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Ensuring Discipline	By : hummerhouse Category: +S through Z > Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Views: 5482 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The TMNT are not mine. No money being made.

Chapter List
- 1-Ensuring Discipline
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-Part 10
- 11-Part 11
- 12-Part 12
- 13-Part 13
- 14-Part 14
- 15-Part 15
- 16-Part 16 Final
- 6
- 7
- 8
Ensuring Discipline

part 7
            Raph and Mikey had already begun their stretching exercises when Don entered the dojo and for a brief panic filled moment, Don thought he was late.
            “Your brothers decided to get an early start,” Leo told him with a small smile.
            His expression contained a touch of smug satisfaction and Don wasn’t sure if it was over how well trained their siblings had become, or because of the night Don had spent with him. It was probably a little of both.
            Don quickly moved into place next to Mikey, feeling Leo’s eyes following him. Trying to behave as though he wasn’t hurting was going to be difficult enough without Leo staring at him. A glance out of the corners of his eyes showed Don that Raph and Mikey were also looking in his direction, giving Don the feeling of being inside a fishbowl.
            “Stretch and warm up, Donatello,” Leo said unnecessarily. “I want to watch each of you go through your weapons katas this morning.”
            With a curt nod, Don reached skyward to begin limbering his shoulder muscles. He was dreading the next couple of hours fiercely; moving anything more than his arms was going to be painful.
            Taking a deep breath and releasing it, Don bent over slowly. Halfway down an excruciatingly sharp pain shot into his ass and Don bit his lip so that he wouldn’t cry out. Some muffled sound must have escaped him though because Mikey looked over.
            “Are you okay?” Mikey whispered. He was bent double, his face nearly touching his legs as he held onto his ankles. He was the only one of them who could achieve such a flexible position; something about the way his shell had formed was different from his brothers.
            Don managed to get his hands on the mat, focusing on stretching his calves and thighs while trying to ignore the agony from his rear.
            “I’m okay, Mikey,” Don managed to whisper back, though pushing the words out was a massive effort.
            “We tried to make him let us see you last night,” Mikey murmured hoarsely, his voice catching.
            “Don’t draw attention to yourselves,” Don told him, shifting his hands to the right.
            “I was scared of what he’d do to you,” Mikey whispered. “All because you stood up for . . . .”
            “Michelangelo,” Leo’s voice cut sharply into their conversation. “I would advise you to concentrate today.”
            A tiny growl rolled up from Raph’s chest and Don straightened up a little too fast in an effort to divert Leo’s attention. The spasm that tore through his lower extremities forced a grunt out of him and Leo missed the sound that Raph had made as he turned to observe Don.
            “Is there a problem, Donny?” Leo asked, eyeing the purple banded Turtle thoughtfully.
            Leo’s tone was mild but Don wasn’t going to let that deceive him. “No, Leo.”
            “Good.” Leo stared at him for another moment before his eyes turned to rest on Raph. In another second, Leo was looking at Don again. “Carry on.”
            For the remainder of practice Don did his level best to hold Leo’s focus. If it appeared that Leo was growing agitated with either of his younger brothers, Don would jump in with a question, or purposely falter in his routine.
            Don expected that Leo would start to get angry with him, but instead, his pseudo-brother showed him enormous patience. Leo answered every question carefully and at one point wrapped his body around Don’s shell so that he could hold his arms while walking Don through a kata.
            For Don’s part, he pretended to melt under the attention, forcing himself to fawn over Leo. It had taken about three-quarters of an hour into their practice for Don to decide the role he would play and he was determined to perform the part flawlessly.
            He wanted Leo to think that he was both jealous and possessive. From Leo’s response, the gag seemed to be working.
            Whenever Leo would ask if he had answered Don’s question, the genius would simper and behave in as submissive a manner as possible. Leo soon began making opportunities to work exclusively with Don, leaving Raph and Mikey completely alone.
            Don knew his brothers were confused by his behavior; he could read it in their eyes. When Leo’s hands lingered on his body, Don made it a point to lean into the touch as though thoroughly enjoying it. The looks on the faces of the youngest two grew grimmer with each passing minute.
