie wince and he could feel a warm trail of blood running down his throat. He tried to shrink away from the weapon, but the sword just moved right along with him, sinking in deeper.
"Now tell me, is there any way to retrieve what was on your communication device?" Tiger Claw leaned even closer to Donnie, eliciting a small whimper from the frightened turtle.
"Uh . . . no . . . there isn't." Donatello's initial reply was full of apprehension, but as he continued on with his answer, his confidence began to grow without him even realizing it. "When I designed the T-phone, I . . . I implanted a self-destruct mechanism inside of the device, that when initiated, would completely destroy the phone's tracking chip and all of the stored data. It renders the phone totally useless. Pretty cool, huh?" Donnie bragged, perhaps more smugly than he probably should have given the grim circumstances. It was hardly the opportune time to boast about one of his inventions, nor was it a good plan to divulge too much information to one of his sworn enemies.
"So what you are telling me is that there is no way for your brothers to contact you or track your location now that your little phone is destroyed?" Tiger Claw twitched his thick, white whiskers and tilted his head to one side to demonstrate his curiosity.
Once again, Donnie had to bite back several dozen sarcastic comments that popped into his head, even though he was just dying to mock the larger mutant for his astonishing powers of deduction or say something about curiosity killing the cat. Tiger Claw's sword was still cutting into his skin, warning Donatello that it would not be a wise move to test the big kitty's patience right now. The last thing that Donnie wanted to do was give Tiger Claw a reason to cut his tongue out just to set himself up for the obvious cat pun.
The sword suddenly sinking deeper into his neck snapped Donnie out of his thoughts and rudely reminded him that the oversized feline was still impatiently waiting for an answer to his question.
"That's exactly what I'm telling you! I won't let you use me as bait to lure my brothers into a trap!" Donnie seethed, coming off much more standoffish than he had originally intended to. Especially considering the fact that he had just been worrying about Tiger Claw cutting his tongue out or slitting his throat.
Fortunately for Donnie, the mutant tiger didn't seem at all offended by his Raph-like display of brazenness.
"Is that what you think this is all about? Capturing your brothers?" Tiger Claw had raised an eye ridge quizzically as he had asked his questions. He then let out an evil cackle, apparently quite amused by the smaller mutant's assumption.
"Well . . . yeah." The confidence that Donnie had exhibited only a second ago had deflated out of him like air from a balloon. He blankly stared ahead, still mulling over what Tiger Claw had just said.
Of course the genius turtle thought that this was all about capturing his brothers.
What else would it be about?
"My orders are to deliver you and you alone to Master Shredder. Grizzgore and I have been stuck surveying that wretched junkyard for the better part of a week now. All because our resources indicated that you frequented the facility on your own on a regular basis. I was getting sick and tired of that revolting place, but Master Shredder insisted that we capture you when you were separated from your brothers." The disgruntlement in Tiger Claw's tone made it clear that he had not been pleased with the assignment that he had been given. Truthfully, Donatello wasn't all that pleased with it, either . . .
"S – So you . . . you've been stalking me?" As Donatello stammered out the question, he narrowed his unswollen eye suspiciously. He really wasn't liking where the conversation was heading. "What . . . What do you want with me?"
"Our intelligence has been tracking your movements for some time now and they informed us that you are the most intellectually gifted of your clan and the one responsible for the strange contraptions you and your brothers use. It seems that the unique abilities you possess have caused us a great deal of trouble. Master Shredder has taken an interest in your special talents and has requested you be brought to him. He wants to put your skills to work," Tiger Claw explained without an iota of emotion in his voice.
"And what makes Shredder think that I would ever consider cooperating with him? Your master has brought nothing but pain and suffering to my family," Donatello fumed, as if the mere insinuation that he would even think of lending his skills to Oroku Saki was the single most offensive thing that he had ever heard. The anger now flowing through the genius turtle gave him an unexpected second wind and he was suddenly able to hold his head up with much more ease. This allowed him to fix a tenacious glare on Tiger Claw as he spoke again.
"I would rather die than work for him!"
"That can be arranged, believe me." Tiger Claw reached forward and latched a paw around the turtle's jaw, pulling the reptile closer while he continued on with his threat. "Master Shredder will only keep you alive for as long as you prove useful to him. If you do not comply with his demands, he will not hesitate to kill you, but not before making you suffer in the most excruciating of ways. With you gone, your clan will fall apart. Without your special talents, your brothers will not stand a chance against our army. As far as I am concerned, your demise would be a win-win situation, so do not tempt me, turtle."
