The Monster Inside: C3: To Destroy His Family

Donnie screamed as the machine continued to bore into his head.  The pain was unbearable, but he was forced to fight it.  He had to defend his family.   He shook, quivering in fear and torment as he began to cave in.  He wasn’t strong enough.  He wasn’t strong enough when he was alone.  He was without his family, he was without his strength.

  Donnie could vividly see Mikey’s grinning face.  Whether it was because of the machine, or his last resort, it gave him that extra push.  He could see those baby blue eyes sparkling in excitement, those freckles dotting his face.  He lifted up his hand, a water balloon flying straight for Leo, but being the ninja he was, he ducked.  Donnie watched as the grenade came right at him, hitting him in the face.  It stung at first, and absolutely drenched him, but he didn’t even flinch.  He was used to worse.  “Dr. Prankenstein strikes again!” Those words rocketed out of Mikey’s mouth, and he took off running.

  The scene shifted, and Donnie could now see Raph.  He was mercilessly hitting his punching bag, no doubt taking his anger out on it after another argument with Leo.  Sweat dripped down him, splashing silently onto the hard concrete floor below.  Finally, he pulled himself away, and picked up a comic, settling in the living room.  Giving Donnie one of his famous glares, he sighed.  “What are you looking at?” Despite his gruff attitude, Donnie knew he did care.  He would do anything for him.

  Now Donnie could see Leo.  He was doing what he always did when he wasn’t training- watching Space Heroes.  He seemed to light up every time Captain Ryan stepped into the scene, said or did something heroic, or anything in particular.  He watched so intently, memorizing every little thing, storing it away for use later.  He wanted to be a great leader.  He wanted to be the best for his brothers.  He would do anything for them.  But as much as Leo loved his Space Heroes, he was still in tune with his family.  Gazing up, he looked Donnie in the eyes.  “Is it too loud? I can turn it down,” He knew how Donnie could get when he was on a project.  The less noise the better.

  Donnie felt a firm grasp on his shoulder.  He turned, mentally at least, and saw his father’s reassuring smile.  No matter what went wrong, no matter what had happened, or how bad they were hurt, Master Splinter was always there.  He was there for them in the good times and the bad, he was the pillar they leaned against always.  But now, now Donnie had to stand all alone.  He had no brothers, no father, no one to support him.  But at the same time, he had to support them.  Because they were his family.  And they would be a family for forever.

  Grimacing, Donnie fought he machine with all his strength.  The pain that was exploding from his brain was almost unbearable, almost enough to make him give in.  But he couldn’t.  He wouldn’t.

  The humming stop.  The machine was peeled from his skin, and he sighed in relief.  The Kraang sounded frustrated, very frustrated.  He had won this battle.  His only hope was that he would win the war.

  Leaning his head back, Donnie allowed himself to rest for the few seconds of peace he would have.  It was in those seconds that he could actually enjoy the memories he had of his family.

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  Donnie blinked his eyes rapidly as he felt something sharp hit his arm.  It stung, and he thought he was bleeding.  As his vision slowly cleared, his heart dropped.

  Raphael was charging at him full force, his sais drawn.  Leonardo was standing to his left side, his katanas pulled out, aiming directly at him.  Even Mikey was against him, directly across Leo, twirling his nunchaku around.

  Master Splinter appeared from the shadows, delivering a kick to the face that made Donnie stumble backwards.  Donnie couldn’t understand it.  He just wanted to fall to his knees and collapse.  What was going on?  Crying out to his family, he begged them to stop.

  Instead, a ferocious roar escaped from his mouth.  It stopped them all in their tracks, and it scared him to the point that he was shaking.  Looking around, Donnie cocked his head as he saw where they were.  It was a sewer tunnel not too far from their home, but his question was, what were they doing here?

  Taking a step back, Donnie turned around to run.  He was met by a very angry April, who was wielding her fan.  “What have you done with Donnie?!” She shouted.

  Donnie blinked.  He went to reply, to answer, to tell them to open their eyes and see that he was him, but all that came out was another roar.

  “Where is my son?” Splinter commanded, the seriousness burning completely throughout him.  

  Donnie reached out for him, but only found himself swiping at the man that was his father.  He could not control himself, and every motion he made was exaggerated as so it appeared that he was indeed attacking.

  Donnie wanted to cry.  What was wrong with him?  Why was he doing this?  Why could he not control himself?  Why did his family not recognize him?

  Glancing down at the cut on his arm, Donnie throat went dry.  His arm looked so different.  It was thick, and muscular, completely deformed to what it usually was.  Where his nails should have been were sharp claws, and he could feel the teeth that filled his mouth.  He wasn’t in his body anymore, he was in something totally different.  And he couldn’t even tell his family.  He couldn’t restrain himself long enough to tell them.

  “Where’s my brother?” Raph growled.  His eyes burned with an intensity that Donnie recognized immediately.  It was the same look that The Nightmare Raph had...

  Donnie could feel the anger welling up in him again.  He didn’t want to hurt them.  He couldn’t hurt his family.  He couldn’t bring himself to do that.  

  Leaping over April, Donnie took off down the dark tunnel.  He was on all fours like an animal.  Like the monster he was.  He truly was a beast.  A beast who has the burning urge to take his family and shred them to pieces.

  It hit Donnie what he was.  He was a weapon.  A weapon created to destroy his family.