            This was exactly what Don didn’t want to see; his actions alienating Raph and Mikey. There was nothing he could do except hope that they would be so disgusted that they would avoid both he and Leo whenever possible. It would leave Don very much alone, but it would also keep his brothers out of danger.
              Mikey was puzzled and worried at Don’s actions after what the youngest probably presumed to be a night of torture at Leo’s hands. While he tried to figure it out, Mikey would keep things to himself. The thing Don had reasoned without however was Raph’s mercurial temper.
            For Raph, not understanding this change in Don seemed to be having the effect of waving a red flag in front of a bull. It had to be enormously confusing for Raph to have seen Don’s defiance the previous day, and then witness what appeared to be a complete turn-around.
            The low growls, heated glares, and jerky movements that Raph was displaying were all indicators of quickly growing anger. Whether he lashed out at Leo or at Don, the results would be the same and Don knew he had to intervene. He wasn’t ready for Leo and Raph to have a full blown head-on collision.
            Everything would be so much easier if Don could just walk up to Raph and say, “I have a plan, please stop blowing it for me”, but of course he couldn’t. Raph would insist on knowing everything and besides the worry that Raph would give it all away, there was the very real possibility that Raph would try to kill the pseudo-Leo.
            Don was afraid that this Leo was making the mistake of underestimating Raphael. So far everything had gone Leo’s way; he had swooped in on the family and bludgeoned them into submission. The way he had operated had stunned and surprised Raph, who had held back because he thought that this Leo was his brother.
            Pseudo-Leo was now under the impression that Raph was simply ‘muscle’ as he had described him. He had no idea what Raph’s real strengths were; Leo didn’t know that Raph was the embodiment of the berserker spirit.
            They had experienced this Leo’s depravity and Don had a feeling that they still didn’t know what lengths he would go to in order to achieve his desires. That he was as well trained and skillful as the real Leo was evident. A show down between Leo and Raph would result in one or both dying, that much Don was sure of.
            If Raph did manage to get the upper hand and kill the false Leo then another problem would open for them; if pseudo-Leo was dead would they be able to get the real Leo back?
            All of this passed through Don’s mind as he tried to put the full width of the dojo between himself and Raph. Holding Leo’s attention was the best way Don knew to keep Raph at a safe distance.
            To Don’s surprise, Leo called for the end of practice much sooner than normal. Don attributed that to Leo’s rare good humor and the genius was not about to question his luck, no matter how it had come about.
            “I’m going to meditate,” Leo announced before they could vacate the dojo. “Please do not disturb me.”
            Mikey bolted through the door immediately and Leo exited next. As Don walked through the door, he glanced back at Raph and swallowed.
            Raphael was barely containing his rage; his color high and teeth bared, the red banded ninja looked like he was ready to bite someone’s head off.
            Scooting out of the dojo quickly, Don hoped that Raph would lash out at his punching bag in order to extinguish the fire that had started to burn. His heart plummeted when he saw Raph come dashing out of the dojo, his expression filled with purpose.
            “I’m going out for a run,” Raph announced belligerently, a spark from the old Raph springing to flame.
            “You will not.” Leo’s voice was cool and smooth. “We do not go topside when it’s light.”
            “I ain’t going topside, Leo,” Raph snapped. “Don’t ya’ think I got enough sense ta know that by now? I’m gonna run the sewers.”
            “And I would rather you did not,” Leo said, his voice frightening in its calm deliberateness. “Just because I was feeling magnanimous enough to allow an early end to practice doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to relax all of the rules.”
            Raph had worked himself past the point of seeing or hearing the warning signs of danger. “We ain’t prisoners,” Raph growled. “Ya’ don’t want me ta meet up with Casey, ya’ don’t want me ta ride my bike, ya’ want us all ta stay down here and turn into clams. It’s driving me ape shit.”
            Don saw Leo’s eyes start to gleam just before a corner of his mouth twitched. It came to the genius then that this Leo enjoyed a certain amount of rebellion as an opportunity to exact his own brand of discipline.