"My brothers will come for me," Donnie said tritely, and then, internalized a grimace. The words hadn't sounded quite as cheesy in his head as they did when he had actually spoken them aloud. He wondered if this was how Leo felt whenever he made a corny comment and Raph called him out on it.
Apparently entertained by what the turtle had said, Tiger Claw let loose a low laugh that was so gravelly-sounding, it made Donnie feel like he needed to clear his own throat.
"Without the communication device that you just destroyed, your brothers will not be able to find you." As Tiger Claw snarled out the words, he hoisted Donnie up by his face, lifting the turtle another good foot or so higher off of the ground.
While Donnie welcomed the reprieve on his sore arms and shoulders, being held up by the jaw didn't feel a whole lot better. It felt as though his bones were going to be crushed in the mutant tiger's powerful grip, but the genius turtle didn't let the discomfort stop him from firing back a response.
"You're wrong! My brothers are already on their way here, even as we speak!"
"As much as I would love to indulge in defeating your brothers again, my orders are clear. I am to separate you from your brothers . . . permanently." It was evident that Tiger Claw had taken a tremendous amount of satisfaction in what he had just declared, which had somehow made the dreadful words even harder for the turtle to stomach.
"They will find me," Donnie avowed with as much faith as he could still summon, but with each passing second, his resolve was starting to wilt.
"No, I assure you they will never find you." The mutant tiger put so much emphasis on the word 'never,' it made Donnie flinch in his grasp. Tiger Claw's mouth then curled up into an arrogant smirk for a moment before he continued to speak in a hateful voice.
"You are to be relocated to a facility overseas where they will work on retraining your mind. Trust me when I say that their methods will not be pleasant. You will wish that I had put you out of your misery. And I can guarantee that there is no way your brothers will ever be able to discover the location of the facility. Once we leave this building, the life you knew will be gone forever."
Tears started to sting Donatello's reddish-brown eyes as he was besieged by a mixture of shock and horror. He was in so much pain, he could barely think anymore. He was so sick, he could barely move anymore. He was so depressed, he could barely hope anymore. And now that he was faced with the reality that he may never see his brothers again, he could barely find the will to live anymore.
At least they'll be safe . . . Donnie thought while he let his body go limp in Tiger Claw's clutches. Gravity suddenly seemed to be pulling down on the genius turtle with considerably more force than before.
The sorrow etched in the lines across the turtle's face was unmistakable and Tiger Claw could feel the scrawny mutant's will to fight was gone. Just like that, the terrapin was broken. Tiger Claw could see that he had demoralized his captive beyond repair, but that wasn't enough. The mutant Bengal tiger didn't want to miss the chance to pour additional salt in the turtle's wounds.
"Oh, I am sorry. Were you naïve enough to believe that New York is the only place that Master Shredder has allies? Perhaps you are not so smart after all, little cub." The tone that Tiger Claw used was clearly meant to mock the turtle and he once again looked to be enjoying his victim's pain.
The mutant tiger then lowered Donatello back down and released his grip on the turtle's bruised face. The smaller mutant now suspended by his wrists again instantly dropped his head down, resting his chin against his battered plastron. The turtle's breathing crackled and hitched as he inhaled and exhaled, but Tiger Claw didn't care. So long as his captive was still alive when he presented him to Master Shredder, his mission would be a success.
"And now it is time to deliver the package as promised. I am sorry we cannot wait around for your brothers to show up. Pity. I am sure they would have liked to have said goodbye. But I give you my word that I will personally let them know you will be brutally tortured and have the honor of being Master Shredder's prisoner for the rest of your life. I look forward to seeing the looks on their faces when I inform them that they will never see their precious brother again," Tiger Claw goaded and his face twisted with a fiendish grin while he tauntingly patted the top of the turtle's head as though he was nothing but a mindless pet.
Utterly devastated and stricken with indescribable grief, Donnie kept his head hung down, paying no heed to his enemy's cruel and demeaning gesture. The genius turtle didn't care anymore. The pain in his body even seemed to lessen, dulled by the ache in his heart. The mere thought of what had happened the last time that he had seen his brothers was suffocating him. He would give anything to go back and change what had occurred. If he would have only known that that was going to be the last time that he would ever see them again, he would have done things so much differently.
Never before had Donatello wanted so much to just curl up into a ball and disappear. Never before had he felt so scared and alone. He couldn't imagine life without his family. That wasn't a life at all. It was too much for him to take in all at once and his eyes quickly betrayed him, letting the tears that he had been fighting so hard finally fall and soak into his mask.
"Let's get the prisoner out of here before his pathetic brothers arrive. I am sure Master Shredder would like to visit with him for a while before his flight leaves." Tiger Claw put extra scorn on the word 'visit' and he followed his words with yet another evil cackle. He then sheathed his sword so that he could remove the chains attached to the shackles around the turtle's wrists.
