She barely registered the fact that, apparently, Donnie has brothers. Venus grabbed Donnie's shoulders in a poor attempt to stop the older turtle from attacking the man, but he was much stronger. He broke loose instantly, tackling him to the floor and delivering blow after blow.
Since her attempt to stop Donnie had failed, she instead turned to the kids.
"Go to the pond," she ordered them. All of the kids ran off except for the turtles.
"Why is Mr. Don so mad?" Branch asked. Venus glanced at Donnie, who was being pried off of the man by the other mutants. She turned her attention back to the little turtles.
"I don't know," she lied. "But we can ask him later. Now, get to the pond!"
They ran off, too. Venus turned back to Donnie who had tears in his eyes. Her heart ached for him. It must have been devastating to hear that news… that his brothers might be in a lab somewhere. Venus knew what that could mean for them. If the man wasn't bluffing, then Donnie could have just lost his brothers forever.
Amy called something into her walkie-talkie, and, for a second, Venus was afraid that someone was going to come with a tranquilizer gun for Donnie. Instead, police entered the room and dragged the man out. He had a broken and bloody nose, but there was a triumphant smile on his face.
Before he was dragged completely out the door, he shouted one last thing to Donnie.
"You and your brothers will get what you deserve, you disgusting reptile!"
Then he was gone. Venus's heart hardened at the words. She didn't know any "Tigerclaw," but it sounded like this guy was threatening Donnie, not to mention the insult.
Everything was silent as they all stared at Donnie, who was panting heavily from his attack. Venus noticed tears flowing freely down his cheeks.
The grey cat, Oliver, turned Donnie around and gave him a hug. Donnie didn't return the hug, nor did he pull away. He just sat there crying. Venus decided to go check on the kids… these guys were all older, anyway. They would know better how to help Donnie right now.
She turned around and headed towards the pond. Everyone was gathered in a circle silently. Buddy looked up when Venus approached.
"Is Mr. Don ok?" he asked. Venus shook her head silently.
"He's crying," she told him. Buddy started to stand up, but Venus put a hand on his lap and sat down with them.
"We should go help him," Lotus said. Venus shook her head again.
"It might be better if we give him some space," she said. Buddy frowned. He didn't like that idea at all, but thankfully, he sat back down. The little fox girl, who Venus remembered was named Rev, put a paw on his shoulder to comfort him.
"What happened?" she asked. Venus's throat tightened. How should she tell them? Should she even tell them?
She took a deep breath.
"That man stole his brothers," she said. The kids all gasped dramatically. "They're in trouble, and Donnie – I mean, Mr. Don – isn't going to be able to help them."
"Why not?" asked the little dog with a slight pout. Venus sighed and closed her eyes.
"Because he's here," she said. "And if he's here, he's not allowed to leave."
"Not even to save his brothers?" Branch asked. Rex took his hand, looking at Venus hopefully. She shook her head.
"No… not even for that," she admitted. It was silent amongst the group for a while before Buddy stood up. His fists were clenched and there was a determined look in his eye.
"The humans will help his brothers!" he said. Venus's eyes widened in shock, having never seen such determination in the little turtle before.
"How do you know?" August asked him. Buddy looked down in thought for a moment before looking up again, the same glint of determination in his eyes.
"Because they helped him!" he said.
"But what if they don't?" August asked. Rev stood up beside Buddy, taking his hand in her paw. Venus thought his face went a little red for a second, but it was gone so quickly, Venus thought she just imagined it.
"Then we look for ourselves!" she exclaimed. "You guys have been telling us what an amazing guy he is! How helpful and smart he is! They have to help him, but if they don't, we do it."
She turned to Buddy, mirroring his determined look.
"But we have to have faith in Buddy."
Buddy smiled so big that Venus was afraid his face would split in half. The kids all shared nervous looks before nodding to each other in agreement. They stood up with Buddy and Rev, also determined.
Venus's eyes were wide open in shock. She didn't know that Buddy had this fire in him. With a smirk, she stood up, ready to help them with whatever plan they came up with.
Donnie had helped her, too. She owed him for that. If getting his brothers back was how she made up for it, then so be it.
Buddy took a deep breath. Rev was right beside him, ready to follow him. His other friends were ready to follow him, too, and so was Venus.
He had no idea what had gotten into him earlier. He wanted to help Mr. Don, of course, but how much help could a five-year old be?
Regardless, it only seemed right that Buddy help him. He hadn't expected everyone else to rally around the idea as well.
He glanced at Mr. Don, who had decided to try sleeping early. Buddy felt really bad for him… Mr. Don must really miss his brothers.
He thought about the man who was in there earlier. Buddy should have guessed that he was one of the bad guys Mr. Don and his brothers would stop by the way Mr. Don was looking at the man. Now, the heroes were captured by the villain, but no one was able to save them.
How was a FIVE-YEAR OLD supposed to save a bunch of ninjas?
Amy, the nice human lady, opened the door and came into the room. She gave them their food and glanced at Mr. Don.
"How is he doing?" she asked. Venus shrugged.
"Not sure… "she said. "He said he was tired and wanted to go to bed early."
"Miss Amy?" Buddy asked. She turned to him, smiling as she did so, but Buddy sensed that she was still sad… worried about Mr. Don.
"Yes, Buddy?" she asked.
"Could you save Mr. Don's brothers?" he asked her. She let out a long breath and crouched down in front of him.
"I told the supervisor about the conversation between Donatello and that man, Baxter Stockman," she told him. "Stockman was sent to prison for crimes he committed in the past. We're trying to find his brothers right now."
Buddy's eyes widened.
"Really?" he asked. She smiled sadly.
"Really," she assured him. "Unfortunately, we don't know where to start. Maybe Donatello knows who Stockman worked for, or maybe he knows someone who knows."
"Why not put up posters?" August asked.
"I'm afraid we can't," Amy told him. "It could compromise everyone's safety here… but we WILL find Donatello's brothers… no matter what it takes."