            Before Leo could respond, Don hastily forced his way in between the other two. “Leo, can you please let Raph go for a run? The lair isn’t a very spacious place to be cooped up in for so many weeks and none of us have had a chance to really stretch our legs. Even the closest of families sometimes get claustrophobic and we all need a little space now and then.”
            “Even you?” Leo asked as he stared at Don, a small glitter in his eyes reminding Don that he was walking a very narrow path.
            “I’m not like Raph,” Don answered truthfully. “I can find ways to occupy my time just in trying to maintain things inside the lair. We all have different personalities, Leo. I’m very content remaining right here, but Raph needs to run, he needs to feel the air rushing past his face while he pushes his muscles as hard as he can.”
            “I can talk for myself, brainiac,” Raph snarled.
            Don ignored him, keeping his focus entirely on Leo. “You don’t need him to be here all of the time,” Don added in what was nearly a whisper.
            Leo’s eyes narrowed slightly. “All right,” he said, looking past Don at Raph. “Do you have your shell cell?”
            “Yeah,” Raph said.
            “Donatello will keep tabs on you through the tracking device,” Leo said before his eyes drifted back to Don. “It is your responsibility to call Raph’s phone at random intervals until he returns. We wouldn’t want to be unaware that he had encountered some danger just because he’d somehow lost his shell cell, now would we?”
            The insinuation was obvious to both the younger Turtles; if Raph decided to use this as an opportunity to break away from Leo he wasn’t going to be allowed much of a head start.
            Don felt Raph move towards Leo and shifted so that his carapace became a barricade.
            “I’ll make sure he stays safe,” Don promised. “Raph would never do anything that might jeopardize his family.”
            The words were delivered to Leo, but they were directed towards Raph. Don heard his brother take a long, deep breath as Don’s sentence sank in. The hot head might hate Leo and despise Don at the moment, but there was still one brother in the lair that would be at Leo’s mercy if Raph didn’t return.
            Raph turned away from them abruptly, deliberately hitting Don’s carapace with a muscular arm as he did so. “Later,” he called as he ran from the lair.
            Looking over at his brother, Don watched Raph leave, noting the set of his shoulders and the clenched fists. Running several miles might not be enough to burn off that kind of anger.
            When Don glanced back around, he saw that Leo was no longer standing in front of him. His brother was just reaching for Master Splinter’s door.
            Jumping forward quickly, Don caught up to Leo just as his brother stepped into the room. When Leo turned to pull the door shut, Don planted himself in the opening.
            “Do you need help with anything?” Don asked brightly.
            “No.” Leo gave him a strange look. “I told you I wanted to meditate. I prefer to do that in Master Splinter’s room.”
            “So that you can feel closer to him? Could I join you? I miss him too and maybe being in here will help me not to worry about him as much,” Don said.
            “Not this time, Donny,” Leo said as he continued to block the entrance. He tilted his head slightly as he studied his younger brother. “Raphael was defying my specific orders and deserved discipline, as you well know. You interfered, even though I thought you were in this with me.”
            “I am,” Don hastened to say, “but you know me, Leo. I’m peaceful at heart.”
            “So there is a point that you won’t go beyond,” Leo observed.
            “Yes,” Don said. “We all have that point; this is mine.”
            Leo lifted his eye ridges. “Is that because you feel possessive of me, or because you’re protecting your brothers?”
            Don met Leo’s eyes. “Perhaps a little of both,” he answered as truthfully as he could, knowing that his oldest brother was gauging his reactions. “Maybe now that we’ve reached this juncture, I feel like you should focus on me. Maybe I believe that if Mikey and Raph don’t want that particular type of discipline, you should try something else.”
            “Are you telling me how to do my job?” Leo asked, his tone mild.
            Shaking his head, Don said, “That isn’t my place. My place is to offer my intellect as a resource for you in order to aid you in making decisions. My place is to be a sounding board that you can use to bounce ideas off of and as such, I offer whatever guidance I can. Ultimately, you make the final determinations.”