Then, just as Tiger Claw reached up towards the chains, a low-pitched grumble rolled deep in Grizzgore's throat that made the turtle's broken heart skip a beat.
The noise was different from anything that Donatello had heard come out of the mutant bear. Granted, the genius turtle did not speak bear, nor was he a bear expert by any means, but he was fairly certain that there was an edge of uneasiness in the grumble.
A tiny spark of hope started to grow deep inside of Donnie and he wearily lifted his head up to see what had prompted the sound. That was when he noticed that Grizzgore's posture had straightened up and the bear had puffed his chest out, almost as though he felt threatened.
"What is it, Grizzgore?" Tiger Claw stopped what he had been doing so he could glance over his shoulder at his partner who had been disturbingly quiet up until now.
The mutant grizzly's ears perked up and his nose started to twitch as he made a series of strange grunting and snorting sounds. He narrowed his already small eyes and scanned around the open space that they were in, acting like he was half-expecting someone or something to jump out at him from the shadows encasing the warehouse.
"Turtles," the mutant bear growled, turning to face the front entrance of the building.
Tiger Claw took a few steps away from Donnie, leaving the turtle dangling from the chains above. The mutant tiger then began to visually check the various openings of the warehouse, searching for any signs of movement. The few windows in the building were high up, very close to the roof beams. Chances were, if the turtle's brothers had arrived, they weren't going to come in through that way, as it would make for an awkward entrance. That left only the front and rear exit doors of the building as well as the skylights. A quick once over of those entrances revealed no motion.
The mutated tiger's senses were highly developed, but Grizzgore's sense of hearing and smell were so heightened that he was able to hear even the lowest level of noises, which Tiger Claw was currently thankful for. Perhaps the turtles were still on the outskirts of the building, which would buy him and Grizzgore a little more time.
Tiger Claw's brain quickly went to work on piecing together some sort of a plan when his hostage inconveniently found his voice again.
"Guys! Help me! I'm inside the – " Donnie yelled out as loud as his clogged lungs would allow him to, but his cries were abruptly cut short by Tiger Claw. The large cat grabbed him harshly by the back of the neck with one paw and covered his mouth with the other paw in order to shut him up.
"Foolish turtle! One more peep out of you and I will have Grizzgore break your other leg . . . and he will not go about it as gently as I did. Do you understand?" Tiger Claw dug his claws into the turtle's flesh, making the threat that he had just issued that much more compelling.
Not in any shape to call Tiger Claw's bluff, Donnie timidly nodded to indicate that he had understood.
Confident that his prisoner was intelligent enough not to test his word, Tiger Claw released his hold on the turtle. Keeping a watchful eye on the smaller mutant, the feline assassin then reached for one of his holsters and pulled out the item sheathed inside.
Donnie's good eye widened with fear as he stared at the weapon now aimed directly at him and he began to squirm against his restraints. It looked something like a modified stun gun, but he was guessing that it had a lot more capabilities than your average taser. He didn't really want to hang around and find out, but the chains binding him held tight and he had nowhere to go. He cringed and unwittingly let a nervous squeak slip out.
"If you think your brothers are going to rescue you from a fate worse than death, you are sorely mistaken, young one. They will not save you." The words fell from the mutant tiger's lips like molten lava, meant to burn the turtle all the way to the core.
Then, with a simple pull of the trigger, the rod at the tip of the weapon clenched in Tiger Claw's paw started to glow bright blue.
"N – No, please. S – Stop! I – I won't – " Donnie started to plead as the weapon came closer, but he was not allowed to finish.
Not the least bit interested in what the smaller mutant had to say, Tiger Claw firmly pressed the end of the weapon against the turtle's neck.
Jarring pain shot through Donnie's whole body for an indiscernible amount of time and he could only register a garbled scream before unconsciousness claimed him. His body drooped bonelessly from the cuffs around his wrists.
Grizzgore had heard the strangled gurgling sound that had come from their prisoner and he turned to see a now lifeless looking turtle. The mutant grizzly bear's eyes then moved from the unresponsive captive to Tiger Claw and he fixed an angry scowl on the cat as if to question his actions.
"Do not worry, partner," Tiger Claw said rather condescendingly as he returned his 'gun' to the holster that it had been in. "He is still alive. The weapon merely rendered him unconscious. It is all part of my plan . . . "
--------------------------
To be continued . . .
*Author's Notes: I really hope that you liked this chapter. Once again, please continue to read/vote on/comment on 'Lost in the Fight' if you like it. Thank you all for reading and have a wonderful day! ;) CJ