"Is he gonna be ok?" Buddy asked. Venus didn't know how to answer.
She was intrigued by Donnie the second she saw him attacking the metal wall to her left. She had been watching him closely since then. When the kids weren't hanging around him, he always seemed so… sad.
Maybe he missed his dad. He did mention that his father was a former human, just like her.
Originally, she had planned on asking him to break her out of there to take her to his father. She had a lot of questions that she wanted to ask him… but she thought that that was too far of a stretch. Maybe she could just get her answers from Donnie.
She had finally worked up the courage to ask him- despite the fact that he won the bet- but when she came to ask, he was on the ground, unconscious. The kids were gathered around him, shaking him, poking him, and trying to get him to wake up.
But he wouldn't budge.
Venus had run over to check on him. He was burning up with what must be a terribly bad fever. She had no idea how he could be sick, though. Last time she checked, this was one of the most sterile, accurate environments for a turtle to live. So what happened?
"See if you can get someone's attention," Venus told Lotus. She nodded, and she ran off with August right behind her. A couple minutes later, they came back with Amy and some other dude. Venus backed away from them slightly, but she stayed by Donnie's side.
"What happened?" Amy asked. She checked Donnie's pulse, then reached into a bag by her side and pulled out a stethoscope.
"I'm not sure," Venus said. "He was just… on the ground. He won't wake up."
The man felt Donnie's forehead. His nametag read "Russel Stooke."
"He's overheating," he said. "We need to cool him down."
He looked Venus in the eye, which made her uncomfortable, but she didn't look away.
"We need to bring him outside," he said. "Could you grab his other arm?"
Venus nodded and took Donnie's left arm, watching silently as Amy grabbed his right arm. Russel grabbed Donnie's legs, and together, they lifted him up. Donnie groaned slightly, but otherwise, didn't say or do anything.
They led him to the door with the kids following. Venus shivered as the icy atmosphere of the air-conditioned hallway hit her. They set Donnie down and waited. Some people approached to see if he was alright.
"He should hopefully be fine in a cooler environment," said Russel. Thankfully, a couple minutes later, Donnie groaned and opened his eyes. The kids immediately cheered and ran to him, snuggling up against him on all sides.
"M'fine, Mikey," he said deliriously. Russel frowned.
"Mikey?" he asked. Donnie groaned again and turned onto his side, cuddling Branch close to him, seemingly out of reflex.
"I'll have the TV fixed soon," he mumbled. Everyone was really confused, now.
"He must not be thinking clearly due to the heat," Amy suggested. Venus thought that that made sense and decided to live with that.
"Someone go check the temperature in the Turtle Terrarium," Russel said into a walkie-talkie pinned to his coat. A voice rang out through the device a moment later.
"It looks normal, sir. There's no reason for him to have overheated like that," they said. Russel nodded.
"Right, thank you," he said into the walkie-talkie. He then looked at Amy.
"Maybe he isn't used to such a warm environment," he said. "He grew up in New York, after all."
"Yes, but none of the others had this problem," Amy informed him. Russel looked to the floor in thought.
"Unless he was out in New York at night," Venus thought out loud. Everyone turned their eyes to her, making her face go red and making her uncomfortable again.
"What do you mean?" asked Lotus.
"Well, New York is warmer during the day than it is during night," Venus explained. "Maybe he grew up somewhere where it was cooler, then only wandered around New York when it was dark." Amy nodded her head.
"That makes sense," she said. "But where would he grow up where it would be so cool?"
Venus knew immediately: the sewer. It was suitably cooler down there, under New York. She had vague memories of life before she mutated… helping an old turtle cross the road… getting lost… falling in the sewer… waking up as a mutant…
Donnie opened his eyes groggily. He remembered lying on the ground in the terrarium, but he felt like he was lying down on the couch back in the lair.
He was elated to find out that the whole M.C.C. thing was just a nightmare. He sat down on the couch, and Mikey ran up to him, jumping beside him and spilling popcorn all over him.
"Whoops, sorry D," he said. Donnie rolled his eyes, but there was a small smile on his face. Leo and Raph walked into the room and sat down either in the beanbag chair (Leo) or on the floor, leaning against the couch (Raph.)
Donnie sighed, but something about the lair seemed uncomfortable… too warm.
"You alright, Donnie?" Leo asked. His brothers turned to look at him. Donnie nodded, suddenly very thirsty.
"You sure, D?" Mikey asked worriedly. He leaned over and outstretched his arms. "I think someone needs a hug!"
He wrapped his arms around Donnie, but it felt like there was more than one pair of arms around him.
"I'm fine, Mikey," Donnie said. He appreciated his brothers, but sometimes, they could be overbearing. Their heads turned when the TV suddenly went "pop!"
Somehow, the television screen had been blown out. Donnie snorted when Mikey started fake crying.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! NOW WE CAN'T WATCH SPACE HEROES!!!!!" he cried. The brothers all laughed, though Leo laughed a little less.
"I'll have the TV fixed soon," Donnie said. His brothers smiled at him, but Donnie suspected that something was up, now. It was like the room was getting darker… Donnie felt like he was spinning.
Wait…
Donnie closed his eyes and took a deep breath. If this was real, then his brothers would question him and ask if he was alright when he opened his eyes again.
Instead, he found himself lying on the cool, metal floor of a big, fancy building. There were faces all around him… faces that he recognized, but they seemed like strangers. Five little turtles, one older, female turtle, and two humans.
Donnie felt tears prick at his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. So, it was all real… and being back home was an illusion. What a cruel trick for his mind to play on him.
He sat up, a stab of pain flashing through his head. He hissed and grabbed it, feeling feverish. He took a couple of deep breaths, calming himself down, trying to get a hold on the situation.
"How do you feel?" asked one of the humans… Amy? Right, that's her name… Amy.
"Like someone socked me on the head with a five-pound hammer," he answered her. He clenched his eyes shut, wanting to go back to sleep… desperately wanting to be back on the couch in the lair, making fun of Space Heroes and laughing with his brothers.
Or, he wanted to be in the lab, working on the now broken TV, figuring out why it had broken, and building some fun new thing for his brothers to des- I mean, play with.
Donnie took a deep breath and pushed aside his wishful thinking. It wouldn't get him anywhere, certainly not in here. If anything, it would only depress him until he was a walking talking wreck that didn't remember how to function properly and felt unmotivated to remember.
He looked up at the faces gathered around him. All he wanted was his brothers' comfort, to hear them say that everything would be alright and that he was just having a nightmare…
"I'll be fine," he said, plastering a fake smile on his face .
Is he really okay?