            “Yes I do,” Leo said and then leaned towards his brother to add in a lower tone, “Don’t forget that.”
            He started pulling the shoji closed and Don stepped back out of the way. Don watched Leo’s shadow move away from him before turning from Master Splinter’s room and heading towards his lab.
            Don hadn’t managed to get into his Father’s room, but he had been able to sweep the room with his eyes in the split second before Leo turned around. Don’s memory was superb and he didn’t see a single thing out of place other than a small wooden chest that Master Splinter usually kept pushed into the far corner of the room. The chest had been moved a couple of feet out of position and Don didn’t think that his Father would have left it that way.
            That chest might mean absolutely nothing or it might hold the answer to at least one question. Don would never know if he didn’t figure out how to get inside his Father’s room.
            Feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on, Don sank very slowly into his favorite chair, wincing as his bottom touched down. Standing again, he crossed over to the daybed and picked up the small comforter that was draped over it, folding the padded cloth as he returned to the chair.
            Placing it on his chair, Don once again gingerly sat down. The extra cushioning made sitting bearable and Don leaned his head back, closing his eyes as he tried to relax for just a bit.
            After a few minutes, Don felt a delicious numbness begin to crawl over his arms and legs. He was tired; the constant battle to keep up his pretenses was wearing on him, as was the lack of actual sleep.
            With a jerk, Don caught himself before he dozed off. Until Raph had safely returned to the lair, Don couldn’t afford to sleep.
            Looking over at his clock, Don saw that about twenty minutes had passed and decided to call Raph, even though he was dreading doing so. If his brother was still just as livid as when he left, Don was probably going to catch hell. His only solace was that letting Raph vent might help calm his brother.
            Picking up his shell cell, he punched in the code for Raph’s phone and waited.
            “What?” Raph snapped as he answered.
            “I’m sorry bro’, you know I have to call,” Don said.
            “Yeah,” Raph said darkly. “Brown noser.”
            “I can’t be that, I haven’t got a nose,” Don said in a lame attempt at humor.
            As he expected, Raph wasn’t amused. “This how it’s gonna be now, Don?” Raph asked. His tone was contentious but beneath that Don could hear real pain.
            “What were you going to do, fight him?” Don asked. “You were the one who warned me about what he’s capable of, or have you forgotten?”
            “Forgotten?” Raph’s voice cracked slightly. “How the fuck can ya’ ask me that? I saw how ya’ were walking this morning; ya’ volunteer for all of that? ‘Cause I sure as hell didn’t and I been getting it for a lot longer than ya’ have.”
            “That ends now,” Don told him. “There is a solution to this and I promise I’ll find it.”
            There was a pause on the other end of the line and then Raph said, “Donatello, what are ya’ doing?”
            Don bit his lip in consternation; he should have known that Raph was sharp enough to read something deeper into what Don had said. He just didn’t want Raph to run.
            “This isn’t the time for you to test him,” Don said. “Remember when you asked me if he’d come after you and I said he would? That hasn’t changed; these precautions of tracking you and making me call should tell you he won’t let you go.”
            “Ya’ asked me to stick with ya then too,” Raph said. “But ya’ didn’t say ya’ was gonna solve things by turning into his willing bitch either. Do ya’ think I want ta live having ta watch that every day? It makes me sick ta my stomach.”
            “Raph, you’ve trusted me with your life before; all I’m asking is that you trust me on this,” Don said. “I know what I’m doing.”
            “I sure as hell hope ya’ do,” Raph said. “That trust thing means ya’ ain’t willing ta share what’s going on in that big brain of yours, doesn’t it?”
            “It’s probably better that I don’t try,” Don said. “Please don’t insist.”
            “Goddammit Donatello, ya’ sure as fuck want a lot from me,” Raph said, his voice finally beginning to even out despite the strong words. “I gotta trust ya’, I gotta keep my questions ta myself, and I gotta promise not ta completely lose it with Leo. If it turns out ya’ don’t know what you’re doing, do me a favor and don’t tell me that either. Just come up with a new plan and do it fast.”
            “You’ll come home?” Don asked.
