*posts my chapter and runs off to read
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Chapter 16: Ashes to Ashes
Casey walked into the cell.
"Let's go." He barked "I'm to take you to Professor Starcher."
Don and Mikey stood and walked to the door and Casey grabbed the unconscious 'Raph'. They walked silently to the elevator.
Once in the elevator, Casey removed his mask and started to untie his friends. The hatch in the top of the elevator opened and Raphael flipped down.
"Hey guys." He handed Don his bo and duffel bag and Mikey his nun chucks.
"We are going to the forty first floor." Casey pushed the button.
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They reached the floor and exited the elevator.
"Now what?" Mikey asked.
"We have to find him before someone discovers that we're gone." Don said as he peered through the windows of the lab doors.
"I got 'em!" Raph called from halfway down the hall.
Casey slid his access card through and they pushed the door open.
Leo was strapped to a table with wires and tubes connected to most of his body. A gas mask over his face. He trembled and twitched, like he was in the middle of a nightmare.
"Donny, what's goin' on?" Mikey asked. He noticed fresh bruises and scrapes appearing out of nowhere on Leo's arms and legs.
"I-I'm not sure." Don replied.
Raph started to undo the wires.
"Wait Raph. We have to know what's happening." Don pulled him away.
"We can't leave 'em like this!"
"I know, but we might do more harm that good." Don said as he searched the room for answers. He found Starcher's notes.
"I have something!" Don said as he quickly scanned the pages.
The door opening drew all their attention to Professor Starcher striding into the room. He noticed the turtles and Casey.
Raph growled under his breath and stepped forward. Starcher knew that he needed help, he backed toward the door and turned to run. The door slammed before he reached it and Michaelangelo stood in front of it with his arms crossed.
"Going somewhere dude?" he reached for his weapons. "Ya just got here."
"I'm guessing that you are Professor Starcher." Raph said, unsheathing his sai.
Starcher trembled and pointed toward Casey. "You there! Soldier! Take care of-of them!"
Casey looked at his friends. "Nah, don't wanna." he shrugged.
"You pathetic moron!" Starcher was getting more nervous. "Shredder will have your head for this!"
Casey laughed. "I'm kinda already on his list."
Don ripped the cloaking device off of Charles. The 'Raphael' image instantly disappeared.
"Are there anymore of these?" he asked, holding up the device.
Starcher said nothing.
"You'd betta answer him!" Raph sneered. "Or you'll end up like Holstein!"
"Wh-what have you done with Mr. Holstein?"
"You really don't want to know." Raph spun his sai and chuckled.
"That-that device and the one that was destroyed are the only ones with your signature." he whimpered.
"You didn't answer my question." Don moved closer.
"I-I'm working on several more...images of police officer and government officials." He backed away.
"Take me to them!" Don grabbed his arm.
"Don?" Raph questioned.
"I'll be alright. Start unhooking Leo. We will leave when I get back."
"It won't hurt him?" Mikey asked.
"No, he's under the influence of a hallucinate." He glared at Starcher. "It will have to run it's course."
He pulled Starcher out of the room. "No funny business!" he growled at the old man.
Starcher shook his head. "No, my office is this way."
When they entered his office, Starcher hurried to his desk and pulled five devices out of a drawer.
"These are the only functional ones." He handed them to Don.
Don crushed each one under his bo.
"Where are the blueprints?" he sneered, his eyes bore a hole straight through Starcher.
Starcher pointed to his laptop.
"Sit!" Don ordered.
Starcher sat quickly, keeping his eyes down.
"Now pull up the program."
Starcher sat still.
Don opened the laptop and shoved it toward the professor.
"Do it!"
"It's my life's work!" Starcher whined. "You-you can't make me destroy it!"
Don sighed loudly and punched some of the keys. The program appeared on the screen.
"What's the password?"
Nothing from Starcher.
"The...Password!" Don demanded.
Starcher crossed his arms over his chest.
Donny rolled his eyes. "I'm not the most violent of my brothers, but I do have my moments! Tell me the password or I'll rip your arms off and beat you with them!" He spat.
"You'll kill me either way." Starcher whimpered.
"That's not my style." Don replied.
Starcher took a deep breath. "Alpha Red."
Don typed the password in and pulled up the blueprints to the cloaking devices.
"That's not my style." Don repeated and locked eyes with Starcher. "But I can't say the same for my brother, Raphael." He smiled darkly as the old man started to tremble.
Don ran a cord from the laptop and attached it to the other computers in the room. He returned to the laptop and punched the keys again. A window that blinked 'critical error' appeared on the screen. He glared at Starcher and pressed the enter key. The laptop screen went blank and the other computers started to smoke.
Starcher looked visibly sick.
"Alright, come on." Don pulled him up and started to the door.
"Wh-what are you going to do with me?"
"We'll let my brother Raphael decide." Don pushed Starcher into the hall. "Get going."
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In the lab Mikey and Raph had successfully unhooked Leo from the machines and removed the I.V. Mikey pulled him from the table, carefully minding all his injuries. Leo continued to tremble and writhe in Mikey's grip, making small groaning noises and incoherent words. Mikey looked at Raph, his brow creased with worry.
"I'm gonna find Donny." Raph turned to the door.
Before he could reach it, the door swung open and Starcher stumbled inside, followed by a peeved looking Donatello.
Donny brushed by the Professor and crouched by his wounded brother. Raphael slowly circled the professor. Starcher followed Raph with his eyes, his breath coming out in deep shudders.
"Please tell me we can go now." Mikey looked to his purple clad brother.
Donny nodded as he ran his hand across Leo's forehead, mentally noting the fever. 'He is going to need antibiotics.' he thought. And he would have to re-stitch the gashes in his side. He carefully ran his fingers over the needle marks covering Leo's arms. he noticed some were red and swollen. He glared at Starcher when he realized they were needles that had broken off. Donny stood up and walked over to the cabinets that lined the walls.
"What are you doing" Mikey asked.
"Shopping." Don replied as he read the bottles, gathering the antibiotics and pain relievers...anything that he could use.
"I'm sure you won't mind." He sneered at Starcher and dumped the bottles into his duffel bag.
"What do we do with these two?" Raph asked as he still paced around the Professor.
"Leave them for the Shredder." Don spat.
"Wh-what?" Starcher stammered. He knew all too well what Saki did to the people that fail him.
"You don't want us to deal with you!" Don spat. "Shredder's punishment will be a cake walk, compared to what we'd do."
Don found the shackles that they had Leo in. He pulled Charles to the exam table and cuffed his hands to the leg of the table. Charles started to stir.
"You!" Don pointed to Starcher. "On the table!"
"What are you going to do?"
"Go!" Raph pushed him forward.
Don strapped Professor Starcher down and slipped the gas mask on him.
"You have kept very thorough notes." Don said as he injected Starcher with the hallucinate that he had gave Leo. He turned the valve to the gas.
"I would hate to be you in a few minutes."
The Professor thrashed and pulled on the restraints, his cries muffled by the mask.
He turned to his brothers. "Lets go."
Raph smirked at Don. "What'd ya do ta 'em?"
Don returned the smirk. "Same thing he did to Leo, ironic isn't it."
Charles pushed his eyes open. "Wh-what's going on?" He wearily looked around. "Where am I."
Don crouched down by him. "You're where you chose to be the minute you betrayed Nobody and my brother. Enjoy."
He turned and followed his brothers and friend out of the room.