            “Yeah, yeah, I’ll come home,” Raph promised. “I’ll do it when I’m damn well ready though, so ya’ don’t need ta keep calling my ass.”
            “This is the first and last call,” Don said, trying to put a smile into his voice.
            “Right. I sure hope you’re as smart as the rest of us think ya’ are,” Raph said before hanging up.
            “So do I,” Don whispered to himself as he set the shell cell aside.
            Rubbing his temples, Don rolled his chair forward enough to open a desk drawer and grab a bottle of aspirin. Dry swallowing a couple of them, Don once more leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and trying to relax his facial muscles.
            He desperately wanted a nice, long nap, but Don wasn’t going to risk falling asleep as long as Raph was out of the lair. Raph had promised to return and Don knew that he would. However if Leo finished meditating before Raph got back and caught Don sleeping rather than monitoring his younger brother, there was no telling what would happen.
            Amend that, there was a pretty good chance that Don did know what would happen, and it wouldn’t be pleasant.
            His stomach muscles clenched and reminded Don that he hadn’t eaten since dinner the day before last. Being sick to his stomach was all he needed on top of a headache and a sore ass. Ingesting a couple of aspirins wasn’t going to help an empty stomach either.
            Forcing himself to get up, Don groaned long and loud, luxuriating in the ability to fully vent his feelings. He would find something to eat now; it would help him stay awake and since breakfast was over and lunch a couple of hours away, Don could have the kitchen to himself.
            That wasn’t the case though. As Don approached the kitchen, he heard sounds of movement and nearly stopped. He was not in the mood for Leo right now but couldn’t imagine the oldest had finished meditating so soon. The only other occupant of the lair was Mikey and Don knew he couldn’t keep avoiding him.
            Strolling into the kitchen in as light hearted a manner as he could manage, Don saw Mikey was just sitting down at the table, a large steaming bowl in front of him.
            Mikey looked up and his expression didn’t change. “I made a big pot of chicken soup, dude. Help yourself.”
            “Thanks,” Don replied, grabbing a bowl from the cupboard and picking a spoon out of the utensil drawer.
            He filled his bowl gratefully; the soup had large chunks of chicken and the wide noodles he preferred. This was one of Mikey’s comfort foods and the youngest was a master at preparing it.
            Don sat down across from Mikey and glanced at his brother over a spoonful of soup. Mikey appeared to be deep in thought and Don decided to remain quiet to give the youngest an opening to speak if he wanted to.
            A quarter of his bowl was empty when he heard Mikey sigh. Looking up, Don saw that Mikey was staring at him.
            “I told you that he wanted you the most, didn’t I?” Mikey asked.
            “Yes you did,” Don acknowledged.
            “Is that what made you decide on this strategy?” Mikey’s expression told Don that lying about it would be pointless.
            “It helped,” Don said. “Does it bother you?”
            “’Course it does,” Mikey said shortly. “I told you that to warn you, not to give you a tactic to use.”
            Mikey’s insights were always dangerous and Don realized that he knew deep down he wouldn’t completely fool the youngest.
            “But I’m a ninja, Mikey,” Don reminded him. “I promised to protect you but you can’t limit my choice of weapon.”
            “I don’t think I want you to have to use that particular weapon,” Mikey’s eyes were sad as he contemplated his older brother.
            “Mikey,” Don said as he shifted on his seat, “can you trust me when I tell you that I’m looking upon this experience as an experiment and nothing more? I can’t be damaged by it if I can find a purpose for everything that’s happening to me.”
            Blue eyes held brown ones as Mikey tried to read some truth in what Don was telling him. “That isn’t your forever plan I hope?” Mikey asked.
            Don ate a few bites of his now cooled soup, trying to decide what to tell Mikey. His original thoughts still held true; he didn’t want his brothers to accidently give anything away to Leo.
            With a shrug, Don said, “It’s not so bad; if I give him what he needs, he can be gentle.”
            “You’re so full of it,” Mikey said. “Did I grow up with you or what? I know every expression on your face and I can tell when you’re under strain. I’ll bet anything you have a headache right now.”
            “You can’t treat me any differently,” Don told him succinctly, not acknowledging the truth of Mikey’s observation.
            “Oh,” Mikey said. Lifting his bowl, he drained the soup from it and set it on the table before looking across at Don again. “You’re afraid I won’t act right, huh? Raph too I suppose. Come to think of it, you’re probably right.”
            Don blinked as he watched Mikey leap to correct conclusions at lightning speed. Sometimes he envied Mikey that ability; at times Don wondered which of them was truly the genius in the family.
            “Please don’t be angry . . . .” Don began.
            “I’m not,” Mikey said. “This is just like when you do that whole brain thing; you always keep stuff to yourself until you’ve figured it all out. Okay, so let me tell you something while I have the chance. After you got dragged off by Leo last night, I talked to Raph and we sat in here to write down everything we could remember about the day Master Splinter left.
            “We didn’t really have time to compare notes, we just wrote everything out and then I hid the notes in your lab. I wasn’t sure if Leo would be awake and watching, so I stayed under the camera and tucked the notes into that book on kinetic energy. I knew he’d never look in there.”
            The look of wonder on Don’s face wasn’t feigned; Mikey never ceased to amaze him.
            “Thank you,” Don said. “I’ll read them as soon as I can.”
            “Don’t thank me too soon, dude,” Mikey said. “I don’t think any of what I remember is very useful, but maybe if you put mine and Raph’s notes together with what you remember, something will make sense.”
            “I hope so,” Don said as he watched Mikey stand up.
            The youngest washed his bowl and spoon carefully before drying and putting them away. Gone was the kitchen clutter of the past; that was another thing about this Leo, he had an extreme clean fetish. It extended beyond his room, Leo expected the lair to be as spotless as they could manage.
            Judging from the way that hidden knapsack looked, pseudo-Leo probably didn’t live this way normally. It could certainly explain his need for cleanliness in this more secure environment.
            “I’m gonna book,” Mikey said. “Hanging out in my room all of the time isn’t as much fun as I always thought it would be, but at least when I’m there he isn’t reminded that I live here.”
            Don smiled his encouragement. “We’ll get through this, Mikey. Turtle luck may be bad sometimes, but it has a way of turning around when we need for it to.”
            “That’s not luck,” Mikey said, squeezing Don’s shoulder as he walked past. “That’s us working together.”
            Don stared into his bowl for a few minutes after Mikey left and then finished his meal. While he washed his things and put them away, he marveled at how perfect his brothers were. It might not have been the best idea to keep so much of what he knew and planned to himself, but Don really needed to protect them. He should have known they wouldn’t shun him for his actions, they seemed to know him a lot better than Don knew them.
            For the first time in weeks Don felt something akin to elation. He had a working plan that would keep Mikey and Raph out of danger and he had the notes from them on what had happened on the day Master Splinter left.
            Raph had sounded hopeful enough to contain his temper and Mikey was growing bolder, more like his old self. He’d even said Leo’s name once during their conversation.
            They were both content at the moment to take Don at his word and let the genius play a lone hand. But Don knew he wasn’t really alone; his brothers would be there to help him if he needed them.
            That was a good thing too, because this Leo was a dangerous antagonist. They needed to get rid of him and get their own Leo back. Don was sure that wherever he was, his real brother was trying to return to them and that he knew his three siblings were trying just as hard to find him.
            Leaving the kitchen, he glanced towards Master Splinter’s room and saw the glow of candles shining through the door. It seemed ironic to him that he felt a certain comfort when his Leo meditated and that this Leo doing so also comforted him. Just for entirely different reasons.
            Raph hadn’t returned yet and Don decided to take a long, hot shower. He often got some very good ideas while showering and hoped this time would be no different. Staging things to give his younger siblings a reprieve from Leo’s discipline was only one part of what needed to be done.
            Don still had to figure out who this Leo was, where he’d come from, and how to send him back. That was going to be a big challenge, especially as Don would be doing his damndest to stay alive in the meantime.
TBC………………….
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Ensuring Discipline